Fly With NASA’s Missions, Past and Future

Tuesday, January 24 11:32 am

Fly through the Hayden Planetarium dome at this month’s Astronomy Live! program. © AMNH/C. Chesek

On Tuesday, January 31, visit the Hayden Planetarium to see stunning images from past NASA missions combined with visualizations from the Digital Universe Atlas, a scientifically accurate 3D map of the cosmos. Starting at 6:30 pm, Emily Rice, a research scientist in the Museum’s Department of Astrophysics, and Brian Levine, an astrophysics educator in the Department of Education, will fly you through the solar system to see where NASA spacecraft have gone, where they might go in the future, and what we might learn about our solar system from these missions as part of NASA Missions, this month’s Astronomy Live event. Rice and Levine recently answered a few questions about their experiences in the dome and their favorite NASA milestones.

How does the Digital Universe Atlas help you understand the cosmos and relay that information to others?

Emily Rice: When I first started using the Digital Universe, it was mind-blowing. I had been studying astronomy for over 10 years, but as a research scientist, I hadn’t realized how I had developed a functional but not necessarily accurate view of the cosmos. I could quote the numbers, but I couldn’t immediately describe how that would look. The Digital Universe Atlas takes all that data and translates it into very accurate visualizations that are simply astounding—one glimpse is really worth a thousand words.

Brian Levine: The planetarium is an important tool in our classes and programs as well. It enables us to extend well beyond what our audience can learn by reading and looking at pictures. The scale of the immensity of the universe has always been an important point in my lessons, and by flying around inside this data set, we can see just how big the Earth is in comparison to everything else. Turns out we’re really small, but that’s just the beginning—the universe is full of interesting things, and the best way to learn about it is to visualize it. Read more »

A Laboratory on Mars: NASA’s Curiosity Rover Will Search for Signs of Life

Wednesday, November 23 12:10 pm

This Saturday, November 26, NASA will launch its biggest, most advanced rover yet: the one-ton Curiosity, a mobile laboratory with a two-year mission to find out whether Mars has ever supported life. See a life-sized model of Curiosity in the Museum’s new exhibition Beyond Planet Earth: The Future of Space Exploration, then explore how Mars might be transformed into a more hospitable planet with an interactive terraforming table.

The Mars Curiosity rover launches Saturday, November 26. Click image to enlarge. © AMNH/5W Infographics

Beginning with Sojourner, the 23-lb rover sent to Mars in 1997 as part of the Pathfinder mission, Mars rovers have provided scientists with invaluable information about the red planet. Now it’s Curiosity’s turn. The rover will carry 10 scientific instruments, including a laser to vaporize Martian rock samples to reveal their composition, a set of tools to check for organic compounds in samples of Martian soil and atmosphere, and an instrument to detect ice or hydrated minerals underground.

This infographic originally appeared in the Fall issue of Rotunda, the Member magazine.

”Fly Me to the Moon” Guest Andrew Chaikin on the Moon and the Museum

Wednesday, October 19 2:00 pm

The Rose Center for Earth and Space. © AMNH/D. Finnin.

With the conclusion of NASA’s shuttle program and the upcoming launch of the latest Mars rover, the future of space exploration is once again a hot topic—and humans’ first steps on the Moon are all the more important to revisit.

On October 25, join Apollo historian Andrew Chaikin and the Museum’s Director of Astrovisualization Carter Emmart for October’s Astronomy Live program, Fly Me to the Moon. The evening begins at 6:30 pm and includes a flight simulation to Earth’s nearest celestial neighbor using the latest data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, along with mapping photographs taken from lunar orbit by the Apollo astronauts 40 years ago.

Chaikin recently answered a few questions about his passion for space exploration.

You spent years interviewing the Apollo astronauts for your book A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts. What are some of the lessons of the Apollo missions?

In some ways, the most important lesson from Apollo is that when we tackle the difficult challenges of exploration, we reap unanticipated benefits. One of those benefits is heightened awareness. The astronauts who went to the Moon found that it was the Earth that made the greatest impression on them, with its spectacular beauty and inexplicable sense of fragility. Through their eyes, we can see our planet as a world to be protected and cherished. It’s no surprise that Apollo jump-started the environmental movement in this country. Read more »

Astronauts Share Details From Era-Ending Shuttle Mission with Museum Visitors

Wednesday, August 17 12:42 pm

Hundreds of visitors gathered in the Museum’s Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Hall of the Universe on Tuesday morning to meet the four astronauts from NASA’s final shuttle mission, Atlantis’s STS-135. Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, and Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim made their first New York appearance at the Museum since their return from space on July 21.

After discussing the mission, the astronauts also answered questions from children in the audience, whose inquiries ranged from whether the crew exercised in space to what meals the astronauts most enjoyed while aboard the Atlantis. Nearly 1,200 remote viewers tuned into the live stream of the event on amnh.org and many joined the conversation by tweeting questions, some of which were asked at the event.

With NASA’s 30-year-long shuttle program ending, the discussion, moderated by Museum Curator Michael Shara, soon turned to the future of space exploration. “We’re ready to go beyond,” said Magnus, who explained NASA’s plan to move beyond low Earth orbit. “Whether it’s the moon, an asteroid, Mars, we’re ready to push those boundaries even further.”

The Museum will explore just how humans may push the boundaries of space travel in the major new exhibition Beyond Planet Earth: The Future of Space Exploration, which opens on November 19 and is curated by Shara, curator in the Museum’s Department of Astrophysics. Meanwhile, Museum visitors offered their own ideas about where humans should go next.

“I would visit Neptune, since it would rain diamonds because it’s so cold,” said 8-year-old Caroline Filorimo, who hopes to make a space trip of her own some day.

As their final send-off, the astronauts presented the Museum with an American flag that flew on NASA’s final mission and a patch from a crew member’s suit. Ferguson said he hopes the gift will “remind all the youngsters of the possibilities that they have if they study hard and stay in school.”

Museum Scientist Will Oversee Sample Analysis For 2016 Mission to Asteroid

Monday, June 27 9:50 am

OSIRIS-REx will use a robotic arm to pluck samples from a near-Earth asteroid. The mission, called Origins-Spectral Interpretation-Resource Identification-Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx), will be the first U.S. mission to carry samples from an asteroid back to Earth. Image: © NASA.

Geologist Harold C. Connolly, a research associate in the Museum’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, will oversee sample analysis on the first U.S. mission to collect material from an asteroid and bring it to Earth for study.

NASA announced the new mission-which is called Origins-Spectral Interpretation-Resource Identification-Security-Regolith Explorer, or OSIRIS-REx-in late May as the third mission in its New Frontiers Program. An unmanned spacecraft will be launched in 2016 to the near-Earth asteroid 1999 RQ36 and will travel for four years to its destination. After OSIRIS-REx performs surface mapping of the asteroid—a process that may take up to 505 days—Connolly will be responsible for recommending locations most suitable for sampling.

“We will narrow it down to several choices to select the best location based on low risk to the spacecraft and on chemical signatures” found during surface mapping, says Connolly, who is also professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the City University of New York.

The spacecraft will use a robotic arm to collect at least 60 grams of material, which will be brought to Earth in 2023 for worldwide distribution for study. As mission sample scientist, Connolly will prepare the plan that specifies which researchers will receive material for analysis. In advance of the launch, Connolly will be helping to coordinate and integrate studies of the asteroid’s spectroscopy andgeology, which will draw on data from ground-based observations of RQ36 and reference meteorites, including specimens in the Museum’s collection. Read more »