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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
April 4, 2024
Comet Pons-Brooks at Night
In dark evening skies over June Lake, northern hemisphere, planet Earth, Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks stood just above the western horizon on March 30. Its twisted turbulent ion tail and diffuse greenish coma are captured in this two degree wide telescopic field of view along with bright yellowish star Hamal also known as Alpha Arietis. Now Pons-Brooks has moved out of the northern night though, approaching perihelion on April 21. On April 8 you might still spot the comet in daytime skies. But to do it, you will have to stand in the path of totality and look away from the spectacle of an alluring solar corona and totally eclipsed Sun.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html?
‘Believed to be a serial rapist:’ NASA employee charged with 6 sexual assaults, officials seek potential victims
Updated: April 3, 2024 at 10:39 PM
HOUSTON – A NASA employee has been charged with six different sexual assaults and authorities believe there may be more victims out there.
Eric Sim, 37, is out of jail on a $700,000 bond. His bond conditions are very strict, according to officials. He is on 24-hour house arrest and his electronic devices are being monitored.
“His predatory behavior with the victims in these cases, along with his NASA credentials frequently mentioned to gain credibility with his victims, and his international travel. All are clues that could indicate further victims who are out there,” said Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg.
Officials say the six cases for which Sim is charged for occurred during a time frame from 2019 to 2022. The alleged assaults happened at Sim’s townhouse east of downtown Houston, one of them possibly while intoxicated.
‘Potential victims’ rescued from SE Houston home during raid, 4 arrested
Authorities say Sim used dating apps to communicate with multiple people at the same time. He portrayed himself as someone who wanted a committed relationship before he ultimately sexually assaulted the victims.
The apps Sim used includes Hinge, East Meets East, and OkCupid, according to court documents. The women allege after a couple dates, Sim pinned them down and violently or forcibly assaulted them without their consent.
Because Sim frequently traveled, authorities believe there may be more victims out there, locally, nationally, and internationally. Investigators say Sim’s travels stretched to Japan, Canada, the U.K. and beyond.
“The nature of these offenses is so personal and so predatory that we felt it was important that we tell the public and ask the public to take a look, a long hard look at Mr. Sim and let us know if you not just have been in contact, you may have been victimized by him,” Ogg said.
NASA released a statement in response to questions from KPRC 2 about Sim:
NASA’s security team cooperated with local law enforcement agencies on Thursday, Feb. 29, when they arrested an employee at Johnson Space Center in Houston. However, it is not appropriate for NASA to comment on ongoing investigations. NASA will take any and all appropriate personnel action based on our own investigation as well as facts shared with us from local investigative and prosecutorial organizations. For any additional information, please contact local authorities.
Sim is also known for being a star in a viral 2012 NASA ‘Gangnam Style’ parody video. KPRC 2 reached out to Sim’s defense attorney, Neal Davis, and he provided this response:
“Eric Sim has pleaded not guilty. He had consensual relations with women he met on online dating sites and unfortunately a few of them have made false allegations. The relationships didn’t turn out the way the complainants hoped they would, and we look forward to presenting the whole truth to a jury.”
https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2024/04/03/believed-to-be-a-serial-rapist-nasa-employee-charged-with-6-sexual-assaults-officials-seek-potential-victims/
Russia Stunned By NASA’s Role In Ukraine War; Claims Tech From Mars Mission Found In Ukrainian UAVs
April 3, 2024
Dmitry Kuzyakin, the general director of the Center for Development of Integrated Unmanned Solutions, disclosed the NASA components to Russian media, revealing a connection between Ukrainian drones and NASA’s cutting-edge technology.
The Center for Development of Integrated Unmanned Solutions specializes in various facets of drone technology, encompassing production, training, and piloting of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Kuzyakin revealed that during their reverse engineering of captured FPV drones, they stumbled upon batteries strikingly similar to those utilized by NASA in their Mars missions.
“It seems that Ukraine assembled FPV drones with its US ‘partners’, and these batteries were installed to use the drones in winter with severe negative temperatures,” Kuzyakin added.
However, he noted the exorbitant costs associated with using such batteries in makeshift devices. This indicates that this choice may not be the most economical.
Further, Russian experts also identified aluminum alloys resembling those utilized in the US space program in the captured Ukrainian drones.
Kuzyakin expressed his surprise regarding the presence of such specialized materials in ordinary drones and questioned, “Why does an FPV drone need such aluminum?”
This has raised complex questions about the origins of drones and the extent of technological collaboration between Ukraine and its international partners. On the other hand, the Ukrainian media largely dismissed these claims, highlighting that the absence of supporting evidence.
Russia Extracts Valuable Intelligence From Drones
The Director General further disclosed that his department frequently received captured UAVs from the special operation zone, which contained valuable material for analysis.
Despite the seemingly incongruous material found in the Ukrainian drones, Kuzyakin emphasized the discovery’s value for Russian engineers.
He noted that the information gleaned from these drones could yield valuable insights and data. This suggests that the discovery could potentially offer technological advantages to Russia’s unmanned aerial capabilities.
Moscow has undertaken a comprehensive examination of various captured Ukrainian weapon systems with the aim of reverse engineering them.
As early as November 2023, reports surfaced indicating Russia’s efforts to reverse-engineer the Ukrainian SeaBaby uncrewed surface vessel (USV) for potential use against Ukraine.
The SeaBaby USVs, which have been employed in successful attacks on targets such as the Crimean Bridge, the Russian landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak, and a SIG tanker, were originally developed by the Security Service of Ukraine.
During this period, Russian efforts reportedly resulted in the assembly of a “relatively functional” model of the Ukrainian SeaBaby, crafted from the remnants of several USVs recovered from attack sites.
This weapon system was then delivered to the 388th Naval Special Reconnaissance Point of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.
Preceding these developments, in September 2023, the Russian company Spectrum announced the initiation of training sessions for students at the local Novosibirsk Aviation Technical College. The sessions focused on weapon reverse engineering, a process centered around replicating existing technology.
The company stated that they were addressing the need to cultivate highly skilled domestic specialists in additive technologies by providing practical training on contemporary tasks.
Western analysts suggested that the necessity for reverse engineering captured weapons arises from the recognition among Russian developers of the limited prospects for the industry due to sanctions and isolation.
Consequently, replication emerges as the most viable avenue forward. Countries like Iran and North Korea actively pursue this approach.
Conversely, Ukraine has also followed a comparable trajectory, which involves cloning Russia’s Lancet drone and commencing mass production.
The Lancet, a 40-kilometer-range kamikaze drone, is manufactured by ZALA Aero Group, a subsidiary of the Russian arms giant Kalashnikov Concern.
Since its widespread deployment by Russia on the battlefield in late 2022, the Lancet has emerged as one of Russia’s most effective weapons against high-value targets situated far behind the front lines.
Further, reports suggest that Ukraine has supplied material from downed fighter jets, including the Su-35, to the USA to decode and formulate strategies against Russian Air Force assets.
In a similar line, last year, the British Chief of Staff informed the media that his nation was analyzing the Russian armored vehicles seized in Ukraine to devise appropriate countermeasures.
https://www.eurasiantimes.com/russia-stunned-by-nasas-role-in-ukraine-war-claims/
The Marshall Star for April 3, 2024
CONTENTS
Huntsville, Marshall Preparing to Celebrate Total Solar Eclipse
Hi-C Rocket Experiment Could Provide New Look at Solar Flares
‘Hooray for SLS!’ Children’s Book Launches on NASA.gov
I Am Artemis: Mat Bevill
NASA Names Finalists to Help Deal with Dust in Human Lander Challenge
Chandra: Stunning Echo of 800-year-old Explosion
Europa Clipper Survives and Thrives in ‘Outer Space’ on Earth
NASA Sets Coverage for Astronaut Loral O’Hara, Crewmates Return
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/marshall/the-marshall-star-for-april-3-2024/
NASA Selects Companies to Advance Moon Mobility for Artemis Missions
APR 03, 2024
NASA has selected Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, and Venturi Astrolab to advance capabilities for a lunar terrain vehicle (LTV) that Artemis astronauts will use to travel around the lunar surface, conducting scientific research during the agency’s Artemis campaign at the Moon and preparing for human missions to Mars.
The awards leverage NASA’s expertise in developing and operating rovers to build commercial capabilities that support scientific discovery and long-term human exploration on the Moon. NASA intends to begin using the LTV for crewed operations during Artemis V.
“We look forward to the development of the Artemis generation lunar exploration vehicle to help us advance what we learn at the Moon,” said Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “This vehicle will greatly increase our astronauts’ ability to explore and conduct science on the lunar surface while also serving as a science platform between crewed missions.”
NASA will acquire the LTV as a service from industry. The indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, milestone-based Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services contract with firm-fixed-price task orders has a combined maximum potential value of $4.6 billion for all awards.
Each provider will begin with a feasibility task order, which will be a year-long special study to develop a system that meets NASA’s requirements through the preliminary design maturity project phase. The agency will issue a subsequent request for task order proposal to eligible provider(s) for a demonstration mission to continue developing the LTV, deliver it to the surface of the Moon, and validate its performance and safety ahead of Artemis V. NASA anticipates making an award to only one provider for the demonstration. NASA will issue additional task orders to provide unpressurized rover capabilities for the agency’s moonwalking and scientific exploration needs through 2039.
The LTV will be able to handle the extreme conditions at the Moon’s South Pole and will feature advanced technologies for power management, autonomous driving, and state of the art communications and navigation systems. Crews will use the LTV to explore, transport scientific equipment, and collect samples of the lunar surface, much farther than they could on foot, enabling increased science returns.
Between Artemis missions, when crews are not on the Moon, the LTV will operate remotely to support NASA’s scientific objectives as needed. Outside those times, the provider will have the ability to use their LTV for commercial lunar surface activities unrelated to NASA missions.
“We will use the LTV to travel to locations we might not otherwise be able to reach on foot, increasing our ability to explore and make new scientific discoveries,” said Jacob Bleacher, chief exploration scientist in the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “With the Artemis crewed missions, and during remote operations when there is not a crew on the surface, we are enabling science and discovery on the Moon year around.”
NASA provided technical requirements, capabilities, and safety standards needed for LTV development and operations, and the selected companies have agreed to meet the key agency requirements. The contract request for proposal required each provider to propose a solution to provide end-to-end services, including LTV development, delivery to the Moon, and execution of operations on the lunar surface.
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-selects-companies-to-advance-moon-mobility-for-artemis-missions/
NASA's Webb Probes an Extreme Starburst Galaxy
April 03, 2024 10:00AM (EDT)
Summary
Amid a site teeming with new and young stars lies an intricate substructure.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has set its sights on the starburst galaxy Messier 82 (M82), a small but mighty environment that features rapid star formation. By looking closer with Webb’s sensitive infrared capabilities, a team of scientists is getting to the very core of the galaxy: gaining a better understanding of how it is forming stars, and how this extreme activity is affecting the galaxy as a whole.
Full Article
A team of astronomers has used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to survey the starburst galaxy Messier 82 (M82). Located 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major, this galaxy is relatively compact in size but hosts a frenzy of star formation activity. For comparison, M82 is sprouting new stars 10 times faster than the Milky Way galaxy.
Led by Alberto Bolatto at the University of Maryland, College Park, the team directed Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument toward the starburst galaxy’s center, attaining a closer look at the physical conditions that foster the formation of new stars.
“M82 has garnered a variety of observations over the years because it can be considered as the prototypical starburst galaxy,” said Bolatto, lead author of the study. “Both NASA’s Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes have observed this target. With Webb’s size and resolution, we can look at this star-forming galaxy and see all of this beautiful, new detail.”
A Vibrant Community of Stars
Star formation continues to maintain a sense of mystery because it is shrouded by curtains of dust and gas, creating an obstacle in observing this process. Fortunately, Webb’s ability to peer in the infrared is an asset in navigating these murky conditions. Additionally, these NIRCam images of the very center of the starburst were obtained using an instrument mode that prevented the very bright source from overwhelming the detector.
While dark brown tendrils of heavy dust are threaded throughout M82’s glowing white core even in this infrared view, Webb’s NIRCam has revealed a level of detail that has historically been obscured. Looking closer toward the center, small specks depicted in green denote concentrated areas of iron, most of which are supernova remnants. Small patches that appear red signify regions where molecular hydrogen is being lit up by a nearby young star’s radiation.
“This image shows the power of Webb,” said Rebecca Levy, second author of the study at the University of Arizona in Tucson. “Every single white dot in this image is either a star or a star cluster. We can start to distinguish all of these tiny point sources, which enables us to acquire an accurate count of all the star clusters in this galaxy.”
Finding Structure in Lively Conditions
Looking at M82 in slightly longer infrared wavelengths, clumpy tendrils represented in red can be seen extending above and below the galaxy’s plane. These gaseous streamers are a galactic wind rushing out from the core of the starburst.
One area of focus for this research team was understanding how this galactic wind, which is caused by the rapid rate of star formation and subsequent supernovae, is being launched and influencing its surrounding environment. By resolving a central section of M82, scientists could examine where the wind originates, and gain insight on how hot and cold components interact within the wind.
Webb’s NIRCam instrument was well-suited to trace the structure of the galactic wind via emission from sooty chemical molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). PAHs can be considered as very small dust grains that survive in cooler temperatures but are destroyed in hot conditions.
Much to the team’s surprise, Webb’s view of the PAH emission highlights the galactic wind’s fine structure – an aspect previously unknown. Depicted as red filaments, the emission extends away from the central region where the heart of star formation is located. Another unanticipated find was the similar structure between the PAH emission and that of hot, ionized gas.
“It was unexpected to see the PAH emission resemble ionized gas,” said Bolatto. “PAHs are not supposed to live very long when exposed to such a strong radiation field, so perhaps they are being replenished all the time. It challenges our theories and shows us that further investigation is required.”
https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2024/news-2024-109
These 15 solar eclipse beers were brewed to sip in the path of totality
April 4, 2024
If you're going to watch the total solar eclipse on April 8, you've probably done some rabbit-hole research about solar eclipse glasses. In fact, maybe that research extended to the path of totality itself as you tried finding your ideal vantage point under the sky. If you're anything like me, perhaps you've also been psyching yourself out by considering how this event will be a pretty existential one. A total eclipse of the sun will force us to remember that the sun is indeed a star hanging in our sky, and that the moon and Earth are two accidental orbs stuck in a perpetual waltz around it. What a warm, and unsettling, concept to consider.
Either way, when the big day finally arrives, I personally would not be opposed to settling in with a drink — a bubbly little bevvy to toast the sun, the moon and my extensive solar eclipse research. Thus, I have some good news.
Brilliantly, it would appear that our solar eclipse dreams may not need to pause while we search for some amber-hued elixirs. A bunch of breweries along the path of totality are offering limited-edition, solar-eclipse-inspired beers! A lot of this is thanks to the Simons Foundation, which reached out to a variety of beer companies along the path of totality and asked if they'd be interested in creating some totality brews.
So, I decided to write to some of these breweries. I really wanted to know what it means for a brew to have a solar eclipse "theme." Is it just the name? Are there moon-dust-derived hops? (No.) Is there anything poetic to think about while drinking these brews? As I'm sure you've gathered by now, that last bit was most important to me.
Quite a few of these breweries did respond back, and some even sent me samples to try — you can watch me do that here — but all in all, here's what I found out. And yes, you can also just use this as a database to learn where to get a cool eclipse beer if you're headed to the path of totality on April 8. I hope you are.
I'd also like to point out that this isn't an exhaustive list. If you're going to the path, chances are there's a brewery near you with a solar eclipse beer waiting. Let us begin.
Cont.
https://www.space.com/total-solar-eclipse-april-8-breweries-beer-path-totality
Mysterious light show over California was Chinese space junk falling to earth
Updated April 3, 2024, 9:35 p.m. ET
Mysterious streaks of light spotted over California were caused by Chinese space junk plummeting back to Earth, experts said.
Residents from Sacramento to San Diego were dazzled by the light show around 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning. While speculation ranged from a meteor shower to UFOs, it was ultimately determined that it was nothing more than the remnants of a Chinese spacecraft re-entering the atmosphere.
The heap of space debris was the orbital module of China’s Shenzhou 15 spacecraft, astrophysicist and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell confirmed in a social media post.
The Shenzhou 15 has been floating in orbit for more than a year after launching three astronauts to China’s Tiangong space station in Nov. 2022 for a six-month mission, according to Space.com.
Videos obtained by ABC7 showed several fireballs in long streaks of light up the night sky.
The Shenzhou orbital craft, which weighs some 3,300 pounds, provides extra room for astronauts in space, according to Space.com.
It’s not designed to return to Earth safely after its mission The Shenzhou reentry module is built to do that with astronauts on board, the outlet reported.
The module had been predicted to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere early Tuesday morning, according to ABC7.
Many who saw the spectacle initally believed it may have been a part of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, which had launched 22 Starlink satellites from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara about six hours earlier.
https://nypost.com/2024/04/03/us-news/mysterious-light-show-over-california-was-chinese-space-junk-falling-to-earth/
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/04/03/air-force-proposes-bypassing-governors-7-states-move-guard-units-space-force.html
Air Force Proposes Bypassing Governors in 7 States to Move Guard Units into Space Force
April 03, 2024 at 5:56pm ET
Air Force officials have submitted a legislative proposal to Congress that would sidestep governors in seven states and move Air National Guard units with space missions into the Space Force, angering National Guard supporters.
The National Guard Association of the United States, a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying organization that goes by NGAUS, said in a statement to Military.com that draft legislation approved March 15 by Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall seeks to "bypass the long-standing requirement in federal law for the Pentagon to obtain a governor's consent before transferring a National Guard unit to another branch of the military."
Any proposed legislation would ultimately need to be approved by Congress. The Air Force did not directly comment on the proposal prior to publication. Currently, there are approximately 1,000 Air National Guardsmen across 14 units operating space-related missions in Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, New York and Ohio, according to the association.
The draft legislative proposal submitted to Congress, which was reviewed by Military.com, is titled "Transfer To The Space Force of covered space functions of the Air National Guard of the United States" would "change the status of the unit from a unit of the Air National Guard of the United States to a unit of the United States Space Force; deactivate the unit; or assign the unit a new Federal mission," the text reads.
National Guard Association officials said the new proposal was submitted to Congress with the hopes of it being included in the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, which will be crafted by the House and Senate in the coming months. The proposal seeks to waive section 104 of Title 32, as well as section 18238 of Title 10 of the U.S. Code.
Those laws state, respectively, that "no change in the branch, organization or allotment of a unit located entirely within a state may be made without the approval of its governor" and that National Guard units may "not be relocated or withdrawn under this chapter without the consent of the governor of the state."
"This proposal completely ignores the fact that these people took an oath to serve in that state under that governor until mobilized into federal service," retired Maj. Gen. Francis McGinn, NGAUS president, told Military.com in an interview Wednesday. "It bypasses the [say] of the governors. To me, that's pretty telling what they're trying to do."
Since the creation of the Space Force in 2019, National Guard Association lobbyists and Department of the Air Force officials have been at odds on what to do with the part-time Air National Guardsmen who have performed space missions for nearly three decades.
State governors and National Guard Association officials have advocated for the creation of a Space National Guard. Officials with the Department of the Air Force, which includes the Space Force, and the White House have argued against it. They want to include those Air National Guardsmen in the Space Force's new part-time active-duty service model, which was approved in the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act.
On Wednesday, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis publicized a letter he wrote to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin criticizing the proposed Air Force plan.
"I will continue to oppose any involuntary removals of Colorado Air National Guard space units and personnel as well as any reductions to the Colorado National Guard's force structure," Polis wrote. "This direct override of gubernatorial authority to exercise control over the units that are permanently based or removed from their respective states flies in the face of over 120 years of military tradition, organizational structure and efficacy, and precedent."
Department of the Air Force officials as well as a spokesman for Kendall did not provide a statement on the proposal or the Guard association's position by publication time.
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In December, the new Space Force Personnel Management Act was passed as part of the annual defense policy bill, and it offered active-duty Guardians and Air Force reservists, not Air National Guardsmen, working on space-related missions the option to serve either full time or part time.
Military.com reported last week that Gen. Chance Saltzman, the chief of space operations for the Space Force, told Guardians in a memo that he hopes to start transferring over full-time reservists as soon as this summer but noted the "sheer amount of work" still required for the part-time service model.
Maj. Tanya Downsworth, a Department of the Air Force spokesperson, told Military.com on Wednesday that the Space Force Personnel Management Act does not cover the issue of Air National Guard space units.
"The Space Force Personnel Management Act will allow us to integrate active-duty Guardians and Air Force reservists in space-related career fields; the Air National Guard is not included in the SFPMA," Downsworth said in an emailed statement Wednesday.
The issue of what will be done with the Air National Guard space units was not addressed in that legislation. But within the 2024 defense authorization act, Congress asked the Pentagon to finish a report by Feb.1, 2025, that will "assess the feasibility and advisability of moving all units, personnel billets, equipment and resources performing core space functions" in the Air National Guard to the "operational control of the Space Force."
Meanwhile, NGAUS officials have estimated that creating a Space National Guard would cost only $250,000, saying it would be as simple as replacing uniform tapes, unit flags and base signage.
The White House Office of Management and Budget said in a 2021 statement that it opposed efforts to create a new Space National Guard component, estimating it would increase costs each year by up to $500 million.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., introduced the Space National Guard Establishment Act of 2024 in late January – an effort he has pushed for the last two years.
It currently has 13 bipartisan co-sponsors and NGAUS said it "picked up two co-sponsors within the last month."
National Guard Association officials say the prospect of moving those state units into the Space Force would be costly and unpopular with the rank and file. In a poll of Air National Guardsmen performing the space mission in those seven states, many wished to stay put, McGinn told Military.com.
"Guardsmen usually stay put," McGinn said. "So, they don't want to uproot. They don't want to leave; they don't want to leave their families. There's a reason they joined the Guard."
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