10 reasons to visit the NASA website

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Almost any link on a NASA page is a new journey through the universe. Here you can find out the history of the first space discoveries and current missions, biographies of astronauts (and even write to them personally if you want), watch live broadcasts and download several unique photographs taken by the Hubble telescope. And this is not a complete list of interesting things that may surprise you.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) - the very name of this US agency prompts thoughts about classified files, state secrets, incomprehensible statistics and other importance of government agencies. All stereotypes dissipate as soon as the browser loads the official NASA website. From the arrays of interesting and in all respects cognitive information placed here, your head is literally dizzy. NASA.gov is a real window to the Universe. And if you are no longer an astronaut, then at least imagine yourself on board the space shuttle is worth it.

To describe everything that is hidden behind each section, subsection and category of the NASA website, you need to create a reference book. However, some features deserve special attention.

1. (Hubble Space Telescope)

It is from this section that many sites around the world borrow the incredible beauty of deep space photographs taken by the legendary telescope. "Pillars of Creation", "Cosmic Smiley", "Butterfly Nebula", "Horsehead", "Eye of Sauron" and hundreds of other famous photos - all of them are carefully kept in the album on the NASA website. In addition, under each photograph there is a detailed description of the space object depicted on it.

In addition to photos and videos, in this section you can also find the history of Hubble, its most important discoveries, read the latest news. Did you know, for example, that this year (April 24) Hubble celebrated its 25th anniversary? The space telescope began its mission in 1990. Since then, with its help, scientists have confirmed the existence of supermassive black holes in the center of galaxies, measured the expansion rate and age of the Universe, were able to see the birth of planets and supernovae, and many more discoveries are attributed to this telescope.

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This is a real NASA TV channel. Here you can watch video reports and press conferences, plunge into the history of various space expeditions, and more. There is even a program of upcoming programs under the "TV screen".

But the most anticipated on NASA TV is, of course, live broadcasts from space. To view them, you should switch to the HD ISS Views subcategory. Here, videos from the International Space Station (ISS) are streamed online. But you should know: firstly, this video is only available when the space station is in contact with the Earth; secondly, it will be possible to look at the Earth online while astronauts are resting or sleeping (at other times they need transmitters for work).

If you logged in at the wrong time, the screen will display a blue (signal loss) or black (space station rotation) splash screen.

Those, whom the live view from space will turn into real fans of this action, can use a special "daughter" NASA site - where the entire life of the International Space Station is broadcast online. Enjoy!

3. (International Space Station, ISS)

ISS is one of the central sections of NASA.gov. On this page, you can find a lot of detailed information about the current annual mission to the International Space Station, the purpose of which is to learn as much as possible about the behavior of the human body during a long space flight. Therefore, there are more than enough interesting reports and news. If you are not yet aware of the latest development of the astronaut coffee cup, we highly recommend that you familiarize yourself.

4. "" (Expedition 43)

It is interesting to know who is there, in outer space, now. Expedition 43 tells the story of the 43rd Long-Term Crew of the International Space Station. This colorful subsection of the NASA website allows each visitor not only to find out the names of six astronauts, but also to feel like a member of a space crew at least for a few minutes. Astronauts tweet about their travels, and from time to time take entertaining photos of their work.

By the way, the next 44th expedition is to begin in May 2015.

5. (Astronauts)

Since we are talking about a unique profession that all boys once dreamed of, a separate page should be found dedicated to the life and working days of astronauts. In addition to their biographies, photographs and video interviews, you can also find a handbook here, which, in alphabetical order, provides reports on all space expeditions, satellite launches, and so on. The page pays much attention to the "third US lunar landing" Apollo 13 (Apollo 13). It was during this lunar expedition that a very serious accident occurred on a spaceship with three cosmonauts, and the film of the same name was filmed in 1995 on the basis of which.

The page also contains related links to other NASA sub-sites. And the first thing that will interest you most will be the link about the selection and training of astronauts (). By clicking on it, you will be able to learn in great detail about the requirements for future "star-sailors" and, of course, try on these requirements for yourself. Learn about the required education, experience, growth and blood pressure. Do not roll your lip too much: only a US citizen can offer his candidacy for participation in the NASA space program.

6. (Living in Space)

After observing the blue planet from a spaceship and meeting astronauts, it's time to learn about life in outer space. There is a separate page about this on the NASA website. It contains information about the physical training of astronauts, their diet, tests and various tests. You can once again make sure that health for this business needs to be healthy.

7. (Solar System and Beyond)

This section is a true online space museum. Here you can find very detailed information about black holes, planets, stars and galaxies, the Sun, dark matter and human attempts to find life outside our solar system. If you are not a special fan of reading, you can view photos and videos, of which there are many.

In the subsection "Sun" (), information on activities on a single star in the Solar System is updated on an ongoing basis: plasma flares, prominences, coronal holes and other phenomena. And all this is accompanied by photographs of fairly high quality.

8. (Image of the Day)

Continuation of the story for visuals. This seemingly cute section actually contains news feeds worthy of a full-fledged website. Here you will not find cute pictures of cats and dogs, but you will learn about the discovery of a new crater on the surface of Mercury, the launches of innovative NASA aircraft, the explosion of a supernova, or estimate the scale of spaceships.

9. (Current Opportunities)

Despite the seriousness of the resource, the NASA website is quite interactive. There are links to NASA pages in social networks, you can also take part in chats. In addition, the site contains a wealth of opportunities for collaboration that the US Space Agency offers, from a variety of internships to open positions. Unfortunately, most of these opportunities are available to American citizens. But there are some peculiarities among them.

For example, very smart people can always offer their help to NASA by taking on the NASA challenge. A description of the problems that the department is trying to solve with the involvement of outside minds is given in a special subsection "Current Opportunities". If you can come up with ingenious ideas to reduce the radiation exposure of astronauts in outer space, or optimize the transfer of data from the International Space Station to Earth, then you can try your hand at taking up the challenge from NASA. By the way, financial reward is expected for solving the tasks set.

10. (Downloads: Audio and Ringtones)

The download section seems to suggest leaving something unique to yourself as a souvenir of your acquaintance with the NASA website. There are e-books (in English), a lot of podcasts. But the most compelling is the Audio and Melodies subsection, which contains a collection of NASA's diverse sounds. You can select the audio recording you like, download it and set yourself as a ringtone on your phone. For example, you can download the sound of a space shuttle launch or hear a recording of Neil Armstrong's memorable phrase.

This is one small step for a person, but a giant leap for all of humanity.

Neil Armstrong