From team to region — an interactive look at the Army’s organization structure and top things to know about America’s first service branch.

Source: www.war.gov

Following its liftoff from Cape Canaveral on July 21 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV) hosting the NASA-supported Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) payload is now en route to geosynchronous Earth orbit, where it will use its advanced robotics to service spacecraft.

RSGS leverages in-space robotics expertise from NASA, aligned with the agency’s broader goals to advance U.S. capabilities for in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing that can be applied to space commerce and exploration.

Funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the RSGS program uses twin dexterous robotic arms designed and developed by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. DARPA provided the robotic arm assembly for integration onto Northrop Grumman’s MRV, the nation’s first multi-mission robotic in-space servicer. The spacecraft will inspect and upgrade satellites in orbit by installing small propulsion modules – called mission extension pods – extending the operational life of existing spacecraft for years.

RSGS brings together government agencies and industry to test advanced robotic systems in space. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, began supporting the RSGS mission in 2024 under an interagency agreement with DARPA.

NASA’s contributions to the mission leverage its legacy of servicing missions including the Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions and the Robotic Refueling Missions on the International Space Station. NASA support to RSGS program includes the development of dynamic simulation and analysis tools, software analysis for performance verification, and a team of flight robot operators who will support highly technical procedures in orbit. Hundreds of satellites are in geosynchronous orbit. Of those, fully functional satellites are often decommissioned early because they run out of fuel or their equipment becomes obsolete.  RSGS establishes a critical U.S. capability to extend the lifetime of spacecraft in orbit, allowing for more innovative and cost-effective mission designs.

By Colleen Wouters
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

Source: www.nasa.gov

NASA is working with industry to advance the next phase of cislunar infrastructure for the agency’s Artemis program and Moon Base, including orbital assets and demonstrations. Under a contract awarded to Advanced Space, the agency’s CAPSTONE 02 mission will demonstrate rendezvous and proximity operations, autonomous navigation, and cislunar communication capabilities while continuing to characterize the radiation environment at the Moon.  

The CAPSTONE 02 mission, targeted for launch in 2027, will use two small spacecraft in lunar orbit to facilitate these demonstrations to support future NASA lunar and deep space missions.  

NASA’s original CAPSTONE demonstration, short for Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment, became the first U.S. commercial mission to the Moon and the first spacecraft to operate in a near rectilinear halo orbit around the Moon. This is a nearly stable orbit, thanks to the interactive pull of gravity from both the Earth and the Moon.  

The mission successfully validated communications, networking, and autonomous navigation capabilities while gathering operational experience in cislunar space. The second CAPSTONE mission expands upon these accomplishments by transitioning from orbit validation to demonstrations that will inform future lunar exploration and infrastructure development. 

Achieving our most ambitious space exploration goals requires iterative, risk-tolerant demonstrations in partnership with industry. Technology development through flight testing is how we convert hard problems into the lasting capabilities needed for a permanent presence at the Moon.

Christopher Baker

Lead of the In‑Space Infrastructure portfolio within the Research and Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC.

NASA’s CAPSTONE 02 mission will demonstrate advanced relative navigation technologies for rendezvous and proximity operations in cislunar space. These techniques are more sophisticated than those used in low Earth orbit and are designed to support NASA astronauts as they dock with Moon landers in cislunar orbit, enabling safe crew transfers to and from the lunar surface. 

The demonstration will fly two identical spacecraft of approximately 400 kilograms (882 pounds) from Terran Orbital Systems, Inc. Mission operators will conduct a series of rendezvous and proximity operations and loitering – or formation flying – techniques in lunar orbit with each spacecraft to better understand the trajectories of the spacecraft under the simultaneous influence of Earth and Moon gravities, otherwise known as three-body orbits.   

The CAPSTONE 02 mission will use ground tracking measurements, optical sensors, and celestial bodies to help one spacecraft locate and rendezvous with another. The mission will apply  navigation strategies similar to those planned for Orion’s approach to a lunar lander in deep space, helping NASA build confidence in these techniques for future exploration. 

Each CAPSTONE 02 spacecraft will have the ability to switch between ‘chaser’ and ‘target’ roles, testing a broad range of operational scenarios under a variety of environmental conditions in cislunar space. Transporting crew to the lunar surface from cislunar orbit depends on knowing how well navigation systems will perform during these operations. Since these conditions can’t be fully recreated on Earth, they must be tested in space. 

The CAPSTONE 02 mission also will serve as an operational testbed, enabling testing of three NASA-developed navigation software suites. Each software application will collect data during CAPSTONE 02’s low energy transfer trajectory, which will take it from the Earth to beyond the Moon before settling into a lunar orbit. The spacecraft will carry an optical imaging payload from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to support the navigation demonstration as well as capture imagery of the Moon. In addition, the mission will further mature the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System navigation software that was first demonstrated on CAPSTONE as a method of determining spacecraft position relative to other spacecraft without relying on Earth-based tracking.  

The suite of technologies on CAPSTONE 02 are designed to automate routine navigation tasks, reduce reliance on traditional space-to-ground data, and enable new mission concepts that may be derived from increased inter-satellite coordination. Additionally, the CAPSTONE 02 spacecraft are designed for cost-effective, rapid deployment, demonstrating a scalable and repeatable mission model. 

“This mission represents an important step in the maturation of cislunar capabilities,” said Sean Fuller, Moon Base CAPSTONE manager. “By expanding on the lessons learned from CAPSTONE to demonstrate increasingly sophisticated operational concepts, CAPSTONE 02 lays the foundation for lunar infrastructure and commercial services that support Artemis, Moon Base, and future missions to deep space.”  

The CAPSTONE 02 mission is funded by NASA’s Human Spaceflight Mission Directorate with support from the Research and Technology Mission Directorate. The mission is managed by Small Spacecraft & Distributed Systems, based at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, within the Research and Technology Mission Directorate. NASA used a Small Business Innovation Research Phase III contract to fund the mission.  

To learn more about NASA’s CAPSTONE 02 mission, visit: 

https://www.nasa.gov/mission/capstone02/

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As NASA’s Curiosity rover recently began climbing up a Martian valley nicknamed “Valle Grande,” it sent back images that were a familiar sight to mission scientists: honeycomb-like textures called polygonal fractures, each one about 1.5 to 3 inches (4 to 8 centimeters) across. The mission has spotted small patches of these geometric shapes several times before, but nothing at the scale discovered in Valle Grande.

In a 360-degree panorama that the rover captured on June 19 and 20, the 4,930th and 4,931st Martian days, or sols, of the mission, the polygonal shapes spread in all directions for as far as the rover can see. They even wrap around the sides of a nearby butte nicknamed “Miraflores,” which stands 20 feet (6 meters) tall and is topped with a thick cap of sand.

“We’ve seen a lot of fascinating landscapes through Curiosity’s eyes, but this sea of polygons took our breath away,” said the mission’s project scientist, Ashwin Vasavada of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “We measured their shapes and chemistry carefully and are hopeful there are clues in the data as to how these features formed.”

Some of the polygons that the mission has spotted in the past clearly formed as mud cracks, though a variety of processes can contribute to their honeycomb textures, including cycles of warm and cold temperatures or compression that squeezed water out of the sediment when the surface was buried.

These newly discovered polygons are among the many surprises Curiosity has trundled across since landing on Mars 14 years ago, on Aug. 5, 2012. Besides sulfur crystals, shiny meteorites, and other interesting geologic features, the rover has made major discoveries about the ancient Martian environment — most importantly, that it had the water, chemistry, and nutrients to support microbial life.

Billions of years ago, lakes and streams dappled the lower foothills of Mount Sharp, a 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) mountain that Curiosity has been ascending since 2014. The rover has previously uncovered chemistry left over from Mars’ watery history, including carbon-based molecules believed to be precursors to RNA and DNA, two nucleic acids that carry genetic information. Scientists have no way of knowing whether these organic molecules were created by biologic or geologic processes — either path is possible — but their discovery reconfirmed that ancient Mars had the right chemistry to support life.

Managed by Caltech in Pasadena, JPL built Curiosity and leads the mission on behalf of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington as part of the agency’s Mars Exploration Program portfolio.

To learn more about Curiosity, visit:

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/msl-curiosity

News Media Contacts

Andrew Good
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-2433
[email protected]

Karen Fox / Alana Johnson
NASA Headquarters, Washington
240-285-5155 / 202-672-4780
[email protected] / [email protected]

2026-051

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4 Min Read

NASA Delivers Navigation System for Commercial Lunar Relay

NASA delivered the NavCube3-mini payload on July 13 to Intuitive Machines for integration into Altus-1, the company’s first lunar relay satellite, marking an important milestone in the development of future lunar communications and navigation services. The lunar relays are designed to enable communications and navigation for astronauts and rovers operating at the agency’s future Moon Base.

About half the size of a shoebox and weighing just 3.5 pounds, NavCube3-mini is a compact but powerful navigation receiver designed to use signals from Earth-based GPS and Galileo Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) at lunar distances. Operating on less than 20 watts of power, roughly the same as a laptop computer, it can determine a spacecraft’s precise position far beyond Earth orbit. The compact payload builds on a series of navigation technology advancements developed at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, each extending GPS navigation to new record-breaking distances from Earth.

The payload will fly aboard Intuitive Machines’ Altus-1 lunar relay satellite, the first of a planned network of lunar relay satellites being developed under the company’s Near Space Network Services contract with NASA. The relays will provide communications and navigation support for missions operating at the Moon, including the challenging lunar South Pole region, where Artemis astronauts will land in 2028, and where direct communications with Earth can be difficult. By extending communications coverage and improving navigation services, the relay network will help realize NASA’s vision for a sustained human presence on the lunar surface.

Before being shipped to Intuitive Machines, NavCube3-mini underwent an extensive environmental and performance test campaign at NASA Goddard to verify it is ready for spaceflight. The environmental testing included vibration testing to simulate launch conditions, thermal vacuum testing in the extreme temperatures and vacuum of space, and electromagnetic compatibility testing to ensure the payload can operate reliably alongside other spacecraft systems without causing or experiencing electromagnetic interference. Performance testing was conducted before and after each environmental test using high-fidelity simulations of the GPS and Galileo signals the NavCube will encounter in lunar orbit, verifying functionality and performance throughout the testing campaign. 

NavCube3-mini will serve as a key technology demonstration aboard Altus-1, validating the use of GNSS-based navigation in the lunar region and providing valuable performance data to support the development of future lunar navigation infrastructure. This technology is part of NASA’s broader strategy to develop communications and navigation services that work across both commercial providers and NASA’s networks. These capabilities are designed to support a growing lunar ecosystem that includes orbiters, landers, rovers, and, eventually, astronauts living and working on the Moon.

The delivery of NavCube3-mini marks another step toward building the communications and navigation infrastructure needed for long-term lunar exploration. Through partnerships with commercial providers like Intuitive Machines, NASA is building a more connected and capable lunar environment. As activity around the Moon continues to grow, these capabilities will enable lunar spacecraft and explorers to operate more safely, efficiently, and autonomously.

About the Author

Katherine Schauer

Katherine Schauer is a writer for the Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Program office and covers emerging technologies, commercialization efforts, exploration activities, and more.

Source: www.nasa.gov

The barren lunar landscape has some important resources, such as water and minerals like iron and titanium, but extracting and processing them will require special equipment. Where those resources can be found will dictate where to land and how to mine them. To help with that, Lunar Station Corp. is using a wealth of NASA data in multiple computer models.

“With 60 years of lunar data available to us, we help our clients understand the environmental factors for any given location on the Moon,” said Blair DeWitt, CEO of Lunar Station. Combining disparate data from different sensors used by NASA and other space agencies is a critical first step. One NASA resource the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company used to build terrain maps is the Ames Stereo Pipeline. The open-source code automatically processes images captured from satellites, robotic rovers, historical images, and more to create a 3D model revealing features such as rock placement and elevation.

But the availability of in-situ lunar water resources at any location is largely unknown, according to Gerry Sanders, in-situ resource utilization system capability lead at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. To begin to fill that gap, the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite was designed to crash its uppers stage into the Moon’s South Pole in 2009. The examination of the resulting plume revealed the presence of water ice.

Lunar Station is building on that work and more to help commercial space companies with mission planning, which includes scientific research for mining operations. The MoonHacker program uses proprietary geospatial analytics platform and advanced algorithms to fuse all the lunar data in NASA’s Planetary Data System to help identify indicators for shallow pits of lunar water.

“We can find sites for landing pads, for cultivating the best paths for roving, and inform our clients about communications. If you can’t see Earth at a given location like in the polar regions or the far side of the Moon, you have to come up with a relay strategy,” said DeWitt. “We can do this in part thanks to NASA data.”

In MoonHacker’s Radiation Simulator, an electronic version of a company’s rover or satellite, called a digital twin, can be subjected to the radiation en route or at the mission site to determine the protection required.

These innovations exemplify the purpose of NASA’s Technology Transfer program within the Research and Technology Mission Directorate, which uses space-based solutions to improve life on Earth. For 50 years, NASA has documented the everyday benefits of space technology through the agency’s Spinoff publication. 

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Natural Color

Brightness Temperature

Natural ColorBrightness Temperature

Natural Color

Brightness Temperature

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Image Details

A smoke-infused pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) rises from the Widemouth 2 fire in Utah in these images captured by the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s Aqua satellite. The left image is natural color; the right image is false color, revealing cloud-top brightness temperatures below -40°C, a commonly used threshold for identifying pyroCbs. NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison.

Scientists have long known that volcanoes can launch large quantities of particles into the stratosphere. In the past few decades, it has become clear that wildfires do this, too, by generating towering, smoke-infused pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) clouds.

The largest pyroCbs are stunning weather-making features that generate massive thunderheads capable of unleashing lightning, hail, and heavy rain. A growing body of research shows that pyroCbs can also leave an outsized imprint on the upper atmosphere by channeling pulses of particles and gases into the stratosphere’s mostly dry, cloudless confines. Once there, smoke can spread widely and linger for months or years, sometimes circling the globe and likely influencing the ozone layer and Earth’s energy budget.

Understanding these enigmatic and dangerous clouds is why a team of atmospheric scientists—part of a NASA mission called INSPYRE (INjected Smoke and PYRocumulonimbus Experiment)—is spending the summer chasing them with NASA’s ER-2 aircraft, NSF/NCAR’s GV, and a suite of truck-based sensors. The team completed one of its first sampling runs of the summer on August 3, 2026, when the GV flew through a high-altitude pulse of smoke from the Widemouth 2 fire, one of Utah’s largest so far this year.

Lightning ignited the fire on July 27, 2026, but it remained relatively small until August 2, when it more than doubled in size amid intense winds and hot, dry conditions. That afternoon, soon after it had produced two pyroCb bursts, the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image (above), showing a chimney of high-altitude cloud and smoke casting a shadow on low-altitude smoke below.

These bursts propelled clouds high enough that Aqua measured cloud-top brightness temperatures well below −40°C, a common threshold for identifying pyroCbs and a sign that the cloud tops were bubbling to the top of the troposphere and sometimes into the stratosphere. The brightness temperature measurements “reveal two discrete pulses of pyroCb action,” said Michael Fromm, a scientist at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. “The westernmost is the youngest pulse and stands out in the visible imagery by virtue of its shadow.”

Though relatively routine and minor, this pyroCb event followed a pre-dawn pyroCb from the same fire, imaged by the NOAA weather satellite GOES-West. “Morning pyroCbs are much more unusual,” Fromm said, because they don’t benefit from daytime heating that helps fuel convection. In this case, however, there appeared to be enough atmospheric instability and water vapor in the air to allow for pyroCb development. 

Multiple pyroCbs in a single day could have added unwanted complexity for forecasters and fire officials battling the blaze and organizing evacuations, said David Peterson, INSPYRE’s principal investigator. “Minimizing that sort of uncertainty for fire forecasters is a big part of the reason we’re out here studying this,” he added.

Remote sensing experts like Peterson and Fromm routinely study pyroCbs from afar with satellites, but it’s less common for pilots to chase and sample smoke plumes just hours after they form. In this case, the GV aircraft, on the ground in Colorado when the Widemouth 2 fire blew up, made a beeline for a high-altitude smoke plume as it drifted over New Mexico on August 3. The instruments on the plane sampled smoke at roughly 12 kilometers (8 miles) above the surface, collecting data at a height that isn’t typically incorporated into forecast models.

During that mission, a scientist on board captured this image (above) of a pyrocumulus (pyroCu) billowing up over the Widemouth 2 fire. While not as tall or energetic as pyroCbs, pyroCus are precursor clouds that share many of the same characteristics. Here, heat from the fire is fueling strong convective updrafts, forming a towering cloud with puffy overshooting tops that poke into the upper troposphere as lower-altitude smoke drifts below.

Satellites excel at identifying pyroCbs by measuring the temperature of the cloud tops that form above smoke plumes. Using this technique, researchers have established that wildfires produce about 70 pyroCbs per year, many in dense forests of Canada and Russia, though plenty also occur in grasslands and savannas in the United States and Australia. So far in 2026, Fromm and colleagues have identified at least 13 in the continental United States.

Since one of the first pyroCbs appeared in the scientific literature in the early 2000s, scientists have cataloged well over 700 events, and they now believe that wildfires may contribute up to 25 percent of the black carbon and organic aerosols in the lower stratosphere. The sheer frequency of pyroCbs means that the total mass of particles they inject over the course of a wildfire season may rival that of large volcanic eruptions.

Still, many questions about the enigmatic clouds remain unanswered. It isn’t clear what vegetation is most likely to fuel pyroCbs, why some form more lightning than others, why they form in only a small fraction of fires, and how to accurately forecast them.

“Whether it be their dangerous manifestations on the ground or their long-lasting imprint on the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere,” Fromm said, “pyroCbs continue to surprise us.”

NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview. Photo by Bernadett Weinzierl/University of Vienna. Story by Adam Voiland.

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August 3, 2026

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References & Resources

• CIRA CSU, via Instagram  (2026, August 3) Yesterday, the Widemouth 2 Fire in central Utah exploded. Accessed August 13, 2026.
• Denver 7, via Instagram (2026, July 28) Have you ever seen a smoke-filled cloud above a wildfire? Accessed August 13, 2026.
• The Economist (2026, August 9) NASA takes aim at fire storms. Accessed August 13, 2026.
• Fromm, M., et al. (2022) Understanding the critical elements of the pyrocumulonimbus storm sparked by high-intensity wildland fire. Communications Earth & Environment, 3, 243.
• InciWeb (2026) Widemouth 2 Fire. Accessed August 13, 2026.
• Katich, J.M. (2023) Pyrocumulonimbus affect average stratospheric aerosol composition. Science, 379(6634), 815-820.
• NASA (2026) INSPYRE. Accessed August 13, 2026.
• NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (2026, July 20) New NASA Earth Missions Gear Up to Start Science Flights. Accessed August 13, 2026.
• NASA Airborne Science Program (2026) Earth Science Observation Platforms. Accessed August 13, 2026.
• NASA Earth Observatory (2021, July 30) A Summer of Fire-Breathing Smoke Storms. Accessed August 13, 2026.
• NASA Earth Observatory (2020, January 10) Explosive Fire Activity in Australia. Accessed August 13, 2026.
• Peterson, D., et al. (2025) Worldwide inventory reveals the frequency and variability of pyrocumulonimbus and stratospheric smoke plumes during 2013–2023. Climate and Atmospheric Science, 8(325).
• The University of Utah (2026, August 6) Utah’s historic fire season of 2026. Accessed August 13, 2026.
• U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (2026, June 2) NRL Leads NASA Wildfire Research Mission to Better Predict Pyrocumulonimbus Storm Hazards. Accessed August 13, 2026.
• U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (2025, June 25) Fiery Storms: How Wildfires Create “Dirty Thunderstorms” and Impact Weather. Accessed August 13, 2026.
• The Weather Channel (2026, August 10) Meet the scientists who are flying into fire-breathing thunderstorms, and learn why they are doing it. Accessed August 13, 2026.
• Western Fire Chiefs (2026) Widemouth 2. Accessed August 13, 2026.
• World Meteorological Organization, Flammagenitus. Accessed August 13, 2026.

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August 16, 2026

August 15, 2026

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Lala skirts south of the Island of Hawaiʻi as a category 1 hurricane in the right image, acquired by the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) on the Suomi NPP satellite on August 15, 2026, at about 1:45 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time (23:45 Universal Time). The storm decreased in intensity while tracking northwest and was a tropical storm when the VIIRS on the NOAA-20 satellite captured the left image about 24 hours later. NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin.

The Island of Hawaiʻi narrowly avoided a direct landfall by Hurricane Lala in mid-August 2026. The storm nonetheless delivered serious damage as it passed just south of the island on August 15 (above, right) as a category 1 storm on the Saffir-Simpson wind scale.

Lala brought rainfall totals exceeding 20 inches (50 centimeters) to parts of the island, causing flash flooding and ongoing mudflow risks. The highest rainfall total for the storm—43.55 inches (110.6 centimeters) as of the morning of August 17—was recorded at Laupāhoehoe, on the coast northwest of Hilo. Lala downed trees, damaged bridges, and knocked homes off their foundations. Coastal areas were pummeled by large waves, while the summit of Mauna Kea, over 13,000 feet (4,000 meters) above sea level, experienced blizzard conditions.

By early afternoon on August 16, when the other image (left) was acquired, the storm had tracked northwest, roughly parallel to the island chain, and was southwest of Kauaʻi. Lala had decreased in intensity to a tropical storm, with sustained winds of 65 miles (105 kilometers) per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center.

While the Island of Hawaiʻi took the brunt of the storm, other islands also saw destructive effects. Strong winds caused widespread power outages, with more than 220,000 customers statewide without power as of the afternoon of August 16, according to news reports. Across the islands, wind and rain damaged infrastructure, and floodwaters and debris rendered roads impassable.

It has been an active tropical cyclone season in the Eastern Pacific so far in 2026, meteorologists note, consistent with what scientists expect during an El Niño, which has been underway as of mid-June. Warm water in the equatorial Pacific—the hallmark of El Niño—and the moisture and energy it transfers to the atmosphere help fuel nascent tropical storms. Lack of wind shear, another typical El Niño pattern in this region, also encourages tropical storms to develop and strengthen. The Atlantic hurricane season, in contrast, has been relatively calm, as greater wind shear over the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea during an El Niño inhibits hurricane formation by dissipating the upward motion of heat.

NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using VIIRS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE, GIBS/Worldview, and the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). Story by Lindsey Doermann.

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References & Resources

• AccuWeather (2026, August 17) Lala’s recent close encounter with Hawaii continues to cause trouble Monday. Accessed August 17, 2026.
• Colorado State University (2026, August 17) Northern Hemisphere Tropical Cyclone Activity for 2026. Accessed August 17, 2026.
• Honolulu Civil Beat (2026, August 16) Lala’s Wrath: Homes Swept Away, Some Power Outages May Last Months. Accessed August 17, 2026.
• National Hurricane Center (2026, August 17) Hurricane LALA Advisory Archive. Accessed August 17, 2026.
• Yale Climate Connections (2026, August 12) Tropical Storm Lala heads toward Hawaii; life-threatening floods possible. Accessed August 17, 2026.

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Copernicus, a generalized spacecraft trajectory design and optimization system, is capable of solving a wide range of trajectory problems such as planet or moon centered trajectories, libration point trajectories, planet-moon transfers and tours, and all types of interplanetary and asteroid/comet missions.

Latest News

• August 21, 2026: Copernicus Version 5.4.2 is now available. This is a bugfix release.
• May 26, 2026: Copernicus Version 5.4.1 is now available. This is a bugfix release with a few new features.
• March 23, 2026: Copernicus Version 5.4 is now available. This update includes numerous new features, enhancements, and bug fixes. This is also the first release with native support for Macs with Apple Silicon processors. Other updates include: New altitude and eclipse ramping/buffer engine model options; New propagation model to simulate a finite burn segment with a series of Kepler arcs & impulses; New circular restricted three-body problem (CR3BP) parameterization and propagation mode; New shadowing/eclipse model upgrades; New two-body rotating frame definition options; Many new GUI enhancements, usability upgrades, & improvements; Many enhancements and upgrades to the Copernicus Python API.
• August 13, 2024: Copernicus Version 5.3.2 is now available.
• December 18, 2023: Copernicus Version 5.3.1 is now available. This is a bugfix release.
• November 15, 2023: Copernicus Version 5.3 is now available. This update includes many bug fixes and various new features and refinements. Including: a new Copernicus mission file format, updates to kernels, a significant expansion of the beta Python API, and various new integration methods. In addition, we have upgraded to Python 3.10, and all dependencies are now obtained via conda.
• January 21, 2022: Copernicus Version 5.2 is now available. This update includes many bug fixes and various new features and refinements.
• June 17, 2021: Copernicus was selected as winner of the 2021 NASA Software of the Year Award.
• March 4, 2021: Copernicus Version 5.1 is now available. This update includes many bug fixes and various new features and refinements.
• June 26, 2020: Copernicus Version 5.0 is now available. This is a significant update to Copernicus and includes: A new modern Python-based GUI that is now cross-platform and fully functional on Windows, Linux, and macOS, 3D graphics upgrades including antialiasing and celestial body shadowing, a new Python scripting interface, many other new features and options, and bug fixes.
• May 1, 2018: Copernicus Version 4.6 is now available. The release includes the following changes: a new cross-platform JSON kernel file format, various new reference frame features, including new capabilities for user-defined reference frame plugins, and numerous bug fixes and other minor enhancements.
• January 24, 2018: Copernicus Version 4.5 is now available. The new version includes a new experimental Mac version, faster exporting of segment data output files (including the addition of a new binary HDF5 format), some new GUI tools, new plugin capabilities, and numerous other new features and bug fixes.
• October 1, 2016: Copernicus Version 4.4 is now available. The new version includes 3D graphics improvements and various other new features and bug fixes.
• February 8, 2016: Copernicus Version 4.3 is now available. The new version includes updates to the plugin interface, a new differential corrector solution method, updated SPICE SPK files, updates to the Python interface, new training videos, as well as numerous other refinements and bug fixes.
• July 21, 2015: Copernicus Version 4.2 is now available.  The update includes further refinements to the new plugin feature, as well as various other new features and some bug fixes.
• April 13, 2015: Copernicus Version 4.1 is now available.  This update includes a new plugin architecture to enable extending Copernicus with user-created algorithms.  It also includes a new Python interface, as well as various other new features and bug fixes.
• August 13, 2014: Copernicus Version 4.0 is now available.  This is an update to version 3.1, which was released in June 2012.  The new release includes many new features, bug fixes, performance and stability improvements, as well as a redesigned GUI, a new user guide, and full compatibility with Windows 7.  The update is recommended for all Copernicus users.

Development

The Copernicus Project started at the University of Texas at Austin in August 2001. In June 2002, a grant from the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) was used to develop the first prototype which was completed in August 2004. In the interim, support was also received from NASA’s In Space Propulsion Program and from the Flight Dynamics Vehicle Branch of Goddard Spaceflight Center. The first operational version was completed in March 2006 (v1.0). The initial development team consisted of Dr. Cesar Ocampo and graduate students at the University of Texas at Austin Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics. Since March 2007, primary development of Copernicus has been at the Flight Mechanics and Trajectory Design Branch of JSC.

Request Copernicus

The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 and a series of subsequent legislation recognized transfer of federally owned or originated technology to be a national priority and the mission of each Federal agency. The legislation specifically mandates that each Federal agency have a formal technology transfer program, and take an active role in transferring technology to the private sector and state and local governments for the purposes of commercial and other application of the technology for the national benefit. In accordance with NASA’s obligations under mandating legislation, JSC makes Copernicus available free of charge to other NASA centers, government contractors, and universities, under the terms of a US government purpose license.  Organizations interested in obtaining Copernicus should click here to request it.

Current Version

The current version of Copernicus is 5.4.1 (released May 26, 2026).

References

Publications about Copernicus

• C. A. Ocampo, “An Architecture for a Generalized Trajectory Design and Optimization System”, Proceedings of the International Conference on Libration Points and Missions, June, 2002.
• C. A. Ocampo, “Finite Burn Maneuver Modeling for a Generalized Spacecraft Trajectory Design and Optimization System”, Annals of the New York Academy of Science, May 2004.
• C. A. Ocampo, J. Senent, “The Design and Development of Copernicus: A Comprehensive Trajectory Design and Optimization System”, Proceedings of the International Astronautical Congress, 2006. IAC-06-C1.4.04.
• R. Mathur, C. A. Ocampo, “An Architecture for Incorporating Interactive Visualizations into Scientific Simulations”, Advances in the Astronautical Sciences, Feb. 2007.
• C. A. Ocampo, J. S. Senent, J. Williams, “Theoretical Foundation of Copernicus: A Unified System for Trajectory Design and Optimization”, 4th International Conference on Astrodynamics Tools and Techniques, May 2010.
• J. Williams, J. S. Senent, C. A. Ocampo, R. Mathur, “Overview and Software Architecture of the Copernicus Trajectory Design and Optimization System”, 4th International Conference on Astrodynamics Tools and Techniques, May 2010.
• J. Williams, J. S. Senent, D. E. Lee, “Recent Improvements to the Copernicus Trajectory Design and Optimization System”, Advances in the Astronautical Sciences, 2012.
• J. Williams, “A New Architecture for Extending the Capabilities of the Copernicus Trajectory Optimization Program”, Advances in the Astronautical Sciences, 2015, volume 156.
• J. Williams, R. D. Falck, and I. B. Beekman. “Application of Modern Fortran to Spacecraft Trajectory Design and Optimization“, 2018 Space Flight Mechanics Meeting, AIAA SciTech Forum, (AIAA 2018-1451)
• J. Williams, A. H. Kamath, R. A. Eckman, G. L. Condon, R. Mathur, and D. Davis, “Copernicus 5.0: Latest Advances in JSC’s Spacecraft Trajectory Optimization and Design System”, 2019 AAS/AIAA Astrodynamics Specialist Conference, Portland, ME, August 11-15, 2019, AAS 19-719
• J. Williams, J. S. Senent, R. Mathur, and S. M. Stewart, “A History of Copernicus: The Origin, Development, and Evolution of JSC’s Spacecraft Trajectory Design and Optimization System”, AAS/AIAA Astrodynamics Specialist Conference, Boston, MA, August 2025, AAS 25-576.

Some studies that have used Copernicus

• C. L. Ranieri, C. A. Ocampo, “Optimization of Roundtrip, Time-Constrained, Finite Burn Trajectories via an Indirect Method”, Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, Vol. 28, No. 2, March-April 2005.
• T. Polsgrove, L. Kos, R. Hopkins, T. Crane, “Comparison of Performance Predictions for New Low-Thrust Trajectory Tools”, AIAA/AAS Astrodynamics Specialist Conference, August, 2006.
• L. D. Kos, T. P. Polsgrove, R. C. Hopkins, D. Thomas and J. A. Sims, “Overview of the Development for a Suite of Low-Thrust Trajectory Analysis Tools”, AIAA/AAS Astrodynamics Specialist Conference, August, 2006.
• M. Garn, M. Qu, J. Chrone, P. Su, C. Karlgaard, “NASA’s Planned Return to the Moon: Global Access and Anytime Return Requirement Implications on the Lunar Orbit Insertion Burns”, AIAA/AAS Astrodynamics Specialist Conference and Exhibit, August, 2008.
• R. B. Adams, “Near Earth Object (NEO) Mitigation Options Using Exploration Technologies”, Asteroid Deflection Research Symposium, Oct. 2008.
• J. Gaebler, R. Lugo, E. Axdahl, P. Chai, M. Grimes, M. Long, R. Rowland, A. Wilhite, “Reusable Lunar Transportation Architecture Utilizing Orbital Propellant Depots”, AIAA SPACE 2009 Conference and Exposition, September 2009.
• J. Williams, E. C. Davis, D. E. Lee, G. L. Condon, T. F. Dawn, “Global Performance Characterization of the Three Burn Trans-Earth Injection Maneuver Sequence over the Lunar Nodal Cycle”, Advances in the Astronautical Sciences, Vol. 135, 2010. AAS 09-380
• J. Williams, S. M. Stewart, D. E. Lee, E. C. Davis, G. L. Condon, T. F. Dawn, J. Senent, “The Mission Assessment Post Processor (MAPP): A New Tool for Performance Evaluation of Human Lunar Missions”, 20th AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Meeting, Feb. 2010.
• J. W. Dankanich, L. M. Burke, J. A. Hemminger, “Mars sample return Orbiter/Earth Return Vehicle technology needs and mission risk assessment”, 2010 IEEE Aerospace Conference, March 2010.
• A. V. Ilin, L. D. Cassady, T. W. Glover, M. D. Carter, F. R. Chang Diaz, “A Survey of Missions using VASIMR for Flexible Space Exploration”, Ad Astra Rocket Company, Document Number JSC-65825, April 2010.
• J. W. Dankanich, B. Vondra, A. V. Ilin, “Fast Transits to Mars Using Electric Propulsion”, 46th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference & Exhibit, July 2010.
• S. R. Oleson, M. L. McGuire, L. Burke, J. Fincannon, T. Colozza, J. Fittje, M. Martini, T. Packard, J. Hemminger, J. Gyekenyesi, “Mars Earth Return Vehicle (MERV) Propulsion Options”, 46th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference & Exhibit, July 2010, AIAA 2010-6795.
• J. S. Senent, “Fast Calculation of Abort Return Trajectories for Manned Missions to the Moon”, AIAA/AAS Astrodynamics Specialist Conference, August 2010.
• D. S. Cooley, K. F. Galal, K. Berry, L. Janes, G. Marr. J. Carrico. C. Ocampo, “Mission Design for the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS)”, AIAA/AAS Astrodynamics Specialist Conference, August, 2010.
• A. V. Ilin, L. D. Cassady, T. W. Glover, F. R. Chang Diaz, “VASIMR Human Mission to Mars”, Space, Propulsion & Energy Sciences International Forum, March 15-17, 2011.
• J. Brophy, F. Culick, L. Friedman, et al., “Asteroid Retrieval Feasibility Study,” Technical Report, Keck Institute for Space Studies, California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, April 2012.
• A. V. Ilin, “Low Thrust Trajectory Analysis (A Survey of Missions using VASIMR for Flexible Space Exploration – Part 2), Ad Astra Rocket Company, Document Number JSC-66428, June 2012.
• P. R. Chai, A. W. Wilhite, “Station Keeping for Earth-Moon Lagrangian Point Exploration Architectural Assets”, AIAA SPACE 2012 Conference & Exposition, September, 2012, AIAA 2012-5112.
• F. R. Chang Diaz, M. D. Carter, T. W. Glover, A. V. Ilin, C. S. Olsen, J. P. Squire, R. J. Litchford, N. Harada, S. L. Koontz, “Fast and Robust Human Missions to Mars with Advanced Nuclear Electric Power and VASIMR Propulsion”, Proceedings of Nuclear and Emerging Technologies for Space, Feb. 2013. Paper 6777.
• J. Williams, “Trajectory Design for the Asteroid Redirect Crewed Mission”, JSC Engineering, Technology and Science (JETS) Contract Technical Brief JETS-JE23-13-AFGNC-DOC-0014, July, 2013.
• J.P. Gutkowski, T.F. Dawn, R.M. Jedrey, “Trajectory Design Analysis over the Lunar Nodal Cycle for the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) Exploration Mission 2 (EM-2)”, Advances in the Astronautical Sciences Guidance, Navigation and Control, Vol. 151, 2014. AAS 14-096.
• R. G. Merrill, M. Qu, M. A. Vavrina, C. A. Jones, J. Englander, “Interplanetary Trajectory Design for the Asteroid Robotic Redirect Mission Alternate Approach Trade Study”, AIAA/AAS Astrodynamics Specialist Conference, 2014. AIAA 2014-4457.
• J. Williams, G. L. Condon. “Contingency Trajectory Planning for the Asteroid Redirect Crewed Mission”, SpaceOps 2014 Conference (AIAA 2014-1697).
• J. Williams, D. E. Lee, R. J. Whitley, K. A. Bokelmann, D. C. Davis, and C. F. Berry. “Targeting cislunar near rectilinear halo orbits for human space exploration“, AAS 17-267
• T. F. Dawn, J. Gutkowski, A. Batcha, J. Williams, and S. Pedrotty. “Trajectory Design Considerations for Exploration Mission 1“, 2018 Space Flight Mechanics Meeting, AIAA SciTech Forum, (AIAA 2018-0968)
• A. L. Batcha, J. Williams, T. F. Dawn, J. P. Gutkowski, M. V. Widner, S. L. Smallwood, B. J. Killeen, E. C. Williams, and R. E. Harpold, “Artemis I Trajectory Design and Optimization”, AAS/AIAA Astrodynamics Specialist Conference, August 9-12, 2020, AAS 20-649

Source: www.nasa.gov

NASA’s Deep Space Network facility in California is marking the addition of a brand new 34-meter-wide (114-foot-wide) radio frequency antenna to the agency’s deep space communications and navigation system. The network uses giant dish antennas located at three global facilities to support more than 40 spacecraft exploring the solar system and interstellar space.

The new Deep Space Station 23 (DSS-23) is located at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex, near Barstow, and is managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

NASA leadership and personnel as well as dignitaries gathered at the complete DSS-23 antenna for a ceremonial ribbon cutting. It’s the latest to be added as part of the Deep Space Network’s Aperture Enhancement Project, which began in 2009 to upgrade and expand the network by adding six new 34-meter multifrequency beam-waveguide antennas. These versatile dishes can enhance many missions operating over different radio frequencies.

“By expanding the Deep Space Network, we are strengthening the communications foundation NASA needs for the bold missions ahead — from exploring more of the Moon than ever before to peering deeper into the solar system,” said James Kenyon, associate administrator of the Research and Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “This new antenna will help us deliver on our national goals for space exploration and push beyond the limits of what once seemed impossible.”

After completing a testing campaign from May through July to demonstrate its capabilities, the new DSS-23 began operations on Aug. 3, tracking NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. Since then, it has been communicating with dozens of missions such as NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Psyche, Juno, Voyager 1, and other robotic spacecraft in deep space.

“The addition of this next-generation antenna brings us closer to a completely modernized network that embraces advanced technology to ensure NASA’s leadership in deep space communications,” said Dave Gallagher, director of JPL. “After over 60 years of continuous operations supporting consequential missions, these upgrades prime the network for a new era of exploration. The teams that designed, planned, and built DSS-23 should be proud.”

Enhanced capabilities

Construction of DSS-23 began in February 2020. After the 133-ton metal reflector framework was placed and bolted atop the antenna’s pedestal in December 2024, engineers installed the panels to the framework that reflect radio frequency signals transmitted to and received from spacecraft. Then came the careful process of calibrating the antenna so it can work in concert with the rest of the network.

It is the fifth antenna at Goldstone (joining three 34-meter antennas and one 70-meter, or 230-foot, antenna) and the fifth enhancement project antenna to join the network, which includes antennas at the DSN’s Goldstone, Madrid, and Canberra, Australia, complexes. Multifrequency beam waveguide antennas direct signals down to a stable, climate-controlled underground room, rather than housing heavy, sensitive electronic equipment on the moving antenna dish. In addition to offering versatility, this design allows easy access for maintenance and upgrades to the system.

“The biggest challenge wasn’t actually constructing the antenna. It was transforming a complex collection of mechanical, electrical, software, radio frequency, and infrastructure systems into a single, mission-ready asset,” said Germaine Aziz, manager of the Deep Space Network Aperture Enhancement Project at JPL. “Every subsystem must be integrated, calibrated, and verified to operate with extraordinary precision and reliability before it can support NASA’s deep space missions.”

The enhancement project will be complete when a sixth enhancement-project antenna, Deep Space Station 33, comes online at the Canberra facility in 2029, bringing the total number of 34-meter antennas across the network to 13. The 34-meter antennas can be arrayed (combined and operated together) to provide an equivalent communications backup for each facility’s single 70-meter antenna, which, after more than 50 years of near-continuous operation, are getting increasingly costly to maintain and repair.

Managed by Caltech for NASA, JPL manages the agency’s Deep Space Network with the oversight of NASA’s SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) Program within NASA’s Research and Technology Mission Directorate. More than 100 NASA and non-NASA missions rely on the Deep Space Network and Near Space Network. They include missions that support astronauts aboard the International Space Station and future Artemis missions, monitoring Earth, exploring the Moon, and exploring the solar system and beyond. 

For more information about the Deep Space Network, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/communicating-with-missions/dsn

Source: www.nasa.gov