Lagniappe for January 2025

por admin | 3 enero, 2025 - 12:02 pm |3 enero, 2025 Astronomy

Lagniappe for January 2025

4 Min Read

Lagniappe for January 2025

A pair of young visitors to INFINITY Science Center

Explore the January 2025 issue, highlighting the year in review at NASA Stennis, and how to become a NASA test conductor at the official visitor center and more!

Explore Lagniappe for January 2025 featuring:

NASA Stennis Celebrates Key Testing, Operations Milestones in 2024
NASA Exhibit Puts Visitors in Test Conductor Seat
NASA Stennis Hosts Mississippi Kween

Gator Speaks

Gator, a fictional character, is shown on a festive dark background filled with bursting fireworks

Gator Speaks

NASA/Stennis

This time of year is one Gator enjoys. The ending of one year and beginning of another provides the opportunity to reflect, reset, and refocus.

This is true at NASA Stennis, a place that powers space dreams, or for someone who enjoys staying up to date with all the happenings around NASA Stennis – you!

In 2024, Gator witnessed the legacy of excellence continue at the south Mississippi NASA center. There were milestones reached with RS-25 engine testing and preparations for testing NASA’s new exploration upper stage for future Artemis missions, the center continued to fuel the space market with its support of commercial companies at the E Test Complex, and it was announced the historic in-space payload mission for the NASA Stennis Autonomous Systems Laboratory team would continue.

Another bright spot at NASA Stennis is range operations. The partnership between NASA Stennis and Skydweller Aero represents the first big step in this area. In 2024, NASA Stennis entered into an agreement with Skydweller Aero for the company to operate its solar-powered autonomous aircraft in the site’s restricted airspace.

It marks the first agreement between NASA Stennis and a commercial company to use the center’s unique capabilities to support testing and operation of uncrewed systems.

The future is indeed bright. The new year is like the NASA Stennis buffer zone. The 125,000-plus acre buffer zone enables many opportunities for site achievement and advancement, much like a new year does.

We all can make 2025 the best year to date by building on what we have accomplished and setting bold, new goals.

Here is to 2025 – a year of focus, ambition, and collaboration. Together, we can turn our goals into achievements and make this year one of our best yet.

Happy New Year!

> Back to Top

NASA Stennis Top News

NASA Stennis Celebrates Key Testing, Operations Milestones in 2024

NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, celebrated propulsion testing and site operations milestones in 2024, all while inspiring the Artemis Generation and welcoming new leadership that will help NASA Stennis innovate and grow into the future.

NASA Exhibit Puts Visitors in Test Conductor Seat

NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, is helping the Artemis Generation learn how to power space dreams with an interactive exhibit at INFINITY Science Center.

> Back to Top

Center Activities

NASA Stennis Hosts Mississippi Kween

Cookbook author and culinary content creator Caroline Davis, popularly known as Mississippi Kween, and her family pose for a portrait the Center Director and Center Associate Director — Cookbook author and culinary content creator Caroline Davis, popularly known as Mississippi Kween, and her family enjoy touring facilities and learning about NASA Stennis and its frontline work during a site visit Dec. 18. Davis, husband Joe, and children Zeke and Zoey, met with NASA Stennis leadership before touring the L3Harris (formerly Aerojet Rocketdyne) Engine Assembly Facility, Thad Cochran Test Stand, Autonomous Systems Laboratory, and the NASA Stennis rocket engine garden. The tour highlighted the NASA Stennis story and how the south Mississippi NASA center has the ingredients for a recipe that accelerates the exploration and commercialization of space, innovates to benefit NASA and industry, and leverages assets to stimulate the economy.

NASA/Danny Nowlin

Cookbook author and culinary content creator Caroline Davis, popularly known as Mississippi Kween, and her family touring the L3Harris (formerly Aerojet Rocketdyne) Engine Assembly Facility — Cookbook author and culinary content creator Caroline Davis, popularly known as Mississippi Kween, and her family enjoy touring facilities and learning about NASA Stennis and its frontline work during a site visit Dec. 18. Davis, husband Joe, and children Zeke and Zoey, met with NASA Stennis leadership before touring the L3Harris (formerly Aerojet Rocketdyne) Engine Assembly Facility, Thad Cochran Test Stand, Autonomous Systems Laboratory, and the NASA Stennis rocket engine garden. The tour highlighted the NASA Stennis story and how the south Mississippi NASA center has the ingredients for a recipe that accelerates the exploration and commercialization of space, innovates to benefit NASA and industry, and leverages assets to stimulate the economy.

NASA/Danny Nowlin

Cookbook author and culinary content creator Caroline Davis, popularly known as Mississippi Kween, and her family pose for a portrait in front of the Thad Cochran Test Stand during their visit to NASA Stennis — Cookbook author and culinary content creator Caroline Davis, popularly known as Mississippi Kween, and her family enjoy touring facilities and learning about NASA Stennis and its frontline work during a site visit Dec. 18. Davis, husband Joe, and children Zeke and Zoey, met with NASA Stennis leadership before touring the L3Harris (formerly Aerojet Rocketdyne) Engine Assembly Facility, Thad Cochran Test Stand, Autonomous Systems Laboratory, and the NASA Stennis rocket engine garden. The tour highlighted the NASA Stennis story and how the south Mississippi NASA center has the ingredients for a recipe that accelerates the exploration and commercialization of space, innovates to benefit NASA and industry, and leverages assets to stimulate the economy.

NASA/Danny Nowlin

Cookbook author and culinary content creator Caroline Davis, popularly known as Mississippi Kween, and her family watch a presentation during their visit to NASA Stennis — Cookbook author and culinary content creator Caroline Davis, popularly known as Mississippi Kween, and her family enjoy touring facilities and learning about NASA Stennis and its frontline work during a site visit Dec. 18. Davis, husband Joe, and children Zeke and Zoey, met with NASA Stennis leadership before touring the L3Harris (formerly Aerojet Rocketdyne) Engine Assembly Facility, Thad Cochran Test Stand, Autonomous Systems Laboratory, and the NASA Stennis rocket engine garden. The tour highlighted the NASA Stennis story and how the south Mississippi NASA center has the ingredients for a recipe that accelerates the exploration and commercialization of space, innovates to benefit NASA and industry, and leverages assets to stimulate the economy.

NASA/Danny Nowlin

Cookbook author and culinary content creator Caroline Davis, popularly known as Mississippi Kween, and her family stand in front of the Roy Estess Building at NASA Stennis — Cookbook author and culinary content creator Caroline Davis, popularly known as Mississippi Kween, and her family enjoy touring facilities and learning about NASA Stennis and its frontline work during a site visit Dec. 18. Davis, husband Joe, and children Zeke and Zoey, met with NASA Stennis leadership before touring the L3Harris (formerly Aerojet Rocketdyne) Engine Assembly Facility, Thad Cochran Test Stand, Autonomous Systems Laboratory, and the NASA Stennis rocket engine garden. The tour highlighted the NASA Stennis story and how the south Mississippi NASA center has the ingredients for a recipe that accelerates the exploration and commercialization of space, innovates to benefit NASA and industry, and leverages assets to stimulate the economy.

NASA/Danny Nowlin

SLS Rocket on Display at Governor’s Mansion

A model of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket is part of the holiday display in the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, MS

A model of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket is part of the holiday display in the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, the official residence of state Gov. Tate Reeves. The model symbolizes the longtime relationship and shared history between the state of Mississippi and NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, the nation’s largest rocket propulsion test site. Built in the 1960s, NASA Stennis tested Apollo rocket stages that carried humans to the Moon and every main engine that helped launch 135 space shuttle missions. It now is testing engines and systems for NASA’s Artemis missions and operates as a powerful aerospace and technology hub for the region and state. “We are grateful for our ongoing relationship with the state of Mississippi,” NASA Stennis Director John Bailey said. “We appreciate every opportunity to highlight the role NASA Stennis and the state play in helping to power the nation’s human space exploration program. We look forward to 2025 and continuing our work to test engines and systems that will help launch Artemis missions back to the Moon and beyond.”

NASA Stennis/Troy Frisbie

NASA Stennis Director Hosts Java with John

NASA Stennis Director John Bailey hosts a Java with John session on Dec. 10 with employees representing the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, Office of STEM Engagement, Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity, Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer, and the center’s Autonomous Systems Laboratory team. Java with John is an employee-led discussion in a casual environment aimed at fostering a culture in which employees are welcome to share what matters most to them at work.

NASA/Danny Nowlin

NASA Assistant Administrator for Procurement Visits NASA Stennis

The NASA assistant administrator for procurement stands with leaders of NASA’s Stennis Space Center and the NASA Shared Services Center during a visit to the south Mississippi site Dec. 11 to deliver an agency update, highlighting key initiatives and priorities across NASA’s procurement activities. The visit focused on fostering open communications and collaboration, and included an opportunity for Jackson to engage with procurement staff, provide updates, and respond to questions. The assistant administrator met with NASA leadership to align on strategic goals, discuss procurement-related challenges and opportunities, and reinforce support for the NASA Stennis mission. The visit highlighted NASA’s continued commitment to innovation, efficiency, and mission success through effective procurement strategies. Pictured (left to right) are James Bailey, NASA Shared Services Center/NASA Stennis deputy procurement officer; NASA Stennis Deputy Director Christine Powell; NASA Stennis Director John Bailey; Karla Smith, NASA assistant administrator for procurement; Eli Ouder, NASA Shared Services Center/NASA Stennis procurement officer; and Jamiel Charlton, NASA executive officer.

Photo Credit: NASA/Danny Nowlin

> Back to Top

NASA in the News

> Back to Top

Employee Profile: Heather Seagren

Heather Seagren pauses for a photo in front of an Explore Stennis poster

Heather Seagren grew up near NASA’s Stennis Space Center and visited for field trips as a child. Now, as a financial management specialist, Seagren coordinates work trips for NASA employees at the south Mississippi NASA center.

NASA/Danny Nowlin

A leap of faith for Heather Seagren eight years ago brought the Gulf Coast native to something new, yet also returned her to a familiar place at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

> Back to Top

Additional Resources

Good Things with Rebecca Turner – SuperTalk Mississippi (interview with NASA Stennis Director John Bailey)

Subscription Info

Lagniappe is published monthly by the Office of Communications at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. The NASA Stennis office may be contacted by at 228-688-3333 (phone); ssc-office-of-communications@mail.nasa.gov (email); or NASA OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS, Attn: LAGNIAPPE, Mail code IA00, Building 1111 Room 173, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529 (mail).

The Lagniappe staff includes: Managing Editor Lacy Thompson, Editor Bo Black, and photographer Danny Nowlin.

To subscribe to the monthly publication, please email the following to ssc-office-of-communications@mail.nasa.gov – name, location (city/state), email address.

Get The Details…
LaToya Dean

Mission Possible: Coordinating Travel for NASA Employees

por admin | 3 enero, 2025 - 12:02 pm |3 enero, 2025 Astronomy

Deja un comentario

Mission Possible: Coordinating Travel for NASA Employees

2 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

NASA/Danny Nowlin

Following graduation from Pearl River Community College, Seagren worked as an office manager at a pediatric office. Seagren anticipated a full career in the medical field until an opportunity at the south Mississippi NASA center “kind of fell in my lap,” she said.

The NASA Shared Services Center, located at NASA Stennis, was hiring for its travel department, so Seagren applied.

“There are many different roles here, and my biggest thing was, do not second guess your decisions,” she said. “It was a big change for me, and I made the leap and ended up where I am today, even though it was a completely different career field.”

A new career field, yes, but not a new place. Seagren grew up in Pearlington, Mississippi, less than 10 miles from the nation’s largest propulsion test site. Her grandfather, Grover “Shu-Shu” Bennett, retired from NASA Stennis as a tugboat captain, helping to deliver rocket propellants along the site canal system to the test stands at NASA Stennis.

Just as her grandfather ensured the rocket engine fuel made it to its destination on time, Seagren does the same for NASA employees by coordinating travel plans. She now is in a similar role as a NASA Stennis financial management specialist.

Working with astronauts, engineers, and many other NASA employees, no two trips are alike, which is a part of the job Seagren enjoys.

What is similar is the trips coordinated by Seagren align with NASA’s mission to explore the secrets of the universe for the benefit of all.

The Kiln, Mississippi, resident plays a vital role in the NASA mission by bringing together the details of booking flights, arranging accommodations, and managing schedules.

“The best thing about working at NASA Stennis is getting to experience everything,” she said. “It is always interesting to see what other projects and duties everybody is doing. The process kind of starts with the travel department. … It is a small step, but we are involved, making sure everybody is where they need to be, when they need to be there, so, I think that is pretty cool.”

Get The Details…
LaToya Dean

NASA Workshops Culturally Inclusive Planetary Engagement with Educators

por admin | 2 enero, 2025 - 6:10 pm |2 enero, 2025 Astronomy

Deja un comentario

NASA Workshops Culturally Inclusive Planetary Engagement with Educators

2 min read

NASA Workshops Culturally Inclusive Planetary Engagement with Educators

From November 6-8, 2024, the NASA Science Activation Program’s Planetary Resources and Content Heroes (ReaCH) project held a Culturally Inclusive Planetary Engagement workshop at the Bradley Observatory at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta, Georgia for the space sciences community, including planetary science, astrobiology, astronomy, and heliophysics professionals, as well as invited education specialists. To practice the skills learned in the workshop, participants facilitated a variety of space-themed, culturally-inclusive, hands-on activities for 79 students, family, and staff at the Center for a New Generation at the Tuskegee Airmen Global Academy Boys and Girls Club.

Workshop participants provided anonymous feedback as a part of their workshop evaluations:

“[This experience] helped me learn a lot about how to make different cultures and ethnicities feel involved and included and also engage with them to inspire in them a love for science”

“. . .I feel like the discussions were so important to me, considering we all come from so many different backgrounds, and our exposure has been different, so we all have a different point of view to bring to the discussion that others, that I, might not think of right away. So I think it was really nice to hear so many different perspectives in all of these discussions.”

“[The facilitator] connected cultural diversity to an activity. That is not easy to do. I loved it and it is what I expected coming into this workshop.”

This workshop was conducted in partnership with Agnes Scott College, Georgia Tech, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta, and members of the Center for Lunar Environment and Volatile Exploration Research (CLEVER) NASA Solar System Exploration Research Institute (SSERVI) Center. ReaCH workshops are designed to enhance the ability of scientists to engage their local communities in science. The Planetary ReaCH project is building a replicable model that will be used to support similar workshops for other science fields. NASA-funded researchers, including early-career scientists, are invited to apply for the 2025 workshops!

The Planetary ReaCH project is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number 80NSSC21M0003 and is part of NASA’s Science Activation Portfolio. Learn more about how Science Activation connects NASA science experts, real 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

A large group of people varying in appearance are posing for the camera, smiling; most are holding red folders with the graphic of an open hand with a planet above it.

The workshop was attended by researchers including early career scientists, planetary scientists, astrobiologists, astronomers, heliophysicists, and education specialists.

Details

Last Updated

Jan 02, 2025

Editor

NASA Science Editorial Team

Related Terms

Keep Exploring

Discover More Topics From NASA

James Webb Space Telescope

Webb is the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It studies every phase in the…

Perseverance Rover

This rover and its aerial sidekick were assigned to study the geology of Mars and seek signs of ancient microbial…

Parker Solar Probe

On a mission to “touch the Sun,” NASA’s Parker Solar Probe became the first spacecraft to fly through the corona…

Juno

NASA’s Juno spacecraft entered orbit around Jupiter in 2016, the first explorer to peer below the planet’s dense clouds to…

Get The Details…

NASA Anticipates Lunar Findings From Next-Generation Retroreflector

por admin | 2 enero, 2025 - 6:09 pm |2 enero, 2025 Astronomy

Deja un comentario

NASA Anticipates Lunar Findings From Next-Generation Retroreflector

3 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

Next Generation Lunar Retroreflector, or NGLR-1, is one of 10 payloads set to fly aboard the next delivery for NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative in 2025. NGLR-1, outfitted with a retroreflector, will be delivered to the lunar surface to reflect very short laser pulses from Earth-based lunar laser ranging observatories.

Photo courtesy Firefly Aerospace

Apollo astronauts set up mirror arrays, or “retroreflectors,” on the Moon to accurately reflect laser light beamed at them from Earth with minimal scattering or diffusion. Retroreflectors are mirrors that reflect the incoming light back in the same incoming direction. Calculating the time required for the beams to bounce back allowed scientists to precisely measure the Moon’s shape and distance from Earth, both of which are directly affected by Earth’s gravitational pull. More than 50 years later, on the cusp of NASA’s crewed Artemis missions to the Moon, lunar research still leverages data from those Apollo-era retroreflectors.

As NASA prepares for the science and discoveries of the agency’s Artemis campaign, state-of-the-art retroreflector technology is expected to significantly expand our knowledge about Earth’s sole natural satellite, its geological processes, the properties of the lunar crust and the structure of lunar interior, and how the Earth-Moon system is changing over time. This technology will also allow high-precision tests of Einstein’s theory of gravity, or general relativity.

That’s the anticipated objective of an innovative science instrument called NGLR (Next Generation Lunar Retroreflector), one of 10 NASA payloads set to fly aboard the next lunar delivery for the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative. NGLR-1 will be carried to the surface by Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander.

Developed by researchers at the University of Maryland in College Park, NGLR-1 will be delivered to the lunar surface, located on the Blue Ghost lander, to reflect very short laser pulses from Earth-based lunar laser ranging observatories, which could greatly improve on Apollo-era results with sub-millimeter-precision range measurements. If successful, its findings will expand humanity’s understanding of the Moon’s inner structure and support new investigations of astrophysics, cosmology, and lunar physics – including shifts in the Moon’s liquid core as it orbits Earth, which may cause seismic activity on the lunar surface.

“NASA has more than half a century of experience with retroreflectors, but NGLR-1 promises to deliver findings an order of magnitude more accurate than Apollo-era reflectors,” said Dennis Harris, who manages the NGLR payload for the CLPS initiative at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Deployment of the NGLR payload is just the first step, Harris noted. A second NGLR retroreflector, called the Artemis Lunar Laser Retroreflector (ALLR), is currently a candidate payload for flight on NASA’s Artemis III mission to the Moon and could be set up near the lunar south pole. A third is expected to be manifested on a future CLPS delivery to a non-polar location.

“Once all three retroreflectors are operating, they are expected to deliver unprecedented opportunities to learn more about the Moon and its relationship with Earth,” Harris said.

Under the CLPS model, NASA is investing in commercial delivery services to the Moon to enable industry growth and support long-term lunar exploration. As a primary customer for CLPS deliveries, NASA aims to be one of many customers on future flights. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the development of seven of the 10 CLPS payloads carried on Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander.

Learn more about. CLPS and Artemis at:

https://www.nasa.gov/clps

Alise Fisher
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2546
Alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov

Headquarters, Washington

202-358-2546

Alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov

Corinne Beckinger
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-544-0034
corinne.m.beckinger@nasa.gov

Details

Last Updated

Jan 02, 2025

Editor

Beth Ridgeway

Contact

Corinne M. Beckinger

corinne.m.beckinger@nasa.gov

Location

Marshall Space Flight Center

Related Terms

Keep Exploring

Discover Related Topics

Missions

Humans in Space

Climate Change

Solar System

Get The Details…
Beth Ridgeway

Best of 2024: Total Solar Eclipse in Indianapolis

por admin | 2 enero, 2025 - 6:09 pm |2 enero, 2025 Astronomy

Deja un comentario

Best of 2024: Total Solar Eclipse in Indianapolis

The Moon covers the Sun completely, with one last bit of brightness showing. The sky is dark all around.

NASA/Joel Kowsky

NASA photographer Joel Kowsky captured this image of the Monday, April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana. The total solar eclipse swept across a narrow portion of the North American continent from Mexico’s Pacific coast to the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland, Canada. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of Central America and Europe.

The NASA Headquarters photo team chose this image as one of the best from 2024. See more of the top 100 from last year on Flickr.

Image Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

Get The Details…
Monika Luabeya