More than 100 scientists will participate in a field campaign involving a research vessel and two aircraft this month to verify the accuracy of data collected by NASA’s new PACE satellite: the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem mission. The process of data validation includes researchers comparing PACE data with data collected by similar, Earth-based instruments … Read more
The stars in the big Wyoming skies inspired Aaron Vigil as a child to dream big. Today, he’s a mechanical engineer working on the Solar Array Sun Shield (SASS) for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope at Goddard. Name: Aaron VigilTitle: Mechanical EngineerFormal Job Classification: Aerospace Technology, Flight StructuresOrganization: Mechanical Engineering, Engineering and Technology Directorate (Code … Read more
NASA and Blue Origin are preparing for the agency’s ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) mission, which begins on the inaugural launch of the company’s New Glenn rocket. The mission will study the solar wind’s interaction with the magnetosphere on Mars. Blue Origin is targeting no earlier than Sunday, Oct. 13, for the … Read more
Through a nonlinear path to success, research astrophysicist Tyler Parsotan discovers transformational science using Swift’s observations. Name: Tyler ParsotanFormal Job Classification: Research astrophysicistOrganization: Astroparticle Physics Laboratory (Code 661), Astrophysics Science Division, Sciences and Exploration Directorate What do you do and what is most interesting about your role here at Goddard? I help operate the Burst Alert … Read more
The primary instrument for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is a sophisticated camera that will survey the cosmos from the outskirts of our solar system all the way out to the edge of the observable universe. Called the Wide Field Instrument, it was recently delivered to the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, … Read more
Research astrophysicist Regina Caputo puzzles out how the universe works by studying the most extreme events in the cosmos. Name: Regina CaputoTitle: Research Astrophysicist Organization: Astroparticle Physics Laboratory (Code 661) What do you do and what is most interesting about your role here at Goddard? I’m a research astrophysicist in the particle astrophysics lab at Goddard. … Read more
In this clip, engineers are testing the the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope’s Deployable Aperture Cover. This component is responsible for keeping light out of the telescope barrel. It will be deployed once in orbit using a soft material attached to support booms and remains in this position throughout the observatory’s lifetime. Credit: NASA’s Goddard … Read more
NASA’s Scientific Balloon Program has kicked off its annual fall balloon campaign at the agency’s balloon launch facility in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. Eight balloon flights carrying scientific experiments and technology demonstrations are scheduled to launch from mid-August through mid-October. The flights will support 16 missions, including investigations in the fields of astrophysics, heliophysics, and … Read more
“I didn’t always grow up knowing that I was going to be working for NASA. It was just the way my life unfolded, and I couldn’t be more grateful and lucky to have this opportunity to be here. I think hiking is what really got me into my passion for wanting to have this outdoors … Read more
As astronauts and rovers explore uncharted worlds, finding new ways of navigating these bodies is essential in the absence of traditional navigation systems like GPS. Optical navigation relying on data from cameras and other sensors can help spacecraft — and in some cases, astronauts themselves — find their way in areas that would be difficult … Read more