Month: April 2010

NASA's Open Government Plan

Last Wednesday, NASA, along with 23 other federal agencies, released its Open Government Plan to comply with President Obama’s Open Government Directive. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work closely on the development and production of the Plan, and it’s great to see it finally out in the wild!

I started working on the Open Government Directive in early February, not long after I came here. The plan was just in the beginning stages, which provided me with tons of opportunities to work directly with those who were mapping out the strategy for how to approach the Directive as well as with members of the individual project teams which were to be highlighted in the final document. I’ve never worked on a project this large or complicated before, so it was incredible to see how much effort went in to ensuring the Plan was correct down to every last word.

NASA's Open Gov Plan
The Cover of NASA’s Open Government Plan

As the pace quickened in the weeks leading up to the April 7th deadline, I had the chance to take the reins on some parts of the project as we assembled the final document. It’s not very often that an undergraduate has the opportunity to write sections of a document set to be delivered to the White House, so it was great to be able to get that sort of experience! I primarily worked on the Citizen Engagement Analysis section as well as assisting on the Letter to Transparency Advocates.

The Plan also has some awesome initiatives highlighted. My personal favorites are the Open Source Software Development and Participatory Exploration Office sections. Both have the potential to get members of the public involved in NASA activities in new, innovative ways – a great opportunity for NASA to explore avenues of development and for the public to become engaged with NASA on a novel level.

You can view NASA’s entire Open Government Plan here. The plan, however, isn’t just for consumption. Be sure to give your feedback on the plan via NASA’s IdeaScale tool as well!

Seeing Hubble with a New Dimension

Last night, I went to see Hubble 3D at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. I’ve always been enamored with the incredible photos the Hubble Space Telescope provides us of the cosmos, but experiencing them in 3D on a six story screen gave a whole new dimension (literally) to the amazing expanses of our universe.

The Helix Nebula, as seen from the Hubble Space Telescope in 2002

Apart from pretty visuals, however, Hubble 3D also kindled a sense of awe in me. It’s mind blowing to realize we have built a technology that enables us to see further than any of us can even really even comprehend. The images and 3D models Hubble produces not only make incredible desktop photos. They allow us to better understand our galactic neighborhood, to figure out how our planet came to be, and to find other worlds like ours.

Astronauts repair the Hubble Space Telescope during STS-125.

The awe I felt while watching Hubble 3D is the same awe I felt back in elementary school, when my teacher turned the TV on to let us all watch the launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery carrying John Glenn. It’s the same awe I felt years later as the first images from the Mars rover Spirit were sent back to Earth, unveiling new details about a still unfamiliar world, or in 2007 as I saw Space Shuttle Endeavour launch in person from the Kennedy Space Center. 

I remember during each of those moments saying that I wanted to be part of that. I wanted to work for NASA. And, now that I do, I realize the importance of passing on that dream to the next generation, to continue inspiring and motivating children to discover new things about our world. Hubble 3D manages to blend elements of inspiration, education, and wonder into a film less than an hour long. It’s an incredible experience – and it made me realize just how lucky I am to be able to say I’m living my dream.