Successful Launch Of OrbitalATK Antares Rocket At Wallops Flight Facility In Virginia

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Solar System: OSIRIS-REx and Bennu

Let us lead you on a journey of our solar system. Here are some things to know this week.

This week, we’re setting out on an ambitious quest: our first mission to retrieve a sample from an asteroid and return it to the Earth.

1. Take It from the Beginning

Some asteroids are time capsules from the very beginnings of our solar system. Some meteorites that fall to Earth originate from asteroids. Laboratory tests of materials found in meteorites date to before the sun started shining. OSIRIS-REx’s destination, the near-Earth asteroid Bennu, intrigues scientists in part because it is thought to be composed of the primitive building blocks of the solar system.

Meet asteroid Bennu

Take a tour of asteroids in our solar system.

2. Creating the Right Ship for the Journey

At the heart of the OSIRIS-REx mission is the robotic spacecraft that will fly to Bennu, acting as the surrogate eyes and hands of researchers on Earth. With its solar panels deployed, the craft is about 20 feet (6 meters) long and 10 feet (3 meters) high. Packed into that space are the sample retrieval system, the capsule for returning the sample to the ground on Earth, plus all the hardware for navigation and communicating with home.

Explore the instruments and how they work

3. School of Hard Rocks

If you’re a teacher or a student, the OSIRIS-REx mission and exploring asteroids make for some engaging lesson material. Here are some of the things you can try.

Find dozens of lesson plans

4. Standing (or Flying) on the Shoulders of Giants

OSIRIS-REx is not the first time we have explored an asteroid. Several robotic spacecraft led the way, such as the NEAR Shoemaker probe that orbited, and even landed on, the asteroid Eros.

Meet the asteroid pioneers and see what they discovered

5. The Probability of Successfully Navigating an Asteroid Field is…Pretty High

How much of what we see in movies about asteroids is fact, and how much is fiction? This video lays out the basics. (Spoiler alert: even though there are millions of them, the average distance between asteroids in the main belt is something like 1.8 million miles, or about three million kilometers.)

+ Watch + See more videos that explain asteroids and the mission

Discover the full list of 10 things to know about our solar system this week HERE.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

Winner announced for the Golden Tinfoil Hat Award! The votes have been counted, and from the numerous worthy science-deniers and conspiracy theorists, one has risen to the top!

Ken Ham the Anti Science Sham: Ark Encounter

Well, it’s time to take a look at Ken Ham’s Ark Encounter. After the video, we’ll elaborate on a few of the details. Ken’s Claims: Built from the specs taken directly out of the bible.  Mr. Ham usually fails to mention that the bible was pretty light on specs. The only information given is the following: Make thee an ark of gopher…

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Living and Working Aboard Station

 Join us on Facebook Live for a conversation with astronaut Kate Rubins and the director of the National Institutes for Health on Tuesday, October 18 at 11:15 a.m. ET.

Astronaut Kate Rubins has conducted out of this world research aboard Earth’s only orbiting laboratory. During her time aboard the International Space Station, she became the first person to sequence DNA in space. On Tuesday, she’ll be live on Facebook with National Institute of Health director Francis Collins, who led the effort to map the human genome. You can submit questions for Kate using the hashtag #SpaceChat on Twitter, or during the live event. Here’s a primer on the science this PhD astronaut has been conducting to help inspire your questions: 

Kate has a background in genomics (a branch of molecular genetics that deals with the study of genomes,specifically the identification and sequencing of their constituent genes and the application of this knowledge in medicine, pharmacy,agriculture, and other fields). When she began her tenure on the station, zero base pairs of DNA had been sequenced in space. Within just a few weeks, she and the Biomolecule Sequencer team had sequenced their one billionth base of DNA aboard the orbital platform.

“I [have a] genomics background, [so] I get really excited about that kind of stuff,” Rubins said in a downlink shortly after reaching the one billion base pairs sequenced goal.

Learn more about this achievement:

+First DNA Sequencing in Space a Game Changer

+Science in Short: One Billion Base Pairs Sequenced

Why is DNA Sequencing in Space a Big Deal?

A space-based DNA sequencer could identify microbes, diagnose diseases and understand crew member health, and potentially help detect DNA-based life elsewhere in the solar system.

+Why Sequencing DNA in Space is a Big Deal

https://youtu.be/1N0qm8HcFRI 

Miss the Reddit AMA on the subject? Here’s a transcript:

+NASA AMA: We just sequenced DNA in space for the first time. Ask us anything! 

NASA and Its Partnerships

We’re not doing this alone. Just like the DNA sequencing was a collaborative project with industry, so is the Eli Lilly Hard to Wet Surfaces investigation. In this experiment aboard the station, astronauts will study how certain materials used in the pharmaceutical industry dissolve in water while in microgravity. Results from this investigation could help improve the design of tablets that dissolve in the body to deliver drugs, thereby improving drug design for medicines used in space and on Earth. Learn more about what we and our partners are doing:

+Eli Lilly Hard to Wet Surfaces – been happening the last week and a half or so

Researchers to Test How Solids Dissolve in Space to Design Better Tablets and Pills on Earth

With our colleagues at the Stanford University School of Medicine, we’re also investigating the effects of spaceflight on stem cell-derived heart cells, specifically how heart muscle tissue, contracts, grows and changes  in microgravity and how those changes vary between subjects. Understanding how heart muscle cells change in space improves efforts for studying disease, screening drugs and conducting cell replacement therapy for future space missions. Learn more:

+Heart Cells

+Weekly Recap From the Expedition Lead Scientist for Aug. 18, 2016 

It’s Not Just Medicine

Kate and her crew mates have also worked on the combustion experiments.

Kate has also worked on the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), an experimental expandable capsule that docks with the station. As we work on our Journey to Mars, future space habitats  are a necessity. BEAM, designed for Mars or other destinations, is a lightweight and relatively simple to construct solution. Kate has recently examined BEAM, currently attached to the station, to take measurements and install sensors.

Kate recently performed a harvest of the Plant RNA Regulation experiment, by removing seed cassettes and stowing them in cold stowage.

The Plant RNA Regulation investigation studies the first steps of gene expression involved in development of roots and shoots. Scientists expect to find new molecules that play a role in how plants adapt and respond to the microgravity environment of space, which provides new insight into growing plants for food and oxygen supplies on long-duration missions. Read more about the experiment:

+Plant RNA Harvest

NASA Astronaut Kate Rubins is participating in several investigations examining changes in her body as a result of living in space. Some of these changes are similar to issues experienced by our elderly on Earth; for example, bone loss (osteoporosis), cardiovascular deconditioning, immune dysfunction, and muscle atrophy. Understanding these changes and how to prevent them in astronauts off the Earth may help improve health for all of us on the Earth. In additional, the crew aboard station is also working on more generalized studies of aging.

+ Study of the effects of aging on C. elegans, a model organism for a range of biological studies.

NASA and Star Trek

Star Trek debuted in September 1966 and in its various incarnations, the series has been an inspiration to many, even some of us at NASA. The series allowed its fans to explore “strange new worlds” and to dream of what could be right in their living rooms. To celebrate the show’s 50th anniversary, we’ve collected some Trek-themed photos featuring Star Trek cast members and NASA astronauts. 

Serious Business

The STS-54 crew of the space shuttle Endeavour in their official “gag” photo are costumed as the bridge crew of the Enterprise as depicted in the movie “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.” The photo was taken on the Star Trek Adventure set of the Universal Studios California theme park in Los Angeles, California, while the crew was on a west coast training and public relations tour during the Summer of 1992. From left to right: 

Greg Harbaugh (Mission Specialist/Engineering Officer)

Mario "Spock” Runco Jr. (Mission Specialist/1st Officer/Science Officer) 

John Casper (Commander/Captain) 

Susan Helms (Mission Specialist/Communications Officer) 

Don McMonagle (Pilot/Navigation-Helm Officer) 

“I have been, and always shall be, your friend”

Astronaut John Creighton shows the on board Graphical Retrieval Information Display (GRID) computer, which displays a likeness of Mr. Spock aboard STS-051G, June 18, 1985.

“A Keyboard… How Quaint”

Actor James Doohan (who played engineering genius Montgomery Scott in Star Trek) sits in the commanders seat of the Full Fuselage Trainer while astronaut Mario Runco explains the control panel during a tour of Johnson Space Center on Jan. 18, 1991. 

“You Wanted Excitement, How’s Your Adrenaline?”

Actress Nichelle Nichols (Uhura in Star Trek) toured Johnson Space Center in Houston on March 4, 1977, while Apollo 12 lunar module pilot and Skylab II commander Alan Bean showed her what it felt like inside the Lower Body Negative Pressure Device and showed her how the Shuttle Procedures Simulator operated. 

Nichols paid us another visit in 2012 and 2015 with the Space Traveling Museum. 

Infinite Diversity, Infinite Combinations

European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti gave the Vulcan salute aboard the International Space Station shortly after the passing of Leonard Nimoy on Feb. 28, 2015. She commented on Tweeter: “ ‘Of all the souls I have encountered.. his was the most human.’ Thx @TheRealNimoy for bringing Spock to life for us”

Live Long And Prosper

While visiting Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX, George Takei (Hikaru Sulu on the original series) had the chance to exchange Vulcan salutes with Robonaut on May 29, 2012. 

“Let’s See What’s Out There”

Scott Bakula, who played Captain Jonathan Archer on Star Trek: Enterprise, stands with astronauts Terry Virts and Mike Fincke on set. The two astronauts made guest appearances on the series finale episode “These Are The Voyages …” March 2005.

Boldly Going For Real

Above is the crew of STS-134, the next to last shuttle mission, in their version of the 2009 Star Trek movie poster. 

The crew of Expedition 21 aboard the International Space Station also made a Trek-themed poster in 2009, wearing uniforms from Star Trek: The Next Generation with the Enterprise NX-01 silhouette in the background.

Learn more about Star Trek and NASA.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=eVI3623e6ac

Return of Flat Out Stupid: SpaceX Edition Remember 'Russianvids'? He was the fellow that tried to disprove a spherical Earth by pouring water on a tomato.

Star Trek’s Influence on the NASA Culture - Panel Discussion (FULL) July 30, 2016 The following people participated in the panel discussion at Wolf Trap National Park in Virginia: Adam Nimoy, Director, For the Love of Spock David Zappone, Producer, For the Love of Spock Terry Farrell, Actress, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Michael Giacchino, Composer, Star Trek Into Darkness Dave Lavery, Program Executive for Solar System Exploration, NASA HQ Michelle Thaller, Deputy Director of Science Communications, NASA HQ Moderator - Bob Jacobs, Deputy Associate Administrator, Office of Communication, NASA HQ Moderator - Emil de Cou, Conductor, National Symphony Orchestra

Watch as NASA Test-Fires the RS-25 Rocket Engine

NASA test-fired an RS-25 rocket engine today, 08/18/2016 at the Stennis Space Center in Bay St. Louis in Mississippi. The RS-25 is one of four modified space shuttle main engines that will help lift the huge SLS rocket off the ground assisted by two solid rocket boosters.* The RS-25 engines are fueled by liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. Combined, the four RS-25 engines on SLS will generate 2…

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