Latest Photos Of Pluto And It’s Moon.

This is so sad. Women are already discouraged from pursuing science. Treating us like criminals for experimenting isn’t helping.

The upper atmosphere of the Sun is dominated by plasma filled magnetic loops (coronal loops) whose temperature and pressure vary over a wide range. The appearance of coronal loops follows the emergence of magnetic flux, which is generated by dynamo processes inside the Sun. Emerging flux regions (EFRs) appear when magnetic flux bundles emerge from the solar interior through the photosphere and into the upper atmosphere (chromosphere and the corona). The characteristic feature of EFR is the Ω-shaped loops (created by the magnetic buoyancy/Parker instability), they appear as developing bipolar sunspots in magnetograms, and as arch filament systems in Hα. EFRs interact with pre-existing magnetic fields in the corona and produce small flares (plasma heating) and collimated plasma jets. The GIFs above show multiple energetic jets in three different wavelengths. The light has been colorized in red, green and blue, corresponding to three coronal temperature regimes ranging from ~0.8Mk to 2MK. 

Image Credit: SDO/U. Aberystwyth

Alexander Pohl

This stretchy, drug-delivering gel could be the Band-Aid of the future

Researchers in the US have developed a sticky, stretchable gel-like material that can be used as a “smart wound dressing”. Incorporating temperature sensors and drug reservoirs, the hydrogel bandage can release medicine in response to changes in skin temperature, and embedded LEDs even light up to let you know when your meds are running low.

The hydrogel matrix that makes up the dressing has numerous advantages over conventional cloth-based bandages. It’s highly flexible and stretches easily so can be applied to any area of the body, including joints like elbows or knees.

 - ScienceAlert

How Exactly Do We Plan to Bring an Asteroid Sample Back to Earth?

Our OSIRIS-REx spacecraft launches tomorrow, and will travel to a near-Earth asteroid, called Bennu. While there, it will collect a sample to bring back to Earth for study. But how exactly do we plan to get this spacecraft there and bring the sample back?

Here’s the plan:

After launch, OSIRIS-REx will orbit the sun for a year, then use Earth’s gravitational field to assist it on its way to Bennu. In August 2018, the spacecraft’s approach to Bennu will begin.

The spacecraft will begin a detailed survey of Bennu two months after slowing to encounter the asteroid. The process will last over a year, and will include mapping of potential sample sites. After the selection of the final site, the spacecraft will briefly touch the surface of Bennu to retrieve a sample.

To collect a sample, the sampling arm will make contact with the surface of Bennu for about five seconds, during which it will release a burst of nitrogen gas. The procedure will cause rocks and surface material to be stirred up and captured in the sampler head. The spacecraft has enough nitrogen to allow three sampling attempts, to collect between 60 and 2000 grams (2-70 ounces).

In March 2021, the window for departure from the asteroid will open, and OSIRIS-REx will begin its return journey to Earth, arriving two and a half years later in September 2023.

The sample return capsule will separate from the spacecraft and enter the Earth’s atmosphere. The capsule containing the sample will be collected at the Utah Test and Training Range.

For two years after the sample return, the science team will catalog the sample and conduct analysis. We will also preserve at least 75% of the sample for further research by scientists worldwide, including future generations of scientists.

The Spacecraft

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is outfitted with some amazing instruments that will help complete the mission. Here’s a quick rundown:

The OCAMS Instrument Suite

PolyCam (center), MapCam (left) and SamCam (right) make up the camera suite on the spacecraft. These instruments are responsible for most of the visible light images that will be taken by the spacecraft.

OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter (OLA)

This instrument will provide a 3-D map of asteroid Bennu’s shape, which will allow scientists to understand the context of the asteroid’s geography and the sample location.

OSIRIS-REx Thermal Emission Spectrometer (OTES)

The OTES instrument will conduct surveys to map mineral and chemical abundances and will take the asteroid Bennu’s temperature.

OSIRIS-REx Visible and Infrared Spectrometer (OVIRS)

This instrument will measure visible and near infrared light from the asteroid. These observations could be used to identify water and organic materials.

Regolith X-Ray Imaging Spectrometer (REXIS)

REXIS can image X-ray emission from Bennu in order to provide an elemental abundance map of the asteroid’s surface.

Touch-and-Go Sample Arm Mechanism (TAGSAM)

This part of the spacecraft will be responsible for collecting a sample from Bennu’s surface.

Watch Launch and More!

OSIRIS-REx Talk Wednesday, Sept. 7 at noon EDT Join us for a discussion with representatives from the mission’s science and engineering teams. This talk will include an overview of the spacecraft and the science behind the mission.  Social media followers can ask questions during this event by using #askNASA. Watch HERE. 

Uncovering the Secrets of Asteroids Wednesday, Sept. 7 at 1 p.m. EDT During this panel, our scientists will discuss asteroids, how they relate to the origins of our solar system and the search for life beyond Earth. Social media followers can ask questions during this event by using #askNASA. Watch HERE. 

LAUNCH COVERAGE!

Thursday, Sept. 8 starting at 4:30 p.m. EDT

Watch the liftoff of the United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:05 p.m. 

Full coverage is available online starting at 4:30 p.m. Watch

HERE

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We will also stream the liftoff on Facebook Live starting at 6:45 p.m. EDT. Watch

HERE

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

Science Knowledge Quiz

Who developed the polio vaccine? Does water boil at different temperatures based on altitude? Which is the hottest of Earth’s three layers? Take our science quiz and see how you compare with Americans overall.

Just 6% of Americans got a perfect score. Will you?

How astronauts train underwater in NASA’s neutral buoyancy lab, which includes a full sized mock-up of the ISS.

DARPA wants your crazy robot pitches

Patricia Cowings (b. 1948) is an aerospace psychophysiologist, and the first African American woman trained as an astronaut by NASA. She conducted important research over many years at the NASA Ames Research Center in the fields of psychology and physiology.

Her research allowed cosmonauts to learn voluntary self-control to bodily responses, and cure motion sickness in space. She has trained space crews and helped improve their performance and wellbeing during missions. She has received several awards for her contributions to technology and development.

This time in 2009, a bat hitched a ride on the space shuttle Discovery

Never forget the Batstronaut.

On 15 March 2009, when the space shuttle Discovery was about to launch into orbit, a wounded bat grabbed ahold of its fuel tank to become an officially recognised stowaway, despite safeguards that are supposed to keep such things from happening. He was a bat pioneer hell-bent on glory, or so we choose to believe.

So what exactly happened here? The story started on a mild Sunday evening at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre, as crew members began prepping to launch the STS-119 mission. As the crew made their rounds checking for icy buildup on theDiscovery fuel tanks and whatnot, they were shocked to find a small free tail bat clinging to the tank’s foam insulation.

“Based on images and video, a wildlife expert who provides support to the centre said the small creature was a free tail bat that likely had a broken left wing and some problem with its right shoulder or wrist,” NASA explained. Unfortunately, it did not appear to be wearing a tiny spacesuit at the time.