Members Can Post Anonymously On This Site
Media briefing: Findings of the Independent Enquiry Commission on Vega-C test
-
Similar Topics
-
By NASA
NASA researchers are sending three air quality monitors to the International Space Station to test them for potential future use on the Moon.Credit: NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna As NASA prepares to return to the Moon, studying astronaut health and safety is a top priority. Scientists monitor and analyze every part of the International Space Station crew’s daily life—down to the air they breathe. These studies are helping NASA prepare for long-term human exploration of the Moon and, eventually, Mars.
As part of this effort, NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland is sending three air quality monitors to the space station to test them for potential future use on the Moon. The monitors are slated to launch on Monday, April 21, aboard the 32nd SpaceX commercial resupply services mission for NASA.
Like our homes here on Earth, the space station gets dusty from skin flakes, clothing fibers, and personal care products like deodorant. Because the station operates in microgravity, particles do not have an opportunity to settle and instead remain floating in the air. Filters aboard the orbiting laboratory collect these particles to ensure the air remains safe and breathable.
Astronauts will face another air quality risk when they work and live on the Moon—lunar dust.
“From Apollo, we know lunar dust can cause irritation when breathed into the lungs,” said Claire Fortenberry, principal investigator, Exploration Aerosol Monitors project, NASA Glenn. “Earth has weather to naturally smooth dust particles down, but there is no atmosphere on the Moon, so lunar dust particles are sharper and craggier than Earth dust. Lunar dust could potentially impact crew health and damage hardware.”
Future space stations and lunar habitats will need monitors capable of measuring lunar dust to ensure air filtration systems are functioning properly. Fortenberry and her team selected commercially available monitors for flight and ground demonstration to evaluate their performance in a spacecraft environment, with the goal of providing a dust monitor for future exploration systems.
NASA Glenn Research Center’s Claire Fortenberry holds a dust sample collected from International Space Station air filters.Credit: NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna Glenn is sending three commercial monitors to the space station to test onboard air quality for seven months. All three monitors are small: no bigger than a shoe box. Each one measures a specific property that provides a snapshot of the air quality aboard the station. Researchers will analyze the monitors based on weight, functionality, and ability to accurately measure and identify small concentrations of particles in the air.
The research team will receive data from the space station every two weeks. While those monitors are orbiting Earth, Fortenberry will have three matching monitors at Glenn. Engineers will compare functionality and results from the monitors used in space to those on the ground to verify they are working as expected in microgravity. Additional ground testing will involve dust simulants and smoke.
Air quality monitors like the ones NASA is testing also have Earth-based applications. The monitors are used to investigate smoke plumes from wildfires, haze from urban pollution, indoor pollution from activities like cooking and cleaning, and how virus-containing droplets spread within an enclosed space.
Results from the investigation will help NASA evaluate which monitors could accompany astronauts to the Moon and eventually Mars. NASA will allow the manufacturers to review results and ensure the monitors work as efficiently and effectively as possible. Testing aboard the space station could help companies investigate pollution problems here on Earth and pave the way for future missions to the Red Planet.
NASA Glenn Research Center’s Claire Fortenberry demonstrates how space aerosol monitors analyze the quality of the air.Credit: NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna “Going to the Moon gives us a chance to monitor for planetary dust and the lunar environment,” Fortenberry said. “We can then apply what we learn from lunar exploration to predict how humans can safely explore Mars.”
NASA commercial resupply missions to the International Space Station deliver scientific investigations in the areas of biology and biotechnology, Earth and space science, physical sciences, and technology development and demonstrations. Cargo resupply from U.S. companies ensures a national capability to deliver scientific research to the space station, significantly increasing NASA’s ability to conduct new investigations aboard humanity’s laboratory in space.
Learn more about NASA and SpaceX’s 32nd commercial resupply mission to the space station:
https://www.nasa.gov/nasas-spacex-crs-32/
Explore More
3 min read NASA Studies Wind Effects and Aircraft Tracking with Joby Aircraft
Article 17 hours ago 4 min read Science Meets Art: NASA Astronaut Don Pettit Turns the Camera on Science
Article 1 day ago 1 min read Recognizing Employee Excellence
Article 1 day ago View the full article
-
By NASA
Explore This Section Earth Earth Observer Editor’s Corner Feature Articles Meeting Summaries News Science in the News Calendars In Memoriam More Archives Conference Schedules Style Guide 1 min read
Kudos Test Article
The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program is calling on volunteers of all ages to help students and citizen scientists document seasonal change through leaf color and land cover. The data collection event will support students across North America, Latin America, Central America, and Europe, who are working together to document the seasonal changes taking place from September through December – see Figure. The observations will also provide vital data for GLOBE students creating student research projects for the GLOBE 2025 International Virtual Science Symposium (IVSS). The project is part of GLOBE’s Intensive Observation Period (IOP), which collects data during a focused period to assess how climate change is unfolding in different regions of the world.
Share
Details
Last Updated Apr 11, 2025 Related Terms
Earth Science View the full article
-
By NASA
Explore This Section Science Science Activation Findings from the Field: A… Overview Learning Resources Science Activation Teams SME Map Opportunities More Science Activation Stories Citizen Science 3 min read
Findings from the Field: A Research Symposium for Student Scientists
Within the scientific community, peer review has become the process norm for which an author’s research or ideas undergo careful examination by other experts in their field. It encourages each scientist to meet the high standards that they themselves, as writers and reviewers, have aided in setting. It has become essential to the academic writing practice.
Historically, the peer review process has been limited to higher education and scholars more established in their academic careers. It has been required by only the more reputable publications, which can mean that lesser-known journals that don’t require this rigorous peer review process contain lower quality or less reliable information.
In an effort to give scientists of all ages the opportunity to participate in and contribute to the advancement of human knowledge in a meaningful and reliable way, the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) began publishing Findings from the Field, a journal of student ecological and environmental science, launched in 2017. Students conduct authentic scientific inquiry, subject their research to the peer review process, and submit their revised work for editorial board review before publication—the same process a NASA scientist must go through! This hands-on, real-world experience in scientific communication sharpens these young scientists’ skills and immerses them in the collaborative nature of research—an essential foundation for the next generation of scientists.
After 7 years and 7 published volumes, Findings from the Field was ready to expand, and the Findings Student Research Symposium was launched. The Symposium was a success from the start, with 65 student scientists joining the event the first year and attendance climbing to 95 for year two. On March 10, 2025, GMRI (the anchor institution for the NASA Science Activation program’s Learning Ecosystems Northeast (LENE) project) welcomed nearly 100 young scientists, ranging from grades 5-12. These students, representing eight schools across Maine and New Hampshire, came together to share their research and engage in an evolving, intergenerational scientific community—one that fosters curiosity, collaboration, and scientific discovery.
Students presented their research through posters and live presentations, covering topics ranging from invasive green crab species, to the changing landscapes of Ash and Hemlock trees, and more. By connecting students with professional researchers, fostering peer discussions, and providing a platform for publishing legitimate scientific work, the Findings Symposium is a launch pad for the future of the scientific community.
One important element of the Symposium is the opportunity for young scientists to dialogue with professional scientists. Students engaged with researchers from Markus Frederich’s lab at the University of New England, volunteers from local organizations like Unum and Avangrid, and expert staff from GMRI.
Student Madalyn Bartlett from Sacoppee Valley Middle School shared, “It makes me feel really proud, because I get to talk to professional scientists that have a lot of experience in this, and it make me feel like I am contributing to something bigger than my school and my community.”
These interactions emphasize that science isn’t confined to white coats and labs—it’s about curiosity, observation, and shared knowledge. The keynote speaker, Kat Gardner-Vandy from a former NASA Science Activation project team, Native Earth | Native Sky, reinforced this message, inspiring students to see themselves as vital contributors to science and our collective knowledge about the world.
The Learning Ecosystems Northeast project is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number NNX16AB94A and is part of NASA’s Science Activation Portfolio. Learn more about Learning Ecosystems Northeast: https://www.learningecosystemsnortheast.org/
Native Earth | Native Sky’s Kat Gardner-Vandy delivering the keynote speech to students at the Findings Symposium. Share
Details
Last Updated Apr 08, 2025 Editor NASA Science Editorial Team Related Terms
Science Activation Earth Science Opportunities For Students to Get Involved Explore More
34 min read Style Guidelines for ‘The Earth Observer’ Newsletter
Article
2 hours ago
5 min read Connected Learning Ecosystems: Educators Gather to Empower Learners and Themselves
Article
24 hours ago
3 min read NSTA Hyperwall Schedule
Article
2 weeks ago
Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
James Webb Space Telescope
Webb is the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It studies every phase in the…
Perseverance Rover
This rover and its aerial sidekick were assigned to study the geology of Mars and seek signs of ancient microbial…
Parker Solar Probe
On a mission to “touch the Sun,” NASA’s Parker Solar Probe became the first spacecraft to fly through the corona…
Juno
NASA’s Juno spacecraft entered orbit around Jupiter in 2016, the first explorer to peer below the planet’s dense clouds to…
View the full article
-
By NASA
This is a test article in the live site I added this image
/wp-content/plugins/nasa-blocks/assets/images/media/media-example-01.jpgThis landscape of “mountains” and “valleys” speckled with glittering stars is actually the edge of a nearby, young, star-forming region called NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula. Captured in infrared light by NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope, this image reveals for the first time previously invisible areas of star birth.NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScIView the full article
-
By NASA
NASA Stennis partnered with Mississippi Enterprise for Technology to host more than 100 members of the 57th Rocket Test Group on March 18-19.
NASA Stennis partnered with Mississippi Enterprise for Technology to host more than 100 members of the 57th Rocket Test Group on March 18-19.NASA/Jason Richard The group toured the south Mississippi NASA center on March 19, learning how NASA Stennis operates as NASA’s primary, and America’s largest, rocket propulsion test site to serve the nation and commercial sector with its unique capabilities and expertise.
NASA Stennis partnered with Mississippi Enterprise for Technology to host more than 100 members of the 57th Rocket Test Group on March 18-19.NASA/Jason Richard The day included tours of test stands and facilities hosted by NASA Stennis test complex personnel. Visits included the Fred Haise Test Stand, where NASA Stennis tests RS-25 engines to help power NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond; the Thad Cochran Test Stand, where NASA Stennis will test NASA’s exploration upper stage for future Artemis missions; the E Test Complex, where NASA Stennis supports agency and commercial propulsion test activity; and the L3Harris Technologies (formerly Aerojet Rocketdyne) Engine Assembly Facility, where RS-25 engines are produced.
NASA Stennis partnered with Mississippi Enterprise for Technology to host more than 100 members of the 57th Rocket Test Group on March 18-19.NASA/Jason Richard The group also received overviews from site personnel on the Rocket Propulsion Test Program Office located at NASA Stennis, on lessons learned from testing at the E Test Complex, and on the NASA Data Acquisition System developed onsite.
NASA Stennis partnered with Mississippi Enterprise for Technology to host more than 100 members of the 57th Rocket Test Group on March 18-19.NASA/Jason Richard The Rocket Test Group originally formed in response to a congressional demand for an ongoing working group crossing agency and company boundaries. It is a volunteer organization intended to allow rocket test facility operators to come together to recommend solutions for difficult testing problems; lower testing costs by reducing time spent on solving critical issues and eliminating duplicate programs; facilitate the activation of new facilities; learn from each other by viewing different methods and touring various facilities; provide a networking opportunity for testing advice and problem solving support; and allow test facility operators to stay informed on the newest developments.
NASA Stennis partnered with Mississippi Enterprise for Technology to host more than 100 members of the 57th Rocket Test Group on March 18-19.L3Harris TechnologiesView the full article
-
-
Check out these Videos
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.