Members Can Post Anonymously On This Site
La NASA ofrece una sesión informativa y entrevistas con el astronauta Frank Rubio antes de su despegue
-
Similar Topics
-
By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Latha Balijepalle, a senior database administrator at NASA Ames, encourages others to take a risk and pursue challenges in their work, like trying something new that might open doors to a new opportunity.NASA/Brandon Torres Navarrete When Madhavi Latha Balijepalle noticed that her morning commute took her past NASA Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, she set a new career goal for herself: working for NASA.
“I started manifesting it, thinking about it every day as I drove by. When I started looking for a new job, I saw an opening and decided to apply,” said Balijepalle, a senior database administrator working at the Airspace Operations Laboratory (AOL) at NASA Ames.
Eight and a half years later, she supports the researchers and developers who research next-generation solutions to advance aircraft technology and air traffic management.
A journey into the unknown
Balijepalle’s journey to NASA started thousands of miles away. She grew up in a small town in southern India, studying electrical engineering in college and establishing a career in information technology, working in C++ and Python.
When her husband found a job opportunity in the United States, Balijepalle’s life took an unexpected turn.
“I never planned to move to America,” said Balijepalle. “It was not easy to come here, even though my husband had a job. I stayed in India for almost nine months, before he found a different job that would help us with my visa and documentation.”
After settling into her new country, growing her family, and developing in her new career, Balijepalle began to ponder her dream job at NASA. She and her younger daughter, a fellow space fan, enjoyed talking about the agency’s work in space, and when a Linux administrator position opened up, she jumped at the chance.
A dream job becomes reality
At the lab, Balijepalle was initially responsible for managing the lab’s Linux servers and applications. Today, she also supports researchers and developers with development, automation, and deployment of their work.
“Latha is the lifeblood of the lab,” said Jeff Homola, co-leader of the Airborne Operations Laboratory at NASA Ames. “Without her unwavering dedication to making sure our systems are safe, secure, up to date, and running smoothly, we would not be able to do what we do in the lab.”
One of Balijepalle’s proudest achievements during her NASA career is her language skills. Growing up, she spoke Telugu and Hindi, and learned English, but communication was still a challenge when she arrived at NASA.
“I spoke English when I came to America, but not as well, and not using the technical language we use at NASA,” said Balijepalle. “I’m proud that I’ve improved my communications skills.”
“Step outside your comfort zone”
Looking back on the commute that changed her life, Balijepalle says she owes it all to being up to the challenge.
“I wasn’t a risk taker, I didn’t think about stepping outside my comfort zone, but as I drove by NASA Ames each day, I started to think about astronauts. They step outside their comfort zone and leave the planet, so maybe I could take a risk, too.”
For those who also dream of working at NASA one day, Balijepalle has some advice: try doing it her way.
“Start thinking about it and manifesting your dream. Maybe it will come true, and maybe it won’t, but you might as well try.”
Share
Details
Last Updated Dec 23, 2024 Related Terms
Ames Research Center General Explore More
16 min read NASA Ames Astrogram – December 2024
Article 3 days ago 5 min read NASA’s Ames Research Center Celebrates 85 Years of Innovation
Article 3 days ago 3 min read NASA’s Webb Reveals Smallest Asteroids Yet Found in Main Asteroid Belt
Article 3 days ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
Missions
Humans in Space
Climate Change
Solar System
View the full article
-
By NASA
2024 Year in Review – Highlights from NASA in Silicon Valley
by Tiffany Blake
As NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley enters its 85th year since its founding, join us as we take a look back at some of our highlights of science, engineering, research, and innovation from 2024.
Ames Arc Jets Play Key Role in Artemis I Orion Spacecraft Heat Shield Findings
A block of Avcoat undergoes testing inside an arc jet test chamber at NASA Ames. The test article, configured with both permeable (upper) and non-permeable (lower) Avcoat sections for comparison, helped to confirm understanding of the root cause of the loss of charred Avcoat material that engineers saw on the Orion spacecraft after the Artemis I test flight beyond the Moon. photo credit: NASA Researchers at Ames were part of the team tasked to better understand and identify the root cause of the unexpected char loss across the Artemis I Orion spacecraft’s heat shield. Using Avcoat material response data from Artemis I, the investigation team was able to replicate the Artemis I entry trajectory environment — a key part of understanding the cause of the issue — inside the arc jet facilities at NASA Ames.
Starling Swarm Completes Primary Mission
The four CubeSat spacecraft that make up the Starling swarm have demonstrated success in autonomous operations, completing all key mission objectives. Image credit: NASA After ten months in orbit, the Starling spacecraft swarm successfully demonstrated its primary mission’s key objectives, representing significant achievements in the capability of swarm configurations in low Earth orbit, including distributing and sharing important information and autonomous decision making.
Another Step Forward for BioNutrients
Research scientists Sandra Vu, left, Natalie Ball, center, and Hiromi Kagawa, right, process BioNutrients production packs.Image credit: NASA NASA’s BioNutrients entered its fifth year in its mission to investigate how microorganisms can produce on-demand nutrients for astronauts during long-duration space missions. Keeping astronauts healthy is critical and as the project comes to a close, researchers have processed production packs on Earth on the same day astronauts processed production packs in space on the International Space Station to demonstrate that NASA can produce nutrients after at least five years in space, providing confidence it will be capable of supporting crewed missions to Mars.
Hyperwall Upgrade Helps Scientists Interpret Big Data
The newly upgraded hyperwall visualization system provides four times the resolution of the previous system. Image credit: NASA/Brandon Torres Navarrete Ames upgraded its powerful hyperwall system, a 300-square foot wall of LCD screens with over a billion pixels to display supercomputer-scale visualizations of the very large datasets produced by NASA supercomputers and instruments. The hyperwall is just one way researchers can utilize NASA’s high-end computing technology to better understand their data and advance the agency’s missions and research.
Ames Contributions to NASA Artificial Intelligence Efforts
This landscape of “mountains” and “valleys” speckled with glittering stars is actually the edge of a nearby, young, star-forming region called NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula. Captured in infrared light by NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope, this image reveals for the first time previously invisible areas of star birth.Image credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls Ames contributes to the agency’s artificial intelligence work through ongoing research and development, agencywide collaboration, and communications efforts. This year, NASA announced David Salvagnini as its inaugural chief artificial intelligence officer and held the first agencywide town hall on artificial intelligence sharing how the agency is safely using and developing artificial intelligence to advance missions and research.
Advanced Composite Solar Sail System Successfully Launches, Deploys Sail
Illustration: NASA NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System successfully launched from Māhia, New Zealand, in April, and successfully deployed its sail in August to begin mission operations. The small satellite represents a new future in solar sailing, using lightweight composite booms to support a reflective polymer sail that uses the pressure of sunlight as propulsion.
Understanding Our Planet
Samuel Suleiman, an instructor on NASA’s OCEANOS student training program, gathers loose corals to place around an endangered coral species to help attract fish and other wildlife, giving the endangered coral a better chance of survivalphoto credit: NASA/Milan Loiacono In 2024, Ames researchers studied Earth’s oceans and waterways from multiple angles – from supporting NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem, or PACE, mission to bringing students in Puerto Rico experiences in oceanography and the preservation of coral reefs. Working with multiple partners, our scientists and engineers helped inform ecosystem management by joining satellite measurements of Earth with animal tracking data. In collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey, a NASA team continued testing a specialized instrument package to stay in-the-know about changes in river flow rates.
Revealing the Mysteries of Asteroids in Our Solar System
Image credit: NASA Ames researchers used a series of supercomputer simulations to reveal a potential new explanation for how the moons of Mars may have formed: The first step, the findings say, may have involved the destruction of an asteroid.
Using NASA’s powerful James Webb Space Telescope, another Ames scientist helped reveal the smallest asteroids ever found in the main asteroid belt.
Ames Helps Emerging Space Companies ‘Take the Heat’
A heat shield made by NASA is visible on the blunt, upward-facing side of a space capsule after its landing in the Utah desert.Image credit: Varda Space Industries/John Kraus A heat shield material invented and made at Ames helped to safely return a spacecraft containing the first product processed on an autonomous, free-flying, in-space manufacturing platform. February’s re-entry of the spacecraft from Varda Space Industries of El Segundo, California, in partnership with Rocket Lab USA of Long Beach, California, marked the first time a NASA-manufactured thermal protection material, called C-PICA (Conformal Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator), ever returned from space.
Team Continues to Move Forward with Mission to Learn More about Our Star
This illustration lays a depiction of the sun’s magnetic fields over an image captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory on March 12, 2016.Image credit: NASA/SDO/AIA/LMSAL HelioSwarm’s swarm of nine spacecraft will provide deeper insights into our universe and offer critical information to help protect astronauts, satellites, and communications signals such as GPS. The mission team continues to work toward launching in 2029.
CAPSTONE Continues to Chart a New Path Around the Moon
CAPSTONE revealed in lunar Sunrise: CAPSTONE will fly in cislunar space – the orbital space near and around the Moon. The mission will demonstrate an innovative spacecraft-to-spacecraft navigation solution at the Moon from a near rectilinear halo orbit slated for Artemis’ Gateway.Illustration credit: NASA Ames/Daniel Rutter The microwave sized CubeSat, CAPSTONE, continues to fly in a cis-lunar near rectilinear halo orbit after launching in 2022. Flying in this unique orbit continues to pave the way for future spacecraft and Gateway, a Moon-orbiting outpost that is part of NASA’s Artemis campaign, as the team continues to collect data.
NASA Moves Drone Package Delivery Industry Closer to Reality
A drone is shown flying during a test of Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management (UTM) technical capability Level 2 (TCL2) at Reno-Stead Airport, Nevada in 2016. During the test, five drones simultaneously crossed paths, separated by different altitudes. Two drones flew beyond visual line of sight and three flew within line-of-sight of their operators. More UTM research followed, and it continues today. Image credit: NASA Ames/Dominic Hart NASA’s uncrewed aircraft system traffic management concepts paved the way for newly-approved package delivery drone flights in the Dallas area.
NASA’s uncrewed aircraft system traffic management concepts paved the way for newly-approved package delivery drone flights in the Dallas area.
NASA Technologies Streamline Air Traffic Management Systems
This image shows an aviation version of a smartphone navigation app that makes suggestions for an aircraft to fly an alternate, more efficient route. The new trajectories are based on information available from NASA’s Digital Information Platform and processed by the Collaborative Departure Digital Rerouting tool.Illustration credit: NASA Managing our busy airspace is a complex and important issue, ensuring reliable and efficient movement of commercial and public air traffic as well as autonomous vehicles. NASA, in partnership with AeroVironment and Aerostar, demonstrated a first-of-its-kind air traffic management concept that could pave the way for aircraft to safely operate at higher altitudes. The agency also saw continued fuel savings and reduction in commercial flight delays at Dallas Fort-Worth Airport, thanks to a NASA-developed tool that allows flight coordinators to identify more efficient, alternative takeoff routes.
Small Spacecraft Gathers Big Solar Storm Data from Deep Space
Illustration of NASA’s BioSentinel spacecraft as it enters a heliocentric orbit.Illustration credit: NASA Ames/Daniel Rutter BioSentinel – a small satellite about the size of a cereal box – is currently more than 30 million miles from Earth, orbiting our Sun. After launching aboard NASA’s Artemis I more than two years ago, BioSentinel continues to collect valuable information for scientists trying to understand how solar radiation storms move through space and where their effects – and potential impacts on life beyond Earth – are most intense. In May 2024, the satellite was exposed to a coronal mass ejection without the protection of our planet’s magnetic field and gathered measurements of hazardous solar particles in deep space during a solar storm.
NASA, FAA Partner to Develop New Wildland Fire Technologies
Artist’s rendering of remotely piloted aircraft providing fire suppression, monitoring and communications capabilities during a wildland fire. Illustration credit: NASA NASA researchers continued to develop and test airspace management technologies to enable remotely-piloted aircraft to fight and monitor wildland fires 24 hours a day.
The Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) project seeks to use drones and advanced aviation technologies to improve wildland fire coordination and operations.
NASA and Forest Service Use Balloon to Help Firefighters Communicate
The Aerostar Thunderhead balloon carries the STRATO payload into the sky to reach the stratosphere for flight testing. The balloon appears deflated because it will expand as it rises to higher altitudes where pressures are lower.Image credit: Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control Center of Excellence for Advanced Technology Aerial Firefighting/Austin Buttlar The Strategic Tactical Radio and Tactical Overwatch (STRATO) technology is a collaborative effort to use high-altitude balloons to improve real-time communications among firefighters battling wildland fires. Providing cellular communication from above can improve firefighter safety and firefighting efficiency.
A Fully Reimagined Visitor Center
The NASA Ames Visitor Center includes exhibits and activities, sharing the work of NASA in Silicon Valley with the public.Image credit: NASA Ames/Don RIchey The NASA Ames Visitor Center at Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland, California includes a fully reimagined 360-degree experience, featuring new exhibits, models, and more. An interactive exhibit puts visitors in the shoes of a NASA Ames scientist, designing and testing rovers, planes, and robots for space exploration.
Ames Collaborations in the Community
Former NASA astronauts Yvonne Cagle and Kenneth Cockrell pose with Eli Toribio and Rhydian Daniels at the University of California, San Francisco Bakar Cancer Hospital. Patients gathered to meet the astronauts and learn more about human spaceflight and NASA’s cancer research effortsImage credit: NASA Ames/Brandon Torres Navarrete NASA astronauts, scientists, and researchers, and leadership from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) met with cancer patients and gathered in a discussion about potential research opportunities and collaborations as part of President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden’s Cancer Moonshot initiative on Oct. 4. During the visit with patients, NASA astronaut Yvonne Cagle and former astronaut Kenneth Cockrell answered questions about spaceflight and life in space.
Ames and the University of California, Berkeley, expanded their partnership, organizing workshops to exchange on their areas of technical expertise, including in Advanced Air Mobility, and to develop ideas for the Berkeley Space Center, an innovation hub proposed for development at Ames’ NASA Research Park. Under a new agreement, NASA also will host supercomputing resources for UC Berkeley, supporting the development of novel computing algorithms and software for a wide variety of scientific and technology areas.
NASA’s Ames Research Center Celebrates 85 Years of Innovation
by Rachel Hoover
Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley pre-dates a lot of things. The center existed before NASA – the very space and aeronautics agency it’s a critical part of today. And of all the marvelous advancements in science and technology that have fundamentally changed our lives over the last 85 years since its founding, one aspect has remained steadfast; an enduring commitment to what’s known by some on-center simply as, “an atmosphere of freedom.”
The NACA Ames laboratory in 1944.Image credit: NASA Years before breaking ground at the site that would one day become home to the world’s preeminent wind tunnels, supercomputers, simulators, and brightest minds solving some of the world’s toughest challenges, Joseph Sweetman Ames, the center’s namesake, described a sentiment that would guide decades of innovation and research:
“My hope is that you have learned or are learning a love of freedom of thought and are convinced that life is worthwhile only in such an atmosphere,” he said in an address to the graduates of Johns Hopkins University in June 1935.
That spirit and the people it attracted and retained are a crucial part of how Ames, along with other N.A.C.A. research centers, ultimately made technological breakthroughs that enabled humanity’s first steps on the Moon, the safe return of spacecraft through Earth’s atmosphere, and many other discoveries that benefit our day-to-day lives.
Russell Robinson momentarily looks to the camera while supervising the first excavation at what would become Ames Research Center.Image credit: NACA “In the context of my work, an atmosphere of freedom means the freedom to pursue high-risk, high-reward, innovative ideas that may take time to fully develop and — most importantly — the opportunity to put them into practice for the benefit of all,” said Edward Balaban, a researcher at Ames specializing in artificial intelligence, robotics, and advanced mission concepts.
Balaban’s career at Ames has involved a variety of projects at different stages of development – from early concept to flight-ready – including experimenting with different ways to create super-sized space telescopes in space and using artificial intelligence to help guide the path a rover might take to maximize off-world science results. Like many Ames researchers over the years, Balaban shared that his experience has involved deep collaborations across science and engineering disciplines with colleagues all over the center, as well as commercial and academic partners in Silicon Valley where Ames is nestled and beyond. This is a tradition that runs deep at Ames and has helped lead to entirely new fields of study and seeded many companies and spinoffs.
Before NASA, Before Silicon Valley: The 1939 Founding of Ames Aeronautical Laboratory “In the fields of aeronautics and space exploration the cost of entry can be quite high. For commercial enterprises and universities pursuing longer term ideas and putting them into practice often means partnering up with an organization such as NASA that has the scale and multi-disciplinary expertise to mature these ideas for real-world applications,” added Balaban.
“Certainly, the topics of inquiry, the academic freedom, and the benefit to the public good are what has kept me at Ames,” reflected Ross Beyer, a planetary scientist with the SETI Institute at Ames. “There’s not a lot of commercial incentive to study other planets, for example, but maybe there will be soon. In the meantime, only with government funding and agencies like NASA can we develop missions to explore the unknown in order to make important fundamental science discoveries and broadly share them.”
For Beyer, his boundary-breaking moment came when he searched – and found – software engineers at Ames capable and passionate about open-source software to generate accurate, high-resolution, texture-mapped, 3D terrain models from stereo image pairs. He and other teams of NASA scientists have since applied that software to study and better understand everything from changes in snow and ice characteristics on Earth, as well as features like craters, mountains, and caves on Mars or the Moon. This capability is part of the Artemis campaign, through which NASA will establish a long-term presence at the Moon for scientific exploration with commercial and international partners. The mission is to learn how to live and work away from home, promote the peaceful use of space, and prepare for future human exploration of Mars.
“As NASA and private companies send missions to the Moon, they need to plan landing sites and understand the local environment, and our software is freely available for anyone to use,” Beyer said. “Years ago, our management could easily have said ‘No, let’s keep this software to ourselves; it gives us a competitive advantage.’ They didn’t, and I believe that NASA writ large allows you to work on things and share those things and not hold them back.”
When looking forward to what the next 85 years might bring, researchers shared a belief that advancements in technology and opportunities to innovate are as expansive as space itself, but like all living things, they need a healthy atmosphere to thrive. Balaban offered, “This freedom to innovate is precious and cannot be taken for granted. It can easily fall victim if left unprotected. It is absolutely critical to retain it going forward, to ensure our nation’s continuing vitality and the strength of the other freedoms we enjoy.”
Ames Aeronautical Laboratory.Image credit: NACA Today Marks the Retirement of the Astrogram Newsletter
by Astrid Albaugh
For 66 years, the Astrogram has told the story of NASA’s Ames Research Center. Over those six-plus decades, the newsletter has documented hundreds of missions led by Ames, the progression of Hangar One’s reclamation, space shuttle launches with Ames’ payloads aboard them, countless VIP visits, and everything in between.
Ames published the first edition of the Astrogram in October 1958, coinciding with the transition of the center from its original incarnation as the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics Ames Aeronautical Laboratory to a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) research center.
The newsletter has evolved over time, alongside the center. From October 1958 through January 2016, the Astrogram was published in print, before a digital edition was developed. In January 2016, the Astrogram transitioned to a digital-only format. Below are examples of some of the Astrogram issues from over the years. More are forthcoming from 1998 and prior once they are retrieved from the archives.
October 2014 Astrogram September 2010 Astrogram I have served as the editor of the Astrogram since February 1998. Over the past quarter century, it has been an interesting, and sometimes quite challenging, task for me to capture the breadth and depth of Ames’s story and ensure that we always published the newsletter on time. I still remember trekking over to the center’s imaging office to review the physical negatives and images that the Ames photographers had taken of events onsite and select the most compelling photos. I used a very early version of visual design software to craft the layout. When the paper was completed, I’d file it onto a CD and then hand it to the courier who would drive from the San Francisco printshop to pick it up from me. Once and awhile, someone would request to have an additional feature added, requiring multiple trips up the 101 and back. Sometimes I’d come in on the weekends to work on the paper, due to late submissions, much to the chagrin of my kids.
July 2007 Astrogram It has been a pleasure serving as the editor over the past quarter century, almost as many years as my kids are old. A person once asked me if I had changed my name to Astrid since it’s so like the word Astrogram. Any relationship between the newsletter and my name is simply serendipity. I have enjoyed being behind the scenes, mostly working diligently at my computer. Many at Ames know my name because of the newsletter but may have never met me in person. It’s been amusing sometimes when I encounter someone who can’t put a finger as to why they knew my name but didn’t recognize me standing in front of them. Their usual response when they realized why they know me was, “Ah, Astrid of the Astrogram.”
March 20, 1998 Astrogram Just as NASA innovates, the content of the Astrogram has to innovate as well. Many of the stories that you used to read in the Astrogram, you can now find on our NASA Ames web page here. If you would like to access past, archived issues of the Astrogram, going back to 1958, please consult the Ames Research Center Archives. I will continue to help tell Ames’s story, just using new platforms.
Whether this is your first issue or you have been an Astrogram supporter for decades, thank you for reading!
– Astrid of the Astrogram officially signing off
View the full article
-
By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
From left to right: Astrolab’s FLEX, Intuitive Machines’ Moon RACER, and Lunar Outpost’s Eagle lunar terrain vehicle at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. NASA/Bill Stafford Through NASA’s Artemis campaign, astronauts will land on the lunar surface and use a new generation of spacesuits and rovers as they live, work, and conduct science in the Moon’s South Pole region, exploring more of the lunar surface than ever before. Recently, the agency completed the first round of testing on three commercially owned and developed LTVs (Lunar Terrain Vehicle) from Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, and Venturi Astrolab at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
As part of an ongoing year-long feasibility study, each company delivered a static mockup of their vehicle to Johnson at the end of September, initiated rover testing in October and completed the first round of testing in December inside the Active Response Gravity Offload System (ARGOS) test facility. Lunar surface gravity is one-sixth of what we experience here on Earth, so to mimic this, ARGOS offers an analog environment that can offload pressurized suited subjects for various reduced gravity simulations.
NASA astronauts Raja Chari (left) and Randy Bresnik (right) sit inside Lunar Outpost’s Eagle lunar terrain vehicle evaluating the seat configuration during testing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. NASA/David DeHoyos NASA astronaut Jessica Meir grabs a lunar geology tool from a tool rack on Lunar Outpost’s Eagle lunar terrain vehicle during testing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.NASA/James Blair NASA astronaut Joe Acaba prepares to climb on top of Intuitive Machines’ Moon RACER lunar terrain vehicle to get to a science payload during testing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.NASA/Josh Valcarcel NASA astronaut Jessica Meir puts a science sample inside of a storage box on Intuitive Machines’ Moon RACER lunar terrain vehicle during testing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.NASA/James Blair NASA astronaut Frank Rubio (left) and NASA spacesuit engineer Zach Tejral (right) sit inside Astrolab’s FLEX lunar terrain vehicle evaluating the display interfaces during testing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.NASA/James Blair NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins stores science payloads on Astrolab’s FLEX lunar terrain vehicle during testing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.NASA/Robert Markowitz This is the first major test milestone within the Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services contract and to have actual rovers delivered only four months after these companies were awarded is remarkable.
steve munday
NASA's Lunar Terrain Vehicle Project Manager
NASA’s engineering teams conducted tests where suited NASA astronauts and engineers performed tasks, maneuvers, and emergency drills on each rover. With astronauts acting as the test subjects, these human-in-the-loop tests are invaluable as crewmembers provide critical feedback on each rover’s design functionality, evaluate display interfaces and controls, and help identify potential safety concerns or design issues. This feedback is shared directly with each commercial provider, to incorporate changes based on lessons learned as they evolve their rover design.
“We are excited to have mockups from all three LTV commercial providers here at Johnson Space Center,” said Steve Munday, LTV project manager. “This is the first major test milestone within the Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services contract and to have actual rovers delivered only four months after these companies were awarded is remarkable.”
NASA engineer Dave Coan (left) and NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins (right) sit inside from Intuitive Machines’ Moon RACER lunar terrain vehicle evaluating the crew compartment during testing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.NASA/James Blair Testing consisted of NASA astronauts and engineers taking turns wearing both NASA’s Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit planetary prototype spacesuit as well as Axiom Space’s Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit lunar spacesuit. The test teams performed evaluations to understand the interactions between the crew, the spacesuits, and the LTV mockups.
While wearing NASA’s prototype spacesuit, crew members were suspended from ARGOS allowing teams to mimic theone-sixth gravitational field of the lunar surface. This allowed the crew members to conduct tasks on the outside of each rover, such as gathering or storing lunar geology tools, deploying science payloads, and handling cargo equipment, as if they are walking on the Moon.
NASA astronaut Joe Acaba raises the solar array panel on Lunar Outpost’s Eagle lunar terrain vehicle during testing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.NASA/Robert Markowitz While wearing Axiom Space’s pressurized spacesuit, teams evaluated the level of ease or difficulty in mobility crewmembers experienced when entering and exiting the rovers, the crew compartment and design, and the functionality of interacting with display interfaces and hand controls while wearing thick spacesuit gloves.
As part of testing, teams also conducted emergency drills, where engineers simulated rescuing an incapacitated crew member. As part of NASA’s requirements, each rover must have a design in place that enables an astronaut to single-handedly rescue their crewmates in the event of an emergency.
NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins picks up a lunar geology tool from a stowage drawer on Astrolab’s FLEX lunar terrain vehicle during testing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.NASA/Robert Markowitz Since NASA selected the companies, Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, and Venturi Astrolab have been working to meet NASA’s requirements through the preliminary design review. In 2025, the agency plans to issue a request for task order proposals to any eligible providers for a demonstration mission to continue developing the LTV, deliver it to the surface of the Moon, and validate its performance and safety ahead of Artemis V, when NASA intends to begin using the LTV for crewed operations.
Through Artemis, NASA will send astronauts – including the next Americans, and the first international partner astronaut – to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, technology evolution, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for future crewed missions to Mars.
Learn about the rovers, suits, and tools that will help Artemis astronauts to explore more of the Moon:
https://go.nasa.gov/3MnEfrB
Share
Details
Last Updated Dec 17, 2024 Related Terms
Humans in Space Artemis Artemis 5 Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate Johnson Space Center xEVA & Human Surface Mobility Explore More
3 min read NASA Participates in Microgravity Science Summit
Article 18 hours ago 5 min read Orion Spacecraft Tested in Ohio After Artemis I Mission
Article 1 day ago 2 min read Station Science Top News: Dec. 13, 2024
Article 2 days ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
Humans In Space
Human Landing System
Commercial Space
Orion Spacecraft
View the full article
-
By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Un detalle de la sonda de detección de impactos de la NASA resalta sus puertos de presión, diseñados para medir los cambios de presión del aire durante el vuelo supersónico. La sonda se montará en el F-15B de la NASA para realizar vuelos de calibración, validando su capacidad de medir las ondas de choque generadas por el X-59 para la misión Quesst de la NASA.NASA/Lauren Hughes Un F-15B de la NASA realiza un vuelo de calibración de una sonda de detección de impactos sobre Edwards, California, el 6 de agosto de 2024. La sonda medirá las ondas de choque del X-59 de la NASA.NASA/Steve Freeman Un F-15B de la NASA realiza un vuelo de calibración de una sonda de detección de impactos sobre Edwards, California, el 6 de agosto de 2024. La sonda medirá las ondas de choque del X-59 de la NASA.NASA/Steve Freeman Un F-15B de la NASA realiza un vuelo de calibración de una sonda de detección de impactos sobre Edwards, California, el 6 de agosto de 2024. La sonda medirá las ondas de choque del X-59 de la NASA.NASA/Steve Freeman Un F-15B de la NASA realiza un vuelo de calibración de una sonda de detección de impactos sobre Edwards, California, el 6 de agosto de 2024. La sonda medirá las ondas de choque del X-59 de la NASA.NASA/Steve Freeman Read this story in English here.
La NASA pronto pondrá a prueba los avances realizados en una herramienta clave para medir los singulares ‘golpes sónicos’ que su avión supersónico silencioso de investigación X-59 producirá durante el vuelo.
Una sonda de detección de impactoses una sonda de datos de aire en forma cónica desarrollada con características específicas para capturar las singulares ondas de choque que producirá el X-59. Investigadores del Centro de Investigación de Vuelo Armstrong de la NASA en Edwards, California, desarrollaron dos versiones de la sonda para recopilar datos precisos de presión durante el vuelo supersónico. Una de las sondas está optimizada para mediciones de campo cercano, capturando las ondas de choque que se producen muy cerca de donde las generará el X-59. La segunda sonda de detección de impactos medirá el centro del campo y recopilará datos a altitudes de entre 5.000 y 20.000 pies por debajo del avión.
Cuando un avión vuela a velocidades supersónicas, genera ondas de choque que viajan a través del aire circundante, produciendo fuertes estampidos sónicos. El X-59 está diseñado para desviar esas ondas de choque, reduciendo los fuertes estampidos sónicos a golpes sónicos más silenciosos. Durante los vuelos de prueba, un avión F-15B con una sonda de detección de impactos acoplada a su morro volará con el X-59. La sonda, de aproximadamente 1,80 metros (6 pies), recolectará continuamente miles de muestras de presión por segundo, captando los cambios de presión del aire mientras vuela a través de ondas de choque. Los datos de los sensores serán vitales para validar los modelos informáticos que predicen la fuerza de las ondas de choque producidas por el X-59, la pieza central de la misión Quesst de la NASA.
“Una sonda de detección de impactos actúa como fuente de la verdad, comparando los datos previstos con las mediciones del mundo real”, dijo Mike Frederick, investigador principal de la NASA para la sonda.
Para la sonda de campo cercano, el F-15B volará cerca del X-59 a su altitud de crucero de aproximadamente 18.000 metros (55.000 pies), utilizando una configuración de “seguir al líder” que permitirá a los investigadores analizar ondas de choque en tiempo real. La sonda de campo medio, destinada para misiones separadas, recopilará datos más útiles a medida que las ondas de choque viajen más cerca al suelo.
La capacidad de las sondas para captar pequeños cambios de presión es especialmente importante para el X-59, ya que se espera que sus ondas de choque sean mucho más débiles que las de la mayoría de los aviones supersónicos. Al comparar los datos de las sondas con las predicciones de modelos de computadora avanzados, los investigadores pueden evaluar con mayor precisión.
“Las sondas tienen cinco puertos de presión, uno en la punta y cuatro alrededor del cono”, explica Frederick. “Estos puertos miden los cambios de presión estática a medida que el avión vuela a través de las ondas de choque, lo que nos ayuda a comprender las características de choque de un avión en particular”. Estos puertos combinan sus mediciones para calcular la presión local, la velocidad y la dirección del flujo de aire.
Los investigadores pronto evaluarán actualizaciones de la sonda de detección de impactos de campo cercano a través de vuelos de prueba, en los que la sonda, montada en un F-15B, recopilará datos persiguiendo a un segundo F-15 durante un vuelo supersónico. Las actualizaciones de la sonda incluyen la colocación de los transductores de presión – dispositivos que miden la presión del aire en el cono – a sólo 5 pulgadas de sus puertos. Los diseños anteriores colocaban esos transductores a casi 3 metros (12 pies) de distancia, lo que retrasaba el tiempo de grabación y distorsionaba las mediciones.
La sensibilidad a la temperatura de los diseños anteriores también presentó un desafío, ya que provocó fluctuaciones en la precisión cuando cambiaban las condiciones. Para solucionar esto, el equipo diseñó un sistema de calefacción para mantener los transductores de presión a una temperatura constante durante el vuelo.
“La sonda cumplirá los requisitos de resolución y precisión de la misión Quesst”, afirmó Frederick. “Este proyecto muestra cómo la NASA puede tomar tecnología existente y adaptarla para resolver nuevos desafíos”.
Share
Details
Last Updated Dec 13, 2024 EditorDede DiniusContactNicolas Cholulanicolas.h.cholula@nasa.gov Related Terms
Advanced Air Vehicles Program Aeronáutica Aeronautics Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate Armstrong Flight Research Center Commercial Supersonic Technology Low Boom Flight Demonstrator NASA en español Quesst (X-59) Supersonic Flight Explore More
3 min read Atmospheric Probe Shows Promise in Test Flight
Article 2 days ago 3 min read NASA Moves Drone Package Delivery Industry Closer to Reality
Article 3 days ago 3 min read Learn More About NASA’s UTM BVLOS Subproject
Article 4 days ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
Armstrong Flight Research Center
Aeronautics
Supersonic Flight
NASA en español
Explora el universo y descubre tu planeta natal con nosotros, en tu idioma.
View the full article
-
By NASA
El administrador de la NASA, Bill Nelson (izquierda), y la secretaria adjunta en funciones de la Oficina de Océanos y Asuntos Medioambientales y Científicos Internacionales del Departamento de Estado de Estados Unidos, Jennifer R. Littlejohn (derecha), observan a la embajadora de la República de Austria en Estados Unidos, Petra Schneebauer, mientras firma los Acuerdos de Artemis, el miércoles 11 de diciembre de 2024, en el edificio Mary W. Jackson de la sede de la NASA en Washington. La República de Austria es el 50.º país en firmar los Acuerdos de Artemis, que establecen un conjunto práctico de principios para guiar la cooperación en la exploración espacial entre las naciones que participan en el programa Artemis de la NASA.
Crédito: NASA/Joel Kowsky Read this release in English here.
Panamá y Austria firmaron el miércoles los Acuerdos de Artemis en ceremonias que tuvieron lugar en la sede de la NASA en Washington, convirtiéndose así en los países número 49 y 50 en comprometerse a explorar el espacio de forma responsable para toda la humanidad.
“La NASA da la bienvenida a Panamá y Austria a la comunidad de los Acuerdos de Artemis y celebra 50 países unidos por principios compartidos para la exploración segura y responsable del espacio”, dijo el administrador de la NASA, Bill Nelson. “Más que nunca, la NASA está haciendo accesible el espacio a más naciones y más personas en beneficio de todos. Juntos, estamos desarrollando una exploración pacífica y a largo plazo del espacio profundo para la Generación Artemis”.
En pocos años, el grupo original de ocho países signatarios (que incluye a Estados Unidos) se ha multiplicado, incluyendo 17 nuevos firmantes en 2024. Más que un número, los Acuerdos de Artemis representan una comunidad sólida, procedente de todas las regiones del mundo, unificada por el mismo objetivo: garantizar una exploración espacial civil segura y responsable.
A través de los Acuerdos de Artemis, Estados Unidos y otros signatarios han avanzado para garantizar una exploración segura y sostenible del espacio con resultados concretos. Los firmantes se han comprometido a adoptar un método de funcionamiento y una serie de recomendaciones en materia de no interferencia, interoperabilidad, divulgación de datos científicos, directrices de sostenibilidad a largo plazo y un registro para avanzar en la aplicación de los Acuerdos de Artemis.
Entre las posibles áreas de enfoque para el próximo año se incluye la de seguir avanzando en la sostenibilidad, incluida la gestión de residuos tanto para la órbita lunar como para la superficie de la Luna.
Austria se une a los Acuerdos de Artemis
Petra Schneebauer, embajadora de la República de Austria en Estados Unidos, firmó el miércoles en nombre de Austria, el cual se convirtió en el 50.º país signatario de los Acuerdos de Artemis.
“Austria se enorgullece de firmar los Acuerdos de Artemis, un paso importante en el fomento de la cooperación internacional para la exploración civil de la Luna y la ampliación de la presencia de la humanidad en el cosmos”, dijo Schneebauer. “Al firmar los acuerdos, reafirmamos nuestro compromiso con el uso pacífico, responsable y cooperativo del espacio exterior, a la vez que enfatizamos nuestro apoyo a asociaciones multilaterales sólidas y al progreso científico. Esta cooperación abrirá nuevas perspectivas para que las empresas, los científicos y las instituciones de investigación austriacas participen en iniciativas espaciales pioneras.”.
Jennifer Littlejohn, secretaria adjunta en funciones de la Oficina de Océanos y Asuntos Medioambientales y Científicos Internacionales del Departamento de Estado de EE. UU., también participó en el acto de la firma de Austria.
Panamá se une a los Acuerdos de Artemis
Más temprano el miércoles, Nelson recibió a Panamá en la sede de la NASA para una ceremonia de firma. José Miguel Alemán Healy, embajador de la República de Panamá en Estados Unidos, firmó los Acuerdos de Artemis en nombre de Panamá. El subsecretario adjunto principal de la Oficina de Océanos y Asuntos Ambientales y Científicos Internacionales del Departamento de Estado de EE. UU., Tony Fernandes, también asistió al acto.
El administrador de la NASA, Bill Nelson (izquierda), el embajador de la República de Panamá ante los Estados Unidos de América, José Miguel Alemán Healy (centro), y el subsecretario adjunto principal de la Oficina de Océanos y Asuntos Ambientales y Científicos Internacionales del Departamento de Estado de los Estados Unidos, Tony Fernandes, posan para una foto después de que la República de Panamá firmara los Acuerdos de Artemis, el miércoles 11 de diciembre de 2024, en el edificio Mary W. Jackson de la sede de la NASA en Washington. La República de Panamá es el 49.º país en firmar los Acuerdos de Artemis, que establecen un conjunto práctico de principios para guiar la cooperación en la exploración espacial entre las naciones que participan en el programa Artemis de la NASA.
Crédito: NASA/Joel Kowsky “Hoy, Panamá se suma a muchas otras naciones que no solo miran hacia nuestros propios horizontes, sino hacia horizontes más allá de nuestro planeta, explorando, aprendiendo y contribuyendo al conocimiento colectivo de la humanidad”, dijo Alemán. “Este momento representa mucho más que una firma diplomática: es un compromiso audaz con la exploración pacífica, el descubrimiento científico y la colaboración internacional”.
En 2020, Estados Unidos, liderado por la NASA y el Departamento de Estado estadounidense, y otras siete naciones signatarias iniciales establecieron los Acuerdos de Artemis, que identifican un conjunto de principios que promueven el uso beneficioso del espacio para la humanidad.
Los Acuerdos de Artemis se basan en el Tratado sobre el espacio ultraterrestre y en otros acuerdos, como el Convenio sobre registro, el Acuerdo sobre rescate y retorno, así como en las mejores prácticas y normas de comportamiento responsable que la NASA y sus socios han respaldado, incluida la divulgación pública de datos científicos.
Los Acuerdos son un compromiso voluntario para adoptar un comportamiento seguro, transparente y responsable en el espacio, y cualquier nación que quiera comprometerse con esos valores es bienvenida a firmarlos.
Más información (en inglés) sobre los Acuerdos de Artemis en:
https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-accords
-fin-
Meira Bernstein / Elizabeth Shaw / María José Viñas
Sede, Washington
202-358-1600
meira.b.bernstein@nasa.gov / elizabeth.a.shaw@nasa.gov / maria-jose.vinasgarcia@nasa.gov
Share
Details
Last Updated Dec 11, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters View the full article
-
-
Check out these Videos
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.