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By NASA
NASA’s Sarah Ryan is the Raptor engine lead for NASA’s HLS (Human Landing System) Program at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “With Artemis, we’re moving beyond what NASA did with Apollo and that’s really inspiring, especially to our younger workforce. We’re trying to push farther and it’s really going to drive a lot of technology development on the way there,” Ryan said. “This is a dream come true to be working on Artemis and solving problems so humanity can get back to the Moon then on to Mars.” NASA/Ken Hall A passion for puzzles, problem-solving, and propulsion led Sarah Ryan – a native of Columbus, Ohio – to her current position as Raptor engine lead for NASA’s HLS (Human Landing System) insight team at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The SpaceX Raptor rocket engine powers the company’s Starship and Super Heavy rocket. SpaceX will land astronauts on the Moon for NASA’s Artemis III and Artemis IV missions using the Starship HLS. NASA’s Artemis campaign aims to land the first woman, first person of color, and first international partner astronaut on the Moon.
“My team looks at how the components of the Raptor engine work together. Then, we evaluate the performance of the full system to make sure it will accomplish the NASA HLS and Artemis missions,” Ryan said. “I get to see lots of pieces and parts of the puzzle and then look at the system as a whole to make sure it meets NASA’s needs.”
While earning a bachelor’s degree from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland with a dual major in aerospace engineering and mechanical engineering, Ryan had an internship at NASA Marshall, working on a payload for a science mission onboard the International Space Station.
After working for a year on satellite design, Ryan returned to NASA Marshall. She noted that the opportunity to work in Marshall’s Engine Systems branch, to be involved with pushing technology forward, and to work on Artemis, really drew her back to NASA. Ryan later earned a master’s degree in aerospace systems from the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
When not occupied with rocket engine development, Ryan likes to work on quieter hobbies in her free time, including reading, board games, crocheting, and solving all manner of puzzles – crosswords, number games, word games, and more. Her interest for solving puzzles carries over into her work on the Raptor rocket engines for HLS.
“My favorite tasks are the ones that most resemble a puzzle, Ryan said. “If we’re investigating an issue and have a lot of information to assess, I love putting all the pieces together and figuring out what happened, why, and the path forward. I enjoy digging into the data and solving those puzzles.”
With Artemis, NASA will explore more of the Moon than ever before, learn how to live and work away from home, and prepare for future human exploration of Mars. NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, exploration ground systems, and Orion spacecraft, along with the HLS, next-generation spacesuits, Gateway lunar space station, and future rovers are NASA’s foundation for deep space exploration.
For more on HLS, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/human-landing-system
Corinne Beckinger
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256.544.0034
corinne.m.beckinger@nasa.gov
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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Orbital Mining Corporation took second place in NASA’s Watts on the Moon Challenge. Left to right: Rob Button, deputy chief of NASA Glenn’s Power Division; three members of the team; Mary Wadel, NASA director of Technology Integration and Partnerships; and NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen. Credit: NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna Great Lakes Science Center, home of the visitor center for NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, hosted the final phase of NASA’s Watts on the Moon Challenge on Sept. 20. NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen attended to help acknowledge the top winners.
NASA awarded a total of $1.5 million to two U.S. teams for their novel technology solutions addressing energy distribution, management, and storage as part of the challenge. The innovations from this challenge aim to support NASA’s Artemis missions, which will establish a long-term human presence on the Moon.
This two-phase competition challenged U.S. innovators to develop breakthrough technologies that could enable long-duration Moon missions to advance the nation’s lunar exploration goals.
The winning teams are:
First Prize ($1 million): Team H.E.L.P.S. (High Efficiency Long-Range Power Solution) from University of California, Santa Barbara , won the grand prize for their hardware solution, which featured the lowest mass and highest efficiency of all competitors. Second prize ($500,000): Orbital Mining Corporation, a space technology startup in Golden, Colorado, earned the second prize for its hardware solution that also successfully completed the 48-hour test with high performance. Four teams were invited to refine their hardware and deliver full system prototypes in the final stage of the competition, and three finalist teams completed their technology solutions for demonstration and assessment at NASA Glenn.
The University of California (UC), Santa Barbara, took first place in NASA’s Watts on the Moon Challenge. Left to right: Mary Wadel, NASA director of Technology Integration and Partnerships; Rob Button, deputy chief of NASA Glenn’s Power Division; UC Santa Barbara team members; and NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen. Credit: NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna NASA Glenn’s Mary Wadel, director of Technology Integration and Partnerships, recognized the work involved to bring this challenge to its conclusion. Rob Button, deputy chief of Glenn’s Power Division and his team of experts, formulated and executed the challenge and oversaw testing.
The technologies were the first power transmission and energy storage prototypes to be tested by NASA in a vacuum chamber mimicking the freezing temperature and absence of pressure found at the permanently shadowed regions of the Lunar South Pole.
The Watts on the Moon Challenge is a NASA Centennial Challenge led by NASA Glenn. As the agency’s lead center for power systems technologies, NASA Glenn has been involved in the Watts on the Moon Challenge from its inception.
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By NASA
1 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
The Harvest Moon refers to the nearest full Moon to the autumnal equinox. The Moon appeared full for about three days last month from the evening of Monday, Sept. 16, through Thursday morning, Sept. 19. The brightest Moon was on Sept. 17.
NASA’s Glenn Research Center photographers captured images of this supermoon as it shone across Cleveland. Here’s how they described it:
“Complex.” Sara Lowthian-Hanna captured this composite image of the Moon above a Guardians of Traffic statue near downtown Cleveland. The Sept. 17 Harvest Moon had a lot going on: it was full, a supermoon, and experienced a partial lunar eclipse (when the Earth’s shadow falls upon the Moon’s surface). Credit: NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna “Shy.” Quentin Schwinn patiently waited for the Moon to peek out from behind clouds above the hangar at NASA’s Glenn Research Center. He took this shot just as a plane whizzed in front of the face of the Moon. Credit: NASA/Quentin Schwinn “Epic.” Jef Janis captured this shot of the Moon above the colorfully illuminated Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in downtown Cleveland. Credit: NASA/Jef Janis “Dramatic.” Jordan Salkin took this up-close image of wispy aircraft contrails crossing the face of the Moon. Credit: NASA/Jordan Salkin Return to Newsletter Explore More
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By NASA
1 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Artemis II crew members (left to right) Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen share information about themselves and their mission during a town hall at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. Credit: NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna Three of the four astronauts who will venture around the Moon on Artemis II, the first crewed flight paving the way for future lunar surface missions, visited NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Sept. 10-11. NASA Glenn is an integral part of the development of the Orion spacecraft and a leader in propulsion, power, and communications research.
Commander Reid Wiseman and Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen (Canadian Space Agency) discussed their upcoming mission and hosted a question-and-answer session during town hall events at Lewis Field in Cleveland and NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio. Victor Glover, who was unable to attend, is the pilot and fourth crew member. Both events included tours and recognition of employees who have contributed to the success of Artemis missions.
Artemis II crew members Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen (left to right, wearing blue flight suits) and other NASA personnel look down into the stainless-steel vacuum chamber in the In-Space Propulsion Facility at NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio. This is the world’s only facility capable of testing full-scale upper stage launch vehicles and rocket engines under simulated high-altitude conditions.Credit: NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna The Artemis II crew will lift off on an approximately 10-day mission from Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, blazing beyond Earth’s grasp atop the agency’s mega Moon rocket. The crew will check out Orion’s systems and perform a targeting demonstration test relatively close to Earth before venturing around the Moon.
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By NASA
SpaceX A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket carrying NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft lifts off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024.
Europa Clipper is the first mission designed to conduct a detailed study of Jupiter’s moon Europa to determine if it currently has habitable conditions. The spacecraft will travel 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion km) to reach Jupiter in April 2030. It will orbit Jupiter and conduct 49 close flybys of Europa.
Follow Europa Clipper’s journey in NASA’s Eyes on the Solar System app.
Image credit: SpaceX
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