These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface. During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544

These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface. During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544

These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface. During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544

These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface. During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544

These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface. During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544

These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface. During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544

These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface. During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544

These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface. During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544

These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface. During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544

These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface. During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544

These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface. During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544

These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface. During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544

These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface. During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544

These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface. During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544

These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface. During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544

These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface. During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544

These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface. During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544

These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface. During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544

These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface. During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544

These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface. During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544

These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface. During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544

These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface. During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544

These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface. During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544

These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface. During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544

These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface. During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544

These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface. During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544

These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface. During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544

This radar image of the Washington, D.C. area demonstrates the capability of imaging radar as a useful tool for urban planners and managers to map and monitor land use patterns.

This spaceborne radar image of Belgrade, Serbia, illustrates the variety of land use patterns that can be observed with a multiple wavelength radar system.

These views from NASA Terra satellite highlight a number of the land use, vegetation, and geological features found Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa.

Australia capital city, Canberra, is shown in the center of this spaceborne radar image. Images like this can help urban planners assess land use patterns.

This animated GIF shows a successful test of the parachute that will be used to land NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars. The images were taken on Sept. 7, 2018, during the third and final flight of the Advanced Supersonic Parachute Inflation Research Experiment (ASPIRE) project. Movie available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23890

The southwestern border of Brunei with Sarawak, Malaysia is strikingly apparent due to differences in land use practice. On the Malaysian side, a spider web of small roads indicates intensive land use: in this case clearing of the forest for palm oil plantations. On the Brunei side, the virgin forest is preserved, with few if any roads cutting through the forest. The image was acquired September 10, 2012, covers an area of 38 by 38 km, and is located at 4.2 degrees north, 114.4 degrees east. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22034

NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter using the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment HiRISE camera to take a picture of the Phoenix lander roughly 22 hours after landing.

This test for the radar system to be used during the August 2012 descent and landing of NASA Mars rover Curiosity mounted an engineering test model of the radar system onto the nose of a helicopter.

NASA Phoenix Mars Lander used its Robotic Arm during the mission 15th Martian day since landing June 9, 2008 to test a prinkle method for delivering small samples of soil to instruments on the lander deck.

This radar image of Lisbon, Portugal illustrates the different land use patterns that are present in coastal Portugal. Lisbon, the national capital, lies on the north bank of the Rio Tejo where the river enters the Atlantic Ocean.

NASA Surveyor 1 spacecraft sitting silently on Oceanus Procellarum, the first US spacecraft to land on another planet on June 2, 1966 in this image taken by NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

This image of the river-delineated border between western Brazil Acre province, and northwestern Bolivia Pando Department, demarcates a remarkable difference in land use and development practices as seen by NASA Terra spacecraft.

This multi-frequency space radar image of a tropical rainforest in western Brazil shows rapidly changing land use patterns and it also demonstrates the capability of the different radar frequencies to detect and penetrate heavy rainstorms.

This image is from a test series used to chacterize the 100-millimeter Mast Camera on NASA Curiosity rover. It was taken on Aug. 23, 2012, and looks south-southwest from the rover landing site.

This spaceborne radar image of Munich, Germany illustrates the capability of a multi-frequency radar system to highlight different land use patterns in the area surrounding Bavaria largest city.

In this video, images from NASA's Mars Ingenuity Helicopter's Flight 9, which took place on July 5, 2021, have been post-processed using the helicopter's hazard avoidance capability, which was added via a software update to the helicopter in late 2022. The update provides two key improvements: It identifies areas unsuitable for landing (shaded in red) as well as candidate landing sites (shown in green). The algorithm also enables the use of digital elevation maps to help navigate. Movie available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25662

This EREP photograph of the Uncompahgre Plateau area of Colorado illustrates the land use classification using the hierarchical numbering system to depict land forms and vegetative patterns. The numerator is a three-digit number with decimal components identifying the vegetation analog or land use conditions. The denominator uses a three-component decimal system for landscape characterization.

The large field patterns in this view of the Rio Sao Francisco basin, Brazil, South America, (11.5S, 43.5W) indicate a commercial agriculture venture; family subsistence farms are much smaller and laid out in different patterns. Land clearing in Brazil has increased at an alarming rate in recent years and preliminary estimates suggest a 25 to 30% increase in deforestation since 1984. The long term impact on the ecological processes are still unknown.

This animation, constructed using stereo imaging data from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, provides an airborne perspective of the Mars 2020 landing site and its exploration area at Jezero Crater. Mars 2020 is expected to land to the southeast of an ancient river delta, a fan-shaped feature inside the northeast rim of Jezero Crater that provides solid evidence of a river and lake system active in and around the crater billions of years ago. The solid white line on the surface indicates a path the rover could take during its prime mission. Animation available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22905

Dramatic differences in land use patterns are highlighted in this image of the U.S.-Mexico border. Lush, regularly gridded agricultural fields on the U.S. side contrast with the more barren fields of Mexico. This June 12, 2000, sub-scene combines visible and near infrared bands, displaying vegetation in red. The town of Mexicali-Calexico spans the border in the middle of the image; El Centro, California, is in the upper left. Watered by canals fed from the Colorado River, California's Imperial Valley is one of the country's major fruit and vegetable producers. This image covers an area 24 kilometers (15 miles) wide and 30 kilometers (19 miles) long in three bands of the reflected visible and infrared wavelength region. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA02659

This rendering was created by research drones flying over Mars Hill, a region of Death Valley National Park that has been used by NASA’s Mars researchers since the 1970s, when the agency was preparing to land the twin Viking spacecraft. The hill’s rubbly, volcanic rock resembles the kind of inhospitable terrain that Mars rovers must navigate around and which posed a landing hazard for the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter. In September 2025, researchers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California flew research drones over Mars Hill as part of a test campaign to develop navigation software for future Mars rotorcraft. Being able to precisely land between rocks like those seen here is a critical capability to access similar Martian terrain in the future.

NASA's Perseverance rover was able to use its new Terrain-Relative Navigation technology to avoid hazards and find a safe place to land in Jezero Crater on Mars. In this graphic, the blue areas are considered safe zones and red are considered more dangerous. Perseverance's landing spot is marked with a green dot. A version with an arrow makes the landing site easier to see. 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). 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. The Mars 2020 mission is part of a larger program that includes missions to the Moon as a way to prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23970

As landing technology improves and these landing ellipses shrink, missions can aim for more precise landings, opening up new areas of Mars to explore. Perseverance takes it two steps further than previous missions. First, it uses a new algorithm to time its parachute deployment based on distance to its target rather than vehicle velocity. This shrinks the landing ellipse to 4.8 miles by 4.1 miles (7.7 kilometers by 6.6 kilometers). Second, the rover uses maps stored in its memory to avoid landing hazards within that smaller ellipse during its propulsive descent phase. This allows Perseverance to target safe landing locations within Jezero Crater. The rover is set to land on Feb. 18, 2021. Improvements in interplanetary navigation tightened the landing ellipse of Mars Pathfinder in comparison with missions before it. It landed by bouncing on the surface with airbags, and has the largest ellipse in this image, measuring 124.3 miles by 43.5 miles (200 by 70 kilometers). The Phoenix and InSight landers used retrorockets to land on three legs, but still had large possible landing areas about 80.8 miles (130 kilometers) long. In 2012, the Curiosity team developed guided entry technology, shrinking its landing ellipse further. The spacecraft used small rockets to steer itself through the atmosphere as it headed toward Gale Crater. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24349

Scientists are using this radar image of the area surrounding Sunbury, Pennsylvania to study the geologic structure and land use patterns in the Appalachian Valley and Ridge province. This image was collected on October 6, 1994 by the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/ X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) on orbit 102 of the space shuttle Endeavour. The image is centered on latitude 40.85 degrees North latitude and 76.79 degrees West longitude. The area shown is approximately 30.5 km by 38 km. (19 miles by 24 miles). North is towards the upper right of the image. The Valley and Ridge province occurs in the north-central Appalachians, primarily in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. It is an area of adjacent valleys and ridges that formed when the Appalachian mountain were created some 370 to 390 million years ago. During the continental collision that formed the Appalachians, the rocks in this area were pushed from the side and buckled much like a rug when pushed from one end. Subsequent erosion has produced the landscape we see in this image. The more resistant rocks, such as sandstone, form the tops of the ridges which appear as forested greenish areas on this image. The less resistant rocks, such as limestone, form the lower valleys which are cleared land and farm fields and are purple in this image. Smaller rivers and streams in the area flow along the valleys and in places cut across the ridges in "water gaps." In addition to defining the geography of this region, the Valley and Ridge province also provides this area with natural resources. The valleys provide fertile farmland and the folded mountains form natural traps for oil and gas accumulation; coal deposits are also found in the mountains. The colors in the image are assigned to different frequencies and polarizations of the SIR-C radar as follows: red is L-band horizontally transmitted, horizontally received; green is L-band horizontally transmitted, vertically received; blue is C-band horizontally transmitted, horizontally received. The river junction near the top of the image is where the West Branch River flows into the Susquehanna River, which then flows to the south-southwest past the state capitol of Harrisburg, 70 km (43 miles) to the south and not visible in this image. The town of Sunbury is shown along the Susquehanna on the east just to the southeast of the junction with West Branch. Three structures that cross the Susquehanna; the northern and southern of these structures are bridges and middle structure is the Shamokin Dam which confines the Susquehanna just south of the junction with West Branch. The prominent S-shaped mountain ridge in the center of the image is, from north to south, Little Mountain (the top of the S), Line Mountain (the middle of the S), and Mahantango Mountain (the bottom of the S). http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01306

The engineering test model for the radar system that will be used during the next landing on Mars is shown here mounted onto a helicopter nose gimbal during a May 12, 2010, test at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif.

This image from NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows wind-caused changes in the parachute of NASA Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft as the chute lay on the Martian ground during months after its use in safe landing of the Curiosity rover.

This view of Curiosity left-front and left-center wheels and of marks made by wheels on the ground in the Yellowknife Bay area comes from one of six cameras used on Mars for the first time more than six months after the rover landed.

In this photo of the M2-F1 lifting body and the Paresev 1B on the ramp, the viewer sees two vehicles representing different approaches to building a research craft to simulate a spacecraft able to land on the ground instead of splashing down in the ocean as the Mercury capsules did. The M2-F1 was a lifting body, a shape able to re-enter from orbit and land. The Paresev (Paraglider Research Vehicle) used a Rogallo wing that could be (but never was) used to replace a conventional parachute for landing a capsule-type spacecraft, allowing it to make a controlled landing on the ground.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Command Module 107 and Service Module, which are going to be used for the Apollo 11 mission, are moved from Chamber "L" to the work stand in preparation for the first manned lunar landing. Also shown in the background is the Command Module 108, which is going to be used for the Apollo 12 lunar landing mission.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A new Convoy Command Vehicle, used for Shuttle landings, is displayed. It will replace a 15-year-old vehicle. The new one is not expected to be used before mid-June, the scheduled landing of Endeavour following mission STS-111.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A new Convoy Command Vehicle, used for Shuttle landings, is displayed. It will replace a 15-year-old vehicle. The new one is not expected to be used before mid-June, the scheduled landing of Endeavour following mission STS-111.

While in the landed configuration for the last time before arriving on Mars, NASA's InSight lander was commanded to deploy its solar arrays to test and verify the exact process that it will use on the surface of the Red Planet. During the test on Jan. 23, 2018 from the Lockheed Martin clean room in Littleton, Colorado, engineers and technicians evaluated that the solar arrays fully deployed and conducted an illumination test to confirm that the solar cells were collecting power. A video is available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22203

While in the landed configuration for the last time before arriving on Mars, NASA's InSight lander was commanded to deploy its solar arrays to test and verify the exact process that it will use on the surface of the Red Planet. During the test on Jan. 23, 2018 from the Lockheed Martin clean room in Littleton, Colorado, engineers and technicians evaluated that the solar arrays fully deployed and conducted an illumination test to confirm that the solar cells were collecting power. A video is available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22202

While in the landed configuration for the last time before arriving on Mars, NASA's InSight lander was commanded to deploy its solar arrays to test and verify the exact process that it will use on the surface of the Red Planet. During the test on Jan. 23, 2018 from the Lockheed Martin clean room in Littleton, Colorado, engineers and technicians evaluated that the solar arrays fully deployed and conducted an illumination test to confirm that the solar cells were collecting power. A video is available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22201

While in the landed configuration for the last time before arriving on Mars, NASA's InSight lander was commanded to deploy its solar arrays to test and verify the exact process that it will use on the surface of the Red Planet. During the test on Jan. 23, 2018 from the Lockheed Martin clean room in Littleton, Colorado, engineers and technicians evaluated that the solar arrays fully deployed and conducted an illumination test to confirm that the solar cells were collecting power. A video is available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22200

While in the landed configuration for the last time before arriving on Mars, NASA's InSight lander was commanded to deploy its solar arrays to test and verify the exact process that it will use on the surface of the Red Planet. During the test on Jan. 23, 2018 from the Lockheed Martin clean room in Littleton, Colorado, engineers and technicians evaluated that the solar arrays fully deployed and conducted an illumination test to confirm that the solar cells were collecting power. A video is available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22204

These images show technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans removing a weld-confidence article from a robotic welding tool in December 2023. This article features pieces of a liquid hydrogen tank dome that were welded as a test to make sure the dome used for flight will be welded correctly. The dome will be part of the new, four-engine EUS (exploration upper stage) for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. EUS will be used for the Artemis IV lunar mission, replacing the single-engine interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS) used for the first three Artemis missions. The evolved in-space stage will use a combination of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellants to help power the engines to send large cargo and crew inside NASA’s Orion spacecraft to the Moon. The weld-confidence article pictured here will not be used for flight but is instead helping teams prepare and certify the procedures needed to manufacture flight hardware. NASA is working to land the first woman and person of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with the Orion spacecraft, advanced spacesuits and rovers, the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, and commercial human landing systems. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single launch.

These images show technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans removing a weld-confidence article from a robotic welding tool in December 2023. This article features pieces of a liquid hydrogen tank dome that were welded as a test to make sure the dome used for flight will be welded correctly. The dome will be part of the new, four-engine EUS (exploration upper stage) for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. EUS will be used for the Artemis IV lunar mission, replacing the single-engine interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS) used for the first three Artemis missions. The evolved in-space stage will use a combination of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellants to help power the engines to send large cargo and crew inside NASA’s Orion spacecraft to the Moon. The weld-confidence article pictured here will not be used for flight but is instead helping teams prepare and certify the procedures needed to manufacture flight hardware. NASA is working to land the first woman and person of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with the Orion spacecraft, advanced spacesuits and rovers, the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, and commercial human landing systems. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single launch.

These images show technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans removing a weld-confidence article from a robotic welding tool in December 2023. This article features pieces of a liquid hydrogen tank dome that were welded as a test to make sure the dome used for flight will be welded correctly. The dome will be part of the new, four-engine EUS (exploration upper stage) for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. EUS will be used for the Artemis IV lunar mission, replacing the single-engine interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS) used for the first three Artemis missions. The evolved in-space stage will use a combination of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellants to help power the engines to send large cargo and crew inside NASA’s Orion spacecraft to the Moon. The weld-confidence article pictured here will not be used for flight but is instead helping teams prepare and certify the procedures needed to manufacture flight hardware. NASA is working to land the first woman and person of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with the Orion spacecraft, advanced spacesuits and rovers, the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, and commercial human landing systems. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single launch.

These images show technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans removing a weld-confidence article from a robotic welding tool in December 2023. This article features pieces of a liquid hydrogen tank dome that were welded as a test to make sure the dome used for flight will be welded correctly. The dome will be part of the new, four-engine EUS (exploration upper stage) for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. EUS will be used for the Artemis IV lunar mission, replacing the single-engine interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS) used for the first three Artemis missions. The evolved in-space stage will use a combination of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellants to help power the engines to send large cargo and crew inside NASA’s Orion spacecraft to the Moon. The weld-confidence article pictured here will not be used for flight but is instead helping teams prepare and certify the procedures needed to manufacture flight hardware. NASA is working to land the first woman and person of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with the Orion spacecraft, advanced spacesuits and rovers, the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, and commercial human landing systems. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single launch.

These images show technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans removing a weld-confidence article from a robotic welding tool in December 2023. This article features pieces of a liquid hydrogen tank dome that were welded as a test to make sure the dome used for flight will be welded correctly. The dome will be part of the new, four-engine EUS (exploration upper stage) for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. EUS will be used for the Artemis IV lunar mission, replacing the single-engine interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS) used for the first three Artemis missions. The evolved in-space stage will use a combination of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellants to help power the engines to send large cargo and crew inside NASA’s Orion spacecraft to the Moon. The weld-confidence article pictured here will not be used for flight but is instead helping teams prepare and certify the procedures needed to manufacture flight hardware. NASA is working to land the first woman and person of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with the Orion spacecraft, advanced spacesuits and rovers, the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, and commercial human landing systems. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single launch.

STS062-15-013 (4-18 March 1994) --- Astronaut John H. Casper, mission commander, participates in an experiment that measures the effects of space flight on pilot proficiency. Astronauts Casper and Andrew M. Allen, pilot, continued the testing of the Portable Inflight Landing Operations Trainer (PILOT), which first flew onboard Columbia in October of 1993.

The M2-F1 was fitted with an ejection seat before the airtow flights began. The project selected the seat used in the T-37 as modified by the Weber Company to use a rocket rather than a ballistic charge for ejection. To test the ejection seat, the Flight Research Center's Dick Klein constructed a plywood mockup of the M2-F1's top deck and canopy. On the first firings, the test was unsuccessful, but on the final test the dummy in the seat landed safely. The M2-F1 ejection seat was later used in the two Lunar Landing Research Vehicles and the three Lunar Landing Training Vehicles. Three of them crashed, but in each case the pilot ejected from the vehicle successfully.

Lockheed JF-104A (AF56-745A Tail No. 60745) Starfighter airplane piloted by Fred Drinkwater conducted flight testing that demonstrated steep approaches that were ultimately used by the space shuttle. Steep descent testing, including power-off landing approaches and demonstration of minimum lift-to-drag ratio (L/D) landings came out of the interest in the use of low L/D lifting bodies for recovery to landing from space. Note: Used in publication in Flight Research at Ames; 57 Years of Development and Validation of Aeronautical Technology NASA SP-1998-3300 fig 93

S69-56058 (25 Oct. 1969) --- Astronaut Charles Conrad Jr., commander of the Apollo 12 lunar landing mission, sits in the cockpit of a Lunar Landing Training Vehicle (LLTV) during a lunar simulation flight at Ellington Air Force Base. The LLTV is used to train Apollo crews in lunar landing techniques.

Crows Landing Naval Auxiliary Landing Field and flight research facility, Crows Landing, CA Note: Used in publication in Flight Research at Ames; 57 Years of Development and Validation of Aeronautical Technology NASA SP-1998-3300 fig. 109

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A new control tower is nearing completion at the KSC Shuttle Landing Facility. It will replace the old tower in use since 1987. The old tower stands only 20 feet above the runway surface, too low to see the launch pads to the east. During nighttime landing operations, those inside the tower have been hindered by the eight-billion candlepower xenon lights that illuminate the runway. The new control tower is built atop an existing mound, rising nearly 100 feet over the midpoint of the runway. The height gives controllers a spectacular 360-degree view of NASA-KSC and northern Brevard County. The new facility will also replace the SLF Operations Building. The operations building is home to the Military Radar Unit that monitors NASA-KSC airspace 24 hours a day, as well as runway light controls, navigational aids, weather and wind speed instrumentation, and gate controls. In the new tower, the computer displays will be fully modernized to Federal Aviation Administration standards with touch-screen technology. Construction on the new facility began in February 2003 and is nearly ready for occupancy. Only some final inspections and approvals remain. A support building and Public Affairs viewing deck, to be used for observing future landing operations, will be added and are already in work.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The existing control tower seen here at the edge of the KSC Shuttle Landing Facility is being replaced. In use since 1987, the old tower stands only 20 feet above the runway surface, too low to see the launch pads to the east. During nighttime landing operations, those inside the tower have been hindered by the eight-billion candlepower xenon lights that illuminate the runway. The new control tower is built atop an existing mound, rising nearly 100 feet over the midpoint of the runway. The height gives controllers a spectacular 360-degree view of NASA-KSC and northern Brevard County. The new facility will also replace the SLF Operations Building. The operations building is home to the Military Radar Unit that monitors NASA-KSC airspace 24 hours a day, as well as runway light controls, navigational aids, weather and wind speed instrumentation, and gate controls. In the new tower, the computer displays will be fully modernized to Federal Aviation Administration standards with touch-screen technology. Construction on the new facility began in February 2003 and is nearly ready for occupancy. Only some final inspections and approvals remain. A support building and Public Affairs viewing deck, to be used for observing future landing operations, will be added and are already in work.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- A new control tower is nearing completion at the KSC Shuttle Landing Facility. It will replace the old tower in use since 1987. The old tower stands only 20 feet above the runway surface, too low to see the launch pads to the east. During nighttime landing operations, those inside the tower have been hindered by the eight-billion candlepower xenon lights that illuminate the runway. The new control tower is built atop an existing mound, rising nearly 100 feet over the midpoint of the runway. The height gives controllers a spectacular 360-degree view of NASA-KSC and northern Brevard County. The new facility will also replace the SLF Operations Building. The operations building is home to the Military Radar Unit that monitors NASA-KSC airspace 24 hours a day, as well as runway light controls, navigational aids, weather and wind speed instrumentation, and gate controls. In the new tower, the computer displays will be fully modernized to Federal Aviation Administration standards with touch-screen technology. Construction on the new facility began in February 2003 and is nearly ready for occupancy. Only some final inspections and approvals remain. A support building and Public Affairs viewing deck, to be used for observing future landing operations, will be added and are already in work.

This montage depicts the flight crew patches for the manned Apollo 7 thru Apollo 17 missions. The Apollo 7 through 10 missions were basically manned test flights that paved the way for lunar landing missions. Primary objectives met included the demonstration of the Command Service Module (CSM) crew performance; crew/space vehicle/mission support facilities performance and testing during a manned CSM mission; CSM rendezvous capability; translunar injection demonstration; the first manned Apollo docking, the first Apollo Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA), performance of the first manned flight of the lunar module (LM); the CSM-LM docking in translunar trajectory, LM undocking in lunar orbit, LM staging in lunar orbit, and manned LM-CSM docking in lunar orbit. Apollo 11 through 17 were lunar landing missions with the exception of Apollo 13 which was forced to circle the moon without landing due to an onboard explosion. The craft was,however, able to return to Earth safely. Apollo 11 was the first manned lunar landing mission and performed the first lunar surface EVA. Landing site was the Sea of Tranquility. A message for mankind was delivered, the U.S. flag was planted, experiments were set up and 47 pounds of lunar surface material was collected for analysis back on Earth. Apollo 12, the 2nd manned lunar landing mission landed in the Ocean of Storms and retrieved parts of the unmanned Surveyor 3, which had landed on the Moon in April 1967. The Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) was deployed, and 75 pounds of lunar material was gathered. Apollo 14, the 3rd lunar landing mission landed in Fra Mauro. ALSEP and other instruments were deployed, and 94 pounds of lunar materials were gathered, using a hand cart for first time to transport rocks. Apollo 15, the 4th lunar landing mission landed in the Hadley-Apennine region. With the first use of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), the crew was bale to gather 169 pounds of lunar material. Apollo 16, the 5th lunar landing mission, landed in the Descartes Highlands for the first study of highlands area. Selected surface experiments were deployed, the ultraviolet camera/spectrograph was used for first time on the Moon, and the LRV was used for second time for a collection of 213 pounds of lunar material. The Apollo program came to a close with Apollo 17, the 6th and final manned lunar landing mission that landed in the Taurus-Littrow highlands and valley area. This mission hosted the first scientist-astronaut, Schmitt, to land on the Moon. The 6th automated research station was set up, and 243 ponds of lunar material was gathered using the LRV.

Line drawing of the Apollo Lunar Hand Tool Carrier (ALHT) MET Traverse Configuration for use during the Apollo 14 lunar landing mission

The blue areas on this map of Mars show regions where NASA missions have detected subsurface water ice. Scientists can use the map – part of the Subsurface Water Ice Mapping project, or SWIM – to decide where the first astronauts to set foot on the Red Planet should land. Triangles on the map are past and present Mars missions; circles are ice-exposing impact craters. Mars has both water ice and carbon dioxide ice (dry ice); water ice would be a critical resource for the first astronauts to step foot on Mars, who can use it for drinking, rocket fuel, and other purposes. The more water ice these astronauts land next to, the less they need to bring with them. Because the Martian atmosphere is so thin – less than 1% the pressure experienced at sea level on Earth – liquid water is unstable on the Red Planet and will vaporize unless it's frozen. But water ice on the planet's surface is only stable at high latitudes that are far too cold for astronauts and robots to survive. So SWIM attempts to locate water ice preserved within the subsurface in the mid-latitudes, where landing would be feasible. Such regions are far enough toward the pole for water ice to be plentiful, but close enough to the equator to avoid the coldest temperatures seen on Mars. SWIM combines data from several NASA missions, including the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), 2001 Mars Odyssey, and the now-inactive Mars Global Surveyor. The project mapped the area from the equator to 60 degrees north latitude. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26045

These photos and videos show NASA astronauts Bob Hines and Raja Chari practicing landing procedures in the Rocky Mounts of Colorado in April 2025. The astronauts were participating in a NASA-specific course at the HAATS (High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site) in Gypsum, Colorado. NASA and the Colorado Army National Guard are using military helicopters to develop a foundational lunar lander simulated flight training course to help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544-0034.

These photos and videos show NASA astronauts Bob Hines and Raja Chari practicing landing procedures in the Rocky Mounts of Colorado in April 2025. The astronauts were participating in a NASA-specific course at the HAATS (High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site) in Gypsum, Colorado. NASA and the Colorado Army National Guard are using military helicopters to develop a foundational lunar lander simulated flight training course to help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544-0034.

These photos and videos show NASA astronauts Bob Hines and Raja Chari practicing landing procedures in the Rocky Mounts of Colorado in April 2025. The astronauts were participating in a NASA-specific course at the HAATS (High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site) in Gypsum, Colorado. NASA and the Colorado Army National Guard are using military helicopters to develop a foundational lunar lander simulated flight training course to help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544-0034.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians using a Hyster forklift prepare to remove one of the three main engines on space shuttle Discovery. Engine removal is part of the post-landing processing. Discovery completed the STS-119 mission March 28 with a landing at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. Each engine is 14 feet long, weighs about 6,700 pounds, and is 7.5 feet in diameter at the end of the nozzle. Discovery next will be used on the STS-128 mission to deliver supplies and equipment to the International Space Station. The launch is targeted for Aug. 6. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a technician using a Hyster forklift begins removing one of the three main engines on space shuttle Discovery. Engine removal is part of the post-landing processing. Discovery completed the STS-119 mission March 28 with a landing at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. Each engine is 14 feet long, weighs about 6,700 pounds, and is 7.5 feet in diameter at the end of the nozzle. Discovery next will be used on the STS-128 mission to deliver supplies and equipment to the International Space Station. The launch is targeted for Aug. 6. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians use a Hyster forklift to close in on one of the three main engines on space shuttle Discovery to remove it. Engine removal is part of the post-landing processing. Discovery completed the STS-119 mission March 28 with a landing at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. Each engine is 14 feet long, weighs about 6,700 pounds, and is 7.5 feet in diameter at the end of the nozzle. Discovery next will be used on the STS-128 mission to deliver supplies and equipment to the International Space Station. The launch is targeted for Aug. 6. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians using a Hyster forklift "stab" one of the three main engines on space shuttle Discovery to remove it. Engine removal is part of the post-landing processing. Discovery completed the STS-119 mission March 28 with a landing at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility. Each engine is 14 feet long, weighs about 6,700 pounds, and is 7.5 feet in diameter at the end of the nozzle. Discovery next will be used on the STS-128 mission to deliver supplies and equipment to the International Space Station. The launch is targeted for Aug. 6. Photo credit: NASA/Tim Jacobs

STS060-92-082 (3-11 Feb 1994) --- This cloud-free view is centered on the city of Baghdad, Iraq. Baghdad has had a reputation for scholarship and learning from ancient times in the Islamic world. Modern Baghdad is a city with a typical urban land use patterns. The color of Tigris river flowing through the city indicates the heavily sediment laden waters of the river. Agricultural land uses are evident in the surrounding areas of the city.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Boeing 727-200 aircraft used for weightless flights by Zero Gravity Corporation, known as ZERO-G, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., lands after taking a group of passengers for demonstration. NASA and ZERO-G demonstrated Nov. 5 the expanded access to and use of the space shuttle's runway and landing facility at Kennedy Space Center for non-NASA activities. This group of passengers, called "Flyers," were predominantly teachers who performed simple microgravity experiments they can share with their students back in the classroom.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Boeing 727-200 aircraft used for weightless flights by Zero Gravity Corporation, known as ZERO-G, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., lands after taking a group of passengers for demonstration. NASA and ZERO-G demonstrated Nov. 5 the expanded access to and use of the space shuttle's runway and landing facility at Kennedy Space Center for non-NASA activities. This group of passengers, called "Flyers," were predominantly teachers who performed simple microgravity experiments they can share with their students back in the classroom.

Engineers test the mechanical landing system for the proposed Europa Lander project at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Sept. 15, 2022. This test, using the Europa Lander landing gear testbed, fully exercises the Europa Lander landing gear mechanism through a simulated dynamic landing. Europa Lander is a concept for a potential future mission that would look for signs of life in the icy surface material of Jupiter's moon Europa. The moon is thought to contain a global ocean of salty water beneath its frozen crust. If life exists in that ocean, signs of its existence called biosignatures could potentially find their way to the surface. In this mission concept, a spacecraft would land on Europa and collect and study samples from about 4 inches (10 centimeters) beneath the surface, looking for signs of life. The Europa Lander landing gear testbed was developed to test and inform the design of the landing gear for the spacecraft: It mimics the landing loads and ground interaction forces that a single flight landing gear would experience when touching down on the Europan surface. It does this by using gravity offloading to simulate the reduced gravity on Europa, and by replicating the mass and inertial properties of a flight lander as well as all the degrees of freedom that the landing gear would experience. Video available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26199

Test Setup For Model Landing Investigation of a Winged Space Vehicle Image used in NASA Document TN-D-1496 1960-L-04633.01 is Figure 9a for NASA Document L-2064 Photograph of model on launcher and landing on runway.

Test Setup For Model Landing Investigation of a Winged Space Vehicle Image used in NASA Document TN-D-1496 1960-L-04633.01 is Figure 9a for NASA Document L-2064 Photograph of model on launcher and landing on runway.

Test Setup For Model Landing Investigation of a Winged Space Vehicle Image used in NASA Document TN-D-1496 1960-L-04633.01 is Figure 9a for NASA Document L-2064 Photograph of model on launcher and landing on runway.

T-33A (55-4351/NASA 815) arrived at NASA FRC January 9, 1963 departed September 10, 1973 to Redding, California. This aircraft, one of four T-33A jet trainers which NASA Dryden used from 1958 to 1973, was used in a monocular vision landing study.

ISS020-E-017368 (6 July 2009) --- NASA astronaut Michael Barratt, Expedition 20 flight engineer, uses a computer at the TORU teleoperated control system in the Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station while conducting Soyuz descent training to maintain proficiency on systems used for entry and landing in the Soyuz vehicle.

On Sept. 15, 2014, a helicopter used to gather photos and video lands on the flight deck of the USS Anchorage, which is being used to try out Orion recovery techniques in the Pacific Ocean, prior to Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1). Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

On Sept. 15, 2014, a helicopter used to gather photos and video lands on the flight deck of the USS Anchorage, which is being used to try out Orion recovery techniques in the Pacific Ocean, prior to Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1). Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The Virgin Atlantic Airways GlobalFlyer aircraft approaches NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility for a landing. The aircraft, piloted by Steve Fossett, is being relocated from Salina, Kan., to the Shuttle Landing Facility to begin preparations for an attempt to set a new world record for the longest flight made by any aircraft. An exact takeoff date for the record-setting flight has not been determined and is contingent on weather and jet-stream conditions. The window for the attempt opens in mid-January, making the flight possible anytime between then and the end of February. NASA agreed to let Virgin Atlantic Airways use Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility as a takeoff site. The facility use is part of a pilot program to expand runway access for non-NASA activities.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - The media (left) capture the landing of the Virgin Atlantic Airways GlobalFlyer aircraft at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility. The aircraft, piloted by Steve Fossett, is being relocated from Salina, Kan., to the Shuttle Landing Facility to begin preparations for an attempt to set a new world record for the longest flight made by any aircraft. An exact takeoff date for the record-setting flight has not been determined and is contingent on weather and jet-stream conditions. The window for the attempt opens in mid-January, making the flight possible anytime between then and the end of February. NASA agreed to let Virgin Atlantic Airways use Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility as a takeoff site. The facility use is part of a pilot program to expand runway access for non-NASA activities.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Pilot Steve Fossett has landed the Virgin Atlantic Airways GlobalFlyer aircraft at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility. The aircraft is being relocated from Salina, Kan., to the Shuttle Landing Facility to begin preparations for an attempt to set a new world record for the longest flight made by any aircraft. An exact takeoff date for the record-setting flight has not been determined and is contingent on weather and jet-stream conditions. The window for the attempt opens in mid-January, making the flight possible anytime between then and the end of February. NASA agreed to let Virgin Atlantic Airways use Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility as a takeoff site. The facility use is part of a pilot program to expand runway access for non-NASA activities.