Anna Wadhwa

It’s a beautiful day for a rocket launch. Preparations are underway at LC-1 for Electron’s next launch for @QPS_Inc.

🚀Mission Name: “The Nation God Navigates”
🎯 Customer: iQPS
🛰️ Payload: QPS-SAR-14 or YACHIHOKO-I
🌏 Orbit: 575km LEO
📍 Launch Site: Pad B, LC-1

Fram2 Launched into Polar Orbit for a New Worldview | Space Voyaging SpaceX launched Fram2, the first private human spaceflight over Earth's poles, carrying a four-person crew for scientific research and educational outreach

🚀 Last night, #SpaceX launched #Fram2, the first human spaceflight into polar orbit.

🌎 The planned three-to-five-day private mission will support polar and space environment studies, advance long-duration spaceflight and human health research.

Read more: www.spacevoyaging.com/news/2025/04...

Watch chilling 1st views of Earth's poles seen by SpaceX Fram2 astronauts (video) The Earth has never been seen quite like this before.

The first humans to orbit over Earth's north and south poles are sending back images from their spaceflight, and the views are incredible.
www.space.com/space-explor...

APL - Lab Personnel Who We Are

Finally made it onto the lab website

petersen.mit.edu/lab-personnel

Big move by Perseverance today on her way to "Broom Point". Robot now stands at the westernmost point reached during this Martian Odyssey. New adventures and discoveries await!
#Mars 🧪🔭

Agencies given two weeks to plan ~50% layoffs plus simultaneous relocations while in the middle of current layoffs. Even if you think the govt should be a lot smaller this guarantees it'll be done in a non strategic, poorly coordinated way

Photo of the Front of NASA Headquarters in Washington DC ( Image: NASA)

A short 🧵 - Via @nasawatch.bsky.social on "X": #NASA sources report that NASA Deputy Associate Administrator Casey Swails has sent out a memo that is making its way through the agency - about the OPM mass email that everyone got on Saturday..." 1/

Adama: What do you hear?
Starbuck: Nothing but the rain.

NIH indirects case update:

Hearing ongoing now, and I'll try to live tweet some notable exchanges.

Prior to more detailed arguments, Judge Kelley starts off with a few point questions to both sides:

(I'm paraphrasing here)

Trump administration backtracks on eliminating thousands of national parks employees Following a loud public outcry, and relentless media campaign from outdoors enthusiasts, the Trump administration has reversed course on a plan to eliminate thousands of seasonal workers at the Nation...

Following a loud public outcry about job cuts at the National Parks Service — and a relentless media campaign from outdoors enthusiasts across the country — it looks like the Trump administration has blinked.

via @jackdolan.bsky.social

Curiosity spies stunning clouds at twilight on Mars The noctilucent clouds only appear in some locations on Mars, near the equator.

Noctilucent clouds on Mars, as human eyes have never seen them before. Amazing.

arstechnica.com/space/2025/0...

Selfie of Jessie in a pink blazer in front of a cabinet of spacecraft models labeled DARE MIGHTY THINGS.

Walking in to NASA’s JPL today as a woman in science leadership felt almost like a protest. They can take us off the webpages and the walls, but we will still be here, absolutely crushing it, and supporting our community while we do it.

Happy International Day of Women in Science, everyone.

Intermittent reminder that 'AI' is a broad name for a huge range of technologies, some of which are really useful and have no negative effects, some of which are pretty useless and/or based on plagiarism. The existence of one doesn't negate the existence of the other.

Thank you, that makes a ton of sense! ✨🙌

Apologies for the naive question - I thought NASA already tested their asteroid deflection capabilities with the DART mission, so isn’t this just an opportunity to put that test/learnings into actual practice?

NIH In Your State - United For Medical Research Select a state on the map to see the impact of NIH funding across America.

This website shows you how many jobs NIH funding creates for your state along with the overall economic activity generated.
www.unitedformedicalresearch.org/nih-in-your-...

This is a de facto massive budget cut to research universities. We are talking Great Recession size impacts.

North Carolina tuberculosis cases are on the rise for the first time in decades Cases of the world’s deadliest infectious disease have been increasing in the U.S. in recent years

North Carolina reporting tuberculosis on the rise for the first time in decades, as an outbreak in Kansas continues to surge.

North Carolina was one of the first States to institute a mask ban.

A respirator doesn’t just guard against covid, it protects against TB too

1. Today the NIH director issued a new directive slashing overhead rates to 15%.

I want to provide some context on what that means and why it matters.

grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

NASA astronaut Sunita Williams says "we don't feel abandoned" or "stuck" as space mission stretches on Starliner astronaut Sunita Williams says she and crewmate Butch Wilmore have not been "abandoned" in space, as NASA considers plans to speed their return.

Crew 9: Her comments came amid efforts by NASA to finalize plans to bring Williams, Wilmore, Crew-9 commander Nick Hague and cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov back to Earth after a weeklong handover with their Crew 10 replacements. Story available here: www.cbsnews.com/news/nasa-as...

NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel Releases 2024 Annual Report - NASA The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP), an advisory committee that reports to NASA and Congress, issued its 2024 annual report Thursday examining the

NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel's annual report is out. www.nasa.gov/news-release...

We’re writing up our paper on this right now!

Day 3 of NASA Human Research Program (HRP) Investigators’ Workshop! #IWS2025 👩‍🔬🧪

Heard from Dr. Michael Barratt about his recent spaceflight experience on expedition 71+ and then presented on our artificial gravity work (gene expression changes in the bone)! 🚀🦴🩺

Fantastic day 2 of NASA’s Human Research Program (HRP) Investigators’ Workshop (IWS)!

Loved the session on neural stressors - so many cool brain organoid projects happening, we’re enabling the future of human health in space! ☺️✨

#IWS2025 🧪👩‍🔬🧠

congrats!!

Yesterday was day 1 of the NASA Human Research Program (HRP) Investigators’ Workshop (IWS)! 🚀 #IWS2025

Can’t wait to check out some of today’s sessions on neuro / bone / cardiovascular health in space, and more! 👩‍🔬🧪🦴🧠🫀

What the Hell Is Going on at NIH? Scientists sound the alarm about Trump’s unprecedented “Big Brother” research crackdown.

Really thankful to all of the scientists who made themselves available to talk to me about the unprecedented situation at NIH.

I've never had so many people reach out to me for a story like this.
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

NASA document. Amendment to a grant proposal removing sections on “NASA’s commitment to diversity and inclusion” and “Inclusion plan pilot program”

And so it begins…. 😔

Next on the pad: A dedicated Electron launch for Kinéis

We're targeting no earlier than Feb 4th NZT for lift-off from Launch Complex 1.

Mission info: bit.ly/3Cs3uHK