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NASA logo NASA has awarded $15.6 million in grant funding to 15 projects supporting the maintenance of open-source tools, frameworks, and libraries used by the NASA science community, for the benefit of all. The agency’s Open-Source Tools, Frameworks, and Libraries awards provide support for the sustainable development of tools freely available to everyone and critical for the goals of the agency’s Science Mission Directorate. “We received almost twice the number of proposals this year than we had in the previous call,” said Steve Crawford, program executive, Open Science implementation, Office of the Chief Science Data Officer, NASA Headquarters in Washington.…

2 min readPreparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA logo In fiscal year 2023, NASA investments supported 66,208 jobs in the state of California, generated $18.5 billion in economic output and $1 billion in tax revenue to the state’s economy. Overall, NASA generated an estimated $9.5 billion in federal, state, and local taxes throughout the United States. NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California is one of three NASA centers in the state that contributes to this economic achievement. The center supports critical research in sustainable flight, air mobility, and airborne science, reinforcing the region as a…

Kennedy Space Center Director Janet Petro speaks in March 2022 during the annual State of NASA event at the Florida spaceport. NASA/Kim Shiflett America is returning to the Moon with our sights set on Mars, and NASA is leading the way. Along with our industry and international partners, we’re advancing scientific research, inspiring the next generation of explorers, and ensuring reliable and continuous access to space for our nation. NASA’s Economic Impact Report for fiscal year (FY) 2023 highlights the nation’s strong return on its investment in NASA. Our missions help unveil the secrets of the universe and our home…

5 min read NASA Science on Health, Safety to Launch on 31st SpaceX Resupply Mission New science experiments for NASA are set to launch aboard the agency’s SpaceX 31st commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. The six investigations aim to contribute to cutting-edge discoveries by NASA scientists and research teams. The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will liftoff aboard the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Science experiments aboard the spacecraft include a test to study smothering fires in space, evaluating quantum communications, analyzing antibiotic-resistant bacteria, examining health issues like…

NASA’s work, including its Moon to Mars exploration approach, is advancing science and technology for the Artemis Generation, while also driving significant economic growth across the United States, the agency announced Thursday. In its third agencywide economic impact report, NASA highlighted how its Moon to Mars activities, climate change research and technology development, and other projects generated more than $75.6 billion in economic output across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., in fiscal year 2023. “To invest in NASA is to invest in American workers, American innovation, the American economy, and American economic competitiveness,” says NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Our…

3 min readPreparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Expedition 64 Flight Engineer Victor Glover of NASA sips on a water bag. The latest book marks our third effort to review available literature regarding the role of nutrition in astronaut health. In 2009, we reviewed the existing knowledge and history of human nutrition for spaceflight, with a key goal of identifying additional data that would be required before NASA could confidently reduce the risk of an inadequate food system or inadequate nutrition to as low as possible in support of human expeditions to the Moon or Mars. We used…

Dr. Nipa Phojanamongkolkij does not always do things the traditional way. As a systems engineer (SE) at Langley Research Center working closely with the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, Nipa pushes boundaries and draws connections where few others would think to look. When she envisioned a way to use ChatGPT to help SE teams working on the Advanced Air Mobility Mission, she presented her initial idea to her team wondering, “Is this crazy?” Her idea evolved into a successful prototype, which is now used for air traffic management in the Airspace Operations and Safety Program. She has also leveraged natural language…

2 min readPreparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Hundreds of students, scientists, and other stakeholders listen in person and online as NASA leaders discuss the Artemis missions during the 2023 von Braun Space Exploration Symposium held Oct. 25–27 at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. NASA / Charles Beason Media are invited to attend the 2024 von Braun Space Exploration Symposium Monday Oct. 28 to Wednesday, Oct. 30 at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Organized by the American Astronautical Society in collaboration with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, the annual symposium gathers leaders from across…

19 Min Read The Marshall Star for October 23, 2024 Editor’s Note: Starting Nov. 4, the Office of Communications at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center will no longer publish the Marshall Star on nasa.gov. The last public issue will be Oct. 30. To continue reading Marshall news, visit nasa.gov/marshall. Habitation Systems Business Unit Spotlight: Living and Working in Space For centuries, humans have dreamed of the ability to live safely on the Moon and Mars. At NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, team members supporting habitation systems development bring that dream closer to reality by envisioning and shaping humanity’s future in…

Astronaut and Artemis II pilot, Victor Glover, maneuvers the latch handle on an Orion test side hatch during performance evaluations at the Lockheed Martin Space campus in Littleton, Colorado.Photo credit: Lockheed Martin Artemis II NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Reid Wiseman, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen recently traveled to Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado, where they practiced opening and closing an Orion crew module side hatch model to help demonstrate its reliability and durability during their 10-day mission around the Moon. During normal mission operations, the crew will not operate the hatches – the…