This article is from the 2024 Technical Update. The NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) has developed an analytical model that predicts diffusion between two gases during piston purging of liquid hydrogen (LH2) tanks. This model helps explain dramatic helium savings seen in a recent Kennedy Space Center (KSC) purge, shows that undesired turbulent mixing [...]

This article is from the 2024 Technical Update Autonomous flight termination systems (AFTS) are being progressively employed onboard launch vehicles to replace ground personnel and infrastructure needed to terminate flight or destruct the vehicle should an anomaly occur. This automation uses on-board real-time data and encoded logic to determine if the flight should be [...]

This article is from the 2024 Technical Update. The NESC evaluated material compatibility of some common aerospace metals in monomethylhydrazine (MMH) and nitrogen tetroxide (MON-3). Previous work had identified a lack of quantitative compatibility data for nickel alloy 718, 300 series stainless steel, and titanium Ti-6Al-4V in MMH and MON-3 to support the use of [...]

5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The north polar region of Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io was captured by NASA’s Juno during the spacecraft’s 57th close pass of the gas giant on Dec. 30, 2023. Data from recent flybys is helping scientists understand Io’s interior. Image data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS Image processing [...]

Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio Mosaics More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions The Solar System The [...]

El administrador de la NASA, Bill Nelson (izquierda), y la secretaria adjunta en funciones de la Oficina de Océanos y Asuntos Medioambientales y Científicos Internacionales del Departamento de Estado de Estados Unidos, Jennifer R. Littlejohn (derecha), observan a la embajadora de la República de Austria en Estados Unidos, Petra Schneebauer, mientras firma los Acuerdos de [...]

Michelle Dominguez proudly displays her award at the Women of Color STEM Conference in Detroit, Michigan, October 2024.NASA Dorcas Kaweesa holding her award at the Women of Color STEM Conference in Detroit, Michigan, October 2024. NASA In October 2024, Michelle Dominguez and Dorcas Kaweesa from the Ames Aeromechanics Office were each awarded as a “Technology [...]

9 Min Read Artemis in Motion Listening Sessions The Earth and Moon appear side by side off in the distance while the Orion crew module is in the foreground. Credits: NASA Through Artemis in Motion Sessions, NASA Seeks Moon Storytelling Ideas To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web [...]

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, left, and U.S. Department of State Acting Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Jennifer R. Littlejohn, right, look on as Ambassador of the Republic of Austria to the United States of America Petra Schneebauer, signs the Artemis Accords, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, at the [...]

Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program lift the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) core stage for the Artemis II mission from horizonal to vertical inside the transfer aisle at the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. The one-of-a kind lifting beam is designed to move [...]