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Items tagged with: NASAHistory


Launched #20YearsAgo today, ICESat's laser altimeters measured the thickness of the Antarctica and Greenland ice sheets for 7 years. Its measurements, along with ICESat-2's, showed that from 2003–2019, Greenland lost ~200 gigatons of ice per year.

More: https://go.nasa.gov/3IDlG21
#NASAhistory


#FunFact STS-61C launched on a 6-day mission #OTD in 1986, carrying not 1, but 2 astronauts who would later become NASA Administrators: Pilot Charles Bolden @cboldenjr and Mission Specialist Bill Nelson @SenBillNelson.
#NASAhistory


In addition to their official crew photo, the STS-61C crew took a second photo wearing their helmets as a gag.

Standing, L–R: Bob Cenker, Bill Nelson, Steven Hawley, George Nelson, and Franklin Chang-Diaz. Seated: Charlie Bolden and Hoot Gibson
#NASAhistory


Endeavour (STS-72) launched #OTD in 1996 to capture a Japanese research spacecraft known as Space Flyer Unit and bring it back to Earth. Backdropped against Australia's Shark Bay, astronaut Leroy Chiao is seen here working in the shuttle's payload bay on his 2nd EVA of STS-72.
#NASAhistory


Let's see how nauseous you get 😵

The Human Vestibular Function experiment used a spinning chair to test Skylab astronauts' susceptibility to motion sickness, before, during, and after their time in space. #50YearsAgo

More on Skylab medical experiments: https://go.nasa.gov/3k4jtCz
#NASAhistory


#OTD in 1969, @nasa announced the crew for Apollo 11, the first mission that would land humans on the Moon. Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, and Michael Collins were to make the trip… if all went well on Apollo 9 & 10.

Who was on the backup crew? Hint: https://go.nasa.gov/3Qfn4tq
#NASAhistory


"Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet"

#HappyBirthday to the late cosmologist Stephen Hawking. Changing our view of the universe with his theories and outreach, Hawking was also an avid advocate for continued space exploration.

📷 Hawking at NASA in 2008
#NASAhistory


How did NASA prepare for landing humans on the Moon in 1969? By sending the Surveyor landers to check out the surface and practice soft landings!

Surveyor 7, the last of the series to fly, launched to the Moon #OTD in 1968 and returned 21,274 pictures! https://go.nasa.gov/3ZelFHF
#NASAhistory


25 years ago today, NASA's Lunar Prospector spacecraft was successfully launched, and went on to orbit the Moon for almost 19 months to map its surface composition and to look for polar ice. This image from Lunar Prospector data shows thorium concentrations on the Moon's surface.
#NASAhistory


Lunar Prospector was one of the missions of NASA’s Discovery Program, a series of lower cost, competed missions to explore the solar system.
More about the mission: https://go.nasa.gov/3Z93oLB
#NASAhistory


Lunar Prospector was one of the missions of NASA’s Discovery Program, a series of lower cost, competed missions to explore the solar system. We're celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Discovery Program this fall with a symposium. https://go.nasa.gov/3GgLGgG
#NASAhistory


50 years ago today, @nasa closed its Plum Brook Reactor Facility in Sandusky, OH. Beginning operation in 1961, the reactor was NASA's primary facility for space-related nuclear energy R&D.

Read about the Apollo 17 crew's visit to the facility #OTD in 1973 https://go.nasa.gov/3X6Ckep
#NASAhistory


65 years ago today on Jan. 4, 1958, the first Sputnik mission came to an end as humankind's first artificial satellite fell back to Earth. Check out our resources on Sputnik and the start of the Space Race: https://go.nasa.gov/3GgKNVo

📷 @airandspace
#NASAhistory


#RestInPeace Apollo astronaut Walt Cunningham. Just 21 months after the Apollo 1 tragedy, Cunningham orbited the Earth as the lunar module pilot for NASA's first crewed Apollo mission to space, Apollo 7, paving the way for the Moon landings. https://go.nasa.gov/3WEz9uu
#NASAhistory


https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/apollo-astronaut-walter-cunningham-dies-at-90
#NASAhistory


The first successful planetary science mission in history!

60 years ago today, the Mariner 2 mission ended after its Venus flyby when contact with the spacecraft was lost when it was 86.7 million km (53.9 million mi) from Earth, a new distance record. https://go.nasa.gov/3GB5kW9
#NASAhistory


"Decades ago we science fiction writers foresaw a great many things about space travel, but two things we did not foresee."

Isaac Asimov, born #OTD in 1920, wrote this in a 1985 NASA book about science and society. Find out what was overlooked (p. 59): https://go.nasa.gov/3Wbx1KC
#NASAhistory


Wishing you a #HappyNewYear filled with discovery!

Our solar system's own proto-snowman and the most distant object explored by a spacecraft, Arrokoth, had a visitor #OTD in 2019 when the New Horizons probe flew by, taking this photo. More about Arrokoth: https://go.nasa.gov/3hB2RBh
#NASAhistory


Hubble redeemed!

Following the first Hubble servicing mission earlier in December, galaxy M100 was imaged with the new WFPC-2 camera #OTD in 1993, showing that the defect in @NASAHubble's mirror had been corrected.
#NASAhistory


Read the whole story of this repair and subsequent servicing missions in Christopher Gainor's history of Hubble's operations: https://go.nasa.gov/3HNaGOY
#NASAhistory


Rocketry pioneer Dr. Robert Goddard conducted the first rocket test flight at his Roswell, New Mexico laboratory #OTD in 1930. His liquid fuel rocket launched to a height of 610 m (2,000 ft).

Learn more about Robert Goddard: https://go.nasa.gov/3W8k04h
#NASAhistory


The first ever rollout of a Space Shuttle to the @NASAKennedy launchpad happened #OTD in 1980. Columbia would go on to make its first flight for STS-1 on April 12, 1981.

More: https://go.nasa.gov/3PByck3
#NASAhistory


On her birthday, we remember Star Trek actress Nichelle Nichols, one of the greats the world lost in 2022. 🖖

Learn more about Nichols' contributions to helping build a more diverse workforce at NASA: https://go.nasa.gov/3jsFcnr
#NASAhistory


Bringing a bright ending to a crummy year, Apollo 8 safely splashed down #OTD in 1968, ending the 1st crewed spaceflight to orbit the Moon. The Apollo 8 astronauts shown here on the deck of the USS Yorktown are (left to right) Frank Borman, Bill Anders, and Jim Lovell.
#NASAhistory


"We came all this way to explore the Moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth" –Bill Anders, Apollo 8 astronaut

"Earthrise," one of the most powerful photos in @nasa’s history, was taken by Anders #OTD in 1968 as the Apollo 8 crew orbited the Moon.
#NASAhistory


Watch the animated story about how this influential image came to be: https://go.nasa.gov/3UZEH0X
#NASAhistory


How do @NASA_Astronauts in space celebrate the holidays? The Apollo 8, Skylab 4, Space Shuttle, and @Space_Station crews have found plenty of ways to celebrate the season.

Find out more: https://go.nasa.gov/3j24N6g
#NASAhistory


What can you get for that hard-to-shop-for loved one? How about an aerospace history e-book? You can download any of our >200 titles for free!

Explore the collection: https://go.nasa.gov/3WbApF2
#NASAhistory


#OTD in 1964, NASA's SR-71 Blackbird made its 1st flight.

The SR-71 was designed to cruise at Mach 3.2 and at altitudes up to 85,000 ft, making it ideal for high-speed, high-altitude @NASAaero research.

Learn more about NASA's research with the SR-71: https://go.nasa.gov/3uRWTze
#NASAhistory


No quarantine for these guys. 50 years ago today, the #Apollo17 crew were back in Houston to reunite with their families and headed back to work the next day.
#NASAhistory


Cancel your holiday plans, we're going to the Moon!

With the urgency of the Space Race in full effect, Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, Bill Anders, and Jim Lovell launched from @NASAKennedy #OTD in 1968.

More about the first crewed mission to the Moon: https://go.nasa.gov/3j6pVsc
#NASAhistory


#HappyBirthday to @NASAAmes! #OTD in 1939, construction of the second National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) laboratory (@NASALangley was the first) began at Moffett Field, California, now in the heart of Silicon Valley! More about its history: https://go.nasa.gov/3FTFqws
#NASAhistory


Like #Apollo17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt throwing his rock hammer before heading into the lunar module for the last time, we’re throwing this lunar panorama here. That’s all folks for #Apollo50th!

The hammer throw: https://apolloinrealtime.org/17/?t=170:29:59
#NASAhistory


Splashdown!

After 12 days and 14 hours in space, the #Apollo17 astronauts splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 2:25 pm EST #OTD in 1972. It was the longest of all the Apollo missions with the most samples retrieved and photos taken. #Apollo50th
#NASAhistory


When #Apollo17 splashed down in the Pacific, a recovery team was waiting on the USS Ticonderoga just 6.4 km (4 mi) away to pick up the astronauts and the lunar samples inside the CM.

Read more about the mission’s return to Earth: https://go.nasa.gov/3V92HyF
#NASAhistory


Are we there yet?

Almost! 50 years ago today, in preparation for #Apollo17’s descent through Earth’s atmosphere, the Service Module, which powered the mission’s flight to the Moon and back, was separated from the Command Module. #Apollo50th
#NASAhistory


🎁 We have a holiday gift for you! It's the new edition of NASA History News & Notes, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Apollo 17!

Topics: The orange soil at Shorty Crater, engineering support of the Apollo missions, Apollo 17 science & more!

Download: https://go.nasa.gov/3G0xBFr
#NASAhistory


Wonder what it’s like to be on the Moon? #Apollo17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt said:

“Working on the Moon is a lot of fun. It’s like walking around on a giant trampoline all the time and you’re just as strong as you were here on Earth, but you don’t weigh as much.” #Apollo50th
#NASAhistory

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