Goddard Space Flight Center

New NASA Mission will Study Ultraviolet Sky, Stars, Stellar Explosions

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 13, 2024

The space telescope, called UVEX (UltraViolet EXplorer), is targeted to launch in 2030 as NASA's next Astrophysics Medium-Class Explorer mission.

Key Points: 
  • The space telescope, called UVEX (UltraViolet EXplorer), is targeted to launch in 2030 as NASA's next Astrophysics Medium-Class Explorer mission.
  • This will enable it to capture the explosions that follow bursts of gravitational waves caused by merging neutron stars.
  • The telescope also will carry an ultraviolet spectrograph to study stellar explosions and massive stars.
  • The UVEX mission was selected for a two-year mission and will cost approximately $300 million, not including launch costs.

NASA Launches New Climate Mission to Study Ocean, Atmosphere

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, February 8, 2024

NASA confirmed signal acquisition from the satellite about five minutes after launch, and the spacecraft is performing as expected.

Key Points: 
  • NASA confirmed signal acquisition from the satellite about five minutes after launch, and the spacecraft is performing as expected.
  • "Missions like this are supporting the Biden-Harris Administration's climate agenda and helping us answer urgent questions about our changing climate."
  • From hundreds of miles above Earth, the PACE mission will study the impact of tiny, often invisible things: microscopic life in water and microscopic particles in the air.
  • The PACE mission is managed by NASA Goddard, which also built and tested the spacecraft and the ocean color instrument.

NASA Sets Coverage for SpaceX, Intuitive Machines First Moon Mission

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Live launch coverage will air on NASA+ , NASA Television, the NASA app , and the agency's website, with prelaunch events starting Monday, Feb. 12.

Key Points: 
  • Live launch coverage will air on NASA+ , NASA Television, the NASA app , and the agency's website, with prelaunch events starting Monday, Feb. 12.
  • Intuitive Machines' Nova-C lander is expected to land on the Moon Thursday, Feb. 22.
  • On launch day, a "tech feed" of the launch without NASA TV commentary will be carried on the NASA TV media channel.
  • Launch day coverage of the mission will be available on the NASA website.

NASA Sets Coverage for SpaceX, Intuitive Machines First Moon Mission

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Live launch coverage will air on NASA+ , NASA Television, the NASA app , and the agency's website, with prelaunch events starting Monday, Feb. 12.

Key Points: 
  • Live launch coverage will air on NASA+ , NASA Television, the NASA app , and the agency's website, with prelaunch events starting Monday, Feb. 12.
  • Intuitive Machines' Nova-C lander is expected to land on the Moon Thursday, Feb. 22.
  • On launch day, a "tech feed" of the launch without NASA TV commentary will be carried on the NASA TV media channel.
  • Launch day coverage of the mission will be available on the NASA website.

Lunar science is entering a new active phase, with commercial launches of landers that will study solar wind and peer into the universe’s dark ages

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 6, 2024

And thanks to new technologies and public-private partnerships, these projects will open up new realms of scientific possibility.

Key Points: 
  • And thanks to new technologies and public-private partnerships, these projects will open up new realms of scientific possibility.
  • NASA’s commercial lunar payload services program, or CLPS, will use uncrewed landers to conduct NASA’s first science experiments from the Moon in over 50 years.
  • Rather than NASA building the landers and operating the program, commercial companies will do so in a public-private partnership.

CLPS launches

  • The first two CLPS payloads are scheduled to launch during the first two months of 2024.
  • There’s the Astrobotics payload, which launched Jan. 8 before experiencing a fuel issue that cut its journey to the Moon short.
  • Next, there’s the Intuitive Machines payload, with a launch scheduled for mid-February.

Radio telescopes on the Moon

  • The Moon – particularly the far side of the Moon – is an ideal place to do radio astronomy and study signals from extraterrestrial objects such as the Sun and the Milky Way galaxy.
  • On Earth, the ionosphere, which contains Earth’s magnetic field, distorts and absorbs radio signals below the FM band.
  • The Moon has no ionosphere, and with about 2,000 miles of rock between the Earth and the far side of the Moon, there’s no interference.
  • The same kind of discharge happens on the Moon from the charged gas, but it’s potentially more harmful to astronauts.

Solar and exoplanet radio emissions

  • The Sun’s surface releases shock waves that send out highly energetic particles and low radio frequency emissions.
  • We’ll use the radio telescopes to measure these emissions and to see bursts of low-frequency radio waves from shock waves within the solar wind.
  • If we detect the same kind of radio emissions that come from Earth, this will tell us that the planet has a magnetic field.

Cosmology on the Moon

  • The Lunar Surface Electromagnetic Experiment at Night, or LuSEE-Night, will fly in early 2026 to the far side of the Moon.
  • LuSEE-Night marks scientists’ first attempt to do cosmology on the Moon.
  • Since the far side of the Moon is uniquely radio quiet, it’s the best place to do cosmological observations.
  • That process is going to start in 2026 with the LuSEE-Night mission, which is both a fundamental physics experiment and a cosmology experiment.


Jack Burns receives funding from NASA.

Marathon Petroleum Corporation announces election of two new directors

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, January 31, 2024

FINDLAY, Ohio, Jan. 31, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: MPC) today announced that Eileen P. Drake and Kimberly N. Ellison-Taylor have been elected to the company's board of directors, effective March 1, 2024.

Key Points: 
  • FINDLAY, Ohio, Jan. 31, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: MPC) today announced that Eileen P. Drake and Kimberly N. Ellison-Taylor have been elected to the company's board of directors, effective March 1, 2024.
  • Ellison-Taylor is a former global leader at Oracle Corporation, where she held roles directing strategy and thought leadership for the company's financial services practice; health, human & labor vertical; and its cloud business.
  • "We look forward to their perspectives and strategic insights as we continue creating long-term sustainable value in an ever-evolving business environment."
  • The elections of Drake and Ellison-Taylor will increase the MPC board to 13 directors.

KBR Awarded Top Contractor Title at Two NASA Centers for the Second Year

Retrieved on: 
Monday, January 29, 2024

Every year, NASA's Office of Small Business Programs celebrates outstanding mission contributions through its Small Business Industry Awards.

Key Points: 
  • Every year, NASA's Office of Small Business Programs celebrates outstanding mission contributions through its Small Business Industry Awards.
  • These awards honor companies that effectively leverage small businesses and their unique capabilities to support NASA's goals.
  • KBR's dual wins highlight its outstanding overall contract performance, impactful NASA outreach, smart small business utilization, and strong ethical practices.
  • It currently operates at nine NASA locations and is one of the world's largest human spaceflight support organizations.

NASA Analysis Confirms 2023 as Warmest Year on Record

Retrieved on: 
Friday, January 12, 2024

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Earth's average surface temperature in 2023 was the warmest on record, according to an analysis by NASA.

Key Points: 
  • WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Earth's average surface temperature in 2023 was the warmest on record, according to an analysis by NASA.
  • "NASA and NOAA's global temperature report confirms what billions of people around the world experienced last year; we are facing a climate crisis," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
  • However, the record temperatures in the second half of 2023 occurred before the peak of the current El Niño event.
  • NASA's full dataset of global surface temperatures through 2023, as well as details with code of how NASA scientists conducted the analysis, are publicly available from GISS.

NASA to Brief Media on Climate Mission to Study Ocean Life, Air

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, January 11, 2024

WASHINGTON, Jan. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA will host a media teleconference at 12 p.m. EST, Wednesday, Jan. 17, to discuss the upcoming launch and science objectives of the agency's PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) mission.

Key Points: 
  • WASHINGTON, Jan. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA will host a media teleconference at 12 p.m. EST, Wednesday, Jan. 17, to discuss the upcoming launch and science objectives of the agency's PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) mission.
  • Once in orbit above Earth, the satellite will shed light on the impact of tiny things – microscopic life in water and microscopic particles in the air.
  • With new global insights, PACE will help answer questions about how our oceans and atmosphere interact in a changing climate.
  • Noosha Haghani, PACE deputy mission systems engineer, NASA Goddard
    To participate in the teleconference, media must RSVP by 10 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 17, to Jacob Richmond at [email protected] or 301-286-6255.

NASA Remembers Trailblazing Astronaut, Scientist Mary Cleave

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, November 29, 2023

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Retired NASA astronaut Mary Cleave, a veteran of two NASA spaceflights, died Nov. 27.

Key Points: 
  • WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Retired NASA astronaut Mary Cleave, a veteran of two NASA spaceflights, died Nov. 27.
  • "I'm sad we've lost trail blazer Dr. Mary Cleave, shuttle astronaut, veteran of two spaceflights, and first woman to lead the Science Mission Directorate as associate administrator," said NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana.
  • "Mary was a force of nature with a passion for science, exploration, and caring for our home planet.
  • Cleave's awards included: two NASA Space Flight medals; two NASA Exceptional Service medals; an American Astronautical Society Flight Achievement Award; a NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal; and NASA Engineer of the Year.