This week @NASA: SpaceX Crew-6 Splashdown, Psyche Spacecraft Hitchhiker, Ancient Life on Earth

Support teams work around the SpaceX Dragon Endeavor spacecraft shortly after it landed with NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren “Woody” Hoburg, UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev aboard the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Jacksonville. , Florida, Monday, September 4, 2023. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

NASA‘s SpaceX Crew-6 mission returns to Earth safely…

A tech demo takes flight on NASA’s Psyche spacecraft…

And studying ancient life on Earth to better understand Mars …

A few stories to tell – This Week in NASA!

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 Mission returns safely to Earth

On September 3, the four crew members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission, including NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, boarded their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and were released from the International Space Station. They returned to Earth early the next morning – landing safely in the water off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida. International workers contribute to hundreds of experiments and technology demonstrations during the six months of its rotation.

The Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) flight transceiver is inside a large tube like sunshade and telescope on the Psyche spacecraft, as seen here inside the clean room at JPL. The previous photo, inset, shows the transceiver assembly before it is attached to the spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The Psyche Asteroid Mission will also carry an Optical Communications Demo

Not before October 5 is the target of NASA’s Psyche mission to the metal-rich asteroid below the moon. The Psyche spacecraft will have a hitchhiker for the trip – a laser transceiver for NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications or DSOC display technology. DSOC, the agency’s first test of high-bandwidth optical communications beyond the Moon, aims to demonstrate how lasers can increase data transmission rates far beyond the capacity of current radio systems used on spacecraft today.

Members of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, the European Agency, the Australian Agency, and the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization are in the Pilbara region of Western Australia to investigate “stromatolites,” the oldest confirmed fossils on Earth. They discuss the importance of geological context when selecting sample sites and ensuring the integrity of the sample’s biological origins while considering future plans to bring Mars samples back to Earth. Credit: NASA/Mike Toillion

NASA, partners Study Ancient Life in Australia to promote Mars Exploration

Members of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program and several international partners recently traveled to the Western Australian Outback to study some of the oldest known fossilized lifeforms on Earth that may be associated with Mars. Both planets may have had similar pasts, so learning more about Earth’s evolution can help us understand what we’re finding now, and in the future, as we search for signs of ancient microbial life on Mars.

NASA, in partnership with Boeing, has introduced a new livery for the X-66A aircraft, part of the Sustainable Flight Demonstrator initiative. Credit: Boeing

Boeing Transports Planes to Convert to NASA’s New X-Plane

The MD-90 aircraft was recently flown to Boeing’s Palmdale, California facility, to be converted into an X-66A test aircraft for NASA’s Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project. The IX-66A, which will use a fuel-efficient transonic Truss-Braced Wing configuration, supports the US goal of achieving net-zero aviation greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

That’s what’s up this week @NASA!