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By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA/Steve Parcel The most effective way to prove a new idea is to start small, test, learn, and test again. A team of researchers developing an atmospheric probe at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, are taking that approach. The concept could offer future scientists a potentially better and more economical way to collect data on other planets.
The latest iteration of the atmospheric probe flew after release from a quad-rotor remotely piloted aircraft on Oct. 22 above Rogers Dry Lake, a flight area adjacent to NASA Armstrong. The probe benefits from NASA 1960s research on lifting body aircraft, which use the aircraft’s shape for lift instead of wings. Testing demonstrated the shape of the probe works.
“I’m ecstatic,” said John Bodylski, atmospheric probe principal investigator at NASA Armstrong. “It was completely stable in flight. We will be looking at releasing it from a higher altitude to keep it flying longer and demonstrate more maneuvers.”
An atmospheric probe model attached upside down to a quad rotor remotely piloted aircraft ascends with the Moon visible on Oct. 22, 2024. The quad rotor aircraft released the probe above Rogers Dry Lake, a flight area adjacent NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The probe was designed and built at the center.NASA/Steve Freeman Starting with a Center Innovation Fund award in 2023, Bodylski worked closely with the center’s Dale Reed Subscale Flight Research Laboratory to design and build three atmospheric probe models, each vehicle 28 inches long from nose to tail. One model is a visual to show what the concept looks like, while two additional prototypes improved the technology’s readiness.
The road to the successful flight wasn’t smooth, which is expected with any new flight idea. The first flight on Aug. 1 didn’t go as planned. The release mechanism didn’t work as expected and air movement from the quad rotor aircraft was greater than anticipated. It was that failure that inspired the research team to take another look at everything about the vehicle, leading to many improvements, said Justin Hall, NASA Armstrong chief pilot of small, unmanned aircraft systems.
Fast forward to Oct. 22, where the redesign of the release mechanism, in addition to an upside-down release and modified flight control surfaces, led to a stable and level flight. “Everything we learned from the first vehicle failing and integrating what we learned into this one seemed to work well,” Hall said. “This is a win for us. We have a good place to go from here and there’s some more changes we can make to improve it.”
Justin Link, left, small unmanned aircraft systems pilot; John Bodylski, atmospheric probe principal investigator; and Justin Hall, chief pilot of small unmanned aircraft systems, discuss details of the atmospheric probe flight plan on Oct. 22, 2024. A quad rotor remotely piloted aircraft released the probe above Rogers Dry Lake, a flight area adjacent NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The probe was designed and built at the center.NASA/Steve Freeman Bodylski added, “We are going to focus on getting the aircraft to pull up sooner to give us more flight time to learn more about the prototype. We will go to a higher altitude [this flight started at 560 feet altitude] on the next flight because we are not worried about the aircraft’s stability.”
When the team reviewed flight photos and video from the Oct. 22 flight they identified additional areas for improvement. Another atmospheric probe will be built with enhancements and flown. Following another successful flight, the team plans to instrument a future atmospheric probe that will gather data and improve computer models. Data gathering is the main goal for the current flights to give scientists confidence in additional probe shapes for atmospheric missions on other planets.
If this concept is eventually chosen for a mission, it would ride on a satellite to its destination. From there, the probe would separate as the parent satellite orbits around a planet, then enter and dive through the atmosphere as it gathers information for clues of how the solar system formed.
Justin Hall, chief pilot of small unmanned aircraft systems, prepares the atmospheric probe for flight above Rogers Dry Lake, a flight area adjacent NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. At right, Justin Link, small unmanned aircraft systems pilot, assists. The probe, designed and built at the center, flew after release from a quad rotor remotely piloted aircraft on Oct. 22, 2024.NASA/Steve Freeman Derek Abramson, left, chief engineer for the Dale Reed Subscale Flight Research Laboratory, and Justin Link, small unmanned aircraft system pilot, carry the atmospheric probe model and a quad rotor remotely piloted aircraft to position it for flight on Oct. 24, 2024. John Bodylski, probe principal investigator, right, and videographer Jacob Shaw watch the preparations. Once at altitude, the quad rotor aircraft released the probe above Rogers Dry Lake, a flight area adjacent to NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The probe was designed and built at the center.NASA/Steve Freeman A quad rotor remotely piloted aircraft releases the atmospheric probe model above Rogers Dry Lake, a flight area adjacent NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Oct. 22, 2024. The probe was designed and built at the center.NASA/Carla Thomas Share
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Last Updated Dec 11, 2024 Related Terms
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By NASA
As part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign, Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission One lander will carry 10 NASA science and technology instruments to the Moon’s near side.
Credit: Firefly Aerospace
NASA will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EST Tuesday, Dec. 17, to discuss the agency science and technology flying aboard Firefly Aerospace’s first delivery to the Moon as part of the NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign.
Audio of the call will livestream on the agency’s website at:
https://www.nasa.gov/live
Briefing participants include:
Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters Ryan Watkins, program scientist, Exploration Science Strategy and Integration Office, NASA Headquarters Jason Kim, chief executive officer, Firefly Aerospace
To participate by telephone, media must RSVP no later than two hours before the briefing to: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.
Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The six-day launch window opens no earlier than mid-January 2025.
The lunar mission, named Ghost Riders in the Sky, will land near a volcanic feature called Mons Latreille within Mare Crisium, a more than 300-mile-wide basin located in the northeast quadrant of the Moon’s near side. The mission will carry 10 NASA instruments and first-of-their-kind demonstrations to further our understanding of the Moon’s environment and help prepare for future human missions to the lunar surface, as part of the agency’s Moon to Mars exploration approach.
Science investigations on this flight include testing lunar subsurface drilling, regolith sample collection, global navigation satellite system abilities, radiation tolerant computing, and lunar dust mitigation. The data captured could also benefit humans on Earth by providing insights into how space weather and other cosmic forces impact Earth.
Under the CLPS model, NASA is investing in commercial delivery services to the Moon to enable industry growth and support long-term lunar exploration. As a primary customer for CLPS deliveries, NASA is to be one of many customers on future flights.
For updates, follow on:
https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/
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Alise Fisher
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2546
alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov
Wynn Scott / Natalia Riusech
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
wynn.b.scott@nasa.gov / nataila.s.riusech@nasa.gov
Antonia Jaramillo
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-867-2468
antonia.jaramillobotero@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Dec 10, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Missions Artemis Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS)
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By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
A close-up of NASA’s shock-sensing probe highlights its pressure ports, designed to measure air pressure changes during supersonic flight. The probe will be mounted on NASA’s F-15B Aeronautics Research Test Bed for calibration flights, validating its ability to measure shock waves generated by the X 59 as part of NASA’s Quesst mission to provide data on quiet supersonic flight.NASA/Lauren Hughes NASA’s F-15B Aeronautics Research Test Bed performs a calibration flight of the shock-sensing probe over Edwards, California, on Aug. 6, 2024. The probe will measure shock waves from NASA’s X-59, providing data that may change limits for overland supersonic flight from being speed-based to sound-based. This work is part of NASA’s Quesst mission, with the X-59 as its flagship aircraft.NASA/Steve Freeman NASA’s F-15B Aeronautics Research Test Bed performs a calibration flight of the shock-sensing probe over Edwards, California, on Aug. 6, 2024. The probe will measure shock waves from NASA’s X-59, providing data that may change limits for overland supersonic flight from being speed-based to sound-based. This work is part of NASA’s Quesst mission, with the X-59 as its flagship aircraft.NASA/Steve Freeman NASA’s F-15B Aeronautics Research Test Bed performs a calibration flight of the shock-sensing probe over Edwards, California, on Aug. 6, 2024. The probe will measure shock waves from NASA’s X-59, providing data that may change limits for overland supersonic flight from being speed-based to sound-based. This work is part of NASA’s Quesst mission, with the X-59 as its flagship aircraft.NASA/Steve Freeman NASA’s F-15B Aeronautics Research Test Bed performs a calibration flight of the shock-sensing probe over Edwards, California, on Aug. 6, 2024. The probe will measure shock waves from NASA’s X-59, providing data that may change limits for overland supersonic flight from being speed-based to sound-based. This work is part of NASA’s Quesst mission, with the X-59 as its flagship aircraft.NASA/Steve Freeman NASA will soon test advancements made on a key tool for measuring the unique “sonic thumps” that its quiet supersonic X-59 research aircraft will make while flying.
A shock-sensing probe is a cone-shaped air data probe developed with specific features to capture the unique shock waves the X-59 will produce. Researchers at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California developed two versions of the probe to collect precise pressure data during supersonic flight. One probe is optimized for near-field measurements, capturing shock waves that occur very close to where the X-59 will generate them. The second shock-sensing probe will measure the mid-field, collecting data at altitudes between 5,000 to 20,000 feet below the aircraft.
When an aircraft flies supersonic, it generates shockwaves that travel through the surrounding air, producing loud sonic booms. The X-59 is designed to divert those shock waves, reducing the loud sonic booms to quieter sonic thumps. During test flights, an F-15B aircraft with a shock-sensing probe attached to its nose will fly with the X-59. The roughly 6-foot probe will continuously collect thousands of pressure samples per second, capturing air pressure changes as it flies through shock waves. Data from the sensors will be vital for validating computer models that predict the strength of the shock waves produced by the X-59, the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission.
“A shock-sensing probe acts as the truth source, comparing the predicted data with the real-world measurements,” said Mike Frederick, NASA principal investigator for the probe.
For the near-field probe, the F-15B will fly close behind the X-59 at its cruising altitude of approximately 55,000 feet, utilizing a “follow-the-leader” setup allowing researchers to analyze shock waves in real time. The mid-field probe, intended for separate missions, will collect more useful data as the shock waves travel closer to the ground.
The probes’ ability to capture small pressure changes is especially important for the X-59, as its shock waves are expected to be much weaker than those of most supersonic aircraft. By comparing the probes’ data to predictions from advanced computer models, researchers can better evaluate their accuracy.
“The probes have five pressure ports, one at the tip and four around the cone,” said Frederick. “These ports measure static pressure changes as the aircraft flies through shock waves, helping us understand the shock characteristics of a particular aircraft.” The ports combine their measurements to calculate the local pressure, speed, and direction of airflow.
Researchers will soon evaluate upgrades to the near-field shock-sensing probe through test flights, where the probe, mounted on one F-15B, will collect data by chasing a second F-15 during supersonic flight. The upgrades include having the probe’s pressure transducers – devices that measure the air pressure on the cone – just 5 inches from its ports. Previous designs placed those transducers nearly 12 feet away, delaying recording time and distorting measurements.
Temperature sensitivity on previous designs also presented a challenge, causing fluctuations in accuracy with changing conditions. To solve this, the team designed a heating system to maintain the pressure transducers at a consistent temperature during flight.
“The probe will meet the resolution and accuracy requirements from the Quesst mission,” Frederick said. “This project shows how NASA can take existing technology and adapt it to solve new challenges.”
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Last Updated Dec 05, 2024 EditorDede DiniusContactNicolas Cholulanicolas.h.cholula@nasa.gov Related Terms
Advanced Air Vehicles Program Aeronautics Ames Research Center Armstrong Flight Research Center Commercial Supersonic Technology Glenn Research Center Integrated Aviation Systems Program Langley Research Center Quesst (X-59) Explore More
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By NASA
Electra’s EL2 Goldfinch experimental prototype aircraft reference, photographed outside of NASA s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.Credit: Electra NASA Administrator Bill Nelson will fly in aircraft manufacturer Electra’s EL2 Goldfinch experimental prototype aircraft on Sunday, Dec. 8. Members of the media are invited to speak with Nelson and Electra leaders just prior to the flight at 11:45 a.m. EST at Manassas Regional Airport in Manassas, Virginia.
Electra designed the experimental aircraft with the goals of reducing emissions and noise and connecting new locations for regional air travel, including underserved communities.
Media will be able to view and film the flight, which is set to feature ultra-short takeoffs and landings with as few as 150 feet of ground roll. The flight also is set to include a battery-only landing. Media interested in participating must RSVP to Rob Margetta at robert.j.margetta@nasa.gov.
NASA’s aeronautics research works to develop new generations of sustainable aviation technologies that will create new options for both U.S. passengers and cargo. Agency-supported research aims to provide industry providers like Electra, and others, data that can help inform the designs of innovative, greener aircraft with reduced operating costs. NASA investments have included projects that explore electrified aircraft technologies, and work that helped refine the electric short-takeoff and landing concept.
The agency’s work with private sector aviation providers helps NASA in its effort to bring sustainable solutions to the American public. In November, NASA selected Electra as one of five recipients of its Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability 2050 awards, through which they will develop design studies and explore key technologies to push the boundaries of possibility for next-generation sustainable commercial aircraft. These new studies will help the agency identify and select promising aircraft concepts and technologies for further investigations.
https://www.nasa.gov/aeronautics
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Meira Bernstein / Rob Margetta
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
meira.b.bernstein@nasa.gov / robert.j.margetta@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Dec 05, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Aeronautics Aeronautics Research Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate Green Aviation Tech View the full article
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