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Camilla Corona SDO in Space!
Credit: Earth to Sky — Bishop, CA
Camilla, the SDO mascot, flies on a balloon at approximately 124,800 feet on March 3, 2012 aboard a helium balloon as part of a student experiment. Camilla is the rubber mascot for NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory mission to study the sun.
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Camilla on Balloon Ride
Credit: Science@NASA
Camilla, the mascot of NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, rode a balloon into the upper atmosphere during a solar radiation storm on March 10, 2012.
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Camilla Corona SDO with Bursting Balloon
Credit: Earth to Sky — Bishop, CA
The balloon carrying Camilla Corona SDO, mascot of the NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (at lower right), bursts in the upper atmosphere during the flight on March 10, 2012.
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Earth to Sky Balloon Launch
Credit: Science@NASA
Bishop, CA high school students launch Camilla SDO aboard a balloon on March 3, 2012.
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Camilla SDO Visits Curiosity Rover at JPL
Credit: Heather R. Archuletta
@Pillownaut tweeted: "Ah, memories. @Camilla_SDO taught us all about @MarsCuriosity at JPL before packing up for transport to KSC! :D" Also, she mentioned: "This picture was part of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Tweetup in southern California this past June [2011]. That particular shot above the clean room was the last time we were able to view Curiosity publicly before she was packed up for travel to Cape Canaveral and prepped for launch. Believe it or not, the person balancing her for that picture was Abe Benrubi of E.R. fame."
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Pig (and Bear and Chicken) on the Wing
Credit: Camilla Corona SDO
Three intrepid modern-day Montgolfiers launched aboard the BTS-1 (Balloon Transport System) on May 8, 2011, making a near-space trip from Houston, TX, to the swamps of Louisiana. The three travelers, (L to R in inset) Camilla Corona SDO, Skye Bleu, and Fuzz Aldrin, rode aboard the "Inspiration" engineering module to an altitude of approximately 87,000 feet. The flight raised awareness of space education and peace, organized by Bears on Patrol, a nonprofit organization based in Carrollton, Georgia. Rescuers from Sabine Wildlife Refuge could not locate the brave explorers for five days, but finally found them. Ironically, the Inspiration capsule has gone missing during return delivery by Fedex.
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Sesame Street's Elmo Visits NASA - Atlantis' STS-135 Launch
Credit: NASA/Camilla Corona SDO
Sesame Street muppet Elmo stands with Camilla, the Solar Dynamics Observatory mission's mascot, in front of the countdown clock at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Elmo visited the Florida spaceport on July 7, 2011, to see Atlantis launch on its STS-135 mission, the final flight of NASA's space shuttle program.
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Do the Funky Chicken
Credit: NASA Goddard/Stanford University
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) launched one year ago on February 11, 2010, from Cape Canaveral, on a mission to study the sun's atmosphere. Camilla Corona SDO (pictured) serves as the mission mascot for SDO. Says Camilla: "I actively help with Education and Public Outreach, visit class rooms, science festivals, fairs and space exhibits and teach about the Sun, space weather and space exploration." Here, Camilla is pictured at Cape Canaveral for the launch attempt of Discovery (in the background), December 2010. You can follow Camilla's adventures on Facebook and Twitter.
