1 00:00:00,410 --> 00:00:04,390 A new cooling system for a device on the space station … 2 00:00:04,390 --> 00:00:07,769 First results from the first spacecraft to touch the Sun … 3 00:00:07,769 --> 00:00:12,929 And preparing Orion for some critical testing … a few of the stories to tell you about 4 00:00:12,929 --> 00:00:15,299 – This Week at NASA! 5 00:00:15,299 --> 00:00:20,359 On Dec. 2, our Andrew Morgan and the European Space Agency’s Luca Parmitano conducted 6 00:00:20,359 --> 00:00:25,420 the third in a series of spacewalks outside the International Space Station to refurbish 7 00:00:25,420 --> 00:00:30,679 the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, or AMS – a cosmic particle detector. 8 00:00:30,679 --> 00:00:35,730 The astronauts installed a new cooling system for the AMS, which was then successfully powered 9 00:00:35,730 --> 00:00:38,250 up by the control team on Earth. 10 00:00:38,250 --> 00:00:42,710 Data gathered from our Parker Solar Probe during two unprecedented and record-breaking 11 00:00:42,710 --> 00:00:48,649 close flybys of our Sun are being shared for the first time in four scientific papers featured 12 00:00:48,649 --> 00:00:50,160 in the journal Nature. 13 00:00:50,160 --> 00:00:54,740 The spacecraft’s super-close proximity to the Sun – some 15 million miles away at 14 00:00:54,740 --> 00:01:00,250 the time – helped reveal new insights into processes that affect the solar wind, the 15 00:01:00,250 --> 00:01:05,250 dust located extremely close to the Sun’s corona, and the acceleration events of solar 16 00:01:05,250 --> 00:01:10,720 energetic particles, which are so small they are undetectable from our vantage point, nearly 17 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:13,330 93 million miles from the Sun. 18 00:01:13,330 --> 00:01:18,090 This information will be vital to protecting astronauts and technology in space – an 19 00:01:18,090 --> 00:01:22,540 important part of NASA’s Artemis program, which will send the first woman and the next 20 00:01:22,540 --> 00:01:28,040 man to the Moon by 2024 and, eventually, on to Mars. 21 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:32,980 The Orion spacecraft that will make a round-trip to the Moon and back on our Artemis I test 22 00:01:32,980 --> 00:01:38,330 flight – with no astronauts onboard, is at our Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio. 23 00:01:38,330 --> 00:01:43,170 Plum Brook houses the largest and most powerful space environment simulation facilities in 24 00:01:43,170 --> 00:01:44,350 the world. 25 00:01:44,350 --> 00:01:49,280 Orion will undergo a four-month test campaign while there, to subject the spacecraft to 26 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:55,220 the vacuum, extreme temperatures and electromagnetic environment it will experience during Artemis 27 00:01:55,220 --> 00:01:57,110 I. 28 00:01:57,110 --> 00:02:02,451 During a Dec. 3 agency-wide town hall at our headquarters in Washington, D.C., Administrator 29 00:02:02,451 --> 00:02:08,030 Jim Bridenstine introduced the agency’s new associate administrator for Human Exploration 30 00:02:08,030 --> 00:02:10,700 and Operations, Douglas Loverro. 31 00:02:10,700 --> 00:02:15,780 “Finding somebody with this very unique skill set that could fit this role took a 32 00:02:15,780 --> 00:02:16,780 bit of time. 33 00:02:16,780 --> 00:02:20,920 But I do believe that we have found the right person in Doug Loverro.” 34 00:02:20,920 --> 00:02:24,840 Loverro spent three decades in the Department of Defense and the National Reconnaissance 35 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:30,610 Office developing, managing, and establishing national policy for the full range of national 36 00:02:30,610 --> 00:02:32,190 security space activities. 37 00:02:32,190 --> 00:02:39,170 Most recently, from 2013 to 2017, he served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense 38 00:02:39,170 --> 00:02:40,360 for Space Policy. 39 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:45,030 “My job is to support the people who work for me – to go ahead and make sure they 40 00:02:45,030 --> 00:02:50,090 have the tools they need, whether it’s turning a bolt or creating a contract or whatever 41 00:02:50,090 --> 00:02:51,630 the tool is. 42 00:02:51,630 --> 00:02:56,230 And my job as a leader is to support them in that.” 43 00:02:56,230 --> 00:03:01,330 On Dec. 5, our commercial cargo provider, SpaceX, launched its Dragon spacecraft from 44 00:03:01,330 --> 00:03:06,010 Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station with a variety of cutting-edge scientific 45 00:03:06,010 --> 00:03:09,060 experiments for the International Space Station. 46 00:03:09,060 --> 00:03:13,620 These include an investigation studying the process of malting barley in microgravity, 47 00:03:13,620 --> 00:03:19,670 a high resolution imaging suite capable of specifically identifying materials on Earth’s 48 00:03:19,670 --> 00:03:26,010 surface – whether they be soil, rocks, vegetation, or human-made, and an external stowage unit 49 00:03:26,010 --> 00:03:32,160 where remote-control robots capable of detecting leaks outside the station can cool their heels 50 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:34,270 until they are called into service. 51 00:03:34,270 --> 00:03:39,760 A Russian Progress cargo ship lifted off from Kazakhstan on Dec. 6 with almost three tons 52 00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:42,770 of food, fuel and supplies for the space station. 53 00:03:42,770 --> 00:03:46,561 We and our partners have supported humans living and working aboard the station for 54 00:03:46,561 --> 00:03:48,630 more than 19 years. 55 00:03:48,630 --> 00:03:54,050 The station remains the sole space-based proving ground and stepping stone for achieving the 56 00:03:54,050 --> 00:03:59,110 goals of our Artemis program, which will land the first woman and next man on the Moon in 57 00:03:59,110 --> 00:04:00,110 2024.