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

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

Photographer NASA/Ryan Kline
Location AFRC
NASA s Armstrong Flight Research CenterAFRCDale Reed Subscale Flight Research LaboratorySafe and Precise Landing Integrated Capabilities Evolution eSPLICEAlta-XNASA s Johnson Space CenterEdwards Air Force BaseCalifornia