"Here's some of the stories trending This
Week at NASA!"
NASA's Cassini spacecraft and the agency's
Deep Space Network have yielded evidence that
a large underground ocean of water does indeed
exist on Saturn's moon Enceladus -- a theory
formulated in 2005.
Radio frequency and gravity measurements taken
as Cassini flies by the moon suggest a large,
possibly regional ocean about 6 miles deep,
situated beneath an ice shell about 19 to
25 miles thick.
Evidence of the below-ground ocean validates
the inclusion of Enceladus to the list of
possible places in our solar system to contain
microbial life.
Having completed all its main mission objectives...
NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment
Explorer or LADEE spacecraft is in the extended
phase of its mission -- orbiting a mile or
two above the surface of our moon.
LADEE is in this super-low orbit to gather
valuable clues about the moon's dust environment
and its tenuous atmosphere, known as an exosphere.
Per planning, the mission will end when LADEE
impacts the moon's surface sometime between
now and late April.
During a Women's History Month event in Northern
Virginia, NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden
spoke to members of Women in Aerospace about
the contributions women have made to the American
aerospace industry and how NASA continues
to benefit from the work of women across the
agency.
He also thanked the organization for promoting
science, technology, engineering and math,
or STEM programs and encouraged continued
support of NASA's proposed Fiscal Year 2015
budget -- to help the agency maintain its
leadership in science and aerospace technology.
Associate Administrator Robert Lightfoot also
discussed the budget --- at a meeting with
employees at Langley Research Center.
During the visit, Lightfoot and new Chief
Technologist David Miller also viewed the
hardware for the Stratospheric Aerosol and
Gas Experiment III on ISS -- or "Sage-3" experiment.
Scheduled to launch to the International Space
Station on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft in early
2015, Sage-3 will measure ozone, water vapor
and aerosols in Earth's atmosphere.
At the Spring 2014 Aeronautics and Space Engineering
Board meetings in Washington, Administrator
Bolden gave an update on NASA's big picture
activities and plans under the FY15 budget
request.
Meanwhile, several other agency officials
spoke about NASA activities in specific areas
-- including Aeronautics Research, Space Technology
and Science.
The ASEB was established in 1967 to focus
talents and energies of the engineering community
on significant aerospace policies, programs
and issues of national importance.
During an event at NASA headquarters, a group
of international students in a global fellowship
program presented studies they put together,
using satellite data and mapping technologies,
to address climate change impacts in their
regions.
Sponsored by NASA, the U.S. Agency for International
Development and the Association of American
Geographers, the My Community, Our Earth / SERVIR
program supports long-term training of young
scholars in the use of space-based observations,
to address climate change issues in developing
regions.
Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana officially
welcomed PaR Systems, Incorporated of Shoreview,
Minnesota as a new partner during an April
2 ceremony at Cape Canaveral's Hangar N facility.
NASA wants to retain the unique inventory
of nondestructive test and evaluation equipment
at the facility and the capability for current
and future mission support.
PaR Systems will operate Hangar N at its own
expense and perform nondestructive testing
and other related aerospace, marine and industrial
products services.
Partnerships between NASA and other organizations
are a key element in Kennedy's transition
from a historically government-only launch
facility to a multi-user spaceport for both
government and commercial customers.
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.
