Portable Planetarium takes Thousands of Alaskan Students on a Cosmic Adventure

Exploring the Cosmos and Inspiring Young Minds

From January through June 2025, the Education Outreach Office at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute (GI) continued its mission of bringing science to life by delivering the magic of its portable planetarium to communities across Alaska. This year, they reached over 1,807 students, educators, and participants through engaging, interactive astronomy experiences.

The portable planetarium is more than just a dome. It’s a getaway to curiosity, discovery and connection. Especially in Alaska’s long, cold winters, the dome offers a warm and welcoming space where learners of all ages can look up, wonder, and learn together. After experiencing the planetarium, feedback from students across the state reflects increased excitement about space, science, and their own place in the universe.

Inside the Dome: The Presentation

Each session begins with a warm introduction, a safety briefing, and a land acknowledgement. Participants experience constellations, planets, and space science concepts through dynamic storytelling and exciting visuals. The presentations connects ancient skywatching traditions with modern science, reminding students that long before the internet, the stars were a source of direction and knowledge. The presentation begins on Earth, exploring the State of Alaska, discussing the moon’s phases, and then, journeys outward to Mars, the last rocky planet, before reaching the gas giants. A standout moment of experience is the “Planet Walk” — an interactive journey from the Sun through the solar system. Learners leave with a new favorite word: ‘heliophysics,’ the science of the Sun and its influence on the solar system.

People Behind the Program

Knowledgeable presenters bring science to life with energy, empathy, and enthusiasm, engaging diverse audiences and making the event a memorable and impactful experience. Soumitra Sakhalkar, for example, is a GI graduate student researcher studying remote sensing of permafrost regions. Another presenter, Austin Smith, is a GI graduate student researcher in space physics. Several GI Communications staff members also contribute to the program’s success with logistics and technology support, crowd control and more.

Giving Thanks

This program is funded in part by the NASA Heliophysics Education Activation Team, which is part of NASA’s Science Activation Portfolio. Learn more about how Science Activation connects NASA science experts, content, and experiences with community leaders to do science in ways that activate minds and promote deeper understanding of our world and beyond: https://science.nasa.gov/learn/about-science-activation/. The remainder of the funding was generously supported by schools and organizations requesting the planetarium program.

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Bone Loss Research Launches Aboard NASA’s SpaceX-33 Resupply Mission

The 33rd SpaceX commercial resupply services mission for NASA, scheduled to liftoff from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in late August, is heading to the International Space Station with an important investigation for the future of bone health.

The experiment will test how microgravity affects bone-forming and bone-degrading cells and explore potential ways to prevent bone loss. This research could help protect astronauts on future long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars, while also advancing treatments for millions of people on Earth who suffer from osteoporosis.

Space’s Hidden Health Mystery

 During long-duration missions, astronauts may experience a gradual reduction in bone density—typically around 1% to 2% per month—even with consistent exercise routines. While scientists understand how bones work on Earth, they aren’t sure exactly why bones weaken so quickly in microgravity.

Previous research aboard the space station revealed that microgravity changes how stem cells behave and what substances they release. Scientists now want to dig deeper into these cellular changes to better understand what causes bone loss in space and explore potential ways to prevent it.

Blocking a Potential Bone Thief

The Microgravity Associated Bone Loss-B (MABL-B) investigation focuses on special stem cells called mesenchymal stem cells, or MSCs. As these cells mature, they build new bone tissue in the body.

Scientists suspect that a protein called IL-6 might be the culprit behind bone problems in space. Data from the earlier MABL-A mission suggests that microgravity promotes the type of IL-6 signaling that enhances bone degradation. The MABL-B experiment will investigate this by testing ways to block this IL-6 signaling pathway.

The experiment will grow mesenchymal stem cells alongside other bone cells in special containers designed for space research. Cells will be cultured for 19 days aboard the space station, with crew members periodically collecting samples for analysis back on Earth.

How this benefits space exploration

The research could lead to targeted treatments that protect astronauts from bone loss during long-duration missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. As crews venture farther from Earth, bone health becomes increasingly critical since medical evacuation or emergency return to Earth won’t be possible during Mars missions.

How this benefits humanity

The findings could provide new insights into age-related bone loss that affects millions of people on Earth. Understanding how the IL-6 protein affects bone health may lead to new treatments for osteoporosis and other bone conditions that come with aging.

Related Resources

• Microgravity Associated Bone Loss-B (MABL-B)

• Microgravity Associated Bone Loss-A (MABL-A)
• Microgravity Expanded Stem Cells

About BPS

NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences Division pioneers scientific discovery and enables exploration by using space environments to conduct investigations not possible on Earth. Studying biological and physical phenomenon under extreme conditions allows researchers to advance the fundamental scientific knowledge required to go farther and stay longer in space, while also benefitting life on Earth.

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NASA, Army National Guard Partner on Flight Training for Moon Landing

By Corinne Beckinger
When Artemis astronauts land on the Moon’s South Pole in a commercial human landing system, they will encounter a landscape pockmarked with deep craters, sloped connecting ridges, and harsh lighting conditions. The Moon’s lack of contrast, combined with its rolling terrain, will also pose a challenge, making it difficult for astronauts to overcome visual illusions on the lunar surface.

In the mountains of northern Colorado, NASA and the U.S. Army National Guard are using military helicopters to develop a foundational lunar landersimulated flight training course to help astronauts practice flight and landing procedures for the Moon. 

For decades, military helicopter pilots have trained at the HAATS (High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site) in Gypsum, Colorado. In 2021, NASA and the Colorado Army National Guard began working together to develop a course specifically for the next generation of lunar explorers.

That NASA-specific course is scheduled to be finalized in August 2025, marking an important milestone for Artemis crewed landings training efforts.

“NASA is using a three-pronged approach with motion-based simulation, in-flight lunar landing analog training, and in-flight lunar simulation to build out its foundational training for Artemis Moon landings,” said NASA astronaut Doug Wheelock, who helped coordinate the training program. “Helicopters at or above 10,000 feet are not really efficient in the thin air, forcing us into operating with very thin power margins similar to the Apollo astronauts having to manage energy and momentum to land safely. The operations along with the terrain at the HAATS course in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains provide a valuable, real-world opportunity for Artemis astronauts to practice flying and landing in conditions similar to maneuvering a lander in the lunar environment.”

NASA’s human landing systems that will safely transport astronauts to and from the Moon’s surface will be provided by SpaceX and Blue Origin.

NASA’s Artemis III mission will build on earlier test flights and add new capabilities, including SpaceX’s Starship Human Landing System and advanced spacesuits, to send the first astronauts to explore the lunar South Pole and prepare humanity to go to Mars.

While each industry provider is responsible for training Artemis astronauts on its specific lander, NASA is establishing foundational training to help prepare astronauts for crewed flights.

Flight training opportunities like this are vital to mission success and crew safety.”

Doug Wheelock

NASA Astronaut

“Over the last few years, NASA and the Army National Guard have worked closely to evaluate training procedures and landing zone areas, incorporating accounts from Apollo astronauts,” Wheelock said. “During training flights at HAATS, astronauts can experience the visual illusions, cross-cockpit communication, and degraded visibility they may experience navigating to their landing zone near the lunar south pole. Flight training opportunities like this are vital to mission success and crew safety.”

Paired with trained instructors from the Army National Guard, astronauts fly to mountaintops and valleys in a range of aircraft, including LUH-72 Lakotas, CH-47 Chinooks, and UH-60 Black Hawks.

While one astronaut pilots the aircraft, an astronaut in the back charts the landing area, marking key landmarks, identifying potential hazards, and helping to track the flight path. Throughout the week-long course, the landing zones and situations become more challenging, allowing astronauts to experience team dynamics and practice communication skills they will need to land on the Moon.

“Our full-time Colorado Army National Guard pilots have thousands of flight hours navigating the Rocky Mountains at altitudes ranging from 6,500 to 14,200 feet, and we are reaching new heights by providing realistic and relevant training with NASA for Artemis,” said first sergeant Joshua Smith of the HAATS program. “Our Colorado Army National Guard pilots may not fly around the Moon, but we wear our motto, de monitbus ad astra — from the mountains to the stars — with pride.”

Fast Facts

• On the Moon’s South Pole, the Sun is never more than 1.5 degrees above or below the horizon. With the Sun at such a low angle and with only a thin exosphere, shadows are stark, and astronauts may find it difficult to determine distances and heights.
• The Moon’s atmosphere is extremely thin, with few particles, and is called an exosphere.

• The Moon’s exosphere is thin enough to glow in sunlight, which has been observed by spacecraft and some of the Apollo astronauts.

• The Moon’s surface is challenging to land on. There are inactive volcanoes, boulders, large basins, craters, and cracks in the Moon’s crust, caused by the Earth’s gravity tugging on the Moon.

• Moon dust can also obscure the view from the windows of a commercial human landing system, and affect sensors that relay important information, such as altitude and velocity, to astronauts.

Through the Artemis campaign, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars – for the benefit of all. 

For more information about Artemis visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis

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Artemis II Crew Practices Night Launch Scenario

NASA astronauts Christina Koch, Artemis II mission specialist, and Victor Glover, Artemis II pilot, walk on the crew access arm of the mobile launcher in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025.

On Aug. 11 and 12, teams with the agency’s Exploration Ground Systems Program along with NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, practiced launch day operations if launch occurs at night. They simulated putting their spacesuits on and driving to the launch pad as well as emergency procedures they would use in the unlikely event of an emergency during the launch countdown requiring them to evacuate the launch pad.

Through the Artemis campaign, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

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Curiosity Blog, Sols 4629-4630: Feeling Hollow

Written by Elena Amador-French, Science Operations Coordinator at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Earth planning date: Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025

Today’s team investigated the texture and chemistry of the bedrock within a topographic low, or hollow, found within the greater boxwork area. We will place our APXS instrument on the “Asiruqucha” target, some light-toned, small-scale nodular bedrock in the middle of our workspace. These data will help illuminate any systematic chemical trends between the hollows and ridges in this area. We always take an associated MAHLI image with every APXS measurement to help contextualize the chemistry. We will also observe a small crescent-shaped rock named “Wedge Tailed Hillstar” with MAHLI, visible in the above Navcam image just above the letters “SI” written on Curiosity’s arm.

We will use our remote sensing instruments to continue documenting the region taking stereo Mastcam images of “Cerro Paranal,” “Rio Frio,” and “Anchoveta.”  The ChemCam instrument will take an image of, and collect chemical information for, the target “Camanchaca,” as well as use its Remote Micro Imager (RMI) to take high-resolution imaging of more distant boxwork features. 

Once these observations are completed Curiosity will set off on a 30-meter drive (about 98 feet), taking us to an interesting ridge feature to investigate in Friday’s plan.

As usual we will continue to take our regular atmospheric monitoring observations using REMS, RAD, and DAN.

• Want to read more posts from the Curiosity team?

  
  
  Visit Mission Updates
  
  

• Want to learn more about Curiosity’s science instruments?

  
  
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