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Competitiveness in the Space Economy
Posted on Jul 18, 2008 12:50:56 AM | Shana Dale
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In my blog entry for April 11, 2008, I wrote about the “Space Economy” and the two keys to its success. My focus was on the first of those keys, innovation, and the way it is enabled by NASA. Internally, we often refer to NASA-enabled innovation as technology commercialization.
With this entry, I would like to discuss the second key ingredient to economic growth -- competitiveness. U.S. National Space Policy directs NASA to encourage the development of a highly competitive U.S. commercial space industry. Ideally, this industry would meet NASA’s mission needs in addition to those of non-government customers. Encouraging the creation of this type of industry is known as commercial development.
NASA is embracing commercial development because a broad and robust commercial space sector will be essential for the U.S. to meet its exploration goals in the long-term. With the private sector providing goods and services in the near-Earth region, NASA will be able to concentrate on exploration further into space.
To encourage a new commercial space sector, the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) developed a Commercial Development Policy in November 2007. This policy is consistent with guidelines already written into law (P.L. 102-588), by including the following principles:
• NASA should only encourage commercial space sectors that can fulfill specific mission needs.
• Procurement of commercially procured good or service must be cost effective.
• The goods or services must be bought through an open and fair competition.
• Non-government customers for the good or service must exist.
• The long-term success of the commercial space sector cannot rely upon long-term Government support.
• The Government cannot fund the entire venture.
To date, ESMD has adopted this policy and it is being distributed to the rest of NASA offices for review. The goal is to develop an Agency-wide, NASA Commercial Development Policy before the end of the year.
The ESMD team has made a major effort to solicit input on this policy from as many external sources as possible. I encourage you to request the ESMD documents from Ken Davidian (kdavidian@nasa.gov). Comments provided to Ken by the end of August will be considered for the final version of the NASA Commercial Development Policy.
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Ikhana and the California Wildfires
Posted on Jul 11, 2008 12:40:55 AM | Shana Dale
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In response to the ongoing fires in California, NASA continues to support the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and the State of California.
California Governor Schwarzenegger's Office of Emergency Services contacted NASA Ames Research Center requesting to use Ikhana, the NASA Predator-B unmanned aircraft, to obtain visible light, infrared and thermal imagery of the California wildfires. Last year, the imagery provided by Ikhana was able to complement the other tools used by emergency response personnel to effectively allow them to see through the smoke of the 2007 wild fires to monitor and predict the fire’s behavior.
The remotely piloted aircraft is carrying the NASA-developed Autonomous Modular Scanner on several planned flights. Originating at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, the flights are covering an area from Santa Barbara to the Oregon border. The sensor, its telemetry and real-time data processing were developed by NASA Ames. The sensor, carried in an external pod under the aircraft's wing, detects temperature differences from less than one-half degree to approximately 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, revealing fire hotspots.
In Ikhana’s first flight on July 8, the aircraft flew over 10 individual or complex fires along a route over the Sierra Nevadas, west to the Cub Complex fire in Northern California and south to the Gap Fire in Santa Barbara County. Currently there are more than 300 wildfires burning in the state.
Once the images are collected onboard Ikhana, they are then transmitted through a communications satellite to NASA Ames where the imagery is superimposed over ground maps to better visualize the location and scope of the fires.
From a ground control center, NASA pilots command the Ikhana aircraft in close coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration, which is allowing the aircraft to fly within the national airspace while maintaining safe separation from other aircraft. The imagery is then transmitted to the Multi-Agency Coordination Center in Redding, California, and the State Operations Center in Sacramento, within minutes of acquisition, which distributes it to incident commanders in the field.
The Science Mission Directorate funded development of the fire sensor with the intention of having the capabilities transition to operational agencies in the near future. By transitioning this technology to operational agencies the benefits of this research and development effort can support the entire national wildfire fighting efforts.
More images are at: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/fire_and_smoke.html
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Smithsonian Folklife Festival
Posted on Jul 02, 2008 11:59:57 AM | Shana Dale
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Last week marked the opening of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C. held at the National Mall. (see image at left) This year, NASA, the State of Texas and the Kingdom of Bhutan are the honorees. The Folklife Festival is held for ten days June 25 - 29, and July 2-6, is free to the public and typically attracts more than one million visitors.
Image at left is the Prince of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel on a NASA Moonbuggy
NASA: Fifty Years and Beyond will showcase the role that the men and women of NASA have played in broadening the horizons of American science and culture, as well as the role that they will continue to play in helping to shape the future by stirring the public imagination.
The NASA program includes presentations, hands-on educational activities, demonstrations of skills, techniques, and knowledge, narrative "oral history" sessions, and exhibits that will explore the spirit of innovation, discovery, and service embodied by the Agency. We have over 500 volunteer representatives that include astronomers, astronauts, astrophysicists, scientists, engineers, and other subject matter experts to answer questions from the public.The Festival kicked off with several exciting events, including a special advance screening of the Disney Pixar film Wall-E in Washington, D.C., and a special concert of Gustav Holst's The Planets by the Space Philharmonic, a part of the National Symphony Orchestra, led by Maestro Emil De Cou. The concert, held in the Museum of the American Indian, included imagery from NASA and featured the playing of the new Wall-E theme song. These special events set the stage for a great week of sharing NASA's culture, mission and inspiration with tens of thousands of visitors on the Mall.
This week we have more exciting events in store for the more than 100,000 expected visitors per day over the Fourth of July weekend. Please check out the NASA Folklife Festival activities and schedule at www.nasa.gov/50th/Folklife/ or NASA employees can visit our communications portal at http://communications.nasa.gov.
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Another Exciting Week for NASA Mission Success
Posted on Jun 20, 2008 06:09:08 PM | Shana Dale
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Last week was a great week for missions at NASA. We successfully launched the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST); Space Shuttle Discovery safely returned with the STS-124 crew; and Phoenix scooped and scraped at the surface of Mars uncovering what may be either ice or salt immediately below the Martian surface.
GLAST
GLAST, a powerful new observatory, was launched to explore the most extreme environments in the Universe. Gamma rays are the highest-energy form of light, and the gamma-ray sky is spectacularly different from the one we perceive with our own eyes. GLAST data will enable scientists to answer persistent questions across a broad range of topics, including supermassive black hole systems, pulsars, the origin of cosmic rays, and searches for signs of new physics. GLAST is a partnership between NASA and the Department of Energy with international contributions from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Sweden. This mission is expected to last five years with a goal of ten years of operation. GLAST will be working with NASA’s Great Observatory missions (Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the Spitzer Space Telescope) to provide full-spectrum coverage of the heavens for astrophysicists around the world. Thanks to the GLAST team for their contribution to the blog. For more information visit: http://www.nasa.gov/glast.
STS-124
After 14 days in space, Space Shuttle Discovery safely landed after another successful mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Discovery completed a 5.7 million mile journey that included delivery of the Japanese Science Laboratory known as “Kibo” and picking up Astronaut Garrett Reisman who returned home after 95 days in space – 90 of which were aboard the Station. There were three spacewalks totaling 20 hours, 32 minutes. The crews transferred 1,787 pounds of resupply cargo and returned 1,807 pounds of cargo to Earth. Discovery hauled up and delivered to the ISS 783 pounds of water, 135 pounds of nitrogen, 121 pounds of oxygen and as some would say the most important of all -- toilet parts.
Left behind on the station is the Expedition 17 crew, Commander Sergei Volkov, Flight Engineer Oleg Kononenko and Reisman’s replacement, Flight Engineer Greg Chamitoff, who will spend the next five months on the Station until his return home on STS-126. Welcome home STS-124.
UNCOPUOS
Last week, I had a unique opportunity to travel briefly to Vienna, Austria, to address the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS). An important objective of my visit was to provide the Committee with an overview of NASA’s first 50 years in space, as well as communicate our future plans for space exploration that will encompass a need for global cooperation and partnership.
UNCOPUOS was set up as an ad hoc committee by the General Assembly in 1958, and as a standing committee in 1959, to review the scope of international cooperation in peaceful uses of outer space, to devise programs in this field to be undertaken under United Nations auspices, to encourage continued research and the dissemination of information on outer space matters, and to study legal problems arising from the exploration of outer space. UNCOPUOS is comprised of sixty-nine member countries; observer organizations, such as the European Space Agency; and other UN organizations.
I also had meetings with the Chairman of UNCOPUOS, Dr. Ciro Arevalo-Yepes (see image above on the left), the Director of the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs, Dr. Mazlan Othman (see image above on the right) and the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in Vienna, Mr. Greg Schulte.
On a personal note, while I did not participate in any soccer-related events during my trip, it was fun to be in Austria during the ongoing Euro 2008 soccer tournament, which Austria and Switzerland are hosting this year. During my brief stay, the national team from Austria played the national team from Poland in Vienna and the entire town was alive with excitement surrounding the game. Fans from both Austria and Poland were walking around town dressed in team colors. I would like to thank the Office of External Relations for doing a great job with this trip.
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Phoenix and STS-124 -- What a Week!
Posted on Jun 06, 2008 04:08:21 PM | Shana Dale
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The last two weeks have been pretty spectacular for NASA. We awaited the landing of Phoenix and launch of STS-124, and both were successful.
Phoenix Mars Landing
On May 25, Phoenix landed on the Arctic plains of northern Mars. It was a moment of multiple emotions, first anticipation and then absolute exhilaration, when Phoenix landed.
The first images revealed a landscape familiar to that of some of the colder climates on Earth. The Martian surface where Phoenix landed is strikingly similar to the permafrost landscape of northeastern Spitsbergen, Svalbard (picture attached of both). On Earth, permafrost can preserve organic molecules, bacteria, and fungi for hundreds of thousands of years. Phoenix will bore down into the frozen ground, scoop up the frozen soil with its robotic arm and deliver it to scientific instruments on its deck. One instrument, called TEGA, will vaporize the soil sample and analyze the chemistry of the vapors. Ultimately, we hope to learn whether water-ice just below the surface ever thaws and whether some of the chemical ingredients for life — as we know it — are preserved in the icy soil. Perhaps our planets are even more similar than we thought. Some of the most intriguing images so far are those of the surface underneath the lander. These images show a white-hard surface that was apparently exposed by Phoenix’s thrusters during landing. It’s very possible that this surface is the water-ice for which Phoenix is searching.
The day Phoenix landed was the busiest day of the year on the NASA website. One hundred and eighteen thousand people watched the landing on the NASA TV website and over a 24-hour period, there were 2 million unique visits to our Phoenix website and view Phoenix Mission multimedia.
STS-124 Launch
On May 31, the STS-124 mission was successfully launched on a 14-day mission. This crew will deliver the second of the three components that make up Kibo, the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM), a laboratory, to the International Space Station (ISS) along with its remote manipulator system. The crew will use a combination of robotics and three spacewalks to accomplish its mission objectives. After installing the laboratory on the Station, the crew will also move the Japanese Logistics Module, which has been residing on Node 2 since its delivery on the last Shuttle mission, and attach it to Kibo. The logistics module contains computers and other components that will be used to outfit the Kibo laboratory. The final component of Kibo, known as the Exposed Facility (we refer to it as the Kibo "porch"), should arrive at the ISS next Spring. Once complete, Kibo will be the largest international component on the ISS.
As of Thursday, June 5, the crew has outfitted Kibo with systems racks and experiment racks and the second power and avionics string in Kibo has been successfully activated. Also, external cameras for use with the robotic arm as well as the "porch" were fitted to the exterior. The ISS and Shuttle crews are doing great and ahead of schedule. Visit the STS-124 mission site.
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California Outreach Effort
Posted on May 23, 2008 11:22:51 AM | Shana Dale
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Last week, I was on travel again hitting three different venues in California. On Tuesday, 13 May, I was the keynote speaker for the California Space Authority’s Space Day Luncheon in Sacramento. While speaking to the group, made up of aerospace contractors, California cabinet officials, and space enthusiasts about the history of our Nation’s space program and the exciting future ahead of us, another kind of history was being made just across the street in the state capitol building. Assemblywoman Karen Bass was being sworn in as the first African American female Speaker of the California Assembly.
Wednesday, I was in San Jose for the fifth NASA Future Forum. The San Jose Tech Museum was a terrific venue for the Future Forum and the officials at the museum provided a week’s worth of space-related educational activities to the local community. On the day of the Future Forum 1,600 students toured the museum. In my last blog, I mentioned that the San Jose Future Forum would be on Second Life and so it was. It was another unconventional outreach opportunity, and I would like to thank Erika Vick for creating and managing my avatar, Xena Dahl (closest name to Dale). I was joking when I said to name my avatar Xena, but the avatar was created -- thanks Erika
-- and so I’m just going to run with it.
I am excited about the future and I enjoy talking about what we are doing and where we are going with the Nation’s space program. What resonates with the general public the most is the combination of the inspiration from our space exploration missions with the examples of how NASA-derived technologies are critical for life here on earth.
The base speech for the Future Forums was the same and what we changed was the discussion of state-specific information and NASA-derived technologies. For example, in Miami I used ResQPOD and in San Jose I talked about software technology developed at NASA JPL called VICAR, Video Image Communication and Retrieval.
After my keynote in San Jose, several individuals said my speech was “powerful” and that is such a compliment because now they “get” it and are re-energized in their interest in America’s space program. As my staff says, the speeches I give are getting better. I am an introvert by nature and I have stepped way out of my comfort zone, but I feel it is extremely important to discuss the importance of NASA to the general public.
Lastly, on Thursday, I spent the morning meeting with the local elected officials of Mountain View and Sunnyvale in California. Ames Research Center has done a great job of working with their local communities.
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Information Technology Update
Posted on May 09, 2008 10:50:05 AM | Shana Dale
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This week at the Operations Management Council (OMC) meeting, a significant portion was dedicated to the work we are doing to improve information technology (IT). In 2007, the Strategic Management Council, approved strategic initiatives to: (1) clarify the role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) as stated in NPD 1000.3 and define core IT services that shall be provided by the CIO; (2) realign the NASA IT organization to reflect the role of the CIO and better connect with customers; (3) create a governance structure and processes to engage key stakeholders, inform IT investment decisions, and apply project management discipline to IT projects; (4) increase visibility into IT budgeting and spending through management controls and fund base IT services through a combination of Corporate and Center Management and Operations funding; (5) improve integration, security, and efficiency of IT by consolidating infrastructure and management control; and (6) assign ownership of application portfolios and create a CIO-facilitated process to drive application standardization and efficiencies.
With nearly $1.9 billion in annual IT spending, it’s critical that these initiatives succeed to ensure that IT enables the mission, is integrated, secures our information and systems, and helps improve efficiency. Each NASA Center has submitted an implementation plan for improving IT management based on the SMC decisions. Although this degree of change may be difficult for those involved, the status quo is not an option for the agency.
For instance, in the OMC meeting, Jerry Davis, the Deputy CIO for IT Security reported that for March 2008 alone, there were over one billion scans of NASA systems by external entities. These would-be hackers are scanning for vulnerabilities in NASA systems that they can quickly exploit. Because of the ever-increasing threats, NASA’s new IT Strategy and Investment Board recently approved an investment to establish a central Security Operations Center (SOC) for the agency, which I strongly support. The SOC’s initial operations will begin at the start of calendar 2009, and will provide improved agency-wide capabilities to prevent, detect, and respond to security incidents in a more rapid fashion.
Another initiative underway to improve security is the implementation of Mission Focus Review (MFR) 137, which calls for increased use of the Outsourcing Desktop Initiative for NASA (ODIN) contract to provide laptops and desktops. While originally intended to reduce costs, the main value of this change will be improved patch management and maintenance of core configurations required by the Federal government. For example, the implementation of smart cards to access NASA systems will be much smoother on ODIN-managed equipment. I recognize that this might be a difficult change for some NASA workers, but it is an important initiative that we must continue to implement.
These initiatives represent only a few of the many activities being pursued by NASA’s CIO community. The goals include increased security, enhanced integration, and cost savings.
I am very encouraged at the steps underway and the progress made in transforming the NASA IT environment and capabilities. Leadership at every level will be required to manage and bring about the changes we are undertaking. These changes will take time to complete and will be difficult; however, they are important and necessary in order for the agency to pursue and achieve our missions.
I would like to thank Jonathan Pettus, CIO, for his contribution to this week’s blog. - Permalink Comments
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The Budget Process
Posted on May 02, 2008 04:55:31 PM | Shana Dale
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This year’s budget process is different from what we normally do but is very similar to the budget submittal for FY 2002 as a new Administration came into office. NASA, like most federal agencies, will develop two budget requests this year. The first is the normal 5-year budget developed during our Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) cycle. The second budget is developed under a set of rules established by the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990, as documented in OMB Circular A-11.
With only two weeks between the Presidential Inauguration and the due date for submitting the President’s budget to Congress, there is insufficient time to develop and deliver a budget request. Thus, the federal government has developed a process for managing the budget delivery in years with a change in Administration (such as what happened eight years ago). The memo from OMB Director Jim Nussle (PDF) explains the process for developing this budget. Each agency is asked to develop a “current services budget.” This budget is simply the current appropriation (FY 2009 if enacted, else the equivalent of a full-year continuing resolution), with no changes to subsequent years other than inflation.
The PPBE process is well under way and although it is not required to be delivered to OMB, it is necessary to develop the PPBE budget as this provides the updated details for execution in FY 2009, as well as the integrated 5-year baseline for understanding the second budget. This year, no budget reviews will be conducted with OMB directors, and there will be no formal passback process.
We will work with OMB on issues that may arise with ongoing programs due to the difference between the PPBE baseline and the current services baseline. This will help OMB form position papers that will be presented to the new Administration’s transition team. The current services budget also becomes the starting baseline for NASA’s discussions with the incoming transition team that will typically start in November, as soon as the election is clearly settled. Understanding how this baseline differs from the PPBE baseline, and understanding the options for resolving any issues will be important in preparing for the incoming team.
Finally, an updated budget will be developed by the new Administration for submittal to Congress in April, which will then become the new Administration’s initial 5-year plan for NASA. This will likely draw heavily on the details developed during PPBE, as well as any strategic decisions made by the new team. So as we work through the current PPBE cycle, we must recognize that any PPBE proposals for changes in strategy or overguides will be compared to the current services budget and not the PPBE cycle when we begin discussion with OMB in September and the transition team in November.
I would like to thank David Schurr, NASA Comptroller, for his contribution to this week’s blog.
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INKSNA,Miami,and More
Posted on Apr 25, 2008 04:56:16 PM | Shana Dale
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INKSNA
Briefings with congressional staff continue after the Administration cleared language to amend the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Act (INKSNA) [P.L. 109-112]. Portions of that law adopted in 2005, prohibit "extraordinary payments" both "in cash" and "in kind" from the U.S. Government to the Russian Government, Roscosmos, and entities under Roscosmos' authority for the International Space Station (ISS). In 2005, Congress provided an exception for ISS purchases and barters through December 31, 2011.The U.S. will have no U.S. crew transport or rescue capability after the Shuttle retires in 2010, until a new U.S. vehicle is operational (NASA's Orion or future U.S. commercial crew transport and rescue capability). Until then, we will continue to need to be able to acquire use of Soyuz vehicles. In addition, there are certain limited goods and services where Russia offers unique capabilities, such as sustaining engineering support that we will continue to need to purchase from Russia. The lead-time for contract negotiations and subsequent production is very significant, over three years, thus the need for Congress to pass this amendment as soon as possible this year.
Miami Future Forum
On Friday, April 18, I was in Miami, FL and gave the keynote speech at the fourth Future Forum which was held at the University of Miami.
Shana Dale, Donna Shalala, and Florida Governor Charlie Crist. (Photo Credit: NASA)
The University of Miami was an excellent venue to speak to the mix of community and business leaders, educators and students. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the University of Miami for making this possible and to Mr. Sergio Gonzalez, Vice President for University Advancement and External Affairs, University of Miami, who helped make this dynamic event happen.
The Honorable Donna E. Shalala, President of the University of Miami, spoke as well and she said, “We are grateful for the opportunity to connect space exploration, entrepreneurship and education, as one of the selected sites to host a NASA Future Forum in celebration of the agency's 50th anniversary.”
It is great for the non-traditional communities we have been focusing on to hear what we are doing and where we are going. Carl Walz, Director, Advanced Capabilities Division for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, spoke about Constellation, and STS-122 Commander Stephen Frick narrated a video from his February Shuttle mission and participated on the Inspiration Panel.
All in all, this event is one more example of how we are trying to reach out to non-traditional audiences to talk about 50 years of achievement, excite them about future missions, explain how NASA inspires kids to go into STEM, discuss how innovations from America's space program strengthens U.S. economic competitiveness, and explain that this is all done with a funding level that is six-tenths of one percent of the federal budget.
Florida Governor Charlie Crist, announced a partnership between Space Florida and SPACEHAB of Webster, Texas. They plan to use the ISS and the Space Life Sciences Lab at NASA's Kennedy Space Center to carry out space-based biomedical and biotech research. This announcement exemplified why we're holding Future Forums in cities such as Miami. It allows us to talk directly to the public about the diverse ways America's long-term space exploration goals lead to economic growth, scientific discoveries and technological advancements for people here on Earth, and in their own communities.
Barrington Irving at the Miami Future Forum. Photo Credit (NASA)
Finally, it was an honor to have Barrington Irving — the first African-American and youngest person to fly solo around the world — give a presentation at the Future Forum. His talk about his flight and the incredible work he is doing now to inspire young people was outstanding.
The San Jose Future Forum on May 14 should be great too. We are currently discussing how we can do the Future Forum as a mixed reality event. So, as I am doing the Future Forum in person, my avatar will hopefully be doing the same in Second Life. It should be interesting and I'm looking forward to it.
NASA Lecture Series
On Monday, April 21, I attended the NASA Lecture Series, another venue to celebrate NASA's 50th anniversary. World-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking, Ph.D., delivered a wonderful lecture on the importance of human space exploration now and for the next few hundred years. For more information about this event visit NASA Lecture Series - Professor Stephen Hawking. It was a special honor for me to meet Stephen Hawking and his delightful daughter, Lucy.
Left to right: Lucy Hawking, Dr. Stephen Hawking, Shana Dale (Photo credit: (NASA
Lucy spoke for a few minutes about the book she co-authored with her father, entitled George's Secret Key to the Universe. The book is meant to inspire children to pursue their interest in space and science. Another theme that Dr. Hawking mentioned — humorously, I might add — was one that Mike Griffin and I have spoken about on several occasions — the Space Economy.
Dr. Hawking emphasized the point that no one alive in the late 1400s could have imagined all of the wonderful things, “like a Big Mac or a KFC,” that our society would have a few hundred years later as a result of the discovery of the New World. While fast-food restaurants were clearly a tongue-in-cheek reference, it nevertheless illustrated his point about unforeseen advancements stemming from human endeavors. Similarly, we cannot comprehend even a small percentage of what miraculous developments and discoveries that will inevitably be spawned by the exploration of our solar system and beyond.
Dr. Stephen Hawking giving his NASA Lecture Series speech. Photo Credit (NASA)
Dr. Hawking, widely known as one of the most brilliant and forward-looking scientists of our time, is an emphatic and eloquent proponent of exploration — perhaps the single most important human trait that has propelled our society forward throughout history. His knowledge of the universe and our place in it gives him a special sense of what it means for human beings to always keep wondering about the unknown, to always keep pushing the boundaries of the next frontier, and to always keep discovering new things to make life better for future generations.
The profound message of Dr. Hawking's lecture is particularly inspiring to those of us at NASA, who are charged with boldly going where no human has gone before.
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Art Center Designs and Yuri's Night
Posted on Apr 18, 2008 02:08:22 PM | Shana Dale
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The Art Center College of Design
On Thursday, April 10, I, along with several other NASA officials, was on hand to view presentations designed and developed by students attending the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. About a year ago, NASA partnered with the Art Center to hit a target generation known as Millennials (those born after 1982 — and my senior year in high school). The Art Center is in a unique position to offer ideas and strategies on communicating with and engaging the Millennials.
NASA employees know what the acronym NASA stands for and NASA has far-reaching brand recognition, right? How many of you would be surprised that while most people recognize the acronym and know that it is associated with "space," some people actually have no specific knowledge about this Agency's missions, achievements or contributions? When you consider the Millennial generation in particular, you realize that NASA is not even on their radar screen. This realization and our commitment to inspire and engage the next generation motivated us to work with the Art Center to design two projects for NASA.
The first project, Mission: Millennial, focused on designing ways for NASA to more effectively communicate its missions, goals and benefits to young adults. The second, NASA Lunar Rover Project, focused on designing the optimal human lunar rover. In addition to the functionality of the designs, it was also meant to inspire those to want to go for a ride.
Mission: Millennial project teams with the names NASAtastics, NASAnauts and RedRocks, used a variety of mediums, such as nostalgia, retro cool approaches, redesigned websites with Facebook components and gaming, to project how NASA should look and feel to the Millennial generation. More importantly, the students shared how much they learned about the impact that NASA has had on their everyday life and how much the Agency has contributed to advancing technology. I even learned when to reach for my "stunnas" (note to my older generation: stunnas are a particular type of sunglasses).
NASA Lunar Rover Project: Individual students produced some amazing designs for the lunar rover. With names like ALEX (Advanced Lunar Explorer), Moonstream, NASA THESEUS, Hotwheels, and T.O.A.D. (To Observe Analyze and Defend), these vehicles proposed a wide range of solutions to the issues astronauts will face on the Moon. While the complexity of the designs showed the extensive research and time invested by the Art Center students, the functionality and sleekness made you want to suit up and drive. It was quite exciting to be surrounded by the enthusiasm of the student design teams.
.jpg "Rover model")
.jpg "MEXR rover model")
Yuri's Night, Bay Area 2008
On Saturday night, April 12, I was at the Yuri's Night celebration at Ames Research Center. This is the second year for this celebration on-site at Ames. It recognizes the anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's first spaceflight on April 12, 1961. He flew one orbit, at the age of 27, to become the first human to orbit the Earth. Celebrations also were held at Johnson Space Center and Goddard Space Flight Center, not to mention the other parties around the globe on this historic date. To open the festivities, Center Director Dr. Pete Worden appeared in a Soviet general's uniform in recognition of Yuri's homeland. Pete and I cut the ceremonial ribbon.
I wanted to attend as I had heard that it is very popular with Millennials. There was an air show, displays, bands, live performances, and interesting costumes. This did not have a traditional NASA-feel to it and that's one reason it appeals to a younger crowd. As I was walking around, I was imagining this event (with this crowd) at HQ or most of the other centers — but I couldn't get my head around that thought. I suppose you'd need to experience it to know what I mean. I didn't stay very late, but from all that I saw, it looked like a very successful event and made Ames accessible, in a fun way, to the surrounding community. Pete makes it possible so my hat is off to him.
.jpg "Rover model")
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