Payloads: Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR): CIR Absorber Cartridge QDs (Quick Disconnects) were reconnected. The CIR includes an optics bench, combustion chamber, fuel and oxidizer control, and five different cameras for performing combustion investigations in microgravity. Dose Distribution Inside the International Space Station-3D (DOSIS-3D): DOSTEL-2 data and power cables were removed from DOSIS Main Box in …
Parker Solar Probe Embarks on 14th Close Encounter with the Sun
On Dec. 6, 2022, NASA's Parker Solar Probe began the 14th of 24 planned close approaches to the Sun, eventually coming within 5.3 million miles of the solar surface.
Cosmonauts Ready for Spacewalk, Astronauts Run Space Research
Two Expedition 68 crew members are making final preparations before exiting the International Space Station on Wednesday for the 12th spacewalk of the year. Meanwhile, the rest of the orbital residents kept up with advanced microgravity research operations. Commander Sergey Prokopyev will join Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin to begin a spacewalk at 9:20 p.m. EST …
Two Briefings on Tap Ahead of International SWOT Launch
NASA, SpaceX, and the French space agency Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) are targeting 3:46 a.m. PST Thursday, Dec. 15, for launch of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite – the first global survey of nearly all water on Earth's surface. Today, Dec. 13, at 3 p.m. EST (noon PST), NASA will hold …
The Adventures of NASA Scientists through the Florida Marshes
By Erica McNamee, science writer for NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center // GREENBELT, MARYLAND // Look up to the blue skies, look right to the boats floating out at sea, look left to the deep green marshes of the Everglades and Big Cypress National Parks in Florida. This mangrove ecosystem contributes to the larger cycle …
NASA InSight’s Power Level as of Dec. 12, 2022
As of Dec. 12, 2022, InSight is generating an average of ~285 watt-hours of energy per Martian day, or sol. The tau, or level of dust cover in the atmosphere, was estimated at .96 (typical tau levels outside of dust season range from 0.6-0.7).
ISS Daily Summary Report – 12/12/2022
Payloads: Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF): The Air Gas Bottle Unit was removed and an Argon Gas Bottle Unit Argon was installed. The ELF is an experimental facility designed to levitate/melt/solidify materials by container less processing techniques using the Electrostatic Levitation method. With this facility, thermophysical properties of high temperature melts can be measured, and solidification …
December Puzzler
Your challenge is to tell us the location of the satellite image and why it is interesting.
Cosmonauts and Astronauts Ramping Up for a Pair of Spacewalks
Two spacewalks are planned in the next several days outside the International Space Station for the Expedition 68 crew. Meanwhile, science was still ongoing at the beginning of the week with space botany and physics work aboard the orbiting lab. On Wednesday at 9:20 p.m. EST, Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin will …