May 3, 2024

This Week @NASA: Historic Event for Human Spaceflight, New Artemis I Launch Date

An update on prepare for Artemis I …
And what NASAs Perseverance rover depends on Mars … a few of the stories to inform you about– This Week at NASA!

The 60th Anniversary of JFKs Speech at Rice University
On September 12, NASA and Rice University commemorated the 60th anniversary of John F. Kennedys historic speech at Rice in 1962. In that speech, the President recommitted the nation to the objective he had actually proposed to Congress in May 1961 of landing astronauts on the Moon prior to completion of the decade and returning them securely to Earth. As NASA Administrator Bill Nelson mentioned throughout the keynote address at the event, the Presidents speech assisted advance our leadership in human spaceflight at that time, and it continues to inspire us today as we work to send out human beings back to the Moon and, eventually to Mars as part of NASAs Artemis program.
” 60 years earlier, President Kennedy put wind in our sails on the new sea of space exploration and that objective is never-ending. Its an objective about science and the improvement of the human spirit to expand what is possible.”– Bill Nelson, NASA Administrator
This artists making reveals an aerial view of the liftoff of NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. This Block 1 crew configuration of the rocket will send out the very first 3 Artemis objectives to the Moon. Credit: NASA/MSFC
New Target Dates for Critical Artemis I Launch and check
A cryogenic presentation test for our uncrewed Artemis I flight test is now targeted for no earlier than Wednesday, September 21. Artemis I is the first incorporated flight test with the SLS and Orion.
NASAs Perseverance rover puts its robotic arm to work around a rocky outcrop called “Skinner Ridge” in Mars Jezero Crater. Made up of several images, this mosaic reveals layered sedimentary rocks in the face of a cliff in the delta, along with one of the places where the rover abraded a circular spot to evaluate a rocks composition. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Perseverance Rover Investigates Geologically Rich Mars Terrain
NASAs Perseverance rover is gathering samples and evaluating the structure of rocks at an ancient river delta situated in the Red Planets Jezero Crater, a location long thought about by scientists to be a top possibility for finding signs of possible ancient microscopic life. In its analysis of a sample from a rock called Wildcat Ridge, the rovers SHERLOC instrument registered the most abundant organic detections on the objective to date. Further conclusions about what is consisted of in this sample will have to wait till its returned to Earth for thorough research study as part of the Mars Sample Return project, a worldwide cooperation led by NASA and the European Space Agency.
Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator for NASAs Science Mission Directorate. Credit: NASA
NASA Announces Pending Departure of Science Associate Administrator
Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator for NASAs Science Mission Directorate, is preparing to leave the firm at the end of 2022. His 6 years at NASA have consisted of a few of the companys most inspirational minutes, from sending the very first spacecraft to touch the Sun, to launching and sharing the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope, to landing the Perseverance rover on Mars together with the Ingenuity helicopter that went on to make the first powered, controlled flight on another planet. The firm is performing an across the country search and open competitors for a brand-new associate administrator.
This artists principle of NASAs QueSST jet shows the airplanes last configuration following years of research and design engineering. Credit: Lockheed Martin
Ground Recording Stations Tested for Future Quiet Supersonic Flight
The team at NASAs Armstrong Flight Research Center recently completed a flight series called CarpetDIEM which checked cutting edge ground recording stations designed to hear and tape the special noises that will be created throughout future supersonic flights by NASAs X-59 airplane. The X-59s goal is to lower the strength of sonic booms, which are heard when an aircraft flies faster than the speed of noise, to a quiet sonic “thump.” When the X-59 flies, NASA will record the sonic thumps as part of the effort to validate its peaceful supersonic style.
Thats whats up today @NASA …

Celebrating a historical event for human spaceflight …
” We pick to go to the Moon …”

As NASA Administrator Bill Nelson pointed out during the keynote address at the event, the Presidents speech assisted advance our management in human spaceflight back then, and it continues to influence us today as we work to send out people back to the Moon and, ultimately to Mars as part of NASAs Artemis program.
NASAs Perseverance rover puts its robotic arm to work around a rocky outcrop called “Skinner Ridge” in Mars Jezero Crater. Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator for NASAs Science Mission Directorate, is planning to leave the agency at the end of 2022. His 6 years at NASA have consisted of some of the agencys most inspiring minutes, from sending the first spacecraft to touch the Sun, to launching and sharing the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope, to landing the Perseverance rover on Mars along with the Ingenuity helicopter that went on to make the first powered, controlled flight on another planet. The team at NASAs Armstrong Flight Research Center just recently completed a flight series called CarpetDIEM which evaluated cutting edge ground recording stations developed to hear and record the special noises that will be generated throughout future supersonic flights by NASAs X-59 aircraft.