NASA astronaut and Expedition 65 Flight Engineer Megan McArthur works in the Microgravity Science Glovebox swapping samples for an experiment called Solidification Using a Baffle in Sealed Ampoules, or SUBSA. The physics investigation explores experimental methods of crystallizing melts in microgravity and is expected to result in reduced fluid motion in the melt, leading to better distribution of subcomponents and the potential for improved technology used in producing semiconductor crystals.
Image courtesy of NASA
Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) in semiconductor and in-space manufacturing collaborated on a white paper that outlines how microgravity benefits the production of semiconductors and related materials. Earth’s gravitational forces pose substantial barriers to quick, high-yield semiconductor production. Microgravity offers a path to overcome these barriers. There are also substantial practical … [continued]
A Deluge in Greece, September 6, 2023. NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using IMERG data from the Global Precipitation Mission (GPM) at NASA/GSFC.
Record rainfall inundated towns and farmland in the country’s Thessaly region.
Image: Imja Tsho is a lake made up of meltwater from Imja-Lhotse Shar Glacier in Eastern Nepal and one of the fastest growing lakes in the Himalayas. Credits: Courtesy of David Rounce via NASA
In the Himalayas, not far from the base of Mount Everest, lies the Imja-Lhotse Shar Glacier, where David Rounce conducted his doctoral research. From 2013 to 2017, Rounce and his team visited Nepal to measure the glacier as it rapidly receded — and as the lake at its base grew. … [continued]
According to scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York, July 2023 was hotter than any other month in the global temperature record. “Since day one, President Biden has treated the climate crisis as the existential threat of our time,” said Ali Zaidi, White House National … [continued]
A view of the new roll-out solar array unfolding after NASA astronauts Steve Bowen and Woody Hoburg successfully installed it to the 1B power channel on June 15, 2023. Credit: NASA TV
Expedition 69 flight engineers Woody Hoburg and Steve Bowen of NASA concluded their spacewalk at 2:17 p.m. EDT after 5 hours and 35 minutes. Hoburg and Bowen completed their major objective to install an IROSA (International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array) to augment power generation for the 1B power channel … [continued]
An image of the perovskite samples inside the MISSE Platform installed on the exterior of the International Space Station. Credit: NASA
Dr. Lyndsey McMillon-Brown was hoping to see anything but mustard yellow. When the NASA research electrical engineer clicked open the photo of a small sample — a swatch of film no bigger than a sticky note — she let out a cheer. The film was still dark black after spending … [continued]
Warming Makes Droughts, Extreme Wet Events More Frequent, Intense Scientists have predicted that droughts and floods will become more frequent and severe as our planet warms and climate changes, but detecting this on regional and continental scales has proven difficult. Now a new NASA-led study (new study published in Nature … [continued]
“It’s difficult to watch this tragedy unfold, especially since we’ve known for a long time that the buildings in the region were not designed to withstand earthquakes,” said USGS scientist David Wald. “An earthquake this size has the potential to be damaging anywhere in the world, but many structures in this region are particularly vulnerable.”
2022 effectively tied for Earth’s 5th warmest year since 1880, and the last 9 consecutive years have been the warmest 9 on record. NASA looks back at how heat was expressed in different ways around the world in 2022. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Kathleen Gaeta Editor’s Note: This release was … [continued]
Thinning of the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream
Greenland’s largest ice stream is expected to contribute more to sea level rise than models previously indicated.
Published Jan 7, 2023
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images
Greenland is home to the planet’s largest ice sheet outside of Antarctica. Observations collected from the ground, air, and space have revealed rapid thinning in the northeast part of this ice sheet that could contribute more to sea level rise than previously thought. “Rivers” of relatively fast-moving ice, known as … [continued]
