Members Can Post Anonymously On This Site
Public Participation in Machine Learning Bolsters Extraterrestrial Research
-
Similar Topics
-
-
By NASA
3 min read
NASA Selects Two Teams to Advance Life Sciences Research in Space
NASA announced two awards Thursday to establish scientific consortia – multi-institutional coalitions to conduct ground-based studies that help address the agency’s goals of maintaining a sustained human presence in space. These consortia will focus on biological systems research in the areas of animal and human models, plants, and microbiology. When fully implemented, the awards for these consortia will total about $5 million.
Space biology efforts at NASA use the unique environment of space to conduct experiments impossible to do on Earth. Such research not only supports the health and welfare of astronauts, but results in breakthroughs on diseases such as cancer and neurodegenerative disorders to help protect humanity down on the ground.
The awards for the two consortia are for the following areas:
Studying space biosphere. The Biology in Space: Establishing Networks for DUrable & REsilient Systems consortium involves a collaborative effort between human/animal, plant, and microbial biologists to ensure an integrated view of the space flight biosphere by enhancing data acquisition, modeling, and testing. It will include participation of more than thirty scientists and professionals working together from at least three institutions. Led by Kristi Morgansen at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. Converting human waste into materials for in-space biomanufacturing. The Integrative Anaerobic Digestion and Phototrophic Biosystem for Sustainable Space Habitats and Life Supports consortium will develop an anaerobic digestion process that converts human waste into organic acids and materials that can be used for downstream biomanufacturing applications in space. It will include eight scientists from six different institutions in three different states, including Delaware and Florida. The consortium is led by Yinjie Tang at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Proposals for these consortia were submitted in response to ROSES 2024 Program Element E.11 Consortium in Biological Sciences for a consortium with biological sciences expertise to carry out research investigations and conduct activities that address NASA’s established interests in space life sciences.
NASA’s Space Biology Program within the agency’s Biological and Physical Sciences division conducts research across a wide spectrum of biological organization and model systems to probe underlying mechanisms by which organisms acclimate to stressors encountered during space exploration (including microgravity, ionizing radiation, and elevated concentrations of carbon dioxide). This research informs how biological systems regulate and sustain growth, metabolism, reproduction, and development in space and how they repair damage and protect themselves from infection and disease.
For more information about NASA’s fundamental space-based research, visit https://science.nasa.gov/biological-physical
Share
Details
Last Updated Oct 17, 2024 Contact NASA Science Editorial Team Location NASA Headquarters Related Terms
Biological & Physical Sciences For Researchers Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) Science & Research View the full article
-
By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA pilot Nils Larson, and flight test engineer and pilot Wayne Ringelberg, head for a mission debrief after flying a NASA F/A-18 at Mach 1.38 to create sonic booms as part of the Sonic Booms in Atmospheric Turbulence flight series at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, to study sonic boom signatures with and without the element of atmospheric turbulence.NASA/Lauren Hughes NASA research pilots are experts on how to achieve the right flight-test conditions for experiments and the tools needed for successful missions. It is that expertise that enables pilots to help researchers learn how an aircraft can fly their technology innovations and save time and money, while increasing the innovation’s readiness for use.
NASA pilots detailed how they help researchers find the right fit for experiments that might not advance without proving that they work in flight as they do in modeling, simulation, and ground tests at the Ideas to Flight Workshop on Sept. 18 at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. “Start the conversation early and make sure you have the right people in the conversation,” said Tim Krall, a NASA Armstrong flight operations engineer. “What we are doing better is making sure pilots are included earlier in a flight project to capitalize on their experience and knowledge.”
Flight research is often used to prove or refine computer models, try out new systems, or increase a technology’s readiness. Sometimes, pilots guide a research project involving experimental aircraft. For example, pilots play a pivotal role on the X-59 aircraft, which will fly faster than the speed of sound while generating a quiet thump, rather than a loud boom. In the future, NASA’s pilots with fly the X-59 over select U.S. communities to gather data about how people on the ground perceive sonic thumps. NASA will provide this information to regulators to potentially change regulations that currently prohibit commercial supersonic flight over land.
Mark Russell, center, a research pilot at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, explains the differences in flight environments at different NASA centers. Jim Less, a NASA pilot at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, left, Russell, and Nils Larson, NASA Armstrong chief X-59 aircraft pilot and senior advisor on flight research, provided perspective on flight research at the Ideas to Flight Workshop on Sept. 18 at NASA Armstrong.NASA/Genaro Vavuris “We have been involved with X-59 aircraft requirements and design process from before it was an X-plane,” said Nils Larson, NASA chief X-59 aircraft pilot and senior advisor on flight research. “I was part of pre-formulation and formulation teams. I was also on the research studies and brought in NASA pilot Jim Less in for a second opinion. Because we had flown missions in the F-15 and F-18, we knew the kinds of systems, like autopilots, that we need to get the repeatability and accuracy for the data.”
NASA pilots’ experience can provide guidance to enable a wide range of flight experiments. A lot of times researchers have an idea of how to get the required flight data, but sometimes, Larson explains, while there are limits to what an aircraft can do – like flying the DC-8 upside down, there are maneuvers that given the right mitigations, training, and approval could simulate those conditions.
Less says he’s developed an approach to help focus researchers: “What do you guys really need? A lot of what we do is mundane, but anytime you go out and fly, there is some risk. We don’t want to take a risk if we are going after data that nobody needs, or it is not going to serve a purpose, or the quality won’t work.”
Justin Hall, left, attaches the Preliminary Research Aerodynamic Design to Land on Mars, or Prandtl-M, glider onto the Carbon-Z Cub, which Justin Link steadies. Hall and Link are part of a team from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, that uses an experimental magnetic release mechanism to air launch the glider.NASA/Lauren Hughes Sometimes, a remotely piloted aircraft can provide an advantage to achieve NASA’s research priorities, said Justin Hall, NASA Armstrong’s subscale aircraft laboratory chief pilot. “We can do things quicker, at a lower cost, and the subscale lab offers unique opportunities. Sometimes an engineer comes in with an idea and we can help design and integrate experiments, or we can even build an aircraft and pilot it.”
Most research flights are straight and level like driving a car on the highway. But there are exceptions. “The more interesting flights require a maneuver to get the data the researcher is looking for,” Less said. “We mounted a pod to an F/A-18 with the landing radar that was going to Mars and they wanted to simulate Martian reentry using the airplane. We went up high and dove straight at the ground.”
Another F/A-18 experiment tested the flight control software for the Space Launch System rocket for the Artemis missions. “A rocket takes off vertically and it has to pitch over 90 degrees,” Less explained. “We can’t quite do that in an F-18, but we could start at about a 45-degree angle and then push 45 degrees nose low to simulate the whole turn. That’s one of the fun parts of the job, trying to figure out how to get the data you want with the tools we have.”
NASA pilot Jim Less is assisted by life support as he is fitted with a pilot breathing monitoring system. The sensing system is attached to a pilot’s existing gear to capture real-time physiological, breathing gas, and cockpit environmental data.NASA/Carla Thomas Share
Details
Last Updated Oct 16, 2024 EditorDede DiniusContactJay Levinejay.levine-1@nasa.govLocationArmstrong Flight Research Center Related Terms
Armstrong Flight Research Center Aeronautics Aeronautics Research Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate Quesst (X-59) Technology Research Explore More
3 min read Sacrifice and Success: NASA Engineer Honors Family Roots
Article 2 hours ago 4 min read Sacrificio y Éxito: Ingeniero de la NASA honra sus orígenes familiares
Article 2 hours ago 3 min read NASA Spotlight: Felipe Valdez, an Inspiring Engineer
Article 3 days ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
Armstrong Flight Research Center
Armstrong Capabilities & Facilities
NASA Aircraft
Armstrong Technologies
View the full article
-
By NASA
Credit: NASA NASA has selected Metis Technology Solutions Inc. of Albuquerque, New Mexico, to provide engineering services as well as develop and maintain software and hardware used to conduct simulations for aerospace research and development across the agency.
The Aerospace Research, Technology, and Simulations (ARTS) contract is a hybrid cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price contract with an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity component and has a maximum potential value of $177 million. The performance period begins Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, with a one-year base period, and options to extend performance through November 2029.
Under this contract, the company will support the preparation, development, operation, and maintenance of future and existing simulators, integration laboratories, aircraft research systems, simulation work areas, and aircraft research systems. The scope of work also will include the development, testing, and validation of advanced air traffic management automation tools, including, but not limited to, advanced concepts for aviation ecosystems. Work will primarily be performed at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley and NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, as well as other agency or government locations, as needed.
For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov
-end-
Tiernan Doyle
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
tiernan.doyle@nasa.gov
Rachel Hoover
Ames Research Center, Silicon Valley, Calif.
650-604-4789
rachel.hoover@nasa.gov
Share
Details
Last Updated Oct 10, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Ames Research Center Langley Research Center NASA Centers & Facilities NASA Headquarters View the full article
-
By NASA
Learn Home Connected Learning Ecosystems:… Earth Science Overview Learning Resources Science Activation Teams SME Map Opportunities More Science Activation Stories Citizen Science 3 min read
Connected Learning Ecosystems: Educators Learning and Growing Together
On August 19-20, 53 educators from a diverse set of learning contexts (libraries, K-12 classrooms, 4-H afterschool clubs, outdoor education centers, and more) gathered in Orono, Maine for the Learning Ecosystems Northeast (LENE) biannual Connect, Reflect, & Plan Connected Learning Ecosystems (CLEs) Gathering. These gatherings are meant to foster meaningful connections and collaborations and shared knowledge and confidence building amongst educators within the LENE network.
NASA Science Activation’s Learning Ecosystems Northeast (LENE) is a network of education partners across the Northeastern United States, led by the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. These partners are dedicated to creating and linking communities of in and out of school educators, Connected Learning Ecosystems (CLEs), who are committed to empowering the next generation of climate stewards.
The focus of this gathering was to provide educators the time, experiences, connections, and space to explore ways they can prepare the youth and communities they work with to build resilience in the face of climate change. Educators participated in sessions around local asset mapping, climate mental health, positive youth development, building STEM skills through games and fieldwork, and planning forward around coastal flooding and sea level rise. Each session was followed by time to debrief, reflect, and plan both in their regional CLEs as well as with statewide partners. The value of NASA assets and connection to local issues was woven throughout many experiences during this gathering. LENE’s CLE Resource Drive has a growing list of phenomena-based NASA assets that has been curated based on the interests of their network over time. The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program’s GLOBE Observer tree height app was part of the Ash Protection community science protocol and many NASA assets enhance the educator-guided planning forward experience guide that youth practice the difficult, real-life conversations about the
consequences of sea level rise as they think about ways they can plan for a resilient future in the face of rising seas and coastal flooding.
Sara King from the Rural Aspirations Project (Hancock/Midcoast CLE) had this to say: “Before I first joined the CLE, I viewed STEM professionals to be separate from myself for the most part because I did not feel very confident in my abilities in all parts of STEM. I feel more comfortable with data and technology, engineering, and science practices now.”
One educator said that their highlight from the gathering was, “[o]pportunities to meet with other teachers and educators and librarians to share ideas about how we can pool our resources and reach more students.” These educators left with draft learning projects ready for refinement and review, renewed dedication and motivation for the school year, and new perspectives to lead them into continued conversations and partnership with their CLE peers as they meet throughout the year.
Learn more about Learning Ecosystem Northeast’s efforts to empower the next generation of environmental stewards at https://www.learningecosystemsnortheast.org. The Learning Ecosystems Northeast project is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number NNX16AB94A 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
The August 2024 Connect, Reflect & Plan Connected Learning Ecosystem Gathering crew (educators and project partners from across Maine and even one California partner). Share
Details
Last Updated Oct 08, 2024 Editor NASA Science Editorial Team Related Terms
Earth Science Opportunities For Educators to Get Involved Science Activation Explore More
3 min read GLOBE Eclipse and Civil Air Patrol: An Astronomical Collaboration
Article
1 day ago
5 min read Science Activation’s PLACES Team Facilitates Third Professional Learning Institute
Article
4 days ago
2 min read Culturally Inclusive Planetary Engagement in Colorado
Article
5 days ago
Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
James Webb Space Telescope
Webb is the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It studies every phase in the…
Perseverance Rover
This rover and its aerial sidekick were assigned to study the geology of Mars and seek signs of ancient microbial…
Parker Solar Probe
On a mission to “touch the Sun,” NASA’s Parker Solar Probe became the first spacecraft to fly through the corona…
Juno
NASA’s Juno spacecraft entered orbit around Jupiter in 2016, the first explorer to peer below the planet’s dense clouds to…
View the full article
-
-
Check out these Videos
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.