NASA’s Artemis II Crew Uses Iceland Terrain for Lunar Training
Science & Technology

NASA’s Artemis II Crew Uses Iceland Terrain for Lunar Training

NASA Space Technology Credits: NASA/Trevor Graff/Robert MarkowitzBlack and gray sediment stretches as far as the eye can see. Boulders sit on top of ground devoid of vegetation. Humans appear almost miniature in scale against a swath of shadowy mountains. At first glance, it seems a perfect scene from an excursion on the Moon’s surface … except the people are in hiking gear, not spacesuits.Iceland has served as a lunar stand-in for training NASA astronauts since the days of the Apollo missions, and this summer the Artemis II crew took its place in that long history. NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, along with their backups, NASA astronaut Andre Douglas and CSA astronaut Jenni Gibbons, joined geology experts for field training on the Nordic island.“Apollo astronauts...
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Artemis II Core Stage Arrives at Kennedy
Science & Technology

Artemis II Core Stage Arrives at Kennedy

NASA Space Technology Monika LuabeyaAug 02, 2024Teams transport NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) core stage into the Vehicle Assembly Building at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 24, 2024. Tugboats and towing vessels moved the Pegasus barge and 212-foot-long core stage 900-miles to the Florida spaceport from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facilityin New Orleans, where it was manufactured and assembled.In the coming months, teams will integrate the rocket core stage atop the mobile launcher with the additional Artemis II flight hardware, including the twin solid rocket boosters, launch vehicle stage adapter, and the Orion spacecraft.The Artemis II test flight will be NASA’s first mission with crew under the Artemis campaign, sending NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Reid Wiseman, as well as CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on a 10-day journey...
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Artemis May be a Steppingstone to Mars, and other Missions to the Red Planet
Science & Technology

Artemis May be a Steppingstone to Mars, and other Missions to the Red Planet

NASA Space Technology Named after the Roman God of War, the red planet has yielded countless insights about our extraterrestrial backyard. From hosting the tallest mountain in the solar system, Olympus Mons, to massive underground ice deposits, Mars is full of surprises.And like any diligent explorer, NASA is set on uncovering more of them. Here’s the insider scoop on the latest findings from our nearest cosmic neighbor.NASA Space Technology The Curiosity RoverNASA's Curiosity rover, a seasoned Mars explorer, reached the Gediz Vallis channel in July 2024. This area resembles a large, winding riverbed from space, and is thought to have been potentially shaped by ancient waterways. For the next several months, Curiosity will roam the terrain, attempting to decipher whether debris flows or prehistoric rivers carved the structure.Operational since 2012, Curiosity has been on...
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I am Artemis: John Campbell
Science & Technology

I am Artemis: John Campbell

NASA Space Technology How do you move NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket’s massive 212-foot-long core stage across the country? You do it with a 300-foot-long barge. However, NASA’s Pegasus barge isn’t just any barge. It’s a vessel with a history, and John Campbell, a logistics engineer for the agency based at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, is one of the few people who get to be a part of its legacy.For Campbell, this journey is more than just a job – it’s a lifelong passion realized. “Ever since I was a boy, I’ve been fascinated by engineering,” he said. “But to be entrusted with managing NASA’s Pegasus barge, transporting history-making hardware for human spaceflight across state lines and waterways – is something I never imagined.”NASA has used barges to ferry the...
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