March 10, 2025 – NeRDs Moonbase

About Pathfinding for Airspace with Autonomous Vehicles

March 10, 2025 NeRD

5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Artist’s concept of drones flying in an urban environment near large city skyscrapers. NASA / Maria Werries Remotely piloted aircraft could transform the way we transport people and goods and provide our communities with better access to vital services, like medical supply deliveries and efficient transportation. NASA’s Pathfinding for Airspace with Autonomous Vehicles (PAAV) subproject is working with partners to safely integrate remote air cargo and air taxi aircraft into our national airspace alongside traditional crewed aircraft. These new…

NASA, Partners to Conduct Space Station Research During Expedition 73

March 10, 2025 NeRD

3 Min Read NASA, Partners to Conduct Space Station Research During Expedition 73 NASA NASA astronauts are gearing up for a scientific mission aboard the International Space Station. Expedition 73 NASA astronauts Nichole Ayers and Anne McClain, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov will launch in March as part of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission. NASA astronaut Jonny Kim will join the crew when he launches aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft in April alongside Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky. Read…

Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 jet flew in front of the sun so NASA could take this incredible shock wave photo

March 10, 2025 NeRD

NASA and Boom Supersonic just released an incredible photo capturing a shockwave emanating from the dark silhouette of the supersonic XB-1 aircraft while it traveled in front of the sun during a Feb. 10 test flight during which it broke the sound barrier three times. “This image makes the invisible visible — the first American made civil supersonic jet breaking the sound barrier,” Blake Scholl, Boom Supersonic founder and CEO, said in a statement. The photo was no accident. It required ideal conditions and perfect timing. Chief test pilot Tristan…

40 Years Ago: Space Shuttle Atlantis Makes its Public Debut

March 10, 2025 NeRD

On March 6, 1985, NASA’s newest space shuttle, Atlantis, made its public debut during a rollout ceremony at the Rockwell International manufacturing plant in Palmdale, California. Under construction for three years, Atlantis joined NASA’s other three space-worthy orbiters, Columbia, Challenger, and Discovery, and atmospheric test vehicle Enterprise. Officials from NASA, Rockwell, and other organizations attended the rollout ceremony. By the time NASA retired Atlantis in 2011, it had flown 33 missions in a career spanning 26 years and flying many types of missions envisioned for the space shuttle. The Visitor…

There’s a total lunar eclipse coming. How will these 2 solar-powered moon probes survive the darkness?

March 10, 2025 NeRD

When the moon falls into Earth’s shadow Thursday night into Friday (March 13-14), observers will be treated to views of a “blood moon” total lunar eclipse. But given that lunar spacecraft are solar-powered, how do they survive when they’re cut off from the sun? For NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), which has been orbiting the moon since 2009, it will be time to batten down the hatches. “LRO’s science instruments and some components not needed by the spacecraft will be powered off during the total lunar eclipse,” Noah Petro, project…

NASA cutting programs, workforce to comply with Trump order

March 10, 2025 NeRD

NASA will close several offices and reduce its workforce to comply with an executive order from President Donald Trump. NASA‘s Office of Technology, Policy and Strategy will be shuttered, as will the Office of the Chief Scientist, and the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) and Accessibility Branch of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the agency announced in an emailed statement today (March 10). “To optimize our workforce, and in compliance with an Executive Order, NASA is beginning its phased approach to a reduction in force, known as a RIF,”…

NASA’s Dawn Sees Crescent Ceres

March 10, 2025 NeRD

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft took this image of Ceres’ south polar region on May 17, 2017, from an altitude of about 26,400 miles (42,500 kilometers).

Station Science Top News: March 7, 2025

March 10, 2025 NeRD

Challenges to measuring space-induced brain changes CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut David Saint-Jacques undergoes an MRI for Wayfinding. CSA Researchers found that an upward shift in the brain during spaceflight makes it hard to distinguish different types of tissue, causing errors in determining changes in brain volume. Previous studies have interpreted these changes as evidence of adaptation to space. This finding suggests that unique methods are needed to analyze astronaut brain structure. Wayfinding, a CSA (Canadian Space Agency) investigation, looked at how the brain adapts to space and readapts after…