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By NASA
Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center provides an update on Exploration Park on Feb. 15, 2022, at the ASCENDxTexas conference at South Shore Harbor Resort and Conference Center. Credit: NASA / Josh Valcarcel Nov. 12, 2024
Director Vanessa Wyche of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston will join Texas A&M University leaders and guests Friday, Nov. 15, to break ground for the new Texas A&M University Space Institute.
U.S. media interested in participating in person must contact the NASA Johnson newsroom no later than 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13, by calling 281-483-5111 or emailing: jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov. NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online.
The groundbreaking is planned for 10 a.m. CST Nov. 15, at Johnson Space Center’s Exploration Park. Additional participants will include:
Greg Bonnen, Texas House of Representatives, chairman of House Appropriations Committee William Mahomes, Jr., Board of Regents chairman, Texas A&M University System John Sharp, chancellor Texas A&M University System General (Ret.) Mark Welsh III, president, Texas A&M University Robert H. Bishop, vice chancellor and dean, Texas A&M Engineering Nancy Currie-Gregg, director, Texas A&M University Space Institute Robert Ambrose, associate director for space and robotics initiatives, Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station The institute, funded through a $200 million initial investment from the State of Texas, will support research for civilian, defense and commercial space missions as part of NASA Johnson’s Exploration Park. Key features will include the world’s largest indoor simulation spaces for lunar and Mars surface operations, state-of-the-art high-bay laboratories, and multifunctional project rooms.
The Texas A&M Space Institute is set to open in Summer 2026.
NASA is leasing the 240-acre Exploration Park to create facilities that enable a collaborative development environment, increase commercial access, and enhance the United States’ commercial competitiveness in the space and aerospace industries.
To learn more about NASA Johnson and the Texas A&M University Space Institute, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/nasas-johnson-space-center-hosts-exploration-park
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Kelly Humphries
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
kelly.o.humphries@nasa.gov
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By NASA
Portraits of Mike Kincaid, associate administrator, Office of STEM Engagement (left), and Alexander MacDonald, chief economist (right). NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced Monday Mike Kincaid, associate administrator, Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM), and Alexander MacDonald, chief economist, will retire from the agency.
Following Kincaid’s departure on Nov. 30, Kris Brown, deputy associate administrator for strategy and integration in OSTEM, will serve as acting associate administrator for that office beginning Dec. 1, and after MacDonald’s departure on Dec. 31, research economist Dr. Akhil Rao from NASA’s Office of Technology, Policy and Strategy will serve as acting chief economist.
“I’d like to express my sincere gratitude to Mike Kincaid and Alex MacDonald for their service to NASA and our country,” said Nelson. “Both have been essential members of the NASA team – Mike since his first days as an intern at Johnson Space Center and Alex in his many roles at the agency. I look forward to working with Kris Brown and Dr. Akhil Rao in their acting roles and wish Mike and Alex all the best in retirement.”
As associate administrator of NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement, Kincaid led the agency’s efforts to inspire and engage Artemis Generation students and educators in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). He also chaired NASA’s STEM Board, which assesses the agency’s STEM engagement functions and activities, as well as served as a member of Federal Coordination in STEM, a multiagency committee focused on enhancing STEM education efforts across the federal government. In addition, Kincaid was NASA’s representative on the International Space Education Board, leading global collaboration in space education, sharing best practices, and uniting efforts to foster interest in space, science, and technology among students worldwide.
Having served at NASA for more than 37 years, Kincaid first joined the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston as an intern in 1987, and eventually led organizations at Johnson in various capacities including, director of education, deputy director of human resources, deputy chief financial officer and director of external relations. Kincaid earned a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M and a master’s degree from University of Houston, Clear Lake.
MacDonald served as the first chief economist at NASA. He was previously the senior economic advisor in the Office of the Administrator, as well as the founding program executive of NASA’s Emerging Space Office within the Office of the Chief Technologist. MacDonald has made significant contributions to the development of NASA’s Artemis and Moon to Mars strategies, NASA’s strategy for commercial low Earth orbit development, NASA’s Earth Information Center, and served as the program executive for the International Space Station National Laboratory, leading it through significant leadership changes. He also is the author and editor of several NASA reports, including “Emerging Space: The Evolving Landscape of 21st Century American Spaceflight,” “Public-Private Partnerships for Space Capability Development,” “Economic Development of Low Earth Orbit,” and NASA’s biennial Economic Impact Report.
As chief economist, MacDonald has guided NASA’s economic strategy, including increasing engagement with commercial space companies, and influenced the agency’s understanding of space as an engine of economic growth. MacDonald began his career at NASA’s Ames Research Center in the Mission Design Center, and served at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory as an executive staff specialist on commercial space before moving to NASA Headquarters. MacDonald received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Queen’s University in Canada, his master’s degree in economics from the University of British Columbia, and obtained his doctorate on the long-run economic history of American space exploration from the University of Oxford.
For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov
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Meira Bernstein / Abbey Donaldson
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
meira.b.bernstein@nasa.gov / abbey.a.donaldson@nasa.gov
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By NASA
Learn Home Educator Night at the Museum… Heliophysics Overview Learning Resources Science Activation Teams SME Map Opportunities More Science Activation Stories Citizen Science 2 min read
Educator Night at the Museum of the North: Activating Science in Fairbanks Classrooms
The NASA Heliophysics Education Activation Team (NASA HEAT) set out to activate science in Fairbanks classrooms in early October at the University of Alaska’s Museum of the North annual Educators’ Night. This free Fall semester event introduces educators and school staff to a variety of resources and connections, connecting attendees with resources and university departments that will support their classroom efforts.
In 2024, over 100 guests received support from exhibitors on classroom topics. The museum put several dynamic activity kits on display – Cultural Connections Northern Lights, Energetic Aurora, and Sun Discovery – and helped participants explore and engage with them as supplementary materials for their classroom units and opportunities for hands-on exploration. The museum also promoted an upcoming Spring 2025 teacher workshop focused on the aurora.
The Geophysical Institute’s (GI) Education Outreach Office – another active element of the NASA HEAT team – hosted a table to display some of their co-produced resources, including the Cultural Connections Northern Lights (Kiġuyat) student guides, which blend Iñupiaq culture and aurora borealis science. After directing educators on how to locate physical and digital resources, the GI Education Outreach team encouraged their visitors to wrap the term “heliophysics” into their own vocabulary!
The University of Alaska Museum of the North’s Education & Public Programs team are an impactful part of NASA HEAT, which is part of NASA’s Science Activation portfolio. Learn more about how Science Activation connects NASA science experts, real content, and experiences with community leaders to do science in ways that activate minds and promote deeper understanding of our world and beyond: https://science.nasa.gov/learn
https://www.uaf.edu/museum/education/educators/educators-night
Pulled from their kits and displayed for perusing, the Cultural Connections to Northern Lights kit is ready to be explored. UAF Geophysical Education Outreach staff Kaz Storm (left) and Mariah McNamara (right) introducing educators to curriculum materials co-produced with Alaska Native communities. Share
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Last Updated Oct 24, 2024 Editor NASA Science Editorial Team Related Terms
Grades 5 – 8 for Educators Grades 9-12 for Educators Grades K – 4 for Educators Heliophysics Opportunities For Educators to Get Involved Science Activation Explore More
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By NASA
4 Min Read Lunar Autonomy Mobility Pathfinder Workshop: A NASA Chief Technologist Sponsored Workshop
OVERVIEW
The NASA chief technologist’s team, within the Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy (OTPS), is hosting a Lunar Autonomy Mobility Pathfinder (LAMP) workshop on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, to provide a community forum to discuss modeling and simulation testbeds in this domain. The workshop is in coordination with NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.
With the Artemis campaign, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon, using innovative technologies to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before. Technologies like trusted autonomy are necessary to support these types of sustained operations. Trusted autonomy is a more robust level of autonomy designed for long-term operational use.
The LAMP workshop will be held on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. PST at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) Black Fire Innovation Facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Black Fire Innovation Center Building is located at 8400 W. Sunset Blvd. Las Vegas, NV 89113, approximately 20 minutes from the UNLV main campus.
This workshop has been designed to coincide with the 2024 Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium fall meeting (also taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada).
The OTPS solver-in-residence is the main organizer and facilitator for this workshop.
PROGRAM
The LAMP workshop will provide a forum for a discussion on topics that include:
A modeling and simulation (M&S) pathfinder to explore an integrated sim environment for lunar stakeholders from commercial industry, other U.S. government agencies, international partners and academia, to simulate their systems that would eventually operate in the lunar environment and to test interoperability between systems. How to leverage the planned rover missions to 1) calibrate and improve this M&S environment over time, and 2) potentially use them as autonomy testbeds to safely mature algorithms in a relevant environment. Please RSVP for in-person or virtual attendance by registering at the following site:
https://nasaevents.webex.com/weblink/register/rdf4dd38bc3bf176dc32d147513f7b77c
*Please note registration is on an individual basis. If attending with multiple guests, each guest must register for the event separately.
LAMP Workshop Agenda
(All times listed are in PST and subject to change)
10:00 a.m. – 12:00p.m.Modeling and Simulation (M&S) showcase (In-person only & optional)
This is an opportunity for interested participants to show their lunar simulation capabilities inside of UNLV’s Blackfire Innovation esports arena. Space is limited. Please indicate if you are interested in participating when you register, and we will reach out with additional information. 1:00 –2:00p.m.Challenges to Developing Trusted Autonomy
NASA will discuss the challenges of maturing autonomy that can be trusted to operate over long periods of time and how we can work together to overcome those challenges.2:00 –3:00p.m.Pre-Formulation Discussion of a Lunar Autonomy Mobility Pathfinder Modeling and Simulation Environment
Subject matter experts (SMEs) from NASA will layout thoughts on what a digital transformation pathfinder would look like that benefits lunar autonomy efforts across the globe. 3:00 – 3:15p.m.Break3:15 – 4:15p.m.Lunar Testbeds Discussion
This will be a discussion focused on how assets on the moon could be used as testbeds to generate truth data for Earth-based simulations and to validate that autonomy can be trusted in the lunar environment.4:15 – 5:00p.m.Polling and Discussions
Audience feedback will be solicited on various topics. This will include a pre-formulated series of questions and real time polls. CONTACT
For questions, please email:
Dr. Adam Yingling
2024 OTPS Solver-in-Residence
Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy (OTPS)
NASA Headquarters
Email: adam.j.yingling@nasa.gov
The Solver-in-Residence (SiR) program is a one-year detail position with the chief technologist in NASA’s Office of Technology Policy and Strategy. The program enables a NASA civil servant to propose a one-year investigation on a specific technology challenge and then work to identify solutions to address those challenges.
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Last Updated Oct 10, 2024 EditorBill Keeter Related Terms
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By NASA
Learn Home Science Activation’s PLACES… Earth Science Overview Learning Resources Science Activation Teams SME Map Opportunities More Science Activation Stories Citizen Science 5 min read
Science Activation’s PLACES Team Facilitates Third Professional Learning Institute
The NASA Science Activation program’s Place-Based Learning to Advance Connections, Education, and Stewardship (PLACES) project supports middle and high school educators to engage students in data-rich Earth science learning through the integration of NASA data sets, images, classroom lessons, and other assets. This project draws on a place-based approach as a means to increase “data fluency” — the ability and confidence to make sense of and use data. This means knowing when, how, and why to use data for a specific purpose, such as solving problems and communicating ideas grounded in evidence.
As part of this effort, PLACES facilitated its third Professional Learning (PL) Summer Institute (SI) for 22 educators at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) in Portland, Maine the week of August 12th, 2024. This is the third PL Summer Institute the PLACES team has facilitated, each focusing on engaging educators in place-based, data-rich teaching and learning with NASA data and resources.
The GMRI PL development and facilitation was a collaborative co-design effort between two NASA Science Activation projects (PLACES led by WestEd and the Learning Ecosystems Northeast project led by GMRI) and colleagues from the Concord Consortium and NASA Langley Research Center. During this PL, teachers took part in community science projects developed by GMRI to incorporate youth in ongoing research projects, including a mix of field- and classroom-based experiences that explored the phenomena of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA) and the changes to intertidal crab populations – two invasive species that are proliferating as a result of climate change. During two field-based experiences, teachers gathered primary data using protocols from GMRI’s Ecosystem Investigation Network and the NASA-sponsored program, GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment). Teachers then explored these primary data using Concord Consortium’s Common Online Data Analysis Platform (CODAP) to better understand the geographic and temporal spread of these species. To connect their local experiences to global happenings, teachers then explored secondary data sets, including those sourced from the My NASA Data (MND – also supported by NASA Science Activation as part of the GLOBE Mission Earth project) Earth System Explorer (e.g., Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, salinity, sea surface temperature). The facilitation team also used the MND Data Literacy Cubes to encourage teachers to consider a multitude of diverse questions about place, data, and the phenomena. The GLOBE protocols supplemented existing GMRI data collection protocols, presenting new opportunities for teachers already experienced with HWA and Green Crabs. The MND data and Data Literacy Cubes moved teachers from questions they generated as part of their primary data collection towards new knowledge.
Daily feedback from teachers highlighted their appreciation for the responsiveness of the facilitation team, as well as a growing curiosity and desire for using NASA resources such as protocols from GLOBE and data from MND’s Earth System Explorer. This is exciting to see as the teachers transition from the Summer Institute into a virtual Community of Practice during the school year. The Community of Practice engages them in peer-to-peer collaboration and dialogue as they develop, test, and give feedback on their own place-based, data-rich experiences using NASA data and resources. So far, teachers are planning to tackle a variety of topics ranging from ocean chemistry to human connections to the environment. Teachers indicated their interest in “making place-based experiences meaningful to our unique populations of students and having cultural representation in the classroom,” and focusing on “cross-school collaboration.” Preliminary evaluation data indicated that 76% of teachers thought their experiences with NASA resources during the SI helped them identify ways to bring data into their classroom. 85% of teachers indicated they feel a greater connection to NASA and knowledge of NASA resources for enhancing student understanding and engagement in science. Moving into the fall, teachers will take part in a Community of Practice, where they will work to implement a place-based, data-rich moment in their individual classrooms. In the summer of 2025, teachers will take part in a second summer institute where they will continue to learn more about implementing place-based, data-rich instruction.
The PLACES GMRI Summer Institute was made possible by a large co-design, collaborative effort across our partner organizations. This included:
Facilitation Team: Catherine Bursk (GMRI), Meggie Harvey (GMRI), Sara Salisbury (GMRI), Daniel Damelin (Concord Consortium) In-person Facilitation Support Team: Leigh Peake (GMRI), Karen Lionberger (WestEd), Kristin Hunter-Thomson (Dataspire), Angela Rizzi (NASA Langley) In-Person Team Member Participants: Janet Struble and Kevin Czaikowski (GLOBE, University of Toledo), Svetlana Darche (WestEd) Virtual Observers: Kirsten Daehler, Nicole Wong, Leticia Perez (WestEd), Tracy Ostrom (GLOBE, UC Berkeley), Lori Rubino-Hare (NAU) Additional support: Frieda Reichsman (Concord Consortium), Barbie Buckner and Jessia Taylor (NASA Langley), Sean Ryan (NAU), Lauren Shollenberger (NAU) PLACES is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number 80NSSC22M0005 and is part of NASA’s Science Activation Portfolio. Learn more about how Science Activation connects NASA science experts, real content, and experiences with community leaders to do science in ways that activate minds and promote deeper understanding of our world and beyond: https://science.nasa.gov/learn
Teachers at the GMRI summer institute review NDVI data ranging from 2002 to 2022 and identify patterns and trends. Share
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