General – Page 5 – NeRDs Moonbase

Robotic Assembly and Outfitting for NASA Space Missions

July 16, 2024 NeRD

NASA is turning to the 3D modeling experts in the community for ideas and designs to use or enhance the current state of modular robotic construction techniques. Robotic building of structures in space is an active area of research for NASA and might prove to be a path towards sustainable and scalable space exploration. This technology is essential for establishing critical long-term orbital and Lunar surface infrastructure including power/communication towers, research stations, radiation shielding for habitats, and more. Award: $2,000 in total prizes Open Date: July 15, 2024 Close Date:…

NASA Technology Soars at Selfridge Air Show

July 9, 2024 NeRD

1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Tim Campbell, a NASA solar system ambassador, shares highlights of a moon rock with visitors inside the Journey to Tomorrow traveling exhibit. Credit: NASA/Christopher Hartenstine NASA’s Glenn Research Center staff traveled to Michigan for the Selfridge Air National Guard Base air show, open house, and STEAM Expo, June 8 and 9. NASA’s Journey to Tomorrow, a 53-foot traveling exhibit, was a popular feature that showcased exploration in air and space. Additionally, experts from NASA’s Fission Surface Power project shared information…

Happy Birthday, Meatball! NASA’s Iconic Logo Turns 65

July 8, 2024 NeRD

3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) A painter applies a fresh coat of paint to the NASA “meatball” logo on the north façade of Glenn Research Center’s Flight Research Building, or hangar, in 2006. Credit: NASA/Marvin Smith On July 15, 2024, NASA’s logo is turning 65. The iconic symbol, known affectionately as “the meatball,” was developed at NASA’s Lewis Research Center in Cleveland (now called NASA Glenn). Employee James Modarelli, who started his career at the center as an artist and technical illustrator, was its…

NextSTEP Q: CIS Capability Studies III – Lunar User Terminals & Network Orchestration and Management System

July 8, 2024 NeRD

NASA’s Artemis missions aim to establish a sustained lunar presence on and around the Moon. Communications and navigation technologies will be critical to enabling the safety, science, and operations of our astronauts and missions. NASA Solicitation Number: NNH16ZCQ001K-1_Appendix-Q-LUTNOMS July 8, 2024 – Solicitation Released Solicitation Overview NASA’s long-term vision to provide for a resilient space and ground communications and navigation infrastructure in which space mission users can seamlessly “roam” between an array of space-based and ground-based networks has been bolstered by innovative studies delivered by industry through the Next Space…

NASA Celebrates 10 Years of Human Spaceflight’s NExT Pioneers

June 27, 2024 NeRD

Experienced spacewalkers, university students, flight controllers, and NASA team members at all stages of their career recently came together at Johnson Space Center’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) for an anniversary celebration that looked to the future as much as the past. The Office of STEM Engagement’s Micro-g Neutral Buoyancy Experiment Design Teams (Micro-g NExT) marked a decade of inspiring the next generation of space explorers with four days of exciting hands-on experiences and events commemorating those who have shaped the annual challenge. Students pose at NASA Johnson’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory…

NASA Infrared Detector Technical Interchange

June 25, 2024 NeRD

When/Where August 27-28, 2024NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA Who may attend? Invited participants from the NASA Centers, NASA HQ, and the broader community of IR technology developers and stakeholders. All participants must be U.S. Persons – the meeting will be held at the CUI level and presentations may contain ITAR material. Registration will be available, soon! Purpose The purpose of the TIM is to openly discuss and review the current state of IR technology in the 2-1000 µm wavelength range. This workshop is intended to evaluate existing relevant…

Coordinating an Airborne Lab Across the Globe with NASA’s Earth Science Project Office

June 21, 2024 NeRD

ASIA-AQ DC-8 aircraft flies over Bangkok, Thailand to monitor seasonal haze from fire smoke and urban pollution. Photo credit: Rafael Luis Méndez Peña. Tracking the spread of harmful air pollutants across large regions requires aircraft, satellites, and diverse team of scientists. NASA’s global interest in the threat of air pollution extends into Asia, where it works with partners on the Airborne and Satellite Investigation of Asian Air Quality (ASIA-AQ). This international mission integrates satellite data and aircraft measurements with local air quality ground monitoring and modeling efforts across Asia. Orchestrating…

NASA Joins National Space Council in Celebration of Black Space Week

June 14, 2024 NeRD

2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA astronaut and Expedition 64 Flight Engineer Victor Glover reviews procedures on a computer for the Monoclonal Antibodies Protein Crystal Growth (PCG) experiment inside the Harmony module. Each year, Black Space Week celebrates the achievements of Black Americans in space-related fields. To kick-off Black Space Week 2024, NASA is collaborating with the National Space Council for the Beyond the Color Lines: From Science Fiction to Science Fact forum on Monday, June 17, at 11:30 a.m. EDT at the National…

Johnson Celebrates LGBTQI+ Pride Month: Meet Margaret Kennedy

June 14, 2024 NeRD

Although surrounded by the big and bold missions of human spaceflight, Margaret Kennedy, an aerospace systems engineer on the Human Health and Performance Contract, still appreciates the little things. Ask about her favorite NASA experience to date and she will tell you it is getting to show her badge to the gate guards at Houston’s Johnson Space Center every day. “Knowing I get to be a part of things that can change the world – that I’m helping to make it possible for astronauts to do their job safely, which…

Ames Research Center Democratizes Space Biosciences Research with First Commercial Astronaut Data

June 12, 2024 NeRD

Background: To protect astronauts from spaceflight health risks like solar radiation and microgravity, scientists develop countermeasures by studying model organisms exposed to the space environment. For the first time, commercial astronaut data from the Inspiration4 (I4) mission has been collected for open-access research in an effort led by Weill Cornell Medicine. ARC’s Open Science Data Repository (OSDR) hosts this data for public use. Facilitated by the OSDR, data from the all-civilian crew enables researchers to validate decades of model organism research and make vital discoveries from biospecimens of humans. The…