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By NASA
NASA/Kevin O’Brien Demonstration Motor-1 (DM-1) is the first full-scale ground test of the evolved five-segment solid rocket motor of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. The event will take place in Promontory, Utah, and will be used as an opportunity to test several upgrades made from the current solid rocket boosters. Each booster burns six tons of solid propellant every second and together generates almost eight million pounds of thrust.
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By NASA
Explore This Section Science Artemis Mission Accomplished! Artemis… Overview Learning Resources Science Activation Teams SME Map Opportunities More Science Activation Stories Citizen Science 5 min read
Mission Accomplished! Artemis ROADS III National Challenge Competitors Celebrate their Achievements
The NASA Science Activation program’s Northwest Earth and Space Sciences Pathways (NESSP) team has successfully concluded the 2024–2025 Artemis ROADS III National Challenge, an educational competition that brought real NASA mission objectives to student teams (and reached more than 1,500 learners) across the country. From December 2024 through May 2025, over 300 teams of upper elementary, middle, and high school students from 22 states participated, applying STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) skills in exciting and creative ways.
Participants tackled eight Mission Objectives inspired by NASA’s Artemis missions, which aim to return humans to the Moon. Students explored challenges such as:
Designing a water purification system for the Moon inspired by local water cycles Developing a Moon-based agricultural plan based on experimental results Programming a rover to autonomously navigate lunar tunnels Engineering and refining a human-rated water bottle rocket capable of safely returning a “chip-stronaut” to Earth Envisioning their future careers through creative projects like graphic novels or video interviews Exploring NASA’s Artemis program through a new Artemis-themed Lotería game In-person hub events were hosted by Northern Arizona University, Central Washington University, and Montana State University, where teams from Washington, Montana, and Idaho gathered to present their work, collaborate with peers, and experience life on a college campus. Students also had the chance to connect virtually with NASA scientists and engineers through NESSP’s NASA Expert Talks series.
“Artemis ROADS III is NESSP’s eighth ROADS challenge, and I have to say, I think it’s the best one yet. It’s always inspiring to see so many students across the country engage in a truly meaningful STEM experience. I heard from several students and educators that participating in the challenge completely changed their perspective on science and engineering. I believe that’s because this program is designed to let students experience the joy of discovery and invention—driven by both teamwork and personal creativity—that real scientists and engineers love about their work. We also show students the broad range of STEM expertise NASA relies on to plan and carry out a mission like Artemis. Most importantly, it gives them a chance to feel like they are part of the NASA mission, which can be truly transformative.”
– Dr. Darci Snowden, Director, NESSP
NESSP proudly recognizes the following teams for completing all eight Mission Objectives and the Final Challenge:
Space Pringles, 3rd-5th Grade, San Antonio, TX Space Axolotls, 3rd-5th Grade, Roberts, MT TEAM Wild, 6th-8th Grade, Eagle Mountain, UT Pessimistic Penguins, 6th-8th Grade, Eagle Mountain, UT Dwarf Planets, 6th-8th Grade, Eagle Mountain, UT Astronomical Rovers, 6th-8th Grade, Eagle Mountain, UT Cosmic Honeybuns, 6th-8th Grade, Eagle Mountain, UT Houston we have a Problem, 6th-8th Grade, Eagle Mountain, UT FBI Wanted List, 6th-8th Grade, Eagle Mountain, UT Lunar Legion, 6th-8th Grade, San Antonio, TX Artemis Tax-Free Space Stallions, 6th-8th Grade, Egg Harbor, NJ Aquila, 6th-8th Grade, Gooding, ID Space Warriors, 6th-8th Grade, Wapato, WA Team Cygnus, 6th-8th Grade, Red Lodge, MT Maple RocketMen, 6th-8th Grade, Northbrook, IL RGB Hawks, 6th-8th Grade, Sagle, ID The Blue Moon Bigfoots, 6th-8th Grade, Medford, OR W.E.P.Y.C.K., 6th-8th Grade, Roberts, MT Lunar Dawgz, 6th-8th Grade, Safford, AZ ROSEBUD ROCKETEERS, 6th-8th Grade, Rosebud, MT The Cosmic Titans, 6th-8th Grade, Thomson Falls, MT The Chunky Space Monkeys, 6th-8th Grade, Naches, WA ROSEBUD RED ANGUS, 9th-12th Grade, Rosebud, MT Bulky Bisons, 9th-12th Grade, Council Grove, KS The Falling Stars, 9th-12th Grade, Thomson Falls, MT The Roadkillers, 9th-12th Grade, Thomson Falls, MT The Goshawks, 9th-12th Grade, Thomson Falls, MT Sequim Cosmic Catalysts, 9th-12th Grade, Sequim, WA Spuddie Buddies, 9th-12th Grade, Moses Lake, WA Astrocoquí 2, 9th-12th Grade, Mayaguez, PR Big Sky Celestials, 9th-12th Grade, Billings, MT TRYOUTS, 9th-12th Grade, Columbus, MT Cosmonaughts, 9th-12th Grade, Columbus, MT TCCS 114, 9th-12th Grade, Tillamook, OR Marvin’s Mighty Martians, 9th-12th Grade, Simms, TX You can see highlights of these teams’ work in the Virtual Recognition Ceremony video on the NESSP YouTube channel. The presentation also features the teams selected to travel to Kennedy Space Center in August of 2025, the ultimate prize for these future space explorers!
In addition to student engagement, the ROADS program provided professional development workshops and NGSS-aligned classroom resources to support K–12 educators. Teachers are invited to explore these materials and register for the next round of workshops, beginning in August 2025: https://nwessp.org/professional-development-registration.
For more information about NESSP, its programs, partners, and the ROADS National Challenge, visit www.nwessp.org or contact info@nwessp.org.
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NASA’s Northwest Earth and Space Science Pathways’ (NESSP) project is supported by NASA cooperative agreement award number 80NSSC22M0006 and is part of NASA’s Science Activation Portfolio. Learn more about how Science Activation connects NASA science experts, real content, and experiences with community leaders to do science in ways that activate minds and promote deeper understanding of our world and beyond: https://science.nasa.gov/learn/about-science-activation/
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Last Updated Jun 23, 2025 Editor NASA Science Editorial Team Related Terms
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5 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Drag your mouse or move your phone to pan around within this 360-degree view to explore the boxwork patterns on Mars that NASA’s Curiosity is investigating for the first time. The rover captured the 291 images that make up this mosaic between May 15 and May 18.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS The rover recently drilled a sample from a new region with features that could reveal whether Mars’ subsurface once provided an environment suitable for life.
New images from NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover show the first close-up views of a region scientists had previously observed only from orbit. The images and data being collected are already raising new questions about how the Martian surface was changing billions of years ago. The Red Planet once had rivers, lakes, and possibly an ocean. Although scientists aren’t sure why, its water eventually dried up and the planet transformed into the chilly desert it is today.
By the time Curiosity’s current location formed, the long-lived lakes were gone in Gale Crater, the rover’s landing area, but water was still percolating under the surface. The rover found dramatic evidence of that groundwater when it encountered crisscrossing low ridges, some just a few inches tall, arranged in what geologists call a boxwork pattern. The bedrock below these ridges likely formed when groundwater trickling through the rock left behind minerals that accumulated in those cracks and fissures, hardening and becoming cementlike. Eons of sandblasting by Martian wind wore away the rock but not the minerals, revealing networks of resistant ridges within.
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured this scene while looking out across a region filled with boxwork patterns, low ridges that scientists think could have been formed by groundwater billions of years ago.NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS The ridges Curiosity has seen so far look a bit like a crumbling curb. The boxwork patterns stretch across miles of a layer on Mount Sharp, a 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) mountain whose foothills the rover has been climbing since 2014. Intriguingly, boxwork patterns haven’t been spotted anywhere else on the mountain, either by Curiosity or orbiters passing overhead.
“A big mystery is why the ridges were hardened into these big patterns and why only here,” said Curiosity’s project scientist, Ashwin Vasavada of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “As we drive on, we’ll be studying the ridges and mineral cements to make sure our idea of how they formed is on target.”
Important to the boxwork patterns’ history is the part of the mountain where they’re found. Mount Sharp consists of multiple layers, each of which formed during different eras of ancient Martian climate. Curiosity essentially “time travels” as it ascends from the oldest to youngest layers, searching for signs of water and environments that could have supported ancient microbial life.
The rover is currently exploring a layer with an abundance of salty minerals called magnesium sulfates, which form as water dries up. Their presence here suggests this layer emerged as the climate became drier. Remarkably, the boxwork patterns show that even in the midst of this drying, water was still present underground, creating changes seen today.
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover viewed this low ridge, which looks a bit like a crumbling curb, on May 16. Scientists think the hardened edges of such ridges — part of the boxwork region the rover is exploring — may have been formed by ancient groundwater.NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Scientists hope to gain more insight into why the boxwork patterns formed here, and Mars recently provided some unexpected clues. The bedrock between the boxwork ridges has a different composition than other layers of Mount Sharp. It also has lots of tiny fractures filled with white veins of calcium sulfate, another salty mineral left behind as groundwater trickles through rock cracks. Similar veins were plentiful on lower layers of the mountain, including one enriched with clays, but had not been spotted in the sulfate layer until now.
“That’s really surprising,” said Curiosity’s deputy project scientist, Abigail Fraeman of JPL. “These calcium sulfate veins used to be everywhere, but they more or less disappeared as we climbed higher up Mount Sharp. The team is excited to figure out why they’ve returned now.”
New Terrain, New Findings
On June 8, Curiosity set out to learn about the unique composition of the bedrock in this area, using the drill on the end of its robotic arm to snag a sample of a rock nicknamed “Altadena.” The rover then dropped the pulverized sample into instruments within its body for more detailed analysis.
Drilling additional samples from more distant boxwork patterns, where the mineral ridges are much larger, will help the mission make sense of what they find. The team will also search for organic molecules and other evidence of an ancient habitable environment preserved in the cemented ridges.
As Curiosity continues to explore, it will be leaving a new assortment of nicknames behind, as well. To keep track of features on the planet, the mission applies nicknames to each spot the rover studies, from hills it views with its cameras to specific calcium sulfate veins it zaps with its laser. (Official names, such as Aeolis Mons — otherwise known as Mount Sharp — are approved by the International Astronomical Union.)
The previous names were selected from local sites in Southern California, where JPL is based. The Altadena sample, for instance, bears the name of a community near JPL that was severely burned during January’s Eaton Canyon fire. Now on a new part of their Martian map, the team is selecting names from around Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni, Earth’s largest salt flat. This exceptionally dry terrain crosses into Chile’s Atacama Desert, and astrobiologists study both the salt flat and the surrounding desert because of their similarity to Mars’ extreme dryness.
More About Curiosity
Curiosity was built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California. JPL leads the mission on behalf of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington as part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program portfolio.
For more about Curiosity, visit:
science.nasa.gov/mission/msl-curiosity
News Media Contacts
Andrew Good
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-2433
andrew.c.good@jpl.nasa.gov
Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Jun 23, 2025 Related Terms
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By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Some career changes involve small shifts. But for one NASA engineering intern, the leap was much bigger –moving from under the hood of a car to helping air taxis take to the skies.
Saré Culbertson spent more than a decade in the auto industry and had been working as a service manager in busy auto repair shops. Today, she supports NASA’s Air Mobility Pathfinders project as a flight operations engineer intern at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, through NASA’s Pathways program.
“NASA has helped me see opportunities I didn’t even know existed
Saré Culbertson
NASA Intern
“NASA has helped me see opportunities I didn’t even know existed,” she said. “I realized that being good at something isn’t enough – you have to be passionate about it too.”
With a strong foundation in mechanical engineering – earning a bachelor’s degree from California State University, Long Beach, Antelope Valley Engineering Program – she graduated magna cum laude and delivered her class’s commencement speech. Culbertson also earned two associate’s degrees, one in engineering and one in fine arts.
NASA Pathways intern Saré Culbertson, right, works with NASA operations engineer Jack Hayes at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Nov. 7, 2024. They are verifying GPS and global navigation satellite system coordinates using Emlid Reach RS2+ receiver equipment, which supports surveying, mapping, and navigation in preparation for future air taxi test flight research.NASA/Genaro Vavuris Before making the switch to aeronautics, she worked at car dealerships and independent car repair facilities while in college. She also led quality control efforts to help a manufacturer meet international standards for quality.
“I never thought land surveying would have anything to do with flying. But it’s a key part of supporting our research with GPS and navigation verification,” Culbertson said. “GPS measures exact positions by analyzing how long signals take to travel from satellites to ground receivers. In aviation testing, it helps improve safety by reducing signal errors and ensuring location data of the aircraft is accurate and reliable.”
A musician since childhood, Culbertson has also performed in 21 states, playing everything from tuba to trumpet, and even appeared on HBO’s “Silicon Valley” with her tuba. She’s played in ska, punk, and reggae bands and now performs baritone in the Southern Sierra Pops Orchestra.
Saré Culbertson, NASA Pathways intern at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, adjusts the Emlid Reach RS2+ receiver equipment that connects with GPS and global navigation satellite systems on Nov. 7, 2024, in preparation for future air taxi test flight research.NASA/Genaro Vavuris The NASA Pathways internship, she says, changed everything. Culbertson was recently accepted into the Master of Science in Flight Test Engineering program at the National Test Pilot School, where she will be specializing in fixed wing performance and flying qualities.
Her advice for anyone starting out?
“Listen more than you talk,” she said. “Don’t get so focused on the next promotion that you forget to be great at the job you have now.”
During her internship, Culbertson is making meaningful contributions toward NASA’s Urban Air Mobility research. She collects location data for test landing sites as part of the first evaluation of an experimental commercial electric vertical takeoff landing aircraft, a significant milestone in the development of next generation aviation technologies. From fixing cars to helping air taxis become a reality, Saré Culbertson is proof that when passion meets persistence, the sky isn’t the limit – it’s just the beginning.
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Last Updated Jun 23, 2025 EditorDede DiniusContactLaura Mitchelllaura.a.mitchell@nasa.govLocationArmstrong Flight Research Center Related Terms
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By NASA
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Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
A collage of artist concepts highlighting the novel approaches proposed by the 2025 NIAC awardees for possible future missions. Through the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program, NASA nurtures visionary yet credible concepts that could one day “change the possible” in aerospace, while engaging America’s innovators and entrepreneurs as partners in the journey.
These concepts span various disciplines and aim to advance capabilities such as finding resources on distant planets, making space travel safer and more efficient, and even providing benefits to life here on Earth. The NIAC portfolio of studies also includes several solutions and technologies that could help NASA achieve a future human presence on Mars. One concept at a time, NIAC is taking technology concepts from science fiction to reality.
Breathing beyond Earth
Astronauts have a limited supply of water and oxygen in space, which makes producing and maintaining these resources extremely valuable. One NIAC study investigates a system to separate oxygen and hydrogen gas bubbles in microgravity from water, without touching the water directly. Researchers found the concept can handle power changes, requires less clean water, works in a wide range of temperatures, and is more resistant to bacteria than existing oxygen generation systems for short-term crewed missions. These new developments could make it a great fit for a long trip to Mars.
Newly selected for another phase of study, the team wants to understand how the system will perform over long periods in space and consider ways to simplify the system’s build. They plan to test a large version of the system in microgravity in hopes of proving how it may be a game changer for future missions.
Detoxifying water on Mars
Unlike water on Earth, Mars’ water is contaminated with toxic chemical compounds such as perchlorates and chlorates. These contaminants threaten human health even at tiny concentrations and can easily corrode hardware and equipment. Finding a way to remove contaminates from water will benefit future human explorers and prepare them to live on Mars long term.
Researchers are creating a regenerative perchlorate reduction system that uses perchlorate reduction pathways from naturally occurring bacteria. Perchlorate is a compound comprised of oxygen and chlorine that is typically used for rocket propellant. These perchlorate reduction pathways can be engineered into a type of bacterium that is known for its remarkable resilience, even in the harsh conditions of space. The system would use these enzymes to cause the biochemical reduction of chlorate and perchlorate to chloride and oxygen, eliminating these toxic molecules from the water. With the technology to detoxify water on Mars, humans could thrive on the Red Planet with an abundant water supply.
Tackling deep space radiation exposure
Mitochondria are the small structures within cells often called the “powerhouse,” but what if they could also power human health in space? Chronic radiation exposure is among the many threats to long-term human stays in space, including time spent traveling to and from Mars. One NIAC study explores transplanting new, undamaged mitochondria to radiation-damaged cells and investigates cell responses to relevant radiation levels to simulate deep-space travel. Researchers propose using in vitro human cell models – complex 3D structures grown in a lab to mimic aspects of organs – to demonstrate how targeted mitochondria replacement therapy could regenerate cellular function after acute and long-term radiation exposure.
While still in early stages, the research could help significantly reduce radiation risks for crewed missions to Mars and beyond. Here on Earth, the technology could also help treat a wide variety of age-related degenerative diseases associated with mitochondrial dysfunction.
Suiting up for Mars
Mars is no “walk in the park,” which is why specialized spacesuits are essential for future missions. Engineers propose using a digital template to generate custom, cost-effective, high-performance spacesuits. This spacesuit concept uses something called digital thread technology to protect crewmembers from the extreme Martian environment, while providing the mobility to perform daily Mars exploration endeavors, including scientific excursions.
This now completed NIAC study focused on mapping key spacesuit components and current manufacturing technologies to digital components, identifying technology gaps, benchmarking required capabilities, and developing a conceptional digital thread model for future spacesuit development and operational support. This research could help astronauts suit up for Mars and beyond in a way like never before.
Redefining what’s possible
From studying Mars to researching black holes and monitoring the atmosphere of Venus, NIAC concepts help us push the boundaries of exploration. By collaborating with innovators and entrepreneurs, NASA advances concepts for future and current missions while energizing the space economy.
If you have a visionary idea to share, you can apply to NIAC’s 2026 Phase I solicitation now until July 15.
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Last Updated Jun 23, 2025 EditorLoura Hall Related Terms
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