Jules Verne published his first science fiction novel in 1865 called "From the Earth to the Moon." As shown here in an illustration, passengers in Verne's space ship enjoy their first taste of weightlessness.

Allan Bonet (undergraduate student, University of Florida) prepares a test cell for ground-based testing in support of Dr. Ranga Narayanan’s (University of Florida) NASA grant “A Novel Way to Measure Interfacial Tension Using the Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF)” (NNX17AL27G).

Evan Wilson (undergraduate student, University of Florida) observes a test apparatus to measure interfacial tension in support of Dr. Ranga Narayanan’s (University of Florida) NASA grant “A Novel Way to Measure Interfacial Tension Using the Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF)” (NNX17AL27G).

Ruby Flottum reads the first issue of NASA's "First Woman" graphic novel, entitled "Dream to Reality," on Monday, July 25, 2022 at AirVenture at Oshkosh.

This map of Saturn moon Titan identifies the locations of mountains named by the International Astronomical Union. By convention, mountains on Titan are named for mountains from Middle-earth, the fictional setting in fantasy novels by J.R.R. Tolkien.

This image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows a location on Mars associated with the best-selling novel and Hollywood movie, "The Martian." It is the science-fiction tale's planned landing site for the Ares 4 mission. The novel placed the Ares 4 site on the floor of a very shallow crater in the southwestern corner of Schiaparelli Crater. This HiRISE image shows a flat region there entirely mantled by bright Martian dust. There are no color variations, just uniform reddish dust. A pervasive, pitted texture visible at full resolution is characteristic of many dust deposits on Mars. No boulders are visible, so the dust is probably at least a meter thick. Past Martian rover and lander missions from NASA have avoided such pervasively dust-covered regions for two reasons. First, the dust has a low thermal inertia, meaning that it gets extra warm in the daytime and extra cold at night, a thermal challenge to survival of the landers and rovers (and people). Second, the dust hides the bedrock, so little is known about the bedrock composition and whether it is of scientific interest. This view is one image product from HiRISE observation ESP_042014_1760, taken July 14, 2015, at 3.9 degrees south latitude, 15.2 degrees east longitude. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19914

In the best-selling novel "The Martian" and the movie based on it, stranded astronaut Mark Watney's adventures take him to the rim of Mawrth Crater. This image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows the nature of this terrain. The crater rim is not very distinct, and from the Martian surface it would be quite difficult to tell that you are even on the rim of a crater. The terrain is hummocky and rolling, punctuated by smaller impact craters and wind-blown drifts of sand or dust. This view is one image product from HiRISE observation ESP_042252_1930, taken Aug. 1, 2015, at 12.6 degrees north latitude, 355.7 degrees east longitude. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19915

In the 19th Century, experiments in America, Europe, and elsewhere attempted to build postal rockets to deliver mail from one location to another. The idea was more novel than successful. Many stamps used in these early postal rockets have become collector's items.

iss067e191207 (7/22/2022) --- A view of the of a Plate Habitat (PHAB) at -20°C after insertion into the SABL incubator aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The goal of the Protein Manufacturing project is to demonstrate the use of a novel bioreactor technology for growing high-protein food on the International Space Station (ISS).

iss056e130515 (8/10/2018) --- A view of the BIRDS-2 Satellite Deployment during JSSOD-9 operations. The JEM Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (J-SSOD) provides a novel, safe, small satellite launching capability to the International Space Station (ISS).

iss056e130490(8/10/2018) --- A view of the BIRDS-2 Satellite Deployment during JSSOD-9 operations. The JEM Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (J-SSOD) provides a novel, safe, small satellite launching capability to the International Space Station (ISS).

jsc2022e031226 (4/26/2022) --- A mission overview of the Protein Manufacturing investigation shows hardware, operations, and scientific details. The Protein Manufacturing project demonstrates and tests the operation of a novel bioreactor technology to support robust fungal growth for the production of high-protein food in a low-Earth orbit, space environment. Image courtesy of BioServe.

iss070e064628 (Jan. 12, 2024) --- Expeditin 70 Flight Engineers (from left) Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O'Hara, both NASA astronauts, are pictured inside the International Space Station's cupola holding NASA's first graphic novel, "The First Woman."

jsc2023e054812 (7/28/2023) --- An Exterior view of the BEAK 3-Unit (3U) Cubesat. BEAK is developed by The University of Tokyo in Kashiwa, Japan and Institute of Space and Astronautical Science in Sagamihara, Japan, and its primary mission is to test novel technologies for use in future nano-sized planetary probes.

iss067e191182 (7/22/2022) --- A view of the of a Plate Habitat (PHAB) at -20°C prior to insertion into the SABL incubator aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The goal of the Protein Manufacturing project is to demonstrate the use of a novel bioreactor technology for growing high-protein food on the International Space Station (ISS).

Polydiacetylenes are a unique class of highly conjugated organic polymers that are of interest for both electronic and photonic applications. Photodeposition from solutions is a novel process superior to those grown by conventional techniques. Evidence of this is seen when the films are viewed under a microscope; they exhibit small particles of solid polymer which form in the bulk solution, get transported by convection to the surface of the growing film, and become embedded. Also convection tends to cause the film thickness to be less uniform, and may even affect the molecular orientation of the films. The thrust of the research is to investigate in detail, both in 1-g and low-g, the effects of convection (and lack thereof) on this novel and interesting reaction. In this example, a portion of the substrate was blocked from exposure to the UV light by the mask, which was placed on the opposite side of the glass disk as the film, clearly demonstrating that photodeposition occurs only where the substrate is irradiated directly.

This microscopic image shows dozens of individual bacterial cells of the recently discovered species, Tersicoccus phoenicis, found in only two places: clean rooms in Florida and South America where spacecraft are assembled for launch.

This image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows a location on Mars associated with the best-selling novel and Hollywood movie, "The Martian." This area is in the Acidalia Planitia region. In the novel and the movie, it is the landing site of a crewed mission named Ares 3. For the story's central character, Acidalia Planitia is within driving distance from where NASA's Mars Pathfinder, with its Sojourner rover, landed in 1997. An initial HiRISE image of the site was taken in April 2015 and is online at http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_040776_2115. A second one was taken May 17, 2015, and is shown here. Figure 1 is a stereo combination of the two, appearing three-dimensional when viewed through blue-red glasses with the red lens on the left One of the main objectives of the HiRISE camera is to carry out "monitoring science", which involves taking images of certain areas of high scientific interest on regular intervals. The team usually does so to monitor a seasonal or recurring process such as seasonal changes in carbon-dioxide ice near the poles, dune movement or recurring flow-like features on some slopes. HiRISE also takes repeated images of areas with active rovers, such as Curiosity, to help plan safe routes toward areas of high scientific interest. Another key responsibility for the HiRISE camera is to provide information for use in selection of landing sites for future missions. One technique is to image a site of interest at least twice when the weather conditions are similar, but with a small difference in viewing angle, much like what you would experience if you looked at something with only your right eye, then looked at it again with the left. By doing this, we are able to build a stereo view of the site, providing a chance to identify high and low points in the site more effectively. This resulting 3-D information can combined with elevation data from laser altimeters to create a highly accurate "digital terrain model" or DTM for short. DTMs allow researchers to view the locations in 3-D and to analyze them by measuring the exact height of features that could be hazardous to the future mission, such as large boulders or small impact craters. DTMs from HiRISE were a key factor in choosing the landing site for NASA's Curiosity Mars rover in Gale Crater and are being used to evaluate sites under consideration for the NASA's 2016 InSight Mars lander and Mars 2020 rover missions. The location of the site in this image is 31.3 degrees north latitude, 331.3 degrees east latitude. The image is an excerpt from HiRISE observation ESP_041277_2115. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19913

iss060e021649 (8/3/2019) --- Photo documentation of the Cell Science-02 investigation aboard the International space Station (ISS). The Cell Science-02 (CS-02) investigation compares the ability of two different bone inducing growth factors, one novel and one currently used in bone healing therapies, to stimulate growth, differentiation, and related cellular functions of osteoblast cells in culture.

iss067e191193_alt (7/22/2022) --- NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins holding a Plate Habitat (PHAB) at -20°C prior to insertion into the Space Automated Bioproduct Laboratory (SABL) incubator aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The goal of the Protein Manufacturing project is to demonstrate the use of a novel bioreactor technology for growing high-protein food on the International Space Station (ISS).

iss070e041037 (Dec. 18, 2023) --- The BEAK CubeSat is deployed from a small satellie deployer in the grips of the Japanese robotic arm attached to the Kibo laboratory module. BEAK, launched to the Interational Space Station aboard the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft, was developed by The University of Tokyo in Kashiwa, Japan, and the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science in Sagamihara, Japan. Its primary mission is to test novel technologies for use in future nano-sized planetary probes.

iss060e019992 (7/31/2019) --- NASA Astronaut Nick Hague with the Cell Science-02 investigation aboard the International space Station (ISS). The Cell Science-02 (CS-02) investigation compares the ability of two different bone inducing growth factors, one novel and one currently used in bone healing therapies, to stimulate growth, differentiation, and related cellular functions of osteoblast cells in culture.

iss068e016422 (Oct. 12, 2022) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 68 Flight Engineer Jessica Watkins works with Mochii, a miniature scanning electron microscope (SEM) with spectroscopy to conduct real-time, on-site imaging and compositional measurements of particles on the International Space Station (ISS). Such particles can cause vehicle and equipment malfunctions and threaten crew health, but currently, samples must be returned to Earth for analysis, leaving crew and vehicle at risk. Mochii also provides a powerful new analysis platform to support novel microgravity science and engineering.

Warner Bros.' cast and crew are filming scenes for the movie "Contact" at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39 Press Site on January 30. The screenplay for "Contact" is based on the best-selling novel by the late astronomer Carl Sagan. The cast includes Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, John Hurt, James Woods, Tom Skerritt, David Morse, William Fichtner, Rob Lowe and Angela Bassett. Described by Warner Bros. as a science fiction drama, "Contact" will depict humankind's first encounter with evidence of extraterrestrial life

iss060e019706 (7/30/2019) --- European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Luca Parmitano during Biorock Experiment Containers installation in KUBIK in the Columbus Module. The Biorock investigation is expected to help gain additional insight into the physical interactions of liquid, rocks, and microorganisms under microgravity conditions for novel acquisition of materials in space. In addition, data from Biorock can be used to inform the development of life support systems involving microbial components on long-duration spaceflight missions.

Several Goddard technologists are involved in a new CubeSat technology-demonstration mission called SNoOPI, which employs a novel remote-sensing technique for measuring soil-moisture levels. From left to right: Jeffrey Piepmeier, Chase Kielbasa, who is holding a first-generation prototype circuit board for the SNoOPI instrument, Joseph Knuble, Manuel Vega, Michael Coon, and Derek Hudson.

Doug Comstock, NASA's Director, Innovative Partnership Office, speaks during a ceremony for winners and participants of NASA’s 2009 Centennial Challenges, Friday, Feb. 26, 2010, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The year-long competition addresses a range of technical challenges that support NASA's missions in aeronautics and space with a goal of encouraging novel solutions from non-traditional sources. Photo Credit: (NASA/Paul E. Alers)

Warner Bros.' cast and crew are filming scenes for the movie "Contact" at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39 Press Site on January 30. The screenplay for "Contact" is based on the best-selling novel by the late astronomer Carl Sagan. The cast includes Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, John Hurt, James Woods, Tom Skerritt, David Morse, William Fichtner, Rob Lowe and Angela Bassett. Described by Warner Bros. as a science fiction drama, "Contact" will depict humankind's first encounter with evidence of extraterrestrial life

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, right, and Doug Comstock, left, stand with David Masten, of Masten Space Systems, during a ceremony for winners and participants of NASA’s 2009 Centennial Challenges, Friday, Feb. 26, 2010, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The year-long competition addresses a range of technical challenges that support NASA's missions in aeronautics and space with a goal of encouraging novel solutions from non-traditional sources. Photo Credit: (NASA/Paul E. Alers)

jsc2021e031156 (7/22/2021) --- A photo of postdoctoral fellow, Bugra Ayan, PhD, exchanging the media of the engineered skeletal muscle bioreactor. Tissue Engineered Muscle in Microgravity as a Novel Platform to Study Sarcopenia (Cardinal Muscle) evaluates whether engineered human muscle cells cultured in microgravity are a valid model for studying muscle loss. Photo courtesy of the Palo Alto Veterans Institute for Research.

iss026e032517 (3/8/2011) --- European Space Agency (ESA) Paolo Nespoli works with the Light Microscopy Module (LMM) in the U.S. Laboratory. The Light Microscopy Module (LMM) is a modified commercial, highly flexible, state-of-the-art light imaging microscope facility that provides researchers with powerful diagnostic hardware and software onboard the International Space Station (ISS). The LMM enables novel research of microscopic phenomena in microgravity, with the capability of remotely acquiring and downloading digital images and videos across many levels of magnification.

jsc2021e031155 (7/22/2021) --- A photo of postdoctoral fellow, Mahdis Shyan, PhD, exchanging the media of the engineered skeletal muscle bioreactor.T issue Engineered Muscle in Microgravity as a Novel Platform to Study Sarcopenia (Cardinal Muscle) evaluates whether engineered human muscle cells cultured in microgravity are a valid model for studying muscle loss. Photo courtesy of the Palo Alto Veterans Institute for Research.

jsc2024e081746 (6/1/2024) --- Preflight imagery of the DENDEN-01 Flight Model, developed by Kansai University in collaboration with University of Fukui, Meijo University, and ArkEdge Space, Inc. DENDEN-01 CubeSat is deployed as part of the JEM Small Satellite Orbital Deployer-30 (J-SSOD-30) CubeSat deployment mission and demonstrates novel power technologies for future nanosatellites, as well as a small hyperspectral camera. Image courtesy of Kansai University.

NASA's InSight lander tried a novel approach to remove dust clinging to one of its solar panels. On May 22, 2021, the 884th Martian day, or sol, of the mission, the lander's robotic arm trickled sand above the panel. As wind carried the sand grains across the panel, they picked up some dust along the way, enabling the lander to gain about 30 watt-hours of energy per sol. Animation available at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA24664

iss056e130478 (8/10/2018) --- A view of the BIRDS-2 Satellite Deployment during JSSOD-9 operations. The JEM Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (J-SSOD) provides a novel, safe, small satellite launching capability to the International Space Station (ISS). Once the J-SSOD including satellite install cases with small satellites are installed on the Multi-Purpose Experiment Platform (MPEP) by crewmembers, it is passed through the JEM airlock for retrieval, positioning and deployment by the JEMRMS.

iss070e086351 (Feb. 3, 2024) --- JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut and Expedition 70 Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa processes cell samples inside a Kubik incubator for the Immune Cell Activation biotechnology experiment. The study is investigating ways to develop novel therapeutic tools to target central nervous system diseases and cutaneous cancers such as melanoma.

ISS047e066551 (04/18/2016) --- NASA astronaut Jeff Williams configures the station’s Light Microscopy Module (LMM), a modified commercial, highly flexible, state-of-the-art light imaging microscope facility that provides researchers with powerful diagnostic hardware and software. The LMM enables novel research of microscopic phenomena in microgravity, with the capability of remotely acquiring and downloading digital images and videos across many levels of magnification.

With the Vehicle Assembly Building looming in the background, Warner Bros.' cast and crew are filming scenes for the movie "Contact" at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39 Press Site on January 29. The screenplay for "Contact" is based on the best-selling novel by the late astronomer Carl Sagan. The cast includes Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, John Hurt, James Woods, Tom Skerritt, David Morse, William Fichtner, Rob Lowe and Angela Bassett. Described by Warner Bros. as a science fiction drama, "Contact" will depict humankind's first encounter with evidence of extraterrestrial life

jsc2021e019398 (12/9/2020) --- Simulation of the Pilote experiment. In order to test the ergonomics of a multisensory interface for controlling robotic arms and spacecraft, it is necessary to perform the trials in microgravity. Performing the test on Earth would lead to a design of a work station using terrestrial ergonomic principles that do not correspond to conditions experienced on a spacecraft in orbit. The Pilote investigation tests the effectiveness of novel control schemes for the remote operation of robotic arms and space vehicles, using virtual reality and a new class of user-machine interfaces based on haptics. Image courtesy of CNES/DE PRADA Thierry.

Robert Zemeckis, director/producer, and other Warner Bros. crew members oversee the filming of scenes for the movie "Contact" at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39 Press Site on January 30. The screenplay for "Contact" is based on the best-selling novel by the late astronomer Carl Sagan. The cast includes Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, John Hurt, James Woods, Tom Skerritt, David Morse, William Fichtner, Rob Lowe and Angela Bassett. Described by Warner Bros. as a science fiction drama, "Contact" will depict humankind's first encounter with evidence of extraterrestrial life

jsc2021e019400 (1/12/2021) --- Simulation of the Pilote experiment. In order to test the ergonomics of a multisensory interface for controlling robotic arms and spacecraft, it is necessary to perform the trials in microgravity. Performing the test on Earth would lead to a design of a work station using terrestrial ergonomic principles that do not correspond to conditions experienced on a spacecraft in orbit. The Pilote investigation tests the effectiveness of novel control schemes for the remote operation of robotic arms and space vehicles, using virtual reality and a new class of user-machine interfaces based on haptics. Image courtesy of CNES/GRIMAULT Emmanuel.

With the Vehicle Assembly Building looming in the background, Warner Bros.' cast and crew are filming scenes for the movie "Contact" at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39 Press Site on January 30. The screenplay for "Contact" is based on the best-selling novel by the late astronomer Carl Sagan. The cast includes Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, John Hurt, James Woods, Tom Skerritt, David Morse, William Fichtner, Rob Lowe and Angela Bassett. Described by Warner Bros. as a science fiction drama, "Contact" will depict humankind's first encounter with evidence of extraterrestrial life

From left, Bruce Moriarty, first assistant director; Robert Zemeckis, director/producer; Don Burgess, director of photography; and other Warner Bros. crew members oversee the filming of scenes for the movie "Contact" at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39 Press Site on January 29. The screenplay for "Contact" is based on the best-selling novel by the late astronomer Carl Sagan. The cast includes Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, John Hurt, James Woods, Tom Skerritt, David Morse, William Fichtner, Rob Lowe and Angela Bassett. Described by Warner Bros. as a science fiction drama, "Contact" will depict humankind's first encounter with evidence of extraterrestrial life

iss061e117838 (1/5/2020) --- A view aboard the International Space Station (ISS) of the TangoLab Space Tango-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells. The Effects of Microgravity on Microglia 3-Dimensional Models of Parkinson’s Disease and Multiple Sclerosis (Space Tango-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells) examines how microglial cells grow and move in three-dimensional (3D) cultures as well as any changes in gene expression that occur as a result of microgravity exposure. Microglia are a type of immune defense cell found in the central nervous system. Results may help provide novel approaches to characterizing, understanding, and developing therapies for Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis.

The filming of scenes for the movie "Contact" by Warner Bros.' cast and crew at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39 Press Site on January 29 is captured by cameras on the roof of the Vehicle Assembly Building. The screenplay for "Contact" is based on the best-selling novel by the late astronomer Carl Sagan. The cast includes Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, John Hurt, James Woods, Tom Skerritt, David Morse, William Fichtner, Rob Lowe and Angela Bassett. Described by Warner Bros. as a science fiction drama, "Contact" will depict humankind's first encounter with evidence of extraterrestrial life

The filming of scenes for the movie "Contact" by Warner Bros.' cast and crew at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39 Press Site on January 29 is captured by cameras on the roof of the Vehicle Assembly Building. The screenplay for "Contact" is based on the best-selling novel by the late astronomer Carl Sagan. The cast includes Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, John Hurt, James Woods, Tom Skerritt, David Morse, William Fichtner, Rob Lowe and Angela Bassett. Described by Warner Bros. as a science fiction drama, "Contact" will depict humankind's first encounter with evidence of extraterrestrial life

In Andy Weir's "The Martian," stranded astronaut Mark Watney drives from the Ares 3 landing site in Acidalia Planitia towards the Ares 4 landing site in Schiaparelli Crater via Mawrth Vallis. This image covers the entrance to Mawrth Vallis. As you can tell, driving over this terrain will be much more difficult than it was depicted in the novel or the movie. The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. [The original image scale is 58.5 centimeters (19.1 inches) per pixel (with 2 x 2 binning); objects on the order of 176 centimeters (69.2 inches) across are resolved.] North is up. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21555

jsc2019e040131 (7/17/2019) --- Tires are comprised of up to 60 different components, ranging from chemicals and fillers to multiple types of rubber and reinforcing cords. The Pushing the Limits of Silica Fillers for Tire Applications (Goodyear Tire) investigation evaluates creation of novel silica forms and structures, or morphologies, using traditional techniques to form silica fillers in microgravity. The space environment may yield results not possible in ground-based environments. Better understanding of silica morphology and the relationship between silica structure and properties may improve the silica design process as well as silica rubber formulation and tire manufacturing and performance on the ground. (Image courtesy of: The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company)

jsc2019e056548 (9/27/2019) --- Preflight overall view of SwampSat-II . SwampSat II measures very low frequency (VLF) wave propagation in Earth’s upper atmosphere using a novel antenna that has higher sensitivity than existing methods. The antenna system, developed by students at the University of Florida, launches in a 3-Unit CubeSat. Ground-based sources such as VLF transmitters and lightning injected VLF waves into the upper atmosphere, and measuring these waves is essential to understanding loss of energetic radiation belt particles. Image courtesy of: The SwampSat Team at University of Florida

iss056e100586 (7/30/2018) --- A view of the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Airlock (AL) slide table retraction from Japanese Experiment Module (JPM) during JSSOD-9 operations. The JEM Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (J-SSOD) provides a novel, safe, small satellite launching capability to the International Space Station (ISS). Once the J-SSOD including satellite install cases with small satellites are installed on the Multi-Purpose Experiment Platform (MPEP) by crewmembers, it is passed through the JEM airlock for retrieval, positioning and deployment by the JEMRMS.

The Advanced Electrical Bus (ALBus) mission is a technology demonstration of resettable Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) mechanisms for deployable solar arrays and a pathfinder for high power density CubeSats. The mission has two primary objectives. The first is to demonstrate the functionality of the novel SMA activated solar array mechanisms in the on-orbit environment. The second objective is to assess the system level ability to charge a high capacity battery, distribute 100 W of electrical power and thermally control the 3-U CubeSat system. Performance from the mission will be used to mature the SMA mechanism designs for CubeSat applications and plan for future high power density CubeSat missions.

jsc2019e040132 (3/10/2015) --- Preflight image of silica, a common element used in tires to help enhance performance in areas such as fuel efficiency and wet traction. The Pushing the Limits of Silica Fillers for Tire Applications (Goodyear Tire) investigation evaluates creation of novel silica forms and structures, or morphologies, using traditional techniques to form silica fillers in microgravity. The space environment may yield results not possible in ground-based environments. Better understanding of silica morphology and the relationship between silica structure and properties may improve the silica design process as well as silica rubber formulation and tire manufacturing and performance on the ground. (Image courtesy of: The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company)

With the Vehicle Assembly Building looming in the background, Warner Bros.' cast and crew are filming scenes for the movie "Contact" at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39 Press Site on January 29. The screenplay for "Contact" is based on the best-selling novel by the late astronomer Carl Sagan. The cast includes Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, John Hurt, James Woods, Tom Skerritt, David Morse, William Fichtner, Rob Lowe and Angela Bassett. Described by Warner Bros. as a science fiction drama, "Contact" will depict humankind's first encounter with evidence of extraterrestrial life

jsc2021e019401 (1/19/2021) --- A preflight macro shot of SIGMA-7 interface for Pilote experiment, In order to test the ergonomics of a multisensory interface for controlling robotic arms and spacecraft, it is necessary to perform the trials in microgravity. Performing the test on Earth would lead to a design of a work station using terrestrial ergonomic principles that do not correspond to conditions experienced on a spacecraft in orbit. The Pilote investigation tests the effectiveness of novel control schemes for the remote operation of robotic arms and space vehicles, using virtual reality and a new class of user-machine interfaces based on haptics. Image courtesy of CNES/DE PRADA Thierry.

The Advanced Electrical Bus (ALBus) mission is a technology demonstration of resettable Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) mechanisms for deployable solar arrays and a pathfinder for high power density CubeSats. The mission has two primary objectives. The first is to demonstrate the functionality of the novel SMA activated solar array mechanisms in the on-orbit environment. The second objective is to assess the system level ability to charge a high capacity battery, distribute 100 W of electrical power and thermally control the 3-U CubeSat system. Performance from the mission will be used to mature the SMA mechanism designs for CubeSat applications and plan for future high power density CubeSat missions.

jsc2019e056549 (9/27/2019) --- Preflight overall view of SwampSat-II . SwampSat II measures very low frequency (VLF) wave propagation in Earth’s upper atmosphere using a novel antenna that has higher sensitivity than existing methods. The antenna system, developed by students at the University of Florida, launches in a 3-Unit CubeSat. Ground-based sources such as VLF transmitters and lightning injected VLF waves into the upper atmosphere, and measuring these waves is essential to understanding loss of energetic radiation belt particles. Image courtesy of: The SwampSat Team at University of Florida

jsc2021e019399 (1/12/2021) --- Simulation of the Pilote experiment. In order to test the ergonomics of a multisensory interface for controlling robotic arms and spacecraft, it is necessary to perform the trials in microgravity. Performing the test on Earth would lead to a design of a work station using terrestrial ergonomic principles that do not correspond to conditions experienced on a spacecraft in orbit. The Pilote investigation tests the effectiveness of novel control schemes for the remote operation of robotic arms and space vehicles, using virtual reality and a new class of user-machine interfaces based on haptics. Image courtesy of CNES/GRIMAULT Emmanuel.

iss056e100542 (7/3/2018) --- A view of the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Airlock (AL) slide table retraction from Japanese Experiment Module (JPM) Side during JSSOD-9 operations. The JEM Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (J-SSOD) provides a novel, safe, small satellite launching capability to the International Space Station (ISS). Once the J-SSOD including satellite install cases with small satellites are installed on the Multi-Purpose Experiment Platform (MPEP) by crewmembers, it is passed through the JEM airlock for retrieval, positioning and deployment by the JEMRMS.

The filming of scenes for the movie "Contact" by Warner Bros.' cast and crew at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39 Press Site on January 29 is captured by cameras on the roof of the Vehicle Assembly Building. The screenplay for "Contact" is based on the best-selling novel by the late astronomer Carl Sagan. The cast includes Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, John Hurt, James Woods, Tom Skerritt, David Morse, William Fichtner, Rob Lowe and Angela Bassett. Described by Warner Bros. as a science fiction drama, "Contact" will depict humankind's first encounter with evidence of extraterrestrial life

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Warner Bros.' cast and crew are filming scenes for the movie "Contact" at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39 Press Site on January 29. The screenplay for "Contact" is based on the best-selling novel by the late astronomer Carl Sagan. The cast includes Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, John Hurt, James Woods, Tom Skerritt, David Morse, William Fichtner, Rob Lowe and Angela Bassett. Described by Warner Bros. as a science fiction drama, "Contact" will depict humankind's first encounter with evidence of extraterrestrial life

jsc2019e040134 (7/18/2019) --- Preflight images of Microglia cells growing in a culture dish (63x magnification). Microglia are the immune cells of the brain and play a role that is not fully understood in neurodegenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis. The cells shown here were differentiated from induced pluripotent stem cells that were made from a patient’s skin biopsy. The Effects of Microgravity on Microglia 3-Dimensional Models of Parkinson’s Disease and Multiple Sclerosis (Space Tango-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells) examines how microglial cells grow and move in three-dimensional (3D) cultures as well as any changes in gene expression that occur as a result of microgravity exposure. Microglia are a type of immune defense cell found in the central nervous system. Results may help provide novel approaches to characterizing, understanding, and developing therapies for Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis. (Image courtesy of: New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Research Institute)

iss072e010035 (Oct. 12, 2024) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Don Pettit displays Genes In Space-11 samples validating on-orbit Nucleic Acid Sequenced Based Amplification (NASBA), a novel technique to detect specific RNA sequences that can be applied to studying crucial biological processes, such as viral infection, genomic damage, or gene expression during spaceflight. Genes in Space-11 studies how spaceflight may activate retrotransposons, which are DNA fragments that copy and paste themselves throughout a genome, leading to cancer and other diseases. This investigation tests methods for detecting and measuring retrotransposons that may be adapted to detect other RNAs, including those of viruses that cause illness. Understanding the behavior of retrotransposons in microgravity may shed light on the genetic risks, including cancer, from space travel and support development of ways to protect astronauts during missions.

Foreign Affairs Minister for the Czech Republic Jan Lipavský, left, presents NASA Administrator Bill Nelson with a reproduction of an original drawing made by a Czechoslovak boy named Petr Ginz of partial Jewish background who was murdered at Auschwitz concentration camp in 1944, despite being of very young age, he had authored novels and made his own illustrations including this one depicting planet Earth seen from the moon, following the signing of the Artemis Accords, Wednesday, May 3, 2023, at The Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington DC. The Czech Republic is the twenty fourth country to sign the Artemis Accords, which establish a practical set of principles to guide space exploration cooperation among nations participating in NASA’s Artemis program. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

This poster artfully depicts Solar Surfing, an early stage NASA study to support potential future missions that could travel closer to the Sun’s surface than ever before. The solar transition region, a very thin layer near the Sun’s surface, is of great interest to heliophysicists. In this zone, temperatures range from 10,000 to 1.8 million degrees Fahrenheit. The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program funds a study by a team at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to further research a novel, highly reflective coating for a solar shield that could allow spacecraft to approach the Sun close enough to investigate this exciting region – about 500,000 miles from the surface. The better heliophysicists understand the Sun and how it generates energy, the better they can make predictions of the Sun’s effect on our planet – and improve our everyday communications, electronics, and transportation.

jsc2019e040133 (7/18/2019) --- A preflight view of Dopaminergic neurons growing in a culture dish (20x magnification) . A skin biopsy from a patient with Parkinson’s disease was reprogrammed into induced pluripotent stem cells. The stem cells were then differentiated into dopaminergic neurons (green), the same cells that are lost in Parkinson’s disease patients. Work is underway to use these cells as a replacement for lost neurons as a treatment for the disease. The Effects of Microgravity on Microglia 3-Dimensional Models of Parkinson’s Disease and Multiple Sclerosis (Space Tango-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells) examines how microglial cells grow and move in three-dimensional (3D) cultures as well as any changes in gene expression that occur as a result of microgravity exposure. Microglia are a type of immune defense cell found in the central nervous system. Results may help provide novel approaches to characterizing, understanding, and developing therapies for Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis. (Image courtesy of: Andres Bratt-Leal, PhD| Aspen Neuroscience)

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), a natural bacteria found all over the Earth, has a fairly novel way of getting rid of unwanted insects. Bt forms a protein substance (shown on the right) that is not harmful to humans, birds, fish or other vertebrates. When eaten by insect larvae the protein causes a fatal loss of appetite. For over 25 years agricultural chemical companies have relied heavily upon safe Bt pesticides. New space based research promises to give the insecticide a new dimension in effectiveness and applicability. Researchers from the Consortium for Materials Development in Space along with industrial affiliates such as Abott Labs and Pern State University flew Bt on a Space Shuttle mission in the fall of 1996. Researchers expect that the Shuttle's microgravity environment will reveal new information about the protein that will make it more effective against a wider variety of pests.

This image from NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows a region of Acidalia Planitia which is covered by dense fields of boulders up to several meters high. In "The Martian" by Andy Weir (watch for the movie in late 2015), stranded astronaut Mark Watney spends most of his time at the "Ares 3" site in southern Acidalia Planitia. The book describes Acidalia as flat and easy to drive over; he even drives to the Pathfinder landing site and back. This region of Mars is actually far more diverse, interesting, and hazardous to drive over than depicted in the novel. These two images (this observation and ESP_019783_2115) are close to the Ares 3 landing site as shown in a map at the front of the novel, and shows many mounds, perhaps ancient volcanoes resulting from lava-water interaction or eruption of muddy sediments. Much of Acidalia Planitia is covered by dense fields of boulders up to several meters high that would be difficult to drive around. There are also fissures associated with giant polygons, with steep rocky slopes that would be impassable. There are elongated fields of dense secondary craters where the surface is extremely rough at scales near the size of the rover. When our hero travels into Arabia Terra it is described as much rockier than Acidalia, but the the opposite is generally true: much of Arabia is dust mantled and smooth at the scale of a rover. People commonly assume that smooth at large scales (kilometers) means smooth at small scales ( meters to tens of meters). Often on Mars, the exact opposite is seen: large flat low areas are more wind-scoured, removing fine materials and leaving rocks and eroded bedrock. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19306

NASA has awarded a total of $1.5 million to two U.S. teams for their novel technology solutions addressing energy distribution, management, and storage as part of the agency’s Watts on the Moon Challenge. The innovations from this challenge aim to support NASA’s Artemis missions, which will establish long-term human presence on the Moon. This two-phase competition has challenged U.S. innovators to develop breakthrough power transmission and energy storage technologies that could enable long-duration Moon missions to advance the nation’s lunar exploration goals. The final phase of the challenge concluded with a technology showcase and winners’ announcement ceremony Friday at Great Lakes Science Center, home of the visitor center for NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. Team H.E.L.P.S. (High Efficiency Long-Range Power Solution) from The University of California, Santa Barbara won the $1 million grand prize in NASA’s Watts on the Moon Challenge. Their team developed a low-mass, high efficiency cable and featured energy storage batteries on both ends of their power transmission and energy storage system. Second prize ($500,000): Orbital Mining Corporation of Golden, Colorado

Philip Lubin from Team H.E.L.P.S. (High Efficiency Long-Range Power Solution) explains his project to Mary Wadel, Kirsten Ellenbogen and Stephen Bowen. NASA has awarded a total of $1.5 million to two U.S. teams for their novel technology solutions addressing energy distribution, management, and storage as part of the agency’s Watts on the Moon Challenge. The innovations from this challenge aim to support NASA’s Artemis missions, which will establish long-term human presence on the Moon. This two-phase competition has challenged U.S. innovators to develop breakthrough power transmission and energy storage technologies that could enable long-duration Moon missions to advance the nation’s lunar exploration goals. The final phase of the challenge concluded with a technology showcase and winners’ announcement ceremony Friday at Great Lakes Science Center, home of the visitor center for NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. Team H.E.L.P.S. (High Efficiency Long-Range Power Solution) from The University of California, Santa Barbara won the $1 million grand prize in NASA’s Watts on the Moon Challenge. Their team developed a low-mass, high efficiency cable and featured energy storage batteries on both ends of their power transmission and energy storage system. Second prize ($500,000): Orbital Mining Corporation of Golden, Colorado Photo Credit: (NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna)

Astronaut Stephen Bowen speaks during the award ceremony. NASA has awarded a total of $1.5 million to two U.S. teams for their novel technology solutions addressing energy distribution, management, and storage as part of the agency’s Watts on the Moon Challenge. The innovations from this challenge aim to support NASA’s Artemis missions, which will establish long-term human presence on the Moon. This two-phase competition has challenged U.S. innovators to develop breakthrough power transmission and energy storage technologies that could enable long-duration Moon missions to advance the nation’s lunar exploration goals. The final phase of the challenge concluded with a technology showcase and winners’ announcement ceremony Friday at Great Lakes Science Center, home of the visitor center for NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. Team H.E.L.P.S. (High Efficiency Long-Range Power Solution) from The University of California, Santa Barbara won the $1 million grand prize in NASA’s Watts on the Moon Challenge. Their team developed a low-mass, high efficiency cable and featured energy storage batteries on both ends of their power transmission and energy storage system. Second prize ($500,000): Orbital Mining Corporation of Golden, Colorado

Individuals from Orbital Mining Corporation of Golden, Colorado pose with Robert Button, Mary Wadel and Astronaut Stephen Bowen. NASA has awarded a total of $1.5 million to two U.S. teams for their novel technology solutions addressing energy distribution, management, and storage as part of the agency’s Watts on the Moon Challenge. The innovations from this challenge aim to support NASA’s Artemis missions, which will establish long-term human presence on the Moon. This two-phase competition has challenged U.S. innovators to develop breakthrough power transmission and energy storage technologies that could enable long-duration Moon missions to advance the nation’s lunar exploration goals. The final phase of the challenge concluded with a technology showcase and winners’ announcement ceremony Friday at Great Lakes Science Center, home of the visitor center for NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. Team H.E.L.P.S. (High Efficiency Long-Range Power Solution) from The University of California, Santa Barbara won the $1 million grand prize in NASA’s Watts on the Moon Challenge. Their team developed a low-mass, high efficiency cable and featured energy storage batteries on both ends of their power transmission and energy storage system. Second prize ($500,000): Orbital Mining Corporation of Golden, Colorado

Philip Lubin from Team H.E.L.P.S. (High Efficiency Long-Range Power Solution) explains his project to Mary Wadel, Lisa Ferguson, Kirsten Ellenbogen and Stephen Bowen. NASA has awarded a total of $1.5 million to two U.S. teams for their novel technology solutions addressing energy distribution, management, and storage as part of the agency’s Watts on the Moon Challenge. The innovations from this challenge aim to support NASA’s Artemis missions, which will establish long-term human presence on the Moon. This two-phase competition has challenged U.S. innovators to develop breakthrough power transmission and energy storage technologies that could enable long-duration Moon missions to advance the nation’s lunar exploration goals. The final phase of the challenge concluded with a technology showcase and winners’ announcement ceremony on September 20, 2024 at Great Lakes Science Center, home of the visitor center for NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. Team H.E.L.P.S. (High Efficiency Long-Range Power Solution) from The University of California, Santa Barbara won the $1 million grand prize in NASA’s Watts on the Moon Challenge. Their team developed a low-mass, high efficiency cable and featured energy storage batteries on both ends of their power transmission and energy storage system. Second prize ($500,000): Orbital Mining Corporation of Golden, Colorado. Photo Credit: (NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna)

Industry spends billions of dollars each year on machine tools to manufacture products out of metal. This includes tools for cutting every kind of metal part from engine blocks to Shuttle main engine components. Cutting tool tips often break because of weak spots or defects in their composition. Based on a new concept called defect trapping, space offers a novel environment to study defect formation in molten metal materials as they solidify. After the return of these materials from space, researchers can evaluate the source of the defect and seek ways to eliminate them in products prepared on Earth. A widely used process for cutting tip manufacturing is liquid phase sintering. Compared to Earth-sintered samples which slump due to buoyancy induced by gravity, space samples are uniformly shaped and defects remain where they are formed. By studying metals sintered in space the US tool industry can potentially enhance its worldwide competitiveness. The Consortium for Materials Development in Space along with Wyle Labs, Teledyne Advanced Materials, and McDornell Douglas have conducted experiments in space.

Philip Lubin from H.E.L.P.S. (High Efficiency Long-Range Power Solution) from The University of California gives their presentation. NASA has awarded a total of $1.5 million to two U.S. teams for their novel technology solutions addressing energy distribution, management, and storage as part of the agency’s Watts on the Moon Challenge. The innovations from this challenge aim to support NASA’s Artemis missions, which will establish long-term human presence on the Moon. This two-phase competition has challenged U.S. innovators to develop breakthrough power transmission and energy storage technologies that could enable long-duration Moon missions to advance the nation’s lunar exploration goals. The final phase of the challenge concluded with a technology showcase and winners’ announcement ceremony on September 11, 2024 at Great Lakes Science Center, home of the visitor center for NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. Team H.E.L.P.S. (High Efficiency Long-Range Power Solution) from The University of California, Santa Barbara won the $1 million grand prize in NASA’s Watts on the Moon Challenge. Their team developed a low-mass, high efficiency cable and featured energy storage batteries on both ends of their power transmission and energy storage system. Second prize ($500,000): Orbital Mining Corporation of Golden, Colorado. Photo Credit: (NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna)

NASA has awarded a total of $1.5 million to two U.S. teams for their novel technology solutions addressing energy distribution, management, and storage as part of the agency’s Watts on the Moon Challenge. The innovations from this challenge aim to support NASA’s Artemis missions, which will establish long-term human presence on the Moon. This two-phase competition has challenged U.S. innovators to develop breakthrough power transmission and energy storage technologies that could enable long-duration Moon missions to advance the nation’s lunar exploration goals. The final phase of the challenge concluded with a technology showcase and winners’ announcement ceremony Friday at Great Lakes Science Center, home of the visitor center for NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. Team H.E.L.P.S. (High Efficiency Long-Range Power Solution) from The University of California, Santa Barbara won the $1 million grand prize in NASA’s Watts on the Moon Challenge. Their team developed a low-mass, high efficiency cable and featured energy storage batteries on both ends of their power transmission and energy storage system. Second prize ($500,000): Orbital Mining Corporation of Golden, Colorado

iss071-s-001 (Aug. 31, 2023) --- For nearly a quarter of a century the International Space Station (ISS) has hosted crews and accommodated science experiments even as it has continued to evolve into the highly capable orbiting laboratory of today. With its unique vantage point, the ISS serves as an intersection for discoveries ranging from the vast, such as the search for dark matter and cosmological origins, to the near, such as detailed observation of our home planet and its atmosphere, to the microscopic, including behavior of microbial life, DNA sequencing, and molecular biology in the microgravity environment. The Expedition 71 patch celebrates this science as well as the thousands of multinational scientists and technicians that have contributed to numerous groundbreaking experiments. The ISS is the ultimate destination for the scientifically curious. The symbology represents onboard research into quantum behavior of novel states of matter, antibodies and immune function, the search for dark matter, flame and combustion physics, DNA expression, plant growth and root behavior, and direct earth observation. The human eye and microscope objectives at upper left form the apex of a cone of vision culminating in the Expedition number 71, and represents the deliberate and disciplined practice of scientific observation. Earth’s moon and Mars are also depicted as next steps for exploration, with an anticipation of further rich scientific discovery using many techniques and skills honed aboard the ISS.

Philip Lubin from Team H.E.L.P.S. (High Efficiency Long-Range Power Solution) explains his project to Mary Wadel and Stephen Bowen. NASA has awarded a total of $1.5 million to two U.S. teams for their novel technology solutions addressing energy distribution, management, and storage as part of the agency’s Watts on the Moon Challenge. The innovations from this challenge aim to support NASA’s Artemis missions, which will establish long-term human presence on the Moon. This two-phase competition has challenged U.S. innovators to develop breakthrough power transmission and energy storage technologies that could enable long-duration Moon missions to advance the nation’s lunar exploration goals. The final phase of the challenge concluded with a technology showcase and winners’ announcement ceremony on September 20, 2024 at Great Lakes Science Center, home of the visitor center for NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. Team H.E.L.P.S. (High Efficiency Long-Range Power Solution) from The University of California, Santa Barbara won the $1 million grand prize in NASA’s Watts on the Moon Challenge. Their team developed a low-mass, high efficiency cable and featured energy storage batteries on both ends of their power transmission and energy storage system. Second prize ($500,000): Orbital Mining Corporation of Golden, Colorado. Photo Credit: (NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna)

NASA has awarded a total of $1.5 million to two U.S. teams for their novel technology solutions addressing energy distribution, management, and storage as part of the agency’s Watts on the Moon Challenge. The innovations from this challenge aim to support NASA’s Artemis missions, which will establish long-term human presence on the Moon. This two-phase competition has challenged U.S. innovators to develop breakthrough power transmission and energy storage technologies that could enable long-duration Moon missions to advance the nation’s lunar exploration goals. The final phase of the challenge concluded with a technology showcase and winners’ announcement ceremony Friday at Great Lakes Science Center, home of the visitor center for NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. Team H.E.L.P.S. (High Efficiency Long-Range Power Solution) from The University of California, Santa Barbara won the $1 million grand prize in NASA’s Watts on the Moon Challenge. Their team developed a low-mass, high efficiency cable and featured energy storage batteries on both ends of their power transmission and energy storage system. Second prize ($500,000): Orbital Mining Corporation of Golden, Colorado

Reduced Gravity Walking Simulator located in the hangar at Langley Research Center. The initial version of this simulator was located inside the hangar. Later a larger version would be located at the Lunar Landing Facility. The purpose of this simulator was to study the subject while walking, jumping or running. Researchers conducted studies of various factors such as fatigue limit, energy expenditure, and speed of locomotion. A.W. Vigil wrote in his paper Discussion of Existing and Planned Simulators for Space Research, When the astronauts land on the moon they will be in an unfamiliar environment involving, particularly, a gravitational field only one-sixth as strong as on earth. A novel method of simulating lunar gravity has been developed and is supported by a puppet-type suspension system at the end of a long pendulum. A floor is provided at the proper angle so that one-sixth of the subject' s weight is supported by the floor with the remainder being supported by the suspension system. This simulator allows almost complete freedom in vertical translation and pitch and is considered to be a very realistic simulation of the lunar walking problem. For this problem this simulator suffers only slightly from the restrictions in lateral movement it puts on the test subject. This is not considered a strong disadvantage for ordinary walking problems since most of the motions do, in fact, occur in the vertical plane. However, this simulation technique would be severely restrictive if applied to the study of the extra-vehicular locomotion problem, for example, because in this situation complete six degrees of freedom are rather necessary. This technique, in effect, automatically introduces a two-axis attitude stabilization system into the problem. The technique could, however, be used in preliminary studies of extra-vehicular locomotion where, for example, it might be assumed that one axis of the attitude control system on the astronaut maneuvering unit may have failed. -- Published in James R. Hansen, Spaceflight Revolution: NASA Langley Research Center From Sputnik to Apollo, NASA SP-4308, p. 377 A.W. Vigil, Discussion of Existing and Planned Simulators for Space Research, Paper presented at Conference on the Role of Simulation in Space Technology, Blacksburg, VA, August 17-21, 1964.

This natural-color mosaic showing NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter at "Valinor Hills" was acquired by the agency's Perseverance Mars rover on Feb. 21, 2024, the 1,068th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The helicopter – the first aircraft to achieve powered, controlled flight on another world – sits just left of center, a speck-like figure amid a field of sand ripples. Ingenuity damaged its rotor blades during landing on its 72nd and final flight on Jan. 18, 2024. The helicopter team nicknamed the spot where the last flight concluded Valinor Hills after the fictional location in J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy novels, which include "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. The 67 images that were stitched together to make this mosaic were captured from about 1,365 feet (415 meters) away by the rover's Mastcam-Z camera. This is a wider and more detailed view of Valinor Hills than was shown in a previously released six-image Mastcam-Z mosaic that was taken from farther away. Arizona State University leads the operations of the Mastcam-Z instrument, working in collaboration with Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego, on the design, fabrication, testing, and operation of the cameras, and in collaboration with the Niels Bohr Institute of the University of Copenhagen on the design, fabrication, and testing of the calibration targets. 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 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26237

Engineers and technicians prepare one of three small lunar rovers that are part of a NASA technology demonstration called CADRE (Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration). Mechanical engineer Kristopher Sherrill, left, and technician Leroy Montalvo lower an enclosure over the upside-down rover in a clean room at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California on Jan. 29, 2025. CADRE aims to prove that a group of robots can collaborate to gather data without receiving direct commands from mission controllers on Earth. Its trio of rovers will use their cameras and ground-penetrating radars to send back imagery of the lunar surface and subsurface while testing out the novel software systems that enable them to work together as a team autonomously. Before embarking on the first leg of a multistage journey to the Moon, each rover was mated to its deployer system, which will lower it via tether from an Intuitive Machines lander onto the dusty lunar surface. Engineers flipped each rover-deployer pair over and attached it to an aluminum plate for safe transit. The rovers were then sealed into protective metal-frame enclosures that were fitted snuggly into metal shipping containers and loaded onto a truck for the drive to Intuitive Machines' Houston facility. A division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, JPL manages CADRE for the Game Changing Development program within NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate in Washington. The technology demonstration was selected under the agency's Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative, which was established to expedite the development of technologies for sustained presence on the lunar surface. CADRE will launch as a payload on the third lunar lander mission by Intuitive Machines, called IM-3, under NASA's CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative, which is managed by the agency's Science Mission Directorate, also in Washington. The agency's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland and its Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California, both supported the project. Motiv Space Systems designed and built key hardware elements at the company's Pasadena facility. Clemson University in South Carolina contributed research in support of the project. For more about CADRE, go to: https://go.nasa.gov/cadre https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26426

This is an artist's concept of the Chandra X-Ray Observatory (CXO), formerly Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF), fully developed in orbit in a star field with Earth. In 1999, the AXAF was renamed the CXO in honor of the late Indian-American Novel Laureate Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. The CXO is the most sophisticated and the world's most powerful x-ray telescope ever built. It is designed to observe x-rays from high energy regions of the Universe, such as hot gas in the renmants of exploded stars. It produces picture-like images of x-ray emissions analogous to those made in visible light, as well as gathers data on the chemical composition of x-ray radiating objects. The CXO helps astronomers world-wide better understand the structure and evolution of the universe by studying powerful sources of x-ray such as exploding stars, matter falling into black holes, and other exotic celestial objects. The Observatory has three major parts: (1) the x-ray telescope, whose mirrors will focus x-rays from celestial objects; (2) the science instruments that record the x-rays so that x-ray images can be produced and analyzed; and (3) the spacecraft, which provides the environment necessary for the telescope and the instruments to work. TRW, Inc. was the prime contractor for the development the CXO and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center was responsible for its project management. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations of the CXO for NASA from Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Observatory was launched July 22, 1999 aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, STS-93 mission. (Image courtesy of TRW).

Astronaut Roger Chaffee on the Reduced Gravity Walking Simulator located at the Lunar Landing Facility. The purpose of this simulator was to study the subject while walking, jumping or running. Researchers conducted studies of various factors such as fatigue limit, energy expenditure, and speed of locomotion. A.W. Vigil, described the simulator as follows: "When the astronauts land on the moon they will be in an unfamiliar environment involving, particularly, a gravitational field only one-sixth as strong as on earth. A novel method of simulating lunar gravity has been developed and is supported by a puppet-type suspension system at the end of a long pendulum. A floor is provided at the proper angle so that one-sixth of the subject's weight is supported by the floor with the remainder being supported by the suspension system. This simulator allows almost complete freedom in vertical translation and pitch and is considered to be a very realistic simulation of the lunar walking problem. For this problem this simulator suffers only slightly from the restrictions in lateral movement it puts on the test subject. This is not considered a strong disadvantage for ordinary walking problems since most of the motions do, in fact, occur in the vertical plane. However, this simulation technique would be severely restrictive if applied to the study of the extra-vehicular locomotion problem, for example, because in this situation complete six degrees of freedom are rather necessary. This technique, in effect, automatically introduces a two-axis attitude stabilization system into the problem. The technique could, however, be used in preliminary studies of extra-vehicular locomotion where, for example, it might be assumed that one axis of the attitude control system on the astronaut maneuvering unit may have failed." -- Published in James R. Hansen, Spaceflight Revolution: NASA Langley Research Center From Sputnik to Apollo, NASA SP-4308, p. 377; A.W. Vigil, "Discussion of Existing and Planned Simulators for Space Research," Paper presented at Conference on the Role of Simulation in Space Technology," Blacksburg, VA, August 17-21, 1964.

A prototype of a robot designed to explore the subsurface oceans of icy moons glides through a pool at Caltech in September 2024, its reflection visible below the water's surface. The prototype was built at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California to demonstrate the feasibility of a mission concept called SWIM, short for Sensing With Independent Micro-swimmers. SWIM envisions a swarm of dozens of self-propelled, cellphone-size robots exploring the waters of icy moons like Jupiter's Europa and Saturn's Enceladus. Delivered to the subsurface ocean by an ice-melting cryobot, the tiny robots would zoom away to look for chemical and temperature signals that could point to life. The prototype used in most of the pool tests was about 16.5 inches (42 centimeters) long, weighing 5 pounds (2.3 kilograms). As conceived for spaceflight, the robots would have dimensions about three times smaller – tiny compared to existing remotely operated and autonomous underwater scientific vehicles. In this image, commercial acoustic modules are mounted to the robot for testing: on top, one for communication, and on the bottom, one for underwater GPS. These devices were used during pool testing as stand-ins for what would be a novel wireless underwater acoustic communication system used both to transmit data between the cryobot and the swarm and to help each robot determine its position without the benefit of GPS. Led by JPL, work on SWIM took place from spring 2021 to fall 2024. The project was supported by Phase I and II funding from NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts program under the agency's Space Technology Mission Directorate. JPL is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26423

This is a computer rendering of the fully developed Chandra X-Ray Observatory (CXO), formerly Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF). In 1999, the AXAF was renamed the CXO in honor of the late Indian-American Novel Laureate Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. The CXO is the most sophisticated and the world's most powerful x-ray telescope ever built. It is designed to observe x-rays from high energy regions of the Universe, such as hot gas in the renmants of exploded stars. It produces picture-like images of x-ray emissions analogous to those made in visible light, as well as gathers data on the chemical composition of x-ray radiating objects. The CXO helps astronomers world-wide better understand the structure and evolution of the universe by studying powerful sources of x-ray such as exploding stars, matter falling into black holes, and other exotic celestial objects. The Observatory has three major parts: (1) the x-ray telescope, whose mirrors will focus x-rays from celestial objects; (2) the science instruments that record the x-rays so that x-ray images can be produced and analyzed; and (3) the spacecraft, which provides the environment necessary for the telescope and the instruments to work. TRW, Inc. was the prime contractor for the development of the CXO and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center was responsible for its project management. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations of the CXO for NASA from Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Observatory was launched July 22, 1999 aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, STS-93 mission. (Image courtesy of TRW).

Special "space" suit for the Reduced Gravity Walking Simulator located at the Lunar Landing Facility. The purpose of this simulator was to study the subject while walking, jumping or running. Researchers conducted studies of various factors such as fatigue limit, energy expenditure, and speed of locomotion. A.W. Vigil described the purpose of the simulator in his paper "Discussion of Existing and Planned Simulators for Space Research," "When the astronauts land on the moon they will be in an unfamiliar environment involving, particularly, a gravitational field only one-sixth as strong as on earth. A novel method of simulating lunar gravity has been developed and is supported by a puppet-type suspension system at the end of a long pendulum. A floor is provided at the proper angle so that one-sixth of the subject's weight is supported by the floor with the remainder being supported by the suspension system. This simulator allows almost complete freedom in vertical translation and pitch and is considered to be a very realistic simulation of the lunar walking problem. For this problem this simulator suffers only slightly from the restrictions in lateral movement it puts on the test subject. This is not considered a strong disadvantage for ordinary walking problems since most of the motions do, in fact, occur in the vertical plane. However, this simulation technique would be severely restrictive if applied to the study of the extra-vehicular locomotion problem, for example, because in this situation complete six degrees of freedom are rather necessary. This technique, in effect, automatically introduces a two-axis attitude stabilization system into the problem. The technique could, however, be used in preliminary studies of extra-vehicular locomotion where, for example, it might be assumed that one axis of the attitude control system on the astronaut maneuvering unit may have failed." -- Published in James R. Hansen, Spaceflight Revolution: NASA Langley Research Center From Sputnik to Apollo, (Washington: NASA, 1995), p. 377; A.W. Vigil, "Discussion of Existing and Planned Simulators for Space Research," Paper presented at Conference on the Role of Simulation in Space Technology," Blacksburg, VA, August 17-21, 1964.

Last week researchers from around the world gathered at the Accademia dei Lincei in Rome for the Science with the Hubble Space Telescope IV conference. The event celebrated the history of Hubble’s extraordinary achievements, and looked to the future at what might yet be achieved and how the James Webb Space Telescope will build on our knowledge of the Universe. As part of this celebration artist Tim Otto Roth revealed a new artwork, Heaven’s Carousel, inspired by Hubble’s work on the accelerating expansion of the Universe. This image shows audiences taking in the new astronomy-inspired art installation premiered in Rome at the Science with the Hubble Space Telescope IV conference. The installation, named Heaven’s Carousel, links together the fields of art, music and astronomy. Conceptualised and designed by German artist and composer Tim Otto Roth, the work is inspired by novel work on the accelerating expansion of the Universe by Nobel laureate Adam Riess (STScl), Greek cosmology and Renaissance astronomers. Read more here: <a href="http://www.spacetelescope.org/news/heic1407/" rel="nofollow">www.spacetelescope.org/news/heic1407/</a> Credit: NASA, ESA, and Pam Jeffries (STScI) <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b> <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b> <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>

Astronaut Walt Cunningham on the Reduced Gravity Walking Simulator located at the Lunar Landing Facility. The purpose of this simulator was to study the subject while walking, jumping or running. Researchers conducted studies of various factors such as fatigue limit, energy expenditure, and speed of locomotion. A.W. Vigil described the purpose of the simulator in his paper "Discussion of Existing and Planned Simulators for Space Research," "When the astronauts land on the moon they will be in an unfamiliar environment involving, particularly, a gravitational field only one-sixth as strong as on earth. A novel method of simulating lunar gravity has been developed and is supported by a puppet-type suspension system at the end of a long pendulum. A floor is provided at the proper angle so that one-sixth of the subject's weight is supported by the floor with the remainder being supported by the suspension system. This simulator allows almost complete freedom in vertical translation and pitch and is considered to be a very realistic simulation of the lunar walking problem. For this problem this simulator suffers only slightly from the restrictions in lateral movement it puts on the test subject. This is not considered a strong disadvantage for ordinary walking problems since most of the motions do, in fact, occur in the vertical plane. However, this simulation technique would be severely restrictive if applied to the study of the extra-vehicular locomotion problem, for example, because in this situation complete six degrees of freedom are rather necessary. This technique, in effect, automatically introduces a two-axis attitude stabilization system into the problem. The technique could, however, be used in preliminary studies of extra-vehicular locomotion where, for example, it might be assumed that one axis of the attitude control system on the astronaut maneuvering unit may have failed." -- Published in James R. Hansen, Spaceflight Revolution: NASA Langley Research Center From Sputnik to Apollo, (Washington: NASA, 1995), p. 377; A.W. Vigil, "Discussion of Existing and Planned Simulators for Space Research," Paper presented at Conference on the Role of Simulation in Space Technology," Blacksburg, VA, August 17-21, 1964.

Last week researchers from around the world gathered at the Accademia dei Lincei in Rome for the Science with the Hubble Space Telescope IV conference. The event celebrated the history of Hubble’s extraordinary achievements, and looked to the future at what might yet be achieved and how the James Webb Space Telescope will build on our knowledge of the Universe. As part of this celebration artist Tim Otto Roth revealed a new artwork, Heaven’s Carousel, inspired by Hubble’s work on the accelerating expansion of the Universe. This installation, named Heaven’s Carousel, links together the fields of art, music and astronomy. Conceptualised and designed by German artist and composer Tim Otto Roth, the work is inspired by novel work on the accelerating expansion of the Universe by Nobel laureate Adam Riess (STScl), Greek cosmology and Renaissance astronomers. Read more here: <a href="http://www.spacetelescope.org/news/heic1407/" rel="nofollow">www.spacetelescope.org/news/heic1407/</a> Credit: NASA, ESA, and Pam Jeffries (STScI) <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b> <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b> <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>

This is a computer rendering of the fully developed Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO), formerly Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF), in orbit in a star field. In 1999, the AXAF was renamed the CXO in honor of the late Indian-American Novel Laureate Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. The CXO is the most sophisticated and the world's most powerful x-ray telescope ever built. It is designed to observe x-rays from high energy regions of the Universe, such as hot gas in the renmants of exploded stars. It produces picture-like images of x-ray emissions analogous to those made in visible light, as well as gathers data on the chemical composition of x-ray radiating objects. The CXO helps astronomers world-wide better understand the structure and evolution of the universe by studying powerful sources of x-rays such as exploding stars, matter falling into black holes, and other exotic celestial objects. The Observatory has three major parts: (1) the x-ray telescope, whose mirrors will focus x-rays from celestial objects; (2) the science instruments that record the x-rays so that x-ray images can be produced and analyzed; and (3) the spacecraft, which provides the environment necessary for the telescope and the instruments to work. TRW, Inc. was the prime contractor for the development of the CXO and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center was responsible for its project management. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls science and flight operations of the CXO for NASA from Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Observatory was launched July 22, 1999 aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, STS-93 mission. (Image courtesy of TRW).

Cable system which supports the test subject on the Reduced Gravity Walking Simulator. The purpose of this simulator was to study the subject while walking, jumping or running. Researchers conducted studies of various factors such as fatigue limit, energy expenditure, and speed of locomotion. A.W. Vigil described the purpose of the simulator as follows: "When the astronauts land on the moon they will be in an unfamiliar environment involving, particularly, a gravitational field only one-sixth as strong as on earth. A novel method of simulating lunar gravity has been developed and is supported by a puppet-type suspension system at the end of a long pendulum. A floor is provided at the proper angle so that one-sixth of the subject's weight is supported by the floor with the remainder being supported by the suspension system. This simulator allows almost complete freedom in vertical translation and pitch and is considered to be a very realistic simulation of the lunar walking problem. For this problem this simulator suffers only slightly from the restrictions in lateral movement it puts on the test subject. This is not considered a strong disadvantage for ordinary walking problems since most of the motions do, in fact, occur in the vertical plane. However, this simulation technique would be severely restrictive if applied to the study of the extra-vehicular locomotion problem, for example, because in this situation complete six degrees of freedom are rather necessary. This technique, in effect, automatically introduces a two-axis attitude stabilization system into the problem. The technique could, however, be used in preliminary studies of extra-vehicular locomotion where, for example, it might be assumed that one axis of the attitude control system on the astronaut maneuvering unit may have failed." -- Published in James R. Hansen, Spaceflight Revolution: NASA Langley Research Center From Sputnik to Apollo, (Washington: NASA, 1995); A.W. Vigil, "Discussion of Existing and Planned Simulators for Space Research," Paper presented at Conference on the Role of Simulation in Space Technology," Blacksburg, VA, August 17-21, 1964.

Test subject wearing the pressurized "space" suit for the Reduced Gravity Walking Simulator located at the Lunar Landing Facility. The purpose of this simulator was to study the subject while walking, jumping or running. Researchers conducted studies of various factors such as fatigue limit, energy expenditure, and speed of locomotion. A.W. Vigil described the purpose of the simulator in his paper "Discussion of Existing and Planned Simulators for Space Research," "When the astronauts land on the moon they will be in an unfamiliar environment involving, particularly, a gravitational field only one-sixth as strong as on earth. A novel method of simulating lunar gravity has been developed and is supported by a puppet-type suspension system at the end of a long pendulum. A floor is provided at the proper angle so that one-sixth of the subject's weight is supported by the floor with the remainder being supported by the suspension system. This simulator allows almost complete freedom in vertical translation and pitch and is considered to be a very realistic simulation of the lunar walking problem. For this problem this simulator suffers only slightly from the restrictions in lateral movement it puts on the test subject. This is not considered a strong disadvantage for ordinary walking problems since most of the motions do, in fact, occur in the vertical plane. However, this simulation technique would be severely restrictive if applied to the study of the extra-vehicular locomotion problem, for example, because in this situation complete six degrees of freedom are rather necessary. This technique, in effect, automatically introduces a two-axis attitude stabilization system into the problem. The technique could, however, be used in preliminary studies of extra-vehicular locomotion where, for example, it might be assumed that one axis of the attitude control system on the astronaut maneuvering unit may have failed." -- Published in James R. Hansen, Spaceflight Revolution: NASA Langley Research Center From Sputnik to Apollo, (Washington: NASA, 1995), p. 377; A.W. Vigil, "Discussion of Existing and Planned Simulators for Space Research," Paper presented at Conference on the Role of Simulation in Space Technology," Blacksburg, VA, August 17-21, 1964.

One of three small lunar rovers that are part of a NASA technology demonstration called CADRE (Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration) is attached to a fixture in a clean room at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California on Jan. 29, 2025. Less than two weeks later, the rover had been packed up and shipped off in preparation for launch. CADRE aims to prove that a group of robots can collaborate to gather data without receiving direct commands from mission controllers on Earth. Its trio of rovers will use their cameras and ground-penetrating radars to send back imagery of the lunar surface and subsurface while testing out the novel software systems that enable them to work together as a team autonomously. Before embarking on the first leg of a multistage journey to the Moon, each rover was mated to its deployer system, which will lower it via tether from an Intuitive Machines lander onto the dusty lunar surface. Engineers flipped each rover-deployer pair over and attached it to an aluminum plate for safe transit. The rovers were then sealed into protective metal-frame enclosures that were fitted snuggly into metal shipping containers and loaded onto a truck for the drive to Intuitive Machines' Houston facility. A division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, JPL manages CADRE for the Game Changing Development program within NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate in Washington. The technology demonstration was selected under the agency's Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative, which was established to expedite the development of technologies for sustained presence on the lunar surface. CADRE will launch as a payload on the third lunar lander mission by Intuitive Machines, called IM-3, under NASA's CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative, which is managed by the agency's Science Mission Directorate, also in Washington. The agency's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland and its Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California, both supported the project. Motiv Space Systems designed and built key hardware elements at the company's Pasadena facility. Clemson University in South Carolina contributed research in support of the project. For more about CADRE, go to: https://go.nasa.gov/cadre https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26428

Technicians and engineers inspect NASA's Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor's instrument enclosure at the Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) in Logan, Utah, after it arrived from the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California in May 2025. The instrument enclosure will house the spacecraft's telescope, which is fitted with state-of-the-art detectors and a novel cryogenic system to keep the instrument cool. The telescope, which has an aperture of nearly 20 inches (50 centimeters), features detectors sensitive to two infrared wavelengths in which near-Earth objects re-radiate solar heat. The instrument enclosure is designed to ensure heat produced by the telescope during operations doesn't interfere with its observations. As NASA's first space-based detection mission specifically designed for planetary defense, NEO Surveyor will seek out, measure, and characterize the hardest-to-find asteroids and comets that might pose a hazard to Earth. While many near-Earth objects don't reflect much visible light, they glow brightly in infrared light due to heating by the Sun. Targeting launch in late 2027, the NEO Surveyor mission is led by Professor Amy Mainzer at UCLA for NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office and is being managed by JPL for the Planetary Missions Program Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. BAE Systems, SDL, and are among the companies that were contracted to build the spacecraft and its instrumentation. The Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder will support operations, and IPAC at Caltech in Pasadena, California, is responsible for producing some of the mission's data products. Caltech manages JPL for NASA. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26590

One of three small lunar rovers that are part of a NASA technology demonstration called CADRE (Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration) is prepared for shipping in a clean room at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California on Jan. 29, 2025. CADRE aims to prove that a group of robots can collaborate to gather data without receiving direct commands from mission controllers on Earth. Its trio of rovers will use their cameras and ground-penetrating radars to send back imagery of the lunar surface and subsurface while testing out the novel software systems that enable them to work together as a team autonomously. Before embarking on the first leg of a multistage journey to the Moon, each rover was mated to its deployer system, which will lower it via tether from an Intuitive Machines lander onto the dusty lunar surface. Engineers flipped each rover-deployer pair over and attached it to an aluminum plate for safe transit. The rovers were then sealed into protective metal-frame enclosures that were fitted snuggly into metal shipping containers and loaded onto a truck for the drive to Intuitive Machines' Houston facility. Here, members of the project's assembly, test, and launch operations team hold the upside-down rover by temporary red handles in order to move it to a table where they'll attach it to the aluminum plate. A division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, JPL manages CADRE for the Game Changing Development program within NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate in Washington. The technology demonstration was selected under the agency's Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative, which was established to expedite the development of technologies for sustained presence on the lunar surface. CADRE will launch as a payload on the third lunar lander mission by Intuitive Machines, called IM-3, under NASA's CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative, which is managed by the agency's Science Mission Directorate, also in Washington. The agency's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland and its Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California, both supported the project. Motiv Space Systems designed and built key hardware elements at the company's Pasadena facility. Clemson University in South Carolina contributed research in support of the project. For more about CADRE, go to: https://go.nasa.gov/cadre https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26427

While it often seems unvarying from our viewpoint on Earth, the sun is constantly changing. Material courses through not only the star itself, but throughout its expansive atmosphere. Understanding the dance of this charged gas is a key part of better understanding our sun – how it heats up its atmosphere, how it creates a steady flow of solar wind streaming outward in all directions, and how magnetic fields twist and turn to create regions that can explode in giant eruptions. Now, for the first time, researchers have tracked a particular kind of solar wave as it swept upward from the sun's surface through its atmosphere, adding to our understanding of how solar material travels throughout the sun. Scientists analyzed sunspot images from a trio of observatories -- including the Big Bear Solar Observatory, which captured this footage -- to make the first-ever observations of a solar wave traveling up into the sun’s atmosphere from a sunspot. Tracking solar waves like this provides a novel tool for scientists to study the atmosphere of the sun. The imagery of the journey also confirms existing ideas, helping to nail down the existence of a mechanism that moves energy – and therefore heat – into the sun’s mysteriously-hot upper atmosphere, called the corona. A study on these results was published Oct. 11, 2016, in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Image credit: Zhao et al/NASA/SDO/IRIS/BBSO Read more: <a href="http://go.nasa.gov/2dRv80g" rel="nofollow">go.nasa.gov/2dRv80g</a> <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b> <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b> <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>

Two prototypes for a NASA mission concept called SWIM (short for Sensing With Independent Micro-swimmers) are arranged beside a much smaller nonfunctioning model representing the final envisioned size of the robot: about 5 inches (12 centimeters) long. The plastic prototypes were built at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California to demonstrate the feasibility of the concept, a swarm of dozens of self-propelled, cellphone-size robots exploring the waters of icy moons like Jupiter's Europa and Saturn's Enceladus. Delivered to the subsurface ocean by an ice-melting cryobot, the tiny robots would zoom away to look for chemical and temperature signals that could point to life. The prototypes were used in more that 20 rounds of underwater testing in a pair of tanks at JPL and in a competition swimming pool at Caltech in Pasadena. Relying on low-cost, commercially made motors and electronics, the robots are pushed along by two propellers and use two to four flaps for steering. The prototype in the center of the image weighs 3.7 pounds (1.7 kilograms) and is 14.5 inches (37 centimeters) long, 6 inches (15 centimeters) wide, and 2.5 inches (6.5 centimeters) tall, with a volume of 104 cubic inches (1.7 liters). The upgraded prototype at left is slightly bigger: 16.5 inches (42 centimeters) long, 3 inches (7.5 centimeters) tall, with a weight of 5 pounds (2.3 kilograms) and a volume of 140 cubic inches (2.3 liters). In pool tests, the prototype at left demonstrated controlled maneuvering, the ability to stay on and correct its course, and a back-and-forth "lawnmower" exploration pattern. It managed all of this autonomously, without the team's direct intervention. The robot even spelled out "J-P-L." As conceived for spaceflight and represented by the model at right, the robots would have dimensions about three times smaller than these prototypes – tiny compared to existing remotely operated and autonomous underwater scientific vehicles. The swimmers would feature miniaturized, purpose-built parts and employ a novel wireless underwater acoustic communication system for transmitting data and triangulating their positions. Several years more of work would be needed to make such an advanced concept ready for spaceflight. Led by JPL, SWIM development took place from spring 2021 to fall 2024. The project was supported by Phase I and II funding from NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts program under the agency's Space Technology Mission Directorate. JPL is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26425

A prototype of an autonomous robot, part of a project called IceNode being developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is seen from beneath the frozen surface of Lake Superior, off Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The three thin legs of the robot's "landing gear" affix it to the icy ceiling. A remote camera captured the image during a field test in 2022. The IceNode project envisions a fleet of such robots to venture beneath Antarctic ice shelves and gather data that would help scientists calculate how rapidly the ice shelves there are melting – and how fast that melting could cause global sea levels to rise. Each about 8 feet (2.4 meters) long and 10 inches (25 centimeters) in diameter, the robots use three-legged "landing gear" that springs out from one end to attach the robot to the underside of the ice. Rather than using propulsion, the robots would autonomously position themselves with the help of novel algorithms based on models of ocean currents. Released from a borehole or a vessel in the open ocean, the robots would ride those currents on a long journey beneath an ice shelf. They would target the underwater area known as the "grounding zone," where floating ice shelves, ocean, and land meet, deep inside unmapped cavities where the ice may be melting the fastest. Each robot would detach a ballast and rise up to affix itself to the underside of the ice, where their suite of sensors would measure how fast warm, salty ocean water is circulating up to melt the ice, and how quickly cold meltwater is sinking. As conceived, the IceNode fleet would operate for up to a year, continuously capturing data, including seasonal fluctuations. Then the robots would detach themselves from the ice, drift back out to open ocean, and transmit their data via satellite. This test was conducted through the U.S. Navy Arctic Submarine Laboratory's biennial Ice Camp, a three-week operation that provides researchers a temporary base camp from which to conduct field work in the harsh Arctic environment. IceNode has been funded through JPL's internal research and technology development program and its Earth Science and Technology Directorate. JPL is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26421

A prototype of an autonomous robot, part of a project called IceNode being developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, was tested in the Beaufort Sea north of Alaska in March 2024. The project envisions a fleet of such robots to venture beneath Antarctic ice shelves and gather data that would help scientists calculate how rapidly the ice shelves there are melting – and how fast that melting could cause global sea levels to rise. This image, as well as Figures A and B, shows the team lowering the prototype through a borehole in the sea ice. During this Arctic field test, the robot descended on a tether about 330 feet (100 meters) into the ocean, where its instruments gathered salinity, temperature, and flow data. The team also conducted tests to determine adjustments that would enable them to take the robot off-tether. Each about 8 feet (2.4 meters) long and 10 inches (25 centimeters) in diameter, the robots use three-legged "landing gear" that springs out from one end to attach the robot to the underside of the ice. Rather than using propulsion, the robots would autonomously position themselves with the help of novel algorithms based on models of ocean currents. Released from a borehole or a vessel in the open ocean, the robots would ride those currents on a long journey beneath an ice shelf. They would target the underwater area known as the "grounding zone," where floating ice shelves, ocean, and land meet, deep inside unmapped cavities where the ice may be melting the fastest. Each robot would detach a ballast and rise up to affix itself to the underside of the ice, where their suite of sensors would measure how fast warm, salty ocean water is circulating up to melt the ice, and how quickly cold meltwater is sinking. As conceived, the IceNode fleet would operate for up to a year, continuously capturing data, including seasonal fluctuations. Then the robots would detach themselves from the ice, drift back out to open ocean, and transmit their data via satellite. This test was conducted through the U.S. Navy Arctic Submarine Laboratory's biennial Ice Camp, a three-week operation that provides researchers a temporary base camp from which to conduct field work in the harsh Arctic environment. IceNode has been funded through JPL's internal research and technology development program and its Earth Science and Technology Directorate. JPL is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26349

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover captured this mosaic showing the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter at its final airfield on Feb. 4, 2024. The helicopter damaged its rotor blades during landing on its 72nd flight on Jan. 18, 2024. The Ingenuity team has nicknamed the spot where the helicopter completed its final flight "Valinor Hills" after the fictional location in J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy novels, which include "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. The six images that were stitched together to make up this mosaic were captured from about 1,475 feet (450 meters) away by the rover's Mastcam-Z imager. Shown here is an enhanced-color view that exaggerates subtle color differences in the scene to show more detail. The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which manages the project for NASA Headquarters. It is supported by NASA's Science Mission Directorate. NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley and NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, provided significant flight performance analysis and technical assistance during Ingenuity's development. AeroVironment Inc., Qualcomm, and SolAero also provided design assistance and major vehicle components. Lockheed Martin Space designed and manufactured the Mars Helicopter Delivery System. Arizona State University leads the operations of the Mastcam-Z instrument, working in collaboration with Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego, on the design, fabrication, testing, and operation of the cameras, and in collaboration with the Niels Bohr Institute of the University of Copenhagen on the design, fabrication, and testing of the calibration targets. 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 Perseverance mission is part of NASA's Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA26236