Simon H. Designer, photographer, blogger, husband. USofA, France.
Shuttle Discovery Arrives at Udvar-Hazy (201204190028HQ) by nasa hq photo on Flickr.Via Flickr:
Space Shuttles Enterprise, left, and Discovery meet nose-to-nose during the a transfer ceremony at the Smithsonian’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Thursday, April 19, 2012, in Chantilly, Va. Space shuttle Discovery, the first orbiter retired from NASA’s shuttle fleet, completed 39 missions, spent 365 days in space, orbited the Earth 5,830 times, and traveled 148,221,675 miles will take the place of Enterprise at the center to commemorate past achievements in space and to educate and inspire future generations of explorers at the center. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)
Liftoff of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission by NASA on The Commons on Flickr.Via Flickr:Collection: NASA Johnson Space Center CollectionTitle: Liftoff of the Apollo 11 lunar landing missionDescription: Closeup view as the 363 ft tall Apollo 11 space vehicle is launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, at 9:37 a.m., July 16, 1969. Apollo 11 is the United Sates first lunar landing mission (39959); Fish-eye lens view of the smoke and fire in the wake of the launch of the Apollo 11 spacecraft. This photograph of the liftoff was taken by a camera mounted on the mobile launch tower (39960).Date Taken: 1969-07-16 Photo ID: S69-39960UID: SPD-JSC-S69-39960Original url: images.jsc.nasa.gov/luceneweb/caption.jsp?datesearch=Go&a…SOURCE:  www.nasaimages.org/luna/servlet/detail/nasaNAS~7~7~33871~…Visit www.nasaimages.org for the most comprehensive compilation of NASA stills, film and video, created in partnership with Internet Archive.
Apollo 11 Launched Via the Saturn V Rocket-High Angle View by NASA on The Commons on Flickr.Via Flickr:Collection: NASA Marshall Space Flight Center CollectionName of Image: Apollo 11 Launched Via the Saturn V Rocket-High Angle ViewFull Description: The Apollo 11 mission, the first lunar landing mission, launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida via the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) developed Saturn V launch vehicle on July 16, 1969 and safely returned to Earth on July 24, 1969. The Saturn V vehicle produced a holocaust of flames as it rose from its pad at Launch complex 39. The 363 foot tall, 6,400,000 pound rocket hurled the spacecraft into Earth parking orbit and then placed it on the trajectory to the moon for man?s first lunar landing. This high angle view of the launch was provided by a ?fisheye? camera mounted on the launch tower. Aboard the space craft were astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, commander; Michael Collins, Command Module pilot; and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., Lunar Module pilot. With the success of Apollo 11, the national objective to land men on the Moon and return them safely to Earth had been accomplished.Date of Image: 1969-07-16 Reference Number: MSFC-75-SA-4105-2CMIX #: 7012482NIX #: MSFC-7012482MSFC Negative Number: 7012482UID: SPD-MARSH-7012482Original url: mix.msfc.nasa.gov/abstracts.php?p=4048SOURCE:  www.nasaimages.org/luna/servlet/detail/nasaNAS~9~9~60096~…Visit www.nasaimages.org for the most comprehensive compilation of NASA stills, film and video, created in partnership with Internet Archive.
STS-1 Launch by NASA on The Commons on Flickr.Via Flickr:Collection: NASA Great Images in Nasa CollectionTitle: STS-1 LaunchFull Description: The April 12 launch at Pad 39A of STS-1, just seconds past 7 a.m., carries astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen into an Earth orbital mission scheduled to last for 54 hours, ending with unpowered landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.Date: 4/12/1981Image #: 81PC-0382 Original url: grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GPN-2000-000650.htmlUID: SPD-GRIN-GPN-2000-00 0650Center: KSCCenter Number: 81PC-0382GRIN DataBase Number: GPN-2000-000650SOURCE:  nasaimages.org/luna/servlet/detail/nasaNAS~5~5~20800~125790Visit www.nasaimages.org for the most comprehensive compilation of NASA stills, film and video, created in partnership with Internet Archive.
Ed White First American Spacewalker by NASA on The Commons on Flickr.Via Flickr:Collection: NASA Great Images in Nasa CollectionTitle: Ed White First American SpacewalkerFull Description: On June 3, 1965 Edward H. White II became the first American to step outside his spacecraft and let go, effectively setting himself adrift in the zero gravity of space. For 23 minutes White floated and maneuvered himself around the Gemini spacecraft while logging 6500 miles during his orbital stroll. White was attached to the spacecraft by a 25 foot umbilical line and a 23-ft. tether line, both wrapped in gold tape to form one cord. In his right hand White carries a Hand Held Self Maneuvering Unit (HHSMU) which is used to move about the weightless environment of space. The visor of his helmet is gold plated to protect him from the unfiltered rays of the sun.Date: 06/09/1965NASA Center: Johnson Space CenterImage #: S65-30433Original url: grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GPN-2000-001180.htmlUID: SPD-GRIN-GPN-2000-00 1180Center: JSCCenter Number: S65-30433GRIN DataBase Number: GPN-2000-001180Creator-Photographer: NASA James McDivittSOURCE:  nasaimages.org/luna/servlet/detail/nasaNAS~5~5~23653~127445Visit www.nasaimages.org for the most comprehensive compilation of NASA stills, film and video, created in partnership with Internet Archive.
Most Amazing High Definition Image of Earth - Blue Marble 2012 by NASA Goddard Photo and Video on Flickr.Via Flickr:
January 25, 2012
A ‘Blue Marble’ image of the Earth taken from the VIIRS instrument aboard NASA’s most recently launched Earth-observing satellite - Suomi NPP. This composite image uses a number of swaths of the Earth’s surface taken on January 4, 2012. The NPP satellite was renamed ‘Suomi NPP’ on January 24, 2012 to honor the late Verner E. Suomi of the University of Wisconsin.
Suomi NPP is NASA’s next Earth-observing research satellite. It is the first of a new generation of satellites that will observe many facets of our changing Earth.
Suomi NPP is carrying five instruments on board. The biggest and most important instrument is The Visible/Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite or VIIRS. 
To read more about NASA’s Suomi NPP go to: npp.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html
Credit: NASA/NOAA/GSFC/Suomi NPP/VIIRS/Norman KuringNASA image use policy.NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.Follow us on TwitterLike us on FacebookFind us on Instagram
NASA’s LRO Camera Team Releases High Resolution Global Topographic Map of Moon by NASA Goddard Photo and Video on Flickr.Via Flickr:
NASA image release November 16, 2011
The science team that oversees the imaging system on board NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has released the highest resolution near-global topographic map of the moon ever created.
This new topographic map, from Arizona State University in Tempe, shows the surface shape and features over nearly the entire moon with a pixel scale close to 100 meters (328 feet). A single measure of elevation (one pixel) is about the size of two football fields placed side-by-side. 
To read more on this image go to: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/news/lro-topo.html
Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/DLR/ASUNASA image use policy.NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.Follow us on TwitterLike us on FacebookFind us on Instagram
Earth, as Seen by Astronauts Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans and Harrison Schmitt from Apollo 17 by The U.S. National Archives on Flickr.Via Flickr:U.S. National Archives’ Local Identifier: NWDNS-412-DA-11344From: Series: DOCUMERICA: The Environmental Protection Agency’s Program to Photographically Document Subjects of Environmental Concern, compiled 1972-1977 (Record Group 412)Created by:  Environmental Protection Agency. (12/02/1970 - )Production Date:  12/1972Photographer:  NASA 1Persistent URL:  arcweb.archives.gov/arc/action/ExternalIdSearch?id=553803Repository:  Still Picture Unit of the National Archives at College Park (College Park, MD)
For information about ordering reproductions of photographs held by the U.S. National Archives’ Still Picture Unit, visit: www.archives.gov/research/order/still-pictures.html.
Reproductions may be ordered via an independent vendor. The U.S. National Archives maintains a list of vendors at www.archives.gov/research/order/vendors-photos-maps-dc.html.
Buy copies of selected National Archives photographs and documents at the National Archives Print Shop online: gallery.pictopia.com/natf/photo/
Access Restrictions: Unrestricted
Use Restrictions: Unrestricted
El Hierro Still Churning the Sea by NASA Earth Observatory on Flickr.Via Flickr:
NASA image acquired November 2, 2011
To download the full resolution and other files go to: earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=76362&src=…
The submarine volcanic eruption that began in mid-October in the Canary Islands continued in early November 2011. The volcanic island of El Hierro sits on a tectonic hot spot in the Atlantic Ocean off of North Africa and Spain.
The Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite acquired this natural-color image of El Hierro and a plume of volcanic material in the surrounding waters on November 2, 2011. The waters south of the island have been bubbling and fizzing with heat, sediment, bits of volcanic rock, and minerals for weeks, with the plume stretching tens of kilometers.
The eruption is believed to be venting about 50 to 100 meters below the water surface, and it is warming the waters by as much as 10 degrees Celsius, according to geologist and blogger Erik Klimetti. The temperature of erupting basalt can be as hot as 1100 to 1200 degrees C, he notes.
“Flank eruptions are one way that volcanoes build up and out of the seafloor—and sometimes above the water surface,” notes marine geologist Dan Fornari of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. “If the magmatism is maintained, platforms can develop between the islands, a la Galapagos. This is also an example of how the ocean acquires its chemical makeup. It’s not just run off from the continents, but also injection and chemical exchange caused by submarine volcanoes.”
From October 26 to November 1, the Instituto Geográfico Nacional reported, 540 seismic events (quakes and tremors) were recorded by sensors on the island. Most of the activity was north of the island, at depths of 16 to 23 kilometers, and on the opposite side from where the plume of volcanic material was discoloring the water. More than 10,000 seismic events have been recorded near El Hierro since July 17.
The EO-1 satellite passes directly over the volcano about once every 16 days, though images can occasionally be acquired more often if the sensor is turned toward the site and skies are mostly cloud-free. To observe more immediate, ground-based data from the eruption (in Spanish), visit the Instituto Geográfico Nacional.
NASA image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using ALI data from the EO-1 Team. Caption by Mike Carlowicz.
The Earth Observatory’s mission is to share with the public the images, stories, and discoveries about climate and the environment that emerge from NASA research, including its satellite missions, in-the-field research, and climate models.Like us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterAdd us to your circles on Google+
Cloud vortices off Heard Island by NASA Goddard Photo and Video on Flickr.
Expedition 28 Landing (201109160002HQ) by nasa hq photo on Flickr.
Saturn V Apollo by Hot Meteor on Flickr.
Nike Hercules by Hot Meteor on Flickr.
The Moon’s North Pole by NASA Goddard Photo and Video on Flickr.
… naked shuttle! by x-ray delta one on Flickr.