“NASA’s Parker Solar Probe mission launched August 11 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The mission will be the first to fly directly through the Sun’s corona – the hazardous region of intense heat and solar radiation in the Sun’s atmosphere that is visible during an eclipse. It will gather data that could help answer questions about solar physics that have puzzled scientists for decades. Gathering information about fundamental processes near the Sun can help improve our understanding of how our solar system’s star changes the space environment, where space weather can affect astronauts, interfere with satellite orbits, or damage spacecraft electronics.”
“Astronomers all over the world are eagerly awaiting the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope. The infrared space telescope, which will carry the largest astronomical mirror ever flown in space is one of the most complex observatories ever built. It will allow unprecedented science, including investigations into the atmospheres of exoplanets and the formation of galaxies, addressing fundamental questions in astronomy. The mission is an international collaboration between NASA, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency, and is planned for launch in 2021 on a European Ariane 5 rocket.”
“NASA scientists at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida are developing the Electrodynamic Dust Shield to avoid dust problems for astronauts exploring the Moon, Mars and other distant destinations. The technology soon will be tested aboard the International Space Station.”
“Known to the crew as an EVA (extravehicular activity), each spacewalk provides a valuable opportunity to carry out repairs, test new equipment and even perform science experiments beyond the confines of a spacecraft. Exiting the International Space Station however, brings heightened risk and activities are planned down to the minute. In this clip, ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst and NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor help NASA astronauts Feustel and Ricky Arnold prepare to step out into space for EVA 51. ”
“NASA’s Cold Atom Lab will produce clouds of ultra-cold atoms aboard the International Space Station to perform quantum physics experiments in microgravity. Atoms are chilled to about one 10 billionth of a degree above Absolute Zero, or about 10 billion times colder than the average temperature of deep space. At those temperatures, atoms behave in strange ways, allowing scientists to investigate the fundamental nature of matter.
The clouds of ultra-cold atoms CAL produces are called Bose-Einstein Condensates (BECs), a bizarre state of matter in which atoms exhibit quantum behavior at a macroscopic scale you can see. BECs make it possible for researchers to probe the fundamental nature of matter. Hundreds of BEC experiments exist on Earth, but on the International Space Station, free from the pull of gravity, scientists will be able to observe BECs for much longer than what is possible on Earth, and reach even colder temperatures than what is typically achieved on the ground. The Cold Atom Lab will move scientists another step closer to solving some of the biggest mysteries in the universe, such as understanding the nature of dark matter and dark energy and solving the disagreement between quantum mechanics and the theory of gravity.
Research done on CAL can also have practical applications, such as making improvements to atomic clock technologies, which are used in spacecraft navigation, as well as the GPS satellites that provide navigation information to devices like smartphones. CAL research could also lead to improvements to quantum sensors used for remote sensing on spacecraft. These sensors can be used for a variety of applications, including monitoring Earth’s changing climate and remotely studying the internal makeup of planets and asteroids.”
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