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No place too remote: Enabling satellite connectivity from Pole to Pole
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By NASA
In the unforgiving lunar environment, the possibility of an astronaut crewmember becoming incapacitated due to unforeseen circumstances (injury, medical emergency, or a mission-related accident) is a critical concern, starting with the upcoming Artemis III mission, where two astronaut crewmembers will explore the Lunar South Pole. The Moon’s surface is littered with rocks ranging from 0.15 to 20 meters in diameter and craters spanning 1 to 30 meters wide, making navigation challenging even under optimal conditions. The low gravity, unique lighting conditions, extreme temperatures, and availability of only one person to perform the rescue, further complicate any rescue efforts. Among the critical concerns is the safety of astronauts during Extravehicular Activities (EVAs). If an astronaut crewmember becomes incapacitated during a mission, the ability to return them safely and promptly to the human landing system is essential. A single crew member should be able to transport an incapacitated crew member distances up to 2 km and a slope of up to 20 degrees on the lunar terrain without the assistance of a lunar rover. This pressing issue opens the door for innovative solutions. We are looking for a cutting-edge design that is low in mass and easy to deploy, enabling one astronaut crewmember to safely transport their suited (343 kg (~755lb)) and fully incapacitated partner back to the human landing system. The solution must perform effectively in the Moon’s extreme South Pole environment and operate independently of a lunar rover. Your creativity and expertise could bridge this critical gap, enhancing the safety measures for future lunar explorers. By addressing this challenge, you have the opportunity to contribute to the next “giant leap” in human space exploration.
Award: $45,000 in total prizes
Open Date: November 14, 2024
Close Date: January 23, 2025
For more information, visit: https://www.herox.com/NASASouthPoleSafety
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By NASA
5 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Note: The following article is part of a series highlighting propulsion testing at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. To access the entire series, please visit: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/propulsion-powering-space-dreams/.
NASA engineers conduct a test of the liquid oxygen/liquid methane Morpheus lander engine HD4B on the E-3 Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center during the week of Sept. 9, 2013. The fourth-generation Project Morpheus engine was a prototype vertical takeoff and landing vehicle designed to advance innovative technologies into flight-proven systems that may be incorporated into future human exploration missions. NASA/Stennis The work of NASA has fueled commercial spaceflight for takeoff – and for many aerospace companies, the road to launch begins at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
Already the nation’s largest propulsion test site and a leader in working with aerospace companies to support their testing needs, NASA Stennis aims to continue growing its commercial market even further.
“The aerospace industry is expanding rapidly, and we are here to support it,” said NASA Stennis Director John Bailey. “NASA Stennis has proven for more than two decades that we have the versatile infrastructure and reliable propulsion test experts to meet testing needs and accelerate space goals for a whole range of customers.”
The central hub for meeting those needs at the south Mississippi center is the E Test Complex. It features four stands with 12 test cells capable of supporting a range of component and engine test activities. NASA operates the E-1 Test Stand with four cell positions and the E-3 Test Stand with two cells. Relativity Space, based in Long Beach, California, leases the E-2 and E-4 stands to support some of its test operations.
Operators conduct a hot fire for Relativity Space’s Aeon R thrust chamber assembly on the E-1 Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in 2024. NASA/Stennis Virgin Orbit, a satellite-launch company, conducts a Thrust Chamber Assembly test on the E-1 Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in 2021. The company partnered with NASA Stennis to conduct hot fire tests totaling a cumulative 974.391 seconds.NASA/Stennis Launcher’s 3D-printed Engine-2 rocket engine completes a 5-second hot fire of its thrust chamber assembly on Aug. 20, 2021, at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. The company was just one of several conducting test projects on site in 2021. Launcher, Virgin Orbit, Relativity Space, and L3Harris (formerly known as Aerojet Rocketdyne) made significant strides toward their space-project goals while utilizing NASA Stennis infrastructure.Launcher/John Kraus Photography An image from November 2021 shows a subscale center body diffuser hot fire on the E-3 Test Stand during an ongoing advanced diffuser test series at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. NASA/Stennis A team of engineers from NASA, Orbital Sciences Corporation and L3Harris (formerly known as Aerojet Rocketdyne) conduct an engine acceptance test on the E-1 Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center on Jan. 18, 2013. The successful test of AJ26 Engine E12 continued support of Orbital Sciences Corporation as the company prepared to provide commercial cargo missions to the International Space Station. NASA/Stennis Developed during the 1990s and early 2000s, the E Test Complex can deliver various propellants and gases at high and low pressures and flow rates not available elsewhere. The versatility of the complex infrastructure and test team allows it to support projects for commercial aerospace companies, large and small. NASA Stennis also provides welding, machining, calibration, precision cleaning, and other support services required to conduct testing.
“NASA Stennis delivers exceptional results in a timely manner with our capabilities and services,” said Duane Armstrong, manager of the NASA Stennis Strategic Business Development Office. “Our commercial partnerships and agreements have proven to be true win-win arrangements. NASA Stennis is where customers have access to unique NASA test support infrastructure and expertise, making it the go-to place for commercial propulsion testing.”
Companies come to the south Mississippi site with various needs. Some test for a short time and collect essential data. Others stay for an extended period. The stage of development and the particular test article, whether a component or full engine, determine where testing takes place within the E Complex.
NASA Stennis also offers a variety of test agreements. Companies may lease a stand or area and perform its own test campaign. They also may team with NASA Stennis engineers and operators to form a blended test team. And in some cases, companies will turn over the entirety of test work to the NASA Stennis team. Current companies conducting work at NASA Stennis include: Blue Origin; Boeing; Evolution Space; Launcher, a Vast company; Relativity Space; and Rolls-Royce. They join a growing list who conducted earlier test projects in the complex, including SpaceX, Stratolaunch, Virgin Orbit, and Orbital Sciences Corporation.
In addition, three companies – Relativity Space, Rocket Lab, and Evolution Space – are establishing production and/or test operations onsite.
“We may work with a customer brand new to the field, so we help them figure out how to build their engine,” said Chris Barnett-Woods, E-1 electrical lead and instrumentation engineer. “Another customer may know exactly what they want, and we support them to make it happen. We focus on customer need. Given our expertise, we know how testing needs to be conducted or can figure it out quickly together, which can help our customer save money toward a successful outcome.”
NASA engineers conduct a test of a methane-fueled 2K thruster on the E-3 Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center during a four-day span in May 2015. NASA/Stennis NASA records a historic week Nov. 5-9, 2012, conducting 27 tests on three different rocket engines/components across three stands in the E Test Complex at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. Inset images show the types of tests conducted on the E-1 Test Stand (right), the E-2 Test Stand (left) and the E-3 Test Stand (center). The E-1 image is from an October 2012 test and is provided courtesy of Blue Origin. Other images are from tests conducted the week of Nov. 5, 2012. NASA/Stennis Operators at the E-2 Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center conduct a test of the oxygen preburner component developed by SpaceX for its Raptor rocket engine on June 9, 2015. NASA/Stennis Operators conduct a hot fire on the E-3 Test Stand during ongoing advanced diffuser test series in October 2015 at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. Subscale testing was conducted at NASA Stennis to validate innovative new diffuser designs to help test rocket engines at simulated high altitudes, helping to ensure the engines will fire and operate on deep space missions as needed. NASA/Stennis NASA’s Stennis Space Center and L3Harris (formerly known as Aerojet Rocketdyne) complete a successful round of AR1 preburner tests on Cell 2 of the E-1 Test Stand during the last week of June 2016. The tests successfully verified key preburner injector design parameters for the company’s AR1 engine being designed to end use of Russian engines for national security space launches. NASA/Stennis Capabilities to benefit NASA and the aerospace industry have grown since the center entered its first commercial partnership in the late 1990s. The test team also has grown in understanding the commercial approach, and the center has committed itself to adapting and streamlining its business processes.
“Time-to-market is key for commercial companies,” said Joe Schuyler, director of the NASA Stennis Engineering and Test Directorate. “They want to test as efficiently and economically as possible. Our goal is to meet them where they are and deliver what they need. And that is exactly what we focus our efforts on.”
As stated in the site’s latest strategic plan, the goal is to operate as “a multi-user propulsion testing enterprise that accelerates the development of aerospace systems and services by government and industry.” To that end, the site is innovating its operations, modernizing its services, and demonstrating it is the best choice for propulsion testing.
“NASA Stennis is open for business as the preferred propulsion provider for aerospace companies,” Bailey said. “Companies across the board are realizing they can achieve their desired results at NASA Stennis.”
For information about NASA’s Stennis Space Center, visit:
Stennis Space Center – NASA
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Last Updated Nov 13, 2024 EditorNASA Stennis CommunicationsContactC. Lacy Thompsoncalvin.l.thompson@nasa.gov / (228) 688-3333LocationStennis Space Center Related Terms
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By NASA
MuSat2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, prior to launch. MuSat2 leverages a dual-frequency science antenna developed with support from NASA to measure phenomena such as ocean wind speed. Muon Space A science antenna developed with support from NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) is now in low-Earth orbit aboard MuSat2, a commercial remote-sensing satellite flown by the aerospace company Muon Space. The dual-frequency science antenna was originally developed as part of the Next Generation GNSS Bistatic Radar Instrument (NGRx). Aboard MuSat2, it will help measure ocean surface wind speed—an essential data point for scientists trying to forecast how severe a burgeoning hurricane will become.
“We’re very interested in adopting this technology and pushing it forward, both from a technology perspective and a product perspective,” said Jonathan Dyer, CEO of Muon.
Using this antenna, MuSat2 will gather signals transmitted by navigation satellites as they scatter off Earth’s surface and back into space. By recording how those scattered navigation signals change as they interact with Earth’s surface, MuSat2 will provide meteorologists with data points they can use to study severe weather.
“We use the standard GPS signals you know—the navigation signals that work for your car and your cell phone,” explained Chris Ruf, director of the University of Michigan Space Institute and principal investigator for NGRx.
Ruf designed the entire NGRx system to be an updated version of the sensors on NASA’s Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS), another technology he developed with support from ESTO. Since 2016, data from CYGNSS has been a critical resource for people dedicated to forecasting hurricanes.
The science antenna aboard MuSat2 enables two key improvements to the original CYGNSS design. First, the antenna allows MuSat2 to gather measurements from satellites outside the U.S.-based GPS system, such as the European Space Agency’s Galileo satellites. This capability enables MuSat2 to collect more data as it orbits Earth, improving its assessments of conditions on the planet’s surface.
Second, whereas CYGNSS only collected cross-polar radar signals, the updated science antenna also collects co-polar radar signals. This additional information could provide improved information about soil moisture, sea ice, and vegetation. “There’s a whole lot of science value in looking at both polarization components scattering from the Earth’s surface. You can separate apart the effects of vegetation from the effects of surface, itself,” explained Ruf.
Hurricane Ida, as seen from the International Space Station. NASA-developed technology onboard MuSat2 will help supply the U.S. Air Force with critical data for producing reliable weather forecasts. NASA For Muon Space, this technology infusion has been helpful to the company’s business and science missions. Dallas Masters, Vice President of Muon’s Signals of Opportunity Program, explains that NASA’s investments in NGRx technology made it much easier to produce a viable commercial remote sensing satellite. According to Masters, “NGRx-derived technology allowed us to start planning a flight mission early in our company’s existence, based around a payload we knew had flight heritage.”
Dyer agrees. “The fact that ESTO proves out these measurement approaches – the technology and the instrument, the science that you can actually derive, the products from that instrument – is a huge enabler for companies like ours, because we can adopt it knowing that much of the physics risk has been retired,” he said.
Ultimately, this advanced antenna technology for measuring ocean surface wind speed will make it easier for researchers to turn raw data into actionable science products and to develop more accurate forecasts.
“Information is absolutely precious. When it comes to forecast models and trying to understand what’s about to happen, you have to have as good an idea as you can of what’s already happening in the real world,” said oceanographer Lew Gramer, an Associate Scientist with the Cooperative Institute For Marine And Atmospheric Studies and NOAA’s Hurricane Research Division.
Project Lead: Chris Ruf, University of Michigan
Sponsoring Organizations: NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office and Muon Space
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Last Updated Nov 12, 2024 Related Terms
CYGNSS (Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System) Earth Science Earth Science Division Earth Science Technology Office Oceans Science-enabling Technology Technology Highlights Explore More
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By European Space Agency
ESA is taking a significant step towards creating a more digitally inclusive Europe through a new partnership that will bring internet access to the hardest-to-reach areas. Reliable connectivity has become essential in today's digital age, yet for many Europeans in rural villages, mountainous regions, and small islands, dependable internet access remains out of reach.
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By NASA
6 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
The NISAR mission will help researchers get a better understanding of how Earth’s surface changes over time, including in the lead-up to volcanic eruptions like the one pictured, at Mount Redoubt in southern Alaska in April 2009.R.G. McGimsey/AVO/USGS Data from NISAR will improve our understanding of such phenomena as earthquakes, volcanoes, and landslides, as well as damage to infrastructure.
We don’t always notice it, but much of Earth’s surface is in constant motion. Scientists have used satellites and ground-based instruments to track land movement associated with volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides, and other phenomena. But a new satellite from NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) aims to improve what we know and, potentially, help us prepare for and recover from natural and human-caused disasters.
The NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) mission will measure the motion of nearly all of the planet’s land and ice-covered surfaces twice every 12 days. The pace of NISAR’s data collection will give researchers a fuller picture of how Earth’s surface changes over time. “This kind of regular observation allows us to look at how Earth’s surface moves across nearly the entire planet,” said Cathleen Jones, NISAR applications lead at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
Together with complementary measurements from other satellites and instruments, NISAR’s data will provide a more complete picture of how Earth’s surface moves horizontally and vertically. The information will be crucial to better understanding everything from the mechanics of Earth’s crust to which parts of the world are prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. It could even help resolve whether sections of a levee are damaged or if a hillside is starting to move in a landslide.
The NISAR mission will measure the motion of Earth’s surface — data that can be used to monitor critical infrastructure such as airport runways, dams, and levees. NASA/JPL-Caltech What Lies Beneath
Targeting an early 2025 launch from India, the mission will be able to detect surface motions down to fractions of an inch. In addition to monitoring changes to Earth’s surface, the satellite will be able to track the motion of ice sheets, glaciers, and sea ice, and map changes to vegetation.
The source of that remarkable detail is a pair of radar instruments that operate at long wavelengths: an L-band system built by JPL and an S-band system built by ISRO. The NISAR satellite is the first to carry both. Each instrument can collect measurements day and night and see through clouds that can obstruct the view of optical instruments. The L-band instrument will also be able to penetrate dense vegetation to measure ground motion. This capability will be especially useful in areas surrounding volcanoes or faults that are obscured by vegetation.
“The NISAR satellite won’t tell us when earthquakes will happen. Instead, it will help us better understand which areas of the world are most susceptible to significant earthquakes,” said Mark Simons, the U.S. solid Earth science lead for the mission at Caltech in Pasadena, California.
Data from the satellite will give researchers insight into which parts of a fault slowly move without producing earthquakes and which sections are locked together and might suddenly slip. In relatively well-monitored areas like California, researchers can use NISAR to focus on specific regions that could produce an earthquake. But in parts of the world that aren’t as well monitored, NISAR measurements could reveal new earthquake-prone areas. And when earthquakes do occur, data from the satellite will help researchers understand what happened on the faults that ruptured.
“From the ISRO perspective, we are particularly interested in the Himalayan plate boundary,” said Sreejith K M, the ISRO solid Earth science lead for NISAR at the Space Applications Center in Ahmedabad, India. “The area has produced great magnitude earthquakes in the past, and NISAR will give us unprecedented information on the seismic hazards of the Himalaya.”
Surface motion is also important for volcano researchers, who need data collected regularly over time to detect land movements that may be precursors to an eruption. As magma shifts below Earth’s surface, the land can bulge or sink. The NISAR satellite will help provide a fuller picture for why a volcano deforms and whether that movement signals an eruption.
Finding Normal
When it comes to infrastructure such as levees, aqueducts, and dams, NISAR’s ability to provide continuous measurements over years will help to establish the usual state of the structures and surrounding land. Then, if something changes, resource managers may be able to pinpoint specific areas to examine. “Instead of going out and surveying an entire aqueduct every five years, you can target your surveys to problem areas,” said Jones.
The data could be equally valuable for showing that a dam hasn’t changed after a disaster like an earthquake. For instance, if a large earthquake struck San Francisco, liquefaction — where loosely packed or waterlogged sediment loses its stability after severe ground shaking — could pose a problem for dams and levees along the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
“There’s over a thousand miles of levees,” said Jones. “You’d need an army to go out and look at them all.” The NISAR mission would help authorities survey them from space and identify damaged areas. “Then you can save your time and only go out to inspect areas that have changed. That could save a lot of money on repairs after a disaster.”
More About NISAR
The NISAR mission is an equal collaboration between NASA and ISRO and marks the first time the two agencies have cooperated on hardware development for an Earth-observing mission. Managed for the agency by Caltech, JPL leads the U.S. component of the project and is providing the mission’s L-band SAR. NASA is also providing the radar reflector antenna, the deployable boom, a high-rate communication subsystem for science data, GPS receivers, a solid-state recorder, and payload data subsystem. The U R Rao Satellite Centre in Bengaluru, India, which leads the ISRO component of the mission, is providing the spacecraft bus, the launch vehicle, and associated launch services and satellite mission operations. The ISRO Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad is providing the S-band SAR electronics.
To learn more about NISAR, visit:
https://nisar.jpl.nasa.gov
News Media Contacts
Jane J. Lee / Andrew Wang
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-0307 / 626-379-6874
jane.j.lee@jpl.nasa.gov / andrew.wang@jpl.nasa.gov
2024-155
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Last Updated Nov 08, 2024 Related Terms
NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) Earth Science Earthquakes Jet Propulsion Laboratory Natural Disasters Volcanoes Explore More
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