NASA

No matter where you are located on this globe, we all have one thing in common – we all call planet Earth our home! Earth provides humanity with everything we need to survive.  Earth Day is a time to acknowledge what we can do to help our planet. With more than a billion people participating every year, Earth Day is the largest secular observation in the world.  Let’s look at three ways NASA is impacting the Earth. 1.) Global Ecosystems Dynamic Investigation (GEDI): GEDI provides a unique 3D view of Earth’s forests, helping to fill in missing information about their role in the carbon cycle. The primary purpose of GEDI is to produce high-resolution laser-ranging observations of Earth in order to characterize the effects of climate change and land use on...

NASA Spotlight: Astronaut Kjell Lindgren Kjell N. Lindgren was selected by NASA in 2009. Born in Taiwan while his family was stationed overseas, he spent most of his childhood abroad and returned to the U.S. to complete his education and earn a Doctorate of Medicine from the University of Colorado. He is board certified in emergency and aerospace medicine. After serving as the Deputy Crew Surgeon for Space Shuttle mission STS‐130 and Expedition 24, he was selected to join our astronaut corps. Dr. Lindgren flew on the International Space Station from July 2015 to December 2015 and logged 141 days in space. He participated in two spacewalks and in more than a hundred different scientific experiments. In his free time, ...

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force has selected Blue Origin, SpaceX, and United Launch Alliance for the National Security Space Launch Phase 3 launch services program. The three companies won contracts potentially worth $5.6 billion over five years, the Pentagon announced June 13.  The three companies will compete for orders over the contract period starting in fiscal year 2025 through 2029. Under the NSSL program, the Space Force orders individual launch missions up to two years in advance. At least 30 NSSL Lane 1 missions are expected to be competed over the five years. The Phase 3 contract is a big win for Blue Origin, marking the first time the space company founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos has been selected to launch sensitive national security satellites. Space...

A fiery meteor streaked across the morning skies in southern Mississippi yesterday on April 27, 2022. More than 30 eyewitnesses in the states of Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi reported seeing a bright fireball at 8:03 a.m. CDT. The sighting was soon followed by numerous reports of loud booms heard in Claiborne County, Mississippi, and surrounding counties. GLM image from the GOES 16 satellite. Credits: NOAA Approximately 22,000 miles out in space, NOAA’s Geostationary Lightning Mappers (GLM) onboard the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) 16 and 17 detected several bright flashes associated with the fragmentation’s of this bolide, or exceptionally bright meteor, which was first spotted 54 miles above the Mississippi River near the Mississippi town of Alcorn. “...

Our Space Launch System (SLS) rocket is coming together at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida this summer. Our mighty SLS rocket is set to power the Artemis I mission to send our Orion spacecraft around the Moon. But, before it heads to the Moon, NASA puts it together right here on Earth.Read on for more on how our Moon rocket for Artemis I will come together this summer:How do crews assemble a rocket and spacecraft as tall as a skyscraper? The process all starts inside the iconic Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy with the mobile launcher. Recognized as a Florida Space Coast landmark, the Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB, houses special cranes, lifts, and equipment to move and connect the spaceflight hardware together. Orion and all five of the major parts of the Artemis I ro...