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Penny4NASA

@penny4nasa / penny4nasa.tumblr.com

NASA's annual budget is half a penny on your tax dollar. Imagine what we could do with a full penny. Penny4NASA.org
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On July 29, 1958, President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics & Space Act.

On July 29th, 1958, less than a year after Sputnik 1 was launched into orbit, President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act establishing NASA as a civilian space agency. The new agency absorbed the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, including its budget, resources and personnel. Prior to the formation of NASA, space exploration was considered to be largely a military enterprise. NASA would begin operations on October 1, 1958.

Celebrate NASA’s anniversary by telling Congress to increase NASA’s budget: http://www.penny4nasa.org/take-action/

#NASA#Space#History#On This Day#Science#Astronomy
penny4nasa

20 years ago today, the Mars Pathfinder rover, Sojourner, landed on the Red Planet.

Named for abolitionist and women’s rights activist Sojourner Truth, NASA’s Sojourner rover landed on Mars on July 4, 1997. Unlike previous landing systems that used conventional rockets to decelerate, the Sojourner rover used a parachute and a system of airbags to slow down before the rover dropped roughly 100 feet to the planet’s surface. This system comprised of the Pathfinder lander, which was renamed the Carl Sagan Memorial Station after successfully delivering the rover. Sagan, a major proponent of the exploration of Mars, passed away shortly after the Mars Pathfinder mission launched on its way to the Red Planet.

Sojourner then set about its mission to analyze nearby rocks on the surface. Compositional analysis revealed that silica was found in higher concentrations in rocks than the surrounding area. Being found in igneous rocks, such a presence of silica was a hint that Mars may have had a more interesting geological history than was previously thought. Sojourner also sent pictures of the Martian surface back to NASA, while Pathfinder took photographs of the Martian sky. Among the photos from Sojourner were images showing rounded pebbles and conglomerate rocks indicating that different types of soil had been mixed in the past—evidence of a formerly water-rich planet.

Originally scheduled to operate for 7 sols (1 sol is about 40 minutes longer than a day on Earth), Sojourner had the possibility of extending its mission to 30 sols. In total, Sojourner operated for 83 sols before communications were lost on September 27, 1997. In that time, it covered just over 100 meters of the Martian surface.

Learn more about Sojourner here: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/why-no-one-under-20-has-experienced-a-day-without-nasa-at-mars

Here’s to another 20 years exploring the surface of Mars!

#NASA#Space#Science#Mars#Carl Sagan#On This Day
penny4nasa

On this day in 1968, Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space, died never having gotten to see man touch the surface of another world.

In 1961, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first ambassador of our planet to enter the vastness of space. Vostok 1 was the first manned spaceflight of the early space race, and Gagarin completed one orbit of Earth before landing safely 108 minutes later.

While flying weightless above Earth’s surface, Yuri Gagarin witnessed a spectacular view of home — forests, deserts, and great plains were surrounded by expansive oceans. Upon viewing the thin blue line of the atmosphere, Gagarin became the first of our inquisitive species to see our planet as it truly is — a vibrant, geologically active world circling a star. Unfortunately, Yuri died seven years later during a jet crash in 1968, never having gotten to see man touch the surface of another world.

We at Penny4NASA urge you to honor the memory of this brave man, as his Vostok 1 mission was the catalyst for every manned spaceflight to date.

#Yuri Gagarin#Yuri's Night#Space#History#On This Day#NASA
penny4nasa

Happy Birthday Yuri Gagarin! On this day in 1934, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was born. 27 years later, Gagarin flew aboard Vostok 1 – and in doing so, became the first ambassador of our planet to enter the vastness of space. While flying weightless above Earth’s surface, Yuri Gagarin witnessed a spectacular view of home — forests, deserts, and great plains were surrounded by expansive oceans. Upon viewing the thin blue line of the atmosphere, Gagarin became the first of our inquisitive species to see our planet as it truly is — a vibrant, geologically active world circling a star. We at Penny4NASA urge you to honor the memory of this brave man, as his Vostok 1 mission was the catalyst for every manned spaceflight adventure to date.

penny4nasa

Read about 50-year history of Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A, SpaceX's plan to colonize Mars and the highly anticipated debut of their Falcon Heavy rocket in the latest issue of RocketSTEM.

Check it out today: https://www.rocketstem.org/magazine/issue_14_march_2017/

#NASA#SpaceX#Falcon 9#Falcon Heavy#Space#Science
penny4nasa

NASA Discovered A Record Number Of Earth-Like Planets Orbiting Another Star

NASA announced that the agency’s Spitzer Space Telescope has discovered a system of seven Earth-sized planets orbiting another star. Three of the planets fall well within their host star’s habitable zone and may host water at their surface. The findings were published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

Read more: http://www.penny4nasa.org/2017/02/22/nasa-discovered-a-planetary-system-with-7-earth-like-planets/

#NASA#Space#Science#Astronomy#Planets#Exoplanets
penny4nasa

“Nobody can take those footsteps I made on the surface of the moon away from me.” - Gene Cernan

Apollo astronaut Eugene Cernan, the last man to walk on the surface of the Moon, passed away on Monday surrounded by family at the age of 82. The family of Eugene Cernan stated he was suffering from ongoing health issues, however, additional details regarding his cause of death were not immediately available.

Today, we bid farewell to the last man to walk on the Moon. http://www.penny4nasa.org/2017/01/16/eugene-cernan-last-man-to-walk-on-the-moon-dead-at-82/

#Gene Cernan#Last Man On The Moon#Space#NASA#RIP#On This Day
penny4nasa

Gene Cernan: Born March 14th, 1934 - Died January 16th, 2017 “Curiosity is the essence of human existence and exploration has been part of humankind for a long time. The exploration of space, like the exploration of life, if you will, is a risk. We’ve got to be willing to take it.” These words were uttered by Gene Cernan, the commander of Apollo 17 and the last person to ever walk on the moon. Since NASA was founded in 1958, the organization has contributed in massive ways towards technological, economical, and inspirational progress. Over the nearly 60 years of NASA’s life, a plethora of amazingly talented scientists and engineers were drawn towards a career in STEM fields after being inspired by Gene Cernan and the other Apollo and Gemini astronauts. It’s the human spirit of exploration that drives the world’s greatest technologists to invent the future. Today we honor Gene Cernan's legendary life, but long term -- we want to see to it that the US annual budget allocation for NASA reflects the hugely important role that technology, economy, and inspiration brings to our society.

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

Per Aspera Ad Astra

penny4nasa

Godspeed, John Glenn: July 18th, 1921 - December 8th, 2016 After the successful suborbital Project Mercury flights of Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom, the United States was still coming in second during the early days of the Space Race. At that time, the Soviet Union was excelling at every important milestone compared to their American counterparts, and political tensions were at an all-time high between the two nations. Launching a man into orbit was the primary goal of Project Mercury, and John Glenn’s Friendship 7 capsule would finally prove to the medical community that human beings could function in a Zero G environment. Unlike the previous flights undertaken by Shepard and Grissom using Redstone rockets, sending Friendship 7 into orbit would require the powerful Atlas rocket, capable of reaching speeds of 17,000 mph. After countess delays due to issues ranging from malfunctioning fuel tanks to inclement weather, February 20th, 1962 was the date chosen for John Glenn to become a hero – as 100 million people watched live. Once John Glenn’s Friendship 7 capsule separated from the Atlas rocket after launch, NASA put the astronaut through a series of medical tests to monitor how Glenn performed in the Zero G environment. During an interview conducted for the groundbreaking miniseries, When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions, John Glenn stated the following regarding what he experienced once he entered orbit: “After all of the dire predictions of what might happen and what you might feel in space and in Zero G…there wasn’t any problem at all. I was elated being in Zero G. Seeing how things worked…seeing if you could swallow. Nothing prepares you for the view as you look outside. You could see the curvature of the Earth’s surface and whole nations just at a glance.” Back at Mission Control, however, there were grave concerns about Friendship 7’s heat shield. An active “Segment 51” signal – indicating that the heat shield had come loose – greatly worried NASA personnel about Glenn’s chances of surviving the re-entry procedure. It was determined by flight controllers that retaining the retro pack during re-entry, rather than jettisoning it as normal, would provide greater assurance that the heat shield would stay in place and prevent the capsule from burning up. Because of the radio blackout during Friendship 7’s re-entry, NASA – and the entire world for that matter – awaited John Glenn’s confirmation that he was still indeed alive. After three minutes of static, an elated Glenn proved that the “Segment 51” alert was a glitch when Friendship 7 finally responded to NASA’s calls for response: “I can hear you loud and clear, but that was a real fireball outside.” 4 hours and 55 minutes may seem like a short mission by today’s standards, but Friendship 7 proved that human beings could function in a Zero G environment, which was vastly important if NASA was ever going to accomplish President Kennedy’s goal of sending human beings to the Moon. Be sure to remind your elected officials of how space flight once invigorated 100 million people during a time in our history when NASA was appropriately funded. http://www.penny4nasa.org/take-action/

penny4nasa

The Largest Supermoon In 68 Years Appears Tonight

Skywatchers will have an opportunity to witness the biggest and brightest supermoon in a generation on Monday when the full moon makes its closest approach to Earth in more than 68 years.

Learn more: http://www.penny4nasa.org/2016/11/13/watch-the-supermoon-of-november-2016/

#Infographic#Supermoon#Megamoon#Space#Science#NASA
penny4nasa

On this day in 1958, the National Aeronautics & Space Administration began operations. On July 29th, 1958, ten months after Sputnik 1 was launched into orbit, President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act establishing NASA as a civilian space agency. The new agency absorbed the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, including its budget, resources and personnel. Prior to the formation of NASA, space exploration was considered to be largely military enterprise. NASA would begin operations on October 1, 1958. Celebrate NASA’s birthday by telling Congress to increase NASA’s budget: http://www.penny4nasa.org/take-action/

#NASA#Space#History#On This Day