›State of NASA - #NASASocial

We’re Hosting a ‘State of NASA’ Event at an Agency Location Nearest You

NASA is opening its doors to media and social media followers for its annual ‘State of NASA’ event Monday, Feb. 10, at one of the agency’s locations across the country. The events include tours and presentations that highlight the work of the work performed at each facility to further the agency’s exploration goals, including putting the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024.

During the event, each center will be connected via a NASA Television simulcast with NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine at the agency’s Stennis Space Center, near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Bridenstine will talk about NASA’s progress and the exciting work ahead as the agency continues to secure American leadership in space.

Participants will get a unique behind-the-scenes look at the respective center and the diverse work of the agency through tours and presentations by scientists, engineers and managers. The events also will provide guests the opportunity to interact with fellow social media followers, space enthusiasts and members of NASA's social media team.

Social media followers interested in attending should register for an in-person event at one of the locations listed below. Registration for the NASA Social closes at 1:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Jan. 22. Participants will be selected from online submissions.

Ames Research Center, Silicon Valley, California

Ames Research Center will host up to 12 social media followers to learn about the center’s cutting-edge research that is helping NASA explore the Moon and send astronauts into deep space. Participants will meet scientists and engineers, go behind the scenes in facilities for testing spacecraft designed to support future human missions to the Moon and Mars and receive hands-on training on how to drive and operate NASA’s first robotic lunar rover, VIPER, which will hunt for water ice at the Moon’s South Pole. 

Armstrong Flight Research Center, Edwards, California

Armstrong Flight Research Center will host up to 50 social media followers for a behind-the-scenes look at the work the center is doing in support of the agency’s missions. Participants will get a rare look at cutting-edge technology, like Fiber Optic Sensing System (FOSS), to be used on the SLS for Artemis missions which will send the first woman and the next man to the moon and eventually Mars. Attendees will also get an inside look on the Pilot Breathing Assessment (PBA) program, which gathers data on pilot breathing to better understand how pilots respond to flight conditions. Other highlights will include learning more about electric propulsion through X-57 and learning more about how NASA is “in your life” and makes life on Earth better!

Glenn Research Center, Cleveland

Glenn Research Center will host a Facebook Live from NASA’s Plum Brook Station, where the Orion spacecraft for Artemis I is undergoing thermal testing. Nicole Smith, project manager for Orion testing at Plum Brook, will join the audience from the control room of our Space Environments Complex to answer some of the most frequently asked questions about the spacecraft and progress toward the Artemis I launch. Social media followers can submit their questions for a chance to have them answered live by our expert. At the conclusion of the show, we’ll announce a special, in-person opportunity for social media followers to learn more about our Artemis program.

Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland

Goddard Space Flight Center will host up to 30 social media users for an all-day event highlighting Goddard science, engineering and exploration to our Moon and soon, to Mars. Attendees will learn all about Goddard’s role in the Artemis program, as well as the only NASA mission that’s currently in orbit around our Moon – the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), and talk to science experts about recent science results and beautiful images coming from the mission. The day will feature a center tour, with opportunities to learn about how NASA is studying the potential hazards that astronauts may face from emissions from the Sun and other space weather, and more.

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California

JPL will host up to 30 digital creators to learn how the center’s robotic missions help future human exploration of the Moon and Mars. Participants will meet scientists and engineers and go behind the scenes in JPL’s space facilities. Highlights will include a stop in mission control, an indoor "Mars Yard" for testing landers and rovers, and the Spacecraft Assembly Facility where Mars 2020, the agency's next rover, is preparing for launch later this year.

Johnson Space Center, Houston

Johnson Space Center will host up to 20 social media followers for a behind-the-scenes look at the center's work in developing and advancing NASA's Artemis missions to send astronauts to the Moon in 2024. Participants will tour facilities where engineers are working to design and test the Orion spacecraft and Gateway outpost that will enable lunar exploration and learn about astronaut life in space. Attendees will learn about the technologies being used to prepare for these missions and the payloads being developed at Johnson Space Center, as well as talk with subject matter experts about NASA’s future in deep space exploration.

Kennedy Space Center, Florida

Kennedy Space Center will host up to 25 social media followers for an exclusive viewing of the State of NASA event where the 2020 budget will be discussed. Participants will also get a behind-the-scenes tour of the center including stops at the iconic Vehicle Assembly Building, Launch Pad 39B, Veggie Lab and more.

Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia

Langley Research Center will host up to 30 social media followers for a behind-the-scenes look at the center's work in developing and advancing NASA's mission to send astronauts into deep space and revolutionize air travel. Participants will tour facilities where researchers and engineers are working to design, test and advance space architecture, in-space assembly and supersonic flight. They will also get a behind-the-scenes look at the research behind the X-59 aircraft and how Langley uses virtual reality, robotics and wind tunnels to take us beyond Earth. Attendees will see concepts related to deep-space missions, experience hands-on technology and witness the stunning facilities that we’re using for the Artemis program.

Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama

Marshall Space Flight Center will host up to 25 social media enthusiasts for a behind-the-scenes look at the capabilities that will help make a sustainable human presence on the Moon and in deep space possible. Participants will see flight hardware for the Space Launch System rocket, NASA’s deep space rocket that with the Orion spacecraft will carry humans to the Moon and beyond. Guests will visit a world-class advanced manufacturing and 3D printing facility that is leading the way in additive manufacturing techniques, tour the Lunar Lab to learn more about the agency’s Human Landing System, and see how science and technology are merging together to benefit deep space exploration for Artemis missions.

Stennis Space Center, near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

Stennis will host up to 25 social media followers for a behind-the-scenes look at America’s largest rocket engine test facility. Participants will hear from NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine about progress being made on the Artemis program and have an opportunity to view a completed Space Launch System core stage in the historic B-2 test stand. The B-2 Test Stand will be used to test the core stage in preparation for the Artemis I mission. They will also tour the Aerojet Rocketdyne Engine Assembly Facility and receive a briefing at the A Complex where the RS-25 engines were manufactured and tested respectively. Four RS-25 engines will be used to power the massive core stage of the SLS. Attendees will also learn about cutting-edge technology and science being developed at Stennis in support of the Artemis program.

Tweets by spaceagenda