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Received yesterday — 5 June 2025

Auburn Team Wins 2025 NASA Moon and Mars Design Competition

✇NASA
By:Joseph Scott Atkinson
5 June 2025 at 13:00

4 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

The three members of Auburn University's 2025 RASC-AL team hold their awards for first place overall and best in theme.
Auburn University’s project, “Dynamic Ecosystems for Mars ECLSS Testing, Evaluation, and Reliability (DEMETER),” won top prize in NASA’s 2025 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems – Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) Competition Forum.
National Institute of Aerospace

A team from Auburn University took top honors in NASA’s 2025 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems – Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) Competition Forum, where undergraduate and graduate teams competed to develop new concepts for operating on the Moon, Mars and beyond. 

Auburn’s project, “Dynamic Ecosystems for Mars Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) Testing, Evaluation, and Reliability (DEMETER)” advised by Dr. Davide Guzzetti, took home top prize out of 14 Finalist Teams from academic institutions across the nation. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University took second place overall for their concept, “Adaptive Device for Assistance and Maintenance (ADAM),” advised by Dr. Kevin Shinpaugh. The University of Maryland took third place overall with their project, “Servicing Crane Outfitted Rover for Payloads, Inspection, Operations, N’stuff (SCORPION),” advised by Dr. David Akin, Nich Bolatto, and Charlie Hanner. 

The first and second place overall winning teams will present their work at the 2025 AIAA Accelerating Space Commerce, Exploration, and New Discovery (ASCEND) Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada in July. 

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University team members with their second place and
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University took second place overall in NASA’s 2025 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems – Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) Competition Forum for their concept, “Adaptive Device for Assistance and Maintenance (ADAM).”
National Institute of Aerospace

The RASC-AL Competition, which took place from June 2-4, 2025, in Cocoa Beach, Florida, is a unique initiative designed to bridge the gap between academia and the aerospace industry, empowering undergraduate and graduate students to apply their classroom knowledge to real-world challenges in space exploration. This year’s themes included “Sustained Lunar Evolution – An Inspirational Moment,” “Advanced Science Missions and Technology Demonstrators for Human-Mars Precursor Campaign,” and “Small Lunar Servicing and Maintenance Robot.”  

“The RASC-AL Competition cultivates students who bring bold, imaginative thinking to the kinds of complex challenges we tackle at NASA,” said Dan Mazanek, RASC-AL program sponsor and senior space systems engineer at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. “These teams push the boundaries of what’s possible in space system design and offer new insights. These insights help build critical engineering capabilities, preparing the next generation of aerospace leaders to step confidently into the future of space exploration.” 

As NASA continues to push the boundaries of space exploration, the RASC-AL Competition stands as an opportunity for aspiring aerospace professionals to design real-world solutions to complex problems facing the Agency. By engaging with the next generation of innovators, NASA can collaborate with the academic community to crowd-source new solutions for the challenges of tomorrow. 

Additional 2025 Forum Awards include: 

Best in Theme: Sustained Lunar Evolution: An Inspirational Moment 

  • Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 
  • Project Title: Project Aeneas 
  • Advisor: Dr. Kevin Shinpaugh 

    Best in Theme: Advanced Science Missions and Technology Demonstrators for Human-Mars Precursor Campaign 

    • Auburn University 
    • Project Title: Dynamic Ecosystems for Mars ECLSS Testing, Evaluation, and Reliability (DEMETER) 
    • Advisor: Dr. Davide Guzzetti 

    Best in Theme: Small Lunar Servicing and Maintenance Robot 

    • Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 
    • Project Title: Adaptive Device for Assistance and Maintenance (ADAM) 
    • Advisor: Dr. Kevin Shinpaugh 

    Best Prototype: South Dakota State University 

    • Project Title: Next-gen Operations and Versatile Assistant (NOVA) 
    • Advisor: Dr. Todd Letcher, Allea Klauenberg, Liam Murray, Alex Schaar, Nick Sieler, Dylan Stephens, Carter Waggoner 

        RASC-AL is open to undergraduate and graduate students studying disciplines related to human exploration, including aerospace, bio-medical, electrical, and mechanical engineering, and life, physical, and computer sciences. RASC-AL projects allow students to incorporate their coursework into space exploration objectives in a team environment and help bridge strategic knowledge gaps associated with NASA’s vision. Students have the opportunity to interact with NASA officials and industry experts and develop relationships that could lead to participation in other NASA student research programs.   

        RASC-AL is sponsored by the Strategies and Architectures Office within the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, and by the Space Mission Analysis Branch within the Systems Analysis and Concepts Directorate at NASA Langley. It is administered by the National Institute of Aerospace.   

        For more information about the RASC-AL competition, including complete theme and submission guidelines, visit: http://rascal.nianet.org. 

        National Institute of Aerospace

        About the Author

        Joe Atkinson

        Public Affairs Officer, NASA Langley Research Center

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        NASA Marshall Fires Up Hybrid Rocket Motor to Prep for Moon Landings

        ✇Artemis – NASA
        By:Lee Mohon
        24 April 2025 at 16:20
        4 Min Read

        NASA Marshall Fires Up Hybrid Rocket Motor to Prep for Moon Landings

        NASA’s Artemis campaign will use human landing systems, provided by SpaceX and Blue Origin, to safely transport crew to and from the surface of the Moon, in preparation for future crewed missions to Mars. As the landers touch down and lift off from the Moon, rocket exhaust plumes will affect the top layer of lunar “soil,” called regolith, on the Moon. When the lander’s engines ignite to decelerate prior to touchdown, they could create craters and instability in the area under the lander and send regolith particles flying at high speeds in various directions.

        To better understand the physics behind the interaction of exhaust from the commercial human landing systems and the Moon’s surface, engineers and scientists at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, recently test-fired a 14-inch hybrid rocket motor more than 30 times. The 3D-printed hybrid rocket motor, developed at Utah State University in Logan, Utah, ignites both solid fuel and a stream of gaseous oxygen to create a powerful stream of rocket exhaust.

        “Artemis builds on what we learned from the Apollo missions to the Moon. NASA still has more to learn more about how the regolith and surface will be affected when a spacecraft much larger than the Apollo lunar excursion module lands, whether it’s on the Moon for Artemis or Mars for future missions,” said Manish Mehta, Human Landing System Plume & Aero Environments discipline lead engineer. “Firing a hybrid rocket motor into a simulated lunar regolith field in a vacuum chamber hasn’t been achieved in decades. NASA will be able to take the data from the test and scale it up to correspond to flight conditions to help us better understand the physics, and anchor our data models, and ultimately make landing on the Moon safer for Artemis astronauts.”

        Fast Facts

        • Over billions of years, asteroid and micrometeoroid impacts have ground up the surface of the Moon into fragments ranging from huge boulders to powder, called regolith.
        • Regolith can be made of different minerals based on its location on the Moon. The varying mineral compositions mean regolith in certain locations could be denser and better able to support structures like landers.

        Of the 30 test fires performed in NASA Marshall’s Component Development Area, 28 were conducted under vacuum conditions and two were conducted under ambient pressure. The testing at Marshall ensures the motor will reliably ignite during plume-surface interaction testing in the 60-ft. vacuum sphere at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, later this year.

        Once the testing at NASA Marshall is complete, the motor will be shipped to NASA Langley. Test teams at NASA Langley will fire the hybrid motor again but this time into simulated lunar regolith, called Black Point-1, in the 60-foot vacuum sphere. Firing the motor from various heights, engineers will measure the size and shape of craters the rocket exhaust creates as well as the speed and direction the simulated lunar regolith particles travel when the rocket motor exhaust hits them.

        “We’re bringing back the capability to characterize the effects of rocket engines interacting with the lunar surface through ground testing in a large vacuum chamber — last done in this facility for the Apollo and Viking programs. The landers going to the Moon through Artemis are much larger and more powerful, so we need new data to understand the complex physics of landing and ascent,” said Ashley Korzun, principal investigator for the plume-surface interaction tests at NASA Langley. “We’ll use the hybrid motor in the second phase of testing to capture data with conditions closely simulating those from a real rocket engine. Our research will reduce risk to the crew, lander, payloads, and surface assets.”

        Credit: NASA

        Through the Artemis campaign, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars – for the benefit of all.

        For more information about Artemis, visit:

        https://www.nasa.gov/artemis

        News Media Contact

        Corinne Beckinger 
        Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. 
        256.544.0034  
        corinne.m.beckinger@nasa.gov 

        Winners Announced in NASA’s 2025 Gateways to Blue Skies Competition

        ✇Ames Research Center – NASA
        By:Lillian Gipson
        22 May 2025 at 10:52

        3 min read

        Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

        Group photo of the South Dakota State University team wearing blue NASA t-shirts standing in front of two Bannerstands after winning 2025 Gateways to Blue Skies.
        A team from South Dakota State University with their project, “Soil Testing and Plant Leaf Extraction Drone,” took first place at the 2025 Gateways to Blue Skies Forum held May 20-21 in Palmdale, California. Advisor Todd Lechter, left, along with team members Nick Wolles, Keegan Visher, Nathan Kuehl and Laura Peterson, and graduate advisor Allea Klauenberg, right, accepted the award.
        NASA

        A team from South Dakota State University, with their project titled “Soil Testing and Plant Leaf Extraction Drone” took first place at the 2025 NASA Gateways to Blue Skies Competition, which challenged student teams to research aviation solutions to support U.S. agriculture.

        The winning project proposed a drone-based soil and tissue sampling process that would automate a typically labor-intensive farming task. The South Dakota State team competed among eight finalists at the 2025 Blue Skies Forum May 20-21 in Palmdale, California, near NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center. Subject matter experts from NASA and industry served as judges.

        “This competition challenges students to think creatively, explore new possibilities, and confront the emerging issues and opportunity spaces solvable through aviation platforms,” said Steven Holz, assistant project manager for University Innovation with NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate and Blue Skies judge and co-chair. “They bring imaginative ideas, interesting insights, and an impressive level of dedication. It’s always an honor to work with the next generation of innovators participating in our competition.”

        This competition challenges students to think creatively, explore new possibilities, and confront the emerging issues and opportunity spaces solvable through aviation platforms

        Steven holz

        Steven holz

        Assistant Project Manager for University Innovation

        The winning team members were awarded an opportunity to intern during the 2025-26 academic year at any of four aeronautics-focused NASA centers — Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, or Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.  

        “It’s been super-rewarding for our team to see how far we’ve come, especially with all these other amazing projects that we were competing against,” said Nathan Kuehl, team lead at South Dakota State University. “It wouldn’t have been possible without our graduate advisor, Allea Klauenberg, and advisor, Todd Lechter. We want to thank everybody that made this experience possible.”

        Other awards included: 

        • Second Place — University of Tulsa, CattleLog Cattle Management System
        • Best Technical Paper — Boston University, PLAANT: Precision Land Analysis and Aerial Nitrogen Treatment

        Sponsored by NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, this year’s competition asked teams of university students to research new or improved aviation solutions to support agriculture that could be applied by 2035 or sooner. The goal of the competition, titled AgAir: Aviation Solutions for Agriculture, was to enhance production, efficiency, sustainability, and resilience to extreme weather. 

        At the forum, finalist teams presented concepts of aviation systems that could help the agriculture industry.Students had the opportunity to meet with NASA and industry experts, tour NASA Armstrong, and gain insight into the agency’s aviation mission.

        U.S. agriculture provides food, fuel, and fiber to the nation and the world. However, the industry faces significant challenges. NASA Aeronautics is committed to supporting commercial, industrial, and governmental partners in advancing aviation systems to modernize agricultural capabilities.  

        The Gateways to Blue Skies competition is sponsored by NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate’s University Innovation Project and is managed by the National Institute of Aerospace.

        The National Institute of Aerospace has made available a livestream of the competition, as well as information about the finalists and their projects, and details about the 2025 competition.

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        NASA X-59’s Latest Testing Milestone: Simulating Flight from the Ground

        ✇Ames Research Center – NASA
        By:Jim Banke
        16 May 2025 at 05:00

        5 min read

        Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

        A white NASA jet airplane sits inside a fabric-covered-roof hangar with several people working at a nearby table with computers.
        NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft is seen during its “aluminum bird” systems testing at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California. The test verified how the aircraft’s hardware and software work together, responding to pilot inputs and handling injected system failures.
        Lockheed Martin / Garry Tice

        NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft successfully completed a critical series of tests in which the airplane was put through its paces for cruising high above the California desert – all without ever leaving the ground.

        “The idea behind these tests is to command the airplane’s subsystems and flight computer to function as if it is flying,” said Yohan Lin, the X-59’s lead avionics engineer at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.

        The goal of ground-based simulation testing was to make sure the hardware and software that will allow the X-59 to fly safely are properly working together and able to handle any unexpected problems.

        Any new aircraft is a combination of systems, and identifying the little adjustments required to optimize performance is an important step in a disciplined approach toward flight.

        “We thought we might find a few things during the tests that would prompt us to go back and tweak them to work better, especially with some of the software, and that’s what we wound up experiencing. So, these tests were very helpful,” Lin said.

        Completing the tests marks another milestone off the checklist of things to do before the X-59 makes its first flight this year, continuing NASA’s Quesst mission to help enable commercial supersonic air travel over land.

        Simulating the Sky

        During the testing, engineers from NASA and contractor Lockheed Martin turned on most of the X-59’s systems, leaving the engine off. For example, if the pilot moved the control stick a certain way, the flight computer moved the aircraft’s rudder or other control surfaces, just as it would in flight.

        At the same time, the airplane was electronically connected to a ground computer that sends simulated signals – which the X-59 interpreted as real – such as changes in altitude, speed, temperature, or the health of various systems.

        Sitting in the cockpit, the pilot “flew” the aircraft to see how the airplane would respond.

        “These were simple maneuvers, nothing too crazy,” Lin said. “We would then inject failures into the airplane to see how it would respond. Would the system compensate for the failure? Was the pilot able to recover?”

        Unlike in typical astronaut training simulations, where flight crews do not know what scenarios they might encounter, the X-59 pilots mostly knew what the aircraft would experience during every test and even helped plan them to better focus on the aircraft systems’ response.

        A NASA test pilot sits in the cockpit of a jet aircraft.
        NASA test pilot James Less sits in the cockpit of the X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft as he participates in a series of “aluminum bird” systems tests at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California.
        Lockheed Martin / Garry Tice

        Aluminum vs. Iron

        In aircraft development, this work is known as “iron bird” testing, named for a simple metal frame on which representations of the aircraft’s subsystems are installed, connected, and checked out.

        Building such a testbed is a common practice for development programs in which many aircraft will be manufactured. But since the X-59 is a one-of-a-kind airplane, officials decided it was better and less expensive to use the aircraft itself.

        As a result, engineers dubbed this series of exercises “aluminum bird” testing, since that’s the metal the X-59 is mostly made of.

        So, instead of testing an “iron bird” with copies of an aircraft’s systems on a non-descript frame, the “aluminum bird” used the actual aircraft and its systems, which in turn meant the test results gave everyone higher confidence in the design,

        “It’s a perfect example of the old tried and true adage in aviation that says ‘Test what you fly. Fly what you test,’” Lin said.

        Still Ahead for the X-59

        With aluminum bird testing in the rearview mirror, the next milestone on the X-59’s path to first flight is take the airplane out on the taxiways at the airport adjacent to Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, where the X-59 was built. First flight would follow those taxi tests.

        Already in the X-59’s logbook since the fully assembled and painted airplane made its public debut in January 2024:

        • Testing the aircraft’s ability to maintain a certain speed while flying, essentially a check of the X-59’s version of cruise control.

        The X-59 Tests in 59

        Watch this video about the X-59 aluminum bird testing. It only takes a minute. Well, 59 seconds to be precise.

        About the Author

        Jim Banke

        Jim Banke

        Managing Editor/Senior Writer

        Jim Banke is a veteran aviation and aerospace communicator with more than 40 years of experience as a writer, producer, consultant, and project manager based at Cape Canaveral, Florida. He is part of NASA Aeronautics' Strategic Communications Team and is Managing Editor for the Aeronautics topic on the NASA website.

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        NASA test pilot Nils Larson shares a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to fly the X-59. In this video, Nils steps into the flight simulator to share hi...

        Robots, Rovers, and Regolith: NASA Brings Exploration to FIRST Robotics 2025 

        ✇Ames Research Center – NASA
        By:Sumer Loggins
        29 April 2025 at 14:33

        What does the future of space exploration look like? At the 2025 FIRST Robotics World Championship in Houston, NASA gave student robotics teams and industry leaders a first-hand look—complete with lunar rovers, robotic arms, and real conversations about shaping the next era of discovery. 

        A crow of people visit NASA exhibits at a venue.
        Students and mentors experience NASA exhibits at the 2025 FIRST Robotics World Championship at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston from April 16-18.
        NASA/Sumer Loggins

        NASA engaged directly with the Artemis Generation, connecting with more than 55,000 students and 75,000 parents and mentors. Through interactive exhibits and discussions, students explored the agency’s robotic technologies, learned about STEM career paths and internships, and gained insight into NASA’s bold vision for the future. Many expressed interest in internships—and dreams of one day contributing to NASA’s missions to explore the unknown for the benefit of all humanity. 

        Multiple NASA centers participated in the event, including Johnson Space Center in Houston; Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California; Kennedy Space Center in Florida; Langley Research Center in Virginia; Ames Research Center in California; Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans; Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California; Glenn Research Center in Cleveland; Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; and the Katherine Johnson Independent Verification and Validation Facility in West Virginia. Each brought unique technologies and expertise to the exhibit floor. 

        Two people sit at a booth with space exploration materials. They are engaging with the public at an event.
        FIRST Robotics attendees explore NASA’s exhibit and learn about the agency’s mission during the event.
        NASA/Robert Markowitz

        Displays highlighted key innovations such as: 

        • Space Exploration Vehicle: A pressurized rover prototype built for human exploration of planetary surfaces, offering attendees a look at how future astronauts may one day travel across the Moon or Mars. 
        • Mars Perseverance Rover: An exhibit detailing the rover’s mission to search for ancient microbial life and collect samples for future return to Earth. 
        Visitors walk through an indoor exhibit featuring a large NASA space exploration vehicle with a mounted spacesuit and American flag.
        Visitors view NASA’s Space Exploration Vehicle on display.
        NASA/Robert Markowitz

        “These demonstrations help students see themselves in NASA’s mission and the next frontier of lunar exploration,” said Johnson Public Affairs Specialist Andrew Knotts. “They can picture their future as part of the team shaping how we live and work in space.” 

        Since the FIRST Championship relocated to Houston in 2017, NASA has mentored more than 250 robotics teams annually, supporting elementary through high school students. The agency continued that tradition for this year’s event, and celebrated the fusion of science, engineering, and creativity that defines both robotics and space exploration. 

        A woman in a blue shirt shares information about NASA's missions to a group of adults and kids.
        NASA’s booth draws crowds at FIRST Robotics 2025 with hands-on exhibits.
        NASA/Robert Markowitz

        Local students also had the chance to learn about the Texas High School Aerospace Scholars program, which offers Texas high school juniors hands-on experience designing space missions and solving engineering challenges—an early gateway into NASA’s world of exploration. 

        As the competition came to a close, students and mentors were already looking ahead to the next season—energized by new ideas, strengthened friendships, and dreams of future missions. 

        A group of people pose in front of a large structure
        NASA volunteers at the FIRST Robotics World Championship on April 17, 2025.
        NASA/Robert Markowitz

        “It was a true privilege to represent NASA to so many inspiring students, educators, and mentors,” said Jeanette Snyder, aerospace systems engineer for Gateway. “Not too long ago, I was a robotics student myself, and I still use skills I developed through FIRST Robotics in my work as a NASA engineer. Seeing so much excitement around engineering and technology makes me optimistic for the future of space exploration. I can’t wait to see these students become the next generation of NASA engineers and world changers.” 

        With the enthusiastic support of volunteers, mentors, sponsors, and industry leaders, and NASA’s continued commitment to STEM outreach, the future of exploration is in bold, capable hands. 

        See the full event come to life in the panorama videos below.

        NASA Studies Wind Effects and Aircraft Tracking with Joby Aircraft

        ✇Ames Research Center – NASA
        By:Dede Dinius
        17 April 2025 at 16:00

        3 min read

        Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

        A yellow traffic cone and a black tripod with black testing instruments stands in the foreground on a concrete pad with a desert landscape, power lines, and a black and white aircraft in the background. The aircraft has six black propellors that sit on white arms and connect to the aircraft body, which has black doors and is pod-shaped. The aircraft sits on three small wheels.
        One of several NASA distributed sensing ground nodes is set up in the foreground while an experimental air taxi aircraft owned by Joby Aviation sits in the background near NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on March 12, 2025. NASA is collecting information during this study to help advance future air taxi flights, especially those occurring in cities, to track aircraft moving through traffic corridors and around landing zones.
        NASA/Genaro Vavuris

        NASA engineers began using a network of ground sensors in March to collect data from an experimental air taxi to evaluate how to safely integrate such vehicles into airspace above cities – in all kinds of weather.

        Researchers will use the campaign to help improve tools to assist with collision avoidance and landing operations and ensure safe and efficient air taxi operations in various weather conditions.

        For years, NASA has looked at how wind shaped by terrain, including buildings in urban areas, can affect new types of aircraft. The latest test, which is gathering data from a Joby Aviation demonstrator aircraft, looks at another kind of wind – that which is generated by the aircraft themselves.

        Joby flew its air taxi demonstrator over NASA’s ground sensor array near the agency’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California producing air flow data. The Joby aircraft has six rotors that allow for vertical takeoffs and landings, and tilt to provide lift in flight. Researchers focused on the air pushed by the propellers, which rolls into turbulent, circular patterns of wind.

        Five orange traffic cones and barriers sit in front of a large white box in the foreground. In the background, a man wearing jeans and a black sweatshirt stands in front of a black laptop. Behind him, there are several cream-colored trailers, other construction equipment, and a few cars.
        NASA aeronautical meteorologist Luke Bard adjusts one of several wind lidar (light detection and ranging) sensors near NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on March 12, 2025, in preparation to collect data from Joby Aviation’s experimental air taxi aircraft. NASA is collecting information during this study to help advance weather-tolerant air taxi operations for the entire industry
        NASA/Genaro Vavuris

        This rolling wind can affect the aircraft’s performance, especially when it’s close to the ground, as well as others flying in the vicinity and people on the ground. Such wind turbulence is difficult to measure, so NASA enhanced its sensors with a new type of lidar – a system that uses lasers to measure precise distances – and that can map out the shapes of wind features.

        “The design of this new type of aircraft, paired with the NASA lidar technology during this study, warrants a better understanding of possible wind and turbulence effects that can influence safe and efficient flights,” said Grady Koch, lead for this research effort, from NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.

        Data to Improve Aircraft Tracking

        NASA also set up a second array of ground nodes including radar, cameras, and microphones in the same location as the sensors to provide additional data on the aircraft. These nodes will collect tracking data during routine flights for several months.

        The agency will use the data gathered from these ground nodes to demonstrate the tracking capabilities and functions of its “distributed sensing” technology, which involves embedding multiple sensors in an area where aircraft are operating.

        The top of a black tripod with black testing instruments stands in the foreground on a concrete pad with a desert landscape and power lines in the background. A black and white aircraft is in the sky above in the background with blue sky and clouds behind as the aircraft hovers. The aircraft has six black propellors that sit on white arms and connect to the aircraft body, which has black doors and is pod-shaped. The aircraft sits on three small wheels.
        One of multiple NASA distributed sensing ground nodes is set up in the foreground while an experimental air taxi aircraft owned by Joby Aviation hovers in the background near NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on March 12, 2025. NASA is collecting information during this study to help advance future air taxi flights, especially those occurring in cities, to track aircraft moving through traffic corridors and around landing zones.
        NASA/Genaro Vavuris

        This technology will be important for future air taxi flights, especially those occurring in cities by tracking aircraft moving through traffic corridors and around landing zones. Distributed sensing has the potential to enhance collision avoidance systems, air traffic management, ground-based landing sensors, and more.

        “Our early work on a distributed network of sensors, and through this study, gives us the opportunity to test new technologies that can someday assist in airspace monitoring and collision avoidance above cities,” said George Gorospe, lead for this effort from NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley.

        Using this data from an experimental air taxi aircraft, NASA will further develop the technology needed to help create safer air taxi flights in high-traffic areas. Both of these efforts will benefit the companies working to bring air taxis and drones safely into the airspace.

        The work is led by NASA’s Transformational Tools and Technologies and Convergent Aeronautics Solutions projects under the Transformative Aeronautics Concepts program in support of NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility mission. NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility mission seeks to deliver data to guide the industry’s development of electric air taxis and drones.

        Received before yesterday

        Wind Over Its Wing: NASA’s X-66 Model Tests Airflow

        ✇Ames Research Center – NASA
        By:Dede Dinius
        5 February 2025 at 15:00

        2 min read

        Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

        There is a half model of an airplane in the center of the photo that is painted white, the background of the photo is black in the center with blue lights all around the side. The floor that the half model of the plane sits on is white.
        NASA’s Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project concluded wind tunnel testing in the fall of 2024. Tests on a Boeing-built X-66 model were completed at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley in its 11-Foot Transonic Unitary Plan Facility. The model underwent tests representing expected flight conditions to obtain engineering information to influence design of the wing and provide data for flight simulators.
        NASA/Brandon Torres Navarrete

        NASA’s Sustainable Flight Demonstrator (SFD) project recently concluded wind tunnel tests of its X-66 semi-span model in partnership with Boeing. The model, designed to represent half the aircraft, allows the research team to generate high-quality data about the aerodynamic forces that would affect the actual X-66.

        Test results will help researchers identify areas where they can refine the X-66 design – potentially reducing drag, enhancing fuel efficiency, or adjusting the vehicle shape for better flying qualities.

        Tests on the Boeing-built X-66 semi-span model were completed at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley in its 11-Foot Transonic Unitary Plan Facility. The model underwent tests representing expected flight conditions so the team could obtain engineering information to influence the design of the aircraft’s wing and provide data for flight simulators.

        Photo with part of an airplane wing colored white, with markings is in the foreground, the background has white vertical lines.
        NASA’s Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project concluded wind tunnel testing in the fall of 2024. Tests on a Boeing-built X-66 model were completed at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley in its 11-Foot Transonic Unitary Plan Facility. Pressure points, which are drilled holes with data sensors attached, are installed along the edge of the wing and allow engineers to understand the characteristics of airflow and will influence the final design of the wing.
        NASA/Brandon Torres Navarrete

        Semi-span tests take advantage of symmetry. The forces and behaviors on a model of half an aircraft mirror those on the other half. By using a larger half of the model, engineers increase the number of surface pressure measurements. Various sensors were placed on the wing to measure forces and movements to calculate lift, drag, stability, and other important characteristics.

        The semi-span tests follow earlier wind tunnel work at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, using a smaller model of the entire aircraft. Engineers will study the data from all of the X-66 wind tunnel tests to determine any design changes that should be made before fabrication begins on the wing that will be used on the X-66 itself.

        The SFD project is NASA’s effort to develop more efficient aircraft configurations as the nation moves toward aviation that’s more economically, societally, and environmentally sustainable. The project seeks to provide information to inform the next generation of single-aisle airliners, the most common aircraft in commercial aviation fleets around the world.  Boeing and NASA are partnering to develop the X-66 experimental demonstrator aircraft.

        NASA Flight Tests Wildland Fire Tech Ahead of Demo

        ✇Ames Research Center – NASA
        By:Hillary Smith
        31 January 2025 at 12:26

        4 min read

        Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

        An FVR90 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) lifts off from the Monterey Bay Academy Airport near Watsonville, California, during the Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) Shakedown Test in November 2024.
        NASA/Don Richey

        NASA is collaborating with the wildland fire community to provide tools for some of the most challenging aspects of firefighting – particularly aerial nighttime operations.  

        In the future, agencies could more efficiently use drones, both remotely piloted and fully autonomous, to help fight wildfires. NASA recently tested technologies with teams across the country that will enable aircraft – including small drones and helicopters outfitted with autonomous technology for remote piloting – to monitor and fight wildfires 24 hours a day, even during low-visibility conditions. 

        Current aerial firefighting operations are limited to times when aircraft have clear visibility – otherwise, pilots run the risk of flying into terrain or colliding with other aircraft. NASA-developed airspace management technology will enable drones and remotely piloted aircraft to operate at night, expanding the window of time responders have to aerially suppress fires.

        “We’re aiming to provide new tools – including airspace management technologies – for 24-hour drone operations for wildfire response,” said Min Xue, project manager of the Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) project within NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. “This testing will provide valuable data to inform how we mature this technology for eventual use in the field.” 

        Over the past year, ACERO researchers developed a portable airspace management system (PAMS) drone pilots can use to safely send aircraft into wildfire response operations when operating drones from remote control systems or ground control stations.  

        Each PAMS, roughly the size of a carry-on suitcase, is outfitted with a computer for airspace management, a radio for sharing information among PAMS units, and an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast receiver for picking up nearby air traffic – all encased in a durable and portable container. 

        NASA software on the PAMS allows drone pilots to avoid airborne collisions while remotely operating aircraft by monitoring and sharing flight plans with other aircraft in the network. The system also provides basic fire location and weather information. A drone equipped with a communication device acts as an airborne communication relay for the ground-based PAMS units, enabling them to communicate with each other without relying on the internet.  

        Engineers fly a drone at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, to test aerial coordination capabilities.
        NASA/Mark Knopp

        To test the PAMS units’ ability to share and display vital information, NASA researchers placed three units in different locations outside each other’s line of sight at a hangar at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley.

        Researchers stationed at each unit entered a flight plan into their system and observed that each unit successfully shared flight plans with the others through a mesh radio network. 

        Next, researchers worked with team members in Virginia to test an aerial communications radio relay capability. 

        Researchers outfitted a long-range vertical takeoff and landing aircraft with a camera, computer, a mesh radio, and an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast receiver for air traffic information.

        The team flew the aircraft and two smaller drones at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, purposely operating them outside each other’s line of sight.  

        The mesh radio network aboard the larger drone successfully connected with the small drones and multiple radio units on the ground. 

        Yasmin Arbab front-right frame, Alexey Munishkin, Shawn Wolfe, with Sarah Mitchell, standing behind, works with the Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) Portable Airspace Management System (PAMS) case at the Monterey Bay Academy Airport near Watsonville, California.
        NASA/Don Richey

        NASA researchers then tested the PAMS units’ ability to coordinate through an aerial communications relay to simulate what it could be like in the field.  

        At Monterey Bay Academy Airport in Watsonville, California, engineers flew a winged drone with vertical takeoff and landing capability by Overwatch Aero, establishing a communications relay to three different PAMS units. Next, the team flew two smaller drones nearby.  

        Researchers tested the PAMS units’ ability to receive communications from the Overwatch aircraft and share information with other PAMS units. Pilots purposely submitted flight plans that would conflict with each other and intentionally flew the drones outside preapproved flight plans. 

        The PAMS units successfully alerted pilots to conflicting flight plans and operations outside preapproved zones. They also shared aircraft location with each other and displayed weather updates and simulated fire location data. 

        The test demonstrated the potential for using PAM units in wildfire operations.  

        “This testing is a significant step towards improving aerial coordination during a wildfire,” Xue said. “These technologies will improve wildfire operations, reduce the impacts of large wildfires, and save more lives,” Xue said.  

        This year, the team will perform a flight evaluation to further mature these wildfire technologies. Ultimately, the project aims to transfer this technology to the firefighting community community. 

        This work is led by the ACERO project under NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate and supports the agency’s Advanced Air Mobility mission.  

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        NASA Space Tech’s Favorite Place to Travel in 2025: The Moon!

        ✇Artemis – NASA
        By:Stefanie Payne
        24 January 2025 at 11:24
        4 Min Read

        NASA Space Tech’s Favorite Place to Travel in 2025: The Moon!

        Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission 1 spacecraft in the darkness of space captures a first image from the top deck of its lunar lander.
        The first image from space of Firefly's Blue Ghost mission 1 lunar lander as it begins its 45-day transit period to the Moon.
        Credits: Firefly Aerospace

        NASA Space Technology has big travel plans for 2025, starting with a trip to the near side of the Moon!

        Among ten groundbreaking NASA science and technology demonstrations, two technologies are on a ride to survey lunar regolith – also known as “Moon dust” – to better understand surface interactions with incoming lander spacecraft and payloads conducting experiments on the surface. These dust demonstrations and the data they’re designed to collect will help support future lunar missions.  

        Blue Ghost Mission 1 launched at 1:11 a.m. EST aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The company is targeting a lunar landing on Sunday, March 2. 

        The first image from space of Firefly’s Blue Ghost mission 1 lunar lander as it begins its 45-day transit period to the Moon. The top deck of the lander is visible here with the X-band antenna and NASA’s Lunar Environment heliospheric X-ray Imager (LEXI) payload.
        The first image from space of Firefly’s Blue Ghost mission 1 lunar lander as it begins its 45-day transit period to the Moon.
        Firefly Aerospace

        NASA Space Technology on Blue Ghost Mission 1

        NASA’s Electrodynamic Dust Shield (EDS) will lift, transport, and remove particles using electric fields to repel and prevent hazardous lunar dust accumulation on surfaces. The agency’s Stereo Camera for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies (SCALPSS) technology will use stereo imaging to capture the impact of rocket plumes on lunar regolith as the lander descends to the Moon’s surface, returning high-resolution images that will help in creating models to predict regolith erosion – an important task as bigger, heavier payloads are delivered to the Moon in close proximity to each other. 

        The EDS and SCALPSS technologies will be delivered to the Moon on Firefly’s first Blue Ghost mission, named Ghost Riders in the Sky, as part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative. Its landing target is a 300-mile-wide basin located on the Moon’s near side, called Mare Crisium – a large, dark, basaltic plain that filled an ancient asteroid impact. First-of-their-kind experiments will deploy after landing to gather important data in a broad spectrum of areas including geophysical characteristics, global navigation, radiation tolerant computing, and the behavior of lunar regolith.

        Replicating the Moon’s harsh environment on Earth is a significant challenge because of extreme temperatures, low gravity, radiation, and dusty surface. The CLPS initiative provides unprecedented access to the lunar surface, allowing us to demonstrate technologies in the exact conditions they were designed for. Missions like Blue Ghost Mission 1 are a true game changer for NASA technology advancement and demonstration.”

        Michael Johansen

        Michael Johansen

        Flight Demonstrations Lead for NASA’s Game Changing Development program

        Dust particles scatter during an experiment for the Electrodynamic Dust Shield for Dust Mitigation.
        Dust particles scatter during an experiment for the Electrodynamic Dust Shield in a laboratory at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
        NASA
        lunar surface camera technology integrated on a lunar lander
        NASA’s Stereo Camera for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies technology integrated on Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander.
        Firefly Aerospace
        A complex wrinkle ridge in Mare Crisium at low Sun, seen in an image captured by the Lunar Reconaissance Orbiter Camera (illumination is from the right). Image width is 700 m, north is up. Boulders occupy the tops of mounds on the west ridge, and the central depression is more heavily cratered than the ridge.
        A complex wrinkle ridge in Mare Crisium at low Sun, seen in an image captured by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera.
        NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University

        Understanding regolith

        The Moon’s dusty environment was one of the greatest challenges astronauts faced during Apollo Moon missions, posing hazards to lunar surface systems, space suits, habitats, and instrumentation. What was learned from those early missions – and from thousands of experiments conducted on Earth and in space since – is that successful surface missions require the ability to eliminate dust from all kinds of systems. Lunar landings, for example, cause lunar dust to disperse in all directions and collect on everything that lands there with it. This is one of the reasons such technologies are important to understand. The SCALPSS technology will study the dispersion of lunar dust, while EDS will demonstrate a solution to mitigate it. 

        Getting this new data on lunar regolith with be pivotal for our understanding of the lunar surface. We’ve long known that lunar dust is a huge challenge. The Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative has enabled us to initiate lunar dust mitigation efforts across the agency, working with industry and international partners. The lunar science, exploration, and technology communities are eager to have new quantitative data, and to prove laboratory experiments and develop technology solutions.”

        Kristen John

        Kristen John

        Technical Integration Lead for NASA’s Lunar Surface Innovation Initiative (LSII)

        [VIDEO] Dust on the lunar surface is a significant hazard for systems and astronauts living and working on the Moon. NASA space technologies are developing solutions to retire hurdles in this capability area.
        NASA Space Technology

        Dust mitigation technology has come a long way, but we still have a lot to learn to develop surface systems and infrastructure for more complex missions. LSII is actively engaged in this effort, working with the lunar community across sectors to expand knowledge and design new approaches for future technologies. Working alongside the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium, LSII has a unique opportunity to take a holistic look at dust’s role in the development of surface infrastructure with other key capability areas including in-situ resource utilization, surface power, and surviving the lunar night.  

        Learning from the the Moon benefits Mars science and exploration

        Capabilities for minimizing dust interaction are as important for future missions on Mars as it is for missions on the Moon. Like the Moon, Mars is also covered with regolith, also called Martian dust or Martian soil, but the properties are different than lunar regolith, both in shape and mineralogy. The challenges Mars rovers have encountered with Martian regolith have provided great insight into the challenges we will face during lunar surface missions. Learning is interwoven and beneficial to future missions whether hundreds of thousands of miles from Earth, on the Moon, or millions, on Mars.  

        Black and white image of an astronaut sampling lunar dust on the surface of the Moon during the Apollo 17 mission.
        Scientist-astronaut Harrison Schmitt, Apollo 17 lunar module pilot, uses an adjustable sampling scoop to retrieve lunar samples during the second Apollo 17 extravehicular activity (EVA).
        NASA
        Imprints in Mars dust from a rover's robotic arm
        NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover snagged two samples of regolith – broken rock and dust – on Dec. 2 and 6, 2022. This set of images, taken by the rover’s left navigation camera, shows Perseverance’s robotic arm over the two holes left after the samples were collected.
        NASA/JPL-Caltech

        Learn more from a planetary scientist about how science factors into lunar dust mitigation technologies:

        NASA Tests Air Traffic Surveillance Technology Using Its Pilatus PC-12 Aircraft

        ✇Ames Research Center – NASA
        By:Abigail Casas
        23 January 2025 at 09:58

        3 min read

        Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

        NASA’s Pilatus PC-12 flies over the runway at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center. The white plane shines bright against the Mojave Desert landscape. The red NASA worm figures prominently on the tail of the plane and a blue stripe lining the fuselage with the NASA meatball logo under the pilot's window. The plane’s call sign, also in blue, N606NA is brightly painted above the blue stripe.
        Equipped with state-of-the-art technology to test and evaluate communication, navigation, and surveillance systems NASA’s Pilatus PC-12 performs touch-and-go maneuvers over a runway at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California on Sept. 23, 2024. Researchers will use the data to understand Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) signal loss scenarios for air taxi flights in urban areas. To prepare for ADS-B test flights pilots and crew from NASA Armstrong and NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, ran a series of familiarization flights. These flights included several approach and landings, with an emphasis on avionics, medium altitude air-work with steep turns, slow flight and stall demonstrations.
        NASA/Steve Freeman

        As air taxis, drones, and other innovative aircraft enter U.S. airspace, systems that communicate an aircraft’s location will be critical to ensure air traffic safety.

        The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires aircraft to communicate their locations to other aircraft and air traffic control in real time using an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) system. NASA is currently evaluating an ADS-B system’s ability to prevent collisions in a simulated urban environment. Using NASA’s Pilatus PC-12 aircraft, researchers are investigating how these systems could handle the demands of air taxis flying at low altitudes through cities.  

        When operating in urban areas, one particular challenge for ADS-B systems is consistent signal coverage. Like losing cell-phone signal, air taxis flying through densely populated areas may have trouble maintaining ADS-B signals due to distance or interference. If that happens, those vehicles become less visible to air traffic control and other aircraft in the area, increasing the likelihood of collisions.

        In a briefing room at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center, in Edwards, California, NASA pilot Kurt Blankenship wears a blue flight-suit and sits at a brown desk to review flight plans on a rectangular flight tablet. The tablet displays a map of Edwards Air Force Base and Rogers Dry Lakebed with directional lines in light blue and flight zones designated in dashed lines and purple circles.
        NASA pilot Kurt Blankenship maps out flight plans during a pre-flight brief. Pilots, crew, and researchers from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California and NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland are briefed on the flight plan to gather Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast signal data between the aircraft and ping-Stations on the ground at NASA Armstrong. These flights are the first cross-center research activity with the Pilatus-PC-12 at NASA Armstrong.
        NASA/Steve Freeman

        To simulate the conditions of an urban flight area and better understand signal loss patterns, NASA researchers established a test zone at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Sept. 23 and 24, 2024.

        Flying in the agency’s Pilatus PC-12 in a grid pattern over four ADS-B stations, researchers collected data on signal coverage from multiple ground locations and equipment configurations. Researchers were able to pinpoint where signal dropouts occurred from the strategically placed ground stations in connection to the plane’s altitude and distance from the stations. This data will inform future placement of additional ground stations to enhance signal boosting coverage.  

        “Like all antennas, those used for ADS-B signal reception do not have a constant pattern,” said Brad Snelling, vehicle test team chief engineer for NASA’s Air Mobility Pathfinders project. “There are certain areas where the terrain will block ADS-B signals and depending on the type of antenna and location characteristics, there are also flight elevation angles where reception can cause signal dropouts,” Snelling said. “This would mean we need to place additional ground stations at multiple locations to boost the signal for future test flights. We can use the test results to help us configure the equipment to reduce signal loss when we conduct future air taxi flight tests.”

        Wearing a dark red shirt, NASA researcher Dennis Iannicca, sits at a control monitor with three video screens, a laptop, and a control board with dials. The gray-colored control station is inside the Mobile Operations Facility, a large trailer that houses multiple computer workstations to monitor flight testing. The ADS-B research is being done at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.
        Working in the Mobile Operations Facility at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, NASA Advanced Air Mobility researcher Dennis Iannicca adjusts a control board to capture Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data during test flights. The data will be used to understand ADS-B signal loss scenarios for air taxi flights in urban areas.
        NASA/Steve Freeman

        The September flights at NASA Armstrong built upon earlier tests of ADS-B in different environments. In June, researchers at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland flew the Pilatus PC-12 and found a consistent ADS-B signal between the aircraft and communications antennas mounted on the roof of the center’s Aerospace Communications Facility. Data from these flights helped researchers plan out the recent tests at NASA Armstrong. In December 2020, test flights performed under NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility National Campaign used an OH-58C Kiowa helicopter and ground-based ADS-B stations at NASA Armstrong to collect baseline signal information.

        NASA’s research in ADS-B signals and other communication, navigation, and surveillance systems will help revolutionize U.S. air transportation. Air Mobility Pathfinders researchers will evaluate the data from the three separate flight tests to understand the different signal transmission conditions and equipment needed for air taxis and drones to safely operate in the National Air Space. NASA will use the results of this research to design infrastructure to support future air taxi communication, navigation, and surveillance research and to develop new ADS-B-like concepts for uncrewed aircraft systems.

        Langley’s Propeller Research Tunnel

        ✇NASA
        By:Monika Luabeya
        15 January 2025 at 13:33
        A man stands inside the entrance of a tunnel, looking up at a small propeller plane. The tunnel, viewed from the side, is like a cylinder with sides curving inward. The photo is in black and white.
        NASA

        Elton W. Miller, chief of aerodynamics at what is now NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, stands in the entrance cone of the Propeller Research Tunnel in this Sept. 9, 1926, photo. In front of the entrance is the Sperry M-1 Messenger, the first full-scale airplane tested in the tunnel.

        The Propeller Research Tunnel, or PRT as it came to be known, was only the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics’ third wind tunnel and the largest one built. The PRT was in fact the largest tunnel built at that time anywhere in the world. Designed to accommodate a full-scale propeller, the throat of the PRT was 20 feet in diameter.

        Learn more about the PRT from the report originally published in December 1928.

        Image credit: NASA

        Defying Gravity

        ✇NASA
        By:Monika Luabeya
        6 January 2025 at 14:01
        In this black and white photo, two people adjust a 1960s-era spacesuit on a person who is suspended by wires. This third person is parallel to the floor, with his feet on the wall on the right.
        NASA

        In this Dec. 11, 1963, image, technicians prepare a test subject for studies on the Reduced Gravity Walking Simulator at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. This position meant that a person’s legs experienced only one sixth of their weight, which was the equivalent of being on the Moon’s surface. The simulator was used to study the subject while walking, jumping, or running; it also was used to train Apollo astronauts for completing tasks in the unfamiliar lunar environment.

        The effect was quite realistic. When asked what it was like to land on the Moon, Neil Armstrong replied, “Like Langley.”

        Image credit: NASA

        NASA Small Business Funding Enables Aircraft Inspection by Drone

        ✇Ames Research Center – NASA
        By:Dede Dinius
        13 January 2025 at 09:50

        3 min read

        Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

        A small, black drone with four rotors is shown in the foreground flying in front of a commercial airliner in the background. The airliner is painted white and the front facing windows can be seen behind the drone. Concrete platforms surround the commercial airliner and yellow ramps connect the platforms to the plane.
        A Boeing 777-300ER aircraft is being inspected by one of Near Earth Autonomy’s drones Feb. 2, 2024, at an Emirates Airlines facility in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
        Near Earth Autonomy

        A small business called Near Earth Autonomy developed a time-saving solution using drones for pre-flight checks of commercial airliners through a NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and a partnership with The Boeing Company.

        Before commercial airliners are deemed safe to fly before each trip, a pre-flight inspection must be completed. This process can take up to four hours, and can involve workers climbing around the plane to check for any issues, which can sometimes result in safety mishaps as well as diagnosis errors.

        With NASA and Boeing funding to bolster commercial readiness, Near Earth Autonomy developed a drone-enabled solution, under their business unit Proxim, that can fly around a commercial airliner and gather inspection data in less than 30 minutes. The drone can autonomously fly around an aircraft to complete the inspection by following a computer-programmed task card based on the Federal Aviation Administration’s rules for commercial aircraft inspection. The card shows the flight path the drone’s software needs to take, enabling aircraft workers with a new tool to increase safety and efficiency.

        “NASA has worked with Near Earth Autonomy on autonomous inspection challenges in multiple domains,” says Danette Allen, NASA senior leader for autonomous systems. 

        “We are excited to see this technology spin out to industry to increase efficiencies, safety, and accuracy of the aircraft inspection process for overall public benefit.”

        The photos collected from the drone are shared and analyzed remotely, which allows experts in the airline maintenance field to support repair decisions faster from any location. New images can be compared to old images to look for cracks, popped rivets, leaks, and other common issues.

        The user can ask the system to create alerts if an area needs to be inspected again or fails an inspection. Near Earth Autonomy estimates that using drones for aircraft inspection can save the airline industry an average of $10,000 per hour of lost earnings during unplanned time on the ground.

        Over the last six years, Near Earth Autonomy completed several rounds of test flights with their drone system on Boeing aircraft used by American Airlines and Emirates Airlines.

        NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research / Small Business Technology Transfer program, managed by the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, aims to bolster American ingenuity by supporting innovative ideas put forth by small businesses to fulfill NASA and industry needs. These research needs are described in annual SBIR solicitations and target technologies that have significant potential for successful commercialization. 

        Small business concerns with 500 or fewer employees, or small businesses partnering with a non-profit research institution such as a university or a research laboratory can apply to participate in the NASA SBIR/STTR program.

        ❌