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By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Back to Fire Science Landing Page FireSense
The FireSense project is focused on delivering NASA’s unique Earth science and technological capabilities to operational agencies, striving to address challenges in US wildland fire management. The project concentrates on four use-cases to support decisions before, during, and after wildland fires. These include the measurement of pre-fire fuels conditions, active fire dynamics, post fire impacts and threats, as well as air quality forecasting, each co-developed with identified wildland fire management agency stakeholders.
Strategic Tac Radio and Tac Overwatch (STRATO)
The Strategic Tac Radio and Tac Overwatch (STRATO) system is designed to provide real-time fire observations and last-mile communications with firefighters from stratospheric platforms. By providing persistent communications to a wildfire response team for a week or longer, STRATO is expected to offer capabilities beyond the currently used tethered balloons, which have a limited range and coverage area. By achieving station-keeping at altitudes up to 70,000 feet above ground level—to be demonstrated in flight testing—the STRATO will be able to provide communications to incident response teams in areas with no cellphone coverage.
Surface Biology and Geology (SBG)
Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE)
Climate change in the Arctic and Boreal region is unfolding faster than anywhere else on Earth, resulting in reduced Arctic sea ice, thawing of permafrost soils, decomposition of long- frozen organic matter, widespread changes to lakes, rivers, coastlines, and alterations of ecosystem structure and function. NASA’s Terrestrial Ecology Program is conducting a major field campaign, the Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE), in Alaska and western Canada, from 2015 – 2025. ABoVE seeks a better understanding of the vulnerability and resilience of ecosystems and society to this changing environment.
Tactical Fire Remote Sensing Advisory Committee (TFRSAC)
Embracing CSDA-Supported Spaceborne SAR Data in NASA FireSense Airborne Campaigns
This project aims to determine the capability of Umbra X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data to characterize rapidly changing fire landscapes during NASA’s FireSense airborne campaigns.
Opti-SAR
Opti-SAR is focused on accurate and timely mapping of forest structure and aboveground biomass (AGB) with integrated space-based optical and radar observations. This project will make a fundamental contribution to an integrated Earth System Observatory by using the mathematical foundation of RADAR-VSPI and VSPI to integrate SAR and optical data to achieve breakthroughs in forest monitoring and assessment.
Tropospheric Regional Atmospheric Composition and Emissions Reanalysis – 1 (TRACER-1)
TRACER-1 is a 20-year atmospheric composition re-analysis product that will enable researchers to answer questions about changes in wildfire emissions and the impact of extreme wildfire events on regional air quality. Active dates: 2005 – 2024
Cultural Burning
The Indigenous People’s Initiative partners with indigenous groups in the US and across the world, many of whom practice a long history of cultural burning.
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Last Updated Sep 17, 2024 Related Terms
General Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics
Missions
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By NASA
5 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Back to Ocean Science Landing Page
Internet of Animals
The Internet of Animals project combines animal tracking tags with remote sensing, to better understand habitat use and movement patterns. This kind of research enables more informed ecological management and conservation efforts, and broadens our understanding of how different ecosystems are reacting to a changing climate.
https://www.nasa.gov/nasa-earth-exchange-nex/new-missions-support/internet-of-animals/
FATE: dFAD Trajectory Tool
FATE will quantify dFAD (drifting fish aggregating devices) activity in relation to ocean currents, fish biomass, and animal telemetry at Palmyra Atoll, which is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) National Wildlife Refuge and is part of the U.S. Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument (PRIMNM) in the central Pacific Ocean. This innovative decision support tool will use NASA observations and numerical models to predict future dFAD trajectories and inform resource managers whether they should deploy tactical resources (boats, personnel) to monitor, intercept, or retrieve dFADs that have entered the MPA.
SeaSTAR
SeaSTAR aims to provide multi-spectral aerosol optical depth (AOD) and aerosol optical properties using a custom-built robotic sun/sky photometer. The instrument is designed to operate from a ship and is planned to deploy aboard the NOAA research vessel RV Shearwater in September 2024 to support the PACE-PAX airborne campaign.
PACE Validation Science Team Project: AirSHARP
Airborne asSessment of Hyperspectral Aerosol optical depth and water-leaving Reflectance Product Performance for PACE
The goal of AirSHARP is to provide high fidelity spatial coverage and spectral data for ocean color and aerosol products for validation of the PACE Ocean Color Instrument (OCI). Coastal influences on oceanic waters can produce high optical complexity for remote sensing especially in dynamic waters in both space and time. Dynamic coastal water features include riverine plumes (sediments and pollution), algal blooms, and kelp beds. Further, coastal California has a range of atmospheric conditions related to fires. We will accomplish validation of PACE products by combined airborne and field instrumentation for Monterey Bay, California.
Water2Coasts
Watersheds, Water Quality, and Coastal Communities in Puerto Rico
Water2Coasts is an interdisciplinary island landscape to coastal ocean assessment with socioeconomic implications. The goal of Water2Coasts is to conduct a multi-scale, interdisciplinary (i.e., hydrologic, remote sensing, and social) study on how coastal waters of east, and south Puerto Rico are affected by watersheds of varying size, land use, and climate regimes, and how these may in turn induce a variety of still poorly understood effects on coastal and marine ecosystems such as coral reefs and seagrass beds.
US Coral Reef Task Force (USCRTF)
The USCRTF was established in 1998 by Presidential Executive Order to lead U.S. efforts to preserve and protect coral reef ecosystems. The USCRTF includes leaders of Federal agencies, U.S. States, territories, commonwealths, and Freely Associated States. The USCRTF helps build partnerships, strategies, and support for on-the-ground action to conserve coral reefs. NASA ARC scientists are members of the Steering Committee, Watershed Working Group, and Disease and Disturbance Working Group, and lead the Climate Change Working Group to assist in the use of NASA remote sensing data and tools for coastal studies, including coral reef ecosystems. Data from new and planned hyperspectral missions will advance research in heavily impacted coastal ecosystems.
CyanoSCape
Cyanobacteria and surface phytoplankton biodiversity of the Cape freshwater systems
The diversity of phytoplankton is also found in freshwater systems. In Southern Africa, land use change and agricultural practices has hindered hydrological processes and compromised freshwater ecosystems. These impacts are compounded by increasingly variable rainfall and temperature fluctuations associated with climate change posing risks to water quality, food security, and aquatic biodiversity and sustainability. The goal of CyanoSCape is to utilize airborne hyperspectral data and field spectral and water sample data to distinguish phytoplankton biodiversity, including the potentially toxic cyanobacteria.
mCDR: Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal
The goals of this effort are to conduct literature review, analysis, and ocean simulation to provide scientifically vetted estimates of the impacts, risks, and benefits of various potential mCDR methods.
Ocean modeling
Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in a changing climate
The goals of this project are to build scientific understanding of the AMOC physics and its implications for biogeochemical cycles and climate, to assess the representation of AMOC in historical global ocean state estimates, and evaluate future needs for AMOC systems in a changing climate.
Elucidating the role of the ocean circulation in changing North Atlantic Ocean nutrients and biological productivity
This project will conduct analysis of NASA’s ECCO-Darwin ocean biogeochemical state estimate and historical satellite ocean color observations in order to understand the underlying causes for the sharp decline in biological productivity observed in the North Atlantic Ocean.
Integrated GEOS and ECCO Earth system modeling and data assimilation to advance seasonal-to-decadal prediction through improved understanding and representation of air-sea interactions
This analysis will build understanding of upper ocean, air-sea interaction, and climate processes by using data from the SWOT mission and ultra-high-resolution GEOS-ECCO simulations.
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Last Updated Sep 17, 2024 Related Terms
General Earth Science Oceans Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics
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By NASA
Credit: NASA NASA has awarded $6 million to 20 teams from emerging research institutions across the United States supporting projects that offer career development opportunities for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students.
This is the third round of seed funding awarded through the agency’s MOSAICS (Mentoring and Opportunities in STEM with Academic Institutions for Community Success) program, formerly the Science Mission Directorate Bridge Program. The program seeks to expand access to NASA research opportunities in the science and engineering disciplines, as well as to NASA’s workforce.
“The STEM workforce continues to grow, and today’s students, studying at a variety of higher-education institutions — community colleges, primarily undergraduate institutions, and minority-serving institutions — are the STEM workforce of tomorrow, who will work to solve some of our biggest challenges at home while answering some of our biggest questions about our universe,” said Padi Boyd, director of MOSAICS at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Exposing today’s students to the incredibly inspiring and cutting-edge discoveries made through NASA’s space science people and resources ensures that these students get the training they need to persist in STEM careers, while fostering enduring collaborations between NASA researchers and faculty at a wide range of institutions.”
NASA’s Science Mission Directorate MOSAICS program funds research projects building relationships between college faculty and researchers at the agency while providing mentorship and training for students in STEM disciplines. The projects support teams at academic institutions that historically have not been part of the agency’s research enterprise — including Hispanic-serving institutions, historically Black colleges and universities, Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institutions, and primarily undergraduate institutions.
The program previously awarded seed funding to 11 teams in February and 13 teams in April. This third cohort brings the total number of projects funded to 44 teams at 36 academic institutions in 21 U.S. states and territories, including Washington and Puerto Rico, in collaboration with seven NASA centers. A new opportunity to apply for seed funding is now open until March 28, 2025.
The following projects were selected as the third cohort to receive seed funding:
“Bridging Fundamental Ice Chemistry Studies and Ocean World Explorations”
Principal investigator: Chris Arumainayagam, Wellesley College, Massachusetts
NASA center: NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Southern California
“Planetary Analog Field Science Experiences for Undergraduates: Advancing Fundamental Research and Testing Field Instrument Operations”
Principal investigator: Alice Baldridge, Saint Mary’s College of California
NASA center: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
“Building an FSU-JPL Partnership to Advance Science Productivity Through Applications of Deep Learning”
Principal investigator: Sambit Bhattacharya, Fayetteville State University, North Carolina
NASA center: NASA JPL
“CSTAT: Establishing Center for Safe and Trustworthy Autonomous Technologies”
Principal investigator: Moitrayee Chatterjee, New Jersey City University
NASA center: NASA Goddard
“Development of Biomechanics Simulation Tool for Muscle Mechanics in Reduced Gravity to Enhance Astronaut Mission Readiness”
Principal investigator: Ji Chen, University of the District of Columbia
NASA center: NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Houston
“NASA Next Level”
Principal investigator: Teresa Ciardi, Santa Clarita Community College District, California
NASA center: NASA JPL
“Controlled Assembly of Amphiphilic Janus Particles in Polymer Matrix for Novel 3D Printing Applications in Space”
Principal investigator: Ubaldo Cordova-Figueroa, Recinto Universitario Mayaguez
NASA center: NASA’s Glenn Research Center, Cleveland
“Development of a Non-Invasive Sweat Biosensor for Traumatic Brain Injury Compatible With In-Space Manufacturing to Monitor the Health of Astronauts”
Principal investigator: Lisandro Cunci, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Pedras
NASA center: NASA’s Ames Research Center, Silicon Valley, California
“Examining Climate Impacts of Cirrus Clouds Through Past, Present, and Future NASA Airborne Campaigns”
Principal investigator: Minghui Diao, San Jose State University Research Foundation, California
NASA center: NASA Ames
“CSUN-JPL Collaboration to Study Ocean Fronts Using Big Data and Open Science Structures in Coastal North America”
Principal investigator: Mario Giraldo, California State University, Northridge
NASA center: NASA JPL
“Accelerating Electric Propulsion Development for Planetary Science Missions With Optical Plasma Diagnostics”
Principal investigator: Nathaniel Hicks, University of Alaska, Anchorage
NASA center: NASA JPL
“Advancing Students Through Research Opportunities in Los Angeles (ASTRO-LA)”
Principal investigator: Margaret Lazzarini, California State University, Los Angeles
NASA center: NASA JPL
“Bridging Toward a More Inclusive Learning Environment Through Gamma-ray Burst Studies With Machine Learning and Citizen Science”
Principal investigator: Amy Lien, University of Tampa, Florida
NASA center: NASA Goddard
“Hampton University STEM Experience With NASA Langley Research Center: Polarimetry for Aerosol Characterization”
Principal investigator: Robert Loughman, Hampton University, Virginia
NASA center: NASA’s Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia
“Aerocapture Analysis and Development for Uranus and Neptune Planetary Missions”
Principal investigator: Ping Lu, San Diego State University
NASA center: NASA Langley
“Pathways from Undergraduate Research to the Habitable Worlds Observatory”
Principal investigator: Ben Ovryn, New York Institute of Technology
NASA center: NASA Goddard
“Point-Diffraction Interferometer for Digital Holography”
Principal investigator: James Scire, New York Institute of Technology
NASA center: NASA Goddard
“From Sunbeams to Career Dreams: Illuminating Pathways for NMSU Students in Solar-Terrestrial Physics in Partnership With NASA GSFC”
Principal investigator: Juie Shetye, New Mexico State University
NASA center: NASA Goddard
“CONNECT-SBG: Collaborative Nexus for Networking, Education, and Career Training in Surface Biology and Geology”
Principal investigator: Gabriela Shirkey, Chapman University, California
NASA center: NASA JPL
“Multiplexed Phytohormone and Nitrate Sensors for Real-Time Analysis of Plant Responses to Pathogenic Stress in Spaceflight-Like Conditions”
Principal investigator: Shawana Tabassum, University of Texas, Tyler
NASA center: NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Learn more about the MOSAICS program at:
https://science.nasa.gov/researchers/smd-bridge-program
-end-
Alise Fisher
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2546
alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Aug 14, 2024 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
MOSAICS Science Mission Directorate View the full article
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By NASA
Credits: NASA NASA announced the recipients of the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) grants, which will support scientific and technical research projects for more than 20 universities and organizations across the United States.
“NASA’s EPSCoR awards are a tool to strengthen research capacity in areas across our nation that have historically been underrepresented in government research,” said Torry Johnson, deputy associate administrator of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Engagement Programs at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “The goal with each award is to provide institutions a long-term and sustainable pathway to participating in the aerospace industry by cultivating competitive research capabilities and fostering strategic relationships with NASA experts.”
The EPSCoR awards will compliment NASA’s research portfolio to benefit future missions. Selected proposals cover a range of science and technology needs including in space manufacturing, heliophysics, astronaut health, and climate research.
The NASA EPSCoR Rapid Response Research grants, funded by the agency’s Office of STEM Engagement, will award approximately $100,000 to each project over the course of a one-year performance period for fiscal year 2024.
The awarded institutions are:
University of Alabama in Huntsville University of Arkansas in Little Rock University of Delaware in Newark Iowa State University in Ames University of Idaho in Moscow University of Kentucky in Lexington Louisiana Board of Regents in Baton Rouge University of Mississippi in University Montana State University in Bozeman University of North Dakota in Grand Forks University of Nebraska in Omaha New Mexico State University in Las Cruces Nevada System of Higher Education in Reno Oklahoma State University in Stillwater Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City West Virginia University in Morgantown University of Wyoming in Laramie NASA establishes partnerships with government, higher education, and industry to create lasting improvements in research infrastructure while enhancing national research and development competitiveness. The program is directed at those jurisdictions that have traditionally been underrepresented in competitive aerospace and aerospace-related research activities.
For more information about NASA STEM, visit:
https://stem.nasa.gov
-end-
Gerelle Dodson
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
gerelle.q.dodson@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Jun 04, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
STEM Engagement at NASA EPSCoR For Colleges & Universities Get Involved Grants & Opportunities Learning Resources View the full article
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By NASA
5 min read
NASA-Funded Science Projects Tuning In to ‘Eclipse Radio’
On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will cross parts of the United States. For millions of people along the path of totality, where the Moon will completely cover the Sun, it may feel like an eerie daytime darkness has descended as temperatures drop and wind patterns change. But these changes are mild compared to what happens some 100 to 400 miles above our heads in an electrically conductive layer of our atmosphere known as the ionosphere, where the “false night” of an eclipse is amplified a hundredfold. Three NASA-funded experiments will investigate the eclipse’s effects on the ionosphere through the power of radio, a technology well suited to studying this enigmatic layer of our atmosphere.
The Aug. 21, 2017, total solar eclipse douses Umatilla National Forest in shadow, darkening the sky and rimming the horizon with a 360 degree sunset. NASA/Mara Johnson-Groh Whether you’ve heard of the ionosphere or not, you’ve likely taken advantage of its existence. This electric blanket of particles is critical for long-distance AM and shortwave radio. Radio operators aim their transmitters into the sky, “bouncing” signals off this layer and around the curvature of Earth to extend their broadcast by hundreds or even thousands of miles.
The ionosphere is sustained by our Sun. The Sun’s rays separate negatively charged electrons from atoms, creating the positively charged ions that the ionosphere is named for. When night falls, over 60 miles of the ionosphere disappears as ions and electrons recombine into neutral atoms. Come dawn, the electrons are freed again and the ionosphere swells in the Sun’s illumination – a daily cycle of “breathing” in and out at a global scale.
A total solar eclipse is a scientific goldmine – a rare chance to observe a natural experiment in action. On April 8 the three NASA-funded projects listed below are among those “tuning in” to the changes wrought by a blotted-out Sun.
SuperDARN
The Super Dual Auroral Radar Network, or SuperDARN, is a collection of radars located at sites around the world. They bounce radio waves off of the ionosphere and analyze the returning signal. Their data reveals changes in the ionosphere’s density, temperature, and location (i.e. movement).
The 2024 eclipse will pass over three U.S.-based SuperDARN radars. A team of scientists led by Bharat Kunduri, a professor at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, have been busy preparing for it.
An aerial view of a SuperDARN radar site outside Hays, Kansas. Credit: Fort Hays State University “The changes in solar radiation that occur during a total solar eclipse can result in a ’thinning’ of the ionosphere,” Kunduri said. “During the eclipse, SuperDARN will operate in special modes designed to monitor the changes in the ionosphere at finer spatiotemporal scales.”
Kunduri’s team will compare SuperDARN’s measurements to predictions from computer models to answer questions about how the ionosphere responds to a solar eclipse.
HamSCI
While some experiments rely on massive radio telescopes, others depend more on people power. The Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation, or HamSCI, is a NASA citizen science project that involves amateur or “ham” radio operators. On April 8, ham radio operators across the country will attempt to send and receive signals to one another before, during, and after the eclipse. Led by Nathaniel Frissell, a professor of Physics and Engineering at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania, HamSCI participants will share their radio data to catalog how the sudden loss of sunlight during totality affects their radio signals.
Students work with Dr. Frissell in the ham radio lab on campus. Simal Sami ’24 (in orange), who is part of Scranton’s Magis Honors Program in STEM; Dr. Frissell; and Veronica Romanek ’23, a physics major. Photo by Byron Maldonado courtesy of The University of Scranton This experiment follows similar efforts completed during the 2017 total solar eclipse and the 2023 annular eclipse.
“During the 2017 eclipse, we found that the ionosphere behaved very similar to nighttime,” Frissell said. Radio signals traveled farther, and frequencies that typically work best at night became usable. Frissell hopes to continue the comparison between eclipses and the day/night cycle, assessing how widespread the changes in the ionosphere are and comparing the results to computer models.
RadioJOVE
Some radio signals don’t bounce off of the ionosphere – instead, they pass right through it. Our Sun is constantly roiling with magnetic eruptions, some of which create radio bursts. These long-wavelength bursts of energy can be detected by radio receivers on Earth. But first they must pass through the ionosphere, whose ever-changing characteristics affect whether and how these signals make it to the receiver.
This radio image of the Sun was made with a radio telescope by astronomer Stephen White (University of Maryland). The radio emission was detected with the Very Large Array radio telescope at a wavelength of 4.6 GHz. The image shows bright regions (red and yellow) of million-degree gas above sunspots. Credit: Courtesy NRAO / AUI / NSF The RadioJOVE project is a team of citizen scientists dedicated to documenting radio signals from space, especially Jupiter. During the total solar eclipse, RadioJOVE participants will focus on the Sun. Using radio antenna kits they set up themselves, they’ll record solar radio bursts before, during, and after the eclipse.
During the 2017 eclipse, some participants recorded a reduced intensity of solar radio bursts. But more observations are needed to draw firm conclusions. “With better training and more observers, we’ll get better coverage to further study radio propagation through the ionosphere,” said Chuck Higgins, a professor at Middle Tennessee State University and founding member of RadioJOVE. “We hope to continue longer-term observations, through the Heliophysics Big Year and beyond.”
Find out more about the April 8, 2024, solar eclipse on NASA’s eclipse page.
By Miles Hatfield
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
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