“Here’s some of the stories trending This
Week at NASA!”
During meetings and public events at the International
Astronautical Congress (IAC), Oct. 12-16 in
Jerusalem, NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden
and several other NASA officials highlighted
the agency’s recently released plan to send
astronauts to Mars in the 2030’s.
They also emphasized the need for international
partnerships and cooperation to make a mission
of this magnitude a reality, the importance
of harnessing enthusiasm for space exploration
and the need to encourage young people to
develop the skills we’ll need for the Journey
to Mars.
Oct. 16 was a record-breaking day in space
for International Space Station Commander
Scott Kelly.
It gave him 383 total days in space -- the
most cumulative days in space by a U.S. astronaut
– a record previously held by NASA’s Mike
Fincke.
Kelly will break another record on Oct. 29
– his 216th consecutive day in space -- surpassing
Michael Lopez-Alegria’s record for the single-longest
spaceflight by an American.
Kelly’s time in space as part of the one-year
mission, helps us better understand the physical
and mental effects of long duration spaceflight,
which is critical to NASA’s journey to Mars.
During an Oct. 14 flyby, NASA’s Cassini
spacecraft passed within 1,142 miles of Saturn’s
moon Enceladus to capture the first close-up
look at the plumes of icy spray situated in
the moon’s North Polar Region.
This is a prelude to an even closer flyby
on Oct. 28 when Cassini will get within 30
miles of the moon’s southern polar region
for the most accurate measurements yet of
the plumes’ composition.
Dec. 3 is the targeted launch date for the
fourth commercial resupply services mission
of Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft to the
International Space Station.
This will be the first flight of the company’s
enhanced Cygnus advanced maneuvering spacecraft,
which can deliver more than 7,700 pounds of
cargo.
The supply spacecraft is scheduled to lift
off aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas
V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station,
Florida at about 6 p.m. Eastern Time.
NASA has awarded new Venture Class Launch
Services (VCLS) contracts to three companies
-- Firefly Space Systems, Inc. of Cedar Park,
Texas, Rocket Lab USA, Inc. of Los Angeles
and Virgin Galactic LLC of Long Beach, California.
The launch vehicles developed by these companies
will be used to provide access to low-Earth
orbit for small satellites, which currently
only make it to space as secondary payloads
on other missions.
Small satellites, including CubeSats, are
playing an increasingly larger role in exploration,
technology demonstration, scientific research
and educational investigations at NASA.
Soaring temperatures and heavy traffic did
not deter some 45,000 people from attending
the recent 2-day Open House event at NASA’s
Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
JPL manages several NASA missions that have
captured the public’s attention recently.
These include the Mars Science Laboratory’s
Curiosity rover, Dawn, the first spacecraft
to visit a dwarf planet, Ceres, and the Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has found key
evidence that water does exist on present-day
Mars.
NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden helped kick-off
the 2015 Combined Federal Campaign recently
at headquarters.
Each year, donations from NASA employees make
a positive impact on the lives of others who
are less fortunate.
There is a wide choice of approved local,
national and international charities to which
employees around the agency can donate.
The campaign ends Dec. 15.
And that’s what’s up this week @NASA …
For more on these and other stories follow
us on social media and visit www.nasa.gov/twan.
