This image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows the dwarf galaxy NGC 4449.
ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, A. Adamo (Stockholm University) and the FEAST JWST team
President Biden has named 19 researchers who contribute to NASA’s mission as recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). These recipients are among nearly 400 federally funded researchers receiving the honor.
Established in 1996 by the National Science and Technology Council, the PECASE Award is the highest honor given by the U.S. government to scientists and engineers who are beginning their research careers. The award recognizes recipients’ potential to advance the frontiers of scientific knowledge and their commitment to community service, as demonstrated through professional leadership, education or community outreach.
“I am so impressed with these winners and what they have accomplished,” said Kate Calvin, chief scientist, NASA Headquarters in Washington. “They have made valuable contributions to NASA science and engineering, and I can’t wait to see what they do in the future.”
The following NASA recipients were nominated by the agency:
Natasha Batalha, NASA Ames Research Center, Silicon Valley, California – for transformational scientific research in the development of open-source systems for the modeling of exoplanet atmospheres and observations
Elizabeth Blaber, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York – for transformative spaceflight and ground-based space biology research
James Burns, University of Virginia, Charlottesville – for innovative research at the intersection of metallurgy, solid mechanics and chemistry
Egle Cekanaviciute, NASA Ames Research Center – for producing transformational research to enable long-duration human exploration on the Moon and Mars
Nacer Chahat, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California – for leading the innovation of spacecraft antennas that enable NASA deep space and earth science missions
Ellyn Enderlin, Boise State University, Idaho – for innovative methods to study glaciers using a wide variety of satellite datasets
David Estrada, Boise State University, Idaho – for innovative research in the areas of printed electronics for in space manufacturing and sensors for harsh environments
Burcu Gurkan, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio– for transforming contemporary approaches to energy storage and carbon capture to be safer and more economical, for applications in space and on Earth
Elliott Hawkes, University of California, Santa Barbara – for highly creative innovations in bio-inspired robotics that advance science and support NASA’s mission
John Hwang, University of California, San Diego – for innovative approach to air taxi design and key contributions to the urban air mobility industry
James Tuttle Keane, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory – for innovative and groundbreaking planetary geophysics research, and renowned planetary science illustrations
Kaitlin Kratter, University of Arizona, Tucson – for leadership in research about the formation and evolution of stellar and planetary systems beyond our own
Lyndsey McMillon-Brown, NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio – for leadership in photovoltaic research, development, and demonstrations
Debbie Senesky, Stanford University, California – for research that has made it possible to operate sensing and electronic devices in high-temperature and radiation-rich environments
Hélène Seroussi, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire – for leading the cryosphere science community in new research directions about the role of ocean circulation in the destabilization of major parts of Antarctica’s ice sheets
Timothy Smith, NASA Glenn Research Center – for achievements in materials science research, specifically in high temperature alloy innovation
Mitchell Spearrin, University of California, Los Angeles – for pioneering scientific and technological advancements in multiple areas critical to NASA’s current and future space missions including rocket propulsion, planetary entry, and sensor systems
Michelle Thompson, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana – for research in planetary science and dedication to training the next generation of STEM leaders
Mary Beth Wilhelm, NASA Ames Research Center – for achievements in science, technology, and community outreach through her work in the fields of space science and astrobiology
The PECASE awards were created to highlight the importance of science and technology for America’s future. These early career awards foster innovative developments in science and technology, increase awareness of careers in science and engineering, provide recognition to the scientific missions of participating agencies, and enhance connections between research and challenges facing the nation. For a complete list of award winners, visit:
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
AS16-116-18653 (23 April 1972) — Astronaut Charles M. Duke Jr., Apollo 16 lunar module pilot, stands at a big rock adjacent (south) to the huge “House Rock” (barely out of view at right edge). Note shadow at extreme right center where the two moon-exploring crew members of the mission sampled what they referred to as the “east-by-west split of House Rock” or the open space between this rock and “House Rock”. At their post-mission press conference, the crewmen expressed the opinion that this rock was once a part of “House Rock” which had broken away. The two sampled the big boulder seen here also. Duke has a sample bag in his hand, and a lunar surface rake leans against the large boulder. Astronaut John W. Young, commander, exposed this view with a color magazine in his 70mm Hasselblad camera. While astronauts Young and Duke descended in the Apollo 16 Lunar Module (LM) “Orion” to explore the Descartes highlands landing site on the moon, astronaut Thomas K. Mattingly II, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) “Casper” in lunar orbit.
NASA
The goals of the working group were to:
Endorse or recommend changes to H2S SMAC levels that had been proposed by the JSC Toxicology Laboratory
Review a draft H2S SMAC manuscript prepared by the JSC Toxicology Laboratory
Provide any additional insight and consideration regarding H2S toxicity that should be considered for spaceflight programs
Background
The NASA Spaceflight Human-System Standard (NASA-STD-3001) establishes that vehicle systems shall limit atmospheric contamination below established limits [V2 6050] Atmosphere Contamination Limit. The JSC Toxicology Laboratory maintains the JSC 20584 Spacecraft Maximum Allowable Concentrations for Airborne Contaminants document, which contains a table of SMAC values for a variety of chemicals including carbon monoxide, ammonia, heavy metals, and a wide range of volatile organic compounds. SMACs are documented for 1-hr, 24-hr, 7-day, 30-day, 180-day, and 1000-day time spans for each chemical, and express the maximum concentration to which spaceflight crew can be exposed for that duration.
A SMAC value for hydrogen sulfide has not previously been established since it has not been of concern in spacecraft. However, with Artemis missions returning to the moon there is a possibility that H2S could be released within spacecraft during lunar sample return, given that this compound may be a component of lunar polar ice. H2S has an intense smell of rotten eggs and therefore has a distracting psychological element. Physiologically it has been shown to be an irritant at low concentrations and in high concentrations can potentially lead to neurological effects and unconsciousness.
Hydrogen sulfide SMAC values will define safe limits for spaceflight crews on future missions and could drive new requirements for monitoring and mitigation of this chemical during spaceflight.
The proposed 1-hour, 24-hour, 7-day, 30-day, and 180-day SMAC values were deemed appropriate and were endorsed by each of the panel members.
The proposed 1000-day SMAC value is so low that the panel’s opinion is that this SMAC may not be attainable due to human-generated sources, and that these concentrations do not represent a true toxicological risk. The recommendation is to eliminate the 1000-day SMAC, or to call it a guideline.
The general SMAC calculation approach and inclusion of safety factors is logical, although some additional rationale would be justified.
Interactive and additive effects with other substances are considered negligible, particularly at these low concentrations.
Microgravity-induced physiological changes are unlikely to exacerbate hydrogen sulfide exposure at these low concentrations.
Recommendations were made with the understanding that these SMACs apply to pre-screened, healthy astronauts. For private spaceflight participants who may not be as well screened, the panel recommended individual physician attention and a review of all SMACs (including hydrogen sulfide), to identify sensitivities in certain populations (existing disease states, etc.).
Passive dosimetry technology is available and should be considered for long-term monitoring at these low concentrations.
Following consideration of the panel’s recommendation, the NASA/TM-20240000101 Exposure Limits for Hydrogen Sulfide in Spaceflight was revised and released by the JSC toxicology group in January of 2024 and is available below.
Trailer for NASA’s upcoming documentary, “Planetary Defenders,” which will take audiences inside the high-stakes world of asteroid hunting and planetary defense.
NASA is bringing the high-stakes world of planetary defense to the Sundance Film Festival, highlighting its upcoming documentary, “Planetary Defenders,” during a panel ahead of its spring 2025 premiere on the agency’s streaming service.
“We’re thrilled that NASA is attending Sundance Film Festival for the first time – a festival renowned for its innovative spirit,” said Brittany Brown, director, NASA Office of Communications Digital and Technology Division, at the agency’s Headquarters in Washington. “Our participation represents a groundbreaking opportunity for NASA to engage with the film industry and share new avenues for collaborative storytelling. By connecting with the creative minds at the festival, we aim to inspire new narratives, explore new avenues for collaborative storytelling, and ignite a renewed sense of wonder in space exploration.”
The NASA+ film explores a compelling question: How would humanity respond if we discovered an asteroid headed for Earth? Far from science fiction, “Planetary Defenders” follows real-life astronomers and other experts as they navigate the challenges of asteroid detection and safeguarding our planet from potential hazards.
“NASA is home to some of the greatest stories ever told, and NASA’s new streaming platform NASA+ is dedicated to sharing these stories to inspire the next generation,” said Rebecca Sirmons, general manager and head of NASA+. “We are honored to host a panel at this year’s Sundance Film Festival discussing our upcoming NASA+ documentary “Planetary Defenders.”
The panel, entitled “You Bet Your Asteroid: NASA Has a Story to Tell,” will start at 1:30 p.m. MST on Sunday, Jan. 26, at the Filmmaker Lodge in the Elks Building, 550 Main St., 2nd Floor, Park City, Utah. The event will include a discussion about the film followed by a Q&A session. Attendees also will have the opportunity to meet NASA experts and some of the planetary defenders themselves.
Panelists include:
Rebecca Sirmons, head of NASA+, NASA
Scott Bednar, filmmaker and director, NASA 360/National Institute of Aerospace
Jessie Wilde, filmmaker and director, NASA 360/National Institute of Aerospace
Dr. Kelly Fast, acting planetary defense officer, NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office
David Rankin, senior survey operations specialist, Catalina Sky Survey
Dr. Vishnu Reddy, professor of planetary sciences and director of the Space4 Center, University of Arizona
Media are encouraged to RSVP in advance and may request one-on-one interviews with NASA experts following the panel by contacting Karen Fox at karen.c.fox@nasa.gov.
Through NASA+, the agency is continuing its decades long tradition of sharing live events, original content, and the latest news while NASA works to improve life on Earth through innovation, exploration, and discovery for the benefit of all. The free, on-demand streaming service is available to download without a subscription on most major platforms via the NASA App on iOS and Android mobile and tablet devices, as well as streaming media players like Roku, Apple TV, and Fire TV.
To keep up with the latest news from NASA’s planetary defense program, visit:
Hubble Captures Young Stars Changing Their Environments
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the nearest star-forming region to Earth, the Orion Nebula (Messier 42, M42), located some 1,500 light-years away.
ESA/Hubble, NASA, and T. Megeath
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image peers into the dusty recesses of the nearest massive star-forming region to Earth, the Orion Nebula (Messier 42, M42). Just 1,500 light-years away, the Orion Nebula is visible to the unaided eye below the three stars that form the ‘belt’ in the constellation Orion. The nebula is home to hundreds of newborn stars including the subject of this image: the protostars HOPS 150 and HOPS 153.
These protostars get their names from the Herschel Orion Protostar Survey, conducted with ESA’s Herschel Space Observatory. The object visible in the upper-right corner of this image is HOPS 150: it’s a binary star system where two young protostars orbit each other. Each star has a small, dusty disk of material surrounding it. These stars gather material from their respective dust disks, growing in the process. The dark line that cuts across the bright glow of these protostars is a cloud of gas and dust falling in on the pair of protostars. It is over 2,000 times wider than the distance between Earth and the Sun. Based on the amount of infrared light HOPS 150 is emitting, as compared to other wavelengths it emits, the protostars are mid-way down the path to becoming mature stars.
Extending across the left side of the image is a narrow, colorful outflow called a jet. This jet comes from the nearby protostar HOPS 153, which is out of the frame. HOPS 153 is significantly younger than its neighbor. That stellar object is still deeply embedded in its birth nebula and enshrouded by a cloud of cold, dense gas. While Hubble cannot penetrate this gas to see the protostar, the jet HOPS 153 emitted is brightly and clearly visible as it plows into the surrounding gas and dust of the Orion Nebula.
The transition from tightly swaddled protostar to fully fledged star will dramatically affect HOPS 153’s surroundings. As gas falls onto the protostar, its jets spew material and energy into interstellar space, carving out bubbles and heating the gas. By stirring up and warming nearby gas, HOPS 153 may regulate the formation of new stars in its neighborhood and even slow its own growth.
NASA’s Hubble Traces Hidden History of Andromeda Galaxy
This photomosaic of the Andromeda galaxy is the largest ever assembled from Hubble observations.
Credits: NASA, ESA, Benjamin F. Williams (UWashington), Zhuo Chen (UWashington), L. Clifton Johnson (Northwestern); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)
In the years following the launch of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have tallied over 1 trillion galaxies in the universe. But only one galaxy stands out as the most important nearby stellar island to our Milky Way — the magnificent Andromeda galaxy (Messier 31). It can be seen with the naked eye on a very clear autumn night as a faint cigar-shaped object roughly the apparent angular diameter of our Moon.
A century ago, Edwin Hubble first established that this so-called “spiral nebula” was actually very far outside our own Milky Way galaxy — at a distance of approximately 2.5 million light-years or roughly 25 Milky Way diameters. Prior to that, astronomers had long thought that the Milky way encompassed the entire universe. Overnight, Hubble’s discovery turned cosmology upside down by unveiling an infinitely grander universe.
Now, a century later, the space telescope named for Hubble has accomplished the most comprehensive survey of this enticing empire of stars. The Hubble telescope is yielding new clues to the evolutionary history of Andromeda, and it looks markedly different from the Milky Way’s history.
This is largest photomosaic ever assembled from Hubble Space Telescope observations. It is a panoramic view of the neighboring Andromeda galaxy, located 2.5 million light-years away. It took over 10 years to make this vast and colorful portrait of the galaxy, requiring over 600 Hubble overlapping snapshots that were challenging to stitch together. The galaxy is so close to us, that in angular size it is six times the apparent diameter of the full Moon, and can be seen with the unaided eye. For Hubble’s pinpoint view, that’s a lot of celestial real estate to cover. This stunning, colorful mosaic captures the glow of 200 million stars. That’s still a fraction of Andromeda’s population. And the stars are spread across about 2.5 billion pixels. The detailed look at the resolved stars will help astronomers piece together the galaxy’s past history that includes mergers with smaller satellite galaxies.
NASA, ESA, Benjamin F. Williams (UWashington), Zhuo Chen (UWashington), L. Clifton Johnson (Northwestern); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)
Without Andromeda as a proxy for spiral galaxies in the universe at large, astronomers would know much less about the structure and evolution of our own Milky Way. That’s because we are embedded inside the Milky Way. This is like trying to understand the layout of New York City by standing in the middle of Central Park.
“With Hubble we can get into enormous detail about what’s happening on a holistic scale across the entire disk of the galaxy. You can’t do that with any other large galaxy,” said principal investigator Ben Williams of the University of Washington. Hubble’s sharp imaging capabilities can resolve more than 200 million stars in the Andromeda galaxy, detecting only stars brighter than our Sun. They look like grains of sand across the beach. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Andromeda’s total population is estimated to be 1 trillion stars, with many less massive stars falling below Hubble’s sensitivity limit.
Photographing Andromeda was a herculean task because the galaxy is a much bigger target on the sky than the galaxies Hubble routinely observes, which are often billions of light-years away. The full mosaic was carried out under two Hubble programs. In total, it required over 1,000 Hubble orbits, spanning more than a decade.
This is the largest photomosaic ever made by the Hubble Space Telescope. The target is the vast Andromeda galaxy that is only 2.5 million light-years from Earth, making it the nearest galaxy to our own Milky Way. Andromeda is seen almost edge-on, tilted by 77 degrees relative to Earth’s view. The galaxy is so large that the mosaic is assembled from approximately 600 separate overlapping fields of view taken over 10 years of Hubble observing — a challenge to stitch together over such a large area. The mosaic image is made up of at least 2.5 billion pixels. Hubble resolves an estimated 200 million stars that are hotter than our Sun, but still a fraction of the galaxy’s total estimated stellar population.
Interesting regions include: (a) Clusters of bright blue stars embedded within the galaxy, background galaxies seen much farther away, and photo-bombing by a couple bright foreground stars that are actually inside our Milky Way; (b) NGC 206 the most conspicuous star cloud in Andromeda; (c) A young cluster of blue newborn stars; (d) The satellite galaxy M32, that may be the residual core of a galaxy that once collided with Andromeda; (e) Dark dust lanes across myriad stars.
NASA, ESA, Benjamin F. Williams (UWashington), Zhuo Chen (UWashington), L. Clifton Johnson (Northwestern); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)
This program was followed up by the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Southern Treasury (PHAST), recently published in The Astrophysical Journal and led by Zhuo Chen at the University of Washington, which added images of approximately 100 million stars in the southern half of Andromeda. This region is structurally unique and more sensitive to the galaxy’s merger history than the northern disk mapped by the PHAT survey.
The combined programs collectively cover the entire disk of Andromeda, which is seen almost edge-on — tilted by 77 degrees relative to Earth’s view. The galaxy is so large that the mosaic is assembled from approximately 600 separate fields of view. The mosaic image is made up of at least 2.5 billion pixels.
The complementary Hubble survey programs provide information about the age, heavy-element abundance, and stellar masses inside Andromeda. This will allow astronomers to distinguish between competing scenarios where Andromeda merged with one or more galaxies. Hubble’s detailed measurements constrain models of Andromeda’s merger history and disk evolution.
A Galactic ‘Train Wreck’
Though the Milky Way and Andromeda formed presumably around the same time many billions of years ago, observational evidence shows that they have very different evolutionary histories, despite growing up in the same cosmological neighborhood. Andromeda seems to be more highly populated with younger stars and unusual features like coherent streams of stars, say researchers. This implies it has a more active recent star-formation and interaction history than the Milky Way.
“Andromeda’s a train wreck. It looks like it has been through some kind of event that caused it to form a lot of stars and then just shut down,” said Daniel Weisz at the University of California, Berkeley. “This was probably due to a collision with another galaxy in the neighborhood.”
A possible culprit is the compact satellite galaxy Messier 32, which resembles the stripped-down core of a once-spiral galaxy that may have interacted with Andromeda in the past. Computer simulations suggest that when a close encounter with another galaxy uses up all the available interstellar gas, star formation subsides.
The Andromeda Galaxy, our closest galactic neighbor, holds over 1 trillion stars and has been a key to unlocking the secrets of the universe. Thanks to NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, we’re now seeing Andromeda in stunning new detail, revealing its dynamic history and unique structure.
Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center; Lead Producer: Paul Morris
“Andromeda looks like a transitional type of galaxy that’s between a star-forming spiral and a sort of elliptical galaxy dominated by aging red stars,” said Weisz. “We can tell it’s got this big central bulge of older stars and a star-forming disk that’s not as active as you might expect given the galaxy’s mass.”
“This detailed look at the resolved stars will help us to piece together the galaxy’s past merger and interaction history,” added Williams.
Hubble’s new findings will support future observations by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and the upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Essentially a wide-angle version of Hubble (with the same sized mirror), Roman will capture the equivalent of at least 100 high-resolution Hubble images in a single exposure. These observations will complement and extend Hubble’s huge dataset.
The Hubble Space Telescope has been operating for over three decades and continues to make ground-breaking discoveries that shape our fundamental understanding of the universe. Hubble is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope and mission operations. Lockheed Martin Space, based in Denver, also supports mission operations at Goddard. The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, conducts Hubble science operations for NASA.
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
2025 Seminar Series
Throughout 2025, the NASA History Office is presenting a seminar series on the topic of Aerospace Latin America. This series will explore the origins, evolution, and historical context of aerospace in the region since the dawn of the Space Age, touching on a broad range of topics including aerospace infrastructure development, space policy and law, Earth science applications, and much more.
This seminar series is part of a collaborative effort to gather insights and research that will conclude in an anthology of essays to be published as a NASA History Special Publication. Individual presentations will be held virtually bi-weekly or monthly.
During a gravity assist in 1992, the Galileo spacecraft took images of Earth and the Moon. Separate images were combined to generate this composite which features a view of the Pacific Ocean and Central and South America.
NASA/JPL/USGS
Upcoming Presentations
“Governing the Moon: A History”
Stephen Buono (University of Chicago)
Thursday, February 6 at 1pm CST
In this talk, Stephen Buono will provide a nuanced history of the unratified Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, more commonly known as the Moon Treaty. Buono will illuminate the treaty’s deep origins, the contributions of international space lawyers, the details of the negotiating process, the role played by the United States in shaping the final text, and the contributions of the treaty’s single most important author, Argentine lawyer, Aldo Armando Cocca.
“A God’s Eye View: Aviators and the Re-Conquest of Latin America”
Pete Soland(University of Houston—Downtown)
Thursday, February 20 at 1pm CST
This talk scrutinizes the aviator-conquistador metaphor. It examines airplane pilots as personifying high modernism and the technological sublime in Latin America from the turn of the century through the early Space Age, when spaceships and astronauts eclipsed airplanes and aviators. Repeated invocations of the conquistador as a metaphor for the aviator’s social role–and the conquest as an analogy for the goals of aviation programs–illustrate how elites promoted their modernization initiatives to national publics.
How to Attend
These presentations will be held via Microsoft Teams. For details on how to attend the meetings, join the NASA History mailing list to receive updates. Just send a blank email to history-join@lists.hq.nasa.gov to join. Alternatively, send us an email to receive a link for the next meeting.
