JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER YOSHIHIKO NODA ACCEPTS MONTAGE FROM NASA ADMINISTRATOR CHARLES BOLDEN

FROM:  NASA
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, fourth from left, accepts a montage from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, third from left, during a meeting at the Blair House as Associate Administrator for Science and former astronaut John Grunsfled, left, Associate Administrator for Education and former astronaut Leland Melvin, second from left, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronauts Koichi Wakata and Satoshi Furukawa, right, look on, Monday, April 30, 2012, in Washington. Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

JUICE : prochaine grande mission scientifique de l’Europe

JUICE : prochaine grande mission scientifique de l’Europe

MAIDEN VOYAGE OF SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA

FROM:  NASA
On April 12, 1981, astronauts John Young and Bob Crippen launched into space on space shuttle Columbia on the STS-1 mission--NASA's first mission aboard a reusable spacecraft. STS-1 was NASA's first manned mission since the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975. In this image, the two solid rocket boosters are aglow after being jettisoned. Image Credit: NASA

Launch Abort Systems Challenge NASA Engineers

Launch Abort Systems Challenge NASA Engineers

ESA Portal - Czech Republic - HISTORY OF THE EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY

ESA Portal - Czech Republic - Historie Evropské kosmické agentury (ESA)

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