2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The Double Asteroid Redirection Test required extreme precision in mission planning to achieve its mission of impacting an asteroid. The founders of Continuum Space worked on astrodynamics relating to this mission, which they used to inform their product. NASA Planning space missions is a very involved process, ensuring orbits are lined up and spacecraft have enough fuel is imperative to the long-term survival of orbital assets. Continuum Space Systems Inc. of Pasadena, California, produces a cloud-based platform that gives…
Read MoreTag: Spinoffs
NASA Expertise Helps Record all the Buzz
2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Test flights help airplane and drone manufacturers identify which parts of the aircraft are creating the most noise. Using hundreds of wired microphones makes it an expensive and time-consuming process to improve the design to meet noise requirements. Credit: NASA Airplane manufacturers running noise tests on new aircraft now have a much cheaper option than traditional wired microphone arrays. It’s also sensitive enough to help farmers with pest problems. A commercial wireless microphone array recently created with help from…
Read MoreNASA’s Advancements in Space Continue Generating Products on Earth
The cover of Spinoff 2025, NASA’s annual publication that chronicles commercial products born from space technology, is a detailed view of the lunar surface captured by cameras on the Orion spacecraft on a close approach of the Moon during the Artemis I mission. Credit: NASA The latest edition of NASA’s Spinoff publication, which highlights the successful transfer of agency technology to the commercial sector, is now available online. For nearly 25 years, NASA has supported crew working in low Earth orbit to learn about the space environment and perform research…
Read MoreNASA Gives The World a Brake
3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Current brake system technology cool disc brakes with air pulled from inside the vehicle’s body to prevent overheating. The channels cut into the exterior of the disc brakes developed by Orbis Brakes draw in external air, which is cooler, ensure the brakes work more efficiently. Credit: Orbis Brakes Inc Just as NASA needs to reduce mass on a spacecraft so it can escape Earth’s gravity, automotive manufacturers work to reduce weight to improve vehicle performance. In the case of…
Read MoreAn Electronic Traffic Monitor for Airports
3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The focus of Airspace Technology Demonstration 2 was IADS, a software that coordinates flight schedules between the ramp, tower, terminal, and center control facilities. This visual representation of data helps minimize delays on the ground. NASA / Jim Banke If every commuter drove the same few roads at the same time every day, the traffic would be unbearable. That’s exactly what’s happening in the skies above the nation, known as national airspace (NAS). Multiple flights from different airlines try…
Read MoreFrom Mars Rovers to Factory Assembly Lines
2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) European company apetito uses Neurala’s vision inspection software to ensure the quality of its prepared meals, such as green bean portions pictured here. The software evolved from code Neurala was developing more than a decade ago, with NASA funding, for a rover that could independently learn to traverse Martian terrain. Credit: Neurala Inc. Artificial intelligence software initially designed to learn and analyze Martian terrain is now at the heart of a system to monitor assembly lines on Earth. The…
Read MoreThe View from Space Keeps Getting Better
2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Farms in California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta face strict reporting requirements for water usage because the delta supplies most of the state’s freshwater. This Landsat image uses infrared wavelengths to depict vegetation. Credit: U.S. Geological Survey The 30-acre pear orchard in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta has been in Brett Baker’s family since the end of the Gold Rush. After six generations, though, California’s most precious resource is no longer gold – it’s water. And most of the state’s…
Read MoreThe Science of the Perfect Cup for Coffee
2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Research into phase-change material (PCM) options for NASA helped one of the researchers find the ideal material to use in a mug that maintains the ideal temperature of a hot beverage for hours. ThermAvant International now offers mugs and tumblers. Credit: ThermAvant International LLC Dr. Hongbin Ma was tired of drinking coffee that had gone cold. Fortunately, Ma, the CEO of ThermAvant Technologies LLC in Columbia, Missouri, was working on a NASA-funded study of phase-change materials, which are used…
Read MoreMeasuring Moon Dust to Fight Air Pollution
3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) While astronaut Gene Cernan was on the lunar surface during the Apollo 17 mission, his spacesuit collected loads of lunar dust. The gray, powdery substance stuck to the fabric and entered the capsule causing eye, nose, and throat irritation dubbed “lunar hay fever.” Credit: NASA Credit: NASA Moon dust, or regolith, isn’t like the particles on Earth that collect on bookshelves or tabletops – it’s abrasive and it clings to everything. Throughout NASA’s Apollo missions to the Moon, regolith…
Read MorePrinted Engines Propel the Next Industrial Revolution
2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) A laser powder directed energy deposition (LP-DED) 3D printer at RPM Innovations’ facility additively manufactures a large-scale aerospike rocket engine nozzle from one of Elementum 3D’s specialized, 3D-printable aluminum alloys. RPM Innovations Inc. In the fall of 2023, NASA hot fire tested an aluminum 3D printed rocket engine nozzle. Aluminum is not typically used for 3D printing because the process causes it to crack, and its low melting point makes it a challenging material for rocket engines. Yet the…
Read More