Dragon, Handcrafted From Palm Leaves And Wood       

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Stars and Planets over Portugal : The mission was to document night-flying birds – but it ended up also documenting a beautiful sky. The featured wide-angle mosaic was taken over the steppe golden fields in Mértola, Portugal in 2020. From such a dark location, an immediately-evident breathtaking glow arched over the night sky: the central band of our Milky Way galaxy. But this sky had much more. Thin clouds crossed the sky like golden ribbons. The planet Mars appeared on the far left, while the planets Saturn and Jupiter were also simultaneously visible – but on the opposite side of the sky, here seen on the far right. Near the top of the image the bright star Vega can be found, while the far-distant and faint Andromeda Galaxy can be seen toward the left, just below Milky Way’s arch. As the current month progresses, several planets are lining up in the pre-dawn sky: Jupiter, Venus, Mars, and Saturn. via NASA

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“I found I could say things with colour and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way… things I had no words for.” -Georgia O'Keeffe-

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Meet Megan McArthur, NASA Astronaut & Crew-2 Pilot

NASA astronaut Megan McArthur will launch on Friday, April 23 to the International Space Station as the pilot for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission! This is the second crew rotation flight with astronauts on the Crew Dragon spacecraft and the first launch with two international partners as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. McArthur is responsible for spacecraft systems and performance and is assigned to be a long-duration space station crew member. While this is her first trip to the space station, McArthur’s career has prepared her well for this important role on the Crew-2 team!

McArthur on the Crew Access Arm of the mobile launcher inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center. Credits: NASA/Joel Kowsky

McArthur was born in Honolulu, Hawaii and grew up in California. She is a former Girl Scout and has a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Ph.D. in Oceanography from the University of California, San Diego where she performed research activities at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

McArthur floating in microgravity during her STS-125 mission in 2009 aboard space shuttle Atlantis. Credits: NASA

While in graduate school, McArthur conducted research, served as Chief Scientist for at-sea data collection operations, and planned and led diving operations. She also volunteered at the Birch Aquarium at Scripps, conducting educational demonstrations for the public from inside a 70,000-gallon exhibit tank of the California Kelp Forest. Her experience conducting research in extreme conditions will certainly come in handy once she’s aboard the space station, as a big part of the astronauts’ job involves running research experiments in microgravity.

McArthur, seen through the window of space shuttle Atlantis, operating the robotic arm during a spacewalk. Credits: NASA

McArthur was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2000 and flew her first spaceflight aboard STS-125, the final space shuttle mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. She worked as the flight engineer during launch and landing, and also served as the shuttle's robotic arm operator as she carefully retrieved the telescope and placed it in the shuttle’s cargo bay for servicing. The successful mission improved the telescope's capabilities and extended its life – and Hubble is still helping us make discoveries about our universe.

McArthur pictured in her pressure suit during a training session at SpaceX HQ in Hawthorne, California. Credits: NASA

Now, it’s time for the next big milestone in McArthur’s career! On Friday, April 23 Crew-2 will launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida en route to the International Space Station. McArthur is the pilot of the Crew Dragon spacecraft and second-in-command for the mission.

NASA TV coverage of Crew-2 launch preparations and liftoff will begin at 1:30 a.m. EDT Friday, April 23 with launch scheduled for 5:49 a.m. EDT. Crew Dragon is scheduled to dock to the space station Saturday, April 24, at approximately 5:10 a.m. EDT. Watch live: www.nasa.gov/nasalive

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

smug little guys.

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