Rocket At NASA Johnson Space Center's Rocket Park

Watch the Super Blood Moon live now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgv0Z8Q2OIQ

What are the most important skills an astronaut should have m?

First of all, the basic requirement is a bachelor’s degree in a STEM field, and 3 years of experience (which can also be substituted for by an advanced degree). Other than that, operational experience (things with a technical/active/hands on nature like flying airplanes, SCUBA diving, taking things apart and putting them back together, basic fix-it skills, etc. etc.) is very important, as this is an integral aspect of every day of a space mission.  What we call “expeditionary skills” are also essential, basically the types of things you try to instill in your children, like how to play nicely with others, self care, team care, etc.  I like to think about this on the lines of a camping trip and who you would like to have along with you …someone that is competent and can take good care of themselves and their equipment, someone that contributes to the team and helps with group tasks, someone that is good natured and pleasant to be around, etc., someone fun!  These things are increasingly important now that we are regularly doing long duration missions (typical International Space Station mission is 6 months).  Experience living in extreme/remote/isolated environments with small teams is also useful, as it is similar to what we experience as astronauts.     

While adorned in Christmas decorations Mission Control is working fast to instruct astronauts on an unexpected space walk. Year in space astronaut Scott Kelly and newly arrived Tim Kopra are performing an Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) while first time astronaut Tim Peake is declared the commander of Space Station. Kelly and Kopra are assisting in moving the Mobile Transporter rail car a few inches to a worksite on the station’s truss where it can be latched in place. The rail car was stuck and needed to be moved so a Russian ships could be captured this week. In addition they are checking off items from previous EVA Honey Do list. From the perspective of someone who has developed astronaut training, this last minute EVA is extremely impressive! It takes months to develop an EVA's schedule, hours of training in the largest pool in the world with station mock ups - Neutral Buoyancy Lab, and development of hours of training videos. It takes a whole day just to get the suit on! My mentor said who ever pulled this space walk planning off is going to get a big award. WATCH LIVE NOW: www.ustream.tv/NASAHDTV

What r u majoring in

As a NASA intern most people assume that I am an aerospace engineering major but I am actually a computer science and electrical engineering double major. I wanted to build the broadest knowledge base possible. I know interns here that are psychology, graphic design, and fashion design related majors. NASA isn’t just for STEM majors. :)

Robotics Engineering Challenge Recycle Rush

Around the world FIRST Robotics teams huddled around screens big and small to watch their newest engineering mission be unveiled. Some in awe, shock, and disappointment students reacted to their newest challenge Recycle Rush. By February 17th, just six weeks, teams must create a robot that race to stack totes, lift containers, and herd pool noodles.

In Recycle Rush, two alliances of three teams race against the clock to stack as many objects a possible in two and a half minutes. This is a unique game for FIRST Robotics since each alliance will be separated by a six inch barrier, there will no longer be a need for defense. Although some students are disappointed in the lack of  defensive plays and butting heads with the opposing alliance this gives them an opportunity to focus on intricate game piece manipulation rather than protecting their robot. Coopertition, coined by professor and co-founder Woodie Flowers, is a unique characteristic of Recycle Rush as well. For double the points alliances can cooperate with their opposing alliance to stack totes in the middle of the field.

Recycle Rush Game Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTyCIYZQ_1s

How I'm Helping Out: During build season I will be mentoring the Duluth East Daredevils Robotics Team's media department. We are joining forces with a rival team and Duluth News Tribune to do reporting on the build season and FIRST robotics regional competition February 26th-28th in Duluth, MN. Here is what was published previous seasons: http://www.daredevils2512.org/media/bluedevil-press/

How You Can Help Out: FIRST Robotics competitions around the globe are in need of volunteers. To be a volunteer and help the cause there are both technical and nontechnical positions. Check it out! http://www.usfirst.org/community/volunteers

National Conference for College Women Student Leaders 

NCCWSL Wrap Up

Little broccoli shoots - the young trees sprout, compared to the elder trees spared by loggers. The broccoli are proof of an investment, confidence that the Iron Range's timber is desired. With Norway Pines lit like honey mead and faults of farmland irrigation exposed by a birds eye view, I descend upon Range Regional Airport. The NCCWSL leadership conference sprouted its own investment in hopes that we will become leaders that initiate positive change. Our definition of positive change was shaped by NCCWSL's keynote speakers, workshops, excursions, exchanges, and interpretations. If these experiences were taken at face value I do not believe "that" definition of positive change is best for our country. If taken with a grain of salt, a packet of pepper and a squirt of ketchup then a rational, moderate, and welcomed definition of positive change can be found.

Messaging

As reflected in this week's workshop titles and bios of speakers, this conference resonated primarily with the hopes and dreams of left-wing thinkers. Right-wing thinkers and the bipartisan curious may have been dissuaded by the polarity, thus surrendering the awesome opportunity to meet and be empowered by tenacious women who also strive to strengthen America. This conference did a stellar job energizing women with the same beliefs but did not teach us how to listen to, work alongside and communicate with those in strongest opposition. Like a fancy Sunday picnic I was equipped with metaphorical seasonings. I softened the extreme rhetoric and enhanced rudimentary flavors - ideas that reasonable human beings could get behind. For example, Melissa Harris-Perry is a passionate speaker, PhD, professor, and author. The delivery of her ideas, catered toward the conference goers, may shut down audiences she might want to persuade the most. Sifting through her flourishes, I found motivation to learn more about American history and search for the history of individuals lost from the pages of public school textbooks. I hope future NCCWSLs tackle the challenging task of teaching future leaders the ability to effectively and respectfully communicate with individuals with different beliefs.

Leadership

Meeting former chiefs of staff exemplified the presence of influential women on Capitol Hill. This brief panel and 2017 Women of Distinction Awards celebrating the success of five women gave conference goers a tangible illustration of successful professional women. With the presence of seasoned leaders, I did not learn any new leadership strategies to take back to my Co-Ops. Despite marketing the conference for "college student leaders" only a third of workshops and lectures claimed to be leadership focused. The third of leadership focused content did not offer content that challenged my understanding of leadership like I hoped for. Leadership is a challenging topic to teach effectively without elementary group activities, polarizing rhetoric, and parroting TED Talk clips. Equipped with the network of so many influential women leaders NCCWSL could recruit seasoned leaders to mentor conference goers to provide experience based leadership education.

Civic Action

Aspiring astronaut, sexual assault survivor and author of a bill of rights - Amanda Nguyen was my favorite speaker at the NCCWSL conference. Nguyen described how she drafted the Survivors' Bill of Rights Act of 2016, persisted to ensure it was passed in the Senate, unanimously passed in the House, and ultimately signed into law October 7th, 2016. Nguyen continues to write law into existence through Rise - which she founded. AAUW (American Association of University Women), parent organization of NCCWSL, has be active in formulating women's rights since 1881 including actions around Title IX. Despite this rich history with civic engagement NCCWSL offered no opportunity to draft law or engage with state representatives to make change. During this conference there was a lot of identification of problems with few avenues and instruction to find a solution. Workshops and lectures could be focused around finding solutions and our tourist outings to D.C. could be replaced with constructive meetings with Senators and Congressmen. Conveniently held in our nation's capitol NCCWSL has a unique opportunity to get young leaders engaged with constructing civic solutions.

Clickety clack I could type my opinions on NCCWSL all day. NCCWSL attendees and my actions moving forward is what will make the difference for future conferences. NCCWSL will send out a survey for feedback where conference goers can express their ideas for next year. Additionally there is an opportunity to become a student leader and help shape the curriculum for NCCWSL. My idea for a component of a future NCCWSL includes...

*Creating a theme around the conference such as working women, parental leave or equal pay.

*Prior to the conference students would draft legislation or thoughts to share with state representatives.

*First day of the conference students would meet in groups to refine legislation and their message.

*Second day students would meet with leaders on Capitol Hill to introduce ideas and/or legislation.

*Last day students would be to debrief and brainstorm next steps and action items for post conference.

I am thankful that AAUW Duluth chapter sponsored my NCCWSL journey. I am also thankful for the opportunity to meet other student leaders, hear their stories and get connected. No matter how involved I will be with this conference in the future, I am motivated to improve my communication with individuals with different beliefs, find new effective practices of leadership I can apply at my Co-Op, and learn how my civic action can improve our nation.

Sensing Mars: NASA Co-Op #2 Week Nine

Running trials with the new humidity on my fluid rig showed the fruits of my labor finally ripened. This week I ran three trials to collect data determining if a small business designed Humidity Sensor makes accurate measurements. NASA collaborates with small businesses to solve problems related to upcoming missions. The small business designed this Humidity Sensor so it could measure the humidity on Mars without corroding due to the planet’s chemistry.

Using sensors that NASA is familiar with I ran trial cases to get three different data points and compared those measurements to the new sensor. I created a low humidity environment with a desiccant (drier), created a moderate humidity with ambient air and a high humidity environment with a water bubbler. Using a National Instruments cDAQ (compact data acquisition) I collected data from a thermocouple, pressure gauge and a Vaisala humidity sensor that measures dew point (the temperature at which air can no longer “hold” all of the water vapor which is mixed with it) and mixing ratio (mass of water vapor over the mass of dry air). The new humidity sensor simply gives me the parts per million (ppm) of water using it’s ultrasensitive laser absorption spectroscopy. My other sensors don’t give me a ppm value so I have to calculate it using equations from my mentors “Fundamentals of Engineering Thermodynamics” book.

Building this trial rig was a unique experience because it required knowledge in electronics to interpret the signals sent by the sensors, computer science to write the data acquisition program and VNC (Virtual Network Computing) and chemical engineering to interpret data reported and use correct thermodynamics principles and equations. Next week will be looking at the data and get tangible values about how accurate the new Humidity Sensor is.

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

Check out the AstrOlympics

See what NASA was up to this week

Apply for a NASA Co-Op

Apply for a NASA Internship

Robotics Pit Area: Where students repair their robot between matches

Robotics Molds Students Into Professional Triple Threats

It’s no shock that FIRST Robotics promotes science, technology, engineering, and math. FIRST’s message of STEM education is smeared all over its challenges, image, and very name “FIRST”- For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. What FIRST robotics didn't expect to do is create a new breed of professional triple threats. FIRST has molded a generation of confident communicators, tenacious culture changers and gracious leaders.

Communication A stereotype for anyone in STEM industry is that you are socially impaired and enjoy being locked in a dark room with your work. Out in industry, why would the media want to speak with an engineer when there is a whole marketing department dedicated to doing just that? Especially when the marketing knows to NOT speak techy geek lingo that makes anyone want to forget every ounce of high school algebra they remember. This communication challenge is constantly navigated on a FIRST Robotics team. There is a different set of dialog for the media, fans, fellow teammates, and supporters. A phrase like “the new FRC roboRIO has integrated PWM, servo, and analog I/O channels capabilities” could be useless to you unless you were on a team while “this year’s robot controller allows us to add more sensors on our robot” is more meaningful. Students learn how to identify who their audience is and communicate accordingly. Teams often present to companies, schools, communities, some tech literate, and some not. Tech industry will soon be welcoming individuals in STEM that can communicate to a wide audience and not just among themselves.

Culture Hot topics like celebrity gossip may catch your attention but for most not this week’s newest innovations. Why? Culture. For what I like to call the engineering golden years, 50s and 60s, engineers were celebrated as superstars. The media and government were behind their innovative visions, currently that support is there but not as visible. Its obvious that students in FIRST try to change culture by showing that STEM is cool, but they also change culture in a more powerful and subtle way. Students engage in a unique form of cooperation scarcely observed in industry. Yes, during build season students keep their team's design hush hush, but when a rival asks for help they rise to the occasion and assist. You don't see Microsoft asking Apple for help with font design or firmware advice. Students recognize that the success of all teams is more important for the success of their own. Once these individuals enter into industry their mindset of advancing humanity rather than stock competition will allow innovation to occur faster.

Leadership The word leadership often evokes an image of a CEO, suits shaking hands, and a cheesy stock image pasted on a motivational presentation. Although being an executive leader is a lot of people’s goals there are just not many of those positions open. Getting to that level of management maybe involve some ungracious acts, climbing the ladder while stepping on a few people's toes. FIRST robotics has shaped a more realistic image of leadership in the mind of this generation. These students understand leadership doesn't just come in the form of leading others but also the leading of self. Autonomously identifying when you have nothing to do, thinking of a way to drive a goal forward by contributing, and completing that task sounds like a relic of a time gone by. For individuals on FIRST robotics this self-motivation is the key to their team’s success. Students learn that their team's goal would not be reached without their daily drive.

Disguised by the whirring motors and blinking lights a new generation is being fashioned. These professional triple threats graciously reform communication, culture, and leadership. At competition, beyond the field and into the robot pits is the best place to watch this transformation take place. Not convinced? Grab a pair of safety goggles, shake a few hands with students, collect a few robot buttons, ask about their robot design, hear about their aspirations, and see for yourself.

Find your nearest FRC competition: http://www.usfirst.org/whats-going-on

Third spacecraft of NASA's New Frontiers Program trilogy, OSIRIS-REx, launches TODAY SEPTEMBER 8TH to collect asteroid samples. Coverage starts at 3:30pmCT with OSIRIS-REx's mission debrief. Launch at 6:05pmCT. OSIRIS-REx will travel to a near-Earth asteroid called Bennu & bring a small sample back to Earth for study. Is OSIRISREx the beginning of asteroid mining? Protecting Earth from asteroid collisions? Watch history unfold! www.ustream.tv/nasahdtv