Seven Years Of Tracking The Solar Cycle

How is Biotechnology Preparing us to Live on the Moon and Mars?

The adventures awaiting astronauts on future long-duration missions have technologists researching sustainable ways to live away from Earth. We’re using what we know from almost 20 years of a continuous human presence on the International Space Station and looking at new technologies to prepare for missions to the Moon and Mars. 

Biotechnology – technology that uses living organisms to make products that provide a new use – is key to this research.

With biotechnology, we’re developing new ways to manufacture medicines, build habitats and more in space. Here are some ways biotechnology is advancing spaceflight and how the same research is reaping benefits on Earth.

Healthy astronauts

Planning ways to supply food for a multi-year mission on the Moon or Mars may require making food and nutrients in space. Our scientists are testing an early version of a potential solution: get microorganisms to produce vital nutrients like those usually found in vegetables. Then, whenever they’re needed, astronauts can drink them down. 

The microorganisms are genetically engineered to rapidly produce controlled quantities of essential nutrients. Because the microorganisms and their food source both have a long shelf-life at room temperature and only need water to be activated, the system provides a simple, practical way to produce essential nutrients on-demand. The same kind of system designed for space could also help provide nutrition for people in remote areas of our planet.

Our researchers are evaluating the first batches of BioNutrient samples that came back to Earth after an experimental run on the International Space Station.

Because space travel takes a toll on the human body, we’re also researching how biotechnology can be used to advance the field of regenerative medicine. 

Related cells that are joined together are collectively referred to as tissue, and these cells work together as organs to accomplish specific functions in the human body. Blood vessels around the cells vascularize, providing nutrients to the tissue to keep it healthy. 

Our Vascular Tissue Challenge offers a $500,000 prize to be divided among the first three teams that successfully create thick, metabolically-functional human vascularized organ tissue in a controlled laboratory environment. The vascularized, thick-tissue models resulting from this challenge will function as organ analogs, or models, that can be used to study deep space environmental effects, such as radiation, and to develop strategies to minimize the damage to healthy cells.  

Plant factories

Humans have relied on plants’ medicinal qualities for thousands of years for everything from alleviating minor ailments to curing serious diseases. Now, researchers are trying to simplify the process of turning plants into medicine (i.e. how to make it compact and portable). If successful, the cost of biomanufacturing pharmaceuticals on Earth could go down, and plants could produce medicines in space.

Creating medicine on demand isn’t something we typically do, so we’re turning to experts in the field for help. Researchers at the University of California, Davis are transforming plants into mini-medicine factories for future Mars missions. They’re genetically altering an ordinary type of lettuce so that it produces a protein called parathyroid hormone. This hormone is an approved drug for treating osteoporosis, a common condition where bones become weak and brittle.

This type of research is important to long duration spaceflight. When astronauts land on Mars, they will have spent more than half a year in zero gravity on the flight there, and they’ll need to be strong and ready to explore. Having the technologies needed to treat that possibility, and other unanticipated health effects of long duration spaceflight, is crucial.

Growing habitats

Vitamins aren’t the only thing astronauts could be growing on Mars; we’re exploring technologies that could grow structures out of fungi.

An early-stage research project underway at our Ames Research Center is prototyping technologies that could "grow" habitats on the Moon, Mars and beyond out of life – specifically, fungi and the unseen underground threads that make up the main part of the fungus. These tiny threads build complex structures with extreme precision, networking out into larger structures like mushrooms. With the right conditions, they can be coaxed into making new structures – ranging from a material similar to leather to the building blocks for a planetary home.

The myco-architecture project envisions a future where astronauts can construct a habitat out of the lightweight fungi material. Upon arrival, by unfolding a basic structure made up of dormant fungi and simply adding water, the fungi would grow around that framework into a fully functional human habitat – all while being safely contained to avoid contaminating the external environment.

Recycling waste

Once astronauts arrive on the surface of the Moon or a more distant planet, they’ll have to carefully manage garbage. This waste includes some stuff that gets flushed on Earth.

Today, we’re already using a recycling system on the space station to turn urine into drinking water. Poop on the other hand is contained then disposed of on spacecraft returning to Earth. That won’t be possible on more distant journeys, so, we’re turning to biomanufacturing for a practical solution.

Biology can serve as an effective recycling factory. Microorganisms such as yeast and algae feed on all kinds of things classified as “mission waste.” Processing their preferred form of nourishment generates products that can serve as raw materials used to make essential supplies like nutrients, medicines, plastic and fuel.

By taking a careful look at biological processes, we hope to develop new, lightweight systems to leverage that biology to do some helpful in-space manufacturing.

From Space to Earth

Biotechnology is preparing us for longer space missions to the Moon and then Mars – farther from Earth than humans have ever traveled before. As we prepare for those exciting missions, we’re also conducting research on the space station for the primary benefit of everyone on Earth.

January is National Biotechnology Month. To learn more about some of the ways NASA is using biotechnology to solve challenges in space and improve life on Earth, visit this link. 

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what has nasa and jpl learned from opportunity that has helped with developing this new project?

Earth Expeditions Preview

A Closer Look at Our Home Planet

Our view from space shows our planet is changing, but to really understand the details of these changes and what they mean for our future, scientists need a closer look. Over the next six months, we’re taking you on a world tour as we kick off major new field research campaigns to study regions of critical change from land, sea and air.

You can follow the Earth Expeditions on Facebook, Twitter and their Blog.

Take a look at the eight campaigns we will explore:

CORAL (Coral Reef Airborne Laboratory)

This three-year CORAL mission will use advanced airborne instruments and in-water measurements to survey a portion of the world’s coral reefs. The mission will assess the conditions of these threatened ecosystems to better understand their relation to the environment, including physical, chemical and human factors. With a new understanding of reef condition, the future of this global ecosystem can be predicted.

OMG (Oceans Melting Greenland)

Oceans Melting Greenland (OMG) mission will pave the way for improved estimates of sea level rise by addressing the question: To what extent are the oceans melting Greenland’s ice from below? This mission will observe changing water temperatures and glaciers that reach the ocean around all of Greenland from 2015 to 2020. This year, the OMG mission will fly over the periphery of Greenland to take measurements of the heights and extents of Greenland’s coastal glaciers that reach the ocean and release expendable sensors to measure the temperature and salinity of coastal waters. The OMG field campaign will gather data that will help scientists both understand how the oceans are joining with the atmosphere in melting the vast ice sheet and to predict the extent and timing of the resulting sea level rise.

NAAMES (North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study)

About half the carbon dioxide emitted into Earth’s atmosphere each year ends up in the ocean, and plankton absorb a lot of it. The NAAMES mission studies the world’s largest plankton bloom and how it gives rise to small organic particles that leave the ocean and end up in the atmosphere, ultimately influencing clouds and climate. This mission will be taking measurements from both ship and aircraft in the North Atlantic. 

KORUS-AQ (Korea U.S.-Air Quality)

Air quality is a significant environmental concern around the world. Scientists are developing new ways to untangle the different factors that contribute to poor air quality. KORUS-AQ is a joint field study between NASA and the Republic of Korea to advance the ability to monitor air pollution from space. The campaign will assess air quality across urban, rural and coastal South Korea using observations from aircraft, ground sites, ships and satellites to test air quality models and remote sensing methods. Findings from this study will help develop observing systems using models and data to improve air quality assessments for decision makers.

ABoVE (Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment)

The ABoVE mission covers 2.5 million square miles of tundra, forests, permafrost and lakes in Alaska and Northwestern Canada. Scientists from the mission are using satellites and aircraft to study this formidable terrain as it changes in a warming climate. Teams of researchers will also go out into the field to gather additional data. The mission will investigate questions about the role of climate in wildfires, thawing permafrost, wildlife migration habits, insect outbreaks and more.

ATom (Atmospheric Tomography)

The ATom mission takes flight through Earth’s atmosphere to understand how short-lived greenhouse gases like ozone and methane contribute to climate change. In late July through August 2016, a suite of instruments aboard our DC-8 flying laboratory will be hopping down the Pacific Ocean from Alaska to the southern tip of South America. It will then travel north up the Atlantic to Greenland to measure more than 200 gases and particles in the air and their interactions all around the world.

ORACLES (Observations of Clouds above Aerosols and their Interactions)

Southern Africa produces almost a third of the world’s vegetative burning, which sends smoke particles up into the atmosphere, where they eventually mix with stratocumulus clouds over the southeastern Atlantic Ocean. Little is known about how these particles impact the clouds, which play a key role in both regional and global surface temperatures and precipitation. The ORACLES mission is a five-year ground and air campaign aimed at better understanding their interactions and improve on current climate models.

ACT-America (Atmospheric Carbon and Transport – America)

The ACT-America mission will conduct five airborne campaigns across three regions in the eastern United States to study the transport of atmospheric carbon. This region serves as an ideal study area for its productive biosphere, agricultural activity, gas and oil extraction and consumption, dynamic seasonally varying weather patterns and the most extensive carbon cycle and meteorological observing networks on Earth. Using space borne, airborne and ground-based measurements, this mission will enable more accurate and precise estimates for climate management and prediction by studying sources and sinks of greenhouse gases, which act as a thermal blanket for Earth.

Remember to follow the Earth Expeditions on Facebook, Twitter and their Blog.

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What’s Up - March 2018

What’s Up For March?

Several Planets and the Zodiacal Light!

This month, at sunset, catch elusive Mercury, bright Venus, the Zodiacal Light, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter between midnight and dawn!

Both Venus and Mercury play the part of "evening stars" this month. At the beginning of the month they appear low on the western horizon.

The Moon itself joins the pair from March 18th through the 20th. 

The Moon skims by the Pleiades star cluster and Taurus's bright red star Aldebaran on the next few evenings, March 21 through the 23rd.

Jupiter, king of the planets, rises just before midnight this month and earlier by month end. 

Even through the smallest telescope or average binoculars, you should see the 4 Galilean moons, Europa, Io, Callisto and Ganymede.

The March morning sky offers dazzling views of Mars and Saturn all month long.

Through a telescope, you can almost make out some of the surface features on Mars.

Look a little farther into Mars' future and circle May 5th with a red marker. When our InSight spacecraft launches for its 6 month journey to the Red Planet, Mars will be easily visible to your unaided eye. 

Keep watching Mars as it travels closer to Earth. It will be closest in late July, when the red planet will appear larger in apparent diameter than it has since 2003!

You are in for a real treat if you can get away to a dark sky location on a moonless night this month -- the Zodiacal Light and the Milky Way intersect! 

The Zodiacal light is a faint triangular glow seen from a dark sky just after sunset in the spring or just before sunrise in the fall.

The more familiar Milky Way is one of the spiral arms of our galaxy. 

What we're seeing is sunlight reflecting off dust grains that circle the Sun in the inner solar system. These dust grains journey across our sky in the ecliptic, the same plane as the Moon and the planets.

Watch the full What’s Up for March Video: 

There are so many sights to see in the sky. To stay informed, subscribe to our What’s Up video series on Facebook. Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.   

3, 2, 1 LIFTOFF! Astronaut Kate Rubins is here answering your questions during this Tumblr Answer Time. Tune in and enjoy. 🚀👩‍🚀

Hello Dr Kate Rubins, why conduct your researches in space? What is there in space that you need for your research? Best regards.

1,000 Days in Orbit: MAVEN’s Top 10 Discoveries at Mars

On June 17, our MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission) will celebrate 1,000 Earth days in orbit around the Red Planet.

Since its launch in November 2013 and its orbit insertion in September 2014, MAVEN has been exploring the upper atmosphere of Mars. MAVEN is bringing insight to how the sun stripped Mars of most of its atmosphere, turning a planet once possibly habitable to microbial life into a barren desert world.

Here’s a countdown of the top 10 discoveries from the mission so far:

10. Unprecedented Ultraviolet View of Mars

Revealing dynamic, previously invisible behavior, MAVEN was able to show the ultraviolet glow from the Martian atmosphere in unprecedented detail. Nightside images showed ultraviolet “nightglow” emission from nitric oxide. Nightglow is a common planetary phenomenon in which the sky faintly glows even in the complete absence of eternal light.

9. Key Features on the Loss of Atmosphere

Some particles from the solar wind are able to penetrate unexpectedly deep into the upper atmosphere, rather than being diverted around the planet by the Martian ionosphere. This penetration is allowed by chemical reactions in the ionosphere that turn the charged particles of the solar wind into neutral atoms that are then able to penetrate deeply.

8. Metal Ions

MAVEN made the first direct observations of a layer of metal ions in the Martian ionosphere, resulting from incoming interplanetary dust hitting the atmosphere. This layer is always present, but was enhanced dramatically by the close passage to Mars of Comet Siding Spring in October 2014.

7. Two New Types of Aurora

MAVEN has identified two new types of aurora, termed “diffuse” and “proton” aurora. Unlike how we think of most aurorae on Earth, these aurorae are unrelated to either a global or local magnetic field.

6. Cause of the Aurorae

These aurorae are caused by an influx of particles from the sun ejected by different types of solar storms. When particles from these storms hit the Martian atmosphere, they can also increase the rate of loss of gas to space, by a factor of ten or more.

5. Complex Interactions with Solar Wind

The interactions between the solar wind and the planet are unexpectedly complex. This results due to the lack of an intrinsic Martian magnetic field and the occurrence of small regions of magnetized crust that can affect the incoming solar wind on local and regional scales. The magnetosphere that results from the interactions varies on short timescales and is remarkably “lumpy” as a result.

4. Seasonal Hydrogen

After investigating the upper atmosphere of the Red Planet for a full Martian year, MAVEN determined that the escaping water does not always go gently into space. The spacecraft observed the full seasonal variation of hydrogen in the upper atmosphere, confirming that it varies by a factor of 10 throughout the year. The escape rate peaked when Mars was at its closest point to the sun and dropped off when the planet was farthest from the sun.

3. Gas Lost to Space

MAVEN has used measurements of the isotopes in the upper atmosphere (atoms of the same composition but having different mass) to determine how much gas has been lost through time. These measurements suggest that 2/3 or more of the gas has been lost to space.

2. Speed of Solar Wind Stripping Martian Atmosphere

MAVEN has measured the rate at which the sun and the solar wind are stripping gas from the top of the atmosphere to space today, along with details of the removal process. Extrapolation of the loss rates into the ancient past – when the solar ultraviolet light and the solar wind were more intense – indicates that large amounts of gas have been lost to space through time.

1. Martian Atmosphere Lost to Space

The Mars atmosphere has been stripped away by the sun and the solar wind over time, changing the climate from a warmer and wetter environment early in history to the cold, dry climate that we see today.

Maven will continue its observations and is now observing a second Martian year, looking at the ways that the seasonal cycles and the solar cycle affect the system.

For more information about MAVEN, visit: www.nasa.gov/maven

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What’s Up for October?

This month is filled with exciting celestial sights. Here are 10 targets you can view this month:

10. Unusual Sunset

During a sunset, our thick atmosphere absorbs most colors of sunlight, but red light is absorbed the least. Rarely, green flashes can be seen just above the sun’s edge. As the last sliver of the disk disappears below the horizon, be sure to watch its color.

9. Belt of Venus

Just after sunset, turn around and face east. A dark shadow will move up from the horizon and gradually cover the pinkish sky. This is caused from the Earth itself blocking the sunlight and is called the Earth Shadow or the Belt of Venus.

8. Crepuscular Rays

Also just after sunset, or before dawn, you may see rays of sunlight spread like a fan. These are called crepuscular rays and are formed when sunlight streams through gaps in the clouds or mountains.

7. Aurora Borealis

The northern lights, also known as the aurora borealis, are caused by collisions between gaseous particles in Earth’s atmosphere and charged particles released from the sun. The color of the lights can changed depending on the type of gas being struck by particles of solar wind. You can find out when and where to expect aurorae at the Space Weather Prediction Center.

6. Andromeda Galaxy

Did you now that The Andromeda Galaxy is one of the few you can actually see with your naked eye? In October, look nearly overhead after sunset to see it! This galaxy is more than twice the apparent width of the moon.

5. Moon Features

Nights in mid-October are excellent for viewing the features on the moon. Areas like the Sea of Tranquility and the site of the 1969 Apollo 11 landing will be visible.

4. A Comet

This month, the European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission target, a comet with a complicated name (Comet 67P Churyumov-Gerasimenko), is still bright enough for experienced astronomers to pick out in a dark sky. On October 9, you may be able to spot it in the east near the crescent moon and Venus.

3. Meteor Showers

There are multiple meteor showers this month. On the 9th: watch the faint, slow-moving Draconids. On the 10th: catch the slow, super-bright Taurids. And on the 21st: don’t’ miss the swift and bright Orionids from the dust of Comet Halley.

2. Three Close Planets

On October 28, you’ll find a tight grouping of Jupiter, Venus and Mars in the eastern sky before sunrise.

1. Zodiacal Light

The Zodiacal light is a faint triangular glow that can be seen from a dark sky after sunset or before sunrise. What you’re seeing is sunlight reflecting off dust grains that circle the sun in the inner solar system. These dust grains travel in the same plane as the moon and planets as they journey across our sky.

For more stargazing tools visit: Star Tool Box

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The Summer Solstice Has Arrived!

This year’s summer solstice for the northern hemisphere arrives at 11:54 a.m. EDT, meaning today is the longest day of the year! The number of daylight hours varies by latitude, so our headquarters in Washington, D.C. will see 14 hours, 53 minutes, and 51 seconds of daylight. A lot can happen in that time! Let’s find out more.

If you’re spending the day outside, you might be in the path of our Earth Science Satellite Fleet (ESSF)! The fleet, made up of over a dozen Earth observation satellites, will pass over the continental United States about 37 times during today’s daylight hours. 

These missions collect data on atmospheric chemistry and composition, cloud cover, ocean levels, climate, ecosystem dynamics, precipitation, and glacial movement, among other things. They aim to do everything from predicting extreme weather to helping informing the public and decision makers with the environment through GPS and imaging. Today, their sensors will send back over 200 gigabytes (GB) of data back to the ground by sunset. 

As the sun sets today, the International Space Station (ISS) will be completing its 10th orbit since sunrise. In that time, a little more than 1 terabyte-worth of data will be downlinked to Earth.

That number encompasses data from ground communications, payloads, experiments, and control and navigation signals for the station. Approximately 330 GB of that TB is video, including live broadcasts and downlinks with news outlets. But as recently-returned astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor likes to point out, there’s still room for fun. The astronauts aboard the ISS can request YouTube videos or movies for what she likes to call “family movie night.”

Astronauts aboard the station also send back images—LOTS of them. Last year, astronauts sent back an average of 66,912 images per month! During today’s long hours of daylight, we expect the crew to send back about 656 images. But with Expedition 59 astronauts David Saint-Jacques (CSA), Anne McClain (NASA), and Oleg Kononenko (RKA) hard at work preparing to return to Earth on Monday, that number might be a little less. 

Say you’re feeling left out after seeing the family dinners and want to join the crew. Would you have enough daylight to travel to the ISS and back on the longest day of the year? Yes, but only if you’re speedy enough, and plan your launch just right. With the current fastest launch-to-docking time of about six hours, you could complete two-and-a-half flights to the ISS today between sunrise and sunset.

When returning from orbit, it’s a longer ordeal. After the Expedition 59 trio arrives on Earth Monday night, they’ll have to travel from Kazakhstan to Houston to begin their post-flight activities. Their journey should take about 18 hours and 30 minutes, just a few hours longer than the hours of daylight we’ll see today.

Happy solstice! Make sure to tune in with us on Monday night for live coverage of the return of Expedition 59. Until then, enjoy the longest day of the year!

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Around the World in Seven Ground Stations

Happy Birthday, Jules Verne!

Considered by many to be the father of science fiction, French novelist Jules Verne takes his readers on a “From the Earth to the Moon,” “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” and “Around the World in Eighty Days.” In his honor, let’s take our own journey around the world, exploring seven far-flung ground stations and the communications networks they support. These ground stations downlink data from science and exploration missions, maintaining the critical link from space to ground.

Our Deep Space Network supports far-out missions like Voyager 1, a spacecraft that's now over 13 billion miles from Earth. To communicate that far, the Network uses antennas as large as 230 feet in diameter. The network has ground stations in Pasadena, California; Madrid, Spain; and this one in Canberra, Australia. The ground stations are strategically placed for maximum coverage of the night sky, ensuring that deep space missions can communicate their data back to Earth. Check out that lizard!

Our Space Network uses relay satellites in conjunction with ground stations to provide continuous communications coverage for satellites in low-Earth orbit like the International Space Station, enabling 24/7 connection with astronauts onboard. Spacecraft using the Space Network beam their data to the constellation of Tracking and Data Relay Satellites, which forward that data to the ground. This is a photo of a Space Network ground station in Guam, a U.S. territory. The spherical structures around the antennas are called “radomes” and protect the antennas from the tropical storms!

Optical communications uses lasers to provide missions with higher data rates than radio communications. Optical terminals also offer missions reduced size, weight and power requirements over comparable radio antennas. A smaller system leaves more room for science instruments, a weight reduction can mean a less expensive launch and reduced power allows batteries to last longer. This ground station in Haleakalā, Hawaii, will relay data to California through a groundbreaking optical communications satellite, the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration. The demonstration will show the power and promise of optical communications to support the next generation of science missions.

Antarctica may seem like an odd place for radio antennas, but McMurdo Ground Station is vitally important to our networks. In 2017, we used the McMurdo ground station to demonstrate a new technology called Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN), sending a selfie from McMurdo to the space station through numerous DTN nodes. DTN protocols allow data to be stored at points along its route that do not have an open connection to the next intermediary, preventing data loss and improving data returns.

This Near Earth Network ground station in Santiago, Chile, might not be our only South American ground station for long. The Near Earth Network is considering Punta Arenas, Chile, as a possible location for Ka-band antennas, which would provide missions with higher data rates. The Near Earth Network is also experimenting with Ka-band arraying, which uses multiple smaller antennas to provide the same capabilities of a larger, Ka-band antenna. Ka-band services will greatly increase the amount of science data we can gather!

If the space station ever has communications trouble, we could communicate with our astronauts through emergency very high frequency (VHF) communications ground stations like this one in Wallops Island, Virginia. VHF offers voice-only, contingency communications for the station and the Soyuz spacecraft, which ferries astronauts to and from the station. We maintain two VHF stations strategically placed to maximize contact with the space station as it orbits above North America. International partners operate VHF stations that provide contacts as the station orbits above Asia and Europe. NASA’s segment of the VHF network recently underwent critical upgrades that improve the reliability and durability of the system.

This beautiful photo captures Near Earth Network antennas in Svalbard, Norway, beneath the glow of the Northern lights, a phenomenon that occurs when charged particles from the Sun interact with various gasses in Earth’s atmosphere. If one were to visit Iceland, one could see these same lights above Snæfellsjökull volcano, featured in Jules Verne’s “A Journey to the Center of the Earth” as the imaginary entrance to a subterranean world.

A lot has changed in the nearly two centuries since Jules Verne was born. Verne’s 1865 novel “From the Earth to the Moon” and its 1870 sequel “Around the Moon” imagine a giant cannon capable of launching three men into lunar orbit. These imaginary astronauts used opera glasses to survey the lunar surface before returning safely to Earth.

Such a story may seem ridiculous in an age where humanity has occupied space for decades and satellites explore distant worlds with increasing regularity, but Verne’s dreams of spaceflight were novel ­– if not revolutionary – at the time. This change in worldview reflects humanity’s inexorable technological progress and our mission at NASA to turn science fiction into science fact.

As the next generation of exploration commences, our ever-evolving communications capabilities rise to meet the demands of missions that dreamers like Verne could hardly imagine.

The seven ground stations featured here were just a taste of our communications infrastructure. To learn more about space communications, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/SCaN