When designing a new spacecraft or exploration vehicle, there is intense focus on its technical performance. Do its systems perform as expected? What kind of power does it need? Will it safely reach its destination? Equally important, however, is whether that vehicle also works for the humans inside. Can astronauts easily reach critical controls? Do [...]

3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA astronaut Kate Rubins uses a hammer to get a drive tube into the ground to collect a pristine soil sample during a nighttime simulated moonwalk in the San Francisco Volcanic Field in Northern Arizona on May 16, 2024. Surviving and operating through the [...]

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft that launched NASA’s Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station is pictured docked to the Harmony module’s forward port. This long-duration photograph was taken at night from the orbital complex as it soared 258 miles above western China. Leadership from NASA and Boeing will participate [...]

3 Min Read NASA Sponsors New Research on Orbital Debris, Lunar Sustainability From lunar orbit, astronauts pointed cameras out the window of their spacecraft to capture photos of the moon's surface. Credits: NASA As part of NASA’s commitment to foster responsible exploration of the universe for the benefit of humanity, the Office of Technology, [...]

NASA Astronaut Eileen Collins, STS-93 commander, looks through a checklist on the space shuttle Columbia’s middeck in this July 1999 image. Collins was the first female shuttle commander. Collins graduated in 1979 from Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance AFB, Oklahoma, where she was a T-38 instructor pilot until 1982. She continued her career [...]

5 Min Read 25 Years On, Chandra Highlights Legacy of NASA Engineering Ingenuity By Rick Smith “The art of aerospace engineering is a matter of seeing around corners,” said NASA thermal analyst Jodi Turk. In the case of NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, marking its 25th anniversary in space this year, some of those corners [...]

2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The cockpit of an old MD-90 aircraft arrived at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, in March 2024. Parts will be used to build a simulator for NASA’s X-66, the demonstration aircraft for the Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project.NASA/Steve Freeman NASA’s X-66 aircraft, [...]

1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) This June 2021 aerial photograph shows the coastal launch range at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Wallops is the agency’s only owned-and-operated launch range. Courtesy Patrick J. Hendrickson; used with permission A rocket-propelled target is scheduled for launch July 27-28, 2024 [...]

5 Min Read Watch Carbon Dioxide Move Through Earth’s Atmosphere Global CO2 ppm for January-March of 2020. This camera move orbits Earth from a distance. Credits: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio Earth (ESD)Earth HomeExploreClimate ChangeScience in ActionMultimediaDataFor Researchers What we’re looking at This global map shows concentrations of carbon dioxide as the gas moved through [...]

NASA and its international partners are sending scientific investigations to the International Space Station on Northrop Grumman’s 21st commercial resupply services mission. Flying aboard the company’s Cygnus spacecraft are tests of water recovery technology and a process to produce stem cells in microgravity, studies of the effects of spaceflight on microorganism DNA and liver tissue [...]