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NASA will give a Hubble Telescope status update today. Should we be worried?
NASA Updates Coverage for Crew Flight Test Launch, Docking to Station
NASA will provide live coverage of launch activities for the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, which will carry NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to and from the International Space Station.
Launch of the ULA (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V rocket and Boeing Starliner spacecraft is targeted for 10:52 a.m. EDT Wednesday, June 5, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Starliner will dock to the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module at approximately 12:15 p.m., Thursday, June 6.
Wilmore and Williams will remain at the space station for about a week to test the Starliner spacecraft and its subsystems before NASA works to complete final certification of the transportation system for rotational missions to the orbiting laboratory as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
The deadline for media accreditation for in-person coverage of this launch has passed. The agency’s media credentialing policy is available online. For questions about media accreditation, please email: ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov.
NASA’s mission coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):
Wednesday, June 5
6:45 a.m. – Launch coverage begins on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.
10:52 a.m. – Launch
Launch coverage on NASA+ will end shortly after Starliner orbital insertion. NASA Television will provide continuous coverage leading up to docking and through hatch opening and welcome remarks.
12:30 p.m. – Postlaunch news conference with the following participants:
- NASA Administrator Bill Nelson
- Ken Bowersox, associate administrator, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate
- Joel Montalbano, deputy associate administrator, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate
- Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program
- Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager, Commercial Crew Program, Boeing
- Tory Bruno, president and CEO, ULA
Coverage of the postlaunch news conference will air live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.
Media may ask questions in person and via phone. Limited auditorium space will be available for in-person participation. For the dial-in number and passcode, media should contact the Kennedy newsroom no later than one hour before the start of the event at ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.
NASA+ will resume coverage and NASA Television’s public channel will break from in-orbit coverage to carry the postlaunch news conference. Mission operational coverage will continue on NASA Television’s media channel and the agency’s website. Once the postlaunch news conference is complete, NASA+ coverage will end, and mission coverage will continue on both NASA channels.
Thursday, June 6
9:30 a.m. – Arrival coverage resumes on NASA+, the NASA app, and YouTube, and continues on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
12:15 p.m. – Targeted docking to the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module
2 p.m. – Hatch opening
2:20 p.m. – Welcome remarks
3:30 p.m. – Post-docking news conference at NASA’s Johnson Space Center with the following participants:
- NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free
- Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program
- Jeff Arend, manager for systems engineering and integration, NASA’s International Space Station Office
- Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager, Commercial Crew Program, Boeing
Coverage of the post-docking news conference will air live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.
All times are estimates and could be adjusted based on operations after launch. Follow the space station blog for the most up-to-date operations information.
Audio Only Coverage
Audio only of the news conferences and launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240 or -7135. On launch day, “mission audio,” countdown activities without NASA Television launch commentary, will be carried on 321-867-7135.
Launch audio also will be available on Launch Information Service and Amateur Television System’s VHF radio frequency 146.940 MHz and KSC Amateur Radio Club’s UHF radio frequency 444.925 MHz, FM mode, heard within Brevard County on the Space Coast.
Live Video Coverage Prior to Launch
NASA is providing a live video feed of Space Launch Complex-41 on NASA Kennedy’s YouTube: https://youtube.com/kscnewsroom. Pending unlikely technical issues, the feed will be uninterrupted until the prelaunch broadcast begins on NASA Television, approximately four hours prior to launch.
NASA Website Launch Coverage
Launch day coverage of the mission will be available on the agency’s website. Coverage will include live streaming and blog updates beginning no earlier than 6:45 a.m., June 5, as the countdown milestones occur. On-demand streaming video and photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff.
For questions about countdown coverage, contact the Kennedy newsroom at 321-867-2468. Follow countdown coverage on the commercial crew or the Crew Flight Test blog.
Attend Launch Virtually
Members of the public can register to attend this launch virtually. NASA’s virtual guest program for this mission also includes curated launch resources, notifications about related opportunities or changes, and a stamp for the NASA virtual guest passport following launch.
Watch, Engage on Social Media
Let people know you’re following the mission on X, Facebook, and Instagram by using the hashtags #Starliner and #NASASocial. You can also stay connected by following and tagging these accounts:
X: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @NASASocial, @Space_Station, @ISS_Research, @ISS National Lab, @BoeingSpace, @Commercial_Crew
Facebook: NASA, NASAKennedy, ISS, ISS National Lab
Instagram: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @ISS, @ISSNationalLab
Coverage en Espanol
Did you know NASA has a Spanish section called NASA en Espanol? Check out NASA en Espanol on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for additional mission coverage.
Para obtener información sobre cobertura en español en el Centro Espacial Kennedy o si desea solicitar entrevistas en español, comuníquese con Antonia Jaramillo: 321-501-8425; antonia.jaramillobotero@nasa.gov o Messod Bendayan: 256-930-1371; messod.c.bendayan@nasa.gov.
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program has delivered on its goal of safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station from the United States through a partnership with American private industry. This partnership is changing the arc of human spaceflight history by opening access to low-Earth orbit and the International Space Station to more people, science, and commercial opportunities. The space station remains the springboard to NASA’s next great leap in space exploration, including future missions to the Moon and, eventually, to Mars.
For NASA’s launch blog and more information about the mission, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew
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Josh Finch / Jimi Russell / Claire O’Shea
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov / claire.a.o’shea@nasa.gov
Steven Siceloff / Danielle Sempsrott / Stephanie Plucinsky
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-867-2468
steven.p.siceloff@nasa.gov / danielle.c.sempsrott@nasa.gov / stephanie.n.plucinsky@nasa.gov
Leah Cheshier
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
leah.d.cheshier@nasa.gov
Suppressing Starlight: How to Find Other Earths
One underappreciated aspect of the current flood of exoplanet discoveries is the technical marvels that enable it. Scientists and engineers must capture and detect minute signals from stars and planets light years away. With the technologies of even a few decades ago, that would have been impossible – now it seems commonplace. However, there are still some technical hurdles to overcome before finding the “holy grail” of exoplanet hunting – an Earth analog. To help that discussion, a team of researchers led by Bertrand Mennesson at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has released a paper detailing the current experimental and theoretical work around one of the most critical technical aspects of researching exoplanet atmospheres – starshades.
In particular, the paper discusses the technical hurdles of one of the most interesting upcoming space technology concepts. The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) was called for as part of NASA’s recent decadal survey. While it is still early in its development cycle, the general outlines of how the HWO will work are evident, even if some technical details aren’t. And those general outlines point to the need for a starshade or coronagraph – or both.
The paper details the difference between a starshade and a coronagraph. By its definition, a starshade is a filter placed between the primary telescope mirror and the object it is observing. In contrast, a coronagraph is a filter placed between the primary mirror and the telescope’s sensor. Both methods have advantages and disadvantages regarding the data they allow the telescope to collect, but they can also be combined.
Starshades aren’t only useful for space telescopes, as Fraser discusses with Dr. Markus Janson in this video.Several labs worldwide have been working on developing starshade and coronagraph technology. However, several nuances to the test set-ups affect their work’s applicability to the HWO project. Some tests are performed in a vacuum, while others are performed in air. Some tests are performed on monolith mirrored telescopes, while others are performed on segmented mirrors. Currently, the baseline operational mode of HWO is a space-based telescope, which, given current launch size constraints, also means it has to be segmented. So, only some tests performed to validate coronagraph and starshade technologies apply to the HWO use case.
For the relevant tests, there are three particular “key performance parameters” (KPPs), as the paper calls them, which can impact the technology’s viability. These are the image’s “raw” contrast, the “post-calibration” contrast, and the “off-axis throughput.” Each of these has thoroughly technical definitions described in the paper. But the first two can be thought of as how easy it is to see an exoplanet before (“raw”) and after (“post-calibration”) an image is run through a data processing algorithm. Off-axis throughput is the percentage of light from the planet through the starlight suppression system.
Each of these three KPPs represents a trade-off with the other two. Optimizing a starlight suppression system, such as a coronagraph or starshade, requires understanding and validating those design trade-offs. The paper mentions that the details of the HWO are still in flux, so it is impossible to determine what trade-offs must be made to have a fully functional system. Factors such as the number of exoearths the HWO is expected to observe, their orbital parameters, and how long the observatory will be allowed to capture data on any particular planetary system will all feed into the simulated trade-offs considered in the paper.
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is another candidate for exoplanet hunting with an advanced starlight suppression system, as Fraser discusses in this video.Most importantly, the paper’s authors stated they intended to inform the technical committees of the HWO project about these trade-offs and to help guide the selection of mission parameters that might fit in with the current (or near-term) state of technical development of one of the most critical technologies for the optimal operation of the system. HWO is still in the early planning stages and has no expected launch date. Work has started around defining the teams that will make the technical determinations to inform the selection of a starlight suppression system for the HWO. Dr. Mennesson, the paper’s lead author, also happens to be one of the co-chairs of one of the committees.
But for now, there is plenty of time to flesh out the HWO design and continue developing and testing different starlight suppression technologies. If the remarkable pace of exoplanet discovery is any indication, with a little more time and attention, the telescope development community will develop an optimally designed system to help find one of the most sought-after discoveries in modern science.
Learn More:
Mennesson et al. – Current laboratory performance of starlight suppression systems, and potential pathways to desired Habitable Worlds Observatory exoplanet science capabilities
UT – Astronomers Identify 164 Promising Targets for the Habitable Worlds Observatory
UT – The Habitable Worlds Observatory Could See Lunar and Solar ‘Exo-Eclipses’
UT – Planning is Underway for NASA’s Next Big Flagship Space Telescope
Lead Image:
Image of exoplanets
The post Suppressing Starlight: How to Find Other Earths appeared first on Universe Today.
Highlights from the 10th Achieving Mars Workshop
Back in December, NASA officials, space industry experts, members of the academic community, and science communicators descended on Washington, D.C., for the Achieving Mars Workshop X (AM X). This workshop is hosted by Explore Mars Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing leading experts from disparate fields together to contribute to creating the first crewed missions to Mars. On May 17th, the results of this year’s workshop were summarized in a report titled “The Tenth Community Workshop for Achievability and Sustainability of Human Exploration of Mars.”
Erik Antonsen, Bruce Jakosky, and Lisa May co-chaired the workshop, which took place from December 5th to 7th at George Washington University. Antonsen is the CTO of Advancing Frontiers, a consulting company providing spaceflight integration services, and an Associate Professor of Space Medicine and Emergency Medicine with the Center for Space Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine (BCM). Jakosky is a Professor Emeritus of Geological Sciences and the Associate Director of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at UC Boulder. May is the Chief Technologist for Lockheed Martin’s Commercial and Civil Space Advanced Programs.
As always, the workshop featured presentations and discussions that addressed the challenges, benefits, and ongoing efforts to realize the human exploration of Mars. But this year was special in several ways, not just because it was the tenth anniversary of the AM series. In addition, AM X took place during an auspicious time for NASA, space agencies, international organizations, and commercial space companies supporting human spaceflight. Between the impending return to the Moon through the Artemis programs and uncertainties about the first crewed missions to Mars, there was a lot to discuss!
For instance, last year’s workshop (AM IX) addressed the pressing question of whether NASA would be able to mount a crewed mission to Mars by 2033. This has been a key aspect of NASA’s Moon-to-Mars (M2M) mission architecture, detailed in the agency’s annual Architecture Concept Reviews (ACRs). It is also in keeping with Explore Mars’ goal of advancing the “human exploration of Mars and beyond no later than the 2030s.” Alas, in recent years, there has been growing skepticism that several key technologies will be ready to meet this deadline.
As Universe Today reported at the time, these doubts were raised at AM IX, and there was no consensus regarding potential solutions. This included the possibility of a flyby mission by 2033 and whether or not a nuclear-thermal propulsion (NTP) system, which can potentially reduce transit times to Mars (45 to 100 days), would be ready in time. In addition, there were the comments of Deputy Administrator Jim Reuters, who acknowledged that sending astronauts to Mars by 2040 was “an audacious goal for us to meet… It may sound like a lot, but it is [a] very short time to develop technologies we need to develop.”
As with previous AM workshops, cooperation and effective communication were emphasized. This includes coordinating robotic and human spaceflight missions and broader cooperation between space agencies, government, and industry. A key concern that was identified was the process through which NASA’s mission architecture evolves. While participants agreed that the M2M ADD “provides a strong starting point for an iterative architecture process,” they also concluded that the development process was insufficient. As stated in the AM X Report:
“Participants observed that despite recent progress, existing channels were insufficient to adequately integrate human capabilities and limitations as well as science objectives into the architecture development process. Similarly, sustainable human exploration of the Moon and Mars will not occur unless science and human exploration objectives are infused early and continuously into the systems engineering processes.”
Artwork for the AM X Workshop Report. Credit: Explore Mars Inc.To address these concerns, the workshop participants came up with four recommendations for improving existing channels and the architecture development process. They include:
Public Outreach & InvolvementFirst, the AM X Workshop Report recommended that public interactive forums be more frequent to develop inputs to NASA’s Architecture Definition Documents. The communities emphasized for engagement include operations, human research, science, international organizations, and others “that empower cross-disciplinary teaming, welcome broad participation from external experts, and provide a pathway to incorporate community recommendations and findings into Mars mission planning.”
The need to coordinate with diverse science communities to prioritize and narrow science objectives was also noted, as was the possible need for certification paths for external groups “to provide input in
smaller settings and more frequently than once a year at the ACR.”
The Report also emphasizes the need for initiatives and workshops that focus on the development and integration of “intelligent systems” and “data analytics” that will be critical for missions operating farther from Earth for extended periods. According to NASA’s mission architecture, this applies to Phase III of the Moon to Mars plan (aka. “Earth Independent”), where operations will shift from cislunar to deep space. This will include transits to and from Mars using the Deep Space Transport (DST) and science operations on the Martian surface.
Risk MitigationSecond, the Report acknowledges the historical trend where certain priorities (like discovery science, technology, and infrastructure development) are often sacrificed for short-term needs. To this end, it is recommended that NASA acknowledge and address tensions between scientific investment for “risk mitigation purposes and investment for discovery science in planning for M2M missions.” While there is no reference to the sacrifices made to realize the Artemis Program and a return to the Moon by 2024, there are some hints that this could be the case.
An illustration of the Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element and Habitation and Logistics Outpost in orbit around the Moon. Credits: NASAThe shifting priorities brought about by the expedited timetable have led to the deprioritizing of mission elements crucial to reaching Mars by the 2030s – like the Lunar Gateway. As acting Deputy Administrator Doug Loverro explained in March of 2020 during a NASA Advisory Council science committee, the Gateway was deprioritized to “de-risk” Artemis so NASA could focus on meeting the mandatory goals of Artemis and its 2024 deadline. Meanwhile, no design or feasibility studies have been performed for the DST or a Mars orbital habitat (a la the Mars Base Camp) since 2018/19, coinciding with the Artemis “shake-up.”
Regardless, the Report cites the need for increased funding to ensure “technology maturation, demonstration, and infusion to incorporate capabilities.” This is understandable, given that budget concerns have been an issue since NASA began planning missions to the Moon and Mars. In addition to speeding the development of technology, an increase in funding is also desirable to incorporate rapidly advancing technologies such as “artificial intelligence, data management, in-space manufacturing,” and others that are still relatively early in the development process.
Another important factor emphasized here is Health and Human Performance (HPP), which clearly refers to strategies for mitigating the health risks associated with deep space transits. These include extended periods spent in microgravity and long-term exposure to elevated levels of solar and cosmic radiation. To date, NASA has explored multiple possibilities for addressing these concerns, but no concrete plans have emerged just yet.
Evolving ArchitecturesFurther to Recommendation I, the Report states that NASA and commercial companies invested in Mars exploration should continue designing “evolvable mission and campaign architectures.” The purpose of this is to allow for new technologies to be incorporated along the way and prevent the current state of technology from limiting plans. As per the Report, this will help ensure that “we do not design architecture and hardware applicable only for the first mission without allowing both to evolve for subsequent missions.” To this end, NASA and commercial industries are encouraged to:
- Develop common standards, requirements, and interfaces to allow the incorporation of multiple technologies, capabilities, and/or solutions as technology progresses over the next two decades.
- Create and implement a Human and System Readiness Level verification process to assess if the human, hardware, software, and planning systems are sufficiently mature as an integrated system.
- Ensure that the architecture is sufficiently flexible that it can address a wide range of missions beyond the first one.
Finally, the Report encourages NASA to continue investing and cooperating with commercial partners to realize lunar capabilities and technologies that will help them reach Mars. This goes to the heart of the M2M mission architecture, which prioritized a return to the Moon during the 2020s to develop the necessary technologies, systems, and expertise to create a pathway to Mars by the 2030s. “The Moon is how we learn to get to Mars,” it reads, “and we want companies thinking not just about getting to the Moon but, at the same time, how getting there prepares us for the more challenging missions to Mars.”
As usual, the prospect of sending crewed missions to Mars raised many concerns at this year’s workshop. This should come as no surprise, as the goal itself is incredibly ambitious and presents many major challenges. If there is a takeaway from this year’s workshop, it is that there is plenty of work to be done before a mission can be realized. This work must take place at the architectural level, emphasizing wider public engagement, advancing technologies, and a commitment to long-term goals.
Further Reading: Explore Mars
The post Highlights from the 10th Achieving Mars Workshop appeared first on Universe Today.
SpaceX targeting June 6 for next launch of Starship megarocket (photos)
NASA Invites Media to Discuss Hubble Operations Update
NASA will hold a media teleconference at 4 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, June 4, to provide an update on operations for NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. NASA anticipates Hubble will continue making discoveries, working with other observatories such as the agency’s James Webb Space Telescope, throughout this decade and into the next.
Audio of the teleconference will stream live on the agency’s website at:
Participants in the teleconference include:
- Mark Clampin, director, Astrophysics Division, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington
- Patrick Crouse, project manager, Hubble Space Telescope, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland
To ask questions during the teleconference, media must RSVP no later than two hours before the event to Alise Fisher at: alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov. NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online.
Launched in 1990, Hubble has been observing the universe for more than three decades and recently celebrated its 34th anniversary.
To learn more about Hubble, including some of its greatest scientific discoveries, visit:
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Alise Fisher
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2546
alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov
Life Probably Played No Role in Mars’ Organic Matter
The Martian surface shows ample evidence of its warm, watery past. Deltas, ancient lakebeds, and dry river channels are plentiful. When the Curiosity rover found organic matter in ancient sediments in the Jezero Crater paleolake, it was tempting to conclude that life created the matter.
However, new research suggests that non-living processes are responsible.
There are three carbon isotopes on Earth: carbon-12 (12C), carbon-13 (13C), and carbon-14 (14C). Earth’s carbon is almost entirely carbon-12. It makes up 99% of the carbon on Earth, with carbon-13 making up the other 1%. (14C is extremely rare and unstable, so it decays into nitrogen-14.)
In 2022, MSL Curiosity took an inventory of organic carbon in sediments at Gale Crater. Organic carbon is usually described as carbon atoms bonded covalently to hydrogen atoms and is the basis for organic molecules. The carbon in organic carbon can be either carbon-12 or carbon-13, and the amounts are important. At Gale Crater, Curiosity found about 200 to 273 parts per million of organic carbon. “This is comparable to or even more than the amount found in rocks in very low-life places on Earth, such as parts of the Atacama Desert in South America, and more than has been detected in Mars meteorites,” said Jennifer Stern, a Space Scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center when the results came in.
This is the Stimson sandstone formation in Gale Crater on Mars. This is where the Curiosity Rover drilled the Edinburgh hole and found enriched Carbon 12. Image Credit: NASA/Caltech-JPL/MSSSThis carbon is important evidence in understanding Mars’ history. It can tell scientists about the planet’s atmospheric processes and environmental conditions and even shed light on potential life. In fact, understanding Martian carbon can aid our understanding of habitability and prebiotic chemistry on distant exoplanets. The isotope ratio in this carbon is different than on Earth. It has a lower amount of carbon-13 relative to carbon-12 compared to Earth. Why the discrepancy?
In recent research in Nature Geoscience, a team of researchers tried to understand the difference between Earth’s and Mars’s carbon isotope ratios. The work is titled “Synthesis of 13C-depleted organic matter from CO in a reducing early Martian atmosphere.” The lead author is Yuichiro Ueno, a biogeochemist in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the Tokyo Institute of Technology.
“Strong 13C depletion in sedimentary organic matter at Gale crater was recently detected by the Curiosity rover,” the authors write. “Although this enigmatic depletion remains debated, if correct, a mechanism to cause such strong 13C depletion is required.”
The amount of carbon-13 in the Martian sediments is far lower than in Earth’s sediments.
“On measuring the stable isotope ratio between 13C and 12C, the Martian organic matter has a 13C abundance of 0.92% to 0.99% of the carbon that makes it up,” lead author Ueno explained in a press release. “This is extremely low compared to Earth’s sedimentary organic matter, which is about 1.04%, and atmospheric CO2, around 1.07%, both of which are biological remnants and are not similar to the organic matter in meteorites, which is about 1.05%.”
The meteorite data is important because a four billion-year-old Martian meteorite named ALH 84001 is enriched in carbon-13, adding to the enigma of Mars’ carbon. Somehow, carbon-13 became depleted in the intervening billions of years. Solar escape is one possible reason for the carbon-13 depletion, but the authors discount that. There likely wasn’t enough time for enough carbon-13 to escape. “Furthermore, based on geomagnetic observations, early Mars probably had a geomagnetic field before 4?Ga,” the authors write. That field would’ve prevented solar escape.
To determine what’s behind this discrepancy, Ueno and his co-researchers simulated different Martian atmospheric conditions to see what would happen.
Their results show that isotope fractionation by solar UV light is responsible for Mars’ 13C depletion.
This graphic outlines the process that creates atmospheric organic matter that finds its way into the Martian sediments sampled by MSL Curiosity. Image Credit: Ueno et al. 2024.Carbon-12 and carbon-13 respond differently to UV light. Carbon-12 preferentially absorbs UV, which dissociates it into carbon monoxide that’s depleted in carbon-12. What’s left behind is CO2 enriched with carbon-13.
Scientists have observed this process in the upper atmospheres of Earth and Mars. In Mars’ reducing atmosphere, where oxygen was depleted, the CO2 enriched with carbon-13 would’ve transformed into formaldehyde and possibly methanol. But those compounds didn’t remain stable. In Mars’ early days, the surface temperature was close to the freezing point of water, and it never exceeded about 27 Celsius (80 F.) In that temperature range, the formaldehyde and other compounds could’ve dissolved in water. From there, they gathered in sediments.
But that’s not the end of Mars’ carbon isotope story.
The researchers used models to show that in a Mars atmosphere with a CO2 to CO ratio of 90:10, 20% of the CO2 would have converted to CO, leading to the sedimentary carbon isotope ratio we see today. The remaining atmospheric CO2 would be higher in C-13, and both values are in line with what Curiosity found, and with the ancient Martian meteorite ALH 84001.
This is a plausible scenario that can explain Curiosity’s curious carbon findings.
The team’s study also includes some other important details. For instance, atmospheric CO may not have come solely from photolysis by UV light. Some could have come from volcanic eruptions. And atmospheric CO may not have been the sole source of organics that found their way into the sediments. But either way, the results tell scientists something about Mars’ carbon cycle.
It also tells us to expect to find more organics in Martian sediments in the future.
“If the estimation in this research is correct, there may be an unexpected amount of organic material present in Martian sediments. This suggests that future explorations of Mars might uncover large quantities of organic matter,” said Ueno.
While the research shows us that life needn’t be present to produce these organics, it can’t rule life out. Nobody can, at least not yet.
The research also shows how complex atmospheric chemistry can be and how difficult it can be to draw conclusions from atmospheric studies of exoplanets. The JWST has examined several exoplanet atmospheres and found some interesting results. But there’s so much we don’t know. This research is a reminder that any conclusions are likely premature.
The post Life Probably Played No Role in Mars’ Organic Matter appeared first on Universe Today.
Morning exercise may be optimal for improving bone health
Morning exercise may be optimal for improving bone health
India launches nation's 1st 3D-printed rocket engine
China’s Chang’e 6 Probe Lands on Far Side of the Moon
The Chang’e 6 mission is China’s second to touch down on the lunar far side and will retrieve samples for analysis on Earth
Winners Announced in Gateways to Blue Skies Aeronautics Competition
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Team “Rumble Ready” from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, comprised of (from left to right) Professor Mark Gonda, Nicole Xie, Junaid Bodla, Jordan Ragsac, Krishi Gajjar, Gerald McAllister III, and Leara Dominguez, took home first place at the 2024 Gateways to Blue Skies Forum held May 30-31 at NASA Ames Research Center.National Institute of Aerospace
The California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, team, with their project titled “Aero-Quake Emergency Response Network,” took first place at the third annual Gateways to Blue Skies Competition. Competing among eight finalist teams that presented their ideas for aviation-related systems for natural disasters, the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona team earned the top award at the 2024 Blue Skies Forum, hosted at NASA’s Ames Research Center May 30-31. The Forum was judged by subject matter experts from NASA and industry.
In addition to the first-place recognition, team members were awarded an opportunity to intern at any of the four NASA Aeronautics Centers — Langley Research Center (Hampton, VA), Glenn Research Center (Cleveland, OH), Ames Research Center (Mountain View, CA), and Armstrong Flight Research Center (Edwards, CA) —across the country during the 2024-25 Academic Year.
“We truly enjoyed the NASA Blue Skies competition,” said team lead Krishi Gajjar. “We are honored that our efforts have been awarded by the experienced and diverse judging panel. This would not have been possible without the guidance from our advisor, professor Mark Gonda, and our rigorous engineering program at Cal Poly Pomona. We are proud to have grown together as a team and are excited to continue advancing aviation in our future careers as aerospace engineers!”
Second place went to Columbia University with their project, “AVATARS: Aerial Vehicles for Avalanche Terrain Assessment and Reporting Systems.”
Other awards included:
- Future Game-Changer Award: Cerritos College | F.I.R.E (Fire Intervention Retardant Expeller)
- Most Innovative Award: North Carolina State University | Reconnaissance and Emergency Aircraft for Critical Hurricane Relief (REACHR)
Sponsored by NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate’s University Innovation Project, the Gateways to Blue Skies Competition is an initiative to engage college students in researching climate-friendly technologies and applications related to the future of aviation. Because of the increase in natural disasters compounded by climate change, the 2024 theme, “Advancing Aviation for Natural Disaster,” asked students to investigate and conceptualize, in terms of feasibility and viability, aviation-related systems that can be applied by 2035 to one phase of management of a chosen type of natural disaster to improve capabilities.
Because many emergency response professionals believe there is no one proposed concept that will be applicable for all different natural disasters or can be applied to all phases of management, this competition welcomed a wide range of potential solutions. New technologies and applications gained from this crowdsourced competition may be developed further by NASA for use in coordinating and facilitating disaster management.
At the Forum, finalist teams presented concepts of systems that addressed responses to natural disasters such as earthquakes, avalanches, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, floods, and wildfires.
“Whenever NASA engages with students, it’s such a rewarding experience,” said Steven Holz, NASA Aeronautics University Innovation Assistant Project Manager and Blue Skies judge and co-chair. “This competition encourages students to imagine, expand, and tackle the challenges and opportunities that await in the future of aeronautics. The students bring unique concepts and ideas to the table along with a wealth of knowledge and professionalism. It’s always exciting to have the chance to see firsthand what they come up with next.”
Students also had the opportunity to network with NASA and industry experts, tour NASA’s Ames Research Center, and gain insight into potential careers and applications that will further the Agency’s mission toward a climate-friendly aviation future.
“Because natural disasters are so far-reaching and impactful to so many, we had a lot of interest in this year’s competition,” added Marcus Johnson, project manager in the Aeronautics Directorate at NASA Ames Research Center and 2024 Blue Skies co-chair. “Each of the eight finalist teams that presented at this year’s Forum were passionate about their concepts and each offered compelling ideas. This competition is about so much more than just “awards,” it’s about connecting, networking and identifying the future leaders in aeronautics.”
The 2024 Gateways to Blue Skies Competition is sponsored by NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate and administered by the National Institute of Aerospace.
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View the livestream of the competition presentations: https://vimeo.com/showcase/blueskies
View the competition finalists: https://blueskies.nianet.org/finalists/
To learn more about the 2024 Gateways to Blue Skies: Advancing Aviation for Natural Disasters Competition, visit: https://blueskies.nianet.org/competition/
For more information about NASA Aeronautics, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/topics/aeronautics/index.html
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NASA Excites Over 52,000 Fans at Comicpalooza
Comicpalooza, the largest annual pop culture festival in the southern United States, is home to thousands of comic book, science, anime, and gaming fanatics in Houston. Guests have the opportunity to celebrate their passions through a variety of entertainment, panels, and meet and greets.
NASA’s Johnson Space Center has participated in Comicpalooza’s festivities for the last decade, giving attendees the chance to interact with NASA experts and learn more about human space exploration and the agency’s mission.
Comicpalooza guests listen to a presentation by NASA astronaut Marcos Berríos at the agency’s exclusive booth and stage area.NASA/Robert Markowitz
Over 52,000 fans attended this year’s Comicpalooza, held May 24-26 at Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center. NASA shared with them the exhilarating future of the Artemis campaign that will take humans further in space exploration than ever before, plans for human exploration of the Moon and Mars, and showcased innovative spacesuits, lunar terrain vehicles, and spacewalk tools. Fans also had an opportunity to meet and take photos with NASA astronaut Marcos Berríos.
NASA astronaut Marcos Berríos talks about his journey to becoming an astronaut and experiences to date during a presentation at 2024 Comicpalooza. NASA/Robert Markowitz
The NASA exhibit featured immersive experiences with the Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program; Exploration Architecture, Integration, and Science Directorate; Human Health and Performance Directorate; and STEM engagement programs. These unique exhibits provided guests with insight into the exciting opportunities and discoveries ahead for human spaceflight. NASA’s presence at Comicpalooza also caught the attention of legendary Hollywood actor Christopher Lloyd, who met NASA officials and participated in a tour of Johnson Space Center after the event concluded.
Johnson Space Center volunteers and NASA experts who led interactive exhibits and panel discussions as part of the agency’s presence at 2024 Comicpalooza.NASA/Robert Markowitz
NASA’s exclusive Comicpalooza stage featured 13 unique panels and discussions from agency experts, programs, and Berríos. These panels included:
- The Development of Lunar Base Camp: NASA scientists discussed how future robotic and human explorers will put in place infrastructure for a long-term sustainable presence on the Moon.
- Driving on the Moon One Day: A discussion about the latest technology and partnerships that will develop the next mobility systems on the Moon.
- Another One Bites the Dust: Lunar Dust, Hardware Damage, and Why It Matters on the Moon: Lunar dust mitigation engineers and scientists talked about some of the risks of working on the Moon, what happened during Apollo, and what they plan to do about hardware damage, which threatens their efforts to keep astronauts safe and ensure mission success.
- Meet an Astronaut: NASA astronaut Marcos Berríos hosted a panel about his journey to becoming an astronaut, what he is doing at NASA during his training period, and what is next for him in the future. A Q&A session followed the presentation and guests had the opportunity to learn more about Marcos.
- Why It’s Hard to get to Mars: A discussion on why it is so difficult to get to the “Red Planet” and what technologies and strategies NASA is developing to accomplish this goal.
- Landing on the Moon: A panel onwhy landing on the Moon remains a challenge and what the future looks like for additional lunar landings and activities.
- International Space Station Mimic: Engineers and educators talked about a 3D printed, robotic model that syncs to live telemetry streaming from the real International Space Station in real-time.
- My NASA Story: An early career perspective on launching a career at Johnson Space Center. Panelists discussed how they got to where they are, and what their jobs look like on a daily basis.
- Artemis Overview: An overview on the Artemis campaign and its future, which includes landing the first woman and first person of color on the Moon. Through the Artemis missions, NASA will use new technology to study the Moon in new and better ways and prepare for human missions to Mars.
- Draw Artemis: A panel of experts hosted a “draw along” as they discussed humanity’s voyage back to the Moon, the key role art plays in exploration, and the otherworldly environment of the Moon’s South Pole.
NASA’s participation in Comicpalooza educates and excites the public about the agency’s mission and inspires people who want to be a part of space exploration in their own unique ways.
Enjoy more images of the NASA exhibit booth at Comicpalooza below.
Comicpalooza guests enjoyed interactive exhibits, photo ops, and compelling panel discussions at NASA’s booth and exclusive event stage. NASA/Robert Markowitz Comicpalooza guests enjoyed interactive exhibits, photo ops, and compelling panel discussions at NASA’s booth and exclusive event stage. NASA/Robert Markowitz Comicpalooza guests enjoyed interactive exhibits, photo ops, and compelling panel discussions at NASA’s booth and exclusive event stage. NASA/Robert Markowitz Actor Christopher Lloyd visited the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center following Comicpalooza.NASA Comicpalooza guests enjoyed interactive exhibits, photo ops, and compelling panel discussions at NASA’s booth and exclusive event stage.NASA/Robert Markowitz Comicpalooza guests enjoyed interactive exhibits, photo ops, and compelling panel discussions at NASA’s booth and exclusive event stage.NASA/Robert Markowitz Comicpalooza guests enjoyed interactive exhibits, photo ops, and compelling panel discussions at NASA’s booth and exclusive event stage. NASA/Robert Markowitz Comicpalooza guests enjoyed interactive exhibits, photo ops, and compelling panel discussions at NASA’s booth and exclusive event stage. NASA/Robert Markowitz Comicpalooza guests enjoyed interactive exhibits, photo ops, and compelling panel discussions at NASA’s booth and exclusive event stage. NASA/Robert Markowitz Comicpalooza guests enjoyed interactive exhibits, photo ops, and compelling panel discussions at NASA’s booth and exclusive event stage. NASA/Robert Markowitz Comicpalooza guests enjoyed interactive exhibits, photo ops, and compelling panel discussions at NASA’s booth and exclusive event stage. NASA/Robert Markowitz Comicpalooza guests enjoyed interactive exhibits, photo ops, and compelling panel discussions at NASA’s booth and exclusive event stage. NASA/Robert MarkowitzArtemis Generation Shines During NASA’s 2024 Lunabotics Challenge
Members of the Artemis Generation kicked up some simulated lunar dust as part of NASA’s 2024 Lunabotics Challenge, held at The Astronauts Memorial Foundation’s Center for Space Education at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. When the dust settled, two teams emerged from Artemis Arena as the grand prize winners of this year’s competition.
Teams from Iowa State University and the University of Alabama shared the Artemis grand prize award for scoring the most cumulative points during the annual competition. Judges scored competing teams on project management plans, presentations and demonstrations, systems engineering papers, robotic berm building, and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) engagement.
This is the first time in Lunabotics’ 15-year history that the competition ended in a tie for the top prize, and most likely the last time.
“Both teams earned their win, but a tie was never on the table,” said Rich Johanboeke, project manager at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. “These students work hard and sacrifice much throughout the year to be a part of this challenge and to come to Kennedy, so our team will look into creating a tie-breaking event for future events.”
Alabama’s team lead, Ben Gulledge, is pictured with the team’s winning rover during NASA’s Lunabotics competition on Friday, May 17, 2024, at the Center for Space Education near the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida.Photo credit: NASA/Derrol Nail
While previous Lunabotics competitions focused on lunar mining, this year’s competition reflected the current needs of NASA’s Artemis missions. Teams designed, built, and operated autonomous robotic rovers capable of building a berm structure from lunar regolith. Among other uses, berms on the Moon could provide protection against blast and material ejected during lunar landings and launches, shade cryogenic propellant tank farms, or shield a nuclear power plant from space radiation.
Of the 58 college teams across the country that applied to the challenge, 42 were invited to demonstrate their robotic rovers during the qualifying round held in the Exolith Lab at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. From there, 10 finalist teams made the short trip to Kennedy for the two-day final round, where their robots attempted to construct berms from simulated lunar regolith inside Artemis Arena.
“During the competition we had over 150 berm construction runs in the arena,” said Robert Mueller, senior technologist for Advanced Products Development in NASA’s Exploration Research and Technology Programs Directorate, as well as lead judge and co-founder of the original Lunabotics robotic mining challenge. “So, teams went into the arena 150 times and created berms – that’s pretty impressive. And 28 teams, which is 65% of the teams that attended, achieved berm construction points, which is the highest we have ever had. That speaks to the quality of this competition.”
Teams competing in this year’s Lunabotics applied the NASA Systems Engineering Process to create their prototype robots and spent upwards of nine months focused on making their designs realities.
“We really put a lot of work in this year,” said Vivian Molina Sunda, team and electrical lead for University of Illinois at Chicago. “Our team of 10 put in about 3,400 hours, so it’s really exciting to get to Kennedy Space Center and know we made the top 10.”
The University of Illinois team received two awards for its efforts – the Mission Control “Failure is Not an Option” Award for Team Persistence and the Innovation Technology Award for best design based on creative construction, innovative technology, and overall architecture.
Lunabotics teams prepare robots to compete inside the Artemis Arena during NASA’s Lunabotics competition on Friday, May 17, 2024, at the Center for Space Education near the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida.Photo credit: NASA/Derrol Nail
For the hundreds of Artemis Generation members who took part in this year’s competition, Lunabotics was an opportunity to connect to NASA’s mission, work, and people, while also using classroom skills and theories in ways that will benefit them in future STEM careers.
“We go into engineering because we want to do stuff, we want to make things,” said Ben Gulledge, team and mechanical lead for the University of Alabama’s Artemis grand prize co-winning team. “This competition gives you the opportunity to take all your classroom theory and put it into practice and learn where your gaps in knowledge are. So, you learn to be a better designer and learn where you can improve in the future.”
Coordinated by NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement, the Lunabotics competition is one of NASA’s Artemis Student Challenges, designed to engage and retain students in STEM fields. These challenges are designed to provide students with opportunities to research and design in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and math, while fostering innovative ideas and solutions to challenges likely to be faced during the agency’s Artemis missions.
To view the complete list of NASA’s 2024 Lunabotics Challenge winners, or for more information visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/lunabotics-challenge/
Winners List
Artemis Grand Prize
Iowa State University, The University of Alabama
Robotic Construction Award
First Place – Iowa State University
Second Place – The University of Alabama
Third Place – University of Utah
Systems Engineering Paper Award
First Place – College of DuPage
Second Place – The University of Alabama
Third Place – Purdue University-Main Campus
Leaps and Bounds Award
New York University
Nova Award for Stellar Systems Engineering by a First Year Team
Ohio State University
STEM Engagement Award
First Place – University of North Florida
Second Place – Auburn University
Third Place – Iowa State University
Honorable Mention – Harrisburg University of Science and Technology
Presentation and Demonstration
First Place – University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Second Place – Purdue University-Main Campus
Third Place – University of Utah
First Steps Award – Best Presentation by a First Year Team
Harrisburg University of Science and Technology
Innovation Technology Award
University of Illinois at Chicago
The Mission Control “Failure is Not an Option” Award for Team Persistence
University of Illinois at Chicago
Summary of the 2023 Precipitation Measurement Mission Science Team Meeting
26 min read
Summary of the 2023 Precipitation Measurement Mission Science Team MeetingAndrea Portier, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Science Systems and Applications, Inc., andrea.m.portier@nasa.gov
Introduction
The annual Precipitation Measurement Mission (PMM) Science Team Meeting (STM) took place September 18–22, 2023, in Minneapolis, MN. The PMM program supports scientific research and applications, algorithm development, and ground-based validation activities for the completed Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and current Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission, including the GPM Core Observatory. Participants (including 137 in person and 22 virtual attendees) joined the meeting from a variety of affiliations including NASA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), universities, and other partner agencies—see Photo.
The meeting included 46 plenary presentations spread across 7 thematically focused sessions and 77 poster presentations split between 2 sessions, with both oral and poster sessions covering mission and program status, partner reports, GPM algorithm development, and scientific results using GPM data.
The meeting also included a series of splinter sessions for precipitation working groups. The working groups included NASA–JAXA Joint Precipitation Science Team, the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites–Precipitation Virtual Constellation, GPM Mentorship Program, and topically focused groups on Applications, Hydrology, Land Surface, Latent Heating, Multisatellite, GPM Intersatellite Calibration (XCAL), Ground Validation (GV), Particle Size Distribution (PSD), and Oceanic Areas. These working groups were a combination of invitation-only, in-person, and hybrid meetings. Owing to the distributed nature of these meetings, summaries of their proceedings are not included in this article.
This article highlights current updates on the GPM mission and summarizes scientific results conveyed during the 2023 PMM STM. The meeting agenda and full presentations can be accessed through the 2023 PMM Science Team Meeting Files. Note that this is a password protected page; readers interested in accessing these files will need to reach out via the GPM Contact Form on the website to receive the access code.
Photo. Attendees of the 2023 PMM STM in front of the McNamara Alumni Center in Minneapolis, MN. Photo credit: Chris Kidd/GSFC and University of Maryland, College Park (UMD)
Status Report and Updates on PMM: Perspectives from NASA and JAXA
The PMM missions are the fruit of long partnerships between NASA and JAXA. The PMM Science Team (ST) includes more than 20 international partners. The subsections that follow highlight the status of the PMM program and related activities that were conveyed by NASA and JAXA PMM Science Program Management Teams.
NASA
Will McCarty [NASA Headquarters (HQ)—GPM Program Scientist] presented the NASA HQ perspective regarding PMMs – present and future. He explained that current missions continue to drive the focus for precipitation science, and that future missions will continue to link the thermodynamic and dynamic factors of precipitation science by targeting additional temporal information. McCarty introduced several current and upcoming missions and programs, including satellite launches [e.g., NASA’s Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS), an Earth Venture Instrument (EVI), and the Investigation of Convective Updrafts (INCUS), an Earth Venture Mission], instruments [e.g., NASA’s Polarized Submillimeter Ice-cloud Imager (POLSIR), also an EVI, which will be deployed on two CubeSats], and field campaigns [e.g., NASA’s Investigation of Microphysics and Precipitation for Atlantic Coast-Threatening Snowstorms (IMPACTS) and Convective Processes Experiment Cabo Verde (CPEX-CV) experiments]. He then briefly discussed the second (2017) Earth Science Decadal Survey and provided an overview of the future Earth System Observatory (ESO), which will have interconnected core missions (e.g., the Atmosphere Observing System (AOS)). He also discussed the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL), which the Decadal Survey classifies incubation targeted observable. McCarty concluded by noting that the future PMM ST call may be integrated by combining mission science from multiple satellites.
George Huffman [NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)—GPM Project Scientist and PMM ST Lead] provided an update on the projected lifetime for GPM. Based on fuel usage alone, GPM should continue to December 2027. However, the amount of solar activity has an impact on that calculation. The Sun is expected to be quite active over the next few years as we approach the Solar Maximum for Solar Cycle 25—which could shorten GPM’s lifetime by as much as four years. He noted that a controlled reentry of the GPM Core spacecraft is planned—and enough fuel has to be kept in reserve to allow this to happen. Huffman discussed a recently developed plan for boosting the orbit of the GPM core satellite—for more details on the plan, see the subsection, “GPM Core Observatory Boost,” later in this article. He added that NASA and JAXA have both approved the plan and deemed its implementation critical for overlap with AOS for instrument intercomparison. The boosting is currently scheduled for November 7–9, 2023.(Update: Since the meeting in September, the GPM orbit boost was executed successfully on the scheduled dates.) The impact of the boosting on radiometer algorithms (e.g., for the GPM Microwave Imager (GMI)) is expected to be less than the impact on the radar algorithms (e.g., for the GPM Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar, (DPR)). The potential impact on the combined algorithms (i.e., algorithms used to combine data from GMI and DPR) is still being assessed.
Huffman also discussed the status of the GPM data products. He reported that all GPM core data products are using Version 7 (V07). He mentioned that V07 of the Integrated Multi-Satellite Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) Final is out, but IMERG Early and Late data products are pending other actions in the NASA Precipitation Processing System (PPS). (IMERG has 3 classifications of data products: Early (latency of 4 hours), late (latency of 12–14 hours), and final (latency of 3 months).) He noted that the GPM orbit boost requires modifications to V07 core algorithms, and this accentuates the importance of a timely release of V08 algorithms (anticipated early 2026).
Erich Stocker [GSFC—GPM Deputy Project Scientist for Data and Precipitation Processing System Project Manager] discussed the status of GPM data products. He mentioned that radar/combined/IMERG products have transitioned from V06 to V07—but all radiometer products, Level-1 to Level-3, went from V05 to V07 to ensure the version is consistent on all of the products. Stocker continued that the GPM core satellite boost in November 2023 will lead to an outage of radar products for about five months for research and 2–3 months for near real-time (NRT) data products. NRT radiometer products will continue through the boost with only 2–3 days of outage while the satellite reaches its new altitude. He concluded that the initial NRT V07 IMERG processing and V07 retroprocessing of Early and Late IMERG products will start in January 2024.
David Wolff [NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility (WFF)—GPM Deputy Project Scientist for Ground Validation and Ground Validation System Manager] provided an overview of the GPM Ground Validation program and current activities. He stated that the ground validation (GV) program has state-of-the-art ground and remote sensing instruments to acquire precipitation and microphysics data to validate GPM retrievals. He described the ground validation site at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility (WFF), which includes several radars, disdrometers (an instrument that measures drop-size distribution), and a Precipitation Imaging Processor (PIP) package. Wolff discussed the gauge-only systems, Platforms for In situ Estimation of Rainfall Systems (PIERS), activities for Increasing Participation of Minority Serving Institutions in Earth Science Division Surface-Based Measurement Networks, and pySIMBA – the GPM GV Support Software, an Open-Source Python Package to integrate and Analyze Precipitation Datasets that is available from GitHub. Wolff also provided a brief overview of the successful GPM GV Workshop that was held at Wallops Flight Facility on March 23–25, 2023. He continued by providing GPM Ground Validation Network (VN) updates and discussing VN captures of three-dimensional (3D) polarimetric information within DPR and GMI.
Wolff also noted that the GV program includes field campaigns (e.g., IMPACTS and Marquette, a five-year mini campaign conducted in collaboration with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS)). He also discussed the new S-band radar network in Canada that offers access to high-quality radar data at relatively high latitudes over both land and sea. This data will be used as part of the VN for evaluation of GPM products. He concluded by discussing the Global Hydrometeorology Resource Center (GHRC) that archives past and current field campaign data and provides data quality control, metadata, campaign descriptions, and digital object identifier (DOI) assignments for each instrument/sensor.
Andrea Portier [GSFC—GPM Mission Applications Lead] and Dorian Janney [GSFC—GPM Outreach Coordinator] reflected on the 2022–2023 applications and outreach efforts and also discussed upcoming activities, including the – at the time of the meeting – upcoming tenth anniversary of the GPM Mission in February 2024. The applications team continues its focus on increasing awareness and use of GPM data and products across communities through user-engagement activities, including workshops (e.g., Applying Earth Observation Data for Research and Applications in Sustainable Development held at the 2022 Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in San Francisco, CA), trainings (e.g., 2023 GPM Mentorship Program), GPM application case studies, and GPM visualizations. A continuing and integral part of GPM outreach efforts is the numerous activities that reach hundreds of students and adults in a variety of formal and informal settings. This includes cooperative efforts with NASA’s Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) and hands-on activities at events (e.g., the Earth Day celebration at the Washington, DC’s Union Station). (To read more about the 2023 Earth Day celebration at Union Station, see A Pale Blue Dot in Washington: NASA’s Earth Day Celebration at Union Station, in the July–August 2023 issue of The Earth Observer [Volume 35, Issue 4, pp. 4–12].)
Many of these efforts will be highlighted and amplified during GPM’s tenth anniversary celebration. The GPM Applications and Outreach Team’s planning for the anniversary is underway. The intent is to highlight the vast capabilities of the GPM Mission and how GPM data can be used to address societal applications and improve the understanding of Earth’s water and energy cycles through a series of activities and resources starting in February 2024. These efforts include a reception at GSFC Visitor’s Center, a year-long monthly webinar series, feature articles, applications eBook, and a GPM video, among others. Details of these efforts will be posted through the GPM website.
JAXA
Takuji Kubota [JAXA—JAXA GPM Program Scientist] provided an update and a review of the PMM program status and mission objectives. He emphasized that this update included the perspectives of the Japanese PMM Science Program Management Team, including their roles in the development of DPR and its algorithms, GV, GPM data processing, and GPM data distribution systems. He also gave an update on current activities related to GPM data utilization and application across Japan and Asia. Kubota continued by describing the potential impacts on the DPR instrument because of the proposed orbit boost, noting that the instrument footprints and swath widths will increase proportionately with altitude change accompanied by a slight reduction in radar sensitivity. JAXA is preparing for these impacts with revised codes for L1 algorithms and planning for external calibrations before and after the orbit boost to examine calibrations of the DPR. Kubota also discussed the reprocessing of JAXA’s Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation (GSMaP) data product (essentially the JAXA equivalent of IMERG) to enable a longer-term precipitation dataset, highlighting its completion in September 2023. GSMaP data is now available back to January 1998. Kubota discussed the future of Japanese precipitation measurements including: Earth Cloud, Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE), scheduled for launch in 2024; Global Observing SATellite for Greenhouse gases and Water cycle (OSAT-GW), planned for launch NET 2024; Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR) series, which currently includes AMSR2 on the (GCOM-W) and will include AMSR3 on GOSAT-GW; and the previously discussed ESO AOS mission. He concluded with a discussion of JAXA’s plan for observing and celebrating GPM’s tenth anniversary.
Yukari Takayabu [University of Tokyo—JAXA GPM Project Scientist] highlighted results from recent science studies using DPR and GSMaP data products from the JAXA assembled GPM Program Science Team. She noted the use of DPR for extracting high-altitude precipitation information over Africa, capturing low-level precipitation statistics near the center of typhoons, narrowing the blind zone of the DPR to improve shallow precipitation detection in mountainous areas, validation studies of DPR, and retrieving frozen precipitation data using DPR. She concluded her presentation with highlights of GSMaP use for several applications, including the new GSMaP validation work in Japan to observe extreme rainfall, improvements to GSMaP through data-driven approaches, and data assimilation of GSMaP into the JAXA Realtime Weather Watch system.
Nobuhiro Takahashi [Nagoya University] presented an overview of significant updates to the DPM algorithm since the last PMM ST meeting, including changes in the latest V07 processing to accommodate the full-swath Ka-band operations – see Figure 1. He emphasized the impacts on the planning and development of V08 DPR algorithm with respect to the GPM orbit boost (described in George Huffman’s presentation). He noted that the major impacts to the performance of DPR include a degradation of measurement sensitivity and the “rain/no rain” classification. Takahashi concluded by saying that the release of V08 is expected in January 2026.
Figure 1. Evaluation of DPR product improvements from V06 to V07. Dual frequency product has smaller bias than KuPR product. The correlation coefficient improved from V06 to V07.Figure credit: Nobuhiro Takahashi/Nagoya University
Kosuke Yamamoto [Earth Observation Research Center (EORC) and JAXA] summarized application activities initiated by the JAXA GPM Program Science Team. He discussed the use of GSMaP precipitation data to support and enhance several application areas, e.g., the operational use of GSMaP for flood and severe weather forecasting as well as the use of GSMaP in operational systems, including the JAXA Agro-meteorology Information Provision System (JASMIN), ASEAN Food Security Information System (AFSIS), and the Japanese’ Coast Guard’s Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) initiative. Yamamoto also discussed the 2022 Japan–Australia–India–U.S. (QUAD) Joint Leaders’ Meeting Tackling Extreme Precipitation Events Workshop, an online event that took place March 1–3, 2023, and associated workshop reports focusing on the utilization of satellite observations across Pacific Islands.
GPM Algorithm Updates
Presenters during this session provided information and updates on various aspects of the five major algorithms of GPM. Full documentation and detailed updates for each algorithm are available at the Precipitation Data Directory.
Dual Frequency Radar Algorithm
The DPR algorithm team provided updates on DPR-related work, including the further refinement of the path-integrated attenuation (PIA) estimates used in the surface reference technique (SRT). They examined the effects of using the new AutoSnow algorithm – which uses satellite snowfall observations to create snowfall maps – on PIA estimations and changes in the surface type classification. Overall, the changes were small on the estimated precipitation profiles. Other algorithm refinements include the addition of a dry and wet snow category and wind speed. The team is currently examining how to recover Ka-band attenuation from the Ku-band. They stressed that results from this analysis are preliminary, and more work is needed to assess the utility of this technique. Finally, the team is discussing the implications of the GPM orbit boost on the DPR algorithm.
GPM Combined Radar–Radiometer Algorithm
The GPM Combined Radar–Radiometer Algorithm (CORRA) team discussed the changes and improvements to the CORRA V07 algorithm over the previous version. They highlighted the new AutoSnow algorithm and its impacts within CORRA V07. The team also examined the impact of the precipitation particle size distribution (PSD) initial assumptions on the estimation of snowfall as well as a machine-learning based initialization approach that improves the agreement between CORRA and NOAA’s Multi-Radar/Multi-Sensor System (MRMS) snow estimates. In addition, the team continues to examine a radiometer-only module to estimate light precipitation over oceans. This module will be included in the next version (V08) of CORRA. The team is also looking at the consequences of the GPM orbit boost.
Goddard Profiling Algorithm for GMI
The Goddard Profiling Algorithm (GPROF) team continues to work on well-known issues. The V07 update includes improvements in the a priori database to help constrain outputs from GPM constellation radiometers as well as inclusion of the radiometers on TROPICS and NASA’s Temporal Experiment for Storms and Tropical Systems–Demonstration (TEMPEST-D). The two new neural network-based implementations of GPROF in V08 are anticipated in roughly a year. The team reported that they have no issues with the GPM orbit boost.
Integrated Multi-Satellite Retrievals for GPM Algorithm
The IMERG algorithm team reported on V07, which includes a wide range of algorithm changes from V06. V07 includes retrospective reprocessing of the entire TRMM–GPM record and thus supersedes all previous versions. The team also reported that the algorithm changes improve the performance of IMERG estimates both in terms of its precipitation detection and systematic and random bias. The presenters noted improvements over frozen, orographic, and coastal surfaces. The team is now working on priority items that need completing in order to implement V08.
Convective–Stratiform Heating Algorithm
The GSFC Convective–Stratiform Heating (CSH) algorithm team provided an overview on latent heating (LH) retrievals. The presentation highlighted some of the details in updating to V07, including more accurate cloud-resolving model (CRM) simulations (using 3D domain rather than two-dimensional) and new detailed radiation retrievals. V07 is also “terrain aware,” meaning that the algorithm includes added details of radiative heating profiles and eddy transport terms. For V08, the CSH team plans to have a new 3D CRM database with a grid size of 250 m (820 ft) and look-up tables (LUTs) for non-surface raining columns for the tropical/summertime part of the algorithm as well as LUTs for terrain. These V08 improvements are still in development as of this meeting.
Science Results and Data Quality
A large component of the meeting was dedicated to presentations by NASA PMM-funded Principal Investigator (PI) teams on the science research and applications being achieved using PMM data. PI oral presentations were divided into four thematically focused topical sessions: Precipitation Microphysics, Snow and Hail, Storm Analysis, and Data Uncertainty. The subsections that follow highlight scientific results from each of these sessions. The reader is referred to the full reports online for more details.
Precipitation Microphysics
Presenters during this session described various techniques and new methodologies to study microphysical properties of precipitation including shape and size of precipitation particles (e.g., drop size distribution (DSD)), phase identification (e.g., liquid, solid, and mixed phase/melting), scattering properties, and precipitation rate, using both radar and radiometer observations. These property measurements play a pivotal role in improving precipitation retrieval algorithms, allowing scientists and decision makers to better understand and forecast storms.
One presenter in this session discussed new methods for classifying different types of precipitation (e.g., rain, graupel, hail, and dry and wet snow) using DPR precipitation retrievals. The new technique will be implemented into the V08 DPR algorithm. The discussion also covered a technique to establish relationships between GMI brightness temperature and hydrometeor type (e.g., rain, snow, graupel, and hail), leveraging the GPM validation network to construct LUTs of hydrometeor type likelihood – see Figure 2. Another presenter introduced a model to understand how DSD changes near the surface can be used to estimate rainfall rate. The last presenter in this session discussed the development of a precipitation scattering property database—which includes scattering characteristics of about 10,000 different types of ice particles. The database includes scattering cross sections calculated in thousands of orientations for each type of particle. This database is accessible to the public, which helps support the development of physically based scattering calculations and improvement of precipitation retrieval algorithms for both radar and radiometers.
Figure 2. A technique for retrieving hydrometeor information from GMI brightness temperature. In these RGB plots, snow and rain are combined into one category (green), while the individual probabilities are retained in the lookup tables.Figure credit: Dan Cecil/NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)
Snow and Hail
In this session, speakers discussed a broad move toward satellite retrievals for frozen hydrometeors, not just to identify bulk effects (e.g. snow or hail accumulation at the surface), but also to gather information on physical properties of frozen hydrometeors (e.g., where hailstones reside within clouds or what shapes snowflakes take). Understanding frozen hydrometeor properties can significantly improve precipitation and latent heat estimates that are essential for numerical weather forecasting and climate model development.
One speaker applied a method that used DPR and GMI observations to estimate frozen precipitation particle properties for an Olympic Mountain Experiment (OLYMPEX) field campaign case. The results he showed indicated a significant difference in the shapes of snowflakes between land and sea. Another speaker detailed the use of a simple machine learning framework trained on measurements of the use of snowfall and cloud type observations from the CloudSat Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR) to infer surface snowfall from GMI microwave measurements. Other presenters conveyed the results of a study examining different potential indicators of hail within the GPM database. These hail indicators were mapped, and the mean vertical profiles of radar reflectivity and storm structure were contrasted. The final pair of presentations focused on detecting hail in South America and Africa. In South America, hail-producing storms were shown to be strongly linked to local topography – in contrast to hotspots of hail in the U.S. Meanwhile, in Africa, new algorithms for identifying hail in GPM data suggest hail should be common – but this outcome is at odds with ground truth observations. This test case is being used to develop new methods for retrieving hail that include analyzing horizontal profile information within the data.
Storm Analysis
Presenters in this session discussed a variety of applications and assessments of PMM products for analyzing a variety of storms, particularly their cloud, precipitation, and kinematic structures and their structural evolution. The first speaker compared precipitation events simulated in IMERG to the same event with rain gauge observations. They found that while IMERG missed many winter precipitation events in mountainous regions –which rain gauges typically can measure – IMERG also captured summer virga events – which rain gauges typically miss. Another presenter compared IMERG to river catchment and integrated watershed observations and found that IMERG overestimated small precipitation events but underestimated large events. The next presenter showed a comparison IMERG simulations to the multi-instrument MRMS dataset during the lifecycle of precipitation events. The results shown suggest that IMERG errors in precipitation intensity could be improved by inputting other variables (e.g., ice water path or vertical velocity) into the precipitation retrievals. The discussions during this session also covered other plans to use PMM products to study convection in atmospheric river events, in combination with a modeling analysis using different convection schemes. The final pair of presenters spoke about understanding convective-scale drivers of the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone ascent and widening the use of a simple prognostic model that will use PMM data for filling terms in the model. One model weakness is the decay term for the convection cloud shield, which, if determined, could reduce error in climate models, particularly with radiative processes. The final speaker used TRMM Visible and Infrared Scanner (VIRS) data to develop and test a method for identifying and classifying cloud areas (i.e., core, midrange extent, and outer bound split window testing) and determine their relationships to other environmental variables, such as sea surface temperatures and column water vapor.
Data Uncertainty
Presenters during this session discussed new methodologies to address data uncertainties and bias in precipitation retrievals to improve precipitation estimates for science and applications research. Two of the presenters delved into the details of how the GPROF algorithm has inherent precipitation biases due to different hydrometeor characteristics captured by GMI passive microwave brightness temperature – which may be related to thermodynamic environments. Another PI presented updates for improving uncertainty estimates to enhance hydrological prediction. Specifically, he discussed multiscale precipitation uncertainties in precipitation products, including a new product that combines the Space-Time Rainfall Error and Autocorrelation Model (STREAM) with single-orbit rainfall estimates from the combined GPM data product, called STREAM-Sat. He explained how the uncertainties in these products can influence hydrologic prediction. The session concluded with a discussion of machine learning methods to estimate the probability distribution of uncertainties in passive microwave precipitation retrievals at different temporal and spatial scales.
Discussion of Future Missions, Observations, and Activities Relevant to GPM
This session featured presentations on several other existing and upcoming missions in various stages of development, as well presentations covering the future of precipitation instruments and observations, each with applications relevant to GPM. Each presentation included information on plans to advance and support precipitation science in the near term and the coming decade, as described below.
TROPICS
The TROPICS Pathfinder CubeSat mission provides microwave observations of tropical cyclones with less than a 60-minute revisit time to capture better storm dynamics and improve forecasting. The Pathfinder has demonstrated all mission elements and provided new tropical cyclone imagery (12,000+ orbits and counting). The Cal/Val team hopes to release the data to the public in Fall 2023. (UPDATE: Provisional TROPICS data was released in January 2024.) The TROPICS pathfinder satellite showed that the compact TROPICS design performs comparably to the state-of-the-art sounders. Lessons learned will help the TROPICS Team as they work to improve efforts and operate the TROPICS constellation, which now holds a total of five satellites.
AOS
As discussed in Will McCarty’s remarks, AOS is a key component of the Earth System Observatory that was recommended in the 2017 Decadal Survey. The mission will deliver transformative observations fundamental to understanding coupled aerosol– and cloud–precipitation processes that profoundly impact weather, climate, and air quality. Two AOS projects are in the mission concept and technology development phase (Phase-A): AOS-Storm (to launch late 2020s), with a Ku Doppler radar, microwave radiometers, and backscatter lidar in a 55° inclined orbit; and AOS-Sky (to launch early 2030s) with cloud-profiling Doppler radar, backscatter lidar, microwave radiometer, polarimeter, far infrared (IR) radiometer, and aerosol and moisture limb sounders in polar orbit. (This paragraph reflects what was discussed during the meeting, however, AOS is undergoing changes that will be reflected on the website at a later date.)
GPM Microwave Radiometer Constellation in the Next Decade
The future passive microwave radiometer constellation looks robust, with multiple sensors to be launched in the next decade. Small/CubeSat constellations are becoming a reality, and a plan to incorporate them quickly into the overall precipitation constellation is needed. A point of emphasis was that a sensor in an inclined orbit is a necessity when it comes to providing a reference measurement to support this effort – see Figure 3.
Figure 3. Evaluation of passive microwave (PMW) frequencies and coverage to assess data gaps and needs for the future of precipitation constellation.Figure credit: Rachael Kroodsma/GSFC
JAXA Precipitation Measuring Mission (JAXA PMM) Radar
Plans call for JAXA’s next generation of precipitation radar to be deployed as part of the agency’s future Precipitating Measuring Mission (PMM – yes, the same acronym as the Precipitation Measurement Mission). Objectives for this next-generation precipitation radar include Doppler observations, higher sensitivity measurements, and scanning capability. JAXA has collaborated with a Japanese science team and user community to explore the feasibility of a next-generation, dual-frequency precipitation radar. The discussion focused on the importance of measuring convection through Doppler velocities from spaceborne radar. The EarthCARE mission will feature the first Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR) with Doppler capability in space. JAXA has participated in NASA’s AOS Pre-Phase A activities. The synergy between the GPM DPR and PMM/KuDPR is expected to contribute to the construction of a longer-term precipitation dataset by providing overlapping observations.
Update on Cloud Services at NASA GES DISC
NASA’s Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC), one of two data archive centers for GPM, is moving its data archive to the cloud – with all GES DISC data and services remaining free to all users. This will offer quick access to and subsetting capability for a large volume of data through multiple data access methods (e.g., Amazon Simple Storage Service) and cloud services. Multidisciplinary NASA data will be in one place – the Earthdata Cloud – and available for online analysis and in the cloud environment. Expanded services (e.g., access to the Common Metadata Repository–SpatioTemporal Asset Catalog (CMR-STAC), Harmony – a collective Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) effort to make data access more consistent and easier across all DAACs and Zarr – a data format designed to store compressed multidimensional arrays and thus well suited to cloud computing) are expected to be implemented in the near future. With the migration of GES DISC data to the cloud, some services may look different with details on the exact changes to services coming soon.
GPM Core Observatory Boost
As George Huffman discussed in his presentation, based on forecasted solar activity, the GPM Core Observatory could run out of fuel as early as October 2025 if the current orbit altitude is maintained. To prolong its operations, NASA and JAXA have decided to boost the GPM Core Observatory orbit by ~35 km (~22 mi), which places GPM at an altitude of ~435 km (~270 mi)) – placing it above the International Space Station orbital altitude. The post-boost operations of the satellite are expected to continue through the early 2030s. The boost is expected to last only 2–4 days and occur in the time window between November 2023 and March 2024 (likely November 7–9, 2023, as stated above), the boost will permanently change the sensors’ Field of Views (FOVs) and likely cause a gap of several months in DPR product delivery.
Precipitation in 2040
Sarah Ringerud [GSFC] and George Huffman led this plenary discussion that explored two questions: What comes next? and What does the cutting edge of precipitation science look like 20 years from now? CubeSats, reduced volume of low-frequency-channel observations, shorter sensor lifetimes, increased sampling, and calibration challenges are recognized as inevitable. Exciting new developments are seen in the opportunity for data fusion and interdisciplinary work. Interagency and private sector collaborations are foreseen as critical points for maintaining optimal monitoring of Earth precipitation.
Conclusion
The 2023 PMM STM brought together scientists from around the world to engage on a range of topics that advance the understanding of precipitation science, algorithms, and contributions to applications. The STM highlighted updates and activities enabled by the PMM scientific community. The closing session provided an opportunity for quick updates from precipitation working group members, who held splinter sessions. These updates were followed by an open discussion and review of PMM action items led by George Huffman. He reminded PMM STM participants of several important and noteworthy items, including updates on the orbit boost and subsequent algorithm adjustments, which will be available on the GPM website and be at the forefront for the project for the next six months; V08 of GPM data products are anticipated by early 2026; the budget reduction for the project – but not for current ROSES projects – will impact activities, including next year’s PMM STM; and the next NASA ROSES call might have a different package of opportunities, not strictly focused on PMM/GPM. He concluded by encouraging the PMM ST to share highlights and publications with the GPM Science Program Management Team as well as to continue to initiate collaborations with other colleagues to keep pushing the boundaries of science and outreach.
The next PMM STM will likely be held in September 2024. Details will be posted on the GPM website once they become available.
Acknowledgements The author would like to recognize the following individuals, all of whom made contributions to this article: Ali Behrangi [University of Arizona], Anthony Didlake [Penn State University], Gerry Heymsfield [GSFC], George Huffman [GSFC], Matthew Igel [University of California Davis], Toshio Iguchi [Osaka University], Dorian Janney [GSFC/ADNET Systems], Chuntao Liu [Texas A&M Corpus Christi], Veljko Petkovic [UMD], Courtney Schumacher [Texas A&M Corpus Christi], and Joe Turk [NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory].
Lagniappe for June 2024
- NASA Employs Innovative Approach for Key Test Infrastructure Upgrade
- NASA Stennis Helps Family Build a Generational Legacy
- Employees Receive Awards and Recognitions
Gator is certain you have heard the saying, “Together, Everyone Achieves More” when referencing a benefit that comes with being part of a team.
Whether you are a high school or college student graduating at this time of year, or an employee at NASA’s Stennis Space Center receiving a NASA Honor Award or Space Flight Awareness Honoree Award last month, we all reach a point where we recognize the positive impact others have had on where we are in life.
Since NASA’s founding in 1958, the agency has pushed the boundaries of scientific and technical limits to explore the unknown.
NASA has accomplished great things benefiting all of humanity because of people from all backgrounds coming together to contribute their skills as one team to further understanding of the universe.
This month’s Lagniappe features multiple pieces of evidence where teamwork is the underpinning to success, including the ongoing High Pressure Water Industrial Facility project at NASA Stennis and a story highlighting one family’s role as part of larger team contributing to the successful engine testing that has taken place for decades at the south Mississippi site.
If you need one last example of the benefit of coming together to achieve more, look no further than the Artemis Accords. A milestone was reached in May when Lithuania became the 40th nation to join NASA and the international coalition pursuing a safer space exploration by signing the Artemis Accords.
Whether graduating high school or college, working at NASA, or joining the Artemis Accords with NASA, there is a good chance we all eventually arrive at a similar conclusion. While we can accomplish great things individually, being part of a team ultimately means that together, everyone achieves more.
NASA Stennis Top News NASA Employs Innovative Approach for Key Test Infrastructure UpgradeCrews are using an innovative engineering approach to upgrade an essential test complex water system that will help ensure the future of large propulsion testing at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
Read More About the Infrastructure Upgrades Center Activities NASA Stennis Helps Family Build a Generational LegacyFor Lee English Jr., the sound of a ringing phone probably sounds a lot like the roar of a rocket engine test at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
Read More About the English Family's Multi-Generational Legacy NASA’s Stennis Space Center Employees Receive NASA Honor AwardsNASA Stennis Space Center Director John Bailey and NASA Associate Administrator for Space Operations Kenneth Bowersox presented NASA Honor Awards to Stennis employees during an onsite ceremony May 15.
Read More About the NASA Stennis Award Recipients NASA Employee Earns Senior Executive Service Status Eli OuderNASA
Longtime NASA employee Eli Ouder has achieved federal Senior Executive Service (SES) status and has been chosen director for the Office of Procurement for NASA’s Stennis Space Center and the NASA Shared Services Center, both located near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
Created in 1979, SES classification is designed for federal employees who use well-developed executive skills to administer programs at the highest levels of government. The leadership program requires candidates to demonstrate skills in five key areas – leading change, leading people, results driven, business acumen, and building coalitions.
Ouder has served as procurement officer since 2022 for NASA Stennis and the NASA Shared Services Center. During this time, he has led a combined 177-person procurement office responsible for managing a diverse and complex procurement portfolio valued at over $7 billion.
This broad and high-volume portfolio includes the responsibility of overseeing local Center Support Contracts, Grants and Cooperative Agreements, Small Business Innovative Research contracts, Small Business Technology Transfer program support, Enterprise Software Procurements, agencywide Enterprise Contracts, Simplified Acquisition Threshold Purchases, Government Purchase Card Program management, and other activities in support of the NASA enterprise.
During more than 18 years with NASA, Ouder has served in numerous roles while managing and leading the NASA Shared Services Center, including as chief of the Simplified Acquisition Threshold Branch. In that role, Ouder led a major transition of approximately 4,000 Simplified Acquisitions annually from 10 NASA centers to the NASA Shared Services Center. He continued to serve in the role until January 2022 when he became procurement officer for the services center. In December 2022, Ouder was assigned as procurement officer at NASA Stennis as well.
2024 Hurricane GuideExplore essential information for employees at NASA’s Stennis Space Center to navigate the 2024 hurricane season.
Download the New Hurricane Guide NASA Space Flight Awareness Program Recognizes Stennis Employees NASA astronaut and Artemis II crew member Victor Glover stands with Honoree Award recipients from NASA’s Stennis Space Center following presentation of the awards during NASA’s Space Flight Awareness Program ceremony on May 4 in Orlando, Florida. Recipients (and their companies), along with ceremony presenters were: (left to right) NASA Stennis Associate Director Rodney McKellip, Shelly Lunsford (SaiTech Inc.), Odie Ladner (Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3 Harris Technologies company), Rachel Deschamp (Alutiiq Essential Services), Peyton Pinson (NASA), Jack Conley (NASA), Ronnie Good (NASA), and Glover. NASA/Kennedy Space Center
NASA’s Stennis Space Center employees were recognized with Honoree Awards from NASA’s Space Flight Awareness Program during a May 4 ceremony in Orlando, Florida, for outstanding support of human spaceflight.
Jack Conley of Biloxi, Mississippi, is a NASA engineer in the Mechanical Operations Branch of the Engineering and Test Directorate at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. He was honored for his performance in test operations support of NASA’s core spaceflight mission. As backup test conductor, his work was instrumental in the successful Green Run testing of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) core stage at NASA Stennis prior to its use on the Artemis I mission.
Rachel Deschamp of Pass Christian, Mississippi, is an order clerk for Alutiiq Essential Services at NASA Stennis. She was recognized for attention to detail and commitment to success in enabling Alutiiq’s ability to meet and support NASA Stennis’ requirements.
Ronnie Good of Waveland, Mississippi, is a NASA engineer in the Safety, Quality and Management Systems Division of the Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate at NASA Stennis. He was recognized for contributions in leading a year-long systems transition used to record facility safety inspections and manage safety findings for NASA Stennis’ test and institutional facilities.
Odie Ladner of Poplarville, Mississippi, is a lead welder and test technician for Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3 Harris Technologies company, at NASA Stennis. Ladner was recognized for his commitment and support of human spaceflight initiatives and programs and performance of weld repairs to RS-25 nozzle tubes in support of certification testing at NASA Stennis.
Shelly Lunsford of Long Beach, Mississippi, is a senior forms designer for SaiTech Inc. at NASA Stennis. She was honored for her professionalism and dedication in consolidating NASA Stennis and NASA Shared Services Center’s forms to enable customers and users to increase efficiency and create valid data and reports.
Peyton Pinson of Madison, Mississippi, is a NASA engineer in the Mechanical Operations Branch of the Engineering and Test Directorate at NASA Stennis. He was honored for his performance in test operations support to NASA’s core mission of spaceflight. As a mechanical test operations engineer, Pinson supports propulsion activities across the NASA Stennis test complexes.
NASA astronaut Victor Glover, Space Operations Mission Directorate Associate Administrator Kenneth Bowersox, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate Associate Administrator Catherine Koerner, and NASA Stennis Associate Director Rodney McKellip presented the Honoree Awards.
Glover was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2013 and is currently assigned as the pilot of NASA’s Artemis II mission to the Moon. He previously served as the pilot of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station as part of Expedition 64.
In recognition of flight program contributions, the Stennis employees toured NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and participated in activities in conjunction with the first launch attempt of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test of the Starliner spacecraft. The Crew Flight Test will launch Starliner and NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on a United Launch Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
NASA’s Space Flight Awareness Program recognizes outstanding job performances and contributions by civil service and contract employees throughout the year and focuses on excellence in quality and safety in support of human spaceflight. The Honoree Award is one of the highest honors presented to employees for their dedication to quality work and flight safety. Recipients must have contributed beyond their normal work requirements toward achieving a particular human spaceflight program goal; contributed to a major cost savings; been instrumental in developing material that increases reliability, efficiency or performance; assisted in operational improvements; or been a key player in developing a beneficial process improvement.
For information about Space Flight Awareness awards, visit:
Spaceflight Awareness Awards and Criteria – NASA
For information about NASA’s Stennis Space Center, visit:
NASA Stennis Leaders Attend Aerospace and Defense Symposium NASA Stennis Center Director John Bailey, right, is shown at the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology’s Mississippi Aerospace and Defense Symposium in Oxford, Mississippi. Bailey and Strategic Business Development Office Manager Duane Armstrong joined fellow aerospace and defense industry leaders and experts to explore opportunities and challenges facing the sector in the state during the event April 29 through May 2. Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services/Thomas Graning NASA Stennis Leaders Recognize Employees for Working Safely Rodney McKellip, associate director of NASA’s Stennis Space Center, and Gary Benton, director of the NASA Stennis Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate, are shown, from right to left, with employees working on the High Pressure Industrial Water Facility project near the Fred Haise Test Stand. The NASA Stennis leaders visited work sites on May 8 to recognize employees with NASA SHAKERS (Smart Human Actions Keep Everyone Really Safe) Awards for conducting work in a safe manner. NASA’s constant attention to safety, one of the agency’s five core values, is the cornerstone for mission success. Gary Parker, an employee with Healtheon, Inc., is presented a NASA SHAKERS (Smart Human Actions Keep Everyone Really Safe) Award from NASA Stennis Associate Director Rodney McKellip on May 8. Parker, left, received the award for leadership and dedication to safety of the crew working to upgrade an essential test complex water system at NASA Stennis. As one of the crew leaders, Parker ensured all took the safest approach for each task, even as the scale of the project increased. NASA’s constant attention to safety, one of the agency’s five core values, is the cornerstone for mission success. Matt Roberts, an employee with Healtheon, Inc., is presented a NASA SHAKERS (Smart Human Actions Keep Everyone Really Safe) Award from NASA Stennis Associate Director Rodney McKellip on May 8. Roberts, left, received the award for leadership and dedication to safety of the crew working to upgrade an essential test complex water system at NASA Stennis. As one of the crew leaders, Roberts ensured all took the safest approach for each task, even as the scale of the project increased. NASA’s constant attention to safety, one of the agency’s five core values, is the cornerstone for mission success. Joshua Laurent, an employee with Civil Works Contracting, is presented a NASA SHAKERS (Smart Human Actions Keep Everyone Really Safe) Award from NASA Stennis Associate Director Rodney McKellip on May 8. Laurent, left, received the award for continuously demonstrating safe work habits, utilizing the proper personal protective equipment for each task, and always considering environmental factors and hazards within the work area while working on the NASA Stennis potable water system. NASA’s constant attention to safety, one of the agency’s five core values, is the cornerstone for mission success. NASA in the News
- NASA Earns Best Place to Work in Government for 12 Straight Years – NASA
- X-59 Passes Milestone (nasa.gov)
- Artemis Accords Reach 40 Signatories as NASA Welcomes Lithuania – NASA
- NASA Tests Technology, Practices Artemis Moonwalks in Arizona Desert – NASA
Cassi Meyer can certainly testify that the nontraditional path taken from law school to NASA has landed her in the right place to work with the diverse workforce at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
Read More About Cassi Meyer Looking Back: Seeing the Engine Up Close NASA Administrator Robert Frosch (left), along with astronaut candidates Sally Ride and Terry Hart, get a close look at a space shuttle main engine installed on the B-2 Test Stand at Stennis Space Center, then known as National Space Technology Laboratories, during a visit on June 1, 1979. A space agency filled with trailblazers, the late Sally Ride was a pioneer of a different sort. The soft-spoken California physicist broke the gender barrier on June 18, 1983, when she became the first American woman in space. Meanwhile, Hart flew as a mission specialist on STS-41C (April 6-13, 1984) and logged a total of 168 hours in space.NASA Additional Resources Subscription Info
Lagniappe is published monthly by the Office of Communications at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. The NASA Stennis office may be contacted by at 228-688-3333 (phone); ssc-office-of-communications@mail.nasa.gov (email); or NASA OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS, Attn: LAGNIAPPE, Mail code IA00, Building 1111 Room 173, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529 (mail).
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Explore More 6 min read Lagniappe for March 2024 Article 3 months ago 7 min read Lagniappe for April 2024 Article 2 months ago 5 min read Lagniappe for May 2024Explore the NASA Stennis newsletter, Lagniappe for May 2024. This issue features NASA’s announcement of…
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