Research, Science, and Engineering Services (RSES) intern tour of the 8ft high temperature hypersonic wind tunnel (8ft HTT/B1265)

iss073e1049692 (Nov. 6, 2025) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Jonny Kim poses for a portrait while servicing the KERMIT (Keyence Research Microscope Testbed) fluorescence microscope inside the Materials Science Research Rack aboard the International Space Station’s Destiny laboratory module. KERMIT is a commercial off-the-shelf microscope that provides researchers with essential imaging capabilities for biological, physical, and materials science research in microgravity.

ISS009-E-22046 (11 September 2004) --- Astronaut Edward M. (Mike) Fincke, Expedition 9 NASA ISS science officer and flight engineer, uses a microphone/keypad for the ARISS ham radio in the Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station (ISS) during his contact with the Palmer Research Station in Antarctica.

iss065e023172 (May 6, 2021) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 65 Flight Engineer Megan McArthur services donor cells inside the Kibo laboratory module's Life Science Glovebox for the Celestial Immunity study. The human research investigation may provide insights into new vaccines and drugs possibly advancing the commercialization of space.

iss065e026426 (May 6, 2021) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 65 Flight Engineer Megan McArthur services donor cells inside the Kibo laboratory module's Life Science Glovebox for the Celestial Immunity study. The human research investigation may provide insights into new vaccines and drugs possibly advancing the commercialization of space.

Dr. Oscar Monje, a research scientist, packs a growing substrate called arcillite in the science carrier, or base, of the Advanced Plant Habitat (APH) inside a laboratory at the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Seated at right is Susan Manning-Roach, a quality assurance specialist on the Engineering Services Contract. Developed by NASA and ORBITEC of Madison, Wisconsin, the APH is the largest plant chamber built for the agency. It is a fully automated plant growth facility that will be used to conduct bioscience research on the International Space Station. The APH will be delivered to the space station aboard future Commercial Resupply Services missions.

Dr. Oscar Monje, (far right) a research scientist, packs a growing substrate called arcillite in the science carrier, or base, of the Advanced Plant Habitat (APH) inside a laboratory at the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Assisting him is Jeffrey Richards, project science coordinator with SGT on the Engineering Services Contract (ESC). Seated in the foreground is Susan Manning-Roach, a quality assurance specialist, also with ESC. Developed by NASA and ORBITEC of Madison, Wisconsin, the APH is the largest plant chamber built for the agency. It is a fully automated plant growth facility that will be used to conduct bioscience research on the International Space Station. The APH will be delivered to the space station aboard future Commercial Resupply Services missions.

The optical bench for the Fluids Integrated Rack section of the Fluids and Combustion Facility (FCF) is shown extracted for servicing. The FCF will be installed, in phases, in the Destiny, the U.S. Laboratory Module of the International Space Station (ISS), and will accommodate multiple users for a range of investigations. This is an engineering mockup; the flight hardware is subject to change as designs are refined. The FCF is being developed by the Microgravity Science Division (MSD) at the NASA Glenn Research Center. (Photo credit: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center)

The optical bench for the Fluids Integrated Rack section of the Fluids and Combustion Facility (FCF) is shown extracted for servicing and with the optical bench rotated 90 degrees to access the rear elements. The FCF will be installed, in phases, in the Destiny, the U.S. Laboratory Module of the International Space Station (ISS), and will accommodate multiple users for a range of investigations. This is an engineering mockup; the flight hardware is subject to change as designs are refined. The FCF is being developed by the Microgravity Science Division (MSD) at the NASA Glenn Research Center. (Photo credit: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center)

ISS027-E-022454 (5 May 2011) --- Russian cosmonaut Alexander Samokutyaev, Expedition 27 flight engineer, uses a glovebox to service the Russian Bioemulsion science payload in the Poisk Mini-Research Module 2 (MRM2) of the International Space Station. The Bioemulsion experiment is attempting to develop faster technologies for obtaining microorganism biomass and biologically active substance biomass for creating highly efficient environmentally pure bacteria, enzymes, and medicinal/pharmaceutical preparations.

iss073e0032802 (May 16, 2025) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Jonny Kim services hardware that promotes physical science and crystalization research inside the Advanced Space Experiment Processor-4 (ADSEP-4) aboard the International Space Station. The ADSEP-4 is supporting a technology demonstration potentially enabling the synthesis of medications during deep space missions and improving the pharmaceutical industry on Earth.

The combustion chamber for the Combustion Integrated Rack section of the Fluids and Combustion Facility (FCF) is shown extracted for servicing. The FCF will be installed, in phases, in the Destiny, the U.S. Laboratory Module of the International Space Station (ISS), and will accommodate multiple users for a range of investigations. This is an engineering mockup; the flight hardware is subject to change as designs are refined. The FCF is being developed by the Microgravity Science Division (MSD) at the NASA Glenn Research Center. (Photo credit: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center)

Michael Snyder, chief engineer for Made in Space, speaks to members of the media in the Kennedy Space Center’s Press Site auditorium. The briefing focused on science research and technology work planned for the International Space Station, or ISS, following the arrival of a Cygnus spacecraft. The Cygnus is scheduled to be launched March 22 atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on the Orbital ATK CRS-6 commercial resupply services mission.

iss069e030677 (July 10, 2023) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 69 Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen works on the Plant Habitat-03B Science Carrier, a space botany research device, in the International Space Station's Harmony module. The Plant Habitat-03 investigation explores how space-caused DNA changes are transferred from one generation of plants to the next and then continue to accumulate or stabilize. This could provide insight into how to grow repeated generations of crops to provide food and other services on future space missions.

The optical bench for the Fluids Integrated Rack section of the Fluids and Combustion Facility (FCF) is shown extracted for servicing and with the optical bench rotated 90 degrees for access to the rear elements. The FCF will be installed, in phases, in the Destiny, the U.S. Laboratory Module of the International Space Station (ISS), and will accommodate multiple users for a range of investigations. This is an engineering mockup; the flight hardware is subject to change as designs are refined. The FCF is being developed by the Microgravity Science Division (MSD) at the NASA Glenn Research Center. (Photo credit: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center)

The combustion chamber for the Combustion Integrated Rack section of the Fluids and Combustion Facility (FCF) is shown extracted for servicing and with the optical bench rotated 90 degrees for access to the rear elements. The FCF will be installed, in phases, in the Destiny, the U.S. Laboratory Module of the International Space Station (ISS), and will accommodate multiple users for a range of investigations. This is an engineering mockup; the flight hardware is subject to change as designs are refined. The FCF is being developed by the Microgravity Science Division (MSD) at the NASA Glenn Research Center. (Photo credit: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At the Marriott Courtyard Hotel in Cocoa Beach, Fla., Greg Clements, chief of Kennedy's Control and Data Systems Division and lead for the Engineering and Technology's Small Payload Integrated Testing Services, or SPLITS, line of business, speaks to participants in the 4th International Workshop on Lunar and Planetary Compact and Cryogenic Science and Technology Applications. Scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs interested in research on the moon and other planetary surfaces, recently participated in the Workshop. Taking place April 8-11, 2014, the event was designed to foster collaborative work among those interested in solving the challenges of building hardware, software and businesses interested in going back to the moon and exploring beyond. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At the Marriott Courtyard Hotel in Cocoa Beach, Fla., Greg Clements, chief of Kennedy's Control and Data Systems Division and lead for the Engineering and Technology's Small Payload Integrated Testing Services, or SPLITS, line of business, speaks to participants in the 4th International Workshop on Lunar and Planetary Compact and Cryogenic Science and Technology Applications. Scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs interested in research on the moon and other planetary surfaces, recently participated in the Workshop. Taking place April 8-11, 2014, the event was designed to foster collaborative work among those interested in solving the challenges of building hardware, software and businesses interested in going back to the moon and exploring beyond. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper

From left, Oscar Monje, Ph.D., a plant physiologist with AECOM Management Services; and Alora Mazarakis, an electrical engineer with Techshot, prepare to harvest radish plants from the base of the Advanced Plant Habitat ground unit inside a laboratory in the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 13, 2019. The radishes are being harvested as part of a science verification test. The APH is currently the largest plant chamber built for the agency in use on the International Space Station. It is an autonomous plant growth facility that is being used to conduct bioscience research on the space station with the goal of enabling astronauts to be sustainable on long duration missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond.

Creating a golden streak in the night sky, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon spacecraft soars upward after liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 14, 2023, on the company’s 27th Commercial Resupply Services mission for the agency to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 8:30 p.m. EDT. The Dragon spacecraft will deliver more than 6,000 pounds of science and research, supplies, and equipment to the crew aboard the space station, including the final two experiments comprising the National Institutes for Health and International Space Station National Laboratory’s Tissue Chips in Space initiative, Cardinal Heart 2.0 and Engineered Heart Tissues-2. The spacecraft is expected to spend about a month attached to the orbiting outpost before it returns to Earth with research and return cargo, splashing down off the coast of Florida.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soars upward after its liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 14, 2023, on the company’s 27th Commercial Resupply Services mission for the agency to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 8:30 p.m. EDT. The Dragon spacecraft will deliver more than 6,000 pounds of science and research, supplies, and equipment to the crew aboard the space station, including the final two experiments comprising the National Institutes for Health and International Space Station National Laboratory’s Tissue Chips in Space initiative, Cardinal Heart 2.0 and Engineered Heart Tissues-2. The spacecraft is expected to spend about a month attached to the orbiting outpost before it returns to Earth with research and return cargo, splashing down off the coast of Florida.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soars upward after its liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 14, 2023, on the company’s 27th Commercial Resupply Services mission for the agency to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 8:30 p.m. EDT. The Dragon spacecraft will deliver more than 6,000 pounds of science and research, supplies, and equipment to the crew aboard the space station, including the final two experiments comprising the National Institutes for Health and International Space Station National Laboratory’s Tissue Chips in Space initiative, Cardinal Heart 2.0 and Engineered Heart Tissues-2. The spacecraft is expected to spend about a month attached to the orbiting outpost before it returns to Earth with research and return cargo, splashing down off the coast of Florida.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soars upward after its liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 14, 2023, on the company’s 27th Commercial Resupply Services mission for the agency to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 8:30 p.m. EDT. The Dragon spacecraft will deliver more than 6,000 pounds of science and research, supplies, and equipment to the crew aboard the space station, including the final two experiments comprising the National Institutes for Health and International Space Station National Laboratory’s Tissue Chips in Space initiative, Cardinal Heart 2.0 and Engineered Heart Tissues-2. The spacecraft is expected to spend about a month attached to the orbiting outpost before it returns to Earth with research and return cargo, splashing down off the coast of Florida.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soars upward after its liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 14, 2023, on the company’s 27th Commercial Resupply Services mission for the agency to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 8:30 p.m. EDT. The Dragon spacecraft will deliver more than 6,000 pounds of science and research, supplies, and equipment to the crew aboard the space station, including the final two experiments comprising the National Institutes for Health and International Space Station National Laboratory’s Tissue Chips in Space initiative, Cardinal Heart 2.0 and Engineered Heart Tissues-2. The spacecraft is expected to spend about a month attached to the orbiting outpost before it returns to Earth with research and return cargo, splashing down off the coast of Florida.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soars upward after its liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 14, 2023, on the company’s 27th Commercial Resupply Services mission for the agency to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 8:30 p.m. EDT. The Dragon spacecraft will deliver more than 6,000 pounds of science and research, supplies, and equipment to the crew aboard the space station, including the final two experiments comprising the National Institutes for Health and International Space Station National Laboratory’s Tissue Chips in Space initiative, Cardinal Heart 2.0 and Engineered Heart Tissues-2. The spacecraft is expected to spend about a month attached to the orbiting outpost before it returns to Earth with research and return cargo, splashing down off the coast of Florida.

Creating a golden streak in the night sky, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soars upward after liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 14, 2023, on the company’s 27th Commercial Resupply Services mission for the agency to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 8:30 p.m. EDT. The Dragon spacecraft will deliver more than 6,000 pounds of science and research, supplies, and equipment to the crew aboard the space station, including the final two experiments comprising the National Institutes for Health and International Space Station National Laboratory’s Tissue Chips in Space initiative, Cardinal Heart 2.0 and Engineered Heart Tissues-2. The spacecraft is expected to spend about a month attached to the orbiting outpost before it returns to Earth with research and return cargo, splashing down off the coast of Florida.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soars upward after its liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 14, 2023, on the company’s 27th Commercial Resupply Services mission for the agency to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 8:30 p.m. EDT. The Dragon spacecraft will deliver more than 6,000 pounds of science and research, supplies, and equipment to the crew aboard the space station, including the final two experiments comprising the National Institutes for Health and International Space Station National Laboratory’s Tissue Chips in Space initiative, Cardinal Heart 2.0 and Engineered Heart Tissues-2. The spacecraft is expected to spend about a month attached to the orbiting outpost before it returns to Earth with research and return cargo, splashing down off the coast of Florida.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida comes alive as the Merlin engines ignite under the Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule to orbit. Liftoff was at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, built both the rocket and capsule for NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making America’s microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. NASA has contracted for 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/launch/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Rusty Backer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida comes alive as the Merlin engines ignite under the Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule to orbit. Liftoff was at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, built both the rocket and capsule for NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making America’s microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. NASA has contracted for 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/launch/index.html Photo credit: NASA/ Rick Wetherington and Tim Powers

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida comes alive as the Merlin engines ignite under the Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule to orbit. Liftoff was at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, built both the rocket and capsule for NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making America’s microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. NASA has contracted for 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/launch/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Rick Wetherington and Tony Gray

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida comes alive as the Merlin engines ignite under the Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule to orbit. Liftoff was at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, built both the rocket and capsule for NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making America’s microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. NASA has contracted for 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/launch/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Rusty Backer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida comes alive as the Merlin engines ignite under the Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule to orbit. Liftoff was at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, built both the rocket and capsule for NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making America’s microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. NASA has contracted for 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/launch/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Rusty Backer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida comes alive as the Merlin engines ignite under the Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule to orbit. Liftoff was at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, built both the rocket and capsule for NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making America’s microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. NASA has contracted for 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/launch/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Rusty Backer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida comes alive as the Merlin engines ignite under the Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule to orbit. Liftoff was at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, built both the rocket and capsule for NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making America’s microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. NASA has contracted for 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/launch/index.html Photo credit: NASA/ Rick Wetherington and Tim Powers

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida comes alive as the Merlin engines ignite under the Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule to orbit. Liftoff was at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, built both the rocket and capsule for NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making America’s microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. NASA has contracted for 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/launch/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Rusty Backer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida comes alive as the Merlin engines ignite under the Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule to orbit. Liftoff was at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, built both the rocket and capsule for NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making America’s microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. NASA has contracted for 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/launch/index.html Photo credit: NASA/ Rick Wetherington and Tim Powers

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida comes alive as the Merlin engines ignite under the Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule to orbit. Liftoff was at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, built both the rocket and capsule for NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making America’s microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. NASA has contracted for 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/launch/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Tony Gray

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida comes alive as the Merlin engines ignite under the Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule to orbit. Liftoff was at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, built both the rocket and capsule for NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making America’s microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. NASA has contracted for 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/launch/index.html. Photo credit: NASA/Tony Gray and Rick Wetherington

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida comes alive as the Merlin engines ignite under the Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule to orbit. Liftoff was at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, built both the rocket and capsule for NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making America’s microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. NASA has contracted for 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/launch/index.html Photo credit: NASA/ Rick Wetherington and Tim Powers

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida comes alive as the Merlin engines ignite under the Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule to orbit. Liftoff was at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, built both the rocket and capsule for NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making America’s microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. NASA has contracted for 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/launch/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Rick Wetherington and Tony Gray

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida comes alive as the Merlin engines ignite under the Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule to orbit. Liftoff was at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, built both the rocket and capsule for NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making America’s microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. NASA has contracted for 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/launch/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Tony Gray

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida comes alive as the Merlin engines ignite under the Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule to orbit. Liftoff was at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, built both the rocket and capsule for NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making America’s microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. NASA has contracted for 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/launch/index.html Photo credit: NASA/ Rick Wetherington and Tim Powers

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida comes alive as the Merlin engines ignite under the Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule to orbit. Liftoff was at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, built both the rocket and capsule for NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making America’s microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. NASA has contracted for 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/launch/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Gina Mitchell and George Roberts

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida comes alive as the Merlin engines ignite under the Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule to orbit. Liftoff was at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, built both the rocket and capsule for NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making America’s microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. NASA has contracted for 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/launch/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Rick Wetherington and Tony Gray

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida comes alive as the Merlin engines ignite under the Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule to orbit. Liftoff was at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, built both the rocket and capsule for NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making America’s microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. NASA has contracted for 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/launch/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Tony Gray

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida comes alive as the Merlin engines ignite under the Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule to orbit. Liftoff was at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, built both the rocket and capsule for NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making America’s microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. NASA has contracted for 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/launch/index.html Photo credit: NASA/ Rick Wetherington and Tim Powers

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida comes alive as the Merlin engines ignite under the Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule to orbit. Liftoff was at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, built both the rocket and capsule for NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making America’s microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. NASA has contracted for 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/launch/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Gina Mitchell and George Roberts

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida comes alive as the Merlin engines ignite under the Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule to orbit. Liftoff was at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, built both the rocket and capsule for NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making America’s microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. NASA has contracted for 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/launch/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Rick Wetherington and Tony Gray

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida comes alive as the Merlin engines ignite under the Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule to orbit. Liftoff was at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, built both the rocket and capsule for NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making America’s microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. NASA has contracted for 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/launch/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Rusty Backer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida comes alive as the Merlin engines ignite under the Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule to orbit. Liftoff was at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, built both the rocket and capsule for NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making America’s microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. NASA has contracted for 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/launch/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Tony Gray

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida comes alive as the Merlin engines ignite under the Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule to orbit. Liftoff was at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, built both the rocket and capsule for NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making America’s microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. NASA has contracted for 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/launch/index.html Photo credit: NASA/ Rick Wetherington and Tim Powers

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida comes alive as the Merlin engines ignite under the Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule to orbit. Liftoff was at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, built both the rocket and capsule for NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making America’s microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. NASA has contracted for 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/launch/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Rick Wetherington and Tony Gray

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida comes alive as the Merlin engines ignite under the Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule to orbit. Liftoff was at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, built both the rocket and capsule for NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making America’s microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. NASA has contracted for 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/launch/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Rick Wetherington and Tony Gray

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida comes alive as the Merlin engines ignite under the Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule to orbit. Liftoff was at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, built both the rocket and capsule for NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making America’s microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. NASA has contracted for 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/launch/index.html Photo credit: NASA/Tony Gray

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida comes alive as the Merlin engines ignite under the Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule to orbit. Liftoff was at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, built both the rocket and capsule for NASA's first Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-1, mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making America’s microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including science experiments, to and from the orbiting laboratory. NASA has contracted for 12 commercial resupply flights from SpaceX and eight from the Orbital Sciences Corp. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/launch/index.html Photo credit: NASA/ Rick Wetherington and Tim Powers

A Kennedy Space Center engineer prepares the Mass Spectrometer observing lunar operations (MSolo) instrument for vibration testing inside the Florida spaceport’s Cryogenics Laboratory on Aug. 3, 2022. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. Researchers and engineers are preparing MSolo instruments to launch on four robotic missions as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) – commercial deliveries that will perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for crewed missions to the lunar surface. This particular MSolo instrument is slated to fly on the agency’s Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) mission – the first in-situ resource utilization demonstration on the Moon – as part of the agency’s CLPS initiative.

Engineers install multilayer insulation (MLI) on the Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSolo) instrument inside Kennedy Space Center’s Space Station Processing Facility on Oct. 20, 2022. The activity is in preparation for the Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) mission, which will be the first in-situ resource utilization demonstration on the Moon. MLI protects the instrument from thermal temperature extremes, helping to insulate at cold temperatures and to cool at higher temperatures when solar lighting conditions or lunar infrared reflects onto the instrument. Researchers and engineers are preparing MSolo instruments to launch on four robotic missions as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services – commercial deliveries beginning in 2023 that will perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for crewed missions to the lunar surface.

Engineers prepare the Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSolo) instrument for the multilayer insulation installation inside Kennedy Space Center’s Space Station Processing Facility on Oct. 19, 2022. The activity is in preparation for the Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) mission, which will be the first in-situ resource utilization demonstration on the Moon. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. Researchers and engineers are preparing MSolo instruments to launch on four robotic missions as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services – commercial deliveries beginning in 2023 that will perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for crewed missions to the lunar surface.

Engineers install multilayer insulation (MLI) on the Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSolo) instrument inside Kennedy Space Center’s Space Station Processing Facility on Oct. 20, 2022. The activity is in preparation for the Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) mission, which will be the first in-situ resource utilization demonstration on the Moon. MLI protects the instrument from thermal temperature extremes, helping to insulate at cold temperatures and to cool at higher temperatures when solar lighting conditions or lunar infrared reflects onto the instrument. Researchers and engineers are preparing MSolo instruments to launch on four robotic missions as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services – commercial deliveries beginning in 2023 that will perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for crewed missions to the lunar surface.

Engineers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida remove the vibration fixture on the Mass Spectrometer observing lunar operations (MSolo) instrument on Aug. 4, 2022. The activity followed a vibration test in preparation for the Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) mission, which will be the first in-situ resource utilization demonstration on the Moon. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. Researchers and engineers are preparing MSolo instruments to launch on four robotic missions as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services – commercial deliveries beginning in 2023 that will perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for crewed missions to the lunar surface.

Engineers prepare the Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSolo) instrument for the multilayer insulation installation inside Kennedy Space Center’s Space Station Processing Facility on Oct. 19, 2022. The activity is in preparation for the Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) mission, which will be the first in-situ resource utilization demonstration on the Moon. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. Researchers and engineers are preparing MSolo instruments to launch on four robotic missions as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services – commercial deliveries beginning in 2023 that will perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for crewed missions to the lunar surface.

From left are Ashleigh Ruggles, a launch operations support specialist with Techshot; Oscar Monje, Ph.D., a plant physiologist with AECOM Management Services; and Sam Logan, senior mechanical engineering technician; and Alora Mazarakis, an electrical engineer, both with Techshot. They are harvesting radish plants from the base of the Advanced Plant Habitat ground unit inside a laboratory in the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 13, 2019. The radishes are being harvested as part of a science verification test. The APH is currently the largest plant chamber built for the agency in use on the International Space Station. It is an autonomous plant growth facility that is being used to conduct bioscience research on the space station with the goal of enabling astronauts to be sustainable on long duration missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond.

Engineers prepare the Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSolo) instrument for the multilayer insulation installation inside Kennedy Space Center’s Space Station Processing Facility on Oct. 19, 2022. The activity is in preparation for the Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) mission, which will be the first in-situ resource utilization demonstration on the Moon. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. Researchers and engineers are preparing MSolo instruments to launch on four robotic missions as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services – commercial deliveries beginning in 2023 that will perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for crewed missions to the lunar surface.

A Kennedy Space Center engineer prepares the Mass Spectrometer observing lunar operations (MSolo) instrument for vibration testing inside the Florida spaceport’s Cryogenics Laboratory on Aug. 3, 2022. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. Researchers and engineers are preparing MSolo instruments to launch on four robotic missions as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) – commercial deliveries that will perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for crewed missions to the lunar surface. This particular MSolo instrument is slated to fly on the agency’s Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) mission – the first in-situ resource utilization demonstration on the Moon – as part of the agency’s CLPS initiative.

Engineers install multilayer insulation (MLI) on the Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSolo) instrument inside Kennedy Space Center’s Space Station Processing Facility on Oct. 20, 2022. The activity is in preparation for the Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) mission, which will be the first in-situ resource utilization demonstration on the Moon. MLI protects the instrument from thermal temperature extremes, helping to insulate at cold temperatures and to cool at higher temperatures when solar lighting conditions or lunar infrared reflects onto the instrument. Researchers and engineers are preparing MSolo instruments to launch on four robotic missions as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services – commercial deliveries beginning in 2023 that will perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for crewed missions to the lunar surface.

Engineers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida remove the vibration fixture on the Mass Spectrometer observing lunar operations (MSolo) instrument on Aug. 4, 2022. The activity followed a vibration test in preparation for the Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) mission, which will be the first in-situ resource utilization demonstration on the Moon. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. Researchers and engineers are preparing MSolo instruments to launch on four robotic missions as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services – commercial deliveries beginning in 2023 that will perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for crewed missions to the lunar surface.

Engineers install multilayer insulation (MLI) on the Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSolo) instrument inside Kennedy Space Center’s Space Station Processing Facility on Oct. 20, 2022. The activity is in preparation for the Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) mission, which will be the first in-situ resource utilization demonstration on the Moon. MLI protects the instrument from thermal temperature extremes, helping to insulate at cold temperatures and to cool at higher temperatures when solar lighting conditions or lunar infrared reflects onto the instrument. Researchers and engineers are preparing MSolo instruments to launch on four robotic missions as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services – commercial deliveries beginning in 2023 that will perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for crewed missions to the lunar surface.

Engineers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida remove the vibration fixture on the Mass Spectrometer observing lunar operations (MSolo) instrument on Aug. 4, 2022. The activity followed a vibration test in preparation for the Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) mission, which will be the first in-situ resource utilization demonstration on the Moon. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. Researchers and engineers are preparing MSolo instruments to launch on four robotic missions as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services – commercial deliveries beginning in 2023 that will perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for crewed missions to the lunar surface.

Engineers prepare the Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSolo) instrument for the multilayer insulation installation inside Kennedy Space Center’s Space Station Processing Facility on Oct. 19, 2022. The activity is in preparation for the Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) mission, which will be the first in-situ resource utilization demonstration on the Moon. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. Researchers and engineers are preparing MSolo instruments to launch on four robotic missions as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services – commercial deliveries beginning in 2023 that will perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for crewed missions to the lunar surface.

Engineers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center prepare the Mass Spectrometer observing lunar operations (MSolo) instrument for vibration testing inside the Florida spaceport’s Cryogenics Laboratory on Aug. 3, 2022. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. Researchers and engineers are preparing MSolo instruments to launch on four robotic missions as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) – commercial deliveries that will perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for crewed missions to the lunar surface. This particular MSolo instrument is slated to fly on the agency’s Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) mission – the first in-situ resource utilization demonstration on the Moon – as part of the agency’s CLPS initiative.

Engineers prepare the Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSolo) instrument for the multilayer insulation installation inside Kennedy Space Center’s Space Station Processing Facility on Oct. 19, 2022. The activity is in preparation for the Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) mission, which will be the first in-situ resource utilization demonstration on the Moon. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. Researchers and engineers are preparing MSolo instruments to launch on four robotic missions as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services – commercial deliveries beginning in 2023 that will perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for crewed missions to the lunar surface.

Engineers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida remove the vibration fixture on the Mass Spectrometer observing lunar operations (MSolo) instrument on Aug. 4, 2022. The activity followed a vibration test in preparation for the Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) mission, which will be the first in-situ resource utilization demonstration on the Moon. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. Researchers and engineers are preparing MSolo instruments to launch on four robotic missions as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services – commercial deliveries beginning in 2023 that will perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for crewed missions to the lunar surface.

Engineers prepare the Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSolo) instrument for the multilayer insulation installation inside Kennedy Space Center’s Space Station Processing Facility on Oct. 19, 2022. The activity is in preparation for the Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) mission, which will be the first in-situ resource utilization demonstration on the Moon. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. Researchers and engineers are preparing MSolo instruments to launch on four robotic missions as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services – commercial deliveries beginning in 2023 that will perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for crewed missions to the lunar surface.

Engineers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center monitor the Mass Spectrometer observing lunar operations (MSolo) instrument as it undergoes vibration testing inside the Florida spaceport’s Cryogenics Laboratory on Aug. 3, 2022. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. Researchers and engineers are preparing MSolo instruments to launch on four robotic missions as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) – commercial deliveries that will perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for crewed missions to the lunar surface. This particular MSolo instrument is slated to fly on the agency’s Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) mission – the first in-situ resource utilization demonstration on the Moon – as part of the agency’s CLPS initiative.

Engineers install multilayer insulation (MLI) on the Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSolo) instrument inside Kennedy Space Center’s Space Station Processing Facility on Oct. 20, 2022. The activity is in preparation for the Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) mission, which will be the first in-situ resource utilization demonstration on the Moon. MLI protects the instrument from thermal temperature extremes, helping to insulate at cold temperatures and to cool at higher temperatures when solar lighting conditions or lunar infrared reflects onto the instrument. Researchers and engineers are preparing MSolo instruments to launch on four robotic missions as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services – commercial deliveries beginning in 2023 that will perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for crewed missions to the lunar surface.

Virtual Intelligent Planetary Exploration Rover, VIPER Mobility Platform Testing An engineering model of the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, is tested in the Simulated Lunar Operations Laboratory at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. About the size of a golf cart, VIPER is a mobile robot that will roam around the Moon’s South Pole looking for water ice in the region and for the first time ever, actually sample the water ice at the same pole where the first woman and next man will land in 2024 under the Artemis program. The large, adjustable soil bin contains lunar simulant and allows engineers to mimic the Moon’s terrain. Engineers from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, where the rover was designed and built, joined the Glenn team to complete the tests. Test data will be used to evaluate the traction of the vehicle and wheels, determine the power requirements for a variety of maneuvers and compare methods of traversing steep slopes. Respirators are worn by researchers to protect against the airborne silica that is present during testing. VIPER is a collaboration within and beyond the agency. NASA's Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley is managing the project, leading the mission’s science, systems engineering, real-time rover surface operations and software. The rover’s instruments are provided by Ames, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and commercial partner, Honeybee Robotics in California. The spacecraft, lander and launch vehicle that will deliver VIPER to the surface of the Moon will be provided through NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, delivering science and technology payloads to and near the Moon.  

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Dr. Freya Shephard is interviewed by the media in the NASA Newsroom at Kennedy Space Center in Florida during prelaunch activities for the SpaceX demonstration test flight. Shephard is a researcher from the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom and mentor to Paul Warren, an eleventh-grade student investigator from Henry E. Lackey High School in Charles County, Md. Warren’s experiment “Physiological Effects of Microgravity and Increased Levels of Radiation on Wild Type and Genetically Engineered Caenorhabditis elegans,” is one of 15 in the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program, or SSEP, being ferried to the International Space Station inside the Dragon capsule. The launch will be the second demonstration test flight for SpaceX for NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program, or COTS. SSEP, which began operation in June 2010 through a partnership of the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education with NanoRacks LLC, is a U.S. national science, technology, engineering and mathematics STEM education initiative that gives students across a community the opportunity to propose and design real experiments to fly in low Earth orbit. SSEP experiments flew on space shuttle missions STS-134 and STS-135 in 2011, the final flights of space shuttles Endeavour and Atlantis. For more information on SSEP, visit http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/station-here-we-come.html. Photo credit: NASA/Gianni Woods

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Workers on Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California place protective covers over the engine of the Delta II second stage. It will be lifted into the mobile service tower for installation on the first stage for launch of the OSTM/Jason-2 spacecraft. The OSTM, or Ocean Topography Mission, on the Jason-2 satellite is a follow-on to Jason-1. It will take oceanographic studies of sea surface height into an operational mode for continued climate forecasting research and science and industrial applications. This satellite altimetry data will help determine ocean circulation, climate change and sea-level rise. OSTM is a joint effort by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA, France’s Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales and the European Meteorological Satellite Organisation. OSTM/Jason-2 will be launched on June 20. Photo credit: NASA

The Mass Spectrometer observing lunar operations (MSolo) instrument undergoes vibration testing inside the Cryogenics Laboratory at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 3, 2022. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. Researchers and engineers are preparing MSolo instruments to launch on four robotic missions as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) – commercial deliveries that will perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for crewed missions to the lunar surface. This particular MSolo instrument is slated to fly on the agency’s Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) mission – the first in-situ resource utilization demonstration on the Moon – as part of the agency’s CLPS initiative.

Adam Chaney, a mechanical engineer with the Laboratory Support Services and Operations (LASSO) contract at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, prepares NASA’s Biology Experiment-1 (BioExpt-1) for testing in the Vibration Laboratory at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 13, 2021. BioExpt-1 is a space biology pathfinder, which will carry plants, algae, yeast, and fungi for biology research beyond low-Earth orbit (LEO). NASA will install the BioExpt-1 payload container assembles onto panels inside the Orion capsule. BioExpt-1 will return these science payloads to Earth to provide critical and unique data about life beyond LEO for the first time in more than 40 years. Artemis I is the first in a series of increasingly complex missions that will enable human exploration of the Moon and eventually on to Mars.

Pri Johnson (left), Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSOLO) systems engineer, and Jim Kania, MSOLO software engineering lead, participate in simulation training at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 25, 2023, in preparation for the agency’s Volatile Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission. The purpose of the training was to get the integrated VIPER team – a mix of engineers from Kennedy and NASA’s Ames Research Center in California – accustomed to operating together during phases of the mission where the rover will be driving. MSOLO is a modified commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer that will help the agency analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon and study water on the lunar surface. MSOLO, as part of VIPER, is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket through NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Service (CLPS) initiative in late 2024, landing at the Moon’s South Pole aboard Astrobotic’s Griffin lander. Through Artemis missions, CLPS deliveries will be used to perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for human deep space exploration missions.

Jim Kania (left), Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSOLO) software engineering lead, and Pri Johnson, MSOLO systems engineer, participate in simulation training at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 25, 2023, in preparation for the agency’s Volatile Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission. The purpose of the training was to get the integrated VIPER team – a mix of engineers from Kennedy and NASA’s Ames Research Center in California – accustomed to operating together during phases of the mission where the rover will be driving. MSOLO is a modified commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer that will help the agency analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon and study water on the lunar surface. MSOLO, as part of VIPER, is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket through NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Service (CLPS) initiative in late 2024, landing at the Moon’s South Pole aboard Astrobotic’s Griffin lander. Through Artemis missions, CLPS deliveries will be used to perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for human deep space exploration missions.

Jim Kania (left), Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSOLO) software engineering lead, and Pri Johnson, MSOLO systems engineer, participate in simulation training at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 25, 2023, in preparation for the agency’s Volatile Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission. The purpose of the training was to get the integrated VIPER team – a mix of engineers from Kennedy and NASA’s Ames Research Center in California – accustomed to operating together during phases of the mission where the rover will be driving. MSOLO is a modified commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer that will help the agency analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon and study water on the lunar surface. MSOLO, as part of VIPER, is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket through NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Service (CLPS) initiative in late 2024, landing at the Moon’s South Pole aboard Astrobotic’s Griffin lander. Through Artemis missions, CLPS deliveries will be used to perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for human deep space exploration missions.

Richard G. (Dick) Ewers became a pilot in the Flight Crew Branch of NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, in May 1998. His flying duties focus on operation of the Airborne Science DC-8 and Systems Research F/A-18 aircraft, but he also maintains qualifications in the King Air and T-34C. He has more than 32 years and nearly 9,000 hours of military and civilian flight experience in all types of aircraft from jet fighters to blimps. Ewers came to NASA Dryden from a position as an engineering test pilot with Northrop Grumman's Electronic Sensors and Systems Division (formerly Westinghouse's Electronic Systems Group). He spent eight and a half years with Westinghouse flight testing radar and forward looking infrared systems under development for military and civilian use. Before going to work for Westinghouse, Ewers served for more than 21 years as a U.S. Marine Corps fighter and test pilot, flying F-4, A-4, and F/A-18 aircraft. He underwent flight training at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., in 1969-70. He was subsequently assigned to both fighter/attack and reconnaissance squadrons before ultimately commanding an F-4S squadron for two years. Additionally, his flying included combat service in Vietnam and operational exchange tours with both U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force squadrons flying F-4s around the world, including off aircraft carriers. Ewers graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in 1981 and subsequently served two tours as a test pilot at the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, Md. Most of his flight test experience was with the F/A-18 Hornet. He retired from the Marine Corps in 1989 with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Ewers graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1968 with a bachelor of science degree in engineering mechanics. He earned a master of science degree in aeronautical systems from the University of West Florida in 1970.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Space shuttle Atlantis is revealed on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center after the rotating service structure, or RSS, at left of the pad was rolled back. Rollback was complete at 9:49 p.m. EST. The RSS provides protected access to the orbiter for crew entry and servicing of payloads at the pad. Beneath the shuttle is the mobile launcher platform which supports the shuttle until liftoff. Rollback of the pad's RSS is one of the milestones in preparation for the launch of mission STS-122. Launch was originally set for Dec. 6 but was rescheduled to 3:21 p.m. Dec. 9. The delay was caused by problems with the external tank's engine cutoff sensor system that arose during tanking on Dec. 6. Atlantis will carry the Columbus Laboratory, the European Space Agency's largest contribution to the construction of the International Space Station. It will support scientific and technological research in a microgravity environment. Permanently attached to the Harmony node of the space station, the laboratory will carry out experiments in materials science, fluid physics and biosciences, as well as perform a number of technological applications. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – After rollback of the rotating service structure, or RSS, on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Discovery is closer to launch on the STS-128 mission. Against the shuttle's cockpit is seen the White Room at the end of the orbiter access arm. The White Room provides the astronauts entry into the shuttle. Discovery sits on the mobile launcher platform, which straddles the flame trench below. On either side of the engine nozzles are the tail masts, which provide several umbilical connections to the orbiter, including a liquid-oxygen line through one and a liquid-hydrogen line through another. Liftoff is scheduled for 1:36 a.m. EDT Aug. 25.The service structure provides weather protection and access to the space shuttle at the launch pad. The 13-day mission will deliver a new crew member and 33,000 pounds of equipment to the International Space Station. The equipment includes science and storage racks, a freezer to store research samples, a new sleeping compartment and the COLBERT treadmill. STS-128 will be Discovery's 37th mission and the 30th shuttle flight dedicated to station assembly and maintenance. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Space shuttle Atlantis is revealed on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center after the rotating service structure, or RSS, at left of the pad was rolled back. Rollback was complete at 9:49 p.m. EST. The RSS provides protected access to the orbiter for crew entry and servicing of payloads at the pad. Beneath the shuttle is the mobile launcher platform which supports the shuttle until liftoff. Rollback of the pad's RSS is one of the milestones in preparation for the launch of mission STS-122. Launch was originally set for Dec. 6 but was rescheduled to 3:21 p.m. Dec. 9. The delay was caused by problems with the external tank's engine cutoff sensor system that arose during tanking on Dec. 6. Atlantis will carry the Columbus Laboratory, the European Space Agency's largest contribution to the construction of the International Space Station. It will support scientific and technological research in a microgravity environment. Permanently attached to the Harmony node of the space station, the laboratory will carry out experiments in materials science, fluid physics and biosciences, as well as perform a number of technological applications. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Space shuttle Atlantis is revealed on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center after the rotating service structure, or RSS, at left of the pad was rolled back. Rollback was complete at 9:49 p.m. EST. The RSS provides protected access to the orbiter for crew entry and servicing of payloads at the pad. Beneath the shuttle is the mobile launcher platform which supports the shuttle until liftoff. Rollback of the pad's RSS is one of the milestones in preparation for the launch of mission STS-122. Launch was originally set for Dec. 6 but was rescheduled to 3:21 p.m. Dec. 9. The delay was caused by problems with the external tank's engine cutoff sensor system that arose during tanking on Dec. 6. Atlantis will carry the Columbus Laboratory, the European Space Agency's largest contribution to the construction of the International Space Station. It will support scientific and technological research in a microgravity environment. Permanently attached to the Harmony node of the space station, the laboratory will carry out experiments in materials science, fluid physics and biosciences, as well as perform a number of technological applications. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – After rollback of the rotating service structure, or RSS, on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Discovery is closer to launch on the STS-128 mission. Against the shuttle's cockpit is seen the White Room at the end of the orbiter access arm. The White Room provides the astronauts entry into the shuttle. Discovery sits on the mobile launcher platform, which straddles the flame trench below. On either side of the engine nozzles are the tail masts, which provide several umbilical connections to the orbiter, including a liquid-oxygen line through one and a liquid-hydrogen line through another. Liftoff is scheduled for 1:36 a.m. EDT Aug. 25.The service structure provides weather protection and access to the space shuttle at the launch pad. The 13-day mission will deliver a new crew member and 33,000 pounds of equipment to the International Space Station. The equipment includes science and storage racks, a freezer to store research samples, a new sleeping compartment and the COLBERT treadmill. STS-128 will be Discovery's 37th mission and the 30th shuttle flight dedicated to station assembly and maintenance. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Lights on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center reveal space shuttle Atlantis following the rollback of the rotating service structure, or RSS. Rollback was complete at 9:49 p.m. EST. The orbiter access arm, at left, extends from the structure to a position next to Atlantis' crew compartment. The White Room at the end of the arm provides the crew with an entryway into the orbiter. The RSS also provides protected access to the orbiter for changeout and servicing of payloads at the pad. Rollback of the pad's RSS is one of the milestones in preparation for the launch of mission STS-122. Launch was originally set for Dec. 6 but was rescheduled to 3:21 p.m. Dec. 9. The delay was caused by problems with the external tank's engine cutoff sensor system that arose during tanking on Dec. 6. Atlantis will carry the Columbus Laboratory, the European Space Agency's largest contribution to the construction of the International Space Station. It will support scientific and technological research in a microgravity environment. Permanently attached to the Harmony node of the space station, the laboratory will carry out experiments in materials science, fluid physics and biosciences, as well as perform a number of technological applications. Photo credit: NASA/Amanda Diller

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

The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) science instrument payload, housed in a specially designed shipping container, sits at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Airport in Bengaluru, India. The payload left NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California on Feb. 28, and departed the United States on March 3 aboard a U.S. Air Force cargo plane, arriving in Bengaluru on March 6. From there it was transported to the Indian Space Research Organisation's U R Rao Satellite Centre, where it will be integrated with the satellite body, or bus, and undergo further testing leading up to launch in 2024. The NISAR mission – a joint effort between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation – will observe nearly all the planet's land and ice surfaces twice every 12 days, measuring movements in extremely fine detail. It will also survey forests and agricultural regions to understand carbon exchange between plants and the atmosphere. NISAR's science payload will be the most advanced radar system ever launched as part of a NASA mission, and it will feature the largest-ever radar antenna of its kind: a drum-shaped, wire mesh reflector nearly 40 feet (12 meters) in diameter that will extend from a 30-foot (9-meter) boom. The mission's science instruments consist of L- and S-band radar, so named to indicate the wavelengths of their signals. ISRO built the S-band radar, which it shipped to JPL in March 2021. Engineers spent much of the last two years integrating the instrument with the JPL-built L-band system, then conducting tests to verify they work well together. JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, leads the U.S. component of NISAR. In addition to the L-band radar, NASA is also providing the radar reflector antenna, the deployable boom, a high-rate communication subsystem for science data, GPS receivers, a solid-state recorder, and payload data subsystem. In addition to the S-band radar, ISRO is providing the spacecraft bus, the launch vehicle, and associated launch services and satellite mission operations. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25570

Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSOLO) Systems Engineer Pri Johnson participates in simulation training at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 25, 2023, in preparation for the agency’s Volatile Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission. The purpose of the training was to get the integrated VIPER team – a mix of engineers from Kennedy and NASA’s Ames Research Center in California – accustomed to operating together during phases of the mission where the rover will be driving. MSOLO is a modified commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer that will help the agency analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon and study water on the lunar surface. MSOLO, as part of VIPER, is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket through NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Service (CLPS) initiative in late 2024, landing at the Moon’s South Pole aboard Astrobotic’s Griffin lander. Through Artemis missions, CLPS deliveries will be used to perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for human deep space exploration missions.

Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSOLO) Software Engineering Lead Jim Kania participates in simulation training at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 25, 2023, in preparation for the agency’s Volatile Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission. The purpose of the training was to get the integrated VIPER team – a mix of engineers from Kennedy and NASA’s Ames Research Center in California – accustomed to operating together during phases of the mission where the rover will be driving. MSOLO is a modified commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer that will help the agency analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon and study water on the lunar surface. MSOLO, as part of VIPER, is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket through NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Service (CLPS) initiative in late 2024, landing at the Moon’s South Pole aboard Astrobotic’s Griffin lander. Through Artemis missions, CLPS deliveries will be used to perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for human deep space exploration missions.

In a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Feb. 23, 2023, engineers and technicians use a crane to prepare to seal a specially designed, climate-controlled shipping container holding the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) science instrument payload. The payload was then shipped to Bengaluru, India, on March 3, arriving on March 6. There it will be integrated with the satellite body, or bus, and undergo further testing leading up to launch in 2024. The NISAR mission – a joint effort between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation – will observe nearly all the planet's land and ice surfaces twice every 12 days, measuring movements in extremely fine detail. It will also survey forests and agricultural regions to understand carbon exchange between plants and the atmosphere. NISAR's science payload will be the most advanced radar system ever launched as part of a NASA mission, and it will feature the largest-ever radar antenna of its kind: a drum-shaped, wire mesh reflector nearly 40 feet (12 meters) in diameter that will extend from a 30-foot (9-meter) boom. The mission's science instruments consist of L- and S-band radar, so named to indicate the wavelengths of their signals. ISRO built the S-band radar, which it shipped to JPL in March 2021. Engineers spent much of the last two years integrating the instrument with the JPL-built L-band system, then conducting tests to verify they work well together. JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, leads the U.S. component of NISAR. In addition to the L-band radar, NASA is also providing the radar reflector antenna, the deployable boom, a high-rate communication subsystem for science data, GPS receivers, a solid-state recorder, and payload data subsystem. In addition to the S-band radar, ISRO is providing the spacecraft bus, the launch vehicle, and associated launch services and satellite mission operations. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25567

The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) science instrument payload sits in its specially designed, climate-controlled shipping container in a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Feb. 23, 2023. Engineers and technicians used a crane to lift the payload and mount it vertically onto a stage at the far end of the container before tilting it horizontally. The payload was then shipped to Bengaluru, India, on March 3, arriving on March 6. There it will be integrated with the satellite body, or bus, and undergo further testing leading up to launch in 2024. The NISAR mission – a joint effort between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation – will observe nearly all the planet's land and ice surfaces twice every 12 days, measuring movements in extremely fine detail. It will also survey forests and agricultural regions to understand carbon exchange between plants and the atmosphere. NISAR's science payload will be the most advanced radar system ever launched as part of a NASA mission, and it will feature the largest-ever radar antenna of its kind: a drum-shaped, wire mesh reflector nearly 40 feet (12 meters) in diameter that will extend from a 30-foot (9-meter) boom. The mission's science instruments consist of L- and S-band radar, so named to indicate the wavelengths of their signals. ISRO built the S-band radar, which it shipped to JPL in March 2021. Engineers spent much of the last two years integrating the instrument with the JPL-built L-band system, then conducting tests to verify they work well together. JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, leads the U.S. component of NISAR. In addition to the L-band radar, NASA is also providing the radar reflector antenna, the deployable boom, a high-rate communication subsystem for science data, GPS receivers, a solid-state recorder, and payload data subsystem. In addition to the S-band radar, ISRO is providing the spacecraft bus, the launch vehicle, and associated launch services and satellite mission operations. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25566

A specially designed, climate-controlled shipping container holding the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) science instrument payload sits outside an airlock at the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Feb. 26, 2023. The payload was shipped to Bengaluru, India, on March 3, arriving on March 6. There it will be integrated with the satellite body, or bus, and undergo further testing leading up to launch in 2024. The NISAR mission – a joint effort between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation – will observe nearly all the planet's land and ice surfaces twice every 12 days, measuring movements in extremely fine detail. It will also survey forests and agricultural regions to understand carbon exchange between plants and the atmosphere. NISAR's science payload will be the most advanced radar system ever launched as part of a NASA mission, and it will feature the largest-ever radar antenna of its kind: a drum-shaped, wire mesh reflector nearly 40 feet (12 meters) in diameter that will extend from a 30-foot (9-meter) boom. The mission's science instruments consist of L- and S-band radar, so named to indicate the wavelengths of their signals. ISRO built the S-band radar, which it shipped to JPL in March 2021. Engineers spent much of the last two years integrating the instrument with the JPL-built L-band system, then conducting tests to verify they work well together. JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, leads the U.S. component of NISAR. In addition to the L-band radar, NASA is also providing the radar reflector antenna, the deployable boom, a high-rate communication subsystem for science data, GPS receivers, a solid-state recorder, and payload data subsystem. In addition to the S-band radar, ISRO is providing the spacecraft bus, the launch vehicle, and associated launch services and satellite mission operations. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25568

Engineers and technicians from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory work on the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) science instrument payload in a clean room at JPL on Feb. 3, 2023. The payload is scheduled to ship to India in March 2023. The NISAR mission – a joint effort between NASA and ISRO – will measure changes to Earth's land ice surfaces down to fractions of an inch. Data collected by this satellite will help researchers monitor a wide range of changes critical to life on Earth in unprecedented detail. This includes spotting warning signs of imminent volcanic eruptions, helping to monitor groundwater supplies, tracking the melt rate of ice sheets tied to sea level rise, and observing shifts in the distribution of vegetation around the world. The data will inform humanity's responses to urgent challenges posed by natural disasters and climate change, and help communities prepare for and manage hazards. There are two instruments on the satellite that will send and receive radar signals to and from Earth's surface to make the mission's measurements. An L-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR), which uses a signal wavelength of around 9 inches (24 centimeters), and an S-band SAR with a signal wavelength of nearly 5 inches (12 centimeters). Both will bounce their microwave signal off of the planet's surface and record how long it takes the signal to make one roundtrip, as well as the strength of that return signal. This enables the researchers to calculate the distance from the spacecraft to Earth's surface and thereby determine how the land or ice is changing. An antenna reflector nearly 40 feet (12 meters) in diameter, supported by a deployable boom, will focus the microwave signals sent and received by the SARs. JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, leads the U.S. component of NISAR and is providing the mission's L-band SAR instrument. NASA is also providing the radar reflector antenna, the deployable boom, a high-rate communication subsystem for science data, GPS receivers, a solid-state recorder, and payload data subsystem. ISRO is providing the spacecraft bus, the S-band SAR, the launch vehicle, and associated launch services and satellite mission operations. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25771

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

James Barrilleaux is the assistant chief pilot for ER-2s in the Flight Crew Branch of NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The ER-2s--civilian variants of the military U-2S reconnaissance aircraft--are part of NASA's Airborne Science program. The ER-2s can carry airborne scientific payloads of up to 2,600 pounds to altitudes of about 70,000 feet to investigate such matters as earth resources, celestial phenomena, atmospheric chemistry and dynamics, and oceanic processes. Barrilleaux has held his current position since February 1998. Barrilleaux joined NASA in 1986 as a U-2/ER-2 pilot with NASA's Airborne Science program at Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California. He flew both the U-2C (until 1989) and the ER-2 on a wide variety of missions both domestic and international. Barrilleaux flew high-altitude operations over Antarctica in which scientific instruments aboard the ER-2 defined the cause of ozone depletion over the continent, known as the ozone hole. He has also flown the ER-2 over the North Pole. Barrilleaux served for 20 years in the U.S. Air Force before he joined NASA. He completed pilot training at Reese Air Force Base, Lubbock, Texas, in 1966. He flew 120 combat missions as a F-4 fighter pilot over Laos and North Vietnam in 1970 and 1971. He joined the U-2 program in 1974, becoming the commander of an overseas U-2 operation in 1982. In 1983, he became commander of the squadron responsible for training all U-2 pilots and SR-71 crews located at Beale Air Force Base, Marysville, California. He retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel in 1986. On active duty, he flew the U-2, F-4 Phantom, the T-38, T-37, and the T-33. His decorations included two Distinguished Flying Crosses, 12 Air Medals, two Meritorious Service Medals, and other Air Force and South Vietnamese awards. Barrilleaux earned a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from Texas A&M University, College Station, in 1964 and a master of science