5 Things: How Hurricanes Have Changed Puerto Rico’s Forests
5 Things: How Hurricanes Have Changed Puerto Rico’s Forests
In September 2017, Hurricanes Irma and Maria hit Puerto Rico, knocking out critical infrastructure and ransacking the island’s forests. In April and May 2018, a team of our scientists took to the air to take three-dimensional images of Puerto Rico’s forests using Goddard’s Lidar, Hyperspectral, and Thermal Imager (G-LIHT), which uses light in the form of a pulsed laser. By comparing images of the same forests taken by the team before and after the storm, scientists will be able to use those data to study how hurricanes change these important ecosystems.
Here are five ways scientists say the hurricanes have changed Puerto Rico’s forests since making landfall eight months ago:
1. The Canopy Is Bare
One word defines the post-hurricane forest canopy in El Yunque National Forest: Open.
“The trees have been stripped clean,” said NASA Goddard Earth scientist and G-LiHT co-investigator Doug Morton. He was there a year ago, months before the hurricanes would ravage the area. When he returned to the forest in April 2018 to gather measurements of trees on the ground to complement the airborne campaign’s lidar work, he could now see from the mountainside downtown San Juan, which is 45-minutes away by car.
And no canopy means no shade. “Where once maybe a few flecks of sunlight reached the forest floor, now the ground is saturated in light,” Morton said, adding that such a change could have profound consequences for the overall forest ecosystem. For example, some tree seedlings that thrive on a cool forest floor may whither now that daytime temperatures are as much as 4 degrees Celsius (7 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter than they were before the hurricane. Meanwhile, as we shall see, other plants and animals stand to benefit from such changes.
“Who are the winners and losers in this post-hurricane forest ecosystem, and how will that play out in the long run? Those are two of the key questions,” said Morton.
2. Palms Are on the Rise
One species that’s basking in all that sunlight is the Sierra Palm, said Maria Uriarte, a professor of ecology at Columbia University who has researched El Yunque National Forest for 15 years. “Before, the palms were squeezed in with the other trees in the canopy and fighting for sunlight, and now they’re up there mostly by themselves,” she said. “They’re fruiting like crazy right now.”
The secret to their survival: Biomechanics.
“The palm generally doesn’t break because it’s got a flexible stem—it’s got so much play,” Uriarte said. “For the most part, during a storm it sways back and forth and loses its fronds and has a bad hair day and then it’s back to normal.” By contrast, neighboring trees with very dense, strong wood, like the Tabonuco, were snapped in half or completely uprooted by the force of the hurricane winds.
“Palm trees are going to be a major component of the canopy of this forest for the next decade or so,” added Doug Morton. “They’ll help to facilitate recovery by providing some shade and protection as well as structure for both flora and fauna.”
3. Vines Are Creeping Opportunists
Rising noticeably from the post-Hurricane forest floor of El Yunque National Forest are woody vines called lianas. Rooted in the ground, their goal, Morton says, is to climb onto host trees and compete for sunlight at the top. That, combined with the fact that their weight tends to slow tree productivity potential, means they are literally a drag on the forest canopy. As lianas can wind their way around several trees, regions with more of these vines tend to have larger groupings of trees that get pulled down together.
“There’s some indication that vines may be more competitive in a warmer, drier, and more carbon dioxide-rich world,” Morton said. “That’s a hypothesis we’re interested in exploring.”
4. Endangered Parrot Populations Have Taken a Hit
The endangered Iguaca is the last living native parrot species of Puerto Rico. The island’s two Iguaca aviaries have reported a substantial number of deaths in the wild due to the hurricanes. In the forests of Río Abajo, in western central Puerto Rico, about 100 of the roughly 140 wild parrots survived; in El Yunque National Forest in the eastern part of the island, only three of the 53 to 56 wild parrots are known to have pulled through.
“It was a huge blow,” said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Tom White, a parrot biologist stationed at the aviary in El Yunque, which took the brunt of Hurricane Maria’s Category 5 winds. Some of the parrots died from injuries received during the storm, while others likely died from increased predation from hawks because there were no longer canopies for them to hide in. The rest succumbed to starvation. The Iguaca subsists on flowers, fruits, seeds, and leaves derived from more than 60 species—but for several months following the storm, the forest was completely defoliated.
Despite the setback, White said he’s optimistic that the Iguaca will rebound. In Río Abajo, the number of wild Iguaca are enough that they should rebound on their own; in El Yunque there are about 227 birds at the aviary—a strong number for continued breeding and eventual release into the forest once conditions improve enough. “One of their main fruit comes from the sierra palm, and they’re now flowering and starting to produce again,” White noted. “It’s probably going to take about another year for things to level out, but the forest is gritty.”
5. Lizards and Frogs: A Mixed Response
When Hurricane Maria stripped the leaves off of trees, changes in the forest microclimate instantly transformed the living conditions for lizards and frogs. Species have reacted differently to the event based on the conditions they are adapted to, said herpetologist Neftali Ríos-López, an associate professor at the University of Puerto Rico-Humacao Campus.
For example, some lizard species are naturally suited to the forest canopy, which is warmer and drier. “After the hurricane, those conditions, which were once exclusive to the canopy, have now been extended down to the forest floor,” Ríos-Lopez said. “As a result, these lizards start displacing and substituting animals that were adapted to the once cooler conditions on the forest floor.”
Likewise, among frog species the red-eyed coquí, with its resistance to temperature and humidity fluctuations and its ability to handle dehydration better than other coquí species, has benefited from the warmer, drier conditions in the forests after the storm. Traditionally a grassland species, they are expanding from the lowlands to the mid- and even high parts of the mountains, Ríos-Lopez said. “Physiologically, what was a disadvantage for that species when the whole island was forested now finds itself in a positive position.” Conversely, forest-acclimated coquí frog species have declined.
That said, as the forests recover, so will many of the species whose numbers have dwindled following the storms. “It will take many years, decades, I would guess,” Ríos-Lopez said.
Our scientists are working with partners from universities and government to use G-LiHT airborne data to inform ground research on forest and other ecosystems not only in Puerto Rico but also throughout the world. To follow their campaigns and keep up with the latest news, find them here: https://gliht.gsfc.nasa.gov.
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.
More Posts from Nasa and Others
10 Steps to Confirm a Planet Around Another Star
So you think you found an exoplanet -- a planet around another star? It’s not as simple as pointing a telescope to the sky and looking for a planet that waves back. Scientists gather many observations and carefully analyze their data before they can be even somewhat sure that they’ve discovered new worlds.
Here are 10 things to know about finding and confirming exoplanets.
This is an illustration of the different elements in our exoplanet program, including ground-based observatories, like the W. M. Keck Observatory, and space-based observatories like Hubble, Spitzer, Kepler, TESS, James Webb Space Telescope, WFIRST and future missions.
1. Pick your tool to take a look.
The vast majority of planets around other stars have been found through the transit method so far. This technique involves monitoring the amount of light that a star gives off over time, and looking for dips in brightness that may indicate an orbiting planet passing in front of the star.
We have two specialized exoplanet-hunting telescopes scanning the sky for new planets right now -- Kepler and the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) -- and they both work this way. Other methods of finding exoplanets include radial velocity (looking for a “wobble” in a star's position caused by a planet’s gravity), direct imaging (blocking the light of the star to see the planet) and microlensing (watching for events where a star passes in front of another star, and the gravity of the first star acts as a lens).
Here’s more about finding exoplanets.
2. Get the data.
To find a planet, scientists need to get data from telescopes, whether those telescopes are in space or on the ground. But telescopes don’t capture photos of planets with nametags. Instead, telescopes designed for the transit method show us how brightly thousands of stars are shining over time. TESS, which launched in April and just began collecting science data, beams its stellar observations back to Earth through our Deep Space Network, and then scientists get to work.
3. Scan the data for planets.
Researchers combing through TESS data are looking for those transit events that could indicate planets around other stars. If the star’s light lessens by the same amount on a regular basis -- for example, every 10 days -- this may indicate a planet with an orbital period (or “year”) of 10 days. The standard requirement for planet candidates from TESS is at least two transits -- that is, two equal dips in brightness from the same star.
4. Make sure the planet signature couldn’t be something else.
Not all dips in a star's brightness are caused by transiting planets. There may be another object -- such as a companion star, a group of asteroids, a cloud of dust or a failed star called a brown dwarf, that makes a regular trip around the target star. There could also be something funky going on with the telescope’s behavior, how it delivered the data, or other “artifacts” in data that just aren’t planets. Scientists must rule out all non-planet options to the best of their ability before moving forward.
5. Follow up with a second detection method.
Finding the same planet candidate using two different techniques is a strong sign that the planet exists, and is the standard for “confirming” a planet. That’s why a vast network of ground-based telescopes will be looking for the same planet candidates that TESS discovers. It is also possible that TESS will spot a planet candidate already detected by another telescope in the past. With these combined observations, the planet could then be confirmed. The first planet TESS discovered, Pi Mensae c, orbits a star previously observed with the radial-velocity method on the ground. Scientists compared the TESS data and the radial-velocity data from that star to confirm the presence of planet “c.”
Scientists using the radial-velocity detection method see a star’s wobble caused by a planet’s gravity, and can rule out other kinds of objects such as companion stars. Radial-velocity detection also allows scientists to calculate the mass of the planet.
6. …or at least another telescope.
Other space telescopes may also be used to help confirm exoplanets, characterize them and even discover additional planets around the same stars. If the planet is detected by the same method, but by two different telescopes, and has received enough scrutiny that the scientists are more than 99 percent sure it’s a planet, it is said to be “validated” instead of “confirmed.”
7. Write a paper.
After thoroughly analyzing the data, and running tests to make sure that their result still looks like the signature of a planet, scientists write a formal paper describing their findings. Using the transit method, they can also report the size of the planet. The planet’s radius is related to how much light it blocks from the star, as well as the size of the star itself. The scientists then submit the study to a journal.
8. Wait for peer review.
Scientific journals have a rigorous peer review process. This means scientific experts not involved in the study review it and make sure the findings look sound. The peer-reviewers may have questions or suggestions for the scientists. When everyone agrees on a version of the study, it gets published.
9. Publish the study.
When the study is published, scientists can officially say they have found a new planet. This may still not be the end of the story, however. For example, the TRAPPIST telescope in Chile first thought they had discovered three Earth-size planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system. When our Spitzer Space Telescope and other ground-based telescopes followed up, they found that one of the original reported planets (the original TRAPPIST-1d) did not exist, but they discovered five others --bringing the total up to seven wondrous rocky worlds.
10. Catalog and celebrate -- and look closer if you can!
Confirmed planets get added to our official catalog. So far, Kepler has sent back the biggest bounty of confirmed exoplanets of any telescope -- more than 2,600 to date. TESS, which just began its planet search, is expected to discover many thousands more. Ground-based follow-up will help determine if these planets are gaseous or rocky, and possibly more about their atmospheres. The forthcoming James Webb Space Telescope will be able to take a deeper look at the atmospheres of the most interesting TESS discoveries.
Scientists sometimes even uncover planets with the help of people like you: exoplanet K2-138 was discovered through citizen scientists in Kepler’s K2 mission data. Based on surveys so far, scientists calculate that almost every star in the Milky Way should have at least one planet. That makes billions more, waiting to be found! Stay up to date with our latest discoveries using this exoplanet counter.
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.
1,000 Days in Orbit: MAVEN’s Top 10 Discoveries at Mars
On June 17, our MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission) will celebrate 1,000 Earth days in orbit around the Red Planet.
Since its launch in November 2013 and its orbit insertion in September 2014, MAVEN has been exploring the upper atmosphere of Mars. MAVEN is bringing insight to how the sun stripped Mars of most of its atmosphere, turning a planet once possibly habitable to microbial life into a barren desert world.
Here’s a countdown of the top 10 discoveries from the mission so far:
10. Unprecedented Ultraviolet View of Mars
Revealing dynamic, previously invisible behavior, MAVEN was able to show the ultraviolet glow from the Martian atmosphere in unprecedented detail. Nightside images showed ultraviolet “nightglow” emission from nitric oxide. Nightglow is a common planetary phenomenon in which the sky faintly glows even in the complete absence of eternal light.
9. Key Features on the Loss of Atmosphere
Some particles from the solar wind are able to penetrate unexpectedly deep into the upper atmosphere, rather than being diverted around the planet by the Martian ionosphere. This penetration is allowed by chemical reactions in the ionosphere that turn the charged particles of the solar wind into neutral atoms that are then able to penetrate deeply.
8. Metal Ions
MAVEN made the first direct observations of a layer of metal ions in the Martian ionosphere, resulting from incoming interplanetary dust hitting the atmosphere. This layer is always present, but was enhanced dramatically by the close passage to Mars of Comet Siding Spring in October 2014.
7. Two New Types of Aurora
MAVEN has identified two new types of aurora, termed “diffuse” and “proton” aurora. Unlike how we think of most aurorae on Earth, these aurorae are unrelated to either a global or local magnetic field.
6. Cause of the Aurorae
These aurorae are caused by an influx of particles from the sun ejected by different types of solar storms. When particles from these storms hit the Martian atmosphere, they can also increase the rate of loss of gas to space, by a factor of ten or more.
5. Complex Interactions with Solar Wind
The interactions between the solar wind and the planet are unexpectedly complex. This results due to the lack of an intrinsic Martian magnetic field and the occurrence of small regions of magnetized crust that can affect the incoming solar wind on local and regional scales. The magnetosphere that results from the interactions varies on short timescales and is remarkably “lumpy” as a result.
4. Seasonal Hydrogen
After investigating the upper atmosphere of the Red Planet for a full Martian year, MAVEN determined that the escaping water does not always go gently into space. The spacecraft observed the full seasonal variation of hydrogen in the upper atmosphere, confirming that it varies by a factor of 10 throughout the year. The escape rate peaked when Mars was at its closest point to the sun and dropped off when the planet was farthest from the sun.
3. Gas Lost to Space
MAVEN has used measurements of the isotopes in the upper atmosphere (atoms of the same composition but having different mass) to determine how much gas has been lost through time. These measurements suggest that 2/3 or more of the gas has been lost to space.
2. Speed of Solar Wind Stripping Martian Atmosphere
MAVEN has measured the rate at which the sun and the solar wind are stripping gas from the top of the atmosphere to space today, along with details of the removal process. Extrapolation of the loss rates into the ancient past – when the solar ultraviolet light and the solar wind were more intense – indicates that large amounts of gas have been lost to space through time.
1. Martian Atmosphere Lost to Space
The Mars atmosphere has been stripped away by the sun and the solar wind over time, changing the climate from a warmer and wetter environment early in history to the cold, dry climate that we see today.
Maven will continue its observations and is now observing a second Martian year, looking at the ways that the seasonal cycles and the solar cycle affect the system.
For more information about MAVEN, visit: www.nasa.gov/maven
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com
Going the Distance... In Space
On April 17, NASA's New Horizons crossed a rare deep-space milestone – 50 astronomical units from the Sun, or 50 times farther from the Sun than Earth is. New Horizons is just the fifth spacecraft to reach this great distance, following the legendary Voyagers 1 and 2 and Pioneers 10 and 11. It’s almost 5 billion miles (7.5 billion kilometers) away; a remote region where a signal radioed from NASA's largest antennas on Earth, even traveling at the speed of light, needs seven hours to reach the far-flung spacecraft.
To celebrate reaching 50 AU, the New Horizons team compiled a list of 50 facts about the mission. Here are just a few of them; you'll find the full collection at: http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/News-Center/Fifty-Facts.php.
New Horizons is the first – and so far, only – spacecraft to visit Pluto. New Horizons sped through the Pluto system on July 14, 2015, providing a history-making close-up view of the dwarf planet and its family of five moons.
New Horizons is carrying some of the ashes of Pluto’s discoverer, Clyde Tombaugh. In 1930, the amateur astronomer spotted Pluto in a series of telescope images at Lowell Observatory in Arizona, making him the first American to discover a planet.
The “Pluto Not Yet Explored” U.S. stamp that New Horizons carries holds the Guinness World Record for the farthest traveled postage stamp. The stamp was part of a series created in 1991, when Pluto was the last unexplored planet in the solar system.
Dispatched at 36,400 miles per hour (58, 500 kilometers per hour) on January 19, 2006, New Horizons is still the fastest human-made object ever launched from Earth.
As the spacecraft flew by Jupiter’s moon Io, in February 2007, New Horizons captured the first detailed movie of a volcano erupting anywhere in the solar system except Earth.
New Horizons’ radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) – its nuclear battery – will provide enough power to keep the spacecraft operating until the late-2030s.
Measurements of the universe’s darkness using New Horizons data found that the universe is twice as bright as predicted – a major extragalactic astronomy discovery!
New Horizons’ Venetia Burney Student Dust Counter is the first student-built instrument on any NASA planetary mission – and is providing unprecedented insight into the dust environment in the outer solar system.
New Horizons is so far away, that even the positons of the stars look different than what we see from Earth. This view of an "alien sky" allowed scientists to make stereo images of the nearest stars against the background of the galaxy.
Arrokoth – the official name the mission team proposed for the Kuiper Belt object New Horizons explored in January 2019 – is a Native American term that means “sky” in the Powhatan/Algonquin language.
Stay tuned in to the latest New Horizons updates on the mission website and follow NASA Solar System on Twitter and Facebook.
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.
What Makes the Artemis Moon Mission NASA's Next Leap Forward?
When NASA astronauts return to the Moon through Artemis, they will benefit from decades of innovation, research, and technological advancements. We’ll establish long-term lunar science and exploration capabilities at the Moon and inspire a new generation of explorers—the Artemis Generation.
Meet the Space Launch System rocket, or SLS. This next-generation super heavy-lift rocket was designed to send astronauts and their cargo farther into deep space than any rocket we’ve ever built. During liftoff, SLS will produce 8.8 million pounds (4 million kg) of maximum thrust, 15 percent more than the Saturn V rocket.
SLS will launch the Orion spacecraft into deep space. Orion is the only spacecraft capable of human deep space flight and high-speed return to Earth from the vicinity of the Moon. More than just a crew module, Orion has a launch abort system to keep astronauts safe if an emergency happens during launch, and a European-built service module, which is the powerhouse that fuels and propels Orion and keeps astronauts alive with water, oxygen, power, and temperature control.
Orion and SLS will launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida with help from Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) teams. EGS operates the systems and facilities necessary to process and launch rockets and spacecraft during assembly, transport, launch, and recovery.
The knowledge we've gained while operating the International Space Station has opened new opportunities for long-term exploration of the Moon's surface. Gateway, a vital component of our Artemis plans, is a Moon-orbiting space station that will serve as a staging post for human expeditions to the lunar surface. Crewed and uncrewed landers that dock to Gateway will be able to transport crew, cargo, and scientific equipment to the surface.
Our astronauts will need a place to live and work on the lunar surface. Artemis Base Camp, our first-ever lunar science base, will include a habitat that can house multiple astronauts and a camper van-style vehicle to support long-distance missions across the Moon’s surface. Apollo astronauts could only stay on the lunar surface for a short while. But as the Artemis base camp evolves, the goal is to allow crew to stay at the lunar surface for up to two months at a time.
The Apollo Program gave humanity its first experience traveling to a foreign world. Now, America and the world are ready for the next era of space exploration. NASA plans to send the first woman and first person of color to the lunar surface and inspire the next generation of explorers.
Our next adventure starts when SLS and Orion roar off the launch pad with Artemis I. Together with commercial and international partners, NASA will establish a long-term presence on the Moon to prepare for missions to Mars. Everything we’ve learned, and everything we will discover, will prepare us to take the next giant leap: sending the first astronauts to Mars.
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!
See Why Our Researchers Explore Earth's Extreme and Remote Environments
When we talk about exploration in far-flung places, you might think of space telescopes taking images of planets outside our solar system, or astronauts floating on the International Space Station.
But did you know our researchers travel to some of Earth's most inaccessible and dangerous places, too?
Two scientists working with the ICESat-2 mission just finished a trek from the South Pole to latitude 88 south, a journey of about 450 miles. They had to travel during the Antarctic summer - the region's warmest time, with near-constant sunshine - but the trek was still over solid ice and snow.
The trip lasted 14 days, and was an important part of a process known as calibration and validation. ICESat-2 will launch this fall, and the team was taking extremely precise elevation measurements that will be used to validate those taken by the satellite.
Sometimes our research in Earth's remote regions helps us understand even farther-flung locations…like other planets.
Geologic features on Mars look very similar to islands and landforms created by volcanoes here on our home planet.
As hot jets of magma make their way to Earth's surface, they create new rocks and land - a process that may have taken place on Mars and the Moon.
In 2015, our researchers walked on newly cooled lava on the Holuhraun volcano in Iceland to take measurements of the landscape, in order to understand similar processes on other rocky bodies in our solar system.
There may not be flowing lava in the mangrove forests in Gabon, but our researchers have to brave mosquitoes and tree roots that reach up to 15-foot high as they study carbon storage in the vegetation there.
The scientists take some measurements from airplanes, but they also have to gather data from the ground in one our of planet's most pristine rainforests, climbing over and around roots that can grow taller than people. They use these measurements to create a 3-D map of the ecosystem, which helps them understand how much carbon in stored in the plants.
You can follow our treks to Earth’s most extreme locales on our Earth Expeditions blog.
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com
9 Ocean Facts You Likely Don’t Know, but Should
Earth is a place dominated by water, mainly oceans. It’s also a place our researchers study to understand life. Trillions of gallons of water flow freely across the surface of our blue-green planet. Ocean’s vibrant ecosystems impact our lives in many ways.
In celebration of World Oceans Day, here are a few things you might not know about these complex waterways.
1. Why is the ocean blue?
The way light is absorbed and scattered throughout the ocean determines which colors it takes on. Red, orange, yellow,and green light are absorbed quickly beneath the surface, leaving blue light to be scattered and reflected back. This causes us to see various blue and violet hues.
2. Want a good fishing spot?
Follow the phytoplankton! These small plant-like organisms are the beginning of the food web for most of the ocean. As phytoplankton grow and multiply, they are eaten by zooplankton, small fish and other animals. Larger animals then eat the smaller ones. The fishing industry identifies good spots by using ocean color images to locate areas rich in phytoplankton. Phytoplankton, as revealed by ocean color, frequently show scientists where ocean currents provide nutrients for plant growth.
3. The ocean is many colors.
When we look at the ocean from space, we see many different shades of blue. Using instruments that are more sensitive than the human eye, we can measure carefully the fantastic array of colors of the ocean. Different colors may reveal the presence and amount of phytoplankton, sediments and dissolved organic matter.
4. The ocean can be a dark place.
About 70 percent of the planet is ocean, with an average depth of more than 12,400 feet. Given that light doesn’t penetrate much deeper than 330 feet below the water’s surface (in the clearest water), most of our planet is in a perpetual state of darkness. Although dark, this part of the ocean still supports many forms of life, some of which are fed by sinking phytoplankton.
5. We study all aspects of ocean life.
Instruments on satellites in space, hundreds of kilometers above us, can measure many things about the sea: surface winds, sea surface temperature, water color, wave height, and height of the ocean surface.
6. In a gallon of average sea water, there is about 1/2 cup of salt.
The amount of salt varies depending on location. The Atlantic Ocean is saltier than the Pacific Ocean, for instance. Most of the salt in the ocean is the same kind of salt we put on our food: sodium chloride.
7. A single drop of sea water is teeming with life.
It will most likely have millions (yes, millions!) of bacteria and viruses, thousands of phytoplankton cells, and even some fish eggs, baby crabs, and small worms.
8. Where does Earth store freshwater?
Just 3.5 percent of Earth’s water is fresh—that is, with few salts in it. You can find Earth’s freshwater in our lakes, rivers, and streams, but don’t forget groundwater and glaciers. Over 68 percent of Earth’s freshwater is locked up in ice and glaciers. And another 30 percent is in groundwater.
9. Phytoplankton are the “lungs of the ocean”.
Just like forests are considered the “lungs of the earth”, phytoplankton is known for providing the same service in the ocean! They consume carbon dioxide, dissolved in the sunlit portion of the ocean, and produce about half of the world’s oxygen.
Want to learn more about how we study the ocean? Follow @NASAEarth on twitter.
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.
Photos of the eclipse are okay and just as neat to look at? Will NASA post to twitter. Will the Space station take photos also?
Yes, we will be posting a ton of photos and you can add to them as well! https://www.flickr.com/groups/nasa-eclipse2017/ I agree, the photos are incredibly cool!
5 Questions from a Year of Education on the International Space Station
This year, we’re celebrating a Year of Education on the Station as astronauts and former teachers Joe Acaba and Ricky Arnold have made the International Space Station their home. While aboard, they have been sharing their love of science, technology, engineering and math, along with their passion for teaching. With the Year of Education on the Station is coming to a close, here are some of the highlights from students speaking to the #TeacherOnBoard from across the country!
Why do you feel it’s important to complete Christa McAuliffe’s lessons?
“The loss of Challenger not only affected a generation of school teachers but also a generation of school children who are now adults.” Ricky’s personal mission was to bring the Challenger Mission full circle and give it a sense of closure by teaching Christa’s Lost Lessons. See some of Christa’s Lost Lessons here.
Have you ever poured water out to see what happens?
The concept of surface tension is very apparent on the space station. Fluids do not spill out, they stick to each other. Cool fact: you can drink your fluids from the palm of your hand if you wanted to! Take a look at this demonstration that talks a little more about tension.
How does your equipment stay attached to the wall?
The use of bungee cords as well as hook and loop help keep things in place in a microgravity environment. These two items can be found on the space station and on the astronaut’s clothing! Their pants often have hook and loop so they can keep things nearby if they need to be using their hands for something else.
Did being a teacher provide any advantage to being an astronaut?
Being an effective communicator and having the ability to be adaptable are great skills to have as a teacher and as an astronaut. Joe Acaba has found that these skills have assisted him in his professional development.
Since you do not use your bones and muscles as often because of microgravity, do you have to exercise? What type can you do?
The exercises that astronauts do aboard the space station help them maintain their bone density and muscle mass. They have access to resistance training through ARED (Advanced Resistive Exercise Device) which is a weight machine and for cardio, there is a bicycle and treadmill available to keep up with their physical activity.
Learn more about the Year of Education on Station.
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.
What would happen if a Black hole would be near the earth? What would be the consequences to humans?
How did you get to where you are now? and di you always know that this is where you wanted to end up?
-
annaguy8b liked this · 5 months ago -
undacaverso liked this · 1 year ago -
mymusicbias liked this · 4 years ago -
eh-well-nah liked this · 4 years ago -
homevaz liked this · 4 years ago -
neverstoplearning1999 liked this · 4 years ago -
naughtybodypillow liked this · 4 years ago -
alaynaantics liked this · 4 years ago -
thisothervan liked this · 4 years ago -
viiatrixx liked this · 5 years ago -
andxril reblogged this · 5 years ago -
andxril liked this · 5 years ago
-
ymsox liked this · 5 years ago -
tothesecondegree liked this · 5 years ago -
ididntexist liked this · 5 years ago -
gymnast101797 liked this · 5 years ago
Explore the universe and discover our home planet with the official NASA Tumblr account
1K posts