NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy (front third from left) discusses NASA 2040, the agency's strategic initiative for aligning workforce, infrastructure, and technologies to meet the needs of the future, on Nov. 13, 2024, with various groups of employees at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy (front center left) discusses NASA 2040, the agency's strategic initiative for aligning workforce, infrastructure, and technologies to meet the needs of the future, on Nov. 13, 2024, with various groups of employees at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy (front center left) discusses NASA 2040, the agency's strategic initiative for aligning workforce, infrastructure, and technologies to meet the needs of the future, on Nov. 13, 2024, with various groups of employees at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

This photograph shows onlookers viewing displays within the Starship 2040 exhibit on display at Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville, Alabama. Developed by the Space Transportation Directorate at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), the Starship 2040 exhibit is housed in a 48-ft (14.6-m) tractor and trailer rig, permitting it to travel around the Nation, demonstrating NASA's vision of what commercial spaceflight might be like 40 years from now. All the irnovations suggested aboard the exhibit (automated vehicle health monitoring systems, high-energy propulsion drive, navigational aids, and emergency and safety systems) are based on concepts and technologies now being studied at NASA Centers and partner institutions around the Nation. NASA is the Nation's premier agency for development of the space transportation system, including future-generation reusable launch vehicles. Such systems, the keys to a "real" Starship 2040, require revolutionary advances in critical aerospace technologies, from thermal, magnetic, chemical, and propellantless propulsion systems to new energy sources such as space solar power or antimatter propulsion. These and other advances are now being studied, developed, and tested at NASA field centers and partner institutions all over the Nation.

This photograph shows the Starship 2040 leaving the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) for the exhibit site. Developed by the Space Transportation Directorate at MSFC, the Starship 2040 exhibit is housed in a 48-ft (14.6-m) tractor and trailer rig, permitting it to travel around the Nation, demonstrating NASA's vision of what commercial spaceflight might be like 40 years from now. All the irnovations suggested aboard the exhibit, automated vehicle health monitoring systems, high-energy propulsion drive, navigational aids and emergency and safety systems, are based on concepts and technologies now being studied at NASA Centers and partner institutions around the Nation. NASA is the nation's premier agency for development of the space transportation system, including future-generation reusable launch vehicles. Such systems, the keys to a "real" Starship 2040, require revolutionary advances in critical aerospace technologies, from thermal, magnetic, chemical, and propellantless propulsion systems to new energy sources such as space solar power or antimatter propulsion. These and other advances are now being studied, developed, and tested at NASA field centers and partner institutions all over the Nation.

This photograph shows Justin Varnadore, son of a Marshall TV employee, at the controls of one of the many displays within the Starship 2040 exhibit on display at Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville, Alabama. Developed by the Space Transportation Directorate at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), the Starship 2040 exhibit is housed in a 48-ft (14.6-m) tractor and trailer rig, permitting it to travel around the Nation, demonstrating NASA's vision of what commercial spaceflight might be like 40 years from now. All the irnovations suggested aboard the exhibit (automated vehicle health monitoring systems, high-energy propulsion drive, navigational aids, and emergency and safety systems) are based on concepts and technologies now being studied at NASA Centers and partner institutions around the Nation. NASA is the Nation's premier agency for development of the space transportation system, including future-generation reusable launch vehicles. Such systems, the keys to a "real" Starship 2040, require revolutionary advances in critical aerospace technologies, from thermal, magnetic, chemical, and propellantless propulsion systems to new energy sources such as space solar power or antimatter propulsion. These and other advances are now being studied, developed, and tested at NASA field centers and partner institutions all over the Nation.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden speaks with participants of the 2013 International Space Apps Challenge, or ISAC, at The Astronaut Memorial Foundation’s Center for Space Education in Florida during a networking event. During the worldwide two-day challenge, more than 9,000 people and 484 organizations came together in 83 cities across 44 countries, as well as online, to develop new ways of solving challenges that NASA faces. At Kennedy, four teams brainstormed ideas with subject matter experts and others and worked nearly 32 hours straight to present their concepts to a panel of three technical and non-technical judges. Challenges tackled at Kennedy were: Deployable Greenhouse, Kennedy Space Center 2040, Seven Minutes of Science, and Moonville – Lunar Industry Game. Photo credit: NASA_Charisse Nahser

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden speaks with participants of the 2013 International Space Apps Challenge, or ISAC, at The Astronaut Memorial Foundation’s Center for Space Education in Florida during a networking event. During the worldwide two-day challenge, more than 9,000 people and 484 organizations came together in 83 cities across 44 countries, as well as online, to develop new ways of solving challenges that NASA faces. At Kennedy, four teams brainstormed ideas with subject matter experts and others and worked nearly 32 hours straight to present their concepts to a panel of three technical and non-technical judges. Challenges tackled at Kennedy were: Deployable Greenhouse, Kennedy Space Center 2040, Seven Minutes of Science, and Moonville – Lunar Industry Game. Photo credit: NASA_Charisse Nahser

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Space enthusiasts Mike King, at left, Jamie Szafran, Jessica King and Pat Starace, were first-place winners from Kennedy Space Center during the 2013 International Space Apps Challenge held at the Center for Space Education at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. During the worldwide two-day challenge, more than 9,000 people and 484 organizations came together in 83 cities across 44 countries, as well as online, to develop new ways of solving challenges that NASA faces. At Kennedy, four teams brainstormed ideas with subject matter experts and others and worked nearly 32 hours straight to present their concepts to a panel of three technical and non-technical judges. Challenges tackled at Kennedy were: Deployable Greenhouse, Kennedy Space Center 2040, Seven Minutes of Science, and Moonville – Lunar Industry Game. Photo credit: NASA_Charisse Nahser

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Students from the University of Florida, University of Central Florida and the University of Puerto Rico brainstorm ideas during the 2013 International Space Apps Challenge, or ISAC, at The Astronaut Memorial Foundation’s Center for Space Education in Florida. During the worldwide two-day challenge, more than 9,000 people and 484 organizations came together in 83 cities across 44 countries, as well as online, to develop new ways of solving challenges that NASA faces. At Kennedy, four teams brainstormed ideas with subject matter experts and others and worked nearly 32 hours straight to present their concepts to a panel of three technical and non-technical judges. Challenges tackled at Kennedy were: Deployable Greenhouse, Kennedy Space Center 2040, Seven Minutes of Science, and Moonville – Lunar Industry Game. Photo credit: NASA_Charisse Nahser

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Pat Starace, at left, from Orlando, and Kennedy Space Center engineer Jamie Szafran brainstorm ideas on deployable greenhouses during the 2013 International Space Apps Challenge, or ISAC, at The Astronaut Memorial Foundation’s Center for Space Education in Florida. During the worldwide two-day challenge, more than 9,000 people and 484 organizations came together in 83 cities across 44 countries, as well as online, to develop new ways of solving challenges that NASA faces. At Kennedy, four teams brainstormed ideas with subject matter experts and others and worked nearly 32 hours straight to present their concepts to a panel of three technical and non-technical judges. Challenges tackled at Kennedy were: Deployable Greenhouse, Kennedy Space Center 2040, Seven Minutes of Science, and Moonville – Lunar Industry Game. Photo credit: NASA_Charisse Nahser

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Participants sign in at the Center for Space Education at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida for the 2013 International Space Apps Challenge. . During the worldwide two-day challenge, more than 9,000 people and 484 organizations came together in 83 cities across 44 countries, as well as online, to develop new ways of solving challenges that NASA faces. At Kennedy, four teams brainstormed ideas with subject matter experts and others and worked nearly 32 hours straight to present their concepts to a panel of three technical and non-technical judges. Challenges tackled at Kennedy were: Deployable Greenhouse, Kennedy Space Center 2040, Seven Minutes of Science, and Moonville – Lunar Industry Game. Photo credit: NASA_Charisse Nahser

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana speaks with participants of the 2013 International Space Apps Challenge, or ISAC, at The Astronaut Memorial Foundation’s Center for Space Education in Florida during a networking event. During the worldwide two-day challenge, more than 9,000 people and 484 organizations came together in 83 cities across 44 countries, as well as online, to develop new ways of solving challenges that NASA faces. At Kennedy, four teams brainstormed ideas with subject matter experts and others and worked nearly 32 hours straight to present their concepts to a panel of three technical and non-technical judges. Challenges tackled at Kennedy were: Deployable Greenhouse, Kennedy Space Center 2040, Seven Minutes of Science, and Moonville – Lunar Industry Game. Photo credit: NASA_Charisse Nahser

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Allan Pinkerton, at left, and Joey Vars, students from the University of South Florida at St. Petersburg, brainstorm ideas during the 2013 International Space Apps Challenge at the Center for Space Education at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. During the worldwide two-day challenge, more than 9,000 people and 484 organizations came together in 83 cities across 44 countries, as well as online, to develop new ways of solving challenges that NASA faces. At Kennedy, four teams brainstormed ideas with subject matter experts and others and worked nearly 32 hours straight to present their concepts to a panel of three technical and non-technical judges. Challenges tackled at Kennedy were: Deployable Greenhouse, Kennedy Space Center 2040, Seven Minutes of Science, and Moonville – Lunar Industry Game. Photo credit: NASA_Charisse Nahser

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Michael Strittmatter, at left, Joey Vars and Allan Pinkerton, all students at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, present their ideas to a panel of technical and non-technical judges during the 2013 International Space Apps Challenge at The Astronaut Memorial Foundation’s Center for Space Education in Florida. During the worldwide two-day challenge, more than 9,000 people and 484 organizations came together in 83 cities across 44 countries, as well as online, to develop new ways of solving challenges that NASA faces. At Kennedy, four teams brainstormed ideas with subject matter experts and others and worked nearly 32 hours straight to present their concepts to a panel of three technical and non-technical judges. Challenges tackled at Kennedy were: Deployable Greenhouse, Kennedy Space Center 2040, Seven Minutes of Science, and Moonville – Lunar Industry Game. Photo credit: NASA_Charisse Nahser

Caption: This is a conceptual animation showing ozone-depleting chemicals moving from the equator to the poles. The chemicals become trapped by the winds of the polar vortex, a ring of fast moving air that circles the South Pole. Watch full video: <a href="https://youtu.be/7n2km69jZu8" rel="nofollow">youtu.be/7n2km69jZu8</a> -- The next three decades will see an end of the era of big ozone holes. In a new study, scientists from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center say that the ozone hole will be consistently smaller than 12 million square miles by the year 2040. Ozone-depleting chemicals in the atmosphere cause an ozone hole to form over Antarctica during the winter months in the Southern Hemisphere. Since the Montreal Protocol agreement in 1987, emissions have been regulated and chemical levels have been declining. However, the ozone hole has still remained bigger than 12 million square miles since the early 1990s, with exact sizes varying from year to year. The size of the ozone hole varies due to both temperature and levels of ozone-depleting chemicals in the atmosphere. In order to get a more accurate picture of the future size of the ozone hole, scientists used NASA’s AURA satellite to determine how much the levels of these chemicals in the atmosphere varied each year. With this new knowledge, scientists can confidently say that the ozone hole will be consistently smaller than 12 million square miles by the year 2040. Scientists will continue to use satellites to monitor the recovery of the ozone hole and they hope to see its full recovery by the end of the century. Research: Inorganic chlorine variability in the Antarctic vortex and implications for ozone recovery. Journal: Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, December 18, 2014. Link to paper: <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2014JD022295/abstract" rel="nofollow">onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2014JD022295/abstract</a>.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Students from the University of Florida, the University of Central Florida, the University of Puerto Rico and private citizens brainstorm ideas during the 2013 International Space Apps Challenge, or ISAC, at The Astronaut Memorial Foundation’s Center for Space Education in Florida. Seated near the Launch Services Program poster is NASA subject matter expert Dr. Phil Metzger from Kennedy Space Center’s Swampworks Laboratory. During the worldwide two-day challenge, more than 9,000 people and 484 organizations came together in 83 cities across 44 countries, as well as online, to develop new ways of solving challenges that NASA faces. At Kennedy, four teams brainstormed ideas with subject matter experts and others and worked nearly 32 hours straight to present their concepts to a panel of three technical and non-technical judges. Challenges tackled at Kennedy were: Deployable Greenhouse, Kennedy Space Center 2040, Seven Minutes of Science, and Moonville – Lunar Industry Game. Photo credit: NASA_Charisse Nahser

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana, third from left, and NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden, fourth from right, gather with participants, subject matter experts and volunteers in front of the Rocket Garden at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida during the 2013 International Space Apps Challenge. The group took a brief break before returning to The Astronaut Memorial Foundation’s Center for Space Education to continue working on their challenges. During the worldwide two-day challenge, more than 9,000 people and 484 organizations came together in 83 cities across 44 countries, as well as online, to develop new ways of solving challenges that NASA faces. At Kennedy, four teams brainstormed ideas with subject matter experts and others and worked nearly 32 hours straight to present their concepts to a panel of three technical and non-technical judges. Challenges tackled at Kennedy were: Deployable Greenhouse, Kennedy Space Center 2040, Seven Minutes of Science, and Moonville – Lunar Industry Game. Photo credit: NASA_Charisse Nahser

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Subject matter experts, event volunteers and participants discuss ideas during the 2013 International Space Apps Challenge at the Center for Space Education at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. From left, are Dr. Ray Wheeler, NASA subject matter expert Mike Bolger, Kennedy’s Information Technology director Jim Wood, event volunteer challenge participants Pat Starace and Mike King from Orlando and David Thorpe in Kennedy’s Center Planning and Development Directorate. During the worldwide two-day challenge, more than 9,000 people and 484 organizations came together in 83 cities across 44 countries, as well as online, to develop new ways of solving challenges that NASA faces. At Kennedy, four teams brainstormed ideas with subject matter experts and others and worked nearly 32 hours straight to present their concepts to a panel of three technical and non-technical judges. Challenges tackled at Kennedy were: Deployable Greenhouse, Kennedy Space Center 2040, Seven Minutes of Science, and Moonville – Lunar Industry Game. Photo credit: NASA_Charisse Nahser

Over the past 30 years, global average sea level has risen a total of 3.6 inches (9.1 centimeters), as indicated in this graphic, which is based on sea level measurements (in blue) from five successive satellites starting with the U.S.-French TOPEX/Poseidon mission in 1993. The solid red line shows the trajectory of sea level rise from 1993 to 2022, while the dotted red line shows the increase sea level into the future. Researchers can take the solid red line and calculate the rate of sea level rise, which was 0.08 inches (0.20 centimeters) per year in 1993 and doubled to 0.17 inches (0.44 centimeters) per year by 2022. The dotted red line shows that by 2040, sea levels may rise by an additional 3.66 inches (9.3 cm) above 2022 levels. The trajectory shown in the solid and dotted red line is based on work by the NASA Sea Level Change Team and the Ocean Surface Topography Science Team. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25775