NASA Delivers Science Instrument to JAXA’s Martian Moons Mission

On March 14, NASA delivered its gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer instrument to JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) for integration onto JAXA’s MMX (Martian Moons eXploration) mission spacecraft and final system-level testing.  

NASA’s Mars-moon Exploration with Gamma Ray and Neutrons (MEGANE) instrument, developed by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, in collaboration with colleagues from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California, will play a major role in the MMX mission, which aims to characterize and determine the origin of Mars’ moons Phobos and Deimos and deliver a sample from Phobos to Earth. 

Scientists suspect the asteroid-sized bodies either are remnants of an ancient collision between Mars and a large impactor or are themselves asteroids captured by Mars’ gravity. By measuring the energies of neutrons and gamma rays emitted from the surface of Phobos, MEGANE will let MMX “see” the elemental composition of the moon’s surface and help peg the likely origin of the moon. 

“MEGANE will be a key instrument on MMX, making a big contribution toward the goal of understanding the origin of the Martian moons,” said Thomas Statler, MEGANE program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “NASA is glad to see MEGANE ready for integration, another step in NASA’s continuing collaboration with JAXA on this groundbreaking mission.”

The instrument team received the green light last fall to ship MEGANE (pronounced meh-GAH-nay, the Japanese word for “eyeglasses”) after the project’s standing review board evaluated the device’s readiness. That milestone marked the end of a demanding 6-year design and development process, which met NASA’s cost and schedule constraints. 

“Passing the pre-ship review and delivering the hardware are significant steps for all those working on MEGANE,” said APL’s David Lawrence, the instrument’s principal investigator. “Like all spaceflight builds, we have had challenges getting to this point, but we are excited to see how MEGANE works with all the other spacecraft components for this exciting MMX mission.”    

With MEGANE now in Japan, the MMX team will begin integrating the scientific instruments, including MEGANE, with other spacecraft components, before putting the entire system through a series of tests in preparation for launch, which is scheduled for fiscal year 2026, aboard a JAXA H3 rocket. 

“For me personally, I’m looking forward to all the integration and test operations that are to come,” said Sarah Bucior, a space systems engineer in SES and the MEGANE I&T Lead Engineer. “I love rockets, so I’m really interested to see how they build their spacecraft and then follow it along to launch operations and liftoff.”

MEGANE was developed under NASA’s Discovery Program, which provides low-cost access to space. The Discovery Program is managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The instrument science team includes investigators from APL, LLNL, Marietta College, NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, and JAXA. 

To learn more about MEGANE and the MMX mission, visit http://megane.jhuapl.edu.

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St. Patrick’s Aurora Illuminates the Night Sky

This majestic image of the dazzling green lights of the aurora borealis was captured on March 17, 2015, around 5:30 a.m. EDT in Donnelly Creek, Alaska.

The aurora borealis and aurora australis, often called the northern lights and southern lights, are common occurrences at high northern and southern latitudes, less frequent at mid-latitudes, and seldom seen near the equator.

These colorful ribbons of light are the visible manifestation of the solar wind – the flow of charged particles from the Sun – interacting with the Earth’s magnetosphere. Strong geomagnetic storms stimulate our atmosphere and light up the night sky, creating auroras.

See how you can help track auroras around the world with the Aurorasaurus project.

Image Credit: Sebastian Saarloos

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Michelle Zajac

NASA Announces Semifinalists of Power to Explore Challenge

NASA selected 45 student essays as semifinalists of its 2024 Power to Explore Challenge, a national competition for K-12 students featuring the enabling power of radioisotopes. Contestants were challenged to explore how NASA has powered some of its most famous science missions and to dream up how their personal “superpower” would energize their success on their own radioisotope-powered science mission. The competition asked students to learn about Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS), “nuclear batteries” that NASA uses to explore the harshest, darkest, and dustiest parts of our solar system. RPS have enabled many spacecraft to conduct otherwise impossible missions in total darkness.

In 250 words or less, students wrote about a mission of their own that would use these space power systems and described their own power to achieve their mission goals. The challenges of space exploration without solar power are especially relevant ahead of the United States’ upcoming April 8 total solar eclipse, which will offer a momentary glimpse into what life would be like without sunlight.

The Power to Explore Challenge offered students the opportunity to learn more about these reliable power systems, celebrate their own strengths, and interact with NASA’s diverse workforce. This year’s contest received 1,787 submitted entries from 48 states and Puerto Rico.

“It has been so exciting to see how many students across the nation have submitted essays to NASA’s Power to Explore Challenge,” said Carl Sandifer, program manager of the Radioisotope Power Systems Program at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. “We have been thrilled to read their creative RPS-powered mission concepts and have been inspired learning about their many ‘superpowers’ that make them the bright future of NASA – the Artemis Generation.”

Entries were split into three categories: grades K-4, 5-8, and 9-12. Every student who submitted an entry received a digital certificate, and over 4,094 participants who signed up received an invitation to the Power Up virtual event. With NASA’s Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate Nicola Fox, NASA’s Radioisotope Power Systems Program Manager Carl Sandifer, and Kim Rink of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in

We have been thrilled to read their creative RPS-powered mission concepts and have been inspired learning about their many ‘superpowers’ that make them the bright future of NASA – the Artemis Generation.

Carl Sandifer

Program Manager, Radioisotope Power Systems Program.

Southern California, students learned about what powers the NASA workforce to dream big and work together to explore.

Fifteen national semifinalists in each grade category (45 semifinalists total) have been selected. These participants also will receive a NASA RPS prize pack. Finalists for this challenge will be announced on April 8 in celebration of the total solar eclipse.

Semifinalists: Grades K-4

• Maryam Asif, Sarasota, FL
• Thashvi Balaji, Riverview, FL
• Yavuz Bastug, Peckville, PA
• Claire Bennett, La Grange, NC
• Ada Brolan, Somerville, MA
• Joseph Brown, Huntsville, AL
• Ashwin Cohen, Washington, D.C.
• Adara George, Lithia, FL
• Katerine Leon, Long Beach, CA
• Rainie Lin, Lexington, KY
• Connor Personette, Lakeland, FL
• Yash Rajan, Issaquah, WA
• Camila Rymzo, Belmont, MA
• Arslan Soner, Columbia, SC
• Zachary Tolchin, Guilford, CT

Semifinalists: Grades 5-8

• Nithilam Arivuchelvan, Short Hills, NJ
• Nandini Bandyopadhyay, Short Hills, NJ
• Cooper Basi, Rocklin, CA
• Joshua Cheng, Rockville, MD
• Kaitlyn Chu, Mercer Island, WA
• Mayson Howell, Troy, MO
• Dhiraj Javvadi, Louisville, KY
• Aadya Karthik, Redmond, WA
• Subham Maiti, Bloomington, MN
• Meadow McCarthy, Corvallis, OR
• Elianna Muthersbaugh, Bluffton, SC
• Archer Prentice, Koloa, HI
• Andrew Tavares, Bridgewater, MA
• Sara Wang, Henderson, NV
• Anna Yang, Austin, TX

Semifinalists: Grades 9-12

• Sabrina Affany, Fresno, CA
• Alejandro Aguirre, Mission Viejo, CA
• Sai Meghana Chakka, Charlotte, NC
• Khushi Jain, San Jose, CA
• Aiden Johnson, Virginia Beach, VA
• Robert Kreidler, Cincinnati, OH
• Zoie Lawson, Tigard, OR
• Thomas Liu, Ridgewood, NJ
• Madeline Male, Fairway, KS
• Dang Khoi Pham, Westminster, CA
• Sofia Anna Reed-Gomes, Coral Gables, FL
• Ava Schmidt, Leavenworth, WA
• Madden Smith, Loveland, OH
• Kailey Thomas, Las Vegas, NV
• Warren Volles, Lyme, CT

About the Challenge

The challenge is funded by the Radioisotope Power Systems Program Office in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and administered by Future Engineers under the NASA Open Innovation Services 2 contract. This contract is managed by the NASA Tournament Lab, a part of the Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing Program in NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.

Kristin Jansen
NASA’s Glenn Research Center

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Phil Davis

Women’s History Month: Meet Sarah Mann

In honor of Women’s History Month, we recently sat down with Sarah Mann, public affairs specialist and member of the Women’s Networking Group (WNG) at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, to learn more about her role and working at NASA.

What do you do at NASA and how do you help support Armstrong’s mission?

I get to tell the story about the exciting developments that happen with various programs and projects happening at NASA’s primary center for high-risk, atmospheric flight research. In writing for web and social, working with media, my job informs the public on the status and successes of programs and projects.

Why did you choose to work at NASA and how long have you worked here?

Who wouldn’t want to work for NASA?! I have been working for NASA for just over three years – and I have loved every minute! Growing up in “Aerospace Valley” it feels natural to work for NASA, and especially at Armstrong, where NASA develops the most cutting-edge technology for the first “A” in NASA.

What has been your proudest accomplishment or highlight of your career?

Before I worked for NASA, I did public relations for a local charter school that focused on STEM education; within my first week working for this school, it was decided to build a brand-new school and public outreach was a major component of the project. It was incredible to be a part of something from the very beginning; community outreach meetings to the groundbreaking ceremony, beam signing, getting the certificate of occupancy, to finally the grand opening of a brand-new school. I don’t think I will ever forget during the ribbon cutting ceremony and looking around to see so many students, families, and the community and thinking how far we had come from those initial conversations to now walking into the front door of a beautiful new school.

What is one piece of advice you’ve never forgotten?

My favorite professor in undergrad told us to keep our textbooks. Hardcover textbooks may be a thing of the past, but for me, they are still valuable reference tools, idea generators, reminders, and in some ways just a way to reminisce about the good old college days.

Do you have any advice for others like yourself who may be contemplating a career at NASA?

Network! Apply! Throughout my career, I have found that networking has been important for my career goals. Also, apply to all possible jobs – even those positions that are a little bit of a stretch for your experience. But with every interview you learn more and more and it helps prepare for future positions.

What is the most exciting aspect of your job?

It is really hard to identify just one exciting aspect of my job. Every day I get to work with the best people in their field and I get to tell the story about what they are working on to move the NASA mission forward.

What did you want to be when you were growing up? Did you think you would ever work for NASA?

Growing up I really thought I was going to be a professional ballet dancer, however, physically that wasn’t going to be possible, so I had to pivot. Thinking that being a lawyer would be very cool so I could afford to have a BMWZ8 – but I really wasn’t passionate about law. While in high school I took a lot of advanced science classes (chemistry and physics) but being in a lab all day wasn’t really appealing to me either. Then my senior year of high school, I learned about public affairs, and the rest is history. Never did I think I would work for NASA, an aerospace company probably, but NASA – it was such an exciting day when I got the call being offered a position to work for NASA.

What’s the strangest tradition in your family? Or a unique family tradition?

We all sit in the same exact spots in my parents’ house on Christmas morning to open gifts. It started when we were very little and still happens today – we also take turns opening gifts.

If you could master a skill without any work, what would it be?

Being a nuclear engineer would be so cool, so all the skills that would come with that job!

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GLOBE Eclipse Challenge: Clouds and Our Solar-Powered Earth

Imagine standing outside on a cool spring day when all at once, the clouds shift and sunlight streams down, bathing you with warmth. In moments like this, you might notice – and appreciate – the Sun just a little bit more, but you feel the Sun’s influence every day, even when you don’t feel the Sun itself. Solar energy drives the water cycle and cloud formation. It fuels winds and nourishes growing plants. The Sun is intricately connected to the rhythm of life on Earth because we live on a solar-powered planet.

So what happens on Earth when the Sun is blocked during an eclipse? How cold will it get in the Moon’s shadow? What will happen to the clouds? Will the temperature change? Will winds shift? To answer these questions, The GLOBE Program invites you to participate in the natural experiment provided by April 8’s total solar eclipse by recording changes in cloud conditions and in temperature everywhere (both inside and outside the eclipse path).

To participate in GLOBE Eclipse:

• Download the free GLOBE Observer app and register with an active email address.
• Get an air temperature thermometer so you are ready to record the temperature during the eclipse.
• Begin observing clouds now (before eclipse day) so that you are comfortable with the process. To get ready, we encourage you to participate in the GLOBE Eclipse Challenge: Clouds and Our Solar-Powered Earth, March 15-April 15. During the challenge, you will record cloud conditions at varying times during the day.
• On April 8, tap on “Eclipse” in the GLOBE Observer app and start recording your temperature and sky conditions before, during, and after the eclipse. You will measure temperature every 5-10 minutes and clouds every 15-30 minutes or whenever you see change. You can explore the Eclipse protocol in the app without entering data (practice mode) starting in mid-March. You can start entering actual temperature data the week before the eclipse.

You can find videos and additional training resources at: https://observer.globe.gov/eclipse.

The GLOBE Program is an international science and education program that engages students and volunteers from around the globe in monitoring the environment in support of Earth system science. Through GLOBE Observer, the app of The GLOBE Program, volunteers document clouds every day, creating a years-long record of change across seasons. The GLOBE Eclipse tool with the app extends routine cloud observations to provide insight into what happens in the sky when the Sun is blocked.

By Holli Kohl
GLOBE Observer, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

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