Feed aggregator

Earth's ancient climate is written in... ostrich eggshells and stomach oil?

The latest studies bring the number of remains identified from this doomed 1845 expedition to six of the 129 who set out to the Arctic

6 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Students from Cornell University are shown working with an air transportation management tool in which a real drone flying over a remote field thinks its operating with imaginary drones flying in a simulated urban environment. Their work is the result of a NASA grant that is part of the agency’s University Student Research Challenge.Cornell University / Mehrnaz Sabet

A team of Cornell University students are turning heads within industry and the federal government with the results of their research into creating a national air transportation management system in which thousands of drones could safely operate together.

NASA is sponsoring their work through the University Student Research Challenge (USRC), which provides grants to college students interested in helping the agency realize its aeronautical research goals.

“Looking at new traffic management systems for drones is not new,” said Mehrnaz Sabet, a doctoral student in the field of information science who serves as principal investigator on the grant and leads the Cornell team. “In fact, NASA has led that effort for years.”

Now, through USRC, NASA is giving Sabet and her team the chance to offer up innovative approaches to drone safety by managing their movements in the air, taking advantage of their young minds and fresh ideas.

The ultimate benefit of Cornell’s research in this area is the full realization of advanced air mobility, an area of industry focus that includes everything from urban flying taxis, more robust disaster response aircraft, and hot fresh pizza delivered right to your door.

The work also underscores the value NASA places on maturing cutting-edge technologies and helping to develop its future workforce through initiatives like USRC.

“Sabet and her team have demonstrated versatile skills involving software, algorithms, hardware, sensors development, laboratory tests, simulations, and actual flight tests – a rare combination,” said Parimal Koperdekar, acting director of NASA’s Airspace Operations and Safety Program.

Flying drones like we drive

Currently, drone operators must file plans that fully describes the intended flight path of the drone with a traffic management service. Those plans are checked with others to ensure there will be no collisions – what Sabet calls strategic deconfliction.

The challenge is that today’s air traffic management system is limited in its ability to handle the growing number of aircraft taking to the sky. Adding thousands of drones to the mix during the coming years risks over burdening the system, Sabet said.

What is needed in the air is essentially what we have on the ground – where millions of people drive on a road every day, she said.

As a driver you might know your whole “trajectory,” or the path you’d follow to reach your destination. But you would never coordinate your plan with every other driver on the road before you leave. Instead, traffic laws and infrastructure such as stop lights and traffic signs allow you to deconflict with other cars as you go.

Drone operators will still have to file flight plans saying where they intend to go, but the idea is to incorporate that car-like flexibility into drone operating systems, allowing them to be adaptable during their journeys.

“We need to ensure all these different types of drones can tactically deconflict with each other so that it is safe for them to operate like cars do on the ground. And that missing piece – tactical deconfliction – is at the center of our project,” Sabet said.

Mehrnaz Sabet, a doctoral candidate in the field of information science at Cornell University, leads a student team testing technologies used in a drone traffic management system under a grant from NASA’s University Student Research Challenge, She is seen during a drone traffic simulation exercise taking place in a rural field.Cornell University Two worlds joined

The key to the Cornell team’s research is the notion of integrating a simulated world with the real one to test and demonstrate how drones can learn to adapt to potentially hazardous conditions and make necessary corrections in their flight path on their own.

Knowing they could not go out and fly 100 drones at the same time to test their ideas for tactical deconfliction, the students decided to create an entirely virtual urban world to evaluate different high-volume traffic models, separation algorithms, and related data.

“Our first year of the project went into adapting and scaling that simulation engine and it all went very well,” Sabet said. “But we didn’t want to stick to a simulation. We wanted to see how the simulation translated to the real world, which mattered more.”

Still hampered by the limitations of how many drones they could operate and where they could fly – not many and basically in the middle of nowhere – they sought the best of both worlds, real and imagined.

“What we wound up doing was to embed the simulation into a real drone, so the drone thought it was flying in a dense urban environment although it was actually flying out in an open field where there wasn’t a real city in sight,” Sabet said.

before after A drone designed and built by Cornell University students hovers over an open field during a test of air traffic management system technologies in which the drone “thinks” its flying within an urban environment. The goal is to prove a system in which drones can safely react to unforeseen events and avoid each other in the sky without human intervention.Cornell University Several drones appear in a Cornell University computer graphic simulation of an urban environment in which an air traffic management system is tested to show how the drones can safely alter course on their own to avoid colliding.Cornell University beforeafter A drone designed and built by Cornell University students hovers over an open field during a test of air traffic management system technologies in which the drone “thinks” its flying within an urban environment. The goal is to prove a system in which drones can safely react to unforeseen events and avoid each other in the sky without human intervention.Cornell University Several drones appear in a Cornell University computer graphic simulation of an urban environment in which an air traffic management system is tested to show how the drones can safely alter course on their own to avoid colliding.Cornell University before after

drone flight test

Combing real and simulated worlds CurtainToggle2-Up Image Details The image at left (BEFORE) shows a Cornell University student-designed and built drone flying in the open above an isolated, rural field. The image at right (AFTER) shows the simulated urban environment the real drone “thinks” its flying in as it calculates all the imaginary drones’ flight paths (the blue and yellow lines) to find the best trajectory to safely avoid a collision. This combining of real and simulated worlds allows the drone to safely test its traffic avoidance technologies. Real world lessons

This allowed the team to try out different traffic management tools and evaluate how drones might coordinate course corrections and avoid collisions with each other.

During the past year, they’ve taken the idea further by flying two real drones in the real world, each running the real-time simulation on board, allowing them to coordinate and “see” both simulated traffic and each other within the integrated test environment.

“We would then intentionally put them on a direct collision course to stress-test the detect and avoid and coordination models and see how well they react and coordinate the drone’s maneuvers to avoid hitting each other,” Sabet said.

Their success struck a chord with NASA experts in Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management (UTM).

“What’s impressive is that Cornell’s study included over 10,000 runs involving more than one million trajectories, and over 200,000 hours of experimentation to understand how multi-agent decentralized coordination would safely take place,” Kopardekar said.

Industry and the Federal Aviation Administration have also responded positively to this research and its potential. The team was asked to use its infrastructure and technology to virtually recreate an incident in 2025 in which a pair of drones collided with a stationary crane in Arizona. The team also showed how the accident could have been prevented.

The team was also asked to simulate recent, real-world fires in California to showcase how drones could better coordinate their movements both to provide situational awareness for public safety officials on the ground and to stay clear of fire-suppressing air tankers.

And according to the Cornell team, the FAA is interested in applying the project’s mix of virtual and real-world testing to evaluate drone operations under increasing levels of operational complexity.

“This kind of mixed-reality type of operational complexity enables them to test drone operations in a way that was not possible before,” Sabet said.

Thanks to NASA’s support through USRC, the Cornell team will continue to expand their capabilities and manage increasingly complex advanced air mobility operations.

“Our goal is to build the foundational systems that enable safe, large-scale autonomy in the skies,” Sabet said.

USRC is an opportunity within NASA’s Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program under the agency’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate.

About the AuthorJim BankeManaging Editor/Senior Writer

Jim Banke is a veteran aviation and aerospace communicator with more than 40 years of experience as a writer, producer, consultant, and project manager based at Cape Canaveral, Florida. He is part of NASA Aeronautics' Strategic Communications Team and is Managing Editor for the Aeronautics topic on nasa.gov. In 2007 he was recognized with a Distinguished Public Service Medal, NASA's highest honor for a non-government employee.

Facebook logo @NASA@NASAaero@NASAes @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es Instagram logo @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es Linkedin logo @NASA Explore More 4 min read There’s No Place Like NASA’s New X-59 Hangar Home  Article 1 week ago 8 min read NASA Celebrates Decade of University Innovation in Aeronautics  Article 2 weeks ago 4 min read NASA Releases Powerful LAVA Software to US Aerospace Industry Article 2 weeks ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA

Missions

Artemis

Aeronautics STEM

Explore NASA’s History

Share

Details Last Updated May 06, 2026 EditorJim BankeContactSteven Holzsteven.m.holz@nasa.govLynne Sahaylynne.sahay@nasa.gov Related Terms

• Aeronautics
• Flight Innovation
• University Student Research Challenge

The European Space Agency (ESA) is using Extended Reality (XR) to support training, enhance operations, improve simulation environments, and to bring the wonders of space to the public.

Near the heart of the

Have you ever thought about surfing on an alien world?

A device made using a tiny bead floating in a beam of light can measure extremely small pressures and could help find a mysterious kind of neutrino

A device made using a tiny bead floating in a beam of light can measure extremely small pressures and could help find a mysterious kind of neutrino

Earth Observatory

1. Science
2. Earth Observatory
3. A Sea of Spinning Clouds

• Earth
• Earth Observatory
• Image of the Day
• EO Explorer
• Topics
• More Content
• About

Earth Observatory

1. Science
2. Earth Observatory
3. A Sea of Spinning Clouds

• Earth
• Earth Observatory
• Image of the Day
• EO Explorer
• Topics
• More Content
• About

NASA Ames Science Directorate Stars of the Month: May 2026

The NASA Ames Science Directorate recognizes the outstanding contributions of (pictured left to right) Lora Jovanović, Tammy Moore, Frances Donovan, and Jaden Ta. Their commitment to the NASA mission represents the entrepreneurial spirit, technical expertise, and collaborative disposition needed to explore this world and beyond.

Space Science Star: Lora Jovanović

Lora Jovanović is a research scientist in the Astrophysics Branch for the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute. Lora is recognized for her major role in significantly increasing the number of experimental optical constant datasets available on the Optical Constants Database, from 297 to 533. These optical constants are critical input parameters for models used to interpret observational data returned from space missions (e.g. SPHEREx , Cassini, New Horizons, Juno).

Space Biosciences Star: Tammy Moore

Tammy Moore is the Space Biosciences Division’s Resource Analyst. Tammy is recognized for her leadership through major changes in budget guidelines and processes and for being a steady source of support for the whole division thanks to her expert knowledge and exceptional determination to help our scientists and engineers.

Space Biosciences Star: Frances Donovan

Frances Donovan is a scientist and project manager in the Space Biosciences Division. Frances
is recognized for her boundless dedication, resourcefulness, and persistence in serving as the
Science Directorate’s Contracting Officer’s Representative for the FILMSS-2 (Fully Integrated Lifecycle Mission Support Services) task, educating and supporting the task requestors, and inventing new approaches to significantly simplify task management.

Earth Science Star: Jaden Ta

Jaden Ta is a deputy project manager in the Earth Science Project Office in the Earth Science Division. Jaden is recognized for her valuable contributions to the Earth Venture Suborbital FarmFlux investigation. She is acknowledged for her leadership in developing the project’s Investigation Implementation Plan and for her strategic role in determining deployment locations for the research aircraft.

NASA Ames Science Directorate Stars of the Month: May 2026

The NASA Ames Science Directorate recognizes the outstanding contributions of (pictured left to right) Lora Jovanović, Tammy Moore, Frances Donovan, and Jaden Ta. Their commitment to the NASA mission represents the entrepreneurial spirit, technical expertise, and collaborative disposition needed to explore this world and beyond.

Space Science Star: Lora Jovanović

Lora Jovanović is a research scientist in the Astrophysics Branch for the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute. Lora is recognized for her major role in significantly increasing the number of experimental optical constant datasets available on the Optical Constants Database, from 297 to 533. These optical constants are critical input parameters for models used to interpret observational data returned from space missions (e.g. SPHEREx , Cassini, New Horizons, Juno).

Space Biosciences Star: Tammy Moore

Tammy Moore is the Space Biosciences Division’s Resource Analyst. Tammy is recognized for her leadership through major changes in budget guidelines and processes and for being a steady source of support for the whole division thanks to her expert knowledge and exceptional determination to help our scientists and engineers.

Space Biosciences Star: Frances Donovan

Frances Donovan is a scientist and project manager in the Space Biosciences Division. Frances
is recognized for her boundless dedication, resourcefulness, and persistence in serving as the
Science Directorate’s Contracting Officer’s Representative for the FILMSS-2 (Fully Integrated Lifecycle Mission Support Services) task, educating and supporting the task requestors, and inventing new approaches to significantly simplify task management.

Earth Science Star: Jaden Ta

Jaden Ta is a deputy project manager in the Earth Science Project Office in the Earth Science Division. Jaden is recognized for her valuable contributions to the Earth Venture Suborbital FarmFlux investigation. She is acknowledged for her leadership in developing the project’s Investigation Implementation Plan and for her strategic role in determining deployment locations for the research aircraft.

3 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Range operators at the Dryden Aeronautical Test Range at NASA’s Armstong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, provide voice and tracking support to the International Space Station. In this Friday, Dec. 6, 2025, photo, Alex Oganesyan, left, and Deming Ingles are at their workstations, where they support communications backup for space station missions.NASA/Christopher LC Clark

NASA advances aeronautics and space technologies through experimental aircraft and flight research at the agency’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. Behind those efforts is the Dryden Aeronautical Test Range (DATR), which provides the communications, tracking, and data services that enable safe and effective missions.

For most NASA Armstrong research flights, the DATR supplies communications, radar, and telemetry. The range’s video capabilities can also capture ground footage as well as long-range coverage for flights. Modernization efforts started in the early 2020s expanded those capabilities and prepared the range to support efforts such as test flights of NASA’s X‑59 quiet supersonic research aircraft, as well as spaceflight communications.

“The DATR provides real‑time data, tracking, and situational awareness that help keep flight research safe and efficient,” said Tara McCoy, acting deputy director for DATR Mission Operations at NASA Armstrong. “The range also supports science missions, works with industry partners, and provides capabilities used for International Space Station operations.”

Ongoing upgrades include new very high frequency (VHF) ground antennas, updated electronic components, and software improvements for tracking the International Space Station and visiting spacecraft. NASA installed additional antennas to ensure backup coverage.

The range’s ability to processes and display real‑time radar, telemetry, and video data is critical for monitoring research flights, such as NASA’s Crossflow Attenuated Natural Laminar Flow (CATNLF) wing model. CATNLF, a scale-model wing attached under a NASA F-15B research jet, is designed to improve the smooth flow of air known as laminar flow, reducing drag and lowering fuel costs for future commercial aircraft.

The DATR also supports aircraft platforms that enable science missions, such as the ER-2 high-altitude aircraft and the C-20A aircraft.

NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft first flight travels from Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, to NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. The control room at NASA Armstrong enabled engineers to monitor real-time flight data, maintain communication, and view video throughout the mission, demonstrating the capabilities of the center’s Dryden Aeronautical Test Range.NASA Television Preparing for future flights

The range is developing multiple approaches to streamline and shorten the time it takes to process and validate raw flight data for researchers, saving time and resources.

“The faster we can get data to the project engineers to review, the faster they can determine whether certain test points need to be repeated, or future test points can be skipped,” said David Tow, DATR chief engineer. “We are working these efforts simultaneously because each one has the potential to drastically improve how long it takes to deliver post-processing data.”

One NASA approach is to automate and consolidate the data processing steps from five down to one. Another approach leverages an existing partnership with the U.S. Air Force to enable multiple computers to post-process data from separate missions simultaneously. The collaboration between the Air Force and DATR aims to reduce processing time for post-flight data from two hours to less than 30 minutes.

Mission operator Mike Webb sits at one of the radar stations used to track the International Space Station as it passes high above NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Sept. 30, 2025. Webb is part of the center’s Dryden Aeronautical Test Range, which provides voice and tracking support to the space station.NASA/Christopher LC Clark Supporting space station operations

The DATR is part of NASA’s safety and communications infrastructure that supports International Space Station missions. Its capabilities are used for backup communications and telemetry during launches, dockings, and reentries.

NASA Armstrong is one of only two ground stations in the United States capable of sending and receiving messages on all space station frequencies. The other is NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Armstrong has provided communications and radar tracking for the station since its first component launched in 1998 and continues to support commercial cargo and crew missions.

A telemetry antenna, right, and two radars are part of the Dryden Aeronautical Test Range at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.NASA/Lauren Hughes Sonja Belcher and Zack Springer support research flights at the telemetry and radar acquisition processing system at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards, California.NASA Advancing NASA’s mission

The range operates within NASA’s Flight Demonstrations and Capabilities project in its Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate and remains positioned to support aeronautics, science, and International Space Station missions with communications, tracking, and data services.

Share

Details Last Updated May 06, 2026 EditorDede DiniusContactJay Levinejay.levine-1@nasa.govLocationArmstrong Flight Research Center Related Terms

• Armstrong Flight Research Center
• Flight Demonstrations and Capabilities

Explore More 4 min read NASA Fosters Development of Lunar Resource-Seeking Technologies Article 3 days ago 4 min read There’s No Place Like NASA’s New X-59 Hangar Home  Article 1 week ago 6 min read NASA Tech and Science Bound for Low Earth Orbit on Commercial Launch Article 1 month ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA

NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center

Aircraft Flown at Armstrong

Aeronautics

Earth Science

3 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Range operators at the Dryden Aeronautical Test Range at NASA’s Armstong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, provide voice and tracking support to the International Space Station. In this Friday, Dec. 6, 2025, photo, Alex Oganesyan, left, and Deming Ingles are at their workstations, where they support communications backup for space station missions.NASA/Christopher LC Clark

NASA advances aeronautics and space technologies through experimental aircraft and flight research at the agency’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. Behind those efforts is the Dryden Aeronautical Test Range (DATR), which provides the communications, tracking, and data services that enable safe and effective missions.

For most NASA Armstrong research flights, the DATR supplies communications, radar, and telemetry. The range’s video capabilities can also capture ground footage as well as long-range coverage for flights. Modernization efforts started in the early 2020s expanded those capabilities and prepared the range to support efforts such as test flights of NASA’s X‑59 quiet supersonic research aircraft, as well as spaceflight communications.

“The DATR provides real‑time data, tracking, and situational awareness that help keep flight research safe and efficient,” said Tara McCoy, acting deputy director for DATR Mission Operations at NASA Armstrong. “The range also supports science missions, works with industry partners, and provides capabilities used for International Space Station operations.”

Ongoing upgrades include new very high frequency (VHF) ground antennas, updated electronic components, and software improvements for tracking the International Space Station and visiting spacecraft. NASA installed additional antennas to ensure backup coverage.

The range’s ability to processes and display real‑time radar, telemetry, and video data is critical for monitoring research flights, such as NASA’s Crossflow Attenuated Natural Laminar Flow (CATNLF) wing model. CATNLF, a scale-model wing attached under a NASA F-15B research jet, is designed to improve the smooth flow of air known as laminar flow, reducing drag and lowering fuel costs for future commercial aircraft.

The DATR also supports aircraft platforms that enable science missions, such as the ER-2 high-altitude aircraft and the C-20A aircraft.

NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft first flight travels from Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, to NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. The control room at NASA Armstrong enabled engineers to monitor real-time flight data, maintain communication, and view video throughout the mission, demonstrating the capabilities of the center’s Dryden Aeronautical Test Range.NASA Television Preparing for future flights

The range is developing multiple approaches to streamline and shorten the time it takes to process and validate raw flight data for researchers, saving time and resources.

“The faster we can get data to the project engineers to review, the faster they can determine whether certain test points need to be repeated, or future test points can be skipped,” said David Tow, DATR chief engineer. “We are working these efforts simultaneously because each one has the potential to drastically improve how long it takes to deliver post-processing data.”

One NASA approach is to automate and consolidate the data processing steps from five down to one. Another approach leverages an existing partnership with the U.S. Air Force to enable multiple computers to post-process data from separate missions simultaneously. The collaboration between the Air Force and DATR aims to reduce processing time for post-flight data from two hours to less than 30 minutes.

Mission operator Mike Webb sits at one of the radar stations used to track the International Space Station as it passes high above NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Sept. 30, 2025. Webb is part of the center’s Dryden Aeronautical Test Range, which provides voice and tracking support to the space station.NASA/Christopher LC Clark Supporting space station operations

The DATR is part of NASA’s safety and communications infrastructure that supports International Space Station missions. Its capabilities are used for backup communications and telemetry during launches, dockings, and reentries.

NASA Armstrong is one of only two ground stations in the United States capable of sending and receiving messages on all space station frequencies. The other is NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Armstrong has provided communications and radar tracking for the station since its first component launched in 1998 and continues to support commercial cargo and crew missions.

A telemetry antenna, right, and two radars are part of the Dryden Aeronautical Test Range at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.NASA/Lauren Hughes Sonja Belcher and Zack Springer support research flights at the telemetry and radar acquisition processing system at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards, California.NASA Advancing NASA’s mission

The range operates within NASA’s Flight Demonstrations and Capabilities project in its Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate and remains positioned to support aeronautics, science, and International Space Station missions with communications, tracking, and data services.

Share

Details Last Updated May 06, 2026 EditorDede DiniusContactJay Levinejay.levine-1@nasa.govLocationArmstrong Flight Research Center Related Terms

• Armstrong Flight Research Center
• Flight Demonstrations and Capabilities

Explore More 4 min read NASA Fosters Development of Lunar Resource-Seeking Technologies Article 2 days ago 4 min read There’s No Place Like NASA’s New X-59 Hangar Home  Article 1 week ago 6 min read NASA Tech and Science Bound for Low Earth Orbit on Commercial Launch Article 1 month ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA

NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center

Aircraft Flown at Armstrong

Aeronautics

Earth Science

New Curtin University-led research has used a radio telescope that spans the Earth to snap images that measure the immense power of jets from black holes, confirming scientists’ theories of how black holes help shape the structure of the Universe.

The tragic and fatal outbreak of hantavirus onboard a luxury cruise ship highlights the gaps in research and treatments for the rare and mysterious infection—including how the virus spreads among people

Research into dating has until now almost exclusively focused on younger people, but we’re finally beginning to investigate how romance changes in later life

Research into dating has until now almost exclusively focused on younger people, but we’re finally beginning to investigate how romance changes in later life

The manufacturer of the highly coveted Questar telescope has closed its shutters after 76 years of serving the astronomy community.

The post Questar Ceases Operations appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

1 Min Read test article Teams are evaluating how to train for lunar surface operations during Artemis missions, in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab at Johnson Space Center in Houston. Credits: NASA

this is a test page