SWENext Influencers: Meet Sophia Z.
Sophia is a SWENext Influencer who is passionate about showcasing STEM to young girls. Learn how she is advancing innovation in her community, including through an after-school 3D printing program!
NASA’s Swift Reaches 20th Anniversary in Improved Pointing Mode
5 min read NASA’s Swift Reaches 20th Anniversary in Improved Pointing Mode After two decades in space, NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is performing better than ever thanks to a new operational strategy implemented earlier this year. The spacecraft has made great scientific strides in the years since scientists dreamed up a new way to [...]
Gateway Tops Off
Technicians carefully install a piece of equipment to house Gateway’s xenon fuel tanks, part of its advanced electric propulsion system. Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element, which will make the lunar space station the most powerful solar electric spacecraft ever flown, recently received the xenon and liquid fuel tanks for its journey to and around the [...]
About the Office of the Chief Knowledge Officer (OCKO)
The overarching purpose of the OCKO is to cultivate and sustain a learning culture at Goddard in support of mission success. We have instituted various processes and programs for lessons learned and critical knowledge identification, sharing, and application. The focus of the OCKO is to promote local learning practices that enhances domain-specific expertise within an [...]
From Houston to the Moon: Johnson’s Thermal Vacuum Chamber Tests Lunar Solar Technology
Imagine designing technology that can survive on the Moon for up to a decade, providing a continuous energy supply. NASA selected three companies to develop such systems, aimed at providing a power source at the Moon’s South Pole for Artemis missions. Three companies were awarded contracts in 2022 with plans to test their self-sustaining solar [...]
Space Biology, Student Robotics Top Day as Cargo Craft Departs
Nov. 19, 2024: International Space Station Configuration. Five spaceships are parked at the space station including the SpaceX Dragon Freedom, the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft, the Northrop Grumman Cygnus resupply ship, the Soyuz MS-26 crew ship, and the Progress 89 resupply ship. Space biology to improve health and robotics to promote education were the primary [...]
On This Day: Apollo 12 Lands on the Moon
NASA NASA astronaut Alan Bean steps off the lunar module ladder in this photo from Nov. 19, 1969, joining astronaut Charles Conrad Jr. on the Moon in the area called the Ocean of Storms. The two would then complete two spacewalks on the lunar surface, deploying science instruments, collecting geology samples, and inspecting the Surveyor [...]
Space Station Raises Orbit Avoiding Orbital Debris
This mosaic depicts the space station pictured from the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft on Nov. 8, 2021. The Progress 89 thrusters were fired at 2:09 p.m. CST today for 5 minutes, 31 seconds, to raise the orbit of the International Space Station to provide an extra margin of distance from a piece of orbital debris [...]
NASA Plans to Assign Missions for Two Future Artemis Cargo Landers
Early conceptual renderings of cargo variants of human lunar landing systems from NASA’s providers SpaceX, left, and Blue Origin, right. The large cargo landers will have the capability to land approximately 26,000 to 33,000 pounds (12-15 metric tons) of large, heavy payload on the lunar surface. Credit: SpaceX/Blue Origin NASA, along with its industry and [...]
Super Insulation Requires Super Materials
2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The thermal protection system on the outside of the space shuttle included hundreds of ceramic tiles custom made for the orbiter. These reflected heat off the shuttle’s outside surface during atmospheric re-entry and were an inspiration for the ceramic ingredients in Super Therm. Credit: [...]