December 23, 2024

This Week @NASA: Webb Telescope Mission, Historic Black Hole Image, Monster Quake on Mars

The Webb Telescope is closer to starting its mission of science …
A historic take a look at the center of our galaxy …

Webb Telescope in Final Phase of Instrument Setup
NASAs James Webb Space Telescope is in the stage of its objective called science instrument commissioning. This includes about two months of comprehensive calibrations and the last group of needed setup activities before the telescope begins science observations this summertime. A current test image Webb took of an area of the Large Magellanic Cloud was compared to an image our Spitzer Space Telescope previously recorded of that exact same area. The contrast shows the enhanced clarity with which Webb can see the infrared sky. This capability could yield more comprehensive views of the universes and extraordinary discoveries.
It was recorded by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), an array that connected together 8 existing radio observatories across the world to form a single “Earth-sized” virtual telescope. The telescope is called after the occasion horizon, the boundary of the black hole beyond which no light can escape.
NASA Telescopes Help Study Milky Ways Black Hole
According to the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration, this is the very first picture of the supermassive black hole, known as Sagittarius A *, situated at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. The Event Horizon Telescope uses information from a worldwide network of telescopes. Observations from NASAs Chandra X-ray Observatory, NuSTAR, and Swift Observatory were used to assist astronomers study Sagittarius A *.
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 recovery ship quickly 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
Crew-3 Astronauts Discuss Mission After Returning to Earth
The astronauts of NASAs SpaceX Crew-3 mission showed on their recent stay aboard the International Space Station during a May 11 news conference. NASAs Kayla Barron, Raja Chari, and Tom Marshburn, in addition to Matthias Maurer of the European Space Agency, invested 175 days aboard the station carrying out microgravity science research and innovation demonstrations.
” It was just this awe-inspiring experience and amazing honor to represent the NASA team and family because function, and likewise to have our relationships as a team grow through that expeditionary living and really supporting each other so that we could get the most out of every day in terms of achieving our objective.”– Kayla Barron, NASA Astronaut
Crew-3 crashed May 6 off the coast of Florida in SpaceXs Crew Dragon “Endurance” spacecraft.
An artist illustration of the InSight lander on Mars. InSight, brief for Interior Exploration utilizing Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is created to offer the Red Planet its very first comprehensive examination considering that it formed 4.5 billion years back. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
NASAs InSight Records Monster Quake on Mars.
Our InSight lander on Mars has actually spotted the largest quake ever observed on another planet. The estimated magnitude 5 quake happened earlier this month, on May 4. The largest “Marsquake” formerly taped by InSight was an estimated magnitude 4.2 found on August 25, 2021. A magnitude 5 quake is equivalent to a medium-size quake in the world however is close to the upper limitation of what scientists wished to see on Mars throughout InSights mission.
Arabidopsis plants 6 days after the seeds were planted. The four wells on the left consist of plants growing in JSC-1A lunar soil simulant. The 3 wells on the best consist of plants growing in lunar soils gathered throughout the Apollo 11, 12, and 17 missions. Credit: UF/IFAS image by Tyler Jones.
NASA-funded Study Grows Plants in Soil From the Moon.
For the very first time ever, researchers have actually grown the sturdy and well-studied plant Arabidopsis thaliana in nutrient-poor lunar regolith samples collected throughout numerous Apollo Moon objectives. The plant is a relative of mustard greens, broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussel sprouts. This NASA-funded study could help pave the method for future astronauts to sooner or later grow more nutrient-rich plants on the Moon and somewhere else in deep space.
Some of those impacts, like extreme winds and uncommon electrical currents were chosen up by NASAs ICON mission and ESAs (the European Space Agency) Swarm. Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center/Mary Pat Hrybyk-Keith.
NASA Mission Finds Tonga Volcanic Eruption Effects Reached Space.
Data from NASAs ICON objective has actually helped researchers identify that results from the volcanic eruption on the South Pacific island of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haapai in January 2022, really reached beyond Earth– into space. The information show that in the hours after the eruption, hurricane-speed winds and uncommon electric currents formed in the ionosphere– Earths energized upper atmospheric layer at the edge of area. ICON released in 2019 to determine how Earths weather condition communicates with weather from space.
Thats whats up this week @NASA …

NASAs James Webb Space Telescope is in the phase of its objective known as science instrument commissioning. 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 quickly 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. Some of those results, like extreme winds and unusual electric currents were chosen up by NASAs ICON mission and ESAs (the European Space Agency) Swarm. Information from NASAs ICON objective has actually helped researchers figure out that effects from the volcanic eruption on the South Pacific island of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haapai in January 2022, really reached beyond Earth– into area.

And the Crew-3 astronauts show on their mission … a few of the stories to tell you about– This Week at NASA!