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From Houston to the Moon: Johnson’s Thermal Vacuum Chamber Tests Lunar Solar Technology
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By NASA
NASA/Bill Ingalls A NASA photographer captured the full “wolf” moon rising over the Lincoln Memorial and Memorial Bridge on Jan. 13, 2025.
The Maine Farmers’ Almanac began publishing Native American names for full moons in the 1930s. Over time, these names have become widely known and used. According to this almanac, the full moon in January is called the Wolf Moon, from the packs of wolves heard howling outside the villages amid the cold and deep snows of winter.
Get tips and guides on skywatching.
Image credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
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By NASA
Crews conduct a solar array deployment test on the spacecraft of NASA’s PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) satellites at Astrotech Space Operations located inside Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025.USSF 30th Space Wing/Antonio Ramos Technicians supporting NASA’s PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) mission deployed and tested the spacecraft’s solar arrays at the Astrotech Space Operations processing facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California ahead of its launch next month.
The arrays, essential for powering instruments and systems, mark another milestone in preparing PUNCH for its mission to study the Sun’s outer atmosphere as it transitions into the solar wind. Technicians performed the tests in a specialized cleanroom environment to prevent contamination and protect the sensitive equipment.
Comprised of four suitcase-sized satellites working together as a constellation, PUNCH will capture continuous 3D images of the Sun’s corona and the solar wind’s journey into the solar system. Led by the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) for NASA, the mission aims to deepen our understanding of the Sun and solar wind and how they affect humanity’s technology on Earth and our continued exploration of the solar system.
Successful solar array testing brings the spacecraft another step toward readiness for launch. The agency’s PUNCH mission is targeting liftoff as a rideshare with NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg’s Space Launch Complex 4E no earlier than Thursday, Feb. 27.
Image credit: USSF 30th Space Wing/Antonio Ramos
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By NASA
Caption: As part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign, Intuitive Machines’ second delivery to the Moon will carry NASA technology demonstrations and science investigations on their Nova-C class lunar lander. Credit: Intuitive Machines For the second time, Intuitive Machines will launch a lunar lander to deliver NASA technology demonstrations and science investigations to the Moon for the benefit of all. Media accreditation is open for the IM-2 launch, part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign to establish a long-term presence on the Moon.
The Intuitive Machines Nova-C class lunar lander will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and carry NASA science, technology demonstrations, and other commercial payloads to Mons Mouton, a lunar plateau near the Moon’s South Pole region. Liftoff is targeted for a multi-day launch window, which opens no earlier than late February, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Media prelaunch and launch activities will take place at NASA Kennedy and are open to U.S. citizens and international media. U.S. media must apply by Wednesday, Feb. 12, and international media must apply by Wednesday, Feb. 5.
Media wishing to take part in person must apply for credentials at:
https://media.ksc.nasa.gov
Credentialed media will receive a confirmation email upon approval. NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online. For questions about accreditation or to request special logistical support, such as space for satellite trucks, tents, or electrical connections, please email by Wednesday, Feb. 12, to: ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov. For other questions, please contact NASA Kennedy’s newsroom at: 321-867-2468.
Para obtener información sobre cobertura en español en el Centro Espacial Kennedy o si desea solicitar entrevistas en español, comuníquese con Antonia Jaramillo o Messod Bendayan a: antonia.jaramillobotero@nasa.gov o messod.c.bendayan@nasa.gov.
Among the items on its lander, the IM-2 mission will deliver one of the first on-site, or in-situ, demonstrations of resource utilization on the Moon, using a drill and mass spectrometer to measure the volatiles content of subsurface materials. Other technology instruments on this delivery will demonstrate a robust surface communications system and deploy a propulsive drone mobility solution.
Launching as a rideshare alongside the IM-2 delivery NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft also will begin its journey to lunar orbit, where it will map the distribution of the different forms of water on the Moon.
A successful landing will help support the CLPS model for commercial payload deliveries to the lunar surface, as another step toward a sustainable lunar future. As a primary customer of CLPS, NASA is investing in lower-cost methods of Moon deliveries and is one of multiple customers for these flights.
NASA is working with several U.S. companies to deliver science and technology to the lunar surface through the agency’s CLPS initiative. This pool of companies may bid on task orders to deliver NASA payloads to the Moon. Contract awards cover end-to-end commercial payload delivery services, including payload integration, mission operations, launch from Earth, and landing on the surface of the Moon. These contracts are indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts with a cumulative maximum value of $2.6 billion through 2028.
For more information about the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, see:
https://www.nasa.gov/clps
-end-
Alise Fisher / Jasmine Hopkins
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov / jasmine.s.hopkins@nasa.gov
Natalia Riusech / Nilufar Ramji
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
natalia.s.riusech@nasa.gov / nilufar.ramji@nasa.gov
Antonia Jaramillo
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-867-2468
antonia.jaramillobotero@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Jan 24, 2025 LocationJohnson Space Center Related Terms
Missions Artemis Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) View the full article
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By NASA
4 Min Read NASA Space Tech’s Favorite Place to Travel in 2025: The Moon!
The first image from space of Firefly's Blue Ghost mission 1 lunar lander as it begins its 45-day transit period to the Moon. Credits: Firefly Aerospace NASA Space Technology has big travel plans for 2025, starting with a trip to the near side of the Moon!
Among ten groundbreaking NASA science and technology demonstrations, two technologies are on a ride to survey lunar regolith – also known as “Moon dust” – to better understand surface interactions with incoming lander spacecraft and payloads conducting experiments on the surface. These dust demonstrations and the data they’re designed to collect will help support future lunar missions.
Blue Ghost Mission 1 launched at 1:11 a.m. EST aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The company is targeting a lunar landing on Sunday, March 2.
The first image from space of Firefly’s Blue Ghost mission 1 lunar lander as it begins its 45-day transit period to the Moon. Firefly Aerospace NASA Space Technology on Blue Ghost Mission 1
NASA’s Electrodynamic Dust Shield (EDS) will lift, transport, and remove particles using electric fields to repel and prevent hazardous lunar dust accumulation on surfaces. The agency’s Stereo Camera for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies (SCALPSS) technology will use stereo imaging to capture the impact of rocket plumes on lunar regolith as the lander descends to the Moon’s surface, returning high-resolution images that will help in creating models to predict regolith erosion – an important task as bigger, heavier payloads are delivered to the Moon in close proximity to each other.
The EDS and SCALPSS technologies will be delivered to the Moon on Firefly’s first Blue Ghost mission, named Ghost Riders in the Sky, as part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative. Its landing target is a 300-mile-wide basin located on the Moon’s near side, called Mare Crisium – a large, dark, basaltic plain that filled an ancient asteroid impact. First-of-their-kind experiments will deploy after landing to gather important data in a broad spectrum of areas including geophysical characteristics, global navigation, radiation tolerant computing, and the behavior of lunar regolith.
Replicating the Moon’s harsh environment on Earth is a significant challenge because of extreme temperatures, low gravity, radiation, and dusty surface. The CLPS initiative provides unprecedented access to the lunar surface, allowing us to demonstrate technologies in the exact conditions they were designed for. Missions like Blue Ghost Mission 1 are a true game changer for NASA technology advancement and demonstration.”
Michael Johansen
Flight Demonstrations Lead for NASA’s Game Changing Development program
Dust particles scatter during an experiment for the Electrodynamic Dust Shield in a laboratory at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA NASA’s Stereo Camera for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies technology integrated on Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander. Firefly Aerospace A complex wrinkle ridge in Mare Crisium at low Sun, seen in an image captured by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera.NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University Understanding regolith
The Moon’s dusty environment was one of the greatest challenges astronauts faced during Apollo Moon missions, posing hazards to lunar surface systems, space suits, habitats, and instrumentation. What was learned from those early missions – and from thousands of experiments conducted on Earth and in space since – is that successful surface missions require the ability to eliminate dust from all kinds of systems. Lunar landings, for example, cause lunar dust to disperse in all directions and collect on everything that lands there with it. This is one of the reasons such technologies are important to understand. The SCALPSS technology will study the dispersion of lunar dust, while EDS will demonstrate a solution to mitigate it.
Getting this new data on lunar regolith with be pivotal for our understanding of the lunar surface. We’ve long known that lunar dust is a huge challenge. The Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative has enabled us to initiate lunar dust mitigation efforts across the agency, working with industry and international partners. The lunar science, exploration, and technology communities are eager to have new quantitative data, and to prove laboratory experiments and develop technology solutions.”
Kristen John
Technical Integration Lead for NASA’s Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative (LSII)
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[VIDEO] Dust on the lunar surface is a significant hazard for systems and astronauts living and working on the Moon. NASA space technologies are developing solutions to retire hurdles in this capability area. NASA Space Technology Dust mitigation technology has come a long way, but we still have a lot to learn to develop surface systems and infrastructure for more complex missions. LSII is actively engaged in this effort, working with the lunar community across sectors to expand knowledge and design new approaches for future technologies. Working alongside the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium, LSII has a unique opportunity to take a holistic look at dust’s role in the development of surface infrastructure with other key capability areas including in-situ resource utilization, surface power, and surviving the lunar night.
Learning from the the Moon benefits Mars science and exploration
Capabilities for minimizing dust interaction are as important for future missions on Mars as it is for missions on the Moon. Like the Moon, Mars is also covered with regolith, also called Martian dust or Martian soil, but the properties are different than lunar regolith, both in shape and mineralogy. The challenges Mars rovers have encountered with Martian regolith have provided great insight into the challenges we will face during lunar surface missions. Learning is interwoven and beneficial to future missions whether hundreds of thousands of miles from Earth, on the Moon, or millions, on Mars.
Scientist-astronaut Harrison Schmitt, Apollo 17 lunar module pilot, uses an adjustable sampling scoop to retrieve lunar samples during the second Apollo 17 extravehicular activity (EVA). NASA NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover snagged two samples of regolith – broken rock and dust – on Dec. 2 and 6, 2022. This set of images, taken by the rover’s left navigation camera, shows Perseverance’s robotic arm over the two holes left after the samples were collected.NASA/JPL-Caltech Learn more from a planetary scientist about how science factors into lunar dust mitigation technologies:
LSIC Lunar Engineering 101 video series (Dust/Regolith module) Share
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Last Updated Jan 24, 2025 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Missions Artemis Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) Earth's Moon Game Changing Development Program Kennedy Space Center Langley Research Center Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative NASA Headquarters Space Technology Mission Directorate Explore More
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Space Technology Mission Directorate
NASA’s Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative
Game Changing Development Projects
Game Changing Development projects aim to advance space technologies, focusing on advancing capabilities for going to and living in space.
Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS)
The goal of the CLPS project is to enable rapid, frequent, and affordable access to the lunar surface by helping…
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By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Equipped with state-of-the-art technology to test and evaluate communication, navigation, and surveillance systems NASA’s Pilatus PC-12 performs touch-and-go maneuvers over a runway at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California on Sept. 23, 2024. Researchers will use the data to understand Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) signal loss scenarios for air taxi flights in urban areas. To prepare for ADS-B test flights pilots and crew from NASA Armstrong and NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, ran a series of familiarization flights. These flights included several approach and landings, with an emphasis on avionics, medium altitude air-work with steep turns, slow flight and stall demonstrations.NASA/Steve Freeman As air taxis, drones, and other innovative aircraft enter U.S. airspace, systems that communicate an aircraft’s location will be critical to ensure air traffic safety.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires aircraft to communicate their locations to other aircraft and air traffic control in real time using an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) system. NASA is currently evaluating an ADS-B system’s ability to prevent collisions in a simulated urban environment. Using NASA’s Pilatus PC-12 aircraft, researchers are investigating how these systems could handle the demands of air taxis flying at low altitudes through cities.
When operating in urban areas, one particular challenge for ADS-B systems is consistent signal coverage. Like losing cell-phone signal, air taxis flying through densely populated areas may have trouble maintaining ADS-B signals due to distance or interference. If that happens, those vehicles become less visible to air traffic control and other aircraft in the area, increasing the likelihood of collisions.
NASA pilot Kurt Blankenship maps out flight plans during a pre-flight brief. Pilots, crew, and researchers from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California and NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland are briefed on the flight plan to gather Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast signal data between the aircraft and ping-Stations on the ground at NASA Armstrong. These flights are the first cross-center research activity with the Pilatus-PC-12 at NASA Armstrong.NASA/Steve Freeman To simulate the conditions of an urban flight area and better understand signal loss patterns, NASA researchers established a test zone at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Sept. 23 and 24, 2024.
Flying in the agency’s Pilatus PC-12 in a grid pattern over four ADS-B stations, researchers collected data on signal coverage from multiple ground locations and equipment configurations. Researchers were able to pinpoint where signal dropouts occurred from the strategically placed ground stations in connection to the plane’s altitude and distance from the stations. This data will inform future placement of additional ground stations to enhance signal boosting coverage.
“Like all antennas, those used for ADS-B signal reception do not have a constant pattern,” said Brad Snelling, vehicle test team chief engineer for NASA’s Air Mobility Pathfinders project. “There are certain areas where the terrain will block ADS-B signals and depending on the type of antenna and location characteristics, there are also flight elevation angles where reception can cause signal dropouts,” Snelling said. “This would mean we need to place additional ground stations at multiple locations to boost the signal for future test flights. We can use the test results to help us configure the equipment to reduce signal loss when we conduct future air taxi flight tests.”
Working in the Mobile Operations Facility at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, NASA Advanced Air Mobility researcher Dennis Iannicca adjusts a control board to capture Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data during test flights. The data will be used to understand ADS-B signal loss scenarios for air taxi flights in urban areas.NASA/Steve Freeman The September flights at NASA Armstrong built upon earlier tests of ADS-B in different environments. In June, researchers at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland flew the Pilatus PC-12 and found a consistent ADS-B signal between the aircraft and communications antennas mounted on the roof of the center’s Aerospace Communications Facility. Data from these flights helped researchers plan out the recent tests at NASA Armstrong. In December 2020, test flights performed under NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility National Campaign used an OH-58C Kiowa helicopter and ground-based ADS-B stations at NASA Armstrong to collect baseline signal information.
NASA’s research in ADS-B signals and other communication, navigation, and surveillance systems will help revolutionize U.S. air transportation. Air Mobility Pathfinders researchers will evaluate the data from the three separate flight tests to understand the different signal transmission conditions and equipment needed for air taxis and drones to safely operate in the National Air Space. NASA will use the results of this research to design infrastructure to support future air taxi communication, navigation, and surveillance research and to develop new ADS-B-like concepts for uncrewed aircraft systems.
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Last Updated Jan 23, 2025 EditorDede DiniusContactLaura Mitchelllaura.a.mitchell@nasa.govLocationArmstrong Flight Research Center Related Terms
Armstrong Flight Research Center Advanced Air Mobility Aeronautics Air Mobility Pathfinders project Airspace Operations and Safety Program Ames Research Center Glenn Research Center Langley Research Center Explore More
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