Space Station Research Supports New FDA-Approved Cancer Therapy
European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Pesquet removes the Protein Crystallization Facility hardware from an incubator aboard the International Space Station for the CASIS PCG-5 investigation, which crystallized a monoclonal antibody developed by Merck Research Labs.
NASA
NASA opens the International Space Station for scientists and researchers, inviting them to use the benefits of microgravity for private industry research, technology demonstrations, and more. Today, half of the crew’s time aboard station is devoted to these aims, including medical research that addresses complex health challenges on Earth and prepares astronauts for future deep space missions.
Supported by knowledge gained from space station experiments, researchers at Merck Research Labs received approval in September from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a new injectable version of a medication used to treat several types of early-stage cancers called pembrolizumab, also known by its brand name KEYTRUDA. The development of the injectable formula has been supported by research efforts aboard the space station through the ISS National Laboratory, resulting in reduced treatment times while maintaining its efficacy.
Originally, the treatment was delivered during an in-office visit via infusion therapy into the patient’s veins, a process that could take up to two hours. Initial delivery improvements reduced infusion times to less than 30 minutes every three weeks. The newly approved subcutaneous injectable form takes about one minute every three weeks, promising to reduce cost and significantly reduce treatment time for patients and healthcare providers.
UV imaging of a ground control sample (left) and spaceflight sample (right) from Merck’s research shows the much more uniform size and distribution of crystals grown in microgravity. These results helped researchers to refine ground-based production of uniform crystalline suspensions required for an injectable version of KEYTRUDA.
Merck
Since 2014, Merck has flown crystal growth experiments to the space station to better understand how crystals form, including the monoclonal antibody used in this cancer treatment. Monoclonal antibodies are lab-made proteins that help the body fight diseases. This research focused on producing crystalline suspensions that dissolve easily in liquid, making it possible to deliver the medication by injection. In microgravity, the absence of gravity’s physical forces allows scientists to grow larger, more uniform, and higher-quality crystals than those grown in ground-based labs, advancing medication development and structural modeling.
Research aboard the space station has provided valuable insights into how gravity influences crystallization, helping to improve drug formulations. The work of NASA and its partners aboard the space station improves lives on Earth, grows a commercial economy in low Earth orbit, and prepares for human exploration of the Moon and Mars.
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4743-4749: Polygons in the Hollow
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Curiosity Blog, Sols 4743-4749: Polygons in the Hollow
NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this close-up image of polygon-shaped features in the “Monte Grande” boxwork hollow. Similar polygonal patterns in various strata were seen previously, elsewhere in Gale Crater. Curiosity captured the image using its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), located on the turret at the end of the rover’s robotic arm, on Dec. 11, 2025 — Sol 4745, or Martian day 4,745 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 16:55:37 UTC.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Written by Lucy Lim, Planetary Scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Earth Planning Date: Friday, Dec. 12, 2025
The weekend drive starting from the “Nevado Sajama” drill site brought Curiosity back into the “Monte Grande” boxwork hollow. We’ve been in this hollow before for the “Valle de la Luna” drill campaign, but now that the team has seen the results from both the “Valle de la Luna” and “Nevado Sajama” drilled samples, we’ve decided that there’s more work to do here.
Overall science goals here included analysis of the other well-exposed bedrock block in Monte Grande to improve our statistics on the composition of the bedrock in the hollows, and also high-resolution imaging and compositional analysis of portions of the walls of the hollow, other than those that had been covered during the Valle de la Luna campaign. These are part of a systematic mini-campaign to map a transect over the hollow-to-ridge structure from top to bottom at this site.
The post-drive imaging revealed a surprise — Valle de la Luna’s neighboring block was covered with polygons! As it turned out, the rover’s position during our previous visit for the Valle de la Luna drill campaign happened to have stood in the way of imaging of the polygonal features on this block so this was our first good look at them. We have seen broadly similar polygonal patterns in various strata in Gale Crater before — recently in the layered sulfate units (for instance, during Sols 4532-4533 and Sols 4370-4371) but we hadn’t seen them in the bottom of a boxwork hollow. Interestingly, this block looks more rubbly in texture than many of the previously observed polygon-covered blocks.
We’re interested in the relationship of the visibly protruding fracture-filling material here to fracture-filling materials seen in previous polygons, and also in the relationship of the polygonal surface on top to the more chaotic-appearing exposures lower on the block, and to the equivalent strata in the nearby wall of the hollow. We therefore planned a super-sized MAHLI mosaic that will support three-dimensional modeling of the upper and lower exposed surfaces of the polygon-bearing block. Several APXS and ChemCam LIBS observations targeted on the polygon centers and polygon ridges were also planned, to measure composition. Meanwhile, Mastcam has been busy planning stereo images of the nearby hollow wall in addition to the various blocks on the hollow floor.
The hollow also included freshly exposed light-toned material from where the rover had driven over and scuffed some bedrock, so another APXS measurement and a ChemCam LIBS went to the scuffed patch to measure the fresh surface.
We’ll be driving on Sol 4748. As we drive we’ll be taking a MARDI “sidewalk” observation, to image the ground beneath the rover as we approach the wall for a closer view, and hopefully some contact science in next week’s plans.
This image from NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover shows a potential megablock on the Jezero crater rim, taken by the Mastcam-Z instrument’s “right eye.” Mastcam-Z is a pair of cameras located high on the rover’s mast. Perseverance acquired this image looking east across the rim heading towards “Lac de Charmes” on Dec. 7, 2025 — Sol 1706, or Martian day 1,706 of the Mars 2020 mission — at the local mean solar time of 13:38:46.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU
Written by Margaret Deahn, Ph.D. student at Purdue University
NASA’s Mars 2020 rover is currently trekking towards exciting new terrain. After roughly four months of climbing up and over the rim of Jezero crater, the rover is taking a charming tour of the plains just beyond the western crater rim, fittingly named “Lac de Charmes.” This area just beyond Jezero’s rim will be the prime place to search for pre-Jezero ancient bedrock and Jezero impactites — rocks produced or affected by the impact event that created Jezero crater.
The formation of a complex crater like Jezero is, well… complex. Scientists who study impact craters like to split the formation process into three stages: contact & compression (when the impactor hits), excavation (when materials are thrown out of the crater), and modification (when gravity causes everything to collapse). This process happens incredibly fast, fracturing the impacted rock and even melting some of the target material. Sometimes on Earth, the classic “bowl” shaped crater has been completely weathered and unrecognizable, so geologists are able to identify craters by the remnants of their impactites. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any more complicated — Jezero crater’s rim is located on the rim of another, even bigger basin called Isidis. That means there is an opportunity to have impactites from both cratering events exposed in and just around the rim — some of which could be several billions of years old! We may have already encountered one of these blocks on our trek towards Lac de Charmes. In the foreground of this image taken by the Mastcam-Z instrument on the rover, there is a potential impactite called a “megablock” that the team has named “Hyha.” We can actually see this block from orbit, it is that large! The team is excited to continue exploring these ancient rocks as we take our next steps off Jezero’s rim.
Want to read more posts from the Perseverance team?
NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover Ready to Roll for Miles in Years Ahead
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover captured this view of a location nicknamed “Mont Musard” on Sept. 8, 2025. Made up of three images, the panorama also captures another region, “Lac de Charmes,” where the rover’s team will be looking for more rock core samples to collect in the year ahead.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS
After nearly five years on Mars, NASA’s Perseverance rover has traveled almost 25 miles (40 kilometers), and the mission team has been busy testing the rover’s durability and gathering new science findings on the way to a new region nicknamed “Lac de Charmes,” where it will be searching for rocks to sample in the coming year.
Like its predecessor Curiosity, which has been exploring a different region of Mars since 2012, Perseverance was made for the long haul. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which built Perseverance and leads the mission, has continued testing the rover’s parts here on Earth to make sure the six-wheeled scientist will be strong for years to come. This past summer, JPL certified that the rotary actuators that turn the rover’s wheels can perform optimally for at least another 37 miles (60 kilometers); comparable brake testing is underway as well.
Over the past two years, engineers have extensively evaluated nearly all the vehicle’s subsystems in this way, concluding that they can operate until at least 2031.
NASA’s Perseverance used its navigation cameras to capture its record-breaking drive of 1,350.7 feet (411.7 meters) on June 19, 2025. The navcam images were combined with rover data and placed into a 3D virtual environment, resulting in this reconstruction with virtual frames inserted about every 4 inches (0.1 meters) of drive progress. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
“These tests show the rover is in excellent shape,” said Perseverance’s deputy project manager, Steve Lee of JPL, who presented the results on Wednesday at the American Geophysical Union’s annual meeting, the largest gathering of planetary scientists in the United States. “All the systems are fully capable of supporting a very long-term mission to extensively explore this fascinating region of Mars.”
Perseverance has been driving through Mars’ Jezero Crater, the site of an ancient lake and river system, where it has been collecting scientifically compelling rock core samples. In fact, in September, the team announced that a sample from a rock nicknamed “Cheyava Falls” contains a potential fingerprint of past microbial life.
More efficient roving
In addition to a hefty suite of six science instruments, Perseverance packs more autonomous capabilities than past rovers. A paper published recently in IEEE Transactions on Field Robotics highlights an autonomous planning tool called Enhanced Autonomous Navigation, or ENav. The software looks up to 50 feet (15 meters) ahead for potential hazards, then chooses a path without obstacles and tells Perseverance’s wheels how to steer there.
Engineers at JPL meticulously plan each day of the rover’s activities on Mars. But once the rover starts driving, it’s on its own and sometimes has to react to unexpected obstacles in the terrain. Past rovers could do this to some degree, but not if these obstacles were clustered near each other. They also couldn’t react as far in advance, resulting in the vehicles driving slower while approaching sand pits, rocks, and ledges. In contrast, ENav’s algorithm evaluates each rover wheel independently against the elevation of terrain, trade-offs between different routes, and “keep-in” or “keep-out” areas marked by human operators for the path ahead.
“More than 90% of Perseverance’s journey has relied on autonomous driving, making it possible to quickly collect a diverse range of samples,” said JPL autonomy researcher Hiro Ono, a paper lead author. “As humans go to the Moon and even Mars in the future, long-range autonomous driving will become more critical to exploring these worlds.”
New science
A paper published Wednesday in Science details what Perseverance discovered in the “Margin Unit,” a geologic area at the margin, or inner edge, of Jezero Crater. The rover collected three samples from that region. Scientists think these samples may be particularly useful for showing how ancient rocks from Mars’ deep interior interacted with water and the atmosphere, helping create conditions supportive for life.
From September 2023 to November 2024, Perseverance ascended 1,312 feet (400 meters) of the Margin Unit, studying rocks along the way — especially those containing the mineral olivine. Scientists use minerals as timekeepers because crystals within them can record details about the precise moment and conditions in which they formed.
Jezero Crater and the surrounding area holds large reserves of olivine, which forms at high temperatures, typically deep within a planet, and offers a snapshot of what was going on in the planet’s interior. Scientists think the Margin Unit’s olivine was made in an intrusion, a process where magma pushes into underground layers and cools into igneous rock. In this case, erosion later exposed that rock to the surface, where it could interact with water from the crater’s ancient lake and carbon dioxide, which was abundant in the planet’s early atmosphere.
Those interactions form new minerals called carbonates, which can preserve signs of past life, along with clues as to how Mars’ atmosphere changed over time.
“This combination of olivine and carbonate was a major factor in the choice to land at Jezero Crater,” said the new paper’s lead author, Perseverance science team member Ken Williford of Blue Marble Space Institute of Science in Seattle. “These minerals are powerful recorders of planetary evolution and the potential for life.”
Together, the olivine and carbonates record the interplay between rock, water, and atmosphere inside the crater, including how each changed over time. The Margin Unit’s olivine appeared to have been altered by water at the base of the unit, where it would have been submerged. But the higher Perseverance went, the more the olivine bore textures associated with magma chambers, like crystallization, and fewer signs of water alteration.
As Perseverance leaves the Margin Unit behind for Lac de Charmes, the team will have the chance to collect new olivine-rich samples and compare the differences between the two areas.
More about Perseverance
Managed for NASA by Caltech, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover on behalf of the agency’s Science Mission Directorate as part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program portfolio.
The future of flight, space exploration, and science starts at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, where we have been advancing innovation for more than 100 years. Join us as we look back at NASA Langley’s achievements in 2025 that continued our storied legacy of pushing the boundaries of what is possible.
Langley Researchers Explore MARVL-ous Technology for Future Trips to Mars
Modular Assembled Radiators for Nuclear Electric Propulsion Vehicles, or MARVL, aims to take a critical element of nuclear electric propulsion, its heat dissipation system, and divide it into smaller components that can be assembled robotically and autonomously in space. This is an artist’s rendering of what the fully assembled system might look like.
NASA
As NASA returns astronauts to the Moon through the agency’s Artemis campaign in advance of human exploration of Mars, researchers at Langley are exploring technology that could significantly reduce travel time to the Red Planet. Modular Assembled Radiators for Nuclear Electric Propulsion Vehicles, or MARVL, would use robots for in-space assembly of elements needed to enable nuclear electric propulsion of future spacecraft, which could transform travel to deep space.
NASA Cameras Catch First-of-its-Kind Moon Close-up
This rendering demonstrates what is happening during a stellar occultation and illustrates an example of the light curve data graph recorded by scientists that enables them to gather atmospheric measurements, like temperature and pressure, from Uranus as the amount of starlight changes when the planet eclipses the star.
NASA/Langley Research Center Advanced Concepts Laboratory
In April, planetary scientists at Langley led an international team of astronomers during a cosmic alignment three decades in the making: a rare opportunity to study Uranus. The one-hour event gave them a glimpse into the planet’s atmosphere, information that could enable future Uranus exploration efforts.
NASA Instrument Measures Wind for Improved Weather Forecasts
This visualization shows AWP 3D measurements gathered on Oct. 15, 2024, as NASA’s G-III aircraft flew along the East Coast of the U.S. and across the Great Lakes region. Laser light that returns to AWP as backscatter from aerosol particles and clouds allows for measurement of wind direction, speed, and aerosol concentration as seen in the separation of data layers.
NASA Scientific Visualization Studio
Severe or extreme weather can strike in a moment’s notice, and having the tools to accurately predict weather events can help save lives and property. Scientists at Langley have developed and are testing an instrument that uses laser technology to gather precise wind measurements, data that is a crucial element for accurate weather forecasting.
Langley Researchers Develop New Technique to Test Long, Flexible Booms
Researchers look at a bend that occurred in the 94-foot triangular, rollable and collapsible boom during an off-axis compression test.
NASA/David C. Bowman
Gravity can create issues when testing materials for space, but Langley researchers have found a way to successfully use gravity and height when testing long composite booms. Testing these composite booms is important because they could support space exploration in a variety of ways, including being used to build structures that could support humans living and working on the Moon.
NASA Imaging Team Supports Missions to Advance Space Exploration, Science
A rendering of a space capsule from The Exploration Company re-entering Earth’s atmosphere.
Image courtesy of The Exploration Company
A Langley team that specializes in capturing imagery-based engineering datasets from spacecraft during launch and reentry continued its work in 2025, including support of a European aerospace company’s test flight in June. Not only does the team support a variety of missions to advance the agency’s work, but they also collaborate with the private sector as NASA works to open space to more science, people, and opportunities.
NASA Instrument Uses Moonlight for Improved Space Measurements
An artist’s rendering of NASA’s Arcstone instrument on-orbit gathering measurements of lunar reflectance.
Blue Canyon Technologies
One of the most challenging tasks in remote sensing from space is achieving required instrument calibration on-orbit. Langley scientists are addressing the challenge head on through the Arcstone mission, an instrument that launched in June and aims to establish the Moon as a cost-efficient, high-accuracy calibration reference. Once established, the new standard can be applied to past, present, and future spaceborne sensors and satellite constellations. Arcstone uses a spectrometer, a scientific instrument that measures and analyzes light, to measure lunar spectral reflectance.
NASA Mission Continues Monitoring Air We Breathe
By measuring nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and formaldehyde (HCHO), TEMPO can derive the presence of near-surface ozone. On Aug. 2, 2024 over Houston, TEMPO observed exceptionally high ozone levels in the area. On the left, NO2 builds up in the atmosphere over the city and over the Houston Ship Channel. On the right, formaldehyde levels are seen reaching a peak in the early afternoon. Formaldehyde is largely formed through the oxidation of hydrocarbons, an ingredient of ozone production, such as those that can be emitted by petrochemical facilities found in the Houston Ship Channel.
NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio
The success of NASA’s Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution mission, or TEMPO, earned the mission an extension, meaning the work to monitor Earth’s air quality from 22,000 miles above the ground will continue through at least September 2026. The Langley-led mission launched in 2023 and is NASA’s first to use a spectrometer, a scientific instrument that measures and analyzes light, to gather hourly air quality data continuously over North America during daytime hours. The data gathered is distributed freely to the public, giving air quality forecasters, scientists, researchers, and your next-door neighbor access to quality information about the air we breathe down to the neighborhood level.
NASA Tests New, Innovative Tech to Enable Faster Launches at Lower Costs
The fully assembled and tested Athena EPIC satellite which incorporates eight HISats mounted on a mock-up of a SpaceX provided launch pedestal which will hold Athena during launch.
NovaWurks
NASA’s Athena Economical Payload Integration Cost mission, or Athena EPIC, launched in July with the goal to shape a future path to launch that saves taxpayers money and expedites access to space. Athena EPIC was the first NASA-led mission led to utilize HISat technology, small satellites engineered to aggregate, share resources, and conform to different sizes and shapes. Langley’s scientists designed and built the Athena sensor with spare parts from NASA’s CERES (Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System) mission to gather top of atmosphere measurements. Athena EPIC demonstrates a novel way to launch Earth-observing instruments into orbit quicker and more economically.
Drop Test at Langley Offers Research, Data for Potential Air Taxi Designs
The future of air travel includes the safe integration of drones and air taxis into our airspace for passenger transport, cargo delivery, and public service capabilities.That is why NASA is investigating and testing potential air taxi materials and designs to help the aviation industry better understand how those materials behave under impact. Data collected from a drop test at Langley’s Landing and Impact Research Facility in June will help in the development of safety regulations for advanced air mobility aircraft, leading to safer designs.
Langley Wind Tunnel Tests Help Support Advanced Air Mobility Aircraft Development
NASA researcher Norman W. Schaeffler adjusts a propellor, which is part of a 7-foot wing model that was recently tested at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. In May and June, NASA researchers tested the wing in the 14-by-22-Foot Subsonic Wind Tunnel to collect data on critical propeller-wing interactions. The lessons learned will be shared with the public to support advanced air mobility aircraft development.
NASA/Mark Knopp
NASA advanced the future of air taxis and autonomous cargo drones by testing a 7-foot wing model in Langley’s 14-by-22-Foot Subsonic Wind Tunnel. This effort produced data on critical propeller-wing interactions, as well as data relevant to cruise, hover, and transition conditions for advanced air mobility aircraft. The results will help validate next-generation design tools and accelerate safe, reliable development across the advanced air mobility industry.
NASA Tests Air Taxi Tech for Future Aircraft Development
The Research Aircraft for electric Vertical takeoff and landing Enabling techNologies Subscale Wind Tunnel and Flight Test undergoes a free flight test on the City Environment Range Testing for Autonomous Integrated Navigation range at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia on April 22, 2025.
NASA/Rob Lorkiewicz
The lack of publicly available engineering and flight data to help address technical barriers in the design and development of new electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft is a challenge for researchers and engineers. That is why Langley researchers are using a research aircraft that provides real-world data, obtained through wind tunnel and flight tests, to help fill the information gap and check the accuracy of computer models for flight dynamics and controls. Making this data available to all is a key step in transforming the way we fly and safely integrating new aircraft into our nation’s airspace.
NASA Material Flies High for Study of Long-Term Effects of Space
Robert Mosher, HIAD materials and processing lead at NASA Langley, holds up a piece of f webbing material, known as Zylon, which comprise the straps of the HIAD.
NASA/Joe Atkinson
A material from NASA Langley is riding high as it orbits the Earth aboard a United States Space Force test vehicle, giving researchers a better understanding of how the material responds to long-duration exposure to the harsh vacuum of space. The strap material is a part of a Langley-developed aeroshell to protect spacecraft re-entering Earth’s atmosphere or to ensure their safe landing on other celestial bodies, such as Mars. Understanding how extended exposure to space affects the material is important as NASA prepares to send humans beyond the Moon.
NASA Flights Study Impacts of Space Weather on Travelers
Frozen and rocky terrain in the Polar region observed from above Nuuk, Greenland during NASA’s SWXRAD science flights.
NASA/Guillaume Gronoff
Data gathered during a Langley-led airborne science campaign late this summer could help protect air travelers on Earth and future space travelers to the Moon, Mars, and beyond from the health risks associated with radiation exposure. NASA’s Space Weather Aviation Radiation (SWXRAD) aircraft flight campaign took place in Greenland and measured the radiation dose level to air travelers from cosmic radiation. Researchers are using the information to enhance a modeling system that offers real-time global maps of the hazardous radiation in the atmosphere and creates exposure predictions for aircraft and spacecraft.
NASA’s Dragonfly Completes Wind Tunnel Tests at Langley
Set up and testing of Dragonfly model in the Transonic Dynamics Tunnel
NASA/David C. Bowman
As NASA returns astronauts to the Moon through the Artemis campaign in preparation for human exploration of Mars, the agency also has its sights set on Saturn, specifically Saturn’s moon Titan. NASA’s Dragonfly, a car-sized rotorcraft set to launch no earlier than 2028, will explore Titan and try to discover how life began. This fall, engineers placed a full-scale test model representing half of the Dragonfly lander in Langley’s Transonic Dynamics Tunnel to evaluate how its rotor system performed in Titan-like conditions. The data will be integral in developing the rotorcraft’s flight plans and navigation software as it investigates multiple landing sites on Titan.
NASA Offers Science, Technology, and Expertise During Disaster Response
True color imagery of Hurricane Milton on Oct. 7, 2024, from the NOAA-21 satellite.
NASA / NOAA
In response to severe weather that impacted more than 10 states in November, the NASA Disasters Response Coordination System (DRCS) activated to support national partners. The DRCS is headquartered at Langley. NASA worked closely with the National Weather Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency serving the central and southeastern U.S. to provide satellite data and expertise that help communities better prepare, respond, and recover.
NASA’s X-59 Takes Flight
In October, NASA’s Quesst mission celebrated a major milestone – the X-59 quiet supersonic one-of-a-kind research aircraft flew for the first time, a historic moment for aviation. The hard work, talent, and innovation of NASA engineers and project team members, including many based at NASA Langley, made this achievement possible. One of the notable traits of the X-59 is the eXternal Vision System (XVS) which allows the test pilots to safely maneuver the skies without a forward-facing window. This unique supersonic design feature was developed and tested at NASA Langley.
The X-59’s first flight was a major step toward quiet supersonic flight over land, which could revolutionize air travel.
What a Blast! Langley Begins Plume-Surface Interaction Tests
Views of the 60-foot vacuum sphere in the which the plume-surface interaction testing is happening.
NASA/Joe Atkinson
A team at NASA Langley is firing engine plumes into simulated lunar soil because as the United States returns to the Moon, both through NASA’s Artemis campaign and the commercialization of space, researchers need to understand the hazards that may occur when a lander’s engines blast away at the lunar dust, soil, and rocks.
Langley Inspires Through Community Engagement, Educational Opportunities
NASA Langley highlights its Cirrus Design SR22 during Air Power Over Hampton Roads STEM Day.
NASA/Angelique Herring
Langley connected with communities across Virginia and beyond to share the center’s work and impact, and inspire the next generation of explorers, scientists, and researchers. Thousands of spectators enjoyed hands-on activities and exhibits during the Air Power over Hampton Roads air show at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Hampton, Virginia, where NASA Langley’s aviation past, present, and future were on full display. More than 2,300 students from across the nation eagerly participated in Langley’s 2025 Student Art Contest, and shared their artistic spin on the theme, “Our Wonder Changes the World.” Langley and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University announced an agreement in September that will leverage Langley’s aerospace expertise and Embry-Riddle’s specialized educational programs and research to drive innovation in aerospace, research, education, and technology, while simultaneously developing a highly skilled workforce for the future of space exploration and advanced air mobility.
Langley looks forward to another year of successes and advancements in 2026, as we continue to make the seemingly impossible, possible.
