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Electronic Book for Students with Visual Impairments Reaches for the Stars
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By NASA
The NASA Ames Science Directorate recognizes the outstanding contributions of (pictured left to right) Sigrid Reinsch, Lori Munar, Kevin Sims, and Matthew Fladeland. Their commitment to the NASA mission represents the entrepreneurial spirit, technical expertise, and collaborative disposition needed to explore this world and beyond.
Space Biosciences Star: Sigrid Reinsch
As Director of the SHINE (Space Health Impacts for the NASA Experience) program and Project Scientist for NBISC (NASA Biological Institutional Scientific Collection), Sigrid Reinsch is a high-performing scientist and outstanding mentor in the Space Biosciences Research Branch. Her dedication to student training and her efforts to streamline processes have significantly improved the experience of welcoming summer interns at NASA Ames.
Space Science and Astrobiology Star: Lori Munar
Lori Munar serves as the assistant Branch Chief of the Exobiology Branch. In the past few months, she has gone above and beyond to organize a facility and laboratory surplus event that involved multiple divisions over multiple days. The event resulted in considerable savings across the groups involved and improved the safety of N239 staff and the appearance of offices and labs.
Space Science and Astrobiology Star: Kevin Sims
Kevin Sims is a NASA Technical Project Manager serving the Astrophysics Branch as a member of the Flight Systems Implementation Branch in the Space Biosciences Division. Kevin is recognized for outstanding project management for exoplanet imaging instrumentation development in support of the Habitable Worlds Observatory. Kevin has streamlined, organized, and improved the efficiency of the Ames Photonics Testbed being developed as part the AstroPIC Early Career Initiative project.
Earth Science Star: Matthew Fladeland
Matthew Fladeland is a research scientist in the Earth Science Division managing NASA SMD’s Program Office for the Airborne Science Program, located at Ames. He is recognized for exemplary leadership and teamwork leading to new reimbursable agreements with the Department of Defense, for accelerating science technology solutions through the SBIR program, and for advancing partnerships with the US Forest Service on wildland ecology and fire science.
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By NASA
NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers conducts research operations inside the Destiny laboratory module’s Microgravity Science Glovebox aboard the International Space Station.Credit: NASA Students attending the U.S. Space and Rocket Center Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama, will have the chance to hear NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station answer their prerecorded questions.
At 12:40 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, July 1, NASA astronauts Anne McClain, Jonny Kim, and Nichole Ayers will answer student questions. Ayers is a space camp alumna.
Watch the 20-minute Earth-to-space call on the NASA STEM YouTube Channel.
The U.S. Space and Rocket Center will host the downlink while celebrating the 65th anniversary of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. This event is open to the public.
Media interested in covering the event must RSVP by 5 p.m., Friday, June 27, to Pat Ammons at: 256-721-5429 or pat.ammons@spacecamp.com.
For nearly 25 years, astronauts have continuously lived and worked aboard the space station, testing technologies, performing science, and developing skills needed to explore farther from Earth. Astronauts aboard the orbiting laboratory communicate with NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston 24 hours a day through SCaN’s (Space Communications and Navigation) Near Space Network.
Important research and technology investigations taking place aboard the space station benefit people on Earth and lay the groundwork for other agency missions. As part of NASA’s Artemis campaign, the agency will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future human exploration of Mars; inspiring Golden Age explorers and ensuring the United States continues to lead in space exploration and discovery.
See videos of astronauts aboard the space station at:
https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation
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Gerelle Dodson
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
gerelle.q.dodson@nasa.gov
Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Jun 25, 2025 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Humans in Space In-flight Education Downlinks International Space Station (ISS) Johnson Space Center Learning Resources NASA Headquarters View the full article
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By NASA
NASA astronauts (left to right) Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers pose for a portrait together aboard the International Space Station. Moments earlier, Ayers finished trimming McClain’s hair using an electric razor with a suction hose attached that collects the loose hair to protect the station’s atmosphere.NASA Students from New York and Utah will hear from NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station as they answer prerecorded questions in two separate events.
At 11:30 a.m. EDT on Monday, June 23, NASA astronauts Nichole Ayers and Anne McClain will answer questions submitted by students from P.S. 71 Forest Elementary School in Ridgewood, New York. Media interested in covering the event must RSVP by 5 p.m. Friday, June 20, to Regina Beshay at: rbeshay2@school.nyc.gov or 347-740-6165.
At 11:05 a.m. on Friday, June 27, Ayers and McClain will answer questions submitted by students from Douglas Space and Science Foundation, Inc., in Layton, Utah. Media interested in covering the event must RSVP by 5 p.m. Wednesday, June 25, to Sarah Merrill at: sarahmonique@gmail.com or 805-743-3341.
Watch the 20-minute Earth-to-space calls on NASA STEM YouTube Channel.
P.S. 71 Forest Elementary School will host kindergarten through fifth grade students. Douglas Space and Science Foundation will host participants from the Science, Technology, Achievement Research camp. Both events aim to inspire students to imagine a future in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers through ongoing collaborations, mentorship, and hands-on learning experiences.
For nearly 25 years, astronauts have continuously lived and worked aboard the space station, testing technologies, performing science, and developing skills needed to explore farther from Earth. Astronauts aboard the orbiting laboratory communicate with NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston 24 hours a day through SCaN’s (Space Communications and Navigation) Near Space Network.
Important research and technology investigations taking place aboard the space station benefit people on Earth and lays the groundwork for other agency missions. As part of NASA’s Artemis campaign, the agency will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future human exploration of Mars; inspiring explorers and ensuring the United States continues to lead in space exploration and discovery.
See videos of astronauts aboard the space station at:
https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation
-end-
Gerelle Dodson
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
gerelle.q.dodson@nasa.gov
Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov
Share
Details
Last Updated Jun 18, 2025 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Humans in Space In-flight Education Downlinks International Space Station (ISS) Johnson Space Center NASA Headquarters View the full article
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By NASA
Farah Al Fulfulee was just four years old when she started climbing onto the roof of her family’s house in Iraq to gaze at the stars.
“It scared me how vast and quiet the sky was, but it made me very curious. I grew a deep passion for the stars and constellations and what they might represent,” she said.
Her father noticed her interest and began bringing home books and magazines about space. Al Fulfulee first read about NASA in those pages and was fascinated by the agency’s mission to explore the cosmos for the benefit of all humanity.
“Right then I knew I had to be an astronaut! I must go to space myself and get a closer look,” she said. “I knew I must find a way to go and work for NASA and fulfill my dream, working with other people like me who had a passion to explore the universe.”
Farah Al Fulfulee poses outside the Sonny Carter Training Facility at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Image courtesy of Farah Al Fulfulee As a girl growing up in the Middle East, Al Fulfulee had few opportunities to pursue this dream, but she refused to give up. Her dedication to schoolwork and excellence in science and math earned her a spot at the University of Baghdad College of Engineering. She completed a degree in electronic and communication engineering — similar to American electrical and computer engineering programs — and graduated as one of the top 10 students in her class. “We had a graduation party where you dress up as what you want to be in the future,” she recalled. “I wore a spacesuit.”
Farah Al Fulfulee celebrates her graduation from the University of Baghdad while wearing a spacesuit costume. Image courtesy of Farah Al Fulfulee Al Fulfulee was ready to launch her career, but Iraq did not have a developed space industry and finding work as a female engineer was a challenge. She accepted a project engineer position with a prominent Iraqi engineering firm in the information technology sector and spent four years working for the company in Iraq, Turkey, and Jordan, but she was disappointed to discover that her role involved very little engineering. “I was the only female on the team,” she said. “It was not common for a woman to work in the field or with customers, so I was always left behind to do office work. The job was not fulfilling.”
Still determined to join NASA, Al Fulfulee kept looking for her chance to come to the United States and finally found one in 2016, when she moved to Oklahoma to be near her sister. A new challenge soon rose: Without a degree from an American school or previous work experience in the United States, engineering opportunities were hard to come by. Al Fulfulee spent the next six years working in quality assurance for a human resources software company while she completed a MicroMasters program in software verification and management from the University of Maryland and honed her English and leadership skills.
Her big break came in 2022, when she landed a job with Boeing Defense, Space, and Security as a software quality engineer. “I was so excited,” she said. “I knew I was much closer to my dream since Boeing worked in the space industry and I would be able to apply internally to work on a space program.”
Farah Al Fulfulee participates in a NASA study that evaluated and compared the use of virtual reality and physical mockups to assess space vehicle and systems designs. Image courtesy of Farah Al Fulfulee Less than one year later, Al Fulfulee became a system design and analysis engineer for the International Space Station Program and joined the Station Management and Control Team at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. She helps develop requirements, monitors performance, and validates testing for electrical systems and software supporting space station payloads. She also designs hardware, software, and interface specifications for those systems. Al Fulfulee has served as the team’s point of contact, delivering verification assessment and data assessment reports for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 and Crew-10 missions, as well as the upcoming Axiom Mission 4 flight. She is currently working to support testing and verification for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11.
“I could not be happier,” she declared.
She is also not stopping. “I won’t quit until I wear the blue suit.”
Farah Al Fulfulee tending to her backyard garden.Image courtesy of Farah Al Fulfulee Al Fulfulee has been an enthusiastic volunteer for various NASA studies, including the Exploration Atmosphere Studies that tested spacewalk safety protocols in an analog environment. She is pursuing a master’s degree in Space Operations Engineering from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. She is an avid gardener and learning how to grow produce indoors as a volunteer experimental botanist with the Backyard Produce Project, noting that such knowledge might come in handy on Mars.
She is also helping to inspire the next generation. Earlier this year, Al Fulfulee was a guest speaker at the Women in Tech & Business Summit in Iraq – an event designed to encourage Iraqi women to pursue technology careers. “I was the only person representing women in space,” she said. “It was a really moving experience.” Al Fulfulee provided practical advice on breaking barriers in aerospace and shared her story with the crowd.
“I know my path is long and across the continents,” she said, “but I am enjoying my journey.”
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By European Space Agency
On 31 May, a live performance of The Blue Danube – often referred to as the ‘anthem of space’ – was transmitted by the European Space Agency (ESA) into the vastness of space. The event marked a double celebration: ESA’s 50th anniversary and the 200th birthday of the King of Waltz Johann Strauss II.
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