RIP Mr Spock May You Live And Prosper Wherever You Are.......

Vote for Space at SXSW 2017

We need your help! There are a number of exciting space-related panels proposed for next year’s South by Southwest Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas. SXSW is a community-driven event and voting accounts for 30% of the decision-making process for any given programming slot. The selection process is extremely competitive and the more votes we submit for the space panels, the more likely a panel related to space exploration will be included in the final SXSW program. 

To help you out as you consider what to vote for, we’ve put together a list of all the NASA-related panel proposals. 

These proposals look at ways we explore the solar system and beyond:

New Eyes on our Home System: NASA’s Next Telescope

Dark Energy and Exoplanets: NASA’s WFIRST Mission

Capturing NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope

Lessons from the Fringes of the Solar System

Into the Unknown: The People Behind Webb Telescope

These proposals looks at how we’re using out-of-this-world tech and data to create incredible experiences here on Earth and helping solve challenges through your participation:

Space 360: Experience NASA Missions in VR/AR/video

The Power of Many: Wisdom from the Crowd 

It’s Time to Ask More of Open Data

A little closer to home, this proposal explores our work to study and observe our dynamic home world, Earth:

NASA - Doing Work to Keep it Cool 

We want to send humans on a journey to Mars. How? These proposals would dive into this question and more: 

So you want to go to Mars?

Humans, Robots + Microbes: The Challenge of Mars

“Because They Are Hard”: NASA & Mars

Lastly, we’re proposing a meetup for NASA and the entire space community at SXSW 2017:

Space Meetup

Community voting and commenting for SXSW 2017 is open through September 2, 2016.

We look forward to seeing you in Austin in March at the SXSW Interactive Festival. Thanks!

NASA tested new “eyes” for its next Mars rover mission on a rocket built by Masten Space Systems in Mojave, California, thanks in part to NASA’s Flight Opportunities Program, or FOP.

The agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, is leading development of the Mars 2020 rover and its Lander Vision System, or LVS. In 2014, the prototype vision system launched 1,066 feet (325 meters) into the air aboard Masten’s rocket-powered “Xombie” test platform and helped guide the rocket to a precise landing at a predesignated target. LVS flew as part of a larger system of experimental landing technologies called the Autonomous Descent and Ascent Powered-flight Testbed, or ADAPT.

LVS, a camera-based navigation system, photographs the terrain beneath a descending spacecraft and matches it with onboard maps allowing the craft to detect its location relative to landing hazards, such as boulders and outcroppings.

The system can then direct the craft toward a safe landing at its primary target site or divert touchdown toward better terrain if there are hazards in the approaching target area. Image matching is aided by an inertial measurement unit that monitors orientation.

The Flight Opportunities Program funded the Masten flight tests under the Space Technology Mission Directorate. The program obtains commercial suborbital space launch services to pursue science, technology and engineering to mature technology relevant to NASA’s pursuit of space exploration. The program nurtures the emerging suborbital space industry and allows NASA to focus on deep space.

Andrew Johnson, principal investigator in development of the Lander Vision System development, said the tests built confidence that the vision system will enable Mars 2020 to land safely.

“By providing funding for flight tests, FOP motivated us to build guidance, navigation and control payloads for testing on Xombie,” Johnson said. “In the end we showed a closed loop pinpoint landing demo that eliminated any technical concerns with flying the Lander Vision System on Mars 2020.”

According to “Lander Vision System for Safe and Precise Entry Descent and Landing,” a 2012 abstract co-authored by Johnson for a Mars exploration workshop, LVS enables a broad range of potential landing sites for Mars missions.

Typically, Mars landers have lacked the ability to analyze and react to hazards, the abstract says. To avoid hazards, mission planners selected wide-open landing sites with mostly flat terrain. As a result, landers and rovers were limited to areas with relatively limited geological features, and were unable to access many sites of high scientific interest with more complex and hazardous surface morphology. LVS will enable safe landing at these scientifically compelling Mars landing sites.

An LVS-equipped mission allows for opportunities to land within more challenging environments and pursue new discoveries about Mars. With LVS baselined for inclusion on Mars 2020, the researchers are now focused on building the flight system ahead of its eventual role on the Red Planet.

To learn more about NASA’s flight opportunities program, visit:

https://flightopportunities.nasa.gov/

To read more about NASA’s Mars 2020 rover, visit:

http://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/

Testing of the SLS Main Booster.

6 Ways Earth Observations Tackle Real-World Problems

This summer, 30 research projects were launched by recent college graduates and early career professionals as part of our DEVELOP program. The aim is to use our satellite observations of Earth to address an environmental or public policy issue. And they have just 10 weeks to do it! On Aug. 10, 2016, the “DEVELOPers” gathered at our Headquarters in Washington, DC to showcase their results. So, how can Earth observations solve real-world problems? Let’s take a look:

1. They help land managers identify the locations of invasive species.

Austin Haney, DEVELOP project co-lead at University of Georgia, has seen first-hand how an invasive species can affect the ecosystem of Lake Thurmond, a large reservoir that straddles the border between Georgia and South Carolina. Birds in the area “behave visibly different,” he said, after they consume a toxic cyanobacteria that lives on Hydrilla verticillata, an invasive aquatic plant. Ingesting the toxin causes a neurodegenerative disease and ultimately death. Scores of birds have been found dead near lake areas where large amounts of the toxin-supporting Hydrilla grow. To help lake managers better address the situation, Haney and project members developed a tool that uses data from the Landsat 8 satellite to map the distribution of Hydrilla across the lake. 

Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

2. They help identify wildlife habitat threatened by wildfires.

Maps that depict habitat and fire risk in eastern Idaho previously stopped short of Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, where shrubs and grasses transition to a sea of ankle-twisting basalt. But the environment is not as inhospitable as it first appears. Throughout the monument there are more than 500 kipukas —pockets of older lava capable of supporting some vegetation. That means it is also prone to burning. Project lead Courtney Ohr explained how her team used data from the Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2 satellites to develop a model that can simulate the area’s susceptibility to wildfires. Decision makers can use this model to monitor the remote wildlife habitat from afar.

Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

3. In conjunction with Instagram, they help find seaweed blooms

Who knew that Instagram could be a tool for science? One DEVELOP team searched for photographs of massive seaweed (sargassum) blooms in the Caribbean, mapped the locations, and then checked what satellites could see. In the process, they tested two techniques for finding algae and floating vegetation in the ocean.

Image Credit: Caribbean Oceans Team

4. They help conserve water by reducing urban stormwater runoff.

Atlanta’s sewer system is among the nation’s most expensive. Yet, the city still struggles with stormwater. It’s an uphill climb as new construction paves over more of the city, hindering its ability to absorb rain. The University of Georgia DEVELOP team partnered with The Nature Conservancy to address the problem.

Using satellite imagery, the team was able to pinpoint areas well-poised to capture more of the city’s runoff. They identified 17 communities ripe for expanding green infrastructure and reforestation. The team used the Land-Use Conflict Identification Strategy and Soil and Water Assessment Tool models and Landsat and Terra satellite data. Their analysis provides local groups with a working picture of the city’s water resources.

Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

5. They show the spread of the mite eating away Puerto Rico’s palm trees.

The red palm mite has devastated Puerto Rico’s trees in recent years. The insect chewed its way through coconut palms, bananas, and plantains on the island in the recent decade. Its spread has hurt crops across the Caribbean.

A DEVELOP team led by Sara Lubkin analyzed satellite imagery to track the mites’ rapid spread from 2002. The team mapped changes to vegetation, such as yellowing, and differences in canopy structure. They made use of imagery from Landsat, Hyperion, IKONOS, and aerial views. Their work can be used to mitigate current mite infestations and monitor and prevent future ones.

Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

6. They evaluate landslide-prone areas in the developing world

One team of DEVELOPers took on several projects to aid people in developing nations. This team from Alabama examined satellite imagery to find past landslides in the African nation of Malawi. Factors such as flooding after long periods of drought have made the country increasingly prone to landslides. Blending maps of the landscape, rainfall data, and population centers, the young researchers assessed the areas most at risk—and most in need of education and support—from landslides.

Image Credit: East Africa Disasters II Team

Want to read more about DEVELOP projects, or get involved? Summaries, images, and maps of current and past projects can be viewed HERE. You can also learn how to apply for the DEVELOP program HERE.  

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

AD ASTRA PER ASPERA........ Lest we forge

Eta Carinae and Keyhole Nebula (NGC 3324), inside the Carina Nebula (NGC 3372)

RIP

While flying over Boston, Leonard Nimoy’s birthplace, NASA Astronaut Terry Virts pays tribute to the Star Trek star http://nbcnews.to/1AUElvf

For more on the Fermi Paradox and why alien life hasn’t found us yet. (Infographic via futurism)

We have been expecting you Mr Handle......