STS-35 Mission Specialist (MS) Robert A.R. Parker (left) and Payload Specialist Samuel T. Durrance practice Astronomy Laboratory 1 (ASTRO-1) experiment procedures in a space shuttle aft flight deck mockup in the Payload Crew Training Complex at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama. For all Spacelab missions, shuttle crew members train regularly in the facility in preparation to operate experiments on their Spacelab missions. The ASTRO-1 crew will operate the ultraviolet telescopes and instrument pointing system (IPS) from Columbia's, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 102's, aft flight deck. The seven-member ASTRO-1 crew will work around the clock, in 12-hour shifts, to allow the maximum number of observations to be made during their nine or ten days in orbit. In addition to the commander and pilot, the crew consistss of three MSs and two payload specialists. (MSs are career astronauts who are trained in a specialized field. Payload specialists are members of the science investigator teams who were nominated by their peers to operate their experiments on orbit. They are trained and certified for flight by NASA.) View provided by MSFC with alternate number 9005803.
STS-35 ASTRO-1 MS Parker and Payload Specialist Durrance train at MSFC
Rescue team members are using a Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule to rehearse a search and rescue training exercise in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division conducted the open-ocean exercise, after nearly two weeks of training, off the coast of Cape Canaveral near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 25, 2019. This exercise provides team members with the necessary training ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing’s Starliner will land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Starliner Astronaut Water Rescue Training
Rescue team members are using a Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule to rehearse a search and rescue training exercise in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division conducted the open-ocean exercise, after nearly two weeks of training, off the coast of Cape Canaveral near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 25, 2019. This exercise provides team members with the necessary training ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing’s Starliner will land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Starliner Astronaut Water Rescue Training
Rescue team members are using a Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule to rehearse a search and rescue training exercise in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division conducted the open-ocean exercise, after nearly two weeks of training, off the coast of Cape Canaveral near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 25, 2019. This exercise provides team members with the necessary training ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing’s Starliner will land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Starliner Astronaut Water Rescue Training
Rescue team members are using a Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule to rehearse a search and rescue training exercise in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division conducted the open-ocean exercise, after nearly two weeks of training, off the coast of Cape Canaveral near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 25, 2019. This exercise provides team members with the necessary training ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing’s Starliner will land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Starliner Astronaut Water Rescue Training
Rescue team members are using a Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule to rehearse a search and rescue training exercise in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division conducted the open-ocean exercise, after nearly two weeks of training, off the coast of Cape Canaveral near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 25, 2019. This exercise provides team members with the necessary training ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing’s Starliner will land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Starliner Astronaut Water Rescue Training
Rescue team members are using a Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule to rehearse a search and rescue training exercise in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division conducted the open-ocean exercise, after nearly two weeks of training, off the coast of Cape Canaveral near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 25, 2019. This exercise provides team members with the necessary training ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing’s Starliner will land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Starliner Astronaut Water Rescue Training
S66-58501 (27 Oct. 1966) --- The prime crew of the first manned Apollo Space Flight, Apollo/Saturn (AS) mission 204, is suited up aboard the NASA Motor Vessel Retriever (MVR) in preparation for Apollo water egress training in the Gulf of Mexico. Left to right, are astronauts Edward H. White II, senior pilot; Virgil I. Grissom, command pilot; and Roger B. Chaffee, pilot.
Prime crew of Apollo/Saturn Mission 204 prepares for water egress training
S89-45735 (Sept 1989) --- Five astronauts take a break from training for NASA's STS-34 mission to pose for a photo in the crew compartment trainer (CCT) in the Shuttle mockup and integration lab at JSC.  Left to right are Astronauts Michael J. McCulley, pilot; Shannon W. Lucid, Franklin R. Chang-Diaz and Ellen S. Baker, all mission specialists; and Donald E. Williams, mission commander.  They are wearing the orange partial pressure suits for the ascent and entry phase of flight. Their launch aboard the Atlantis is scheduled for Oct. 12.  The photograph was made by Bill Bowers, a crew trainer at JSC.
STS-34 crew poses on flight deck of JSC's crew compartment trainer (CCT)
S94-40090 (23 June 1994) --- Astronauts Donald R. McMonagle, left, and Curtis L. Brown man the commander's and pilot's stations, respectively, during a rehearsal of ascent and entry phases of their scheduled November 1994 flight aboard Atlantis.  Three other NASA astronauts and a European mission specialist joined the two for this training exercise in the Crew Compartment Trainer (CCT) at the Johnson Space Center's (JSC) Shuttle Mockup and Integration Laboratory and will join them aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis in November.  The flight is manifest to support the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS-3) mission.
Astronauts McMonagle and Brown on flight deck mockup during training
S94-40091 (23 June 1994) --- Astronaut Curtis L. Brown mans the pilot's station of a Shuttle trainer during a rehearsal of procedures to be followed during launch and entry phases of the scheduled November flight of STS-66.  This rehearsal, held in the Crew Compartment Trainer (CCT) of the Johnson Space Center's (JSC) Shuttle Mockup and Integration Laboratory, was followed by a training session on emergency egress procedures.  Making his second flight in space, Brown will join four other NASA astronauts and a European mission specialist for a week and a half aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis in Earth-orbit in support of the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS-3).
Astronaut Curtis Brown on flight deck mockup during training
Rescue team members are using a Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule to rehearse a full mission profile training exercise in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division conducted the exercise, after a culmination of nearly two weeks of training, off the coast of Cape Canaveral near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 27, 2019. The team rehearsed assisted egress, extracting DoD team members acting as astronauts, from the capsule and providing immediate medical treatment. This open-ocean exercise provides team members with the necessary training ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing’s Starliner will land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Starliner Astronaut Water Rescue Training
Rescue team members are using a Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule to rehearse a full mission profile training exercise in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division conducted the exercise, after a culmination of nearly two weeks of training, off the coast of Cape Canaveral near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 27, 2019. The team rehearsed assisted egress, extracting DoD team members acting as astronauts, from the capsule and providing immediate medical treatment. This open-ocean exercise provides team members with the necessary training ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing’s Starliner will land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Starliner Astronaut Water Rescue Training
U.S. Air Force “Guardian Angel” Pararescue forces are airdropped into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Cape Canaveral near Kennedy Space Center in Florida to rehearse a full mission profile training exercise on April 27, 2019. The exercise included using a Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule to run through the necessary steps in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division conducted the training, which included rehearsing assisted egress, extracting DoD team members acting as astronauts, from the capsule and providing immediate medical treatment. This open-ocean exercise provides team members with the necessary training ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing’s Starliner will land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Starliner Astronaut Water Rescue Training
U.S. Air Force “Guardian Angel” Pararescue forces are airdropped into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Cape Canaveral near Kennedy Space Center in Florida to rehearse a full mission profile training exercise on April 27, 2019. The exercise included using a Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule to run through the necessary steps in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division conducted the training, which included rehearsing assisted egress, extracting DoD team members acting as astronauts, from the capsule and providing immediate medical treatment. This open-ocean exercise provides team members with the necessary training ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing’s Starliner will land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Starliner Astronaut Water Rescue Training
Rescue team members are using a Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule to rehearse a full mission profile training exercise in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division conducted the exercise, after a culmination of nearly two weeks of training, off the coast of Cape Canaveral near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 27, 2019. The team rehearsed assisted egress, extracting DoD team members acting as astronauts, from the capsule and providing immediate medical treatment. This open-ocean exercise provides team members with the necessary training ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing’s Starliner will land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Starliner Astronaut Water Rescue Training
U.S. Air Force “Guardian Angel” Pararescue forces are airdropped into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Cape Canaveral near Kennedy Space Center in Florida to rehearse a full mission profile training exercise on April 27, 2019. The exercise included using a Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule to run through the necessary steps in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division conducted the training, which included rehearsing assisted egress, extracting DoD team members acting as astronauts, from the capsule and providing immediate medical treatment. This open-ocean exercise provides team members with the necessary training ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing’s Starliner will land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Starliner Astronaut Water Rescue Training
Rescue team members are using a Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule to rehearse a full mission profile training exercise in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division conducted the exercise, after a culmination of nearly two weeks of training, off the coast of Cape Canaveral near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 27, 2019. The team rehearsed assisted egress, extracting DoD team members acting as astronauts, from the capsule and providing immediate medical treatment. This open-ocean exercise provides team members with the necessary training ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing’s Starliner will land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Starliner Astronaut Water Rescue Training
Rescue team members are using a Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule to rehearse a full mission profile training exercise in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division conducted the exercise, after a culmination of nearly two weeks of training, off the coast of Cape Canaveral near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 27, 2019. The team rehearsed assisted egress, extracting DoD team members acting as astronauts, from the capsule and providing immediate medical treatment. This open-ocean exercise provides team members with the necessary training ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing’s Starliner will land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Starliner Astronaut Water Rescue Training
jsc2024e050135 (June 23, 2024) --- NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Pilot Nick Hague is pictured smiling in his flight suit during training at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. Credit: SpaceX
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Pilot Nick Hague
jsc2024e050130 (June 23, 2024) --- NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Commander Zena Cardman is pictured smiling in her flight suit during training at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. Credit: SpaceX
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Commander Zena Cardman
jsc2024e050138 (May 27, 2024) --- NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Mission Specialist Stephanie Wilson is pictured in her flight suit during training at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. Credit: SpaceX
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Mission Specialist Stephanie Wilson
S92-49812 (11 Nov 1992) --- Astronauts Gregory J. Harbaugh and Susan J. Helms, mission specialists assigned to fly aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour for the STS-54 mission, rehearse for the upcoming flight.  The two are in the airlock of a trainer at the Johnson Space Center's crew systems laboratory.  Harbaugh and Mario Runco Jr., also a mission specialist, have been assigned to perform a four-hour-plus extravehicular activity (EVA).  Helms is to assist the pair of spacewalkers during the mission as well as in this training exercise.
STS-54 MS2 Harbaugh and MS3 Helms during training in JSC's ETA / airlock
These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface.  During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions.  For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544
NASA Uses Colorado Mountains for Simulated Artemis Moon Landing Course
These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface.  During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions.  For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544
NASA Uses Colorado Mountains for Simulated Artemis Moon Landing Course
These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface.  During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions.  For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544
NASA Uses Colorado Mountains for Simulated Artemis Moon Landing Course
These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface.  During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions.  For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544
NASA Uses Colorado Mountains for Simulated Artemis Moon Landing Course
These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface.  During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions.  For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544
NASA Uses Colorado Mountains for Simulated Artemis Moon Landing Course
These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface.  During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions.  For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544
NASA Uses Colorado Mountains for Simulated Artemis Moon Landing Course
These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface.  During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions.  For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544
NASA Uses Colorado Mountains for Simulated Artemis Moon Landing Course
These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface.  During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions.  For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544
NASA Uses Colorado Mountains for Simulated Artemis Moon Landing Course
These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface.  During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions.  For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544
NASA Uses Colorado Mountains for Simulated Artemis Moon Landing Course
These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface.  During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions.  For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544
NASA Uses Colorado Mountains for Simulated Artemis Moon Landing Course
These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface.  During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions.  For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544
NASA Uses Colorado Mountains for Simulated Artemis Moon Landing Course
These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface.  During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions.  For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544
NASA Uses Colorado Mountains for Simulated Artemis Moon Landing Course
NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore, joined by their training team on a watercraft in the Atlantic Ocean, secure their safety gear as they prepare to rehearse the steps they would take to exit Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft without assistance in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. The training exercise, which occurred April 27, 2019, took place several miles off the coast of Cape Canaveral near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It included the astronauts unloading a rescue raft from inside the spacecraft, climbing out through a hatch at the top of the spacecraft, jumping into the Atlantic Ocean and boarding the raft. This open-ocean exercise provides the astronauts with the necessary training ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test and subsequent missions. During normal return scenarios, Boeing’s Starliner will land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Starliner Astronaut Water Rescue Training
jsc2025e034089 (Dec. 5, 2024) --- NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, pilot of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission, trains for his mission at a SpaceX facility in Hawthorne, California, ahead of his flight to the International Space Station.
NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, pilot of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission
jsc2025e034088 (Dec. 4, 2024) --- NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission, trains for her mission at a SpaceX facility in Hawthorne, California, ahead of her flight to the International Space Station.
NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission
jsc2025e034090 (Dec. 5, 2024) --- NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, pilot of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission, trains for his mission at a SpaceX facility in Hawthorne, California, ahead of his flight to the International Space Station.
NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, pilot of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission
NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore rehearse the steps they would take to exit Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft without assistance in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. The training exercise, which occurred April 27, 2019, took place several miles off the coast of Cape Canaveral near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It included the astronauts unloading a rescue raft from inside the spacecraft, climbing out through a hatch at the top of the spacecraft, jumping into the Atlantic Ocean and boarding the raft. This open-ocean exercise provides the astronauts with the necessary training ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test and subsequent missions. During normal return scenarios, Boeing’s Starliner will land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Starliner Astronaut Water Rescue Training
NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore rehearse the steps they would take to exit Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft without assistance in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. The training exercise, which occurred April 27, 2019, took place several miles off the coast of Cape Canaveral near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It included the astronauts unloading a rescue raft from inside the spacecraft, climbing out through a hatch at the top of the spacecraft, jumping into the Atlantic Ocean and boarding the raft. This open-ocean exercise provides the astronauts with the necessary training ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test and subsequent missions. During normal return scenarios, Boeing’s Starliner will land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Starliner Astronaut Water Rescue Training
NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore rehearse the steps they would take to exit Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft without assistance in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. The training exercise, which occurred April 27, 2019, took place several miles off the coast of Cape Canaveral near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It included the astronauts unloading a rescue raft from inside the spacecraft, climbing out through a hatch at the top of the spacecraft, jumping into the Atlantic Ocean and boarding the raft. This open-ocean exercise provides the astronauts with the necessary training ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test and subsequent missions. During normal return scenarios, Boeing’s Starliner will land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Starliner Astronaut Water Rescue Training
NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore rehearse the steps they would take to exit Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft without assistance in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. The training exercise, which occurred April 27, 2019, took place several miles off the coast of Cape Canaveral near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It included the astronauts unloading a rescue raft from inside the spacecraft, climbing out through a hatch at the top of the spacecraft, jumping into the Atlantic Ocean and boarding the raft. This open-ocean exercise provides the astronauts with the necessary training ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test and subsequent missions. During normal return scenarios, Boeing’s Starliner will land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Starliner Astronaut Water Rescue Training
NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore rehearse the steps they would take to exit Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft without assistance in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. The training exercise, which occurred April 27, 2019, took place several miles off the coast of Cape Canaveral near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It included the astronauts unloading a rescue raft from inside the spacecraft, climbing out through a hatch at the top of the spacecraft, jumping into the Atlantic Ocean and boarding the raft. This open-ocean exercise provides the astronauts with the necessary training ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test and subsequent missions. During normal return scenarios, Boeing’s Starliner will land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Starliner Astronaut Water Rescue Training
NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore rehearse the steps they would take to exit Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft without assistance in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. The training exercise, which occurred April 27, 2019, took place several miles off the coast of Cape Canaveral near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It included the astronauts unloading a rescue raft from inside the spacecraft, climbing out through a hatch at the top of the spacecraft, jumping into the Atlantic Ocean and boarding the raft. This open-ocean exercise provides the astronauts with the necessary training ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test and subsequent missions. During normal return scenarios, Boeing’s Starliner will land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Starliner Astronaut Water Rescue Training
NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore rehearse the steps they would take to exit Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft without assistance in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. The training exercise, which occurred April 27, 2019, took place several miles off the coast of Cape Canaveral near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It included the astronauts unloading a rescue raft from inside the spacecraft, climbing out through a hatch at the top of the spacecraft, jumping into the Atlantic Ocean and boarding the raft. This open-ocean exercise provides the astronauts with the necessary training ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test and subsequent missions. During normal return scenarios, Boeing’s Starliner will land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Starliner Astronaut Water Rescue Training
NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore rehearse the steps they would take to exit Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft without assistance in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. The training exercise, which occurred April 27, 2019, took place several miles off the coast of Cape Canaveral near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It included the astronauts unloading a rescue raft from inside the spacecraft, climbing out through a hatch at the top of the spacecraft, jumping into the Atlantic Ocean and boarding the raft. This open-ocean exercise provides the astronauts with the necessary training ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test and subsequent missions. During normal return scenarios, Boeing’s Starliner will land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Starliner Astronaut Water Rescue Training
NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore rehearse the steps they would take to exit Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft without assistance in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. The training exercise, which occurred April 27, 2019, took place several miles off the coast of Cape Canaveral near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It included the astronauts unloading a rescue raft from inside the spacecraft, climbing out through a hatch at the top of the spacecraft, jumping into the Atlantic Ocean and boarding the raft. This open-ocean exercise provides the astronauts with the necessary training ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test and subsequent missions. During normal return scenarios, Boeing’s Starliner will land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Starliner Astronaut Water Rescue Training
NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore rehearse the steps they would take to exit Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft without assistance in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. The training exercise, which occurred April 27, 2019, took place several miles off the coast of Cape Canaveral near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It included the astronauts unloading a rescue raft from inside the spacecraft, climbing out through a hatch at the top of the spacecraft, jumping into the Atlantic Ocean and boarding the raft. This open-ocean exercise provides the astronauts with the necessary training ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test and subsequent missions. During normal return scenarios, Boeing’s Starliner will land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Starliner Astronaut Water Rescue Training
NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore rehearse the steps they would take to exit Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft without assistance in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. The training exercise, which occurred April 27, 2019, took place several miles off the coast of Cape Canaveral near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It included the astronauts unloading a rescue raft from inside the spacecraft, climbing out through a hatch at the top of the spacecraft, jumping into the Atlantic Ocean and boarding the raft. This open-ocean exercise provides the astronauts with the necessary training ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test and subsequent missions. During normal return scenarios, Boeing’s Starliner will land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Starliner Astronaut Water Rescue Training
Rescue team members are using a Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule, known as Boiler Plate 3, to practice crew rescue procedures in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. NASA and the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division conducted a search and rescue training exercise at the Army Wharf at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on April 17, 2019. The teams practiced manually inflating uprighting airbags to lift the spacecraft to its upright position. This is the first at-sea exercise with the Starliner training capsule ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing's Starliner will land on land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Det 3 Recovery of Boeing Starliner Boiler Plate
jsc2025e034083 (Dec. 4, 2024) --- NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission, trains inside a SpaceX Dragon mockup at a SpaceX facility in Hawthorne, California, ahead of her flight to the International Space Station.
NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission
jsc2025e034082 (Dec. 4, 2024) --- NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission, trains inside a SpaceX Dragon mockup at a SpaceX facility in Hawthorne, California, ahead of her flight to the International Space Station.
NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission
jsc2025e034084 (Dec. 4, 2024) --- NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, pilot of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission, trains inside a SpaceX Dragon mockup at a SpaceX facility in Hawthorne, California, ahead of his flight to the International Space Station.
NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, pilot of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission
S84-40538 (24 Aug 1984) --- Two 41-G payload specialists and a backup for one of them   appear to be at home in zero gravity in this scene photographed aboard a KC-135 "Zero gravity" aircraft flying one of its weightlessness opportunity parabolas.  Paul D. Scully-Power, a civilian oceanographer with the U.S. Navey, is flanked by Marc Garneau (left) and Robert Thirsk, both representing the National Research Council of Canada.  Thirsk is back up payload specialist for Garneau.
View of Zero-G training for astronauts and payload specialists
Paul Scully-Power, 41-G payload specialist, links arms with two others as they experience weightlessness in the KC-135 training aircraft. The trio appears to be flying toward the front of the aircraft while others take photos.
View of Zero-G training for astronauts and payload specialists
View of astronaut candidates and payload specialists during a training flight on the KC-135. The trainees are experiencing weightlessness in the hold of the aircraft.
View of Zero-G training for astronauts and payload specialists
S92-40569 (Aug 1992) --- Gregory J. Harbaugh, one of five astronaut crewmembers assigned to fly aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour for the STS-54 mission, pauses for a break during training and preparations for the six-day mission.  Harbaugh will be joined by John H. Casper, mission Donald R. McMonagle, pilot; along with Mario Runco Jr. and Susan J. Helms, mission specialists. Harbaugh is in the weightless environment training facility (WET-F) at the Johnson Space Center (JSC).
STS-54 MS2 Harbaugh listens to instructions in JSC's WETF Bldg 29
Rescue team members are using a Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule, known as Boiler Plate 3, to practice uprighting procedures in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. NASA and the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division conducted a search and rescue training exercise at the Army Wharf at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on April 17, 2019. The manual uprighting airbags could be used to lift the spacecraft to its upright position. This is the first at-sea exercise with the Starliner training capsule ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing's Starliner will land on land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Det 3 Recovery of Boeing Starliner Boiler Plate
Rescue team members are using a Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule, known as Boiler Plate 3, to practice uprighting procedures in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. NASA and the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division conducted a search and rescue training exercise at the Army Wharf at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on April 17, 2019. The manual uprighting airbags could be used to lift the spacecraft to its upright position. This is the first at-sea exercise with the Starliner training capsule ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing's Starliner will land on land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Det 3 Recovery of Boeing Starliner Boiler Plate
Rescue team members are using a Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule, known as Boiler Plate 3, to practice uprighting procedures in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. NASA and the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division conducted a search and rescue training exercise at the Army Wharf at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on April 17, 2019. The manual uprighting airbags could be used to lift the spacecraft to its upright position. This is the first at-sea exercise with the Starliner training capsule ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing's Starliner will land on land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Det 3 Recovery of Boeing Starliner Boiler Plate
Rescue team members are using a Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule, known as Boiler Plate 3, to practice uprighting procedures in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. NASA and the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division conducted a search and rescue training exercise at the Army Wharf at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on April 17, 2019. The manual uprighting airbags could be used to lift the spacecraft to its upright position. This is the first at-sea exercise with the Starliner training capsule ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing's Starliner will land on land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Det 3 Recovery of Boeing Starliner Boiler Plate
Rescue team members are using a Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule, known as Boiler Plate 3, to practice uprighting procedures in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. NASA and the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division conducted a search and rescue training exercise at the Army Wharf at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on April 17, 2019. The manual uprighting airbags could be used to lift the spacecraft to its upright position. This is the first at-sea exercise with the Starliner training capsule ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing's Starliner will land on land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Det 3 Recovery of Boeing Starliner Boiler Plate
Rescue team members in an inflatable boat approach the Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule, known as Boiler Plate 3, at the Army Wharf at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on April 16, 2019. NASA and the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division are conducting a search and rescue training exercise over the next several days at the Wharf and in the Atlantic Ocean simulating a rescue in the unlikely event of an emergency. It is the first at-sea exercise with the Starliner training capsule ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing's Starliner will land on land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Det 3 Recovery of Boeing Starliner Boiler Plate
Rescue team members perform checks of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule, known as Boiler Plate 3, during a search and rescue exercise on April 16, 2019. NASA and the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division are conducting a search and rescue training exercise over the next several days at the Wharf and in the Atlantic Ocean simulating a rescue in the unlikely event of an emergency. It is the first at-sea exercise with the Starliner training capsule ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing's Starliner will land on land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Det 3 Recovery of Boeing Starliner Boiler Plate
Rescue team members stand on the stabilization collar attached to the Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule, known as Boiler Plate 3, to perform checks during a search and rescue training exercise April 16, 2019. NASA and the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division are conducting the exercise over the next several days at the Wharf and in the Atlantic Ocean simulating a rescue in the unlikely event of an emergency. It is the first at-sea exercise with the Starliner training capsule ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing's Starliner will land on land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Det 3 Recovery of Boeing Starliner Boiler Plate
Rescue team members remove the stabilization collar from the Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule, known as Boiler Plate 3, in the water at the Army Wharf at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on April 16, 2019. NASA and the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division are conducting a search and rescue training exercise using the Starliner trainer over the next several days at the Wharf and in the Atlantic Ocean simulating a rescue in the unlikely event of an emergency. It is the first at-sea exercise with the Starliner training capsule ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing's Starliner will land on land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Det 3 Recovery of Boeing Starliner Boiler Plate
The Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule, known as Boiler Plate 3, is lowered into the water at the Army Wharf at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on April 16, 2019. NASA and the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division are conducting a search and rescue training exercise over the next several days at the Wharf and in the Atlantic Ocean simulating a rescue in the unlikely event of an emergency. It is the first at-sea exercise with the Starliner training capsule ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing's Starliner will land on land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Det 3 Recovery of Boeing Starliner Boiler Plate
Rescue team members lower the Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule, known as Boiler Plate 3, into the water at the Army Wharf at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on April 16, 2019. The team is practicing crew rescue procedures in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. NASA and the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division conducted a search and rescue training exercise at the Army Wharf at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on April 17, 2019. The teams practiced manually inflating uprighting airbags to lift the spacecraft to its upright position. This is the first at-sea exercise with the Starliner training capsule ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing's Starliner will land on land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Det 3 Recovery of Boeing Starliner Boiler Plate
S87-46304 (20 Oct 1987) --- Astronauts Frederick H. (Rick) Hauck, left, STS-26 commander, and Richard O. Covey, pilot, man their respective stations in the Shuttle mission simulator (fixed base) at the Johnson Space Center.  A simulation for their anticipated June 1988 flight aboard the space shuttle Discovery began Oct. 20.  Astronaut David C. Hilmers, one of three mission specialists for the flight, is partially visible in the foreground.
STS-26 crew trains in JSC fixed-based (FB) shuttle mission simulator (SMS)
S66-50769 (8 Sept. 1966) --- Gemini-11 prime and backup crews are pictured at the Gemini Mission Simulator at Cape Kennedy, Florida. Left to right are astronauts William A. Anders, backup crew pilot; Richard F. Gordon Jr., prime crew pilot; Charles Conrad Jr. (foot on desk), prime crew command pilot; and Neil A. Armstrong, backup crew command pilot. Photo credit: NASA
Gemini 11 prime and back-up crews at Gemini Mission Simulator at Cape Kennedy
STS-47 Endeavour, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 105, Commander Robert L. Gibson adjusts the launch and entry suit (LES) neck dam during suit donning in JSC's Mockup and Integration Laboratory (MAIL) Bldg 9A. Gibson is preparing for launch emergency egress (bailout) exercises in the Crew Compartment Trainer (CCT).
STS-47 Commander Gibson dons LES prior to JSC launch egress training
STS-47 Endeavour, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 105, crewmembers led by Commander Robert L. Gibson (center) prepare to extinguish a blaze in JSC's Fire Training Pit. Lined up along the water hoses are: (on left) Payload Specialist Mamoru Mohri, holding the hose nozzle, followed by Mission Specialist (MS) Jerome Apt, and Pilot Curtis L. Brown, Jr; and (on right) backup Payload Specialist Chiaki Naito-Mukai, holding the hose nozzle, followed by MS and Payload Commander (PLC) Mark C. Lee, MS N. Jan Davis, and backup Payload Specialist Stan Koszelak. A veteran fire fighter and the instructor, positioned between the two hoses, looks on. Mohri and Mukai represent Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA). The Fire Training Pit is located across from the Gilruth Center Bldg 207.
STS-47 crewmembers and backups during JSC fire fighting exercises
The 41-D crewmembers participate in suiting exercises in the weightless environment of the KC-135 aircraft.
41-D crewmembers participate in suiting exercise in KC-135
The 41-D crewmembers participate in suiting exercises in the weightless environment of the KC-135 aircraft.
41-D crewmembers participate in suiting exercise in KC-135
S92-42755 (31 July 1992) --- Astronaut Susan J. Helms, mission specialist assigned to fly aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour for the STS-54 mission, completes the donning of her spacesuit before a training exercise. Though not assigned to the scheduled extravehicular activity (EVA), Helms is trained in the weightless environment training facility (WET-F).  She will aid astronauts Gregory J. Harbaugh and Mario Runco Jr. in their planned EVA, scheduled for January of next year, and serve a backup role.  Wearing this high fidelity training version of the extravehicular mobility unit (EMU), Helms was later lowered into the 25-ft. deep WET-F pool.  The pressurized suit is weighted so as to allow Helms to achieve neutral buoyancy and simulate the various chores of the spacewalk.
STS-54 MS3 Helms tests CCA equipment prior to an underwater simulation at JSC
STS-54 Endeavour, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 105, Mission Specialist 1 (MS1) Mario Runco, Jr (right) and MS2 Gregory J. Harbaugh, holding an ESSEX wrench, examine mockup and tools prior to an underwater simulation in JSC's Weightless Environment Training Facility (WETF) Bldg 29 pool. Runco and Harbaugh discuss the trunnion / payload retention latch assembly (PRLA) configuration.
STS-54 MS Runco and MS Harbaugh participate in briefing at JSC's WETF
S92-42754 (31 July 1992) --- Astronaut Susan J. Helms, mission specialist assigned to fly aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour for the STS-54 mission, gets assistance to complete the donning of her spacesuit.  Though not assigned to the scheduled extravehicular activity (EVA), Helms is trained in the weightless environment training facility (WET-F).  She will aid astronauts Gregory J. Harbaugh and Mario Runco Jr. in their planned EVA, scheduled for January of next year, and serve a backup role.  Wearing this high fidelity training version of the extravehicular mobility unit (EMU), Helms was later lowered into the 25-ft. deep WET-F pool.  The pressurized suit is weighted so as to allow Helms to achieve neutral buoyancy and simulate the various chores of the spacewalk.
STS-54 MS3 Helms, in EMU, on platform prior to underwater simulation at JSC
S92-42753 (31 July 1992) --- Astronaut Susan J. Helms, mission specialist assigned to fly aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour for the STS-54 mission, gets assistance to complete the donning of her spacesuit.  Though not assigned to the scheduled extravehicular activity (EVA), Helms is trained in the weightless environment training facility (WET-F).  She will aid astronauts Gregory J. Harbaugh and Mario Runco Jr. in their planned EVA, scheduled for January of next year, and serve a backup role.  Wearing this high fidelity training version of the extravehicular mobility unit (EMU), Helms was later lowered into the 25-ft. deep WET-F pool.  The pressurized suit is weighted so as to allow Helms to achieve neutral buoyancy and simulate the various chores of the spacewalk.
STS-54 MS3 Susan J. Helms dons EMU for underwater simulation in JSC's WETF
Views of STS-51E PS Patrick Baudry during Zero-G Training Flights.        1. STS-51E - CREW TRAINING
ZERO-G - PAYLOAD SPECIALIST (PS) BAUDRY, PATRICK
Commercial Crew Program astronaut and Boeing Crew Flight Test crew member Nicole Mann in ARED PT #1 training.
Commercial Crew Program Astronaut Training - Nicole Mann
Rescue team members prepare an inflatable front porch that will be attached to the Boeing CST-100 Starliner training capsule, known as Boiler Plate 3, during a search and rescue training exercise at the Army Wharf at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on April 16, 2019. The front porch will be used to extract astronauts from the capsule and conduct initial health assessments in the unlikely event of an emergency resulting in a splashdown. NASA and the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division are conducting the exercise over the next several days at the Wharf and in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the first at-sea exercise with the Starliner training capsule ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test with astronauts targeted for later this year. During normal return scenarios, Boeing's Starliner will land on land in a safe zone of about 15 square miles in the Western United States. Throughout the commercial crew development phases with NASA, Boeing has performed dozens of qualification tests on its parachute and airbag systems simulating conditions on land and in the water.
Det 3 Recovery of Boeing Starliner Boiler Plate
Commercial Crew Program astronaut and Boeing Crew Flight Test crew member Nicole Mann in SAFER Skills training in VR Lab.
Commercial Crew Program Astronaut Training - Nicole Mann
Commercial Crew Program astronaut and Boeing Crew Flight Test crew member Nicole Mann in SAFER Skills training in VR Lab.
Commercial Crew Program Astronaut Training - Nicole Mann
Commercial Crew Program astronaut and Boeing Crew Flight Test crew member Nicole Mann in SAFER Skills training in VR Lab.
Commercial Crew Program Astronaut Training - Nicole Mann
These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface.  During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions.  For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544
NASA Uses Colorado Mountains for Simulated Artemis Moon Landing Course
These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface.  During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions.  For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544
NASA Uses Colorado Mountains for Simulated Artemis Moon Landing Course
These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface.  During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions.  For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544
NASA Uses Colorado Mountains for Simulated Artemis Moon Landing Course
These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface.  During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions.  For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544
NASA Uses Colorado Mountains for Simulated Artemis Moon Landing Course
These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface.  During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions.  For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544
NASA Uses Colorado Mountains for Simulated Artemis Moon Landing Course
These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface.  During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions.  For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544
NASA Uses Colorado Mountains for Simulated Artemis Moon Landing Course
These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface.  During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions.  For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544
NASA Uses Colorado Mountains for Simulated Artemis Moon Landing Course
These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface.  During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions.  For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544
NASA Uses Colorado Mountains for Simulated Artemis Moon Landing Course
These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface.  During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions.  For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544
NASA Uses Colorado Mountains for Simulated Artemis Moon Landing Course
These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface.  During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions.  For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544
NASA Uses Colorado Mountains for Simulated Artemis Moon Landing Course
These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface.  During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions.  For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544
NASA Uses Colorado Mountains for Simulated Artemis Moon Landing Course
These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface.  During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions.  For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544
NASA Uses Colorado Mountains for Simulated Artemis Moon Landing Course
These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface.  During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions.  For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544
NASA Uses Colorado Mountains for Simulated Artemis Moon Landing Course
These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface.  During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions.  For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544
NASA Uses Colorado Mountains for Simulated Artemis Moon Landing Course
These photos and videos show how NASA certified a new lander flight training course using helicopters in the mountains of northern Colorado. NASA is partnering with the Colorado Army National Guard at its High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site near Gypsum, Colorado, to develop the foundational flight training course that will help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. The certification marks an important milestone in crew training for Artemis missions to the Moon, when astronauts will use a commercial human landing system to land on the lunar surface.  During the two-week certification run in late August 2025, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Mark Vande Hei participated in flight and landing training to help certify the course. The pair, along with trained instructor pilots with the Army National Guard, took turns flying a helicopter and navigating to landing zones. Artemis flight crew trainers, mission control leads, and lunar lander operational experts from NASA Johnson joined them on each helicopter flight to assess the instruction, training environment, and technical applications for crewed lunar missions.  For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544
NASA Uses Colorado Mountains for Simulated Artemis Moon Landing Course