Supporting NASA
As part of NASA’s largest integrated solutions provider, the Jacobs team at JSC contributes proven experience and innovative solutions to many NASA and commercial space exploration projects and programs. We have created, designed, developed, and tested systems that enable human spaceflight to achieve breakthroughs in our understanding of our Earth, the universe, and of ourselves. Priorities for space exploration may change but Jacobs’ commitment to ensuring NASA advances the scientific and exploratory goals of the nation remains firm.
Come explore new possibilities with us.
Artemis
NASA’s project Artemis is a sustainable mission to return to the Moon’s southern pole to search for frozen water resources. Artemis 3 will land on the Moon with the first female astronaut to explore the Moon’s surface. Jacobs is highly involved in many aspects of this historic endeavor, including the xEMU spacesuit development, Orion crew capsule parachutes system testing, Gateway Moon space station engineering, robotic technology manufacturing/testing, lunar Extravehicular Activity (EVA) science tools, and Moon rock science and curation.
Jacobs is proud to be a part of the Artemis generation.
Orion Crew Vehicle Safety Systems and Life Support
For 15 years, Jacobs has been a supporting partner with NASA and Lockheed Martin developing NASA’s Orion spacecraft. Orion will serve as the exploration vehicle that will transport four crew members to space, provide emergency abort capability, and fully sustain the crew to the Moon and back to Earth. NASA’s Orion crew vehicle is designed with reliable launch escape systems, redundant re-entry parachute systems, and a robust capsule heat shield. We are a key partner in ensuring Orion is as safe as possible from launch to re-entry and through to splashdown.
Our team fully developed and tested the Orion re-entry parachutes system that will slow down the capsule from more than 26,000 mph to less than 25 mph. We successfully performed numerous tests around technical condition scenarios and fully certified the system for approved use on NASA’s Orion crew vehicle.
For NASA’s launch abort system project, we worked across five NASA centers to help develop and successfully test the reliability of the abort system for Orion.
Orion will launch atop NASA’s new heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System, in a test flight, Artemis I, which will lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in 2022.
Lunar Gateway
NASA’s Lunar Gateway, a vital space station of NASA’s Artemis Program, will serve as a multi-purpose outpost orbiting miles above the Moon and will provide essential support for long-term human return to the lunar surface. Jacobs is working with NASA and Northrop Grumman to design and test the Habitation and Logistics Module, or HALO. The HALO module will feature a pressurized crew habitat with full communications, navigation, thermal control, and life support systems. Our team will help test and develop critical life-support systems that will safely protect and sustain astronaut crews for extended periods of time aboard the Lunar Gateway.
VIPER Autonomous Lunar Rover
The Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, is NASA’s Artemis robotic lunar rover designed to traverse the extreme environment of the South Pole of the Moon in search of frozen water and other potential resources. Once on the moon, the rover will explore lunar craters using a specially designed set of wheels and a suspension system to traverse a variety of inclines and soil surfaces. Our robotic engineers at Johnson Space Center directly support the NASA team with systems integration and testing as well as design of structural elements, motor controllers and lights
Artemis Spacesuit Technology Development and Validation
Walking on the Moon requires well-designed and well-tested spacesuits to not only protect astronauts from harsh and deadly vacuum environments, but also to provide water and breathable air. A new generation of spacesuit technology, the Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU), will be constructed of more modern, lightweight, yet durable materials that protect against sharp lunar soil fragments.
The average temperature on the moon can range from –298 degrees F in shadow to 224 degrees F in the sun. Such a wide temperature range poses a problem for Moon-walking astronauts. To address this issue, Jacobs is developing the Spacesuit Evaporation Rejection Flight Experiment (SERFE). SERFE is designed to evaluate and demonstrate newly developed active thermal control technology to protect suited astronauts from extreme temperatures.
Leveraging technology from the Artemis xEMU spacesuit development program, our team is collaborating with both NASA and commercial spacesuit providers to provide safe, durable, flexible and comfortable spacesuits for both intravehicular and extravehicular activity use on the Moon.