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NASA awards UCI $9 million to study underlying mechanisms of 'space brain'

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Charles Limoli will lead effort to see how cosmic radiation affects astronauts' cognition

Irvine, Calif., March 17, 2015 -- With $9 million in NASA funding, UC Irvine professor of radiation oncology Charles Limoli will lead a national effort to understand the early and long-term effects of space radiation on the central nervous system.

Exposure to the dangerous radiation fields in space has been shown to impair the cognitive abilities of rodents, and this data suggests that astronauts who spend extended time in space may suffer similar consequences. Limoli's team will look into the behavioral impairments of rodents attributed to space radiation exposure and the underlying causes of these deficits, including studies to quantify the structural and functional alterations to nerve cells.

This "space brain" project is part of NASA's Human Research Program, which is funding three new NASA Specialized Centers of Research on space radiation. Investigating how such radiation affects astronauts and learning ways to mitigate those effects are critical to further human exploration of space, and NASA has set its sights on exploring an asteroid and, ultimately, Mars.

Collectively, the three NSCOR teams comprise 25 investigators from 13 institutions in eight states and the District of Columbia. Limoli's group includes researchers from UCI, Loma Linda University and the Eastern Virginia Medical School. The radiation exposure studies will take place at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory, located at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Long Island, N.Y.

"The space environment poses unique hazards to astronauts, since a range of potential central nervous system complications can result during and after actual space travel," Limoli said. "We plan to conduct a comprehensive series of rodent studies to characterize the neurobiological mechanisms involved with radiation-induced cognitive impairment."

Results will inform efforts to minimize the effects of solar and galactic cosmic radiation on the central nervous system.

As a member of the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCI, Limoli studies how cranial irradiation triggers DNA damage, oxidative stress and structural alterations to neurons - issues important to not just astronauts but also patients subjected to radiotherapy for brain cancer. In addition, he has advanced preclinical research showing that stem cell treatments can limit cognitive deficits after cranial radiotherapy or systemic chemotherapy.

Fellow UCI investigators on the NASA project are Ivan Soltesz, professor and chair of anatomy & neurobiology; Munjal Acharya, assistant professor of radiation oncology; and Janet Baulch and Vipan Kumar, project scientists in Limoli's research group.

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NASA awards UCI $9 million to study underlying mechanisms of 'space brain'

NASA sees Tropical Cyclone Bavi losing steam

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IMAGE:This false-colored image shows warming infrared temperature data of Tropical Cyclone Bavi's clouds on March 16 at 16:47 UTC, as seen by the AIRS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite.... view more

Credit: NASA JPL

Tropical Cyclone Bavi's convection and developing thunderstorms have been waning because of wind shear, and NASA's Aqua satellite provided an infrared look at the weakening storm.

The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder or AIRS instrument that flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite revealed warming infrared temperature data of Tropical Cyclone Bavi's clouds on March 16 at 16:47 UTC (10:47 a.m. EDT). At 0900 UTC (5 a.m. EDT) on March 17, 2015 the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) noted that "Recent animated enhanced infrared satellite imagery showed the system is stripped of any significant deep convection." That's as a result of moderate to strong (20 to 30 knot/23 to 34.5 mph/37 to 55.5 kph) southwesterly vertical wind shear. The imagery showed a ragged low-level circulation center and cloud top temperatures had warmed over the previous 24 hours. Warming cloud tops indicate that the cloud tops are dropping and the storms are weakening.

Bavi has weakened to a depression with maximum sustained winds near 30 knots (35 mph/55 kph). Bavi was centered near 15.6 north latitude and134.5 east longitude, about 784 nautical miles (902 miles/1,453 km) east of Manila, Philippines. Bavi was moving to the west-northwest at 8 knots (9.2 mph/14.8 kph).

Bavi is moving to the west, tracking along the southern edge of a sub-tropical ridge (elongated area) of high pressure to the north. The JTWC expects Bavi to dissipate in the next day or two.

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NASA sees Tropical Cyclone Bavi losing steam

NASA Goddard Signs Exclusive Patent License With Millennium Space Systems

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The Innovative Technology Partnerships Office (ITPO) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center inGreenbelt, Maryland, announced the signing of an exclusive production license with Millennium Space Systems of El Segundo, California.

This exclusive license allows Millennium Space Systems to produce and market NASA Goddard's patented Demisable Integrated Reaction Wheel Assembly (DIRWA) for satellite platforms that can range in mass from a few hundred pounds to several thousand pounds. Made from aluminum, which has a low melting point, the demisable momentum wheels do not require controlled re-entry into Earth's atmosphere, thus reducing the costs for satellite end of life mitigation scenarios.

For more information on the DIRWA, please contact the NASA Goddard Innovative Technology Partnerships Office at 301-286-5810 or emailtechtransfer@gsfc.nasa.gov

DIRWA is one of thousands of NASA technologies available for industry use. To learn more about the other technologies NASA has available for use, please visit:http://technology.nasa.gov

To learn more about the NASA Goddard Innovative Technology Partnerships Office, please visit: http://www.itpo.gsfc.nasa.gov

For information about NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/goddard

For more information on Millennium Space Systems, please visit: http://www.millennium-space.com

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NASA Goddard Signs Exclusive Patent License With Millennium Space Systems

Orbital ATK and NASA test Qualification Motor 1 on March 11 2015 – Video

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Orbital ATK and NASA test Qualification Motor 1 on March 11 2015
SpaceFlight Insider exclusive video package covering the March 11, 2015 test firing of an Orbital ATK five-segment solid rocket booster at Promontory, Utah. The booster is part of NASA #39;s new...

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Orbital ATK and NASA test Qualification Motor 1 on March 11 2015 - Video

LA NASA INTERVIENE EN CASA DE ALBERBE M.D.T. PARTE FINAL GMOD c/Alberbe | MTDog FTS – Video

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LA NASA INTERVIENE EN CASA DE ALBERBE M.D.T. PARTE FINAL GMOD c/Alberbe | MTDog FTS
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LA NASA INTERVIENE EN CASA DE ALBERBE M.D.T. PARTE FINAL GMOD c/Alberbe | MTDog FTS - Video

NASA sees Extra-Tropical Storm Pam moving away from New Zealand

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IMAGE:On March 15 at 02:05 UTC, the MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured this visible image of Tropical Cyclone Pam off northern New Zealand as it was becoming an... view more

Credit: Image Credit: NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team

Pam, a once powerful Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale is now an extra-tropical storm moving past northern New Zealand. NASA's Aqua satellite and the ISS-RapidScat instrument provided a look at the storm's structure and wind speed.

On March 15 at 02:05 UTC, the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured a visible image of Tropical Cyclone Pam off northern New Zealand as it was becoming an extra-tropical cyclone. The image showed strong thunderstorms around the center of circulation and east of the center. Cloud in Pam's southern quadrant had reached northern New Zealand at that time.

The RapidScat instrument aboard the International Space Station (ISS) measures surface winds. When the ISS passed over Pam on March 15 RapidScat gathered data on surface winds that showed the strongest winds stretched from the northeast to the south of the center near 35 m/s (78 mph/126 kph). On March 16, after Pam made its transition to an extra-tropical storm, RapidScat gathered surface wind data on the storm from 2:20 to 3:45 UTC (March 15 from 8:20 to 11:45 p.m. EDT). RapidScat measured maximum sustained winds near 25 meters per second /56 mph/90 kph, west and south of the center.

The New Zealand Meteorological Service (NZMS) issued a bulletin on Extra-tropical storm Pam on March 16 at 25:35 local time. The bulletin included a Severe Weather Watch for Wellington that is valid through 8:35 p.m. local time on Tuesday, March 17.

The NZMS noted that Cyclone Pam was moving to the southeast but southerly gales for the east and south of the north island will be slow to subside.

Cyclone Pam was about 400 km east of Gisborne and moving to the southeast away from New Zealand and towards the Chatham Islands. NZMS noted "The heavy rain, severe southerly gales and extremely large seas that affected eastern parts of the North Island will continue to ease Monday night and Tuesday morning. However, a warning remains in force for heavy rain about the ranges of Hawkes Bay until early Tuesday morning. Also, in exposed parts of the east and south of the North Island, south to southwest gales continue Monday night and much of Tuesday."

The watch in place calls for the possibility of gale-force southerly winds in Wellington and dangerous coastal conditions through Tuesday. Heavy ocean swells and very large waves are forecast to continue to affecting the coast from East Cape to Cape Palliser Monday night (local time), and should gradually ease during Tuesday, according to NZMS. For updated forecasts from NZMS, visit: http://www.metservice.com/national/home.

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NASA sees Extra-Tropical Storm Pam moving away from New Zealand

NASA Releases New Asteroid Detection Software For Amateur Astronomers

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Since the early 20th century, astronomers have relied on the same technique to detect asteroids -- they take images of a section in the sky and look for star-like objects that move between frames. However, with an increase in sensitivity of ground-based telescopes, it has become increasingly difficult for astronomers to sift through the massive pile of data and verify every single detection.

In order to increase the frequency of asteroid detection, including of those bodies that could be potential threats to our planet, NASA has released a new software, developed in collaboration with Planetary Resources, Inc., capable of running on any standard PC. The software, which can be downloaded for free, will accept images from a telescope and run an algorithm on them to determine celestial bodies that are moving in a manner consistent with an asteroid.

Amateur astronomers and asteroid hunters can also take images from their own telescopes and analyze them with the software. The application will tell the user whether a matching asteroid record exists and offer a way to report new findings to the Minor Planet Center, which then confirms and archives new discoveries, NASA said in a statement released Sunday.

The new algorithm, which increases the chances of asteroid detection in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter by 15 percent, was created as part of NASAs Asteroid Data Hunter challenge. The work is also of special interest to Planetary Resources, which hopes to mine asteroids for water and precious metals in the near future.

The Asteroid Data Hunter challenge has been successful beyond our hopes, creating something that makes a tangible difference to asteroid hunting astronomers and highlights the possibility for more people to play a role in protecting our planet, Jason Kessler, program executive for NASAs Asteroid Grand Challengesaid in the statement. The grand challenge,sponsored by the NASA Tournament Lab, was announced in 2013 with an aim to find all asteroid threats to human populations.

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NASA Releases New Asteroid Detection Software For Amateur Astronomers


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