Aliens and Space Forums

The DARC partnership is completing construction at the first of three sites that will host a global network of advanced ground-based sensors. View the full article

NASA/Kim Shiflett Engineers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida completed stacking the twin SLS (Space Launch System) solid rocket boosters – seen in this Feb. 19, 2025, photo – inside the Vehicle Assembly Building for the agency’s Artemis II crewed test flight around the Moon. During stacking operations, which began Nov. 20, 2024, technicians used a massive overhead crane to lift each booster segment into place on mobile launcher 1, the 380-foot-tall structure used to process, assemble, and launch the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft. Learn more about the process of stacking from Exploration Ground Systems. Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett View the full article

2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA marked a key milestone Feb. 18 with installation of RS-25 engine No. E20001, the first new production engine to help power the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket on future Artemis missions to the Moon. The engine, built by lead SLS engines contractor L3Harris (formerly Aerojet Rocketdyne), was installed on the Fred Haise Test Stand in preparation for acceptance testing next month. It represents the first of 24 new flight engines being built for missions, beginning with Artemis V. Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin The NASA Stennis test team will conduct a full-duration, 500-second hot fire, providing critical performance data to certify the engine for use on a future mission. During missions to the Moon, RS-25 engines fire for about 500 seconds and up to the 111% power level to help launch SLS, with the Orion spacecraft, into orbit. The engine arrived at the test stand from the L3Harris Engine Assembly Facility on the engine transport trailer before being lifted onto the vertical engine installer (VEI) on the west side deck. After rolling the engine into the stand, the team used the VEI to raise and secure it in place. The upcoming acceptance test follows two certification test series that helped verify the new engine production process and components meet all performance requirements. Four RS-25 engines help launch SLS, producing up to 2 million pounds of combined thrust. All RS-25 engines for Artemis missions are tested and proven flightworthy at NASA Stennis prior to use. RS-25 tests are conducted by a team of operators from NASA, L3Harris, and Syncom Space Services, prime contractor for site facilities and operations. Explore More NASA Stennis Images View the full article

Explore This Section Earth Home Earth Observer Home Editor’s Corner Feature Articles Meeting Summaries News Science in the News Calendars In Memoriam More Archives 3 min read In Memoriam: Pierre Morel [1933–2024] Pierre Morel [1933–2024] Photo Credit: Morel’s obituary on the Ecole Normale Supérieure website Pierre Morel, the first director of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) and founding member of WCRP’s Global Energy and Water Exchanges (GEWEX) Core project, died on December 10, 2024. Pierre began his research as a theoretical physicist. His doctoral thesis examined the existence and properties of a condensed superfluid state of liquid Helium 3 at very low temperature. He lectured on basic physics, geophysical fluid dynamics, and climate science. As his career progressed, he focused his research on studying the circulation of the atmosphere. He was devoted to the development of numerical modelling of atmospheric flow that laid the groundwork for the study of climatology. Pierre’s work played an integral role in the development of tools used to study the atmosphere, many of which are still active today. Examples include Project Éole – an experimental wind energy plant conceived in the 1980s and created in Quebec, Canada that closed down in 1993; the ARGOS satellite, a collaboration between the Centre National d’Études Spatiale (CNES) [French Space Agency], National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and NASA, to collect and relay meteorological and oceanographic data around the world that launched in 1978; the Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking (SARSAT) system, which was developed by the U.S. – specifically NOAA, NASA, and the U.S. Coast Guard and Air Force – Canada, and France, with the first satellite launch in 1982; and the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites’ METEOSAT series of geostationary satellites, which launched in 1977 and remain active today. The launch of Meteosat–12 in 2022 was the first METEOSAT Third Generation (MTG) launch. Early in his career, Pierre was the director of the French Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (LMD) before he became the director of the Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES). In 1980 he became the first chairman of the WCRP, where he steered a broad interdisciplinary research program in global climate and Earth system science that involved the participation of atmospheric, oceanic, hydrological, and polar scientists worldwide. Pierre was later in charge of planetary programs at NASA and was involved in discussions about the future of NASA’s Earth Observing System (EOS) in the mid-to-late 1990s. As an example, the Earth Observer article, “Minutes Of The Fourteenth Earth Science Enterprise/Earth Observing System (ESE/EOS) Investigators Working Group Meeting,” includes a summary of a presentation Pierre gave that focused on flight mission planning for the EOS “second series,” which was NASA’s plan at the time although ultimately not pursued, with the “first series” (i.e., Terra, Aqua, Aura) enduring much longer than anticipated. Pierre was the recipient of the 2008 Alfred Wegener Medal & Honorary Membership for his outstanding contributions to geophysical fluid dynamics, his leadership in the development of climate research, and the applications of space observation to meteorology and the Earth system science. View the full article

3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) How to Attend The workshop will be hosted by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Virtual and in-person attendance are available. Registration is required for both. (Link coming soon!) Virtual attendees will receive connection information one week before the workshop. Background, Goals and Objectives The NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) is conducting an assessment of the state of cold capable electronics for future lunar surface missions. The intent is to enable the continuous use of electronics with minimal or no thermal management on missions of up to 20 years in all regions of the lunar surface, e.g., permanently shadowed regions and equatorial. The scope of the assessment includes: capture of the state of cold electronics at NASA, academia, and industry; applications and challenges for lunar environments; gap analyses of desired capabilities vs state of the art/practice; guidance for cold electronics selection, evaluation and qualification; and recommendations for technology advances and follow-on actions to close the gaps. The preliminary report of the assessment will be available the first week of April 2025 on this website, i.e., 3 weeks prior to the workshop. Attendees are urged to read the report beforehand as the workshop will provide only a limited, high-level summary of the report’s key findings. The goal of the workshop is to capture your feedback with regards to the findings of the report, especially in the areas below: Technologies, new or important studies or data that we missed. Gaps, i.e. requirements vs available capabilities that we missed. Additional recommendations, suggestions, requests, that we missed. Preliminary Agenda Day 1, April 30, 2025 8:00 – 9:00 Sign-in 9:00 – 10:00 Introduction – Y. Chen 10:00 – 11:00 Environment and Architectural Considerations – R. Some 11:00 – 12:00 Custom Electronics – M. Mojarradi 12:00 – 13:00 Lunch 13:00 – 14:00 COTS Components – J. Yang-Scharlotta 14:00 – 15:00 Power Architecture – R. Oeftering 15:00 – 15:30 Energy Storage – E. Brandon 15:30 – 17:00 Materials and Packaging and Passives – L. Del Castillo 17:00 – 17:30 Qualification – Y. Chen 18:30 Dinner Day 2, May 1, 2025 8:00 – 9:00 Sign-in 9:00 – 12:00 Review and discussion of key findings 12:00 – 13:00 Lunch 13:00 – 15:00 Follow on work concepts & discussions. Please be prepared to discuss: 15 min each from industry primes and subsystem developers What would you like to see developed and how would it impact your future missions/platforms? 15:00 – 17:30 Follow on work concepts & discussions 15 min each from technology & component developers, academia, government agencies, etc. What would you like to be funded to do and what are benefits to NASA/missions? 17:00 – 17:30 Wrap up – Y. Chen Points of Contact If you have any questions regarding the workshop, please contact Roxanne Cena at Roxanne.R.Cena@jpl.nasa.gov and Amy K. Wilson at Amy.K.Wilson@jpl.nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Feb 20, 2025 Related TermsNASA Engineering and Safety Center Explore More 2 min read NESC Key In-Progress Technical Activities Article 1 week ago 5 min read Mechanical Systems TDT Support Reaches Across NASA Programs Article 2 months ago 2 min read NESC Assists in Heatshield Investigation Article 2 months ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article