August 7, 2017 by Peter Sooy A model of a satellite aft end on a robot for simulated, controlled rendezvous at the Space Operations Simulation Center. Credit: NASA

Inside a large, black-walled facility outside Denver, NASA's Satellite Servicing Projects Division (SSPD) team successfully completed the latest testing of three rendezvous and proximity operations sensors used for satellite servicing applicatons and beyond. These sensors are needed for autonomous rendezvous of spacecraft, which is a vital technology for robotically servicing a satellite.

Held at Lockheed Martin's Space Operations Simulation Center (SOSC), this round of testing involved a Vision Navigation System (VNS) light detection and ranging (Lidar) sensor, the Goddard Reconfigurable Solid-state Scanning Lidar (GRSSLi) sensor, and the wide field-of-view visible camera. These three instruments were tested side-by-side in different situations to assess their accuracy and sensitivity for eventual use in satellite servicing. The sensors all contribute to helping a servicer "see" and approach a client.

"These sensors are the key to tackling the most difficult part of satellite servicing, the autonomous rendezvous. Our team was very pleased with the performance of these imagers in a space-like environment," said Bob Smith, satellite servicing project manager.

To autonomously rendezvous, two spacecraft must connect without any human control or input. A combination of sensors, algorithms and a computer are essential to generate the precise maneuvers needed for this challenging operation.

During testing at SOSC, engineers simulated multiple scenarios. To start, the three-instrument suite was set to a fixed position and viewed calibrated targets at known distances to calibrate their instrument's light and distance sensitivity. Next, engineers used a model of a satellite affixed to a moving robot, and instruments mounted on another robot to "fly" toward the satellite to record data during this simulated, controlled rendezvous. In addition to gathering light and distance measurements using VNS and GRSSLi, this test also allowed operators to test algorithms that determine the position and orientation or "pose" of a satellite while conducting a simulated rendezvous.

SSPD aims to demonstrate and mature technologies that are critical to satellite servicing, including the instruments derived from these tested sensors. The instruments will feed vital data to a cutting-edge SpaceCube computer, which will process the data for autonomous tracking, approach and grasping of a client accordingly.

The testing conducted at the SOSC confirmed improved performance for light intensity and range measurements by the imagers. The results also indicate that the VNS is progressing on schedule per the SSPD timeline.

In addition to satellite servicing testing, there were also two teams from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston that tested the VNS for applications specific to human exploration missions. One team gathered data for possible applications of autonomous rendezvous for visiting vehicles to the International Space Station. The second group collected data that could be incorporated into the design of Orion, NASA's new exploration spacecraft, designed to carry astronauts to destinations in deep space, including Mars. Both groups conducted long range testing and simulated rendezvous to a docking port mockup.

In a technology demonstration related to this SOSC testing, SSPD is also currently executing the Raven mission on the International Space Station, which is helping NASA develop autopilot for spacecraft. While testing at SOSC helps engineers develop algorithms and verify sensor performance using calibrated distances between two objects, testing on the space station provides data on in-orbit functionality of sensors compared to ground testing, and is the best environment to test an infrared camera. Utilizing both ground-testing and flight-testing is part of the process of learning, perfecting, and solving difficult engineering challenges for space exploration.

The three instruments are now back from SOSC and at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, where the SSPD team is reviewing data to streamline and maximize their performance.

"The data from this testing will help us build flight cameras and Lidar systems for making satellite servicing a reality," said Benjamin Reed, SSPD deputy division director.

Explore further: NASA to launch Raven to develop autonomous rendezvous capability

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After a series of delays, NASA's Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology (DART) spacecraft is finally scheduled to launch at 1:21 p.m. EDT, April 15 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. DART is a flight demonstrator ...

NASAs Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology (DART) spacecraft successfully launched today at 1:25 p.m. EDT (10:25 a.m. PDT) from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., beginning a 24-hour mission to demonstrate ...

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NASA tests autopilot sensors during simulations - Phys.Org

When NASA announced last week that it was looking for a new planetary protection officer, the space agency received some incredulous responses.

Some were agog at the six-figure salary: between $124,000 and $187,000 per year. Others laughed at the fantastical job title, one that conjured up science-fiction fantasies and battles with aliens. (In reality, NASA says, theposition is focused on preventing astronauts from bringing biological contaminants from space back to Earth and vice versa.)

But one 9-year-old boy in New Jersey took the vacancy seriously.So he took a sheet of paper and an obviously well-sharpened pencil and carefully hand-wrote his application.

Dear NASA, My name is Jack Davis and I would like to apply for the planetary protection officer job, Jack wrote. I may be nine but I think I would be fit for the job.

Among his qualifications? For one, he wrote, his sister says he's an alien. Jack also said he had watched the TV show Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and almost all the space and alien movies I can thoughnot yet Men in Black. (In Jack's defense, the 1997 hit movie with Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones came out more than a decade before hewas even born.)

Toward the end of his letter, Jack casually mentions that he is great at video games. But his final assertion is perhaps the most persuasive.

I am young, so I can learn to think like an alien, Jack wrote.

He signed off with his name and appended it with Guardian of the Galaxy and Fourth Grade.

Jack soon got that simple yet elusive thing every jobseeker wants: confirmation that his application had been received. James L. Green, director of NASA's Planetary Science Division, wrote back tohimright away.

I hear you are a 'Guardian of the Galaxy' and that you're interested in being a NASA Planetary Protection Officer, Green wrote. That's great!

He also took the time to dispel any myths about what the job entailed.

It's about protecting Earth from tiny microbes when we bring back samples from the Moon, asteroids and Mars. It's also about protecting other planets and moons from our germs as we responsibly explore the Solar System.

In short, it's light on the alien encounters. But Green signed off on an encouraging note, telling Jack to study hard and do well in school so that they could see him at NASA eventually. As a bonus, Jack also received a phone call from NASA'sheadquarters in Washington to congratulate him on his interest.

At NASA, we love to teach kids about space and inspire them to be the next generation of explorers, Green said in a statement. Think of it as a gravity assist a boost that may positively and forever change a person's course in life, and our footprint in the universe.

Jack told ABC Newsthat it would be really cool to work for NASA.

I feel like I am the only one who really wants a job at NASA this young, he told the news station.

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'My sister says I am an alien': A 9-year-old applies to be NASA's planetary protection officer - Washington Post

In BriefA new visualization from NASA shows how the moon's irregularshape will influence where the upcoming solar eclipse will bevisible. Simulating Shadows

On August 21, a swatch of Earth residents will witness the rare side effect of our planets long dance with its oldest partner: a total solar eclipse, caused by the perfect alignment of the Moon in front of the sun.

A new visualization from NASA shows in extraordinary detail where the total eclipse will be visible; primarily along an approximately 112 km (70 mile) stretch, cutting across the United Statesdiagonally from Oregon to South Carolina. This diagonal lies in the path of the umbra, the part of the Moons shadow where the sun is entirely blocked by the Moon.

The visualization shows that the umbra is shaped like an irregular, slightly curved polygon, rather than the circle you might expect. The same dips and bumps that shade faces and imaginary seas into the Moons surface also affect how light passes around it.

With this new visualization, we can represent the umbral shadow with more accuracy by accounting for the influence of elevation at different points on Earth, as well as the way light rays stream through lunar valleys along the moons ragged edge, said NASA visualizer Ernie Wright of Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.

This new level of detail comes from pairing 3-D maps of the Moons surface, created by NASAs Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, with elevation data for the places its shadow will hit.

Because the umbral shadow is relatively small, a solar eclipse is only visible somewhere on Earth roughly every 18 months.

So, if you find your area in the path of totality one year, youve hit the jackpot, NASA officials explain in the video above.Because on average, that same spot on Earth will only get to see a solar eclipse every 375 years.

However, this already rare phenomenon is getting evenmore so:the Moon exerts a pull on the earth that creates ocean tides, and subsequentlyslows our planets rotation.This also transfers energy into the Moons orbit that pushes it away from Earth.

As a result, our Moon recedes by about 1.48 inches every year roughly the same speed at which your fingernails grow. Someday, it will be too far to block the sun fully.

Over time, the number and frequency of total solar eclipses will decrease, explains Richard Vondrak, a lunar scientist at NASAs Goddard, in the statement. About 600 million years from now, Earth will experience the beauty and drama of a total solar eclipse for the last time.

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New NASA Visualization Shows Where This Month's Solar Eclipse Will Be Visible - Futurism

Catharine "Cassie" Conley, NASA's current Planetary Protection Officer. Photo by W. Hrybyk, NASA-GSFC

When NASA announced this week that the space agency was searching for a new "planetary protection officer," the internet went crazy over the six-figure position that sounded like something from out of this world. Headlines touted the role as a "job opening for someone to defend Earth from aliens" and memes followed closely behind.

The widespread attention and misunderstanding of what the job entailed surprised Catharine "Cassie" Conley, NASA's current planetary protection officer, who has held the position since 2006. She's glad to see people talking about NASA's work, but wants to set the record straight: Her job is to protect both Earth and other planets from disease-causing microbes, not sentient beings.

"We have no evidence that there has been an invasion of intelligent life," Conley told Fortune in an interview on Friday. She declined to say whether she is leaving her job or plans to apply to the new version NASA listed. She is the sixth planetary protection officer NASA has ever hired, and noted that the position has "never had this kind of visibility."

Conley's primary responsibility is to ensure that anything NASA launches into space like a planet-bound robot, for example doesn't contaminate a foreign world with its microbes. That's in line with a commitment the U.S. made in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty . Conley also helps to prevent any alien microorganisms from reaching Earth.

"It is extremely important that as we explore space that we do it in a careful way," she said. "If you want to find life on other planets, you have to be careful not to find Earth life by accident."

As NASA continues to explore places with the potential for life like Mars or Europa, an icy moon of Jupiter Conley's job has become more significant.

"The biggest challenge of my job are the people who don't see why this is important," she said. "Individuals who want to explore these places have different levels of risk that they accept. But when you're dealing with something that could impact the whole planet, you have to take everyone into consideration. It's very rewarding to ensure that the international guidelines are upheld."

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NASA's 'Planetary Protector' on What Everyone Gets Wrong About Her Job - Fortune

"One of the reasons is my sister thinks I'm an alien."

Posted on August 07, 2017, 03:46 GMT

"I may be nine but I think I would be fit for the job," Jack wrote. "One of the reasons is my sister says I am an alien. I have also seen the show Marvel Agents of Shield and hope to see the movie Men in Black.."

Jack also pointed out that he's great at video games and since he's young, he can learn to think like an alien. Clutch.

He signed the letter: "Jack Davis, Guardian of the Galaxy, Fourth Grade."

The job "is about protecting Earth from tiny microbes when we bring back samples from the Moon, asteroids and Mars," James L. Green, director of NASA's planetary science division, explained to the nine-year-old applicant. "It's also about protecting other planets and moons from our germs as we responsibly explore the Solar System."

Green then encouraged Jack to study hard, do well in school, and apply again when he's older, at which point there will perhaps be actual aliens threatening our planet.

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This 9-Year-Old Applied To A Job At NASA To Help Fight Aliens And His Qualifications Are Spot On - BuzzFeed News

Cole Bratten works on his hitting at Pasadena's 3K batting cages two days before the team left for Louisiana and the South Zone Tournament.

Cole Bratten works on his hitting at Pasadena's 3K batting cages two days before the team left for Louisiana and the South Zone Tournament.

NASA-Orange 14s foiled by World Series-bound Brownsville at Zone

YOUNGSVILLE, La. - The NASA-Orange Pony 14-year-old all-stars made a gallant run towards a World Series berth, but the team fell three victories shy of the prize Saturday afternoon.

Once again, a team from the Rio Grande Valley proved too much for the Houston-area squads as Brownsville defeated NASA-Orange twice in the four-day tournament. With three victories in their opening four contests, NASA-Orange earned a berth in the National Bracket championship game Saturday only to absorb a 12-2 defeat.

It was just the day before that NASA-Orange overcame a 5-0 deficit to the same Brownsville team, scoring two runs in the third, four in the second and two in fifth to nab an 8-6 lead. Just six outs away from jumping in the National Bracket driver's seat, Brownsville scored four in the sixth and one in the seventh to collect an 11-8 win.

Brownsville went on to capture the South Zone championship, following a tense 2-1 victory over American Bracket champion Laredo Sunday afternoon. Laredo was forced to the IF game Sunday morning with Crowley, La. Laredo won that match-up 14-1.

NASA-Orange, attempting to become the second NASA-Pony League representative over the last three summers to clinch a World Series berth, was deadlocked with Brownsville 1-1 after one inning in the second meeting, but that's when Brownsville scored three in the home half of the second and six in the third to seal the deal.

Jorge Lozano was the starting and winning pitcher, while Henry Hill suffered the loss, lasting just 2.1 innings in which he gave up nine earned runs on eight hits. He walked one and struck out three.

Luke Olson and Cole Bratten had the only NASA-Orange hits.

NASA-Orange departed the tournament starting gates like gangbusters. They walloped the Gregory-Portland All-Stars 17-0 Wednesday night, before doing the same to Arnaudville, La. 13-3 Thursday night.

In the Gregory-Portland game, NASA-Orange scored six in the second, four in the third and seven in the fourth. Anthony Benavides shattered a NASA Pony League record when he belted a pair of home runs in driving in eight RBIs on a 3-for-3 effort at the plate, scoring three runs. But those would be Benavides' only RBIs of the entire tournament.

Simon Binetti went 3-for-3 with three runs scored and an RBI, while Logan Moore and Christian Whitehead each enjoyed 2-for-2 games. Moore homered, driving in two RBIs and scored twice as did Whitehead. Olson co-led the team in runs scored with three thanks in part to a double he clouted.

Manager Scooter Moore had the green light on in the stolen base department as the guys swiped 10 bases, three by Benavides, two by Olson and two by Binetti.

Carson Wagner was the starting and winning pitcher, while Bratten and Adam Boyes mopped up. The three combined for nine strikeouts. Rob Spencer absorbed the loss.

Against Arnaudville, NASA-Orange was trailing 3-2 when the team scored four runs in the third to go with two in the fifth and four in the sixth.

The team made Arnaudville pay for a whopping 10 errors, possibly a South Zone record. Hill and Anthony Hall each went 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Whitehead, Benavides, Jacob Martinez, Logan Moore, Hill and Olson combined to score the 12 runs. The team found nine hit off two Arnaudville pitchers and four of them were doubles. Whitehead, Benavides, Hill and Olson tallied the two-baggers.

On the mound, Hall, Hill, Boyes, Bratten and Benavides combined for 16 strikeouts and just five free passes.

In the gut-wrenching first defeat to Brownsville, the four, five and six-hole hitters for NASA-Orange went 5-for-11 with six RBIs and four runs scored. Moore went 2-for-4 with four RBIs, while Hill and Olson drove in one.

Pitching-wise, Benavides, Olson, Wagner and Martinez combined for 11 strikeouts and eight earned runs.

The defense didn't help the pitching, suffering its worst game of the tournament in committing five errors.

Of Brownsville's 11 runs, 10 were scored by the first five batters. Leadoff hitter Darren Ramirez scored three times and three-hole hitter Javier Hinojosa did the same.

Hard to imagine that two neighborly Pony baseball programs would meet on a ballfield almost 200 miles away but that's what happened Saturday morning. NASA-Orange stayed alive by eliminating Deer Park. Deer Park, riding a three-game winning streak after losing on opening night to Brownsville 10-0, came out on the short end to a 5-2 score.

NASA-Orange avenged a Coast Region defeat to this same Deer Park squad last month by scoring two in the third and three in the fifth, erasing a 1-0 deficit.

Six stolen bases and seven Deer Park errors paved the way for the revengeful win. Olson drove in two RBIs and Moore one. A pair of Rudy Fuentes solo homers provided Deer Park's only runs. Davis, in relief of Wagner, was the winning pitcher. Caleb Cox took the defeat, surrendering all five runs but just two were earned.

All-in-all, it was a very good effort by the two Coast Region representatives in the North Bracket. Only three of the eight teams finished with winning records and two of the three were NASA-Orange (3-2) and Deer Park (3-2). The other being World Series-bound Brownsville.

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NASA-Orange 14s foiled by World Series-bound Brownsville at Zone - Chron.com

Updated: Aug 6, 2017 - 6:46 AM

A 9-year-old alien enthusiast from New Jersey sent a handwritten letter to NASA asking to be considered for a job working with astronauts.

In the letter, dated Aug. 3, fourth-grader Jack Davis asks to apply for a planetary protection officer position at NASA. He writes in the letter provided to ABC News by his family that despite his young age, he thinks he would be "fit for the job."

"One of the reasons is my sister thinks I'm an alien," Jack writes before revealing the source of his expertise. "Also, I have seen almost all the space and alien movies I can see."

Jack ends the letter stating the other attributes that would make him perfect for the position, such as his "great" video game skills and his youth, which will make it easy to "learn to think like an alien." He then signs the letter, "Jack, Guardian of the Galaxy."

In an interview, Jack told ABC News that he wrote the letter because it thought it would be "really cool" to work for NASA.

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"I feel like -- I am the only one who really wants a job at NASA this young," he said.

The position of NASA planetary protection officer pays $124,406 to $187,000 per year, according to the USAJOBS website.

Duties include planning and coordinating activities related to NASA mission planetary protection needs and oversight of their implementation by NASA's space-flight missions.

The recent announcement of the position -- which was created in the 1960s -- has "generated a lot of excitement in the public," NASA said in a statement.

"Although the Planetary Protection Officer position may not be in real-life what the title conjures up, it does play an important role in promoting the responsible exploration of our solar system by preventing microbial contamination of other planets and our own," the statement read.

Dr. James L. Green, director of NASA's Planetary Science Division, promptly responded to Jack's inquiry, writing that the "position is really cool and is very important work."

"It's about protecting Earth from tiny microbes when we bring back samples from the Moon, asteroids and Mars," Green wrote in his response, which NASA provided to ABC News. "It's also about protecting other planets and moons from our germs as we responsibly explore the Solar System."

Green then tells Jack that he hopes he will "study hard and do well in school."

"We are always looking for bright scientists and engineers to help us...." he wrote. "We hope to see you here at NASA one of these days!"

In an email to NASA today, Jack's father, Bryan Davis, wrote that he and his family are "big fans of NASA" and that he posted a photo of his son's letter on Facebook thinking his friends "would get a smile out of it."

"Jack, of course, is pretty sure hell get the job," Davis wrote in the email to NASA, which he shared with ABC News. "Im trying to manage expectations with the hope he might receive a response letter in the mail."

The letter was mailed to the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Davis said. NASA also called Jack Friday morning to thank him for applying, Davis told ABC News.

ABC News' Jamila Huxtable contributed to this report.

2017 Cox Media Group.

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9-year-old writes letter to NASA asking to be considered for a job - WSB Atlanta

NASA has officially recognized Bitterroot College as an eclipse event viewing site - one of only three in Montana - for the solar eclipse that will be seen across the Unites States on Aug. 21.

It is really exciting, said Victoria Clark, director. We were thrilled to be approved by NASA and were among the last sites to be approved.

The college is pulling out all stops to make the Great Eclipse Caper Event educational, safe and loads of fun. With the NASA designation comes posters, 1,000 safety viewing glasses, brochures, banners and an encyclopedia of educational options to do during the solar event.

The Bitterroot College Eclipse Event team has safe viewing options planned as part of the celebration.

At the college event, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., on Monday, Aug. 21, there will be large viewing screens with live streaming from NASA, multiple telescopes with safety filters set up for public viewing (or bring your own), NASA solar glasses, and Thomas Engelmann (Ph.D, Physics, Carnegie-Mellon) will be on-site as the colleges subject matter expert providing information sessions the morning of the event.

If you are unable to get to the college you can watch the live streaming on the Bitterroot College Facebook page.

Even if it is smoky or cloudy the eclipse will happen and safety is the number one goal.

Cloud cover and smoke still allow the UV rays to come through and cause damage to your eyes, said Jennifer Johnson, safety officer for the event. We talk about the use of safety glasses, filters and pinhole projectors as media for viewing the eclipse safely.

Permanent damage can occur just from glancing at the sun.

The thing about sunglasses or transition lenses is, yes, there is UV protection but it is only for angular rays, she said. It is not for direct sight and eye damages wont be noticed right away.

She said welding shield numbers 14 or higher are safe to use, but hot and heavy.

Johnson said telescope viewers need a solar filter on the objective end of telescopes not on the eyepiece.

A lot of people think they can just use a filter on the eye-piece of their telescope but when the light comes through your telescope it will burn out of the guts and literally light them on fire, she said. Then it will focus on your eye and burn your eye.

Hamilton is not in the path to see a total eclipse, but will see the sun about 95 percent covered. The peak time will be at 11:31 a.m.

Johnsons said people should prepare their animals.

It wont be total darkness but it will be twilight here, she said.

The Great Eclipse Caper Event at Bitterroot College will have educational stations, eclipse viewing, fun theme music and snacks, tours of the college, and activities for all ages.

Eclipse event team member Jaime Middleton said she is proud the college is a designated NASA viewing site.

Im surprised at how few Montana sites there are, she said. Were one of three in Montana, well, actually one of two in Montana because the third is a balloon. What a great educational opportunity it is for our local school districts, science teachers and students.

Along the direct path of the eclipse hotels are booked, some for $2,000 a night in Idaho Falls. But local hotels said they are already mostly full due to Kevin Costner crew coming to film.

Ron Scroggins, temporary general manager of Quality Inn of Hamilton (formerly Townhouse Inn) said the hotel is not booked at this point.

We still have 15 Rooms available for Aug. 20, he said. The Kevin Costner production crew is coming and they want more rooms than I can give them. The town will fill up and people need to book early.

Lynn Reynoso, front desk clerk at the Bitterroot River Inn and Conference Center, said they have a few rooms available Aug. 20.

Were usually booked in August and I dont know if these bookings are related to the eclipse, she said.

Middleton said the eclipse event is a big project.

I was really excited that we were willing to take on a project this big, she said. It is un known how many people will attend. It is a big undertaking and a huge need in our community for the education.

The event team asked people planning to attend the free event to register.

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NASA has approved Bitterroot College as an official eclipse event site - Ravalli Republic

Jack Davis, a self-proclaimed "Guardian of the Galaxy" from New Jersey, piqued NASA's interest.

"I may be nine but I think I would be a fit for the job," Jack said in the handwritten letter.

He went on to list his interstellar work experience.

"I have seen almost all the space and alien movies I can see," the 9-year-old explained.

He also showed he's on the case when it comes to career development.

"I have also seen the show Marvel Agents of Shield and hope to see the movie Men in Black."

Jack also described his fine motor skills and the ability to quickly learn and apply new concepts. "I'm great at video games," he said. "I am young, so I can learn to think like an Alien."

NASA replied to the letter and Jack even got a phone call from Planetary Research Director Jonathan Rall.

In the letter, they congratulated Jack on his interest and offered some extra insights about the job.

"It's about protecting Earth from tiny microbes when we bring back samples from the Moon, asteroids and Mars. It's also about protecting other planets and moons from our germs as we responsibly explore the Solar System," wrote James L. Green, director of NASA's planetary science division.

While NASA ended up not offering him the job, it wasn't an outright rejection.

"We are always looking for bright future scientists and engineers to help us, so I hope you will study hard and do well in school," Green said.

"We hope to see you here at NASA one of these days," Green added.

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A 9-year-old 'Guardian of the Galaxy' applies for NASA job - CNN

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Saturday, August 5, 2017, 7:13 PM

When NASA announced it was hiring a planetary protection officer, a role designed to protect the planet from aliens, the space agency received applications from candidates of all ages.

Nine-year-old Jack Davis, a self-described Guardian of the Galaxy, was among them.

He threw his hat in the ring, undeterred by the job requirements, which include advanced knowledge of Planetary Protection and a degree in physical science, engineering, or mathematics.

I may be nine but I think I would be fit for the job, he wrote in a handwritten letter addressed to NASA.

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The job posting describes planetary protection as the protection of earth from alien organisms, as well as the protection of other planets from earthly germs.

Davis listed his job qualifications in his letter. One of the reasons is my sister says I am an alien...also, I have seen almost all the space and alien movies I can see, he wrote.

He touted his age as an asset, too.

I am young, so I can learn to think like an Alien, he said.

NASA tracking sunspot as it becomes visible

NASA officials were impressed and reached out to Davis to say so.

Dr. James L. Green, the director of NASAs planetary science division told Davis its great that hes interested in being a NASA planetary protection officer.

He described the work as really cool and very important.

Its about protecting Earth from tiny microbes when we bring back samples from the Moon, asteroids and Mars. Its also about protecting other planets and moons from our germs as we responsibly explore the Solar System, Green wrote from NASAs Washington headquarters.

Gwyneth Paltrow's $120 stickers get smacked down by NASA brain

He encouraged Davis to study hard, and said he hoped to see him at NASA one day.

The daring New Jersey fourth-grader also received a congratulatory phone call from NASAs planetary research director Jonathan Rall.

A NASA press release said that although the position may not be in real-life what the title conjures up, it does play an important role in promoting the responsible exploration of our solar system by preventing microbial contamination of other planets and our own.

NASA is accepting applications for the role through Aug. 14.

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9-year-old applies for planetary protection job at NASA - New York Daily News

NASAs Mars rover Curiosity took this selfie in the Murray Buttes area, on the lower flank of Mount Sharp.

Five years after touching down on Mars, NASA's Curiosity rover mission is still making big discoveries.

On the night of Aug. 5, 2012, the car-size robot aced a dramatic and harrowing landing, settling softly onto the Red Planet's surface after being lowered on cables by a rocket-powered "sky crane." The success of this unprecedented (and seemingly improbable) maneuver sparked eruptions of emotion at mssion control at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California and at late-night viewing parties all over the world.

Curiosity landed on Mars at 10:17 p.m. PDT on Aug. 5, that's 1:17 a.m. EDT on Aug. 6 (0517 GMT), with the signal of its success reaching Earth 14 minutes later after crossing the 154 million miles between Mars and Earth.

Within weeks of its arrival inside Mars' 96-mile-wide (154 kilometers) Gale Crater, Curiosity hit scientific pay dirt, rolling through an ancient streambed where water once flowed. And, not long after that, mission scientists revealed a bombshell: Billions of years ago, a nearby area known as Yellowknife Bay was part of a lake that could have supported microbial life. [The 10 Biggest Moments from Curiosity's First 5 Years on Mars]

But that's not where Curiosity's story ends. The rover has continued to piece together details about the ancient Gale Crater environment work that has led to another exciting find.

"I feel like we're arriving at a second conclusion from the mission that's just as powerful as the first, which is that habitable environments persisted on Mars for at least millions of years," Curiosity project scientist Ashwin Vasavada, of JPL, told Space.com.

Curiosity worked near its landing site on Gale's floor for its first year on Mars. Then, the nuclear-powered rover began a 5-mile (8 km) trek to the towering Mount Sharp, which rises about 3.4 miles (5.5 km) into the Red Planet sky from Gale's center.

The mountain's foothills had long been Curiosity's main science destination, even before the rover's November 2011 launch. Mission team members wanted the six-wheeled robot to work its way up through Mount Sharp's lower reaches, studying the rock layers there for clues about Mars' long-ago transition from a relatively warm and wet world to the cold, arid place it is today.

And that's what Curiosity has been doing for the past three years. Since arriving at Mount Sharp in September 2014, the robot has climbed about 600 vertical feet (180 meters), drilling, sampling and studying numerous rocks that are part of a geological division that mission scientists call the Murray Formation.

Curiosity found that most of this rock is fine-grained mudstone classic lake-bed deposits, Vasavada said. Such deposits on Earth generally take millions of years to accumulate, leading the team to conclude that Gale Crater's lake system was long-lasting.

That's a big deal, because Curiosity's work at Yellowknife Bay captured just "a snapshot in time," Vasavada said.

Based on the initial findings, "that lake may only have been around for 100 or 1,000 years at the minimum," he said. "There was a risk that our habitability discovery only applied to a short amount of time." [Photos: Ancient Mars Lake Could Have Supported Life]

Curiosity has already seen some changes during its climb up Mount Sharp. For example, the mudstone was pretty much continuous at and near the mountain's base, but that finely grained stuff gets broken up by other deposits closer to the top of the Murray Formation, Vasavada said.

"There are intervals of deposits that are consistent with forming in near-shore environments where rivers are reaching the edge of the lake, or even in dry environments where the lake has presumably receded," he said. "But the lake then reappears."

And Gale Crater likely remained habitable even through such periodic dry spells, Vasavada added. That's because groundwater probably remained, even if the lake site was dry on the surface.

This groundwater also outlasted the lakes, he said. Mission scientists know this because Curiosity has spotted evidence that liquid water flowed through Gale's lake deposits after they dried out and were buried, compressed and fractured.

"So there's a whole other era of water that's, by definition, after the lakes," Vasavada said. "It suggests that the water was there even longer than the timescale of the lakes."

Vasavada and his colleagues hope to learn more about this other era, and Gale's early history in general, as Curiosity goes higher up the mountain. Ideally, mission scientists would like to reach three other rock layers that are above the Murray Formation. The first is Vera Rubin Ridge, a feature with lots of the iron-containing mineral hematite; the second is a clay-rich unit; and the third is one dominated by sulfates.

The clay unit was probably exposed to lots of liquid water in the ancient past, whereas sulfates imply that water was scarcer, Vasavada said.

"There's this idea that you go from the clays to the sulfates, and you're going to be witnessing some kind of drying out of the environment at Gale Crater," he said. "Whether that has anything to do with the global drying out of Mars we'd love to figure out. But at the very least, it's a major environmental change within Gale Crater."

Curiosity has already been eyeing Vera Rubin Ridge and should start studying the formation in earnest in the next month or two, Vasavada said. If everything goes according to plan, the rover should get to the clay unit by the end of the year and arrive at the sulfate region, which is about 650 feet (200 m) above Curiosity's current location, a year or two after that.

"In the next three years or so, we'll probably see all of those units," Vasavada said.

Curiosity has already far outlasted its warranty; the rover's $2.5 billion mission was originally scheduled to last just two Earth years.

But there's no reason to think Curiosity won't be able to power through three more years on the Red Planet; the rover is in good shape overall, Vasavada said. (The mission team has been able to slow an initially worrying rate of wheel damage, primarily by choosing routes with softer ground, he added.)

But one major health problem continues to afflict Curiosity: The rover has been unable to use its drill since December 2016. This is a big blow, because the drill which sits at the end of Curiosity's 7-foot-long (2.1 m) robotic arm allows the robot to access the pristine interiors of rocks and, therefore, characterize ancient environments. (Without this capability, the rover is mostly limited to analyzing surface material such as sand, which was shaped and altered in the recent past.)

The issue lies in the drill feed mechanism, which moves the drill bit forward and backward. Until about a month ago, Curiosity engineers were focused primarily on diagnosing the problem and fixing it in a way that would restore normal drill operations, Vasavada said. But the team is now investigating an alternative drilling method using the arm itself, not the feed motor, to move the drill.

"That requires a lot of work to figure out if that's safe, and to figure out how to do it, and how to command it," Vasavada said. "But it's promising, and that may be where we concentrate our efforts going forward."

Though he and other mission team members are chiefly concerned with the future fixing the drill and continuing Curiosity's climb up Mount Sharp, for example the events of Aug. 5, 2012, still have a special place in Vasavada's heart.

"When I look at the landing video, I still get really emotional; I have a hard time giving talks when I show the video, because it takes me like a minute to recover," he said. "It's remembering the emotion of that night, where your whole career is depending on seven minutes of this stuff going right and when it actually did work, realizing that you had a future."

Note: Space.com Senior ProducerSteve Spaletacontributed to this report.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter@michaeldwallandGoogle+.Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebookor Google+. Originally published onSpace.com.

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After 5 Years on Mars, NASA's Curiosity Rover Is Still Making Big Discoveries - Space.com

NASA recently made waves online with the news that theyre in the market to fill the position of planetary protection officer. While the job title might sound like something ripped from the script of a sci-fi movie, the reality of the position is a little less exciting. The job actually entails ensuring that the stuff we send to outer space is clean and germ-free so humans dont end up contaminating planets when they land rovers, ships, and such.

Fourth-grader Jack Davis was one of many to jump at the opportunity based on the title alone. Hell probably balk at the reality of the job (scrubbing spaceships?), but its nice to know hes at the ready should we ever need to protect our planet from aliens.

He quickly sent NASA a letter applying for the gig, and, preteen or not, he makes a convincing case for employment.

Image via millamber/Reddit.

I think we can also add "nice handwriting" to the list of qualifications young Jack has going for him.

The letter reads:

Dear NASA:

My name is Jack Davis and I would like to apply for the planetary protection officer job. I may be nine but I think I would be fit for the job. One of the reasons is my sister says I am an alien alsoI have seen almost all the space and alien movies I can see. I have also seen the show Marvel Agents of Shield and hope to see the movie Men in Black. I am great at video games. I am young, so I can learn to think like an Alien.

Sincerely,

Jack Davis

Guardian of the Galaxy

Fourth Grade

Can we just create a position for this kid? Failing that, NASA, can you ship him a copy of Men in Black? Sure, hes allegedlyan alien, according to his (unreliable?) sister, but I say wegive this human/alien enigma the benefit of the doubt.

I mean, hes more qualified than this rocket scientist, right?

Share image via millamber/Reddit.

Excerpt from:

A Fourth-Grader Made A Convincing Handwritten Pitch Explaining Why NASA Should Hire Him - GOOD Magazine

Three Daily Press reporters are taking on the 100-year history of NASA Langley and the book they wrote about it in a panel discussion Monday.

Tamara Dietrich, Mark St. John Erickson and Mike Holtzclaw, who collaborated on "The Unknown and Impossible: How a Research Facility in Virginia Mastered the Air and Conquered Space," will participate in a panel discussion about the book at the Hampton History Museum at 7 p.m. Monday.

The book, released in July, chronicles the centennial at NASA Langley in Hampton, where some of the most prominent astronauts, including John Glenn, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, trained for their missions. At Langley, engineers and astronauts played roles in designing the space shuttle and developing the Viking program, which took photos of Mars in the 1970s.

The lab broke ground in July 1917.

"This was the cutting edge of aviation, right here in Hampton," Holtzclaw said. "Anybody who was in aviation and wanted to know what is the latest or if they wanted to test their design at the place to test it, they came here."

The book took at least six months to write, Holtzclaw said. Monday night, books will be on sale for $15.99, and the writers will be signing copies of the book.

Museum members get a 10 percent discount on the book.

Hopefully, the event will inspire people to learn more, said Seamus McGrann, promotions director for the museum.

"It's just another way to showcase the city's past, and for a city that is so integral to the story of America itself, it's just a wonderful way to bring history to people," he said.

A newly minted rule is still in place, Holtzclaw said: "If your footprints are on the lunar surface, you get a free copy."

Mishkin can be reached by phone at 757-641-6669.

What: Panel discussion and book signing of "The Unknown and Impossible."

Where: 120 Old Hampton Lane in Downtown Hampton. Free parking is in the garage across the street.

When: 7-8 p.m. Monday.

Cost: Free.

Buy the book

"The Unknown and Impossible" is available online at BarnesandNoble.com, Amazon.com and dailypress.com/langley. Copies also are available in the Daily Press lobby at 703 Mariners Row in Newport News.

Continued here:

Hampton History Museum to host Daily Press panel on book about NASA Langley's 100-year history - Daily Press

The goals of the planetary protection officer are to protect the Earth and to protect other planets from being contaminated by substances from Earth during exploration. NASA hide caption

The goals of the planetary protection officer are to protect the Earth and to protect other planets from being contaminated by substances from Earth during exploration.

The survival of life of Earth (and elsewhere) may rest on the shoulders of NASA's next planetary protection officer and they're taking applications.

The job posting has elicited headlines about how the space agency is seeking a person to defend our planet from aliens. But it's more concerned with microorganisms than little green men.

And while it's true that the role is trying to prevent Earth from being contaminated by extraterrestrial materials, say from samples collected on missions, the job is just as focused on preventing contamination from Earth on planets and moons that humans explore.

NPR's Ari Shapiro chatted about the job with someone who would know what it takes former Planetary Protection Officer Michael Meyer. He's now the lead scientist for NASA's Mars Exploration Program.

As researchers explore places that could harbor life, "when you bring samples back there's the possibility that you're bringing something alive from another planet," Meyer says. "In which case, you ought to be cautious and keep those samples contained until you can determine whether or not there's anything perhaps hazardous in those samples."

He explains that "the very nature of the job is that you have to be conservative," because we may not know whether an extraterrestrial sample is dangerous or not.

By the same token, as scientists search for life, they don't want to confuse a stowaway microbe from Earth with a groundbreaking discovery of life on another planet.

That's why Meyer spent his time "making sure that the spacecraft going somewhere else was actually of a clean enough nature so that we're not worried about contaminating the planet that we're trying to explore."

He also points out a potentially unexpected set of skills that come in handy: diplomacy.

The planetary protection officer is "dealing with other countries that are also sending spacecraft to targets of opportunity such as Mars and [Jupiter's moon] Europa." The European Space Agency also has a similar role, but other countries with space programs do not.

"We're not in the business of telling other countries how to conduct their business but we do have to pay attention to what they're doing because when we're collaborating with them it's incumbent on us, on NASA, to make sure that they're exploring safely," Meyer added.

Not all missions require the same level of cleanliness, however. He explains that "planetary protection has a gradation of bodies of concern."

For example, sending a spacecraft to an asteroid that is not deemed to have potential for life requires a less conservative approach than sending a spacecraft to Mars. In places that could potentially support life, Meyer says, "we have to sterilize the spacecraft or sterilize the instruments that might touch that region."

Still interested in the job? Here are a few specifics. The application period closes on Aug. 14. It pays $126,406-$187,000 annually. You need a "broad engineering expertise" and must be a "recognized subject matter expert." And "demonstrated experience planning, executing, or overseeing elements of space programs of national significance" is also a must.

The job is open only to U.S. citizens and residents of American Samoa. It also explicitly mentions eligibility of the several dozen residents of Swains Island, a U.S.-administered island in the South Pacific.

Continue reading here:

Do You Have What It Takes To Be NASA's Next Planetary Protection Officer? - NPR

Aug.04.2017 / 2:27 PM ET

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HOUSTON The storied room that first saw humans land on the moon has fallen into a shocking state of disrepair. Once a gleaming state-of-the-art facility, Apollo Mission Control at Johnson Space Center here has become a place of flickering lights and worn carpet held together with tape. The keyboards of its old flight consoles are missing buttons.

NASA says it lacks the money to renovate the room, which was decommissioned in 1992. In recent years, it's been a stop on guided tours of the space center and in 2015 was designated a "threatened facility" by the National Park Service.

But Space Center Houston and other philanthropic groups have stepped in to fill the void, starting a Kickstarter campaign that aims to renovate the facility in time for the 50th anniversary of the first manned mission to the moon. That comes in 2019.

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What we envision is when you step into the visitor viewing area to see the mission control center, it will be as if the men who worked here had just gone on break, said William Harris, president of Space Center Houston.

The campaign has garnered support from more than 3,000 people from around the world. Its estimated that $5 million will be enough to bring the room back to its original state, as seen on television back in the day and as depicted in the 1995 movie "Apollo 13."

Behind the effort to restore mission control is a handful of NASA workers who spent countless stressful hours working in the room, including the former Apollo flight director, Gene Kranz.

Kranz, 84, believes not enough was done to prevent the room's deterioration.

"This is frustrating to me that NASA allowed this room to deteriorate to the condition it was in, he said. They did not have the feeling that comes from having worked and lived...in this room. We saw incredible tragedy, but we also triumphed.

Kranz and his colleagues were in the room for Apollo 11 and the other successful manned missions to the moon. They were also there when three astronauts died during testing for the first Apollo mission in 1967 and in 1970 when the Apollo 13 astronauts returned safely to Earth after their space capsule was disabled by an explosion.

Among the contributors to the Kickstarter campaign is the City of Webster, Texas, which was home to many of the flight controllers and other personnel who worked in the room during the during the Apollo era. In early 2017, the city stepped forward with a gift of $3.1 million on top of a dollar-for-dollar matching campaign.

We hope that by restoring this room, it will make create greater awareness about the incredible work, achievements, of the U.S. space program," Harris said. "We are really standing on the shoulders of those who have gone before us.

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Will NASA's Ruined Apollo Mission Control Room Rise Again ... - NBCNews.com

NASA is inviting citizens across the US to participate in a nationwide science experiment by collecting cloud and air temperature data and reporting it via their phones.

The experiments are part of the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment, or GLOBE Program. GLOBE is a NASA-supported research and education program that encourages students and citizen scientists to collect and analyze environmental observations. Observers gather their data through a free, easy to use app which guides you through the experiment.

On Aug. 21, a total solar eclipse will occur across the entire continental United States. Crossing the country from Oregon to South Carolina over the course of an hour and a half, 14 states will experience night-like darkness for approximately two minutes in the middle of the day. The eclipse enters the U.S. at 10:15 a.m. PDT off the coast of Oregon and leaves U.S. shores at approximately 2:50 p.m. EDT in South Carolina.

All of North America will experience at least a partial eclipse, including here in the Tri-Cities.

For more about what we'll see in the Tri-Cities, click here.

No matter where you are in North America, whether its cloudy, clear or rainy, NASA wants as many people as possible to help with this citizen science project, said Kristen Weaver, deputy coordinator for the project. We want to inspire a million eclipse viewers to become eclipse scientists.

In order to participate, first download the GLOBE Observer app and register to become a citizen scientist. The app will instruct you on how to make the observations. Second, you will need to obtain a thermometer to measure air temperature.

To join in the fun, download the GLOBE Observer apphttps://observer.globe.gov/about/get-the-app. After you log in, the app explains how to make eclipse observations.

Observations will be recorded on an interactive map.

To learn more about how NASA researchers will be studying the Earth during the eclipse visithttps://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/nasa-looks-to-the-solar-eclipse-to-help-understand-the-earth-s-energy-system

News 5 will provide special coverage of the eclipse starting at 2pm on August 21st. Join the StormTrack 5 Weather Team and News 5's reporters as they bring you live reports from the path of totality and across the Tri-Cities. Nature's Blackout: Tracking the 2017 Solar Eclipse begins at 2pmon News 5, WCYB.

Have a question about the eclipse? Send our weather team an email at weather@wcyb.com or contact them on social media.

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NASA Invites You to Become a Citizen Scientist During Solar Eclipse - WCYB

Wally Funk is one of the Mercury 13, a group of women who trained to be astronauts in the early 1960s. Courtesy of Wally Funk hide caption

Wally Funk is one of the Mercury 13, a group of women who trained to be astronauts in the early 1960s.

Wally Funk has spent her life in pursuit of a dream. The pilot, flight instructor and almost-astronaut longs to go to outer space.

In 1961, she was part of a group of female pilots who took part in tests to determine whether women were fit for space travel. The project was run by the same doctor who developed tests for NASA astronauts and the women became known as the Mercury 13.

"I get a call said, 'Do you want to be an astronaut?' I said, 'Oh my gosh, yes!' And he said, 'Be here on Monday to take these tests,' " the 78-year-old Funk recounted to her friend and flight student, Mary Holsenbeck, during a recent visit to StoryCorps in Dallas.

Mary Holsenbeck (left) and Wally Funk at StoryCorps in Dallas. The two friends talk every day at 10 p.m. and often take to the skies together. StoryCorps hide caption

Mary Holsenbeck (left) and Wally Funk at StoryCorps in Dallas. The two friends talk every day at 10 p.m. and often take to the skies together.

"I had needles stuck on every part of my body. Tubes running up my bottom. So I went along with it. It didn't bother me," she said. "And then they said, 'We want you to come with a swimsuit; you're going to go into the isolation tank.' Well, I didn't know what that was. The lights come down, they said try not to move. Well, I didn't have a whole lot to think about. I'm 20, I had $10 in my pocket. And then finally they said: 'Wally, you were outstanding. You stayed in 10 hours and 35 minutes. You did the best of the guys that we've had and of the girls.' "

Funk was preparing to go to Florida for more testing when she found out the program had been shut down. So, though they passed many of the same tests as the men, Funk and the other Mercury 13 women never got to go to space.

"When we got the telegram, that was it, and I never heard anything more," she explained. "So I went on about my own business. I'm not going to sit back and pine over anything."

No, Funk didn't pine. Instead, she applied to NASA four times but got turned down because she didn't have an engineering degree. But Funk hasn't given up on going to space.

"I never let anything stop me," she said. "I know that my body and my mind can take anything that any space outfit wants to give me high altitude chamber test, which is fine ... centrifuge test, which I know I can do five and six G's. These things are ... easy for me."

Wally Funk poses in front of the Virgin Galactic spacecraft in 2015 in the Mojave Desert. Funk has a ticket and hopes to be on its first flight into space. Courtesy of Mary Holsenbeck hide caption

Wally Funk poses in front of the Virgin Galactic spacecraft in 2015 in the Mojave Desert. Funk has a ticket and hopes to be on its first flight into space.

Funk bought a ticket for Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic commercial spaceship and hopes to be on board its maiden voyage into space. Holsenbeck plans to be there, cheering Funk on when she finally blasts off.

"You are probably the most fearless person I've ever known in my life," she told Funk, adding that the aspiring astronaut was not just her hero, but also her mentor.

"I went through a very nasty divorce and you made a phone call at the right time one afternoon that saved my life," Holsenbeck said. "You said, 'Mary, let's go flying and I said, 'Wally, I can't afford to go flying.' And you said, 'I didn't ask you that meet me at the airport.'

"And taking me flying, you would pick out a cloud and you would say 'Mary, you see that cloud up there?' I'd say 'Yes, ma'am.' You said, 'Point the nose of this airplane toward that cloud and just fly to it.' And it was the most freeing feeling. I felt like I was in charge of something when I was in that airplane, and that helped me to put myself back in charge of my own life," Holsenbeck continued. "So yeah, you fix the problem."

Wally Funk and Mary Holsenbeck in 1993. Courtesy of Mary Holsenbeck hide caption

Wally Funk and Mary Holsenbeck in 1993.

The two women talk every day at 10 p.m., recounting their days. They call it their 10 o'clock flight.

"So we go up into the clouds together because Wally, you've always told me, 'When you have problems? Go to the clouds.' "

Audio produced for Morning Edition by John White.

StoryCorps is a national nonprofit that gives people the chance to interview friends and loved ones about their lives. These conversations are archived at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, allowing participants to leave a legacy for future generations. Learn more, including how to interview someone in your life, at StoryCorps.org.

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This Pilot Is Headed To Space With Or Without NASA - NPR

A NASA post advertising a job opening for a new Planetary Protection Officer provided a field day for headline writers who apparently couldn't resist having a bit of fun at the agency's expense. Stories went viral by suggesting that NASA wants to hire someone to defend Earth from aliens and will pay them good money to do it.

While true in the broadest possible sense the "aliens" in question are microbes, not sentient beings the office is actually part of a long-standing program to make sure NASA spacecraft don't contaminate other planets with any earthly bugs and to ensure that any samples returned to Earth are properly isolated and pose no threat to our ecosystem.

Catharine "Cassie" Conley is the outgoing Planetary Protection Officer, the seventh to hold the post. She came on board in 2006 and, like her predecessors, reports directly to the NASA administrator.

"As the Planetary Protection Officer for NASA, I am responsible for ensuring that the United States complies with Article IX of The Outer Space Treaty," she said in a NASA interview.

"Article IX specifies that planetary exploration should be carried out in a manner so as to avoid contamination of the bodies we are exploring throughout the solar system, and also to avoid any adverse effects to Earth if materials are brought back from outer space.

Catharine Conley, NASA's outgoing Planetary Protection Officer, holds a Ph.D. in plant biology. She's held the post since 2006.

NASA

As she told The New York Times in a 2015 interview, "If we're going to look for life on Mars, it would be really kind of lame to bring Earth life and find that instead."

No matter. NASA's search for the agency's eighth Planetary Protection Officer at a salary of up to $187,000 per year was enough to trigger a flurry of stories.

"NASA has a job opening for someone to defend Earth from aliens and it pays a 6-figure salary," Business Insider headlined its web story.

The piece included a graphic from the movie "Independence Day" showing a giant alien spaceship in the process of destroying New York City. The caption: "A typical day in the office for a planetary protection officer isn't this exciting."

The Independent in Britain headlined its story: "NASA offering six-figure salary for new 'planetary protection officer' to defend Earth from aliens."

Even former shuttle commander Mark Kelly got in on the fun, tweeting, "I nominate Bruce Willis."

Followers chimed in with other suggestions, including "Men in Black" star Will Smith; Matt Damon of "Martian" fame; Peter Cushing, the evil "Star Wars" general; Jodie Foster, who met aliens in the movie "Contact;" Bill Pullman, who portrayed the president in "Independence Day;" and even the fictional Jack Bauer of the long-running series "24."

But planetary protection is serious business at NASA, guiding how missions are designed and implemented. Consider the agency's Cassini spacecraft now orbiting Saturn.

Now at the end of a 20-year mission the past 13 in orbit around Saturn Cassini is virtually out of fuel and without propellant, NASA cannot control the probe's orientation or change its trajectory.

Instead of simply letting the spacecraft die, leaving it at the mercy of unpredictable gravitational interactions, flight controllers earlier this year used most of the probe's remaining fuel to put it on a trajectory that will impact Saturn next month, ensuring its destruction.

That's because at least one of Saturn's moons, Enceladus, has a sub-surface ocean that could be an abode for life. If NASA simply let Cassini die, it eventually could crash into Enceladus, depositing microbes from Earth. And heat from the spacecraft's three plutonium-powered radioisotope thermoelectric generators, or RTGs.

The RTGs were built to withstand a launch pad explosion and all three likely would survive an impact on Enceladus where "more than likely (they would melt) through the ice shell, over time, and then you're in the sub surface," said Jim Green, director of planetary science at NASA headquarters. "It's going to be laying there, and it's going to end up in the ocean."

And that includes tens of thousands of microbes that hitched a ride to Saturn aboard Cassini.

"Human microbes can withstand all kinds of things, but having the right environment where heat is available is really the way they could multiply and grow," Green said in an interview Wednesday. "So, having that system in the ocean is not good. Even though it might be a remote chance, it's not zero."

NASA ended the Galileo Jupiter probe the same way, crashing it into the giant planet's atmosphere in 1995 to make sure it could not one day hit Europa, another moon with a sub-surface ocean, or any others that might be habitable.

The Juno probe currently in orbit around Jupiter faces the same fate when its mission ends as will the Europa Clipper, a spacecraft currently on the drawing board that will study the intriguing moon during multiple flybys in the 2020s.

Mars, of course, is a major concern when it comes to planetary protection, the target of multiple satellites, landers and rovers over several decades. No one yet knows whether some form of microbial life might exist at the red planet, either on or below the surface, and NASA scientists want to find out, if possible, before humans make the trip.

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Once astronauts arrive, it's "game over," Green said. "It's then the clash of two potentially different ecosystems."

"For me as a scientist, I want to get in there and I want to understand the environment before we bring our environment with us," he said. "Answering the question is Mars alive today, is there a living population, is actually something that's very important for us to try to pull off. And that's very hard to do."

Astronauts, of course, will live in isolated habitats, "almost like they'll be quarantined," Green added. "So there will still be areas all over Mars that'll be very pristine and could maintain an ecosystem, you know, perhaps there's life in the aquifers, and it'll take maybe a couple of centuries before it's totally game over."

"This is the kind of thing we need to guard against, and getting in there and understanding the environment the best we can is the first thing we want to do."

Green and his fellow planetary scientists are equally concerned about making sure any Mars rocks returned to Earth are handled safely. When the Apollo astronauts brought rocks back from the moon, the samples and the astronauts were initially quarantined. Green said NASA is considering a variety of options to isolate Mars rocks.

"We're looking at either constructing or using an existing bio-level 4 facility," he said. "This is a facility that would be used for the most extreme virus or bacteria or something that could sweep the world and kill the population. There are facilities like that (and) we're going to have to either develop our own or tag onto something like that."

He said some researchers don't believe life currently exists on Mars and "they'd be delighted to just lift the top of every one of the rock tubes and that would make them publicly available if they didn't die the next day!"

"But that's not how it's going to work," he said. "We're going to bring them in and examine the heck out of them. (Even) if it had zero biological contamination associated with it, is going to be a number of years before anybody will be able to analyze the samples outside that facility."

Originally posted here:

"Alien" headlines aside, NASA is serious about planetary protection - CBS News

Why it matters to you

The images could help researchers understand why the sun's outer atmosphere is hotter than the lower layers, as well as potentially gaining a better understanding of what Mercury might be made of.

The first full solar eclipse to come to the U.S. in 100 years will only last in totality for about two minutes unless of course you are a NASA scientist with a pair of jet planes. During the Aug. 21 eclipse,NASA is aiming to photograph the most detailed images of the sun yet by extending the total view time of the eclipse with a pair of telescopes mounted on two WB-57F jets. While photographers on the ground view the phenomenon with special glasses and filters, getting higher in the earths atmosphere will result in both clearer pictures and an extended viewing time for a NASA eclipse study.

By following the eclipse via jet, the team will extend their viewing time of the celestial phenomenon from less than two and a half minutes to over seven minutes. The scientists will shoot from twin telescopes, both located on the nose of the jets.

The teams goal is to capture the details in the corona as the moon completely blocks the sun, leaving the outer atmosphere easily visible. The darkness created by the eclipse will also allow the researchers to study Mercury the team plans to take the first thermal images of the planet during the eclipse from those same jets. Recording how fast the planet cools while the sun is covered could help scientists better understand Mercurys make-up.

These could well turn out to be the best ever observations of high frequency phenomena in the corona, Dan Seaton, co-investigator of the project and researcher at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado, said. Extending the observing time and going to very high altitude might allow us to see a few events or track waves that would be essentially invisible in just two minutes of observations from the ground.

NASA says the images could help researchers understand why the sun is so hot. While the temperatures in the corona reach the millions, lower layers such as the photosphere top out in the thousands. Gathering data from the corona during the eclipse could help the team better understand why the inner layers of the suns atmosphere are actually cooler than the outer layers. The images could help prove or disprove a theory that nano-flares, which scientists have not yet seen, accounts for the temperature differences.

The telescopic camera will be shooting high resolution images at 30 fps. By taking multiple images over time, scientists expect they could identify potential nanoflares by comparing the shots to look for motion. The images will be taken with the traditional visible light camera, while the images of Mercury will be shot in infrared to create a temperature map of the planet.

The project is just one of 11 different tasks NASA is leading during the eclipse.

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How will NASA photograph the eclipse? With jet planes, of course - Digital Trends

ASHEBORO Students at The Dream Center of Randolph County are playing a role in the U.S. Department of Educations ongoing effort to solve a national problem the critical shortage of students with mastery of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills.

Through an exciting out-of-school collaboration between the department and NASA, local students are conducting scientific observations of the natural environment and are learning the relevance of STEM skills to daily life.

The Dream Center is part of the departments 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) program, which focuses in part on exposing students in high-need schools to meaningful STEM-learning opportunities. One goal of the 21st CCLC program which will serve more than 1.5 million students in all 50 states in 2016 is to demonstrate the value of STEM skills both inside and outside the classroom, thereby raising student interest in STEM and related professions.

Since NASA first became a partner in 2013, available programs have grown from 20 sites in three states to nearly 146 sites across 15 states in 2016. This year, NASA will offer two options for unique STEM experiences: Engineering Design Challenges (EDC) and a Global Observation to Benefit Environment (GLOBE) investigation.

EDC introduces students to the engineering design process so they can develop solutions to real NASA challenges, such as how to land a spacecraft on Mars or grow plants in lunar habitats. GLOBE immerses students in scientific investigation techniques, such as data gathering, to learn how clouds impact the Earths climate. In both cases, students work with NASA engineers and scientists to receive feedback on their work, learn about STEM careers and find out what its like to work in science and engineering professions.

In 2016-2017, 23 students from both Asheboro and Randleman are participating in the NASA partnership program. Students are working in teams of four to design a Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) that will safely carry two astronauts through a series of landing trials. The CEV must fit inside the designated size constraint, weigh no more than 100 grams and safely carry two astronauts. Teams must design and build a vehicle with secure seats for the astronauts and include a hatch that stays closed during testing. The challenge also requires a model of an internal fuel tank on the vehicle. Students will complete the project and submit a video of the engineering design process they used to complete the project.

Dr. James Johnson, principal at Randleman Elementary School, explained the importance of the program.

Before becoming involved in this project, students often felt as if not knowing the answer to a problem or question was bad. Through STEM learning, the students have learned that the not knowing is where learning actually starts. They have learned to question the things they dont know and look for an answer.

The Dream Center of Randolph County is a free after-school program offered for under-resourced children in Randolph County. The program offers enrichment activities and tutoring to families with children in grades 6-8.

For more information, visit http://www.thedreamcenternc.org.

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Students work with NASA to land on Mars - Asheboro Courier Tribune