Maybe After A Long Day At Work Isn’t The Best Time For A Lecture...

NASA Astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley undock from the International Space Station at 7:34 p.m. EDT tonight, bringing to a close their ~2 month Launch America mission. Check out these science highlights from the 100+ hours of work they completed aboard the orbital lab. 

Watch live coverage of undocking and splashdown here: https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive

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Got my boarding pass! Stay tuned for an exciting week coming up. Shane Kimbrough, who graduated from The Lovett School and Georgia Tech, will be going to space for the third time. He will also be flying in his third type of spacecraft! He has flown in the Space Shuttle, and a Soyuz capsule. This time, he will be riding a Space-X Dragon to the ISS. . . . . #nasa #iss #internationalspacestation #crew2 #dragon #spacex #spacexdragon https://www.instagram.com/p/CNwBb46DZVL/?igshid=1gj6rezp2dk7w

Take a Road Trip through Time with Landsat 9

A lot can change in five decades! How we talk, what we wear – it all evolves. But one thing that’s stayed consistent is our unique view of our home planet from above. Five decades ago, we at NASA partnered with United States Geological Survey (USGS) to launch a satellite called Landsat to see Earth from space. Now, we’re launching Landsat 9 – that’s right, the ninth in the series!

Join us for a road trip through the decades from the idea of an Earth-imaging satellite in the groovy 60s to the launch of Landsat 9 this year. Hop in!

The 60s

Far out! In 1966, USGS proposed a satellite to image land all around our planet. Researchers worked with our scientists and engineers to design the satellite and figure out how it would work.

The 70s

Here’s the lowdown: In 1970, we got approval to build the Earth Resources Technology Satellite, later renamed Landsat 1. The satellite launched in 1972 and provided the first digital data of Earth, repeated at regular intervals, which allows us to see changes as they happen.

The 80s

In 1982, we launched Landsat 4, followed by Landsat 5 in 1984. These two satellites collected more wavelengths of light at higher precision, allowing for natural color images, which is totally radical, dude.

The 90s

Wasssup, 1990s? Landsat 7 launched this decade, collecting even more data than previous Landsat satellites, enough to produce the first hi-res natural color map of remote Antarctica.

The 2000s

In 2008, our partners at USGS made all Landsat data available for free. This gave peeps around the world access to all the data they needed, unlocking innovation and creating economic benefits, like the ability to track crop health from space. Sweet!

The 2010s

In 2013, Landsat 8 began the modern era of Landsat observations. A new style of sensor and ground system made it possible to download much more and better data than ever before. Plus, a partnership with European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 satellites gives even more regular observations. We heart that!

The 2020s

Now, we’re set to launch Landsat 9, a twin to Landsat 8. Two Landsat satellites with two instruments each will highkey change our view of Earth once again.

Now, on to the next 50 years of Earth observations! Stay tuned to watch Landsat 9 launch and start telling us even more about our home planet.

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Become a SKYWARN Spotter

Help the National Weather Service track current conditions, prepare for severe weather, and perform damage assessments. Click below to learn more about SKYWARN.

“Skywarn® and the Skywarn® logo are registered trademarks of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, used with permission.”

When you speak to a group of Daisy Girl Scouts and the troop leader says, “Thanks for the presentation! What’s your favorite cookie?” #nasa #daisyscouts #girlscouts #girlscoutcookie #stem #space #solarsystemambassador https://www.instagram.com/p/Ca3nqxbOvtS/?utm_medium=tumblr

Saturday night viewing.

Venus - April, 2020 Celestron 127slt mak, iPhone 8 #celestron127slt #backyardastronomy #backyardastrophotography https://www.instagram.com/p/B-lSrmqnBO6/?igshid=652ixl3c34xx

Playing with false color to bring out detail. . . . . #celestron127slt #celestrontelescope #solarsystemambassador #backyardastronomy #moon https://www.instagram.com/p/CSnu-exs0kp/?utm_medium=tumblr

First steps! Looking forward to contributing to the NASA Psyche Mission in the future! @nasapsyche #nasa #nasapsyche #space #asteroid #arizonastateuniversity #nasajpl https://www.instagram.com/p/B--pjChHW8Q/?igshid=o2p8g1zredsy

Gravity, Hazard of Alteration

A human journey to Mars, at first glance, offers an inexhaustible amount of complexities. To bring a mission to the Red Planet from fiction to fact, NASA’s Human Research Program has organized some of the hazards astronauts will encounter on a continual basis into five classifications.

The variance of gravity fields that astronauts will encounter on a mission to Mars is the fourth hazard.

On Mars, astronauts would need to live and work in three-eighths of Earth’s gravitational pull for up to two years. Additionally, on the six-month trek between the planets, explorers will experience total weightlessness. 

Besides Mars and deep space there is a third gravity field that must be considered. When astronauts finally return home they will need to readapt many of the systems in their bodies to Earth’s gravity.

To further complicate the problem, when astronauts transition from one gravity field to another, it’s usually quite an intense experience. Blasting off from the surface of a planet or a hurdling descent through an atmosphere is many times the force of gravity.

Research is being conducted to ensure that astronauts stay healthy before, during and after their mission. Specifically researchers study astronauts’ vision, fine motor skills, fluid distribution, exercise protocols and response to pharmaceuticals.

Exploration to the Moon and Mars will expose astronauts to five known hazards of spaceflight, including gravity. To learn more, and find out what NASA’s Human Research Program is doing to protect humans in space, check out the “Hazards of Human Spaceflight" website. Or, check out this week’s episode of “Houston We Have a Podcast,” in which host Gary Jordan further dives into the threat of gravity with Peter Norsk, Senior Research Director/ Element Scientist at the Johnson Space Center.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.