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Hitchhiking a Ride to Space

Have you ever packed for a long trip with a friend and ran out of space in your suitcase? Maybe your friend was nice and let your spare items hitchhike a ride in their bag?  The following science experiments are doing something similar on our Space Launch System rocket.

Our Space Launch System (SLS) will be the most powerful rocket we’ve ever built and will enable astronauts in the Orion spacecraft to travel deeper into the solar system. This advanced launch vehicle will launch astronauts to an asteroid and eventually to Mars, while opening new possibilities for other payloads including robotic scientific missions to places like Mars, Saturn and Jupiter.

The primary goal of SLS and the Orion spacecraft is to launch future crewed, deep space missions. That said, an added bonus of this powerful rocket is the extra science it can carry. On it’s first mission (known as Exploration Mission-1, EM-1) SLS will carry 13 CubeSats (small satellites, each the size of a large shoebox) on its first flight as secondary payloads. These small satellites will perform various in-space experiments. In a way, these 13 CubeSats are ‘space hitchhikers’, catching a ride to deep space where they can gather data valuable to future exploration missions.

How were these 13 experiments selected? Great question. They were selected through a series of announcements of flight opportunities, a public contest and negations with our international partners.

These secondary payloads have a vast array of functions, from taking pictures of asteroids, to using yeast to detect impacts of deep-space radiation. Each month we will highlight one of these experiments on Tumblr and talk about all the exciting science they will do. Just to give you an idea of what these shoebox-sized satellites will do, we’ll give you a preview:

1. NEA Scout

NEA Scout, stands for: Near-Earth Asteroid Scout. This CubeSat will investigate an asteroid, taking pictures and observe its position in space.

2. BioSentinel

BioSentinel will be the first time living organisms have traveled to deep space in more than 40 years. It will use yeast to detect, measure and compare the impact of deep-space radiation on living organisms over long durations in deep space.

3. Lunar Flashlight

This experiment will look for ice deposits and identify locations where resources may be extracted from the lunar surface. It will demonstrate the capability to scout for useful materials and resources from lunar orbit.

4. Skyfire

Lockheed Martin’s Skyfire will perform a lunar flyby, collecting data to address both Moon and Mars Strategic Knowledge Gaps, or gaps in information required to reduce risk, increase effectiveness and improve the design of robotic and human space exploration missions, for surface characterization, remote sensing and site selection.

5. Lunar IceCube

Morehead State University’s Lunar IceCube will look for water in ice, liquid and vapor forms from a very low orbit of only 62 miles above the surface of the moon. The ability to search for useful resources can potentially help astronauts manufacture fuel and necessities to sustain a crew.

6. CuSP

The CubeSat mission to study Solar Particles, or CuSP, will be the first protype of an interplanetary CubeSat space weather station. It will observe space weather events hours before they reach Earth.

7. Luna-H-Map

Lunar Polar Hydrogen Mapper (LunaH) will enter a polar orbit around the moon with a low altitude. From there, it will produce maps of near-surface hydrogen.

8, 9, 10. Three Tournament Payloads

Three of the payloads riding along on this journey will be the winners of the Ground Tournaments portion of our CubeQuest Challenge. This challenge is designed to foster innovation in small spacecraft propulsion and communications techniques. Learn more about this challenge HERE.

11, 12, 13. International Partners

The remaining three payloads are reserved for international partners, and will be announced at a later time.

To stay updated on these experiments, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/launching-science-and-technology.html

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

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even if you can’t vote

i get a lot of questions about how to contribute to the campaign without being able to vote, and right now is a pivotal time for us to be supporting Bernie Sanders in every way we can.

if you’re too young, not registered, not eligible, not a US citizen or living in the US, or already voted and still want to help, you can still contribute! right now closing the delegate gap is more important than the individual state primaries, and to make any difference on that front we need more volunteers.

the best thing to do right now, even if you're voting/have voted, is to volunteer for the campaign and work with your local Bernie supporters to get more delegates. below are links to websites where you can find contact information for the remaining states. contact someone on the local campaign (in your area, or in any state you think needs support!) and ask them how you can best help their efforts. I’ve been doing phone banking and collecting signatures for delegates in rhode island, as well as attending events and hanging out fliers, and trust me when i say any little bit helps. 

remember, Obama lost more states to Hillary at this point in the primary than Bernie has. he had the delegate support, and there’s still time to catch up to Hillary’s numbers if we all pitch in.

here is a list of all the states left in the primary, and the website for their local grassroots movement:

Arizona (Mar 22): Website: http://arizonaforsanders.org/

Idaho (Mar 22): Website: http://voteforbernie.org/state/idaho/

Utah (Mar 22): Website: http://www.utahforberniesanders.com/ Alaska (Mar 26): Website: http://voteforbernie.org/state/alaska/ Hawaii (Mar 26): Website: http://hawaiiforbernie.com/ Washington (Mar 26): Website: http://washingtonforberniesanders.com/

Wisconsin (Apr 5): Website: http://wi.forberniesanders.com/

Wyoming (Apr 9): Website: http://voteforbernie.org/state/wyoming/ New York (Apr 19): Website: http://teambernieny.org/ Connecticut (Apr 26): Website: http://www.berniesandersct.com/ Delaware (Apr 26): Website: http://voteforbernie.org/state/delaware/

Maryland (Apr 26): Website: http://www.berniesandersvideo.com/maryland.html Pennsylvania (Apr 26): Website: www.pa.forberniesanders.com/events Rhode Island (Apr 26): Website: www.rhodeisland.forberniesanders.com/ (or contact me)

Indiana (May 3): Website: http://voteforbernie.org/state/indiana/ Guam (May 7): Website: https://go.berniesanders.com/page/event/detail/volunteermeetingtogetorganizedorlearnmore/4v28f Nebraska (May 10): Website: http://voteforbernie.org/state/nebraska/

West Virginia (May 10): Website: http://voteforbernie.org/state/west-virginia/

Kentucky (May 17): Website: http://voteforbernie.org/state/kentucky/ Oregon (May 17): Website: https://oregonforbernie.com Virgin Island (Jun 4): Website: https://www.facebook.com/democratsvi/  (no specific Bernie Sanders website or page yet- make your own!)

Puerto Rico (Jun 5): Website: http://voteforbernie.org/state/puerto-rico/ California (Jun 7): Website: http://voteforbernie.org/state/california/ Montana (Jun 7): Website: http://www.mtforbernie.com/ New Jersey (Jun 7): Website: http://newjersey.forberniesanders.com/ New Mexico (Jun 7): Website: www.nm.forberniesanders.com/ North Dakota (Jun 7): Website: http://voteforbernie.org/state/north-dakota/ South Dakota (jun 7): Website: http://voteforbernie.org/state/south-dakota/

District of Columbia (Jun 14): Website: http://voteforbernie.org/state/washington-dc/

if you have any questions, if you need help registering/finding who to contact, or you just wanna talk about Bernie Sanders, don’t hesitate to send me a message!

Not to take credit away from the Lord, but if I had created the world, in all modesty, certain things would have come out better. But unfortunately such was not the case.

Cinema Paradiso (1988) dir. Giuseppe Tornatore

What Famous Historical Leaders Would Look Like as Hipsters

i miss her