The NASA STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Enhancement in Earth Science (SEES) Internship Program at the University of Texas Center for Space Research places high school students on small, mission-focused research teams mentored by NASA, academic, and industry experts. During summer 2026, the SEES Mission Architecture Tool for Research, Integration, and eXploration (MATRIX) team focused on applying a method for measuring propellant mass in microgravity, where liquid fuel clings to tank walls instead of settling – a challenge central to NASA’s Artemis missions.

The MATRIX team was mentored by Dr. Kevin Crosby, who, along with colleagues at NASA, developed the Modal Propellant Gauging (MPG) approach to microgravity propellant mass gauging at Carthage College in Kenosha, WI. MPG uses the acoustic response of propellant tanks to estimate the mass of fuel inside a tank. The method has been used successfully in several spaceflight experiments and is scheduled for demonstration on the Intuitive Machines IM-3 mission. The IM-3 lander, Trinity, is scheduled to touch down on the Moon in the Reiner Gamma region in 2027. The team developed models for predicting when MPG can take reliable readings during the mission, giving the interns direct experience with a technology preparing for spaceflight and lunar surface operations.

Reconstructing a Lunar Mission from Public Data

The MATRIX team relied entirely on publicly available sources, including Intuitive Machines’ published mission data. The NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Navigation and Ancillary Information Facility (NAIF) provided detailed trajectory records for the IM-1 and IM-2 missions. By comparing the IM-2 spacecraft’s reconstructed flight path with a model of its motion without engine thrust, the team identified engine burns and estimated the change in velocity associated with each burn.

Because a complete IM-3 trajectory is not public, the team wrote a reconstruction algorithm using published IM-1 and IM-2 flight data. To model fluid behavior, the team ran computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to estimate slosh dynamics within the tanks and conducted Monte Carlo simulations to predict the range of possible propellant states.

Identifying Windows for Measurement

The team’s analysis showed that MPG can take reliable readings during the two primary burns, Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) and Powered Descent, and in some cases during Descent Orbit Insertion. The spacecraft’s starting mass had the greatest effect on how long each gauging window lasts. The MATRIX team also identified candidate IM-3 launch opportunities for 2027 and produced a landing analysis for the Reiner Gamma site that showed the distribution of possible landing sites near the target.

Presenting to the Scientific Community

The team briefed the Intuitive Machines propulsion group, walking the engineers through their methods and results and demonstrating that a rigorous analysis of an active lunar mission could be built from public data. The students presented their research, “Computational Models to Estimate Modal Propellant Gauging (MPG) Windows on the Intuitive Machines IM-3 Mission,” at the SEES Annual Symposium and the Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium Annual Conference. The team will present again at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Annual Meeting in San Francisco in December 2026.

“This high school team, in a period of less than a month, developed a depth of understanding and facility with advanced methods that rivals advanced graduate students in the field,” said Crosby. “Their work product is exceptional, and their presentation to Intuitive Machines engineers impressed everyone with the sophistication and creativity of their work. The SEES program has consistently provided a unique environment for students to demonstrate they can achieve far more than what is asked of them, even in the most advanced classes.”

The SEES program gives 11th and 12th grade students direct experience with the data, tools, and analytical methods used across the aerospace industry. By applying NASA and commercial mission data to an active lunar mission, the MATRIX team contributed analysis relevant to propellant management, a capability needed for in-space refueling, fuel depots, and sustained exploration of the Moon and beyond. Thank you to all the mentors, project assistants, and volunteers who have made SEES possible for over a decade. 

The SEES Mission Architecture (MATRIX) Team:
Raiymbek Abdy, The Woodlands, TX
Emmanuel Bravo, Boca Raton, FL
Winston Huang, San Francisco, CA
Adrianna Krajnovic, Dallas, TX
Marco Lo Cicero, Tomball, TX
Henry Martin, Milwaukee, WI
Reva Paul, Bethlehem, PA
Swayam Sahoo, North Chelmsford, MA

Project Mentor: Dr. Kevin M. Crosby, Carthage College and Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium
Project Assistant: Mauro Esquivel, mathematics teacher, McAllen, TX

For more information, visit: https://www.csr.utexas.edu/sees-internship/

The SEES project is supported by NASA cooperative agreement award number NNH15ZDA004C and is part of the NASA Science Activation Program portfolio, which connects learners with authentic NASA science experiences through partnerships with educators and community organizations.

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From orbit, today’s space-based laser instruments measure Earth’s forests and terrain one narrow line at a time. Between those lines are enormous gaps that include millions of acres of land scientists never directly measure. NASA’s CASALS instrument will blend machine learning with an ultra-compact lidar instrument to adaptively ‘sweep’ large swaths of Earth’s surface. This new capability for space-based remote sensors allows CASALS to create truly three-dimensional (3D) topographical renderings. 

A team of researchers at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) has developed a new instrument designed to eliminate blind spots between lines of lidar data on the Earth’s surface. Built with support from NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO), the Concurrent Artificially-intelligent Spectrometry Lidar System (CASALS) could help researchers map the features of Earth’s surface with unprecedented detail. Rather than mechanically steering a laser with moving mirrors, CASALS steers light using wavelength itself, generating a continuous, 3D swath of the ground below. 

John Yorks, a physical research scientist at GSFC and Principal Investigator for CASALS, explained that the instrument features a novel transmitter and optical grating system that manipulates laser pulses without heavy, failure-prone motorized mirrors. 

Instead, CASALS uses a fast-pulsing, tunable “seed” laser centered at 1040 nanometers, rapidly cycling through 256 unique wavelengths as it pulses through an optical component with a microscopic pattern of ridges called a transmission grating. 

At this point, the physics of diffraction takes over. Because light bends at slightly different angles depending on its exact wavelength, the grating naturally “steers” each of the 256 pulses into a distinct position across the flight path. 

This non-mechanical approach paints a continuous 3D swath of the ground. Not only does this eliminate the large unmapped gaps left between the isolated tracks of legacy spaceborne lidars, but stripping away moving parts drastically reduces the instrument’s size, weight, and power (SWaP) requirements. This makes it more reliable for the harsh environment of space. 

Another key innovation within CASALS is its detector array. This component features a uniquely high Quantum Efficiency (QE), a variable that describes how effectively a detector converts incoming light (photons) into an electrical signal. CASALS operates at 80% QE. This means CASALS wastes almost none of the light that makes it back to the sensor. 

With QE that high, CASALS can detect much weaker return signals, allowing it to collect useful measurements from darker surfaces or through denser vegetation. 

This technology isn’t limited to a laboratory environment. In November 2024, an airborne CASALS prototype flew aboard NASA’s B200 King Air aircraft. The instrument produced science-quality datasets on its first campaign, exceeding the team’s expectations. 

“I’m very impressed with Guang Yang, Jeffrey Chen, and all our engineers, and how well CASALS performed. This worked really well from the first time we flew it, which is pretty impressive,” said Yorks. 

Flying at an altitude of roughly five kilometers, CASALS can distinguish individual tree branches and subtle changes in ground elevation, thanks to its 22-centimeter horizontal resolution. 

“We’re able to see really fine details of vegetation structure and changes in the topography of the surface,” Yorks said. 

The team aims to fly CASALS again as part of the Airborne Surface, Cryosphere, Ecosystem, and Nearshore Topography (ASCENT) campaign, scheduled for summer 2027. 

But there’s more work to do to prepare the technology for space. The team plans to make several improvements to CASALS before creating a space-ready prototype. Specifically, they’re widening the instrument’s swath and adding onboard data processing software. 

Transitioning from a successful airborne prototype to a fully realized space mission is a challenge, but the CASALS team is up to the task. 

“The team’s really done a great job of sticking together and keeping on task and on schedule. We are being funded to optimize and improve the performance, and we’re also then looking at ways to take the technologies used in the airborne instrument and mature them and prepare them for a spaceborne version in the future,” said Yorks. 

If successful, CASALS could become the first spaceborne lidar capable of mapping Earth’s forests and terrain as continuous three-dimensional swaths rather than isolated profiles, giving scientists a dramatically more complete picture of our changing planet. 

For additional details, see the entry for this project on NASA TechPort. 

Project Lead(s): John Yorks, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center 

Sponsoring Organization(s): NASA’s Decadal Survey Incubation (DSI) program; NASA’s Instrument Incubation Program (IIP); NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center; University of California, Santa Barbara; Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 

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Registration is open for the 2026 NASA Space Apps Challenge, a two-day global event on Saturday, Nov. 14 and Sunday, Nov. 15, where teams work to create solutions inspired by NASA’s most ambitious exploration goals and making use of the agency’s free and open data. The annual challenge, often called a hackathon, is an intensive, collaborative problem-solving experience where participants tackle real-world challenges created by NASA subject matter experts.

This year’s Space Apps Challenge collectively supports three major focus areas: returning humans to the Moon, preparing for missions deeper into the solar system, and expanding understanding of the universe. Participants do not have to be programmers. Students, scientists, engineers, designers, storytellers, technologists, and space enthusiasts of all ages and experience levels can contribute their skills.

“At NASA, science is for everyone, and we’re inviting the next generation to help tackle some of humanity’s most critical challenges in space through the NASA Space Apps Challenge,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Everything in NASA Science is interconnected, and this year, students from around the world can use NASA’s powerful data sets to help us build the ultimate interplanetary survival guide – supporting the science that will enable astronauts to thrive on the Moon and, eventually, Mars, while also inspiring ideas that improve everyday life on Earth and in space for the benefit of all.”

Supporting lunar exploration, Artemis planning

NASA continues to advance plans for a sustained human presence on the Moon through the Artemis program and Moon Base. Several of this year’s Space Apps challenges relate to analytical tools, operational considerations, and human‑system needs relevant to lunar missions. These include work related to surface operations at the Moon’s South Pole, the management of environmental constraints such as sunlight and communications windows, as well as approaches for evaluating the logistical and scientific demands of long‑duration lunar stays. Broader system‑level modeling challenges, such as those that simulate outpost operations or consider astronaut health and safety, mirror the complexity of planning for human activity on the lunar surface.

Strengthening readiness for Mars, deep space

NASA’s exploration strategy includes continued robotic exploration of the outer solar system and preparing for future human missions to Mars. Several challenges involve operational concepts for Martian surface activities, integrating data from multiple Mars missions, or reflecting the mission‑design trade‑offs required for deep‑space exploration. Others address fundamental concerns for long‑duration travel, such as monitoring physiological and behavioral health indicators, or examining how engineering and scientific choices shape mission execution in environments far from Earth.

Some of these challenges also align with NASA’s broader exploration portfolio, which includes ongoing work on future missions to destinations such as Jupiter’s moon Europa and Saturn’s moon Titan. By simulating mission‑design decisions or evaluating environmental analogs on Earth, certain challenges offer frameworks related to how NASA prepares for complex operational scenarios throughout the solar system.

Enhancing access to astrophysics

NASA’s astrophysics missions contribute to understanding the structure and history of the universe. In 2026, this includes active missions like Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx), which is conducting a full‑sky spectral survey, as well as the continued development and deployment of observatories designed to investigate cosmic evolution and exoplanet, which are planets outside our solar system, populations.

Challenges associated with these efforts focus on improving public access to mission data, designing tools that help visualize changes in the sky over time, and supporting broader engagement with the scientific products derived from these missions.

Broader impact across NASA’s mission landscape

Together, these challenges illustrate how NASA’s open data ecosystem enables gold standard science, by freely offering such a wide breadth of information and research. By engaging with the Space Apps event, the entire nation can interact with the kind of real‑world needs defined by the agency.

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A newly released panorama captured by NASA’s Curiosity rover offers the most detailed view yet of distant, wind-carved Martian cliffs, highlighting features the mission’s scientists have long been waiting to see up close. The scene was snapped at 8:30 a.m. local Mars time, showing striking blue hues in the foreground as bright morning light illuminates crags known as yardangs on the horizon.  

The panorama was captured by Curiosity’s Mastcam on Aug. 11, the 4,982nd Martian day, or sol, of the mission, and comprises six individual images that were stitched together after being sent to Earth. Unlike most of Curiosity’s Mastcam images, this one was processed without white balancing, preserving the early morning appearance.  

The yardang layer extends roughly 10 miles (16 kilometers) across the northwestern reaches of Mount Sharp, a 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) mountain that Curiosity has been ascending since 2014. In fact, the rover recently passed another milestone in its ascent, reaching 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) of elevation — the most ever climbed on Mars. As it draws ever-closer to the yardangs, mission scientists expect to get even more amazing imagery — and, they hope, answers to how these cliffs were created. 

Mount Sharp is made up of layers, each recording a distinct period of Mars’ history. By studying them, scientists have been able to learn more about lakes and streams that covered this part of the Red Planet billions of years ago. Eventually, the water dried up and left salty minerals behind. After new material stopped settling on the mountain, some of it may have been stripped away by wind, giving rise to the yardangs. 

“The yardang layer looks out of place. It’s the wrong color, the layers tilt at an odd angle, and it almost appears plastered on,” said Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity project scientist of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “But that’s what makes it exciting to reach. No one is sure exactly what created this layer, but one idea is it may be ash deposited by ancient volcanic eruptions.” 

Curiosity is in the second year of its fifth extended mission, which started with an exploration of the spiderweb-like boxwork ridges. The rover will spend most of the next year or so driving through layers enriched with sulfates and carbonates, both signs of ancient drying on the surface. Sometime in 2027, scientists hope to reach the base of the yardangs, where Curiosity will be able to use its robotic arm to collect one-of-a-kind data on these mysterious features. 

More about Curiosity 

Curiosity was built by NASA JPL, which is managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California. NASA JPL leads the mission on behalf of the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington as part of its Mars Exploration Program portfolio. Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego built and operates Mastcam. 

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
andrew.c.good@jpl.nasa.gov

Karen Fox / Alana Johnson
NASA Headquarters, Washington
240-285-5155 / 202-672-4780
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / alana.r.johnson@nasa.gov

2026-067

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