Tag: Space Technology Mission Directorate

Funding Future Tech: NASA Names 2024 Innovative Concept Studies

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A collage of illustrations highlighting the novel concepts proposed by the 2024 NIAC Phase I awardees. Credit: clockwise, from upper right: Steven Benner, Beijia Zhang, Matthew McQuinn, Alvaro Romero-Calvo, Thomas M. Eubanks, Kenneth Carpenter, James Bickford, Alvaro Romero-Calvo, Peter Cabauy, Geoffrey Landis, Lynn Rothschild, and Ge-Cheng Zha. NASA NASA selected the 2024 Phase I awardees for its program to fund ideas that could  innovate for the benefit of all and transform future agency missions. From proposals to explore low Earth orbit to the stars, the 13 concepts chosen stem from…

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NASA, Partners Continue to Advance Space Tech on Suborbital Flights

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5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) New Shepard, Blue Origin’s reusable suborbital rocket, rising from the company’s Launch Site One in West Texas, on a previous flight in 2021. The vehicle returned to flight on Dec. 19, 2023, carrying payloads supported by NASA’s Flight Opportunities, enabling researchers to test disruptive solutions for space applications. Blue Origin Living and working in space requires getting ready a bit closer to Earth. Through a suborbital flight test on Dec. 19, 2023 with industry provider Blue Origin, NASA’s Flight…

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NASA’s Tech Demo Streams First Video From Deep Space via Laser

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Members of the DSOC team react to the first high-definition streaming video to be sent via laser from deep space on Dec. 11 at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Sent by the DSOC transceiver aboard the Psyche spacecraft, nearly 19 million miles from Earth, the video features a cat named Taters. NASA/JPL-Caltech A computer screen in the mission support area shows Taters the cat in a still from the first high-definition streaming video to be sent via laser from deep space, as well as the incoming data stream delivering the frames…

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Armstrong Flight Research Center: A Year in Review

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4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) It was an abundant year of innovation, exploration, and inspiration for NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. NASA Armstrong continues to demonstrate America’s leadership in aeronautics, Earth and space science, and aerospace technology. Our researchers, engineers, and mission support teams continually seek to revolutionize aviation, add to mankind’s knowledge of the universe, and contribute to the understanding and protection of Earth. The video above shows many of our achievements, below are a few special moments. The X-59…

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University of Utah takes top honors in BIG Idea Lunar Forge Challenge 

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A member of the winning team of NASA’s 2023’s BIG Idea Challenge working on their Lunar Forge project, Production of Steel from Lunar Regolith through Carbonyl Iron Refining (CIR). University of Utah Through Artemis, NASA plans to conduct long-duration human and robotic missions on the lunar surface in preparation for future crewed exploration of Mars. Expanding exploration capabilities requires a robust lunar infrastructure, including practical and cost-effective ways to construct a lunar base. One method is employing in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) – or the ability to use naturally occurring resources…

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NASA Supports Tests of Dust Sensor to Aid Lunar Landings

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2 min read NASA Supports Tests of Dust Sensor to Aid Lunar Landings University of Central Florida researchers tested an instrument designed to measure the size and speed of surface particles kicked up by the exhaust from a rocket-powered lander on the Moon or Mars. The four tethered flights on Astrobotic’s Xodiac rocket-powered lander took place in Mojave, California, from Sept. 12 through Oct. 4, 2023. Researchers tested the Ejecta STORM technology’s integration with a lander and operation in flight conditions that simulated the plume effects of a lunar lander.…

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Commander Callie Continues Moon Mission in NASA’s New Graphic Novel

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“Astronaut Callie Rodriguez continues her space adventures as the first woman to walk on the Moon in NASA’s new graphic novel, “First Woman: Expanding Our Universe.” Fictional astronaut Callie Rodriguez continues exploring space as the first woman to walk on the Moon in a new issue of NASA’s First Woman graphic novel series. Now available digitally in English and Spanish, “First Woman: Expanding Our Universe,” follows Callie and her crewmates as they work together to explore the unknown, make scientific discoveries, and accomplish their mission objectives. This second issue of the…

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