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NASA celebrates an anniversary on the Martian surface while a space-travel startup tumbles back to Earth. Russia helps refuel the International Space Station, and how a recent volcanic eruption could lead to faster tsunami warnings in the future. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space.
Content TypePackage
LanguageEnglish
Transcript/ScriptThe Week in Space (TV)
HEADLINE: NASA Celebrates Mars Rover's First Year on Job
TEASER: Percy and Ingenuity continue Mars mission; search for signs of ancient life
PUBLISHED AT: 2/17/2022 at 2:50pm
BYLINE: Arash Arabasadi
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Washington
VIDEOGRAPHER: AP/ NASA/ NASA TV/ NASASPACEFLIGHT/ASTRA/ NICT/ KOLI FOLAU/BROADCOM BROADCASTING – MARIAN KUPU/ Savannah Peterson
SCRIPT EDITORS: Bowman
NOTE:
VIDEO SOURCE (S): AP/ NASA/ NASA TV/ NASASPACEFLIGHT/ASTRA/ NICT/ KOLI FOLAU/BROADCOM BROADCASTING – MARIAN KUPU/ Savannah Peterson
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO __
TRT: 2:33
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: TVPKG
UPDATE: ))
[[INTRO: NASA celebrates an anniversary on the Martian surface while a space-travel startup tumbles back to Earth. Russia helps refuel the International Space Station, and how a recent volcanic eruption could lead to faster tsunami warnings in the future. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space.]]
((mandatory cg NASA))
((NARRATOR))
This week, NASA celebrates one year since the Perseverance Rover and its tiny sidekick, the Ingenuity helicopter, made this dramatic landing on Mars. Experts say that’s when the real work began. NASA’s Katie Stack Morgan was at home with her kids when the rover touched down.
[RADIO TRACK: She described short-lived elation in a video call with AP.]
((Katie Stack Morgan, NASA))
“We had this moment of celebration, but then we had a couple of hours, and then we had to begin operations and telling the rover how to prepare itself and to do its work on the surface of Mars.”
((mandatory cg NASA))
((NARRATOR))
Nicknamed ‘Percy’ and ‘Ginny’, the machines are on a two-year mission to collect Martian soil samples for Earthlings to analyze for signs of ancient life. Percy carries a drill to core for those samples, but it had never truly been tested until it landed on Mars.
[RADIO TRACK: NASA’s Jessica Samuels tells AP of the pleasant surprise when they heard the news.]
((Jessica Samuels, NASA))
“When we got the data down, and we saw that we had a sealed sample, we couldn’t be more ecstatic. It worked.”
((mandatory cg NASA))
((NARRATOR))
As part of NASA’s history-making research adventure, Ginny became the first powered aircraft to fly on another planet. Ginny and Percy beamed thousands of images back to Earth, where engineers say they will help prepare NASA astronauts in coming years for manned missions to Mars, which the agency says it hopes will happen in the mid-2030s. Look for the dynamic duo of Ginny and Percy to move from the crater they’ve been exploring to an ancient river delta in year-two of their journey.
((Nats, “And the liftoff.”)
((mandatory cg NASA TV))
((NARRATOR))
In other news, a Russian cargo ship successfully launched from Kazakhstan carrying goods to the International Space Station.
((mandatory cg NASA TV))
((NARRATOR))
It arrived two days later at the ISS, with nearly three tons of food, fuel, water, and other supplies for the crew of Expedition 66.
((mandatory cg NASASPACEFLIGHT/ASTRA))
((NARRATOR))
Meanwhile, a batch of small research satellites came falling back to Earth after a failed launch from Florida. California-based rocket startup Astra suffered multiple setbacks including an engine shutdown days before this doomed flight that appeared to show the craft tumbling from the sky before crashing into the ocean.
((mandatory cg NICT))
((NARRATOR))
Finally, this week, NASA says the recent tsunami-causing underwater volcanic eruption near Tonga shook an outer layer of the Earth’s atmosphere called the ionosphere.
((mandatory cg Savannah Peterson))
NASA says tracking changes in the ionosphere will help develop an early warning system for tsunamis. While such a system is years away, NASA says it could give hours of advance warning – and a head start to evacuating tsunami zones.
Arash Arabasadi, VOA News.
NewsML Media TopicsEnvironment, Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Washington D.C.
Embargo DateFebruary 17, 2022 17:24 EST
BylineArash Arabasadi
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
