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    • By NASA
      3 min read
      Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
      NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, is helping the Artemis Generation learn how to power space dreams with an interactive exhibit at INFINITY Science Center.
      The engine test simulator exhibit at the official visitor center of NASA Stennis provides the chance to experience the thrill of being a NASA test engineer by guiding an RS-25 engine through a simulated hot fire test.
      “It is an exhilarating opportunity to feel what it is like to be a NASA engineer, responsible for making sure the engine is safely tested for launch,” said Chris Barnett-Woods, a NASA engineer that helped develop the software for the exhibit.
      Sitting at a console mirroring the actual NASA Stennis Test Control Center, users are immersed in the complex process of engine testing. The exhibit uses cutting-edge software and visual displays to teach participants how to manage liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellants, and other essential elements during a hot fire.
      A pair of young visitors to INFINITY Science Center carry out the steps of a simulated RS-25 engine hot fire on Dec. 19. The updated engine test simulator exhibit provided by NASA’s Stennis Space Center takes users through the hot fire process just as real engineers do at NASA Stennis.NASA/Danny Nowlin INFINITY Science Center, the official visitor center for NASA’s Stennis Space Center, has unveiled a new interactive simulator exhibit that allows visitors to become the test conductor for an RS-25 engine hot fire. NASA/Danny Nowlin Users follow step-by-step instructions that include pressing buttons, managing propellant tanks, and even closing the flare stack, just as real engineers do at NASA Stennis. Once the test is complete, they are congratulated for successfully conducting their own rocket engine hot fire.
      The interactive exhibit is not just about pushing buttons. It is packed with interesting facts about the RS-25 engine, which helps power NASA’s Artemis missions as the agency explores secrets of the universe for the benefit of all. Visitors also can view real hot fires conducted at NASA Stennis from multiple angles, deepening their understanding of rocket propulsion testing and NASA’s journey back to the Moon and beyond.
      NASA is currently preparing for the Artemis II mission, the first crewed flight test of the agency’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and the Orion spacecraft around the Moon.
      The first four Artemis missions are using modified space shuttle main engines tested at NASA Stennis. The center also achieved a testing milestone last April for engines to power future Artemis missions. For each Artemis mission, four RS-25 engines, along with a pair of solid rocket boosters, power NASA’s SLS rocket, producing more than 8.8 million pounds of total combined thrust at liftoff.
      The revitalized exhibit, previously used when the visitor center was located onsite, represents a collaborative effort. It started as an intern project in the summer of 2023 before evolving into a full-scale experience. Engineers built on the initial concept, integrating carpentry, audio, and video to create the seamless experience to educate and inspire.
      The best part might be that visitors to INFINITY Science Center can repeat the simulation as many times as they like, gaining confidence and learning more with each attempt.
      “This exhibit was a favorite in the past, and with its new upgrades, the engine test simulator is poised to capture the imaginations of the Artemis Generation at INFINITY Science Center,” said NASA Public Affairs Specialist Samone Wilson. “This is one exhibit you will not want to miss.” INFINITY Science Center is located at 1 Discovery Circle, Pearlington, Mississippi. For hours of operation and admission information, please visit www.visitinfinity.com.

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      Last Updated Dec 20, 2024 EditorNASA Stennis CommunicationsContactC. Lacy Thompsoncalvin.l.thompson@nasa.gov / (228) 688-3333LocationStennis Space Center Related Terms
      Stennis Space Center View the full article
    • By NASA
      NASA’s Dawn spacecraft captured this image of Vesta as it left the giant asteroid’s orbit in 2012. The framing camera was looking down at the north pole, which is in the middle of the image.NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA Known as flow formations, these channels could be etched on bodies that would seem inhospitable to liquid because they are exposed to the extreme vacuum conditions of space.
      Pocked with craters, the surfaces of many celestial bodies in our solar system provide clear evidence of a 4.6-billion-year battering by meteoroids and other space debris. But on some worlds, including the giant asteroid Vesta that NASA’s Dawn mission explored, the surfaces also contain deep channels, or gullies, whose origins are not fully understood.
      A prime hypothesis holds that they formed from dry debris flows driven by geophysical processes, such as meteoroid impacts, and changes in temperature due to Sun exposure. A recent NASA-funded study, however, provides some evidence that impacts on Vesta may have triggered a less-obvious geologic process: sudden and brief flows of water that carved gullies and deposited fans of sediment. By using lab equipment to mimic conditions on Vesta, the study, which appeared in Planetary Science Journal, detailed for the first time what the liquid could be made of and how long it would flow before freezing.
      Although the existence of frozen brine deposits on Vesta is unconfirmed, scientists have previously hypothesized that meteoroid impacts could have exposed and melted ice that lay under the surface of worlds like Vesta. In that scenario, flows resulting from this process could have etched gullies and other surface features that resemble those on Earth.
      To explore potential explanations for deep channels, or gullies, seen on Vesta, scientists used JPL’s Dirty Under-vacuum Simulation Testbed for Icy Environments, or DUSTIE, to simulate conditions on the giant asteroid that would occur after meteoroids strike the surface.NASA/JPL-Caltech But how could airless worlds — celestial bodies without atmospheres and exposed to the intense vacuum of space — host liquids on the surface long enough for them to flow? Such a process would run contrary to the understanding that liquids quickly destabilize in a vacuum, changing to a gas when the pressure drops.
      “Not only do impacts trigger a flow of liquid on the surface, the liquids are active long enough to create specific surface features,” said project leader and planetary scientist Jennifer Scully of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, where the experiments were conducted. “But for how long? Most liquids become unstable quickly on these airless bodies, where the vacuum of space is unyielding.”
      The critical component turns out to be sodium chloride — table salt. The experiments found that in conditions like those on Vesta, pure water froze almost instantly, while briny liquids stayed fluid for at least an hour. “That’s long enough to form the flow-associated features identified on Vesta, which were estimated to require up to a half-hour,” said lead author Michael J. Poston of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio.
      Launched in 2007, the Dawn spacecraft traveled to the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter to orbit Vesta for 14 months and Ceres for almost four years. Before ending in 2018, the mission uncovered evidence that Ceres had been home to a subsurface reservoir of brine and may still be transferring brines from its interior to the surface. The recent research offers insights into processes on Ceres but focuses on Vesta, where ice and salts may produce briny liquid when heated by an impact, scientists said.
      Re-creating Vesta
      To re-create Vesta-like conditions that would occur after a meteoroid impact, the scientists relied on a test chamber at JPL called the Dirty Under-vacuum Simulation Testbed for Icy Environments, or DUSTIE. By rapidly reducing the air pressure surrounding samples of liquid, they mimicked the environment around fluid that comes to the surface. Exposed to vacuum conditions, pure water froze instantly. But salty fluids hung around longer, continuing to flow before freezing.
      The brines they experimented with were a little over an inch (a few centimeters) deep; scientists concluded the flows on Vesta that are yards to tens of yards deep would take even longer to refreeze.
      The researchers were also able to re-create the “lids” of frozen material thought to form on brines. Essentially a frozen top layer, the lids stabilize the liquid beneath them, protecting it from being exposed to the vacuum of space — or, in this case the vacuum of the DUSTIE chamber — and helping the liquid flow longer before freezing again.
      This phenomenon is similar to how on Earth lava flows farther in lava tubes than when exposed to cool surface temperatures. It also matches up with modeling research conducted around potential mud volcanoes on Mars and volcanoes that may have spewed icy material from volcanoes on Jupiter’s moon Europa.
      “Our results contribute to a growing body of work that uses lab experiments to understand how long liquids last on a variety of worlds,” Scully said.
      Find more information about NASA’s Dawn mission here:
      https://science.nasa.gov/mission/dawn/
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      Gretchen McCartney
      Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
      818-287-4115
      gretchen.p.mccartney@jpl.nasa.gov 
      Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
      NASA Headquarters, Washington
      202-358-1600
      karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov
      2024-178
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      Last Updated Dec 20, 2024 Related Terms
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    • By NASA
      3 min read
      Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
      NASA/Steve Parcel The most effective way to prove a new idea is to start small, test, learn, and test again. A team of researchers developing an atmospheric probe at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, are taking that approach. The concept could offer future scientists a potentially better and more economical way to collect data on other planets.
      The latest iteration of the atmospheric probe flew after release from a quad-rotor remotely piloted aircraft on Oct. 22 above Rogers Dry Lake, a flight area adjacent to NASA Armstrong. The probe benefits from NASA 1960s research on lifting body aircraft, which use the aircraft’s shape for lift instead of wings. Testing demonstrated the shape of the probe works.
      “I’m ecstatic,” said John Bodylski, atmospheric probe principal investigator at NASA Armstrong. “It was completely stable in flight. We will be looking at releasing it from a higher altitude to keep it flying longer and demonstrate more maneuvers.”
      An atmospheric probe model attached upside down to a quad rotor remotely piloted aircraft ascends with the Moon visible on Oct. 22, 2024. The quad rotor aircraft released the probe above Rogers Dry Lake, a flight area adjacent NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The probe was designed and built at the center.NASA/Steve Freeman Starting with a Center Innovation Fund award in 2023, Bodylski worked closely with the center’s Dale Reed Subscale Flight Research Laboratory to design and build three atmospheric probe models, each vehicle 28 inches long from nose to tail. One model is a visual to show what the concept looks like, while two additional prototypes improved the technology’s readiness.
      The road to the successful flight wasn’t smooth, which is expected with any new flight idea. The first flight on Aug. 1 didn’t go as planned. The release mechanism didn’t work as expected and air movement from the quad rotor aircraft was greater than anticipated. It was that failure that inspired the research team to take another look at everything about the vehicle, leading to many improvements, said Justin Hall, NASA Armstrong chief pilot of small, unmanned aircraft systems.
      Fast forward to Oct. 22, where the redesign of the release mechanism, in addition to an upside-down release and modified flight control surfaces, led to a stable and level flight. “Everything we learned from the first vehicle failing and integrating what we learned into this one seemed to work well,” Hall said. “This is a win for us. We have a good place to go from here and there’s some more changes we can make to improve it.”
      Justin Link, left, small unmanned aircraft systems pilot; John Bodylski, atmospheric probe principal investigator; and Justin Hall, chief pilot of small unmanned aircraft systems, discuss details of the atmospheric probe flight plan on Oct. 22, 2024. A quad rotor remotely piloted aircraft released the probe above Rogers Dry Lake, a flight area adjacent NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The probe was designed and built at the center.NASA/Steve Freeman Bodylski added, “We are going to focus on getting the aircraft to pull up sooner to give us more flight time to learn more about the prototype. We will go to a higher altitude [this flight started at 560 feet altitude] on the next flight because we are not worried about the aircraft’s stability.”
      When the team reviewed flight photos and video from the Oct. 22 flight they identified additional areas for improvement. Another atmospheric probe will be built with enhancements and flown. Following another successful flight, the team plans to instrument a future atmospheric probe that will gather data and improve computer models. Data gathering is the main goal for the current flights to give scientists confidence in additional probe shapes for atmospheric missions on other planets.
      If this concept is eventually chosen for a mission, it would ride on a satellite to its destination. From there, the probe would separate as the parent satellite orbits around a planet, then enter and dive through the atmosphere as it gathers information for clues of how the solar system formed.
      Justin Hall, chief pilot of small unmanned aircraft systems, prepares the atmospheric probe for flight above Rogers Dry Lake, a flight area adjacent NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. At right, Justin Link, small unmanned aircraft systems pilot, assists. The probe, designed and built at the center, flew after release from a quad rotor remotely piloted aircraft on Oct. 22, 2024.NASA/Steve Freeman Derek Abramson, left, chief engineer for the Dale Reed Subscale Flight Research Laboratory, and Justin Link, small unmanned aircraft system pilot, carry the atmospheric probe model and a quad rotor remotely piloted aircraft to position it for flight on Oct. 24, 2024. John Bodylski, probe principal investigator, right, and videographer Jacob Shaw watch the preparations. Once at altitude, the quad rotor aircraft released the probe above Rogers Dry Lake, a flight area adjacent to NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The probe was designed and built at the center.NASA/Steve Freeman A quad rotor remotely piloted aircraft releases the atmospheric probe model above Rogers Dry Lake, a flight area adjacent NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Oct. 22, 2024. The probe was designed and built at the center.NASA/Carla Thomas Share
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      Last Updated Dec 11, 2024 Related Terms
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    • By NASA
      3 min read
      Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
      A close-up of NASA’s shock-sensing probe highlights its pressure ports, designed to measure air pressure changes during supersonic flight. The probe will be mounted on NASA’s F-15B Aeronautics Research Test Bed for calibration flights, validating its ability to measure shock waves generated by the X 59 as part of NASA’s Quesst mission to provide data on quiet supersonic flight.NASA/Lauren Hughes NASA’s F-15B Aeronautics Research Test Bed performs a calibration flight of the shock-sensing probe over Edwards, California, on Aug. 6, 2024. The probe will measure shock waves from NASA’s X-59, providing data that may change limits for overland supersonic flight from being speed-based to sound-based. This work is part of NASA’s Quesst mission, with the X-59 as its flagship aircraft.NASA/Steve Freeman NASA’s F-15B Aeronautics Research Test Bed performs a calibration flight of the shock-sensing probe over Edwards, California, on Aug. 6, 2024. The probe will measure shock waves from NASA’s X-59, providing data that may change limits for overland supersonic flight from being speed-based to sound-based. This work is part of NASA’s Quesst mission, with the X-59 as its flagship aircraft.NASA/Steve Freeman NASA’s F-15B Aeronautics Research Test Bed performs a calibration flight of the shock-sensing probe over Edwards, California, on Aug. 6, 2024. The probe will measure shock waves from NASA’s X-59, providing data that may change limits for overland supersonic flight from being speed-based to sound-based. This work is part of NASA’s Quesst mission, with the X-59 as its flagship aircraft.NASA/Steve Freeman NASA’s F-15B Aeronautics Research Test Bed performs a calibration flight of the shock-sensing probe over Edwards, California, on Aug. 6, 2024. The probe will measure shock waves from NASA’s X-59, providing data that may change limits for overland supersonic flight from being speed-based to sound-based. This work is part of NASA’s Quesst mission, with the X-59 as its flagship aircraft.NASA/Steve Freeman NASA will soon test advancements made on a key tool for measuring the unique “sonic thumps” that its quiet supersonic X-59 research aircraft will make while flying.
      A shock-sensing probe is a cone-shaped air data probe developed with specific features to capture the unique shock waves the X-59 will produce. Researchers at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California developed two versions of the probe to collect precise pressure data during supersonic flight. One probe is optimized for near-field measurements, capturing shock waves that occur very close to where the X-59 will generate them. The second shock-sensing probe will measure the mid-field, collecting data at altitudes between 5,000 to 20,000 feet below the aircraft.
      When an aircraft flies supersonic, it generates shockwaves that travel through the surrounding air, producing loud sonic booms. The X-59 is designed to divert those shock waves, reducing the loud sonic booms to quieter sonic thumps. During test flights, an F-15B aircraft with a shock-sensing probe attached to its nose will fly with the X-59. The roughly 6-foot probe will continuously collect thousands of pressure samples per second, capturing air pressure changes as it flies through shock waves. Data from the sensors will be vital for validating computer models that predict the strength of the shock waves produced by the X-59, the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission.
      “A shock-sensing probe acts as the truth source, comparing the predicted data with the real-world measurements,” said Mike Frederick, NASA principal investigator for the probe.
      For the near-field probe, the F-15B will fly close behind the X-59 at its cruising altitude of approximately 55,000 feet, utilizing a “follow-the-leader” setup allowing researchers to analyze shock waves in real time. The mid-field probe, intended for separate missions, will collect more useful data as the shock waves travel closer to the ground.
      The probes’ ability to capture small pressure changes is especially important for the X-59, as its shock waves are expected to be much weaker than those of most supersonic aircraft. By comparing the probes’ data to predictions from advanced computer models, researchers can better evaluate their accuracy.
      “The probes have five pressure ports, one at the tip and four around the cone,” said Frederick. “These ports measure static pressure changes as the aircraft flies through shock waves, helping us understand the shock characteristics of a particular aircraft.” The ports combine their measurements to calculate the local pressure, speed, and direction of airflow.
      Researchers will soon evaluate upgrades to the near-field shock-sensing probe through test flights, where the probe, mounted on one F-15B, will collect data by chasing a second F-15 during supersonic flight. The upgrades include having the probe’s pressure transducers – devices that measure the air pressure on the cone – just 5 inches from its ports. Previous designs placed those transducers nearly 12 feet away, delaying recording time and distorting measurements.
      Temperature sensitivity on previous designs also presented a challenge, causing fluctuations in accuracy with changing conditions. To solve this, the team designed a heating system to maintain the pressure transducers at a consistent temperature during flight.
      “The probe will meet the resolution and accuracy requirements from the Quesst mission,” Frederick said. “This project shows how NASA can take existing technology and adapt it to solve new challenges.”
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      Last Updated Dec 05, 2024 EditorDede DiniusContactNicolas Cholulanicolas.h.cholula@nasa.gov Related Terms
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    • By NASA
      At the edge of Las Cruces, New Mexico, surrounded by miles of sunbaked earth, NASA’s White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) is quietly shaping the future. There is no flash, no fanfare — the self-contained facility operates as it has since 1962, humbly and in relative obscurity.

      Yet as New Mexico’s space industry skyrockets amid intensifying commercial spaceflight efforts across the state, WSTF feels a new urgency to connect with the community. With the facility’s latest Test and Evaluation Support Team (TEST3) contract now in its third year, Program Manager Michelle Meerscheidt is determined to make a mark.

      “I think it’s very important we increase our public presence,” Meerscheidt said. “We are a significant contributor to NASA’s mission and our country’s aspirations for furthering space exploration.”

      In September, TEST3 leadership joined forces with the City of Las Cruces to support the sixth annual Las Cruces Space Festival, a two-weekend celebration of the region’s rich relationship with the aerospace industry.

      The Test and Evaluation Support Team (TEST3) team — Human Resources Manager Kristina Garcia (left), Program Manager Michelle Meerscheidt, and Deputy Program Manager/Business Manager Karen Lucht — prepares to meet with visitors at the Las Cruces Space Festival Astronomy & Industry Night on Sept. 13, 2024, in Las Cruces, New Mexico. NASA/Anthony Luis Quiterio Alongside WSTF, festival director Alice Carruth is working to open a world that many believe is off limits and others don’t know exists.

      “Unless you’re driving over the mountains regularly and seeing the sign that says, ‘The Birthplace of the U.S. Space and Missile Program,’ you don’t tend to know what’s going on in your backyard,”  Carruth said.

      “The whole premise of the Space Festival is to make people understand what’s going on in their community, to encourage people to think about careers in the space industry, and to inspire the next generation.”

      A featured speaker at the festival’s New Mexico State University Astronomy & Industry Night, Meerscheidt had the chance to do just that.

      “It’s fun to see a lot of young kids that are wide-eyed and excited,” Meerscheidt said. “It’s nice to be able to encourage them to pursue their dreams.”

      Among those wide-eyed festivalgoers was 6-year-old Camilla Medina-Bond, who was confident in her vision for the future.

      “I want to be an astronaut when I grow up,” she said. “I want to visit the Moon.”

      As for the details of her lunar mission, Medina-Bond’s plan is simple: “Just going to see what’s on it.” She has plenty of time to figure out the specifics — after all, giant leaps start with small steps. According to Meerscheidt, the aspiring astronaut has already taken the first and most critical step.

      “That’s what NASA is all about,” Meerscheidt said. “Explore, be inquisitive. Open your mind, open your imagination, and go for it.”

      Left: Camilla Medina-Bond, age 6, proudly shows off her foam stomp rocket and NASA White Sands Test Facility baseball cap during the Las Cruces Space Festival’s Astronomy & Industry Night on the New Mexico State University campus. Right: Medina-Bond immerses herself in another world as she operates a virtual reality headset. NASA/Anthony Luis Quiterio Medina-Bond’s aspiration is shared by many young dreamers. A 2024 global study by longtime NASA partner, the LEGO Group, found 77% of kids ages 4-14 want to travel to space.

      Carruth acknowledged that keeping the attention of today’s always-scrolling, trend-driven generation is not easy, and that children’s fascination with space often wanes as they age.

      “If you look at the statistics, space tends to be really cool until they get to middle school level, and then space isn’t cool anymore — not because it’s not cool, but because it then becomes inaccessible to a lot of students,” she said.

      Still, Carruth is prepared to navigate the challenge.

      “I want kids to understand that space is for everybody,” Carruth said. “I also want their parents and grandparents to understand why space is important and that this is a feasible career.”

      Oscar Castrejon, who attended the festival with his 12-year-old son, Oscar Jr., is on his own mission to nurture that understanding. “I’ve learned early kids need to develop their own passions, but if they say ‘hey, I like this, I’m interested in it,’ then I’ll take them to it,” Castrejon said. “If their eyes get opened, if their imagination gets sparked, you never know — you could be looking at the next NASA scientist.”

      Oscar Castrejon and his son Oscar Jr., age 12, stop by the White Sands TEST3 booth. Anthony Luis Quiterio WSTF TEST3 Deputy Program Manager and Business Manager Karen Lucht shares Castrejon’s philosophy, emphasizing the importance of authenticity.

      “Speak[ing] to who you are as a person will ultimately lead to who you will become as a professional,” she said.

      A remote test site, WSTF has its own ecosystem which Lucht compares to a “small city.” Among its residents are scientists and engineers, but also welders, writers, firefighters, and photographers — to name a few.

      “White Sands offers endless opportunities for everybody,” Lucht said. “Every career has a path here.”

      Lucht’s own journey illustrates the infinite potential that arises in diverse spaces like WSTF.

      “I came from a town of less than a thousand people, and I never dreamt that I would work for NASA,” she said. “As someone who was told many times that I would never make it to my position, I look back on my career and realize there are no restraints. You really can do anything you want to do.”

      For those wanting to join the ranks at WSTF, there is one important requirement: they must see themselves as stardust, a vital element in a grand cosmic plan.

      “We’re looking for people who have the right perspective, the desire to learn and contribute to something bigger than themselves,” Lucht said.

      At WSTF — a place where the stars feel close enough to touch — the sky is not the limit, it is only the beginning.
      View the full article
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