Women’s History Month: Celebrating Women Astronauts 2024

“A bird cannot fly with one wing only. Human space flight cannot develop any further without the active participation of women.” – Valentina Tereshkova

“If we want scientists and engineers in the future, we should be cultivating the girls as much as the boys.” – Sally Ride

“International cooperation is very necessary. Chinese have a saying, ‘When all the people collect the wood, you will make a great fire.’” – Liu Yang

As of Feb. 29, 2024, 75 women have flown in space. Of these, 47 have worked on the International Space Station as long-duration expedition crewmembers, as visitors on space shuttle assembly flights, as space flight participants, or as commercial astronauts. This article recognizes the significant accomplishments of these women from many nations as well as the pioneering women who preceded them into space. Many other women contributed to the assembly of the station and the research conducted aboard on a daily basis, including those on the ground who served as center directors, managers, flight directors, and in many other roles to pursue the exploration of space. Their achievements will contribute to NASA’s efforts to land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon and possibly send the first crews to Mars in the coming decades.

Left: The five women selected for training to be the first woman in space, Soviet cosmonaut-candidates Valentina L. Ponomareva, left, Tatiana D. Kuznetsova, Irina B. Soloveva, Valentina V. Tereshkova, and Zhanna D. Yorkina, with an unidentified woman at far right. Right: Tereshkova just before boarding her Vostok 6 capsule for her historic spaceflight. 

The era of women in space began on June 16, 1963, when Soviet cosmonaut Valentina V. Tereshkova launched aboard the Vostok 6 spacecraft. Chosen from a group of five women selected for training, Tereshkova completed a three-day mission and entered the history books as the first woman to orbit the Earth. Nearly 20 years passed before another woman flew in space. In January 1978, NASA announced the selection of 35 new astronauts including six women for the space shuttle program. In response, the Soviet Union secretly selected a group of nine women cosmonauts in 1980. On Aug. 19, 1982, one of these women, Svetlana Y. Savitskaya, launched with her two crewmates aboard Soyuz T-7 for a week-long mission. The next day, they joined the two long-duration resident crewmembers aboard Salyut 7, marking the first time a space station hosted a mixed-gender crew. Ten months later, on June 18, 1983, astronaut Sally K. Ride made history as the first American woman in space, spending seven days aboard space shuttle Challenger during the STS-7 mission.

Left: The six women astronauts selected by NASA in 1978, Shannon M. Lucid, left, M. Rhea Seddon, Kathryn D. Sullivan, Judith A. Resnik, Anna L. Fisher, and Sally K. Ride, pose with an Apollo-era space suit. Right: Ride aboard space shuttle Challenger during the STS-7 mission.

Savitskaya made history again on July 25, 1984, as the first woman to participate in a spacewalk during her second flight to Salyut 7. Less than three months later, on Oct. 11, Kathryn D. Sullivan completed the first spacewalk by an American woman from space shuttle Challenger during the STS-41G mission. With Ride as one of Sullivan’s crewmates, the flight marked the first time a space crew included two women.

Left: Soviet cosmonaut Svetlana Y. Savitskaya during her historic spacewalk outside the Salyut 7 space station. Right: NASA astronauts Kathryn D. Sullivan, left, and Sally K. Ride aboard space shuttle Challenger during the STS-41G mission.

Helen P. Sharman has the distinction as not only the first person from the United Kingdom in space but also the first woman to visit the Russian space station Mir. During her eight-day privately funded Juno mission in May 1991, Sharman conducted a series of life sciences experiments and talked to British schoolchildren. The next month marked the first time that a space crew included three women – NASA astronauts M. Rhea Seddon, Tamara E. Jernigan, and Millie E. Hughes-Fulford – during the STS-40 Spacelab Life Sciences 1 mission.

Left: Helen P. Sharman, the United Kingdom’s first astronaut, aboard the space station Mir in 1991. Right: The first time a space crew included three women – NASA astronauts Tamara E. Jernigan, back row middle, M. Rhea Seddon, and Millie R. Hughes-Fulford – the STS-40 mission in 1991.

Selected in 1983 as one of the six members of the initial cadre of the Canadian Astronaut Program – later incorporated into the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) – Dr. Roberta L. Bondar became the first Canadian woman in space during the STS-42 flight of Discovery in January 1992. As a payload specialist and the first neurologist in space, she performed and participated in more than 40 experiments during the eight-day International Microgravity Laboratory-1 (IML-1) mission. NASA selected Dr. Mae C. Jemison as an astronaut in 1987. In September 1992, she became the first African American woman in space as a crew member of Endeavour’s STS-47 Spacelab-J mission. During the eight-day flight, she conducted numerous life and materials sciences experiments. Selected in NASA’s 1990 class of astronauts, Ellen Ochoa became the first Hispanic woman in space in April 1993 as a mission specialist on the STS-56 flight of Discovery, the second Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science mission. An accomplished flautist, she played the flute during her spare time during the mission. Ochoa completed three more space shuttle flights and served as the first Hispanic director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston from 2013 to 2018. Selected in 1985 as an astronaut by the National Space Development Agency of Japan, now the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Dr. Chiaki Mukai became the first Japanese woman in space in July 1994 when she spent 15 days as a payload specialist on the STS-65 IML-2 mission aboard Columbia. She became the first Japanese astronaut to make two spaceflights when she returned to space in 1998 aboard STS-95.

Left: Dr. Roberta L. Bondar, the first Canadian woman in space, participates in a neuro-vestibular experiment during the STS-42 International Microgravity Laboratory-1 (IML-1) mission. Middle left: Dr. Mae C. Jemison, the first African American woman in space, works in the Spacelab module during the STS-47 Spacelab-J mission. Middle right: Ellen Ochoa, the first Hispanic woman in space, enjoys playing the flute in her spare time during the STS-56 mission. Right: Dr. Chiaki Mukai, the first Japanese woman in space, floats into the Spacelab module during the STS-65 IML-2 mission.

The honor of the first woman to complete a long-duration mission belongs to Russian cosmonaut Elena V. Kondakova. She launched aboard Soyuz TM20 on Oct. 3, 1994, and spent 169 days aboard the space station Mir as a member of Expedition 17, returning to Earth on March 22, 1995. The first American woman to complete a long-duration mission, NASA astronaut Shannon W. Lucid, launched aboard space shuttle Atlantis on March 22, 1996, as part of the STS-76 crew. The second NASA astronaut to fly as part of the Shuttle-Mir Program, Lucid spent 188 days aboard Mir, setting a new record for the longest single flight by a woman, as a member of Expeditions 21 and 22, returning to Earth with STS-79 on Sep. 26.

Left: Russian cosmonaut Elena V. Kondakova, second from right, aboard Mir during the handover between Expedition 16 and 17 in 1994. Right: NASA astronaut Shannon W. Lucid, left, with her Mir Expedition 21 crewmates in 1996.

With Lucid still onboard Mir, the August 1996 flight of Claudie André-Deshays, France’s first woman astronaut visiting the station during her Cassiopée research mission, marked the first time that two women lived aboard any space station. After marrying fellow French astronaut and Mir veteran Jean-Pierre Haigneré, she returned to space in October 2001, this time during her eight-day Andromède research mission to the International Space Station, becoming the first woman to live and work aboard two different space stations.

Left: Claudie André-Deshays, left, France’s first female astronaut, with Russian cosmonaut Yuri V. Usachev and NASA astronaut Shannon M. Lucid aboard Mir in 1996. Right: Claudie (André-Deshays) Haigneré in the Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station in 2001.

When on-orbit assembly of the International Space Station commenced in 1998, female astronauts took part from the very beginning. As the first woman to reach the new facility, NASA astronaut Nancy J. Currie participated in the first assembly mission, STS-88 in December 1998. She used the shuttle’s robotic arm to precisely join the American Unity Node 1 module to the Russian-built Zarya module, launched three weeks earlier.

Left: NASA astronaut Nancy J. Currie, front row right, the first woman to reach the International Space Station, with her STS-88 crewmates in 1998. Right: Currie at work in the Zarya module.

The second space station assembly mission, STS-96 in May 1999, included three women on the crew – NASA astronauts Jernigan and Ellen Ochoa, and CSA’s Julie Payette. Jernigan became the first woman to participate in a spacewalk at the space station to install crane equipment for future assembly tasks, with Ochoa as the robotic arm operator. Payette became the first Canadian of any gender to visit the space station and became the first Canadian to return to the space station during STS-127 in 2009.

Left: In 1999, the STS-96 crew in the Unity Node 1 module, with NASA astronaut Tamara E. Jernigan and Julie Payette of the Canadian Space Agency in the top row and NASA astronaut Ellen Ochoa at bottom right. Middle: Jernigan during the STS-96 spacewalk. Right: Payette in the Unity Node 1 module.

NASA astronaut Pamela A. Melroy served as the first female pilot on a shuttle flight to the space station, the STS-92 mission in October 2000 that added the Z1 truss, control moment gyros, and a Pressurized Mating Adapter to the growing station. She returned to the station as pilot of STS-112 in October 2002 and as commander of STS-120 in October 2007. NASA astronaut Susan J. Helms holds several distinctions for women. As a member of Expedition 2, she became the first woman to complete a long-duration mission on the space station, a 167-day flight between March and August of 2001. She had previously flown to the station during STS-101, making her the first woman to visit the facility twice. A graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy’s first woman-inclusive class of 1980, Helms was the first woman with a military background to visit the station. She co-holds the record for the longest spacewalk to date, 8 hours 56 minutes, completed with her Expedition 2 crewmate NASA astronaut James S. Voss. 

Left: STS-92 Pilot NASA astronaut Pamela A. Melroy shortly after reaching orbit in 2000. Right: Expedition 2 Commander Yuri V. Usachev of Roscosmos, left, coaxing a reluctant Flight Engineer NASA astronaut Susan J. Helms to leave the International Space Station at the end of their mission in 2001.

NASA astronaut Eileen M. Collins had already made history three times before, first in 1995 as the first female pilot of a space shuttle mission (STS-63), the second time in 1997 when she served as the first female shuttle pilot to dock with a space station (STS-84 and Mir), and again in 1999 as the first woman shuttle commander (STS-93). In 2005, Collins became the first woman to command a shuttle mission to the space station, the Return to Flight STS-114 mission, the first after the Columbia accident two years previously. NASA astronaut Heidemarie M. “Heidi” Stefanyshyn-Piper conducted the first spacewalk by a woman from the station’s Quest Joint Airlock on Sep. 12, 2006, during the STS-115 mission that installed the P3/P4 truss segment on the station. 

Left: In 2005, STS-114 Commander NASA astronaut Eileen M. Collins, left, with Pilot NASA astronaut James M. “Vegas” Kelly on the flight deck of Discovery. Right: NASA astronaut Heidemarie M. “Heidi” Stefanyshyn-Piper working on the P3/P4 truss segment during an STS-115 spacewalk in 2006.

On Sept. 18, 2006, Anousheh Ansari became the first Iranian-born American in space when she launched with her Expedition 14 crew mates aboard Soyuz TMA9. Flying as a spaceflight participant through a commercial agreement with the Russian government, Ansari conducted four experiments on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA) during her nine-day mission. She returned to Earth with the Expedition 13 crew. Eighteen months later, through a joint agreement between the governments of Russia and the Republic of Korea, Yi So-yeon, a researcher at the Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), became the first Korean in space when she launched aboard Soyuz TMA12 with her Expedition 15 crew mates on April 8, 2008. During her 10-day mission aboard the space station, Yi carried out 18 experiments for KARI. She returned to Earth with Expedition 16 crew members NASA astronaut Peggy A. Whitson and Roscosmos cosmonaut Yuri I. Malenchenko, enduring a strenuous ballistic reentry caused by a spacecraft malfunction. The event marked the first time that women outnumbered men during a spaceflight landing.

Left: Spaceflight participant Anousheh Ansari, center, with her Expedition 13 and 14 crew mates during a press conference. Middle left: Ansari holds a plant grown in the Lada greenhouse in the Zvezda Service Module. Middle right: Korean spaceflight participant Yi So-yeon with her Expedition 16 crew mates. Right: Yi conducts an experiment in the Pirs Docking Compartment.

Whitson holds the distinction as the first female commander of the space station during Expedition 16 in 2007, her second long-duration mission to the orbiting lab. The busy expedition included the addition to the station of the Harmony Node 2 module, ESA’s Columbus research module, the first of the JAXA elements, and the arrival of the first of ESA’s Automated Transfer Vehicle cargo resupply vehicles. As noted above, Melroy commanded STS-120, the October 2007 mission that brought Columbus to the station, marking the first and only time that women commanded both the space station and the visiting space shuttle. In 2017, during Expedition 51 Whitson became the first woman to command the station for a second time. During this third flight, she spent 289 days in space, at the time the longest single flight by a woman. As of March 2024, Whitson holds the record for the most cumulative spaceflight time for a woman as well as for any American astronaut – o er the course of three long-duration missions aboard the space station, she spent a total of 675 days or about 1.8 years in space. She also holds the record for the most spacewalk time for a woman – during 10 spacewalks, she spent 60 hours, 21 minutes outside the station.

Left: During the change of command ceremony, Expedition 16 Commander NASA astronaut Peggy A. Whitson, top right, hangs the crew’s patch in the Destiny module. Right: STS-120 Commander NASA astronaut Pamela A. Melroy, left, and Expedition 16 Commander Whitson meet at the hatch between the two vehicles.

The first time four women flew aboard the space station at one time occurred between May 16 and 23, 2010. Expedition 23 Flight Engineer NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson had been living and working aboard since April when STS-131 arrived, with NASA astronauts Dorothy M. “Dottie” Metcalf-Lindenburger and Stephanie D. Wilson, and Naoko Yamazaki of JAXA as members of the shuttle crew – Yamazaki became the first Japanese woman to visit the space station. The mission brought four new research facilities to the station. Three weeks after the shuttle’s departure, Dyson and her crewmates welcomed a new trio of long-duration crew members including NASA astronaut Shannon Walker, making Expedition 24 the first to include two women. The next two-woman expedition took place between November 2014 and March 2015 – Expedition 42 included Roscosmos cosmonaut Elena O. Serova, the first Russian woman to make a long-duration flight aboard the space station, and Samantha Cristoforetti from Italy, the first female ESA astronaut on a long-duration mission, spending 199 days in space, a then-record as the longest by an international partner astronaut. 

Left: Four women aboard the International Space Station – NASA astronauts Dorothy M. Metcalf-Lindenburger, top left, Tracy C. Dyson, and Stephanie D. Wilson, and Naoko Yamazaki of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Middle: Caldwell Dyson, middle, and NASA astronaut Shannon Walker with their Expedition 24 crewmate NASA astronaut Douglas H. “Wheels” Wheelock, left. Right: Elena O. Serova, left, of Roscomos and European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti in the Automated Transfer Vehicle-5 Georges Lemaître cargo vehicle during Expedition 42.

Expedition crews including two women have recently become more common. During Expedition 57, NASA astronauts Serena M. Auñón-Chancellor and Anne C. McClain overlapped by about three weeks in December 2018. Between March and June 2019, McClain and NASA astronaut Christina H. Koch were aboard as part of Expedition 59, and NASA astronaut Jessica U. Meir joined Koch in September of that year during Expedition 61. Koch returned to Earth in February 2020, completing a flight of 329 days, the longest single mission to date by a woman.

Left: NASA astronauts Serena M. Auñón-Chancellor, left, and Anne C. McClain work together in the Kibo module during Expedition 57. Right: McClain, left, and NASA astronaut Christina H. Koch demonstrate weightlessness during Expedition 59.

The Expedition 61 crew conducted a record nine spacewalks between October 2019 and January 2020. Koch and Meir made history on Oct. 18 when they floated outside the space station to carry out the first all-woman spacewalk, one of several to replace the station’s batteries. The capsule communicator (capcom), the person in the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston who communicates with the astronauts in space, for this historic spacewalk was three-time space shuttle veteran Wilson (who as noted above took part in the first four-woman gathering on the space station). “As much as it’s worth celebrating the first spacewalk with an all-female team, I think many of us are looking forward to it just being normal,” astronaut Dyson said during live coverage of the spacewalk. As if to prove her point, Koch and Meir conducted two more all-woman spacewalks in January 2020. Meir’s return to Earth marked the end of the longest period up to that time of a continuous female presence aboard the space station – 682 days (one year and 10 months) from June 8, 2018, to April 17, 2020.

Left: Space suited NASA astronauts Jessica U. Meir, left, and Christina H. Koch, assisted by their Expedition 61 crewmates, prepare for the first all-woman spacewalk. Right: Capsule communicators NASA astronauts Stephanie D. Wilson, left, and Mark T. Vande Hei assist Meir and Koch during the first all-woman spacewalk from the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The arrival of NASA astronaut Kathleen H. “Kate” Rubins on Oct 14, 2020, began the longest continuous period to date with at least one woman living and working aboard the space station. On Nov. 16, as a member of NASA’s Crew-1 mission aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft, NASA astronaut Walker became the first woman to travel on a commercial crew vehicle. When she and her three crewmates joined the Expedition 64 crew abord the space station, they comprised the station’s first-ever seven-member resident crew. With Rubins already onboard, for the next five months two women once again called the space station home. NASA astronaut K. Megan McArthur, the first woman to pilot a commercial crew vehicle, arrived in April 2021 as a member of NASA’s Crew-2 mission, followed by Crew-3’s NASA astronaut Kayla S. Barron in November 2021.

Left: NASA astronaut Shannon Walker, the first woman to fly on a commercial crew vehicle, looks out the window of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft Resilience. Middle: NASA astronauts Kathleen H. “Kate” Rubins, left, and Walker working inside the International Space Station. Right: The space station’s first seven-member crew including Walker, left, and Rubins, third from left, pose in the Kibo module.

Left: NASA astronaut K. Megan McArthur wearing her SpaceX launch and entry suit in the Destiny U.S. Laboratory module in preparation for return to Earth in October 2021. Right: NASA astronaut Kayla S. Barron inspects chili peppers grown aboard the space station prior to harvest in November 2021.

In April 2022, when Crew Dragon Freedom lifted off, Crew-4 included first-time space flyer NASA astronaut Jessica A. Watkins and ESA’s Cristoforetti on her second long-duration flight, marking the first time two women flew aboard a commercial crew vehicle to the space station. Once they joined Expedition 67, Watkins became the first African American woman to join a long-duration crew. With Barron already aboard the station, this marked the first time three women on long-duration spaceflights lived and worked aboard the orbiting laboratory.

Left: Crew-4 astronauts Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency, left, and NASA astronaut Jessica A. Watkins aboard Crew Dragon Freedom. Right: Cristoforetti, left, and Watkins, right, bid farewell to NASA astronaut Kayla S. Barron wearing her SpaceX launch and entry suit as she prepares for her return to Earth with her fellow Crew-3 team mates.

In September 2022, Cristoforetti assumed command of the space station, a first for a European woman. When Crew-5 launched aboard Crew Dragon Endurance in October 2022, NASA astronaut Nicole A. Mann became the first Native American woman in space and the first woman to command a Crew Dragon mission, and Anna Y. Kikina of Roscosmos became the first Russian cosmonaut to fly aboard a U.S. commercial vehicle. For the second time, two women commanders, Cristoforetti and Mann, greeted each other as Crew-5 arrived to join Expedition 68. The launch of Crew-5 also marked the first time that five women lived and worked in space at the same time – the four women aboard the space station and Liu Yang aboard China’s Tiangong space station on her second space mission. The launch of Crew-6 in February 2023 marked the first all-male long-duration crew aboard a commercial crew vehicle. The return of Mann and Kikina marked the end of the longest time period with at least one woman living and working in space, 879 days, or 2 years and 5 months.

Left: Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency assumes command of the International Space Station. Right: Space station Commander Cristoforetti greets Crew-5 Commander NASA astronaut Nicole A. Mann and her crew mates.

The hiatus in women in space lasted less than six months, during which two women on the Ax-2 mission spent eight days aboard the space station (see below). Renewing a female presence in space, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli arrived aboard the station in August 2023 as part of Crew-7. NASA astronaut Loral A. O’Hara joined her three weeks later when she arrived as part of the Soyuz MS-24 crew and they together conducted research as part of Expedition 70 as the only two Americans in space. On Nov. 21, 2023, they conducted an all-woman spacewalk, only the second pair of women to do so.

Left: NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli, front row center, and Loral A. O’Hara, front row right, and their Expedition 70 crew mates chat with space station program managers to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the orbiting laboratory. Right: O’Hara, left, and Moghbeli, right, prepare for their spacewalk as Roscosmos cosmonaut Nikolai A. Chub assists.

The presence of women in space will continue uninterrupted when NASA astronaut Jeannette J. Epps and her fellow Crew 8 crew mates launch to the space station on March 1 for an expected six-month mission. The March 21 launch of Soyuz MS-25 will mark a milestone in spaceflight history as the first time women will form the majority of a crew at launch. Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg V. Novitskiy will command the flight, accompanied by NASA astronaut Dyson and the first citizen from Belarus to fly in space, Marina V. Vasilevskaya. Dyson, on her second long-duration flight, will remain aboard the station as part of Expedition 71 while Novitskiy and Vasilevskaya return to Earth after 12 days, accompanied by O’Hara who will have spent more than six months aboard the orbiting laboratory.

Left: NASA astronaut Jeanette J. Epps, left, and her Crew 7 crew mates during training. Middle: NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson with her Soyuz MS-25 crewmates. Right: Epps, left, and Dyson during preflight training for Expedition 71.

The story of women in space would not be complete without mention of the two women from the People’s Republic of China who have flown in space. China’s first female astronaut, Liu Yang, launched on June 16, 2012, aboard the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft with her two crewmates, docking with the Tiangong-1 experimental space station two days later. The trio returned to Earth after a 13-day mission. One year later, on June 11, 2013, Wang Yaping and her two crewmates launched aboard Shenzhou-10 for a 14-day visit to Tiangong-1. She conducted science experiments and taught a live physics lessons to school children from aboard the station. Wang returned to space on Oct. 15, 2021, aboard Shenzhou-13 as the first woman to live and work aboard the Tiangong China Space Station. She also conducted the first spacewalk by a Chinese woman. Liu completed her second flight, a six-month mission aboard Tiangong as a member of the Shenzhou-14 crew.

Left: Liu Yang, the People’s Republic of China’s first woman in space, aboard the Tiangong-1 space station. Middle: Wang Yaping teaching a physics lesson live from Tiangong-1. Right: Wang during the first spacewalk by a Chinese woman astronaut. Image credits: courtesy of CNSA.

Women have been at the forefront of commercial spaceflights. In September 2021, two of the four crew members of the private space mission Inspiration4 were women – Sian H. Proctor, the first African American woman to pilot a spacecraft, and Hayley Arceneaux. They conducted science experiments during their three-day mission aboard the Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft. The next month, Russian actress Yulia S. Peresild and her director spent 11 days aboard the space station filming scenes for a film entitled “The Challenge” that premiered in April 2023. The second Private Astronaut Mission to the space station, the May 2023 Ax-2 flight included a crew of four spending nine days aboard the orbiting laboratory conducting experiments. Making her fourth visit to the space station, former NASA astronaut Whitson and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space commanded the Ax-2 flight, becoming the first woman commander of a private space mission. Two mission specialists from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s inaugural astronaut program, including Rayyanah Barnawi, the first Saudi woman in space, served on the crew. Private astronaut missions to the space station represent precursors to privately funded commercial space stations as part of NASA’s efforts to develop a thriving low-Earth orbit ecosystem and marketplace.

Left: Sian H. Proctor, left, and Hayley Arceneaux during the Inspiration4 private space mission. Image credit: courtesy Inspiration4. Middle: Russian actress Yulia S. Peresild arrives at the space station. Right: The Ax-2 mission crew includes Mission Specialist Rayyanah Barnawi from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, left, and Commander Peggy A. Whitson of Axiom Space, right.

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Kelli Mars

Can Volcanic Super Eruptions Lead to Major Cooling? Study Suggests No

Some 74,000 years ago, the Toba volcano in Indonesia exploded with a force 1,000 times more powerful than the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. The mystery is what happened after that – namely, to what degree that extreme explosion might have cooled global temperatures.

When it comes to the most powerful volcanoes, researchers have long speculated how post-eruption global cooling – sometimes called volcanic winter – could potentially pose a threat to humanity. Previous studies agreed that some planet-wide cooling would occur but diverged on how much. Estimates have ranged from 3.6 to 14 degrees Fahrenheit (2 to 8 degrees Celsius).

In a new study in the Journal of Climate, a team from NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) and Columbia University in New York used advanced computer modeling to simulate super-eruptions like the Toba event. They found that post-eruption cooling would probably not exceed 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius) for even the most powerful blasts.

“The relatively modest temperature changes we found most compatible with the evidence could explain why no single super-eruption has produced firm evidence of global-scale catastrophe for humans or ecosystems,” said lead author Zachary McGraw, a researcher at NASA GISS and Columbia University.

To qualify as a super eruption, a volcano must release more than 240 cubic miles (1,000 cubic kilometers) of magma. These eruptions are extremely powerful – and rare. The most recent super-eruption occurred more than 22,000 years ago in New Zealand. The best-known example may be the eruption that blasted Yellowstone Crater in Wyoming about 2 million years ago.

Small Particles, Big Questions

McGraw and colleagues set out to understand what was driving the divergence in model temperature estimates because “models are the main tool for understanding climate shifts that happened too long ago to leave clear records of their severity.” They settled on a variable that can be difficult to pin down: the size of microscopic sulfur particles injected miles high into the atmosphere.

In the stratosphere (about 6 to 30 miles in altitude), sulfur dioxide gas from volcanoes undergoes chemical reactions to condense into liquid sulfate particles. These particles can influence surface temperature on Earth in two counteracting ways: by reflecting incoming sunlight (causing cooling) or by trapping outgoing heat energy (a kind of greenhouse warming effect).

Over the years, this cooling phenomenon has also spurred questions about how humans might turn back global warming – a concept called geoengineering – by intentionally injecting aerosol particles into the stratosphere to promote a cooling effect.

The researchers showed to what extent the diameter of the volcanic aerosol particles influenced post-eruption temperatures. The smaller and denser the particles, the greater their ability to block sunlight. But estimating the size of particles is challenging because previous super eruptions have not left reliable physical evidence. In the atmosphere, the size of the particles changes as they coagulate and condense. Even when particles fall back to Earth and are preserved in ice cores, they don’t leave a clear-cut physical record because of mixing and compaction.

By simulating super-eruptions over a range of particle sizes, the researchers found that super-eruptions may be incapable of altering global temperatures dramatically more than the largest eruptions of modern times. For instance, the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines caused about a half-degree drop in global temperatures for two years.

Luis Millán, an atmospheric scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California who was not involved in the study, said that the mysteries of super-eruption cooling invite more research. He said the way forward is to conduct a comprehensive comparison of models, as well as more laboratory and model studies on the factors determining volcanic aerosol particle sizes.

Given the ongoing uncertainties, Millán added, “To me, this is another example of why geoengineering via stratospheric aerosol injection is a long, long way from being a viable option.”

The study, titled “Severe Global Cooling After Volcanic Super-Eruptions? The Answer Hinges on Unknown Aerosol Size,” was published in the Journal of Climate.

By Sally Younger
Earth Science News Team
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
sally.m.younger@jpl.nasa.gov

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Jennifer M. Fadoul

IPEx Autonomy Testing

Harsh, low-angle sunlight, long and dark shadows, and a featureless terrain will make navigation difficult when NASA’s ISRU Pilot Excavator (IPEx) is sent to the Moon. Because of this, the IPEx team has begun testing various approaches to autonomously drive the excavator in a specially constructed rock yard that mimics these environmental conditions. The team plans to publish the data sets from these unique tests later this year.

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Danielle Sempsrott

Hubble Uncovers a Celestial Fossil

This densely populated group of stars is the globular cluster NGC 1841, which is part of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way galaxy that lies about 162,000 light-years away. Satellite galaxies are bound by gravity in orbits around a more massive host galaxy. We typically think of the Andromeda Galaxy as our galaxy’s nearest galactic companion, but it is more accurate to say that Andromeda is the nearest galaxy that is not in orbit around the Milky Way galaxy. In fact, dozens of satellite galaxies orbit our galaxy and they are far closer than Andromeda. The largest and brightest of these is the LMC, which is easily visible to the unaided eye from the southern hemisphere under dark sky conditions away from light pollution.

The LMC is home to many globular clusters. These celestial bodies fall somewhere between open clusters – which are much less dense and tightly bound – and small, compact galaxies. Increasingly sophisticated observations reveal the stellar populations and characteristics of globular clusters are varied and complex, and we have yet to fully understand how these tightly packed groups of stars form. However, there are certain consistencies across all globular clusters: they are very stable and hold their shape for a long time, which means they are generally very old and contain large numbers of very old stars. Globular clusters are akin to celestial ‘fossils.’ Just as fossils provide insight into the early development of life on Earth, globular clusters such as NGC 1841 can provide insights into very early star formation in galaxies.

Text credit: European Space Agency (ESA)

Media Contact:

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

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NASA Ames Astrogram – January/February 2024

Into the Belly of the Rover: VIPER’s Final Science Instrument Installed

by Rachel Hoover

TRIDENT, designed and developed by engineers at Honeybee Robotics in Altadena, California, is the fourth and final science instrument to be installed into VIPER. NASA engineers have already successfully integrated VIPER’s three other science instruments into the rover. These include: the MSOLO (Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations), NIRVSS (Near-Infrared Volatiles Spectrometer System), and NSS (Neutron Spectrometer System). 

A team of engineers prepares to integrate TRIDENT – short for The Regolith Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrain – into the belly of NASA’s first robotic Moon rover, VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover). 

Shortly after TRIDENT was integrated in the clean room at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, the team also successfully tested its ability to power on, release the locks that hold the drill in place during launch, extend to its full depth of more than three feet (one meter), perform percussive drilling, and return to its stowed position inside the rover.

TRIDENT will dig up soil from below the lunar surface using a rotary percussive drill – meaning it both spins to cut into the ground and hammers to fragment hard material for more energy-efficient drilling. In addition to being able to measure the strength and compactedness of the lunar soil, the drill also carries a temperature sensor to take readings below the surface. VIPER will launch to the Moon aboard Astrobotic’s Griffin lunar lander on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative. It will reach its destination at Mons Mouton near the Moon’s South Pole. Scientists will work with these four instruments to better understand the origin of water and other resources on the Moon, which could support human exploration as part of NASA’s Artemis campaign.

NASA Unveils the X-59 Supersonic Aircraft

On January 12, in Palmdale, California, the NASA unveiled the X-59, a quiet supersonic aircraft, to the world. The aircraft is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, the agency, and Lockheed Martin. Quesst is NASA’s mission to demonstrate how the X-49 can fly supersonic without generating loud sonic booms and then survey what people hear when it flies overhead. Reaction to the quieter sonic “thumps” will be shared with regulators who will then consider writing new sound-based rules to lift the ban on the faster-than-sound flight over land. .

Members of the Quesst mission team are located at all four NASA field centers, all of which have traditionally been associated with the agency’s historic aeronautical research. The team at Ames has spent many hours working on computational fluid dynamics simulations, wind tunnel testing, systems engineer, and test component manufacturing, helping to shape not just the ingenuity of the aircraft, but the Quesst mission entirely. To learn more about the X-59’s impact on the future of aviation and the tradition of rollout ceremonies at NASA, click here

Nahum Alem Receives Modern Day Technology Leader Award

Nahum Alem received a 2024 Modern-Day Technology Leader Award at the 2024 BEYA STEM DTX Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. This is one of the industry’s most important honors in science, technology, enginering, and math (STEM). Alem was recognized at the Technology Recognition Luncheon featuring Modern-Day Technology Leaders and Science Spectrum Trailblazers on Feb. 16. This year’s theme was, “People, Process, Technology.”

The BEYA STEM DTX Conference recognition program is more critical than ever before. One landmark study projects the number of jobs in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) in the United States is set to increase in the coming years. According to the National Science Foundation, underrepresented minorities—Hispanic, Black, and American Indian or Alaska Native individuals—made up a higher share of the skilled technical workforce (32%) in 2021 than of workers who were employed in STEM occupations with at least a bachelor’s degree (16%). The conference highlights the importance of not only celebrating the achievements of STEM leaders and professionals but shifting the narrative towards an action-driven strategy to increase the number of minorities with STEM educations and careers. 

According to Tyrone D. Taborn, chairman of the BEYA STEM DTX Conference, “Nahum was selected because he is among an extraordinary group of forward-thinking STEM experts. This year the candidates were the strongest and represented the most diverse collection of executive professionals we have had the pleasure of evaluating. From machine learning to medical breakthroughs, this year’s BEYA STEM awardees stand out as superior authorities in their respective fields.”

For nearly four decades, awards presented at the BEYA STEM Conference have honored excellence in STEM and underscored the serious under-representation of minorities in STEM and at senior levels in all disciplines. For 38 years, employers committed to inclusion have chosen the BEYA STEM Conference to exchange best practices and strategies on how to attract and keep diverse talent in scientific and technical fields. 

The 2024 BEYA STEM DTX Conference hosted multiple award presentation events throughout the conference, where Nahum was recognized in addition to all 2024 award recipients for their significant accomplishments in STEM.

Over the three-day event, the conference provided forums on the retention of diverse talent in STEM, continuous improvement, and networking.

The BEYA STEM Awards is a prestigious recognition platform that celebrates the accomplishments of engineers in the STEM fields. For nearly four decades, BEYA has empowered, mentored, and inspired countless individuals, solidifying its position as a beacon of excellence and innovation. https://www.beya.org

Cast of Broadway’s ‘The Wiz’ “Ease on Down the Road” Visits NASA Ames

Members of the cast and crew of Broadway production “The Wiz,” currently on tour at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Theatre, visited NASA Ames on Jan. 29 to learn more about the center’s work in air and space.

The group met with center leadership and members of Ames employee advisory groups and toured the Vertical Motion Simulator (VMS), the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex (NFAC), and observed progress on the Automated Reconfigurable Mission Adaptive Digital Assembly Systems (ARMADAS) robots, which use pre-fabricated modular blocks to build structures autonomously, before following the yellow brick road back “home” to Oz. 

NASA Leader Casey Swails Learns About Wildfire Work at NASA Ames

by Abby Tabor

NASA Deputy Associate Administrator Casey Swails views a demonstration on screen in the Airspace Operations Laboratory at NASA Ames. Researchers presented the diverse, long-running efforts in aeronautics at Ames that have helped lay the foundation for agency work related to wildfire response.

These include a project to help integrate drones into the airspace with Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management, their application to disaster response with the Scalable Traffic Management for Emergency Response Operations project, and how those informed NASA’s newest effort to make wildfire response more targeted and adaptable, the Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations project.

Michael Falkowski, program manager for the Applied Sciences Wildland Fire program at NASA Headquarters presented wildfire efforts happening under NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, such as the FireSense project, led out of Ames.

The importance of collaborations within NASA and with partner agencies was also highlighted. Wildfires are complex phenomena and tackling their challenges will require the work of many, for the benefit of all.

NASA Astronomer Sees Power in Community, Works to Build More

by Abby Tabor

Science is often portrayed as a solitary affair, where discoveries are made by lone geniuses toiling in isolation. But Dr. Natasha Batalha, an astronomer at NASA Ames says solving problems with the people around her is one of the best parts of her job.

 “Oh, man, working with people is all I do!” said Batalha, whose current research involves using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to study exoplanets, planets outside our solar system that orbit other stars.

Batalha’s work explores hot, Jupiter-like exoplanets; smaller, rocky exoplanets more similar to Earth; and brown dwarfs, mysterious objects smaller than a star but huge compared to the biggest planets. A single question has driven her since she was a kid: “Does life exist beyond Earth?”

It’s a lofty question, bigger than any one scientist. And that’s the point.

“I love being part of a larger community,” she said, “We’re working together to try to solve this question that people have been asking for centuries.”

However, the particular joy of belonging wasn’t always present in Batalha’s life.

When she was 10, her family moved from Brazil to the U.S., where she was met with culture shock, pressure to assimilate, and a language barrier. She thinks the latter is partly why she gravitated toward the universal language of math.

Eventually, her interests and strengths took shape around astronomy. When she chose to study physics in college, followed by a dual PhD in astronomy and astrobiology, her parents – who are also scientists – helped fill in for the community she was otherwise lacking.

“In high school, I watched female students drop out of my physics classes,” Batalha said. “The honors physics track in college was devoid of women and people of color. I didn’t feel I had a community in my college classes.”

Her mother, Natalie Batalha, is an astronomer who served as project scientist for NASA’s Kepler space telescope– the mission that taught us there are more planets than stars. Natasha’s father is a LatinX physicist. Both her parents had already faced similar challenges in their careers, and having their example to look at of people who had successfully overcome those barriers helped her push on.  

“I identify as female and LatinX, which are both underrepresented groups in STEM,” she said, “but I also have a ton of privilege because my parents are in the field. That gave me a dual perspective on how powerful community is.”

Since then, empowering her own science community has been a focus of Batalha’s work.

She builds open-source tools, like computer programs for interpreting data, that are available to all. They help scientists use Webb’s exoplanet data to study what climates they may have, the behavior of clouds in their atmospheres, and the chemistry at work there.

“I saw how limiting closed toolsets could be for the community, when only an ‘inner circle’ had access to them,” Batalha said. “So, I wanted to create new tools that would put everyone on the same footing.”

Batalha herself recently used Webb to explore the skies of exoplanet WASP-39 b, a hot gas giant orbiting a star 700 light-years away. She is part of the team that found carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide there, marking the first time either was detected in an exoplanet atmosphere. Now, she is turning to the difficult-to-discern characteristics of smaller, cooler planets.

Batalha says she’s exactly where her 6^th-grade self imagined she would be. In elementary school, she read a biography of NASA astronaut Sally Ride and was hooked by an idea it contained: that in 20 years the kids reading those words could be the ones pioneering the search for life on Mars.

Today’s youth belong to the Artemis Generation, who will explore farther than people have ever gone before. The Artemis program will send the first woman and first person of color to the lunar surface. Missions over time will build a presence at the Moon to unlock a new era of science and prepare for human missions to Mars and beyond. Along the way, scientists will continue to search for signs of life beyond Earth, an endeavor building on the work of many generations and relying on those in the future to carry on the search. 

“That’s something really rewarding about my work at NASA,” she said. “These questions have been asked throughout human history and, by joining the effort to answer them, you’re taking the baton for a while, before passing it on to someone else.”

Ames Employees Gather for Day of Remembrance Ceremony

by Abby Tabor

On Thursday, Jan. 25, Ames employees gathered for the center’s in-person Day of Remembrance Ceremony in front of N200. Also in attendance were former Center Director Scott Hubbard, and former Deputy Center Director Bill Berry. Every year, we take this important opportunity to honor the memories of those who bravely gave their lives in the pursuit of exploration and discovery and to celebrate their contribution to NASA’s missions. This is a solemn moment to reflect and learn from our history and consider our strong culture of safety as we pursue bold advances in our work here at Ames. 

We honor those lost in test flights, missions, and research throughout our history: the Apollo 1 crew – Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee – who lost their lives at the start of NASA’s pursuit of landing humans on the moon, on January 27, 1967.  We remember the determination of the Challenger crew, who tragically perished 73 seconds into their flight on January 28, 1986 – Michael J. Smith, Dick Scobee, Ronald McNair, Elison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, Judith Resnick, and Christa McAuliffe, the first “teacher in space” who leaves a legacy of STEM education that continues today.  We remember the bravery and inspiration of the crew of Columbia – Rick Husband, William McCool, Michael Anderson, Ilan Ramon, David Brown, Laurel Clark, and Ames’ own Kalpana Chawla, friend and coworker of many here, who we lost during a failed shuttle reentry on February 1, 2003.  We also honor the others who gave their lives pursuing the missions of N-A-C-A and NASA research in aerospace and space exploration, whose commitment and courage leave a lasting legacy across our agency and nation. 

During the ceremony, Scott Hubbard, who served on the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB), spoke about how the accident changed him and what he learned. When sharing a key takeaway from the CAIB report, Hubbard said, “NASA must be a learning agency, and we can’t shy away from our failures or tragedies. We can’t assign them to history so we must learn from them so that [accidents] never occur.” 

As we work to return humans to the moon, and onto Mars, we must reflect on the importance and value of the work we do here at Ames to help ensure the health and safety of those who risk their lives for exploration and the pursuit of knowledge. One example, after the successful return of the Orion capsule from the Artemis 1 test flight a little over a year ago, we discovered that we needed to learn more about the heat shield and its performance during Earth entry from the Moon. Our aero-thermal-dynamics, thermal protection systems, and other experts, along with our arc jet testing team have worked tirelessly to prepare for the first crewed flight of Artemis 2 coming up in 2025.   

Many in our current workforce were not working at the agency when we experienced these unfortunate losses. But we continue to carry the memory of our fallen colleagues and the lessons we’ve learned through our work today. When we look back on the tragedies of the past, we have an opportunity to apply lessons we’ve learned and continue to enforce a safety culture that encourages every voice to be heard and keeps everyone safe. 

Safety is one of NASA’s core values and there’s a reason why it’s listed as NASA’s first core value. We are committed to sustaining a culture that encourages speaking out and sharing concerns. On or off duty, we have a responsibility to keep safety at the center of our work and daily lives – owning and learning from our mistakes and being open to speaking up about concerns with others – to protect our employees, our community, and ourselves. 

Thank you to all those who were able to join us in this moment of reflection. Please take time to look back on NASA’s history, remember our fallen, and consider your health and safety. We cannot do the work that we do without you and your well-being is important us. Know that we have resources available to support you through things that happen at work and beyond. Our community is strong, and let’s continue to care for one another. 

Thank you to those who helped to put our ceremony together, including Lynda Haines, our communications team, and our protective services professionals who keep us safe and secure each and every day. 

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Leader Visits Ames to Discuss Space Science and Spaceflight

by Abby Tabor

Daniel Andrews, project manager for NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) (left), stands next to a full-scale model of the rover alongside visitors from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA): Dr. Hitoshi Kuninaka, Vice President of JAXA and Director General of JAXA’s Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS); Nobuhiro Takahashi of the ISAS Management and Integration Department; and Shintaro Chofuku, a JAXA engineer on detail to NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley (right), during a visit to Ames on Feb. 1, 2024. 

Following briefings about both agencies’ space science and spaceflight missions, Kuninaka toured several Ames facilities supporting NASA and JAXA’s exploration of the solar system. The heat shield for JAXA’s Hayabusa2 mission, which delivered a sample of an asteroid to Earth in 2020, was tested in the center’s arc jet facility, and a portion of that sample is now being studied by Ames researchers. An upcoming JAXA mission to study the two moons of Mars, called Martian Moons eXploration (MMX), was also tested in the arc jet.

Present and future exploration of the Moon was a focus of the day, including a stop at Ames’ Lunar Imaging Lab following the VIPER briefing.  

VIPER will be delivered to Mons Mouton near the Moon’s South Pole in late 2024 to map water and other potential resources and explore the characteristics of the lunar environment where NASA plans to send future astronauts as part of the Artemis campaign.

Last month, JAXA’s Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) arrived on the lunar surface, after reaching its targeted landing site with great accuracy. The mission aimed to demonstrate accurate lunar landing techniques by a small explorer, to help accelerate study of the Moon and planets using lighter exploration systems.

Japan is a significant partner for NASA and for Ames, specifically,” said Center Director Eugene Tu. “From testing with our teams the X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft design to JAXA’s contributions to Artemis and Gateway, where astronauts on future lunar missions will stay, our work together runs broad and deep. We look forward to many more fruitful collaborations.”

Faces of NASA

Rodney Martin – Deputy Discovery & Systems Health Technical Area Lead at Ames

“[In] everyone’s life, they have a pivotal moment when they ask the question, ‘What am I really doing? What am I here for?’ … I’m reminded of a credo that I came up [with] through the evolution of my engagement of a whole bunch of recreational pursuits [including being a marathoner, ultrarunner, and Ironman triathlete] … as well as my professional pursuits. It’s threefold, and here’s what it is:

“[First,] I’m here because I want to be able to challenge myself, to see how much I can squeeze out of me – whatever that is, whatever ‘me’ is. [For example,] I applied to the astronaut candidate program twice, but I failed to make it to the second round. I figured I’d give a go at throwing my hat in the ring! Like with [an earlier career experience of failing out of] the Navy Nuclear Power Training Program, failure in one domain just means that you have to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and find a new direction – often pursuing stretch goals that are outside of your comfort zone.

“[Second,] I want to serve others. I want to find a way to be of use to others, whether it’s in a structured manner or unstructured manner, whether it’s volunteering or just being a civil servant. I really focus on this service aspect; I did become a supervisor about three years ago, and I really take that role seriously. I really have a service-based leadership philosophy. … That’s why I think [mentoring student interns] represented such a [career] highlight for me, because I felt like I was serving their needs. I was helping to really educate them and [provide] knowledge that I want to … transfer to them, to really inspire that next generation of folks.

“… And the third – which I think NASA fits beautifully – is, ‘How do I build the future? How do I help build the future?’

“So again, it’s challenge, service, and building the future. If I don’t do anything else in my entire life except for those three things, I’m at least getting something right. I might be getting everything else entirely wrong, but I can at least work toward those three things.”

Math, Mentorship, Motherhood: Behind the Scenes with NASA Engineers

by Arezu Sarvestani

Engineering is a huge field with endless applications. From aerospace to ergonomics, engineers play an important role in designing, building, and testing technologies all around us.

We asked three engineers at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley to share their experiences, from early challenges they faced in their careers to the day-to-day of being a working engineer.

Give us a look behind the curtain – what is it like being an engineer at NASA?

Diana Acosta: I remember working on my first simulations. We were developing new aircraft with higher efficiency that could operate in new places, such as shorter runways. My team was putting together control techniques and introducing new algorithms to help pilots fly these new aircraft in a safer way. We were creating models and testing, then changing things and testing again. 

We had a simulator that worked on my laptop, and we had a lab with a pilot seat and controls. Every week, I made it my goal to finish my modeling or controls work and put that into the lab environment so that I could fly the aircraft. Every Friday afternoon, I would fly the aircraft in simulation and try out the changes I’d made to see if we were going in a good direction. We’d later integrate that into the Vertical Motion Simulator at Ames (which was used to train all the original space shuttle pilots) so that we could do a full motion test with a collection of pilots to get feedback. 

When simulation time came around, it was during my maternity leave and my team had to take the project to simulation without me. It’s hard to get out of the house with a newborn, but sometimes I’d come by with my daughter and bring brownies to the team. I have two daughters now, and they’ve both been in simulators since a young age.

Diana Acosta is Chief of the Aerospace Simulation and Development Branch at NASA’s Ames Research Center. She has worked at NASA for 17 years.

What’s a challenge you’ve overcome to become an engineer?

Savvy Verma: One of the biggest challenges when I started working was that I was sometimes the only woman in a group of men, and I was also much younger. It was sometimes a challenge to get my voice through, or to be heard. I had mentors who taught me to speak up and say things the way I saw them, and that’s what helped me. A good mentor will back you up and support you when you’re in big meetings or giving presentations. They’ll stand up and corroborate you when you’re right, and that goes a long way toward establishing your credibility. It also helped build my confidence, it made me feel like I was on the right track and not out of line. I had both male and female mentors. The female mentor I had always encouraged me to speak my mind. She said the integrity of the experimental result is more important than trying to change things because someone doesn’t like it or doesn’t want to express it a certain way. 

I have a lot more women coworkers now, things have changed a lot. In my group there are four women and three men. 

Savvy Verma is an aerospace engineer at NASA’s Ames Research Center. She has worked at NASA for 22 years.

Can you become an engineer if you struggle with math in school?

Dorcas Kaweesa: When I introduce myself as an engineer, people always say, “You must be good at math,” and I say, “Oh, I work at it.”

When you want to become an engineer, you must remain adaptable, hardworking, and always willing to learn something new. We’re constantly learning, critically thinking, and problem solving. Most of the time we apply mathematical concepts to the engineering problems we’re solving and not every problem is the same. If you struggle with math, my advice is to maintain the passion for learning, especially learning from your mistakes. It comes down to practicing and challenging yourself to think beyond the immediate struggle. There are so many types of math problems and if you’re not good at one, maybe you’re good at another. Maybe it’s just a hiccup. Also, seek help when you need it, there are instructors and peers out there willing to support you.

Personally, I sought help from my instructors, peers, and mentors, in the math and engineering classes that I found challenging. I also practiced a great deal to improve my problem solving and critical thinking skills. In my current role, I am constantly learning new things based on the task at hand. Learning never ends! If you’re struggling with a math concept, don’t give up. Keep trying, keep accepting the challenge, and keep practicing, you’ll steadily make progress. 

Dorcas Kaweesa is mechanical engineer and structures analyst at NASA’s Ames Research Center. She has worked at NASA for more than two years.

SMA Spotlight: Mission Support Creates Career Satisfaction for Zarchi

Each month, the NASA Safety Center profiles a member of the Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA) community, providing insight into their background and highlighting the ways they contribute to the NASA mission. The SMA workforce is made up of a diverse group of professionals who operate across a range of disciplines to assure the safety of NASA personnel and enhance the success of the agency’s portfolio of programs and projects. In January, Kerry Zarchi, division chief, System Safety and Mission Assurance at NASA Ames earned the SMA spotlight recognition.

Zarchi has worked in her SMA role for nearly three years but has been a member of the NASA family for 18 years. Prior to her SMA duties, Zarchi was a computational analyst and supervisor working on heat shields in Ames’ Entry Systems and Technology division.

Zarchi’s supervisory and engineering background has served her well in her SMA role at Ames, which she describes as a “jack-of-all-trades” facility.

“I am never bored! Because Ames is small, we kind of do it all,” she said. “We have a lot of ‘do-no-harm’ missions, as well as high-risk missions, and we have a lot of critical facilities here.”

Zarchi’s group supports a varied roster of Ames projects, including Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER), Arc Jet Modernization, HelioSwarm, the creation of a procurement Quality Assurance capability, and facilities like wind tunnels and the Vertical Motion Simulator.

In addition to her supervisory duties, Zarchi is enjoying the long-term work of building new leadership roles within her division to give her staff more opportunities.

 “I want to see them go in the different directions they choose,” she said. “Enabling them in their careers is my proudest achievement.”

Throughout her career in multiple roles and levels of responsibility, Zarchi said the best learning experiences she’s had are failures.

“Any time there’s some kind of adversity or challenge, it requires reflection and homework,” she said.

She advises early career employees to embrace those hard situations and not be afraid to ask questions to expand their skills and knowledge.

“The best way to get understanding is by asking questions and speaking up,” she said. “A vital ability that we all need to have, regardless of our role, is the ability to communicate.”

Zarchi believes the SMA community will continue to see funding challenges as well as requirements tailoring support.

“Reliance on funding from projects is a challenge,” she said. “A lot of thought needs to go into making sure we are maintaining our independence, even though we are charging to projects. There’s also a lot of work to be done codifying the tailoring of SMA support to high-risk projects.”

Throughout these challenges, Zarchi encourages her SMA colleagues to understand just how important their roles are to the NASA community.

“I want SMA to know that they’re crucial to NASA’s mission, even if they don’t hear it often or get that feeling,” she said. “It’s vital that this community stays healthy and supportive of each other. I love how everyone I encounter in SMA is so supportive. I admire that and want to embody that as well.”

Zarchi said that the opportunity to have a direct impact on NASA missions is what made her SMA role most appealing.

“What we do is really important, and I appreciate the gravity of the role,” she said. “We touch nearly everything. I want to help spread the word on the importance of SMA and why people should care about it.”

Robot Team Builds High-Performance Digital Structure for NASA

by Gianine Figliozzi

Greater than the sum of its parts: NASA tests the capability of a system that includes simple robots, structural building blocks, and smart algorithms to build functional, high-performance large-scale structures, ultimately enabling autonomous deep-space infrastructure.

If they build it, we will go – for the long-term.

Future long-duration and deep-space exploration missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond will require a way to build large-scale infrastructure, such as solar power stations, communications towers, and habitats for crew. To sustain a long-term presence in deep space, NASA needs the capability to construct and maintain these systems in place, rather than sending large pre-assembled hardware from Earth. 

NASA’s Automated Reconfigurable Mission Adaptive Digital Assembly Systems (ARMADAS) team is developing a hardware and software system to meet that need. The system uses different types of inchworm-like robots that can assemble, repair, and reconfigure structural materials for a variety of large-scale hardware systems in space. The robots can do their jobs in orbit, on the lunar surface, or on other planets – even before humans arrive.

Researchers at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley recently performed a laboratory demonstration of the ARMADAS technology and analyzed the system’s performance. During the tests, three robots worked autonomously as a team to build a meters-scale shelter structure – roughly the size of a shed – using hundreds of building blocks.  The team published their results today in Science Robotics.

“The ground assembly experiment demonstrated crucial parts of the system: the scalability and reliability of the robots, and the performance of structures they build. This type of test is key for maturing the technology for space applications,” said Christine Gregg, ARMADAS chief engineer at NASA Ames.  

The high strength, stiffness, and low mass of the structural product is comparable to today’s highest-performance structures, like long bridges, aircraft wings, and space structures – such as the International Space Station’s trusses. Such performance is a giant leap for the field of robotically reconfigurable structures. 

A Reliable System Relies on Building Blocks

Building blocks are also key to the robotic system autonomy and reliability. 

“Generally, it’s very hard to develop robust autonomous robots that can operate in unstructured environments, like a typical construction site. We turn that problem on its head by making very simple and reliable robots that operate in an extremely structured lattice environment,” said Gregg.  

For the demonstration, the ARMADAS team provided plans for the structure, but they didn’t micromanage the robots’ work. Software algorithms did the job of planning the robots’ tasks. The system practiced the build sequence in simulation before the actual run started. 

While in operation, two robots – stepping inchworm style – walked on the exterior of the structure, moving one soccer ball-sized voxel at a time. One robot fetched the voxels from a supply station and passed them to the second robot that, in turn, placed each voxel on its target location. 

A third robot followed these placements, climbing though the interior space of the voxels and bolting each new voxel to the rest of the structure. 

“Because the robots align each small step to the structure in what is essentially a 3D grid, simple algorithms with low computation and sensing requirements can achieve high-level autonomy goals. The system builds and error-corrects on its own with no machine vision or external means of measurement,” said Gregg. 

Future work will expand the library of voxel types that the robots work with, to include solar panels, electrical connections, shielding, and more. Each new module type will dramatically expand the possible applications because the robots can mix and match them to meet specific needs and locations. The ARMADAS team is also working on new robot capabilities, such as inspection tools, to ensure that autonomously constructed facilities are safe and sound before astronauts arrive. 

ARMADAS’ technology approach increases what we can do with equipment sent for most deep space exploration missions, and how long we can use them. When a mission completes, robots can disassemble space structures, repurpose the building blocks, and construct designs of the future.

In Memoriam …

Senior Research Scientist Dr. Andrzej Pohorille Dies

It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of our friend and colleague Dr. Andrzej (Andrew) Pohorille, on January 6, 2024.  Andrew was a member of the Exobiology Branch at Ames for more than 27 years.
 

Andrew received his Ph.D. in theoretical physics (with specialty in biophysics) from the University of Warsaw. He did his postdoctoral work with Professor Bernard Pullman at the Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique in Paris. In 1992, he became a professor of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of California San Francisco, and in 1996 he joined the staff at NASA Ames, where he directed the NASA Center for Computational Astrobiology. In 2000, he received a NASA Group Award for Astrobiology, and in 2002 he was awarded the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal. In 2005, he was named Distinguished Lecturer at the Centre for Mathematical Modeling and the National Centre for Space Research in the U.K., and the H. Julian Allen Award at Ames in 2010. Most recently, in December 2023, Andrew was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Medal for “distinguished service and sustained contributions to NASA’s establishment of Astrobiology as a vibrant, rigorous, and accessible scientific discipline.”

Andrew’s main interests were focused on modeling the origins of life, computer simulations of biomolecular systems, modeling genetic and metabolic networks, and statistical mechanics of condensed phases. He also worked on the development of novel computational methods for parallel and distributed computing. Andrew had worked on developing concepts and designing instruments for microbiology experiments on small satellites and in the lunar environment, and on new ways to organize scientific information.

In recent years, Andrew has served as a co-lead on two large projects: Evolutionary processes that drove the emergence and early distribution of life (EPDEL) and Center for Life Detection Research and Service (CLD/RS). In the latter, his main accomplishment was to lead the design, deployment, and upgrades of the Life Detection Knowledge Base.  Andrew coauthored more than 120 peer-reviewed publications.

The nomination for Andrew’s Exceptional Service Medal included the statement, “Through his wide-ranging technical contributions, tireless community organizing, and one-on-one mentorship of many, he exemplifies the meaning of “exceptional service”. 

Andrew will be truly missed by all of us.

Statistical Summary of Activities of the Protective Service Division’s Security/Law Enforcement and Fire Protection Services Units for Period Ending December 2023

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Astrid Albaugh