NASA Ames Stars of the Month: November 2026

The NASA Ames Science Directorate recognizes the outstanding contributions of (pictured left to right) Alyssa Villanueva, Steve Howell, and Samuel LeBlanc. Their commitment to the NASA mission represents the entrepreneurial spirit, technical expertise, and collaborative disposition needed to explore this world and beyond. Space Biosciences Star: Alyssa Villanueva Alyssa Villaneuva is an engineer at Blue Marble in the Space Biosciences Division on the LEIA (Lunar Explorer Instrument for space biology Applications) team. Alyssa is recognized for technical excellence, dedication and boundless support to the rest of the team. She goes above and beyond in contributing to LEIA every day and has been essential in all the test efforts, in particular with preparation and execution of engineering validation testing. Astrophysics Star: Steve Howell Steve Howell is recognized for his leadership of scientific teams for numerous international space missions. His pioneering work in astronomical instrumentation have significantly advanced both space- and ground-based telescope imaging.