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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
The Artemis II Orion stage adapter, built at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. NASA Media are invited to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, at 2 p.m. CDT Thursday, Aug. 14 to view the final piece of space flight hardware for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for the Artemis II mission before it is delivered to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. All other elements of the SLS rocket for Artemis II are stacked on mobile launcher 1 in the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy. Artemis II, NASA’s first mission with crew aboard the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, is currently scheduled for a 10-day trip around the Moon no later than April 2026.
The Orion stage adapter, built by NASA Marshall, connects the SLS rocket’s interim cryogenic propulsion stage to NASA’s Orion spacecraft. The small ring structure is the topmost portion of the SLS rocket. The adapter will also carry small payloads, called CubeSats, to deep space.
Media will have the opportunity to capture images and video and speak to subject matter experts. Along with viewing the adapter for Artemis II, media will be able to see the Orion stage adapter for the Artemis III mission, the first lunar landing at the Moon’s South Pole.
This event is open to U.S. media, who must confirm their attendance by 12 p.m. CDT Wednesday, Aug. 13, with Jonathan Deal in Marshall’s Office of Communications at jonathan.e.deal@nasa.gov. Media must also report by 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug.14 to the Redstone Arsenal Joint Visitor Control Center Gate 9 parking lot, located at the Interstate 565 interchange at Research Park Boulevard, to be escorted to the event.
Through Artemis, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.
For more on SLS, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/space-launch-system
Jonathan Deal
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256.631.9126
jonathan.e.deal@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Aug 11, 2025 EditorBeth RidgewayLocationMarshall Space Flight Center Related Terms
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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center will host astronauts for a media opportunity as the center celebrates its 65th anniversary during a free, community event on Saturday, July 19, from noon to 5 p.m. CDT at The Orion Amphitheater in Huntsville, Alabama.
Marshall, along with its partners and collaborators, will fill the amphitheater with space exhibits, music, food vendors, and hands-on activities for all ages. The summer celebration will mark 65 years of innovation and exploration, not only for Marshall, but for Huntsville and other North Alabama communities.
The event will kick off with a program at 12:30 p.m. led by Joseph Pelfrey, director of NASA Marshall, and will include a presentation from some of the Expedition 72 crew members who recently returned from their mission after dedicating more than 1,000 combined hours to scientific research and technology demonstrations aboard the International Space Station. The crew will share their experiences in space with the community.
The official portrait of the International Space Station’s Expedition 72 crew. At the top (from left) are Roscosmos cosmonaut and Flight Engineer Alexey Ovchinin, NASA astronaut and space station Commander Suni Williams, and NASA astronaut and Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore. In the middle row are Roscosmos cosmonaut and Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner and NASA astronaut and Flight Engineer Don Pettit. In the bottom row are Roscosmos cosmonaut and Flight Engineer Aleksandr Gorbunov and NASA astronaut and Flight Engineer Nick Hague. NASA/Bill Stafford and Robert Markowitz Media are invited to attend the event and participate in a news conference with the astronauts after the presentation but must confirm their attendance by 4:30 p.m., Thursday, July 17, to Lance D. Davis – lance.d.davis@nasa.gov – in Marshall’s Office of Communications.
Media should arrive at the front entrance of The Orion Amphitheater by 11:45 a.m., Saturday, July 19, to be escorted by the Office of Communications.
Founded July 1, 1960, in Huntsville, Marshall has shaped or supported nearly every facet of the nation’s ongoing mission of space exploration and discovery, solving the most complex, technical flight challenges, and contributing to science to improve life and protect resources around the world.
Learn more about Marshall’s 65th anniversary celebration at:
https://www.nasa.gov/marshall65/
Lance D. Davis
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-640-9065
lance.d.davis@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Jul 16, 2025 EditorBeth RidgewayLocationMarshall Space Flight Center Related Terms
Marshall Space Flight Center View the full article
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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center invites the community to help celebrate the center’s 65th anniversary during a free public event noon to 5 p.m. CDT Saturday, July 19, at The Orion Amphitheater in Huntsville, Alabama.
NASA Marshall, along with its partners and collaborators, will fill the amphitheater with space exhibits, music, food vendors, and hands-on activities for all ages. The summer celebration will mark 65 years of innovation and exploration, not only for Marshall, but for Huntsville and other North Alabama communities.
“Our success has been enabled by the continuous support we receive from Huntsville and the North Alabama communities, and this is an opportunity to thank community members and share some of our exciting mission activities,” Joseph Pelfrey, director of NASA Marshall, said.
Some NASA astronauts from Expedition 72 who recently returned from missions aboard the ISS (International Space Station) will participate in the celebratory event. The Expedition 72 crew dedicated more than 1,000 combined hours to scientific research and technology demonstrations aboard the space station and crew members in attendance will share their experiences in space.
The official portrait of the International Space Station’s Expedition 72 crew. At the top (from left) are Roscosmos cosmonaut and Flight Engineer Alexey Ovchinin, NASA astronaut and space station Commander Suni Williams, and NASA astronaut and Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore. In the middle row are Roscosmos cosmonaut and Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner and NASA astronaut and Flight Engineer Don Pettit. In the bottom row are Roscosmos cosmonaut and Flight Engineer Aleksandr Gorbunov and NASA astronaut and Flight Engineer Nick Hague. NASA/Bill Stafford and Robert Markowitz “Every day, our Marshall team works to advance human spaceflight and discovery, such as working with our astronauts on the space station.” Pelfrey said. “We are honored Expedition 72 crew members will join us to help commemorate our 65-year celebration.”
The anniversary event will also include remarks from Pelfrey, other special presentations, and fun for the whole family.
Learn more about this free community event at:
https://www.nasa.gov/marshall65
Lance D. Davis
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-640-9065
lance.d.davis@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Jun 17, 2025 EditorBeth RidgewayLocationMarshall Space Flight Center Related Terms
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By NASA
What do music ensembles and human spaceflight have in common? They require the harmonization of different elements to create an inspiring opus.
NASA’s Paige Whittington has experience with both.
As a principal flutist for Purdue University’s Wind Ensemble, Whittington helped fellow flutists play beautiful music together while pursuing her graduate degree. Now, as a space exploration simulation architect at Johnson Space Center in Houston, she strives for a cross-team harmony that can inform the agency’s Moon to Mars exploration approach.
“Simulation often sits at the intersection of several teams because we integrate various designs and mission requirements,” she said. “We have to learn how to best fit those teams and their priorities together to enable cutting-edge human exploration.”
Official NASA portrait of Paige Whittington.NASA/Josh Valcarcel Whittington is part of the NASA Exploration Systems Simulations (NExSyS) team, which develops physics-based simulations to evaluate various vehicles and mission concepts. Her role includes working with lunar and Mars architecture teams within NASA’s Strategy and Architecture Office to assess current and potential future elements of vehicle design, logistics, and planning.
“Our simulations help inform engineers, astronauts, and managers about the new, challenging environments that await us on the Moon and Mars,” she said.
One of the most challenging and rewarding projects she is working on is the Artemis Distributed Simulation. “NExSyS develops and maintains several individual simulations such as rovers, landers, and habitats. However, human exploration on other planetary bodies requires careful integration and coordination of these individual pieces,” she explained.
The distributed simulation brings those pieces together to enable agency teams to envision a complete Artemis mission to the lunar surface. Different elements can be added or removed to create a wide variety of scenarios. The simulation can run automatically with predetermined settings or be responsive to real-time and randomized changes. Participants can operate the team’s video walls, mock-up mission control console, virtual reality platforms, and lander piloting facility to interact together within the chosen Artemis mission scenario.
Paige Whittington standing in front of the Video Wall used for human-in-the-loop simulations located inside the Systems Engineering Simulator facility at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Image courtesy of Paige Whittington “I am very proud to know that the simulations I help develop have impacted some of the decisions being made by NASA’s architecture teams,” she said.
She is excited to take on a new responsibility, as well. Whittington recently became project manager of the JSC Engineering Orbital Dynamics software package. Also known as JEOD, this open-source tool was created by NASA to model spacecraft trajectories, such as proposed flight paths for a lunar lander. JEOD calculates gravitational and other environmental forces acting on spacecraft to simulate the position and orientation of those vehicles over time, whether they are orbiting a cosmic body or traveling between planets.
Whittington’s family moved frequently during her childhood, calling five different states home as she grew up. Their time in Florida would have a life-long impact.
“My parents drove me and my sister across the state to visit NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. It was mesmerizing, awe-inspiring, and seemingly a whole different world from where my 8-year-old self thought I was living,” she said. Her love of space never waned, and a high school physics teacher encouraged her to study aerospace engineering in college. “That was the turning point when I realized space exploration didn’t have to stay in my dreams – it was a career field I could actually work in.”
Whittington took her teacher’s advice, earning a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. She also completed two internships at Johnson through the Universities Space Research Association and interned with a NASA contractor after graduation. While pursuing a master’s degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue, Whittington was accepted to NASA’s Pathways Program and did two rotations with the Simulation and Graphics Branch before joining the team as a full-time employee in June 2022.
Paige Whittington celebrating the launch of Artemis I at Johnson Space Center in 2022. Image courtesy of Paige Whittington Whittington has learned several key lessons during her five years with NASA, including the essential part open, regular communication plays in understanding an individual’s or team’s core needs and limitations. She also stressed the importance of adaptability.
“The path that you planned for may not be the path you end up choosing. But that planning enabled you to be who you are now and to make different choices,” she said. “I did not anticipate working in simulations when I started my aerospace engineering degree, but I took the opportunity when it was presented, and I am so happy that I did.”
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By NASA
4 Min Read NASA Marshall Fires Up Hybrid Rocket Motor to Prep for Moon Landings
NASA’s Artemis campaign will use human landing systems, provided by SpaceX and Blue Origin, to safely transport crew to and from the surface of the Moon, in preparation for future crewed missions to Mars. As the landers touch down and lift off from the Moon, rocket exhaust plumes will affect the top layer of lunar “soil,” called regolith, on the Moon. When the lander’s engines ignite to decelerate prior to touchdown, they could create craters and instability in the area under the lander and send regolith particles flying at high speeds in various directions.
To better understand the physics behind the interaction of exhaust from the commercial human landing systems and the Moon’s surface, engineers and scientists at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, recently test-fired a 14-inch hybrid rocket motor more than 30 times. The 3D-printed hybrid rocket motor, developed at Utah State University in Logan, Utah, ignites both solid fuel and a stream of gaseous oxygen to create a powerful stream of rocket exhaust.
“Artemis builds on what we learned from the Apollo missions to the Moon. NASA still has more to learn more about how the regolith and surface will be affected when a spacecraft much larger than the Apollo lunar excursion module lands, whether it’s on the Moon for Artemis or Mars for future missions,” said Manish Mehta, Human Landing System Plume & Aero Environments discipline lead engineer. “Firing a hybrid rocket motor into a simulated lunar regolith field in a vacuum chamber hasn’t been achieved in decades. NASA will be able to take the data from the test and scale it up to correspond to flight conditions to help us better understand the physics, and anchor our data models, and ultimately make landing on the Moon safer for Artemis astronauts.”
Fast Facts
Over billions of years, asteroid and micrometeoroid impacts have ground up the surface of the Moon into fragments ranging from huge boulders to powder, called regolith. Regolith can be made of different minerals based on its location on the Moon. The varying mineral compositions mean regolith in certain locations could be denser and better able to support structures like landers. Of the 30 test fires performed in NASA Marshall’s Component Development Area, 28 were conducted under vacuum conditions and two were conducted under ambient pressure. The testing at Marshall ensures the motor will reliably ignite during plume-surface interaction testing in the 60-ft. vacuum sphere at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, later this year.
Once the testing at NASA Marshall is complete, the motor will be shipped to NASA Langley. Test teams at NASA Langley will fire the hybrid motor again but this time into simulated lunar regolith, called Black Point-1, in the 60-foot vacuum sphere. Firing the motor from various heights, engineers will measure the size and shape of craters the rocket exhaust creates as well as the speed and direction the simulated lunar regolith particles travel when the rocket motor exhaust hits them.
“We’re bringing back the capability to characterize the effects of rocket engines interacting with the lunar surface through ground testing in a large vacuum chamber — last done in this facility for the Apollo and Viking programs. The landers going to the Moon through Artemis are much larger and more powerful, so we need new data to understand the complex physics of landing and ascent,” said Ashley Korzun, principal investigator for the plume-surface interaction tests at NASA Langley. “We’ll use the hybrid motor in the second phase of testing to capture data with conditions closely simulating those from a real rocket engine. Our research will reduce risk to the crew, lander, payloads, and surface assets.”
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Credit: NASA Through the Artemis campaign, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars – for the benefit of all.
For more information about Artemis, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/artemis
News Media Contact
Corinne Beckinger
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256.544.0034
corinne.m.beckinger@nasa.gov
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