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Statement by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on Pride Month
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By Space Force
Buckley Space Force Base is home to one of the Defense Department's only two chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear quadrupedal unmanned ground vehicles.
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By NASA
This image shows nine candidate landing regions for NASA’s Artemis III mission, with each region containing multiple potential sites for the first crewed landing on the Moon in more than 50 years. The background image of the lunar South Pole terrain within the nine regions is a mosaic of LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) WAC (Wide Angle Camera) images.Credit: NASA As NASA prepares for the first crewed Moon landing in more than five decades, the agency has identified an updated set of nine potential landing regions near the lunar South Pole for its Artemis III mission. These areas will be further investigated through scientific and engineering study. NASA will continue to survey potential areas for missions following Artemis III, including areas beyond these nine regions.
“Artemis will return humanity to the Moon and visit unexplored areas. NASA’s selection of these regions shows our commitment to landing crew safely near the lunar South Pole, where they will help uncover new scientific discoveries and learn to live on the lunar surface,” said Lakiesha Hawkins, assistant deputy associate administrator, Moon to Mars Program Office.
NASA’s Cross Agency Site Selection Analysis team, working closely with science and industry partners, added, and excluded potential landing regions, which were assessed for their science value and mission availability.
The refined candidate Artemis III lunar landing regions are, in no priority order:
Peak near Cabeus B Haworth Malapert Massif Mons Mouton Plateau Mons Mouton Nobile Rim 1 Nobile Rim 2 de Gerlache Rim 2 Slater Plain These regions contain diverse geological characteristics and offer flexibility for mission availability. The lunar South Pole has never been explored by a crewed mission and contains permanently shadowed areas that can preserve resources, including water.
“The Moon’s South Pole is a completely different environment than where we landed during the Apollo missions,” said Sarah Noble, Artemis lunar science lead at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “It offers access to some of the Moon’s oldest terrain, as well as cold, shadowed regions that may contain water and other compounds. Any of these landing regions will enable us to do amazing science and make new discoveries.”
To select these landing regions, a multidisciplinary team of scientists and engineers analyzed the lunar South Pole region using data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and a vast body of lunar science research. Factors in the selection process included science potential, launch window availability, terrain suitability, communication capabilities with Earth, and lighting conditions. Additionally, the team assessed the combined trajectory capabilities of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, the Orion spacecraft, and Starship HLS (Human Landing System) to ensure safe and accessible landing sites.
The Artemis III geology team evaluated the landing regions for their scientific promise. Sites within each of the nine identified regions have the potential to provide key new insights into our understanding of rocky planets, lunar resources, and the history of our solar system.
“Artemis III will be the first time that astronauts will land in the south polar region of the Moon. They will be flying on a new lander into a terrain that is unique from our past Apollo experience,” said Jacob Bleacher, NASA’s chief exploration scientist. “Finding the right locations for this historic moment begins with identifying safe places for this first landing, and then trying to match that with opportunities for science from this new place on the Moon.”
NASA’s site assessment team will engage the lunar science community through conferences and workshops to gather data, build geologic maps, and assess the regional geology of eventual landing sites. The team also will continue surveying the entire lunar South Pole region for science value and mission availability for future Artemis missions. This will include planning for expanded science opportunities during Artemis IV, and suitability for the LTV (Lunar Terrain Vehicle) as part of Artemis V.
The agency will select sites within regions for Artemis III after it identifies the mission’s target launch dates, which dictate transfer trajectories, or orbital paths, and surface environment conditions.
Under NASA’s Artemis campaign, the agency will establish the foundation for long-term scientific exploration at the Moon, land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the lunar surface, and prepare for human expeditions to Mars for the benefit of all.
For more information on Artemis, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis
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James Gannon / Molly Wasser
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
james.h.gannon@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Oct 28, 2024 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Artemis Artemis 3 Earth's Moon Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate Human Landing System Program Humans in Space Space Launch System (SLS) View the full article
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By NASA
Kennedy Space Center Director Janet Petro speaks in March 2022 during the annual State of NASA event at the Florida spaceport. NASA/Kim Shiflett America is returning to the Moon with our sights set on Mars, and NASA is leading the way. Along with our industry and international partners, we’re advancing scientific research, inspiring the next generation of explorers, and ensuring reliable and continuous access to space for our nation.
NASA’s Economic Impact Report for fiscal year (FY) 2023 highlights the nation’s strong return on its investment in NASA. Our missions help unveil the secrets of the universe and our home planet while also benefitting the taxpayers, communities, and industries across the country.
Here at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, we are on track for another record-setting year of launches from our Space Coast. Recent NASA missions will tell us more about Earth’s weather and climate, explore Jupiter’s moon Europa for the ingredients of life, and enable more innovative research on the International Space Station. We’re also busy building the Artemis rockets, spacecraft, and technologies that will allow our astronauts to live and work on the Moon.
While exploring the universe for the benefit of all, NASA is also supporting the U.S. economy. During FY23, an investment of less than one-half of 1% of the federal budget, the agency generated $76 billion in total economic output nationwide.
In Florida alone, NASA activities in FY2023 supported 35,685 jobs in the state and $8.2 billion in economic output, resulting in an additional $286.6 million in state tax revenue. NASA Kennedy’s unique facilities, proven technical capabilities, and master plan enable nearly 250 partnerships with 100 private-sector partners. And the dedication and commitment of our workforce means that our spaceport remains the world’s leader in space science, human exploration, and technology development.
As we look toward a future of more exploration and discovery, I invite you to learn more about the impacts that NASA missions may have had in your life. The agency’s technology transfer initiatives transition NASA innovations into private hands, where real impacts are made. And NASA’s STEM engagements encourage research and the study of science, technology, engineering, and math at all ages.
And, of course, I hope you will learn more about the exciting work we’re doing at Earth’s premier spaceport by visiting:
www.nasa.gov/kennedy
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Images of Janet Petro are available from NASA’s image library in vertical and horizontal formats.
Patti Bielling
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-501-7575
patricia.a.bielling@nasa.gov
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By NASA
Dr. Nipa Phojanamongkolkij does not always do things the traditional way. As a systems engineer (SE) at Langley Research Center working closely with the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, Nipa pushes boundaries and draws connections where few others would think to look. When she envisioned a way to use ChatGPT to help SE teams working on the Advanced Air Mobility Mission, she presented her initial idea to her team wondering, “Is this crazy?” Her idea evolved into a successful prototype, which is now used for air traffic management in the Airspace Operations and Safety Program. She has also leveraged natural language programming and NASA’s database of lessons learned to create a bot for flagging potential risks and mitigations in real time. Nipa’s journey in becoming the digital transformer she is today involves her ability to combine engineering principles and business outcomes with creative, human-centered approaches.
Nipa received an MS and PhD in industrial and systems engineering from Arizona State University after moving to the United States from Bangkok, Thailand, where she received her BS degree in electronics engineering. She joined NASA 15 years ago after honing her data analysis and process improvement skills in the business sector at Pepsi Corporation. Her previous experience molded her focus on demonstrating benefit and return on investment. In addition to a business-oriented mindset, Nipa credits much of her success at NASA to her abilities as an active listener, which helps her understand customer needs and address paint points.
One cross-cutting challenge Nipa noticed within the agency’s approach to SE was the issue of silos, particularly in handling requirements and research data. Many engineers stored information in documents on individual computers or SharePoint folders, making it difficult to share data and draw connections across missions, directorates, and centers. As a systems engineer, Nipa and her team work to pull these disparate elements into a connected digital format using methodology called model-based systems engineering (MBSE). “You can think of it like a gigantic database where you have everything connected—a table of research papers, a table of requirements, and a table of concept of operations documents,” she says.
However, using and leveraging this system requires specialized knowledge of the MBSE discipline and modeling language. To centralize system concept, architecture, and requirement data while democratizing access to it, Nipa conceived a way to leverage ChatGPT as an intermediary between the user and database. In fiscal year 2023, she received funding for her idea as a Digital Transformation Prototype Test, “Requirement Discovery Using Embedded Knowledge Graph with ChatGPT.” Nipa and her team developed a web-based dashboard that translates user questions into database queries and turns the database responses back into readable answers for the user. Nipa and her team curated the research used to create the database, reducing the chances of AI hallucination and misinformation. Using ChatGPT as a translator, general users benefitted from the system without needing to know how to formulate graph database queries.
Requirement creation through this system was seven times faster than traditional processes and yielded results comparable to those created by subject matter experts. In some cases, the approach even resulted in more creative requirements than human-generated ones. Nipa’s prototype allowed SEs to more efficiently analyze connections between existing requirements, predict new connections, and generate new requirements, streamlining critical processes for her team. The approach could benefit SEs across NASA centers, directorates, and missions and holds exciting potential for other use cases, such as generating candidate requirements and analyzing project risk. According to NASA Digital Engineering Lead Terry Hill, “The future of engineering is understanding how to do it from a data-centric perspective. Enabling the use of new and evolving technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and large language models will aid our engineers to accomplish greater things and augment our workforce.”
Nipa and her team were recognized for their innovative work, receiving a Systems Engineering Technical Excellence Award (SETEA) in 2024 under the “Advancement of SE” category. Nipa’s out-of-the-box thinking has also positioned her as a trailblazer amongst her peers. “Nipa was ahead of everyone in terms of understanding what Digital Transformation is,” says Ian Levitt, Concepts Team Manager at Langley Research Center and co-lead on the Requirement Discovery Prototype Test. “She is extremely smart as well as practical, which is a rare combination. She has wonderful insights and helps me see more clearly what I am trying to do.” As a leader in the Digital Transformation community, Nipa recognizes the importance of collaboration, noting that her transformative work would not have been successful without her team. Their trust is what makes her ideas possible, along with Digital Transformation’s willingness to take chances on innovative, cutting-edge ideas. “They’re at the forefront of technology, so they’re receptive to high-risk projects,” she says. “That’s why I enjoy working with the Digital Transformation team.”
In turn, Nipa is excited to continue building community and momentum around transformation initiatives. Her team’s work inspired one group at Johnson Space Center to replicate their requirement discovery approach, and she has received multiple inquiries for demos on their prototype. Seeing how her work inspires and impacts others at the agency is one way she measures success. Whether she is connecting data sources or people, Nipa continues to push toward a more unified NASA, exemplifying what it means to be a digital transformer.
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By NASA
The NASA Ames Science Directorate recognizes the outstanding contributions of (pictured left to right) America Reyes Wang, Sepideh Khajehei, Julie Nottage, and Ryan Felton. Their commitment to the NASA mission represents the talent, camaraderie, and vision needed to explore this world and beyond.
Space Biosciences Star: America Reyes Wang
America Reyes Wang serves as the Space Biology Biospecimen Sharing Program (BSP) Lead in the Space Biosciences Research Branch, where she guides a team of support scientists and a logistics coordinator in planning and performing detailed, collaborative dissections to maximize the scientific return from biological investigations. Under her leadership, the BSP team has contributed over 5,000 samples to the NASA Biological Institutional Scientific Collection (NBISC), approximately half of which were collected in the last 10 months.
Earth Science Star: Sepideh Khajehei
Sepideh Khajehei is a NASA Earth eXchange (NEX) Data and Research Scientist in the Biospheric Science Branch, for the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute. She is recognized for her dedicated support of the NASA Administrator’s Earth Information Center, and recently for her outstanding support for an urgent request to revise climate indices just days before the October 7, 2024, opening of NASA’s Hometown Climate Dashboard at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.
Space Science & Astrobiology Star: Julie Nottage
Julie Nottage continuously goes above and beyond in her role as the Space and Earth Sciences Facilities Service Manager. She keeps a multi-use interdisciplinary science building running across all aspects of operations and is the go-to person for any problem. Her can-do approach and wealth of knowledge ensures the facility’s high-quality operation that enables scientists and engineers to focus on their research and instrument work. Her quality work and extensive coordination of the Voluntary Protection Program allowed these month-long inspections to run smoothly with an improved safety outcome.
Space Science & Astrobiology Star: Ryan Felton
Ryan Felton, a NASA Postdoctoral Management Fellow with the Exobiology Branch, is recognized for his successful coordination of an engaging community-wide seminar series focused on Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML). This seminar series featured four speakers so far over six months on a variety of exciting topics to advance AI/ML knowledge and use in the branch’s research.
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