Feed aggregator

With a huge 15x magnification, these binoculars from Celestron will give you great views of star clusters and galaxies.

What would it take to create a cyborg brain like the one in the new TV show Murderbot? The answer reveals what makes our own brain so unique

Are there aliens living on the exoplanet K2-18b? Some astronomers believe they have evidence for molecules on the planet that must have a biological origin, but others disagree

Are there aliens living on the exoplanet K2-18b? Some astronomers believe they have evidence for molecules on the planet that must have a biological origin, but others disagree

Satellite observations show the ice sheets are melting faster than expected, and slowing sea level rise to a manageable rate would require lowering the global temperature below the current level

Satellite observations show the ice sheets are melting faster than expected, and slowing sea level rise to a manageable rate would require lowering the global temperature below the current level

When future astronauts set foot on Mars, they will stand on decades of scientific groundwork laid by people like Andrea Harrington.  

As NASA’s sample return curation integration lead, Harrington is helping shape the future of planetary exploration and paving the way for interplanetary discovery.  

Official portrait of Andrea Harrington. NASA/Josh Valcarcel

Harrington works in NASA’s Astromaterials Research and Exploration Sciences Division, or ARES, at Johnson Space Center in Houston, where she integrates curation, science, engineering, and planetary protection strategies into the design and operation of new laboratory facilities and sample handling systems. She also helps ensure that current and future sample collections—from lunar missions to asteroid returns—are handled with scientific precision and preserved for long-term study.  

“I am charged with protecting the samples from Earth—and protecting Earth from the restricted samples,” Harrington said. This role requires collaboration across NASA centers, senior leadership, engineers, the scientific community, and international space exploration agencies. 

With a multidisciplinary background in biology, planetary science, geochemistry, and toxicology, Harrington has become a key expert in developing the facility and contamination control requirements needed to safely preserve and study sensitive extraterrestrial samples. She works closely with current and future curators to improve operational practices and inform laboratory specifications—efforts that will directly support future lunar missions. 

Andrea Harrington in front of NASA’s Astromaterials Research and Exploration Sciences Division Mars Wall at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Her work has already made a lasting impact. She helped develop technologies such as a clean closure system to reduce contamination during sample handling and ultraclean, three-chamber inert isolation cabinets. These systems have become standard equipment and are used for preserving samples from missions like OSIRIS-REx and Hayabusa2. They have also supported the successful processing of sensitive Apollo samples through the Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis Program. 

In addition to technology development, Harrington co-led the assessment of high-containment and pristine facilities to inform future technology and infrastructural requirements for Restricted Earth Returns, critical for sample returns Mars, Europa, and Enceladus.

Harrington’s leadership, vision, and technical contribution have reached beyond ARES and have earned her two Director’s Commendations.   

“The experiences I have acquired at NASA have rounded out my background even more and have provided me with a greater breadth of knowledge to draw upon and then piece together,” said Harrington. “I have learned to trust my instincts since they have allowed me to quickly assess and effectively troubleshoot problems on numerous occasions.” 

Andrea Harrington in Johnson’s newly commissioned Advanced Curation Laboratory.

Harrington also serves as the Advanced Curation Medical Geology lead. She and her team are pioneering new exposure techniques that require significantly less sample material to evaluate potential health risks of astromaterials.  

Her team is studying a range of astromaterial samples and analogues to identify which components may trigger the strongest inflammatory responses, or whether multiple factors are at play. Identifying the sources of inflammation can help scientists assess the potential hazards of handling materials from different planetary bodies, guide decisions about protective equipment for sample processors and curators, and may eventually support astronaut safety on future missions. 

Harrington also spearheaded a Space Act Agreement to build a science platform on the International Space Station that will enable planetary science and human health experiments in microgravity, advancing both human spaceflight and planetary protection goals.

Andrea Harrington at the National Academies Committee on Planetary Protection and Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Sciences in Irvine, California.

Harrington credits her NASA career for deepening her appreciation of the power of communication. “The ability to truly listen and hear other people’s perspectives is just as important as the ability to deliver a message or convey an idea,” she said.  

Her passion for space science is rooted in purpose. “What drew me to NASA is the premise that what I would be doing was not just for myself, but for the benefit of all,” she said. “Although I am personally passionate about the work I am doing, the fact that the ultimate goal is to enable the fulfillment of those passions for generations of space scientists and explorers to come is quite inspiring.” 

Andrea Harrington and her twin sister, Jane Valenti, as children (top two photos) and at Brazos Bend State Park in Needville, Texas, in 2024.

Harrington loves to travel, whether she is mountain biking through Moab, scuba diving in the Galápagos, or immersing herself in the architecture and culture of cities around the world. She shares her passion for discovery with her family—her older sister, Nicole Reandeau; her twin sister, Jane Valenti; and especially her husband, Alexander Smirnov.

A lesson she hopes to pass along to the Artemis Generation is the spirit of adventure along with a reminder that exploration comes in many forms.  

“Artemis missions and the return of pristine samples from another planetary bodies to Earth are steppingstones that will enable us to do even more,” Harrington said. “The experience and lessons learned could help us safely and effectively explore distant worlds, or simply inspire the next generation of explorers to do great things we can’t yet even imagine.” 

Explore More 4 min read Unearthly Plumbing Required for Plant Watering in Space

NASA is demonstrating new microgravity fluids technologies to enable advanced “no-moving-parts” plant-watering methods aboard spacecraft.…

Article 5 hours ago 2 min read Hubble Images Galaxies Near and Far

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image offers us the chance to see a distant galaxy…

Article 8 hours ago 2 min read Hubble Captures Cotton Candy Clouds

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features a sparkling cloudscape from one of the Milky…

Article 4 days ago

When future astronauts set foot on Mars, they will stand on decades of scientific groundwork laid by people like Andrea Harrington.  

As NASA’s sample return curation integration lead, Harrington is helping shape the future of planetary exploration and paving the way for interplanetary discovery.  

Official portrait of Andrea Harrington. NASA/Josh Valcarcel

Harrington works in NASA’s Astromaterials Research and Exploration Sciences Division, or ARES, at Johnson Space Center in Houston, where she integrates curation, science, engineering, and planetary protection strategies into the design and operation of new laboratory facilities and sample handling systems. She also helps ensure that current and future sample collections—from lunar missions to asteroid returns—are handled with scientific precision and preserved for long-term study.  

“I am charged with protecting the samples from Earth—and protecting Earth from the restricted samples,” Harrington said. This role requires collaboration across NASA centers, senior leadership, engineers, the scientific community, and international space exploration agencies. 

With a multidisciplinary background in biology, planetary science, geochemistry, and toxicology, Harrington has become a key expert in developing the facility and contamination control requirements needed to safely preserve and study sensitive extraterrestrial samples. She works closely with current and future curators to improve operational practices and inform laboratory specifications—efforts that will directly support future lunar missions. 

Andrea Harrington in front of NASA’s Astromaterials Research and Exploration Sciences Division Mars Wall at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Her work has already made a lasting impact. She helped develop technologies such as a clean closure system to reduce contamination during sample handling and ultraclean, three-chamber inert isolation cabinets. These systems have become standard equipment and are used for preserving samples from missions like OSIRIS-REx and Hayabusa2. They have also supported the successful processing of sensitive Apollo samples through the Apollo Next Generation Sample Analysis Program. 

In addition to technology development, Harrington co-led the assessment of high-containment and pristine facilities to inform future technology and infrastructural requirements for Restricted Earth Returns, critical for sample returns Mars, Europa, and Enceladus.

Harrington’s leadership, vision, and technical contribution have reached beyond ARES and have earned her two Director’s Commendations.   

“The experiences I have acquired at NASA have rounded out my background even more and have provided me with a greater breadth of knowledge to draw upon and then piece together,” said Harrington. “I have learned to trust my instincts since they have allowed me to quickly assess and effectively troubleshoot problems on numerous occasions.” 

Andrea Harrington in Johnson’s newly commissioned Advanced Curation Laboratory.

Harrington also serves as the Advanced Curation Medical Geology lead. She and her team are pioneering new exposure techniques that require significantly less sample material to evaluate potential health risks of astromaterials.  

Her team is studying a range of astromaterial samples and analogues to identify which components may trigger the strongest inflammatory responses, or whether multiple factors are at play. Identifying the sources of inflammation can help scientists assess the potential hazards of handling materials from different planetary bodies, guide decisions about protective equipment for sample processors and curators, and may eventually support astronaut safety on future missions. 

Harrington also spearheaded a Space Act Agreement to build a science platform on the International Space Station that will enable planetary science and human health experiments in microgravity, advancing both human spaceflight and planetary protection goals.

Andrea Harrington at the National Academies Committee on Planetary Protection and Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Sciences in Irvine, California.

Harrington credits her NASA career for deepening her appreciation of the power of communication. “The ability to truly listen and hear other people’s perspectives is just as important as the ability to deliver a message or convey an idea,” she said.  

Her passion for space science is rooted in purpose. “What drew me to NASA is the premise that what I would be doing was not just for myself, but for the benefit of all,” she said. “Although I am personally passionate about the work I am doing, the fact that the ultimate goal is to enable the fulfillment of those passions for generations of space scientists and explorers to come is quite inspiring.” 

Andrea Harrington and her twin sister, Jane Valenti, as children (top two photos) and at Brazos Bend State Park in Needville, Texas, in 2024.

Harrington loves to travel, whether she is mountain biking through Moab, scuba diving in the Galápagos, or immersing herself in the architecture and culture of cities around the world. She shares her passion for discovery with her family—her older sister, Nicole Reandeau; her twin sister, Jane Valenti; and especially her husband, Alexander Smirnov.

A lesson she hopes to pass along to the Artemis Generation is the spirit of adventure along with a reminder that exploration comes in many forms.  

“Artemis missions and the return of pristine samples from another planetary bodies to Earth are steppingstones that will enable us to do even more,” Harrington said. “The experience and lessons learned could help us safely and effectively explore distant worlds, or simply inspire the next generation of explorers to do great things we can’t yet even imagine.” 

Explore More 4 min read Unearthly Plumbing Required for Plant Watering in Space

NASA is demonstrating new microgravity fluids technologies to enable advanced “no-moving-parts” plant-watering methods aboard spacecraft.…

Article 59 mins ago 2 min read Hubble Images Galaxies Near and Far

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image offers us the chance to see a distant galaxy…

Article 4 hours ago 2 min read Hubble Captures Cotton Candy Clouds

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features a sparkling cloudscape from one of the Milky…

Article 4 days ago

Lets take a trip through time.

NASA took the initiative to name Storm Gannon after a space weather scientist who died in 2024. This was the storm that sparked beautiful auroras across the globe that same year.

Seattle startup Interlune's newly unveiled machine is designed to churn up 110 tons (100 metric tons) of moon dirt per hour to harvest helium-3, a fuel for future fusion reactors.

Many AI models fail to recognise negation words such as “no” and “not”, which means they can’t easily distinguish between medical images labelled as showing a disease and images labelled as not showing the disease

Many AI models fail to recognise negation words such as “no” and “not”, which means they can’t easily distinguish between medical images labelled as showing a disease and images labelled as not showing the disease

The FAA has greenlit license modifications ahead of Flight 9 of SpaceX's Starship but has not yet approved the launch itself.

The presence of water-ice in the debris disk around a young star could have helped facilitate the growth and development of exoplanets.

Curiosity Navigation

• Curiosity Home
• Science
• News and Features
• Multimedia
• Mars Missions
• Mars Home

3 min read

Sols 4541–4542: Boxwork Structure, or Just “Box-Like” Structure? NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image using its Left Navigation Camera on May 14, 2025 — Sol 4539, or Martian day 4,539 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 00:57:26 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech

Written by Ashley Stroupe, Mission Operations Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Earth planning date: Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Today we came into another strange and interesting workspace (see image above) that is as exciting as the one we had on Monday. This is our first arrival at a potential boxwork structure — a series of web-like, resistant ridges visible in orbital images that we have been looking forward to visiting since we first saw them. Today’s observations will be the first step to figure out if these ridges (at least the one in front of us) is part of a boxwork structure. Unfortunately, we can’t quite reach their targets safely today because one of the rover’s front wheels is perched on a small pebble and might slip off if we move the arm. Instead, we will take a lot of remote sensing observations and reposition the rover slightly so that we can try again on Friday. 

But before repositioning, Curiosity will start off by taking a huge Mastcam mosaic of all terrain around the rover to help us document how it is changing along our path and with elevation. Mastcam then will look at “Temblor Range,” which is a nearby low and resistant ridge that also has some rover tracks from where we previously crossed it. Mastcam is also imaging a trough that is similar to the other troughs we have been seeing locally and that have multiple possible origins. Then, Mastcam will image the AEGIS target from the prior plan. ChemCam is taking a LIBS observation of “Glendale Peak,” a rugged top portion of the ridge defining the potential boxwork structure, which is to the right of the workspace, and an RMI mosaic of Texoli butte. Mastcam follows up the ChemCam observation of Glendale Peak by imaging it. 

In parallel with all the imaging is our monthly test and maintenance of our backup pump for the Heat Rejection System (the HRS) The HRS is a fluid loop that distributes the heat from the rover’s power source to help keep all the subsystems within reasonable temperatures. We need to periodically make sure it stays in good working order just in case our primary pump has issues. 

After all the imaging, the rover will bump 30 centimeters backwards (about 12 inches)  to come down off the pebble and put the interesting science targets in the arm workspace. This should leave us in a position where it is safe to unstow the arm and put instruments down on the surface.

On the second, untargeted sol of the plan, we have some additional atmospheric science including a large dust-devil survey, as well as a Navcam suprahorizon movie and a Mastcam solar tau to measure the dust in the atmosphere. We finish up with another autonomous targeting of ChemCam with AEGIS.

Share

• 
  
  
• 
  
  
• 
  
  
• 
  
  

Details

Last Updated

May 19, 2025

Related Terms

• Blogs

Explore More

1 min read Sols 4539-4540: Back After a Productive Weekend Plan

Article


6 days ago

2 min read Sols 4536-4538: Dusty Martian Magnets

Article


6 days ago

2 min read Sols 4534-4535: Last Call for the Layered Sulfates? (West of Texoli Butte, Headed West)

Article


1 week ago

Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA

Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited…

All Mars Resources

Explore this collection of Mars images, videos, resources, PDFs, and toolkits. Discover valuable content designed to inform, educate, and inspire,…

Rover Basics

Each robotic explorer sent to the Red Planet has its own unique capabilities driven by science. Many attributes of a…

Mars Exploration: Science Goals

The key to understanding the past, present or future potential for life on Mars can be found in NASA’s four…

Curiosity Navigation

• Curiosity Home
• Science
• News and Features
• Multimedia
• Mars Missions
• Mars Home

3 min read

Sols 4541–4542: Boxwork Structure, or Just “Box-Like” Structure? NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image using its Left Navigation Camera on May 14, 2025 — Sol 4539, or Martian day 4,539 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 00:57:26 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech

Written by Ashley Stroupe, Mission Operations Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Earth planning date: Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Today we came into another strange and interesting workspace (see image above) that is as exciting as the one we had on Monday. This is our first arrival at a potential boxwork structure — a series of web-like, resistant ridges visible in orbital images that we have been looking forward to visiting since we first saw them. Today’s observations will be the first step to figure out if these ridges (at least the one in front of us) is part of a boxwork structure. Unfortunately, we can’t quite reach their targets safely today because one of the rover’s front wheels is perched on a small pebble and might slip off if we move the arm. Instead, we will take a lot of remote sensing observations and reposition the rover slightly so that we can try again on Friday. 

But before repositioning, Curiosity will start off by taking a huge Mastcam mosaic of all terrain around the rover to help us document how it is changing along our path and with elevation. Mastcam then will look at “Temblor Range,” which is a nearby low and resistant ridge that also has some rover tracks from where we previously crossed it. Mastcam is also imaging a trough that is similar to the other troughs we have been seeing locally and that have multiple possible origins. Then, Mastcam will image the AEGIS target from the prior plan. ChemCam is taking a LIBS observation of “Glendale Peak,” a rugged top portion of the ridge defining the potential boxwork structure, which is to the right of the workspace, and an RMI mosaic of Texoli butte. Mastcam follows up the ChemCam observation of Glendale Peak by imaging it. 

In parallel with all the imaging is our monthly test and maintenance of our backup pump for the Heat Rejection System (the HRS) The HRS is a fluid loop that distributes the heat from the rover’s power source to help keep all the subsystems within reasonable temperatures. We need to periodically make sure it stays in good working order just in case our primary pump has issues. 

After all the imaging, the rover will bump 30 centimeters backwards (about 12 inches)  to come down off the pebble and put the interesting science targets in the arm workspace. This should leave us in a position where it is safe to unstow the arm and put instruments down on the surface.

On the second, untargeted sol of the plan, we have some additional atmospheric science including a large dust-devil survey, as well as a Navcam suprahorizon movie and a Mastcam solar tau to measure the dust in the atmosphere. We finish up with another autonomous targeting of ChemCam with AEGIS.

Share

• 
  
  
• 
  
  
• 
  
  
• 
  
  

Details

Last Updated

May 19, 2025

Related Terms

• Blogs

Explore More

1 min read Sols 4539-4540: Back After a Productive Weekend Plan

Article


6 days ago

2 min read Sols 4536-4538: Dusty Martian Magnets

Article


6 days ago

2 min read Sols 4534-4535: Last Call for the Layered Sulfates? (West of Texoli Butte, Headed West)

Article


1 week ago

Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA

Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited…

All Mars Resources

Explore this collection of Mars images, videos, resources, PDFs, and toolkits. Discover valuable content designed to inform, educate, and inspire,…

Rover Basics

Each robotic explorer sent to the Red Planet has its own unique capabilities driven by science. Many attributes of a…

Mars Exploration: Science Goals

The key to understanding the past, present or future potential for life on Mars can be found in NASA’s four…

It was big news years ago when Mars orbiters found streaks of what appeared to be water running down Martian cliffs and crater walls. Scientists worked hard to figure out what they were. Some proposed that they were seasonal streaks of briny ice, melting as the weak Mars summer arrived. New research says no to that.

Recent breakthroughs suggest that hydrogen reservoirs are buried in countless regions of the world, including at least 30 U.S. states