March 28, 2024

This Week @NASA: Crew-3 Astronauts Return to Earth, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner, Black Holes

From left to right, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthais Maurer, NASA astronauts Tom Marshburn, Raja Chari, and Kayla Barron, are seen inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft onboard the SpaceX Shannon healing ship shortly after having actually landed in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Tampa, Florida, Friday, May 6, 2022. Maurer, Marshburn, Chari, and Barron are returning after 177 days in area as part of Expeditions 66 and 67 aboard the International Space Station. On May 4, teams moved Boeings CST-100 Starliner spacecraft from the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at our Kennedy Space Center to nearby Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The relocation was in preparation for OFT-2, the companys 2nd uncrewed Orbital Flight Test to the International Space Station. A new NASA climate simulation recommends that very big volcanic eruptions called “flood basalt eruptions” may substantially warm our environment and devastate the ozone layer that helps protect life on Earth from the Suns ultraviolet radiation.

The Crew-3 Astronauts Return to Earth
On May 5, the astronauts of NASAs SpaceX Crew-3 mission closed out their time aboard the International Space Station. NASA astronauts Kayla Barron, Raja Chari, and Tom Marshburn, together with European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer undocked from the station aboard their Crew Dragon “Endurance” spacecraft to begin their return journey to Earth.
They securely crashed the next day of rest the coast of Florida to conclude an almost six-month mission on the station dealing with hundreds of experiments and technology presentations.
Boeings CST-100 Starliner spacecraft rolls out from the companys Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 4, 2022, on its method to Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Credit: NASA/Glenn Benson
Boeings CST-100 Starliner Moved to Launch Site
On May 4, teams moved Boeings CST-100 Starliner spacecraft from the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at our Kennedy Space Center to neighboring Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The move was in preparation for OFT-2, the companys 2nd uncrewed Orbital Flight Test to the International Space Station.
Nelson Testifies During Senate Hearing on NASAs Budget
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson testified during a May 3 Senate hearing about the presidents Fiscal Year 2023 spending plan ask for the firm. He indicated business partnerships as a crucial factor the company has the ability to accomplish its goals, while also getting the a lot of value from the financing approved to it by Congress.
” Its a brand-new day. Federal government cant do it all. You all provide us “x quantity” of cash and weve got to make that cash take place the manner in which were trying to attain. And we can take advantage of that money by dealing with the business market and through competition, bring those costs down to NASA.”– Sen. Bill Nelson, NASA Administrator
This visualization shows 22 X-ray binaries in our Milky Way galaxy and its closest next-door neighbor, the Large Magellanic Cloud, that host confirmed stellar-mass great voids. Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight
Great Void Week: Sizing Up Black Holes
One of the coolest offerings weve provided this year for Black Hole Week is a visualization including details about the best-known black hole systems in our Milky Way galaxy and its next-door neighbor, the Large Magellanic Cloud. The visualization provides 22 X-ray binary systems that host confirmed black holes. They are depicted as seen from Earth with their orbital movements sped up much faster than regular. You can check it out, in addition to lots of other great void features at nasa.gov/ black-holes.
Picture of a flood-basalt deposit on Mars in the Marte Vallis area taken by the High Resolution Science Imaging Experiment (HiRISE) instrument on board NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft. Credit: NASA/University of Arizona/HiRISE
Simulation Suggests Some Volcanoes Warm Climate and Destroy Ozone Layer
A brand-new NASA climate simulation suggests that exceptionally large volcanic eruptions called “flood basalt eruptions” may considerably warm our environment and devastate the ozone layer that assists protect life on Earth from the Suns ultraviolet radiation. This opposes previous research studies indicating that these volcanoes cool the climate. The study likewise suggests that comprehensive flood basalt eruptions might have not just helped warm the environments of Mars and Venus too, but might have likewise doomed the long-term habitability of those worlds by adding to water loss.
Thats whats up today @NASA …

From delegated right, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthais Maurer, NASA astronauts Tom Marshburn, Raja Chari, and Kayla Barron, are seen inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft onboard the SpaceX Shannon healing ship shortly after having landed in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Tampa, Florida, Friday, May 6, 2022. Maurer, Marshburn, Chari, and Barron are returning after 177 days in space as part of Expeditions 66 and 67 aboard the International Space Station. Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani
The Crew-3 astronauts return from the spaceport station …
The spacecraft for another commercial team objective is on the relocation … And discussing NASAs budget plan … a few of the stories to tell you about– This Week at NASA!