INSIGHT | APPEL Knowledge Services

NASA Astronaut Bruce McCandless II reaches a maximum distance of about 100 yards from the Space Shuttle Challenger before reversing direction in his manned maneuvering unit (MMU) and returning to the spacecraft again and again during the nearly seven-hour untethered spacewalk. Credit: NASA

This Month in NASA History: Untethered Spacewalk Becomes a Reality

February 13, 2025 // by Kevin Wilcox

Long envisioned in science fiction, NASA’s Manned Maneuvering Unit was built to support critical tasks during the shuttle era.

Podcast Episode 146: Space Medicine – Body and Mind

February 5, 2025 // by INSIGHT Staff

Research breakthroughs that keep astronauts healthy in space are also transforming medicine here at home. Dr. J.D. Polk, NASA’s chief health and medical officer, tells us what’s on the horizon in space medicine.

Listen

January 2025 INSIGHT Now Available

January 31, 2025 // by INSIGHT Staff

Don’t miss the latest issue of INSIGHT, APPEL Knowledge Services’ online publication featuring our new podcast episodes, columns, articles, lessons learned and more. We invite you to read it today on our website.

Artist concept of the Earth Return Orbiter (ERO)–one of the flight missions making up the Mars Sample Return campaign to bring martian rock and atmospheric samples back to Earth. This European Space Agency (ESA) orbiter would be the first interplanetary spacecraft to capture samples in orbit and make a return trip between Earth and Mars. Credits: NASA/ESA/JPL-Caltech/GSFC

NASA Exploring Mars Sample Return Architecture

January 29, 2025 // by Kevin Wilcox

Sky Crane landing, commercial options are being considered to return samples from Mars to Earth.

The Blue Ghost lander will attempt to land in the Mare Crisium, an impact basin that may provide NASA with the first geophysical measurements that are representative of the bulk of the Moon. Research indicates that the Apollo missions landed in a region that is compositionally distinct from the rest of the lunar surface. Credit: NASA

CLPS Mission Heads for Vast Basalt Plain

January 22, 2025 // by Kevin Wilcox

Third spaceflight in the program will carry a varied NASA payload of scientific instruments to the lunar surface.

Podcast episode title graphic. The main image is the curvature of Earth as seen from the International Space Station. The writing above says #145: Pam Melroy: Behind the Strategy.

Podcast Episode 145: Pam Melroy: Behind the Strategy

January 18, 2025 // by INSIGHT Staff

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, who leaves NASA after many years of service, looks back on her career and shares her approach to designing the blueprints for key NASA exploration strategies during her tenure.

On Jan. 5, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, discussed the proposed Space Shuttle vehicle in San Clemente, Calif. The President announced that day that the United States should proceed at once with the development of an entirely new type of space transportation system. Credit: NASA

This Month in NASA History: Nixon OKs Shuttle Program

January 13, 2025 // by Kevin Wilcox

The nation chooses to reduce spending after Apollo, focusing on a versatile, reuseable spacecraft for low-Earth orbit.

With the lights out, the ISRU Pilot Excavator digs in regolith bin during testing inside Swamp Works at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 28, 2022. Credit: NASA/Frank Michaux

December 2024 INSIGHT Now Available

December 31, 2024 // by INSIGHT Staff

Don’t miss the latest issue of INSIGHT, APPEL Knowledge Services’ online publication featuring our new podcast episodes, columns, articles, lessons learned and more. We invite you to read it today on our website.

Engineers and technicians stack the left aft assembly for the Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) solid rocket booster inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in late November. Credit: NASA/Glenn Benson

NASA Moving Forward with Artemis II

December 20, 2024 // by Kevin Wilcox

Investigation into Artemis I heatshield reveals link between material permeability and skip reentry maneuver.