As NASA sets its sights on long-term exploration of the Moon and Mars, the agency is increasing the cadence of its Artemis missions. Helping bring these plans to fruition is Tom Percy, manager of systems engineering and integration for NASA’s Human Landing System Program.

Percy serves as a focal point in working with providers SpaceX and Blue Origin to accelerate and streamline systems designs, manufacturing, testing, and certification. He ensures the crewed landers that SpaceX and Blue Origin are developing for Artemis are designed, built, tested, and will operate with other NASA exploration assets safely and effectively.

“You might say that all human landing system integration work lands on my desk. And with the rest of my talented, hard-working systems engineering and integration team, we’re working to make it all happen,” Percy said.

A native of North Easton, Massachusetts, Percy earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York, where he first got hands-on experience working on designs that could be applied to NASA’s sustainable lunar architecture.

“As an undergrad, I served as president of the Rochester Institute of Technology’s chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. To get some real-world engineering experience, we decided to participate in the Great Moonbuggy Race,” Percy said. “Now called the Human Exploration Rover Challenge, the competition is held annually at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

“At the time, I had never heard of Marshall Space Flight Center,” said Percy. “But our student team designed and built a rover and traveled to Huntsville for the race. That’s when I learned about some of the projects in Marshall’s diverse portfolio that the center works for NASA. And that’s when I began planning to make my way to NASA Marshall for my career.”

Percy chose to move south and earn a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. His research in the advanced propulsion lab and courses in space systems design culminated in a spacecraft design course and the chance to work directly with engineers at Marshall.

Since landing at Marshall in 2003, Percy has been involved in evaluating transportation architecture options for human deep space exploration, including missions to land astronauts on the Moon and Mars. He also has expertise in space transportation, including advanced propulsion technology development; trajectory analysis; and spacecraft and mission concept development. Percy earned a doctorate in aerospace systems engineering from the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

The range of experience comes together in his current role as manager of human landing systems engineering and integration.

“The world watched the amazing success of Artemis II. NASA and our commercial providers are looking forward to flying again soon and executing increasingly complex Artemis missions,” Percy said.

Through the Artemis program, NASA will send astronauts on increasingly complex missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, establish an enduring human presence on the lunar surface, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

To learn more about the Artemis program, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis

Jason Peterson’s responsibilities for NASA’s Artemis II mission went beyond his usual role as the range operations manager at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

For Peterson, working at NASA is a surreal full-circle moment.

“I grew up in DeLisle, Mississippi, right down the road from NASA,” said Peterson. “You would hear NASA testing, the windows would shake, and you knew they were out there. Not in a million years would I have ever dreamed I would work with NASA.”

His career journey took a few turns before reaching the space agency.

“I got out of school, welded, went to college and then to the Air Force. The path to NASA really started to develop from there,” said Peterson.

Peterson spent 24 years in the U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard, working in airfield and air-to-ground range operations, followed by a few years working as an aircraft dispatcher at Airbus Final Assembly Line.

Peterson credits his military experience with preparing him for the 12-to-16-hour workdays that helped bring the Artemis II test flight around the Moon and into view for audiences around the world.

He supported the team responsible for delivering video and communication feeds for the launch of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket with the Artemis II crew aboard the Orion spacecraft, and then splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

During the nearly 10-day mission, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen completed a record-setting lunar flyby, taking them 252,756 miles at their farthest distance from Earth.

Aboard the USS John P. Murtha, Peterson was the first on the ship to spot the capsule returning with the crew.

Peterson operated one of six cameras providing live coverage by using a high‑resolution, multi‑sensor system with thermal capabilities. Using the ship’s heading and Orion’s predicted trajectory, he located the capsule within minutes and began tracking it.

Orion entered Earth’s atmosphere at about 400,000 feet above the planet’s surface, traveling nearly 35 times the speed of sound and about 1,956 statute miles from its splashdown point off the coast of California. Peterson tracked Orion from the release of the small parachutes that first slow and steady the capsule, through the main parachutes opening, and all the way to splashdown.

“You are fully locked in, keeping it centered, in focus, and steady,” said Peterson.

Peterson’s focus on the mission began weeks earlier at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

In the days leading to launch, Peterson worked with the team running full systems checks, staging communications gear, and preparing drones and fixed‑wing camera assets. He helped configure and operate the systems that ensured live video flowed from the launch pad, the crowds, and surrounding air and ground platforms.

On April 1, the launch day of Artemis II, the team unloaded and set up high‑resolution sensors, connection terminals, routers, monitors, fiber lines, and drone equipment. They flew drones to capture crowd scenes and aerial views before liftoff.

As the SLS rocket launched, Peterson’s full attention was on positioning the drone and maintaining the shot.

“There is not much time to step back and take in the moment, as you are concentrating on precision,” said Peterson.

As the mission got underway, Peterson and the team packed up, returned to the facility, and downloaded the day’s footage.

The Artemis II crew were more than halfway to the Moon as Peterson arrived in San Diego on April 4. In the days leading to splashdown, the team loaded and installed high‑fidelity cameras and supporting equipment, all to help the world witness a historic milestone when the Artemis II crew returned to Earth on April 10.

Next up will be Artemis III. NASA will launch four astronauts from NASA Kennedy aboard the Orion spacecraft on the SLS rocket. Building on the successful Artemis II crewed test flight in April, Artemis III will pave the way for future surface missions, with experts like Peterson helping every step of the way.

Listen to this audio excerpt from Elkin Norena, resident management officer, NASA’s Space Launch System Program:

NASA’s Elkin Norena has helped the agency launch more than a dozen space shuttle missions – that’s more than a dozen crews to low Earth orbit and more than a dozen historic missions. They were missions that helped build the International Space Station, that provided a final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, and that performed critical science experiments that improved life right here on Earth.

Today, he continues that work as the manager of the Resident Management Office for SLS at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, helping launch America’s rocket – the SLS (Space Launch System) – and the Orion spacecraft with its international quartet of astronauts  on the Artemis II mission to fly by the Moon and return home.

As resident manager, Norena provides onsite SLS support for NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems team that is responsible for preparing, stacking, testing, and launching SLS and Orion. He is also the eyes and ears for the SLS Program, providing an avenue of communications back to the program, which is managed at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

It is the continuation of a childhood dream to be part of space exploration.

“When I was a kid in New Jersey, I watched a space shuttle launch in class one day,” said Norena. “When I watched the power of launch and the brave astronauts going to explore, I knew I had to be a part of that one day. I wanted to become an astronaut.”

The dream to join the space program led the Colombia native to the University of Central Florida in Orlando, where he majored in computer engineering, just miles from the Space Coast and in view of space shuttle launches like the ones he once watched on TV.

Following college, he joined NASA contractor United Space Alliance at NASA Kennedy, and in 2008 he joined the NASA Kennedy team as a civil servant, working on the same spacecraft that inspired him to pursue the space program as a child.

“I started off in the Space Shuttle Program as an electrical engineer. Then I moved into the firing room for 17 different shuttle missions as a flight termination engineer. It was exciting to be part of all those missions and build the International Space Station,” Norena said.

Using those experiences, he became one of the original SLS team members. He was a part of the teams that successfully launched Artemis I and II and is now critical to the upcoming Artemis III mission.

Away from the launch pad, Norena’s hobbies orbit around his teenage daughters, participating in their activities. He also keeps a keen eye on space and is an avid astrophotographer.

“I love capturing the Milky Way! I’ve traveled to Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and all across the western United States,” he said. “A great spot that’s closer for me is Dry Tortugas National Park beyond Key West.”

No matter how he explores space, Norena believes Artemis II is more than just a mission.

“This is historic. I grew up watching the shuttle missions, learning about Apollo, and wanting to be part of those Moon missions. We built the space station. The space shuttle explored space and technology on many levels,” he said. “Now, it’s our turn with Artemis to get back to the Moon, and this time to stay there. I’m excited to be part of the generation that does that.”

The post I Am Artemis: Elkin Norena appeared first on NASA Science.

Listen to this audio excerpt from Elkin Norena, resident management officer, NASA’s Space Launch System Program:

NASA’s Elkin Norena has helped the agency launch more than a dozen space shuttle missions – that’s more than a dozen crews to low Earth orbit and more than a dozen historic missions. They were missions that helped build the International Space Station, that provided a final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, and that performed critical science experiments that improved life right here on Earth.

Today, he continues that work as the manager of the Resident Management Office for SLS at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, helping launch America’s rocket – the SLS (Space Launch System) – and the Orion spacecraft with its international quartet of astronauts  on the Artemis II mission to fly by the Moon and return home.

As resident manager, Norena provides onsite SLS support for NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems team that is responsible for preparing, stacking, testing, and launching SLS and Orion. He is also the eyes and ears for the SLS Program, providing an avenue of communications back to the program, which is managed at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

It is the continuation of a childhood dream to be part of space exploration.

“When I was a kid in New Jersey, I watched a space shuttle launch in class one day,” said Norena. “When I watched the power of launch and the brave astronauts going to explore, I knew I had to be a part of that one day. I wanted to become an astronaut.”

The dream to join the space program led the Colombia native to the University of Central Florida in Orlando, where he majored in computer engineering, just miles from the Space Coast and in view of space shuttle launches like the ones he once watched on TV.

Following college, he joined NASA contractor United Space Alliance at NASA Kennedy, and in 2008 he joined the NASA Kennedy team as a civil servant, working on the same spacecraft that inspired him to pursue the space program as a child.

“I started off in the Space Shuttle Program as an electrical engineer. Then I moved into the firing room for 17 different shuttle missions as a flight termination engineer. It was exciting to be part of all those missions and build the International Space Station,” Norena said.

Using those experiences, he became one of the original SLS team members. He was a part of the teams that successfully launched Artemis I and II and is now critical to the upcoming Artemis III mission.

Away from the launch pad, Norena’s hobbies orbit around his teenage daughters, participating in their activities. He also keeps a keen eye on space and is an avid astrophotographer.

“I love capturing the Milky Way! I’ve traveled to Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and all across the western United States,” he said. “A great spot that’s closer for me is Dry Tortugas National Park beyond Key West.”

No matter how he explores space, Norena believes Artemis II is more than just a mission.

“This is historic. I grew up watching the shuttle missions, learning about Apollo, and wanting to be part of those Moon missions. We built the space station. The space shuttle explored space and technology on many levels,” he said. “Now, it’s our turn with Artemis to get back to the Moon, and this time to stay there. I’m excited to be part of the generation that does that.”