Worm Hole transportation

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Worm Hole transportation
Just when you thought it was confusing enough, those physicist had to come up with wormholes. Here’s the premise behind a "wormhole." [graphic] Although Special Relativity forbids objects to move faster than light within spacetime, it is known that spacetime itself can be warped and distorted. It takes an enormous amount of matter or energy to create such distortions, but distortions are possible, theoretically. To use an analogy: even if there were a speed limit to how fast a pencil could move across a piece of paper, the motion or changes to the paper is a separate issue. In the case of the wormhole, a shortcut is made by warping space (folding the paper) to connect two points that used to be separated. These theories are too new to have either been discounted or proven viable. And, yes, wormholes do invite the old time travel paradox problems again.
Here’s one way to build one:
First, collect a whole bunch of super-dense matter, such as matter from a neutron star. How much?- well enough to construct a ring the size of the Earth’s orbit around the Sun. Then build another ring where you want the other end of your wormhole. Next, just charge ‘em up to some incredible voltage, and spin them up to near the speed of light -- both of them.
No problem? Well if you could do all that, and notice you already had to be where you wanted to go to, I’m sure you could think of more clever ways to travel. Don’t expect any wormhole engineering any time soon. There are other ideas out there too - ideas that use "negative energy" to create and to keep the wormhole open.

Here’s what a naturally occurring wormhole might look like if it passed in front of another star. This painting is from Pat Rawlings.

Alcubierre’s "Warp Drive"
Here’s the premise behind the Alcubierre "warp drive": Although Special Relativity forbids objects to move faster than light within spacetime, it is unknown how fast spacetime itself can move. To use an analogy, imagine you are on one of those moving sidewalks that can be found in some airports. The Alcubierre warp drive is like one of those moving sidewalks. Although there may be a limit to how fast one can walk across the floor (analogous to the light speed limit), what about if you are on a moving section of floor that moves faster than you can walk (analogous to a moving section of spacetime)? In the case of the Alcubierre warp drive, this moving section of spacetime is created by expanding spacetime behind the ship (analogous to where the sidewalk emerges from underneath the floor), and by contracting spacetime in front of the ship (analogous to where the sidewalk goes back into the floor). The idea of expanding spacetime is not new. Using the "Inflationary Universe" perspective, for example, it is thought that spacetime expanded faster than the speed of light during the early moments of the Big Bang. So if spacetime can expand faster than the speed of light during the Big Bang, why not for our warp drive? These theories are too new to have either been discounted or proven viable.
Any other sticky issues?
Yes... First, to create this effect, you’ll need a ring of negative energy wrapped around the ship, and lots of it too. It is still debated in physics whether negative energy can exist. Classical physics tends toward a "no," while quantum physics leans to a "maybe, yes." Second, you’ll need a way to control this effect to turn it on and off at will. This will be especially tricky since this warp effect is a separate effect from the ship. Third, all this assumes that this whole "warp" would indeed move faster than the speed of light. This is a big unknown. And fourth, if all the previous issues weren’t tough enough, these concepts evoke the same time-travel paradoxes as the wormhole concepts.
[Our gratitude to Michael Pfenning for pointing out an error in our older explanation of the Alcubierre warp drive.]

Negative mass propulsion
It has been shown that is theoretically possible to create a continuously propulsive effect by the juxtaposition of negative and positive mass and that such a scheme does not violate conservation of momentum or energy. A crucial assumption to the success of this concept is that negative mass has negative inertia. Their combined interactions result in a sustained acceleration of both masses in the same direction. This concept dates back to at least 1957 with an analysis of the properties of hypothetical negative mass by Bondi, and has been revisited in the context of propulsion by Winterberg and Forward in the 1980’s.
Regarding the physics of negative mass, it is not known whether negative mass exists or if it is even theoretically allowed, but methods have been suggested to search for evidence of negative mass in the context of searching for astronomical evidence of wormholes.

Millis’s hypothetical "Space Drives"
A "space drive" can be defined as an idealized form of propulsion where the fundamental properties of matter and spacetime are used to create propulsive forces anywhere in space without having to carry and expel a reaction mass. Such an achievement would revolutionize space travel as it would circumvent the need for propellant. A variety of hypothetical space drives were created and analyzed by Millis to identify the specific problems that have to be solved to make such schemes plausible. These hypothetical drives are just briefly introduced here. Please note that these concepts are purely hypothetical constructs aimed to illustrate the remaining challenges. Before any of these space drives can become reality, a method must be discovered where a vehicle can create and control an external asymmetric force on itself without expelling a reaction mass and the method must satisfy conservation laws in the process.
[Note: This section is excerpted from Millis' "Challenge to Create the Space Drive," in the AIAA Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol.13, No.5, pp. 577-582, Sept.-Oct. 1997. This 6 page report uses 7 hypothetical space drive concepts to highlight the unsolved physics and candidate next steps toward creating a propellantless space drive. It also contains figures for each concept which are not currently available electronically.]
Hypothetical Differential Sail: Analogous to the principles of an ideal radiometer vane, a net difference in radiation pressure exists across the reflecting and absorbing sides. It is assumed that space contains a background of some form of isotropic medium (like the vacuum fluctuations or Cosmic Background Radiation) that is constantly impinging on all sides of the sail.
Hypothetical Diode Sail: Analogous to a diode or one-way mirror, space radiation passes through one direction and reflects from the other creating a net difference in radiation pressure.
Hypothetical Induction Sail: Analogous to creating a pressure gradient in a fluid, the energy density of the impinging space radiation is raised behind the sail and lowered in front to create a net difference in radiation pressure across the sail.
Hypothetical Diametric Drive: This concept considers the possibility of creating a local gradient in a background scalar property of space (such as gravitational potential) by the juxtaposition of diametrically opposed field sources across the vehicle. This is directly analogous to negative mass propulsion. The diametric drive can also be considered analogous to creating a pressure source/sink in a space medium as suggested with the Induction Sail.
Hypothetical Pitch Drive: This concept entertains the possibility that somehow a localized slope in scalar potential is induced across the vehicle which causes forces on the vehicle. In contrast to the diametric drive presented earlier, it is assumed that such a slope can be created without the presence of a pair of point sources. It is not yet known if and how such an effect can be created.
Hypothetical Bias Drive: This concept entertains the possibility that the vehicle alters the properties of space itself, such as the gravitational constant, G, to create a local propulsive gradient. By modifying Newton’s constant to have a localized asymmetric bias, a local gradient similar to the Pitch Drive mechanism results.
Hypothetical Disjunction Drive: This concept entertains the possibility that the source of a field and that which reacts to a field can be separated. By displacing them in space, the reactant is shifted to a point where the field has a slope, thus producing reaction forces between the source and the reactant. Although existing evidence strongly suggests that the source, reactant, and inertial mass properties are inseparable, any future evidence to the contrary would have revolutionary

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Houston, Texas 77058
Biographical Data

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John M. Grunsfeld (Ph.D.)
NASA ASTRONAUT (FORMER)

PERSONAL DATA: Born in Chicago, Illinois. Married to the former Carol E. Schiff. They have two children. John enjoys mountaineering, flying, sailing, bicycling and music. His father, Ernest A. Grunsfeld III, resides in Highland Park, Illinois. Carol's parents, David and Ruth Schiff, reside in Highland Park, Illinois.
EDUCATION: Graduated from Highland Park High School, Highland Park, Illinois, in 1976; received a bachelor of science degree in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1980; a master of science degree and a doctor of philosophy degree in physics from the University of Chicago in 1984 and 1988, respectively.
ORGANIZATIONS: American Astronomical Society, American Alpine Club, Explorers Club, Experimental Aircraft Association, Aircraft Owners and Pilot Association.
SPECIAL HONORS: W.D. Grainger Fellow in Experimental Physics, 1988 to 1989; NASA Graduate Student Research Fellow, 1985 to 1987; NASA Space Flight Medals (1995, 1997, 1999 and 2002); NASA Exceptional Service Medals (1997, 1998 and 2000); NASA Distinguished Service Medal (2002); Distinguished Alumni Award, University of Chicago; Alumni Service Award, University of Chicago; Komarov Diploma (1995); Korolov Diploma (1999 and 2002); NASA Constellation Award (2004); Society of Logistics Engineers and Space Logistics Medal (2006).
EXPERIENCE: Dr. Grunsfeld's academic positions include that of Visiting Scientist, University of Tokyo/Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (1980 to 1981); Graduate Research Assistant, University of Chicago (1981 to 1985); NASA Graduate Student Fellow, University of Chicago (1985 to 1987); W.D. Grainger Postdoctoral Fellow in Experimental Physics, University of Chicago (1988 to 1989) and Senior Research Fellow, California Institute of Technology (1989 to 1992). Dr. Grunsfeld's research has covered x-ray and gamma ray astronomy, high-energy cosmic ray studies and the development of new detectors and instrumentation. Dr. Grunsfeld studied binary pulsars and energetic x-ray and gamma ray sources using the NASA Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, x-ray astronomy satellites, radio telescopes and optical telescopes, including the NASA Hubble Space Telescope.
NASA EXPERIENCE: Dr. Grunsfeld was selected by NASA in March 1992 and reported to the Johnson Space Center in August 1992. He completed one year of training and is qualified for flight selection as a mission specialist. Dr. Grunsfeld was initially detailed to the Astronaut Office Mission Development Branch and was assigned as the lead for portable computers for use in space. Following his first flight, he led a team of engineers and computer programmers tasked with defining and producing the crew displays for command and control of the International Space Station (ISS). As part of this activity, he directed an effort combining the resources of the Mission Control Center (MCC) Display Team and the Space Station Training Facility. The result was the creation of the Common Display Development Facility (CDDF), which is responsible for the onboard and MCC displays for the ISS, using object-oriented programming techniques. Following his second flight, he was assigned as Chief of the Computer Support Branch in the Astronaut Office, supporting the Space Shuttle and International Space Station Programs and advanced technology development. Following STS-103, he served as Chief of the Extravehicular Activity Branch in the Astronaut Office. Following STS-109, Grunsfeld served as an instructor in the Extravehicular Activity Branch and Robotics Branch and worked on the exploration concepts and technologies for use beyond low Earth orbit in the Advanced Programs Branch. He also served as the NASA Chief Scientist detailed to NASA Headquarters from 2003 to 2004, where he helped develop the President's Vision for Space Exploration. A veteran of five spaceflights, STS-67 (1995), STS-81 (1997), STS-103 (1999) STS-109 (2002) and STS-125 (2009), Dr. Grunsfeld has logged more than 58 days in space, including 58 hours and 30 minutes of EVA in 8 spacewalks. Dr. Grunsfeld retired from NASA in December 2009 and served as Deputy Director, Space Telescope Science Institute, in Baltimore, Maryland. He returned to NASA in January 2012 to serve as the Associate Administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at the agency's headquarters in Washington.
SPACE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE: STS-67/Astro-2 Endeavour (March 2 to March 18, 1995) launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California. It was the second flight of the Astro observatory, a unique complement of three ultraviolet telescopes. During this record-setting 16-day mission, the crew conducted observations around the clock to study the far ultraviolet spectra of faint astronomical objects and the polarization of ultraviolet light coming from hot stars and distant galaxies. Mission duration was 399 hours and 9 minutes.
STS-81 Atlantis (January 12 to January 22, 1997) was a 10-day mission, the fifth to dock with Russia's Space Station Mir and the second to exchange U.S. astronauts. The mission also carried the Spacehab double module, providing additional middeck locker space for secondary experiments. In 5 days of docked operations, more than 3 tons of food, water, experiment equipment and samples were moved back and forth between the two spacecraft. Grunsfeld served as the flight engineer on this flight. Following 160 orbits of the Earth, the STS-81 mission concluded with a landing on Kennedy Space Center's Runway 33, ending a 3.9-million-mile journey. Mission duration was 244 hours and 56 minutes.
STS-103 Discovery (December 19 to December 27, 1999) was an 8-day mission, during which the crew successfully installed new gyroscopes and scientific instruments and upgraded systems on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Enhancing HST scientific capabilities required three spacewalks (EVAs). Grunsfeld performed two spacewalks, totaling 16 hours and 23 minutes. The STS-103 mission was accomplished in 120 Earth orbits, traveling 3.2 million miles in 191 hours and 11 minutes.
STS-109 Columbia (March 1 to March 12, 2002) was the fourth HST servicing mission. The crew of STS-109 successfully upgraded the HST, installing a new digital camera, a cooling system for the infrared camera, new solar arrays and a new power system. HST servicing and upgrades were accomplished by four crewmembers during a total of five EVAs in 5 consecutive days. As Payload Commander on STS-109, Grunsfeld was in charge of the spacewalking activities and the Hubble payload. He also performed three spacewalks totaling 21 hours and 9 minutes, including the installation of the new Power Control Unit. STS-109 orbited the Earth 165 times and covered 3.9 million miles in over 262 hours.
STS-125 Atlantis (May 11 to May 24, 2009) was the fifth and final Hubble servicing mission. After 19 years in orbit, the telescope received a major renovation that included the installation of a new wide-field camera, a new ultraviolet telescope, new batteries, a guidance sensor, gyroscopes and other repairs. Grunsfeld served as the lead spacewalker in charge of the spacewalking and Hubble activities. He performed three of the five spacewalks on this flight, totaling 20 hours and 58 minutes. For the first time while in orbit, two scientific instruments were surgically repaired in the telescope. The STS-125 mission was accomplished in 12 days, 21 hours, 37 minutes and 09 seconds, traveling 5,276,000 miles in 197 Earth orbits.
FEBRUARY 2012

Dragon Departure, Soyuz Arrival Cap Busy Week on Station

After a long week that saw the departure of a commercial cargo craft loaded with the results of numerous scientific investigations and the express arrival of three new crewmates aboard a Soyuz spacecraft, the International Space Station’s Expedition 35 crew took a well-deserved day off Friday to rest and recharge for the mission ahead.


This image is one of a series of still photos documenting the process to release the SpaceX Dragon-2 spacecraft from the International Space Station on March 26. Photo credit: NASA
Commander Chris Hadfield and Flight Engineers Tom Marshburn and Roman Romanenko began their week loading some final items, including a GLACIER freezer filled with experiments and biological samples, into the SpaceX Dragon cargo ship and closing the hatches.

After spending 23 days attached to the station, Dragon was unberthed from the Harmony node using the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm and released to begin its journey back home at 6:56 a.m. EDT Tuesday. Dragon then fired its engines for the last time to send it through the Earth’s atmosphere for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. A team of SpaceX engineers, technicians and divers worked on spacecraft recovery operations off the coast of Baja, Calif., for Dragon’s journey back to shore.



Marshburn also spent some time participating in the Energy experiment, which is aimed at measuring how much food is needed for astronauts during long-duration space missions. Following a strictly prescribed menu on Tuesday, Marshburn carefully logged his meals for the remainder of the week, provided urine samples for testing and completed four 45-80 minute sessions monitoring his oxygen intake through a mask.



On Wednesday, Hadfield installed some jumpers and collected power meter measurements on the ExPRESS Logistics Carrier that houses the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-02 (AMS-02). Previous tests indicated that the fiber optic transmit and receive lines were inverted, and Hadfield’s efforts should restore them to the proper configuration. AMS-02 is a state-of-the-art particle physics detector, collecting information from cosmic sources emanating from stars and galaxies millions of light years beyond the Milky Way.



Throughout the week, Hadfield and Marshburn also participated in the Reaction Self-Test, a short reaction time task that allows the crew to track the effects of fatigue on performance.

One of the Expedition 35 crew members aboard the Earth-orbiting International Space Station took this photo which was part of a series documenting the launch of the "other half" of the Expedition 35 crew. Photo credit: NASA
Three new Expedition 35 crew members are welcomed aboard the International Space Station early Friday, only seven hours, 52 minutes after their launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Photo credit: NASA TV On Thursday, the Soyuz TMA-08M carrying three new Expedition 35 flight engineers completed an unprecedented fast track to the station, going from the launch pad to the orbiting complex in less than six hours.

Russian cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov and Alexander Misurkin and NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 4:43 p.m. Thursday (2:43 a.m. Friday, Baikonur time) and docked to the station’s Poisk module at 10:28 p.m.


Vinogradov, Misurkin and Cassidy are the first station crew members to take this historic expedited route to the orbiting laboratory. The Soyuz reached the station after only four orbits instead of the usual two-day launch-to-docking mission profile. Russian space officials tested and perfected this rendezvous technique with the last three Progress cargo vehicles to visit the station.

After the hatches opened at 12:35 a.m. Friday, the trio was welcomed aboard the complex by Hadfield, Marshburn and Romanenko. All six crew members crew then participated in a welcome ceremony with family members and mission officials gathered at the Russian Mission Control Center in Star City near Moscow.


Over the weekend, the crew will have some off-duty time to relax, talk with friends and family back on Earth and perform routine station maintenance and housekeeping tasks.

Expedition 35 will operate with its full six-person crew complement until May when Hadfield, Marshburn and Romanenko return to Earth aboard their Soyuz TMA-07M spacecraft. Their departure will mark the beginning of Expedition 36 under the command of Vinogradov, who along with crewmates Cassidy and Misurkin will maintain the station as a three-person crew until the launch of three additional flight engineers in late May. Cassidy, Vinogradov and Misurkin are scheduled to return to Earth in September.

NASA Books Reveal Wisdom Gained from Failure

NASA Books Reveal Wisdom Gained from Failure

03.29.13

 

"Crash Course" chronicles the lessons learned from failures over the decades of remotely piloted or autonomous unmanned aircraft systems used by NASA, from Perseus to the X-36 and from subsonic to hypersonic speeds. Image credit: NASA

The Perseus-B remotely piloted aircraft, designed to fly at high altitudes, experienced several mishaps during the 1990s that provided valuable lessons to researchers. Image credit: NASA

"Breaking the Mishap Chain" focused on human factors involved in NASA aircraft or spacecraft failures. Image credit: NASA Preventing future aviation accidents is the motive behind two books published by NASA, one brand new and one that is a year old and has been so popular a second printing was ordered.

Both of the aviation safety-related books are available online at no cost as e-books, while printed versions of the book may be purchased from NASA's Information Center.

The new book is "Crash Course: Lessons Learned from Accidents Involving Remotely Piloted and Autonomous Aircraft."

The 183-page book reveals details of past accidents involving NASA and Air Force Remotely Piloted Research Vehicles such as the X-43A hypersonic test bed, Highly Maneuverable Aircraft Technology aircraft, Perseus and Theseus science platforms, Helios solar-powered flying wing and four others.

"Learning from past experience is fundamental to the development of safe and efficient new systems and to improving existing systems as well," said Peter Merlin, the book's author. "It's important to pass on this knowledge to future generations."

According to Merlin, while some factors affecting aircraft safety detailed in the book are unique to remotely piloted vehicles, most are common to all aircraft operations, especially where human factors are more to blame than the technology itself.

"Use of the term 'unmanned' to describe any sort of autonomous or remotely piloted aircraft is often misunderstood to mean that there is little or no human-systems integration involved. In fact, remotely piloted aircraft operations involve numerous people in every aspect of control, operation, and maintenance regardless of the vehicle¹s level of autonomy," Merlin said.

"Crash Course" is a companion to the highly popular NASA book "Breaking the Mishap Chain," which Merlin co-authored with Dr. Gregg Bendrick, NASA's chief medical officer at the Dryden Flight Research Center in California; and Dr. Dwight Holland, a principal partner in Human Factors Associates who has served as president of the International Association of Military Flight Surgeon Pilots and the Space Medicine Association.

Published in June 2012, "Breaking the Mishap Chain" offers nine examples from aviation and space history in which accidents were primarily caused by non-technical, human-related events.

For example, in 1967 an X-15 rocketplane crashed, killing the pilot, Mike Adams. In detailing the events surrounding the mishap, the authors explain how the pilot's history with spatial disorientation – what was generally called vertigo back then – and confusion about what one of his instruments was telling him contributed to the accident.

"Anybody involved in flying needs to learn the lessons of the past," Bendrick said.

“This book is unique because it integrates aerospace history, medicine, human factors, and system design issues in a compelling multi-level examination of some truly fascinating stories of aerospace exploration," Holland added.

"Breaking the Mishap Chain" has been so well received that NASA ordered an additional print run to help meet the demand for the book.

"We have had lots of nice comments, good reviews, and an overwhelmingly positive response to the book," Merlin said.

Publication of "Crash Course" and "Breaking the Mishap Chain" was sponsored and funded by the communications and education department of NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate.

The Class of 1978 and the FLATs

From left to right are Shannon W. Lucid, Margaret Rhea Seddon, Kathryn D. Sullivan, Judith A. Resnik, Anna L. Fisher, and Sally K. Ride. (NASA)

Jerrie Cobb poses next to a Mercury spaceship capsule. And, although she never flew in space, Cobb, along with 24 other women, underwent physical tests similar to those taken by the Mercury astronauts with the belief that she might become an astronaut trainee. (NASA)

Members of the FLATs, also known as the "Mercury 13," attend a shuttle launch in this photograph from 1995. Visiting the space center as invited guests of STS-63 pilot Eileen Collins, the first female shuttle pilot and later the first female shuttle commander, are (from left): Gene Nora Jessen, Wally Funk, Jerrie Cobb, Jerri Truhill, Sarah Rutley, Myrtle Cagle and Bernice Steadman. . (NASA)

Jerrie Cobb tests the gimbal rig at the Altitude Wind Tunnel. (NASA/Arden Wilfong)
The Astronaut Class of 1978, otherwise known as the “Thirty-Five New Guys,” was NASA’s first new group of astronauts since 1969. This class was notable for many reasons, including having the first African-American and first Asian-American astronauts. During Women’s History Month in March, NASA especially recognizes the class of 1978 as being the first to recruit women to its ranks: Sally Ride, Judith Resnik, Kathryn Sullivan, Anna Fisher, Margaret Rhea Seddon, and Shannon Lucid.

Of this original class, Sally Ride became the first American woman to fly in space in 1983 aboard STS-7; Judith Resnik earned the title of first Jewish-American in space on STS-41D; Kathryn Sullivan had the privilege of being the first American woman to walk in space on STS-41G; and Shannon Lucid became both the first mother to be selected as an astronaut candidate and the first American woman to fly to and work on a space station (Mir). Kathryn Sullivan and Sally Ride also earned the distinction of becoming the first two women to fly together on a mission when they flew on STS-41G in 1984.

Although they garnered much attention from the media and the public, Sullivan explained, “We didn’t want to become ‘the girl astronauts,’ distinct and separate from the guys. … All of us had been interested in places that were not highly female, and just wanted to succeed in the environment, at the tasks, and at all the other dimensions of the challenge.”

Even so, the six women sometimes faced humorous situations by being NASA “firsts.” Ride related one such story: “The engineers at NASA, in their infinite wisdom, decided that women astronauts would want makeup—so they designed a makeup kit. A makeup kit brought to you by NASA engineers. … You can just imagine the discussions amongst the predominantly male engineers about what should go in a makeup kit.”

In total, NASA’s first women astronauts logged a combined total of 7,287 hours in space. However, the Class of 1978 was not, in fact, the original class of American women astronauts. Although never a NASA program, a group of women had been chosen and tested by William Randolph Lovelace, the man who originally helped to develop the tests for NASA’s Mercury Program in the early 1960s. Since the women were never officially recognized as an astronaut training group by NASA at the time, Lovelace conducted the tests in his private clinic. The first of these selected personally by Lovelace, Geraldyn (Jerrie) Cobb, coined the term “FLAT” – Fellow Lady Astronaut Trainees. After Cobb, 12 other women were selected: Wally Funk, Irene Leverton, Myrtle “K” Cagle, Janey Hart, Gene Nora Stumbough, Jerri Sloan, Rhea Hurrle, Sarah Gorelick, Bernice “B” Trimble Steadman, Jan Dietrich, Marion Dietrich, and Jean Hixson.

The women all had to be under 35 years of age and in good health, hold a second class medical certificate, have a bachelor’s degree, hold an FAA commercial pilot rating or better, and have over 2,000 hours of flying time. The early phases of testing were extremely rigorous, since no human being had yet flown in space. For example, to test how quickly the women could recover from vertigo, ice water was shot into their ears. They were also, among other things, put on a tilt table to test their circulation and subjected to a four-hour eye exam.

Even though the women passed the tests with flying colors, FLAT testing ended abruptly after the Navy refused to grant Lovelace and his women trainees further access to the testing facilities at the Naval School of Aviation Medicine in Pensacola, Florida, citing the lack of an official NASA request as the reason. The FLATs fought this termination of their unofficial program, and their plight eventually became the subject of a special Subcommittee of the House Committee on Science and Astronautics in July 1962. This subcommittee was created after Cobb met with Representative George Miller of California, chair of the House Space Committee. Miller, unlike many before him, offered to help, and called for the creation of the subcommittee to investigate. Representative Victor Anfuso of New York acted as chairman for the subcommittee, but due in part to negative testimony from Congressmen and NASA officials, including George Low, Scott Carpenter, and John Glenn, no action resulted from the hearings. Though this was expected, the defection of early female aviator Jackie Cochran was not. Cochran was intimately involved with Lovelace’s training program for women from the beginning since much of the funding for the FLAT medical testing came from Cochran and her husband. In fact, her husband was chairman of the Lovelace Foundation’s board of trustees. It remains somewhat unclear as to why she decided to speak out against the program during the subcommittee hearing; however, there is some evidence to suggest that Cochran was displeased both with the media attention given specifically to Cobb and with Lovelace for ignoring her requests to be one of the test candidates due to her age and prior health conditions. Regardless of the outcome, the hearing was a monumental moment, as it marked an investigation about sex discrimination two years before the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

The FLATs were never granted the opportunity to fly in space. Until the Astronaut Class of 1978 was selected NASA insisted that all astronauts have military jet test pilot experience, thereby eliminating all women until that time. (The military test pilot requirement was originally established by President Eisenhower himself in December 1958.) Nevertheless, many of the FLATs have since been recognized throughout the years for helping to – eventually – pave the way for future women in America’s space program. Many years after having been shut out of the Mercury program, astronaut Eileen Collins invited the surviving women to her first launch in 1995. The FLATs have a special bond with Collins, who, with her 1995 flight, represented the fulfillment of their 30-year dream of seeing an American woman pilot astronaut.

As of this writing, there have been 71 female astronauts in the history of space exploration, hailing from all parts of the globe. Many have flown, and some still await their chance to fly. Women have not only flown on board as scientists and mission specialists, they have piloted and commanded America’s recently retired Space Shuttle fleet, as well. As Sally Ride once remarked at the beginning of the 21st century, “Now people don’t notice there are women going up on Space Shuttle flights. It’s happening all the time.” Women’s involvement as astronauts has continued to grow, as Susan Helms became the first woman aboard the International Space Station in 2001 and Peggy Whitson became its first female commander in 2007. Most recently, Sunita Williams commanded the Station during Expedition 33 in 2012. Both at NASA and internationally, women continue to reach for the stars, both literally and figuratively.

 

 

Michelle K. Dailey
Spring 2013 Intern
NASA History Office Program

 

NASA Policy on the Release of Information to News and Information Media

Scope.

This directive sets forth policy governing the release of public information, which is defined as information in any form provided to news and information media, especially information that has the potential to generate significant media, or public interest or inquiry. Examples include, but are not limited to, press releases, media advisories, news features, and web postings. Not included under this definition are scientific and technical reports, web postings designed for technical or scientific interchange, and technical information presented at professional meetings or in professional journals.

Applicability.

(a) This policy applies to NASA Headquarters, NASA Centers, and Component Facilities.

(b) In the event of any conflict between this policy and any other NASA policy, directive, or regulation, this policy shall govern and supersede any previous issuance or directive.

Principles.

(a) NASA, a scientific and technical agency, is committed to a culture of openness with the media and public that values the free exchange of ideas, data, and information as part of scientific and technical inquiry. Scientific and technical information from or about Agency programs and projects will be accurate and unfiltered.

(b) Consistent with NASA statutory responsibility, NASA will "provide for the widest practicable and appropriate dissemination of information concerning its activities and the results thereof." Release of public information concerning NASA activities and the results of NASA activities will be made promptly, factually, and completely.

(c) To ensure timely release of information, NASA will endeavor to ensure cooperation and coordination among the Agency's scientific, engineering, and public affairs communities.

(d) In keeping with the desire for a culture of openness, NASA employees may, consistent with this policy, speak to the press and the public about their work.

(e) This policy does not authorize or require disclosure of information that is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. § 552) or otherwise restricted by statute, regulation, Executive Order, or other Executive Branch policy or NASA policy (e.g., OMB Circulars, NASA Policy Directives). Examples of information not releasable under this policy include, without limitation, information that is, or is marked as, classified information, procurement sensitive information, information subject to the Privacy Act, other sensitive but unclassified information, and information subject to privilege, such as pre-decisional information or attorney-client communications.

Responsibilities.

(a) The Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs is responsible for developing and administering an integrated Agency-wide communications program, establishing Agency public affairs policies and priorities, and coordinating and reviewing the performance of all Agency public affairs activities. The Assistant Administrator will develop criteria to identify which news releases and other types of public information will be issued nationwide by NASA Headquarters. Decisions to release public information nationwide by NASA Headquarters will be made by the Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs or his/her designee.

(b) NASA's Mission Directorate Associate Administrators and Mission Support Office heads have ultimate responsibility for the technical, scientific, and programmatic accuracy of all information that is related to their respective programs and released by NASA.

(c) Under the direction of the Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs, public affairs officers assigned to Mission Directorates are responsible for the timely and efficient coordination of public information covering their respective programs. This coordination includes review by appropriate Mission Directorate officials. It also includes editing by public affairs staff to ensure that public information products are well written and appropriate for the intended audience. However, such editing shall not change scientific or technical data, or the meaning of programmatic content.

(d) Center Public Affairs Directors are responsible for implementing their portion of the Agency's communications program, adhering to Agency policies, procedures, and priorities, and coordinating their activities with Headquarters (and others where appropriate). They are responsible for the quality of public information prepared by Center public affairs officers. They also are responsible for the day-to-day production of public information covering their respective Center activities, which includes obtaining the necessary Center concurrences and coordinating, as necessary, with the appropriate Headquarters public affairs officers.

(e) Center Directors have ultimate responsibility for the accuracy of public information that does not require the concurrence of Headquarters. (See "Public information coordination and concurrence," section (d).)

(f) All NASA employees are required to coordinate, in a timely manner, with the appropriate public affairs officers prior to releasing information that has the potential to generate significant media, or public interest or inquiry.

(g) All NASA public affairs officers are required to notify the appropriate Headquarters public affairs officers in a timely manner about activities or events that have the potential to generate significant media or public interest or inquiry.

(h) All NASA public affairs employees are expected to adhere to the following code of conduct:

(1) Be honest and accurate in all communications.
(2) Honor publication embargoes.
(3) Respond promptly to media requests and respect media deadlines.
(4) Act promptly to correct mistakes or erroneous information, either internally or externally.
(5) Promote the free flow of scientific and technical information.
(6) Protect non-public information.

(i) All NASA employees are responsible for adhering to plans (including schedules) for activities established by public affairs offices and senior management for the coordinated release of public information.

(j) All NASA-funded missions will have a public affairs plan, approved by the Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs, which will be managed by Headquarters and/or a designated NASA Center.

(k) Public affairs activities for NASA-funded missions will not be managed by non-NASA institutions, unless authorized by the Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs.

(l) The requirements of this directive do not apply to the Office of Inspector General regarding its activities.

Public information coordination and concurrence.

(a) General. All NASA employees involved in preparing and issuing NASA public information are responsible for proper coordination among Headquarters, Center, and Mission Directorate offices to include review and clearance by appropriate officials prior to issuance. Such coordination will be accomplished through procedures developed and published by the NASA Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs.

(b) Coordination. To ensure timely release of public information, Headquarters and Center public affairs officers are required to coordinate to obtain review and clearance by appropriate officials, keep each other informed of changes, delays, or cancellation of releases, and provide advance notification of the actual release.

(c) All public information shall be coordinated through the appropriate Headquarters offices, including review by the appropriate Mission Directorate Associate Administrator and mission support office head, or their designees, to ensure scientific, technical, and programmatic accuracy, and review by the Assistant Administrator of Public Affairs or his/her designee to ensure that public information products are well written and appropriate for the intended audience.

(d) Centers may, however, without the full coordination of Headquarters, issue public information that is institutional in nature, of local interest, or has been deemed not to be a Headquarters release. (The Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs or his/her designee will determine which public information will be issued nationwide by NASA Headquarters.) These releases must be coordinated through the appropriate Center offices and approved by the Center Director and Center Public Affairs Director. The Center Public Affairs Director is required to provide proper notification to the NASA Office of Public Affairs, Headquarters, prior to release. (The Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs shall publish guidelines for the release of public information that may be issued by Centers without clearance from Headquarters' offices.)

(e) Dispute Resolution. Any dispute arising from a decision to proceed or not proceed with the issuance of a news release or other type of public information will be addressed and resolved by the Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs with the appropriate Mission Directorate Associate Administrator, mission support office head, Center Director, and others, such as Center Public Affairs Directors, as necessary. However, the appropriate Mission Directorate Associate Administrator shall be the arbiter of disputes about the accuracy or characterization of programmatic, technical, or scientific information. Additional appeals may be made to the Chief of Strategic Communications and to the Office of the Administrator. When requested by a Center Public Affairs Director, an explanation of the resolution will be provided in writing to all interested Agency parties.

Interviews.

(a) Only spokespersons designated by the Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs, or his/her designee, are authorized to speak for the Agency in an official capacity regarding NASA policy, programmatic, and budget issues.

(b) In response to media interview requests, NASA will offer articulate and knowledgeable spokespersons who can best serve the needs of the media and the American public. However, journalists may have access to the NASA officials they seek to interview, provided those NASA officials agree to be interviewed.

(c) NASA employees may speak to the media and the public about their work. When doing so, employees shall notify their immediate supervisor and coordinate with their public affairs office in advance of interviews whenever possible, or immediately thereafter, and are encouraged, to the maximum extent practicable, to have a public affairs officer present during interviews. If public affairs officers are present, their role will be to attest to the content of the interview, support the interviewee, and provide post-interview follow up with the media as necessary.

(d) NASA, as an Agency, does not take a position on any scientific conclusions. That is the role of the broad scientific community and the nature of the scientific process. NASA scientists may draw conclusions and may, consistent with this policy, communicate those conclusions to the media. However, NASA employees who present personal views outside their official area of expertise or responsibility must make clear that they are presenting their individual views – not the views of the Agency – and ask that they be sourced as such.

(e) Appropriated funds may only be used to support Agency missions and objectives consistent with legislative or presidential direction. Government funds shall not be used for media interviews or other communication activities that go beyond the scope of Agency responsibilities and/or an employee's official area of expertise or responsibility.

(f) Media interviews will be "on-the-record" and attributable to the person making the remarks, unless authorized to do otherwise by the Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs or Center Public Affairs Director, or their designees. Any NASA employee providing material to the press will identify himself/herself as the source.

(g) Audio recordings may be made by NASA with consent of the interviewee.

(h) NASA employees are not required to speak to the media.

(i) Public information volunteered by a NASA official will not be considered exclusive to any one media source and will be made available to other sources, if requested.

Preventing release of classified information to the media.

(a) Release of classified information in any form (e.g., documents, through interviews, audio/visual, etc.) to the news media is prohibited. The disclosure of classified information to unauthorized individuals may be cause for prosecution and/or disciplinary action against the NASA employee involved. Ignorance of NASA policy and procedures regarding classified information does not release a NASA employee from responsibility for preventing any unauthorized release. See NPR 1600.1, Chapter 5, Section 5.23 for internal NASA guidance on management of classified information. For further guidance that applies to all agencies, see Executive Order 12958, as amended, "Classified National Security Information" and its implementing directive at 32 CFR Parts 2001 and 2004.

(b) Any attempt by news media representatives to obtain classified information will be reported through the Headquarters Office of Public Affairs or Installation Public Affairs Office to the Installation Security Office and Office of Security and Program Protection.

(c) For classified operations and/or programs managed under the auspices of a DD Form 254, "Contract Security Classification Specification," all inquiries concerning this activity will be responded to by the appropriate PAO official designated in Item 12 on the DD Form 254.

(d) For classified operations and/or information owned by other Government agencies (e.g., DOD, DOE, etc.), all inquiries will be referred to the appropriate Agency public affairs officer as established in written agreements.

Preventing unauthorized release of sensitive but unclassified (SBU) information/material to the news media.

(a) All NASA SBU information requires accountability and approval for release. Release of SBU information to unauthorized personnel is prohibited. Unauthorized release of SBU information may result in prosecution and/or disciplinary action. Ignorance of NASA policy and procedures regarding SBU information does not release a NASA employee from responsibility for unauthorized release. See NPR 1600.1, Chapter 5, Section 5.24 for guidance on identification, marking, accountability and release of NASA SBU information.

(b) Examples of SBU information include: proprietary information of others provided to NASA under nondisclosure or confidentiality agreement; source selection and bid and proposal information; information subject to export control under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) or the Export Administration Regulations (EAR); information subject to the Privacy Act of 1974; predecisional materials such as national space policy not yet publicly released; pending reorganization plans or sensitive travel itineraries; and information that could constitute an indicator of U.S. government intentions, capabilities, operations, or activities or otherwise threaten operations security.

(c) Upon request for access to information/material deemed SBU, coordination must be made with the information/material owner to determine if the information/material may be released. Other organizations that play a part in SBU information identification, accountability and release (e.g., General Counsel, External Relations, Procurement, etc.) must be consulted for assistance and/or concurrence prior to release.

(d) Requests for SBU information from other Government agencies must be referred to the respective Agency public affairs officer.

Multimedia materials.

(a) NASA's multimedia material, from all sources, will be made available to the information media, the public, and to all Agency Centers and contractor installations utilizing contemporary delivery methods and emerging digital technology.

(b) Centers will provide the media, the public, and as necessary, NASA Headquarters with:

(1) Selected prints and original or duplicate files of news-oriented imagery and other digital multimedia material generated within their respective areas.
(2) Selected video material in the highest quality format practical, which, in the opinion of the installations, would be appropriate for use as news feed material or features in pre-produced programs and other presentations.
(3) Audio and/or video files of significant news developments and other events of historic or public interest.
(4) Interactive multimedia features that can be incorporated into the Agency's Internet portal for use by internal and external audiences, including the media and the general public.

News releases concerning international activities.

(a) Releases of information involving NASA activities, views, programs, or projects involving another country or an international organization require prior coordination and approval by the Headquarters offices of External Relations and Public Affairs.

(b) NASA Centers and Headquarters offices will report all visits proposed by representatives of foreign news media to the public affairs officer for the Office of External Relations for appropriate handling consistent with all NASA policies and procedures.

Dragon Departure, Soyuz Arrival Cap Busy Week on Station

After a long week that saw the departure of a commercial cargo craft loaded with the results of numerous scientific investigations and the express arrival of three new crewmates aboard a Soyuz spacecraft, the International Space Station’s Expedition 35 crew took a well-deserved day off Friday to rest and recharge for the mission ahead.


This image is one of a series of still photos documenting the process to release the SpaceX Dragon-2 spacecraft from the International Space Station on March 26. Photo credit: NASA
Commander Chris Hadfield and Flight Engineers Tom Marshburn and Roman Romanenko began their week loading some final items, including a GLACIER freezer filled with experiments and biological samples, into the SpaceX Dragon cargo ship and closing the hatches.

After spending 23 days attached to the station, Dragon was unberthed from the Harmony node using the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm and released to begin its journey back home at 6:56 a.m. EDT Tuesday. Dragon then fired its engines for the last time to send it through the Earth’s atmosphere for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. A team of SpaceX engineers, technicians and divers worked on spacecraft recovery operations off the coast of Baja, Calif., for Dragon’s journey back to shore.



Marshburn also spent some time participating in the Energy experiment, which is aimed at measuring how much food is needed for astronauts during long-duration space missions. Following a strictly prescribed menu on Tuesday, Marshburn carefully logged his meals for the remainder of the week, provided urine samples for testing and completed four 45-80 minute sessions monitoring his oxygen intake through a mask.



On Wednesday, Hadfield installed some jumpers and collected power meter measurements on the ExPRESS Logistics Carrier that houses the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-02 (AMS-02). Previous tests indicated that the fiber optic transmit and receive lines were inverted, and Hadfield’s efforts should restore them to the proper configuration. AMS-02 is a state-of-the-art particle physics detector, collecting information from cosmic sources emanating from stars and galaxies millions of light years beyond the Milky Way.



Throughout the week, Hadfield and Marshburn also participated in the Reaction Self-Test, a short reaction time task that allows the crew to track the effects of fatigue on performance.

One of the Expedition 35 crew members aboard the Earth-orbiting International Space Station took this photo which was part of a series documenting the launch of the "other half" of the Expedition 35 crew. Photo credit: NASA
Three new Expedition 35 crew members are welcomed aboard the International Space Station early Friday, only seven hours, 52 minutes after their launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Photo credit: NASA TV On Thursday, the Soyuz TMA-08M carrying three new Expedition 35 flight engineers completed an unprecedented fast track to the station, going from the launch pad to the orbiting complex in less than six hours.

Russian cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov and Alexander Misurkin and NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 4:43 p.m. Thursday (2:43 a.m. Friday, Baikonur time) and docked to the station’s Poisk module at 10:28 p.m.

Vinogradov, Misurkin and Cassidy are the first station crew members to take this historic expedited route to the orbiting laboratory. The Soyuz reached the station after only four orbits instead of the usual two-day launch-to-docking mission profile. Russian space officials tested and perfected this rendezvous technique with the last three Progress cargo vehicles to visit the station.

After the hatches opened at 12:35 a.m. Friday, the trio was welcomed aboard the complex by Hadfield, Marshburn and Romanenko. All six crew members crew then participated in a welcome ceremony with family members and mission officials gathered at the Russian Mission Control Center in Star City near Moscow.


Over the weekend, the crew will have some off-duty time to relax, talk with friends and family back on Earth and perform routine station maintenance and housekeeping tasks.

Expedition 35 will operate with its full six-person crew complement until May when Hadfield, Marshburn and Romanenko return to Earth aboard their Soyuz TMA-07M spacecraft. Their departure will mark the beginning of Expedition 36 under the command of Vinogradov, who along with crewmates Cassidy and Misurkin will maintain the station as a three-person crew until the launch of three additional flight engineers in late May. Cassidy, Vinogradov and Misurkin are scheduled to return to Earth in September.

MABE: Low-Gravity Answers on the Bubble

View of Boiling through the Microheater Array during a previous study. In the upper right is superimposed an image of boiling from the side. The Microheater Array Boiling Experiment may have similar results. (NASA)
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The Microheater Array Boiling Experiment was conducted in the Boiling Experiment Facility (BXF). Here, European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli, installs the BXF into the Microgravity Science Glovebox aboard the International Space Station. (NASA)
View large image Let's say you're boiling water to make pasta. As you watch, vapor in the form of bubbles rises up through the liquid. You wonder, "What's happening with all those bubbles? What role does gravity play in boiling?" Scientists have asked the same questions, particularly when it comes to boiling in a microgravity environment.

The Microheater Array Boiling Experiment (MABE) was an investigation into how boiling behavior changes under different gravity levels. By studying boiling in space, scientists were almost able to eliminate gravity in order to understand its role along with the other heat transfer processes.

Bubble formation is a good method to cool a hot surface, because it takes a lot of energy to convert liquid to vapor. Because bubbles are lighter than the surrounding liquid, when they grow to a certain size gravity causes them to detach from the surface, allowing fresh liquid to slip under them and make new bubbles.

However, there is a maximum amount of heat that can be removed, which is called the critical heat flux. At this point, the heater is covered with so much vapor that it starts to prevent the liquid from getting to the hot surface. Whether it is a computer chip or a nuclear reactor, this condition can destroy the heater if left unchecked because it causes the temperature of the heated surface to rise dramatically. Determination of the critical heat flux in microgravity is essential for designing reliable cooling systems for spacecraft.

Scientists studied boiling at different gravity levels in earlier ground-based studies using aircraft flying in a parabolic, or roller-coaster, path that put the experiments in free-fall to simulate microgravity. From those experiments, researchers were able to predict how boiling behaves in space. However, the vibrations from the aircraft engines, weather, machinery, people and other factors resulted in a small amount of residual gravity, or g-jitter. This g-jitter caused the bubbles to dance around on the surface just enough to alter the results.

To refine the model with minimal g-jitter, it was necessary to conduct the MABE experiments on the International Space Station. Using data from over two hundred boiling tests aboard the space station, the heat transfer during boiling was determined more accurately than was possible during the parabolic aircraft flight tests.

"We did a lot of experiments on the aircraft, but the aircraft bounces around producing residual gs on the order of one hundredth of Earth's gravity," said Professor Jungho Kim, MABE principal investigator from the University of Maryland, College Park. "We came to some conclusions about how the boiling would behave at these low-gravity levels and came up with some models and correlations, but we weren't really sure if we could extend the results to the very low g-levels encountered by spacecraft. The great benefit of MABE is that it allowed us to obtain really clean low-gravity data and use it to correct the model."

MABE's updated model accurately predicted the experimental microgravity data to within ±20 percent. Published in the August 2012 issue of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers' Journal of Heat Transfer, the article "Pool Boiling Heat Transfer on the International Space Station: Experimental Results and Model Verification" detailed the results of the investigation.

Experiments revealed that boiling could be divided into two regimes: Buoyancy Dominated Boiling (BDB) and Surface tension Dominated Boiling (SDB). BDB is common on Earth. It is what you see when you boil water for your pasta. Typically, as liquid is heated and vaporizes into a bubble, the bubble grows as it is held onto the surface by surface tension forces. As it becomes larger, the density difference between the vapor bubble and surrounding liquid results in larger buoyancy forces, pushing the bubble off the bottom of the pot so it rises through the water. Liquid rushes in behind the bubble, works its way to the bottom, and the process of heating and boiling repeats.

At lower gravity levels, the boiling behavior is controlled by SDB. A single bubble covers a large portion of the total heater surface. The bubble's size is determined by vaporization of liquid, mergers with smaller vapor bubbles that surround it, condensation of vapor at the top of the bubble and surface tension of the liquid.

"With a refined model, you could allow for more miniature electronics that could be cooled in low-g," said John McQuillen, MABE project scientist at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. "Getting the heat out and cooling these electronics is important. There's something called heat density or power density of these electronics, which is one of the limiting factors that keep us from making them smaller and smaller. A better understanding about heat transfer can enable us to make them smaller."

Smaller is certainly better when it comes to hardware planned for space exploration, since reduced mass and size free up valuable cargo and living space. A better understanding of bubbles and heat transfer will help produce better cooling systems and higher-powered electronics that can be used in space, on the moon, on Mars, or even on Earth.

The same heat transfer approach used in space can be applied to developing microelectronics on Earth. Circulating water through channels that are too small can simulate the same behavior seen in microgravity. As a result, bubble and heater sizes are limited. However, MABE's results may help designers overcome these limitations. When it comes to cooling components in computers or machinery, designers could apply MABE's data to produce better, smaller systems.

New Crew Aboard Station After Express Flight

The Soyuz TMA-08M spacecraft carrying three new Expedition 35 crew members docked with the International Space Station’s Poisk module at 10:28 p.m. EDT Thursday, completing its accelerated journey to the orbiting complex in less than six hours.


Shortly after the arrival of three new crewmates aboard the International Space Station, all six Expedition 35 crew members speak with family members and mission officials back on Earth. Photo credit: NASA TV

Soyuz Commander Pavel Vinogradov and Alexander Misurkin of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, who launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 4:43 p.m. (2:43 a.m. Friday, Baikonur time) are the first station crew members to take this expedited route to the orbiting laboratory. The Soyuz reached the station after only four orbits instead of the usual two-day launch-to-docking mission profile for a Russian spacecraft. While this is the first crewed spacecraft to employ this technique, Russian space officials successfully tested it with the last three Progress cargo vehicles.



After the hatches opened at 12:35 a.m. Friday, Cassidy, Vinogradov and Misurkin joined Commander Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency and Flight Engineers Tom Marshburn of NASA and Roman Romanenko of Roscosmos who have been residing at the orbital laboratory since Dec. 21, 2012. All six crew members crew then participated in a welcome ceremony with family members and mission officials gathered at the Russian Mission Control Center in Star City near Moscow.



The Soyuz TMA-08M spacecraft launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Photo credit: NASA/Carla Cioffi
The Soyuz TMA-08M spacecraft approaches the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA TV
Expedition 35 will operate with its full six-person crew complement until May when Hadfield, Marshburn and Romanenko return to Earth aboard their Soyuz TMA-07M spacecraft. Their departure will mark the beginning of Expedition 36 under the command of Vinogradov, who along with crewmates Cassidy and Misurkin will maintain the station as a three-person crew until the launch of three additional flight engineers in late May. Cassidy, Vinogradov and Misurkin are scheduled to return to Earth in September.

During the approximate six-month timeframe of Expeditions 35 and 36, 137 investigations will be performed on the U.S. operating segment of the station, and 44 on the Russian segment. More than 430 investigators from around the world are involved in the research. The investigations cover human research, biological and physical sciences, technology development, Earth observation, and education.

Cassidy, a commander in the U.S. Navy, is making his second spaceflight. His first visit to the station was as an STS-127 mission specialist aboard space shuttle Endeavour in July 2009. During that mission Cassidy performed three spacewalks, spending more than 18 hours outside the orbiting complex.

This is the third space mission for Vinogradov, a former design engineer. Previously, Vinogradov was a crew member aboard space station Mir for 197 days in 1997-98 and spent 182 days aboard the International Space Station in 2006 as an Expedition 13 flight engineer.

A retired lieutenant colonel in the Russian Air Force, Misurkin is making his first spaceflight. He was selected as a cosmonaut candidate in 2006 and qualified as a test-cosmonaut in 2009.

About NASA

What Does NASA Do?

03.12.13

 

NASA's vision: To reach for new heights and reveal the unknown so that what we do and learn will benefit all humankind.

To do that, thousands of people have been working around the world -- and off of it -- for 50 years, trying to answer some basic questions. What's out there in space? How do we get there? What will we find? What can we learn there, or learn just by trying to get there, that will make life better here on Earth?

A Little History

President Dwight D. Eisenhower established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1958, partially in response to the Soviet Union's launch of the first artificial satellite the previous year. NASA grew out of the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA), which had been researching flight technology for more than 40 years.

President John F. Kennedy focused NASA and the nation on sending astronauts to the moon by the end of the 1960s. Through the Mercury and Gemini projects, NASA developed the technology and skills it needed for the journey. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first of 12 men to walk on the moon, meeting Kennedy's challenge.

Meanwhile, NASA was continuing the aeronautics research pioneered by NACA. It also conducted purely scientific research and worked on developing applications for space technology, combining both pursuits in developing the first weather and communications satellites.

After Apollo, NASA focused on creating a reusable ship to provide regular access to space: the space shuttle. First launched in 1981, the space shuttle flew more than 130 successful flights before retiring in 2011. In 2000, the United States and Russia established permanent human presence in space aboard the International Space Station, a multinational project representing the work of 16 nations.

NASA also has continued its scientific research. In 1997, Mars Pathfinder became the first in a fleet of spacecraft that will explore Mars in the next decade, as we try to determine if life ever existed there. The Terra and Aqua satellites are flagships of a different fleet, this one in Earth orbit, designed to help us understand how our home world is changing. NASA's aeronautics teams are focused on improved aircraft travel that is safer and cleaner.

Throughout its history, NASA has conducted or funded research that has led to numerous improvements to life here on Earth.

Organization

NASA Headquarters, in Washington, provides overall guidance and direction to the agency, under the leadership of the Administrator. Ten field centers and a variety of installations conduct the day-to-day work, in laboratories, on air fields, in wind tunnels and in control rooms.

NASA Today

NASA conducts its work in four principal organizations, called mission directorates:

• Aeronautics: works to solve the challenges that still exist in our nation's air transportation system: air traffic congestion, safety and environmental impacts.


• Human Exploration and Operations: focuses on International Space Station operations, development of commercial spaceflight opportunities and human exploration beyond low Earth orbit.


• Science: explores the Earth, solar system and universe beyond; charts the best route of discovery; and reaps the benefits of Earth and space exploration for society.


• Space Technology: rapidly develops, demonstrates, and infuses revolutionary, high-payoff technologies, expanding the boundaries of the aerospace enterprise.

In the early 21st century, NASA's reach spans the universe. The Mars rover Curiosity is still exploring Mars to see if it might once have had environments suitable for life. Cassini is in orbit around Saturn, as Juno makes its way to Jupiter. The restored Hubble Space Telescope continues to explore the deepest reaches of the cosmos as NASA developes the James Webb Space Telescope.

Closer to home, the latest crew of the International Space Station is extending the permanent human presence in space. With commercial partners such as SpaceX, NASA is helping to foster the development of private-sector aerospace.

Earth science satellites are sending back unprecedented data on Earth's oceans, climate and other features. NASA's aeronautics team is working with other government organizations, universities, and industry to fundamentally improve the air transportation experience and retain our nation's leadership in global aviation.

The Future

Two years after the end of the space shuttle program, NASA has a robust program of exploration, technology development and scientific research that will last for years to come. Here is what's next for NASA:

• NASA is designing and building the capabilities to send humans to explore beyond Earth orbit, working toward a goal of landing humans on Mars.
• The International Space Station is fully staffed with a crew of six, and American astronauts will continue to live and work there in space 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Part of the U.S. portion of the station has been designated as a national laboratory, and NASA is committed to using this unique resource for scientific research.
• Commercial companies have begun delivering cargo to the ISS, allowing NASA to focus its attention on the next steps into our solar system.
• NASA is researching ways to design and build aircraft that are safer, more fuel-efficient, quieter, and environmentally responsible. NASA is also part of the government team that is working to develop the Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen, to be in place by the year 2025.
• NASA is conducting an unprecedented array of science missions that will seek new knowledge and understanding of Earth, the solar system and the universe.

InSight Mars Lander →

Introduction

InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) is a NASA Discovery Program mission that would place a single geophysical lander on Mars to study its deep interior. But InSight is more than a Mars mission - it is a terrestrial planet explorer that would address one of the most fundamental issues of planetary and solar system science - understanding the processes that shaped the rocky planets of the inner solar system (including Earth) more than four billion years ago.
By using sophisticated geophysical instruments, InSight would delve deep beneath the surface of Mars, detecting the fingerprints of the processes of terrestrial planet formation, as well as measuring the planet's "vital signs": Its "pulse" (seismology), "temperature" (heat flow probe), and "reflexes" (precision tracking).
InSight seeks to answer one of science's most fundamental questions: How did the terrestrial planets form?

Why Mars?

Previous missions to Mars have investigated the surface history of the Red Planet by examining features like canyons, volcanoes, rocks and soil, but no one has attempted to investigate the planet's earliest evolution - its building blocks - which can only be found by looking far below the surface.

IRIS: Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph

NASA's IRIS Spacecraft Is Fully Integrated

01.18.13

 

The fully integrated spacecraft and science instrument for NASA's Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) mission is seen in a clean room at the Lockheed Martin Space Systems Sunnyvale, Calif. facility. The solar arrays are deployed in the configuration they will assume when in orbit. Credit: Lockheed Martin

NASA's next Small Explorer (SMEX) mission to study the little-understood lower levels of the sun's atmosphere has been fully integrated and final testing is underway.

Scheduled to launch in April 2013, the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) will make use of high-resolution images, data and advanced computer models to unravel how matter, light, and energy move from the sun’s 6,000 K (10,240 F / 5,727 C) surface to its million K (1.8 million F / 999,700 C) outer atmosphere, the corona. Such movement ultimately heats the sun's atmosphere to temperatures much hotter than the surface, and also powers solar flares and coronal mass ejections, which can have societal and economic impacts on Earth.

"This is the first time we'll be directly observing this region since the 1970s," says Joe Davila, IRIS project scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "We're excited to bring this new set of observations to bear on the continued question of how the corona gets so hot."

A fundamentally mysterious region that helps drive heat into the corona, the lower levels of the atmosphere -- namely two layers called the chromosphere and the transition region -- have been notoriously hard to study. IRIS will be able to tease apart what's happening there better than ever before by providing observations to pinpoint physical forces at work near the surface of the sun.

The mission carries a single instrument: an ultraviolet telescope combined with an imaging spectrograph that will both focus on the chromosphere and the transition region. The telescope will see about one percent of the sun at a time and resolve that image to show features on the sun as small as 150 miles (241.4 km) across. The instrument will capture a new image every five to ten seconds, and spectra about every one to two seconds. Spectra will cover temperatures from 4,500 K to 10,000,000 K (7,640 F/4,227 C to 18 million F/10 million C), with images covering temperatures from 4,500 K to 65,000 K (116,500 F/64,730 C).

These unique capabilities will be coupled with state of the art 3-D numerical modeling on supercomputers, such as Pleiades, housed at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. Indeed, recent improvements in computer power to analyze the large amount of data is crucial to why IRIS will provide better information about the region than ever seen before.

“The interpretation of the IRIS spectra is a major effort coordinated by the IRIS science team that will utilize the full extent of the power of the most advanced computational resources in the world. It is this new capability, along with development of state of the art codes and numerical models by the University of Oslo that captures the complexities of this region, which make the IRIS mission possible. Without these important elements we would be unable to fully interpret the IRIS spectra,” said Alan Title, the IRIS principal investigator at the Advanced Technology Center (ATC) Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory in Palo Alto, Calif.

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Lockheed Martin Space Systems engineer Cathy Chou, integration and test lead for NASA's Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) observatory, inspects the IRIS solar telescope in a clean room at the company's Advanced Technology Center in Palo Alto, Calif. Credit: Lockheed Martin

“NASA Ames is pleased to partner with Lockheed Martin on this exciting mission,” said John Marmie, assistant project manager at Ames. “The Mission Operations Center testing with the Observatory and Space/Ground Networks are progressing well, as we prepare to support launch and flight operations. Our daily interface with the IRIS observatory will enable our scientists a means to better understand the solar atmosphere.”

The IRIS observatory will launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., and will fly in a sun-synchronous polar orbit for continuous solar observations during a two-year mission.

IRIS was designed and built at the Lockheed Martin Space Systems ATC in Palo Alto, Calif., with support from the company’s Civil Space line of business and major partners Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and Montana State University. Ames is responsible for mission operations and the ground data system. The Norwegian Space Agency will provide the primary ground station at Svalbard, Norway, inside the Arctic Circle. The science data will be managed by the Joint Science Operations Center, run by Stanford and Lockheed Martin. Goddard oversees the SMEX program.

The NASA SMEX Program is designed to provide frequent, low-cost access to space for heliophysics and astrophysics missions using small to mid-sized spacecraft. The program also seeks to raise public awareness of NASA's space science missions through educational and public outreach activities.

Euclid

JPL to Lead U.S. Science Team for Dark Energy Mission

02.12.13

 

This artist's concept shows the Euclid spacecraft. Image credit: ESA/C. Carreau
PASADENA, Calif. -- The European Space Agency (ESA) has selected three NASA-nominated science teams to participate in their planned Euclid mission, including one team led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
NASA is a partner in the Euclid mission, a space telescope designed to probe the mysteries of dark energy and dark matter. Euclid is currently scheduled to launch in 2020.
JPL will provide 16 advanced infrared detectors and four spare detectors for one of two instruments planned for the mission. In addition, JPL will contribute to science planning and data analysis with the help of its 43-member science team, the largest of the three U.S. teams. This team, led by JPL scientist Jason Rhodes, is composed of 29 scientists recently nominated by NASA, and 14 U.S. scientists who are already part of Euclid.
The other two U.S. science teams are led by Ranga-Ram Chary of the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena; and Alexander Kashlinsky of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.; with three and seven members, respectively.
Rhodes also was appointed by NASA to be a member of ESA's principal 12-member Euclid Science Team and the U.S. representative for the Euclid Consortium's governing body. The Euclid Consortium is an international body of 1,000 members, including the U.S. science team members, and will build the instruments and analyze the science data jointly.
"Understanding the hidden contents of the universe and the nature of the dark energy will require the collaboration of astronomers and engineers around the world," said Rhodes.
Euclid will observe up to two billion galaxies occupying more than one-third of the sky with the goal of better understanding the contents of our universe. Everyday matter that we see around us, for example in tables and chairs, people and even stars, makes up only a few percent of everything in our cosmos. If you could fill a bucket with the mass and energy contents of our universe, this everyday matter would fill only a small fraction. A larger amount, about 24 percent, would consist of dark matter, an invisible substance that does not reflect or emit any light, but exerts a gravitational tug on other matter.
The majority of our universal bucket, about 73 percent, is thought to be filled with dark energy, something even more mysterious than dark matter. Whereas dark matter pulls through its gravity, dark energy is thought to be a repulsive force pushing matter apart. Scientists think dark energy may be responsible for stretching our universe apart at ever-increasing speeds, an observation that earned the Nobel Prize in 2011.
Euclid scientists will use two methods to make the most precise measurements yet of our "dark" universe. The first method, called weak lensing, involves analyzing the shapes of billions of galaxies across more than half the age of the universe. When dark matter lies in front of galaxies, it can't be seen, but its gravity distorts the light from the galaxies behind it. More dark matter will lead to slightly larger distortions. By measuring these minute distortions, scientists can understand the amount and distribution of the dark matter between these galaxies and us.
Changes in these dark matter structures over time are governed by interplay between the attractive force of gravity and the repulsive dark energy. Thus, studying galaxy shapes reveals information about both dark matter and dark energy.
The second method, called galaxy clustering or baryon acoustic oscillations, will serve as an independent measurement of dark energy. Early in the universe, galaxies were imprinted with a standard distance between them. This distance -- referred to as a standard ruler -- expands as the universe itself expands. By making precise measurements of the distances between tens of millions of galaxies, the scientists will be able to chart this expansion and learn more about the dark energy driving it. Observations of how the galaxies are clustered will also further probe dark matter.
The JPL-led U.S. science team will employ both of these methods and work together with the rest of the Euclid scientists to shine light on the darkest riddles of our cosmos. Of the 43 team members, six are based at JPL. They are: Olivier Doré, Peter Eisenhardt, Alina Kiessling, Leonidas Moustakas, Jason Rhodes and Daniel Stern. Two additional team members, Peter Capak and Harry Teplitz, are based at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center.
Mike Seiffert is the U.S. project scientist for Euclid at JPL, and Ulf Israelsson is the U.S. project manager at JPL.
Euclid is a European Space Agency mission with science instruments and data analysis provided by the Euclid consortium with important participation from NASA. NASA's Euclid Project Office is based at JPL. JPL will contribute the infrared flight detectors for one of Euclid's two science instruments. NASA Goddard will assist with infrared detector characterization and will perform detailed testing on flight detectors prior to delivery. Three U.S. science teams, led by JPL, Goddard and the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at Caltech, will contribute to science planning and data analysis. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.

 

 

Whitney Clavin 818-354-4673
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Whitney.clavin@jpl.nasa.gov

J.D. Harrington 202-358-5241
NASA Headquarters, Washington
j.d.harrington@nasa.gov

2013-055

Planets

Planets

NASA is celebrating the Year of the Solar System! Spanning a Martian year (23 months), numerous missions will encounter their targets—the Moon and Mars, Mercury and Jupiter, and even comets and asteroids! It’s an unprecedented time in planetary sciences as we learn about new worlds and make new discoveries!

PLANETS: New Worlds, New Discoveries
NASA is at the leading edge of a journey of scientific discovery that promises to reveal new knowledge of our Solar System’s content, origin, evolution and the potential for life elsewhere.  NASA Planetary Science is engaged in one of the oldest of scientific pursuits: the observation and discovery of our solar system’s planetary objects.  With an exploration strategy based on progressing from flybys, to orbiting, to landing, to roving and finally to returning samples from planetary bodies, NASA advances the scientific understanding of the solar system in extraordinary ways, while pushing the limits of spacecraft and robotic engineering design and operations. Since the 1960s, NASA has broadened its reach with increasingly sophisticated missions launched to a host of nearby planets, moons, comets and asteroids.
NASA Planetary Science continues to expand our knowledge of the solar system, with spacecraft in place from the innermost planet of our Solar System to the very edge of our Sun's influence. In 2010 the EPOXI spacecraft encountered Comet Hartley 2, returning the first images clear enough for scientists to link jets of dust and gas with specific surface cometary features.  In early 2011, the Stardust-NExTmission provided the planetary science community with a first-time opportunity to compare observations of a single comet (Temple 1) made at close range during two successive passages.  When the Stardust spacecraft was retired in March 2011, it had travelled over 3.5 billion miles in our solar system. In another first, in March of 2011 NASA Planetary Science inserted the spacecraft MESSENGERinto orbit around our solar system’s innermost planet, Mercury, providing unprecedented images of that planet’s topography and improved understanding of its core and magnetic field.
Also in this unprecedented productive year of planetary exploration, the spacecraft Dawn was inserted into orbit around the asteroid Vesta in July 2011, the Juno spacecraft was launched in August 2011 on a mission to Jupiter to map the depths of Jupiter’s interior to answer questions about how the gas giant was formed; the two GRAIL spacecraft were launched to the moon in September 2011, and the Mars Science Laboratory was launched in November 2011, on its voyage to Mars with Curiosity, the largest planetary rover ever designed, destined for the surface of Mars to continue the work begun by Spirit and Opportunity. And at the outer reaches of our solar system, New Horizonscontinues on its way to study Pluto and into the Kuiper Belt, birthplace of comets.
With the release of the Planetary Science Decadal Surveyin March 2011, NASA’s planetary scientists and engineers are preparing missions to every corner of the Solar System to seek out the discoveries needed to push the boundaries of planetary science further than ever before.
Our Solar System is a place of beauty and mystery, incredible diversity, extreme environments, and continuous change. Our Solar System is also a natural laboratory, on a grand scale, within which we seek to unravel the mysteries of the universe and our place within it.