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By NASA
NASA/Eric Bordelon Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) passes over NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans in this Oct. 13, 2024, image. This comet comes from the Oort Cloud, far beyond Pluto and the most distant edges of the Kuiper Belt. Though Comet C/2023 A3 will be visible through early November, the best time to observe is between now and Oct. 24.
Image credit: NASA/Eric Bordelon
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By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA and partners from Aerostar and AeroVironment discuss a simulation of a high-altitude air traffic management system for vehicles flying 60,000 feet and above in the Airspace Operations Lab (AOL) at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley.NASA/Don Richey NASA, in partnership with AeroVironment and Aerostar, recently demonstrated a first-of-its-kind air traffic management concept that could pave the way for aircraft to safely operate at higher altitudes. This work seeks to open the door for increased internet coverage, improved disaster response, expanded scientific missions, and even supersonic flight. The concept is referred to as an Upper-Class E traffic management, or ETM.
There is currently no traffic management system or set of regulations in place for aircraft operating 60,000 feet and above. There hasn’t been a need for a robust traffic management system in this airspace until recently. That’s because commercial aircraft couldn’t function at such high altitudes due to engine constraints.
However, recent advancements in aircraft design, power, and propulsion systems are making it possible for high altitude long endurance vehicles — such as balloons, airships, and solar aircraft — to coast miles above our heads, providing radio relay for disaster response, collecting atmospheric data, and more.
But before these aircraft can regularly take to the skies, operators must find a way to manage their operations without overburdening air traffic infrastructure and personnel.
NASA partners from Aerostar and AeroVironment discuss a simulation of the ATM-X E Traffic Management (ETM) system for vehicles flying 60,000 feet and above in the Airspace Operations Lab (AOL) at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. “We are working to safely expand high-altitude missions far beyond what is currently possible,” said Kenneth Freeman, a subproject manager for this effort at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. “With routine, remotely piloted high-altitude operations, we have the opportunity to improve our understanding of the planet through more detailed tracking of climate change, provide internet coverage in underserved areas, advance supersonic flight research, and more.”
Current high-altitude traffic management is processed manually and on a case-by-case basis. Operators must contact air traffic control to gain access to a portion of the Class E airspace. During these operations, no other aircraft can enter this high-altitude airspace. This method will not accommodate the growing demand for high-altitude missions, according to NASA researchers.
To address this challenge, NASA and its partners have developed an ETM traffic management system that allows aircraft to autonomously share location and flight plans, enabling aircraft to stay safely separated.
During the recent traffic management simulation in the Airspace Operations Laboratory at Ames, data from multiple air vehicles was displayed across dozens of traffic control monitors and shared with partner computers off site. This included aircraft location, health, flight plans and more. Researchers studied interactions between a slow fixed-wing vehicle from AeroVironment and a high-altitude balloon from Aerostar operating at stratospheric heights. Each aircraft, connected to the ETM traffic management system for high altitude, shared location and flight plans with surrounding aircraft.
This digital information sharing allowed Aerostar and AeroVironment high-altitude vehicle operators to coordinate and deconflict with each other in the same simulated airspace, without having to gain approval from air traffic control. Because of this, aircraft operators were able to achieve their objectives, including wireless communication relay.
This simulation represents the first time a traffic management system was able to safely manage a diverse set of high-altitude aircraft operations in the same simulated airspace. Next, NASA researchers will work with partners to further validate this system through a variety of real flight tests with high-altitude aircraft in a shared airspace.
The Upper-Class E traffic management concept was developed in coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration and high-altitude platform industry partners, under NASA’s National Airspace System Exploratory Concepts and Technologies subproject led out of Ames.
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By NASA
NASA has selected four new crew members to participate in the final simulated mission to Mars in 2024 inside the agency’s Human Exploration Research Analog. From left are Kristen Magas, Anderson Wilder, Obaid Alsuwaidi, and Tiffany Snyder.Credit: C7M4 Crew NASA selected a crew of four research volunteers to participate in its last simulated mission to Mars in 2024 within a habitat at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Obaid Alsuwaidi, Kristen Magas, Tiffany Snyder, and Anderson Wilder will step into the 650-square-foot HERA (Human Exploration Research Analog) facility on Friday, Nov. 1. Once inside, the team will live and work like astronauts for 45 days. The crew will exit the facility on Monday, Dec. 16, after simulating their return to Earth. Jordan Hundley and Robert Wilson also were named as alternate crew members.
Scientists use HERA studies to examine how crew members adapt to isolation, confinement, and remote conditions before NASA sends astronauts on deep space missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. The studies provide data about human health and performance in an enclosed environment over time with crews facing different challenges and tasks.
The four volunteers will carry out scientific research and operational tasks throughout their simulated mission, including raising shrimp, growing vegetables, and “walking” on the surface of Mars using virtual reality. They will also experience communication delays lasting up to five minutes as they “near” Mars, allowing researchers to see how crews may respond to the type of delays astronauts will encounter in deep space. Astronauts traveling to the Red Planet may encounter one-way communication delays lasting as long as 20 minutes.
As with the previous HERA missions, crew members will conduct 18 human health studies during the mission through NASA’s Human Research Program. Collectively, the work helps scientists understand how a spaceflight-like environment contributes to the physiological, behavioral, and psychological health of crew members. Insights gleaned from the studies will allow researchers to develop and test strategies aimed at helping astronauts overcome obstacles on deep space missions.
Primary Crew
Obaid Alsuwaidi
Obaid Alsuwaidi serves as captain engineer for the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Ministry of Defense. In this role, he provides guidance in civil and marine engineering and addresses challenges facing the organization. Previously, Alsuwaidi worked as a project manager for the defense ministry, helping to streamline productivity, establish high standards of professionalism, and build a team of experts to serve the UAE’s needs.
Alsuwaidi earned a bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Western Sydney University in Australia, followed by a master’s degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from George Washington University in Washington.
In his free time, Alsuwaidi enjoys horseback riding, swimming, and running.
Kristen Magas
Kristen Magas is an educator and engineer, currently teaching at Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School in Franklin, Massachusetts. She also mentors students involved in a NASA design and prototyping program, helping them develop and fabricate products to improve life in space on both International Space Station and Artemis missions. Magas was a finalist for the 2025 Massachusetts State Teacher of the Year.
Magas received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. She also holds a master’s degree in Vocational Education from Westfield State University in Massachusetts. She has worked as a community college professor as well as a design engineer in municipal water and wastewater treatment.
In her spare time, Magas enjoys coaching robotics and track and field, hiking, biking, and staying connected with her community. She has two children and resides in North Attleboro, Massachusetts with her husband of 25 years.
Tiffany Snyder
Tiffany Snyder is a supervisor for the Cybersecurity Mission Integration Office at NASA, helping to ensure agency missions are shielded against cybersecurity threats. She has more than 20 years of information technology and cybersecurity experience, working with the Air National Guard and as a special agent with the Defense Counterintelligence Security Agency. She joined NASA in 2018 as an IT specialist, and later served as the deputy chief information security officer at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, providing cybersecurity oversight.
Snyder holds a bachelor’s degree in Earth Science from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a master’s degree in Digital Forensics from the University of Central Florida in Orlando.
In her spare time, she enjoys playing with her dogs — Artemis and Apollo, gardening, running, and visiting the beach with her family.
Anderson Wilder
Anderson Wilder is a Florida Institute of Technology graduate student working on his doctorate in Psychology. His research focuses on team resiliency and human-machine interactions. He also works in the campus’s neuroscience lab, investigating how spaceflight contributes to neurobehavioral changes in astronauts.
Wilder previously served as an executive officer and engineer for an analog mission at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah. There, he performed studies related to crew social dynamics, plant growth, and geology.
Wilder received his bachelor’s degrees in Linguistics and in Psychology from Ohio State University in Columbus. He also holds master’s degrees in Space Studies from International Space University in Strasbourg, France, and in Aviation Human Factors from the Florida Institute of Technology. He is completing another master’s degree in Cognitive Experimental Psychology at Cleveland State University in Ohio.
Outside of school, Wilder works as a parabolic flight coach, teaching people how to fly in reduced gravity environments. He also enjoys chess, reading, video games, skydiving, and scuba diving. On a recent dive, he explored a submerged section of the Great Wall of China.
Alternate Crew
Jordan Hundley
Jordan Hundley is a senior consultant at a professional services firm, offering federal agencies technical and programmatic support. Prior to his current position, he focused on U.S. Department of Defense clients, performing model-based system engineering and serving as a subject matter expert for related operations.
Hundley was commissioned into the U.S. Air Force through the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. While on active duty, he served as an intercontinental ballistic missile operations officer. He later joined the U.S. Air Force Reserve. Currently, he is a space operations officer with experience in space battle management and electromagnetic warfare.
Hundley earned a master’s degree in Engineering Management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida. He is currently pursuing a second master’s degree in Systems Engineering at the university.
Hundley holds a private pilot license and is a certified rescue diver. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking and camping, researching theology, and learning musical instruments.
Robert Wilson
Robert Wilson is a senior researcher and project manager at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. He leads work enhancing human-machine collaborations, developing human prediction models, and integrating that technology into virtual reality and robotic systems designed to operate in isolated, constrained, and extreme environments. His human-machine teaming expertise also extends into responsible artificial intelligence development. He recently participated in a United Nations Roundtable discussion about artificial intelligence in security and defense.
Wilson received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Biomedical Engineering from Purdue University in 2013 and 2015, respectively. He earned his doctorate in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2020.
Outside of work, Wilson is an avid outdoors enthusiast. He enjoys scuba diving, winter camping, backcountry skiing, and hiking through the woods or mountains throughout the year. At home, he also likes to tinker in computer networking and self-hosted systems.
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NASA’s Human Research Program pursues the best methods and technologies to support safe, productive human space travel. Through science conducted in laboratories, ground-based analogs, commercial missions, and the International Space Station, the program scrutinizes how spaceflight affects human bodies and behaviors. Such research continues to drive NASA’s mission to innovate ways that keep astronauts healthy and mission-ready as human space exploration expands to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
For more information about human research at NASA, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/hrp
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By NASA
Representatives of the Artemis Accords signatories, including NASA leadership, met Oct. 14, 2024, for a principals meeting in Milan, during the International Astronautical Congress. With 42 of 45 signatories participating in the event, established and emerging spacefaring nations from every region of the world were represented. Credit: UAE Space Agency A record number of Artemis Accords signatories, including the United States, gathered at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC), the world’s largest global space conference taking place in Milan this week, furthering discussions on the safe and responsible use of space for the benefit of all.
During the space conference, top space agency leaders and other government representatives met Oct. 14 to continue advancing implementation of the Artemis Accords, marking the most comprehensive engagement yet among Accords signatories.
“As we send humans further into the solar system, collaboration and shared responsibility among nations are more critical than ever,” said NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy. “The Artemis Accords provide a common sense set of principles to guide our work together, and our recent efforts to further their implementation is fostering a remarkable environment of trust and cooperation where all nations can contribute to and benefit from these endeavors.”
The high-level meeting was co-chaired by NASA, CSA (Canadian Space Agency) and Italian Space Agency. With 42 of 45 signatories participating, established and emerging spacefaring nations from every region of the world were represented to help create a foundation for future space exploration for the Artemis Generation.
Leaders from each nation reflected on how the group can contribute to and advance existing multilateral forums, further technical discussions to inform policy deliberations, and promote and encourage the participation of emerging space nations including the adoption of the Artemis Accords by additional countries. They agreed on recommendations on non-interference, interoperability, release of scientific data, long-term sustainability guidelines, and registration to advance implementing the Artemis Accords. A method of operations was established for the ongoing work of the signatories.
“Promoting the participation of emerging space nations and encouraging the adoption of the Artemis Accords is crucial for the entire space,” said Teodoro Valente, president of the Italian Space Agency. “This is a matter of strategic importance in order to ensure the active and meaningful engagement of emerging space nations, both those already part of the Artemis Accords, and those poised to join in the future.”
The conversation in Milan built on previous work during a workshop in Montreal in May 2024, where participantsdelved into the topics such as non-interference and interoperability.
“Canada is pleased to be part of a growing group of countries committed to the safety and sustainability of outer space activities,” said Lisa Campbell, CSA president. “We are strong supporters of the Artemis Accords and are pleased to have hosted the most recent workshop that advanced work on key aspects of the Artemis Accords. We look forward to continuing this important work in the coming months and years.”
In October 2023, signatories agreed on an initial set of mission data parameters to advance transparency and non-interference in conducting space activities. The data parameters identify relevant information about planned lunar surface missions including expected launch dates, the general nature of activities, and landing locations. Recent progress also included work on a database to house them. Several space agencies, including NASA, have submitted mission data to the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs for dissemination.
Potential focus areas for the next year include further advancing sustainability, including debris management for both lunar orbit and the surface of the Moon.
In 2020, the United States and seven other nations were the first to sign the Artemis Accords, which identified a set of principles promoting the beneficial use of space for humanity. The Artemis Accords are grounded in the Outer Space Treaty and other agreements including the Registration Convention, the Rescue and Return Agreement, as well as best practices and norms of responsible behavior that NASA and its partners have supported, including the public release of scientific data.
The commitments of the Artemis Accords and efforts by the signatories to advance implementation of these principles support the safe and sustainable exploration of space.
Learn more about the Artemis Accords at:
https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-accords
-end-
Amber Jacobson / Elizabeth Shaw
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
amber.c.jacobson@nasa.gov / elizabeth.a.shaw@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Oct 18, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
artemis accords Opportunities For International Participants to Get Involved Science of Space Exploration View the full article
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