NASA's DC-8 airborne science laboratory has become the first science aircraft to be based at the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif.

NASA's DC-8 airborne science laboratory is shadowed by a NASA F/A-18 chase plane during a flyover of the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif.

NASA's DC-8 airborne science laboratory is shadowed by a NASA F/A-18 chase plane during a flyover of the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif.

A look inside the International Space Station Payload Operations Integration Center at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. The POIC team supports science operations on the International Space Station 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For more than 20 years the POIC team has worked with scientists from around the world to enable the space station crew to conduct experiments that improve life on Earth and enable future exploration.

A look inside the International Space Station Payload Operations Integration Center at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. The POIC team supports science operations on the International Space Station 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For more than 20 years the POIC team has worked with scientists from around the world to enable the space station crew to conduct experiments that improve life on Earth and enable future exploration.

A look inside the International Space Station Payload Operations Integration Center at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. The POIC team supports science operations on the International Space Station 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For more than 20 years the POIC team has worked with scientists from around the world to enable the space station crew to conduct experiments that improve life on Earth and enable future exploration.

A look inside the International Space Station Payload Operations Integration Center at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. The POIC team supports science operations on the International Space Station 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For more than 20 years the POIC team has worked with scientists from around the world to enable the space station crew to conduct experiments that improve life on Earth and enable future exploration.

A look inside the International Space Station Payload Operations Integration Center at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. The POIC team supports science operations on the International Space Station 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For more than 20 years the POIC team has worked with scientists from around the world to enable the space station crew to conduct experiments that improve life on Earth and enable future exploration.

A look inside the International Space Station Payload Operations Integration Center at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. The POIC team supports science operations on the International Space Station 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For more than 20 years the POIC team has worked with scientists from around the world to enable the space station crew to conduct experiments that improve life on Earth and enable future exploration.

A look inside the International Space Station Payload Operations Integration Center at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. The POIC team supports science operations on the International Space Station 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For more than 20 years the POIC team has worked with scientists from around the world to enable the space station crew to conduct experiments that improve life on Earth and enable future exploration.

A look inside the International Space Station Payload Operations Integration Center at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. The POIC team supports science operations on the International Space Station 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For more than 20 years the POIC team has worked with scientists from around the world to enable the space station crew to conduct experiments that improve life on Earth and enable future exploration.

A look inside the International Space Station Payload Operations Integration Center at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. The POIC team supports science operations on the International Space Station 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For more than 20 years the POIC team has worked with scientists from around the world to enable the space station crew to conduct experiments that improve life on Earth and enable future exploration.

A look inside the International Space Station Payload Operations Integration Center at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. The POIC team supports science operations on the International Space Station 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For more than 20 years the POIC team has worked with scientists from around the world to enable the space station crew to conduct experiments that improve life on Earth and enable future exploration.

A look inside the International Space Station Payload Operations Integration Center at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. The POIC team supports science operations on the International Space Station 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For more than 20 years the POIC team has worked with scientists from around the world to enable the space station crew to conduct experiments that improve life on Earth and enable future exploration.

A look inside the International Space Station Payload Operations Integration Center at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. The POIC team supports science operations on the International Space Station 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For more than 20 years the POIC team has worked with scientists from around the world to enable the space station crew to conduct experiments that improve life on Earth and enable future exploration.

A look inside the International Space Station Payload Operations Integration Center at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. The POIC team supports science operations on the International Space Station 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For more than 20 years the POIC team has worked with scientists from around the world to enable the space station crew to conduct experiments that improve life on Earth and enable future exploration.

A look inside the International Space Station Payload Operations Integration Center at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. The POIC team supports science operations on the International Space Station 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For more than 20 years the POIC team has worked with scientists from around the world to enable the space station crew to conduct experiments that improve life on Earth and enable future exploration.

A look inside the International Space Station Payload Operations Integration Center at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. The POIC team supports science operations on the International Space Station 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For more than 20 years the POIC team has worked with scientists from around the world to enable the space station crew to conduct experiments that improve life on Earth and enable future exploration.

NASA's DC-8 airborne science laboratory banks low over the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif., upon arrival November 8, 2007.

The Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif., is now home to two large science aircraft, NASA's SOFIA observatory and a DC-8 science laboratory.

A look inside the International Space Station Payload Operations Integration Center at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. The POIC team supports science operations on the International Space Station 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For more than 20 years the POIC team has worked with scientists from around the world to enable the space station crew to conduct experiments that improve life on Earth and enable future exploration.

This illustration of NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft shows the location of the onboard science instruments that are still operating: the magnetometer, the cosmic ray subsystem, the plasma science experiment, the low-energy charged particle instrument and the antennas used by the plasma wave subsystem. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22915

NASA Optical PAyload for Lasercomm Science OPALS operations team is seen at the Optical Communications Telescope Laboratory ground station during an operations planning retreat on February 13, 2014.

Two large science aircraft, a DC-8 flying laboratory and the SOFIA 747SP, are based at NASA's Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif.

The cavernous expanse of the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif., now houses NASA's DC-8 science laboratory and SOFIA infrared observatory.

iss073e0422705 (Aug. 4, 2025) --- Roscosmos cosmonaut and Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Oleg Platonov conducts research operations inside the International Space Station's Nauka science module to learn how his balance and sensory perception are adapting to microgravity.

NASA James Webb Space Telescope Mission Operations Manager Carl Starr gives a tour of the NASA James Webb Space Telescope Mission Operations Center, Wednesday, June 29, 2022, at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore. Prior to the tour the NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy and NASA Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate Thomas Zurbuchen spoke at a briefing that focused on the status of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in its final weeks of preparing for its science mission, as well as overviews of planned science for Webb’s first year of operations. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

iss073e0118821 (May 30, 2025) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers conducts research operations inside the Kibo laboratory module's Life Science Glovebox aboard the International Space Station. Ayers was processing samples of deep-sea bacteria to test a specialized 3D microscope for its ability to monitor water quality, detect potentially infectious organisms, and study liquid mixtures and microorganisms in space and on Earth.

iss073e0118830 (May 30, 2025) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers conducts research operations inside the Kibo laboratory module's Life Science Glovebox aboard the International Space Station. Ayers was processing samples of deep-sea bacteria to test a specialized 3D microscope for its ability to monitor water quality, detect potentially infectious organisms, and study liquid mixtures and microorganisms in space and on Earth.

iss073e1046752 (Oct. 31, 2025) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Mike Fincke conducts research operations inside the Life Science Glovebox aboard the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module. Fincke was assisting scientists in studying the behavior, growth, and differentiation of stem cells, and how they can be converted into brain or heart cells in microgravity. The results could lead to advancements in crew health monitoring and drug manufacturing in space, as well as new treatments for heart and neurodegenerative diseases on Earth.

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy is given a tour of the NASA James Webb Space Telescope Mission Operations Center, Wednesday, June 29, 2022, at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore. Prior to the tour the deputy spoke at a briefing that focused on the status of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in its final weeks of preparing for its science mission, as well as overviews of planned science for Webb’s first year of operations. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy is given a tour of the NASA James Webb Space Telescope Mission Operations Center, Wednesday, June 29, 2022, at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore. Prior to the tour the deputy spoke at a briefing that focused on the status of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in its final weeks of preparing for its science mission, as well as overviews of planned science for Webb’s first year of operations. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy reacts to being shown some raw images from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope during a tour of the Mission Operations Center, Wednesday, June 29, 2022, at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore. Prior to the tour the deputy spoke at a briefing that focused on the status of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in its final weeks of preparing for its science mission, as well as overviews of planned science for Webb’s first year of operations. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, center, meets with NASA James Webb Space Telescope Timeline Controller Matt Wasiak, left, and NASA James Webb Space Telescope Deputy Mission Operations Manager Ron Jones, right, during a tour of the NASA James Webb Space Telescope Mission Operations Center, Wednesday, June 29, 2022, at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore. Prior to the tour the deputy spoke at a briefing that focused on the status of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in its final weeks of preparing for its science mission, as well as overviews of planned science for Webb’s first year of operations. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) Director Kenneth Sembach, left, gives NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy a tour of the NASA James Webb Space Telescope Mission Operations Center, Wednesday, June 29, 2022, at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore. Prior to the tour the two spoke at a briefing that focused on the status of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in its final weeks of preparing for its science mission, as well as overviews of planned science for Webb’s first year of operations. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

iss073e0178587 (June 16, 2025) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers conducts research operations inside the Destiny laboratory module's Microgravity Science Glovebox aboard the International Space Station. Ayers swapped syringes containing protein samples and installed test cells inside the glovebox for the Ring-Sheared Drop Interfacial Bioprocessing of Pharmaceuticals investigation that explores using surface tension to contain liquids and study proteins without contacting solid walls. Results may benefit pharmaceutical manufacturing and 3D printing techniques on and off the Earth.

iss073e0177791 (June 12, 2025) --- NASA astronaut and Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Jonny Kim conducts research operations inside the Destiny laboratory module's Microgravity Science Glovebox aboard the International Space Station. Kim swapped syringes containing protein samples and installed test cells inside the glovebox for the Ring-Sheared Drop Interfacial Bioprocessing of Pharmaceuticals investigation that explores using surface tension to contain liquids and study proteins without contacting solid walls. Results may benefit pharmaceutical manufacturing and 3D printing techniques on and off the Earth.

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, left, meets with NASA James Webb Space Telescope Command Controllers Justin Truing, and Phil Johnson, right, during a tour of the NASA James Webb Space Telescope Mission Operations Center, Wednesday, June 29, 2022, at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore. Prior to the tour the deputy spoke at a briefing that focused on the status of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in its final weeks of preparing for its science mission, as well as overviews of planned science for Webb’s first year of operations. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, right, talks with NASA James Webb Space Telescope deputy senior project scientist Jon Gardner, as she is given a tour of the NASA James Webb Space Telescope Mission Operations Center, Wednesday, June 29, 2022, at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore. Prior to the tour the deputy spoke at a briefing that focused on the status of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in its final weeks of preparing for its science mission, as well as overviews of planned science for Webb’s first year of operations. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, left, meets with NASA James Webb Space Telescope Mission Planner Kari Bosley during a tour of the NASA James Webb Space Telescope Mission Operations Center, Wednesday, June 29, 2022, at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore. Prior to the tour the deputy spoke at a briefing that focused on the status of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in its final weeks of preparing for its science mission, as well as overviews of planned science for Webb’s first year of operations. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

A member of a science field team operates a subsurface radar in the Nevada desert in February 2020 as part of a practice exercise. Over the course of several days, the field team stood in for NASA's Perseverance rover, sending data to and receiving commands from scientists located remotely, just as the rover will after landing on Mars in February 2021. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23778

With its antenna now spinning at full speed, NASA new Soil Moisture Active Passive SMAP observatory has successfully re-tested its science instruments and generated its first global maps, a key step to beginning routine science operations in May, 2015

With its antenna now spinning at full speed, NASA new Soil Moisture Active Passive SMAP observatory has successfully re-tested its science instruments and generated its first global maps, a key step to beginning routine science operations in May, 2015

David A. Wright is associate director for Center Operations at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif. He was formerly director of Flight Operations. He is also a research pilot, flying NASA's ER-2 and T-38. The ER-2s are civilian variants of the military U-2S reconnaissance aircraft and carry scientific instruments to study the Earth during worldwide deployments. Wright has more than 4,500 hours in six different aircraft. He held the position of deputy director of the Airborne Science Program at Dryden from 2002 until 2004. Wright came to Dryden after retiring from the U.S. Air Force as a lieutenant colonel. His final assignment was to the Joint Staff J3, Directorate of Operations at the Pentagon from November 1996 until August 1999. Prior to the Pentagon assignment, he served as commander of the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron at Beale Air Force Base near Marysville, Calif., the unit responsible for training all U-2 pilots. He was the operations officer for one the largest U-2 operations in history, flying combat missions against Iraq and managing an unprecedented U-2 flying schedule during the 1991 Desert Storm conflict. He was selected for the Air Force U-2 program in 1987 following duty as an aircraft commander in the E-3A AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) aircraft. Wright was a T-38 instructor for three years at Reese Air Force Base, Lubbock, Texas, following completion of pilot training in 1978. He graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics and computer science. Wright earned a Master of Arts in Adult Education from Troy State University, Montgomery, Ala., in 1987, and a Master of Science in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College, Newport, R.I., in 1995.

NASA Optical PAyload for Lasercomm Science OPALS operations team at Kennedy Space Center Space Launch Complex-40 on April 14, 2014, with the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying OPALS in the background.

This image shows preparation for March 2011 testing of the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, in a space-simulation chamber; the rover will go through operational sequences in environmental conditions similar to what it will experience on Mars.

This image shows preparation for March 2011 testing of the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, in a space-simulation chamber; the rover will go through operational sequences in environmental conditions similar to what it will experience on Mars.

iss058e007788 (Jan. 30, 2019) --- Expedition 58 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos is pictured in the Zvezda service module at the end of the work day wrapping up science operations on a laptop computer. Credit: Roscosmos

This artist concept of the Rosetta mission Philae lander on the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, is from an animation showing the upcoming deployment of Philae and its subsequent science operations on the surface of the comet. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA18891

During its close flyby of Earth, NASA Jupiter-bound Juno spacecraft listened for a coordinated, global transmission from amateur radio operators using its radio and plasma wave science instrument, known as Waves.

This artist rendition shows the Optical PAyload for Lasercomm Science OPALS operating from the International Space Station. OPALS was launched to the station from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on April 18, 2014.

This image compilation shows some of the most exciting images taken thus far on the MESSENGER mission. A mural-sized copy hangs next to the MESSENGER Science Operations Center at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA16364

Preparations are underway to conduct a vibration test on the Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSolo) for NASA’s VIPER mission inside a laboratory in the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 8, 2022. Exposing the instrument to vibration environments that it might see during launch helps engineers to find issues prior to liftoff. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and it will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. MSolo will be part of NASA’s first Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Service (CLPS) mission where under the Artemis program, commercial deliveries will be used to perform science experiments, test technologies and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for human missions.

Preparations are underway to conduct a vibration test on the Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSolo) for NASA’s VIPER mission inside a laboratory in the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 8, 2022. Exposing the instrument to vibration environments that it might see during launch helps engineers to find issues prior to liftoff. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and it will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. MSolo will be part of NASA’s first Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Service (CLPS) mission where under the Artemis program, commercial deliveries will be used to perform science experiments, test technologies and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for human missions.

The Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSolo) for NASA’s VIPER mission is being prepared for a vibration test inside a laboratory in the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 8, 2022. Exposing the instrument to vibration environments that it might see during launch helps engineers to find issues prior to liftoff. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and it will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. MSolo will be part of NASA’s first Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Service (CLPS) mission where under the Artemis program, commercial deliveries will be used to perform science experiments, test technologies and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for human missions.

NASA Mars Science Laboratory mission team members ran mobility tests on the test rover called Scarecrow on sand dunes near Death Valley, Ca. in early May 2012 in preparation for operating the Curiosity rover, currently en route to Mars.

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

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

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

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

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

Technicians prepare the Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSolo) for NASA’s Volatile Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission for packing inside a laboratory in the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 21, 2023. MSolo will be shipped to Johnson Space Center in Houston for integration into VIPER. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and it will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. MSolo will be part of NASA’s first Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Service (CLPS) mission where under the Artemis program, commercial deliveries will be used to perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for human missions. VIPER is scheduled to be delivered to the Moon’s South Pole in late 2024 by Astrobotic’s Griffin lander as part of the CLPS initiative.

Technicians prepare the Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSolo) for NASA’s Volatile Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission for packing inside a laboratory in the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 21, 2023. MSolo will be shipped to Johnson Space Center in Houston for integration into VIPER. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and it will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. MSolo will be part of NASA’s first Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Service (CLPS) mission where under the Artemis program, commercial deliveries will be used to perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for human missions. VIPER is scheduled to be delivered to the Moon’s South Pole in late 2024 by Astrobotic’s Griffin lander as part of the CLPS initiative.

The Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSolo) for NASA’s Volatile Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission is prepared for packing inside a laboratory in the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 21, 2023. MSolo will be shipped to Johnson Space Center in Houston for integration into VIPER. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and it will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. MSolo will be part of NASA’s first Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Service (CLPS) mission where under the Artemis program, commercial deliveries will be used to perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for human missions. VIPER is scheduled to be delivered to the Moon’s South Pole in late 2024 by Astrobotic’s Griffin lander as part of the CLPS initiative.

Technicians prepare the Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSolo) for NASA’s Volatile Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission for packing inside a laboratory in the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 21, 2023. MSolo will be shipped to Johnson Space Center in Houston for integration into VIPER. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and it will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. MSolo will be part of NASA’s first Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Service (CLPS) mission where under the Artemis program, commercial deliveries will be used to perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for human missions. VIPER is scheduled to be delivered to the Moon’s South Pole in late 2024 by Astrobotic’s Griffin lander as part of the CLPS initiative.

German Deligation visits Ames SOFIA Science Office for briefing by Hans Zinnecker, Deputy Director, SOFiA Science Mission Operations

The science deck of NASA's InSight lander is being turned over in this April 29, 2015, photo from InSight assembly and testing operations inside a clean room at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver. The large circular component on the deck is the protective covering to be placed over InSight's seismometer after the seismometer is placed directly onto the Martian ground. InSight, for Interior Exploration Using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is scheduled for launch in March 2016 and landing in September 2016. It will study the deep interior of Mars to advance understanding of the early history of all rocky planets, including Earth. Note: After thorough examination, NASA managers have decided to suspend the planned March 2016 launch of the Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) mission. The decision follows unsuccessful attempts to repair a leak in a section of the prime instrument in the science payload. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19670

The Payload Operations Center (POC) is the science command post for the International Space Station (ISS). Located at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, it is the focal point for American and international science activities aboard the ISS. The POC's unique capabilities allow science experts and researchers around the world to perform cutting-edge science in the unique microgravity environment of space. The POC is staffed around the clock by shifts of payload flight controllers. At any given time, 8 to 10 flight controllers are on consoles operating, plarning for, and controlling various systems and payloads. This photograph shows the Operations Controllers (OC) at their work stations. The OC coordinates the configuration of resources to enable science operations, such as power, cooling, commanding, and the availability of items like tools and laboratory equipment.

jsc2025e056603 --- The Artemis II Lunar Science Team runs a simulation of lunar observation operations in the new Science Evaluation Room (SER) that serves as a backroom to Mission Control.

Inside the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, members of the Mass Spectrometer observing lunar operations (MSolo) team prepare MSolo flight hardware for shipment in preparation for launch in 2022. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and it will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. MSolo is part of four of the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Service missions where under the Artemis program, commercial deliveries beginning in 2022 will perform science experiments, test technologies and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for human missions.

Inside the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, members of the Mass Spectrometer observing lunar operations (MSolo) team prepare MSolo flight hardware for shipment in preparation for launch in 2022. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and it will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. MSolo is part of four of the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Service missions where under the Artemis program, commercial deliveries beginning in 2022 will perform science experiments, test technologies and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for human missions.

Inside the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, members of the Mass Spectrometer observing lunar operations (MSolo) team prepare MSolo flight hardware for shipment in preparation for launch in 2022. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and it will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. MSolo is part of four of the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Service missions where under the Artemis program, commercial deliveries beginning in 2022 will perform science experiments, test technologies and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for human missions.

Inside the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, members of the Mass Spectrometer observing lunar operations (MSolo) team prepare MSolo flight hardware for shipment in preparation for launch in 2022. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and it will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. MSolo is part of four of the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Service missions where under the Artemis program, commercial deliveries beginning in 2022 will perform science experiments, test technologies and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for human missions.

The Payload Operations Center (POC) is the science command post for the International Space Station (ISS). Located at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama, it is the focal point for American and international science activities aboard the ISS. The POC's unique capabilities allow science experts and researchers around the world to perform cutting-edge science in the unique microgravity environment of space. The POC is staffed around the clock by shifts of payload flight controllers. At any given time, 8 to 10 flight controllers are on consoles operating, plarning for, and controlling various systems and payloads. This photograph shows the Command and Payload Multiplexer/Demultiplexer (MDM) Officers (CPO's) at their work stations. The CPO maintains the command link between the Operation Center at MSFC and Mission Control at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, and configures the link to allow the international partners and remote scientists to operate their payloads from their home sites.

iss061e012803 (Oct. 22, 2019) --- NASA astronaut Christina Koch performs science operations in the Microgravity Science Glovebox for the Ring Sheared Drop human health and advanced materials investigation.

iss060e035160 (Aug. 12, 2019) --- Expedition 60 Flight Engineer Christina Koch of NASA conducts science operations inside Japan's Kibo laboratory module with a science freezer that preserves biological research samples for later analysis.

DATA OPERATIONS CONTROL ROOM TEAM MEMBERS TAKE ALL SCIENCE DATA FROM THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION, AND DISTRIBUTE IT TO THE PAYLOAD OPERATIONS INTEGRATION CENTER AND SCIENTISTS ALL OVER THE WORLD WHO HAVE EXPERIMENTS ON THE ORBITING LABORATORY.

Control boards pictured in the International Space Stations Cupola during rendezvous and capture operations of the Orbital Sciences Cygnus cargo craft.

Activities in the Spacelab Mission Operations Control facility at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) are shown in this photograph. All NASA Spacelab science missions were controlled from and the science astronauts were supported by this facility during the missions. Teams of flight controllers and researchers at the MSFC Space Mission Operations Control Center directed all NASA science operations, sent commands directly to the crew of Spacelab, and received and analyzed data from experiments on board the Spacelab. The facility used the air/ground communications charnels between the astronauts and ground control teams during the Spacelab missions. Spacelab science operations were a cooperative effort between the science astronaut crew in orbit and their colleagues in the Space Mission Operations Control Center. Though the crew and the instrument science teams were separated by many miles, they interacted with one another to evaluate observations and solve problems in much the same way as they would when working side by side in a ground-based laboratory. Most of the action was centered in two work areas: The payload control area from which the overall payload was monitored and controlled and the science operations area where teams of scientists monitored their instruments and direct experiment activities. This facility is no longer operational since the last Spacelab mission, U.S. Microgravity Payload-4 in December 1997, and has become one of the historical sites at MSFC. The facility was reopened as the International Space Station Payload Operations Center in March 2001.

iss060e021469 (Aug. 3, 2019) --- NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Christina Koch work inside the Japanese Kibo laboratory module supporting research activities with the Life Sciences Glovebox. The Expedition 60 crewmates were conducting science operations for the Cell Science-02 bone healing and tissue regeneration experiment.

iss060e019982 (July 30, 2019) --- NASA astronaut Nick Hague works inside the Japanese Kibo laboratory module supporting research activities with the Life Sciences Glovebox. Hague is conducting science operations for the Cell Science-02 bone healing and tissue regeneration experiment.

LEWIS WOOTEN, NEW DIRECTOR OF THE MISSION OPERATIONS LABORATORY AT NASA'S MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER IN HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA, MANAGES OPERATIONS IN THE PAYLOAD OPERATIONS INTEGRATION CENTER-THE COMMAND POST FOR ALL SCIENCE AND RESEARCH ACTIVITIES ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

The primary objective of the STS-35 mission was round the clock observation of the celestial sphere in ultraviolet and X-Ray astronomy with the Astro-1 observatory which consisted of four telescopes: the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT); the Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarimeter Experiment (WUPPE); the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT); and the Broad Band X-Ray Telescope (BBXRT). The Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) Spacelab Payload Operations Control Center (SL POCC) at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) was the air/ground communication channel used between the astronauts and ground control teams during the Spacelab missions. Teams of controllers and researchers directed on-orbit science operations, sent commands to the spacecraft, received data from experiments aboard the Space Shuttle, adjusted mission schedules to take advantage of unexpected science opportunities or unexpected results, and worked with crew members to resolve problems with their experiments. Due to loss of data used for pointing and operating the ultraviolet telescopes, MSFC ground teams were forced to aim the telescopes with fine tuning by the flight crew. This photo captures the activity of WUPPE (Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarimeter Experiment) data review at the Science Operations Area during the mission. This image shows mission activities at the Broad Band X-Ray Telescope (BBXRT) Work Station in the Science Operations Area (SOA).

The Payload Operations Center (POC) is the science command post for the International Space Station (ISS). Located at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, it is the focal point for American and international science activities aboard the ISS. The POC's unique capabilities allow science experts and researchers around the world to perform cutting-edge science in the unique microgravity environment of space. The POC is staffed around the clock by shifts of payload flight controllers. At any given time, 8 to 10 flight controllers are on consoles operating, plarning for, and controlling various systems and payloads. This photograph shows the Photo and TV Operations Manager (PHANTOM) at a work station. The PHANTOM configures all video systems aboard the ISS and ensures they are working properly, providing a video link from the ISS to the POC.

The Payload Operations Center (POC) is the science command post for the International Space Station (ISS). Located at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, it is the focal point for American and international science activities aboard the ISS. The POC's unique capabilities allow science experts and researchers around the world to perform cutting-edge science in the unique microgravity environment of space. The POC is staffed around the clock by shifts of payload flight controllers. At any given time, 8 to 10 flight controllers are on consoles, operating, plarning for, and controlling various systems and payloads. This photograph shows the Payload Operations Director (POD) at work. The POD is the leader of the POC flight control team. The Director guides all payload activities in coordination with Mission Control at Johnson Space Center at Houston, Texas, the Station crew, the international partners, and other research facilities.

Team members working inside the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Sept. 23, 2021, meticulously assemble ground support equipment that will protect shipment of the Mass Spectrometer observing lunar operations (MSolo) flight hardware for preparations before it launches in 2022. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and it will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. MSolo, scheduled to first launch in 2022, is part of four of the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Service missions where under the Artemis program, commercial deliveries will include science experiments, testing of technologies and demonstrations of capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for human missions.

Team members working inside the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Sept. 23, 2021, meticulously assemble ground support equipment that will protect shipment of the Mass Spectrometer observing lunar operations (MSolo) flight hardware for preparations before it launches in 2022. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and it will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. MSolo, scheduled to first launch in 2022, is part of four of the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Service missions where under the Artemis program, commercial deliveries will include science experiments, testing of technologies and demonstrations of capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for human missions.

Team members working inside the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Sept. 23, 2021, meticulously assemble ground support equipment that will protect shipment of the Mass Spectrometer observing lunar operations (MSolo) flight hardware for preparations before it launches in 2022. MSolo is a commercial off-the-shelf mass spectrometer modified to work in space and it will help analyze the chemical makeup of landing sites on the Moon, as well as study water on the lunar surface. MSolo, scheduled to first launch in 2022, is part of four of the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Delivery Service missions where under the Artemis program, commercial deliveries will include science experiments, testing of technologies and demonstrations of capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon and prepare for human missions.

jsc2025e057255 --- NASA’s Artemis II lunar science team is pictured in the Science Evaluation Room (SER) at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Located in the Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center, the SER supports the mission’s main flight control room for lunar science and planetary observations. Built specifically for Artemis missions with these science priorities in mind, the SER is equipped to support rapid data interpretation, collaborative analysis, real-time decision making, and seamless coordination between the science and operations teams.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Dr. Irene Duhart Long is the director, Biomedical Operations and Research Office, at the Kennedy Space Center effective July 24, 1994. She is responsible for the program management of the center's aerospace and occupational medicine, life sciences research, environmental health programs and the operations management of the life sciences support facilities. Dr. Long also is responsible for providing the coordinating medical, environmental monitoring and environmental health support to launch and landing activities and day-to-day institutional functions.

During 1980 and the first half of 1981, the Marshall Space Flight Center conducted studies concerned with a relatively low-cost, near-term, manned space platform to satisfy current user needs, yet capable of evolutionary growth to meet future needs. The Science and Application Manned Space Platform (SAMSP) studies were to serve as a test bed for developing scientific and operational capabilities required by later, more advanced manned platforms while accomplishing early science and operations. This concept illustrates a manned space platform.

NASA Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate Thomas Zurbuchen congratulates the NASA James Webb Space Telescope mission operations team after confirming that the observatory’s final primary mirror wing successfully extended and locked into place, Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022, at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. With Webb’s 21.3-foot (6.5-meter) primary mirror fully deployed, the infrared observatory has completed its unprecedented process of unfolding in space to prepare for science operations. The observatory will study every phase of cosmic history—from within our solar system to the most distant observable galaxies in the early universe. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Saturn's Rings in Ultraviolet Light Credit: NASA and E. Karkoschka (University of Arizona) The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute conducts Hubble science operations. Goddard is responsible for HST project management, including mission and science operations, servicing missions, and all associated development activities. To learn more about the Hubble Space Telescope go here: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html</a>

Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 1300 Credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Acknowledgment: P. Knezek (WIYN) The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute conducts Hubble science operations. Goddard is responsible for HST project management, including mission and science operations, servicing missions, and all associated development activities. To learn more about the Hubble Space Telescope go here: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html</a>

Members of the Hubble operations team work in the control room on July 15, 2021 to restore Hubble to science operations. Credits: NASA/Goddard/Rebecca Roth --- More info: Hubble’s payload computer, which controls and coordinates the observatory’s onboard science instruments, halted suddenly on June 13. When the main computer failed to receive a signal from the payload computer, it automatically placed Hubble’s science instruments into safe mode. That meant the telescope would no longer be doing science while mission specialists analyzed the situation. In response to the anomaly, NASA began a switch to backup spacecraft hardware on Hubble in response to an ongoing problem with its payload computer. This was a multi-day event. Science observations restarted the afternoon of Saturday, July 17.

Members of the Hubble operations team work in the control room on July 15, 2021 to restore Hubble to science operations. Credits: NASA/Goddard/Rebecca Roth --- More info: Hubble’s payload computer, which controls and coordinates the observatory’s onboard science instruments, halted suddenly on June 13. When the main computer failed to receive a signal from the payload computer, it automatically placed Hubble’s science instruments into safe mode. That meant the telescope would no longer be doing science while mission specialists analyzed the situation. In response to the anomaly, NASA began a switch to backup spacecraft hardware on Hubble in response to an ongoing problem with its payload computer. This was a multi-day event. Science observations restarted the afternoon of Saturday, July 17.

Members of the Hubble operations team work in the control room on July 15, 2021 to restore Hubble to science operations. Credits: NASA/Goddard/Rebecca Roth --- More info: Hubble’s payload computer, which controls and coordinates the observatory’s onboard science instruments, halted suddenly on June 13. When the main computer failed to receive a signal from the payload computer, it automatically placed Hubble’s science instruments into safe mode. That meant the telescope would no longer be doing science while mission specialists analyzed the situation. In response to the anomaly, NASA began a switch to backup spacecraft hardware on Hubble in response to an ongoing problem with its payload computer. This was a multi-day event. Science observations restarted the afternoon of Saturday, July 17.

Members of the Hubble operations team work in the control room on July 15, 2021 to restore Hubble to science operations. Credits: NASA/Goddard/Rebecca Roth --- More info: Hubble’s payload computer, which controls and coordinates the observatory’s onboard science instruments, halted suddenly on June 13. When the main computer failed to receive a signal from the payload computer, it automatically placed Hubble’s science instruments into safe mode. That meant the telescope would no longer be doing science while mission specialists analyzed the situation. In response to the anomaly, NASA began a switch to backup spacecraft hardware on Hubble in response to an ongoing problem with its payload computer. This was a multi-day event. Science observations restarted the afternoon of Saturday, July 17.

Members of the Hubble operations team work in the control room on July 15, 2021 to restore Hubble to science operations. Credits: NASA/Goddard/Rebecca Roth --- More info: Hubble’s payload computer, which controls and coordinates the observatory’s onboard science instruments, halted suddenly on June 13. When the main computer failed to receive a signal from the payload computer, it automatically placed Hubble’s science instruments into safe mode. That meant the telescope would no longer be doing science while mission specialists analyzed the situation. In response to the anomaly, NASA began a switch to backup spacecraft hardware on Hubble in response to an ongoing problem with its payload computer. This was a multi-day event. Science observations restarted the afternoon of Saturday, July 17.

Members of the Hubble operations team work in the control room on July 15, 2021 to restore Hubble to science operations. Credits: NASA/Goddard/Rebecca Roth --- More info: Hubble’s payload computer, which controls and coordinates the observatory’s onboard science instruments, halted suddenly on June 13. When the main computer failed to receive a signal from the payload computer, it automatically placed Hubble’s science instruments into safe mode. That meant the telescope would no longer be doing science while mission specialists analyzed the situation. In response to the anomaly, NASA began a switch to backup spacecraft hardware on Hubble in response to an ongoing problem with its payload computer. This was a multi-day event. Science observations restarted the afternoon of Saturday, July 17.