NASA Texas

NASA Brings Drone and Space Rover to Air Show

October 31, 2024

    

A view of the front of a bustling event tent outfitted with NASA flags and insignia. The tent is centered in the photo and sits atop a concrete airfield, where many people are walking in and out of the tent. A grey-white overcast sky is behind and above the tent.
About 20,000 guests visited NASA’s tent at the Miramar Air Show in San Diego, California, Sept. 27-29, 2024.
NASA

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In September, the three NASA centers in California came together to share aerospace innovations with thousands of guests at the Miramar Air Show in San Diego, California. Agency experts talked about the exciting work NASA does while exploring the secrets of the universe for the benefit of all.

Under a large tent near the airfield, guests perused exhibits from different centers and projects, like a model of the Innovator rover or the Alta-X drone, from Sept. 27 through 29. Agency employees from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California; Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California; and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California guided guests through tours and presentations and shared messages about NASA missions.

“The airshow is about the people just as much as it is about the aircraft and technology,” said Derek Abramson, chief engineer for the Subscale Flight Research Laboratory at NASA Armstrong. “I met many new people, worked with an amazing team, and developed a comradery with other NASA centers, talking about what we do here as a cohesive organization.”

A man stands beside a table featuring a drone exhibit. He seems to be in the middle of explaining the drone to an unseen guest, using his hands to gesture toward the drone. He is wearing a navy polo with a NASA meatball on the chest and sunglasses. Behind him is a partially visible science instrument featured on top of a neighboring exhibit table. Behind him and the tables is a large poster of NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility program.
Experts like flight controls engineer Felipe Valdez shared the NASA mission with air show guests, and explained the novelty of airborne instruments like the Alta-X drone at the Miramar Air Show in San Diego, California, Sept. 27-29, 2024.
NASA

On Sept. 29, pilots from Armstrong joined the event to take photos with guests and answer questions from curious or enthusiastic patrons. One airshow guest had a special moment with NASA pilot Jim Less.

“One of my favorite moments was connecting with a young man in his late teens who stopped by the exhibit tent numerous times, all in hopes of being able to meet Jim Less, our X-59 pilot,” said Kevin Rohrer, chief of Communications at NASA Armstrong. “It culminated with a great conversation with the two and Jim [Less] autographing a model of the X-59 aircraft the young man had been carrying around.”

“I look forward to this tradition continuing, if not at this venue, at some other event in California,” Rohrer continued. “We have a lot of minds hungry and passionate to learn more about all of NASA missions.”

The Miramar Air Show is an annual event that happens at the Miramar Air Base in San Diego, California.

A woman smiles at the camera as she hands a guest and child a flier from behind a NASA table. The guest receiving the flier smiles back at her and a small child in a straw hat stands beside him. Next to the woman is a man smiling at guests behind the patron at the table. The NASA meatball sign is visible on the man’s tee shirt, the woman’s sleeve, and the tablecloth. Behind them, posters of airborne NASA missions are partially visible.
Professionals like Leticha Hawkinson, center right, and Haig Arakelian, center left, shared learning and career opportunities for NASA enthusiasts visiting the Miramar Air Show in San Diego, California, Sept. 27-29, 2024.
NASA