Fwd: [nasa-jsc-retirees-list] FW:NASA News and JSC Today - Thursday, May 28, 2015

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From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: May 28, 2015 at 10:02:42 AM CDT
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: [nasa-jsc-retirees-list] FW:NASA News and  JSC Today - Thursday, May 28, 2015
Reply-To: larry.j.moon@nasa.gov

Finally    Sun…..

 

JOURNEY TO MARS

• Testing Begins On InSight Lander.

• Some Types Of Asteroid Mining Could Increase Risks For Geosynchronous Satellites.

ISS

• Study Finds That Mice's Skin Was Thinner After 91-Day Stay In Space.

• ISS' Permanent Multipurpose Module Moved To New Location.

• NASA Places Its First Commercial Crew Order With Boeing.

• Russian Officials Still Unsure About What Caused Progress Cargo Launch Failure.

• NASA's New Docking Video Called A "Mesmerizing" Experience.

• Top 10 Favorited And Retweeted NASA Astronaut Tweets Listed.

• GAO: NASA Has Yet To Staff Important ISS Committee.

• DSU Students Compete For Chance To Send An Experiment To The ISS.

• Robonaut2 Cited As Example Of How Robots Will Replace Astronauts.

SOLAR SYSTEM AND BEYOND

• NASA Releases Most Detailed View Yet Of Pluto.

• Time-Lapse Of Hubble Images Shows Jet Of Gas Is Actually Globes Of Material.

• Star Found To Have Feature Similar To Kuiper Belt.

• Social Media Users Believe Story Of Marijuana-Covered Exoplanet.

EARTH RIGHT NOW

• Clarke To Be Next Official Head Of NASA's Heliophysics Division.

• El Niño Contributed To Texas' Record Rainfall.

• NASA Designs Pavilion For World Science Festival.

• Alaska Has Recently Experienced Unusually High Temperatures.

• NASA Recovers Super Pressure Balloon.

SPACE TECHNOLOGY

• NASA Seeking Tech Research Proposals From Universities.

• Time Set For Second LDSD Test Flight .

• NASA's Collaboration With Satellite Industry Is Growing.

• CAPE Concept Could Allow NASA To Do More With What It Has.

• Amateur Observers Spot X-37B's Orbit.

OTHER NASA NEWS

• Space Florida Delays Vote On KSC Shuttle Runway.

• NASA Proposes New Rules On Fair Pay And Safe Workplaces Executive Order.

• Aldrin States Support For UAE's Space Program.

JOURNEY TO MARS

Testing Begins On InSight Lander.

The Daily Mail (UK) (5/27, Zolfagharifard, O'Callaghan, 5.37M) reports that testing has begun on NASA's InSight Mars lander, which will arrive at the planet in September 2016, to make sure it will "work in and survive deep space travel and the harsh conditions of the Martian surface." Stu Spath, InSight program manager at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, said that its construction "went very well."

        Boing Boing (5/27, Jardin, 164K) and Headlines & Global News (5/28, Aquilina) also cover the story.

        CubeSats Will Provide InSight Landing Coverage. SPACE (5/27, Messier, 241K) reports that two CubeSats, known as Mars Cube One or MarCO, will be secondary payloads during InSight's launch and "provide real-time landing coverage" of the mission. At the recent CubeSat Developers' Workshop, Andrew Klesh of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory said, "We've done a lot over the last 10 years, the last 10 to 15 years, to build up CubeSats. ... Now, in 2016, CubeSats are going to Mars." Klesh said that the project will use "a number of the technologies we have been developing at JPL as well as in partnership with many of the vendors within this community."

Some Types Of Asteroid Mining Could Increase Risks For Geosynchronous Satellites.

New Scientist (5/27, Scoles, 15K) reports that in a new model on asteroid mining, Casey Handmer of Caltech and Javier Roa of the Technical University of Madrid determined that if miners decide to bring an asteroid to a nearby orbit, "5 per cent of the escaped debris" from those operations will reach geosynchronous orbit where defense and communication satellites operate, increasing the risk of collisions. The study authors stress that this situation can be managed by the time mining operations begin. The article notes that Mike Nolan of the Arecibo Observatory believes that NASA's Asteroid Mission, which proposes placing an asteroid in a lunar orbit, should only create a "small" risk.

ISS

Study Finds That Mice's Skin Was Thinner After 91-Day Stay In Space.

BBC News (5/27, Webb, 1.79M) reports that a 91-day study of mice aboard the ISS in 2009, or the equivalent "to about seven 'mouse years,'" shows that the mice have "thinner skin" than others that stayed on Earth. Because the sample size is relatively small, the team notes that this is just a preliminary finding. However, Betty Nusgens of the University of Liege, who was part of the research, said that this was "a unique experiment" because it was a record stay for animals in space. Although it cannot be directly related to humans in space, the study is still "highly relevant" to astronauts because they have reported "skin problems after long periods in space." The article notes that this research was just one of 20 studies involving the mice.

        The Telegraph (UK) (5/28, Knapton, 1.15M), in its report on the study, adds that astronauts experience "a series of health problems related to spending long periods in space."

        The Science Magazine (5/27, Shultz, 398K) "ScienceShot" website stresses that because only three mice were involved in the study, their results should be weighed "cautiously."

        According to SPACE (5/27, Cofield, 241K), NASA is conducting another skin-related experiment that it says will "improve our understanding of skin aging, which is slow on Earth but very much accelerated in space."

        Discovery News (5/27, Klotz, 774K) reports that Julie Robinson, lead ISS scientist, told the publication, "There has been anecdotal evidence of skin problems in astronauts on orbit, including slow healing of scratches, and some crew members have had nonspecific rashes."

        The Daily Mail (UK) (5/27, O'Callaghan, 5.37M), The Economist (5/27, 408K), NBC News (5/27, Boyle, 2.54M) website, and The Verge (5/27, Duhaime-Ross, 913K) also cover the story.

ISS' Permanent Multipurpose Module Moved To New Location.

Florida Today (5/28, Dean, 168K) reports that NASA successfully relocated the ISS' Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) "from the Earth-facing port on the station's Unity node" to the "Tranquility node's forward port." With space now made for future commercial spacecraft to dock at the station, SpaceX will next launch "a new docking adapter for one of the planned commercial crew ports" in June.

        collectSPACE (5/27, Pearlman) notes that ISS commander Terry Virts and flight engineer Scott Kelly oversaw the operation and will start work on the PMM in its new location today. Kenny Todd, ISS mission operations integration manager, previously said, "We will run some ventilation lines, power lines, data lines [and] some cables to allow us to talk to the [module] in its new location."

        The WAAY-TV Huntsville, AL (5/27, Barrett, 3K) "Space Alabama" website, Sen (5/27, Klotz), NASA Space Flight (5/27, Harding, 305), AmericaSpace (5/27, Evans), Spaceflight Insider (5/27, Rhian), and Immortal News (5/27, Rinehart) also cover the story.

        Kluger: Astronauts Have Busy Schedules Each Day. In an article for TIME (5/27, 19.57M), as part of its "Year in Space" coverage, Jeffrey Kluger writes about how busy ISS astronauts are every day. As an example, Kluger cites Virts and Kelly's work relocating the PMM, which was "worth the effort," noting that this took place while Kelly and other astronauts conduct "extensive biomedical tests" and other maintenance tasks. While this work can be hard, "monotonous," and relentless, Kluger comments that there are "a lot worse" places to work.

NASA Places Its First Commercial Crew Order With Boeing.

The Puget Sound (WA) Business Journal (5/27, Wilhelm, Subscription Publication, 48K) "Techflash" blog that on Wednesday, NASA placed its first order for a commercial crew mission to the ISS in 2017 with Boeing, with the expectation that SpaceX will also receive its first order sometime later this year. However, the article notes that while this is the first order, it is not yet certain which of those two companies will launch to the ISS first.

        The Huntsville (AL) Times (5/27, Roop, 127K) lists five items now known about NASA's commercial Crew program, including that a commercial mission will involve four crew members and that companies will receive "a minimum of two and maximum of seven missions."

        Aviation Week (5/27, Norris, 2K), WAFF-TV Huntsville, AL (5/27, 75K) website, and GovCon Wire (5/27, Hoffman) also cover the story.

        Blog Coverage. K. Thor at Geek (5/27, 94K) lists some of the top objects or people with "dragon" in their names. The first in the list is SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft

Russian Officials Still Unsure About What Caused Progress Cargo Launch Failure.

CBS News (5/27, Harwood, 8.2M) website reports that with no news yet about what caused a Progress cargo supply mission to fail a month ago, there is "a cloud of uncertainty" over using Russian spacecraft to reach the ISS. The article notes that on RussianSpaceWeb (5/28), Anatoly Zak cites unnamed Russian engineers who say the failure was caused either by a faulty weld or improper commands from the spacecraft's flight computer. The situation and the resulting impact on the departure and arrival go to show the US' "dependence" on Russia for crew launches.

        Space Policy Online (5/27, Smith) notes that Russian officials are "anxious" to find the root cause because of how reliant the ISS is on Progress and Soyuz missions.

NASA's New Docking Video Called A "Mesmerizing" Experience.

Carl Franzen at Popular Science (5/27, 6.78M) writes about a new NASA video showing the arrival of Scott Kelly to the ISS aboard a Soyuz spacecraft. The video is "mesmerizing," showing the "magnitude" of docking operations. Franzen likens the process to "a ballet" that is "downright Kubrickian." He also recommends watching a high resolution version of the film to enjoy "the majesty of what's become a routine process."

Top 10 Favorited And Retweeted NASA Astronaut Tweets Listed.

Business Insider (5/28, 3.36M) lists the 10 tweets from NASA astronauts aboard the ISS that have "the most favorites and retweets from the @NASA_Astronauts Twitter account." According to the article, through social media, these astronauts are now "a continuous part of our daily lives."

GAO: NASA Has Yet To Staff Important ISS Committee.

Sputnik News (5/28) reports that a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that NASA has not staffed "a key committee that prioritizes science projects" for the ISS, which is required by the NASA Authorization Act of 2008. According to the GAO, NASA's lack of staffing, which needs to be rectified, has prevented the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) from going over "any report or recommendations" it receives. The report found that CASIS has fulfilled its part of the agreement with NASA.

DSU Students Compete For Chance To Send An Experiment To The ISS.

The Dover (DE) Post (5/27, Paulk, 2K) reports that three teams of students at Delaware State University (DSU) are competing for the chance to be the first in the school's history to send an experiment to the ISS through the Student Spaceflight Experiment Program. The teams' projects are now being evaluated by "a review board at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum" to see whether they can "meet safety requirements...require minimal intervention from astronauts," and have "a high chance of success."

Robonaut2 Cited As Example Of How Robots Will Replace Astronauts.

The Economic Times (IND) (5/27, 1.92M) lists 10 professions that may one day be done by robots. The article cites the ISS' Robonaut2, whose "wide array of sensors and dexterous fivefingered hands" could mean that robots would one day take the place of astronauts.

SOLAR SYSTEM AND BEYOND

NASA Releases Most Detailed View Yet Of Pluto.

Popular Science (5/27, Grush, 6.78M) reports that on Wednesday, NASA released "the most detailed photos yet of Pluto," taken by the New Horizons spacecraft between May 8 and May 12. The photos, which make up some of the "little presents" the spacecraft is sending back to Earth, show "broad surface markings and a bright spot at Pluto's pole."

        SPACE (5/27, Wall, 241K) reports that New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern said in a statement that when the spacecraft passes by Pluto in July, it should "make a definitive determination" about how much ice is at the poles. Jim Green, director of NASA's Planetary Science division, added, "As New Horizons closes in on Pluto, it's transforming from a point of light to a planetary object of intense interest. ... We're in for an exciting ride for the next seven weeks."

        Discovery News (5/27, O'Neill, 774K) and Sen (5/28, Clark) also cover the story.

        New App Allows People To Track New Horizons. SPACE (5/27, Wall, 241K) reported that the new free Pluto Safari app, develop by Pedro Braganca of Simulation Curriculum Corp. and released in May, allows people to track New Horizons' position. Braganca said that the goal is to help the public "feel excited" about the upcoming "incredible" flyby.

Time-Lapse Of Hubble Images Shows Jet Of Gas Is Actually Globes Of Material.

TIME (5/27, Alter, 19.57M) reports that Eileen Meyer of the Space Telescope Science Institute put together Hubble telescope images of an "extragalactic jet of gas" projecting from a supermassive black hole into a time-lapse video that shows that the jet consists "of multiple globes of material strung together like pearls." Meyer said in a statement that this finding provides "a very rare opportunity" for scientists to learn more about the jet.

Star Found To Have Feature Similar To Kuiper Belt.

The Physics World (UK) (5/27, Kohler, 102K) reports that by using the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI), a team led by Thayne Currie from the University of Toronto in Canada and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan have discovered "a debris disc of roughly the same size as the Kuiper belt orbiting the star HD 115600." The star is like the sun but only 15 million years old, providing the "perfect opportunity" to witness what the young solar system was like.

Social Media Users Believe Story Of Marijuana-Covered Exoplanet.

Inquisitr (5/28, Ellis, 369K) reports that the NewsWatch 28 website claims that the Kepler telescope discovered an exoplanet "covered with marijuana," which has "caught the attention of an overwhelming number of social media users." The article notes that although some people are acting as if the news is real, because the website hosts satirical material, it is a "completely false" story. According to the article, this is not the first time that people have taken news from the website as true, even if the news is "outlandish."

EARTH RIGHT NOW

Clarke To Be Next Official Head Of NASA's Heliophysics Division.

Space News (5/27, Leone, Subscription Publication, 481) reported that Steven Clarke will be the new head of NASA's Heliophysics Division starting on June 1. The article notes that NASA spokesman Dwayne Brown had not answered a question as to whether interim director Jeffrey Newmark will return to being a program scientist at NASA headquarters or not.

El Niño Contributed To Texas' Record Rainfall.

BuzzFeed (5/27, Dalrymple, 10.66M) reports on the "torrential rainfall and flooding" that hit Oklahoma and Texas recently. Bill Patzert at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory said that "in a way," the storms were caused by El Niño "because it did push that subtropical jet stream farther north. And it zeroed in on Houston." This made May "the wettest month on record" for Texas, ending drought conditions in 70% of the state and possibly soon for the entire state. Patzert said that storms from El Niño could hit California in the future, helping ease its drought, but that rainfall is "a double edged sword" because of the associated flooding.

NASA Designs Pavilion For World Science Festival.

The AP (5/28) reports that NASA has designed an "orbit pavilion" for this week's New York City's World Science Festival that lets people "learn about Earth Science satellites, listen to their sounds in real time and view Earth through a 3-D program."

Alaska Has Recently Experienced Unusually High Temperatures.

The Weather Channel (5/27, Breslin, Erdman, 13.18M) reports on the "shocking warmth" Alaska is currently experiencing. To illustrate this anomaly, the website posts a NASA map of surface temperatures in the US, compiled from Terra satellite data taken from May 17 to May 24. The article notes that several regions in Alaska set high temperature records recently.

NASA Recovers Super Pressure Balloon.

The Warwick (AU) Daily News (5/28) reports that NASA officials arrived at Bulloo Downs Station to recover the "super pressure balloon the size of a football field," which was downed after suffering 32 days into a flight. The whole situation, and NASA's involvement, created "a buzz" in the region, according to the article.

SPACE TECHNOLOGY

NASA Seeking Tech Research Proposals From Universities.

The Christian Science Monitor (5/27, Lindsay, 539K) reports that NASA's Early Stage Innovations team is seeking "proposals from American universities for technology that would benefit NASA's space program and the wider aerospace community." Around a dozen research teams will share $500,000 in grants to support "researching and developing their product over the next two to three years." The Monitor quotes NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate Associate Administrator Steve Jurczyk saying, "We are looking for innovative ideas where top researchers from US universities can help solve the toughest space technology challenges as we look to begin our journey to pioneer our solar system. The areas of focus we selected align with our Space Technology Roadmaps, which reflect the National Research Council's review of these roadmaps."

Time Set For Second LDSD Test Flight .

The Orlando (FL) Sentinel (5/27, Speck, 776K) "Go For Launch" blog reports that NASA will test its Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) on June 2. By launching from the US Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii, NASA will test "a decelerator and a new parachute" at supersonic entry and descent speeds as part of a plan to develop "breakthrough technologies for future robotic and human Mars missions." The article notes that NASA will answer Twitter questions about the mission, as well as livestream a meeting about the project, on June 1.

        The Christian Science Monitor (5/27, Lindsay, 539K) notes that NASA is also developing two other supersonic vehicles to land large payloads on Mars. NASA wrote, "The first two are supersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerators – very large, durable, balloon-like pressure vessels that inflate around the entry vehicle and slow it from Mach 3.5 or greater to Mach 2 or lower. ... Also in development is a 30.5-meter-diameter parachute that will further slow the entry vehicle from Mach 1.5 or Mach 2 to subsonic speeds. All three devices will be the largest of their kind ever flown at speeds several times greater than the speed of sound."

        Spaceflight Insider (5/27, Rhian) also covers the story.

NASA's Collaboration With Satellite Industry Is Growing.

Via Satellite (5/27, Henry, 1K) reports that David Miller, chief technologist at NASA, told the publication that how the agency proceeds with its draft 2015 technology roadmaps will depend "heavily" on the commercial companies' actions. Miller said, "In the prioritization process, one of our four main goals for how to prioritize our technology investments is how it helps the commercial space industry, which includes satellites. It's important to us that new investments also support the commercial space sector. ... Our relationship with the satellite industry is growing," especially with the developments in small satellites. Miller added, "There's a lot more interest in agility in space, i.e. the ability to repair satellites, refuel them or possibly build large satellites using small robotic servicing satellites. . ... I think these small satellites will also help us in this arena by being servicing satellites for building and repairing these large systems." Miller also discussed the interest in electric propulsion and laser communication. NASA's Technology Transfer Program Executive Dan Lockney also discussed NASA's "most recent success" in transferring its Core Flight Executive (CFE) satellite operating system, noting, "SpaceX and Sierra Nevada Corporation were knocking on our doors for it. Everyone wanted a copy of it, so we said: ok not only do we need to put this in public domain, but we need to create a user community around it where everyone has access to it and can continue its development."

        NASA Also Becoming "Smarter With Money" Through Work With Startups. The New Zealand Herald (5/28, Bradley, 620K) reports that NASA is becoming "smarter with money" by teaming up with "small and nimble startups." Tom Soderstrom, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's chief technology officer, said, "We talk to lots of startups, they're very important because they're like a life and death experiment in technology." Soderstrom, who will be at next month's CIO Summit in Auckland, added, "The overall goal is to change our habits and run much faster and make them more winnable and effective in things like putting rovers on Mars. ... It's paradoxical but to innovate from emerging technology like we do costs very little but if we're going to put a rover on Mars that's completely automated 150 million miles [240 million km] away – that costs a lot of money."

CAPE Concept Could Allow NASA To Do More With What It Has.

Graham Templeton at ExtremeTech (5/28, 135K) writes that the Goddard Space Flight Center's Jaime Esper is working on a way to make CubeSats interplanetary spacecraft with the CubeSat Application for Planetary Entry Missions (CAPE). Templeton notes that there are "scant few details" about the project because it is in an early stage. However, what is known shows that NASA is focusing on "the most out-there portion of the concept" first: the atmospheric entry vehicle. According to Templeton, it is an "ambitious" concept, but one "project managers love" because it could make future missions "more practical," by allowing NASA to accomplish more with its budget.

Amateur Observers Spot X-37B's Orbit.

Spaceflight Now (5/27, Ray, 3K) reports that amateur observers have determined the orbit of the US Air Force's X-37B spacecraft, which launched last week. Ted Molczan, "a respected satellite observing hobbyist," said that the vehicle was placed in "the lowest initial altitude of the program." The article notes that "much" of the mission, including its orbit, was classified by the Air Force. The exceptions to this were two experiments carried by the spacecraft: "an electric propulsion thruster test and materials exposure in the space environment."

        The Air & Space Smithsonian Magazine (5/27, Smith-Strickland, 3K) website focuses its coverage of the mission on those two experiments, noting that the spacecraft has "100 samples of NASA-supplied spacecraft materials" for testing. An unnamed NASA public affairs officer from the Marshall Space Flight Center said, "For this METIS investigation, the Air Force approached NASA and offered the flight because of previous interest in data gathered through MISSE investigations," adding that this is the first time NASA has launched a material sample experiment with the X-37B.

OTHER NASA NEWS

Space Florida Delays Vote On KSC Shuttle Runway.

Florida Today (5/28, Dean, 168K) reports that because of the current uncertainty in Florida's state budget negotiations, Space Florida delayed a board vote on taking over management of the Kennedy Space Center shuttle runway. President and CEO Frank DiBello, according to the article, said that Space Florida wants to wait to see what the state will spend because of the expected "significant investments" in the runway. However, DiBello reportedly stated that the terms of the deal with NASA are set.

NASA Proposes New Rules On Fair Pay And Safe Workplaces Executive Order.

The Hill (5/28, Devaney, 533K) reports that in today's Federal Register, NASA has proposed regulations "to comply with the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces executive order." Contractors will have "to disclose certain labor violations, which will be considered in their application process."

Aldrin States Support For UAE's Space Program.

The Gulf News (ARE) (5/28, Salama, 400K) reports that Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin, in a talk "at the majlis of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi," supported the UAE's decision to form a space agency, calling on the country to endorse an international Mars mission "to commemorate the 50th anniversary of 1969 landing on the moon."

        The Abu Dhabi (ARE) National (5/28, 280K) notes that Aldrin also expressed "excitement for the UAE Mars mission."

        UAE Plans To Share Data From Mars Mission. The Gulf News (ARE) (5/28, Kader, 400K) reports that the UAE plans to share the findings of its upcoming Hope Mars mission by establishing a data center as part of the project. Omran Sharaf, project manager for the Emirates Mars Mission, said that the new center should be ready before the Hope spacecraft launches.

        Partners Sign Agreement For Gulf Region's First Space Studies Master's Program. Via Satellite (5/27, Henry, 1K) reports that Orbital ATK, Yahsat, and the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology signed an agreement to develop "the Gulf region's first master's level advanced studies space program." The UAE Space Agency was in attendance. According to the article, the degree will entail the "design, integration, construction, testing and operation of a CubeSat."

 

 

Thursday, May 28, 2015

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JSC TODAY CATEGORIES Headlines -  Ask Questions to the ISS HDEV Team on a Reddit AMA -  Let's Get Physical (Sciences) -  Robo-Ops Rovers on the Rock Yard Next Week -  Reminder: 2015 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey Organizations/Social -  Get Your EVA 50th Anniversary T-shirt Today -  Starport Summer Camp: Filling Up Fast -  Soccer Camp -  Latin Dance Introduction: June 5, 5:30-6:30 p.m. -  JSC Praise and Worship Club Meeting Jobs and Training -  APPEL - Requirements Development and Management -  Environmental Scientist Community -  Co-ops & Interns Still Needed for HAS -  NASA Seeks Community College STEM Students -  TCC-H Knowledge Management Connect Event

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Headlines Ask Questions to the ISS HDEV Team on a Reddit AMA The International Space Station High Definition Earth Viewing team will answer questions about HDEV's design, engineering, operations and streaming video distribution and utilization. HDEV is attached to a nadir port on the Columbus Exposed Payload Facility. At 3 p.m. CDT today, May 28, this link will become active for those who would like to participate. For FAQs on Reddit, click here. Event Date: Thursday, May 28, 2015   Event Start Time:3:00 PM   Event End Time:5:00 PM Event Location: Online on Reddit Add to Calendar Dave Hornyak x48091 http://eol.jsc.nas.gov/HDEV [top] Let's Get Physical (Sciences) Every month on StationLIFE, we'll focus on a scientific area where the International Space Station is conducting groundbreaking research. This month, astronaut Tracy Dyson hosts a focus on how the station is a unique environment for physical sciences. Watch it here. Liz Warren x35548 [top] Robo-Ops Rovers on the Rock Yard Next Week The 2015 RASC-AL Exploration Robo-Ops Engineering Design Competition is happening next week! We invite you to view some of the action at your convenience from June 2 to 4 at the rock yard as eight teams from across the country travel to JSC to test their tele-operated planetary rovers on the various simulated planetary surfaces. With their rovers, the student teams will demonstrate testing Mars-forward capabilities to reduce mass and increase reliability in a deep-space environments, as well as other aspects of deep-space exploration related to future NASA missions. Robo-Ops teams are from California State University, Long Beach, MIT, San Jose State University, University at Buffalo, University of Maryland, University of Utah, Virginia Tech and West Virginia University.  See your alma mater? Want to learn more about planetary rovers? Join us anytime on Tuesday afternoon, June 2, or between 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 3, at the rock yard.  Or, you can view the live stream from each of the team's rovers online during the competition.   Stacy Dees 757-218-8313 [top] Reminder: 2015 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey If you have not yet completed the 2015 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, please take a few minutes to do so. You will have already received an email from the Office of Personnel Management with a link to the survey, and should be receiving weekly reminders. The purpose of this survey is to gather input and measure employees' attitudes and perceptions for topic areas such as leadership and knowledge management, performance culture and job satisfaction. We encourage your voluntary participation in this survey and hope you view this as an opportunity to influence positive change in our agency. Prior to taking the survey, we encourage you to visit the newly created Employee Viewpoint and Resources Web page posted on the JSC Human Resources portal. This site provides information regarding survey results from previous years, utilization of the results and quick reference links to other employee resources. Jennifer Rodriguez x46386 [top]    Organizations/Social Get Your EVA 50th Anniversary T-shirt Today #SuitUp to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the first U.S. spacewalk on June 3 with a new commemorative T-shirt! ShopNASA is proud to offer the exclusive EVA 50th anniversary T-shirt in a beautiful red color with the official EVA 50th anniversary logo on the back. Shirts may be purchased for $11.95 in the Buildings 3 and 11 ShopNASA Gift Shops, as well as at the Gilruth front desk. Come get yours today! Ansley Browns x47467 [top] Starport Summer Camp: Filling Up Fast Starport is offering summer camp for youth at the Gilruth Center all summer long. We have tons of fun planned, and we expect each session to fill up, so get your registrations in early! Weekly themes are listed on our website, as well as information regarding registration. Ages: 6 to 12 Times: 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Dates: June 8 to Aug. 21 in one-week sessions Fee per session: $140 per child | $125 per sibling Register for all sessions and receive a discount! Register online or at the Gilruth Center information desk. Like us on Facebook to receive daily information about camps! Shericka Phillips x35563 https://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/en/programs/familyyouth-programs/youth-day... [top] Soccer Camp Starport and Challenge Soccer Club have teamed up to provide you with a youth coed soccer camp this summer. The ages for the camp are 6 to 12. Challenge Soccer Club will provide basic skills training, as well as incorporate fun games throughout the week. Sign your child up today! Robert K. Vaughn II x38049 https://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/en/programs/familyyouth-programs/sports-ca... [top] Latin Dance Introduction: June 5, 5:30-6:30 p.m. This class is mostly an introduction to Salsa, but it also touches on other popular Latin dances found in social settings: Merengue, Bachata, and even a little bit of Cha-Cha-Cha. Emphasis is on Salsa and then Bachata. For the first-time student or those who want a refresher course. You will go over basic steps with variations and build them into sequences. June 5 Regular Registration: $60 per person (May 3 to June 12) Salsa Intermediate: 6:45 to 7:45 p.m. This class continues teaching Salsa beyond that taught in the introduction class. You should be comfortable and confident with the material from the introduction class before moving on to the intermediate class. This is a multi-level class where students may be broken up into groups based on class experience. Shericka Phillips x35563 https://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/en/programs/recreation-programs/salsalatin... [top] JSC Praise and Worship Club Meeting Join with the praise and worship band "Allied with the Lord" for a refreshing set of spring praise and worship songs on Thursday, June 4, from 11:15 a.m. to noon in Building 57, Room 106. (The theme for this session will be "Jesus is our life!") Prayer partners will be available for anyone who has need. All JSC civil servants and contractors are welcome. Event Date: Thursday, June 4, 2015   Event Start Time:11:15 AM   Event End Time:12:00 PM Event Location: Building 57 Room 106 Add to Calendar Mike FitzPatrick x30758 [top]    Jobs and Training APPEL - Requirements Development and Management This course presents the participant with best practices that, when incorporated into the requirement development and management process, will help a project team develop a winning product—one that delivers what is needed, when it is needed, within the projected costs and with the expected quality. This course is designed for NASA's technical workforce, including systems engineers and project personnel who seek to develop the competencies required to succeed as a leader of a project team, functional team or small project. This course is available for self-registration in SATERN until Thursday, June 18, and is open to civil servants and contractors. Dates: Tuesday through Thursday, July 21 to 23 Location: Building 12, Room 152 Zeeaa Quadri x39723 https://satern.nasa.gov/learning/user/deeplink_redirect.jsp?linkId=SCHED... [top] Environmental Scientist The Biomedical Research and Environmental Sciences Division (SK) has an opportunity for an Environmental Scientist, who will serve as a key interface and liaison between Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), managers, operations personnel and external stakeholders to ensure the proper operational implementation of environmental-health standards for spacecraft air and water quality in all space vehicles and habitats. Please see the link for additional information. Torin McCoy x39461 [top]    Community Co-ops & Interns Still Needed for HAS You've landed a great summer internship—now pay it forward by mentoring High School Aerospace Scholars (HAS) students. Share your NASA experience, college background and advice with students interested in following your footsteps, and lend a hand as they participate in engineering challenges and plan a mission to Mars. There are six weeks to choose from, and the commitment requires about 20 hours. Summer Schedule: Week 1: June 15 to 19 Week 2: June 22 to 26 Week 3: July 6 to 10 Week 4: July 13 to 17 Week 5: July 20 to 24 Week 6: July 27 to 31 If interested, please: 1. Complete the mentor application here. 2. Create a V-CORPs account. 3. Review mentor responsibilities. 4. Apply by June 8. Brandi Dean x41403 http://has.aerospacescholars.org/mentors [top] NASA Seeks Community College STEM Students Do you know a community college student who dreams of having a science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) career? They should become a NASA Community College Aerospace Scholar (NCAS)! The NCAS program consists of a five-week online course, which can lead to a selection for a three-day on-site workshop this fall. Students will design and build a LEGO NXT Mars rover and compete in design challenges while working alongside NASA mentors. Applications for the fall session are still open. Interested students should visit the NCAS website to learn more. Hurry, the application window closes June 24! Debra Derham 281-792-8626 http://ncas.aerospacescholars.org [top] TCC-H Knowledge Management Connect Event Ever wish finding information for your job was as easy as searching Google or Wikipedia? Ever been concerned about the validity of the information you eventually find? Who reviewed the content when it was generated? Is it now outdated? We have a solution and want to share our methods with the community. Join us on June 9 for a one-day conference to discuss lessons learned, share our open-source solution and explore opportunities for collaborative development agreements on expanding and improving knowledge-sharing tools. We'd like to invite everyone who has ever had problems finding the right version of a document or didn't know where to go to find the information they needed. JSC is teaming with the Technology Collaboration Center of Houston (TCC-H) to host this event. If you are interested in attending, please register now. Event Date: Tuesday, June 9, 2015   Event Start Time:8:00 AM   Event End Time:5:00 PM Event Location: Gilruth Alamo Ballroom Add to Calendar Lawrence Daren Welsh x40158 https://mod2.jsc.nasa.gov/wiki/MOD/index.php?title=Knowledge_Sharing_Con... [top]

 

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