Jan 18 2017

From The Space Library

---

Current revision

RELEASE 17-009 Family Statement Regarding Service Arrangements for Capt. Eugene A. Cernan

The following is a statement released on the behalf of Gene Cernan’s family:

A funeral service for Capt. Eugene A. Cernan, who passed away Monday at the age of 82, will be conducted at 2:30 p.m. CST on Tuesday, Jan. 24, at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, 717 Sage Road in Houston.

NASA Television will provide live pool video coverage of the service.

The family will gather for a private interment at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin at a later date, where full military honors will be rendered.

RELEASE 17-006 NASA, NOAA Data Show 2016 Warmest Year on Record Globally

Editor's note: The media telecon on global temperatures will be carried at 11 a.m. on www.nasa.gov/live.

Earth’s 2016 surface temperatures were the warmest since modern recordkeeping began in 1880, according to independent analyses by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Globally-averaged temperatures in 2016 were 1.78 degrees Fahrenheit (0.99 degrees Celsius) warmer than the mid-20th century mean. This makes 2016 the third year in a row to set a new record for global average surface temperatures.

The 2016 temperatures continue a long-term warming trend, according to analyses by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York. NOAA scientists concur with the finding that 2016 was the warmest year on record based on separate, independent analyses of the data.

Because weather station locations and measurement practices change over time, there are uncertainties in the interpretation of specific year-to-year global mean temperature differences. However, even taking this into account, NASA estimates 2016 was the warmest year with greater than 95 percent certainty.

“2016 is remarkably the third record year in a row in this series,” said GISS Director Gavin Schmidt. “We don’t expect record years every year, but the ongoing long-term warming trend is clear.”

The planet’s average surface temperature has risen about 2.0 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century, a change driven largely by increased carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions into the atmosphere.

Most of the warming occurred in the past 35 years, with 16 of the 17 warmest years on record occurring since 2001. Not only was 2016 the warmest year on record, but eight of the 12 months that make up the year – from January through September, with the exception of June – were the warmest on record for those respective months. October, November, and December of 2016 were the second warmest of those months on record – in all three cases, behind records set in 2015.

Phenomena such as El Niño or La Niña, which warm or cool the upper tropical Pacific Ocean and cause corresponding variations in global wind and weather patterns, contribute to short-term variations in global average temperature. A warming El Niño event was in effect for most of 2015 and the first third of 2016. Researchers estimate the direct impact of the natural El Niño warming in the tropical Pacific increased the annual global temperature anomaly for 2016 by 0.2 degrees Fahrenheit (0.12 degrees Celsius).

Weather dynamics often affect regional temperatures, so not every region on Earth experienced record average temperatures last year. For example, both NASA and NOAA found the 2016 annual mean temperature for the contiguous 48 United States was the second warmest on record. In contrast, the Arctic experienced its warmest year ever, consistent with record low sea ice found in that region for most of the year.

NASA’s analyses incorporate surface temperature measurements from 6,300 weather stations, ship- and buoy-based observations of sea surface temperatures, and temperature measurements from Antarctic research stations. These raw measurements are analyzed using an algorithm that considers the varied spacing of temperature stations around the globe and urban heating effects that could skew the conclusions. The result of these calculations is an estimate of the global average temperature difference from a baseline period of 1951 to 1980.

NOAA scientists used much of the same raw temperature data, but with a different baseline period, and different methods to analyze Earth’s polar regions and global temperatures.

GISS is a laboratory within the Earth Sciences Division of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The laboratory is affiliated with Columbia University’s Earth Institute and School of Engineering and Applied Science in New York.

NASA monitors Earth's vital signs from land, air and space with a fleet of satellites, as well as airborne and ground-based observation campaigns. The agency develops new ways to observe and study Earth's interconnected natural systems with long-term data records and computer analysis tools to better see how our planet is changing. NASA shares this unique knowledge with the global community and works with institutions in the United States and around the world that contribute to understanding and protecting our home planet.

MEDIA ADVISORY M17-007 NASA Hosts News Conference, Interviews with Next Space Station Crew

NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik, Paolo Nespoli of ESA (European Space Agency), and Sergey Ryazanskiy of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, who are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station in late spring, will participate in a news conference at 2 p.m. EST Wednesday, Jan. 25, at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The news conference will air live on NASA Television and stream on the agency’s website.

This will be Bresnik’s second trip to the space station, the second expedition for Ryazanskiy, and Nespoli’s third trip to the space station. They will be part of Expeditions 52 and 53.

Media who wish to participate by telephone should call Johnson's newsroom at 281-483-5111 no later than 1:45 p.m. Those following the briefing on social media can ask questions using the hashtag #askNASA.

After the news conference, interview opportunities are available with all crew members, in person or by phone. To request credentials to attend in person, or to reserve an interview opportunity, media must contact Johnson's newsroom by 5 p.m. Monday, Jan. 23. The deadline for international media accreditation has passed.

During his upcoming mission aboard the orbiting laboratory, Bresnik and his crewmates will facilitate more than 250 research investigations and technology demonstrations not possible on Earth. Among the experiments is Cardiac Stem Cells which investigates how microgravity affects stem cells and the factors that govern stem cell activity, including physical and molecular changes. The Cosmic-Ray Energetics and Mass experiment is scheduled to arrive at the station during the crew’s stay and will measure the charges of cosmic rays ranging from hydrogen up through iron nuclei, over a broad energy range.

Experiments such as these yield benefits for all of humanity, and will enable future long-duration human and robotic exploration into deep space, including the agency’s Journey to Mars.

Originally from Santa Monica, California, Bresnik graduated from The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, and was commissioned in the Marine Corps in May 1989. He was selected as an astronaut by NASA in May 2004 and flew aboard the space shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station in 2009.