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By NASA
Patricia White is a contracting officer at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, where she contributes to NASA’s Artemis program that will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future human exploration of Mars. NASA/Danny Nowlin When NASA’s Artemis II mission launches in 2026, it will inspire the world through discovery in a new Golden Age of innovation and exploration.
It will be another inspiring NASA moment Patricia White can add to her growing list.
White supports the Artemis program to send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future human exploration of Mars as a contracting officer at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
White takes special pride in the test operations contract she helped draft. The contract provides support to the Fred Haise Test Stand, which tests the RS-25 engines that will help power NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket on Artemis missions.
“I was awestruck the first time I witnessed an engine test,” White said. “I remember how small I felt in comparison to this big and fascinating world, and I wondered what that engine would see that I would never be able to see.”
Four RS-25 engines tested at NASA Stennis will help launch Artemis II with four astronauts to venture around the Moon. As the first crewed Artemis mission, it will represent another milestone for the nation’s human space exploration effort.
From Interstate Signs to NASA Career
White describes NASA Stennis as a hidden gem. Growing up in nearby Slidell, Louisiana, she had driven by the interstate signs pointing toward NASA Stennis her entire life.
When she heard about a job opportunity at the center, she immediately applied. Initially hired as a contractor with only a high school diploma in February 2008, White found her motivation among NASA’s ranks.
“I work with very inspiring people, and it only took one person to say, ‘You should go to college’ to give me the courage to go so late in life,” she said.
Hard But Worth It
White began college classes in her 40s and finished at 50. She balanced a marriage, full-time job, academic studies, and household responsibilities. When she started her educational journey, her children were either toddlers or newborns. They were growing up as she stayed in school for nine years while meeting life’s challenges.
“It was hard, but it was so worth it,” she said. “I love my job and what I do, and even though it is crazy busy, I look forward to working at NASA every single day.”
She joined NASA officially in 2013, going from contractor to civil servant.
Setting an Example
White’s proudest work moment came when she brought home the NASA Early Career Achievement award and medal. It served as a tangible symbol of her success she could share with her family.
“It was a long road from being hired as an intern, and we all made extraordinary sacrifices,” she said. “I wanted to share it with them and set a good example for my children.”
As Artemis II prepares to carry humans back to lunar orbit for the first time in over 50 years, White takes pride knowing her work helps power humanity’s return to deep space exploration. Her work is proof that sometimes the most important journeys begin right in one’s own backyard.
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By NASA
NASA/Rachel Tilling Sea ice is frozen seawater that floats in the ocean. This photo, taken from NASA’s Gulfstream V Research Aircraft on July 21, 2022, shows Arctic sea ice in the Lincoln Sea north of Greenland.
This image is the NASA Science Image of the Month for September 2025. Each month, NASA’s Science Mission Directorate chooses an image to feature, offering desktop wallpaper downloads, as well as links to related topics, activities, and games.
Text and image credit: NASA/Rachel Tilling
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By NASA
NASA A Titan-Centaur rocket carrying the Viking 1 spacecraft launches from Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Aug. 20, 1975. Viking 1 touched down on the red planet on July 20, 1976, becoming the first truly successful landing on Mars. Viking 1 was the first of a pair of complex deep space probes that were designed to reach Mars and to collect evidence on the possibility on life on Mars.
NASA’s exploration of Mars continues, with rovers exploring the planet’s surface and spacecraft studying from orbit. The agency’s Artemis missions will also lay the groundwork for the first crewed missions to Mars.
Learn more about Viking 1 and see the first photo it took upon landing.
Image credit: NASA
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By NASA
National Institute of Aerospace NASA is calling on the next generation of collegiate innovators to imagine bold new concepts l pushing the boundaries of human exploration on the Moon, Mars, and beyond through the agency’s 2026 NASA Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts – Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) competition.
The RASC-AL challenge fuels innovation for aerospace systems concepts, analogs, and technology prototyping by bridging gaps through university engagement with NASA and industry. The competition is seeking U.S.-based undergraduate and graduate-level teams and their faculty advisors to develop new concepts to improve our ability to operate on the Moon and Mars. This year’s themes range from developing systems and technologies to support exploration of the lunar surface, to enhancing humanity’s ability to operate and return data from the surface of Mars.
“This competition is a unique opportunity for university students to play a role in the future of space innovation,” said Dan Mazanek, assistant branch head of NASA’s Exploration Space Mission Analysis Branch at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton Virginia. “The RASC-AL challenge fuels creativity and empowers students to explore what’s possible. We’re excited for another year of RASC-AL and fresh ideas coming our way.”
Interested and eligible teams are invited to propose groundbreaking solutions and systems approaches that redefine how humans live and explore in deep space with relation to one of the following themes:
Communications, Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Architectures for Mars Surface Operations Lunar Surface Power and Power Management and Distribution Architectures Lunar Sample Return Concept Lunar Technology Demonstrations Leveraging Common Infrastructure Teams should express their intent to participate by submitting a non-binding notice of intent by Monday Oct. 13. Teams who submit a notice will be invited to a question-and-answer session with NASA subject matter experts on Monday Oct. 27.
The proposals, due Monday Feb. 23, 2026, are required to be seven-to-nine pages with an accompanying two-to-three-minute video. Proposals should demonstrate innovative solutions with original engineering and analysis in response to one of the four 2026 RASC-AL themes. Each team’s response should address novel and robust technologies, capabilities, and operational models that support expanding human’s ability to thrive beyond Earth.
Based on review of the team proposal and video submissions, in March, up to 14 teams will be selected to advance to the final phase of the competition – writing a technical paper, creating a technical poster, and presenting their concepts to a panel of NASA and industry experts in a competitive design review at the 2026 RASC-AL Forum in Cocoa Beach, Florida, beginning Monday June 1, 2026.
“The RASC-AL challenge enables students to think like NASA engineers—and in doing so, they often become the engineers who will carry NASA forward,” said Dr. Christopher Jones, RASC-AL program sponsor and Chief Technologist for the Systems Analysis and Concepts Directorate at NASA Langley. “The concepts they develop for this year’s competition will help inform our future strategies.”
Each finalist team will receive a $7,000 stipend to facilitate their full participation in the 2026 RASC-AL competition, and the top two overall winning teams will each be awarded an additional $7,000 cash prize as well as an invitation to attend and present their concept at an aerospace conference later in 2026.
The 2026 NASA RASC-AL competition is administered by the National Institute of Aerospace on behalf of NASA. The RASC-AL competition is sponsored by the agency’s Strategy and Architecture Office in the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), and the Systems Analysis and Concepts Directorate at NASA Langley. The NASA Tournament Lab, part of the Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing Program in STMD, manages the challenge.
For more information about the RASC-AL competition, including eligibility and submission guidelines, visit: https://rascal.nianet.org/.
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By NASA
NASA Glenn Research Center High School Engineering Institute participants, left to right: Evan Ricchetti, Edan Liahovetsky, and Doris Chen, prepare to add weights to their rover to test the effectiveness of their wheel grouser designs on Friday, July 18, 2025. Credit: NASA/Jef Janis This summer, NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland hosted the NASA Glenn High School Engineering Institute, a free, work-based learning experience designed to prepare rising high school juniors and seniors for careers in the aerospace workforce.
“The institute immerses students in NASA’s work, providing essential career readiness tools for future science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-focused academic and professional pursuits,” said Jerry Voltz of NASA Glenn’s Office of STEM Engagement.
Throughout the five-day sessions (offered three separate weeks in July), students used authentic NASA mission content and collaborated with Glenn’s technical experts. They gained a deeper understanding of the engineering design process, developed practical engineering solutions to real-world challenges, and tested prototypes to address key mission areas such as:
Acoustic dampening: How can we reduce noise pollution from jet engines? Power management and distribution: How can we develop a smart power system for future space stations? Simulated lunar operations: Can we invent tires that don’t use air? NASA Glenn Research Center High School Engineering Institute participants, left to right: Adriana Pudloski, Anadavel Sakthi, Aditya Rohatgi, and Alexa Apshago, make modifications to the control system program for their rover on Friday, July 18, 2025. Credit: NASA/Jef Janis Voltz said he hoped students left the program with three key takeaways: a deeper curiosity and excitement for STEM careers, firsthand insight into how cutting-edge technology developed in Cleveland contributes to NASA’s most prominent missions, and most importantly, a feeling of empowerment gained from engaging with some of NASA’s brightest minds in the field.
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