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By NASA
Ozone high in the stratosphere protects us from the Sun’s ultraviolet light. But ozone near the ground is a pollutant that harms people and plants. The San Joaquin Valley has some of the most polluted air in the country, and NASA scientists with the new Ozone Where We Live (OWWL) project are working to measure ozone and other pollutants there. They need your help!
Do you live or work in Bakersfield, CA? Sign up to host an ozone sensor! It’s like a big lunch box that you place in your yard, but it’s not packed with tuna and crackers. It’s filled with sensors that measure temperature and humidity and sniff out dangerous gases like methane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and of course, ozone.
Can you fly a plane? Going to the San Joaquin Valley? Sign up to take an ozone sensor on your next flight! You can help measure ozone levels in layers of the atmosphere that are hard for satellites to investigate. Scientists will combine the data you take with data from NASA’s TEMPO satellite to improve air quality models and measurements within the region. Find out more here or email: Emma.l.yates@nasa.gov
Join the Ozone Where We Live (OWWL) project and help NASA scientists protect the people of the San Joaquin Valley! Credit: Emma Yates Share
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Last Updated Jun 24, 2025 Related Terms
Citizen Science Earth Science Division Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) Explore More
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By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA employee Naomi Torres sits inside the air taxi passenger ride quality simulator at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, as the simulator moves during a study on Oct. 23, 2024. Research continues to better understand how humans may interact with these new types of aircraft.NASA/Steve Freeman NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility vision involves the skies above the U.S. filled with new types of aircraft, including air taxis. But making that vision a reality involves ensuring that people will actually want to ride these aircraft – which is why NASA has been working to evaluate comfort, to see what passengers will and won’t tolerate.
NASA is conducting a series of studies to understand how air taxi motion, vibration, and other factors affect ride comfort. The agency will provide the data it gathers to industry and others to guide the design and operational practices for future air taxis.
“The results of this study can guide air taxi companies to design aircraft that take off, land, and respond to winds and gusts in a way that is comfortable for the passengers,” said Curt Hanson, senior flight controls researcher for this project based at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. “Passengers who enjoy their experience in an air taxi are more likely to become repeat riders, which will help the industry grow.”
The air taxi comfort research team uses NASA Armstrong’s Ride Quality Laboratory as well as the Human Vibration Lab and Vertical Motion Simulator at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley to study passenger response to ride quality, as well as how easily and precisely a pilot can control and maneuver aircraft.
After pilots checked out the simulator setup, the research team conducted a study in October where NASA employees volunteered to participate as passengers to experience the virtual air taxi flights and then describe their comfort level to the researchers.
Curt Hanson, senior flight controls researcher for the Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology project based at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, explains the study about to begin to NASA employee and test subject Naomi Torres on Oct. 23, 2024. Behind them is the air taxi passenger ride quality simulator in NASA Armstrong’s Ride Quality Laboratory. Studies continue to better understand passenger comfort for future air taxi rides.NASA/Steve Freeman Using this testing, the team produced an initial study that found a relationship between levels of sudden vertical motion and passenger discomfort. More data collection is needed to understand the combined effect of motion, vibration, and other factors on passenger comfort.
“In the Vertical Motion Simulator, we can investigate how technology and aircraft design choices affect the handling qualities of the aircraft, generate data as pilots maneuver the air taxi models under realistic conditions, and then use this to further investigate passenger comfort in the Ride Quality and Human Vibration Labs,” said Carlos Malpica, senior rotorcraft flight dynamics researcher for this effort based at NASA Ames.
This work is managed by the Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology project under NASA’s Advanced Air Vehicles Program in support of NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility mission, which seeks to deliver data to guide the industry’s development of electric air taxis and drones.
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Last Updated Jun 20, 2025 EditorDede DiniusContactTeresa Whitingteresa.whiting@nasa.govLocationArmstrong Flight Research Center Related Terms
Armstrong Flight Research Center Advanced Air Mobility Advanced Air Vehicles Program Aeronautics Ames Research Center Drones & You Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology Explore More
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By NASA
4 Min Read NASA to Gather In-Flight Imagery of Commercial Test Capsule Re-Entry
During the September 2023 daytime reentry of the OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule, the SCIFLI team captured visual data similar to what they're aiming to capture during Mission Possible. Credits: NASA/SCIFLI A NASA team specializing in collecting imagery-based engineering datasets from spacecraft during launch and reentry is supporting a European aerospace company’s upcoming mission to return a subscale demonstration capsule from space.
NASA’s Scientifically Calibrated In-Flight Imagery (SCIFLI) team supports a broad range of mission needs across the agency, including Artemis, science missions like OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security – Regolith Explorer), and NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The SCIFLI team also supports other commercial space efforts, helping to develop and strengthen public-private partnerships as NASA works to advance exploration, further cooperation, and open space to more science, people, and opportunities.
Later this month, SCIFLI intends to gather data on The Exploration Company’s Mission Possible capsule as it returns to Earth following the launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. One of the key instruments SCIFLI will employ is a spectrometer detects light radiating from the capsule’s surface, which researchers can use to determine the surface temperature of the spacecraft. Traditionally, much of this data comes from advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics modeling of what happens when objects of various sizes, shapes, and materials enter different atmospheres, such as those on Earth, Mars, or Venus.
“While very powerful, there is still some uncertainty in these Computational Fluid Dynamics models. Real-world measurements made by the SCIFLI team help NASA researchers refine their models, meaning better performance for sustained flight, higher safety margins for crew returning from the Moon or Mars, or landing more mass safely while exploring other planets,” said Carey Scott, SCIFLI capability lead at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
A rendering of a space capsule from The Exploration Company re-entering Earth’s atmosphere.
Image courtesy of The Exploration CompanyThe Exploration Company The SCIFLI team will be staged in Hawaii and will fly aboard an agency Gulfstream III aircraft during the re-entry of Mission Possible over the Pacific Ocean.
“The data will provide The Exploration Company with a little bit of redundancy and a different perspective — a decoupled data package, if you will — from their onboard sensors,” said Scott.
From the Gulfstream, SCIFLI will have the spectrometer and an ultra-high-definition telescope trained on Mission Possible. The observation may be challenging since the team will be tracking the capsule against the bright daytime sky. Researchers expect to be able to acquire the capsule shortly after entry interface, the point at roughly 200,000 feet, where the atmosphere becomes thick enough to begin interacting with a capsule, producing compressive effects such as heating, a shock layer, and the emission of photons, or light.
Real-world measurements made by the SCIFLI team help NASA researchers refine their models, meaning better performance for sustained flight, higher safety margins for crew returning from the Moon or Mars, or landing more mass safely while exploring other planets.
Carey Scott
SCIFLI Capability Lead
In addition to spectrometer data on Mission Possible’s thermal protection system, SCIFLI will capture imagery of the parachute system opening. First, a small drogue chute deploys to slow the capsule from supersonic to subsonic, followed by the deployment of a main parachute. Lastly, cloud-cover permitting, the team plans to image splashdown in the Pacific, which will help a recovery vessel reach the capsule as quickly as possible.
If flying over the ocean and capturing imagery of a small capsule as it zips through the atmosphere during the day sounds difficult, it is. But this mission, like all SCIFLI’s assignments, has been carefully modeled, choreographed, and rehearsed in the months and weeks leading up to the mission. There will even be a full-dress rehearsal in the days just before launch.
Not that there aren’t always a few anxious moments right as the entry interface is imminent and the team is looking out for its target. According to Scott, once the target is acquired, the SCIFLI team has its procedures nailed down to a — pardon the pun — science.
“We rehearse, and we rehearse, and we rehearse until it’s almost memorized,” he said.
Ari Haven, left, asset coodinator for SCIFLI’s support of Mission Possible, and Carey Scott, principal engineer for the mission, in front of the G-III aircraft the team will fly on.
Credit: NASA/Carey ScottNASA/Carey Scott The Exploration Company, headquartered in Munich, Germany, and Bordeaux,
France, enlisted NASA’s support through a reimbursable Space Act Agreement and will use SCIFLI data to advance future capsule designs.
“Working with NASA on this mission has been a real highlight for our team. It shows what’s possible when people from different parts of the world come together with a shared goal,” said Najwa Naimy, chief program officer at The Exploration Company. “What the SCIFLI team is doing to spot and track our capsule in broad daylight, over the open ocean, is incredibly impressive. We’re learning from each other, building trust, and making real progress together.”
NASA Langley is known for its expertise in engineering, characterizing, and developing spacecraft systems for entry, descent, and landing. The Gulfstream III aircraft is operated by the Flight Operations Directorate at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.
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Last Updated Jun 18, 2025 EditorJoe AtkinsonContactJoe Atkinsonjoseph.s.atkinson@nasa.govLocationNASA Langley Research Center Related Terms
Langley Research Center General Space Operations Mission Directorate Explore More
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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA / DIP Start
July 27, 2022 at 10:00 AM EDTEnd
June 27, 2022 at 12:00 PM EST What It’s About?
DIP is hosting an online session to provide detailed information on the CDDR service, scope of the collaborative opportunity, partner responsibilities and ACO response submission instructions. The intent is to share information for interested parties to make an informed decision to collaborate and successfully respond to the ACO. (For the details of the collaboration, please read the full Announcement on sam.gov website (ID: 80ARC022JAI-DIP)).
The ACO is the first step to collaborate with NASA on this project. Flight Operators selected from the ACO process will contribute and benefit from the Sustainable Aviation (SA) demonstration to test and validate a cloud-based departure reroute service called Collaborative Digital Departure Reroute (CDDR) during FY22-24. CDDR has been shown to reduce fuel burn and emissions through reduced surface departure delays, which benefits re-routed flights as well as all other related departures in the operational area.
Agenda
Sustainable Aviation (SA) demonstrations overview DIP platform and digital services overview Expectations of partners ACO walkthrough and how to submit What to expect after an ACO is submitted Q/A Who Should Register?
This information session is primarily designed to assist flight operators with the ACO process. While other aviation industry participants are not discouraged from attending this session, the focus will be on the flight operator portion of our audience. An additional ACO for service providers will be announced on a future date.
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Presentation slides Session Recording Request materials via email (arc-dip-ext@mail.nasa.gov) Digital Information Platform
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Last Updated Jun 18, 2025 EditorLillian GipsonContactJim Bankejim.banke@nasa.gov Related Terms
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By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA/Jacob Shaw A NASA system designed to measure temperature and strain on high-speed vehicles is set to make its first flights at hypersonic speeds – greater than Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound – when mounted to two research rockets launching this summer.
Technicians in the Environmental Laboratory at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, used machines called shakers to perform vibration tests on the technology, known as a Fiber Optic Sensing System (FOSS), on March 26. The tests confirmed the FOSS could operate while withstanding the shaking forces of a rocket launch. Initial laboratory and flight tests in 2024 went well, leading to the recently tested system’s use on the U.S. Department of Defense coordinated research rockets to measure critical temperature safety data.
Hypersonic sensing systems are crucial for advancing hypersonics, a potentially game-changing field in aeronautics. Capitalizing on decades of research, NASA is working to address critical challenges in hypersonic engine technology through its Advanced Air Vehicles Program.
Using FOSS, NASA will gather data on the strain placed on vehicles during flight, as well as temperature information, which helps engineers understand the condition of a rocket or aircraft. The FOSS system collects data using a fiber about the thickness of a human hair that collects data along its length, replacing heavier and bulkier traditional wire harnesses and sensors.
Jonathan Lopez and Allen Parker confer on the hypersonic Fiber Optic Sensor System at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on February 13, 2025. The system measures strain and temperature, critical safety data for hypersonic vehicles that travel five time the speed of sound.NASA/Steve Freeman “There is no reliable technology with multiple sensors on a single fiber in the hypersonic environment,” said Patrick Chan, FOSS project manager at Armstrong. “The FOSS system is a paradigm shift for hypersonic research, because it can measure temperature and strain.”
For decades, NASA Armstrong worked to develop and improve the system, leading to hypersonic FOSS, which originated in 2020. Craig Stephens, the Hypersonic Technology Project associate project manager at NASA Armstrong, anticipated a need for systems and sensors to measure temperature and strain on hypersonic vehicles.
“I challenged the FOSS team to develop a durable data collection system that had reduced size, weight, and power requirements,” Stephens said. “If we obtain multiple readings from one FOSS fiber, that means we are reducing the number of wires in a vehicle, effectively saving weight and space.”
The research work has continually made the system smaller and lighter. While a space-rated FOSS used in 2022 to collect temperature data during a NASA mission in low Earth orbit was roughly the size of a toaster, the hypersonic FOSS unit is about the size of two sticks of butter.
Jonathan Lopez and Nathan Rick prepare the hypersonic Fiber Optic Sensing System for vibration tests in the Environmental Laboratory at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. Testing on a machine called a shaker proved that the system could withstand the severe vibration it will endure in hypersonic flight, or travel at five times the speed of sound.NASA/Jim Ross Successful Partnerships
To help advance hypersonic FOSS to test flights, NASA Armstrong Technology Transfer Office lead Ben Tomlinson orchestrated a partnership. NASA, the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School in Edwards, California, and the U.S. Air Force’s 586th Flight Test Squadron at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, agreed to a six-flight series in 2024.
The test pilot school selected an experiment comparing FOSS and traditional sensors, looking at the data the different systems produced.
The hypersonic FOSS was integrated into a beam fixed onto one end of a pod. It had weight on the other end of the beam so that it could move as the aircraft maneuvered into position for the tests. The pod fit under a T-38 aircraft that collected strain data as the aircraft flew.
“The successful T-38 flights increased the FOSS technology readiness,” Tomlinson said. “However, a test at hypersonic speed will make FOSS more attractive for a United States business to commercialize.”
April Torres, from left, Cryss Punteney, and Karen Estes watch as data flows from the hypersonic Fiber Optic Sensing System at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. Testing on a machine called a shaker proved that the system could withstand the severe vibration it will endure in hypersonic flight, or travel at five times the speed of sound.NASA/Jim Ross New Opportunities
After the experiment with the Air Force, NASA’s hypersonic technology team looked for other opportunities to advance the miniaturized version of the system. That interest led to the upcoming research rocket tests in coordination with the Department of Defense.
“We have high confidence in the system, and we look forward to flying it in hypersonic flight and at altitude,” Chan said.
A hypersonic Fiber Optic Sensing System, developed at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, is ready for a test flight on a T-38 at the U.S. Air Force 586th Flight Test Squadron at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. NASA Armstrong, the flight test squadron, and the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School in Edwards, California, partnered for the test. From left are Earl Adams, Chathu Kuruppu, Colby Ferrigno, Allen Parker, Patrick Chan, Anthony Peralta, Ben Tomlinson, Jonathan Lopez, David Brown, Lt. Col. Sean Siddiqui, Capt. Nathaniel Raquet, Master Sgt. Charles Shepard, and Greg Talbot.U.S. Air Force/Devin Lopez Share
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Last Updated Jun 18, 2025 EditorDede DiniusContactJay Levinejay.levine-1@nasa.govLocationArmstrong Flight Research Center Related Terms
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