Cosmic Alphabet Soup: Classifying Stars

Meet NASA Astronaut Jessica Meir

Jessica Meir dreamed of the day she would make it to space since the age of five. That dream became a reality on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019 as she left Earth on her first spaceflight – later floating into her new home aboard the International Space Station. Jessica lifted off from Kazakhstan in the Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft at 9:57 a.m. EDT (1357 GMT) alongside spaceflight participant Ali Almansoori, the first United Arab Emirates astronaut, and Oleg Skripochka, a Russian cosmonaut. 

As an Expedition 61 and 62 crew member, Jessica will spend six months in the vacuum of space – conducting research on a multitude of science investigations and participating in several Human Research Program studies.

While Jessica’s new home is more than 200 miles over the Earth, she is no stranger to extreme environments. She studied penguins in Antarctica and mapped caves in Italy  –  both of which prepared her for the ultimate extreme environment: space.

Get to know astronaut and scientist, Jessica Meir. 

Antarctic Field Researcher

For her Ph.D. research, Jessica studied the diving physiology of marine mammals and birds. Her filed research took her all the way to Antarctica, where she focused on oxygen depletion in diving emperor penguins. Jessica is also an Antarctic diver! 

Geese Trainer

Image Credit: UBC Media Relations

Jessica investigated the high‐flying bar-headed goose during her post‐doctoral research at the University of British Columbia. She trained geese to fly in a wind tunnel while obtaining various physiological measurements in reduced oxygen conditions.

Wilderness Survival Expert

In 2013, Jessica was selected as an Astronaut Candidate. While training to be a full-fledged astronaut, she participated in three days of wilderness survival training near Rangeley, Maine, which was the first phase of her intensive astronaut training program.

Mission Control Flight Controller

In our astronaut office, Jessica gained extensive mission control experience, including serving as the Lead Capsule Communicator (CapCom) for Expedition 47, the BEAM (Bigelow expandable module on the International Space Station) mission and an HTV (Japanese Space Agency cargo vehicle) mission. The CapCom is the flight controller that speaks directly to the astronaut crew in space, on behalf of the rest of the Mission Control team. 

She’s reconnecting with her best friend... in space!

Following a successful launch to the space station, NASA astronaut Christina Koch tweeted this image of Jessica and the crew on their journey to the orbital lab in a Soyuz spacecraft. Excitement was high as Christina tweeted, “What it looks like from @Space_Station when your best friend achieves her lifelong dream to go to space. Caught the second stage in progress! We can’t wait to welcome you onboard, crew of Soyuz 61!” 

We know. #FriendshipGoals. 

Follow Jessica on Twitter at @Astro_Jessica and follow the International Space Station on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to keep up with all the cool stuff happening on our orbital laboratory.

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5 Things You Didn’t Know About Astronaut Shane Kimbrough!

After years of training NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough is launching to the International Space Station on Wednesday, so there’s not much left to say, right?  Wrong!  Here are five secrets about his past that the Texas native and retired Army officer hasn’t told us, until now.

1. Shane went to elementary school in Germany

But his family returned to the U.S. where he attended middle and high school.

2. Life is Smyrna, Georgia 

Shane attended middle and high school in the Atlanta suburb of Smyrna with movie star Julia Roberts!

3. Shane had an accomplished military career

A retired Army colonel, Shane graduated from West Point, after which he became an Army aviator. He later became a jumpmaster and has had a long and distinguished military career.

Read his bio.

4. He loves sports. All sports!

He LOVES playing, coaching and watching sports. Watching college football is one of the things he’ll miss while he’s on the station.

5. Leading the future

His passion for teaching is one that he finds “most rewarding.”

Follow Shane on the station at @astro_kimbrough.

Learn more about missions to the International Space Station HERE.

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NASA Spotlight: Astronaut Andrew Feustel

Andrew J. Feustel was selected by NASA in 2000. The Lake Orion, Michigan native has a Ph.D. in the Geological Sciences, specializing in Seismology, and is a veteran of three spaceflights. In 2009, Dr. Feustel served on space shuttle mission STS-125. That mission was the fifth and final mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope that improved the observatory’s capabilities through 2014! Feustel most recently served as Commander on the International Space Station from March 21 through October 4, 2018. In his free time, Dr. Feustel enjoys auto restoration, guitar, water and snow skiing and is a fan of automotive and motorcycle racing.  

He took some time from his job as a NASA astronaut to answer a few questions about his life and career! Enjoy:

While attending Oakland Community College, you worked as an auto mechanic. How does that job and the skills you learned relate to your job now as an astronaut?

I’ve often told people that I believe having this skillset is almost as important as my training in college and university. I relied on those skills almost every day in space and even on the ground while preparing for missions. That skillset has been really helpful in understanding how to maintain and repair equipment for spaceflight. In general, having those general skills of knowing how things fit together, what the structure is, and how things work, even without knowing anything about the particular item, is very helpful in life.

Has there ever been a time as a NASA Astronaut where you had to overcome self-doubt and if so, how did you?

Yes, probably the most impactful time I had to overcome self-doubt was on my very first mission as a rookie doing a spacewalk for the first time and having to make a repair on the Hubble Space Telescope. Since it was my first spacewalk, I didn’t know if I could do it and didn’t know how I would do. However, I had trained for that mission for three years and the training took over when I started the spacewalk. At that point, I didn’t focus on my self-doubt, I focused on my training and was able to carry out the tasks.

What are you most excited about for the upcoming Artemis Moon missions?

I am most excited about the possibility of humans establishing the ability to live off of our planet. To have the capability to exist on another surface. That, to me, is a start. Humans need that capability for us to live on the Moon then to go to Mars.

What did living in space teach you about community and teamwork?

Not just living in space, but working at NASA and training for space missions taught me a lot about community and teamwork. Living in space allows you to use the skills you learn about teamwork while training. While living in space you must rely on each other for everything. It’s important to recognize the value of working as a team. All of the astronauts have a very different mix of skills and that’s a great thing about the astronaut corps. Being successful and staying alive in space relies on community and teamwork.

What kind of impact did living and working in space have on how you view the Earth?

I am more aware of the fragility of our planet and species which is why humans should extend past the Earth. We are fragile as a planet and the Earth is vulnerable to the impacts of us living here. We cannot have zero impact on the planet, we will always have some impact, but the goal is to lessen the damage that we do to Earth to allow us to live here indefinitely if possible.

What or who inspired you to apply to be an astronaut?

I was inspired by reading the obituary of my great-great uncle. He was very successful in the utilities and railroad industry in the Midwest. Reading about his successes made me believe that I could do anything. I was also interested in space travel from a young age. I believed that I would be involved in the space industry. The motivation of understanding what family members had done before me really encouraged me to reach for my dreams and apply.

What book, movie, or show about space and/or astronauts is the most accurate? The least accurate? You wish was accurate?

I’m less concerned about the accuracy of space and space exploration portrayed in movies, but more interested with the creative thought behind them and I am fascinated with ideas and imagination of the people making these movies. Things portrayed as science fiction in the past become science fact in the future.

What's the most common misconception about astronauts / working at NASA?

The most common misconception about astronauts is that we go on spaceflights often. Over 95% of our job is spent working on the ground. People should come to this job because it’s important to space and space exploration. The job entails so much more than going into space yourself, but the good news is it’s all awesome. I have never been bored at my job. There are so many exciting parts of this work that contribute to NASA missions even if it doesn’t always mean being in space.

Can you share your favorite photo or video that you took in space?

My favorite photo is this one of Michigan and Canada. It captures my life – where I lived and everyone that I know and my family and friends – that’s where I consider home. It’s such a beautiful image.

That’s a wrap! Thank you Dr. Feustel for your time! 

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For NASA, Earth Day is Every Day!

With a fleet of spacecraft orbiting our home planet collecting data on everything from the air we breathe to natural disasters that impact our lives, Earth is always in focus. Join us as we celebrate our home with beautiful views from our unique vantage point of space.

On December 17, 1972, the crew of Apollo 17 snapped this iconic image of planet Earth. Dubbed the Blue Marble, this image was taken as Apollo 17 rocketed toward the moon. 

On the way to the moon or from the surface of Mars, our spacecraft have photographed the beauty of Earth from many vantage points. In this image, the most powerful telescope orbiting Mars captured this view of Earth and its moon, showing continent-size detail on the planet and the relative size of the moon. The image combines two separate exposures taken on November 20, 2016, by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on our Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. 

In this image taken on July 19, 2013, the wide-angle camera on our Cassini spacecraft captured Saturn's rings and our planet Earth and its moon in the same frame.

Our Suomi-NPP satellite also observed the Earth at night. Earth’s "night lights" often have a gee-whiz curiosity for the public , but have also served as a tool for fundamental research for nearly 25 years. They have provided a broad, beautiful picture, showing how humans have shaped the planet and lit up the darkness. 

You can be mesmerized by the constant swirls in these visualizations of ocean currents. The swirling flows of tens of thousands of ocean currents were captured using the largest computations of their kind ever undertaken, using high-end computing resources at our Ames Research Center. 

We’ve all seen iconic photographs of Earth shot by astronauts. But even satellites and robotic spacecraft often get in on the act. The above image, called “Pale Blue Dot,” was taken Voyager 1 in February 1990 from a distance of 4 billion miles.

Our satellites do more than take pretty pictures of Earth. They do everything from measure rainfall to observe weather patterns. The ten satellites in the Global Precipitation Measurement Constellation have provided unprecedented information about rain and snow fall across the entire Earth. This visualization shows the constellation in action, taking precipitation measurements underneath the satellite orbits. 

In an homage to Apollo 17′s “Blue Marble” image, Suomi-NPP, a joint NASA-NOAA Earth-observing satellite, made this composite image, by making a number of swaths of Earth's surface on January 4, 2012. 

What’s your favorite aspect of planet Earth? These kids have their own ideas. You can even “adopt” parts of the planet. Which one of the 64,000 locations will you get? 

Our home planet is constantly changing, which is why our fleet of Earth-observing satellites continuously monitor the globe, recording every moment of what they see. Luckily for us, many of the views are not only deeply informative but also awe-inspiring. 

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Bringing The Space Station Perspective to Earth in VR!

Only a few humans ever get to experience the awe-inspiring vantage point provided by the space station, but a new virtual reality (VR) experience, Space Explorers: The ISS Experience (ISS Experience), attempts to bring this perspective back to Earth for the rest of us.

Partnering with the ISS National Lab and Time, a team from Felix and Paul Studios launched a high quality 360 degree camera to space to help tell the story of science and life aboard the orbiting laboratory.

The project, currently in the process of being filmed by the station astronauts themselves, serves as an outreach project as well a technology demonstration, testing the limits of filming in the harsh environment of space.

The camera flew to the station on 16th SpaceX commercial resupply services mission in December 2018 along with a number of other scientific experiments.

Since then, the team has recorded many moments, including the SPHERES robots flying around the station (see below) , the growing and harvesting of vegetables, jam session among the astronauts, crew meals and the arrival of new astronauts.

So far, the footage coming back seems to be achieving the goal of immersing audiences in science and life aboard the space station. NASA astronaut Sunita Williams got the chance to watch some of the initial footage and says it was like I was back on the station.

While most of the filming has been completed, the biggest technical challenge is yet to come: capturing a spacewalk in virtual reality. The team expects to launch a new camera for spacewalk filming and begin production of spacewalk filming in 2020.

Learn more about ISS Experience here.

For daily updates, follow @ISS_Research on Twitter, Space Station Research and Technology News or our Facebook. Follow the ISS National Lab for information on its sponsored investigations. For opportunities to see the space station pass over your town, check out Spot the Station.

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How are decisions made about what experiments are sent into space? Are there certain kinds of experiments that NASA wants to conduct every time cargo is launched to the ISS, or are there occasionally experiments that are duplicated for more observation and data collection?

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes…and Our Instruments

Fires are some of the most dynamic and dramatic natural phenomena. They can change rapidly, burning natural landscapes and human environments alike. Fires are a natural part of many of Earth’s ecosystems, necessary to replenish soil and for healthy plant growth. But, as the planet warms, fires are becoming more intense, burning longer and hotter.

Right now, a fleet of vehicles and a team of scientists are in the field, studying how smoke from those fires affects air quality, weather and climate. The mission? It’s called FIREX-AQ. They’re working from the ground up to the sky to measure smoke, find out what’s in it, and investigate how it affects our lives.

Starting on the ground, the Langley Aerosol Research Group Experiment (LARGE) operates out of a large van. It’s one of two such vans working with the campaign, along with some other, smaller vans. It looks a little like a food truck, but instead of a kitchen, the inside is packed full of science instruments.

The team drives the van out into the wilderness to take measurements of smoke and tiny particles in the air at the ground level. This is important for a few reasons: First of all, it’s the stuff we’re breathing! It also gives us a look at smoke overnight, when the plumes tend to sink down out of the atmosphere and settle near the ground until temperatures heat back up with the Sun. The LARGE group camps out with their van full of instruments, taking continuous measurements of smoke…and not getting much sleep.

Just a little higher up, NOAA’s Twin Otter aircraft can flit down close to where the fires are actually burning, taking measurements of the smoke and getting a closer look at the fires themselves. The Twin Otters are known as “NOAA’s workhorses” because they’re easily maneuverable and can fly nice and slow to gather measurements, topping out at about 17,000 feet.

Then, sometimes flying at commercial plane height (30,000 feet) and swooping all the way down to 500 feet above the ground, NASA’s DC-8 is packed wing to wing with science instruments. The team onboard the DC-8 is looking at more than 500 different chemicals in the smoke.

The DC-8 does some fancy flying, crisscrossing over the fires in a maneuver called “the lawnmower” and sometimes spiraling down over one vertical column of air to capture smoke and particles at all different heights. Inside, the plane is full of instrument racks and tubing, capturing external air and measuring its chemical makeup. Fun fact: The front bathroom on the DC-8 is closed during science flights to make sure the instruments don’t accidentally measure anything ejected from the plane.

Finally, we make it all the way up to space. We’ve got a few different mechanisms for studying fires already mounted on satellites. Some of the satellites can see where active fires are burning, which helps scientists and first responders keep an eye on large swaths of land.

Some satellites can see smoke plumes, and help researchers track them as they move across land, blown by wind.

Other satellites help us track weather and forecast how the fires might behave. That’s important for keeping people safe, and it helps the FIREX-AQ team know where to fly and drive when they’ll get the most information. These forecasts use computer models, based on satellite observations and data about how fires and smoke behave. FIREX-AQ’s data will be fed back into these models to make them even more accurate.

Learn more about how NASA is studying fires from the field, here.

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Throwback Thursday: Apollo 11 FAQ Edition

With the help of the NASA History Office, we’ve identified some of the most frequently asked questions surrounding the first time humans walked on the surface of another world. Read on and click here to check out our previous Apollo FAQs. 

How many moon rocks did the Apollo crews bring back? What did we learn?

The six crews that landed on the Moon brought back 842 pounds (382 kilograms) of rocks, sand and dust from the lunar surface. Each time, they were transferred to Johnson Space Center’s Lunar Receiving Laboratory, a building that also housed the astronauts during their three weeks of quarantine. Today the building now houses other science divisions, but the lunar samples are preserved in the Lunar Sample Receiving Laboratory.

Built in 1979, the laboratory is the chief repository of the Apollo samples.

From these pieces of the Moon we learned that its chemical makeup is similar to that of Earth’s, with some differences. Studying the samples has yielded clues to the origins of the solar system. In March of 2019, we announced that three cases of pristine Moon samples will be unsealed for the first time in 50 years so that we can take advantage of the improved technology that exists today! 

Did you know you might not have to travel far to see a piece of the Moon up close? Visit our Find a Moon Rock page to find out where you can visit a piece of the Moon.

What did Apollo astronauts eat on their way to the Moon?

Astronaut food has come a long way since the days of Project Mercury, our first human spaceflight program that ran from 1958-1963. Back then, astronauts “enjoyed” food in cube form or squeezed out of tubes. Early astronaut food menus were designed less for flavor and more for nutritional value, but that eventually shifted as technology evolved. Astronauts today can enjoy whole foods like apples, pizza and even tacos. 

Apollo crews were the first to have hot water, making it easier to rehydrate their foods and improve its taste. They were also the first to use a “spoon bowl,” a plastic container that was somewhat like eating out of a Ziploc bag with a spoon. Here’s an example of a day’s menu for a voyage to the Moon:

Breakfast: bacon squares, strawberry cubes and an orange drink.

Lunch: beef and potatoes, applesauce and a brownie.

Dinner: salmon salad, chicken and rice, sugar cookie cubes and a pineapple grapefruit drink.

What did Michael Collins do while he orbited the Moon, alone in the Command Module?

As Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin worked on the lunar surface, Command Module pilot Michael Collins orbited the Moon, alone, for the next 21.5 hours. On board he ran systems checks, made surface observations and communicated with Mission Control when there wasn’t a communications blackout. Blackouts happened every time Collins went behind the Moon. In 2009, Collins wrote this in response to a flurry of media questions about the 40th anniversary of the mission:

Q. Circling the lonely Moon by yourself, the loneliest person in the universe, weren't you lonely? A. No. Far from feeling lonely or abandoned, I feel very much a part of what is taking place on the lunar surface. I know that I would be a liar or a fool if I said that I have the best of the three Apollo 11 seats, but I can say with truth and equanimity that I am perfectly satisfied with the one I have. This venture has been structured for three men, and I consider my third to be as necessary as either of the other two.”

What will Artemis astronauts bring back when they land on the Moon?

Artemis missions to the Moon will mark humanity’s first permanent presence on another world. The first woman and the next man to explore the lunar surface will land where nobody has ever attempted to land before -- on the Moon’s south pole where there are billions of tons of water ice that can be used for oxygen and fuel. We don’t know yet what astronauts will bring back from this unexplored territory, but we do know that they will return with hope and inspiration for the next generation of explorers: the Artemis generation. Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.

Deniz Burnham

A former NASA intern, Deniz Burnham started her career as an engineer on an oil rig in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, and went on to lead operations on drilling rigs in Canada, Ohio, and Texas. https://go.nasa.gov/3wDpfBo

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in a male dominated profession, what were some obstacles you faced as the first Hispanic female flight director and how did you overcome them? what would be your advice to young women interested in the space program?