April 30, 2020 RELEASE 20-051 *NASA-Developed Ventilator Authorized by FDA for Emergency Use* A new high-pressure ventilator developed by NASA engineers and tailored to treat coronavirus (COVID-19) patients today was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use under the FDA’s March 24 ventilator Emergency Use Authorization. Called VITAL (Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally), the device was developed by engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California to ...Continue Reading

April 30, 2020 RELEASE 20-048 *NASA Names Companies to Develop Human Landers for Artemis Moon Missions* Illustration of Artemis astronauts on the Moon. */Credits: NASA/* NASA has selected three U.S. companies to design and develop human landing systems (HLS) for the agency’s Artemis program, one of which will land the first woman and next man on the surface of the Moon by 2024. NASA is on track for sustainable human exploration of the Moon for the first ...Continue Reading

April 30, 2020 RELEASE 20-049 *NASA, Partners Launch Virtual Hackathon to Develop COVID-19 Solutions* */Credits: NASA/* NASA, ESA (European Space Agency) and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) are inviting coders, entrepreneurs, scientists, designers, storytellers, makers, builders, artists, and technologists to participate in a virtual hackathon May 30-31 dedicated to putting open data to work in developing solutions to issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the global Space Apps COVID-19 Chal ...Continue Reading

:Product: Solar Region Summary :Issued: 2020 Apr 30 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 121 Issued at 0030Z on 30 Apr 2020 Report compiled from data received at SWO on 29 Apr I. Regions with Sunspots. Locations Valid at 29/2400Z Nmbr Location Lo Area Z LL NN Mag Type 2760 S06W17 306 0020 Cro 02 02 Beta 2762 N24W48 336 0010 Bxo 02 02 Beta IA. H-alpha Pl ...Continue Reading

The following sections have been updated in the past 1 day. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- FIRES (1 updated event, 1 new image) -- SOUTH AMERICAN FIRES IN 2020 The fire season in South America spans several ecosystems and has far-reaching consequences. * A Fiery Month in Zulia (Image from Apr 26, 2020; Posted Apr 28, 2020) https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/146639/a-fiery-month-in-zulia/?src=nha -- UNIQUE IMAGERY (1 updated event, 1 new image) -- SIGNS OF SPR ...Continue Reading

April 29, 2020  *Alabama High School Student Names NASA's Mars Helicopter* Vaneeza Rupani (inset), a junior at Tuscaloosa County High School in Northport, Alabama, came up with the name Ingenuity for NASA's Mars Helicopter (an artist's impression of which is seen here) and the motivation behind it during NASA's "Name the Rover" essay contest. */Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech /* Destined to become the first aircraft to attempt powered flight on another planet, NASA's Mars Helicopter officially has rece ...Continue Reading

:Product: Solar Region Summary :Issued: 2020 Apr 29 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 120 Issued at 0030Z on 29 Apr 2020 Report compiled from data received at SWO on 28 Apr I. Regions with Sunspots. Locations Valid at 28/2400Z Nmbr Location Lo Area Z LL NN Mag Type None IA. H-alpha Plages without Spots. Locations Valid at 28/2400Z Apr Nmbr Location Lo 2760 ...Continue Reading

Happy 21st Anniversary to the Earth Observatory! April 28, 2020 marks the end of our 20th anniversary celebration (https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/videos/20-years-of-images) but is promptly followed by the beginning of our 21st year. On behalf of the Earth Observatory Group, I want to thank all of you who visit us, read our stories, and learn about how NASA studies our home planet. We look forward to another year with you, Kevin Ward NASA Earth Observatory Group The latest from NASA's Earth Observatory (28 ...Continue Reading

April 28, 2020 MEDIA ADVISORY M20-051 *NASA to Announce Commercial Human Lander Awards for Artemis Moon Missions* NASA will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT Thursday, April 30, to announce the companies selected to develop modern human landing systems (HLS) that will carry the first woman and next man to the surface of the Moon by 2024 and develop sustainable lunar exploration by the end of the decade. Audio of the call will stream online at: https://www.nasa.gov/live The teleconference participants ...Continue Reading

The following sections have been updated in the past 1 day. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- FIRES (1 updated event, 1 new image) -- SOUTH AMERICAN FIRES IN 2020 The fire season in South America spans several ecosystems and has far-reaching consequences. * A Fiery Month in Zulia (Image from Apr 26, 2020; Posted Apr 28, 2020) https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/146639/a-fiery-month-in-zulia/?src=nha -- SEVERE STORMS (1 updated event, 1 new image) -- TORNADOES IN ...Continue Reading