1 00:00:00,399 --> 00:00:02,980 Fine-tuning the James Webb Space Telescope … 2 00:00:02,980 --> 00:00:05,120 A different view of Venus … 3 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:09,480 And the science on an upcoming space station resupply mission … a few of the stories 4 00:00:09,480 --> 00:00:13,840 to tell you about – This Week at NASA! 5 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:19,000 The James Webb Space Telescope team is nearing completion of the first phase of the months-long 6 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:25,300 process of aligning the observatory’s primary mirror using the Near Infrared Camera or NIRCam 7 00:00:25,300 --> 00:00:26,300 instrument. 8 00:00:26,300 --> 00:00:30,900 As planned, NIRCam has detected the first photons of starlight that traveled through 9 00:00:30,900 --> 00:00:37,020 the observatory and has identified starlight from the same star in each of Webb’s 18 10 00:00:37,020 --> 00:00:38,650 primary mirror segments. 11 00:00:38,650 --> 00:00:44,280 The result is this mosaic image release on Feb. 11, that appears to be random dots of 12 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:49,540 starlight – but is actually light from the same star reflected by Webb’s unaligned 13 00:00:49,540 --> 00:00:51,330 mirror segments. 14 00:00:51,330 --> 00:00:56,250 This simple image of blurry starlight now becomes the foundation to align and focus 15 00:00:56,250 --> 00:01:01,610 the telescope so that it can deliver unprecedented views of the universe this summer. 16 00:01:01,610 --> 00:01:08,050 During recent flybys of Venus, our Parker Solar Probe captured its first visible light 17 00:01:08,050 --> 00:01:11,250 images of the Venusian surface taken from space. 18 00:01:11,250 --> 00:01:15,560 Some of the images, captured in wavelengths of the visible spectrum that human eyes can 19 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:20,610 see, were used to create a video of the planet’s entire night side. 20 00:01:20,610 --> 00:01:25,490 In the video, light and dark surface features can be seen, as well as glowing features in 21 00:01:25,490 --> 00:01:27,310 the planet’s atmosphere. 22 00:01:27,310 --> 00:01:31,860 These images can help us learn more about the evolution of Venus, which has been referred 23 00:01:31,860 --> 00:01:34,870 to as Earth’s twin. 24 00:01:34,870 --> 00:01:39,510 Our commercial partner Northrop Grumman is targeting Feb. 19 for the launch of its next 25 00:01:39,510 --> 00:01:44,049 resupply mission to the International Space Station from our Wallops Flight Facility in 26 00:01:44,049 --> 00:01:45,240 Virginia. 27 00:01:45,240 --> 00:01:50,229 More than 8,200 pounds of cargo will launch aboard the company’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft. 28 00:01:50,229 --> 00:01:55,080 The science being delivered on the mission includes a study to evaluate the effects of 29 00:01:55,080 --> 00:02:00,600 a drug on breast and prostate cancer cells, an investigation that could potentially lead 30 00:02:00,600 --> 00:02:07,060 to products to protect aging skin, and a system to test techniques for hydroponic and aeroponic 31 00:02:07,060 --> 00:02:08,470 plant growth. 32 00:02:08,470 --> 00:02:13,520 This is the company’s 17th resupply mission to the station for NASA. 33 00:02:13,520 --> 00:02:18,389 NASA’s Investigation of Microphysics and Precipitation for Atlantic Coast-Threatening 34 00:02:18,389 --> 00:02:24,349 Storms or IMPACTS mission is a multi-year airborne science campaign tracking snowstorms 35 00:02:24,349 --> 00:02:30,269 across the Midwest and Eastern U.S. Data collected by a suite of instruments on a pair of NASA 36 00:02:30,269 --> 00:02:36,650 aircraft helps researchers determine how snowstorms develop, how much snow a storm will bring, 37 00:02:36,650 --> 00:02:38,739 and where the bulk of it will fall. 38 00:02:38,739 --> 00:02:43,349 The current campaign is the second deployment of IMPACTS and is scheduled to wrap up at 39 00:02:43,349 --> 00:02:45,569 the end of the month. 40 00:02:45,569 --> 00:02:53,040 Engineers at our Stennis Space Center conducted the second RS-25 engine hot fire test of 2022 41 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:54,870 on Feb. 8. 42 00:02:54,870 --> 00:03:00,719 Four RS-25s will help power our Space Launch System rocket on future Artemis deep-space 43 00:03:00,719 --> 00:03:05,620 missions, including this year’s uncrewed Artemis I mission around the Moon. 44 00:03:05,620 --> 00:03:10,909 This was the third overall test in the current test series which began in mid-December. 45 00:03:10,909 --> 00:03:15,329 Each test provides valuable data that can be used to help develop the engines.