保护地球，探索宇宙，发现文明
The contributions of NASA and Kennedy Space Center were stitched into the fabric of one of the nation’s most recognizable symbols, when flags from Florida’s Spaceport were sewn into an American Flag recovered near ground zero following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. In this image, the National 9/11 Flag was raised over the Rocket Garden at the Kenn...
Mary W. Jackson grew up in Hampton, Virginia and attended the historically black college Hampton Institute (now Hampton University), earning bachelor of science degrees in mathematics and physical science. Each year, we celebrate National Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Week under the leadership of the White House Initiative on HBCUs and...
Gene Roddenberry would have been 100 years old on Aug. 19, 2021, and we at NASA celebrate his legacy. As creator of the legendary Star Trek saga, Roddenberry’s vision continues to resonate. In the documentary “NASA on the Edge of Forever: Science in Space,” host NASA astronaut Victor Glover stated, “Science and Star Trek go hand-in-hand.” The film expl...
Apollo 15 Commander David Scott drives the lunar roving vehicle on the surface of the Moon, the first time the rover was used. Apollo 15 launched on July 26 and landed on the lunar surface 50 years ago on July 30, 1971. During the mission, Scott and lunar module pilot James Irwin collected 170 pounds of lunar material during their more than 18 hours on the M...
This image from May 11, 1971, is a high angle view showing the Apollo 15 spacecraft on the way from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Pad A, Launch Complex 39 at the Kennedy Space Center. The Saturn V stack and its mobile launch tower are atop a huge crawler-transporter. Apollo 15 was the fourth scheduled crewed lunar landing mission and was commanded by Davi...
This week in 2011, space shuttle Atlantis, mission STS-135, launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to the International Space Station. STS-135 carried the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module to deliver supplies, logistics, and spare parts to the orbiting lab. This was the final launch of the Space Shuttle Program. Today, the Payload Operations Integra...
On Monday, June 19, 1865, enslaved African Americans in Texas learned of their freedom. That day of liberation became known as Juneteenth, when the Emancipation Proclamation was announced by Union troops in Galveston, Texas. On Thursday, June 17, 2021, President Joe Biden signed into law legislation making Juneteenth, “a federal holiday, recognizing th...
June 14 of each year is celebrated as Flag Day in the U.S. According to the Library of Congress’s online site, “on May 30, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a presidential proclamation establishing a national Flag Day on June 14. The day commemorates the adoption of the Stars and Stripes as the official flag of the United States.” All N...
As an atmospheric scientist, Jie Gong explores ice clouds and other frozen precipitation like snow, floating snow (which is snow in the atmosphere that does not hit the ground) and graupel, or hail. “I work on developing methods to best use satellite data to understand the microphysics of all frozen water particles in the atmosphere called frozen hydro...
On May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard – one of NASA’s first seven astronauts – became the first American in space. In this image, President John F. Kennedy, right, awards NASA’s Distinguished Service Medal to astronaut Shepard in a Rose Garden ceremony on May 8, 1961, at the White House. In the background are the other members of the Mercury Seven, NASA&#...