NASA's GRAIL-A Spacecraft 24 Hours Away From Moon

PASADENA, Calif. NASA's Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL)-A spacecraft is within 24 hours of its insertion burn that will place it into lunar orbit. At the time the spacecraft crossed the milestone at 1:21 p.m. PST today (4:21 p.m. EST), the spacecraft was 30,758 miles (49,500 kilometers) from the moon.

Launched aboard the same rocket on Sept. 10, 2011, GRAIL-A's mirror twin, GRAIL-B, is also closing the gap between itself and the moon. GRAIL-B is scheduled to perform its lunar orbit insertion burn on New Year's Day (Jan. 1) at 2:05 p.m. PST (5:05 p.m. EST).

As they close in on the moon, both orbiters move toward the moon from the south, flying nearly directly over the lunar south pole. The lunar orbit insertion burn for GRAIL-A will take approximately 40 minutes to complete and change the spacecraft's velocity by about 427 mph (687 kph). GRAIL-B's insertion burn – occurring 25 hours later will last about 39 minutes and is expected to change its velocity by 430 mph (692 kph).

The insertion maneuvers will place each orbiter into a near-polar, elliptical orbit with an orbital period of 11.5 hours. Over the following weeks, the GRAIL team will execute a series of burns with each spacecraft to reduce their period down to just under two hours. At the start of the science phase in March 2012, the two GRAILs will be in a near-polar, near-circular orbit with an altitude of about 34 miles (55 kilometers).

During the science phase, the moon will rotate three times underneath the GRAIL orbit. The collection of gravity data over one complete rotation (27.3 days) is referred to as a Mapping Cycle. When science collection begins, the spacecraft will transmit radio signals precisely defining the distance between them as they orbit the moon in formation. Regional gravitational differences on the moon are expected to expand and contract that distance. GRAIL scientists will use these accurate measurements to define the moon's gravity field. The data will allow mission scientists to understand what goes on below the surface of our natural satellite. This information will help us learn more about how the moon, Earth and other terrestrial planets formed.

WISE Presents a Cosmic Wreath

Just in time for the holidays, astronomers have come across a new image from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, that some say resembles a wreath. You might even think of the red dust cloud as a cheery red bow, and the bluish-white stars as silver bells. This star-forming nebula is named Barnard 3. Baby stars are being born throughout the dusty region, while the "silver bell" stars are located both in front of, and behind, the nebula.

The bright star in the middle of the red cloud, called HD 278942, is so luminous that it is likely causing most of the surrounding clouds to glow. The red cloud is probably made of dust that is more metallic and cooler than the surrounding regions. The yellow-green region poking into the picture from the left like a sprig of holly is similar to the rest of the green "wreath" material, only more dense.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages and operates the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The principal investigator, Edward Wright, is at UCLA. The mission was competitively selected under NASA's Explorers Program managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The science instrument was built by the Space Dynamics Laboratory, Logan, Utah, and the spacecraft was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. Science operations and data processing take place at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.

Quadrantids Will Create Brief, Beautiful Show on Jan. 4

The 2012 Quadrantids, a little-known meteor shower named after an extinct constellation, will present an excellent chance for hardy souls to start the year off with some late-night meteor watching.

Peaking in the wee morning hours of Jan. 4, the Quadrantids have a maximum rate of about 100 per hour, varying between 60-200. The waxing gibbous moon will set around 3 a.m. local time, leaving about two hours of excellent meteor observing before dawn. It's a good thing, too, because unlike the more famous Perseid and Geminid meteor showers, the Quadrantids only last a few hours it's the morning of Jan. 4, or nothing.

Like the Geminids, the Quadrantids originate from an asteroid, called 2003 EH1. Dynamical studies suggest that this body could very well be a piece of a comet which broke apart several centuries ago, and that the meteors you will see before dawn on Jan. 4 are the small debris from this fragmentation. After hundreds of years orbiting the sun, they will enter our atmosphere at 90,000 mph, burning up 50 miles above Earth's surface a fiery end to a long journey!

The Quadrantids derive their name from the constellation of Quadrans Muralis (mural quadrant), which was created by the French astronomer Jerome Lalande in 1795. Located between the constellations of Bootes and Draco, Quadrans represents an early astronomical instrument used to observe and plot stars. Even though the constellation is no longer recognized by astronomers, it was around long enough to give the meteor shower first seen in 1825 its name.

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NASA Quiet Sonic Boom Research Effort Ends With a Whisper


NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center recently completed NASA’s latest quiet sonic boom research study at Edwards Air Force Base.

The Waveforms and Sonic boom Perception and Response, or WSPR, project gathered data from a select group of more than 100 volunteer Edwards Air Force Base residents on their individual attitudes toward sonic booms produced by aircraft in supersonic flight over Edwards.

NASA and industry are studying technology that will reduce the noise and annoyance associated with sonic booms to the point where aircraft flying over populated areas at supersonic speeds do not disturb the peace, and aviation and governmental authorities may consider lifting prohibitions. But before the current restrictions on supersonic flight over land can be changed, much research is needed to understand how individuals and communities react to low-noise sonic booms.

WSPR's primary purpose is to develop data collection methods and test protocols for future public perception studies in communities that do not usually experience sonic booms. The base's unique flight-test airspace puts Edwards residents in a position to experience loud booms regularly, so their reactions to low-noise booms will be a valuable guide for future work in sonic boom perception and response.

"Understanding the study participants' responses to sonic booms is very important to NASA," said Larry Cliatt, Dryden’s principal investigator for the research effort. “We’re pleased with their participation.”

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NASA Propulsion Experiment Provides Data for More Efficient Jet Engines

Aeronautics researchers at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center recently completed flight tests of a unique experimental jet engine inlet design in the Channeled Center-body Inlet Experiment, or CCIE.

The experimental inlet was checked out on NASA Dryden's F-15B aeronautics research test bed aircraft, which continues to be an innovative and cost-effective tool for flight test of advanced propulsion concepts.

The CCIE project's primary research objective was to define the airflow through the experimental jet engine inlet, then compare it to the airflow through a standard inlet. Inside, airflow around two interchangeable center bodies installed in an air inlet tube was measured. The structures are designed to direct and compress airflow internally through the engine.

One center body is channeled; the other has a conventional, smooth shape. The slots cut along the length of the channeled center body simulate a simple device that in an actual inlet would allow optimization of the amount of air flowing into the engine, resulting in improved airflow efficiency at a wide variety of speeds. This would improve fuel efficiency as well.

Six flights were flown, three with each center body installed. Flight tests were made incrementally at speeds up to Mach 1.74, or about 1.7 times the speed of sound. Flight data from the smooth center body were used to benchmark performance data for the channeled center body. Data points that NASA Dryden engineers collected during the experiment included inlet mass airflow information, internal surface pressure distribution numbers, and airflow distortion, or turbulence, data at the exit end of the device.

Dryden propulsion engineers are now performing post-flight data analysis on the two inlet configurations and will report on the results. The resulting data will also be compared with computational fluid dynamics, or CFD, predictions.

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NASA To Host Media Teleconference On Probes' Moon Orbit Insertion

NASA will hold a media teleconference at 11 a.m. PST on Wednesday, Dec. 28, to preview twin spacecraft being placed in orbit around the moon on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. NASA's twin lunar Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) probes were launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Sept. 10, 2011. GRAIL-A is scheduled to arrive in lunar orbit beginning at 1:21 p.m. PST on Saturday, Dec. 31, and GRAIL-B on Sunday, Jan. 1, beginning at 2:05 p.m. PST. After confirmation they are in orbit and operating nominally, the two solar-powered spacecraft will fly in tandem orbits to answer longstanding questions about the moon and give scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed.

Participants are:
- Maria Zuber, principal investigator, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
- David Lehman, project manager, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif.

To participate, reporters must contact the JPL Media Relations Office at 818-354-5011 by 10:30 a.m. PST on Dec. 28 for the call-in number and passcode.


NASA Conducts Orion Parachute Testing for Orbital Test Flight

Orion Parachute Testing for Orbital Test Flight
NASA successfully conducted a drop test of the Orion crew vehicle's parachutes high above the Arizona desert Tuesday, Dec. 20, in preparation for its orbital flight test in 2014. Orion will carry astronauts deeper into space than ever before, provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and ensure a safe re-entry and landing. A C-130 plane dropped the Orion test article from an altitude of 25,000 feet above the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Grounds. Orion's drogue chutes were deployed between 15,000 and 20,000 feet, followed by the pilot parachutes, which then deployed two main landing parachutes. This particular drop test examined how Orion would land under two possible failure scenarios. Orion's parachutes are designed to open in stages, which is called reefing, to manage the stresses on the parachutes after they are deployed.

The reefing stages allow the parachutes to sequentially open, first at 54 percent of the parachutes' full diameter, and then at 73 percent. This test examined how the parachutes would perform if the second part of the sequence was skipped. The second scenario was a failure to deploy one of Orion's three main parachutes, requiring the spacecraft to land with only two. Orion landed on the desert floor at a speed of almost 33 feet per second, which is the maximum designed touchdown speed of the spacecraft.Since 2007, the Orion program has conducted a vigorous parachute air and ground test program and provided the chutes for NASA's successful pad abort test in 2010. Lessons learned from this experience have improved Orion's parachute system.

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NASA Mars-Bound Rover Begins Research in Space

Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft
NASA's car-sized Curiosity rover has begun monitoring space radiation during its 8-month trip from Earth to Mars. The research will aid in planning for future human missions to the Red Planet. Curiosity launched on Nov. 26 from Cape Canaveral, Fla., aboard the Mars Science Laboratory. The rover carries an instrument called the Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) that monitors high-energy atomic and subatomic particles from the sun, distant supernovas and other sources. These particles constitute radiation that could be harmful to any microbes or astronauts in space or on Mars. The rover also will monitor radiation on the surface of Mars after its August 2012 landing.

"RAD is serving as a proxy for an astronaut inside a spacecraft on the way to Mars," said Don Hassler, RAD's principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colo. "The instrument is deep inside the spacecraft, the way an astronaut would be. Understanding the effects of the spacecraft on the radiation field will be valuable in designing craft for astronauts to travel to Mars." Previous monitoring of energetic-particle radiation in space has used instruments at or near the surface of various spacecraft. The RAD instrument is on the rover inside the spacecraft and shielded by other components of Mars Science Laboratory, including the aeroshell that will protect the rover during descent through the upper atmosphere of Mars.

Spacecraft structures, while providing shielding, also can contribute to secondary particles generated when high-energy particles strike the spacecraft. In some circumstances, secondary particles could be more hazardous than primary ones. These first measurements mark the start of the science return from a mission that will use 10 instruments on Curiosity to assess whether Mars' Gale Crater could be or has been favorable for microbial life. "While Curiosity will not look for signs of life on Mars, what it might find could be a game-changer about the origin and evolution of life on Earth and elsewhere in the universe," said Doug McCuistion, director of the Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "One thing is certain: The rover's discoveries will provide critical data that will impact human and robotic planning and research for decades."

As of 9 a.m. PST (noon EST) on Dec. 14, the spacecraft will have traveled 31.9 million miles its 352-million-mile flight to Mars. The first trajectory correction maneuver during the trip is being planned for mid-January. Southwest Research Institute, together with Christian Albrechts University in Kiel, Germany, built RAD with funding from the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington, and Germany's national aerospace research center, Deutsches Zentrum fĂĽr Luft- und Raumfahrt. The mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The mission's rover was designed, developed and assembled at JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

NASA Engages Public With New Custom Internet Radio Station

Third RockNASA's mission of discovery and exploration will be showcased in a custom-produced Internet music radio station that is crafted specifically to speak the language of tech-savvy young adults. Third Rock - America's Space Station is set to launch with a New Rock/Indie/Alternative format on Monday, Dec. 12. The station is being developed and operated at no cost to the government through a Space Act Agreement. Third Rock can be reached from NASA's home page, www.nasa.gov, and will soon be available through NASA iPhone and Droid mobile applications.

"NASA constantly is looking for new and innovative ways to engage the public and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers," said David Weaver, associate administrator for the Office of Communications at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "We have led the way in innovative uses of new media and this is another example of how the agency is taking advantage of these important communication tools."NASA is collaborating with Houston-based RFC Media to launch the station. "Today's 4G audience craves new music and enjoys finding it," said Pat Fant, RFC Media co-founder and chief operating officer. "We've pulled out the best songs and the deepest tracks from a full spectrum of rock artists across many styles and decades. NASA features and news items are embedded throughout the programming alongside greetings by celebrity artists."

Third Rock also will help partner companies fill high-tech job openings in the engineering, science and IT fields. In addition to the NASA Web Portal, the station will be available online in the future at the radio tab of Apple's iTunes and other sites. "No one knows more about discovering new rock than NASA," said Cruze, RFC Media co-founder and president. "Exciting new music is being discovered online through specialty sites like Third Rock-America's Space Station, where listeners will hear about great new artists way before their friends hear of them."

LRO Observes Final Lunar Eclipse of the Year

ruddy appearance typical of the moon
Orbiting 31 miles above the lunar surface, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft will get a "front-row seat" to the total lunar eclipse on Dec. 10, 2011. LRO's Diviner instrument will record how quickly targeted areas on the moon's day side cool off during the eclipse. The degree of cooling is dependent on factors such as how rocky the surface is, how densely packed the soil is, and its mineral composition. By studying the lunar surface during the eclipse, scientists can learn even more about our nearest celestial neighbor. From beginning to end, the eclipse will last from 11:33 UT (6:33 a.m. EST, 3:33 a.m. PST) to 17:30 UT. Totality, the time when Earth's shadow completely covers the moon, will last 51 minutes. All of the United States will see some portion of the eclipse. The West Coast will have a more complete view of this particular eclipse.

The West Coast will see totality as the moon sets and the sun rises. For West Coast viewers, the eclipse begins at 3:33 a.m. PST. The peak, when the moon is a deep red, occurs at 6:30 a.m. PST. For East Coast residents, the only stage of the eclipse that will be visible is the earliest portion when the moon begins to enter Earth's shadow. This dimming is very slight and may be difficult to see. From beginning to end, the eclipse will last from 11:33 UT (6:33 a.m. EST, 3:33 a.m. PST) to 17:30 UT. Totality, the time when Earth's shadow completely covers the moon, will last 51 minutes. All of the United States will see some portion of the eclipse. The West Coast will have a more complete view of this particular eclipse.

The West Coast will see totality as the moon sets and the sun rises. For West Coast viewers, the eclipse begins at 3:33 a.m. PST. The peak, when the moon is a deep red, occurs at 6:30 a.m. PST. For East Coast residents, the only stage of the eclipse that will be visible is the earliest portion when the moon begins to enter Earth's shadow. This dimming is very slight and may be difficult to see. The moon takes on this new color because sunlight is still able to pass through Earth's atmosphere and cast a glow on the moon. Our atmosphere filters out most of the blue colored light, leaving the red and orange hues that we see during a lunar eclipse. If there are additional dust particles in the atmosphere, the moon will appear to be a darker shade of red. Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are perfectly safe to view without any special glasses or equipment. All you need is your own two eyes. Our next opportunity to view a total lunar eclipse from the U.S. is April 15, 2014, so mark your calendars!

NASA Presents Software of the Year Award

AEGIS data collection session
Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Increased Science (AEGIS), novel autonomy software that has been operating on the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity since December 2009, is NASA's 2011 Software of the Year recipient. The AEGIS software, developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., autonomously directs Opportunity's cameras to interesting science targets. AEGIS was developed to enhance the usual targeting process involving scientists on the ground, which can require the rover to stay in the same place for a day or more while data are transmitted to Earth and targets are selected from preliminary images.

With AEGIS, the rover software analyzes images onboard, detects and prioritizes science targets in those images, and autonomously obtains novel, high-quality science data of the selected targets, within 45 minutes, with no communication back to Earth required. AEGIS chooses science targets based on pre-specified criteria set by the mission science team. AEGIS can be used as soon as the rover reaches a new area and is especially beneficial during and after long drives. It enables high-quality data to be collected more often and in a significantly reduced time frame. The incorporation of AEGIS in the Mars Science Laboratory flight software is in progress, and it is also being considered for future NASA missions.

The AEGIS capability was developed as part of a larger autonomous science framework called OASIS, which is designed to allow a rover to identify and react to serendipitous science opportunities. The AEGIS system takes advantage of the OASIS ability to detect and characterize interesting terrain features in rover images. This technology was created with assistance from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Project and with funding from the New Millennium Program, the Mars Technology Program, the JPL Research and Technology Development Program, the JPL Interplanetary Network Development Program and the Intelligent Systems Program.

NASA to Hold Industry Day to Discuss Advanced Booster

Space Launch System
NASA will host an industry day at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. to share information on an upcoming NASA Research Announcement for the Space Launch System's (SLS) advanced booster. Marshall is leading the design and development of the SLS on behalf of the agency. The new heavy-lift launch vehicle will expand human presence beyond low-Earth orbit and enable new missions of exploration across the solar system. The 130-metric ton, evolved SLS vehicle will require an advanced booster with a significant increase in thrust over existing U.S. liquid or solid boosters. Its first full-scale test flight is set for 2017.

The industry day will be held Dec. 15, at 9 a.m. CST in the Morris Auditorium in Marshall's building 4200. Media representatives are invited to cover the event and interview NASA management beginning at 9:45 a.m. CST. Speakers will include Dan Dumbacher, NASA's Exploration Systems Development deputy associate administrator at agency headquarters in Washington, and Todd May, SLS program manager at Marshall.

Journalists interested in attending should contact Jennifer Stanfield in Marshall's Public and Employee Communications Office at 256-544-0034 no later than 4 p.m. CST, Wednesday, Dec. 14. To ensure adequate security processing time on the day of the event, media should report to the Redstone Arsenal Joint Visitor Control Center at Gate 9 by 8 a.m., with two photo IDs, vehicle registration and proof of car insurance. Visitor parking is available in front of Building 4200 on the south side.

Indiana Students Will Talk Live With Space Station Commander

Commander Dan Burbank
Students at the Westchester Intermediate School in Chesterton, Ind., will speak with Expedition 30 Commander Dan Burbank aboard the International Space Station at approximately 11:35 a.m. EST on Friday, Dec. 9. Media representatives are invited to attend. The event will be broadcast live on NASA Television. Fifth- and sixth-grade students will ask Burbank questions about living and working in space aboard the orbiting laboratory. The students will take part in a series of activities leading up to the event focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

To attend the event, reporters must call Bridget Martinson at 219-983-3600 or e-mail bridget.martinson@duneland.k12.in.us The school is located at 1050 S. 5th Street. Burbank and Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin arrived at the station Nov. 15. They are scheduled to live and work there until March, while performing dozens of experiments and preparing for the arrival of new commercial resupply spacecraft. They will be joined by three crewmates in late December.

This in-flight education downlink is one in a series with educational organizations in the United States and abroad to improve STEM teaching and learning. It is an integral component of NASA's Teaching From Space education program, which promotes learning opportunities and builds partnerships with the education community using the unique environment of space and NASA's human spaceflight program.

Space Station Astronaut Will Answer Video Questions From Public

nasa space station
NASA has announced a unique opportunity to ask the commander of the International Space Station a question about his role on the orbiting outpost. Commander Dan Burbank will answer videotaped questions from the public during a live event tentatively set for Friday, Jan. 20 on NASA Television. The video questions must be less than 30 seconds. Submitters should introduce themselves and mention their location. Questions must be posted as responses to a video Burbank recorded on YouTube.

Burbank launched to the station on Nov. 13. He will conduct a variety of science experiments and perform station maintenance during his nearly six-month stay on the outpost. Burbank’s life aboard the station in near-weightlessness requires unique approaches to everyday activities such as eating, sleeping and exercising. Burbank will answer questions during the time available. In addition to airing live on NASA TV, Burbank's answers will be posted to YouTube.

Norah Jones, Astronaut Piers Sellers Featured in New NASA Spinoff Technology Public Service Announcements

Astronaut Piers
Much of the technology we rely on daily was developed by NASA for space exploration and then adapted or enhanced for use here on Earth. This includes many technologies used in schools, homes, cars, computers and industry. Singer Norah Jones and NASA Astronaut Piers Sellers talk about how some of the agency's outstanding accomplishments in space are used to improve our life on Earth in a new public service announcement available on NASA's website. The duo concentrate on NASA technology that increases production and use of clean energy, fuel efficiency, reduction of carbon footprints, and the study and understanding of climate change.

Also, this year in the holiday movie release "Arthur Christmas," Santa's North Pole turns to technology to deliver billions of gifts around the world. Run by thousands of computer-savvy elves, the North Pole uses NASA-style technology to track gifts being delivered by Santa's high-speed S-1, a giant spacecraft in the shape of a sleigh. "NASA provides industry and innovators with opportunities to bring technology initially developed for space to consumers around the world," said Daniel Lockney, program executive for technology transfer at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Asteroids, Mars and Drought Among NASA News Highlights at American Geophysical Union Meeting

American Geophysical Union
NASA researchers will present new findings on a wide range of Earth and space science topics at the 2011 fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union. The meeting takes place Dec. 5-9 at the Moscone Convention Center, 747 Howard St., in San Francisco. Media registration for the event is open.

Media briefings during the meeting will feature topics such as new results about the asteroid Vesta, the future risk of major droughts, new discoveries at the edge of our solar system, and the 2011 Japanese tsunami. In addition, NASA scientists and their colleagues who use NASA research capabilities will present noteworthy findings during scientific sessions that are open to registered journalists.