Looking to power surface exploration on the Moon …
New imagery from the surface of Mars ….
And our newest flight directors … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!
NASA Announces Artemis Concept Awards for Nuclear Power on Moon
NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy have selected three design concept proposals for a fission surface power system design that could be ready to launch on a demo mission to the Moon by the end of the decade. Fission systems are relatively small, lightweight, and could enable continuous power regardless of location, available sunlight, or other environmental conditions. This technology would benefit future exploration under our Artemis program.
Curiosity Captures Stunning Views of a Changing Mars Landscape
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has spent the past year traveling through a transition zone on the Red Planet, from a clay-rich region to one filled with a salty mineral called sulfate. Imagery captured of rock formations in this “transition zone” is visually stunning, but could also provide evidence that a major shift occurred in the planet’s climate billions of years ago which led to the dry conditions that we see today. Curiosity will celebrate its 10th year on Mars on August 5.
NASA Introduces New Flight Directors in Class of 2022
NASA has seven new flight directors. After completing a comprehensive training program, Heidi Brewer, Ronak Dave, Chris Dobbins, Garrett Hehn, Nicole McElroy, Elias Myrmo, and Diana Trujillo will oversee operations of the International Space Station, commercial crew, and Artemis missions to the Moon.
NASA Documentary Celebrates Black Space Explorers
On June 18, Howard University in Washington, D.C. hosted a screening of the NASA documentary, “The Color of Space.” The documentary features thought-provoking conversation between current and former Black astronauts recounting the influences and inspirations that put them on the path to NASA, and what they experienced on their journeys to the agency. Some of the astronauts also gave advice and shared personal stories of hope and resilience to students who have aspirations of following in their footsteps. The 50-minute documentary is available for free to the public on NASA TV, the NASA app, NASA social media channels, and YouTube.
Vice President Hosts NASA for Family STEM Event
Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff recently hosted an event at the Naval Observatory that included NASA STEM education activities for military families, and local students and their families. The event also featured a special screening of the Disney Pixar film, “Lightyear.” Several current NASA astronauts attended the event, including Tom Marshburn, who was the NASA technical consultant on the film, Stephanie Wilson, and Jasmin Moghbeli. Former astronaut and NASA associate administrator for Education, Leland Melvin was also there. Our Office of STEM engagement seeks to attract and engage a diverse group of students to STEM fields to contribute to NASA’s work and to build a diverse future STEM workforce.
That’s what’s up this week @NASA …