Summer Series Colloquia
2022 Summer Seminar Series
The NASA Ames Office of the Chief Scientist is pleased to announce the 2022 NASA Summer Series! This year, the OCS has produced a platform for innovative discussion to inspire, catalyze scientific progress, share ideas, and communicate new and exciting concepts.
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Katherine Calvin
Climate Research and Science Integration Across NASA
The first Summer Series seminar, “Climate Research and Science Integration Across NASA,” was presented by NASA’s Chief Scientist and Senior Climate Advisor Dr. Katherine Calvin on June 7.
NASA was not established to perform climate research. However, within a few months, the agency was given management over America’s first weather satellite and has continued to provide robust data sets and observations for Earth Science. Today, NASA’s contributions to climate research are integral to providing data for comparative planetology, understanding how the Earth changes over time, and informing future decisions related to climate change. Join Dr. Calvin as she presents the agency’s current state of climate research and science integration across the scientific community.
Abstract:
NASA is one of a few federal agencies that conducts climate research and provides data critical for governments, private companies, and others across the globe. NASA’s climate-related research encompasses solar activity, sea level rise, ocean and atmospheric temperatures, ozone layer conditions, air pollution, greenhouse gas levels, and changes in sea ice and land ice. Dr. Katherine Calvin will discuss the current state of climate research at NASA, the agency’s strategic science objectives and how she’s working to implement coordination within and outside of the science community at NASA.
Biography:
As NASA’s Chief Scientist, Dr. Katherine Calvin advises agency leadership on the agency’s science programs and science-related strategic planning and investments. In her role as Senior Climate Advisor, she provides insights and recommendations for the agency’s climate-related science, technology, and infrastructure programs. Since 2008, Calvin has been an Earth scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Joint Global Change Research Institute (JGCRI) in College Park, Maryland. She worked in JGCRI’s Global Change Analysis Model, a system for exploring the relationships between human and Earth systems in the context of global climate change. She also worked on the Department of Energy’s Energy Exascale Earth System Model, a to analyze the past, present, and future state of the Earth system. Calvin received her doctorate in Management, Science, and Engineering from Stanford University and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Mathematics from the University of Maryland. She has contributed to the third U.S. National Climate Assessment as well as two special reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, with two more reports scheduled for publication in 2022.
David Spergel
Machine Learning and Cosmology
Learning from the past lays the foundation to understand the present and build the future. Since it is impossible to travel back in time to witness the beginning of the universe, cosmologists must use theoretical models of the early universe to study its origin and development. Advances in machine learning have provided novel methodologies for studying the universe’s beginning, offering new approaches to test theories and interpret expansive data sets from astronomical surveys.
Dr. David Spergel provides an overview of how machine learning techniques are implemented to improve cosmology research.
Abstract:
Machine Learning is providing powerful tools in many areas of science. The talk will provide an overview of some of the ML applications to modeling astrophysical systems and then focus on applications for cosmology. The talk will outline a vision of using ML to learn more about the universe’s initial conditions.
Biography:
David N. Spergel is the President of the Simons Foundation. He is the Charles Young Professor of Astronomy Emeritus at Princeton University and was the Founding Director of the Center of Computational Astrophysics at the Flatiron Institute in NY. Spergel received his undergraduate degree from Princeton in 1982 (summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa). After a year of study at Oxford University, he received his PhD from Harvard in 1985. After two years as a long-term member at the Institute for Advanced Study, he joined the Princeton astrophysics faculty in 1987, where he was also Associate Faculty in the Departments of Physics and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. He served as Department Chair from 2006 to 2016. During his term as chair, the department was consistently ranked as #1 by US News and World Report and by the NAS. In 2016, he became the Founding Director of the Center for Computational Astrophysics. In 2021, he assumed leadership of the Simons Foundation. Spergel is the author of over 400 papers with over 115,000 citations and an h index of 127.
Robert Hazen
On the Co-Evolution of the Geosphere and Biosphere: A Mineral Evolution Perspective
“On the Co-Evolution of the Geosphere and Biosphere: A Mineral Evolution Perspective,” was presented by Dr. Robert Hazen on June 21.
Life and its environment are inextricably linked. The Earth’s chemical and physical composition drives the evolution of life, and in turn, life changes our planet. Studying the physical records resulting from these interactions informs Earth, life, and planetary science models.
Abstract:
The story of Earth is a 4.5-billion-year saga of dramatic transformations, driven by physical, chemical, and—based on a fascinating growing body of evidence—biological processes. The co-evolution of life and rocks unfolds in an irreversible sequence of evolutionary stages. Each stage re-sculpted our planet’s surface, while introducing new planetary processes and phenomena. This grand and intertwined tale of Earth’s living and non-living spheres is coming into ever-sharper focus. Sequential changes of terrestrial planets and moons are best preserved in their rich mineral record. “Mineral evolution,” the study of our planet’s diversifying near-surface environment, began with a score of different mineral species that formed in the cooling envelopes of exploding stars. Dust and gas from those stars clumped together to form our stellar nebula, the nebula formed the Sun and countless planetesimals, and alteration of planetesimals by water and heat resulted in the 300 minerals found today in meteorites that fall to Earth. Earth’s evolution progressed by a sequence of chemical and physical processes, which ultimately led to the origin-of-life. Once life emerged, mineralogy and biology co-evolved, as changes in the chemistry of oceans, the atmosphere, and the crust dramatically increased Earth’s mineral diversity to the more than 5700 species known today.
Biography:
Robert M. Hazen, Senior Scientist at the Carnegie Institution for Science and Robinson Professor of Earth Science, Emeritus, at George Mason University, received degrees in geology from MIT and Harvard. Author of more than 450 articles and 25 books on science, history, and music, Hazen has received numerous awards, including the 2021 IMA Medal, the 2016 Roebling Medal, and the 2012 Virginia Outstanding Faculty Award. In 2020 he was elected Foreign Member of the Russian National Academy of Sciences. The biomineral “hazenite” was named in his honor. Since 2008, Hazen and his colleagues have explored “mineral evolution” and “mineral ecology”—new approaches that exploit large and growing mineral data resources to understand the co-evolution of the geosphere and biosphere. In October 2016 Hazen retired from a 40-year career as a professional trumpeter, during which he performed with numerous ensembles including the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Ballet, and National Symphony.
David Richwine
Supersonics: Quesst Mission and X-59 Aircraft
“No doubt the problem [the Langley flying machine] has attractions for those it interests, but to the ordinary man it would seem as if effort might be employed more profitably” The New York Times, Flying Machines Which do not Fly, 1903 – 69 days before the Wright Brothers’ historic first flight.
“Aeronautics research is the heart and soul of NASA’s mission” Sen. Sherrod Brown D-OH, 2011 on fighting to preserve NASA’s responsibility for civil aeronautics research and development.
For more than 100 years, NASA and its predecessor NACA have been pioneers in aviation. Our advances and innovations make aircraft faster, better, and cheaper. The X-59 Quesst experimental aircraft is working to bring back supersonic passenger air travel by transforming the thundering sonic boom into a barely audible sonic thump on the ground. This will be a revolutionary technical achievement that could impact the future of commercial aviation and the ordinary person.
Join David Richwine, Deputy Project Manager for Technology of the X-59, for an overview of the Quesst Mission and its status.
Abstract:
One of the strategic thrusts for NASA’s Aeronautics vision in the 21st century is the Innovation in Commercial Supersonic Aircraft – where sonic boom noise and current overland flight prohibitions remain as the primary barrier to successful supersonic commercial aircraft. David Richwine will present some insight into these obstacles, describe the basic physics of sonic boom formation and propagation, and highlight the dominate features of a supersonic low-boom demonstrator aircraft.
Richwine will also present a brief overview of the Quesst mission (formerly called the Low Boom Flight Demonstration). The mission includes the X-59 aircraft development and envelope expansion followed by low-boom acoustic validation flights, and then community response overflight studies with multiple test campaigns flying the X-59 over a variety of select communities across the U.S.
The presentation will also highlight recent progress of the X-59 aircraft fabrication, integration, and ground testing; and highlight the simulation capabilities, supporting aircraft technologies, and a broad community of NASA and industry contributors who helped make the X-59 aircraft, advance the Quesst mission and make the future of supersonic commercial aircraft a reality.
Biography:
David Richwine serves as the Deputy Project Manager for Technology on the Low Boom Flight Demonstrator (LBFD) project, coordinating technical requirements and capabilities across the Quesst mission. He has worked in aeronautics research for over 35 years at NASA Langley Research Center in Virginia and Dryden Flight Research Center (now Armstrong Flight Research Center) in California. During his 17 years at NASA Dryden, Richwine worked on several research projects including the F-18 High Alpha Research Program and F-15B Flight Research Testbed; and served as Dryden’s Project Manager for DARPA’s Quiet Supersonic Program and F-5E flight test. After moving to NASA Langley in 2003, he served in several positions supporting NASA’s supersonics research. In 2012, Richwine became the planning lead and later managed the low-boom flight demonstrator concept studies which ultimately evolved into the X-59 aircraft preliminary design, LBFD project, and now the Quesst mission.
Dr. Sergio Santa Maria
BioSentinel: NASA’s First Biological Mission Beyond the Earth-Moon System
Humans survive environmental hazards through engineering mechanisms to counter their effects. As humanity prepares to explore beyond low Earth orbit for the first time since the Apollo missions, we need to prepare for the environmental hazards we may experience. The BioSentinel CubeSat spacecraft will launch as a payload aboard the Space Launch System’s first exploration mission, Artemis-1. Its goal is to autonomously study the effects of unmitigated deep space radiation on a model organism, the budding yeast S. cerevisiae. This will give us insight into one of the hazards of space.
Dr. Sergio Santa Maria, BioSentinel’s lead scientist, discusses the mission’s development and its science objectives.
Abstract:
One of the main challenges to deep space exploration is the unknown effects of the long-term exposure to galactic cosmic radiation and solar particle events outside of Earth’s magnetic field. Prior to sending humans to deep space, model organisms can be used to better understand the effect of the deep space environment on biology. One such mission is BioSentinel. BioSentinel is the first small satellite or CubeSat designed to carry biology into deep space and builds upon previous CubeSat missions developed at Ames Research Center. Its two main objectives are (1) to develop a capability to perform biological experiments in deep space, and (2) to study the effects of the deep space radiation environment on a model organism, the budding yeast S. cerevisiae. This talk will review how this mission and the instrumentation were developed, how the science will be performed in space, and the lessons learned from this and previous Ames CubeSat missions. BioSentinel is currently performing a control experiment on the ISS and the deep space payload is launching on the Artemis 1 rocket later this Summer.
Biography:
Dr. Santa Maria is originally from Lima, Peru, where he studied Biology as an undergrad. His undergrad dissertation focused on the genotoxic effects of mining on a high-altitude population. This investigation motivated him to pursue a doctoral degree in Molecular Genetics with a focus on DNA damage and repair at the University of Texas Medical Branch. After his PhD, he continued his postdoctoral work at NYU School of Medicine, where he studied different genes and proteins involved in recombinational repair of DNA damage caused by ionizing radiation. From 2011 to 2013, he was an American Cancer Society postdoctoral fellow. In 2014, he joined the BioSentinel team at NASA Ames Research Center as a contractor, first as Project Scientist and then as the Lead Scientist since 2019. In addition to BioSentinel, Dr. Santa Maria is a Space Biology Principal Investigator currently studying the acquisition of mutations under simulated microgravity and ground studies for a potential biological mission to the lunar surface. Other funded work involves the development of new biosensor technologies for biological research in space.
Michael Barnhardt
Modeling Entry Systems to Explore Our Solar System
“Modeling Entry Systems to Explore Our Solar System,” was presented by Dr. Michael Barnhardt on July 14.
We have to obey the laws of physics, but we don’t have to be limited by them.
Traversing through the atmospheres of planetary bodies is hazardous for the structural integrity of the entry vehicle. Modeling spacecraft design to withstand the intense heat and stresses caused by high-speed atmospheric entry is fundamental to successful entry, descent, and landing. Join Dr. Michael Barnhardt for a presentation on cutting-edge computer modeling, aerothermodynamics research, and technology development for entry systems.
Abstract:
Exploration of our Solar System is a foundational element of NASA’s identity. Delivering a scientific payload through an atmosphere to the surface of a planetary body requires safely navigating the extreme temperatures and stresses generated by flying many times the speed of sound. An entry system is the outer shell of a vehicle designed to protect the payload and, as a single point of failure for a mission, reliability is paramount. Unfortunately, it is not possible to fully replicate the flight environment in ground test facilities – so how do we confidently design a vehicle that needs to work the first time, every time? Modeling and simulation are critical tools for filling gaps in ground test capability and providing traceability from ground to flight. Modeling an entry system is a truly interdisciplinary effort, requiring knowledge of fluid dynamics, high-temperature chemistry, radiation, materials science, structural dynamics, guidance and control – and, finally, the mathematical and computing capability to pull it all together. In this talk, Dr. Michael Barnhardt will discuss the latest research in modeling entry systems and how it is being used in NASA’s exploration missions.
Biography:
Dr. Michael Barnhardt is the Project Manager for the Entry Systems Modeling (ESM) project within NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. As the Agency’s sole project tasked to develop cross-cutting simulation capabilities in support of Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) missions, ESM plays a vital role keeping NASA at the forefront of robotic and human exploration. Dr. Barnhardt joined the Aerothermodynamics Branch at Ames Research Center in 2008, specializing in the research, development, and application of computational fluid dynamics simulations for entry systems. Through his role on ESM, he now oversees a full spectrum of EDL research at NASA, and he is also passionately supportive of university-led research through NASA’s Space Technology Research Grants program. Dr. Barnhardt received his doctorate from the University of Minnesota’s Department of Aerospace Engineering.
Kristin Byrd
Earth Observations for Biodiversity Conservation and Restoration
“Earth Observations for Biodiversity Conservation and Restoration” was presented by Kristin Byrd on July 19.
Punctuated versus gradual events is a perspective of time and energy. Remote sensing allows us to observe processes over time while limiting disruptions caused by direct interaction. These observations provide data to analyze ecosystem overlap and interactions, track patterns and changes, and study the Earth as an integrated system.
Dr. Kristin Byrd discusses advanced methods of Earth observation, biodiversity conservation, and NASA-USGS collaborations.
Abstract:
Advances in Earth Observations, from uncrewed aerial systems to airborne to satellite data, have provided increased capabilities to monitor and measure ecosystem changes for biodiversity conservation and restoration applications. High temporal frequency observations help improve ecosystem classifications and understand phenology changes while high spectral resolution observations can better detect changes in ecosystem characteristics, condition, and quality. Dr. Byrd will report on recent USGS studies where Earth Observations have been used to map changes in wildlife habitat associated with drought, model species distributions, and project land cover for conservation applications. Studies will also include examples of carbon and ecosystem service assessments, and projects that track ecosystem restoration. A wide range of ecosystem types will be represented with an emphasis on wetlands, coastal and aquatic environments. With the co-location of USGS and NASA Ames at Moffett Field, Dr. Byrd will also report on ways USGS and NASA have partnered to improve the applications and ultimate outcomes of these projects.
Biography:
Dr. Byrd is a Research Physical Scientist at the USGS Western Geographic Science Center at Moffett Field, CA, with expertise in applied landscape ecology and remote sensing. Dr. Byrd leads landscape-scale studies of natural and working lands, with a focus on wetlands, rangelands, climate and land use change in California, Washington State and in estuaries throughout the U.S. Research projects quantify ecosystem services, find areas vulnerable to future change, and identify potential for climate mitigation and resilience. Dr. Byrd emphasizes the use of open data and open source software to aid tool development for decision makers. All projects include outreach to land managers to support conservation and restoration planning and land management. Dr. Byrd has served as a science team member on the NASA Carbon Monitoring System Program and the NASA Biodiversity and Ecological Forecasting Program. She has a Ph.D. in Environmental Science, Policy and Management from U.C. Berkeley, an M.A. in Ecology and Systematics from San Francisco State University, and a B.S. in Environmental Science from Cornell University.
Harlan Spence
Everything You Wanted to Know About HelioSwarm but Were Afraid to Ask
“Everything You Wanted to Know About HelioSwarm, But Were Afraid to Ask,” was presented by Dr. Harlan Spence on July 21.
Turbulence is ubiquitous and results in change. It significantly affects aircraft design; plays a critical role in processes such as atmospheric circulation and ocean currents; and is considered to be the last problem of classical physics left to be fully understood. To model turbulence, you need data from multiple points over time. Studying the fields and flow of charged particles from the Sun provides a unique testbed to understand and characterize the dynamic mechanics of turbulence.
Dr. Harlan Spence, HelioSwarm’s principal investigator, provides an overview of the nine-spacecraft swarm’s mission science and development.
Abstract:
This talk will present HelioSwarm, a mission concept designed to reveal the 3D, dynamic mechanisms controlling the physics of space plasma turbulence. HelioSwarm measures plasmas and magnetic fields with a novel configuration of spacecraft. Simultaneous multi-point, multi-scale measurements allow us to address two overarching science goals: 1) Reveal the 3D spatial structure and dynamics of turbulence in a weakly collisional plasma and 2) Ascertain the mutual impact of turbulence near boundaries and large-scale structures. HelioSwarm uses a “swarm” of nine spacecraft, consisting of a “hub” spacecraft and eight “node” spacecraft. The spacecraft co-orbit in a 2-week lunar resonant Earth orbit, with an apogee/perigee of ~60/11 Earth radii. Flight dynamics design and on-board propulsion produce inter-spacecraft separations ranging from 10’s to 1000’s km in geometries needed to distinguish between proposed models of turbulence. Each node possesses an instrument suite consisting of a Faraday cup, a fluxgate magnetometer, and a search coil magnetometer; the hub has the same instruments plus an ion electrostatic analyzer. This talk will discuss HelioSwarm mission science, implementation, and why it will provide unprecedented views into the nature of space plasma turbulence.
Biography:
Harlan E. Spence is Director of the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, and is a Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of New Hampshire. Spence leads a group studying the physics of cosmic plasmas, from the Sun’s corona to Earth’s upper atmosphere, using experimental and modeling techniques. Spence was principal investigator (PI) of a comprehensive charged particle instrument suite on NASA’s Van Allen Probes mission and was PI of the NSF FIREBIRD-I and -II CubeSat missions exploring the physics of radiation belt electrons. Spence is PI of a cosmic ray sensor on NASA‘s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission and is PI of NASA’s recently-selected HelioSwarm mission. Spence earned his Ph.D. in geophysics and space physics from the University of California, Los Angeles and then worked at The Aerospace Corporation before joining the faculty at Boston University. He received an NSF Young Investigator Award, the Wisneski Award for Excellence in Teaching at Boston University, two Editor’s Citations for Excellence in Refereeing from AGU publications, earned numerous NASA Group Achievement Awards, and is a AAAS Fellow.
Lance Geiger “The History Guy”
Blimps to B-17s: The NACA and the World Wars
“Blimps to B-17s: The NACA and the World Wars” was presented by Lance Geiger “The History Guy” on Wednesday, July 27.
Problems open windows that lead to transformation. The first A in NASA stands for aeronautics, and it is an integral part of what shaped the Agency and who we are. NASA evolved from the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) whose mission and approach to solve flight problems laid the foundation for NASA’s aeronautics and space exploration accomplishments. The story of how the NACA transformed aeronautics from rigid airships to jet aircrafts is “history that deserves to be remembered.”
Lance Geiger, “The History Guy,” looks at the NACA’s contributions to aeronautics and the ongoing work at NASA.
Abstract:
Before NASA there was the NACA, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. Established in 1915 with an annual budget of just $5,000, this federal agency was tasked with the duty to supervise and direct the scientific study of the problems of flight with a view to their practical solution. While most Americans have never heard of them, the board transformed aviation from rigid airships to supersonic flight. Among its early facilities was the Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, at Moffett Field. Historian Lance Geiger, better known as “the History Guy” on YouTube, will tell the story of a little remembered agency that had a large impact on history, and whose mission continues with the ongoing work that NASA still does in the development of aeronautical science and technology.
Biography:
Lance Geiger is The History Guy on YouTube. His gold playbutton channel The History Guy: History Deserves to be Remembered currently has over 168 million views for a combined total of 24 million watch hours, that’s over 2700 YEARS of consecutive watching for one person. Prior to being a social media influencer, Lance was a park ranger, professor, insurance salesman, and corporate trainer. Lance lives in Illinois with his daughter and produces the channel from his basement office with the help of several feline friends. He believes that history should never be boring and loves to share stories of forgotten history.
Tom Greene
JWST: NASA’s Greatest Observatory and its Great Science!
The Summer Series and the Ames Associate Fellow seminar “JWST: NASA’s Greatest Observatory and its Great Science!” was presented by Dr. Thomas Greene on August 2.
Discovery is a resultant of an infinite series of small leaps forward.
Space observatories provide stunning, yet limited, views of the Universe; they leave gaps and uncertainties in our understanding that must be addressed. Building off decades of observations and advances, the James Webb Space Telescope will help us reach back in time, see the formation of galaxies, watch stars emerge, characterize exoplanet atmospheres, and search for signs of life elsewhere in the universe.
Dr. Thomas Greene discusses the mission’s science goals and some aspects of its design, technologies, and initial science results.
The Ames Associate Fellow is an honorary designation given to a NASA Ames employee in recognition of their scientific or engineering research excellence and contribution to NASA and our research center. Dr. Thomas Greene was awarded the 2020 Ames Associate Fellow for his exceptional work in the fields of astronomy and astrophysics. His work on observational studies of exoplanets and young stars has led to the development of ground- and space-based instruments that support the James Webb Space Telescope and other NASA goals.
Abstract:
The James Webb Space Telescope is the most complex and powerful astronomical space observatory ever built. It just launched on Christmas Day and is now unfolding itself before arriving in its final orbit in the Sun – Earth system in late January. The large 6.5-m diameter JWST primary mirror and its infrared instruments will allow it to see some of the very first luminous objects that formed in the Universe shortly after the Big Bang. Other major science themes of JWST encompass studying the assembly of galaxies, the birth of stars and planetary systems, and planetary systems and the origins of life. JWST will be the premier astrophysics space observatory for NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) over its 5 – 10+ year mission lifetime. It will augment the Hubble Space Telescope, which primarily works at visible and ultraviolet light wavelengths. In addition to the topics covered in this talk, many scientists will use JWST to make discoveries that we have not yet imagined.
Biography:
Thomas Greene is an astrophysicist in the Space Science and Astrobiology Division at NASA’s Ames Research Center. He conducts observational studies of exoplanets and young stars and develops astronomical technologies and instrumentation. Dr. Greene is a co-investigator on the NIRCam and MIRI science instruments of the James Webb Space Telescope and serves on the JWST Users Committee. While at NASA Ames he has served as the Director of the Ames Center for Exoplanet Studies, Project Scientist of the SOFIA mission, and Chief of the Astrophysics Branch. Before joining NASA, he worked at the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center on NASA astrophysics missions. Prior to that, Dr. Greene was on the faculty of the University of Hawaii where he was a support astronomer and later Director of the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF). He received his Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Arizona. Dr. Greene currently co-chairs the US National Academies of Sciences’ Committee on Astronomy and Astrophysics (CAA) and is a NASA representative on the W. M. Keck Observatory Science Steering Committee
Jessica Marquez
Promoting Astronaut Autonomy in Human Spaceflight Missions
“Promoting Astronaut Autonomy in Human Spaceflight Missions,” was presented by Dr. Jessica Marquez on August 4.
For survival, distance necessitates autonomy. As spaceflight missions increase in distance from Earth, transmission delays necessitate change to current methods of schedule management. Astronauts are inundated with tasks, from science experiments to maintenance, and rely on ground-based personnel to maintain their schedules. The ability for astronauts to independently plan and execute tasks is essential for the success of long-distance spaceflights. Failure to plan is planning to fail.
Dr. Jessica Marquez presents her research in developing software to increase astronauts’ autonomy and capabilities during spaceflight missions.
Promoting Astronaut Autonomy in Human Spaceflight Missions (slides)
Abstract:
Mission operations will have to adapt for long duration, long distance human spaceflight missions. This change is driven mainly by the significantly different communication availability between Earth and space. As astronauts travel farther from Earth, the one-way communication latency increases; the amount of bandwidth will be limited; and there will be period of long and/or no communication. Currently, ground flight controllers collaborate and cooperate with astronauts in space to accomplish essential operational functions. Astronaut autonomy, i.e., the crew’s ability to work more independently from mission control, will be a key enabler in future exploration missions. Over the last several years, the NASA Ames Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) Group has investigated various ways to promote and support astronaut autonomy in human spaceflight missions. Software prototypes are researched, designed, implemented, and assessed for their ability to enable astronaut autonomy. From integrated Internet of Thing for Space, advanced procedures interfaces, comm-delayed chats, and self-scheduling tools, the HCI Group has explored different aspects of astronaut autonomy. Specifically, the self-scheduling tool Playbook has been evaluated in analog extreme environments and onboard the International Space Station, successfully paving the way for future autonomous astronauts.
Biography:
Since 2007, Dr. Jessica Marquez has been working at the NASA Ames Research Center within the Human Systems Integration Division. As part of the Human-Computer Interaction Group, she has supported the development and deployment of planning and scheduling software tools for various space missions, including the International Space Station Program. She now leads the team that is developing Playbook, a web-based planning, scheduling, and execution software tool. Her work has led to supporting different NASA analog missions that simulate planetary missions and spacewalks. Dr. Marquez also is a subject matter expert for space human factors engineering, specifically in human-automation-robotic integration. She lends her expertise across different NASA research programs, like the Space Technology Research Institutes and the Human Research Program. She currently is the PI for the research project “Crew Autonomy through Self-Scheduling: Guidelines for Crew Scheduling Performance Envelope and Mitigation Strategies.” Dr. Marquez has a Ph.D. and S.M. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.S.E. from Princeton University.
Lee Feinberg
Sharpening the View: Commissioning the JWST
“Sharpening the View: Commissioning the JWST,” was presented by Mr. Lee Feinberg on August 9.
Complexity is beautiful, as much for the means as for the end product. Deployment in space is complex and can be problematic, especially for a highly precise multi-billion observational space telescope. Prior to the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) beginning observations, an intricate six-month long commissioning process took place to ensure the telescope successfully transitioned from its stowed launch configuration to being fully deployed for operation. On July 11, 2022, the JWST successfully completed its commissioning activities, signaled by the release of the first full-color images the next day.
Join Mr. Lee Feinberg, the JWST’s Optical Telescope Element Manager, for an overview of the telescope’s commissioning process as well as its current performance.
Abstract:
The JWST telescope launched on December 25th, 2021. During the first 120 days of the mission, the telescope was deployed, mirrors were deployed, and the 18 primary segments and secondary mirror were aligned from millimeters to nanometers. The process led to an optical system that is limited only by the laws of physics. JWST is the first segmented, large cryogenic open architecture telescope that has ever been in flown in space and the unfolding and alignment was a huge first step in the advancement of large space telescopes. This talk will walk through the commissioning process from the perspective of the telescope including launch, deployments, alignments. It will culminate with a summary of how well the telescope is performing and thoughts about the lessons learned.
Biography:
Lee Feinberg is the NASA Optical Telescope Element (OTE) Manager for the James Webb Space Telescope at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, a role he has been in since 2002. Earlier in his career, Lee was the Assistant Chief for Technology in the Instrument Systems and Technology Division at Goddard and prior to that Lee was part of the optical team that repaired the Hubble Space Telescope on SM1, STIS instrument manager on SM-2, and he co-led the concept study for Wide Field Camera-3. Lee was a member of the LUVOIR and Habex Science and Technology Definition Teams and focuses his current research on ultra-stable telescopes and segmented space telescopes. Lee is a Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) Fellow and a Goddard Space Flight Center Senior Fellow.
Carol Stoker
The Search for Extant Life on Mars
“The Search for Extant Life on Mars,” was presented by Dr. Carol Stoker on August 11.
Once a discovery is made, it is found everywhere, raising the question of why the discovery took so long. Our closest neighbors in our Solar System are Venus and Mars. If we are to explore our history, we must study their history. Mars, in particular, is unique since its size, composition, and geographical features are similar to Earth’s. All these similarities beg the question, did/does life exist of Mars? While past missions demonstrated that Mars had and may still have habitable environments, the question of whether Mars was or is a home for life, as we know it, is yet to be determined.
Dr. Carol Stoker discusses several potentially habitable environments on Mars and how to search for extant life.
Abstract:
Finding extant life beyond Earth would be among the greatest scientific discoveries of all time. Mars is the most Earthlike planet known and conditions on Mars and Earth were similar at the time life started on Earth leading to the hypothesis that life also started on early Mars. The 1976 Viking lander mission searched for extant life on Mars by attempting to measure microbial metabolism in the soil. The measurements showed the soil was reactive, but the reactions were thought to be chemical rather than biological. The surface of current Mars is very dry and liquid water is unstable, conditions not conducive to life so recent missions have searched for evidence of ancient aqueous environments that might host fossil evidence of life on early Mars. But decades of mission results have revealed some locations where habitable conditions may persist to the present, leading to renewed interest in searching for extant life. This talk will review environments on Mars that could potentially host modern life including surface salts and brines, shallow subsurface ice, caves, and deep subsurface aquifers and discuss how these environments could be explored.
Biography:
Carol Stoker is a planetary scientist and astrobiologist at NASA Ames Research Center. Her research focuses on understanding potential environments for life in the solar system with an emphasis on development of scientific methods and exploration technologies to search for life on Mars. She has performed field work to study life in extreme environments in Antarctica, the Arctic, the Atacama Desert in Chile, a deep subsurface biosphere in Spain, as well as caves and lava tubes. She led the biological potential science working group on the Mars Phoenix mission that sampled ground ice in the Martian Arctic to investigate its potential for hosting modern life. She received the NASA Outstanding Leadership medal for her work in Mars analog field studies.
Jim Green
A Behind the Scenes Look at 40 Years in NASA
“A Behind the Scenes Look at 40 Years in NASA,” was presented by Dr. Jim Green on August 17.
Success is less about the given and more about the drive. NASA embraces this mindset in its approach and is successful in its mission because of its diverse workforce and partners. Passing along knowledge and lessons learned is integral to the advancement of research and technology and to inspire the next generation.
Join Dr. Jim Green, former NASA Chief Scientist, for a retrospective look at his career at NASA, so far, and valuable insight gained along the way.
Abstract:
Jim Green enjoyed a 42+ year career at NASA spanning many different types of jobs and three NASA Centers. He worked on over two dozen missions and became the longest serving Director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters. Jim also created and reimagined several organizations within NASA to perform a variety of activities and testified before Congress on behalf of NASA five times. In 2015, Jim was the science advisor and coordinated NASA’s involvement with the film The Martian. Jim will outline his remarkable career and discuss his most notable achievements, as well as share insightful stories, lessons learned, and invaluable advice. If you ever wanted to know how things can get done at NASA, this is the person you need to talk to.
Biography:
Jim Green is a NASA scientist and senior advisor in the Office of the Chief Scientist. Prior to this appointment, he had been NASA’s Chief Scientist, and served as Director of the Planetary Science Division for 13 years, with the overall programmatic responsibility for the New Horizons spacecraft flyby of Pluto, the Juno spacecraft to Jupiter, and the landing of the Curiosity rover on Mars, just to name a few. After getting his PhD at the University of Iowa in physics, Dr. Green was hired as a civil servant scientist at the Marshall Space Flight Center in the Magnetospheric Physics Branch. He then moved to Goddard Space Flight Center where he headed the National Space Science Data Center for 7 years. Green was awarded Japan’s Kotani Prize in 1996 in recognition of his international science data management activities, and he has received the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal for the New Horizons flyby of the Pluto system, as well as NASA’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service Medal. He has written over 125 scientific articles in refereed journals, and over 50 technical articles.
Bart De Pontieu
MUSE: Revealing the Physics of the Sun’s Corona and the Roots of Space Weather
“MUSE: Revealing the Physics of the Sun’s Corona and the Roots of Space Weather,” was presented by Dr. Bart De Pontieu on Tuesday, August 23.
Presence is only noticeable when there’s change. The corona, the uppermost layer of the Sun’s atmosphere, is composed of extremely hot ionized gas particles. The processes that contribute to the corona’s heating and the acceleration of these particles away from the Sun are still not understood.
Dr. Bart De Pontieu provides an overview of the MUlti-slit Solar Explorer (MUSE) mission and how the observatory will fill in the gaps of current coronal spectroscopy and imaging.
Abstract:
The Multi-slit Solar Explorer (MUSE) is a NASA MIDEX mission, slated for launch in 2027, that is focused on understanding the physical processes that heat the multi-million degree solar atmosphere or corona, and that drive solar flares and eruptions, poorly understood large-scale events that cause space weather and increasingly impact our high-tech society. Our current understanding of these processes will be illustrated, based on existing measurements with other solar telescopes and advanced numerical simulations, with a highlight on how MUSE will address the major outstanding questions. MUSE will measure the properties of the Sun’s atmosphere or corona up to 100x faster and with 3x higher spatial resolution than previous instruments, for the first time allowing tracking of the highly dynamic evolution of the corona over a wide range of scales: from the spatial scales on which energy is released (a few 100 km) to the large-scale (~150,000 km) atmospheric response. By focusing on the physical processes that occur in the atmosphere of the nearest star, MUSE will also elucidate how other stellar atmosphere work and how they may impact the habitability of exo-planets around other stars.
Biography:
Bart De Pontieu is a solar physicist whose research focuses on using high-resolution observations and numerical simulations to understand the physical processes that cause the rapid rise of temperatures from 10,000 degrees to millions of degrees in the low solar atmosphere. He is a Fellow at Lockheed Martin’s Solar & Astrophysics Laboratory which is part of Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center (LM ATC) in Palo Alto, California. De Pontieu is the principal investigator for NASA’s Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS), a solar-observing small explorer satellite mission built by LM ATC which has been observing the Sun’s atmosphere since its launch in 2013. He is also the principal investigator of the MUlti-slit Solar Explorer (MUSE), which was recently selected by NASA as a medium class explorer. He is also an adjunct professor at the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics at the University of Oslo.
Wanda Díaz-Merced
Sound in the Future of Space Sciences
“Sound in the Future of Space Sciences,” was presented by Dr. Wanda Díaz-Merced on September 1..
Over-reliance on the visual obscures our interpretation of the world. Radio astronomy began in the early 1900’s after Karl Jansky studied an unusual, steady hum, of no clear origin, interfering with telephone communications. The source of this interference was from the center of the Milky Way galaxy, the first extraterrestrial radio signal detected. A few decades later, the first evidence of the Big Bang, the cosmic microwave background, was discovered through an annoying hum of interference with no clear origin. What discoveries await the use of sound?
Join Dr. Wanda Díaz-Merced as she presents the sonification of astronomical data and how it can be used to increase our understanding of the Universe and make science more accessible.
Abstract:
Audio rendering was a modality used in Space Science for event identification in the late 1800’s. Later, its usage for mainstream research in space science almost ceased. In this presentation, we will talk about the use of sound and or audio, either alone or as an adjunct to visual display, for the exploration of space science telemetry. We will travel in time to identify what needs to be done right now to better make use of all the human potential to find more discoveries.
Biography:
Wanda Díaz-Merced is from Puerto Rico. Wanda received a doctorate in computer science from the University of Glasgow, Scotland. She specializes on the use of audio to study space science telemetry. Wanda was awarded the first google scholarship for peoples with disabilities and is an honorary ambassador of Soka University in Japan. She has worked for over 15 years on establishing a framework for sound to be used in scientific data analysis.
