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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
What is a black hole?
Well, the name is actually a little misleading because black holes aren’t actually holes. They’re regions in space that have a gravitational pull that is so strong that nothing can escape, not even light. Scientists know about two different sizes of black holes — stellar-mass black holes and supermassive black holes.
A stellar-mass black hole is born when a massive star dies. That’s a star that’s larger than our own Sun. These stars burn up all the nuclear fuel in their cores, and this causes them to collapse under their own gravity. This collapse causes an explosion that we call a supernova. The entire mass of the star is collapsing down into a tiny point, and the area of the black hole is just a few kilometers across.
Supermassive black holes can have a mass of millions to tens of billions of stars. Scientists believe that every galaxy in the universe contains a supermassive black hole. That’s up to one trillion galaxies in the universe. But we don’t know how these supermassive black holes form. And this is an area of active research.
What we do know is that supermassive black holes are playing a really important part in the formation and evolution of galaxies, and into our understanding of our place in the universe.
[END VIDEO TRANSCRIPT]
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Last Updated May 13, 2025 Related Terms
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By NASA
5 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
ICON’s next generation Vulcan construction system 3D printing a simulated Mars habitat for NASA’s Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) missions.ICON One of the keys to a sustainable human presence on distant worlds is using local, or in-situ, resources which includes building materials for infrastructure such as habitats, radiation shielding, roads, and rocket launch and landing pads. NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate is leveraging its portfolio of programs and industry opportunities to develop in-situ, resource capabilities to help future Moon and Mars explorers build what they need. These technologies have made exciting progress for space applications as well as some impacts right here on Earth.
The Moon to Mars Planetary Autonomous Construction Technology (MMPACT) project, funded by NASA’s Game Changing Development program and managed at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, is exploring applications of large-scale, robotic 3D printing technology for construction on other planets. It sounds like the stuff of science fiction, but demonstrations using simulated lunar and Martian surface material, known as regolith, show the concept could become reality.
Lunar 3D printing prototype.Contour Crafting With its partners in industry and academic institutions, MMPACT is developing processing technologies for lunar and Martian construction materials. The binders for these materials, including water, could be extracted from the local regolith to reduce launch mass. The regolith itself is used as the aggregate, or granular material, for these concretes. NASA has evaluated these materials for decades, initially working with large-scale 3D printing pioneer, Dr. Behrokh Khoshnevis, a professor of civil, environmental and astronautical engineering at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
Khoshnevis developed techniques for large-scale extraterrestrial 3D printing under the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program. One of these processes is Contour Crafting, in which molten regolith and a binding agent are extruded from a nozzle to create infrastructure layer by layer. The process can be used to autonomously build monolithic structures like radiation shielding and rocket landing pads.
Continuing to work with the NIAC program, Khoshnevis also developed a 3D printing method called selective separation sintering, in which heat and pressure are applied to layers of powder to produce metallic, ceramic, or composite objects which could produce small-scale, more-precise hardware. This energy-efficient technique can be used on planetary surfaces as well as in microgravity environments like space stations to produce items including interlocking tiles and replacement parts.
While NASA’s efforts are ultimately aimed at developing technologies capable of building a sustainable human presence on other worlds, Khoshnevis is also setting his sights closer to home. He has created a company called Contour Crafting Corporation that will use 3D printing techniques advanced with NIAC funding to fabricate housing and other infrastructure here on Earth.
Another one of NASA’s partners in additive manufacturing, ICON of Austin, Texas, is doing the same, using 3D printing techniques for home construction on Earth, with robotics, software, and advanced material.
Construction is complete on a 3D-printed, 1,700-square-foot habitat that will simulate the challenges of a mission to Mars at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The habitat will be home to four intrepid crew members for a one-year Crew Health and Performance Analog, or CHAPEA, mission. The first of three missions begins in the summer of 2023. The ICON company was among the participants in NASA’s 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge, which aimed to advance the technology needed to build housing in extraterrestrial environments. In 2021, ICON used its large-scale 3D printing system to build a 1,700 square-foot simulated Martian habitat that includes crew quarters, workstations and common lounge and food preparation areas. This habitat prototype, called Mars Dune Alpha, is part of NASA’s ongoing Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog, a series of Mars surface mission simulations scheduled through 2026 at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
With support from NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research program, ICON is also developing an Olympus construction system, which is designed to use local resources on the Moon and Mars as building materials.
The ICON company uses a robotic 3D printing technique called Laser Vitreous Multi-material Transformation, in which high-powered lasers melt local surface materials, or regolith, that then solidify to form strong, ceramic-like structures. Regolith can similarly be transformed to create infrastructure capable of withstanding environmental hazards like corrosive lunar dust, as well as radiation and temperature extremes.
The company is also characterizing the gravity-dependent properties of simulated lunar regolith in an experiment called Duneflow, which flew aboard a Blue Origin reusable suborbital rocket system through NASA’s Flight Opportunities program in February 2025. During that flight test, the vehicle simulated lunar gravity for approximately two minutes, enabling ICON and researchers from NASA to compare the behavior of simulant against real regolith obtained from the Moon during an Apollo mission.
Learn more: https://www.nasa.gov/space-technology-mission-directorate/
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Last Updated May 13, 2025 EditorLoura Hall Related Terms
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By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
The 2025 internship class at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, stand in front of the historic X-1E aircraft on display at the center. From left are interns: Tyler Requa, Gokul Nookula, Madeleine Phillips, Oscar Keiloht Chavez Ramirez, and Nicolas Marzocchetti.NASA/Steve Freeman Lee esta historia en español aquí.
Do you dream of working for NASA and contributing to exploration and innovation for the benefit of humanity? The agency’s internship programs provide high school and college students opportunities to advance NASA’s mission in aeronautics, science, technology, and space.
Claudia Sales, Kassidy McLaughlin, and Julio Treviño started their careers as interns at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, where they continue to explore the secrets of the universe. Their journeys highlight the long-term impact of the NASA’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs.
Claudia Sales, NASA’s acting X-59 deputy chief engineer and airworthiness certification lead for the quiet supersonic research aircraft, supports ground testing for Acoustic Research Measurements (ARM) flights. The test campaign to evaluate technologies that reduce aircraft noise was conducted at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, in 2018.NASA/Ken Ulbrich Claudia Sales
“I knew since I was a child that I wanted to work for NASA,” said Claudia Sales, acting X-59 deputy chief engineer X-59 deputy chief engineer and airworthiness certification lead for the agency’s quiet supersonic research aircraft.
Sales’ journey at NASA started in 2005 as a Pathways intern, a NASA work-study (co-op) program. She worked in propulsion and structures branches and supported such projects as the X-43A hypersonic research aircraft (Hyper-X) and the X-37 reusable orbital launch vehicle, where she had the opportunity to perform calculations for thermal estimations and trajectory analyses. She also completed design work with NASA Armstrong’s Experimental Fabrication Shop.
“It had been a dream of mine to be a part of unique, one-of-a-kind flight research projects,” Sales said. “My mentor was amazing at exposing me to a wide variety of experiences and working on something unique to one day be implemented on an air vehicle to make the world a better place.”
Claudia Sales, NASA’s acting X-59 deputy chief engineer and airworthiness certification lead for the quiet supersonic research aircraft, stands in front of a Gulfstream G-III, also known as Subsonic Research Aircraft Testbed (SCRAT). Sales supported ground testing as test conductor for Acoustics Research Measurements (ARM) flights at NASA’s Armstrong Research Flight Center in Edwards, California, in 2018.NASA/Ken Ulbrich NASA’s flight systems engineer, Kassidy Mclaughlin conducts environmental testing on an instrumentation pallet. The pallet was used during NASA’s National Campaign project in 2020 at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.NASA/Lauren Hughes Kassidy McLaughlin
Similarly, flight systems engineer Kassidy McLaughlin discovered that mentorship and hands-on experience as an intern were key to her professional development. She currently leads the development of a ground control station at NASA Armstrong.
In high school and college, McLaughlin enrolled in STEM classes, knowing she wanted to pursue a career in engineering. Encouraged by her mother to apply for a NASA internship, McLaughlin’s career began in 2014 as an intern for NASA Armstrong’s Office of STEM Engagement. She later transitioned to the Pathways program.
“My mentor gave me the tools necessary, and encouraged me to ask questions,” McLaughlin said. “He helped show me that I was capable of anything if I set my mind to it.”
During five rotations as an intern, she worked on the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration in the National Airspace System (UAS in the NAS) project. “It is such a rewarding feeling to be in a control room when something you have worked on is flying,” McLaughlin said. That experience inspired her to pursue a career in mechanical engineering.
“NASA Armstrong offered something special when it came to the people,” McLaughlin said. “The culture at the center is so friendly and everyone is so welcoming.”
Julio Treviño, lead operations engineer for NASA’s Global Hawk SkyRange project, stands in front of an F/A-18 mission support aircraft at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.NASA/Joshua Fisher Julio Treviño
Julio Treviño, lead operations engineer for NASA’s Global Hawk SkyRange project, ensures airworthiness throughout the planning, integration, and flight phases of unique systems and vehicles. He is also a certified mission controller, mission director, and flight test engineer for various agency aircraft.
Much like McLaughlin, Treviño began his journey in 2018 as a Pathway’s intern for the Dynamic and Controls branch at NASA Armstrong. That experience paved the way for success after graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering.
“As an intern, I had the opportunity to work on designing and creating a battery model for an all-electric aircraft,” Treviño said. “It was officially published as a NASA software model for use by anyone throughout the agency.”
Treviño also credits NASA’s culture and people as the best part of his internship. “I had very supportive mentors throughout my time as an intern and the fact that everyone here genuinely loves the work that they do is awesome,” he said.
2025 Application Deadlines
Every year, NASA provides more than 2,000 students the opportunity to impact the agency’s mission through hands-on internships. The 2025 application for fall is May 16, 2025.
To learn more about NASA’s internship programs, application deadlines, and eligibility, visit https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/internship-programs/
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Last Updated May 12, 2025 EditorDede DiniusContactPriscila Valdezpriscila.valdez@nasa.govLocationArmstrong Flight Research Center Related Terms
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Artemis II crew members, shown inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, stand in front of their Orion crew module on Aug. 8, 2023. Pictured from left are CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, and NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, and Christina Koch.Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett NASA will host a live Twitch event to highlight the ongoing Moon Mascot Challenge, which invites the public to design a zero gravity indicator for the agency’s Artemis II crewed test flight around the Moon. Viewers will have the opportunity to provide real-time input to an artist who will create an example of a zero gravity indicator during the livestream.
Zero gravity indicators are small, plush items carried aboard spacecraft to provide a visual indication of when the crew reaches space.
The event will begin at 3 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 13, on the agency’s official Twitch channel:
https://www.twitch.tv/nasa
The contest invites global creators of all ages to submit design ideas for a zero gravity indicator that will fly aboard the agency’s Artemis II test flight, the first crewed mission under NASA’s Artemis campaign.
Up to 25 finalists, including entries from a K-12 student division, will be selected. The Artemis II crew will choose one design that NASA’s Thermal Blanket Lab will fabricate to fly alongside the crew in the Orion spacecraft.
During this Twitch event, NASA experts will discuss the Moon Mascot Challenge while the artist incorporates live audience feedback into a sample design. Although the design example will not be eligible for the contest, it will demonstrate how challenge participants can develop their own zero gravity indicator designs. The example will be shared on the @NASAArtemis social media accounts following the Twitch event.
The Artemis II test flight will take NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back. The mission is another step toward missions on the lunar surface to help the agency prepare for future human missions to Mars.
To learn more about NASA’s missions, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov
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Rachel Kraft
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
rachel.h.kraft@nasa.gov
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Last Updated May 12, 2025 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
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