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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
The Double Asteroid Redirection Test required extreme precision in mission planning to achieve its mission of impacting an asteroid. The founders of Continuum Space worked on astrodynamics relating to this mission, which they used to inform their product.NASA Planning space missions is a very involved process, ensuring orbits are lined up and spacecraft have enough fuel is imperative to the long-term survival of orbital assets. Continuum Space Systems Inc. of Pasadena, California, produces a cloud-based platform that gives mission planners everything they need to certify that their space resources can accomplish their goals.
Continuum’s story begins at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. Loic Chappaz, the company’s co-founder, started at JPL as an intern working on astrodynamics related to NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test. There he met Leon Alkalai, a JPL technical fellow who spent his 30-year career at the center planning deep space missions. After Alkalai retired from NASA, he founded Mandala Space Ventures, a startup that explored several avenues of commercial space development. Chappaz soon became Mandala’s first employee, but to plan their future, Mandala’s leadership began thinking about the act of planning itself.
Because the staff had decades of combined experience at JPL, they knew the center had the building blocks for the software they needed. After licensing several pieces of software from JPL, the company began building planning systems that were highly adaptable to any space mission they could come up with. Mandala eventually evolved into a venture firm that incubated space-related startups. However, because Mandala had invested considerably in developing mission-planning tools, further development could be performed by a new company, and Continuum was fully spun off from Mandala in 2021.
Continuum’s platform includes several features for mission planners, such as plotting orbital maneuvers and risk management evaluations. Some of these are built upon software licensed from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.Continuum Space Systems Inc. Continuum’s tools are designed to take a space mission from concept to completion. There are three different components to their “mission in a box” — design, build and test, and mission operations. The base of these tools are several pieces of software developed at NASA. As of 2024, several space startups have begun planning missions with Continuum’s NASA-inspired software, as well as established operators of satellite constellations. From Continuum to several startups, NASA technologies continue to prove a valuable foundation for the nation’s space economy.
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Last Updated Mar 25, 2025 Related Terms
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By USH
On the night of February 23, 2025, residents of Tucumán, Argentina witnessed an astonishing sight during a violent thunderstorm. As a powerful lightning bolt tore through the sky, it briefly illuminated a massive, cigar-shaped object hovering in the storm’s center.
Eyewitnesses described the object as dark, elongated, and solid, standing in stark contrast to the swirling storm clouds around it. Unlike a natural weather phenomenon, the shape appeared structured and deliberate, leading many to speculate that it was a UFO of intelligent design, possibly of extraterrestrial origin.
It is not clear whether the object was struck by the lightning but there have been reports of UFOs being hit by lightning yet remaining unaffected, suggesting they may either harness or withstand immense energy levels.
Some researchers believe that certain UFOs absorb energy from lightning as a means of propulsion or power generation. In past cases, similar sightings have been reported in the presence of electrical storms, further fueling theories that such crafts may recharge their systems using natural energy sources.
It is known that theoretical physics explores the concept of extracting energy from electrical phenomena, such as Tesla’s ideas about wireless energy transmission. If an advanced civilization mastered this, lightning could be a viable energy source.
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By European Space Agency
Video: 00:34:08 Watch the media information session in which ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher and ESA Council Chair Renato Krpoun (CH) update journalists on the key decisions from the ESA Council meeting, held at ESA Headquarters in Paris on 19 and 20 March 2025.
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By NASA
5 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
In-person participants (L-R) – Back row: Jason Lytle, Stuart Lee, Eric Bershad, Ashot Sargsyan, Aaron Everson, Philip Wells, Sergi Vaquer Araujo, Steven Grover, John A. Heit, Mehdi Shishehbor, Laura Bostick; Middle row: Sarah Childress Taoufik, Stephan Moll, Brandon Macias, Kristin Coffey, Ann-Kathrin Vlacil, Dave Francisco; Front row: James Pavela, Doug Ebert, Kathleen McMonigal, Esther Kim, Emma Hwang; Not pictured: Tyson Brunstetter, J. D. Polk
Online participants: Stephen Alamo, Mark Crowther, Steven Nissen, Mark Rosenberg, Jeffrey Weitz, R. Eugene Zierler, Serena Aunon, Tina Bayuse, Laura Beachy, Becky Brocato, Daniel Buckland, Jackie Charvat, Diana Cruz Topete, Quinn Dufurrena, Robert Haddon, Joanne Kaouk, Kim Lowe, Steve Laurie, Karina Marshall-Goebel, Sara Mason, Shannan Moynihan, James Pattarini, Devan Petersen, Ruth Reitzel, Donna Roberts, Lucia Roccaro, Mike Stenger, Terry Taddeo, Gavin Travers, Mary Van Baalen, Liz WarrenNASA In October 2024, NASA’s Office of the Chief Health and Medical Officer (OCHMO) initiated a working group to review the status and progress of research and clinical activities intended to mitigate the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) during spaceflight. The working group took place over two days at NASA’s Johnson Space Center; a second meeting on the topic was held in December 2024 at the European Space Agency (ESA) facility in Cologne, Germany.
Read More about the Risk of VTE The working group was assembled from internal NASA subject matter experts (SMEs), the NASA OCHMO Standards Team, NASA and ESA stakeholders, and external SMEs, including physicians and medical professionals from leading universities and medical centers in the United States and Canada.
Background
Spaceflight Venous Thrombosis (SVT)
Spaceflight Venous Thrombosis (SVT) refers to a phenomenon experienced during spaceflight in which a thrombus (blood clot) forms in the internal jugular vein (and/or associated vasculature) that may be symptomatic (thrombus accompanied by, but not limited to, visible internal jugular vein swelling, facial edema beyond “nominal” spaceflight adaptation, eyelid edema, and/or headache) or asymptomatic. Obstructive thrombi have been identified in a very small number of crewmembers, as shown in the figure below.
Note that the figure below is for illustrative purposes only; locations are approximate, and size is not to scale.
Approximate location of identified thrombi in crewmembers.Source: Modified from Cerebral Sinus Venous Thrombosis – University of Colorado Denver With treatment, crewmembers were able to complete their mission, and anticoagulants were discontinued several days prior to landing to minimize the risk of bleeding in the event of a traumatic injury. Some thromboses completely resolved post landing, and some required additional treatment.
Pathophysiology of Venous Thromboembolism (VTE)
The proposed pathogenesis of VTE is referred to as Virchow’s triad and suggests that VTE occurs as the result of:
Alterations in blood flow (i.e., stasis), Vascular endothelial injury/changes, and/or, Alterations in the constituents of the blood leading to hypercoagulability (i.e., hereditary predisposition or acquired hypercoagulability). Note: pathophysiology are the changes that occur during a disease process; hypercoagulability is the increased tendency to develop blood to clots.
The Virchow’s triad of risk factors for venous thrombosis.Bouchnita, 2017 Blood stasis, or venous stasis, refers to a condition in which the blood flow in the veins slows down which leads to pooling in the veins. This slowing of the blood may be due to vein valves becoming damaged or weak, immobility, and/or the absence of muscular contractions. Associated symptoms include swelling, skin changes, varicose veins, and slow-healing sores or ulcers. In terrestrial medicine, venous thrombosis is typically caused by damaged or weakened vein valves, which can be due to many factors, including aging, blood clots, varicose veins, obesity, pregnancy, sedentary lifestyle, estrogen use, and hereditary predisposition.
Spaceflight Considerations
Altered Venous Blood Flow and Spaceflight Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome
In addition to the terrestrial risk factors of VTE, there are physiological changes associated with spaceflight that are hypothesized to potentially play a role in the development of VTE in weightlessness. Specifically, researchers have explored the effects of the microgravity environment and subsequent observed headward fluid shifts that occur, and the potential impact on blood flow. Crewmembers onboard the International Space Station (ISS) experience weightlessness due to the microgravity environment and thus experience a sustained redistribution of bodily fluids from the legs toward the head. The prolonged headward fluid shifts during weightlessness results in facial puffiness, decreased leg volume, increased cardiac stroke volume, and decreased plasma volume.
Crewmembers have also experienced altered blood flow during spaceflight, including retrograde venous blood flow (RVBF) (the backflow of venous blood towards the brain) or stasis (a stoppage or slowdown in the flow of blood). While the causes of the observed stasis and retrograde blood flow in spaceflight participants is not well understood, the potential clinical significance of the role it may have in the development of thrombus formation warrants further investigation.
Doppler imaging of a retrograde flow in the left internal jugular vein.Yan & Seow, 2009 Other physiological concerns affected by fluid shifts are being studied to consider if any relation to VTE exists. Chronic weightlessness can cause bodily fluids such as blood and cerebrospinal fluid to move toward the head, which can lead to optic nerve swelling, folds in the retina, flattening of the back of the eye, and swelling in the brain. This collection of eye and brain changes is called “spaceflight associated neuro-ocular syndrome,” or SANS. Some astronauts only experience mild changes in space, while others have clinically significant outcomes. The long-term health outcome from these changes is unknown but actively being investigated. The risk of developing SANS is higher during longer-duration missions and remains a top research priority for scientists ahead of a Mars mission.
Conclusions and Further Work
Based on expert opinion and the assessment of the risk factors for thrombosis, an algorithm was developed to provide guidance for in-mission assessment and treatment of thrombus formation in weightlessness. The algorithm is based on early in-flight ultrasound testing to determine the flow characteristic of the left internal jugular vein and associated vasculature.
NASA Working Group Recommendations
The working group recommended several areas for further investigation to assess feasibility and potential to mitigate the risk of thrombosis in spaceflight:
Improved detection capabilities to identify when a thrombus has formed in-flight, Pathophysiology/factors leading to thrombi formation during spaceflight, Countermeasures and treatment
For more information on the working group meeting and a complete list of references, please see the Risk of Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) During Spaceflight Summary Report.
Risk of Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) During Spaceflight Summary Report Share
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Last Updated Mar 14, 2025 EditorKim Lowe Related Terms
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