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By NASA
In about 5 billion years, our Sun will run out of fuel and expand, possibly engulfing Earth. These end stages of a star’s life can be utterly beautiful – as is the case with this planetary nebula called the Helix Nebula. Astronomers study these objects by looking at all kinds of light.X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/Univ Mexico/S. Estrada-Dorado et al.; Ultraviolet: NASA/JPL; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI (M. Meixner)/NRAO (T.A. Rector); Infrared: ESO/VISTA/J. Emerson; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/K. Arcand This image of the Helix Nebula, released on March 4, 2025, shows a potentially destructive white dwarf at the nebula’s center: this star may have destroyed a planet. This has never been seen before – and could explain a mysterious X-ray signal that astronomers have detected from the nebula for over 40 years.
This view combines X-rays from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (magenta), optical light data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope (orange, light blue), infrared data from the European Southern Observatory VISTA telescope (gold, dark blue), and ultraviolet data from GALEX (purple) of the Helix Nebula. Data from Chandra indicates that this white dwarf has destroyed a very closely orbiting planet.
Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/Univ Mexico/S. Estrada-Dorado et al.; Ultraviolet: NASA/JPL; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI (M. Meixner)/NRAO (T.A. Rector); Infrared: ESO/VISTA/J. Emerson; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/K. Arcand
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By NASA
This year’s RASC-AL competition invited undergraduate and graduate students from across the nation to develop new, innovative concepts to improve our ability to operate on the Moon, Mars, and beyond.ASANASA Fourteen university teams have been selected as finalists for NASA’s 2025 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems – Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) Competition. This year’s competition invited undergraduate and graduate students from across the nation to develop new, innovative concepts to improve our ability to operate on the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Finalists will present their proposed concepts to a panel of NASA and aerospace industry leaders.
The 2025 Finalists are:
Sustained Lunar Evolution – An Inspirational Moment: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, “M.I.S.T.R.E.S.S. – Moon Infrastructure for Sustainable Technologies, Resource Extraction, and Self-Sufficiency” Tulane University, “Scalable Constructs for Advanced Lunar Activities and Research (SCALAR)” Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, “Project Aeneas” Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, “Project Khonsu” Advanced Science Missions and Technology Demonstrators for Human-Mars Precursor Campaign: Auburn University, “Dynamic Ecosystems for Mars ECLSS Testing, Evaluation, and Reliability (DEMETER)” University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, “MATER: Mars Architecture for Technology Evaluation and Research” Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, “Project Vehicles for Engineering Surface Terrain Architectures (VESTA)” Small Lunar Servicing and Maintenance Robot: Arizona State University, “DIANA – Diagnostic and Intelligent Autonomously Navigated Assistant” South Dakota State University, “Next-gen Operations and Versatile Assistant (NOVA)” South Dakota State University, “MANTIS: Maintenance and Navigation for Technical Infrastructure Support” Texas A&M University, “R.A.M.S.E.E.: Robotic Autonomous Maintenance System for Extraterrestrial Environments” University of Maryland, “Servicing Crane Outfitted Rover for Payloads, Inspection, Operations, N’stuff (SCORPION)” University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, “Multi-functional Operational Rover for Payload Handling and Navigation (MORPHN)” Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, “Adaptive Device for Assistance and Maintenance (ADAM)” The RASC-AL Competition is designed to engage university students and academic institutions in innovation within the field of aerospace engineering. By providing a platform for students to develop and present their ideas, NASA aims to cultivate foundational research for new concepts and technologies for the future of space exploration. This year’s RASC-AL projects include scalable lunar infrastructure and services, a lunar robot that can work autonomously or be controlled remotely, and a concept for a science or technology demonstration mission using human-scale launch, transportation, entry, and landing capabilities at Mars. All of these functions are critical to future NASA missions.
“This year’s RASC-AL projects are not just academic exercises; they will contribute real solutions to some of the most pressing challenges we currently face. The competition continues to highlight the importance of innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration in aerospace,” said Daniel Mazanek, RASC-AL program sponsor and senior space systems engineer from NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA.
These finalist teams will move forward to the next phase of the competition, where they will prepare and submit a detailed technical paper outlining their designs, methodologies, and anticipated impacts. Each team will present their concepts at the 2025 RASC-AL Competition Forum in June 2025 showcasing their work to a judging panel of NASA and industry experts for review and discussion.
“The ingenuity and out-of-the-box designs showcased by these students is inspiring,” added Dr. Christopher Jones, RASC-AL program sponsor and chief technologist for the Systems Analysis and Concepts Directorate at NASA’S Langley “We are excited to see how their ideas can contribute to NASA’s ongoing missions and future exploration goals. This is just the beginning of their journey, and we are proud to be part of it.”
To learn more about NASA’s RASC-AL Competition, visit NASA’s RASC-AL Competition Website. RASC-AL is sponsored by the Strategy and Architecture Office within the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, and by the Space Mission Analysis Branch within the Systems Analysis and Concepts Directorate at NASA’s Langley Research Center. It is administered by the National Institute of Aerospace.
Genevieve Ebarle / Victoria O’Leary
National Institute of Aerospace
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By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA / Lillian Gipson NASA has selected three university teams to help solve 21st century aviation challenges that could transform the skies above our communities.
As part of NASA’s University Leadership Initiative (ULI), both graduate and undergraduate students on faculty-led university teams will contribute directly to real-world flight research while gaining hands-on experience working with partners from other universities and industry.
By combining faculty expertise, student innovation, and industry experience, these three teams will advance NASA’s vision for the future of 21st century aviation.
koushik datta
NASA Project Manager
This is NASA’s eighth round of annual ULI awards. Research topics include:
New aviation systems for safer, more efficient flight operations Improved communications frequency usage for more effective and reliable information transfer Autonomous flight capabilities that could advance research in areas such as NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility mission “By combining faculty expertise, student innovation, and industry experience, these three teams will advance NASA’s vision for the future of 21st century aviation,” said Koushik Datta, NASA University Innovation project manager at the Agency’s Ames Research Center in California.
This eighth round of annual ULI selections would lead to awards totaling up to $20.7 million for the three teams during the next three years. For each team, the proposing university will serve as lead. The new ULI selections are:
Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Florida
The team will create a framework for developing trustworthy increasingly autonomous aviation safety systems, such as those that could potentially employ artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Team members include: The Pennsylvania State University in University Park; North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro; University of Florida in Gainesville; Stanford University in California; Santa Fe Community College in New Mexico; and the companies Collins Aerospace of Charlotte in North Carolina; and ResilienX of Syracuse, New York.
University of Colorado Boulder
This team will investigate tools for understanding and leveraging the complex communications environment of collaborative, autonomous airspace systems.
Team members include: Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge; The University of Texas at El Paso; University of Colorado in Colorado Springs; Stanford University in California; University of Minnesota Twin Cities in Minneapolis, North Carolina State University in Raleigh; University of California inSanta Barbara; El Paso Community College in Texas; Durham Technical Community College in North Carolina; the Center for Autonomous Air Mobility and Sensing research partnership; the company Aurora Flight Sciences, a Boeing Company, in Manassas, Virginia; and the nonprofit Charles Stark Draper Laboratory in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Florida
This team will research continuously updating, self-diagnostic vehicle health management to enhance the safety and reliability of Advanced Air Mobility vehicles.
Team members include: Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta; The University of Texas at Arlington; University of Southern California in Los Angeles; the company Collins Aerospace of Charlotte, North Carolina; and the Argonne National Laboratory.
NASA’s ULI is managed by the agency’s University Innovation project, which also includes the University Student Research Challenge and the Gateways to Blue Skies competition.
Watch the NASA Aeronautics solicitations page for the announcement of when the next opportunity will be to submit a proposal for consideration during the next round of ULI selections.
About the Author
John Gould
Aeronautics Research Mission DirectorateJohn Gould is a member of NASA Aeronautics' Strategic Communications team at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. He is dedicated to public service and NASA’s leading role in scientific exploration. Prior to working for NASA Aeronautics, he was a spaceflight historian and writer, having a lifelong passion for space and aviation.
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Last Updated Mar 10, 2025 EditorJim BankeContactSteven Holzsteven.m.holz@nasa.gov Related Terms
University Leadership Initiative Aeronautics Flight Innovation Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program University Innovation View the full article
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By NASA
X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/Univ Mexico/S. Estrada-Dorado et al.; Ultraviolet: NASA/JPL; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI (M. Meixner)/NRAO (T.A. Rector); Infrared: ESO/VISTA/J. Emerson; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/K. Arcand; A planet may have been destroyed by a white dwarf at the center of a planetary nebula — the first time this has been seen. As described in our latest press release, this would explain a mysterious X-ray signal that astronomers have detected from the Helix Nebula for over 40 years. The Helix is a planetary nebula, a late-stage star like our Sun that has shed its outer layers leaving a small dim star at its center called a white dwarf.
This composite image contains X-rays from Chandra (magenta), optical light data from Hubble (orange, light blue), infrared data from ESO (gold, dark blue), and ultraviolet data from GALEX (purple) of the Helix Nebula. Data from Chandra indicates that this white dwarf has destroyed a very closely orbiting planet.
This artist’s impression shows a planet (left) that has approached too close to a white dwarf (right) and been torn apart by tidal forces from the star. The white dwarf is in the center of a planetary nebula depicted by the blue gas in the background. The planet is part of a planetary system, which includes one planet in the upper left and another in the lower right. The besieged planet could have initially been a considerable distance from the white dwarf but then migrated inwards by interacting with the gravity of other planets in the system.CXC/SAO/M.Weiss An artist’s concept shows a planet (left) that has approached too close to a white dwarf (right) and is being torn apart by tidal forces from the star. The white dwarf is in the center of a planetary nebula depicted by the blue gas in the background. The planet is part of a planetary system, which includes one planet in the upper left and another in the lower right. The besieged planet could have initially been a considerable distance from the white dwarf but then migrated inwards by interacting with the gravity of the other planets in the system.
Eventually debris from the planet will form a disk around the white dwarf and fall onto the star’s surface, creating the mysterious signal in X-rays that astronomers have detected for decades.
Dating back to 1980, X-ray missions, such as the Einstein Observatory and ROSAT telescope, have picked up an unusual reading from the center of the Helix Nebula. They detected highly energetic X-rays coming from the white dwarf at the center of the Helix Nebula named WD 2226-210, located only 650 light-years from Earth. White dwarfs like WD 2226-210 do not typically give off strong X-rays.
In about 5 billion years, our Sun will run out of fuel and expand, possibly engulfing Earth. These end stages of a star’s life can be utterly beautiful as is the case with this planetary nebula called the Helix Nebula.X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/Univ Mexico/S. Estrada-Dorado et al.; Ultraviolet: NASA/JPL; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI (M. Meixner)/NRAO (T.A. Rector); Infrared: ESO/VISTA/J. Emerson; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/K. Arcand; A new study featuring the data from Chandra and XMM-Newton may finally have settled the question of what is causing these X-rays from WD 2226-210: this X-ray signal could be the debris from a destroyed planet being pulled onto the white dwarf. If confirmed, this would be the first case of a planet seen to be destroyed by the central star in a planetary nebula.
Observations by ROSAT, Chandra, and XMM-Newton between 1992 and 2002 show that the X-ray signal from the white dwarf has remained approximately constant in brightness during that time. The data, however, suggest there may be a subtle, regular change in the X-ray signal every 2.9 hours, providing evidence for the remains of a planet exceptionally close to the white dwarf.
Previously scientists determined that a Neptune-sized planet is in a very close orbit around the white dwarf — completing one revolution in less than three days. The researchers in this latest study conclude that there could have been a planet like Jupiter even closer to the star. The besieged planet could have initially been a considerable distance from the white dwarf but then migrated inwards by interacting with the gravity of other planets in the system. Once it approached close enough to the white dwarf the gravity of the star would have partially or completely torn the planet apart.
WD 2226-210 has some similarities in X-ray behavior to two other white dwarfs that are not inside planetary nebulas. One is possibly pulling material away from a planet companion, but in a more sedate fashion without the planet being quickly destroyed. The other white dwarf is likely dragging material from the vestiges of a planet onto its surface. These three white dwarfs may constitute a new class of variable, or changing, object.
A paper describing these results appears in The Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society and is available online. The authors of the paper are Sandino Estrada-Dorado (National Autonomous University of Mexico), Martin Guerrero (The Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia in Spain), Jesús Toala (National Autonomous University of Mexico), Ricardo Maldonado (National Autonomous University of Mexico), Veronica Lora (National Autonomous University of Mexico), Diego Alejandro Vasquez-Torres (National Autonomous University of Mexico), and You-Hua Chu (Academia Sinica in Taiwan).
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Center controls science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts.
Read more from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.
Learn more about the Chandra X-ray Observatory and its mission here:
https://www.nasa.gov/chandra
https://chandra.si.edu
Visual Description
This release features two images; a composite image of the Helix Nebula, and an artist’s rendering of a planet’s destruction, which may be occurring in the nebula’s core.
The Helix Nebula is a cloud of gas ejected by a dying star, known as a white dwarf. In the composite image, the cloud of gas strongly resembles a creature’s eye. Here, a hazy blue cloud is surrounded by misty, concentric rings of pale yellow, rose pink, and blood orange. Each ring appears dusted with flecks of gold, particularly the outer edges of the eye-shape.
The entire image is speckled with glowing dots in blues, whites, yellows, and purples. At the center of the hazy blue gas cloud, a box has been drawn around some of these dots including a bright white dot with a pink outer ring, and a smaller white dot. The scene which may be unfolding inside this box has been magnified in the artist’s rendering.
The artist’s digital rendering shows a possible cause of the large white dot with the pink outer ring. A brilliant white circle near our upper right shows a white dwarf, the ember of a dying star. At our lower left, in the relative foreground of the rendering, is what remains of a planet. Here, the planet resembles a giant boulder shedding thousands of smaller rocks. These rocks flow off the planet’s surface, pulled back toward the white dwarf in a long, swooping tail. Glowing orange fault lines mar the surface of the crumbling planet. In our upper left and lower right, inside the hazy blue clouds which blanket the rendering, are two other, more distant planets. After the rocks from the planet start striking the surface of the white dwarf, X-rays should be produced.
News Media Contact
Megan Watzke
Chandra X-ray Center
Cambridge, Mass.
617-496-7998
mwatzke@cfa.harvard.edu
Lane Figueroa
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
256-544-0034
lane.e.figueroa@nasa.gov
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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA marked a key milestone Feb. 18 with installation of RS-25 engine No. E20001, the first new production engine to help power the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket on future Artemis missions to the Moon.
The engine, built by lead SLS engines contractor L3Harris (formerly Aerojet Rocketdyne), was installed on the Fred Haise Test Stand in preparation for acceptance testing next month. It represents the first of 24 new flight engines being built for missions, beginning with Artemis V.
Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin The NASA Stennis test team will conduct a full-duration, 500-second hot fire, providing critical performance data to certify the engine for use on a future mission. During missions to the Moon, RS-25 engines fire for about 500 seconds and up to the 111% power level to help launch SLS, with the Orion spacecraft, into orbit.
The engine arrived at the test stand from the L3Harris Engine Assembly Facility on the engine transport trailer before being lifted onto the vertical engine installer (VEI) on the west side deck. After rolling the engine into the stand, the team used the VEI to raise and secure it in place.
The upcoming acceptance test follows two certification test series that helped verify the new engine production process and components meet all performance requirements. Four RS-25 engines help launch SLS, producing up to 2 million pounds of combined thrust.
All RS-25 engines for Artemis missions are tested and proven flightworthy at NASA Stennis prior to use. RS-25 tests are conducted by a team of operators from NASA, L3Harris, and Syncom Space Services, prime contractor for site facilities and operations.
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