Suggested Searches

Space & Astrobiology Projects

  • ExoMars Trace Gas Operator (partner): Designed to search for trace gases in the Martian atmosphere such as methane, water vapor, nitrogen oxides and acetylene. These gases could provide evidence for possible biological or geological activity on Mars.
  • Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope (partner): Launched on June 11, 2008, the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope observes the cosmos using the highest-energy form of light.
  • International Space Station (partner): The International Space Station (ISS) is for science and engineering research. Ames conducts space biology experiments on the ISS, while designing and developing the next generation of analytical laboratory hardware for ISS.
  • Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) (partner): The IRIS investigation combines advanced numerical modeling with a high resolution UV imaging spectrograph to understand how the solar atmosphere is energized.
  • Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) (partner): The Exploration Mission completed on 2010 and has been extended to continue lunar science and exploration.
  • Mars Odyssey: Besides conducting its own scientific observations, the mission provides a communication relay for robots on the Martian surface.  In December 2010, it surpassed the previous record for longevity of a robotic mission at Mars.
  • Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter: Search for evidence that water persisted on the surface of Mars for a long period of time.
  • Mars Science Laboratory, Curiosity (partner): CheMin is a mineralogical instrument developed at Ames that is part of the analytical laboratory onboard the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover.
  • New Horizons (partner): The New Horizons mission is helping us understand worlds at the edge of our solar system by making the first reconnaissance of the dwarf planet Pluto and by venturing deeper into the distant, mysterious Kuiper Belt – a relic of solar system formation.
  • OSIRIS-REx (partner): NASA’s OSIRIS-REx will be the first U.S. mission to bring an asteroid sample to Earth. The spacecraft is currently orbiting asteroid Bennu and will spend two years mapping it before collecting a sample and returning to Earth.
  • Spitzer Space Telescope (partner): NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope was launched on August 25, 2003 from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Base. Drifting in a unique Earth-trailing orbit around the Sun, Spitzer sees an optically invisible universe dominated by dust and stars.
  • Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (partner): An Astrophysics Explorer-class mission that aims to discover planets smaller than Neptune that transit stars bright enough to enable follow-up spectroscopic observations that can provide planet masses and atmospheric compositions.
  • James Webb Space Telescope (partner): The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is the premier space-borne observatory. The 6.5 m diameter infrared telescope studies every phase in the history of our Universe.
  • Europa Clipper (partner): To find out if the conditions are right for life on Jupiter’s icy moon.
  • (Future) LunaH-Map (partner): The Lunar Polar Hydrogen Mapper is a 6U CubeSat that will enter a polar orbit around the Moon with a low altitude perilune centered on the lunar South Pole. LunaH-Map carries two neutron spectrometers that will produce maps of near-surface hydrogen.
  • (Future) Mars 2020 (partner): Mars 2020 will seek signs of ancient life by studying Martian terrain that is now inhospitable, but once held flowing rivers and lakes. The rover will also carry the Mars Helicopter, the first rotary aircraft test on a planet beyond Earth.

Earth Science Projects

  • Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment (S-MODE): This mission will test the hypothesis that sub-mesoscale ocean dynamics make important contributions to vertical exchange of climate and biological variables in the upper ocean.
  • Investigation of Microphysics and Precipitation for Atlantic Coast-Threatening Snowstorms (IMPACTS): The Investigation of Microphysics and Precipitation for Atlantic Coast-Threatening Snowstorms (IMPACTS) will fly a complementary suite of remote sensing and in-situ instruments for three 6-week deployments on the ER-2 and P-3 aircraft. 
  • Convective Processes Experiment – Aerosols & Winds (CPEX-AW): This joint effort between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) has the primary goal of conducting a post-launch calibration and validation activities of the Atmospheric Dynamics Mission-Aeolus (ADM-AEOLUS) Earth observation wind Lidar satellite in St. Croix. 
  • Asian Summer Monsoon Chemical & CLimate Impact Project (ACCLIP): Investigates the impacts of Asian gas and aerosol emissions on global chemistry and climate via the linkage of Asian Summer Monsoon convection and associated large-scale dynamics.
  • Dynamics and Chemistry of the Summer Stratosphere (DCOTSS)​: Using the NASA ER-2 high-altitude research aircraft to measure the composition of convective plumes and determine their effects on the chemistry and composition of the stratosphere.
  • DEVELOP: Part of NASA’s Applied Sciences Program, DEVELOP addresses environmental and public policy issues through interdisciplinary research projects that apply the lens of NASA Earth observations to community concerns around the globe.
  • Earth Science Project Office (ESPO): Provides planning, implementation and post-mission support for large, complex, multi-agency, national and international field campaigns.
  • NASA Earth Exchange (NEX): Bring scientists together with the tools, massive global datasets, and supercomputers necessary to accelerate research in Earth systems science and global change.
  • Alpha Jet Atmospheric eXperiment (AJAX): Performs regular airborne missions to measure ozone, formaldehyde, carbon dioxide, methane, and meteorological data over California and Nevada.
  • Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE): Terrestrial Ecology Program field campaign being conducted in Alaska and Western Canada to understand the vulnerability and resilience of Arctic and boreal ecosystems to environmental change in western North America.
  • Ecological Forecasting: Develops advanced computer technologies for converting massive streams of satellite remote sensing data into eco-casts that are easy to read and use.
  • NASA-CASA Project: Access geographic data from NASA Ames Research Center, Ecosystem Science and Technology Branch for carbon sequestration predictions throughout the United States.
  • Metrological Measurement Systems (MMS): An airborne instrument that provides calibrated, science quality, in situ state measurements of static pressure, static temperature, and three-dimension wind.

Space Bioscience Projects

  • GeneLab: The first comprehensive space-related omics database; users can upload, download, share, store, and analyze spaceflight and spaceflight-relevant data from experiments using model organisms.
  • BioNutrients: A spaceflight experiment that demonstrates technology using engineered microbes to produce necessary human nutrients on-demand.
  • Cell Science-04: a spaceflight experiment that will research the effects of microgravity on Hypsibius exemplaris, a species of tardigrade.
  • Rodent Research-23:  Studies the effects of spaceflight on the eyes, specifically on the structure and function of the arteries, veins, and lymphatic vessels that are needed to maintain vision.
  • Rodent Research-10: Investigates how spaceflight in microgravity affects the cellular and molecular mechanisms of normal bone tissue regeneration in space.
  • Bacterial Adhesion and Corrosion: Studies the effect of spaceflight on the formation of multi-species, surface-adherent bacterial communities, their ability to corrode stainless steel surfaces relevant to those on the International Space Station (ISS) water system.
  • MVP Cell-02: Studying how organisms evolve to adapt to the harsh space environment by growing Bacillus subtilis bacteria in a range of conditions.
  • Micro-15: Studies the effects of spaceflight on the differentiation of mammalian induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC).
  • Micro-16: Analyzes the muscle strength and gene expression in nematodes, a flight-proven and cost effective model organism. 
  • Cell Science-02 Bioculture System: The Bioculture System research platform was developed at NASA Ames Research Center and allows researchers to carry out studies on cell cultures in microgravity on the ISS.