On June 18, 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman in space and the youngest astronaut at 32. Ride logged a total of 344 hours in space between two flights on board the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1983 and 1984, and remains the youngest astronaut ever. Since Ride’s landmark flight thirty years ago, 44 more American women have become astronauts and flown to space. Ride who passed away last July was an inspiration to all who dreamed of becoming astronauts and for women interested in science. Sunday was also the 50th anniversary of the female Soviet Cosmonaut Valentina Tereskova’s three-day space flight.
 
Today’s anniversary is accompanied by milestone NASA news. This week NASA announced the 2013 Astronaut Candidate Class and for the first time ever half of the candidates are women. The eight candidates were chosen from over 6,100 applicants—-the second largest application pool in NASA history. The female astronaut candidates are Christina M. Hammock, NOAA Station Chief; Nicole Aunapu Mann, U.S. Marine Corps Major; Anne C. McClain, U.S. Army Major; and Jessica U. Meir, Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School.
 
Learn more about the 2013 Astronaut Candidate Class.

July 16, 1969, three brave men set out to make history. Instead of following the beaten path, they choose go where no one had gone before and pave a path of their own. In full knowledge of the risk and in spite of all the naysayers, they aspired to greatness.

In the words of Theodore Roosevelt:

“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those timid spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.”

Honor the courage and the ambition of the crew of Apollo 11 and tell Congress to Dare Mighty Things once again:
http://www.penny4nasa.org/take-action/

From space shuttle foam to space robots, NASA technology has made artificial limbs more dynamic, durable, and cost effective.

The original artificial limbs, also referred to as prosthetics, were made of plaster and corn starch molds. These molds were heavy and broke easily, so Harshberger Prosthetic and Orthodontic Center reached out to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) for help. MSFC and Lockheed-Martin Company were responsible for building the space shuttle’s external tank, which was covered with a foam insulation. This foam insulation protects the external tank and is lighter, stronger, and less expensive than plaster. Harshberger then began using the external tank foam to create molds for artificial limbs.

Additionally, Environmental Robots Inc. developed artificial muscle systems for use in NASA’s space robots and rovers. These artificial systems were later adapted to create more functionally dynamic artificial limbs.

The solutions NASA created for space exploration have also created solutions on Earth. Tell Congress to double NASA’s funding, so we can continue creating solutions for both.

A huge part of encouraging investments in science and technology is reaching out and empowering prospective science and engineering students. Here at Penny4NASA, we are proud to count the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) as one of our allies in the fight for space. SEDS shares our belief that the inspiration of young people is crucial to humanity’s future in space, so whenever there is an opportunity to help future scientists and engineers, we like to support it.

SEDS is currently participating in a gift-matching campaign organized by www.giveforyouth.org as a part of their “Fuel the Ambition” campaign. Through donations from supporters, SEDS can fund some of their fantastic microprojects designed to give students invaluable job skills as well as entrepreneurial and technical experience in space-related fields.

Projects range from technical challenges—like SEDS’ High Powered Rocketry Competition where college teams compete to build a rocket capable of delivering a payload to 10,000 feet—to business-related experiences where students can build communication and leadership skills relevant to their chosen STEM fields.

During the “Fuel the Ambition” campaign, Give for Youth’s partner Microsoft will be matching all donations at 50% up to $150,000 or until the campaign ends on June 18^th.  There is no better time than right now to directly support motivated students who will define the future of America’s space industry!

For a full list and to donate to projects that SEDS has created, visit the SEDS section of Give for Youth’s website: http://goo.gl/1iyCG

Remember, the deadline to have your donation matched at 50% by Microsoft is June 18^th!

How do the tiny grains of dust in the surroundings of a young star grow in size?

After decades of astronomical study, we know that planets around other stars not only exist, but are prevalent. However, we still do not fully understand how they form and there are many aspects of the formation of comets, planets, and other rocky bodies that remain a mystery to astronomers. 

The newly opened Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is the world’s most powerful observatory for studying the universe at the long-wavelength millimeter and submillimeter range of light. It’s designed to spot some the most distant, ancient galaxies known to date, and to closely study and observe the areas around young stars.

Computer models suggest that dust grains grow when they collide and stick together. However, when these bigger grains collide again at high speed, they are often smashed to pieces and sent back to square one. Even when this does not happen, the models show that the larger grains would quickly move inward because of friction between the dust and gas, thus falling onto their parent star and leaving no chance that they could grow even further.

The dust requires a region where the particles can continue to grow without the host star prematurely ending any chance of further growth. These regions has been nicknamed “dust traps,” but until ALMA, there has been no proof that these areas actually exist.

Nienke van der Marel from Leiden Observatory utilized ALMA to observe the disk in a system called Oph-IRS 48. http://www.nrao.edu/pr/2013/dusttrap/

“It’s likely that we are looking at a kind of comet factory, as the conditions are right for the particles to grow from millimeter to comet size,” said van der Marel. “The dust is not likely to form full-sized planets at this distance from the star. But in the near future, ALMA will be able to observe dust traps closer to their parent stars, where the same mechanisms are at work. Such dust traps really would be the cradles for new-born planets.”

Learn more about ALMA and “dust traps” by watching the newest video from SpaceRip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxRwfNOION4

“I think humans will reach Mars, and I would like to see it happen in my lifetime.” –Buzz Aldrin

Mars Arctic 365 is the next step in working toward human exploration of the Red Planet. Set to begin in July of 2014, the mission is a creation of the Mars Society and will be the most realistic mock Mars mission to date. Six crewmembers will spend one full year living and working in the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS), situated on Devon Island in the high-altitude Canadian Arctic. FMARS is a 25 x 27 foot cylindrical structure, simulating more similar spatial restrictions that will likely be conditions for astronauts on Mars. The crewmembers will conduct scientific research, such as field geology, and perform maintenance on their habitat and equipment (all while wearing space suits, of course).

Compared to past mock Mars missions, like Mars 500, Mars Arctic 365 will be a more precise and realistic mission simulation. As FMARS director Joe Palaia points out, “The duration, the harsh environment, actually doing the same activities as a Mars crew—this combination hasn’t been done before.” The Mars Society wants to test the crew’s ability—under all of the conditions aforementioned—to work efficiently and to make any small changes to procedures or equipment that might have otherwise been overlooked. Put simply, through learning and making modifications, Mars Arctic 365 will prepare us for the challenges (and excitement) that will accompany the first manned mission to Mars, and NASA will surely be at the forefront of such missions in the future. The best way to improve efficiency and design of the mission is to give it a test-run. 

Read more:

http://www.marssociety.org/home/press/announcements/marssocietylaunchesefforttoconductone-yearmissioninthecanadianhigharctic

 http://www.space.com/21392-mock-mars-mission-arctic.html

 Tell Congress that you support doubling funding for NASA:

http://www.penny4nasa.org/take-action/

“This is the first confirmation of sedimentary conglomerates on another planet.” - Rebecca M.E. Williams of the Planetary Science Institute.

NASA’s Curiosity rover found evidence of exposed bedrock made up of smaller fragments cemented together, commonly referred to by geologists as a sedimentary conglomerate. These rocks are the first ever found on Mars that contain streambed gravels.

“These conglomerates look amazingly like streambed deposits on Earth,” Williams added. “Most people are familiar with rounded river pebbles. Maybe you’ve picked up a smoothed, round rock to skip across the water. Seeing something so familiar on another world is exciting and also gratifying.”

The size, shape, and arrangement of the rocks discovered by Curiosity display the telltale signs of water transport through a stream that potentially stretched for a few miles and likely was ankle-deep. Sanjeev Gupta, of the London-based Imperial College, added this:

“The rounding indicates sustained flow. It occurs as pebbles hit each other multiple times. This wasn’t a one-off flow. It was sustained, certainly more than weeks or months, though we can’t say exactly how long.”

NASA plans to further explore the region where these conglomerates were located, known as the Gale Crater. This region has been identified to once have conditions that would be favorable for microbial life. 

Check out this recent 360 degree panoromic of Mars from the “eyes” of Curiosity: http://www.360cities.net/image/mars-gigapixel-panorama-curiosity-solar-days-136-149#-5.92,-3.62,42.5

Read more about the Martian sedimentary conglomerates: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/news/msl20130530f.html

HD95086 b, a newly discovered planet orbiting a young star about 300 light-years from Earth, is believed to be the lowest-mass exoplanet ever to be caught on camera.

Astronomers predict it has a mass just four to five that of Jupiter based on the exoplanet’s brightness. Its young host star - 10 to 17 million years old (compared to our own at 4.6 billion years old) - is slightly bigger than our Sun and is surrounded by a disc of debris.

Gaël Chauvin, a researcher at the Institut de Planetologie et d’Astrophysique de Grenoble in France, said “The brightness of the star gives HD 95086 b an estimated surface temperature of about 700 degrees Celsius. This is cool enough for water vapor and possibly methane to exist in its atmosphere.”

Astronomers used an adaptive optics instrument mounted on the European Southern Observatory‘s Very Large Telescope to capture an image of such a faint, distant object. This instrument allowed the scientists to boost the contrast between the exoplanet and its much brighter star, which had to be removed from the image to make the exoplanet more visible.

HD95086 b planet is 56 times farther away from its star than Earth is from the Sun.

With the various new telescopes, spacecraft, and instruments in the works, there are undoubtedly many exciting discoveries on the horizon. Combined with a doubled budget, we can hasten these discoveries and learn more about our Universe than ever before.

Read more: 

http://astronaut.com/astronomers-find-the-lightest-exoplanet-ever-caught-on-camera/

It is our human nature to ask questions and seek answers. We explore the unknown, make new discoveries, push the boundaries of our scientific limits, and then push farther. This exploration has provided great benefits to our society. When faced with the challenges of human space exploration, scientists have met the challenge and developed new technology. Some of these technologies have become spinoffs that benefit human lives, such as insulin pumps and water purification systems. We are driven to understand and exploration is an imperative.

Let’s keep exploring. Tell Congress to double NASA’s funding.