A boot that's part of a NASA lunar surface spacesuit prototype is readied for testing inside a thermal vacuum chamber called CITADEL at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California on Nov. 8, 2024. The thick aluminum plate at right stands in for the frigid surface of the lunar South Pole, where Artemis III astronauts will confront conditions more extreme than any previously experienced by humans. Built to prepare potential future robotic spacecraft for the frosty, low-pressure conditions on ocean worlds like Jupiter's frozen moon Europa, CITADEL (Cryogenic Ice Testing, Acquisition Development, and Excavation Laboratory) has also proven key to evaluating how astronaut gloves and boots hold up in extraordinary cold. It can reach temperatures as low as low as minus 370 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 223 degrees Celsius), approximating conditions in permanently shadowed regions that astronauts will explore. Figure A, showing the outer boot sole, was taken from inside CITADEL on Nov. 13, 2024. The boot is positioned in a load lock, one of four small drawer-like chambers through which test materials are inserted into the larger chamber. Initiated by the Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program at NASA's Johnson Space Center, the boot testing took place from October 2024 to January 2025. The boot is part of a NASA spacesuit called the Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or xEMU. Results haven't yet been fully analyzed. In addition to spotting vulnerabilities with existing suits, the experiments are intended to help NASA develop this unique test capability and prepare criteria for standardized, repeatable, and inexpensive test methods for the next-generation lunar suit being built by Axiom Space. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26592

Spacesuit engineer Shane McFarland, left, of the Advanced Suit Team at NASA's Johnson Space Center prepares an astronaut glove for thermal vacuum testing inside a chamber at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California on Nov. 1, 2023. Tim Brady of the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC), which spearheaded the glove testing campaign, looks on as McFarland positions the glove in a load lock – one of four small drawer-like chambers through which test materials are inserted into the larger main chamber of a facility called CITADEL (Cryogenic Ice Testing, Acquisition Development, and Excavation Laboratory). The glove was tested at vacuum and temperatures as low as minus 352 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 213 degrees Celsius) – temperatures as frigid as those Artemis III astronauts could experience on the Moon's South Pole. Built to prepare potential future robotic spacecraft for the frosty, low-pressure conditions on ocean worlds like Jupiter's frozen moon Europa, CITADEL has also proven key to evaluating how astronaut gloves and boots hold up in extraordinary cold. The NASA Engineering and Safety Center spearheaded a glove testing campaign in CITADEL from October 2023 to March 2024. Part of a spacesuit design called the Extravehicular Mobility Unit, the gloves tested in the chamber are the sixth version of a glove NASA began using in the 1980s. The testing in CITADEL showed that the legacy glove would not meet thermal requirements in the more challenging lunar South Pole environment. In addition to spotting vulnerabilities with existing suits, the CITADEL experiments will help NASA develop this unique test capability and prepare criteria for standardized, repeatable, and inexpensive test methods for the next-generation lunar suit being built by Axiom Space. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26591

An astronaut glove designed for use during spacewalks on the International Space Station is prepared for thermal vacuum testing inside a chamber at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California on Nov. 1, 2023. The glove lies in a load lock, one of four small drawer-like chambers through which test materials are inserted into the larger main chamber of a facility called CITADEL (Cryogenic Ice Testing, Acquisition Development, and Excavation Laboratory). The glove was tested at vacuum and temperatures as low as minus 352 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 213 degrees Celsius) – temperatures as frigid as those Artemis III astronauts could experience on the Moon's South Pole. Built to prepare potential future robotic spacecraft for the frosty, low-pressure conditions on ocean worlds like Jupiter's frozen moon Europa, CITADEL has also proven key to evaluating how astronaut gloves and boots hold up in extraordinary cold. The NASA Engineering and Safety Center spearheaded a glove testing campaign in CITADEL from October 2023 to March 2024. Part of a spacesuit design called the Extravehicular Mobility Unit, the gloves tested in the chamber are the sixth version of a glove NASA began using in the 1980s. The testing in CITADEL showed that the legacy glove would not meet thermal requirements in the more challenging lunar South Pole environment. In addition to spotting vulnerabilities with existing suits, the CITADEL experiments will help NASA develop this unique test capability and prepare criteria for standardized, repeatable, and inexpensive test methods for the next-generation lunar suit being built by Axiom Space. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26430

This annotated image depicts the ground track (indicated in white) of NASA's Perseverance rover since it arrived on Mars on February 18, 2021. Perseverance made its first sample-acquisition attempt in the "Crater Floor Fractured Rough" area (labeled "CF-Fr"), right of center in the lower third of image. The "Citadelle" is located in the lower third of graphic, just left of center. The graphic was generated using terrain imaged by the HiRISE camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24800

This mosaic image (composed of multiple individual images taken by NASA's Perseverance rover) shows a rock outcrop in the area nicknamed "Citadelle" on the floor of Mars' Jezero Crater. The mosaic image has been nicknamed "Malamaire" by the rover team and includes a block of rock called "Rochette" (after "La Rochette," a small town in north-central France whose name also translates to "little rock"). Perseverance successfully collected its first two rock samples from Rochette in early September 2021. An annotated version of this panorama shows the location of Rochette. The images in the mosaic were taken by the Mastcam-Z instrument on the 180th sol (Martian day) of the rover's mission. A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust). The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24833

Robotics technologist Brendan Chamberlain-Simon, left, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and spacesuit engineer Zach Fester of the agency's Johnson Space Center adjust a thermal vacuum chamber called CITADEL at JPL on Nov. 12, 2024, before testing an astronaut boot inside the chamber. Built to prepare potential robotic explorers for the frosty, low-pressure conditions on ocean worlds like Jupiter's frozen moon Europa, CITADEL (Cryogenic Ice Testing, Acquisition Development, and Excavation Laboratory) has also proven key to evaluating how astronaut gloves and boots hold up in extraordinary cold. It can reach temperatures as low as low as minus 370 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 223 degrees Celsius), approximating extreme conditions Artemis III astronauts will confront in permanently shadowed regions of the lunar South Pole. The boot testing was initiated by the Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program at NASA Johnson and took place from October 2024 to January 2025. The boot is part of a NASA spacesuit called the Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or xEMU. Test results haven't yet been fully analyzed. In addition to spotting vulnerabilities with existing suits, the experiments are intended to help NASA develop this unique test capability and prepare criteria for standardized, repeatable, and inexpensive test methods for the next-generation lunar suit being built by Axiom Space. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26593

This image shows the journey of NASA's Perseverance rover across the floor of Mars' Jezero Crater in the approximately seven months since landing on Feb. 18, 2021. From the landing site "Octavia E. Butler Landing," the rover drove south and attempted to collect its first sample at a drill hole called "Roubion" in early August. After that rock proved too crumbly to provide a core sample, Perseverance drove northwest along "Artuby" ridge to an area known as "Citadelle," where it successfully collected its first two samples in early September 2021. The first core was taken from a block of rock called "Rochette," at the drill hole called "Montdenier." The second, or paired, sample of Montdenier was taken at the drill hole called "Montagnac.") "Séítah," a future area of rover exploration, is also shown. This map is composed of images from the High Resolution Imaging Experiment (HiRISE) aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith. The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24750

ISS019-E-006499 (11 April 2009) --- Ankara, Turkey is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 19 crewmember on the International Space Station. The central portion of the capital city of Turkey, Ankara, is featured in this view. Ankara is located in central Turkey ? the climate here is continental and relatively dry, leading to cold winters and hot summers. The region is prone to major earthquakes, as Turkey experiences tectonic forces from both the African plate to the west and the Arabian plate to the east. Despite the earthquake hazard, the city traces its roots back into antiquity, with a Hittite settlement here prior to 1200 BC. A citadel built and occupied in turn by the Galatians, Romans, Byzantines, and Seljuks overlooks the central portion of the city, and today serves as both a historical and recreational site. Perhaps an even more imposing structure - the mausoleum of the founder of the modern-day Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is visible upon an adjacent hill to the southwest. Hillslopes around the city (left and right) are fairly green due to spring seasonal rainfall. One of the most striking aspects of the urban area is the almost uniform use of red brick roofing tiles that contrast with lighter colored road networks ? this is particularly evident in the northern (lower left) and southern (upper right) portions of the city. Numerous park areas are visible as green patches interspersed within the red-tile roofed urban region. A region of cultivated fields in the western portion of the city (center) is a recreational farming area known as the Ataturk Forest Farm and Zoo ? an interesting example of intentional preservation of a former land use within an urban area.