“Here’s some of the stories trending This
Week at NASA!”
“I want to talk with you, just a little
bit today, about where I believe we can be
headed as a country when it comes to space
exploration and to Earthly benefits that come
from it.”
During an Oct. 28 keynote speech at the Center
for American Progress, in Washington, NASA
Administrator Charlie Bolden spoke about the
advancement made on the journey to Mars and
what lies ahead for future administrations
and policy makers.
“The astronaut who will take the first human
steps on Mars and the scientists who will
discover the next great breakthrough that
makes that step possible might very well be
sitting in a classroom right here in Washington,
DC.”
NASA’s recently released report “Journey
to Mars: Pioneering Next Steps in Space Exploration,”
outlines its plan to reach Mars in phases
– with technology demonstrations and research
aboard the International Space Station, followed
by hardware and procedure development in the
proving ground around the moon, before sending
humans to the Red Planet.
The Oct. 28 spacewalk outside the International
Space Station by Expedition 45 Commander Scott
Kelly and Flight Engineer Kjell Lindgren,
was the first spacewalk for both astronauts.
During the outing, they installed a thermal
cover over the station’s Alpha Magnetic
Spectrometer, began routing cables for the
future arrival of an International Docking
Adapter for commercial crew spacecraft and
lubricated components on the Canadarm2 robotic
arm.
The two go back out for another spacewalk
on Nov. 6 to reconfigure coolant lines on
the station’s structure.
A day after the spacewalk, Kelly completed
his 216th consecutive day in space – a new
record for an American astronaut – and his
second record in two weeks.
Oct. 16 was Kelly’s U.S. record 383rd cumulative
day in space.
He and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko’s
year-long mission aboard the station is providing
data on the physical and mental effects of
long duration spaceflight, as part of NASA’s
journey to Mars.
NASA’s Landing Sites/Exploration Zones Workshop
for Human Missions to the Surface of Mars
took place Oct. 27-30 at Houston’s Lunar
and Planetary Institute.
It was the agency’s first workshop to collect
ideas about locations on Mars that could potentially
provide high scientific research value and
natural resources for humans to land, live
and explore on the Red Planet.
NASA plans to use existing assets at Mars,
such as the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)
and the Odyssey spacecraft, to support the
selection process of potential landing sites
and exploration zones.
The Oct. 28 flyby of Saturn’s moon Enceladus
by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, took it a
mere 30 miles above the moon’s South Polar
Region – directly through the plume of icy
spray that comes from the global ocean beneath
the moon’s frozen surface.
This deepest-ever dive through the plume by
Cassini is expected to provide valuable scientific
data about the subsurface ocean.
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center held
the 8th Wernher von Braun Memorial Symposium
Oct. 28-29 at the University of Alabama in
Huntsville.
The event featured remarks by NASA Associate
Administrator Robert Lightfoot; Associate
Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations,
Bill Gerstenmaier; Associate Administrator
for Space Technology Steve Jurczyk; and other
agency leaders.
This year’s symposium focused on benefits,
challenges and opportunities in advancing
space activities, and recent progress in science,
engineering and technology.
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.
