Highlighting Artemis with help from Hollywood … Preparing to launch to the only laboratory in microgravity … And testing new lunar landing technology … a few of the stories to tell you about – This Week at NASA!

Highlighting Artemis with Help from Hollywood

NASA provided some technical expertise and imagery for 20th Century Fox’s new film, “Ad Astra” – a fictional space thriller starring actor Brad Pitt. While the film does not have a NASA storyline, we continued the collaboration leading up to its release by participating in activities to generate awareness about space and our Artemis program – the next step in human exploration.

Actor Brad Pitt:
“What are the repercussions on your body in zero-g?”

On Sept. 16, Pitt stopped by our headquarters for a space to ground question and answer session with astronaut Nick Hague. They talked about a number of topics, including the work being done on the International Space Station.

NASA Astronaut Nick Hague:
“Some of the experiments we’re doing here are technology demonstrations to prove out a concept that we hope to apply as we go back to the Moon and as part of the Artemis program.”

In early September we hosted Pitt during a tour of our Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. He received a boarding pass as part of the Mars 2020 Rover Mission’s Send Your Name to Mars campaign. That mission is scheduled to launch next summer. We also participated in red carpet events with Pitt and other cast members of the film – which presented opportunities to not only highlight our efforts to return humans to the Moon by 2024, but to also explain why.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine:
“We’re not just going to stay at the Moon though – we’re developing the capability for an eventual mission to Mars. Human physiology is a big piece of that, and we’ve got to make sure we get that right for everybody to be safe.”

 Actor Brad Pitt:
“There’s a real excitement for possibilities – what we can learn about beyond, what we can learn about ourselves. I think films like this just contribute to that.”

You can learn more about Artemis and our Moon to Mars exploration approach at nasa.gov/artemis.

Next Space Station Crew Trains at Kazakh Launch Site

The next crew headed to the International Space Station, including our Jessica Meir, is conducting final training for its upcoming launch at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Meir – Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos, and Spaceflight Participant Hazzaa Ali Almansoori of the United Arab Emirates – are scheduled to launch to the station on Sept. 25.

One Giant Leap for Lunar Landing Navigation

Our Flight Opportunities and Game Changing Development programs supported a test near our Armstrong Flight Research Center, in California of a developmental vision-aided terrain relative navigation system. The system could help a future lunar lander target a desired landing location and know exactly where it is by using a camera and preloaded satellite maps that include unique terrain features. This was the first test of the system with both a descent altitude and a landing trajectory similar to what is expected on a lunar mission.

Coming in for a Landing with New NASA Technology

A high-speed rocket sled test at California’s Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake was used to test a new landing technology designed to avoid hazards and help perform extremely safe and precise landings on planetary surfaces. The technology, which is being developed by our Langley Research Center, uses laser beams reflected off the ground to help a sensor provide ultra-precise measurements that identify exactly how high a human or robotic lander is and how fast it is traveling.

NASA Wins Two Emmy Awards for Interactive Mission Coverage

NASA has been recognized for Emmy Award winning coverage of two space missions. Team multimedia coverage of Demonstration Mission 1 by our Kennedy Space Center, Johnson Space Center, and commercial partner, SpaceX won an Emmy in the category of Outstanding Interactive Program. The March 2019 mission was an uncrewed test flight of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station. Meanwhile, an Emmy also went to our Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the Outstanding Original Interactive Program category, for coverage — including news, web, education, television and social media efforts — of NASA’s InSight mission to Mars, which launched in May 2018. Congratulations to all for well-deserved honors.

That’s what’s up this week @NASA …