Oh, would it not be absurd if there was no objective state?
What if the unobserved always waits, insubstantial,
till our eyes give it shape?

— Peter Hammill

NASA - Breaking News

Official National Aeronautics and Space Administration Website

URL: https://www.nasa.gov

Updated: 17 hours 49 min ago

NASA’s LRO Observes 2024 Solar Eclipse Shadow

Mon, 04/15/2024 - 11:45am

2 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

As the Moon blotted out the Sun to viewers across the United States during the April 8 solar eclipse, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) captured an image from some 223,000 miles away of the highly anticipated celestial event.

This spectacular image showing the Moon’s shadow on Earth’s surface was acquired during a 20-second period starting at 2:59 p.m. EDT (18:59:19 UTC) on April 8, 2024, by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. When LRO acquired this image, the shadow of the Moon was centered near Cape Girardeau, Mo.NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University

There are three cameras that comprise the LRO camera (LROC) suite: two Narrow Angle Cameras (NAC) and one Wide Angle Camera. The Earth’s image with the shadow in it was acquired by one of the two Narrow Angle Cameras.

The LROC Narrow Angle Cameras are line scanner cameras: they only have one line of pixels, and images are built up line-by-line by the spacecraft’s motion as it orbits the Moon.

Acquiring an image of Earth requires the spacecraft to rapidly rotate to build up the image.

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) image of the eclipse shadow over Mexico and the southern U.S. was captured starting at 2:59 p.m. EDT (18:59:19 UTC) on April 8, 2024.NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University

LRO is managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Launched on June 18, 2009, LRO has collected a treasure trove of data with its seven powerful instruments, making an invaluable contribution to our knowledge about the Moon. NASA is returning to the Moon with commercial and international partners to expand human presence in space and bring back new knowledge and opportunities.

By Mark Robinson and edited by Nancy Neal Jones

Media Contacts

Nancy Neal Jones
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

Share Details Last Updated Apr 15, 2024 Related Terms

Categories: NASA

NASA Selects New Crew for Next Simulated Mars Journey

Mon, 04/15/2024 - 10:18am

NASA has selected four new crew members to partake in a simulated mission to Mars inside the agency’s Human Exploration Research Analog. From left are Jason Lee, Stephanie Navarro, Shareef Al Romaithi, and Piyumi Wijesekara.Credit: C7M2 Crew

NASA has selected a new crew of four volunteers to participate in a simulated mission to Mars within a habitat at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Jason Lee, Stephanie Navarro, Shareef Al Romaithi, and Piyumi Wijesekara will step into the agency’s Human Exploration Research Analog, or HERA, on Friday, May 10. Once inside, the team will live and work like astronauts for 45 days. The crew will exit the facility on June 24 after they “return” to Earth. Jose Baca and Brandon Kent are this mission’s alternate crew members.

HERA enables scientists to study how crew members adapt to isolation, confinement, and remote conditions before NASA sends astronauts on deep space missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Crew members will carry out scientific research and operational tasks throughout their simulated mission to the Red Planet, including a “walk” on Mars’s surface using virtual reality. They will also experience increasing communication delays lasting up to five minutes each way with Mission Control Center as they “near” Mars.

This crew is the second group of volunteers to participate in a simulated Mars mission in HERA this year. The most recent crew completed its HERA mission on March 18. Two other missions will follow this year, with the final HERA crew slated to wrap up on Dec. 20.

In a first for HERA, one crew member, Shareef Al Romaithi, hails from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and will participate in the mission through a partnership between NASA and the UAE’s Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC).

As with the previous HERA mission this year, NASA’s Human Research Program is conducting 18 human health studies during the mission. The experiments will evaluate the physiological, behavioral, and psychological responses of crew members in an environment similar to what astronauts will face on a trip to Mars. Seven of these studies are collaborations with the MBRSC and the European Space Agency (ESA). Insights gleaned from the studies will allow researchers to develop and test strategies aimed at helping astronauts overcome obstacles on long missions deep into space.

The primary crew of the upcoming mission is:

Primary Crew

Jason Lee

Jason Lee is an associate professor-in-residence at the University of Connecticut’s School of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Manufacturing Engineering. He teaches thermal fluids, manufacturing, and sports engineering courses. He also serves as his university’s mechanical engineering undergraduate director and its NASA Connecticut Space Grant Consortium campus director.

Lee holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and master’s and doctorate degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. His graduate research focused on manufacturing processes involving heat transfer and the characterization of heat shielding materials. He completed a postdoctoral degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, studying high-strength nanofibers.

Lee lives in Boston. In his spare time, he enjoys running, martial arts, chess, and indoor rock climbing. He also likes to watch movies and plays, try new cuisines, spend time with friends, and visit his nephew and nieces.

Stephanie Navarro

Stephanie Navarro is a space operations officer in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. She has more than a decade of prior enlisted service in the Air National Guard and was deployed in support of Operation Freedom Sentinel to help provide secure communication capabilities in the Middle East. She began her civilian career as an information technology specialist for the U.S. Army, providing systems engineering for data-center modernization efforts in Hawaii. Navarro currently works at Northrop Grumman as a senior systems engineer, specializing in satellite communication programs.

Navarro earned her bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Central Florida in Orlando. While pursuing her undergraduate studies, she served the constituents of Florida as a congressional intern for both the U.S. House and Senate. She recently completed a model-based systems engineering certificate program from Caltech and is working toward a master’s degree in cybersecurity from the University of Maryland Global Campus.

Born and raised by Ecuadorian parents in Miami, Navarro has strong ties to her cultural heritage. She enjoys spending time with her family, traveling the world, studying for her pilot’s license, and immersing herself in various culinary experiences. During her spare time, she is either working out, at the beach, or in the air flying a Cessna 172. She lives in Orlando, Florida.

Shareef Al Romaithi

Shareef Al Romaithi is a pilot with more than 16 years of experience in the airline industry, including more than 9,000 flight hours on multiple Airbus and Boeing aircraft. Currently, he commands Boeing 777 and 787 aircraft as a captain, underscoring his expertise and leadership in aviation.

Al Romaithi received a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering and three master’s degrees from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, focusing on aerospace and aviation management, safety systems, and space operations, respectively. He went on to earn a doctorate degree in aviation from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2014, specializing in safety systems and human factors. These degrees were based at the university’s Dayton Beach campus, except for the master’s focusing on space operations, which was from the university’s worldwide campus. He is the world’s youngest and eighth graduate to attain a doctorate degree in aviation.

Al Romaithi currently lives in Abu Dhabi, UAE. He joins HERA through a partnership between NASA and MBRSC. In his free time, he enjoys fishing, reading, and traveling.

Piyumi Wijesekara

Piyumi Wijesekara is a postdoctoral research scientist in the Radiation Biophysics Laboratory at NASA Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. Her research focuses on developing tissue models to investigate the effects of spaceflight stressors, including ionizing radiation and lunar dust on the human respiratory system.

Wijesekara earned her bachelor’s degree in bioengineering from the University of California, San Diego, and her master’s and doctorate degrees in biomedical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Penn. Her doctoral research focused on stem cell and organ engineering, with an emphasis on engineering lung models that mimic human lung physiology, to study respiratory diseases.

Wijesekara currently lives in San Francisco. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, running along the San Francisco Bay, reading, hiking, volunteering at the food pantry, and attending concerts and musicals.

Alternate Crew

Jose Baca

Jose Baca is an assistant professor in the department of engineering at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. His research interests involve designing modular systems, enhancing the capabilities of uncrewed autonomous vehicles, and coordinating multi-robot teams through complex environments.

Baca received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Instituto Tecnologico de Matamoros in Mexico. He then earned a master’s degree in mechatronics from the University of Applied Science of Aachen, Germany, and a doctorate degree in automation and robotics from the Universidad Politecnica in Madrid, Spain.

Baca went on to work as a postdoctoral researcher in the computer science department at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. There, he became involved in a research project funded by NASA that sought to develop a reconfigurable robotic system capable of transforming itself to overcome obstacles and explore unknown scenarios. Through this work, he also began undertaking projects aimed at supporting astronauts during long-duration space missions.

In his free time, Baca promotes science, technology, engineering, and math activities for students in elementary school through college, with a particular focus on engineering and robotics. He lives in Corpus Christi, Texas and enjoys exercising, exploring new places, experiencing new cultures and cuisines, and spending time with family.

Brandon Kent

Brandon Kent is a medical director in the pharmaceutical industry, supporting ongoing global efforts to develop new therapies across cancer types.

Kent holds bachelor’s degrees in both biochemistry and biology from North Carolina State University in Raleigh. He earned his doctorate in biomedicine from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, where his work primarily focused on how genetic factors regulate early embryonic development and cancer development.

Following graduate school, Kent moved into scientific and medical communications consulting in oncology, with a primary focus on clinical trial data disclosures, scientific exchange, and medical education initiatives.

Kent and his wife have two daughters. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his daughters, flying private aircraft, hiking, staying physically fit, and reading. He lives in Kinnelon, New Jersey.

____

NASA’s Human Research Program

NASA’s Human Research Program, or HRP, pursues the best methods and technologies to support safe, productive human space travel. Through science conducted in laboratories, ground-based analogs, and the International Space Station, HRP scrutinizes how spaceflight affects human bodies and behaviors. Such research drives HRP’s quest to innovate ways that keep astronauts healthy and mission-ready as space travel expands to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Explore More 5 min read NASA Shares Medical Expertise with New Space Station Partners Article 6 days ago 6 min read From NASA’s First Astronaut Class to Artemis II: The Importance of Military Jet Pilot Experience Article 6 days ago 14 min read Commercial Space Frequently Asked Questions Article 1 week ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA

Living in Space

Artemis

Human Research Program

Space Station Research and Technology

Categories: NASA

The NRP Post

Sat, 04/13/2024 - 12:31am

Current partners are encouraged to share their stories with NASA and our local communities. If partners do not have the time to prepare a story for the NRP post, the NRP team encourages partners to submit their latest press release and it can be included in the Post!

Please submit your stories and high quality photos (including captions) to: theodore.r.triano@nasa.gov.

NRP Post Archives 2022 Issue 1 – IN THIS ISSUE Credits: Editor, Layout & Design by Ted Triano

4 | CMU Designed Satellite Launched Into Low-Earth Orbit
Brandon Lucia’s lab developed the Tartan-Artibeus-1 Satellite, the world’s first battery-less PocketQube satellite, deployed to low-Earth orbit aboard the SpaceX Transporter-3 Rocket

3 | CAL FIRE Operations at NASA Ames
CAL FIRE expands its firefighting and rescue operations at NASA Ames

6 | Breakthrough Initiatives and SETI Finding Signals
The blc1 signal is not alien – but it is a huge leap forward for SETI

10 | Hangar 1 Restoration Begins
Planetary Ventures began restoration efforts to Hangar 1 at NASA Ames

12 | RMV Develops ESD Evaluation Protocols
NASA Industry Partner Develops ESD Evaluation Protocols for Launch Integrity and CubeSat Startup Success

2021 Issue 3 – IN THIS ISSUE Credits: Editor, Layout & Design by Ted Triano

3 | Autonomous Systems and Robotics
Intelligent Robotics Group, USGS, and NOAA team demonstrate UAS streamflow mapping over the Sacramento River

4 | Iris Lunar Rover Meets Milestone for Flight
Ribbon cutting for new facility on the Center

6 | Innovatus Capital Partners teams with Verdigris Technologies
Verdigris teams with Capital Partners to reduce energy costs by bringing energy intelligence to its buildings

9 | USGS-Black Swift-NASA Partnership
USGS-Black Swift-NASA partnership to reduce volcanic hazards

12 | RMV Coming to you Virtually
Vermillion innovates a unique virtual platform in place of traditional “hands-on” learning

14 | NASA and USGS Partner to Measure
Stream Flow Remotely with UAS NASA and USGS are developing an autonomous UAS to map stream flow

2021 Issue 2 – IN THIS ISSUE Credits: Editor, Layout & Design by Ted Triano

3 | Farewell to Lauren Ladwig NASA Attorney
Mejghan Haider and the NRP Team wish great success to an amazing colleague and friend.

4 | California Air National Guard 129th
Rescue Wing – Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at Moffett Ribbon cutting for new facility on the Center.

6 | CMU Orbital Edge Computing
CMU creating the computing systems to get us to outer space.

8 |USGS Now has Earthquake Early Warning System
Entire U.S. west coast now has access to ShakeAlert® earthquake early warning.

10 |Breakthrough Initiatives Finding Low Mass Planets
Imaging low-mass planets within the habitable zone of Centauri.

2021 Issue 1 – IN THIS ISSUE Credits: Editor, Layout & Design by Ted Triano

3 | Geoffrey Ament of STC Receives NASA Ames Contractor of the Year Award
NASA recognizes Mr. Geoffrey Ament’s accomplishments at Ames Research Center

4 | CMU Reducing Interference
ECE researchers were awarded a $1M NSF grant to investigate new ways to avert interference

6 | Breakthrough Initiatives Help to Look for Life in the Clouds of Venus
Initiatives to fund study into search for primitive life in the clouds of Venus

8 |RMV’s Hands on Approach to Education on ESD
RMV’s in person and virtual classes on electrostatic discharge by Bob Vermillion

10 |USGS’s Study on the Movements of Smaller Earthquakes
Study by USGS on how smaller quakes can actually shake more aggressively

2020 Issue 2 – IN THIS ISSUE Credits: Edit, Layout & Design by Ted Triano

3 | RMV to Provide Virtual Training and Risk Mitigation of Covid 19
RMV training for space and defense material han- dling of electronics
4 | Made in Space Acquired by Redwire
SpaceNews announces Redwire acquisition of Made In Space

6 | Collaboration of CMU and Tech Giants in Silicon Valley
Students at the Silicon Valley campus of CMU collaborate with Tech Giants in Silicon Valley

8 | Breakthrough Invite Looking for Signs of Extraterrestrial Life
Thousands of new planets found by TESS will be scanned for “technosignatures” by Breakthrough Listen partner facilities across the globe

10 |AUVSI – One Giant Leap for Silicon Valley
AUVSI Brings Together Industry Heavy-Hitters for Technical Discussions at NASA AMES

12 |CMU-SV Orbital Edge Computing
CMU working on getting humanity into space

14 |Metis Presents at AIAA Scitech Forum 2020
Metis working with NASA assisting in US Coast Guard training

15 | NASA Ames Photo Ops
Photos from the NRP.

2020 Issue 1 – IN THIS ISSUE Credits: Editor, Layout & Design by Ted Triano

3 | NRP Welcomes New Partners
NASA Research Park welcomes new partners Flirtey and AUVSI Silicon Valley to Moffett Field.

4 | Making Tracks in the Desert
Carnegie Mellon University’s Catherine Pavlov testing space rovers in the Atacama Desert.

6 | Coronavirus: Tech Firm Bloom Energy Fixes Broken U.S. Ventilators
Bloom Energy is helping out the effort in the United States by fixing broken ventilators.

8 | Made in Space 3D Printing in Orbit
Made in Space discusses the expanding use of 3D printing to NASA’s Jim Bridenstine.

10 | Producing Hydrogen Peroxide When and Where it’s Needed
Does a material exist that can be used to selectively, reliably, and efficiently form hydrogen peroxide whenever and wherever it’s needed?

12 | Bloom Energy Helps Customers Prepare for Wildfire Season
Bloom Energy launches quick deploy microgrid Program for PSPS Readiness and Power Outage Map.

14 | Eugene Tu Announces New Appointment
Eugene L. Tu announces the appointment of Verron “Ron” Brade as Ames Center Associate Director.

15 | NASA Ames Photo Ops
Photos from the NRP.

Summer 2019 – IN THIS ISSUE Credits: Editor, Layout & Design by Ted Triano

2 | USGS Ribbon Cutting
USGS ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 10th is key milestone for USGS move to Moffett Field
3 | NASA Administrator Visits SimLabs
Jim Bridenstine visits SimLabs flight simulators
5 | NASA Invests in 3D Printing
3D Printing in the aviation field, a future that NASA and CMU wish to be on the forefront
7 | Bob Vermillion Inducted into Military Packaging Hall of Fame
The National Institute of Packaging honor Bob Vermillion with induction into Military Packaging Hall of Fame
9 | Verdigris Helping Save Energy
New technology in familiar app makes it even easier for customers to save energy
11 | CMU Working on Buffering, Burstables, and Better Websites
Joe-Wong and Jiang are working on issues that can help everyone improve their experience on the web
13 | Eugene Tu Announces New Appointments
Janice Fried joined the Director’s staff as Mejghan Haider was appointed the Director of the NASA Research Park
14 | NASA Ames Photo Ops
Photos from the NRP

Winter 2019 – IN THIS ISSUE Credits:Editor, Layout & Design by Ted Triano

COVER | USGS & NASA
Collaboration Dr. Jim Reilly, Director of USGS visited Ames on to discus collaborative opportunities with Dr. Tu Director of NASA Ames
2 | Planetary Ventures Building at NASA Ames to Build Bay View Campus
Building of new Bay View Campus on track
3 | Airmap Working on Drone Recognition
Airmap continues to make mass use of drones a reality
5 | Bloom Energy
A closer look at Bloom Enegery
7 | RMV iNARTE® ESD Aerospace &
Defense Engineer
RMW receives highest level of ESD certification and training for NASA
9 | Verdigris Helping Save Energy
Verdigris Technologies announces latest smart building advancement
11 | Vasper – A Better Way to Workout
Vasper showing how a shorter workout using advanced technology is a better workout
13 | Bay Aera Environmental Research Institute
Numerical Model Simulates Entire Evolution of a Solar Flare for First Time
14 | NASA Ames Photo Ops
Photos from the NRP

Summer 2018 – IN THIS ISSUE Credits:Editor, Layout & Design by Ted Triano

1 | NASA’s Silicon Valley Housing
Development NASA is narrowing the search for the contractors to build on its Silicon Valley housing development
1 | CMU Team in NASA Mars Ice
Drilling Competition CMU looking to collaborate with NASA in Mars ice drilling
2 | New Partners
NRP Welcomes
2 | Orange Silicon Valley Finds Savings with Verdigris
Verdigris saving companies on energy costs in Silicon Valley
3 | Made In Space Wins Next-Gen
‘Vulcan” Contract Made In Space to make metallic components in space
4 | CMU – Footsteps to Preventing Falls
CMU coming up with technology to help prevent falls
5 | Boeing Investing in
Singularity University Boeing investing in global learning and innovation with Singularity University
5 | Interesting Podcasts
USGS has some interesting pod-casts you should hear
7 | Boreal & Stanford
Exploring Extreme Space Collaboration to explore extreme space environments
8 | Bob Vermillion Receives Lifetime Achievement Award
Bob Vermillion receives James A. Russell Lifetime Achievement Award
9 | Medal of Honor on Display
Moffett Museum has Metal of Honor on display
10 | Made In Space Bid on Archinaut
Made In Space working on bid for next phase of Archinaut Development Program
11 | Rosenbert’s Mission at CMU
Rosenberg is on a mission at CMU’s Silicon Valley campus
12 | Photo Ops
Photos from the NRP

Fall 2017 – IN THIS ISSUE Credits:Editor, Layout & Design by Ted Triano

1 | New Chapter for NanoRacks
NanoRacks and Ixion team up to explore space together
1 | Made In Space 3D Printing
Made In Space continues to prove 3D printing in space does work including testing in a “space-like environment”
3 | Singularity University (SU) Announces SU Ventures
Partners being recognized in Spinoff 2017
4 | Eugene Tu Announces NASA Ames Deputy Center Director
Carol Carrol announced as new Deputy Center Director
5 | RVM Helping ONE NASA Program Managers
NanoRacks announced as Small Business Prime Contractor of the year
6 | CMU-SV Mentor Teens in Hackathon
CMU-SV working with students to make a better society through coding
7 | Moon Express & NanoRacks Working Together Beyond Earth Orbit
Looking for new breakthroughs
8 | USGS Using Real-Time Hydrologic Data
Spinoff features Verdigris and its energy conservation technology at Ames
8 | NanoRacks at Dubai Expo 2020
NanoRacks to attend Dubai Expo in 2020
9 | AirMap & Kespry and Drones
AirMap and Kespry team up on drone research and development
10 | Drones in the Matrix
CMU teaching drones to fly
12 | CMU and USGS Working Together
Crowd-sourced Geodesy to study earthquakes

Fall 2016 – IN THIS ISSUE Credits:Editor, Layout & Design by Ted Triano

1 | Tools of Change
GSP Class talking technology. Where we are now and where it will take us in the future.
1 | First Commercial Interplanetary Mission
Deep Space Industries planning first commercial interplanetary mission
2 | SkyTran Bridge Loan
30 Mil series B financing
3 | Global Entrepreneurship
Lecture panel for 2016 a success
4 | Optical Fiber in Microgravity
Made In Space at the forefront of technologies in microgravity
5 | CMU-SV Wireless to the Rescue
When the wires go down CMU and its drones are there to fix the problem
7 | Wireless Emergency Alert Technology
CMU Working with FCC for Emergency Wireless Alerts
10 | Modern Requirements Management
CMU Teaching future leaders for Fortune 100 companies
11 | CMU-SV’s Welcomes Vivek Wadhwa
Vivek Wadhwa Joins Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley
12 | Geo Cosmo Honored
GeoCosmo honored at NASA Research Park
12 | Jason Dunn
Jason presented the future of making things in space
12 | Photo Recognition
NRP Photos and Recognition

Spring 2016 – IN THIS ISSUE Credits:Editor, Layout & Design by Ted Triano

1 | Next Generation Space Manufacturing Program
Made In Space chosen to work on next generation of space manufacturing
1 | 3D Printer to Go Into Space
Made In Space to put printer into Internation Space Station
2 | New Partners
NRP Welcomes
2 | Appointment of Janice Fried 
Ms. Janice Fried appointed as Director of the NASA Research Park
3 | Energy Tracker by Verdigris
Verdigris announces newest building intelligence platform: Energy Tracker
4 | NASA, Aerodynamics & Sports Balls
Dr. Rabindra Mehta, chief of the Experimental Aero-Physics lecture on sports ball aerodynamics
5 | Carnegie Mellon University – SV 
Partner with Cheetah Mobile to improve mobile advertising
6 | NRP Showcased
NRP showcased in Spinoff Magazine 2016
7 | CMU-SVʼs Karishma Shah
Karishma Show Honored with Forbes 30 Under 30 2016
9 | DMI Brings Wireless to Nepal 
DMI helping Nepal bring communication back after earthquake
10 | Making History Again
Made Ins Space featured on NBC Bay Area
11 | NASA Ames Hosts GIDEP
NASA Ames hosts GIDEP for RMV site visit
11 | Connect 2016 a Big Hit
Big ideas make a big hit for Connect 2016

Spring 2015 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Spring 2015

1 | Messages from Charles Bolden
Please Welcome Deputy Administrator Dava Newman & Announcement of New Ames Center Director
1 | Messages from Center Director
Selection of NASA Ames Research Center Deputy Center Director
2 | New Partners
NRP Welcomes
2 | NASA Research Park
NASA Research Park Wins Bright Idea Award
3 | SETI Institute
Pascal Lee Wins Children’s Book Prize
4 | Moon Express
An Audacious Plan to Mine the Surface of the Moon
6 | Rhombus Power Inc.
Frost & Sullivan Recognizes Rhombus as New Product Innovation Leader
6 | Rhombus Power Inc.
Mercury Headed to International Space Station
7 | NASA Research Park
NRP & DOC work together for National Event
8 | Singularity University
24-year-old Wins India’s First Smart City Contest; Winning Entry Focuses on Pollution Free Cities for India
10 | Singularity University
Google Pledges $3M to put Students through Singularity University Program
10 | Photozig
PepBlast Motion Pictures, the Slide Show Maker with Music, is Launched
11| Vasper
Liquid Cooling Technology Increases Exercise Efficiency
12 | RMV Technology Group LLC
NRP Research Center Veteran Owned Company Receives SBA Business Award & NIPHLE Packaging Engineering Award
13| Scanadu
Scanadu Raises $35 Million From Fosun, Tencent for Its Health Scanner
13| Made In Space
Made in Space, Now Taking Orders
14 | skyTran
skyTran™, Inc., Entered into an Agreement with Sustainable Systems of Colorado
15 | NeuroVigil
NeuroVigil Closes 2nd Financial Round
16 | NeuroVigil
Neurotech Goes Global: Tens of Thousands of Brains Coming Online

Summer 2014 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Summer 2014

Winter 2014 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Winter 2014

Summer 2013 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Summer 2013

1| 2013 West Summit
1| NASA’s IRIS Launched with Antennas from CMU-SV Startup X5 Systems
1| Made in Space Bringing 3D Printing to Space
2| New Partners
4| Managing Irrigation from Space 3 World’s First Mission to Moon’s South Pole
6| CMU-SV Director Martin Griss to Step Down, Continue as Research Scientist
7| Space Artists Converge on the NASA Research Park
8| CREST/SCU Program Recognized by the National Academy of Engineering
8| Santa Clara University and Space Portal Aerospace Innovation Events
9| NASA’s Newest Virtual Institute Celebrates First Anniversary
10| First Field Simulation of Human Exploration of Near-Earth Asteroids, Phobos, & Deimos
10| Mars Institute: Educating Future Mars Explorers
11| Bloom Energy in Japan
14| NewSpace 2013 and AIAA Joint Propulsion Conference
14| Verdigris Technologies Named Founder.org Winner
15| Real-Life ‘Star Trek’ Tricorder Project Raises $1 Million
17| Quantum Supercomputer
18| NASA ROSES Seagrass/Coral Reef Project
19| Singularity University’s Graduate Studies Program
20| RMV Technology Group Invited to Chair G-19 & G-21 Sub-Committee Packaging Engineering Working Groups

Spring 2013 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Spring 2013

1| Google Starting Construction on New Campus
1| BBC TV Visits NRP
2| New Partners
2| New Company in NRP Brings Back Former NASA Employee
3| BBC World News Launches New Series of Horizons
3| Space Portal Delivers
6| NASA Invites Media to Showcase of Solutions Finalists
7| May 23 Showcase of Solutions for Planetary Sustainability
7| What if You Could Mine the Moon?
9| Wattminder, Inc. Building Stem Education Resources
10| STC’s Education Outreach
11| Tibion’s Bionic Leg
12| NASA Ames and Swedish National Space Board Join Forces to Integrate and Test AAC Microtec 6U Satellite
12| PepBlast eCards App Approved by Apple iTunes App Store
13| First ICES Workshop Held Among USGS, NASA and CMU-SV
13| Newly Renovated Carnegie Mellon Innovations Laboratory Unveiled
14| M2Mi Celebrates 7 Years with NRP
15| Kentucky Space Announces Space Tango
15| NASA Pod Transports Are Close to Reality—in Tel Aviv
16| Intrinsyx Technologies Corp. Empowers Biological Research on the ISS
17| Chandah Collaborations Underway
18| University Associates Silicon Valley

Winter 2013 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Winter 2013

1| Singularity Hub Acquired! Now Part Of Singularity University
1| Personal Health Tricorders Made at NASA Ames
2| New Partners
2| NASA Research Park Post Editor’s Farewell
3| Peter Diamandis Inspires Crowd at December 2012 NRP Lecture
5| Carnegie Mellon University Silicon Valley Holds 3rd Annual DMI Workshop
5| Entrepreneurship Program at CMUSV Opens with Idea Workshop
6| CMUSV and NASA Researchers Map Underground Faults Using UAS
9| Wyle Employees Receive 2012 Agency Honor Award from NASA
10| Verdigris Technology Plans Smart Grid Shakeup with Building AI
11| AAC Microtec-Supported 1U CubeSat Successfully Launched from ISS in October
12| Mars Institute: We are Go for Mars
14| RMV Developments
15| IntraPoint Continues to Establish itself as the Global Leader in Enterprise Resiliency
15| ARCTek 3

Summer 2012 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Summer 2012

Spring 2012 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Spring 2012

Winter 2012 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Winter 2012

Summer 2011 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Summer 2011

Winter 2011 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Winter 2011

Summer 2010 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Summer 2010

Spring 2010 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Spring 2010

Winter 2009 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Winter 2009

1| NRP’s Center for Robotic Exploration and Space Technologies
1| SV STAR, Inc. brings Green Aviation Research to Ames
2| CREST Aerospace Innovation Competition
3| Next Generation Inventors Win $750,000 in Robotic Digging Competition
4| NASA Ames: Water Found on the Moon
5| NASA Partner to Revolutionize Personal Transportation
5| reQall, Evernote Work Together to Retrieve your Notes
6| Kris Kimel, Innovator, Educator, Visionary
6| Kentucky Space Part of Venture Involving Space Station
7| Responsive Access to Space Technology Exchange Coming to the NASA Research Park in 2010
8| University Associates-Silicon Valley, LLC Selects Team Led by TMG Partners and The Related Companies
8| University Associates – Silicon Valley LLC Delivering the Future, a Sustainable Community for Research, Education and Innovation
9| Scientists Conduct Successful First Test Flight of X-SCAV UAV
10| How Time Flies– Happy First Anniversary Airship Ventures!
11| NASA Conducts Airborne Science Aboard Zepplin Airship
12| Pascal Lee Delivers Mars Lecture, Part of NRP Public Lecture Series
13| Ecliptic CEO Ridenoure Draws Crowd for November LCROSS Lecture in NRP Public Lecture Series
13| NRP’s Green Trail Energy Supports Desert Rats
15| Students Celebrate Diwali on Campus
16| NRP Leaders Discuss STEM Education Initiatives
16| Dante Zeviar, VP Electric Technology, wishes everyone a Happy and Prosperous New Year from the KleenSpeed team!

Summer 2009 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Summer 2009

1| NASA Research Park Hosts Exploration and Sustainability EXPO
2| University Affiliates, LLC – RFQ Submittals Announcement
3| NRP and NASA HIghlights at Exploration and Sustainability EXPO
5| Santa Clara University Students Operate PharmaSat
5| KleenSpeed/Thruxar Electric Race Car Wins 1st Overall at Laguna Seca Alternative Vehicle Time Trials
6| Civilization in a Box
6| The Other Kind of Green (it’s about the money)
7| KleenSpeed – Does it Move You?
8| m2mi Helps Reboot Computing with the Magic and Beauty of Computer Science
8| LCROSS Spacecraft to Search for Water on the Moon
9| California Space Authority Unveils Plans to Support Lunar Rover Development
9| NewSpace 2009 Conference at NRP
10| Carnegie Mellon Names Martin L. Griss to Head Innovative Silicon Valley Campus
10| Second Age of Carnegie Mellon in Silicon Valley
12| 2009 NSTI Summer Scholars and Faculty Fellows
14| AV’s Zeppelin NT – Multi-tasking at its Best!
15| Singularity University Panel on Humanity’s Grand Challenges
16| The World’s Best and Brightest are Here — International Space University and Singularity University Sessions Underway
18| NRP Deputy Director Report from ISU HQ
18| Blue Agaves Planted by Bldg. 19
19| Hands-On with Electrostatic Discharge — ESD and Tribocharge Measurements at NASA’s Science Technology Showcase are for Kids, Too
19| Transportation Leaders Discuss Unimodal Personal Rapid Transit for NRP
19| Lunar Science Forum at NRP
20| Honors for reQall, Inc
20| KleenSpeed Board Announcement

Spring 2009 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Spring 2009

1| NASA, Universities Unveil Plans to Build New Campus at NASA Research Park
2| Looking for Water on the Moon
2| NRP Welcomes New Tenants
2| RMV Brings Electrostatic Mitigation Expertise to NRP
3| KleenSpeed Technologies, Inc. — a Mission to Develop Scalable Electric Propulsion Systems for the Transportation Industry
4| Driving Across Northwest Passage to Make Polar History
5| Tibion Corporation – Redefining Mobility
5| NRP Partner Tibion, Winner of Emerging Medical Device Award, Featured on ABC 7 News Robotic Knee Can Reprogram Brain
6| NASA Research Park Home to Newly Launched Singularity University
6| ISU Countdown – International Space University Space Studies Program 2009
7| Western Disaster Center Local Facilitator of ISU Summer Session Team Project
8| NASA and NRP Partner Google Launch Virtual Exploration of Mars
8| NRP’s UNCFSP-NSTI Information Technology and Emerging Technology (UNITE) Research Cluster arrives at NASA Ames Research Center
8| Exciting New Program for Faculty from Minority Institutions Comes to NASA Ames
10| NASA Ames and Airship Ventures Increase Cooperation
12| Sensor Andrew – Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley’s ‘Smartest’ Project
13| An Evolving Campus Constructing Facilities of the Future
14| Changene Lab Granted Australian Patent
14| UAV Collaborative Seeks FAA Approval for UAVs
15| The Latest in Technology from the NY Times — NRP’s reQall Adds Location-Based Reminders
16| NRP Presents “Exploration and Sustainability” EXPO
16| TopQuadrant Offers Webinars “Using SPARQL for Dynamic Business Applications”
16| International Space University Space Studies Program 2009: NASA Research Park NASA Ames Research Center
16| 2nd Annual Lunar Science Forum July 21–23, 2009

Fall 2008 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Fall 2008

1 | Ames and Airship Ventures Celebrate Moffett Field’s 75th Anniversary and Airship’s Return
2| NASA Ames Team Wins the San Jose Business Journal “Deal of the Year” Award for Google Lease
2| NRP Welcomes New Tenants
3| Tibion Wins Silicon Valley Emerging Technology Award (ETA) for Medical Devices
3| Intrinsyx Technologies Receives NASA Ames 2008 Award for Small Business Subcontractor of the Year
4| Intelligent Systems Research and Development Support Contract Goes to Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies (SGT, Inc.)
4| GaryAir Partners with Ames’ Flight Deck Display Research Lab (FDDRL)
5| Kentucky Space Celebrates Successful Launch
5| reQall Shines at Stanford Summit CEO Showcase
6| Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley Grads Toss Hats at NASA Research Park
6| CMIL’s MAX Goes to the Arctic Alone
8| Historic Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery at NASA Research Park
9| The Future Comes to NASA
10| A Challenging Golf Experience at Your Doorstep

Summer 2008 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Summer 2008

1| NRP Partners Shine at Yuri’s Night
1| NASA and Google Announce Lease at Ames Research Center
2| NRP Welcomes New Tenants
3| Airship Ventures and Moffett Field – a Natural Partnership
4| NASA’s Lunar Science Institute at NRP
5| Planners Collaborative, Inc. receives NASA Honor Award for Public Service Group Achievement
5| Tibion Collaborates with Stanford University’s Biomechanical Engineering Group
6| Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation and NASA Ames Collaboration In Full Swing
7| Apprion Names Mike Bradley CEO
7| NASA Ames Partners with m2mI for Small Satellite Development
8| Carnegie Mellon West Announces Launch of a new Full-time MS Software Engineering Program
8| Carnegie Mellon West and UC Berkeley Hosted One-Day Conference on The Mobile Future
10| UCSC Deeply Invested in Silicon Valley
10| UCSC and NASA: Allies in Innovation
11| Campus and Industry Representatives Discuss Benefits of Partnerships in Silicon Valley
12| NASA Research Park Historic Building 20 Restoration
14| LifeZig Personalized Reminiscence Video with Free Slideshows and Music for Individuals with Alzheimer’s and Dementia

Winter 2007-2008 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Winter 2007-2008

1| International Space Station National Lab Workshop “Going Where Our Intuition No Longer Applies”
1| Apprion Provides “Cheapsat” Communication
1| Nobel Laureate on NRP Lecture Panel
2| NASA Ames Spacecraft to Search for Lunar Water Ice
2| NRP Welcomes New Tenants
2| 21st Century Information Management at UCSC
3| UAV Collaborative at NRP
4| Yuri’s Night at NASA Ames Research Center
4| Kentucky Space Express Mission Update
5| Photozig Albums Express Receives “Killer Download” Award
6| Moffett Field Museum
10| Carnegie Mellon West Grads Toss Hats at NRP
10| Carnegie Mellon Tartan Racing Wins DARPA Urban Challenge and goes for Lunar X Prize
11| Carnegie Mellon Appoints Dr. Khalid Al-Ali Director of Research at West Coast Campus
11| Carnegie Mellon West & NASA Collaborate on Sub Vocal Control
12| CMIL’s Award-Winning Research Faculty
16| NRP Photos

Summer 2007- IN ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Summer 2007

Winter 2007 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Winter 2007

Summer 2006 – IN THIS ISSUE Photo:NRP Post Summer 2006

1| NASA Research Park Welcomes M2Mi
1| SPACE PORTAL your Friendly Front Door to Commercial Space
1| NASA Science and Technology Institute for Minority Institutions at NASA Research Park
2| NRP Welcomes New Tenants!
2| Photozig Releases the Ultimate Digital Photo Album for Consumer
2| Good News for Changene Patent Process
3| NASA AND U.S. Forest Service Test Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Wildfire Capabilities
3| NRP Annual Summer Picnic
4| Bigelow Spacecraft Carries NASA ‘Genebox’ for Test in Orbit
4| e4Xchange Corporation Obtains CA State Certification
5| Carnegie Mellon West
5| University of California Silicon Valley Center
5| UCSC regularly offers Information System Management (ISM) classes at NRP, Bldg. 19.
6| All NRP Partners are eligible to use the Ames Child Care Center
6| Upcoming Events
6| The Value Proposition for Space

Categories: NASA

The April 8 Total Solar Eclipse: Through the Eyes of NASA

Fri, 04/12/2024 - 3:04pm

5 Min Read The April 8 Total Solar Eclipse: Through the Eyes of NASA

A total solar eclipse is seen in Dallas on April 8, 2024. A total solar eclipse swept across a narrow portion of the North American continent from Mexico’s Pacific coast to the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, Canada. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of Central America and Europe.

Credits:
NASA/Keegan Barber

On April 8, 2024, the Moon’s shadow swept across North America, treating millions to a breathtaking view of a total solar eclipse. As the Moon passed in front of the Sun, it revealed the Sun’s wispy white outer atmosphere — the corona.

This composite image of multiple exposures shows the progression of a total solar eclipse in Dallas on April 8, 2024. NASA/Keegan Barber

Pictures of total solar eclipses are beautiful — they capture a moment happening so far away, yet feels so close at the same time. But being there in person, you experience it in 3D. The eclipse doesn’t just appear in the sky. You feel it all around you. The light slowly dims, then suddenly engulfs you in darkness from every angle, while the Sun’s corona emerges in the sky.

Although you know totality is coming, its arrival can still be overwhelming. For some people, their hearts race or their eyes well up with tears. You try to absorb everything you can in those minutes: from the corona, to the planets peeking out around the eclipse, to the temperature drop, to cheers of excitement from the community around you, even changes in animal behaviors.

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

Crowds react to the solar eclipse in Dallas; Carbondale, Illinois; and Indianapolis. Credits: Summer Lawrence, Laurie Elliott, and NASA/Rose Brunning

For years, people have reported how animals behave differently during eclipses. Birds may return to their nests, thinking it’s nighttime, or nocturnal animals begin to wake up. A NASA-funded project called Eclipse Soundscapes collected data from participants across the path who recorded the reactions of wildlife before, during, and after this celestial event.

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

Amy Van Artsdalen attaches a device to capture recordings of animal behavior before, during, and after the total solar eclipse. NASA/Joy Ng

Total solar eclipses are a great reminder that humans are animals — we, too, feel the strangeness that causes other animals to have unusual behaviors. When experiencing the sudden change to darkness, and the sudden restoration of light, it can feel eerie and special. The world returns to normal around you, but those minutes of totality were anything but.

This timelapse video shows the dimming of light during the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, in Dallas.
NASA/Rachel Lense

On April 8, millions of people gathered across the path of totality, including at 14 NASA “SunSpot” locations where attendees could speak to NASA experts and engage in educational activities. At many locations, visitors set up blankets, lawn chairs, and picnics as they prepared to watch the Sun turn into a crescent until its bright face completely disappeared.

Astronaut Reid Wiseman reacts to a guest dressed as an astronaut at the Kerrville eclipse festival in Kerrville, Texas, on Monday, April 8, 2024. Use the arrows to flip through different images from eclipse events across the path. NASA/Aubrey Gemignani

Guests visit the “Explore Humans in Space” exhibit during the Kerrville eclipse festival in Kerrville, Texas, on Monday, April 8, 2024. NASA/Aubrey Gemignani

Guests work on art projects during the Kerrville eclipse festival in Kerrville, Texas, on Monday, April 8, 2024. NASA/Aubrey Gemignani

Guests learn about the total solar eclipse from NASA staff at the Dallas Arboretum, on Monday, April 8, 2024, in Dallas. NASA/Keegan Barber

Crowds gather at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden as the solar eclipse begins on April 8, 2024. NASA/Abbey Interrante

Attendees at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway view NASA exhibits ahead of the total solar eclipse, Monday, April 8, 2024, in Indianapolis. NASA/Joel Kowsky

During totality, viewers could spot planets. In this view from Dallas, Venus and Jupiter were very bright. Their brief appearance in the middle of the day were reminders of Earth’s place in the solar system.

In Dallas, viewers were able to spot Venus and Jupiter during totality.
NASA/Abbey Interrante

Viewers could also see bright pink prominences flowing out from the Sun. Prominences are unstable clouds of plasma suspended above the Sun by strong magnetic forces. The prominences spotted during the eclipse were many times larger than Earth itself. It’s rare to be able to spot prominences from the ground unaided by a telescope, so seeing these prominences with just your eyes was a unique opportunity for those on the ground.

Baily’s Beads and solar prominences are seen just after totality in Dallas on Monday, April 8, 2024. NASA/Keegan Barber

While we were watching the eclipse from the ground, a NASA spacecraft was watching from above. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured this image of the Sun a few minutes before totality in Dallas at 1:37 p.m. CDT (18:37 UTC). From SDO’s position in space, the Sun was completely visible, while for people on Earth, the Sun was blocked by the Moon. The prominences seen in this image were what viewers on the ground were able to see with the naked eye.

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured this image of the Sun on April 8, 2024, a few minutes before totality in Dallas. NASA/SDO

Astronauts on the International Space Station also had an exclusive view of the eclipse from 261 miles above Earth. Due to their place in space, they could see the Moon’s shadow travel across Earth. While those of us on Earth watched the Moon pass in front of the Sun, astronauts on the International Space Station watched its shadow pass over Earth.

The Moon’s shadow, or umbra, is pictured covering portions of the Canadian provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick and the American state of Maine in this photograph from the International Space Station as it soared into the solar eclipse from 261 miles above.

NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) imager on the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite captured these views of Earth between 12:02 and 4:32 p.m. EDT (16:02 and 20:32 UTC) from about 1 million miles from Earth. DSCOVR is a joint NASA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and U.S. Air Force satellite.

NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) imager on the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite captured these views of Earth during the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.
NASA

Much closer to Earth, pilots aboard NASA’s WB-57 jets flew at 50,000 feet, chasing the Moon’s shadow briefly to extend the time scientific experiments could study the eclipse. This research will help contribute to scientists’ understanding of the Sun’s corona and Earth’s atmosphere.

A pilot flying a WB-57 jet during the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.
NASA/Mallory Yates

From the ground, in Earth’s atmosphere, and in space, the total solar eclipse was a breathtaking experience for millions of people. The effects of the total solar eclipse on Earth and on us will be remembered by many for years to come.

This composite image of multiple exposures shows the progression of a total solar eclipse in Dallas on April 8, 2024. NASA/Keegan Barber

While the eclipse is a powerful reminder of our place in the universe, it also reminds us of our place in our communities. During the alignment of the Sun, Moon, and Earth, people across North America also aligned with families, friends, classes, colleagues, and even strangers as they took in this celestial event in the sky and all around them.

By Abbey Interrante and Joy Ng
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

Details

Last Updated

Apr 15, 2024

Related Terms

Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA

Missions

Humans in Space

Climate Change

Solar System

Categories: NASA

45 Years Ago: Space Shuttle Enterprise Arrives at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center

Fri, 04/12/2024 - 2:36pm

Enterprise, the first space shuttle orbiter that NASA built, arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on April 10, 1979. Although not space worthy, as a pathfinder Enterprise carried out tasks critical to ensuring the success of the space shuttle program. During its four-month stay at KSC, Enterprise validated procedures for the assembly of the space shuttle stack and interfaces at the launch pad. The tests proved valuable in preparing the shuttle for its first orbital mission. Earlier, Enterprise proved the flight worthiness of the shuttle during atmospheric tests and certified the vehicle’s structure to handle launch loads. Enterprise played small supporting roles in the Challenger and Columbia accident investigations. After a lengthy stay in storage, a fully restored Enterprise went on public display, first near Washington, D.C., and then in New York where it currently resides.

Left: NASA Administrator James C. Fletcher, left, presents President Richard M. Nixon with a model of the space shuttle in January 1972. Right: Enterprise under construction in 1976.

Enterprise’s story began on Jan. 5, 1972, when President Richard M. Nixon directed NASA to build the reusable space shuttle, formally called the Space Transportation System (STS), stating that “it would revolutionize transportation into near space.” NASA Administrator James C. Fletcher hailed the President’s decision as “an historic step in the nation’s space program,” adding that it would change what humans can accomplish in space. After Congress authorized the funds, on July 26 NASA awarded the contract to the North American Rockwell Corporation of Downey, California, to begin construction of the first vehicles. Manufacture of the first components of Orbital Vehicle-101 (OV-101) at Rockwell’s Downey plant began on June 4, 1974.

Left: NASA Administrator James C. Fletcher, left, poses with several cast members and creator of the TV series “Star Trek” at Enterprise’s rollout. Right: Astronauts C. Gordon Fullerton, left, Fred W. Haise, Joe H. Engle, and Richard H. Truly pose in front of Enterprise on the day of its rollout.

NASA originally chose the name Constitution for OV-101, the first space shuttle vehicle designed not to fly in space but for ground and atmospheric tests. However, a determined write-in campaign by fans of the science fiction TV series “Star Trek” convinced NASA to rename this first vehicle Enterprise, after the fictional starship made famous by the show. When the orbiter made its public rollout at Rockwell’s Palmdale, California, facility, on Sept. 17, 1976, it bore the name Enterprise. Several “Star Trek” cast members as well as the show’s creator attended the event, accompanied by NASA Administrator Fletcher and the four astronauts assigned to conduct the Approach and Landing Tests (ALT) with Enterprise– Fred W. Haise, C. Gordon Fullerton, Joe H. Engle, and Richard H. Truly.

Left: Workers tow space shuttle Enterprise through the streets of Lancaster, California, on the way to NASA’s Dryden, now Armstrong, Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base. Middle: Enterprise moments after release from the back of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft during the first Approach and Landing Test free flight. Right: At NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for vibration tests, a shuttle orbiter joins an External Tank and twin Solid Rocket Boosters for the first time.

In January 1977, workers trucked Enterprise 36 miles overland from Palmdale to NASA’s Dryden, now Armstrong, Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) in California, for the ALT program, a series of increasingly complex flights to evaluate the shuttle’s air worthiness. At Dryden, workers placed Enterprise on the back of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), a modified Boeing 747. The duo began taxi runs in February, followed by the first captive inactive flight later that month. The first captive active flight with a crew aboard the orbiter took place in June, and Enterprise made its first independent flight on Aug. 12 with Haise and Fullerton at the controls. Four additional approach and landing flights completed the ALT program by October. In March 1978, Enterprise began its first cross-country trip. Riding atop the SCA, Enterprise left Edwards, and after a weekend stopover at Houston’s Ellington AFB, arrived at the Redstone Arsenal’s airfield in Huntsville, Alabama. Workers trucked Enterprise to the adjacent NASA Marshall Space Flight Center where engineers for the first time mated it with an External Tank (ET) and inert Solid Rocket Boosters (SRB) in the Dynamic Structural Test Facility. For the next year, engineers conducted a series of vibration tests on the combined vehicle, simulating conditions expected during an actual launch.

Left: Enterprise atop its Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) touches down on the runway at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Middle: Workers remove Enterprise from the SCA in the Mate-Demate Device. Right: Workers tow Enterprise into the Vehicle Assembly Building.

Following the year-long series of tests at Marshall, on April 10, 1979, NASA ferried Enterprise atop its SCA to KSC. Its sister ship Columbia, the first shuttle destined for orbital flight, had arrived there just two weeks earlier. The SCA/Enterprise vehicle remained on display at the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) for five days to give more than 75,000 KSC employees, their families, and the general public a chance to view the new reusable spacecraft. Workers at the SLF then removed the orbiter from the back of the SCA in the Mate-Demate Device, and towed it into High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) where on April 25 they completed attaching it to an ET and inert SRBs on a Mobile Launch Platform (MLP) repurposed from carrying Saturn rockets. These activities enabled verification of towing, assembly, and checkout procedures.

Left: At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers in the Vehicle Assembly Building prepare to lift Enterprise. Middle: Enterprise in the vertical position. Right: Workers lower Enterprise for attachment to the External Tank and Solid Rocket Boosters.

Rollout of Enterprise from the VAB to Launch Pad 39A occurred on May 1, and again KSC employees and their families came out to view the event. The assembled vehicle including the MLP weighed about 11 million pounds. Technicians drove the stack atop the Crawler Transporter at varying speeds to determine the optimum velocity to minimize vibration stress on the vehicle. The 3.5-mile rollout took about eight hours to complete. Once at the pad, engineers used Enterprise to conduct fit checks and to validate launch pad procedures. During the critical countdown demonstration test, workers filled the ET with super-cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The significant discovery that ice built up at the top of the ET during this process led to the addition of the gaseous oxygen vent hood (familiarly known as the “beanie cap”) to the launch pad facility and a procedure to retract it just a few minutes before liftoff. This prevented the dangerous buildup of ice during the countdown and ranks as perhaps one of Enterprise’s greatest contributions as a test vehicle during its time at the launch pad.

Left: Enterprise exiting the Vehicle Assembly Building. Middle: Enterprise on its Mobile Launch Platform during the rollout to the pad. Right: Enterprise at Launch Pad 39A.

On July 23, after three months of fit checks and testing, workers rolled Enterprise back from Launch Pad 39A to High Bay 1 in the VAB. The activities conducted at the pad proved instrumental in paving the way for its sister ship Columbia to make its first launch in 1981. John Bell, who managed the activities at JSC said of the test program, “Overall, it was a very successful venture and well worth it.” Launch Pad 39A Site Manager John J. “Tip” Talone added, “Having [Enterprise] out here really saved the program a lot of time in getting things ready for [Columbia].” In the VAB, workers removed Enterprise from its ET on July 25 and towed it to the SLF on Aug. 3 where it awaited the arrival of the SCA. The ferry flight back to Dryden took place between Aug. 10 and 16 making six stops along the way – Atlanta, St. Louis, Tulsa, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Vandenberg AFB in California. Up to 750,000 people came out to see the orbiter and SCA. Back at Dryden, workers demated Enterprise and on Oct. 30 trucked it back to the Palmdale plant where engineers removed computers and instruments to be refurbished and used in other orbiters then under construction. Previous plans to convert Enterprise into an orbital vehicle proved too costly and NASA abandoned the idea.

Left: Astronaut support engineer Richard W. Nygren stands at Launch Pad 39A with astronauts Richard H. Truly, John W. Young, Robert L. Crippen, and Joe H. Engle, the prime and backup crews assigned to the first space shuttle mission. Middle left: Pilot’s eye view of the launch tower looking up through Enterprise’s forward windows. Middle right: Enterprise rolls back into the Vehicle Assembly Building. Right: Enterprise departs NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.

Because Enterprise’s future remained uncertain, NASA returned it to Edwards on Sep. 6, 1981, for long-term storage. On July 4, 1982, NASA used it as a backdrop for President Ronald W. Reagan to welcome home the STS-4 crew. The following year, NASA sent Enterprise on a European tour, departing Dryden on May 13, 1983, with stops in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and France for the annual Paris Air Show. Enterprise made a stop in Ottawa, Canada, on its return trip to Dryden, arriving there June 13. Workers once again placed it in temporary storage.

Left: Enterprise as the backdrop for President Reagan welcoming home the STS-4 crew at NASA’s Dryden, now Armstrong, Flight Research Center in July 1982. Right: Enterprise atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft arriving at the Paris Air Show in May 1983.

For its next public appearance, NASA ferried Enterprise to Mobile, Alabama, from there transported it by barge to New Orleans, and placed it on public display in the U.S. pavilion of the World’s Fair between April and November 1984. After the World’s Fair, NASA ferried Enterprise to Vandenberg AFB in California to conduct fit checks at the Space Launch Complex-6 (SLC-6), that NASA had planned to use for polar orbiting shuttle missions. NASA used Enterprise to conduct tests at SLC-6 similar to the 1979 tests at KSC’s Launch Complex 39. The tests at Vandenberg completed, NASA ferried Enterprise back to Dryden on May 24, 1985, but this time for only a very short-term storage.

Left: Enterprise on display at the World’s Fair in New Orleans in 1984. Right: Enterprise during static pad tests at Space Launch Complex-6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in 1985.

On Sep. 20, 1985, NASA ferried Enterprise to KSC and placed it on temporary public display near the VAB, next to the Saturn V already displayed there. On Oct. 30, Enterprise “saw” its sister ship Challenger fly into space on the STS-61A mission. After two months on display at KSC, NASA flew Enterprise to Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., arriving on Nov. 18. NASA officially retired Enterprise and transferred ownership to the Smithsonian Institution that had plans to build a large aircraft museum annex at the airport. The Smithsonian placed Enterprise in storage in a hangar, awaiting the completion of its new home. That turned into an 18-year wait.

Left: Launch of STS-61A in October 1985, with Enterprise and the Saturn V in the foreground. Middle: Enterprise in long-term storage at the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, Virginia. Right: Enterprise during arresting barrier testing at Dulles International Airport.

But even during that 18-year wait, NASA found practical use for the venerable Enterprise. In 1987, the agency studied how to handle an orbiter returning from space should it suffer a brake failure. To test the efficacy of an arresting barrier, workers slowly winched Enterprise into a landing barrier they had set up at Dulles to see if the vehicle suffered any damage. Later that same year, NASA used Enterprise to test various crew bailout procedures being developed in the wake of the Challenger accident. In 1990, experimenters used Enterprise’s cockpit windows to test mount an antenna for the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment, with no other orbiters available. Periodically, engineers removed parts from Enterprise to test for materials durability, and also evaluated the structural integrity of the vehicle including its payload bay doors and found it to be in sound condition even after years in storage. In April 2003, in the wake of the Columbia accident, investigators borrowed Enterprise’s left landing gear door and part of the port wing for foam impact tests. The tests provided solid evidence for the foam strike as the cause of the accident.

Left: Space shuttle Enterprise undergoes restoration at the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum (NASM) in Chantilly, Virginia. Note the missing wing leading edge, donated for the Columbia accident investigation. Right: Enterprise on display at the Hazy Center. Image credits: courtesy NASM.

On Nov. 20, 2003, workers towed Enterprise from its storage facility into a newly completed display hangar at the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum at Dulles in Chantilly, Virginia. Specialists spent eight months restoring the orbiter and the museum placed it on public display on Dec. 15, 2004.

Left: Space shuttle orbiters Enterprise, left, and Discovery meet nose-to-nose at the Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, Virginia. Right: Actor Leonard Nimoy greets Enterprise at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.

In 2011, NASA retired the space shuttle fleet and donated the vehicles to various museums around the country. The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City acquired Enterprise, and on Apr. 19, 2012, workers removed the orbiter from its display at the Hazy Center – replacing it with the orbiter Discovery – and placed it atop a SCA for the final time. Eight days later, after a short flight from Dulles and a flyaround of New York and several of its famous landmarks, Enterprise landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Actor Leonard Nimoy, who played Mr. Spock in the original “Star Trek” television series, and attended Enterprise’s first rollout in 1976, greeted the orbiter on the runway. Workers lifted the orbiter from the SCA and placed it on a barge. It eventually arrived at the Intrepid Museum on June 3 and went on public display July 19. Enterprise suffered minor damage during Superstorm Sandy in October 2012, but workers fully restored it.

Enterprise in the Shuttle Pavilion at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City. Image credit: courtesy Intrepid Museum.

Read recollections about the Enterprise ALT flight in oral histories that Haise, Fullerton, and Engle conducted with the JSC History Office.

Explore More 5 min read NASA’s SERT II: ‘A Genuine Space Success Story’ Article 4 days ago 5 min read 60 Years Ago: Gemini 1 Flies a Successful Uncrewed Test Flight Article 6 days ago 6 min read From NASA’s First Astronaut Class to Artemis II: The Importance of Military Jet Pilot Experience Article 6 days ago

Categories: NASA

The Ocean Touches Everything: Celebrate Earth Day with NASA

Fri, 04/12/2024 - 2:10pm

On Earth Day, Learn How NASA Investigates the Blue in Our Blue Planet

This Earth Day, join us in person and online to learn how NASA studies the ocean from space. Explore the complex connections between sea, air, land, and climate through a mix of in-person and virtual activities, talks, and trivia.

Discover more about NASA’s Earth and ocean-observing fleet during an in-person and virtual Earth Day celebration on April 18 and 19.NASA

For nearly five decades, the agency and its partners have collected data across all of the world’s ocean basins with satellites, airplane-mounted instruments, and space shuttles and stations.

On April 11, NASA released the first images from the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite, which was launched on Feb. 8, 2024, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. PACE joined the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite and Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich in helping NASA revolutionize our understanding of our oceans. You can see one of the images below, in which bright pink and green colors indicate different communities of phytoplankton.

NASA’s PACE satellite’s Ocean Color Instrument (OCI) detects light across a hyperspectral range, which gives scientists new information to differentiate communities of phytoplankton – a unique ability of NASA’s newest Earth-observing satellite. This first image released from OCI identifies two different communities of these microscopic marine organisms in the ocean off the coast of South Africa on Feb. 28, 2024. The central panel of this image shows Synechococcus in pink and picoeukaryotes in green. The left panel of this image shows a natural color view of the ocean, and the right panel displays the concentration of chlorophyll-a, a photosynthetic pigment used to identify the presence of phytoplankton.NASA

Discover more about PACE and NASA’s Earth-observing fleet during an in-person celebration. The event will be hosted at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., on April 18 and 19, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. EDT. The event will include:

More than a dozen hands-on Earth science activities, such as a 3D glacier puzzle and natural hazards trivia
Instructions for creating animated GIFs using NASA Earth science imagery
Opportunities to engage with the Earth Information Center, which offers data-rich visualizations and immersive experiences that show how our planet is changing.
Two new stories that will screen on the Earth Information Center’s Hyperwall. One highlights how local African communities use NASA Earth science data in partnership with the Jane Goodall Institute to monitor forest habitat for chimpanzees and agricultural land use over time. The other explores how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency monitors methane emissions from landfills with NASA remote-sensing data.

Online, explore how NASA works to understand our oceans at a global scale. Visit science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-day/ for dozens of resources, including:

Downloadable guides for creating ocean currents in a test tube and a flip book showing how rivers change over time
Activities that show the importance of water on our planet and how researchers study our oceans and waterways

NASA’s exploration of our oceans from space spans a rich history. Delving into the depths of our oceans unveils the mysteries of our own planet, our home. Therefore, NASA remains steadfast in leading the way in oceanic research.
Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Scientific Visualization Studio
Download this video in HD formats from NASA Goddard’s Scientific Visualization Studio

NASA’s in-person and virtual Earth Day events are free and open to the public.

You can also celebrate Earth Day as a NASA citizen scientist. Play the NeMO-Net iPad game to help NASA classify coral reefs, or download the GLOBE Observer app to help monitor clouds, water, and plants in your area. NASA’s citizen science projects have led to thousands of observations and several discoveries, with more than 410 NASA citizen scientists named as co-authors on peer-reviewed scientific publications. NASA citizen science is open to everyone around the world, not just U.S. residents.

NASA’s innovative tools and data inform decision-makers around the world as they monitor our changing climate and work to address environmental challenges. NASA partners with state and local governments, international space agencies, and federal agencies including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). NASA is committed to making data accessible, inclusive, and transparent for everyone — an approach known as “open science.”

To learn more about NASA’s Earth Day activities, visit: https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-day/.

By Julia Tilton

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

Share Details Last Updated Apr 12, 2024 EditorJennifer M. FadoulContactEllen Grayellen.t.gray@nasa.govLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms

Earth Day

Categories: NASA

The First Space Shuttle

Fri, 04/12/2024 - 1:37pm

NASA

In this image from April 12, 1981, the first space shuttle, STS-1, launches from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida with NASA astronauts John W. Young, commander, and Robert L. Crippen, pilot, aboard.

STS-1 was meant to demonstrate a safe launch into orbit and a safe return of the orbiter and crew, as well as verify the combined performance of the entire shuttle vehicle – orbiter, solid rocket boosters and external tank.

The first space shuttle landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California on April 14, 1981, after having successfully tested its major systems.

Image Credit: NASA

Categories: NASA

NASA Invites Media to Mars Sample Return Update

Fri, 04/12/2024 - 1:08pm

NASA will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT, Monday, April 15, to discuss the agency’s response to a Mars Sample Return Independent Review Board report from September 2023, including next steps for the program.

The teleconference will livestream at:

https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

Mars Sample Return has been a major long-term goal of international planetary exploration for the past two decades. NASA’s Perseverance rover is collecting compelling science samples that will help scientists understand the geological history of Mars, the evolution of its climate, and prepare for future human explorers. The return of the samples will also help NASA’s search for signs of ancient life.

The media teleconference will share the agency’s recommendations regarding a path forward for Mars Sample Return within a balanced overall science program. The speakers include:

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson
Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate

Media who wish to participate in the teleconference should RSVP by 11 a.m. on April 15 by emailing dewayne.a.washington@nasa.gov.

For more information on NASA’s Mars exploration, visit:

http://nasa.gov/mars

-end-

Dewayne Washington / Karen Fox
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
dewayne.a.washington@nasa.gov / karen.fox@nasa.gov

Share Details Last Updated Apr 12, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms

Categories: NASA

Tech Today: Folding NASA Experience into an Origami Toolkit

Fri, 04/12/2024 - 9:42am

3 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Though the art of origami is centuries old, until the late 20th century it was considered virtually impossible to make insects or other figures with many long, complex protrusions. That changed with the introduction of math-based origami design, which Lang helped pioneer. Today, he’s still drawn to the challenges presented by insects and other arthropods, and they are well-represented in the menagerie of his origami gallery.

After uncovering the mathematical underpinnings of origami, Robert Lang left a 20-year engineering career, including over four years at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, to pursue his lifelong passion. However, while he was working at JPL, Lang picked up an important key to computational design, allowing him to turn paper into impossibly intricate 3D forms.

In the center’s Micro Devices Laboratory in the late 1980s and early ’90s, Lang worked on building an optical computer that uses light rather than electricity to carry out calculations. This work introduced him to the concept of nonlinear constrained optimization.

Lang explained that a simple nonlinear constrained optimization problem is like packing different-sized balls into a box. The constraint is that the balls can’t overlap, and the solutions are nonlinear because the balls can be any direction or distance from each other. The optimization is making the box as small as possible.

System design optimization for lasers and other components requires minimizing energy consumption, semiconductor materials, and other costs. In origami, optimization means creating the most extensive form possible using a single sheet of paper.

In the mid-1990s, he took his expertise gain at JPL and created an open-source software called TreeMaker, the first program available to design complex origami figures. Lang’s design software uses an equation to map the points that will become features like a head and limbs. It helps decide exactly how far apart any two points have to be, depending on their location in the final shape.

In 2001, he left his last engineering job to become a full-time origamist, and he remains one of the world’s leading figures at the intersection of math and paper folding. Lang’s work ranges from small paper sculptures to huge public art made from metal and other materials, which he co-creates with other artists.

Since Lang left NASA, the agency has called him back in to consult on a few projects that capitalized on his dual background in engineering and origami. One of those was the Starshade concept, a design for a baseball diamond-sized disk that would fold up tightly to fit in a rocket fairing and then unfurl in space. There, it would block the light from a given star so a space telescope could photograph its planets. Credit: NASA

The art of folding has even crept into space technology in recent years. Commercial companies now seek out Lang for his origami and engineering backgrounds to consult on folding hardware, including a collapsible radio antenna and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Eyeglass space telescope. He’s also returned to NASA to help figure out how to fold large objects for launch inside rocket fairings.

“The irony is that, when I was employed full-time at NASA, I was not working on origami, but after I left, I’ve been invited back a couple of times to work on origami-related projects,” he said.

Read More Share Details Last Updated Apr 12, 2024 Related Terms

Explore More 23 min read The NRP Post

Dive into the captivating history of the NASA Research Park (NRP) and its industry partners…

Article 2 days ago 4 min read Media Get Close-Up of NASA’s Jupiter-Bound Europa Clipper Article 4 days ago 4 min read NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Announces 3 Personnel Appointments Article 4 days ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics

Missions

Technology Transfer & Spinoffs

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Solar System

Categories: NASA

Hubble Spots a Galaxy Hidden in a Dark Cloud

Fri, 04/12/2024 - 7:01am

2 min read

Hubble Spots a Galaxy Hidden in a Dark Cloud This Hubble image features the spiral galaxy IC 4633. ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Dalcanton, Dark Energy Survey/DOE/FNAL/DECam/CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA; Acknowledgement: L. Shatz

The subject of this image taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope is the spiral galaxy IC 4633, located 100 million light-years away from us in the constellation Apus. IC 4633 is a galaxy rich in star-forming activity and also hosts an active galactic nucleus at its core. From our point of view, the galaxy is tilted mostly towards us, giving astronomers a fairly good view of its billions of stars.

However, we can’t fully appreciate the features of this galaxy — at least in visible light — because it’s partially concealed by a stretch of dark dust (lower-right third of the image). This dark nebula is part of the Chamaeleon star-forming region, itself located only around 500 light-years from us, in a nearby part of our Milky Way galaxy. The dark clouds in the Chamaeleon region occupy a large area of the southern sky, covering their namesake constellation but also encroaching on nearby constellations, like Apus. The cloud is well-studied for its treasury of young stars, particularly the cloud Cha I, which both Hubble and the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have imaged.

The cloud overlapping IC 4633 lies east of the well-known Cha I, II, and III, and is also known as MW9 and the South Celestial Serpent. Classified as an integrated flux nebula (IFN) — a cloud of gas and dust in the Milky Way galaxy that’s not near to any single star and is only faintly lit by the total light of all the galaxy’s stars — this vast, narrow trail of faint gas that snakes over the southern celestial pole is much more subdued looking than its neighbors. Hubble has no problem making out the South Celestial Serpent, though this image captures only a tiny part of it.

Text credit: European Space Agency (ESA)

Download this image

Media Contact:

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

Details

Last Updated

Apr 12, 2024

Editor Andrea Gianopoulos

Related Terms

Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA

Hubble Space Telescope

Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.

Galaxies Stories

Stars Stories

NASA Astrophysics

Categories: NASA

Altitude Chamber Gets Upgrade for Artemis II, Spacecraft Testing Begins

Thu, 04/11/2024 - 4:42pm

Before the Orion spacecraft is stacked atop NASA’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) rocket ahead of the Artemis II mission, engineers will put it through a series of rigorous tests to ensure it is ready for lunar flight. In preparation for testing, teams at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida have made significant upgrades to the altitude chamber where testing will occur.

Several of the tests take place inside one of two altitude chambers in the high bay of the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout (O&C) Building at Kennedy. These tests, which began on April 10, include checking out electromagnetic interference and electromagnetic compatibility, which demonstrate the capability of the spacecraft when subjected to internally and externally generated electromagnetic energy and verify that all systems perform as they would during the mission.

To prepare for the tests, the west altitude chamber was upgraded to test the spacecraft in a vacuum environment that simulates an altitude of up to 250,000 feet. These upgrades re-activated altitude chamber testing capabilities for the Orion spacecraft at Kennedy. Previous vacuum testing on the Orion spacecraft for Artemis I took place at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Ohio. Teams also installed a 30-ton crane in the O&C to lift and lower the Orion crew and service module stack into the chamber, lift and lower the chamber’s lid, and move the spacecraft across the high bay.

On April 4, 2024, a team lifts the Artemis II Orion spacecraft into a vacuum chamber inside the Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where it will undergo electromagnetic compatibility and interference testing.Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Stevenson

On Thursday, April 4, teams loaded the Artemis II spacecraft into the altitude chamber. This event marks the first time, since the Apollo testing, that a spacecraft designed for human exploration of space has entered the chamber for testing. After testing is complete, the spacecraft will return to the Final Assembly and Systems Testing, or FAST, cell in the O&C for further work. Later this summer, teams will lift Orion back into the altitude chamber to conduct a test that simulates as close as possible the conditions in the vacuum of deep space.

Originally used to test environmental and life support systems on the lunar and command modules during the Apollo Program, the interior of each altitude chamber measures 33 feet in diameter and 44 feet high and was designed to simulate the vacuum equivalent of up to 200,000 feet in a deep space environment. Both chambers were rated for astronaut crews to operate flight systems during tests.

View of the Altitude Chambers inside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout (O&C) Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo Credit: ACI/Penny Rogo Bailes

After Apollo, the chambers were used for leak tests on pressurized modules delivered by the Shuttle program for the International Space Station.

View of the Altitude Chambers inside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout (O&C) Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo Credit: ACI/Penny Rogo Bailes

Additional upgrades to the west chamber include a new oxygen deficiency monitoring system that provides real-time monitoring of the oxygen levels and a new airflow system. New LED lights replaced the previous lighting system, and equipment from the Apollo days was removed. A pressure control system was added to the chamber that provides precise control of pressure levels. Two new pumps remove the air from the chamber to create a vacuum. New guardrails and service platforms replaced the older platforms inside the chamber.

A new control room overlooks the upgraded chamber. It contains several workstations and communication equipment. The chamber control and monitoring system was upgraded to handle operation of all the remotely controlled hardware and subsystems that make up the vacuum testing capability.

“It was an amazing opportunity to lead a diverse and exceptional team to re-activate a capability for testing the NASA’s next generation spacecraft that will carry humans back to the Moon,” said Marie Reed, West Altitude Chamber Reactivation Project Manager. “The team of more than 70 aerospace professionals, included individuals from NASA, Lockheed Martin, Artic Slope Research Corps, Jacobs Engineering, and every discipline area imaginable. This project required long hours of dedication and exceptional coordination to enable the successful turn-around and activation in time for this Artemis II spacecraft testing.”

Team leads from the west altitude chamber reactivation project are pictured in Artemis gear standing in front of the upgraded vacuum chamber inside the Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The team for this project included more than 70 aerospace professionals who received a NASA Silver Group Achievement Award for their efforts. Pictured from left to right: Victor Allpiste (Power & Lighting Systems Electrical Lead) Raymond T. Francois (TQCM System Lead / Mechanical Engineer) Marie Reed (Project Manager), Alfredo Urbina (Controls / Electrical Systems Lead), and Tim Saunders (Mechanical Systems Lead)Photo credit: NASA

NASA’s Artemis II mission will carry four astronauts aboard the agency’s Orion spacecraft on an approximately 10-day test flight around the Moon and back to Earth, the first crewed flight under Artemis that will test Orion’s life support systems ahead of future missions. Under the Artemis campaign, NASA will return humanity to the lunar surface, this time sending humans to explore the lunar South Pole region.

For time lapse footage of the Artemis II lift into the vacuum chamber visit: Artemis II Orion Vac Chamber Lift and Load Operations

Categories: NASA

Media Get Close-Up of NASA’s Jupiter-Bound Europa Clipper

Thu, 04/11/2024 - 4:21pm

4 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Members of the media visited a clean room at JPL April 11 to get a close-up look at NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft and interview members of the mission team. The spacecraft is expected to launch in October 2024 on a six-year journey to the Jupiter system, where it will study the ice-encased moon Europa.NASA/JPL-Caltech

Excitement is mounting as the largest spacecraft NASA has ever built for a planetary mission gets readied for an October launch.

Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California are running final tests and preparing the agency’s Europa Clipper spacecraft for the next leg of its journey: launching from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Europa Clipper, which will orbit Jupiter and focus on the planet’s ice-encased moon Europa, is expected to leave JPL later this spring. Its launch period opens on Oct. 10.

Members of the media put on “bunny suits” — outfits to protect the massive spacecraft from contamination — to see Europa Clipper up close in JPL’s historic Spacecraft Assembly Facility on Thursday, April 11. Project Manager Jordan Evans, Launch-to-Mars Mission Manager Tracy Drain, Project Staff Scientist Samuel Howell, and Assembly, Test, and Launch Operations Cable Harness Engineer Luis Aguila were on the clean room floor, while Deputy Project Manager Tim Larson, and Mission Designer Ricardo Restrepo were in the gallery above to explain the mission and its goals.

The viewing gallery above High Bay 1 in JPL’s historic Spacecraft Assembly Facility provided members of the media with a vantage point to observe the clean room where Europa Clipper was put together.NASA/JPL-Caltech Europa Clipper Science Communications Lead Cynthia Phillips explains the science of the mission to members of the media in von Kármán Auditorium at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on April 11. A cutaway model showing the moon’s layers can be seen behind Phillips.NASA/JPL-Caltech

Planning of the mission began in 2013, and Europa Clipper was officially confirmed by NASA as a mission in 2019. The trip to Jupiter is expected to take about six years, with flybys of Mars and Earth. Reaching the gas giant in 2030, the spacecraft will orbit Jupiter while flying by Europa dozens of times, dipping as close as 16 miles (25 kilometers) from the moon’s surface to gather data with its powerful suite of science instruments. The information will help scientists learn about the ocean beneath the moon’s icy shell, map Europa’s surface composition and geology, and hunt for any potential plumes of water vapor that may be venting from the crust.

“After over a decade of hard work and problem-solving, we’re so proud to show the nearly complete Europa Clipper spacecraft to the world,” said Evans. “As critical components came in from institutions across the globe, it’s been exciting to see parts become a greater whole. We can’t wait to get this spacecraft to the Jupiter system.”

At the event, a cutaway model showing the moon’s layers and a globe of the moon helped journalists learn why Europa is such an interesting object of study. On hand with the details were Project Staff Scientist and Assistant Science Systems Engineer Kate Craft from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, and, from JPL, Project Scientist Robert Pappalardo, Deputy Project Scientist Bonnie Buratti, and Science Communications Lead Cynthia Phillips.

Beyond Earth, Europa is considered one of the most promising potentially habitable environments in our solar system. While Europa Clipper is not a life-detection mission, its primary science goal is to determine whether there are places below the moon’s icy surface that could support life.

When the main part of the spacecraft arrives at Kennedy Space Center in a few months, engineers will finish preparing Europa Clipper for launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, attaching its giant solar arrays and carefully tucking the spacecraft inside the capsule that rides on top of the rocket. Then Europa Clipper will be ready to begin its space odyssey.

More About the Mission

Europa Clipper’s three main science objectives are to determine the thickness of the moon’s icy shell and its surface interactions with the ocean below, to investigate its composition, and to characterize its geology. The mission’s detailed exploration of Europa will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet.

Managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California, JPL leads the development of the Europa Clipper mission in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. APL designed the main spacecraft body in collaboration with JPL and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Planetary Missions Program Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, executes program management of the Europa Clipper mission.

Find more information about Europa here:

europa.nasa.gov

Europa Clipper Media Reel News Media Contacts

Jia-Rui Cook / Gretchen McCartney / Val Gratias
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-0724 / 818-393-6215 / 626-318-2141
jia-rui.c.cook@jpl.nasa.gov / gretchen.p.mccartney@jpl.nasa.gov / valerie.m.gratias@jpl.nasa.gov

Karen Fox / Charles Blue
NASA Headquarters
301-286-6284 / 202-802-5345
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / charles.e.blue@nasa.gov

2024-040

Share Details Last Updated Apr 12, 2024 Related Terms

Explore More 7 min read The April 8 Total Solar Eclipse: Through the Eyes of NASA

On April 8, 2024, the Moon’s shadow swept across North America, treating millions to a…

Article 2 days ago 3 min read Tech Today: Folding NASA Experience into an Origami Toolkit

Math for designing lasers becomes artist’s key to creating complex crease patterns

Article 2 days ago 4 min read NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Announces 3 Personnel Appointments Article 3 days ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics

Missions

Humans in Space

Climate Change

Solar System

Categories: NASA

NASA’s PACE Data on Ocean, Atmosphere, Climate Now Available

Thu, 04/11/2024 - 3:00pm

4 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA’s PACE satellite’s Ocean Color Instrument (OCI) detects light across a hyperspectral range, which gives scientists new information to differentiate communities of phytoplankton – a unique ability of NASA’s newest Earth-observing satellite. This first image released from OCI identifies two different communities of these microscopic marine organisms in the ocean off the coast of South Africa on Feb. 28, 2024. The central panel of this image shows Synechococcus in pink and picoeukaryotes in green. The left panel of this image shows a natural color view of the ocean, and the right panel displays the concentration of chlorophyll-a, a photosynthetic pigment used to identify the presence of phytoplankton.Credit: NASA

NASA is now publicly distributing science-quality data from its newest Earth-observing satellite, providing first-of-their-kind measurements of ocean health, air quality, and the effects of a changing climate.

The Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite was launched on Feb. 8, and has been put through several weeks of in-orbit testing of the spacecraft and instruments to ensure proper functioning and data quality. The mission is gathering data that the public now can access at https://pace.oceansciences.org/access_pace_data.htm.

PACE data will allow researchers to study microscopic life in the ocean and particles in the air, advancing the understanding of issues including fisheries health, harmful algal blooms, air pollution, and wildfire smoke. With PACE, scientists also can investigate how the ocean and atmosphere interact with each other and are affected by a changing climate.

“These stunning images are furthering NASA’s commitment to protect our home planet,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “PACE’s observations will give us a better understanding of how our oceans and waterways, and the tiny organisms that call them home, impact Earth. From coastal communities to fisheries, NASA is gathering critical climate data for all people.”

“First light from the PACE mission is a major milestone in our ongoing efforts to better understand our changing planet. Earth is a water planet, and yet we know more about the surface of the moon than we do our own oceans. PACE is one of several key missions – including SWOT and our upcoming NISAR mission – that are opening a new age of Earth science,” said Karen St. Germain, NASA Earth Science Division director.

PACE’s OCI instrument also collects data that can be used to study atmospheric conditions. The top three panels of this OCI image depicting dust from Northern Africa carried into the Mediterranean Sea, show data that scientists have been able to collect in the past using satellite instruments – true color images, aerosol optical depth, and the UV aerosol index. The bottom two images visualize novel pieces of data that will help scientists create more accurate climate models. Single-Scattering Albedo (SSA) tells the fraction of light scattered or absorbed, which will be used to improve climate models. Aerosol Layer Height tells how low to the ground or high in the atmosphere aerosols are, which aids in understanding air quality.Credit: NASA/UMBC

The satellite’s Ocean Color Instrument, which was built and managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, observes the ocean, land, and atmosphere across a spectrum of ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared light. While previous ocean color satellites could only detect a handful of wavelengths, PACE is detecting more than 200 wavelengths. With this extensive spectral range, scientists can identify specific communities of phytoplankton. Different species play different roles in the ecosystem and carbon cycle — most are benign, but some are harmful to human health — so distinguishing phytoplankton communities is a key mission of the satellite.

PACE’s two multi-angle polarimeters, HARP2 and SPEXone, measure polarized light that has reflected off clouds and tiny particles in the atmosphere. These particles, known as aerosols, can range from dust to smoke to sea spray and more. The two polarimeters are complementary in their capabilities. SPEXone, built at the Netherlands Institute for Space Research (SRON) and Airbus Netherlands B.V., will view Earth in hyperspectral resolution – detecting all the colors of the rainbow – at five different viewing angles. HARP2, built at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), will observe four wavelengths of light, with 60 different viewing angles.

Early data from the SPEXone polarimeter instrument aboard PACE show aerosols in a diagonal swath over Japan on Mar. 16, 2024, and Ethiopia on Mar. 6, 2024. In the top two panels, lighter colors represent a higher fraction of polarized light. In the bottom panels, SPEXone data has been used to differentiate between fine aerosols, like smoke, and coarse aerosols, like dust and sea spray. SPEXone data can also measure how much aerosols are absorbing light from the Sun. Above Ethiopia, the data show mostly fine particles absorbing sunlight, which is typical for smoke from biomass burning. In Japan, there are also fine aerosols, but without the same absorption. This indicates urban pollution from Tokyo, blown toward the ocean and mixed with sea salt. The SPEXone polarization observations are displayed on a background true color image from another of PACE’s instruments, OCI.Credit: SRON

With these data, scientists will be able to measure cloud properties — which are important for understanding climate — and monitor, analyze, and identify atmospheric aerosols to better inform the public about air quality. Scientists will also be able to learn how aerosols interact with clouds and influence cloud formation, which is essential to creating accurate climate models.

Early images from PACE’s HARP2 polarimeter captured data on clouds over the west coast of South America on Mar. 11, 2024. The polarimetry data can be used to determine information about the cloud droplets that make up the cloudbow – a rainbow produced by sunlight reflected by cloud droplets instead of rain droplets. Scientists can learn how the clouds respond to man-made pollution and other aerosols and can measure the size of the cloud droplets with this polarimetry data.Credit: UMBC

“We’ve been dreaming of PACE-like imagery for over two decades. It’s surreal to finally see the real thing,” said Jeremy Werdell, PACE project scientist at NASA Goddard. “The data from all three instruments are of such high quality that we can start distributing it publicly two months from launch, and I’m proud of our team for making that happen. These data will not only positively impact our everyday lives by informing on air quality and the health of aquatic ecosystems, but also change how we view our home planet over time.”

The PACE mission is managed by NASA Goddard, which also built and tested the spacecraft and the ocean color instrument. The Hyper-Angular Rainbow Polarimeter #2 (HARP2) was designed and built by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and the Spectro-polarimeter for Planetary Exploration (SPEXone) was developed and built by a Dutch consortium led by Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Airbus Defence, and Space Netherlands.

By Erica McNamee
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

News Media Contact
Jacob Richmond
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

Share Details Last Updated Apr 11, 2024 LocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related Terms

Explore More 5 min read New NASA Satellite To Unravel Mysteries About Clouds, Aerosols Article 4 months ago 6 min read NASA Wants to Identify Phytoplankton Species from Space. Here’s Why. Article 10 months ago 8 min read NASA’s PACE To Investigate Oceans, Atmosphere in Changing Climate

Earth’s oceans and atmosphere are changing as the planet warms. Some ocean waters become greener…

Article 3 months ago

Categories: NASA

NASA Invites Media to Switzerland Artemis Accords Signing Ceremony

Thu, 04/11/2024 - 1:05pm

Credit: NASA

NASA will welcome Switzerland as the 37th country to sign the Artemis Accords during a ceremony at 11:30 a.m. EDT on Monday, April 15 at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson will host Swiss Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin, Minister for Economic Affairs, Education & Research, along with other officials from Switzerland and the U.S. Department of State.

This event is in-person only. Media interested in attending must RSVP no later than 9 a.m. April 15, to hq-media@mail.nasa.gov. NASA’s media accreditation policy is online.

The Artemis Accords establish a practical set of principles to guide space exploration cooperation among nations, including those participating in NASA’s Artemis program.

NASA, in coordination with the U.S. Department of State, announced the establishment of the Artemis Accords in 2020. The Artemis Accords reinforce the 1967 Outer Space Treaty as well as the commitment by the United States and partner nations to the Registration Convention, the Rescue and Return Agreement, as well as best practices and norms of responsible behavior that NASA and its partners have supported, including the public release of scientific data.

Learn more about the Artemis Accords at:

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-accords/

-end-

Faith McKie / Lauren Low
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
faith.mckie@nasa.gov / lauren.e.low@nasa.gov

Share Details Last Updated Apr 11, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms

Categories: NASA

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Announces 3 Personnel Appointments

Thu, 04/11/2024 - 11:29am

4 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Left to right: JPL’s Keyur Patel, Howard Eisen, and Todd Gaier NASA/JPL-Caltech

The staff changes tap into a deep well of talent and experience across JPL as the laboratory looks to the future.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is pleased to announce three key staff appointments, naming Keyur Patel the associate director for Flight Projects and Mission Success, Howard Eisen chief engineer, and Todd Gaier director for Astronomy and Physics.

Associate Director for Flight Projects and Mission Success

As associate director for Flight Projects and Mission Success, Keyur Patel oversees the implementation and operations of all JPL flight missions. (JPL currently manages more than three dozen flying missions and science instruments to study Earth, our solar system, and beyond.) He succeeds Leslie Livesay, who became JPL’s deputy director in March.

Since beginning at JPL in 1985, Patel has served as director for Astronomy and Physics, deputy director for Planetary Science, director for the Interplanetary Network Directorate, deputy director for Solar System Exploration, and deputy director for the Office of Safety and Mission Success. He has led flight projects as project manager for the Dawn mission, deputy project manager and chief engineer for Deep Impact, and flight engineering office manager for the Spitzer Space Telescope. Patel holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in aerospace engineering from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

JPL Chief Engineer

Howard Eisen, who for the past year has served as the deputy associate director for Flight Projects and Mission Success, has assumed the role of chief engineer while continuing with his deputy associate director duties. He takes over the role from Rob Manning, who will remain in the Office of the Chief Engineer, applying his decades of experience and institutional knowledge in service of missions and projects across the laboratory. Manning will work with Eisen as he transitions into his new role.

A JPL Fellow, Eisen has over 36 years of experience at JPL in technical and leadership roles. He previously served as chief engineer for the Planetary Science Directorate, deputy project manager for the Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission, flight system manager for the Mars 2020/Perseverance Mars rover and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, project manager for the International Space Station Rapid Scatterometer mission, and deputy flight system manager for the Mars Science Laboratory/Curiosity Mars rover. He holds a master’s degree in aerospace systems and bachelor’s degrees in astronautics/avionics and physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as a master’s in business administration from the University of Redlands.

Director for Astronomy and Physics

Todd Gaier becomes director of Astronomy and Physics after previously serving as its deputy director and chief technologist. He was also co-investigator and project manager for the Temporal Experiment for Storms and Tropical Systems Demonstration (TEMPEST-D). He joined JPL in 1996, leading a group that developed technologies and instruments using monolithic microwave integrated circuit components. His group supported projects that include the Planck Low Frequency Instrument, the advanced microwave radiometers for the Jason-2 and -3 missions, the integrated receivers for the Juno microwave radiometers, and the Compact Ocean Wind Vector Radiometer (COWVR). He holds a doctorate in physics from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a bachelor’s in physics from Tufts University.

Gaier is a JPL Fellow and a senior research scientist. He is the recipient of NASA’s Exceptional Public Achievement and Outstanding Public Leadership medals.

About JPL

A division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, JPL began in 1936 and ultimately built and helped launch America’s first satellite, Explorer 1, in 1958. By the end of that year, Congress established NASA, and JPL became a part of the agency. Since then, JPL has managed such historic deep space missions as Voyager, Galileo, Cassini, and a continuous fleet of landers, orbiters, and rovers at Mars since 1997. JPL managed the Spitzer Space Telescope and built the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 for Hubble as well as the Mid-Infrared instrument (MIRI) on the James Webb Space Telescope. Around our home planet, JPL has over two dozen spacecraft and instruments studying our atmosphere, climate change, sea level, and more.

News Media Contacts

Veronica McGregor / Matthew Segal
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
veronica.c.mcgregor@jpl.nasa.gov / matthew.j.segal@jpl.nasa.gov
818-354-9452 / 818-354-8307

2024-039

Share Details Last Updated Apr 11, 2024 Related Terms

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Explore More 4 min read Media Get Close-Up of NASA’s Jupiter-Bound Europa Clipper Article 11 hours ago 6 min read NASA’s NEOWISE Extends Legacy With Decade of Near-Earth Object Data Article 1 week ago 5 min read Rock Sampled by NASA’s Perseverance Embodies Why Rover Came to Mars Article 1 week ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics

Missions

Humans in Space

Climate Change

Solar System

Categories: NASA

NASA’s TESS Temporarily Pauses Science Observations

Thu, 04/11/2024 - 10:40am

1 min read

NASA’s TESS Temporarily Pauses Science Observations

NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) entered into safe mode April 8, temporarily interrupting science observations. The team is investigating the root cause of the safe mode, which occurred during scheduled engineering activities. The satellite itself remains in good health.

The team will continue investigating the issue and is in the process of returning TESS to science observations in the coming days.

The TESS mission is a NASA Astrophysics Explorer operated by MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Launched in 2018, TESS has been scanning almost the entire sky looking for planets beyond our solar system, known as exoplanets. The TESS mission has also uncovered other cosmic phenomena, including star-shredding black holes and stellar oscillations. Read more about TESS discoveries at nasa.gov /tess.

Media Contact:
Claire Andreoli
(301) 286-1940
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

Share Details Last Updated Apr 11, 2024 Related Terms

Categories: NASA

NASA’s SERT II: ‘A Genuine Space Success Story’

Thu, 04/11/2024 - 10:10am

5 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) An illustration of the SERT II spacecraft, which was comprised of the Agena upper stage, the experimental thrusters and associated equipment, and two large solar arrays.Credit: NASA

“A genuine space success story,” is how Experiments Manager William Kerslake described NASA’s second Space Electric Rocket Test (SERT II), the first long-duration operation of ion thrusters in space. SERT II provided researchers with data for years beyond its expected lifetime and was a rare example of an entire mission – including the launch, propulsion system, spacecraft, and control center – being handled by one organization: NASA’s Lewis Research Center in Cleveland (today, NASA Glenn).

The concept of electric propulsion thrusters dates back to the early 20th century, but because they must operate in a vacuum, there was no practical application for these systems until the space program decades later. In the late 1950s, researchers at NASA Lewis began investigating types of electric propulsion and analyzing missions that could use these systems. They produce low amounts of thrust by creating and accelerating small particles at high velocities, and over time, can accelerate spacecraft at very high rates of speed. Their ability to operate continuously for years at a time with little propellant makes them ideal for long-duration missions or keeping satellites in orbit.

This work was expanded in the early 1960s with the creation of Lewis’ Electromagnetic Propulsion Division and the construction of large vacuum facilities, including the Electric Propulsion and Power Laboratory (EPPL). Lewis engineer Harold Kaufman’s electron bombardment ion engine, which used liquid mercury as its propellant, was the most promising option. While Kaufman’s thruster was undergoing extensive testing in the EPPL tanks, Lewis engineers began developing a spacecraft to test the thruster. During the 50-minute suborbital SERT I flight on July 20, 1964, the Kaufman thruster became the first ion engine to operate in space.

In early 1968, the experimental portion of SERT II underwent six months of testing in Tank 5 at NASA Lewis Research Center’s (now, NASA Glenn’s) Electric Propulsion and Power Laboratory in conditions that simulated the temperatures and pressures it would encounter in space. The two thrusters can be seen in this photograph.Credit: NASA/ Paul Riedel

Lewis continued improving the thruster system, and in August 1966 received approval for SERT II. Researchers wanted to verify the thrusters could operate for longer durations in space, determine their effect on other spacecraft systems, and measure the degradation of solar arrays over time.

The center began simultaneous development of the SERT II ion thruster system and the spacecraft that would place it into orbit: a Thorad-Agena rocket. SERT II had two 15-centimeter diameter electron bombardment thrusters affixed to the back end and a 5-by-40 foot solar array, the largest ever flown by NASA at that time, at the other end.

After a series of tests in the EPPL, SERT II blasted off on February 3, 1970. Project Manager Raymond Rulis called the launch “one of the smoothest operations I’ve seen.” SERT II was placed into a circular polar orbit that provided its solar arrays with the continuous sunlight required to power its thrusters and electronic systems.

A Thorad-Agena rocket lifts off from Vandenberg Air Force Base on February 3, 1970, with the SERT II spacecraft. NASA Lewis Research Center (now, NASA Glenn) managed the Agena Program between 1962 and 1970, with SERT II being the last of the center’s 28 successful launches.Credit: NASA

On February 14, 1970, Lewis engineers activated the first thruster, beginning its six-month operational test. Three weeks later, operators shut the thruster down just before the vehicle passed through the path of a solar eclipse. It was restarted without issue afterwards and continued operation as the spacecraft encountered the eclipse a second time later that day.

The thruster operated successfully for five months until an electrical short in the grid caused it to fail on July 22, 1970. Two days later, the second thruster was activated. It operated smoothly for three-and-a-half months until a similar short occurred in mid-October. Though the SERT II thrusters failed to meet their six-month objectives, they did operate for extended periods, confirming data obtained in Lewis’ vacuum tanks.

The mission continued when Lewis engineers reactivated SERT II in 1973 to demonstrate cathode restarting, and the following year, they resolved an electrical short in one of the thrusters. During periods of intermittent sunlight, operators demonstrated restarting the thruster with less than an hour of power available. SERT II’s return to an orbit in continuous sunlight in 1979 provided Lewis researchers the opportunity to conduct over 500 restarts. They operated the thruster for 18,000 hours before the propellant ran out in the spring of 1981.

William Kerslake (seen in this 1981 photograph) and Louis Ignaczak managed the SERT II operations from a specially designed control center in NASA’s Lewis Research Center’s (now, NASA Glenn’s) 10-by 10-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel building. The control center allowed engineers to monitor the mission and send commands to the spacecraft through NASA’s satellite communication system. Credit: NASA/Daniel Laiety

Over eleven years, SERT II provided data on hundreds of thruster restarts, restarts after shutdowns as long as 18 months, ion beam neutralization of one thruster by the other, and discovery of a new plasma thrust mode. SERT II also verified that thruster operation had no harmful impact on spacecraft and solar arrays.

Still, SERT II continued to be an asset to NASA researchers. In the late 1980s, Lewis engineers realized that an auxiliary experiment on SERT II that analyzed the effect of micrometeoroids on solar mirrors could be beneficial to research on solar dynamic systems to power space stations. During six months in sunlight in 1990, the Lewis team determined that after 20 years in orbit, there was no degradation of the solar mirror’s optical properties.

Many technological components of the SERT II thruster system were incorporated into subsequent generations of ion thrusters. By the time the mission was terminated, Lewis was already ground testing thrusters twice the size of those on SERT II. The center has continued to lead NASA’s electric propulsion efforts, developing an array of technologies, including the NEXT-C thrusters that powered the Deep Space 1 and Dawn spacecraft. In support of the agency’s Artemis missions, NASA Glenn recently tested the thrusters that will power Gateway, NASA’s future lunar space station.

Additional Information:

Development and Flight History of SERT II Spacecraft

NASA Glenn Solar Electric Propulsion

Explore More 5 min read 60 Years Ago: Gemini 1 Flies a Successful Uncrewed Test Flight Article 3 days ago 6 min read From NASA’s First Astronaut Class to Artemis II: The Importance of Military Jet Pilot Experience Article 3 days ago 3 min read NASA Names Finalists of the Power to Explore Challenge Article 4 days ago

Categories: NASA

Shawnta Ball Turns Obstacles into Opportunities in Goddard’s Education Office

Thu, 04/11/2024 - 8:58am

When it comes to transforming obstacles into opportunities, it’s all about a “grow where you’re planted” mentality, says Shawnta Ball, a program support specialist in Goddard’s education office.

Name: Shawnta Ball

Title: Program Support Specialist

Formal Job Classification: Administrative Support Assistant

Organization: Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM, Code 160)

“Rather than succumbing to challenges or setbacks, I viewed them as opportunities to learn and adapt,” says Shawnta Ball, program support specialist in the Office of STEM Engagement at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.Red Cox Photography; courtesy Shawnta Ball

How would you describe your job at Goddard?

I contribute to the vitality of our office by providing crucial support to various programs. I joined Goddard in March 2020 and witnessed the organization undergo significant changes. Currently, we are in a phase of revitalization following the challenges posed by the pandemic. We now have a team working enthusiastically to revive some of the older programs.

Among our initiatives is the resurgence of K-12 programs, where we engage with schools in our region. My focus primarily involves collaborating with high schools and middle schools, reaching out to instill the NASA way of thinking and inspiring students to see the impact of a STEM education. We are dedicated to fostering a mindset that emphasizes working at NASA in science, technology, engineering, and math roles beyond being an astronaut.

Additionally, I serve as the liaison for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility between NASA’s Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity and OSTEM. Our goal is to ensure that our processes embrace everyone, irrespective of their background or identity. I act as the bridge, pulling together diverse perspectives and information to create a more inclusive work environment.

I’m also actively involved in two solicitations — one for Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) OCEAN related projects, and another focused on Data Science Equity, Access and Priority (DEAP). We collaborate with faculty to award research grants, reaching out to individuals who might not typically hear about these opportunities but possess the skills and potential to excel.

What path led you to this role?

My journey with NASA started in 2002, and I arrived at Goddard in 2020 after being part of the Office of STEM Engagement at headquarters in Washington. Embarking on my career in the government at the age of 16, I faced a unique and early entry into the professional world. Despite my youth, I embraced the opportunities presented to me and took on a series of diverse assignments within the government sector. This journey was marked by a steadfast commitment to the philosophy of “growing where I was planted.”

In practical terms, this philosophy implies a dedication to making the most of the current circumstances and roles, regardless of their initial nature or perceived limitations. Instead of constantly seeking new environments, I focused on developing my skills, gaining valuable experiences, and contributing meaningfully to each position I held. This approach allowed me to extract valuable lessons and skills from every assignment, fostering personal and professional growth in unexpected ways.

The belief in “growing where I was planted” also speaks to resilience and adaptability. Rather than succumbing to challenges or setbacks, I viewed them as opportunities to learn and adapt. This mindset not only helped me navigate the complexities of working in the government but also positioned me to thrive in a variety of roles over the years.

As a result of this philosophy, I built a foundation of skills, knowledge, and adaptability that eventually led me to my current role at Goddard. Each assignment, whether seemingly small or significant, played a crucial role in shaping my career trajectory and preparing me for the challenges and responsibilities I now undertake in supporting programs and initiatives at Goddard.

What’s the most exciting or interesting part of working at NASA?

Being in a position that involves interactions with celebrities has been one of the most enjoyable aspects of my work. It provides a unique glimpse into the individuals who contribute to TV programs, movies, and media that showcase NASA’s endeavors towards our society’s forward progression. During my early days, I had the fascinating role of booking meetings that involved notable figures, and although the interaction was swift, the experience of seeing them in person was truly thrilling.

While working in the administrator’s office at headquarters, I had the privilege of witnessing the arrival of news reporters, city mayors, congressmen and women, and astronauts who came to meet with the administrator. Sitting in anticipation, I played a behind-the-scenes role, having foreknowledge of their visits and assisting in the planning process. Although my involvement was indirect, the opportunity to be in proximity to these space explorers and others and to play a part in coordinating their interactions was both rewarding and awe-inspiring.

Shawnta Ball poses with a “Hidden Figures Way” street sign at NASA Headquarters in Washington.Shawnta Ball

I’ve had the privilege to meet and greet famous people and directly supported three astronaut-turned-supervisors. However, one standout memory involves meeting Nichelle Nichols, who played Uhura on “Star Trek,” at the final space shuttle launch. STS-135, the last flight of the orbiter Atlantis, lifted off from Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 8, 2011. I will always be grateful to Ms. Nichols for the real-life role she played at NASA, which was to recruit minority and female astronauts and personnel for the agency’s Space Shuttle Program.

The sheer thought of being in the company of someone of her stature and witnessing firsthand the intersection of entertainment and NASA’s mission left a lasting impression. These encounters not only added a layer of excitement to my role but also reinforced the significance of the work we do at NASA, captivating the attention of influential figures who contribute to sharing our stories with the world.

By Marta Hill
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

Conversations With Goddard is a collection of Q&A profiles highlighting the breadth and depth of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center’s talented and diverse workforce. The Conversations have been published twice a month on average since May 2011. Read past editions on Goddard’s “Our People” webpage.

Share Details Last Updated Apr 11, 2024 EditorRob GarnerContactRob Garnerrob.garner@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related Terms

Categories: NASA

The Marshall Star for April 10, 2024

Wed, 04/10/2024 - 4:13pm

19 Min Read The Marshall Star for April 10, 2024 NASA, Marshall Help Viewers Celebrate Total Solar Eclipse in Arkansas

A group of Marshall and agency team members traveled to Russellville, Arkansas, to help viewers experience the April 8 total solar eclipse through the eyes of NASA.

Science and communication experts from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Stennis Space Center, Kennedy Space Center, and NASA Headquarters provided educational outreach opportunities and participated in panel discussions in Russellville, which experienced an eclipse totality of 4 minutes, 12 seconds.

Marshall Space Flight Center Director Joseph Pelfrey watches the 2024 total solar eclipse from the mezzanine of the Russellville Central Fire Station in downtown Russellville, Arkansas, on April 8. Pelfrey spoke during a press conference the morning of the eclipse, alongside Stennis Space Center Acting Director John Bailey, retired astronaut Mike Massimino, NASA scientists, and Russellville and Pope County community leaders. Pelfrey shared updates on the data that NASA’s Heliophysics Division, based at Marshall, planned to collect from the eclipse to improve life here on Earth. NASA/Hannah Maginot

NASA was also joined by experts representing the Arkansas Air National Guard and the Paris Observatory in Muedon, France. More than 100,000 tourists were expected to visit Russellville for the rare experience. Marshall hosted part of the agency’s live television broadcast from the city and conducted several scientific presentations and public events for visitors.

More than 400 NASA employees at 14 locations across the U.S. engaged the public, from Texas to Maine. As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 13 million viewers had watched the broadcast. You can watch NASA’s broadcast coverage of the eclipse here.

Visitors to Russellville, Arkansas, gather to view the total solar eclipse April 8. NASA heliophysics and communication experts traveled to Russellville to engage and educate tourists and residents about the eclipse. Russellville experienced a total eclipse for 4 minutes, 12 seconds. NASA/Jonathan Deal Retired NASA astronaut Mike Massimo, seated left, greets the crowd during the total solar eclipse celebration in Russellville, Arkansas. NASA/Jonathan Deal NASA broadcast host Jasmine Hopkins, center left, and NASA Research and Analysis Lead for Heliophysics Patrick Koehn, center right, provide live commentary during the agency’s eclipse broadcast from Russellville, Arkansas. The broadcast garnered more than 13 million views by Tuesday afternoon. NASA/Christopher Blair A photo of the April 8 solar eclipse as it reaches totality.NASA/Joel Kowsky

› Back to Top

Student Launch Challenge Returns to Alabama April 13

NASA’s 2024 Student Launch challenge will bring students from colleges, universities, high schools, middle schools, and informal education groups to launch amateur rockets and payloads April 13, starting at 8:30 a.m. CDT at Bragg Farms in Toney, Alabama, near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.

Live streaming will begin at 8:20 a.m. CDT on NASA Marshall YouTube and Student Launch Facebook.

Hundreds of students from across the U.S. and Puerto Rico launched amateur rockets near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center during the agency’s 2023 Student Launch competition.NASA/Charles Beason

Seventy teams from 24 states and Puerto Rico are participating this year with 53 teams expected to launch in-person. Any team not traveling to Alabama may conduct final test flights at a home launch field.

NASA also welcomes the return of the Rocket Fair on April 12 from 3-6 p.m. at the Von Braun Center East Hall in downtown Huntsville. This event is free and open to the public as students display their rockets and answer questions from the media and NASA engineers.

Schedule of Events

April 12: Rocket Fair at the Von Braun Center East Hall.
April 13: Launch Day, gates open at 7 a.m. The event runs from 8:30 a.m. to approximately 2:30 p.m. (or until the last rocket launch) at Bragg Farms. Lawn chairs are recommended. Pets are not permitted.
April 14: Tentative rain day on Sunday in case of inclement weather on April 13 starting at 8:30 a.m. at Bragg Farms.

Winners of the student launch will be announced on June 7 during a virtual awards ceremony once all teams’ flight data has been verified.

Student Launch provides relevant, cost-effective research and development of rocket propulsion systems and reflects the goals of NASA’s Artemis campaign, which seeks to put the first woman and first person of color on the Moon.

Each year, the payload component changes to reflect current NASA missions. This year’s payload challenge is inspired by the Artemis missions.

Students will design a SAIL (STEMnaut Atmosphere Independent Lander) payload. It must deploy mid-air, safely return to the ground without using a parachute, and be reusable to launch the same day without repairs or modifications. The payload will contain a crew of STEMnauts, four non-living objects representing astronauts. Students will choose metrics to determine the endurance of the lander, considering acceptable descent and landing parameters.

Middle and high school teams can choose to attempt the lander payload or develop their own science or engineering experiment.

Eligible teams compete for prizes and awards and are scored in nearly a dozen categories including safety, vehicle design, social media presence, and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) engagement. Teams can also win the Altitude Award in each division based on how close they get to the altitude they projected their rockets would reach months in advance to launch day.

Marshall’s Office of STEM Engagement hosts Student Launch to encourage students to pursue careers in STEM through real-world experiences. Student Launch is a part of the agency’s Artemis Student Challenges – a variety of activities exposing students to the knowledge and technology required to achieve the goals of the Artemis missions.

In addition to the NASA Office of STEM Engagement’s Next Gen STEM project, NASA Space Operations Mission Directorate, Northrup Grumman, National Space Club Huntsville, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, National Association of Rocketry, Relativity Space and Bastion Technologies provide funding and leadership for the competition.

› Back to Top

Hansel Gill Named Director at Michoud Assembly Facility

Hansel Gill has been named as director at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, which is managed by the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center.

Gill has been Michoud’s acting director since December after previously being the facility’s deputy director from 2021 to 2023. He will be responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of one of the world’s largest manufacturing facilities, where key elements of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System), and Orion spacecraft are built. Michoud, a multi-tenant manufacturing site sitting on 829 acres with over 2 million square feet of manufacturing space, also provides facility infrastructure and capacity for federal, state, academic, and technology-based industry partners.

Hansel Gill is the director at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility. NASA

From 2016 to 2021, Gill served as subsystem manager for production in the SLS Stages Element Office, and later within the Block 1B/EUS (exploration upper stage) Development Office, providing technical leadership for SLS core stage production supporting Artemis I and early development and production planning for the exploration upper stage initiating flight hardware production operations and facility readiness at Michoud.

Gill served as team lead and acting assistant branch chief for the Metals Joining and Processes Branch in Marshall’s Engineering Directorate from 2013 to 2016. He was responsible for materials characterization and process development, product management, and corrosion engineering, supporting advanced exploration and manufacturing capability advancements. While in this position, Gill led the production for the EFT-1 multi-purpose crew vehicle stage adaptor (MSA) providing the structural interface for Orion and the Delta IV launch system supporting the EFT-1 Orion Flight Test.

He joined NASA as a student intern in 1990 and was hired full time in 1996 as materials engineer in Marshall’s Engineering Directorate.

Gill’s awards include Safety Flight Awareness Award – Group Achievement; NASA Honor Award – Exceptional Achievement Medal; Director’s Commendation Honor Award; Materials & Processes Laboratory Peer Award; Systems Engineering Process Management Tiger Team Group Achievement; Black Engineer of the Year Award – Modern Day Technology Leader (24th STEM Global Competitiveness Conference); Director’s Commendation – Carbon Nanotube Technology; and a NASA Group Achievement (Safety Excellence) Award.

He received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Oakwood University in Huntsville before earning his master’s in industrial and systems engineering from the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

A Huntsville native, Gill and his wife of 27 years, Arnissa, reside in Huntsville. They have an adult daughter, Addison.

› Back to Top

FIRST Robotics Rocket City Regional Returns

More than 1,000 high school students on 47 teams from 10 states and four countries competed in a robotics game called “CRESCENDO” during the 2024 FIRST Robotics Rocket City Regional Tournament.

The event was April 5-6 in Huntsville near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, which supported the regional tournament along with NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement.

Tony Clark, right, deputy manager of the Space Systems Department at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, meets with student teams at the 2024 FIRST Robotics Rocket City Regional Tournament in Huntsville. NASA/Taylor Goodwin

FIRST Robotics is a global robotics competition for students in grades 9-12. The competition challenges teams to raise funds, design a team brand, hone teamwork skills, and build and program industrial-sized robots to play a difficult field game against competitors.

District and regional competitions – such as the Rocket City Regional – are held across the country during March and April, providing teams a chance to qualify for the 2024 FIRST Robotics Competition Championship events held in late April in Houston.

NASA and its Robotics Alliance Project provide grants for high school teams and support for FIRST Robotics competitions to address the critical national shortage of students pursuing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) careers.

› Back to Top

Michoud Site Recovery Team Receives NASA’s Silver Group Achievement Award

By Heather Keller

The High Voltage Hurricane Ida Site Recovery Team at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility was awarded the agency’s Silver Group Achievement Award on March 18. The team of seven was recognized for “exemplary employee dedication and perseverance ensuring the safety of site, SLS (Space Launch System) hardware, and personnel” onsite post landfall of the category 4 storm.

Hurricane Ida made landfall in southeast Louisiana on Aug. 29, 2021, causing catastrophic failure of high voltage infrastructure and leaving most of the city of New Orleans without power for several weeks. Michoud received major damage from the storm’s 112 mph wind gusts and sustained winds of 80 mph. Immediately after landfall, the Michoud High Voltage Team methodically and safely energized the 6 MW emergency generator while procedurally transferring power to the facility’s east and west master substations. The transfer provided critical power to the rocket factory’s final assembly area while coordinating with the SLS Program and Boeing.

The High Voltage Hurricane Ida Site Recovery Team at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility was awarded the agency’s Silver Group Achievement Award on March 18. From left are Shawn Frederick, Shannon Pippen, Raymond Lusich, John Barnett, Joseph Noble, and Dominick Bertucci. Not pictured: Ngoc Nguyen.NASA/Eric Bordelon

The critical transfer also provided essential power for SLS purges for Engine Section and Clean Work Areas to ensure the safety of flight hardware components. The team also provided power for lighting, allowing the Boeing teams to conduct critical inspections of flight hardware for damages.

The team also set up and provided emergency generator power for critical site infrastructure, such as the Coast Guard Exchange (CGX), which provided fuel for response and recovery personnel and other necessary supplies.

The High Voltage Team collaborated with Entergy New Orleans to determine a timeline for Michoud to accept line voltage from the site’s generating station and was successful in accepting power five days post-landfall. They systematically worked to safely bring additional loads online as prioritized and requested by Boeing and the SLS Program with more than 35 buildings receiving power approximately eight days post hurricane and allow site opening for tenant access.

Keller, a Manufacturing Technical Solutions Inc. employee, works in communications at Michoud Assembly Facility.

› Back to Top

Dr. Sterry: Be Aware of Increase in Alcohol Abuse Rates Post COVID

Dear Marshall family,

April is Alcohol Awareness Month, and recent data indicate the rates of alcohol abuse and deaths resulting from it have risen dramatically over the past few years.

Very early during the COVID-19 pandemic it became apparent that sales of alcohol were increasing, and so it has been expected that the negative impacts related to this issue would increase as well. But I don’t think anyone anticipated just how much they would increase. I understand your first inclination might be to skip over this, but it’s a quick read, so please take a moment to consider the situation for the sake of your family, friends, and co-workers.

Data from 2020–2021, published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, indicate that 178,000 people died in the U.S. from alcohol abuse and related health problems during that period. This represents a 29% increase from 2016–2017, when there were an estimated 138,000 deaths. Similarly disturbing, data published by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism indicate that rates of alcohol use disorder rose from 14.5 million adults in the U.S. in 2019 to 29.5 million in 2022.

Since a majority of adults in the U.S. drink alcoholic beverages on occasion, it is becoming even more important to be mindful of how to reduce the risks of negative impacts on our health, and on our lives, in general. The U.S. Department of Agriculture offers guidelines for alcohol consumption geared toward limiting those risks: no more than one standard drink per day for women, and no more than two standard drinks per day for men. While the difference in the numbers may seem unfair, they are based primarily upon body mass and metabolism rates.

What constitutes a “standard drink” depends upon what you’re drinking. For example, for beer, it is 12 fluid ounces, for wine, it is 5 fluid ounces, and for liquor, it is 1.5 fluid ounces. While being mindful of the number of drinks we’re consuming, it’s also important to keep in mind that even within any given category or type of drink, the percentage of alcohol can vary significantly from one product to another. For example, in Alabama, beer can contain up to 13.9% alcohol, and wine can contain up to 24%.

I have two requests of you today. First, please be mindful of how much you’re drinking, and be deliberate in reducing your risks, if needed. If you’d like to do a quick assessment of your drinking, an anonymous self-report test is available at https://auditscreen.org/check-your-drinking. Also, please consider sharing this information with any of your family members and friends that you think might be at risk for the health problems and other dangers associated with alcohol abuse.

If you’d like to get more information about alcohol abuse, and the dangers associated with it, a few good resources include:

As always, the Employee Assistance Program is here to support Marshall team members in any way that we can, related to mental health and well-being. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me by phone at 256-544-7549 or email terry.w.sterry@nasa.gov.

Take care,

Dr. Terry Sterry
Licensed psychologist and Marshall Employee Assistance Program coordinator

The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is available to assist Marshall team members with challenges, or to simply facilitate discussions related to mental health and well-being. For more information, team members can visit the Employee Assistance Program page on Inside Marshall.

› Back to Top

NASA Achieves Milestone for Engines to Power Future Artemis Missions

NASA achieved a major milestone April 3 for production of new RS-25 engines to help power its Artemis campaign to the Moon and beyond with completion of a critical engine certification test series at NASA’s Stennis Space Center.

The 12-test series represents a key step for lead engines contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company, to build new RS-25 engines, using modern processes and manufacturing techniques, for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rockets that will power future lunar missions, beginning with Artemis V.

NASA conducted a full-duration RS-25 hot fire April 3 on the Fred Haise Test Stand at the agency’s Stennis Space Center, achieving a major milestone for future Artemis flights of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. It marked the final test of a 12-test series to certify production of new RS-25 engines by lead contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company, to help power SLS on Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond, beginning with Artemis V.NASA/Danny Nowlin

“The conclusion of the certification test series at NASA Stennis is just the beginning for the next generation of RS-25 engines that will help power human spaceflight for Artemis,” said Johnny Heflin, SLS liquid engines manager. “The newly produced engines on future SLS rockets will maintain the high reliability and safe flight operational legacy the RS-25 is known for while enabling more affordable high-performance engines for the next era of deep space exploration.”

Through Artemis, NASA will establish the foundation for long-term scientific exploration at the Moon; land the first woman, first person of color, and first international partner astronaut on the lunar surface; and prepare for human expeditions to Mars for the benefit of all.

Contributing to that effort, the NASA Stennis test team conducted a full-duration, 500-second hot fire to complete the 12-test series on developmental engine E0525, providing critical performance data for the final RS-25 design certification review. The April 3 hot fire completed a test series that began in October 2023.

RS-25 engines are evolved space shuttle main engines, upgraded with new components to produce the additional power needed to help launch NASA’s SLS rocket. The first four Artemis missions are using modified space shuttle main engines also tested at NASA Stennis. For each Artemis mission, four RS-25 engines, along with a pair of solid rocket boosters, power the SLS rocket, producing more than 8.8 million pounds of total combined thrust at liftoff.

“This was a critical test series, and credit goes to the entire test team for their dedication and unique skills that allowed us to meet the schedule and provide the needed performance data,” said Chip Ellis, project manager for RS-25 testing at NASA Stennis. “The tests conducted at NASA Stennis help ensure the safety of our astronauts and their future mission success. We are proud to be part of the Artemis mission.”

Crews transport RS-25 developmental engine E0525 to the Fred Haise Test Stand on Aug. 30, 2023, for the second and final certification test series.NASA/Danny Nowlin

The E0525 developmental engine featured new key components – including a nozzle, hydraulic actuators, flex ducts, and turbopumps – that matched design features of those used during an initial certification test series completed at NASA Stennis last summer.

The two certification test series helped verify the new engine components meet all Artemis flight requirements moving forward. Aerojet Rocketdyne is using techniques such as 3D printing to produce new RS-25 engines more efficiently, while maintaining high performance and reliability. NASA has awarded the company contracts to provide 24 new engines, supporting SLS launches for Artemis V through Artemis IX.

“Successfully completing this rigorous test series is a testament to the outstanding work done by the team to design, implement and test this upgraded version of the RS-25 that reduces the cost by 30% from the space shuttle program,” said Mike Lauer, RS-25 program director at Aerojet Rocketdyne. “We tested the new RS-25 engines to the extreme limits of operation to ensure the engines can operate at a higher power level needed for SLS and complete the mission with margin.”

RS-25 Final Certification Test Series by the Numbers

All RS-25 engines are tested and proven flightworthy at NASA Stennis prior to use on Artemis missions. RS-25 tests at the center are conducted by a diverse team of operators from NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, and Syncom Space Services, prime contractor for site facilities and operations.

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center manages the SLS Program.

› Back to Top

Agency Selects Companies to Advance Moon Mobility for Artemis Missions

NASA has selected Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, and Venturi Astrolab to advance capabilities for a lunar terrain vehicle (LTV) that Artemis astronauts will use to travel around the lunar surface, conducting scientific research during the agency’s Artemis campaign at the Moon and preparing for human missions to Mars.

The awards leverage NASA’s expertise in developing and operating rovers to build commercial capabilities that support scientific discovery and long-term human exploration on the Moon. NASA intends to begin using the LTV for crewed operations during Artemis V.

An artist’s concept design of NASA’s lunar terrain vehicle.NASA

“We look forward to the development of the Artemis generation lunar exploration vehicle to help us advance what we learn at the Moon,” said Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. “This vehicle will greatly increase our astronauts’ ability to explore and conduct science on the lunar surface while also serving as a science platform between crewed missions.”

NASA will acquire the LTV as a service from industry. The indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, milestone-based Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services contract with firm-fixed-price task orders has a combined maximum potential value of $4.6 billion for all awards.

Each provider will begin with a feasibility task order, which will be a year-long special study to develop a system that meets NASA’s requirements through the preliminary design maturity project phase. The agency will issue a subsequent request for task order proposal to eligible provider(s) for a demonstration mission to continue developing the LTV, deliver it to the surface of the Moon, and validate its performance and safety ahead of Artemis V. NASA anticipates making an award to only one provider for the demonstration. NASA will issue additional task orders to provide unpressurized rover capabilities for the agency’s moonwalking and scientific exploration needs through 2039.

The LTV will be able to handle the extreme conditions at the Moon’s South Pole and will feature advanced technologies for power management, autonomous driving, and state of the art communications and navigation systems. Crews will use the LTV to explore, transport scientific equipment, and collect samples of the lunar surface, much farther than they could on foot, enabling increased science returns.

Between Artemis missions, when crews are not on the Moon, the LTV will operate remotely to support NASA’s scientific objectives as needed. Outside those times, the provider will have the ability to use their LTV for commercial lunar surface activities unrelated to NASA missions.

“We will use the LTV to travel to locations we might not otherwise be able to reach on foot, increasing our ability to explore and make new scientific discoveries,” said Jacob Bleacher, chief exploration scientist in the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. “With the Artemis crewed missions, and during remote operations when there is not a crew on the surface, we are enabling science and discovery on the Moon year around.”

NASA provided technical requirements, capabilities, and safety standards needed for LTV development and operations, and the selected companies have agreed to meet the key agency requirements. The contract request for proposal required each provider to propose a solution to provide end-to-end services, including LTV development, delivery to the Moon, and execution of operations on the lunar surface.

Through Artemis, NASA will send astronauts – including the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut – to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, technology evolution, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for crewed missions to Mars. Advanced rovers, along with the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft, commercial human landing systems and next-generation spacesuits, and Gateway are NASA’s foundation for deep space exploration.

› Back to Top

Hubble Peers at Pair of Closely Interacting Galaxies

An image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope features Arp 72, a very selective galaxy group that only includes two galaxies interacting due to gravity: NGC 5996 (the large spiral galaxy) and NGC 5994 (its smaller companion, in the lower left of the image).

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features Arp 72.ESA/Hubble & NASA, L. Galbany, J. Dalcanton, Dark Energy Survey/DOE/FNAL/DECam/CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA

Both galaxies lie approximately 160 million light-years from Earth, and their cores are separated from each other by a distance of about 67,000 light-years. The distance between the galaxies at their closest points is even smaller, closer to 40,000 light-years.

While this might sound vast, in galactic separation terms it is quite close. For comparison, the distance between the Milky Way and its nearest independent galactic neighbor Andromeda is around 2.5 million light-years. Alternatively, the distance between the Milky Way and its largest and brightest satellite galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud (satellite galaxies orbit around another galaxy), is about 162,000 light-years.

Given this and the fact that NGC 5996 is comparable in size to the Milky Way, it is not surprising that NGC 5996 and NGC 5994 – separated by only about 40,000 light-years – are interacting with one another. In fact, the interaction likely distorted NGC 5996’s spiral shape. It also prompted the formation of the very long and faint tail of stars and gas curving away from NGC 5996, up to the top right of the image. This “tidal tail” is a common phenomenon that appears when galaxies closely interact and is visible in other Hubble images of interacting galaxies.

› Back to Top

Categories: NASA

NASA, Japan Advance Space Cooperation, Sign Agreement for Lunar Rover

Wed, 04/10/2024 - 3:53pm

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, left, and Japan’s Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Masahito Moriyama, hold signed copies of an historic agreement between the United States and Japan to advance sustainable human exploration of the Moon, Tuesday, April 9, 2024, at the NASA Headquarters Mary W. Jackson Building in Washington. Under the agreement, Japan will design, develop, and operate a pressurized rover for crewed and uncrewed exploration on the Moon. NASA will provide the launch and delivery of the rover to the Moon as well as two Japanese astronaut missions to the lunar surface. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Japan’s Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) Masahito Moriyama have signed an agreement to advance sustainable human exploration of the Moon.

Japan will design, develop, and operate a pressurized rover for crewed and uncrewed exploration on the Moon. NASA will provide the launch and delivery of the rover to the Moon as well as two opportunities for Japanese astronauts to travel to the lunar surface.

Today, President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida also announced, “a shared goal for a Japanese national to be the first non-American astronaut to land on the Moon on a future Artemis mission, assuming important benchmarks are achieved.”

The pressurized lunar rover is intended to enable astronauts to travel farther and work for longer periods on the lunar surface. The signing took place April 9 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Along with Nelson and Moriyama, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) President Hiroshi Yamakawa also participated in the signing.

“The quest for the stars is led by nations that explore the cosmos openly, in peace, and together. This is true for the United States and Japan under the leadership of President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida,” said Nelson. “America no longer will walk on the Moon alone. With this new rover, we will uncover groundbreaking discoveries on the lunar surface that will benefit humanity and inspire the Artemis Generation.”

An enclosed and pressurized rover will enable astronauts to travel farther and conduct science in geographically diverse areas by serving as a mobile habitat and laboratory for the astronauts to live and work for extended periods of time. It will be able to accommodate two astronauts for up to 30 days as they traverse the area near the lunar South Pole. NASA currently plans to use the pressurized rover on Artemis VII and subsequent missions over an approximate 10-year lifespan.

“It was an honor to sign the historic implementing arrangement that will be long remembered as the symbol of the new era of Japan-U.S. partnership for the lunar exploration,” said Moriyama. “Under the partnership stronger than ever, we will drive the initiative together with JAXA, including the development of the pressurized rover that vastly extends the exploration capability on the lunar surface, to realize the shared goal for Japanese and American astronauts to, together, explore the moon.”

The arrangement falls under the “Framework Agreement Between the Government of Japan and the Government of the United States of America for Cooperation in Space Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, For Peaceful Purposes,” which was signed in January 2023 and recognizes the nations’ mutual interest in peaceful exploration.

The framework agreement facilitates a broad swath of joint activities between the countries, including space science, Earth science, space operations and exploration, aeronautical science and technology, space technology, space transportation, safety, and mission assurance, and much more. In addition to the agreement for lunar surface exploration, the partners will build on the framework agreement with future agreements for Japan’s participation in NASA’s Dragonfly mission and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. The U.S. and Japan also intend to collaborate on JAXA’s Next-generation Solar-observing Satellite, SOLAR-C, which will investigate the mysteries of solar atmospheres by conducting observations of ultraviolet radiation from the Sun.

“The pressurized rover will be a powerful contribution to the overall Artemis architecture as Japan and the U.S. go hand in hand with international and industry partners to the lunar surface and beyond,” said Yamakawa. “JAXA is ready to assist MEXT and push this forward with our science and technological expertise to establish sustainable human presence on the Moon.”

Under the Gateway Implementing Arrangement signed in 2022, NASA will also provide an opportunity for a Japanese astronaut to serve as a Gateway crew member on a future Artemis mission and Japan will provide Gateway’s environmental control and life support systems and cargo transportation.

Through Artemis, NASA will land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon, make new scientific discoveries, and explore more of the lunar surface than ever before for the benefit of all.

Learn more about NASA’s Artemis campaign at:

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis

– end-

Faith McKie / Kathryn Hambleton
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
faith.d.mckie@nasa.gov / kathryn.hambleton@nasa.gov

Share Details Last Updated Apr 10, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms

Categories: NASA

Frozen in Time

NASA - Breaking News

NASA’s LRO Observes 2024 Solar Eclipse Shadow

NASA Selects New Crew for Next Simulated Mars Journey

The NRP Post

The April 8 Total Solar Eclipse: Through the Eyes of NASA

45 Years Ago: Space Shuttle Enterprise Arrives at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center

The Ocean Touches Everything: Celebrate Earth Day with NASA

The First Space Shuttle

NASA Invites Media to Mars Sample Return Update

Tech Today: Folding NASA Experience into an Origami Toolkit

Hubble Spots a Galaxy Hidden in a Dark Cloud

Altitude Chamber Gets Upgrade for Artemis II, Spacecraft Testing Begins

Media Get Close-Up of NASA’s Jupiter-Bound Europa Clipper

NASA’s PACE Data on Ocean, Atmosphere, Climate Now Available

NASA Invites Media to Switzerland Artemis Accords Signing Ceremony

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Announces 3 Personnel Appointments

NASA’s TESS Temporarily Pauses Science Observations

NASA’s SERT II: ‘A Genuine Space Success Story’

Shawnta Ball Turns Obstacles into Opportunities in Goddard’s Education Office

The Marshall Star for April 10, 2024

NASA, Japan Advance Space Cooperation, Sign Agreement for Lunar Rover

Calendar

June