Nicholas Houghton: Engineering Crew Safety for NASA’s Artemis Missions

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Nicholas Houghton: Engineering Crew Safety for NASA’s Artemis Missions

Nicholas Houghton, right, supports crew suit-up operations during Underway Recovery Training 12, an end-to-end practice recovery run conducted at sea to prepare for Artemis II.

Nicholas Houghton always dreamed of working at NASA and one day becoming an astronaut. Today, he helps design systems that keep crews safe during missions aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft, including the successful Artemis II mission around the Moon.

A man poses and smiles wearing an orange spacesuit.

Nicholas Houghton in NASA’s Orion Crew Survival System Spacesuit.

I hope someday people look back at Artemis and marvel at the technological achievement and collective dedication that it took to carry out these missions, just like we do now for Apollo.

Nicholas Houghton

Orion Crew Survival Systems Engineer

After joining NASA as a Pathways intern, Houghton later became a full-time engineer on the Orion Crew Survival Systems (OCSS) team at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The OCSS team designs and certifies the orange pressure suits that were worn by astronauts inside Orion during Artemis II, along with the survival hardware integrated into each suit system.

Houghton manages key pieces of flight hardware that keep crew members safe during contingency scenarios before launch, in flight, and after landing, including the Orion Crew Survival Kits, Suit-Worn Survival Suite, and Life Preserver Units. He guides each system from design through testing and final certification to ensure it performs as required in flight.

Four people pose in a laboratory setting. They are all wearing

Nicholas Houghton, left, and two other suited subjects participate in Human Vacuum Chamber Testing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center to help certify Orion’s environmental control and life support system (ECLSS) for Artemis II. The test lasts about 12 hours while fully suited.

Like many complex engineering efforts at NASA, the work relies on close collaboration across disciplines. Houghton works alongside experts in electromagnetic interference, radiation, stress and loads, and materials to evaluate and refine each system. He also helps lead development of water survival and post-landing hardware, writing manufacturing and assembly procedures and troubleshooting issues during integration and testing.

Nicholas Houghton gives U.S. Navy medical personnel space suit training aboard amphibious transport dock USS Somerset (LPD 25) during NASA Underway Recovery Test 12 in the Pacific Ocean, March 26, 2025.

Beyond hardware development, Houghton prepares astronauts and recovery teams for real-world operations. He supports suit-up activities, helps train Department of Defense recovery forces, and participates in Underway Recovery Training alongside the U.S. Navy to rehearse post-splashdown operations.

Ground testing plays a critical role in that preparation. During these tests, systems are pushed to their limits to uncover potential issues before flight.

I have had my hardware fail during ground testing. It takes teamwork, quick thinking, technical understanding, and a willingness to dig into every detail to solve these kinds of problems.

Nicholas Houghton

Orion Crew Survival Systems Engineer

Nicholas Houghton, right, supports crew suit-up operations during Underway Recovery Training 12, an end-to-end practice recovery run conducted at sea to prepare for Artemis II.

Outside of his NASA career, Houghton gives back by volunteering as a firefighter and emergency medical technician. “Serving my community is something that I have always been passionate about,” he said. “I am thankful to have the opportunity to support those around me.”