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The Marshall Star for January 24, 2024


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The Marshall Star for January 24, 2024

Artist rendition of the Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer

NASA’s IXPE Team Awarded Prestigious Rossi Prize

By Rick Smith

NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) team has been awarded a top prize in high-energy astronomy.

The High Energy Astrophysics Division of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) has awarded the 2024 Bruno Rossi Prize to retired NASA astrophysicist Martin Weisskopf, Italian Space Agency principal investigator Paolo Soffitta, and their team for development of IXPE, “whose novel measurements advance our understanding of particle acceleration and emission from astrophysical shocks, black holes and neutron stars,” according to the AAS announcement.

NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer mission, led by retired NASA astrophysicist Martin Weisskopf, left, and Italian Space Agency principal investigator Paolo Soffitta, has received the 2024 Rossi Prize in high-energy astronomy, awarded annually by the American Astronomical Society.
NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer mission, led by retired NASA astrophysicist Martin Weisskopf, left, and Italian Space Agency principal investigator Paolo Soffitta, has received the 2024 Rossi Prize in high-energy astronomy, awarded annually by the American Astronomical Society.
NASA/INAF

“IXPE is a realization of decades of work and belief in the importance of X-ray polarization measurements for X-ray astronomy. I am honored and excited to share this prize with Paolo Soffitta and the entire IXPE team,” said Weisskopf, who was IXPE’s principal investigator during its development. He retired from NASA in 2022.

“IXPE is the demonstration of how an idea pursued for more than 30 years has been transformed into a successful mission, thanks to the collaboration between the United States and Italy,” Soffitta said. “It’s incredible to receive this prize along with Martin Weisskopf and on behalf of so many people whose expertise and enthusiasm have made this breakthrough in astrophysics possible.”

Developed by NASA, the Italian Space Agency, and partners in a dozen countries, IXPE was launched to space on Dec. 9, 2021. Today, it orbits Earth some 340 miles up to observe X-ray emissions from powerful cosmic phenomena hundreds or thousands of light-years away. In 2023 alone, its subjects of study included blazars such as Markarian 501 and Markarian 421, supernova remnants including Tycho and SN 1006, and the supermassive black hole at the center of our own galaxy. Its success led NASA to formally extend the mission for an additional 20 months, through at least September 2025.

Artist rendition of the Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer
An artist’s illustration of the IXPE spacecraft in orbit, studying high-energy phenomena light-years from Earth.
NASA

“We at NASA are incredibly proud of Dr. Weisskopf and the IXPE team around the world,” said acting Marshall Center Director Joseph Pelfrey. “IXPE allows us to look at the universe through a vantage point never seen before. It’s particularly gratifying to continue Marshall’s long association with the Rossi Prize, which identifies singular breakthroughs and unprecedented innovation in high-energy astrophysics – a field in which our researchers excel.”

Weisskopf, together with Harvard astrophysicist Harvey Tananbaum, previously received the Rossi Prize in 2004 for their work to develop and fly NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, which continues to study X-ray phenomena across the cosmos. Marshall researchers Gerald Fishman and Colleen Wilson-Hodge also were awarded the Rossi Prize in 1994 and 2018, respectively. Fishman was honored for his contributions to the Compton Gamma-ray Observatory’s BATSE (Burst and Transient Source Experiment) mission, Wilson-Hodge for her work with the Fermi GBM (Gamma-ray Burst Monitor) in August 2017, detecting gravitational and light waves from the spectacular smashup of two neutron stars in a distant galaxy.

The Rossi Prize is awarded annually for a significant recent contribution to high-energy astrophysics. The honor includes an engraved certificate and a $1,500 award.

Smith, an Aeyon/MTS employee, supports the Marshall Office of Communications.

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National Mentoring Month: The Right Type of Mentorship with Erika Alvarez and Dave Reynolds

By Celine Smith

Erika Alvarez’s path to becoming a Systems Engineering & Integration manager at NASA Headquarters has impacted the way she mentors.

“What we do at NASA takes a village,” Alvarez said. “It may take one person to make something, but there could be 10 or 15 or 20 people who help them get there.”

alvarez-hq-portrait-14aug2022.jpg?w=1638
Erika Alvarez, System Engineering and Integration manager at NASA Headquarters, and mentor to Dave Reynolds, a deputy program manager at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.
NASA

Alvarez wants to be one of many guiding others to meet their goals, which is how she began mentoring Dave Reynolds, a deputy program manager at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.

Alvarez and Reynolds don’t have a traditional mentorship. Both began in Marshall’s propulsion systems department in 2004. While Alvarez is younger than Reynolds, Alvarez is mentoring Reynolds.

Alvarez may not have decades more experience than Reynolds, but Alvarez joining the SES (Senior Executive Service) coincided with Reynolds wanting to transition to the SES. Their shared working experience and similar goal made a perfect fit for their mentorship.

Dave Reynolds
Reynolds is currently being mentored by Alvarez in preparation for a Senior Executive Service position.
NASA

Hoping their experience can help others during National Mentoring Month, they discussed their insight about finding the right type of mentorship.

Question: What does mentorship mean to you?

Reynolds: Mentorship is an outside perspective that benefits me by providing a better solution. You can ask your mentor about your ideas to self-examine the path that you’re on. They know you and have your best interest in mind. Your decisions are not directly going to affect them, so they can offer candid advice.

Alvarez: For me, mentorship is worth the time investment because we can get stuck in our day-to-day routine. It’s a refreshing time during the week to sit down with someone knowing what they’re experiencing and helping them, so they don’t have to navigate certain challenges on their own. I have templates, articles, rubrics, books, and other perspectives I gained through my first year in SES. Now I can offer those resources. It’s something that I want to pass on to somebody else because it takes a village to do this. Mentoring is very energizing and fruitful. It reminds me that I love NASA and it’s a great place to work. I hope that I can provide that feeling and energy to someone else and it just keeps going.

Question: What impact has mentorship had on you and your career?

Alvarez: With Dave and I starting from the same department, we had some of the same mentors early on. Mentors give you confidence to move to the next role when you’re down in the details, doing the work, and years into a position. I would also say I was fortunate enough to have a great mentor that was outside of my department. The most important trait she gave to me was resiliency. There are many times when you go for something and are unsuccessful. Having somebody that believes in you during those times is huge.

Reynolds: My first formal mentor was assigned to me while I was in the Mid-Level Leadership Program and she was in SES at NASA’s Glenn Research Center. She encouraged me to get out of engineering, because she believed I was ready for a leadership role. Without her, I wouldn’t have transitioned as quickly as I did. My current mentorship is also kicking me to the next level and informing me of all the options I need to consider. Having a mentor that has known you for a long time, like Alvarez, is beneficial. You can trust their guidance more because they’ve seen you fail, and they still believe in your success.

Question: What was the initial goal and how has that impacted the type of mentoring relationship you built?

Reynolds: The initial goal was Alvarez prepping me to become SES qualified and she’s helped me at every step. Alvarez encouraged me to apply for the ASPIRE program. Programs and tools like that are exactly what I need to know about. She’s provided a lot of information that I didn’t know I would need to consider.

A young Alvarez, third from left, and Reynolds, far right, smile for a photo taken while they were both working in the propulsion systems department at Marshall.
A young Alvarez, third from left, and Reynolds, far right, smile for a photo taken while they were both working in the propulsion systems department at Marshall.
NASA

Alvarez: I mentor a lot of people at different levels. Reynolds is a unique mentee because he is seeking out a big goal. Other mentees coming to me are in different stages, or they’re in a similar field and want to discuss the type of work I do. His goal is personal. I don’t want Reynolds to feel unprepared. I want him to go into his interview and any future roles with confidence and his best foot forward. I want Dave’s future peers to know he’s ready to lead. If Dave is successful in achieving his goal, I want to help him through that transition during the first year of his new role as well, especially with the person who last had the position being gone. I have executive mentors who are the only people I can discuss certain topics with. A part of the goal is Reynolds’ long-term success, which is why it’s important for him to have access to that network of people. If Reynolds needs help with something I’m not well-versed in, I can get him in contact with someone who is.

Question: How do you think the dynamic between mentor and mentee may differ in a formal mentoring relationship compared to an informal, casual mentoringencounter?

Reynolds: Formal mentoring relationships are more deliberate. We have a goal that we set. We’re not just having lunch, we set a scheduled time where we each have ideas we bring to discuss. Formal encounters are more structured. With informal mentorships you can also have casual lunches where good advice is thrown back and forth, but I have noticed if you’re more deliberate, you’ll get concrete progress.

Alvarez: Dave having a specific objective made the mentorship formal. The structure provided time for me to gather materials I found helpful in preparation for SES. With a hands-on approach, I could help Reynolds during his time in the ASPIRE program. We methodically planned how to reach each goal and in turn the objective. As we’re doing the work, we’re checking in consistently. Informal mentorships are hard. There’s no set amount of time spent together, and its disorganization makes it easier to lose momentum toward the objective. Informal mentorships also make it harder to feel a sense of accomplishment because progress is harder to assess.

Question: What advice do you have for someone else considering finding or being a mentor?

Alvarez: Think outside the box. Some people come in with an unconscious bias of what a mentor is. Mentees can become overly concerned with a mentor’s background. Not knowing their background is a good thing. Remain open minded about what someone else can offer you. You’re always going to get some good nuggets out of a mentorship. If someone suggests a mentor to you, take it. They might see something that neither of you do that would make a great pairing. I also recommend that some people choose mentors with a different career path like Dave and me. We shared the same foundation but then we went off in two different branches. Getting to combine those different insights is amazing because it makes us stronger.

Reynolds: As a mentee, check that you have humility. It’d be easy for me to dismiss Alvarez as a mentor because of our similarities. I recognize, she’s had a completely different life and is therefore capable of giving me an outside perspective. She’s also wicked smart, and I listen to wicked smart people. I’ve heard people reject advice from others because they are on the same tier or below career wise. That’s not a good approach. Ask yourself who can help with growth as opposed to finding somebody that that will help you up the ladder.

Editor’s note: This is the second in a Marshall Star series during National Mentoring Month in January. Marshall team members can learn more about the benefits of mentoring on Inside Marshall.

Smith, a Media Fusion employee, supports the Marshall Office of Communications.

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Larry Leopard Named Acting Director of Marshall’s Engineering Directorate

Larry Leopard has been named acting director of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center’s Engineering Directorate upon the retirement of Don Holder this month. He will fill the role until a permanent director is named as well as continuing his duties as Marshall’s associate director, technical.

Larry Leopard Official Portrait
Larry Leopard, Marshall’s associate director, technical, has been named acting director of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center’s Engineering Directorate.
NASA

As Marshall’s associate director, technical, Leopard provides expert advice in all facets of the center’s responsibilities by conducting special studies; provides authoritative advice and assistance in policy review; manages and reports on centerwide and directorate metrics; and develops benchmark strategies. He was appointed to the position in December 2020. Leopard previously served as director of the Engineering Directorate from 2018 to 2020.

Lisa Bates
Lisa Bates will remain as deputy director of Marshall’s Engineering Directorate.
NASA

Lisa Bates will remain as deputy director and will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the Engineering Directorate.

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I Am Artemis: Erick Holsonback

Whether he’s advising student robotic competitions or managing production of a powerful, new Moon rocket stage, Erick Holsonback meets technical challenges with enthusiasm.

Holsonback, a Jacobs Technology employee, is subsystem manager for production and launch operations of the exploration upper stage (EUS) for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. SLS is NASA’s super heavy lift rocket that will launch the agency’s Artemis campaign to the Moon. The exploration upper stage is one of two upgrades to the SLS rocket as it evolves to the Block 1B variant for missions beginning with Artemis IV. Along with the rocket’s new universal stage adapter, the SLS rocket in its Block 1B configuration will be able to send 40% more payload to the Moon in a single launch.

Erick Holsonback
Eric Holsonback, a Jacobs Technology employee, is subsystem manager for production and launch operations of the exploration upper stage for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket.
NASA/Michael DeMocker

Holsonback’s job stretches from setting up production for the future upper stage at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, where it’s built, to preparing it for launch from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center.

“It’s exciting to be part of a capability that will send more crew and cargo to the Moon in a single launch than any other current rocket,” Holsonback said. “That’s going to make operations in the challenging space environment a lot simpler.”

Growing up in North Georgia, Holsonback remembers wanting to be an astronaut and turning street cars into hot rods. He figured he’d wind up in the auto industry, until Pratt & Whitney offered him a job working on space shuttle main engine turbomachinery straight out of college in 1997. He briefly left the space business but jumped at a chance to get back in with the SLS Program in 2016 at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.

“I wanted to come back and do rockets,” he recalled. “It gets in your blood. You’re part of something bigger that just yourself. Through Artemis, we are truly impacting the space program at its foundational level of how we are getting back to the Moon and to Mars.”

Holsonback’s enthusiasm for space challenges doesn’t end at the office door. In his free time, Holsonback has mentored and coached his two daughters’ technology challenge competitions. While the challenge is foremost a robotics contest, Holsonback is proud of the lessons in problem solving, technology, and project management he’s helped impart to the team along the way – which he likens to his NASA job.

You could say Erick Holsonback is working on the future personally as well as professionally, but it’s hard to beat working on a Moon rocket.

“I’ve had some great opportunities with NASA, but my current role is pretty amazing – getting to be part of building and launching,” he reflected. “I get to play a little part in the overall foundation work that is going to be part of the history of our country for years to come.”

NASA is working to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with the Orion spacecraft, advanced spacesuits and rovers, the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, and commercial human landing systems. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single launch.

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Mission Success is in Our Hands: Greg Drayer

By Wayne Smith

Mission Success is in Our Hands is a safety initiative collaboration between NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and Jacobs. As part of the initiative, eight Marshall team members are featured in new testimonial banners placed around the center. This is the third in a Marshall Star series profiling team members featured in the testimonial banners.

Greg Drayer is the JSEG (Jacobs Space Exploration Group) team lead for EV74, the Systems Analysis Branch, working at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. He is also the JSEG Tech Fellow for Modeling and Simulation.

Greg Drayer is the JSEG (Jacobs Space Exploration Group) team lead for EV74, the Systems Analysis Branch, working at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.
Greg Drayer is the JSEG (Jacobs Space Exploration Group) team lead for EV74, the Systems Analysis Branch, working at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.
NASA/Charles Beason

He previously was a Modeling and Simulation integration systems engineer, representing NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) Program to the Data Integration Integrated Task Team and supporting the certification of Design Math Models. He started working at Marshall in 2020. A native of Caracas, Venezuela, Drayer is a graduate of both Universidad Simon Bolivar, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and magister in systems engineering, and the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he earned his doctorate with the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He was sponsored by the U.S. Department of State International Fulbright Science and Technology Program.

Question: What are some of your key responsibilities?

Drayer: I am responsible for the proactive management of the EV74 Branch JSEG Task Order and Systems Evaluation personnel to ensure the safe and effective accomplishment of Marshall requirements by providing engineering, scientific, and technical support to various NASA programs. My team is a high-performing group of three different sub-teams executing challenging tasks for Marshall’s Systems Engineering and Integration Division (EV70) in support of SLS, HLS (Human Landing System), and MAV (Mars Ascent Vehicle) programs, providing unique expertise in the following domains:

  • Program compliance with the NASA Standard for Models and Simulations, NASA-STD-7009.
  • Vehicle mass properties and weight management.
  • SLS photogrammetric imaging and analysis.
  • Data integration tools, systems, and processes.
  • Adoption of model-based systems engineering methodologies.

Question: How does your work support the safety and success of NASA and Marshall missions?

Drayer: The goal of our Modeling and Simulation Sub-Team at NASA is to help reduce the risks associated with models and simulations-influenced decisions by properly conveying the credibility of results to those making critical decisions in support of program compliance with NASA-STD-7009, Standard for Models and Simulations. We ensure the NASA’s commitment to excellence in satisfying the requirements of NASA-STD-7009, an outcome resulting from the Columbia Accident Investigation Board Report.

Question: What does the Mission Success is in Our Hands initiative mean to you?

Drayer: Working in support of NASA-STD-7009, this initiative hits close to home as another reminder of why we do our work the way we are required. Beyond any statistics, to me this campaign is a reminder and a challenge to ensure that we ‘Know what we build. Test what we build. Test what we fly. Test like we fly.’ We should continue learning from our past to make sure that it does not repeat in the future. This initiative helps us dedicate the time to remember why we do things the way we do them, and how we arrived at today’s NASA culture.

Question: Do you have a story or personal experience you can share that might help others understand the significance of mission assurance or flight safety?

Drayer: Coming back from COVID-19 has been a great challenge to overcome. Incredibly, we all have found some strange comfort zones from which we are now needing to come back to collaborate better. I know how much some of us value our ability to telework at times. However, I would like us all to also understand how some in-person conversations can save us many if not several hours of unending electronic communications. I would like all of us to demonstrate to ourselves why we truly need to be present in our meetings and engage as best as we can to reap the fruit of those interactions. Let us lead by example and ‘preach’ about it along the way with our actions, to the benefit of the NASA culture in a post-COVID era. As an agency, this can greatly impact our ability to ensure mission success and flight safety.

Question: How can we work together better to achieve mission success?

Drayer: We go all the way to the Moon in search of discoveries, science, and developing new technologies. And even beyond all these, we go to the Moon to find ourselves personally and each other. That journey has begun already with each weekday and at times weekends that we dedicate to work with the mission in mind, working hard to meet and exceed the expectations of our customers and our stakeholders, most important of which are our astronauts and their families.

Smith, a Media Fusion employee and the Marshall Star editor, supports the Marshall Office of Communications.

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NASA Continues Artemis Moon Rocket Engine Tests with First Hot Fire of 2024

NASA continued a critical test series for future flights of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket in support of the Artemis campaign Jan. 17 with a full-duration hot fire of the RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center.

Data collected from the test series will be used to certify production of new RS-25 engines by lead contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company, to help power the SLS rocket on future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond, beginning with Artemis V. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center manages the SLS Program.

a hot fire of an RS-25 engine reflected in nearby body of water
NASA completed a full-duration, 500-second hot fire of an RS-25 certification engine Jan. 17, continuing a critical test series to support future SLS (Space Launch System) missions to the Moon and beyond as NASA explores the secrets of the universe for the benefit of all.
NASA/Danny Nowlin

Teams are evaluating the performance of several new engine components, including a nozzle, hydraulic actuators, flex ducts, and turbopumps. The current series is the second and final series to certify production of the upgraded engines. NASA completed an initial 12-test certification series with the upgraded components in June 2023.

During the Jan. 17 test, operators followed a “test like you fly” approach, firing the engine for the same amount of time – almost eight-and-a-half minutes (500 seconds) – needed to launch SLS and at power levels ranging between 80% to 113%.

The Jan. 17 test comes three months after the current series began in October. During three tests last fall, operators fired the engine for durations from 500 to 650 seconds. The longest planned test of the series occurred on Nov. 29 when crews gimbaled, or steered, the engine during an almost 11-minute (650 seconds) hot fire. The gimbaling technique is used to control and stabilize SLS as it reaches orbit.

Each SLS flight is powered by four RS-25 engines, firing simultaneously during launch and ascent to generate over 2 million pounds of thrust.

The first four Artemis missions with SLS are using modified space shuttle main engines that can power up to 109% of their rated level. The newly produced RS-25 engines will power up to the 111% level to provide additional thrust. Testing to the 113% power level provides an added margin of operational safety.

With the completion of the test campaign in 2024, all systems are expected to be “go” for production of 24 new RS-25 engines for missions beginning with Artemis V.

Through Artemis, NASA will establish a long-term presence at the Moon for scientific exploration with commercial and international partners, learn how to live and work away from home, and prepare for future human exploration of Mars.

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Station Crew Assists Ax-3 on Advanced Space Research

The Expedition 70 crew spent Jan. 23 on a host of research activities and spacesuit maintenance while assisting their Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) guests on the International Space Station. The four Ax-3 crew members had their hands full as they explored cancer research, space botany, and robotics for Earth and space benefits.

The Ax-3 crew arrived Jan. 20. Astronauts Andreas Mogensen, Loral O’Hara, and Satoshi Furukawa dedicated part of their schedule to the Ax-3 mission. The trio helped the four private astronauts get up to speed with life on orbit as well as conduct advanced microgravity science.

The four Axiom Mission 3 astronauts, front row, and the seven Expedition 70 crew members wave to the camera following a crew greeting ceremony on the International Space Station on Jan. 20.
The four Axiom Mission 3 astronauts, front row, and the seven Expedition 70 crew members wave to the camera following a crew greeting ceremony on the International Space Station on Jan. 20.
NASA TV

Mogensen from ESA (European Space Agency) spent a couple of hours ensuring the Ax-3 crewmates are familiarized with systems throughout the orbital lab. O’Hara from NASA set up the LSG (Life Science Glovebox) for an Ax-3 space botany investigation while Furukawa from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration) activated a microscope to look at cell samples for an Ax-3 cancer study.

Ax-3 Commander Michael López-Alegría and Mission Specialist Alper Gezeravcı worked in the Kibo laboratory module’s LSG and tested the genetic editing of space-grown plants. Results may enable genetic modifications allowing plants to adapt to weightlessness and promote crew health. Ax-3 Pilot Walter Villadei peered at cell samples inside the Kermit microscope to learn how to predict and prevent cancer both on Earth and in space.

Ax-3 Mission Specialist Marcus Wandt tested the ability to remotely control robots on Earth from the space station. Working in the Columbus laboratory module, Wandt used a laptop computer to command a team of Earth-bound robots simulating a robotic exploration mission on another planet controlled from a spacecraft.

Mogensen would go on to organize food packs, charge virtual reality hardware for a mental health study, then videotape a space physics demonstration for junior high school students. Furukawa serviced science freezers and combustion research gear before cleaning vents inside the Unity module. Furukawa wrapped up his day with eye checks with NASA Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli. O’Hara operated the medical imaging gear examining the optic nerve, retina, and cornea of both astronauts. Moghbeli earlier installed and tested a camera and lights on a spacesuit helmet.

The orbiting lab’s three cosmonauts from Roscosmos focused on operations in their segment. Veteran Flight Engineer Oleg Kononenko spent his day inspecting the Zvezda service module and servicing communication and computer systems in the Nauka science module. Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub photographed the condition of Zvezda’s windows then studied how microgravity conditions such as magnetic and electrical fields affect fluid physics. Flight Engineer Konstantin Borisov deactivated Earth observation gear, downloaded vibration data the station experiences while orbiting Earth, then worked on orbital plumbing duties.

The Payload Operations Integration Center at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center operates, plans, and coordinates the science experiments onboard the space station 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog.

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NASA’S OSIRIS-REx Curation Team Reveals Remaining Asteroid Sample

The astromaterials curation team at NASA’s Johnson Space Center has completed the disassembly of the OSIRIS-REx sampler head to reveal the remainder of the asteroid Bennu sample inside. On Jan. 10, they successfully removed two stubborn fasteners that had prevented the final steps of opening the TAGSAM (Touch-and-Go-Sample-Acquisition-Mechanism) head.

top-down-view-of-osiris-rex-sample.jpg?w
A top-down view of the OSIRIS-REx Touch-and-Go-Sample-Acquisition-Mechanism head with the lid removed, revealing the remainder of the asteroid sample inside.
NASA/Erika Blumenfeld & Joseph Aebersold

Erika Blumenfeld, creative lead for AIVA (Advanced Imaging and Visualization of Astromaterials) and Joe Aebersold, AIVA project lead, captured a photograph of the open TAGSAM head including the asteroid material inside using manual high-resolution precision photography and a semi-automated focus stacking procedure. The result is an image that shows extreme detail of the sample.

Next, the curation team will remove the round metal collar and prepare the glovebox to transfer the remaining sample from the TAGSAM head into pie-wedge sample trays.

These trays will be photographed before the sample is weighed, packaged, and stored at Johnson, home to the most extensive collection of astromaterials in the world. The remaining sample material includes dust and rocks up to about 0.4 inch in size. The final mass of the sample will be determined in the coming weeks. The curation team members had already collected 2.48 ounces of asteroid material from the sample hardware before the lid was removed, surpassing the agency’s goal of bringing at least 2.12 ounces to Earth.

The curation team will release a catalog of all the Bennu samples later this year, which will allow scientists and institutions around the world to submit requests for research or display.

OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA’s New Frontiers Program, managed by the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center.

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      Webb’s observations confirm a significant gap between the star and its debris disk — a wide area that is free of dust. Farther out, its debris disk is similar to our solar system’s Kuiper Belt, where dwarf planets, comets, and other bits of ice and rock are found (and sometimes collide with one another). Billions of years ago, our Kuiper Belt was likely similar to this star’s debris disk.
      “HD 181327 is a very active system,” Chen said. “There are regular, ongoing collisions in its debris disk. When those icy bodies collide, they release tiny particles of dusty water ice that are perfectly sized for Webb to detect.”
      Frozen Water — Almost Everywhere
      Water ice isn’t spread evenly throughout this system. The majority is found where it’s coldest and farthest from the star. “The outer area of the debris disk consists of over 20% water ice,” Xie said.
      The closer in the researchers looked, the less water ice they found. Toward the middle of the debris disk, Webb detected about 8% water ice. Here, it’s likely that frozen water particles are produced slightly faster than they are destroyed. In the area of the debris disk closest to the star, Webb detected almost none. It’s likely that the star’s ultraviolet light vaporizes the closest specks of water ice. It’s also possible that rocks known as planetesimals have “locked up” frozen water in their interiors, which Webb can’t detect.
      This team and many more researchers will continue to search for — and study — water ice in debris disks and actively forming planetary systems throughout our Milky Way galaxy. “The presence of water ice helps facilitate planet formation,” Xie said. “Icy materials may also ultimately be ‘delivered’ to terrestrial planets that may form over a couple hundred million years in systems like this.”
      The researchers observed HD 181327 with Webb’s NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph), which is super-sensitive to extremely faint dust particles that can only be detected from space.
      The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
      To learn more about Webb, visit:
      https://science.nasa.gov/webb
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      Media Contacts
      Laura Betz – laura.e.betz@nasa.gov
      NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
      Claire Blome – cblome@stsci.edu
      Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
      Christine Pulliam – cpulliam@stsci.edu
      Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
      Related Information
      View Webb images of other debris disks around Vega, Fomalhaut, Beta Pictoris, and AU Microscopii
      Learn more about spectroscopy
      Read more: Webb’s Near-infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec)
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      Last Updated May 14, 2025 Editor Marty McCoy Contact Laura Betz laura.e.betz@nasa.gov Related Terms
      James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Astrophysics Goddard Space Flight Center Science & Research Stars The Universe View the full article
    • By NASA
      3 min read
      Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
      NASA’s coverage of the April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse has earned two nominations for the 46th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards.
      The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced the nominations on May 1, recognizing NASA’s outstanding work in sharing this rare celestial event with audiences around the world. The winners are set to be unveiled at a ceremony in late June.
      “Total solar eclipses demonstrate the special connection between our Earth, Moon, and Sun by impacting our senses during the breathtaking moments of total alignment that only occur at this time on Earth,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “NASA’s Eclipse coverage team perfectly encapsulated the awe-inspiring experience from start to finish for viewers around the world in this once-in-a-lifetime moment in American history. Congratulations to the entire NASA Eclipse coverage team for their two much-deserved Emmy award nominations!”
      The two nominations include:
      Outstanding Live News Special for the agency’s live broadcast coverage of the 2024 total solar eclipse. NASA’s live broadcast coverage of the 2024 total solar eclipse was the most ambitious live project ever attempted by the agency. The broadcast spanned three hours as the eclipse traveled 3,000 miles across seven states and two countries. From cities, parks, and stadiums, 11 hosts and correspondents provided on air commentary, interviews, and live coverage. Viewers tuned in from all over the world, including at watch parties in 9 locations, from the Austin Public Library to New York’s Times Square. An interactive “Eclipse Board” provided real time data analysis as the Moon’s shadow crossed North America. Live feeds from astronauts aboard the International Space Station and NASA’s WB-57 high-altitude research aircraft were brought in to provide rare and unique perspectives of the solar event.
      In total, NASA received almost 40 million views across its own distribution. Externally, the main broadcast was picked up in 2,208 hits on 568 channels in 25 countries.
      Outstanding Show Open or Title Sequence – News for the agency’s show open for the 2024 total solar eclipse. NASA’s show open for the 2024 total solar eclipse live broadcast explores the powerful connections between the Sun, humanity, and the rare moment when day turns to night. From witnessing the Sun’s atmosphere to feeling the dramatic drop in temperature, the video captures the psychological, emotional, and cultural impact of this celestial phenomenon.  
      For more information about NASA missions, visit:
      https://www.nasa.gov
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      Last Updated May 08, 2025 Related Terms
      General 2024 Solar Eclipse Eclipses Heliophysics Heliophysics Division Science Mission Directorate Solar Eclipses The Solar System Explore More
      7 min read NASA’s Hubble Pinpoints Roaming Massive Black Hole
      Like a scene out of a sci-fi movie, astronomers using NASA telescopes have found “Space…
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    • By NASA
      Explore This Section RPS Home About About RPS About the Program About Plutonium-238 Safety and Reliability For Mission Planners Contact Power & Heat Overview Power Systems Thermal Systems Dynamic Radioisotope Power Missions Overview Timeline News Resources STEM FAQ 3 min read
      NASA Selects Winners of the 2024-2025 Power to Explore Challenge
      Ten-year-old, Terry Xu of Arcadia, California; 14-year-old, Maggie Hou of Snohomish, Washington; and 17-year-old, Kairat Otorov of Trumbull, Connecticut, winners of the 2024-2025 Power to Explore Student Writing Challenge. NASA/David Lam, Binbin Zheng, The Herald/Olivia Vanni, Meerim Otorova NASA has chosen three winners out of nine finalists in the fourth annual Power to Explore Challenge, a national writing competition designed to teach K-12 students about the enabling power of radioisotopes for space exploration.
      “Congratulations to the amazing champions and all of the participants!
      Carl Sandifer II
      Program Manager, NASA’s Radioisotope Power Systems Program
      The essay competition asked students to learn about NASA’s radioisotope power systems (RPS), likened to “nuclear batteries,” which the agency has used discover “moonquakes” on Earth’s Moon and study some of the most extreme of the more than 891 moons in the solar system. In 275 words or less, students dreamed up a unique exploration mission of one of these moons and described their own power to achieve their mission goals.
      “I’m so impressed by the creativity and knowledge of our Power to Explore winners,” said Carl Sandifer II, program manager of the Radioisotope Power Systems Program at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.
      Entries were split into three groups based on grade level, and a winner was chosen from each. The three winners, each accompanied by a guardian, are invited to NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland for a VIP tour of its world-class research facilities this summer.
      The winners are:
      Terry Xu, Arcadia, California, kindergarten through fourth grade Maggie Hou, Snohomish, Washington, fifth through eighth grade Kairat Otorov, Trumbull, Connecticut, ninth through 12th grade “Congratulations to the amazing champions and all of the participants! Your “super powers” inspire me and make me even more optimistic about the future of America’s leadership in space,” Sandifer said.
      The Power to Explore Challenge offered students the opportunity to learn about space power, celebrate their own strengths, and interact with NASA’s diverse workforce. This year’s contest received nearly 2,051 submitted entries from all 50 states, U.S. territories, and the Department of Defense Education Activity overseas.
      Every student who submitted an entry received a digital certificate and an invitation to the Power Up virtual event held on March 21. There, NASA announced the 45 national semifinalists, and students learned about what powers the NASA workforce.
      Additionally, the national semifinalists received a NASA RPS prize pack.
      NASA announced three finalists in each age group (nine total) on April 23. Finalists were invited to discuss their mission concepts with a NASA scientist or engineer during an exclusive virtual event.
      The challenge is funded by the Radioisotope Power Systems Program Office in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and administered by Future Engineers under a Small Business Innovation Research phase III contract. This task is managed by the NASA Tournament Lab, a part of the Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing Program in NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.
      For more information on radioisotope power systems visit: https://nasa.gov/rps
      Karen Fox / Erin Morton
      Headquarters, Washington
      301-286-6284 / 202-805-9393
      karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / erin.morton@nasa.gov
      Kristin Jansen
      Glenn Research Center, Cleveland
      216-296-2203
      kristin.m.jansen@nasa.gov
      View the full article
    • By NASA
      2 min read
      Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
      https://youtu.be/63uNNcCpxHI How are we made of star stuff?

      Well, the important thing to understand about this question is that it’s not an analogy, it’s literally true.

      The elements in our bodies, the elements that make up our bones, the trees we see outside, the other planets in the solar system, other stars in the galaxy. These were all part of stars that existed well before our Sun and Earth and solar system were even formed.

      The universe existed for billions of years before we did. And all of these elements that you see on the periodic table, you see carbon and oxygen and silicon and iron, the common elements throughout the universe, were all put there by previous generations of stars that either blew off winds like the Sun blows off a solar wind, or exploded in supernova explosions and thrust their elements throughout the universe.

      These are the same things that we can trace with modern telescopes, like the Hubble Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope, the Chandra X-ray Observatory. These are all elements that we can map out in the universe with these observatories and trace back to the same things that form us and the elemental abundances that we see in stars now are the same things that we see in the Earth’s crust, we see in asteroids. And so we know that these are the same elements that were once part of these stars.

      So the question of, “How are we made of star stuff?”, in the words of Carl Sagan, “The cosmos is within us. We are made of star stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.”

      [END VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]

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      Last Updated Apr 28, 2025 Related Terms
      General Astrophysics Astrophysics Division Chandra X-Ray Observatory Hubble Space Telescope James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Origin & Evolution of the Universe Science Mission Directorate The Solar System The Universe Explore More
      3 min read NASA Moon Observing Instrument to Get Another Shot at Lunar Ops
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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.”
      To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
      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 
      View the full article
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