NASA STATEMENT ON JOHN GLENN SELECTION FOR MEDAL OF FREEDOM

FROM:  NASA
John Glenn Jr. enters Friendship 7. 
WASHINGTON -- NASA has released the following statement by
Administrator Charles Bolden about President Obama's announcement
that astronaut John Glenn has been selected as a recipient of the
2012 Presidential Medal of Freedom:

"NASA sends its warmest congratulations to Sen. John Glenn on being
named a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Both of
John's historic missions to space personified America's dreams and
what we believed we could be. Just as President Obama has set us on a
course to explore farther destinations in the solar system, John
Glenn helped this nation forge a path to a brighter future with
greater capabilities. We will build on his achievements to remain the
world's space leader for generations to come."

NASA SELECTS 10 SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PROJECTS

WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected ten proposals from small business and
research institution teams to continue work on innovative
technologies that could advance future missions. The Phase II winners
in the agency's Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program now
can enter negotiations for possible contract awards, with a total for
all projects of approximately $7.49 million.

High-technology firms in seven states submitted proposals in
partnership with research institutions in nine states. The STTR
Program uses a highly competitive, three-phase award system that
provides collaborative opportunities between qualified small
businesses, including women-owned and disadvantaged firms, and
research institutions to address specific technology gaps in NASA's
programs. STTR projects provide a foundation for future technology
developments and are complementary to other NASA research
investments.

Firms and research institutions that participated in Phase I of the
STTR submitted 44 Phase II proposals. Selection criteria included
technical merit and innovation, Phase I results, value to NASA,
commercial potential and company capabilities. Phase I is a
feasibility study to evaluate the scientific and technical merit of
an idea and Phase II will expand on the results of last year's
projects, with up to $750,000 to support research for up to two more
years. Phase III is for the commercialization of the results of Phase
II and requires private sector or non-STTR federal funding.

STTR is part of NASA's Space Technology Program and is managed at the
agency's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif., with
executive oversight by the Office of the Chief Technologist at NASA
Headquarters in Washington. Individual projects are managed by NASA's
field installations.

J-2X Engine Ready For Second Test Series

J-2X Engine Ready For Second Test Series

NASA EDGE: MMS Propulsion

NASA EDGE: MMS Propulsion

Preparing MAVEN for Mars

Preparing MAVEN for Mars

NASA DAWN SPACECRAFT REVEALS SECRETS OF GIANT ASTEROID VESTA FROM: NASA

FROM:  NASA
Photo:  Asteroid Vesta.  Credit:  NASA
 WASHINGTON -- Findings from NASA's Dawn spacecraft reveal new details about the giant asteroid Vesta, including its varied surface composition, sharp temperature changes and clues to its internal structure. The findings were presented today at the European Geosciences Union meeting in Vienna, Austria and will help scientists better understand the early solar system and processes that dominated its formation.

Spacecraft images, taken 420 miles (680 kilometers) and 130 miles (210 kilometers) above the surface of the asteroid, show a variety of surface mineral and rock patterns. Coded false-color images help scientists better understand Vesta's composition and enable them to identify material that was once molten below the asteroid's surface. Researchers also see breccias, which are rocks fused during impacts from space debris. Many of the materials seen by Dawn are composed of iron- and magnesium-rich minerals, which often are found in Earth's volcanic rocks.

 Images also reveal smooth pond-like deposits, which might have formed as fine dust created during impacts settled into low regions. "Dawn now enables us to study the variety of rock mixtures making up Vesta's surface in great detail," said Harald Hiesinger, a Dawn participating scientist at Münster University in Germany. "The images suggest an amazing variety of processes that paint Vesta's surface." At the Tarpeia crater near the south pole of the asteroid, Dawn revealed bands of minerals that appear as brilliant layers on the crater's steep slopes. The exposed layering allows scientists to see farther back into the geological history of the giant asteroid. The layers closer to the surface bear evidence of contamination from space rocks bombarding Vesta's surface. Layers below preserve more of their original characteristics. Frequent landslides on the slopes of the craters also have revealed other hidden mineral patterns.

"These results from Dawn suggest Vesta's 'skin' is constantly renewing," said Maria Cristina De Sanctis, lead of the visible and infrared mapping spectrometer team based at Italy's National Institute for Astrophysics in Rome.

 Dawn has given scientists a near 3-D view into Vesta's internal structure. By making ultrasensitive measurements of the asteroid's gravitational tug on the spacecraft, Dawn can detect unusual densities within its outer layers. Data now show an anomalous area near Vesta's south pole, suggesting denser material from a lower layer of Vesta has been exposed by the impact that created a feature called the Rheasilvia basin. The lighter, younger layers coating other parts of Vesta's surface have been blasted away in the basin.

Dawn obtained the highest-resolution surface temperature maps of any asteroid visited by a spacecraft. Data reveal temperatures can vary from as warm as -10 degrees Fahrenheit (-23 degrees Celsius) in the sunniest spots to as cold as -150 degrees Fahrenheit (-100 degrees Celsius) in the shadows. This is the lowest temperature measurable by Dawn. These findings show the surface responds quickly to illumination with no mitigating effect of an atmosphere.

 "After more than nine months at Vesta, Dawn's suite of instruments has enabled us to peel back the layers of mystery that have surrounded this giant asteroid since humankind first saw it as just a bright spot in the night sky," said Carol Raymond, Dawn deputy principal investigator at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. "We are closing in on the giant asteroid's secrets." Launched in 2007, Dawn began its exploration of the approximately 330-mile- (530-kilometer-) wide asteroid in mid-2011. The spacecraft's next assignment will be to study the dwarf planet Ceres in 2015. These two icons of the asteroid belt have been witness to much of our solar system's history. Dawn's mission is managed by JPL for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

Dawn is a project of the directorate's Discovery Program, managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. UCLA is responsible for overall Dawn mission science. Orbital Sciences Corp. in Dulles, Va., designed and built the spacecraft. The German Aerospace Center, the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, the Italian Space Agency and the Italian National Astrophysical Institute are international partners on the mission team.

Dlouhodobý plán technologií ESA pro kosmický průzkum

Dlouhodobý plán technologií ESA pro kosmický průzkum

Mars Express desvela la historia de la actividad volcánica en Marte

Mars Express desvela la historia de la actividad volcánica en Marte

NASA RELEASES CALL FOR PHASE II VISIONARY ADVANCED CONCEPTS

FROM:  NASA
WASHINGTON -- The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Program is
seeking proposals to continue promising studies for which it has
supported the first phase. These cutting-edge concepts have the
potential to transform future exploration missions, enable new
capabilities, or significantly alter current approaches to launching,
building, and operating aerospace systems.

"These transformative concepts have the potential to mature into the
new capabilities NASA needs for the challenging space missions in its
future," said Michael Gazarik, director of NASA's Space Technology
Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

NIAC projects are chosen based on their character as innovative and
visionary, technically substantiated, and very early in development
-- 10 years or more from use in a mission. NIAC's current diverse
portfolio represents multiple technology areas, including power,
propulsion, structures, and avionics.

"We are thrilled to be launching Phase II, so the 2012 NIAC portfolio
can feature the most exciting combination of new ideas and continued
development," said Jay Falker, NIAC program executive at NASA
Headquarters.

The call for proposals follows last summer's inaugural selection of
Phase I concepts, which are now under study. NIAC will be accepting
proposals of no more than 20 pages until June 6.

NASA expects to fund between five and nine Phase II studies this year.
The number of awards will depend on the strength of proposals and
availability of appropriated funds. Awardees will receive up to
$500,000 over two years to further analyze and develop their
innovative concepts and help create new avenues for future NASA
missions.

Selection announcements are expected in August. This limited
solicitation is only for continuing NIAC Phase I concepts. Phase II
proposals are eligible based on any current Phase I studies, or any
prior Phase I studies from the original NASA Institute for Advanced
Concepts that did not complete Phase II.

Wetenschap in de ruimte én op de grond

Wetenschap in de ruimte én op de grond

NASA MISSION WANTS AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS TO TARGET ASTEROIDS

WASHINGTON -- A new NASA outreach project will enlist the help of
amateur astronomers to discover near-Earth objects (NEOs) and study
their characteristics. NEOs are asteroids with orbits that
occasionally bring them close to the Earth.

Starting today, a new citizen science project called "Target
Asteroids!" will support NASA's Origins Spectral Interpretation
Resource Identification Security - Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx)
mission objectives to improve basic scientific understanding of NEOs.
OSIRIS-REx is scheduled for launch in 2016 and will study material
from an asteroid.

Amateur astronomers will help better characterize the population of
NEOs, including their position, motion, rotation and changes in the
intensity of light they emit. Professional astronomers will use this
information to refine theoretical models of asteroids, improving
their understanding about asteroids similar to the one OSIRIS-Rex
will encounter in 2019, designated 1999 RQ36.

OSIRIS-REx will map the asteroid's global properties, measure
non-gravitational forces and provide observations that can be
compared with data obtained by telescope observations from Earth. In
2023, OSIRIS-REx will return back to Earth at least 2.11 ounces (60
grams) of surface material from the asteroid.

Target Asteroids! data will be useful for comparisons with actual
mission data. The project team plans to expand participants in 2014
to students and teachers.

"Although few amateur astronomers have the capability to observe 1999
RQ36 itself, they do have the capability to observe other targets,"
said Jason Dworkin, OSIRIS-REx project scientist at NASA's Goddard
Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

Previous observations indicate 1999 RQ36 is made of primitive
materials. OSIRIS-REx will supply a wealth of information about the
asteroid's composition and structure. Data also will provide new
insights into the nature of the early solar system and its evolution,
orbits of NEOs and their impact risks, and the building blocks that
led to life on Earth.

Amateur astronomers long have provided NEO tracking observations in
support of NASA's NEO Observation Program. A better understanding of
NEOs is a critically important precursor in the selection and
targeting of future asteroid missions.

"For well over 10 years, amateurs have been important contributors in
the refinement of orbits for newly discovered near-Earth objects,"
said Edward Beshore, deputy principal investigator for the OSIRIS-REx
mission at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., will provide
overall mission management, systems engineering and safety and
mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. Dante Lauretta is the mission's
principal investigator at the University of Arizona. Lockheed Martin
Space Systems in Denver will build the spacecraft. OSIRIS-REx is the
third mission in NASA's New Frontiers Program. NASA's Marshall Space
Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages New Frontiers for the
agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

Erste Nutzlast für die nächsten Galileo-Satelliten ist bereit

Erste Nutzlast für die nächsten Galileo-Satelliten ist bereit

Presseeinladung: ISS-Symposium in Berlin

Presseeinladung: ISS-Symposium in Berlin

TEACHING A SPACESHIP HOW TO FLY

FROM:  NASA
A test model of the Orion spacecraft with its parachutes was tested the skies high above the U.S. Army’s Proving Grounds in Yuma, Ariz. on Feb. 29, 2012. This particular drop test examined the wake -- or the disturbance of the air flow behind Orion -- that is caused by the spacecraft. The U.S. Space Launch System, or SLS, will provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond Earth orbit and the Orion capsule is a major part of this program. The Orion spacecraft will replace the space shuttle as NASA's vehicle for human space exploration and is designed to accommodate four to six astronauts traveling into space. It also will supplement commercial and international partner transportation services to the International Space Station. Designed to be flexible for crew or cargo missions, SLS will continue America's journey of discovery from the unique vantage point of space. Image Credit: NASA

FIRST STAGE OF ANTARES ROCKET

FROM:  NASA
The first stage of Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Antares rocket stands in launch position during pathfinder operations at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport. Orbital’s Antares launch vehicle will be conducting missions for NASA under its Commercial Orbital Transportation Service Program and Cargo Resupply Services contract. Image Credit: NASA/P.Black

ESA Portal - Czech Republic - Vesmír pro Evropu

ESA Portal - Czech Republic - Vesmír pro Evropu

NASA - Robotic Arm Target Practice

NASA - Robotic Arm Target Practice

NASA, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SELECT FIRST ASTROBIOLOGY CHAIR

FROM:  NASA
WASHINGTON -- NASA and the Library of Congress have announced the
selection of David H. Grinspoon to be the first Baruch S. Blumberg
NASA-Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology.

The chair, selected through an international competition, is named for
the late Nobel Laureate and founding director of the NASA
Astrobiology Institute, Baruch "Barry" Blumberg. Applications are
solicited by the Library of Congress and reviewed by a panel jointly
established by the Library and NASA. The prestigious position was
created in November 2011.

Grinspoon will be in residence for a year beginning November 2012 at
the library's scholarly research organization, the Kluge Center, in
Washington. He is the curator of astrobiology in the Department of
Space Sciences at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Grinspoon
is a well-known researcher in planetary science and the author of the
award-winning book "Lonely Planets: The Natural Philosophy of Alien
Life."

"Grinspoon's background as an astrobiology researcher, writer and
communicator of science makes him an ideal choice," said Carl
Pilcher, director of the Astrobiology Institute at NASA's Ames
Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif. "This is certainly the start
of what will become a great tradition of astrobiology chairs at the
library."

Astrobiology is the study of the origins, evolution, distribution and
future of life in the universe. It addresses three fundamental
questions: How did life begin and evolve? Is there life elsewhere?
What is the future of life on Earth and beyond? The institute's
mission is to promote interdisciplinary research in astrobiology,
train the next generation of astrobiologists and provide scientific
and technical leadership for NASA space missions.

"Grinspoon is uniquely positioned to introduce the Library's unique
multidisciplinary collections on the emerging subject to a wide and
diverse public," said Librarian of Congress James H. Billington.

At the library, Blumberg was a founding member of the Scholar's
Council, a 12-member group of distinguished scholars who advise the
Librarian of Congress on matters of scholarship.

Blumberg was awarded the 1976 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine
for discovery of the Hepatitis B virus and development of a vaccine
to prevent Hepatitis B infection. He was the founding director of the
NASA Astrobiology Institute, serving from 1999 to 2002.

Grinspoon will examine choices facing humanity as we enter the
Anthropocene Era, the epoch when human activities are becoming a
defining characteristic of the physical nature and functioning of
Earth. His research will include studies of the role of planetary
exploration in fostering scientific and public understanding of
climate change and the power of astrobiology as a model of
interdisciplinary research and communication.

Prstence, Titan a Enceladus

Prstence, Titan a Enceladus

ESA Portal - France - Life After March

ESA Portal - France - Life After March

SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY DISCOVERS ITS FINAL RESTING PLACE

FROM:  U.S. NAVY
The space shuttle Discovery attached to its 747 transport passes over the nation's capital. It will land in Washington D.C. to become an exhibit at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Discovery, along with the rest of the shuttle fleet, has been retired from active service after 32 years of operations. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jason M. Graham 

NASA Ames Research Center News and Features Update

NASA Ames Research Center News and Features Update

ESA Portal - United Kingdom - Tim gets his feet wet

ESA Portal - United Kingdom - Tim gets his feet wet

COMMERCIAL PLATFORM OFFERS EXPOSURE AT SPACE STATION

FROM:  NASA
WASHINGTON -- Researchers will be able to expose experiments to the
weightlessness and vacuum of space by using a new commercial platform
outside of International Space Station (ISS).

NanoRacks LLC will develop and operate the External Platform Program
(EPP) to take advantage of the only orbiting lab that offers
long-term, repeat access to the unique environment of unpressurized
space. NanoRacks is a private company already operating research
facilities under a NASA Space Act Agreement for use of the station's
U.S. National Laboratory.

The EPP and equipment will be developed and operated using only
commercial funding. NASA will contribute space station hardware and
resources such as power and data transmission systems. The Center for
the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), which manages the
portion of the station operated as a U.S. National Laboratory, will
reserve the first external platform site for commercial researchers.
The external platform, scheduled to be launched by 2014, will provide
low-cost access to space. It is designed to encourage users to test
materials, biological samples, sensors and sophisticated electronics
outside the space station, which orbits 240 miles above Earth.

"This program opens the door to allow commercial users to fully
utilize not only the U.S. National Laboratory in a pressurized
environment but also outside," said ISS National Laboratory Manager
Marybeth Edeen. "It's another example how companies are investing
their own money to take advantage of this unique national resource."

NanoRacks selected Astrium North America as a team member in the
development of the EPP facility. The program capitalizes on the
history and strengths of the two companies in providing external
payload platforms, operating commercial facilities, and using
off-the-shelf hardware, standard interfaces and existing space
station data and power systems.

The contributions by NanoRacks and Astrium are the most recent example
of NASA efforts to expand the station's research capacity through
innovative partnerships with commercial companies.

"This new capability offers unique opportunities for the research
community and industry to engage in exciting areas of study,
including materials and observational sciences," said CASIS Interim
Executive Director Jim Royston.

NanoRacks operates platforms inside the U.S. National Laboratory,
which also were financed and developed solely by the commercial
company and its partners.

BLACK HOLE BLAZARS AND THE RELEASE OF NEARLY LIGHT SPEED JETS

FROM:  NASA
WASHINGTON -- Astronomers are actively hunting a class of supermassive
black holes throughout the universe called blazars thanks to data
collected by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). The
mission has revealed more than 200 blazars and has the potential to
find thousands more.

Blazars are among the most energetic objects in the universe. They
consist of supermassive black holes actively "feeding," or pulling
matter onto them, at the cores of giant galaxies. As the matter is
dragged toward the supermassive hole, some of the energy is released
in the form of jets traveling at nearly the speed of light. Blazars
are unique because their jets are pointed directly at us.

"Blazars are extremely rare because it's not too often that a
supermassive black hole's jet happens to point towards Earth," said
Franceso Massaro of the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and
Cosmology near Palo Alto, Calif., and principal investigator of the
research, published in a series of papers in the Astrophysical
Journal. "We came up with a crazy idea to use WISE's infrared
observations, which are typically associated with lower-energy
phenomena, to spot high-energy blazars, and it worked better than we
hoped."

The findings ultimately will help researchers understand the extreme
physics behind super-fast jets and the evolution of supermassive
black holes in the early universe.

WISE surveyed the entire celestial sky in infrared light in 2010,
creating a catalog of hundreds of millions of objects of all types.
Its first batch of data was released to the larger astronomy
community in April 2011 and the full-sky data were released last
month.

Massaro and his team used the first batch of data, covering more than
one-half the sky, to test their idea that WISE could identify
blazars. Astronomers often use infrared data to look for the weak
heat signatures of cooler objects. Blazars are not cool; they are
scorching hot and glow with the highest-energy type of light, called
gamma rays. However, they also give off a specific infrared signature
when particles in their jets are accelerated to almost the speed of
light.

One of the reasons the team wants to find new blazars is to help
identify mysterious spots in the sky sizzling with high-energy gamma
rays, many of which are suspected to be blazars. NASA's Fermi mission
has identified hundreds of these spots, but other telescopes are
needed to narrow in on the source of the gamma rays.

Sifting through the early WISE catalog, the astronomers looked for the
infrared signatures of blazars at the locations of more than 300
gamma-ray sources that remain mysterious. The researchers were able
to show that a little more than half of the sources are most likely
blazars.

"This is a significant step toward unveiling the mystery of the many
bright gamma-ray sources that are still of unknown origin," said
Raffaele D'Abrusco, a co-author of the papers from Harvard
Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass. "WISE's
infrared vision is actually helping us understand what's happening in
the gamma-ray sky."

The team also used WISE images to identify more than 50 additional
blazar candidates and observed more than 1,000 previously discovered
blazars. According to Massaro, the new technique, when applied
directly to WISE's full-sky catalog, has the potential to uncover
thousands more.

"We had no idea when we were building WISE that it would turn out to
yield a blazar gold mine," said Peter Eisenhardt, WISE project
scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena,
Calif., who is not associated with the new studies. "That's the
beauty of an all-sky survey. You can explore the nature of just about
any phenomenon in the universe."  
                                                

                                                 Image of a Black Hole. Credit NASA 

JPL manages and operates WISE for NASA's Science Mission Directorate
in Washington. The principal investigator for WISE, Edward Wright, is
at UCLA. The mission was competitively selected under NASA's
Explorers Program, managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center in
Greenbelt, Md. The science instrument was built by the Space Dynamics
Laboratory in Logan, Utah, and the spacecraft was built by Ball

Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colo. Science operations
and data processing and archiving take place at the Infrared
Processing and Analysis Center at the California Institute of
Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.

GALACTIC COLLISION

FROM:  NASA
Using a combination of powerful observatories in space and on the ground, astronomers have observed a violent collision between two galaxy clusters in which so-called normal matter has been wrenched apart from dark matter through a violent collision between two galaxy clusters.

Finding another system that is further along in its evolution than the Bullet Cluster gives scientists valuable insight into a different phase of how galaxy clusters -- the largest known objects held together by gravity -- grow and change after major collisions.

Researchers used observations from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope as well as the Keck, Subaru and Kitt Peak Mayall telescopes to show that hot, X-ray bright gas in the Musket Ball Cluster has been clearly separated from dark matter and galaxies.

In this composite image, the hot gas observed with Chandra is colored red, and the galaxies in the optical image from Hubble appear as mostly white and yellow. The location of the majority of the matter in the cluster (dominated by dark matter) is colored blue. When the red and the blue regions overlap, the result is purple as seen in the image. The matter distribution is determined by using data from Subaru, Hubble and the Mayall telescope that reveal the effects of gravitational lensing, an effect predicted by Einstein where large masses can distort the light from distant objects.

In addition to the Bullet Cluster, five other similar examples of merging clusters with separation between normal and dark matter and varying levels of complexity, have previously been found. In these six systems, the collision is estimated to have occurred between 170 million and 250 million years earlier.

In the Musket Ball Cluster, the system is observed about 700 million years after the collision. Taking into account the uncertainties in the age estimate, the merger that has formed the Musket Ball Cluster is two to five times further along than in previously observed systems. Also, the relative speed of the two clusters that collided to form the Musket Ball cluster was lower than most of the other Bullet Cluster-like objects.

The special environment of galaxy clusters, including the effects of frequent collisions with other clusters or groups of galaxies and the presence of large amounts of hot, intergalactic gas, is likely to play an important role in the evolution of their member galaxies. However, it is still unclear whether cluster mergers trigger star formation, suppress it, or have little immediate effect. The Musket Ball Cluster holds promise for deciding between these alternatives.

The Musket Ball Cluster also allows an independent study of whether dark matter can interact with itself. This information is important for narrowing down the type of particle that may be responsible for dark matter. No evidence is reported for self-interaction in the Musket Ball Cluster, consistent with the results for the Bullet Cluster and the other similar clusters.

The Musket Ball Cluster is located about 5.2 billion light years away from Earth. A paper describing these results was led by Will Dawson from University of California, Davis and was published in the March 10, 2012 issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters. The other co-authors were David Wittman, M. James Jee and Perry Gee from UC Davis, Jack Hughes from Rutgers University in NJ, J. Anthony Tyson, Samuel Schmidt, Paul Thorman and Marusa Bradac from UC Davis, Satoshi Miyazaki from the Graduate University for Advanced Studies (GUAS) in Tokyo, Japan, Brian Lemaux from UC Davis, Yousuke Utsumi from GUAS and Vera Margoniner from California State University, Sacramento.

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls Chandra's science and flight operations from Cambridge, Mass.

NASA 905 WILL TAKE SHUTTLES TO FINAL RESTING PLACES

FROM:  NASA
The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft glides down the runway of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The aircraft, known as an SCA, arrived at 5:35 p.m. EDT to prepare for shuttle Discovery’s ferry flight to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Sterling, Va., on April 17. This SCA, designated NASA 905, is a modified Boeing 747 jet airliner, originally manufactured for commercial use. One of two SCAs employed over the course of the Space Shuttle Program, NASA 905 is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 911 was decommissioned at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center in California in February. Discovery will be placed on permanent public display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Image Credit: NASA/Frankie Martin

Internet auf Mond, Mars und ISS

Internet auf Mond, Mars und ISS

ESA Portal - Czech Republic - Nečekané přerušení činnosti družice Envisat

ESA Portal - Czech Republic - Nečekané přerušení činnosti družice Envisat

SPACE SHUTTLE IMAX CAMERA ON DISPLAY AT SMITHSONIAN

FROM NASA
An IMAX camera that flew aboard a space shuttle is seen at the Moving Beyond Earth Gallery at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Wednesday, April 4, 2012, in Washington. This and another IMAX camera that flew in space became a part of the museum's collection. From 1984 to 1998 the 70mm cameras accompanied astronauts on 17 space shuttle missions offering stunning views of Earth from space and offered an up-close look at what it is like to live and work in a weightless environment. Image Credit: NASA/Paul E. Alers

ESA'S AUTOMATED TRANSFER VEHICLE APPROACHES INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

FROM:  NASA
In this photo taken from the International Space Station, the European Space Agency’s Automated Transfer Vehicle-3 (ATV-3) is seen on approach for docking. The unmanned cargo spacecraft docked to the space station at 6:31 p.m. EDT on March 28, 2012. The ATV-3 delivered 220 pounds of oxygen, 628 pounds of water, 4.5 tons of propellant and nearly 2.5 tons of dry cargo. Among other items, the station crew received experiment hardware, spare parts, food and clothing. The six-member Expedition 30 crew adjusted its sleep schedule to accommodate the ATV-3 docking. The crew stayed up late to monitor the approach and docking. Image Credit: NASA

T-38 ASTRONAUT TRAINING AIRCRAFT FLIES OVER THE CAPITAL

A NASA T-38 training jet is seen as it flies over Washington, DC, Thursday, April 5, 2012. NASA, in cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration, conducted training and photographic flights over the DC metropolitan area. T-38 aircraft have been used for astronaut training for more than 30 years as they allow pilots and mission specialists to think quickly in changing situations, mental experiences the astronauts say are critical to practicing for the rigors of spaceflight. Image Credit: NASA/Carla Cioffi 

SOUTH POLE TELESCOPE HELPS EXPLAIN MYSTERIOUS DARK MATTER

FROM NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Credit: Daniel Luong-Van, National Science Foundation

NSF-funded 10-meter South Pole Telescope in Antarctica provides new support for the most widely accepted explanation of dark energy, the source of the mysterious force that is responsible for the accelerating expansion of the universe.

April 2, 2012
Analysis of data from the National Science Foundation- (NSF) funded 10-meter South Pole Telescope (SPT) in Antarctica provides new support for the most widely accepted explanation of dark energy, the source of the mysterious force that is responsible for the accelerating expansion of the universe.

The results begin to hone in on the tiny mass of the neutrinos, the most abundant particles in the universe, which until recently were thought to be without mass.
The SPT data strongly support Albert Einstein's cosmological constant--the leading model for dark energy--even though researchers base the analysis on only a fraction of the SPT data collected and only 100 of the over 500 galaxy clusters detected so far.
"With the full SPT data set we will be able to place extremely tight constraints on dark energy and possibly determine the mass of the neutrinos," said Bradford Benson, an NSF-funded postdoctoral scientist at the University of Chicago's Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics.

Benson presented the SPT collaboration's latest findings, Sunday, April 1, at the American Physical Society meeting in Atlanta.

These most recent SPT findings are only the latest scientifically significant results produced by NSF-funded researchers using the telescope in the five years since it became active, noted Vladimir Papitashvili, Antarctic Astrophysics and Geospace Sciences program director in NSF's Office of Polar Programs.

"The South Pole Telescope has proven to be a crown jewel of astrophysical research carried out by NSF in the Antarctic," he said. "It has produced about two dozen peer-reviewed science publications since the telescope received its 'first light' on Feb. 17, 2007. SPT is a very focused, well-managed and amazing project."

The 280-ton SPT stands 75 feet tall and is the largest astronomical telescope ever built in the clear and dry air of Antarctica. Sited at NSF's Amundsen-Scott South Pole station at the geographic South Pole, it stands at an elevation of 9,300 feet on the polar plateau. Because of its location at the Earth's axis, it can conduct long-term observations.

NSF manages the U.S. Antarctic Program through which it coordinates all U.S. scientific research on the southernmost continent and aboard ships in the Southern Ocean as well as providing the necessary related logistics support.

An international research collaboration led by the University of Chicago manages the South Pole Telescope. The collaboration includes research groups at Argonne National Laboratory; Cardiff University in Wales; Case Western Reserve University; Harvard University; Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Germany; the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory; McGill University in Canada; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of California, Davis; the University of Colorado Boulder; and the University of Michigan, as well as individual scientists at several other institutions.

SPT specifically was designed to tackle the dark-energy mystery. The 10-meter telescope operates at millimeter wavelengths to make high-resolution images of Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation, the light left over from the big bang.

Scientists use the CMB to search for distant, massive galaxy clusters that can be used to pinpoint the properties of dark energy and also help define the mass of the neutrino.
"The CMB is literally an image of the universe when it was only 400,000 years old, from a time before the first planets, stars and galaxies formed in the universe," Benson said. "The CMB has travelled across the entire observable universe, for almost 14 billion years, and during its journey is imprinted with information regarding both the content and evolution of the universe."

The new SPT results are based on a new method that combines measurements taken by the telescope and by NASA and European Space Agency X-ray satellites, and extends these measurements to larger distances than previously achieved.

The most widely accepted property of dark energy is that it leads to a pervasive force acting everywhere and at all times in the universe. This force could be the manifestation of Einstein's cosmological constant that assigns energy to space, even when it is free of matter and radiation.

Einstein considered the cosmological constant to be one of his greatest blunders after learning that the universe is not static, but expanding.

In the late 1990s, astronomers discovered the universe's expansion appears to be accelerating according to cosmic distance measurements based on the relatively uniform luminosity of exploding stars. The finding was a surprise because gravity should have been slowing the expansion, which followed the big bang.

Einstein introduced the cosmological constant into his theory of general relativity to accommodate a stationary universe, the dominant idea of his day. But his constant fits nicely into the context of an accelerating universe, now supported by countless astronomical observations.

Others hypothesize that gravity could operate differently on the largest scales of the universe. In either case, the astronomical measurements point to new physics that have yet to be understood.

As the CMB passes through galaxy clusters, the clusters effectively leave "shadows" that allow astronomers to identify the most massive clusters in the universe, nearly independent of their distance.

"Clusters of galaxies are the most massive, rare objects in the universe, and therefore they can be effective probes to study physics on the largest scales of the universe," said John Carlstrom, the S. Chandrasekhar Distinguished Service Professor in Astronomy & Astrophysics, who heads the SPT collaboration.

"The unsurpassed sensitivity and resolution of the CMB maps produced with the South Pole Telescope provides the most detailed view of the young universe and allows us to find all the massive clusters in the distant universe," said Christian Reichardt, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley and lead author of the new SPT cluster catalog paper.

The number of clusters that formed over the history of the universe is sensitive to the mass of the neutrinos and the influence of dark energy on the growth of cosmic structures.
"Neutrinos are amongst the most abundant particles in the universe," Benson said. "About one trillion neutrinos pass through us each second, though you would hardly notice them because they rarely interact with 'normal' matter."

The existence of neutrinos was proposed in 1930. They were first detected 25 years later, but their exact mass remains unknown. If they are too massive they would significantly affect the formation of galaxies and galaxy clusters, Benson said.

The SPT team has been able to improve estimates of neutrino masses, yielding a value that approaches predictions stemming from particle physics measurements.

"It is astounding how SPT measurements of the largest structures in the universe lead to new insights on the evasive neutrinos," said Lloyd Knox, professor of physics at the University of California at Davis and member of the SPT collaboration. Knox will also highlight the neutrino results in his presentation on Neutrinos in Cosmology at a special session of the APS on Tuesday, April 3.

NSF's Office of Polar Programs primarily funds the SPT. The NSF-funded Physics Frontier Center of the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, the Kavli Foundation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation provide partial support.

NASA ROBOTS SHOWCASED AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY'S 'ROBOT BLOCK PARTY'

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. – Two cutting-edge NASA prototype robots will be
featured during a "Robot Block Party" at Stanford University,
Stanford, Calif. from 1 – 6 p.m. PDT, Wednesday, April 11, 2012. The
Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School is hosting the
free public event as part of the third annual National Robotics Week.

Robotic technology from the Intelligent Robotics Group (IRG) at NASA's
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., will be on display,
including a volleyball-sized free-flying satellite, known as "Smart
SPHERES." Also featured will be a prototype robot based on a
dynamically-controlled "tensegrity structure" – a collection of rods
connected and suspended by tensioned cables – called "TenseBot."

The International Space Station currently houses three Synchronized
Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites (SPHERES)
equipped with a Nexus™ S Smartphone made by Samsung Electronics and
using Google’s Android™ platform. Later this year, the IRG will
remotely control the Smart SPHERES from the Mission Control Center at
NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston. The test will simulate a mobile
inspection of the space station to see how well the free-flying
robots can collect data using the smartphone's camera and sensors.

The TenseBot will be used to explore how tensegrity structures, which
are typically built as architectural art exhibits, can be controlled
by computers. Researchers in the IRG are interested in tension-based
structures because they have great potential to save space, weight
and energy and can be used for a variety of tasks on NASA's future
space missions, including deploying antennas, aligning large payloads
and pointing solar arrays.

Other robotic technology on display at the Robot Block Party includes
robots that drive cars, climb walls, assemble delicate parts, and
help perform medical procedures.

The Robot Block Party will be held in the Volkswagen Automotive
Innovation Lab at 473 Oak Rd, off Stock Farm Rd, Stanford. Park in
Parking Structure 5, or adjacent lots.

National Robotics Week is organized by the Robotics Caucus of the U.S.
Congress and leading robotics companies, schools, and organizations.

ISF VIEWS NORTH WESTERN EUROPE BENEATH THE AURORA BOREALIS

Flying at an altitude of about 240 miles over the eastern North Atlantic, the Expedition 30 crew aboard the International Space Station photographed this nighttime scene. This view looks northeastward. Center point coordinates are 46.8 degrees north latitude and 14.3 degrees west longitude. The night lights of the cities of Ireland, in the foreground, and the United Kingdom, in the back and to the right, are contrasted by the bright sunrise in the background. The greens and purples of the Aurora Borealis are seen along the rest of the horizon. This image was taken on March 28, 2012. Image Credit: NASA

VIEW OF DUBAI FROM THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

FROM:  NASA
City lights of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, are featured in this image taken by the Expedition 30 crew aboard the International Space Station. The City of Dubai--the largest metropolitan area within the emirate of Dubai--is a favorite subject of astronaut photography largely due to the unique artificial archipelagos situated directly offshore in the Persian Gulf, which were built such that their full design is only visible from the vantage point of an airplane -- or an orbiting spacecraft. The city presents an eye-catching appearance at night that vividly displays the urban development pattern. In this detailed image, taken with a long focal length lens and digital camera optimized for fast response and high light sensitivity, several interesting patterns can be observed. The highways and major streets are sharply defined by yellow-orange lighting, while the commercial and residential areas are resolved into a speckle pattern of individual white, blue and yellow-orange lights. Several large and brilliantly lit areas are large hotel and mall complexes, including the Burj Khalifa Tower, the world's tallest building at 2,717 feet, or 828 meters. The brilliant lighting of the city contrasts sharply with both the dark Persian Gulf to the northwest, and largely undeveloped and unlit areas to the southeast. Likewise, the clusters of lighting in the Palm Jumeira complex at bottom right correspond to the relatively small part of the archipelago that has been developed. Isolated areas of blurred city lights are due to patchy clouds. Image Credit: NASA

SPACESHIP OF STARS?

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has spotted the "UFO Galaxy." NGC 2683 is a spiral galaxy seen almost edge-on, giving it the shape of a classic science fiction spaceship. This is why the astronomers at the Astronaut Memorial Planetarium and Observatory, Cocoa, Fla., gave it this attention-grabbing nickname. While a bird's eye view lets us see the detailed structure of a galaxy (such as this Hubble image of a barred spiral), a side-on view has its own perks. In particular, it gives astronomers a great opportunity to see the delicate dusty lanes of the spiral arms silhouetted against the golden haze of the galaxy’s core. In addition, brilliant clusters of young blue stars shine scattered throughout the disc, mapping the galaxy’s star-forming regions. Perhaps surprisingly, side-on views of galaxies like this one do not prevent astronomers from deducing their structures. Studies of the properties of the light coming from NGC 2683 suggest that this is a barred spiral galaxy, even though the angle we see it at does not let us see this directly. This image is produced from two adjacent fields observed in visible and infrared light by Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. A narrow strip which appears slightly blurred and crosses most the image horizontally is a result of a gap between Hubble’s detectors. This strip has been patched using images from observations of the galaxy made by ground-based telescopes, which show significantly less detail. The field of view is approximately 6.5 by 3.3 arcminutes. Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA
The Photo and excerpt are from the NASA website:

NASA LOOKING TO FIND WASTE SOLUTIONS FOR SPACE TRAVELERS

The following excerpt is from the NASA website:
NASA, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the State 
Department and Nike today announced a challenge to identify 10 
game-changing innovations that could transform waste-management 
systems and practices. Waste management is important for planning 
long-duration human spaceflight missions to an asteroid, Mars or 
beyond. 

Humans living off the planet require waste solutions that mirror 
issues facing people on Earth. In the hostile environment of space, 
waste must be eliminated or transformed in the most efficient and 
cost-effective manner possible. The innovations, which will be 
presented at the LAUNCH: Beyond Waste forum, may lead to practical 
applications for astronauts as we send humans deeper into our solar 
system. 

The challenge will be open April 1-May 15 and will seek creative 
solutions to minimize waste or transform it into new products in 
space and on Earth. Forum partners will select 10 innovators to 
present their technology solutions at the LAUNCH: Beyond Waste forum, 
hosted by NASA July 20-22, at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory 
in Pasadena, Calif. 

NASA and the LAUNCH Council -- thought leaders representing a diverse 
and collaborative body of entrepreneurs, scientists, engineers, 
government, media and business -- will participate in the forum and 
help guide these innovations forward. The selected LAUNCH innovators 
will receive networking and mentoring opportunities from influential 
business and government leaders, as well as portfolio presentations. 

Previous LAUNCH forums have focused on water, health and energy. These 
forums resulted in innovations, including technology that enables 
irrigation using brackish, saline and polluted water; a biodegradable 
needle that can deliver vaccines or medicine under the skin using a 
pressure device; a tiny holographic microscope attached to a cell 
phone that can detect parasites and bacteria in blood and water in 
remote locations; a handheld lab-in-a-box that diagnoses a variety of 
diseases in a matter of minutes; a modular, flexible smart-grid 
distribution technology to provide access to power for those in need; 
and a simple, affordable fuel cell that converts biomass directly to 
electricity. 

LAUNCH was created to identify, showcase and support innovative 
approaches to global sustainability challenges. LAUNCH searches for 
visionaries whose ideas, technologies or programs show great promise 
for making tangible impacts on society in the developed and 
developing worlds.