Editor’s Note: This article was updated on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, to clarify the research done by ATM-X and ACERO.
NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley continued to make strides in research, technology, engineering, science, and innovation this past year. Join us as we take a look back at some of the highlights from 2025.
From Supercomputers to Wind Tunnels: NASA’s Road to Artemis II
This video shows two simulations of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket using NASA’s Launch Ascent and Vehicle Aerodynamics solver. For the Artemis II test flight, a pair of six-foot-long strakes will be added to the core stage of SLS that will smooth vibrations induced by airflow during ascent. The top simulation is without strakes while the bottom shows the airflow with strakes. The green and yellow colors on the rocket’s surface show how the airflow scrapes against the rocket’s skin. The white and gray areas show changes in air density between the boosters and core stage, with the brightest regions marking shock waves. The strakes reduce vibrations and improves the safety of the integrated vehicle.
NASA/NAS/Gerrit-Daniel Stich, Michael Barad, Timothy Sandstrom, Derek Dalle
By combining the technologies of the NASA Advanced Supercomputing facility and Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel at NASA Ames, researchers were able to simulate and model an adjustment to the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that could improve airflow and stability to the vehicle during the launch of Artemis II. The collaborative effort between researchers is the next step on NASA’s journey to send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.
New Discoveries in Early Solar System Samples
A microscopic particle of asteroid Bennu, brought to Earth by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission, is manipulated under a transmission electron microscope. In order to move the fragment for further analysis, researchers first reinforced it with thin strips of platinum (the “L” shape on the particle’s surface) then welded a tungsten microneedle to it. The asteroid fragment measures 30 micrometers (about one-one thousandth of an inch) across.
NASA
Researchers at NASA Ames discovered a never-before-seen “gum-like” material in pristine asteroid samples delivered to Earth by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer) spacecraft. The surprising substance was likely formed in the early days of the solar system, as Bennu’s young parent asteroid warmed. Such complex molecules could have provided some of the chemical precursors that helped trigger life on Earth, and finding them in the pristine samples from Bennu is important for scientists studying how life began and whether it exists beyond our planet.
VIPER Gets a Ride to the Moon’s South Pole
This artist’s concept shows Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 lander and NASA’s VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) on the lunar surface.
Credit: Courtesy of Blue Origin
NASA’s VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) will search for volatile resources, such as ice, on the lunar surface and collect science data to support future exploration at the Moon and Mars. As part of the agency’s Artemis campaign, NASA awarded Blue Origin of Kent, Washington, a Commercial Lunar Payload Services task order with an option to deliver a rover to the Moon’s South Pole region. With this new award, Blue Origin will deliver VIPER to the lunar surface in late 2027.
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