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By NASA
1 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
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By European Space Agency
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By NASA
Deputy Integration and Testing Manager – Goddard Space Flight Center
Mike Drury began at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, as a temporary technician — a contractor hired for six weeks to set up High Capacity Centrifuge tests. Six weeks then turned into three months and, eventually, over 40 years.
Mike Drury, the deputy integration and testing manager for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, stands inside a clean room in front of Roman’s primary support structure and propulsion system. The “bunny suit” that he’s wearing protects the telescope from contaminants like dust, hair, and skin.NASA/Chris Gunn Now, Mike is the deputy integration and testing manager for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. In this role, Mike oversees both Roman’s assembly and the many verification processes that ensure it is ready for launch.
“It’s a privilege to work here. There’s really no regrets,” Mike says. “This is a big place, and it is what you make it. You can really spread your wings and go into a lot of different areas and do different things.”
When Mike first began at Goddard, only government-employed technicians could work on space flight hardware. However, times were changing. The “old-timers,” as Mike affectionately calls them, soon began training a small group of contractors, including Mike, for flight hardware work. Mike credits these “old-timers” for the mindset he still carries decades later.
“They taught me how to approach things and execute, and that helped me through my entire career,” Mike says. “It’s that approach — making sure things are done right, without cutting any corners — that I always liked about working here.”
Not everyone can say that they worked on space missions while in college, but Mike can. Mike took advantage of a program through his contract that paid for classes. For 10 years, Mike studied at Anne Arundel Community College while continuing full-time work at Goddard, eventually earning an associate’s degree in mathematics.
While in community college, Mike also stocked up on several physics and calculus credits which helped prepare him to study thermal engineering at Johns Hopkins University. After seven more years of night classes, Mike completed a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.
“Night school was really difficult between full-time work and traveling because I was working on several missions,” Mike says. “You needed that perseverance to just keep going and working away at it. So I just hung in there.”
In this 1989 picture, Mike works on NASA’s BBXRT (Broad Band X-ray Telescope) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. BBXRT flew on the space shuttle Columbia in 1990.NASA In his 17 years of night school, Mike worked on seven missions, expanding his skill set from test set-up, to clean room tech work, to training astronauts. While working on the Hubble Space Telescope, Mike helped to train astronauts for their in-orbit tech work to install various instruments.
“Every mission I’ve worked on I’ve learned something,” Mike says. “Every test you learn more and more about other disciplines.”
After graduating from Johns Hopkins, Mike worked for a short time as an engineer before becoming an integration supervisor. In 2006, Mike took on the position of James Webb Space Telescope ISIM (Integrated Science Instrument Module) integration and test manager. After Webb’s ISIM was integrated with the Optical Telescope Element, Mike became the OTIS (Optical Telescope Element and Integrated Science Instrument Module) integration and testing manager.
“It was a tough eight to 10 years of work,” Mike says. “Loading the OTIS into the shipping container to be sent to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for further testing was a great accomplishment.”
To ensure that Webb’s ISIM would thrive in space, Mike was involved in more than three months of round-the-clock thermal vacuum testing. During this time, a blizzard stranded Mike and others on-site at Goddard for three days. Mike spent his nights overseeing thermal vacuum tests and his days driving test directors and operators to their nearby hotel rooms with his four-wheel-drive truck — a winter storm savior in short supply.
In this 1992 picture, Mike works alongside another technician on DXS (Diffuse X-Ray Spectrometer) in the shuttle bay at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. DXS was a University of Wisconsin-Madison experiment flown during the January 1993 flight of NASA’s Space Shuttle Endeavor.NASA For Mike, the hard work behind space missions is well worth it.
“As humans, we want to discover new things and see things. That’s what keeps me coming back — the thought of discovery and space flight,” Mike says. “I get excited talking to some of the Hubble or Webb scientists about the discoveries they’ve made. They answer questions but they also find themselves asking new ones.”
Some of these new questions opened by Hubble and Webb will be addressed by Mike’s current project — Roman.
“This team I would say is the best I’ve ever worked with. I say that because it’s the Goddard family. Everyone here on Roman has the same agenda, and that’s a successful, on-time launch,” Mike says. “My ultimate goal is to be staying on the beach in Florida after watching Roman blast off. That would be all the icing on the cake.”
Mike is also focusing on laying the groundwork for the next era at Goddard. He works hard to instill a sense of import, intention, and precision in his successors, just as the “old-timers” instilled in him 40 years ago.
“I talk to a lot of my colleagues that I’ve worked with for years, and we’re all excited to hand it off to the next generation,” Mike says. “It’s so exciting to see. I’m the old guy now.”
By Laine Havens
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
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By NASA
7 min read
Eclipses, Science, NASA Firsts: Heliophysics Big Year Highlights
One year ago today, a total solar eclipse swept across the United States. The event was a cornerstone moment in the Heliophysics Big Year, a global celebration of the Sun’s influence on Earth and the entire solar system. From October 2023 to December 2024 — a period encompassing two solar eclipses across the U.S., two new NASA heliophysics missions, and one spacecraft’s history-making solar flyby — NASA celebrated the Sun’s widespread influence on our lives.
An infographic showing key numbers summarizing the activities and events of the Heliophysics Big Year, which spanned from Oct. 14, 2023 – Dec. 24, 2024. NASA/Miles Hatfield/Kristen Perrin Annular Solar Eclipse
An annular (or “ring of fire”) solar eclipse occurred Oct. 14, 2023, and kicked off the Helio Big Year with a bang. Millions of people across North America witnessed the Moon crossing in front of the Sun, creating this brilliant celestial event. NASA’s live broadcast had more than 11 million views across different platforms.
On Oct. 14, 2023, an annular solar eclipse crossed North, Central, and South America. Visible in parts of the United States, Mexico, and many countries in South and Central America, millions of people in the Western Hemisphere were able to experience this “ring of fire” eclipse. NASA’s official broadcast and outreach teams were located in Kerrville, TX, and Albuquerque, NM, to capture the event and celebrate with the communities in the path of annularity.
Credit: NASA/Ryan Fitzgibbons Before the eclipse, NASA introduced the 2023 Eclipse Explorer, an interactive map to explore eclipse details for any location in the United States. NASA shared tips on eclipse safety, including through a video with NSYNC’s Lance Bass and even with an augmented reality filter.
Scientists also studied conditions during the annular eclipse with sounding rockets, balloons, and amateur radio.
Total Solar Eclipse
On April 8, 2024, millions of people across North America experienced a total solar eclipse that darkened parts of 15 U.S. states in the path of totality.
Ahead of the event, NASA hosted a widespread safety campaign, handed out over 2 million solar viewing glasses, and produced an interactive map to help viewers plan their viewing experience. On eclipse day, NASA also hosted a live broadcast from locations across the country, drawing over 38 million views.
Researchers studied the eclipse and its effects on Earth using a variety of techniques, including international radar networks, scientific rockets, weather balloons, and even high-altitude NASA WB-57 jets. Several NASA-funded citizen science projects also conducted experiments. These projects included more than 49,000 volunteers who contributed an astounding 53 million observations.
This infographic shares metrics from citizen science projects that occurred during the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. NASA/Kristen Perrin “We have opened a window for all Americans to discover our connection to the Sun and ignited enthusiasm for engaging with groundbreaking NASA science, whether it’s through spacecraft, rockets, balloons, or planes,” said Kelly Korreck, a Heliophysics program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Sharing the excitement of NASA heliophysics with our fellow citizens has truly been amazing.”
Science Across the Solar System
NASA’s heliophysics missions gather data on the Sun and its effects across the solar system.
The Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE) mission launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida Nov. 9, 2023, and was installed on the International Space Station nine days later. This mission studies atmospheric gravity waves, how they form and travel through Earth’s atmosphere, and their role in space weather.
Orbital footage from the International Space Station shows NASA’s Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE) as it was extracted from SpaceX’s Dragon cargo spacecraft. NASA/International Space Station On Nov. 4, 2024, the Coronal Diagnostic Experiment (CODEX) mission also launched to the space station, where it studies the solar wind, with a focus on what heats it and propels it through space.
Pictured is the CODEX instrument inside the integration and testing facility at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. NASA/CODEX team The Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) mission ended after 16 years studying Earth’s highest clouds, called polar mesospheric clouds.
An artist’s concept shows the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) spacecraft orbiting Earth. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight/Center Conceptual Image Lab NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) also ended after three successful years studying the outermost layer of Earth’s atmosphere, called the ionosphere.
NASA’s ICON, shown in this artist’s concept, studied the frontiers of space, the dynamic zone high in our atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Conceptual Image Lab Voyager has been operating for more than 47 years, continuing to study the heliosphere and interstellar space. In October 2024, the Voyager 1 probe stopped communicating. The mission team worked tirelessly to troubleshoot and ultimately reestablish communications, keeping the mission alive to continue its research.
In this artist’s conception, NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft has a bird’s-eye view of the solar system. The circles represent the orbits of the major outer planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 visited the planets Jupiter and Saturn. The spacecraft is now 13 billion miles from Earth, making it the farthest and fastest-moving human-made object ever built. In fact, Voyager 1 is now zooming through interstellar space, the region between the stars that is filled with gas, dust, and material recycled from dying stars. NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope is observing the material along Voyager’s path through space. NASA/STSci While the goal of the NASA heliophysics fleet is to study the Sun and its influence, these missions often make surprising discoveries that they weren’t originally designed to. From finding 5,000 comets to studying the surface of Venus, NASA highlighted and celebrated these bonus science connections during the Helio Big Year.
Solar Maximum
Similar to Earth, the Sun has its own seasons of activity, with a solar minimum and solar maximum during a cycle that lasts about 11 years. The Helio Big Year happened to coincide with the Sun’s active period, with NASA and NOAA announcing in October 2024 that the Sun had reached solar maximum, the highest period of activity. Some of the largest solar storms on current record occurred in 2024, and the largest sunspot in nearly a decade was spotted in the spring of 2024, followed by a colossal X9.0 solar flare Oct. 3, 2024.
Sunspots are cooler, darker areas on the solar surface where the Sun’s magnetic field gets especially intense, often leading to explosive solar eruptions. This sunspot group was so big that nearly 14 Earths could fit inside it! The eruptions from this region resulted in the historic May 2024 geomagnetic storms, when the aurora borealis, or northern lights, were seen as far south as the Florida Keys.
Credit: NASA/Beth Anthony Viewers across the U.S. spotted auroras in their communities as a result of these storms, proving that you can capture amazing aurora photography without advanced equipment.
The Big Finale: Parker’s Close Approach to the Sun
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe holds the title as the closest human-made object to the Sun. On Dec. 24, 2024, Parker made history by traveling just 3.8 million miles from the Sun’s surface at a whopping 430,000 miles per hour.
“Flying this close to the Sun is a historic moment in humanity’s first mission to a star,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters.
Controllers have confirmed NASA’s mission to “touch” the Sun survived its record-breaking closest approach to the solar surface on Dec. 24, 2024.
Credit: NASA/Joy Ng Parker Solar Probe’s close approach capped off a momentous Heliophysics Big Year that allowed NASA scientists to gather unprecedented data and invited everyone to celebrate how the Sun impacts us all. In the growing field of heliophysics, the Helio Big Year reminded us all how the Sun touches everything and how important it is to continue studying our star’s incredible influence.
A Big Year Ahead
Though the Helio Big Year is over, heliophysics is only picking up its pace in 2025. We remain in the solar maximum phase, so heightened solar activity will continue into the near future. In addition, several new missions are expected to join the heliophysics fleet by year’s end.
The PUNCH mission, a set of four Sun-watching satellites imaging solar eruptions in three dimensions, and EZIE, a trio of Earth-orbiting satellites tracing the electrical currents powering Earth’s auroras, have already launched. The LEXI instrument, an X-ray telescope studying Earth’s magnetosphere from the Moon, also launched through NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative.
Future missions slated for launch include TRACERS, which will investigate the unusual magnetic environment near Earth’s poles, and ESCAPADE, venturing to Mars to measure the planet’s unique magnetic environment.
The last two missions will share a ride to space. The Carruthers Geocorona Observatory will look back at home, studying ultraviolet light emitted by the outermost boundaries of our planet’s atmosphere. The IMAP mission will instead look to the outermost edges of our heliosphere, mapping the boundaries where the domain of our Sun transitions into interstellar space.
By Desiree Apodaca
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
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Last Updated Apr 08, 2025 Editor Miles Hatfield Related Terms
Heliophysics Goddard Space Flight Center Heliophysics Division NASA Centers & Facilities NASA Directorates Science & Research Science Mission Directorate The Solar System The Sun Explore More
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