Posted on April 13, 2014, at 2:58 pm .
The study’s lead author Aurélie Crabbé (left), Cheryl Nickerson (Principal Investigator and senior author on the study) and co-author Jennifer Barrila (right) of Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute, Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology. (Credit: Arizona State University/Anais Bon)
TEMPE, Ariz. (NASA PR) — You may not recognize it by name, but if you have ever had a child with a diaper rash, that child was likely a host to Candida albicans (C. albicans). This unwelcome “guest” can be hard to control, as it can potentially lead to serious illness in humans with weakened immune systems. During an investigation dubbed “Microbe,” using the unique microgravity environment aboard space shuttle Atlantis on an International Space Station mission, researchers at the Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe gained a better understanding of these prevalent fungi. Their tendency to become more aggressive in microgravity helps scientists see what mechanisms control the behavior of these types of organisms, with the potential to develop ways to influence their behavior both in space and on Earth.
Continue reading ‘Fungi Research Conducted in Space’
Posted on April 2, 2014, at 4:43 pm .
EDWARDS, Calif. (NASA PR) — NASA’s Flight Opportunities Program has selected 13 space technology payloads for flights on commercial reusable launch vehicles, and a commercial parabolic aircraft. These flights provide cutting-edge technologies with a valuable platform to conduct tests, before they enter use in the harsh environment of space.
Continue reading ‘NASA Selects New Suborbital Technology Payloads, Total Tops 130′
Posted on March 30, 2014, at 9:11 pm .
Ubehebe Crater in Death Valley. (Credit: Douglas Messier)
Greetings from Furnace Creek in Death Valley, California — 190 feet under sea level.
I’ve been here since Friday evening for a very cool NASA event. MarsFest is an annual outreach event of NASA Ames, JPL and the National Park Service. It’s basically several days of field trips and lectures talking about Death Valley as an analog for Mars exploration.
On Saturday, we visited a couple of sites, including Bad Water where there are life forms similar to what might exist on Mars. Earlier today, we received a guided tour of Ubehebe Crater, a volcanic formation at the north end of the park that has features similar to Gale Crater on Mars which the Curiosity rover is exploring.
Salt flats at Bad Water in Death Valley. (Credit: Douglas Messier)
It’s been a very interesting and informative weekend. Death Valley is really spectacular, and it was greatly enhanced by having experts who work here on a regular basis explaining the features of it. I wish I had made it up here for the previous two MarsFests.
Posted on March 4, 2014, at 2:55 pm .
ATLANTA, GA, March 4, 2014 (VTA PR) – Terminal Velocity Aerospace, LLC (TVA) has been awarded a contract by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) for development of a prototype small payload return capsule. Designed as a high-altitude drop test article, the prototype will demonstrate mission-enabling communications technologies and verify integrated performance, including functionality of its parachute recovery system. This effort is directly in alignment with TVA’s plan to develop a small reentry device (RED), called RED-4U, capable of returning the payload mass and volume equivalent of four CubeSats, commonly referred to in units of “U.”
Continue reading ‘Terminal Velocity Received NASA Contract for Small Payload Return Capsule’
Posted on February 25, 2014, at 9:28 am .
NASA has published a detailed report on the state of small spacecraft development and operations. The report, “
Small Spacecraft Technology State of the Art,” was put together by the Mission Design Division staff at the Ames Research Center in California.
The report provides detailed information about the different sizes and capabilities of small satellites, with detailed sections on propulsion, power, attitude and control systems, thermal systems, materials and structures. The study examines the state of the art for these spacecraft as well as what lies on the horizon.
Posted on February 12, 2014, at 9:40 am .
As part of its lease of Moffett Field, Google-owned subsidiary Planetary Ventures will reskin historic Hangar One and use it to test “new robots, planetary rovers and other space or aviation technology,” the San Jose Mercury News is reporting.
NASA and the General Services Administration (GSA) selected the company’s competitive bid to lease Moffett Federal Airfield, which is now managed by the NASA Ames Research Center. The former Naval Air Station includes two other hangars and a pair of runways.
Continue reading ‘Google’s Plans for Hangar One: Robots, Rovers & Space Tech’
Posted on February 10, 2014, at 2:16 pm .
MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. (NASA/GSA PR) — The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and NASA have selected Planetary Ventures LLC as the preferred lessee on a lease to rehabilitate historic Hangar One and to manage Moffett Federal Airfield, currently managed by NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. The lease will put Hangar One to new use and eliminate NASA’s management costs of the airfield.
Continue reading ‘NASA, GSA Select Google-Owned Planetary Ventures to Manage Moffett Field’
Posted on January 7, 2014, at 2:14 pm .
A chemical-sensing prototype plugged into an iTouch 30-pin dock connector with the display-side up. (Credit: NASA Ames/Dominic Hart)
REDWOOD CITY, CA, Jan 7, 2014 (Vantage Health PR) - Vantage Health Inc., (OTCQB: VNTH) and its parent company Nanobeak Inc. today announced that NASA and Nanobeak have entered into an exclusive 5-year license agreement to commercialize mobile healthcare products derived from NASA patented chemical sensing technology. This exclusive 5-year license agreement has been sublicensed to Vantage Health Inc.
Telemedicine and mobile healthcare is formed by the intersection of medicine and digital technology. Nanobeak and Vantage Health have been developing sensor based mobile applications based on patented NASA technology, for non-invasive disease screening at the earliest stages, to be implemented for point of care and individualized healthcare screening using a proprietary breathalyzer attached to a smartphone.
Continue reading ‘Vantage Health to Commercialize Award Winning NASA Chemical Sensor Technology’
Posted on December 7, 2013, at 9:06 am .
TechEdSat-3p deploys from the Japanese Small Satellite Orbital Deployer aboard the International Space Station. (Credit: NASA)
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (NASA PR) — Mission controllers have confirmed that a small satellite launched from the International Space Station has successfully entered its orbit. Soon it will demonstrate two new technologies including an “exo-brake” device to demonstrate a new de-orbit technique as well as a communications system to provide precise information about the spacecraft’s position.
The satellite, dubbed “TechEdSat-3p,” arrived at the station aboard a Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle Aug. 3. It was released at 2:58 a.m. EST Nov. 20, from the same Japanese Small Satellite Orbital Deployer aboard the station that launched its smaller predecessor – TechEdSat – in 2012.
Continue reading ‘NASA Launches First Exo-Brake Parachute from International Space Station’
Posted on December 5, 2013, at 6:37 am .
Closeup of a NASA Ames PhoneSat (Credit:
NASA Ames Research Center/Dominic Hart)
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (NASA PR) — PhoneSat 2.4, NASA’s next generation smartphone cubesat has phoned home. The tiny spacecraft that uses an off-the-shelf smartphone for a brain has completed checkout and sent back data confirming all systems are “go” for the spry spacefarer.
PhoneSat 2.4, a cube approximately four inches square, weighs only about 2.2 pounds, and was developed at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. It is first of the PhoneSat family to use a two-way S-band radio, allowing engineers to command the satellite from Earth. It is confirming the viability of using smartphones and other commercially available electronics in satellites destined for low-Earth orbit.
Continue reading ‘NASA’s Latest Space Technology Small Satellite Phones Home’
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