Centaurus A

Auroras on Jupiter

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SpaceX Lands the Falcon9 First Stage - A revolution in Rocket Science and Engineering

Today, at 8:33, Spacex made history. They landed the first stage of their Falcon9 rocket after having it successfully deploy a second stage into low earth orbit.

The Video is here:

Unlike other rocket companies, Spacex in not making small hops - they did that 2 years ago with their grasshopper rocket. In fact, this is how they tested the initial avionics systems that would be able to land the rocket in a stable position autonomously. Here is some footage:

Unlike the companies that make these hops, Spacex has to use this stage to help get payloads into low earth orbit… and then recover it! This is incredibly difficult and requires an advanced retro-thrusting maneuver that has never been successful - until now! The diagram below shows this thrusting maneuver, which happens shortly after the second stage has decoupled and ignited.

Spacex claims that this is similar to throwing a pencil over the Empire State Building, then having it flip perfectly, then haveing it fall into a shoebox… easy enough right?

Only, in real life SpaceX isn’t shooting a pencil… they are shooting a rocket! This is the pad that the now famous falcon9 rocket landed on:

Now you might ask, why does this matter? This means space will become cheaper! We can already build satellites that are less than $10,000, as a matter of fact I’m building a small satellite with a team right now! As it currently stands, space travel is too expensive for creative people to take risks. Now, thanks to SpaceX, we may be mining or visiting asteroids, visiting the moon, visiting mars, or doing something crazier - and we may be doing this very soon! The Falcon9 rocket costs $54 million to build but only $200,000 to refuel… let’s put this in perspective… That’s the same amount that it costs to refuel a Boeing 747 (which is the airplane that consumers use to fly around the world). This means that space travel could be as cheap as air travel very soon! Way to go SpaceX!

If you want to watch the full launch and landing video check it out here (this may be moved in the future): http://www.spacex.com/webcast/

Credit: SpaceX

Thanksgiving...in Space

Since 2000, humans have continuously lived and worked on the International Space Station. That means plenty of crew members have celebrated holidays off the Earth.

Although they’re observing the same holidays, they do so in a slightly different way because of the unique environment 250 miles above the Earth.

Consider the differences of living on Earth and in space…

Food scientists must develop foods that will be easier to handle and consume in an environment without gravity. The food must not require refrigeration and also provide the nutrition humans need to remain healthy.

Freeze drying food allows it to remain stable at room temperature, while also significantly reducing its weight.

Did you know that all the food sent to the space station is precooked? Sending precooked food means that it requires no refrigeration and is either ready to eat or can be prepared by simply adding water or by heating. 

The only exception are the fruit and vegetables stowed in the fresh food locker. The food comes in either freeze-dried containers or thermostabilized pouches. If freeze-dried in a vacuum sealed package, the astronauts have a rehydration system in-flight, which they use restore moisture in their food.  If thermostabilized, the packaging is designed to preserve the food similar to canned products, but instead in a flexible, multi-layered pouch.

So what will the space station crew eat this year (2016) for Thanksgiving?

Turkey

Cherry/Blueberry Cobbler

Candied Yams

Rehydratable Cornbread Dressing

Rehydratable Green Beans and Mushrooms

Rehydratable Mashed Potatoes

What are you bringing to Thanksgiving on Earth this year? Treat your family and friends astronaut-style with this cornbread dressing recipe straight out of our Space Food Systems Laboratory…no freeze drying required!

For spaceflight preparation:

Baked dressing is transferred to metal tray and freeze-dried accordingly. One serving of cornbread dressing shall weigh approximately 145 g prior to freeze-drying and 50 g after freeze-drying.

Learn more about our Food Systems Laboratory in this Facebook Live video: https://www.facebook.com/ISS/videos/1359709837395277/

Happy Thanksgiving!

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

Why Sequencing DNA in Space is a Big Deal

… And How You Can Talk to the Scientists Who Made It Happen

Less than one month ago, DNA had never been sequenced in space. As of today, more than one billion base pairs of DNA have been sequenced aboard the International Space Station, Earth’s only orbiting laboratory. The ability to sequence the DNA of living organisms in space opens a whole new world of scientific and medical possibilities. Scientists consider it a game changer. 

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, who has a background in genomics, conducted the sequencing on the space station as part of the Biomolecule Sequencer investigation. A small, commercial, off-the-shelf device called MinION (min-EYE-ON), manufactured by Oxford Nanopore Technologies in the UK, was used to sequence the DNA of bacteria, a virus and rodents. Human DNA was not sequenced, and there are no immediate plans to sequence human DNA in space. 

(Image Credit: Oxford Nanopore Technologies)

The MinION is about the size of a candy bar, and plugs into a laptop or tablet via USB connection, which also provides power to the device. The tiny, plug and play sequencer is diminutive compared to the large microwave-sized sequencers used on Earth, and uses much less power. Unlike other terrestrial instruments whose sequencing run times can take days, this device’s data is available in near real time; analysis can begin within 10-15 minutes from the application of the sample.

Having real-time analysis capabilities aboard the space station could allow crews to identify microbes, diagnose infectious disease and collect genomic and genetic data concerning crew health, without having to wait long periods of time to return samples to Earth and await ground-based analysis.

The first DNA sequencing was conducted on Aug. 26, and on Sept. 14, Rubins and the team of scientists back at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston hit the one-billionth-base-pairs-of-DNA-sequenced mark.

Have more questions about how the Biomolecule Sequencer works, or how it could benefit Earth or further space exploration? Ask the team of scientists behind the investigation, who will be  available for questions during a Reddit Ask Me Anything on /r/science on Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 2 p.m. EDT. 

The participants are:

Dr. Aaron Burton, NASA Johnson Space Center, Planetary Scientist and Principal Investigator

Dr. Sarah Castro-Wallace, NASA Johnson Space Center, Microbiologist and Project Manager

Dr. David J. Smith, NASA Ames Research Center, Microbiologist

Dr. Mark Lupisella, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Systems Engineer

Dr. Jason P. Dworkin, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Astrobiologist

Dr. Christopher E. Mason, Weill Cornell Medicine Dept. of Physiology and Biophysics, Associate Professor

Commercial crew companies emphasize safety over schedule - SpaceNews.com

Two companies with NASA commercial crew contracts say they’re committed to maintaining their development schedules, but not at the expense of safety.

Better safe than sorry!

When the bass drops

Gimme fuel

Pepacton Reservoir is one of the darkest areas of the tri-state area. By contrast the city is serves is one of the brightest; New York.

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Let’s All Look at the Moon!

Celebrating Earth’s Nearest Neighbor

Humanity has observed the nighttime sky for millennia, eyeing celestial bodies with wonder. Until the last 50 years or so, telescopes provided our best views of the sky at night. That is, until the Ranger mission broadcast the craft’s descent onto the moon live on March 24, 1965.

+Learn more about Ranger 9

+Watch the video

Our fascination with the moon continues, and since 2010 the organizers of International Observe the Moon Night (InOMN) have turned it into a worldwide, public celebration of lunar science and exploration held annually. One day each year, they invite everyone, everywhere to learn about the moon and to celebrate the cultural and personal connections. We’ll all invited and anyone can host an InOMN event. 

+Locations of InOMN Events Around the World

+ Visit International Observe the Moon Night’s site

And, we’re doing our part to let the public know more about our moon. This month’s “What’s up” video is very moon-centric.

+View JPL’s What’s Up for October

Our Night Sky Network at JPL, which bills itself as “astronomy clubs bringing the wonders of the universe to the public,” has a list of astronomy clubs and events across by area, as well as a monthly calendar.

+Learn more 

Organizations in our Museum Alliance across the country are also hosting activities. The Museum Alliance was created to be the “front door” to NASA for the world of informal education. The Alliance is a NASA-centric STEAM "community of practice" that includes informal educational organizations, namely, all those outside of the traditional K-12 school system. Our STEAM–Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math–communities include more than 1,400 professionals at more than 700 U.S. museums, science centers, planetariums, NASA Visitor Centers, Challenger Centers, observatories, parks, libraries, camps, and youth-serving organizations as partners in the Museum Alliance.  

+Learn more about the Museum Alliance

All us Earth-dwellers can tour the moon via our Moon Tours app that lets you explore the lunar surface from your mobile device. The app includes imagery from lunar orbiters and Apollo missions and is a free download for iOS and Android.

+iOS

+Android

+Check out a full range of NASA apps

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com