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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA/Lori Losey
The best way to solve a mystery is by gathering evidence and building a case. That’s exactly what NASA researchers are doing with a series of research flights aimed at advancing a sensor for supersonic parachutes. The clues they find could help make these parachutes more reliable and safer for delivering scientific instruments and payloads to Mars.
These investigative research flights are led by the EPIC (Enhancing Parachutes by Instrumenting the Canopy) team at NASA’s Armstrong Fight Research Center in Edwards, California. During a June flight test, a quadrotor aircraft, or drone, air-launched a capsule that deployed a parachute equipped with a sensor. The flexible, strain-measuring sensor attached to the parachute did not interfere with the canopy material, just as the EPIC team had predicted. The sensors also provided data, a bonus for planning upcoming tests.
“Reviewing the research flights will help inform our next steps,” said Matt Kearns, project manager for EPIC at NASA Armstrong. “We are speaking with potential partners to come up with a framework to obtain the data that they are interested in pursuing. Our team members are developing methods for temperature testing the flexible sensors, data analysis, and looking into instrumentation for future tests.”
The flight tests were a first step toward filling gaps in computer models to improve supersonic parachutes. This work could also open the door to future partnerships, including with the aerospace and auto racing industries.
NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) funds the EPIC work through its Entry Systems Modeling project at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. The capsule and parachute system were developed by NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. NASA Armstrong interns worked with Langley to build and integrate a similar system for testing at NASA Armstrong. An earlier phase of the work focused on finding commercially available flexible strain sensors and developing a bonding method as part of an STMD Early Career Initiative project.
NASA researchers Paul Bean, center, and Mark Hagiwara, right, attach the capsule with parachute system to the Enhancing Parachutes by Instrumenting the Canopy test experiment on June 4, 2025, at NASA’s Armstong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. NASA researchers are developing technology to make supersonic parachutes safer and more reliable for delivering science instruments and payloads to Mars.NASA/Christopher LC Clark Derek Abramson, left, and Justin Link, right, attach an Alta X drone to the Enhancing Parachutes by Instrumenting the Canopy test experiment on June 4, 2025, at NASA’s Armstong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. Abramson is NASA chief engineer at the center’s Dale Reed Subscale Flight Research Laboratory, where Link also works as a pilot for small uncrewed aircraft systems. NASA researchers are developing technology to make supersonic parachutes safer and more reliable for delivering science instruments and payloads to Mars.NASA/Christopher LC Clark An Alta X drone is positioned at altitude for an air launch of the Enhancing Parachutes by Instrumenting the Canopy test experiment on June 4, 2025, at NASA’s Armstong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. NASA researchers are developing technology to make supersonic parachutes safer and more reliable for delivering science instruments and payloads to Mars.NASA/Christopher LC Clark The parachute of the Enhancing Parachutes by Instrumenting the Canopy test experiment deploys following an air launch from an Alta X drone on June 4, 2025, at NASA’s Armstong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. NASA researchers are developing technology to make supersonic parachutes safer and more reliable for delivering science instruments and payloads to Mars.NASA/Christopher LC Clark The Enhancing Parachutes by Instrumenting the Canopy project team examines a capsule and parachute following an air launch from an Alta X drone on June 4, 2025, at NASA’s Armstong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. NASA researchers are developing technology to make supersonic parachutes safer and more reliable for delivering science instruments and payloads to Mars.NASA/Christopher LC Clark Share
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Last Updated Jul 29, 2025 EditorDede DiniusContactJay Levinejay.levine-1@nasa.gov Related Terms
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By NASA
Credit: NASA NASA has selected seven companies to assist the agency with architectural and engineering services at multiple agency centers and facilities.
The Western Regional Architect-Engineer Services is an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple award contract has a total estimated value not to exceed $75 million. The contract was awarded on July 14 with a five-year period of performance with the possibility of a six-month extension.
The selected contractors are:
DYNOTEC-KZF JV LLC of Columbus, Ohio Merrick-IMEG JV LLP of Greenwood Village, Colorado G Squared Design of Lakewood, Colorado Kal Architects Inc. of Irvine, California AECOM Technical Services Inc. of Los Angeles Stell SIA Sala O’Brien LLC DBA S3, LLC (S3) of Mountlake Terrace, Washington Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. of Arlington, Virginia Under the contract, the awarded companies will support general construction, alteration, modification, maintenance and repair, new construction of buildings, facilities, and real property for NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley and Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. Support also includes optional back-up capacity in support of other NASA centers and federal tenants at agency facilities, including NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex in Fort Irwin, California, and the NASA launch alliance at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
For information about NASA and other agency programs, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov
-end-
Tiernan Doyle
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
tiernan.doyle@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Jul 15, 2025 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Ames Research Center Armstrong Flight Research Center Jet Propulsion Laboratory View the full article
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By NASA
Dwayne Lavigne works as a controls engineer at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, where he supports NASA’s Artemis mission by programming specialized computers for engine testing.NASA/Danny Nowlin As a controls engineer at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, Dwayne Lavigne does not just fix problems – he helps put pieces together at America’s largest rocket propulsion test site.
“There are a lot of interesting problems to solve, and they are never the same,” Lavigne said. “Sometimes, it is like solving a very cool puzzle and can be pretty satisfying.”
Lavigne programs specialized computers called programmable logic controllers. They are extremely fast and reliable for automating precisely timed operations during rocket engine tests as NASA Stennis supports the agency’s Artemis missions to explore the Moon and build the foundation for the first crewed mission to Mars.
However, the system will not act unless certain parameters are met in the proper sequence. It can be a complex relationship. Sometimes, 20 or 30 things must be in the correct configuration to perform an operation, such as making a valve open or close, or turning a motor on or off.
The Picayune, Mississippi, native is responsible for establishing new signal paths between test hardware and the specialized computers.
He also develops the human machine interface for the controls. The interface is a screen graphic that test engineers use to interact with hardware.
Lavigne has worked with NASA for more than a decade. One of his proudest work moments came when he contributed to development of an automated test sequencing routine used during all RS-25 engine tests on the Fred Haise Test Stand.
“We’ve had many successful tests over the years, and each one is a point of pride,” he said.
When Lavigne works on the test stand, he works with the test hardware and interacts with technicians and engineers who perform different tasks than he does. It provides an appreciation for the group effort it takes to support NASA’s mission.
“The group of people I work with are driven to get the job done and get it done right,” he said.
In total, Lavigne has been part of the NASA Stennis federal city for 26 years. He initially worked as a contractor with the Naval Oceanographic Office as a data entry operator and with the Naval Research Laboratory as a software developer.
September marks 55 years since NASA Stennis became a federal city. NASA, and more than 50 companies, organizations, and agencies located onsite share in operating costs, which allows tenants to direct more of their funding to individual missions.
“Stennis has a talented workforce accomplishing many different tasks,” said Lavigne. “The three agencies I’ve worked with at NASA Stennis are all very focused on doing the job correctly and professionally. In all three agencies, people realize that lives could be at risk if mistakes are made or shortcuts are taken.”
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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA Systems Engineer Daniel Eng serves his second year as a judge for the Aerospace Valley Robotics Competition at the Palmdale Aerospace Academy in Palmdale, California, in 2019. NASA/Lauren Hughes As a child in the 1960s, Daniel Eng spent his weekends in New York City’s garment district in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, clipping loose threads off finished clothing. He worked alongside his mother, a seamstress, and his father, a steam press operator, where he developed an eye for detail and a passion for learning. Now, he applies these capabilities at NASA, where he works as an engineer for the Air Mobility Pathfinders project.
“I often wonder whether the NASA worm magnet that someone left on my refrigerator in college, which I kept all these years, may have something to do with me ending up at NASA,” Eng said.
His route to NASA was not straightforward. Eng dropped out of high school to join the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. He earned a GED certificate while on active duty and after his service earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.
After college, Eng worked as a researcher investigating laser communications for the U.S. Navy, work which launched his career in aerospace. He then held jobs at several global corporations before landing at NASA.
NASA systems engineer, Daniel Eng, right, talks with student participants at the 2019 Aerospace Valley Robotics Competition at the Palmdale Aerospace Academy in Palmdale, California.NASA/Lauren Hughes “Looking back now, the Navy was ‘my launching point’ into the aerospace industry,” Eng said. “In more than four decades, I held various positions rising through the ranks ranging from circuit card design to systems analyst to production support to project and program management for advanced technology systems on a multitude of military and commercial aircraft projects.”
Today, he uses virtual models to plan and develop flight test requirements for piloted and automated aircraft, which will help guide future air taxi operations in cities.
“Engineers can virtually test computer models of designs, concepts, and operations before they are in place or even built, providing a safe and cost-effective way to verify the processes work the way they should,” Eng said.
He tells his grandkids to stay curious and ask a lot of questions so they can learn as much as possible.
“Be courteous, humble, kind, and respectful of people, and always remind yourself that you are just one human being among many ‘Earthlings,’” Eng said. “Teamwork is a very important aspect of success because rarely, if ever, does one person succeed on their own without help from others.”
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Last Updated Jun 09, 2025 EditorDede DiniusContactLaura Mitchelllaura.a.mitchell@nasa.govLocationArmstrong Flight Research Center Related Terms
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By NASA
NASA Glenn Research Center senior materials research engineer Kim de Groh, who conducted research for Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions, shared her experiences during a presentation at Great Lakes Science Center, home of the NASA Glenn Visitor Center, in Cleveland on Thursday, May 8, 2025. Credit: NASA/Dennis Brown April 24 marked the 35th anniversary of the launch of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. The iconic space observatory remains a household name —the most well-recognized and scientifically productive telescope in history. Engineers at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland played a significant role in how the telescope functions today.
NASA’s Glenn Research Center researchers Kim de Groh, left, and Joyce Dever conducted research for Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions. De Groh shared her experiences during a presentation at Great Lakes Science Center, home of the NASA Glenn Visitor Center, in Cleveland on Thursday, May 8, 2025. Credit: NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna NASA Glenn researchers assisted in all five Hubble servicing missions by testing damaged insulation, determining why it degraded in space, and recommending replacement materials.
One of those researchers, Kim de Groh, senior materials research engineer, shared some of that research in a special presentation at Great Lakes Science Center, home of the NASA Glenn Visitor Center, in Cleveland on May 8. She chronicled her Hubble experience with a presentation, a show-and-tell with samples directly from the telescope, and a Q&A addressing the audience’s Hubble-related questions.
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