NASA Reaches New Heights in 2015

Having an asteroid parked near the moon also will open up commercial opportunities for American companies interested in learning the challenges of mining asteroids. In October, NASA issued a call to American industry for innovative ideas on how the agency could obtain a core advanced solar electric propulsion-based spacecraft for the robotic boulder retrieval mission.

The agency also took steps to stimulate the development of deep space capabilities in the commercial aerospace sector with the selection of 12 projects on which NASA will partner to advance development of necessary exploration capabilities.

To further prepare for the journey to Mars, the eight candidates from NASA’s 2013 astronaut class received their astronaut pins in July, symbolizing the completion of their training. And in December, NASA began a search for its next group of astronaut candidates.

In October, Hollywood and NASA science and technology came to audiences around the world with the premier of “The Martian.” The agency collaborated on this journey to Mars film with 20th Century Fox Entertainment, providing guidance on production design and technical consultants. Across NASA, dozens of people already are working on many of the technologies seen in the movie that astronauts will need when they begin to explore Mars in real life.

International Space Station

The International Space Station (ISS) is a critical step on the agency’s journey to Mars. 2015 marked the 15th year of continuous human presence aboard the station. Since November 2000, more than 220 people from 17 countries have visited the ISS, and the orbiting laboratory has hosted more than 1,700 research investigations from researchers in more than 80 countries.

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly kicked off a one-year mission in March living and working in space. In October, he broke records for both the most time and cumulative days in space for a NASA astronaut. While Scott is in orbit, his identical twin brother and former NASA astronaut Mark Kelly remains on Earth, and both are participating in the Twins Study. When Scott returns in 2016 and concludes post-flight tests, researchers will have important data about the medical, psychological and biomedical challenges faced by astronauts during long-duration spaceflight.

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