Astronomical News

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[گلناز]

GREENBELT, Md. -- Media representatives in the Washington Metropolitan area are invited to NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. to view the launch of STS-135, the final voyage in NASA’s space shuttle program. Atlantis is scheduled to launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 8, at 11:26 a.m. EDT.

During the 12-day mission Atlantis will deliver supplies, logistics and spare parts as well as deliver a Goddard payload to station. The Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM) module will be positioned on the International Space Station. This joint effort with the Canadian Space Agency will investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing satellites in orbit.

The Exploration and Space Communications (ESC) Projects Division at Goddard has played a critical role in every shuttle mission providing tracking, data and voice communications. Goddard managers and team members will be available for media interviews.

Journalists planning to attend the July 8 viewing event must arrive at main gate at the Goddard Space Flight Center no later than 10:15 a.m. on July 8. Contact Ed Campion at 301-286-0697 or Malissa Reyes 301-286-0918 if you have questions.

For information about RRM, visit:

http://ssco.gsfc.nasa.gov/

For information about ESC, visit:

http://esc.gsfc.nasa.gov/

For information about the STS-135 mission, visit:

http://go.nasa.gov/STS-135

[گلناز]

What's Up for July: Asteroids.

Hello and welcome! I'm Jane Houston Jones at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

Asteroids are scraps of the original building material of our solar system. So they tell us about our own origins.

After the planets formed, residual material remained. Bits of dust and rock bumped into each other, sometimes sticking together and sometimes scattering.

Most asteroids orbit the sun between Mars and Jupiter in a region known as the asteroid belt.

This month NASA's Dawn mission, which launched in 2007, arrives at the asteroid Vesta, the first of two objects it'll explore.

Dawn will study the conditions and processes of the solar system's earliest time. And Vesta and Ceres are the right two bodies to study.

Vesta is an asteroid and Ceres is a dwarf planet, like Pluto.

Vesta and Ceres reside in the boundary area of the asteroid belt, where the composition of bodies changes from being almost dry to showing the effects of hydration.

Scientists believe Vesta is very dry, while Ceres may have a layer of water-ice or even liquid water beneath its crust.

Dawn will study the roles of water -- and size -- in determining the evolution of the planets.

The spacecraft will orbit Vesta for a year. Next July it'll depart for the dwarf planet Ceres, arriving in February of 2015.

You can see Vesta yourself this month and next. It'll be a little brighter in August.

It's the only asteroid bright enough to see with your unaided eye, because of its high albedo. Albedo refers to how well an object reflects light.

Ceres, though larger than Vesta, is farther away and not as bright. You can easily spot Ceres in your telescopes next month. Check out the Dawn mission's Vesta Fiesta event page and find a viewing event near you. Or host a Vesta viewing event yourself.

[گلناز]

WASHINGTON -- NASA's Hubble Space Telescope crossed another milestone in its space odyssey of exploration and discovery. On Monday, July 4, the Earth-orbiting observatory logged its one millionth science observation during a search for water in an exoplanet's atmosphere 1,000 light-years away.

"For 21 years Hubble has been the premier space science observatory, astounding us with deeply beautiful imagery and enabling ground-breaking science across a wide spectrum of astronomical disciplines," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. He piloted the space shuttle mission that carried Hubble to orbit. "The fact that Hubble met this milestone while studying a faraway planet is a remarkable reminder of its strength and legacy."

Although Hubble is best known for its stunning imagery of the cosmos, the millionth observation is a spectroscopic measurement, where light is divided into its component colors. These color patterns can reveal the chemical composition of cosmic sources.

Hubble's millionth exposure is of the planet HAT-P-7b, a gas giant planet larger than Jupiter orbiting a star hotter than our sun. HAT-P-7b, also known as Kepler 2b, has been studied by NASA's planet-hunting Kepler observatory after it was discovered by ground-based observations. Hubble now is being used to analyze the chemical composition of the planet's atmosphere.

"We are looking for the spectral signature of water vapor. This is an extremely precise observation and it will take months of analysis before we have an answer," said Drake Deming of the University of Maryland and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "Hubble demonstrated it is ideally suited for characterizing the atmospheres of exoplanets, and we are excited to see what this latest targeted world will reveal."

Hubble was launched April 24, 1990, aboard space shuttle's Discovery's STS-31 mission. Its discoveries revolutionized nearly all areas of astronomical research from planetary science to cosmology. The observatory has collected more than 50 terabytes of data to-date. The archive of that data is available to scientists and the public at:

http://hla.stsci.edu/

Hubble's odometer reading includes every observation of astronomical targets since its launch and observations used to calibrate its suite of instruments. Hubble made the millionth observation using its Wide Field Camera 3, a visible and infrared light imager with an on-board spectrometer. It was installed by astronauts during the Hubble Servicing Mission 4 in May 2009.

"The Hubble keeps amazing us with groundbreaking science," said Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, the chairwoman of the Senate Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee that funds NASA. "I championed the mission to repair and renew Hubble not just to get one million science observations, but also to inspire millions of children across the planet to become our next generation of stargazers, scientists, astronauts and engineers."

Hubble is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. Goddard manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy Inc. in Washington.

For more information about Hubble, galleries of videos and images, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/hubble

and

http://hubblesite.org/news/2011/22

For details about the exoplanet Kepler 2b, including an animation of its orbit, visit:

http://kepler.nasa.gov/Mission/discoveries/kepler2b/

[گلناز]

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is entering into an agreement with Sierra Nevada Space Systems (SNSS) of Sparks, Nev., to offer technical capabilities from the center's uniquely skilled work force.

The umbrella space act agreement is Kennedy's latest step in its transition from a historically government-only launch complex to a multi-user spaceport. Sierra Nevada also has space act agreements with NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston; NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.; NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards, Calif.; and NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.

"We're pleased that our partner Sierra Nevada is going to make use of the deep resources existing at the Kennedy Space Center to enhance its ongoing work," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "Sierra Nevada's agreements with Kennedy and other NASA centers demonstrate its commitment to using the full resources of NASA as the agency facilitates commercial cargo and crew capabilities to the International Space Station."

Kennedy will help Sierra Nevada with the ground operations support of its lifting body reusable spacecraft called "Dream Chaser," which resembles a smaller version of the space shuttle orbiter. The spacecraft would carry as many as seven astronauts to the space station.

Through the new agreement, Kennedy's work force will use its experience of processing the shuttle fleet for 30 years to help Sierra Nevada define and execute Dream Chaser's launch preparations and post-landing activities.

"The partnership is an effort to bring new commercial space activities to the center and help transition Kennedy from a government, program-focused, single user launch complex to a diverse, multi-use spaceport, enabling both government and commercial space providers," said Kennedy Center Director Bob Cabana.

In 2010 and 2011, Sierra Nevada was awarded grants as part of the initiative to stimulate the private sector in developing and demonstrating human spaceflight capabilities for NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The goal of the program, which is based at Kennedy, is to facilitate the development of a U.S. commercial crew space transportation capability by achieving safe, reliable and cost-effective access to and from the space station and future low Earth orbit destinations.

"Our Dream Chaser vehicle was born at NASA, and NASA has continued to be an important partner in the vehicle's development," said Mark Sirangelo, head of SNSS. "By adding the Kennedy Space Center, with its highly experienced technical staff and world-class facilities, to the Sierra Nevada Dream Chaser Program we blend the best of both the NASA shuttle heritage alongside the best of industry practices."

NASA also has space act agreements with other commercial partners under the agency's Commercial Crew Program. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne has agreements with NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., for development of the J-2X upper-stage engine; NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi for hardware assurance testing; and NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, for propulsion related technology development. Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) in Hawthorne, Calif., has agreements with Marshall for engineering development work, and Orbital Sciences Corp. in Dulles, Va., has agreements with Marshall and Stennis for AJ-26 engine engineering support.

For more information about Kennedy, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/kennedy

For information about NASA's commercial transportation programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial/index.html

[گلناز]

[LEFT]WASHINGTON -- NASA has launched the free NASA App for Android (TM), a new application designed for mobile devices that run the open source Android platform.

The NASA App is available for free on Android MarketTM at:

https://market.android.com/details?id=gov.nasa

"The NASA App for iPhone and iPad has been a phenomenal success with over five million downloads so far," said Jerry Colen, NASA App project manager at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. "Making a version of the NASA App for Android has been the number one request from users. We are delighted to fulfill this request and put NASA's amazing content into the hands of millions of Android users around the world."

The NASA App for Android showcases a huge collection of NASA content, including images, videos on-demand, live streaming video from NASA Television, mission information, feature stories and breaking news. Users also can find sighting opportunities for the International Space Station and track the current positions of spacecraft currently orbiting Earth. App users also easily can share NASA content with their friends and followers on Facebook, Twitter or via e-mail.

For more information about the NASA App for Android, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/nasaapp

Android and Android Market are trademarks of Google Inc. Use of these trademarks is subject to Google permission.

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[گلناز]

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. – NASA's Ames Research Center will send a variety of life science experiments and technology demonstrations aboard the final space shuttle to better our understanding of how robots can help humans live and work in space and how spaceflight affects the human body, the growth of cells, yeast and plants. Future astronauts on long-term space missions in low-Earth orbit, to asteroids, other planets and beyond will rely on robots and need to understand how to prevent illnesses during space travel.

On July 8, space shuttle Atlantis and four NASA astronauts are scheduled to lift off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During the 12-day mission, they will transfer tons of supplies to the International Space Station from the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module. They also will deliver several experiments developed in collaboration with Ames, including:

Human Exploration Telerobotics-Smartphone will equip small, free-flying satellites called Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) with a Samsung Electronics Nexus S™ handset that features Google’s open-source Android™ platform. The experiment, led by Ames researcher DW Wheeler, will use the smartphone-enhanced SPHERES as remotely operated robots to conduct interior surveys and inspections, capture mobile camera images and video, and to study how robots can support future human exploration.

Space Tissue Loss experiments will study how wounds heal in space. Eduardo Almeida, a scientist at Ames, will examine how stem cells differentiate to regenerate epidermal tissues in microgravity. The experiments will use Cell Culture Module (CCM) hardware on the Shuttle Middeck as developed by Tissue Genesis Inc., to grow cells and tissues in space using an automated hollow fiber cell culture system. This experiment will help scientists understand how to treat wounds during long-duration space missions and in extreme environments on Earth. Rasha Hammamieh at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command and Joon Paek, an investigator funded by the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center of Fort Detrick, Md., also are conducting tissue engineering experiments using the CCM for the Department of Defense (DoD). Space Tissue Loss is a DoD payload integrated by the DoD’s Space Test Program.

Commercial Biomedical Test Module-3 experiment will study whether a new drug treatment could prevent bone loss in mice living in space. Astronauts experience bone loss after spending prolonged time in space; humans on Earth experience similar problems, due to aging, disease, injury or inactivity. This work will enhance interventions that prevent bone degeneration due to microgravity exposure, an various other conditions. This collaborative experiment is supported by Ames, BioServe Space Technologies, the University of Colorado, Boulder, and Amgen Inc., Thousand Oaks, Calif., and marks the 26th time the Ames-developed Animal Enclosure Module will be flown aboard a space shuttle. BioServe will manage the overall mission and integrate experiments led by Ted Bateman of the University of North Carolina; Virginia Ferguson of the University of Colorado and a team of Amgen researchers. The NASA Ames-sponsored principal investigators include Mary Bouxsein of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Mass., and Harvard Medical School, Boston, and Ronald J. Midura of Cleveland Clinic. Other researchers will be involved in a specimen sharing program to maximize the mission's science return.

Micro-2A experiment will study how microgravity changes the way microbes grow on surfaces enabling scientists to develop new strategies to combat their formation and reduce the impact on crew health and spacecraft operations. The growth of microbes on surfaces, called biofilms, has become an issue on spacecraft and a health concern for astronauts. On Earth, biofilms contaminate medical devices and corrode industrial work places. In collaboration with Ames, the University of Toronto, and Bioserve Space Technologies, the study, led by Cynthia Collins of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N.Y., will help scientists expand their knowledge of biofilms and test the efficiency of new antimicrobial coatings.

Micro-4 study uses special genetically engineered yeast cells to understand how they physically respond and adapt to the effects of microgravity and determine which strains are best suited to survive spaceflight. The results of this study will allow researchers to better understand the genes that play a role in the growth and reproduction of microbes while in microgravity. Researchers also will learn the effects of microgravity on living systems and in life-based support systems for long-term human habitation in space. This experiment is supported by Ames, BioServe Space Technologies. Timothy Hammond of the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Durham, N.C., is the principal investigator.

Plant Signaling will study the molecular responses of plants to the space environment. The microgravity environment of space causes plants to grow differently than on Earth. Plants sense the difference in gravity and generate chemical responses within the cells. A collaboration between NASA and the European Space Agency, the experiment will use the Ames-developed Seed Cassettes within the European Modular Cultivation System. As the plants grow, images will be captured and down-linked to Earth. Samples of the plants will be harvested and returned to Earth for analysis. Scientists expect the results of this experiment could help produce food during future long-duration space missions in addition to enhancing crop production on Earth. Scientists also hope to develop supplemental methods to recycle carbon dioxide into breathable oxygen. This experiment is supported by Ames, and Imara Perera of North Carolina State University, Raleigh, is the principal investigator.

Ultrasound-2 is a cardiovascular ultrasound system to replace and upgrade a 10-year-old unit on the station that stopped operating earlier this year. The device provides images of internal organs and muscles and will be used to assess astronauts' health. It also will be used in NASA investigations, such as Integrated Cardiovascular, which studies the weakening of heart muscles associated with long-duration spaceflight, and the Integrated Resistance and Aerobic Training Study, which looks at high-intensity, low-volume exercise training to minimize loss of muscle, bone and cardiovascular performance in astronauts. Ultrasound-2 uses devices similar to those used in medical care on Earth, including the commercially-developed General Electric Medical Systems, Vivid-q™ that was modified and tested by Ames for spaceflight, as well as a custom-built external video/power converter assembly developed at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston. This system is part of the ISS Medical Project in NASA’s Human Research Program.

Forward Osmosis Bag (FOB) system is designed to convert dirty water into a liquid that is safe for astronauts to drink, using a semi-permeable membrane and a concentrated sugar solution. Forward osmosis is the natural diffusion of water through a semi-permeable membrane. The membrane acts as a barrier that allows small molecules, such as water, to pass through, while blocking larger molecules like salts, sugars, starches, proteins, viruses, bacteria and parasites. The FOB experiment will study the performance of a forward osmosis membrane during spaceflight. Michael Flynn, a researcher at Ames, developed this technology, and scientists at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida will conduct the flight experiment. A small forward osmosis device could be incorporated into new long-exposure EVA suits in order to recycle metabolic wastewater (i.e., sweat and urine) into drinkable fluid.

The International Space Station Research Project Office and Space Biosciences Division at Ames collaboratively developed these experiments. The experiments are funded by the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, Washington.

For more information about science on the International Space Station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/science
For more information about the Space Biosciences Division at Ames, visit:

http://spacebiosciences.arc.nasa.gov

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[cooleli]

Happy 1st birthday to Neptune! After 164.79 Earth years, today the planet completes its first orbit of the Sun since its discovery in 1846. http://www.allposters.com/​-sp/Excellent-Narrow-Angle​-Camera-Views-of-the-Plane​t-Neptune-Taken-from-Voyag​er-2-Spacecraft-Posters_i5​298173_.htm?aid=1254586054

Neptune lies about 2.7 billion miles away from Earth, and even though scientists have long known about its existence, very little is known about it—this is partly because Neptune couldn’t be viewed by the naked eye until the Hubble telescope was introduced in 1990. However, there are some Neptune-facts we know for certain: the planet is made frozen gases, it’s extremely stormy there (winds reach up to 1,200 miles/hour), and each season lasts a whopping 40 Earth years—talk about an eternal summer!

For more posters of Neptune, check out our gallery: http://www.allposters.com/​-st/Neptune-Posters_c50399​_.htm?aid=1254586054

Excellent Narrow-Angle Camera Views of the Planet Neptune Taken from Voyager 2 Spacecraft
Item #: 5298173
http://www.allposters.com/​-sp/Excellent-Narrow-Angle​-Camera-Views-of-the-Plane​t-Neptune-Taken-from-Voyag​er-2-Spacecraft-Posters_i5​
298173_.htm?aid=1254586054

Origin : www.allposters.com
http://www.facebook.com/allposters.com

[گلناز]

WASHINGTON – NASA, through the Harvard-NASA Tournament Laboratory, is supporting an online challenge for artists to design a T-shirt commemorating the final space shuttle mission and the program's contributions to exploration.

The challenge is run by Threadless, an online design site, and the Harvard-NASA Tournament Laboratory. The lab is administered by Harvard University, which is under contract to NASA to study crowd sourced innovation that leads to tournaments for scientific and engineering challenges.

Threadless, an online community of amateur and professional designers, is challenging its 1.5 million international artists and the public to design a shirt about "The Final Frontier" by July 22. Threadless will produce the design chosen through online votes. The chosen designer will receive a $500 cash prize, a $500 Threadless gift certificate and a shuttle-flown patch from his or her home country. The Harvard-NASA Tournament Laboratory will provide the patch.

For more information about the final space shuttle mission and the shuttle program, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

For more information about the Harvard-NASA Tournament Lab, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/directorates/somd/ntl/

[گلناز]

HOUSTON -- The 10 crew members aboard space shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Station will hold a news conference at 8:24 a.m. CDT on Friday, July 15. Reporters may ask questions in person from participating NASA centers, including Johnson Space Center in Houston, Kennedy Space Center in Florida and NASA Headquarters in Washington.

To participate, U.S. journalists must call the public affairs office at one of the NASA centers by 4 p.m. local time on Tuesday, July 12.

Reporters at Johnson who do not have STS-135 mission credentials must request access badges by July 14. Reporters must be in place at least 20 minutes before the news conference begins.

The final shuttle mission is delivering the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module filled with supplies and spare parts to sustain space station operations after the shuttles are retired.

NASA Television will provide live coverage of the 40-minute news conference. Part of the conference will be for Japanese media outlets in native language. NASA TV will replay the event with translation at 10 a.m.

For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming video information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For information about the STS-135 and the Space Shuttle Program, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

For information about the station's Expedition 28 crew and the station program, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

[گلناز]

HOUSTON – Transfer work will be going on inside and outside of the International Space Station today, as the crew performs the first and only spacewalk of the STS-135 mission.

Space shuttle Atlantis’ crew was awakened at 1:59 a.m. by the song “More” by Matthew West. It was played for Mission Specialist Rex Walheim.

Walheim today will be choreographing from inside the space station the spacewalk being done outside by Expedition 28 Flight Engineers Mike Fossum and Ron Garan. Fossum and Garan will be packing a pump module that failed in 2010 into the shuttle’s cargo bay. It was moved into a temporary storage location on external stowage platform-2 during the STS-133 mission earlier this year. Returning it to Earth will allow engineers to look into what caused its failure and then refurbish it for use as a spare.

Fossum and Garan will also be installing the Robotic Refueling Mission experiment on a platform used by the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator, or Dextre, to hold spare parts. The Robotic Refueling Mission will demonstrate and test the tools, technologies and techniques needed to robotically refuel and repair satellites in space.

The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at 7:44 a.m., and last six and a half hours.

Meanwhile, inside the space station, every member of the shuttle crew and many of the station crew will be working to unload the newly installed Raffaello multipurpose logistics module. It brought up 9,400 pounds of cargo to the space station, all of which must be unloaded and replaced with 5,700 pounds of trash and used equipment to return home.

The next status report will be issued at the end of the crew’s day or earlier if warranted. The crew is scheduled to go to sleep just before 6 p.m.