This Week @NASA, May 5, 2023

• Another partner for space exploration …
• A Mars experience right here on Earth …
• And a promising find outside our solar system … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!

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Another Nation Signs up for Exploration Cooperation

On May 3, the Czech Republic became the 24th country to sign the Artemis Accords. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and the Czech Republic’s foreign minister, Jan Lipavský, participated in the signing ceremony at NASA Headquarters. The Artemis Accords establish a practical set of principles to guide space exploration cooperation among nations, including those participating in our Artemis program.

3D-Printed Mars Habitat Ready for Crew 

NASA’s Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog, or CHAPEA habitat is complete and ready for crew members. The 3D-printed habitat, at our Johnson Space Center, was built to provide a Mars-like environment here on Earth. This summer, several volunteers will start a yearlong analog mission to help us prepare for future human exploration of Mars. Learn more about analog missions at nasa.gov/analogs.

Webb Finds Water Vapor Outside Our Solar System

Our James Webb Space Telescope detected hints of water vapor while observing GJ 486 b, an extremely hot rocky exoplanet that is too close to its star to potentially have liquid water. But astronomers don’t know yet if the water vapor is associated with the planet or its sun. If it is the former, that would indicate the planet has an atmosphere. To date, there has been no definite detection of an atmosphere around a rocky planet outside our solar system.

NASA Celebrates Black Hole Week 

We celebrated Black Hole Week with new animations, educational resources, and other fun and informative material about black holes and their significance in the field of astrophysics. A black hole is an astronomical object with such a strong gravitational pull that not even light can escape from it. Learn more at nasa.gov/black-holes.

That’s what’s up this week @NASA … For more on these and other stories, follow us on the web at nasa.gov/twan.