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STScI Appoints a New Mission Head for the James Webb Space Telescope
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By Space Force
The inaugural class of Guardian officers graduates from the Officer Training Course at Peterson Space Force Base.
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By NASA
NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) mission will map the boundaries of the heliosphere, the bubble created by the solar wind that protects our solar system from cosmic radiation. Credit: NASA/Princeton/Patrick McPike NASA will hold a media teleconference at 12 p.m. EDT on Thursday, Sept. 4, to discuss the agency’s upcoming Sun and space weather missions, IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) and Carruthers Geocorona Observatory. The two missions are targeting launch on the same rocket no earlier than Tuesday, Sept. 23.
The IMAP mission will map the boundaries of our heliosphere, the vast bubble created by the Sun’s wind that encapsulates our entire solar system. As a modern-day celestial cartographer, IMAP will explore how the heliosphere interacts with interstellar space, as well as chart the range of particles that fill the space between the planets. The IMAP mission also will support near real-time observations of the solar wind and energetic particles. These energetic particles can produce hazardous space weather that can impact spacecraft and other NASA hardware as the agency explores deeper into space, including at the Moon under the Artemis campaign.
NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory will image the ultraviolet glow of Earth’s exosphere, the outermost region of our planet’s atmosphere. This data will help scientists understand how space weather from the Sun shapes the exosphere and ultimately impacts our planet. The first observation of this glow – called the geocorona – was captured during Apollo 16, when a telescope designed and built by George Carruthers was deployed on the Moon.
Audio of the teleconference will stream live on the agency’s website at:
https://www.nasa.gov/live
Participants include:
Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington Teresa Nieves-Chinchilla, director, Moon to Mars Space Weather Analysis Office, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland David J. McComas, IMAP principal investigator, Princeton University Lara Waldrop, Carruthers Geocorona Observatory principal investigator, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign To participate in the media teleconference, media must RSVP no later than 11 a.m. on Sept. 4 to Sarah Frazier at: sarah.frazier@nasa.gov. NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online.
The IMAP and Carruthers Geocorona Observatory missions will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Also launching on this flight will be the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Follow On – Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1), which will monitor solar wind disturbances and detect and track coronal mass ejections before they reach Earth.
David McComas, professor, Princeton University, leads the IMAP mission with an international team of 27 partner institutions. The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, built the spacecraft and will operate the mission. NASA’s IMAP is the fifth mission in NASA’s Solar Terrestrial Probes Program portfolio.
The Carruthers Geocorona Observatory mission is led by Lara Waldrop from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Mission implementation is led by the Space Sciences Laboratory at University of California, Berkeley, which also designed and built the two ultraviolet imagers. BAE Systems designed and built the Carruthers spacecraft.
The Solar Terrestrial Probes Program Office, part of the Explorers and Heliophysics Project Division at NASA Goddard, manages the IMAP and Carruthers Geocorona Observatory missions for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.
NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at NASA Kennedy, manages the launch service for the mission.
To learn more about IMAP, please visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/imap
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Abbey Interrante / Karen Fox
Headquarters, Washington
301-201-0124 / 202-358-1600
abbey.a.interrante@nasa.gov / karen.c.fox@nasa.gov
Sarah Frazier
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
202-853-7191
sarah.frazier@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Aug 28, 2025 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Heliophysics Carruthers Geocorona Observatory (GLIDE) Goddard Space Flight Center Heliophysics Division Heliosphere IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) Kennedy Space Center Launch Services Program Science Mission Directorate Solar Terrestrial Probes Program View the full article
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By NASA
From left to right: JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and NASA astronauts Jonny Kim (seated), Zena Cardman, and Mike Fincke conduct training scenarios with their instructors at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, for their upcoming mission to the International Space Station. Credit: NASA/Helen Arase Vargas NASA astronaut Jonny Kim and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui will connect with students in New York as they answer prerecorded science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) questions aboard the International Space Station.
The Earth-to-space call will begin at 9:20 a.m. EDT on Friday, Sept. 5, and will stream live on the agency’s Learn With NASA YouTube channel.
Media interested in covering the event must RSVP by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 3, to Sara Sloves at: 917-441-1234 or ssloves@thecomputerschool.org.
The Computer School will host this event in New York for middle school students. The goal of this event is to extend learning by exposing students to the real-world experiences and engineering challenges of astronauts working and living aboard the International Space Station.
For nearly 25 years, astronauts have continuously lived and worked aboard the space station, testing technologies, performing science, and developing skills needed to explore farther from Earth. Astronauts communicate with NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston 24 hours a day through SCaN’s (Space Communications and Navigation) Near Space Network.
Research and technology investigations taking place aboard the space station benefit people on Earth and lay the groundwork for other agency deep space missions. As part of NASA’s Artemis campaign, the agency will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future human exploration of Mars, inspiring the world through discovery in a new Golden Age of innovation and exploration.
See more information on NASA in-flight calls at:
https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation
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Gerelle Dodson
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
gerelle.q.dodson@nasa.gov
Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Aug 28, 2025 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
In-flight Education Downlinks Humans in Space International Space Station (ISS) Johnson Space Center Learning Resources NASA Headquarters View the full article
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By European Space Agency
Video: 00:09:30 In Tenerife, Spain, stands a unique duo: ESA’s Izaña-1 and Izaña-2 laser-ranging stations. Together, they form an optical technology testbed of the European Space Agency that takes the monitoring of space debris and satellites to a new level while maturing new technologies for commercialisation.
Space debris is a threat to satellites and is rapidly becoming a daily concern for satellite operators. The Space Safety Programme, part of ESA Operations, managed from ESOC in Germany, helps develop new technologies to detect and track debris, and to prevent collisions in orbit in new and innovative ways.
One of these efforts takes place at the Izaña station in Tenerife. There, ESA and partner companies are testing how to deliver precise orbit data on demand with laser-based technologies. The Izaña-2 station was recently finalised by the German company DiGOS and is now in use.
To perform space debris laser ranging, Izaña-2 operates as a laser transmitter, emitting high-power laser pulses towards objects in space. Izaña-1 then acts as the receiver of the few photons that are reflected back. The precision of the laser technology enables highly accurate data for precise orbit determination, which in turn is crucial for actionable collision avoidance systems and sustainable space traffic management.
With the OMLET (Orbital Maintenance via Laser momEntum Transfer) project, ESA combines different development streams and possibilities for automation to support European industry with getting two innovative services market-ready: on-demand ephemeris provision and laser-based collision avoidance services for end users such as satellite operators.
A future goal is to achieve collision avoidance by laser momentum transfer, where instead of the operational satellite, the piece of debris will be moved out of the way. This involves altering the orbit of a piece of space debris slightly by applying a small force to the object through laser illumination.
The European Space Agency actively supports European industry in capitalising on the business opportunities that not only safeguard our satellites but also pave the way for the sustainable use of space.
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By NASA
Teams at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida participate in the first joint integrated launch countdown simulation for Artemis I inside Firing Room 1 of the Launch Control Center on July 8, 2021. Seen at the top of the room is Charlie Blackwell-Thompson (right), launch director.Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky As four astronauts venture around the Moon on NASA’s Artemis II test flight in 2026, many people will support the journey from here on Earth. Teams directing operations from the ground include the mission management team, launch control team, flight control team, and the landing and recovery team, each with additional support personnel who are experts in every individual system and subsystem. The teams have managed every aspect of the test flight and ensure NASA is prepared to send humans beyond our atmosphere and into a new Golden Age of innovation and exploration.
Mission management team
Reviews of mission status and risk assessments are conducted by the mission management team, a group of 15 core members and additional advisors. Amit Kshatriya, NASA’s deputy associate administrator, Moon to Mars Program, will serve as the mission management team chair for the test flight.
Two days prior to launch, the mission management team will assemble to review mission risks and address any lingering preflight concerns. With more than 20 years of human spaceflight experience, Kshatriya will conduct polls at key decision points, providing direction for the relevant operations team. If circumstances during the flight go beyond established decision criteria or flight rules outlined ahead of the mission, the team will assess the situation based on the information available and decide how to respond.
Matt Ramsey, serving as the Artemis II mission manager, will oversee all elements of mission preparedness prior to the mission management team assembly two days before launch and serve as deputy mission management team chair throughout the mission. With more than two decades of experience at NASA, Ramsey managed the SLS (Space Launch System) Engineering Support Center for Artemis I.
Launch control team
The launch control team coordinates launch operations from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Charlie Blackwell-Thompson serves as the agency’s Artemis launch director, responsible for integrating and coordinating launch operations for the SLS, Orion, and Exploration Ground Systems Programs, including developing and implementing plans for countdown, troubleshooting, and timing.
Two days before liftoff, when the countdown for launch begins, Blackwell-Thompson’s team will begin preparations for launch from their console positions in Firing Room 1 in Kennedy’s Launch Control Center. On the day of launch, Blackwell-Thompson and her team will manage countdown progress, propellent loading, and launch commit criteria. The criteria include standards for systems involved in launch, and the team will monitor the rocket until it lifts off from the launchpad.
Rick Henfling, flight director, monitors systems in the Flight Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.Credit: NASA Flight control team
From solid rocket booster ignition until the crew is safety extracted from the Orion capsule following splashdown in the Pacific Ocean at the end of their mission, the flight control team oversees operations from the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Multiple flight directors will take turns leading the team throughout the 10-day mission to support operations around the clock. Jeff Radigan, bringing more than 20 years of International Space Station experience to Artemis II, will serve as lead flight director for the mission. The work for this role begins well in advance of the mission with building mission timelines; developing flight rules and procedures; leading the flight control team through simulations that prepare them for the flight test; and then helping them carry out the plan.
On launch day, the ascent flight control team will be led by Judd Frieling, an Artemis I flight director who also supported more than 20 shuttle missions as a flight controller. Frieling is responsible for overseeing the crew’s ascent to space, including performance of SLS core stage engines, solid rocket boosters, and propulsion systems from the moment of launch until the separation of Orion from the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage. As Orion is propelled toward the Moon, guidance of operations will pass to the next flight director.
At the opposite end of the mission, Rick Henfling will take the lead for Orion’s return to Earth and splashdown. Orion will reenter Earth’s atmosphere at roughly 25,000 mph to about 20 mph for a parachute-assisted splashdown. Drawing from a background supporting space shuttle ascent, entry, and abort operations and 10 years as a space station flight director, Henfling and the team will monitor weather forecasts for landing, watch over Orion’s systems through the dynamic entry phase, and to ensure the spacecraft is safely shutdown before handing over operations to the recovery team.
At any point during the mission, a single voice will speak to the crew in space on behalf of all members of the flight control team: the capsule communicator, or CapCom. The CapCom ensures the crew in space receives clear and concise communication from the teams supporting them on the ground. NASA astronaut Stan Love will serve as the lead CapCom for Artemis II. Love flew aboard STS-122 mission and has acted as CapCom for more than a dozen space station expeditions. He is also part of the astronaut office’s Rapid Prototyping Lab, which played a key role in development of Orion’s displays and controls.
Landing, recovery team
Retrieval of the crew and Orion crew module will be in the hands of the landing and recovery team, led by Lili Villarreal. The team will depart San Diego on a Department of Defense ship, and head to the vicinity of the landing site several days before splashdown for final preparations alongside the U.S. Navy and DOD.
The recovery team is made up of personnel operating from the ship, land, and air to recover both astronauts and the capsule. Decision-making authority during the recovery phase of mission operations belongs to Villarreal, who served as deputy flow director for Artemis I and worked in the operations division for the space station.
The success of Artemis II will pave the way for the next phase of the agency’s campaign, landing on the lunar South Pole region on Artemis III. These teams, along with the four crew members and countless NASA engineers, scientists, and personnel, are driving humanity’s exploration on the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
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