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NASA to Provide Live Coverage and Commentary of April 14-15 Lunar Eclipse

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The public will have the opportunity to view and learn more about the upcoming total lunar eclipse on NASA television, the agency's website and social media. Coverage begins at 11 p.m. PDT Monday, April 14, and will last approximately three hours. The eclipse's peak, when the moon will enter the Earth's full shadow or umbra, will occur at 12:45 a.m. Tuesday, April 15.

The United States will be in a prime orbital position and time of day to view the eclipse. Depending on local weather conditions, the public will get a spectacular view looking into the sky as the moon's appearance will change from bright orange to blood red to dark brown and perhaps gray. The eclipse is a phenomenon that occurs when Earth, the moon and the sun are in perfect alignment, blanketing the moon in Earth's shadow. People in the United States will not be able to witness an entire full lunar eclipse again until 2019.

NASA spacecraft in lunar orbit, including the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, must survive harsh conditions as they and the moon pass through Earth's deep shadow. Starved of sunlight for power and enduring deep cold, they will rely on batteries to see them through. Like the other missions, LADEE is expected to survive but it wasn't designed to, and this is space, so surprises can occur.

Leading up to the eclipse, NASA will host a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) at 11 a.m. April 14, with astronomers from the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Various NASA researchers also will be available for media interviews. NASA Twitter, Google+, Facebook and Instagram followers will be able to join the conversation and ask questions using the hashtag #eclipse.

The public will be able to tag and share their images of the eclipsed moon on Instagram and the agency's Flickr group at:https://www.flickr.com/groups/nasalunareclipse

Lunar eclipse video resources are available at:http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/Gallery/2014TotalLunarEclipse.html

Live NASA TV coverage and commentary will begin at 10 p.m. April 14. To view the coverage and access eclipse streaming video, visit:http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

For more information on NASA's eclipse activities, visit:http://go.nasa.gov/1kkfFXX

For more information about the LADEE mission, visit:http://www.nasa.gov/ladee

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NASA to Provide Live Coverage and Commentary of April 14-15 Lunar Eclipse

NASA conducts Einstein-esque paradox twin experiment

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Einsteins theory of relativity means that the twin will return from space younger than his brother. However, as it is impossible to study the flow of time, in this experiment, NASA will instead be testing 10 research proposals to study the twins' genetics, biochemistry, vision, cognition.

We will be taking samples and making measurements of the twins before, during, and after the one-year mission.

For the first time, we'll be able two individuals who are genetically identical.

Each proposal is fascinating and could be a feature-length story of its own.

We already know that the human immune system changes in space. It's not as strong as it is on the ground.

In one of the experiments, Mark and Scott will be given identical flu vaccines, and we will study how their immune systems react.

Other tests will examine DNA ageing, the effects of space travel on vision, and the stomachs inner bacteria.

The experiment will be conducted in March 2015.

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NASA conducts Einstein-esque paradox twin experiment

NASA OKs space station visit despite dead computer

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) NASA is pressing ahead with Monday's planned launch of a supply ship despite a critical computer outage at the International Space Station, promising the situation is safe.

Mission managers decided Sunday to proceed with the countdown for the SpaceX capsule, Dragon, already a month late in delivering more than 2 tons of cargo.

"We're good to go," said NASA space station program manager Mike Suffredini.

Suffredini noted the many important supplies aboard the Dragon, including a new spacesuit and repair parts for the older spacesuits already in orbit. Much-needed food is also packed away.

"There's a certain amount of urgency to go ahead and get these vehicles" at the space station, he told reporters. These shipments have to fit around other space station operations, like crew comings and goings.

"Things start to bunch up," Suffredini said, "and so we're just trying to fly as soon as we safely can, which is what we believe we're doing."

This backup computer, located on the outside of the space station, mysteriously failed to work when activated Friday. The main computer kept operating perfectly, and the six-man crew was never in any danger. NASA debated whether to delay the SpaceX mission and, on Sunday, determined the station has sufficient redundancy to safely support the visiting vessel.

A spacewalk will be required, meanwhile, to replace the bad computer. Engineers don't know why it failed.

Suffredini said the spacewalk will be conducted by a pair of astronauts on April 22, using suits outfitted with new fan components to avoid the near-disaster that occurred last summer. An Italian astronaut almost drowned when his helmet flooded with water from the suit's cooling system.

An April 22 spacewalk will give SpaceX two chances to get its unmanned Dragon capsule flying. Good weather is forecast for Monday's 4:58 p.m. launch. If that doesn't work, the next launch attempt for the California company's Falcon rocket would come Friday.

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NASA OKs space station visit despite dead computer

For Students | NASA

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Women's History Month

Meet some of NASAs women engineers, scientists, educators, interns and others. View site

View image galleries on a wide variety of NASA topics. Go now

Students can use this page as a starting point to learn about jobs at NASA. View site

Eligible students can access a portfolio of NASA internship, fellowship and scholarship opportunities through a single portal and a single application. View site

NASA has inducted more than 80 high-performing interns into a new virtual community. View site

Use these educational video segments to inspire and engage students. View site

NASA Recommends Discontinuation of Student Rocket Activity

In 2012, an air pressurized paper rocket launcher being used by an educator failed. This launcher is described in NASA's Rockets Educator Guide, publications EG-2011-11-223-KSC, pp. 86-90 and EG-2008-05-060-KSC, pp. 86-90. NASA completed an engineering investigation into the failure and determined that the launcher, or design equivalents, should not be used. NASA has removed the launcher design from its website and its education curriculum. Individuals and organizations should immediately discontinue use of the launcher published in the referenced NASA publications. The point of contact for additional information is Diane DeTroye, NASA Office of Education, at nasaedpartners@nasa.gov. We request that your organization assist NASA in disseminating this information as widely as possible throughout the education community.

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For Students | NASA

NASA approves space station visit despite dead computer

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA is pressing ahead with Monday's planned launch of a supply ship despite a critical computer outage at the International Space Station, promising the situation is safe.

Mission managers decided Sunday to proceed with the countdown for the SpaceX capsule, Dragon, already a month late in delivering more than 2 tons of cargo.

"We're good to go," said NASA space station program manager Mike Suffredini.

Suffredini noted the many important supplies aboard the Dragon, including a new spacesuit and repair parts for the older spacesuits already in orbit. Much-needed food is also packed away.

"There's a certain amount of urgency to go ahead and get these vehicles" at the space station, he told reporters. These shipments have to fit around other space station operations, like crew comings and goings.

"Things start to bunch up," Suffredini said, "and so we're just trying to fly as soon as we safely can, which is what we believe we're doing."

This backup computer, located on the outside of the space station, mysteriously failed to work when activated Friday. The main computer kept operating perfectly, and the six-man crew was never in any danger. NASA debated whether to delay the SpaceX mission and, on Sunday, determined the station has sufficient redundancy to safely support the visiting vessel.

A spacewalk will be required, meanwhile, to replace the bad computer. Engineers don't know why it failed.

Suffredini said the spacewalk will be conducted by a pair of astronauts on April 22, using suits outfitted with new fan components to avoid the near-disaster that occurred last summer. An Italian astronaut almost drowned when his helmet flooded with water from the suit's cooling system.

An April 22 spacewalk will give SpaceX two chances to get its unmanned Dragon capsule flying. Good weather is forecast for Monday's 4:58 p.m. launch. If that doesn't work, the next launch attempt would come Friday.

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NASA approves space station visit despite dead computer


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