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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
December 19, 2024
Messier 2
After the Crab Nebula, this giant star cluster is the second entry in 18th century astronomer Charles Messier's famous list of things that are not comets. M2 is one of the largest globular star clusters now known to roam the halo of our Milky Way galaxy. Though Messier originally described it as a nebula without stars, this stunning Hubble image resolves stars across the cluster's central 40 light-years. Its population of stars numbers close to 150,000, concentrated within a total diameter of around 175 light-years. About 55,000 light-years distant toward the constellation Aquarius, this ancient denizen of the Milky Way, also known as NGC 7089, is 13 billion years old. An extended stellar debris stream, a signature of past gravitational tidal disruption, was recently found to be associated with Messier 2.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Artemis Launch Team Successfully Test Upgraded Launch Software
December 19, 2024 8:55 am
Teams at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida successfully tested the launch control system, the software used to launch the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft for Artemis Moon missions.
The evaluations, which took place in the firing rooms of Kennedy’s Launch Control Center, included testing that software, audio, and imagery displays function well together, as well as practicing a launch pad-abort scenario.
Engineers with Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) Program divided the test into two parts: teams first ensured the software the Artemis launch team uses can handle multiple inputs at the same time.
Following software testing, teams performed a launch countdown simulation starting at T-minus 2 hours and 30 minutes until liftoff, which included testing the “abort switch,” a switch only the launch director and assistant launch director can flip in the event an abort at the launch pad is needed.
This marks the next set of integrated ground systems tests NASA completed to prepare for the Artemis II mission.
The Artemis II test flight will be NASA’s first mission with crew under the Artemis campaign, sending NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, as well as CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on a 10-day journey around the Moon.
https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/2024/12/19/artemis-launch-team-successfully-test-upgraded-launch-software/
NASA tests trio of commercial lunar rovers
Dec. 19, 2024
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced it played host to a trio of commercial lunar rovers at its Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The lunar terrain vehicles (LTV) tested came from Intuitive Machines in Houston, Lunar Outpost in Arvada, Colo., and Venturi Astrolab in Hawthorne, Calif.
NASA announced that each company provided the agency with a static mockup of their LTVs at the end of September, with the first round of testing being completed in December.
Tests took place in the agency's Active Response Gravity Offload System (ARGOS) test facility.
NASA engineers conducted tests where suited astronauts and engineers performed tasks, maneuvers, and emergency drills on the rovers.
These human-in-the-loop tests provided feedback on design functionality, controls, and safety. Astronauts evaluated the vehicles’ displays and interfaces, helping identify design improvements.
This feedback was shared with commercial developers to refine their rover designs based on real-world insights.
"We are excited to have mockups from all three LTV commercial providers here at Johnson Space Center," said Steve Munday, LTV project manager.
"This is the first major test milestone within the Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services contract and to have actual rovers delivered only four months after these companies were awarded is remarkable."
NASA astronauts and engineers tested two spacesuit prototypes - the Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU) and Axiom Space’s lunar spacesuit - during evaluations focused on crew interactions with Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) mockups.
Using NASA’s prototype suit, crew members were suspended in the ARGOS system to simulate the Moon's reduced gravity.
This setup allowed them to perform tasks such as handling lunar tools, deploying scientific instruments, and managing cargo as if they were on the lunar surface.
With Axiom Space’s pressurized suit, testing focused on the ease of mobility during rover entry and exit, assessing the crew compartment layout, and evaluating how well astronauts could operate display interfaces and controls while wearing thick gloves.
Emergency rescue scenarios were also tested, simulating the recovery of an incapacitated astronaut.
Each rover design is required to enable single-person rescue operations, ensuring compliance with NASA’s safety standards.
https://www.militaryaerospace.com/commercial-aerospace/article/55250625/nasa-tests-trio-of-commercial-lunar-rovers
NASA Payload Aims to Probe Moon’s Depths to Study Heat Flow
Dec 18, 2024
Earth’s nearest neighboring body in the solar system is its Moon, yet to date humans have physically explored just 5% of its surface.
It wasn’t until 2023 – building on Apollo-era data and more detailed studies made in 2011-2012 by NASA’s automated GRAIL (Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory) mission – that researchers conclusively determined that the Moon has a liquid outer core surrounding a solid inner core.
As NASA and its industry partners plan for continued exploration of the Moon under Artemis in preparation for future long-duration missions to Mars, improving our understanding of Earth’s 4.5-billion-year-old Moon will help teams of researchers and astronauts find the safest ways to study and live and work on the lunar surface.
That improved understanding is the primary goal of a state-of-the-art science instrument called LISTER (Lunar Instrumentation for Subsurface Thermal Exploration with Rapidity), one of 10 NASA payloads flying aboard the next delivery for the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and set to be carried to the surface by Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander.
Developed jointly by Texas Tech University in Lubbock and Honeybee Robotics of Altadena, California, LISTER will measure the flow of heat from the Moon’s interior.
Its sophisticated pneumatic drill will penetrate to a depth of three meters into the dusty lunar regolith. Every half-meter it descends, the drilling system will pause and extend a custom-built thermal probe into the lunar regolith.
LISTER will measure two different aspects of heat flow: thermal gradient, or the changes in temperature at various depths, and thermal conductivity, or the subsurface material’s ability to let heat pass through it.
“By making similar measurements at multiple locations on the lunar surface, we can reconstruct the thermal evolution of the Moon,” said Dr. Seiichi Nagihara, principal investigator for the mission and a geophysics professor at Texas Tech.
“That will permit scientists to retrace the geological processes that shaped the Moon from its start as a ball of molten rock, which gradually cooled off by releasing its internal heat into space.”
Demonstrating the drill’s effectiveness could lead to more innovative drilling capabilities, enabling future exploration of the Moon, Mars, and other celestial bodies..
The science collected by LISTER aims to contribute to our knowledge of lunar geology, improving our ability to establish a long-term presence on the Moon under the Artemis campaign.
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis/clps/nasa-payload-aims-to-probe-moons-depths-to-study-heat-flow/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kB4YJJRH7OU
Big Johnson politics chekt
NASA’s Spot the Station App Developed by and for the People
Dec 18, 2024
With more than 25 years of operations, the International Space Station continues to symbolize discovery and cooperation for the benefit of humanity.
Since 2012, observers have interacted with the space station through NASA’s Spot the Station website, a web browser-based tool that includes interactive maps for users to track the station and find viewpoints closest to their location.
A decade after the website’s release, NASA sought to enhance public access to this capability with a mobile app. NASA released the Spot the Station app on IOS and Android in 2023.
As of Dec. 2024, it has more than 770,000 users in 227 countries and territories around the globe, according to Ensemble, who NASA contracts to maintain support of the app.
Revamping the Spot the Station experience was more than just an opportunity for NASA to make improvements; it allowed NASA to gather direct input from users by involving them in the development of the new app.
Space Operations web and platform lead, Allison Wolff, pitched the idea to publicly crowdsource the app’s development.
In 2022, Wolff and her team supported the release of three separate crowdsourcing competitions, where global communities were invited to design key components of the new Spot the Station app.
Participants submitted functional designs, including an augmented reality component not offered on the web version and interfaces for screens such as login and sign-up windows. Multiple winners were awarded prizes totaling $8,550 across the three challenges.
As the former Innovation Strategist in NASA’s Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation, part of the agency’s Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing program, Wolff was well acquainted with the ingenuity and results that stem from public-private collaborations.
“NASA strives to incorporate inclusion and innovation into how we operate. We also collaborate with minds outside the agency because the best ideas can come from very surprising places,” said Wolff.
Not only were the winning designs used in the final product, but the development team gained valuable feedback and worldwide perspectives from everyone who participated in the competition.
“When you use the power of the crowd and get a consistent message about a component or an interface, that’s a good indicator of what is user-friendly,” said Wolff.
Crowdsourcing continues to enhance the app’s functionality, including translating the app into six languages, including Spanish, French, and German, thanks to user contributions.
In addition, the app’s code is open source, enabling anyone to modify and use the code for their own projects and support the tool’s growth. NASA will continue to update and improve the app with feedback from the public.
https://www.nasa.gov/general/nasas-spot-the-station-app-developed-by-and-for-the-people/
https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/
https://www.nasa.gov/get-involved/
Crew Works Advanced Exercise and Space Tech, Gets Ready for Thursday Spacewalk
December 18, 2024
A new exercise system, spacecraft fire safety, and advanced life support gear were the main research priorities aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday.
The Expedition 72 crew is also ready for a spacewalk to conduct science and robotics work on Thursday.
Commander Suni Williams and Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore, both from NASA, were back inside the Columbus laboratory module continuing to install futuristic exercise gear for space crews.
The duo is spending the rest of the week assembling the workout hardware in Columbus where it will be tested by the station crew using its advanced bicycling, rowing, and resistive capabilities.
The small and compact European Enhanced Exploration Exercise Device will be evaluated in the orbital outpost’s microgravity environment before being used on longer term missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Working from the Destiny laboratory module, NASA Flight Engineer Nick Hague swapped samples of thin plastic sheets inside the Combustion Integrated Rack.
Those samples are being observed for how they burn in weightlessness to learn how to prevent fires on spacecraft.
NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit spent his day in the Harmony module setting up the Microgravity Sediment Trap hardware.
The advanced technology demonstration gear will test new filters to protect and extend the life of spacecraft cooling systems.
Two cosmonauts are ready to exit the space station’s Poisk airlock at 10:10 a.m. EST on Thursday for a planned six-hour and 40-minute spacewalk to remove science experiments and relocate robotic hardware.
The duo from Roscosmos wrapped up their spacewalk procedure reviews, completed the installation of Orlan spacesuit components, and finished charging the video cameras they will wear on their suits to record their spacewalk activities.
NASA+ will begin its live spacewalk coverage at 9:45 a.m. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.
Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will assist the spacewalkers in and out of the airlock as well as their Orlan spacesuits on Thursday.
Gorbunov will also be at the controls of the European robotic arm as the spacewalkers relocate a robotics control panel on the device attached to the Nauka science module.
https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2024/12/18/crew-works-advanced-exercise-and-space-tech-gets-ready-for-thursday-spacewalk/
NASA Finds ‘Sideways’ Black Hole Using Legacy Data, New Techniques
Dec 18, 2024
NASA researchers have discovered a perplexing case of a black hole that appears to be “tipped over,” rotating in an unexpected direction relative to the galaxy surrounding it.
That galaxy, called NGC 5084, has been known for years, but the sideways secret of its central black hole lay hidden in old data archives.
The discovery was made possible by new image analysis techniques developed at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley to take a fresh look at archival data from the agency’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.
Using the new methods, astronomers at Ames unexpectedly found four long plumes of plasma – hot, charged gas – emanating from NGC 5084.
One pair of plumes extends above and below the plane of the galaxy. A surprising second pair, forming an “X” shape with the first, lies in the galaxy plane itself.
Hot gas plumes are not often spotted in galaxies, and typically only one or two are present.
The method revealing such unexpected characteristics for galaxy NGC 5084 was developed by Ames research scientist Alejandro Serrano Borlaff and colleagues to detect low-brightness X-ray emissions in data from the world’s most powerful X-ray telescope.
What they saw in the Chandra data seemed so strange that they immediately looked to confirm it, digging into the data archives of other telescopes and requesting new observations from two powerful ground-based observatories.
The surprising second set of plumes was a strong clue this galaxy housed a supermassive black hole, but there could have been other explanations.
Archived data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile then revealed another quirk of NGC 5084: a small, dusty, inner disk turning about the center of the galaxy.
This, too, suggested the presence of a black hole there, and, surprisingly, it rotates at a 90-degree angle to the rotation of the galaxy overall; the disk and black hole are, in a sense, lying on their sides.
The follow-up analyses of NGC 5084 allowed the researchers to examine the same galaxy using a broad swath of the electromagnetic spectrum – from visible light, seen by Hubble, to longer wavelengths observed by ALMA and the Expanded Very Large Array of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory near Socorro, New Mexico.
“It was like seeing a crime scene with multiple types of light,” said Borlaff, who is also the first author on the paper reporting the discovery.
“Putting all the pictures together revealed that NGC 5084 has changed a lot in its recent past.”
“Detecting two pairs of X-ray plumes in one galaxy is exceptional,” added Pamela Marcum, an astrophysicist at Ames and co-author on the discovery.
“The combination of their unusual, cross-shaped structure and the ‘tipped-over,’ dusty disk gives us unique insights into this galaxy’s history.”
Typically, astronomers expect the X-ray energy emitted from large galaxies to be distributed evenly in a generally sphere-like shape.
When it’s not, such as when concentrated into a set of X-ray plumes, they know a major event has, at some point, disturbed the galaxy.
Possible dramatic moments in its history that could explain NGC 5084’s toppled black hole and double set of plumes include a collision with another galaxy and the formation of a chimney of superheated gas breaking out of the top and bottom of the galactic plane.
More studies will be needed to determine what event or events led to the current strange structure of this galaxy.
But it is already clear that the never-before-seen architecture of NGC 5084 was only discovered thanks to archival data – some almost three decades old – combined with novel analysis techniques.
https://www.nasa.gov/universe/black-holes/nasa-finds-sideways-black-hole-using-legacy-data-new-techniques/
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ad7c4b
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/kennedy/nasa-kennedy-looks-to-thrive-in-2025/
NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Looks to Thrive in 2025
Dec 18, 2024
As NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida wraps up a year that will see more than 90 government, commercial, and private missions launch from Florida’s Space Coast, a look to 2025 shows the missions, partnerships, projects, and programs at the agency’s main launch site will continue innovating, inspiring, and pushing the boundaries of exploration for the benefit of humanity.
“The next year promises to be another exciting one at Earth’s premier spaceport,” said Kennedy Center Director Janet Petro.
“We have an amazing workforce, and when we join forces with industry and our other government partners, even the sky is no limit to what we can accomplish.”
New Year, New Missions to Space Station
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP), based out of Kennedy, and its commercial partner SpaceX plan two crew rotation missions to the International Space Station: NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 and Crew-11.
This also means the return of the Crew-9 mission and later Crew-10 during 2025. CCP continues working with Boeing toward NASA certification of the company’s Starliner system for future crew rotations to the orbiting laboratory.
“Operations in 2025 are a testament to NASA’s workforce carefully planning and preparing to safely execute a vital string of missions that the agency can depend on,” said Dana Hutcherson, CCP deputy program manager.
“This is the 25th year of crewed operations for the space station, and we know that with every launch, we are sustaining a critical national asset and enabling groundbreaking research.”
NASA also plans several Commercial Resupply Services missions, utilizing SpaceX’s Dragon cargo spacecraft, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft, and the inaugural flight of Sierra Space’s cargo spaceplane, Dream Chaser.
The missions will ferry thousands of pounds of supplies, equipment, and science investigations to the crew aboard the orbiting laboratory from NASA Kennedy and nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
In addition to the agency’s crewed flights, Axiom Space’s fourth crewed private spaceflight mission, Axiom Mission 4 – organized in collaboration with NASA through the International Space Station Program and operated by SpaceX – will launch to the orbital outpost.
Reestablishing Humanity’s Lunar Presence
Preparations for NASA’s Artemis II test flight mission are ramping up, with all major components for the SLS (Space Launch System) hardware undergoing processing at Kennedy, including the twin solid rocket boosters and 212-foot-tall core stage.
Teams with EGS (Exploration Ground Systems) will continue stacking the booster segments inside the spaceport’s VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building).
Subsequent integration and testing of the rocket’s hardware and Orion spacecraft will continue not only for the Artemis II mission, but for Artemis III and IV.
Technicians also continue building mobile launcher 2, which will serve as the launch and integration platform for the SLS Block 1B configuration starting with Artemis IV.
“Looking ahead to 2025, teams will embark on a transformative year as we integrate the flight hardware for Artemis II, while simultaneously developing the foundation for future Artemis missions that will reestablish humanity’s presence on the Moon,” said Shawn Quinn, EGS program manager.
A key part of the Artemis campaign, NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative will continue leveraging commercial partnerships to quickly land scientific instruments and technology demonstrations on the Moon.
Firefly Aerospace’s first lunar CLPS flight, Blue Ghost Mission 1, will carry 10 NASA science and technology instruments to the lunar surface, including the Electrodynamic Dust Shield, a technology built by Kennedy engineers.
Intuitive Machines, meanwhile, will embark on its second CLPS flight to the Moon. Providing the first in-situ resource utilization demonstration on the lunar surface, IM-2 will carry the Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1), which features
The Regolith and Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrain from Honeybee Robotics, as well as the Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations built by Kennedy. Both flights are targeted to lift off from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A during the first quarter of 2025.
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In development for Artemis IV and beyond, Gateway will be a critical platform for developing a sustained human presence beyond low Earth orbit.
Deep Space Logistics (DSL) is the Gateway Program project office at Kennedy responsible for leading the development of a commercial supply chain in deep space.
In 2025, DSL will continue developing the framework for the DSL-1 mission and working with commercial provider SpaceX to mature spacecraft design.
Upcoming milestones include a system requirements review and preliminary design review to determine the program’s readiness to proceed with the detailed design phase supporting the agency’s Gateway Program and Artemis IV mission objectives.
Science Missions Studying Our Solar System and Beyond
NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP), based at Kennedy, is working to launch three ambitious missions.
Launching early in the year on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer) is a space telescope to survey the universe using visible and near-infrared light, observing more colors than ever before and allowing astronomers to piece together a three-dimensional map of the universe with stunning accuracy.
Launching with SPHEREx, NASA’s PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) mission will study how the mass and energy of the Sun’s corona transition into the solar wind.
IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe), scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral in late 2025, will help map out thethe heliosphere – the magnetic environment surrounding and protecting our solar system.
Carrying 10 instruments to make its observations, the IMAP mission is targeting the L1 Lagrange Point, an area between Earth and the Sun that is easy for spacecraft to maintain orbit, along with two Sun observing rideshare missions – NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s SWFO-L1 (Space Weather Follow-On at L1).
Also launching in late 2025 on a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg is the second of two identical satellites, Sentinel-6B, which will monitor global sea levels with unprecedented precision.
Its predecessor, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, has been delivering crucial data since it launched in 2020, and Sentinel-6B will ensure the continuation of this mission through 2030.
“Our missions launching next year will include groundbreaking technologies to help us learn more about the universe than ever before and provide new data for researchers that will have positive benefits here on Earth,” said LSP’s Deputy Program Manager Jenny Lyons.
The program’s support for small satellite missions next year includes several missions to monitor the Sun, collect climate data, and more.
NASA’s ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) mission to explore Mars’ magnetosphere will lift off from Cape Canaveral’s Launch Complex 36 on NASA’s inaugural flight of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket.
Some of these small satellite missions are part of NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative, which offers the next generation of scientists, engineers, and technologists a unique opportunity to conduct scientific research and develop and demonstrate novel technologies in space.
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Building the Spaceport’s Future
Teams expect a busy year of construction projects to accommodate new missions, hardware, and milestones.
In preparation for Artemis IV, mobile launcher 2 construction and modifications in the VAB’s High Bays 3 and 4 for the larger SLS Block 1B configuration will ramp up.
Teams also will upgrade the spaceport’s Converter Compressor Facility (CCF) to meet the helium needs of its commercial launch partners and the Artemis campaign, increasing efficiency, reliability, and speed of pumping helium to rockets.
Upgrades to the CCF’s internal infrastructure are also part of Kennedy’s plan to earn the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification, joining nine other Kennedy facilities in achieving that rating.
“Kennedy’s spaceport will continue to see its launch cadence grow, and we have to meet our program and commercial partner needs in the most efficient way possible,” said Sasha Sims, deputy director of Kennedy’s Spaceport Integration and Services Directorate.
“Process improvements and integrated approaches should improve the speed at which government and commercial construction takes place while also improving Kennedy’s infrastructure so that it’s robust, sustainable, and able to support America’s future in space.”
Driving down acquisition costs, increasing competition, and using innovative contracting mechanisms for construction are just some of the initiatives to maximize efficiency and reliability in 2025.
The center’s “Critical Day” policy prohibits certain types of work during launches requiring full flight range support but will no longer apply to commercial launches where minimal flight range support is required, training events, static fires, exercises, tests, rehearsals, nor other activities leading up to or supporting launches.
This policy change is expected to create more flexibility and free up over 150 days annually for construction, maintenance, and other essential work needed to keep the spaceport running smoothly.
Finally, Kennedy will continue carrying Apollo’s legacy through Artemis. Seeds that traveled aboard the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis I mission will be planted at the spaceport, honoring the legacy of the original Moon Trees that grew from seeds flown on Apollo 14.
The Florida spaceport will become one of the select locations across the country where the “new generation” of Moon Trees will take root and provide living testimony to the agency’s continuing legacy of lunar exploration.
“With so many missions and initiatives on the horizon, I’m looking forward to another banner year at Kennedy Space Center,” Petro said. “We truly are launching humanity’s future.”
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NASA Open Science Reveals Sounds of Space
Dec 18, 2024
NASA has a long history of translating astronomy data into beautiful images that are beloved by the public.
Through its Chandra X-ray Observatory and Universe of Learning programs, NASA brings that principle into the world of audio in a project known as “A Universe of Sound.”
The team has converted openly available data from Chandra, supplemented by open data from other observatories, into dozens of “sonifications,” with more on the way.
Following the open science principle of accessibility, “A Universe of Sound” helps members of the public who are blind or low vision experience NASA data in a new sensory way. Sighted users also enjoy listening to the sonifications.
“Open science is this way to not just have data archives that are accessible and incredibly rich, but also to enhance the data outputs themselves,” said Dr. Kimberly Arcand, the visualization scientist and emerging technology lead at Chandra and member of NASA’s Universe of Learning who heads up the sonification team. “I want everybody to have the same type of access to this data that I do as a scientist. Sonification is just one of those steps.”
While the Chandra telescope provides data in X-ray wavelengths for most of the sonifications, the team also took open data from other observatories to create a fuller picture of the universe. Types of data used to create some of the sonifications include visual and ultraviolet light from the Hubble Space Telescope, infrared and visual light from the James Webb Space Telescope, and infrared light from the now-retired Spitzer Space Telescope.
The sonification team, which includes astrophysicist Matt Russo, musician Andrew Santaguida (both of the SYSTEM Sounds project), consultant Christine Malec, and Dr. Arcand, assigned each wavelength of observation to a different musical instrument or synthesized sound to create a symphony of data.
Making the separate layers publicly available was important to the team to help listeners understand the data better.
“It's not just about accessibility. It's also about reproducibility,” Arcand said.
“We're being very specific with providing all of the layers of sound, and then describing what those layers are doing to make it more transparent and obvious which steps were taken and what process of translation has occurred.”
For example, in a sonification of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A, modified piano sounds represent X-ray data from Chandra, strings and brass represent infrared data from Webb and Spitzer, and small cymbals represent stars located via visual light data from Hubble.
The team brought together people of various backgrounds to make the project a success – scientists to obtain and interpret the data, audio engineers to mix the sonifications, and members of the blind and low vision community to direct the product into something that brought a greater understanding of the data.
“Another benefit to open science is it tends to open those pathways of collaboration,” Arcand said.
“We invite lots of different community members into the process to make sure we're creating something that adds value, that adds to the greater good, and that makes the investment in the data worthwhile.”
https://science.nasa.gov/open-science/astronomy-data-sonification/
https://plus.nasa.gov/video/listen-to-the-universe/
https://chandra.harvard.edu/sound/
Watch Russian cosmonauts install new X-ray detector during ISS spacewalk today
Dec 19, 2024
NASA will provide live coverage as two Roscosmos cosmonauts conduct a spacewalk outside of the International Space Station on Thursday, Dec. 19.
NASA’s live coverage begins at 9:45 a.m. EST, Thursday on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.
The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at approximately 10:10 a.m. and last about six and a half hours.
Expedition 72 crewmates Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner will venture outside the station’s Poisk module to install an experiment package designed to monitor celestial x-ray sources and new electrical connector patch panels and remove several experiments for disposal.
The two cosmonauts also will relocate a control panel for the European robotic arm, which is attached to the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module.
Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexsandr Gorbunov will operate the arm during the spacewalk from inside the station.
Roscosmos spacewalk 63 will be the second for Ovchinin and the first for Vagner.
Ovchinin will wear an Orlan spacesuit with red stripes, and Vagner will wear a spacesuit with blue stripes.
It will be the 272nd spacewalk in support of space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-sets-coverage-for-roscosmos-spacewalk-63-outside-space-station/
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/international-space-station/watch-russian-cosmonauts-install-new-x-ray-detector-during-iss-spacewalk-today-video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6uQwUCWA7s
https://issnationallab.org/press-releases/a-year-of-space-based-innovation-iss-national-lab-sponsored-more-than-100-payloads-in-2024-advancing-rd-in-low-earth-orbit/
https://issnationallab.org/
A Year of Space-Based Innovation: ISS National Lab Sponsored More Than 100 Payloads in 2024, Advancing R&D in Low Earth Orbit
December 19, 2024
In a robust year for space-based research, the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory supported the launch of 110 payloads across seven missions, facilitating science and technology research and development (R&D) that pushes the limits of innovation.
Projects sponsored by the ISS National Lab this year enabled advancements in biotechnology, fundamental science, advanced materials, in-space manufacturing, and other areas.
Companies, academic institutions, and government agencies continue to leverage the unique space environment to conduct R&D that brings value to humanity, validates new technologies and capabilities in space, and drives business models in low Earth orbit
ISS National Lab-sponsored payloads launched to the space station on four NASA-funded Commercial Resupply Services missions, two astronaut crew missions through NASA, and one private astronaut mission from Axiom Space.
Below are a few highlights from the year in space:
Several projects that launched in 2024 focused on in-space manufacturing, an area of strategic importance for the ISS National Lab and NASA.
Building on the successful 3D printing of a human meniscus on the ISS, Redwire Corporation’s BioFabrication Facility
The BFF is a 3D bioprinter on the ISS capable of printing human tissue from bioinks mixed with living cells. This ISS National Lab commercial facility is owned and operated by Redwire Space.
(BFF) printed test patches of cardiac tissues that could one day be used for drug testing and tissue repair for patients on Earth.
Bristol Myers Squibb and Eli Lilly and Company utilized a manufacturing platform Redwire developed called the Pharmaceutical In-space Laboratory (PIL) Bio-crystal Optimization eXperiment (BOX) to crystallize small organic molecules in microgravity with promising results.
Essentially a “lab-in-a-box,” the PIL-BOX facility enables pharmaceutical companies and researchers to grow small-batch crystals for protein-based pharmaceuticals that may lead to more effective therapeutics for patients on Earth.
Flawless Photonics launched technology for manufacturing high-value ZBLAN optical fiber in microgravity. ZBLAN can perform up to 100 times better than the silica fibers commonly used to connect our digital world today.
The company produced more than seven miles (11.9 km) of optical fiber on station that is now being evaluated on Earth.
Researchers from LambdaVision continued to leverage the ISS National Lab in their quest to manufacture an artificial retina to restore significant vision in patients with retinitis pigmentosa, a rare genetic disorder that causes vision loss.
LambdaVision sent its ninth investigation to the space station earlier this year. The company is one of the growing number of organizations launching multiple investigations that build on previous space-based results.
Several projects that launched this year validated valuable new technologies.
The ArgUS platform, developed by Airbus U.S. Space and Defense, Inc., launched to the space station and supported its first projects in the Bartolomeo external hosting platform.
ArgUS expands access to the space station’s unprecedented vantage point and extreme environment for materials and remote sensing projects, enabling multiple missions related to Earth observation, robotics, materials science, and astrophysics.
NASA’s Astrobees, three free-flying robots on the space station designed to test technology and assist astronauts with routine duties, had a busy year.
For example, Kall Morris used the Astrobees to simulate an active debris removal mission using its REACCH capture system, while Boeing and CSIRO
(an Australian government agency responsible for scientific research) tested a novel 3D mapping technology to produce detailed maps of remote environments.
The Malta College of Arts, Sciences, and Technology tested its ASTROBEAT cold welding technology in an investigation designed to simulate the repair of a spacecraft hull damaged from a hypervelocity impact in space.
The project seeks to establish cold welding as a new tool for in-space repair, significantly boosting the durability of spacecraft and the safety of crewed missions while addressing the growing concern of space debris.
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Axiom Space launched its third private astronaut mission (Ax-3) in 2024, demonstrating the expansion of R&D on station with new participants in the growing low Earth orbit economy. The mission featured a variety of projects sponsored by the ISS National Lab.
The Sanford Stem Cell Institute at the University of California, San Diego continued to build on stem cell research conducted on previous Axiom Space missions by studying tumor organoids in microgravity.
The team seeks to identify early cancer warning signs for better diagnosis and treatment of the disease.
An investigation from the National Stem Cell Foundation evaluated 3D brain models derived from induced pluripotent stem cells of patients with Parkinson’s disease and primary progressive multiple sclerosis.
The project studied the mechanisms behind these and other neurodegenerative diseases, and results may help lead to new therapeutics for patients on Earth.
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has a longstanding partnership with the ISS National Lab to advance fundamental research on station that could lead to valuable future applications.
In 2024, NSF funded 12 investigations that flew to the orbiting laboratory, ranging from tissue engineering to transport phenomena and fluid dynamics.
A project from Florida International University studied the behavior of tiny, engineered particles dispersed in a liquid to form an active colloid.
Results could inform a variety of applications, from targeted drug delivery to disease screening, water desalination, and photothermal therapies to treat cancer and other diseases.
An investigation from the University of Connecticut leveraged microgravity conditions on the space station to test an innovative DNA-inspired Janus base nanomaterial that may help repair cartilage.
Results from this investigation could lead to improved treatments for patients with degenerative joint diseases.
A team from the University of Notre Dame launched the third in a series of experiments to understand bubble formation in microgravity to develop extremely sensitive biosensors for detecting trace substances in liquids.
Results from this research could lead to new sensor technology for detecting early cancer markers in blood.
The ISS National Lab continued its mission to prepare the scientists and engineers of the future by supporting science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educational programs and workforce development with a number of projects that launched to the space station in 2024.
Genes in Space launched its 11th student investigation, a gene editing experiment from Isabel Jiang, now a freshman at Yale University.
The project investigated the effects of radiation and the space environment on gene editing mechanisms. Results could shed light on genetic risks for certain diseases during spaceflight.
The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program sent its 18th mission to the orbiting laboratory, engaging students from 38 communities in the scientific process to spark an interest in STEM career fields.
2024 proved to be an exciting year of launches and research on the space station. The ISS National Lab and NASA continue to work in tandem to launch payloads that benefit humanity and bring value to our nation.
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Cosmic jingles: listen to Euclid’s image of M78
19/12/2024
An ethereal dance of misty clouds of interstellar dust with a myriad of distant stars and galaxies speckled like paint drops over a black canvas.
This is a sonification of a breathtaking image taken by ESA's Euclid space telescope of the young star-forming region Messier 78.
The sonification offers a different representation of the data collected by Euclid, and lets us explore the stellar nurseries in M78 through sound.
Close your eyes and listen to let the cosmic image be drawn by your mind’s eye, or watch as the traceback line in this video follows the sounds to colour the image from left to right.
The twinkling sounds of various pitches and volumes represent the galaxies and stars in the frame. The pitch of the sound points towards where we see the dot of light in the image.
Higher pitches tell us that a star or galaxy appears further at the top in the image along the traceback line.
The brightness of these objects in and around M78 are represented by the volume of the twinkles.
Whenever we hear a particularly loud clink, the star or galaxy that Euclid observed appears particularly bright in the image.
Underlying these jingling sounds, we can hear a steady undertone, made up of two chords which represent different regions in Messier 78.
This sound intensifies as the traceback line approaches first the brightest, and later the densest regions in the nebula.
The first two deeper crescendos in this undertone indicate two patches in the image where the most intense colour is blue/purple.
These appear as two ‘cavities’ in M78, where newly forming stars carve out and illuminate the dust and gas in which they were born.
The chords intensify a third time at a slightly higher pitch corresponding to the red-orange colours in the image, as the sound draws over the densest star-forming region of the frame.
This stellar nursery is hidden by a layer of dust and gas that is so thick that it obscures almost all the light of the young stars within it.
As the sound traces over the entire Euclid image, these different tones together form a cosmic symphony that represents the image of Messier 78, and the stars and galaxies that lie behind and within it.
You can read more about this image that was first revealed to the eyes of the world earlier this year here.
Many thanks to Klaus Nielsen (DTU Space / Maple Pools) for making the sonification in this video.
If you would like to hear more sonifications and music by this artist, please visit: https://linktr.ee/maplepools
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2024/12/Cosmic_jingles_listen_to_Euclid_s_image_of_M78