The Iris Nebula in a Field of Dust

What blue flower grows in this field of dark interstellar dust? The Iris Nebula. The striking blue color of the Iris Nebula is created by light from the bright star SAO 19158 reflecting off of a dense patch of normally dark dust. Not only is the star itself mostly blue, but blue light from the star is preferentially reflected by the dust -- the same affect that makes Earth's sky blue. The brown tint of the pervasive dust comes partly from photoluminescence -- dust converting ultraviolet radiation to red light. Cataloged as NGC 7023, the Iris Nebula is studied frequently because of the unusual prevalence there of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), complex molecules that are also released on Earth during the incomplete combustion of wood fires. The bright blue portion of the Iris Nebula spans about six light years. The Iris Nebula, pictured here, lies about 1300 light years distant and can be found with a small telescope toward the constellation of Cepheus. via NASA https://ift.tt/2OwUoM8

NASA's Saturday Morning Cartoon Guide To SLS-Orion

I'm sorry but this @NASA graphic looks like a clip from a Scooby Doo episode. https://t.co/hEePFiBvaa

— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) July 31, 2018

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NASA Selects US Firms to Provide Commercial Suborbital Flight Services

NASA’s Flight Opportunities Program has selected four companies to integrate and fly technology payloads on commercial suborbital reusable platforms that carry payloads near the boundary of space.

July 31, 2018
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OSTP Just Said Something About Outer Space

FY 2020 Administration Research and Development Budget Priorities, OSTP

"American Space Exploration & Commercialization - Research and innovation in space have a direct impact on Earth, generating advancements in our basic understanding of the universe and our own planet, and inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers. Research investments should be focused on ensuring American leadership in space for long-duration spaceflight, in-space manufacturing, in-situ resource utilization, longterm cryogenic fuel storage and management, and advanced space-related power and propulsion capabilities. Agencies should prioritize demonstrations and flight tests to ensure an industrial base for commercial activity in space and on celestial bodies. One area of potential scientific and commercial importance is microgravity-related research that has the potential for near-term breakthroughs in biopharmaceuticals and materials science. Finally, agencies should seek opportunities to work with advanced materials, additive manufacturing, optical communications, and machine learning-capabilities that have broad potential applications in space and on Earth."

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Pluto Huggers Are Upset By The Use Of The Term "Planet 9"

Keith's note: (Sigh) This had to happen. Now there are planetary scientists who actually think that use of the term "Planet 9" is "insensitive" - and they even have a petition urging support for their barely-contained outrage. If the Pluto huggers were serious about the responsibility that goes with naming things on worlds they should have thought twice about naming surface features on Pluto after things such as a SciFi monster named "Cthulhu" whose head is shaped like calamari. And they were all nicknaming features like crazy before the IAU even had a chance to weigh in. But wait - weren't many of the same undersigned complainers recently complaining about the IAU naming process - and demanding a greater role for public input in this process? Well, that is what is happening: there may be a large planet lurking in the outer solar system and some scientists and the public want to call it "Planet 9". And they are. C'mon Alan Stern. You can't have it both ways. Just sayin'

"ON THE INSENSITIVE USE OF THE TERM "PLANET 9" FOR OBJECTS BEYOND PLUTO: We the undersigned wish to remind our colleagues that the IAU planet definition adopted in 2006 has been controversial and is far from universally accepted. Given this, and given the incredible accomplishment of the discovery of Pluto, the harbinger of the solar system's third zone - the Kuiper Belt - by planetary astronomer Clyde W. Tombaugh in 1930, we the undersigned believe the use of the term "Planet 9" for objects beyond Pluto is insensitive to Professor Tombaugh's legacy. We further believe the use of this term should be discontinued in favor of culturally and taxonomically neutral terms for such planets, such as Planet X, Planet Next, or Giant Planet Five."

Petition signers below:

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Planetary Society Volunteers are Candles in the Dark

Get Ready For The Space Force

Pentagon not waiting for Congress to create space force: report, The Hill

"The Department of Defense is reportedly planning to create a new Space Operations Force in upcoming months at the direction of President Trump, despite lacking congressional approval for the new military service branch. Defense One reports that the Pentagon has laid out its plan to create the new Space Force in a 14-page report that will be given to lawmakers later this week. Defense One reports that it has reviewed a draft copy of the report dated July 30. The plan as it is currently laid out in the draft includes creating a Space Force with four parts, three of which will be established over the next few months. A combatant command for space, a joint agency that will purchase military satellites and a new warfighting community are among the three parts to be established in the near future."

Earlier posts

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Prepping to Launch for the Sun

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has cleared the final procedures in the clean room before its move to the launch pad. via NASA https://ift.tt/2ArdyQv

Layers of the South Pole of Mars

What lies beneath the layered south pole of Mars? A recent measurement with ground-penetrating radar from ESA's Mars Express satellite has detected a bright reflection layer consistent with an underground lake of salty water. The reflection comes from about 1.5-km down but covers an area 200-km across. Liquid water evaporates quickly from the surface of Mars, but a briny confined lake, such as implied by the radar reflection, could last much longer and be a candidate to host life such as microbes. Pictured, an infrared, green, and blue image of the south pole of Mars taken by Mars Express in 2012 shows a complex mixture of layers of dirt, frozen carbon dioxide, and frozen water. via NASA https://ift.tt/2Assi1K

Yet Another Feel Good Space Bill That Does Not Pay For Itself

Sens. Cruz, Nelson, Markey Introduce Space Frontier Act

"U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), and Ed Markey (D-Mass.), members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, on Wednesday introduced the Space Frontier Act (S. 3277). This commercial space bill builds upon the 2015 Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act by streamlining and reforming the regulatory framework for commercial space launch and Earth observation operations, which is crucial to maintaining American leadership in space. The bill also extends the operation and utilization of the International Space Station (ISS) through 2030 to ensure that the U.S. is getting the maximum return on American taxpayer investment to avoid creating a leadership vacuum in low Earth orbit."

S. 3277

Keith's note: Contain your enthusiasm, space fans. This grab bag of ideas does not actually fund itself. It may well make it easier for space commerce to proceed with various commercial ventures by cutting some red tape. But in terms of the things this bill wants NASA to pay for (like ISS through 2030) this legislation just says that its OK to spend money on these things. Actually spending money to do these things is another matter entirely and is up to appropriators to argue about annually for the next 12 years or so. How NASA will be assured of the funding needed to fund ISS through 2030 while doing the whole Moon/Mars thing has yet to be addressed. Oh yes - what about Space Force?

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Curiosity's organics on Mars

Soaring Into an Orbital Sunrise

The International Space Station soars into a sunrise every 90 minutes, each and every day. via NASA https://ift.tt/2K8V2w9

CASIS Wastes Crew Time And Delays NASA's Human Spaceflight Research

NASA's Management and Utilization of the International Space Station

"NASA uses 76.6 percent of the Station's research resources, so it pays 76.6 percent of the U.S. Segment's operating costs. Although a significant portion of total Station research time, the NASA Authorization Act of 2010 requires at least 50 percent of these resources, including upmass and crew time, be allocated to the CASIS-managed National Laboratory, limiting the time and capabilities available to NASA for mitigating risks associated with future space exploration goals. While our prior work found that CASIS has used on average only 52.7 percent of the crew time allocated from September 2013 to April 2017, its use of crew time has increased since 2016 to 72.8 percent between March 2016 and September 2016 and 68.1 percent between September 2016 and April 2017.39 Any allocation unused by CASIS can be used by NASA for its own research."

OIG: NASA's Management of the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) (2018) earlier post

"CASIS will be allocated additional research hours when NASA adds an additional crew member to the Station in late 2018. However, given its performance to date, CASIS utilization rates for the National Lab will likely further diminish."

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NASA's Space Station Commercialization Plans Collide WIth Reality

NASA's Management and Utilization of the International Space Station, NASA OIG

"Specifically, we question whether a sufficient business case exists under which private companies will be able to develop a self-sustaining and profit-making business independent of significant Federal funding within the next 6 years. Likewise, any extension of the ISS past 2024 would require continued funding in the neighborhood of $3-$4 billion annually to operate and maintain the Station - a significant portion of which could otherwise be redirected to develop systems needed for NASA's cislunar or deep space ambitions. In addition, extending the Station's life would challenge NASA to manage the risks associated with continued operation of the Station's aging systems and infrastructure. Furthermore, any extension will require the support of NASA's international partners, whose continued participation hinges on issues ranging from geopolitics to differing space exploration goals."

Previous ISS postings

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NASA Turns 60 Today

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Journey to the Center of the Galaxy

What wonders lie at the center of our Galaxy? In Jules Verne's science fiction classic A Journey to the Center of the Earth, Professor Liedenbrock and his fellow explorers encounter many strange and exciting wonders. Astronomers already know of some of the bizarre objects that exist at our Galactic center, including like vast cosmic dust clouds, bright star clusters, swirling rings of gas, and even a supermassive black hole. Much of the Galactic Center is shielded from our view in visible light by the intervening dust and gas, but it can be explored using other forms of electromagnetic radiation. The featured video is actually a digital zoom into the Milky Way's center which starts by utilizing visible light images from the Digitized Sky Survey. As the movie proceeds, the light shown shifts to dust-penetrating infrared and highlights gas clouds that were recently discovered in 2013 to be falling toward central black hole. In 2018 May, observations of a star passing near the Milky Way's central black hole showed, for the first time, a gravitational redshift of the star's light -- as expected from Einstein's general relativity. via NASA https://ift.tt/2uXMint

One Night One Telescope One Camera

Taken on the same night, from the same place, with the same telescope and camera, these postcards from our Solar System are shown at the same scale to provide an interesting comparison of apparent sizes. Spanning about half a degree in planet Earth's sky, the Moon is a stitched mosaic of six images. The others are the result of digitally stacked frames or simple single exposures, with the real distances to the objects indicated along the bottom of each insert. Most of the Solar System's planets with their brighter moons, and Pluto were captured during the telescopic expedition, but elusive Mercury was missed because of clouds near the horizon. The International Space Station was successfully hunted, though. The night was July 21st. Telescope and camera were located at the Centro Astronomico de Tiedra Observatory in Spain. via NASA https://ift.tt/2LSze9G

NASA Gives $1.4 Million to Help Minority-Serving Colleges Develop New STEM Courses

The MUREP Innovations in Space Technology Curriculum (MISTC) awards align with the priorities of the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), which is responsible for developing the crosscutting, pioneering new technologies and capabilities the agency needs for current and future missions.

July 27, 2018
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NASA Awards Contract for Earth Science Data Archive Center Support

NASA has awarded a contract to the University of Colorado Boulder for the management and operations of the agency’s Earth Observing System Data and Information System Snow and Ice Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC).

July 27, 2018
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NASA Invites Media to Meet Earth Science Innovators

From flooding in New Orleans to coffee cultivation in Guatemala and wildfires in Alaska, NASA Earth observations from space are being put to work helping address a wide range of real-world issues.

July 27, 2018
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NASA Interns, New Mexico Community, Virginia Students to Call Space Station

NASA interns, visitors at New Mexico’s City of Las Cruces Museum of Nature and Science, and NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility will speak with astronauts aboard the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Year of Education on Station next week.

July 27, 2018
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Jody Singer Named Acting MSFC Director

Jody Singer Named NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Acting Director

"NASA has named Jody Singer acting director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, as the agency seeks a permanent director. Todd May, who had served as Marshall director since February 2016, retired from the agency effective July 27, capping a 27-year career with NASA that began in 1991 as an engineer at Marshall."

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Hubble Takes Portrait of Opulent Ring World

Saturn is the solar system’s most photogenic planet, especially in this latest Hubble snapshot with the ring system near its maximum tilt. via NASA https://ift.tt/2v8RBQA

ISS Daily Summary Report – 7/26/2018

Progress 69P ISS Reboost: This morning at 11:10 AM CT, the ISS completed a 3m 19s reboost using 69P thrusters.  The purpose of the reboost was to start phasing for 54S landing and 55S launch in October and increased the ISS velocity by 0.40 meters per second (m/s).     External High Definition Camera (EHDC) Preparation for …

July 27, 2018 at 12:00AM
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Mars Opposition

Look opposite the Sun in the sky tonight and you'll see Mars at its brightest. Also within days of its closest approach Mars rises at sunset, near its brightest and best for telescopic observers too, except for the dust storm still blanketing the Red Planet. These two Hubble Space Telescope images compare Mars' appearance near its 2016 and 2018 oppositions. In 2016 the martian atmosphere was clear. Captured just days ago, the 2018 image shows almost the same face of Mars. Surface features obscured by dust, the planet's cloud enshrouded south pole is tilted more toward the Sun. Increased heat in the southern hemisphere spring and summer likely triggers planet wide dust storms. Of course, if you look opposite the Sun in the sky tonight, you'll also see a Full Moon near Mars. Skygazers NOT located in North America could see the Red Planet near a Red Moon during a Total Lunar Eclipse. via NASA https://ift.tt/2v8fnMj

Northrop Grumman Says That Proven Technology Is New

Today @NorthropGrumman CEO Wes Bush said #JWST sunshield technology was "new". But according to this 2002 @NASA presentation #JWST uses "Flight-proven cable driven boom system provides a predictable and reliable deployment for the Sunshield" https://t.co/Gj8DqtoAzS pic.twitter.com/AsrZwq0u4u — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) July 26, 2018

Today @NorthropGrumman CEO Wes Bush testified before Congress that #JWST sunshield technology was "new". But back in 1998 it was sold as "proven technology": "Based on a proven technology for deploying large microwave antennae" https://t.co/xxyGbHOXrQ pic.twitter.com/uKll8ifXTA — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) July 26, 2018

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Northrop Grumman CEO's Evasive Webb Space Telescope Testimony

Rep. Smith then hammers @NorthropGrumman CEO Wes Bush again and again and again what their profit was. Bush will not answer. Smith hammers him again about his refusal to publicly state NG profit. Bush continues to refuse. Smith then abruptly ends the hearing. — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) July 26, 2018

Rep. Smith asks @northropgrumman CEO Wes Bush again and again and again if anyone lost their jobs due to human errors on #JWST. He eventually answers "none". — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) July 26, 2018

Rohrabacher asks Wes Bush if @northropgrumman made a profit. Bush won't say how much. Rohrabacher asks again. Bush says "read the SEC reports" and won't' answer. Is it millions? "its a large number" Bush replies. pic.twitter.com/paTWCXbkXS — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) July 26, 2018

Rep Beyer wants to put #JWST life cycle cost of $9.66 billion in perspective of @NASA budget. Says this is 1% of NASA's budget (huh?) Wes Bush says @NorthropGrumman ambitions were set higher due to astronomy discoveries and vision for mission expanded. OK, so Science is at fault? — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) July 26, 2018

Smith says that he thinks that @NorthropGrumman should be willing to pay this $800 million #JWST cost itself and is not happy with Bush's response. — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) July 26, 2018

Smith asks about $800 million in unplanned expenses and whether @NorthropGrumman will pay for that. Bush replies that this is a cost-plus contract and babbles. Smith asks again. Bush says that doing so would impede relationship with @NASA. — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) July 26, 2018

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From Interns to Astronauts

July 26 is National Intern Day. See how far these two former interns at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory have come! via NASA https://ift.tt/2mJYRhJ

NASA Administrator to Visit Langley Research Center July 31

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine will make his first official visit to NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, on Tuesday, July 31, to meet with employees and tour the facility.

July 26, 2018
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ISS Daily Summary Report – 7/25/2018

Rodent Research-7 (RR-7):  Today the crew completed the second of two days of rodent operations for the RR-7 investigation today. Crewmembers performed bone densitometer scans, blood draws, fecal pellet collections, and sampling operations.  Following these operations, the crew performed clean-up activities in the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) to prepare the facility for upcoming science.  RR-7 …

July 26, 2018 at 12:00AM
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LightSail 2 team completes key mission review and dress rehearsal

Yet Another #JourneyToMars Hearing

Hearing: Destination Mars - Putting American Boots on the Surface of the Red Planet (with video archive)

"U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), chairman of the Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness, will convene a hearing titled "Destination Mars - Putting American Boots on the Surface of the Red Planet" at 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday, July 25, 2018. The hearing will focus on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) exploration priorities and will be the first in a series of hearings in anticipation of a future NASA authorization legislation."

Prepared Statements

- Sen. Bill Nelson
- Tory Bruno, ULA
- Chris Carberry, Explore Mars. Inc.
- Dava Newman, MIT
- Peggy A. Whitson, NASA (ret.)

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Flown Orion Spacecraft Visits Washington, DC, for Made in America Showcase

NASA's Orion spacecraft that flew Exploration Flight Test-1 on Dec. 5, 2014, is seen after being uncovered in preparation for being moved onto the White House complex, Saturday, July 21, 2018, in Washington, DC. More than 1,000 companies across the country manufactured or contributed elements to the spacecraft. via NASA https://ift.tt/2Lz15P8

NASA to Name Astronauts Assigned to First Boeing, SpaceX Flights

NASA will announce on Friday, Aug. 3, the astronauts assigned to crew the first flight tests and missions of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX Crew Dragon, and begin a new era in American spaceflight. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine will preside over the event, which will begin at 11 a.m. EDT on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

July 25, 2018
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Liquid Water on Mars! Really for Real This Time (Probably)

Thinking Back To That First Mars Water Announcement

Thinking back to that first "Mars water" discovery in 2000: https://t.co/6QiSbsqtTE

"NASA Watch, an independent Web site that monitors the space agency, first reported news of the Mars discovery earlier this week." pic.twitter.com/60hL5QKxrK

— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) July 25, 2018

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ISS Daily Summary Report – 7/24/2018

Rodent Research-7 (RR-7): The crew completed the first of two days of rodent operations for the RR-7 investigation today. Crewmembers performed bone densitometer scans, blood draws, fecal pellet collections, and sampling operations.  RR-7 examines how the space environment affects the community of microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract of mice (also known as the microbiota). It …

July 25, 2018 at 12:00AM
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Hayabusa2 descends from Home Position to take its first close look at Ryugu

Iridium-7 NEXT Mission

On Wednesday, July 25, 2018 at 4:39 a.m. PDT, SpaceX successfully launched ten Iridium NEXT satellites from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. This was the seventh set of satellites in a series of 75 total satellites that SpaceX will launch for Iridium’s next generation global satellite constellation, Iridium® NEXT. The satellites began deployment about an hour after launch.

Following stage separation, SpaceX successfully landed Falcon 9’s first stage on the “Just the Read the Instructions” droneship in the Pacific Ocean.

You can watch a replay of the launch webcast below and find out more about the mission in our press kit.

 

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The Edge On Spindle Galaxy

What kind of celestial object is this? A relatively normal galaxy -- but seen from its edge. Many disk galaxies are actually just as thin as NGC 5866, pictured here, but are not seen edge-on from our vantage point. A perhaps more familiar galaxy seen edge-on is our own Milky Way Galaxy. Cataloged as M102 and NGC 5866, the Spindle galaxy has numerous and complex dust lanes appearing dark and red, while many of the bright stars in the disk give it a more blue underlying hue. The blue disk of young stars can be seen extending past the dust in the extremely thin galactic plane. There is evidence that the Spindle galaxy has cannibalized smaller galaxies over the past billion years or so, including multiple streams of faint stars, dark dust that extends away from the main galactic plane, and a surrounding group of galaxies (not shown). In general, many disk galaxies become thin because the gas that forms them collides with itself as it rotates about the gravitational center. The Spindle galaxy lies about 50 million light years distant toward the constellation of the Dragon (Draco). via NASA https://ift.tt/2A7FIjr

The NASA Caucus Only Wants To Talk To Itself

But no one at @AIAspeaks seems to have bothered to invite news media or figure out how to do one of those webcast things so that the word could get out to the 99.9% of the rest us who are not in the room. (Sigh) more choir practice inside the DC echo chamber #NASAcaucus https://t.co/OIB9359Sh1

— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) July 24, 2018

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Watch This Space: NASA Administrator Talks Webb Science with Nobel Laureate

NASA Television will air a conversation about the progress and promise of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope with Nobel Prize winner John Mather at 2 p.m. EDT Wednesday, July 25.

July 24, 2018
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CASIS May Be Nervous About Its Future on ISS

Sources report that @ISS_CASIS is out hiring Washington, DC lobbying firms. All this talk of commercializing ISS must have #CASIS worried that they might not have exclusive access any more. Stay tuned. #ISSRDC @ISS_Research @nasa pic.twitter.com/W9ydW0UsOz

— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) July 24, 2018

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Candid Apollo

On July 24, 1969, the Apollo 11 crew splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. via NASA https://ift.tt/2JQl0nC

Planetary Society asteroid hunters help find rare type of double asteroid

That #MadeInAmerica Thing Ignored Commercial Spacecraft

Its a little strange @JimBridenstine that other #MadeInAmerica spacecraft - totally commercial spacecraft - such as those made by @SpaceX @BoeingSpace , @BlueOrigin @VirginGalactic are not part of this White House photo op. Just sayin' https://t.co/OhDWtahfK0

— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) July 23, 2018

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Hello from the new editor of The Planetary Report

NASA Awards Facility Operations Support Contract

NASA has awarded a contract to COLSA Corporation of Huntsville, Alabama, to provide facility operations support services to the National Center for Critical Information Processing and Storage (NCCIPS).

July 23, 2018
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See Mars at its closest in 15 years—and maybe a lunar eclipse

Iceberg Towers Over Greenland Village

In July 2018, an iceberg weighing 11 million tons parked just offshore of Innaarsuit, a small island village in northwestern Greenland. via NASA https://ift.tt/2mB6oPX

Fermi Science Finals

The Fermi Science Playoffs celebrate 10 years of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope's exploration of the high-energy universe. Surviving all early rounds of voting, these two finalists in the competion square off at last. Digital illustrations from a list of 16 of Fermi's top scientific discoveries, they represent the competition's two top seeds, defeating 12th seed New Clues to Dark Matter and 14th seed Starquakes in Magnetar Storm in the semifinal round. On the left are unprecedented, unpredicted, 25,000 light-year tall Gamma-ray Bubbles above and below the plane of our Milky Way galaxy. On the right, violently merging Neutron Stars Collide to create the first gamma-ray detected gravitational wave event. Pick one now and cast your vote here to crown the most popular science result from Fermi's first decade. via NASA https://ift.tt/2LGerG7

TELSTAR 19 VANTAGE

On Sunday, July 22, 2018 at 1:50 a.m. EDT, SpaceX successfully launched the Telstar 19 VANTAGE satellite from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The satellite was deployed approximately 32 minutes after liftoff. Following stage separation, SpaceX successfully landed Falcon 9’s first stage on the “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship in the Atlantic Ocean.

You can watch a replay of the launch below and find more information about the mission in our press kit.

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Boeing Starliner Problems During Pad Abort Test

Boeing suffers a setback with Starliner's pad abort test, Ars Technica

"The company said it conducted a hot-fire test of the launch-abort engines on an integrated service module at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico in June. The engines successfully ignited and ran for the full duration, but during engine shutdown an anomaly occurred that resulted in a propellant leak. "We have been conducting a thorough investigation with assistance from our NASA and industry partners," the statement said. "We are confident we found the cause and are moving forward with corrective action. Flight safety and risk mitigation are why we conduct such rigorous testing, and anomalies are a natural part of any test program."

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Apollo 11 Landing Site Panorama

Have you seen a panorama from another world lately? Assembled from high-resolution scans of the original film frames, this one sweeps across the magnificent desolation of the Apollo 11 landing site on the Moon's Sea of Tranquility. The images were taken by Neil Armstrong looking out his window of the Eagle Lunar Module shortly after the July 20, 1969 landing. The frame at the far left (AS11-37-5449) is the first picture taken by a person on another world. Toward the south, thruster nozzles can be seen in the foreground on the left, while at the right, the shadow of the Eagle is visible to the west. For scale, the large, shallow crater on the right has a diameter of about 12 meters. Frames taken from the Lunar Module windows about an hour and a half after landing, before walking on the lunar surface, were intended to initially document the landing site in case an early departure was necessary. via NASA https://ift.tt/2mwHsco

The June solstice issue of The Planetary Report has arrived

At Tranquility Base

Forty-nine years ago on July 20, 1969, humanity stepped foot on another celestial body and into history. via NASA https://ift.tt/2mu3EUm

NASA Brings Latest Aerospace Technologies to AirVenture 2018

Visitors to AirVenture Oshkosh 2018 can get a close look at the latest in NASA aerospace technology during the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual airshow Monday, July 23, through Sunday, July 29, at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

July 20, 2018
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ISS Daily Summary Report – 7/19/2018

Aerosol Samplers: Today the crew retrieved and stowed the sample cartridges from each deployed Active Aerosol Sampler (AAS) and connected the AASs to the battery charger. After the battery charge, the crew installed a sample cartridge and re-deployed one of the AASs in the US Laboratory. The second AAS had not taken a full charge …

July 20, 2018 at 12:00AM
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Boldly advocating for more space science

The Teapot and the Milky Way

The recognizable stars of the Teapot asterism in the constellation Sagittarius posed with the Milky Way over Death Valley, planet Earth on this quiet, dark night. The surreal scene was appropriately captured from Teakettle Junction, marked by the wooden sign adorned with terrestrial teapots and kettles on the rugged road to Racetrack Playa. Shining against the luminous starlight of the central Milky Way is bright planet Saturn, just above the star at the celestial teapot's peak. But the brightest celestial beacon, high above the southern horizon, is an orange tinted Mars at upper left in the frame. via NASA https://ift.tt/2JJ2Ww0

How the Apollo missions transformed our understanding of the Moon’s origin

NASA Launches Channel for Roku

There’s a new way for people to learn about NASA’s exciting missions and thought-provoking discoveries: The agency now has a channel for Roku digital media streaming devices.

July 19, 2018
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Testing Satellite Servicing Technologies

NASA's satellite servicing technologies are opening up a new world where space robots diagnose, maintain and extend a spacecraft’s life. via NASA https://ift.tt/2Ltngmy

NASA Invites Media to Preview Briefing on Spacecraft that will “Touch” Sun

Media are invited to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a preview briefing on the agency’s Parker Solar Probe at 1 p.m. EDT Friday, July 20. The event will air live on NASA Television, the agency’s website and Facebook Live.

July 18, 2018
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Cerealia Facula

Cerealia Facula, also known as the brightest spot on Ceres, is shown in this stunning mosaic close-up view. The high-resolution image data was recorded by the Dawn spacecraft, in a looping orbit, from altitudes as low as 34 kilometers (21 miles) above the dwarf planet's surface. Cerealia Facula is about 15 kilometers wide, found in the center of 90 kilometer diameter Occator crater. Like the other bright spots (faculae) scattered around Ceres, Cerealia Facula is not ice, but an exposed salty residue with a reflectivity like dirty snow. The residue is thought to be mostly sodium carbonate and ammonium chloride from a slushy brine within or below the dwarf planet's crust. Driven by advanced ion propulsion on an 11-year mission, Dawn explored main-belt asteriod Vesta before traveling on to Ceres. But sometime between this August and October, the interplanetary spacecraft is expected to finally run out of fuel for its hydrazine thrusters, with the subsequent loss of control of its orientation, losing power and the ability to communicate with Earth. Meanwhile Dawn will continue to explore Ceres in unprecedented detail, and ultimately retire in its orbit around the small world. via NASA https://ift.tt/2Jzh2zV

Odd Hearings Ahead On Webb Space Telescope Problems

Keith's note: Next week there will be an unusual pair of hearings - same committee, same topic, but a different witness lineup. Have a look:

Panel 1 - Wednesday July 25, 2018 at 10:00 a.m.
Hon. Jim Bridenstine, administrator, NASA
Mr. Tom Young, chairman, JWST Independent Review Board

Panel 2 - Thursday, July 26, 2018 at 9:00 a.m.
Mr. Wesley Bush, chief executive officer, Northrop Grumman Corp.
Mr. Tom Young, chairman, JWST Independent Review Board

OK, so this is strange. Webb Space Telescope is more than a decade late and has busted its budget cap yet again - this time by $800 million - so much so that Congress is required, by law, to reauthorize the entire project. Oddly, the NASA Administrator (who pays for this project) and the CEO of Northrop Grumman (who gets paid for this project) are not testifying together - not even on the same day. But the JWST IRB chair will testify with both Bridenstine and Bush. Its almost as if NASA wants to get their viewpoint and that of the Webb IRB first and then Northrop Grumman has 24 hours to get their act together - except - Congress usually wants prepared testimony submitted a day or more in advance. Or maybe there is a lot of looming tension and Congress does not want a cage match between NASA and Northrop Grumman. Stay tuned.

- Northrop Grumman's Webb Space Telescope Charm Offensive, earlier post
- Clueless Webb Telescope Advertisement From Northrop Grumman, earlier post
- More Cost Increases And Delays For Webb Space Telescope, earlier post
- Pieces Are Falling Off Of James Webb Space Telescope, earlier post
- Where Oh Where Did All Of That Webb Money Go?, earlier post

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Lunar Gateway: China Has Other Ideas

Chinese space official seems unimpressed with NASA's lunar gateway, Ars Technica

"Another slide from [CNSA's Pei Zhaoyu] offered some thoughts on the gateway concept, which NASA intends to build out during the 2020s, delaying a human landing on the Moon until the end of the decade at the earliest. Pei does not appear to be certain about the scientific objectives of such a station, and the deputy director concludes that, from a cost-benefit standpoint, the gateway would have "lost cost-effectiveness."

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Big Announcement at KSC With Pence?

Mike Pence will visit Cape Canaveral next month for a big space update, Orlando Weekly

"Vice President Mike Pence will visit NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral next month to announce the first astronaut crews under NASA's Commercial Crew Program, according to sources familiar with the matter. Pence, who chairs the National Space Council, will confirm a new launch date for the first private crew missions and announce which crew capsules each of the four selected astronauts will ride in to the International Space Station."

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NASA Might Launch From The UK

UK spaceports: NASA could launch satellites from new bases, Sky News

"Jim Bridenstine, who was appointed as NASA's administrator by US president Donald Trump earlier this year, said the UK government's plans for new spaceports open new opportunities. "We are thrilled about this. "It's about what we are trying to launch, where do we want it to go in orbit and who can provide the best price. "The UK and the US have a long partnership in space exploration," he added. "I would see NASA putting satellites on top of a rocket that launches from the UK," he said."

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NASA Debuts Online Toolkit to Promote Commercial Use of Satellite Data

While NASA’s policy of free and open remote-sensing data has long benefited the scientific community, other government agencies and nonprofit organizations, it has significant untapped potential for commercialization.

July 18, 2018
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NASA Television, Website to Air Critical Conversations on Science in Space

NASA will join counterparts from across government, industry, academia and international organizations for an indepth conversation about science on the International Space Station Monday, July 23, through Thursday, July 26, in San Francisco.

July 18, 2018
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Dawn Journal: Going Out on a High...Or Maybe a Low

NASA, French Aerospace Lab to Collaborate on Sonic Boom Prediction Research

NASA and France’s Office National d'Etudes et de Recherches Aerospatiales (ONERA), the French national aerospace research center, signed a research agreement Wednesday that could make supersonic passenger flights over land practical, dramatically reducing travel time in the United States or anywhere in the world.

July 18, 2018
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Blue Origin Makes Space Travel Seem Routine

Keith's note: Flawless 9th flight for BlueOrigin. If only airlines operated like this. Watch a replay.

Flawless 9th flight for @BlueOrigin. If only airlines operated like this. #blueorigin #NewShepard pic.twitter.com/t0e73wpNXx

— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) July 18, 2018

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Orion Parachutes Chalk Up Another Test Success in Arizona

The parachute system for Orion, America’s spacecraft that will carry humans to deep space, deployed as planned after being dropped from an altitude of 6.6 miles on July 12, at the U.S. Army Proving Ground in Yuma, Arizona. via NASA https://ift.tt/2Nr9KQX

More Flying Rich People Will Soon Fly Into Space. Yawn.

Exciting that companies will soon put customers into space. But when ticket prices exceed the average cost of a 4 year college education or a family's house only rich people are going to be buying tickets. What about the rest of us? No one in the space media ever reports on that. pic.twitter.com/70WgaAlMpE

— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) July 18, 2018

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More Turmoil At The Space Foundation

Update from @SpaceFoundation Long time (12+ year) employee Brendan Curry is out as VP of DC operations. Sources report that former @NASA PAO AA @JenRaeWang (Trump appointee) is his replacement. Stay tuned. #MoreDrama

— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) July 17, 2018

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