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By NASA
Students from Eau Gallie High School in Melbourne, Florida, visited the Prototype Development Laboratory at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, April 28, 2025. The science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) participants are interested in technical trades and had the chance to hear from technicians at the Prototype Development Laboratory who design, fabricate, and evaluate protypes, test articles, and test support equipment.
NASA Kennedy’s Office of STEM Engagement provides opportunities to attract, engage, and enable students seeking careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
“My technical training in high school plays a huge role in the work I do every day in the Prototype Laboratory,” said Spencer Wells, mechanical engineering technician at Prototype Development Laboratory. “If it weren’t for that training, I’m convinced I wouldn’t be here at NASA.”
Some of the participants also have worked on a project to design and build a wheel for a lunar excavator demonstration mission as part of the NASA HUNCH program, an instructional partnership between NASA and educational institutions.
Image credit: NASA/Frank Michaux
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By NASA
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Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA’s coverage of the April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse has earned two nominations for the 46th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards.
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced the nominations on May 1, recognizing NASA’s outstanding work in sharing this rare celestial event with audiences around the world. The winners are set to be unveiled at a ceremony in late June.
“Total solar eclipses demonstrate the special connection between our Earth, Moon, and Sun by impacting our senses during the breathtaking moments of total alignment that only occur at this time on Earth,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “NASA’s Eclipse coverage team perfectly encapsulated the awe-inspiring experience from start to finish for viewers around the world in this once-in-a-lifetime moment in American history. Congratulations to the entire NASA Eclipse coverage team for their two much-deserved Emmy award nominations!”
The two nominations include:
Outstanding Live News Special for the agency’s live broadcast coverage of the 2024 total solar eclipse. NASA’s live broadcast coverage of the 2024 total solar eclipse was the most ambitious live project ever attempted by the agency. The broadcast spanned three hours as the eclipse traveled 3,000 miles across seven states and two countries. From cities, parks, and stadiums, 11 hosts and correspondents provided on air commentary, interviews, and live coverage. Viewers tuned in from all over the world, including at watch parties in 9 locations, from the Austin Public Library to New York’s Times Square. An interactive “Eclipse Board” provided real time data analysis as the Moon’s shadow crossed North America. Live feeds from astronauts aboard the International Space Station and NASA’s WB-57 high-altitude research aircraft were brought in to provide rare and unique perspectives of the solar event.
In total, NASA received almost 40 million views across its own distribution. Externally, the main broadcast was picked up in 2,208 hits on 568 channels in 25 countries.
Outstanding Show Open or Title Sequence – News for the agency’s show open for the 2024 total solar eclipse. NASA’s show open for the 2024 total solar eclipse live broadcast explores the powerful connections between the Sun, humanity, and the rare moment when day turns to night. From witnessing the Sun’s atmosphere to feeling the dramatic drop in temperature, the video captures the psychological, emotional, and cultural impact of this celestial phenomenon.
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By NASA
Editor’s Note: The following is one of three related articles about the NASA Data Acquisition System and related efforts. Please visit Stennis News – NASA to access accompanying articles.
The NASA Data Acquisition System, developed at NASA Stennis, is used in multiple test areas at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, including Test Facility 116. The facility consists of an open-steel test stand structure, primarily used for subscale testing, and three adjacent test bays designed for large-scale/full-scale testing. NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center Teams at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia conduct a test in the 8-Foot High-Temperature Tunnel. The NASA Data Acquisition System, developed at NASA Stennis, represents a potential solution for engineers seeking to standardize data systems at NASA Langley. NASA/Langley Research Center Teams at Test Stand 403, located at NASA’s White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico, plan to use the NASA Data Acquisition System to support testing and development projects related to NASA’s Orion spacecraft.NASA/White Sands Test Facility A data-focused software tool created at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, continues to expand its capabilities and use across the agency.
Much like the software on a cell phone, the NASA Data Acquisition System (NDAS) software evolves with updates to meet user needs.
“It is not just because we are seeking new opportunities that we evolve,” said Kris Mobbs, NASA project manager for NDAS. “It is because the community of people using this software tell us about all the new, cool things happening and how they want to use the tool.”
Created as a standard method for collecting rocket propulsion test data, NDAS is proving to be a building block to acquire, display, and process various datasets. The flexibility of the software has supplied solutions for NASA’s work in New Mexico and Alabama and is being evaluated for data acquisition needs in Virginia.
When NASA’s White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico, needed a new data acquisition system with a flexible design, the facility reached out to NASA Stennis since the center had demonstrated success with a similar challenge.
“A major benefit for the agency is having a software platform that is agency owned and developed,” said Josh Simmons, White Sands technical upgrades lead. “Stennis is leading the way and the way the system is written and documented, other programmers can jump in, and the way they have it designed, it can continue on and that is key.”
The NASA Stennis team updated its NDAS platform based on input from White Sands personnel to make it more adaptable and to increase data acquisition rates.
“They look to understand the requirements and to develop an application that is flexible to meet everybody’s requirements,” Simmons said. “They are always willing to improve it, to make it more applicable to a wider audience.”
NDAS will be the primary data acquisition and control systems to support testing and development projects related to NASA’s Orion spacecraft.
“I would like to standardize around it here at White Sands,” said Simmons. “I want to show the worth and versatility of NDAS, so people who need it make a choice to use it.”
Meanwhile at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, NDAS is used in multiple areas for small-scale, subscale, and full-scale testing.
Devin Rios Ogle is a contractor software engineer at NASA Marshall, responsible for integrating and upgrading the data acquisition system in the testing areas. The system is used to record data on test sequences to verify they happen as intended.
“The visualization of data is really nice compared to other software I have worked with,” said Rios Ogle. “It is easier to see what data you want to see when you want to see it. You select a measurement, and you can see it in graph form, or tabular form, or however you would like. It is visually appealing and very easy to find the stuff you need.”
Rios Ogle is familiar with the database behind the system and understands what the program is trying to do. He particularly noted the modular approach built into the system, which allows users to adapt the software as needed and is a feature others would find beneficial.
Marcus Jackson, a contractor instrumentation and control engineer at NASA Marshall, echoed Ogle’s assessment of NDAS, noting that it has allowed the center to condense multiple systems into a single package that meets the team’s unique needs.
“Ultimately, NDAS provides us with an excellent software package that is built specifically for the kind of work performed here and at other test stands across the United States,” said Jackson. “It is easy to install, manage, and scale up. It doesn’t break, but if you do find a bug or issue, the NDAS team is very quick to respond and help you find a solution.”
NDAS also represents a potential solution for engineers seeking to standardize data systems at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, a use that could positively impact a mission’s ability to make data-informed decisions.
“We are investigating alternatives for standardization at all Langley facilities,” said Scott Simmons, NASA Langley data systems engineer. “Standardization has the potential for significant maintenance cost savings and efficiencies because of the sharing of the software. Having an instance of NDAS available for the dynamic data system at the 8-Foot High Temperature tunnel enables us to evaluate it as a potential solution for standardization at Langley.”
As the nation’s largest hypersonic blow-down test facility, the tunnel duplicates, as near as possible, flight conditions that would be encountered by hypersonic vehicles at up to Mach 6.5, or more than six times the speed of sound.
Even as its use grows, the NASA Stennis-led software project continues to gain momentum as it expands its capabilities and collaboration with users.
“The goal is to provide a software portfolio that supports a wide range of exciting NASA projects, involving lots of talented people that collaborate and innovate new software solutions far into the future,” Mobbs said. “This is a community of innovative, ambitious, and supportive engineers and scientists across all engineering disciplines that are dedicated to advancing NASA’s bold missions.”
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Last Updated May 08, 2025 Related Terms
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By NASA
Editor’s Note: The following is one of three related articles about the NASA Data Acquisition System and related efforts. Please visit Stennis News – NASA to access accompanying articles.
NASA software engineer Brandon Carver updates how the main data acquisition software processes information at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, where he has contributed to the creation of the center’s first-ever open-source software.NASA/Danny Nowlin Syncom Space Services software engineer Shane Cravens, the chief architect behind the first-ever open-source software at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, verifies operation of the site’s data acquisition hardware.NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, has released its first-ever open-source software, a peer review tool to facilitate more efficient and collaborative creation of systems applications, such as those used in its frontline government and commercial propulsion test work.
“Everyone knows NASA Stennis as the nation’s premier rocket propulsion test site,” said David Carver, acting chief of the Office of Test Data and Information Management. “We also are engaged in a range of key technology efforts. This latest open-source tool is an exciting example of that work, and one we anticipate will have a positive and widespread impact.”
The new NASA Data Acquisition System Peer Review Tool was developed over several years, built on lessons learned as site developers and engineers created software tools for use across the center’s sprawling test complex. It is designed to simplify and amplify the collaborative review process, allowing developers to build better and more effective software applications.
The new NASA Stennis Peer Review tool was developed using the same software processes that built NDAS. As center engineers and developers created software to monitor and analyze data from rocket propulsion tests, they collaborated with peers to optimize system efficiency. What began as an internal review process ultimately evolved into the open-source code now available to the public.
“We refined it (the peer review tool) over a period of time, and it has improved our process significantly,” said Brandon Carver (no relation), a NASA Stennis software engineer. “In early efforts, we were doing reviews manually, now our tool handles some of these steps for us. It has allowed us to focus more on reviewing key items in our software.”
Developers can improve time, efficiency, and address issues earlier when conducting software code reviews. The result is a better, more productive product.
The NASA Stennis tool is part of the larger NASA Data Acquisition System created at the center to help monitor and collect propulsion test data. It is designed to work with National Instruments LabVIEW, which is widely used by systems engineers and scientists to design applications. LabVIEW is unique in using graphics (visible icon objects) instead of a text-based programming language to create applications. The graphical approach makes it more challenging to compare codes in a review process.
“You cannot compare your code in the same way you do with a text-based language,” Brandon Carver said. “Our tool offers a process that allows developers to review these LabVIEW-developed programs and to focus more time on reviewing actual code updates.”
LabVIEW features a comparison tool, but NASA Stennis engineers identified ways they could improve the process, including by automating certain steps. The NASA Stennis tool makes it easier to post comments, pictures, and other elements in an online peer review to make discussions more effective.
The result is what NASA Stennis developers hope is a more streamlined, efficient process. “It really optimizes your time and provides everything you need to focus on right in front of you,” Brandon Carver said. “That’s why we wanted to open source this because when we were building the tool, we did not see anything like it, or we did not see anything that had features that we have.”
“By providing it to the open-source community, they can take our tool, find better ways of handling things, and refine it,” Brandon Carver said. “We want to allow those groups to modify it and become a community around the tool, so it is continuously improved. Ultimately, a peer review is to make stronger software or a stronger product and that is also true for this peer review tool.
“It is a good feeling to be part of the process and to see something created at the center now out in the larger world across the agency,” Brandon Carver said. “It is pretty exciting to be able to say that you can go get this software we have written and used,” he acknowledged. “NASA engineers have done this. I hope we continue to do it.”
To access the peer review tool developed at NASA Stennis, visit NASA GitHub.
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Last Updated May 08, 2025 EditorNASA Stennis CommunicationsContactC. Lacy Thompsoncalvin.l.thompson@nasa.gov / (228) 688-3333LocationStennis Space Center Related Terms
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By NASA
Explore This Section Webb News Latest News Latest Images Webb’s Blog Awards X (offsite – login reqd) Instagram (offsite – login reqd) Facebook (offsite- login reqd) Youtube (offsite) Overview About Who is James Webb? Fact Sheet Impacts+Benefits FAQ Science Overview and Goals Early Universe Galaxies Over Time Star Lifecycle Other Worlds Observatory Overview Launch Deployment Orbit Mirrors Sunshield Instrument: NIRCam Instrument: MIRI Instrument: NIRSpec Instrument: FGS/NIRISS Optical Telescope Element Backplane Spacecraft Bus Instrument Module Multimedia About Webb Images Images Videos What is Webb Observing? 3d Webb in 3d Solar System Podcasts Webb Image Sonifications Team International Team People Of Webb More For the Media For Scientists For Educators For Fun/Learning 5 Min Read New Visualization From NASA’s Webb Telescope Explores Cosmic Cliffs
The landscape of “mountains” and “valleys” known as the Cosmic Cliffs is actually a portion of the nebula Gum 31, which contains a young star cluster called NGC 3324. Both Gum 31 and NGC 3324 are part of a vast star-forming region known as the Carina Nebula Complex. Credits:
NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI. In July 2022, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope made its public debut with a series of breathtaking images. Among them was an ethereal landscape nicknamed the Cosmic Cliffs. This glittering realm of star birth is the subject of a new 3D visualization derived from the Webb data. The visualization, created by NASA’s Universe of Learning and titled “Exploring the Cosmic Cliffs in 3D,” breathes new life into an iconic Webb image.
It is being presented today at a special event hosted by the International Planetarium Society to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first public planetarium in Munich, Germany.
The landscape of “mountains” and “valleys” known as the Cosmic Cliffs is actually a portion of the nebula Gum 31, which contains a young star cluster called NGC 3324. Both Gum 31 and NGC 3324 are part of a vast star-forming region known as the Carina Nebula Complex.
Ultraviolet light and stellar winds from the stars of NGC 3324 have carved a cavernous area within Gum 31. A portion of this giant bubble is seen above the Cosmic Cliffs. (The star cluster itself is outside this field of view.)
The Cliffs display a misty appearance, with “steam” that seems to rise from the celestial mountains. In actuality, the wisps are hot, ionized gas and dust streaming away from the nebula under an onslaught of relentless ultraviolet radiation.
Eagle-eyed viewers may also spot particularly bright, yellow streaks and arcs that represent outflows from young, still-forming stars embedded within the Cosmic Cliffs. The latter part of the visualization sequence swoops past a prominent protostellar jet in the upper right of the image.
Video: Exploring the Cosmic Cliffs in 3D
In July 2022, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope made history, revealing a breathtaking view of a region now nicknamed the Cosmic Cliffs. This glittering landscape, captured in incredible detail, is part of the nebula Gum 31 — a small piece of the vast Carina Nebula Complex — where stars are born amid clouds of gas and dust.
This visualization brings Webb’s iconic image to life — helping us imagine the true, three-dimensional structure of the universe… and our place within it.
Produced for NASA by the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) with partners at Caltech/IPAC, and developed by the AstroViz Project of NASA’s Universe of Learning, this visualization is part of a longer, narrated video that provides broad audiences, including youth, families, and lifelong learners, with a direct connection to the science and scientists of NASA’s Astrophysics missions. That video enables viewers to explore fundamental questions in science, experience how science is done, and discover the universe for themselves.
“Bringing this amazing Webb image to life helps the public to comprehend the three-dimensional structure inherent in the 2D image, and to develop a better mental model of the universe,” said STScI’s Frank Summers, principal visualization scientist and leader of the AstroViz Project.
More visualizations and connections between the science of nebulas and learners can be explored through other products produced by NASA’s Universe of Learning including a Carina Nebula Complex resource page and ViewSpace, a video exhibit that is currently running at almost 200 museums and planetariums across the United States. Visitors can go beyond video to explore the images produced by space telescopes with interactive tools now available for museums and planetariums.
NASA’s Universe of Learning materials are based upon work supported by NASA under award number NNX16AC65A to the Space Telescope Science Institute, working in partnership with Caltech/IPAC, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
NASA’s Universe of Learning is part of the NASA Science Activation program, from the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. The Science Activation program connects NASA science experts, real content and experiences, and community leaders in a way that activates minds and promotes deeper understanding of our world and beyond. Using its direct connection to the science and the experts behind the science, NASA’s Universe of Learning provides resources and experiences that enable youth, families, and lifelong learners to explore fundamental questions in science, experience how science is done, and discover the universe for themselves.
To learn more about Webb, visit:
https://science.nasa.gov/webb
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Media Contacts
Laura Betz – laura.e.betz@nasa.gov
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Christine Pulliam – cpulliam@stsci.edu
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
Related Information
Explore more: Carina Nebula Complex from NASA’s Universe of Learning
Read more: Webb’s view of the Cosmic Cliffs
Listen: Carina Nebula sonification
Read more: Webb’s star formation discoveries
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