SpaceMan

A NASA-sponsored team is creating a new approach to measure magnetic fields by developing a new system that can both take scientific measurements and provide spacecraft attitude control functions. This new system is small, lightweight, and can be accommodated onboard the spacecraft, eliminating the need for the ***** structure that is typically required to measure Earth’s magnetic field, thus allowing smaller, lower-cost spacecraft to take these measurements. In fact, this new system could not only enable small spacecraft to measure the magnetic field, it could replace the standard attitude control systems in future spacecraft that orbit Earth, allowing them to provide the important global measurements that enable us to understand how Earth’s magnetic field protects us from dangerous solar particles. Photo of the aurora (taken in Alaska) showing small scale features that are often present. Credit: NASA/Sebastian Saarloos Solar storms drive space weather that threatens our many assets in space and can also disrupt Earth’s upper atmosphere impacting our communications and power grids. Thankfully, the Earth’s magnetic field protects us and funnels much of that energy into the north and south poles creating aurorae. The aurorae are a beautiful display of the electromagnetic energy and currents that flow throughout the Earth’s space environment. They often have small-scale magnetic features that affect the total energy flowing through the system. Observing these small features requires multiple simultaneous observations over a broad range of spatial and temporal scales, which can be accomplished by constellations of small spacecraft. To enable such constellations, NASA is developing an innovative hybrid magnetometer that makes both direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC) magnetic measurements and is embedded in the spacecraft’s attitude determination and control system (ADCS)—the system that enables the satellite to know and control where it is pointing. High-performance, low SWAP+C (low-size, weight and power + cost) instruments are required, as is the ability to manufacture and test large numbers of these instruments within a typical flight build schedule. Future commercial or scientific satellites could use these small, lightweight embedded hybrid magnetometers to take the types of measurements that will expand our understanding of space weather and how Earth’s magnetic field responds to solar storms It is typically not possible to take research-quality DC and AC magnetic measurements using sensors within an ADCS since the ADCS is inside the spacecraft and near contaminating sources of magnetic noise such as magnetic torque rods—the electromagnets that generate a magnetic field and push against the Earth’s magnetic field to control the orientation of a spacecraft. Previous missions that have flown both DC and AC magnetometers placed them on long booms pointing in opposite directions from the satellite to keep the sensors as far from the spacecraft and each other as possible. In addition, the typical magnetometer used by an ADCS to measure the orientation of the spacecraft with respect to the geomagnetic field does not sample fast enough to measure the high-frequency signals needed to make magnetic field observations. A NASA-sponsored team at the University of Michigan is developing a new hybrid magnetometer and attitude determination and control system (HyMag-ADCS) that is a low-SWAP single package that can be integrated into a spacecraft without booms. HyMag-ADCS consists of a three-axis search coil AC magnetometer and a three-axis Quad-Mag DC magnetometer. The Quad-Mag DC magnetometer uses machine learning to enable boomless DC magnetometery, and the hybrid search-coil AC magnetometer includes attitude determination torque rods to enable the single 1U volume (103 cm) system to perform ADCS functions as well as collect science measurements. The magnetic torque rod and search coil sensor (left) and the Quad-Mag magnetometer prototype (right). Credit: Mark Moldwin The HyMag-ADCS team is incorporating the following technologies into the system to ensure success. Quad-Mag Hardware: The Quad-Mag DC magnetometer consists of four magneto-inductive magnetometers and a space-qualified micro-controller mounted on a single CubeSat form factor (10 x 10 cm) printed circuit board. These two types of devices are commercially available. Combining multiple sensors on a single board increases the instrument’s sensitivity by a factor of two compared to using a single sensor. In addition, the distributed sensors enable noise identification on small satellites, providing the science-grade magnetometer sensing that is key for both magnetic field measurements and attitude determination. The same type of magnetometer is part of the NASA Artemis Lunar Gateway Heliophysics Environmental and Radiation Measurement Experiment Suite (HERMES) Noisy Environment Magnetometer in a Small Integrated System (NEMISIS) magnetometer scheduled for launch in early 2027. Dual-use Electromagnetic Rods: The HyMag-ADCS team is using search coil electronics and torque rod electronics that were developed for other efforts in a new way. Use of these two electronics systems enables the electromagnetic rods in the HyMag-ADCS system to be used in two different ways—as torque rods for attitude determination and as search coils to make scientific measurements. The search coil electronics were designed for ground-based measurements to observe ultra-low frequency signals up to a few kHz that are generated by magnetic beacons for indoor localization. The torque rod electronics were designed for use on CubeSats and have flown on several University of Michigan CubeSats (e.g., CubeSat-investigating Atmospheric Density Response to Extreme driving [CADRE]). The HyMag-ADCS concept is to use the torque rod electronics as needed for attitude control and use the search coil electronics the rest of the time to make scientific AC magnetic field measurements. Machine Learning Algorithms for Spacecraft Noise Identification: Applying machine learning to these distributed sensors will autonomously remove noise generated by the spacecraft. The team is developing a powerful Unsupervised Blind Source Separation (UBSS) algorithm and a new method called Wavelet Adaptive Interference Cancellation for Underdetermined Platforms (WAIC-UP) to perform this task, and this method has already been demonstrated in simulation and the lab. The HyMag-ADCS system is early in its development stage, and a complete engineering design unit is under development. The project is being completed primarily with undergraduate and graduate students, providing hands-on experiential training for upcoming scientists and engineers. Early career electrical engineer Julio Vata and PhD student Jhanene Heying-Melendrez with art student resident Ana Trujillo Garcia in the magnetometer lab testing prototypes. Credit: Mark Moldwin For additional details, see the entry for this project on NASA TechPort . Project Lead: Prof. Mark Moldwin, University of Michigan Sponsoring Organization: NASA Heliophysics Division’s Heliophysics Technology and Instrument Development for Science (H-TIDeS) program. Share Details Last Updated Jun 17, 2025 Related Terms Technology Highlights Heliophysics Science Mission Directorate Science-enabling Technology Explore More 2 min read Hubble Studies a Spiral’s Supernova Scene Article 4 days ago 5 min read NASA Launching Rockets Into Radio-Disrupting Clouds Article 5 days ago 2 min read Hubble Captures Starry Spectacle Article 2 weeks ago View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

The book cover for the 2025 edition of the Microgravity Materials Research Researcher’s Guide June 2025 Edition Most materials are formed from a partially or totally fluid sample, and the transport of heat and mass from the fluid into the solid during solidification inherently influences the formation of the material and its resultant properties. The ISS provides a long-duration microgravity environment for conducting experiments that enables researchers to examine the effects of heat and mass transport on materials processes in the near-absence of gravity-driven forces. The microgravity environment greatly reduces buoyancy-driven convection, hydrostatic pressure, and sedimentation. It can also be advantageous for designing experiments with reduced container interactions. The reduction in these gravity-related sources of heat and mass transport may be taken advantage of to determine how material processes and microstructure formation are affected by gravity-driven and gravity independent sources of heat and mass transfer. Materials science experiments on the ISS have yielded broad and significant scientific advancements, including contributing to the development of improved mathematical models for predicting material properties during processing on Earth and enabling a better understanding of microstructure formation during solidification towards controlling the material properties of various alloys. This researcher’s guide provides information on the acceleration environment of the space station and describes facilities available for materials research. Examples of previous microgravity materials research and descriptions of planned research are also provided. PDF readers: PDF [4.3 MB] Keep Exploring Discover More Topics Station Researcher’s Guide Series Opportunities and Information for Researchers Space Station Research Results Latest News from Space Station Research View the full article

by Dary Felix Garcia NASA is preparing to make history by sending humans to the Moon’s South Pole. There, astronauts will conduct moonwalks for exploration, science experiments, and prepare humanity for the journey to Mars. Missions of this scale require extensive planning, especially when accounting for emergency scenarios such as a crew member becoming incapacitated. To address this critical risk, the South Pole Safety Challenge invited the public to develop a compact, effective device capable of safely rescuing astronauts during emergency situations on the Moon’s surface. Given the harsh and unpredictable conditions of the lunar South Pole, the rescue system must be lightweight, easy to use, and able to transport an incapacitated crew member weighing approximately 755 lbs. (343 kg), representing the crew member and their suit, without the help of the lunar rover. It must also be capable of covering up to 1.24 miles (2 kilometers) across slopes as steep as 20 degrees. “The initiative saved the government an estimated $1,000,000 and more than three years of work had the solutions been produced using in-house existing resources,” said Ryon Stewart, acting Program Manager of NASA’s Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation. “The effort demonstrated how crowdsourcing provides NASA with a wide diversity of innovative ideas and skills.” The global challenge received 385 unique ideas from 61 countries. Five standout solutions received a share of the $45,000 prize purse. Each of the selected solutions demonstrated creativity, practicality, and direct relevance to NASA’s needs for future Moon missions. The global challenge received 385 unique ideas from 61 countries. Five standout solutions received a share of the $45,000 prize purse. Each of the selected solutions demonstrated creativity, practicality, and direct relevance to NASA’s needs for future Moon missions. First Place: VERTEX by Hugo Shelley – A self-deploying four-wheeled motorized stretcher that converts from a compact cylinder into a frame that securely encases an immobilized crew member for transport up to 6.2 miles (10 kilometers). Second Place: MoonWheel by Chamara Mahesh – A foldable manual trolley designed for challenging terrain and rapid deployment by an individual astronaut. Third Place: Portable Foldable Compact Emergency Stretcher by Sbarellati team – A foldable stretcher compatible with NASA’s Exploration Extravehicular Activity spacesuit. Third Place: Advanced Surface Transport for Rescue (ASTRA) by Pierre-Alexandre Aubé – A collapsible three-wheeled device with a 1.2 mile (2 kilometer) range. Third Place: Getting Rick to Roll! by InventorParents – A rapidly deployable, tool-free design suited for functionality in low gravity settings. NASA is identifying how to integrate some features of the winning ideas into current and future mission designs. Most intriguing are the collapsible concepts of many of the designs that would save crucial mass and volume. Additionally, the submissions offered innovative wheel designs to enhance current concepts. NASA expects to incorporate some features into planning for surface operations of the Moon. HeroX hosted the challenge on behalf of NASA’s Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program. The NASA Tournament Lab, part of the Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing program in the Space Technology Mission Directorate, managed the challenge. The program supports global public competitions and crowdsourcing as tools to advance NASA research and development and other mission needs. Find more opportunities at [Hidden Content] View the full article

Farah Al Fulfulee was just four years old when she started climbing onto the roof of her family’s house in Iraq to gaze at the stars. “It scared me how vast and quiet the sky was, but it made me very curious. I grew a deep passion for the stars and constellations and what they might represent,” she said. Her father noticed her interest and began bringing home books and magazines about space. Al Fulfulee first read about NASA in those pages and was fascinated by the agency’s mission to explore the cosmos for the benefit of all humanity. “Right then I knew I had to be an astronaut! I must go to space myself and get a closer look,” she said. “I knew I must find a way to go and work for NASA and fulfill my dream, working with other people like me who had a passion to explore the universe.” Farah Al Fulfulee poses outside the Sonny Carter Training Facility at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Image courtesy of Farah Al Fulfulee As a girl growing up in the Middle East, Al Fulfulee had few opportunities to pursue this dream, but she refused to give up. Her dedication to schoolwork and excellence in science and math earned her a spot at the University of Baghdad College of Engineering. She completed a degree in electronic and communication engineering — similar to American electrical and computer engineering programs — and graduated as one of the top 10 students in her class. “We had a graduation party where you dress up as what you want to be in the future,” she recalled. “I wore a spacesuit.” Farah Al Fulfulee celebrates her graduation from the University of Baghdad while wearing a spacesuit costume. Image courtesy of Farah Al Fulfulee Al Fulfulee was ready to launch her career, but Iraq did not have a developed space industry and finding work as a female engineer was a challenge. She accepted a project engineer position with a prominent Iraqi engineering firm in the information technology sector and spent four years working for the company in Iraq, Turkey, and Jordan, but she was disappointed to discover that her role involved very little engineering. “I was the only female on the team,” she said. “It was not common for a woman to work in the field or with customers, so I was always left behind to do office work. The job was not fulfilling.” Still determined to join NASA, Al Fulfulee kept looking for her chance to come to the United States and finally found one in 2016, when she moved to Oklahoma to be near her sister. A new challenge soon rose: Without a degree from an American school or previous work experience in the United States, engineering opportunities were hard to come by. Al Fulfulee spent the next six years working in quality assurance for a human resources software company while she completed a MicroMasters program in software verification and management from the University of Maryland and honed her English and leadership skills. Her big break came in 2022, when she landed a job with Boeing Defense, Space, and Security as a software quality engineer. “I was so excited,” she said. “I knew I was much closer to my dream since Boeing worked in the space industry and I would be able to apply internally to work on a space program.” Farah Al Fulfulee participates in a NASA study that evaluated and compared the use of virtual reality and physical mockups to assess space vehicle and systems designs. Image courtesy of Farah Al Fulfulee Less than one year later, Al Fulfulee became a system design and analysis engineer for the International Space Station Program and joined the Station Management and Control Team at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. She helps develop requirements, monitors performance, and validates testing for electrical systems and software supporting space station payloads. She also designs hardware, software, and interface specifications for those systems. Al Fulfulee has served as the team’s point of contact, delivering verification assessment and data assessment reports for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 and Crew-10 missions, as well as the upcoming Axiom Mission 4 flight. She is currently working to support testing and verification for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11. “I could not be happier,” she declared. She is also not stopping. “I won’t quit until I wear the blue suit.” Farah Al Fulfulee tending to her backyard garden.Image courtesy of Farah Al Fulfulee Al Fulfulee has been an enthusiastic volunteer for various NASA studies, including the Exploration Atmosphere Studies that tested spacewalk safety protocols in an analog environment. She is pursuing a master’s degree in Space Operations Engineering from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. She is an avid gardener and learning how to grow produce indoors as a volunteer experimental botanist with the Backyard Produce Project, noting that such knowledge might come in handy on Mars. She is also helping to inspire the next generation. Earlier this year, Al Fulfulee was a guest speaker at the Women in Tech & Business Summit in Iraq – an event designed to encourage Iraqi women to pursue technology careers. “I was the only person representing women in space,” she said. “It was a really moving experience.” Al Fulfulee provided practical advice on breaking barriers in aerospace and shared her story with the crowd. “I know my path is long and across the continents,” she said, “but I am enjoying my journey.” Explore More 5 min read Johnson’s Jason Foster Recognized for New Technology Reporting Record Article 1 day ago 4 min read NASA, DoD Practice Abort Scenarios Ahead of Artemis II Moon Mission Article 4 days ago 4 min read Welcome Home, Expedition 72 Crew! Article 6 days ago View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

2 min read Explore Our Dynamic Sun! from NASA’s Heliophysics Education Activation Team (NASA HEAT) and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific/Night Sky Network Have you ever wondered about what the Sun is made of? Or why do you get sunburned on even cloudy days? NASA’s new Explore the Sun toolkit brings the wonders of solar science to you, offering answers to these questions and more! Solar images from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory show different features on the Sun, including sunspots in the visible light spectrum. Filaments and prominences can be seen in hydrogen-alpha, coronal mass ejections in X-ray, and details in ultraviolet light. On the right side of the banner, aurorae observed on Earth by the International Space Station is shown, along with aurorae on other planets as seen by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope. NASA/Astronomical Society of the Pacific A collaboration between NASA’s Heliophysics Education Activation Team (NASA HEAT) and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific’s Night Sky Network program, this resource was developed for informal educators, amateur astronomers, and astronomy enthusiasts alike, providing engaging activities for anyone eager to learn more about our nearest star. Whether you’re hosting a solar viewing event or an indoor presentation, the Our Dynamic Sun toolkit provides easy-to-use materials designed to spark curiosity. Each card in the set pairs NASA images with clear explanations for each topic: “What color is the Sun?” (hint: it’s not yellow!) “How does the Sun affect us here on Earth?” “When will the Sun die?” These cards not only answer common questions the public may have, but also highlight how NASA’s solar research helps us understand space weather, solar storms, and their impacts on our daily lives. Bring the Sun’s story to your community and inspire the next generation of explorers. You can download this free Our Dynamic Sun toolkit here: [Hidden Content] View the full article

NASA’s Worm logo is displayed in front of the agency’s headquarters in Washington.Credit: NASA Two NASA employees are being honored as part of the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals, also known as the Sammies, recognizing outstanding federal employees who are addressing many of our country’s greatest challenges. Rich Burns of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and John Blevins of Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, were selected out of 350 nominees and are among 23 individuals and teams honored for their achievements as federal employees. They will be recognized at a ceremony in Washington on Tuesday, June 17, that also will be live streamed on the Sammies website. The honorees will be commended via videos and presenter remarks and receive medals for their achievements. Named after the founder of the Partnership for Public Service, the 2025 Service to America Medals awards celebrate federal employees who provided critical public services and made outstanding contributions to the health, safety, and national security of our country. “Rich and John exemplify the spirit of exploration and service that defines NASA and our nation’s civil servants,” said acting NASA Administrator Janet Petro. “Their leadership, ingenuity, and dedication have not only advanced America’s space program but also inspired the next generation of innovators. We are proud to see their achievements recognized among the very best of federal service.” Richard Burns, project manager for the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security – Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and honoree of the 2025 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America MedalsCredit: NASA Burns was the project manager of the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security – Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission to collect a sample from an asteroid and oversaw operations from the developmental stage to the successful landing of the spacecraft’s Sample Return Capsule. The mission launched on Sept. 18, 2016, and after a nearly four-year journey, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft successfully collected a sample from the asteroid Bennu on Oct. 20, 2020, which returned to Earth on Sept. 24, 2023, providing scientists with 120 grams of pristine material to study, the largest amount ever collected from an asteroid. Working to solidify OSIRIS-REx as a success, Burns set up multiple partnerships and communicated frequently with scientists, large and small businesses, NASA centers, and others to ensure the mission’s vision was carried out though each phase. During the mission, Burns had to handle unique challenges that required adapting to new situations. These included improving flight software to help the spacecraft avoid hazardous parts of Bennu’s rocky surface and working with NASA leaders to find a way to best protect the sample collected from Bennu after a large stone propped the collection canister open. Finally, when the sample was set to return to Earth, Burns worked extensively with NASA and military partners to prepare for the landing, focusing on the safety of the public along with the integrity of the sample to ensure the final part of the mission was a success. Burns helped OSIRIS-REx exceed its objectives all while under the original budget, allowing NASA to share a portion of the sample with more than 80 research projects and make new discoveries about the possible origins of life on our planet. The spacecraft, now known as Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security – Apophis Explorer, is scheduled to rendezvous with the asteroid Apophis in 2029. “It’s humbling to accept an award based on the achievements of the amazingly talented, dedicated, and innovative OSIRIS-REx team,” Burns said. “I consider myself privileged to be counted among a team of true explorers who let no obstacle stand in the way of discovery.” John Blevins, chief engineer for the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, stands inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida during the stacking of the Artemis I rocket ahead of its first test flight, which successfully launched from Kennedy on Nov. 16, 2022.Credit: NASA Blevins is the chief engineer for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and is responsible for the various technical decisions that need to be made to ensure each mission is successful. This included calculating structural needs, thermal analyses of the effects, and studies of vibrations, acoustics, propulsion integration, among other work. Artemis I, the first test flight of the SLS rocket, successfully launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 16, 2022. In the time leading up to and during launch, Blevins led the team integrating the hardware for the mission working to address unexpected events while SLS was on the pad prior to launch. This included significant lightning storms and two hurricanes impacting Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Blevins built a working coalition of engineering teams across the agency that previously did not exist. His ability to forge strong relationships on the various teams across the agency allowed for the successful launch of Artemis I. He continues to lead the engineering team behind SLS as they prepare for Artemis II, the second flight of SLS and the first crewed lunar mission of the 21st century. “This is a reflection on the hard work and dedication of the entire Artemis Team,” Blevins said. “I am working with an incredibly competent, dedicated team agencywide that goes above and beyond to promote the space exploration goals of our nation. I am honored to accept the award on their behalf.” Share Details Last Updated Jun 16, 2025 EditorTiernan P. DoyleContactTiernan P. Doyle*****@*****.tldLocationNASA Headquarters Related TermsOSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer)Common Exploration Systems Development DivisionExploration Systems Development Mission DirectorateGoddard Space Flight CenterMarshall Space Flight CenterOSIRIS-APEX (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security – Apophis Explorer)Space Launch System (SLS) View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the barred spiral galaxy IC 758.ESA/Hubble & NASA, C. Kilpatrick This serene spiral galaxy hides a cataclysmic past. The galaxy IC 758, shown in this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image, is situated 60 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. Hubble captured this image in 2023. IC 758 appears peaceful, with its soft blue spiral arms curving gently around its hazy barred center. However, in 1999, astronomers spotted a powerful explosion in this galaxy. The supernova SN 1999bg marked the dramatic end of a star far more massive than the Sun. Researchers do not know exactly how massive this star was before it exploded, but will use these Hubble observations to measure the masses of stars in SN 1999bg’s neighborhood. These measurements will help them estimate the mass of the star that went supernova. The Hubble data may also reveal whether SN 1999bg’s progenitor star had a companion, which would provide additional clues about the star’s life and death. A supernova represents more than just the demise of a single star — it’s also a powerful force that can shape its neighborhood. When a massive star collapses, triggering a supernova, its outer layers rebound off its shrunken core. The explosion stirs the interstellar soup of gas and dust out of which new stars form. This interstellar shakeup can scatter and heat nearby gas clouds, preventing new stars from forming, or it can compress them, creating a burst of new star formation. The cast-off layers enrich the interstellar medium, from which new stars form, with heavy elements manufactured in the core of the supernova. Text Credit: ESA/Hubble Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, C. Kilpatrick View the full article

3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) By Beth Ridgeway NASA’s Student Launch competition celebrated its 25th anniversary on May 4, just north of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, bringing together more than 980 middle school, high school, college, and university students from across the U.S. to showcase and launch their high-powered rocketry designs. The event marked the conclusion of the nine-month challenge where teams designed, built, and launched more than 50 rockets carrying scientific payloads—trying to achieve altitudes between 4,000 and 6,000 feet before executing a successful landing and payload mission. “This is really about mirroring the NASA engineering design process,” Kevin McGhaw, director of NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement Southeast Region, said. “It gives students hands-on experience not only in building and designing hardware, but in the review and testing process. We are helping to prepare and inspire students to get out of classroom and into the aerospace industry as a capable and energizing part of our future workforce.” NASA announced James Madison University as the overall winner of the agency’s 2025 Student Launch challenge, followed by North Carolina State University, and The University of Alabama in Huntsville. A complete list of challenge winners can be found on the agency’s Student Launch webpage. Participants from James Madison University – the overall winner of the 2025 NASA Student Launch competition – stand around their team’s high-powered rocket as it sits on the pad before launching on May 4 event. NASA/Krisdon Manecke Each year, a payload challenge is issued to the university teams, and this year’s task took inspiration from the agency’s Artemis missions, where NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefit, and to build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars. Teams were challenged to include sensor data from STEMnauts, non-living objects representing astronauts. The STEMnaut “crew” had to relay real-time data to the student team’s mission control, just as the Artemis astronaut crew will do as they explore the lunar surface. Student Launch is one of NASA’s seven Artemis Student Challenges – activities that connect student ingenuity with NASA’s work returning to the Moon under Artemis in preparation for human exploration of Mars. The competition is managed by Marshall’s Office of STEM Engagement. Additional funding and support are provided by the Office of STEM Engagement’s Next Generation STEM project, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, the agency’s Space Operations Mission Directorate, Northrup Grumman, National Space Club Huntsville, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, National Association of Rocketry, Relativity Space, and Bastion Technologies Inc. To watch the full virtual awards ceremony, please visit NASA Marshall’s YouTube channel. For more information about Student Launch, visit: [Hidden Content] Share Details Last Updated Jun 16, 2025 EditorBeth RidgewayLocationMarshall Space Flight Center Related TermsMarshall Space Flight CenterFind Your PlaceFor Colleges & UniversitiesLearning Resources Explore More 3 min read NASA Announces Teams for 2025 Student Launch Challenge Article 9 months ago 4 min read 25 Years Strong: NASA’s Student Launch Competition Accepting 2025 Proposals Article 10 months ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

2 Min Read NASA Seeks Commercial Feedback on Space Communication Solutions An illustration of a commercial space relay ecosystem. Credits: NASA / Morgan Johnson NASA is seeking information from U.S. and international companies about Earth proximity relay communication and navigation capabilities as the agency aims to use private industry satellite communications services for emerging agency science missions. “As part of NASA’s Communications Services Project, the agency is working with private industry to solve challenges for future exploration,” said Kevin Coggins, deputy associate administrator of NASA’s SCaN Program. “Through this effort, NASA missions will have a greater ability to command spacecraft, resolve issues in flight, and bring home more data and scientific discoveries collected across the solar system.” In November 2024, NASA announced the TDRS (Tracking and Data Relay Satellite) system, the agency’s network of satellites relaying communications from the International Space Station, ground controls on Earth, and spacecraft, will support only existing missions. NASA, as one of many customers, will obtain commercial satellite services rather than owning and operating a replacement for the existing satellite system. As NASA transitions to commercial relay services, the agency will leverage commercial capabilities to ensure support for future missions and stimulate private investment into the Earth proximity region. Commercial service offerings could become available to NASA missions as early as 2028 and will continue to be demonstrated and validated through 2031. NASA’s SCaN issued a Request for Information on May 30. Responses are due by 5 p.m. EDT on Friday, July 11. NASA’s SCaN Program serves as the management office for the agency’s space communications and navigation. More than 100 NASA and non-NASA missions rely on SCaN’s two networks, the Near Space Network and the Deep Space Network, to support astronauts aboard the International Space Station and future Artemis missions, monitor Earth’s weather, support lunar exploration, and uncover the solar system and beyond. Learn more about NASA’s SCaN Program at: [Hidden Content] Share Details Last Updated Jun 16, 2025 EditorJimi RussellContactMolly KearnsLocationGlenn Research Center Related TermsCommercial SpaceGeneralGlenn Research CenterThe Future of Commercial SpaceTracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Communicating with Missions Communications Services Project Commercial Space News Near Space Network View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Heading into a recent staff meeting for Johnson Space Center’s Business Development & Technology Integration Office, Jason Foster anticipated a typical agenda of team updates and discussion. He did not expect an announcement that he had been named a 2025 Rookie of the Year – Honorable Mention through the Federal Laboratory Consortium’s annual awards program. Foster was one of only three technology transfer professionals across the federal government to be recognized in the Rookie of the Year category, which is open to early-career individuals with less than three years of experience. “It was definitely a surprise,” he said. “It was quite an honor, because it’s not only representing Johnson Space Center but also NASA.” Jason Foster recognized at the Federal Laboratory Consortium Award Ceremony as a Rookie of the Year – Honorable Mention.Image courtesy of Jason Foster Foster is a licensing specialist and New Technology Report (NTR) specialist within Johnson’s Technology Transfer Office in Houston. That team works to ensure that innovations developed for aeronautics and space exploration are made broadly available to the public, maximizing their benefit to the nation. Foster’s role involves both capturing new technologies developed at Johnson and marketing and licensing those technologies to companies that would like to use and further develop them. He describes much of his work as “technology hunting” – reaching out to branches, offices, and teams across Johnson to teach them about the Technology Transfer Office, NTRs, and the value of technology reporting for NASA and the public. “NTRs are the foundation that allows our office to do our job,” he said. “We need to know about a technology in order to transfer it.” Jason Foster (left) visited NASA’s White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico, with his colleague Edgar Castillo as part of the Technology Transfer Office’s work to capture new technology and innovations developed at Johnson and affiliated facilities. Image courtesy of Jason Foster Foster’s efforts to streamline and strengthen the reporting and patenting of Johnson’s innovations led to his recognition by the consortium. His proactive outreach and relationship-building improved customer service and contributed to 158 NTRs in fiscal year 2024 – the highest number of NTRs disclosed by federal employees at any NASA center. Foster also proposed a three-month NTR sprint, during which he led a team of seven in an intensive exercise to identify and report new technologies. This initiative not only cleared a backlog of leads for the office, but also resulted in more than 120 previously undisclosed NTRs. “We are still using that process now as we continue processing NTRs,” Foster said. On top of those achievements, he helped secure the highest recorded number of license agreements with commercial entities in the center’s history, with 41 licenses executed in fiscal year 2024. “I am very proud of my accomplishments, none of it would be possible without the open-mindedness and continuous support of my incredible team,” Foster said. “They have always provided a space to grow, and actively welcome innovation in our processes and workflows.” Jason Foster educated Johnson employees about the Technology Transfer Office and the importance of submitting New Technology Reports during the center’s annual Innovation Showcase.Image courtesy of Jason Foster A self-described “space nerd,” Foster said he always envisioned working at NASA, but not until much later in his career – ideally as an astronaut. He initially planned to pursue an astrophysics degree but discovered a passion for engineering and fused that with his love of space by studying aerospace, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering instead. In his last semester of college at California Polytechnic State University of San Luis Obispo, he landed a Universities Space Research Association internship at Johnson, supporting flight software development for crew exercise systems on the International Space Station and future exploration missions. “I got really involved in the Johnson Space Center team and the work, and I thought, what if I joined NASA now?” He was hired as a licensing specialist on the Technology Transfer team under the JETS II Contract as an Amentum employee shortly after graduating and continually seeks new opportunities to expand his role and skillsets. “The more I can learn about anything NASA’s doing is incredible,” he said. “I found myself in this perfect position where literally my job is to learn everything there is to learn.” Jason Foster holding up Aerogel during his visit to the Hypervelocity Impact Testing Laboratory at NASA’s White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The visit was part of the Technology Transfer Office’s work to capture new technology and innovations developed at Johnson and affiliated facilities. Image courtesy of Jason Foster Foster celebrates three years with NASA this July. In his time at the agency, he has learned the value of getting to know and understand your colleagues’ needs in order to help them. Before he meets with someone, he takes time to learn about the organization or team they are a part of, the work they are involved in, and what they might discuss. It is also important to determine how each person prefers to communicate and collaborate. “Doing your homework pays dividends,” Foster said. He has found that being as prepared as possible opens doors to more opportunities, and it helps to save valuable time for busy team members. Jason Foster practices fire spinning on a California beach. Image courtesy of Jason Foster When he is not technology hunting, you might find Foster practicing the art of fire spinning. He picked up the hobby in college, joining a club that met at local beaches to practice spinning and capturing different geometric patterns through long exposure photos. “It was kind of a strange thing to get into, but it was really fun,” he said. His love of learning drives his interest in other activities as well. Gardening is a relatively new hobby inspired by a realization that he had never grown anything before. “It’s a genuine joy, I think, coming across something with curiosity and wanting to learn from it,” he said. “I think it especially helps in my job, where your curiosity switch has to be on at least 90% of the time.” Explore More 4 min read Laser Focused: Keith Barr Leads Orion’s Lunar Docking Efforts Article 6 days ago 4 min read Johnson’s Paige Whittington Builds a Symphony of Simulations Article 3 weeks ago 9 min read Station Nation: Meet Megan Harvey, Utilization Flight Lead and Capsule Communicator Article 4 weeks ago View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio Mosaics More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions Mars Home 2 min read Curiosity Blog, Sols 4568-4569: A Close Look at the Altadena Drill Hole and Tailings NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image of the “Altadena” drill hole using its Mast Camera (Mastcam) on June 8, 2025 — Sol 4564, or Martian day 4,564 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 13:57:45 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Written by Sharon Wilson Purdy, Planetary Geologist at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Earth planning date: Wednesday, June 11, 2025 As we near the end of our Altadena drill campaign, Curiosity continued her exploration of the Martian bedrock within the boxwork structures on Mount Sharp. After successfully delivering a powdered rock sample to both the CheMin (Chemistry and Mineralogy) and SAM (Sample Analysis at Mars) instruments, the focus for sols 4568 and 4569 was to take a closer look at the drill hole itself — specifically, the interior walls of the drill hole and the associated tailings (the rock material pushed out by the drill). In the image above, you can see that the tone (or color) of the rock exposed within the wall of the drill hole appears to change slightly with depth, and the drill tailings are a mixture of fine powder and more solid clumps. If you compare the Altadena drill site with the 42 drill sites that came before, one can really appreciate the impressive range of colors, textures, and grain sizes in the rocks that Curiosity has analyzed over the past 12 years. Every drill hole marks a window into the past and can help us understand how the ancient environment and climate on Mars evolved over time. In this two-sol plan, the ChemCam, Mastcam, APXS, and MAHLI instruments coordinated their observations to image and characterize the chemistry of the wall of the drill hole and tailings before we drive away from this site over the coming weekend. Outside of our immediate workspace, Mastcam created two stereo mosaics that will image the boxwork structures nearby as well as the layers within Texoli butte. ChemCam assembled three long-distance RMI images that will help assess the layers at the base of the “Mishe Mokwa” hill, complete the imaging of the nearby boxwork structures, and image the very distant crater rim (about 90 kilometers, or 56 miles away) and sky to investigate the scattering properties of the atmosphere. The environmental theme group included observations that will measure the properties of the atmosphere and also included a dust-****** survey. Share Details Last Updated Jun 13, 2025 Related Terms Blogs Explore More 2 min read Curiosity Blog, Sols 4566-4567: Drilling Success Article 2 days ago 4 min read Curiosity Blog, Sols 4563-4565: Doing What We Do Best Article 5 days ago 4 min read Sols 4561-4562: Prepping to Drill at Altadena Article 1 week ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited… All Mars Resources Explore this collection of Mars images, videos, resources, PDFs, and toolkits. Discover valuable content designed to inform, educate, and inspire,… Rover Basics Each robotic explorer sent to the Red Planet has its own unique capabilities driven by science. Many attributes of a… Mars Exploration: Science Goals The key to understanding the past, present or future potential for life on Mars can be found in NASA’s four… View the full article

Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for a launch pad abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. NASA/Isaac Watson NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) teamed up June 11 and 12 to simulate emergency procedures they would use to rescue the Artemis II crew in the event of a launch emergency. The simulations, which took place off the coast of Florida and were supported by launch and flight control teams, are preparing NASA to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission. The team rehearsed procedures they would use to rescue the crew during an abort of NASA’s Orion spacecraft while the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket is still on the launch pad, as well as during ascent to space. A set of test mannequins and a representative version of Orion called the Crew Module Test Article, were used during the tests. The launch team at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, flight controllers in mission control at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, as well as the mission management team, all worked together, exercising their integrated procedures for these emergency scenarios. Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for a launch pad abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, June 11, 2025.NASA/Isaac Watson “Part of preparing to send humans to the Moon is ensuring our teams are ready for any scenario on launch day,” said Lakiesha Hawkins, NASA’s assistant deputy associate administrator for the Moon to Mars Program, and who also is chair of the mission management team for Artemis II. “We’re getting closer to our bold mission to send four astronauts around the Moon, and our integrated testing helps ensure we’re ready to bring them home in any scenario.” The launch pad abort scenario was up first. The teams conducted a normal launch countdown before declaring an abort before the rocket was scheduled to launch. During a real pad emergency, Orion’s launch abort system would propel Orion and its crew a safe distance away and orient it for splashdown before the capsule’s parachutes would then deploy ahead of a safe splashdown off the coast of Florida. Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for a launch pad abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. NASA/Isaac Watson For the simulated splashdown, the test Orion with mannequins aboard was placed in the water five miles east of Kennedy. Once the launch team made the simulated pad abort call, two Navy helicopters carrying U.S. Air Force pararescuers departed nearby Patrick Space Force Base. The rescuers jumped into the water with unique DoD and NASA rescue equipment to safely approach the spacecraft, retrieve the mannequin crew, and transport them for medical care in the helicopters, just as they would do in the event of an actual pad abort during the Artemis II mission. The next day focused on an abort scenario during ascent to space. The Artemis recovery team set up another simulation at sea 12 miles east of Kennedy, using the Orion crew module test article and mannequins. With launch and flight control teams supporting, as was the Artemis II crew inside a simulator at Johnson, the rescue team sprung into action after receiving the simulated ascent abort call and began rescue procedures using a C-17 aircraft and U.S. Air Force pararescuers. Upon reaching the capsule, the rescuers jumped from the C-17 with DoD and NASA unique rescue gear. In an actual ascent abort, Orion would separate from the rocket in milliseconds to safely get away prior to deploying parachutes and splashing down. Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for an ascent abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, June 12, 2025. NASA/Isaac Watson Rescue procedures are similar to those used in the Underway Recovery Test conducted off the California coast in March. This demonstration ended with opening the hatch and extracting the mannequins from the capsule, so teams stopped without completing the helicopter transportation that would be used during a real rescue. Exercising procedures for extreme scenarios is part of NASA’s work to execute its mission and keep the crew safe. Through the Artemis campaign, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars – for the benefit of all. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Attendees line up to enter the theater for a screening of the new NASA+ documentary “Cosmic Dawn: The Untold Story of the James Webb Space Telescope,” Wednesday, June 11, 2025, at the Greenbelt Cinema in Greenbelt, Maryland. Featuring never-before-seen footage, Cosmic Dawn offers an unprecedented glimpse into the assembly, testing, and launch of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.NASA/Joel Kowsky Attendees line up to enter the theater for a screening of the new NASA+ documentary “Cosmic Dawn: The Untold Story of the James Webb Space Telescope,” Wednesday, June 11, 2025, at the Greenbelt Cinema in Greenbelt, Maryland. Following the screening, Jacob Pinter, host of NASA’s Curious Universe podcast, led a discussion with Sophia Roberts, a NASA video producer who documented the Webb project, and Paul Geithner, former deputy project manager for Webb. Featuring never-before-seen footage, Cosmic Dawn offers an unprecedented glimpse into the assembly, testing, and launch of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Watch the documentary. Image credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky View the full article

Explore Hubble Hubble Home Overview About Hubble The History of Hubble Hubble Timeline Why Have a Telescope in Space? Hubble by the Numbers At the Museum FAQs Impact & Benefits Hubble’s Impact & Benefits Science Impacts Cultural Impact Technology Benefits Impact on Human Spaceflight Astro Community Impacts Science Hubble Science Science Themes Science Highlights Science Behind Discoveries Hubble’s Partners in Science Universe Uncovered Explore the Night Sky Observatory Hubble Observatory Hubble Design Mission Operations Missions to Hubble Hubble vs Webb Team Hubble Team Career Aspirations Hubble Astronauts Multimedia Images Videos Sonifications Podcasts e-Books Online Activities 3D Hubble Models Lithographs Fact Sheets Posters Hubble on the NASA App Glossary News Hubble News Social Media Media Resources More 35th Anniversary Online Activities 2 min read Hubble Studies a Spiral’s Supernova Scene This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the barred spiral galaxy IC 758. ESA/Hubble & NASA, C. Kilpatrick This serene spiral galaxy hides a cataclysmic past. The galaxy IC 758, shown in this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image, is situated 60 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. Hubble captured this image in 2023. IC 758 appears peaceful, with its soft blue spiral arms curving gently around its hazy barred center. However, in 1999, astronomers spotted a powerful explosion in this galaxy. The supernova SN 1999bg marked the dramatic end of a star far more massive than the Sun. Researchers do not know exactly how massive this star was before it exploded, but will use these Hubble observations to measure the masses of stars in SN 1999bg’s neighborhood. These measurements will help them estimate the mass of the star that went supernova. The Hubble data may also reveal whether SN 1999bg’s progenitor star had a companion, which would provide additional clues about the star’s life and death. A supernova represents more than just the demise of a single star — it’s also a powerful force that can shape its neighborhood. When a massive star collapses, triggering a supernova, its outer layers rebound off its shrunken core. The explosion stirs the interstellar soup of gas and dust out of which new stars form. This interstellar shakeup can scatter and heat nearby gas clouds, preventing new stars from forming, or it can compress them, creating a burst of new star formation. The cast-off layers enrich the interstellar medium, from which new stars form, with heavy elements manufactured in the core of the supernova. Text Credit: ESA/Hubble Facebook logo @NASAHubble @NASAHubble Instagram logo @NASAHubble Media Contact: Claire Andreoli (*****@*****.tld) NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD Share Details Last Updated Jun 13, 2025 Editor Andrea Gianopoulos Location NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Related Terms Hubble Space Telescope Astrophysics Astrophysics Division Galaxies Goddard Space Flight Center Spiral Galaxies The Universe Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From Hubble Hubble Space Telescope Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe. Hubble’s Galaxies Homing in on Cosmic Explosions Hubble’s Night Sky Challenge View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

A coloring page for NASA’s NuSTAR mission. Downloads NuSTAR Coloring Page – Spacecraft (PNG) Jun 12, 2025 PNG (187.75 KB) NuSTAR Coloring Page – Spacecraft (PDF) Jun 12, 2025 PDF (485.00 KB) A coloring page for NASA’s NuSTAR mission. Downloads NuSTAR Coloring Page – Nanoflares (PNG) Jun 12, 2025 PNG (171.45 KB) NuSTAR Coloring Page – Nanoflares (PDF) Jun 12, 2025 PDF (432.73 KB) A coloring page for NASA’s NuSTAR mission. Downloads NuSTAR Coloring Page – Stellar Remains (PNG) Jun 12, 2025 PNG (160.71 KB) NuSTAR Coloring Page – Stellar Remains (PDF) Jun 12, 2025 PDF (411.75 KB) A coloring page for NASA’s NuSTAR mission. Downloads NuSTAR Coloring Page – Spiral Galaxies (PNG) Jun 12, 2025 PNG (195.06 KB) NuSTAR Coloring Page – Spiral Galaxies (PDF) Jun 12, 2025 PDF (474.45 KB) A coloring page for NASA’s NuSTAR mission. Downloads NuSTAR Coloring Pages – X-rays (PNG) Jun 12, 2025 PNG (168.61 KB) NuSTAR Coloring Pages – X-rays (PDF) Jun 12, 2025 PDF (502.45 KB) Downloads All NuSTAR Coloring Pages (PDF) Jun 12, 2025 PDF (2.56 MB) View the full article

NASA/Kevin O’Brien NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) solid rocket boosters are the largest, most powerful solid propellant boosters to ever fly. Standing 17 stories tall and burning approximately six tons of propellant every second, each booster generates 3.6 million pounds of a thrust for a total of 7.2 million pounds: more thrust than 14 four-engine jumbo commercial airliners. Together, the SLS twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total thrust at launch. Each booster houses eight booster separation motors which are responsible for separating the boosters from the core stage during flight. At the top of each booster is the frustum—a truncated cone-shaped structure that, along with the nose cone, forms the aerodynamic fairing. This frustum houses four of the separation motors, while the remaining four are located at the bottom within the aft skirt. Image Credit: NASA/Kevin O’Brien For more information on the Artemis Campaign, visit: [Hidden Content] News Media Contact Jonathan Deal Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. 256-544-0034 jonathan.e*****@*****.tld View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

NASA, ESA and Jesús Maíz Apellániz (Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, Spain); Acknowledgment: Davide De Martin (ESA/Hubble) Pismis 24, the star cluster seen here in an image released on Dec. 11, 2006, lies within the much larger emission nebula called NGC 6357, located about 8,000 light-years from Earth. The brightest object in the picture was once thought to be a single star with an incredibly large mass of 200 to 300 solar masses. That would have made it by far the most massive known star in the galaxy and would have put it considerably above the currently believed upper mass limit of about 150 solar masses for individual stars. Measurements from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, however, discovered that Pismis 24-1 is actually two separate stars, and, in doing so, “halved” their mass to around 100-150 solar masses each. Image credit: NASA, ESA and Jesús Maíz Apellániz (Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, Spain); Acknowledgment: Davide De Martin (ESA/Hubble) View the full article

Earth (ESD) Earth Explore Explore Earth Home Air Quality Climate Change Freshwater Life on Earth Severe Storms Snow and Ice The Global Ocean Science at Work Earth Science at Work Technology and Innovation Powering Business Multimedia Image Collections Videos Data For Researchers About Us 12 Min Read NASA’s Hurricane Science, Tech, Data Help American Communities Hurricane Milton swirls over the ocean in this view from the International Space Station. Credits: ISS Astronaut/Earth Observatory NASA supports hurricane preparedness and response by providing satellite data and science before, during, and after storms. During hurricane season, NASA delivers timely flood maps, power outage insights, landslide risk assessments, and more to state and federal partners. NASA tests innovative technologies, from AI models to mini satellites, to enhance how we monitor hurricanes and their impacts. NASA’s long-term tracking of wind, ocean heat, and atmospheric moisture improves understanding of where hurricanes might form and intensify. With the Atlantic hurricane season underway, NASA is again gearing up to produce cutting-edge research that strengthens the nation’s ability to prepare for and respond to severe weather. From satellite imagery of our planet to improved storm modeling, the agency’s work supports communities in anticipating and reducing the impacts of hurricanes. In 2024, hurricanes including Helene and Milton showed NASA’s wide-ranging capabilities. As the storms approached the United States, the agency’s network of satellites and scientists swung into action. Within hours of landfall, NASA’s Disasters Response Coordination System was supplying emergency managers and others with flood maps, power outage assessments, and other crucial data. “People might be surprised how deeply NASA is involved in hurricane science,” said Scott Braun, a research meteorologist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “We are not the agencies issuing forecasts or warnings, but our technologies and science are making fundamental contributions to how we understand, predict, and respond to these storms.” Disaster Response Powered by NASA When hurricanes strike, NASA’s Disasters Response Coordination System aids state and federal agencies, producing and sharing imagery and data, including the NASA Disasters Mapping Portal, which offers tools to assess storm damage. One crucial tool is NASA’s ****** Marble product suite, produced and maintained by NASA Goddard. Using data from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), researchers and others can map nighttime lights and detect power outages. Unlike traditional outage maps, which often show only county-level data, NASA’s ****** Marble can provide a more detailed view. It offers calibrated, daily observations, enabling high-confidence tracking of neighborhood-level impacts. Emergency response teams in Florida, for instance, have used this imagery to assess conditions near hazardous waste sites before heading into the field after a hurricane. before after The state faced widespread power outages after winds from Hurricane Helene snapped trees, tore off roofs, and toppled power lines. View the full story NASA Earth Observatory/Lauren Dauphin beforeafter The state faced widespread power outages after winds from Hurricane Helene snapped trees, tore off roofs, and toppled power lines. View the full story NASA Earth Observatory/Lauren Dauphin before after Scientists with NASA’s ****** Marble processed data from VIIRS on the NOAA-NASA Suomi NPP satellite to show how power outages darkened Augusta, Georgia, before and after Hurricane Helene. View the full story CurtainToggle2-Up Image Details Other NASA technologies map flooding. Scientists at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama used the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar data and other data from the NASA/U.S. Geological Survey Landsat satellites and ESA’s Sentinel-2 to track flooding after multiple hurricanes in 2024, including Helene and Milton. These maps were shared through the NASA Disasters Mapping Portal with state and federal emergency managers responding to storms’ impacts in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and elsewhere. “The ability to see floodwaters and landscape changes gives communities a critical edge during response and recovery,” said Shanna McClain, disasters program manager for NASA’s Earth Science Division at NASA headquarters in Washington. “It helps decision-makers act faster when every minute counts.” Hurricanes don’t just knock out power or trigger flooding — they can also loosen mountains. After Hurricane Helene, NASA scientists partnered with USGS to tackle a different threat: landslides throughout the southern Appalachian Mountains. NASA’s Landslide Hazard Assessment for Situational Awareness tool, developed at NASA Goddard, can help spot landslide-prone areas by combining different troves of satellite data. “The landslide model brings together a wide range of Earth science,” said Thomas Stanley, a research scientist at NASA Goddard. “It’s a real convergence of satellite observations — soil moisture, precipitation, elevation — each one adding a key piece to the puzzle.” NASA and USGS used rainfall data and modeling to estimate landslide hazards in the Appalachians following Hurricane Helene, highlighting high-risk zones across western North Carolina. NASA/USGS In the days during and after Helene, a NASA-USGS team adapted this model to incorporate ground-based rainfall measurements. “This collaboration proved crucial during the critical first days when lingering clouds prevented direct satellite imaging of landslides,” said Kate Allstadt, a research geophysicist at USGS. “Combining NASA and USGS landslide models guided aerial reconnaissance over four states and helped prioritize areas for detailed mapping.” NASA Disasters Response coordinators also partnered with USGS to manually map likely landslide areas in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia, using high-resolution satellite imagery. This partnership enabled early warnings to agencies such as the North Carolina Geological Survey about potential landslide zones before visual confirmation was possible. Tracking Hurricanes in Near Real Time As hurricanes gather strength over warm ocean waters, NASA’s satellites begin tracking them. One effort providing essential data on hurricanes is the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission, a collaboration between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Passing over storms once or twice per day, the GPM core satellite captures high-resolution data on rainfall intensity and distribution. “The GPM mission gives us an inside look at where a storm is dropping the most rain and how intense it is,” said George Huffman, GPM project scientist at NASA Goddard. “That kind of information helps forecasters make better predictions and gives communities more time to prepare for flooding and dangerous conditions.” Huffman’s team leads NASA’s IMERG (Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM) product, which combines GPM Core Observatory data with observations from other satellites to generate near real-time, global rainfall estimates every 30 minutes. For example, IMERG tracked the record-breaking rainfall that fell during Hurricane Harvey in 2017, when parts of Texas saw more than 50 inches of rain. Satellite-based rainfall data can be especially vital when a big storm like Harvey or Helene knocks out ground-based rain measurements, Huffman said. Watch Hurricane Harvey as it makes landfall in Texas and Louisiana in 2017. The visualization depicts precipitation measured by the GPM mission, highlighting record-shattering rainfall over Texas and Louisiana. Blue is frozen precipitation, while green to red is rainfall. NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio NASA also is working to turn precipitation data into practical flood predictions. One such effort, led by NASA-funded hydrologist Ed Beighley at Northeastern University in Boston, merges rainfall estimates from the GPM mission with National Weather Service river discharge models and surface water mapping methods to identify areas likely to experience flooding. During Hurricane Helene, his team provided early versions of these flood maps to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. “In some cases, like with Helene, we could see where disasters were likely to be declared just from the rainfall data — days before the disaster declarations were made official,” Beighley said. “That kind of near real-time information could really help counties and health departments prepare and coordinate response efforts.” That same focus on improving early flood prediction was at the heart of NASA’s response to Hurricane Debby when it made landfall in Florida in August 2024. At NASA Marshall, the Short-term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) team used its Land Information System to track soil moisture levels, crucial for understanding the potential for flooding. The team’s Streamflow-AI model — a machine learning tool trained to predict how rivers respond to rainfall — also forecasted rising waters in small streams and creeks in Florida and the Carolinas. “The streamflow tool is used pretty heavily by the National Weather Service now to help inform flood forecasts, which then filters down to evacuation orders,” said Patrick Duran, a NASA Marshall research scientist with SPoRT. NASA SPoRT’s Streamflow-AI model shows the flooding potential for the Swannanoa River in Asheville, North Carolina, during and after Hurricane Helene. NASA SPoRT Reinventing the Tech That Sees Into Storms NASA doesn’t just collect data on hurricanes or aid in their aftermath — it is redefining the technology we use to observe and understand them. This work is not only improving forecasts and warnings but also helping to fuel the growth of America’s commercial satellite industry. Take NASA’s TROPICS mission. Short for Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats, TROPICS represents a fundamental shift in how we might monitor hurricanes from space. Rather than relying solely on intermittent passes by larger satellites, TROPICS uses a group of small, lower-cost satellites working in concert to provide more frequent observations of tropical storm systems — offering a complementary approach to storm monitoring. During Hurricane Helene, the TROPICS satellites tracked the storm through nearly its entire life cycle, capturing data on its rapid intensification from a tropical depression to a powerful category 4 hurricane before landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region. Each TROPICS satellite carries a microwave radiometer. Unlike optical sensors, this instrument can see through clouds, making it ideal for tracking storms. The TROPICS’ radiometers are tuned to detect temperature, moisture, and precipitation patterns inside hurricanes. “The TROPICS mission is really good at providing images of the structure of a storm, showing how well defined the eye is, which is key for improving forecasting,” said William Blackwell, TROPICS principal investigator at MIT Lincoln Laboratory in Massachusetts. NASA’s TROPICS mission monitored Hurricane Helene throughout its life cycle. This visualization shows how the tropical depression rapidly intensified into a category 4 hurricane before hitting Florida and then moving inland. NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio Tomorrow.io, an American weather company, is using radiometer technology derived from TROPICS as it develops tools for commercial weather forecasting. The company also is working to adapt radar technology first tested on NASA’s RainCube mission. RainCube, a small satellite about the size of a shoebox developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, operated from 2018 to 2020. It used radar to study precipitation, sending signals toward Earth and analyzing how long they took to bounce back, and how strong they were after reflecting off raindrops, snowflakes, and cloud ice. Full-scale satellites have been using radar technology to make that kind of measurement for years. “The key thing with RainCube wasn’t bringing in new science,” said Simone Tanelli, RainCube principal scientist at JPL. “Instead, it was showing that we could give you similar data with a box that’s roughly 100 times smaller in volume than a full-size satellite.” NASA also tests how other small, lower-cost instruments could transform how we monitor tropical storms. Two such tools — COWVR, short for Compact Ocean Wind Vector Radiometer measures ocean surface winds, and TEMPEST, short for Temporal Experiment for Storms and Tropical Systems tracks atmospheric water vapor — were launched to the International Space Station in 2021. Using technology and designs from JPL and other NASA teams, TEMPEST and COWVR already are proving their value. Their data has been used by the U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center to help track and forecast powerful storms, such as Tropical Cyclone Mandous in December 2022. Data from the COWVR and TEMPEST instruments aboard the ISS was used to create this image of Tropical Cyclone Mandous, which forecasters used to understand the December 2022 storm’s intensity and predict its path toward southern India. U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center/U.S. Naval Research Laboratory NASA researchers also are investigating lightning, which has emerged as a key clue in predicting rapid storm intensification, a dangerous phase of the hurricane life cycle that is one of the most difficult aspects of hurricane forecasting. Spikes in lightning activity, especially in the eyewall, can be an early sign that a storm is about to strengthen quickly. The agency’s SPoRT project is researching how lightning data from the Geostationary Lightning Mapper can improve hurricane forecasting. This sensor provides a nearly continuous view of lightning activity over oceans and in remote land regions that have fewer weather observations. The instrument rides aboard NOAA’s (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) GOES weather satellites. “By studying the size and energy of lightning flashes inside hurricanes, we’re learning how they might signal whether a storm is about to intensify or weaken,” said Duran. “It’s an evolving area of research with a lot of potential.” During Hurricane Helene, SPoRT’s lightning analyses revealed a burst of strong, frequent flashes in the eyewall just before the storm surged from category 2 to category 4 intensity. That’s exactly the kind of signal researchers hope to detect more reliably in the future. Bright, large lightning flashes seen in Hurricane Helene’s eyewall, captured by NASA SPoRT’s Geostationary Lightning Mapper viewer, indicate the storm’s rapid intensification from category 2 to 4 just hours before landfall. NASA SPoRT NASA frequently uses its airplanes to test new hurricane tech, too. In one recent example, scientists from NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, flew a cutting-edge 3-D Doppler wind lidar system across the United States, including making passes through the edges of Hurricane Helene. The instrument is designed to capture high-resolution wind data that can improve predictions of rapidly evolving storms, such as hurricanes and severe thunderstorms, where accurate wind observations are essential, but often lacking. Braun compared these multiple data streams — from TROPICS, GPM, and other instruments — to medical imaging. “Think about how doctors use different types of scans like X-rays, MRIs, and ultrasound to understand what’s happening inside a patient’s body,” he said. “We’re doing something similar with hurricanes. Each system gives us a different view of the storm’s internal structure and environment, with the goal of improving forecasts.” Watching For Hurricane Warning Signs Long before a hurricane takes shape, NASA satellites are already scanning the global ocean and atmosphere, closely tracking the conditions that give rise to powerful storms. One of the most important indicators is sea surface temperature. NASA combines data from multiple satellites and sensors — such as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and VIIRS — to produce sea surface temperature maps like JPL’s Multi-scale Ultra-high Resolution Sea Surface Temperature product and SPoRT’s Sea Surface Temperature Composite product. These global maps, updated daily, support users such as the National Weather Service. “Having high-resolution, reliable sources of sea surface temperature data is extremely useful,” said Brian McNoldy of the University of Miami, who studies hurricanes. “From one day to the next, these datasets help identify which parts of the tropical Atlantic are above or below average. That information lets forecasters anticipate where storms might strengthen or weaken.” Hurricane Milton rapidly intensified to category 5 strength over warm gulf waters. View the full story NASA Earth Observatory/Wanmei Liang Ocean surface temperatures are only part of the story. NASA also monitors sea surface height with missions such as Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich and SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography), using these measurements as indicators for deeper ocean heat content, a key source of energy fueling hurricanes. Other NASA-built satellites and sensors measure atmospheric moisture, ocean surface winds, and atmospheric stability, all essential factors influencing whether a storm strengthens or dissipates. NASA also uses its aircraft to study early storm development up close. In 2022, the agency’s Convective Processes Experiment-***** Verde airborne campaign flew off the northwest coast of Africa to study weather systems that can give rise to hurricanes. The team focused in part on African easterly waves — swirling disturbances in the atmosphere that often become the seeds of Atlantic storms. One of the waves they observed later developed into Tropical Storm Hermine. The mission also gathered data that same year just before hurricanes Fiona and Ian formed. “The strength of NASA’s pre-storm monitoring lies in both the breadth of measurements we take and the decades-long consistency behind them,” said Will McCarty, manager of weather programs at NASA Headquarters. “By combining data on sea surface temperature, ocean heat content, wind patterns, and more, we can see early on when conditions align dangerously — often before a storm visibly forms,” McCarty said. “It’s how we turn early warning into early action.” About the Author Emily DeMarco Share Details Last Updated Jun 12, 2025 Related Terms Earth Extreme Weather Events Hurricanes & Typhoons Explore More 1 min read Leaf Year: Seeing Plants in Hyperspectral Color PACE now allows scientists to see three different pigments in vegetation, helping scientists pinpoint even… Article 6 days ago 6 min read What NASA Is Learning from the Biggest Geomagnetic Storm in 20 Years Article 1 month ago 6 min read NASA Data Helps Map Tiny Plankton That Feed Giant Right Whales Article 1 month ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Earth Your home. Our Mission. And the one planet that NASA studies more than any other. Explore Earth Science Earth Science in Action NASA’s unique vantage point helps us inform solutions to enhance decision-making, improve livelihoods, and protect our planet. Earth Multimedia & Galleries View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Instruments in space are helping scientists map wastewater plumes flowing into the Pacific Ocean from the heavily polluted Tijuana River, seen here with the San Diego sky-line to the north. NOAA Proof-of-concept results from the mouth of the Tijuana River in San Diego County show how an instrument called EMIT could aid wastewater detection. An instrument built at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to map minerals on Earth is now revealing clues about water quality. A recent study found that EMIT (Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation) was able to identify signs of sewage in the water at a Southern California beach. The authors of the study examined a large wastewater plume at the mouth of the Tijuana River, south of Imperial Beach near San Diego. Every year, millions of gallons of treated and untreated sewage enter the river, which carries pollutants through communities and a national reserve on the U.S.-Mexico border before emptying into the Pacific Ocean. Contaminated coastal waters have been known to impact human health — from beachgoers to U.S. Navy trainees — and harm marine ecosystems, fisheries, and wildlife. For decades scientists have tracked water quality issues like harmful algal blooms using satellite instruments that analyze ocean color. Shades that range from vibrant red to bright green can reveal the presence of algae and phytoplankton. But other pollutants and harmful bacteria are more difficult to monitor because they’re harder to distinguish with traditional satellite sensors. A plume spreads out to sea in this image captured off San Diego by the Sentinel-2 satellite on March 24, 2023. Both a spectroradiometer used to analyze water samples (yellow star) and NASA’s EMIT identified in the plume signs of a type of bacterium that can sicken humans and animals.SDSU/Eva Scrivner That’s where EMIT comes in. NASA’s hyperspectral instrument orbits Earth aboard the International Space Station, observing sunlight reflecting off the planet below. Its advanced optical components split the visible and infrared wavelengths into hundreds of color bands. By analyzing each satellite scene pixel by pixel at finer spatial resolution, scientists can discern what molecules are present based on their unique spectral “fingerprint.” Scientists compared EMIT’s observations of the Tijuana River plume with water samples they tested on the ground. Both EMIT and the ground-based instruments detected a spectral fingerprint pointing to phycocyanin, a pigment in cyanobacteria, an organism that can sicken humans and animals that ingest or inhale it. ‘Smoking Gun’ Many beachgoers are already familiar with online water-quality dashboards, which often rely on samples collected in the field, said Christine Lee, a scientist at JPL in Southern California and a coauthor of the study. She noted the potential for EMIT to complement these efforts. “From orbit you are able to look down and see that a wastewater plume is extending into places you haven’t sampled,” Lee said. “It’s like a diagnostic at the doctor’s office that tells you, ‘Hey, let’s take a closer look at this.’” Lead author Eva Scrivner, a doctoral student at the University of Connecticut, said that the findings “show a ‘smoking gun’ of sorts for wastewater in the Tijuana River plume.” Scrivner, who led the study while at San Diego State University, added that EMIT could be useful for filling data gaps around intensely polluted sites where traditional water sampling takes a lot of time and money. EMIT’s Many Uses The technology behind EMIT is called imaging spectroscopy, which was pioneered at JPL in the 1980s. Imaging spectrometers developed at JPL over the decades have been used to support areas ranging from agriculture to forest health and firefighting. When EMIT was launched in July 2022, it was solely aimed at mapping minerals and dust in Earth’s desert regions. That same sensitivity enabled it to spot the phycocyanin pigments off the California coast. Scrivner hadn’t anticipated that an instrument initially devoted to exploring land could reveal insights about water. “The fact that EMIT’s findings over the coast are consistent with measurements in the field is compelling to water scientists,” she said. “It’s really exciting.” To learn more about EMIT, visit: [Hidden Content] News Media Contacts Jane J. Lee / Andrew Wang Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 626-379-6874 / 818-354-0307 *****@*****.tld / *****@*****.tld Written by Sally Younger 2025-078 Share Details Last Updated Jun 12, 2025 Related TermsEMIT (Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation)EarthEarth Science Technology OfficeHuman DimensionsInternational Space Station (ISS)OceansWater on Earth Explore More 3 min read Studying Storms from Space Station Article 4 hours ago 4 min read Welcome Home, Expedition 72 Crew! Article 21 hours ago 6 min read NASA’s Ready-to-Use Dataset Details Land Motion Across North America Article 6 days ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Missions Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article

3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Students from Tropico Middle School in Rosamond, California, build their own paper planes as part of a project during NASA Aero Fair on April 9, 2025.NASA/Genaro Vavuris A new generation of aerospace explorers will soon embark on a hands-on summer experience focusing on careers in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology (STEM). This month, NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, and the Flight Test Museum Foundation will launch the 2025 Junior Test Pilot School. Held at Blackbird Airpark and Joe Davies Heritage Airpark in Palmdale, California, this six-week program invites elementary-aged students to step into the shoes of test pilots and engineers from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, June 16 through July 25. Registration is free through participating school districts and the Flight Test Museum. Students will have direct access to legendary aircraft such as A-12, SR-71, U-2, F-86 Sabre, and NASA Boeing 747 Space Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. The Junior Test Pilot School combines authentic NASA-designed curriculum, immersive aerospace activities, and direct engagement with engineers, test pilots, and scientists to inspire future aerospace professionals in the Antelope Valley – home to one of the nation’s highest concentrations of STEM careers. “This program offers more than a glimpse into aerospace, it provides students a hands-on opportunity to solve real-world problems and see themselves in future STEM roles,” said Dr. Amira Flores, program integration manager for NASA’s California Office of STEM Engagement. Daily lessons cover eight core modules: flight principles, stealth engineering, altitude effects, speed and g-force, payload impact, maneuverability, reconnaissance design, and jet engine systems. Additionally, in collaboration with NASA Armstrong’s Aero Fair program, students will be guided through the program’s Wildfire Design Challenge by a NASA volunteer. Following the engineering design process, students will collaborate to design and build a prototype of an aerial vehicle that suppresses wildfires. “Our junior test pilots learn to analyze the aircraft to figure out why they were designed the way they are and think like an engineer,” said Lisa Sheldon Brown, director of education at the Flight Test Museum. “Research shows that academic trajectory is set by fifth grade, making this the critical window to inspire STEM interest and career awareness.” The program is delivered in partnership with the City of Palmdale and is supported by industry sponsors, including Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. These partners not only provide funding and volunteers but also elevate career exposure by introducing students to diverse aerospace professionals within the region. NASA Armstrong is a hub of aeronautical innovation and STEM workforce development in the Antelope Valley. Through programs like Aero Fair and partnerships like Junior Test Pilots School, Armstrong inspires and equips the next generation of engineers, pilots, and scientists. The Flight Test Museum Foundation preserves the legacy and promotes the future of aerospace through education programs and historical preservation at the Blackbird Airpark and forthcoming Flight Test Museum at Edwards Air Force Base in Edwards, California. For more about NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center, visit: [Hidden Content] – end – Elena Aguirre Armstrong Flight Research Center, Edwards, California (661) 276-7004 *****@*****.tld Dede Dinius Armstrong Flight Research Center, Edwards, California (661) 276-5701 *****@*****.tld Explore More 5 min read NASA F-15s Validate Tools for Quesst Mission Article 2 days ago 4 min read NASA Student Challenge Prepares Future Designers for Lunar Missions Article 2 days ago 2 min read From Garment Industry to NASA: Meet Systems Engineer Daniel Eng Article 6 days ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center Humans in Space Climate Change Solar System View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

5 min read NASA Launching Rockets Into Radio-Disrupting Clouds NASA is launching rockets from a remote Pacific island to study mysterious, high-altitude cloud-like structures that can disrupt critical communication systems. The mission, called Sporadic-E ElectroDynamics, or SEED, opens its three-week launch window from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands on Friday, June 13. The atmospheric features SEED is studying are known as Sporadic-E layers, and they create a host of problems for radio communications. When they are present, air traffic controllers and marine radio users may pick up signals from unusually distant regions, mistaking them for nearby sources. Military operators using radar to see beyond the horizon may detect false targets — nicknamed “ghosts” — or receive garbled signals that are tricky to decipher. Sporadic-E layers are constantly forming, moving, and dissipating, so these disruptions can be difficult to anticipate. An animated illustration depicts Sporadic-E layers forming in the lower portions of the ionosphere, causing radio signals to reflect back to Earth before reaching higher layers of the ionosphere. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Conceptual Image Lab Sporadic-E layers form in the ionosphere, a layer of Earth’s atmosphere that stretches from about 40 to 600 miles (60 to 1,000 kilometers) above sea level. Home to the International Space Station and most Earth-orbiting satellites, the ionosphere is also where we see the greatest impacts of space weather. Primarily driven by the Sun, space weather causes myriad problems for our communications with satellites and between ground systems. A better understanding of the ionosphere is key to keeping critical infrastructure running smoothly. The ionosphere is named for the charged particles, or ions, that reside there. Some of these ions come from meteors, which burn up in the atmosphere and leave traces of ionized iron, magnesium, calcium, sodium, and potassium suspended in the sky. These “heavy metals” are more massive than the ionosphere’s typical residents and tend to sink to lower altitudes, below 90 miles (140 kilometers). Occasionally, they clump together to create dense clusters known as Sporadic-E layers. The Perseids meteor shower peaks in mid-August. Meteors like these can deposit metals into Earth’s ionosphere that can help create cloud-like structures called Sporadic-E layers. NASA/Preston Dyches “These Sporadic-E layers are not visible to naked eye, and can only be seen by radars. In the radar plots, some layers appear like patchy and puffy clouds, while others spread out, similar to an overcast sky, which we call blanketing Sporadic-E layer” said Aroh Barjatya, the SEED mission’s principal investigator and a professor of engineering physics at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida. The SEED team includes scientists from Embry-Riddle, Boston College in Massachusetts, and Clemson University in South Carolina. “There’s a lot of interest in predicting these layers and understanding their dynamics because of how they interfere with communications,” Barjatya said. A Mystery at the Equator Scientists can explain Sporadic-E layers when they form at midlatitudes but not when they appear close to Earth’s equator — such as near Kwajalein Atoll, where the SEED mission will launch. In the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, Sporadic-E layers can be thought of as particle traffic jams. Think of ions in the atmosphere as miniature cars traveling single file in lanes defined by Earth’s magnetic field lines. These lanes connect Earth end to end — emerging near the South Pole, bowing around the equator, and plunging back into the North Pole. A conceptual animation shows Earth’s magnetic field. The blue lines radiating from Earth represent the magnetic field lines that charged particles travel along. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Conceptual Image Lab At Earth’s midlatitudes, the field lines angle toward the ground, descending through atmospheric layers with varying wind speeds and directions. As the ions pass through these layers, they experience wind shear — turbulent gusts that cause their orderly line to clump together. These particle pileups form Sporadic-E layers. But near the magnetic equator, this explanation doesn’t work. There, Earth’s magnetic field lines run parallel to the surface and do not intersect atmospheric layers with differing winds, so Sporadic-E layers shouldn’t form. Yet, they do — though less frequently. “We’re launching from the closest place NASA can to the magnetic equator,” Barjatya said, “to study the physics that existing theory doesn’t fully explain.” Taking to the Skies To investigate, Barjatya developed SEED to study low-latitude Sporadic-E layers from the inside. The mission relies on sounding rockets — uncrewed suborbital spacecraft carrying scientific instruments. Their flights last only a few minutes but can be launched precisely at fleeting targets. Beginning the night of June 13, Barjatya and his team will monitor ALTAIR (ARPA Long-Range Tracking and Instrumentation Radar), a high-powered, ground-based radar system at the launch site, for signs of developing Sporadic-E layers. When conditions are right, Barjatya will give the launch command. A few minutes later, the rocket will be in flight. The SEED science team and mission management team in front of the ARPA Long-Range Tracking and Instrumentation Radar (ALTAIR). The SEED team will use ALTAIR to monitor the ionosphere for signs of Sporadic-E layers and time the launch. U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command On ascent, the rocket will release colorful vapor tracers. Ground-based cameras will track the tracers to measure wind patterns in three dimensions. Once inside the Sporadic-E layer, the rocket will deploy four subpayloads — miniature detectors that will measure particle density and magnetic field strength at multiple points. The data will be transmitted back to the ground as the rocket descends. On another night during the launch window, the team will launch a second, nearly identical rocket to collect additional data under potentially different conditions. Barjatya and his team will use the data to improve computer models of the ionosphere, aiming to explain how Sporadic-E layers form so close to the equator. “Sporadic-E layers are part of a much larger, more complicated physical system that is home to space-based assets we rely on every day,” Barjatya said. “This launch gets us closer to understanding another key piece of Earth’s interface to space.” By Miles Hatfield NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Share Details Last Updated Jun 12, 2025 Related Terms Heliophysics Goddard Space Flight Center Heliophysics Division Ionosphere Missions NASA Centers & Facilities NASA Directorates Science & Research Science Mission Directorate Sounding Rockets Sounding Rockets Program The Solar System The Sun Uncategorized Wallops Flight Facility Weather and Atmospheric Dynamics Explore More 9 min read The Earth Observer Editor’s Corner: April–June 2025 Article 22 hours ago 5 min read NASA’s Webb ‘UNCOVERs’ Galaxy Population Driving Cosmic Renovation Article 22 hours ago 6 min read Frigid Exoplanet in Strange Orbit Imaged by NASA’s Webb Article 2 days ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics Sounding Rockets Ionosphere, Thermosphere & Mesosphere Space Weather Solar flares, coronal mass ejections, solar particle events, and the solar wind form the recipe space weather that affects life… Solar System View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

A funky effect Einstein predicted, known as gravitational lensing — when a foreground galaxy magnifies more distant galaxies behind it — will soon become common when NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope begins science operations in 2027 and produces vast surveys of the cosmos. This image shows a simulated observation from NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope with an overlay of its Wide Field Instrument’s field of view. More than 20 gravitational lenses, with examples shown at left and right, are expected to pop out in every one of Roman’s vast observations. A journal paper led by Bryce Wedig, a graduate student at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, estimates that of those Roman detects, about 500 from the telescope’s High-Latitude Wide-Area Survey will be suitable for dark matter studies. By examining such a large population of gravitational lenses, the researchers hope to learn a lot more about the mysterious nature of dark matter.Credit: NASA, Bryce Wedig (Washington University), Tansu Daylan (Washington University), Joseph DePasquale (STScI) A particular subset of gravitational lenses, known as strong lenses, is the focus of a new paper published in the Astrophysical Journal led by Bryce Wedig, a graduate student at Washington University in St. Louis. The research team has calculated that over 160,000 gravitational lenses, including hundreds suitable for this study, are expected to pop up in Roman’s vast images. Each Roman image will be 200 times larger than infrared snapshots from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, and its upcoming “wealth” of lenses will vastly outpace the hundreds studied by Hubble to date. Roman will conduct three core surveys, providing expansive views of the universe. This science team’s work is based on a previous version of Roman’s now fully defined High-Latitude Wide-Area Survey. The researchers are working on a follow-up paper that will align with the final survey’s specifications to fully support the research community. “The current sample size of these objects from other telescopes is fairly small because we’re relying on two galaxies to be lined up nearly perfectly along our line of sight,” Wedig said. “Other telescopes are either limited to a smaller field of view or less precise observations, making gravitational lenses harder to detect.” Gravitational lenses are made up of at least two cosmic objects. In some cases, a single foreground galaxy has enough mass to act like a lens, magnifying a galaxy that is almost perfectly behind it. Light from the background galaxy curves around the foreground galaxy along more than one path, appearing in observations as warped arcs and crescents. Of the 160,000 lensed galaxies Roman may identify, the team expects to narrow that down to about 500 that are suitable for studying the structure of dark matter at scales smaller than those galaxies. “Roman will not only significantly increase our sample size — its sharp, high-resolution images will also allow us to discover gravitational lenses that appear smaller on the sky,” said Tansu Daylan, the principal investigator of the science team conducting this research program. Daylan is an assistant professor and a faculty fellow at the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. “Ultimately, both the alignment and the brightness of the background galaxies need to meet a certain threshold so we can characterize the dark matter within the foreground galaxies.” To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video This video shows how a background galaxy’s light is lensed or magnified by a massive foreground galaxy, seen at center, before reaching NASA’s Roman Space Telescope. Light from the background galaxy is distorted, curving around the foreground galaxy and appearing more than once as warped arcs and crescents. Researchers studying these objects, known as gravitational lenses, can better characterize the mass of the foreground galaxy, which offers clues about the particle nature of dark matter.Credit: NASA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI) What Is Dark Matter? Not all mass in galaxies is made up of objects we can see, like star clusters. A significant fraction of a galaxy’s mass is made up of dark matter, so called because it doesn’t emit, reflect, or absorb light. Dark matter does, however, possess mass, and like anything else with mass, it can cause gravitational lensing. When the gravity of a foreground galaxy bends the path of a background galaxy’s light, its light is routed onto multiple paths. “This effect produces multiple images of the background galaxy that are magnified and distorted differently,” Daylan said. These “duplicates” are a huge advantage for researchers — they allow multiple measurements of the lensing galaxy’s mass distribution, ensuring that the resulting measurement is far more precise. Roman’s 300-megapixel camera, known as its Wide Field Instrument, will allow researchers to accurately determine the bending of the background galaxies’ light by as little as 50 milliarcseconds, which is like measuring the diameter of a human hair from the distance of more than two and a half American football fields or soccer pitches. The amount of gravitational lensing that the background light experiences depends on the intervening mass. Less massive clumps of dark matter cause smaller distortions. As a result, if researchers are able to measure tinier amounts of bending, they can detect and characterize smaller, less massive dark matter structures — the types of structures that gradually merged over time to build up the galaxies we see today. With Roman, the team will accumulate overwhelming statistics about the size and structures of early galaxies. “Finding gravitational lenses and being able to detect clumps of dark matter in them is a game of tiny odds. With Roman, we can cast a wide net and expect to get lucky often,” Wedig said. “We won’t see dark matter in the images — it’s invisible — but we can measure its effects.” “Ultimately, the question we’re trying to address is: What particle or particles constitute dark matter?” Daylan added. “While some properties of dark matter are known, we essentially have no idea what makes up dark matter. Roman will help us to distinguish how dark matter is distributed on small scales and, hence, its particle nature.” Preparations Continue Before Roman launches, the team will also search for more candidates in observations from ESA’s (the European Space Agency’s) Euclid mission and the upcoming ground-based Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile, which will begin its full-scale operations in a few weeks. Once Roman’s infrared images are in hand, the researchers will combine them with complementary visible light images from Euclid, Rubin, and Hubble to maximize what’s known about these galaxies. “We will push the limits of what we can observe, and use every gravitational lens we detect with Roman to pin down the particle nature of dark matter,” Daylan said. The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is managed at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, with participation by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California; Caltech/IPAC in Pasadena, California; the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore; and a science team comprising scientists from various research institutions. The primary industrial partners are BAE Systems, Inc. in Boulder, Colorado; L3Harris Technologies in Melbourne, Florida; and Teledyne Scientific & Imaging in Thousand Oaks, California. By Claire Blome Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md. Share Details Last Updated Jun 12, 2025 EditorAshley BalzerContactAshley Balzer*****@*****.tldLocationNASA Goddard Space Flight Center Related TermsNancy Grace Roman Space TelescopeAstrophysicsDark MatterGalaxiesGalaxies, Stars, & ****** HolesGalaxies, Stars, & ****** Holes ResearchThe Universe Explore More 6 min read NASA’s Roman Mission Shares Detailed Plans to Scour Skies Article 2 months ago 5 min read Millions of Galaxies Emerge in New Simulated Images From NASA’s Roman Article 2 years ago 6 min read Team Preps to Study Dark Energy via Exploding Stars With NASA’s Roman Article 3 months ago View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

3 Min Read Studying Storms from Space Station An artist’s impression of a blue jet as observed from the space station. Credits: Mount Visual/University of Bergen/DTU Science in Space June 2025 Scientists use instruments on the International Space Station to study phenomena in Earth’s ionosphere or upper atmosphere including thunderstorms, lightning, and transient luminous events (TLEs). TLEs take many forms, including blue jets, discharges that grow upward into the stratosphere from cloud tops, and colorful bursts of energy above storms called Stratospheric/Mesospheric Perturbations Resulting from Intense Thunderstorm Electrification or SPRITES. Red SPRITES are visible above a line of thunderstorms off the coast of South Africa.NASA TLEs can disrupt communication systems on the ground and pose a threat to aircraft and spacecraft. Understanding these phenomena also could improve atmospheric models and weather predictions. Because these events occur well above the altitudes of normal lightning and storm clouds, they are difficult to observe from the ground. ASIM, an investigation from ESA (European Space Agency), uses a monitor on the exterior of the space station to collect data on TLEs. These data are providing insights into how thunderstorms affect Earth’s atmosphere and helping to improve atmospheric models used for weather and climate predictions. ELVES and coronas A study based on ASIM data confirmed that lightning-like discharges at the tops of thunderstorms can create another type of TLE, massive glowing rings in the upper atmosphere known as Emissions of Light and VLF Perturbations from EMP events, or ELVES. This experiment showed that these discharges influence the ionosphere and helped scientists learn more about Earth and space weather. ASIM-based research also described the physical properties of different types of corona discharges in thunderstorm clouds. Corona discharges are linked to powerful but short-lived electrical bursts near the tops of clouds. The data provide a reference to support further investigation into the mechanisms behind these discharges and their role in the initiation of lightning, an important problem in lightning physics. Other researchers used ASIM measurements along with ground-based electric field measurements to determine the height of a blue discharge from a thundercloud. Cloud close-ups To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Lightning on Earth as captured from the space station.NASA Another ESA investigation, Thor-Davis, evaluated use of a special camera to photograph high-altitude thunderstorms through the windows of the space station’s cupola. The camera can observe thunderstorm electrical activity at up to 100,000 frames per second and could be a useful tool for space-based observation of severe electrical storms and other applications. Seeing storms from satellites Deployment of the Light-1 CubeSat from the space station.NASA The JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) investigation Light-1 CubeSat used detectors integrated into a compact satellite to observe terrestrial gamma-ray flashes in the upper atmosphere. These high intensity, energetic events can expose aircraft, aircraft electronics, and passengers to excessive radiation. Researchers are planning to compare data collected from the mission with ground-based observations to provide more comprehensive maps of lightning and thunderstorms in the atmosphere. Small satellite detectors could cost less and be manufactured in less time than other approaches. Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Space Station Research and Technology Space Station Research Results Latest News from Space Station Research Station Researcher’s Guide Series View the full article

Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio Mosaics More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions Mars Home This image was taken by Front Hazard Avoidance Camera (Front Hazcam) onboard NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 4564 NASA/JPL-Caltech Written by Michelle Minitti, Planetary Geologist at Framework Earth planning date: Monday, June 9, 2025 The image above shows the drill poised on the surface of Mars at the start of our attempt to collect sample at “Altadena” over the weekend. Now we know, from subsequent imaging and telemetry, that the drill activity was successful, allowing planning today to focus on delivering sample powder to CheMin and SAM. CheMin and SAM will give us their distinct and valuable insights into the mineralogy (CheMin) and volatiles and organic compounds (SAM) within Altadena, which are key to our continued unravelling the history of Mt. Sharp. It is always exciting to find out what each of these instruments uncovers from Martian samples. In addition to those sample deliveries, we had three other Altadena-focused activities. We acquired ChemCam RMI of the drill hole which helps ChemCam refine their laser targeting for future LIBS analyses of the drill hole. We planned a ChemCam passive spectroscopy observation of the cuttings around the drill hole for more insight into the mineralogy of the sample. We also included a single Mastcam M100 image of the drill hole which helps us track the wind activity at the drill site and thus the stability of the cuttings ahead of planned observations with APXS and MAHLI. The weekend activities ran faster and more efficiently than modeled so that we had power to add additional science observations into the plan. We gathered more ChemCam data from the bedrock near Altadena at the target “Bolsa Chica,” and planned two ChemCam RMI long distance mosaics on sedimentary structures within “Texoli” butte and nearby boxwork structures. We kept track of the environment around us with yet more Mastcam imaging for wind-induced changes in the “Camp Williams” area, regular RAD and REMS measurements, two DAN measurements, and Navcam dust ****** imaging and cloud movies. Explore More 4 min read Sols 4561-4562: Prepping to Drill at Altadena Article 5 days ago 2 min read Searching for Ancient Rocks in the ‘Forlandet’ Flats Article 5 days ago 3 min read Sols 4559-4560: Drill Campaign — Searching for a Boxwork Bedrock Drill Site Article 7 days ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA Mars All Mars Resources Explore this collection of Mars images, videos, resources, PDFs, and toolkits. Discover valuable content designed to inform, educate, and inspire,… Rover Basics Each robotic explorer sent to the Red Planet has its own unique capabilities driven by science. Many attributes of a… Mars Exploration: Science Goals The key to understanding the past, present or future potential for life on Mars can be found in NASA’s four… View the full article

On May 22, 2025, NASA hosted an Expedition 72 crew debrief and awards ceremony at Space Center Houston, where more than 1,000 attendees gathered to celebrate. The event recognized the achievements of the crew as well as NASA employees and partners whose dedication and support contributed to the expedition’s success. Crew members from Expedition 72 shared reflections and anecdotes from their time on the International Space Station and expressed gratitude for the opportunity to contribute to scientific research aboard the orbiting laboratory. A group photo of participants from the Expedition 72 crew debrief and awards ceremony on May 22, 2025, at Space Center Houston’s IMAX theater. NASA/James Blair The event included four NASA astronauts: Nick Hague, Crew-9 commander and Expedition 72 flight engineer Butch Wilmore, Boeing Starliner commander and Expedition 72 flight engineer Suni Williams, Boeing Starliner pilot and Expedition 72 commander Don Pettit, Soyuz MS-26 and Expedition 72 flight engineer The Expedition 72 crew also included Roscosmos cosmonauts Aleksandr Gorbunov, Aleksey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner, who were not in attendance. The cosmonauts served as Crew-9 mission specialist, Soyuz-MS commander, and Soyuz-MS flight engineer, respectively. NASA astronaut Matt Dominick kicked off the event by striking the ceremonial bell, a tradition symbolizing the end of the mission for the crew and those that support them. Johnson Space Center Acting Director Stephen Koerner recognized the crew’s commitment to the mission and their role in the advancement of human spaceflight. “These brave men and women make the tough yet rewarding choice to embark on long-duration missions away from their family and friends,” he said. “They do this to conduct groundbreaking research and inspire generations. Spaceflight is hard, but through togetherness we make giant leaps, going further than ever before.” NASA astronauts (from left) Don Pettit and Butch Wilmore, Expedition 72 flight engineers, pack external research hardware which housed a variety of samples exposed to the vacuum of space such as polymers, photovoltaic devices, and more. The samples were returned to Earth to be examined to understand how space radiation, the extreme thermal environment, micrometeoroids, and more affect materials possibly benefitting the space industry. NASA NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Suni Williams, Expedition 72 Flight Engineer and Commander respectively, discuss orbital lab maintenance procedures aboard the International Space Station.NASA The Expedition 72 crew dedicated more than 1,000 combined hours to scientific research and technology demonstrations aboard the International Space Station. Their work included enhancing metal 3D printing capabilities in orbit, exploring the potential of stem cell technology for treating diseases, preparing the first wooden satellite for deployment, and collecting samples from the station’s exterior to examine whether microorganisms can survive in the harsh environment of space. They also conducted studies on plant growth and quality, investigated how fire behaves in microgravity, and advanced life support systems, all aimed at improving the health, safety, and sustainability of future space missions. Pettit also used his spare time and surroundings aboard the station to conduct unique experiments and captivate the public with his photography. Expedition 72 captured a record 1 million photos during the mission, showcasing the unique research and views aboard the orbiting laboratory through astronauts’ eyes. The expedition was a historic venture, with Williams and Wilmore launching aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft as part of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test before being integrated with the Expedition 71/72 crew and returning on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9. While working aboard the orbiting laboratory, Williams established a new record for the most cumulative spacewalking time by a woman — 62 hours and 6 minutes — placing her fourth among the most experienced spacewalkers in history. Additionally, Expedition 72 saw the first reboost of the International Space Station by a Dragon spacecraft. The crew participated in a panel discussion, sharing further details about the expedition including experiments conducted, favorite foods, and experiencing the Aurora Borealis. The conversation closed with a special patch presentation from Wilmore to Williams to highlight her achievement of exceeding Mach 25 in the Boeing Starliner spacecraft. Following the panel, an award ceremony recognized team members for their efforts in supporting the mission, with recipients including the crew, NASA employees, and commercial partners. The Expedition 72 crew poses for a portrait inside the International Space Station’s Harmony module with a cake commemorating a total of 3,000 cumulative days in space gained between the individual crew members. Front row (from left): Roscosmos cosmonaut Ivan Vagner, NASA astronaut Nick Hague, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. Back row (from left): NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Don Pettit, Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin, and NASA astronaut Suni Williams.NASA Flight Operations Directorate Acting Director Kjell Lindgren discussed the impact of collaboration with commercial and international partners. “Your collaboration is vital not just to mission success but to the very identity of this program,” he said. “Together, we can demonstrate what global collaboration can achieve in pursuit of excellence and exploration.” Watch below to recap the Expedition 72 crew members’ journey aboard the International Space Station and to celebrate those who helped make the mission a success.  Explore More 4 min read NASA Student Challenge Prepares Future Designers for Lunar Missions Article 1 day ago 4 min read Laser Focused: Keith Barr Leads Orion’s Lunar Docking Efforts Article 1 day ago 2 min read NASA Provides Hardware for Space Station DNA Repair Experiment Article 5 days ago View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]