A team of planet hunters led by astronomers at the University of California (UC), Santa Cruz and the Carnegie Institution of Washington has announced the discovery of a planet orbiting a nearby star, Gliese 581, at a distance that places it squarely in the middle of the star’s “habitable zone.” This would be the most Earth-like exoplanet and the first truly habitable one yet discovered. The research was supported by grants from NASA and the National Science Foundation. “Goldilocks” refers to an exoplanet whose temperatures are “not too cold, not too hot, but just right” to maintain water and support Earth-like life.
Tag: NASA
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Newly-Discovered Sun-Like System Highlights This Week @ NASA
The continuous monitoring of more than 156,000 stars for subtle brightness changes has led to the discovery by NASA’s Kepler Mission of the first confirmed system outside our own that has more than one planet transiting the same star. Also, researchers head north to “Mars on Earth;” “Avatar” director and film’s imagery featured in NASA Earth science public service campaign; Mary J. Blige encourages students “to reach for the stars;” NASA helps celebrate “Star Wars;” and more.
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U2 in Space and On Tour with NASA
A year’s worth of collaboration between NASA and U2 both in space and on the Irish rock band’s “360” world tour is highlighted in a new video produced by the group. In 2009, U2 approached NASA with the idea to include the crew of the International Space Station in its shows, and the astronauts agreed to participate in this unique experience. Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. spoke with the Expedition 20 crew on the space station several times before the astronauts recorded a video segment that U2 incorporated into its concerts. The crew members include Michael Barratt of NASA, Frank De Winne of the European Space Agency, Bob Thirsk of the Canadian Space Agency, Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Gennady Padalka and Roman Romanenko of the Russian Federal Space Agency.
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“Avatar” Director in NASA Earth Science Exploration PSAs
James Cameron, director of “Avatar,” talks about many of the contributions that NASA’s Earth science program has made in regards to environmental awareness and exploration of our home planet. “A Planet in Peril” is one of three public service announcements featuring “Avatar” film imagery and computer animations and data from NASA’s fleet of Earth-observing satellites. NASA has 14 science satellites in orbit making cutting-edge global observations of the entire global system including the atmosphere, oceans, land surface, snow and ice.
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NASA and, ESA Unite for Mars Missions
NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have joined to share resources and expertise on three future science missions to Mars. In three separate robotic missions (the first in 2016), both agencies will study the possibility of past life on the Red Planet, as well as test communications relays and other geochemical and biological mysteries. The third mission, in the 2020’s, will return to Earth a sample taken from the Martian surface.
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NASA’s Arctic Voyage Underway
NASA’s first oceanographic research expedition left Alaska on June 15, 2010. The five-week ICESCAPE mission is headed into the Arctic to study sea ice and the changing ocean ecosystem. Listen to the scientists as they get ready to head to sea.
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Shuttle Atlantis: From the Inside
An unprecedented up close, inside look in high-definition of space shuttle Atlantis as it was readied for “towback” from Kennedy’s Shuttle Landing Facility runway to Orbiter Processing Facility-1 following its May 26 landing on STS-132. After every shuttle landing, about 150 trained workers assist the crew out and prepare the shuttle for towing atop a large diesel-driven tractor to its processing hangar.
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Launch Tops STS-132 Crews First Day in Space
The liftoff and eight-and-a-half minute ascent of shuttle Atlantis into space is among the highlights of STS-132’s first flight day of its 12-day mission. The six-member crew of Commander Ken Ham, Pilot Tony Antonelli and Mission Specialists Garrett Reisman, Steve Bowen, Mike Good and Piers Sellers is delivering to the ISS a cargo carrier filled with spare parts and Rassvet, the Russian Mini Research Module-1.
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First Images: The Solar Dynamics Observatory, SDO
The first images of NASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) released on April 21, 2010. Launched Feb. 11, 2010, SDO is the most advanced spacecraft ever designed to study the sun and its dynamic behavior. The spacecraft can produce images with clarity ten times better than high definition television and provide more comprehensive science data faster than any solar observing spacecraft in history. SDO will help scientists study solar activity to improve forecasts of how the suns weather affects Earth. www.nasa.gov/sdo http://www.nasa.gov/sdo
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Most Advanced Spacecraft Studies the Sun
The first images of NASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) have been revealed, astonishing heliophysicists with their brilliant clarity. Launched Feb. 11, 2010, SDO is the most advanced spacecraft ever designed to study the sun and its dynamic behavior. The spacecraft can produce images with clarity ten times better than high definition television and provide more comprehensive science data faster than any solar observing spacecraft in history. SDO will help scientists study solar activity to improve forecasts of how the suns weather affects Earth. www.nasa.gov/sdo
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“Welcome Back!” Discovery Lands Safely at Kennedy
Space shuttle Discovery and seven astronauts ended a two-week journey of more than 6.2 million miles with a Tuesday morning landing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Returning to Earth aboard the orbiter were STS-131 Commander Alan Poindexter, Pilot Jim Dutton, and Mission Specialists Stephanie Wilson, Rick Mastracchio, Clay Anderson, Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger and Naoko Yamazaki of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The STS-131 mission to the International Space Station included three spacewalks, the installation of equipment outside the ISS, and the transfer of thousands of pounds of cargo and supplies from the orbiter’s payload bay to various locations on the station.
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A New Era of Innovation and Discovery – President Obama’s Plan for NASA
President Barack Obama’s new plan for NASA.
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NASA Heroes Remembered
A wreath-laying ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is one of many tributes to NASAs fallen heroes on this Day of Remembrance.
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NASA Remembers Fallen Heroes
NASA Day of Remembrance commemorates the fallen heroes of Apollo1, Challenger, and Columbia.
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NASA TV Season’s Greetings 2009
The beauty of images from the Hubble Space Telescope, and several of the NASA missions was the inspiration for the 2009 NASA Seasons Greetings ID.
Mark R. Hailey, NASA Televisions Art Director created this piece.
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NASA TV Schedule on the Web
NASA Televisions online Program Schedule is now more easy-to-read, with all three channels listed on one page.
Listings of upcoming programs, events, or features on NASA TVs Public, Education and Media channels can now be easily accessed by visiting the NASA Television Web page, at www.nasa.gov/ntv , and clicking on NASA TV Schedule in the upper left.
For NASA TV streaming video and downlink information, visit:
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NASA STS-129 Mission Highlights
Astronaut Nicole Stott returned to Earth aboard shuttle Atlantis on Nov. 27 after 91 days in space. She had spent 87 days aboard the International Space Station and 80 days as an Expedition 20/21 flight engineer. She is the last astronaut who will be transported to or from the space station by a space shuttle. Atlantis landed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fla., to end its STS-129 mission to the station.
For more info: www.nasa.gov/shuttle
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STS-129 HD Landing
Space shuttle Atlantis and its crew of seven astronauts ended an 11-day journey of nearly 4.5 million miles with a 9:44 a.m. EST landing Friday at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The mission, designated STS-129, included three spacewalks and the installation of two platforms to the International Space Station’s truss, or backbone. The platforms hold large spare parts to sustain station operations after the shuttles are retired. The shuttle crew delivered about 30,000 pounds of replacement parts for systems that provide power to the station, keep it from overheating, and maintain a proper orientation in space.
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Happy Thanksgiving from NASA
The 2009 NASA Thanksgiving Promo. Inspired by the NASA Television footage of the Astronauts enjoying meals together aboard the International Space Station.
Mark R. Hailey, NASA Televisions Art Director, created this piece
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STS-129 HD Launch
Space shuttle Atlantis and its six-member crew began an 11-day delivery flight to the International Space Station on Monday with a 2:28 p.m. EST launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The shuttle will transport spare hardware to the outpost and return a station crew member who spent more than two months in space.
Atlantis is carrying about 30,000 pounds of replacement parts for systems that provide power to the station, keep it from overheating, and maintain a proper orientation in space. The large equipment can best be transported using the shuttle’s unique capabilities.
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NASA IBEX Science Update
NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX, spacecraft has made it possible for scientists to construct the first comprehensive sky map of our solar system and its location in the Milky Way galaxy. The new view will change the way researchers view and study the interaction between our galaxy and sun.
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NASA SELECTS TARGET CRATER FOR LUNAR IMPACT OF LCROSS SPACECRAFT
NASA has selected the crater Cabeus, near the moons South Pole, as the spot where it will search for water on the moon. The crater is the optimal target for the impacts of
the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, and its spent Centaur rocket, in the early morning hours of October 9, 2009. For more information: www.nasa.gov/lcross -
NASA TV History Emmy Award Video 2009
This video was aired when NASA Television was honored with a Primetime Emmy Award by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The 2009 Philo T. Farnsworth Award recognizes the agency for engineering excellence and commemorates the 40th anniversary of the technological innovations that made possible the first live TV broadcast from the moon by the Apollo 11 crew on July 20, 1969.
The prestigious Emmy Award, named after the man credited with designing and building the world’s first working television system, honors an agency, company or institution with contributions over a long period of time that have significantly affected the state of television technology and engineering.
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NASA Science Briefing – A New Moon
Participants discuss new science data from the moon collected during national and international space missions.
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NASA Completes Desert Lunar Rover Testing
One of the stops on NASA’s way to the moon is the Arizona desert. The 2009 Desert RATS – or Research
and Technology Studies – field test simulated a 14-day lunar mission. Two crew members – an astronaut
and a geologist – lived for 14 days inside NASA’s prototype Lunar Electric Rover, scouting the area for
features of geological interest and conducting moonwalks as necessary to collect samples. Other
prototype vehicles tested include Ames’s K-10 robotic scout and JPL’s Tri-Athlete cargo handling and
manipulation system. For more information www.nasa.gov -
STS-128 HD Launch
With seven astronauts and a host of experiments and equipment on board, space shuttle Discovery completed a flawless ascent into orbit Friday night to begin a two-day chase of the International Space Station. With Commander Rick “C.J. ” Sturckow at the controls, the shuttle lifted off on-time at 11:59 p.m. EDT from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew will rendezvous and dock with the station Sunday and the crew will begin transferring equipment to the outpost during the 13-day mission.
After flying up on Discovery, Nicole Stott will trade places with station resident Tim Kopra, who went into space last month aboard Endeavour. Equipment and science racks for the orbiting laboratory are riding inside the Leonardo cargo module, which is secured tightly inside Discovery’s payload bay. The module will be lifted out of Discovery and locked onto the station so the crew can transfer the gear efficiently. The treadmill named for comedian Stephen Colbert also is aboard Discovery and destined for the station.
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STS-127 Launch HD
NASA’S SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR LAUNCHES TO COMPLETE JAPANESE MODULE
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Space shuttle Endeavour and its seven-member crew launched at 6:03 p.m. EDT Wednesday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will deliver the final segment to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Kibo laboratory and a new crew member to the International Space Station.
Endeavour’s 16-day mission includes five spacewalks and the installation of two platforms outside the Japanese module. One platform is permanent and will allow experiments to be directly exposed to space. The other is an experiment storage pallet that will be detached and returned with the shuttle. During the mission, Kibo’s robotic arm will transfer three experiments from the pallet to the exposed platform. Future experiments also can be moved to the platform from the inside of the station using the laboratory’s airlock.
Shortly before liftoff, Commander Mark Polansky thanked the teams that helped make the launch possible.
“Endeavour has patiently waited for this,” said Polansky. “We’re ready to go, and we’re going to take all of you with us on a great mission.”
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NASA ASTRONAUT LEADS TOUR OF SPACE STATION IN HD
Expedition 20 Flight Engineer Michael Barratt provides a 20-minute tour of the International Space Station, documenting the full 167 feet of the space station’s pressurized modules. Barratts commentary describes to Mission Control in Houston how equipment and supplies are arranged and stored, and provides engineers with a detailed assessment of each module-to-module hatchway.
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NASA Commander Tweets To Take Questions In Space
NASA astronaut Mark Polansky, commander of the next space shuttle mission to the
International Space Station, is sharing the final weeks of his training on Twitter.
Polansky invites followers to submit questions that he will answer from orbit during
his mission, STS-127, targeted to launch in June. Questions should be submitted in
the form of a video not longer than 30 seconds, posted to YouTube, and a link to the
video sent to Polansky’s twitter account at:http://twitter.com/Astro_127.Questions will be selected each week to be among those Polansky will answer from space,
live on NASA Television. The questions that have been selected will be announced on
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NASA’S Head of Science Mission Directorate Discusses History of Hubble Space Telescope
Dr. Ed Weiler is considered by many as the face of the Hubble Space Telescope. He is presently serving his second tour as head of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. His scientific expertise and commitment to excellence have earned him numerous distinctions over the years. His relationship with the observatory spans three decades. From his beginning role as chief scientist to numerous management responsibilities, Weiler has been involved with the telescope for 33 years, well before Hubble’s 1990 launch, subsequent technical challenges, and eventual place in history as one of humankind’s greatest scientific achievements.
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NASA Edge Promo with ESPN’s Mike and Mike In the Morning
NASA EDGE takes an inside and outside look at all things NASA. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/nasaedge.
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Kepler – A Search for Habitable Planets
“Kepler is a critical component in NASA’s broader efforts to ultimately find and study planets where Earth-like conditions may be present,” said Jon Morse, the Astrophysics Division director at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “The planetary census Kepler takes will be very important for understanding the frequency of Earth-size planets in our galaxy and planning future missions that directly detect and characterize such worlds around nearby stars.”
The mission will spend three and a half years surveying more than 100,000 sun-like stars in the Cygnus-Lyra region of our Milky Way galaxy. It is expected to find hundreds of planets the size of Earth and larger at various distances from their stars. If Earth-size planets are common in the habitable zone, Kepler could find dozens; if those planets are rare, Kepler might find none.
In the end, the mission will be our first step toward answering a question posed by the ancient Greeks: are there other worlds like ours or are we alone?
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NASA TV Emmy Award – Part 2 of 2
NASA Television is honored with an Emmy award for lifetime achievement.
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A Tale of Two Rovers
The Mars Exploration Rovers “Spirit” and “Opportunity” were sent to Mars for what was planned to be a 90 day mission. 5 years later they are still roving the surface of Mars, making new discoveries almost every day. This video celebrates the extraordinary success of these “Intrepid Explorers”.
