December 19, 2013 * CONTRACT RELEASE C13-053 * * NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for InSight Mission * NASA has selected United Launch Services LLC of Centennial, Colo., to launch the Interior Exploration Using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) mission to Mars. InSight will launch in March 2016 aboard an Atlas V 401 rocket from Space Launch Complex 3E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The total cost for NASA to launch InSight is approximately $160 million, ...Continue Reading

December 19, 2013 * RELEASE 13-377 * * NASA's Asteroid Hunter Spacecraft Returns First Images after Reactivation * This image of a patch of sky in the constellation Pisces is among the first taken by the infrared cameras of NASA's NEOWISE spacecraft. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Probe Will Assist Agency in Search for Candidates to Explore NASA's Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE), a spacecraft that made the most comprehensive survey to date of asteroids and comets, h ...Continue Reading

December 19, 2013 * RELEASE 13-380 * * NASA Extends Deadlines for Student Exploration Design Challenge * NASA is extending deadlines for its Exploration Design Challenge, an educational program connected to Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) -- the first mission for NASA's new Orion spacecraft, scheduled to launch in September 2014 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The new deadline for high school students to submit payload design notebooks has been extended to Feb. 28. The deadline f ...Continue Reading

:Product: Solar Region Summary :Issued: 2013 Dec 19 0030 UTC # Prepared jointly by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, # Space Weather Prediction Center and the U.S. Air Force. # Joint USAF/NOAA Solar Region Summary SRS Number 353 Issued at 0030Z on 19 Dec 2013 Report compiled from data received at SWO on 18 Dec I. Regions with Sunspots. Locations Valid at 18/2400Z Nmbr Location Lo Area Z LL NN Mag Type 1917 S16W77 077 0420 Dki 07 04 Beta-Gamma 1918 S09W55 055 0050 Hax 03 01 Alpha 1920 N1 ...Continue Reading

December 18, 2013 * MEDIA ADVISORY M13-194 * * NASA Administrator Visits High School Student Satellite Builders * NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will visit a suburban Washington school on Friday, Dec. 20 where high school students built a small satellite that was launched into space in November. Media are invited to attend the tour of the lab where the satellite, TJ3Sat, was made at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Va., from 2 to 3 p.m. EST. TJ3Sat is a cube ...Continue Reading

December 18, 2013 * RELEASE 13-379 * * NASA Ranked Best Place to Work in Government for Second Year in a Row * NASA Administrator Charles Bolden issued the following statement regarding NASA's selection by the Partnership for Public Service as the Best Place to Work in Government: "NASA’s selection as the Best Place to Work in Government for the second year in a row is a testament to the excellence of our workforce and their determination to maintain America’s leadership in space exploration.&n ...Continue Reading

December 18, 2013 * RELEASE 13-378 * * NASA Taps 10 Informal Learning Institutions for Collaboration Grants * NASA has selected proposals from informal education institutions in 10 states to further its goal of attracting more students to careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). They will share approximately $7.7 million in grants through NASA’s Competitive Program for Science Museums, Planetariums and NASA Visitor Centers Plus Other Opportunities (CP4SMPVC). The organizat ...Continue Reading

There is 1 message totalling 56 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. NASA Postpones Orbital Launch, Sets Spacewalks to Repair Faulty Station Pump Module ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 17 Dec 2013 16:13:09 -0600 From: info@JSC.NASA.GOV Subject: NASA Postpones Orbital Launch, Sets Spacewalks to Repair Faulty Station Pump Module December 17, 2013 Josh Byerly Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 Joshua Buck Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 Rep ...Continue Reading

:Product: Solar Region Summary :Issued: 2013 Dec 18 0420 UTC # Prepared jointly by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, # Space Weather Prediction Center and the U.S. Air Force. # Joint USAF/NOAA Solar Region Summary SRS Number 352 Issued at 0030Z on 18 Dec 2013 Report compiled from data received at SWO on 17 Dec I. Regions with Sunspots. Locations Valid at 17/2400Z Nmbr Location Lo Area Z LL NN Mag Type 1917 S15W64 077 0250 Eki 12 09 Beta-Gamma 1918 S09W43 056 0070 Hsx 02 02 Alpha 1920 N1 ...Continue Reading

The latest from NASA's Earth Observatory (17 December 2013) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ New Features: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/ * The Eight-Thousanders http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/8000MeterPeaks/?src=eoa-features There is no greater challenge for mountain climbers than reaching the summit of the world's 14 tallest peaks. Here is what they look like from space. -------------------- Latest Images: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/ * ...Continue Reading