Allow Us To Reintroduce Someone ... The Name’s Perseverance. 

Labor Day reflections: the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope’s primary mirror reflects an American flag hanging overhead.⁣ ⁣ The mirror, which will collect and focus light from cosmic objects near and far, has been completed. Renamed after our first chief astronomer and "Mother of Hubble," the Roman Space Telescope will capture stunning space vistas with a field of view 100 times greater than Hubble Space Telescope images. The spacecraft will study the universe using infrared light, which human eyes can’t detect without assistance. ⁣ ⁣ This Labor Day, we thank all the people who work to advance the future for humanity.⁣ ⁣ Credit: L3Harris Technologies⁣ Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com ⁣

The James Webb Space Telescope: Art + Science Continuing to Inspire

The James Webb Space Telescope – our next infrared space observatory – will not only change what we know, but also how we think about the night sky and our place in the cosmos. This epic mission to travel back in time to look back at the first stars and galaxies has inspired artists from around the world to create art inspired by the mission.

Image Credit: Anri Demchenko

It’s been exactly two years since the opening of the first James Webb Space Telescope Art + Science exhibit at the NASA Goddard Visitor Center.  The exhibit was full of pieces created by artists who had the special opportunity to visit Goddard and view the telescope in person in late 2016. 

Online Submission Image Credit: Tina Saramaga

Since the success of the event and exhibit, the Webb project has asked its followers to share any art they have created that was inspired by the mission. They have received over 125 submissions and counting!  

Image Credit: Enrico Novelli

Online Submission Image Credit: Unni Isaksen

A selection of these submissions will be on display at NASA Goddard’s Visitor Center from now until at least the end of April 2019. The artists represented in this exhibit come not just from around the country, but from around the world, showing how art and science together can bring a love of space down to Earth.

More information about each piece in the exhibit can be found in our web gallery. Want to participate and share your own art? Tag your original art, inspired by the James Webb Space Telescope, on Twitter or Instagram with #JWSTArt, or email us through our website! For more info and rules, see: http://nasa.gov/jwstart.

Webb is the work of hands and minds from across the planet. We’re leading this international project with our partners from the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), and we’re all looking forward to its launch in 2021. Once in space, Webb will solve mysteries of our solar system, look beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probe the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it.

Learn more about the James Webb Space Telescope HERE, or follow the mission on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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What extra-curricular activities do you suggest to make the most of our time in high school for a job in NASA?

There are so many great things to get into. I regret that I worked mostly in high school and didn’t spend more time in extracurricular activities. If I could go back, I would be more active in sports because that helps with learning about teamwork and keeps you fit. Lastly, I would get involved on an academic team to keep your brain fit.

Summer Starts in the Northern Hemisphere!

Today is the first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere -- the solstice! People located in the Northern Hemisphere will have the longest day of the year today, and people located in the Southern Hemisphere will have the shortest day of the year.

The angle between the Earth’s orbit and the axis of its rotation creates our seasons, tilting each hemisphere toward the Sun during summer in that half of the Earth. This is summer in the Northern Hemisphere, and winter in the Southern Hemisphere. The other half of the year, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun, creating winter in the north and summer in the south.

Solstices happen twice per year, at the points in Earth’s orbit where this tilt is most pronounced.

These days are the longest (in the summer hemisphere) and shortest (in the winter hemisphere) of the year, and mark the change of seasons to summer and winter, respectively.

For more Earth science, follow NASA Earth on Twitter, on Facebook, or on the web.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!

What made you want to become a pilot for NASA? What’s your favorite part of this job?

In Roman mythology, the god Jupiter drew a veil of clouds around himself to hide his mischief. It was only Jupiter's wife, the goddess Juno, who could peer through the clouds and reveal Jupiter's true nature. ⁣ ⁣ Our @NASAJuno spacecraft is looking beneath the clouds of the massive gas giant, not seeking signs of misbehavior, but helping us to understand the planet's structure and history...⁣ ⁣ Now, @NASAJuno just published its first findings on the amount of water in the gas giant’s atmosphere. The Juno results estimate that at the equator, water makes up about 0.25% of the molecules in Jupiter's atmosphere — almost three times that of the Sun. An accurate total estimate of this water is critical to solving the mystery of how our solar system formed. 

The JunoCam imager aboard Juno captured this image of Jupiter's southern equatorial region on Sept. 1, 2017. The bottom image is oriented so Jupiter's poles (not visible) run left-to-right of frame.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill ⁣ ⁣

It’s Women in Engineering Day

Today, June 23 is International Women in Engineering Day. We have many talented women across NASA that contribute to our success to reach for new heights and reveal the unknown for the benefit of humankind.

Happy Int'l Women in Engr Day! Love working @nasa to plan spacewalks, train astronauts, & flight control! #INWED17 #IAmANASAEngineer #nasa pic.twitter.com/pasndXB8sS

— Grier Wilt (@grierlauren)

June 23, 2017

Hearing from them illuminates the vibrant community of dedicated women who play a vital role at the agency. These women have pushed to pursue their dreams and make a difference everyday at NASA. 

Happy International Women in Engineering Day! #INWED17 #IAmANASAEngineer pic.twitter.com/yvhhAzGUYv

— ~Alexandria~ (@DOPECHICKBEATS)

June 23, 2017

We hope that these stories will inspire girls everywhere to reach for the stars and explore the myriad of opportunities available to them through pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Proud to call these awesome @NASA_Johnson women engineers my friends! Happy Int'l Women in Engineering Day! #INWED17 #IAmANASAEngineer @NASA pic.twitter.com/qGSiR2xVFo

— Jenny On Console (@JennyOnConsole)

June 23, 2017

Join us as we celebrate the achievements of our outstanding women engineers.

Happy International Women in Engineering Day!#IAmANASAEngineer #INWED17 #INWED2017 #KSC @NASA_LSP @NASA @NASAKennedy @kelleyjoooones pic.twitter.com/RRCt75ff5g

— Laura P. Rose (@lauraprose)

June 23, 2017

Learn more and hear stories from the Women at NASA community by visiting http://women.nasa.gov.

We are the smart, incredible women of @LockheedMartin that are building @NASA_Orion at @NASAKennedy ! #INWED17 #IAmANASAEngineer pic.twitter.com/HurWOvhYIn

— Chelsea (@Queen_Of_Quarks)

June 23, 2017

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2000 vs Now: 15 Years of Humans on Space Station

Humans have been living in space aboard the International Space Station 24-7-365 since Nov. 2, 2000. That’s 15 Thanksgivings, New Years, and holiday seasons astronauts have spent away from their families. 15 years of constant support from Mission Control Houston. And 15 years of peaceful international living in space. 

In November 2000, many of us stuck on Earth wished we could join (at least temporarily) the Expedition 1 crew aboard the International Space Station. Floating effortlessly from module to module, looking down on Earth from a breathtaking height of 350 kilometers.... It's a dream come true for innumerable space lovers.

But be careful what you wish for! Living on the Space Station also means hard work, cramped quarters, and... what's that smell? Probably more outgassing from a scientific experiment or, worse yet, a crewmate.

To get a feel of how long ago that was, this is what the world looked like then vs. now:

2000: Eminem released The Real Slim Shady

Now: Scott Kelly listens to  Eminem from space as part of his “Songs of a Year In Space” Spotify playlist

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2000: Cell phones were entering the mainstream

Now: Astronauts can video chat with their friends and family from space

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2000: Tom Hanks was left alone on an island in Cast Away

Now: Matt Damon is stranded on the planet Mars in The Martian

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2000: Scott Kelly had just returned from his first spaceflight on Space Shuttle Discovery to service the Hubble Telescope

Now: Scott Kelly is spending a year aboard the International Space Station for the longest mission ever embarked upon by a U.S. astronaut. 

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2000: The Playstation 2 was released

Now: A Hololens is planned to be shipped to the space station aboard SpaceX

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2000: You were instant messaging your friends from your desktop

Now: Astronauts have access to Twitter, Facebook, Vine, Instagram and Pinterest FROM SPACE

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2000: Britney went to Mars in her “Oops!...I Did It Again” music video

Now: One Direction trains for the journey to Mars in their “Drag Me Down” music video

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2000: The International Space Station was under construction

Now: It is approximately the size of an American football field and weighs nearly 1 million pounds

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2000: Space was on the cover of Time Magazine

Now: Space is on the cover of Time Magazine

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2000: Inflatable furniture was a thing

Now: An inflatable space module is a thing

What differences do you remember from 2000? Tweet it to us at @Space_Station using #15YearsOnStation. 

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

Each year we hold a Day of Remembrance. Today, Jan. 25, we pay tribute to the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, as well as other NASA colleagues who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery. 

#NASARemembers

Learn more about the Day of Remembrance HERE. 

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

Cascading loops on the surface of the sun highlight an active region that had just rotated into view of our solar-observing spacecraft. We have observed this phenomenon numerous times, but this one was one of the longest and clearest sequences we have seen in years. 

The bright loops are actually charged particles spinning along the magnetic field lines! The action was captured in a combination of two wavelengths of extreme ultraviolet light over a period of about 20 hours. 

Take a closer look: https://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/potw/item/798

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