|
|
NASA Unveils 50th Anniversar
…
| title |
NASA Unveils 50th Anniversary Logo |
| date |
09.13.2007 |
| description |
Deputy Administrator Shana Dale unveiled the agency's anniversary logo Thursday in a ceremony at WIRED Magazine's annual NextFest [ http://www.wirednextfest.com/ ] in Los Angeles. NASA's "birthday" is October 1, 1958. Recent shuttle astronauts and future NASA technology are also in the spotlight at NextFest, which features the latest innovations in products and technologies in many areas where NASA plays a leading role. Dale and astronaut Scott Kelly introduced the space shuttle's STS-118 crew, including mission specialist and former educator Barbara Morgan, at NextFest opening ceremonies earlier Thursday. Morgan and the other crew members of the STS-118 mission will sign autographs throughout NextFest in the Exploration Pavilion. Deputy Administrator Dale also participated in an announcement regarding the X PRIZE Foundation at the X PRIZE stage. Other NASA technology on display: * A four foot model of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope [ http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/starsgalaxies/wavefront.html ]. The observatory is designed to study the faint light from objects at the farthest reaches of space and time and is targeted for launch in 2013. * A 3-D panorama of Mars * Demonstrations of the all-terrain technology in the current Mars rovers. [ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mer/index.html ] * Information about experimental rovers that are helping scientists learn how robots could evaluate potential outposts on the moon or Mars. * An infrared video camera and monitor on display by the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy [ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/SOFIA/index.html ] mission. It reveals remarkable temperature changes in the infrared spectrum on the faces of visitor volunteers. * An interactive assembly project featuring Constellation [ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/main/index.html ], NASA's next generation of human spacecraft. |
|
Happy 40th Birthday, NASA!
| Title |
Happy 40th Birthday, NASA! |
| Explanation |
Happy Birthday, NASA [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/40thann/40home.htm ]! The National Aeronautics and Space Administration officially began operations on October 1, 1958, absorbing its forerunner organization [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4406/cover.html ] the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, NACA. Its landmark achievements in human spaceflight include [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/40thann/humanspf.htm ] the Mercury and Gemini Projects culminating in the Apollo Project moon landings in the 1960s and early 1970s, Apollo-Soyuz and Skylab in the 1970s, and the Space Shuttle program of the 1980s and 1990s. (Pictured is [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-91/ images/captions/KSC-98EC-0691.html ] the June 1998 launch of the [ http://spaceplace.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] Space Shuttle Discovery.) NASA's science programs [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4211/cover.htm ] have produced the robotic exploration of our Solar System, views of the Universe [ http://universe.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] across the electromagnetic spectrum, and valuable meteorological [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980928.html ] and remote-sensing Earth observations. At birth, NASA's [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/monograph10/ ] priorities were largely driven by the pressures and competitions [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/Timeline/1955-57.html ] of the Cold War. But looking back over 40 years [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/40thann/factsheet.htm ], the sum of its accomplishments have produced needed new technologies and a vital new perspective on Planet Earth and the Cosmos. |
|
|
