NASA

4 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Researchers at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland used the Glenn Icing Computational Environment (GlennICE) software to create 3D computational models of this advanced air mobility rotor and study propeller icing issues. The physical model of this rotor was installed and tested in the Icing Research Tunnel in 2023 as part of an icing evaluation study, which also sought to validate the computational models.  Credit: NASA/Jordan Cochran

When flying in certain weather conditions, tiny freezing water droplets floating in the air can pose a risk to aircraft. If not taken into consideration, these water droplets can accumulate on an aircraft as ice and pose a safety risk. 

But NASA software tools such as Glenn Icing Computational Environment (GlennICE) are working to keep passengers and pilots safe. 

NASA developed GlennICE, a new NASA software code, to transform the way we explore, understand, and prevent ice buildup on aircraft wings and engines, as well as control surfaces like rudders and elevators.  

Owing to decades of world-class NASA research, engineers nationwide can now use GlennICE to design aircraft in such a way that ice buildup will either occur rarely or pose very little risk. 

Named for NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, GlennICE is part of NASA’s work to provide the aviation industry with computational tools, including design software, to improve aircraft safety and enable innovation. For icing research and modeling, NASA computer codes have become the industry standard over the past several decades. And GlennICE builds on this work, performing highly advanced digital modeling of water and ice particles in just about any atmospheric condition you can imagine. 

With updated capabilities and a streamlined user experience, GlennICE will enable users to advance the state of the art – particularly researchers working on complex, unusual future aircraft designs. 

“The legacy codes are well formulated to handle simulations of traditional tube-and-wing shaped aircraft,” said Christopher Porter, lead for GlennICE’s development. “But now, we have new vehicles with new designs that present icing research challenges. This requires a more advanced tool, and that’s where GlennICE comes in.” 

So far, dozens of industry partners as well as other government agencies have started using GlennICE, which is available on NASA’s software catalog. 

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

Timelapse video of an ice accretion on the 65% common research model. Credit: NASA/Jordan Cochran Ice buildup: not cool

Though based on legacy NASA codes such as LEWICE 3D, GlennICE is a whole different ballgame. The new toolkit can be tailored to unique situations and is compatible with other software tools. In other words, it is more configurable, and much less time consuming for researchers to set up and use. 

This streamlined process, along with its more-advanced ability to model icing, allows GlennICE to easily tackle 21st-century concepts such as supersonic planes, advanced air mobility drones and other aircraft, unconventionally shaped wings, open-rotor turbofan designs, or new configurations for conventional aircraft such as radar domes. 

But how does this simulation process work? 

“Imagine an aircraft flying through a cloud,” Porter said. “Some of those water and ice droplets hit the aircraft and some of them don’t. GlennICE simulates these droplets and exactly where they will end up, both on the aircraft and not.” 

When these water droplets hit the aircraft, they attach, freeze, and start to gather even more droplets that do the same. The software simulates exactly where this will occur, and what shape the ice will take over time. 

“We’re not just dealing with the airplane, but the physics of the air and water as well,” Porter said. 

Because it’s designed for simulating droplets, researchers have expressed interest in using GlennICE to simulate other conditions involving sand and ash. These substances, when ingested by aircraft engines, can pose separate risks that aeronautical engineers work to prevent. 

Glenn Icing Computational Environment (GlennICE) simulated ice accretions (blue) on the High Lift Common Research Model (gray). Credit: NASA/Thomas Ozoroski World-class research

Icing research is fundamental to aviation safety, and NASA fulfils a key role in ensuring pilots and passengers fly more safely and ice-free. The agency’s wind tunnels, for instance, have world-class icing research capabilities not commonly found in aeronautics research. 

Paired with wind tunnel testing, GlennICE offers a holistic set of capabilities to researchers. While wind tunnels can verify and validate data with real-world models and conditions, tools like GlennICE can fill gaps in research not easily achieved with wind tunnels. 

“Some environments we need to test in are impractical with wind tunnels because of the tunnel size required and complex physics involved,” Porter said. “But with GlennICE, we can do these tests digitally. For example, we can model all the icing conditions noted in new regulations.” 

The GlennICE development falls under NASA’s Transformative Aeronautics Concept and Advanced Air Vehicles programs. Those programs supported GlennICE to further NASA’s work on computational tool development for aerospace design. More about the history of icing research at NASA is available on the agency’s website. 

About the AuthorJohn GouldAeronautics Research Misson Directorate

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Details Last Updated Dec 04, 2025 Related Terms

• General
• Advanced Air Transport Technology
• Advanced Air Vehicles Program
• Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate
• Aerosciences Evaluation Test Capabilities
• Glenn Research Center
• NASA Centers & Facilities
• Transformational Tools Technologies
• Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program

Explore More 8 min read NASA Completes Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Construction Article 17 hours ago 5 min read Student Art Murals at Johnson Celebrate 25 Years of Humanity in Space  Article 2 days ago 5 min read NASA Astronaut Jonny Kim Advances Research Aboard Space Station Article 2 days ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA

Missions

Humans in Space

Climate Change

Solar System

NASA’s next big eye on the cosmos is now fully assembled. On Nov. 25, technicians joined the inner and outer portions of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope in the largest clean room at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is now fully assembled following the integration of its two major segments on Nov. 25 at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The mission is slated to launch by May 2027, but the team is on track for launch as early as fall 2026.Credit: NASA/Jolearra Tshiteya

“Completing the Roman observatory brings us to a defining moment for the agency,” said NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya. “Transformative science depends on disciplined engineering, and this team has delivered—piece by piece, test by test—an observatory that will expand our understanding of the universe. As Roman moves into its final stage of testing following integration, we are focused on executing with precision and preparing for a successful launch on behalf of the global scientific community.”

After final testing, Roman will move to the launch site at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for launch preparations in summer 2026. Roman is slated to launch by May 2027, but the team is on track for launch as early as fall 2026. A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will send the observatory to its final destination a million miles from Earth.

“With Roman’s construction complete, we are poised at the brink of unfathomable scientific discovery,” said Julie McEnery, Roman’s senior project scientist at NASA Goddard. “In the mission’s first five years, it’s expected to unveil more than 100,000 distant worlds, hundreds of millions of stars, and billions of galaxies. We stand to learn a tremendous amount of new information about the universe very rapidly after Roman launches.”

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will survey vast swaths of sky during its five-year primary mission. During that time, scientists expect it to see an incredible number of new objects, including stars, galaxies, black holes and planets outside our solar system, known as exoplanets. This infographic previews some of the discoveries scientists anticipate from Roman’s data deluge. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Observing from space will make Roman very sensitive to infrared light — light with a longer wavelength than our eyes can see — from far across the cosmos. Pairing its crisp infrared vision with a sweeping view of space will allow astronomers to explore myriad cosmic topics, from dark matter and dark energy to distant worlds and solitary black holes, and conduct research that would take hundreds of years using other telescopes.

“Within our lifetimes, a great mystery has arisen about the cosmos: why the expansion of the universe seems to be accelerating. There is something fundamental about space and time we don’t yet understand, and Roman was built to discover what it is,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington. “With Roman now standing as a complete observatory, which keeps the mission on track for a potentially early launch, we are a major step closer to understanding the universe as never before. I couldn’t be prouder of the teams that have gotten us to this point.”

Double vision

Roman is equipped with two instruments: the Wide Field Instrument and the Coronagraph Instrument technology demonstration.

The coronagraph will demonstrate new technologies for directly imaging planets around other stars. It will block the glare from distant stars and make it easier for scientists to see the faint light from planets in orbit around them. The Coronagraph aims to photograph worlds and dusty disks around nearby stars in visible light to help us see giant worlds that are older, colder, and in closer orbits than the hot, young super-Jupiters direct imaging has mainly revealed so far.

“The question of ‘Are we alone?’ is a big one, and it’s an equally big task to build tools that can help us answer it,” said Feng Zhao, the Roman Coronagraph Instrument manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “The Roman Coronagraph is going to bring us one step closer to that goal. It’s incredible that we have the opportunity to test this hardware in space on such a powerful observatory as Roman.”

The coronagraph team will conduct a series of pre-planned observations for three months spread across the mission’s first year-and-a-half of operations, after which the mission may conduct additional observations based on scientific community input.

The Wide Field Instrument is a 288-megapixel camera that will unveil the cosmos all the way from our solar system to near the edge of the observable universe. Using this instrument, each Roman image will capture a patch of the sky bigger than the apparent size of a full moon. The mission will gather data hundreds of times faster than NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, adding up to 20,000 terabytes (20 petabytes) over the course of its five-year primary mission.

“The sheer volume of the data Roman will return is mind-boggling and key to a host of exciting investigations,” said Dominic Benford, Roman’s program scientist at NASA Headquarters.

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

Over the course of several hours, technicians meticulously connected the inner and outer segments of NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, as shown in this time-lapse. Next, Roman will undergo final testing prior to moving to the launch site at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for launch preparations in summer 2026.Credit: NASA/Sophia Roberts

Survey trifecta

Using the Wide Field Instrument, Roman will conduct three core surveys which will account for 75% of the primary mission. The High-Latitude Wide-Area Survey will combine the powers of imaging and spectroscopy to unveil more than a billion galaxies strewn across a wide swath of space and time. Astronomers will trace the evolution of the universe to probe dark matter — invisible matter detectable only by how its gravity affects things we can see — and trace the formation of galaxies and galaxy clusters over time.

The High-Latitude Time-Domain Survey will probe our dynamic universe by observing the same region of the cosmos repeatedly. Stitching these observations together to create movies will allow scientists to study how celestial objects and phenomena change over time periods of days to years. That will help astronomers study dark energy — the mysterious cosmic pressure thought to accelerate the universe’s expansion — and could even uncover entirely new phenomena that we don’t yet know to look for.

Roman’s Galactic Bulge Time-Domain Survey will look inward to provide one of the deepest views ever of the heart of our Milky Way galaxy. Astronomers will watch hundreds of millions of stars in search of microlensing signals — gravitational boosts of a background star’s light caused by the gravity of an intervening object. While astronomers have mainly discovered star-hugging worlds, Roman’s microlensing observations can find planets in the habitable zone of their star and farther out, including worlds like every planet in our solar system except Mercury. Microlensing will also reveal rogue planets—worlds that roam the galaxy untethered to a star — and isolated black holes. The same dataset will reveal 100,000 worlds that transit, or pass in front of, their host stars.

The remaining 25% of Roman’s five-year primary mission will be dedicated to other observations that will be determined with input from the broader scientific community. The first such program, called the Galactic Plane Survey, has already been selected.

Because Roman’s observations will enable such a wide range of science, the mission will have a General Investigator Program designed to support astronomers to reveal scientific discoveries using Roman data. As part of NASA’s commitment to Gold Standard Science, NASA will make all of Roman’s data publicly available with no exclusive use period. This ensures multiple scientists and teams can use data at the same time, which is important since every Roman observation will address a wealth of science cases.

NASA’s freshly assembled Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will revolutionize our understanding of the universe with its deep, crisp, sweeping infrared views of space. The mission will transform virtually every branch of astronomy and bring us closer to understanding the mysteries of dark energy, dark matter, and how common planets like Earth are throughout our galaxy. Roman is on track for launch by May 2027, with teams working toward a launch as early as fall 2026. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Roman’s namesake — Dr. Nancy Grace Roman, NASA’s first chief astronomer — made it her personal mission to make cosmic vistas readily accessible to all by paving the way for telescopes based in space.

“The mission will acquire enormous quantities of astronomical imagery that will permit scientists to make groundbreaking discoveries for decades to come, honoring Dr. Roman’s legacy in promoting scientific tools for the broader community,” said Jackie Townsend, Roman’s deputy project manager at NASA Goddard. “I like to think Dr. Roman would be extremely proud of her namesake telescope and thrilled to see what mysteries it will uncover in the coming years.”

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is managed at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, with participation by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California; Caltech/IPAC in Pasadena, California; the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore; and a science team comprising scientists from various research institutions. The primary industrial partners are BAE Systems Inc. in Boulder, Colorado; L3Harris Technologies in Rochester, New York; and Teledyne Scientific & Imaging in Thousand Oaks, California.

To learn about the Roman Space Telescope, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/roman

By Ashley Balzer
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

Media contact:

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
301-286-1940

Explore More 6 min read NASA’s Roman Mission Shares Detailed Plans to Scour Skies Article 8 months ago 7 min read One Survey by NASA’s Roman Could Unveil 100,000 Cosmic Explosions Article 5 months ago 6 min read New Simulated Universe Previews Panoramas From NASA’s Roman Telescope Article 11 months ago Share

Details Last Updated Dec 04, 2025 EditorAshley BalzerContactAshley Balzerashley.m.balzer@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related Terms

• Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope
• Dark Energy
• Dark Matter
• Exoplanets
• Goddard Space Flight Center
• Stars
• The Universe

4 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Researchers at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland used the Glenn Icing Computational Environment (GlennICE) software to create 3D computational models of this advanced air mobility rotor and study propeller icing issues. The physical model of this rotor was installed and tested in the Icing Research Tunnel in 2023 as part of an icing evaluation study, which also sought to validate the computational models.  Credit: NASA/Jordan Cochran

When flying in certain weather conditions, tiny freezing water droplets floating in the air can pose a risk to aircraft. If not taken into consideration, these water droplets can accumulate on an aircraft as ice and pose a safety risk. 

But NASA software tools such as Glenn Icing Computational Environment (GlennICE) are working to keep passengers and pilots safe. 

NASA developed GlennICE, a new NASA software code, to transform the way we explore, understand, and prevent ice buildup on aircraft wings and engines, as well as control surfaces like rudders and elevators.  

Owing to decades of world-class NASA research, engineers nationwide can now use GlennICE to design aircraft in such a way that ice buildup will either occur rarely or pose very little risk. 

Named for NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, GlennICE is part of NASA’s work to provide the aviation industry with computational tools, including design software, to improve aircraft safety and enable innovation. For icing research and modeling, NASA computer codes have become the industry standard over the past several decades. And GlennICE builds on this work, performing highly advanced digital modeling of water and ice particles in just about any atmospheric condition you can imagine. 

With updated capabilities and a streamlined user experience, GlennICE will enable users to advance the state of the art – particularly researchers working on complex, unusual future aircraft designs. 

“The legacy codes are well formulated to handle simulations of traditional tube-and-wing shaped aircraft,” said Christopher Porter, lead for GlennICE’s development. “But now, we have new vehicles with new designs that present icing research challenges. This requires a more advanced tool, and that’s where GlennICE comes in.” 

So far, dozens of industry partners as well as other government agencies have started using GlennICE, which is available on NASA’s software catalog. 

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

Timelapse video of an ice accretion on the 65% common research model. Credit: NASA/Jordan Cochran Ice buildup: not cool

Though based on legacy NASA codes such as LEWICE 3D, GlennICE is a whole different ballgame. The new toolkit can be tailored to unique situations and is compatible with other software tools. In other words, it is more configurable, and much less time consuming for researchers to set up and use. 

This streamlined process, along with its more-advanced ability to model icing, allows GlennICE to easily tackle 21st-century concepts such as supersonic planes, advanced air mobility drones and other aircraft, unconventionally shaped wings, open-rotor turbofan designs, or new configurations for conventional aircraft such as radar domes. 

But how does this simulation process work? 

“Imagine an aircraft flying through a cloud,” Porter said. “Some of those water and ice droplets hit the aircraft and some of them don’t. GlennICE simulates these droplets and exactly where they will end up, both on the aircraft and not.” 

When these water droplets hit the aircraft, they attach, freeze, and start to gather even more droplets that do the same. The software simulates exactly where this will occur, and what shape the ice will take over time. 

“We’re not just dealing with the airplane, but the physics of the air and water as well,” Porter said. 

Because it’s designed for simulating droplets, researchers have expressed interest in using GlennICE to simulate other conditions involving sand and ash. These substances, when ingested by aircraft engines, can pose separate risks that aeronautical engineers work to prevent. 

Glenn Icing Computational Environment (GlennICE) simulated ice accretions (blue) on the High Lift Common Research Model (gray). Credit: NASA/Thomas Ozoroski World-class research

Icing research is fundamental to aviation safety, and NASA fulfils a key role in ensuring pilots and passengers fly more safely and ice-free. The agency’s wind tunnels, for instance, have world-class icing research capabilities not commonly found in aeronautics research. 

Paired with wind tunnel testing, GlennICE offers a holistic set of capabilities to researchers. While wind tunnels can verify and validate data with real-world models and conditions, tools like GlennICE can fill gaps in research not easily achieved with wind tunnels. 

“Some environments we need to test in are impractical with wind tunnels because of the tunnel size required and complex physics involved,” Porter said. “But with GlennICE, we can do these tests digitally. For example, we can model all the icing conditions noted in new regulations.” 

The GlennICE development falls under NASA’s Transformative Aeronautics Concept and Advanced Air Vehicles programs. Those programs supported GlennICE to further NASA’s work on computational tool development for aerospace design. More about the history of icing research at NASA is available on the agency’s website. 

About the AuthorJohn GouldAeronautics Research Misson Directorate

Read More Share

Details Last Updated Dec 04, 2025 Related Terms

• General
• Advanced Air Transport Technology
• Advanced Air Vehicles Program
• Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate
• Aerosciences Evaluation Test Capabilities
• Glenn Research Center
• NASA Centers & Facilities
• Transformational Tools Technologies
• Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program

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NGC 6888, also known as the Crescent Nebula, is a

Big, beautiful spiral galaxy NGC 1055 is a dominant member of

Select walls at NASA’s Johnson Space Center have been transformed into works of art. Each piece reflects creativity, collaboration, and the spirit of discovery. Painted by Texas students, the murals honor the legacy of the International Space Station and 25 years of continuous human presence in space. 

The International Space Station Program Mural Project began in 2022 as part of a broader effort to bring color and inspiration into the workplace while connecting classrooms to NASA’s mission. 

“Dream Big,” created by Texas City High School students with the International Space Station Program Mission and Program Integration team in 2025, symbolizes imagination becoming exploration.

“The mural collection is a reminder that today’s dreams can be tomorrow’s realities,” said Space Operations Mission Directorate Deputy Associate Administrator Joel Montalbano. “The future of space exploration depends on the imagination of our students.” 

As NASA prepares for the next giant leap through Artemis, the art on the walls serves as a reminder that every mission begins with creativity and courage. This initiative continues to inspire the next generation to Dare | Unite | Explore. While art allows for interpretation, each mural required careful planning, communication, and problem-solving, just like the work behind human spaceflight.  

The most recent mural, “Dream Big,” was installed in the hallway leading to the International Space Station Program suite on the fifth floor of building 1. Created by Texas City High School students with the International Space Station Program Mission Integration and Operations team, the artwork shows a grayscale child pulling back a curtain to reveal rockets, astronauts, and bright planetary landscapes.  

The mural’s design draws from both classic and modern art influences. The students were inspired by Van Gogh’s impressionistic style and Banksy’s Behind the Curtain, combining movement and curiosity to reflect how imagination can open the door to exploration. 

“The National Art Honor Society was honored to take on this inspiring project,” said Texas City High School art teacher Jennifer Massie. “They chose ‘Where Creativity Meets Reality’ to show how a child’s creative mind keeps moving and evolving—and that with big dreams and hard work, kids can follow in their heroes’ footsteps.” 

What started as an idea between Gary Johnson, technical manager in the International Space Station Mission Integration and Operations Office, and Raul Tijerina, then the program’s building graphics lead, has grown into a gallery-sized initiative that bridges science and creativity. 

“We want students to have the unique opportunity to contribute to NASA’s legacy through their artwork,” Johnson said. “These murals show that every mission begins with imagination and that the next generation of explorers is already helping paint humanity’s future among the stars.”  

“Dream Explore Discover” was the first art mural created by Friendswood High School students in 2022.NASA/Bill Stafford

Two murals are now housed in the hallway of the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory’s International Space Development Integration Laboratory, known as the SDIL. The first, “Dream Explore Discover,” created by Friendswood High School students, was originally displayed in building 4 south. Under the guidance of art teacher Mandy Harris, more than 30 students designed and painted the 8-by-18-foot mural, starting with sketches and brainstorming sessions that considered how art could reflect human space exploration. The students combined their ideas into a single design celebrating the beauty and excitement of discovery. 

Elements of the mural include an astronaut’s visor reflecting the Houston skyline, zinnias symbolizing life and science connecting beyond Earth, and a small floating teddy bear representing both the dreams of children who look up to the stars and the generations of explorers who carried small tokens of home into space. It serves as a reminder of the human heart behind every mission.  

The mural also features the launch of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket with NASA’s Orion spacecraft riding on top, heading for the next giant leap in exploration. Beside the capsule, the Orion constellation appears in the sky, symbolizing how the stars continue to guide humanity’s journey to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.  

“The Moon Now,” created by La Marque High School students, depicts two astronauts on the lunar surface in Axiom spacesuits with mirrored visors.

“The Moon Now,” created by students from La Marque High School, Blocker Middle School, and Giles Middle School, is also housed at the SDIL. The artwork depicts two astronauts on the lunar surface wearing Axiom spacesuits with mirrored visors that reflect the faces of the next generation who will carry humanity back to the Moon. Individual student artworks of the Milky Way and celestial objects were collaged into the final piece, creating a tapestry of imagination and exploration. 

Dickinson High School’s “A Starry Night” reimagines classic artistry through the lens of modern spaceflight.NASA/Josh Valcarcel

The remaining murals are installed in building 4 south at Johnson. In 2023, the program expanded to include Dickinson High School, whose students created “A Starry Night,” a blend of Renaissance-style painting and modern space imagery. “Everyone wanted to be involved,” said art teacher Jennifer Sumrall. “The kids loved it and did their own research on how each of NASA’s missions impacts the world.” 

“Absolute Equality: Breaking Boundaries” by Reginald C. Adams, symbolizes unity and humanity’s collective future in space exploration.

“Absolute Equality: Breaking Boundaries” by Houston artist Reginald C. Adams symbolizes unity and humanity’s shared future in space exploration. Two figures share a single helmet. Patterns inspired by circuitry surround the faces and suggest the role of technology in connecting people around the world and beyond it. 

La Marque High School students, art teacher Joan Finn, and artist Cheryl Evans painted “Collaboration” to illustrate the interconnected roles in space exploration.

“Collaboration” was painted by La Marque High School students with art teacher Joan Finn and artist Cheryl Evans to depict the interconnected roles of visionaries, engineers, artists, and astronauts in exploration. Built from 10 stretched canvases bolted together — a nod to the station’s assembly across more than 40 missions — the mural includes the space station patch at the bottom to represent the collaboration of the 15 countries involved.

NASA Johnson thanks Joel Montalbano, who championed student engagement that connects classrooms to mission work during his tenure as International Space Station Program manager. The center also acknowledges Gary Johnson for conceiving the mural project and guiding its partnerships, Raul Tijerina for early design leadership that set the standard, Gordon Andrews for opening doors through behind-the-scenes tours, and art educators for mentoring the students who brought each mural to life.  

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Select walls at NASA’s Johnson Space Center have been transformed into works of art. Each piece reflects creativity, collaboration, and the spirit of discovery. Painted by Texas students, the murals honor the legacy of the International Space Station and 25 years of continuous human presence in space. 

The International Space Station Program Mural Project began in 2022 as part of a broader effort to bring color and inspiration into the workplace while connecting classrooms to NASA’s mission. 

“Dream Big,” created by Texas City High School students with the International Space Station Program Mission and Program Integration team in 2025, symbolizes imagination becoming exploration.

“The mural collection is a reminder that today’s dreams can be tomorrow’s realities,” said Space Operations Mission Directorate Deputy Associate Administrator Joel Montalbano. “The future of space exploration depends on the imagination of our students.” 

As NASA prepares for the next giant leap through Artemis, the art on the walls serves as a reminder that every mission begins with creativity and courage. This initiative continues to inspire the next generation to Dare | Unite | Explore. While art allows for interpretation, each mural required careful planning, communication, and problem-solving, just like the work behind human spaceflight.  

The most recent mural, “Dream Big,” was installed in the hallway leading to the International Space Station Program suite on the fifth floor of building 1. Created by Texas City High School students with the International Space Station Program Mission Integration and Operations team, the artwork shows a grayscale child pulling back a curtain to reveal rockets, astronauts, and bright planetary landscapes.  

The mural’s design draws from both classic and modern art influences. The students were inspired by Van Gogh’s impressionistic style and Banksy’s Behind the Curtain, combining movement and curiosity to reflect how imagination can open the door to exploration. 

“The National Art Honor Society was honored to take on this inspiring project,” said Texas City High School art teacher Jennifer Massie. “They chose ‘Where Creativity Meets Reality’ to show how a child’s creative mind keeps moving and evolving—and that with big dreams and hard work, kids can follow in their heroes’ footsteps.” 

What started as an idea between Gary Johnson, technical manager in the International Space Station Mission Integration and Operations Office, and Raul Tijerina, then the program’s building graphics lead, has grown into a gallery-sized initiative that bridges science and creativity. 

“We want students to have the unique opportunity to contribute to NASA’s legacy through their artwork,” Johnson said. “These murals show that every mission begins with imagination and that the next generation of explorers is already helping paint humanity’s future among the stars.”  

“Dream Explore Discover” was the first art mural created by Friendswood High School students in 2022.NASA/Bill Stafford

Two murals are now housed in the hallway of the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory’s International Space Development Integration Laboratory, known as the SDIL. The first, “Dream Explore Discover,” created by Friendswood High School students, was originally displayed in building 4 south. Under the guidance of art teacher Mandy Harris, more than 30 students designed and painted the 8-by-18-foot mural, starting with sketches and brainstorming sessions that considered how art could reflect human space exploration. The students combined their ideas into a single design celebrating the beauty and excitement of discovery. 

Elements of the mural include an astronaut’s visor reflecting the Houston skyline, zinnias symbolizing life and science connecting beyond Earth, and a small floating teddy bear representing both the dreams of children who look up to the stars and the generations of explorers who carried small tokens of home into space. It serves as a reminder of the human heart behind every mission.  

The mural also features the launch of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket with NASA’s Orion spacecraft riding on top, heading for the next giant leap in exploration. Beside the capsule, the Orion constellation appears in the sky, symbolizing how the stars continue to guide humanity’s journey to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.  

“The Moon Now,” created by La Marque High School students, depicts two astronauts on the lunar surface in Axiom spacesuits with mirrored visors.

“The Moon Now,” created by students from La Marque High School, Blocker Middle School, and Giles Middle School, is also housed at the SDIL. The artwork depicts two astronauts on the lunar surface wearing Axiom spacesuits with mirrored visors that reflect the faces of the next generation who will carry humanity back to the Moon. Individual student artworks of the Milky Way and celestial objects were collaged into the final piece, creating a tapestry of imagination and exploration. 

Dickinson High School’s “A Starry Night” reimagines classic artistry through the lens of modern spaceflight.NASA/Josh Valcarcel

The remaining murals are installed in building 4 south at Johnson. In 2023, the program expanded to include Dickinson High School, whose students created “A Starry Night,” a blend of Renaissance-style painting and modern space imagery. “Everyone wanted to be involved,” said art teacher Jennifer Sumrall. “The kids loved it and did their own research on how each of NASA’s missions impacts the world.” 

“Absolute Equality: Breaking Boundaries” by Reginald C. Adams, symbolizes unity and humanity’s collective future in space exploration.

“Absolute Equality: Breaking Boundaries” by Houston artist Reginald C. Adams symbolizes unity and humanity’s shared future in space exploration. Two figures share a single helmet. Patterns inspired by circuitry surround the faces and suggest the role of technology in connecting people around the world and beyond it. 

La Marque High School students, art teacher Joan Finn, and artist Cheryl Evans painted “Collaboration” to illustrate the interconnected roles in space exploration.

“Collaboration” was painted by La Marque High School students with art teacher Joan Finn and artist Cheryl Evans to depict the interconnected roles of visionaries, engineers, artists, and astronauts in exploration. Built from 10 stretched canvases bolted together — a nod to the station’s assembly across more than 40 missions — the mural includes the space station patch at the bottom to represent the collaboration of the 15 countries involved.

NASA Johnson thanks Joel Montalbano, who championed student engagement that connects classrooms to mission work during his tenure as International Space Station Program manager. The center also acknowledges Gary Johnson for conceiving the mural project and guiding its partnerships, Raul Tijerina for early design leadership that set the standard, Gordon Andrews for opening doors through behind-the-scenes tours, and art educators for mentoring the students who brought each mural to life.  

Explore More 5 min read NASA Astronaut Jonny Kim Advances Research Aboard Space Station Article 2 days ago 8 min read Sugars, ‘Gum,’ Stardust Found in NASA’s Asteroid Bennu Samples Article 3 days ago 6 min read The International Space Station Marks 25 Years of Continuous Human Presence  Article 3 days ago

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Three Martian dust devils can be seen near the rim of Jezero Crater in this short video made of images taken by a navigation camera aboard NASA’s Perseverance rover on Sept. 6, 2025. The microphone on the rover’s SuperCam previously captured audio when a dust devil passed over.NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI

Perseverance confirmed a long-suspected phenomenon in which electrical discharges and their associated shock waves can be born within Red Planet mini-twisters.

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has recorded the sounds of electrical discharges —sparks — and mini-sonic booms in dust devils on Mars. Long theorized, the phenomenon has now been confirmed through audio and electromagnetic recordings captured by the rover’s SuperCam microphone. The discovery, published Nov. 26 in the journal Nature, has implications for Martian atmospheric chemistry, climate, and habitability, and could help inform the design of future robotic and human missions to Mars.

A frequent occurrence on the Red Planet, dust devils form from rising and rotating columns of warm air. Air near the planet’s surface becomes heated by contact with the warmer ground and rises through the denser, cooler air above. As other air moves along the surface to take the place of the rising warmer air, it begins to rotate. When the incoming air rises into the column, it picks up speed like spinning ice skaters bringing their arms closer to their body. The air rushing in also picks up dust, and a dust devil is born.

SuperCam has recorded 55 distinct electrical events over the course of the mission, beginning on the mission’s 215thMartian day, or sol, in 2021. Sixteen have been recorded when dust devils passed directly over the rover.

Decades before Perseverance landed, scientists theorized that the friction generated by tiny dust grains swirling and rubbing against each other in Martian dust devils could generate enough of an electrical charge to eventually produce electrical arcs. Called the triboelectric effect, it’s the phenomenon at play when someone walks over a carpet in socks and then touches a metal doorknob, generating a spark. In fact, that is about the same level of discharge as what a Martian dust devil might produce.

“Triboelectric charging of sand and snow particles is well documented on Earth, particularly in desert regions, but it rarely results in actual electrical discharges,” said Baptiste Chide, a member of the Perseverance science team and a planetary scientist at L’Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie in France. “On Mars, the thin atmosphere makes the phenomenon far more likely, as the amount of charge required to generate sparks is much lower than what is required in Earth’s near-surface atmosphere.”

Perseverance’s SuperCam instrument carries a microphone to analyze the sounds of the instrument’s laser when it zaps rocks, but the team has also captured the sounds of wind and even the first audio recording of a Martian dust devil. Scientists knew it could pick up electromagnetic disturbance (static) and sounds of electrical discharges in the atmosphere. What they didn’t know was if such events happened frequently enough, or if the rover would ever be close enough, to record one. Then they began to assess data amassed over the mission, and it didn’t take long to find the telltale sounds of electrical activity.

The SuperCam microphone on NASA’s Perseverance captured this recording of the sounds of electrical discharge as a dust devil passed over the Mars rover on Oct. 12, 2024. The three crackles can be heard in between the sounds of the dust devil’s front and trailing walls.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/CNRS/ISAE-Supaero Crackle, pop

“We got some good ones where you can clearly hear the ‘snap’ sound of the spark,” said coauthor Ralph Lorenz, a Perseverance scientist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab in Laurel, Maryland. “In the Sol 215 dust devil recording, you can hear not only the electrical sound, but also the wall of the dust devil moving over the rover. And in the Sol 1,296 dust devil, you hear all that plus some of the particles impacting the microphone.”

Thirty-five other discharges were associated with the passage of convective fronts during regional dust storms. These fronts feature intense turbulence that favor triboelectric charging and charge separation, which occurs when two objects touch, transfer electrons, and separate — the part of the triboelectric effect that results in a spark of static electricity.

Researchers found electrical discharges did not seem to increase during the seasons when dust storms, which globally increase the presence of atmospheric dust, are more common on Mars. This result suggests that electrical buildup is more closely tied to the localized, turbulent lifting of sand and dust rather than high dust density alone.

While exploring the rim of Jezero Crater on Mars, NASA’s Perseverance rover captured new images of multiple dust devils in January 2025. These captivating phenomena have been documented for decades by the agency’s Red Planet robotic explorers.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/CNRS/INTA-CSIC/Space Science Institute/ISAE-Supaero/University of Arizona Profound effects

The proof of these electrical discharges is a discovery that dramatically changes our understanding of Mars. Their presence means that the Martian atmosphere can become sufficiently charged to activate chemical reactions, leading to the creation of highly oxidizing compounds, such as chlorates and perchlorates. These strong substances can effectively destroy organic molecules (which constitute some of the components of life) on the surface and break down many atmospheric compounds, completely altering the overall chemical balance of the Martian atmosphere.

This discovery could also explain the puzzling ability of Martian methane to vanish rapidly, offering a crucial piece of the puzzle for understanding the constraints life may have faced and, therefore, the planet’s potential to be habitable.

Given the omnipresence of dust on Mars, the presence of electrical charges generated by particles rubbing together would seem likely to influence dust transport on Mars as well. How dust travels on Mars plays a central role in the planet’s climate but remains poorly understood.

Confirming the presence of electrostatic discharges will also help NASA understand potential risks to the electronic equipment of current robotic missions. That no adverse electrostatic discharge effects have been reported in several decades of Mars surface operations may attest to careful spacecraft grounding practices. The findings could also inform safety measures developed for future astronauts exploring the Red Planet.

More about Perseverance

Managed for NASA by Caltech, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover on behalf of the agency’s Science Mission Directorate as part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program portfolio.

To learn more about Perseverance visit:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-2020-perseverance

News Media Contacts

DC Agle
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-9011
agle@jpl.nasa.gov

Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600 / 240-419-1732
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov

2025-132

Share

Details Last Updated Dec 03, 2025 Related Terms

• Perseverance (Rover)
• Mars
• Mars 2020

Explore More 6 min read NASA Tests Drones in Death Valley, Preps for Martian Sands and Skies Article 2 days ago 5 min read NASA Orbiter Shines New Light on Long-Running Martian Mystery Article 1 week ago 6 min read NASA’s Mars Spacecraft Capture Images of Comet 3I/ATLAS Article 2 weeks ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Mars Exploration

Mars is the only planet we know of inhabited entirely by robots. Learn more about the Mars Missions.

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is the second longest-lived spacecraft to orbit Mars, after 2001 Mars Odyssey.

MRO Science

Overview Among other ongoing  achievements, data collected by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter continues to help Mars scientists and engineers characterize potential…

Mars Express

NASA Participation  In partnership with their European colleagues, U.S. scientists are participating in the scientific instrument teams of the Mars…

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Three Martian dust devils can be seen near the rim of Jezero Crater in this short video made of images taken by a navigation camera aboard NASA’s Perseverance rover on Sept. 6, 2025. The microphone on the rover’s SuperCam previously captured audio when a dust devil passed over.NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI

Perseverance confirmed a long-suspected phenomenon in which electrical discharges and their associated shock waves can be born within Red Planet mini-twisters.

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has recorded the sounds of electrical discharges —sparks — and mini-sonic booms in dust devils on Mars. Long theorized, the phenomenon has now been confirmed through audio and electromagnetic recordings captured by the rover’s SuperCam microphone. The discovery, published Nov. 26 in the journal Nature, has implications for Martian atmospheric chemistry, climate, and habitability, and could help inform the design of future robotic and human missions to Mars.

A frequent occurrence on the Red Planet, dust devils form from rising and rotating columns of warm air. Air near the planet’s surface becomes heated by contact with the warmer ground and rises through the denser, cooler air above. As other air moves along the surface to take the place of the rising warmer air, it begins to rotate. When the incoming air rises into the column, it picks up speed like spinning ice skaters bringing their arms closer to their body. The air rushing in also picks up dust, and a dust devil is born.

SuperCam has recorded 55 distinct electrical events over the course of the mission, beginning on the mission’s 215thMartian day, or sol, in 2021. Sixteen have been recorded when dust devils passed directly over the rover.

Decades before Perseverance landed, scientists theorized that the friction generated by tiny dust grains swirling and rubbing against each other in Martian dust devils could generate enough of an electrical charge to eventually produce electrical arcs. Called the triboelectric effect, it’s the phenomenon at play when someone walks over a carpet in socks and then touches a metal doorknob, generating a spark. In fact, that is about the same level of discharge as what a Martian dust devil might produce.

“Triboelectric charging of sand and snow particles is well documented on Earth, particularly in desert regions, but it rarely results in actual electrical discharges,” said Baptiste Chide, a member of the Perseverance science team and a planetary scientist at L’Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie in France. “On Mars, the thin atmosphere makes the phenomenon far more likely, as the amount of charge required to generate sparks is much lower than what is required in Earth’s near-surface atmosphere.”

Perseverance’s SuperCam instrument carries a microphone to analyze the sounds of the instrument’s laser when it zaps rocks, but the team has also captured the sounds of wind and even the first audio recording of a Martian dust devil. Scientists knew it could pick up electromagnetic disturbance (static) and sounds of electrical discharges in the atmosphere. What they didn’t know was if such events happened frequently enough, or if the rover would ever be close enough, to record one. Then they began to assess data amassed over the mission, and it didn’t take long to find the telltale sounds of electrical activity.

The SuperCam microphone on NASA’s Perseverance captured this recording of the sounds of electrical discharge as a dust devil passed over the Mars rover on Oct. 12, 2024. The three crackles can be heard in between the sounds of the dust devil’s front and trailing walls.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/CNRS/ISAE-Supaero Crackle, pop

“We got some good ones where you can clearly hear the ‘snap’ sound of the spark,” said coauthor Ralph Lorenz, a Perseverance scientist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab in Laurel, Maryland. “In the Sol 215 dust devil recording, you can hear not only the electrical sound, but also the wall of the dust devil moving over the rover. And in the Sol 1,296 dust devil, you hear all that plus some of the particles impacting the microphone.”

Thirty-five other discharges were associated with the passage of convective fronts during regional dust storms. These fronts feature intense turbulence that favor triboelectric charging and charge separation, which occurs when two objects touch, transfer electrons, and separate — the part of the triboelectric effect that results in a spark of static electricity.

Researchers found electrical discharges did not seem to increase during the seasons when dust storms, which globally increase the presence of atmospheric dust, are more common on Mars. This result suggests that electrical buildup is more closely tied to the localized, turbulent lifting of sand and dust rather than high dust density alone.

While exploring the rim of Jezero Crater on Mars, NASA’s Perseverance rover captured new images of multiple dust devils in January 2025. These captivating phenomena have been documented for decades by the agency’s Red Planet robotic explorers.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/CNRS/INTA-CSIC/Space Science Institute/ISAE-Supaero/University of Arizona Profound effects

The proof of these electrical discharges is a discovery that dramatically changes our understanding of Mars. Their presence means that the Martian atmosphere can become sufficiently charged to activate chemical reactions, leading to the creation of highly oxidizing compounds, such as chlorates and perchlorates. These strong substances can effectively destroy organic molecules (which constitute some of the components of life) on the surface and break down many atmospheric compounds, completely altering the overall chemical balance of the Martian atmosphere.

This discovery could also explain the puzzling ability of Martian methane to vanish rapidly, offering a crucial piece of the puzzle for understanding the constraints life may have faced and, therefore, the planet’s potential to be habitable.

Given the omnipresence of dust on Mars, the presence of electrical charges generated by particles rubbing together would seem likely to influence dust transport on Mars as well. How dust travels on Mars plays a central role in the planet’s climate but remains poorly understood.

Confirming the presence of electrostatic discharges will also help NASA understand potential risks to the electronic equipment of current robotic missions. That no adverse electrostatic discharge effects have been reported in several decades of Mars surface operations may attest to careful spacecraft grounding practices. The findings could also inform safety measures developed for future astronauts exploring the Red Planet.

More about Perseverance

Managed for NASA by Caltech, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover on behalf of the agency’s Science Mission Directorate as part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program portfolio.

To learn more about Perseverance visit:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-2020-perseverance

News Media Contacts

DC Agle
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-9011
agle@jpl.nasa.gov

Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600 / 240-419-1732
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov

2025-132

Share

Details Last Updated Dec 03, 2025 Related Terms

• Perseverance (Rover)
• Mars
• Mars 2020

Explore More 6 min read NASA Tests Drones in Death Valley, Preps for Martian Sands and Skies Article 3 days ago 5 min read NASA Orbiter Shines New Light on Long-Running Martian Mystery Article 1 week ago 6 min read NASA’s Mars Spacecraft Capture Images of Comet 3I/ATLAS Article 2 weeks ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Mars Exploration

Mars is the only planet we know of inhabited entirely by robots. Learn more about the Mars Missions.

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is the second longest-lived spacecraft to orbit Mars, after 2001 Mars Odyssey.

MRO Science

Overview Among other ongoing  achievements, data collected by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter continues to help Mars scientists and engineers characterize potential…

Mars Express

NASA Participation  In partnership with their European colleagues, U.S. scientists are participating in the scientific instrument teams of the Mars…

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the spiral galaxy NGC 4535.

ESA/Hubble & NASA, F. Belfiore, J. Lee and the PHANGS-HST Team

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the spiral galaxy NGC 4535, which is situated about 50 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo (the Maiden). Through a small telescope, this galaxy appears extremely faint, giving it the nickname ‘Lost Galaxy’. With a mirror spanning nearly eight feet (2.4 meters) across and its location above Earth’s light-obscuring atmosphere, Hubble can easily observe dim galaxies like NGC 4535 and pick out features like its massive spiral arms and central bar of stars.

This image features NGC 4535’s young star clusters, which dot the galaxy’s spiral arms. Glowing-pink clouds surround many of these bright-blue star groupings. These clouds, called H II (‘H-two’) regions, are a sign that the galaxy is home to especially young, hot, and massive stars that blaze with high-energy radiation. Such massive stars shake up their surroundings by heating their birth clouds with powerful stellar winds, eventually exploding as supernovae.

The image incorporates data from an observing program designed to catalog roughly 50,000 H II regions in nearby star-forming galaxies like NGC 4535. Hubble released a previous image of NGC 4535 in 2021. Both the 2021 image and this new image incorporate observations from the PHANGS observing program, which seeks to understand the connections between young stars and cold gas. Today’s image adds a new dimension to our understanding of NGC 4535 by capturing the brilliant red glow of the nebulae that encircle massive stars in their first few million years of life.

Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, F. Belfiore, J. Lee and the PHANGS-HST Team

ESA/Hubble & NASA, F. Belfiore, J. Lee and the PHANGS-HST Team

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the spiral galaxy NGC 4535, which is situated about 50 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo (the Maiden). Through a small telescope, this galaxy appears extremely faint, giving it the nickname ‘Lost Galaxy’. With a mirror spanning nearly eight feet (2.4 meters) across and its location above Earth’s light-obscuring atmosphere, Hubble can easily observe dim galaxies like NGC 4535 and pick out features like its massive spiral arms and central bar of stars.

This image features NGC 4535’s young star clusters, which dot the galaxy’s spiral arms. Glowing-pink clouds surround many of these bright-blue star groupings. These clouds, called H II (‘H-two’) regions, are a sign that the galaxy is home to especially young, hot, and massive stars that blaze with high-energy radiation. Such massive stars shake up their surroundings by heating their birth clouds with powerful stellar winds, eventually exploding as supernovae.

The image incorporates data from an observing program designed to catalog roughly 50,000 H II regions in nearby star-forming galaxies like NGC 4535. Hubble released a previous image of NGC 4535 in 2021. Both the 2021 image and this new image incorporate observations from the PHANGS observing program, which seeks to understand the connections between young stars and cold gas. Today’s image adds a new dimension to our understanding of NGC 4535 by capturing the brilliant red glow of the nebulae that encircle massive stars in their first few million years of life.

Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, F. Belfiore, J. Lee and the PHANGS-HST Team

3 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) A space toxicologist at NASA JSC.NASA

Hazardous Materials Summary Tables (HMSTs) are a compilation of the chemical, biological, and flammability hazards of materials on a given flight or mission. HMSTs are required by Safety for all Programs, including but not limited to ISS, Commercial Crew Program (CCP), Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), and Gateway. Johnson Space Center (JSC) toxicologists evaluate the toxic hazard level of all liquids, gases, particles, or gels flown on or to any manned U.S. spacecraft. The biosafety hazard level and flammability levels are assigned by JSC microbiologists and materials experts and are documented in an HMST and in a computerized in-flight version of the HMST called the HazMat (Hazardous Materials) database.

How To Obtain Toxicological Hazard Assessments

“Requirements for Submission of Data Needed for Toxicological Assessment of Chemical and Biologicals to be Flown on Manned Spacecraft”

• JSC 27472 (PDF, 766KB) defines the terms “chemicals” and “biological materials” as applied to items being flown on or to any U.S. spacecraft. It explains who must submit information to the JSC toxicologists concerning the materials to be flown and specifies what information is needed. It provides schedules, formats, and contact information.
• Additional US requirements for biological materials can be found on the Biosafety Review Board (BRB) page.
• Additional US requirements for environmental control and life support (ECLS) assessments can be found in JSC 66869 (PDF, 698KB).

Data Submission

For all flights to ISS and all Artemis requests (Orion, Gateway, Human Lander System (HLS)), please submit data via the electronic hazardous materials summary table (eHMST) tool. If you do not have access to this tool, please submit a NAMS request for access to JSC – CMC External Tools. Please reference eHMST training for more information

NOTE:  For experimental payloads/hardware planned for launch on a Russian vehicle, stowed and/or operated on the Russian Segment of ISS, or planned for return or disposal on a Russian vehicle, we strongly encourage payload providers to submit biological and chemical data to the Russian Institute for Biomedical Problems (moukhamedieva@imbp.ru OR barantseva@imbp.ru).

Hazard Assessments

Toxicological hazard assessments are conducted according to JSC 26895 – Guidelines for Assessing the Toxic Hazard of Spacecraft Chemicals and Test Materials. The resulting Toxicity Hazard Level (THL) in combination with the BioSafety Level (BSL) and Flammability Hazard Level (FHL) form the basis for the combined Hazard Response Level (HRL) used for labeling and operational response per flight rule B20-16.

Toxicology and Environmental Chemistry Share

Details Last Updated Dec 03, 2025 EditorRobert E. LewisLocationJohnson Space Center Related Terms

• Human Health and Performance

Explore More 5 min read Toxicology and Environmental Chemistry Article 3 years ago 4 min read Exposure Guidelines (SMACs and SWEGs) Article 3 years ago 4 min read Toxicology Analysis of Spacecraft Air Article 2 days ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics

Missions

Humans in Space

Climate Change

Solar System

3 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) A space toxicologist at NASA JSC.NASA

Hazardous Materials Summary Tables (HMSTs) are a compilation of the chemical, biological, and flammability hazards of materials on a given flight or mission. HMSTs are required by Safety for all Programs, including but not limited to ISS, Commercial Crew Program (CCP), Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), and Gateway. Johnson Space Center (JSC) toxicologists evaluate the toxic hazard level of all liquids, gases, particles, or gels flown on or to any manned U.S. spacecraft. The biosafety hazard level and flammability levels are assigned by JSC microbiologists and materials experts and are documented in an HMST and in a computerized in-flight version of the HMST called the HazMat (Hazardous Materials) database.

How To Obtain Toxicological Hazard Assessments

“Requirements for Submission of Data Needed for Toxicological Assessment of Chemical and Biologicals to be Flown on Manned Spacecraft”

• JSC 27472 (PDF, 766KB) defines the terms “chemicals” and “biological materials” as applied to items being flown on or to any U.S. spacecraft. It explains who must submit information to the JSC toxicologists concerning the materials to be flown and specifies what information is needed. It provides schedules, formats, and contact information.
• Additional US requirements for biological materials can be found on the Biosafety Review Board (BRB) page.
• Additional US requirements for environmental control and life support (ECLS) assessments can be found in JSC 66869 (PDF, 698KB).

Data Submission

For all flights to ISS and all Artemis requests (Orion, Gateway, Human Lander System (HLS)), please submit data via the electronic hazardous materials summary table (eHMST) tool. If you do not have access to this tool, please submit a NAMS request for access to JSC – CMC External Tools. Please reference eHMST training for more information

NOTE:  For experimental payloads/hardware planned for launch on a Russian vehicle, stowed and/or operated on the Russian Segment of ISS, or planned for return or disposal on a Russian vehicle, we strongly encourage payload providers to submit biological and chemical data to the Russian Institute for Biomedical Problems (moukhamedieva@imbp.ru OR barantseva@imbp.ru).

Hazard Assessments

Toxicological hazard assessments are conducted according to JSC 26895 – Guidelines for Assessing the Toxic Hazard of Spacecraft Chemicals and Test Materials. The resulting Toxicity Hazard Level (THL) in combination with the BioSafety Level (BSL) and Flammability Hazard Level (FHL) form the basis for the combined Hazard Response Level (HRL) used for labeling and operational response per flight rule B20-16.

Toxicology and Environmental Chemistry Share

Details Last Updated Dec 03, 2025 EditorRobert E. LewisLocationJohnson Space Center Related Terms

• Human Health and Performance

Explore More 5 min read Toxicology and Environmental Chemistry Article 3 years ago 4 min read Exposure Guidelines (SMACs and SWEGs) Article 3 years ago 4 min read Toxicology Analysis of Spacecraft Air Article 2 days ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics

Missions

Humans in Space

Climate Change

Solar System

4 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) SpaceX Crew-1 Pilot Victor Glover and Mission Specialist Shannon Walker work with a Grab Sample Container (GSC) in the SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft while en route to the ISS.NASA

Toxicology and Environmental Chemistry (TEC) monitors airborne contaminants in both spacecraft air and water. In-flight monitors are employed to provide real-time insight into the environmental conditions on ISS. Archival samples are collected and returned to Earth for full characterization of ISS air and water.

Real-time in-flight air analytical instruments include the Air Quality Monitors (AQM), carbon dioxide (CO2 monitors), and a compound specific analyzer for combustion products (CSA-CP). Real-time in-flight water monitoring capabilities include the colorimetric water quality monitoring kit (CWQMK) and the ISS total organic carbon analyzer (TOCA).

Post-flight analyses are performed on archival samples of spacecraft air and water obtained at specific times and locations during a mission. Air archival samples are collected using “grab sample containers” (GSC) and formaldehyde badges. The U.S. and Russian water recovery systems on the ISS process atmospheric moisture (U.S. and Russian systems) and urine distillate (U.S. system only) into clean, potable water for the crew to use.  The Water Kit is utilized to collect archival samples of the potable water and are routinely returned to the ground to monitor the quality of the water produced by the systems.  Samples of condensate and wastewater are also collected and returned to check for the presence of contaminants that could break through the water recovery systems.   

Results of Post-Flight Analysis of In-Flight Air Samples  (Most Recent First)     

• Increment 71 Report Including NG-21 Ingress and Boeing-CFT Ascent (1MB)
• Increment 70 including SpaceX-29, Axiom-3, NG-20, and SpaceX-30 Ingresses (817KB)
• Increment 69 Report Including Ax2 SpX28 NG19 Ingress (1MB)
• Increment 68 Report NG18 SpX26 SpX27 Ingress (845KB)
• Increment 65 Report with SpX22, MLM, NG16, SpX23 Ingresses (1.5MB)
• Increment 67 Report with OFT2 and SpX25 Ingress (962KB)
• Increment 66 Report SpX-24 NG-17 Ingress (835KB)
• Increment 64 including SpX-21 and NG-15 Ingress (897KB)
• Increment 63 Including HTV-9 and NG-14 Ingress (884KB)
• Increment 62-63 Benzene Anomaly Report (442KB)
• Increment 62 Including NG-13 and SpX-20 Ingress (747KB)
• Increment 61 including NG-12 and SpX-19 Egress (1.1MB)
• Increment 60 including SpX-18 and HTV8 Ingress (1.27MB)
• Increment 59 including NG-11 and SpX-17 Ingress (3.4MB)
• Increment 58 Report (2.78MB)
• Increment 57 including NG-10 and SpX-16 Ingress (2.71MB)
• SpaceX Demo-1 Ingress SM and DM1 Contingencies (792KB)
• Increment 56, HTV-7 and Node 1 Contingency Report (3.5MB)
• Increment 55 and SpX14 and OA9 Ingresses Report (1.9MB)
• Increment 54, including SpX-13 Ingress (877KB)
• Increment 53, including OA-8 Ingress and Node 1 Contingency Investigation (743KB)
• Increment 52 Report, including JEM odor contingency, SpX-11 and SpX-12 ingress, and WPA MF bed contingency samples
• Increment 51 and OA-7 Ingress Report (1.47MB)
• Increment 50 and HTV-6, SpX-10 Ingresses (2.72 MB)
• Increment 49 OA-5 Ingress and Oil Paint Odor Investigation Report (3.12MB)
• Increment 48, SpX-9 Ingress, and Oil Paint Odor Investigation Report (3.43MB)
• Increment 47, BEAM/OA-6/SpX-8 Ingresses, and Node 3 Siloxane Investigation Report (4.82MB)
• Increment 46 and Node 3 Contingency Report (4.4MB)
• Increment 45 and OA-4 Ingress (3MB)
• Increment 44 and HTV-5 Ingress Report (1.6MB)
• Increment 43, SpX-6 Ingress, Ethanol Investigation, and Node 1 Contingency Report (6.2MB)
• Increment 42 Report (4MB)
• Increment 41 Report (3.3MB)
• Space X-5 First Ingress Air Quality and Node 3 Contingency Report (2MB)
• SpaceX-4 First Ingress Air Quality Report (1.32MB)
• Increment 40, Orb-2/ATV-5 Ingresses, and SM Contingency (2.92 MB)
• Increment 39 and SpX-3 Ingress (5.75 MB)
• Increment 38 and Orb-1 Ingress (8.02 MB)
• Increment 37 and Orb-D1 Ingress (5.9 MB)
• Increment 36 and HTV-4 Ingress (7.22 MB)
• Increment 35 Report (4.04 MB)
• Increment 34 Report (5.64 MB)
• Feb. 2013 Contingency Sample Report (1.91 MB)
• Space X-2 First Entry Sample Analyses (1.56 MB)
• Soyuz 31S Return Samples (2.98 MB)
• Space X-1 First Entry Sample Analysis (39 KB)
• Revised Soyuz 30 Return Samples (7.46 MB)
• Space X-Demo First Entry Sample Analysis (767 KB)
• Soyuz 28 and Soyuz 29 Return Samples (1 MB)
• Soyuz 27 Return Samples (824 KB)
• STS-134, ULF7, 26S (2 MB)
• STS-133 / ISS-ULF5 (396 KB)
• Soyuz 25S Mission Report (286 KB)
• Soyuz 24S Return Samples of ISS Air (740 KB)
• Soyuz 23S Return Samples (593 KB)
• STS-132 / ISS-ULF4 (1.31 MB)
• STS-131 / ISS-19A (3.55 MB)
• STS-130 / ISS-20A (1.27 MB)
• STS-129 / ISS-ULF3 (1.4 MB)

Toxicology and Environmental Chemistry Share

Details Last Updated Dec 04, 2025 EditorRobert E. LewisLocationJohnson Space Center Related Terms

• Human Health and Performance

Explore More 5 min read Toxicology and Environmental Chemistry Article 3 years ago 3 min read Hazardous Material Summary Tables (HMSTs) Article 2 days ago 4 min read Exposure Guidelines (SMACs and SWEGs) Article 3 years ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA

Missions

Humans in Space

Climate Change

Solar System

4 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) SpaceX Crew-1 Pilot Victor Glover and Mission Specialist Shannon Walker work with a Grab Sample Container (GSC) in the SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft while en route to the ISS.NASA

Toxicology and Environmental Chemistry (TEC) monitors airborne contaminants in both spacecraft air and water. In-flight monitors are employed to provide real-time insight into the environmental conditions on ISS. Archival samples are collected and returned to Earth for full characterization of ISS air and water.

Real-time in-flight air analytical instruments include the Air Quality Monitors (AQM), carbon dioxide (CO2 monitors), and a compound specific analyzer for combustion products (CSA-CP). Real-time in-flight water monitoring capabilities include the colorimetric water quality monitoring kit (CWQMK) and the ISS total organic carbon analyzer (TOCA).

Post-flight analyses are performed on archival samples of spacecraft air and water obtained at specific times and locations during a mission. Air archival samples are collected using “grab sample containers” (GSC) and formaldehyde badges. The U.S. and Russian water recovery systems on the ISS process atmospheric moisture (U.S. and Russian systems) and urine distillate (U.S. system only) into clean, potable water for the crew to use.  The Water Kit is utilized to collect archival samples of the potable water and are routinely returned to the ground to monitor the quality of the water produced by the systems.  Samples of condensate and wastewater are also collected and returned to check for the presence of contaminants that could break through the water recovery systems.   

Results of Post-Flight Analysis of In-Flight Air Samples  (Most Recent First)     

• Increment 71 Report Including NG-21 Ingress and Boeing-CFT Ascent (1MB)
• Increment 70 including SpaceX-29, Axiom-3, NG-20, and SpaceX-30 Ingresses (817KB)
• Increment 69 Report Including Ax2 SpX28 NG19 Ingress (1MB)
• Increment 68 Report NG18 SpX26 SpX27 Ingress (845KB)
• Increment 65 Report with SpX22, MLM, NG16, SpX23 Ingresses (1.5MB)
• Increment 67 Report with OFT2 and SpX25 Ingress (962KB)
• Increment 66 Report SpX-24 NG-17 Ingress (835KB)
• Increment 64 including SpX-21 and NG-15 Ingress (897KB)
• Increment 63 Including HTV-9 and NG-14 Ingress (884KB)
• Increment 62-63 Benzene Anomaly Report (442KB)
• Increment 62 Including NG-13 and SpX-20 Ingress (747KB)
• Increment 61 including NG-12 and SpX-19 Egress (1.1MB)
• Increment 60 including SpX-18 and HTV8 Ingress (1.27MB)
• Increment 59 including NG-11 and SpX-17 Ingress (3.4MB)
• Increment 58 Report (2.78MB)
• Increment 57 including NG-10 and SpX-16 Ingress (2.71MB)
• SpaceX Demo-1 Ingress SM and DM1 Contingencies (792KB)
• Increment 56, HTV-7 and Node 1 Contingency Report (3.5MB)
• Increment 55 and SpX14 and OA9 Ingresses Report (1.9MB)
• Increment 54, including SpX-13 Ingress (877KB)
• Increment 53, including OA-8 Ingress and Node 1 Contingency Investigation (743KB)
• Increment 52 Report, including JEM odor contingency, SpX-11 and SpX-12 ingress, and WPA MF bed contingency samples
• Increment 51 and OA-7 Ingress Report (1.47MB)
• Increment 50 and HTV-6, SpX-10 Ingresses (2.72 MB)
• Increment 49 OA-5 Ingress and Oil Paint Odor Investigation Report (3.12MB)
• Increment 48, SpX-9 Ingress, and Oil Paint Odor Investigation Report (3.43MB)
• Increment 47, BEAM/OA-6/SpX-8 Ingresses, and Node 3 Siloxane Investigation Report (4.82MB)
• Increment 46 and Node 3 Contingency Report (4.4MB)
• Increment 45 and OA-4 Ingress (3MB)
• Increment 44 and HTV-5 Ingress Report (1.6MB)
• Increment 43, SpX-6 Ingress, Ethanol Investigation, and Node 1 Contingency Report (6.2MB)
• Increment 42 Report (4MB)
• Increment 41 Report (3.3MB)
• Space X-5 First Ingress Air Quality and Node 3 Contingency Report (2MB)
• SpaceX-4 First Ingress Air Quality Report (1.32MB)
• Increment 40, Orb-2/ATV-5 Ingresses, and SM Contingency (2.92 MB)
• Increment 39 and SpX-3 Ingress (5.75 MB)
• Increment 38 and Orb-1 Ingress (8.02 MB)
• Increment 37 and Orb-D1 Ingress (5.9 MB)
• Increment 36 and HTV-4 Ingress (7.22 MB)
• Increment 35 Report (4.04 MB)
• Increment 34 Report (5.64 MB)
• Feb. 2013 Contingency Sample Report (1.91 MB)
• Space X-2 First Entry Sample Analyses (1.56 MB)
• Soyuz 31S Return Samples (2.98 MB)
• Space X-1 First Entry Sample Analysis (39 KB)
• Revised Soyuz 30 Return Samples (7.46 MB)
• Space X-Demo First Entry Sample Analysis (767 KB)
• Soyuz 28 and Soyuz 29 Return Samples (1 MB)
• Soyuz 27 Return Samples (824 KB)
• STS-134, ULF7, 26S (2 MB)
• STS-133 / ISS-ULF5 (396 KB)
• Soyuz 25S Mission Report (286 KB)
• Soyuz 24S Return Samples of ISS Air (740 KB)
• Soyuz 23S Return Samples (593 KB)
• STS-132 / ISS-ULF4 (1.31 MB)
• STS-131 / ISS-19A (3.55 MB)
• STS-130 / ISS-20A (1.27 MB)
• STS-129 / ISS-ULF3 (1.4 MB)

Toxicology and Environmental Chemistry Share

Details Last Updated Dec 04, 2025 EditorRobert E. LewisLocationJohnson Space Center Related Terms

• Human Health and Performance

Explore More 5 min read Toxicology and Environmental Chemistry Article 3 years ago 3 min read Hazardous Material Summary Tables (HMSTs) Article 2 days ago 4 min read Exposure Guidelines (SMACs and SWEGs) Article 3 years ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA

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Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA astronaut Jonny Kim floats inside the Cupola of the International Space Station.NASA

NASA astronaut Jonny Kim is wrapping up his first mission aboard the International Space Station in early December. During his stay, Kim conducted scientific experiments and technology demonstrations to benefit humanity on Earth and advance NASA’s Artemis campaign in preparation for future human missions to Mars.

Here is a look at some of the science Kim completed during his mission:

Medical check-ups in microgravity NASA

NASA astronaut Jonny Kim, a medical doctor, completed several routine medical exams while aboard the International Space Station. NASA flight surgeons and researchers monitor crew health using a variety of tools, including blood tests, eye exams, and ultrasounds.

Kim conducts an ultrasound of his eye in the left image. Eye exams are essential as long-duration spaceflight may cause changes to the eye’s structure and affect vision, a condition known as spaceflight associated neuro-ocular syndrome, or SANS. In the right image, Kim draws blood from a fellow crew member. These blood sample collections provide important insights into crew cartilage and bone health, cardiovascular function, inflammation, stress, immune function, and nutritional status.

NASA astronauts complete regular medical exams before, during, and after spaceflight to monitor astronaut health and develop better tools and measures for future human exploration missions to the Moon and Mars.

Learn more about human research on space station.

Low light plant growth NASA NASA

NASA astronaut Jonny Kim photographs dwarf tomato sprouts grown using a nutrient supplement instead of photosynthesis as part of a study on plant development and gene expression. The plants are given an acetate supplement as a secondary nutrition source, which could increase growth and result in better yields, all while using less power and fewer resources aboard the space station and future spacecraft. 

Learn more about Rhodium USAFA NIGHT.

Radioing future space explorers NASA

NASA astronaut Jonny Kim uses a ham radio to speak with students on Earth via an educational program connecting students worldwide with astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Students can ask about life aboard the orbiting laboratory and the many experiments conducted in microgravity. This program encourages an interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and inspires the next generation of space explorers.

Learn more about ISS Ham Radio.

Encoding DNA with data NASA

Secure and reliable data storage and transmission are essential to maintain the protection, accuracy, and accessibility of information. In this photo, NASA astronaut Jonny Kim displays research hardware that tests the viability of encoding, transmitting, and decoding encrypted information via DNA sequences. As part of this experiment, DNA with encrypted information is sequenced aboard the space station to determine the impact of the space environment on its stability. Using DNA to store and transmit data could reduce the weight and energy requirements compared to traditional methods used for long-duration space missions and Earth-based industries.

Learn more about Voyager DNA Decryption.

Remote robotics NASA

Future deep space exploration could rely on robotics remotely operated by humans. NASA astronaut Jonny Kim tests a technology demonstration that allows astronauts to remotely control robots on Earth from the International Space Station. Findings from this investigation could help fine-tune user-robot operating dynamics during future missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. 

Learn more about Surface Avatar.

Blocking bone loss NASA

NASA astronaut Jonny Kim conducts an investigation to assess the effects of microgravity on bone marrow stem cells, including their ability to secrete proteins that form and dissolve bone. Bone loss, an age-related factor on Earth, is aggravated by weightlessness and is a health concern for astronauts. Researchers are evaluating whether blocking signals that cause loss could protect astronauts during long-duration spaceflights. The findings could also lead to preventative measures and treatments for bone loss caused by aging or disease on Earth.  

Learn more about MABL-B.

Upscaling production NASA

NASA astronaut Jonny Kim tests new hardware installed to an existing crystallization facility that enables increased production of crystals and other commercially relevant materials, like golden nanospheres. These tiny, spherical gold particles have optical and electronic applications, and are biocompatible, making them useful for medication delivery and diagnostics. As part of this experiment aboard the space station, Kim attempted to process larger, more uniform golden nanospheres than those produced on the ground.

Learn more about ADSEP-ICC.

Nutrients on demand NASA

Some vitamins and nutrients in foods and supplements lose their potency during long-term storage, and insufficient intake of even a single nutrient can lead to diseases and other health issues. NASA astronaut Jonny Kim displays purple-pink production bags for an investigation aimed at producing nutrient-rich yogurt and kefir using bioengineered yeasts and probiotics. The unique color comes from a food-grade pH indicator that allows astronauts to visually monitor the fermentation process.

Learn more about BioNutrients-3.

Next-Gen medicine and manufacturing NASA

NASA astronaut Jonny Kim uses the Microgravity Science Glovebox to study how high-concentration protein fluids behave in microgravity. This study helps researchers develop more accurate models to predict the behavior of these complex fluids in various scenarios, which advances manufacturing processes in space and on Earth. It also can enable the development of next-generation medicines for treating cancers and other diseases. 

Learn more about Ring Sheared Drop-IBP-2.

Observing colossal Earth events NASA

On Sept. 28, 2025, NASA astronaut Jonny Kim photographed Hurricane Humberto from the International Space Station. Located at 250 miles above Earth, the orbiting laboratory’s unique orbit allows crew members to photograph the planet’s surface including hurricanes, dust storms, and fires. These images are used to document disasters and support first responders on the ground. 

Learn more about observing Earth from space station.

Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA

Latest News from Space Station Research

Space Station Research Results

Humans In Space

International Space Station

5 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA astronaut Jonny Kim floats inside the Cupola of the International Space Station.NASA

NASA astronaut Jonny Kim is wrapping up his first mission aboard the International Space Station in early December. During his stay, Kim conducted scientific experiments and technology demonstrations to benefit humanity on Earth and advance NASA’s Artemis campaign in preparation for future human missions to Mars.

Here is a look at some of the science Kim completed during his mission:

Medical check-ups in microgravity NASA

NASA astronaut Jonny Kim, a medical doctor, completed several routine medical exams while aboard the International Space Station. NASA flight surgeons and researchers monitor crew health using a variety of tools, including blood tests, eye exams, and ultrasounds.

Kim conducts an ultrasound of his eye in the left image. Eye exams are essential as long-duration spaceflight may cause changes to the eye’s structure and affect vision, a condition known as spaceflight associated neuro-ocular syndrome, or SANS. In the right image, Kim draws blood from a fellow crew member. These blood sample collections provide important insights into crew cartilage and bone health, cardiovascular function, inflammation, stress, immune function, and nutritional status.

NASA astronauts complete regular medical exams before, during, and after spaceflight to monitor astronaut health and develop better tools and measures for future human exploration missions to the Moon and Mars.

Learn more about human research on space station.

Low light plant growth NASA NASA

NASA astronaut Jonny Kim photographs dwarf tomato sprouts grown using a nutrient supplement instead of photosynthesis as part of a study on plant development and gene expression. The plants are given an acetate supplement as a secondary nutrition source, which could increase growth and result in better yields, all while using less power and fewer resources aboard the space station and future spacecraft. 

Learn more about Rhodium USAFA NIGHT.

Radioing future space explorers NASA

NASA astronaut Jonny Kim uses a ham radio to speak with students on Earth via an educational program connecting students worldwide with astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Students can ask about life aboard the orbiting laboratory and the many experiments conducted in microgravity. This program encourages an interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and inspires the next generation of space explorers.

Learn more about ISS Ham Radio.

Encoding DNA with data NASA

Secure and reliable data storage and transmission are essential to maintain the protection, accuracy, and accessibility of information. In this photo, NASA astronaut Jonny Kim displays research hardware that tests the viability of encoding, transmitting, and decoding encrypted information via DNA sequences. As part of this experiment, DNA with encrypted information is sequenced aboard the space station to determine the impact of the space environment on its stability. Using DNA to store and transmit data could reduce the weight and energy requirements compared to traditional methods used for long-duration space missions and Earth-based industries.

Learn more about Voyager DNA Decryption.

Remote robotics NASA

Future deep space exploration could rely on robotics remotely operated by humans. NASA astronaut Jonny Kim tests a technology demonstration that allows astronauts to remotely control robots on Earth from the International Space Station. Findings from this investigation could help fine-tune user-robot operating dynamics during future missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. 

Learn more about Surface Avatar.

Blocking bone loss NASA

NASA astronaut Jonny Kim conducts an investigation to assess the effects of microgravity on bone marrow stem cells, including their ability to secrete proteins that form and dissolve bone. Bone loss, an age-related factor on Earth, is aggravated by weightlessness and is a health concern for astronauts. Researchers are evaluating whether blocking signals that cause loss could protect astronauts during long-duration spaceflights. The findings could also lead to preventative measures and treatments for bone loss caused by aging or disease on Earth.  

Learn more about MABL-B.

Upscaling production NASA

NASA astronaut Jonny Kim tests new hardware installed to an existing crystallization facility that enables increased production of crystals and other commercially relevant materials, like golden nanospheres. These tiny, spherical gold particles have optical and electronic applications, and are biocompatible, making them useful for medication delivery and diagnostics. As part of this experiment aboard the space station, Kim attempted to process larger, more uniform golden nanospheres than those produced on the ground.

Learn more about ADSEP-ICC.

Nutrients on demand NASA

Some vitamins and nutrients in foods and supplements lose their potency during long-term storage, and insufficient intake of even a single nutrient can lead to diseases and other health issues. NASA astronaut Jonny Kim displays purple-pink production bags for an investigation aimed at producing nutrient-rich yogurt and kefir using bioengineered yeasts and probiotics. The unique color comes from a food-grade pH indicator that allows astronauts to visually monitor the fermentation process.

Learn more about BioNutrients-3.

Next-Gen medicine and manufacturing NASA

NASA astronaut Jonny Kim uses the Microgravity Science Glovebox to study how high-concentration protein fluids behave in microgravity. This study helps researchers develop more accurate models to predict the behavior of these complex fluids in various scenarios, which advances manufacturing processes in space and on Earth. It also can enable the development of next-generation medicines for treating cancers and other diseases. 

Learn more about Ring Sheared Drop-IBP-2.

Observing colossal Earth events NASA

On Sept. 28, 2025, NASA astronaut Jonny Kim photographed Hurricane Humberto from the International Space Station. Located at 250 miles above Earth, the orbiting laboratory’s unique orbit allows crew members to photograph the planet’s surface including hurricanes, dust storms, and fires. These images are used to document disasters and support first responders on the ground. 

Learn more about observing Earth from space station.

Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA

Latest News from Space Station Research

Space Station Research Results

Humans In Space

International Space Station

Stars, like bees, swarm around the center of bright

Credit: NASA

NASA has selected the University of Alabama at Birmingham to provide the necessary systems required to return temperature sensitive science payloads to Earth from the Moon.

The Lunar Freezer System contract is an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity award with cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery orders. The contract begins Thursday, Dec. 4, with a 66-month base period along with two optional periods that could extend the award through June 3, 2033. The contract has a total estimated value of $37 million.

Under the contract, the awardee will be responsible for providing safe, reliable, and cost-effective hardware and software systems NASA needs to maintain temperature-critical science materials, including lunar geological samples, human research samples, and biological experimentation samples, as they travel aboard Artemis spacecraft to Earth from the lunar surface. The awarded contractor was selected after a thorough evaluation by NASA engineers of the proposals submitted. NASA’s source selection authority made the selection after reviewing the evaluation material based on the evaluation criteria contained in the request for proposals.

For information about NASA and other agency programs, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov

-end-

Tiernan Doyle
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
tiernan.doyle@nasa.gov  

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Details Last Updated Dec 02, 2025 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms

• Artemis
• Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate
• Science & Research