NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

October 9, 2024

M106: A Spiral Galaxy with a Strange Center

What's happening at the center of spiral galaxy M106? A swirling disk of stars and gas, M106's appearance is dominated by blue spiral arms and red dust lanes near the nucleus, as shown in the featured image taken from the Kuwaiti desert. The core of M106 glows brightly in radio waves and X-rays where twin jets have been found running the length of the galaxy. An unusual central glow makes M106 one of the closest examples of the Seyfert class of galaxies, where vast amounts of glowing gas are thought to be falling into a central massive black hole. M106, also designated NGC 4258, is a relatively close 23.5 million light years away, spans 60 thousand light years across, and can be seen with a small telescope towards the constellation of the Hunting Dogs (Canes Venatici).

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

Dragon's-eye view: Astronaut captures amazing shots of Hurricane Milton from space

October 8, 2024

NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick has given us dramatic, Dragon's-eye views of Hurricane Milton churning its way toward landfall.

Dominick posted a timelapse video on X (formerly Twitter) today, showing Hurricane Milton through the window of the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule Endeavour, which is docked to the International Space Station (ISS).

Endeavour is flying SpaceX's Crew-8 mission for NASA; in early March, the capsule carried Dominick to the orbiting lab along with fellow NASA astronauts Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps, as well as Alexander Grebenkin of Russia's space agency Roscosmos.

Crew-8 is winding down. It was supposed to return to Earth on Monday (Oct. 7), in fact, but Hurricane Milton has delayed the homecoming.

The storm is powering its way through the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida, roiling up the waters of Endeavour's planned splashdown zone.

As a result, NASA and SpaceX have pushed Crew-8's planned undocking to Sunday (Oct. 13) at the earliest.

Milton is currently a Category 4 hurricane, the second-most powerful type.

It's expected to make landfall on Florida's Gulf Coast, near Tampa and St. Petersburg, late Wednesday (Oct. 9) as a Category 3 storm, according to The Associated Press.

Milton will then continue moving east across Florida, likely affecting the state's Atlantic coast as well.

The storm has already forced NASA to stand down from the planned Thursday (Oct. 10) launch of the $5 billion Europa Clipper mission from Florida's Kennedy Space Center.

A new target date will be announced after the storm passes. Endeavour isn't the only SpaceX capsule docked to the ISS at the moment.

The Crew Dragon spacecraft Freedom arrived on Sept. 29, flying the company's Crew-9 mission for NASA.

Freedom is visible in Dominick's footage, partially blocking the amazing view of Earth from Endeavour's window.

https://www.space.com/nasa-astronaut-matthew-dominick-hurricane-milton-iss-spacex-dragon

Tissue Chips Accurately Model Organs in Space

Oct 08, 2024

The International Space Station offers a unique microgravity environment where cells outside the human body behave similarly to how they do inside the human body.

Tissue chips are small devices containing living cells that mimic complex functions of specific human tissues and organs.

Researchers can run experiments using tissue chips aboard space station to understand disease progression and provide faster and safer alternatives for preparing medicine for clinical trials.

Researchers placed engineered heart tissues on tissue chips sent to study how microgravity impacts cardiac functions in space.

Data collected by the chips showed these heart tissues experienced impaired contractions, subcellular structural changes, and increased stress, which can lead to tissue damage and disease.

Previous studies conducted on human subjects have displayed similar outcomes. In the future, engineered heart tissues could accurately model the effects of spaceflight on cardiac function.

Another investigation used muscle-on-a-chip technology to evaluate whether engineered muscle tissues can mimic the characteristics of reduced muscle regeneration in microgravity.

Researchers found that engineered muscle-on-a-chip platforms are viable for studying muscle-related bioprocesses in space.

In addition, samples treated with drugs known to stimulate muscle regeneration showed partial prevention of the effects of microgravity.

These results demonstrate that muscle-on-chip can also be used to study and identify drugs that may prevent muscle decline in space and age-related muscle decline on Earth.

https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/tissue-chips-accurately-model-organs-in-space/

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2404644121

NASA’s Earth Information Center at the Smithsonian

October 8, 2024

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Kirk Johnson, Sant Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, preview the agency’s new Earth Information Center exhibit on Monday, Oct. 8, 2024.

This new exhibit is the Earth Information Center’s second physical location.

The exhibit at the Smithsonian includes a 32-foot-long, 12-foot-high video wall displaying Earth science data visualizations and videos, interpretive panels showing Earth’s connected systems, information on our changing world, and an overview of how NASA and the Smithsonian study our home planet.

It opens to the public Tuesday, Oct. 8, and will remain on display through 2028.

https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/nasas-earth-information-center-at-the-smithsonian/

https://earth.gov/

NASA Welcomes Dominican Republic as 44th Artemis Accords Signatory

October 8, 2024

The Dominican Republic is the latest nation to sign the Artemis Accords and joins 43 other countries in a commitment to advancing principles for the safe, transparent, and responsible exploration of the Moon, Mars and beyond with NASA.

“NASA is proud to welcome the Dominican Republic signing of the Artemis Accords as we expand the peaceful exploration of space to all nations,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

“The Dominican Republic has made important strides toward a shared future in space and is now helping guide space exploration for the Artemis Generation.”

Sonia Guzmán, ambassador of the Dominican Republic to the United States, signed the Artemis Accords on behalf of the country on Oct. 4.

The country also will confirm its participation in a high-level meeting of Artemis Accords signatories taking place Monday, Oct. 14, during the International Astronautical Congress in Milan, where furthering implementation of the principles will be discussed.

“This marks a historic step in our commitment to international collaboration in space exploration,” said Guzmán.

“This is not just a scientific or technological milestone – it represents a future where the Dominican Republic contributes to the shared goals of peace, sustainability, and innovation beyond our planet.

By joining the global effort to explore the Moon, Mars, and beyond, we are also expanding the opportunities particularly for our young Dominicans in science, education, and economic development.”

In 2020, the United States and seven other nations were the first to sign the Artemis Accords, which identified an early set of principles promoting the beneficial use of space for humanity.

The accords are grounded in the Outer Space Treaty and other agreements including the Registration Convention, the Rescue and Return Agreement, as well as best practices and norms of responsible behavior that NASA and its partners have supported, including the public release of scientific data.

The commitments of the Artemis Accords and efforts by the signatories to advance implementation of these principles support the safe and sustainable exploration of space.

More countries are expected to sign in the coming weeks and months.

https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-welcomes-dominican-republic-as-44th-artemis-accords-signatory/