2024-03-17 17:45:18
Artist rendering of NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Discussion of NASA’s strong position…
Safe return from the space station…
And testing critical hardware for a future mission…
Some of the stories worth telling you about – this week at NASA!
A budget request supports NASA’s strong nation
On March 11, during the annual State of NASA address at our Washington headquarters, agency leadership talked about how the Biden-Harris administration’s fiscal year 2025 budget request supports NASA.
The budget will fund NASA’s ability to help America maintain its leadership role in space exploration, scientific discovery, advanced technology, climate data, next-generation aeronautics and inspiring future leaders of our Artemis generation.
Learn more at nasa.gov/budget.
Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, from left, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, NASA astronaut Jasmin Gamili and Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa (JAXA) are seen inside the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft aboard the SpaceX MEGAN recovery ship Shortly after, they landed in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, Tuesday, March 12, 2024. Hamedali, Mogensen, Furukawa and Borisov are returning after nearly six months in space as part of Expedition 70 aboard the International Space Station. Credit: NASA/Joel Kawski
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 returns to Earth
Also on March 11, members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission, including NASA astronaut Jasmine Hamadi, made preparations to wrap up their time on the International Space Station.
After detaching from the orbital laboratory in their SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, the four-person international team splashed down safely the next day off the coast of Pensacola, Florida. Crew-7 spent 199 days in orbit.
Technicians examine the first of two fully extended five-panel solar arrays built for NASA’s Europa Clipper, suspended from a support system called a gravity unloading facility during inspection and cleaning as part of assembly, testing and launch operations inside the hazardous loading service facility. Kennedy Space Center of the agency in Florida on Wednesday, March 6, 2024. Credit: NASA/Ben Semgalsky
Checking the solar arrays of Europa Clipper
Technicians at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center recently fully extended the first of two five-panel solar arrays for the agency’s Europa Clipper spacecraft. The 46.5-foot arrays will also be inspected and cleaned as part of assembly, testing and launch operations.
Targeted for launch in October, Europa’s moon is believed to have a global ocean beneath its icy crust that contains more water than all of Earth’s oceans combined.
Scientists have studied the neighborhood of our solar system quite well, but much of the galaxy remains shrouded from view. NASA’s Nancy Grace Rome Space Telescope will peer through thick dust lanes to reveal parts of our galaxy we’ve never been able to explore before, thanks to a recently selected Galactic Plane Survey. Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
The Roman team selects a survey to map the far side of our galaxy
NASA’s Rome Nancy Grace Space Telescope team announced plans for an unprecedented survey of the plane of our Milky Way galaxy. It will look deeper into this region than any other survey and map more of our galaxy’s stars than all previous observations combined.
Roman’s combination of a large field of view, sharp resolution and the ability to peer through dust make it the ideal instrument for studying the Milky Way.
The Roman Space Telescope is scheduled for launch by May 2027.
This is what’s happening this week @NASA.
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