Technicians guide the equipment that will house Gateway’s xenon and liquid fuel tanks in this photo from July 1, 2024. The tanks are part of Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element, which will make the lunar space station the most powerful solar electric spacecraft ever flown. Once fully assembled and launched to lunar orbit, the Power and Propulsion Element’s roll-out solar arrays will harness the Sun’s energy to energize xenon gas and produce the thrust to get Gateway to the Moon’s orbit where it will await the arrival of its first crew on the Artemis IV mission.
Expedition 71 Astronauts to Discuss Mission in NASA Welcome Home Event
Dec. 2, 2024
NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Mike Barratt, Jeanette Epps, and Tracy C. Dyson
NASA
RELEASE: J24-015
Expedition 71 Astronauts to Discuss Mission in NASA Welcome Home Event
Four NASA astronauts will participate in a welcome home ceremony at Space Center Houston after recently returning from a mission aboard the International Space Station.
NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Mike Barratt, Jeanette Epps, and Tracy C. Dyson will share highlights from their mission beginning at 6 p.m. CST Wednesday, Dec. 4, during a free, public event at NASA Johnson Space Center’s official visitor center. The crew will also recognize key contributors to mission success in an awards ceremony following thepresentation.
The astronauts will be available at 5 p.m. for media interviews before the event. Media may request an in-person interview no later than 5 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 3, by emailing Dana Davis at dana.l.davis@nasa.gov.
Expedition 71
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission launched to the space station in March 2024 as the eighth commercial crew rotation mission. The crew spent 235 days in space, traveled 100 million miles, and completed 3,760 orbits around the Earth, splashing down off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, on Oct. 25, 2024. This was the first spaceflight for Dominick and Epps and the third spaceflight for Barratt, who has logged 447 days in space over the course of his career. The crew also saw the arrival and departure of eight visiting vehicles during their mission.
Dyson flew with an international crew, launching aboard the Soyuz MS-25 in March 2024. The six-month research mission was the third spaceflight of her career, and her second long-duration spaceflight. Dyson’s third spaceflight covered 2,944 orbits of the Earth and a journey of 78 million miles as an Expedition 70/71 flight engineer. She has now logged a total of 373 days in space, including more than 23 hours in four spacewalks. Dyson and her crewmembers landed safely in Kazakhstan on Sept. 24, 2024.
While aboard the station, the Expedition 71 crew contributed to hundreds of technology demonstrations and experiments including the bioprinting of human tissues. These higher quality tissues printed in microgravity could help advance the production of organs and tissues for transplant and improve 3D printing of foods and medicines on future long-duration space missions. The crew also looked at neurological organoids, created with stem cells from patients to study neuroinflammation, a common feature of neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s disease. The organoids provide a platform to study these diseases and their treatments and could help address how extended spaceflight affects the brain.
NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover acquired this image following a successful 107-meter (about 351 feet) drive on sol 1332, Martian day 1,332 of the Mars 2020 mission. The rocks in the foreground are part of “Pico Turquino,” a large ridge exposed in the Jezero crater rim that the mission team plans on investigating up-close. The rover acquired this image of the area in front of it using its onboard Front Left Hazard Avoidance Camera A, on Nov. 18, 2024 at the local mean solar time of 12:43:14.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
Earth planning date: Monday, Nov. 18, 2024
Perseverance has been continuing its sightseeing tour of the Jezero crater rim, with this week’s travel itinerary including an up-close look at “Pico Turquino.” Here, the team hopes to investigate the history recorded in this approximately 200-meter-long region (about 656 feet) of exposed outcrop. Such rocks may reveal clues of ancient geologic processes including those that predate or are related to the violent impact that formed Jezero crater. Recently, the team has been studying a number of outcropping ridges during the rover’s ascent of the crater rim, with the goal of characterizing the compositional diversity and structure of these exposed rocks.
After paralleling Pico Turquino about 70 meters (about 230 feet) to the south last week, the team planned a close approach over the weekend that positioned the rover at the southwestern extent of the ridge. Prior to the 107-meter drive (about 351 feet) on sol 1332, the team planned two sols of targeted remote sensing with Mastcam-Z and SuperCam to investigate local regolith and conduct long distance imaging of a steep scarp and 20-meter (about 66 feet) diameter crater to the northwest. The successful approach drive on sol 1332 allowed the team to come into Monday’s planning with the focus of assessing outcrop amenable for proximity science and repositioning the rover for upcoming abrasion activities.
Following our abrasion activities at Pico Turquino, the rover will be hitting the road en route to its next science stop at “Witch Hazel Hill.” Orbital views of Witch Hazel Hill suggest the area may contain layered and light-toned bedrock that likely record important information of the planet’s ancient climate. Prior to arriving at Witch Hazel Hill, the rover plans to pass through a high point known as Lookout Hill that will afford the team incredible views looking back into the crater, as well as get a glimpse westward of terrain far beyond Jezero.
Written by Bradley Garczynski, Postdoctoral Scientist at Western Washington University
This month, Venus dazzles as the “Evening Star,” Jupiter reaches its brightest for the year, and the Geminid meteor shower peaks under challenging moonlit skies.
Skywatching Highlights
All Month – Planet Visibility:
Mercury: Visible very low in the southeast just before sunrise during the last half of the month.
Venus: Shines brightly as the “Evening Star” in the southwest after sunset, climbing higher each evening.
Mars: Brightens significantly during December, rising in the east-northeast and visible from late evening to early morning.
Jupiter: Reaches opposition on December 7, making it visible all night, rising in the east-northeast.
Saturn: Visible after sunset in the southern sky, shifting slightly westward as the month progresses.
December 3-5 – Venus and the Moon: Look southwest after sunset to see a beautiful pairing. On December 4, a slim crescent Moon will sit directly below Venus.
December 7 – Jupiter at Opposition: Jupiter will shine at its brightest for the year, rising in the east-northeast among Taurus’s stars. Best viewed through a telescope for details like the Galilean moons and atmospheric belts.
December 14 – Jupiter, the Moon, and Aldebaran: Look for Jupiter midway between the nearly full Moon and bright orange star Aldebaran in the evening sky.
December 17 – Mars and the Moon: Mars, glowing brightly in its approach to opposition, appears super close to the waning gibbous Moon.
All Month – Winter Triangle: Formed by Sirius, Procyon, and Betelgeuse, this asterism marks the arrival of winter skies and is a prominent feature throughout the season.
December 13-14 – Geminid Meteor Shower: The peak occurs under a nearly full Moon, reducing visibility, but bright meteors may still be spotted the week before.
December 21 – Winter Solstice: At 4:20 a.m. EST, the solstice marks the beginning of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and summer in the Southern Hemisphere.
Transcript
What’s Up for December?
Venus, Jupiter, and Mars shine brightly; the stars of winter and their pointy little friend; and “Meteors, meet the Moon.”
Sky chart showing the changing position of Venus after sunset during December.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
Starting off with the planets, Venus is hard to miss in the southwest after sunset – it’s that dazzling bright “evening star.” You’ll find it getting a bit higher in the sky each evening through the month. On December 4th, look for a slim crescent Moon hanging right below it, making for a great photo opportunity!
Sky chart showing the changing position of Venus after sunset during December.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
Saturn is visible toward the south beginning at nightfall. Look for it to track a bit farther to the west as the weeks go by. Meanwhile, Jupiter reaches opposition on December 7th, meaning it’s at its brightest for the year and visible all night long. You’ll find it rising in the east-northeast as darkness falls, among the stars of the constellation Taurus. Mid-month, around December 14th, watch for Jupiter sitting between the nearly full Moon and Taurus’s brightest star, orange-colored Aldebaran.
Next, Mars will also be putting on its own show, doubling its brightness during December as it heads toward its own opposition in January. Early in the month, it rises about four hours after dark, but by New Year’s Eve, it’s rising just about 90 minutes after sunset – always shining with its distinctive reddish hue. And on December 17th, you’ll find the Red Planet super close to the Moon, which will be just two days past its full phase.
The stars of winter are making their grand entrance in December. As evening falls, you’ll see the mighty hunter Orion rising in the east, with Taurus the bull above it, and the stars of the twins in Gemini to their left. These constellations host some wonderful sights – like the Crab Nebula and Pleiades star cluster in Taurus and the misty Orion Nebula, which hangs below Orion’s belt. If you look to the western sky soon after dark, you can still spot the three bright stars of the Summer Triangle getting quite low on the horizon. But as they depart, three bright stars of winter bring their own prominent triangular shape to mark the season.
Once you spot Orion’s distinctive belt of three stars, you’re well on your way to finding what we call the Winter Triangle. Just follow the belt stars to the left and slightly downward – they point right to Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. Then look upward and to the left of Sirius to spot Procyon, and back up toward Orion to find reddish Betelgeuse at its shoulder. These three bright stars form an equilateral triangle that’s visible throughout the season.
The Geminid meteor shower peaks after midnight in the early morning of December 14th, and they’re usually one of the best meteor showers of the year under good conditions. This year, the nearly full Moon will wash out the fainter meteors on the peak night. Still, the Geminids are known for bright meteors, and it’s common to spot their shooting stars up to a week before the peak. If you’re up before dawn that week, it’s worth looking up, just in case you spot a speck of dust from space streaking through the morning sky.
And here are the phases of the Moon for December.
The phases of the Moon for December 2024.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
Stay up to date on all of NASA’s missions exploring the solar system and beyond at NASA Science.
I’m Preston Dyches from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and that’s What’s Up for this month.
NASA to Cover its 31st SpaceX Resupply Mission Station Departure
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft departs the International Space Station as it orbits 264 miles above the south Pacific Ocean northeast of New Zealand.
Credit: NASA
NASA and its international partners are set to receive scientific research samples and hardware as a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft departs the International Space Station on Thursday, Dec. 5, for its return to Earth.
NASA’s live coverage of undocking and departure begins at 10:50 a.m. EST on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.
The Dragon spacecraft will undock from the forward port of the space station’s Harmony module at 11:05 a.m., and fire its thrusters to move a safe distance away from the station after receiving a command from ground controllers at SpaceX.
After re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, the spacecraft will splash down off the coast of Florida. NASA will not stream the splashdown and will post updates on the agency’s space station blog.
Filled with nearly 6,000 pounds of crew supplies, science investigations, and equipment, the spacecraft arrived to the orbiting laboratory Nov. 5 after it launched Nov. 4 on a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the agency’s SpaceX 31st commercial resupply services mission.
Dragon will carry back to Earth thousands of pounds of supplies and scientific experiments designed to take advantage of the space station’s microgravity environment. Splashing down off the coast of Florida enables quick transportation of the experiments to NASA’s Space Systems Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center, allowing researchers to collect data with minimal sample exposure to Earth’s gravity.
Scientific hardware and samples returning to Earth include GISMOS (Genes in Space Molecular Operations and Sequencing), which successfully conducted in-orbit sequencing of microbial DNA from the space station water system, and marks the first real look at the microbial population of the water system. In addition, SpaceTED (Space Tissue Equivalent Dosimeter) returns to Earth after collecting data on crew radiation exposure and characterizes the space radiation environment. The dosimeter is a student-developed technology demonstration and effectively operated for 11 months on station – six months longer than intended because of its success.
Additionally, two specimens printed with ESA’s (European Space Agency) Metal 3D Printer, will go to researchers for post-processing and analysis. Researchers will compare the specimens printed in microgravity with those printed on Earth. The goal is to demonstrate the capability to perform metal deposition, or the layering of metals, in 3D under sustained microgravity conditions and manufacture test specimens. Researchers aim to understand the performance and limitations of the chosen technology and become familiar with crewed and remote operations of the instrument onboard a space habitat.
Also returning on spacecraft is the International Space Art and Poetry Contest, which invited students and educators around the world to submit drawings, paintings, or poems. Winning art submissions were printed on station, photographed in the cupola, and will be returned to their creators on Earth. In addition, Plasmonic Bubbles researchers will observe high-speed video of bubble behavior in microgravity to understand fundamental processes that occur on a heated bubble surface. Results may improve understanding of how molecules are deposited on bubble surfaces and enhance detection methods for health care and environmental industries.
For more than two decades, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge, and making research breakthroughs that are not possible on Earth. The station is a critical testbed for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight and to expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit. As commercial companies focus on providing human space transportation services and destinations as part of a robust low Earth orbit economy, NASA is focusing more resources on deep space missions to the Moon as part of its Artemis campaign in preparation for future human missions to Mars.
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