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NASA Ames Astrogram – October 2019

The headshot image of Astrid Albaugh

Astrid Albaugh

Oct 25, 2019
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Contents

October 2019 issue of Ames' newsletter, the Astrogram

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New VIPER Lunar Rover to Map Water Ice on the Moon

by Alison Hawkes

NASA is sending a mobile robot to the South Pole of the Moon to get a close-up view of the location and concentration of water ice in the region and for the first time ever, actually sample the water ice at the same pole where the first woman and next man will land in 2024 under the Artemis program. 

About the size of a golf cart, the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, will roam several miles, using its four science instruments — including a 1-meter drill — to sample various soil environments. Planned for delivery to the lunar surface in December 2022, VIPER will collect about 100 days of data that will be used to inform the first global water resource maps of the Moon.

“The key to living on the Moon is water – the same as here on Earth,” said Daniel Andrews, the project manager of the VIPER mission and director of engineering at NASA Ames. “Since the confirmation of lunar water-ice ten years ago, the question now is if the Moon could really contain the amount of resources we need to live off-world. This rover will help us answer the many questions we have about where the water is, and how much there is for us to use.” 

the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER
NASA is sending a mobile robot to the south pole of the Moon to get a close-up view of the location and concentration of water ice in the region and for the first time ever, actually sample the water ice at the same pole where the first woman and next man will land in 2024 under the Artemis program. About the size of a golf cart, the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, will roam several miles, using its four science instruments — including a 1-meter drill — to sample various soil environments. Planned for delivery in December 2022, VIPER will collect about 100 days of data that will be used to inform development of the first global water resource maps of the Moon.

For full story, see: VIPER

NASA and Uber Test System for Future Urban Air Transport

by Abigail Tabor

A new future for city transport is in the works at NASA – a future where both people and packages will take to the air. The agency is working with partner company Uber to evaluate certain things we already know and others we still need to invent to manage this expected new air traffic. The goal, known as Urban Air Mobility, or UAM, is a safe and efficient air transportation system where everything from small package-delivery drones to passenger-carrying air taxis operate over populated areas – from small towns to the largest cities.

Researchers at NASA’s Ames and Langley Research Centers are developing technologies for UAM airspace management to make large-scale operations possible. At Ames, in California’s Silicon Valley, there’s a good foundation to build on. Researchers here have already studied, designed and tested tools and technologies that could be used in the near future to manage the airspace for small drones flying at low altitudes, even in complex urban landscapes. Called Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management, or UTM, it’s giving a leg up to the emerging world of passengers and goods traveling smoothly above our city streets.

Urban air mobility vehicles in flight.
An artist’s conception of an urban air mobility environment, where air vehicles with a variety of missions and with or without pilots, are able to interact safely and efficiently.
Credit: NASA/Lillian Gipson

For full story, see: UberTestSystem

Google and NASA Achieve Quantum Supremacy

by Frank Tavares

Google, in partnership with NASA and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has demonstrated the ability to compute in seconds what would take even the largest and most advanced supercomputers thousands of years, achieving a milestone known as quantum supremacy.

“Quantum computing is still in its infancy, but this transformative achievement rockets us forward,” said Eugene Tu, center director at NASA Ames. “Our missions in the decades to come to the Moon, Mars and beyond are all fueled by innovations like this one.”

A man standing between two racks of supercomputers.
Electra, NASA’s powerful modular supercomputer, was also used in this collaboration with Google. It is a petascale supercomputing that saves significant amounts of water and power annually.
Credit: NASA Ames

For full story, see: QuantumSupremacy

SOFIA Visit to Ames Draws Crowds Eager to Tour the Airborne Observatory

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Credit: NASA Ames/Dominic Hart; two photos above bottom photo by Leah Strichartz

The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) (top photo) made a rare visit to NASA Ames on Oct. 18 and 19, 2019.  The observatory hosted open viewing days for Ames staff and guests, members of the local astronomy community and the general public. Visitors had a chance to speak with SOFIA staff, learn about the observatory and its science and walk through the aircraft. SOFIA is a Boeing 747SP jetliner modified to carry a 106-inch diameter telescope. It is a joint project of NASA and the German Aerospace Center, DLR. NASA Ames manages the SOFIA program, science and mission operations in cooperation with the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) and the German SOFIA Institute (DSI). The aircraft is maintained and operated from NASA Armstrong Building 703, in Palmdale, California.

Rainer Strecker (left) and Alexander Steidle (right) (both DSI) (second photo down from top, left) explain SOFIA’s telescope to a visitor at one of the information booths set up for the open viewing days. Visitors look at the interior of the SOFIA aircraft (second photo down from top, right) as well as the bulkhead (blue) that separates the telescope and its open cavity from the pressurized cabin. Also visible is one of SOFIA’s six science instruments (red) that receive and analyze the light from the telescope. Instrument Scientist Sam Richards (USRA) (third photo down from top, left) answers questions for a group of visitors. Ken Bower (USRA) (third photo down from top, right) discusses how flight planners balance the competing demands of the aircraft, air traffic control, and the movement of the stars to be able to make astronomical observations from 40,000 feet. Enrico Pfueller (DSI) (bottom photo) guides a group of high school students from the German International School of Silicon Valley through the observatory.

When Exoplanets Collide

by Nicholas Veronico

A dramatic glimpse of the aftermath of a collision between two exoplanets is giving scientists a view at what can happen when planets crash into each other. A similar event in our own solar system may have formed our Moon.

Known as BD +20 307, this double-star system is more than 300 light years from Earth with stars that are at least one billion years old. Yet this mature system has shown signs of swirling dusty debris that is not cold, as would be expected around stars of this age. Rather, the debris is warm, reinforcing that it was made relatively recently by the impact of two planet-sized bodies. 

Illustration of two rocky exoplanets colliding and creating dust.
Artist’s concept illustrating a catastrophic collision between two rocky exoplanets in the planetary system BD +20 307, turning both into dusty debris. Ten years ago, scientists speculated that the warm dust in this system was a result of a planet-to-planet collision. Now, SOFIA found even more warm dust, further supporting that two rocky exoplanets collided. This helps build a more complete picture of our own solar system’s history. Such a collision could be similar to the type of catastrophic event that ultimately created our Moon.
Credit: NASA/SOFIA/Lynette Cook

For full story, see: ExoPlanets

One Great Moon Hack, Ten Years Later: Q&A with NASA Lunar Scientist Tony Colaprete

by Abigail Tabor

A rocket’s empty fuel tank smashed into the surface of the Moon 10 years ago on Oct. 9, 2009. Meanwhile, back on Earth, Tony Colaprete was holding his breath: Would it work? As their spacecraft followed behind, would his team’s instruments detect water in the lunar soil thrown up by the impact? 

Using essentially a piece of garbage to do truly groundbreaking science was the brilliant hack behind NASA’s LCROSS mission, the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite. And, boy, did it work. LCROSS reached out and touched that Moon material and confirmed it held a considerable amount of water ice. Colaprete, who was the mission’s principal investigator, looks back on the clever solutions that defined LCROSS and the drama of the impact night. And he explains what all that water means for NASA’s Artemis program today.

Animation of the LCROSS mission impacting the Moon
On Oct. 9, 2009, the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, mission intentionally impacted the lunar surface in Cabeus Crater at the Moon’s south pole. The data it collected confirmed the presence of useful materials in the soil at the bottom of a permanently shadowed crater — including a considerable amount of water ice, raising the potential that this water could be a resource for deep space exploration.
Credit: NASA Ames/Dan Rutter

For full interview, see: TenYearsLater

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On Oct. 9, 2019, LCROSS manager Dan Andrews (left) and project scientist Tony Colaprete (right) held a special presentation for employees to discuss the LCROSS mission, which confirmed the presence of billions of gallons of water-ice located on the south pole of the Moon. This month marks the 10th anniversary of a mission that holds a special place in the Ames family and the people who made that “little mission that could’ happen.
Credit: NASA Ames/Dominic Hart

Korsmeyer Presents Plans for Ames’ Future, Encourages Employee Visionary Input

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On Oct. 2, 2019, Ames employees were invited to a kickoff event “Imagine Ames” with David Korsmeyer, associate center director for research and technology, who facilitated the talk. He shared what is on the horizon for Ames’ workplaces to help jumpstart ideas for the future of working at Ames. Ames is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year and now is a great time to look at the future. What will Ames be like at 100 years old in 2039? How do we live, work and operate in 2039? What does a day in the life of an Ames employee look like? How could we modify our physical environment; create virtual work places; change our relationships to our jobs and each other; and forge connections to local, national, international and interplanetary communities? Future notices about additional Idea-fests, timelines, idea submissions and ranking opportunities will be forthcoming.
Credit: NASA Ames/Dominic Hart

Astronaut George Zamka Speaks at Ames, Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month

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On Oct. 9, 2109, the Ames Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity (ODEO) along with the Hispanic Advisory Committee for Employees (HACE) and the Ames Veterans Committee (AVC) hosted a presentation and fireside chat with Colonel George D. Zamka, USMC, Ret. and NASA Astronaut, Ret. at Ames. Zamka highlighted his career with the United States Marine Corps and as a NASA astronaut completing spaceflights STS-120 and STS-130. He covered the extensive service he has provided to our nation and how he overcame challenges along the way. Zamka currently is an assistant vice president and F-5 pilot with Tactical Air Support Inc., a company which provides combat training sorties and services to the Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. He has logged more than 5,000 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft.
Credit: NASA Ames/Dominic Hart

Project Manager for Pioneers 10, 11 and 12, Larry Lasher, Visits Ames

On Oct. 9, 2019, Larry Lasher and his family came to the Center to tour the Vertical Motion Simulator, Future Flight Central and National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex. They also met with Deputy Center Director Carol Carroll. Lasher was the project manager for Pioneer 10, which launched in March 1972 sending it’s last signal to Earth in January 2003. It traveled past the asteroid belt and took close-up images of Jupiter.  Pioneer 10 made valuable scientific investigations in the outer regions of our solar system until the end of its science mission on March 31, 1997.  “Originally designed for a 21-month mission, Pioneer 10 lasted more than 30 years. It was a workhorse that far exceeded its warranty, and I guess you could say we got our money’s worth,” stated Lasher back in February 2003. 

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Larry Lasher, (retired, seated front), his wife Judy (standing, second from left) and their family members visited Ames for a tour of some of its facilities on Oct. 9, 2019. He also met with Deputy Center Director Carol Carroll (far left).
Credit: NASA Ames/Don Richey

Lasher was also project manager for Pioneer 11, a robotic space probe that was launched on April 6, 1973 to study the asteroid belt, the environment around Jupiter and Saturn, solar wind and cosmic rays. It was the first probe to encounter Saturn and the second to fly through the asteroid belt and by Jupiter.

In addition, Lasher worked on the Pioneer 12, the Venus Multiprobe Project.  It’s main objective was to investigate the solar wind in the Venusian environment, map the planet’s surface through a radar imaging system and study the characteristics of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere. The multiprobe was launched on Aug. 8, 1978 and reached Venus on Dec. 9, 1978 and was made of five separate probes: the probe transporter (referred to as the Bus), a large atmospheric entry probe (called Sounder) and three small probes. The Sounder released from the Bus on Nov. 15, 1978. The three smaller probes released on Nov. 19, 1978. The probes sent valuable data to Earth as they descended toward the surface.

Santa Clara University History Chair Nancy Unger Presents at Ames for LGBT History Month 

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Dr. Nancy Unger, a professor and Chair of the History Department at Santa Clara University presented, “More than the Stonewall Riots! An Illustrated Sampling of LGBTQ+ History” at Ames on Oct. 22, 2019. She discussed her experiences teaching and researching LGBTQ+ history of the United States and revealed how she came to teach and research this subject while at a Catholic, Jesuit university and why she finds this work so rewarding. Her richly illustrated sampling of her course content began with colonial New England, but much of her focus was on the American West (particularly California) and the experiences of LGBTQ+ government employees during World War II and the Cold War. Topics included whether men in single-sex frontier communities, such as cowboys and gold miners, can be called “gay” and range into Boston Marriages (intimate relationships between women at the turn of the last century), women who passed as men, “Beware the Homosexual” campaigns and the civil rights activism of astronomer Frank Kameny. Harvey Milk and the controversy over “outing” LGBTQ people without their permission rounded out the talk, followed by brief mention of additional areas of interest in the field.
Credit: photo by J. Benton

Meixner Discusses the Origins Space Telescope and the Secrets it May Uncover

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On Oct. 23, 2019, Margaret Meixner, instruments division deputy at the Space Telescope Science Institute, spoke at Ames and described the concept of the Origins Space Telescope, which will be launched in 2030 to explore the hidden history of the universe. She talked about the potential secrets the telescope can help us discover, including how does the universe work? How did we get here? And are we alone? Half of the light emitted by stars, planets and galaxies over the lifetime of the universe emerges in the infrared. The Origins telescope will access this information-rich spectral region to uncover the crucial missing pieces of our cosmic history. Origins is a community-led, NASA-supported mission concept study in preparation for the 2020 Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey.
Credit: NASA Ames/Dominic Hart

Statistical Summary of Activities of the Protective Service Division’s Security/Law Enforcement and Fire Protection Services Units for Period Ending September 2019

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Fire chart Oct 2019
Fire chart Oct 2019