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The Heat is On! NASA’s “Flawless” Heat Shield Demo Passes the Test
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By NASA
Through NASA’s Artemis campaign, astronauts will land on the lunar surface and use a new generation of spacesuits and rovers as they live, work, and conduct science in the Moon’s South Pole region, exploring more of the lunar surface than ever before. Recently, the agency completed the first round of testing on three commercially owned and developed LTVs (Lunar Terrain Vehicle) from Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, and Venturi Astrolab at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.NASA/Bill Stafford Venturi Astrolab’s FLEX, Intuitive Machines’ Moon RACER, and Lunar Outpost’s Eagle lunar terrain vehicle – three commercially owned and developed LTVs (Lunar Terrain Vehicle) – are pictured at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston in this photo from Nov. 21, 2024.
As part of an ongoing year-long feasibility study, each company delivered a static mockup of their vehicle to Johnson at the end of September, initiated rover testing in October and completed the first round of testing in December inside the Active Response Gravity Offload System (ARGOS) test facility. Lunar surface gravity is one-sixth of what we experience here on Earth, so to mimic this, ARGOS offers an analog environment that can offload pressurized suited subjects for various reduced gravity simulations.
See how these LTVs were tested.
Image credit: NASA/Bill Stafford
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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
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By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
LISTER (Lunar Instrumentation for Subsurface Thermal Exploration with Rapidity) is one of 10 payloads flying aboard the next delivery for NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative. The instrument is equipped with a drilling system and thermal probe designed to dig into the lunar surface. Photo courtesy: Firefly Aerospace Earth’s nearest neighboring body in the solar system is its Moon, yet to date humans have physically explored just 5% of its surface. It wasn’t until 2023 – building on Apollo-era data and more detailed studies made in 2011-2012 by NASA’s automated GRAIL (Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory) mission – that researchers conclusively determined that the Moon has a liquid outer core surrounding a solid inner core.
As NASA and its industry partners plan for continued exploration of the Moon under Artemis in preparation for future long-duration missions to Mars, improving our understanding of Earth’s 4.5-billion-year-old Moon will help teams of researchers and astronauts find the safest ways to study and live and work on the lunar surface.
That improved understanding is the primary goal of a state-of-the-art science instrument called LISTER (Lunar Instrumentation for Subsurface Thermal Exploration with Rapidity), one of 10 NASA payloads flying aboard the next delivery for the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and set to be carried to the surface by Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander.
Developed jointly by Texas Tech University in Lubbock and Honeybee Robotics of Altadena, California, LISTER will measure the flow of heat from the Moon’s interior. Its sophisticated pneumatic drill will penetrate to a depth of three meters into the dusty lunar regolith. Every half-meter it descends, the drilling system will pause and extend a custom-built thermal probe into the lunar regolith. LISTER will measure two different aspects of heat flow: thermal gradient, or the changes in temperature at various depths, and thermal conductivity, or the subsurface material’s ability to let heat pass through it.
“By making similar measurements at multiple locations on the lunar surface, we can reconstruct the thermal evolution of the Moon,” said Dr. Seiichi Nagihara, principal investigator for the mission and a geophysics professor at Texas Tech. “That will permit scientists to retrace the geological processes that shaped the Moon from its start as a ball of molten rock, which gradually cooled off by releasing its internal heat into space.”
Demonstrating the drill’s effectiveness could lead to more innovative drilling capabilities, enabling future exploration of the Moon, Mars, and other celestial bodies.. The science collected by LISTER aims to contribute to our knowledge of lunar geology, improving our ability to establish a long-term presence on the Moon under the Artemis campaign.
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 aims to be one of many customers on future flights. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the development of seven of the 10 CLPS payloads carried on Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander.
Learn more about CLPS and Artemis at:
https://www.nasa.gov/clps
Alise Fisher
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2546
Alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov
Corinne Beckinger
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-544-0034
corinne.m.beckinger@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Dec 18, 2024 EditorBeth RidgewayContactCorinne M. Beckingercorinne.m.beckinger@nasa.govLocationMarshall Space Flight Center Related Terms
Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) Artemis Marshall Space Flight Center Explore More
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Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS)
The goal of the CLPS project is to enable rapid, frequent, and affordable access to the lunar surface by helping…
Moon
The Moon makes Earth more livable, sets the rhythm of ocean tides, and keeps a record of our solar system’s…
Marshall Space Flight Center
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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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