Feb 13 2013

From The Space Library

RELEASE: 13-038 - NASA SPINOFF 2012 FEATURES NEW SPACE TECH BETTERING YOUR LIFE TODAY --WASHINGTON -- A plant texts a farmer to say it needs more water. An invisible coating scrubs pollutants from the air. A robot roams a hospital's halls, aiding doctors and nurses by recording vital signs and registrations. The 2012 edition of NASA's annual Spinoff publication captures a nation and world made better by advancements originally achieved for space technology. Spinoff 2012 offers a close-up look at how NASA's initiatives in aeronautics and space exploration have resulted in commercial technologies with benefits across the economy: health and medicine, transportation, public safety, consumer goods, energy and environment, information technology and industrial productivity. It's part of NASA's mission to ensure the results of our research and development benefit all of society, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said. "Spinoff 2012 documents the amazing stories that have come about from NASA technologies being adapted for uses here on Earth." These advancements improve and save thousands of lives. NASA spinoffs also contribute to economic growth by generating billions of dollars in revenues and creating thousands of new jobs. In addition, NASA's breadth of vision and its record of groundbreaking innovation inspire young people to pursue careers in the science, technology, engineering and math fields. Every spinoff is a tangible reminder of NASA's return on investment to the taxpayer, NASA Chief Technologist Mason Peck said. "Whether we're developing technology to explore space or advance the nation's aeronautics capabilities, great ideas from NASA have a way of returning real benefits back to individuals, industries and our new technology economy here on our home planet, today." In Spinoff 2012, readers can discover: -- A satellite tracking system pioneered by NASA that has helped rescue more than 30,000 people in distress all over the world. -- An X-ray fluorescence scanner that detects the elemental composition of an object and is frequently used by museums to authenticate works of art. -- An open source platform co-developed by NASA that has spurred enormous growth in the cloud computing industry. -- A plug-and-play research platform that facilitates experiments carried out in microgravity on the International Space Station for customers ranging from high schools and universities to pharmaceutical organizations around the globe. The 2012 edition of NASA's flagship technology publication also includes a special section on spinoffs in manufacturing. Together, NASA and its partners have commercialized more than 350 documented spinoffs relating to industrial productivity and manufacturing, from advanced construction tools to industry-launching innovations in new materials. Profiles of NASA's research and development activities, education efforts and partnership successes for the year also are featured in Spinoff 2012.

RELEASE: 13-045 - NASA'S CHANDRA SUGGESTS RARE EXPLOSION CREATED OUR GALAXY'S YOUNGEST BLACK HOLE --WASHINGTON -- New data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory suggest a highly distorted supernova remnant may contain the most recent black hole formed in the Milky Way galaxy. The remnant appears to be the product of a rare explosion in which matter is ejected at high speeds along the poles of a rotating star. The remnant, called W49B, is about a thousand years old as seen from Earth and located about 26,000 light-years away. "W49B is the first of its kind to be discovered in the galaxy," said Laura Lopez, who led the study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "It appears its parent star ended its life in a way that most others don't." Usually when a massive star runs out of fuel, the central region of the star collapses, triggering a chain of events that quickly culminate in a supernova explosion. Most of these explosions are generally symmetrical, with the stellar material blasting away more or less evenly in all directions. However, in the W49B supernova, material near the poles of the doomed rotating star was ejected at a much higher speed than material emanating from its equator. Jets shooting away from the star's poles mainly shaped the supernova explosion and its aftermath. The remnant now glows brightly in X-rays and other wavelengths, offering the evidence for a peculiar explosion. By tracing the distribution and amounts of different elements in the stellar debris field, researchers were able to compare the Chandra data to theoretical models of how a star explodes. For example, they found iron in only half of the remnant while other elements such as sulfur and silicon were spread throughout. This matches predictions for an asymmetric explosion. In addition to its unusual signature of elements, W49B also is much more elongated and elliptical than most other remnants, said co-author Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz of the University of California at Santa Cruz. "This is seen in X-rays and several other wavelengths and points to an unusual demise for this star." Because supernova explosions are not well understood, astronomers want to study extreme cases like the one that produced W49B. The relative proximity of W49B also makes it extremely useful for detailed study. The authors examined what sort of compact object the supernova explosion left behind. Most of the time, massive stars that collapse into supernovas leave a dense, spinning core called a neutron star. Astronomers often can detect neutron stars through their X-ray or radio pulses, although sometimes an X-ray source is seen without pulsations. A careful search of the Chandra data revealed no evidence for a neutron star. The lack of such evidence implies a black hole may have formed. It's a bit circumstantial, but we have intriguing evidence the W49B supernova also created a black hole, said co-author Daniel Castro, also of MIT. "If that is the case, we have a rare opportunity to study a supernova responsible for creating a young black hole." Supernova explosions driven by jets like the one in W49B have been linked to gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) in other objects. GRBs, which have been seen only in distant galaxies, also are thought to mark the birth of a black hole. There is no evidence the W49B supernova produced a GRB, but it may have properties -- including being jet-driven and possibly forming a black hole -- that overlap with those of a GRB. The new results on W49B, which were based on about two-and-a-half days of Chandra observing time, appear in a paper in Sunday's issue of the Astrophysical Journal. The other co-author was Sarah Pearson from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra Program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls Chandra's science and flight operations from Cambridge, Mass.

MEDIA ADVISORY: M13-031 - NASA TO CHRONICLE CLOSE EARTH FLYBY OF ASTEROID --PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA Television will provide commentary starting at 2 p.m. EST (11 a.m. PST) on Friday, Feb. 15, during the close, but safe, flyby of a small near-Earth asteroid named 2012 DA14. NASA places a high priority on tracking asteroids and protecting our home planet from them. This flyby will provide a unique opportunity for researchers to study a near-Earth object up close. The half-hour broadcast from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., will incorporate real-time animation to show the location of the asteroid in relation to Earth, along with live or near real-time views of the asteroid from observatories in Australia, weather permitting. At the time of its closest approach to Earth at approximately 2:25 p.m. EST (11:25 a.m. PST/ 19:25 UTC), the asteroid will be about 17,150 miles (27,600 kilometers) above Earth's surface.