Explore Search
 
 News & Events
											News & Events
															All NASA News
															Video Series on NASA+
															Podcasts
															Blogs
															Newsletters
															Social Media
															Media Resources
															Upcoming Launches & Landings
															Virtual Events
					Multimedia
											Multimedia
															NASA+
															Images
															NASA TV
															Sounds and Ringtones
															Interactives
															NASA Apps
															Podcasts
															e-Books
															STEM Multimedia
					NASA+


Search
 Suggested Searches Climate Change
								Artemis
								Expedition 64
								Mars perseverance
								SpaceX Crew-2
								International Space Station
							View All Topics A-Z


HomeMissionsHumans in SpaceEarth & ClimateThe Solar SystemThe UniverseScienceAeronauticsTechnologyLearning ResourcesAbout NASAEspañol			News & Events
			Multimedia
			NASA+
 Featured Earth as seen by Apollo 17 in 19722 min readJoin NASA in Celebrating Earth Day 2024 by Sharing a #GlobalSelfiearticle9 hours ago NASA Selects New Aircraft-Driven Studies of Earth and Climate Change6 min readNASA Selects New Aircraft-Driven Studies of Earth and Climate Changearticle9 hours ago This 2024 Earth Day poster is an ocean themed vertical 15x30 illustration created from NASA satellite cloud imagery overlaid on ocean data. The white cloud imagery wraps around shapes, defining three whales and a school of fish. Swirly cloud patterns, called Von Kármán Vortices, create the feeling of movement in the composition. The focal point is a cyclone in the upper third of the poster. At the center flies the recently launched PACE satellite. The ocean imagery – composed of blues, aquas, and greens – is filled with subtle color changes and undulating patterns created by churning sediment, organic matter and phytoplankton.4 min readThe Ocean Touches Everything: Celebrate Earth Day with NASAarticle1 week ago
 Back
 Missions Search All NASA MissionsA to Z List of MissionsUpcoming Launches and LandingsSpaceships and RocketsCommunicating with MissionsArtemisJames Webb Space TelescopeHubble Space TelescopeInternational Space Station
 Humans in Space Why Go to SpaceAstronauts HomeCommercial SpaceDestinationsSpaceships and RocketsLiving in Space
 Earth & Climate Explore Earth ScienceClimate ChangeEarth, Our PlanetEarth Science in ActionEarth MultimediaEarth DataEarth Science Researchers
 The Solar System The SunMercuryVenusEarthThe MoonMarsJupiterSaturnUranusNeptunePluto & Dwarf PlanetsAsteroids, Comets & MeteorsThe Kuiper BeltThe Oort CloudSkywatching
 The Universe ExoplanetsThe Search for Life in the UniverseStarsGalaxiesBlack HolesThe Big BangDark Energy & Dark Matter
 Science Earth SciencePlanetary ScienceAstrophysics & Space ScienceThe Sun & HeliophysicsBiological & Physical SciencesLunar ScienceCitizen ScienceAstromaterialsAeronautics ResearchHuman Space Travel Research
 Aeronautics Science in the AirNASA AircraftFlight InnovationSupersonic FlightAir Traffic SolutionsGreen Aviation TechDrones & You
 Technology Technology Transfer & SpinoffsSpace Travel TechnologyTechnology Living in SpaceManufacturing and MaterialsRoboticsScience InstrumentsComputing
 Learning Resources For Kids and StudentsFor EducatorsFor Colleges and UniversitiesFor ProfessionalsScience for EveryoneRequests for Exhibits, Artifacts, or SpeakersSTEM Engagement at NASA
 About NASA NASA's ImpactsCenters and FacilitiesDirectoratesOrganizationsPeople of NASACareersInternshipsOur HistoryDoing Business with NASAGet InvolvedContact
 Español CienciaAeronáuticaCiencias TerrestresSistema SolarUniverso
 News & Events All NASA NewsVideo Series on NASA+PodcastsBlogsNewslettersSocial MediaMedia ResourcesUpcoming Launches & LandingsVirtual Events
 Multimedia NASA+ImagesNASA TVSounds and RingtonesInteractivesNASA AppsPodcastse-BooksSTEM Multimedia
 Highlights Most mountains on the Earth are formed as plates collide and the crust buckles. Not so for the Moon, where mountains are formed as a result of impacts as seen by NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

	3 min read

		Work Underway on Large Cargo Landers for NASA’s Artemis Moon Missions

		article

			4 hours ago Mars Science Laboratory: Curiosity Rover

	3 min read

		Mars Science Laboratory: Curiosity Rover

		article

			8 hours ago NASA Selects New Aircraft-Driven Studies of Earth and Climate Change

	6 min read

		NASA Selects New Aircraft-Driven Studies of Earth and Climate Change

		article

			9 hours ago
 Highlights Most mountains on the Earth are formed as plates collide and the crust buckles. Not so for the Moon, where mountains are formed as a result of impacts as seen by NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

	3 min read

		Work Underway on Large Cargo Landers for NASA’s Artemis Moon Missions

		article

			4 hours ago 2 min read

		NASA Open Science Initiative Expands OpenET Across Amazon Basin

		article

			3 days ago 2 min read

		NASA Motion Sickness Study Volunteers Needed!

		article

			4 days ago
 Highlights NASA Selects New Aircraft-Driven Studies of Earth and Climate Change

	6 min read

		NASA Selects New Aircraft-Driven Studies of Earth and Climate Change

		article

			9 hours ago 4 min read

		Students Celebrate Rockets, Environment at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center

		article

			11 hours ago AI for Earth: How NASA’s Artificial Intelligence and Open Science Efforts Combat Climate Change

	4 min read

		AI for Earth: How NASA’s Artificial Intelligence and Open Science Efforts Combat Climate Change

		article

			1 day ago
 Highlights Mars Science Laboratory: Curiosity Rover

	3 min read

		Mars Science Laboratory: Curiosity Rover

		article

			8 hours ago Sols 4159-4160: A Fully Loaded First Sol

	3 min read

		Sols 4159-4160: A Fully Loaded First Sol

		article

			1 day ago 6 min read

		NASA’s Juno Gives Aerial Views of Mountain, Lava Lake on Io

		article

			1 day ago
 Featured Hubble Captures a Bright Galactic and Stellar Duo

	2 min read

		Hubble Captures a Bright Galactic and Stellar Duo

		article

			10 hours ago NASA’s TESS Returns to Science Operations

	2 min read

		NASA’s TESS Returns to Science Operations

		article

			2 days ago Astronauts To Patch Up NASA’s NICER Telescope

	5 min read

		Astronauts To Patch Up NASA’s NICER Telescope

		article

			2 days ago
 Highlights Hubble Goes Hunting for Small Main Belt Asteroids

	7 min read

		Hubble Goes Hunting for Small Main Belt Asteroids

		article

			1 day ago NASA’s TESS Returns to Science Operations

	2 min read

		NASA’s TESS Returns to Science Operations

		article

			2 days ago The PACE spacecraft sending data down over radio frequency links to an antenna on Earth. The science images shown are real photos from the PACE mission.

	4 min read

		NASA’s Near Space Network Enables PACE Climate Mission to ‘Phone Home’

		article

			2 days ago
 Highlights Inside of an aircraft cockpit is shown from the upside down perspective with two men in tan flight suits sitting inside. The side of one helmet, oxygen mask and visor is seen for one of the two men as well as controls inside the aircraft. The second helmet is seen from the back as the man sitting in the front is piloting the aircraft. You can see land below through the window of the aircraft.

	2 min read

		NASA Photographer Honored for Thrilling Inverted In-Flight Image

		article

			2 days ago Jake Revesz, an electronic systems engineer at NASA Langley Research Center, is pictured here prepping a UAS for flight. Jake is kneeling on pavement working with the drone. He is wearing a t-shirt, khakis, and a hard hat.

	3 min read

		NASA Langley Team to Study Weather During Eclipse Using Uncrewed Vehicles

		article

			2 weeks ago Illustration showing several future aircraft concepts flying over a mid-sized city with a handful of skyscrapers.

	7 min read

		ARMD Solicitations

		article

			2 weeks ago
 Highlights The PACE spacecraft sending data down over radio frequency links to an antenna on Earth. The science images shown are real photos from the PACE mission.

	4 min read

		NASA’s Near Space Network Enables PACE Climate Mission to ‘Phone Home’

		article

			2 days ago Amendment 10: B.9 Heliophysics Low-Cost Access to Space Final Text and Proposal Due Date.

	2 min read

		Amendment 10: B.9 Heliophysics Low-Cost Access to Space Final Text and Proposal Due Date.

		article

			2 days ago A natural-color image of mountains in central Pennsylvania taken by Landsat 8

	2 min read

		Tech Today: Taking Earth’s Pulse with NASA Satellites

		article

			2 days ago
 Featured 4 min read

		Students Celebrate Rockets, Environment at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center

		article

			11 hours ago Earth Day 2024: Posters and Virtual Backgrounds

	2 min read

		Earth Day 2024: Posters and Virtual Backgrounds

		article

			1 week ago The 2024 Power to Explore logo celebrates the total eclipse with an illustration of the Sun disappearing behind an atomic symbol.

	3 min read

		NASA Names Finalists of the Power to Explore Challenge

		article

			2 weeks ago
 Highlights 4 min read

		Students Celebrate Rockets, Environment at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center

		article

			11 hours ago AI for Earth: How NASA’s Artificial Intelligence and Open Science Efforts Combat Climate Change

	4 min read

		AI for Earth: How NASA’s Artificial Intelligence and Open Science Efforts Combat Climate Change

		article

			1 day ago A natural-color image of mountains in central Pennsylvania taken by Landsat 8

	2 min read

		Tech Today: Taking Earth’s Pulse with NASA Satellites

		article

			2 days ago
 Highlights 2021 Astronaut Candidates Stand in Recognition

	6 min read

		Diez maneras en que los estudiantes pueden prepararse para ser astronautas

		article

			3 weeks ago Astronaut Marcos Berrios

	4 min read

		Astronauta de la NASA Marcos Berríos

		article

			2 months ago image of an experiment facility installed in the exterior of the space station

	8 min read

		Resultados científicos revolucionarios en la estación espacial de 2023

		article

			2 months ago


3 min read NASA Research Gathers Key Radar Data for Autonomous Air Cargo Delivery


Laura Mitchell NASA Armstrong Public Affairs Specialist
 Four people stand around one person who is sitting behind a computer. NASA researchers Brad Snelling, left, Andrew Guion, seated, and Tim Bagnall, second from right, observe aircraft data during a flight test at the Reliable Robotics control station in Mountain View, California on Feb. 28, 2023. Reliable Robotics chief technology officer, Juerg Frefel, center, and vehicle integration and test lead, Manoli Tsaparikos, right, look on.
Reliable Robotics
 When autonomous air taxis and cargo delivery vehicles fly above neighborhoods, safe operations will depend on their ability to detect and avoid other aircraft and obstacles. As part of the agency’s broad portfolio of work on Advanced Air Mobility, NASA researchers visited the Mountain View, California headquarters of industry partner Reliable Robotics in late February to observe flight testing. The NASA team collected data from multiple sources for analysis including Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) primary surveillance radar data. This data may be used in detect and avoid systems that would support future autonomous flight in the advanced air mobility system. The test involved Reliable Robotics flying its Cessna 172 Skyhawk and 208 Caravan aircraft from San Martin Airport in San Martin, California in preselected flight paths between Marina and Stockton, California. The NASA team worked with FAA radar engineers, the Oklahoma University Advanced Radar Research Center, Reliable Robotics, NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California and NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California to collect all data from the flight tests. Data from at least eight sources including aircraft, radar, and weather were integrated for analysis as a foundation for future research. A side view of an aircraft in flight. A Reliable Robotics owned Cessna 208 Caravan in the forefront and a Cessna 172 Skyhawk below, fly over San Martin, California on April 21, 2023, testing Federal Aviation Administration radar data that will be shared with NASA researchers. NASA will use the data to evaluate future flight path procedures for advanced air mobility type aircraft.
Reliable Robotics
 Under current FAA operating rules, all pilots are required to physically see and avoid other aircraft from inside the cockpit. Autonomous, or self-flying aircraft without human pilots will need onboard sensor capabilities such as radar, light, acoustic, or a combination of these sensor types to ensure flight safety. The data and analysis from this testing will help researchers understand if primary radar can be used for detect-and-avoid systems to satisfy the rule’s safety intent. “We appreciate the close collaboration with the FAA and Reliable Robotics to collect meaningful data from flights to improve our collective understanding of using radar for detect and avoid,” said Brad Snelling, NASA Advanced Air Mobility National Campaign’s chief engineer for partner activities. “These landmark flights will help the entire Advanced Air Mobility industry further their understanding about how future use of primary surveillance radar data could enhance aviation safety.” No clear certification or operating rules for detect and avoid systems have been established or finalized for Advanced Air Mobility, but if refined and validated, such a model could be trusted and depended on by both industry and regulators to inform safe flight operations. A line of four people stand in front of a parked airplane inside a hangar. NASA researchers from left, Tim Bagnall, Brad Snelling, Andrew Guion and Reliable Robotics flight test lead, Casey Kilborn, with the Reliable Robotics owned Cessna 208 Caravan in San Martin, California on Feb. 28, 2023.
Reliable Robotics
 “We believe high-quality primary surveillance radar data can save lives today,” said Robert Rose, co-founder and CEO of Reliable Robotics. “We are honored to partner with NASA on a campaign focused on making the airspace safer for everyone.” NASA seeks to combine this research with other data and complete the model and report to share with the FAA. The NASA research should be available to the public by the fall of 2023. The analysis will complete a segment of Advanced Air Mobility research by NASA’s National Campaign team which focused on addressing several problems that must be solved for industry to operate safely and effectively. Other efforts included virtual tabletop exercises to plan for an automated airspace, testing real-time communications with surrogate vehicle flights in Texas, and developing potential flight paths in an air taxi simulator.


Share
		Details
				Last Updated
					Dec 19, 2023
			EditorDede DiniusContactLaura Mitchelllaura.a.mitchell@nasa.govLocationArmstrong Flight Research Center
	Related TermsArmstrong Flight Research CenterAdvanced Air MobilityAeronauticsAeronautics Research Mission DirectorateAir Mobility Pathfinders projectAmes Research CenterCommunity PartnersDrones & YouHigh-Tech Computing


Explore More
			2 min read
								NASA Photographer Honored for Thrilling Inverted In-Flight Image
																Article
									2 days ago
									4 min read
								NASA Observations Find What Helps Heat Roots of ‘Moss’ on Sun
																	Did you know the Sun has moss? Due to its resemblance to the earthly plants,...
																Article
									3 days ago
									2 min read
								NASA Open Science Initiative Expands OpenET Across Amazon Basin
																Article
									3 days ago


@NASA @NASAaero @NASA_es
 @NASA @NASAaero @NASA_es
 @NASA @NASAaero @NASA_es
 @NASA


Discover More Topics From NASA
 Armstrong Aeronautics Projects Air Mobility Pathfinders Project Armstrong Technologies Armstrong Capabilities & Facilities




The National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA explores the unknown in air and space, innovates for the benefit of humanity, and inspires the world through discovery. About NASA's Mission Join Us
 Home
								News & Events
								Multimedia
								NASA+
								Missions
								Humans in Space
								Earth & Climate
								The Solar System
								The Universe
								Science
								Aeronautics
								Technology
								Learning Resources
								About NASA
								NASA en Español
 Follow NASA
 More NASA Social Accounts
                            NASA Newsletters
 Sitemap
						For Media
						Privacy Policy
						FOIA
						No FEAR Act
						Office of the IG
						Budget & Annual Reports
						Agency Financial Reports
						Contact NASA
						Accessibility
 Page Last Updated:
								Dec 19, 2023
							Page Editor:
								Jim Banke
												Responsible NASA Official:
							Abigail Bowman