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Critical NASA Science Returns to Earth aboard SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft

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SpaceX's Dragon cargo spacecraft splashed down at 3:39 p.m. EDT Saturday, Oct. 25, in the Pacific Ocean, approximately 300 miles west of Baja California, returning 3,276 pounds of NASA cargo and science samples from the International Space Station (ISS).

A boat will take the Dragon spacecraft to a port near Los Angeles, where some cargo will be removed and returned to NASA within 48 hours. Dragon will be prepared for a return journey to SpaceX's test facility in McGregor, Texas, for processing.

This mission enabled research critical to achieving NASAs goal of long-duration human spaceflight in deep space, said Sam Scimemi, director of the International Space Station division at NASA Headquarters. The delivery of the ISS RapidScatterometer advances our understanding of Earth science, and the 3-D printer will enable a critical technology demonstration. Investigations in the returned cargo could aid in the development of more efficient solar cells and semiconductor-based electronics, the development of plants better suited for space, and improvements in sustainable agriculture.

Among the returned investigations was part of the Rodent Research-1 experiment, which also launched last month to space aboard this Dragon. This study supports ongoing research into how microgravity affects animals, providing information relevant to human spaceflight, discoveries in basic biology, and knowledge that may direct affect human health on Earth. NASA and the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) are developing spaceflight experiments that will use the Rodent Research Hardware System.

When returned, data from the Fundamental and Applied Studies of Emulsion Stability (FASES) investigation will be processed to help determine the physical principles which play a part in stabilizing different emulsions and the compounds that influenced those emulsions while in orbit. Emulsions are mixtures of two or more liquids where one liquid is present in droplet form and distributed throughout the other liquid; common emulsions include milk, mayonnaise and paint.

NanoRacks-Girl Scouts of Hawaii-Arugula Plant Growth study was returned to Earth, as well. This study seeks to determine the impact that various nutrients and microgravity have on the growth and nutritious value of arugula seedlings grown in space. The goal of the study is to develop better ways to grow plants with a high nutritional content in the space environment. If the study samples have a high nutrition value, this may enable NASA and astronauts to grow and consume fresh, healthy food during future space travel.

Dragon is the only space station resupply spacecraft able to return a significant amount of cargo to Earth. The spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Sept. 21 carrying almost 5,000 pounds of supplies and elements to support 255 scientific investigations the crew members of Expeditions 41 and 42 will conduct. The mission was the fourth of 12 cargo resupply trips SpaceX will make to the space station through 2016 under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract.

For more information about SpaceX's mission to the International Space Station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/spacex

For more information about the International Space Station, visit:

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Critical NASA Science Returns to Earth aboard SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft

NASA Captures Largest Sunspot in Two Decades

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Washington: NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) has spotted an image of a gigantic sunspot - the largest in last 24 years.

The flare erupted from a particularly large active region dubbed as AR 12192.

The sunspot soon grew to be the largest active region observed in the current solar cycle - a periodic change in the Sun's activity and appearance - which began in 2008.

This is the fourth substantial X-class flare from this active region since October 19.

X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength.

Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground.

These can also disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel.

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NASA Captures Largest Sunspot in Two Decades

NEW UFO spotted in NASA video of astronauts as they carry out REpairs – Video

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NEW UFO spotted in NASA video of astronauts as they carry out REpairs
A UFO photobombed astronauts making repairs to the International Space (ISS) earlier this month - setting off a wild frenzy of speculation online. The spooky incident happened on October 7,...

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NEW UFO spotted in NASA video of astronauts as they carry out REpairs - Video

Review of Actions by Members of a NASA Advisory Committee — August 2012 – Video

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Review of Actions by Members of a NASA Advisory Committee -- August 2012
NASA Inspector General (IG) Paul K. Martin today released a report that summarizes an investigation into allegations that members of a NASA-supervised advisory committee violated Federal conflict...

By: NASA OIG

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Review of Actions by Members of a NASA Advisory Committee -- August 2012 - Video

Web Application Security chat: NASA, JPmorgan Chase, web hosts, CTF 365, pen-testing, and more – Video

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Web Application Security chat: NASA, JPmorgan Chase, web hosts, CTF 365, pen-testing, and more
This web secuirty chat I, Ryan Satterfield from http://planetzuda.com discussed how companies like JPmorgan Chase, NASA, web hosts and others respond to security reports. +chris haralson from...

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Web Application Security chat: NASA, JPmorgan Chase, web hosts, CTF 365, pen-testing, and more - Video

HD Historic Stock Footage NASA Apollo 11 Moon Landing – Video

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HD Historic Stock Footage NASA Apollo 11 Moon Landing
True HD Direct Film Transfers - NO UPCONVERSIONS! Apollo 11 Moon Landing Please visit our website for more historic archival film titles. http://www.buyoutfootage.com/pages/pd.html Buyout...

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HD Historic Stock Footage NASA Apollo 11 Moon Landing - Video

The Moth: Since NASA Wouldn’t Send Me by Richard Garriott – Video

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The Moth: Since NASA Wouldn #39;t Send Me by Richard Garriott
When Richard Garriott learned from NASA that he couldn #39;t realize his lifelong dream of following in his father #39;s footsteps to become an astronaut due to bad vision, he did what almost anyone...

By: World Science Festival

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The Moth: Since NASA Wouldn't Send Me by Richard Garriott - Video

NASA Hosts First Agency-wide Social Media Event for Orions First Flight Test

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NASA invites social media followers to apply for credentials to get a preview of the Orion spacecrafts first flight test during NASA Social events Dec. 3 at each of its 10 centers.

Orion will launch on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Liftoff is targeted for 7:05 a.m. EST Dec. 4.

NASA Socials are in-person events for people who engage with the agency through social media networks. Events will be held simultaneously at NASA centers including: Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California; Glenn Research Center in Cleveland; Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; Johnson Space Center in Houston; Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia; Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama; Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi; and, Armstrong Flight Research Center, which is hosting a joint event with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

Each center will be connected via a multi-center NASA Television simulcast with NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida during its event, which was previously announced.

Along with a discussion on Orion and NASAs plan to send humans to Mars, participants will get a unique behind the scenes look at the diverse work of the agency through center tours and presentations by scientists, engineers and managers. The events also will provide guests the opportunity to interact with fellow social media users, space enthusiasts and members of NASA's social media team.

Registration for these NASA Socials opens at 5 p.m. EDT Friday, Oct. 24, and closes at 5 p.m. EST Sunday, Nov. 2. People may register for NASA Socials at multiple locations but will be chosen only for one event. All social media accreditation applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and the number of attendance slots varies by center.

For more information on each center's activities and the requirements for NASA Social registration, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/social-orion-multicenter

For more information on Orion and its first test flight, visit:

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NASA Hosts First Agency-wide Social Media Event for Orions First Flight Test

NASA HS3 Mission Global Hawk's Bullseye in Hurricane Edouard

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These are daylight (top) and low-light camera vies of Eduoard's eye. The daylight image came from the first crossing and low-light during the third eye crossing.Image Credit: D. Fratello, NASA AFRC

NASA's Hurricane Severe Storms Sentinel or HS3 mission flew the unmanned Global Hawk aircraft on two missions between Sept. 11 and 15 into Hurricane Edouard and scored a bullseye by gathering information in the eye of the strengthening storm. Scientists saw how upper-level wind shear was affecting Edouard on the HS3's Global Hawk flight of the 2014 campaign over Sept. 11 and 12, and saw the hurricane strengthen during the sixth flight on Sept. 15 and 16.

NASA's HS3 mission returned to NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, in Wallops Island Virginia for the third year to investigate the processes that underlie hurricane formation and intensity change in the Atlantic Ocean basin.

NASA's Global Hawk aircraft are unmanned and autonomously operated. That means that pilots located in a control room on the ground continuously monitor the flights. The flight plans are pre-programmed into the Global Hawk's flight control computer from takeoff to landing. However, with guidance from HS3s mission scientists, the pilots often make changes or adjustments to the flight pattern to target particular areas of the storms.

Two of the instruments aboard the Global Hawk that gathered data are the S-HIS and CPL. The S-HIS or Scanning High-resolution Interferometer Sounder gathered a continuous sampling of temperature and relative humidity in the clear-air environment, while the CPL or Cloud Physics Lidar analyzed the vertical structure of aerosols (tiny particles) and the vertical structure of the cloud layers of the hurricane. In addition to the S-HIS and CPL, the Advanced Vertical Atmospheric Profiling System (AVAPS) launched into the hurricane dropsondes that measured profiles of temperature, humidity and full tropospheric wind (winds in every level of the troposphere from top to bottom as the sonde falls).

The Fifth Science Mission Provides a Look at Newly Formed Tropical Storm Edouard's Layers

During the Sept. 11-12 flights over Tropical Storm Edouard, "At 800 millibars (about 2 km or 1.2 miles above the surface) the wind field showed a well-organized cyclonic circulation with winds of at least 35 knots (40.2 mph/64.8 kph) on the eastern side of the storm," said Dr. Scott Braun, HS3 Mission Principal Investigator from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

"The air was generally moist at most dropsonde points except for a few places at large distance from the center and right near the center. The point near the center showed evidence of substantial subsidence (sinking motions) and warming, a relatively weaker wind speed, and a surface pressure of 999 millibars, reminiscent of potentially indicating conditions in a forming eye."

Data from higher levels in the atmosphere, at 400 millibars, also proved interesting. The data showed that Edouard's center of circulation was located northeastward of the lower center at 800 millibars. That means that there was westerly to southwesterly vertical wind shear pushing the higher-level of circulation away from the lower level one. "Secondly," Braun said, "very dry air was being swept into the southern portion of the storm by moderate-strength westerly winds. The combination of shear and dry air aloft likely kept Edouard a weak tropical storm."

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NASA HS3 Mission Global Hawk's Bullseye in Hurricane Edouard

NASA Spaceline Current Awareness List #621 24 October 2014

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Papers deriving from NASA support: 1 Inan O, Migeotte PF, Park KS, Etemadi M, Tavakolian K, Casanella R, Zanetti J, Tank J, Funtova I, Prisk K, Di Rienzo M. Ballistocardiography and seismocardiography: A review of recent advances. IEEE J Biomed Health Inform. 2014 Oct 7. [Epub ahead of print] Review. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25312966 (PI: G.K. Prisk) Journal Impact Factor:2.072 Funding:P. F. Migeotte was supported by the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office via the European Space Agency PRODEX program (ILSRA-2009-0729). G. K. Prisk was supported by the National Space Biomedical Research Institute through NASA NCC9-58. J. Tank and I. I. Funtova were supported by the German Space Agency (DLR) grant 50WB1117. M. Di Rienzo was partially supported by the Italian Space Agency through ASI 2013-061-I.0 and ASI 2013-079-R.0. 2 Broxterman RM, Ade CJ, Craig JC, Wilcox SL, Schlup SJ, Barstow TJ. The relationship between critical speed and the respiratory compensation point: Coincidence or equivalence. Eur J Sport Sci. 2014 Oct 13:1-9. [Epub ahead of print] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25307937 (PI: T.J. Barstow) Journal Impact Factor:1.314 Funding:This work was supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under Grant [grant number NNX10AK60G] awarded to T.J. Barstow; NASA Experimental programme to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) under Grant [grant number NNX11AM05A] supporting R.M. Broxterman. 3 Pollak L, Mehta SK, Pierson DL, Sacagiu T, Avneri Kalmanovich S, Cohrs RJ. Varicella-zoster DNA in saliva of patients with meningoencephalitis: A preliminary study. Acta Neurol Scand. 2014 Oct 14. [Epub ahead of print] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25314141 Journal Impact Factor:2.437 Funding:This work has not received any funding. D.L. Pierson is at NASA Johnson Space Center. 4 Brooks NE, Cadena SM, Cloutier G, Vega-Lpez S, Roubenoff R, Castaneda-Sceppa C. Influence of exercise on the metabolic profile caused by 28 days of bed rest with energy deficit and amino acid supplementation in healthy men. Int J Med Sci. 2014 Sep 21;11(12):1248-57. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25317071 (PIs: C. Castaneda-Sceppa, R. Roubenoff) Note:Bed rest study. This article may be obtained online without charge. Journal Impact Factor:1.552 Funding:This work was supported by the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI; NCC9-58), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (ARS Agreement 58-1950-9-001), the National Institutes of Health (NIH; M01 RR000054). S.M.C was supported in part by the NIH (T32 DK62032-11). 5 Flck M, Li R, Valdivieso P, Linnehan RM, Castells J, Tesch P, Gustafsson T. Early changes in costameric and mitochondrial protein expression with unloading are muscle specific. Biomed Res Int. 2014;2014:519310. Epub 2014 Sep 16. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25313365 Note:Unilateral lower limb suspension was used. This article may be obtained online without charge. Journal Impact Factor:2.706 Funding:The authors acknowledge partial financial support by EU FP7 grant Myoage (Contract no. 223576), SNSB (Per Tesch), and NASA (Richard M. Linnehan). R.M. Linnehan is at NASA Johnson Space Center. 6 Illa-Bochaca I, Ouyang H, Tang J, Sebastiano C, Mao JH, Costes SV, Demaria S, Barcellos-Hoff MH. Densely ionizing radiation acts via the microenvironment to promote aggressive Trp53 null mammary carcinomas. Cancer Res. 2014 Oct 10. pii: canres.1212.2014. [Epub ahead of print] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25304265 (PI: M.H. Barcellos-Hoff/J.H. Mao/S.V. Costes/S. Demaria/NSCOR) Journal Impact Factor:9.284 Funding:This research was supported by NASA Specialized Center for Research in Radiation Health Effects, NNX09AM52G. 7 Link BM, Busse JS, Stankovic B. Seed-to-seed-to-seed growth and development ofArabidopsisin microgravity. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25317938 Note:ISS results. This article, which may be obtained online without charge, is featured on the cover of the journal: Images ofArabidopsis thalianaplants grown on the International Space Station, compared with ground-grown controls Journal Impact Factor:2.512 Funding:This experiment was funded, in part, by Space Explorers, Inc. ADVASC development was sponsored by a NASA SPD grant under Cooperative Agreement number NCC8-129. _________________________________________________________________________ Other papers of interest: 1 Guo J, Han N, Zhang Y, Wang H, Zhang X, Su L, Liu C, Li J, Chen C, Liu C. Use of genome sequencing to assess nucleotide structure variation ofStaphylococcus aureusstrains cultured in spaceflight on Shenzhou-X, under simulated microgravity and on the ground. Microbiol Res. 2014 Sep 16. pii: S0944-5013(14)00108-6. [Epub ahead of print] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25304992 Note:Shenzhou 10 results. Low-shear modeled microgravity was used for ground-based experiments. 2 Adell T, Sal E, van Loon JJ, Auletta G. Planarians sense simulated microgravity and hypergravity. Biomed Res Int. 2014;2014:679672. Epub 2014 Sep 17. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25309918 Note:A random positioning machine was used to simulate microgravity; centrifugation was used for hypergravity. This article may be obtained online without charge. 3 Fedorov VB, Goropashnaya AV, Stewart NC, Tien O, Chang C, Wang H, Yan J, Showe LC, Showe MK, Barnes BM. Comparative functional genomics of adaptation to muscular disuse in hibernating mammals. Mol Ecol. 2014 Oct 14. [Epub ahead of print] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25314618 4 Ishihara A, Nagatomo F, Terada M, Fujino H, Kondo H, Ishioka N. Effects of microgravity on the mouse triceps brachii muscle. Muscle Nerve. 2014 Oct 12. [Epub ahead of print] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25307981 Note:STS-135 results. From the Methods section: This study was carried out as a NASA Biospecimen Sharing Program, which was a part of Commercial Biomedical Testing Module-3 (CBTM-3-Vascular Atrophy) project. 5 Hu LF, Li JB, Qian AR, Wang F, Shang P. Mineralization initiation of MC3T3-E1 preosteoblast is suppressed under simulated microgravity condition. Cell Biol Int. 2014 Oct 16. [Epub ahead of print] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25318973 Note:A random positioning machine was used. 6 Yi JY, Kim MR, Lee J, An YS, Jin YB, Park IC, Chung E, Shin I, Barcellos-Hoff MH. TGF-beta1 protects cells from gamma-IR by enhancing the activity of the NHEJ repair pathway. Mol Cancer Res. 2014 Oct 15. pii: molcanres.0098.2014. [Epub ahead of print] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25319009 7 Neri G, Mascotti G, Zolesi V. ELITE S2 A facility for quantitative human movement analysis on board the ISS. Microgravity Sci Technol. 2014 Oct 14. [Article in Press] http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12217-014-9396-7 8 Bagriantsev SN, Gracheva EO, Gallagher PG. Piezo proteins: Regulators of mechanosensation and other cellular processes. J Biol Chem. 2014 Oct 10. pii: jbc.R114.612697. [Epub ahead of print] Review. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25305018 Note:This article may be obtained online without charge. 9 Compton JL, Luo JC, Ma H, Botvinick E, Venugopalan V. High-throughput optical screening of cellular mechanotransduction. Nat Photonics. 2014 Sep 1;8:710-715. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25309621 10 Cho M, Henry EM, Lewis DR, Wu G, Muday GK, Spalding E. Block of ABCB19 ion channel activity by 5-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino)-benzoic acid (NPPB) impairs polar auxin transport and root gravitropism. Plant Physiol. 2014 Oct 16. pii: pp.114.250860. [Epub ahead of print] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25324509 Note:This article may be obtained online without charge. 11 Sanz L, Fernndez-Marcos M, Modrego A, Lewis DR, Muday GK, Pollmann S, Dueas M, Santos-Buelga C, Lorenzo O. Nitric oxide plays a role in stem cell niche homeostasis through its interaction with auxin. Plant Physiol. 2014 Oct 14. pii: pp.114.247445. [Epub ahead of print] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25315603 Note:This article may be obtained online without charge. 12 Zhao H, Ma T, Wang X, Deng Y, Ma H, Zhang R, Zhao J. OsAUX1 controls lateral root initiation in rice (Oryza sativaL.). Plant Cell Environ. 2014 Oct 13. [Epub ahead of print] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25311360 13 Li M, Sack FD. Myrosin idioblast cell fate and development are regulated by theArabidopsistranscription factor FAMA, the auxin pathway, and vesicular trafficking. Plant Cell. 2014 Oct 10. pii: tpc.114.129726. [Epub ahead of print] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25304201

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NASA Spaceline Current Awareness List #621 24 October 2014

NASA Satellite Evades Space Junk

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October 24, 2014

Image Caption: Artist's concept of the Suomi NPP satellite in space. Credit: NASA/Goddard Scientific Visualization Studio/Ryan Zuber

Brett Smith for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

As seen in the Academy Award-winning film Gravity, debris in orbit around Earth is a serious hazard for astronauts and spacecraft operating high above our planet.

On September 28, NASA determined that its Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite, which it operates in conjunction with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), needed a course adjustment to avoid colliding with a large bit of space junk, according to a recent statement from the agency.

[ Watch the Video: Debris In Motion Space Junk Orbital Debris ]

The piece of space junk determined to be between 4 inches and 3.3 feet in size was moving at nearly 17,000 mph, closing in head on and had the potential to miss the Suomi NPP satellite by only about around 300 feet if evasive maneuvers were not taken. With that knowledge, officials decided to reposition the orbit of the satellite.

Because Suomi NPP moves at a similar speed as the debris object, if there had been an impact, it would have occurred at a combined speed of nearly 35,000 mph, said Harry Solomon, Mission Manager for Suomi NPP at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center. This would have been catastrophic not only to the satellite, but would result in thousands of pieces of new debris.

NASA officials noted that the move emphasizes just how much space debris is flying over our heads at any one time. According to the space agency, there are over 20,000 items being monitored by the Department of Defense for satellite operations around the world. Only around 1,000 of those 20,000 items are working spacecraft. The remainder of the monitored space debris ranges in size from the dimensions of a softball to enormous rocket bodies all orbiting out of control at speeds averaging over 22,000 mph.

Nicholas Johnson, a retired NASA debris expert from the Johnson Space Center in Houston, noted that that objects currently not being tracked are the ones that are the most dangerous.

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NASA Satellite Evades Space Junk


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