NASA Glenn Seeking Proposals to Support 2024 Events
2 min read
NASA Glenn Seeking Proposals to Support 2024 Events
Oct. 26, 2023
RELEASE: 23-011
NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland wants to collaborate with organizations across the country to bring the NASA experience to new, diverse audiences.
Glenn has a collection of engaging exhibits and a pool of experts who can speak on space and aeronautics topics. NASA engagement is popular, and each year Glenn receives more event requests than it can accommodate.
Organizations are invited to take advantage of this opportunity and submit proposals for established events taking place in 2024 that could benefit from a NASA engagement presence.
This opportunity is designed to provide organizations with:
Interactive NASA exhibits and historical artifacts to showcase NASA’s missions and research.
Access to NASA subject matter experts for interactive speaking engagements.
A man with an open-mouthed smile wears a balloon hat made at the Fall Family Fest alongside children who are also enjoying their balloon toys during a Bingo round.
Credits: NASA/Charles Beason
Marshall Team Members Enjoy Beginning of Autumn at Fall Family Fest
By Celine Smith
Team members at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and their family members participated in the festivities of Fall Family Fest Oct. 19 at the walking trail behind Building 4315.
“Once the rain threat was gone, it was the perfect fall afternoon to welcome back over a thousand NASA family members for the first time since COVID-19,” said Jose Matienzo, who is the operations manager of the Marshall Exchange, which hosted the event.
A man with an open-mouthed smile wears a balloon hat made at the Fall Family Fest alongside children who are also enjoying their balloon toys during a Bingo round.
NASA/Charles Beason
The Exchange provided free barbecue and beverages for attendees. A food truck also provided ice cream treats.
Several rocket inflatables and a balloon artist were present for children to enjoy. Falcon Punch, a band comprised of Marshall engineers, performed rocking classics for attendees. Additionally, the Exchange hosted several rounds of Bingo for guests as well.
Fall Family Fest also featured activities for participants to share their interests with others. Artisans displayed their handcrafted goods, paintings, and photographs. Bakers brought deserts for attendees to sample and judge who made the best one. Car enthusiasts entered their prized vehicles into a competition with the crowd choosing their favorites.
“I had a great time meeting some of our new employees and reconnecting with longtime friends at the Fall Festival,” said Joseph Pelfrey, acting center director. “It’s fun to see the Marshall family not just working together but having fun together. This is how we build the cultural fabric of Marshall for the future.”
The event was a space for team members and families to unwind, reconnect and enjoy the turn of the season.
“It felt so good to see so many old friends, new faces, their families, and retirees on a beautiful fall afternoon having a good time,” Matienzo said.
Smith, a Media Fusion employee, supports the Marshall Office of Communications.
Priorities, Leadership Stressed at Mission Success is in Our Hands Forum; Jennifer Robinson Receives Golden Eagle Award
By Wayne Smith
Garrett Harencak, a retired Air Force major general and Jacobs vice president and president of Mission Support and Test Services LLC, said determining priorities and practice are crucial steps toward establishing a culture focused on mission success and safety during his keynote address for the Mission Success is in Our Hands Shared Experiences Forum.
The Oct. 19 event was in Building 4203 at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. Mission Success is in Our Hands is a safety initiative collaboration between Marshall and Jacobs.
Garrett Harencak, Jacobs vice president and president of Mission Support and Test Services LLC, makes a point during his presentation at the Mission Success is in Our Hands hybrid Shared Experiences Forum on Oct. 19.
NASA/Danielle Burleson
Harencak also shared his experiences in working and leading nuclear safety, high hazard projects, and conducting operations in the nuclear and national security industries. Using the analogy of a lion chasing chipmunks or zebras, he said leaders must focus on the most important tasks in a mission as opposed to spending time on lesser objectives. Harencak said that while a lion is quick and nimble enough to chase chipmunks, the rodent does not provide as much nutritional value to a lion’s pride when compared to a zebra.
“Are you chasing chipmunks or zebras?” Harencak asked during his presentation. “You have to focus on what matters most. And when you tell your team members to chase chipmunks, they know it’s not the most important thing they should be doing that day.”
He also stressed the importance of practicing a routine to be prepared for an unplanned event to happen. “The value of practice and repetition is that it allows you to overcome when things go wrong, and things will go wrong,” Harencak said. “Practice reduces fear. Without practice, what follows fear is panic, and what follows panic are bad decisions.”
Golden Eagle Award winner Jennifer Robinson, center, receives a plaque commemorating her award during the Oct. 19 Mission Success is in Our Hands event. Joining Robinson are Bill Hill, left, director of the Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate at Marshall, and Jeff Haars, Jacobs vice president and program manager for Jacobs Space Exploration Group.
NASA/Danielle Burleson
In talking about leadership, Harencak said it’s everyone’s responsibility to “be the boss you always wanted to work for” in building a culture of mission success, particularly in a high-hazard business.
“It’s a constant struggle as leaders to build an atmosphere that allows everyone to do what’s necessary to make sure we do it safely and securely,” Harencak said.
Jennifer Robinson was awarded the Golden Eagle Award during the event. Robinson, a Jacobs Space Exploration Group employee, is the SLS (Space Launch System) debris analysis team lead. The team is responsible for analyzing the launch debris environment and identifying the debris risk to SLS. Bill Hill, director of the Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate at Marshall, said Robinson’s team developed a process for evaluating potential debris issues during countdown in the months leading up to the Artemis I launch.
Eight new testimonial banners are displayed as part of the Mission Success is in Our Hands Shared Experiences Forum
NASA/Danielle Burleson
“This process subsequently was adopted as the standing operating procedure that allows for imagery and debris teams to work together to disposition debris findings during critical hours leading to launch,” Hill said.
Since 2015, the Golden Eagle Award has been presented by Mission Success is in Our Hands. The award promotes awareness and appreciation for flight safety, as demonstrated through the connections between employees’ everyday work, the success of NASA and Marshall’s missions, and the safety of NASA astronauts. The award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to flight safety and mission assurance above and beyond their normal work requirements. Management or peers can nominate any team member for the award. Honorees are typically recognized at quarterly Shared Experiences forums.
As part of the final Shared Experiences Forum of the year, the Mission Success committee displayed eight new testimonial banners featuring Marshall team members as part of its rebranding. The banners will be placed across the center.
Smith, a Media Fusion employee and the Marshall Star editor, supports the Marshall Office of Communications.
Marshall Kicks Off Participation in 2023 Combined Federal Campaign
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center kicked off its participation in the CFC (Combined Federal Campaign) Oct. 17 after raising more funds than any other large federal agency in the Greater Tennessee Valley Zone last year.
The CFC Kickoff Charities Fair was held in Marshall’s Activities Building 4316. Ten charities from the Tennessee Valley participated in the event to talk about their needs and how Marshall team members could help or get involved through volunteering. This year’s theme is “Give Happy.”
Marshall Associate Director, Technical, Larry Leopard, welcomes team members to the CFC Kickoff Charities Fair.
NASA/Alex Russell
Every year, federal workers come together to raise money and volunteer for their favorite charities. The CFC, in its 62nd year, is the world’s largest and most successful annual workplace charity campaign for federal employees and retirees. Since its inception, the campaign has raised nearly $8.7 billion for charities and people in need.
During the 2022 campaign year, Marshall team members pledged $295,454. The 2023 CFC solicitation period started Oct. 2 and runs through Jan. 15, 2024. Marshall’s goal this year is to increase participation by 15%. Last year, 343 people at Marshall contributed.
Donors can contribute financially via credit or debit card payment or PayPal, with some team members able to donate a portion of their paycheck during the campaign period. Donors can also contribute their time at a participating charity, with each volunteer hour counted toward the overall fundraising goal. Team members can visit Inside Marshall for more information about this year’s campaign.
Marshall team members visit some of the different charities represented at the CFC kickoff event.
NASA/Alex Russell
In the Greater Tennessee Valley Zone, there are 69 charities currently listed as active CFC participants, from community health clinics and animal rescues to veteran and social justice groups.
“We can create change by supporting our favorite causes and promoting a greater good,” Marshall Associate Director, Technical, Larry Leopard said at the event kickoff. “For this year’s campaign, I want to challenge everyone at Marshall to donate or volunteer at a local charity. Take the time to discover a cause that you and your family can connect with. Make a small donation, or volunteer as a family or with friends. These actions matter so much to our local nonprofits and our community.”
Learn more about CFC and see the list of participating charities in your community by visiting https://cfcgiving.opm.gov.
Keith Savoy credits his father for teaching him how to do a number of things. His father also inspired him to pursue a career in engineering.
“My dad, a U.S. Marine, sugar cane farmer, and shipping and loading supervisor for CF Industries, inspired me to do lots of things,” said Savoy, chief operating officer at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility. “Although he did not have a college degree, he was a jack of all trades and could rebuild vehicle engines, weld, perform carpentry, and do many other tasks that are essential to our daily lives.”
Keith Savoy is the chief operating officer at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility.
NASA/Michael DeMocker
In his role, Savoy oversees the day-to-day administrative and operational functions at Michoud, helping sustain NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) and Orion spacecraft production efforts, and coordinating requirements and logistics with the facility’s tenant leadership for approximately 3,500 employees. Michoud is managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.
In addition to learning from his father, Savoy credits an internship with Lockheed Martin for spurring his interest in working with NASA.
“During my junior year in college, I was selected to an intern program with Lockheed Martin, working for Mr. George Hasting during the summer,” Savoy said. “As a mentor, he provided insight and leadership, as well as piquing my interest in the space program. This is what led me to ultimately accepting a position with Lockheed Martin at Michoud after I graduated.”
Question: What excites you most about the future of human space exploration and your team’s role it?
Savoy: What excites me most about the future of human space exploration is the continued involvement of the Michoud Assembly Facility in the manufacturing of several components for Artemis, including the SLS core stage, future SLS Exploration Upper Stage, and the Orion pressure vessel. Michoud has been involved in the manufacturing and assembly of space flight hardware since the 1960s. I have been fortunate to be involved in the External Tank Program for shuttle and Artemis. I am very proud of the Michoud team’s accomplishment of successfully executing all facility and program modifications to support these two major NASA programs.
Question: What has been the proudest moment of your career and why?
Savoy: I believe the proudest moments of my career have been every time I have watched a shuttle launch and most recently the Artemis I launch, knowing Michoud and everyone working there contributed to the successful launch. I usually get nervous right before the powerful RS-25 engines ignite and the vehicle slowly pulls away from the launch pad.
Question: Who or what drives/motivates you?
Savoy: I have always been a self-motivated individual, whether it was sports, education, or my career. I am very passionate about a lot of things, as most people who work around me know.
Question: What advice do you have for employees early in their NASA career or those in new leadership roles?
Savoy: Take every opportunity to cross train in multiple jobs if available. I started my career as an engineer in the Operations and Maintenance organization with Lockheed Martin during the External Tank Program. I held numerous jobs with Lockheed with increasing areas of responsibility to include new business planner, environmental engineer, electrical engineering supervisor, critical systems associate manager, Enhancement Team manager and Operational Planning and Layout manager. After my 20 years with Lockheed Martin, I transitioned to NASA as a logistics engineer for the site and later to the facilities operations manager. Finally, in 2023 I accepted the responsibility of NASA chief operating officer. Each one of these learning opportunities/challenges has provided me with necessary technical and leadership attributes to effectively manage a complex site like Michoud with multiple program and site tenants.
Question: What do you enjoy doing with your time while away from work?
Savoy: I enjoy working out/exercising, relaxing at my camp in Pierre Part, Louisiana, watching or going to LSU Tigers and New Orleans Saints football games, and traveling with my family. We typically have a family vacation once a year; the next one is Yellowstone National Park.
Higgins, a Manufacturing Technical Solutions Inc. employee, works in communications at Michoud Assembly Facility.
NASA’s Innovative Rocket Nozzle Paves Way for Deep Space Missions
By Ray Osorio
NASA recently built and tested an additively-manufactured – or 3D printed – rocket engine nozzle made of aluminum, making it lighter than conventional nozzles and setting the course for deep space flights that can carry more payloads.
Under the agency’s Announcement of Collaborative Opportunity, engineers from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center partnered with Elementum 3D, in Erie, Colorado, to create a weldable type of aluminum that is heat resistant enough for use on rocket engines. Compared to other metals, aluminum is lower density and allows for high-strength, lightweight components.
The RAMFIRE nozzle performs a hot fire test at Marshall’s East test area stand 115. The nozzle, made of the novel aluminum alloy 6061-RAM2, experiences huge temperature gradients. As hot gasses approach 6000 degrees Fahrenheit and undergo combustion, icicles are forming on the outside of the engine nozzle.
NASA
However, due to its low tolerance to extreme heat and its tendency to crack during welding, aluminum is not typically used for additive manufacturing of rocket engine parts – until now.
Meet NASA’s latest development under the Reactive Additive Manufacturing for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, or RAMFIRE, project. Funded under NASA’s STMD (Space Technology Mission Directorate), RAMFIRE focuses on advancing lightweight, additively manufactured aluminum rocket nozzles. The nozzles are designed with small internal channels that keep the nozzle cool enough to prevent melting.
With conventional manufacturing methods, a nozzle may require as many as thousand individually joined parts. The RAMFIRE nozzle is built as a single piece, requiring far fewer bonds and significantly reduced manufacturing time.
At the RPM Innovation facility in Rapid City, South Dakota, manufacturing for a large-scale aerospike demonstration nozzle with integral channels is underway. The laser powder directed energy deposition process creates a melt pool using a laser and blows powder into the melt pool to deposit material layer by layer. NASA engineers will use the nozzle as a proof of concept to inform future component designs.
RPM Innovation
NASA and Elementum 3D first developed the novel aluminum variant known as A6061-RAM2 to build the nozzle and modify the powder used with LP-DED (laser powder directed energy deposition) technology. Another commercial partner, RPM Innovations in Rapid City, South Dakota, used the newly invented aluminum and specialized powder to build the RAMFIRE nozzles using their LP-DED process.
“Industry partnerships with specialty manufacturing vendors aid in advancing the supply base and help make additive manufacturing more accessible for NASA missions and the broader commercial and aerospace industry,” said Paul Gradl, RAMFIRE principal investigator at Marshall.
NASA’s Moon to Mars objectives require the capability to send more cargo to deep space destinations. The novel alloy could play an instrumental role in this by enabling the manufacturing of lightweight rocket components capable of withstanding high structural loads.
Seen here at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, and developed with the same 6061-RAM2 aluminum material used under the RAMFIRE project, is a vacuum jacket manufacturing demonstrator tank. The component, made for cryogenic fluid application, is designed with a series of integral cooling channels that have a wall thickness of about 0.06 inches.
NASA
“Mass is critical for NASA’s future deep space missions,” said John Vickers, principal technologist for STMD advanced manufacturing. “Projects like this mature additive manufacturing along with advanced materials, and will help evolve new propulsion systems, in-space manufacturing, and infrastructure needed for NASA’s ambitious missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.”
Earlier this summer at Marshall’s East Test Area, two RAMFIRE nozzles completed multiple hot-fire tests using liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, as well as liquid oxygen and liquid methane fuel configurations. With pressure chambers in excess of 825 pounds per square inch – more than anticipated testing pressures – the nozzles successfully accumulated 22 starts and 579 seconds, or nearly 10 minutes, of run time. This event demonstrates the nozzles can operate in the most demanding deep-space environments.
“This test series marks a significant milestone for the nozzle,” Gradl said. “After putting the nozzle through the paces of a demanding hot-fire test series, we’ve demonstrated the nozzle can survive the thermal, structural, and pressure loads for a lunar lander scale engine.”
NASA engineers Tessa Fedotowsky and Ben Williams, from Marshall, inspect the RAMFIRE nozzle following successful hot-fire testing.
NASA
In addition to successfully building and testing the rocket engine nozzles, the RAMFIRE project has used the RAMFIRE aluminum material and additive manufacturing process to construct other advanced large components for demonstration purposes. These include a 36-inch diameter aerospike nozzle with complex integral coolant channels and a vacuum-jacketed tank for cryogenic fluid applications.
NASA and industry partners are working to share the data and process with commercial stakeholders and academia. Various aerospace companies are evaluating the novel alloy and the LP-DED additive manufacturing process and looking for ways it can be used to make components for satellites and other applications.
Osorio is a public affairs officer with the Marshall Office of Communications.
Vicky Garcia Speaker for Oct. 30 Marshall Association Event
Vicky Garcia, a launch vehicle systems engineer at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, will be the guest speaker for the Marshall Association Speaker Series on Oct. 30.
Vicky Garcia, a launch vehicle systems engineer at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, will be the guest speaker for the Marshall Association Speaker Series on Oct. 30.
NASA
The event will be 11 a.m.-12 p.m. The event is free to attend and open to everyone via Teams. Marshall team members can attend in Building 4221, Conference Room 1103. The meeting topic follows this year’s theme of Breaking Boundaries.
In recognition of National Disability Month, Garcia will discuss AstroAccess, a project dedicated to promoting inclusion in human space exploration by paving the way for disabled astronauts.
Since its founding in 2021, AstroAccess has conducted five microgravity missions in which disabled scientists, engineers, veterans, students, athletes, and artists perform demonstrations onboard parabolic flights with the Zero Gravity Corporation, as the first step in a progression toward flying a diverse range of people to space. This project is part of SciAccess, an international non-profit dedicated to advancing disability inclusion in STEM. Read more about AstroAccess.
Email the Marshall Association for questions about the event. For more information on the Marshall Association and how to join, team members can visit their page on Inside Marshall.
The curation team processing NASA’s asteroid Bennu sample has removed and collected 2.48 ounces (70.3 grams) of rocks and dust from the sampler hardware – surpassing the agency’s goal of bringing at least 60 grams to Earth.
And the good news is, there’s still more of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer) sample to collect.
The curation team processing NASA’s asteroid Bennu sample from the OSIRIS-REx mission has surpassed the agency’s goal of bringing at least 60 grams to Earth, removing and collecting 2.48 ounces (70.3 grams) of rocks and dust from the sampler hardware.
NASA
The sample processed so far includes the rocks and dust found on the outside of the sampler head, as well as a portion of the bulk sample from inside the head, which was accessed through the head’s mylar flap. Additional material remaining inside the sampler head, called the Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism, or TAGSAM, is set for removal later, adding to the mass total.
In the last week, the team at NASA’s Johnson Space Center changed its approach to opening the TAGSAM head, which contained the bulk of the rocks and dust collected by the spacecraft in 2020. After multiple attempts at removal, the team discovered two of the 35 fasteners on the TAGSAM head could not be removed with the current tools approved for use in the OSIRIS-REx glovebox. The team has been working to develop and implement new approaches to extract the material inside the head, while continuing to keep the sample safe and pristine.
As a first step, the team successfully accessed some of the material by holding down the head’s mylar flap and removing the sample inside with tweezers or a scoop, depending on material size. The collection and containment of material through this method, combined with the earlier collection of material located outside the head, yielded a total mass exceeding the 60 grams required.
The team will spend the next few weeks developing and practicing a new procedure to remove the remaining asteroid sample from the TAGSAM sampler head while simultaneously processing the material that was collected last week. The OSIRIS-REx science team will also proceed with its plan to characterize the extracted material and begin analysis of the bulk sample obtained so far.
All curation work on the sample – and the TAGSAM head – is performed in a specialized glovebox under a flow of nitrogen to keep it from being exposed to Earth’s atmosphere, preserving the sample’s pristine state for subsequent scientific analysis. The tools for any proposed solution to extract the remaining material from the head must be able to fit inside the glovebox and not compromise the scientific integrity of the collection, and any procedures must be consistent with the clean room’s standards.
While the procedure to access the final portion of the material is being developed, the team has removed the TAGSAM head from the active flow of nitrogen in the glovebox and stored it in its transfer container, sealed with an O-ring and surrounded by a sealed Teflon bag to make sure the sample is kept safe in a stable, nitrogen-rich, environment.
OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA’s New Frontiers Program, managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Read more about Marshall’s role in OSIRIS-REx.
Just in Time for Halloween, NASA’s Juno Mission Spots Eerie “Face” on Jupiter
On Sept. 7, 2023, during its 54th close flyby of Jupiter, NASA’s Juno mission captured this view of an area in the giant planet’s far northern regions called Jet N7. The image shows turbulent clouds and storms along Jupiter’s terminator, the dividing line between the day and night sides of the planet. The low angle of sunlight highlights the complex topography of features in this region, which scientists have studied to better understand the processes playing out in Jupiter’s atmosphere.
As often occurs in views from Juno, Jupiter’s clouds in this picture lend themselves to pareidolia, the effect that causes observers to perceive faces or other patterns in largely random patterns.
Citizen scientist Vladimir Tarasov made this image using raw data from the JunoCam instrument. At the time the raw image was taken, the Juno spacecraft was about 4,800 miles (about 7,700 kilometers) above Jupiter’s cloud tops, at a latitude of about 69 degrees north.
AWE Launching to Space Station to Study Atmospheric Waves via Airglow
4 min read
AWE Launching to Space Station to Study Atmospheric Waves via Airglow
NASA’s Atmospheric Waves Experiment, or AWE, mission is scheduled to launch to the International Space Station in November 2023, where it will make use of a natural, ethereal glow in Earth’s sky to study waves in our planet’s atmosphere.
Built by Utah State University’s Space Dynamics Laboratory in North Logan, Utah, AWE will be mounted on the exterior of the space station. From this perch, AWE will stare down toward Earth, tracking undulations in the air known as atmospheric gravity waves (AGWs).
Primarily originating in the lowest level of the atmosphere, AGWs may be caused by strong weather events such as tornadoes, hurricanes, or even thunderstorms. These weather events can momentarily push pockets of high-density air upwards into the atmosphere before the air sinks back down. This up-and-down bobbing often leaves behind distinctive ripples patterns in the clouds.
This photo shows examples of cloud patterns caused by atmospheric gravity waves (AGWs). Warmer, denser air from lower in the atmosphere holds more water, so as weather events like wind and storms push those pockets of air to higher altitudes, that water forms clouds at the crests of those waves.
Courtesy Alexa Halford; used with permission
But AGWs continue all the way to space, where they contribute to what’s known as space weather – the tumultuous exchange of energy in the area surrounding our planet that can disrupt satellite and communications signals. AWE will measure AGWs at an atmospheric layer that begins some 54 miles (87 kilometers) in altitude, known as the mesopause.
“This is the first time that AGWs, especially the small-scale ones, will be measured globally at the mesopause, the gateway to the space,” said Michael Taylor, professor of physics at Utah State University and principal investigator for the mission. “More importantly, this is the first time we will be able to quantify the impacts of AGWs on space weather.”
This image taken from the International Space Station shows swaths of airglow hovering in Earth’s atmosphere. NASA’s new Atmospheric Waves Experiment will observe airglow from a perch on the space station to help scientists understand, and ultimately improve forecasts of, space weather changes in the upper atmosphere.
NASA
At the mesopause, where AWE will make its measurements, AGWs are revealed by colorful bands of light in our atmosphere known as airglow. AWE will “see” these waves by recording variations of airglow in infrared light, a wavelength range too long for human eyes to see. At these altitudes our atmosphere dips to its coldest temperatures – reaching as low as -150 degrees Fahrenheit (-101 degrees Celsius) – and the faint glow of infrared light is at its brightest.
By watching that infrared airglow grow brighter and dimmer as waves move through it, AWE will enable scientists to compute the size, power, and dispersion of AGWs like never before. It was also designed to see smaller AGWs, detecting short-scale ripples in airglow that previous missions would miss.
“AWE will be able to resolve waves at finer horizontal scales than what satellites can usually see at those altitudes, which is part of what makes the mission unique,” said Ruth Lieberman, AWE mission scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
This artist’s conception depicts AWE scanning the atmosphere from aboard the International Space Station. AWE will measure variations in infrared airglow to track atmospheric gravity waves as they move up from the lower atmosphere into space.
Utah State University Space Dynamics Laboratory
From its vantage point on the space station, AWE’s Advanced Mesospheric Temperature Mapper (AMTM) instrument will scan the mesopause below it. AWE’s AMTM consists of four identical telescopes, which together comprise a wide-field-of-view imaging radiometer, an instrument that measures the brightness of light at specific wavelength ranges. The relative brightness of different wavelengths can be used to create temperature maps, which in turn reveal how AGWs are moving through the atmosphere. It will be the most thorough study of AGWs and their effects on the upper atmosphere ever conducted.
From its unique vantage point on the International Space Station, NASA’s Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE) will look directly down into Earth’s atmosphere to study how gravity waves travel through the upper atmosphere. Data collected by AWE will enable scientists to determine the physics and characteristics of atmospheric gravity waves and how terrestrial weather influences the ionosphere, which can affect communication with satellites. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab
As a payload headed to the space station, AWE was required to hold four crucial safety reviews. The mission was successfully certified as a station payload at its last review in July 2023. Part of this certification involved “sharp edge” testing with astronaut gloves to ensure safety during AWE’s installation and maintenance on the exterior of the space station.
AWE is the first NASA mission to attempt this type of science to provide insight into how terrestrial and space weather interactions may affect satellite communications and tracking in orbit.
Following AWE’s installation on the International Space Station, the team’s focus will be to share the instrument’s data and results with the science community and the public. More information about AWE is available on the mission website: https://www.awemission.org/.
By J. Titus Stupfel, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
NASA Improves GIANT Optical Navigation Technology for Future Missions
As NASA scientists study the returned fragments of asteroid Bennu, the team that helped navigate the mission on its journey refines their technology for potential use in future robotic and crewed missions.
The optical navigation team at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, served as a backup navigation resource for the OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security – Regolith Explorer) mission to near-Earth asteroid Bennu. They double-checked the primary navigation team’s work and proved the viability of navigation by visual cues.
The sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission is seen shortly after touching down in the desert, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, at the Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft.
NASA/Keegan Barber
Optical navigation uses observations from cameras, lidar, or other sensors to navigate the way humans do. This cutting edge technology works by taking pictures of a target, such as Bennu, and identifying landmarks on the surface. GIANT software – that’s short for the Goddard Image Analysis and Navigation Tool – analyzes those images to provide information, such as precise distance to the target, and to develop three-dimensional maps of potential landing zones and hazards. It can also analyze a spinning object to help calculate the target’s mass and determine its center – critical details to know for a mission trying to enter an orbit.
“Onboard autonomous optical navigation is an enabling technology for current and future mission ideas and proposals,” said Andrew Liounis, lead developer for GIANT at Goddard. “It reduces the amount of data that needs to be downlinked to Earth, reducing the cost of communications for smaller missions, and allowing for more science data to be downlinked for larger missions. It also reduces the number of people required to perform orbit determination and navigation on the ground.”
Asteroid Bennu ejecting particles from its surface on Jan. 19, created by combining two images from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. GIANT optical navigation technology used to process images like these helped establish the size and velocity of the particles.
NASA / Goddard / University of Arizona
During OSIRIS-REx’s orbit of Bennu, GIANT identified particles flung from the asteroid’s surface. The optical navigation team used images to calculate the particles’ movement and mass, ultimately helping determine they did not pose a significant threat to the spacecraft.
Since then, lead developer Andrew Liounis said they have refined and expanded GIANT’s backbone collection of software utilities and scripts.
New GIANT developments include an open-source version of their software released to the public, and celestial navigation for deep space travel by observing stars, the Sun, and solar system objects. They are now working on a slimmed-down package to aid in autonomous operations throughout a mission’s life cycle.
“We’re also looking to use GIANT to process some Cassini data with partners at the University of Maryland in order to study Saturn’s interactions with its moons,” Liounis said.
Other innovators like Goddard engineer Alvin Yew are adapting the software to potentially aid rovers and human explorers on the surface of the Moon or other planets.
Adaptation, Improvement
Shortly after OSIRIS-REx left Bennu, Liounis’ team released a refined, open-source version for public use. “We considered a lot of changes to make it easier for the user and a few changes to make it run more efficiently,” he said.
An intern modified their code to make use of a graphics processor for ground-based operations, boosting the image processing at the heart of GIANT’s navigation.
A simplified version called cGIANT works with Goddard’s autonomous Navigation, Guidance, and Control software package, or autoNGC in ways that can be crucial to both small and large missions, Liounis said.
Liounis and colleague Chris Gnam developed a celestial navigation capability which uses GIANT to steer a spacecraft by processing images of stars, planets, asteroids, and even the Sun. Traditional deep space navigation uses the mission’s radio signals to determine location, velocity, and distance from Earth. Reducing a mission’s reliance on NASA’s Deep Space Network frees up a valuable resource shared by many ongoing missions, Gnam said.
Next on their agenda, the team hopes to develop planning capabilities so mission controllers can develop flight trajectories and orbits within GIANT – streamlining mission design.
“On OSIRIS-REx, it would take up to three months to plan our next trajectory or orbit,” Liounis said. “Now we can reduce that to a week or so of computer processing time.”
Their innovations have earned the team continuous support from Goddard’s Internal Research and Development program, individual missions, and NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program.
“As mission concepts become more advanced,” Liounis said, “optical navigation will continue to become a necessary component of the navigation toolbox.”
By Karl B. Hille
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
