Members Can Post Anonymously On This Site
Euclid is back – 26 million galaxies and counting
-
Similar Topics
-
-
By NASA
Patricia White is a contracting officer at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, where she contributes to NASA’s Artemis program that will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future human exploration of Mars. NASA/Danny Nowlin When NASA’s Artemis II mission launches in 2026, it will inspire the world through discovery in a new Golden Age of innovation and exploration.
It will be another inspiring NASA moment Patricia White can add to her growing list.
White supports the Artemis program to send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future human exploration of Mars as a contracting officer at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
White takes special pride in the test operations contract she helped draft. The contract provides support to the Fred Haise Test Stand, which tests the RS-25 engines that will help power NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket on Artemis missions.
“I was awestruck the first time I witnessed an engine test,” White said. “I remember how small I felt in comparison to this big and fascinating world, and I wondered what that engine would see that I would never be able to see.”
Four RS-25 engines tested at NASA Stennis will help launch Artemis II with four astronauts to venture around the Moon. As the first crewed Artemis mission, it will represent another milestone for the nation’s human space exploration effort.
From Interstate Signs to NASA Career
White describes NASA Stennis as a hidden gem. Growing up in nearby Slidell, Louisiana, she had driven by the interstate signs pointing toward NASA Stennis her entire life.
When she heard about a job opportunity at the center, she immediately applied. Initially hired as a contractor with only a high school diploma in February 2008, White found her motivation among NASA’s ranks.
“I work with very inspiring people, and it only took one person to say, ‘You should go to college’ to give me the courage to go so late in life,” she said.
Hard But Worth It
White began college classes in her 40s and finished at 50. She balanced a marriage, full-time job, academic studies, and household responsibilities. When she started her educational journey, her children were either toddlers or newborns. They were growing up as she stayed in school for nine years while meeting life’s challenges.
“It was hard, but it was so worth it,” she said. “I love my job and what I do, and even though it is crazy busy, I look forward to working at NASA every single day.”
She joined NASA officially in 2013, going from contractor to civil servant.
Setting an Example
White’s proudest work moment came when she brought home the NASA Early Career Achievement award and medal. It served as a tangible symbol of her success she could share with her family.
“It was a long road from being hired as an intern, and we all made extraordinary sacrifices,” she said. “I wanted to share it with them and set a good example for my children.”
As Artemis II prepares to carry humans back to lunar orbit for the first time in over 50 years, White takes pride knowing her work helps power humanity’s return to deep space exploration. Her work is proof that sometimes the most important journeys begin right in one’s own backyard.
Learn More About Careers at NASA Stennis Explore More
4 min read NASA Stennis Provides Ideal Setting for Range Operations
Article 1 week ago 10 min read NASA’s Stennis Space Center Employees Receive NASA Honor Awards
Article 3 weeks ago 6 min read A Defining Era: NASA Stennis and Space Shuttle Main Engine Testing
Article 4 months ago View the full article
-
By European Space Agency
The European Space Agency-led Solar Orbiter mission has split the flood of energetic particles flung out into space from the Sun into two groups, tracing each back to a different kind of outburst from our star.
View the full article
-
By NASA
A white-tailed deer fawn photographed on a Snapshot Wisconsin trail camera in Vernon County, WI Credit: WI DNR The Snapshot Wisconsin project recently collected their 100 millionth trail camera photo! What’s more, this milestone coincides with the project’s 10-year anniversary. Congratulations to the team and everyone who’s participated!
Snapshot Wisconsin utilizes a statewide network of volunteer-managed trail cameras to monitor and better understand the state’s diverse wildlife from white-tailed deer to snowshoe hares, whooping cranes, and much more.
“It’s been amazing to get a glimpse of our wild treasures via the Snapshot lens,” said one volunteer. “Satisfying to help advance wildlife research in the digital age.”
Snapshot Wisconsin was launched in 2013 with help from a NASA grant, and is overseen by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. It recently won a new grant from NASA’s Citizen Science for Earth Systems Program.
Volunteer classifications of the species present in trail camera photos have fueled many different scientific investigations over the years. You, too, can get involved in the merriment by visiting the project’s site on the Zooniverse crowdsourcing platform and helping classify their latest photo season today!
Facebook logo @nasascience @nasascience Instagram logo @nasascience Linkedin logo @nasascience Share
Details
Last Updated Aug 06, 2025 Related Terms
Citizen Science Earth Science Division Explore More
4 min read STEM Educators Are Bringing Hands-On NASA Science into Virginia Classrooms
Article
2 days ago
2 min read Radio JOVE Volunteers Tune In to the Sun’s Low Notes
Article
2 weeks ago
2 min read Bring NASA Science into Your Library!
Article
2 weeks ago
View the full article
-
By NASA
This view of tracks trailing NASA’s Curiosity rover was captured July 26, 2025, as the rover simultaneously relayed data to a Mars orbiter.NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA’s Curiosity rover captured a view of its tracks on July 26, 2025. The robotic scientist is now exploring a region of lower Mount Sharp, a 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) mountain. The pale peak of the mountain can be seen at top right; the rim of Gale Crater, within which the mountain sits, is on the horizon at top left. Curiosity touched down on the crater floor 13 years ago.
Recently, the rover rolled into a region filled with boxwork formations. Studying these formations could reveal whether microbial life could have survived in the Martian subsurface eons ago, extending the period of habitability farther into when the planet was drying out. Read more about the detective work Curiosity is doing on Mars.
Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
View the full article
-
-
Check out these Videos
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.