Bringing Change to our Largest Social Network
Last spring, my former supervisor at NASA, Beth Beck, pointed me to a new scholarship competition that GovLoop (a social media network for government employees) was running. For my entry, I wrote an essay on my aspirations to break down the barriers in government through the use of technology and social networking. As it turns out, my essay has been selected as a finalist and is now up for voting. I’ve cross-posted it below. If you like it, please go over to GovLoop, check out some of the other finalists, and vote – I’d love your support!
Far too often, it seems that Americans have the perception of their government being a monolithic block, incapable of progress, change, or efficient functionality. While this may be true in some cases, it’s not something that should be allowed to continue. American government lacks the trust of its citizens, and the goal of getting it back should be our top priority.
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An overview of NASA’s Desert Research and Technology Studies
If you haven’t heard about NASA’s Desert Research and Technology Studies (Desert RATS, for short), I encourage you to follow along over the next few weeks as astronauts, scientists and engineers meet in the Arizona desert to demonstrate the latest in NASA technology development research and plan for future missions to the surface of the Moon, Mars and other rocky bodies. Desert RATS began in 1998, and today is one of the many cool things NASA is doing. This year, four crew members will live in two rovers from Aug. 31 through Sept. 15 to demonstrate the use of a number of interesting technologies, including:
- Space Exploration Vehicles (PDF) – a pair of rovers that astronauts will live in for 7 days at a time
- Habitat Demonstration Unit/Pressurized Excursion Module (PDF) – a simulated habitat where the rovers can dock to allow the crew room to perform experiments or deal with medical issues. The Habitat Development Unit will be used to evaluate the geosciences laboratory in conjunction with the sample collections and to assess the spacesuit maintenance area inside. This team will also focus on procedures for keeping out the dust, the effects on the overall integrated communications and data system and how easy the habitat is for people to use.
- Tri-ATHLETEs, or -Terrain Hex-Legged Extra-Terrestrial Explorer (PDF) – two heavy-lift rover platforms that allow the habitat, or other large items, to go where the action is portable communications terminals. The ATHLETE System, which consists of a pair of Tri-ATHLETE rovers, will be remotely controlled both in Arizona and from Houston to demonstrate long-traverse operations during lunar time delays and portable local operations from the personnel in Arizona.
- Centaur 2 (PDF) – a possible four-wheeled transportation method for NASA Robonaut 2
- Portable Utility Pallets, or PUPs for short – mobile charging stations for equipment
- Navigation systems to help guide spacewalkers and both solar and wind-powered equipment, will be demonstrated and tested.
- And a suite of new geology sample collection tools, including a self-contained GeoLab glove box for conducting in-field analysis of various collected rock samples.
Search for LAUNCH:Health Innovators
We’ve been super busy planning our next LAUNCH sustainability forum. The topic for our second forum is “sustaining human life.” LAUNCH is our incubator program that searches for visionaries, whose world-class ideas, technologies or programs show great promise for making tangible impacts on society. At each LAUNCH forum, ten innovators and 40 thought leaders come together to address these sustainability challenges.
Often health isn’t considered a sustainability challenge, but think about it. What good is sustaining air quality, clean water supplies, and renewable energy sources if humans aren’t here to enjoy it? What happens if we’re not around to tell the story of humanity? Read more
Vote for SxSW Space Panels!
To build on Beth Beck’s earlier post (Space Buzz: The New High), we really need your help to represent space exploration at this year’s South by Southwest festival in Austin! Last year, the Moon 2.0 panel at the SxSW was very successful and we really want to keep the momentum going! A number of space superstars have submitted some really interesting panels for the 2011 SxSW festival. This year, of the 2346 proposed panels, 4 are space related. We’re hoping all four are selected, but even one would be awesome.
We need your help! SXSW is a community-driven event and voting accounts for 30% of the decision-making process for any given programming slot. Of the 2346 proposed panels, only about 80 get selected. The more votes we submit for the space panels, the more likely they will be included in the final SxSW program. Voting ends 11:59 CDT on Friday, August 27, so please vote today!
Space Buzz: The New High!
The 18th annual SXSW Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas will be held on March 11-15, 2011. They bill the event as “five days of compelling presentations from the brightest minds in emerging technology, scores of exciting networking events hosted by industry leaders.” Potential presenters submit panel session proposals, which are sifted and selected for voting.
I’ve never been to SXSW, but I’ve wanted to go for years. Now is the time, I hope — with your help.
Sharing Space
I know that much of the success I’ve enjoyed in my life and my career is because of the support and encouragement I’ve received along the way. That’s why I think it’s important to share my passion for space with kids and show them what they can accomplish if they are willing to work for it.
Over the past week, I’ve had the opportunity and privilege to volunteer with both the United Space School and the International Space Settlement Design Competition. Both programs bring students from around the world here to Houston to participate in exercises geared towards the design of future ventures in space.
Faith and Personal Responsibility
In the past, NASA has been a great source of inspiration, innovation and technological advancement. Even today, NASA embodies those ideals. Over the past few months there has been debate about the path that NASA will take. The debate has been a source of great divide in the NASA community and has motivated many at NASA to hail the end of America’s leadership in space. Recently, the Senate came up with a compromise between the Constellation Program and the Obama Plan which hopefully will end the debate and allow NASA to move forward.
The point of this blog isn’t to talk about the debate in Congress, the point is that regardless of the decisions that are made by the politicians of this country, we will not propel space exploration forward unless we believe that we will end up victorious. Mohandas Gandhi once said that “a small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history”. Well I am here to tell you that this paradigm can have both positive and negative impacts. We are at a cross road in NASA’s history, and where NASA goes from here will not be decided by Congress, but by the dedicated men and women that work at NASA. If we believe that the end of America’s leadership in space is over, then no amount of money will help us keep that leadership.
The New Moon– absolutely still in the picture
The New Moon: That was the title of Andy Chaikin’s public talk this week at the 3rd annual Lunar Science Forum, held at NASA Ames Research Center and hosted by the NASA Lunar Science Institute (NLSI). He claims the title was not inspired by recent pop culture… phenomenon… but that is besides the point.
Some say NASA is abandoning the Moon. The future of manned spaceflight is unclear right now, and many are experiencing losses of jobs, but I want to look at something else: Who cares about the beauty of real scientific exploration? Judging by participation in the Lunar Science Forum this year, I would say a lot of people. Is the Moon ‘dead’? A resounding NO, judging from the highest attendance yet for the meeting, the amazing science results, and the many young faces of the Next Generation of Lunar Scientists and Engineers interested in the Moon. They are not going anywhere, and that message is loud and clear!
The Senate NASA compromise may be our best chance
As an engineer, my first reaction upon reading the proposed Senate authorization bill for NASA was incredulity. I remain unconvinced of the technical need for a heavy lift rocket and was appalled to see space technology research and development, which I think is essential for developing a true in-space infrastructure, slashed in funding.
I had the opportunity yesterday, though, to sit down with some friends who have a little more insight into what’s really been going on up in DC. Plain and simple, Senators Hutchison and Nelson quietly formed an alliance in the Senate and even more quietly pre-coordinated with the White House to come up with something that everyone can live with.
Exploring Mars from Home
Cross-posted from the original on my NASA.gov blog
Under President Obama’s Open Government Initiative, NASA is exploring new ways to share with the public the exciting science we take part in every day. NASA has a long history of sharing its discoveries with the public, but figuring out how to present it in a way that is both easy to understand and simple to use frequently poses a challenge. By partnering with private industry, NASA has the opportunity to take advantage of existing technology innovations that can deliver science data in a format that is more publically consumable.
