Federal Independent Agencies
News releases, reports, statements and associated documents from federal independent agencies.
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EPA and City of Springfield, Illinois, Reach Agreement on Coal Ash
WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release on Jan. 27, 2025:
Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced an agreement with the city of Springfield, Illinois, to ensure the City Water, Light and Power coal-fired power plant fully complies with the agency's coal combustion residual program.
The agreement includes requirements to address and correct previous coal ash disposal issues at two ponds, known as surface impoundments, and a landfill near Lake Springfield and Sugar Creek that were used to store and dispose coal ash. The city stopped
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release on Jan. 27, 2025:
Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced an agreement with the city of Springfield, Illinois, to ensure the City Water, Light and Power coal-fired power plant fully complies with the agency's coal combustion residual program.
The agreement includes requirements to address and correct previous coal ash disposal issues at two ponds, known as surface impoundments, and a landfill near Lake Springfield and Sugar Creek that were used to store and dispose coal ash. The city stoppedusing the two ponds in October 2023. The agreement requires the city to:
* Expand and correct its groundwater monitoring program.
* Address potential releases of heavy metals associated with coal ash material.
* Analyze the structural stability of the surface impoundments before closing them in accordance with federal CCR rules.
The coal-fired power plant began operations in 1968 with one combustion unit, adding three more units over the years until 2009. The city retired two units in 2020 and one in 2022. The remaining combustion unit continues to operate.
For more information on coal ash and the agency's CCR program activities, please visit EPA's Coal Ash website (https://www.epa.gov/coalash).
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Original text here: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-and-city-springfield-illinois-reach-agreement-coal-ash
Station Science Top News: Jan. 24, 2025
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 -- NASA issued the following news release:
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Station Science Top News: Jan. 24, 2025
Reducing reliance on resupply missions
Resupply of life support elements such as air, water, food, clothing, and hygiene items will be impractical on missions to the Moon and beyond. This research assessed current use and resupply of these elements on the International Space Station and outlines technologies needed for sustained human presence in space, such as 3D printing maintenance parts, systems for laundering clothes, and improved recovery and recycling of elements.
Researchers
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 -- NASA issued the following news release:
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Station Science Top News: Jan. 24, 2025
Reducing reliance on resupply missions
Resupply of life support elements such as air, water, food, clothing, and hygiene items will be impractical on missions to the Moon and beyond. This research assessed current use and resupply of these elements on the International Space Station and outlines technologies needed for sustained human presence in space, such as 3D printing maintenance parts, systems for laundering clothes, and improved recovery and recycling of elements.
Researchersanalyzed the types and mass of elements supplied from Earth to the station and astronaut feedback from various studies and interviews. The paper also used data from ISS Internal Environments, a wide-ranging investigation that samples various aspects of the space station environment in support of many types of research.
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Satoshi Furukawa exercises on the station's treadmill. Astronauts currently have no way to launder clothes in space.
NASA
Verifying a technique for analyzing emulsions
This paper presents a review of examining the behavior of emulsions (suspensions of particles in a liquid) in microgravity using a technique called diffusing wave spectroscopy. Results offer insights that could support development of technologies to improve living environments and foods for crew members on future missions.
FSL Soft Matter Dynamics - PASTA studied the dynamics of droplets in emulsions. Accurate study and characterization of the effects of additives on emulsion stability is possible in microgravity. Emulsions have applications in foods, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, fuels, paints and coatings, chemical processing, and materials.
European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti exchanges samples for the FSL Soft Matter Dynamics-PASTA investigation.
NASA
EEG measurements and predicting cognitive changes in spaceflight
Researchers used an electroencephalogram (EEG) to measure brainwave activity during a relaxed, wakeful state in crew members and found no significant differences before, during, and after flight. These types of measurements could serve as biomarkers of brain health status, helping to predict changes in cognitive performance and the need for prevention and countermeasure strategies during future missions.
Studies have shown that spaceflight can affect key cognitive and motor skills such as task management, attention, and movement speed and accuracy. Neurowellness in Space Ax-1 tested using a portable, easy to use EEG headset to measure ongoing and task-related brain activity in microgravity. The data could help predict and monitor neural changes on future space missions.
The 11-person crew aboard the station in April 2022 included Axiom Mission 1 astronauts (center row from left) Mark Pathy, Eytan Stibbe, Larry Conner, and Michael Lopez-Alegria.
NASA
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Original text here: https://www.nasa.gov/general/station-science-top-news-jan-24-2025/
NASA to Preview Sky-Mapping Space Telescope Ahead of Launch
PASADENA, California, Jan. 27 (TNSres) -- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory issued the following news:
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NASA to Preview Sky-Mapping Space Telescope Ahead of Launch
NASA will host a news conference at 12 p.m. EST Friday, Jan. 31, to discuss a new telescope that will improve our understanding of how the universe evolved and search for key ingredients for life in our galaxy.
Agency experts will preview NASA's SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) mission, which will help scientists better understand the structure of the universe,
... Show Full Article
PASADENA, California, Jan. 27 (TNSres) -- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory issued the following news:
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NASA to Preview Sky-Mapping Space Telescope Ahead of Launch
NASA will host a news conference at 12 p.m. EST Friday, Jan. 31, to discuss a new telescope that will improve our understanding of how the universe evolved and search for key ingredients for life in our galaxy.
Agency experts will preview NASA's SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) mission, which will help scientists better understand the structure of the universe,how galaxies form and evolve, and the origins and abundance of water. Launch is targeted for no earlier than Thursday, Feb. 27.
The news conference will be hosted at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. Watch live on NASA+, as well as JPL's X and YouTube channels. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.
Laurie Leshin, director, NASA JPL, will provide opening remarks. Additional briefing participants include:
* Shawn Domagal-Goldman, acting director, Astrophysics Division, NASA Headquarters
* James Fanson, project manager, SPHEREx, NASA JPL
* Beth Fabinsky, deputy project manager, SPHEREx, NASA JPL
* Jamie Bock, principal investigator, SPHEREx, Caltech
* Cesar Marin, SPHEREx integration engineer, Launch Services Program, NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida
Questions can be asked on social media during the briefing using #AskNASA.
The SPHEREx observatory will survey the entire celestial sky in near-infrared light to help answer cosmic questions involving the birth of the universe, and the subsequent development of galaxies. It also will search for ices of water and organic molecules -- essentials for life as we know it -- in regions where stars are born from gas and dust, as well as disks around stars where new planets could be forming. Astronomers will use the mission to gather data on more than 450 million galaxies, as well as more than 100 million stars in our own Milky Way galaxy.
The space observatory will share its ride on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with NASA's PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) mission, which will lift off from Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in Central California.
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The SPHEREx mission is managed by NASA JPL for the agency's Astrophysics Division within the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The principal investigator is based at Caltech in Pasadena, California, which manages NASA JPL for the agency.
The spacecraft is supplied by BAE Systems. The Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute contributed the non-flight cryogenic test chamber. Mission data will be publicly available through IPAC at Caltech.
For more information about the mission, visit:
https://nasa.gov/spherex
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Original text here: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-to-preview-sky-mapping-space-telescope-ahead-of-launch/
NASA to Preview Sky-Mapping Space Telescope Ahead of Launch
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 -- NASA issued the following news release:
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NASA to Preview Sky-Mapping Space Telescope Ahead of Launch
NASA's SPHEREx space observatory was photographed at BAE Systems in Boulder, Colorado, in November 2024 after completing environmental testing. The spacecraft's three concentric cones help direct heat and light away from the telescope and other components, keeping them cool.
Credit: BAE Systems
NASA will host a news conference at 12 p.m. EST Friday, Jan. 31, to discuss a new telescope that will improve our understanding of how the universe evolved and search for
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 -- NASA issued the following news release:
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NASA to Preview Sky-Mapping Space Telescope Ahead of Launch
NASA's SPHEREx space observatory was photographed at BAE Systems in Boulder, Colorado, in November 2024 after completing environmental testing. The spacecraft's three concentric cones help direct heat and light away from the telescope and other components, keeping them cool.
Credit: BAE Systems
NASA will host a news conference at 12 p.m. EST Friday, Jan. 31, to discuss a new telescope that will improve our understanding of how the universe evolved and search forkey ingredients for life in our galaxy.
Agency experts will preview NASA's SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) mission, which will help scientists better understand the structure of the universe, how galaxies form and evolve, and the origins and abundance of water. Launch is targeted for no earlier than Thursday, Feb. 27.
The news conference will be hosted at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. Watch live on NASA+, as well as JPL's X and YouTube channels. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.
Laurie Leshin, director, NASA JPL, will provide opening remarks. Additional briefing participants include:
* Shawn Domagal-Goldman, acting director, Astrophysics Division, NASA Headquarters
* James Fanson, project manager, SPHEREx, NASA JPL
* Beth Fabinsky, deputy project manager, SPHEREx, NASA JPL
* Jamie Bock, principal investigator, SPHEREx, Caltech
* Cesar Marin, SPHEREx integration engineer, Launch Services Program, NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida
To ask questions by phone, members of the media must RSVP no later than two hours before the start of the event to: rexana.v.vizza@jpl.nasa.gov. NASA's media accreditation policy is available online. Questions also can be asked on social media during the briefing using #AskNASA.
The SPHEREx observatory will survey the entire celestial sky in near-infrared light to help answer cosmic questions involving the birth of the universe, and the subsequent development of galaxies. It also will search for ices of water and organic molecules -- essentials for life as we know it -- in regions where stars are born from gas and dust, as well as disks around stars where new planets could be forming. Astronomers will use the mission to gather data on more than 450 million galaxies, as well as more than 100 million stars in our own Milky Way galaxy.
The space observatory will share its ride on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with NASA's PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) mission, which will lift off from Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in Central California.
The SPHEREx mission is managed by NASA JPL for the agency's Astrophysics Division within the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The principal investigator is based at Caltech in Pasadena, California, which manages NASA JPL for the agency.
The spacecraft is supplied by BAE Systems. The Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute contributed the non-flight cryogenic test chamber. Mission data will be publicly available through IPAC at Caltech.
For more information about the mission, visit:
https://nasa.gov/spherex
-end-
Alise Fisher
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2546
alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov
Val Gratias / Calla Cofield
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-6215 / 626-808-2469
valerie.m.gratias@jpl.nasa.gov / calla.e.cofield@jpl.nasa.gov
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Original text here: https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-to-preview-sky-mapping-space-telescope-ahead-of-launch/
COMING SOON: 2024 Annual Highlights of Results from the International Space Station
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 -- NASA issued the following news release:
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COMING SOON: 2024 Annual Highlights of Results from the International Space Station
The 2024 Annual Highlights of Results from the International Space Station is coming soon. This new edition contains updated bibliometric analyses, a list of all the publications documented in fiscal year 2024, and synopses of the most recent and recognized scientific findings from investigations conducted on the space station. These investigations are sponsored by NASA and all international partners - CSA (Canadian Space Agency), ESA (European
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 -- NASA issued the following news release:
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COMING SOON: 2024 Annual Highlights of Results from the International Space Station
The 2024 Annual Highlights of Results from the International Space Station is coming soon. This new edition contains updated bibliometric analyses, a list of all the publications documented in fiscal year 2024, and synopses of the most recent and recognized scientific findings from investigations conducted on the space station. These investigations are sponsored by NASA and all international partners - CSA (Canadian Space Agency), ESA (EuropeanSpace Agency), JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and the State Space Corporation Roscosmos (Roscosmos) - for the advancement of science, technology, and education.
Dr. Dmitry Oleynikov remotely operates a surgical robot aboard the Space Station using controls at the Virtual Incision offices in Lincoln, Nebraska. Robotic Surgery Tech Demo tests techniques for performing a simulated surgical procedure in microgravity using a miniature surgical robot that can be remotely controlled from Earth.
Credits: University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Between Oct. 1, 2023, and Sept. 30, 2024, more than 350 publications were reported. With approximately 40% of the research produced in collaboration between more than two countries and almost 80% of the high-impact studies published in the past seven years, station has continued to generate compelling and influential science above national and global standards since 2010.
The results achieved from station research provide insights that advance the commercialization of space and benefit humankind.
Some of the findings presented in this edition include:
* Improved machine learning algorithms to detect space debris (Italian Space Agency)
* Visuospatial processing before and after spaceflight (CSA)
* Metabolic changes during fasting intervals in astronauts (ESA)
* Vapor bubble production for the improvement of thermal systems (NASA)
* The survival of microorganisms in space (Roscosmos)
* Immobilization of particles for the development of optical materials (JAXA)
The content in the Annual Highlights of Results from the International Space Station has been reviewed and approved by the International Space Station Program Science Forum, a team of scientists and administrators representing NASA and international partners that are dedicated to planning, improving, and communicating the research operated on the space station.
For the Annual Highlights of Results 2023, click here.
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Original text here: https://www.nasa.gov/general/coming-soon-2024-annual-highlights-of-results-from-the-international-space-station/
Board of Governors to meet Feb. 6
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 -- The U.S. Postal Service issued the following news release:
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Board of Governors to meet Feb. 6
Jan. 27, 2025
# U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors to Meet on Feb. 6
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors will meet February 6, 2025, in an open session at Postal Service headquarters, 475 L'Enfant Plaza SW, Washington, DC. The public is welcome to observe the meeting beginning at 10 a.m. ET in the Benjamin Franklin Room. The board is expected to discuss the following items:
1. Call to order and opening remarks of the Chairman
2. Remarks
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 -- The U.S. Postal Service issued the following news release:
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Board of Governors to meet Feb. 6
Jan. 27, 2025
# U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors to Meet on Feb. 6
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors will meet February 6, 2025, in an open session at Postal Service headquarters, 475 L'Enfant Plaza SW, Washington, DC. The public is welcome to observe the meeting beginning at 10 a.m. ET in the Benjamin Franklin Room. The board is expected to discuss the following items:
1. Call to order and opening remarks of the Chairman
2. Remarksfrom the Postmaster General and CEO
3. Approval of the meeting minutes
4. Committee reports
5. Quarterly financial report presented by Mr. Grossmann
6. Quarterly service performance report by Mr. White
7. Approval of the tentative agenda for the May 8, 2025 open meeting
8. Adjournment
Open session meetings of the Board of Governors are available on live audio webcasts at https://about.usps.com/who/leadership/board-governors/#sessions. Three hours after the conclusion of the open session meeting, a recorded audio file will be available for listening. In compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, the audio webcast will be open-captioned.
The United States Postal Service is an independent federal establishment, mandated to be self-financing and to serve every American community through the affordable, reliable and secure delivery of mail and packages to 169 million addresses six and often seven days a week. Overseen by a bipartisan Board of Governors, the Postal Service is implementing a 10-year transformation plan, Delivering for America, to modernize the postal network, restore long-term financial sustainability, dramatically improve service across all mail and shipping categories, and maintain the organization as one of America's most valued and trusted brands.
The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
For USPS media resources, including broadcast-quality video and audio and photo stills, visit the USPS Newsroom. Follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter; Instagram ; Pinterest ; Threads and LinkedIn. Subscribe to the USPS YouTube Channel and like us on Facebook. For more information about the Postal Service, visit usps.com and facts.usps.com.
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Original text here: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2025/0127-board-of-governors-to-meet-feb-6.htm
Black Holes Can Cook for Themselves, Chandra Study Shows
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 -- NASA issued the following news release:
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Black Holes Can Cook for Themselves, Chandra Study Shows
Perseus Cluster: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/V. Olivares et al.; Optical/IR: DSS; H-alpha: CFHT/SITELLE; Centaurus Cluster: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/V. Olivaresi et al.; Optical/IR: NASA/ESA/STScI; H-alpha: ESO/VLT/MUSE;Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk
Astronomers have taken a crucial step in showing that the most massive black holes in the universe can create their own meals. Data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Very Large Telescope (VLT) provide new evidence that
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 -- NASA issued the following news release:
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Black Holes Can Cook for Themselves, Chandra Study Shows
Perseus Cluster: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/V. Olivares et al.; Optical/IR: DSS; H-alpha: CFHT/SITELLE; Centaurus Cluster: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/V. Olivaresi et al.; Optical/IR: NASA/ESA/STScI; H-alpha: ESO/VLT/MUSE;Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk
Astronomers have taken a crucial step in showing that the most massive black holes in the universe can create their own meals. Data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Very Large Telescope (VLT) provide new evidence thatoutbursts from black holes can help cool down gas to feed themselves.
This study was based on observations of seven clusters of galaxies. The centers of galaxy clusters contain the universe's most massive galaxies, which harbor huge black holes with masses ranging from millions to tens of billions of times that of the Sun. Jets from these black holes are driven by the black holes feasting on gas.
These images show two of the galaxy clusters in the study, the Perseus Cluster and the Centaurus Cluster. Chandra data represented in blue reveals X-rays from filaments of hot gas, and data from the VLT, an optical telescope in Chile, shows cooler filaments in red.
The results support a model where outbursts from the black holes trigger hot gas to cool and form narrow filaments of warm gas. Turbulence in the gas also plays an important role in this triggering process.
According to this model, some of the warm gas in these filaments should then flow into the centers of the galaxies to feed the black holes, causing an outburst. The outburst causes more gas to cool and feed the black holes, leading to further outbursts.
This model predicts there will be a relationship between the brightness of filaments of hot and warm gas in the centers of galaxy clusters. More specifically, in regions where the hot gas is brighter, the warm gas should also be brighter. The team of astronomers has, for the first time, discovered such a relationship, giving critical support for the model.
This result also provides new understanding of these gas-filled filaments, which are important not just for feeding black holes but also for causing new stars to form. This advance was made possible by an innovative technique that isolates the hot filaments in the Chandra X-ray data from other structures, including large cavities in the hot gas created by the black hole's jets.
The newly found relationship for these filaments shows remarkable similarity to the one found in the tails of jellyfish galaxies, which have had gas stripped away from them as they travel through surrounding gas, forming long tails. This similarity reveals an unexpected cosmic connection between the two objects and implies a similar process is occurring in these objects.
This work was led by Valeria Olivares from the University of Santiago de Chile, and was published Monday in Nature Astronomy. The study brought together international experts in optical and X-ray observations and simulations from the United States, Chile, Australia, Canada, and Italy. The work relied on the capabilities of the MUSE (Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer) instrument on the VLT, which generates 3D views of the universe.
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory's Chandra X-ray Center controls science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts.
Read more from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.
Learn more about the Chandra X-ray Observatory and its mission here:
https://www.nasa.gov/chandra
https://chandra.si.edu
Visual Description
This release features composite images shown side-by-side of two different galaxy clusters, each with a central black hole surrounded by patches and filaments of gas. The galaxy clusters, known as Perseus and Centaurus, are two of seven galaxy clusters observed as part of an international study led by the University of Santiago de Chile.
In each image, a patch of purple with neon pink veins floats in the blackness of space, surrounded by flecks of light. At the center of each patch is a glowing, bright white dot. The bright white dots are black holes. The purple patches represent hot X-ray gas, and the neon pink veins represent filaments of warm gas. According to the model published in the study, jets from the black holes impact the hot X-ray gas. This gas cools into warm filaments, with some warm gas flowing back into the black hole. The return flow of warm gas causes jets to again cool the hot gas, triggering the cycle once again.
While the images of the two galaxy clusters are broadly similar, there are significant visual differences. In the image of the Perseus Cluster on the left, the surrounding flecks of light are larger and brighter, making the individual galaxies they represent easier to discern. Here, the purple gas has a blue tint, and the hot pink filaments appear solid, as if rendered with quivering strokes of a paintbrush. In the image of the Centaurus Cluster on the right, the purple gas appears softer, with a more diffuse quality. The filaments are rendered in more detail, with feathery edges, and gradation in color ranging from pale pink to neon red.
News Media Contact
Megan Watzke
Chandra X-ray Center
Cambridge, Mass.
617-496-7998
mwatzke@cfa.harvard.edu
Lane Figueroa
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
256-544-0034
lane.e.figueroa@nasa.gov
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Original text here: https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/black-holes-can-cook-for-themselves-chandra-study-shows/
