Station Wraps Busy Week Before Cygnus Cargo Mission Launches

Station Wraps Busy Week Before Cygnus Cargo Mission Launches

This high exposure photograph from the International Space Station shows Earth's atmospheric glow and a starry sky as the orbital complex soared above the Pacific Ocean.
This high exposure photograph from the International Space Station shows Earth’s atmospheric glow and a starry sky as the orbital complex soared above the Pacific Ocean.

The Expedition 70 crew is looking ahead to the arrival of a U.S. cargo craft due to arrive at the International Space Station next week. Meanwhile, the Axiom Space 3 (Ax-3) crew finished its first week in orbit with a busy schedule of research, education, and media activities.

Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo craft will take its first ride atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket when it lifts off at 12:29 p.m. EST on Monday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The private space freighter will be carrying over 8,200 pounds of science experiments, crew supplies, and lab hardware to the orbiting outpost. NASA Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli is due to capture Cygnus with the Canadarm 2 robotic arm at 3:35 a.m. on Wednesday. She will be on duty that morning along with fellow NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara who will monitor Cygnus’ automated approach and rendezvous.

Both astronauts including JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa relaxed on Friday following the weeklong Cygnus preparations and Ax-3 orientation activities. Station Commander Andreas Mogensen of ESA (European Space Agency) had a light duty day at the end of the week spending a couple of hours aiding the Ax-3 foursome during its science and maintenance-filled itinerary.

Ax-3 Commander and former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría joined his crewmates Walter Villadei and Alper Gezeravcı at the start of their shift with blood draws for stowage in a science freezer and later analysis. Afterward, the five-time station visitor partnered with Italian astronaut Villadei configuring hardware that monitors space radiation and how it affects astronauts. At the end of the day, López-Alegría tested a digital voice assistant for its potential to assist with crew operations.

Gezeravcı, Turkey’s first astronaut, tended to algae samples growing in petri dishes for an antibacterial investigation then photographed his Ax-3 crewmates as they worked throughout the day. Mission Specialist Marcus Wandt representing ESA spent Friday juggling a variety of science experiments. The Swedish astronaut powered on plasma physics hardware, collected station air samples for chemical analysis, and taped high frame rate video of thunderstorm conditions in Earth’s stratosphere.

In the Roscosmos segment of the orbiting lab, veteran cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko spent his morning updating laptop computer software before inventorying cargo in the Prichal docking module. First time space flyers Nikolai Chub and Konstantin Borisov split their day studying fluid physics, servicing life support components, and maintaining communications and computer systems.

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Mark Garcia

NASA Offers Virtual Activities for Northrop Grumman’s Next Resupply Mission

NASA Offers Virtual Activities for Northrop Grumman’s Next Resupply Mission

Northrop Grumman's Cygnus cargo craft is pictured moments away from being captured by the Canadarm2 robotic arm controlled by NASA astronaut and Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Woody Hoburg from inside the International Space Station.
Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo craft is pictured moments away from being captured by the Canadarm2 robotic arm controlled by NASA astronaut and Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Woody Hoburg from inside the International Space Station.
NASA

NASA invites the public to participate in virtual activities ahead of the launch of Northrop Grumman’s 20th commercial resupply services mission for the agency.

Mission teams are targeting 12:29 p.m. EST Monday, Jan. 29, for launch of Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Cygnus will deliver new science investigations, food, supplies, and equipment to the crew aboard the International Space Station.

Members of the public can register to attend the launch virtually. As a virtual guest, you have access to curated resources, schedule changes, and mission-specific information delivered straight to your inbox. Following each activity, virtual guests will receive a commemorative stamp for their virtual guest passport.

Live launch coverage will begin at 12:15 p.m. and air on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and on the agency’s website, with prelaunch events starting Wednesday, Jan. 24. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms. For more information, follow NASA’s International Space Station blog.

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Amanda S. Vozeh

NASA’s LRO Spots Japan’s Moon Lander 

NASA’s LRO Spots Japan’s Moon Lander 

1 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

On Jan. 19, 2024, at 10:20 a.m. EST, the JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) landed on the lunar surface. Five days later, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft passed over the landing site and photographed SLIM.

A black and white image of the surface of the moon taken from NASA's LRO showing a white dot that is JAXA's SLIM lander.
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured this image of the JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) SLIM lander on the Moon’s surface on Jan. 24, 2024. SLIM landed at 13.3160 degrees south latitude, 25.2510 degrees east longitude, at an elevation of minus 2,992 feet (minus 912 meters). The image is 2,887 feet wide (880 meters), and lunar north is up. (LROC NAC frame M14607392143L)
NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University

LRO acquired the image at an altitude of about 50 miles (80 km). Bright streaks on the left side of the image are rocky material ejected from the nearby, relatively young Shioli crater.

Japan is the fifth nation to complete a soft landing on the lunar surface.

A black and white gif of two images of the Moon's surface before and after SLIM landed on the surface. A scale line for 50m is in the bottom right. The second image is slightly brighter around the landing site.
This image pair shows LRO views of the area surrounding the SLIM site before (frame M1254087075L) and after (frame M1460739214L) its landing. Note the slight change in reflectance around the lander due to engine exhaust sweeping the surface. These images are enlarged by a factor of two, and are about 1,444 feet (440 meters) wide.
NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University
Blended image showing the SLIM lander on the Moon's surface.
A composite image dividing the before image from after. Features that are the same in both images disappear, highlighting the changes in surface brightness from the rocket plume. The image is 2,887 feet wide (880 meters), and lunar north is up.
NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University

LRO is managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Launched on June 18, 2009, LRO has collected a treasure trove of data with its seven powerful instruments, making an invaluable contribution to our knowledge about the Moon. Arizona State University manages and operates the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera, LROC.

Media Contact:
Nancy N. Jones
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

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Last Updated

Jan 26, 2024

Editor
Madison Arnold
Contact
Nancy N. Jones
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Jamie Adkins

2023 NASA International Space Apps Challenge Announces 10 Global Winners

2023 NASA International Space Apps Challenge Announces 10 Global Winners

5 min read

2023 NASA International Space Apps Challenge Announces 10 Global Winners

Image of a portion of Earth as seen from space
This Earth observation was captured during a day pass by the Expedition 40 crew aboard the International Space Station on September 2, 2014.
European Space Agency Astronaut Alexander Gerst

Ten teams from around the world have been named the Global Winners of the 2023 NASA International Space Apps Challenge. The Challenge is the largest annual global hackathon, and gives participants the opportunity to engage with real world problems we face on Earth and in space.

The 2023 NASA Space Apps Challenge welcomed 57,999 registered participants, including space, science, technology, and storytelling enthusiasts of all ages. Participants came together from 152 countries and territories to celebrate a Year of Open Science with the theme of “Explore Open Science Together” in collaboration with NASA’s Transform to Open Science (TOPS). Teams used NASA and Space Agency Partner free and open data to address challenges written by NASA Subject Matter Experts. Challenges ranged in topic from climate change to biodiversity, space exploration, and data visualization.

The 2023 Global Winners represent the highest rated projects out of 5,556 submissions, as determined by subject matter experts from NASA and 13 Space Agency Partners.

“The NASA International Space Apps Challenge is the perfect example of global cooperation – uniting the next generation of innovators across 152 countries this year into a community that contributes to NASA’s mission for the benefit of all,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Lowering the boundaries of science through the NASA Space Apps Challenge is paramount for inspiring the next generation – the Artemis Generation – so that they can solve today’s problems on Earth and in space for tomorrow’s future. Congratulations to the 2023 Global Winners of the NASA Space Apps Challenge.”

In this year’s live Global Winners announcement, former NASA astronaut Dr. Cady Coleman praised the innovation and collaboration of the NASA Space Apps community and the Global Winners.

“Participants’ innovative solutions using NASA and Space Agency Partner open data and their commitment to global collaboration are paving the way for a more inclusive scientific community for the next generation of scientists, technologists, designers, and storytellers,” said Coleman. “Their projects show the power of what we can accomplish with open science and knowledge sharing.”

The ten 2023 NASA Space Apps Challenge Global Winners are:

Best Use of Science Award: LunarTech Ensemble

Challenge: Make a Moonquake Map 2.0!

Country/Territory: Egypt

This team developed a website and immersive game to help people understand and visualize the lunar seismic data gathered by instruments left behind during NASA’s Apollo missions.

Learn more about LunarTech Ensemble’s winning project

Best Use of Data Award: Storm Prophet

Challenge: Develop the Oracle of DSCOVR

Country/Territory: Ukraine

Team “Storm Prophet” created a data model to accurately predict geomagnetic storm levels using data analysis and LSTM models.

Learn more about Storm Prophet’s winning project

Best Use of Technology Award: Spacebee

Challenge: Make a Moonquake Map 2.0!

Country/Territory: United States and Argentina (Universal Event)

This team developed a website that integrates moonquake data collected by seismometers deployed on Apollo missions, including the moonquake locations, type of moonquake, and date and data plots based on ALSEP Apollo experiments data.

Learn more about Spacebee’s winning project

Galactic Impact Award: Greetings from Earth!!

Challenge: Ocean Gardens

Country/Territory: Brazil

This team developed an interactive website that provides a visualization of NASA data that allows the user to visualize oceans not merely as vast expanses of water, but as the gardens of our planet, regulating climate and nurturing diverse life forms.

Learn more about Greetings from Earth!!’s winning project

Best Mission Concept Award: ASTROGENESIS

Challenge: Planetary Tourism Office

Country/Territory: Peru

This team created an interactive platform that allows you to explore the cosmos by creating personalized itineraries to visit planets, moons, and other celestial destinations.

Learn more about ASTROGENESIS’s winning project

Most Inspirational Award: Space Quest Maidens – Donzelas da Missao Espacial

Challenge: Eclipses: Perspective is Everything

Country/Territory: Brazil

This team developed an interactive educational tool called ECLIPSE: CELESTIAL SHADOWS to teach children about the mechanics of eclipses.

Learn more about Space Quest Maidens – Donzelas da Missão Espacials winning project

Best Storytelling Award: TeamVoyagers

Challenge: Everything Starts with Water

Country/Territory: Bangladesh

Team Voyagers built an interactive web-based game that tells the imperative story of the complexities of the water cycle, as well as the urgent need to understand the climate’s impact on freshwater resources.

Learn more about Team Voyagers’ winning project

Global Connection Award: Arcobaleno

Challenge: Immersed in the Sounds of Space

Country/Territory: Brazil

Team Arcoboleno created a method that transforms 2D and 3D images into a sensory experience. Their project aims to provide people with sight impairments a way to connect with the world and explore the cosmos through the sonification of NASA open data.

Learn more about Arcobaleno’s winning project

Art & Technology Award: Oogway Comics

Challenge: Habitable Exoplanets: Creating Worlds Beyond Our Own

Country/Territory: Tajikistan

Oogway Comics used NASA data to conceptualize an exoplanet suitable for life and developed a comic book to tell the planet’s story.

Learn more about Oogway Comics’ winning project

Local Impact Award: $quality_over_quantity

Challenge: Explore a Biodiversity Hotspot with Imaging Spectroscopy

Country/Territory: Taiwan

This team developed a method to explore local biodiversity hotspots and prioritize protection of areas with more efficiency.

Learn more about $quality_over_quantitys’ winning project

You can watch the Global Winners Announcement HERE.

Interested in participating in the 2024 NASA Space Apps Challenge? Mark your calendars for Oct. 5 and 6!

Registration will open later this year. At that time, participants will be able to register for a Local Event hosted by NASA Space Apps Local Leads around the world.

Space Apps is funded by NASA’s Earth Science Division through a contract with Booz Allen Hamilton, Mindgrub, and SecondMuse.

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Artemis Teams Install Emergency Escape Baskets at NASA Kennedy

Artemis Teams Install Emergency Escape Baskets at NASA Kennedy

Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program began installing the four emergency egress baskets at Launch Pad 39B in preparation for NASA’s Artemis II crewed mission at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the event of an emergency at the pad during the launch countdown, these baskets, similar to gondolas on ski lifts, will take the astronauts and pad personnel safely from the mobile launcher to the base of the pad where emergency transport vehicles will drive them away.  Following installation, teams will thoroughly test the baskets by placing water tanks filled at different levels to help simulate the different weights of the passengers and releasing them. Once the basket testing is complete, teams will perform an emergency egress demonstration with the Artemis II crew to practice the route the astronauts will take during an emergency. The emergency egress system is one of several new systems and upgrades being installed in support of safety for crewed Artemis missions. To see more of the egress basket installations, click here.

Image Credit: NASA/Isaac Watson

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Antonia Jaramillo