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May 2, 2021

NASA TV: SpaceX Crew-1 post-splashdown news conference, ,

SpaceX’s first operational astronaut mission for NASA, Crew-1, returned to Earth early Sunday (May 2). A post-splashdown news conference with NASA and SpaceX officials will follow at 5 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT), and you can watch it live here, courtesy of NASA TV.

After six months in space, the Crew-1 Dragon spacecraft Resilience undocked from the International Space Station on Saturday (May 1) at 8:35 p.m. EDT (0035 GMT) and splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Panama City, Florida, on Sunday at 2:56 a.m. EDT (0656 GMT). NASA will provide continuous coverage of the Crew Dragon spacecraft’s return to Earth on NASA TV.

Crew-1’s return to Earth wrapped up the Expedition 64 mission to the space station. Returning home on Resilience were NASA astronauts Victor Glover, pilot; Mike Hopkins, commander; Shannon Walker, mission specialist and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi, mission specialist. The astronauts launched to the station on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in November.

Live updates: SpaceX’s Crew-1 astronaut mission to the space station

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SpaceX’s Crew Dragon “Resilience” is pictured on the GO Navigator recovery vessel after splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico, on May 2, 2021. (Image credit: SpaceX)

Editor’s Note: This advisory was updated April 30, 2021, with new information and target dates for the return of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission.

Editor’s Note: This advisory updates the original advisory issued April 24, 2021 .

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission with NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, and Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is now targeting a return to Earth no earlier than about 2:57 a.m. EDT Sunday, May 2, in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida. The Crew Dragon spacecraft, named Resilience, is scheduled to undock from the International Space Station at 8:35 p.m. Saturday, May 1, to begin the journey home.

NASA and SpaceX decided to move Crew-1’s undocking and splashdown from Friday, April 30, and Saturday, May 1, respectively, following a review of the forecast weather conditions in the splashdown zones off the coast of Florida, which predicted wind speeds above the return criteria. Crew Dragon is in great health on the space station, and teams now forecast ideal conditions for both splashdown and recovery during the weekend.

The return to Earth – and activities leading up to the return – will air live on NASA Television, the NASA App, and the agency’s website.

This will be the first night splashdown of a U.S. crewed spacecraft since Apollo 8’s predawn return in the Pacific Ocean on Dec. 27, 1968, with NASA astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders.

Crew-1 is the first of six crewed missions NASA and SpaceX will fly as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, which worked with the U.S. aerospace industry to return launches with astronauts on American rockets and spacecraft from American soil.

The Crew Dragon will undock autonomously and depart from the space station with the capability to splashdown at one of seven targeted landing zones in the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida. Resilience also will return to Earth important and time-sensitive research. The NASA and SpaceX teams select a primary and alternate splashdown location from the seven possible landing locations about two days prior to return, factoring in weather, crew rescue, and recovery operations. Additional decision milestones take place prior to undocking, during free flight, and before Crew Dragon performs the deorbit burn.

NASA and SpaceX closely coordinate with the U.S. Coast Guard to establish a 10-nautical-mile safety zone around the expected splashdown location to ensure safety for the public and for those involved in the recovery operations, as well as the crew aboard the returning spacecraft.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 return coverage is as follows (all times are Eastern):

Saturday, May 1

6 p.m. – NASA TV coverage begins for 6:20 p.m. hatch closure

8:15 p.m. – NASA TV coverage begins for 8:35 p.m. undocking

Sunday, May 2

2:57 a.m. (approx.) – Splashdown (NASA TV will provide continuous coverage from undocking to splashdown)

5 a.m. – Return to Earth news conference at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, with the following participants:

Media wishing to participate in the Return to Earth news conference by telephone must call Johnson’s newsroom at 281-483-5111 to RSVP no later than 4 a.m. Sunday, May 2. Those following the briefing on social media may ask questions using #AskNASA.

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program has delivered on its goal of safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station from the United States through a partnership with American private industry. This partnership is changing the arc of human spaceflight history by opening access to low-Earth orbit and the International Space Station to more people, more science, and more commercial opportunities. The space station remains the springboard to NASA’s next great leap in space exploration, including future missions to the Moon and, eventually, to Mars.

Learn more about space station activities by following @space_station, and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts and the space station blog.

Learn more about splashdown locations, weather criteria, and recovery logistics, at:

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-s-spacex-crew-rescue-and-recovery/

See full mission coverage, NASA’s commercial crew blog, and more information about the mission at:

https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew

-end-

Find out what the astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station are up to by tuning in to the “ISS Live” broadcast. Hear conversations between the crew and mission controllers on Earth and watch them work inside the U.S. segment of the orbiting laboratory. When the crew is off duty, you can enjoy live views of Earth from Space. You can watch and listen in the window below, courtesy of NASA.

“Live video from the International Space Station includes internal views when the crew is on-duty and Earth views at other times. The video is accompanied by audio of conversations between the crew and Mission Control. This video is only available when the space station is in contact with the ground. During ‘loss of signal’ periods, viewers will see a blue screen.

“Since the station orbits the Earth once every 90 minutes, it experiences a sunrise or a sunset about every 45 minutes. When the station is in darkness, external camera video may appear black, but can sometimes provide spectacular views of lightning or city lights below.”

Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

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Published on May 02, 2021 02:17

SpaceX’s Crew-1 astronaut mission to the International Space Station in photos, ,

(Image credit: SpaceX)

SpaceX’s Crew-1 mission, the first operational mission of a Crew Dragon spacecraft, sent four astronauts on a round trip to the International Space Station for NASA. The mission lifted off on Nov. 14, 2020, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. It returned to Earth with a splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico on May 2, 2021. You can see the latest updates here.Here, the Crew-1 astronauts, including NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Glover and Michael Hopkins and JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi, pose in front of their Dragon capsule during crew equipment interface testing at SpaceX’s headquarters in Hawthorne, California, on Aug. 14, 2020. Click through this gallery to see more photos of the Crew-1 mission.

(Image credit: SpaceX)

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon “Resilience” splashes down in the Gulf of Mexico, south of Panama City, Florida, on May 2, 2021, at 2:56 a.m. EDT (0656 GMT).Full story: SpaceX Crew Dragon makes 1st nighttime splashdown with US astronauts since Apollo era

(Image credit: Bill Ingalls/NASA)

From left, NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Glover and Mike Hopkins, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi are seen inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon “Resilience” spacecraft on board the SpaceX GO Navigator recovery ship shortly after splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Panama City, Florida, on May 2, 2021.

(Image credit: SpaceX)

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon “Resilience” is pictured on the GO Navigator recovery vessel after splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico, on May 2, 2021.

(Image credit: Bill Ingalls/NASA)

(Image credit: Joel Kowsky/NASA)

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft are seen on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A after being rolled out overnight as preparations continue for the Crew-1 mission, on Nov. 10, 2020, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

(Image credit: SpaceX)

SpaceX’s Crew-1 astronauts, including NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Glover and Michael Hopkins and JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi, pose inside their Dragon capsule at SpaceX’s headquarters in Hawthorne, California, on July 30, 2020.

(Image credit: NASA)

NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Glover and Mike Hopkins and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi are seated in SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft during crew equipment interface training, on Aug. 14, 2020.

(Image credit: Joel Kowsky/NASA)

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi onboard, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

(Image credit: Joel Kowsky/NASA)

(Image credit: NASA)

The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft is pictured approaching the International Space Station for a docking.

(Image credit: NASA TV)

A small plush toy of “The Child” or “Baby Yoda” from the Disney Plus Star Wars series “The Mandalorian” is seen floating on board the SpaceX Crew Dragon “Resilience” as the zero-g indicator for the four Crew-1 astronauts on Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020.

(Image credit: NASA TV)

The Crew Dragon Resilience approaches the International Space Station.

(Image credit: NASA TV)

The view of Earth from space as seen by the Crew-1 astronauts on the SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience.

(Image credit: NASA TV)

Victor Glover hugs fellow NASA astronaut Kate Rubins just after floating aboard the International Space station from the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule “Resilience” early on the morning of Nov. 17, 2020.

(Image credit: NASA TV)

This screenshot shows the welcome ceremony for SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts (bottom, from left) Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins and Soichi Noguchi, who arrived at the International Space Station on the night of Nov. 16, 2020. In the back row are NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, who have been living on the orbiting lab since October 2020.

(Image credit: NASA)

The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft “Resilience” is seen docked to the Harmony module’s forward docking adapter at the International Space Station on Jan. 27, 2021, 11 days before surpassing the U.S. crewed spacecraft flight duration record held by Skylab 4 since 1974.

(Image credit: NASA)

Crew-1 astronauts Mike Hopkins, Soichi Noguchi, Shannon Walker and Victor Glover connect with Skylab 4 science pilot Ed Gibson (on screen) to mark their SpaceX Dragon “Resilience” overtaking his command module’s 84 days for the U.S. flight record.

(Image credit: NASA)

The Association of Space Explorers (ASE) arranged for the Crew-1 astronauts on the International Space Station to talk with Skylab 4 science pilot Ed Gibson on Sunday, Feb. 7, 2021.

(Image credit: NASA)

International Space Station astronauts preparing makeshift sleeping arrangements on April 7, 2021, several weeks ahead of the arrival of SpaceX’s Crew-2 mission, which brought four new crewmembers to the orbiting lab on April 24, 2021.

(Image credit: NASA TV)

The 11 astronauts and cosmonauts on the International Space Station make up the crews of Crew-1, Crew-2 and Expedition 64.

(Image credit: NASA)

Eleven occupants of the International Space Station pose for a photo inside the somewhat overcrowded orbital outpost as they await the decision on the departure of the three members of Crew-1.

(Image credit: NASA TV)

SpaceX’s Crew-1 Dragon capsule Resilience is seen in camera view from the International Space Station after undocking from the orbital lab on May 1, 2021 to return four astronauts back to Earth.
(Image credit: SpaceX) A view of the main parachutes, which deployed about three minutes before splashdown.

(Image credit: Joel Kowsky/NASA)

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket stand ready to launch NASA’s Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station. The rocket went vertical on the pad at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Cape Canaveral, Florida, early Tuesday morning (Nov. 10) after rolling out from the horizontal integration facility overnight.

(Image credit: Joel Kowsky/NASA)

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft for the Crew-1 mission are pictured on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A before being raised into a vertical position on Nov. 9, 2020, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.Full story: SpaceX Crew Dragon rolls out to pad for Crew-1 astronaut launch

(Image credit: Joel Kowsky/NASA)

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the Crew Dragon spacecraft “Resilience” on board, is seen as it is rolled out of the horizontal integration facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Nov. 9, 2020. Full story: SpaceX Crew Dragon rolls out to pad for Crew-1 astronaut launch

(Image credit: SpaceX/Twitter)

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon spacecraft on top stands ready for launch at Launch Complex 39A, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Nov. 10, 2020. SpaceX plans to launch NASA’s Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station on Nov. 14, 2020.

(Image credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky)

The four astronauts of NASA’s Crew-1 mission smile after arriving at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral on Nov. 8, 2020, for their upcoming launch. KSC director Bob Cabana (left) points to the crew, who are (from left): NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi.

(Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett)

A crew arrival event for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission was held Nov. 8, 2020, at the Launch and Landing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. From left are NASA astronaut Shannon Walker; NASA astronaut Victor Glover; Junichi Sakai, manager of the International Space Station Program at JAXA; NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine; NASA Deputy Administrator Jim Morhard; Bob Cabana, director, Kennedy Space Center; NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins, spacecraft commander; and JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi, mission specialist.

(Image credit: Joel Kowsky/NASA)

From left, JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi and NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Glover and Mike Hopkins are seen as they depart the Launch and Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, after arriving from Houston ahead of SpaceX’s Crew-1 mission, on Nov. 8, 2020.

(Image credit: Jim Bridenstine/NASA/Twitter)

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine visits the Crew-1 astronauts ahead of their Crew Dragon mission to the International Space Station, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

(Image credit: Jim Bridenstine/NASA/Twitter)

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine visits the Crew-1 astronauts ahead of their Crew Dragon mission to the International Space Station, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

(Image credit: SpaceX/Twitter)

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 rocket are pictured in the hangar at Launch Complex 39A, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ahead of the planned launch of the Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station.

(Image credit: SpaceX/Twitter)

(Image credit: Joel Kowsky/NASA)

Crew-1 astronauts (from left) Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins, and Soichi Noguchi pose for a picture as the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket rolls out of the horizontal integration facility at Launch Complex 39A with their Crew Dragon spacecraft on board, on Nov. 9, 2020.

(Image credit: Joel Kowsky/NASA)

The sun rises behind SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft, seen here on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A on Nov. 10, 2020.

(Image credit: Aubrey Gemignani/NASA)

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen just before sunrise on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Crew-1 mission, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

(Image credit: SpaceX)

The first stage of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will launch NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission arrived in Florida on July 14, 2020. The rocket was shipped from the SpaceX facility in McGregor, Texas.

(Image credit: Joel Kowsky/NASA)

(Image credit: SpaceX)

The Crew-1 astronauts visit the Crew Dragon spacecraft, by the crew, inside the SpaceX hangar at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Nov. 8, 2020.

(Image credit: NASA/SpaceX)

SpaceX’s Crew-1 Crew Dragon space capsule is seen nearly complete at the company’s Hawthorne, California facility. The spacecraft arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 18, 2020.

(Image credit: SpaceX)

The Crew Dragon spacecraft that will be used for the Crew-1 mission for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program undergoes processing inside the clean room at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, on April 30, 2020.

(Image credit: NASA)

NASA astronaut Victor Glover showcases some cornbread dressing on the International Space Station, part of the Expedition 64 crew’s Thanksgiving dinner, in a video of the astronauts’ holiday meal.

(Image credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky)

NASA’s Crew-1 astronauts pose for a photo as they prepare to head to Pad 39A for their SpaceX Crew Dragon launch on Nov. 15, 2020. They are (from left): NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins and Soichi Noguchi with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

(Image credit: Joel Kowsky/NASA)

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi is seen as he departs the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building for Launch Complex 39A with his fellow crewmates NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, and Mike Hopkins to board the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft for the Crew-1 mission launch, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

(Image credit: Joel Kowsky/NASA)

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of SpaceX, and NASA Deputy Administrator Jim Morhard wave as NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi, wearing SpaceX spacesuits, wave as they prepare to depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building for Launch Complex 39A to board the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft for the Crew-1 mission launch, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

(Image credit: Joel Kowsky/NASA)

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi, wearing a SpaceX spacesuit, is seen as he prepare to depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building with his fellow crewmates NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins, and Shannon Walker for Launch Complex 39A to board the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft for the Crew-1 mission launch, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

(Image credit: Joel Kowsky/NASA)

NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi, wearing SpaceX spacesuits, are seen as they prepare to depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building for Launch Complex 39A during a dress rehearsal prior to the Crew-1 mission launch, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

(Image credit: Soichi Noguchi/Twitter)

The Crew-1 astronauts pose for a photo in the crew access arm at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

(Image credit: Joel Kowsky/NASA)

NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, center, Shannon Walker left, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi, right, wearing SpaceX spacesuits, are seen as they prepare to depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building along with fellow crewmate NASA astronaut Victor Glover for Launch Complex 39A to board the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft for the Crew-1 mission launch, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

(Image credit: NASA)

From left to right, NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Glover and Michael Hopkins and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi. The four will launch to the International Space Station on SpaceX’s Crew-1 mission.

(Image credit: SpaceX)

SpaceX’s Crew-1 mission patch includes icons for the past NASA human spaceflight programs but omits the astronauts’ names and national flags, such that it represents more than the crew.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

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Published on May 02, 2021 01:40

Watch live @ 5 am ET: SpaceX Crew-1 post-splashdown news conference, ,

Live updates: SpaceX’s Crew-1 astronaut mission to the space station

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SpaceX’s Crew Dragon “Resilience” is pictured on the GO Navigator recovery vessel after splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico, on May 2, 2021. (Image credit: SpaceX)

Editor’s Note: This advisory was updated April 30, 2021, with new information and target dates for the return of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission.

Editor’s Note: This advisory updates the original advisory issued April 24, 2021 .

The return to Earth – and activities leading up to the return – will air live on NASA Television, the NASA App, and the agency’s website.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 return coverage is as follows (all times are Eastern):

Saturday, May 1

6 p.m. – NASA TV coverage begins for 6:20 p.m. hatch closure

8:15 p.m. – NASA TV coverage begins for 8:35 p.m. undocking

Sunday, May 2

2:57 a.m. (approx.) – Splashdown (NASA TV will provide continuous coverage from undocking to splashdown)

5 a.m. – Return to Earth news conference at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, with the following participants:

Learn more about space station activities by following @space_station, and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts and the space station blog.

Learn more about splashdown locations, weather criteria, and recovery logistics, at:

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-s-spacex-crew-rescue-and-recovery/

See full mission coverage, NASA’s commercial crew blog, and more information about the mission at:

https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew

-end-

Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

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Published on May 02, 2021 01:12

SpaceX Crew Dragon makes 1st nighttime splashdown with US astronauts since Apollo era, ,

A SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying four astronauts returned to Earth early Sunday (May 2) with an ocean splashdown off the Florida coast, successfully completing the company’s first full-fledged crewed mission to the International Space Station.

The astronauts of SpaceX’s Crew-1 mission for NASA splashed down safely in the Gulf of Mexico near Panama City at 2:56 a.m. EDT (0656 GMT), with a recovery ship swiftly retrieving their Crew Dragon capsule from the sea. The spacecraft landed on target, marking the first nighttime splashdown of a U.S. crewed flight in 53 years. The last was NASA’s Apollo 8 moon mission on Dec. 27, 1968.

“Dragon, on behalf of NASA and SpaceX teams, we welcome you back to planet Earth and thanks for flying SpaceX. For those of you enrolled in our frequent flier program, you’ve earned 68 million miles [109 million kilometers] on this voyage,” a SpaceX crew operations and resources engineer told the Crew-1 astronauts after splashdown.

“It is good to be back on planet Earth,” replied NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins, commander of the Crew-1 mission. “We’ll take those miles. Are they transferable?”

Live updates: SpaceX’s Crew-1 astronaut mission to the space station

The capsule left the space station on late Saturday (May 1) after bad weather at the mission’s main splashdown site twice delayed the crew’s return.

Crew-1 marked SpaceX’s second crewed flight to the space station and its first such flight to last for six months. The mission launched into orbit Nov. 15.

SpaceX’s first astronaut mission, Demo-2 in May 2020, was a two-month test flight that carried two astronauts to the station. Although SpaceX’s third crewed mission has launched already, today’s return marked only the second crewed splashdown for the program. That third flight, called Crew-2, won’t splash down until later this year.

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(Image credit: Bill Ingalls/NASA)

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(Image credit: SpaceX)

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon “Resilience” is pictured on the GO Navigator recovery vessel after splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico, on May 2, 2021.

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(Image credit: SpaceX)

A view of the main parachutes, which deployed about three minutes before splashdown.

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(Image credit: SpaceX)

Thew Crew Dragon “Resilience” bobs in the Gulf of Mexico as recovery crews head over to pull the capsule from the water.

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(Image credit: SpaceX)

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon “Resilience” is seen from the International Space Station at approximately 2:35 a.m. EDT (0635 GMT) on May 2, 2021, shortly before entering Earth’s atmosphere.

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(Image credit: NASA TV)

The Crew Dragon successfully jettisoned its trunk at 1:58 a.m. EDT (0558 GMT), and you can see the two components separate in this view from the International Space Station.

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(Image credit: SpaceX)

NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins (front) and Victor Glover (back) are pictured in the Crew Dragon Resilience as the Crew-1 mission returns to Earth, on May 2, 2021.

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(Image credit: Bill Ingalls/NASA)

A dolphin swims along with the SpaceX GO Navigator recovery ship.

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(Image credit: Bill Ingalls/NASA)

A view of the night sky off the bow of the SpaceX GO Navigator recovery ship as NASA and SpaceX support teams prepare for the landing of the SpaceX Crew Dragon “Resilience.”

This Crew-1 Dragon capsule, which astronauts nicknamed , carried Hopkins and his fellow NASA astronauts Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, as well as Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi.

The capsule splashed into the Gulf of Mexico south of Panama City, Florida, where it was soon met by SpaceX recovery crews, who had to work under a cloak of darkness.

“The vehicle is certified to land during the day or night, so there’s not an issue with the vehicle itself,” Steve Stitch, NASA’s Commercial Crew program manager, said during live NASA commentary before splashdown. “And we’ve been practicing with the recovery crews to land in day or night.”

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Stitch said SpaceX also recovered an uncrewed Dragon cargo ship from the ocean at night in January of this year. “The SpaceX crew recovered that vehicle at night, and the Crew and Cargo Dragons are pretty much identical,” he said. “So we’re well-prepared for this opportunity.”

The process went more smoothly than the Demo-2 crew recovery, in August 2020, when NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken were met by a small flotilla of private boats. This time, SpaceX and the Coast Guard refined safety procedures to ensure no civilians came too close to the capsule, just in case it leaked fuel.

Crew-1 overlapped for about a week in orbit with its successor, the four-astronaut Crew-2 mission. That crew includes NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet. The quartet will remain in orbit until the fall, when the Crew-3 mission will head to space to take their place.

SpaceX is one of two commercial companies with NASA contracts to fly astronauts in space. The other company, Boeing, is developing its Starliner crew capsule for NASA missions. That vehicle is expected to fly on a second uncrewed test flight later this year but has not yet flown astronauts.

Meanwhile, SpaceX’s Crew-3 mission for NASA will launch in the fall. The company will also launch four civilians on a private Crew Dragon mission, called Inspiration4, funded by American billionaire Jared Isaacman. That mission is scheduled to launch Sept. 15 on the Crew Dragon Resilience, the same one used by the Crew-1 astronauts, but will not visit the International Space Station.

Email Meghan Bartels at mbartels@space.com or follow her on Twitter @meghanbartels. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

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Published on May 02, 2021 00:51

May 1, 2021

SpaceX Dragon leaves space station for NASA’s 1st nighttime splashdown since 1968, ,

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX’s first long-duration astronaut mission is coming to an end, with a Crew Dragon capsule undocking from the International Space Station and headed for a splashdown off the coast of Florida early Sunday (May 2).

Strapped inside the Dragon capsule, called Resilience, are four astronauts who will make the first U.S. night water landing in more than 50 years. The crew, NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker and Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi, is wrapping up a six-month mission to the station.

The astronauts cast off from the station at 8:35 p.m. EDT (0035 GMT) on Saturday (May 1). Their Dragon spacecraft then conducted a series of short burns to back away from the space station.

“Station, thanks for your hospitality, sorry we stayed a little bit longer, see you back on Earth,” Hopkins, commander of Resilience, radioed the station’s crew after undocking. (Saturday’s Dragon departure was delayed several days due to bad weather at its splashdown site.)

Live updates: SpaceX’s Crew-1 astronaut mission to the space station

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The astronaut quartet spent six months in space as part of SpaceX’s first long-duration crewed flight, called Crew-1, which launched last November atop a Falcon 9 rocket. That flight followed on the heels of a successful test flight of a Dragon spacecraft that carried two NASA astronauts to the space station last May. That Dragon, called Endeavor, recently returned to the station on April 24, with the four Crew-2 astronauts: NASA’s Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, JAXA astronaut Ahkihiko Hoshide and European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet.

Their arrival marked the first time that two Crew Dragon vehicles were parked at the space station at the same time. It also made for cramped sleeping arrangements for the crew as NASA only has a certain number of sleeping pods for astronauts. Crew-2’s arrival brought the total number of astronauts up to 11, with a few of the astronauts sleeping wherever there was room, and even in the Dragons themselves. With Crew-1’s departure, it brings the total number of astronauts back to seven.

In photos: SpaceX’s Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station

On Dec. 27, 1968, Bill Anders, Frank Borman, and Jim Lovell of Apollo 8 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. Their flight was the first to orbit the moon and the first to make a night landing. Now, 53 years later, the Crew-1 crew will do the same, only this time they will splash down in the Gulf of Mexico.

NASA’s commercial crew program manager, Steve Stitch, explained that the recovery crews train for both daytime and nighttime landings. “The vehicle is certified to land during the day or night, so there’s not an issue with the vehicle itself,” he said during the webcast. “And we’ve been practicing with the recovery crews to land in day or night.”

Stitch explained that NASA chose to schedule the crew missions to fly in April and October to take advantage of ideal weather conditions. “The primary concern for this landing was the weather,” he said. “The forecast [for this day] was so good and so benign — that’s what’s best for the crew.”

To prepare for this and any nighttime landing, the recovery crews (as well as the astronauts) participate in training exercises under varying conditions. They also capitalized on the recent return of a Dragon cargo ship in January to be sure they were ready.

“The SpaceX crew recovered that vehicle at night, and the Crew and Cargo Dragons are pretty much identical,” Stitch said. “So we’re well-prepared for this opportunity.”

NASA and SpaceX chose to delay the crew’s return twice to wait for the ideal weather. That delay paid off as weather officials reported glass-like sea states and very calm winds.

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SpaceX’s Crew-1 Dragon Resilience is seen just after undocking from the International Space Station’s Harmony module on May 1, 2021 to begin a trip back to Earth with four astronauts aboard. (Image credit: NASA TV)

When Resilience undocked from the International Space Station, both craft were sailing 260 miles above Mali, Africa. The crew’s flight home is expected to last approximately 6.5-hours, as the Dragon spacecraft conducts a series of carefully choreographed departure burns before its final deorbit burn.

Under parachute and the cloak of darkness, Dragon will descend, touching down right on time in the Gulf of Mexico, just off the coast of Panama City, Florida. Crews were expecting ideal weather conditions, with calm seas and light winds.

The capsule is slated to splash down at 2:57 a.m. EDT (0657 GMT), and SpaceX’s fast boats will be the first on scene, arriving about 10 minutes later. The Dragon recovery ship, GO Navigator is the main recovery ship for this mission, and used its onboard recovery systems to hoist the Dragon out of the water.

Once the Dragon is safed, recovery team members will open the hatch and extract the crew. After exiting the Dragon, the crew members will be checked out by medical officials, then board a helicopter to take them back to shore before another plane will fly them back to Houston.

In addition to the four astronauts, the Dragon is hauling roughly 550-lbs. (250 kilograms) of research and supplies back to Earth.

Follow Amy Thompson on Twitter @astrogingersnap. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.

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Published on May 01, 2021 18:24

SpaceX Dragon leaves space station for NASA’s 1st nighttime crew splashdown since 1968, ,

The astronauts cast off from the station at 8:35 p.m. EDT (0035 GMT) on Saturday (May 1). Their Dragon spacecraft then conducted a series of short burns to back away from the space station.

Live updates: SpaceX’s Crew-1 astronaut mission to the space station

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In photos: SpaceX’s Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station

“The SpaceX crew recovered that vehicle at night, and the Crew and Cargo Dragons are pretty much identical,” Stitch said. “So we’re well-prepared for this opportunity.”

NASA and SpaceX chose to delay the crew’s return twice to wait for the ideal weather. That delay paid off as weather officials reported glass-like sea states and very calm winds.

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In addition to the four astronauts, the Dragon is hauling roughly 550-lbs. (250 kilograms) of research and supplies back to Earth.

Follow Amy Thompson on Twitter @astrogingersnap. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.

The post SpaceX Dragon leaves space station for NASA’s 1st nighttime crew splashdown since 1968, , appeared first on NEWDAWN Blog.

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Published on May 01, 2021 18:24

The brightest planets in May’s night sky: How to see them (and when), ,

Three planets adorn the evening sky and two in the predawn morning sky. In the evening, Mars continues to draw away from Earth and grows progressively dimmer. It now ranks with stars of the second magnitude and spends much of this month in Gemini in the general vicinity of the stars Pollux and Castor.

Meanwhile much brighter and much lower in the west-northwest sky is Venus, struggling to work its way up out of the sunset fires of evening twilight. There will be a rather close conjunction of Venus with a hairline crescent moon on May 12, a lovely sight if you can catch it. Mercury is out there too, a bit higher than Venus, though much dimmer. Yet, this will be its best evening apparition of 2021.

In the morning sky, for the third consecutive spring, we see Jupiter and Saturn together again, although unlike the previous two years, they are now slowly drawing apart. The moon will pay them a visit on the morning of May 4 and again with Saturn on the morning of the Memorial Day holiday.

In our schedule, remember that when measuring the angular separation between two celestial objects, your clenched fist held at arm’s length measures roughly 10 degrees. Here, we present a schedule below which provides some of the best planet viewing times as well directing you as to where to look to see them.

Mercury

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

Mercury — the smallest planet, has its most favorable apparition of this year for mid-northern observers this month. Except for the final week of May, this reddish planet is an easy naked-eye object at dusk; an extraordinarily good opportunity. Find a spot with a clear view to the west-northwest and start looking a half hour after sunset. The planet will get easier to see as twilight deepens. Mercury begins this month quite brilliant, shining at magnitude -1.1. But as the illuminated portion of its disk decreases, it fades by about 0.1 magnitude per day to +1.5 on May 24. If you’re at latitude 40 degrees north you’ll find Mercury at least 10 degrees high in the west-northwest sky 45 minutes after sunset from May 10 through May 22. Against the background stars, Mercury will be 16 degrees to the lower right of Aldebaran on May 1; 2 degrees south of the Pleiades (visible in binoculars) on May 3; and 8 degrees north (upper right) of Aldebaran on May 9 and May 10. On May 13, an extremely slender (4% illuminated) crescent moon appears about 3 degrees to the left of Mercury. They’re low in the west-northwest at dusk, setting before the sky is fully dark. Mercury reaches greatest elongation, 22 degrees east of the sun on May 17, and is visible in a completely dark sky. This rocky little world has faded to magnitude +0.5, and its tiny disk is only 35% lit. The planet fades rapidly in the following days, becoming too faint to observe by May 25. On May 28, dropping rapidly back toward the sun, Mercury will pass very close — just 0.4 degrees to the left — of Venus. This would have been a striking conjunction if it had happened two or three weeks earlier, when Mercury was much brighter. But it now shines at magnitude +2.2, more than 250 times dimmer than Venus and is all but impossible to see against the backdrop of the bright twilight sky even in binoculars. It will arrive at inferior conjunction with the sun on June 10th.

Venus

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

Venus — is a rather difficult sight as May begins, setting only 45 minutes after the sun for viewers at mid-northern latitudes. The planet’s visibility improves considerably during the month, however. By May 31, Venus’s altitude at sunset has increased from 8 degrees to 14 degrees and the bright world doesn’t set until about 1 hour 25 minutes after sundown. Soon after sunset on May 12, an exceptionally thin (1% illuminated) lunar crescent might be glimpsed about 1 degree to the lower left of Venus. Use binoculars to accentuate your chances of getting a view of this rather striking tableau.

Mars

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

Mars — is in Gemini, fairly high in the west at dusk, 11 degrees below Pollux and Castor. It passes 5 degrees south (lower left) of Pollux on May 31. In a telescope the Red Planet is a featureless little dot. At magnitude +1.7, it now glows only 1/53 as bright as it did last October. On May 15, Mars can be found at nightfall, sitting about 1.75 degrees to the upper left of the waxing crescent moon.

Jupiter and Saturn

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(Image credit: Starry Night)

Jupiter and Saturn are early morning objects. Check out the southeast sky on May 4 at around 4 a.m. local daylight time and you’ll see a broad isosceles triangle formed by the moon, Jupiter and Saturn. The moon-Jupiter/moon-Saturn sides measure 9 degrees, while Jupiter and Saturn are separated by 15 degrees. Jupiter is in western Aquarius, rising around 3 a.m. daylight saving time on May 1 and shortly after 1 a.m. on May 31. During the month Jupiter brightens from magnitude -2.2 to -2.4, and its disk grows 7% in apparent width at the equator. The big planet comes to western quadrature (90 degrees west of the sun) on May 21. Can you see that the planet’s western limb is slightly less illuminated than its eastern limb this month? Saturn in Capricornus rises by 2:30 a.m. local daylight time on May 1 a.m. and 12:30 a.m. on May 31. But it’s not well placed for observing until shortly before the first light of dawn; a splendid ball and rings tilted 16.8 degrees to our line of sight. On Memorial Day morning (May 31) the waning gibbous moon sits 5.5 degrees to the lower left of Saturn during the predawn hours.

Earth’s crust is way, way older than we thought, ,

Like a fine French bread, Earth would be nothing without its crust. And like a fine French wine, that crust has aged exceptionally well.

The rigid, rocky continental crust has been a feature of the planet for billions of years (though only a small percentage of today’s crust dates back that far). How many billions of years, exactly, is hard to say. To calculate the age of continents, researchers study the decay of ancient chemicals trapped in rocks — typically, in carbonate minerals recovered from the ocean. But those minerals are hard to find, and they are rarely in pristine enough condition to analyze.

Now, a team of scientists has devised a new way to date ancient chunks of crust — and according to their latest research, we’ve misjudged the age of the continents by half a billion years.

In research presented April 26 at the virtual European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly 2021 conference, the team showed that by analyzing a mineral called barite — a combination of ocean salts and barium released by volcanic ocean vents — they found evidence that Earth’s continental crust was around at least 3.7 billion years ago, much older than previous estimates.

That is a “huge” jump back in time, lead study author Desiree Roerdink, a geochemist at University of Bergen, Norway, said in a statement. “It has implications for the way that we think about how life evolved.”

Barite minerals form deep underwater, where hot, nutrient-rich water seethes out of hydrothermal vents in the seafloor. So, why are these marine rocks useful for studying continental crust? According to the researchers, continents and oceans have a long history of trading nutrients — and barites record that history extremely well.

“The composition of a piece of barite … that has been on Earth for three and a half billion years is exactly the same as it was when it actually precipitated,” Roerdink said. “It is a great recorder to look at processes on the early Earth.”

The key process here is weathering. As continents wear down naturally over time, they spill nutrients into the neighboring seas. These nutrients help foster life in the seas; a study published Feb. 11 in the journal Science found that when Earth’s continental crust stopped growing for about a billion years during Earth’s “middle age,” the evolution of life suddenly slowed down, too.

One element that continental crust leaks into the ocean is strontium. By measuring the ratio of two strontium isotopes (or versions of elements) in six different deposits of barite minerals, the researchers calculated the ages of those minerals. The minerals ranged from 3.2 billion to 3.5 billion years old, but the story doesn’t end there. From these minerals, the team also inferred how long ago the ancient continents started leaking strontium into the oceans where these barites eventually formed. This continental weathering process likely began about 3.7 billion years ago, the team concluded.

HI-SEAS crew struggle to keep up hope as relentless storms foil their ‘moonwalks’ — Commander’s report: lunar day 10, ,

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Commander Musilova leads the Selene IV crew during a moonwalk. (Image credit: Courtesy of Cameron Crowell)

Dr. Michaela Musilova is the director of Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation ( HI-SEAS ) program, which conducts analog missions to the moon and Mars for scientific research at a habitat on the volcano Mauna Loa. Currently, she is in command of the two-week Selene IV lunar mission and contributed this report to Space.com’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights .

Commander’s report for the Selene IV moon mission at HI-SEAS

Lunar day 10 (March 22, 2021)

Caught in a time loop off-planet — that’s how the Selene IV crew have been feeling throughout our lunar analog mission at HI-SEAS. Our “hope, hope some more, give up and repeat” vicious circle has been grinding our resilience down to the ground. It reminds me in many ways of the first episode, called 33, of the “Battlestar Galactica” series remake. The military ship Galactica and its civilian fleet are attacked by Cylons, an android race, every 33 minutes. After a few days of these incessant attacks, the whole fleet is exhausted and ready to give up.

In our case, evil “aliens” on the moon are using “dust machines” to create “dust storms” and force us to stay locked in our lunar habitat. The dust storms (aka fog and rainstorms in Hawaii) disappear for a few minutes to an hour, several times a day, before coming back in full force. At first, my crewmembers would wait and look out the habitat’s window in anticipation, full of hope that the dust storms may stay away long enough for us to be able to go on a moonwalk. Then, with time, looking out the window became a chore. Just like in “Battlestar Galactica,” the repetition of hope, anxiety and despair multiple times a day drained us physically and mentally.

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The so-called “dust storms” finally clear outside the HI-SEAS habitat during the Selene IV simulated mission on the moon. (Image credit: Courtesy of Cameron Crowell)

While the jury is still out whether the dust storms are caused by aliens or unusual atmospheric anomalies, it was imperative that we find a way to break our unhealthy cycle. During the day, my crewmembers would keep themselves busy with their research projects and practical “home economics” activities, as we call them. They include sewing, reorganizing our fitness equipment and testing our analog spacesuits. Some of my crew took on new projects, such as performing detailed analyses of local volcanic rocks using an electronic microscope and soil testing kits. Others decided to experiment with cooking and baking using our freeze-dried food supplies to the excitement of the whole crew.

My favorite moments together on this mission, so far, have been during our storytime around the “campfire.” Fire of any kind is not allowed inside the HI-SEAS habitat. It’s a small enclosed space, so any potential fire and chemical hazards are prohibited. Instead, we decided to put tiny electronic candles inside a habitat-made paper plant in a metallic can. As bizarre as that may sound, this fake plant-can-candle combo ended up creating the right kind of pleasant campfire atmosphere inside our lunar home. We all huddled around it, covered in blankets, and listened to each other’s personal life stories.

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All crewmembers huddle to share their personal life stories around a “campfire” at HI-SEAS (consisting of electronic candles and a paper plant in a metallic can). (Image credit: Courtesy of Michaela Musilova)

I always encourage my crewmembers to open up and tell us more about themselves so that we can get to know each other better. We can learn so much from every person’s highs and lows in life, their lessons learned and from their passions. The Selene IV crew bonded more and more with every story that was told. I was very impressed with the details that my crewmembers were willing to share, as well as how quickly they created strong bonds with one another. The level of trust that was formed between us really made us become a family on the moon, which is something I always strive to achieve as a commander.

Just when we distracted each other enough to forget about the dust storms, they disappeared. The crew was ready to go on an extravehicular activity (EVA) or moonwalk within minutes. Finally, the crew was able to explore the analog lunar terrain around the HI-SEAS habitat and I was able to give the crew geology training in the field, since I was not able to give them much hands-on training before the EVA. The whole EVA team collected geological samples and technological data for some of their research projects.

Crew Systems Engineer Bill O’Hara tested the equipment he’ll need for mapping some of the lava cave systems that we’re planning on exploring during future EVAs. Hopefully, he’ll have the opportunity to evaluate the local lava tubes for habitability purposes. Bill also completed almost all of the data collection tasks for his case study of the HI-SEAS habitat’s design and operations protocols.

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Officers Lori Waters, Cameron Crowell and Bill O’Hara collect geological samples and technological data during a moonwalk. (Image credit: Courtesy of Michaela Musilova)

In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) Mission Specialist Cameron Crowell developed a method for pulverizing the analog lunar regolith samples he collected during the EVA. It has been a challenge to find ways to do this safely in the habitat, Cameron thus had to test different methodologies until he was able to break the volcanic rocks into particles smaller than a quarter inch. That included using various items from our habitat’s waste to build a contained environment for hammering lava rocks. Cameron found that iron particles could be extracted by attaching a magnet to the outside of the metal lid of a mason jar and shaking the contents, allowing anything magnetic to stick to the lid.

The only other time my crewmembers were able to go on EVA was right when they had given up hope a couple of days later. A couple of them went to take naps or to perform a “regeneration cycle,” as they called it. The gloominess of the weather and inability to perform more EVAs had gotten to them. As it happens in life, just when they were resting the dust storms cleared and the rest of us had no other choice than to wake them up. Fortunately, being woken up on mission to go on an EVA usually leads to smiles on people’s faces, not frowns, especially as it was the first EVA for Crew Engineer Jack Bryan and Science Communication Officer Monica Parks.

Up to that point, Jack was forced to use scraps from Cameron’s experiment for his research project. That is why he was initially only able to produce a small batch of sample composite materials using in situ resources harvested by Cameron and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) habitat waste materials. Facing similar health and safety constraints as Cameron, he encountered challenges when he was trying to create the right kinds of molds for his plastic-rock composites. Jack will be focusing on improving the processing conditions and mixture ratios throughout the rest of the mission.

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The Selene IV crew examines volcanic rocks collected around the HI-SEAS habitat using an electronic microscope. (Image credit: Courtesy of Michaela Musilova)

For Monica, our confinement in the habitat and story sharing led to her collecting a lot of interesting research data. After hearing every crewmember’s life story, she found that there are many parallels and similar circumstances each of us has faced. Monica will continue having similar conversations with individuals on Earth who are not into space or in the space industry to see how they compare. She has a theory about how the two types will differ and she is looking forward to processing all of these data.

Crew Operations Officer Lori Waters found that her microgreens experiment added nutrients and flavor to dinner on the harvest days. In this confined and isolated extreme environment, the plant research undoubtedly brought a psychological and physiological boost to the crew, particularly during our low energy days. Lori’s clovers, which she is growing for the ExoLab experiment, are thriving in these conditions and showing early signs of root nodulation nine days after planting.

Commander Musilova signing off relieved that we survived the attacks of our lunar aliens. The crew is hoping that we broke our own 33-minute cycle of sorts, but you never know what the next day on the moon will bring. We’ll continue to cling to all of the hope that we can muster and hold each other’s spirits up with the endless one-liners that my crewmembers keep on dropping.

Follow Michaela Musilova on Twitter @astro_Michaela. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

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Published on May 01, 2021 04:09

Images: 10 incredible volcanoes in our solar system, ,

Volcanoes on Earth are amazing, but our planet isn’t the only world where lava has flowed. From Jupiter’s moon Io, the most volcanic place in the solar system, to Olympus Mons on Mars, check out 10 amazing volcanoes in the planets and moons of the star system we call home.

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(Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASI/USGS/University of Arizona)Doom Mons, Titan

Doom Mons, named after Mount Doom from “The Lord of the Rings”, is the highest point of a mountain range in the southern hemisphere on the moon Titan. It is thought to have grown through cryovolcanism — the steady oozing of molten water and methane ice from cracks in the crust. Mohini Fluctus, a bright lobe-shape flow at least 124 miles (200 kilometers) long, appears to emerge from the mountain and extends to the northeast.

Like everywhere across Titan’s surface, Doom Mons is constantly bombarded by various elements of the moon’s orange-tinged atmosphere, including wind, rain and snow particles composed of liquid methane and ethane, as well as hydrocarbon smog and haze. This bombardment means the volcano’s structure is constantly changing, while wind erosion may also play a role in limiting the height of its peak.

Titan orbits close to Saturn, and the tidal forces this generates can likely account for the internal heat powering Doom Mons. Some scientists have expressed bemusement why we don’t see more active cryovolcanism across Titan’s surface.

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(Image credit: NASA/JPL)Loki, Io

Prior to the launch of the Voyager mission in the 1970s, few expected to find active volcanism in the freezing parts of the solar system inhabited by the gas giants. One exception was a team led by University of California planetary scientist Stan Peale. Peale’s prophetic paper three months before the craft’s arrival at Jupiter predicted that the combined orbital forces of the gas giant and its other moons could sufficiently squeeze tiny Io, melting its interior.

However, even Peale couldn’t have envisioned what Voyager saw as it flew by. Io has more than 400 active volcanoes, making it the most violent geological world in the solar system. Its dynamic surface is fueled by an unimaginable gravitational pulling and squeezing that creates a rocky tidal bulge more than 33 feet (10 meters) high, moving constantly around the moon.

Loki is the largest of Io’s plume-spouting volcanoes. It’s a 125-mile-wide (200 kilometers) volcanic lake that erupts at regular intervals — approximately every 540 Earth days. These eruptions release 250-mile-tall (400 kilometers) jets that distribute sulfur and sulfur dioxide widely across vast areas of the surface.

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(Image credit: NASA/Lunar Orbiter 2/Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter)Marius Hills, the moon

Marius Hills is the largest volcanic dome field on the moon, containing numerous domes up to 1,640 feet (500 m) tall. The region is also home to the Marius Hills Hole, a several hundred feet wide opening of the lunar surface that provides a 260-feet-high (80 meters) window into what scientists think is an ancient lunar lava tube. Some engineers have even considered the hole’s natural shielding as a location for a future lunar base.

Until astronauts returned moon rock to Earth for analysis, there was a debate about whether our celestial companion was ever a volcanic world. Only once the moon rocks were analyzed was it confirmed that the big dark mare patches weren’t impact craters, as some had suggested, but ancient lava flows.

While the volcanism that produced Marius Hills is long gone, there are places on the lunar surface where volcanism could have been taking place in the last few hundred million years, according to SCIENCE. And if that can be proved, it is not implausible we will see lunar eruptions again in the near future.

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(Image credit: NASA)Olympus Mons, Mars

The largest volcano in the solar system, Mars‘ Olympus Mons stretches over an area equal to the state of Arizona. It is so big, if someone dropped you in the summit’s caldera crater, you would not see the crater rim because it would lie beyond the horizon. Its weight flexes the Martian lithosphere, which bends beneath it like a bowling ball on a trampoline, according to a 2020 study published in the Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research.

A shield volcano, Olympus Mons is formed by pulses of magma coming up in a column, known as a plume. In Olympus Mons, this may extend all the way down to the core mantle boundary, thousands of miles below. If Mars had plate tectonics like Earth, successive pulses from such a plume would create island chains like Hawaii as the plate moves over this superheated column. However, Mars, like Venus and Mercury, has no such process. As a result, for billions of years the Olympus Mons plume has produced relatively gentle lava flows from a single spot, each one pouring out on top of the last, steadily adding to its now vast gentle-incline topography.

The youngest lava flows on the northwestern flank of Olympus Mons are as young as 2 million years old. These are very recent in geological terms, suggesting that the mountain may still be active, though in a very quiescent and episodic fashion.

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(Image credit: NASA/JPL)Maat Mons, Venus

The highest volcano on the Venusian surface, Maat Mons confounded scientists’ expectations. It was thought that the surface pressure on Venus would prevent the formation of such steep slopes. However, recent models suggest that a sufficiently viscous Venusian lava can explain Maat Mons and other cone-shape formations. The surface pressure may even contribute to their formation, stopping erupted materials from dispersing too far from the vent.

Maat Mons and other Venusian volcanoes like it have certainly left their mark across the planet’s surface, which as a result of extensive recent lava flows averages out at a mere 750 million years old. And that process of surface renewal might well be continuing to this day.

In the 1980s the Pioneer Venus Project revealed considerable variation in the concentrations of common volcanic gases sulfur dioxide and methane in the Venusian atmosphere, according to the European Space Agency. One explanation was the recent injection of volcanic gases by volcanoes like Maat Mons, according to a paper published in Nature Geoscience.

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(Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SETI Institute)Europa’s cryogeysers

Outer solar system volcanism can take strange forms that are not found at even the most frigid Earth latitudes. In 2012 the Hubble Space Telescope detected water vapor plumes from the south pole of Jupiter’s moon Europa. These were later linked to circular domes on the surface that were thought to be erupting cryogeysers. The Hubble images suggested the plume may be 124 miles (200 kilometers) high.

Europa has long fascinated scientists due to predictions of a subsurface ocean. Flyby sampling of these volcanic plumes could help astronomers search for life in this ice-capped ocean without having to drill through the frozen surface. However, this window into the subsurface ocean may be less reliable if recent research, suggesting the plumes may originate from meltwater within Europa’s crust, is proved correct.

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(Image credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute)The tiger stripes, Enceladus

Few volcanic worlds have caused such shock, excitement, and awe as Saturn’s tiny moon Enceladus. In March 2006, the Cassini spacecraft imaged large icy jets emanating from the moon’s “tiger stripes” — a series of vast cracks that dominate its south pole region. From the stripes a vast chain of “Old Faithful” type geysers constantly erupt, sending huge amounts of watery materials into orbit around the moon’s host gas giant. The result is Saturn’s E-ring.

Cassini subsequently flew through the eruption plume and identified a water-ice composition with traces of carbon dioxide, ammonia, methane and other complex hydrocarbons. These contaminants lower the melting temperature of the icy Enceladusian crust, supporting the formation of the cryomagmas.

The presence of complex hydrocarbons in the erupted vapors point to a subsurface ocean and perhaps the type of hydrothermal vent chemistry that supports rich ecosystems on Earth’s ocean floors.

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(Image credit: Getty Images )Mount Etna, Earth

One of the most famous and active classical conical-shape volcanoes on Earth, Italy’s Mount Etna is a testament to our planet’s seemingly unique system of plate tectonics. This process is fueled by interior radioactive elements, which at the surface drive the constant pushing and diverging of a patchwork of oceanic and continental plates.

It is on top of one of these convergent plate boundaries that Etna sits, spewing out molten rock melted far below by the subduction of the water-rich African plate underneath the Eurasia plate. The introduction of water and other gas-forming volatiles into the subsurface creates more viscous magmas, resulting in an explosive volcanism only found on Earth.

Plate tectonics is a fundamental mechanism of our planet, recycling vital minerals for life between the surface and subsurface. By burying excess carbon, it also plays the role of a thermostat, keeping our climate fluctuations in check. The reasons why Earth has plate tectonics and none of the other solar system worlds do is one of the big questions in planetary science. Answering it might help us appreciate how common Earth-like conditions are among the stars.

Image 9 of 10

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(Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA)Ahuna Mons, Ceres

Volcanism can even be found within the asteroid belt in our solar system. And on Ceres, the largest object found orbiting between Mars and Jupiter, it takes an odd form.

In 2015, among a surface of cratered but relatively flat terrain, NASA’s Dawn spacecraft imaged Ahuna Mons, a 10.5-mile-long (17 kilometers), flat-topped rectangular mountain. With no signs of plate tectonics on Ceres, Ahuna Mons’ origin was pinned on an upwelling beneath the crust — possibly the closest example of cryovolcanism in the solar system.

However, the lavas were not the almost-pure water outpouring found on the surface of Jupiter and Saturn’s moons. The viscous relaxation and the mineralogy of the dome suggest that these magmas contain a lot of suspended rocky material, and Ahuna Mons has been labeled a mud volcano. Simulations predict that it is fed by a plume extending from the mantle to the dome above it, raising the possibility that Ceres’ mantle is still churning, pushing material up into Ahuna Mons and making it grow.

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(Image credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI)Wright Mons, Pluto

While Saturn and Jupiter’s moons confounded expectations that the outer solar system might provide slim pickings for volcano hunters, few held out hope of discovering further volcanic riches when NASA’s New Horizons arrived at Pluto in 2015. However, geology found a way even within the frigid backwaters of the Kuiper belt.

The tell-tale sign came from a surprisingly smooth terrain. Scientists could only identify one impact crater on Wright Mons itself, indicating that the surface (as well as some of the crust underneath) was created relatively recently. This in turn may indicate that Wright Mons was volcanically active late in Pluto’s history. The cryolavas consist of water, ammonia, and a colored component thought to be complex organic matter. The presence of ammonia appears key to the mystery, as it can act like antifreeze to melt frozen ice, and its susceptibility to destruction through ultraviolet light exposure supports the idea of recent volcanic activity.

As with Europa and Enceladus, volcanism on Pluto provides a tantalizing window into what could be an ammonia-rich water ocean beneath the icy crust.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

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Published on May 01, 2021 04:07

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Dominique Luchart's Blog

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