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By NASA
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Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
The 2025 internship class at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, stand in front of the historic X-1E aircraft on display at the center. From left are interns: Tyler Requa, Gokul Nookula, Madeleine Phillips, Oscar Keiloht Chavez Ramirez, and Nicolas Marzocchetti.NASA/Steve Freeman Lee esta historia en español aquí.
Do you dream of working for NASA and contributing to exploration and innovation for the benefit of humanity? The agency’s internship programs provide high school and college students opportunities to advance NASA’s mission in aeronautics, science, technology, and space.
Claudia Sales, Kassidy McLaughlin, and Julio Treviño started their careers as interns at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, where they continue to explore the secrets of the universe. Their journeys highlight the long-term impact of the NASA’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs.
Claudia Sales, NASA’s acting X-59 deputy chief engineer and airworthiness certification lead for the quiet supersonic research aircraft, supports ground testing for Acoustic Research Measurements (ARM) flights. The test campaign to evaluate technologies that reduce aircraft noise was conducted at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, in 2018.NASA/Ken Ulbrich Claudia Sales
“I knew since I was a child that I wanted to work for NASA,” said Claudia Sales, acting X-59 deputy chief engineer X-59 deputy chief engineer and airworthiness certification lead for the agency’s quiet supersonic research aircraft.
Sales’ journey at NASA started in 2005 as a Pathways intern, a NASA work-study (co-op) program. She worked in propulsion and structures branches and supported such projects as the X-43A hypersonic research aircraft (Hyper-X) and the X-37 reusable orbital launch vehicle, where she had the opportunity to perform calculations for thermal estimations and trajectory analyses. She also completed design work with NASA Armstrong’s Experimental Fabrication Shop.
“It had been a dream of mine to be a part of unique, one-of-a-kind flight research projects,” Sales said. “My mentor was amazing at exposing me to a wide variety of experiences and working on something unique to one day be implemented on an air vehicle to make the world a better place.”
Claudia Sales, NASA’s acting X-59 deputy chief engineer and airworthiness certification lead for the quiet supersonic research aircraft, stands in front of a Gulfstream G-III, also known as Subsonic Research Aircraft Testbed (SCRAT). Sales supported ground testing as test conductor for Acoustics Research Measurements (ARM) flights at NASA’s Armstrong Research Flight Center in Edwards, California, in 2018.NASA/Ken Ulbrich NASA’s flight systems engineer, Kassidy Mclaughlin conducts environmental testing on an instrumentation pallet. The pallet was used during NASA’s National Campaign project in 2020 at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.NASA/Lauren Hughes Kassidy McLaughlin
Similarly, flight systems engineer Kassidy McLaughlin discovered that mentorship and hands-on experience as an intern were key to her professional development. She currently leads the development of a ground control station at NASA Armstrong.
In high school and college, McLaughlin enrolled in STEM classes, knowing she wanted to pursue a career in engineering. Encouraged by her mother to apply for a NASA internship, McLaughlin’s career began in 2014 as an intern for NASA Armstrong’s Office of STEM Engagement. She later transitioned to the Pathways program.
“My mentor gave me the tools necessary, and encouraged me to ask questions,” McLaughlin said. “He helped show me that I was capable of anything if I set my mind to it.”
During five rotations as an intern, she worked on the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration in the National Airspace System (UAS in the NAS) project. “It is such a rewarding feeling to be in a control room when something you have worked on is flying,” McLaughlin said. That experience inspired her to pursue a career in mechanical engineering.
“NASA Armstrong offered something special when it came to the people,” McLaughlin said. “The culture at the center is so friendly and everyone is so welcoming.”
Julio Treviño, lead operations engineer for NASA’s Global Hawk SkyRange project, stands in front of an F/A-18 mission support aircraft at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.NASA/Joshua Fisher Julio Treviño
Julio Treviño, lead operations engineer for NASA’s Global Hawk SkyRange project, ensures airworthiness throughout the planning, integration, and flight phases of unique systems and vehicles. He is also a certified mission controller, mission director, and flight test engineer for various agency aircraft.
Much like McLaughlin, Treviño began his journey in 2018 as a Pathway’s intern for the Dynamic and Controls branch at NASA Armstrong. That experience paved the way for success after graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering.
“As an intern, I had the opportunity to work on designing and creating a battery model for an all-electric aircraft,” Treviño said. “It was officially published as a NASA software model for use by anyone throughout the agency.”
Treviño also credits NASA’s culture and people as the best part of his internship. “I had very supportive mentors throughout my time as an intern and the fact that everyone here genuinely loves the work that they do is awesome,” he said.
2025 Application Deadlines
Every year, NASA provides more than 2,000 students the opportunity to impact the agency’s mission through hands-on internships. The 2025 application for fall is May 16, 2025.
To learn more about NASA’s internship programs, application deadlines, and eligibility, visit https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/internship-programs/
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Last Updated May 12, 2025 EditorDede DiniusContactPriscila Valdezpriscila.valdez@nasa.govLocationArmstrong Flight Research Center Related Terms
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Explore This Section Webb News Latest News Latest Images Webb’s Blog Awards X (offsite – login reqd) Instagram (offsite – login reqd) Facebook (offsite- login reqd) Youtube (offsite) Overview About Who is James Webb? Fact Sheet Impacts+Benefits FAQ Science Overview and Goals Early Universe Galaxies Over Time Star Lifecycle Other Worlds Observatory Overview Launch Deployment Orbit Mirrors Sunshield Instrument: NIRCam Instrument: MIRI Instrument: NIRSpec Instrument: FGS/NIRISS Optical Telescope Element Backplane Spacecraft Bus Instrument Module Multimedia About Webb Images Images Videos What is Webb Observing? 3d Webb in 3d Solar System Podcasts Webb Image Sonifications Team International Team People Of Webb More For the Media For Scientists For Educators For Fun/Learning 6 Min Read NASA’s Webb Lifts Veil on Common but Mysterious Type of Exoplanet
This artist’s concept shows what the hot sub-Neptune exoplanet TOI-421 b could look like. It is based on spectroscopic data gathered by Webb, as well as previous observations from other telescopes on the ground and in space. Credits:
Illustration: NASA, ESA, CSA, Dani Player (STScI) Though they don’t orbit around our Sun, sub-Neptunes are the most common type of exoplanet, or planet outside our solar system, that have been observed in our galaxy. These small, gassy planets are shrouded in mystery…and often, a lot of haze. Now, by observing exoplanet TOI-421 b, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is helping scientists understand sub-Neptunes in a way that was not possible prior to the telescope’s launch.
“I had been waiting my entire career for Webb so that we could meaningfully characterize the atmospheres of these smaller planets,” said principal investigator Eliza Kempton of the University of Maryland, College Park. “By studying their atmospheres, we’re getting a better understanding of how sub-Neptunes formed and evolved, and part of that is understanding why they don’t exist in our solar system.”
Image A: Artist’s Concept of TOI-421 b
This artist’s concept shows what the hot sub-Neptune exoplanet TOI-421 b could look like. It is based on spectroscopic data gathered by Webb, as well as previous observations from other telescopes on the ground and in space. Illustration: NASA, ESA, CSA, Dani Player (STScI) Small, Cool, Shrouded in Haze
The existence of sub-Neptunes was unexpected before they were discovered by NASA’s retired Kepler space telescope in the last decade. Now, astronomers are trying to understand where these planets came from and why are they so common.
Before Webb, scientists had very little information on them. While sub-Neptunes are a few times larger than Earth, they are still much smaller than gas-giant planets and typically cooler than hot Jupiters, making them much more challenging to observe than their gas-giant counterparts.
A key finding prior to Webb was that most sub-Neptune atmospheres had flat or featureless transmission spectra. This means that when scientists observed the spectrum of the planet as it passed in front of its host star, instead of seeing spectral features – the chemical fingerprints that would reveal the composition of the atmosphere – they saw only a flat-line spectrum. Astronomers concluded from all of those flat-line spectra that at least certain sub-Neptunes were probably very highly obscured by either clouds or hazes.
Image B: Spectrum of TOI-421 b
A transmission spectrum captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope reveals chemicals in the atmosphere of the hot sub-Neptune exoplanet TOI-421 b. Illustration: NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI) A Different Kind of Sub-Neptune?
“Why did we observe this planet, TOI-421 b? It’s because we thought that maybe it wouldn’t have hazes,” said Kempton. “And the reason is that there were some previous data that implied that maybe planets over a certain temperature range were less enshrouded by haze or clouds than others.”
That temperature threshold is about 1,070 degrees Fahrenheit. Below that, scientists hypothesized that a complex set of photochemical reactions would occur between sunlight and methane gas, and that would trigger the haze. But hotter planets shouldn’t have methane and therefore perhaps shouldn’t have haze.
The temperature of TOI-421 b is about 1,340 degrees Fahrenheit, well above the presumed threshold. Without haze or clouds, researchers expected to see a clear atmosphere – and they did!
A Surprising Finding
“We saw spectral features that we attribute to various gases, and that allowed us to determine the composition of the atmosphere,” said the University of Maryland’s Brian Davenport, a third-year Ph.D. student who conducted the primary data analysis. “Whereas with many of the other sub-Neptunes that had been previously observed, we know their atmospheres are made of something, but they’re being blocked by haze.”
The team found water vapor in the planet’s atmosphere, as well as tentative signatures of carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide. Then there are molecules they didn’t detect, such as methane and carbon dioxide. From the data, they can also infer that a large amount of hydrogen is in TOI-421 b’s atmosphere.
The lightweight hydrogen atmosphere was the big surprise to the researchers. “We had recently wrapped our mind around the idea that those first few sub-Neptunes observed by Webb had heavy-molecule atmospheres, so that had become our expectation, and then we found the opposite,” said Kempton. This suggests TOI-421 b may have formed and evolved differently from the cooler sub-Neptunes observed previously.
Is TOI-421 b Unique?
The hydrogen-dominated atmosphere is also interesting because it mimics the composition of TOI-421 b’s host star. “If you just took the same gas that made the host star, plopped it on top of a planet’s atmosphere, and put it at the much cooler temperature of this planet, you would get the same combination of gases. That process is more in line with the giant planets in our solar system, and it is different from other sub-Neptunes that have been observed with Webb so far,” said Kempton.
Aside from being hotter than other sub-Neptunes previously observed with Webb, TOI-421 b orbits a Sun-like star. Most of the other sub-Neptunes that have been observed so far orbit smaller, cooler stars called red dwarfs.
Is TOI-421b emblematic of hot sub-Neptunes orbiting Sun-like stars, or is it just that exoplanets are very diverse? To find out, the researchers would like to observe more hot sub-Neptunes to determine if this is a unique case or a broader trend. They hope to gain insights into the formation and evolution of these common exoplanets.
“We’ve unlocked a new way to look at these sub-Neptunes,” said Davenport. “These high-temperature planets are amenable to characterization. So by looking at sub-Neptunes of this temperature, we’re perhaps more likely to accelerate our ability to learn about these planets.”
The team’s findings appear on May 5 in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.
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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NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Ann Jenkins – jenkins@stsci.edu
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
Hannah Braun – hbraun@stsci.edu
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
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Last Updated May 04, 2025 Editor Marty McCoy Contact Laura Betz laura.e.betz@nasa.gov Related Terms
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By NASA
Crew members are kicking off operations for several biological experiments that recently launched to the International Space Station aboard NASA’s 32nd SpaceX commercial resupply services mission. These include examining how microgravity affects production of protein by microalgae, testing a microscope to capture microbial activity, and studying genetic activity in biofilms.
Microalgae in microgravity
Sophie’s BioNutrients This ice cream is one of several products made with a protein powder created from Chorella microalgae by researchers for the SOPHONSTER investigation, which looks at whether the stress of microgravity affects the algae’s protein yield. Microalgae are nutrient dense and produce proteins with essential amino acids, beneficial fatty acids, B vitamins, iron, and fiber. These organisms also can be used to make fuel, cooking oil, medications, and materials. Learning more about microalgae growth and protein production in space could support development of sustainable alternatives to meat and dairy. Such alternatives could provide a food source on future space voyages and for people on Earth and be used to make biofuels and bioactive compounds in medicines.
Microscopic motion
Portland State University These swimming microalgae are visible thanks to the Extant Life Volumetric Imaging System or ELVIS, a fluorescent 3D imaging microscope that researchers are testing aboard the International Space Station. The investigation studies both active behaviors and genetic changes of microscopic algae and marine bacteria in response to spaceflight. ELVIS is designed to autonomously capture microscopic motion in 3D, a capability not currently available on the station. The technology could be useful for a variety of research in space and on Earth, such as monitoring water quality and detecting potentially infectious organisms.
Genetics of biofilms
BioServe This preflight image shows sample chambers for the Genetic Exchange in Microgravity for Biofilm Bioremediation (GEM-B2) investigation, which examines the mechanisms of gene transfer within biofilms under microgravity conditions. Biofilms are communities of microorganisms that collect and bind to a surface. They can clog and foul water systems, often leave a residue that can cause infections, and may become resistant to antibiotics. Researchers could use results from this work to develop genetic manipulations that inhibit biofilm formation, helping to maintain crew health and safety aboard the International Space Station and on future missions.
Learn more about microgravity research and technology development aboard the space station on this webpage.
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NASA Science, Cargo Launch on 32nd SpaceX Resupply Station Mission
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By NASA
The space shuttle Discovery launches from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, heading through Atlantic skies toward its 51-D mission. The seven-member crew lifted off at 8:59 a.m. ET, April 12, 1985.NASA The launch of space shuttle Discovery is captured in this April 12, 1985, photo. This mission, STS-51D, was the 16th flight of NASA’s Space Shuttle program, and Discovery’s fourth flight.
Discovery carried out 39 missions, more than any other space shuttle. Its missions included deploying and repairing the Hubble Space Telescope and 13 flights to the International Space Station – including the very first docking in 1999. The retired shuttle now resides at the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia.
Learn more about NASA’s Space Shuttle Program.
Image credit: NASA
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By NASA
NASA NASA astronauts Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert launch aboard the Apollo 13 spacecraft from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 11, 1970. The mission seemed to be going smoothly until 55 hours and 55 minutes in when an oxygen tank ruptured. The new mission plan involved abandoning the Moon landing, looping around the Moon and getting the crew home safely as quickly as possible. The crew needed to go into “lifeboat mode,” using the lunar module Aquarius to save the spacecraft and crew. On April 17, the crew returned to Earth, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean near Samoa.
Image credit: NASA
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