Author: kidibot

Building the international effort to go forward to the Moon, selecting new missions, and dropping a plane for safety … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!

This video is available for download from NASA’s Image and Video Library: https://images.nasa.gov/details-NHQ_2019_0621_Building%20International%20Effort%20for%20the%20Moon%20and%20Mars%20This%20Week%20@NASA%20%E2%80%93%20June%2021,%202019.html

Get an inside look at NASA’s next steps in deep space exploration — from the space station, to an asteroid and on to the human exploration of Mars.

Our InSight mission arrives at Mars, announcing the companies that will help us get to the Moon, and the space station’s next crew wraps up prelaunch activities … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!

This video is available for download from NASA’s Image and Video Library: https://images.nasa.gov/details-NHQ_2018_1130_InSight%20Mission%20Lands%20Safely%20on%20Mars%20on%20This%20Week%20@NASA%20%E2%80%93%20November%2030,%202018.html

Right now, half of the crew members on board the International Space Station are American astronauts who are getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving and they have a message for us. Check in with NASA’s Christina Koch, Jessica Meir and Andrew Morgan to learn more about what the holiday means to them – and get a look at what Thanksgiving in space will be like in 2019.

Where does Earth’s atmosphere end and space begin? This and other questions soon will be answered by NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, satellite. Get ready to watch as the Pegasus countdown reaches T-Zero from its carrier aircraft flying near the Kennedy Space Center.

Learn more about this mission that launched on Oct. 10, 2019: https://www.nasa.gov/icon

In 2015, NASA explored the expanse of our solar system and beyond, and the complex processes of our home planet, while also advancing the technologies for our journey to Mars, and new aviation systems as the agency reached new milestones aboard the International Space Station.

“It was a fantastic year that brought us even closer to Mars,” said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. “Our space program welcomed advances from commercial partners who will soon launch astronauts from the United States to the International Space Station, and progress on new technologies and missions to take us into deep space, improve aviation and explore our universe and home planet.”

Fifty years ago, humans took their first steps on the Moon and the world watched as we made history. On July 19, 2019, we broadcast this live salute to our #Apollo50th heroes and looked forward to our next giant leap for future #Artemis missions to the Moon and Mars.

The latest about our new mission to Saturn’s largest Moon, Launching new missions and landing astronauts … on the same night! And …restoring the glory to the Apollo Mission Control Room … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!

This video is available for download from NASA’s Image and Video Library: https://images.nasa.gov/details-NHQ_2019_0628_Announcing%20a%20New%20Mission%20to%20Saturn%E2%80%99s%20Largest%20Moon%20on%20This%20Week%20@NASA%20%E2%80%93%20June%2028,%202019.html

Introducing Dragonfly: our next New Frontiers Mission! Making multiple flights, the Dragonfly dual-quadcopter will explore a variety of locations on Saturn’s moon Titan. Titan is an analog to the very early Earth, and can provide clues to how life may have arisen on our planet.

In under an hour, Dragonfly will cover tens of miles or kilometers, farther than any planetary rover has traveled. With one hop per full Titan day (16 Earth days), the rotorcraft will travel from its initial landing site to cover areas several hundred kilometers away during the planned two-year mission. Despite its unique ability to fly, Dragonfly would spend most of its time on Titan’s surface making science measurements.

For more information, check out: http://dragonfly.jhuapl.edu/

President Obama says his new budget request to increase NASA’s funding by $6 billion over the next five years is an investment in America’s future, and a challenge to the agency to build on its legacy of innovation and discovery.

“What we’re looking for is not just to continue on the same path”, said the President. “We want to leap into the future. We want major breakthroughs, transformative for NASA.”

Making his remarks to an audience of several hundred at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida prior to the start of a one-day “Conference on the American Space Program” for the 21st Century”, President Obama reassured those in attendance about his support for NASA.

“The bottom line is, nobody is more committed to manned spaceflight, the human exploration of space, than I am. But we cant do it the same old way, but in the smart way to get where we want to go.”

The space conference of senior officials, space and industry leaders, academic experts and others focuses the different aspects of the President’s new direction for the agency. President Obama was introduced by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. (Details at: www.nasa.gov)