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By NASA
If you design a new tool for use on Earth, it is easy to test and practice using that tool in its intended environment. But what if that tool is destined for lunar orbit or will be used by astronauts on the surface of the Moon?
NASA’s Simulation and Graphics Branch can help with that. Based at Johnson Space Center in Houston, the branch’s high-fidelity, real-time graphical simulations support in-depth engineering analyses and crew training, ensuring the safety, efficiency, and success of complex space endeavors before execution. The team manages multiple facilities that provide these simulations, including the Prototype Immersive Technologies (PIT) Lab, Virtual Reality Training Lab, and the Systems Engineering Simulator (SES).
Lee Bingham is an aerospace engineer on the simulation and graphics team. His work includes developing simulations and visualizations for the NASA Exploration Systems Simulations team and providing technical guidance on simulation and graphics integration for branch-managed facilities. He also leads the branch’s human-in-the-loop Test Sim and Graphics Team, the Digital Lunar Exploration Sites Unreal Simulation Tool (DUST), and the Lunar Surface Mixed-Reality with the Active Response Gravity Offload System (ARGOS) projects.
Lee Bingham demonstrates a spacewalk simulator for the Gateway lunar space station during NASA’s Tech Day on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Image courtesy of Lee Bingham Bingham is particularly proud of his contributions to DUST, which provides a 3D visualization of the Moon’s South Pole and received Johnson’s Exceptional Software of the Year Award in 2024. “It was designed for use as an early reference to enable candidate vendors to perform initial studies of the lunar terrain and lighting in support of the Strategy and Architecture Office, human landing system, and the Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program,” Bingham explained. DUST has supported several human-in-the-loop studies for NASA. It has also been shared with external collaborators and made available to the public through the NASA Software Catalog.
Bingham has kept busy during his nearly nine years at Johnson and said learning to manage and balance support for multiple projects and customers was very challenging at first. “I would say ‘yes’ to pretty much anything anyone asked me to do and would end up burning myself out by working extra-long hours to meet milestones and deliverables,” he said. “It has been important to maintain a good work-life balance and avoid overcommitting myself while meeting demanding expectations.”
Lee Bingham tests the Lunar Surface Mixed Reality and Active Response Gravity Offload System trainer at Johnson Space Center. Image courtesy of Lee Bingham Bingham has also learned the importance of teamwork and collaboration. “You can’t be an expert at everything or do everything yourself,” he said. “Develop your skills, practice them regularly, and master them over time but be willing to ask for help and advice. And be sure to recognize and acknowledge your coworkers and teammates when they go above and beyond or achieve something remarkable.”
Lee Bingham (left) demonstrates a lunar rover simulator for Apollo 16 Lunar Module Pilot Charlie Duke. Image courtesy of Lee Bingham He hopes that the Artemis Generation will be motivated to tackle difficult challenges and further NASA’s mission to benefit humanity. “Be sure to learn from those who came before you, but be bold and unafraid to innovate,” he advised.
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By NASA
Depending on where you stand at the lunar South Pole, you may experience temperatures of 130°F (54°C) during sunlit periods, or as low as -334°F (-203°C) in a permanently shadowed region. Keeping crews comfortable and tools and vehicles operational in such extreme temperatures is a key challenge for engineers at Johnson Space Center working on elements of NASA’s Artemis campaign.
Abigail Howard is part of that innovative team. Since joining Johnson in 2019, she has conducted thermal analysis for projects including the lunar terrain vehicle (LTV), pressurized rover, VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover), and Gateway – humanity’s first lunar space station. Her work explores how different materials and components respond to different temperatures and how to manage heat transfer in products and structures.
She currently serves as the passive thermal system manager for the Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program, leading a small team of thermal analysts. Together, they provide expertise on passive thermal design, hardware, modeling, and testing to vendors and international partners that are developing rovers and tools for human exploration of the lunar surface.
Abigail Howard posing in front of a mockup of VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover), which she worked on as a thermal analyst for three years. Image courtesy of Abigail Howard Howard said her sudden shift from thermal analysis engineer to thermal system manager involved a steep learning curve. “Every day was like drinking through a firehose. I had to learn very quickly about systems engineering tasks, project phases, and leadership, while also learning about many new thermal approaches and designs so that I could provide good insight to project leadership and program vendors and partners,” she said. “Having a good group of senior engineers and friends to lean on and building up my team helped me get through it, but the single most important thing was not giving up. It gets easier and persistence pays off!”
Abigail Howard (left) and Brittany Spivey (right) after presenting their poster at the 2022 International Symposium for Materials in the Space Environment in Leiden, the Netherlands. Image courtesy of Abigail Howard Howard feels fortunate to have worked on many interesting projects at NASA and presented her work at several conferences. Top achievements include watching her first NASA project launch successfully on Artemis I and supporting the LTV Source Evaluation Board as the thermal representative. “Something I’m really proud of is obtaining funding for and managing a test that looked at thermal performance of dust mitigation for spacecraft radiators,” she added.
Abigail Howard removes lunar dust simulant from a tray holding radiator test coupons during a test to evaluate thermal performance of radiators with integrated Electrodynamic Dust Shield for dust mitigation. Image courtesy of Abigail Howard She believes interesting and challenging work is important but says the biggest determinant to professional success and satisfaction is your team and your team lead. “Having a really great team and team lead on Gateway thermal taught me the kind of leader and teammate I want to be,” she said.
Howard encourages fellow members of the Artemis Generation to not let imposter syndrome get in their way. “Focus on the evidence of your abilities and remember that no one is in this alone,” she said. “It’s okay to ask for help.”
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By European Space Agency
Video: 00:02:43 On 12 March 2025 ESA’s Hera spacecraft for planetary defence performs a flyby of Mars. The gravity of the red planet shifts the spacecraft’s trajectory towards the Didymos binary asteroid system, shortening its trip by months and saving substantial fuel.
This is a simulation of that flyby, sped up 500 times, with closest approach to Martian moon Deimos taking place at 12:07 GMT and Mars occurring at 12:51 GMT. It was made using SPICE (Spacecraft, Planet, Instrument, C-matrix, Events) software. Produced by a team at ESA’s ESAC European Space Astronomy Centre, this SPICE visualisation is used to plan instrument acquisitions during Hera’s flyby.
Hera comes to around 5000 km from the surface of Mars during its flyby. It will also image Deimos, the smaller of Mars’s two moons, from a minimum 1000 km away (while venturing as close as 300 km). Hera will also image Mars’s larger moon Phobos as it begins to move away from Mars. In this sped-up simulation, Deimos is seen 30 seconds in, at 12:07 GMT, while the more distant star-like Phobos becomes visible at two minutes in, at 12:49 GMT.
The spacecraft employs three of its instruments over the course of these close encounters, all located together on the ‘Asteroid Deck’ on top of Hera:
Hera’s Asteroid Framing Camera is formed of two redundant 1020x1020 pixel monochromatic visible light cameras, used for both navigation and science.
The Thermal Infrared Imager, supplied by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA, images at mid-infrared wavelengths to determine surface temperatures.
Hera’s Hyperscout H is a hyperspectral imager, observing in 25 visible and near-infrared spectral bands to prospect surface minerals.
Did you know this mission has its own AI? You can pose questions to our Hera Space Companion!
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By NASA
James Gentile always wanted to fly. As he prepared for an appointment to the U.S. Air Force Academy to become a pilot, life threw him an unexpected curve: a diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes. His appointment was rescinded.
With his dream grounded, Gentile had two choices—give up or chart a new course. He chose the latter, pivoting to aerospace engineering. If he could not be a pilot, he would design the flight simulations that trained those who could.
Official portrait of James Gentile. NASA/Robert Markowitz As a human space vehicle simulation architect at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Gentile leads the Integrated Simulation team, which supports the Crew Compartment Office within the Simulation and Graphics Branch. He oversees high-fidelity graphical simulations that support both engineering analysis and flight crew training for the Artemis campaign.
His team provides critical insight into human landing system vendor designs, ensuring compliance with NASA’s standards. They also develop human-in-the-loop simulations to familiarize teams with the challenges of returning humans to the lunar surface, optimizing design and safety for future space missions.
“I take great pride in what I have helped to build, knowing that some of the simulations I developed have influenced decisions for the Artemis campaign,” Gentile said.
One of the projects he is most proud of is the Human Landing System CrewCo Lander Simulation, which helps engineers and astronauts tackle the complexities of lunar descent, ascent, and rendezvous. He worked his way up from a developer to managing and leading the project, transforming a basic lunar lander simulation into a critical tool for the Artemis campaign.
What began as a simple model in 2020 is now a key training asset used in multiple facilities at Johnson. The simulation evaluates guidance systems and provides hands-on piloting experience for lunar landers.
James Gentile in the Simulation Exploration and Analysis Lab during a visit with Apollo 16 Lunar Module Pilot Charlie Duke. From left to right: Katie Tooher, Charlie Duke, Steve Carothers, Mark Updegrove, and James Gentile. NASA/James Blair Before joining Johnson as a contractor in 2018, Gentile worked in the aviation industry developing flight simulations for pilot training. Transitioning to the space sector was challenging at first, particularly working alongside seasoned professionals who had been part of the space program for years.
“I believe my experience in the private sector has benefited my career,” he said. “I’ve been able to bring a different perspective and approach to problem-solving that has helped me advance at Johnson.”
Gentile attributes his success to never being afraid to speak up and ask questions. “You don’t always have to be the smartest person in the room to make an impact,” he said. “I’ve been able to show my value through my work and by continuously teaching myself new skills.”
As he helps train the Artemis Generation, Gentile hopes to pass on his passion for aerospace and simulation development, inspiring others to persevere through obstacles and embrace unexpected opportunities.
“The most important lessons I’ve learned in my career are to build and maintain relationships with your coworkers and not to be afraid to step out of your comfort zone,” he said.
James Gentile with his son at NASA’s Johnson Space Center during the 2024 Bring Youth to Work Day. His journey did not go as planned, but in the end, it led him exactly where he was meant to be—helping humanity take its next giant leap.
“I’ve learned that the path to your goals may not always be clear-cut, but you should never give up on your dreams,” Gentile said.
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By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
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A 3D simulation showing the evolution of turbulent flows in the upper layers of the Sun. The more saturated and bright reds represent the most vigorous upward or downward twisting motions. Clear areas represent areas where there is only relatively slow up-flows, with very little twisting.NASA/Irina Kitiashvili and Timothy A. Sandstrom NASA supercomputers are shedding light on what causes some of the Sun’s most complex behaviors. Using data from the suite of active Sun-watching spacecraft currently observing the star at the heart of our solar system, researchers can explore solar dynamics like never before.
The animation shows the strength of the turbulent motions of the Sun’s inner layers as materials twist into its atmosphere, resembling a roiling pot of boiling water or a flurry of schooling fish sending material bubbling up to the surface or diving it further down below.
“Our simulations use what we call a realistic approach, which means we include as much as we know to-date about solar plasma to reproduce different phenomena observed with NASA space missions,” said Irina Kitiashvili, a scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley who helped lead the study.
Using modern computational capabilities, the team was able, for the first time to reproduce the fine structures of the subsurface layer observed with NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory.
“Right now, we don’t have the computational capabilities to create realistic global models of the entire Sun due to the complexity,” said Kitiashvili. “Therefore, we create models of smaller areas or layers, which can show us structures of the solar surface and atmosphere – like shock waves or tornado-like features measuring only a few miles in size; that’s much finer detail than any one spacecraft can resolve.”
Scientists seek to better understand the Sun and what phenomena drive the patterns of its activity. The connection and interactions between the Sun and Earth drive the seasons, ocean currents, weather, climate, radiation belts, auroras and many other phenomena. Space weather predictions are critical for exploration of space, supporting the spacecraft and astronauts of NASA’s Artemis campaign. Surveying this space environment is a vital part of understanding and mitigating astronaut exposure to space radiation and keeping our spacecraft and instruments safe.
This has been a big year for our special star, studded with events like the annular eclipse, a total eclipse, and the Sun reaching its solar maximum period. In December 2024, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe mission – which is helping researchers to understand space weather right at the source – will make its closest-ever approach to the Sun and beat its own record of being the closest human-made object to reach the Sun.
The Sun keeps surprising us. We are looking forward to seeing what kind of exciting events will be organized by the Sun."
Irina Kitiashvili
NASA Scientist
“The Sun keeps surprising us,” said Kitiashvili. “We are looking forward to seeing what kind of exciting events will be organized by the Sun.”
These simulations were run on the Pleaides supercomputer at the NASA Advanced Supercomputing facility at NASA Ames over several weeks of runtime, generating terabytes of data.
NASA is showcasing 29 of the agency’s computational achievements at SC24, the international supercomputing conference, Nov. 17-22, 2023, in Atlanta, Georgia. For more technical information, visit:
https://www.nas.nasa.gov/sc24
For news media: Members of the news media interested in covering this topic should reach out to the NASA Ames newsroom.
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Last Updated Nov 21, 2024 Related Terms
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