[NASA HQ News] NASA Announces 30th Human Exploration Rover Challenge Winners

NASA Announces 30th Human Exploration Rover Challenge Winners

APR 22, 2024

RELEASE 24-055

 

Students from Universidad Católica Boliviana prepare to traverse the course at the 2024 Human Exploration Rover Challenge at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.

Credits: NASA/Taylor Goodwin

NASA announced the winners of the 30th Human Exploration Rover Challenge (HERC) April 22, with Parish Episcopal School, from Dallas, winning first place in the high school division, and the University of Alabama in Huntsville, capturing the college/university title.

The annual engineering competition – one of NASA’s longest standing challenges – held its concluding event April 19 and April 20, at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. The complete list of 2024 award winners is provided below:

High School Division 

• First Place: Parish Episcopal School, Dallas
• Second Place: Academy of Arts, Careers and Technology, Reno, Nevada
• Third Place: Escambia High School, Pensacola, Florida

College/University Division 

• First Place: University of Alabama in Huntsville
• Second Place: Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
• Third Place: Campbell University, Buies Creek, North Carolina

Ingenuity Award 

• University of West Florida, Pensacola, Florida

Phoenix Award 

• High School Division: East Central High School, Moss Point, Mississippi
• College/University Division: North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota

Task Challenge Award 

• High School Division: Erie High School, Erie, Colorado
• College/University Division: South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, South Dakota

Project Review Award 

• High School Division: Parish Episcopal School, Dallas
• College/University Division: University of Alabama in Huntsville

Featherweight Award 

• Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island

Safety Award 

• High School Division: NPS International School, Singapore
• College/University Division: Instituto Especializado de Estudios Superiores Loyola, San Cristobal, Dominican Republic

Crash and Burn Award 

• KIET Group of Institutions, Delhi-NCR, India

Jeff Norris and Joe Sexton Memorial Pit Crew Award 

• High School Division: Erie High School, Erie, Colorado
• College/University Division: Campbell University, Buies Creek, North Carolina

Team Spirit Award 

• Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Most Improved Performance Award

• High School Division: Jesco von Puttkamer School, Leipzig, Germany
• College/University Division: Universidad Católica Boliviana – San Pablo, La Paz, Bolivia

Social Media Award 

• High School Division: Bledsoe County High School, Pikeville, Tennessee
• College/University Division: Universidad de Piura, Peru

STEM Engagement Award 

• High School Division: Princess Margaret Secondary School, Surrey, British Columbia
• College/University Division: Trine University, Angola, Indiana

Artemis Educator Award

• Sadif Safarov from Istanbul Technical University, Turkey

Rookie of the Year

• Kanakia International School, Mumbai, India

More than 600 students with 72 teams from around the world participated as HERC celebrated its 30th anniversary as a NASA competition. Participating teams represented 42 colleges and universities and 30 high schools from 24 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 13 other nations from around the world. Teams were awarded points based on navigating a half-mile obstacle course, conducting mission-specific task challenges, and completing multiple safety and design reviews with NASA engineers. 

“This student design challenge encourages the next generation of scientists and engineers to engage in the design process by providing innovative concepts and unique perspectives,” said Vemitra Alexander, HERC activity lead for NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement at Marshall. “While celebrating the 30th anniversary of the challenge, HERC also continues NASA’s legacy of providing valuable experiences to students who may be responsible for planning future space missions including crewed missions to other worlds.”

HERC is one of NASA’s eight Artemis Student Challenges reflecting the goals of the Artemis program, which seeks to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon while establishing a long-term presence for science and exploration. NASA uses such challenges to encourage students to pursue degrees and careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. 

HERC is managed by NASA’s Southeast Regional Office of STEM Engagement at Marshall. Since its inception in 1994, more than 15,000 students have participated in HERC – with many former students now working at NASA, or within the aerospace industry.    

To learn more about HERC, please visit: 

https://www.nasa.gov/roverchallenge/home/index.html   

-end-

 

[NASA HQ News] NASA Nurtures Promising Tech Ideas from Small Businesses

NASA Nurtures Promising Tech Ideas from Small Businesses

APR 22, 2024

RELEASE 24-059

 

Credit: NASA

New space technology ideas emerge every day from innovators across the country, and NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program on Monday selected more than 100 projects for funding. This program offers small businesses in the United States early-stage funding and support to advance the agency’s goals of exploring the unknown in air and space while returning benefits to Earth.

Specifically, NASA’s SBIR program awarded $93.5 million in Phase II contracts to bring 107 new ideas to life from 95 selected small businesses. Of these businesses, nearly 80% have less than 50 employees, and 21% are receiving their first Phase II award, valued at up to $850,000 each. Each small business was also eligible to apply for up to $50,000 in Technical and Business Assistance program funding to help find new market opportunities and shape their commercialization roadmap.

“We are thrilled to support this diverse set of companies as they work diligently to bring their technologies to market,” said Jenn Gustetic, director of Early Stage Innovation and Partnerships with NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. “Inclusive innovation is integral to mission success at NASA, and we’re excited to see that 29% of the awardees are from underrepresented groups, including 11% women-owned businesses.”

In Phase II, awardees will build on their success from the program’s first phase to bring their technologies closer to real-world use. The companies have 24 months to execute their plans, which focus on their technologies’ path to commercialization.

For example, NASA selected women-owned and first-time NASA Phase II awardee nou Systems, Inc. in Huntsville, Alabama, for its genetic testing instrument. While portable genetic sequencing already exists, field sequencing – that would allow DNA analysis anywhere on Earth or off planet – remains unfeasible as the preparation of the DNA Library remains an intensely manual process, needing a trained wet lab technician and several pieces of laboratory equipment. The Phase II technology takes advantage of several cross-enabling technologies, creating an instrument to automate the genetic sequencing process.

“Our program works directly with small businesses to forge innovative concepts and technologies that drive impact for NASA projects as well as a myriad of commercial endeavors,” said Jason L. Kessler, program executive for NASA’s SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program at NASA Headquarters. “This collaboration results in realized opportunities not only for NASA but all of humanity.”

This includes technologies aiming to reduce astronaut workload and improve robotic scientific endeavors on the Moon and Mars. PickNik Inc. based in Boulder, Colorado, will use its Phase II award to continue developing a hardware-agnostic platform for supervised autonomy that empowers humans to command a remote robot to complete complex tasks with minimal input, which could support the Artemis program. Outside of NASA, PickNik’s software product may be of interest to commercial space customers working on low Earth orbit destinations, in-space servicing, and more, as well as on Earth in areas like warehouse management, oil rig maintenance, and deep-sea exploration. 

The NASA SBIR program is open to U.S. small businesses to develop an innovation or technology. The program is part of STMD and managed by NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley.

To learn more about the NASA SBIR program, visit:

https://sbir.nasa.gov

-end-

 

[NASA HQ News] NASA Sets Coverage of Roscosmos Spacewalk Outside Space Station

April 19, 2024

 

MEDIA ADVISORY: M24-058

 

NASA Sets Coverage of Roscosmos Spacewalk Outside Space Station

 

Expedition 70 Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub from Roscosmos is pictured during a spacewalk to inspect a backup radiator, deploy a nanosatellite, and install communications hardware on the International Space Station’s Nauka science module.

 

NASA will provide live coverage, beginning at 10:30 a.m. EDT Thursday, April 25, as two Roscosmos cosmonauts conduct a spacewalk outside the International Space Station. The spacewalk is expected to begin at 10:55 a.m. and could last up to seven hours.

 

NASA will stream the spacewalk on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.

 

Expedition 71 crewmates Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub will venture outside the station’s Poisk airlock to complete the deployment of one panel on a synthetic radar system on the Nauka module. The two cosmonauts will also install equipment and experiments on the Poisk module to analyze the level of corrosion on station surfaces and modules.

 

The spacewalk will be the 270th in support of space station, and will be the seventh for Kononenko, who will wear the Orlan spacesuit with the red stripes, and the second for Chub, who will wear the spacesuit with the blue stripes.

 

Get breaking news, images, and features from the space station on the station blog, Instagram, Facebook, and X.

Learn more about International Space Station research and operations at:

https://www.nasa.gov/station

-end-

 

TO RECEIVE NASA NEWS RELEASES

NASA news releases and other information are available automatically by sending an e-mail to hqnews-join@newsletters.nasa.gov (no subject or text in the body is required).

To unsubscribe from the list, send an e-mail message to hqnews-leave@newsletters.nasa.gov (no subject or text in the body is required).

[NASA HQ News] Slovenia Signs Artemis Accords, Joins Pursuit of Safer Space

Slovenia Signs Artemis Accords, Joins Pursuit of Safer Space

 

April 19, 2024

RELEASE: 24-058

 

Matevž Frangež, State Secretary, Ministry of Economy, Tourism, and Sport signs the Artemis Accords on behalf of Slovenia with NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik, Ambassador Jamie L. Harpootlian, Rebecca Bresnik, Associate General Counsel for International and Space Law, and Slovenian Ambassador to the United States Iztok Mirošič standing behind.

Credit: State Department

 

NASA and Slovenia affirmed their cooperation in future space endeavors on Friday as Slovenia became the 39th country to sign the Artemis Accords. The signing certified Slovenia’s commitment to pursue safe and sustainable exploration of space for the benefit of humanity and took place during a U.S.-Slovenia strategic dialogue in Ljubljana, Slovenia, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Offices.

 

“NASA welcomes Slovenia to the Artemis Accords,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. "Today, the partnership between the United States and Slovenia crosses a new frontier. We live in a golden era of exploring the stars. That era will be written by nations that explore the cosmos openly, responsibly, and in peace.” 

 

State Secretary Matevž Frangež of the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism, and Sport signed the Accords on behalf of Slovenia, with James O’Brien, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, participating in the signing event.

 

"Slovenia joins the principles, values, and rules on the peaceful use of space as a common good of humanity,” Frangež said.

 

Rebecca Bresnik, Associate General Counsel for International and Space Law, served as the senior NASA official at the ceremony, along with her husband, Randy Bresnik, who is a NASA astronaut of Slovenian descent.

 

“We are delighted to welcome Slovenia to the Artemis Accords family,” said Ambassador Jamie Harpootlian, the U.S. ambassador to Slovenia “We recognize Slovenia as a rising leader in space. We look forward to taking our collaborations with Slovenia on science, technology, and innovation to new frontiers.”

 

In 2020, the United States and seven other countries established the Artemis Accords to establish guidelines for the peaceful exploration and use of outer space. The Accords reinforce and implement key obligations in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. They also strengthen the commitment by the United States and signatory nations to the Registration Convention, the Rescue and Return Agreement, as well as best practices NASA and its partners support, including the public release of scientific data.

Learn more about the Artemis Accords at:

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-accords

-end-

NASA news releases and other information are available automatically by sending an e-mail to hqnews-join@newsletters.nasa.gov (no subject or text in the body is required). To unsubscribe from the list, send an e-mail message to hqnews-leave@newsletters.nasa.gov.

 

 

 

 

 

Inbox Astronomy: Hubble Goes Hunting for Small Main Belt Asteroids

INBOX ASTRONOMY

Hubble Goes Hunting for Small Main Belt Asteroids

Release date: Thursday, April 18, 2024 10:00:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Deep-Sky Exposure Yields Telltale Evidence for Asteroid Moving Across the Celestial Background

Over 4 billion years ago, the eight major planets around our Sun formed by sweeping up debris from a vast disk of dust and gas surrounding the Sun. This is common to the planet birthing process, and the Hubble Space Telescope was the first to optically see similar disks surrounding newborn stars, providing a peek into the solar system's formative years. Now, 4 billon years later, the planet construction yard is still cluttered with leftover debris.

Most of this ancient space rubble, called asteroids, can be found between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter within the main asteroid belt. The census of the asteroid population is ongoing. Hubble's unique capabilities allow it to be used as an "asteroid hunter" for this task. Asteroids appear as curved trails in Hubble images. The trails are due to parallax because Hubble is not stationary, but orbiting Earth. This gives the illusion that the faint asteroids are swimming along curved trajectories.

The Hubble archives, spanning many years, are loaded with images that capture wayward asteroids trekking along their orbits. They were not the intended targets, but instead photobombed background stars and galaxies. Finding these asteroids is sort of a game of Where's Waldo. It was recognized this would be a Herculean effort for any group of astronomers, so the researchers relied on a small army of volunteer citizen scientists to peruse the gaggle of Hubble photos. What they found was applied to machine learning to dig out even more asteroids. The project identified 1,701 asteroid trails. Most of the asteroids are too small to have been previously detected without Hubble's sharp resolution and ultraviolet-light sensitivity.

  Read more  

Find additional articles, images, and videos at HubbleSite.org

  Please do not reply to this message.
You are receiving this email because you are subscribed to the Inbox Astronomy mailing list.

 

Produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute's Office of Public Outreach

 

Learn more about our updated Terms of Service

edgeblog.alerts.2011.001@gmail.com We're updating our Terms of Service on May 22, 2024, so we wanted to let you know ahead of time. These changes won't affect the way you use our services, but they should help make it easier for you to understand what to expect from Google — and what we expect from you — as you use our services. You can see the new terms here. We also summarized the changes at the bottom of this email. What do I need to do? If you're under the age required to manage your own Google Account: We sent this email to your parent or guardian so that they can help you understand our updates better. Please discuss this email with your parent or guardian to decide if you need to do anything different with your account. If you're a parent or guardian, and you allow your child to use the services: Please review the updates to our terms with your child and help them decide whether they need to make any changes to their account. Please remember that these terms apply to you and you're responsible for your child's activity on the services. If you're the administrator of a Google Workspace corporate or educational account and you've enabled your users to access Google Additional Services: Our new Terms of Service won't affect the Google Workspace agreement between Google and your organization. These new terms will only apply to those users to whom you've given access to Google Additional Services. You can always manage whether your users have access to Google Additional Services, and which ones, in your Admin console. If you're a Google Workspace reseller whose customers have enabled their users to access Google Additional Services: Our new Terms of Service won't affect your Google Workspace agreement with your customers. These new terms will only apply to your customers' users who've been given access to Google Additional Services. Your customers can always manage whether their users have access to Google Additional Services, and which ones, in their Admin console. If you're any other user of the services: Please read this email to understand our updated terms and your options for further action. If you agree to the new terms, no further action is needed. What's changing? You can review the new Google Terms of Service here. At a glance, here's what this update covers: Generative AI terms. We're moving our existing Generative AI Additional Terms to our main Terms of Service and adding other AI-related clarifications. For example – we won't claim ownership over original content generated by our AI-powered services. More clarity on abusive activity. We're providing more examples and details about abuse and interference with our services that isn't allowed. More details on limitations of liability. For users outside the US, we're adding clarifications to our limitations of liability and indemnity sections to avoid any misunderstandings in light of local laws or customs. More clarity on disputes. We're clarifying that if you violate our terms, our remedies aren't limited to suspension or termination of your access to the services, but may include other remedies under applicable law. If problems or disputes arise between us about these terms, you'll have the opportunity to describe the issues and address them. Updates to reflect how our services work. We're adding language about how our services work, and updating certain Google service brand names that have changed over time. For users based in the European Economic Area (EEA) only: In addition to the changes described above, we're adding more explanatory text to help you understand the legal concept of "guarantees" under EU and local law. For more details, please see this summary of key changes to the EEA versions of our Terms. If you don't agree to the new terms, you should remove your content and stop using the services. You can also end your relationship with us at any time, without penalty, by closing your Google Account. Thank you for using Google services! © 2024 Google LLC 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043 You have received this email to update you about important changes to Google's Terms of Service.

[NASA HQ News] NASA Announces Winners of Power to Explore Challenge

April 17, 2024

 

RELEASE: 24-057

 

NASA Announces Winners of Power to Explore Challenge

 

The winners of NASA’s 2024 Power to Explore Student Challenge are: 9-year-old Raine Lin, left, 12-year-old Aadya Karthik, and 18-year-old Thomas Liu. Credit: NASA/Dave Lam

 

NASA announced the winners on Wednesday of the third annual Power to Explore Challenge, a national writing competition designed to teach K-12 students about the power of radioisotopes for space exploration.

 

The competition asked students to learn about NASA’s Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS), “nuclear batteries” the agency uses to explore some of the most extreme destinations in the solar system and beyond. In 250 words or less, students wrote about a mission of their own enabled by these space power systems and described their own power to achieve their mission goals.

 

“The Power to Explore Challenge is the perfect way to inspire students – our Artemis Generation – to reach for the stars and beyond and help NASA find new ways to use radioisotopes to power our exploration of the cosmos,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

 

Entries were split into three groups based on grade level, and a winner was chosen from each. The three winners, along with a guardian, are invited to NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland for a VIP tour of its world-class research facilities.

 

The winners are:

 

• Rainie Lin, Lexington, Kentucky, kindergarten through fourth grade

• Aadya Karthik, Redmond, Washington, fifth through eighth grade

• Thomas Liu, Ridgewood, New Jersey, ninth through 12^th grade

 

“Congratulations to this year’s winners and participants – together, we discover and explore for the benefit of all,” Fox said.

 

The Power to Explore Challenge offered students the opportunity to learn about space power, celebrate their strengths, and interact with NASA’s diverse workforce. This year’s contest received nearly 1,787 submitted entries from 48 states and Puerto Rico.

 

Every student who submitted an entry received a digital certificate and an invitation to the Power Up virtual event held on March 15 that announced the 45 national semifinalists. Additionally, the national semifinalists received a NASA RPS prize pack.

 

NASA announced three finalists in each age group (nine total) during Total Eclipse Fest 2024 in Cleveland on April 8, a day when millions of Americans saw a brief glimpse of life without sunlight, creating an opportunity to shed light on how NASA could power missions without the Sun’s energy at destinations such as deep lunar craters or deep space. Finalists also were invited to discuss their mission concepts with a NASA scientist or engineer during a virtual event.

 

The challenge is funded by the NASA Science Mission Directorate’s RPS Program Office and administered by Future Engineers under the NASA Open Innovation Services 2 contract. This contract is managed by the NASA Tournament Lab, a part of the Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing Program in NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.

 

For more information on radioisotope power systems visit:

 

https://www.nasa.gov/rps

 

-end-

 

TO RECEIVE NASA NEWS RELEASES

NASA news releases and other information are available automatically by sending an e-mail to hqnews-join@newsletters.nasa.gov (no subject or text in the body is required).

To unsubscribe from the list, send an e-mail message to hqnews-leave@newsletters.nasa.gov (no subject or text in the body is required).

 

 

[NASA HQ News] NASA Invites Media for Climate Update, New Earth Missions

NASA Invites Media for Climate Update, New Earth Missions

 

April 17, 2024

MEDIA ADVISORY: M24-057

 

For a media briefing in advance of Earth Day, NASA will share info about next steps for its Earth research program, as well as highlight our newest Earth-observing satellite PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem). This image from PACE shows two different communities of phytoplankton in the ocean off the coast of South Africa on Feb. 28, 2024.

Credit: NASA

 

In anticipation of Earth Day, NASA invites media to a briefing at the agency’s headquarters on Friday, April 19, at 11 a.m. EDT. The event will share updates on NASA’s climate science and early data from the agency’s ocean-watching PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) mission, as well as reveal upcoming Earth airborne missions.

 

The speakers include:

• NASA Administrator Bill Nelson
• Karen St. Germain, division director, NASA Earth Sciences Division
• Tom Wagner, associate director for Earth Action

 

The briefing will air live on NASA+, NASA Television, and the agency’s website.

To attend the briefing in person in the James E. Webb Auditorium at 300 E St. SW, Washington, or to participate via teleconference, media should RSVP no later than 9 a.m. Friday to Liz Vlock at elizabeth.a.vlock@nasa.gov. NASA’s media accreditation policy is online.

 

Media and the public are also invited to participate in NASA’s Earth Day celebration:  “Water Touches Everything.” Attendees will be able to explore the complex connections between sea, air, land, and climate through a mix of in-person and virtual activities, talks, and trivia. The celebration begins Thursday, April 18 at 9 a.m. EDT and continues through April 19 until 5 p.m., both online and in person at the NASA Earth Information Center.

 

For more information on NASA’s Earth Science Division visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/earth

 

-end-

 

 

NASA news releases and other information are available automatically by sending an e-mail to hqnews-join@newsletters.nasa.gov (no subject or text in the body is required). To unsubscribe from the list, send an e-mail message to hqnews-leave@newsletters.nasa.gov (no subject or text in the body is required).

 

 

 

[NASA HQ News] NASA to Host a Pair of Briefings for Starliner Crew Flight

NASA to Host a Pair of Briefings for Starliner Crew Flight

APR 16, 2024

MEDIA ADVISORY M24-052

 

NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams prepare for their mission in the company’s Starliner spacecraft simulator at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Credits: NASA/Robert Markowitz

NASA will host two media opportunities on Thursday, April 25, in preparation for the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station. The mission is targeting launch at 10:34 p.m. EDT on Monday, May 6, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will lift off aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and dock at the orbiting laboratory, where they will stay for about a week.

As part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, the mission is the first crewed flight for the Starliner spacecraft. The mission will test the end-to-end capabilities of the Starliner system, including launch, docking, and return to Earth in the western United States. Following a successful crewed flight test, NASA will begin the final process of certifying Starliner and systems for crewed missions to the space station.

The deadline for media accreditation for in-person coverage of this launch has passed. The agency’s media credentialing policy is available online. For questions about media accreditation, please email: ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov.

NASA’s coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):

Thursday, April 25

1 p.m.: Crew arrival media event at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with the following participants:

• Janet Petro, director, NASA Kennedy
• Dana Hutcherson, deputy program manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program
• NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore
• NASA astronaut Suni Williams

Crew arrival will air live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media. Questions are limited to in-person media only. Follow Commercial Crew and Kennedy Space Center for the latest arrival updates.

6 p.m.: Flight Test Readiness Review media teleconference (no less than one hour following completion of the readiness review), with the following participants:

• Jim Free, NASA associate administrator
• Ken Bowersox, associate administrator, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate
• Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program
• Dana Weigel, manager, NASA’s International Space Station Program
• Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager, Boeing Commercial Crew Program

Media may participate via phone only. For the dial-in number and passcode, please contact the Kennedy newsroom no later than 4 p.m. on April 25, at: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program has delivered on its goal of safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station from the United States through a partnership with American private industry. This partnership is changing the arc of human spaceflight history by opening access to low-Earth orbit and the International Space Station to more people, more science, and more commercial opportunities. The space station remains the springboard to NASA’s next great leap in space exploration, including future missions to the Moon and, eventually, to Mars.

For NASA’s launch blog and more information about the mission, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew

-end-