Justin Link, small uncrewed aircraft pilot, left, reads altitude data on a handheld display, as Justin Hall, Dale Reed Subscale Flight Research Laboratory chief pilot, flies NASA’s Alta-X drone near NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026. Researchers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston developed the advanced guidance and navigation system known as the Safe and Precise Landing – Integrated Capabilities Evolution (SPLICE) experiment, which is installed on the drone. SPLICE will help spacecraft land precisely and detect and avoid potential hazards, which is critical for NASA missions to the Moon and to Mars.

An Alta-X drone flies an advanced guidance and navigation system known as the Safe and Precise Landing – Integrated Capabilities Evolution (SPLICE) experiment near NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026. Researchers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston developed SPLICE, which successfully completed simulated lunar descent and landing maneuvers during recent testing. SPLICE will help spacecraft land precisely and detect and avoid potential hazards, which is critical for NASA missions to the Moon and to Mars.

An Alta-X drone flies an advanced guidance and navigation system known as the Safe and Precise Landing – Integrated Capabilities Evolution (SPLICE) experiment near NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026. Researchers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston developed SPLICE, which successfully completed simulated lunar descent and landing maneuvers during recent testing. SPLICE will help spacecraft land precisely and detect and avoid potential hazards, which is critical for NASA missions to the Moon and to Mars.

Derek Abramson, Dale Reed Subscale Flight Research Laboratory chief engineer, left, communicates with the Edwards Air Force Base air traffic control tower for approval to fly the Alta-X drone near NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026. Justin Link, small uncrewed aircraft pilot, second from left, and laboratory chief pilot Justin Hall await flight clearance. Researchers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston developed the advanced guidance and navigation system known as the Safe and Precise Landing – Integrated Capabilities Evolution (SPLICE) experiment, which is installed on the Alta-X. SPLICE will help spacecraft land precisely and detect and avoid potential hazards, which is critical for NASA missions to the Moon and to Mars.

Derek Abramson, Dale Reed Subscale Flight Research Laboratory chief engineer, left, and Justin Link, small uncrewed aircraft pilot, carry NASA’s Alta-X drone near NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026. Researchers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston developed the advanced guidance and navigation system known as the Safe and Precise Landing – Integrated Capabilities Evolution (SPLICE) experiment, which is installed on this drone. SPLICE will help spacecraft land precisely and detect and avoid potential hazards, which is critical for NASA missions to the Moon and to Mars.

Davis Adams, project manager, sitting, and Jeanette Harper, flight software team member, check the guidance and navigation system known as the Safe and Precise Landing – Integrated Capabilities Evolution (SPLICE) experiment on an Alta-X drone near NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026. Researchers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston developed SPLICE, which recently completed simulated lunar descent and landing maneuvers. SPLICE will help spacecraft land precisely and detect and avoid potential hazards, which is critical for NASA missions to the Moon and to Mars.

Davis Adams, project manager, confirms that an advanced guidance and navigation system known as the Safe and Precise Landing – Integrated Capabilities Evolution (SPLICE) experiment is communicating with an Alta-X drone near NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Wednesday, July 15, 2026. Researchers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston developed SPLICE, which successfully communicated with the remotely piloted aircraft during hover maneuvers in flight. SPLICE will help spacecraft land precisely and detect and avoid potential hazards, which is critical for NASA missions to the Moon and to Mars.

Isaac Rowe, flight software lead, tests how the advanced guidance and navigation system, known as the Safe and Precise Landing – Integrated Capabilities Evolution (SPLICE) experiment, communicates with the Alta-X drone at the Dale Reed Subscale Flight Research Laboratory at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Monday, June 22, 2026. Rowe developed the system as part of a team at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. SPLICE will help spacecraft land precisely and detect and avoid potential hazards, which is critical for NASA missions to the Moon and to Mars.

Justin Link, a small uncrewed aircraft pilot, left, and Justin Hall, chief pilot, fly a NASA Alta-X drone carrying an advanced guidance and navigation system known as the Safe and Precise Landing – Integrated Capabilities Evolution (SPLICE) experiment near NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Wednesday, July 15, 2026. Researchers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston developed SPLICE, which successfully communicated with the remotely piloted aircraft during hover maneuvers in flight. SPLICE will help spacecraft land precisely and detect and avoid potential hazards, which is critical for NASA missions to the Moon and to Mars.

An Alta-X drone flies an advanced guidance and navigation system known as the Safe and Precise Landing – Integrated Capabilities Evolution (SPLICE) experiment near NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Wednesday, July 15, 2026. Researchers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston developed SPLICE, which successfully communicated with the remotely piloted aircraft during hover maneuvers in flight. SPLICE will help spacecraft land precisely and detect and avoid potential hazards, which is critical for NASA missions to the Moon and to Mars.

Justin Link, small uncrewed aircraft pilot, left, and Derek Abramson, chief engineer, carry NASA’s Alta-X drone as Davis Adams, project manager, observes test preparations near NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Wednesday, July 15, 2026. Researchers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston developed the advanced guidance and navigation system known as the Safe and Precise Landing – Integrated Capabilities Evolution (SPLICE) experiment, which was integrated with this drone. SPLICE will help spacecraft land precisely and detect and avoid potential hazards, which is critical for NASA missions to the Moon and to Mars.

A team from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, tests an advanced guidance and navigation system, known as the Safe and Precise Landing – Integrated Capabilities Evolution (SPLICE) experiment, with the Alta-X drone on Monday, June 22, 2026. From left are Dale Reed Subscale Flight Research Laboratory staff Justin Hall, chief pilot; Derek Abramson, chief engineer; Justin Link, a small uncrewed aircraft pilot; and, from Houston, Davis Adams, project manager, and Isaac Rowe, flight software lead. The system will help spacecraft land precisely and detect and avoid potential hazards, which is critical for NASA missions to the Moon and to Mars.

Isaac Rowe, left, flight software lead, and Davis Adams, project manager, work to integrate the advanced guidance and navigation system, known as the Safe and Precise Landing – Integrated Capabilities Evolution (SPLICE) experiment, with the Alta-X drone on Monday, June 22, 2026. Rowe and Adams developed the system at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. They worked with the Dale Reed Subscale Flight Research Laboratory team at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, to test how the system and the drone communicated. The system will help spacecraft land precisely and detect and avoid potential hazards, which is critical for NASA missions to the Moon and to Mars.

Justin Link, a small uncrewed aircraft pilot, left, Justin Hall, chief pilot, and Davis Adams, project manager, test an advanced guidance and navigation system known as the Safe and Precise Landing – Integrated Capabilities Evolution (SPLICE) experiment on an Alta-X drone near NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Wednesday, July 15, 2026. Researchers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston developed SPLICE, which successfully communicated with the remotely piloted aircraft during hover maneuvers in flight. SPLICE will help spacecraft land precisely and detect and avoid potential hazards, which is critical for NASA missions to the Moon and to Mars.