Support groups work around the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft quickly after it landed with NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren “Woody” Hoburg, UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev aboard in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida, Monday, September 4, 2023. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
NASAs SpaceX Crew-6 mission safely returns to Earth …
The tech demo riding on NASAs Psyche spacecraft …
And studying ancient life in the world to much better understand Mars …
A few of the stories to tell you about– This Week at NASA!
NASAs SpaceX Crew-6 Mission Safely Returns to Earth
On September 3, the four-person crew of NASAs SpaceX Crew-6 objective, including NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, climbed aboard their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and undocked from the International Space Station. They returned to Earth very early the next morning– splashing down safely in the waters off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida. The worldwide crew added to numerous experiments and innovation presentations during its six months in orbit.
The Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) flight transceiver is inside a large tube-like sunshade and telescope on the Psyche spacecraft, as seen here inside a clean room at JPL. An earlier image, inset, shows the transceiver assembly before it was integrated with the spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Mind Asteroid Mission Will Also Carry Optical Communications Demo
The no earlier than October 5 targeted launch date of NASAs Psyche mission to a metal-rich asteroid is less than a month away. The Psyche spacecraft will have a hitchhiker on the trip– a laser transceiver for NASAs Deep Space Optical Communications or DSOC innovation demonstration. DSOC, the firms very first test of high-bandwidth optical interactions beyond the Moon, intends to show how lasers could increase information transmission rates far beyond the capacity of existing radio frequency systems utilized on spacecraft today.
Members of NASAs Mars Exploration Program, the European Space Agency, the Australian Space Agency, and the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization are in Western Australias Pilbara region to examine “stromatolites,” the earliest validated fossilized lifeforms on Earth. They talk about the significance of geological context when choosing sampling websites and making sure the stability of a samples biological origin while thinking about prepare for future missions to bring Mars samples to Earth. Credit: NASA/Mike Toillion
NASA, Partners Study Ancient Life in Australia to Inform Mars Search
Members of NASAs Mars Exploration Program and numerous global partners recently went on a field expedition to the Western Australian Outback to study some of the earliest verified fossilized lifeforms on Earth that may be relatable to Mars. Both worlds might have had comparable pasts, so finding out more about the advancement of Earth might help us understand what we discover now, and in the future, as we browse for indications of ancient microbial life on Mars.
NASA, in partnership with Boeing, has introduced a new livery for the X-66A aircraft, a part of the Sustainable Flight Demonstrator initiative. Credit: Boeing
Boeing Transports Aircraft for Conversion into NASAs New X-Plane
An MD-90 aircraft was just recently flown to Boeings Palmdale, California center, to be converted into the X-66A speculative airplane for NASAs Sustainable Flight Demonstrator task. The X-66A, which will utilize a fuel-efficient Transonic Truss-Braced Wing configuration, supports the U.S. goal of achieving net-zero aviation greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Thats whats up this week @NASA!
The Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) flight transceiver is inside a big tube-like sunshade and telescope on the Psyche spacecraft, as seen here inside a clean space at JPL. The no earlier than October 5 targeted launch date of NASAs Psyche objective to a metal-rich asteroid is less than a month away. The Psyche spacecraft will have a hitchhiker on the trip– a laser transceiver for NASAs Deep Space Optical Communications or DSOC technology presentation. Members of NASAs Mars Exploration Program, the European Space Agency, the Australian Space Agency, and the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization are in Western Australias Pilbara area to investigate “stromatolites,” the oldest verified fossilized lifeforms on Earth.
