This artist’s rendition shows a close-up view of the asteroid Psyche. NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, which is still in the early part of its long voyage to the asteroid, recently captured the mission’s first images. Credit: Peter Rubin/ASU
The first images from NASA’s Psyche spacecraft…
Celebrating an anniversary for the space station…
And a new tool to help fight climate change…
A few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!
NASA’s Psyche Spacecraft Delivers Its First Images
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, which launched on October 13, captured the mission’s first images – a milestone called “first light.” As part of a test of the spacecraft’s science instruments, Psyche’s twin-camera imager instrument captured a total of 68 images within a star field in the constellation Pisces. The “first light” images were used to make up a mosaic.
The spacecraft will arrive at its destination – the asteroid Psyche in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter – in 2029.
In December 1998, the crew of Space Shuttle Mission STS-88 began construction of the International Space Station, joining the U.S.-built Unity node to the Russian-built Zarya module. The crew carried a large-format IMAX® camera from which this picture was taken. Credit: NASA
NASA Highlights 25th Anniversary of Space Station Operations
On December 6, we celebrated the 25th anniversary of International Space Station operations with a space-to-Earth call between the station crew, and NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana and International Space Station Program Manager Joel Montalbano.
On December 6, 1998, the first two elements of the orbital outpost, Unity and Zarya, were mated together during space shuttle mission STS-88. Cabana was the commander of that mission and became the first American to enter the space station.
Learn more about the International Space Station at nasa.gov/station.
Visualization of total carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere in 2021 Credit: NASA
NASA and Partner Agencies Launch U.S. Greenhouse Gas Center
During the 28th annual United Nations Climate Conference, NASA and other U.S. government agencies unveiled the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Center. This multi-agency effort consolidates greenhouse gas data gathered by space, airborne, and ground-based assets. The goal is to provide researchers, decision-makers, and others with one location for greenhouse gas data and analysis.
Students from Alabama A&M University near Huntsville, Alabama, pilot their vehicle through the obstacle course at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center during NASA’s Human Exploration Rover Challenge event on April 22, 2023. Credit: NASA
Student Teams Selected To Compete in Rover Challenge
NASA has selected 72 student teams to compete in the Human Exploration Rover Challenge next April near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. The annual challenge, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2024, gives high school, college, and university students an opportunity to design, build, and operate lightweight, human-powered rovers on an obstacle course simulating lunar and Martian terrain, all while completing mission-focused science tasks.
That’s what’s up this week @NASA.