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By NASA
The high-rise bridge that serves as the primary access point for employees and visitors to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida now is fully operational. In the late hours of March 18, 2025, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) opened the westbound portion of the NASA Causeway Bridge, which spans the Indian River Lagoon and connects NASA Kennedy and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to the mainland.
This new bridge span (right side of photo) sits alongside its twin on the eastbound side, which has accommodated traffic in both directions since FDOT opened it on June 9, 2023. The new structure replaces the old two-lane drawbridge which operated at that location for nearly 60 years.
“The old drawbridge served us well, witnessing decades of spaceflights since the Apollo era and supporting Kennedy’s transition to a multi-user spaceport,” said Kennedy’s Acting Director Kelvin Manning. “The new bridge will see NASA send American astronauts back to the Moon and on to Mars, and it will support the continued rapid growth of America’s commercial space industry here at Earth’s premier spaceport.”
At 4,025 feet long, the new NASA Causeway Bridge is about 35% longer than its predecessor, featuring a 65-foot waterway clearance and a channel wide enough to handle larger vessels carrying cargo necessary for Kennedy to continue launching humanity’s future.
The bridge sits on over 1,000 concrete pilings which total more than 22 miles in length. Nearly 270 concrete I-beams, each weighing hundreds of thousands of pounds, support the bridge, along with over 40,000 cubic yards of concrete and over 8.7 million pounds of steel. All 110 spans of the old drawbridge were demolished during the construction, with much of the material recycled for future projects.
A $90 million federal infrastructure grant secured in July 2019 by Space Florida via the U.S. Department of Transportation funded nearly 50% of the drawbridge replacement as well the widening of nearby Space Commerce Way. NASA and the state of Florida provided the remaining funding for the upgrades.
Photo credit: NASA/Glenn Benson
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By NASA
This compressed, resolution-limited gif shows the view of lunar sunset from one of the six Stereo Cameras for Lunar-Plume Surface Studies (SCALPSS) 1.1 cameras on Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander, which operated on the Moon’s surface for a little more than 14 days and stopped, as anticipated, a few hours into lunar night. The bright, swirly light moving across the surface on the top right of the image is sunlight reflecting off the lander. Images taken by SCALPSS 1.1 during Blue Ghost’s descent and landing, as well as images from the surface during the long lunar day, will help researchers better understand the effects of a lander’s engine plumes on the lunar soil, or regolith. The instrument collected almost 9000 images and returned 10 GB of data. This data is important as trips to the Moon increase and the number of payloads touching down in proximity to one another grows. The SCALPSS 1.1 project is funded by the Space Technology Mission Directorate’s Game Changing Development program. SCALPSS was developed at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, with support from Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.NASA/Olivia TyrrellView the full article
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By NASA
NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov land in a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft in the water off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida on March 18, 2025. Hague, Gorbunov, Williams, and Wilmore returned from a long-duration science expedition aboard the International Space Station. Credit: NASA/Keegan Barber NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 completed the agency’s ninth commercial crew rotation mission to the International Space Station on Tuesday, splashing down safely in a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, in the Gulf of America.
NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, returned to Earth at 5:57 p.m. EDT. Teams aboard SpaceX recovery vessels retrieved the spacecraft and its crew. After returning to shore, the crew will fly to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and reunite with their families.
“We are thrilled to have Suni, Butch, Nick, and Aleksandr home after their months-long mission conducting vital science, technology demonstrations, and maintenance aboard the International Space Station,” said NASA acting Administrator Janet Petro. “Per President Trump’s direction, NASA and SpaceX worked diligently to pull the schedule a month earlier. This international crew and our teams on the ground embraced the Trump Administration’s challenge of an updated, and somewhat unique, mission plan, to bring our crew home. Through preparation, ingenuity, and dedication, we achieve great things together for the benefit of humanity, pushing the boundaries of what is possible from low Earth orbit to the Moon and Mars.”
Hague and Gorbunov lifted off at 1:17 p.m. Sept. 28, 2024, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The next day, they docked to the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module. Williams and Wilmore launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft and United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on June 5, 2024, from Space Launch Complex 41 as part of the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test. The duo arrived at the space station on June 6. In August, NASA announced the uncrewed return of Starliner to Earth and integrated Wilmore and Williams as part of the space station’s Expedition 71/72 for a return on Crew-9. The crew of four undocked at 1:05 a.m. Tuesday to begin the trip home.
Williams and Wilmore traveled 121,347,491 miles during their mission, spent 286 days in space, and completed 4,576 orbits around Earth. Hague and Gorbunov traveled 72,553,920 miles during their mission, spent 171 days in space, and completed 2,736 orbits around Earth. The Crew-9 mission was the first spaceflight for Gorbunov. Hague has logged 374 days in space over his two missions, Williams has logged 608 days in space over her three flights, and Wilmore has logged 464 days in space over his three flights.
Throughout its mission, Crew-9 contributed to a host of science and maintenance activities and technology demonstrations. Williams conducted two spacewalks, joined by Wilmore for one and Hague for another, removing a radio frequency group antenna assembly from the station’s truss, collecting samples from the station’s external surface for analysis, installing patches to cover damaged areas of light filters on an X-ray telescope, and more. Williams now holds the record for total spacewalking time by a female astronaut, with 62 hours and 6 minutes outside of station, and is fourth on the all-time spacewalk duration list.
The American crew members conducted more than 150 unique scientific experiments and technology demonstrations between them, with over 900 hours of research. This research included investigations on plant growth and quality, as well as the potential of stem cell technology to address blood diseases, autoimmune disorders, and cancers. They also tested lighting systems to help astronauts maintain circadian rhythms, loaded the first wooden satellite for deployment, and took samples from the space station’s exterior to study whether microorganisms can survive in space.
The Crew-9 mission was the fourth flight of the Dragon spacecraft named Freedom. It also previously supported NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4, Axiom Mission 2, and Axiom Mission 3. The spacecraft will return to Florida for inspection and processing at SpaceX’s refurbishing facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, where teams will inspect the Dragon, analyze data on its performance, and begin processing for its next flight.
The Crew-9 flight is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, and its return to Earth follows on the heels of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 launch, which docked to the station on March 16, beginning another long-duration science expedition.
The goal of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the space station and low Earth orbit. The program provides additional research time and has increased opportunities for discovery aboard humanity’s microgravity testbed for exploration, including helping NASA prepare for human exploration of the Moon and Mars.
Learn more about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at:
https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew
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Amber Jacobson / Joshua Finch
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
amber.c.jacobson@nasa.gov / joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov
Kenna Pell / Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
kenna.m.pell@nasa.gov / sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov
Steve Siceloff / Stephanie Plucinsky
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-867-2468
steven.p.siceloff@nasa.gov / stephanie.n.plucinsky@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Mar 18, 2025 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Humans in Space Expedition 72 International Space Station (ISS) ISS Research Space Operations Mission Directorate View the full article
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By NASA
After delivering ten NASA science and technology payloads to the near side of the Moon through NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign, Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 lander captured this image of a sunset from the lunar surface. Credit: Firefly Aerospace After landing on the Moon with NASA science and technology demonstrations March 2, Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 concluded its mission March 16. Analysis of data returned to Earth from the NASA instruments continues, benefitting future lunar missions.
As part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign, Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander delivered 10 NASA science and technology instruments to the Mare Crisium basin on the near side of the Moon. During the mission, Blue Ghost captured several images and videos, including imaging a total solar eclipse and a sunset from the surface of the Moon. The mission lasted for about 14 days, or the equivalent of one lunar day, and multiple hours into the lunar night before coming to an end.
“Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 marks the longest surface duration commercial mission on the Moon to date, collecting extraordinary science data that will benefit humanity for decades to come,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “With NASA’s CLPS initiative, American companies are now at the forefront of an emerging lunar economy that lights the way for the agency’s exploration goals on the Moon and beyond.”
All 10 NASA payloads successfully activated, collected data, and performed operations on the Moon. Throughout the mission, Blue Ghost transmitted 119 gigabytes of data back to Earth, including 51 gigabytes of science and technology data. In addition, all payloads were afforded additional opportunities to conduct science and gather more data for analysis, including during the eclipse and lunar sunset.
“Operating on the Moon is complex; carrying 10 payloads, more than has ever flown on a CLPS delivery before, makes the mission that much more impressive,” said Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters. “Teams are eagerly analyzing their data, and we are extremely excited for the expected scientific findings that will be gained from this mission.”
Among other achievements, many of the NASA instruments performed first-of-their-kind science and technology demonstrations, including:
The Lunar Instrumentation for Subsurface Thermal Exploration with Rapidity is now the deepest robotic planetary subsurface thermal probe, drilling up to 3 feet and providing a first-of-its kind demonstration of robotic thermal measurements at varying depths. The Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment acquired and tracked Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) signals, from satellite networks such as GPS and Galileo, for the first time enroute to and on the Moon’s surface. The LuGRE payload’s record-breaking success indicates that GNSS signals could complement other navigation methods and be used to support future Artemis missions. It also acts as a stepping stone to future navigation systems on Mars. The Radiation Tolerant Computer successfully operated in transit through Earth’s Van Allen belts, as well as on the lunar surface into the lunar night, verifying solutions to mitigate radiation effects on computers that could make future missions safer for equipment and more cost effective. The Electrodynamic Dust Shield successfully lifted and removed lunar soil, or regolith, from surfaces using electrodynamic forces, demonstrating a promising solution for dust mitigation on future lunar and interplanetary surface operations. The Lunar Magnetotelluric Sounder successfully deployed five sensors to study the Moon’s interior by measuring electric and magnetic fields. The instrument allows scientists to characterize the interior of the Moon to depths up to 700 miles, or more than half the distance to the Moon’s center. The Lunar Environment heliospheric X-ray Imager captured a series of X-ray images to study the interaction of the solar wind and Earth’s magnetic field, providing insights into how space weather and other cosmic forces surrounding Earth affect the planet. The Next Generation Lunar Retroreflector successfully reflected and returned laser light from two Lunar Laser Ranging Observatories, returning measurements allowing scientists to precisely measure the Moon’s shape and distance from Earth, expanding our understanding of the Moon’s inner structure. The Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies instrument captured about 9,000 images during the spacecraft’s lunar descent and touchdown on the Moon, providing insights into the effects engine plumes have on the surface. The payload also operated during the lunar sunset and into the lunar night. The Lunar PlanetVac was deployed on the lander’s surface access arm and successfully collected, transferred, and sorted lunar soil using pressurized nitrogen gas, demonstrating a low-cost, low-mass solution for future robotic sample collection. The Regolith Adherence Characterization instrument examined how lunar regolith sticks to a range of materials exposed to the Moon’s environment, which can help test, improve, and protect spacecraft, spacesuits, and habitats from abrasive lunar dust or regolith. The data captured will benefit humanity in many ways, providing insights into how space weather and other cosmic forces may impact Earth. Establishing an improved awareness of the lunar environment ahead of future crewed missions will help plan for long-duration surface operations under Artemis.
To date, five vendors have been awarded 11 lunar deliveries under CLPS and are sending more than 50 instruments to various locations on the Moon, including the lunar South Pole and far side.
Learn more about NASA’s CLPS initiative at:
https://www.nasa.gov/clps
-end-
Alise Fisher
Headquarters, Washington
202-617-4977
alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov
Natalia Riusech / Nilufar Ramji
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
nataila.s.riusech@nasa.gov / nilufar.ramji@nasa.gov
Antonia Jaramillo
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-501-8425
antonia.jaramillobotero@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Mar 18, 2025 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) Artemis Blue Ghost (lander) Johnson Space Center Kennedy Space Center NASA Headquarters View the full article
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By NASA
Although NASA’s Lucy spacecraft’s upcoming encounter with the asteroid Donaldjohanson is primarily a mission rehearsal for later asteroid encounters, a new paper suggests that this small, main belt asteroid may have some surprises of its own. New modeling indicates that Donaldjohanson may have been formed about 150 million years ago when a larger parent asteroid broke apart; its orbit and spin properties have undergone significant evolution since.
This artist’s concept compares the approximate size of Lucy’s next asteroid target, Donaldjohanson, to the smallest main belt asteroids previously visited by spacecraft — Dinkinesh, visited by Lucy in November 2023, and Steins — as well as two recently explored near-Earth asteroids, Bennu and Ryugu. Credits: SwRI/ESA/OSIRIS/NASA/Goddard/Johns Hopkins APL/NOIRLab/University of Arizona/JAXA/University of Tokyo & Collaborators When the Lucy spacecraft flies by this approximately three-mile-wide space rock on April 20, 2025, the data collected could provide independent insights on such processes based on its shape, surface geology and cratering history.
“Based on ground-based observations, Donaldjohanson appears to be a peculiar object,” said Simone Marchi, deputy principal investigator for Lucy of Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado and lead author of the research published in The Planetary Science Journal. “Understanding the formation of Donaldjohanson could help explain its peculiarities.”
“Data indicates that it could be quite elongated and a slow rotator, possibly due to thermal torques that have slowed its spin over time,” added David Vokrouhlický, a professor at the Charles University, Prague, and co-author of the research.
Lucy’s target is a common type of asteroid, composed of silicate rocks and perhaps containing clays and organic matter. The new paper indicates that Donaldjohanson is a likely member of the Erigone collisional asteroid family, a group of asteroids on similar orbits that was created when a larger parent asteroid broke apart. The family originated in the inner main belt not very far from the source regions of the near-Earth asteroids Bennu and Ryugu, recently visited respectively by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx and JAXA’s (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s) Hayabusa2 missions.
“We can hardly wait for the flyby because, as of now, Donaldjohanson’s characteristics appear very distinct from Bennu and Ryugu. Yet, we may uncover unexpected connections,” added Marchi.
“It’s exciting to put together what we’ve been able to glean about this asteroid,” said Keith Noll, Lucy project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “But Earth-based observing and theoretical models can only take us so far – to validate these models and get to the next level of detail we need close-up data. Lucy’s upcoming flyby will give us that.”
Donaldjohanson is named for the paleontologist who discovered Lucy, the fossilized skeleton of an early hominin found in Ethiopia in 1974, which is how the Lucy mission got its name. Just as the Lucy fossil provided unique insights into the origin of humanity, the Lucy mission promises to revolutionize our knowledge of the origin of humanity’s home world. Donaldjohanson is the only named asteroid so far to be visited while its namesake is still living.
“Lucy is an ambitious NASA mission, with plans to visit 11 asteroids in its 12-year mission to tour the Trojan asteroids that are located in two swarms leading and trailing Jupiter,” said SwRI’s Dr. Hal Levison, mission principal investigator at the Boulder, Colorado branch of Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. “Encounters with main belt asteroids not only provide a close-up view of those bodies but also allow us to perform engineering tests of the spacecraft’s innovative navigation system before the main event to study the Trojans. These relics are effectively fossils of the planet formation process, holding vital clues to deciphering the history of our solar system.”
Lucy’s principal investigator is based out of the Boulder, Colorado, branch of Southwest Research Institute, headquartered in San Antonio. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, provides overall mission management, systems engineering, and safety and mission assurance. Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado, built the spacecraft. Lucy is the 13th mission in NASA’s Discovery Program. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Discovery Program for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
By Deb Schmid and Katherine Kretke, Southwest Research Institute
Media Contact:
Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov
Nancy N. Jones
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
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Last Updated Mar 17, 2025 EditorMadison OlsonContactNancy N. Jonesnancy.n.jones@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
Goddard Space Flight Center Lucy Missions Planetary Science Planetary Science Division Explore More
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