This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features dwarf galaxy, IC 3476.
ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. Sun
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features IC 3476, a dwarf galaxy that lies about 54 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Coma Berenices. While this image does not look very dramatic – we might say it looks almost serene – the actual physical events taking place in IC 3476 are highly energetic. In fact, the little galaxy is undergoing a process called ram pressure stripping that is driving unusually high levels of star formation in regions of the galaxy.
The gas and dust that permeates space exerts pressure on a galaxy as it moves. This resistance, called ram pressure, can strip a galaxy of its star-forming gas and dust, reducing or even stopping the creation of new stars. However, ram pressure can also compress gas in other parts of the galaxy, which can boost star formation. This may be happening in IC 3476. The galaxy appears to have absolutely no star formation along its edges, which bear the brunt of the ram pressure stripping, but star formation rates deeper within the galaxy are noticeably above average.
Crew Explores Heart Health and Tries On “Anti-Gravity” Suit
Expedition 70 Commander Andreas Mogensen maneuvers in the vestibule in between the space station’s Unity and Tranquility modules.
Blood tests, cardiac research, and scientific maintenance were the prime duties aboard the International Space Station on Thursday. The Expedition 70 crew also kept up its work on a variety of life support gear and exercise hardware throughout the day.
NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara kicked off the day studying accelerated aging-like symptoms seen in astronauts’ arteries after a long-duration mission. The duo collected and processed blood samples for the Vascular Aging investigation to understand these space-caused mechanisms and physiological changes. Observations from the long-running experiment may help doctors improve cardiovascular health in space, as well as on Earth.
ESA (European Space Agency) Commander Andreas Mogensen started his day exploring how virtual reality movies may improve crew morale as spaceflight missions last longer and travel farther away from Earth. Mogensen then spent the afternoon replacing components inside a carbon dioxide removal device. Meanwhile, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa installed external science hardware inside the Kibo laboratory module’s airlock. Afterward, he joined Moghbeli and Mogensen and tried on a specialized suit that may help maintain an astronaut’s heart rate and blood pressure while adjusting to gravity shortly after returning to Earth.
The orbiting lab’s three cosmonauts from Roscosmos had a light duty day but did find time for science and exercise. Flight Engineers Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub partnered together during the morning for a cardiac study observing heart performance in weightlessness. Kononenko photographed Chub as he conducted the research while attached to sensors measuring his heart activity.
Flight Engineer Konstantin Borisov spent his morning on orbital plumbing before joining his astronaut crewmates for the “anti-gravity” suit fit check. Borisov along with Moghbeli, Mogensen, and Furukawa are due to return to Earth in March aboard the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft.
NASA Instruments Will Listen for Supersonic X-59’s Quiet ‘Thump’
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA recently completed a series of tests to reduce risks prior to Phase 2 of its Quesst mission, which will test the ability of the X-59 experimental aircraft to make sonic booms quieter. Credits: NASA/Steve Parcel
NASA’s X-59 experimental aircraft is unique – it’s designed to fly faster than the speed of sound, but without causing a loud sonic boom. To confirm the X-59’s ability to fly supersonic while only producing quiet sonic “thumps,” NASA needs to be able to record these sounds from the ground. The agency recently completed tests aimed at understanding equipment and procedures needed to make those recordings.
NASA’s Carpet Determination In Entirety Measurements (CarpetDIEM) flights examined the quality and ruggedness of a new generation of ground recording systems, focusing on how to deploy the systems for X-59 testing, and retrieve the data they collect. In all, researchers set up 10 microphone stations over a 30-mile stretch of desert near NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.
“We’re trying to answer questions like how many people does it take to go out and service these instruments on a daily basis, how to get the data back, how many vehicles are needed – all those sorts of things on how we operate,” said Forrest Carpenter, principal investigator for the third flight series, known as CarpetDIEM III. “We’re kind of learning how to dance now so that when we get to the big dance, we’re ready to go.”
The X-59 itself is not yet flying, so using an F-15 and an F-18 from NASA Armstrong, the CarpetDIEM III testing involved 20 supersonic passes with speeds ranging from Mach 1.15 to Mach 1.4, at altitudes ranging from 40,000 to 53,000 feet. Three of the passes involved an F-18 conducting a special inverted dive maneuver to simulate a quiet sonic boom, with one getting as quiet as 67 perceived level decibels, a measure of the perceived noisiness of the jet for an observer on the ground.
Aerospace engineer Larry Cliatt, Quesst Phase 2 sub-project manager and technical lead for the acoustic validation phase of the Quesst mission, sets up a ground recording system in the California desert. The Quesst mission recently completed testing of operations and equipment to be used in recording the sonic thumps of the X-59. The testing was the third phase of Carpet Determination in Entirety Measurements flights, called CarpetDIEM for short. An F-15 and an F-18 from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, created sonic booms, both loud and soft, to verify the operations of ground recording systems spread out across 30 miles of open desert.
NASA/Steve Freeman
“We expect the X-59 sonic thump to be as low as about 75 perceived loudness decibels,” said Larry Cliatt, sub-project manager for the Quesst acoustic validation phase. “That is a lot quieter than the Concord, which was over 100 perceived loudness decibels.”
In order to measure these very quiet sonic thumps, the ground recording systems used in the CarpetDIEM flights were calibrated to measure as low as about 50 perceived loudness decibels – the equivalent to being in the room with a running refrigerator.
CarpetDIEM III also validated the use of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, an existing technology flown on all commercial aircraft and most private aircraft to report speed and position. This system triggers the ground recording systems to begin recording.
“We can’t have 70 different people at every single instrumentation box,” Cliatt said. “We had to find a way to automate that process.”
Dr. Forrest Carpenter, left, principal investigator for the third phase of CarpetDIEM, Carpet Determination in Entirety Measurements flights, monitors a test from one of the control rooms at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. Next to Carpenter is Brian Strovers, chief engineer for Commercial Supersonic Technology. The third phase of CarpetDIEM tested logistics and upgraded ground recording systems in preparation for the acoustic validation phase of the Quesst mission.
NASA/Steve Freeman
The recording systems are designed to withstand the desert elements, the extreme heat of summer and the cold of winter, and to be resistant to damage from wildlife, such as chewing by rodents, coyotes, and foxes.
“When we get to Phase 2 of the Quesst mission, we expect to be doing these recordings of sonic thumps for up to nine months,” Cliatt said. “We need to be able to have instrumentation and operations that can facilitate such a long deployment.”
Another lesson learned – setup time for the recording stations was just under an hour, compared to the anticipated 2 1/2 hours. Given the performance of the systems, the team will assess whether they need to visit all the sites every day of Phase 2 testing.
The team also learned about the coordination and documentation processes needed for such research, both with internal organizations, such as NASA Armstrong’s Environmental and Safety offices, and with outside parties including:
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which gave approval to use public lands for the testing
Law enforcement, which helped secure the test site
The Federal Aviation Administration, which gave approval for NASA jets to fly outside the Edwards Air Force Base restricted airspace in order to conduct a portion of the CarpetDIEM tests
To prepare for Quesst Phase 2, researchers expect to conduct practice sessions in 2024, incorporating all the lessons learned and best practices from all three phases of CarpetDIEM.
NASA Awards Spaceflight Development, Operations Contract
NASA has selected Sierra Lobo Inc. of Fremont, Ohio, to support spaceflight hardware design, development, testing, and operations at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.
The Space Flight Systems Development and Operations Contract III is a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract featuring a cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity provision with a maximum potential value of approximately $282.1 million. The 90-day phase-in period is anticipated to begin on Tuesday, Feb. 27, followed by a three-year base period and two two-year option periods.
The systems development and operations contract encompasses the development and delivery of technology development hardware and software, space flight hardware and software, ground support equipment, spares, as well as mission integration and operations, and sustaining engineering. The contractor will be responsible for the definition, design, development, analysis, fabrication, assembly, test, verification, delivery, and operation of space flight systems, associated support systems and equipment, and related ground activities, including research, science, and technology development and demonstrations.
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Meet the Creators, Part 4: Two New 2024 Total Eclipse Posters
4 min read
Meet the Creators, Part 4: Two New 2024 Total Eclipse Posters
Total solar eclipses reveal the Sun’s outer atmosphere – the corona – a white, wispy halo of solar material that flows out from around the Sun. This atmosphere is breathtaking as it glows in the sky for viewers on Earth, surrounding the dark disk of the Moon. In addition to revealing this normally hidden part of our Sun, the eclipse also darkens the sky, changes shadows, and cools the air. It can feel like living inside a piece of art.
Artists have captured the magical appearance of eclipses for over a thousand years. For the upcoming total solar eclipse crossing North America on April 8, 2024, two artists have contributed new posters to NASA’s eclipse poster series.
Dongjae “Krystofer” Kim
Download the poster here.
NASA/Dongjae “Krystofer” Kim
Dongjae “Krystofer” Kim is a Senior Science Animator at the Conceptual Image Lab at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design and Technology from Parsons School of Design and a Master of Business Administration and Master of Arts from the Design Leadership program at the Maryland Institute of Contemporary Art and the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. He combines various art and design disciplines, including fine arts, graphic design, creative coding, animation, and design research to help tell NASA’s story.
“I was contemplating how the eclipse is an event that is beyond human scale physically and chronologically. It will look differently outside of my myopic view from this planet and it will occur after I am gone for many years to come. With this perspective, I thought of how future space explorations with permanent settlements on the Moon will view this event. While searching for scientific references, I remembered a video piece by our own NASA Goddard media team ‘An EPIC View of the Moon’s Shadow During the June 10 Solar Eclipse’ in 2021 and used it as a visual reference.”
What inspired you to become an artist?
“My inspiration came via Pixar and Ghibli animated films and shows I watched as a child. Despite being a little dyslexic Korean kid, I was welcomed into the world of each story. I found it magical that artists could seemingly create everything from nothing or something fantastical from mundane ideas and objects. And I loved that art enables you to communicate your own ideas as well as learn about others creating common ground.”
Want to explore this artwork more? An animated version of this poster is available to download.
Genna Duberstein
Download the poster here.
NASA/Genna Duberstein
Genna Duberstein is an award-winning, Emmy-nominated multimedia producer and graphic designer who specializes in both making and marketing content. Her work has been shown internationally, aired on PBS, and has been featured in many outlets, including The New York Times, Vanity Fair, WIRED, The Atlantic, and National Geographic. She holds a Master of Fine Arts from American University and a Bachelor of Arts from The Ohio State University.
“During the 2017 total solar eclipse, my parents sent me a picture of themselves, smiling in eclipse glasses and sitting on their front stoop with their dog. It was such a goofy, happy picture, I wanted to capture that same spirit for the poster. I have a dog of my own now – a goofy, happy American foxhound mix – and he proved to be the perfect model for the total eclipse poster. There’s no denying an eclipse can be an awe-inspiring event, but it can be just plain fun too!”
What inspired you to become an artist?
“I can’t help it! I’ve always made things, and I’ve been very fortunate to have had support along the way. My parents enrolled me in my first art class at four, and they encouraged me to submit work to art contests all through elementary and high school. Portfolio-based scholarships and commissioned portrait work helped me pay for college. To this day, I’m incredibly lucky to have had a career where I can be creative, and I am thankful for all the people who have made it possible.”
Have an idea for how to put your own spin on this poster? This artwork is also available as a downloadable coloring sheet.
By Abbey Interrante NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
