Two New Missions To Explore The Early Solar System

Two New Missions to Explore the Early Solar System

We’ve got big science news…!

image

We’ve just added two more science missions to our lineup! The two selected missions have the potential to open new windows on one of the earliest eras in the history of our solar system – a time less than 10 millions years after the birth of our sun.

image

The missions, known as Lucy and Psyche, were chosen from five finalists and will proceed to mission formulation.

Let’s take a dive into each mission…

Lucy

Lucy, a robotic spacecraft, will visit a target-rich environment of Jupiter’s mysterious Trojan asteroids. Scheduled to launch in October 2021, the spacecraft is slated to arrive at its first destination, a main asteroid belt, in 2025. 

image

Then, from 2027 to 2033, Lucy will explore six Jupiter Trojan asteroids. These asteroids are trapped by Jupiter’s gravity in two swarms that share the planet’s orbit, one leading and one trailing Jupiter in its 12-year circuit around the sun. The Trojans are thought to be relics of a much earlier era in the history of the solar system, and may have formed far beyond Jupiter’s current orbit.

Studying these Trojan asteroids will give us valuable clues to deciphering the history of the early solar system.

Psyche

The Psyche mission will explore one of the most intriguing targets in the main asteroid belt – a giant metal asteroid, known as 16 Psyche, about three times farther away from the sun than is the Earth. The asteroid measures about 130 miles in diameter and, unlike most other asteroids that are rocky or icy bodies, it is thought to be comprised of mostly metallic iron and nickel, similar to Earth’s core.

image

Scientists wonder whether psyche could be an exposed core of an early planet that could have been as large as Mars, but which lost its rocky outer layers due to a number of violent collisions billions of years ago.

image

The mission will help scientists understand how planets and other bodies separated into their layers early in their histories. The Psyche robotic mission is targeted to launch in October of 2023, arriving at the asteroid in 2030, following an Earth gravity assist spacecraft maneuver in 2024 and a Mars flyby in 2025.

Get even more information about these two new science missions HERE. 

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

More Posts from Nasa and Others

8 years ago

Solar System: Things to Know This Week

From observing our moon to Saturn’s mini solar system …here are a few things you should know about our solar system this week:

1. What a Long, Strange—and Revealing—Trip It's Been

image

As the Cassini mission builds toward its climactic "Grand Finale," we’re taking a look back at the epic story of its journey among Saturn's mini-solar system of rings and moons.

+ Traverse the timeline

2. Our Very Own Moon

image

Unlike Saturn, Earth has only one moon. Let’s celebrate it! International Observe the Moon Night (InOMN) is a worldwide, public celebration of lunar science and exploration held annually. On Oct. 8, everyone on Earth is invited to observe and learn about the moon together, and to celebrate the cultural and personal connections we all have with it. 

+ Join in

3. What's Up, October?

Solar System: Things To Know This Week

Even more about Earth’s moon is the subject of this month's video guide for sky watchers and includes a look at the moon’s phases and when to observe them. Also featured are a guide to upcoming meteor showers and tips on how to catch a glimpse of Saturn.

+ Take a look

4. Nine Lives

image

Dawn's discoveries continue, even as the asteroid belt mission marks nine years in space. "For such an overachiever," writes Dawn's top scientist, "it's fitting that now, on its ninth anniversary, the spacecraft is engaged in activities entirely unimagined on its eighth."

+ Learn more

5. The Incredible Shrinking Mercury

image

It's small, it's hot, and it's shrinking. Research funded by us suggests that Mercury is contracting even today. This means we now know that Mercury joins Earth as a tectonically active planet.

+ Get the small details

Discover the full list of 10 things to know about our solar system this week HERE.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com


Tags
4 years ago

Next stop: Mars! Watch NASA's Perseverance Rover Attempt the Most Dangerous Landing to Date on Feb. 18

Tomorrow, Feb. 18, 2021, our most advanced rover named Perseverance will attempt a precision landing in Mars' Jezero Crater. Her mission is to search for signs of ancient life in the planet's geology and test technology that will pave the way for future human missions to the Moon and Mars. Excited yet? Get this:

Perseverance is ferrying 25 cameras to the Red Planet — the most ever flown in the history of deep-space exploration — so get ready to see Mars like never before! For more mission quick facts, click here.

When to watch:

Date: Feb. 18

Time: Live coverage starts at 2:15 p.m. EST (19:15 UTC)

SET A REMINDER & WATCH LIVE HERE

Want to join the #CountdownToMars? We created a virtual Mars photo booth, have sounds of Mars to listen to and more for all you Earthlings to channel your inner Martian. Check out ways to participate HERE.

If you want to follow Perseverance's journey on the Red Planet, be sure to follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com


Tags
3 years ago

Dr. Beach’s Top 10 Beaches of 2021

For more than 30 years, Dr. Beach, aka Dr. Stephen Leatherman, has created an annual Top 10 Beach list. A professor and coastal geomorphologist at Florida International University, Dr. Beach factors in 50 different criteria including water color, sand softness, wave size, water temperature and more.

As we get ready to launch Landsat 9 this fall, we’re taking a tour of Dr. Beach’s Top 10 US beaches of 2021 as seen by Landsat 8.

10. Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Dr. Beach’s Top 10 Beaches Of 2021

Coast Guard Beach is located just north of the remote Nauset Inlet on Outer Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Except for the picturesque old white Coast Guard station that still sits atop the glacial bluffs, there is no development here; the best way to reach this beach is by bicycle from the Salt Pond Visitor’s Center or shuttle bus.

First mapped by Champlain in 1605, the shifting sands of this inlet are clearly visible in the Landsat image. This location is also at the point where the glacial sea cliffs transcend into a barrier beach (e.g., sand spit) that provides protection for the lagoon and development of lush salt marshes.

“In my early days as a Professor at Boston University and later at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, I spent many summer and some winter-time days conducting scientific studies along this barrier beach.” – Dr. Beach

Landsat 8 collected this image of Coast Guard Beach on May 1, 2021.

9. Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island, South Carolina

Dr. Beach’s Top 10 Beaches Of 2021

Beachwalker Park is a public beach located on the southern part of Kiawah Island, South Carolina. This barrier island in the Charleston area is 10-miles long and features a fine grained, hard-packed beach that can be traversed easily by bicycle.

This Landsat image shows a huge accumulation of sand as a series of shoals on the south end of the island, which can be reached from Beachwalker Park. These sandy shoals will eventually coalesce, becoming an extension of the sand spit that is the south end of Kiawah Island.

“In the early 2000s, I served as the beach consultant to the Town of Kiawah Island because their world-famous golf course on the north end was being threatened by severe erosion. It was necessary to artificially bypass some sand on the north end of the island so that the normal flow of sand along the island was reinstated, saving the outermost link of this PGA golf course.” – Dr. Beach

Landsat 8 collected this image of Beachwalker Park on April 9, 2021.

8. Coronado Beach, San Diego, California

Dr. Beach’s Top 10 Beaches Of 2021

Coronado Beach in San Diego is the toast of Southern California with some of the warmest and safest water on the Pacific coast. This 100-meter-wide beach is an oasis of subtropical vegetation, unique Mediterranean climate, and fine sparkling sand.

The harbor serves as a major port for the Navy’s Pacific fleet, the home port for several aircraft carriers. The docks and the crossing airplane runways for the Naval base are visible in this Landsat image.

“I really enjoy visiting this beautiful beach as well as having lunch and drinks, taking advantage of the hotel’s beachside service.” – Dr. Beach

Landsat 8 collected this image of Coronado Beach on April 23, 2020.

7. Caladesi Island State Park, Dunedin Clearwater, Florida

Dr. Beach’s Top 10 Beaches Of 2021

Caladesi Island State Park is located in the small town of Dunedin on the Southwest Florida coast. The stark white undeveloped beach is composed of crystalline quartz sand which is soft and cushy at the water’s edge, inviting one to take a dip in the sparkling clear waters.

While island is still in the Park’s name, Caladesi is no longer a true island as shown on the Landsat image--it is now connected to Clearwater Beach.

“Caladesi is located in the Tampa area, but it seems like a world away on this getaway island.” – Dr. Beach

Landsat 8 collected this image of Caladesi Island State Park on April 9, 2021.

6. Duke Kahanamoku Beach, Oahu, Hawaii

Dr. Beach’s Top 10 Beaches Of 2021

Duke Kahanamoku Beach is named for the famous native Hawaiian who was a big-board surfer and introduced surfing as a sport to mainland Americans and indeed the world.

One of the prominent features on this Landsat image is Diamondhead with its circular shape near the coast. This large cone of an extinct volcano provides the iconic backdrop for photos of Waikiki Beach.

“This is my favorite spot at the world-famous Waikiki Beach where you can both play in the surf and swim in the calm lagoonal waters.” – Dr. Beach

Landsat 8 collected this image of Duke Kahanamoku Beach on May 17, 2020.

5. Lighthouse Beach, Buxton, Outer Banks of North Carolina

Dr. Beach’s Top 10 Beaches Of 2021

Lighthouse Beach in the village of Buxton is located at Cape Hatteras, the most northern cape in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. This lifeguarded beach is the number one surfing spot on the US Atlantic Coast as the large offshore sand banks, known as Diamond Shoals, cause wave refraction focusing wave energy on this beach.

The Landsat image shows the seaward growth of south flank of Cape Hatteras as evidenced by the parallel lines of beach ridges.

“It is fun to walk down the narrow sand spit, more exposed at low tide, as waves are approaching from both directions because of the bending of the waves.” – Dr. Beach

Landsat 8 collected this image of Lighthouse Beach on May 3, 2020.

4. St. George Island State Park, Florida Panhandle

Dr. Beach’s Top 10 Beaches Of 2021

St. George Island State Park, located on the Florida panhandle and far from urban areas, is a favorite destination for beachgoers, anglers and bird watchers as nature abounds. Like other beaches on the panhandle, this long barrier island has a sugary fine, white sand beach.

In this Landsat image, St. George can be seen north of the bridge that links this barrier island to the mainland. The enclosed bay behind St. George Island is fairly shallow and the water much less clear as shown on the Landsat image, but it is not polluted.

“Besides swimming in the crystal-clear Gulf of Mexico waters, I enjoy beachcombing and shelling. While this island was hit hard in 2018 by Hurricane Michael, it has substantially recovered as there was little development to be impacted.” – Dr. Beach

Landsat 8 collected this image of St. George Island State Park on October 13, 2020.

3. Ocracoke Lifeguard Beach, Outer Banks of North Carolina

Dr. Beach’s Top 10 Beaches Of 2021

Ocracoke Lifeguarded Beach at the southern end of Cape Hatteras National Seashore was the first seashore to be incorporated into the National Park Service system.

The Landsat image shows Ocracoke to the north as separated by an inlet from Portsmouth Island. The village of Ocracoke was built at the wide area of the island where it was protected from oceanic waves during coastal storms which include both winter nor’easters and hurricanes.

“Ocracoke was once the home of the most infamous pirate Blackbeard and is still a very special place—my favorite getaway beach.” – Dr. Beach

Landsat 8 collected this image of Ocracoke Lifeguard Beach on May 3, 2020.

2. Cooper’s Beach, Southampton, New York

Dr. Beach’s Top 10 Beaches Of 2021

Cooper’s Beach in the tony town of Southampton on the south shore of Long Island, New York is shielded from the cold Labrador current, making for a fairly long summer swimming season. The white quartz sand is medium to coarse grained with some pebbles, making the beach slope fairly steeply into the water.

This Landsat image shows the fairly large coastal pond named Mecox Bay to the east with Shinnecock Inlet and Bay also displayed to the west. Coopers Beach is hundreds of yards wide, made of grainy white quartz sand and is backed by large sand dunes covered by American beach grass.

“I spent several decades conducting scientific studies of this very interest oceanic shoreline because it is so dynamic and the beachfront real estate so expensive. Some of the most gorgeous and expensive residential houses in the United States are located in the world-famous Hamptons.” – Dr. Beach

Landsat 8 collected this image of Coopers Beach on August 30, 2019.

1. Hapuna Beach State Park, Big Island Hawaii

Dr. Beach’s Top 10 Beaches Of 2021

Hapuna Beach State Park is a white coral sand beach that resides in a landscape dominated by dark brown lava flows on the Big Island of Hawaii. The crystal-clear water is perfect for swimming, snorkeling, and scuba diving during the summer months in contrast to winter big-wave days when pounding shorebreaks and rip currents make swimming impossible.

Hapuna and the other pocket beaches appear as an oasis in this otherwise fairly bleak landscape except for the areas irrigated as prominently shown on the Landsat imagery by the green vegetation.

“This volcanically active island is the only place that I know where you can snow ski at the high mountain tops and water ski in the warm ocean water on the same day.” – Dr. Beach

Landsat 8 collected this image of Hapuna State Park on January 5, 2021.

What’s your favorite beach?

View Dr. Beach’s 2021 picks and see Landsat views of these beaches over time.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!


Tags
7 years ago

Observing the Ozone Hole from Space: A Science Success Story

Using our unique ability to view Earth from space, we are working together with NOAA to monitor an emerging success story – the shrinking ozone hole over Antarctica.

image

Thirty years ago, the nations of the world agreed to the landmark ‘Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.’ The Protocol limited the release of ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) into the atmosphere.

image

Since the 1960s our scientists have worked with NOAA researchers to study the ozone layer. 

image

We use a combination of satellite, aircraft and balloon measurements of the atmosphere.

image

The ozone layer acts like a sunscreen for Earth, blocking harmful ultraviolet, or UV, rays emitted by the Sun.

image

In 1985, scientists first reported a hole forming in the ozone layer over Antarctica. It formed over Antarctica because the Earth’s atmospheric circulation traps air over Antarctica.  This air contains chlorine released from the CFCs and thus it rapidly depletes the ozone.

image

Because colder temperatures speed up the process of CFCs breaking up and releasing chlorine more quickly, the ozone hole fluctuates with temperature. The hole shrinks during the warmer summer months and grows larger during the southern winter. In September 2006, the ozone hole reached a record large extent.

image

But things have been improving in the 30 years since the Montreal Protocol. Thanks to the agreement, the concentration of CFCs in the atmosphere has been decreasing, and the ozone hole maximum has been smaller since 2006’s record.

image

That being said, the ozone hole still exists and fluctuates depending on temperature because CFCs have very long lifetimes. So, they still exist in our atmosphere and continue to deplete the ozone layer.

To get a view of what the ozone hole would have looked like if the world had not come to the agreement to limit CFCs, our scientists developed computer models. These show that by 2065, much of Earth would have had almost no ozone layer at all.

image

Luckily, the Montreal Protocol exists, and we’ve managed to save our protective ozone layer. Looking into the future, our scientists project that by 2065, the ozone hole will have returned to the same size it was thirty years ago.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com


Tags
5 years ago

A Tour of Storms Across the Solar System

image

Earth is a dynamic and stormy planet with everything from brief, rumbling thunderstorms to enormous, raging hurricanes, which are some of the most powerful and destructive storms on our world. But other planets also have storm clouds, lightning — even rain, of sorts. Let’s take a tour of some of the unusual storms in our solar system and beyond.

Tune in May 22 at 3 p.m. for more solar system forecasting with NASA Chief Scientist Jim Green during the latest installment of NASA Science Live: https://www.nasa.gov/nasasciencelive.

image

1. At Mercury: A Chance of Morning Micrometeoroid Showers and Magnetic ‘Tornadoes’

Mercury, the planet nearest the Sun, is scorching hot, with daytime temperatures of more than 800 degrees Fahrenheit (about 450 degrees Celsius). It also has weak gravity — only about 38% of Earth's — making it hard for Mercury to hold on to an atmosphere.

Its barely there atmosphere means Mercury doesn’t have dramatic storms, but it does have a strange "weather" pattern of sorts: it’s blasted with micrometeoroids, or tiny dust particles, usually in the morning. It also has magnetic “tornadoes” — twisted bundles of magnetic fields that connect the planet’s magnetic field to space.

image

2. At Venus: Earth’s ‘Almost’ Twin is a Hot Mess

Venus is often called Earth's twin because the two planets are similar in size and structure. But Venus is the hottest planet in our solar system, roasting at more than 800 degrees Fahrenheit (430 degrees Celsius) under a suffocating blanket of sulfuric acid clouds and a crushing atmosphere. Add to that the fact that Venus has lightning, maybe even more than Earth. 

In visible light, Venus appears bright yellowish-white because of its clouds. Earlier this year, Japanese researchers found a giant streak-like structure in the clouds based on observations by the Akatsuki spacecraft orbiting Venus.

image

3. At Earth: Multiple Storm Hazards Likely

Earth has lots of storms, including thunderstorms, blizzards and tornadoes. Tornadoes can pack winds over 300 miles per hour (480 kilometers per hour) and can cause intense localized damage.

But no storms match hurricanes in size and scale of devastation. Hurricanes, also called typhoons or cyclones, can last for days and have strong winds extending outward for 675 miles (1,100 kilometers). They can annihilate coastal areas and cause damage far inland.

image

4. At Mars: Hazy with a Chance of Dust Storms

Mars is infamous for intense dust storms, including some that grow to encircle the planet. In 2018, a global dust storm blanketed NASA's record-setting Opportunity rover, ending the mission after 15 years on the surface.

Mars has a thin atmosphere of mostly carbon dioxide. To the human eye, the sky would appear hazy and reddish or butterscotch colored because of all the dust suspended in the air. 

image

5. At Jupiter: A Shrinking Icon

It’s one of the best-known storms in the solar system: Jupiter’s Great Red Spot. It’s raged for at least 300 years and was once big enough to swallow Earth with room to spare. But it’s been shrinking for a century and a half. Nobody knows for sure, but it's possible the Great Red Spot could eventually disappear.

image

6. At Saturn: A Storm Chasers Paradise

Saturn has one of the most extraordinary atmospheric features in the solar system: a hexagon-shaped cloud pattern at its north pole. The hexagon is a six-sided jet stream with 200-mile-per-hour winds (about 322 kilometers per hour). Each side is a bit wider than Earth and multiple Earths could fit inside. In the middle of the hexagon is what looks like a cosmic belly button, but it’s actually a huge vortex that looks like a hurricane.

Storm chasers would have a field day on Saturn. Part of the southern hemisphere was dubbed "Storm Alley" by scientists on NASA's Cassini mission because of the frequent storm activity the spacecraft observed there. 

image

7. At Titan: Methane Rain and Dust Storms

Earth isn’t the only world in our solar system with bodies of liquid on its surface. Saturn’s moon Titan has rivers, lakes and large seas. It’s the only other world with a cycle of liquids like Earth’s water cycle, with rain falling from clouds, flowing across the surface, filling lakes and seas and evaporating back into the sky. But on Titan, the rain, rivers and seas are made of methane instead of water.

Data from the Cassini spacecraft also revealed what appear to be giant dust storms in Titan’s equatorial regions, making Titan the third solar system body, in addition to Earth and Mars, where dust storms have been observed.

image

8. At Uranus: A Polar Storm

Scientists were trying to solve a puzzle about clouds on the ice giant planet: What were they made of? When Voyager 2 flew by in 1986, it spotted few clouds. (This was due in part to the thick haze that envelops the planet, as well as Voyager's cameras not being designed to peer through the haze in infrared light.) But in 2018, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope snapped an image showing a vast, bright, stormy cloud cap across the north pole of Uranus.

image

9. At Neptune: Methane Clouds

Neptune is our solar system's windiest world. Winds whip clouds of frozen methane across the ice giant planet at speeds of more than 1,200 miles per hour (2,000 kilometers per hour) — about nine times faster than winds on Earth.

Neptune also has huge storm systems. In 1989, NASA’s Voyager 2 spotted two giant storms on Neptune as the spacecraft zipped by the planet. Scientists named the storms “The Great Dark Spot” and “Dark Spot 2.”

image

10. It’s Not Just Us: Extreme Weather in Another Solar System

Scientists using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope made a global map of the glow from a turbulent planet outside our solar system. The observations show the exoplanet, called WASP-43b, is a world of extremes. It has winds that howl at the speed of sound, from a 3,000-degree-Fahrenheit (1,600-degree-Celsius) day side, to a pitch-black night side where temperatures plunge below 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit (500 degrees Celsius).

Discovered in 2011, WASP-43b is located 260 light-years away. The planet is too distant to be photographed, but astronomers detected it by observing dips in the light of its parent star as the planet passes in front of it.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.


Tags
6 years ago

Build a Rover, Race a Rover!

image

Have you ever wanted to drive a rover across the surface of the Moon?

This weekend, students from around the world will get their chance to live out the experience on Earth! At the Human Exploration Rover Challenge, managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, high schoolers and college students operate human-powered rovers that they designed and built as they traverse a simulated world, making decisions and facing obstacles that replicate what the next generation of explorers will face in space.

image

Though the teams that build the rover can be a few people or a few dozen, in the end, two students (one male, one female) will end up navigating their rover through a custom-built course at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. Each duo will push their rover to the limit, climbing up hills, bumping over rocky and gravelly grounds, and completing mission objectives (like retrieving soil samples and planting their team flag) for extra points -- all in less than seven minutes.

image

2019 will mark the 25th year of Rover Challenge, which started life as the Great Moonbuggy Race on July 16, 1994. Six teams braved the rain and terrain (without a time limit) in the Rocket City that first year -- and in the end, the University of New Hampshire emerged victorious, powering through the moon craters, boulder fields and other obstacles in eighteen minutes and fifty-five seconds.

image

When it came time to present that year's design awards, though, the honors went to the University of Puerto Rico at Humacao, who have since become the only school to compete in every Great Moonbuggy Race and Rover Challenge hosted by NASA Marshall. The second-place finishers in 1994, the hometown University of Alabama in Huntsville, are the only other school to compete in both the first race and the 25th anniversary race in 2019.

image

Since that first expedition, the competition has only grown: the race was officially renamed the Human Exploration Rover Challenge for 2014, requiring teams to build even more of their rover from the wheels up, and last year, new challenges and tasks were added to better reflect the experience of completing a NASA mission on another planet. This year, almost 100 teams will be competing in Rover Challenge, hailing from 24 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and countries from Bolivia to Bangladesh.

image

Rover Challenge honors the legacy of the NASA Lunar Roving Vehicle, which made its first excursion on the moon in 1971, driven by astronauts David Scott and James Irwin on Apollo 15. Given the competition's space race inspiration, it's only appropriate that the 25th year of Rover Challenge is happening in 2019, the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin's historic Apollo 11 moon landing.

image

Interested in learning more about Rover Challenge? Get the details on the NASA Rover Challenge site -- then join us at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center (entrance is free) or watch live on the Rover Challenge Facebook Page starting at 7 AM CT, this Friday, April 12 and Saturday, April 13. Happy roving!

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com  


Tags
5 years ago

Ever get a random craving for a food when in space?


Tags
5 years ago

Moving at the Speed of Arctic Ice

Time-lapses taken from space can help track how Earth’s polar regions are changing, watching as glaciers retreat and accelerate, and ice sheets melt over decades.

image

Using our long data record and a new computer program, we can watch Alaskan glaciers shift and flow every year since 1972. Columbia Glacier, which was relatively stable in the 1970s, has since retreated rapidly as the climate continues to warm.

image

The Malaspina Glacier has pulsed and spread and pulsed again. The flashes and imperfect frames in these time-lapses result from the need for cloud-free images from each year, and the technology limitations of the early generation satellites.

image

In Greenland, glaciers are also reacting to the warming climate. Glaciers are essentially frozen rivers, flowing across land. As they get warmer, they flow faster and lose more ice to the ocean. On average, glaciers in Greenland have retreated about 3 miles between 1985 and 2018. The amount of ice loss was fairly consistent for the first 15 years of the record, but started increasing around 2000.

image

Warmer temperatures also affect Greenland farther inland, where the surface of ice sheets and glaciers melts, forming lakes that can be up to 3 miles across. Over the last 20 years, the number of meltwater lakes forming in Greenland increased 27% and appeared at higher elevations, where temperatures were previously too cold for melt.

image

Whether they're studying how ice flows into the water, or how water pools atop ice, scientists are investigating some of the many aspects of how climate affects Earth's polar regions. 

For more information, visit climate.nasa.gov.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.


Tags
4 years ago

Are You Up to the Task of Navigating Space with NASA?

image

We’re committed to exploration and discovery, journeying to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. But how do we guide our missions on their voyage among the stars? Navigation engineers lead the way!

Using complex mathematical formulas, navigation experts calculate where our spacecraft are and where they’re headed. No matter the destination, navigating the stars is a complicated challenge that faces all our missions. But, we think you’re up to the task!

Our space navigation workbook lets you explore the techniques and mathematical concepts used by navigation engineers. The book delves into groundbreaking navigation innovations like miniaturized atomic clocks, autonomous navigation technologies, using GPS signals at the Moon, and guiding missions through the solar system with X-ray emissions from pulsars — a type of neutron star. It also introduces you to experts working with NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

If you’re a high schooler who dreams of guiding a rover across the rocky surface of Mars or planning the trajectory of an observer swinging around Venus en route to the Sun, this workbook is for you! Download it today and start your adventure with NASA: https://go.nasa.gov/3i7Pzqr


Tags
9 years ago

20 Years of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory

The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, SOHO for short, has captured the imagination of scientists and the public alike for two decades now. We teamed up with the European Space Agency (ESA) on SOHO, which observes the sun from space. It was launched 20 years ago this week, on Dec. 2, 1995, with the mission to study the internal structure of our neighborhood star, its atmosphere and the origin of the solar wind. SOHO sends spectacular data daily, and has led scientists to a wealth of understanding.

Here are the top 5 things you need to know about SOHO, the sun and other solar observation missions:

1. SOHO Set Out for Space with an Ambitious Mission

image

SOHO was designed to answer three fundamental scientific questions about the sun: What are the structure and dynamics of the solar interior? Why does the solar corona exist and how is it heated to such an extremely high temperature? Where is the solar wind produced and how is it accelerated? Clues about the solar interior come from studying seismic waves that appear as ripples on the sun's surface, a technique called helioseismology.

2. SOHO Enjoys a Great View

20 Years Of The Solar And Heliospheric Observatory

SOHO commands an uninterrupted view of the sun, while always staying within easy communication range of controllers at home. The space-based observatory moves around the sun in step with the Earth, by slowly orbiting around a unique point in space called the First Lagrangian Point (L1). There, the combined gravity of the Earth and sun keep SOHO in a position that's always between the sun and the Earth. The L1 point is about 1 million miles (about 1.5 million kilometers) away from Earth (about four times the distance to the Moon).

3. Bonus Discoveries: Lots of Comets

image

Besides watching the sun, SOHO has become the most prolific discoverer of comets in astronomical history. In September 2015, SOHO found its 3000th comet. Sometimes the spacecraft's instruments capture comets plunging to their death as they collide with the sun.

4. Extra Innings

image

SOHO was meant to operate until 1998, but it was so successful that ESA and NASA decided to prolong its life several times and endorsed several mission extensions. Because of this, the mission has been able to observe an entire 11-year solar cycle and much of the next.

5. Keep Your Eye (Safely) on the Sun

image

You can see what SOHO sees, almost in real time. The latest images from the spacecraft, updated several times daily, are available online. Take a look HERE. 

Also, make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com


Tags
Loading...
End of content
No more pages to load
  • lotx-s
    lotx-s liked this · 4 years ago
  • kaworus-blog
    kaworus-blog liked this · 6 years ago
  • ghost-rocker
    ghost-rocker liked this · 7 years ago
  • aestheticndanime
    aestheticndanime liked this · 7 years ago
  • monicdzej
    monicdzej reblogged this · 7 years ago
  • nmbr1jppfan-blog
    nmbr1jppfan-blog liked this · 7 years ago
  • bobby76love
    bobby76love reblogged this · 8 years ago
  • brokentowels
    brokentowels liked this · 8 years ago
  • erose1967
    erose1967 liked this · 8 years ago
  • nicefarm
    nicefarm liked this · 8 years ago
  • bobby76love
    bobby76love reblogged this · 8 years ago
  • bobby76love
    bobby76love liked this · 8 years ago
  • interegnum
    interegnum reblogged this · 8 years ago
  • at-conception
    at-conception liked this · 8 years ago
  • drrrling
    drrrling liked this · 8 years ago
  • lightskinnedwithagoodtan
    lightskinnedwithagoodtan liked this · 8 years ago
  • newmanspwn
    newmanspwn liked this · 8 years ago
  • idoubtanyonecares
    idoubtanyonecares liked this · 8 years ago
  • boltmarrow
    boltmarrow liked this · 8 years ago
  • psuedoanon1-blog
    psuedoanon1-blog liked this · 8 years ago
  • fleurdelys95
    fleurdelys95 liked this · 8 years ago
  • andrew998877
    andrew998877 reblogged this · 8 years ago
  • livingnthspaces
    livingnthspaces reblogged this · 8 years ago
  • cayola
    cayola reblogged this · 8 years ago
  • kogiopsis
    kogiopsis reblogged this · 8 years ago
  • adoremusiesu
    adoremusiesu reblogged this · 8 years ago
  • adoremusiesu
    adoremusiesu liked this · 8 years ago
  • fleshengineer
    fleshengineer reblogged this · 8 years ago
  • fleshengineer
    fleshengineer liked this · 8 years ago
  • fr0mtheashes95
    fr0mtheashes95 reblogged this · 8 years ago
  • marinasobsession
    marinasobsession liked this · 8 years ago
  • asitrita
    asitrita liked this · 8 years ago
  • resolduende
    resolduende liked this · 8 years ago
  • jeza-jezaro
    jeza-jezaro reblogged this · 8 years ago
  • polariiize
    polariiize liked this · 8 years ago
  • saients
    saients reblogged this · 8 years ago
  • thingsmydadmightlike-blog
    thingsmydadmightlike-blog reblogged this · 8 years ago
nasa - NASA
NASA

Explore the universe and discover our home planet with the official NASA Tumblr account

1K posts

Explore Tumblr Blog
Search Through Tumblr Tags