A SpaceX capsule carrying four astronauts splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico near Panama City, Florida, late Tuesday.
The Crew Dragon capsule was seen as it streaked across the southeastern U.S. and made a sonic boom before it splashed into the water.
The nighttime return capped a nine-day mission that launched in a SpaceX Falcon rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and docked at the International Space Station in Earth's orbit.
The four-person crew included former NASA veteran Peggy Whitson and three paying passengers, including pilot John Shoffner and two astronauts from the Saudi Space Commission, Ali al-Qarni and Rayyanah Barnawi.
With Whitson's return, she extended her record-setting time in space. She's spent a cumulative 674 days in orbit – the most of any American or woman. She also moved into ninth overall for total duration, passing Russia's Fyodor Yurchikin.
The team conducted medical research, public outreach and more than 20 experiments, such as how low levels of gravity can produce stem cells, which have the ability to create various other types of cells, and affect human messenger RNA cells, which assist protein synthesis.
This is Axiom Space's second privately funded human mission to dock at the International Space Station. In April 2022, Axiom flew the first all-civilian mission to the International Space Station. That lasted 17 days, 15 of which were spent at the ISS.
Axiom says these flights help it to "continue to lay the groundwork" to eventually build and operate Axiom Station, which would be the world's first commercial space station.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
The Universe is around 13.8 billion years old, although the exact age remains unknown. But how do experts calculate the age? According to NASA, astronomers can calculate the age of the Universe by looking for the oldest stars, and measuring the rate of expansion of the universe and extrapolating back to the Big Bang. Since the Universe moves too slowly for us to witness it develop, scientists have developed a new way to uncover the secrets - through computer simulations.
Today's NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day is the computer simulation of our Universe as it developed throughout history. This simulation tracks gases leading from the early Universe till today. As the simulation goes on, the formation of a disk galaxy takes place. For the unaware, Disk Galaxies are formed when two or more galaxies merge, resulting in a pancake-shaped disk of stars. Our own Milky Way Galaxy is one such disk galaxy, and it will collide with the Andromeda Galaxy in the distant future, according to NASA.
The simulation was created by the IllustrisTNG project with assistance from the Max Planck Computing and Data Facility and Research Computing which is part of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences (FAS) Division of Science at Harvard University.
NASA's description
How did we get here? We know that we live on a planet orbiting a star in a galaxy, but how did all of this form? Since our universe moves too slowly to watch, faster-moving computer simulations are created to help find out. Specifically, this featured video from the IllustrisTNG collaboration tracks gas from the early universe (redshift 12) until today (redshift 0). As the simulation begins, ambient gas falls into and accumulates in a region of relatively high gravity. After a few billion years, a well-defined center materializes from a strange and fascinating cosmic dance.
Gas blobs -- some representing small satellite galaxies -- continue to fall into and become absorbed by the rotating galaxy as the present epoch is reached and the video ends. For the Milky Way Galaxy, however, big mergers may not be over -- recent evidence indicates that our large spiral disk Galaxy will collide and coalesce with the slightly larger Andromeda spiral disk galaxy in the next few billion years.
Update for 12 pm ET: The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying the Ax-2 crew successfully undocked from the International Space Station at 11:05 a.m. EDT (1505 GMT) and is headed back to Earth. You can watch their landing on Space.com, courtesy of SpaceX, at 10 pm ET (0200 GMT). The crew is scheduled to splash down in the ocean off the coast of Florida at 11:02 p.m. EDT tonight (0302 GMT on May 31). Live updates.
The four astronauts of the private Ax-2 mission are scheduled to head home to Earth today (May 30), and you can watch the action live.
The hatch between Ax-2's SpaceX Dragon capsule, named Freedom, and the International Space Station (ISS) was closed at 9:20 a.m. EDT (1320 GMT), with undocking set for 11:05 a.m. EDT (1505 GMT).
You can follow undocking live here at Space.com beginning at 10:45 a.m. EDT (1445 GMT), courtesy of NASA TV. The capsule will come back to our planet for an ocean splashdown at 11:02 p.m. EDT today (0302 GMT on May 31). You can watch Freedom's return here at Space.com, courtesy of SpaceX, beginning at about 10 p.m. EDT (0200 GMT on May 31).
The members of the International Space Station's current Expedition 69 crew welcome the four private astronauts of the Ax-2 mission to the orbiting lab on May 22, 2023. (Image credit: Axiom Space)
The private mission, which is operated by Axiom Space, is commanded by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who now works for the Houston-based company. The other crewmates are paying customer John Shoffner and Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi, both of whom are members of Saudi Arabia's first astronaut class.
The four Ax-2 astronauts helped perform more than 20 scientific experiments during their eight days aboard the orbiting lab and conducted a variety of outreach and education activities as well. Alqarni and Barnawi were particularly busy with outreach work, as Saudi Arabia views their mission as a golden opportunity to spark a love of science and engineering in the nation's youth.
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As its name suggests, Ax-2 is the second mission that Axiom Space has flown to the ISS. The first, Ax-1, sent four people up on a SpaceX Dragon in April 2022.
Axiom plans to continue flying such missions for the next few years, but it also has bigger goals in mind. The company intends to launch a handful of modules to the ISS starting in 2025. These modules will then detach from the orbiting lab in the late 2020s to become a free-flying private outpost in low Earth orbit.
SwRI contributed to new Cycle 1 JWST findings that show the plume of water escaping from Saturn's moon Enceladus extends 6,000 miles or more than 40 times the moon's size. In light of this discovery, SwRI's Dr. Christopher Glein was awarded a NASA JWST Cycle 2 allocation to study the plume as well as the icy surface of Enceladus, to better understand the potential habitability of this ocean world. Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA/Alyssa Pagan (STScI)/Geronimo Villanueva (NASA-GSFC)
Two Southwest Research Institute scientists were part of a James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) team that observed a towering plume of water vapor more than 6,000 miles long—roughly the distance from the U.S. to Japan—spewing from the surface of Saturn's moon, Enceladus. In light of this NASA JWST Cycle 1 discovery, SwRI's Dr. Christopher Glein also received a Cycle 2 allocation to study the plume as well as key chemical compounds on the surface, to better understand the potential habitability of this ocean world.
During its 13-year reconnaissance of the Saturn system, the Cassini spacecraft discovered that Enceladus has a subsurface ocean of liquid water, and Cassini analyzed samples as plumes of ice grains and water vapor erupted into space from cracks in the moon's icy surface.
"Enceladus is one of the most dynamic objects in the solar system and is a prime target in humanity's search for life beyond Earth," said Glein, a leading expert in extraterrestrial oceanography. He is a co-author of a paper recently accepted by Nature Astronomy. "In the years since NASA's Cassini spacecraft first looked at Enceladus, we never cease to be amazed by what we find is happening on this extraordinary moon."
Once again, the latest observations made with Webb's Near InfraRed Spectrograph have yielded remarkable results.
"When I was looking at the data, at first, I was thinking I had to be wrong, it was just so shocking to map a plume more than 20 times the diameter of the moon," said Geronimo Villanueva of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and lead author of the recent paper. "The plume extends far beyond what we could have imagined."
Webb's sensitivity reveals a new story about Enceladus and how it feeds the water supply for the entire system of Saturn and its rings. As Enceladus whips around the gas giant in just 33 hours, the moon spews water, leaving a halo, almost like a donut, in its wake. The plume is not only huge, but the water spreads across Saturn's dense E-ring. JWST data indicate that roughly 30 percent of the water stays in the moon's wake, while the other 70 percent escapes to supply the rest of the Saturnian system.
"The Webb observations, for the first time, are visually illustrating how the moon's water vapor plumes are playing a role in the formation of the torus," said SwRI's Dr. Silvia Protopapa, an expert in the compositional analysis of icy bodies in the solar system who was also on the Cycle 1 team. "This serves as a stunning testament to Webb's extraordinary abilities. I'm thrilled to be part of the Cycle 2 team as we initiate our search for new indications of habitability and plume activity on Enceladus."
Spurred by the incredible findings from Webb's first fleeting glimpse of Enceladus, Glein is leading the same team that will observe Enceladus again with JWST in the next year.
"We will search for specific indicators of habitability, such as organic signatures and hydrogen peroxide," Glein said. "Hydrogen peroxide is particularly interesting because it can provide much more potent sources of metabolic energy than what we previously identified. Cassini didn't give us a clear answer on the availability of such strong oxidants on Enceladus."
The new observations will provide the best remote opportunity to search for habitability indicators on the surface, by boosting the signal-to-noise ratio by up to a factor of 10 compared with Cycle 1. Understanding the time variability of plume outgassing is also important to plan for future planetary science missions that target the plume.
"Webb can serve as a bridge between Cassini and the proposed search-for-life mission, Orbilander," Glein said. "After Cycle 2, we will have a better idea if ocean samples are widely distributed over Enceladus's surface, as opposed to just near the south pole. These next observations could help us determine if Orbilander can access ocean samples near the equator, which may help us get back to Enceladus sooner."
The team's results were accepted for publication on May 17, 2023, in Nature Astronomy, and a pre-print pdf is available.
More information:
JWST molecular mapping and characterization of Enceladus' water plume feeding its torus, Nature Astronomy (2023). Preprint: psg.gsfc.nasa.gov/apps/Enceladus_JWST.pdf
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Webb telescope finds towering plume of water escaping from one of Saturn's moons (2023, May 30)
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As the universe expands, it stretches out the waves of light coming from distant galaxies. Now you can measure this stretching, or “redshift” and use it to look back in time. The new Redshift Wrangler citizen science project, hosted by Zoonverse, asks you to help astronomers peer across billions of light years using this remarkable trick to learn how galaxies form.
“In astronomy, the closest we get to operating a time machine is using telescopes to look at light traveling across the universe.” said Redshift Wrangler project lead Dr. Jeyhan Kartaltepe. “Each measurement you make will help us locate the galaxies on the timeline of cosmic history.”
The Redshift Wrangler project involves two main research tasks. Both involve “spectra”—plots that show how much power has arrived as a function of the light’s wavelength. In the first task, you’ll search for the bumps and wiggles in galaxy spectra that reveal the redshifts, and therefore distances, of galaxies. In the second, you’ll examine and check automated fits to the spectra done by computers.
Join the project here! There are hundreds of thousands of galaxy spectra to analyze. “A spectrum is worth a thousand pictures,” said Dr. Kartaltepe.
Engineering students at the University of Saskatchewan spent five years developing the cube satellite, called RADSAT-SK.
Arliss Sidloski is gearing up to see the RADSAT-SK cube satellite launch to the International Space Station. Photo taken at the Hardy Lab in the USask Engineering Building on May 29.Photo by Michelle Berg /Saskatoon StarPhoenix
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Being part of a group that developed Saskatchewan’s first homegrown satellite, now just days away from being launched into space, “fulfilled” a life goal, says one of the project managers.
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The launch is scheduled for Saturday on board the SpaceX CRS-28 rocket headed for the International Space Station. Engineering students at the University of Saskatchewan spent five years developing the cube satellite, called RADSAT-SK.
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From the space station, it will be sent into its own orbit for around one year, collecting experimental radiation data from a ground station on the U of S campus.
“Finding out as a student at (the U of S) that I could be a part of a project that would send a research satellite to space was an opportunity that fulfilled one of my life’s earliest goals,” said technical project manager Dustin Preece, who noted that the cube satellite project has been a life-changing experience for him and many others.
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Arliss Sidlowksi, a fourth-year student, said it’s been an incredible and challenging experience getting the Saskatchewan-designed, -tested and -assembled satellite up into orbit.
She said she hopes it will inspire others in Saskatchewan to see themselves working in the space industry.
The project was part of the Canadian Space Agency’s CubeSat project; 15 universities got grants to build miniature satellites to send to space.
Development on the satellite started in the spring of 2018, with around 20 engineering undergraduate students involved, according to Sean Maw, a principal investigator and chair in innovative teaching at the U of S College of Engineering.
In the years since, “the project has grown immensely,” with hundreds of students involved in some capacity, Maw said.
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Creation of the satellite is part of the Canadian Space Agency’s Canadian CubeSat Project (CCP), a program developed by the CSA to increase student interest in science, technology, engineering and math across the country.
U of S electrical and computer engineering professor Li Chen, and Ekaterina Dadachova with the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, each developed aspects of the project.
The news seems to be flying at us faster all the time. From COVID-19 updates to politics and crime and everything in between, it can be hard to keep up. With that in mind, the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox to help make sure you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe.
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Creating a quite corner will balance your mind and make your space feel more rewarding. ZARA HOME
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The way we interact with our homes, our friends, and the great outdoors, say Colin and Justin, can positively impact wellbeing
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Although the Canadian winter encouraged many of us to happily hibernate, others emerged from those dark days having struggled to create meaningful moments.
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With a little re jigging of time, however, post winter (and yes, post COVID) mental ‘weight’ can be erased…
Hit the deck
Burning calories in your own back yard counts as physical activity, and will help lift spirits and focus the mind. When engaging in a spot of garden work (lawn moving, for example, or deck or window washing) positive effects really build. So get your wellingtons on, and ‘tend’ your way to happiness.
Have a daily routine
If working from home, it’s sensible to structure a timetable – this stops your mind wandering so you don’t become ‘lost’. Plan work hours, and ensure you get quality sleep.
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We have a nightly wind-down routine – the TV is switched off an hour before retiring, and we practice deep breathing and meditation. To be honest, we feel more relaxed than ever on the domestic front.
Social moments
If COVID-19 taught us anything, it’s that communication is awesome soul food. Prior to the pandemic, we (with best intentions) oft’ missed opportunities to keep in touch with our circle. During lockdown, however, we rebuilt solid contact with our nearest and dearest via Facetime and Zoom.
Now, as the malaise – and its memory – fade, we continue to ‘distantly socialise’ with those who live far away, and still engage in digital gatherings to discuss and share opinions.
We recently ‘attended’ a Youtube music video launch, and chatted with other fans, all similarly keen to continue the ‘brighter times’ conversation.
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Banish the doom
The concept of mindfulness (‘affirmations’) can be applied to any situation, whereas meditation is usually practiced for a focussed amount of time. Search online for downloadable apps such as ‘Mindshift CBT’ (recommended by Anxiety Canada) ‘Calm’ or ‘Headspace’ – great resources for clearer thinking.
Go for a walk
Break free of the home space, by immersing in nature. Escaping the city (if even for a few hours) can tip the scales towards happiness, so open your eyes and appreciate the beauty and tranquillity that lies on your doorstep.
Eat yourself happy
Sensible diet not only makes us look healthier, it has a positive effect on wellbeing – when we look good, we feel good, huh? On a chemical level, certain foods make us feel better: chicken, turkey, fish and milk contain tryptophan, vital for metabolic functions that affect cognition and behaviour.
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Omega-3-fatty acids (in salmon, chia, or walnuts) can help moderate depression, while dark chocolate, nuts, and avocado (which contain magnesium, a nutrient that helps regulate mood) can help us relax. Visit canada.ca/foodguide for tips and recipes to help you make good decisions.
The feel good factor
Listening to music can positively impact mood, so plan your soundtrack and fill it with faves. Stories, movies – or even good news websites – can also buoy your spirit, especially when daily bulletins are so sullied by doom and gloom.
Create good ‘feels’ by offering assistance to friends and neighbours – even small gestures bolster everyone’s spirit.
The foregoing counsel isn’t about putting your head in the sand and ignoring what’s happening in the world, it’s about focusing the mind.
Don’t we all need to tip the scales, once in a while, our compasses set to personal health and happiness? Ready to face whatever comes next with a renewed sense of hope and positivity. Yes, dear readers, optimal change starts here…
Watch for Colin and Justin on Cabin Pressure and Great Canadian Cottages (Cottage Life TV) and on Cityline (Citytv). Find the Colin and Justin Collection instores across Canada. Visit www.colinandjustin.tv
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Pluto was once considered the ninth planet in the solar system
Space agency NASA routinely captures stunning images of our universe, leaving space lovers mesmerized. On Sunday, NASA shared a stunning image on Instagram taken by its New Horizons spacecraft showing a heart-shaped glacier on Pluto's surface. The heart-shaped region is known unofficially as Tombaugh Regio and is made of nitrogen and methane.
The image was captioned as ''Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Our New Horizons spacecraft captured this heart-shaped glacier. It lies on Pluto's surface, which also features mountains, cliffs, valleys, craters, and plains, thought to be made of methane and nitrogen ice ''
See the image here:
It described the image as ''Pluto's surface is marked with cracks and craters in shades of brown. The partially visible heart appears in the lower right of the small world, which is surrounded by black space.''
New Horizons launched in January 2006 and reached Pluto in July 2015, flying within 7,800 miles of its surface, and becoming the first probe to fly by Pluto and its moons. The far-traveling spacecraft also visited a distant Kuiper Belt object Ultima Thule (2014 MU69) in January 2019.
Instagram users loved the picture and shared a variety of comments. One user wrote, ''Wouahh what a great capture, thanks to New Horizon spacecraft.'' Another commented, ''For me, Pluto will always be a planet.''
A third said, ''Why is Pluto, not a plane? it literally has a heart!'' A fourth added, ''Being afar doesn't mean you aren't part of the family.''
Pluto was once considered the ninth planet in the solar system, however, it was demoted in 2006 and reclassified as a dwarf planet. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) downgraded the status of Pluto to that of a dwarf planet because it did not meet the three criteria the IAU uses to define a full-sized planet.
Pluto is slightly over 1,400 miles (2250 km) wide or about half the breadth of the United States or two-thirds the width of the Moon. With its average temperature of -387F (-232C) - Pluto's surface is coated in ice made of water, methane, and nitrogen and is believed to have a rocky core and possibly a deep ocean.
The four-person crew, commanded by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, is scheduled to spend several days conducting research, outreach, and commercial activities on the space station.
Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 1 at Māhia, New Zealand at 11:46 a.m, on May 25, 2023, carrying two TROPICS CubeSats for NASA. Credit: Rocket Lab
Final Pair of Storm-Observing CubeSats Launched
The final two CubeSats for NASA’s TROPICS mission launched from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand on May 26. The small satellites will join two other identical spacecraft that launched to orbit earlier this month.
All four will fly, as a constellation, in a unique low Earth orbit that will allow them to observe tropical cyclones, including hurricanes and typhoons, more often than what is possible with current weather satellites.
Team members from JPL test a snake robot called EELS at a ski resort in the Southern California mountains in February. Designed to sense its environment, calculate risk, travel, and gather data without real-time human input, EELS could eventually explore destinations throughout the solar system. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Although it was inspired by a desire to look for signs of life in the sub-surface ocean on Saturn’s icy moon, Enceladus, EELS is not currently part of any NASA mission.
NASA completed a crucial hot fire test of the RS-25 engine, part of a 12-test certification series for future Artemis missions. This achievement brings NASA one step closer to landing the first woman and person of color on the Moon, as well as establishing a long-term lunar presence. Credit: NASA / Stennis
Researchers created a new chemical pesticide that has lower risks of toxicity to people and animals while still being effective against parasitic worms nematodes.
Parasitic Nematodes vs. New Chemical
The most prevalent critters on farms, as well as everywhere on land, are tiny worms known as nematodes.
While some are good for the soil, others parasitize crops and cause over a hundred billion dollars in losses annually.
Pesticides cause collateral damage to other forms of life even though they can eradicate dangerous nematodes.
Researchers have now found a brand-new substance that selectively eliminates dangerous nematodes while posing considerably less of a threat to people and other animals.
Tim Geary, a parasitologist at Queen's University Belfast and McGill University who was not involved in the creation of the chemical, commented that this is special because it might provide a means of enhancing crop pest control.
Highly Toxic Pesticides
The American Phytopathological Society states that the frequently used pesticides that are known to kill nematodes have been outlawed due to their toxicity to people and wildlife.
Methyl bromide, a common chemical used to fumigate soils, started to be phased out by chemical producers in 2004 because it depletes the ozone layer on Earth.
Since then, chemical manufacturers have created several fresh, safer worm insecticides.
The most recent contender is from the University of Toronto's (U of T) lab of chemical geneticist Peter Roy.
He and his colleagues have recently examined 100,000 tiny compounds to determine whether they are capable of killing Caenorhabditis elegans, a non-pathogenic nematode.
Andrew Burns, a University of Toronto biochemical geneticist, and colleagues determine whether a chemical is harmful to other types of animals, such as fungi, insects, and mice if it is found to be toxic to C. elegans.
The team is not seeking chemicals that will kill everything, according to Burns.
Pesticides Levamisole and Selectivin
Burns became curious about a substance in 2016 that passed those tests.
Its chemical composition was similar to that of levamisole, a medication used to treat animals infected with parasitic nematodes, but the compound's effects on the worms were different.
Levamisole paralyzes them whereas selectivin, a recently discovered tiny chemical, instantly kills them.
Additional research uncovered selectivin's fatal techniques.
Once it has been absorbed by the nematode, the worm changes it using cytochrome P450 enzymes, which are found in many animals and are used to detoxify foreign compounds.
But for whatever reason, the nematode cytochrome P450 converts selectivin into a poisonous substance.
Burns theorized that selectivin would be useful for killing nematodes that reside in the soil since the soil has a lot of oxygen and Cytochrome P450, which needs oxygen to function.
According to Charles Opperman, a North Carolina State University nematologist, a new pesticide that kills the plant-parasitizing nematodes but spares the helpful nematodes might be advantageous.
He claimed that it would give growers additional options for preserving the health of their soil.
Next, the team worked with scientists from the US Department of Agriculture to test a nematode known for its bad reputation, Meloidogyne incognita, which infects a variety of crops.
The researchers found that selectivin had comparable or slightly improved nematode control in studies using greenhouse tomato plants.
Selectivin may be easier to manufacture than other nematode-targeting insecticides, which is another benefit.
The required chemical processes could be carried out without costly catalysts or extreme temperatures, instead just by using just two inexpensive solvents, Science reports.
The study by Burns, Roy, and several colleagues was published in the journal Nature.
Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 1 at Mahia, New Zealand at 11:46 a.m, May 25, 2023, carrying two TROPICS CubeSats for NASA. Credit: Rocket Lab
NASA successfully launched the final pair of satellites for its TROPICS mission from New Zealand. The four CubeSats in the mission will provide hourly updates on tropical cyclones, improving upon the current six-hour intervals, to enhance the understanding and forecasting of hurricanes and typhoons.
The final pair of NASA’s TROPICS (Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats) are in orbit after successfully launching at 11:46 p.m. EDT, May 25, (3:46 p.m. NZST Friday, May 26th), completing the constellation.
TROPICS launched aboard an Electron rocket from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 Pad B in Mahia, New Zealand. The smallsats were deployed at 12:20 am EDT on May 26. Signal for the first CubeSat was acquired at 1:16 a.m. EDT and at 2:19 a.m. for the second.
Through this mission, NASA will study tropical cyclones and aims to improve forecasting for hurricanes and typhoons.
“As a lifelong Floridian, I know firsthand how critical it is for millions of Americans to have timely and accurate forecasts for hurricanes. More intense rainfall and increased coastal flooding are devastating livelihoods and taking lives, demonstrating the importance of NASA’s cutting-edge science to help answer questions that nobody else can,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “With missions like TROPICS, NASA continues to lead the way in getting satellite data more quickly to our partners like the National Hurricane Center and Joint Typhoon Warning Center, providing vital forecasts that help our communities before, during, and after landfall.”
The NASA Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) mission is a constellation of state-of-the-science observing platforms that will measure temperature and humidity soundings and precipitation with spatial resolution comparable to current operational passive microwave sounders but with unprecedented temporal resolution (median revisit time of 50 minutes). Credit: NASA
This launch follows a previous successful TROPICS launch with two other small satellites earlier this month.
“As we move into hurricane season for 2023, TROPICS will be in position to provide unprecedented detail on these storms, helping us better understand how they form, intensify, and move across the ocean,” said Karen St. Germain, lead of NASA’s Earth Science Division. “We rely on targeted, innovative missions like this to help create a robust Earth science portfolio.”
TROPICS is a constellation of four identical CubeSats designed to observe tropical cyclones in a unique, inclined low Earth orbit over Earth’s tropics – an orbit that allows them to travel over any given storm about once an hour. Current weather tracking satellites have a timing of about once every six hours.
“We are very excited to have the four satellites launched. We expect the new observing capabilities from TROPICS will improve our understanding of tropical cyclones and our ability to predict their track and intensity,” said William Blackwell, the mission’s principal investigator at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, Massachusetts.
In addition to Blackwell, the TROPICS team includes researchers from NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and several universities and commercial partners. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is managing the launch service.
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