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By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
GRX-810 is a new metal alloy developed by NASA for 3D printing parts that can withstand the extreme temperatures of rocket engines, allowing affordable printing of high-heat parts.NASA Until now, additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing, of engine components was limited by the lack of affordable metal alloys that could withstand the extreme temperatures of spaceflight. Expensive metal alloys were the only option for 3D printing engine parts until NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, developed the GRX-810 alloy.
The primary metals in the GRX-810 alloy include nickel, cobalt, and chromium. A ceramic oxide coating on the powdered metal particles increases its heat resistance and improves performance. Known as oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) alloys, these powders were challenging to manufacture at a reasonable cost when the project started.
However, the advanced dispersion coating technique developed at Glenn employs resonant acoustic mixing. Rapid vibration is applied to a container filled with the metal powder and nano-oxide particles. The vibration evenly coats each metal particle with the oxide, making them inseparable. Even if a manufactured part is ground down to powder and reused, the next component will have the qualities of ODS.
The benefits over common alloys are significant – GRX-10 could last up to a year at 2,000°F under stress loads that would crack any other affordable alloy within hours. Additionally, 3D printing parts using GRX-810 enables more complex shapes compared to metal parts manufactured with traditional methods.
Elementum 3D, an Erie, Colorado-based company, produces GRX-810 for customers in quantities ranging from small batches to over a ton. The company has a co-exclusive license for the NASA-patented alloy and manufacturing process and continues to work with the agency under a Space Act Agreement to improve the material.
“A material under stress or a heavy load at high temperature can start to deform and stretch almost like taffy,” said Jeremy Iten, chief technical officer with Elementum 3D. “Initial tests done on the large-scale production of our GRX-810 alloy showed a lifespan that’s twice as long as the small-batch material initially produced, and those were already fantastic.”
Commercial space and other industries, including aviation, are testing GRX-810 for additional applications. For example, one Elementum 3D customer, Vectoflow, is testing a GRX-810 flow sensor. Flow sensors monitor the speed of gases flowing through a turbine, helping engineers optimize engine performance. However, these sensors can burn out in minutes due to extreme temperatures. Using GRX-810 flow sensors could improve airplane fuel efficiency, reduce emissions and hardware replacements.
Working hand-in-hand with industry, NASA is driving technology developments that are mutually beneficial to the agency and America’s space economy. Learn more: https://spinoff.nasa.gov/
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Last Updated Aug 15, 2025 Related Terms
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By European Space Agency
Image: This image tells the story of redemption for one lonely star. The young star MP Mus (PDS 66) was thought to be all alone in the Universe, surrounded by nothing but a featureless band of gas and dust called a protoplanetary disc. In most cases, the material inside a protoplanetary disc condenses to form new planets around the star, leaving large gaps where the gas and dust used to be. These features are seen in almost every disc – but not in MP Mus’s.
When astronomers first observed it with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), they saw a smooth, planet-free disc, shown here in the right image. The team, led by Álvaro Ribas, an astronomer at the University of Cambridge, UK, gave this star another chance and re-observed it with ALMA at longer wavelengths that peer even deeper into the protoplanetary disc than before. These new observations, shown in the left image, revealed a gap and a ring that had been obscured in previous observations, suggesting that MP Mus might have company after all.
Meanwhile, another piece of the puzzle was being revealed in Germany as Miguel Vioque, an astronomer at the European Southern Observatory, studied this same star with the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Gaia mission. Vioque noticed something suspicious – the star was wobbling. A bit of gravitational detective work, together with insights from the new disc structures revealed by ALMA, showed that this motion could be explained by the presence of a gas giant exoplanet.
Both teams presented their joint results in a new paper published in Nature Astronomy. In what they describe as “a beautiful merging of two groups approaching the same object from different angles”, they show that MP Mus isn’t so boring after all.
[Image description: This is an observation from the ALMA telescope, showing two versions (side-by-side) of a protoplanetary disc. Both discs are bright, glowing yellow-orange objects with a diffused halo against a dark background. The right disc is more smooth and blurry looking. The left disc shows more detail, for example gaps and rings within it.]
Source: ESO
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By NASA
As humanity prepares to return to the lunar surface, Aaisha Ali is behind the scenes ensuring mission readiness for astronauts set to orbit the Moon during Artemis II.
Ali is the Artemis ground control flight lead at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. She makes sure her team has the resources needed for the next giant leap to the Moon and beyond.
Aaisha Ali on console in the International Space Station Flight Control Room at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. NASA/Robert Markowitz My passion has always been science. I started by exploring the ocean, and now I get to help explore the stars.
Aaisha Ali
Artemis Ground Control Flight Lead
Ali received a bachelor’s degree in biology from Texas A&M University at Galveston before beginning a career as a marine biologist. Her curiosity about science and communication eventually led her from studying marine life to sharing NASA’s mission with the public. With a robust skill set that includes public relations, media relations, and strategic communications, she went on to work at Space Center Houston and later at Johnson on the protocol and digital imagery teams.
Today, Ali leads the ground control team supporting Artemis II, ensuring that systems, simulations, and procedures are ready for the mission. Her role includes developing flight rules, finalizing operations plans and leading training sessions – known as “network sims” – that prepare her team to respond quickly and effectively.
“Because I’ve had a multifaceted career path, it has given me a different outlook,” she said. “Diversity of mindsets helps us approach problems. Sometimes a different angle is exactly what we need.”
Aaisha Ali, right, with her two siblings. Her perspective was also shaped by visits to her grandmother in the Caribbean as a child. “She lived in the tropical forest in a small village in Trinidad,” Ali said. “I was fortunate enough to spend summers on the island and experience a different way of life, which has helped me grow into the person I am today.”
Communication, she explained, is just as critical as technical expertise. “When we report to the flight director, we are the experts in our system. But we have to be clear and concise. You don’t get a lot of time on the flight loop to explain.”
That clarity, humility, and sense of teamwork are values Ali says have shaped her journey.
Aaisha Ali participates in a public affairs event at Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base in Houston in 2005. We don’t do it by ourselves. Everyone — from our engineers to custodial staff to cafeteria workers — plays a role in getting us to the Moon. NASA is for the world. And it takes all of us.
Aaisha ali
Artemis Ground Control Flight Lead
Looking ahead, Ali is especially passionate about inspiring the Artemis Generation — those who will one day explore the Moon and Mars. She often shares advice with her nieces and nephews, including one determined nephew who has dreamed of becoming an astronaut since age 7.
“Do what you love, and NASA will find a place for you,” she said. “NASA is a big place. If you love the law, we have lawyers. If you love art, science, or technology, there’s a place for you. Passion is what we’re looking for.”
Aaisha Ali at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. In her free time, Ali enjoys photography and connecting with nature by camping and visiting national parks. She also loves planning trips to Walt Disney World, meeting new people, experiencing different cultures, and learning new things.
Even as her days are packed with simulations and mission prep, Ali knows landing astronauts on the lunar surface for Artemis III is not far behind.
“There’s a lot of uphill left to climb,” she said. “But we’re ready.”
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