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Science@Ames
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 Space Science @ Ames features research in infrared astrophysics, laboratory astrophysics, extrasolar planets, planetary sciences, exobiology, and astrobiology.
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 Earth Science @ Ames features basic and applied research in atmospheric and biospheric sciences, and conducts airborne science campaigns.
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 BioSciences @ Ames features research in radiation and lunar dust, and provides engineering capabilities in support of NASA's manned spaceflight.
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Features |
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KEPLER WINS MISSION EXTENSION | May 10, 2012 |
NASA has announced that the Kepler mission will be extended beyond its prime
mission later this year. This decision follows a competitive "Senior
Review" (SR) of operating astrophysics missions. The competition was
particularly tough, given the pressure on funding and given that all three
of the currently operating Great Observatories - Hubble, Chandra, and
Spitzer - were competitors. In its final report, the SR-2012 Committee
called Kepler "an outstanding success. Kepler is not only a unique source
of exoplanet discoveries, but also an organizing and rallying point for
exoplanet research. It has [also] enabled remarkable stellar science."
The SR committee recommended a four-year mission extension, although NASA HQ formally approves mission extensions in two-year increments. Hence, Kepler will have to re-compete once again in the 2014 Astrophysics Senior Review. However, the strong recommendation coming out of the 2012 review lays the foundation for another positive result in two years. An extended mission will increase Kepler's sensitivity to discovering small planets of Earth-size or less in longer-period orbits (i.e., on the order of one year). In turn, this will dramatically improve Kepler's ability to unambiguously address the fundamental question it was designed to answer: What is the frequency of Earth-size planets in the habitable zone of their parent stars? |
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FIRST SOFIA SCIENCE RESULTS PUBLISHED | May 10, 2012 |
The first series of peer-reviewed SOFIA science results have been published in the April 20 issue of the Astrophysical Journal. The eight SOFIA papers featured in the special edition cover diverse research on topics including SOFIA's capabilities as a flying observatory and its study of star formation in our galaxy and beyond. The infrared images analyzed in these papers were obtained with the FORCAST (Faint Object Infrared Camera for the SOFIA Telescope) instrument during SOFIA's first science observations in December 2010. Papers based on observations with SOFIA and the GREAT spectrometer (German Receiver for Astronomy at THz Frequencies) will be published in a May 2012 special volume of the European journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. |
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KEPLER WINS 2012 SPACE LAUREATE AWARD | March 8, 2012 |
On the first day of its fourth year in space, the Kepler mission won the prestigious 2012 Aviation Week Laureate Award for Space Missions. The award was presented at the 55th annual AvWeek black-tie awards dinner in Washington DC on March 7. Accepting the award on behalf of the Kepler mission team were Roger Hunter, Kepler Program Manager at Ames Research Center, and James Fanson, who was the Kepler Project Manager during mission development at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Aviation Week's annual Laureate Awards recognizes individuals and teams for their extraordinary accomplishments. |
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Ames Science Missions
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 Kepler is a Discovery-class mission featuring a visible-light telescope designed to detect transiting planets around stars. It is expected to detect hundreds of Earth-size planets in or near the habitable zone and will determine the fraction of stars with such terrestrial planets. |
 SOFIA is an airborne observatory featuring a 2.5 m infrared telescope fitted aboard a 747 airplane. Flying state-of-the-art instrumentation at altitudes above 40,000 feet, the observatory will study astronomical phenomena in our Solar system, Galaxy and the nearby Universe.
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 LCROSS is a co-manifested spacecraft with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and will intentionally impact a lunar polar crater. The resulting plume will be observed by orbiting and ground-based telescopes to ascertain whether water exists in a permanently shadowed region of the Moon.
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