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Suited Up for Science: NASA ER-2 Pilot Prepares for GEMx Flight
Suited Up for Science: NASA ER-2 Pilot Prepares for GEMx Flight
NASA ER-2 pilot Kirt Stallings waits inside the transport vehicle moments before boarding the airborne science aircraft at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025. Outside the window, the aircraft is being readied for a high-altitude mission supporting the Geological Earth Mapping Experiment (GEMx), a multi-year NASA–U.S. Geological Survey campaign to map critical mineral resources across the Western United States. The GEMx team believes that undiscovered deposits of at least some of the 50 mineral commodities deemed essential to U.S. national security, to the tech industry, and to clean energy exist domestically, and modern mineral maps will support exploration by the private sector.
In 2025 alone, the ER-2 flew 36 science missions, collecting more than seven billion measurements over 200 flight hours, contributing to the largest airborne surface mineralogy dataset ever gathered in a single NASA campaign. For this mission, pilots flew at approximately 65,000 feet altitude, requiring them to wear specially designed pressure suits to safely operate in the thin atmosphere.
Image credit: NASA/Christopher LC Clark
Text credit: Darin L. Dinius
Suited Up for Science: NASA ER-2 Pilot Prepares for GEMx Flight
NASA ER-2 pilot Kirt Stallings waits inside the transport vehicle moments before boarding the airborne science aircraft at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025. Outside the window, the aircraft is being readied for a high-altitude mission supporting the Geological Earth Mapping Experiment (GEMx), a multi-year NASA–U.S. Geological Survey campaign to map critical mineral resources across the Western United States. The GEMx team believes that undiscovered deposits of at least some of the 50 mineral commodities deemed essential to U.S. national security, to the tech industry, and to clean energy exist domestically, and modern mineral maps will support exploration by the private sector.
In 2025 alone, the ER-2 flew 36 science missions, collecting more than seven billion measurements over 200 flight hours, contributing to the largest airborne surface mineralogy dataset ever gathered in a single NASA campaign. For this mission, pilots flew at approximately 65,000 feet altitude, requiring them to wear specially designed pressure suits to safely operate in the thin atmosphere.
Image credit: NASA/Christopher LC Clark
Text credit: Darin L. Dinius
La NASA compartirá imágenes del cometa 3I/ATLAS tomadas desde naves espaciales y telescopios
Read this press release in English here.
La NASA ofrecerá un evento en vivo (en inglés) a las 3 p.m. EST del miércoles 19 de noviembre para compartir imágenes del cometa interestelar 3I/ATLAS captadas por varias misiones de la agencia. El evento tendrá lugar en el Centro de Vuelo Espacial Goddard de la NASA, en Greenbelt, Maryland.
El cometa 3I/ATLAS, descubierto el 1 de julio por el observatorio ATLAS (por las siglas en inglés de Sistema de Última Alerta de Impacto Terrestre de Asteroides), financiado por la NASA. El cometa es el tercer objeto identificado hasta la fecha que ha entrado en nuestro sistema solar procedente de otra parte de la galaxia. Aunque no supone ninguna amenaza para la Tierra y no se acercará a menos de 273 millones de kilómetros (170 millones de millas) de nuestro planeta, el cometa pasó a menos de 30 millones de kilómetros (19 millones de millas) de Marte a principios de octubre.
El evento se retransmitirá en NASA+, la aplicación de la NASA, el sitio web y el canal de YouTube de la agencia, y Amazon Prime.
Entre los participantes en la sesión informativa, que proceden de la sede central de la NASA en Washington, se encuentran:
- Amit Kshatriya, administrador asociado de la NASA
- Nicky Fox, administradora asociada, Dirección de Misiones Científicas
- Shawn Domagal-Goldman, director interino, División de Astrofísica
- Tom Statler, científico jefe para cuerpos pequeños del sistema solar.
Para participar virtualmente en el evento NASA Live, los miembros de los medios de comunicación deben enviar su nombre completo, afiliación mediática, dirección de correo electrónico y número de teléfono a más tardar dos horas antes del inicio del evento a Molly Wasser: molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov. Los miembros del público también podrán hacer preguntas utilizando #AskNASA en las redes sociales, y sus preguntas podrían ser respondidas, en inglés y en tiempo real, durante la transmisión. También contamos con un experto en la materia con disponibilidad limitada para entrevistas de seguimiento en español. Para solicitar una entrevista en español, póngase en contacto con María José Viñas: maria-jose.vinasgarcia@nasa.gov
Recursos de misiones científicas de la NASA proporcionan a Estados Unidos la capacidad única de observar a 3I/ATLAS prácticamente durante todo el tiempo que permanecerá en nuestra vecindad celeste y estudiar, con instrumentos científicos complementarios y desde diferentes direcciones, cómo se comporta el cometa. Estos instrumentos incluyen tanto naves espaciales en todo el sistema solar como observatorios terrestres.
Para más información sobre 3I/ATLAS, visite:
https://ciencia.nasa.gov/sistema-solar/cometa-3i-atlas/ (español)
https://go.nasa.gov/3I-ATLAS(inglés)
-fin-
Karen Fox / Molly Wasser / María José Viñas
Sede central, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov / maria-jose.vinasgarcia@nasa.gov
La NASA compartirá imágenes del cometa 3I/ATLAS tomadas desde naves espaciales y telescopios
Read this press release in English here.
La NASA ofrecerá un evento en vivo (en inglés) a las 3 p.m. EST del miércoles 19 de noviembre para compartir imágenes del cometa interestelar 3I/ATLAS captadas por varias misiones de la agencia. El evento tendrá lugar en el Centro de Vuelo Espacial Goddard de la NASA, en Greenbelt, Maryland.
El cometa 3I/ATLAS, descubierto el 1 de julio por el observatorio ATLAS (por las siglas en inglés de Sistema de Última Alerta de Impacto Terrestre de Asteroides), financiado por la NASA. El cometa es el tercer objeto identificado hasta la fecha que ha entrado en nuestro sistema solar procedente de otra parte de la galaxia. Aunque no supone ninguna amenaza para la Tierra y no se acercará a menos de 273 millones de kilómetros (170 millones de millas) de nuestro planeta, el cometa pasó a menos de 30 millones de kilómetros (19 millones de millas) de Marte a principios de octubre.
El evento se retransmitirá en NASA+, la aplicación de la NASA, el sitio web y el canal de YouTube de la agencia, y Amazon Prime.
Entre los participantes en la sesión informativa, que proceden de la sede central de la NASA en Washington, se encuentran:
- Amit Kshatriya, administrador asociado de la NASA
- Nicky Fox, administradora asociada, Dirección de Misiones Científicas
- Shawn Domagal-Goldman, director interino, División de Astrofísica
- Tom Statler, científico jefe para cuerpos pequeños del sistema solar.
Para participar virtualmente en el evento NASA Live, los miembros de los medios de comunicación deben enviar su nombre completo, afiliación mediática, dirección de correo electrónico y número de teléfono a más tardar dos horas antes del inicio del evento a Molly Wasser: molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov. Los miembros del público también podrán hacer preguntas utilizando #AskNASA en las redes sociales, y sus preguntas podrían ser respondidas, en inglés y en tiempo real, durante la transmisión. También contamos con un experto en la materia con disponibilidad limitada para entrevistas de seguimiento en español. Para solicitar una entrevista en español, póngase en contacto con María José Viñas: maria-jose.vinasgarcia@nasa.gov
Recursos de misiones científicas de la NASA proporcionan a Estados Unidos la capacidad única de observar a 3I/ATLAS prácticamente durante todo el tiempo que permanecerá en nuestra vecindad celeste y estudiar, con instrumentos científicos complementarios y desde diferentes direcciones, cómo se comporta el cometa. Estos instrumentos incluyen tanto naves espaciales en todo el sistema solar como observatorios terrestres.
Para más información sobre 3I/ATLAS, visite:
https://ciencia.nasa.gov/sistema-solar/cometa-3i-atlas/ (español)
https://go.nasa.gov/3I-ATLAS(inglés)
-fin-
Karen Fox / Molly Wasser / María José Viñas
Sede central, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov / maria-jose.vinasgarcia@nasa.gov
NASA to Share Comet 3I/ATLAS Images From Spacecraft, Telescopes
Lee este comunicado de prensa en español aquí.
NASA will host a live event at 3 p.m. EST, Wednesday, Nov. 19, to share imagery of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS collected by a number of the agency’s missions. The event will take place at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Comet 3I/ATLAS, discovered by the NASA-funded ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) observatory on July 1, is only the third object ever identified as entering our solar system from elsewhere in the galaxy. While it poses no threat to Earth and will get no closer than 170 million miles to Earth, the comet flew within 19 million miles of Mars in early October.
The event will air on NASA+, the NASA app, the agency’s website and YouTube channel, and Amazon Prime.
Briefing participants include:
- NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya
- Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate
- Shawn Domagal-Goldman, acting director, Astrophysics Division
- Tom Statler, lead scientist for solar system small bodies
To participate virtually in the NASA Live event, members of the media must send their full name, media affiliation, email address, and phone number no later than two hours before the start of the event to Molly Wasser at: molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov. Members of the public also may ask questions, which may be answered in real time during the broadcast, by using #AskNASA on social media.
Assets within NASA’s science missions give the United States the unique capability to observe 3I/ATLAS almost the entire time it passes through our celestial neighborhood, and study – with complementary scientific instruments and from different directions – how the comet behaves. These assets include both spacecraft across the solar system, as well as ground-based observatories.
For more information on 3I/ATLAS, visit:
-end-
Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov
NASA to Share Comet 3I/ATLAS Images From Spacecraft, Telescopes
Lee este comunicado de prensa en español aquí.
NASA will host a live event at 3 p.m. EST, Wednesday, Nov. 19, to share imagery of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS collected by a number of the agency’s missions. The event will take place at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Comet 3I/ATLAS, discovered by the NASA-funded ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) observatory on July 1, is only the third object ever identified as entering our solar system from elsewhere in the galaxy. While it poses no threat to Earth and will get no closer than 170 million miles to Earth, the comet flew within 19 million miles of Mars in early October.
The event will air on NASA+, the NASA app, the agency’s website and YouTube channel, and Amazon Prime.
Briefing participants include:
- NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya
- Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate
- Shawn Domagal-Goldman, acting director, Astrophysics Division
- Tom Statler, lead scientist for solar system small bodies
To participate virtually in the NASA Live event, members of the media must send their full name, media affiliation, email address, and phone number no later than two hours before the start of the event to Molly Wasser at: molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov. Members of the public also may ask questions, which may be answered in real time during the broadcast, by using #AskNASA on social media.
Assets within NASA’s science missions give the United States the unique capability to observe 3I/ATLAS almost the entire time it passes through our celestial neighborhood, and study – with complementary scientific instruments and from different directions – how the comet behaves. These assets include both spacecraft across the solar system, as well as ground-based observatories.
For more information on 3I/ATLAS, visit:
-end-
Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov
Ancient figurine may show sexual encounter between woman and goose
Ancient figurine may show sexual encounter between woman and goose
Neanderthals' hefty noses weren’t well adapted to cold climates
Neanderthals' hefty noses weren’t well adapted to cold climates
Searching For Exoplanets In The Remnants Of A Dwarf Galaxy
Astronomers have found more than 6,000 exoplanets in the Milky Way. They've even begun to characterize the atmospheres of some of them. But the Milky Way has consumed many of its dwarf satellites. How have exoplanets fared in these remnants? How are they different? To answer those questions, astronomers have to find some of these planets, and a new survey is poised to do just that.
NASA, Industry Weave Data Fabric with Artificial Intelligence
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA’s research into the field of Advanced Air Mobility looks to enable autonomous aircraft with complex capabilities such as carrying cargo or providing medical aid, as seen in this artist’s concept. The Data and Reasoning Fabric project out of Ames Research Center tested delivery of programs and information to these kinds of vehicles.Credit: NASA
One of the biggest goals for companies in the field of artificial intelligence is developing “agentic” or autonomous systems. These metaphorical agents can perform tasks without a guiding human hand. This parallels the goals of the emerging urban air mobility industry, which hopes to bring autonomous flying vehicles to cities around the world. One company got a head start on doing both with some help from NASA.
Autonomy Association International Inc. (AAI) is a public benefit corporation based in Mountain View, California, near NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley. In 2022, AAI signed a Space Act Agreement with Ames to support the agency’s Data and Reasoning Fabric project, which aimed to support the transportation of people and cargo to areas previously unserved or underserved by aviation, and to provide reliable, accurate, and current data for aeronautic decision-making.
“Inspiration to lean into data fabric to solve certain complexities came from our NASA partnership,” said AAI cofounder and the project’s industry principal investigator Greg Deeds. “Working on this project was a great experience. Working with NASA engineers and leaders gave us experience that we’ll carry forward in all of our products.”
Greg Deeds looks out the window of a helicopter flying over Arizona during a test of Autonomy Association International’s data fabric technology in collaboration with NASA. Through multiple evaluations above Phoenix, the testing proved the capabilities of the company’s Digital Infrastructure Platform. Credit: Autonomy Association International Inc.
Similar to how clothing fabric is made of intertwined threads, a data fabric comprises intertwined data sources. While a data fabric built by a tech company may include data from a few different cloud service providers, NASA’s Data and Reasoning Fabric can also use information provided by local governments and other service providers. By viewing airspace as a large data fabric, an autonomous vehicle can take in data and requests from the cities and towns it flies over and prioritize responses between them.
Working with Ken Freeman, principal investigator of the project at Ames, AAI and NASA performed four testing adaptations of the data fabric technology in the air over Arizona. Using hardware and software developed by AAI, the flights tested advanced air mobility passenger flights and the use of a drone for rapid delivery of medical supplies from urban to rural areas and back, while sending new tasks to the aircraft in flight. A helicopter stood in for the drone and air taxi, flying over towns, universities, tribal lands, and the airspace around Phoenix Sky Harbor airport and obtaining data and programs given to it from different places.
“We’re focusing on the digital infrastructure building blocks of smart cities and regions of the future,” said Jennifer Deeds, chief operating officer and cofounder of AAI.
In the years since the original NASA project, the company has cultivated relationships and customers abroad, including companies in agriculture, real estate development, and industrial food production using its system to aggregate and manage data. Released in 2024, the company’s Digital Infrastructure Platform uses the same technology originally designed for the NASA flight test. A new, “agentic” version followed not long after, able to retrieve necessary AI programs with minimal interaction.
As AI unlocks innovation across American industries, NASA is equipping its commercial partners with the keys, using proven technology to generate breakthrough solutions.
Learn more: https://spinoff.nasa.gov/
Read More Share Details Last Updated Nov 18, 2025 Related Terms Explore More 6 min read NASA Data Powers New Tool to Protect Water Supply After FiresWhen wildfires scorch a landscape, the flames are just the beginning. NASA is helping U.S.…
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Data and Reasoning Fabric
Aeronautics
NASA, Industry Weave Data Fabric with Artificial Intelligence
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA’s research into the field of Advanced Air Mobility looks to enable autonomous aircraft with complex capabilities such as carrying cargo or providing medical aid, as seen in this artist’s concept. The Data and Reasoning Fabric project out of Ames Research Center tested delivery of programs and information to these kinds of vehicles.Credit: NASAOne of the biggest goals for companies in the field of artificial intelligence is developing “agentic” or autonomous systems. These metaphorical agents can perform tasks without a guiding human hand. This parallels the goals of the emerging urban air mobility industry, which hopes to bring autonomous flying vehicles to cities around the world. One company got a head start on doing both with some help from NASA.
Autonomy Association International Inc. (AAI) is a public benefit corporation based in Mountain View, California, near NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley. In 2022, AAI signed a Space Act Agreement with Ames to support the agency’s Data and Reasoning Fabric project, which aimed to support the transportation of people and cargo to areas previously unserved or underserved by aviation, and to provide reliable, accurate, and current data for aeronautic decision-making.
“Inspiration to lean into data fabric to solve certain complexities came from our NASA partnership,” said AAI cofounder and the project’s industry principal investigator Greg Deeds. “Working on this project was a great experience. Working with NASA engineers and leaders gave us experience that we’ll carry forward in all of our products.”
Greg Deeds looks out the window of a helicopter flying over Arizona during a test of Autonomy Association International’s data fabric technology in collaboration with NASA. Through multiple evaluations above Phoenix, the testing proved the capabilities of the company’s Digital Infrastructure Platform. Credit: Autonomy Association International Inc.Similar to how clothing fabric is made of intertwined threads, a data fabric comprises intertwined data sources. While a data fabric built by a tech company may include data from a few different cloud service providers, NASA’s Data and Reasoning Fabric can also use information provided by local governments and other service providers. By viewing airspace as a large data fabric, an autonomous vehicle can take in data and requests from the cities and towns it flies over and prioritize responses between them.
Working with Ken Freeman, principal investigator of the project at Ames, AAI and NASA performed four testing adaptations of the data fabric technology in the air over Arizona. Using hardware and software developed by AAI, the flights tested advanced air mobility passenger flights and the use of a drone for rapid delivery of medical supplies from urban to rural areas and back, while sending new tasks to the aircraft in flight. A helicopter stood in for the drone and air taxi, flying over towns, universities, tribal lands, and the airspace around Phoenix Sky Harbor airport and obtaining data and programs given to it from different places.
“We’re focusing on the digital infrastructure building blocks of smart cities and regions of the future,” said Jennifer Deeds, chief operating officer and cofounder of AAI.
In the years since the original NASA project, the company has cultivated relationships and customers abroad, including companies in agriculture, real estate development, and industrial food production using its system to aggregate and manage data. Released in 2024, the company’s Digital Infrastructure Platform uses the same technology originally designed for the NASA flight test. A new, “agentic” version followed not long after, able to retrieve necessary AI programs with minimal interaction.
As AI unlocks innovation across American industries, NASA is equipping its commercial partners with the keys, using proven technology to generate breakthrough solutions.
Learn more: https://spinoff.nasa.gov/
Read More Share Details Last Updated Nov 18, 2025 Related Terms Explore More 6 min read NASA Data Powers New Tool to Protect Water Supply After FiresWhen wildfires scorch a landscape, the flames are just the beginning. NASA is helping U.S.…
Article 2 months ago 5 min read From Supercomputers to Wind Tunnels: NASA’s Road to Artemis II Article 2 months ago 3 min read NASA, Partners Push Forward with Remotely Piloted Airspace Integration Article 2 months ago Keep Exploring Discover Related TopicsAmes Research Center
Advanced Air Mobility MissionNASA’s Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) research will transform our communities by bringing the movement of people and goods off the ground, on…
Data and Reasoning Fabric
Aeronautics
Transplant Rejection Is a Major Hurdle for Pig Organs. Scientists Are Solving the Problem
In a successful transplant in a man with brain death, scientists prevented the immune system from attacking a genetically modified pig kidney for 61 days, the longest such an experiment has lasted
The Leonid Meteor Shower Is Peaking—Here’s How to Watch This Fireball-Filled Event
A thin crescent moon and dark skies could give watchers a clear view of this astronomical event