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An unusually high tide, called a King Tide, floods a highway on-ramp in Northern California in January 2023. Sea level rise and El Niños can exacerbate this type of flooding.California King Tides Project Such high-tide flooding that inundates roads and buildings along the west coast of the Americas tends to be uncommon outside of El Niño years, but that could change by the 2030s. An analysis by NASA’s sea level change science team finds that if a strong El Niño develops this winter, cities along the western coasts of the Americas could see an increase in the frequency of high-tide flooding that can swamp roads and spill into low-lying buildings. El Niño is a periodic climate phenomenon characterized by higher-than-normal sea levels and warmer-than-average ocean temperatures along the equatorial Pacific. These conditions can spread poleward along the western coasts of the Americas. El Niño, which is still developing this year, can bring more rain than usual to the U.S. Southwest and drought to countries in the western Pacific like Indonesia. These impacts typically occur in January through March. The NASA analysis finds that a strong El Niño could result in up to five instances of a type of flooding called a 10-year flood event this winter in cities including Seattle and San Diego. Places like La Libertad and Baltra in Ecuador could get up to three of these 10-year flood events this winter. This type of flooding doesn’t normally occur along the west coast of the Americas outside of El Niño years. The researchers note that by the 2030s, rising seas and climate change could result in these cities experiencing similar numbers of 10-year floods annually, with no El Niño required. Data from the SWOT satellite shows sea level anomalies – how much higher or lower sea levels are compared to the average height – off the coast of Ecuador and Peru on Aug. 12, 2023, and Oct. 3, 2023. The data indicates the development of an El Niño along the west coast of the Americas.NASA/JPL-Caltech “I’m a little surprised that the analysis found these 10-year events could become commonplace so quickly,” said Phil Thompson, an oceanographer at the University of Hawaii and a member of NASA’s sea level change science team, which performed the analysis. “I would have thought maybe by the 2040s or 2050s.” Ten-year floods are those that have a one in 10 chance of occurring in any given year. They’re a measure of how high local sea levels become: The extent of flooding in a particular city or community depends on several factors, including a region’s topography and the location of homes and infrastructure relative to the ocean. Ten-year floods can result in what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration classifies as moderate flooding, with some inundation of roads and buildings, and the possible need to evacuate people or move belongings to higher ground. NASA’s coastal flooding analysis finds that by the 2030s, during strong El Niño years, cities on the west coast of the Americas could see up to 10 of these 10-year flood events. By the 2050s, strong El Niños may result in as many as 40 instances of these events in a given year. Watching Sea Levels Rise Water expands as it warms, so sea levels tend to be higher in places with warmer water. Researchers and forecasters monitor ocean temperatures as well as water levels to spot the formation and development of an El Niño. “Climate change is already shifting the baseline sea level along coastlines around the world,” said Ben Hamlington, a sea level researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California and lead for the agency’s sea level change science team. Sea levels are rising in response to planetary warming, as Earth’s atmosphere and ocean are heating up and ice sheets and shelves melt. This has already increased the number of high-tide, or nuisance, flooding days coastal cities experience throughout the year. Phenomena like El Niños and storm surges, which temporarily boost sea levels, compound these effects. Missions that monitor sea levels, including the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite and Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, help to monitor El Niños in the near term. SWOT in particular, collects data on sea levels right up to the coast, which can help to improve sea level rise projections. That kind of information could aid policymakers and planners in preparing their communities for rising seas in the next decades. “As climate change accelerates, some cities will see flooding five to 10 times more often. SWOT will keep watch on these changes to ensure coastal communities are not caught off guard,” said Nadya Vinogradova Shiffer, SWOT program scientist and director of the ocean physics program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. To learn more about how NASA studies sea level, visit: https://sealevel.nasa.gov/ See how SWOT captures sea levels around the globe News Media Contacts Jane J. Lee / Andrew Wang Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 818-354-0307 / 626-379-6874 jane.j.lee@jpl.nasa.gov / andrew.wang@jpl.nasa.gov 2023-162 Share Details Last Updated Nov 08, 2023 Related Terms EarthJet Propulsion LaboratoryOceansSWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography)Water on Earth Explore More 4 min read NASA Project Manager Helps Makes Impact in Southeast Asia with SERVIR Article 2 hours ago 5 min read First Science Images Released From ESA Mission With NASA Contributions Article 1 day ago 5 min read NASA’s Curiosity Rover Clocks 4,000 Days on Mars Article 2 days ago View the full article

1 min read Six Growing Beyond Earth Student Teams to Present at the 2023 American Association for Gravitational and Space Research Conference To join Growing Beyond Earth, visit us www.fairchildgarden.org/gbe. Credit: Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden Congratulations to the six Growing Beyond Earth high school teams who will present their original research at this year’s American Association for Gravitational and Space Research Conference in Washington D.C.! The teams represent Biotech@Richmond Heights (Miami FL), Herbert Henry Dow High School (Midland, MI), iMater Preparatory Academy High School (Hialeah, FL), and Institute for Collaborative Education (New York, NY). The student projects include: Exploring Autonomous Sensing and Watering Systems, Plant Growth and Gene Expression in Simulating Microgravity, 3D Printed Materials Property Impact on Plant Growth, and Optimizing Light to Maximum Anthocyanin Content in Plants. Growing Beyond Earth is a classroom-based citizen science project designed to advance NASA research on growing plants in space. For more information or to get involved, please visit: www.fairchildgarden.org/gbe. Facebook logo @DoNASAScience @DoNASAScience Share Details Last Updated Nov 08, 2023 Related Terms Citizen Science Earth Science View the full article

1 min read NASA Sounding Rocket Launches into Alaskan Aurora A sounding rocket launched from Poker Flat Research Range in Fairbanks, Alaska, Nov. 8, 2023, carrying NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center’s DISSIPATION mission. The rocket launched into aurora and successfully captured data to understand how auroras heat the atmosphere and cause high-altitude winds. The teams continue to support a second sounding rocket launch for BEAM-PIE, a mission for Los Alamos National Laboratory that will use an electron beam to create radio waves, measuring how atmospheric conditions modulate them. The data is key to interpreting measurements from many other missions. NASA’s Sounding Rockets Program, funded by NASA’s Heliophysics Division, is managed at the agency’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, under NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Photo Credit: NASA/Lee Wingfield Share Details Last Updated Nov 08, 2023 Editor Jamie Adkins Contact Sarah A. Fraziersarah.frazier@nasa.gov Related Terms AurorasGoddard Space Flight CenterHeliophysicsSounding RocketsWallops Flight Facility Explore More 5 min read NASA’s Webb Findings Support Long-Proposed Process of Planet Formation Article 29 mins ago 2 min read Calling all Eclipse Enthusiasts: Become a NASA Partner Eclipse Ambassador! By Vivian White, Astronomical Society of the Pacific Are you an astronomy enthusiast or undergraduate… Article 20 hours ago 5 min read NASA’s Lucy Surprises Again, Observes 1st-ever Contact Binary Orbiting Asteroid NASA’s Lucy Spacecraft took images of asteroid Dinkinesh, discovering that the asteroid has the first-ever… Article 20 hours ago View the full article

Scientists using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope just made a breakthrough discovery in revealing how planets are made. By observing water vapor in protoplanetary disks, Webb confirmed a physical process involving the drifting of ice-coated solids from the outer regions of the disk into the rocky-planet zone. Theories have long proposed that icy pebbles forming in the cold, outer regions of protoplanetary disks — the same area where comets originate in our solar system — should be the fundamental seeds of planet formation. The main requirement of these theories is that pebbles should drift inward toward the star due to friction in the gaseous disk, delivering both solids and water to planets. A fundamental prediction of this theory is that as icy pebbles enter into the warmer region within the “snowline” — where ice transitions to vapor — they should release large amounts of cold water vapor. This is exactly what Webb observed. “Webb finally revealed the connection between water vapor in the inner disk and the drift of icy pebbles from the outer disk,” said principal investigator Andrea Banzatti of Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas. “This finding opens up exciting prospects for studying rocky planet formation with Webb!” “In the past, we had this very static picture of planet formation, almost like there were these isolated zones that planets formed out of,” explained team member Colette Salyk of Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. “Now we actually have evidence that these zones can interact with each other. It’s also something that is proposed to have happened in our solar system.” Image: Planet-forming Disks Artist’s Concept: This artist’s concept compares two types of typical, planet-forming disks around newborn, Sun-like stars. On the left is a compact disk, and on the right is an extended disk with gaps. Scientists using Webb recently studied four protoplanetary disks—two compact and two extended. The researchers designed their observations to test whether compact planet-forming disks have more water in their inner regions than extended planet-forming disks with gaps. This would happen if ice-covered pebbles in the compact disks drift more efficiently into the close-in regions nearer to the star and deliver large amounts of solids and water to the just-forming, rocky, inner planets. Current research proposes that large planets may cause rings of increased pressure, where pebbles tend to collect. As the pebbles drift, any time they encounter an increase in pressure, they tend to collect there. These pressure traps don’t necessarily shut down pebble drift, but they do impede it. This is what appears to be happening in the large disks with rings and gaps. This also could have been a role of Jupiter in our solar system — inhibiting pebbles and water delivery to our small, inner, and relatively water-poor rocky planets. NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI) Harnessing the Power of Webb The researchers used Webb’s MIRI (the Mid-Infrared Instrument) to study four disks — two compact and two extended — around Sun-like stars. All four of these stars are estimated to be between 2 and 3 million years old, just newborns in cosmic time. The two compact disks are expected to experience efficient pebble drift, delivering pebbles to well within a distance equivalent to Neptune’s orbit. In contrast, the extended disks are expected to have their pebbles retained in multiple rings as far out as six times the orbit of Neptune. The Webb observations were designed to determine whether compact disks have a higher water abundance in their inner, rocky planet region, as expected if pebble drift is more efficient and is delivering lots of solid mass and water to inner planets. The team chose to use MIRI’s MRS (the Medium-Resolution Spectrometer) because it is sensitive to water vapor in disks. The results confirmed expectations by revealing excess cool water in the compact disks, compared with the large disks. Image: Water Abundance Emission Spectrum – Water Abundance: This graphic compares the spectral data for warm and cool water in the GK Tau disk, which is a compact disk without rings, and extended CI Tau disk, which has at least three rings on different orbits. The science team employed the unprecedented resolving power of MIRI’s MRS (the Medium-Resolution Spectrometer) to separate the spectra into individual lines that probe water at different temperatures. These spectra, seen in the top graph, clearly reveal excess cool water in the compact GK Tau disk, compared with the large CI Tau disk. The bottom graph shows the excess cool water data in the compact GK Tau disk minus the cool water data in the extended CI Tau disk. The actual data, in purple, are overlaid on a model spectrum of cool water. Note how closely they align. NASA, ESA, CSA, Leah Hustak (STScI) As the pebbles drift, any time they encounter a pressure bump — an increase in pressure — they tend to collect there. These pressure traps don’t necessarily shut down pebble drift, but they do impede it. This is what appears to be happening in the large disks with rings and gaps. Current research proposes that large planets may cause rings of increased pressure, where pebbles tend to collect. This also could have been a role of Jupiter in our solar system — inhibiting pebbles and water delivery to our small, inner, and relatively water-poor rocky planets. Solving the Riddle When the data first came in, the results were puzzling to the research team. “For two months, we were stuck on these preliminary results that were telling us that the compact disks had colder water, and the large disks had hotter water overall,” remembered Banzatti. “This made no sense, because we had selected a sample of stars with very similar temperatures.” Only when Banzatti overlaid the data from the compact disks onto the data from the large disks did the answer clearly emerge: the compact disks have extra cool water just inside the snowline, at about ten times closer than the orbit of Neptune. “Now we finally see unambiguously that it is the colder water that has an excess,” said Banzatti. “This is unprecedented and entirely due to Webb’s higher resolving power!” Image: Icy Pebble Drift This graphic is an interpretation of data from Webb’s MIRI, the Mid-Infrared Instrument, which is sensitive to water vapor in disks. It shows the difference between pebble drift and water content in a compact disk versus an extended disk with rings and gaps. In the compact disk on the left, as the ice-covered pebbles drift inward toward the warmer region closer to the star, they are unimpeded. As they cross the snow line, their ice turns to vapor and provides a large amount of water to enrich the just-forming, rocky, inner planets. On the right is an extended disk with rings and gaps. As the ice-covered pebbles begin their journey inward, many become stopped by the gaps and trapped in the rings. Fewer icy pebbles are able to make it across the snow line to deliver water to the inner region of the disk.NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI) The team’s results appear in the Nov. 8 edition of the Astrophysical Journal Letters. The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency. Media Contacts Laura Betz – laura.e.betz@nasa.gov NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Hannah Braun – hbraun@stsci.edu , Christine Pulliam – cpulliam@stsci.edi Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md. Downloads Download full resolution images for this article from the Space Telescope Science Institute. Research results in the Nov. 8 edition of the Astrophysical Journal Letters. Related Information More about protoplanetary disks on NASA’s Universe website. More Webb News – https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/latestnews/ More Webb Images – https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/multimedia/images/ Webb Mission Page – https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/ En Español Ciencia de la NASA NASA en español Space Place para niños Keep Exploring Related Topics James Webb Space Telescope Webb is the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It studies every phase in the… Planets Our solar system can be divided into three regions: the inner solar system, the outer solar system, and the Kuiper… Exoplanets Overview Most of the exoplanets discovered so far are in a relatively small region of our galaxy, the Milky Way.… Universe Explore the universe: Learn about the history of the cosmos, what it’s made of, and so much more. Share Details Last Updated Nov 08, 2023 Editor Steve Sabia Contact Related Terms Goddard Space Flight CenterJames Webb Space Telescope (JWST)The Universe View the full article

4 min read NASA Project Manager Helps Makes Impact in Southeast Asia with SERVIR Tony Kim in South Korea’s Songdo Central Park standing in front of the statue “Cruising Together” created by Han Jeong-ho. Tony Kim By Celine Smith “As the seedlings were placed in the water, I felt a moment of déjà vu,” said NASA scientist Tony Kim. “I was taken back to when I was a child playing in similar fields in South Korea. It felt like I was meant to be there bringing space to village with satellite data.” As he looked at rice fields while visiting Bhutan in September 2023, Kim savored the chance to do something meaningful across Southeast Asia and also in his native country. Having seen his childhood home turn from rice fields to a city, Kim knows the importance of sustainably using the land. In Bhutan, Kim and research partners are identifying rice paddies, estimating crop production, predicting shortages, and gauging the health of each harvest. He represents NASA as an international project manager for SERVIR, a partnership between NASA and USAID (U.S. Agency for International Development). It is a flagship program for Earth Action in NASA’s Earth Sciences Division, created in 2005 and rooted at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. SERVIR – which means “to serve” in Spanish – aids more than 50 nations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America in their efforts to address issues like food and water security, droughts, and the negative effects of climate change. SERVIR assists regional, national, and local institutions by using NASA satellite data, models, and products to manage resources sustainably. NASA and USAID launched its SERVIR Mekong hub in 2015 at the ADPC (Asian Disaster Preparedness Center) in Bangkok, Thailand. The hub has been renamed SERVIR Southeast Asia as of this year. Other SERVIR hubs are in the Himalayas, West Africa, and the Amazon. Kim, back row fifth from the right, pictured with other attendees during the 2023 PEER (Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research) Bhutan Symposium where Bhutanese scientists funded by USAID (U.S. Agency for International Development). present their research. Kim’s presentation was, “Advancing STEM in Bhutan through Increased Earth Observation Capacity.” Royal Society for Protection of Nature Bhutan In addition to Bhutan, Kim also traveled back home to Seoul, South Korea – nearly 20 years since his last visit – to represent SERVIR Southeast Asia. “When I went back to Korea, I felt like a kid going back in time,” Kim said. The USAID RDMA (Regional Development Mission for Asia), which funds SERVIR Southeast Asia requested Kim’s presence for a meeting with Korean leaders. He discussed the value of NASA satellite data for environmental decision-making with the Korean Ministry of Environment and USAID RDMA, as well as opportunities for collaboration to solve water issues in the Indo-Pacific region and natural resource management in the Lower Mekong sub-region. “Korea recovered from war in the 1950’s and developed very quickly as a powerhouse for technology products. Now Korea is helping other developing countries in Asia,” Kim said. “I am so proud of my home country and my adopted country (through NASA) helping people around the world to use satellite data in productive ways.” Kim was eight years old in 1974 when his family moved from the southern edge of Seoul to the suburbs of Chicago. “Our parents immigrated to the United States to give us the opportunity to better ourselves through education,” he said. After high school, he went to the University of Illinois, where he pursued a degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering. After graduation, he joined Marshall as a propulsion engineer, testing cryogenic fluid management techniques for advanced rocket propulsion systems. From there, Kim’s 33-year NASA journey led him through a variety of roles. He served in 1992 as an operations controller for two Spacelab missions. In 1996, he led an operation team for the International Space Station Furnace Facility. From 1998-2001, he was a payload operations manager for space station science payloads. Marshall selected Kim to study at Auburn University in 1997, where he earned his master’s degree in material science. Afterwards, Kim attended the International Space University. Then, he led the ALTUS Cumulus Electrification Study, where an uninhabited aerial vehicle was used to study lightning during a thunderstorm. Tony Kim, SERVIR Science Coordination Office (SCO) Project Manager, International Flagship Program for Earth Action. NASA Kim was selected in 2003 for the NASA Administrator’s Fellowship Program to teach a design engineering course at Texas A&M in Kingsville for one year. He spent the next year at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Kim returned to Marshall as a deep throttling rocket engine technology manager and then deputy manager for advanced nuclear thermal propulsion technology development. In 2016, Kim served as deputy program manager for Centennial Challenges, NASA’s premier, large-prize program. Kim worked with Bradley University and Caterpillar in Peoria, Illinois, to conduct NASA’s 3D-printed Habitat Challenge. “SERVIR was the only organization that could have taken me away from Centennial Challenges,” Kim said. I enjoyed working on technology to help people in the future, but there was a more immediate calling for me to help people right now here on Earth with satellite data Tony kim NASA Scientist Kim and his wife, Sonya, live in Huntsville and have three grown children. He said the lessons his parents imparted remain as true today as when he was a small child. “They taught us to work hard, keep your commitments, and care about what you do and the people you do it with,” he said. “If you do those things, you’ll find success.” Jonathan Deal Jonathan Deal NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center jonathan.e.deal@nasa.gov 256-544-0034 Share Details Last Updated Nov 08, 2023 Related Terms EarthGeneralMarshall Space Flight CenterPeople of NASASERVIR (Regional Visualization and Monitoring System) Explore More 6 min read Going Beyond the Challenge for New and Continued Success Article 20 hours ago 8 min read Reaching New Frontiers in Science Supported by Public Participation Article 20 hours ago 6 min read Advancing Technology for Aeronautics Article 20 hours ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

Nine-year-old, Luca Pollack of Carlsbad, California, the winner of the kindergarten through fourth grade division of the 2023 Power to Explore student writing challenge, shows off his mission concept. The third Power to Explore Student Challenge from NASA is underway. The writing challenge invites K-12th grade students in the United States to learn about radioisotope power systems, a type of nuclear battery integral to many of NASA’s far-reaching space missions, and then write an essay about a new powered mission for the agency. For more than 60 years, radioisotope power systems have helped NASA explore the harshest, darkest, and dustiest parts of our solar system and has enabled many spacecrafts to conduct otherwise impossible missions in total darkness. Ahead of the next total solar eclipse in the United States in April 2024, which is a momentary glimpse without sunlight and brings attention to the challenge of space exploration without solar power, NASA wants students to submit essays about these systems. Entries should detail where students would go, what they would explore, and how they would use the power of radioisotope power systems to achieve mission success in a dusty, dark, or far away space destination with limited or obstructed access to light. Submissions are due Jan. 26, 2024. “The Power to Explore Student Challenge is part of NASA’s ongoing efforts to engage students in space exploration and inspire interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “This technology has been a gamechanger in our exploration capabilities and we can’t wait to see what students – our future explorers – dream up; the sky isn’t the limit, it’s just the beginning.” Judges will review entries in three grade-level categories: K-4, 5-8, and 9-12. Student entries are limited to 250 words and should address the mission destination, mission goals, and describe one of the student’s unique powers that will help the mission. One grand prize winner from each grade category (three total) will receive a trip for two to NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, to learn about the people and technologies that enable NASA missions. Every student who submits an entry will receive a digital certificate and an invitation to a virtual event with NASA experts where they’ll learn about what powers the NASA workforce to dream big and explore. Judges Needed NASA and Future Engineers are seeking volunteers to help judge the thousands of contest entries anticipated to be submitted from around the country. U.S. residents over 18 years old who are interested in offering approximately three hours of their time to review submissions should register to be a judge at the Future Engineers website. The Power to Explore Student Challenge is funded by the NASA Science Mission Directorate’s Radioisotope Power Systems Program Office and managed and administered by Future Engineers under the direction of the NASA Tournament Lab, a part of the Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing Program in NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. Learn more about the challenge online: Power to Explore Student Challenge -end- Karen Fox / Alana Johnson Headquarters, Washington 301-286-6284 / 202-358-1501 karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / alana.r.johnson@nasa.gov Kristin Jansen Glenn Research Center, Cleveland 216-296-2203 kristin.m.jansen@nasa.gov View the full article

The Artemis Accords describe a shared vision for principles, grounded in the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, to create a safe and transparent environment which facilitates space exploration and science for all of humanity to enjoy.Credits: NASA Bulgaria will sign the Artemis Accords during a ceremony at 10 a.m. EST on Thursday, Nov. 9, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson will host officials from Bulgaria and the U.S. Department of State for the accords signing ceremony. This event is in-person only. Media interested in attending must RSVP by 7 a.m. on Nov. 9, to the NASA Headquarters newsroom at 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 Artemis Accords in 2020 along with the original signatories. The accords reinforce and implement the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. They also reinforce 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. The event will take place at the agency’s James E. Webb Auditorium in the West Lobby inside NASA Headquarters located at 300 E St. SW. Learn more about the Artemis Accords at: https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-accords -end- Jackie McGuiness / Roxana Bardan Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1600 jackie.mcguinness@nasa.gov / roxana.bardan@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Nov 07, 2023 Location NASA Headquarters Related Terms View the full article

Credits: NASA NASA’s Super Guppy arrives in Alabama on Nov. 6, 2023, carrying the heat shield that protected Orion’s crew module during its flight on Artemis I. The one-of-a-kind, turboprop-powered aircraft ferried the heat shield from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to Huntsville Regional Airport for transport to the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center. Technicians at Marshall will use the center’s specialized milling tool to remove the heat shield’s outer layer of ablative material, a protective coating called Avcoat, as part of routine post-flight analysis. Click here to download the NASA b-roll Click here to download the NASA image of the Super Guppy Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Space Launch System (SLS) Artemis Marshall Space Flight Center Solar System View the full article

NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate connects the public to the agency’s missions and explores creative possibilities for addressing the agency’s research and technology development needs through prizes, challenges, and crowdsourcing opportunities. These challenges bridge NASA’s institutional expertise with the ingenuity of industry experts, universities, and the public at large, resulting in collaborations that help advance space technology solutions. For many solvers, success doesn’t stop when the NASA challenge ends. Past participants have gone on to work with NASA in other ways and take their technology to new heights in the commercial sector. CO2 Conversion Challenge (2020) – NASA’s Centennial Challenges has an impact far greater than just space travel – just ask Air Co., a Brooklyn-based company that competed and won a three-way tie in the CO2 Conversion Challenge, which ran from 2018 to 2021. Air Co. founders Gregory Constantine (left) and Stafford Sheehan (right) used their innovative idea, which originally existed to convert carbon dioxide into glucose, to create immediately usable hand sanitizer at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Image courtesy of Air Co. Commercializing Challenge-Supported CO2 Technology Air Company of Brooklyn, New York, was one of three teams to win the final round of NASA’s CO2 Conversion Challenge, which concluded in August 2021. This challenge asked the public to develop ways to convert carbon dioxide (CO2), an abundant resource on Mars, into sugar, which could be used by astronauts to make products including plastics, adhesives, fuels, food, and medicine. Air Company received a $700,000 award in the final phase of the competition for its thermochemical sugar production. First, CO2 and hydrogen are combined to make methanol, then hydrogen is removed to turn methanol into formaldehyde. The third chemical reaction produces a simple sugar called D-glucose. Since participating in the CO2 Conversion Challenge, Air Company has commercialized its CO2-converting technology in unique ways, producing hand sanitizer, fragrance oil, and even vodka. The CO2 used is sourced from biogenic emissions – mitigating emissions that are released into the atmosphere from ethanol fermentation facilities.1 The company has also gone on to compete in NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge and developed a system and processes for turning air, water, electricity, and yeast into food. In May 2023, Air Company was named a winner in Phase 2 of the challenge, receiving a $150,000 prize from NASA and a chance to compete in Phase 3 for a grand prize of $750,000 from a total prize purse of up to $1.5 million. Cross-Program Competitors Advance Lunar Power Solutions Astrobotic Technology, a small business based in Pittsburgh, was named a grand prize winner of Phase 1 of NASA’s Watts on the Moon Challenge in May 2021. The company is no stranger to NASA – in fact, John Thornton, CEO of Astrobotic, credits early NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding as “the lifeblood of the company,” starting with its first award in 2009. Astrobotic has also received funding from NASA’s Tipping Point program and was selected to deliver scientific and technology payloads to the Moon as part of the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payloads Services (CLPS) initiative. Having continuous power throughout the lunar day and night during missions on the surface of the Moon is an essential technology asset for long-term crew and scientific exploration. For the Watts on the Moon Challenge, teams were asked to submit ideas for up to three parts of a hypothetical mission scenario: generating power from a plant to harvest water and oxygen from a dark crater on the Moon’s South Pole. Astrobotic received the grand prize in response to the first part of the scenario, proposing a fleet of small rovers that transport power cables between the solar array power source and the rover that operates inside the crater. The team also received a prize for collaborating with Montreal startup Eternal Light Photonics Corp. for a wireless mobile power beaming solution. According to Astrobotic, the prizes contribute to the company’s development of lunar surface power infrastructure.2 In August 2022, the company was selected by NASA to receive $6.2 million to help advance Vertical Solary Array Technology (VSAT) under the agency’s Game Changing Development program.3 Printing Homes for Extraterrestrial Lands and on Earth In November 2022, small business ICON, based in Austin, Texas, received a $57.2 million contract from NASA to develop construction technologies that could support infrastructure such as landing pads, habitats, and roads on the Moon. This effort supports NASA’s Moon to Mars Planetary Autonomous Construction Technologies (MMPACT) project. Preceding this, the company participated in NASA’s 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge, which ran from 2015 to 2019. This challenge asked competitors to design, develop, and test several areas of 3D printing that could contribute to potential human shelter on Mars. ICON partnered with the Colorado School of Mines in Phase 3: Level 1 of the challenge. The team was named a top ten finalist for their digital representation of a house on Mars using building information modeling software tools. The technology ICON initially developed through the NASA challenge has helped pave several paths for the company. In addition to designing extraterrestrial infrastructure, ICON also impacts global housing by constructing 3D printed homes on Earth. The company created the first 3D printed community of homes in Nacajuca, Mexico.4 Taking its challenge journey full circle, ICON has also released its own global architecture competition open to the public. Global Participation Leads to Mini Rover Missions Based in Budapest, Hungary, Puli Space Technologies is an example of the global collaboration that is possible through prize, challenge, and crowdsourcing opportunities. In 2020, the company participated in the Honey, I Shrunk the NASA Payload competition, which sought designs for miniature science instruments – about the size of a bar of soap – that could help scout the lunar surface, collecting key information about the Moon, its resources, and the environment. The challenge was sponsored by NASA’s Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative to cultivate new ideas, spur innovation and enhance the development of capabilities for exploration of the lunar surface. The challenge received 132 entries from 29 countries. Puli Space won first prize in the first iteration of the challenge for its conceptual Puli Lunar Water Snooper (PLWS) to identify hydrogen and all hydrogen-bearing volatiles, like water-ice, on the Moon. Following the challenge, NASA released Honey, I Shrunk the NASA Payload Challenge, the Sequel, a two-year challenge that asked teams to develop, build, and prototype their miniature rover payloads. Out of the 14 finalists from the original challenge, four teams were chosen to advance to stage 2 of the sequel challenge. As part of the challenge, NASA provided $675,000, which was split between the four teams to fund development. Puli Space placed second in the sequel challenge for developing PLWS. According to Puli Space CEO Tibor Pacher, the connections made in preparing for the challenge led to PLWS’s placement on at least two planned commercial Moon missions.5 Endnotes [1] https://www.aircompany.com/ [2] https://www.astrobotic.com/astrobotic-wins-two-nasa-prizes-for-lunar-power-infrastructure/ [3] https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/three-companies-to-help-nasa-advance-solar-array-technology-for-moon [4] https://www.iconbuild.com/projects/3d-printed-homes-in-nacajuca-mexico-with-new-story [5] https://lsic.jhuapl.edu/Resources/files/Newsletters/LSIC-Newsletter_2023_June_v4.pdf Share Details Last Updated Nov 07, 2023 Related Terms General View the full article

8 min read Reaching New Frontiers in Science Supported by Public Participation A brown dwarf roaming the Milky Way galaxy. Image by citizen scientist/artist William Pendrill.Credit: William Pendrill NASA’s Science Mission Directorate seeks knowledge and answers to profound questions that impact all people. Through competitions, challenges, crowdsourcing, and citizen science activities, NASA collaborates with the public to make scientific discoveries that help us better understand our planet and the space beyond. Multiple NASA science projects were supported through public participation in Fiscal Years 2021 and 2022, spanning pursuits in astrophysics, Earth science, heliophysics,1 and more. Astrophysics NASA challenges in astrophysics seek to uncover new information about the origin, structure, evolution, and future of the universe, as well as other worlds outside our solar system. Seeking potential planets in the backyard of our solar system, NASA invited the public to examine data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission to discern moving celestial bodies. Human eyes are needed for the task because anomalies in the images often fool image processing technologies. The WISE mission continues to collect data, and the Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 citizen science project is still ongoing. But the project has discovered so far more than 3500 brown dwarfs (balls of gas too small to be considered stars), and one notable citizen scientist himself found 34 ultracool brown dwarfs with companions, now published in The Astronomical Journal. To understand stars better, a citizen science project called Disk Detective 2.0 was launched in 2020 to evaluate disks, or belts, of material around stars. The original 2014 project resulted in the discovery of the longest-lived disks that form planets—dubbed “Peter Pan” disks—as well as the discovery of the youngest nearby disk around a brown dwarf. The relaunch offered a new batch of 150,000 stars in infrared wavelengths from NASA’s WISE mission and other data. As of May 2023, more than 12,000 volunteers had contributed to the project and 14 of those co-authored scientific papers based on their findings. The Hybrid Observatory for Earth-like Exoplanets (HOEE) is a concept for a mission that would combine a ground-based telescope with a space-based starshade to enable better views of exoplanets from Earth. The Hybrid Observatory for Earth-like Exoplanets (HOEE) is a concept for a mission that would combine a ground-based telescope with a space-based starshade to enable better views of exoplanets from Earth. As part of early-stage study of this concept, NASA invited the public to develop 3D computer models of a lightweight starshade. Requirements for the starshade design included compact packaging, successful deployment in orbit, and a low-mass structure capable of maintaining its shape and alignment using as little spacecraft fuel as possible. The Ultralight Starshade Structural Design Challenge received 60 entries, and the top five shared a $7,000 prize. First place combined inflatable tubes for compression structures and cables for tension. The Ultralight Starshade Structural Design Challenge asked participants to develop a lightweight starshade structure that could be used as part of the Hybrid Observatory for Earth-like Exoplanets (HOEE) concept Earth Science One goal of NASA’s Earth science pursuits is to map the connections between Earth’s vital processes and the climate effects of natural and human-caused changes. Multiple competitions are aiding our understanding of these interconnected systems. A worldwide program called Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) has brought educators and students together since 1995, promoting science and learning about the environment. As one of the partner organizations for the program, NASA sponsored the NASA GLOBE Trees Challenge 2022: Trees in a Changing Climate to gather tree height observations. The data collected is compared with space-based observation systems to track tree height and growth rate as an indicator of ecosystem health. Volunteers from around the world have amassed more than 4,700 tree-height observations from over 1,500 locations in 50 countries. A similar data-gathering effort—the Cooperative Open Online Landslide Repository (COOLR)—utilizes a web-based platform developed by NASA to share reports of landslides. The repository’s data is validating a model in development at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt Maryland, the Landslide Hazard Assessment for Situational Awareness (LHASA), to map areas of potential landslide hazard in real-time. LHASA incorporates landslide inventories from people around the world in a machine-learning framework to estimate the relative probability of landslide occurrence. To develop more accurate air quality data products from NASA satellite missions, a public competition called NASA Airathon: Predict Air Quality2 asked participants to develop algorithms for estimating daily levels of surface-level air pollutants on Earth. Using NASA satellite data, model outputs, and ground measurements, the public estimated daily levels of particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) across urban areas in the U.S., India, and Taiwan—all of which have readily available satellite data. The contest generated more than 1,200 submissions from over 1,000 participants and awarded $25,000 in prizes. The ocean: it’s Earth’s largest ecosystem and the habitat for coral – one of the planet’s most unique and oldest life forms. While the concept for an iPad game called NeMO-Net could be applied to the search for life across the universe, the current application is assessing the health of coral reefs. Players help NASA classify coral reefs by painting 3D and 2D images of coral captured using the NASA FluidCam instrument, the highest-resolution remote sensing benthic imaging technology capable of removing ocean wave distortion. Data from the painted images feeds into NASA NeMO-Net, the first neural multi-modal observation and training network for global coral reef assessment. With 43,000 unique downloads of the game, there have been 71,000 classifications, of which 56,400 have been reviewed and confirmed by NASA. Planetary Science NASA’s spacecraft, which arrived at Jupiter in 2016, continues to explore the planet and its satellites with a suite of scientific instruments and a camera called JunoCam. The camera takes visible frequency images of Jupiter’s polar regions and its moons.  Via the project website, citizen scientists create images from the raw JunoCam data and post their creations on the Juno website and social media platforms. Early during the prime mission, the project engaged with the public in an online voting campaign to plan image-taking during orbital passes around Jupiter (“perijoves”), but the effort was abandoned after the transition to the 53 day–orbit mission due to unfavorable evolution of the approach geometry. Ideally, when a space rover lands on Mars, it will know where it is safe to drive, land, sleep, and hibernate—without any guidance from a human operator. An early step in developing this capability, AI4Mars, invited the public to label images of Mars terrain taken by the Curiosity rover. The goal is to train a machine learning algorithm to improve the rover’s ability to identify and avoid hazardous terrain, which is essential for autonomous exploration. Over 16,000 volunteers completed more than 632,000 classifications, and a model developed using the data has a total accuracy of 91%. A self-portrait of NASA’s Curiosity rover taken on Sol 2082 (June 15, 2018). A Martian dust storm has reduced sunlight and visibility at the rover’s location in Gale Crater. Self-portraits are created using images taken by Curiosity’s Mars Hands Lens Imager (MAHLI). https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22486 Another ideal capability for a Mars rover is independent analysis of data to avoid the tedious process of data transmission from Mars to Earth and back. In the Mars Spectrometry: Detect Evidence for Past Habitability challenge, NASA engaged the public to build a model to automatically analyze mass spectrometry data from rock and soil samples. Out of 656 entries, a software engineer from Brisbane, Australia, won $15,000 for first place. The second-place winner from the United States received $7,500, and the third-place winner from India won $5,000. Biological and Physical Sciences One of the aims of biological science research at NASA is to understand how biological systems acclimate to spaceflight environments. A unique classroom-based citizen science program called Growing Beyond Earth advances NASA’s research on growing plants in space. In its seventh year, the NASA program provides all the materials needed for the experiments. In total, more than 40,000 participating students and teachers have contributed hundreds of thousands of data points and tested 180 varieties of edible plants. As a result of their efforts, four types of vegetables were grown by NASA off-Earth, and two varieties have been successfully grown on the International Space Station. Heliophysics NASA studies the Sun and its effects on Earth and the solar system—or heliophysics—to increase understanding of how the universe works, how to protect technology and astronauts in space, and how stars contribute to the habitability of planets throughout the universe. SOHO captured this image of a gigantic coronal hole hovering over the sun’s north pole on July 18, 2013. To enable better discovery and tracking of sungrazing comets—the large but faint objects made of dust and ice in close orbit of the Sun—NASA held the NASA SOHO Comet Search. Over $55,000 in prizes was awarded to solutions to reduce background noise in data recorded by the Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO), one of the instruments on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft. Hundreds of participants from around the world devised artificial intelligence and machine learning approaches, which led to the discovery of two previously unidentified comets, including a difficult-to-detect non-group comet. The preliminary results we’re already seeing come out of this challenge highlight the value of the open science movement. Katie Baynes NASA's Deputy Chief Science Data Officer Space Apps 2021 In its tenth year, NASA’s 2021 International Space Apps Challenge took place in 320 locations across 162 countries or territories. The hackathon for coders, scientists, designers, storytellers, makers, technologists, and innovators around the world offered 28 different topics to solve using open data from NASA and others. This year’s winners included an app for homeowners to simplify data from NASA’s Prediction of Worldwide Renewable Energy Resources (POWER) web services portal to help make solar panel purchasing decisions and encourage solar energy use. Another winning app detects, quantifies, follows, and projects the movement of plastic debris in the ocean with high accuracy. Endnotes [1] https://science.nasa.gov/about-us/smd-vision [2] https://drivendata.co/blog/nasa-airathon-winners Share Details Last Updated Nov 07, 2023 Related Terms General View the full article

2 min read Calling all Eclipse Enthusiasts: Become a NASA Partner Eclipse Ambassador! By Vivian White, Astronomical Society of the Pacific Eclipse Ambassadors help share information with their communities about how to safely observe the Sun, such as using handheld solar viewers. Los Angeles Astronomical Society/Iraneide De Oliveira Are you an astronomy enthusiast or undergraduate student with a passion for sharing space science? We are excited to share with you a wonderful opportunity to become an official NASA Partner Eclipse Ambassador and help your community experience the awe and wonder of science. In this exciting NASA partnership funded through NASA’s Science Activation program, undergraduate students and experienced eclipse enthusiasts who become Eclipse Ambassadors will pair up to engage and prepare local communities in advance of the April 2024 solar eclipse. All training, partnerships, resources, and connections with local underserved partners will be provided. The program supports community outreach before the upcoming 2024 eclipse in communities off the path of totality. Undergraduates will also receive a stipend and opportunities to further their involvement in NASA programs. If this interests you, apply today. You can also find Eclipse Ambassadors near you via our Eclipse Ambassadors map. We are still recruiting and partnering hundreds of Eclipse Ambassadors across the U.S. through the end of 2023, but don’t hesitate. Your community needs you! What you’ll find when you apply: A supportive network of enthusiasts who regularly share eclipse support A partner in your community (each partnership consists of an undergraduate and an eclipse enthusiast) Materials including solar viewing glasses, activities, handouts, and more Connections to local community centers reaching underserved audiences Regular social hours and presentations from experts in eclipses and communication Opportunities to continue your journey with NASA through collaborations with partners in heliophysics, education, and communication Learn More and Apply People use handmade solar viewers to safely observe the Sun at Faulkner County Library in Arkansas. Darcy Howard Share Details Last Updated Nov 07, 2023 Related Terms 2024 Solar Eclipse Eclipses Heliophysics Heliophysics Division Science Activation Solar Eclipses The Sun Explore More 1 min read One Year of Spritacular Science! Article 1 day ago 2 min read Native Earth, Native Sky CRS-29 Payload Article 4 days ago 5 min read NASA Rocket to See Sizzling Edge of Star-Forming Supernova Article 2 weeks ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

6 min read Advancing Technology for Aeronautics on Earth The future of flight looks very exciting, and the public is helping NASA see it more clearly. For more than a century, NASA and its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, have been the global leader in aeronautics research. NASA’s innovative contributions to aviation benefit the U.S. economy, air transportation system, aviation industry, and passengers and businesses who rely on flight every day. NASA is with you when you fly, and the agency continues to revolutionize research and development activities for the aviation industry of tomorrow. NASA’s public prize competitions, challenges, and crowdsourcing activities illuminate what is on the horizon for air and aviation on Earth. These research and development challenges yield innovative ideas, including future forecasts to inform strategies for the next era of aviation, algorithms to predict runway traffic changes at U.S. airports, and more. Future Forecasts to Prepare for the Next Era of Aeronautics NASA’s vision for aeronautical research for the next 25 years and beyond encompasses a range of technologies for safe, efficient, flexible, and environmentally sustainable air transportation. To prepare for this future, NASA’s Convergent Aeronautics Solutions project conducted a challenge that prompted the public to imagine the state of aviation in 25 years. NASA’s Future-Scaping Our Skies Challenge asked participants to predict and describe future aviation using timelines and storylines, including data sources, references, and multimedia illustrations when possible. The contest awarded $21,000 to nine top winners. Judges evaluated the contest submissions based on their descriptions of possible future scenarios and the key events and trends leading to the proposed outcomes. According to Team Sparkletron, which placed first in the competition, advanced computation and machine learning might be modeling changes in aviation and the future of aviation better than ever. Such models could apply to commercial and personal flying applications. Ground Control Software for Unmanned Aircraft Systems In 2021, more than 873,000 Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)—also known as drones—were registered to fly in the United States. With a host of potential applications, including delivery of products, search and rescue, and agricultural monitoring, drone numbers will likely rise.1 Working in partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration for more than 25 years, NASA is researching technologies for traffic management of drones. A large portion of air traffic management is ground control, which manages aircraft on the runways. To help develop ground control software for small drones, NASA asked the public to modify and enhance an existing application through an Unmanned Aircraft Systems Ground Control Station Software Challenge series. During the course of about a year, a series of challenges received 92 entries from 58 countries. Altogether, NASA awarded a total of $30,700 to 47 winners for the development of ground control software for small drones. Personnel from NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia lent a drone, and their expertise in flying it, to gather weather data as part of the Learjet 25 flights near Niagara Falls International Airport in New York managed by the team from NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.NASA / Jef Janis Algorithms to Predict Runway Traffic Changes at U.S. Airports The National Airspace System (NAS) is undergoing modernization to make flying safer, more efficient, and more predictable2—and NASA is involved in this transformation. The NAS is made up of more than 29 million square miles that include airspace, air navigation facilities, airports and landing areas, and more. To enable more cohesive decision-making in current and future NAS operations, NASA is building a cloud-based Digital Information Platform (DIP) for advanced data-driven digital services. Through DIP, NASA identified a need for algorithms that can accurately predict changes in the configuration of runways at U.S. airports. Runway configuration, or the direction that traffic is moving on runways, can adjust multiple times per day and can significantly impact flight delays and decisions across the NAS.3 The goal of the Run-way Functions: Predict Reconfigurations at U.S. Airports Challenge was to design algorithms to automatically predict airport configuration changes from real-time data sources. Submissions tested using a mock data set of 10 airports, and judges scored the algorithms based on how the predictions compared to the ground truth. The top four solutions, which came from New York University; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge; University of Maryland, College Park; and Pennsylvania State University, State College, won awards totaling $40,000. NASA’s Digital Information Platform project’s Collaborative Digital Departure Reroute modeling tools are displayed at the NASA/FAA North Texas Research Station.NASA photo by James Blair An App to Uncover How People Operate Autonomous Systems Human-autonomy teaming (HAT) aims to understand how people work together with autonomous systems like drones. For example, how long can a person safely operate a drone piloted by remote control or onboard computers? Can one person effectively operate multiple autonomous vehicles at once? NASA opened the Human-Autonomy Teaming Task Battery (HATTB) App contest to develop software to run an existing battery of tasks that simulate pilot responsibilities during flight. The potential app could support researchers in evaluating the performance of research participants while participants monitored virtual autonomous machines and performed other tasks simultaneously. More than $160,000 was awarded to 33 contest winners. The HATTB app could help NASA and other researchers understand how well people and autonomous systems communicate and collaborate. The app is incorporated into a study by students at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, to examine the effect of time on HAT.4 A More Efficient Wind Tunnel Design to Minimize Downtime NASA facilities are home to a variety of wind tunnels for testing aircraft and spacecraft. By simulating the movement of air around vehicles during flight, NASA uses wind tunnels to test new vehicle shapes, materials, and other design elements. Engineers discuss the preliminary data transferred from the 11×11-foot Transonic Test Section of the Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel for processing at the NASA Advanced Supercomputing (NAS) facility and visualized at the NAS Hyperwall facility in near real-time.NASA Ames / Dominic Hart The NASA concept study, “New Wind Tunnel Landscape,” aims to develop new options to support wind tunnel testing in the next 20-50 years. One opportunity for advancement is the test section—the area where researchers place the components, exposing them to airflow. When preparing the test section for a new model, the wind tunnel is unusable due to the time-consuming process. To address the downtime, NASA called on the public through the New Transonic Wind Tunnel Test Section Challenge. This $7,000 competition sought new designs for a wind tunnel facility with test sections capable of efficient, rapid reconfiguration. Winning designs addressed the inefficiency of data and instrumentation system connections that delay reconfiguring the test section, ground-level carts to simplify transferring models to and from the test section, and modular test section containers that include everything needed for a quick swap. Endnotes [1] https://www3.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/utm-factsheet-11-05-15.pdf [2] https://www.faa.gov/nextgen [3] https://www.drivendata.org/competitions/89/competition-nasa-airport-configuration/ [4] https://sites.google.com/odu.edu/odu-reu-transportation/research-projects Share Details Last Updated Nov 07, 2023 Related Terms General View the full article

8 min read Inspiring the Next Generation with Student Challenges and Learning Opportunities Creativity and curiosity are strongly tied to NASA’s missions and vision. Many of the agency’s public opportunities foster these traits by engaging students and educators. Participants of all ages and levels, from kindergarten to college, used their imaginations and enthusiasm to solve open innovation challenges related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in fiscal years 2021-2022. Advancing and Encouraging Aerospace Careers Multiple NASA programs partnered with Starburst Accelerator in Los Angeles to launch the 2022 Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) Space Accelerator Competition. This opportunity set out to engage underrepresented academic communities and help NASA make advancements in the areas of machine learning, artificial intelligence, and the development of autonomous systems. Three selected winning teams received $50,000 prizes and were enrolled in a 10-week accelerator program, operated by Starburst, to help them prepare to commercialize their proposals. The winning teams also participated in trainings with mentors at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern, California. “The goal is not only to invest in the best ideas from MSIs, but to diversify our supplier base in the long term,” said former NASA Associate Administrator for Technology, Policy, and Strategy Bhavya Lal. The 2021 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concept Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) Competition asked undergraduate and graduate teams to develop new, innovative concepts that could improve our ability to operate in space. The themes ranged from designing a habitat that can support a crew for 30 days at the lunar South Pole, to developing a Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) concept that can deliver a crew from the surface of Mars to a low Mars orbit, to designing architectures to visit Venus and Ceres. Based on concepts outlined in their technical papers, fourteen university teams were selected to present at the 2021 RASC-AL Forum, receiving a $6,000 stipend each to help fund participation. The winning teams from the forum, University of Puerto Rico – Mayagüez and University of Texas at Austin, received an additional travel stipend to present their respective concepts, Discovery and Endeavour – Ceres Interplanetary Pathway for Human Exploration and Research (DECIPHER) and Regolith-Volatile Extraction and Return Expedition (ReVERE), at the AIAA ASCEND aerospace conference. Students in grades 6-12 participated in NASA’s TechRise Student Challenge, in which teams worked together to design and build science and technology experiments ahead of suborbital flight tests. In the first challenge, students submitted ideas for experiments that would work on a suborbital rocket with a few minutes of microgravity or a high-altitude balloon with exposure to Earth’s atmosphere and planetary views. In the second challenge, the teams focused solely on high-altitude balloon experiment ideas. Across both years, 117 teams of approximately 1,100 students total were selected to win the challenge, which offered hands-on insight into the design and test process used by NASA-supported researchers. Artemis Student Challenges Photographic coverage of NASA Spacesuit User Interface Technologies for Students (NASA SUITS) Onsite Test Week (OSTEM) The annual Spacesuit User Interface Technologies for Students (SUITS) Challenge asks U.S. undergraduate and graduate students to design and create spacesuit information displays within augmented reality (AR) environments. During a moonwalk, astronauts will rely on a variety of assets, including their spacesuits, life support systems, geology tools, power systems, and more. An AR display as part of the spacesuit could transform astronauts’ ability to live and work in space by providing data on their assets, potentially enhancing performance, workload, and situational awareness. The students’ contributions will aid the work of NASA’s Human Interface Branch, which supports the agency’s human spaceflight programs, including Artemis, the International Space Station, and commercial partner programs. The Lunabotics Challenge is an opportunity for teams of U.S. university students to engage with the systems engineering process by designing, building, and operating a lunar robot. The teams also conduct public outreach, submit systems engineering papers, and demonstrate their work to a NASA review panel. This challenge is designed to pursue innovations that could be applied to future NASA missions, including Artemis. Awards include scholarship funds, with the top prize of $5,000 awarded to the University of Alabama team in 2022. Lucia Grisanti and Shriya Sawant, NASA’s two national winners for the 2022 Lunabotics Junior contest Two Lunabotics Jr. Challenges also took place in 2022 with separate divisions for grades K-5 and grades 6-12. One national winner from each grade division was selected from approximately 2,300 submitted designs. The prize for the two winners was a virtual discussion for their classrooms with Janet Petro, the director of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Breakthrough, Innovative, and Game-changing (BIG) Idea Challenge taps into the ingenuity of undergraduate and graduate students to help advance capabilities and technologies that could support future NASA missions. Students gain real world experience by incorporating their coursework into aerospace design concepts and working in a team environment. In 2021, teams tackled the challenge of lunar dust and designed, built, and tested their solutions in a simulated lunar environment using nearly $1 million in funding across all teams from NASA and National Space Grant College and Fellowship consortia. The top prize Artemis Award went to Washington State University, whose concept uses a liquid cryogen spray bar and a handheld sprayer to clean dust from spacesuits. Every fall, NASA’s Student Launch accepts proposals from U.S. students from middle school to higher education to participate in a hands-on competition to design, build, launch, and fly payloads and components on high-power rockets in support of NASA research. The challenge that launched in Fall 2022 concluded in April 2023 with the launch of more than 40 rockets, each carrying a scientific payload nearly one-mile-high above ground level. “As a young woman, it’s important to be seen leading a team, managing resources, and meeting critical deadlines with NASA,” said Sindhu Belki, an aerospace engineering major from the University of Alabama. “I’m glad NASA provides this opportunity to be a role model to girls and women interested in space exploration.” Following two years of virtual events, high school and college teams compete in NASA’s Student Launch rocketry competition April 23. Both high school and higher education students participated in the Human Exploration Rover Challenge, an annual competition that asks students to engineer and test human-powered vehicles designed to drive on otherworldly surfaces. Teams competed based on navigating a half-mile obstacle course, conducting mission-specific task challenges, and completing safety and design reviews with NASA engineers. The 2023 competition, which opened in August 2022, included student teams from 16 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, as well as several international teams. Escambia High School of Pensacola, Florida, and University of Alabama in Huntsville placed first in their divisions. “By operating within real-world constraints, students gain authentic knowledge to better imagine and develop innovative technologies which could be used in future NASA missions,” said Kevin McGhaw, Director, NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement Southeast Region. Students competing in NASA’s 2022 Human Exploration Rover Challenge work on building their rover. Storytelling for Science and Space The NASA Earth Science in Action Comic Strip Contest invited high school students and the general public over 18 years old to use their artistic abilities to tell Earth science success stories from three story prompts. Each of the prompts highlighted how NASA’s satellite data supported communities and ecosystems at risk. The contest was designed to inspire participants and readers to learn how NASA Earth science makes a difference to communities around the world. The winners received publicity and recognition from the SciArt Exchange and NASA. The future of space exploration is in good hands.” Mike Kincaid Associate Administrator for the NASA Office of STEM Engagement The first and second Power to Explore Student Writing Challenges were open to K-12 students in fiscal years 2021 and 2022 to encourage students to learn more about Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS). The first challenge asked students to learn how RPS provide power at the extremes of our solar system, then to celebrate their own unique power, with 30 total winning essays. The second challenge asked students to dream up a new RPS-powered space mission based on their research. Out of 45 semifinalists, three finalists in each grade category (K-4, 5-8, 9-12) were invited to discuss their mission concepts with a NASA scientist or engineer during an exclusive virtual event. From the finalists, three winners were selected from each category. The Artemis Moon Pod Essay Contest sought creative concepts from K-12 students describing an imagined journey to the Moon – including their crew and the technology they would leave on the lunar surface to help future astronauts. Nearly 14,000 students competed, with three grand prize winners in each of the grade categories (K-4, 5-8, 9-12) winning a trip to view the Artemis I launch at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. “I can’t tell you how inspiring and energizing it’s been to read these essays and see the students’ enthusiasm and creativity in action,” said Mike Kincaid, NASA’s associate administrator for the Office of STEM Engagement. “The future of space exploration is in good hands.” Share Details Last Updated Nov 07, 2023 Related Terms General View the full article

8 min read Collaborating with Public Innovators to Accelerate Space Exploration NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, left, Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi, right are seen inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft onboard the SpaceX GO Navigator recovery ship shortly after having landed in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Panama City, Florida, Sunday, May 2, 2021. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission was the first crew rotation flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket with astronauts to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.NASA/Bill Ingalls With the successful launch and landing of Artemis I in 2022, NASA set the stage for a new era of space exploration. Together, NASA and its partners will lead humanity to the Moon and prepare for the next giant leap: human exploration of Mars. To address the multitude of challenges that come with planning for this new era, NASA is calling on individuals and teams from the public to develop new and innovative approaches. Some of the topics addressed through NASA-sponsored contests, challenges, and competitions include waste management and sustainability in space, astronaut health and wellness, and a host of advanced technology needs for long-term space exploration. Sustainability and Waste Management A round-trip visit to Mars is estimated to take two to three years. During this adventure, astronauts will need abundant supplies with minimal waste. To be as efficient and self-sufficient as possible, they must recycle, repurpose, or reprocess what they have and make what they need. Thanks to NASA competitions, innovators devised ways to manage ash created from trash in microgravity, reuse materials for growing plants, eject waste from a spacecraft, and recycle orbiting space debris. With no landfills in space, NASA is developing a reactor that uses thermal processes to turn trash into water, gas, and ash. To manage the ash produced by the reactor, the agency called on the public and awarded three teams a total of $30,000 as part of the Trash-to-Gas Ash Management Challenge. The first-place winner proposed using ultrasonic waves to automate ash removal from the Orbital Syngas Commodity Augmentation Reactor (OSCAR) system, a test rig designed to make use of trash and human waste generated during long-duration spaceflight. Ray Pitts, co-principal investigator for the Orbital Syngas Commodity Augmentation Reactor (OSCAR), performs ground testing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The tests are in preparation for a scheduled suborbital flight test later this year, facilitated by NASA’s Flight Opportunities program. Begun as an Early Career Initiative project, OSCAR evaluates technology to make use of trash and human waste generated during long-duration spaceflight. Another way to handle trash in space is to reuse or recycle it. In the Waste to Base Materials Challenge: Sustainable Reprocessing in Space, NASA asked contestants of this competition to submit ideas to convert or repurpose waste into valuable materials like propellant or stock for 3D printing. A winner in the foam packing category proposed a method to recycle packing foam and urine for hydroponics; a winner in the trash category suggested clothing as a growing medium. All teams shared a $24,000 prize. For the non-recyclable waste made during the journey to and from Mars, NASA sought concepts for a jettison mechanism to eject the material from the spacecraft under the Waste Jettison Mechanism Challenge. If not disposed of, the waste will take up crucial space, pose risks to the spacecraft and crew by creating hazards or contaminants, and decrease fuel efficiency. The agency awarded $30,000 for concepts including a scissor-spring-shot, a secure variable energy launcher, a CO2 trash launcher, and a spring-loaded ejection mechanism. With more than 17 million pounds of space debris currently in orbit—sections of rockets and non-operational satellites made of aluminum, titanium, steel, plastics, ceramics, and more—the agency is exploring whether recycling the materials is more cost-effective than launching new materials into space. Through the Orbital Alchemy Challenge, NASA awarded $55,000 in prizes for proposals on how to recycle the objects in orbit. Astronaut Health and Wellness NASA is making plans to protect astronaut health and performance during long-duration space exploration as well as to develop countermeasures for potential problems during such travel. With goals to establish the first long-term presence on the Moon and send the first astronauts to Mars, NASA requested the public’s help to come up with ways to produce food, preserve the integrity of spacesuits, and monitor an astronaut’s cognitive state. During extended space missions, astronauts may produce their own safe, nutritious, and appetizing foods. To devise ideas for novel and game-changing food technologies or systems that could feed astronauts during space travel, NASA held the Deep Space Food Challenge, awarding a total of $450,000 to eight winning U.S. teams. Winning technologies included a system and processes for turning air, water, electricity, and yeast into food and a solution that mimics photosynthesis to produce plant- and mushroom-based ingredients. Deep Space Food Challenge (2023) – Two Challenge finalists prepare samples of their food system to share at the Phase 2 winner’s announcement event in Brooklyn, New York. NASA NASA needs to detect and reduce spacesuit injury risk, but current software solutions are limited. To develop a new solution, NASA conducted the Spacesuit Detection Challenge1 to create software able to detect one or more spacesuits in various environments, discriminate between a person and a spacesuit, and extract suit postures from obscured images. There were five winning programs to label and identify spacesuit motions from video and photos. As space missions move farther away from Earth, the responsibility for space operations shifts from mission control on the ground to astronaut crews in flight. To gauge astronauts’ ability to remember, make real-time decisions, and think several seconds ahead, NASA’s Cognitive State Determination System contest2 asked participants to develop a biometric sensor suite using various inputs to predict cognitive state. Thirty teams received awards through this contest. Managing Payloads, Deliveries, and Storage Aside from managing a sustainable environment and maintaining astronaut health in space, NASA has a host of additional needs to enable future space exploration. Answering NASA’s calls for assistance through various competitions, the public helped devise a plethora of technologies for autonomous observation, nighttime precision landing, docking station flooring, risk prediction using artificial intelligence, advanced scientific sensors, software to analyze images, and programs for modeling shock. With $2 million in total prizes, the Autonomous Observation Challenge No. 1 of the NASA TechLeap Challenge sought observation technologies to detect, track, and establish line-of-sight communications with a lander, rover, or other objects on the Moon’s surface. One of the winning technologies autonomously detects, tracks, and logs nascent wildfires and similar phenomena. Another winning design uses visible and infrared cameras to identify and classify plumes in Earth’s atmosphere using an advanced form of machine learning. Even if the terrain is hazardous and lighting conditions are low, NASA needs to be able to land its spacecraft safely. NASA TechLeap’s Nighttime Precision Landing Challenge No. 1 worth up to $650,000 requested sensing systems to detect hazards from an altitude of 250 meters or higher and with the capability to process the data in real-time to generate a terrain map. One winning system leveraged a light projector to project a grid of reflective points visible to a camera, creating an initial geometry map. It then used light detection and ranging with advanced computer vision, machine learning, robotics, and computing to generate a map of the terrain. Concept image demonstrating the low-light conditions that will be faced by lunar landers during their missions to explore the Moon.NASA A long-duration habitat for use on the Moon, Mars, and during deep space exploration must be capable of attaching to other modules such as pressurized rovers or an airlock. A docking system is needed to join these spacecraft elements even when they are not perfectly aligned, and NASA also needs flexible, strong flooring for use in gravity and microgravity environments. The Spacecraft Docking Adapter with a Flexible but Load-Bearing Floor competition3 awarded five winning designs. NASA’s Game Changing Development (GCD) program advances space technology ideas that could lead to new approaches for future space missions. Wanting to identify project risks before they become actual issues, GCD held the Risky Space Business: NASA Artificial Intelligence Risk Prediction Challenge to design a project management tool that can extract past project risk information and use artificial intelligence and machine learning to predict risks on future projects. Three winners received a total of $50,000. NASA’s Entrepreneurs Challenge seeks fresh ideas in technology that could lead to revolutionary science discoveries to explore and understand the solar system and beyond. In 2021, the program’s focus areas included small satellite technologies that can autonomously recognize scientific phenomena in space and respond as needed; sensors to detect and observe at dramatically reduced size, weight, power, and cost; and instruments to detect biomarkers. After a NASA judging panel selected 10 companies to receive a $10,000 award each, the winners refined their concepts, developed white papers, and gave presentations. The same panel selected seven companies to receive an additional $80,000 in prizes. On a mission to improve understanding of the Moon over many decades—including changes to its surface—NASA held the Image Co-registration Code Challenge4 to devise the initial versions of the Lunar Mission Co-registration Tool. This tool will process lunar images captured under varying lighting conditions or with different spacecraft or camera characteristics and automatically co-register, color balance, and remove distortions. The images are then available to experts for comparison and examination to identify differences over the decades. To reduce the risk of critical spacecraft component failure due to shock, NASA models the propagation of shock as closely as possible. While the agency created standards in the early days of spaceflight based on extensive testing across structures, today’s mathematical methods and high-performance computing tools can provide better models. The Aftershock: NASA Shock Propagation Prediction Challenge awarded four contestants a shared prize of $50,000, including a deep learning model that predicts shock response spectrum values connected to different frequencies and learns different connections and contexts between the input data points. Endnotes [1] https://www.topcoder.com/blog/nasa-spacesuit-detection-challenge/ [2] https://www.topcoder.com/community/nasa/cognitive-state [3] https://grabcad.com/challenges/nasa-challenge-spacecraft-docking-adapter-with-a-flexible-but-load-bearing-floor [4] https://www.topcoder.com/challenges/76c6fb0e-0de3-4d60-b472-37e238e14fc4 Share Details Last Updated Nov 07, 2023 Related Terms General View the full article

4 min read NASA’s Lucy Surprises Again, Observes 1st-ever Contact Binary Orbiting Asteroid It turns out there is more to the “marvelous” asteroid Dinkinesh and its newly discovered satellite than first meets the eye. As NASA’s Lucy spacecraft continued to return data of its first asteroid encounter on Nov. 1, 2023, the team was surprised to discover that Dinkinesh’s unanticipated satellite is, itself, a contact binary – that is, it is made of two smaller objects touching each other. This image shows the asteroid Dinkinesh and its satellite as seen by the Lucy Long-Range Reconnaissance Imager (L’LORRI) as NASA’s Lucy Spacecraft departed the system. This image was taken at 1 p.m. EDT (1700 UTC) Nov. 1, 2023, about 6 minutes after closest approach, from a range of approximately 1,010 miles (1,630 km). From this perspective, the satellite is revealed to be a contact binary, the first time a contact binary has been seen orbiting another asteroid. NASA/Goddard/SwRI/Johns Hopkins APL In the first downlinked images of Dinkinesh and its satellite, which were taken at closest approach, the two lobes of the contact binary happened to lie one behind the other from Lucy’s point of view. Only when the team downlinked additional images, captured in the minutes around the encounter, was the true nature of this object revealed. “Contact binaries seem to be fairly common in the solar system,” said John Spencer, Lucy deputy project scientist, of the Boulder, Colorado, branch of the San-Antonio-based Southwest Research Institute. “We haven’t seen many up-close, and we’ve never seen one orbiting another asteroid. We’d been puzzling over odd variations in Dinkinesh’s brightness that we saw on approach, which gave us a hint that Dinkinesh might have a moon of some sort, but we never suspected anything so bizarre!” Lucy’s primary goal is to survey the never-before-visited Jupiter Trojan asteroids. This first encounter with a small, main belt asteroid was only added to the mission in January 2023, primarily to serve as an in-flight test of the system that allows the spacecraft to continually track and image its asteroid targets as it flies past at high speed. The excellent performance of that system at Dinkinesh allowed the team to capture multiple perspectives on the system, which enabled the team to better understand the asteroids’ shapes and make this unexpected discovery. “It is puzzling, to say the least,” said Hal Levison, principal investigator for Lucy, also from Southwest Research Institute. “I would have never expected a system that looks like this. In particular, I don’t understand why the two components of the satellite have similar sizes. This is going to be fun for the scientific community to figure out.” This second image was taken about 6 minutes after closest approach from a distance of approximately 1,010 miles (1,630 km). The spacecraft traveled around 960 miles (1,500 km) between the two released images. “It’s truly marvelous when nature surprises us with a new puzzle,” said Tom Statler, Lucy program scientist from NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Great science pushes us to ask questions that we never knew we needed to ask.” A diagram showing the trajectory of the NASA Lucy spacecraft (red) during its flyby of the asteroid Dinkinesh and its satellite (gray). “A” marks the location of the spacecraft at 12:55 p.m. EDT (1655 UTC) Nov. 1, 2023, and an inset shows the L’LORRI image captured at that time. “B” marks the spacecraft’s position a few minutes later at 1 p.m. EDT (1700 UTC), and the inset shows the corresponding L’LORRI view at that time. Overall graphic, NASA/Goddard/SwRI; Inset “A,” NASA/Goddard/SwRI/Johns Hopkins APL/NOIRLab); Inset “B,” NASA/Goddard/SwRI/Johns Hopkins APL The team is continuing to downlink and process the remainder of the encounter data from the spacecraft. Dinkinesh and its satellite are the first two of 11 asteroids that Lucy plans to explore over its 12-year journey. After skimming the inner edge of the main asteroid belt, Lucy is now heading back toward Earth for a gravity assist in December 2024. That close flyby will propel the spacecraft back through the main asteroid belt, where it will observe asteroid Donaldjohanson in 2025, and then on to the Trojan asteroids in 2027. Lucy’s principal investigator is based out of the Boulder, Colorado, branch of Southwest Research Institute, headquartered in San Antonio. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, provides overall mission management, systems engineering, and safety and mission assurance. Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado, built and operates the spacecraft. Lucy is the 13th mission in NASA’s Discovery Program. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Discovery Program for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. For more information about NASA’s Lucy mission, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/lucy By Katherine Kretke Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio Media Contact: Nancy N. Jones NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Share Details Last Updated Nov 07, 2023 Editor Jamie Adkins Location Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms Asteroids Goddard Space Flight Center Lucy The Solar System Explore More 3 min read NASA’s Lucy Spacecraft Captures its 1st Images of Asteroid Dinkinesh NASA’s Lucy spacecraft captured its first images with a view of the main belt asteroid… Article 2 months ago View the full article

6 min read Propelling NASA Closer to the Moon and Mars with Open Innovation This artist’s concept depicts astronauts and human habitats on Mars. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23302 NASA is leading humanity’s return to the Moon through Artemis. Artemis will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon and explore more of the lunar surface than ever before, using innovating technologies for scientific discovery and establishing a long-term presence. The technologies developed and knowledge gained through Artemis will contribute to our next ambitious target: sending humans to Mars. These efforts are fueled by partnerships between NASA, other government agencies, and industry innovators for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and inspiring a new generation of explorers. In addition to these partnerships, NASA also invites the national and global community to participate in Moon to Mars planning through open innovation initiatives. These initiatives tap into the creativity and passion of individuals of all ages and walks of life, helping us explore out-of-the-box solutions to address the agency’s mission-critical needs. Innovating for Power and Energy On the Moon, most exploration activities, life-support systems, and daily operations will require a great deal of energy. The Lunar Tele-Operated Rover-based Configurable Heliostat (Lunar TORCH) Challenge sought designs for a mobile lunar heliostat to redirect solar energy where it is most needed to support Artemis operations. Many of the submitted concepts demonstrated creative and efficient deployable technologies that could supply power to the Moon’s darkest regions. The ORIGAS design won second place in the Lunar TORCH challenge. The $5 million, multiphase Watts on the Moon Challenge sought solutions for power systems that can store energy and deliver continuous, reliable power while also withstanding the Moon’s extreme environment. Early phases of the challenge asked solvers to design system concepts, and Phase 2 Level 1 winners each received $200,000 along with an invite to participate in Level 2 to develop and test key parts of their solutions. The final level of Phase 2 culminated in a demonstration of the developed technologies. Four teams won $400,000 each and moved on to the final level of Phase 2. Sustaining Life on the Moon Water is a vital resource for space exploration and habitation, but it is also scarce; fortunately, lunar ice could serve as a source of water for humans away from home. With a $3.5 million prize pool, the Break the Ice Lunar Challenge seeks innovative approaches to excavating lunar ice and delivering it from a permanently shadowed region near the Moon’s South Pole. Redwire Space, headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, placed first in Phase 1 of the challenge for its proposed two-rover system designed for simplicity and robustness. Phase 2 of the challenge focuses on developing and prototyping technologies that can excavate and transport large loads of icy lunar dirt and can continuously operate for up to 15 days. How astronauts use the bathroom on the Moon is both a common curiosity and a real challenge for NASA to solve. The popular Lunar Loo Challenge and its concurrent Junior challenge for students and younger audiences asked the global community to conceptualize compact toilets that could operate in both microgravity and lunar gravity. The challenge received 2,953 entries from 107 countries, with ideas spanning from a bladeless fan that minimized crew interaction with waste bags to a foldable dry toilet. Almost every submission had innovative ideas, giving NASA a sourcebook for future concept development work. Kevin Kempton NASA Langley Research Center Managing Payloads, Deliveries, and Storage A critical component of Artemis success is delivering payloads of varying mass and volume to the lunar surface and, eventually, Mars. With $25,000 in total prizes, the Lunar Delivery Challenge sought ideas for unloading payloads from commercial lunar landers. The winners conceptualized delivery systems that accounted for conditions on the Moon, the limitations of space delivery, and the different sizes of lunar landers. Through the Advanced Lightweight Lunar Gantry for Operations (ALLGO) Challenge, NASA sought computer-aided design models of a mobile lunar gantry—or support structure—for unloading cargo at a safe distance away from the Artemis Base Camp. Competitors tackled designing the gantry with inflatable components, which could be compactable and easily deployed to the lunar surface. “Almost every submission had innovative ideas, giving NASA a sourcebook for future concept development work,” said Kevin Kempton, the ALLGO study and challenge lead at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Miniature payloads on the lunar surface could play a key role in supporting a sustained lunar presence at a lower cost. For operations on the Moon, small instruments that identify minerals and measure environments could play a key role in supporting a sustained lunar presence, providing valuable information at a lower cost. The Honey, I Shrunk the NASA Payload Challenge was open to the public in 2020 and resulted in 14 teams awarded a total of $160,000 for proposing small science instruments, similar in size to a bar of soap, that could fit on a miniature rover. In the challenge’s second phase, with a prize pool of $800,000, the previously winning teams each delivered one flight unit and two qualification units to NASA for testing. “This challenge was a great opportunity to work with the public to develop miniature payloads for our science and exploration missions,” said Josh Ravich, an engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, who provided expertise for the challenge teams. Regarding sample storage, NASA has a mission-critical need for cryogenic containment solutions. The ideal model would be lightweight and require low or no power to enable long-term storage and transportation of lunar material samples back to Earth. The $40,000 Lunar Deep Freeze Challenge sought cryogenic containment concepts in two categories: Small Transportable Cryogenic Containment Systems and Innovations for Long-Term Cryogenic Stowage and Transportation. The proposed solutions could support scientific discovery and contribute to our sustained lunar presence. Preparing for a Leap Beyond While many of these challenges have implications for Mars, the MarsXR Challenge specifically targets research on the red planet. This $70,000 challenge asked solvers to develop a new Virtual Reality (XR) environment to help prepare for experiences and situations astronauts could encounter on Mars. After a successful first run, the MarsXR challenge launched a new iteration in 2023. The Cube Quest competition calls for teams to design, build, and deliver flight-qualified small satellites capable of advanced operations near and beyond the Moon. The competition offers $5 million in prizes across three stages, with opportunities that could help open deep space exploration to non-government spacecraft for the first time. This challenge seeks to establish precedence for subsystems that could perform deep-space exploration using small spacecraft. Winners; left to right are Steve Jurczyk, HQ, Second Place; CU-E3, First Place Cislunar Explorers, Third place -Team Miles, and Eugene Tu, Ames Center Director. Share Details Last Updated Nov 07, 2023 Related Terms General View the full article

3 min read NASA Maps Minerals and Ecosystem Function in Southwest U.S. Regions NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center’s ER-2 aircraft can fly at high altitudes from 20,000-70,000 feet. For the GEMx mission, pilots flew at approximately 65,000 feet, requiring pilots to wear specially designed suits while in flight.NASA/Wade Sisler In September 2023, NASA aircraft began supporting an effort to find and map critical mineral deposits in Western regions of the U.S. Identifying these minerals — often used in everyday products like laptops and cell phones — could help improve environmental processes for mining and geological activities, enhance national security, and boost the economy. This project will continue through Fall 2026. In a collaboration with the USGS (United States Geological Survey), an ER-2 high-altitude aircraft based at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, has been supporting GEMx, the Geological Earth Mapping Experiment. The campaign also includes NASA’s Gulfstream V aircraft and a diverse team of engineers, pilots, and scientists from NASA, USGS, and the University of Arizona. “For this mission, we are flying at approximately 65,000 feet to acquire wide swaths of geophysical data with every overflight,” said Kevin Reath, NASA deputy program manager for GEMx. The instruments are flying higher than previous airborne instruments to collect data over a wider area, yet the images collected have finer detail than aa satellite view “It’s thanks to this high-altitude flying capability that we can cover such a large area.” Researchers mounted instruments on the ER-2 and Gulfstream V to collect measurements over the country’s arid and semi-arid regions, including parts of California, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico. These instruments include NASA’s AVIRIS (Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer), HyTes (Hyperspectral Thermal Emission Spectrometer), and MASTER (MODIS/ASTER Airborne Simulator). These instruments collect hyperspectral images, or images that use color to convey the geophysical complexities behind seemingly simple or monochromatic surfaces. The visual data that is produced by these optical sensors indicates the constituents and changes of Earth’s surface and atmosphere. “This mission, data, and its respective data products can help the public along with local, state, tribal, and federal agencies make effective decisions regarding management of natural resource deposits including critical mineral resources,” said Dean Riley, a collaborator on the GEMx project from the University of Arizona. “The U.S. depends on a reliable supply of Earth materials to support its economy and national security,” said Raymond Kokaly, research geophysicist with the USGS. “Such materials have been deemed critical minerals because disruption of their supply would have significant negative impacts. Undiscovered deposits of at least some of these critical and strategic minerals almost certainly exist in the United States, but modern geophysical data is needed to increase our knowledge of these resources.” Modern geophysical data is exactly what the GEMx project is procuring. This means data that maps not only the constituents of Earth’s surface and atmosphere, but also how those constituents change over time between 2023 and 2026. “If this mission can successfully identify critical minerals in minable locations in the U.S., we could be less dependent on foreign entities for these critical minerals,” Reath said. Learn more about GEMx Learn more about the ER-2 aircraft Learn more about NASA Armstrong Research Center Share Details Last Updated Nov 07, 2023 Editor Cody S. Lydon Contact Location Armstrong Flight Research Center Related Terms Armstrong Flight Research CenterEarth ScienceEarth Surface & InteriorER-2Science & Research Explore More 3 min read DART Team Earns Smithsonian Michael Collins Trophy for Successful Planetary Defense Test Mission Article 2 hours ago 6 min read Deploying and Demonstrating Navigation Aids on the Lunar Surface NASA is developing lunar navigation beacons to be deployed on spacecraft or the lunar surface… Article 2 hours ago 5 min read First Science Images Released From ESA Mission With NASA Contributions Article 6 hours ago View the full article

The Legacy of the NASA Worm Logo (Official NASA Broadcast)

The spiral galaxy IC 342, located about 11 million light-years from Earth, lies behind the crowded plane of the Milky Way: Dust, gas, and stars obscure it from our view. Euclid used its near-infrared instrument to peer through the dust and study it.ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO This view of spiral galaxy IC 342 is one of five first science images released by the Euclid mission on Nov. 7, 2023. The ESA-led (European Space Agency) Euclid observatory, which will investigate the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, is scheduled to begin regular science operations in early 2024. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California delivered critical hardware for one of the Euclid spacecraft’s instruments. In addition, NASA has established a U.S.-based Euclid science data center, and NASA-funded science teams will join other Euclid scientists in studying dark energy, galaxy evolution, and dark matter. See more images from Euclid. Image Credit: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO View the full article

3 min read DART Team Earns Smithsonian Michael Collins Trophy for Successful Planetary Defense Test Mission Eric Long, Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) will be honored with the 2024 Michael Collins Trophy for Current Achievement. For its work developing and managing the first-ever planetary defense test mission, the team comprised by NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) is being lauded for outstanding achievements in the fields of aerospace science and technology. Designed, built and operated by APL for NASA’s PDCO, which oversees the agency’s ongoing efforts in planetary defense, DART was humanity’s first mission to intentionally move a celestial object, impacting the asteroid Dimorphos on Sept. 26, 2022. DART’s collision with Dimorphos changed the asteroid’s orbit period around its companion asteroid, Didymos, by 33 minutes. “Our planetary defense objective is to find any potential asteroid impact many years to decades before it could happen so that, if ever necessary, the object could be deflected with technology tested by DART,” said Lindley Johnson, planetary defense officer at NASA Headquarters. “The DART team was an international collaboration of planetary defenders who turned the kinetic impact concept of asteroid deflection into reality. Their efforts have taken a giant leap forward for humanity’s ability to address the asteroid impact hazard.” The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum awards its Michael Collins Trophy yearly for both Current and Lifetime Achievements. The DART mission has earned the former, joining astronaut Peggy Whitson, who will collect the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award for her distinguished space career. Since 1985, the organization has been recognizing extraordinary accomplishments in aeronautics and spaceflight, and it selected DART for its “extraordinary technological advancements and new scientific breakthroughs in space science.” Launched in November 2021 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, DART embarked on a 10-month journey to Dimorphos. This historic mission showcased the world’s first planetary defense technology demonstration in action as it was live streamed by NASA online when the DART spacecraft intentionally collided with its target asteroid. Scientists worldwide monitored the aftermath through telescopes and radar facilities to assess the impact on Dimorphos’ orbit around Didymos. Pre-impact projections estimated a range of possible deflections, and the postimpact observations revealed a significant deflection of the target asteroid at the high-end of the pre-impact models, a promising result for applying the technique in the future if needed. Images captured by DART’s onboard Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation(DRACO) and the Italian Space Agency’s ride-along Light Italian CubeSat for Imaging of Asteroids(LICIACube), complemented by observations from ground-based telescopes as well as NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope and the Lucy spacecraft, provided critical data. These observations allowed scientists to analyze Dimorphos’ surface composition, the material ejection velocity and quantity due to the collision, and the distribution of particle sizes within the ensuing dust cloud. Scientists on the mission confirmed in four subsequent papers published in Nature the effectiveness of the kinetic impactor technique in altering asteroid trajectories, making it a groundbreaking milestone for planetary defense. Look back at all of DART’s milestones and science successes in the year since impact. More information about the Michael Collins Trophy and a complete list of past winners is available. The DART team will accept the award on March 21, 2024, at the museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. Facebook logo @NASA @NASA@AstroidWatch Instagram logo @NASA Linkedin logo @NASA Explore More 4 min read Mira cómo la NASA construye su primer vehículo lunar robótico Article 4 days ago 3 min read Watch NASA Build Its First Robotic Moon Rover Article 4 days ago 4 min read Data From NASA’s WISE Used to Preview Lucy Mission’s Asteroid Dinkinesh Article 1 week ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Asteroids Overview Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets, are rocky, airless remnants left over from the early formation of our solar system… Didymos & Dimorphos Overview Asteroid Didymos and its small moonlet Dimorphos make up what’s called a binary asteroid system – meaning the small… Our Solar System Overview Our planetary system is located in an outer spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy. We call it the… Planetary Science For decades, NASA’s planetary science program has advanced scientific understanding of our solar system in extraordinary ways, pushing the limits… View the full article

5 Min Read Deploying and Demonstrating Navigation Aids on the Lunar Surface – PROJECT Lunar Node-1 (LN-1) SNAPSHOT NASA is developing lunar navigation beacons to be deployed on spacecraft or the lunar surface to aid in localization and help future space vehicles determine position, velocity, and time to high accuracy. The Lunar Node-1 payload in the test chamber at the Deep Space Network’s Development and Test Facility (DTF)-21 radio frequency (RF) compatibility testing lab. The large block seen in the image is the antenna hat used to collect RF energy for ground testing and integration. “Are we there yet?” is a constant question on any journey. As humanity expands its presence on, near, and around the Moon, new systems are needed to provide navigation signals similar those provided by the Global Positioning System (GPS) on Earth. To enable this capability, NASA is supporting research on a range of sensors, architectures, and techniques for providing reference signals to help spacecraft and humans find their way. Lunar Node 1 (LN-1) is an S-band navigation beacon for lunar applications that was recently designed and built at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). As part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, this beacon is scheduled to be delivered to the Moon’s surface on Intuitive Machine’s NOVA-C lunar lander on the IM-1 mission in early 2024. The Lunar Node-1 flight payload installed on the Intuitive Machines NOVA-C lander for the IM-1 mission. The payload is mounted near the top deck of the vehicle to provide a clear field of view for its antenna back to Earth. Image Credit: Intuitive Machines/Nick Rios During this mission, LN-1’s goal will be to demonstrate navigation technologies that can support local surface and orbital operations around the Moon, enabling autonomy and decreasing dependence on heavily utilized Earth-based communication assets like NASA’s Deep Space Network demonstrate these capabilities, LN-1’s design leverages CubeSat components as well as the Multi-spacecraft Autonomous Positioning System (MAPS) algorithms, which enable autonomous spacecraft positioning using navigation measurements. In addition to demonstrating the MAPS algorithms, LN-1’s radio will also be used to conduct pseudo-noise (PN)-based, one-way, non-coherent ranging and Doppler tracking to provide alternate approaches and comparisons for navigation performance. To provide a real-time solution similar to GPS, but in the lunar environment, multiple references must be in view of users at the same time. As this future lunar communication network is deployed, LN-1 hardware and capabilities could be part of a much larger infrastructure. Over the course of the transit to the Moon from Earth and during its the nominal lunar surface operations, LN-1 will broadcast its state and timing information back to Earth. Once it lands on the lunar surface, the payload will enter into a 24/7 operational period, and will also provide a navigation reference signal back to Earth. To validate LN-1 capabilities, DSN ground stations will be used to capture measurements and measure performance. Upon reception of the LN-1 data, high-accuracy packet reception timestamps will be used (along with atmospheric data for induced delays) to assess a ranging observation. This data will be captured during multiple passes to compute a navigation state of the payload during the mission. The LN-1 team is also partnering with other NASA researchers to collect Very Long Baseline Interferometry observations of the navigation signals as an independent truth reference. Concept of Operations. This diagram shows the dual data paths being exercised by the LN-1 payload. The primary operational command and data handling is done through a hardwire connection between the payload and the host lander. Using its onboard transmitter, LN-1 will transmit its navigation signals independently, providing the lander’s current time and state information via both a reference one-way PN solution as well as the transmission of MAPS packets. The compact size of the LN-1 payload can be seen in the LN-1 CAD models in the figures below. The primary LN-1 structure is approximately 175x220x300 cm in volume with a mass of approximately 2.8 kg. The dominating feature of the design is the large top surface, which is a radiator. The hot environment on the lunar surface, combined with the heat generated by the LN-1 radio while transmitting, require the LN-1 design to incorporate a radiator to dissipate heat during operation so that a clean interface with the host vehicle will be maintained. While the LN-1 payload is not designed to survive the lunar night, it uses a modular design that could be integrated into a variety of host vehicles; if adequate power generation/storage were provided, the design may be able to offer long-term operation at any lunar landing site. Interior views of LN-1. These images provide a look inside the payload showing the primary components: radiator hat, antenna mount adapter, SWIFT SL-X transmitter, FPGA-based controller board, and power conditioning electronics. LN-1 successfully passed vibration, electromagnetic interference testing, and thermal vacuum testing at Marshall Space Flight Center in 2020 and 2021. After completion and delivery of the LN-1 payload, testing with the planned operational ground stations began. This testing included RF compatibility testing between the DSN and the LN-1 payload as well as tests of the data flows between the DSN and MSFC’s Huntsville Operations Support Center. Performed at the DSN’s Development and Test Facility (DTF)-21 facility in early 2021, these tests successfully verified RF compatibility between DSN and the LN-1 payload. Specifically, the tests showed that the DSN can receive S-band telecommunication signals in all the planned operational modes required to process telemetry and ranging data from LN-1. LN-1 Principal Investigator, Evan Anzalone, performing RF Compatibility Testing at DTF-21. This testing was important to characterize the stability of the one-way ranging tone and demonstrate integration with the DSN ground network for flight operations. The LN-1 team is currently setting up the flight spare with a flight-matching radio and is preparing to conduct another round of testing to capture long-term stability data with ground receivers to demonstrate improved capability with improved clocks and signal generation algorithms. In the future, this new technology and the MAPS algorithms demonstrated by LN-1 could enable autonomous navigation for lunar assets. As NASA invests in communication and navigation infrastructure around, near, and on the Moon, the LN-1 team continues to develop future iterations of the navigation beacon to support broad lunar surface coverage. The team is currently maturing the capabilities of the payload in preparation for continued laboratory assessments and field demonstrations using updated navigation signals as defined for LunaNet. Three key capabilities will be the focus of the development of a follow-on payload to LN-1: Demonstration of inter-spacecraft navigation, providing support to operational vehicles in lunar orbit by acting as a fixed ground reference The capability to survive the lunar night onboard the payload to demonstrate technologies needed for a long-term navigation beacon Maturation of signal to match the Augmented Forward Signal standard as defined in the LunaNet Interoperability Specification for integration, operation, and compatibility with other planned NASA assets and infrastructure PROJECT LEAD Dr. Evan Anzalone and Tamara Statham, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) SPONSORING ORGANIZATION NASA-Provided Lunar Payloads Program View the full article

(Oct. 3, 2023) — Expedition 70 Commander Andreas Mogensen from ESA (European Space Agency) assists NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli as she dons her spacesuit and tests its components in the Quest airlock in preparation for an upcoming International Space Station spacewalk.Credits: NASA Students from Brighton Elementary School in Brighton, Tennessee, will have an opportunity this week to hear from NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The space-to-Earth call will air live at 11:45 a.m. EST Wednesday, Nov. 8, on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli and ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen will answer prerecorded questions from students. Media interested in covering the event should contact Kathryn Vaughn no later than 5 p.m. Nov. 7 at kvaughn@tipton-county.com or 901-237-1004. For almost 23 years, astronauts have continuously lived and worked aboard the space station, testing technologies, performing science, and developing the skills needed to explore farther from Earth. Astronauts living in space aboard the orbiting laboratory communicate with NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston 24 hours a day through the Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Near Space Network. Important research and technology investigations taking place aboard the International Space Station benefits people on Earth and lays the groundwork for future exploration. As part of Artemis, NASA will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future human exploration of Mars. Inspiring the next generation of explorers – the Artemis Generation – ensures America will continue to lead in space exploration and discovery. See videos and lesson plans highlighting research on the International Space Station at: https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation -end- Katherine Brown Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1288 katherine.m.brown@nasa.gov Sandra Jones Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Nov 07, 2023 Location NASA Headquarters Related Terms AstronautsHumans in Space View the full article

Other Worlds: New Series Coming Soon to NASA+

2 min read NASA’s Curious Universe Podcast Unveils New Season of Adventures NASA’s short-form, narrative podcast, NASA’s Curious Universe, returns for its sixth season Nov. 7. This season will bring listeners on new “wild and wonderful” adventures from the farthest reaches of the cosmos to right here on planet Earth. NASA In season six, listeners will meet researchers who are using sounds from the Sun to learn crucial details about our star, explore the “dark side” of the universe with scientists who study dark matter and dark energy, and get a behind-the-scenes look at the first NASA mission to deliver an asteroid sample to Earth. Listen to the first episode "Welcome to the Dark Side" The trailer for season six of NASA’s Curious Universe launched Oct. 31, and new episodes will be published every Tuesday morning through Dec. 19. In each episode, host Dr. Padi Boyd, a NASA astrophysicist, brings listeners on a unique, sound-rich journey through our solar system and beyond. She is joined by a lineup of expert interviewees such as scientists, astronauts, and engineers. NASA’s Curious Universe first debuted in March 2020 and features a catalog of episodes focused on a wide variety topics, from spacesuit design to exoplanet hunting. In 2022, the show received a People’s Voice Webby Award in the category “Best Limited Series—Health, Science & Education,” recognizing the team’s in-depth reporting on the science, engineering, people, and launch of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. NASA’s Curious Universe is a podcast created with the “first-time space explorer” in mind and doesn’t require prior knowledge of NASA or its missions. All you need is your curiosity! NASA’s Curious Universe, and the show’s companion Spanish podcast, Universo Curioso de la NASA, are now available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Soundcloud. Curious Universe is written and produced by NASA’s audio team, based at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. About NASA Audio From long-form interviews with astronauts and engineers to stories that take you on a tour of the galaxy, NASA’s audio offerings let you experience the thrill of space exploration without ever leaving Earth. Discover all of NASA’s podcasts at: nasa.gov/podcasts Media Contact Katie Konans NASA Audio and Podcasting Lead NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Share Details Last Updated Nov 07, 2023 Editor Jamie Adkins Location NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms AudioGoddard Space Flight CenterPodcasts Explore More 3 min read Hubble Tangos with a Dancer in Dorado This vibrant Hubble Space Telescope image features the spiral galaxy NGC 1566, sometimes informally referred… Article 4 days ago 3 min read NASA Goddard’s ‘Spiky’ Antenna Chamber: Signaling Success for 50 Years Rows upon rows of cobalt-blue spires in Goddard’s antenna chamber evoke a soundproof room from… Article 5 days ago 3 min read Hubble Provides Unique Ultraviolet View of Jupiter This newly released image from the NASA Hubble Space Telescope shows the planet Jupiter in… Article 5 days ago View the full article

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the Dragon capsule, lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 5, 2023, on the company’s 28th commercial resupply services mission for the agency to the International Space Station. NASA’s SpaceX’s 29th commercial resupply services mission is targeted for liftoff no earlier than 8:28 p.m. EST Thursday, Nov. 9.SpaceX NASA is inviting the public to take part in virtual activities ahead of the launch of SpaceX’s 29th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft is targeted for no earlier than 8:28 p.m. EST Thursday, Nov. 9, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission will carry scientific research, technology demonstrations, crew supplies, and hardware to the space station to support its Expedition 70 crew. The science on board includes NASA’s ILLUMA-T (Integrated Laser Communications Relay Demonstration Low Earth Orbit User Modem and Amplifier Terminal), which will demonstrate the use of laser communications systems to transmit data in space, and AWE (Atmospheric Waves Experiment), designed to study bands of light in Earth’s atmosphere and improve our understanding of space weather in the upper atmosphere. Members of the public can register to attend the launch virtually. As a virtual guest, you have access to curated resources, schedule changes, and mission-specific information delivered straight to your inbox. Following each activity, virtual guests will receive a commemorative stamp for their virtual guest passport. The live launch broadcast with commentary will begin at 8 p.m. EST Thursday, Nov. 9, and will air on NASA Television, YouTube, X, the NASA App, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms. For more information about the mission, visit NASA’s launch blog to learn more. View the full article