Editor’s Note: In this week’s special edition of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center’s In Case You Missed It newsletter, we take a look back at some of our biggest stories from 2016. The ICYMI newsletter will take a break over the holidays and return January 6, 2017. For Marshall news and updates during the break, check out Marshall’s webpage, and be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
NASA’s Journey to Mars Runs Through Marshall
Playing a critical role in NASA’s Journey to Mars, talented teams of engineers and technicians at Marshall are designing and building NASA’s Space Launch System, the most powerful rocket ever built and the only launch vehicle capable of launching human explorers to Mars.
- Secondary Payloads Announced for SLS’s First Flight, EM-1
- RS-25 Engine Test Marks Major Milestone on NASA’s Journey to Mars
- Test Version of SLS Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter Completed
- SLS Hardware Delivered to Marshall Ahead of Big Test Series
- (Video 12:02) SLS Booster Fires Up for Last Test Before Flight
- Final Plug Fusion Welds Completed on SLS Liquid Hydrogen Tank
- Specialized Transporters Delivered for SLS
- Welding Complete on SLS Flight Liquid Hydrogen Tank
- Major Construction Completed on First of Two New SLS Test Stands
- SLS Propulsion System Joins Stack in Test Stand
Marshall is ‘Science Central’ for the International Space Station
Marshall is home to the Payload Operations and Integration Center — the command center for all science operations on the International Space Station. Flight controllers at Marshall are on the clock 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to ensure successful space station science operations to benefit people on Earth and to solve the challenges humans will face during the long journey to the Red Planet.
- New Exhibit Puts Public in the Shoes of Space Station Scientists
- NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly Returns Safely to Earth After One-Year Mission
- Marshall Celebrates 15 Years as Space Station ‘Science Central’
- Space Station Completes Milestone 100,000th Orbit
- Marshall Personnel Play Important Role in IMAX Film
At Marshall, Technology Drives Exploration
Marshall team members work together across scientific and engineering disciplines to design, develop, integrate, test and operate technologies for complex rockets, spacecraft systems and science instruments that enable scientific discovery and the human exploration of space.
- First Round of Composite Shell Buckling Tests Completed with a Bang
- $750,000 Awarded at Sample Return Robot Challenge
- Teams Awarded $150,000 in Cube Quest Challenge
Marshall Investigates Earth’s Critical Challenges
Marshall plays a critical role in discovering more about the place we call home. With satellites and airborne missions, Marshall researchers help address some of the critical challenges facing our planet today and in the future, including climate change, sea level rise, freshwater resources and extreme weather events.
- NASA Helps Forecast Zika Risk
- Earth’s New Lightning Capital Revealed
- NASA, USAID Open Environmental Monitoring Hub in West Africa
Marshall Researchers and Programs Explore the Solar System and Beyond
NASA’s exploration spans the universe. Marshall researchers and programs are involved in a broad array of heliophysics, astrophysics and planetary science investigations, ranging from the smallest nanosatellites and suborbital sounding rockets to management of great orbiting observatories and interplanetary spacecraft.
- NASA’s Juno Successfully Completes Jupiter Flyby
- Chandra X-ray Observatory Discovers Record-Breaking Galaxy Cluster
- NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Speeds Toward Asteroid Rendezvous
Marshall Inspires, Educates the Next Generation of Explorers
Marshall is devoted to inspiring future generations of explorers, including those who will be the first to put boots on Mars and beyond. Collaborations with a diverse array of outside partners are yielding innovative technologies and solving technical challenges that make the Journey to Mars possible.
- Nearly 70 Teams Compete in 2016 Rover Challenge
- Teams Soar for Science in 2016 Student Launch Challenge
- Final Space Shuttle Tank Finds New Home at California Science Center
- Thousands Attend Annual ‘NASA in the Park’ in Downtown Huntsville
For more information or to learn about other happenings at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, visit NASA Marshall. For past issues of the ICYMI newsletter, click here.
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