NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and space research.
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Jennifer Scott Williams embodies leadership, innovation, and excitement for life. Her career has been a testament to her unwavering passion and versatility, navigating through various roles and significantly contributing to the agency’s milestones and evolution. In her 23 years at NASA, she has combined engineering, business, science communications, and leadership all into one. Currently in the Center Director’s Office, Williams serves as NASA Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyche’s assistant for technical integration, supporting meetings such as readiness reviews for the International Space Station and Commercial Crew Programs. Her role also involves coordi…
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As a member of the Mars Architecture Team, Clare Luckey is one of the people at the forefront of designing the first crewed mission to the Red Planet. Her current work involves helping to develop the vision for the initial segment of Mars exploration missions. She also has been named one of Forbes’ 30 under 30 Class of 2024 in the Science category. Her commitment extends beyond the cosmos as she is deeply involved in community outreach, inspiring students to aim for the stars in space careers and encouraging diversity in STEM. Starting her journey as an intern at NASA’s Johnson Space Center Operations in fall 2018, Luckey’s career trajectory has been nothing sh…
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NASA/JPL-Caltech Helen Ling, seen here in a photo from Feb. 16, 1973, was influential in the inclusion of women in STEM positions at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. After majoring in Mathematics at the University of Notre Dame—the only woman to do so at the time—Ling joined her brother in working at JPL. She became a supervisor for the computing group in the 1960s, a team who was responsible for performing trajectory calculations. Ling encouraged women within the computing group to attend night school to earn degrees that would allow them more professional opportunities within JPL. A pioneer for women’s rights in the workplace, Helen Ling was so admired in the com…
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“I went back to school in 2016. So I had two kids that were three and five, and I was working full time, and I was doing the master’s program, taking two classes online. It took two years to get it done, and it was like a balancing act, and my kids had to watch the sacrifice in a sense. There were times when I had to take tests, and I was like, ‘OK, you’ve got to sit in the living room with your dad, or you’ve got to go to grandma’s house because I’ve got to take this test.’ “It was tough, but I had to get it done to show my kids that anything is possible. Things don’t get handed to you. You’ve got to work for them. “And so, I made sure that when I graduated in Au…
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“I had the privilege of being the very first project manager for [the] Near Space Network (NSN), and in my current role as deputy program manager for [the] Exploration and Space Communications Division, it is still in my portfolio. NSN is one of the [agency’s two] communication and navigation networks. “When we see the volume and the variety of NASA, other agency, and commercial missions supported by the network, and the science being achieved, and the exploration being enabled — when you leave for the day, you feel accomplished that you contributed [to the] agency’s goal. You contributed toward [the] nation’s priorities, such as cislunar [exploration], and then you …
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3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA Marshall Space Flight Center’s payload technician Chris Honea, left, and quality assurance specialist Keith Brandon, right, on Feb. 29 carefully inspect the temperature sensors that help gather data and monitor progress during a crystals experiment. The zinc selenide-based crystals were grown on the International Space Station as part of an experiment to see how gravity affects their structure or growth, then de-integrated and inspected in Marshall’s Space Systems Integration & Test Facility (SSITF). By Jessica Barnett During the International Space Station’s more than 25 yea…
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Artificial Intelligence Town Hall
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Prelaunch Activities for Our Next Commercial Crew Flight Test on This Week @NASA – April 26, 2024
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NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test Astronaut Question and Answer Session
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Practicing Artemis Moonwalks in the Desert on This Week @NASA – May 17, 2024
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Success and Preparation
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NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 Dragon Spacecraft Port Relocation
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NASA’s Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test Launch Attempt – May 6, 2024 (Official NASA Broadcast)
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A Dress Rehearsal for the Next Commercial Crew Flight Test on This Week @NASA – May 3, 2024
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A New Target Launch Date for Our Boeing Crew Flight Test on This Week @NASA – May 10
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6 min read What’s Up: March 2024 Skywatching Tips from NASA Download the Video WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Jupiter plows through the Pleiades on March 14, a chance to spot Mercury at month’s end along with a subtle lunar eclipse, and a comet worth keeping an eye on! March skywatching highlights: March 10 – New moon March 13 – The Moon joins Jupiter tonight in the west, following sunset. They make a great pairing through binoculars. March 14 – Tonight the crescent Moon moves through the Pleiades star cluster, creating a dazzling sight for skywatchers observing with binoculars. March 21-25 – Northern Hemisphere viewers have their best chance of the year to …
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NASA selected 12 finalist teams to compete in the next round of the Human Lander Challenge (HuLC) competition. In 2023, NASA invited undergraduate and graduate students from accredited colleges and universities in the United States to propose innovative solutions to manage the lunar dust a spacecraft stirs up when landing on the Moon. NASA’s Artemis campaign will establish a long-term human presence on and around the Moon for the benefit of all, and one of the challenges the agency and its partners must address is the particularly dusty aspect of landing on the lunar surface. These university-level teams will spend the next several months continuing to develop their c…
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29 Min Read March-April 2024: The Next Full Moon is the Crow, Crust, Sap, Sugar, or Worm Moon A full moon rises over Utah. Credits: NASA/Bill Dunford The next full moon is the Crow, Crust, Sap, Sugar, or Worm Moon; the Paschal Moon; Purim; the Holi Festival Moon; Madin Poya; the Pothole Moon; a Micromoon, and a Partial Lunar Eclipse. The next full moon will be on Monday morning, March 25, 2024, appearing opposite the Sun in Earth-based longitude at 3 AM EDT. This will be on Sunday evening from Alaska Time westward to the International Date Line. Around this time the Moon will pass through the partial shadow of the Earth…
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1 min read Planet Sizes and Locations in Our Solar System The eight planets and dwarf planet Pluto. NASA Our solar system has eight planets, and five officially recognized dwarf planets. Which planet is biggest? Which is smallest? What is the order of the planets as we move out from the Sun? This is a simple guide to the sizes of planets based on the equatorial diameter – or width – at the equator of each planet. Each planet’s width is compared to Earth’s equatorial diameter, which is about 7,926 miles (12,756 kilometers). At the bottom of the page, there is a handy list of the order of the planets moving away from our Sun. Unable to render the provided…
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NASA has selected Science Applications International Corporation of Reston, Virginia, for safety and mission assurance support at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, and White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico. The Safety and Mission Assurance Engineering Contract III (SMAEC) is an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with the ability to issue cost-plus-award-fee and fixed price task orders. The contract begins June 1 with a five-year base period, followed by two one-year options, with possible extensions of services through November 2031. The total maximum value of the contract is approximately $494 million. The contract will provide safety,…
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The International Space Station provides researchers access to the unique features of low Earth orbit: long-duration microgravity, exposure to space, and a one-of-a-kind perspective of our planet. These special attributes enable scientists to conduct innovative experiments that can’t be done anywhere else. Employees in the International Space Station Research Integration Office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center help enable and execute the research opportunities only available on board the space station with a wide variety of researchers. They also look out for and coordinate new partnerships with international partners, academic organizations, commercial companies, and m…
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13 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) In honor of Women’s History Month, we caught up with the ASIA-AQ team on the other side of the Earth and asked the women from Langley about their inspirations and challenges as scientists. The ASIA-AQ (Airborne and Satellite Investigation of Asian Air Quality) mission is an international cooperative field study designed to address local air quality challenges. ASIA-AQ will contribute to improving the integration of satellite observations with existing air quality ground monitoring and modeling efforts across Asia. Langley’s Angelique Demetillo, center, in her flight suit after a flig…
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3 min read Unveiling the Sun: NASA’s Open Data Approach to Solar Eclipse Research A total solar eclipse is seen on Monday, August 21, 2017 above Madras, Oregon. A total solar eclipse swept across a narrow portion of the contiguous United States from Lincoln Beach, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of South America, Africa, and Europe. NASA/Aubrey Gemignani As the world eagerly anticipates the upcoming total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, NASA is preparing for an extraordinary opportunity for scientific discovery, open collaboration, and public engagement. At the…
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NASA and its partners are developing the foundational systems needed for long-term exploration at the Moon for the benefit of all with NASA’s Artemis campaign. Following the Artemis III mission that will land the first people near the Moon’s South Pole, astronauts on Artemis IV will live and work in humanity’s first lunar space station, Gateway, which will enable new opportunities for science and preparation for human missions to Mars. The mission will bring together an intricate choreography of multiple launches and spacecraft dockings in lunar orbit, and will feature the debut of NASA’s larger, more powerful version of its SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and new mobile…
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Melanie Grande works in mission design and systems analysis at NASA’s Langley Research Center, where she has contributed to planning for human exploration of both the Moon and Mars. Starting in Langley’s Space Mission Analysis Branch (SMAB) as a Pathways co-op student in 2016, Melanie currently works as an aerospace engineer on the Mars Architecture Team, where she is involved in exploring possible Mars mission campaigns and modeling the many decisions needed for the Mars architecture. Who or what inspired you to choose your career and why? When I was in middle school, we went on a class field trip to NASA Kennedy Space Center, and I was absolutely amazed by the r…
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