Vía Láctea En Enchanted Rock State Natural Area - Texas Parks And Wildlife.

Blue Origin completó con éxito la decimotercera misión New Shepard el 13 de octubre de 2020. New Shepard voló 12 cargas útiles comerciales al espacio en esta misión, incluida la Demostración del sensor de aterrizaje, descenso y deorbitación con la Dirección de Misión de Tecnología Espacial de la NASA.

Vía: Blue Origin

5 Out of this World Experiments Awaiting Crew-1 Space Scientists

NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, and Mike Hopkins, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Soichi Noguchi embark on a historic mission on November 14, 2020 aboard the Crew Dragon. NASA’s Crew-1 mission marks the first certified crew rotation flight to the International Space Station. During their 6-month stay on orbit, these crew members will don their science caps and complete experiments in microgravity.  Check out five out of this world experiments you can expect to see these space scientists working on during Expedition 64.

1. Space Gardening

The Crew-1 astronauts will become space farmers with the responsibility of tending to the rad(ish) garden located in a facility known as the Advanced Plant Habitat (APH). Researchers are investigating radishes in the Plant Habitat-02 experiment as a candidate crop for spaceflight applications to supplement food sources for astronauts. Radishes have the benefits of high nutritional content and quick growth rates, making these veggies an intriguing option for future space farmers on longer missions to the Moon or Mars.

2. Micro Miners

Microbes can seemingly do it all, including digging up the dirt (so to speak).  The BioAsteroid investigation looks at the ability of bacteria to break down rock.  Future space explorers could use this process for extracting elements from planetary surfaces and refining regolith, the type of soil found on the moon, into usable compounds.  To sum it up, these microbial miners rock.

3. Cooler Exploration Spacesuits

The iconic spacesuits used to walk on the moon and perform spacewalks on orbit are getting an upgrade. The next generation spacesuit, the Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU), will be even cooler than before, both in looks and in terms of ability to regulate astronaut body temperature.  The Spacesuit Evaporation Rejection Flight Experiment (SERFE) experiment is a technology demonstration being performed on station to look at the efficiency of multiple components in the xEMU responsible for thermal regulation, evaporation processes, and preventing corrosion of the spacesuits.

4. Chips in Space

Crew-1 can expect to get a delivery of many types of chips during their mission.  We aren’t referring to the chips you would find in your pantry.  Rather, Tissue Chips in Space is an initiative sponsored by the National Institutes of Health to study 3D organ-like constructs on a small, compact devices in microgravity. Organ on a chip technology allows for the study of disease processes and potential therapeutics in a rapid manner. During Expedition 64, investigations utilizing organ on a chip technology will include studies on muscle loss, lung function, and the blood brain barrier – all on devices the size of a USB flashdrive.

5. The Rhythm of Life

Circadian rhythm, otherwise known as our “internal clock,” dictates our sleep-wake cycles and influences cognition. Fruit flies are hitching a ride to the space station as the subjects of the Genes in Space-7 experiment, created by a team of high school students.  These flies, more formally known as the Drosophila melanogaster, are a model organism, meaning that they are common subjects of scientific study. Understanding changes in the genetic material that influences circadian rhythm in microgravity can shed light on processes relevant to an astronaut’s brain function.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space:  http://nasa.tumblr.com

For updates on other platforms, follow @ISS_Research, Space Station Research and Technology News, or our Facebook to keep up with the science happening aboard your orbiting laboratory, and step outside to see the space station passing over your town using Spot the Station.

A veces solo es necesario alejarse de la ciudad, tomar aire fresco y apreciar las estrellas.

Crédito: Tero Marin

https://instagram.com/teromarin

~Antares

Cometa Leonard en la mañana del 10 de Diciembre del 2021, ubicado del lado izquierdo, la estrella Arcturus en la cima y Spica en el extremo derecho.

Crédito: Alan Dyer

https://instagram.com/amazingskyguy

~Antares

We Just Found Water on the Moon’s Sunlit Surface

When the first Apollo astronauts returned from the Moon in 1969, the Moon’s surface was thought to be completely dry. Over the last 20 years, orbital and impactor missions confirmed water ice is present inside dark, permanently shadowed craters around the poles. But could water survive in the Moon’s sunnier regions? Using SOFIA, the world’s largest flying observatory, we found water on a sunlit lunar surface for the first time. The discovery suggests water may be distributed across the Moon’s surface, which is a whopping 14.6 million square miles. Scientists think the water could be stored inside glass beadlike structures within the soil that can be smaller than the tip of a pencil. The amount of water detected is equivalent to about a 12-ounce bottle trapped in a cubic meter volume of soil. While that amount is 100 times less than what’s found in the Sahara Desert, discovering even small amounts raises new questions about how this precious resource is created and persists on the harsh, airless lunar surface. Learn more about the discovery: 

Water was found in Clavius Crater, one of the Moon’s largest craters visible from Earth.

The water may be delivered by tiny meteorite impacts… 

…or formed by the interaction of energetic particles ejected from the Sun. 

Follow-up observations by SOFIA will look for water in additional sunlit locations on the Moon.

We are eager to learn all we can about the presence of water in advance of sending the first woman and next man to the lunar surface in 2024 under our Artemis program. What we learn on and around the Moon will help us take the next giant leap – sending astronauts to Mars.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

La imagen ganadora presentada fue tomada sobre el lago glacial más grande de Islandia . El fotógrafo combinó seis exposiciones para capturar no solo dos anillos de auroras verdes , sino también sus reflejos en el lago sereno. Visible en el cielo de fondo distante es la banda de nuestra Vía Láctea y la galaxia de Andrómeda .

Créditos: Stephane Vetter

Rastro estelar sobre los árboles muertos en el embalse de Manasquan, Jersey Shore, NJ. Para esta fotografía fueron tomadas más de 280 fotos en el transcurso de 1.5 horas y apiladas para mostrar el aparente movimiento de las estrellas.

Crédito: John Entwistle.

https://instagram.com/johnentwistle_photography

~Antares

Eclipse del 2 de julio de 2019

Crédito: Thierry Legault

twitter.com/thierrylegault

Esta es la imagen de una de las manchas solares más grandes observadas a principios de enero de 2014 que fue capturada por el Observatorio de Dinámica Solar de la NASA. Se ha añadió una imagen de la Tierra a escala.

Crédito: NASA / SDO

Vía Láctea desde el Joshua Tree National Park, ubicado en California. Zona desértica que incluye partes de los desiertos de Colorado y Mojave.

Crédito: Alex Mcgregor

https://instagram.com/chasing.luminance

~Antares