NASA News – Week Ending September 15, 2023

This Week @NASA Sept. 15, 2023

• A new long-duration spaceflight record …
• Our SpaceX Crew-6 mission is back home …
• And our asteroid sample return mission is on target … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!

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Rubio Sets U.S. Record for Longest Single Spaceflight

On Sept. 11, NASA astronaut Frank Rubio completed his 355th day onboard the International Space Station – surpassing the record for the longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut, which was previously held by NASA’s Mark Vande Hei.

“Frank, you’ve made all kind of records.”—Bill Nelson, NASA Administrator

Agency leadership congratulated Rubio on the accomplishment during a call to the station. By the time Rubio returns home on Sept. 27, he will have spent about 371 days in space.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 Crew Reflects on Its Mission

The crew of our SpaceX Crew-6 mission is back home after spending about six months on the space station. On Sept. 12, a few crew members, including NASA astronauts Steve Bowen and Woody Hoburg, talked about the mission during a news conference at our Johnson Space Center. The highlights of the flight included Bowen’s U.S. record-tying 10th career spacewalk.

OSIRIS-REx Adjusts Course to Target Sample Capsule’s Landing Zone

Our OSIRIS-REx spacecraft recently made a course adjustment to better position itself to release a capsule carrying sample material from asteroid Bennu toward the designated landing zone in the Utah desert. The capsule is scheduled to make a parachute-assisted landing on Sept. 24. OSIRIS-REx is the first U.S. mission to collect a sample from an asteroid.

NASA Announces Summer 2023 Was the Hottest on Record

According to our Goddard Institute of Space Studies, the summer of 2023 was our planet’s hottest summer since global records began in 1880. June through August was a combined 0.41 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than any other summer in NASA’s record. This new record comes as exceptional heat has swept across much of the world – exacerbating deadly wildfires, resulting in searing heat waves, and likely contributing to severe weather. For more details, visit www.nasa.gov/earth.

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