Previewing our Artemis I mission to the Moon…
A new image from our James Webb Space Telescope…
And a birthday for one of our explorers on Mars…some of the stories to tell you: this week at NASA!
NASA presents the Artemis I Moon Mission
We previewed our unmanned Artemis I mission to the Moon during a couple of briefings. On August 3, agency officials from our NASA headquarters and other NASA centers provided an “overview” of the mission.
“Artemis I shows that we can do great things. Things that bring people together, things that benefit humanity. Things like Apollo that inspire the world.” — Bill Nelson, NASA Administrator
This was followed two days later with a deeper dive into the mission timeline and operations from our Johnson Space Center. The agency is currently aiming to launch the Space Launch System rocket to send the Orion spacecraft around the Moon and back to Earth by Monday, August 29. Artemis I will take place over the course of about six weeks to check systems before astronauts fly aboard the Artemis II spacecraft.
This image of the Cartwheel and its companion galaxies is a composite of Webb’s Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), revealing details that are difficult to see in individual images alone . This galaxy was formed as a result. from a high-speed collision that occurred about 400 million years ago. The Cartwheel consists of two rings, a bright inner ring and a colorful outer ring. The two rings expand outward from the center of the collision as shock waves. Credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Webb ERO Production Team
Webb captures a new image of the Cartwheel galaxy
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope produced this detailed new image of the Cartwheel Galaxy and two smaller galaxies. The Cartwheel Galaxy, located about 500 million light-years away, is a rare type of galaxy that astronomers call a “ring galaxy.” It is believed that the Cartwheel Galaxy used to be a normal spiral galaxy like our Milky Way before a collision with another galaxy affected the shape and structure of the Cartwheel.
Stay curious with NASA and celebrate the 10th anniversary of the agency’s Curiosity Mars rover on the Red Planet with a double-sided poster that lists some of the intrepid explorer’s inspiring achievements. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
After 10 years on Mars, Curiosity still has momentum
NASA’s Curiosity rover celebrates 10 years on Mars. The rover touched down on the Red Planet at 10:32 PM PDT on August 5, 2012. Since then, it has traveled about 18 miles and climbed more than 2,000 feet while exploring Gale Crater and the foothills of Mount Sharp. Most importantly, Curiosity determined that liquid water and the chemical components necessary for life were indeed present in this region of Mars for at least tens of millions of years. The Curiosity team now plans for the rover to spend the next few years exploring a new region, one that was thought to have formed as water was drying up, leaving behind salty minerals called sulfates.
A collage of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 from left to right, top to bottom: NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Koichi Wakata and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina. Credit: NASA
The next commercial crew launch to the space station
Our SpaceX Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station is scheduled to launch no earlier than September 29 from our Kennedy Space Center. NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina discussed their upcoming mission during an Aug. 4 briefing at our Johnson Space Center.
“We come together as a human race. And our mission aboard the International Space Station to develop this technology and research to benefit all of humanity is truly what brings us together.” — Nicole Mann, NASA Astronaut
This is the fifth NASA crew rotation flight to the space station with a commercial American spacecraft.
Actor Nichelle Nichols, who died on July 30, 2022, didn’t just break new ground on “Star Trek” by playing one of the first recurring black female characters on American television. A decade after the program ended, she did the same for NASA, appearing in a promotional film aimed at recruiting women and people of color to apply to be astronauts, as she explained in a 2012 visit to NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The next class of astronauts, named in 1978, included Guy Bluford, the first black American in space, and Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. Credit: NASA
NASA honors Nichelle Nichols
NASA remembers actor Nichelle Nichols, who died on July 30. She broke new ground on “Star Trek” in her role as Lt. Uhura, one of the first recurring black female characters on American television. Years later, NASA officials asked for her help recruiting the first women and minority astronauts for the space shuttle program. In a statement, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson noted that as we prepare to send the first woman and first person of color to the Moon under Artemis, NASA is guided by the legacy of Nichelle Nichols.
Here’s what’s happening this week @NASA