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Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio Mosaics More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions 2 min read
Sols 4452-4453: Keeping Warm and Keeping Busy
NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image of the science targets before it, including “Catalina Island,” the flat rock at image center, using its Left Navigation Camera. The rover captured the image on sol 4450 — or Martian day 4,450 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — on Feb. 11, 2025, at 13:11:14 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech Earth planning date: Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025
I woke up this morning to my weather app telling me it felt like minus 15° C (5°F) outside. On days like this, it can take me a little longer to get myself up and out into the world. Curiosity has a similar problem — as we head toward winter and it gets colder and colder in Gale Crater, Curiosity has to spend more time warming up to do things like driving and all our good science. I’ve also been watching a couple winter storms that are expected in the next few days here in Toronto. Luckily, Curiosity doesn’t have to deal with snowstorms, and our drive in the last plan went ahead as planned and put us in a good position to go ahead with contact science today, a relief after having to forego it on Monday.
The contact science location that the geology team chose is called “Catalina Island,” the flat rock you can see in almost the center of the image above. As you can likely also see above, there’s a whole jumble of rocks in that image, and Mastcam and ChemCam have picked out a couple others to take a look at. These are “Point Dume,” which will be the target of ChemCam’s laser spectrometer, and “Whittier Narrows,” on which Mastcam will image some linear features. Mastcam and ChemCam are also turning their gazes further afield for Mastcam targets “Cleghorn Ridge,” “Cuyamaca Peak,” “Kratka Ridge,” and two long-distance ChemCam mosaics of the top of the Wilkerson butte and a spot a little further down known as “Pothole Trail.”
Much like I’m keeping an eye out the window on the changing weather here, Curiosity is also continuing to keep an eye on the environment in Gale Crater. Even though it’s not the dusty season, we continue to monitor the dust around us and in the atmosphere with a dust-devil survey and a tau. But we’re especially interested in what the clouds are up to right now, which we’re checking in on with our normal zenith and suprahorizon movies, and our cloud-season-only Phase Function Sky Survey. This is a series of movies covering the whole sky that we can use to determine how sunlight interacts with the individual water-ice crystals in the clouds.
Written by Alex Innanen, Atmospheric Scientist at York University
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Last Updated Feb 14, 2025 Related Terms
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By NASA
Ambiguity.
That’s the word that comes to mind when documentary photographers start each day at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
PACE mission photographer Denny Henry and lead documentary photographer Desiree Stover pose for selfies in the clean room.Credits: NASA “You walk in and think one thing is happening,” said OCI’s lead documentary photographer Desiree Stover. “But in an instant things change – maybe goes wrong –- and you need to be ready to capture it.”
From build to testing to launch, one figure is always present in the background capturing the story of each Goddard mission – the documentary photographer.
In honor of #WorldPhotoDay, follow along as two of our documentarians share what it’s like to capture the story of Goddard’s latest mission build PACE.
PACE or Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem, is set to launch in early 2024. Its goal is to see ocean and atmosphere features in unparalleled detail. By measuring the intensity of the color that reflects from Earth’s ocean surface, PACE will capture fine details about tiny plant-like organisms and algae that live in the ocean, called phytoplankton, that are the basis of the marine food web and generate half of Earth’s oxygen.
Crafting the Story
For Stover and her partner Denny Henry, PACE’s lead mission photographer, the story starts with the smallest details.
“I think one of the first things I photographed was the outside of a circuit port box. It was literally an empty metal box,” said Henry, who started photographing PACE in 2020, right before the pandemic. “It might be small, but it’s part of a system that’s going to do big things.”
Mark Walter, David Kim, Melyane Ortiz-acosta, and Ariel Obaldo discuss plans for testing the PACE flight Solar Array Panels.Credits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Denny Henry A typical day for these photographers usually starts with a morning meeting, assignments and getting ready. By the end of the day, the original plan has likely been changed, multiple times.
“Some days we might shoot eight photos, other days it might be hundreds or more,” Stover said.
PACE, or Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem, is set to launch in early 2024. Its goal is to see ocean and atmosphere features in unparalleled detail.Credits: NASA Images captured during shoots are used for a variety of things, especially technical components of the mission. This includes documenting builds, spotting mistakes and testing.
Stover got her start at Goddard by photographing NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope before switching to capturing imagery of Goddard’s small instruments, including PACE’s Ocean Color Instrument, or OCI. This advanced sensor will enable continuous measurement of light throughout the ultraviolet to shortwave infrared spectrum to better understand Earth’s ocean and atmosphere.
She says she’s still in awe that her teammates trust her “eye.”
“One of the most fascinating things about working here is that we have a specific job,” she said. “And even though engineers can pick up a camera and take photos, they don’t. They know we’re the experts at it. They trust our eyes to tell and capture the story.”
Henry said one of the most memorable days he’s documented so far was watching the PACE team integrate the SPEXone instrument into the spacecraft.
“All the partners were there as I photographed. It was a big deal,” he said. “I captured every bolt all the way to the mounting. It’s important to get these details. Six months from now someone who wasn’t there might want to see what was done in what order.”
Henry said that capturing images is only part of the job. For every hour of shooting, there’s also an hour spent processing and working with partners to ensure things were documented correctly.
Playing Detective
While telling the story is important, Stover says that part of the job is speaking up, especially when you notice something wrong.
During one assignment documenting vibration testing, Stover noticed that OCI’s Earth shade looked different.
“We took the bagging off and could see tape peeling off the radiator panels, possibly loose wires in certain places,” she said. “When I saw this, I thought back to what it was like when we shot this the first time.”
Physical Science Technician Kristen Washington performs a contamination inspection of the OCI Flight Fold Flat Mirror optic.Credits: Desiree Stover, NASA Goddard It’s common for the photographers to shoot things twice to examine how things might change when in testing. When Stover saw the tape, she got to work ensuring her hunch was right.
She sent a series of images to the thermal team lead letting him know what she found. Plans were already underway to change the design.
The unexpected
Stover and Henry agree that documenting missions has come with some interesting experiences.
Both had to undergo fall protection harness training in the event they had to climb around one of Goddard’s cleanrooms, something that happened to Stover during one assignment.
“Once I was up in Building 29’s high bay. Like up at the very top in the crane rafters shooting. I never thought I was afraid of heights until that moment,” she said. “But I focused on the image and what task I was accomplishing and completed the assignment without issue.”
Henry said adjusting to Covid-19 required a lot of flexibility, especially with sudden changes.
“This is not a job you can do from home,” he said. “After a few months, we adapted.”
Radio Frequency testing of the PACE Earth Coverage Antenna in the Electromagnetic Anechoic Chamber at Goddard Space Flight Center.Credits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Denny Henry Henry said that many times mission teams will find that engineering drawings won’t match up with what was actually built. With the pandemic restrictions, PACE heavily relied on his images to note how things changed and why issues occurred.
As PACE heads toward big milestones in the next year, both Stover and Henry are excited to see their work come together, including the day of launch.
They both agreed that photographing the teams involved in each aspect of PACE’s build is especially rewarding as they help create mementos that go along with their mission’s story.
By: Sara Blumberg
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
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By NASA
Electrical engineer Scott Hesh works on a sub-payload canister at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility near Chincoteague, Virginia. The cannister will be part of a science experiment and a demonstration of his Swarm Communications technology.Credits: NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility/Berit Bland Scott Hesh, an electrical engineer at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, was announced Nov. 2 as the FY22 IRAD Innovator of the Year, an award presented by the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
“An electrical engineer with an insatiable curiosity, Scott Hesh and his team have worked hand-in-glove with science investigators since 2017,” said Goddard Chief Technologist Peter Hughes. “He developed a technology to sample Earth’s upper atmosphere in multiple dimensions with more accurate time and location data than previously possible with a sounding rocket.”
Related: NASA Sounding Rockets Launch Multiple Science Payloads
Newly proven technology developed at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility near Chincoteague, Virginia, turns a single sounding rocket into a hive deploying a swarm of up to 16 instruments. The technology offers unprecedented accuracy for monitoring Earth’s atmosphere and solar weather over a wide area.
Engineers Josh Yacobucci (left) and Scott Hesh test fit a science sensor sub-payload into a Black Brant sounding rocket at Wallops.Credits: NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility/Berit Bland The Internal Research and Development (IRAD) Innovator of the Year award is presented by Goddard’s Office of the Chief Technologist to individuals who demonstrate the best in innovation.
“Scott has this enthusiasm for what he does that I think is really contagious,” Sounding Rocket Program technologist Cathy Hesh said. “He’s an electrical engineer by education, but he has such a grasp on other disciplines as well, so he’s sort of like a systems engineer. If he wants to improve something, he just goes out and learns all sorts of things that would be beyond the scope of his discipline.”
Mechanical engineer Josh Yacobucci has worked with Scott Hesh for more than 15 years, and said he always learns something when they collaborate.
“Scott brings this great perspective,” Yacobucci said. “He could help winnow out things in my designs that I hadn’t thought of.”
“For his interdisciplinary leadership resulting in game-changing improvements for atmospheric and solar science capabilities,” Hughes said, “Scott Hesh deserves Goddard’s Innovator of the Year Award.”
By Karl B. Hille
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
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By NASA
u0022From a natural resources perspective, I often say that Wallops has all the aspects of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (which shares its home with the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge) in Florida but in a compressed area,u0022 said Shari Miller, NEPA manager and natural resources manager at Wallops Flight Facility. u0022We protect all these species while launching rockets and unmanned aerial systems (UASs) or drones above them.u0022NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility / Jamie Adkins Name: Shari Miller
Title: Wallops Flight Facility National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Manager and Wallops Natural Resources Manager
Formal Job Classification: Environmental Engineer
Organization: Medical and Environmental Management Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (Code 250)
What do you do at Goddard?
For half my job, I do environmental planning and review all projects and missions looking to come to Wallops or that Wallops project managers are looking to perform anywhere in the world. For the other half of my job, I manage the natural resources permitting and review at Wallops.
Why did you become an environmental engineer?
I have always been an outdoors person and was raised to love nature and the environment. I have a Bachelor of Science in chemistry and biology from Salisbury University and a master’s in environmental science from the University of Maryland. I have worked at Wallops for over 23 years.
What are some of Wallops’ unique environmental attributes?
From a natural resources perspective, I often say that Wallops has all the aspects of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (which shares its home with the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge) in Florida but in a compressed area. We have endangered species including nesting shorebirds called the piping plover and red knots, and protected species, including bald eagles and peregrine falcons. Loggerhead sea turtles sometimes nest on our shores. Seals may stop to rest. We protect all these species while launching rockets and unmanned aerial systems (UASs) or drones above them.
For the other half of my job, I can be analyzing the environmental impacts of a rocket launched from a balloon over Hawaii ranging to that of replacing a bridge or building a new rocket launch pad at Wallops, all in the same day. Environmental impacts may include noise levels; socioeconomic effects in the community; and changes, positive or negative, to air, water, or other natural resources. Environmental planning allows the public to comment on proposed federal projects including infrastructure and mission.
Shari Miller, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) manager and natural resources manager at Wallops Flight Facility, helps balance mission needs while also protecting Wallops’ diverse local ecosystem. u0022We have endangered species including nesting shorebirds called the piping plover and red knots, and protected species, including bald eagles and peregrine falcons. Loggerhead sea turtles sometimes nest on our shores. Seals may stop to rest.u0022NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility / Shari Miller What is the coolest thing you have done at work?
In 2015, I worked on a NASA mission called the Low Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) project in Hawaii. A sounding rocket launched from a balloon was used to test a decelerator and parachute for landing rovers on Mars. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Southern California designed the decelerator and parachute. Wallops designed the balloon and sounding rocket system and performed the launch. The Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility provided the launch range in Hawaii. Both the balloon and the decelerator systems had the potential to land in a National Marine Monument, a highly protected area. I worked with the Hawaiian governor’s office, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service on obtaining the necessary permits.
I loved the challenge of working with so many entities. I planned all the permits and analyses to ensure that the mission could proceed.
Do you like to plan in advance?
The point of early planning is to “know before you go” to allow time to make any necessary changes. I am a planner, at work and in life. I start planning early. How are you going to know where you are going and get plane tickets unless someone does some advance planning?
Who inspires you?
My parents inspire me. My father passed away, but he taught me to appreciate a thunderstorm. My mom is in her mid-seventies and retired, but she never sits still. She is one of the most on-the-go people I know. If she is not walking her dogs in the woods, she is either at a card game, a college class, or on a lunch date with friends. Her energy and love of learning and reading and her excitement to share what she has learned, inspires me. I am a data-driven, scientific person. She gave me my love of nature, science, data, and learning.
u0022I can be analyzing the environmental impacts of a rocket launched from a balloon over Hawaii ranging to that of replacing a bridge or building a new rocket launch pad at Wallops, all in the same day,u0022 Wallops Flight Facility resources manager Shari Miller describes her job. u0022Environmental impacts may include noise levels; socioeconomic effects in the community; and changes, positive or negative, to air, water, or other natural resources.u0022NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility / Shari Miller As a nature lover and environmentalist, what is your favorite place in the world and why?
I love hiking with my two dogs in the woods and to our local creeks and lakes.
I love to travel. I’ve been fortunate to have traveled a lot, including to Japan and Thailand. The top of my traveling wish list is New Zealand.
How does being in nature ground you?
I am a high-energy person. Being in nature allows me to slow down and breathe; to listen to the stillness, the wind and birdsong. Just to listen to the quiet. All this grounds and calms me, it is almost meditative. It is also energizing and recharges my battery.
What is your “six-word memoir”? A six-word memoir describes something in just six words.
Nature-lover balancing the environment and missions.
By Elizabeth M. Jarrell
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Conversations With Goddard is a collection of Q&A profiles highlighting the breadth and depth of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center’s talented and diverse workforce. The Conversations have been published twice a month on average since May 2011. Read past editions on Goddard’s “Our People” webpage.
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Last Updated Feb 10, 2025 Related Terms
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By NASA
NASA researchers Guan Yang, Jeff Chen, and their team received the 2024 Innovator of The Year Award at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for their exemplary work on a lidar system enhanced with artificial intelligence and other technologies.
Engineer Jeffrey Chen tests a lidar prototype on the roof of Building 33 at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Chen and his team earned the center’s 2024 Innovator of the Year award for their work on CASALS, a lidar system enhanced with artificial intelligence and other technologies.NASA Like a laser-based version of sonar, lidar and its use in space exploration is not new. But the lidar system Yang and Chen’s team have developed — formally the Concurrent Artificially-intelligent Spectrometry and Adaptive Lidar System (CASALS) — can produce higher resolution data within a smaller space, significantly increasing efficiency compared to current models.
The true revolution in CASALS is a unique combination of related technologies, such as highly efficient laser and receiver designs, wavelength-based, non-mechanical beam steering, multispectral imaging, and the incorporation of artificial intelligence to allow the instrument to make its own decisions while in orbit, instead of waiting for direction from human controllers on the ground.
“Existing 3D-imaging lidars struggle to provide the 2-inch resolution needed by guidance, navigation and control technologies to ensure precise and safe landings essential for future robotic and human exploration missions,” team engineer Jeffrey Chen said in an earlier interview. “Such a system requires 3D hazard-detection lidar and a navigation doppler lidar, and no existing system can perform both functions.”
The CASALS lidar is being developed to study land and ice topography, coastline changes, and other Earth science topics. Future applications in solar system science beyond our planet are already in the works, including space navigation improvements and high-resolution lunar mapping for NASA’s Artemis campaign to return astronauts to the Moon.
An effective and compact lidar system like CASALS could also map rocky planets like Venus or Mars.
NASA leveraged contributions from external Small Business Innovation Research companies such as Axsun Technologies, Freedom Photonics, and Left Hand for laser and optical technology to help make CASALS a reality.
The Internal Research and Development (IRAD) Innovator of The Year award is presented by Goddard’s Office of the Chief Technologist to a person or team within the program with a notable contribution to cutting-edge technology. The CASALS team was presented their award at a technology poster session on Nov. 6, 2024, at NASA Goddard.
By Avery Truman
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
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Last Updated Nov 15, 2024 EditorRob GarnerContactRob Garnerrob.garner@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
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