NIH Supplements, Facts First Challenge

NIH Supplements, Facts First Challenge

A graphic developed by HeroX for the NIH Supplements, Facts First Challenge. The image shows a cartoon medicine bottle in the center with tech and medical icons branching out, including a telephone, pills, a microphone, a stethoscope.
Image credit: HeroX

NASA’s Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation (CoECI) assists in the use of crowdsourcing across the federal government. CoECI’s NASA Tournament Lab offers the contract capability to run external crowdsourced challenges on behalf of NASA and other agencies.

The Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announces the “Supplements, Facts First: A Digital Adventure for Every Age” challenge. This competition aims to catalyze innovative multimedia strategies to transform static dietary supplement fact sheets into engaging digital experiences. It addresses a critical gap between authoritative supplement information and meaningful public engagement by incentivizing teams to develop prototypes that target the following modalities: 

  • Behavior Change and Health Information Apps
  • Social Media Content
  • AI-Enabled Tools
  • Serialized Video & Broadcast Content
  • Other Technology

Award: $869,000 in total prizes

Open Date: January 20, 2026

Close Date: April 6, 2026

For more information, visit: https://www.herox.com/SupplementsFactsFirst/

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Bailey G. Light

NASA Chase Aircraft Ensures X-59’s Safety in Flight 

NASA Chase Aircraft Ensures X-59’s Safety in Flight 

5 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

NASA’s X-59 flies above the Mojave Desert with a NASA F-15 chase aircraft nearby.
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft flies above Palmdale and Edwards, California, during its first flight Oct. 28, 2025, accompanied by a NASA F/A-18 research aircraft serving as chase.
NASA/Jim Ross

As NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft continues a series of flight tests over the California high desert in 2026, its pilot will be flying with a buddy closely looking out for his safety. 

That colleague will be another test pilot in a separate chase aircraft. His job as chase pilot: keep a careful watch on things as he tracks the X-59 through the sky, providing an extra set of eyes to help ensure the flight tests are as safe as possible. 

Having a chase pilot watch to make sure operations are going smoothly is an essential task when an experimental aircraft is exercising its capabilities for the first time. The chase pilot also takes on tasks like monitoring local weather and supplementing communications between the X-59 and air traffic control. 

“All this helps reduce the test pilot’s workload so he can concentrate on the actual test mission,” said Jim “Clue” Less, a NASA research pilot since 2010 and 21-year veteran U.S. Air Force flyer. 

Less served as chase pilot in a NASA F/A-18 research jet when NASA test pilot Nils Larson made the X-59’s first flight on Oct. 28. Going forward, Less and Larson will take turns flying as X-59 test pilot or chase pilot. 

Two NASA pilots wearing flight gear pose in front of the X-59 experimental aircraft.
NASA pilots Jim “Clue” Less (left) and Nils Larson celebrate the X-59’s first flight on Oct. 28, 2025. Less flew an F-18 chase aircraft while Larson flew the X-59.
NASA/Genaro Vavuris

Staying Close

So how close does a chase aircraft fly to the X-59? 

“We fly as close as we need to,” Less said. “But no closer than we need to.” 

The distance depends on where the chase aircraft needs to be to best ensure the success of the test flight. Chase pilots, however, never get so close as to jeopardize safety. 

We fly as close as we need to, but no closer than we need to.

Jim "clue" LESS

Jim «clue» LESS

NASA Test Pilot

For example, during the X-59’s first flight the chase aircraft moved to within a wingspan of the experimental aircraft. At that proximity, the airspeed and altitude indicators inside both aircraft could be compared, allowing the X-59 team to calibrate their instruments. 

Generally, the chase aircraft will remain about 500 and 1,000 feet away—or about 5-10 times the length of the X-59 itself—as the two aircraft cruise together. 

“Of course, the chase pilot can move in closer if I need to look over something on the aircraft,” Less said. “We would come in as close as needed, but for the most part the goal is to stay out of the way.” 

Airborne Photo Op

The X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft flies above California. The plane has a distinctive shape with a long, sharply pointed nose. The nose is silver, while the rest of the body looks white. The words "NASA" and "X-59" are on the body of the aircraft. In the background, we can see brown earth below the plane as well as hazy mountains in the distance.
In a view captured from a NASA F/A-18 chase aircraft, the X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft lifts off for its first flight Oct. 28, 2025, from U.S. Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California.
NASA/Lori Losey

The up-close-and-personal vantage point of the chase aircraft also affords the opportunity to capture photos and video of the test aircraft.  

For the initial X-59 flight, a NASA photographer—fully trained and certified to fly in a high-performance jet—sat in the chase aircraft’s rear seat to record images and transmit high-definition video down to the ground. 

“We really have the best views,” Less said. “The top focus of the test team always is a safe flight and landing. But if we get some great shots in the process, it’s an added bonus.” 

Chase aircraft can also carry sensors that gather data during the flight that would be impossible to obtain from the ground. In a future phase of X-59 flights, the chase aircraft will carry a probe to measure the X-59’s supersonic shock waves and help validate that the airplane is producing a quieter sonic “thump,” rather than a loud sonic boom to people on the ground. 

The instrumentation was successfully tested using a pair of NASA F-15 research jets earlier this year. 

As part of NASA’s Quesst mission, the data could help open the way for commercial faster-than-sound air travel over land. 

Choice of Chase Aircraft

A NASA F-15 aircraft sits 20 feet off the left side of the X-59 aircraft, with a white hangar and hills in the background, during electromagnetic interference testing.
NASA/Carla Thomas

Chase aircraft have served as a staple of civilian and military flight tests for decades, with NASA and its predecessor—the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics—employing aircraft of all types for the job. 

Today, at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, two different types of research aircraft are available to serve as chase for X-59 flights: NASA-operated F/A-18 Hornets and F-15 Eagles

While both types are qualified as chase aircraft for the X-59, each has characteristics that make them appropriate for certain tasks. 

The F/A-18 is a little more agile flying at lower speeds. One of NASA’s F/A-18s has a two-seat cockpit, and the optical quality and field of view of its canopy makes it the preferred aircraft for Armstrong’s in-flight photographers. 

At the same time, the F-15 is more capable of keeping pace with the X-59 during supersonic test flights and carries the instrumentation that will measure the X-59’s shock waves. 

“The choice for which chase aircraft we will use for any given X-59 test flight could go either way depending on other mission needs and if any scheduled maintenance requires the airplane to be grounded for a while,” Less said. 

About the Author

Jim Banke

Jim Banke

Managing Editor/Senior Writer

Jim Banke is a veteran aviation and aerospace communicator with more than 40 years of experience as a writer, producer, consultant, and project manager based at Cape Canaveral, Florida. He is part of NASA Aeronautics’ Strategic Communications Team and is Managing Editor for the Aeronautics topic on the NASA website.

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Jim Banke

NASA’s SLS Rocket: Secondary Payloads

NASA’s SLS Rocket: Secondary Payloads

When NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket launches the agency’s Artemis II mission to the Moon, four CubeSats, or small satellites, will be hitching a ride inside the rocket’s Orion stage adapter (OSA). All four Artemis II CubeSats are provided by countries that are signatories of the Artemis Accords. Payload deployment, which begins approximately five hours after launch, is controlled by the avionics unit.

When NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket launches the agency’s Artemis II mission to the Moon, four CubeSats, or small satellites, will be hitching a ride inside the rocket’s Orion stage adapter (OSA). All four Artemis II CubeSats are provided by countries that are signatories of the Artemis Accords. Payload deployment, which begins approximately five hours after launch, is controlled by the avionics unit.

Image Credit: NASA/Kevin O’Brien

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Lee Mohon

NASA Unlocks Golden Age of Innovation, Exploration in Trump’s First Year

NASA Unlocks Golden Age of Innovation, Exploration in Trump’s First Year

This image shows NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) and Orion spacecraft rolling out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida
NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) and Orion spacecraft rolled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026 in preparation for the Artemis II mission.
Credit: NASA/Brandon Hancock

One year into President Donald J. Trump’s second term, NASA is delivering measurable progress across human spaceflight, science, aeronautics, and cutting-edge technology. These advances mark the beginning of a new Golden Age of American space leadership driven by clear national direction and historic investment through the Working Families Tax Cut Act.

Since his inauguration as the 47th President of the United States, NASA has sharpened its mission rooted in President Trump’s national space policy, reinforcing American superiority in space and accelerating progress across exploration, discovery, and innovation. With a renewed focus on human spaceflight, scientific excellence, and national capability, the agency is moving with clarity and momentum.

President Trump’s enduring commitment to space exploration has shaped every aspect of this progress. During his first term, the United States stood up the U.S. Space Force, commenced the Artemis campaign, established the Artemis Accords, which now have 60 signatories and are still growing, and returned American astronauts to human spaceflight from U.S. soil following the space shuttle era.

Now, with a clear National Space Policy and Working Family Tax Cut Act, NASA has the direction, resources, and authority to advance a bold vision for the future.

In the first year of the President’s second term, NASA has flown two human spaceflight missions, launched 15 science missions, and successfully test-flown a new X-plane, while accelerating work across lunar exploration, Earth science, planetary defense, next-generation aeronautics, and technologies to prepare for future missions to Mars.

Soon, NASA will launch the Artemis II mission, sending humans around the Moon for the first time in over 50 years, and setting the stage for America’s return to the lunar surface, but this time, to stay. These milestones reflect a workforce empowered to move faster, think bigger, and deliver results for the American people.

“In the first year of this administration, NASA has moved with clarity, purpose, and momentum, advancing President Trump’s bold vision for American leadership in space,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “From strengthening our focus on human spaceflight and preparing for the first deep space exploration by NASA astronauts in more than half a century, to accelerating innovation across science, technology, and national capability, the President has provided the clearest executive direction for NASA since the Kennedy era. President Trump’s National Space Policy sharpened our mission, aligned our priorities, and empowered our workforce to move faster and think bigger. Because of that leadership, NASA is confidently delivering on a future of American space superiority for generations to come.”

NASA is positioned to build on this momentum. Under President Trump’s leadership, American astronauts will return to the surface of the Moon by 2028 and establish a sustained human presence with a lunar base. The agency will continue launching missions of science and discovery, including bringing the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope into operation before the end of the year. In line with the President’s vision, NASA is advancing nuclear power and propulsion technologies to enable deep space missions and transform what is possible for exploration.

With a focused mission, empowered workforce, and strong partnership with industry and international allies, NASA is entering the second year of President Trump’s second term positioned to change the world, extending American leadership in space and unlocking discoveries that will benefit humanity for decades to come.

For more information about NASA’s missions and programs, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov

-end-

Bethany Stevens / George Alderman
Headquarters, Washington
771-216-2606 / 202-374-6002
bethany.c.stevens@nasa.gov / george.a.alderman@nasa.gov

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Jan 20, 2026

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Jennifer M. Dooren

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Jennifer M. Dooren

Hubble Snaps Stellar Baby Pictures

Hubble Snaps Stellar Baby Pictures

3 min read

Hubble Snaps Stellar Baby Pictures

Newly developing stars shrouded in thick dust get their first baby pictures in these images from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Hubble took these infant star snapshots in an effort to learn how massive stars form.

Protostars are shrouded in thick dust that blocks light, but Hubble can detect the near-infrared emission that shines through holes formed by the protostar’s jets of gas and dust. The radiating energy can provide information about these “outflow cavities,” like their structure, radiation fields, and dust content. Researchers look for connections between the properties of these young stars – like outflows, environment, mass, brightness – and their evolutionary stage to test massive star formation theories.

These images were taken as part of the SOFIA Massive (SOMA) Star Formation Survey, which investigates how stars form, especially massive stars with more than eight times the mass of our Sun.

Shining blue stars are sprinkled throughout glowing clouds of orange, pink and bluish gas, alongside dark clouds of dust. A particularly bright star shines against the inky dark dust of the lower right quadrant.
The Cepheus A region is home to a number of infant stars, including a protostar that is responsible for much of the region’s illumination.
NASA, ESA, and R. Fedriani (Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)

The high-mass star-forming region Cepheus A hosts a collection of baby stars, including one large and luminous protostar, which accounts for about half of the region’s brightness. While much of the region is shrouded in opaque dust, light from hidden stars breaks through outflow cavities to illuminate and energize areas of gas and dust, creating pink and white nebulae. The pink area is an HII region, where the intense ultraviolet radiation of the nearby stars has converted the surrounding clouds of gas into glowing, ionized hydrogen.
Cepheus A lies about 2,400 light-years away in the constellation Cepheus.

A small, bluish cloud edged in red gas is in the center of a field thick with multicolored stars.
Star-forming region G033.91+0.11 is home to a protostar hidden within a reflection nebula.
NASA, ESA, and R. Fedriani (Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)

Glittering much closer to home, this Hubble image depicts the star-forming region G033.91+0.11 in our Milky Way galaxy. The light patch in the center of the image is a reflection nebula, in which light from a hidden protostar bounces off gas and dust.

Within a field of glittering multicolored stars, bluish clouds of gas edged in glowing red cluster at the top of the image and in a bubble-shaped clump to the mid-right. A single shining star throws diffraction spikes across the upper left of the image.
A protostar is swathed in the gas of an emission nebula within star-forming region GAL-305.20+00.21.
NASA, ESA, and R. Fedriani (Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)

This Hubble image showcases the star-forming region GAL-305.20+00.21. The bright spot in the center-right of the image is an emission nebula, glowing gas that is ionized by a protostar buried within the larger complex of gas and dust clouds.

A bright, glowing cloud of orange gas is situated in the center of dark dust clouds and a field of stars.
A protostar’s jets of high-speed particles are responsible for the bright region of excited, glowing hydrogen in this Hubble image.
NASA, ESA, and R. Fedriani (Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)

Shrouded in gas and dust, the massive protostar IRAS 20126+4104 lies within a high-mass star-forming region about 5,300 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus. This actively forming star is a B-type protostar, characterized by its high luminosity, bluish-white color, and very high temperature. The bright region of ionized hydrogen at the center of the image is energized by jets emerging from the poles of the protostar, which ground-based observatories previously observed.

New images added every day between January 12-17, 2026! Follow @NASAHubble on social media for the latest Hubble images and news and see Hubble’s Stellar Construction Zones for more images of young stellar objects.

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Media Contact:

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

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