Technology - Blog Posts
Mars Dust into Thrust: NASA Co-Op #2 Week One
You would think pursuing a double major in electrical engineering and computer science would provide enough breadth to remain confident at a Co-Op... wrong. As I start my second Co-Op tour at NASA Johnson's Propulsion & Energy Conversion team I am finding that the more you learn the less you know. This summer I will be LabVIEW programming for In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) a system that turns Mars dust into fuel. ISRU is a rover payload that takes in mars atmosphere and soil and turns it into liquid methane and oxygen (fuel options). Other capabilities is getting O2 to breathe and excavating drinkable water. One of my projects is to control with a National Instruments compact cRIO an oxygen liquefier and a new water concentration sensor. The sensor I am testing uses spectroscopy to eliminate sensor erosion from corrosive Mars materials. These tasks are very chemical engineering heavy which require understanding a system and how to control it safely. I am excited to tackle this learning curve, understand more about Mars mission energy systems, and become more comfortable with chemical engineering concepts. WAYS TO GET INVOLVED Watch what NASA is up to: https://youtu.be/p_snvjghMJg Learn how to program with LabVIEW: https://youtu.be/IOkoyuikj5Q?list=PLdNp0fxltzmPvvK_yjX-XyYgfVW8WK4tu Read about our journey to Mars: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/journeytomars/index.html ISRU in more depth: https://youtu.be/M3HbD1S_H5U
Help a fellow NASA Intern send a satellite into space!
Giveaway and Satellite Crowd Funder!
Giveaway/raffle, WIN a FREE telescope! We will select one winner and give away a Celestron 21035 70mm Travel Scope: And help support our effort launch a satellite!
To enter the UGA Small Satellite Research Lab’s giveaway all you have to do is:
Reblog this post (so we can get your name)
Liking the post will enter you a second time!
Following the small sat lab on tumblr will enter you a third time!
Following the small sat lab on twitter will enter your a fourth time (just tweet your us tumblr user name at us and tell us how cool you think space exploration is)!
Help Our Crowdfunded to build a spacecraft! Help us build a spacecraft!
We’re Crowdfunding a satellite! Donate at SmallSat.uga.edu/donate!
We’ll be sending a Satellite to the international Space Station in 2018! We just need help building the ground station!
The Donation Rewards:
If you have donated larger amount you will also get all the benefits of the lesser amounts! Be sure when you visit smallsat.uga.edu/donate that you include your information so that we can get in contact with you!
$5 - You will entered in the telescope raffle 2 more times and will receive a signed thank you card in the mail from the lab!
$10 - You will receive a signed certificate of space exploration from the UGA Small Satellite Research Laboratory
$25 - You will receive a mission patch of your choosing (our NASA patch has yet to be designed but the MOCI patch is below)
$50 - You will receive both mission patches!
$100 - We will give you a UGA Small Satellite Laboratory tee-shirt! Special made for supporters of our campaign!
$250 - We will tweet at you from space! once a month! (or you can control the message that you send!)
$500 - You will receive a plaque commemorating your participation in the development of our spacecraft!
$1000 - We will engrave your name on the side of our satellite!
Remember, you get ALL of the benefits of lower donations if you donate a higher one!
Please Help Us Out! We are partnered with NASA and will be sending a satellite to the International Space Station in 2018, but we do not have the money to build a ground station yet!
We have 2 3U cube satellites! The image below is the patch for our Mapping and Ocean Color Imager (MOCI). We are also building the SPectroscopic Observatory of Coastal regions (SPOC), is this is the satellite that will be launched to the International Space Station!
Donate At: SmallSat.uga.edu/donate!
The Crowdfunded and raffle end on July 31, 2016, after that it will take us 20-30 days to send out all the rewards! Donate at smallsat.uga.edu/donate! Feel free to message us or ask us any space questions you may have!
Donate At: SmallSat.uga.edu/donate!
One of the renderings of our satellite:
Best Moments from a Year in Space
Creepily enough I have not meet Astronaut Scott Kelly in person, yet through my experience as a NASA Johnson Space intern I have followed his whole journey. While sitting in Mission Control I would see Kelly float through the International Space Station (ISS) to his next experiment, struggle with space food and occasionally pull a space prank. After a record breaking year in space Kelly will return to Earth March 1st and you can watch here 9:15pmCT. He has had many great moments and below are my personal favorites...
Extra Terrestrial Lettuce
Scott Kelly taking a selfie with space lettuce - NASA
Astronauts consumed a space grown harvest for the first time! Kelly, Kjell Lindgren, and Kimiya Yui tried crisp red romaine lettuce, first plain and then with vinaigrette. NASA was testing the effectiveness of a plant growth facility, Veggie, using rooting "pillows," which contain the seeds. Providing fresh food for astronauts, NASA plans to grow food on spacecrafts and on other planets in the future.
Space flowers, zinnia, were also grown in the Veggie during Kelly's mission blooming with oddly curled petals. NASA ground support treated Kelly like an autonomous gardener with only a one page flower care guide. These zinnia were not the first flowers to bloom on the ISS, in 2012 Astronaut Don Pettit grew a sunflower, broccoli and zucchini plant for a personal experiment. The zucchini bloomed a yellow flower but did not produce a full zucchini with the time allotted. Pettit wrote a "Diary of a Space Zucchini" from the perspective of the orbiting zucchini plant. The first flower to bloom in space was a Arabidopsis flown on board the then Soviet Union’s Salyut-7 space station in 1982.
Space Selfies
Scott Kelly taking a selfie during his first space walk Oct 28th, 2015 - NASA
Selfie during Kelly's space walk December 21st, 2015 - NASA
While there is a lot of science to get excited about in space sometimes its acceptable to take a moment to appreciate a good space selfie. Kelly was pretty selfie happy religiously posting to Twitter and sneaking in a few selfies during down time on space walks. In addition to selfies Kelly has taken thousands of stunning photos of Earth from his extraterrestrial perspective. During his over 5,000 orbits around the Earth Scott Kelly has taken thousands upon thousands of photos documenting Earth's beauty and fluid environment. He has captured Northern Lights, illuminated cities, painted deserts, reaching rivers and looming storms. All of these photos that make Earth look like an unknown planet can be found on his Instagram and Twitter. For the record Buzz Aldrin the took first space selfie in 1966.
Green Goo
Scott Kelly observing a tablet fizzing in water - NASA
Unfortunately this is not a slime ball alien. Scott Kelly dissolved a fizzing tablet and food coloring in a floating ball of water. This bubbling phenomenon was captured using a camera ultra high-definition cameras. NASA explains that higher resolution images and higher frame rate videos can reveal more information when used on science investigations. The floating sphere's form was disturbed by its internal popping and bubbling. Personally I thought this experiment was the most hypnotic.
Watch this odd ball I deem to be better than a lava lamp.
Halfway There
Scott Kelly admiring fresh fruit delivered halfway into his yearlong mission - NASA
Woah, livin' on a prayer!
Seriously though, a year in space takes some serious endurance. A sane completion of half a year in space is well worth a celebration. On board the crew received a delivery of fresh fruit in late August on the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV4) Kounotori, a Japanese cargo ship. On ground, Mission Control celebrated with cupcakes and Skyped with Kelly. Kounotori was one of nine cargo ships Kelly welcomed to ISS. The successful docking of a cargo ship is critical as they carry needed food, experiments, tools and replacement equipment.
15 Years of the International Space Station
Expedition 45 Crew celebrates ISS' 15th birthday - NASA
Scott Kelly celebrated the International Space Station's 15th birthday on November 2nd, 2015 celebrating the first crew's docking back in 2000. Over 1,760 research investigations have been conducted on board including Kelly's Twin Study.
Read about all that has been accomplished on ISS.
Jitters In Orbit
Scott Kelly's set up for Space Cup test - NASA
Liquid in Earth Gravity (right) and low gravity (Left) - NASA
Poor Scott Kelly had to sip coffee for hours to observe patterns of liquid tension in the new Space Cup. It was amusing to hear Kelly claim he took the longest sip of coffee in history. Although bags of coffee are already used on ISS, drinking a cup off coffee is more natural like back on Earth boosting astronaut moral. These Space Cups are engineered to accommodate to liquid's behavior in low gravity. Liquid is very "sticky" in space desiring to adhere to surfaces and pooling. This phenomenon became a hazard when coolant leaked in astronaut Luca Parmitano's space suit during an EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity/ Space Walk) in 2013. By studying the tendencies of liquid in space we can better understand chemical and biological processes in space.
Extra Vehicular Activity
Scott Kelly’s second space walk - NASA
Myself logging during Kelly's second EVA - NASA
During Scott Kelly's second ever space walk I got to follow along with their procedure and log when they successfully completed tasks. Honestly the procedure book is full of engineering jargon that the astronauts may not complete int he desired order, I never had a dull moment trying to keep up! I can't imagine the focus space walkers must have following the procedure, fixing parts on the ISS, staying safe all for many hours without a bathroom and a granola bar. Kelly and Kjell Lindgren spent 7 hours and 48 minutes working outside the International Space Station. They fixed ISS' ammonia cooling system. Scott Kelly performed three EVAs during his year in space.
Scott Kelly taking a selfie with the Earth - NASA
Fragile Exploration
The whole point of Scott Kelly's year long mission is to observe the long term effects of space on a human's body and mind. Humans are the most fragile thing we send up to space. Unfortunately we are not a robot society because by now we would have personally explored each planet in our solar system. To explore, humans have to leave Earth, exist in low gravity and land on other planets SAFELY. Scott Kelly's year in space is a huge step in the right direction to identify our boundaries and expand them. With Scott Kelly on board and his twin brother Mark Kelly as the control on Earth we have a unique look at the effects of zero gravity. Once Scott Kelly lands the science has just begun! Scientists will evaluate the effects on the body in low gravity, observe how Scott Kelly adjusts to Earth's gravity, and observe other changes Scott Kelly has experienced. It is so neat we get to watch this scientific exploration unfold!
WAYS TO GET INVOLVED
Time Inc. produced a net video series called "A Year In Space" about Scott Kelly's mission.
PBS and Time Inc. will team up to produce a two part series about the mission too.
Launch your career in aerospace.
Watch Scott Kelly's Year In Space wrap up coverage on NASA TV here is the schedule:
Robots Storm the Castle
After a year of watching robots playing forklift simulator in the FIRST Robotics 2015 game Recycle Rush FIRST has raised the bar with their new game Stronghold. Alliances will work to take over the opposing team’s castle with Medieval flair. Robots must break through opposing alliance’s defenses, launch boulders to weaken the castle, and climb its walls to claim it as there own. A unique aspect of this game is the modularity of the defenses. Outer barriers that the robots will be navigating through can be swapped between matches with the choice of a portcullis (gateway to be lifted up), Cheval de Frise (teeter totter), moat, rampart (opposing steel ramps), drawbridge, Sally Port, rock wall, rough terrain, low bar and platforms. Five of these defenses assigned with obscure french names will be picked before each match. For the first time in FIRST Robotics history there will be audience participation enabling spectators to choose one of the defenses. There are 10,000 different field combinations!
Creativity of Stronghold was manifested from FIRST’s new partnership with Disney Imagineers. They collaborated to carry the season’s Medieval theme through the game’s decorative field pieces and motivating the teams to create a standard, a sort of battle flag. Ample Monty Python and the Holy Grail references were scattered though out the Kick Off broadcast from FIRST Headquarters. I am suspicious that the Stronghold theme was solely conceived for that reason. The trailer like game hint was created to capture interest of folks outside of the FIRST world instead of “in joke” game hints like this. It seems FIRST will continue to release game hints with this a mobile game aesthetic style in future years revealing the years’ theme.
Already most teams have brainstormed a design and a strategy. A group called Ri3D (Robot in Three Days) has already built a fully functional robot. This robot can complete in every aspect of the game proving from my perspective to be worthy of a regional competition win. The idea of building a competitive robot in three days must give rookies teams hope. Check out Ri3D’s final product: https://youtu.be/Kd1FaSNoDiM
This season my hands are off the robot and on the computer as a project mentor helping students write newspaper articles covering the build season and competition. Check out earlier publications by our group BlueDevil Press and online here.
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
If you are a strategy engineering feel you may enjoy reading the Stronghold game manual:
https://firstfrc.blob.core.windows.net/frc2016manuals/GameManual/2016GameManual-Full-20160112.pdf
Mentor a team or volunteer at a regional event: http://www.firstinspires.org/ways-to-help/volunteer
Find a local robotics team to donate to. Often local teams will have their own website with instructions on how to donate/ where to send a check to: http://www.firstinspires.org/find-local-support
Check out my old robotics team the Duluth East Daredevils: http://www.daredevils2512.org/
One Robot Six Weeks
Fueled by pizza and Mountain Dew over 78,000 high school students will be participating in FIRST Robotics teams to build a 120lb competitive robot in just six weeks. This Saturday January 9th 9amCT FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition for Science and Technology) will reveal a new game the robots will compete in. You can watch this season's Kick Off live stream HERE.
Basketball, soccer and frisbee playing robots have been built in the past. A video showcasing a new theme "FIRST Stronghold" gives hints to a Mideavel inspired games. Watch FIRST Stronghold here. Hidden in the video is a layout of a competition field convincingly drawn with symmetrical sides. Bloggers from Chief Delphi, a popular robotics discussion board, took screenshots of the blueprint and even corrected its perspective. Chief Delphi members are convinced the video allures to a capture the flag, jousting or player VS field game. Echoes of Nickelodeon Guts and Legends of the Hidden Temple 90s game shows resonate with me as I imagine robotics quickly scaling Aggro Crag and manipulating artifacts. Sprinkled the throughout the forum are hopes for water game with submerged obstacles - a long running hope and joke of robotics students. Friday January 8th 6pmCT a broadcast from a FIRST Founders evening (WATCH HERE) will be diving into the details of the FIRST Stronghold theme.
Game challenge aside I am concerned about how high school students and the general audience will view the Stronghold theme. Stronghold may create a stigma with its LARPing (Live Action Roll Play) undertones alienating students from STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) rather than inviting them in. As the 2016 FIRST Robotics season plays out we will see how Stronghold is welcomed.
With or without fancy capes and flags what these high school students are accomplishing is exrtraodinary. Designing, building, wiring, marketing, and programming these robots take industry level skills that would knock any future employer's socks off. Get behind these FIRST Robotics teams by donating or mentoring to get behind future STEM leaders.
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
Find a local team to help: http://www.firstinspires.org/team-event-search
Mentor a team: http://www.firstinspires.org/sites/default/files/uploads/volunteer/first-mentorcoachflyers-ftc-frc.pdf
Watch the Kick Off 1/9/16 9amCT: http://corporate.comcast.com/news-information/news-feed/2016-first-robotics-competition-kickoff
Watch Stronghold clues 1/8/16 6pmCT: http://streamingmeeting.com/webcast/2016_first_founders/
Check out my past robotics team: http://www.daredevils2512.org/
Ideas for Teachers: Apollo Mission Control Simulation Lesson Plan
In this activity students will watch clips of system failures from Apollo 13 movie and must come up with their own solutions to the problem. This activity would be good for 3rd or 4th graders but can be modified to be harder or easier.
Introduce the Flight Positions
Split up students into five groups EECOM (Electrical Environmental and Communication) Power, EECOM Environment, BOOSTER, GNC (Guidance and Navigation Control). and SURGEON. They should have paper and a writing utensil.
Teacher: "You are each flight controllers in NASA's Mission Control in Houston, TX. Have a picture on the board of NASA's mission control. For this mission I am the flight director but you are all experts on a space craft system. You are in charge of three astronauts heading to the Moon in this space craft. If you have something you want communicated to the astronaut you must tell me. Have a picture of the Apollo 13 command module attached to the Lunar Lander on the board.
Point at EECOM Power
Teacher: "EECOM Power, you are in charge of the power system that keeps the communication system, computers, heat, and lights on the space craft. You will get data on the battery level, amps, volts and which systems are on."
Point at EECOM Environment
Teacher: "EECOM Environment, you are in charge of the air system on board the space craft. This means scrubbing the carbon out of the air and supplying enough oxygen. You will get data on the O2 CO2 and poisonous gas levels."
Point at BOOSTER
Teacher: "You are in charge of the boosters that fly the astronauts too and from the Moon. You make sure that there is enough fuel to accomplish each task. You will get data on the fuel level and functioning boosters."
Point at GNC
Teacher: "You are in charge of making sure the space capsule is flying in the right direction. You will get data on the flight path of the space craft."
Point at SURGEON
Teacher: "You are in charge of the health of the astronauts. You will get data on their temperature, vital organs, and comments from them on their well being,"
Above are examples of data slides you can display I made with an old Mission Control Picture. Note that these levels and figures in coming up simulation data are not very accurate. For example - in reality over 15% CO2 would cause black outs and brain asphyxiation. What is most important is that data is fluctuating and the students learn what data is important, how to write down observations and react.
Begin Mission
Pull up the current and nominal flight data on the board.
Teacher: "Here is the current data for each of your systems. Write them down because they may change and you may need to fix your systems when something goes wrong."
Students write down data.
Houston We've Had A Problem
Teacher: "These three astronauts are on a mission to the Moon, but something goes horribly wrong. And you have to do something about it. Let's see what happened..."
Show this clip: https://youtu.be/kAmsi05P9Uw
Teacher: "You are tens of thousands of miles away from the astronauts but must fix the problem. Pull up the new set of data. Here the latest data. Tell me whats wrong and how you think we can fix it.
Students write down new data and discuss among themselves whats going on. Students then let the flight director know whats going wrong. Change the data three times so it fluctuates, don't wait for students to write everything down, this is a real time crisis and things won't run as planned.
Example of data slide 4, the vitals show error because in real life the Apollo 13 astronauts took off their vital sensors for privacy.
Teacher checks in with EECOM Power and lets students share their thoughts
Teacher: "Looks like we are loosing power rapidly and can only use certain devices at once. We need to figure out how keep the astronauts alive, send data back to Earth using the computers, and collect enough data on board so we can keep each flight team updated. Hand them batteries, paper clips/ wires, lights and switches. Each light represents an electrical device on board. You must find the correct electrical configuration to power the devices and order in which they must be powered on."
Teacher checks in with EECOM Environment & SURGEON and lets students share their thoughts
Teacher: "Looks like we are losing oxygen for the astronauts to breath. How long till its all gone? Students suggest answers. Here are the materials on board to create a new air filter. This square peg in a round hole. Make it work. Dump the materials on their table." Inspired by this clip: https://youtu.be/C2YZnTL596Q
Teacher checks in with BOOSTER & GNC and lets students share their thoughts
Teacher: Has BOOSTER & GNC sit closer to each other "Looks like we are off trajectory to the moon, the lunar lander is broken, the space craft is accelerating in the wrong direction we are losing fuel and the only logical thing to do now is head back to Earth. Both of you are needed to solve this problem. Give them a model of Earth, Moon, Capsule and attached Moon Lander. Work together to figure out how to then back to Earth with limited fuel."
Teacher: Talking to all. "Once you come up with a solution come up to the front and explain to your fellow flight controllers what you came up with and why it will work. The other flight controllers can argue if they think it won't work and why. Astronaut lives are at stake so it is necessarily to speak up if something is a faulty idea or you have a better solution."
Students work to solve their problems. Give them a little bit of time to work on it. After each team presents their solution.
Teacher: "Let's see how the NASA engineers solve the problems you were given..."
Note: You may want to scan these clips for swear words before showing them in class. And end the clip accordingly.
EECOM Power: https://youtu.be/KhoXFVQsIxw
EECOM Environment & SURGEON: https://youtu.be/Zm5nUEG5Bjo
BOOSTER & GNC: https://youtu.be/gmLgi5mdTVo
Teacher: "Lastly let's see if the crew makes it back after your adjustments"
https://youtu.be/-1BPx5Wsm7k
Celebrate with astronaut ice cream!
Ideas for Teachers: Space Lesson Plan
When I return back to my hometown I will be visiting schools to share about my NASA experience and teach programming. This is my lesson plan for teaching about NASA and space. One of my first stops will be my Mom’s Kindergarten class so you will notice my lesson plan is catered for elementary students.
Morning: Letter Of The Day
Start the day with a regular greeting an opportunity for students to share thoughts around the room. Your usual "magic talking stick" can be replaced by a space related object like an inflatable planet or space craft.
"Today we are going to visit your letter of the week in a way that is out of this world." Cheesy I know but we should let the students define what outer space is. "What is outer space?" Write down the students answers and this is the dictionary definition... the void between planets and other celestial bodies. Kindergarten classes often have letters of the week and outer-space things are very easy to categorize into letters.
Story Time
I had a unique opportunity to meet Buzz Aldrin, purchase a children's book written by him, and get it signed by him. I plan to introduce the students to the author showing pictures of him and the Apollo 11 landing. There are many children's books written by or starring astronauts. This particular story has a project involving creating a Mars habitat that students will compete after story time.
Nap Time
Prior to nap time I show a neat star mapping project put together by Google called 10,000 Stars. You can tour stars from around the Milky Way and see their name, color, size and brightness. The ambient music playing in the background is excellent for nap time.
Afternoon Snack: Eat like An Astronaut
"The International Space Station is a science lab orbiting the Earth every hour and a half. Let's hear about how they live in space." Show a few clips like this...
Chris Hadfield's Space Kitchen making a "sandwich": https://youtu.be/AZx0RIV0wss
Karen Nyberg washes he hair in space: https://youtu.be/kOIj7AgonHM
Sleeping in space: https://youtu.be/UyFYgeE32f0
Running in space with Karen Nyberg: https://youtu.be/_ikouWcXhd0
Pass out freeze dried astronaut food like ice cream, grapes and strawberries. While watching the astronaut clips.
Astronaut Application Tips From A NASA Intern
Astronauts are unavoidable in your daily work at Johnson Space Center. They are on the phone talking about flight plans as you try to pass on a bicycle, in meetings about future missions as you doodle on a note pad, and in front of you in line at the cafeteria as you wait to get chicken tacos. Us interns have had many opportunities to attend lectures put on by astronauts and attempt to squeeze every tidbit out about becoming an astronaut too.
Apply Apply Apply
You can't become an ASCAN on a whim, it takes persistence. Yes that's right, pronounced "Ass" "Can", astronaut candidate. Many astronauts applied many times before being selected. Clayton Anderson, small town Nebraskan boy turned NASA engineer, applied 15 times over 15 years before becoming an ASCAN. A Mission Control flight controller in my team illustrated how every application you ever submit is stored in NASA's records. He mentioned Duane Ross, former Head of Astronaut selection, kept applications on a rolodex-esk machine. The first letter of the applicants sir name could be entered and the rolodex machine flipped to their stack of applications like a deck of cards being neatly flipped through. With modern applications being submitted via USAjobs.gov I fear the aesthetic of application sorting machines will not be preserved. Although you should apply many times doesn't mean you should apply before you meet the minimum requirements. Chris Cassidy, Chief of the Astronaut Office and former Navy Seal, remarked it would be wise to wait till you have completed a Bachelors Degree and three years of work experience. Please don't bog down the system with your work as head cheese sprinkler at Pizza Hut.
Bare Minimums
I mentioned Chris Cassidy's minimum requirements but did not expand on what Bachelor Degrees are accepted. Typically STEM (Science Technology Engineering & Math) degrees are accepted. Particular programs can cause a grey area. If you are not confident that your degree is accepted email or Tweet at NASA with questions. Once the December 14th application opens a point of contact should be listed to ask questions. Current Head of Astronaut Selection Anne Roemer notes that an important aspect of your degree/ experience is that you can be effectively compared to other candidates. If you can not be sorted into a pile to be compared with other applicants you essentially get tossed out. In addition to experience in industry experience in the armed forces is highly admirable. Approximately 60% of astronauts have military background. Majority of civilians have a doctorate degree. Although your application will be packed with honors and laureates a bland resume format is not effective. It is desirable to express work and project experience in a narrative voice, tell your story.
Not A Checklist
When asked "Why were you picked to be an astronaut?" five out of five astronauts I have asked said, "I don't know". Many variables come into play when selecting a candidate that the "kicker" characteristic that gets you in isn't obvious. A sure fire way NOT to get picked is to make your journey to becoming an astronaut a check list. I had the opportunity to spend time with astronaut Mike Fossum at a cook out this summer. He said, "The road to becoming an astronaut is littered with successful careers". Meaning perfectly respectable careers were lost as folks tried in vain to be astronauts. Simply do what you enjoy most. That may naturally lead to a career as an astronaut.
Applications open December 14th: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/be-an-astronaut-nasa-seeks-explorers-for-future-space-missions
More application requirement details: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/pdf/606877main_FS-2011-11-057-JSC-astro_trng.pdf
NASA Co-Op Week 12: Makers & 3D Printers
Well-being of a generation can be measured by the number of children who attend a Maker Faire. Houston's George R Brown Convention Center was filled with programmers, 3D printers,hand made creations, geeky gear and folks passionate about their ability to create. Houston Maker Faire featured 150 booths, soap makers, FIRST/ VEX robotics teams, LEGO builders and cosplay costume makers. Us NASA interns and Co-Ops set up a booth sharing about career opportunities, letting students share ideas with NASA and coloring pages with kids. Folks tried on an Apollo 11 helmet and space walk glove.
WAYS TO GET INVOLVED
Apply for a NASA internship open now, login to apply. Sooner the better. There are also fellowships and scholarships available: https://intern.nasa.gov/ossi/web/students/login/
Mentor a FIRST Robotics team. Teams with students age K-12:
http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/coachesmentors
Apply to be a NASA Community College Aerospace Scholar open now: https://nas.okstate.edu/ncas/
Activity sheets for students: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/about/resources/jscfacts/activity_coloring_sheets.html
Co-Op for NASA. What does this mean? Flip-flop between working at NASA and studying in college. This is how NASA hires a majority of their Civil Servants. Job openings are updated every week or so: http://nasajobs.nasa.gov/studentopps/employment/opportunities.htm
Accomplishments this week at NASA: https://youtu.be/4iaScOqvI64
Full-time positions at NASA. Use this website and simply search "NASA": https://www.usajobs.gov/
Ideas for Teachers: Programming Lesson Plan
When I return back to my hometown I will be visiting schools to share about my NASA experience and teach programming. I will be sharing my lesson plans here for a day of programming and a day of space related learning. Let’s start with programming. One of my first stops will be my Mom’s Kindergarten class so you will notice my lesson plan is catered for elementary students.
Morning: What is programming?
After your usual morning activities; “G-O-O-D M-O-R-N-I-N-G Good Morning Aye Aye Good Morning *clap* *clap”, drawing sticks and telling about your weekend, introduce students to the concept of programming. Ask students, “What do you think programming is?” Write down the answers on the white board. After answer along the lines of “Programming is telling a computer to do things - make a video game, control a robot, create an App, and more!” Next I would show them a short video with our current stars in technology.
Lets Start Coding
“Enough talk about programming let’s do it!” A great introduction to coding is a Made With Code project. The Yeti project is my favorite of these activities. Students take turns dragging and dropping blocks of code assigning attributes to the Yeti fur color and feet size. After assigning attributes the students can watch the Yeti dance. When I have had students write yeti code they enjoy changing the colors and dance many times!
Afternoon: Code Related Rotations
Skills needed to program are not only found in front of a screen but working in a team, time for activity rotations. (These will be the centers I will have but you all can have different ones.) At one center I will have my LEGO robot for the students to program. There will be objects that the robot can pick up or avoid. At the second center 3D printed puzzles will be available for students to solve. At the third center an activity with half a blank page and half a lined page. Students can draw a picture of what they think would be cool to program and write about it. Last center create a robot out of construction paper, foil, or other mediums.
Now You Try
Take a trip to the computer lab and let students try to program on their own. Hour of Code is a great resource where students can learn programming at various levels. Two activities I tested out an enjoyed was a Flappy Bird Game Creator and Star Wars Drone Game. Students can code on their own or work in a group to help each other figure things out.
Have fun teaching students about programming! In the future I hope to get a Sphero, 3D printer, and Arduino type kit. Maybe you all have other ideas for a programming lesson plan.
NASA Co-Op Week 10: Rocket Science Is Hard
I get frustrated with NASA asking “Why don’t we just build a rocket and go?”, looking and sounding like a doofus in a horse head. NASA Johnson and Kennedy interns met up at Cape Canaveral to watch the Atlas V launch. Visiting Kennedy Space Center reminded me about how much goes into a rocket launch, sending humans or satellites into space. Of course budget and the ability to set and maintain ten year plus political space exploration goals would speed up the process. Those variables aside I want to share what goes into a rocket launch.
Fishing For Rockets Surprisingly NASA does indeed reuse rocket parts, I thought this idea was unique to SpaceX but has been in the works for decades. Following shuttle era launches skirts of rockets and other parts were retrieved from the ocean. They would be inspected, refurbished and reused. Shuttle rocket parts will be used on the new Space Launch System (SLS). Signs labeled parts that will be used for the EM-1 Orion launch. Protective materials preventing heat damage often get reapplied to these parts. Parts of the rocket get so hot it reaches 6000 degrees Fahrenheit while others get so cold ice forms. The technology used to mix these epoxies in mid air is the same technology that coats M&Ms and Doritos. Talk about spin off technologies!
Monster Tank So you made rocket parts. Great, but how do you expect to assemble and transport something so huge? This was a problem my robotics team ran into as well. We had to make sure the robot we built would fit through the door. Once you have all the rocket parts they will be assembled in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), the tallest one story building in the world at 526 feet. It takes 45 minutes for the main door to be opened. Clouds have been known to form inside the VAB and rain has fallen too. Despite how big the VAB may be when transporting one of the rockets into an assembly segment it needed to be tilted at a 45 degree angle. Upgrades are currently being made for the massive SLS. Once the rocket is assembled it is transported on the Crawler-transporter moving at a back breaking speed of one mile per hour. This transporter insures the rocket reaches the launch pad safely limiting the movement of rocket to less than a diameter of a basketball.
Blast Off Wave goodbye to your creation because it will soon launch, release its payload, tumble into the sea repeating the cycle. A successful launch is dependent of many variables including launch pad hardware, windspeed, humidity, weather, and simply fishing boats in the line of debris reentry. If launch is a go bolts the size of your lower leg explode freeing the beast from the ground. If the bolts do not successfully release the rocket don’t care, it will continue to lift off and tear its restraints off like King Kong.
WAYS TO GET INVOLVED Consider touring Kennedy Space Center. While Johnson Space is the home of the human aspect of space flight Kennedy is in charge of getting is up there: https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/
Write your congress members and senators encouraging them to support space exploration: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/
Discover accomplishments made this week at NASA: http://youtu.be/_a9og3pAqxY
Watch highlights from the latest launch by United Launch Alliance of AtlasV carrying a GPS into orbit: https://www.youtube.com/embed/NPcRziWDigQ
Grace Hopper Wrap Up: More Than Tech Swag
Hypocritically I have been posting pictures of all the neat swag collected at Grace Hopper Computing Conference (GHC) with just as much gusto as posting all that I have learned at the conference. GHC is so much more than swag - a unique conglomeration of ideas, tech unicorns and what is considered a rare commodity in industry, women. Here I share the coolest thing I learned about, how to make work welcoming to everyone, and final thoughts on GHC.
Robot Human Collaboration
Autonomous paints a picture of a robot working on its own driving, building products or even fetching coffee. Why should a robot be expected to complete a task on its own when we ask others for help all the time? With similar thinking Carnegie Mellon University has developed collaborative robots called CoBot complete tasks be asking humans and other robots for assistance. CoBot rolls around the halls of the computer science department, with the offices layout memorized. COBOT can escort a human to a professor's office pressing buttons on the elevator and letting COBOT know when its on the correct floor. A CoBot that is instructed to go to a professors' office upstairs can be alerted by another CoBot that the professor is currently out of office. Watch the CoBot's artificial intelligence work in action.
Make Work Welcoming
You may expect the nailing of 95 thesis by women of the tech industry explaining how work can be welcoming. Honestly making the work environment welcoming to everyone is pretty simple. There are probably more but here are the top three most focused on.
1) Celebrate Results And Not Hours - America is prideful of long hours and drinking lots of Starbucks. However, long hours doesn't necessarily efficient. Reward your employees and team mates for successes. be mindful that their hours fluctuate dues to personal matters and simply having a life outside of work.
2) Paid Parent Leave - Who doesn't want to spend time with their kid? This improvement is a no-brainer.
3) Mentorship - Talent can be retained in a company by providing mentorship all throughout your career. People oriented and extroverted individuals may seek mentors naturally as well as seek to mentor others. As team and project leaders encourage those who may not
Final Thoughts on Grace Hopper Conference
Visually I could not imagine the support and number of women in technology at this conference. There were 12,000 women including a collection of engineers, software designers, project managers, CEOs, CTOs, start up leaders, programmers, and much more. GHC's majority is easily the minority and industry so solutions to solve this disparity were found. One solution discussed at GHC that show immediate impact includes showing others how fun technology can be through mentorship, hosting coding camps, visiting past schools to talk to current students, and holding maker challenges. Physically sitting down with someone and spending time to share a piece of the world of technology with them means so much more than any tweet, post and plea of advocacy. GET ACTIVE!
Well that solves the pipeline problem but retaining those interested in tech in tech roles can be achieved by making the work environments welcoming as shown above. When receiving my swag bag day one at GHC I pulled out a smart phone accessory with the Go Daddy logo on it thinking, "What on Earth is that company doing in my Grace Hopper bag?". A question backed by series of not so appealing ads. This question answered after Go Daddy CEO apologized for the companies actions and showed data on how they are improving company culture, Maybe this demonstration was a little clunky but still an attempt to right wrong, expose companies short comings, and move forward. Having conversations, coming up with solutions and following through is what it is all about.
Conference content wise I personally wish I attended more technical related talks as opposed to soft skill and leadership related talks. I found myself getting my tech fix by visiting the career fair booths with coding challenges. Yes, I am an Amazon Code ninja who now understands the magic of a static variable, inheritance rules and function following. Also fellow coders and I solved Best Buy's parsing challenge as well as finding all of the wrong answers. I consider attending GHC again in the future and bringing some more Minnesotans along with me.
WAYS TO GET INVOLVED
Host an hour of code party
Join a FIRST Robotics Team
Host a made with code party
Attend Square coding camp
Build Rube Goldberg machines
Join NCWIT (National Center for Women in Information Technology) Aspirations in Computing Community
Lights flashed on the stage.These are real life rock stars. 12,000 women computer scientists and engineers gathered for the Grace Hopper Women in Celebration. Women or not already during day one I learned valuable career advice anyone can benefit from. What's Your Niche? Take a moment to think about what other people think about you. No, not what they think about your clothing or how you shoved that piece of pizza in your face. What they think about you as a whole. Like it or not, everyone has a niche or brand that people identify you with. Are you a trail blazer? Approachable? Efficient? Ally? Approachable? Ask someone how they see you, however, you may not like the results... but there is a solution. There was a women in the workplace who was described to have career ADD, meaning she would purposely take on projects in disarray, fix them and move on to the next crumbling project. Transforming her weakness into a strength she used her talent to reorganize lost causes becoming a strategist. Co-workers could go to her for help with theor projects adding value to the team. Crucial Conversations In Your Career Unavoidably there will be times in your career when you have to practice conflict resolution, stick up for yourself and simply communicate with others what you are working on. Various social norms can debilitate folks from communicating effectively. Here are charactierstics that ensure effective communication: Be Direct, Be Specific, Be Proactive & Be Confident Advice From a CEO As an NCWIT (National Center for Women & Information Technology) collegiate member peers and I had the opportunity to have lunch with the CEO and engineers from Qualcomm. The CEO happened to sit at my lunch table and we got to ask him career advice. One of my favorite questions was, "What are characteristics that got you to the position of CEO?" His answer... 1) Communicate: speak confidently, convince others of your idea, be a good public speaker. 2) Trust: know your employee's are competent, they are the technical experts. 3) Motivate: Be a cat herder, convey the importance of the task effectively.
Looking Forward to Grace Hopper 2015
Unsure of whether to call it the Grace Hopper Conference or Celebration I’m going to postulate that it is both. Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing (GHC) is a collection of conferences where computer scientists can learn about the latest technology, participate in tech workshops, network and build soft skills. The Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology and the Association for Computing Machinery initiated GHC named after the computer scientist Grace Hopper. Hopper coined the term debugging, after picking bugs out of her computer and invented the first compiler, allowing programming languages to be more human-like.
Aspiring or seasoned computer scientist GHC sounds like the place to be, described by my peers in NCWIT (National Center for Women and Information Technology). In high school I became one of NCWIT’s MN State Affiliate Aspiration in Computing Award winners and since then have heard of networking stories, tales of learning experience and good times from GHC goers.
As a current Co-Op at NASA’s Johnson Space Center I have been sent on a mission to learn as much as I can and share with my department how these acquired skills will help them. As an NCWITer I will be able to connect with other like-minded women and attend their networking events. I have been browsing through the conference schedule and crafted a comprehensive itinerary filled with keynote presentations, professional development, and hands on tech projects.
Sessions on my itinerary I am most excited for include “Communicating for Impact and Influence”, “Design and Development Considerations in Serious Games”, “Bank of America Technical Women Luncheon”, “Speed Mentoring Breakfast with Microsoft”, and “Data Science: NASA”.
WAYS TO GET INVOLVED
I will be live tweeting and live blogging the event
Check out this year’s sessions and think about joining in next year
Watch keynotes from past events
NASA Co-Op Week 6: Sayonara Little Spacecraft
Mission control got so quiet you could hear the flight controllers sweat. Wait, wasn't the HTV supposed to be released?
Weeks ago HTV5, a Japanese cargo spacecraft, arrived at the International Space Station delivering fresh foods, experiments and other supplies. HTV5 was lovingly named Kounotori by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) meaning white stork. The arrival of these cargo ships are essential to ensure scientific exploration can continue on the Space Station. After the cargo ship is unloaded and reloaded with garbage. If you ever wondered how astronauts take out the trash...
Astronauts carefully fill up the empty cargo ship with garbage calling down to ground to double triple check if they can throw things out. At times it takes three astronauts strapping the trash bags to the inner walls of the cargo ship to finish the job. Why bother doing that, it is just trash? By carefully calculating its trajectory, center of gravity and controlling its course the cargo ship plummets through Earth's atmosphere and burns up before hitting the surface. If the center of gravity was not constant the cargo ship we would lose control of the cargo ships trajectory. The cargo ship is released from the Space Station. Up until now the Canadarm2 has a hold of the cargo ship but then releases its grasp. Now you see the importance of HTV5's release, we don't want anyone getting hit by astronaut trash.
Flash forward to HTV5's release day I am sitting console with ISE (Integration Systems Engineer) console, the console that is in charge of visiting vehicles. Timing of the HTV5 release is key - it needs to occur when we have full communications, quickly as steps to release need to execute one after another, and ideally when the Space Station is illuminated by the sun for our monitoring. The countdown for the release began. The flight director focused our thoughts, "stop unnecessary chatter" the release sequence was about to begin. Flight controllers called "ADCO Go", "PLUTO Go", "ISE Go" and so on. Release protocol began but the Canadarm2 did not budge and the window for release was quickly closing.
"ROBO, you have 20 minutes to tell me what happened." instructed the flight director. In mission control there is no time to freeze up when an issue occurs but time to get to work and solve the problem. ROBO is in charge of the Canadarm2 operations. After determining a new release window, re-configuring Canadarm2 the HTV5 was successfully released! JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui worked controls on-board the international space station. Later on Twitter Kimiya remarked, "Sayonara Kounotori- kun. You are so beautiful I really miss you...".
WAYS TO GET INVOLVED Watch these silly astronauts float, eat and exercise on the Space Station.
Achievements this week at NASA.
Video from the HTV5 release.
Astronaut Kimiya speaks with his hometown about life on the Space Station.
I was in mission control when the discovery of water on Mars was announced! See what the NASA scientists have to say about Martian waters.
Start your career with NASA and tune into a Virtual Career Fair and hear about internship, fellowships and scholarships October 8th 12pm-3:30pmCT
Photos by NASA
NASA Co-Op Week 5: NASA After Hours
Surprisingly NASA, like college, has a plethora of "extra-curriculars" including intramural sports and committees. Interns at Johnson Space Center (JSC) are uniquely involved in extracurriculars. JSC interns hold weekly meetings. Twice a month PIPE, a professional social group meets and SCuM, a social social group. PIPE hosts committees like professional development, social media (managing NASA Twitter & Facebook accounts), PAXC (Pathways Agencies Cross Center Connection), and Tours & Lectures. SCum hosts committees like Sports, Intern Video, Fancy Dinner, and Skydiving (an intern tradition).
I am currently the lead of Tours/Lectures. A group of us arrange tours at neat locations around JSC like flying a T38 jet trainer, the largest pool in the world where astronauts and Robonaut lab. Lectures are also arranged by the group including Anne Roemer, head of the Astronaut Selection Committee, Ginger Kerrick, Assistant Director for the International Space Station, and Everett Gibson, Moon Rock Expert.
PAXC is a group that unites all the NASA Centers. Every other week we video conference with all the other centers! Glenn in Ohio, Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Langley in Virginia. We get to hear about what the other centers are working on, lectures from their center leaders and dream about touring each other's centers.
Hacking into a lawnmower robot is another activity I take part in. We are converting an autonomous navigating lawn mowing robot into a tele-operated human controlled robot. This requires taping into the robots controls and adding wireless communication between the robot and controller. Using an Adruino controller we can send signals to the robot so we have been learning how to use it.
WAYS TO GET INVOLVED
Learn about some the lecturers we will be hearing from: Anne Reomer, Ginger Kerrick & Everett Gibson
Watch what NASA is doing to enhance the mission to Mars
Start your career with NASA and tune into a Virtual Career Fair and hear about internship, fellowships and scholarships October 8th 12pm-3:30pmCT
NASA Intern Reviews The Martian Movie
Maybe I am biased saying that The Martian is a must see, inspiring, stellar movie because I eat, sleep and defecate space exploration. However I am not here to tell you how great it was cinematically but answer some questions folks are curious about. As a NASA intern can you share some of the accuracies and inaccuracies of The Martain? Understand that many from the space community hang up their lab coats before walking into the theater. With my unhealthy space obsession I was wearing my lab coat complete with googles and a pocket protector.
Dust Storm Astronauts of the Ares III mission are caught in a dust storm so fierce they are forced to scrub the mission and return to Earth early. This catastrophic events sounds socking leaving people to wonder, why would we want to explore such a hostile planet? Fortunately the scenario of a powerful dust storm is not possible due to Mars’ thin atmosphere, 100 times thinner than Earth’s. Mars does indeed have dust storms, in fact the largest dust storms in our solar system, they could not however knock anyone over. Author Andy Weir was aware of the inaccuracy even thinking of alternate openings but ultimately stuck with the dust storm opening.
Suiting Up Valiantly Mark Watney and the other astronauts quickly suited up to abort, perform tasks, or save a friend. The suits that are currently being used on board the International Space Station take around 15 minutes to don. Before astronauts perform Extra Vehicular Activities (EVAs), like a space walk, they start testing and preparing suit a day before. Some activies the astronauts must perform to prep for an EVA include; Pre-breathe 100 percent oxygen for 30 minutes to remove nitrogen from their blood and tissue, Rub the helmet with anti-fog compound, Insert a food bar and water-filled bag, and Check the suit for leaks by increasing the pressure to 0.20 atm above the airlock pressure. Maybe the models of space suits in The Martian have advanced greatly and take seconds to put on. Today’s astronauts would sure be jealous.
Banter Joking between the crew members and sarcasm between NASA members was accurate. Performing missions can get stressful and comments like the astronauts made between each other during Mars rock excavation occurs to relieve tension. But sometimes astronauts simply have a sense of humor. I’m glad The Martian portrayed the human side of NASA.
Mission Control Portrayed as a dimly lit stock exchange room futuristic Johnson Space Center (JSC) Mission Control Center contains dozens of consoles where flight controllers operate mission from. The first big no no is housing employees responsible for critical dynamic troubleshooting in a dark sleepy room. Cinematically it made the labels for the various consoles Flight Director, CAPCOM, ADCO look really cool. Yes, the mission control center in JSC has cool light-up blue console name plates. A second no no is the high number of consoles filling the big room. A flight director would have problems communicating with such a large group especially while systems were failing.
I understand that so many positions in mission control were added to operate the new technologies needed to complete the Mars mission and I thought of a solution. Currently at JSC our front room mission control (FCR, pronounced “ficker”) is what everyone sees on TV with the iconic consoles and big displays. Behind the scenes the Multi-Purpose Support Room (MPSR, pronounced “mipser”) controllers troubleshoot issues and work on procedures as well. MPSRs could reduce the number of consoles needed for a Mars mission. MPSR controllers can still communicate their concerns on audio loops to their FCR leaders.
NASA Family Everyone was cheering to save Mark Watney and bring him home. NASA scientists, engineers, leaders, and the whole community came together working overtime to keep him alive. This sense of “NASA Family” is very real at NASA and is a state of community that you feel even after a few weeks onsite. During Apollo 13 you could sense everyone’s held breath and relief when they returned safely. You could feel a heavy weight and sorrow after the Columbia and Challenger disasters. Pride was presented boldly with waving flags, hugs and cheering after the Moon landing. NASA is a family innovating for the future and striving for more moments to cheer about.
Little Catches *Good the time delay in communication between Mars and Earth was accurately explained. *Why was that astrophysicist wearing a heavy coat at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California and Johnson Space Center in Texas? *Our NASA Centers do not yet look that pristine, in fact a lot of them contain asbestos.
Sources My experience and… https://youtu.be/m2bkJQah_dE http://science.howstuffworks.com/space-suit6.htm http://stao.ca/gr6space/livinginspace/Donning%20a%20spacesuit%20_article.pdf http://www.space.com/16903-mars-atmosphere-climate-weather.html
NASA Co-Op Week 4: Meeting Martians
Stars from the Martian movie visited Johnson Space Center including Sebastian Stan (who plays an astronaut and was also the Winter Solider in an Avengers Captain America Movie) and Mackenzie Davis (who plays a flight operator in mission control that discovers Mark Watney is alive). Ellen Ochoa the center head hosted a Q&A so Sebastian and Mackenzie could ask astronaut Mike Hopper, a real Mission Control Operator, head of science, and head of engineering Kirk Shireman questions and visa versa. The Martian actors challenged the NASA employees wit asking how they would survive on Mars. Sebastian, who plays an astronaut that has a crush on a fellow space explorer, asked if there was ever crushes on the international space station! I shared with Mackenzie that my role as a Mission Control Co-Op is similar to her character's role in the movie. KHOU a Houston local news station interviewed me about the clash of science at NASA and science fiction in Hollywood.
Here is the full Q&A with Sebastian Stan & Mackenzie Davis from The Martian
Scott Kelly celebrated halfway to a year in space! This year long mission reveals data key to ensuring a longer duration flight to Mars and beyond can be done safely. Data that has been collected includes bone density, muscle mass, eyesight, key organ functions, and effects of radiation. Kelly Skyped down to ground to celebrate with Johnson Space Center.
HOW TO GET INVOLVED Learn about the real martians and NASA's Journey to Mars See how already long duration space flight has effected Scott Kelly Tune into a video series by Time Magazine following the Year Long Mission Subscribe to NASA on YouTube for mission and spacecraft updates Hear producer, astronauts, NASA folk and Author Andy Weir talk about the Martian at Comic-Con Watch The Martian movie coming out October 1st Read The Martian by Andy Weir Intern with NASA | Launch your Aerospace Career | Get Excited about STEM Work for NASA
NASA Co-Op Week 3: Sitting Console
A scene from the New York stock exchange center was what I expected from Mission Control. Imagining the flight director with a thick cigar and eyebrows raised, flight controllers sitting console arguing about an experiment or device gone haywire and astronauts happily floating and Tweeting hearing only commands from Cap-Com that got through. My expectation was fortunately far from the truth.
Mission Control is calm, controlled and direct. The flight director welcomes the console leads, PLUTO, Ops Plan, RIO, ROBO, ISO and so on. Each flight controller checks in with a status and their goals to accomplish. Astronauts join in every morning for a daily operations meeting asking questions about upcoming experiments and big ticket events. Cap-Com is the only position in Mission Control that speaks with the astronauts so other flight controllers let Cap-Com know what needs to be relayed to astronauts. While sitting console with PLUTO I could listen to all the audio loops, Russian translation loop, JAXA, ESA, each console, and other NASA centers.
HOW TO GET INVOLVED:
*Tour the Mission Control Center through Space Center Houston
*Apply for a Pathways Internship (Co-Op) NOW ONLY OPEN SEP 14-18 for Johnson Space Center
*Apply for an internship at one of the many NASA centers.
*Follow NASA on Tumblr
NASA Co-Op Week 2: Beyond Low Earth Orbit
Industrial drive advancing space exploration is juxtaposed by the nature around NASA’s campus. I can stroll past trees, ponds, deer, cranes, turtles on meandering sidewalks which connect Johnson Space Center’s buildings. A couple blocks down I can visit a caged beast that never flew, Saturn V.
Termination of Apollo halted production of many projects and future Moon missions. The Saturn V Rocket was in full functional condition eager to launch and fulfill its duty to send the capsule beyond low earth orbit. Now it’s Houston’s most expensive tourist attraction. During my Co-Op I work towards sending us back beyond low earth orbit again.
My technical work continues with PLUTO (Plug-in Port Utilization Officer) on of the teams in current mission control. Currently I am orchestrating training for crew members. This training will teach astronauts how to use a device that will assist them in conducting labs and procedures in space. I am scheduled to OJT (On the Job Training) at a number of console positions with mission control in the next few weeks. In addition to technical work I have been appointed leader of the PAXC (Pathways Agency Cross-center Connections) committee where Co-Ops and interns communicate with peers at other centers and the Lectures and Tours Committee tasked with exploring the coolest places onsite and arranging lectures with some of NASA’s legends.
Intern Week 9: Flying With An Astronaut
T-38 Simulator To get ready for intensive piloting into space astronauts train on the Northrop T-38 Talon, the first supersonic two seated trainer. I hear astronauts flying through the air in the T-38s every morning around Johnson Space Center. Before you can even think of piloting, it's essential to fly in a simulator to get use to the controls and indicators. I had the gracious opportunity to fly in the T-38 simulator with Astronaut Gregory C Johnson. With myself in the front of the tandem simulator and Johnson in the back (often entering God commands) I preformed rolls, buzzed the landing strip, and attempted a loop d' loop. I did enjoy flying in the simulation and would consider finding a flight simulator on Steam and hooking up my Logitech controller for practice.
Truth About The Russian Agreement Following the $490 million dollar deal NASA made with Russia to continue to use Soyuz, many are expressing concern about sending money overseas. This week Johnson Space Center Director Ellen Ochoa and Deputy Director Kirk Shireman spoke with us interns sharing career advice, illustrating their vision for the future of NASA and addressing this concern. Ochoa shared, while we are currently dependent on Russia for human transport to the International Space Station (ISS) NASA has assigned SpaceX and Boeing the task to transport astronauts from NASA to space from American soil. We are still purchasing seats on Soyuz because there must be overlap. While troubleshooting launching our own transport vehicles we must ensure there is still a way to get astronauts to the ISS. Reflecting on all the science that has been done on the ISS - the collaboration between the United States and Russia has propelled space flight into the future and expanded exploration. Shireman noted that although the United States will create a transport vehicle the partnership with Russia and other nations will continue. Shireman shared that the European Space Agency (ESA) is creating Orion's Service Vehicle after their experience with solar panels on the ISS. In the future Shireman sees many nations apart of the journey to Mars. What I took from this lecture is that it takes a planet to get to another planet.
Flight Director Wisdom Astronaut Michael Fossum and Flight Director Royce Renfrew shared career and life wisdom to interns and Co-Ops. A question I find helpful during my transitional time as a college student is - What would you tell your twenty year old self? Fossum shared that you should chase after what you desire to do, if you want to pursue a particular career find someone who got there and ask for advice. In respect to becoming an astronaut do not just check items off a list of skills and experiences you think astronauts should have, people have ruined their lives doing that. I asked Renfrew what key characteristic that an aspiring flight director should have. Renfrew mentioned this concept of having, Command Presence, meaning when you step into a room everyone knows the meeting is about to start. This presence doesn't necessarily have to do with your personality, how tall you are or how old you are. It is a very ambiguously defined characteristic but apparent when someone has it.
Intern Update This week I was primarily finishing documentation on my displays, writing my abstract, practicing my intern accomplishment summary presentation and creating a simple low fidelity interface the audio system can be tested with.
Current Mission Control
Directs football field sized International Space Station which orbits every 90min
Historic Mission Control
Flew humans to the Moon with less computing power than your smart phone.
Intern Week 8: Pool, Control & Opportunity
Neutral Buoyancy Lab Tour A familiar faint smell of chlorine wafted in the air as we entered the Sonny Carter Training Facility. We stared at a vat containing 6.2 million gallons of water, enough to fill nine Olympic swimming pools. Looking into the lagoon, 1:1 scale International Space Station (ISS) mock-ups were resting 40 feet below. Divers went about their daily routine escorting astronauts to various modules. Astronauts practiced EVAs (Extra Vehicular Activities) learning how to repair parts of the modules. Divers would retrieve tools astronauts drop and hold a camera up to their work for instructors to see. We saw where practice EVA suits are assembled and where modules are constructed before being submerged.
Mission Control Once again we return to Current and Historic Mission Control. Apollo 11 and 13 were among the great missions flown with less computing power than your smart phones. Controls were analog and sending messages via pneumatic tubes was common.
NASA Co-Op This week I was accepted into NASA Johnson Space Center's Pathways Internship Program, what NASA calls their Co-Op program. What does this mean? I will be sworn in as a U.S. Government civil servant and switch between semesters studying Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Minnesota Duluth and working at NASA. My NASA updates will continue throughout my experience.
Intern Week 6: A NASA Coincidence
Coincidence
I had barely graduated high school before embarking to NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio for an internship two summers ago. Equipped with my experience captaining a FIRST Robotics team I thought I was fully prepared for anything the engineering world could throw at me. Engineers racing to complete a power system for a multipurpose space habitat greeted me with hardware that needed testing, circuit board designs that needed fabricating, and copious acronyms that made my learning curve spike.
Fast forward two summers and I am now at at a different center, NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC), creating crew displays for that same habitat and same hardware. By crazy coincidence my mentor from Glenn came to JSC this week to run the full systems test with the displays my current department made. This system test means a lot to me after being on each end of the development. I was the only person who new the electronics inside of the power system and the digital guts powering the displays.
Astronaut Lunch
Yes you read that right lunch not launch. I had the gracious opportunity to meet Astronaut Mike Hopkins over lunch! He was on International Space Station (ISS) expedition 36 & 37, took part in two EVAs (extra vehicular activity), he has spent 166 days in space, and just a year ago he was in space. It was wonderful to talk to him about NASA, ways to become an astronaut and celebrity encounters.
Thermo Testing
A couple weeks ago I mentioned that us interns took part in thermo testing of cameras from the ISS in the wee hours of the night. In honor of our assistance our division, the Avionic Systems Division, awarded us will certificates in Team Excellence for "reinforcing the weary EHDC project team during overnight thermo testing." Caleb from: astronomicalwonders.tumblr.com also received this honor.
Good morning America and the whole wide world. Here is Pluto! Congratulations to New Horizon’s crew for their hard work and dedication. So inspiring that some of those on the mission have been with it since they were undergraduates in college! At 9pmET we get the first “phone home” pings from New Horizons on its mission status. Then for the next 16 months we get a waterfall of data from Pluto. Watch here: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/
Intern Week 5: Astronauts, Shuttles and Excitement
Excitement is unavoidable after experiencing a week like this. Attending an exclusive unveiling of TIME's new Documentary Series 'A Year in Space', creating a display for a water distiller on board a space habitat, meeting Astronaut Clayton Anderson, touring the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility, and listening to Ginger Kerrick speak about her journey through NASA. Where do I start?
A Year In Space
"We must test the only hardware we didn't design, the human body". Jeffrey Kluger, Author of Apollo 13, reflects on the importance of Scott Kelly's year long mission in space. Two summers ago during my internship at NASA Glenn I was frustrated with how slowly our journey to Mars was taking. Even co-workers and fellow interns were perturbed by what seemed to be minimal progress. What I didn't understand at the time is that there are many variables to test, that are currently being tested, before we can ethically send a human to Mars. Scott Kelly's mission is one of those trial runs to learn about the effects of long duration space flight. During the unveiling we watched the first to episodes of 'A Year in Space', produced by Jonathan Woods, which captures Scott Kelly's professional and personal trials and tribulations while preparing for the mission. The first two episodes were cinematically spectacular and emotionally captivating. You can watch them here:
http://time.com/space-nasa-scott-kelly-mission/
Distiller Interface
Resources are extremely precious, especially if you are 250 miles or further (distance of the ISS) away from spaceship Earth. Among the human essentials for life absent in the big black vacuum of space is water. According to NASA's Consolidated Launch Schedule approximately 420 kg of water (887 bottles of water) has been transported to the International Space Station (ISS). This may seem like a lot of water however it is used for consumption, washing, experimenting, cooking, and many more activites. ISS has a highly efficient distiller system which takes the waste water and separates un-salvageable waste from reusable drinking water. This week I created a display so the crew members to monitor the water distiller's functionality. By programming visuals that illustrate the direction the liquids are flowing, visually displaying liquid levels with dynamic images of tanks filling and emptying, indicating the pressure, temperature, and amount of liquid flowing through the system crew members can keep track of the vitality of their distiller system.
Astronaut Clayton Anderson
Tenacity is a key ingredient in becoming an astronaut. One of the things Astronaut Anderson is known for applying to become an astronaut candidate 15 times before being accepted into the program. I was honored to meet Astronaut Anderson at his book signing for "The Ordinary Spaceman" telling his journey as a NASA intern-employee turned astronaut. He has spent 167 days living and working on the ISS. Check out his work: http://astroclay.com/ "Astro Clay" is also very active on Twitter and fun to follow: @Astro_Clay
Space Vehicle Mockup Facility Tour
Although these are referred to as "Mockups" in reality they are exact replicas of the vehicles in space right now so astronauts can accurately simulate missions. My mentor gave us interns a ground tour of the facility. We were able to explore inside the shuttle replica, visit Soyuz spacecraft and look inside the latest Orion mockup where they are currently positioning the displays to the correct eyesight for crew members. Visitiors to Johnson Space Center (JSC) can also tour the Mockup Facility also known as the astronaut training facility. If you are ever in Houston stop by Space Center Houston and you can take a tram tour which takes you around JSC and into a walkway overlooking the mockups: http://spacecenter.org/
Ginger Kerrick
Interns and Co-Ops (Pathways Interns) had the gracious opportunity to attend a lecture by Ginger Kerrick. As a young girl Kerrick dreamed to become an astronaut. From childhood dream to intern to Co-Op to employee to astronaut candidate to astronaut assistant to Capcom to Flight Director to essentially the head of ISS to... *catching breath* - Ginger Kerrick is amazing. Hear her story on Women@NASA: http://women.nasa.gov/ginger-kerrick/
It has been an amazing week with sadly only five more to come. I wish you all could have this experience and I encourage you if you are interested in an aerospace or space related career to intern at NASA: https://intern.nasa.gov/ossi/web/public/main/ All photos were taken by myself or fellow interns of me.
Resources for Women in STEM
As a women in STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) I wanted to share my resources with you. Each of these camps I participated in, teams I joined and communities I became a part of boosted my confidence in my STEM abilities and fueled my passion to pursue my dream career.
1) NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Award- National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT) hosts an award for high school students interested in pursuing a career in computer science. “The NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing honors young women at the high-school level for their computing-related achievements and interests. Awardees are selected for their computing and IT aptitude, leadership ability, academic history, and plans for post-secondary education.”
As an Aspirations Award winner you have access to exclusive scholarships, internship opportunities and get to be a part of a network of thousands of other women passionate about computer science. I know many groups over-hype their networking but this group has honestly opened so many unique doors for me. Five of us NCWITers had the opportunity to represent the group at President Obama’s Champions of Change Event at the White House. There were receptions at Facebook, Google, and the main event at the White House. We got to advocate for Women in STEM and I talked about project based learning.
Another opportunity that was a result of being an Aspirations Award Winner was my ability to attend Defrag Tech conference in Denver Colorado on a scholarship. My first posts on this blog are about Defrag.
2) NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Community Women studying in computer science in college, from an academic alliance institution, a major or minor in a related major, and qualifying GPA can become a part of this community! (very similar to the aspirations award group described above). In addition there is also a yearly collegiate award for $7,500 for three members in their junior year or above.
3) St. Olaf Engineering and Physics Camp for Girls this is a top notch camp for high schoolers where for a whole week you are spending the majority of your time with power tools in your hand designing a Rube Goldberg machine using solenoids, motors, and limit switches. The other part of your week? Presentations from women engineers, liquid nitrogen ice-cream, looking a Saturn through a telescope, and the best college food in the Midwest. Think Northfield, MN is too far away? Trust me, this camp is worth that trip.
4) Women In Engineering Camp at Michigan Tech College High schoolers get ready for a week long crash course in engineering. Learn about electrical, chemical, computer, and mechanical engineering. While I was there we built submarine robots and imaged logo figures onto glass with a laser.
Didn't see something for your age group? Check the “Launch your Career in Aerospace” post. Photo descriptions in the captions.
NASA Intern Bonus Update
Recently my coach from FIRST Robotics past visited me and we toured Johnson Space Center (JSC). We got a look into Building Nine where astronauts train for their missions in mock vehicles. There were shuttle, international space station, Orion, rover, and robotic mocks. I was so glad my mentor could visit, FIRST Robotics is a huge reason why I am here!
For photo descriptions see captions. All taken by me at JSC.
Links: FIRST Robotics My old HS team Duluth East Daredevils