NASA Federal Advisory Committees- Nominations and Self- Nominations

"In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92-463, as amended, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and in accordance with the Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies signed on December 17, 2010, signed by the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), Executive Office of the President, NASA announces an invitation for the public to nominate individuals and also submit self-nominations for consideration as potential members of NASA's Federal advisory committees. NASA's Federal advisory committees have member vacancies from time to time throughout the year, and NASA will consider nominations and self-nominations to fill such intermittent vacancies. NASA is committed to selecting members to serve on its Federal advisory committees based on their expertise, knowledge, and contribution to the relevant subject area."

Aliens may destroy humanity to protect other civilisations, say scientists, The Guardian

"Watching from afar, extraterrestrial beings might view changes in Earth's atmosphere as symptomatic of a civilisation growing out of control - and take drastic action to keep us from becoming a more serious threat, the researchers explain. This highly speculative scenario is one of several described by scientists at Nasa and Pennsylvania State University that, while considered unlikely, they say could play out were humans and alien life to make contact at some point in the future. Shawn Domagal-Goldman of Nasa's Planetary Science Division and his colleagues compiled a list of plausible outcomes that could unfold in the aftermath of a close encounter, to help humanity "prepare for actual contact".

Would contact with extraterrestrials benefit or harm humanity? A scenario analysis, (full paper) Acta Astronautica, 2011 via arXiv.org (PDF)

The Drudge Report Drives More Top News Traffic than Twitter or Facebook, Study Finds, PBS NewsHour

Keith's 18 Aug 10 pm EDT note: (Sigh) This article is prominently featured on the Drudge Report with the title of "NASA REPORT: Aliens may destroy humanity to protect other civilizations...". This is not a "NASA report". Nor does the Guardian article accurately describe the paper's content and conclusions. Alas, NASA will probably just allow this latest misperception/mischaracterization to linger (along with all the other urban myths, faulty analyses, etc) with no response - at least none until it is too late to really make any difference. Oh yes, Drudge Report got 32,697,733 visits in the past 24 hours.

Shawn Domagal-Goldman note: Some important points of clarification, PaleBlueBlog

"But I do admit to making a horrible mistake. It was an honest one, and a naive one... but it was a mistake nonetheless. I should not have listed my affiliation as "NASA Headquarters." I did so because that is my current academic affiliation. But when I did so I did not realize the full implications that has. I'm deeply sorry for that, but it was a mistake born our of carelessness and inexperience and nothing more. I will do what I can to rectify this, including distributing this post to the Guardian, Drudge, and NASA Watch. Please help me spread this post to the other places you may see the article inaccurately attributed to NASA."

Keith's 19 Aug 6:50 am EDT update: Personally I think it is an interesting paper and well worth the effort on the part of the authors. My issue is with the way that the agency lets misperceptions made by news aggretators and UK tabloids linger in front of millions of people, the media, decision makers, without making any attempt to set the record straight. NASA has an online line presence of some considerable reach (see "Choir Practice With Bullhorns at NASA") - why not use that to counter these erroneous online claims? Hats off to Shawn Domagal-Goldman for being open and honest and attempting to do so. Gee, maybe PAO could help a little too? If done properly this could also serve as an opportunity for NASA to talk about a topic that a lot of people find interesting - and maybe educate and excite a few people along the way. This is an opportunity to teach and inform, not one to hide and wait for things to blow over. And maybe NASA could have a little fun with it too - if it can stage photo ops with Chris Ferguson and Elmo (a TV show puppet)...

Alas, the inevitable evil ET feeding frenzy via "NASA report" misinformation is now spreading - CNET, International Business Times, the Spokane Examiner, Daily Mail, and even Discovery News simply repeat the very same mistakes that the Guardian made (with the Guardian as their source) in their original article with out doing any fact checking themselves. This is NOT a NASA report, folks. Did anyone actually contact the authors?

Keith's 19 Aug 8:09 am EDT update: @NASA just twittered: Yes, @drudge & @guardiannews are mistaken about an "alien" report. It's not NASA research. Ask the report's author http://go.nasa.gov/nRI8Lf

Keith's 19 Aug 8:29 am EDT update: The Guardian has quietly (without admitting any error on its part) modified its article to read "warns a report."

Pics
- Photo: Turks, Caicos Islands, Inagua, and Cuba As Seen From Orbit
- Photo: Saturn's Moon Helene
- I mages: Japan tsunami caused icebergs to break off in Antarctica
- Image: Southern Namibia and Northern South Africa As Seen From Orbit

Videos
- Video: Space Adventures / Armadillo Aerospace Suborbital Mission
- First-ever Live 3D Video Stream from Space

NASA Seeks to Communicate, Engage Public Better, TMCnet.com

"[Bolden] also said he was "disappointed" at the lack of fresh faces - "those in the back, who haven't been around for the last 10 to 20 years" - in the audience, but did not discount the attendees either. "We need your help - your ideas, your energy and your passion. What you're doing here today is very important, and I look forward to hearing more from you," Bolden said in closing, tying into the broader themes of the Future Forum, with panel discussions between academia, NASA officials, and private industry representatives featuring technology and innovation, commercial technology transfer, and inspiring education. Broader interaction with the public also came up during a question and answer session after the first panel discussion. A member of the audience suggested that the biggest problem NASA has is "preaching to the choir" - established supporters - via Twitter and the web. A discussion of broadening the base ensued. "If we have a more loud choir, more people look at what's going on in the church," NASA Chief Scientist Dr. Waleed Abdalati suggested."

Keith's note: NASA has lots of transmitters to throw things out into the media and at the public - but it has very few receivers with which to capture input from the real world. And when it does get input, it often hasn't a clue what to do with the information. There is more to this than constantly asking for input, Charlie. You need to instigate a culture shift inside your agency wherein the input NASA gets from outside itself is incorporated into how your people run the agency. NASA needs to admit that it doesn't know everything and that 'change is an option' when public input does not mesh with what the agency thinks it is supposed to be doing. As for loud choirs, Waleed, NASA often confuses momentary amplitude with real public interest. It can be difficult to hear subtle messages when all you have is a bullhorn at your disposal.

Manned space flights no longer priority for Russia, Reuters

"Russia holds a monopoly on flights to and from the 16-nation station. Soyuz launches from its Baikonur cosmodrome are now the only way to space since the United States retired its 30-year shuttle programme in July. NASA pays it more than $50 million per flight to send its astronauts to the space outpost. Roskosmos chief Vladimir Popovkin said Russia was spending almost half of its space budget on manned flights and needed to shift focus to more technology-oriented projects. He added however it would stand by its station commitments."

Keith's note: I guess Russia is only interested in human spaceflight - but only so long as the U.S. writes them checks. So, when they say that they are "spending half its space budget on manned flights" I wonder how much of their budget actually came from the U.S. to begin with ....

- Photo: Madagascar, Nosy, Kalakajoro, Berafia, Antanimora and Valiha As Seen From Orbit
- Photo: Crete As Seen From Orbit
- Photo: Shooting Star As Seen From Above The Sky - In Orbit
- Image: Titan's Arrow-Shaped Storm
- Photo: Greece and Turkey As Seen From Orbit

Photo: Astronauts Planking in Space

"Four members of the joint STS-135/Expedition 28 crews are able to spend part of their last shared time onboard the International Space Station performing floating exercises that can't be done in Earth's gravity. Inside the Harmony Node 2 module, are NASA astronauts Mike Fossum (top), Expedition 28 flight engineer, and Doug Hurley, STS-135 pilot; and Ron Garan, Expedition 28 flight engineer. The crew member at bottom is partially obscured and is unidentified."

Keith's note: What's that - you don't know what "planking" is?

- Planking (definition), Wikipedia
- Planking, Facebook

Futron Corporation Releases Fourth Annual Space Competitiveness Index

"The 2011 results show that even as countries collaborate in space, competition has intensified. Dominant actors are losing ground to a rising middle tier of space players, and the competitive gaps separating all nations are narrowing. Futron's Space Competitiveness Index (SCI), an independent study, compares 10 leading space-participant nations across more than 50 individual metrics that together reflect three overarching competitiveness drivers: government, human capital, and industry. By evaluating these metrics, the Index numerically benchmarks the relative space competitiveness position of each nation."

Senators urge White House again to start work on heavy-lift rocket, Huntsville Times

"The senators believe money is being diverted from heavy-lift to other NASA spending priorities and that the White House "has no intention" of following the law on spending. OMB spokeswoman Meg Reilly issued the following statement today: "Space exploration remains a commitment of this Administration, but as we take a critical eye to every aspect of the Federal budget, we must ensure that every dollar spent in this area is used effectively and efficiently. We are working with NASA now to better understand the costs of this approach to ensure that a final plan is practicable and sustainable over the long term. At a time when we're working to find savings across the Federal government, it would be reckless to make a final determination before the results of NASA's independent cost assessment are in. This is the best approach for American taxpayers and the future of America's space exploration."

"Test Out the Latest Gizmos at the NASA JPL Petting Zoo: Exhibition Hall Highlights: Bureau of Land Management and NASA Innovation Nation: August 23 - D.C. Convention Center Register now: Complimentary to government, industry rates apply. Take a break at the Innovation Nation Forum to stop by the exhibit hall and check out the Bureau of Land Management and NASA JPL booths. NASA will have its technology petting zoo on display for attendees to test out emerging information technologies. For a complete list of our sponsors and exhibitors, please visit http://www.meritalk.com/innovation-nation."

Keith's note: But taxpayers have to pay $150 to pet NASA's stuff - stuff they already paid for. Yet government employeees get in for free. Taxpayers pay for them too (salaries). I think NASA and the organizers of this event have this whole thing arranged backward.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has begun a “Reinvent the Toilet” competition and awarded $3 million to researchers at eight universities, challenging them to use recent technology to create models that do not need to be connected to sewers, water, and electricity, and that cost less than pennies per person a day to use. Later prizes will include financing for one or more winning prototypes to be tested and produced commercially.