General – Page 10 – NeRDs Moonbase

Aerospace Trailblazer: Shirley Holland-Hunt’s Visionary Leadership Transforms Space Exploration

June 4, 2024 NeRD

From pioneering space initiatives to championing diversity and innovation, Shirley Holland-Hunt’s multifaceted leadership at NASA exemplifies the future of aerospace exploration. Her efforts have driven technological advancements and advocated for the inclusion of women and minorities in STEM fields. Holland-Hunt currently serves as the associate division chief for Houston’s Johnson Space Center Aeroscience and Flight Mechanics Division, where she drives engineering design, development, testing, and evaluation for all phases of space flight. She supports the identification and establishment of center partnerships and Space Act Agreements that drive the research and…

Artemis Generation Shines During NASA’s 2024 Lunabotics Challenge

June 3, 2024 NeRD

A team from Iowa accepts the Artemis grand prize award during NASA’s Lunabotics competition on Friday, May 17, 2024, at the Center for Space Education near the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Derrol Nail Photo credit: NASA/Derrol Nail Members of the Artemis Generation kicked up some simulated lunar dust as part of NASA’s 2024 Lunabotics Challenge, held at The Astronauts Memorial Foundation’s Center for Space Education at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. When the dust settled, two teams emerged from Artemis Arena as the…

Every Day is Earth Day for OSI’s Environmental Program

May 31, 2024 NeRD

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video In OSI’s Environmental Management Division, we believe every day is Earth Day as we enable environmentally sound mission success through leadership of NASA efforts to comply with environmental laws and advance stewardship and sustainability. See more about what we do for the environment in the Office of Strategic Infrastructure’s (OSI) Earth Day video and nasa.gov/emd where we showcase our programs. Thank you for all you do for protecting our environment.

Space Station Research Advances NASA’s Plans to Explore the Moon, Mars

May 31, 2024 NeRD

4 Min Read Space Station Research Advances NASA’s Plans to Explore the Moon, Mars The full moon is pictured as the International Space Station orbited 254 miles above the Pacific Ocean northeast of Guam. Credits: NASA Space, the saying goes, is hard. And the farther humans go, the harder it can get. Some of the challenges on missions to explore the Moon and Mars include preventing microbial contamination of these destinations, navigating there safely, protecting crew members and hardware from radiation, and maintaining and repairing equipment. Research on the International…

Spaceflight effects tumor-bearing fruit fly hosts and their parasites

May 29, 2024 NeRD

How does spaceflight affect tumor-bearing fruit fly hosts and their parasites? Pigmentation: A side-by-side comparison of wasps shows a clear difference in the melanization of wing veins for wild-type and each mutant.Blade Shape: The kona mutant has an angular wing shape in contrast to wild-type’s rounded wing blade (vertical arrows in D–F). S. Govind. Background: Like humans, fruit flies (a model organism for spaceflight research) also exhibit immune system dysfunction in space. Despite decades of studies on fruit flies and wasps, little was known about how their immune systems interact with…

Johnson Celebrates AA and NHPI Heritage Month: Britney Tang

May 28, 2024 NeRD

When you think about personal property, your home, clothes, and electronic devices probably come to mind. For NASA, personal property comprises government-owned government-held assets ranging from laptops to spacecraft and space station components. Managing the financial records for these assets is the responsibility of the Property Accounting Team, which includes Personal Property Accountant Britney Tang. Tang sits within the Accounting Services Office of Johnson Space Center’s Office of the Chief Financial Services Officer (OCFO). She works with her colleagues to determine which NASA-held assets must be tracked over time versus…

NASA, Sierra Space Deliver Dream Chaser to Florida for Launch Preparation

May 20, 2024 NeRD

Dream Chaser Tenacity, Sierra Space’s uncrewed cargo spaceplane, is processed inside the Space Systems Processing Facility (SSPF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, May 20, 2024. The spaceplane arrived inside a climate-controlled transportation container from the agency’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Ohio. Final testing and prelaunch processing will be completed inside the high bay of the SSPF ahead of Dream Chaser’s inaugural launch atop a ULA (United Launch Alliance) Vulcan rocket from nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett As part of NASA’s efforts to…

Astronaut Exercise

May 20, 2024 NeRD

Science in Space: May 2024 Future missions to the Moon and Mars must address many challenges, including preventing loss of bone and muscle tissue in astronauts. Research on the International Space Station is helping to address this challenge. Without Earth’s gravity, both bone and muscle atrophy, or become smaller and weaker. Early on, scientists realized that exercise is a critical part of maintaining healthy bones and muscles in space, just as it is on Earth. From simple elastic bands on early missions, exercise hardware has become increasingly advanced. Current equipment…

NASA Around the World: Interns Teach Virtual Lessons in Kenya

May 17, 2024 NeRD

2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Video Credit: NASA/Dennis Brown, TechLit Africa When it comes to inspiring the next generation, NASA interns know no bounds. Interns at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland taught students 7,600 miles away in Mogotio, Kenya, but thanks to technology, they didn’t travel a single mile. Collaborating with TechLit Africa — a non-profit organization that teaches digital skills in Kenyan rural primary schools — interns shared virtual lessons on robot simulation, artificial intelligence, and drawing and modeling applications. Nelly Cheboi,…

What Is… Earth’s Atmosphere?

May 14, 2024 NeRD

10 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The sun’s last rays illuminate Earth’s atmosphere in this photograph of an orbital sunset from the International Space Station as it soared 261 miles above the Pacific Ocean off the northern coast of Japan. The layers are clearly visible as thin bands extending from the surface out into space. NASA When we talk about the Earth’s Atmosphere, what do we mean? Imagine a layer cake, wrapping around the Earth. That is essentially what the Earth’s atmosphere is like: layers…