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By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Students celebrate after a successful performance in the 2024 Student Launch competition at Bragg Farms in Toney, Alabama.NASA NASA has selected 71 teams from across the U.S. to participate in its 25th annual Student Launch Challenge, one of the agency’s Artemis Student Challenges. The competition is aimed at inspiring Artemis Generation students to explore science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) for the benefit of humanity.
As part of the challenge, teams will design, build, and fly a high-powered amateur rocket and scientific payload. They also must meet documentation milestones and undergo detailed reviews throughout the school year.
The nine-month-long challenge will culminate with on-site events starting on April 30, 2025. Final launches are scheduled for May 3, at Bragg Farms in Toney, Alabama, just minutes north of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Teams are not required to travel for their final launch, having the option to launch from a qualified site. Details are outlined in the Student Launch Handbook.
Each year, NASA updates the university payload challenge to reflect current scientific and exploration missions. For the 2025 season, the payload challenge will again take inspiration from the Artemis missions, which seek to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon, and pave the way for future human exploration of Mars.
As Student Launch celebrates its 25th anniversary, the payload challenge will include reports from STEMnauts, non-living objects representing astronauts. The STEMnaut crew must relay real-time data to the student team’s mission control via radio frequency, simulating the communication that will be required when the Artemis crew achieves its lunar landing.
University and college teams are required to meet the 2025 payload requirements set by NASA, but middle and high school teams have the option to tackle the same challenge or design their own payload experiment.
Student teams will undergo detailed reviews by NASA personnel to ensure the safety and feasibility of their rocket and payload designs. The team closest to their target will win the Altitude Award, one of multiple awards presented to teams at the end of the competition. Other awards include overall winner, vehicle design, experiment design, and social media presence.
In addition to the engineering and science objectives of the challenge, students must also participate in outreach efforts such as engaging with local schools and maintaining active social media accounts. Student Launch is an all-encompassing challenge and aims to prepare the next generation for the professional world of space exploration.
The Student Launch Challenge is managed by Marshall’s Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM). Additional funding and support are provided by NASA’s OSTEM via the Next Gen STEM project, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate, Northrup Grumman, National Space Club Huntsville, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, National Association of Rocketry, Relativity Space, and Bastion Technologies.
For more information about Student Launch, visit:
Student Launch Website Taylor Goodwin
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256.544.0034
taylor.goodwin@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Oct 04, 2024 EditorBeth RidgewayLocationMarshall Space Flight Center Related Terms
Marshall Space Flight Center Explore More
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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA MSFC HERC is the annual engineering competition – one of NASA’s longest standing challenges – held its concluding event April 19 and April 20, at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.NASA NASA has selected 75 student teams to begin an engineering design challenge to build rovers that will compete next spring at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center near the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The competition is one of the agency’s Artemis Student Challenges, encouraging students to pursue degrees and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
Recognized as NASA’s leading international student challenge, the 31st annual Human Exploration Rover Challenge (HERC) aims to put competitors in the mindset of NASA’s Artemis campaign as they pitch an engineering design for a lunar terrain vehicle which simulates astronauts piloting a vehicle, exploring the lunar surface while overcoming various obstacles.
Participating teams represent 35 colleges and universities, 38 high schools, and two middle schools from 20 states, Puerto Rico, and 16 other nations from around the world. The 31st annual Human Exploration Rover Challenge (HERC) is scheduled to begin on April 11, 2025. The challenge is managed by NASA’s Southeast Regional Office of STEM Engagement at NASA Marshall.
Following a 2024 competition that garnered international attention, NASA expanded the challenge to include a remote-control division, Remote-Operated Vehicular Research, and invited middle school students to participate. The 2025 HERC Handbook includes guidelines for the new remote-control division and updates for the human-powered division.
NASA’s Artemis Student Challenges reflects the goals of the Artemis campaign, which seeks to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon while establishing a long-term presence for science and exploration.
More than 1,000 students with 72 teams from around the world participated in the 2024 challenge as HERC celebrated its 30th anniversary as a NASA competition. Since its inception in 1994, more than 15,000 students have participated in HERC – with many former students now working at NASA, or within the aerospace industry.
To learn more about HERC, please visit:
HERC Website Taylor Goodwin
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256.544.0034
taylor.goodwin@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Oct 04, 2024 EditorBeth RidgewayLocationMarshall Space Flight Center Related Terms
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NASA Student Launch Challenge
Middle/high school and college-level student teams design, build, test, and launch a high-powered rocket carrying a scientific or engineering payload.
NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge
Teams of high school and college students design, develop, build, and test human-powered rovers capable of traversing challenging terrain.
NASA STEM Opportunities and Activities For Students
Marshall Space Flight Center
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By NASA
During National Disability Employment Awareness Month, we celebrate the thousands of employees living with disabilities who contribute to NASA’s mission. By sharing their stories, we highlight the impact people with disabilities have on our organization and the vital role they play in fostering an inclusive workforce at NASA.
Meghan Daley sits in the Orbiter Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida during the final days of the Space Shuttle Program. Meghan Daley has spent nearly two decades blazing new trails in robotics. As a project manager in NASA’s Engineering, Software Robotics, and Simulation Division at Johnson Space Center in Houston, she is building simulations that will shape the future of space exploration.
From training astronauts with advanced robotic tools to collaborating with the Department of Defense on research simulations, Daley’s work is transforming how humans interact with space, ensuring that every mission is set up for success.
Daley oversees key programs at Johnson, including the Generic On-Orbit Robotic Trainer (GROOT), the Robotic OnBoard Trainer, and Dynamics Skills Trainers. These tools are vital to NASA’s mission and are used in both ground-based simulations and real-time space operations.
One of Daley’s proudest achievements is launching GROOT, a simulation system that trains astronauts in a variety of robotic operations. From handling the Canadarm2 for spacecraft docking to servicing satellites, GROOT prepares astronauts for tasks like performing maintenance, assembling structures in space, managing cargo, and even coordinating multiple robotic systems.
The tool also supports astronauts in mastering robotic inspections, autonomous operations, and emergency procedures, making it indispensable for missions to the Moon and Mars.
During a visit by Gen. John W. Raymond to the Systems Engineering Simulator, the general requested an outdated rendezvous and proximity operations simulation for the United States Space Force.
Recognizing the limitations of the old system and knowing her team’s capabilities, Daley proposed building a new simulation from scratch to meet their needs. In 2019, GROOT was born and continues to be a critical asset in NASA’s training toolkit.
United States Space Force Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. David D. Thompson observes a demonstration of the Generic On-Orbit Robotic Trainer alongside NASA astronauts and crew members. For Daley, celebrating her identity and culture in the workplace is about advocacy and education. She is passionate about using her voice to promote awareness and understanding, not just for her own experience, but for the benefit of all.
“Being a woman in engineering is extremely difficult. However, being a woman with a disability in engineering is even harder,” Daley said. “I have learned how important it is to communicate your ideas, questions, and concerns.”
When reflecting on her career, Daley says she cannot pick a favorite project. Each one—from Orion to Gateway to the International Space Station and space shuttle—has deepened her understanding of NASA’s vision.
The Robotic OnBoard Trainer onboard the International Space Station in the U.S. Destiny Laboratory. As Daley looks to the future of robotics and human spaceflight, she remains optimistic and passionate about inspiring the next generation of explorers.
“Keep your hope and don’t be afraid to ask questions because that is how you learn and become a leader!” she said.
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By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
The American flag inside the cupola of the International Space Station (Credits: NASA).Credit: NASA NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station have the opportunity to vote in general elections through absentee ballots or early voting in coordination with the county clerk’s office where they live.
So, how is voting from space possible? Through NASA’s Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) Program.
Similar to most data transmitted between the space station and the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, votes cast in space travel through the agency’s Near Space Network, managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The network connects missions within 1.2 million miles of Earth with communications and navigation services – including the space station.
NASA astronauts Loral O’Hara and Jasmin Moghbeli (from left) give a thumbs up after voting as Texas residents from the International Space Station. The duo filled out electronic absentee ballots in March 2024 and downlinked them to Mission Control at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, which relayed the votes to the county clerk’s office.Credit: NASA
Just like any other American away from home, astronauts may fill out a Federal Post Card Application to request an absentee ballot. After an astronaut fills out an electronic ballot aboard the orbiting laboratory, the document flows through NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System to a ground antenna at the agency’s White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
From New Mexico, NASA transfers the ballot to the Mission Control Center at NASA Johnson and then on to the county clerk responsible for casting the ballot. To preserve the vote’s integrity, the ballot is encrypted and accessible only by the astronaut and the clerk.
NASA’s Near Space Network enables astronauts on the International Space Station to communicate with Earth and electronically deliver ballots from space. Credit: NASA
Astronauts have voted in U.S. elections since 1997 when the Texas Legislature passed a bill that allowed NASA astronauts to cast ballots from orbit. That year, NASA astronaut David Wolf became the first American to vote from space while aboard the Mir Space Station. NASA astronaut Kate Rubins became the latest astronaut to vote in a presidential election, as she voted aboard the International Space Station in November 2020.
Astronauts forego many of the comforts afforded to those back on Earth as they embark on their journeys to space for the benefit of humanity. Though they are far from home, NASA’s networks connect them with their friends and family and give them the opportunity to participate in democracy and society while in orbit. While astronauts come from all over the United States, they make their homes in Texas so they can be near NASA Johnson’s training and mission support facilities.
For more than two decades, astronauts have continuously lived and worked aboard the space station, testing technologies, performing science, and developing skills needed to explore farther from Earth. Astronauts aboard the orbiting laboratory stay connected with Earth and their civilian lives back home by communicating with mission control through the Near Space Network. This development in communication ultimately can benefit humanity and lay the groundwork for other agency missions, like NASA’s Artemis campaign, and future human exploration of Mars.
Learn more about the International Space Station online:
https://www.nasa.gov/station
About the Author
Dominique V. Crespo
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Last Updated Oct 03, 2024 Related Terms
General Astronauts Goddard Space Flight Center Humans in Space International Space Station (ISS) Johnson Space Center Johnson's Mission Control Center Near Space Network Space Communications & Navigation Program Space Communications Technology Space Operations Mission Directorate Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) White Sands Test Facility Explore More
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By NASA
5 min read
NASA’s LRO: Lunar Ice Deposits are Widespread
Deposits of ice in lunar dust and rock (regolith) are more extensive than previously thought, according to a new analysis of data from NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) mission. Ice would be a valuable resource for future lunar expeditions. Water could be used for radiation protection and supporting human explorers, or broken into its hydrogen and oxygen components to make rocket fuel, energy, and breathable air.
Prior studies found signs of ice in the larger permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) near the lunar South Pole, including areas within Cabeus, Haworth, Shoemaker and Faustini craters. In the new work, “We find that there is widespread evidence of water ice within PSRs outside the South Pole, towards at least 77 degrees south latitude,” said Dr. Timothy P. McClanahan of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and lead author of a paper on this research published October 2 in the Planetary Science Journal.
The study further aids lunar mission planners by providing maps and identifying the surface characteristics that show where ice is likely and less likely to be found, with evidence for why that should be. “Our model and analysis show that greatest ice concentrations are expected to occur near the PSRs’ coldest locations below 75 Kelvin (-198°C or -325°F) and near the base of the PSRs’ poleward-facing slopes,” said McClanahan.
This illustration shows the distribution of permanently shadowed regions (in blue) on the Moon poleward of 80 degrees South latitude. They are superimposed on a digital elevation map of the lunar surface (grey) from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter instrument on board NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft. NASA/GSFC/Timothy P. McClanahan “We can’t accurately determine the volume of the PSRs’ ice deposits or identify if they might be buried under a dry layer of regolith. However, we expect that for each surface 1.2 square yards (square meter) residing over these deposits there should be at least about five more quarts (five more liters) of ice within the surface top 3.3 feet (meter), as compared to their surrounding areas,” said McClanahan. The study also mapped where fewer, smaller, or lower-concentration ice deposits would be expected, occurring primarily towards warmer, periodically illuminated areas.
Ice could become implanted in lunar regolith through comet and meteor impacts, released as vapor (gas) from the lunar interior, or be formed by chemical reactions between hydrogen in the solar wind and oxygen in the regolith. PSRs typically occur in topographic depressions near the lunar poles. Because of the low Sun angle, these areas haven’t seen sunlight for up to billions of years, so are perpetually in extreme cold. Ice molecules are thought to be repeatedly dislodged from the regolith by meteorites, space radiation, or sunlight and travel across the lunar surface until they land in a PSR where they are entrapped by extreme cold. The PSR’s continuously cold surfaces can preserve ice molecules near the surface for perhaps billions of years, where they may accumulate into a deposit that is rich enough to mine. Ice is thought to be quickly lost on surfaces that are exposed to direct sunlight, which precludes their accumulations.
The team used LRO’s Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector (LEND) instrument to detect signs of ice deposits by measuring moderate-energy, “epithermal” neutrons. Specifically, the team used LEND’s Collimated Sensor for Epithermal Neutrons (CSETN) that has a fixed 18.6-mile (30-kilometer) diameter field-of-view. Neutrons are created by high-energy galactic cosmic rays that come from powerful deep-space events such as exploding stars, that impact the lunar surface, break up regolith atoms, and scatter subatomic particles called neutrons. The neutrons, which can originate from up to about a 3.3-foot (meter’s) depth, ping-pong their way through the regolith, running into other atoms. Some get directed into space, where they can be detected by LEND. Since hydrogen is about the same mass as a neutron, a collision with hydrogen causes the neutron to lose relatively more energy than a collision with most common regolith elements. So, where hydrogen is present in regolith, its concentration creates a corresponding reduction in the observed number of moderate-energy neutrons.
“We hypothesized that if all PSRs have the same hydrogen concentration, then CSETN should proportionally detect their hydrogen concentrations as a function of their areas. So, more hydrogen should be observed towards the larger-area PSRs,” said McClanahan.
The model was developed from a theoretical study that demonstrated how similarly hydrogen-enhanced PSRs would be detected by CSETNs fixed-area field-of-view. The correlation was demonstrated using the neutron emissions from 502 PSRs with areas ranging from 1.5 square miles (4 km2) to 417 square miles (1079 km2) that contrasted against their surrounding less hydrogen-enhanced areas. The correlation was expectedly weak for the small PSRs but increased towards the larger-area PSRs.
The research was sponsored by the LRO project science team, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center’s Artificial Intelligence Working Group, and NASA grant award number 80GSFC21M0002. The study was conducted using NASA’s LRO Diviner radiometer and Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter instruments. The LEND instrument was developed by the Russian Space Agency, Roscosmos by its Space Research Institute (IKI). LEND was integrated to the LRO spacecraft at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. LRO is managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
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Last Updated Oct 03, 2024 Editor wasteigerwald Contact wasteigerwald william.a.steigerwald@nasa.gov Location Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
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