First Science Images Released From ESA Mission With NASA Contributions

The new images from the Euclid mission include a cluster of thousands of distant galaxies, demonstrating the spacecraft’s unique abilities. 

The Euclid mission, which will investigate the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, released its first five science images Tuesday, Nov. 7 The observatory, led by ESA (European Space Agency) with NASA contributions, is scheduled to begin regular science operations in early 2024.

The new images include views of a large cluster of thousands of distant galaxies, close-ups of two nearby galaxies, a gravitationally bound group of stars called a globular cluster, and a nebula (a cloud of gas and dust in space where stars form) – all depicted in vibrant colors.

“The Euclid observatory will uncover a treasure trove of scientific discoveries that will be used across the world, including by U.S. scientists, for years to come,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Together, NASA and ESA are paving the way for a new era of cosmology for NASA’s forthcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which will build upon what Euclid learns and will additionally survey objects on the outskirts of our solar system, discover thousands of new planets, explore nearby galaxies, and more.”

Euclid launched on July 1 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, then traveled nearly 1 million miles to its vantage point. Following a period of commissioning (testing of the instruments and other components), the space telescope is performing as expected.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California delivered critical hardware for one of the Euclid spacecraft’s instruments. In addition, NASA has established a U.S.-based Euclid science data center, and NASA-funded science teams will join other Euclid scientists in studying dark energy, galaxy evolution, and dark matter. The agency’s Nancy Grace Roman mission will also study dark energy – in ways that are complementary to Euclid. Mission planners will use Euclid’s findings to inform Roman’s dark energy work.

Surveying the Dark Universe

During its planned six-year mission, Euclid will produce the most extensive 3D map of the universe yet, covering nearly one-third of the sky and containing billions of galaxies up to 10 billion light-years away from Earth.

To do this, Euclid needs a wide field of view, which enabled these new images covering a relatively large area. In this way, Euclid differs from targeted observatories like NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope that focus on a smaller area of the sky at any one time but typically offer higher-resolution images. Wide-field observatories like Euclid can observe large sections of the sky much faster than targeted telescopes. In addition, Euclid has high resolution compared to previous survey missions, which means it will be able to see more galaxies in each image than previous telescopes.

For example, Euclid’s wide view was able to capture the entirety of the Perseus galaxy cluster, and many galaxies beyond it, in just one image. Located 240 million light-years from Earth, Perseus is among the most massive structures known in the universe. Euclid’s full survey will ultimately cover an area 30,000 times larger than this image.

The telescope’s survey approach is necessary to study dark energy, the mysterious driver behind our universe’s accelerating expansion. While gravity should pull everything in the universe together, everything is instead moving apart faster and faster. “Dark energy” is the term scientists use for this unexplained expansion.

To study the phenomenon, scientists will map the presence of another cosmic mystery, dark matter. This invisible substance can be observed only by its gravitational effect on “regular” matter and objects around it, like stars, galaxies, and planets. Dark matter is five times more common in the cosmos than regular matter, so if dark energy’s expansive influence on the universe has changed over time, the change should be recorded in how dark matter is distributed on large scales across the universe, and Euclid’s 3D map should capture it.

“Euclid’s first images mark the beginning of a new era of studying dark matter and dark energy,” said Mike Seiffert, Euclid project scientist at JPL. “This is the first space telescope dedicated to dark universe studies, and the sheer scale of the data we’re going to get out of this will be unlike anything we’ve had before. These are big mysteries, so it’s exciting for the international cosmology community to see this day finally arrive.”

NASA’s Roman mission will study a smaller section of sky than Euclid, but it will provide higher-resolution images of hundreds of millions of galaxies and peer deeper into the universe’s past, providing complementary information. Scheduled to launch by May 2027.

The data from the new Euclid images is now available to the scientific community, and scientific papers analysing that data are expected to follow. As the mission progresses, Euclid’s bank of data will grow. New batches will be released once per year and will be available to the global scientific community via the Astronomy Science Archives hosted at ESA’s European Space Astronomy Centre in Spain.

More About the Mission

Euclid is a European mission, built and operated by ESA, with contributions from NASA. The Euclid Consortium – consisting of more than 2,000 scientists from 300 institutes in 13 European countries, the U.S., Canada, and Japan – is responsible for providing the scientific instruments and scientific data analysis. ESA selected Thales Alenia Space as prime contractor for the construction of the satellite and its service module, with Airbus Defence and Space chosen to develop the payload module, including the telescope. NASA provided the detectors of the Near-Infrared Spectrometer and Photometer, NISP. Euclid is a medium-class mission in ESA’s Cosmic Vision Programme.

News Media Contacts

Calla Cofield
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
626-808-2469
calla.e.cofield@jpl.nasa.gov

Elizabeth Landau
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0845
elandau@nasa.gov

ESA Media Relations
media@esa.int

2023-161

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Welcome to Nicky Notes: Release of NASA Science Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility Annual Report

November 2023

I am pleased to welcome you to this new blog series – what my team affectionally calls, “Nicky Notes.” Through this platform, I hope to regularly share updates about all of the exciting work we do in the Science Mission Directorate, while offering some more candid reflections.

My first post is dedicated to a topic near and dear to me – our efforts in the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) space.

SMD’s IDEA Annual Report covering July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023, has been published online here: https://science.nasa.gov/about-us/idea. This is the second year we have formally documented our efforts striving towards NASA’s core value of inclusion and in it you will find significant work accomplished across every organization within SMD. My heartfelt thanks go to all of you for your commitment to creating an inclusive work environment and ensuring our missions, programs, and research are conducted in alignment with our values. Fostering diversity on our teams is essential to producing excellent science, and ensuring inclusion is paramount to our pursuit of exploration and discovery.

As we look ahead, SMD remains committed to our IDEA values. We will continue to strive to be an environment where all SMD team members are valued for their diversity of thought, unique backgrounds, and whole selves. We will also continue to ensure IDEA principles and practices are embedded across the SMD portfolio. This year, we plan continued reflection on our internal practices, updates of the IDEA strategy, and further implementation of actions towards our goals. In recent conversations with many science divisions and cross-cutting organizations across the NASA Science family, I have been heartened to hear your questions and comments that exemplified your steadfast commitment to IDEA.

Thanks to all of you for your dedication to ensuring SMD lives our value of Inclusion. As I read through all that has been accomplished, I am reminded of the words our NASA Administrator, Bill Nelson, who stated, “We each must embrace a culture of IDEA principles in the same way that we have successfully created a safety-conscious culture at NASA”.

This kind of change requires time, but I am encouraged by the commitment across our organization and what is to come. Thanks to all of you for making SMD a more inclusive work environment.

Nicky

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Worm Designer Receives NASA’s Exceptional Public Achievement Medal

NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana presented an award to Richard Danne Monday for his outstanding achievement in creating the NASA worm logotype and inspiring the world through the medium of design for the benefit of humanity.

The Exceptional Public Achievement Medal was presented to Danne following a panel discussion at NASA Headquarters in Washington featuring the designer, as well as NASA and industry design experts, discussing the iconic logotype and its cultural influence. The award is given to non-government employees for specific achievement or substantial improvement in contribution to the mission of NASA.

“Making the impossible possible through innovation, inspiring through discoveries that transform our knowledge of the universe and our place in it, and providing benefits to all of humanity are what we do at NASA, and what people think of when they see this simple yet striking logo,” said NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana. “Thank you for giving the agency an image that fit the time and also that continues to endure alongside the iconic NASA meatball as one of the most recognizable and popular symbols of what we can achieve when we work together.”

A simple, red unique type style of the word NASA, the worm replaced the agency’s logo for several decades beginning in the 1970s before it was retired. It has since been brought back for limited use to complement the agency’s official insignia, known as the meatball.

“This event, a culmination of a 50-year trek, is extremely rewarding. Creating the worm for NASA has been a singular achievement in my own career and in the history of design. It has not always been easy but it was a glorious experience and I feel fortunate to be part of the NASA family and to have helped the agency achieve its missions and goals,” said Danne.

NASA was strategically chosen to implement the first new brand identity as part of the Federal Design Improvement Program. The agency hired the New York firm, Danne & Blackburn, who delivered their visionary worm design accompanied by a detailed manual that made it accessible across all centers. At the time, the worm won some of industries biggest design awards, including the first Presidential Design Award in 1985.

In 1992, the worm was retired. However, in 2017 NASA began permitting the worm once again on souvenir merchandise and in 2020, almost 30 years later, the agency used the worm logo once again to mark the return of human spaceflight on American rockets from American soil. In November 2022, NASA also used the worm logo on its first rocket around the Moon in more than 50 years as part of its Artemis program.

Since its launch, the worm logotype has resurfaced on signage, spacecraft, and spacesuits for the agency. Most recently, NASA opened its Earth Information Center at its headquarters, featuring a giant NASA worm sculpture directly outside its front doors. As part of his visit to Washington, Danne saw the sculpture for the first time.

The original NASA insignia, designed by James Modarelli in 1958, remains a powerful global symbol, and is the official logo as the agency innovates, inspires, and explores for the benefit of all. NASA’s merchandise team receives hundreds of requests every month for permission to use its graphics.

“Thanks to the worm and the meatball, NASA’s brand is one of the most recognizable in the world. These symbols have inspired countless students in the past, and now inspire the future generation of engineers, scientists, and innovators – the Artemis Generation,” said Marc Etkind, associate administrator, Office of Communications at NASA Headquarters.

To rewatch the panel discussion, visit NASA’s YouTube channel at:

www.youtube.com/NASA

-end-

News Media Contacts:
Claire O’Shea / Stephanie Schierholz
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
claire.a.oshea@nasa.gov / stephanie.schierholz@nasa.gov

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NASA’s Worm Logo

The NASA Worm Logo sign at the NASA Headquarters building in Washington is unveiled in this image from June 21, 2023. The unveiling occurred just before NASA’s Earth Information Center, an immersive experience combining live data sets with cutting-edge data visualization and storytelling, opened to the public.

On Nov. 6, 2023, NASA held a discussion on the design and cultural significance of the worm logotype with its creator Richard Danne. The logotype, a simple, red unique type style of the word NASA, replaced the agency’s official logo (the “meatball”) for several decades beginning in the 1970s before it was retired. The worm has since been revived for limited use.

Learn more about the “worm” on “Houston We Have a Podcast,” the official podcast of the NASA Johnson Space Center.

Image Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

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NASA’s Curiosity Rover Clocks 4,000 Days on Mars

The mission team is making sure the robotic scientist, now in its fourth extended mission, is staying strong, despite wear and tear from its 11-year journey.

Four thousand Martian days after setting its wheels in Gale Crater on Aug. 5, 2012, NASA’s Curiosity rover remains busy conducting exciting science. The rover recently drilled its 39th sample then dropped the pulverized rock into its belly for detailed analysis.

To study whether ancient Mars had the conditions to support microbial life, the rover has been gradually ascending the base of 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) Mount Sharp, whose layers formed in different periods of Martian history and offer a record of how the planet’s climate changed over time.

The latest sample was collected from a target nicknamed “Sequoia” (all of the mission’s current science targets are named after locations in California’s Sierra Nevada). Scientists hope the sample will reveal more about how the climate and habitability of Mars evolved as this region became enriched in sulfates –minerals that likely formed in salty water that was evaporating as Mars first began drying up billions of years ago. Eventually, Mars’ liquid water disappeared for good.

“The types of sulfate and carbonate minerals that Curiosity’s instruments have identified in the last year help us understand what Mars was like so long ago. We’ve been anticipating these results for decades, and now Sequoia will tell us even more,” said Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity’s project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which leads the mission.

Deciphering the clues to Mars’ ancient climate requires detective work. In a recent paper published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, team members used data from Curiosity’s Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument to discover a magnesium sulfate mineral called starkeyite, which is associated with especially dry climates like Mars’ modern climate.

The team believes that after sulfate minerals first formed in salty water that was evaporating billions of years ago, these minerals transformed into starkeyite as the climate continued drying to its present state. Findings like this refine scientists’ understanding of how the Mars of today came to be.

Time-Tested Rover

Despite having driven almost 20 miles (32 kilometers) through a punishingly cold environment bathed in dust and radiation since 2012, Curiosity remains strong. Engineers are currently working to resolve an issue with one of the rover’s main “eyes” – the 34 mm focal length left camera of the Mast Camera, or Mastcam, instrument. In addition to providing color images of the rover’s surroundings, each of Mastcam’s two cameras helps scientists determine from afar the composition of rocks by the wavelengths of light, or spectra, they reflect in different colors.

To do that, Mastcam relies on filters arranged on a wheel that rotates under each camera’s lens. Since Sept. 19, the left camera’s filter wheel has been stuck between filter positions, the effects of which can be seen on the mission’s raw, or unprocessed, images. The mission continues to gradually nudge the filter wheel back toward its standard setting.

If unable to nudge it back all the way, the mission would rely on the higher resolution 100 mm focal length right Mastcam as the primary color-imaging system. As a result, how the team scouts for science targets and rover routes would be affected: The right camera needs to take nine times more images than the left to cover the same area. The teams also would have a degraded ability to observe the detailed color spectra of rocks from afar.

Along with efforts to nudge the filter back, mission engineers continue to closely monitor the performance of the rover’s nuclear power source and expect it will provide enough energy to operate for many more years. They have also found ways to overcome challenges from wear on the rover’s drill system and robotic-arm joints. Software updates have fixed bugs and added new capabilities to Curiosity, too, making long drives easier for the rover and reducing wheel wear that comes from steering (an earlier addition of a traction-control algorithm also helps reduce wheel wear from driving over sharp rocks).

Meanwhile, the team is preparing for a break of several weeks in November. Mars is about to disappear behind the Sun, a phenomenon known as solar conjunction. Plasma from the Sun can interact with radio waves, potentially interfering with commands during this time. Engineers are leaving Curiosity with a to-do list from Nov. 6 to 28, after which period communications can safely resume.

More About the Mission

Curiosity was built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California. JPL leads the mission on behalf of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego built and operates Mastcam.

For more about Curiosity, visit:
http://mars.nasa.gov/msl
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/index.html

News Media Contacts

Andrew Good
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-2433
andrew.c.good@jpl.nasa.gov

Karen Fox / Alana Johnson
NASA Headquarters, Washington
301-286-6284 / 202-358-1501
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / alana.r.johnson@nasa.gov

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