Merry Christmas And A Happy CRS-21 Launch!!! 🎄 🚀 #nasasocial #nasa #iss #internationalspacestation

Spent some time yesterday checking out Atlantis at KSC. #atlantis #spaceshuttleatlantis #nasa #solarsystemambassador (at NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center) https://www.instagram.com/p/CP6dFLNjlTO/?utm_medium=tumblr

Pleiades

We Found the Perfect Spot to Land our Moon Rover

After an extensive selection process, we chose the mountainous area west of Nobile Crater at the Moon’s South Pole as the landing site for our first-ever robotic Moon rover. The Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, will explore the Moon’s surface and subsurface in search of water and other resources beginning in late 2023. Thanks to past missions, such as satellites orbiting the Moon or impacting its surface, we know there is ice at the Moon’s poles. But how much? And where did it come from? VIPER aims to answer these questions and more by venturing into shadowed craters and visiting other areas of scientific interest over its 100-day mission. The findings will inform future landing sites under the Artemis program and help pave the way toward establishing a long-term human presence on the Moon. Here are five things to know:

The landing site is located just outside the western rim of Nobile Crater at the Moon’s South Pole.

The region has suitable lighting and terrain for our solar-powered rover to navigate.

VIPER will travel up to 15 miles in search of water and other resources.

Its traverse will change depending on what it finds, but it could look like this.

Drivers on Earth will tell the rover where to explore during its 100-day mission.

The VIPER mission is managed by our Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley. The approximately 1,000-pound rover will be delivered to the Moon by a commercial vendor as part of our Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, delivering science and technology payloads to and near the Moon.

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After several months, my SECOND “#1 NEW RELEASE”, is finally available in print! I was almost in tears when I took the pic of my daughter reading it. Thanks to Traci for the support! “Hello Luna, It’s Me Again” is an imaginary conversation with the Moon and a collection of lunar images from my own telescope. If you’re interested, it’s available on Amazon. Much love, and Thank You! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09M577SW8/ . . . . #celestrontelescope #celestron127slt #astrophotography #moon #luna #books https://www.instagram.com/p/CWj4otLs41e/?utm_medium=tumblr

Exciting weekend! Got signed off on a certification and SpaceX gave me a new hat! #nasa #spacex #space #solarsystemambassador https://www.instagram.com/p/CW3WpnslSyR/?utm_medium=tumblr

What’s Up October 2017

What’s Up For October? 

Planet Pairs, Stellar Superstars, Observe The Moon Night!!

This month, catch planet pairs, our moon near red stars, an asteroid, meteors and International Observe the Moon Night!

You can’t miss bright Venus in the predawn sky. Look for fainter Mars below Venus on the 1st, really close on the 5th, and above Venus after that.

Midmonth, the moon is visible near Regulus, the white starry heart of the constellation Leo.

In the October 8-11 predawn sky watch the moon glide near the Pleiades star cluster and pass near the red stars Aldebaran in the constellation Taurus and Betelgeuse in Orion.

After dusk in the early part of the month look for Saturn in the southwest sky above another red star: Antares in Scorpius. Later in the month, find the moon above Antares October 22 and 23.

Saturn will be above the moon on the 23rd and below it on the 24th.

Uranus reach opposition on October 19th. It’s visible all night long and its blue-green color is unmistakeable. It may be bright enough to see with your naked eye–and for sure in binoculars.

The Orionids peak on October 20–a dark, moonless night. Look near Orion’s club in the hours before dawn and you may see up to 10 to 15 meteors per hour.

Use binoculars to look for bright asteroid 7 Iris in the constellation Aries. Newbies to astronomy should be able to spot this magnitude 6.9 asteroid - even from the city. 

Look later in the month and sketch its positions a day or two apart–to see it move.

Finally, celebrate International Observe the Moon Night on October 28 with your local astronomy club, Solar System Ambassador, museum, or planetarium. The first quarter moon that night will display some great features!

Watch the full What’s Up for October Video: 

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So excited for Ingenuity’s first flight on Mars!!! Here’s my Ingenuity poster I designed to hand out at my daughter’s school. . . . #mars #ingenuity #perseverance #mars2020 #nasa #jpl #solarsystemambassador https://www.instagram.com/p/CNSvhdUDVyC/?igshid=n53zitpqd3rz

Ascent Abort-2 crew module arrives in Houston in Orion’s March newsletter: http://bit.ly/OrionMar18

Getting ready for the launch of Boeing’s Starliner to the ISS! #boeing #starliner #boeingstarliner #nasa #solarsystemambassador https://www.instagram.com/p/CR2yJ7TDAIj/?utm_medium=tumblr

I had a wonderful time talking to a group of kids and parents the other night. We talked about NASA, Space Science, and Women In STEM. #nasa #daisyscouts #girlscouts #solarsystemambassador https://www.instagram.com/p/CbS0W5SuIxG/?utm_medium=tumblr