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By NASA
Lunar scientist Casey Honniball conducts lunar observations and field work near volcanoes to investigate how astronauts could use instruments during moonwalks.
Name: Casey Honniball
Title: Lunar scientist
Organization: Planetary Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Laboratory, Science Directorate (Code 698)
Casey Honniball is a lunar scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Courtesy of Casey Honniball What do you do and what is most interesting about your role here at Goddard? How do you help support Goddard’s mission?
I study the Moon using Earth-based telescopes to understand the lunar volatile cycle. I also conduct field work at volcanic sites to investigate how astronauts can utilize instruments during moonwalks.
Why did you want to be a lunar scientist?
When I was 6 years old and in first grade, I was diagnosed with dyslexia. I was tutored and had help with homework and tests, which continued until I was a junior in high school. At that point, I learned to manage my dyslexia.
Because I was not good at reading and writing, I turned to more physical things such as things I could touch and build. I discovered physics in high school, which turned me on to other sciences.
I went to college for physics, but learned that I preferred astronomy. In graduate school I realized I wanted to be a lunar scientist.
I have a B.S. in astronomy from the University of Arizona, a master’s in geology and geophysics from the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa, and a Ph.D. in Earth and planetary science also from the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa.
While doing my master’s, one of my advisers introduced me to Earth-based lunar observation to look at hydration on the surface of the Moon. I found that I really liked the Moon and found my place in science.
What brought you to Goddard?
During graduate school, I worked with Goddard’s Dr. Kelsey Young on a field deployment testing instruments for astronauts. In 2020, I became a post-doctoral fellow for her at Goddard.
In January 2023, I became a visiting assistant research scientist in the Planetary Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Laboratory through CRESSTII, and Kelsey is still my mentor.
As your mentor, what is the most important advice Kelsey Young has given you?
Kelsey helps me stay passionate about the work I am doing. She does this by providing new and exciting opportunities and being supportive about work-life balance.
I admire Kelsey’s spirit of adventure and her passion for field work. I appreciate all she has done for me and am grateful for the opportunities she and our lab have provided.
Using Earth-based telescopes, Casey studies the Moon to understand the lunar volatile cycle. “While doing my master’s, one of my advisers introduced me to Earth-based lunar observation to look at hydration on the surface of the Moon,” said Casey. “I found that I really liked the Moon and found my place in science.”Courtesy of Casey Honniball What sorts of instruments do you test for use on the Moon?
I test the use of mid- to long-wave infrared instruments for reconnaissance of a location prior to astronauts setting foot outside a vehicle. For example, an instrument on a rover can scan the area to characterize the minerology and volatiles including water, carbon dioxide, sulfur, methane, and similar chemicals. This then allows astronauts and scientists to select locations to collect samples.
I test this procedure on Earth by doing field work.
What is the most exciting field work you have done to test those instruments?
In 2015, I went to the Atacama Desert in Chile to install a radio camera on an existing telescope. I spent about a month installing the camera and observing on the telescope. There were only about 15 people I interacted with during that time. The area is very Martian-like; it is very red, dry, and barren, although we saw wild donkeys.
During Christmas of 2015 and again in 2016, one month each time, I went to Antarctica to launch a high-altitude balloon radio telescope. I lived at McMurdo Station and worked at their balloon facility near the airstrip. Antarctica is a completely different experience than you could imagine. You are so cut off from civilization. You have only the people who are there, although, I was there during Antarctica’s summer when McMurdo had many people. You are in a completely barren landscape that is so magnificently beautiful.
In 2018, I deployed an instrument I built to the Kīlauea Lava Lake on the Big Island of Hawaii. This is a National Park with thousands of visitors yearly. The lava lake was active at the time. We could see lava spewing out at different vent locations in the lake. It was very exciting and kind of scary. We had special permits allowing us into restricted areas closer to the lake. We were told not to get any closer to the cliff edge of the lake than our height so that if we tripped, we would not fall into the active lava.
I’d love to do field work in Iceland. Iceland is a great location for planetary field analog research as it has a similar landscape and geologic context to the Moon and Mars.
Casey conducts field work at volcanic sites to investigate how astronauts can utilize instruments during moonwalks.Courtesy of Casey Honniball What outreach do you do that inspires others with dyslexia?
I like to talk to elementary through high school students about life as a scientist and how I got to where I am. I like to tell my story about learning to manage dyslexia to hopefully inspire others.
What do you do for fun?
I am a deep-sea scuba certified diver. I mainly dove in Hawaii because I was living there. I also enjoy working out, hiking, baking sourdough bread, and being with my family.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I hope to be supporting Artemis science operations on the surface of Moon and continuing to studying the Moon’s surface remotely and conducting research through field deployments.
What is your “six-word memoir”? A six-word memoir describes something in just six words.
Fear is a state of mind.
NASA’s SOFIA Discovers Water on Sunlit Surface of Moon 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.
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Last Updated Mar 19, 2024 EditorMadison OlsonContactElizabeth M. JarrellLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
People of Goddard Earth's Moon People of NASA Planetary Science View the full article
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By NASA
NASA/Loral O’Hara In this image from Jan. 12, 2024, NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli (left) and Loral O’Hara pose with a copy of “First Woman”, NASA’s first graphic novel, inside the International Space Station’s cupola. The interactive graphic novel chronicles the adventures of fictional astronaut Callie Rodriguez, the first woman to explore the Moon. Through Callie’s journey, “First Woman” features real-life technologies developed by NASA to enable future missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Moghbeli and O’Hara were interviewed by the graphic novel’s writers, and their experiences helped develop Callie’s character.
O’Hara, a former Girl Scout, launched to the space station on Sept. 15, 2023, for a six-month stay. She and her fellow Expedition 70 crew members study an array of microgravity phenomena to benefit humans living on and off the Earth. Moghbeli launched to the International Space Station as Commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission on Aug. 26, 2023. She returned to Earth with the rest of Crew-7 on March 12, 2024.
Download, read, and interact with issues 1 and 2 of “First Woman.”
Image Credit: NASA/Loral O’Hara
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By European Space Agency
Video: 00:03:01 After more than 6 months on the International Space Station, ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen returned to Earth, marking the end of his Huginn mission. It was his second mission to the Space Station and his first long-duration, where he was the pilot of Crew-7, which consisted of Jasmin Moghbeli (NASA), Satoshi Furukawa (JAXA), and Konstantin Borisov (Roscosmos).
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By NASA
Rae Anderson, subject matter expert for software assurance in the NASA Stennis Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate, is the first employee at NASA’s Stennis Space Center – and one of five civil servants across NASA – to earn the highest distinction in the Safety and Mission Assurance Technical Excellence Program in the discipline of software assurance. The level four certification demonstrates Anderson’s dedication to growing her knowledge and skills to become an effective contributor to the agency’s mission.NASA/Danny Nowlin Rae Anderson never set out to have a career with NASA, but the pursuit of opportunities around her interest in computer science led the Union City, Tennessee native to the agency that explores the secrets of the universe for the benefit of all.
In turn, Anderson’s desire to expand her knowledge helped her become the first employee at NASA’s Stennis Space Center – and one of five civil servants across NASA – to earn the highest distinction in the Safety and Mission Assurance Technical Excellence Program in the discipline of Software Assurance.
“I want to be good at my job, so early in my career, I set a goal of reaching this certification,” Anderson said.
The program’s level four certification demonstrates Anderson’s dedication to growing her knowledge and skills to become an effective contributor to the agency’s mission. As the subject matter expert for software assurance, Anderson serves as a technical lead for a team in the NASA Stennis Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate that supports the center’s work with propulsion testing and autonomous systems.
Along the way, I have been a part of a team at NASA Stennis that has good people who are going to do what they need to do to accomplish goals, whatever it takes to accomplish it and to do it safely.
rae anderson
NASA Stennis SME for Software Assurance
Whether it is propulsion testing for NASA’s Artemis mission or autonomous systems work on pace for the first-ever in-flight autonomous systems mission, the work at NASA Stennis relies on software to carry out complex tasks. Anderson’s team reviews software management plans to ensure all requirements are met to conduct the work safely. She helps lead the effort to determine possible hazards and, if any are present, to put controls and mitigations in place to lessen the risk.
“It’s important to ensure any potential issues are mitigated,” Anderson said. “It is not a guarantee, but it gives a better feeling that all have done what they are supposed to do as far as following the process and that the software is technically sound to move forward. With software, there’s always going to be bugs because there is so much of it. We are there as the checks and balances of engineering as a project moves forward.”
Before moving forward and earning a computer science degree from the University of Tennessee-Martin, Anderson grew up 20 minutes from the Tennessee-Kentucky border, which meant she did not live near a NASA center. When she thought about NASA and space, astronauts and the solar system came to mind.
Since Anderson’s career in software brought her to live in Slidell, Louisiana, and ultimately begin work at NASA Stennis 16 years ago, Anderson has discovered that NASA is much more. She has found NASA to be a place that combines her knowledge of software with a diverse and highly skilled workforce, coming together for the benefit of humanity.
“Along the way, I have been a part of a team at NASA Stennis that has good people who are going to do what they need to do to accomplish goals, whatever it takes to accomplish it and to do it safely,” Anderson said.
For information about NASA’s Stennis Space Center, visit:
Stennis Space Center – NASA
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By NASA
An Axiom Space engineer wearing the AxEMU (Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit) spacesuit kneels to collect simulated lunar samples using a scoop during testing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.Axiom Space As part of NASA’s Artemis campaign, the agency is working to land astronauts on the lunar surface during Artemis III, laying the groundwork for a long-term human presence at the Moon for the benefit of all. When the Artemis astronauts take their first steps near the South Pole of the Moon, they will be wearing a spacesuit developed by Axiom Space. In the time since NASA selected the company to provide the spacesuit and supporting systems for Artemis III, Axiom Space has continued to progress with spacesuit design and testing.
In late 2023, NASA and Axiom Space test subjects wore the next-generation lunar spacesuit during testing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, where they performed a number of maneuverability tasks that will be required during moonwalks, such as bending down to pick up lunar samples while using lunar geology tools.
Axiom Space will continue to test the lunar spacesuit in facilities such as NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, one of the world’s largest indoor pools that can simulate a partial gravity environment, as the company works to finalize the spacesuit’s design. These tests are integral to ensuring the spacesuit is effective and complies with NASA’s safety and performance requirements.
Through Artemis, NASA will land the first woman, the first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the surface of the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone to send the first astronauts to Mars.
An Axiom Space engineer uses a hammer and chisel to chip off simulated lunar rocks while wearing the AxEMU (Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit) spacesuit during testing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.Axiom Space An Axiom Space engineer uses tongs to pick up a simulated lunar rock while wearing the AxEMU (Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit) spacesuit during testing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.Axiom SpaceView the full article
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