The Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket containing NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) is seen outside the cleanroom after assembly at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Sept 19, 2019. ICON launched on the Pegasus XL rocket, attached beneath the company's L-1011 Stargazer aircraft, on Oct. 10, 2019, after takeoff from the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
Pegasus ICON Outside of Cleanroom
This movie shows rehearsal of the initial processing of the sample return capsule when it is taken to a temporary cleanroom at Utah Test and  Training Range.
Rehearsal: Sample Canister in Cleanroom Animation
The main structural body of the second flight test vehicle in NASA Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator LDSD project is seen during its assembly in a cleanroom at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
LDSD Flight Test Vehicle 2 in Cleanroom
A rare view of the James Webb Space Telescope face-on, from the NASA Goddard cleanroom observation window.
James Webb Space Telescope Revealed
The Ocean Color Instrument (OCI) team transports the instrument on its dolly to a cleanroom at Goddard Space Flight Center for final operations prior to integration to the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) spacecraft. OCI is a highly advanced optical spectrometer that will be used to measure properties of light over portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. It will enable continuous measurement of light at finer wavelength resolution than previous NASA satellite sensors, extending key system ocean color data records for climate studies. OCI is PACE's primary sensor built at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD.
OCI Transportation to Goddard Cleanroom
OSAM-1 spacecraft sits, almost completely assembled, in the cleanroom during integration at Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt Md., Aug 28, 2024. This photo has been reviewed by Maxar, OSAM-1 project management, and the Export Control Office and is released for public view. NASA/Mike Guinto
GSFC_20240828_OSAM1_054511
NASA Rover 2 equipment deck, with solar arrays partially deployed, in NASA JPL Spacecraft Assembly Facility cleanroom.
Rover 2 Assembly
In the middle of this image, three wheels are shown raised by a lift, with engineers on both sides of the wheels in the cleanroom, where NASA Curiosity rover is being assembled.
New Wheels
MMS Four Separate – View of all four spacecraft in the MMS Cleanroom getting prepared for stacking operations.   Learn more about MMS at <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mms" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/mms</a>   Credit NASA/Chris Gunn  The Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, will study how the sun and the Earth's magnetic fields connect and disconnect, an explosive process that can accelerate particles through space to nearly the speed of light. This process is called magnetic reconnection and can occur throughout all space.   <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS)
MMS Four Separate – View of all four spacecraft in the MMS Cleanroom getting prepared for stacking operations.   Learn more about MMS at <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mms" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/mms</a>   Credit NASA/Chris Gunn  The Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, will study how the sun and the Earth's magnetic fields connect and disconnect, an explosive process that can accelerate particles through space to nearly the speed of light. This process is called magnetic reconnection and can occur throughout all space.   <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS)
This image was taken in the cleanroom where NASA Curiosity rover is being assembled. It shows the rover, which is about the size of an SUV, hoisted on a white lift, with its black wheels suspended in the air.
Wheels Spinning
This wide-angle view shows the High Bay 1 cleanroom inside the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Specialists are working on components of NASA Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft.
Working on Curiosity in JPL Spacecraft Assembly Facility
Lockheed Martin Space Systems engineer Terry Kampmann left and lead technician Jack Farmerie work on assembly and test of NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft bus in a cleanroom at the company Denver facility.
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Taking Shape
Assembly began April 1, 2010, for NASA Juno spacecraft in the high-bay cleanroom at Lockheed Martin in Denver, Colo. Workers are moving the radiation vault above a mock-up of the upper part of the spacecraft main body.
Juno Taking Shape
This image of the flight model of NASA's Mars Helicopter was taken on Feb. 14, 2019, in a cleanroom at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The aluminum base plate, side posts, and crossbeam around the helicopter protect the helicopter's landing legs and the attachment points that will hold it to the belly of the Mars 2020 rover.  https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23151
Portrait of NASA's Mars Helicopter
The ESA (European Space Agency) Euclid telescope, with contributions from NASA, is shown here on Friday 23 June, being secured to the adaptor of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket before launch. Black solar panels line the right side of the spacecraft. The telescope will view the cosmos through the top of the white cylinder that sits above the spacecraft's instruments.  https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25783
Euclid Spacecraft in Cleanroom
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden listens to Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Mission Project Manager Craig Tooley talk about the MMS mission outside of a Naval Research Laboratory cleanroom where one of four Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft is currently undergoing testing, Monday, August 4, 2014, in Washington. The Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, mission will study the mystery of how magnetic fields around Earth connect and disconnect, explosively releasing energy via a process known as magnetic reconnection. The four identical spacecraft are scheduled to launch in 2015 from Cape Canaveral and will orbit around Earth in varying formations through the dynamic magnetic system surrounding our planet to provide the first three-dimensional views of the magnetic reconnection process. The goal of the STP Program is to understand the fundamental physical processes of the space environment from the sun to Earth, other planets, and the extremes of the solar system boundary. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
MMS at NRL
A photograph showing what all four Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft look like when stacked is seen taped to the window of a Naval Research Laboratory cleanroom where one of the four spacecraft is undergoing testing, Monday, August 4, 2014, in Washington. The Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, mission will study the mystery of how magnetic fields around Earth connect and disconnect, explosively releasing energy via a process known as magnetic reconnection. The four identical spacecraft are scheduled to launch in 2015 from Cape Canaveral and will orbit around Earth in varying formations through the dynamic magnetic system surrounding our planet to provide the first three-dimensional views of the magnetic reconnection process. The goal of the STP Program is to understand the fundamental physical processes of the space environment from the sun to Earth, other planets, and the extremes of the solar system boundary. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
MMS at NRL
Engineers work on one of four Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft in a cleanroom at the Naval Research Lab, Monday, August 4, 2014, in Washington. The Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, mission will study the mystery of how magnetic fields around Earth connect and disconnect, explosively releasing energy via a process known as magnetic reconnection. The four identical spacecraft are scheduled to launch in 2015 from Cape Canaveral and will orbit around Earth in varying formations through the dynamic magnetic system surrounding our planet to provide the first three-dimensional views of the magnetic reconnection process. The goal of the STP Program is to understand the fundamental physical processes of the space environment from the sun to Earth, other planets, and the extremes of the solar system boundary. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
MMS at NRL
One of four Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft, in the background, is seen in a cleanroom at the Naval Research Lab’s, Naval Center for Space Technology, Monday, August 4, 2014, in Washington. The Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, mission will study the mystery of how magnetic fields around Earth connect and disconnect, explosively releasing energy via a process known as magnetic reconnection. The four identical spacecraft are scheduled to launch in 2015 from Cape Canaveral and will orbit around Earth in varying formations through the dynamic magnetic system surrounding our planet to provide the first three-dimensional views of the magnetic reconnection process. The goal of the STP Program is to understand the fundamental physical processes of the space environment from the sun to Earth, other planets, and the extremes of the solar system boundary. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
MMS at NRL
One of four Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft, in the background, is seen in a cleanroom at the Naval Research Lab’s, Naval Center for Space Technology, Monday, August 4, 2014, in Washington. The Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, mission will study the mystery of how magnetic fields around Earth connect and disconnect, explosively releasing energy via a process known as magnetic reconnection. The four identical spacecraft are scheduled to launch in 2015 from Cape Canaveral and will orbit around Earth in varying formations through the dynamic magnetic system surrounding our planet to provide the first three-dimensional views of the magnetic reconnection process. The goal of the STP Program is to understand the fundamental physical processes of the space environment from the sun to Earth, other planets, and the extremes of the solar system boundary. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
MMS at NRL
PEGASUS NUSTAR, Fairing Halves and Starboard Fairing Move to Cleanroom
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PEGASUS NUSTAR, Fairing Halves and Starboard Fairing Move to Cleanroom
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Contamination control technician Sydnie Heiman inspects one of OSAM-1's radiator panels inside the cleanroom at Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt Md., July 10, 2023. This photo has been reviewed by OSAM1 project management and the Export Control Office and is released for public view. NASA/Mike Guinto
GSFC_20230710_OSAM1_004201
Joel Steinkraus, MarCO lead mechanical engineer from JPL, makes an adjustment on the CubeSat prior to integration in a deployment box as seen inside the cleanroom lab at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on Monday, March 12, 2018.  https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22321
Preparing MarCO
A rare view of the James Webb Space Telescope face-on, from the NASA Goddard cleanroom observation window.
James Webb Space Telescope Revealed
A rare view of the James Webb Space Telescope face-on, from the NASA Goddard cleanroom observation window.
James Webb Space Telescope Revealed
A rare view of the James Webb Space Telescope face-on, from the NASA Goddard cleanroom observation window.
James Webb Space Telescope Revealed
A rare view of the James Webb Space Telescope face-on, from the NASA Goddard cleanroom observation window.
James Webb Space Telescope Revealed
A rare view of the James Webb Space Telescope face-on, from the NASA Goddard cleanroom observation window.
James Webb Space Telescope Revealed
A rare view of the James Webb Space Telescope face-on, from the NASA Goddard cleanroom observation window.
James Webb Space Telescope Revealed
A rare view of the James Webb Space Telescope face-on, from the NASA Goddard cleanroom observation window.
James Webb Space Telescope Revealed
A rare view of the James Webb Space Telescope face-on, from the NASA Goddard cleanroom observation window.
James Webb Space Telescope Revealed
A rare view of the James Webb Space Telescope face-on, from the NASA Goddard cleanroom observation window.  Credit: NASA/Goddard/Rebecca Roth
James Webb Space Telescope Revealed
Three primary Webb telescope mirror segments sit in shipping cannisters and await opening. A mechanical integration engineer and technicians vent and prepare the mirror canisters for inspection. The mirrors have arrived at their new home at NASA, where they will be residing at the giant cleanroom at Goddard for a while as technicians check them out. Previously on Sept. 17, 2012, two other primary mirror segments arrived at Goddard and are currently being stored in the center's giant clean room.   Credit: NASA/Desiree Stover  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
NASA Now Has Half of all Webb Telescope's Primary Flight Mirrors
NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) is moved to a clean room on May 4, 2018, inside Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The explorer will launch on June 15, 2018, from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands (June 14 in the continental United States) on Orbital ATK's Pegasus XL rocket, which is attached to the company's L-1011 Stargazer aircraft. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
Pegasus ICON Spacecraft Move Into Cleanroom
This archival photo shows the Voyager Proof Test Model (in the foreground right of center) undergoing a mechanical preparation and weight center of gravity test at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, on January 12, 1977.   https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21476
Voyager Proof Test Model and Cleanroom
Technicians prepare NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) for its move to a clean room on May 4, 2018, inside Building 1555 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The explorer will launch on June 15, 2018, from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands (June 14 in the continental United States) on Orbital ATK's Pegasus XL rocket, which is attached to the company's L-1011 Stargazer aircraft. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. The explorer will help determine the physics of Earth's space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.
Pegasus ICON Spacecraft Move Into Cleanroom
One of the MarCO CubeSats inside a cleanroom at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, before being placed into its deployment box. The deployment box will eject the briefcase-sized CubeSat into space after launch. It and its twin will accompany the InSight Mars lander when it lifts off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in May.  https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22322
MarCO and Dispenser
The Crew Dragon spacecraft that will be used for the Crew-1 mission for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program undergoes processing inside the clean room at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. The Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station is targeted for later in 2020 with NASA Astronauts Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins, Shannon Walker and JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi.
SpaceX Crew-1 Dragon Photos
The Crew Dragon spacecraft that will be used for the Crew-1 mission for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program undergoes processing inside the clean room at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. The Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station is targeted for later in 2020 with NASA Astronauts Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins, Shannon Walker and JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi.
SpaceX Crew-1 Dragon Photos
jsc2024e044856 (July 1, 2024) -- Two engineers in cleanroom suits work on the Power and Propulsion Element at Maxar Space Systems in Palo Alto, California. Photo Credit: Maxar Space Systems
Gateway: Energizing Exploration
Dressed in a cleanroom suit to prevent contamination, Optics Technician Jeff Gum aligns a replacement Focal Plane Assembly (FPA) with a powerful three-dimensional microscope at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. This FPA will be installed on the Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) instrument, which has unique components that are individually tailored to see in a particular infrared wavelength range. By using the microscope, Gum ensures the FPA detectors are characterized and ready for installation onto NIRCam, the James Webb Space Telescope's primary imager that will see the light from the earliest stars and galaxies that formed in the universe.  Credit: NASA/Goddard/Chris Gunn  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
Webb Instruments Perfected to Microscopic Levels
Curation teams process the sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission in a cleanroom, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber)
OSIRIS-REx Sample Return
Manufacturing Engineer, Roman Nilov transports the Ocean Color Instrument flight Collimator Slit Assembly for inspection in the cleanroom at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD on July 6th, 2021.  Photographer: Denny Henry – Goddard Space Flight Center
GSFC_20210706_PACE_71773
Curation teams process the sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission in a cleanroom, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber)
OSIRIS-REx Sample Return
Portrait of Jannatul Ferdous, OSIRIS-REx astromaterials processor from the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) division at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Ferdous is seen in front of the OSIRIS-REx cleanroom at Johnson. Credit: NASA/James Blair
Portrait of Jannatul Ferdous, OSIRIS-REx astromaterials processor -- jsc2023e048761
Curation teams process the sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission in a cleanroom, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber)
OSIRIS-REx Sample Return
Curation teams process the sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission in a cleanroom, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber)
OSIRIS-REx Sample Return
Portrait of Rachel Funk, OSIRIS-REx astromaterials processor from the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) division at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Funk is seen in front of the OSIRIS-REx cleanroom at Johnson. Credit: NASA/James Blair
Portrait of Rachel Funk, OSIRIS-REx astromaterials processor -- jsc2023e048754
The sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission is transferred to a cleanroom, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber)
OSIRIS-REx Sample Return
Portrait of Julia Plummer, OSIRIS-REx astromaterials processor from the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) division at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Plummer is seen in front of the OSIRIS-REx cleanroom at Johnson. Credit: NASA/James Blair
Portrait of Julia Plummer, OSIRIS-REx astromaterials processor -- jsc2023e048758
Curation teams process the sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission in a cleanroom, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber)
OSIRIS-REx Sample Return
Nobel Laureate and James Webb Space Telescope project scientist Dr. John Mather takes a selfie with the telescope. May 4, 2016 was a rare day for JWST, as it briefly faced the cleanroom observation window. The telescope was eventually rotated face-down in prep for the installation of the flight instruments.   Credit: Meredith Gibb
Dr. John Mather and the James Webb Space Telescope
An engineer inspects the radio frequency (RF) panel of NASA's Europa Clipper in a cleanroom at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. The RF panel hosts all the RF subsystem electronics and an intricate routing network of switches, filters, and waveguides, which carry the RF signal to and from eight antennas distributed around the spacecraft.  With an internal global ocean under a thick layer of ice, Jupiter's moon Europa may have the potential to harbor existing life. Europa Clipper will swoop around Jupiter in an elliptical orbit, dipping close to the moon on each flyby to collect data. Understanding Europa's habitability will help scientists better understand how life developed on Earth and the potential for finding life beyond our planet. Europa Clipper is set to launch in 2024.  https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24898
Examining the Radio Frequency Panel of NASA's Europa Clipper
The sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission is seen en route to the cleanroom, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, shortly after the capsule landed at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber)
OSIRIS-REx Sample Return
With the backshell that will help protect the Mars 2020 rover during its descent into the Martian atmosphere visible in the foreground, a technician on the project monitors the progress of Systems Test 1. Over two weeks in January 2019, 72 engineers and technicians assigned to the 2020 mission took over the High Bay 1 cleanroom in JPL's Spacecraft Assembly Facility to put the software and electrical systems aboard the mission's cruise, entry capsule, descent stage and rover through their paces.  https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22966
Lonely Vigil
Technicians working Mars 2020's System's Test 1 approach their workstation in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. Over two weeks in January 2019, 72 engineers and technicians assigned to the 2020 mission took over the High Bay 1 cleanroom in JPL's Spacecraft Assembly Facility to put the software and electrical systems aboard the mission's cruise, entry capsule, descent stage and rover through their paces.  https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23097
Mars 2020 System Test 1
On Scene Commander of Recovery Jasmine Nakayama attaches the sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission to a helicopter for transport to the cleanroom, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, shortly after the capsule landed at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber
OSIRIS-REx Sample Return
OSIRIS-REx curator Nicole Lunning, left, and deputy curator Christopher Snead stand inside the OSIRIS-REx cleanroom at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Immediately behind them is the Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) head glovebox in which the Astromaterials Research and Exploration (ARES) curation engineers and astromaterials processors carefully disassembled the TAGSAM head to collect the asteroid material from within. Credit: NASA/James Blair
OSIRIS-REx curators - jsc2023e048808
Inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, members of the news media get a close-up view of a Cygnus cargo vessel. The spacecraft is scheduled for the upcoming Orbital ATK Commercial Resupply Services-6 mission to deliver hardware and supplies to the International Space Station. Reporters, technicians and engineers are clad in "bunny suits." The cleanroom garments are worn to prevent contamination in the controlled environment. The Cygnus is scheduled to lift off atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on March 22.
Cygnus Orbital ATK OA-6 Press Opportunity
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At the Space Station Processing Facility, STS-114 Mission Specialist Stephen Robinson (center), dressed in cleanroom attire, participates in familiarization activities on equipment that will fly on the STS-114 mission, as support personnel look on.  STS-114 is a utilization and logistics flight that will carry Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello and the External Stowage Platform (ESP-2), as well as the Expedition 7 crew, to the International Space Station. Launch of STS-114 is currently targeted for March 1, 2003.
KSC-02pd1845
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - At the Space Station Processing Facility, STS-114 Commander Eileen Collins (left) and Mission Specialist Stephen Robinson (right), dressed in cleanroom attire, participate in familiarization activities on equipment that will fly on the STS-114 mission, as support personnel look on.  STS-114 is a utilization and logistics flight that will carry Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello and the External Stowage Platform (ESP-2), as well as the Expedition 7 crew, to the International Space Station. Launch of STS-114 is currently targeted for March 1, 2003.
KSC-02pd1846
Members of NASA’s Psyche team are photographed with the spacecraft by media inside a cleanroom the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 11, 2023. Psyche will launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy to explore a metal-rich asteroid. Launch is targeted for Oct. 5, 2023. Riding with Psyche is a pioneering technology demonstration, NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment.
Psyche Media Day
On Scene Commander of Recovery Jasmine Nakayama attaches the sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission to a helicopter for transport to the cleanroom, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, shortly after the capsule landed at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber
OSIRIS-REx Sample Return
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft is made available to media for viewing inside a cleanroom at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 11, 2023. Psyche will launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy to explore a metal-rich asteroid. Launch is targeted for Oct. 5, 2023. Riding with Psyche is a pioneering technology demonstration, NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment.
Psyche Media Day
jsc2023e064873 (8/8/2023) --- The NASA ILLUMA-T team in the Goddard Space Flight Center cleanroom in front of the payload. ILLUMA-T demonstrates two different data transfer speeds from low Earth orbit to the ground via a relay link. The links can be used to stream real-time data or for large bulk data transfers.
ILLUMA-T Investigation Preflight Imagery
Portrait of Nicole Lunning, OSIRIS-REx sample curator within the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) division of NASA Johnson Space Center. Lunning is seen in front of the OSIRIS-REx cleanroom at Johnson. NASA’s OSIRIS-REx, the first U.S. mission to collect a sample from an asteroid, delivered rocks and dust from asteroid Bennu to Earth on Sept. 24, 2023.
Portrait of Nicole Lunning, OSIRIS-REx sample curator -- jsc2023e048789
The sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission is lowered into the parking lot in front of the cleanroom hangar by helicopter, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, shortly after the capsule landed at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber)
OSIRIS-REx Sample Return
Athela Frandsen, an aerospace technologist with Kennedy Space Center’s analytical laboratories, presents her proposal concerning proactive approaches to cleanroom contamination to representatives from programs across Kennedy during the “Innovation Without Boundaries” event held inside the Space Station Processing Facility in Florida on June 14, 2019. A number of Kennedy employees presented their proposals as part of the Chief Technologist Innovation Call. The event sought out ideas based on relevance, benefit, innovativeness, likelihood of success and sustainability.
Photos for Innovations Without Boundaries 2019
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft is made available to media for viewing inside a cleanroom at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 11, 2023. Psyche will launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy to explore a metal-rich asteroid. Launch is targeted for Oct. 5, 2023. Riding with Psyche is a pioneering technology demonstration, NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment.
Psyche Media Day
Members of the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Flight Operations team are seen operating a helicopter as the sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission is is en route to the cleanroom, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, shortly after the capsule landed at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber)
OSIRIS-REx Sample Return
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft is made available to media for viewing inside a cleanroom at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 11, 2023. Psyche will launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy to explore a metal-rich asteroid. Launch is targeted for Oct. 5, 2023. Riding with Psyche is a pioneering technology demonstration, NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment.
Psyche Media Day
Inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a Cygnus cargo spacecraft is being prepared for the upcoming Orbital ATK Commercial Resupply Services-6 mission to deliver hardware and supplies to the International Space Station. Technicians and engineers are clad in "bunny suits." The cleanroom garments are worn to prevent contamination in the controlled environment. The Cygnus is scheduled to lift off atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on March 22.
Cygnus Orbital ATK OA-6 Press Opportunity
Inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, members of the news media get a close-up view of a Cygnus cargo vessel. The spacecraft is scheduled for the upcoming Orbital ATK Commercial Resupply Services-6 mission to deliver hardware and supplies to the International Space Station. Reporters, technicians and engineers are clad in "bunny suits." The cleanroom garments are worn to prevent contamination in the controlled environment. The Cygnus is scheduled to lift off atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on March 22.
Cygnus Orbital ATK OA-6 Press Opportunity
The sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission is seen en route to the cleanroom, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, shortly after the capsule landed at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber)
OSIRIS-REx Sample Return
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft is made available to media for viewing inside a cleanroom at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 11, 2023. Psyche will launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy to explore a metal-rich asteroid. Launch is targeted for Oct. 5, 2023. Riding with Psyche is a pioneering technology demonstration, NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment.
Psyche Media Day
On Scene Commander of Recovery Jasmine Nakayama attaches the sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission to a helicopter for transport to the cleanroom, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, shortly after the capsule landed at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber
OSIRIS-REx Sample Return
The sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission is seen en route to the cleanroom, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, shortly after the capsule landed at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber)
OSIRIS-REx Sample Return
Inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, members of the news media get a close-up view of a Cygnus cargo vessel. The spacecraft is scheduled for the upcoming Orbital ATK Commercial Resupply Services-6 mission to deliver hardware and supplies to the International Space Station. Reporters, technicians and engineers are clad in "bunny suits." The cleanroom garments are worn to prevent contamination in the controlled environment. The Cygnus is scheduled to lift off atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on March 22.
Cygnus Orbital ATK OA-6 Press Opportunity
The sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission is lowered into the parking lot in front of the cleanroom hangar by helicopter, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, shortly after the capsule landed at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber)
OSIRIS-REx Sample Return
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft is made available to media for viewing inside a cleanroom at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 11, 2023. Psyche will launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy to explore a metal-rich asteroid. Launch is targeted for Oct. 5, 2023. Riding with Psyche is a pioneering technology demonstration, NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment.
Psyche Media Day
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft is made available to media for viewing inside a cleanroom at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 11, 2023. Psyche will launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy to explore a metal-rich asteroid. Launch is targeted for Oct. 5, 2023. Riding with Psyche is a pioneering technology demonstration, NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment.
Psyche Media Day
Recovery team members prepare the sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission for transport to the cleanroom, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, shortly after the capsule landed at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber)
OSIRIS-REx Sample Return
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft is made available to media for viewing inside a cleanroom at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 11, 2023. Psyche will launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy to explore a metal-rich asteroid. Launch is targeted for Oct. 5, 2023. Riding with Psyche is a pioneering technology demonstration, NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment.
Psyche Media Day
S89-25281 (8 Oct 1988) --- The Magellan spacecraft is hoisted from the transport trailer of the Payload Environmental Transportation System (PETS) to the floor of the cleanroom in the SAEF-2  planetary checkout facility at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC).  The spacecraft, destined for unprecedented studies of Venusian topographic features, is to be deployed by the crew of NASA's STS-30 mission in April 1989.
STS-30 Magellan spacecraft processing at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) SAEF-2
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft is made available to media for viewing inside a cleanroom at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 11, 2023. Psyche will launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy to explore a metal-rich asteroid. Launch is targeted for Oct. 5, 2023. Riding with Psyche is a pioneering technology demonstration, NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment.
Psyche Media Day
Psyche Project Manager Henry Stone, of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is photographed with the spacecraft by media inside a cleanroom at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 11, 2023. Psyche will launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy to explore a metal-rich asteroid. Launch is targeted for Oct. 5, 2023. Riding with Psyche is a pioneering technology demonstration, NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment.
Psyche Media Day
Technicians transfer the Sentinel-6B spacecraft from the NASA hangar to the Astrotech Space Operations payload processing facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025. Sentinel-6B will undergo detailed inspections, tests, and fueling in a cleanroom as it prepares for a November launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The spacecraft is designed to measure sea levels down to roughly an inch for about 90% of the world’s oceans. Sentinel-6B also will extend the record of atmospheric temperatures, begun by Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, out to a decade.
Sentinel-6B Spacecraft Mated to Work Stand
MMS Spacecraft Animation  The Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission is a Solar Terrestrial Probes mission comprising four identically instrumented spacecraft that will use Earth's magnetosphere as a laboratory to study the microphysics of three fundamental plasma processes: magnetic reconnection, energetic particle acceleration, and turbulence. These processes occur in all astrophysical plasma systems but can be studied in situ only in our solar system and most efficiently only in Earth's magnetosphere, where they control the dynamics of the geospace environment and play an important role in the processes known as &quot;space weather.&quot;  Learn more about MMS at <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mms" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/mms</a>   Learn more about MMS at <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mms" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/mms</a>   Credit NASA/Goddard  The Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, will study how the sun and the Earth's magnetic fields connect and disconnect, an explosive process that can accelerate particles through space to nearly the speed of light. This process is called magnetic reconnection and can occur throughout all space.   <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) [video]
MMS Stacked – View of the fully stacked MMS prior to being bagged for vibration tests.  Learn more about MMS at <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mms" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/mms</a>   Credit NASA/Chris Gunn  The Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, will study how the sun and the Earth's magnetic fields connect and disconnect, an explosive process that can accelerate particles through space to nearly the speed of light. This process is called magnetic reconnection and can occur throughout all space.   <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS)
MMS Spacecraft Animation  The Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission is a Solar Terrestrial Probes mission comprising four identically instrumented spacecraft that will use Earth's magnetosphere as a laboratory to study the microphysics of three fundamental plasma processes: magnetic reconnection, energetic particle acceleration, and turbulence. These processes occur in all astrophysical plasma systems but can be studied in situ only in our solar system and most efficiently only in Earth's magnetosphere, where they control the dynamics of the geospace environment and play an important role in the processes known as &quot;space weather.&quot;  Learn more about MMS at <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mms" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/mms</a>   Learn more about MMS at <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mms" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/mms</a>   Credit NASA/Chris Gunn  The Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, will study how the sun and the Earth's magnetic fields connect and disconnect, an explosive process that can accelerate particles through space to nearly the speed of light. This process is called magnetic reconnection and can occur throughout all space.   <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS)
Observatory #1 is shown here on the Ransome table, tilted in a vertical position to provide better access for the engineers and technicians.  Learn more about MMS at <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mms" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/mms</a>   Credit NASA/Goddard  The Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, will study how the sun and the Earth's magnetic fields connect and disconnect, an explosive process that can accelerate particles through space to nearly the speed of light. This process is called magnetic reconnection and can occur throughout all space.   <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS)
Electrical technicians work diligently to build the connector harnessing for the Command and Data Handling (C&amp;DH) unit, (black box with two red handles) that is installed on spacecraft Deck for MMS #4.  Learn more about MMS at <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mms" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/mms</a>   Credit NASA/Goddard  The Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, will study how the sun and the Earth's magnetic fields connect and disconnect, an explosive process that can accelerate particles through space to nearly the speed of light. This process is called magnetic reconnection and can occur throughout all space.   <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS)
Propulsion engineer measures the flight filters during the receiving inspection.  Learn more about MMS at <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mms" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/mms</a>   Credit NASA/Goddard  The Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, will study how the sun and the Earth's magnetic fields connect and disconnect, an explosive process that can accelerate particles through space to nearly the speed of light. This process is called magnetic reconnection and can occur throughout all space.   <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b>  <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.  <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b>  <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b>  <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>
Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS)
NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) spacecraft is pictured during pre-launch processing on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024, inside a cleanroom at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA invited members of the media to speak with mission subject matter experts and view the spacecraft before it is encapsulated into its payload fairing for its launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket no earlier than Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
PACE Media Day
The Ocean Color Instrument (OCI) is configured for vibration testing. OCI is bagged with Dun-Shield to protect the instrument from contamination outside of a cleanroom environment, and also provides protection from static electricity.   OCI is a highly advanced optical spectrometer that will be used to measure properties of light over portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. It will enable continuous measurement of light at finer wavelength resolution than previous NASA satellite sensors, extending key system ocean color data records for climate studies. OCI is PACE's (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) primary sensor built at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD.
OCI in Vibration Testing
The Ocean Color Instrument (OCI) is integrated on the Tilt Mechanism prior to environmental testing in the Spacecraft Checkout Area (SCA) cleanroom. The OCI Tilt will help the instrument avoid sun glint in a space environment.  OCI is a highly advanced optical spectrometer that will be used to measure properties of light over portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. It will enable continuous measurement of light at finer wavelength resolution than previous NASA satellite sensors, extending key system ocean color data records for climate studies. OCI is PACE's (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) primary sensor built at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD.
OCI on the Tilt Mechanism
NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) spacecraft is pictured during pre-launch processing on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024, inside a cleanroom at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA invited members of the media to speak with mission subject matter experts and view the spacecraft before it is encapsulated into its payload fairing for its launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket no earlier than Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
PACE Media Day