NASA Centers & Facilities – Page 2

Igniting Inspiration: Jennifer Becerra’s STEM Legacy at Johnson

October 10, 2024 NeRD

Jennifer Becerra has nearly three decades of experience in education, both in the classroom and within the NASA community. Leading a team dedicated to fostering a passion for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), she develops programs that inspire students and educators alike. Whether coordinating internships or organizing engagement events, Becerra creates educational opportunities to bring the excitement of NASA’s missions to life for students. As NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM) student services manager at Johnson Space Center in Houston, her efforts aim to cultivate the next generation of explorers and…

NASA Awards Aerospace Research, Technology, and Simulations Contract

October 10, 2024 NeRD

Credit: NASA NASA has selected Metis Technology Solutions Inc. of Albuquerque, New Mexico, to provide engineering services as well as develop and maintain software and hardware used to conduct simulations for aerospace research and development across the agency. The Aerospace Research, Technology, and Simulations (ARTS) contract is a hybrid cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price contract with an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity component and has a maximum potential value of $177 million. The performance period begins Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, with a one-year base period, and options to extend performance through November 2029. Under this contract,…

Station Science Top News: Sept. 27, 2024

September 30, 2024 NeRD

Researchers found that long-duration spaceflight affected the mechanical properties of eye tissues, including reducing the stiffness of tissue around the eyeball. A better understanding of these changes could help researchers prevent, diagnose, and treat the vision impairment often seen in crew members. SANSORI, a Canadian Space Agency investigation, examined whether reduced stiffness of eye tissue contributes to vision impairment in astronauts on long-term missions. This condition, known as Spaceflight Associated Neuro-Ocular Syndrome, or SANS, includes a range of physical changes to the eyes. This paper suggests that biomechanical changes in the eye…

NASA’s BioSentinel Studies Solar Radiation as Earth Watches Aurora

September 26, 2024 NeRD

Illustration of NASA’s BioSentinel spacecraft as it enters a heliocentric orbit. BioSentinel collected data during the May 2024 geomagnetic storm that hit Earth to learn more about the impacts of radiation in deep space. NASA/Daniel Rutter In May 2024, a geomagnetic storm hit Earth, sending auroras across the planet’s skies in a once-in-a-generation light display. These dazzling sights are possible because of the interaction of coronal mass ejections – explosions of plasma and magnetic field from the Sun – with Earth’s magnetic field, which protects us from the radiation the…

Station Science Top News: September 13, 2024

September 16, 2024 NeRD

JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) researchers examined the structures of four titanium-based compounds solidified in levitators in microgravity and on the ground and found that the internal microstructures were generally similar. These results could support development of new materials for use in space manufacturing. To produce glass or metal alloys on Earth, raw materials are placed into a container and heated. But reactions between the container and the materials can cause imperfections. The JAXA Electrostatic Levitation Furnace can levitate, melt, and solidify materials without a container. The facility enables measurement of the thermophysical properties of high…

NASA Selects Langley Research Center Support Contractor

September 5, 2024 NeRD

Credit: NASA NASA has awarded the Center, Operations Maintenance, and Engineering II contract to Jacobs Technology Inc. of Tullahoma, Tennessee, to support operations at the agency’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. The contract is a cost-plus-fixed-fee indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with a maximum potential value of $973.7 million. Following a phase-in period that starts Tuesday, Oct. 1 and runs to Dec. 31, the contract will have a base period of 15 months followed by five optional periods that could extend the contract to the end of 2035. Under this contract, Jacobs…

NASA Shares Asteroid Bennu Sample in Exchange with JAXA

August 23, 2024 NeRD

As part of an asteroid sample exchange, NASA has transferred to JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) a portion of the asteroid Bennu sample collected by the agency’s OSIRIS-REx mission. The sample was officially handed over by NASA officials during a ceremony on Aug. 22 at JAXA’s Sagamihara, Japan, campus. The signature exchange for the Bennu sample transfer took place on Aug. 22, 2024, at JAXA’s (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Sagamihara Campus. JAXA This asteroid sample transfer follows the November 2021 exchange where JAXA transferred…

NASA CubeSats Launch as Commercial Rideshares

August 19, 2024 NeRD

A pair of CubeSats from NASA’s Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator series launched on SpaceX’s Transporter-11 rideshare mission at 11:56 a.m. PDT Friday, August 16, from Vandenburg Space Force Base in California. Photo credit: SpaceX A pair of CubeSats from NASA’s Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator, or PTD, series lifted off on SpaceX’s Transporter-11 rideshare mission at 11:56 a.m. PDT Friday, August 16, from Vandenburg Space Force Base in California. The two small satellites, PTD-4 and PTD-R, will help advance NASA’s efforts to validate novel technologies and increase small spacecraft capabilities in order to…

Station Science Top News: August 9, 2024

August 12, 2024 NeRD

Researchers tested a treatment on cartilage and bone tissue cultures subjected to compressive impact injury and found differences in the metabolites and proteins released by cells in space and on Earth along with partial improvement in both gravity conditions. The findings suggest the treatment is safe and could help ensure the health of crew members on future missions and patients on Earth. Astronauts have high rates of musculoskeletal injuries, and post-traumatic osteoarthritis from joint injuries is a major contributor to disability across all ages on the ground. MVP Cell-06 used cultures of human knee…

This Rocks! NASA is Sending Student Science to Space

August 8, 2024 NeRD

4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) A Terrier Improved Malemute sounding rocket carrying RockSat-X student developed experiments being raised on the launch rail on Wallops Island NASA NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia is scheduled to launch a sounding rocket carrying student-developed experiments for the RockSat-X mission on Tuesday, Aug. 13. The Terrier-Improved Malemute rocket is expected to reach an altitude of about 100 miles (162 kilometers) before descending by parachute into the Atlantic Ocean to be recovered. The launch window for the mission is…