What Are You Most Excited For In 2020?

It’s Not a Phase – We Love the Moon

International Observe the Moon Night is Oct. 21 and everyone's invited! Find a Moon-gazing party near you, learn about lunar science and exploration, and honor cultural connections to the moon.

This year, we want to know what the Moon looks like around you. Take a look at these photography tips, then snap a picture of the Moon and tag us! You may be featured on Tumblr’s Today page on Oct. 21.

@yesrazorbladecupcakes: Do you guys ever just goof off?

Good luck to your student! Reach for Mars!

Morning Jeanette. My 10 year son old recently told me his dream job that he would love to do is to become an Astronaut or be apart of a team that builds a spaceship. What is your best suggestion for me as his parent to help expose him to know what life is like for an astronaut and how much work did you put in your education to help you solidify your career that I can use as encouragement for him? Thanks again and you're AWESOME.

I spent 11 and a half years in school after high school, so I tell this to students because it takes a lot of investment in educating yourself. Then even beyond that, gaining experiences that are meaningful. After graduate school, working at Ford Motor Company and the CIA really taught me how to be a detailed scientist as well as working operationally in the field. I also did internships to help hone and sharpen skills as an engineer. I was happy with my career, and then I applied.

Will the James Webb Telescope also be able to spot out signs of life on habitable worlds?

Do you have any protections against asteroids?

Why is the final phase so difficult?Sorry if I sound dumb,I'm just curious.Also,what will be the rover's first task after landing?

More Than Just Drawings

Artist and graphic designer Mike Okuda may not be a household name, but you’re more familiar with his work than you know. Okuda’s artistic vision has left a mark here at NASA and on Star Trek. The series debuted 50 years ago in September 1966 and the distinctive lines and shapes of logos and ships that he created have etched their way into the minds of fans and inspired many.  

Flight Ops

The Flight Operations patch has a lengthy history, the original version of which dates to the early 1970s. Having designed a version of the patch, Okuda had some insights about the evolution of the design.

“The original version of that emblem was designed around 1972 by Robert McCall and represented Mission Control. It later changed to Mission Operations. I did the 2004 version, incorporating the space station, and reflecting the long-term goals of returning to the Moon, then on to Mars and beyond. I later did a version intended to reflect the new generation of spacecraft that are succeeding the shuttle, and most recently the 2014 version reflecting the merger of Mission Operations with the Astronaut Office under the new banner Flight Operations.”

“The NASA logos and patches are an important part of NASA culture,” Okuda said. “They create a team identity and they focus pride on a mission.”

In July 2009, Okuda received the NASA Exceptional Public Service Medal, which is awarded to those who are not government employees, but have made exceptional contributions to NASA’s mission. Above, Okuda holds one of the mission patches he designed, this one for STS-125, the final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.

Orion

Among the other patches that Okuda has designed for us, it one for the Orion crew exploration vehicle. Orion is an integral of our Journey to Mars and is an advanced spacecraft that will take our astronauts deeper into the solar system than ever before. 

Okuda’s vision of space can be seen in the Star Trek series through his futuristic set designs, a vision that came from his childhood fascination with the space program. 

Learn more about Star Trek and NASA.

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

I want to pursue a career in aeronautics and want to get into NASA. Any advice?

2016: This Year at NASA!

As 2016 comes to a close and prospects of the new year loom before us, we take a moment to look back at what we’ve accomplished and how it will set us ahead in the year to come.

2016 marked record-breaking progress in our exploration activities. We advanced the capabilities needed to travel farther into the solar system while increasing observations of our home and the universe, learning more about how to continuously live and work in space and, or course, inspiring the next generation of leaders to take up our journey to Mars and make their own discoveries.

Here are a few of the top NASA stories of 2016...

International Space Station

One Year Mission…completed!

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko returned to Earth after spending a year in space. Testing the limits of human research, findings from their One Year Mission will help send humans farther into space than ever before.

Commercial Resupply

Commercial partners Orbital ATK and SpaceX delivered tons (yes literally tons) of cargo to the International Space Station. This cargo supported hundreds of science experiments and technology demonstrations crucial to our journey to Mars.

Mars

Expandable Habitats

The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) was one of the technology demonstrations delivered to the space station in April. Expandable habitats greatly decrease the amount of transport volume for future space missions.

Booster Test Firing

In June, a booster for our Space Launch System (SLS) rocket successfully fired up. It will be used on the first un-crewed test flight of SLS with the Orion spacecraft in 2018. Eventually, this rocket and capsule will carry humans into deep space and one day…Mars!

InSight

This year we updated the milestones for our InSight mission with a new target launch window beginning in May 2018. This mission will place a fixed science outpost on Mars to study its deep interior. Findings and research from this project will address one of the most fundamental questions we have about the planetary and solar system science…how in the world did these rocky planets form?

Solar System and Beyond

Juno

On July 4, our Juno spacecraft arrived at Jupiter. This mission is working to improve our understanding of the solar system’s beginnings by revealing the origin and evolution of Jupiter.

OSIRIS-REx

In September, we launched our OSIRIS-REx spacecraft…which is America’s first-ever asteroid sample return mission. This spacecraft will travel to a near-Earth asteroid, called Bennu, where it will collect a sample to bring back to Earth for study.

James Webb Space Telescope

In February, the final primary mirror segment of our James Webb Space Telescope was installed. This will be the world’s most powerful space telescope ever, and is scheduled to launch in 2018. Webb will look back in time, studying the very first galaxies ever formed.

Kepler

In May, our Kepler mission verified the discovery of 1,284 new planets. Kepler is the first NASA mission to find potentially habitably Earth-sized planets.

Earth Right Now

Earth Expeditions

Our efforts to improve life on Earth included an announcement in March of a collection of Earth Science field campaigns to study how our planet is changing. These Earth Expeditions sent scientists to places like the edge of the Greenland ice sheet to the coral reefs of the South Pacific to delve into challenging questions about how our planet is changing…and what impacts humans are having on it.

Small Satellites

In November, we announced plans to launch six next-generation Earth-observing small satellite missions. One uses GPS signals to measure wind in hurricanes and tropical systems in greater detail than ever before.

Aeronautics Research

Our efforts in 2016 to make air travel cleaner, safer and quieter included new technology to improve safety and efficiency of aircraft arrivals, departures and service operations.

X-Plane

In June, we highlighted our first designation of an experimental airplane, or X-plane, in a decade. It will test new electric propulsion technology.

Drone Technolgy

In October, we evaluated a system being developed for the Federal Aviation Administration to safely manage drone air traffic.

Technology

Electric Propulsion

We selected Aerojet Rocketdyne to develop and advanced electric propulsion system to enable deep space travel to an asteroid and Mars.

Spinoffs

Our technology transfer program continued to share the agency’s technology with industry, academia and other government agencies at an unprecedented rate.

Centennial Challenges

Our Centennial Challenges program conducted four competition events in 2016 to spark innovation and enable solutions in important technology focus areas.

Watch the full video recap of ‘This Year @NASA’ here:

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Solar System: Things to Know This Week

The solar system is vast, and exploring it requires not one expedition, but many. From the sun to the Earth to the depths of space beyond Pluto, an entire fleet of spacecraft is pushing back the frontiers of knowledge. Scientists and engineers around the world work together on dozens of missions, and the results of their work unfold on a daily basis. During any given week, astronauts and robotic spacecraft return thousands of pictures and other data from Earth orbit and from half a dozen other worlds.

The result? It’s nothing short of a visual and intellectual feast. For example, all of the following images were obtained over the course of one week during January this year.

The same missions that took these pictures are still at work – they may be photographing Saturn or transmitting a report from Mars as you read this.

1. The Sun

From its clear vantage point in Earth orbit, our Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observes our nearby star almost continuously. This image shows activity on the sun’s surface on Jan. 18. You can also get similar pictures from SDO daily!

2. The Earth from Afar

The DSCOVR satellite orbits the Earth at a distance of nearly a million miles (1.5 million kilometers). It’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) keeps a steady watch on the home planet. This is how the world turned on Jan. 20. Get the latest daily images from EPIC HERE.

3. Mars from Above

The team that manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) recently celebrated a decade of observing the Red Planet. MRO took this detailed look at dunes and rocky buttes in Danielson Crater on Jan. 24. It was 3:06 p.m., local Mars time. On the right stide of the image, dust devils have left tracks in the sand.

4. Comet 67/P

The European Space Agency’s Rosetta probe caught this look at the surface of Comet 67/P from a distance of just 46 miles (75 kilometers) on Jan. 23.

5. Saturn

On the same day (Jan. 23), our Cassini spacecraft continued its odyssey of nearly two decades in space, bringing us this look at the sixth planet. See the latest images from Cassini HERE.

Want to learn more? Read our full list of the 10 things to know this week about the solar system HERE.

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