NASA Explores Earth Science with New Navigational System

NASA and its partners recently tested an aircraft guidance system that could help planes maintain a precise course even while flying at high speeds up to 500 mph. The instrument is Soxnav, the culmination of more than 30 years of development of aircraft navigation systems.

NASA’s G-IV aircraft flew its first mission to test this navigational system from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, in December 2024. The team was composed of engineers from NASA Armstrong, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, and the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute (BAERI) in California’s Silicon Valley.

“The objective was to demonstrate this new system can keep a high-speed aircraft within just a few feet of its target track, and to keep it there better than 90% of the time,” said John Sonntag, BAERI independent consultant co-developer of Soxnav.

With 3D automated steering guidance, Soxnav provides pilots with a precision approach aid for landing in poor visibility. Previous generations of navigational systems laid the technical baseline for Soxnav’s modern, compact, and automated iteration.

“The G-IV is currently equipped with a standard autopilot system,” said Joe Piotrowski Jr., operations engineer for the G-IV. “But Soxnav will be able to create the exact level flight required for Next Generation Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (AirSAR-NG) mission success.”

Guided by Soxnav, the G-IV may be able to deliver better, more abundant, and less expensive scientific information. For instance, the navigation tool optimizes observations by AirSAR-NG, an instrument that uses three radars simultaneously to observe subtle changes in the Earth’s surface. Together with the Soxnav system, these three radars provide enhanced and more accurate data about Earth science.

“With the data that can be collected from science flights equipped with the Soxnav instrument, NASA can provide the general public with better support for natural disasters, tracking of food and water supplies, as well as general Earth data about how the environment is changing,” Piotrowski said.

Ultimately, this economical flight guidance system is intended to be used by a variety of aircraft types and support a variety of present and future airborne sensors. “The Soxnav system is important for all of NASA’s Airborne Science platforms,” said Fran Becker, project manager for the G-IV AirSAR-NG project at NASA Armstrong. “The intent is for the system to be utilized by any airborne science platform and satisfy each mission’s goals for data collection.”

In conjunction with the other instruments outfitting the fleet of airborne science aircraft, Soxnav facilitates the generation of more abundant and higher quality scientific data about planet Earth. With extreme weather events becoming increasingly common, quality Earth science data can improve our understanding of our home planet to address the challenges we face today, and to prepare for future weather events.

“Soxnav enables better data collection for people who can use that information to safeguard and improve the lives of future generations,” Sonntag said.

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Hubble Goes Supernova Hunting

A supernova and its host galaxy are the subject of this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image. The galaxy in question is LEDA 132905 in the constellation Sculptor. Even at more than 400 million light-years away, LEDA 132905’s spiral structure is faintly visible, as are patches of bright blue stars.

The bright pinkish-white dot in the center of the image, between the bright center of the galaxy and its faint left edge, is a supernova named SN 2022abvt. Discovered in late 2022, Hubble observed SN 2022abvt about two months later. This image uses data from a study of Type Ia supernovae, which occur when the exposed core of a dead star ignites in a sudden, destructive burst of nuclear fusion. Researchers are interested in this type of supernova because they can use them to measure precise distances to other galaxies.

The universe is a big place, and supernova explosions are fleeting. How is it possible to be in the right place at the right time to catch a supernova when it happens? Today, robotic telescopes that continuously scan the night sky discover most supernovae. The Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, or ATLAS, spotted SN 2022abvt. As the name suggests, ATLAS tracks down the faint, fast-moving signals from asteroids close to Earth. In addition to searching out asteroids, ATLAS also keeps tabs on objects that brighten or fade suddenly, like supernovae, variable stars, and galactic centers powered by hungry black holes.

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Media Contact:

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

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Sols 4445–4446: Cloudy Days are Here

Earth planning date: Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025

Overnight before planning today, Mars reached a solar longitude of 40 degrees. The solar longitude is how we like to measure where we are in a Mars year. Each year starts at 0 degrees and advances to 360 degrees at the end of the year. For those of us on the Environmental Science (ENV) team, 40 degrees is a special time as it marks the beginning of our annual Aphelion Cloud Belt (ACB) observation campaign. During this time of year, the northern polar ice cap is emerging into the sunlight, causing it to sublimate away and release water vapor into the atmosphere. At the same time, the atmosphere is generally colder, since Mars is near aphelion (its furthest distance from the Sun). 

Together, these two factors mean that Mars’ atmosphere is a big fan of forming clouds during this part of the year. Gale is right near the southern edge of the ACB, so we’re starting to take more cloud movies to study how the ACB changes during the cloudy season. (Jezero Crater, home to Perseverance, is much closer to the heart of the ACB, so keep an eye on their Raw Images page over the next several months as well.

The drive from Monday’s plan ended early, after just about 4 meters instead of the 38 meters that had been planned (about 13 feet vs. 125 feet). We initially thought this might have been because our left-front wheel ran into the side of a large rock (see the image above), but after we got our hands on the drive data, it turned out that the steering motor on the right front wheel indicated that a rock was in the way on that side too, so Curiosity stopped the drive to await further instruction from Earth. This is a well-understood issue, so we should be back on the road headed west today.

The cold weather is still creating power challenges, so we had to carefully prioritize our activities today. Despite the drive fault, we received the good news that it was safe to unstow the arm, so we were able to pack in a full set of MAHLI, APXS, and DRT activities. Before that, though, we start as usual with some remote sensing activities, including ChemCam LIBS and Mastcam observations of “Beacon Hill” (some layered bedrock near the rover) and a ChemCam RMI mosaic of the upper portion of Texoli butte.

After taking a 3½-hour nap to recharge our batteries, we get into the arm activities. These start off with some MAHLI images of the MAHLI and APXS calibration targets, then continue with MAHLI and APXS observations of “Zuma Canyon.” This is followed by DRT, APXS, and MAHLI activities of some bedrock in our workspace, “Bear Canyon.” Although we then take another short nap, we don’t yet stow the arm as we have a pair of lengthy post-sunset APXS integrations. The arm is finally stowed about an hour and a half before midnight.

The second sol of this plan begins with some more remote sensing activities, starting with ChemCam LIBS on “Mission Point”. This is followed by a series of Mastcam images of “Crystal Lake” (polygonal fractures in the bedrock), “Stockton Flat” (fine lamination in the bedrock), “Mount Waterman,” and Mission Point. We then finish with some ENV activities, including a Mastcam tau and Navcam line-of-sight to measure dust in the atmosphere and a Navcam cloud movie. This plan ends with a (hopefully!) lengthy drive west and many hours asleep to recharge our batteries as much as possible before planning starts again on Friday. Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that REMS, RAD, and DAN continue to diligently monitor the environment throughout this plan.

Written by Conor Hayes, Graduate Student at York University

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NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel Releases 2024 Annual Report

The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP), an advisory committee that reports to NASA and Congress, issued its 2024 annual report Thursday examining the agency’s safety performance, accomplishments, and challenges during the past year.

The report highlights 2024 activities and observations on NASA’s work, including:

• strategic vision and agency governance
• Moon to Mars management
• future of U.S. presence in low Earth orbit
• health and medical risks in human space exploration

“Over the past year, NASA has continued to make meaningful progress toward meeting the intent of the broad-ranging recommendations the panel has made over the last several years,” said retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Susan J. Helms, chair of ASAP. “We believe that the agency’s careful attention to vision, strategy, governance, and program management is vital to the safe execution of NASA’s complex and critical national mission.”

This year’s report reflects the panel’s continued focus on NASA’s strategies for risk management and safety culture in an environment of growing space commercialization. Specifically, the panel cites its 2021 recommendations for NASA on preparing for future challenges in a changing landscape, including the need to evaluate NASA’s approach to safety and technical risk and to evolve its role, responsibilities, and relationships with private sector and international partners.

Overall, the panel finds NASA is continuing to make progress with respect to the agency’s strategic vision, approach to governance, and integrated program management. The NASA 2040 new agencywide initiative is working to operationalize the agency’s vision and strategic objectives across headquarters and centers. With the establishment of NASA’s Moon to Mars Program Office in 2023, it finds NASA has implemented safety and risk management as a key focus for NASA’s Artemis campaign.

The 2024 report provides details on the concrete actions the agency should take to fulfill its previous recommendations and spotlights its recommendations for the agency moving ahead. It addresses safety assessments for Moon to Mars and current International Space Station operations, as well as risk-related issues surrounding NASA’s planned transition to commercial low Earth orbit destinations.

It covers relevant areas of human health and medicine in space and the impact of budget constraints and uncertainty on safety.

The annual report is based on the panel’s 2024 fact-finding and quarterly public meetings; direct observations of NASA operations and decision-making; discussions with NASA management, employees, and contractors; and the panel members’ experiences.

Congress established the panel in 1968 to provide advice and make recommendations to the NASA administrator on safety matters after the 1967 Apollo 1 fire claimed the lives of three American astronauts.

To learn more about the ASAP, and view annual reports, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/asap

-end-

Jennifer Dooren / Elizabeth Shaw
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
jennifer.m.dooren@nasa.gov / elizabeth.a.shaw@nasa.gov

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What You Need To Know About the March 2025 Total Lunar Eclipse

The Moon will pass into Earth’s shadow and appear to turn red on the night of March 13 or early in the morning of March 14, depending on time zone. Here’s what you need to know about the total lunar eclipse.

What is a lunar eclipse?

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth, and Moon align so that the Moon passes into Earth’s shadow. In a total lunar eclipse, the entire Moon falls within the darkest part of Earth’s shadow, called the umbra. When the Moon is within the umbra, it turns red-orange. Lunar eclipses are sometimes called “Blood Moons” because of this phenomenon.

How can I observe the eclipse?

You don’t need any special equipment to observe a lunar eclipse, although binoculars or a telescope will enhance the view. A dark environment away from bright lights makes for the best viewing conditions.

This eclipse will be visible from Earth’s Western Hemisphere.

What can I expect to observe?

Why does the Moon turn red during a lunar eclipse?

The same phenomenon that makes our sky blue and our sunsets red causes the Moon to turn reddish-orange during a lunar eclipse. Sunlight appears white, but it actually contains a rainbow of components—and different colors of light have different physical properties. Blue light scatters relatively easily as it passes through Earth’s atmosphere. Reddish light, on the other hand, travels more directly through the air.

When the Sun is high on a clear day, we see blue light scattered throughout the sky overhead. At sunrise and sunset, when the Sun is near the horizon, incoming sunlight travels a longer, low-angle path through Earth’s atmosphere to observers on the ground. The bluer part of the sunlight scatters away in the distance (where it’s still daytime), and only the yellow-to-red part of the spectrum reaches our eyes.

During a lunar eclipse, the Moon appears red or orange because any sunlight that’s not blocked by our planet is filtered through a thick slice of Earth’s atmosphere on its way to the lunar surface. It’s as if all the world’s sunrises and sunsets are projected onto the Moon.

What else can I observe on the night of the eclipse?

Look to the western sky on the night of the eclipse for a glimpse of planets Jupiter and Mars. The Moon will be in the constellation Leo, under the lion’s hind paw, at the beginning of the eclipse; soon afterward, it will cross into the constellation Virgo. As Earth’s shadow dims the Moon’s glow, constellations may be easier to spot than usual.

Visit our What’s Up guide for monthly skywatching tips, and find lunar observing recommendations for each day of the year in our Daily Moon Guide.

Writers: Caela Barry, Ernie Wright, and Molly Wasser

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