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Bonobos use a kind of syntax once thought to be unique to humans
Bonobos use a kind of syntax once thought to be unique to humans
Doom: The Dark Ages — Release date, trailers & everything we know
SpaceX Fram2 astronauts see their Florida launch site from space as historic pole-orbiting mission nears its end (video)
The Uninhabited Heard and McDonald Islands, Targeted by Tariffs, Are a Biological Wonderland
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Mammoth tusk flakes may be the oldest ivory objects made by humans
Mammoth tusk flakes may be the oldest ivory objects made by humans
Bonobo Calls Are More like Human Language Than We Thought
Bonobos’ grunts, peeps and whistles may share an advanced linguistic property with human language
JWST Delivers Best-Yet Look at That Worrisome Asteroid
New observations from the James Webb Space Telescope show that the potentially hazardous asteroid 2024 YR4 is a building-sized space rock
Major storms on Jupiter can leave a fingerprint in the planet's atmosphere
University Student Research Challenge (USRC) Awards
13 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Getty ImagesUniversity Student Research Challenge (USRC) seeks to challenge students to propose new ideas/concepts that are relevant to NASA Aeronautics. USRC will provide students, from accredited U.S. colleges or universities, with grants for their projects and with the challenge of raising cost share funds through a crowdfunding campaign. The process of creating and implementing a crowdfunding campaign acts as a teaching accelerator – requiring students to act like entrepreneurs and raise awareness about their research among the public.
The solicitation goal can be accomplished through project ideas such as advancing the design, developing technology or capabilities in support of aviation, by demonstrating a novel concept, or enabling advancement of aeronautics-related technologies.
Eligibility: NASA funding is available to all accredited U.S. institutions of higher education (e.g. universities, four-year colleges, community colleges, or other two-year institutions). Students must be currently enrolled (part-time or full-time) at the institution. NASA has no set expectations as to the team size. The number of students participating in the investigation is to be determined by the scope of the project and the student Team Leader.
The USRC solicitation is currently Closed with Proposals next due June 26, 2025. Please visit NSPIRES to receive alerts when more information is available.
A USRC Q&A/Info Session and Proposal Workshop will be held May 12, 2025, at 2pm ET ahead of the USRC Submission deadline in June 2025. Join the Q&A
Please email us at HQ-USRC@mail.nasa.gov if you have any questions or to schedule a 1 on 1.
USRC AwardsContext-Aware Cybersecurity for UAS Traffic Management (Texas A&M University)
Developing, testing, and pursuing transition of an aviation-context-aware network authentication and segmentation function, which holistically manages cyber threats in future UAS traffic control systems.
Student Team: Vishwam Raval (Team Lead), Michael Ades, Garett Haynes, Sarah Lee, Kevin Lei, Oscar Leon, McKenna Smith, Nhan Nick Truong
Faculty Mentors: Jaewon Kim and Sandip Roy
Selected: 2025
Reconnaissance and Emergency Aircraft for Critical Hurricane Relief (North Carolina State University)
Developing and deploying advanced unmanned aerial systems designed to locate, communicate with, and deliver critical supplies to stranded individuals in the wake of natural disasters.
Student Team: Tobias Hullette (Team Lead), Jose Vizcarrondo, Rishi Ghosh, Caleb Gobel, Lucas Nicol, Ajay Pandya, Paul Randolph, Hadie Sabbah
Faculty Mentor: Felix Ewere
Selected: 2025
Design and Prototyping of a 9-phase Dual-Rotor Motor for Supersonic Electric Turbofan (Colorado School of Mines)
Designing and prototyping a scaled-down 9-phase dual-rotor motor (DRM) for a supersonic electric turbofan.
Student Team: Mahzad Gholamian (Team Lead), Garret Reader, Mykola Mazur, Mirali Seyedrezaei
Faculty Mentor: Omid Beik
Selected: 2024
Project F.I.R.E (Fire Intervention Retardant Expeller) (Cerritos Community College)
Mitigating wildfires with drone released fire retardant pellets.
Student Team: Angel Ortega Barrera (Team Lead), Larisa Mayoral, Paola Mayoral Jimenez, Jenny Rodriguez, Logan Stahl, Juan Villa
Faculty Mentor: Janet McLarty-Schroeder
Selected: 2024
Learning cooperative policies for adaptive human-drone teaming in shared airspace (Cornell University)
Enabling new coordination and communication models for smoother, more efficient, and robust air traffic flow.
Student Team: Mehrnaz Sabet (Team Lead), Aaron Babu, Marcus Lee, Joshua Park, Francis Pham, Owen Sorber, Roopak Srinivasan, Austin Zhao
Faculty Mentor: Sanjiban Choudhury, Susan Fussell
Selected: 2024
Crowdfunding Website
Investigation on Cryogenic Fluid Chill-Down Time for Supersonic Transport Usage (University of Washington, Seattle)
Investigating reducing the boil-off of cryogenic fluids in pipes using vortex generators.
Student Team: Ryan Fidelis (Team Lead), Alexander Ala, Kaleb Shaw
Faculty Mentor: Fiona Spencer, Robert Breidenthal
Selected: 2024
Crowdfunding Website
Web Article: “Students win NASA grant to develop AI for safer aerial traffic“
Clean Forever-Flying Drones: Utilizing Ocean Water for Hydrogen Extraction in Climate Monitoring (Purdue University)
An ocean-based fueling station and a survey drone that can refuel in remote areas.
Student Team: Holman Lau (Team Lead), Nikolai Baranov, Andrej Damjanov, Chloe Hardesty, Smit Kapadia
Faculty Mentor: Li Qiao
Selected: 2023
Crowdfunding Website
Intelligent drone for detection of people during emergency response operation (Louisiana State University and A&M College)
Using machine learning algorithms for images and audio data, integrated with gas sensing for real-time detection of people on UAS.
Student Team: Jones Essuman (Team Lead), Tonmoy Sarker, Samer Tahboub
Faculty Mentor: Xiangyu Meng
Selected: 2023
Crowdfunding Website
Advancing Aerospace Materials Design through High-Fidelity Computational Peridynamic Modeling and Modified SVET Validation of Corrosion Damage (California State University, Channel Islands)
Modeling electrochemical corrosion nonlocally and combining efforts from bond-based and state-based theory.
Student Team: Trent Ruiz (Team Lead), Isaac Cisneros, Curtis Hauck
Faculty Mentor: Cynthia Flores
Selected: 2023
Crowdfunding Website
Swarm Micro UAVs for Area Mapping in GPS-denied Areas (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University)
Using swarm robotics to map complex environments and harsh terrain with Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs)
Student Team: Daniel Golan (Team Lead), Stanlie Cerda-Cruz, Kyle Fox, Bryan Gonzalez, Ethan Thomas
Faculty Mentor: Sergey V. Drakunov
Selected: 2023
Crowdfunding Website
Web Article: “Student Research on Drone Swarm Mapping Selected to Compete at NASA Challenge“
AeroFeathers—Feathered Airfoils Inspired by the Quiet Flight of Owls (Michigan Tech University)
Creating new propeller blades and fixed wing design concepts that mimic the features of an
owl feather and provide substantial noise reduction benefits.
Student Team: William Johnston (Team Lead), Pulitha Godakawela Kankanamalage, Amulya Lomte, Maria Jose Carrillo Munoz, Brittany Wojciechowski, Laura Paige Nobles, Gabrielle Mathews
Faculty Mentor: Bhisham Sharma
Selected: 2023
Crowdfunding Website
Laser Energized Aerial Drone System (LEADS) for Sustained Sensing Applications (Michigan State University)
Laser based, high-efficiency optical power transfer for UAV charging for sustained flight and monitoring.
Student Team: Gavin Gardner (Team Lead), Ryan Atkinson, Brady Berg, Ross Davis, Gryson Gardner, Malachi Keener, Nicholas Michaels
Faculty Mentor: Woongkul Lee
Selected: 2023
Crowdfunding Website
LEADS team Website
UAM Contingency Diagnosis Toolkit (Ohio State University)
A UAM contingency diagnosis toolkit which that includes cognitive work requirements (CWRs) for human operators, information sharing requirements, and representational designs.
Student Team: Connor Kannally (Team Lead), Izzy Furl, Luke McSherry, Abhinay Paladugu
Faculty Mentor: Martijn IJtsma
Selected: 2023
Crowdfunding Website
Project Website
Web Article: “NASA Awards $80K to Ohio State students through University Research Challenge“
Hybrid Quadplane Search and Rescue Missions (NC A&T University)
An autonomous search and rescue quadplane UAS supported by an unmanned mobile landing platform/recharge station ground vehicle.
Student Team: Luis Landivar Olmos (Team Lead), Dakota Price, Amilia Schimmel, Sean Tisdale
Faculty Mentor: A. Homaifar
Selected: 2023
Crowdfunding Website
Drone Based Water Sampling and Quality Testing – Special Application in the Raritan River (Rutgers University, New Brunswick)
An autonomous water sampling drone system.
Student Team: Michael Leitner (Team Lead), Xavier Garay, Mohamed Haroun, Ruchit Jathania, Caleb Lippe, Zachary Smolder, Chi Hin Tam
Faculty Mentor: Onur Bilgen
Selected: 2023
Crowdfunding Website
Project Website
Development of a Low-Cost Open-Source Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing Machine – Arc One (Case Western Reserve University)
A small-scale, modular, low-cost, and open-source Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) platform.
Student Team: Vishnushankar Viraliyur Ramasamy (Team Lead), Robert Carlstrom, Bathlomew Ebika, Jonathan Fu, Anthony Lino, Garrett Tieng
Faculty Mentor: John Lewandowski
Selected: 2023
Crowdfunding Website
Web Article: “PhD student wins funding from NASA and develops multidisciplinary team of undergraduate students to build novel machine“
Low Cost and Efficient eVTOL Platform Leveraging Opensource for Accessibility (University of Nevada, Las Vegas)
Lowering the barrier of entry into eVTOL deployment and development with a low cost, efficient, and open source eVTOL platform
Student Team: Martin Arguelles-Perez (Team Lead), Benjamin Bishop, Isabella Laurito, Genaro Marcial Lorza, Eman Yonis
Faculty Mentor: Venkatesan Muthukumar
Selected: 2022
Applying Space-Based Estimation Techniques to Drones in GPS-Denied Environments (University Of Texas, Austin)
Taking real-time inputs from flying drones and outputting an accurate state estimation with 3-D error ellipsoid visualization
Student Team: James Mitchell Roberts (Team Lead), Lauren Byram, Melissa Pires
Faculty Mentor: Adam Nokes
Selected: 2022
Crowdfunding Website
Project Website
Web Article: “GPS-free Drone Tech Proposal Lands Undergrads Spot in NASA Challenge“
Underwing Distributed Ducted Fan ‘FanFoil’ Concept for Transformational Aerodynamic and Aeroacoustic Performance (Texas Tech University, Lubbock)
Novel highly under-cambered airfoils with electric ducted fans featuring ’samara’ maple seed inspired blades for eVTOL application
Student Team: Jack Hicks (Team Lead), Harrison Childre, Guilherme Fernandes, David Gould, Lorne Greene, Muhammad Waleed Saleem, Nathan Shapiro
Faculty Mentor: Victor Maldonado
Selected: 2022
Crowdfunding Website
Web Articles: “Improving Ducted-Fan eVTOL Efficiency” (AvWeek), “Sky Taxies“
Urban Cargo Delivery Using eVTOL Aircrafts (University Of Illinois, Chicago)
A bi-objective optimization formulation minimizing total run costs of a two-leg cargo delivery system and community noise exposure to eVTOL operations
Student Team: Nahid Parvez Farazi (Team Lead), Amy Hofstra, Son Nguyen
Faculty Mentor: Bo Zou
Selected: 2022
Crowdfunding Website
Web Article: “PhD student awarded NASA grant to investigate urban cargo delivery systems“
Congestion Aware Path Planning for Optimal UAS Traffic Management (University Of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign)
A feasible, provably safe, and quantifiably optimal path planning framework considering fully autonomous UAVs in urban environments
Student Team: Minjun Sung (Team Lead), Christoph Aoun, Ivy Fei, Christophe Hiltebrandt-McIntosh, Sambhu Harimanas Karumanchi, Ran Tao
Faculty Mentor: Naira Hovakimyan
Selected: 2022
Crowdfunding Website
Web Article: “NASA funds UAV traffic management research“
AeroZepp: Aerostat Enabled Drone Glider Delivery System / Whisper Ascent: Quiet Drone Delivery (University of Delaware)
An aerostat enabled low-energy UAV payload delivery system
Student Team: Wesley Connor (Team Lead), Abubakarr Bah, Karlens Senatus
Faculty Mentor: Suresh Advani
Selected: 2022
Crowdfunding Website
Sustainable Transport Research Aircraft for Test Operation (STRATO) (Rutgers University, New Brunswick)
An open source, efficiently driven, optimized Active Flow Control (AFC) enhanced control surface for UAV research platforms
Student Team: Daulton James (Team Lead), Jean Alvarez, Frederick Diaz, Michael Ferrell, Shriya Khera, Connor Magee, Roy Monge Hidalgo, Bertrand Smith
Faculty Mentor: Edward DeMauro
Selected: 2022
Crowdfunding Website
Web Articles: “SoE Students Eligible for NASA University Student Research Challenge Award“, “Senior Design Team Captures NASA Research Challenge“
A recorded STRATO USRC Tech Talk
Dronehook: A Novel Fixed-Wing Package Retrieval System (University Of Notre Dame)
Envisioning a world where items can be retrieved from remote locations in a simple fashion from efficient fixed-wing UAVs
Student Team: Konrad Rozanski (Team Lead), Dillon Coffey, Bruce Smith, Nicholas Orr
Faculty Mentor: Jane Cleland-Huang
Selected: 2021
Crowdfunding Website
Web Article: “Notre Dame student team wins NASA research award for drone scoop and grab technology“
Aerial Intra-city Delivery Electric Drones (AIDED) with High Payload Capacity (Michigan State University)
A high-payload capacity delivery drone capable of safely latching and charging on electrified public transportation systems
Student Team: Yuchen Wang (Team Lead), Hunter Carmack, Kindred Griffis, Luke Lewallen, Scott Newhard, Caroline Nicholas, Shukai Wang, Kyle White
Faculty Mentor: Woongkul Lee
Selected: 2021
AIDED Crowdfunding Website
AIDED Project Website or Team Website
Web Articles: “Spartan Engineers win NASA research award” and “NASA Aeronautics amplification“; “Ross Davis & Gavin Gardner on The Guy Gordon Show“; “MSU Students Create Delivery Drone for NASA“; “Student drone project flying high with help from NASA“
A recorded USRC Tech Talk
Robotic Fabrication Work Cell for Customizable Unmanned Aerial Systems (Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University)
A robotic, multi-process work cell to autonomously fabricate topologically optimized UASs tailored for immediate application needs
Student Team: Tadeusz Kosmal (Team Lead), Kieran Beaumont, Om Bhavsar, Eric Link, James Lowe
Faculty Mentor: Christopher Williams
Selected: 2021
Crowdfunding Website
RAV-FAB Project Website
Web Articles: “Drones that fly away from a 3D printer: Undergraduates create science nonfiction” and “3D printing breaks out of the box / VTx / Virginia Tech“
NASA VT USRC Web Article: “USRC Students Sees Success with Crowdfunding, NASA Grants“
Publication: Hybrid additive robotic workcell for autonomous fabrication of mechatronic systems – A case study of drone fabrication – ScienceDirect
Team Social Media: Instagram: @ravfab_vt; LinkedIn: @rav-fab; YouTube
View RAV-FAB USRC Tech Talk #1 or USRC Tech Talk #2
Real Time Quality Control in Additive Manufacturing Using In-Process Sensing and Machine Learning (Cornell University)
A high-precision and low-cost intelligent sensor-based quality control technology for Additive Manufacturing
Student Team: Adrita Dass (Team Lead), Talia Turnham, Benjamin Steeper, Chenxi Tian, Siddharth Patel, Akula Sai Pratyush, Selina Kirubakar
Faculty Mentor: Atieh Moridi
Selected: 2021
Crowdfunding Website
AMAS Project Website
Web Article: “Students win NASA challenge with 3D-printer smart sensor“
A recorded USRC Tech Talk on this topic
AVIATA: Autonomous Vehicle Infinite Time Apparatus (University of California, Los Angeles)
A drone swarm system capable of carrying a payload in the air indefinitely
Student Team: Chirag Singh (Team Lead), Ziyi Peng, Bhrugu Mallajosyula, Willy Teav, David Thorne, James Tseng, Eric Wong, Axel Malahieude, Ryan Nemiroff, Yuchen Yao, Lisa Foo
Faculty Mentor: Jeff Eldredge
Selected: 2020
Crowdfunding Website
AVIATA Project Website
A recorded USRC Tech Talk on AVIATA
The recorded poster session at the TACP Showcase 2021
Redundant Flight Control System for BVLOS UAV Operations (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University)
A redundant flight control system as a “back-up” to the primary flight computer to enhance safety of sUAS
Student Team: Robert Moore (Team Lead), Joseph Ayd, and Todd Martin
Faculty Mentor: John Robbins
Selected: 2020
Crowdfunding Website
Web Articles: “NASA Web Article“; “Drone Innovation Top Embry-Riddle Entrepreneurship Competition“
Follow the team’s progress at: https://www.facebook.com/Assured Autonomy
A recorded USRC Tech Talk on this topic
The recorded poster session at the TACP Showcase 2021
Multi-Mode Hybrid Unmanned Delivery System: Combining Fixed-Wing and Multi-Rotor Aircraft with Ground Vehicles (Rutgers University)
Extending drone delivery distance with a multi-mode hybrid delivery system
Student Team: Paul Wang (Team Lead), Nolan Angelia, Muhammet Ali Gungor
Faculty Mentor: Onur Bilgen
Selected: 2020
Crowdfunding Website
A recorded USRC Tech Talk on this topic
The recorded poster session at the TACP Showcase 2021
AVIS: Active Vortex Inducing System for Flow Separation Control to Improve Airframe Efficiency (Georgia Institute of Technology)
Use an array of vortex generators that can be adjusted throughout flight to increase wing efficiency
Student Team: Michael Gamarnik (Team Lead), Shiva Khanna Yamamoto, Noah Mammen, Tommy Schrager, Bethe Newgent
Faculty Mentor: Kelly Griendling
Selected: 2020
Go to AVIS team site
A recorded USRC Tech Talk on AVIS
The recorded poster session at the TACP Showcase 2021
NASA Web Article
Hybrid Airplanes – An Optimum and Modular Approach (California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo)
Model and test powertrain to maximize the efficiency of hybrid airplanes
Student Team: Nicholas Ogden (Team Lead), Joseph Shy, Brandon Bartlett, Ryker Bullis, Chino Cruz, Sara Entezar, Aaron Li, Zach Yamauchi
Faculty Mentor: Paulo Iscold
Selected: 2019
A recorded USRC Tech Talk on this topic
The recorded poster session at the TACP Showcase 2021
ATLAS Air Transportation (South Dakota State University)
A multipurpose, automated drone capable of comfortably lifting the weight of an average person
Student Team: Isaac Smithee (Team Lead), Wade Olson, Nicolas Runge, Ryan Twedt, Anthony Bachmeier, Matthew Berg, Sterling Berg
Faculty Mentors: Marco Ciarcia, Todd Letcher
Selected: 2019
A recorded USRC Tech Talk #1 and USRC Tech Talk #2 on ATLAS
The recorded poster session at the TACP Showcase 2021
Software-Defined GPS Augmentation Network for UAS Navigation (University Of Oklahoma, Norman)
A novel solution of enhanced GPS navigation for unmanned aerial vehicles
Student Team: Robert Rucker (Team Lead), Alex Zhang, Jakob Fusselman, Matthew GilliamMentors: Dr. Yan (Rockee) Zhang (Faculty Mentor), Dr Hernan Suarez (Team Technical Mentor)
Faculty Mentors: Marco Ciarcia, Todd Letcher
Selected: 2019
Crowdfunding Website
A recorded USRC Tech Talk on this topic
The recorded poster session at the TACP Showcase 2021
UAV Traffic Information Exchange Network (Purdue University)
A blockchain-inspired secure, scalable, distributed, and efficient communication framework to support large scale UAV operations
Student Team: Hsun Chao (Team Lead) and Apoorv Maheshwari
Faculty Mentors: Daniel DeLaurentis (Faculty Mentor), Shashank Tamaskar
Selected: 2018
Web Article: “Student-developed communication network for UAVs interests NASA“
The recorded poster session at the TACP Showcase 2021
University Student Research Challenge
University Leadership Initiative
Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program
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Share Details Last Updated Apr 03, 2025 EditorLillian GipsonContactJim Bankejim.banke@nasa.gov Related TermsUniversity Student Research Challenge (USRC) Awards
13 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Getty ImagesUniversity Student Research Challenge (USRC) seeks to challenge students to propose new ideas/concepts that are relevant to NASA Aeronautics. USRC will provide students, from accredited U.S. colleges or universities, with grants for their projects and with the challenge of raising cost share funds through a crowdfunding campaign. The process of creating and implementing a crowdfunding campaign acts as a teaching accelerator – requiring students to act like entrepreneurs and raise awareness about their research among the public.
The solicitation goal can be accomplished through project ideas such as advancing the design, developing technology or capabilities in support of aviation, by demonstrating a novel concept, or enabling advancement of aeronautics-related technologies.
Eligibility: NASA funding is available to all accredited U.S. institutions of higher education (e.g. universities, four-year colleges, community colleges, or other two-year institutions). Students must be currently enrolled (part-time or full-time) at the institution. NASA has no set expectations as to the team size. The number of students participating in the investigation is to be determined by the scope of the project and the student Team Leader.
The USRC solicitation is currently Closed with Proposals next due June 26, 2025. Please visit NSPIRES to receive alerts when more information is available.
A USRC Q&A/Info Session and Proposal Workshop will be held May 12, 2025, at 2pm ET ahead of the USRC Submission deadline in June 2025. Join the Q&A
Please email us at HQ-USRC@mail.nasa.gov if you have any questions or to schedule a 1 on 1.
USRC AwardsContext-Aware Cybersecurity for UAS Traffic Management (Texas A&M University)
Developing, testing, and pursuing transition of an aviation-context-aware network authentication and segmentation function, which holistically manages cyber threats in future UAS traffic control systems.
Student Team: Vishwam Raval (Team Lead), Michael Ades, Garett Haynes, Sarah Lee, Kevin Lei, Oscar Leon, McKenna Smith, Nhan Nick Truong
Faculty Mentors: Jaewon Kim and Sandip Roy
Selected: 2025
Reconnaissance and Emergency Aircraft for Critical Hurricane Relief (North Carolina State University)
Developing and deploying advanced unmanned aerial systems designed to locate, communicate with, and deliver critical supplies to stranded individuals in the wake of natural disasters.
Student Team: Tobias Hullette (Team Lead), Jose Vizcarrondo, Rishi Ghosh, Caleb Gobel, Lucas Nicol, Ajay Pandya, Paul Randolph, Hadie Sabbah
Faculty Mentor: Felix Ewere
Selected: 2025
Design and Prototyping of a 9-phase Dual-Rotor Motor for Supersonic Electric Turbofan (Colorado School of Mines)
Designing and prototyping a scaled-down 9-phase dual-rotor motor (DRM) for a supersonic electric turbofan.
Student Team: Mahzad Gholamian (Team Lead), Garret Reader, Mykola Mazur, Mirali Seyedrezaei
Faculty Mentor: Omid Beik
Selected: 2024
Project F.I.R.E (Fire Intervention Retardant Expeller) (Cerritos Community College)
Mitigating wildfires with drone released fire retardant pellets.
Student Team: Angel Ortega Barrera (Team Lead), Larisa Mayoral, Paola Mayoral Jimenez, Jenny Rodriguez, Logan Stahl, Juan Villa
Faculty Mentor: Janet McLarty-Schroeder
Selected: 2024
Learning cooperative policies for adaptive human-drone teaming in shared airspace (Cornell University)
Enabling new coordination and communication models for smoother, more efficient, and robust air traffic flow.
Student Team: Mehrnaz Sabet (Team Lead), Aaron Babu, Marcus Lee, Joshua Park, Francis Pham, Owen Sorber, Roopak Srinivasan, Austin Zhao
Faculty Mentor: Sanjiban Choudhury, Susan Fussell
Selected: 2024
Crowdfunding Website
Investigation on Cryogenic Fluid Chill-Down Time for Supersonic Transport Usage (University of Washington, Seattle)
Investigating reducing the boil-off of cryogenic fluids in pipes using vortex generators.
Student Team: Ryan Fidelis (Team Lead), Alexander Ala, Kaleb Shaw
Faculty Mentor: Fiona Spencer, Robert Breidenthal
Selected: 2024
Crowdfunding Website
Web Article: “Students win NASA grant to develop AI for safer aerial traffic“
Clean Forever-Flying Drones: Utilizing Ocean Water for Hydrogen Extraction in Climate Monitoring (Purdue University)
An ocean-based fueling station and a survey drone that can refuel in remote areas.
Student Team: Holman Lau (Team Lead), Nikolai Baranov, Andrej Damjanov, Chloe Hardesty, Smit Kapadia
Faculty Mentor: Li Qiao
Selected: 2023
Crowdfunding Website
Intelligent drone for detection of people during emergency response operation (Louisiana State University and A&M College)
Using machine learning algorithms for images and audio data, integrated with gas sensing for real-time detection of people on UAS.
Student Team: Jones Essuman (Team Lead), Tonmoy Sarker, Samer Tahboub
Faculty Mentor: Xiangyu Meng
Selected: 2023
Crowdfunding Website
Advancing Aerospace Materials Design through High-Fidelity Computational Peridynamic Modeling and Modified SVET Validation of Corrosion Damage (California State University, Channel Islands)
Modeling electrochemical corrosion nonlocally and combining efforts from bond-based and state-based theory.
Student Team: Trent Ruiz (Team Lead), Isaac Cisneros, Curtis Hauck
Faculty Mentor: Cynthia Flores
Selected: 2023
Crowdfunding Website
Swarm Micro UAVs for Area Mapping in GPS-denied Areas (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University)
Using swarm robotics to map complex environments and harsh terrain with Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs)
Student Team: Daniel Golan (Team Lead), Stanlie Cerda-Cruz, Kyle Fox, Bryan Gonzalez, Ethan Thomas
Faculty Mentor: Sergey V. Drakunov
Selected: 2023
Crowdfunding Website
Web Article: “Student Research on Drone Swarm Mapping Selected to Compete at NASA Challenge“
AeroFeathers—Feathered Airfoils Inspired by the Quiet Flight of Owls (Michigan Tech University)
Creating new propeller blades and fixed wing design concepts that mimic the features of an
owl feather and provide substantial noise reduction benefits.
Student Team: William Johnston (Team Lead), Pulitha Godakawela Kankanamalage, Amulya Lomte, Maria Jose Carrillo Munoz, Brittany Wojciechowski, Laura Paige Nobles, Gabrielle Mathews
Faculty Mentor: Bhisham Sharma
Selected: 2023
Crowdfunding Website
Laser Energized Aerial Drone System (LEADS) for Sustained Sensing Applications (Michigan State University)
Laser based, high-efficiency optical power transfer for UAV charging for sustained flight and monitoring.
Student Team: Gavin Gardner (Team Lead), Ryan Atkinson, Brady Berg, Ross Davis, Gryson Gardner, Malachi Keener, Nicholas Michaels
Faculty Mentor: Woongkul Lee
Selected: 2023
Crowdfunding Website
LEADS team Website
UAM Contingency Diagnosis Toolkit (Ohio State University)
A UAM contingency diagnosis toolkit which that includes cognitive work requirements (CWRs) for human operators, information sharing requirements, and representational designs.
Student Team: Connor Kannally (Team Lead), Izzy Furl, Luke McSherry, Abhinay Paladugu
Faculty Mentor: Martijn IJtsma
Selected: 2023
Crowdfunding Website
Project Website
Web Article: “NASA Awards $80K to Ohio State students through University Research Challenge“
Hybrid Quadplane Search and Rescue Missions (NC A&T University)
An autonomous search and rescue quadplane UAS supported by an unmanned mobile landing platform/recharge station ground vehicle.
Student Team: Luis Landivar Olmos (Team Lead), Dakota Price, Amilia Schimmel, Sean Tisdale
Faculty Mentor: A. Homaifar
Selected: 2023
Crowdfunding Website
Drone Based Water Sampling and Quality Testing – Special Application in the Raritan River (Rutgers University, New Brunswick)
An autonomous water sampling drone system.
Student Team: Michael Leitner (Team Lead), Xavier Garay, Mohamed Haroun, Ruchit Jathania, Caleb Lippe, Zachary Smolder, Chi Hin Tam
Faculty Mentor: Onur Bilgen
Selected: 2023
Crowdfunding Website
Project Website
Development of a Low-Cost Open-Source Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing Machine – Arc One (Case Western Reserve University)
A small-scale, modular, low-cost, and open-source Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) platform.
Student Team: Vishnushankar Viraliyur Ramasamy (Team Lead), Robert Carlstrom, Bathlomew Ebika, Jonathan Fu, Anthony Lino, Garrett Tieng
Faculty Mentor: John Lewandowski
Selected: 2023
Crowdfunding Website
Web Article: “PhD student wins funding from NASA and develops multidisciplinary team of undergraduate students to build novel machine“
Low Cost and Efficient eVTOL Platform Leveraging Opensource for Accessibility (University of Nevada, Las Vegas)
Lowering the barrier of entry into eVTOL deployment and development with a low cost, efficient, and open source eVTOL platform
Student Team: Martin Arguelles-Perez (Team Lead), Benjamin Bishop, Isabella Laurito, Genaro Marcial Lorza, Eman Yonis
Faculty Mentor: Venkatesan Muthukumar
Selected: 2022
Applying Space-Based Estimation Techniques to Drones in GPS-Denied Environments (University Of Texas, Austin)
Taking real-time inputs from flying drones and outputting an accurate state estimation with 3-D error ellipsoid visualization
Student Team: James Mitchell Roberts (Team Lead), Lauren Byram, Melissa Pires
Faculty Mentor: Adam Nokes
Selected: 2022
Crowdfunding Website
Project Website
Web Article: “GPS-free Drone Tech Proposal Lands Undergrads Spot in NASA Challenge“
Underwing Distributed Ducted Fan ‘FanFoil’ Concept for Transformational Aerodynamic and Aeroacoustic Performance (Texas Tech University, Lubbock)
Novel highly under-cambered airfoils with electric ducted fans featuring ’samara’ maple seed inspired blades for eVTOL application
Student Team: Jack Hicks (Team Lead), Harrison Childre, Guilherme Fernandes, David Gould, Lorne Greene, Muhammad Waleed Saleem, Nathan Shapiro
Faculty Mentor: Victor Maldonado
Selected: 2022
Crowdfunding Website
Web Articles: “Improving Ducted-Fan eVTOL Efficiency” (AvWeek), “Sky Taxies“
Urban Cargo Delivery Using eVTOL Aircrafts (University Of Illinois, Chicago)
A bi-objective optimization formulation minimizing total run costs of a two-leg cargo delivery system and community noise exposure to eVTOL operations
Student Team: Nahid Parvez Farazi (Team Lead), Amy Hofstra, Son Nguyen
Faculty Mentor: Bo Zou
Selected: 2022
Crowdfunding Website
Web Article: “PhD student awarded NASA grant to investigate urban cargo delivery systems“
Congestion Aware Path Planning for Optimal UAS Traffic Management (University Of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign)
A feasible, provably safe, and quantifiably optimal path planning framework considering fully autonomous UAVs in urban environments
Student Team: Minjun Sung (Team Lead), Christoph Aoun, Ivy Fei, Christophe Hiltebrandt-McIntosh, Sambhu Harimanas Karumanchi, Ran Tao
Faculty Mentor: Naira Hovakimyan
Selected: 2022
Crowdfunding Website
Web Article: “NASA funds UAV traffic management research“
AeroZepp: Aerostat Enabled Drone Glider Delivery System / Whisper Ascent: Quiet Drone Delivery (University of Delaware)
An aerostat enabled low-energy UAV payload delivery system
Student Team: Wesley Connor (Team Lead), Abubakarr Bah, Karlens Senatus
Faculty Mentor: Suresh Advani
Selected: 2022
Crowdfunding Website
Sustainable Transport Research Aircraft for Test Operation (STRATO) (Rutgers University, New Brunswick)
An open source, efficiently driven, optimized Active Flow Control (AFC) enhanced control surface for UAV research platforms
Student Team: Daulton James (Team Lead), Jean Alvarez, Frederick Diaz, Michael Ferrell, Shriya Khera, Connor Magee, Roy Monge Hidalgo, Bertrand Smith
Faculty Mentor: Edward DeMauro
Selected: 2022
Crowdfunding Website
Web Articles: “SoE Students Eligible for NASA University Student Research Challenge Award“, “Senior Design Team Captures NASA Research Challenge“
A recorded STRATO USRC Tech Talk
Dronehook: A Novel Fixed-Wing Package Retrieval System (University Of Notre Dame)
Envisioning a world where items can be retrieved from remote locations in a simple fashion from efficient fixed-wing UAVs
Student Team: Konrad Rozanski (Team Lead), Dillon Coffey, Bruce Smith, Nicholas Orr
Faculty Mentor: Jane Cleland-Huang
Selected: 2021
Crowdfunding Website
Web Article: “Notre Dame student team wins NASA research award for drone scoop and grab technology“
Aerial Intra-city Delivery Electric Drones (AIDED) with High Payload Capacity (Michigan State University)
A high-payload capacity delivery drone capable of safely latching and charging on electrified public transportation systems
Student Team: Yuchen Wang (Team Lead), Hunter Carmack, Kindred Griffis, Luke Lewallen, Scott Newhard, Caroline Nicholas, Shukai Wang, Kyle White
Faculty Mentor: Woongkul Lee
Selected: 2021
AIDED Crowdfunding Website
AIDED Project Website or Team Website
Web Articles: “Spartan Engineers win NASA research award” and “NASA Aeronautics amplification“; “Ross Davis & Gavin Gardner on The Guy Gordon Show“; “MSU Students Create Delivery Drone for NASA“; “Student drone project flying high with help from NASA“
A recorded USRC Tech Talk
Robotic Fabrication Work Cell for Customizable Unmanned Aerial Systems (Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University)
A robotic, multi-process work cell to autonomously fabricate topologically optimized UASs tailored for immediate application needs
Student Team: Tadeusz Kosmal (Team Lead), Kieran Beaumont, Om Bhavsar, Eric Link, James Lowe
Faculty Mentor: Christopher Williams
Selected: 2021
Crowdfunding Website
RAV-FAB Project Website
Web Articles: “Drones that fly away from a 3D printer: Undergraduates create science nonfiction” and “3D printing breaks out of the box / VTx / Virginia Tech“
NASA VT USRC Web Article: “USRC Students Sees Success with Crowdfunding, NASA Grants“
Publication: Hybrid additive robotic workcell for autonomous fabrication of mechatronic systems – A case study of drone fabrication – ScienceDirect
Team Social Media: Instagram: @ravfab_vt; LinkedIn: @rav-fab; YouTube
View RAV-FAB USRC Tech Talk #1 or USRC Tech Talk #2
Real Time Quality Control in Additive Manufacturing Using In-Process Sensing and Machine Learning (Cornell University)
A high-precision and low-cost intelligent sensor-based quality control technology for Additive Manufacturing
Student Team: Adrita Dass (Team Lead), Talia Turnham, Benjamin Steeper, Chenxi Tian, Siddharth Patel, Akula Sai Pratyush, Selina Kirubakar
Faculty Mentor: Atieh Moridi
Selected: 2021
Crowdfunding Website
AMAS Project Website
Web Article: “Students win NASA challenge with 3D-printer smart sensor“
A recorded USRC Tech Talk on this topic
AVIATA: Autonomous Vehicle Infinite Time Apparatus (University of California, Los Angeles)
A drone swarm system capable of carrying a payload in the air indefinitely
Student Team: Chirag Singh (Team Lead), Ziyi Peng, Bhrugu Mallajosyula, Willy Teav, David Thorne, James Tseng, Eric Wong, Axel Malahieude, Ryan Nemiroff, Yuchen Yao, Lisa Foo
Faculty Mentor: Jeff Eldredge
Selected: 2020
Crowdfunding Website
AVIATA Project Website
A recorded USRC Tech Talk on AVIATA
The recorded poster session at the TACP Showcase 2021
Redundant Flight Control System for BVLOS UAV Operations (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University)
A redundant flight control system as a “back-up” to the primary flight computer to enhance safety of sUAS
Student Team: Robert Moore (Team Lead), Joseph Ayd, and Todd Martin
Faculty Mentor: John Robbins
Selected: 2020
Crowdfunding Website
Web Articles: “NASA Web Article“; “Drone Innovation Top Embry-Riddle Entrepreneurship Competition“
Follow the team’s progress at: https://www.facebook.com/Assured Autonomy
A recorded USRC Tech Talk on this topic
The recorded poster session at the TACP Showcase 2021
Multi-Mode Hybrid Unmanned Delivery System: Combining Fixed-Wing and Multi-Rotor Aircraft with Ground Vehicles (Rutgers University)
Extending drone delivery distance with a multi-mode hybrid delivery system
Student Team: Paul Wang (Team Lead), Nolan Angelia, Muhammet Ali Gungor
Faculty Mentor: Onur Bilgen
Selected: 2020
Crowdfunding Website
A recorded USRC Tech Talk on this topic
The recorded poster session at the TACP Showcase 2021
AVIS: Active Vortex Inducing System for Flow Separation Control to Improve Airframe Efficiency (Georgia Institute of Technology)
Use an array of vortex generators that can be adjusted throughout flight to increase wing efficiency
Student Team: Michael Gamarnik (Team Lead), Shiva Khanna Yamamoto, Noah Mammen, Tommy Schrager, Bethe Newgent
Faculty Mentor: Kelly Griendling
Selected: 2020
Go to AVIS team site
A recorded USRC Tech Talk on AVIS
The recorded poster session at the TACP Showcase 2021
NASA Web Article
Hybrid Airplanes – An Optimum and Modular Approach (California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo)
Model and test powertrain to maximize the efficiency of hybrid airplanes
Student Team: Nicholas Ogden (Team Lead), Joseph Shy, Brandon Bartlett, Ryker Bullis, Chino Cruz, Sara Entezar, Aaron Li, Zach Yamauchi
Faculty Mentor: Paulo Iscold
Selected: 2019
A recorded USRC Tech Talk on this topic
The recorded poster session at the TACP Showcase 2021
ATLAS Air Transportation (South Dakota State University)
A multipurpose, automated drone capable of comfortably lifting the weight of an average person
Student Team: Isaac Smithee (Team Lead), Wade Olson, Nicolas Runge, Ryan Twedt, Anthony Bachmeier, Matthew Berg, Sterling Berg
Faculty Mentors: Marco Ciarcia, Todd Letcher
Selected: 2019
A recorded USRC Tech Talk #1 and USRC Tech Talk #2 on ATLAS
The recorded poster session at the TACP Showcase 2021
Software-Defined GPS Augmentation Network for UAS Navigation (University Of Oklahoma, Norman)
A novel solution of enhanced GPS navigation for unmanned aerial vehicles
Student Team: Robert Rucker (Team Lead), Alex Zhang, Jakob Fusselman, Matthew GilliamMentors: Dr. Yan (Rockee) Zhang (Faculty Mentor), Dr Hernan Suarez (Team Technical Mentor)
Faculty Mentors: Marco Ciarcia, Todd Letcher
Selected: 2019
Crowdfunding Website
A recorded USRC Tech Talk on this topic
The recorded poster session at the TACP Showcase 2021
UAV Traffic Information Exchange Network (Purdue University)
A blockchain-inspired secure, scalable, distributed, and efficient communication framework to support large scale UAV operations
Student Team: Hsun Chao (Team Lead) and Apoorv Maheshwari
Faculty Mentors: Daniel DeLaurentis (Faculty Mentor), Shashank Tamaskar
Selected: 2018
Web Article: “Student-developed communication network for UAVs interests NASA“
The recorded poster session at the TACP Showcase 2021
University Student Research Challenge
University Leadership Initiative
Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program
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Share Details Last Updated Apr 03, 2025 EditorLillian GipsonContactJim Bankejim.banke@nasa.gov Related TermsArtemis II Insignia Honors All
Artemis II Insignia Honors All
The four astronauts who will be the first to fly to the Moon under NASA’s Artemis campaign have designed an emblem to represent their mission that references both their distant destination and the home they will return to. The crew unveiled their patch in this April 2, 2025, photo.
The crew explained the patch’s symbolism, and its play on the abbreviation of Artemis II to AII, with the following description: The Artemis II test flight begins when a mighty team launches the first crew of the Artemis generation. This patch designates the mission as “AII,” signifying not only the second major flight of the Artemis campaign, but also an endeavor of discovery that seeks to explore for all and by all. Framed in Apollo 8’s famous Earthrise photo, the scene of the Earth and the Moon represents the dual nature of human spaceflight, both equally compelling: The Moon represents our exploration destination, focused on discovery of the unknown. The Earth represents home, focused on the perspective we gain when we look back at our shared planet and learn what it is to be uniquely human. The orbit around Earth highlights the ongoing exploration missions that have enabled Artemis to set sights on a long-term presence on the Moon and soon, Mars.
Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen from CSA (Canadian Space Agency), will venture around the Moon in 2026 on Artemis II. The 10-day flight will test NASA’s foundational human deep space exploration capabilities, the SLS rocket, Orion spacecraft, for the first time with astronauts. Through Artemis, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.
Text credit: Brandi Dean, Courtney Beasley
Image credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz
Artemis II Insignia Honors All
The four astronauts who will be the first to fly to the Moon under NASA’s Artemis campaign have designed an emblem to represent their mission that references both their distant destination and the home they will return to. The crew unveiled their patch in this April 2, 2025, photo.
The crew explained the patch’s symbolism, and its play on the abbreviation of Artemis II to AII, with the following description: The Artemis II test flight begins when a mighty team launches the first crew of the Artemis generation. This patch designates the mission as “AII,” signifying not only the second major flight of the Artemis campaign, but also an endeavor of discovery that seeks to explore for all and by all. Framed in Apollo 8’s famous Earthrise photo, the scene of the Earth and the Moon represents the dual nature of human spaceflight, both equally compelling: The Moon represents our exploration destination, focused on discovery of the unknown. The Earth represents home, focused on the perspective we gain when we look back at our shared planet and learn what it is to be uniquely human. The orbit around Earth highlights the ongoing exploration missions that have enabled Artemis to set sights on a long-term presence on the Moon and soon, Mars.
Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen from CSA (Canadian Space Agency), will venture around the Moon in 2026 on Artemis II. The 10-day flight will test NASA’s foundational human deep space exploration capabilities, the SLS rocket, Orion spacecraft, for the first time with astronauts. Through Artemis, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.
Text credit: Brandi Dean, Courtney Beasley
Image credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz
Sols 4498-4499: Flexing Our Arm Once Again
- Curiosity Home
- Science
- News and Features
- Multimedia
- Mars Missions
- Mars Home
3 min read
Sols 4498-4499: Flexing Our Arm Once Again NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image using its Left Navigation Camera on March 30, 2025 — Sol 4496, or Martian day 4,496 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 20:12:48 UTC. NASA/JPL-CaltechWritten by Conor Hayes, Graduate Student at York University
Earth planning date: Monday, March 31, 2025
Planning today began with two pieces of great news. First, our 50-meter drive (about 164 feet) from the weekend plan completed successfully, bringing us oh-so-close to finally driving out of the small canyon that we’ve been traversing through and toward the “boxwork” structures to our southwest. Second, we passed our “Slip Risk Assessment Process” (SRAP), confirming that all six of Curiosity’s wheels are parked firmly on solid ground. Avid readers of this blog will be familiar with last week’s SRAP challenges, which prevented us from using the rover’s arm for the entire week. With a green light on SRAP, we were finally able to put our suite of contact science instruments back to work today.
The arm gets to work early on the first sol of this plan, with an APXS integration on “Los Osos,” a bedrock target in our workspace, after it has been cleared of the ubiquitous Martian dust by DRT. The rest of our arm activities consist of a series of MAHLI observations later in the afternoon, both of Los Osos and “Black Star Canyon.”
Of course, just because we managed to get contact science in this plan doesn’t mean we’re letting our remote sensing instruments take a break. In fact, we have more than two hours of remote sensing, split between the two sols and the two science teams (Geology and Mineralogy [GEO] and Atmosphere and Environment [ENV]). GEO will be using Mastcam to survey both the highs and the lows of the terrain, with mosaics of “Devil’s Gate” (some stratigraphy in a nearby ledge) and some small troughs close to the rover. We’ll also be getting even more Mastcam images of “Gould Mesa,” an imaging target in many previous plans, as we continue to drive past it. ChemCam gets involved with a LIBS observation of “Fishbowls,” which will also be imaged by Mastcam, a post-drive AEGIS, and two RMI mosaics of Gould Mesa and “Torote Bowl,” which was also imaged over the weekend.
ENV’s activities are fairly typical for this time of year as Curiosity monitors the development of the Aphelion Cloud Belt (ACB) with several Navcam cloud movies, as well as seasonal changes in the amount of dust in and above Gale with Navcam line-of-sight observations and Mastcam taus. We’ll also be taking a Navcam dust devil movie to see if we can catch any cold-weather wind-driven dust movement. ENV also filled this plan with their usual set of REMS, RAD, and DAN observations.
The drive planned today is significantly shorter than the one over the weekend, at just about 10 meters (about 33 feet). This is because we’re driving up a small ridge, which limits our ability to see what’s on the other side. Although our rover knows how to keep itself safe, we still prefer not to drive through terrain that we can’t see in advance, if it can be avoided. Once we’ve got a better eye on what lies in front of us, we will hopefully be able to continue our speedy trek toward the boxwork structures.
Share Details Last Updated Apr 03, 2025 Related Terms Explore More 2 min read Sols 4495-4497: Yawn, Perched, and Rollin’Article
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Sols 4498-4499: Flexing Our Arm Once Again
- Curiosity Home
- Science
- News and Features
- Multimedia
- Mars Missions
- Mars Home
3 min read
Sols 4498-4499: Flexing Our Arm Once Again NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image using its Left Navigation Camera on March 30, 2025 — Sol 4496, or Martian day 4,496 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 20:12:48 UTC. NASA/JPL-CaltechWritten by Conor Hayes, Graduate Student at York University
Earth planning date: Monday, March 31, 2025
Planning today began with two pieces of great news. First, our 50-meter drive (about 164 feet) from the weekend plan completed successfully, bringing us oh-so-close to finally driving out of the small canyon that we’ve been traversing through and toward the “boxwork” structures to our southwest. Second, we passed our “Slip Risk Assessment Process” (SRAP), confirming that all six of Curiosity’s wheels are parked firmly on solid ground. Avid readers of this blog will be familiar with last week’s SRAP challenges, which prevented us from using the rover’s arm for the entire week. With a green light on SRAP, we were finally able to put our suite of contact science instruments back to work today.
The arm gets to work early on the first sol of this plan, with an APXS integration on “Los Osos,” a bedrock target in our workspace, after it has been cleared of the ubiquitous Martian dust by DRT. The rest of our arm activities consist of a series of MAHLI observations later in the afternoon, both of Los Osos and “Black Star Canyon.”
Of course, just because we managed to get contact science in this plan doesn’t mean we’re letting our remote sensing instruments take a break. In fact, we have more than two hours of remote sensing, split between the two sols and the two science teams (Geology and Mineralogy [GEO] and Atmosphere and Environment [ENV]). GEO will be using Mastcam to survey both the highs and the lows of the terrain, with mosaics of “Devil’s Gate” (some stratigraphy in a nearby ledge) and some small troughs close to the rover. We’ll also be getting even more Mastcam images of “Gould Mesa,” an imaging target in many previous plans, as we continue to drive past it. ChemCam gets involved with a LIBS observation of “Fishbowls,” which will also be imaged by Mastcam, a post-drive AEGIS, and two RMI mosaics of Gould Mesa and “Torote Bowl,” which was also imaged over the weekend.
ENV’s activities are fairly typical for this time of year as Curiosity monitors the development of the Aphelion Cloud Belt (ACB) with several Navcam cloud movies, as well as seasonal changes in the amount of dust in and above Gale with Navcam line-of-sight observations and Mastcam taus. We’ll also be taking a Navcam dust devil movie to see if we can catch any cold-weather wind-driven dust movement. ENV also filled this plan with their usual set of REMS, RAD, and DAN observations.
The drive planned today is significantly shorter than the one over the weekend, at just about 10 meters (about 33 feet). This is because we’re driving up a small ridge, which limits our ability to see what’s on the other side. Although our rover knows how to keep itself safe, we still prefer not to drive through terrain that we can’t see in advance, if it can be avoided. Once we’ve got a better eye on what lies in front of us, we will hopefully be able to continue our speedy trek toward the boxwork structures.
Share Details Last Updated Apr 03, 2025 Related Terms Explore More 2 min read Sols 4495-4497: Yawn, Perched, and Rollin’Article
3 days ago
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6 days ago
2 min read Sols 4493-4494: Just Looking Around
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6 days ago
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Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited…
All Mars Resources
Explore this collection of Mars images, videos, resources, PDFs, and toolkits. Discover valuable content designed to inform, educate, and inspire,…
Rover Basics
Each robotic explorer sent to the Red Planet has its own unique capabilities driven by science. Many attributes of a…
Mars Exploration: Science Goals
The key to understanding the past, present or future potential for life on Mars can be found in NASA’s four…
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NASA Astronaut Chris Williams Assigned to First Space Station Mission
NASA astronaut Chris Williams will embark on his first mission to the International Space Station, serving as a flight engineer and Expedition 74 crew member.
Williams will launch aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft in November, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev. After launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the trio will spend approximately eight months aboard the orbiting laboratory.
During his expedition, Williams will conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations that help prepare humans for future space missions and benefit humanity.
Selected as a NASA astronaut in 2021, Williams graduated with the 23rd astronaut class in 2024. He began training for his first space station flight assignment immediately after completing initial astronaut candidate training.
Williams was born in New York City, and considers Potomac, Maryland, his hometown. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Physics from Stanford University in California and a doctorate in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, where his research focused on astrophysics. Williams completed Medical Physics Residency training at Harvard Medical School in Boston. He was working as a clinical physicist and researcher at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston when he was selected as an astronaut.
For more than two decades, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and making research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. The station is a critical testbed for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight and to expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit. As commercial companies focus on providing human space transportation services and destinations as part of a robust low Earth orbit economy, NASA is able to more fully focus its resources on deep space missions to the Moon and Mars.
Learn more about International Space Station research and operations at:
-end-
Josh Finch / Claire O’Shea
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / claire.a.o’shea@nasa.gov
Chelsey Ballarte
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
chelsey.n.ballarte@nasa.gov
