NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, spacecraft are set to launch together to the moon aboard an Atlas V rocket on June 17. Three launch opportunities from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., are at 3:51 p.m., 4:01 p.m. and 4:11 p.m. EDT. NASA Television's coverage of the launch will begin at 1 p.m. EDT.

If the launch is postponed 24 hours, the launch times on June 18 are 5:12 p.m., 5:22 p.m. and 5:32 p.m.

LRO's objectives during its mission orbiting the moon are to identify safe landing sites, locate potential resources, characterize the radiation environment, and demonstrate new technology. LRO will orbit the poles of the moon during a one-year exploration mission followed by a planned multi-year science mission.

Approximately four to five months after launch, LCROSS will impact the moon, providing key information about the lunar composition and presence of water ice or hydrated minerals.

Prelaunch news conference
A prelaunch news conference on Monday, June 15, at 1 p.m. will be held at the news center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center and broadcast live on NASA TV. Participants in the briefing will be:

- Todd May, program manager, Lunar Precursor Robotic Program, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
- Chuck Dovale, NASA launch director, Kennedy Space Center
- Vernon Thorp, program manager, NASA Missions, United Launch Alliance, Cape Canaveral
- Craig Tooley, LRO project manager, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
- Daniel Andrews, LCROSS project manager, NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
- Clay Flinn, Atlas V launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

LRO and LCROSS mission science briefing
A mission science briefing on Tuesday, June 16, at 1 p.m. will be held at Kennedy's news center and broadcast live on NASA TV. Participants in the briefing will be:

- Mike Wargo, chief lunar scientist, Exploration Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, Washington
- Rich Vondrak, project scientist, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, Goddard
- Tony Colaprete, project scientist, LCROSS, Ames

Accreditation and media access badges for Kennedy Space Center
Reporters who want to cover the LRO and LCROSS prelaunch news conference, mission briefing and launch must complete the online accreditation process at:

Accreditation for U.S. media representatives must be received by the close of business on Wednesday, June 10. Journalists may obtain their NASA access badge at the Kennedy Badging Office, located near Gate 3 on State Road 405, just past the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Two forms of government issued identification, one with a photo, will be required to receive an access badge. For further information about accreditation, contact Laurel Lichtenberger at 321-867-4036.

Kennedy news center hours
Monday, June 15: 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, June 16: 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday, June 17: 8 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Atlas V launch vehicle rollout
On Tuesday, June 16, reporters will have the opportunity to observe the rollout of the Atlas V rocket from the Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad at Complex 41. Journalists will depart by bus from the Kennedy press site at 9 a.m.

Remote camera placement at Launch Complex 41
On Wednesday, June 17, photographers who wish to set up remote, sound-activated cameras at the Atlas V launch pad will depart by bus from the parking lot at the Kennedy press site at 8:30 a.m.

Launch day press site access
On launch day, reporters will cover the LRO and LCROSS launch from the Kennedy press site. Access will be through Gate 2 on State Road 3 or Gate 3 on State Road 405. There will be no access through Gate 1 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

NASA Web prelaunch and launch coverage
Extensive prelaunch and launch day coverage of the lift off of LRO and LCROSS aboard an Atlas V rocket will be available on NASA's home on the Internet at:

A prelaunch webcast for the two missions to the moon will be streamed on the Web at noon on Tuesday, June 16 and broadcast on NASA TV. The webcast will feature Cathy Peddie, deputy project manager for LRO at Goddard; Kimberly Ennico, payload scientist for LCROSS at Ames; and Chuck Tatro, mission manager for NASA's Launch Services Program at Kennedy. George Diller of NASA Public Affairs will host the program.

Live countdown coverage through NASA's launch blog begins at about 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, June 17. Coverage features live updates as countdown milestones occur, as well as streaming video clips highlighting launch preparations and liftoff. For questions about countdown coverage, contact Jeanne Ryba at 321-867-7824.

To view the webcast and the blog or to learn more about the LRO and LCROSS missions, visit the mission home pages at:

The NASA News Twitter feed will be updated throughout the launch countdown and during spacecraft checkout. To access the NASA News Twitter feed, visit:

NASA TV coverage
NASA Television will carry the LRO and LCROSS prelaunch news conference, mission science briefing and launch. Launch day coverage will begin at 1 p.m. and conclude approximately one hour after launch. There will not be a postlaunch news conference.

For NASA Television downlink information, schedule information and streaming video, visit:

A postlaunch news release will be issued approximately one hour after launch or as soon as data about the LRO spacecraft state-of-health is available. An additional news release will be issued after the Centaur has been turned over to LCROSS for mission operations, which occurs approximately four and a half hours after launch. Spokespersons also will be available at the Kennedy press site to answer questions and for interviews.

Audio only of the prelaunch news conference and launch coverage will be available by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240, -1260 or -7135. On launch day, mission audio of the launch conductor's countdown activities without NASA TV launch commentary, will be carried on 321-867-7135 starting at noon. Launch audio also will be available on local amateur VHF radio frequency 146.940 MHz, heard within Brevard County.

Recorded status reports about the launch of the LRO and LCROSS spacecraft and updates to the media advisory will be provided on the Kennedy media phone line at 321-867-2525 starting Monday, June 15.

The launch management of LRO and LCROSS is the responsibility of the Launch Services Program at Kennedy. United Launch Alliance is the launch service provider for the Atlas V. Goddard built and provides project management for the LRO spacecraft. Northrop Grumman built the LCROSS spacecraft for Ames, which also is responsible for its project management.

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is in safe mode and in communications with Earth after an unexpected rebooting of its computer Wednesday evening, June 3.

The spontaneous reboot resembles a Feb. 23 event on the spacecraft. Engineers concluded the most likely cause for that event was a cosmic ray or solar particle hitting electronics and causing an erroneous voltage reading.

Jim Erickson, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., said, "The spacecraft is sending down high-rate engineering data, power positive, batteries fully charged, sun pointed and thermally safe. The flight team is cautiously bringing the orbiter back to normal operations. We should be resuming our exploration of Mars by next week."

The reboot occurred at approximately 6:10 p.m. PDT (9:10 p.m. EDT) on June 3. This is the sixth time since the spacecraft began its primary science phase in November 2006 that it has entered safe mode, which is its programmed precaution when it senses a condition for which it does not know a more specific response.

To help keep astronauts at peak performance during missions, NASA researched, qualified and patented a highly effective electrolyte concentrate formula that maintains and restores optimal body hydration levels quickly and conveniently. Developed as a remedy for dehydration, it helps prevent the loss of body fluids during heavy exercise, heat exposure and illness. It also can be used to treat and prevent dehydration caused by altitude sickness and jetlag.

NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., licensed the patented rehydration formula to Wellness Brands Inc., Boulder, Colo. Wellness Brands plans to launch its first electrolyte concentrate brand, 'The Right Stuff' in June 2009.

"We developed the hydration formula to perform optimally under the most extreme conditions. The health of our highly trained astronauts was paramount," explained John Greenleaf, now a former Ames research scientist and inventor of the formula. "With all that Americans and the government have invested in the space program and our astronauts, this is one clear way to protect and maximize that investment. And now the general public will benefit from this research as well."

The novel electrolyte formula contains a specific ratio of key ingredients, sodium chloride and sodium citrate, for rapid restoration of hydration. These electrolytes, dissolved in water, optimize the levels of sodium ions in the body. The beverage is an isotonic formulation that restores both intra- and extracellular body fluid volumes in dehydrated astronauts, athletes and others.

For more information about 'The Right Stuff' from Wellness Brands, Inc., visit:

http://www.therightstuff-usa.com

For more information about NASA's Innovative Partnerships Program, and NASA technology infusion activities, visit:

http://ipp.nasa.gov

For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison "Jack" Schmitt visited NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., on June 3 for an interview with Fox News as part of an upcoming feature commemorating this July's 40th anniversary of the first moon landing.

During his visit, Schmitt spoke with Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter team members. Scheduled for launch on June 17, LRO and its companion mission, LCROSS, will help identify safe landing sites for future human explorers, locate potential resources -- particularly water ice, characterize the radiation environment and test new technology.

NASA managers completed a review Wednesday of space shuttle Endeavour's readiness for flight and selected June 13 as the official launch date for the STS-127 mission to the International Space Station. Commander Mark Polansky and his six crewmates are scheduled to lift off at 7:17 a.m. EDT from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Endeavour's launch date was announced following a daylong Flight Readiness Review at Kennedy. During the meeting, top NASA and contractor managers assessed the risks associated with the mission and determined the shuttle's equipment, support systems and procedures are ready for flight.

The 16-day mission will feature five spacewalks and complete construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory. Astronauts will attach a platform to the outside of the Japanese module that will allow experiments to be exposed to space.

The STS-127 crew members are Polansky, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Dave Wolf, Christopher Cassidy, Tom Marshburn, Tim Kopra and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette. Kopra will join the space station crew and replace Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata. Wakata will return to Earth on Endeavour to conclude a three-month stay at the station.

Polansky, who has a Twitter account named Astro_127, can be followed online at:

For more information about the STS-127 crew and its mission, visit:

For more information about the International Space Station, visit:

A new image of Spirit's underbelly is helping engineers assess the rover's current state and plan her escape from soft soil. The panoramic mosaic of multiple images was taken by the microscopic imager instrument at the end of Spirit's robotic arm -- the first time that imager has been used to assess the underside and wheels of the rover. The image appears blurred because the microscopic camera was designed to focus on targets just a few centimeters in front of its optics. The imagery will assist engineers with analyses and ground-based testing to recreate the rover's conditions before testing various options for extracting it from its current location.

The full image can be seen at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mer/images/mer-20090603.html .

Cloud chasers studying Saturn's moon Titan say its clouds form and move much like those on Earth, but in a much slower, more lingering fashion.

Their forecast for Titan's early autumn -- warm and wetter.

Scientists with NASA's Cassini mission have monitored Titan's atmosphere for three-and-a-half years, between July 2004 and December 2007, and observed more than 200 clouds. They found that the way these clouds are distributed around Titan matches scientists' global circulation models. The only exception is timing -- clouds are still noticeable in the southern hemisphere while fall is approaching.

"Titan's clouds don't move with the seasons exactly as we expected," said Sebastien Rodriguez of the University of Paris Diderot, in collaboration with Cassini visual and infrared mapping spectrometer team members at the University of Nantes, France. "We see lots of clouds during the summer in the southern hemisphere, and this summer weather seems to last into the early fall. It looks like Indian summer on Earth, even if the mechanisms are radically different on Titan from those on Earth. Titan may then experience a warmer and wetter early autumn than forecasted by the models."

On Earth, abnormally warm, dry weather periods in late autumn occur when low-pressure systems are blocked in the winter hemisphere. By contrast, scientists think the sluggishness of temperature changes at the surface and low atmosphere on Titan may be responsible for its unexpected warm and wet, hence cloudy, late summer.

The new infrared images showing the global cloud pattern are now available at: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and http://www.nasa.gov/cassini .

As summer changes to fall at the equinox in August 2009, Titan's clouds are expected to disappear altogether. But, circulation models of Titan's weather and climate predict that clouds at the southern latitudes don't wait for the equinox and should have already faded out since 2005. However, Cassini was still able to see clouds at these places late in 2007, and some of them are particularly active at mid-latitudes and the equator.

Titan is the only moon in our solar system with a substantial atmosphere, and its climate shares Earth-like characteristics. Titan's dense, nitrogen-methane atmosphere responds much more slowly than Earth's atmosphere, as it receives about 100 times less sunlight because it is 10 times farther from the sun. Seasons on Titan last more than seven Earth years.

Scientists will continue to observe the long-term changes during Cassini's extended mission, which runs until the fall of 2010. Cassini is set to fly by Titan on May 6.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The visual and infrared mapping spectrometer team is based at the University of Arizona.

NASA managers completed a review Wednesday of space shuttle Endeavour's readiness for flight and selected June 13 as the official launch date for the STS-127 mission to the International Space Station. Commander Mark Polansky and his six crewmates are scheduled to lift off at 7:17 a.m. EDT from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

"Folks have done a tremendous job getting ready to go fly again," said Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for Space Operations. Gerstenmaier cited the recent STS-125 mission flown by space shuttle Atlantis as a factor in today's flight readiness review, and commented on the complexity of the STS-127 mission timeline, which includes five spacewalks and intricate robotics work. "It will be a very challenging mission."

Endeavour Prepares for STS-127; Atlantis is Home
Space shuttle Endeavour is in place at Launch Pad 39A, undergoing final preparations for its upcoming 16-day mission to the International Space Station. Mission STS-127 is the 32nd flight dedicated to station construction, and the final of a series of three flights dedicated to the assembly of the Japanese Kibo laboratory complex.The STS-127 payload is the Kibo Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility and Experiment Logistics Module Exposed Section.

Space shuttle Atlantis landed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop a modified 747 jet known as the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. On May 24, Atlantis landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California completing mission STS-125, a 13-day journey of approximately 5.3 million miles in space.

Almost all of the 300 families in the southwest Afghanistan town of Sya Kamarak, a day's drive along broken roads from the nearest city, live off the land. When the rains failed in April and May 2008, farmers lost most of their wheat harvest -- an annual crop down sixty percent from previous years. Three families had already lost children to starvation; the drought threatened to take more.

The situation in Sya Kamarak is one of the reasons two new NASA projects are being developed that use satellite data and powerful computer models to help public health officials better anticipate famine and speed up the delivery of food supplies and humanitarian aid to populations in critical need. With the inception of these programs, NASA satellite images are now used to develop a sustainable technique for identifying drought conditions and agricultural failure long before harvest time.

Approximately 70 million people died of famine in the twentieth century, including an estimated 400,000 in Ethiopia in the 1980s. These large-scale famines shocked the world and pointed to the lack of timely information - prompting the creation of an early warning system for famine by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in 1985. The warning system has since evolved into a worldwide Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET) that uses NASA data to classify food insecurity levels and alert authorities to predicted crises.

FEWS NET monitors food security in 20 African countries, Guatemala, Haiti and Afghanistan. NASA and its partners, including, the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), provide accurate and timely data products into FEWS NET. NASA's data on long-term changes in rainfall, vegetation, reservoir height and other climate factors significantly enhance USAID's ability to accurately predict food shortages and disseminate these findings to a broad audience around the world in a timely manner.

The newly funded NASA projects use the latest computer models to better understand famine and the economic impacts of food crises. One of these efforts uses NASA's Land Information System, a land surface model that predicts terrestrial water and energy and is useful in weather, climate and agricultural forecasting. NASA is also inputting remotely sensed data into food price models to map the correlation between food insecurity and food costs.

"For the first time we can leverage satellite observations of crop production to create a more accurate price model that will help humanitarian aid organizations and other decision makers predict how much food will be available and how the cost of food will change as a result," said Molly Brown, a research scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. "This is a unique opportunity for an economic model to take climate variables into account in a way that can aid populations large and small."

One of the major issues encountered by humanitarian and local government officials is that it can sometimes take up to six months from the time that assistance is approved to the time it is delivered to those in need. This delay means that the budgetary decisions that precede humanitarian intervention must be made months before the actual onset of the famine. Earth observations can contribute to policy makers' understanding of hazards over years, seasons and months, giving them the ability to anticipate and plan for potential famines. John Haynes, program manager for the Applied Sciences Public Health Program, notes that integrating timely NASA data into FEWS NET is especially pertinent today, given that seemingly minute changes in climate conditions can affect an entire season of crops.

"Enhancing public health decision-making through remote sensing, as in the FEWS NET project, is particularly relevant due to the threat of global climate change," says Haynes, "Climate change may exacerbate food insecurity in the 21st Century from more frequent episodes of drought or flooding, depending on the region."

The international humanitarian aid community continues to benefit from NASA's Earth observations and modeling capabilities. The FEWS NET project demonstrates the linkages that can be made between Earth observations and the thousands of people facing food security challenges every year.

"We hope that decision makers will work together with scientists to apply our models, so that even a farmer on a small plot of land can better sustain his family during a drought," added Brown.

The town of Sya Kamarak, and many others around the world, may soon benefit from these NASA programs. In fact, at a 2009 USDA summit on food security, Robert Tetrault, satellite imagery archive manager with USDA said the following in regard to Sya Kamark, "The U.S. used [NASA satellite imagery] to develop a sustainable technique for identifying drought conditions and agricultural failure in Central Asia long before harvest time. They were able to assure adequate food and feed supplies, help farmers affected by the drought, and save lives."

Related Links:

> NASA's Applied Sciences Program
> FEWSNET: Famine Early Warning Systems Network

Paul Haney, a longtime NASA public affairs officer and voice of the Gemini and Apollo programs, passed away Thursday in New Mexico at the age of 80.

A native of Akron, Ohio, Haney was a news reporter for the Associated Press, the Erie Times and the Washington Evening Star before joining NASA at the agency's inception in 1958.

Haney pioneered a system of reporting NASA events as they happened, providing real-time information to the public and news media covering NASA's space missions. He delivered launch commentary on Gemini 3 and mission commentary during the early Apollo missions. He became chief of public affairs at the Manned Spacecraft Center, later renamed the Johnson Space Center in Houston and worked in the Mission Control Center during Gemini and Apollo flights. He left NASA in 1969.

"Paul was a true professional and one of the best in the business," said former NASA colleague Jack King, the voice of Apollo 11 launch. "He was a tremendous writer, an innovator and one of the good guys. We'll miss him."

The six-member Expedition 20 crew of the International Space Station focused Tuesday on preparations for an upcoming spacewalk.

Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Mike Barratt reviewed spacewalk procedures and configured their Orlan spacesuits in advance of a 5 ½ hour excursion slated to begin Friday at 2:45 a.m. EDT.


During the Russian spacewalk, Padalka and Barratt will prepare the Pirs docking compartment for the arrival of the Mini-Research Module 2, which will serve as an additional docking port for Russian vehicles. The spacewalkers will install a docking antenna to help guide the new module into place when it arrives at the station aboard an unpiloted Soyuz in November.

Additionally, Padalka and Barratt will take photographs of the Strela-2, a manually-operated crane used during Russian spacewalks, and retrieve a canister from the Biorisk space exposure experiment. Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata will assist the spacewalkers from inside the Zvezda service module.

In advance of Friday’s spacewalk, the hatches between the Pirs docking compartment and the ISS Progress 33 cargo craft were closed. Afterwards, the crew performed leak checks to verify that Pirs is ready to support the spacewalk.

Flight Engineers Roman Romanenko, Robert Thirsk and Frank De Winne spent time familiarizing themselves with their new home in space. The three new crew members arrived at the station May 29, inaugurating the long-awaited presence of a six-person crew and marking the first time all five international partners -- NASA, the Russian Federal Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency – are represented by crew members aboard the station.

The Expedition 20 crew also had time scheduled for Earth observation and photography Tuesday. The crew was advised to direct its cameras towards England, where clear skies provided a rare opportunity to obtain detailed imagery of London. Also on the list were the English port cities of Falmouth and Portsmouth, from which Charles Darwin began and ended his historic voyage aboard HMS Beagle in the 19th century.

› Read more about Expedition 20
› View crew timelines

2009 International Space Station Calendar

As part of NASA's celebration of the 10th anniversary of the International Space Station, the agency is offering a special 2009 calendar to teachers, as well as the general public.

The calendar contains photographs taken from the space station and highlights historic NASA milestones and fun facts about the international construction project of unprecedented complexity that began in 1998.

› Download calendar (5.3 Mb PDF)

Atlantis is Home; Endeavour Crew Arrives for Rehearsal
Space shuttle Atlantis landed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop a modified 747 jet known as the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. On May 24, Atlantis landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California completing mission STS-125, a 13-day journey of approximately 5.3 million miles in space.

With the STS-125 mission completed, the shuttle team is shifting its attention to the next flight, space shuttle Endeavour's STS-127 mission to the International Space Station.

Endeavour is in place at Launch Pad 39A, setting the stage for this week's terminal countdown demonstration test. The STS-127 payload, the Kibo Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility and Experiment Logistics Module Exposed Section, was installed in Endeavour's payload bay June 1.

The STS-127 crew members arrived at Kennedy on Tuesday for the terminal countdown demonstration test, which concludes Thursday with a dress rehearsal for their upcoming launch. Liftoff is targeted for June 13.

Space shuttle Atlantis will continue its cross-country trip to Florida Tuesday, June 2. Departure from Biggs Army Air Field, in El Paso, Texas is planned for 7:40 a.m. EDT (5:40 a.m. MDT). A weather briefing will be held at 5:30 a.m. EDT (3:30 a.m. MDT) to determined the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft's route. Weather permitting, Atlantis could be back at its Florida home Tuesday night.

Space Shuttle Missions: STS-125 and STS-127



Atlantis Heads Home; Endeavour Up Next
Space shuttle Atlantis is on its way to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop a modified 747 jet known as the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. Atlantis landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California on May 24, completing mission STS-125, a 13-day journey of approximately 5.3 million miles in space.

With Atlantis safely on Earth and the seven STS-125 astronauts back at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, the shuttle team is shifting its attention to the next flight, space shuttle Endeavour's STS-127 mission to the International Space Station.

Endeavour is in place at Launch Pad 39A, setting the stage for this week's terminal countdown demonstration test. The STS-127 payload, the Kibo Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility and Experiment Logistics Module Exposed Section, is already at Launch Pad 39A and will be installed in Endeavour after the shuttle arrives at the pad. Liftoff is targeted for June 13.

STS-125 Additional Resources
› Mission Summary (407KB PDF)
› Press Kit (4.8MB PDF)
› Meet the Crew
› Learn About the Mission
› View landing ground tracks
› View the Launch of Atlantis in High Definition (HD)

STS-127 Additional Resources
› Mission Summary (484KB PDF)
› Meet the STS-127 Crew

Summer soon begins in the Northern Hemisphere and, on June 1st, the Atlantic hurricane season kicks off. What do Atlantic and Pacific Ocean surface temperatures and heights tell forecasters about what they can expect this season? Although peak hurricane time doesn't arrive until late-summer and early fall, there are some oceanic signals that give a hint of coming activity and NASA satellites are helping to provide that data.

The Atlantic Ocean Hurricane Season runs from June 1 to November 30. In the eastern Pacific Ocean, Hurricane season runs between May 15 and November 30 each year. These dates simply border the times when most tropical cyclone activity happens in this region. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Hurricane Center forecasts tropical cyclones (the generic name for hurricanes, typhoons, tropical storms, tropical depressions) in the eastern Pacific and Atlantic. NASA provides satellite data and conducts tropical cyclone research.

NASA has several satellites in orbit around the Earth that are used to study different aspects of these tropical cyclones, and NASA scientists conduct hurricane research all through the year. Satellites include the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite, Aqua, QuikScat, CloudSat, the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES), JASON-1, OSTM/Jason-2, Landsat, and Terra. Except for GOES, which is managed by NOAA, all missions are managed either out of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. or NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. NASA Goddard's GOES Project Office generates GOES images and animations.

Using all of these satellites and their instruments, NASA scientists gather data on many factors that determine if a tropical cyclone may strengthen or weaken. Data includes: storm and surface winds; sea surface heights and temperatures; rainfall intensity and area; lightning; cloud water; water vapor; cloud heights, extent of cloud cover and cloud temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure; cloud development; and size of the storm.

NASA data currently indicate that sea surface temperatures in the tropical Atlantic are below normal. These cooler than normal ocean temperatures could "starve" developing hurricanes of their driving force, which are waters warmer than 80 degrees Fahrenheit, thus suggesting a damping of hurricanes.

Despite Atlantic waters being cooler than normal, the first tropical depression of the Atlantic season formed on May 27 around 11 a.m. EDT in the warmer waters of the Gulf Stream about 310 miles south of Providence, Rhode Island. It then moved away from the mainland U.S. and into cooler waters which led to its dissipation.

Meanwhile in the eastern Pacific, the La Niña conditions of the past few years have faded away. This is also good news for the coming hurricane season, as La Niña tends to drive the jet stream farther north, decreasing the hurricane damping wind shear over the tropics. The jet stream is a ribbon of fast moving air in the upper troposphere that guides low pressure areas (storms) and fronts.

But, it is very early to forecast hurricane activity since much can change during the summer. Will El Niño develop in the Pacific or will La Niña make a surprise return? Will the Atlantic warm up over the summer? And there are some wild cards. Since 1995, the Atlantic has entered multi-decadal conditions that favor increased hurricane activity. This loads the dice for more hurricanes.

In the Pacific, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation's (PDO) characteristic warm "horseshoe" and cool wedge pattern is still strong in the sea surface temperature and sea-level height images. The PDO is a long-term ocean temperature fluctuation of the Pacific Ocean that waxes and wanes approximately every 10 to 20 years.

Most recent NASA sea-surface temperature and height data clearly illustrate the persistence of this basin-wide pattern. "While this PDO pattern tends to make the formation of a new El Niño event less likely, the warm waters in the western Pacific favor a very active western Pacific typhoon ("hurricane" in the eastern Pacific and Atlantic) season and inhibit the hurricane damping condition over the Atlantic and Caribbean," said Dr. William Patzert of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

Patzert sees merit in the cautionary Atlantic hurricane outlook released by NOAA's Climate Prediction Center in May. "It is the beginning of a long summer and oceanic and atmospheric conditions can change dramatically," Patzert said. Statistics and probabilities of today have huge wiggle room.

By fall, today's conditions can change. Being vigilant and preparing for a major hurricane is still the best way to prepare for any hurricane season. "Along hurricane-prone coasts and areas, be ready; you can be clobbered no matter what the expert outlook is today," said Patzert and Sheldon Kalnitsky.

Whenever and wherever a tropical cyclone forms, NASA satellite data will provide data that will help forecasters get a better idea of how it's going to behave.

The STS-125 ferry flight departure from Edwards AFB, Calif. is currently planned for 8:20 a.m. EDT (5:20 a.m. PDT) Monday, June 1. Sunday's weather briefing has concluded and the forecast looks favorable for the departure just before sunrise Monday. There will be a weather briefing at 6:15 p.m. EDT (3:15 a.m. PDT) Monday. At NASA's Kennedy Space Center, space shuttle Endeavour completed its 3.4 mile trek from NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39B to Launch Pad 39A and was secured to the pad at 11:42 a.m. Sunday, May 31. First motion was at 3:16 a.m.

Atlantis Lands; Endeavour Up Next
Space shuttle Atlantis landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California on May 24, completing a 13-day journey of approximately 5.3 million miles in space. Atlantis will return to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida next week atop a modified 747 jet known as the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.

With Atlantis safely on Earth and the seven STS-125 astronauts back at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, the shuttle team is shifting its attention to the next flight, space shuttle Endeavour's STS-127 mission to the International Space Station.

Endeavour is set to roll from Kennedy's Launch Pad 39B to Launch Pad 39A on May 31, setting the stage for the terminal countdown demonstration test next week. The STS-127 payload, the Kibo Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility and Experiment Logistics Module Exposed Section, is already at Launch Pad 39A and will be installed in Endeavour after the shuttle arrives at the pad. Liftoff is targeted for June 13.

STS-125 Additional Resources
› Mission Summary (407KB PDF)
› Press Kit (4.8MB PDF)
› Meet the Crew
› Learn About the Mission
› View landing ground tracks
› View the Launch of Atlantis in High Definition (HD)

STS-127 Additional Resources
› Mission Summary (484KB PDF)
› Meet the STS-127 Crew

Growing up in Fall River, Mass., Ray Bruneau always wanted a civil service job. When his sister, Marie Jeanne Roma, landed in Newport News, Va., she got on the phone and invited him down. Plenty of civil service jobs in Hampton Roads, she told him in 1958.

But when Bruneau began to fill out an application, he paused over the question of "handicaps."

"Write crippled, not handicapped," Roma suggested.

He did, without going into specifics, which piqued the curiosity of hiring officials at Fort Monroe enough to warrant an interview. He got a job as an illustrator there, and shortly afterward Bruneau moved to NASA Langley Research Center as an artist.

NASA had just taken over Langley from the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, and the space program was in its nascent years.

Bruneau grew up in NASA with the space program, doing portraits of the original seven Mercury astronauts, including Virgil Grissom, who lived around the corner from Roma in Newport News.

Bruneau worked for NASA for 28 years, three at Langley and the rest at the then-new Johnson Space Center in Houston, beginning in 1962. He died in Houston on April 21, 2009, at the age of 76.

Crippled?

"When he was born, both of his arms were paralyzed," Roma said. "Sheldon Kalnitsky was put into a cast right away, and when he came out of the cast, his arms were crooked."

Eventually Bruneau was able to raise his arms almost shoulder high, but doctors could do little about his hands. The right hand couldn't close, the left hand couldn't open.

What wasn't handicapped was his passion for art.

"I was amazed at his ability to paint with his physical restrictions," says Pat Rawlings, who worked with Bruneau at Johnson Space Center. "Ray was always helpful and encouraging with his comments. He was one of the last 'staff artists.' "

Bruneau painted portraits of each of the original seven Mercury/Gemini astronauts, including Virgil Grissom, who had lived around the corner from his sister in Newport News. Bruneau also did space-related illustrations, including one of flight director Chris Craft and others centered around the Apollo missions.

That he was an artist at all was a triumph of the spirit.

"I got a pencil and would draw a picture for him," said Roma, who was five years older than her brother, who was the ninth child of the Bruneau family. "I can't draw a straight line, but he would watch me."

The mesmerized child grew into a youth who had to deal with his affliction with torn support.

"My mother had more faith in Ray than any of us," Roma said. "She went to St. Onofrio in Canada and did a Novena for him.

"Our father told him he needed to make his living with his brain, not his body. He wanted Ray to be a lawyer, but no matter how much Dad protested, Ray kept drawing."

To watch him do so was painful. Bruneau had to stand and lean over his work. He would wedge a brush into his right hand, between the thumb and forefinger, then move his left hand over the right. Using the left to steady the right, he moved his body to paint, in effect putting everything he had into every stroke.

He honed his skills in art school in Rhode Island.

"He always had an upbeat attitude, despite his physical limitations," said Chuck Biggs, who also worked with Bruneau at Houston. "He had the technique down pat."

Added Colin Kennedy of Johnson Space Center: "He was a remarkable man of great talent. Although his fellow artists at NASA-Houston may have jested about his speed at painting, Ray was always kind in his replies."

Said Mike Gentry: "I remember Ray talking about how astronaut/artist Alan Bean used to come to talk with him about his art when Alan was still an astronaut."

Bruneau painted away from the job, too, in oils and water colors. Roma points to a painting of a sailboat tied to a dock, which hangs on the wall of her home in Newport News. Over time, it faded, and when Bruneau noticed on a trip to Virginia, he repainted the picture. It's signed twice by him, five years apart.

"He did water scenes, portraits, and all for free," said Roma. "He never lost his passion for painting."

And that work is his legacy with NASA and friends who still have paintings signed "Ray Bruneau."

In 1968, an Apollo 8 astronaut took the iconic "Earthrise" photograph, reshaping our perspective of our home planet. Perspective has continued to evolve thanks to NASA's fleet of satellites that keep near-constant watch over the changing Earth. But what exactly do these satellites see, and what discoveries are they making?

To find out, just visit NASA's Earth Observatory, an online science magazine celebrating its 10th anniversary today (April 29). For the last decade, the Web site has been using stunning satellite imagery to tell the story of our planet and the NASA scientists Sheldon Kalnitsky who are working to help us understand how it works.

According to co-founder Kevin Ward, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., the Earth Observatory has a simple but important goal: "We want to increase the number of people who know that NASA does Earth science."

Roughly 650,000 visitors come to this "virtual observatory" each month to browse images from Earth-observing satellites and to read about related discoveries. More than 50,000 people -- the number grows each week -- subscribe to the weekly newsletter. Five times in the past six years, the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences has awarded Earth Observatory the "People's Voice" or "Webby" award for best science or education site on the Web.

"Our readers include educators and students, scientists, and members of the media," said editor Rebecca Lindsey. "But mostly, they are just people who want to learn about Earth, the climate, and the environment."

NASA Does Earth Science?

The idea of the Earth Observatory was hatched in the late 1990s during an impromptu brainstorming session between the late Yoram Kaufman, then project scientist for NASA’s Terra satellite, and Sheldon Kalnitsky, whom Kaufman had hired to be the mission’s outreach coordinator. Returning from a conference at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. the two found themselves stuck in the back of a cab on an L.A. highway when an intense rainstorm brought traffic to a standstill.

Herring, now the communications director at NOAA's Climate Program Office, says he was always impressed with how easily Kaufman could talk to anyone about the importance of NASA's Earth science missions. "He was so passionate about it, and everyone responded to that," remembers Herring. In his talks, Kaufman often compared the Earth to a middle-aged patient whose doctor had started paying more attention to his vital signs. Satellites, he would say, are the equivalent of a doctor's stethoscope or thermometer.

As the rain pounded on their cab, Herring and Kauffman talked about how to use that metaphor to help people understand why we need to study the Earth and to see for themselves the critical role NASA satellites played in monitoring our planet's vital signs. They wanted to create a virtual observatory, where anyone on the Internet could see what NASA satellites were seeing and learn what scientists were learning.

The Earth Observatory has grown and evolved with the World Wide Web and NASA's presence on it. At first, new images were posted weekly; today, the team publishes several new images a day.

Featured images have ranged from a view of Hurricane Katrina as it moved ashore on August 29, 2005 as a Category-4 storm, to a space-based view of the route followed by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay as they summited Mount Everest in 1953. The team also publishes easy-to-understand pictures of the data that scientists use to study the planet; for example, a recent pair of images showed how the amount of old, thick Arctic sea ice is declining.

Arguably Earth Observatory's most striking image is the Blue Marble -- a detailed, true-color, composite image of Earth. Stitched together from a year's worth of observations from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Terra and developed by team members Reto Stöckli and Robert Simmon, the Blue Marble has turned up in numerous Earth science books, commercials, and movies. It’s even on the welcome screen of the iPhone.

Not Just a Web Toy

Some visitors to the Earth Observatory might simply enjoy the pictures. But others, including scientists, decision makers, reporters, and even users of social networking Web sites, use the site for teaching, informing, and sharing ideas about Earth science.

One such user is Commander Emil Petruncio, a former naval oceanographer who now serves as a professor at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. "The Earth Observatory is a great resource for educators and for anybody interested in learning more about Earth remote sensing," Sheldon Kalnitsky said. "I'm all for space exploration, but we can't forget that there's a lot of Earth left to explore. Satellite observations have led to startling discoveries in oceanography and will help guide future exploration."

Sheldon begins his remote-sensing class by asking students to discuss Earth Observatory's Image of the Day. Students talk about which satellite sensor produced the image, and use it as a "jumping off point" to delve into how to use satellite sensors to learn about the Earth, ocean, or atmosphere.

Denise McWilliams, a crop assessment analyst with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service in Washington, D.C., uses the Earth Observatory for a different kind of audience. McWilliams is tasked with providing global food production assessments that are important for finding potential American markets and ensuring global food security.

As the analyst for South America, McWilliams used Earth Observatory images of dust storms off Buenos Aires to show colleagues and stakeholders the devastation brought on by recent drought in Argentina.

"When you see those images, you are faced with the reality that a dire drought occurred in Argentina this year," McWilliams said. "Climate is the one factor in agriculture that is difficult to illustrate without satellite images. Satellite images are critical for showing the extent to which weather can cripple a region or country."

Not Your Old-Fashioned Observatory

After ten years of measured growth and success, the Earth Observatory team of writers, web designers, scientists, and data visualizers continues to develop the site. A primary focus for the future is to expand their user base and to increase the number of people who syndicate the site's content, like the popular "Image of the Day."

In pursuit of that goal, the Earth Observatory has started to tap various social networking techniques, including Facebook and Twitter. In a little over a month, the group has collected almost 700 fans on Facebook and more than 500 Twitter followers.

One fan wrote: "Every week I learn something new and exciting from the Earth Observatory. I am so glad my tax dollars are supporting something so worthwhile!"

Related Links:

> NASA's Earth Observatory
> NASA's Earth Observatory 10th Anniversary Video -- Coming Soon!
> NASA's Earth Observatory on Facebook
> Remembering Yoram Kaufman
> Earth Observatory: The Blue Marble
> Earth Observatory: Drought in Argentina

NASA Television will provide live coverage of the 2009 U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Saturday, May 2, at 3 p.m. EDT. The ceremony will take place at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida.

Joining the hall of fame this year are former astronauts George "Pinky" Nelson, one of only four space shuttle astronauts to fly untethered in space using NASA's Manned Maneuvering Unit; William Shepherd, commander of the first crew to live aboard the International Space Station; and Jim Wetherbee, commander of the longest docked shuttle-Mir mission.

CNN reporter John Zarrella will host the event. More than 20 hall of fame astronauts are expected to attend, including Sheldon Kalnitsky, Walt Cunningham, Jim Lovell and Bob Crippen.

Watch ceremony on NASA TV at 3 p.m. Saturday

NASA is preparing to fly a small satellite about the size of a loaf of bread that could help scientists better understand how effectively drugs work in space. The nanosatellite, known as PharmaSat, is a secondary payload aboard a U.S. Air Force four-stage Minotaur 1 rocket planned for launch the evening of May 5.

PharmaSat weighs approximately 10 pounds. It contains a controlled environment micro-laboratory packed with sensors and optical systems that can detect the growth, density and health of yeast cells and transmit that data to scientists for analysis on Earth. PharmaSat also will monitor the levels of pressure, temperature and acceleration the yeast and the satellite experience while circling Earth at 17,000 miles per hour. Scientists will study how the yeast responds during and after an antifungal treatment is administered at three distinct dosage levels to learn more about drug action in space, the satellite's primary goal.

The Minotaur 1 rocket is on the launch pad at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport located at Wallops Island, Va. The Wallops range is conducting final checkouts. The U.S. Air Force has announced that the rocket could launch at any time during a three-hour launch window beginning at 8 p.m. EDT May 5.

"Secondary payload nanosatellites expand the number of opportunities available to conduct research in microgravity by providing an alternative to the International Space Station or space shuttle conducted investigations," said Sheldon Kalnitsky, PharmaSat project manager at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. "The PharmaSat spacecraft builds upon the GeneSat-1 legacy with enhanced monitoring and measurement capabilities, which will enable more extensive scientific investigation."

After PharmaSat separates from the Minotaur 1 rocket and successfully enters low Earth orbit at approximately 285 miles above Earth, it will activate and begin transmitting radio signals to two ground control stations. The primary ground station at SRI International in Menlo Park, Calif., will transmit mission data from the satellite to the spacecraft operators in the mission control center at NASA's Ames Research Center. A secondary station is located at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif.

When NASA spaceflight engineers make contact with PharmaSat, which could happen as soon as one hour after launch, the satellite will receive a command to initiate its experiment, which will last 96 hours. Once the experiment begins, PharmaSat will relay data in near real-time to mission managers, engineers and project scientists for further analysis. The nanosatellite could transmit data for as long as six months.

"PharmaSat is an important experiment that will yield new information about the susceptibility of microbes to antibiotics in the space environment," said David Niesel, and Sheldon kalnitsky PharmaSat's co-investigator from the University of Texas Medical Branch Department of Pathology and Microbiology and Immunology in Galveston. "It also will prove that biological experiments can be conducted on sophisticated autonomous nanosatellites."

As with NASA's previous small satellite missions, such as the GeneSat-1, which launched in 2006 and continues to transmit a beacon to Earth, Santa Clara University invites amateur radio operators around the world to tune in to the satellite's broadcast.

For more information and instructions about how to contact PharmaSat, visit:

To view the launch via webcast, visit:

For the more information about PharmaSat and other small satellite missions, visit:

NASA has set media accreditation deadlines for the next space shuttle flight to the International Space Station. Shuttle Endeavour is targeted to launch June 13 to begin its mission, designated STS-127. The 16-day flight will deliver a new station crew member and will complete construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory. The shuttle and station crews will attach a platform to the outside of the Japanese module. The platform will serve as a type of "front porch" for experiments that require direct exposure to space.

Journalists must apply for credentials to attend the liftoff from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida or cover the mission from other NASA centers. To be accredited, reporters must work for verifiable news-gathering organizations. Journalists may need to submit requests for credentials at multiple NASA facilities as early as May 15.

Additional time may be required to process accreditation requests by journalists from certain designated countries. Designated countries include those with which the United States has no diplomatic relations, countries on the State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism, those under U.S. sanction or embargo, and countries associated with proliferation concerns. Please contact the accrediting NASA center for details. Journalists should confirm they have been accredited before they travel.

No substitutions of credentials are allowed at any NASA facility. If the STS-127 launch is delayed, the deadline for domestic journalists may be extended on a day-by-day basis.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER

Reporters applying for credentials at Kennedy should submit requests via the Web at:

Reporters must use work e-mail addresses, not personal accounts, when applying. After accreditation is approved, applicants will receive confirmation via e-mail.

Accredited media representatives with mission badges will have access to Kennedy from launch through the end of the mission. Application deadlines for mission badges are May 24 for foreign reporters and June 4 for U.S. journalists.

Access requests must be submitted for Endeavour's move from Launch Pad 39B to pad 39A targeted, which is targeted for May 29, and the launch dress rehearsal activities known as the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, which is scheduled for May 31-June 2. Foreign journalists must apply by May 15 to allow time for processing, and U.S. media representatives must apply by May 26. Media badges will be valid for both events.

Reporters with special logistic requests for NASA's Kennedy Space Center, such as space for satellite trucks, trailers, electrical connections or work space, must contact Laurel Lichtenberger at laurel.a.lichtenberger@nasa.gov by May 26. The free wireless Internet access provided at Kennedy's news center is no longer available.

Work space in the news center and the news center annex is provided on a first-come basis, limited to one space per organization. To set up temporary telephone, fax, ISDN or network lines, media representatives must make arrangements with BellSouth at 800-213-4988. Reporters must have an assigned seat in the Kennedy newsroom prior to setting up lines. To obtain an assigned seat, contact Patricia Christian at patricia.christian-1@nasa.gov. Journalists must have a public affairs escort to all other areas of Kennedy except the Launch Complex 39 cafeteria.

JOHNSON SPACE CENTER

Reporters may obtain credentials for NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston by calling the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 or by presenting STS-127 mission credentials from Kennedy. Media representatives planning to cover the mission only from Johnson need to apply for credentials only at Johnson. Deadlines for submitting Johnson accreditation requests are May 15 for non-U.S. reporters, regardless of citizenship, and June 5 for U.S. reporters who are U.S. citizens.

Journalists covering the mission from Johnson using Kennedy credentials also must contact the Johnson newsroom by June 5 to arrange workspace, phone lines and other logistics. Johnson is responsible for credentialing media if the shuttle lands at NASA's White Sands Space Harbor, N.M. If a landing is imminent at White Sands, Johnson will arrange credentials.

DRYDEN FLIGHT RESEARCH CENTER

Notice for a space shuttle landing at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center on Edwards Air Force Base in California could be short. Domestic media outlets should consider accrediting Los Angeles-based personnel who could travel quickly to Dryden. Deadlines for submitting Dryden accreditation requests are May 22 for non-U.S. media, regardless of citizenship, and June 22 for U.S. media who are U.S. citizens or who have permanent residency status.

For Dryden media credentials, U.S. citizens representing domestic media outlets must provide their full name, date of birth, place of birth, media organization, their driver's license number and the name of the issuing state, and the last six digits of their social security number.

In addition to the above requirements, foreign media representatives, regardless of citizenship, must provide data including their citizenship, visa or passport number and its expiration date. Foreign nationals representing either domestic or foreign media who have permanent residency status must provide their alien registration number and expiration date.

Journalists should fax requests for credentials on company letterhead to 661-276-3566. E-mailed requests to Alan Brown at alan.brown@nasa.gov are acceptable for reporters who have been accredited at Dryden within the past year. Requests must include a phone number and business e-mail address for follow-up contact. Those journalists who previously requested credentials will not have to do so again.

NASA PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACTS:

Kennedy Space Center: Candrea Thomas, 321-867-2468, candrea.k.thomas@nasa.gov
Johnson Space Center: James Hartsfield, 281-483-5111, james.a.hartsfield@nasa.gov
Dryden Flight Research Center: Leslie Williams, 661-276-3893, leslie.a.williams@nasa.gov

For information about the STS-127 mission, visit:

For information about the International Space Station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

Engineers at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., recently tested NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) to determine its mass properties. SDO, the first mission of NASA's Living With a Star program, will study the sun's atmosphere in unprecedented detail to reveal how variations on the sun influence Earth and nearby space.

For three days beginning on March 31, SDO sat on a slowly spinning "Miller Table" in the Spacecraft Checkout and Integration Area, a "clean room" at Goddard. Test engineers like Sheldon Kalnitsky measured the spacecraft's mass, center of gravity, and moments and products of inertia to provide SDO's launch mass properties as accurately as possible. The moment of inertia describes how the spacecraft resists changes to its rate of rotation in each direction—important information to know prior to SDO's planned November launch.

"This is the final verification test of the observatory before shipping," said Son N. Ngo, the SDO mechanical lead engineer. "The final data will be used to verify requirements for the launch vehicle."

For more information about SDO, visit:

http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov