Mapex

Archive for May, 2010

NASA Television will cover the June 1 return to Earth of three International Space Station crew members and the June 15 launch of the newest trio of station residents. The new crew will be the 24th to live and work on the orbiting laboratory.

Spacewalker Michael Good, barely visible in his white spacesuit against the station, participated in the STS-132 mission’s third and final spacewalk. During the six-hour, 46-minute spacewalk, Good and fellow NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman completed the installation of the final two new batteries for the B side of the port 6 solar array. Image Credit: NASA

NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander has ended operations after repeated attempts to contact the spacecraft were unsuccessful.

Space shuttle Atlantis and its six-member crew are expected to return to Earth on Wednesday, May 26, after a 12-day mission. NASA managers will evaluate weather conditions at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida before permitting Atlantis to land.

ESA PR 10-2010 The first full-duration simulation of a human mission to Mars is about to begin. After closing the hatch, the crew of six will remain in their ‘spacecraft’ for 520 days. The media are invited to witness the ‘launch’ of this historic Mars500 mission.

Astronauts Michael Good (left) and Garrett Reisman look through the aft flight deck windows of space shuttle Atlantis during the mission?s third aspacewalk. During the spacewalk, Good and Reisman completed the installation of the final two of the six new batteries for the B side of the port 6 solar array. In addition, the astronauts installed a backup ammonia jumper cable between the port 4 and 5 trusses of the station and transferred a power and data grapple fixture from the shuttle to the station. Image Credit: NASA

NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander has ended operations after repeated attempts to contact the spacecraft were unsuccessful.

Earth’s horizon and the blackness of space provide the backdrop for Atlantis’ aft section while it was docked with the International Space Station during the STS-132 mission. Image Credit: NASA

NASA’s space shuttle astronauts will answer elementary and middle school students’ questions Saturday, May 22 while orbiting miles above Earth.

ESA’s SMOS satellite completed its six-month commissioning this week and formally began operational life. This milestone means the mission is now set to provide much-needed global images of soil moisture and ocean salinity to improve our understanding of the water cycle.