Every month on Earth Matters, we offer a puzzling satellite image. Your challenge is to use the comments section to tell us what we are looking at, where it is, and why it is interesting.
November Puzzler
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Every month on Earth Matters, we offer a puzzling satellite image. Your challenge is to use the comments section to tell us what we are looking at, where it is, and why it is interesting.
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V booster that will launch the Solar Orbiter on its upcoming mission to study the Sun has arrived at the Florida spaceport, while the spacecraft is beginning launch preparations of its own. Meanwhile, the Solar Orbiter spacecraft has been removed from its shipping container for the start of its own prelaunch preparations at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility in Titusville, Florida. The spacecraft was uncrated Nov. 15 and rotated to vertical on Nov. 18, paving the way for upcoming processing and checkouts, including tests of the spacecraft and its suite of science instruments, as well as its propellant pressurization system.
AMS EVA preparation: The crew continued preparation for the third AMS repair EVA with procedure reviews. The multiple AMS-02 repair EVAs are being performed to recover a series of cooling pumps within the AMS-02 experiment. The first and second of the AMS EVAs were completed successfully and went very well. The third EVA is currently …
Thanksgiving week starts with the Expedition 61 crew exploring the stresses microgravity imposes on organisms at the cellular level. The International Space Station is also ramping up for cargo traffic and another spacewalk in December. The astronauts in the U.S. segment of the orbiting lab focused their attention today on identifying the cellular changes caused …
AMS-02 (Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer) EVA#2: Today, ISS CDR Luca Parmitano (EV-1) and FE-9 Drew Morgan (EV-2) conducted US EVA #60 (AMS EVA #2) to perform the following tasks: Power Cable Preparation Mechanical Attachment Device (MAD) Install Depressurization Cut VSB Tube Rough Cut VSB MLI Closeout Nadir MLI Removal Nadir Tube Rough Cut The multiple AMS-02 …
Expedition 61 Commander Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency) and NASA Flight Engineer Andrew Morgan concluded their spacewalk at 1:35 p.m. EST. During the six-hour and 33-minute spacewalk, the two astronauts successfully cut a total of eight stainless steel tubes, including one that vented the remaining carbon dioxide from the old cooling pump. The crew …
Two astronauts switched their spacesuits to battery power this morning at 7:02 a.m. EST aboard the International Space Station to begin a spacewalk planned to last about six-and-a-half hours. Expedition 61 Commander Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency) and NASA Flight Engineer Andrew Morgan will venture outside the International Space Station for the second in …
AMS-02 (Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer) EVA Preparation: The crew continued preparation for the AMS repair EVAs completing a multitude of prep tasks including the crewlock prep work, tool configurations, suit review, procedure reviews and a crew conference. The multiple AMS-02 repair EVAs are being performed to recover a series of cooling pumps within the AMS-02 experiment. …
The Expedition 61 astronauts are in final preparations before Friday’s spacewalk to continue repairing the International Space Station’s cosmic particle detector. The orbital residents also had time today to set up research hardware for upcoming space biology activities. Spacewalkers Andrew Morgan and Luca Parmitano will exit the Quest airlock on Friday after setting their U.S. …
Expedition 50 robotic arm operators Shane Kimbrough of NASA and Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) commanded the International Space Station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm to release the Cygnus spacecraft at 8:22 a.m. EST while the space station was flying 251 miles over the Pacific Ocean, off the west coast of Colombia. Earlier, ground controllers …