{"id":190442,"date":"2025-03-25T06:37:16","date_gmt":"2025-03-24T20:37:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?p=839348"},"modified":"2025-03-25T06:37:16","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T20:37:16","slug":"engineering-reality-lee-bingham-leads-lunar-surface-simulation-support-for-artemis-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=190442","title":{"rendered":"Engineering Reality: Lee Bingham Leads Lunar Surface Simulation Support for Artemis Campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you design a new tool for use on Earth, it is easy to test and practice using that tool in its intended environment. But what if that tool is destined for lunar orbit or will be used by astronauts on the surface of the Moon?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s Simulation and Graphics Branch can help with that. Based at Johnson Space Center in Houston, the branch\u2019s high-fidelity, real-time graphical simulations support in-depth engineering analyses and crew training, ensuring the safety, efficiency, and success of complex space endeavors before execution. The team manages multiple facilities that provide these simulations, including the Prototype Immersive Technologies<\/a> (PIT) Lab, Virtual Reality Training Lab<\/a>, and the Systems Engineering Simulator<\/a> (SES). <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Lee Bingham is an aerospace engineer on the simulation and graphics team. His work includes developing simulations and visualizations for the NASA Exploration Systems Simulations<\/a> team and providing technical guidance on simulation and graphics integration for branch-managed facilities. He also leads the branch\u2019s human-in-the-loop Test Sim and Graphics Team, the Digital Lunar Exploration Sites Unreal Simulation Tool (DUST), and the Lunar Surface Mixed-Reality with the Active Response Gravity Offload System (ARGOS) projects.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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\"NASA<\/a><\/figure>
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Lee Bingham demonstrates a spacewalk simulator for the Gateway lunar space station during NASA\u2019s Tech Day on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Image courtesy of Lee Bingham<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Bingham is particularly proud of his contributions to DUST, which provides a 3D visualization of the Moon\u2019s South Pole and received Johnson\u2019s Exceptional Software of the Year Award in 2024. \u201cIt was designed for use as an early reference to enable candidate vendors to perform initial studies of the lunar terrain and lighting in support of the Strategy and Architecture Office, human landing system, and the Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program,\u201d Bingham explained. DUST has supported several human-in-the-loop studies for NASA. It has also been shared with external collaborators and made available to the public through the NASA Software Catalog.  <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Bingham has kept busy during his nearly nine years at Johnson and said learning to manage and balance support for multiple projects and customers was very challenging at first. \u201cI would say \u2018yes\u2019 to pretty much anything anyone asked me to do and would end up burning myself out by working extra-long hours to meet milestones and deliverables,\u201d he said. \u201cIt has been important to maintain a good work-life balance and avoid overcommitting myself while meeting demanding expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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\"A<\/a><\/figure>
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Lee Bingham tests the Lunar Surface Mixed Reality and Active Response Gravity Offload System trainer at Johnson Space Center. Image courtesy of Lee Bingham<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Bingham has also learned the importance of teamwork and collaboration. \u201cYou can\u2019t be an expert at everything or do everything yourself,\u201d he said. \u201cDevelop your skills, practice them regularly, and master them over time but be willing to ask for help and advice. And be sure to recognize and acknowledge your coworkers and teammates when they go above and beyond or achieve something remarkable.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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\"NASA<\/a><\/figure>
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Lee Bingham (left) demonstrates a lunar rover simulator for Apollo 16 Lunar Module Pilot Charlie Duke. Image courtesy of Lee Bingham<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

He hopes that the Artemis Generation will be motivated to tackle difficult challenges and further NASA\u2019s mission to benefit humanity. \u201cBe sure to learn from those who came before you, but be bold and unafraid to innovate,\u201d he advised.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you design a new tool for use on Earth, it is easy to test and practice using that tool in its intended environment. But what if that tool is destined for lunar orbit or will be used by astronauts on the surface of the Moon? NASA\u2019s Simulation and Graphics Branch can help with that. [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":1,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15606,15634,15662],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-190442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","category-johnson-space-center","category-people-of-johnson"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=190442"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190442\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":190808,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190442\/revisions\/190808"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=190442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=190442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=190442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}