GREENBELT, Md. -- NASA has selected SEMI USA Corporation of Houston to construct the Flight Projects Building at the agency's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
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NASA awards flight projects building construction contract to local firm
Glenn Employees receive Silver Snoopy and Space Flight Awareness Team Awards
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Glenn Employees receive Silver Snoopy and Space Flight Awareness Team Awards
Taylor Swift left her home in LA yesterday with her boyfriend, Harry Styles, and her mom, Angela. Taylor wore a striped tee and red lipstick for the outing, which included a stop at a nearby grocery store. The new couple has been hanging out together around the globe, and they recently rounded out their jet-setting romance with a visit to Shamrock Tattoo Parlor in Hollywood . Taylor accompanied ...
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SYDNEY – Dec 21, 2012: What is believed to be one the largest collections of ‘no reserve’ classic Honda motorcycles ever offered at auction in Australia will be put under the hammer by Shannons in Sydney on Monday February 4.
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The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh took a train from London to King's Lynn on Thursday...
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The American Red Cross is stepping in to help those displace from the International Residence Apartments.
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12/21/12 END OF THE WORLD
end of the world, End Of The World 2012, NASA, apocalypse, Mayan End Of The World, Doomsday, the end of the world, Mayan Calendar 2012, Mayan, Mayan apocalypse, 2012 End Of The World, Doomsday 2012, Will The World End In 2012, End of World --------------- end of the world, End Of The World 2012, NASA, apocalypse, Mayan End Of The World, Doomsday, the end of the world, Mayan Calendar 2012, Mayan, Mayan apocalypse, 2012 End Of The World, Doomsday 2012, Will The World End In 2012, End of WorldFrom:MyNBAHighlights2012Views:0 0ratingsTime:03:11More inPeople Blogs
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Doomsday 12/21/12 | Preparing For End Of The World | Mayan Calendar 2012
end of the world, End Of The World 2012, NASA, apocalypse, Mayan End Of The World, Doomsday, the end of the world, Mayan Calendar 2012, Mayan, Mayan apocalypse, 2012 End Of The World, Doomsday 2012, Will The World End In 2012, End of World --------------- end of the world, End Of The World 2012, NASA, apocalypse, Mayan End Of The World, Doomsday, the end of the world, Mayan Calendar 2012, Mayan, Mayan apocalypse, 2012 End Of The World, Doomsday 2012, Will The World End In 2012, End of WorldFrom:MyNBAHighlights2012Views:0 0ratingsTime:02:32More inPeople Blogs
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Doomsday 12/21/12 | Preparing For End Of The World | Mayan Calendar 2012 - Video
END OF THE WORLD PRANK CALL Dec 21, 2012 End Of The World HD
end of the world, End Of The World 2012, NASA, apocalypse, Mayan End Of The World, Doomsday, the end of the world, Mayan Calendar 2012, Mayan, Mayan apocalypse, 2012 End Of The World, Doomsday 2012, Will The World End In 2012, End of World --------------- end of the world, End Of The World 2012, NASA, apocalypse, Mayan End Of The World, Doomsday, the end of the world, Mayan Calendar 2012, Mayan, Mayan apocalypse, 2012 End Of The World, Doomsday 2012, Will The World End In 2012, End of WorldFrom:MyNBAHighlights2012Views:0 0ratingsTime:04:44More inPeople Blogs
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END OF THE WORLD PRANK CALL Dec 21, 2012 End Of The World HD - Video
Discovery of Kepler 16b
NASA #39;s Kepler mission has turned fiction into fact. A world with a double sunset that was first imagined in #39;Star Wars #39; over 30 years ago in a galaxy far, far away has become scientific reality. Credit: NASA / Ames Research CenterFrom:NASAexploreViews:0 0ratingsTime:02:13More inScience Technology
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Mayan Calendar plus 2012 [ End Of The World ]
end of the world, End Of The World 2012, NASA, apocalypse, Mayan End Of The World, Doomsday, the end of the world, Mayan Calendar 2012, Mayan, Mayan apocalypse, 2012 End Of The World, Doomsday 2012, Will The World End In 2012, End of World --------------- end of the world, End Of The World 2012, NASA, apocalypse, Mayan End Of The World, Doomsday, the end of the world, Mayan Calendar 2012, Mayan, Mayan apocalypse, 2012 End Of The World, Doomsday 2012, Will The World End In 2012, End of World |From:MyNBAHighlights2012Views:0 0ratingsTime:05:47More inPeople Blogs
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World not to end on Dec 21, 2012 as Mayan calendar predicted
end of the world, End Of The World 2012, NASA, apocalypse, Mayan End Of The World, Doomsday, the end of the world, Mayan Calendar 2012, Mayan, Mayan apocalypse, 2012 End Of The World, Doomsday 2012, Will The World End In 2012, End of World --------------- end of the world, End Of The World 2012, NASA, apocalypse, Mayan End Of The World, Doomsday, the end of the world, Mayan Calendar 2012, Mayan, Mayan apocalypse, 2012 End Of The World, Doomsday 2012, Will The World End In 2012, End of World |From:MyNBAHighlights2012Views:1 0ratingsTime:01:07More inPeople Blogs
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World not to end on Dec 21, 2012 as Mayan calendar predicted - Video
Nasa has published the first details of its new prototype space suit - and it looks oddly familiar. In fact, as many have remarked, it...
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NASA has announced a prototype spacesuit that promises to completely overhaul the way astronauts conduct spaceflights. The Z-1 suit is designed to help astronauts move more smoothly while on spacewalks. However, the biggest improvement is that the Z-1 is also designed to afford a high range of mobility for astronauts walking on another planet some day.
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The space agency reveals a prototype for its first new suit in 20 years. And it looks awfully familiar...
NASA's first spacesuit, worn by U.S. astronaut Alan Shepard in 1963, was awfullyshinylike tinfoil wrapped around an action figure. Less than a decade later, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin skipped across the moon's surface wearing iconic bubble suits that vaguely resembled the Pillsbury Doughboy. And the current model donned by NASA's heroic space explorers hasn't been changed since 1992, making it something of a dinosaur,says David Szondy at Gizmag.Well, that's about to change, thanks to the "Z-1 Prototype Spacesuit and Portable Life Support System." Here's what you should know:
Why hasn't NASA updated its spacesuit in 20 years?They haven't needed to. Most U.S. space missions have taken humans from a space shuttle directly to the International Space Station (ISS), where astronauts float safely inside. The old suits were fully capable of handling the job. But now, with NASA expected to announce more moon missions soon, and with President Obama proposing a plan to send astronauts on longer missions to asteroids by 2025, and with all the hubbub surrounding Mars, NASA's wardrobe needs an update.
So what are they changing?Everything, basically. Just like gadgets here on Earth are always slimming down, the material used for the Z-1 will be noticeably thinner than older models, with flexible joints to allow for greater mobility. Popular Science notes this "provisional outer covering" will be heavily engineered, with a layer of urethane-coated nylon that helps retain air. The outermost layer will be made of polyester, which allows the suit to mold to its wearer. And the suit will need to protect the wearer from heat, cold, and tiny little space fragments. It'll need to supply oxygen and remove carbon dioxide contaminants. As Gizmag's Szondy succinctly puts it, the suit will "need to do everything that a spaceship does."The astronaut will also wear a backpack-like "suitport" an umbilical cord-like support system that connects the wearer to an attached spaceship, rover, or space base. This system supplies the wearer with everything they need: Proper oxygen intake, safe temperature levels, a low-pressure system, and other necessities needed to survive space's deadly vacuum.
How do astronauts put it on?The whole process of putting on a spacesuit is a painstaking affair, and currently takes over an hour. But this new system will be easier, utilizing a less-rigid suit that's flexible when not inflated more like your dirty laundry than a medieval suit of armor.
What will they wear it for?Everything, basically from doing basic ISS repairs to walking on Mars' barren surface. "It's like you're trying to go on vacation, but don't know if you're going to Antarctica, Miami, or Buckingham palace," spacesuit engineer Amy Ross told UberGizmo back in July. "We're building a lot of tools for the toolbox. Right now we're very flexible."
Why does look like it was inspired by a certain Toy Story character?It sure does, doesn't it? Between the bubble-like helmet and the lime-green piping, the resemblance between the Z-1 and Buzz Lightyear's space ranger get-up is pretty "uncanny," says Ryan Grenoble at The Huffington Post. It's unclear if NASA designed the suit with the Disney hero in mind, but bear in mind the Z-1 is still just a prototype. To infinity and beyond, in any case.
Sources: Daily Mail,Gizmag, Huffington Post, National Geographic, Popular Mechanics,Ubergizmo
SEE MORE: Are astronauts stuck in space allowed to vote?
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NASA's next-generation spacesuit: Inspired by Buzz Lightyear?
It might make the astronaut wearing it look like a real-life Buzz Lightyear, but a new prototype spacesuit that NASA just finished testing represents the first major overhaul in spacesuit technology since 1998.
Flexible, white, and lime green accented, the suit known as the Z-1 is designed not only to help astronauts comfortably maneuver during spacewalks in microgravity, but also to deftly move about when walking on the surface of a planet or other smaller heavenly body, like an asteroid.
Plus, it's fashionable: The suit bears an unmistakable resemblance to the costume worn by "Toy Story" animated film character Buzz Lightyear.
The spacesuit in use today for spacewalking, known as an EMU (Extravehicular Mobility Unit), was designed to aid in building the International Space Station, but a previous iteration of the EMU was used for moonwalks during the Apollo missions. While both of these models serve their respective purposes, the creators of the Z-1 wanted to develop a more versatile outfit for space. [Introducing NASA'S Future Spacesuit, the Z-1 (Infographic)]
To that end, the new prototype is markedly different in a few ways.
Back-entry suit
"One of the big differences is the rear-entry design," Amy Ross, one of the engineers responsible for the suit's development, said during a NASA video interview. "So the shuttle EMU splits at the waist and you put pants on and you put the top on separately and they connect in the middle. Whereas with this suit, the subject crawls in through the back, and then we just shut the door."
Creating a back-entry suit solves a few of the problems spacewalkers often face during trips to the International Space Station. Using airlocks to depressurize is a time consuming, exhausting process. By using a rear-entry design, the astronauts won't need to go through an airlock at all. The suit hooks up to the outside of the spacecraft using the "space port" opening, and the spacewalker simply climbs in and detaches.
"We think it's less prone to injury," Ross says, "especially shoulder injury which can occur with the shuttle EMU-donning method."
NASA is in the process of crafting a new life-support backpack known as the PLSS 2.0 for the suit as well. The backpack model in use today is sensitive to contamination and quickly uses up oxygen, making it difficult for astronauts to conduct long spacewalks. The new backpack model is more efficient and less susceptible to contaminants.
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NASA said it has been flooded with calls and emails from people asking about the purported end of the world — which, as the doomsday myth goes, is apparently set to take place Friday, Dec. 21. And they have one simple response: "The world will not end in 2012." Join Times reporter Kate Mather will join L.A. Now Live at 9 a.m. to discuss NASA's efforts to debunk the myth.
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L.A. Now Live: NASA debunks Dec. 21 'end of the world' fears
LITTLETON, Colo. NASA's next mission to the Red Planet is undergoing extensive testing in preparation for its launch next year.
Here within a Lockheed Martin Space Systems high-bay cleanroom, technicians are in tender-loving-care mode, busily outfitting and testing the Mars Atmosphere And Volatile EvolutioN (Maven) spacecraft.
This probe has a literal thirst for knowledge.
The goal of Maven, a $670 million Mars orbiter, is to study how Mars loses its atmospheric gas to space, and the role this process has played in changing the Martian climate through time. Mars' atmosphere is cold and dry today, but there was once liquid water flowing over the surface. So where did the atmosphere and the water go? [Video: Maven to Hunt Mars' Lost Water]
Maven's launch period is a 20 day window between Nov. 18 and Dec. 7, 2013. If the spacecraft is hurled Marsward on day one of that window, it will insert itself into orbit around the planet on Sept. 22, 2014.
Following a five-week commissioning phase, Maven is to settle into its primary mission, roughly in the opening days of November 2014.
Maven's one-Earth-year mission allows thorough coverage of near-Mars space. The probe is built to answer questions about the history of Martian volatiles and atmosphere, essential data to help reveal the nature of planetary habitability.
Direct descendent
Maven is deep in assembly, test and launch operations, a critical phase dubbed ATLO, said Tim Priser, Lockheed Martin's chief engineer for the spacecraft.
"If you look at the physical characteristics of Maven, it is a direct descendent of our Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter," Priser told SPACE.com.
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NASA fields hundreds of calls from public worried about "Doomsday" Houston Chronicle Copyright 2012 Houston Chronicle. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Updated 3:12Â pm, Thursday, December 20, 2012 The "end of the world" could come from giant solar storms, a meteor barrelling toward Earth, a black out or a mysterious "Planet X ...
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NASA fields hundreds of calls from public worried about "Doomsday"
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - NASA is so sure there will be a December 22, 2012, it has already posted a YouTube video titled "Why the World Didn't End Yesterday."
Scientists say rumors on social media and the Internet of Earth's premature demise have been prompted by a misunderstanding of the ancient Maya calendar, which runs through December 21, 2012.
"It's just the end of the cycle and the beginning of the new one. It's just like on December 31, our calendar comes to an end, but a new calendar for the next year begins on January 1," Don Yeomans, head of NASA's Near-Earth Object program at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., said in a separate YouTube video.
According to the story circulating on the Internet, an enormous rogue planet called Niburu is on a collision course with Earth.
"If it were, we would have seen it long ago and it if were invisible somehow, we would have seen its effects on the neighboring planets. Thousands of astronomers who scan the night skies on a daily basis have not seen this," Yeomans said.
Still, thousands of mystics and New Age dreamers have descended on ancient Maya temples across Mexico and Central America hoping to witness the birth of a new era when the day dubbed "end of the world" dawns on Friday.
So is NASA covering up to prevent panic?
"Can you imagine thousands of astronomers keeping the same secret from the public for several years?" Yeomans said.
Initially, Niburu, also known as Planet X, was to impact in May 2003, but when that didn't happen the doomsday date was moved to coincide with the end of one of the cycles of the ancient calendar at winter solstice -- December 21, 2012.
Other celestial events that will not be happening: a planetary alignment causing a massive tidal surge or a total blackout of Earth; a reversal in Earth's rotation; an impact by a giant asteroid; a giant solar storm.
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