NASA
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Shooting for the Stars: NASA Lights Up the Court at Toyota Center
On Nov. 6, 2024, NASA Night brought cosmic excitement to the Toyota Center, where Johnson Space Center employees joined 16,208 fans who interacted with NASA as they watched the Houston Rockets claim victory over the San Antonio Spurs. Energy soared as International Space Station Program Manager Dana Weigel stepped up to take the first shot. International Space Station Program Manager…
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NASA Ocean World Explorers Have to Swim Before They Can Fly
In a competition swimming pool, engineers tested prototypes for a futuristic mission concept: a swarm of underwater robots that could look for signs of life on ocean worlds. When NASA’s Europa Clipper reaches its destination in 2030, the spacecraft will prepare to aim an array of powerful science instruments toward Jupiter’s moon Europa during 49 flybys, looking for signs that…
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Making Mars’ Moons: Supercomputers Offer ‘Disruptive’ New Explanation
A NASA study using a series of supercomputer simulations reveals a potential new solution to a longstanding Martian mystery: How did Mars get its moons? The first step, the findings say, may have involved the destruction of an asteroid. The research team, led by Jacob Kegerreis, a postdoctoral research scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, found that an…
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Gateway Tops Off
Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element is now equipped with its xenon and liquid fuel tanks. Technicians carefully install a piece of equipment to house Gateway’s xenon fuel tanks, part of its advanced electric propulsion system. Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element, which will make the lunar space station the most powerful solar electric spacecraft ever flown, recently received the xenon and liquid…
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NASA’s Swift Reaches 20th Anniversary in Improved Pointing Mode
After two decades in space, NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is performing better than ever thanks to a new operational strategy implemented earlier this year. The spacecraft has made great scientific strides in the years since scientists dreamed up a new way to explore gamma-ray bursts, the most powerful explosions in the universe. “The idea for Swift was born during…
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About the Office of the Chief Knowledge Officer (OCKO)
The overarching purpose of the OCKO is to cultivate and sustain a learning culture at Goddard in support of mission success. We have instituted various processes and programs for lessons learned and critical knowledge identification, sharing, and application. The focus of the OCKO is to promote local learning practices that enhances domain-specific expertise within an expanded framework of how NASA…
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From Houston to the Moon: Johnson’s Thermal Vacuum Chamber Tests Lunar Solar Technology
Imagine designing technology that can survive on the Moon for up to a decade, providing a continuous energy supply. NASA selected three companies to develop such systems, aimed at providing a power source at the Moon’s South Pole for Artemis missions. Three companies were awarded contracts in 2022 with plans to test their self-sustaining solar arrays at the Johnson Space…
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On This Day: Apollo 12 Lands on the Moon
NASA astronaut Alan Bean steps off the lunar module ladder in this photo from Nov. 19, 1969, joining astronaut Charles Conrad Jr. on the Moon in the area called the Ocean of Storms. The two would then complete two spacewalks on the lunar surface, deploying science instruments, collecting geology samples, and inspecting the Surveyor 3 spacecraft, which had landed in the same area. While…
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NASA Plans to Assign Missions for Two Future Artemis Cargo Landers
NASA, along with its industry and international partners, is preparing for sustained exploration of the lunar surface with the Artemis campaign to advance science and discovery for the benefit of all. As part of that effort, NASA intends to award Blue Origin and SpaceX additional work under their existing contracts to develop landers that will deliver large pieces of equipment…
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Super Insulation Requires Super Materials
NASA researchers helped create an insulation coating that blocks heat and sunlight The thermal protection system on the outside of the space shuttle included hundreds of ceramic tiles custom made for the orbiter. These reflected heat off the shuttle’s outside surface during atmospheric re-entry and were an inspiration for the ceramic ingredients in Super Therm. Credit: NASA Without proper insulation,…
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