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By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Spectrum is a shared resource. Since the discovery of radio waves and the invention of the telegraph, humanity has exponentially increased its use of the radio frequency (RF) spectrum. Consider how many wireless devices are around you right now. You’re probably reading this on a smartphone or laptop connected to the internet through Wi-Fi or 5G. You might be listening to music on Bluetooth headphones. If you are in a car or bus, the driver may be using signals from GPS satellites. To meet this increasing need, RF engineers and regulators continue to develop ways to enable users to share the same frequencies at the same time in the same place — think of modern cell phone technology. Avoiding or lessening interference between users requires regulators and users alike to maintain and enforce the ‘rules of the road’ that describe who can use which frequencies where, when, and how. NASA, like all other users, must comply with these regulations and collaborate with other users to ensure our use of the RF spectrum can continue and evolve.
Just as architects design taller buildings to accommodate more residences on the same plot of land, radio frequency engineers design methods to allow more users on the same frequency, at the same place and time.NASA Supporting and Protecting NASA’s Spectrum Users
NASA’s spectrum professionals work with users early in the project planning phase to understand the type, location, and duration of their data, and in turn determine what kind of antennas, transmitters, and receivers will be required. With that information, a spectrum manager helps to define the spectrum requirements, such as bandwidths, modulation, and other technical characteristics of the radio signals to be used. Understanding a project’s objectives helps define the appropriate service allocation and potential frequency ranges.
Once these spectrum requirements are determined, NASA’s spectrum professionals work with other relevant spectrum users within and beyond NASA to coordinate the use of the spectrum.
In the unfortunate event of harmful RF interference, working to identify, resolve, and report the interference is another critical function of NASA’s spectrum professionals. For example as Jeff Hayes — NASA’s current SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) Program liaison to the Science Mission Directorate and the former program executive for operating missions in the Heliophysics and Astrophysics Divisions — recounts, “The NICER (Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer) observatory did actually experience bouts of RF interference over certain parts of the world. As NICER uses GPS to understand where it is pointing to in the sky, interference can make the location information of the source imprecise, and that impacts the quality of the data collected. That data could potentially be attributed to the wrong star.”
When NASA identifies interference to a mission like NICER or to a device at an agency center or facility, NASA center and facility spectrum managers work to identify, resolve, and report the interference.
Identifying and reporting sources of interference helps to raise awareness of the impacts and causes of interference. When the sources of interference are international, which is especially common for space systems like NICER, SCaN’s spectrum management team works with U.S. regulators to report the incident to international regulators. These interference reports can be used to advocate for regulatory protections that help ensure the integrity of valuable science data and the safety of human spaceflight activities.
Advocating for NASA’s Current and Future Spectrum Use
NASA’s spectrum analysts and engineers perform analyses and simulations to support spectrum planning and management activities. For example, passive remote sensing instruments like the radiometer on the Soil Moisture Active Passive mission detect natural energy (radiation) emitted or reflected by an object or scene being observed. This energy is much fainter than human-generated radio signals and require highly sensitive radiometers that are susceptible to interference from more powerful signals. The spectrum management team works to ensure regulatory protections are in place and followed to ensure the integrity of NASA’s scientific missions.
Sometimes NASA’s future missions envision new ways and places to use radio waves. For example, when NASA’s Artemis campaign began taking steps to return humans to the Moon, SCaN’s spectrum professionals began working with other stakeholders to develop a RF architecture that enables the use of radio waves for science data, communications, positioning, navigation, and timing while also limiting the risk of interference with systems on or orbiting Earth. NASA’s spectrum professionals further the agency’s spectrum management goals and objectives by analyzing potential changes in international or domestic regulations and proposing technical solutions that promote collaborative spectrum use with both foreign and domestic partners.
NASA’s technical expertise is critical to ensuring domestic and international regulators are well informed as they develop new or revised regulations that effectively enable the exciting innovation and exploration central to NASA’s mission.
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Last Updated Apr 23, 2025 Related Terms
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By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Piloted by NASA’s Tim Williams, the ER-2 science aircraft ascends for one of the final science flights for the GSFC Lidar Observation and Validation Experiment (GLOVE) on Feb. 1, 2025. As a collaboration between engineers, scientists, and aircraft professionals, GLOVE aims to improve satellite data products for Earth Science applications. NASA/Steve Freeman In February, NASA’s ER-2 science aircraft flew instruments designed to improve satellite data products and Earth science observations. From data collection to processing, satellite systems continue to advance, and NASA is exploring how instruments analyzing clouds can improve data measurement methods.
Researchers participating in the Goddard Space Flight Center Lidar Observation and Validation Experiment (GLOVE) used the ER-2 – based at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California – to validate satellite data about cloud and airborne particles in the Earth’s atmosphere. Scientists are using GLOVE instruments installed onboard the aircraft to measure and validate data about clouds generated by satellite sensors already orbiting in space around Earth.
“The GLOVE data will allow us to test new artificial intelligence algorithms in data processing,” said John Yorks, principal investigator for GLOVE and research physical scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “These algorithms aim to improve the cloud and aerosol detection in data produced by the satellites.”
Jennifer Moore, a researcher from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, checks the cabling on the Roscoe instrument at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, for the GSFC Lidar Observation and Validation Experiment (GLOVE) on Feb. 1, 2025. The Roscoe instrument will be uploaded onto NASA’s ER-2 science aircraft.NASA/Steve Freeman The validation provided by GLOVE is crucial because it ensures the accuracy and reliability of satellite data. “The instruments on the plane provide a higher resolution measurement ‘truth’ to ensure the data is a true representation of the atmospheric scene being sampled,” Yorks said.
The ER-2 flew over various parts of Oregon, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada, as well as over the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. These regions reflected various types of atmospheres, including cirrus clouds, marine stratocumulus, rain and snow, and areas with multiple types of clouds.
“The goal is to improve satellite data products for Earth science applications,” Yorks said. “These measurements allow scientists and decision-makers to confidently use this satellite information for applications like weather forecasting and hazard monitoring.”
Researcher Jackson Begolka from the University of Iowa examines instrument connectors onboard the ER-2 aircraft at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Feb. 1, 2025. The GLOVE instrument will validate data from satellites orbiting the Earth.NASA/Steve Freeman The four instruments installed on the ER-2 were the Cloud Physics Lidar, the Roscoe Lidar, the enhanced Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Airborne Simulator, and the Cloud Radar System. These instruments validate data produced by sensors on NASA’s Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite 2 (ICESat-2) and the Earth Cloud, Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE), a joint venture between the ESA (European Space Agency) and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency).
“Additionally, the EarthCARE satellite is flying the first ever Doppler radar for measurements of air motions within clouds,” Yorks said. While the ER-2 is operated by pilots and aircrew from NASA Armstrong, these instruments are supported by scientists from NASA Goddard, NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, and the Naval Research Laboratory office in Monterey, California, as well as by students from the University of Iowa in Iowa City and the University of Maryland College Park.
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Last Updated Apr 16, 2025 EditorDede DiniusContactErica HeimLocationArmstrong Flight Research Center Related Terms
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By NASA
NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Princeton/Ed Whitman NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) is loaded into the X-ray and Cryogenic Facility (XRCF) thermal vacuum chamber at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, in this photo from March 20, 2025. There, the spacecraft will undergo testing such as dramatic temperature changes to simulate the harsh environment of space.
The IMAP mission is a modern-day celestial cartographer that will map the solar system by studying the heliosphere, a giant bubble created by the Sun’s solar wind that surrounds our solar system and protects it from harmful interstellar radiation. The IMAP mission will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, no earlier than September 2025.
Image credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Princeton/Ed Whitman
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By European Space Agency
Launched just seven months ago, ESA’s Arctic Weather Satellite has been proving how the New Space approach can accelerate the development of missions capable of delivering detailed temperature and humidity profiles for short-term weather forecasts.
Moreover, the impact of this tiny prototype satellite goes even further – its measuring instrument has been recognised as able to provide data that’s on a par with traditional large missions.
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By European Space Agency
Two spacecraft flying as one – that is the goal of European Space Agency’s Proba-3 mission. Earlier this week, the eclipse-maker moved a step closer to achieving that goal, as both spacecraft aligned with the Sun, maintaining their relative position for several hours without any control from the ground.
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