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Roscosmos cosmonaut and Expedition 70 Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub
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By NASA
NASA has awarded Dynamic Aviation Group Inc. of Bridgewater, Virginia, the Commercial Aviation Services contract to support the agency’s Airborne Science Program. The program provides aircraft and technology to further science and advance the use of Earth observing satellite data, making NASA data about our home planet and innovations accessible to all.
This is an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity firm-fixed-price contract with a maximum potential value of $13.5 million. The period of performance began Friday, Jan. 31, and continues through Jan. 30, 2030.
Under this contract, the company will provide ground and flight crews and services using modified commercial aircraft, including a Beechcraft King Air B200 and Beechcraft King Air A90. Work will include mechanical and electrical engineering services for instrument integration and de-integration, flight planning and real-time tracking, project execution, as well as technical feasibility assessments and cost estimation. Aircraft modifications may include instrumented nosecones, viewing ports, inlets, computing systems, and satellite communications capabilities.
This work is essential for NASA to conduct airborne science missions, develop and validate earth system models, and support satellite payload calibration. NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley will administer the agency-wide contract on behalf of the Airborne Science Program in the Earth Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
To learn more about NASA and agency programs, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov
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Rachel Hoover
Ames Research Center, Silicon Valley, Calif.
650-604-4789
rachel.hoover@nasa.gov
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By NASA
As part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign, Intuitive Machines’ second delivery to the Moon will carry NASA technology demonstrations and science investigations on their Nova-C class lunar lander. Credit: Intuitive Machines NASA will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EST Friday, Feb. 7, to discuss the agency’s science and technology flying aboard Intuitive Machines’ second flight to the Moon. The mission is part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign to establish a long-term lunar presence.
Audio of the call will stream on the agency’s website at:
https://www.nasa.gov/live
Briefing participants include:
Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters Niki Werkheiser, director, technology maturation, Space Technology Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters Trent Martin, senior vice president, space systems, Intuitive Machines To participate by telephone, media must RSVP no later than two hours before the briefing to: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov. NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online.
Intuitive Machines’ lunar lander, Athena, will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The four-day launch window opens no earlier than Wednesday, Feb. 26.
Among the items on Intuitive Machines’ lander, the IM-2 mission will be one of the first on site, or in-situ, demonstrations of resource utilization on the Moon. A drill and mass spectrometer will measure the potential presence of volatiles or gases from lunar soil in Mons Mouton, a lunar plateau near the Moon’s South Pole. In addition, a passive Laser Retroreflector Array on the top deck of the lander will bounce laser light back at any orbiting or incoming spacecraft to give future spacecraft a permanent reference point on the lunar surface. Other technology instruments on this delivery will demonstrate a robust surface communications system and deploy a propulsive drone that can hop across the lunar surface.
Launching as a rideshare with the IM-2 delivery, NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft also will begin its journey to lunar orbit, where it will map the distribution of the different forms of water on the Moon.
Under the CLPS model, NASA is investing in commercial delivery services to the Moon to enable industry growth and support long-term lunar exploration. As a primary customer for CLPS deliveries, NASA is one of many customers for these flights.
For updates, follow on:
https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis
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Alise Fisher / Jasmine Hopkins
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2546
alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov / jasmine.s.hopkins@nasa.gov
Natalia Riusech / Nilufar Ramji
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
nataila.s.riusech@nasa.gov / nilufar.ramji@nasa.gov
Antonia Jaramillo
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-867-2468
antonia.jaramillobotero@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Jan 31, 2025 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) Artemis Missions Science Mission Directorate Space Technology Mission Directorate View the full article
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By NASA
An FVR90 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) lifts off from the Monterey Bay Academy Airport near Watsonville, California, during the Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) Shakedown Test in November 2024.NASA/Don Richey NASA is collaborating with the wildfire community to provide tools for some of the most challenging aspects of firefighting – particularly aerial nighttime operations.
In the future, agencies could more efficiently use drones, both remotely piloted and fully autonomous, to help fight wildfires. NASA recently tested technologies with teams across the country that will enable aircraft – including small drones and helicopters outfitted with autonomous technology for remote piloting – to monitor and fight wildfires 24 hours a day, even during low-visibility conditions.
Current aerial firefighting operations are limited to times when aircraft have clear visibility – otherwise, pilots run the risk of flying into terrain or colliding with other aircraft. NASA-developed airspace management technology will enable drones and remotely piloted aircraft to operate at night, expanding the window of time responders have to aerially suppress fires.
“We’re aiming to provide new tools – including airspace management technologies – for 24-hour drone operations for wildfire response,” said Min Xue, project manager of the Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) project within NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. “This testing will provide valuable data to inform how we mature this technology for eventual use in the field.”
Over the past year, ACERO researchers developed a portable airspace management system (PAMS) drone pilots can use to safely send aircraft into wildfire response operations when operating drones from remote control systems or ground control stations.
Each PAMS, roughly the size of a carry-on suitcase, is outfitted with a computer for airspace management, a radio for sharing information among PAMS units, and an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast receiver for picking up nearby air traffic – all encased in a durable and portable container.
NASA software on the PAMS allows drone pilots to avoid airborne collisions while remotely operating aircraft by monitoring and sharing flight plans with other aircraft in the network. The system also provides basic fire location and weather information. A drone equipped with a communication device acts as an airborne communication relay for the ground-based PAMS units, enabling them to communicate with each other without relying on the internet.
Engineers fly a drone at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, to test aerial coordination capabilities.NASA/Mark Knopp To test the PAMS units’ ability to share and display vital information, NASA researchers placed three units in different locations outside each other’s line of sight at a hangar at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. Researchers stationed at each unit entered a flight plan into their system and observed that each unit successfully shared flight plans with the others through a mesh radio network.
Next, researchers worked with team members in Virginia to test an aerial communications radio relay capability.
Researchers outfitted a long-range vertical takeoff and landing aircraft with a camera, computer, a mesh radio, and an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast receiver for air traffic information. The team flew the aircraft and two smaller drones at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, purposely operating them outside each other’s line of sight.
The mesh radio network aboard the larger drone successfully connected with the small drones and multiple radio units on the ground.
Yasmin Arbab front-right frame, Alexey Munishkin, Shawn Wolfe, with Sarah Mitchell, standing behind, works with the Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) Portable Airspace Management System (PAMS) case at the Monterey Bay Academy Airport near Watsonville, California.NASA/Don Richey NASA researchers then tested the PAMS units’ ability to coordinate through an aerial communications relay to simulate what it could be like in the field.
At Monterey Bay Academy Airport in Watsonville, California, engineers flew a winged drone with vertical takeoff and landing capability by Overwatch Aero, establishing a communications relay to three different PAMS units. Next, the team flew two smaller drones nearby.
Researchers tested the PAMS units’ ability to receive communications from the Overwatch aircraft and share information with other PAMS units. Pilots purposely submitted flight plans that would conflict with each other and intentionally flew the drones outside preapproved flight plans.
The PAMS units successfully alerted pilots to conflicting flight plans and operations outside preapproved zones. They also shared aircraft location with each other and displayed weather updates and simulated fire location data.
The test demonstrated the potential for using PAM units in wildfire operations.
“This testing is a significant step towards improving aerial coordination during a wildfire,” Xue said. “These technologies will improve wildfire operations, reduce the impacts of large wildfires, and save more lives,” Xue said.
This year, the team will perform a flight evaluation to further mature these wildfire technologies. Ultimately, the project aims to transfer this technology to the firefighting community community.
This work is led by the ACERO project under NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate and supports the agency’s Advanced Air Mobility mission.
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By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
From left, NASA astronauts, Tracy C. Dyson, Mike Barratt, Matthew Dominick, and Jeanette Epps, who served as part of Expedition 71, will discuss their recent missions to the International Space Station during a visit to Marshall Space Flight Center on Jan. 29. NASA NASA will host four astronauts at 9 a.m. CDT Wednesday, Jan. 29, for a media opportunity at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
NASA astronauts Matt Dominick, Mike Barratt, Jeanette Epps, and Tracy C. Dyson served as part of Expedition 71 and will discuss their recent missions to the International Space Station.
Dominick, Barratt, and Epps launched aboard NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission in March 2024 and returned to Earth in October 2024 after spending nearly eight months aboard the orbiting complex. Dyson launched aboard a Roscosmos Soyuz spacecraft also in March 2024 and returned in September 2024 after completing a six-month research mission aboard the space station.
Media are invited to attend the event and visit with the astronauts as they discuss their science missions aboard the microgravity laboratory and other mission highlights. Media interested in participating must confirm their attendance by 12 p.m., Monday, Jan. 27, to both Lance D. Davis – lance.d.davis@nasa.gov – and Joel Wallace – joel.w.wallace@nasa.gov – in Marshall’s Office of Communications.
Media must arrive by 8 a.m., Wednesday, to the Redstone Arsenal Joint Visitor Control Center Gate 9 parking lot, located at the Interstate 565 interchange on Research Park Boulevard. The event will take place in the NASA Marshall Activities Building 4316. Vehicles are subject to a security search at the gate, so please allow extra time. All members of the media and drivers will need photo identification. Drivers will need proof of insurance if requested.
The Expedition 71 crew conducted hundreds of technology demonstrations and science experiments, including the bioprinting of human tissues. These higher-quality tissues printed in microgravity could help advance the production of organs and tissues for transplant and improve 3D printing of foods and medicines on future long-duration space missions. The crew also looked at neurological organoids, created with stem cells from patients to study neuroinflammation, a common feature of neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s disease. The organoids provided a platform to study these diseases and their treatments and could help address how extended spaceflight affects the brain.
As part of Crew-8, Dominick served as commander, Barratt served as pilot, and Epps served as a mission specialist. Dyson launched aboard a Soyuz space as part of an international crew and served as a flight engineer on a six-month research mission. The expedition to the space station was the first spaceflight for Dominick, third for Barratt, first for Epps, and third for Dyson.
The International Space Station is a convergence of science, technology, and human innovation that enables research not possible on Earth. For more than 24 years, NASA has supported a continuous human presence aboard the orbiting laboratory, through which astronauts have learned to live and work in space for extended periods of time. The space station is a springboard for developing a low Earth economy and NASA’s next great leaps in exploration, including missions to the Moon under Artemis and, ultimately, human
Learn more about the International Space Station, its research, and its crew, at:
https://www.nasa.gov/station
Lance D. Davis
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-640-9065
lance.d.davis@nasa.gov
Joel Wallace
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-786-0117
joel.w.wallace@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Jan 24, 2025 EditorBeth Ridgeway Related Terms
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By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
The official Expedition 71 crew portrait with (bottom row from left) Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin and NASA astronauts Mike Barratt, Matthew Dominick, and Jeanette Epps. In the back row (from left) are, NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson and Roscosmos cosmonauts Nikolai Chub and Oleg Kononenko. Four of the crew members – Dominick, Barratt, Epps, and Dyson – will discuss their recent missions to the International Space Station during a visit at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center on Jan 29.NASA NASA will host four astronauts at 9 a.m. CDT Wednesday, Jan. 29, for a media opportunity at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
NASA astronauts Matt Dominick, Mike Barratt, Jeanette Epps, and Tracy C. Dyson served as part of Expedition 71 and will discuss their recent missions to the International Space Station.
Dominick, Barratt, and Epps launched aboard NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission in March 2024 and returned to Earth in October 2024 after spending nearly eight months aboard the orbiting complex. Dyson launched aboard a Roscosmos Soyuz spacecraft also in March 2024 and returned in September 2024 after completing a six-month research mission aboard the space station.
Media are invited to attend the event and visit with the astronauts as they discuss their science missions aboard the microgravity laboratory and other mission highlights. Media interested in participating must confirm their attendance by 12 p.m., Monday, Jan. 27, to Joel Wallace in Marshall’s Office of Communications at joel.w.wallace@nasa.gov or 256-786-0117.
Media must arrive by 8 a.m., Wednesday, to the Redstone Arsenal Joint Visitor Control Center Gate 9 parking lot, located at the Interstate 565 interchange on Research Park Boulevard. The event will take place in the NASA Marshall Activities Building 4316. Vehicles are subject to a security search at the gate, so please allow extra time. All members of the media and drivers will need photo identification. Drivers will need proof of insurance if requested.
The Expedition 71 crew conducted hundreds of technology demonstrations and science experiments, including the bioprinting of human tissues. These higher-quality tissues printed in microgravity could help advance the production of organs and tissues for transplant and improve 3D printing of foods and medicines on future long-duration space missions. The crew also looked at neurological organoids, created with stem cells from patients to study neuroinflammation, a common feature of neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s disease. The organoids provided a platform to study these diseases and their treatments and could help address how extended spaceflight affects the brain.
As part of Crew-8, Dominick served as commander, Barratt served as pilot, and Epps served as a mission specialist. Dyson launched aboard a Soyuz space as part of an international crew and served as a flight engineer on a six-month research mission. The expedition to the space station was the first spaceflight for Dominick, third for Barratt, first for Epps, and third for Dyson.
The International Space Station is a convergence of science, technology, and human innovation that enables research not possible on Earth. For more than 24 years, NASA has supported a continuous human presence aboard the orbiting laboratory, through which astronauts have learned to live and work in space for extended periods of time. The space station is a springboard for developing a low Earth economy and NASA’s next great leaps in exploration, including missions to the Moon under Artemis and, ultimately, human
Learn more about the International Space Station, its research, and its crew, at:
https://www.nasa.gov/station
Joel Wallace
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-544-0034
joel.w.wallace@nasa.gov
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Details
Last Updated Jan 24, 2025 EditorBeth RidgewayLocationMarshall Space Flight Center Related Terms
Marshall Space Flight Center Explore More
5 min read Exoplanets Need to Be Prepared for Extreme Space Weather, Chandra Finds
Article 1 week ago 4 min read NASA Instrument on Firefly’s Blue Ghost Lander to Study Lunar Interior
Article 2 weeks ago 3 min read NASA to Test Solution for Radiation-Tolerant Computing in Space
Article 2 weeks ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics
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View the full article
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