NASA Hosts OSIRIS-REx Sample Lab Media Day in Houston
Ahead of the first asteroid sample collected by the U.S. arriving on Earth in September, media are invited on Monday, July 24, to see NASA’s newly-built OSIRIS-REx Sample Curation Laboratory where the agency will study the sample at its Johnson Space Center in Houston.
SpaceX Dragon Cargo Splashes Down, Returning Science to Earth
The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft approaches the space station for an automated docking loaded with over 7,000 pounds of science experiments, station hardware, and crew supplies on June 9.
A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft splashed down at 10:30 a.m. EDT Friday, June 30, off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida, marking the return of the company’s 28th contracted cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station for NASA. The spacecraft carried approximately 3,600 pounds of valuable scientific experiments and other cargo back to Earth.
Scientific hardware and samples returning on the mission include the GRIP – Dexterous Manipulation in Microgravity chair used in the ESA (European Space Agency)-sponsored neurology experiments GRIP and GRASP (Gravitational References for Sensimotor Performance: Reaching and Grasping). GRIP studies how microgravity affects the manipulation of objects, while GRASP provides further insight into how the central nervous system adapts to the microgravity environment. The experiments have been on the space station almost six years, and the final in-orbit tests were completed in early 2023.
The highly irregular galaxy ESO 174-1, which resembles a lonely, hazy cloud against a backdrop of bright stars, dominates this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.
SpaceX Dragon Cargo Spacecraft Departs from Station
A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft undocks from the station on June 29, 2023, to bring 3,600 pounds of science back to Earth. Credit: NASA TV
Following commands from ground controllers at SpaceX in Hawthorne, California, the company’s Dragon cargo spacecraft undocked at 12:30 p.m. EDT from the space-facing port of the station’s Harmony module. At the time of undocking the station was flying at an altitude about 260 miles northeast of the Indian Ocean west of Indonesia.
After re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, the spacecraft will make a parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of Florida on Friday, June 30. NASA will not broadcast the splashdown, but updates will be posted on the agency’s space station blog.
Dragon arrived at the station June 6 as SpaceX’s 28th Commercial Resupply Services mission for NASA, delivering more than 7,000 pounds of research investigations, crew supplies, and station hardware, including two IROSAs, or International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays. The spacecraft was launched June 5 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
SpaceX Dragon Cargo Spacecraft Departing Station Live on NASA TV
The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is pictured departing the vicinity of the space station following its undocking from the Harmony module’s space-facing port on January 9, 2023.
Live coverage of the departure of a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft from the International Space Station is underway on NASA Television, the agency’s website, and the NASA app.
Following commands from ground controllers at SpaceX in Hawthorne, California, Dragon will undock at 12:30 p.m. EDT from the space-facing port of the station’s Harmony module and fire its thrusters to move a safe distance away from the station.
After re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, the spacecraft will make a parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of Florida about 10:30 a.m. Friday, June 30. NASA will not broadcast the splashdown, but updates will be posted on the agency’s space station blog.