Andre Douglas

is there a pre-flight personal ritual that you do before piloting a flight?

Our friend - the Moon - is putting on a show tonight!

Look to the sky at 12:44 a.m. EDT to see the first full Moon of summer in the Northern Hemisphere and a partial penumbral eclipse, visible from most of North America. Want more info on this special occurrence? click HERE. 

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A Tiny Satellite Studies Stormy Layers

The gif above shows data taken by an experimental weather satellite of Hurricane Dorian on September 3, 2019. TEMPEST-D, a NASA CubeSat, reveals rain bands in four layers of the storm by taking the data in four different radio frequencies. The multiple vertical layers show where the most warm, wet air within the hurricane is rising high into the atmosphere. Pink, red and yellow show the areas of heaviest rainfall, while the least intense areas of rainfall are in green and blue.

How does an Earth satellite the size of a cereal box help NASA monitor storms? 

The goal of the TEMPEST-D (Temporal Experiment for Storms and Tropical Systems Demonstration) mission is to demonstrate the performance of a CubeSat designed to study precipitation events on a global scale.

If TEMPEST-D can successfully track storms like Dorian, the technology demonstration could lead to a train of small satellites that work together to track storms around the world. By measuring the evolution of clouds from the moment of the start of precipitation, a TEMPEST constellation mission, collecting multiple data points over short periods of time, would improve our understanding of cloud processes and help to clear up one of the largest sources of uncertainty in climate models. Knowledge of clouds, cloud processes and precipitation is essential to our understanding of climate change.

What is a CubeSat, anyway? And what’s the U for?

CubeSats are small, modular, customizable vessels for satellites. They come in single units a little larger than a rubix cube - 10cmx10cmx10cm - that can be stacked in multiple different configurations. One CubeSat is 1U. A CubeSat like TEMPEST-D, which is a 6U, has, you guessed it, six CubeSat units in it.

Pictured above is a full-size mockup of MarCO, a 6U CubeSat that recently went to Mars with the Insight mission. They really are about the size of a cereal box!

We are using CubeSats to test new technologies and push the boundaries of Earth Science in ways never before imagined. CubeSats are much less expensive to produce than traditional satellites; in multiples they could improve our global storm coverage and forecasting data.

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Decoding Nebulae

We can agree that nebulae are some of the most majestic-looking objects in the universe. But what are they exactly? Nebulae are giant clouds of gas and dust in space. They’re commonly associated with two parts of the life cycle of stars: First, they can be nurseries forming new baby stars. Second, expanding clouds of gas and dust can mark where stars have died.

Not all nebulae are alike, and their different appearances tell us what's happening around them. Since not all nebulae emit light of their own, there are different ways that the clouds of gas and dust reveal themselves. Some nebulae scatter the light of stars hiding in or near them. These are called reflection nebulae and are a bit like seeing a street lamp illuminate the fog around it.

In another type, called emission nebulae, stars heat up the clouds of gas, whose chemicals respond by glowing in different colors. Think of it like a neon sign hanging in a shop window!

Finally there are nebulae with dust so thick that we’re unable to see the visible light from young stars shine through it. These are called dark nebulae.

Our missions help us see nebulae and identify the different elements that oftentimes light them up.

The Hubble Space Telescope is able to observe the cosmos in multiple wavelengths of light, ranging from ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared. Hubble peered at the iconic Eagle Nebula in visible and infrared light, revealing these grand spires of dust and countless stars within and around them.

The Chandra X-ray Observatory studies the universe in X-ray light! The spacecraft is helping scientists see features within nebulae that might otherwise be hidden by gas and dust when viewed in longer wavelengths like visible and infrared light. In the Crab Nebula, Chandra sees high-energy X-rays from a pulsar (a type of rapidly spinning neutron star, which is the crushed, city-sized core of a star that exploded as a supernova).

The James Webb Space Telescope will primarily observe the infrared universe. With Webb, scientists will peer deep into clouds of dust and gas to study how stars and planetary systems form.

The Spitzer Space Telescope studied the cosmos for over 16 years before retiring in 2020. With the help of its detectors, Spitzer revealed unknown materials hiding in nebulae — like oddly-shaped molecules and soot-like materials, which were found in the California Nebula.

Studying nebulae helps scientists understand the life cycle of stars. Did you know our Sun got its start in a stellar nursery? Over 4.5 billion years ago, some gas and dust in a nebula clumped together due to gravity, and a baby Sun was born. The process to form a baby star itself can take a million years or more!

After billions more years, our Sun will eventually puff into a huge red giant star before leaving behind a beautiful planetary nebula (so-called because astronomers looking through early telescopes thought they resembled planets), along with a small, dense object called a white dwarf that will cool down very slowly. In fact, we don’t think the universe is old enough yet for any white dwarfs to have cooled down completely.

Since the Sun will live so much longer than us, scientists can't observe its whole life cycle directly ... but they can study tons of other stars and nebulae at different phases of their lives and draw conclusions about where our Sun came from and where it's headed. While studying nebulae, we’re seeing the past, present, and future of our Sun and trillions of others like it in the cosmos.

To keep up with the most recent cosmic news, follow NASA Universe on Twitter and Facebook.

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Have you seen Hidden Figures? What did you think

I have seen Hidden Figures, and I was very proud that NASA supported the telling of the story. Despite the circumstances of the time, it shows that we worked well together to get a human being in space. 

Here’s What Actually Happens Inside Our Lunar Lab

Water is a precious resource -- especially on the Moon! In the near future, robotic rovers may roam the Moon’s poles in search of hidden reservoirs of water beneath the lunar surface. But traversing the poles can be a perilous journey. Depending on the Sun’s position in the sky and the way that its light falls on the surface, hazards such as boulders and craters can be difficult, if not impossible, to see. 

Inside our Lunar Lab at Ames Research Center, researchers are using Hollywood light kits and a giant sandbox filled with 8 tons of artificial Moon dirt to simulate driving conditions at the poles. The research aims to provide rovers and their human supervisors with 3-D hazard maps of the Moon’s terrain, helping them to avoid potential obstacles that lie ahead. 

Here’s how it works:

STEP 1: GENERATE A MOON MAP

Researchers begin with a map of the Moon’s terrain that’s randomly generated by a computer. Each scene is based on observations made from lunar orbit. The map indicates the number, location and size of features like rocks and craters that should be placed inside the 12x12-foot testbed.

STEP 2: BUILD A MOONSCAPE

Using the map as a guide, researchers build the terrain by hand with everyday tools. The terrain is then dusted with a top layer of artificial Moon dirt to eliminate shovel and brush marks.

STEP 3: CAPTURE IMAGES

Lights are positioned at different locations around the testbed. One by one, the lights are switched on and off while a camera captures images of the terrain. Notice how the appearance of the terrain changes depending on the source of illumination.

STEP 4: CREATE A 3-D MODEL

Using a computer algorithm, a 3-D hazard detection model of the terrain is generated from the images. The model provides important information about the size of an obstacle, its height and where it’s located.

STEP 5: GO EXPLORING

With this technique, researchers can teach a rover to recognize the effect of different lighting conditions on the Moon’s poles. The tool could come in handy for future lunar rover missions like Resource Prospector, which will use a drill to search for subsurface water and other compounds on the Moon.

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Wispy remains of a supernova explosion hide a possible 'survivor.' Of all the varieties of exploding stars, the ones called Type Ia are perhaps the most intriguing. Their predictable brightness lets astronomers measure the expansion of the universe, which led to the discovery of dark energy. Yet the cause of these supernovae remains a mystery. Do they happen when two white dwarf stars collide? Or does a single white dwarf gorge on gases stolen from a companion star until bursting? If the second theory is true, the normal star should survive. Astronomers used the Hubble Space Telescope to search the gauzy remains of a Type Ia supernova in a neighboring galaxy called the Large Magellanic Cloud. They found a sun-like star that showed signs of being associated with the supernova. Further investigations will be needed to learn if this star is truly the culprit behind a white dwarf's fiery demise.

 This supernova remnant is located 160,000 light-years from Earth. The actual supernova remnant is the irregular shaped dust cloud, at the upper center of the image. The gas in the lower half of the image and the dense concentration of stars in the lower left are the outskirts of a star cluster.

Image credit: NASA, ESA and H.-Y. Chu (Academia Sinica, Taipei)

A patchwork of bright, criss-crossing cloud trails was created by ships churning through the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Portugal and Spain in this image captured by one of our Earth observing satellites. The narrow clouds known as ship tracks, form when water vapor condenses around tiny particles of pollution that ships emit.

Some of the pollution particles generated by ships (especially sulfates) are soluble in water and serve as the seeds around which cloud droplets form. Clouds infused with ship exhaust have more and smaller droplets than unpolluted clouds. Because of this, the light hitting the polluted clouds scatters in many directions, making them appear brighter and thicker than unpolluted marine clouds, which are typically seeded by larger, naturally occurring particles such as sea salt.

Learn more about this image HERE. 

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5 Fun Things To Do Without Gravity

Astronauts onboard the International Space station are typically active for at least 9 1/2 hours per day doing science, exercising and maintaining systems. Excluding scheduled time for sleep and lunch, astronauts have only 4 hours of free time during the work week, and that includes time for meals and general hygiene.

Even with a loaded calendar, the few who have such an opportunity to live in the microgravity environment find ways to make the most of this experience. Here are just a few of their favorite things about living in space: 

Flying

One of the most self-explanatory (and most fun!) aspects of living in space for the astronauts is “flying”. In space there is no up or down, so there is no floor or ceiling. There are rails throughout the space station that astronauts use to push themselves among the modules. 

Eating

Astronauts actually describe the food on the space station as quite tasty! In part, that’s because they have a large role in choosing their own meals. Over time though, a lot of astronauts experience desensitized taste buds from the shifting fluid to their head. Toward the end of their expedition, spicy foods tend to be their favorites because of this phenomenon.

Drinking

Liquid behaves very differently in space than it does on Earth. Astronauts cannot simply pour a cup of coffee into a mug. Without gravity, it would stick to the walls of the cup and would be very difficult to sip. Most of the time, astronauts fill a bag with liquid and use a special straw with a clamp to keep the contents from flying out. 

Playing Games

The space station crew occasionally gets downtime which they can spend however they please. Sometimes they watch a movie, read a book or take photos of Earth from the Cupola windows. Other times they invent games to play with each other, and each crew tends to come up with new games. Sometimes it can be hitting a target, flying from one end of the station to the other fastest or playing zero-gravity sports. 

Going Out For A Walk

Preparing and executing a spacewalk can take around 8 to 12 hours, and can be a jam-packed schedule. Spacewalkers have to be focused on the task at hand and sticking to the timeline. That said, they can still catch a spare moment to see the Earth 250 miles below. Many astronauts describe that view from a spacewalk as one of the most beautiful sights in their lives. 

Watch Commander Scott Kelly and Flight Engineer Kjell Lindgren perform a spacewalk on Oct. 28 at 8:15 a.m. EDT live on NASA Television. 

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Exercising in Space

Are you hoping to get to the gym more often in 2016? While you work out on Earth, here are a few ways that astronauts stay fit on the International Space Station.

Exercise is an important part of the daily routine for astronauts aboard the International Space Station to prevent bone and muscle loss, and to maintain cardiovascular health. On average, astronauts exercise two hours per day. The equipment they use in space is different than what we use on Earth.

Lifting 200 pounds on Earth may be a lot of work, but in microgravity a 200 pound dumbbell would not weigh anything. Therefore, free weights do not serve as a good strength training tool for the astronauts in space.  That means exercise equipment needs to be specifically designed for use in space so astronauts will receive the workout needed.

What Equipment Do They Use in Space?

Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED)

The ARED hardware uses adjustable resistance piston-driven vacuum cylinders along with a flywheel system to simulate free-weight exercises in normal gravity. It’s primary goal is to maintain muscle strength and bone mass in astronauts during long periods in space.

Cycle Ergometer with Vibration Isolation System (CEVIS)

CEVIS is very similar to a mechanical bicycle. It’s bolted to the floor, and astronauts snap their shoes on to the pedals. A seat belt can be used to hold them in position, and they can change the resistance for varying levels of difficulty.

Russian Treadmill (BD-2)

BD-2 is the treadmill that is found in the Russian segment of the space station. It allows crew members to walk and run with a speed from 2.4 to 20 km/hr. 

Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill (COLBERT)

COLBERT is the second generation U.S. treadmill on the space station. It features data collection devices that will allow scientists and doctors to evaluate how effective the exercise is in reducing the amount of bone and muscle density loss due to microgravity exposure. It allows crew members to walk and run with a speed from 4.8 to 20 km/hr. 

Why is it called COLBERT? 

The treadmill’s name was selected after comedian Stephen Colbert took interest in our online naming poll for Node 3 of space station. He urged his viewers to submit the name “Colbert.” Although we ended up choosing the suggested name “Tranquillity” for the node, we designated its new treadmill “COLBERT” in honor of the name that received the most entries.

VELO Ergomoeter Bike (VB-3)

VB-3 is used for aerobic training, medical tests and pedaling regimes. It is located in the Russian segment of the space station. 

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