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By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
The Project F.I.R.E. team, part of Falcon Research Labs and current students at Cerritos Community College in California, is researching the use of drones to extinguish fires as part of a NASA research award called the University Student Research Challenge. From left, Logan Stahl, Juan Villa, Angel Ortega, Larisa Mayoral, Jenny Escobar, and Paola Mayoral-Jimenez.Falcon Research Labs Great ideas, and the talent and passion that bring them to life, can be found anywhere.
In that spirit, NASA’s University Student Research Challenge (USRC) in 2024 selected its first group of community college students to contribute original research to the agency’s transformative vision for 21st century aviation.
The student-led group, from Cerritos Community College in California, is researching a new method of safely extinguishing wildfires using eco-friendly pellets dropped from uncrewed drones they call Project F.I.R.E. (Fire Intervention Retardant Expeller).
“Wildfires are a major problem we’re facing today,” said Angel Ortega, project technical director and lead research engineer for Project F.I.R.E. at Cerritos Community College. “The goal of our research is to demonstrate that our prototype drone with biodegradable fire retardant can successfully put out a controlled fire.”
A Community College First
Until now, USRC has only selected participants from traditional four-year institutions, compared to a two-year community college. This award exemplifies the activity’s goal of giving all of tomorrow’s aeronautical innovators a shot at NASA support for their research ideas.
“The University Innovation (UI) project provides a number of different avenues for students to contribute to aeronautics,” said Steven Holz, who manages the USRC award process. “All of the opportunities are different and help build knowledge and skills that would be advantageous to those wanting to continue working on UI opportunities or within NASA.”
This award is one of two from NASA’s USRC selected in 2024. The team received the USRC award prior to the devastating Los Angeles fires of January 2025.
“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragedy,” members of the team said in a statement. “As a team, we are deeply committed to advancing innovative solutions to enhance safety and resilience, working toward a future where communities are better protected against such disasters.”
Innovating a Solution
The six team members of Project F.I.R.E. are driven by an ethic of public service. As fires continue to affect communities in their native southern California, they are applying their skills to finding a way to help.
“We want to get the public inspired that there are possible solutions at hand,” Ortega said. “And the work we’re doing now can hopefully build towards that bigger goal of a widespread solution.”
The research they are pursuing involves dropping biodegradable pellets into fires from uncrewed, autonomous drones. The pellets, upon reaching the ground, combine chemical ingredients which create a foamlike solution of fire retardant that will not contaminate the environment after the fire is extinguished.
Project F.I.R.E.’s innovative idea for fire suppression involves releasing eco-friendly foam pellets from uncrewed drones.Falcon Research Labs The team is keen to support firefighters and wildland fire managers and keep them safe while managing these natural disasters. The group has met with firefighters, discussed the idea with them, and received useful feedback on how to make the technology work best in the field.
Though the group is only at the outset of the research, their idea has existed for longer.
Blue Skies Forever
Prior to applying for a USRC, Project F.I.R.E. also presented at NASA’s 2024 Gateway to Blue Skies competition, in which they won the “Future Game-Changer” award.
Through Gateway to Blue Skies, NASA challenges college students to research climate-friendly technologies and applications related to the future of aviation and present them at an annual forum.
Following Project F.I.R.E.’s participation in the forum, they applied for a USRC grant to begin turning their vision into reality.
“Our experience with NASA has been incredibly supportive and inspiring,” said Logan Stahl, the project’s operations director. “We thought competing against some of the other schools would be intimidating, but the experience we’ve had is the complete opposite. Everyone was very welcoming, and the NASA representatives communicated with us and asked questions.”
The USRC support will allow the team to build on their earlier foundations, they said.
“Because Gateway to Blue Skies is more conceptual, it let us bring our idea to the table. Now through USRC, we can start building hands-on and make our idea come to life,” said Larisa Mayoral, chemical engineer and laboratory operations manager.
The Project F.I.R.E. team receives their “Future Game-Changer” award during the 2024 Gateway to Blue Skies forum held at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California.NASA / Brandon Torres The team expressed gratitude, speaking as community college students, for their ability to participate in and contribute research at a level that competes with top-brass universities.
“We’re very appreciative of our college and NASA providing us this opportunity,” said Paola Mayoral Jimenez, laboratory coordinator and safety manager. “By doing this project, we hope to shine a light on community colleges, their students, and what they have to offer.”
Complete details on USRC awardees and solicitations, such as what to include in a proposal and how to submit it, are available on the NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate solicitation page.
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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3 min read NASA Selects New Round of Student-Led Aviation Research Awards
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Last Updated Feb 23, 2025 EditorJim BankeContactAngela Surgenorangela.d.surgenor@nasa.gov Related Terms
Aeronautics Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate Flight Innovation Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program University Innovation University Student Research Challenge View the full article
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By Space Force
The DARC partnership is completing construction at the first of three sites that will host a global network of advanced ground-based sensors.
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By NASA
NASA/Kim Shiflett Engineers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida completed stacking the twin SLS (Space Launch System) solid rocket boosters – seen in this Feb. 19, 2025, photo – inside the Vehicle Assembly Building for the agency’s Artemis II crewed test flight around the Moon.
During stacking operations, which began Nov. 20, 2024, technicians used a massive overhead crane to lift each booster segment into place on mobile launcher 1, the 380-foot-tall structure used to process, assemble, and launch the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft.
Learn more about the process of stacking from Exploration Ground Systems.
Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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By NASA
Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander captured a bright image of the Moon’s South Pole (on the far left) through the cameras on its top deck, while it travels to the Moon as part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign.Credits: Firefly Aerospace With a suite of NASA science and technology on board, Firefly Aerospace is targeting no earlier than 3:45 a.m. EST on Sunday, March 2, to land the Blue Ghost lunar lander on the Moon. Blue Ghost is slated to touch down near Mare Crisium, a plain in the northeast quadrant on the near side of the Moon, as part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign to establish a long-term lunar presence.
Live coverage of the landing, jointly hosted by NASA and Firefly, will air on NASA+ starting at 2:30 a.m. EST, approximately 75 minutes before touchdown on the Moon’s surface. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media. The broadcast will also stream on Firefly’s YouTube channel. Coverage will include live streaming and blog updates as the descent milestones occur.
Accredited media interested in attending the in-person landing event hosted by Firefly in the Austin, Texas, area may request media credentials through this form by Monday, Feb. 24.
Following the landing, NASA and Firefly will host a news conference to discuss the mission and science opportunities that lie ahead as they begin lunar surface operations. The time of the briefing will be shared after touchdown.
Blue Ghost launched Jan. 15, at 1:11 a.m. EST on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The lander is carrying a suite of 10 NASA scientific investigations and technology demonstrations, which will provide insights into the Moon’s environment and test technologies to support future astronauts landing safely on the lunar surface, as well as Mars.
NASA continues to work with multiple American companies to deliver science and technology to the lunar surface through the agency’s CLPS initiative. This pool of companies may bid on contracts for end-to-end lunar delivery services, including payload integration and operations, launching from Earth, and landing on the surface of the Moon. NASA’s CLPS contracts are indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts with a cumulative maximum value of $2.6 billion through 2028. In February 2021, the agency awarded Firefly this delivery of 10 NASA science investigations and technology demonstrations to the Moon using its American-designed and -manufactured lunar lander for approximately $93.3 million (modified to $101.5 million).
Through the Artemis campaign, commercial robotic deliveries will perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities on and around the Moon to help NASA explore in advance of Artemis Generation astronaut missions to the lunar surface, and ultimately crewed missions to Mars.
Watch, engage on social media
Let people know you’re following the mission on X, Facebook, and Instagram by using the hashtag #Artemis. You can also stay connected by following and tagging these accounts:
X: @NASA, @NASA_Johnson, @NASAArtemis, @NASAMoon
Facebook: NASA, NASAJohnsonSpaceCenter, NASAArtemis
Instagram: @NASA, @NASAJohnson, @NASAArtemis
For more information about the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative:
https://www.nasa.gov/clps
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Karen Fox / Alise Fisher
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov
Natalia Riusech / Nilufar Ramji
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
natalia.s.riusech@nasa.gov / nilufar.ramji@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Feb 14, 2025 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) Artemis Earth's Moon View the full article
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By NASA
Explore This Section Science Science Activation An Afternoon of Family Science… Overview Learning Resources Science Activation Teams SME Map Opportunities More Science Activation Stories Citizen Science 2 min read
An Afternoon of Family Science and Rocket Exploration in Alaska
On Tuesday, January 28th, Fairbanks BEST Homeschool joined the Geophysical Institute for an afternoon of rocket exploration, hands-on activities, and stargazing inside a planetarium. This event was free and open to the public. Despite their frigid winter weather, 200 attendees were curious about the scientific endeavors of Alaska-based researchers alongside cutting-edge investigations conducted by NASA rocket scientists.
Families and friends in attendance learned about two NASA rocket missions that would study the flickering and vanishing auroras: Ground Imaging to Rocket investigation of Auroral Fast Features (GIRAFF) and Black and Diffuse Aurora Science Surveyor (BaDASS). Visitors had an opportunity to sign up for text notifications related to the launch window. The planetarium presentations touch on Heliophysics Big Ideas that align with the three questions that drive NASA’s heliophysics research:
What are the impacts of the changing sun on humanity? How do Earth, the solar system, and the heliosphere respond to changes on the sun? What causes the sun to vary? The event also offered sun-related hands-on activities provided by the University of Alaska Museum of the North.
This event was offered to the community in association with the Science For Alaska Lecture Series and the 2025 NASA Sounding Rocket campaign. Every attendee left with something inspiring to think about. Parents and educators interested in learning more about auroras and do participatory science may check out NASA’s Aurorasaurus citizen science project.
The Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks is a Co-Investigating team for the NASA Heliophysics Education Activation Team (NASA HEAT), which is part of NASA’s Science Activation Portfolio. Learn more about how Science Activation connects NASA science experts, content, and experiences with community leaders to do science in ways that activate minds and promote deeper understanding of our world and beyond: https://science.nasa.gov/learn
Aurora Educational Resource List by Aurorasaurus
Families constructed and decorated their paper rockets. Katelin Avery It was so much fun! We are receiving rave reviews from our families and the surrounding community. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR COLLABORATING WITH US!
Fairbanks BEST Homeschool
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Last Updated Feb 14, 2025 Editor Earth Science Division Editorial Team Related Terms
Science Activation Citizen Science Heliophysics Explore More
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