NASA is using the final phase of a cargo spacecraft’s mission to test materials that could help protect future astronauts returning from the Moon and Mars.
When Northrop Grumman’s 24th cargo resupply mission undocked from the International Space Station, its Cygnus XL spacecraft carried 12 small experimental capsules. The capsules are part of the Kentucky Reentry Probe Experiment, or KREPE-3, which is testing next-generation thermal-protection materials during reentry.
NASA said KREPE-3 is the third mission in a series designed to collect reentry data by using a cargo spacecraft’s final moments after it departs the space station. One capsule contains a 3-D-printed heat shield designed by researchers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The project involves the University of Kentucky, the state of Kentucky, NASA’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, several NASA centers, and other federal and commercial partners. NASA EPSCoR program manager David Berger said the effort supports scientists and engineers developing projects that benefit both their education and NASA mission goals.
