NASA Administrator Bill Nelson gives welcoming remarks during an executive session of the NASA Advisory Council (NAC), Monday, Feb. 28, 2022, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson delivers remarks during a 5th Annual Hidden Figures Street Naming Anniversary event Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber)

Slovak Republic Minister of Education, Research, Development, and Youth Tomáš Drucker, left, and NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, right, shake hands during an Artemis Accords signing ceremony, Thursday, May 30, 2024, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. Slovakia is the 42nd country to sign the Artemis Accords, which establish a practical set of principles to guide space exploration cooperation among nations participating in NASA’s Artemis program. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber)

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, Bob Cabana, NASA associate administrator, and NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, speak with the 2021 astronaut candidate class, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. Upon completion of two years of training they could be assigned to missions that involve performing research aboard the International Space Station, launching from American soil on spacecraft built by commercial companies, as well as deep space missions to destinations including the Moon on NASA’s Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Portrait, NASA astronaut Dr. Serena Auñón-Chancellor, Wednesday, September 11, 2019 at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Kevin Metrocavage, NASA Headquarters Space Operations Center (SOC) Manager, Space Operations Mission Directorate, speaks with John Rhys-Davies, the actor best known for his roles as Gimli in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Sallah in the Indiana Jones franchise, about the International Space Station in the SOC, Friday, March 28, 2025 at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington, DC. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson participates in a NASA employee town hall on how the agency is using and developing Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to advance missions and research, Wednesday, May 22, 2024, at the NASA Headquarters Mary W. Jackson Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson gives remarks during a NASA town hall event, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023, at the NASA Headquarters Mary W. Jackson Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, gives remarks during a NASA agencywide all hands, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, at the NASA Headquarters Mary W. Jackson Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

A Shorty Award is seen Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The award was presented to NASA astronaut Doug Wheelock for an image of the moon he took and posted to his Twitter account, @Astro_Wheels, while living aboard the International Space Station last year. The awards ceremony was held at the TimesCenter in New York City on Monday, March 28. Photo Credit: (NASA/Paul E. Alers)

Panelists, from left, Jim Green, director, Planetary Science Division, NASA Headquarters, Washington, Carey Lisse, senior astrophysicist, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland, Kelly Fast, program scientist, Planetary Science Division, NASA Headquarters, Washington, and Padma Yanamandra-Fisher, senior research scientist, Space Science Institute, Rancho Cucamonga Branch, California, are seen during a media briefing where they outlined how space and Earth-based assets will be used to image and study comet Siding Spring during its Sunday, Oct. 19 flyby of Mars, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. (Photo credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky)

NASA Deputy Associate Administrator Casey Swails, left, and Jessica Gregory from NASA’s Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs, speak to delegates of the U.S. Senate Youth Program during a fireside chat, Wednesday, March 5, 2025 at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test crew members Suni Williams, left, and Butch Wilmore are seen aboard the International Space Station on a monitor during an Earth-to-space call with NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free, and Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyche, Monday, June 10, 2024 at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. Nelson, Melroy, Free, and Wyche spoke to Wilmore and Williams about their mission aboard Boeing’s Starliner Spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

David Leckrone, senior project scientist for Hubble at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. discusses newly released images from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The images were from four of the telescopes' six operating science instruments. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Dr. Karen St. Germain, NASA director of the Earth Science Division, speaks with John Rhys-Davies, the actor best known for his roles as Gimli in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Sallah in the Indiana Jones franchise at the Earth Information Center (EIC), Friday, March 28, 2025 at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington, DC. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick, is seen during an Expedition 71 postflight presentation, Monday, March 3, 2025, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters Building in Washington. Dominick, Michael Barrett, Tracy Dyson, and Jeanette Epps served as part of Expedition 71 aboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

EUMETSAT director-general, Alain Ratier, speaks at a renaming ceremony for the international ocean science satellite previously known as Sentinel-6A/Jason-CS, Tuesday, January 28, 2020, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. NASA and its European partners renamed the satellite Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich after NASA’s former director of the Earth Science division, Dr. Michael Freilich. Sentinel-6A Michael Freilich will observe and record global sea level changes and will be joined by an identical satellite slated to launch in 2025 for a total of ten years of targeted observations.” Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, left, and NASA Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, answer questions during an event where nine U.S. companies where named as eligible to bid on NASA delivery services to the lunar surface through Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contracts, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The companies will be able to bid on delivering science and technology payloads for NASA, including payload integration and operations, launching from Earth and landing on the surface of the Moon. NASA expects to be one of many customers that will use these commercial landing services. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Vice President Mike Pence, center, speaks with Expedition 58 flight engineer Anne McClain of NASA, and flight engineer David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) who are onboard the International Space Station, Wednesday, March 6, 2019 from the Space Operations Center at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Vice President Pence and Administrator Bridenstine spoke with the astronauts about the arrival of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft at the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Sandra Cauffman, acting Director of the Earth Sciences Division of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, speaks during the 2019 Annual Earth Science Applications Showcase, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2019 at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. Every summer students and young professionals from NASA’s Applied Sciences’ DEVELOP National Program come to NASA Headquarters and present their research projects. DEVELOP is a training and development program where students work on Earth science research projects, mentored by science advisers from NASA and partner agencies, and extend research results to local communities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Director of Marshall Space Flight Center, Jody Singer, right, speaks on a panel with NASA's three other female center directors: Dr. Marla Peréz-Davis of Glenn Research Center, second from left, Vanessa Wyche of Johnson Space Center, center, and Janet Petro of Kennedy Space Center, second from right, moderated by NASA General Counsel, Sumara Thompson-King, left, during the "DirectHERS" - Launching Through the Glass Ceiling event, Tuesday, June 7, 2022, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

NASA Associate Administrator for Aeronautics Research, Robert Pearce, discusses the agency’s goals during the annual State of NASA address, Monday, March 11, 2024, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters Building in Washington. NASA leaders discussed plans for promoting U.S. leadership in space exploration, improving life on Earth through science and innovation, humanity’s return to the Moon under the Artemis campaign, aeronautics, and more. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy is seen on a monitor back stage as she gives remarks during a NASA town hall event, Wednesday, July 19, 2023, at the NASA Headquarters Mary W. Jackson Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra delivers remarks during an event with NASA to highlight how the agencies are making progress toward President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden’s Cancer Moonshot initiative, Thursday, March 21, 2024, in the Earth Information Center at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. NASA is working with agencies and researchers across the federal government to help cut the nation’s cancer death rate by at least 50% in the next 25 years, a goal of the Cancer Moonshot Initiative. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber)

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine is seen during a NASA town hall event, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson talks to the agency’s workforce during his first State of NASA event Wednesday, June 2, 2021, at NASA Headquarters Mary W. Jackson Building in Washington. Nelson remarked on his long history with NASA, and among other topics, discussed the agency’s plans for future Earth-focused missions to address climate change and a robotic and human return to the Moon through the Artemis program, as well as announcing two new planetary science missions to Venus – VERITAS and DAVINCI+. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Jenn Gustetic, Prizes Program Executive, NASA Office of the Chief Technologist moderates the Asteroid Initiative Industry and Partner Day at NASA Headquarters on Tuesday, June 18, 2013 in Washington. During the event NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver and other senior NASA officials discussed the progress being made on NASA's mission to capture, redirect, and explore an asteroid. NASA also announced an Asteroid Grand Challenge focused on finding all asteroid threats to human populations and knowing what to do about them. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson speaks during a NASA Safety Town Hall, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024 at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. The Safety Town Hall is held annually near the Day of Remembrance to learn from past errors and pay tribute to those that lost their lives in the quest for space exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, left, speaks with NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara alongside NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy and NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters Building in Washington. O’Hara and Moghbeli spent six months in space as part of Expedition 70 aboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Ambassador of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the United States of America Georg Sparber delivers remarks during an Artemis Accords signing ceremony Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. The Principality of Liechtenstein is the 52nd country to sign the Artemis Accords, which establish a practical set of principles to guide space exploration cooperation among nations participating in NASA’s Artemis program.Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber)

Karen St. Germain, Director of the Earth Science Division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, gives and interview following the ribbon cutting ceremony to open NASA’s Earth Information Center, Wednesday, June 21, 2023, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. The Earth Information Center is new immersive experience that combines live data sets with cutting-edge data visualization and storytelling to allow visitors to see how our planet is changing. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine delivers remarks during the dedication ceremony for "Hidden Figures Way," Wednesday, June 12, 2019 at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. The 300 block of E Street SW in front of the NASA Headquarters building was designated as "Hidden Figures Way" to honor Katherine Johnson, Dorthy Vaughan, Mary Jackson and all women who have dedicated their lives to honorably serving their country, advancing equality, and contributing to the space program of the United States. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)4

ESA (European Space Agency) director of Earth Observation Programmes, Josef Aschbacher, left, presents NASA’s former director of the Earth Science division, Dr. Michael Freilich with an award after announcing that the international ocean science satellite previously known as Sentinel-6A/Jason-CS has been renamed Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich after him, Tuesday, January 28, 2020, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Sentinel-6A Michael Freilich will observe and record global sea level changes and will be joined by an identical satellite slated to launch in 2025 for a total of ten years of targeted observations. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Carlos Del Castillo, chief of the Ocean Ecology Laboratory at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, speaks during a news conference to discuss the latest global temperature data, Monday, Aug. 14, 2023, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Zudayyah Taylor-Dunn, president of the NASA Headquarters Chapter of Blacks in Government (BIG), left, and LaVerne Randolph, vice president of the NASA Headquarters Chapter of BIG, present a montage containing an American Flag and Ohio State flag flown in space to Retired U.S. Air Force Honorary Brigadier General Charles McGee during a Black History Month program titled “Trailblazers, The Story of a Tuskegee Airman,” Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020, at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. McGee, a pilot with the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II, was a career officer in the Air Force also serving during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Over his 30 years of service he flew 409 combat missions. Of the 355 Tuskegee pilots who flew in combat, McGee is one of only nine surviving. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

A student from the Maryland School For the Blind explores an object while learning about Meteorites, Asteroids and Comets during NASA's Disability Mentoring Day, Thursday, April 7, 2011, at NASA Headquarters in Washignton. Photo Credit: (NASA/Paul E. Alers)

People gather on the roof of NASA Headquarters in Washington to watch a partial solar eclipse through protective glasses in Washington, on Monday, April 8, 2024. A total solar eclipse swept across a narrow portion of the North American continent from Mexico’s Pacific coast to the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, Canada. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of Central America and Europe. Photo Credit: (NASA/Connie Moore)

Michelle Jones, Deputy Associate Administrator for NASA’s Office of Communications, kicks off a NASA agencywide all hands, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, at the NASA Headquarters Mary W. Jackson Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

President and CEO of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation Jose Antonio Tijerino, left, and NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, react after signing a Space Act Agreement between the HHF and NASA to collaborate and expand STEM opportunities for Latino K-12 and university students and reduce barriers to agency activities and opportunities, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, at the NASA Headquarters Mary W. Jackson Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden responds to a reporter's question during an overview briefing on NASA's fiscal year 2012 budget, Monday, Feb. 14, 2011 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, center left, and Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai of Mongolia, center right, meet to discuss space cooperation, Friday, Aug. 4, 2023, at the NASA Headquarters Mary W. Jackson Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin outlines the President's budget for fiscal year 2007 during a news conference, Monday, Feb. 6, 2006, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Griffin was joined by the heads of NASA's four mission directorates to explain how the proposed $16.8 billion dollar budget supports the Vision for Space Exploration. Seated left to right: Scott Horowitz, NASA Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems, William Gerstenmaier, NASA Associate Administrator for Space Operations, Lisa Porter, NASA Associate Administrator for Aeronautics Research and Mary Cleave, NASA Associate Administrator for Science. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Bruce Jakosky, MAVEN principal investigator, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, left, and David Mitchell, MAVEN project manager, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland are seen during a media briefing where they and other panelist outlined activities around the Sunday, Sept. 21 orbital insertion at Mars of the agency’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. (Photo credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana speaks during a NASA town hall to discuss the reorganization of the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate into two mission directorates: Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD) and Space Operations Mission Directorate (SpaceOps), Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021 at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. NASA Associate Administrator for SpaceOps, Kathy Lueders, will lead launch and space operations including the International Space Station, the commercialization of low-Earth orbit, and eventually operations on and around the Moon. NASA Associate Administrator for the ESDMD, Jim Free, will lead efforts to define and manage systems development for programs critical to NASA’s Artemis program and the planning of NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

A toy dog named Seaman Jr., representing the Newfoundland that accompanied Lewis and Clark on their historic expedition in the 1800's, is seen here, Thursday, May 3, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Seaman Jr. is headed to the International Space Station this summer to help celebrate NASA’s 60th Anniversary and the National Trail System’s 50th anniversary. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

A student asks Nick Hague and Christina Koch, two astronauts currently living and working on the International Space Station, a question during a panel discussion with NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, NASA Associate Administrator for the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, Bill Gerstenmaier, and NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Exploration, Steve Clarke at the "Future of Space" STEM event, Monday, April 29, 2019 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson, moderated the panel discussion. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Colombian Vice President and Foreign Minister, Marta Lucía Ramírez, speaks before signing the Artemis Accords, Tuesday, May 10, 2022, at NASA Headquarters in Washington DC. Colombia is the nineteenth country to sign the Artemis Accords, which establish a practical set of principles to guide space exploration cooperation among nations participating in NASA’s Artemis program. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin discusses the results of the agency's exploration architecture study on Monday, Sept. 19, 2005, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The study made specific design recommendations for a vehicle to carry crews into space, a family of launch vehicles to take missions to the moon and beyond, and a "lunar mission architecture" for landing on the moon. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver discusses details of the fiscal year 2014 budget request in an agency-wide all hands meeting televised from NASA Headquarters on Wednesday, April 10, 2013 in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Chief Financial Officer Elizabeth Robinson, presents details of the fiscal year 2014 budget request in an agency-wide all hands meeting televised from NASA Headquarters on Wednesday, April 10, 2013 in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Scott Kelly, former NASA astronaut, left, and Anamaria Berea, associate professor of Computational and Data Science at George Mason University, are seen during a public meeting of NASA’s unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) independent study team, Wednesday, May 31, 2023 at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. The UAP independent study team is a counsel of 16 community experts across diverse areas on matters relevant to potential methods of study for unidentified anomalous phenomena. NASA commissioned the nine-month study to examine UAP from a scientific perspective and create a roadmap for how to use data and the tools of science to move our understanding of UAP forward. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden Jr. speaks during his first NASA Update,Tuesday, July 21, 2009, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Bolden, NASA's 12th Administrator, was joined by Deputy Administrator Lori Garver where they took the time to introduce themselves and outline their vision for the agency going forward. No questions were taken during the session. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, left, speaks at the "Future of Space" STEM event, Monday, April 29, 2019 at NASA Headquarters in Washington, where college students were able to ask panelists, Bridenstine, NASA Associate Administrator for the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, Bill Gerstenmaier, center, and NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Exploration, Steve Clarke, right, questions as well as speak with two astronauts currently on the International Space Station, Nick Hague and Christina Koch. NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson moderated the panel discussion. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Sam Scimemi, Director of NASA’s International Space Station Division is seen as he watches the beginning of the first all-woman spacewalk on Friday, Oct. 18, 2019, from the Space Operations Center at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The first all-woman spacewalk in history began at 7:38am EDT with NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir venturing outside the International Space Station to replace a failed battery charge-discharge unit. This is the fourth spacewalk for Koch and Meir’s first. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, right, and NASA Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, watch the launch of NASA's InSight spacecraft on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas-V rocket Saturday, May 5, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. InSight, short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is a Mars lander designed to study the "inner space" of Mars: its crust, mantle, and core. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free answers a question during a NASA Safety Town Hall, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024 at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. The Safety Town Hall is held annually near the Day of Remembrance to learn from past errors and pay tribute to those that lost their lives in the quest for space exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Panelists, from left to right, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, Director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Space Weather Observations, Elsayed Talaat, NASA Headquarters eclipse program manager, Kelly Korreck, and NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free are seen during a media briefing to discuss the upcoming solar eclipse, Tuesday, March 26, 2024 at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. A total solar eclipse will sweep across a narrow portion of the North American continent from Mexico’s Pacific coast to the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, Canada on April 8, 2024. A partial solar eclipse will be visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of Central America and Europe. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

“When I first joined Twitter in 2009, one of the first accounts I followed was NASA. I knew they were doing NASA ‘Tweetups’ (now called Socials) where members of the public could apply, go behind the scenes of a NASA facility and potentially attend a launch. “I was selected for the STS-135 Tweetup — the final launch of the Space Shuttle, July 2011. The Tweetup gave me access that I never in my life thought I’d be able to experience. Being inside the Vehicle Assembly Building, where Saturn rockets were assembled, where the Space Shuttle was stacked and now where the SLS is going to be stacked… that for me, was incredible. “We got to Kennedy for the launch on July 7. There were severe thunderstorms and lightning all around. The weather was not looking good for the next day. “The next morning, we get to the press site, and the weather continues to look like it’s going to prevent the launch. There was a 30% chance. I didn’t think it was going to happen. “And then, there was a break in the clouds. And at 11:28 am, the Shuttle launches. It was such a physical, emotional experience. I remember feeling the sound waves. I was just so excited, so thrilled, so overcome by seeing all these people put in so many hours on something that was bigger than themselves, working toward making this mission a success. And that was the culmination of it: 5 million pounds of thrust lifting this vehicle 250 miles off the planet. “I thought, ‘wow, Atlantis took off with just a 30% chance.’ So, I try to take that with me whenever I face a challenging situation. And that’s kind of why I was teetering on not applying for my first NASA internship in 2013. But I thought to myself, ‘well, that vehicle took off in not-so-ideal conditions. Things aren’t impossible.’ That’s what led me to pursue this career at NASA.” Portrait, Andres Almeida, Thursday, September 19, 2019 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Director of Glenn Research Center, Dr. Marla Peréz-Davis speaks on a panel with NASA's three other female center directors: Janet Petro of Kennedy Space Center, Vanessa Wyche of Johnson Space Center, and Jody Singer of Marshall Space Flight Center, during the "DirectHERS" - Launching Through the Glass Ceiling event, Tuesday, June 7, 2022, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Vice President Mike Pence speaks during an event where Jim Bridenstine is sworn in as the 13th NASA Administrator, Monday, April 23, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Vice President Mike Pence speaks prior to the swearing-in of Jim Bridenstine as the 13th NASA Administrator, Monday, April 23, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, left, and Vice President Mike Pence, meet with NASA leadership, Monday, April 23, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Bridenstine was just sworn in by the Vice President as NASA's 13th Administrator. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Brainy Akpala recites her poem “Sitting Upon Flames” during a 5th Annual Hidden Figures Street Naming Anniversary event Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber)

Students are seen in the audience during the Earth Information Center Student Engagement event where former NASA astronauts Drew Feustel and Alvin Drew spoke about their time in space, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building, Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

NASA Associate Administrator for the Space Operations Mission Directorate (SpaceOps), Kathy Lueders, speaks during a NASA town hall to discuss the reorganization of the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate into two mission directorates: SpaceOps and the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD), Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021 at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. As head of SpaceOps, Kathy Lueders will lead launch and space operations including the International Space Station, the commercialization of low-Earth orbit, and eventually operations on and around the Moon. Associate Administrator of ESDMD, Jim Free, will lead efforts to define and manage systems development for programs critical to NASA’s Artemis program and the planning of NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Daniel Evans, assistant deputy associate administrator for Research in NASA's Science Mission Directorate, left, gives opening remarks are seen during a public meeting of NASA’s unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) independent study team, Wednesday, May 31, 2023 at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. The UAP independent study team is a counsel of 16 community experts across diverse areas on matters relevant to potential methods of study for unidentified anomalous phenomena. NASA commissioned the nine-month study to examine UAP from a scientific perspective and create a roadmap for how to use data and the tools of science to move our understanding of UAP forward. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

NASA Press Secretary for the Deputy Administrator, Grey Hautaluoma, speaks before Colombian Vice President and Foreign Minister, Marta Lucía Ramírez, signs the Artemis Accords, Tuesday, May 10, 2022, at NASA Headquarters in Washington DC. Colombia is the nineteenth country to sign the Artemis Accords, which establish a practical set of principles to guide space exploration cooperation among nations participating in NASA’s Artemis program. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

From left to right, Swiss State Secretary Martina Hirayama, Swiss Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Marco Sieber, meet prior to an Artemis Accords signing ceremony, Monday, April 15, 2024, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. Switzerland is the 37th country to sign the Artemis Accords, which establish a practical set of principles to guide space exploration cooperation among nations participating in NASA’s Artemis program. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber)

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, second from left speaks with Vice President Mike Pence, second from right, Scott Pace, Executive Director of the National Space Council, left, and acting Chief of Staff to the Vice President, Jarrod Agen, right, prior to a meeting with NASA leadership about the progress on Space Policy Directive 1 (SPD-1), Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine gives remarks during the International Institute of Space Law (IISL), Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition finals, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Associate Administrator Robert Lightfoot discusses details of the fiscal year 2014 budget request in an agency-wide all hands meeting televised from NASA Headquarters on Wednesday, April 10, 2013 in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Astronaut and Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman, gives remarks during an update on NASA's Artemis campaign, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024, at the NASA Headquarters Mary W. Jackson Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy discusses the agency’s goals during the annual State of NASA address, Monday, March 11, 2024, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters Building in Washington. NASA leaders discussed plans for promoting U.S. leadership in space exploration, improving life on Earth through science and innovation, humanity’s return to the Moon under the Artemis campaign, aeronautics, and more. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

U.S. Department of State Acting Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Jennifer R. Littlejohn delivers remarks as NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Ambassador of the Republic of Austria to the United States of America Petra Schneebauer look on during an Artemis Accords signing ceremony, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. The Republic of Austria is the 50th country to sign the Artemis Accords, which establish a practical set of principles to guide space exploration cooperation among nations participating in NASA’s Artemis program. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Carl Wieman, Associate Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy, The White House, speaks at the Symposium on Supporting Underrepresented Minority Males in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Tuesday, February 28, 2012 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

Dustin Gohmert, Orion Crew Survival Systems Project Manager at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, poses for a portrait while wearing the Orion Crew Survival System (OCSS) suit, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019 at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. The Orion suit is designed for a custom fit and incorporates safety technology and mobility features that will help protect astronauts on launch day, in emergency situations, high-risk parts of missions near the Moon, and during the high-speed return to Earth. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Space Weather Observations, Elsayed Talaat, speaks during a media briefing to discuss the upcoming solar eclipse, Tuesday, March 26, 2024 at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. A total solar eclipse will sweep across a narrow portion of the North American continent from Mexico’s Pacific coast to the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, Canada on April 8, 2024. A partial solar eclipse will be visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of Central America and Europe. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Astronaut Mike Fossum, Expedition 28 flight engineer and Expedition 29 Commander, discusses his mission to the International Space Station during a visit to NASA Headquarters in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

Colombian Vice President and Foreign Minister, Marta Lucía Ramírez, speaks before signing the Artemis Accords, Tuesday, May 10, 2022, at NASA Headquarters in Washington DC. Colombia is the nineteenth country to sign the Artemis Accords, which establish a practical set of principles to guide space exploration cooperation among nations participating in NASA’s Artemis program. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Frank Webb, GRACE-FO project scientist at JPL, discusses the upcoming launch of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO) mission, Monday, April 30, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The twin GRACE-FO spacecraft will measure and monitor monthly changes in how mass is redistributed within and among Earth's atmosphere, oceans, land and ice sheets, as well as within Earth itself. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

From left to right, UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen, NASA Associate Administrator for International and Interagency Relations Karen Feldstein, and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio view a scale model of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque prior to an Iftar dinner, Thursday, March 21, 2024, at the UAE Embassy in Washington. Bowen and Alneyadi spent 186 days aboard the International Space Station as part of Expedition 69; while Rubio set a new record for the longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut, spending 371 days in orbit on an extended mission spanning Expeditions 68 and 69. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber)

NASA Deputy Administrator Jim Morhard speaks during the 2019 Annual Earth Science Applications Showcase, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2019 at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. Every summer students and young professionals from NASA’s Applied Sciences’ DEVELOP National Program come to NASA Headquarters and present their research projects. DEVELOP is a training and development program where students work on Earth science research projects, mentored by science advisers from NASA and partner agencies, and extend research results to local communities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

David Spergel, chair of NASA's independent study on unidentified anomalous phenomena and President of the Simons Foundation, speaks during a public meeting of NASA’s unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) independent study team, Wednesday, May 31, 2023 at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. The UAP independent study team is a counsel of 16 community experts across diverse areas on matters relevant to potential methods of study for unidentified anomalous phenomena. NASA commissioned the nine-month study to examine UAP from a scientific perspective and create a roadmap for how to use data and the tools of science to move our understanding of UAP forward. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy speaks during a NASA employee town hall with the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Monday, Sept. 9, 2024, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Sara Seager, TESS deputy director of science, MIT discusses the upcoming launch of NASA’s next planet hunter, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), Wednesday, March 28, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Capacity Building Program Manager for NASA's Applied Sciences Program (Earth Science Division) Nancy Searby speaks during the 2019 Annual Earth Science Applications Showcase, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2019 at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. Every summer students and young professionals from NASA’s Applied Sciences’ DEVELOP National Program come to NASA Headquarters and present their research projects. DEVELOP is a training and development program where students work on Earth science research projects, mentored by science advisers from NASA and partner agencies, and extend research results to local communities. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

NAACP Board Chair Leon Russell delivers remarks during a 5th Annual Hidden Figures Street Naming Anniversary event Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber)

Michael A'Hearn, EPOXI Principal Investigator, University of Maryland, holds a plastic bottle containing ice to illustrate a point during a press conference, Thursday, Nov. 18, 2010, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The press conference was held to discuss the Nov. 4 successful flyby of Comet Hartley 2 by NASA's EPOXI Mission Spacecraft. Images from the flyby provided scientists the most extensive observations of a comet in history. Photo Credit: (NASA/Paul E. Alers)

Mkhitar Hayrapetyan, Minister of High-Tech Industry of the Republic of Armenia delivers remarks during an Artemis Accords signing ceremony, Wednesday, June 12, 2024, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. The Republic of Armenia is the 43rd country to sign the Artemis Accords, which establish a practical set of principles to guide space exploration cooperation among nations participating in NASA’s Artemis program. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Brainy Akpala recites her poem “Sitting Upon Flames” during a 5th Annual Hidden Figures Street Naming Anniversary event Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber)

NASA Chief Scientist and Senior Climate Adviser Kate Calvin highlights NASA’s climate work during a media roundtable, Thursday, July 20, 2023, at the NASA Headquarters Mary W. Jackson Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine is seen during a NASA town hall event, Monday, April 1, 2019 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison delivers remarks prior the signing of a letter of intent between NASA and the Australian Space Agency, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019 at NASA Headquarters in Washington. NASA and the Australian Space Agency will build on over 60 years of collaboration in space exploration between the two countries and commit to expanding cooperation. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

From left to right, NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet, NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana, and NASA Administrator Bill Nelson meet, Monday, June 6, 2022, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters Building in Washington DC. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson delivers remarks during an Artemis Accords signing ceremony, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. The Republic of Austria is the 50th country to sign the Artemis Accords, which establish a practical set of principles to guide space exploration cooperation among nations participating in NASA’s Artemis program. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Visitors operate robotic arms at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum Mars Day, an annual event celebrating the Red Planet with exhibits, speakers, and educational activities, Friday, July 21, 2017 in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

NASA Earth Science Division Director Karen St. Germain highlights NASA’s climate work during a media roundtable, Thursday, July 20, 2023, at the NASA Headquarters Mary W. Jackson Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

President and CEO of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation Jose Antonio Tijerino, left, and NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, sign a Space Act Agreement between the HHF and NASA to collaborate and expand STEM opportunities for Latino K-12 and university students and reduce barriers to agency activities and opportunities, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, at the NASA Headquarters Mary W. Jackson Building in Washington. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson talks to the agency’s workforce during his first State of NASA event Wednesday, June 2, 2021, at NASA Headquarters Mary W. Jackson Building in Washington. Nelson remarked on his long history with NASA, and among other topics, discussed the agency’s plans for future Earth-focused missions to address climate change and a robotic and human return to the Moon through the Artemis program, as well as announcing two new planetary science missions to Venus – VERITAS and DAVINCI+. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, second from right, delivers remarks during an Artemis Accords signing ceremony Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. The Republic of Chile is the 47th country to sign the Artemis Accords, which establish a practical set of principles to guide space exploration cooperation among nations participating in NASA’s Artemis program. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber)