Virginia Middle-Schooler Takes Grand Prize At NASA Langley Student Art Contest

We do the coolest tests here! Check out the Boeing Commercial Crew CST-100 Starliner drop:

Engineers from NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., and Boeing dropped a full-scale test article of the company’s CST-100 Starliner into Langley’s 20-foot-deep Hydro Impact Basin at the Landing and Impact Research Facility. Although the spacecraft is designed to land on land, Boeing is testing the Starliner’s systems in water to ensure astronaut safety in the unlikely event of an emergency. This test happened Feb. 9, 2016.

NASA’s Hubble Spots Possible Water Plumes Erupting on Jupiter's Moon Europa

This composite image shows suspected plumes of water vapor erupting at the 7 o’clock position off the limb of Jupiter’s moon Europa. The plumes, photographed by NASA’s Hubble’s Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, were seen in silhouette as the moon passed in front of Jupiter. Hubble’s ultraviolet sensitivity allowed for the features -- rising over 100 miles (160 kilometers) above Europa’s icy surface -- to be discerned. The water is believed to come from a subsurface ocean on Europa. The Hubble data were taken on January 26, 2014. The image of Europa, superimposed on the Hubble data, is assembled from data from the Galileo and Voyager missions.Credits: NASA/ESA/W. Sparks (STScI)/USGS Astrogeology Science Center

Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have imaged what may be water vapor plumes erupting off the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa. This finding bolsters other Hubble observations suggesting the icy moon erupts with high altitude water vapor plumes.

The observation increases the possibility that missions to Europa may be able to sample Europa’s ocean without having to drill through miles of ice.

“Europa’s ocean is considered to be one of the most promising places that could potentially harbor life in the solar system,” said Geoff Yoder, acting associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “These plumes, if they do indeed exist, may provide another way to sample Europa’s subsurface.”

The plumes are estimated to rise about 125 miles (200 kilometers) before, presumably, raining material back down onto Europa's surface. Europa has a huge global ocean containing twice as much water as Earth’s oceans, but it is protected by a layer of extremely cold and hard ice of unknown thickness. The plumes provide a tantalizing opportunity to gather samples originating from under the surface without having to land or drill through the ice.

The team, led by William Sparks of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore observed these finger-like projections while viewing Europa's limb as the moon passed in front of Jupiter.

The original goal of the team's observing proposal was to determine whether Europa has a thin, extended atmosphere, or exosphere. Using the same observing method that detects atmospheres around planets orbiting other stars, the team realized if there was water vapor venting from Europa’s surface, this observation would be an excellent way to see it.

"The atmosphere of an extrasolar planet blocks some of the starlight that is behind it," Sparks explained. "If there is a thin atmosphere around Europa, it has the potential to block some of the light of Jupiter, and we could see it as a silhouette. And so we were looking for absorption features around the limb of Europa as it transited the smooth face of Jupiter."

In 10 separate occurrences spanning 15 months, the team observed Europa passing in front of Jupiter. They saw what could be plumes erupting on three of these occasions.

This work provides supporting evidence for water plumes on Europa. In 2012, a team led by Lorenz Roth of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, detected evidence of water vapor erupting from the frigid south polar region of Europa and reaching more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) into space. Although both teams used Hubble's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph instrument, each used a totally independent method to arrive at the same conclusion.

"When we calculate in a completely different way the amount of material that would be needed to create these absorption features, it's pretty similar to what Roth and his team found," Sparks said. "The estimates for the mass are similar, the estimates for the height of the plumes are similar. The latitude of two of the plume candidates we see corresponds to their earlier work."

But as of yet, the two teams have not simultaneously detected the plumes using their independent techniques. Observations thus far have suggested the plumes could be highly variable, meaning that they may sporadically erupt for some time and then die down. For example, observations by Roth’s team within a week of one of the detections by Sparks’ team failed to detect any plumes.

If confirmed, Europa would be the second moon in the solar system known to have water vapor plumes. In 2005, NASA's Cassini orbiter detected jets of water vapor and dust spewing off the surface of Saturn's moon Enceladus.

Scientists may use the infrared vision of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, which is scheduled to launch in 2018, to confirm venting or plume activity on Europa. NASA also is formulating a mission to Europa with a payload that could confirm the presence of plumes and study them from close range during multiple flybys.

“Hubble’s unique capabilities enabled it to capture these plumes, once again demonstrating Hubble’s ability to make observations it was never designed to make,” said Paul Hertz, director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “This observation opens up a world of possibilities, and we look forward to future missions -- such as the James Webb Space Telescope -- to follow up on this exciting discovery.”

The work by Sparks and his colleagues will be published in the Sept. 29 issue of the Astrophysical Journal.

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (the European Space Agency.) NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. STScI, which is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy in Washington, conducts Hubble science operations.

For images and more information about Europa and Hubble, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/hubble & http://hubblesite.org/news/2016/33

Sean Potter / Laurie Cantillo Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1536 / 202-358-1077 sean.potter@nasa.gov / laura.l.cantillo@nasa.gov

Ann Jenkins / Ray Villard Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore 410-338-4488 / 410-338-4514 ​jenkins@stsci.edu / villard@stsci.edu

RELEASE 16-096

NASA Camera Shows Moon Crossing Face of Earth for 2nd Time in a Year

For only the second time in a year, a NASA camera aboard the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite captured a view of the moon as it moved in front of the sunlit side of Earth. 

The images were captured by NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC), a four-megapixel CCD camera and telescope on the DSCOVR satellite orbiting 1 million miles from Earth. From its position between the sun and Earth, DSCOVR conducts its primary mission of real-time solar wind monitoring for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The first image is from July 2016 and the second image (moon traveling diagonally Northeast in the image) is from July 2015

Credits: NASA

Voyager 2 Photograph of Jupiter

A photo of Jupiter. Took by Voyager with VGISS on July 02, 1979 at 06:01:35. Detail page on OPUS database.

Computational Facility Named After Langley "Human Computer" Katherine Johnson

A smiling Katherine Johnson returned Thursday to the NASA center where, for decades, she used her mathematical smarts to help shape history.

This time she was in the spotlight, not behind a desk making complex calculations and searching for the truth in numbers.

Katherine Johnson worked at NASA's Langley Research Center from 1953 to 1986. Since her retirement, she's been a strong advocate for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education.Credits: NASA/David C. Bowman

The mathematician and 97-year-old Newport News resident visited NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, to attend a ceremony where a $30 million, 40,000-square-foot Computational Research Facility was named in her honor.

As part of the event, Johnson also received a Silver Snoopy award from Leland Melvin, an astronaut and former NASA associate administrator for education. Often called the astronaut’s award, the Silver Snoopy goes to people who have made outstanding contributions to flight safety and mission success.

“I do thank you so much for your attention, for your kindness, but more than that, I’m so happy to see you giving more recognition to women for the work that they have done,” Johnson said. “I have always done my best … At the time it was just another day’s work.”

Johnson needn’t have been modest. She’s a Presidential Medal of Freedom winnerwhose sharp mind gave NASA an edge in mankind’s quest to explore space.

She first made her mark at a time when women and African-Americans were regularly marginalized.

Working at Langley from 1953 until her retirement in 1986, Johnson made a long list of critical contributions. She calculated the trajectory of the 1961 flight of Alan Shepard, the first American in space. Thursday’s ceremony was held on the 55th anniversary of that historic flight.

Johnson is also credited for verifying the calculations made by early electronic computers of John Glenn’s 1962 launch to orbit and the 1969 Apollo 11 trajectory to the moon.

Margot Lee Shetterly, author of a forthcoming book about Johnson and other women whose calculations were integral to America’s space program, gave the keynote address at Thursday’s event.

Her book, “Hidden Figures:  The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped NASA and the United States Win the Space Race,” is scheduled to be published in September by William Morrow.

Shetterly noted that Johnson eagerly credits others who share her passion for what’s now called STEM, short for science, technology, engineering and math.

In that spirit, Shetterly reviewed contributions of other notable NASA Langley women: Dorothy Vaughan, Margery Hannah and Christine Darden.

“This is one of the reasons why Mrs. Johnson’s story has captivated us,” Shetterly said. “She has such a towering talent but she has gone out of her way to recognize talent in other people.”

Hollywood is preparing to tell Johnson’s story. A film version of “Hidden Figures” starring Kirsten Dunst, Kevin Costner and Taraji P. Henson is now being produced by 20th Century Fox.

“I want to congratulate you, Mrs. Katherine Goble Johnson, Mrs. Queen Johnson, the brilliant mind, Mrs. Johnson, for the naming of the building, rightfully deserved,” said actress Henson, in a recorded video message played during the ceremony. Henson will portray Johnson in the film.

“You deserve it. They should name NASA after you! Thank you for your service.”

The Katherine G. Johnson Computational Research Facility under construction at NASA Langley is nearly one-fourth complete and is expected to open in 2017. The third new building in the center’s 20-year revitalization plan, it will allow the center to consolidate the majority of its data centers in one location.

Rep. Bobby Scott and Hampton Mayor George Wallace spoke at Thursday’s naming ceremony. Rep. Scott Rigell sent a representative who offered his congratulations. Sen. Tim Kaine sent a video greeting. A letter from NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden was read aloud.

“I am told you once remarked that, even though you grew up in the height of segregation, you did not have time to think about your place in history and that you never had a feeling of inferiority,” Bolden wrote. “Instead you considered yourself, as you described it, ‘as good as anybody, but no better.’

“The truth of the matter is that you are better. You are one of the greatest minds ever to grace our agency or our country and because of your mind, heart, and soul, my own granddaughters and young Americans like them can pursue their own dreams without a feeling of inferiority."

Rep. Scott said he's happy that Johnson's remarkable contributions are finally getting the exposure they deserve. He's looking forward to seeing them splashed across the big screen.

"I enjoy comedies and thrillers like anybody else," he said, "but Dr. Johnson's story is one that we ought to be telling our children."

See a video on Katherine Johnson's legacy.

See more photos from Thursday's event at a Flickr gallery.

NASA Crash-Test Dummies Make A Splash Landing

Engineers drop a NASA’s Orion Spacecraft test capsule with crash-test dummies inside into 20-foot-deep Hydro Impact Basin to simulate what the spacecraft may experience when splashing down in the Pacific Ocean after deep-space missions.

More: http://www.nasa.gov/feature/langley/nasa-crash-test-dummies-suit-up-for-action

The State of Our NASA is Strong

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“When you experience all of the work that is going on here at Langley today, tell people how you feel.” – Charles Bolden, Jr. (Maj. Gen. USMC-Ret), NASA Administrator

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On February 9, 2016 I was offered the opportunity to tour NASA’s Langley Research Center (LRC) facilities and attend the State of NASA Address as a social media press correspondent with NASA Social.

Keep reading

Neil Armstrong at the Lunar Landing Research Facility at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA

February 12, 1969 (5 months, 4 days before the launch of the Apollo 11 Spacecraft)

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Nebula Images: http://nebulaimages.com/

Astronomy articles: http://astronomyisawesome.com/