Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate

The Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) is one of five main groups inside NASA. It focuses on studying how to make airplanes and other aircraft better and safer. This work helps people who fly planes for business, the military, and everyday flying. Robert A. Pearce has been in charge of ARMD since 2019.

ARMD helps create a newer, smarter way for airplanes to move around called the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). In 2014, a check by the NASA Office of Inspector General said that ARMD listens to ideas from companies, schools, and other government groups to decide what to study next. This helps make sure the work matches what the country wants for flying.

ARMD does its research at four special places: Ames Research Center and Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, Glenn Research Center in Ohio, and Langley Research Center in Virginia. These centers are where scientists and engineers test new ideas to improve flying.

Funding

NASA's aeronautics budget has changed over the years. In 2000, it was over $1 billion, but by 2010, it had dropped to $570 million. This reduction affected many flight research projects and made it harder to develop new technologies.

In 2011, most of the budget was used for basic research, with smaller parts going to bigger system research and maintaining facilities. Different NASA centers received various amounts of this budget.

For the year 2019, the budget for aeronautics research was planned to be $634 million. This included money for special projects like a supersonic demonstrator to reduce sonic booms and research on electric aircraft. Other funds were set aside for advanced airplane concepts and safety programs for future air travel.

Programs

The ARMD manages four main programs to improve aviation. These include the Advanced Air Vehicles Program, which looks into better airplane designs and materials. Another program focuses on making airspace safer and more efficient. There is also a program for integrating new technologies and unmanned aircraft into our skies. The last program creates new ideas and tools for future aviation.

One special project involved designing a new type of airplane wing that is more efficient and flexible. This wing was built by a team from NASA, a university, and an airplane company. Tests on this wing began in 2018 to check how well it can handle different forces while flying.