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Technicians move NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility to accommodate installation of its five-panel solar array at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. After moving the spacecraft, the team had to precisely align the spacecraft in preparation for the installation. The huge arrays – spanning more than 100 feet when fully deployed, or about the length of a basketball court – will collect sunlight to power the spacecraft as it flies multiple times around Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, conducting science investigations to determine its potential to support life. NASA/Frank Michaux View the full article

New experiments aboard NASA’s Northrop Grumman 21st cargo resupply mission aim to pioneer scientific discoveries in microgravity on the International Space Station. Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft, filled with nearly 8,500 pounds of supplies, launched Aug. 3 atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Biological and physical investigations aboard the spacecraft included experiments studying the impacts of microgravity on plants (grass), how packed bed reactors could improve water purification both in space and on Earth, and observations on new rounds of samples that will allow scientists to learn more about the characteristics of different materials as they change phases on the tiniest scales. Grass Growth & Bio-Regenerative Support The cultivation of plants is crucial for developing bio-regenerative life support systems in space. However, growing them in microgravity affects photosynthesis, the process by which plants generate oxygen and convert carbon dioxide into food for astronauts. The C4 Photosynthesis in Space Advanced Plant Experiment-09 investigation will study how two grasses (Brachypodium distachyon and Setaria viridis), with different approaches to photosynthesis, respond to microgravity and high carbon dioxide levels during the spaceflight. The insights gained from this research will pave the way for more effective integration of plants on Earth and in future space habitats. This experiment was originally scheduled to be aboard NASA’s SpaceX 30th cargo resupply mission but was moved to the NG-21 launch. Credit: NASA Water Purification & Gravity The Packed Bed Reactor Experiment – Water Recovery Series aboard NG-21 will be operated on the space station and will study the hydrodynamics (pressure drop, flow regimes, and flow instability) of two-phase flow (nitrogen gas-water mixture) in microgravity in various types of filters and openings. These samples are important for fluid systems used in life support and water purification and recovery processes. Outcomes of this research will be used to develop design tools and correlations for pressure drop prediction across the various prototypes used in lunar and Martian missions and beyond. Credit: NASA Removing Impurities in Melted Materials The Electrostatic Levitation Furnace–4 experiment led by JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), one of NASA’s space station international partners, includes 20 new test samples. Its goal is to continue establishing guidelines for measuring different thermophysical properties of various samples at temperatures greater than 2,000 degrees Celsius. Transforming raw materials from a liquid to solid form requires the use of a container, known as a crucible, which is used to both heat and hold the substance as it cools down and hardens. During this process, a chemical reaction occurs between the substance and the crucible, and impurities are released and absorbed in the plasma. The Electrostatic Levitation Furnace is the hardware that allows scientists to remove this contaminating part of the process by creating space between the liquid and container — levitating the sample while heated. More Materials Science: Getting to the Core The Electromagnetic Levitator, an ESA (European Space Agency) levitation facility, which is celebrating a decade aboard the International Space Station, enables scientists to conduct materials research on at least two elements, known as alloys, in a microgravity environment. By studying the core of the physics taking place, researchers can perform experiments to better understand the steps leading up to solidifying and changing phases. This knowledge could contribute to advancements in the manufacturing industry by providing scientists with more information to develop the latest and more reliable materials for activities like 3D printing. Related Resources NASA’s 21st Northrop Grumman Mission Launches Scientific Studies to Station ESA – Electromagnetic Levitator turns ten About BPS NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences Division pioneers scientific discovery and enables exploration by using space environments to conduct investigations not possible on Earth. Studying biological and physical phenomenon under extreme conditions allows researchers to advance the fundamental scientific knowledge required to go farther and stay longer in space, while also benefitting life on Earth. Share Details Last Updated Aug 05, 2024 Related Terms Biological & Physical Sciences Glenn Research Center ISS Research Kennedy Space Center Marshall Space Flight Center Materials Science Physical Sciences Plant Biology Space Biology Explore More 4 min read Repair Kit for NASA’s NICER Mission Heading to Space Station Article 6 days ago 4 min read NASA’s Fermi Finds New Feature in Brightest Gamma-Ray Burst Yet Seen Article 2 weeks ago 2 min read Seed Funding Proposals Due November 19 This Year! Since 2020, NASA’s Citizen Science Seed Funding Program (CSSFP) has launched 24 new projects to… Article 2 weeks ago View the full article

4 Min Read Lagniappe for August 2024 Explore the August 2024 issue, highlighting the announcement of the new NASA Stennis Deputy Director, the successful SLS (Space Launch System) core stage rollout for Artemis II, NASA’s participation at Essence, and more! Explore Lagniappe for August 2024 featuring: NASA’s Stennis Space Center Announces New Deputy Director NASA Inspires at 2024 ESSENCE Fest in New Orleans NASA Stennis Flashback Gator Speaks The roll out of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) Artemis II core stage from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on July 16 brought warm feelings to this Gator heart of mine. It shows the continued progress toward the Artemis II test flight for NASA’s first crewed mission to the Moon under the Artemis campaign. Gator SpeaksNASA/Stennis The SLS core stage for NASA’s powerful rocket shows the collective strength of collaboration, including all 10 NASA centers and more than 1,100 companies across the United States who contributed to its production. NASA Stennis is quite familiar with the SLS core stage for a couple of reasons. The expert NASA Stennis test team knows all about the RS-25 engines helping power SLS since all RS-25 engines are tested and proven flight-worthy at NASA Stennis. Two huge propellant tanks that collectively hold more than 733,000 gallons of super-chilled liquid propellant feed four RS-25 engines at launch. It will be quite a sight watching the SLS core stage produce more than 2 million pounds of thrust to propel astronauts toward the Moon in the Orion spacecraft. NASA Stennis helped pave the way for a successful Artemis I launch by testing the first SLS core stage to collect data and ensure all was ready to go. Now, crews are preparing the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-2), where NASA Stennis tested the SLS core stage for Artemis I, for future testing of NASA’s exploration upper stage. The new upper stage, in production at NASA Michoud, is part of the next evolution for SLS. So, you see, the July roll out of the SLS core stage for Artemis II is much more than a chance to see the massive structure being moved. It shows the passions and dreams of so many on the move. It shows the creativity involved. It shows how NASA continues building on decades of exploration experience to fuel America’s passion for discovery. Go, Artemis! Go, NASA! NASA Stennis Top News NASA’s Stennis Space Center Announces New Deputy Director NASA’s Stennis Space Center Director John Bailey announced Aug. 2 that longtime propulsion engineer/manager Christine Powell has been selected as deputy director of the south Mississippi propulsion site, effective Aug. 12. Read More About the New Deputy Director NASA Inspires at 2024 ESSENCE Fest in New Orleans NASA joined the self-designated “party with a purpose” to let participants in the 30th ESSENCE Festival of Culture in New Orleans know there is space for everybody at the space agency. Read More About NASA at 2024 Essence Fest NASA Stennis Flashback: Shuttle Team Achieves Unprecedented Milestone As chief of test operations at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, Maury Vander has been involved in some long-duration propulsion hot fires – but he still struggles to describe a pair of 34-minute space shuttle main engine tests conducted onsite in August 1988. Read More About the Shuttle Milestone Center Activities NASA Stennis Celebrates National Intern Day Interns representing NASA and companies across the NASA Stennis federal city participate in National Intern Day activities at NASA Stennis on July 25. NASA has over 100 programs and opportunities to attract, engage, and educate students across the nation. Learn more about NASA internships here. NASA/Danny Nowlin Interns at NASA Stennis visit the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-1/B-2) on July 25 during a test complex tour on National Intern Day. As NASA continues to progress with the Artemis campaign, students across the nation are invited to join the journey. NASA’s internships aim to inspire the Artemis Generation to pursue STEM careers across the nation. NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA Stennis supervisors talk with site interns before touring the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-1/B-2) on July 25 as part of the National Intern Day celebration at the center.NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA Stennis Associate Director Rodney McKellip speaks with interns from across the NASA Stennis federal city on July 25 as part of National Intern Day at the center. NASA/Danny Nowlin Interns at NASA Stennis watch The Color of Space documentary featuring NASA astronaut Victor Glover during National Intern Day activities onsite July 25. Glover will be the first Black astronaut to travel around the Moon for NASA’s Artemis II mission. NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA Stennis intern Jordan Thomas is all smiles while visiting the Fred Haise Apollo Gallery at INFINITY Science Center during National Intern Day on July 25. NASA/Kelly McCarthy NASA Stennis federal city interns tour INFINITY Science Center on July 25 during National Intern Day site activities. In addition to visiting INFINITY, the interns made stops at Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company; Relativity Space; and the National Data Buoy Center, all located at NASA Stennis. NASA/Kelly McCarthy Learn More About NASA Internships Watch The Color of Space documentary on NASA+ Navy Interns Tour NASA Stennis Summer interns with the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory stand in front of the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-1/B-2) on July 10. NASA Stennis crews are preparing the B-2 side of the stand for future testing of NASA’s exploration upper stage. The more powerful second stage is expected to fly on NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for Artemis IV. The Naval Research Laboratory interns visited the stand during an afternoon tour of NASA Stennis. The Naval Research Laboratory is a tenant of the NASA Stennis federal city, where it provides advanced scientific capabilities required to bolster the nation’s position of global naval leadership. NASA/Danny Nowlin Louisiana Legislative Staff and Interns Visit NASA Stennis Legislative staff and interns from the office of U.S. Rep. Garrett Graves of Louisiana are pictured at the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA Stennis on July 11. During the visit to the south Mississippi site, the group learned more about internship opportunities with NASA and NASA Stennis. In addition to touring the test complex where RS-25 engines are tested for future Artemis missions, the group visited the Aerojet Rocketdyne Engine Assembly Facility onsite. Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company, manufactures RS-25 engines to help power NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket on Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond. NASA/Danny Nowlin Local School Leaders Visit NASA Stennis Pearl River County Elementary School leaders visit the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-1/B-2) during a NASA Stennis tour on July 15. The school leaders received an overview of work conducted at NASA Stennis, including how the south Mississippi site is contributing to NASA’s return to the Moon through the Artemis campaign by testing engines and stages to help power the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA Associate Administrator Visits NASA Stennis NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free stands with leaders from NASA Stennis and the NASA Shared Services Center during a visit on July 16 to the south Mississippi site. Free also met with representatives of commercial companies engaged in onsite propulsion activities. Pictured left to right is Jill Castiglione, NASA Stennis executive assistant; Troy Frisbie, NASA Stennis chief of staff; Nikki Tubbs, NASA Shared Services Center director of support operations; Anita Harrell, NASA Shared Services Center executive director; Free; John Bailey, NASA Stennis director; Rodney McKellip, NASA Stennis associate director; Troy Taylor, NASA Shared Services Center deputy director of service delivery; and Jessie Shiyou, NASA Shared Services Center executive assistant.NASA/Danny Nowlin Congressional Staff Visit NASA Stennis Congressional staff delegates representing eight states (Alabama, California, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York), along with NASA and U.S. Air Force representatives, tour the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-2) at NASA Stennis on July 16. The visit provided an opportunity for the group to learn about propulsion test work carried out onsite by NASA and commercial companies. NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA Stennis Participates in Hancock County Groundbreaking NASA Stennis breaks ground with officials from Hancock County on July 18 for the Stennis Wastewater Conveyance Project at the Northern Wastewater Treatment Plant in Kiln, Mississippi. The groundbreaking represented launch of an agreement described as a win-win situation for Hancock County and NASA Stennis. Upon completion of the project, the county will assume responsibility for servicing wastewater from the NASA center. The new agreement will enable the county to utilize its existing facility more efficiently, while also allowing NASA Stennis to devote more center resources its mission work. Groundbreaking participants include (left to right): Hancock County supervisor Chuck Clark, District 3; Hancock County supervisor Bo Ladner, District 5; Hancock County Water & Sewer District Chair Farron Hoda; state Rep. Brent Anderson, Mississippi District 122; Mayor Mike Favre, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi; NASA Stennis Associate Director Rodney McKellip; Hancock County Board President Scotty Adam (District 4 supervisor); state Sen. Philman Ladner, Mississippi District 46; NASA Stennis project manager Brittany Bouche; Mayor Jay Trapani, Waveland, Mississippi; and Hancock County Utility Authority Executive Director David Pitalo. NASA/Troy Frisbie Java with John Hosts NASA Stennis Supervisors NASA Stennis Director John Bailey hosts a Java with John session with NASA Stennis supervisors on July 24. Java with John is an ongoing employee-led discussion in a relaxed environment aimed to foster a culture where all are welcome to share what matters most to their work at NASA Stennis. NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA in the News NASA Ships Moon Rocket Stage Ahead of First Crewed Artemis Flight From One Crew to Another: Artemis II Astronauts Meet NASA Barge Crew NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test 25 Images to Celebrate NASA’s Chandra 25th Anniversary NASA’s Perseverance Rover Scientists Find Intriguing Mars Rock NASA Embraces Streaming Service to Reach, Inspire Artemis Generation Employee Profile: Kim Johnson NASA employee Kim Johnson’s desire for growth has taken her many places and continues unabated at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Kim Johnson supports NASA’s mission as a contracting officer at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. NASA/Danny Nowlin Read More About Kim Johnson Additional Resources Catching up with Stennis Space Center’s new director – WXXV News 25 (wxxv25.com) New and Notables: John Bailey – Biz New Orleans Good Things with Rebecca Turner – SuperTalk Mississippi (interview with NASA Stennis employees Lee English Jr. and Noah English) Certifying Artemis Rocket Engines – NASA (Houston, We Have a Podcast segment featuring NASA Stennis engineers Chip Ellis and Bradley Tyree) NASA Stennis Overview – Going Further (video) Subscription Info Lagniappe is published monthly by the Office of Communications at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. The NASA Stennis office may be contacted by at 228-688-3333 (phone); ssc-office-of-communications@mail.nasa.gov (email); or NASA OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS, Attn: LAGNIAPPE, Mail code IA00, Building 1111 Room 173, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529 (mail). The Lagniappe staff includes: Managing Editor Lacy Thompson, Editor Bo Black, and photographer Danny Nowlin. To subscribe to the monthly publication, please email the following to ssc-office-of-communications@mail.nasa.gov – name, location (city/state), email address. Explore More 6 min read Lagniappe for July 2024 Article 1 month ago 9 min read Lagniappe for June 2024 Explore the Lagniappe for June 2024 issue, featuring an innovative approach to infrastructure upgrades, how… Article 2 months ago 5 min read Lagniappe for May 2024 Explore the NASA Stennis newsletter, Lagniappe for May 2024. This issue features NASA’s announcement of… Article 3 months ago View the full article

4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) As chief of test operations at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, Maury Vander has been involved in some long-duration propulsion hot fires – but he still struggles to describe a pair of 34-minute space shuttle main engine tests conducted onsite in August 1988. “When you stop and think about it, …” Vander begins, then pauses. “In 34 minutes, I can leave work and drive home to Slidell (15-20 miles west in Louisiana) and be relaxing in my recliner in that amount of time.” Vander’s struggle is understandable when one considers the numbers. On Aug. 3 and Aug. 15, operators at the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-1) at NASA Stennis near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, fired a space shuttle main engine for a total of 2,017 seconds each day, more than four times as long as the engine fired (500 seconds) during a typical space shuttle launch. In terms of propulsion firings, nothing else comes close. The next-longest duration appears to have occurred in 2001, when a Progress M1-5 engine was fired for about 22 minutes to help deorbit the Russian space station Mir. Vander still wonders at the south Mississippi feat. “The ability to juggle the type of challenges seen over the course of 30-plus minutes is amazing,” he said. “And you are not talking about 21st century technology either. You are talking about rather simplistic stuff not far removed from the 1960s, so there was an art to operating that type of equipment. But, they pulled it off.” NASA Stennis may have been the only place such a firing could have been conducted. It had the needed test facility. The Thad Cochran (B-1) stand featured a larger liquid oxygen tank to support the test and was equipped with a diffuser that allowed operators to throttle the engine to lower power levels, thus conserving fuel. The stand also had a larger dock area for additional propellant barges needed for test support. Each 34-minute test required about 600,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and 230,000 gallons of liquid oxygen. Careful coordination ensured proper propellant flow from barges. “We still had old pumps for the barges, as opposed to the new ones that have variable drives to help control flow,” Vander noted. “The pumps back then were basically on/off pumps. If they were running, they were pretty much running wide open. That posed a challenge for controlling flow. It was a real art to orchestrate everything for such a long period of time.” In addition, the NASA Stennis High Pressure Gas Facility had to ensure proper volume and flow of gases to support the tests. Teams at the High Pressure Water Facility had to manage uninterrupted flow from the 66-million gallon reservoir to the test stand. “All of these were challenges they had to think their way through and logistically make happen,” Vander said. The test team had to maintain constant vigilance of such operations. “You are always monitoring, trying to figure out what could go wrong,” Vander said. “At any given moment, you may have to react and deal with a problem. To think of those people sitting in front of computer screens, gauges, and such, watching and making sure their responsibilities were covered for 30-plus minutes, is just amazing.” The teams were driven by a compelling factor. The nation was just recovering from the Challenger tragedy of 1986. Space shuttle Discovery would launch NASA’s return to flight in late September. Space shuttle Atlantis was scheduled to launch later in the year, but there was an issue with the fuel preburner injector on one of the engines. To resolve the matter, operators needed to record 8,000 seconds of hot fire on the injector. They decided to compile the time as efficiently as possible. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Engineers at NASA’s Stennis Space Center conduct one of two 2,017-second tests of a space shuttle main engine on the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-1) in August 1988. The tests still stand as the longest duration propulsion hot fires at the center and perhaps anywhere. The tests – almost 34 minutes each – were more than four times longer than space shuttle main engines fired during an actual launch.NASA/Stennis By the conclusion of the Aug. 15 test, just 340 more seconds of testing was needed to resolve the injector issue. As it did throughout the shuttle program, NASA Stennis teams delivered on propulsion test needs, resolving the issue to clear Atlantis for launch in early December. From 1975 to 2009, the center tested every space shuttle main flight engine and all engine upgrades, and also helped troubleshoot various performance issues. NASA Stennis now tests the RS-25 engines produced by Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company, to support launches of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket on Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond. “The people were proud of the work they did, yet humble,” Vander said, looking back at the record of the shuttle era. “You had to pull some of the stuff they did out of them when you were talking with them. Once they opened up, though, there were all kind of lessons there that we are still building on today.” For information about NASA’s Stennis Space Center, visit: Stennis Space Center – NASA Share Details Last Updated Aug 05, 2024 EditorNASA Stennis CommunicationsContactC. Lacy Thompsoncalvin.l.thompson@nasa.gov / (228) 688-3333LocationStennis Space Center Related TermsStennis Space Center Explore More 4 min read Stennis Flashback: NASA Test Series Leads to Bold Space Shuttle Flight It may have been small, but the white puff of smoke exiting the B-2 Test… Article 1 year ago 4 min read NASA Achieves Milestone for Engines to Power Future Artemis Missions Article 4 months ago 5 min read NASA Spinoffs Feature NASA Stennis Developed Technologies Article 6 months ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Stennis About NASA Stennis NASA’s Stennis Space Center History Stennis News Visit NASA Stennis View the full article

Christine Powell, Stennis Space Center Deputy DirectorNASA/Stennis NASA’s Stennis Space Center Director John Bailey announced Aug. 2 that longtime propulsion engineer/manager Christine Powell has been selected as deputy director of the south Mississippi propulsion site, effective Aug. 12. “I am excited for Christine to join the NASA Stennis executive team,” Bailey said. “She has deep and proven experience and expertise in propulsion testing and management. She also has served in a range of leadership positions here at NASA Stennis, making her uniquely qualified to help us innovate and grow into the future.” Powell currently serves as manager of NASA Rocket Propulsion Test Program Office located at NASA Stennis near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. In that role, she oversees propulsion assets valued at more than $3.5 billion across the agency, management of the program’s operations and annual $48 million budget, and strategic planning for NASA’s key objectives. Powell is the first woman to be selected as NASA Stennis deputy director. She will be responsible, with the center director, for coordinating all of NASA Stennis’ rocket propulsion test capabilities, as well as managing the overall site. NASA Stennis is the nation’s largest – and premier – propulsion test site, supporting test operations for both the government and commercial aerospace companies. It also serves as a regional aerospace and technology hub, home to more than 50 resident agencies, companies, organizations, and institutions. A native of Biloxi, Mississippi, Powell began her 33-year agency career at NASA Stennis, arriving at the south Mississippi center as an intern in 1991. Following her internship, she served as an instrumentation engineer and systems integration engineer before moving into leadership positions beginning in 2004. Powell subsequently served in various roles, including as site representative to the NASA Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, lead of the NASA Stennis Systems and Test Integration Branch, chief of the NASA Stennis Systems Engineering Branch, and assistant director of the Engineering and Test Directorate. She also led the NASA Stennis Systems Engineering and Project Management Leadership Development Program and was the NASA Stennis Advocate for the Agency’s Systems and Engineering Leadership Program. Powell assumed leadership of the Rocket Propulsion Test Program Office in May 2021. Powell has received numerous recognitions during her career, including two NASA Exceptional Achievement Medals. She is a graduate of Mississippi State University and the University of New Orleans. Powell and husband Ben, also a NASA Stennis engineer, reside in Carriere, Mississippi. For information about NASA’s Stennis Space Center, visit: Stennis Space Center – NASA Share Details Last Updated Aug 05, 2024 EditorNASA Stennis CommunicationsContactC. Lacy Thompsoncalvin.l.thompson@nasa.gov / (228) 688-3333LocationStennis Space Center Related TermsStennis Space Center Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Stennis About NASA Stennis Stennis People Stennis News Visit NASA Stennis View the full article

Kim Johnson supports NASA’s mission as a contracting officer at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA employee Kim Johnson’s desire for growth has taken her many places and continues unabated at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The D’Iberville, Mississippi, resident is a contracting officer in the NASA Stennis Office of Procurement, where she supports NASA’s mission at the largest rocket propulsion test site. Johnson oversees natural gas company contracts providing fuel to parts of the NASA Stennis federal city infrastructure, including the test stands benefitting NASA and commercial aerospace companies, and a security contract with local law enforcement to ensure all needs are met. “What is cool about procurement is interacting with a lot of different people when putting contracts together,” Johnson said. “NASA Stennis has people from different ages and skillsets, from engineers, to scientists, to procurement and finance, I get to work with many people putting contracts together. I love the diversity of it and different levels of knowledge. Everyone brings something to the table.” Johnson’s travels have exposed her to various people and work environments. She earned an undergraduate degree in London, England and a master’s degree in business administration at William Carey University in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and started her procurement career with a U.S. Air Force internship at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii. Johnson also worked at the NASA Shared Services Center, located at NASA Stennis, for two years. In the process, she earned a master’s degree in acquisition and contract management through the Florida Institute of Technology. The travel bug then set in once more and the Biloxi, Mississippi, native set off to Afghanistan to work as a defense contractor. The 10-year stint helped pay off student loans, although Johnson stayed in the country a bit longer than anticipated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following a final 13 months of working 84 hours a week in Afghanistan, Johnson took a break for a year before a return to NASA in south Mississippi presented itself. “I have been fortunate that my experiences have helped me understand contracts from both the commercial perspective and government perspective,” she said. “What I love about NASA Stennis is everybody is so helpful, and you know they will help you get the job done.” The NASA Stennis contracting officer continues her career development after being selected into a NASA leadership program. The year-long program focuses on NASA employees developing leadership capabilities and understanding how their work contributes to NASA missions. As part of the program, Johnson has visited NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. “It is encouraging because NASA promotes growth,” she said. “The agency really pushes you to grow in your career.” For information about NASA’s Stennis Space Center, visit: Stennis Space Center – NASA Learn more about the people who work at NASA Stennis View the full article

6 Min Read NASA Trains Machine Learning Algorithm for Mars Sample Analysis The Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer, aboard the ExoMars mission's Rosalind Franklin rover, will employ a machine learning algorithm to speed up specimen analysis. Credits: ESA When the ESA (European Space Agency)-led Rosalind Franklin rover heads to Mars no earlier than 2028, a NASA machine learning algorithm gets its first chance to shine after more than a decade of data training in the lab. The Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA), a mass spectrometer instrument aboard the rover, will analyze samples collected by a coring drill and send the results back to Earth, where they will be fed into the algorithm to identify organic compounds found in the samples. If any organic compounds are detected by the rover, the algorithm could greatly speed up the process of identifying them, saving scientists time as they decide the most efficient uses of the rover’s time on the Red Planet. When a robotic rover lands on another world, scientists have a limited amount of time to collect data from the troves of explorable material, because of short mission durations and the length of time to complete complex experiments. That’s why researchers at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, are investigating the use of machine learning to assist in the rapid analysis of data from rover samples and help scientists back on Earth strategize the most efficient use of a rover’s time on a planet. “This machine learning algorithm can help us by quickly filtering the data and pointing out which data are likely to be the most interesting or important for us to examine,” said Xiang “Shawn” Li, a mass spectrometry scientist in the Planetary Environments lab at NASA Goddard. The algorithm will first be put to the test with data from Mars, by operating on an Earth-bound computer using data collected by the Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA) instrument. The analyzer is one of the main science instruments on the upcoming ExoMars mission Rosalind Franklin Rover, led by ESA (European Space Agency). The rover, which is scheduled to launch no earlier than 2028, seeks to determine if life ever existed on the Red Planet. Related: NASA, ESA to Land Europe’s Rover on Mars After Rosalind Franklin collects a sample and analyzes it with MOMA, data will be sent back to Earth, where scientists will use the findings to decide the best next course of action. “For example, if we measure a sample that shows signs of large, complex organic compounds mixed into particular minerals, we may want to do more analysis on that sample, or even recommend that the rover collect another sample with its coring drill,” Li said. Algorithm May Help Identify Chemical Composition Beneath Surface of Mars In artificial intelligence, machine learning is a way that computers learn from data — lots of data — to identify patterns and make decisions or draw conclusions. This automated process can be powerful when the patterns might not be obvious to human researchers looking at the same data, which is typical for large, complex data sets such as those involved in imaging and spectral analysis. In MOMA’s case, researchers have been collecting laboratory data for more than a decade, according to Victoria Da Poian, a data scientist at NASA Goddard who co-leads development of the machine learning algorithm. The scientists train the algorithm by feeding it examples of substances that may be found on Mars and labeling what they are. The algorithm will then use the MOMA data as input and output predictions of the chemical composition of the studied sample, based on its training. NASA data scientist Victoria Da Poian presents on the MOMA’s machine learning algorithm at the Supercomputing 2023 conference in Denver, Colorado.NASA/Donovan Mathias “The more we do to optimize the data analysis, the more information and time scientists will have to interpret the data,” Da Poian said. “This way, we can react quickly to results and plan next steps as if we are there with the rover, much faster than we previously would have.” The MOMA employs laser desorption to identify specimens, while preserving larger molecules that may be broken down by gas chromatography. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Conceptual Image Lab Download this video and related multimedia in HD formats Drilling Down for Signs of Past Life What makes the Rosalind Franklin rover unique — and what scientists hope will lead to new discoveries — is that it will be able to drill down about 6.6 feet (2 meters) into the surface of Mars. Previous rovers have only reached about 2.8 inches (7 centimeters) below the surface. “Organic materials on Mars’ surface are more likely to be destroyed by exposure to the radiation at the surface and cosmic rays that penetrate into the subsurface,” said Li, “but two meters of depth should be enough to shield most organic matter. MOMA therefore has the potential to detect preserved ancient organics, which would be an important step in looking for past life.” Future Explorations Across the Solar System Could be More Autonomous Searching for signs of life, past or present, on worlds beyond Earth is a major effort for NASA and the greater scientific community. Li and Da Poian see potential for their algorithm as an asset for future exploration of tantalizing targets like Saturn’s moons Titan and Enceladus, and Jupiter’s moon Europa. Li and Da Poian’s long-term goal is to achieve even more powerful “science autonomy,” where the mass spectrometer will analyze its own data and even help make operational decisions autonomously, dramatically increasing science and mission efficiency. This will be crucial as space exploration missions target more distant planetary bodies. Science autonomy would help prioritize data collection and communication, ultimately achieving much more science than currently possible on such remote missions. “The long-term dream is a highly autonomous mission,” said Da Poian. “For now, MOMA’s machine learning algorithm is a tool to help scientists on Earth more easily study these crucial data.” The MOMA project is led by the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany, with principal investigator Dr. Fred Goesmann. NASA Goddard developed and built the MOMA mass spectrometer subsystem, which will measure the molecular weights of chemical compounds in collected Martian samples. Development of the machine learning algorithm was funded by NASA Goddard’s Internal Research and Development program. By Matthew Kaufman NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Share Details Last Updated Aug 05, 2024 EditorRob GarnerContactRob Garnerrob.garner@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related TermsTechnologyArtificial Intelligence (AI)ExoMarsGoddard Space Flight CenterGoddard TechnologyMarsPlanetary ScienceThe Solar System Explore More 6 min read Here’s How AI Is Changing NASA’s Mars Rover Science Article 3 weeks ago 7 min read NASA’s Perseverance Rover Scientists Find Intriguing Mars Rock Article 2 weeks ago 5 min read NASA: Life Signs Could Survive Near Surfaces of Enceladus and Europa Europa, a moon of Jupiter, and Enceladus, a moon of Saturn, have evidence of oceans… Article 3 weeks ago View the full article

To enable deep space missions, the capability to transfer and store cryogenic fuels (typically liquid hydrogen, methane, and oxygen) without significant leakage over long duration missions is critical. NASA has been actively developing zero boil-off cryocooler technology to reduce storage losses. Another source of fuel loss is from leakage at the fuel disconnect used for in-space refueling. Current designs use fluoroelastomer seals which are excellent for applications such as natural gas but are susceptible to embrittlement at the lower temperatures required for liquid hydrogen. In addition, the high contact forces needed to reduce leakage can cause cracking of the seals. NASA is seeking potential low or zero leakage cryogenic disconnect seal designs that could be fabricated and tested. Award: $6,000 in total prizes Open Date: July 31, 2024 Close Date: September 25, 2024 For more information, visit: https://grabcad.com/challenges/low-leakage-cryogenic-disconnects-for-fuel-transfer-and-long-term-storage View the full article

4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) An artist’s concept of the X-66 aircraft Boeing will produce through NASA’s Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project. The aircraft, designed to prove the concept of more aerodynamic, fuel-efficient transonic truss-braced wings, is an example of the type of project model-based systems analysis and engineering will provide benefits to.Boeing As NASA continues cutting-edge aeronautics research, the agency also is taking steps to make sure the benefits from these diverse technologies are greater than the sum of their parts. To tackle that challenge, NASA is using Model-Based Systems Analysis and Engineering (MBSAE). This type of engineering digitally simulates how multiple technologies could best work together as a single, complex system. It is performed using advanced digital tools and computing programs. The goal: Optimize the next generation of 21st-century aviation technology. Model Benefits “MBSAE provides a way to envision how all these technologies, being developed separately, can all fit together in the end,” said Eric Hendricks, who leads MBSAE integration efforts for NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. By using this form of digital engineering, NASA’s aeronautical innovators can have a better idea of how their research in one area (say, ultra-efficient airliners) could best benefit, and work in tandem, with another area (say, future airspace safety). Using detailed, customizable digital models, researchers can simulate these complex systems working together with a high degree of accuracy and then figure out how the greatest benefits could be achieved. “As we move toward these advanced systems, MBSAE can connect different disciplines and determine how to eke out the best performance,” Hendricks said. That process feeds back into the research itself, helping researchers to significantly improve aviation’s sustainability – amongst other goals. Zeroing In MBSAE does more than integrating complex systems, however. Each system, individually, can be optimized using MBSAE tools. “Before the technology is even fully developed, we can run highly accurate digital simulations that inform the research itself,” Hendricks said. “A digital flight test is a lot simpler and less costly than a real flight test.” For example, one of NASA’s new MBSAE tools, Aviary, includes the ability to consider gradients. That means Aviary can figure out how to more efficiently optimize a given technology. Say a researcher would like to know which type of battery is needed to power an airplane during a certain maneuver. The researcher inputs information about the airplane, the maneuver, and battery technologies into Aviary, then Aviary goes and runs digital flight tests and comes back with which type of battery worked best. Digital flights tests like this can be done for myriad other areas as well, ranging from an aircraft’s overall shape to the size of its engine core, its electrical systems, and beyond. Then, the digital flight tests can help figure out how to combine these systems in the most effective way. Digital Era Aeronautics Another way MBSAE can come in handy is the scale of these aviation transformations. With demand for single-aisle airliners expected to rise dramatically in the coming decades, measuring the emissions reductions from a certain wing design, for example, would not just extend to one aircraft, but also an entire fleet. “We’ll be able to take what we learn from our sustainable aviation projects and simulate the technology entering the fleet at certain points,” said Rich Wahls, NASA’s mission integration manager for the Sustainable Flight National Partnership at NASA Headquarters. “We can model the fleet itself to see how much more sustainable these technologies are across the board.” Ultimately, MBSAE also represents a new era in aeronautical innovation – both at NASA and in the aviation industry, with whom NASA is working closely to ensure its MBSAE efforts are cross compatible on an opensource platform. “The MBSAE team has lots of early-to-mid career folks,” Hendricks said. “It’s great to see the younger generation get involved and even take the lead, especially since these digital efforts can facilitate knowledge transfer as well.” About the AuthorJohn GouldAeronautics Research Mission DirectorateJohn Gould is a member of NASA Aeronautics' Strategic Communications team at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. He is dedicated to public service and NASA’s leading role in scientific exploration. Prior to working for NASA Aeronautics, he was a spaceflight historian and writer, having a lifelong passion for space and aviation. Facebook logo @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es Instagram logo @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es Linkedin logo @NASA Explore More 2 min read System-Wide Safety Project Description Article 4 days ago 1 min read System-Wide Safety Project Leadership Article 4 days ago 3 min read NASA Embraces Streaming Service to Reach, Inspire Artemis Generation Article 7 days ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Missions Artemis Aeronautics STEM Explore NASA’s History Share Details Last Updated Aug 04, 2024 EditorJim BankeContactJim Bankejim.banke@nasa.gov Related TermsAeronauticsAeronautics Research Mission DirectorateFlight InnovationSustainable Flight National Partnership View the full article

Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft for the company’s 21st commercial resupply services mission for NASA launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.Credit: NASA Following a successful launch of NASA’s Northrop Grumman 21st commercial resupply mission, new scientific experiments and cargo for the agency are bound for the International Space Station. Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft, carrying more than 8,200 pounds of supplies to the orbiting laboratory, lifted off at 11:02 a.m. EDT Sunday on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Shortly after launch, the spacecraft missed its first burn due to a late entry to burn sequencing. Known as the targeted altitude burn, or TB1, it was rescheduled, but aborted shortly after the engine ignited due to a slightly low initial pressure state. There is no indication the engine itself has any problem at this time. Cygnus is at a safe altitude and completed the deployment of its two solar arrays at 2:21 p.m. Northrop Grumman engineers are working a new burn and trajectory plan and aim to achieve the spacecraft’s original capture time on station. If all remains on track, live coverage of the spacecraft’s arrival will begin at 1:30 a.m., Tuesday, Aug. 6, on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media. NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick will capture Cygnus using the station’s robotic arm at approximately 3:10 a.m., and NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps is backup. The resupply mission will support dozens of research experiments conducted during Expedition 71. Included among the investigations are: Test articles to evaluate liquid and gas flow through porous media found in space station life support systems A balloon, penny, and hexnut for a new STEMonstration on centripetal force Microorganisms known as Rotifers to examine the effects of spaceflight on DNA repair mechanisms A bioreactor to demonstrate the production of many high-quality blood and immune stem cells These are just a sample of the hundreds of investigations conducted aboard the orbiting laboratory in the areas of biology and biotechnology, physical sciences, and Earth and space science. Such research benefits humanity and lays the groundwork for future human exploration through the agency’s Artemis campaign, which will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future expeditions to Mars. NASA’s arrival and in-flight event coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations): Tuesday, Aug. 6 1:30 a.m. – Arrival coverage begins on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. 3:10 a.m. – Capture of Cygnus with the space station’s robotic arm. 4:30 a.m. – Cygnus installation coverage begins on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. All times are estimates and could be adjusted based on operations after launch. Follow the space station blog for the most up-to-date operations information. The company’s 21st mission to the space station for NASA is the 10th under its Commercial Resupply Services 2 contract. Cygnus will remain at the orbiting laboratory until January before it departs and disposes of several thousand pounds of trash through its re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere where it will harmlessly burn up. The spacecraft is named the S.S. Francis R. “Dick” Scobee after the former NASA astronaut. Learn more about NASA’s commercial resupply mission at: https://www.nasa.gov/mission/nasas-northrop-grumman-crs-21/ -end- Claire O’Shea / Josh Finch Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / claire.a.o’shea@nasa.gov Stephanie Plucinsky / Steven Siceloff Kennedy Space Center, Fla. 321-876-2468 stephanie.n.plucinsky@nasa.gov / steven.p.siceloff@nasa.gov Sandra Jones Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Aug 04, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related TermsInternational Space Station (ISS)Commercial ResupplyISS ResearchJohnson Space CenterKennedy Space CenterNorthrop Grumman Commercial Resupply View the full article

NASA/Kim Shiflett Teams transport NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) core stage into the Vehicle Assembly Building at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 24, 2024. Tugboats and towing vessels moved the Pegasus barge and 212-foot-long core stage 900-miles to the Florida spaceport from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where it was manufactured and assembled. In the coming months, teams will integrate the rocket core stage atop the mobile launcher with the additional Artemis II flight hardware, including the twin solid rocket boosters, launch vehicle stage adapter, and the Orion spacecraft. The Artemis II test flight will be NASA’s first mission with crew under the Artemis campaign, sending NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Reid Wiseman, as well as CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back. Follow the next steps in this journey on NASA’s Artemis blog. Text credit: Jason Costa Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett View the full article

Lee esta entrevista en español aquí Dr. Ariadna Farrés-Basiana would look up at the sky and marvel at the immensity of space when she was younger. Now, the bounds are limitless as she helps NASA explore the expansive universe by computing the trajectories and maneuvers to get a spacecraft into space. Name: Dr. Ariadna Farrés-Basiana Title: Astrodynamics and solar radiation pressure specialist, Formal Job Classification: Scientific collaborator Organization Navigation and Mission Design Branch (Code 595) Dr. Ariadna Farrés-Basiana is an astrodynamics and solar radiation pressure specialist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.Photo courtesy of Ariadna Farrés-Basiana What is your role at Goddard? What do you focus on? I am part of the flight dynamics team. We are the ones in charge of computing the trajectories, maneuvers, amongst other things to get a spacecraft into space to its final destination. I am currently working on two main projects: the Space Weather Follow On-Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) mission, which is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) mission that will monitor space weather, and NASA’s Roman Space Telescope. I participate in both missions as part of the flight dynamics team. I am in charge of calculating the transfer trajectory, which would be the path through space that these missions must follow to go from Earth to Lagrange points L1 and L2. These are places in space where gravitational forces balance each other and a spacecraft doesn’t need to spend as much fuel to maintain its orbit. In addition to that, I work on station-keeping strategies, which are the routine maneuvers that we must do to keep our telescope in orbit. What was your path to NASA? My Ph.D. focused on solar sails, which is a way of navigating through space using the force of light emitted by the Sun as if it were wind that drives the sails of the spacecraft. I always thought that my contribution to NASA would be as a researcher or as a professor at a university. I had always dreamed of joining NASA, but I never thought it was possible. At the time, I was trying to find a position as a tenured professor at the University of Barcelona. While I was waiting, a professor of mine who had collaborated with people at NASA back in the ’90s called his former colleagues and told them that he had a Ph.D. student who was looking for a summer internship; then he asked if I could intern with them for a few months. And they said yes. I came to Goddard one summer as an intern and it was amazing. In the end I didn’t get the position as a tenured professor in Spain, and when I told my colleagues that I didn’t have a job, they asked me if I wanted to come and finish the research project I had started here, and after that I continued to extend my internship. In May 2017, I joined Goddard for the second time, this time as a full-time employee. What would have been only seven months of internship ended up being seven years that I have been here. What made you interested in mathematics and specialize in it? When it came time to choose what I wanted to major in, I was deciding between two majors: aerospace engineering, because I’ve always had space on my mind, or mathematics because I really enjoyed it. I chose mathematics, mainly because I could stay in my country. About 20 to 25 years ago, research in aerospace was not a thing in Spain; specializing in space engineering would have meant moving from my hometown and going to Madrid, which is where the only university I knew I could do that was. So, I ended up choosing math and decided it would be cool to learn more about it. You mentioned that you were interested in space since you were a child. What fascinated you about the sky? I remember looking at the sky, looking at the Moon and wondering what’s out there. My dad was also into science, and he would explain things regarding space. He had a friend that had a telescope and from time to time, we’d go observe it which was fascinating. There was something about the immensity of space and the fact that we don’t know much about it that interested me. How do you feel about getting to work on two different telescopes, having been inspired by telescopes when you were younger? It is very gratifying to know that my work will help these telescopes go to space and operate from there. Finding solutions for this makes me very proud of what I do. I feel like all the knowledge I have is being applied to something physical, practical, that will be in space and that will help other scientists make great discoveries. What story or tradition from your hometown makes you smile when you think about it? The most beautiful day is the Sant Jordi festival, it is a precious day. It’s the day of the book and the rose. It’s not a holiday, but everyone is looking for an excuse, any time of the day to go out and buy a book and a rose for their loved ones. The atmosphere is beautiful during those days. Also, my brother’s name is Jordi, so it’s a special day because we all celebrate it together. “My dad was also into science, and he would explain things regarding space,” said Ariadna. “He had a friend that had a telescope and from time to time, we’d go observe it which was fascinating. There was something about the immensity of space and the fact that we don’t know much about it that interested me.”Photo courtesy of Ariadna Farrés-Basiana Are you involved in other activities outside of your work at NASA? I am part of the Hypatia project. It encourages scientific vocations among girls who are potentially interested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. We do analog missions in the Utah desert, which simulates day-to-day life on Mars. Who has not dreamed of going to space, or has simply wondered what a trip to Mars or life on Mars would be like? With these simulations we help bring these dreams closer to students. What I like most about this initiative is being able to go to schools to explain our experiences to them. It is important to show different women who do research. This helps change the ideology of many who imagine that to be a scientist you must be a man with glasses and a white coat. There are few women in the space field. Many times, you have the feeling that you have to prove that you are worth more, show that you are there because you deserve it. It’s nice to be involved in projects like Hypatia, because I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about gender in STEM disciplines. It is my contribution so that the next generations are not so afraid to try to pursue a STEM career. Where do you see yourself in the next five years? I see myself here at NASA, working on different missions, perhaps taking on a role with a little more leadership or more responsibility. By Alexa Figueroa NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Conversations With Goddard is a collection of Q&A profiles highlighting the breadth and depth of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center’s talented and diverse workforce. The Conversations have been published twice a month on average since May 2011. Read past editions on Goddard’s “Our People” webpage. Share Details Last Updated Aug 02, 2024 EditorMadison OlsonContactRob Garnerrob.garner@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related TermsPeople of GoddardGoddard Space Flight CenterNASA en españolPeople of NASA Explore More 10 min read Kan Yang: Translating Science Ideas into Engineering Concepts Article 2 months ago 6 min read Rebekah Hounsell: Tracking Cosmic Light to Untangle the Universe’s Darkest Mysteries Article 2 weeks ago 7 min read Bente Eegholm: Ensuring Space Telescopes Have Stellar Vision Article 1 month ago   View the full article

Each Aug. 4, Coast Guard Day commemorates the founding on Aug. 4, 1790, of the U.S. Coast Guard as the Revenue-Marine by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton. Although considered an internal event for active duty and reserve Coast Guard members, we take the opportunity of Coast Guard Day to honor the astronauts who began their careers in the Coast Guard. To date, NASA has selected three astronauts who served in the Coast Guard: Bruce E. Melnick in 1987, Daniel C. Burbank in 1996, and Andre Douglas in 2021. While Melnick and Burbank have retired from NASA, the decades long relationship between the agency and the Coast Guard carries on with Douglas. Left: Coast Guard Day banner. Image credit: courtesy Veteran.com. Right: Official emblem of the U.S. Coast Guard. Image credit: courtesy U.S. Coast Guard. Under the guidance of Treasury Secretary Hamilton, the U.S. Congress authorized the establishment of the Revenue-Marine on Aug. 4, 1790. The bill also authorized the building of a fleet of 10 Revenue Service ships known as cutters, used to enforce tariff laws established by Congress. By the 1860s, the organization’s name had changed to the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service. On Jan. 28, 1915, President Woodrow Wilson signed into law an act of Congress that merged the Revenue Cutter Service with the U.S. Life Saving Service, naming the new organization the U.S. Coast Guard, dedicated to saving lives at sea and enforcing the nation’s maritime laws. After 177 years in the Treasury Department, the Coast Guard transferred to the newly formed Department of Transportation on April 1, 1967, and then to the Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003. Bruce E. Melnick Left: Official astronaut portrait of Bruce E. Melnick, Class of 1987. Middle: Melnick aboard space shuttle Discovery during the STS-41 mission that deployed the Ulysses solar polar probe. Right: Melnick on the flight deck of Endeavour during its first flight, STS-49. Melnick, a native of Florida, earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering with honors from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 1972. During his 20-year career with the U.S. Coast Guard, Melnick’s assignments included serving as operations officer and chief test pilot at the Coast Guard Aircraft Program Office in Grand Prairie, Texas. During his Coast Guard service, Melnick received numerous awards, including two Department of Defense Distinguished Service Medals, two Distinguished Flying Crosses and the Secretary of Transportation Heroism Award. In 1992, he received the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Distinguished Alumni Award. He logged over 5,000 flight hours.. NASA selected Melnick in June 1987 as the first astronaut from the Coast Guard. He completed his training in August 1988, and flew as a mission specialist on Discovery’s STS-41 mission in October 1990. During the four-day flight, he and his crewmates deployed the Ulysses spacecraft to study the Sun’s polar regions. On his second and final spaceflight in May 1992, he served as the flight engineer on STS-49, the first flight of Endeavour. During that mission, the astronauts rescued and repaired the Intelsat VI satellite. He logged more than 300 hours in space. Melnick retired from the U.S. Coast Guard and NASA in July 1992. Daniel C. Burbank Left: Official astronaut portrait of Daniel C. Burbank, Class of 1996. Middle left: Burbank installs the Elektron oxygen generation unit in the Zvezda Service Module during STS-106. Middle right: Burbank performs a spacewalk during STS-115. Right: Burbank conducts a pulmonary function study while exercising on the bicycle ergometer in the Destiny module during Expedition 30. Connecticut-born and Massachusetts native, Burbank received a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering and his commission from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in May 1985. After attending naval flight training in Pensacola, Florida, he was assigned to Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina. In July 1992, Burbank transferred to Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod, Massachusetts, followed by his assignment in May 1995 to Coast Guard Air Station Sitka, Alaska. Burbank logged over 4,000 flight hours, primarily in Coast Guard helicopters, and flew more than 2,000 missions, including over 300 search and rescue missions. NASA selected Burbank as an astronaut in the class of 1996. During his first spaceflight, the 12-day STS-106 International Space Station assembly mission in September 2000, Burbank and his crewmates prepared the station for the arrival of its first expedition crew. They delivered more than three tons of supplies and installed batteries, power converters, oxygen generation equipment, and a treadmill. He flew his second spaceflight aboard Atlantis in September 2006 on the 12-day STS-115 space station assembly mission. The astronauts delivered and installed the P3/P4 truss and solar arrays, and Burbank took part in one the three spacewalks of the mission, spending 7 hours 11 minutes outside. He flew his third and final mission between November 2011 and April 2012 as a member of Expeditions 29 and 30, serving as Commander of Expedition 30. During the 165-day flight, Burbank and his crewmates participated in nearly 200 experiments and completed 23 major hardware upgrades to the station. During his three missions, Burbank accumulated more than 188 days in space. He retired from NASA in June 2018. Andre Douglas Left: Official astronaut portrait of Andre Douglas, Class of 2021. Middle: Douglas collects soil samples during simulated moonwalks in Northern Arizona in May 2024. Right: Artemis II backup astronaut Douglas tries on his lunar spacesuit in July 2024. Image credit: Courtesy Andre Douglas. Douglas, a Virginia native and 2008 U.S. Coast Guard Academy graduate, served as an active-duty Coast Guard officer from 2008 to 2015. He earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering and in naval architecture and marine engineering from the University of Michigan, a master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering from Johns Hopkins University and a doctorate in systems engineering from George Washington University. NASA selected Douglas as an astronaut candidate in December 2021, and he completed his training on March 5, 2024. On March 19, the U.S. Coast Guard swore-in Douglas as a commander in the Coast Guard Reserve during a commissioning ceremony in Washington, D.C. On July 3, 2024, NASA named Douglas as a backup crew member for the Artemis II mission to circle the Moon. Explore More 20 min read MESSENGER – From Setbacks to Success Article 2 hours ago 5 min read 60 Years Ago: Ranger 7 Photographs the Moon Article 4 days ago 9 min read 25 Years Ago: STS-93, Launch of the Chandra X-Ray Observatory Article 1 week ago View the full article

The Cabeus supercomputer at the NASA Advanced Supercomputing Facility at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley NASA/Michelle Moyer Under a new agreement, NASA will host supercomputing resources for the University of California, Berkeley, at the agency’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. The agreement is part of an expanding partnership between Ames and UC Berkeley and will support the development of novel computing algorithms and software for a wide variety of scientific and technology areas. Per the three-year Reimbursable Space Act Agreement, the UC Berkeley supercomputer and storage systems will be hosted at the NASA Advanced Supercomputing Facility – the agency’s premiere supercomputing center. UC Berkeley researchers will benefit from NASA’s capability in optimizing modern computing codes. NASA will gain from exchanging with the university best practices in operating and maintaining high-performance computing systems. The newest addition to the UC Berkeley “Savio” supercomputer will be housed within a NASA data center and will consist of 192 dual Intel Ice Lake Xeon processor nodes, 32 NVIDIA graphics processor unit accelerated nodes, and 1.3 petabytes of high-performance flash storage. The agreement complements the joint venture announced in October 2023 between UC Berkeley and developer SKS Partners to build the proposed Berkeley Space Center at NASA Research Park, located at Ames. The project is envisioned as a 36-acre discovery and innovation hub to include educational spaces, labs, offices, student housing, and a new conference center. “Supporting UC Berkeley in various aspects of supercomputing operations adds an important component to our existing collaboration and opens up exciting possibilities for gaining new knowledge in aeronautical and space sciences, materials sciences, and information science and technologies,” said Rupak Biswas, director, Exploration Technology at NASA Ames. For more than four decades, the NASA Advanced Supercomputing facility has provided leadership in NASA high-end computing technologies and services for agency missions and projects in aeronautics research, launch vehicle analysis, entry systems technologies, Earth and planetary science, astrophysics, and heliophysics. Learn more about Ames’ world-class supercomputing capabilities and services, here. Author: Jill Dunbar, NASA Advanced Supercomputing Division, NASA’s Ames Research Center Share Details Last Updated Aug 02, 2024 Related TermsGeneralAmes Research CenterAmes Research Center's Science DirectorateHigh-Tech ComputingNASA Centers & FacilitiesTechnology View the full article

20 Min Read MESSENGER – From Setbacks to Success This view of Mercury was produced by using images from the color base map imaging campaign during MESSENGER's primary mission. Credits: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington The excerpts below are taken from Discovery Program oral history interviews conducted in 2009 by Dr. Susan Niebur and tell the story of the hurdles the MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging) mission team faced with the technical requirements of visiting Mercury, budget challenges, and schedule impacts —all while keeping their mission goals in mind on the way to launch. The MESSENGER mission followed a long road from conception to launch with multiple detours and obstacles along the way. First conceived by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) after NASA’s 1996 Discovery Program Announcement of Opportunity, the mission to Mercury proposal, if accepted, would be the first spacecraft to visit the planet since Mariner 10’s flybys in 1974. A critical step for APL was finding the right principal investigator (PI) to lead the mission. Read the Discovery Program oral histories “These projects are so huge” Andrew F. Cheng, MESSENGER Co-Investigator “There’s not that many people out there, especially in the early days when the PI [principal investigator-led] mission paradigm itself was just getting set up. You didn’t want to screw up. You didn’t want to have a problem. …Scientific qualifications are necessary, but that’s not even the biggest part of it. It’s knowing something about missions and seeing how they work with engineers and also how they handle Headquarters and how they handle the program management. It’s a whole variety of things. “Number one is the cachet to help you win the mission. And then there’s the consideration, ‘Okay, what if we win and we’re actually stuck with this guy? All right, he better be able to work with the engineers, better know how to listen, better realize that, yes, you’re in charge, but you’re not really.’ PIs don’t know everything and they have to know how to delegate. These projects are so huge…they can’t get their fingers into everything.” Read Andrew Cheng's oral history “This sounded like fun” Sean Solomon, MESSENGER Principal Investigator “APL decided that they thought they could do a Mercury orbiter mission. They were doing NEAR [Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous] at the time. They had ambitions to do more things in solar system exploration. “I got a call from John Appleby, who was the head of development for the APL space department at the time. He said, ‘We are looking to put together a team of scientists for a Discovery proposal, a Mercury orbiter. Would you be interested?’ “I said sure. …This sounded like fun. I hadn’t given a great deal of thought to Mercury for almost 20 years, then. This is spring of 1996. But it was something I had wanted to do for 20 years. It was a chance. …The next thing I knew I got a call from Tom Krimigis, …and he said, “Can you come out to APL?” I had never been to APL. So I drove out there and I was late because I didn’t know how bad the beltway traffic would be. I came into this room with 10 people waiting for me, and the gist of it was, they asked me, ‘Would you like to be PI? You already said you would be on the science team for the mission, how about being PI?’… “I was naïve in a lot of ways. I didn’t appreciate all of the aspects of the things I would have to know. For instance, when we wrote that first proposal. The first time we wrote it, it got accepted [and moved] to the second round [of competition]. I put a lot of effort into the science rationale, which was the first 25 pages of the proposal. But I had to accept that the engineering team really knew what they were doing. I wasn’t in a position to critically evaluate the confidence with which they had solutions to particular technical challenges. I didn’t know that much then about risk management. I didn’t know how to ask all of the questions that I learned how to ask about. Nor did I know how to evaluate project managers, the first time around. “At the time of our site visit [a requirement during the second round], we had a development path for the solar arrays, which was worked out, but in the questions and answers it was clear we didn’t have a sufficient contingency plan. If any of the testing proved that our assumptions were not appropriate…we didn’t have a deep plan for what to do next. And so we were really sharply dinged on the solar arrays, which have to face the Sun. We hadn’t done enough testing to be absolutely confident to the level of being able to persuade a legitimately skeptical review panel that we had the right solution. “The other place we got hammered was that the budget did not come together. This was the project manager’s fault. It didn’t come together in a way that could be shared with the team, including the PI, before the site visit. The budget was so late that he didn’t put all the numbers together until the night before the presentation, and some of that information that had gone out to the site review team didn’t add up. …And there was nobody there who could help him because nobody had seen it. It had been put together so last minute….I wasn’t sufficiently skeptical in the areas where I was ignorant. So I certainly bear a lot of responsibility [for not being chosen].” Read Sean Solomon's oral history These two large solar panels gave the MESSENGER spacecraft its power.NASA After that first disappointment, the MESSENGER team regrouped and proposed again in 1998 after some changes to the team and after addressing significant problems that were identified in the first proposal. The second proposal was accepted for development on July 7, 1999. “Somebody who knew about risk” Sean Solomon, MESSENGER Principal Investigator “We had a meeting and agreed that we would re-propose. I said I want a new project manager…we had to have a rapport, someone who could work well with his own engineers. Somebody whose budgets I believed. Somebody who knew about risk. Somebody who had had some experience. They said, ‘We think we have somebody for you. We would like you to meet Max Peterson.’ Max and I hit it off. So he became the proposal manager and the project manager for the second proposal. “We had to solve the solar array problem. And APL did that by doing the testing. They developed a testing protocol. They put the resources in. They figured out how to do the test at NASA Glenn [Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio]. So by the time we wrote our second proposal, and particularly by the time of the second site study, we could say, ‘Not only do we have a solution for the solar arrays, here are all the tests that validate our models.’ “So, the first time we proposed we were low risk in round one and high risk after the site visit, high risk being the solar arrays and not having a good project manager. But we were low risk both times the second time through.” Read Sean Solomon's oral history Two separate Mars missions lost their spacecraft to failures in 1999 — the Mars Climate Orbiter in September and the Mars Polar Lander in December. As a result, NASA set up the NASA Integrated Action Team [NIAT] to study these failures and make recommendations going forward for all small missions, including the Discovery missions. For the newly selected MESSENGER mission, this imposed a significant effect on the planned budget and timeline because of the added mandates for risk avoidance. “Reviews upon reviews upon reviews” Tom Krimigis, APL Space Department head “Well, needless to say, we felt sort of punished, even though we were innocent. Some of that also was very disappointing because we did have several of these reviews, and they pointed out certain things that needed to be done. But they were imposed on the system, and at the same time not paid for, and also not relaxing the schedule in any way, because we had a specific deadline to launch and so on. So, these were mandates. And that’s part of the problem with the reviews upon reviews upon reviews, that there is no incentive for the review teams to somehow be mindful of the schedule and the cost. “I complained to Headquarters at one time that we had a third of the staff acting on the recommendations from the previous review; another third preparing for the next review; and the final third was actually doing work. I mean, it was really horrendous.” Read Tom Krimigis' oral history In the high bay clean room at the Astrotech Space Operations processing facilities near Kennedy Space Center, workers prepared to attach an overhead crane to NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft. The spacecraft was moved to a work stand where employees of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, builders of the spacecraft, performed an initial state-of-health check.NASA “Keep marching forward” Ralph McNutt, MESSENGER Project Scientist “I think what did happen was then the NIAT report came out, and it was like we were told, ‘Well, things are going to happen differently.’ “And of course, we were in the middle of trying to get this thing pulled together when all of this was going on. Quite frankly, I think looking back on it, it’s not that we didn’t take it seriously, it’s just that if you’re going to keep your budget down, you’ve got a certain number of people. And unfortunately there are only 24 hours in the day and occasionally it’s probably good to sleep during some of those. “So we had [asked for] an original amount of money, which we got, which was, looking back on it, way too small considering what was going to be coming down the pike at us. And as all of this started coming together about what the implications really were. ‘Wait a minute. We’re not going to make it.’ And we got into a bit more hardball with some of the powers that be at that point. “We didn’t get nearly all of what we’d asked for. And we said, ‘Well, we’re not going to give up. We’re going to keep marching forward.’ And we did have to go back and ask for more money. Sean ended up giving presentations to four of the different NASA advisory subcommittees down at NASA Headquarters. “All the committees agreed that it should go forward. There were some other people down at NASA Headquarters that weren’t very happy with that assessment. …I think everybody was frustrated. It wasn’t like we felt like we were coming up roses. …I don’t know that it was so much a feeling of vindication as the feeling that we had managed to evade the executioner’s blade.” Read Ralph McNutt's oral history Artist impression of NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft in orbit at Mercury. As the mission development continued, delivery delays from subcontractors presented another schedule and cost impact. And the cost reviews at NASA Headquarters were causing more worry for the team. “Not a standard review” David Grant, MESSENGER Project Manager “My first meeting was called a Risk Retirement Review. It was covered by an independent assessment team that had been following the program for some time. I went to the review and I began to sense that there were some serious problems going on in the program. The review was not a standard review. It was requested by Colleen Hartman, and I believe her title at the time was Director for the Division of Planetary Science. “And so we get into the details and it was clear from the start that there was a very big struggle to try to keep the program cost under the [budget] cap. It was a very big concern about that. “There were problems. We had problems with the IMU [Inertial Measurement Unit]. It was very late and Northrup Grumman was having a heck of a time with it. Also, just as I came in the door, they had announced that one of the solar array substrates had cracked in testing. What were they going to do about that $100,000 rebuild? We had an autonomy system to protect the spacecraft that was stuck. It was a very comprehensive system, trying to do everything. Everywhere I looked there were cost and schedule problems. “Now you have to understand, MESSENGER is a very tough mission. You have to keep your eye on the spacecraft weight, on the propulsion, and on the thermal. An awful lot of technology. The guys that were working the job were very good people, but it was a very tough job. So, I really wasn’t surprised to see that there were problems. I mean this is a program with an awful lot of technology development. An awful lot. And we were having problems. So, we had the review and came out of it with some recommendations. But it was clear to me, very clear, that we had blown the cost cap. This was something that my own management did not want to hear, but there was no way that we could complete the work and stay under the program cap.” Read David Grant's oral history The delays and cost mounted, but the team still worked toward their March 2004 launch date. The stress of the situation affected work schedules and team morale, and the mission leadership had to find ways to keep people motivated and moving forward. “We wanted to get to Mercury sooner” Sean Solomon, MESSENGER Principal Investigator “We were projecting delays at that point in key subsystem deliveries that came to pass. One of the most painful was the spacecraft structure. That was subcontracted to an outfit called Composite Optics in California, because APL had never done a structure made out of composites. But we did it to keep the dry mass of the spacecraft down. Composite Optics is a fine company, but they’re a small company, and the mission that they had to finish before us was MER [Mars Exploration Rover]. MER was four months late on the delivery of their spacecraft, the bus that flew the MER to Mars. And there was nothing we could do. “So that set our integration and test schedule four months in arrears from the beginning. Because the spacecraft structure had to go to the propulsion system guys, who integrated it. And then those guys delivered an integrated propulsion system and structure to APL. So that put us deeper in the hole. “But there were other things going on at the time. We were really sweating the inertial measurement unit. There was a company that built these things outside of Santa Barbara in Goleta, California. They were bought by Northrup Grumman. And Northrup Grumman decided to close the Goleta plant, and they tried to get people who knew how to do this to move down to Woodland Hills. Well, nobody who lives in Santa Barbara wants to live in LA. So none of them moved. So they had to reproduce the expertise to build these very complicated gyros. All new people. “They missed every deadline…. But there were other technical issues, and they were all eating away at our schedule. Still, we were working toward a schedule that would have had us go in our first launch window, which was March of 2004. There was another window in May of 2004. There was a third, less desirable window in August of 2004. So we had three windows, by good fortune, in 2004. “We particularly didn’t want to have the August launch, because that was the energetically least favorable launch. The March and May launches involved cruise times of 5 years. The August launch, which is the one we eventually used, was a 6 ½-year cruise. And so not only would we get to the planet much later, but there would be a big Phase E cost increase. So we didn’t want to go there. We wanted to get to Mercury sooner. So, in the winter of 2003 we were still aiming for the March 2004 launch. ” Read Sean Solomon's oral history At the Astrotech Space Operations processing facilities, an overhead crane lowered NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft onto a work stand. There employees of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, builders of the spacecraft, performed an initial state-of-health check. Then processing for launch began, including checkout of the power systems, communications systems and control systems. NASA “Things kept coming up” David Grant, MESSENGER Project Manager “You need to have the subsystems delivered in a certain order. Well, first of all, many were being delivered late. We were shooting for a March launch. So, we made the subsystems move their delivery dates in. That took more money to get that done. “For electrical integration and test, I had an 18-person team working double shifts, sometimes triple shift, sometimes seven days a week. There’s an impact. The thing you have to be careful about is burn out…. But we get through that summer. Now we were on schedule for launch in March of 2004. “Well, things kept coming up. …So, around that time I met with Tom Krimigis and department management and I just told them that in my view we were not going to make the March launch date. I thought that the schedule reserve that we had was insufficient for where we were in the program. Still had nine months to go, more or less, and we didn’t have enough schedule reserve. It was diminishing, and, in my view, I thought we should notify our sponsor that we were going to recommend a schedule slip. “So, we said, move the launch out to May of ’04. Well, there was a cost associated with that. It’s a couple more months of development time. It’ll also impact down at the Cape [Canaveral, Florida]. They were getting ready for the March launch. Now it’s May. Okay, the launch day was going to be different but they have to keep the team together and that affects everything. “We got into the final stages of development. We completed integration and test and then the environmental tests over at Goddard and we had our pre-ship review here and everybody in creation was at it. We went through the pre-ship review and we go by the numbers. I present, the system engineer presents, the subsystem people present, autonomy people got up and spoke and said we’ve completed testing. We’re very confident of where we are, we’re good to go, and ready to launch in May 2004. Now you could have cut the tension with a knife in the room — very high tension David G. Grant MESSENGER Project Manager “Now you could have cut the tension with a knife in the room – very high tension. So, the reviewers had a private room they all went into and voted. They came out and they say, ‘Okay, Dave, we’re going to ship.’ So we got the team going and they packed the whole thing up, and we shipped it all to the Cape. “But something was wrong. Management was not at ease. We were not at ease…. Not everybody was comfortable and I could sense that. “We shipped it and then the first weekend it was there and I got a call Sunday night from Mike Griffin [the new head of the APL Space Department] and he says that NASA was concerned about autonomy. ‘Well, there’s concern that we haven’t done enough testing of the autonomy system. They want you to do more testing in several areas.’ “I said, ‘Well if NASA wants us to do the testing, we’ll do the testing. But they have to understand the consequences.’ If we go from May to August there’s a development cost…. We have an Earth flyby, two Venus flybys and three Mercury flybys before we get into orbit. Also, five major propulsive burns. That’s a lot more difficult trajectory than the May launch was. It’s a much higher risk trajectory. Also, the cost impact could be as much as $30 million. “In addition, the margins on the spacecraft, the power margin, the thermal margin, were much tighter with this new mission. So, I said, ‘NASA has to recognize that the risk is from launch to orbit. And you have to take everything into account. So you can keep that spacecraft here and do another few weeks of testing and go with Flight 2, or you can go with Flight 1 as approved at the pre-ship review. NASA’s got to decide if the additional testing is worth it. It’s a much higher risk mission at a much higher cost. But if NASA wants to do it, we’ll salute and we’ll do it.’ So Mike said, ‘It’s non-negotiable.’ “ Read David Grant's oral history The launch window in August 2004 finally arrived, but the Florida weather made the long road a little more perilous. On the second launch attempt, August 3, 2004, MESSENGER began it’s long journey to Mercury. “Everything was go” Sean Solomon, MESSENGER Principal Investigator “We launched on the second day of an almost 3-week window. Vestiges of a tropical storm had stopped us the day before. The day didn’t satisfy the constraints on clouds, but we came very close. We came within a few minutes of liftoff. We were out there at night, watching. And then the next night everything was go. Which was good, because another storm came through a day or two later that turned into a hurricane.” Read Sean Solomon's oral history President Barack Obama congratulates MESSENGER Principal Investigator, director of Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Sean Solomon, after awarding him the National Medal of Science, the nation’s top scientific honor, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014 during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington.NASA/Bill Ingalls After a successful launch, the team had to do come catching up on mission and science planning because of the delays in launch and the effect of those delays on the mission itself. “An excellent spacecraft” David Grant, MESSENGER Project Manager “So right after we launched, we had to do the whole mission planning all over again, analysis that we had done before launch. Ordinarily you’d have it all packaged up good to go. All the science planning had to be done again. All the mission design had to be done again. And. in the meantime, we had to learn how to fly the spacecraft, which involves a level of trial and error. “Initially, the spacecraft was difficult to operate. We didn’t know where the center of the gravity was. So when we did little thruster burns, for trajectory correction, there were errors, and they were significant enough that they had to be corrected. We had to learn how to deal with that. We had plume impingement—that wasn’t anticipated prior to launch. We had to deal with that. And in the meantime, there are literally thousands of different parameters onboard. Were they all right? No, there were a few that needed adjustment. Some were approximations. “The first time we tried something, it didn’t work exactly the way we had hoped it would, so we had to go back and correct it. Each of these events were characterized as anomalies; they had to be corrected. And we spent a lot of time doing that. The shakedown cruise for MESSENGER was much more difficult than I thought it was going to be. “Well, a lot of new technology, and the first time out flying. It’s like anything complex and new. But the engineering team stayed with it. They ran every problem to ground. They understood the reasons for the anomaly and fixed it. They were very thorough and diligent. And finally, one day, we all realized all the problems were pretty much fixed and that MESSENGER was an excellent spacecraft.” Read David Grant's oral history The MESSENGER spacecraft atop a Boeing Delta II rocket lifts off on time at 2:15:56 a.m. EDT, from Launch Pad 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry and Ranging) was on its way for a 7-year, 4.9-billion-mile journey to the planet Mercury.NASA Read more Discovery Program oral histories Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA NASA Oral Histories NASA History NASA’s Discovery Program Discovery and New Frontiers Oral Histories View the full article

NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge directly supports the agency’s Moon to Mars initiatives.Credit: NASA NASA invites the media and public to explore the nexus of space and food innovation at the agency’s Deep Space Food Challenge symposium and winners’ announcement at the Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday, Aug. 16. In 2019, NASA and the CSA (Canadian Space Agency) started the Deep Space Food Challenge, a multi-year international effort to develop sustainable food systems for long-duration habitation in space including the Moon and Mars. Since Phase 1 of the challenge opened in 2021, more than 300 teams from 32 countries have developed innovative food system designs. On Aug. 16, NASA will announce the final Phase 3 winners and recognize the shared global effort. NASA will award up to $1.5 million during the awards ceremony, totaling the prize purse for this three-year competition at $3 million. International teams also will be recognized for their achievements. “Advanced food systems also benefit life on Earth,” said Kim Krome-Sieja, acting program manager of NASA Centennial Challenges at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “Solutions from this challenge could enable new avenues for food production around the world, especially in extreme environments, resource-scarce regions, and in locations where disasters disrupt critical infrastructure.” Media also may request attendance for activities on Thursday, Aug. 15, including private tours, networking, knowledge sharing, and culinary experiences. Interested media need to RSVP by 3 p.m. EDT Monday, Aug. 12, to Lane Figueroa at lane.e.figueroa@nasa.gov. The Methuselah Foundation, NASA’s partner in the Deep Space Food Challenge, is hosting the event in coordination with the Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences and NASA Centennial Challenges. “Our Phase 2 winners’ event in Brooklyn, New York, was an incredible display of innovation, partnership, and collaboration across NASA, industry, and academia,” said Angela Herblet, challenge manager of the Deep Space Food Challenge and program analyst of NASA Centennial Challenges at NASA Marshall. “I’m looking forward to celebrating these brilliant Phase 3 finalists and underscoring the giant leaps they’ve made toward creating sustainable, regenerative food production systems.” The event will feature a meet and greet with the Phase 3 finalists, symposium panels, and live demonstrations of the finalists’ food production technologies. Attendees also will have the opportunity to meet the crew of Ohio State students called “Simunauts,” who managed operations of the technologies during the eight-week demonstration and testing period. “The Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing team is excited to welcome media, stakeholders, and the public to our event in Columbus,” said Amy Kaminski, program executive for NASA’s Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. “These finalists have worked diligently for three years to develop their diverse, innovative food systems, and I’m excited to see how their technologies may impact NASA’s future deep space missions.” The awards ceremony also will livestream on Marshall Space Flight Center’s YouTube channel and NASA Prize’s Facebook page. As a NASA Centennial Challenge, the Deep Space Food Challenge is a coordinated effort between NASA and CSA for the benefit of all. Subject matter experts at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida support the competition. NASA’s Centennial Challenges are part of the Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing program within NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate and managed at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The Methuselah Foundation, in partnership with NASA, oversees the competitors. For more information about the symposium, see the symposium website. To learn more about the Deep Space Food Challenge, visit: nasa.gov/spacefoodchallenge -end- Jasmine Hopkins Headquarters, Washington 321-432-4624 jasmine.s.hopkins@nasa.gov Lane Figueroa Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. 256-932-1940 lane.e.figueroa@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Aug 02, 2024 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related TermsPrizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing ProgramEarth's MoonMarsMarshall Space Flight CenterPrizes, Challenges & Crowdsourcing NewsSpace Technology Mission Directorate View the full article

5 min read NASA Scientists on Why We Might Not Spot Solar Panel Technosignatures One of NASA’s key priorities is understanding the potential for life elsewhere in the universe. NASA has not found any credible evidence of extraterrestrial life — but NASA is exploring the solar system and beyond to help us answer fundamental questions, including whether we are alone in the universe. For those who study the potential for life beyond Earth, one of the questions has long been trying to determine the likelihood of microbial life versus complex life versus a civilization so advanced that we can spot signs of it, called technosignatures, from here at home. Studying the answers to questions like that can help guide suggestions on new telescopes or missions to emphasize the most likely places and ways to look for life. Now a recent paper published May 24 in the Astrophysical Journal postulates that if advanced extraterrestrial civilizations exist, one reason they might be hard to detect with telescopes from our vantage point is because their energy requirements may be relatively modest. If their culture, technology, and population size do not need vast amounts of power, they would not be required to build enormous stellar-energy harvesting structures that could be detected by current or proposed telescopes. Such structures, based on our own Earthly experience, might be solar panel arrays that cover a significant portion of their planet’s surface or orbiting megastructures to harness most of their parent star’s energy—both of which we might be able to spot from our own solar system. Conceptual image of an exoplanet with an advanced extraterrestrial civilization. Structures on the right are orbiting solar panel arrays that harvest light from the parent star and convert it into electricity that is then beamed to the surface via microwaves. The exoplanet on the left illustrates other potential technosignatures: city lights (glowing circular structures) on the night side and multi-colored clouds on the day side that represent various forms of pollution, such as nitrogen dioxide gas from burning fossil fuels or chlorofluorocarbons used in refrigeration. NASA/Jay Freidlander “We found that even if our current population of about 8 billion stabilizes at 30 billion with a high standard of living, and we only use solar energy for power, we still use way less energy than that provided by all the sunlight illuminating our planet,” said Ravi Kopparapu of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, lead author of the paper. The study has implications for the Fermi paradox, postulated by physicist Enrico Fermi, which asks the question that since our galaxy is ancient and vast, and interstellar travel is difficult but possible, why hasn’t an alien civilization spread across the galaxy by now? “The implication is that civilizations may not feel compelled to expand all over the galaxy because they may achieve sustainable population and energy-usage levels even if they choose a very high standard of living,” said Kopparapu. “They may expand within their own stellar system, or even within nearby star systems, but a galaxy-spanning civilizations may not exist.” Additionally, our own technological expertise may not yet be able to predict what more advanced civilizations could do. “Large-scale stellar-energy harvesting structures may especially be obsolete when considering technological advances,” adds Vincent Kofman, a co-author of the paper at NASA Goddard and American University, Washington, D.C. “Surely a society that can place enormous structures in space would be able to access nuclear fusion or other space-efficient methods of generating power.” The researchers used computer models and NASA satellite data to simulate an Earth-like planet with varying levels of silicon solar panel coverage. The team then modeled an advanced telescope like the proposed NASA Habitable Worlds Observatory to see if it could detect solar panels on the planet about 30 light-years away, which is relatively nearby in a galaxy that spans over 100,000 light-years. They found that it would require several hundreds of hours of observing time with that type of telescope to detect signatures from solar panels covering about 23% of the land area on an Earth-like exoplanet. However, the requirement for 30 billion humans at a high-living standard was only about 8.9% solar-panel coverage. Extraterrestrial civilizations with advanced technology could be discovered by their technosignatures – observational manifestations of extraterrestrial technology that could be detected or inferred through astronomical searches. For decades, scientists have been using radio telescopes to look for potential extraterrestrial radio transmissions. More recently, astronomers have proposed using a telescope like the Habitable Worlds Observatory to look for other kinds of technosignatures, such as chemical “fingerprints” in exoplanet atmospheres or specific characteristics in the light reflected by an exoplanet that might announce the presence of vast silicon solar arrays. The new study assumes that extraterrestrials would build solar panels out of silicon because it’s relatively abundant compared to other elements used in solar power, such as germanium, gallium, or arsenic. Also, silicon is good at converting the light emitted by Sun-like stars into electricity and it’s cost-effective to mine and manufacture into solar cells. The researchers also assume that a hypothetical extraterrestrial civilization would rely exclusively on solar energy. However, if other sources of energy are used, such as nuclear fusion, it would reduce the silicon technosignature, making the civilization even harder to detect. The study further assumes that the civilization’s population stabilizes at some point. If this doesn’t happen for whatever reason, perhaps they will be driven to expand ever-father into deep space. Finally, it’s impossible to know if an advanced civilization may be using something we haven’t imagined yet that requires immense amounts of power. Share Details Last Updated Aug 02, 2024 Editor wasteigerwald Contact wasteigerwald william.a.steigerwald@nasa.gov Location NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms Astrobiology Goddard Space Flight Center The Search for Life The Universe Explore More 8 min read Searching for Signs of Intelligent Life: Technosignatures Signs of life beyond Earth could take forms that are clearly artificial – radio or… Article 1 year ago View the full article

“When I was around 16 or 17, I came across this book by Arthur C. Clarke called Space Odyssey 2001. That was actually the first science fiction book that I’ve ever read. I was just so captured by what he had written because the things that he wrote about weren’t [happening] in the far-off future, but in the year 2001. In the book, he talks about a lot about space stations, and space shuttles that go up to the space station, and vehicles that go to the Moon or the Moon base, and all that. I mean, these are terms that you hear now all the time, right? And Arthur C. Clarke actually envisioned it at that time. So that was interesting to me. I hoped that someday I could work on something like that. “In terms of my education, I was actually going to go into the space engineering, but then someone advised me that mechanical engineering would give me a broader background. So I followed the advice, and it was the right thing to do. I ended up learning a lot of things, not just mechanical engineering but also a lot about electrical engineering and systems engineering at the same time. “…Then an opportunity came with NASA. It was at that time that they started talking about the space station. Ronald Reagan at that time was the President, and he proposed this initiative to develop the space station. At that time, he called the space station ‘Freedom.’ “I thought, ‘Wow, what an exciting concept; it would be great if I could work on that.’ “And of course, one thing led to another, and [I ended up working on the International Space Station.] So you never know what you’re going to end up doing. “I believe in synchronicity sometimes. The things that you do, one way or another, lead to your final destination. Some invisible forces push you in that direction. When you look back, you realize that everything fits together.” — Douglas Wong, Systems Engineer, ISS CRS Visiting Vehicle Safety & Mission Assurance Integration Focal, NASA’s Johnson Space Center Image Credit: NASA/Bill Stafford Interviewer: NASA/Thalia Patrinos Check out some of our other Faces of NASA. View the full article

2 min read Hubble Spies a Diminutive Galaxy This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image reveals the dwarf elliptical galaxy named IC 3430. This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image reveals the subtle glow of the galaxy named IC 3430, located 45 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Virgo. This dwarf elliptical galaxy is part of the Virgo cluster, a rich collection of galaxies both large and small, many of which are very similar in type to this diminutive galaxy. Like its larger elliptical cousins, IC 3430 has a smooth, oval shape lacking any recognizable features like arms or bars, and is missing much of the gas needed to form many new stars. Interestingly, IC 3430 does feature a core of hot, massive blue stars —an uncommon sight in elliptical galaxies — that indicates recent star-forming activity. Astronomers think that pressure from the galaxy ploughing through gas within the Virgo cluster ignited what gas IC 3430 had in its core to form the newer stars. Dwarf galaxies are really just galaxies with fewer stars, usually less than a billion, but that is often enough for them to reproduce, in miniature, the same forms as larger galaxies. There are dwarf elliptical galaxies like IC 3430, dwarf irregular galaxies, dwarf spheroidal galaxies, and even dwarf spiral galaxies! Download this image Explore More Hubble’s Galaxies Facebook logo @NASAHubble @NASAHubble Instagram logo @NASAHubble Media Contact: Claire Andreoli NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD claire.andreoli@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Aug 02, 2024 Editor Andrea Gianopoulos Location NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms Astrophysics Astrophysics Division Elliptical Galaxies Galaxies Goddard Space Flight Center Hubble Space Telescope Missions Science Mission Directorate The Universe Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Hubble Space Telescope Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe. Galaxy Details and Mergers Tracing the Growth of Galaxies Hubble’s Galaxies View the full article

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 members (pictured from left to right) NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers, Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, NASA astronaut Anne McClain, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya OnishiCredit: NASA As part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission, four crew members are preparing to launch for a long-duration stay aboard the International Space Station. NASA astronauts Commander Anne McClain and Pilot Nichole Ayers, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Mission Specialist Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Mission Specialist Kirill Peskov will join astronauts at the orbiting laboratory no earlier than February 2025. The flight is the 10th crew rotation with SpaceX to the station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. While aboard, the international crew will conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to help prepare humans for future missions and benefit people on Earth. Selected by NASA as an astronaut in 2013, this will be McClain’s second spaceflight. A colonel in the U.S. Army, she earned her bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, and holds master’s degrees in Aerospace Engineering, International Security, and Strategic Studies. The Spokane, Washington, native was an instructor pilot in the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter and is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Maryland. McClain has more than 2,300 flight hours in 24 rotary and fixed-wing aircraft, including more than 800 in combat, and was a member of the U.S. Women’s National Rugby Team. On her first spaceflight, McClain spent 204 days as a flight engineer during Expeditions 58 and 59 and was the lead on two spacewalks, totaling 13 hours and 8 minutes. Since then, she has served in various roles, including branch chief and space station assistant to the chief of NASA’s Astronaut Office. Ayers is a major in the U.S. Air Force and the first member of NASA’s 2021 astronaut class named to a crew. The Colorado native graduated from the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs with a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and a minor in Russian, where she was a member of the academy’s varsity volleyball team. She later earned a master’s in Computational and Applied Mathematics from Rice University in Houston. Ayers served as an instructor pilot and mission commander in the T-38 ADAIR and F-22 Raptor, leading multinational and multiservice missions worldwide. She has more than 1,400 total flight hours, including more than 200 in combat. With 113 days in space, this mission also will mark Onishi’s second trip to the space station. After being selected by JAXA in 2009, he flew as a flight engineer for Expeditions 48 and 49 became the first Japanese astronaut to robotically capture the Cygnus spacecraft. He also constructed a new experimental environment aboard Kibo, the station’s Japanese experiment module. Since his spaceflight, Onishi became certified as a JAXA flight director, leading the team responsible for operating Kibo from JAXA Mission Control in Tsukuba, Japan. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the University of Tokyo and was a pilot for All Nippon Airways, flying more than 3,700 flight hours in the Boeing 767. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission also will be Peskov’s first spaceflight. Before his selection as a cosmonaut in 2018, he earned a degree in Engineering from the Ulyanovsk Civil Aviation School and was a co-pilot on the Boeing 757 and 767 aircraft for airlines Nordwind and Ikar. Assigned as a test-cosmonaut in 2020, he has additional experience in skydiving, zero-gravity training, scuba diving, and wilderness survival. For more than two decades, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and demonstrating new technologies, making research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. The station is a critical testbed for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight and to expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit. As commercial companies focus on providing human space transportation services and destinations as part of a robust low Earth orbit economy, NASA’s Artemis campaign is underway at the Moon, where the agency is preparing for future human exploration of Mars. Find more information on NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at: https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew -end- Joshua Finch / Claire O’Shea Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / claire.a.o’shea@nasa.gov Raegan Scharfetter Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-910-4989 raegan.r.scharfetter@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Aug 01, 2024 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related TermsCommercial CrewAnne C. McClainAstronautsHumans in SpaceInternational Space Station (ISS)ISS ResearchNichole Ayers View the full article

3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA has officially announced the 2025 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts – Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) competition.Credit: National Institute of Aerospace NASA has officially announced the 2025 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts – Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) competition, an initiative to fuel innovation for aerospace systems concepts, analogs, and technology prototyping through university engagement. RASC-AL, one of NASA’s longest-running student competitions, solicits concepts from the next generation of engineers and scientists to explore the future of deep space exploration. RASC-AL is seeking proposals from the university community to develop new concepts that leverage innovation to improve our ability to operate on the Moon, Mars and beyond. This year’s themes range from developing large-scale lunar surface architectures enabling long-term, off-world habitation, to designing new systems that address objective characteristics and needs and leverage human-scale exploration infrastructure for new science paradigms. Through RASC-AL, teams and their faculty advisors will design innovative solutions with supporting original engineering and analysis in response to one of the following four themes: Sustained Lunar Evolution – An Inspirational Moment Advanced Science Missions and Technology Demonstrators for Human-Mars Precursor Campaign Small Lunar Servicing and Maintenance Robot “The RASC-AL competition is a wellspring for groundbreaking ideas,” said Dan Mazanek, Assistant Branch Head for the Exploration Space Mission Analysis Branch (SMAB) at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. “It fosters creativity and pushes the boundaries of what is possible in space exploration. We are looking for innovative solutions that can advance our capabilities beyond Earth’s orbit and pave the way for sustainable lunar exploration and beyond.” Interested undergraduate and graduate university student teams and their faculty advisors should submit a Notice of Intent by October 16, 2024, and submit proposals and videos by February 24, 2025. Based on review of the team proposal and video submissions in March, up to 14 teams will be selected to advance to the final phase of the competition – presenting their concepts to a panel of NASA and industry judges in a competitive design review at the 2025 RASC-AL Forum in Cocoa Beach, Florida next June. In addition to their research, teams are also highly encouraged to develop a prototype of part or all of their concept to demonstrate its key functions. Each finalist team will receive a $6,500 stipend to facilitate their full participation in the 2025 RASC-AL Competition, and the top two overall teams will be awarded with additional travel stipends to present their concept at an aerospace conference later in 2025. Dr. Christopher Jones, Chief Technologist for the Systems Analysis and Concepts Directorate (SACD) at NASA Langley, emphasized RASC-AL’s distinctive fusion of educational value with real-world experience. “RASC-AL provides students with a unique opportunity to engage directly with NASA’s vision for space exploration. Participants not only gain hands-on experience in developing aerospace concepts but also contribute fresh perspectives that the Agency can take as inspiration for future missions and technologies.” The call for proposals is now open, with proposal submissions due by February 24, 2025. Interested student teams are encouraged to visit the official RASC-AL competition website for detailed guidelines and eligibility requirements. RASC-AL is sponsored by the Strategy and Architecture Office within the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, and by SMAB within SACD at NASA Langley. It is administered by the National Institute of Aerospace. For more information about the RASC-AL competition, including eligibility, complete themes, and submission guidelines, visit: http://rascal.nianet.org Explore More 5 min read NASA Additive Manufacturing Project Shapes Future for Agency, Industry Rocket Makers Article 3 hours ago 2 min read Earth to Gateway: Electric Field Tests Enhance Lunar Communication Learn how engineers at NASA's Johnson Space Center are using electric field testing to optimize… Article 3 days ago 5 min read NASA Returns to Arctic Studying Summer Sea Ice Melt Article 6 days ago Share Details Last Updated Aug 01, 2024 Related TermsLangley Research CenterExploration Systems Development Mission Directorate View the full article

NASA/Michala Garrison, USGS Landsat 9’s Operational Land Imager-2 captured this image of the open pits and ponds of Telfer Mine and the surrounding rust-colored soil on Dec. 15, 2023. The soils have a reddish tint from the iron oxides that have accumulated from millions of years of weathering. This part of Western Australia is known for being rich in natural resources, including petroleum, iron ore, copper, and certain precious metals. Beneath the soils, veins of gold and silver run through sedimentary rocks, such as quartz sandstone and siltstone, that formed about 600 million years ago, when much of Australia was under water. Text credit: Emily Cassidy Image credit: NASA/Michala Garrison, USGS View the full article

5 Min Read NASA Additive Manufacturing Project Shapes Future for Agency, Industry Rocket Makers Additively manufactured rocket engine hardware coupled with advanced composites allows for precision features, such as multi-material coolant channels developed by the Rapid Analysis and Manufacturing Propulsion Technology team at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama Credits: NASA The widespread commercial adoption of additive manufacturing technologies, commonly known as 3D printing, is no surprise to design engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama whose research created stronger, lighter weight materials and new manufacturing processes to make rocket parts. NASA’s RAMPT (Rapid Analysis and Manufacturing Propulsion Technology) project is on the cutting-edge of additive manufacturing – helping the agency and industry produce new alloys and additively manufactured parts, commonly referred to as 3D printing, according to Paul Gradl, the project’s co-principal investigator at NASA Marshall. “Across NASA’s storied legacy of vehicle and hardware design, testing, and integration, our underlying strength is in our application of extremely durable and severe environment materials and innovative manufacturing for component design,” said Gradl. “We strive to fully understand the microstructure and properties of every material and how they will ultimately be used in components before we make them available to industry for flight applications.” The same principle applies to additive manufacturing, the meticulous process of building components and hardware one layer of material at a time. The graphic captures additive manufacturing technology milestones led by the RAMPT project. Using 3D-printed, liquid oxygen/hydrogen thrust chamber hardware at chamber pressures of up to 1,400 pounds per square inch, Marshall engineers have completed 12 hot-fire tests totaling a combined 330 seconds. The project also has delivered composite materials demonstrating a 40% weight savings over conventional bimetallic combustion chambers. NASA and its industry partners are working to make this cutting-edge technology accessible for a host of future NASA and commercial space missions. NASA/Pablo Garcia “The RAMPT project’s goal is to support commercial, technical readiness, enabling our industry partners to meet the challenges inherent in building new generations of safer, more cost-effective deep space exploration propulsion systems,” said John Fikes, RAMPT project manager. Since its inception, RAMPT has conducted 500 test-firings of 3D-printed injectors, nozzles, and chamber hardware totaling more than 16,000 seconds, using newly developed extreme-environment alloys, large-scale additive manufacturing processes, and advanced composite technology. The project has also started developing a full-scale version for the workhorse RS-25 engine – which experts say could reduce its costs by up to 70% and cut manufacturing time in half. As printed structures are getting bigger and more complex, a major area of interest is the additive manufacturing print scale. A decade ago, most 3D-printed parts were no bigger than a shoebox. Today, additive manufacturing researchers are helping the industry produce lighter, more robust, intricately designed rocket engine components 10-feet tall and eight-feet in diameter. Tyler Gibson, left, and Allison Clark, RAMPT engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, inspect an additively manufactured composite overwrap thrust chamber assembly. Conventional rocket hardware may require more than 1,000 or more individually joined parts. Additive manufacturing permits engineers to print these channels in novel alloys as a single piece with multiple alloys, dramatically reducing manufacturing time. NASA/Danielle Burleson “NASA, through public-private partnerships, is making these breakthroughs accessible to the commercial space industry to help them rapidly advance new flight technologies of their own,” Gradl said. “We’re solving technical challenges, creating new supply chains for parts and materials, and increasing the industry’s capacity to rapidly deliver reliable hardware that draws a busy commercial space infrastructure ever closer.” The RAMPT project does not just develop the end technology but the means to fully understand that technology, whatever the application. That means advancing cutting-edge simulation tools that can identify the viability of new alloys and composites at the microstructural level – assessing how they handle the fiery rigors of liftoff, the punishing cold of space, and the dynamic stresses associated with liftoffs, landings, and the long transits between. NASA’s strategy to encourage commercial and academic buy-in is to offer public-private partnership opportunities, wherein industry and academia contribute as much as 25% of project development costs, allowing them to reap the benefits. For example, NASA successfully delivered a refined version of an alloy, known as GRCop42, created at NASA Glenn nearly 40 years ago which helped commercial launch provider, Relativity Space, launch the first fully 3D-printed rocket in March 2023. “Our primary goal with these higher-performance alloys is to prove them in a rocket engine test-fire environment and then hand them off to enable commercial providers to build hardware, fly launch vehicles, and foster a thriving space infrastructure with real scientific, social, and economic rewards,” Gradl said. A key benefit of additive manufacturing hardware development is radically reducing the “design-fail-fix” cycle – when engineers develop new hardware, ground-test it to failure to determine the hardware’s design limits under all possible conditions and then tweak accordingly. That capability is increasingly important with the creation of new alloys and designs, new processing techniques, and the introduction of composite overwraps and other innovations. Shown above, during a hot-fire test at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, this 2,000-pound-force coupled thrust chamber assembly features a NASA HR-1 alloy nozzle. Manufacturing the hardware requires the directed energy deposition process with composite-overwrap for structural support, reducing weight by 40%. Industry, academic, and government partners are working with RAMPT engineers at Marshall and other NASA field centers to advance this revolutionary technology.NASA This 2,000-pound-force coupled thrust chamber assembly features a NASA HR-1 alloy nozzle directly deposited onto the additive manufacturing combustion chamber using the directed energy deposition process and composite-overwrapped for structural support, reducing weight by 40%. It was hot-fire tested at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Industry, academic, and government partners are working with RAMPT engineers at Marshall and other NASA field centers to advance this revolutionary technology. NASA/Danielle Burleson The RAMPT project did just that, successfully advancing new additive manufacturing alloys and processes, integrating them with carbon-fiber composites to reduce weight by up to 40%, developing and validating new simulation tools – and making all this data available to industry through public-private partnerships. “We’re able to deliver prototypes in weeks instead of years, conduct dozens of scaled ground tests in a period that would feasibly permit just one or two such tests of conventionally manufactured hardware, and most importantly, deliver technology solutions that are safer, lighter, and less costly than traditional components,” Gradl said. Fikes added, “Ten years from now, we may be building rocket engines – or rockets themselves – out of entirely new materials, employing all-new processing and fabrication techniques. NASA is central to all of that.” The RAMPT project continues to progress and receive recognition from NASA and industry partners. On July 31, the RAMPT team was awarded NASA’s 2024 Invention of The Year award for its excellence and contributions to NASA and the commercial industry’s deep space exploration goals. NASA’s Marshall Spaceflight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, leads RAMPT, with key support among engineers and technologists at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland; Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California; Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia; and Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, plus contributions from other academic partners and industry contractors. RAMPT is funded by NASA’s Game Changing Development Program within the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. Learn more at: https://www.nasa.gov/rapid-analysis-and-manufacturing-propulsion-technology Ramon J. Osorio Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama 256-544-0034 ramon.j.osorio@nasa.gov Share Details Last Updated Aug 01, 2024 LocationMarshall Space Flight Center Related TermsMarshall Space Flight CenterGame Changing Development ProgramGlenn Research CenterLangley Research CenterOffice of Technology, Policy and Strategy (OTPS)Space Technology Mission Directorate Explore More 21 min read The Marshall Star for July 31, 2024 Article 19 hours ago 3 min read 2024 Software of the Year Co-Winner – Orbital Debris Engineering Model (ORDEM) Article 20 hours ago 4 min read 2024 Software of the Year Award Co-Winner -Prognostics Python Packages (ProgPy) Article 20 hours ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

2 min read August’s Night Sky Notes: Seeing Double by Kat Troche of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific During the summer months, we tend to miss the views of Saturn, Jupiter and other heavenly bodies. But it can be a great time to look for other items, like globular star clusters such as Messier 13, open star clusters such as the Coma Star Cluster (Melotte 111), but also double stars! Mid-August night sky constellations with the following multiple star systems highlighted: the Double Double in Lyra, Albireo in Cygnus, Polaris in Ursa Minor, Mizar and Alcor in Ursa Major. Credit: Stellarium Web What Are Double Stars? If you have seen any movies or read any books that refer to having two suns in the sky, that would be a double star system. These star systems typically come in two types – binary and optical doubles. Binary stars are two stars that are gravitationally bound and orbit each other, and optical double stars only appear to be close together when viewed from Earth, but in reality, are extremely far apart from another, and are not affected by each other’s gravity. With a small telescope, in moderately light polluted skies, summer offers great views of these stellar groupings from the Northern Hemisphere: Double Double: also known by its technical name, Epsilon Lyrae, this multiple star system appears as one star with naked eye observing. But with a small telescope, it can be split into ‘two’ stars. A large telescope reveals Epsilon Lyrae’s secret – what looks like a single star is actually a quadruple star system! Albireo: a gorgeous double star set – one blue, one yellow – in the constellation Cygnus. Polaris: while technically a multiple star system, our North Star can easily be separated from one star to two with a modest telescope. Mizar and Alcor: located in the handle of the Big Dipper, this pair can be seen with the naked eye. This schematic shows the configuration of the sextuple star system TYC 7037-89-1. The inner quadruple is composed of two binaries, A and C, which orbit each other every four years or so. An outer binary, B, orbits the quadruple roughly every 2,000 years. All three pairs are eclipsing binaries. The orbits shown are not to scale.NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Aside from looking incredible in a telescope or binoculars, double stars help astronomers learn about measuring the mass of stars, and about stellar evolution. Some stars orbit each other a little too closely, and things can become disastrous, but overall, these celestial bodies make for excellent targets and are simple crowd pleasers. Up next, learn about the Summer Triangle’s hidden treasures on our mid-month article on the Night Sky Network page. View the full article

Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions The Solar System The Sun Mercury Venus Earth The Moon Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto & Dwarf Planets Asteroids, Comets & Meteors The Kuiper Belt The Oort Cloud 2 min read Sols 4261-4262: Drill Sol 1…Take 2 This image was taken by Right Navigation Camera onboard NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 4258 — Martian day 4,258 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — on July 29, 2024, at 03:26:02 UTC. Earth planning date: Wednesday, July 31, 2024 As Cat mentioned on Monday, today’s plan is a second attempt at our Drill Sol 1 activities. We’ve shifted the target on Kings Canyon a little bit, but the activities remain the same — a preload test to ensure that we’re able to safely drill here, and contact science to get a preview of what composition we might be dealing with in this target. Around these pre-drilling activities, we still had some time left over for more typical science activities. Power wasn’t as much of a concern as it will become as the drill campaign progresses, but we did have to do some rearranging due to timing constraints. There are some activities that need to go at particular times, whether that be for lighting, heating, or to coincide with other observations. If you put enough of these together, there can be a lot of swapping back and forth and moving things around to get the perfect position for everything. It’s a bit like choreographing a big dance — activities have to come in at just the right time so they don’t step on anyone’s toes, and all the pieces come together to make a cohesive whole. In this metaphorical dance, our first movement is a short solo from ChemCam — just before the preload test we were able to squeeze in LIBS (laser spectroscopy) on a darker area of bedrock called “Blacksmith Peak.” The rest of the company joins ChemCam on the second sol. Mastcam comes in first to check out “Sam Mack Meadow,” an area of crushed material, followed by a quartet of environmental activities — a suprahorizon cloud movie, a tau and line-of-sight to see how dusty the atmosphere is, and a dust devil movie. It’s then back over to ChemCam, with LIBS on Kings Canyon and a long-distance observation of the yardang unit. Mastcam brings the dance to a close with their own documentation of Kings Canyon. For an encore, Mastcam makes one last appearance later that evening to do a sky survey. Written by Alex Innanen, atmospheric scientist at York University Share Details Last Updated Aug 01, 2024 Related Terms Blogs Explore More 3 min read Sols 4259-4260: Kings Canyon Go Again! Article 2 days ago 3 min read Sols 4257-4258: A Little Nudge on Kings Canyon Article 3 days ago 2 min read Sols 4255-4256: Just Passing Through Article 3 days ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited… All Mars Resources Explore this collection of Mars images, videos, resources, PDFs, and toolkits. Discover valuable content designed to inform, educate, and inspire,… Rover Basics Each robotic explorer sent to the Red Planet has its own unique capabilities driven by science. Many attributes of a… Mars Exploration: Science Goals The key to understanding the past, present or future potential for life on Mars can be found in NASA’s four… View the full article