Expedition 22 Preparing for Upcoming Soyuz and Shuttle Activities

Image above: Expedition 22 Commander Jeff Williams (center) and Flight Engineers Soichi Noguchi and T.J. Creamer conduct a conference with reporters on the ground Friday morning. Credit: NASA TV

Expedition 22 Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Maxim Suraev will complete their stay onboard the International Space Station on March 18. They will undock their Soyuz TMA-16 from the orbiting laboratory at 4:03 a.m. EDT and land in Kazakhstan about 3 1/2 hours later. Staying behind will be new station commander Oleg Kotov and Flight Engineers T.J. Creamer and Soichi Noguchi. The three crew members will become the Expedition 23 crew. Joining them two weeks later will be new crew members Alexander Skvortsov, Tracy Caldwell-Dyson and Mikhail Kornienko. They will launch aboard the Soyuz TMA-18 from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on April 2. As the off-going crew members packed gear for the return home, Williams also performed hatch seal checks in the American side of the station. Williams, Creamer and Noguchi spent some time Friday morning talking to reporters on the ground. The trio conducted interviews with MSNBC and the Wall Street Journal Digital Network. Space shuttle Discovery is due to launch to the space station on April 5, beginning the STS-131 mission. Discovery and its seven-member crew will deliver new science racks for the station inside the Italian-built Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module. Science continues in space as the orbiting crew set up an experiment inside the Human Research Facility. The experiment seeks to study the long-term effects of microgravity on a crew member’s heart. The Columbus lab’s Fluids Science Laboratory had its video hardware updated, and the crew collected samples from the station’s air and water, as well as various equipment surfaces, to be analyzed for microbial growth.

EARTH HOUR

Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia when 2.2 million homes and businesses turned their lights off for one hour to make their stand against climate change. Only a year later and Earth Hour had become a global sustainability movement with more than 50 million people across 35 countries participating. Global landmarks such as the, Sydney Harbour Bridge, The CN Tower in Toronto, The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and Rome’s Colosseum, all stood in darkness, as symbols of hope for a cause that grows more urgent by the hour.
In March 2009, hundreds of millions of people took part in the third Earth Hour. Over 4000 cities in 88 countries officially switched off to pledge their support for the planet, making Earth Hour 2009 the world’s largest global climate change initiative. Earth Hour 2010 takes place on Saturday 27 March at 8.30pm (local time) and is a global call to action to every individual, every business and every community throughout the world. It is a call to stand up, to take responsibility, to get involved and lead the way towards a sustainable future. Iconic buildings and landmarks from Europe to Asia to the Americas will stand in darkness. People across the world from all walks of life will turn off their lights and join together in celebration and contemplation of the one thing we all have in common – our planet.
Earth Hour has done a lot to raise awareness of climate change issues. But there’s more to it than switching off lights for one hour once a year. It’s all about giving people a voice on the future of our planet and working together to create a sustainable low carbon future for our planet.
With participation levels now exceeding all expectations, and with more cities and towns signing up every day to be a part of this historic event, the success of Earth Hour 2010 is limited only by the will of the global community to want a say in the future of their planet.
The challenge of Earth Hour is to rethink how we live our lives in the next hour, the next day, and the day after that. It's always darkest before the dawn. Let's make this hour the dawn of a new greener age. Send us an email at green@go-green.ae and let us know what you will be doing this Eath Hour.

NASA Ground-Breaking Unearths New Generation of Deep Space Network Antennas

NASA's Deep Space Network in Canberra, Australia. Image credit: NASA/JPL/CDSCC › Larger image (11 Mb)

NASA officials break ground on new antennas at the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex in Australia, part of NASA's Deep Space Network. Image credit: NASA/JPL/CDSCC › Larger image (7 Mb)

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA officials broke ground near Canberra, Australia on Wednesday, Feb. 24, beginning a new antenna-building campaign to improve Deep Space Network communications.
Following the recommendations of an independent study, NASA embarked on an ambitious project to replace its aging fleet of 70-meter-wide (230-foot-wide) dishes with a new generation of 34-meter (112-foot) antennas by 2025.
The three 70-meter antennas, located at the NASA Deep Space Network complexes at Goldstone, Calif., Madrid, Spain, and Canberra, are more than 40 years old and show wear and tear from constant use.
The new antennas, known as "beam wave guide" antennas, can be used more flexibly, allowing the network to operate on several different frequency bands within the same antenna. Their electronic equipment is more accessible, making maintenance easier and less costly. The new antennas also can receive higher-frequency, wider-bandwidth signals known as the "Ka band." This band, required for new NASA missions approved after 2009, allows the newer antennas to carry more data than the older ones.
In the first phase of the project near Canberra, NASA expects to complete the building of up to three 34-meter antennas by 2018. The decision to begin construction came on the 50th anniversary of U.S. and Australian cooperation in space tracking operations.
"There is no better way to celebrate our 50 years of collaboration and partnership in exploring the heavens with the government of Australia than our renewed commitment and investment in new capabilities required for the next five decades," said Badri Younes, deputy associate administrator for Space Communications and Navigation at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
Space Communications and Navigation is responsible for managing all NASA space communications and navigation resources and their operations. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the agency's Deep Space Network, an important component of the agency's space communications resources.
NASA's goal is to integrate all NASA communications resources into a unified, far more capable network. Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization manages the communication complex near Canberra for NASA.
A number of NASA officials were on hand. They are, left to right (in the second image): Miguel Marina, JPL's 34-meter implementation manager, Peter Vrotsos, director of network Services at NASA Headquarters, Badri Younes, deputy associate administrator for space communications and navigation at NASA Headquarters, Megan Clark, CEO of the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Alex Zelinsky, group executive for information services at CSIRO, Miriam Baltuck, director of the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex, US Ambassador Jeffrey Bleich, William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for space operations at NASA Headquarters, Charles Elachi, director of JPL. The new antennas will improve communications with spacecraft traveling the reaches of deep space and are part of an eventual plan to replace the network's 40-year-old workhorse 70-meter-wide (230-foot-wide) antennas. The first phase will take place at the complex near Canberra. The Deep Space Network is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
The California Institute of Technology in Pasadena manages JPL for NASA.
More information about the Deep Space Network is online at: http://deepspace.jpl.nasa.gov/. More information about NASA's Space Communication and Navigation Program is at: https://www.spacecomm.nasa.gov/spacecomm/.

Jia-Rui C. Cook 818-354-0850Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.jia-rui.c.cook@jpl.nasa.govKatherine Trinidad 202-358-1100Headquarters, Washingtonkatherine.trinidad@nasa.gov

Image Of The Day

Winds of Change

This is a composite image of NGC 1068, one of the nearest and brightest galaxies containing a rapidly growing supermassive black hole. The X-ray images...

Alternative Energy Crops in Space

Fruits of J. curcas. Fruits are produced terminally in the branches, and each fruit contains three seeds. Image credit: Dr. Wagner A Vendrame, University of Florida at HomesteadView large image

Seeds of J. curcas. Seeds are pressed for oil extraction, which can be utilized as biofuel. Image credit: Dr. Wagner A Vendrame, University of Florida at Homestead View large image

Fluid Processing Apparatus (FPA) containing cell suspensions of J. curcas. The FPAs will be assembled into the Group Activation Pack (GAP), which will be transported to the ISS for microgravity studies. Image credit: Dr. Wagner A Vendrame, University of Florida at Homestead View large image

What if space held the key to producing alternative energy crops on Earth? That's what researchers are hoping to find in a new experiment on the International Space Station. The experiment, National Lab Pathfinder-Cells 3, is aimed at learning whether microgravity can help jatropha curcas plant cells grow faster to produce biofuel, or renewable fuel derived from biological matter. Jatropha is known to produce high quality oil that can be converted into an alternative energy fuel, or biofuel. By studying the effects of microgravity on jatropha cells, researchers hope to accelerate the cultivation of the plant for commercial use by improving characteristics such as cell structure, growth and development. This is the first study to assess the effects of microgravity on cells of a biofuel plant. "As the search for alternate energy sources has become a top priority, the results from this study could add value for commercialization of a new product,” said Wagner Vendrame, principal investigator for the experiment at the University of Florida in Homestead. "Our goal is to verify if microgravity will induce any significant changes in the cells that could affect plant growth and development back on Earth." Launched on space shuttle Endeavour’s STS-130 mission in February, cell cultures of jatropha were sent to the space station in special flasks containing nutrients and vitamins. The cells will be exposed to microgravity until they return to Earth aboard space shuttle Discovery's STS-131 mission targeted for April. For comparison studies of how fast the cultures grow, a replicated set of samples are being maintained at the University of Florida's Tropical Research and Education Center in Homestead. "Watching the space shuttle go up carrying a little piece of my work is an indescribable experience," said Vendrame. "Knowing that my experiment could contribute to creating a sustainable means for biofuel production on Earth, and therefore making this a better world adds special value to the work."

by Lori Meggs, AI Signal Research, Inc. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

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Iceberg Collision in Antarctica

An oblong iceberg roughly as big as Rhode Island called B-09B (center right in this image) collided with the edge of the Mertz Glacier in eastern Antarctica...

GOES-P Mission

The NASA/NOAA Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-P (GOES-P) launched Mar. 4, 2010 at 6:57 p.m. EST. About four hours and 21 minutes later, the spacecraft successfully separated from the launch vehicle.

3-2-1 and Liftoff of GOES-P!

The Delta IV carrying GOES-P lifted off at 6:57 p.m. EST from Launch Complex 37B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. After reaching orbit, GOES-P will become GOES-15. The satellite will be used to monitor and predict weather, measure ocean temperatures, perform climate studies, and detect hazards with its emergency beacon support and Search and Rescue Transponder.GOES-P was built by Boeing for NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA.

Image above: A Delta IV launch vehicle lifts off carrying GOES-P into orbit. Image credit: NASA/Kenny Allen › Larger Image

Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-P, or GOES-P, is the latest in a series of meteorological satellites designed to watch for storm development and weather conditions on Earth. From its location in Earth orbit, GOES-P's state-of-the-art instrumentation will supply data used in weather monitoring, forecasting and warnings. It also will detect ocean and land temperatures, monitor space weather, relay communications and provide search-and-rescue support.

Robots DIY Podcast Module

Build your own podcast about robots.

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/diypodcast/robots-index-diy.html

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The Crab Nebula
The Crab Nebula, the result of a supernova noted by Earth-bound chroniclers in 1054 A.D., is filled with mysterious filaments that are are not only tremendously...

From the NACA to NASA: 95 Years of Innovation in Flight

Clad in a fur lined leather flying suit with oxygen facepiece, NACA test pilot Paul King prepares to take to the air in a Vought VE-7. Image credit: NACA

Metal workers fabricate cowlings for early test installations. Image credit: NACA

Two mechanics pose near the entrance end of the first wind tunnel at the NACA's Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory. The air intake's screened center insured a steady, nonturbulent flow of air. Image credit: NACA

Ninety-five years ago a committee of 12 volunteers with a budget of $5,000 embarked on a mission to change the face of U.S. aviation, and in doing so established a legacy of innovative aeronautical research that continues at NASA today. Established by Congress on March 3, 1915, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, or the NACA, convened its first meeting a few weeks later with marching orders to "supervise and direct the scientific study of the problems of flight, with a view to their practical solutions." By the time the NACA morphed into NASA in 1958, the nation's best and brightest aeronautical engineers had established world-class laboratories, steadfastly pioneered the unknown of flight and won five Collier Trophies, the greatest honor in aviation. "In fact, there are no production airplanes flying anywhere in the world today that do not rely on some technology derived from NACA research," said Jaiwon Shin, associate administrator for NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate in Washington.

When the NACA was formed, a dozen years had passed since the Wright Brothers made their historic flight at Kitty Hawk, and Americans had yet to embrace the airplane. We were more impressed in 1915 by Henry Ford producing his one millionth automobile. Aeronautical researchers in Europe, however, were more aggressive in developing the airplane and by the time World War I began in 1914 the United States was behind the world in aviation. Forming the NACA was a direct response to that situation. Laboratories in Virginia, California and Ohio were constructed and soon became the centers of aviation research tasked by the committee. It was at these places known as Langley, Ames, Dryden and Lewis that the NACA made some of the most important contributions to aviation. They included development of a Cowling to improve the cooling of a radial engine, which also reduced drag on the aircraft. Wind tunnel that can simulate air density at different altitudes, which engineers used to design and test dozens of wing cross-section shapes. Wind tunnel with slots in its wall that allowed researchers to take measurements of aerodynamic forces at near supersonic speeds.
Design principle involving the shape of an aircraft's wing in relation to the rest of the airplane to reduce drag and allow supersonic flight. In addition to the technical discoveries, one of the greatest contributions of the NACA was its insistence on producing and widely distributing its reports, memoranda and notes, which allowed the rest of the aviation community to take full advantage of the research results. All of these contributions continue to be in use today and further opened the doors to enhancement as research methods and technology improved, namely going from the slide rule to the desktop computer. The NACA ceased to exist in its own right on Sept. 30, 1958—becoming the foundation for NASA, which opened for business the next day.

By that time, the jet age had arrived and NACA researchers already were studying problems regarding spaceflight, including how to return an object in space through Earth's atmosphere. Overnight, NASA inherited a generation of experience in managing government research projects, operating the finest laboratories and wind tunnels, and training the brightest aeronautical engineers to conduct cutting-edge research. The rapid rise of the space program that followed, and NASA's ability to successfully answer President Kennedy's challenge to the moon would not have been possible without that firm foundation laid by the NACA. The NACA's spirit and innovative approach to research continues today, said Richard P. Hallion, a respected aviation historian and author of the NASA publication On the Frontier: Flight Research at Dryden, 1946-1981. "The fact that we had an NACA serves today as an inspiration to our modern aeronautics researchers, many of whom are working in the same facilities created in the heyday of the NACA. They remain committed to the same quest for excellence as the original trailblazers."

› The NACA: A Look Back

› NACA Anniversary Video