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By NASA
Credit: NASA NASA has selected eight companies for a new award to help acquire Earth observation data and provide related services for the agency.
The Commercial SmallSat Data Acquisition Program On-Ramp1 Multiple Award contract is a firm-fixed-price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple-award contract with a maximum value of $476 million, cumulatively amongst all the selected contractors, and a performance period through Nov. 15, 2028.
The selectees are:
BlackSky Geospatial Solutions, Inc. in Herndon, Virginia ICEYE US Inc. in Irvine, California MDA Geospatial Service Inc. in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada Pixxel Space Technologies, Inc in El Segundo, California Planet Labs Federal, Inc. in Arlington, Virginia Satellogic Federal, LLC in Davidson, North Carolina Teledyne Brown Engineering, Inc. in Huntsville, Alabama The Tomorrow Companies Inc. in Boston Under the contract, the recipients will be responsible for acquiring observation data from commercial sources that support NASA’s Earth science research and application activities that help improve life on the planet. The goal of the awards is to give NASA a cost-effective way to augment or complement the Earth observations acquired by the agency and other U.S. government and international agencies for the benefit of all.
For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov
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Tiernan Doyle
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
tiernan.doyle@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Sep 06, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
SmallSats Program Earth Earth Observatory NASA Headquarters Planetary Science Division Science Mission Directorate View the full article
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By NASA
Learn Home NASA Earth Science Education… Earth Science Overview Learning Resources Science Activation Teams SME Map Opportunities More Science Stories Science Activation Highlights Citizen Science 2 min read
NASA Earth Science Education Collaborative Member Co-Authors Award-Winning Paper in Insects
On August 13, 2024, the publishers of the journal Insects notified authors of three papers selected to receive “Insects 2022 Best Paper Award” for research and review articles published in Insects from January 1 to December 31, 2022.
One of the winning papers was co-authored by Russanne Low, PhD, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES). Low is a member of the NASA Earth Science Education Collaborative (NESEC), a NASA Science Activation project, and science lead for the Global Learning & Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Mosquito Habitat Mapper.
The paper – Integrating global citizen science platforms to enable next-generation surveillance of invasive and vector mosquitoes – was published as part of a special issue of Insects on Citizen Science Approaches to Vector Surveillance. It is in the top 5% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric, which is a high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. The scoring algorithm takes various factors into account, such as the relative reach of the different sources of attention. The paper has been cited 23 times.
Papers were selected by the journal’s Award Committee according to the following criteria:
– Scientific merit and broad impact;
– Originality of the research objectives and/or the ideas presented;
– Creativity of the study design or uniqueness of the approaches and concepts;
– Clarity of presentation;
– Citations and downloads.
Each winner of the best paper award will receive CHF 500 and a chance to publish a paper free of charge in Insects in 2024 after peer review.
The paper is a result of a collaboration by IGES with University of South Florida, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, and iNaturalist.
Following is the full citation: Ryan M. Carney, Connor Mapes, Russanne D. Low, Alex Long, Anne Bowser, David Durieux, Karlene Rivera, Berj Dekramanjian, Frederic Bartumeus, Daniel Guerrero, Carrie E. Seltzer, Farhat Azam, Sriram Chellappan, John R. B. Palmer.Role of Insects in Human Society Citizen Science Approaches to Vector Surveillance. Insects 2022, 13(8), 675; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects13080675 – 27 Jul 2022
NESEC is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number NNX16AE28A 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
Screenshot of the Global Mosquito Observations interactive dashboard that combines various types of observations from data streams into an interoperable visualization. Each color-coded dot represents a citizen scientist’s observation and can be clicked to access the associated photos and data. Share
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Last Updated Sep 03, 2024 Editor NASA Science Editorial Team Related Terms
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By NASA
Earlier this month, nine small businesses received 2023 NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Ignite Phase II awards to further develop technologies that may be used in the agency’s missions and in the commercial space industry.
The SBIR Ignite Phase II awardees, who will receive up to $850,000 to fund their projects, are developing technology capabilities in the detection of wildfires, support for water management in agriculture, in-space debris detection, mineral mining from lunar regolith, in-space production, and more. These capabilities are vital to supporting deep space exploration, low Earth orbit missions, and preserving life on our home planet for the benefit of all. The businesses initially were selected for Phase I awards in 2023 and provided six months and up to $150,000 to prove their concepts before competing for Phase II.
“We want to support innovators across the aerospace industry because their technologies have the potential to make a big impact in the commercial market. A rich and diverse marketplace creates more opportunity for us all. These Phase II awards illuminate a clear path for a unique range of technologies that we believe will positively influence the lives of all Americans.”
Jason L. Kessler
NASA SBIR/STTR Program Executive
The SBIR Ignite pilot initiative supports product-driven small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs that have commercialization at the forefront of their innovation strategies and processes but that are not targeting NASA as a primary customer. The pilot initiative provides funding and other support to mitigate risk in technologies that have strong commercial potential by offering lower barriers to entry, a streamlined review and selection process, and accelerated technology development and awards as compared to the NASA SBIR program’s main solicitation. It also focuses on helping make participating companies more appealing to investors, customers, and partners, while fulfilling SBIR’s mission of increasing commercialization of innovations derived from federal research and development.
While the agency’s main Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer solicitations focus on technologies with potential for infusion in both NASA missions and commercialization in the marketplace, the SBIR Ignite opportunity is less prescriptive and focuses on topics that are relevant to emerging commercial markets in aerospace, such as accelerating in-space production applications in low Earth orbit.
The awarded companies are:
Astral Forge, LLC, Palo Alto, California Astrobotic Technology Inc., Pittsburgh Benchmark Space Systems, Burlington, Vermont Brayton Energy, LLC, Hampton, New Hampshire Channel-Logistics LLC dba Space-Eyes, Miami GeoVisual Analytics, Westminster, Colorado Space Lab Technologies, LLC, Boulder, Colorado Space Tango, Lexington, Kentucky VerdeGo Aero, De Leon Springs, Florida
The third year of NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Ignite is underway, as the 2024 SBIR Ignite Phase I solicitation closed on July 30, 2024. Those selections are expected to be announced Fall 2024.
NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer program is part of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate and is managed by NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley.
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By NASA
On Aug. 27, 1984, President Ronald W. Reagan announced the Teacher in Space project as part of NASA’s Space Flight Participant Program to expand the space shuttle experience to a wider set of private citizens who would communicate the experience to the public. From 11,000 teacher applicants, each of the 50 states and territories selected two nominees for a total of 114. After meeting with each candidate, a review panel narrowed the field down to 10 finalists. These 10 underwent interviews and medical examinations. A senior review panel recommended S. Christa McAuliffe as the prime Teacher in Space to fly with the STS-51L crew, with Barbara R. Morgan as her backup. Tragically, the Jan. 28, 1986, Challenger accident prevented McAuliffe from realizing her dreams of teaching from space.
Left: President Ronald W. Reagan announces the Teacher in Space project in 1984.Middle: NASA Administrator James M. Beggs. Right: Official emblem of the Teacher in Space project.
During a ceremony at the Department of Education recognizing outstanding public secondary schools, President Reagan announced the Teacher in Space project, saying,
It’s long been a goal of our space shuttle to someday carry private citizens in space. Until now, we hadn’t decided who the first citizen passenger would be. But today, I’m directing NASA to begin a search in all of our elementary and secondary schools, and to choose as the first citizen passenger in the history of our space program, one of America’s finest – a teacher. When that shuttle takes off, all of America will be reminded of the crucial role that teachers and education play in the life of our nation.
Later that day, NASA Administrator James M. Beggs held a news conference at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., and provided more details, saying that although a teacher would lead off the Space Flight Participant Program, future selections would include journalists, poets, and artists. NASA released an Announcement of Opportunity on Nov. 8 detailing the requirements for teacher applicants and setting the target launch date of early 1986. From the approximately 11,000 applications received by the Feb. 1, 1985, deadline, the Council of Chief State School Officers coordinated the selection process, working with state, territorial, and agency review panels. On May 3, they announced the 114 nominees, two from each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Departments of Defense and State overseas schools, and Bureau of Indian Affairs schools. The nominees attended a workshop in Washington, D.C., June 22-27 focused on space education, because even those not selected planned to serve as space ambassadors for NASA. Each nominee met with the National Review Panel that selected the 10 finalists, announced on July 1.
Left: The 10 Teacher in Space finalists during their visit to NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston in July 1985. Middle: As part of their orientation, the 10 finalists toured JSC’s space shuttle mockups. Right: The 10 finalists experienced brief periods of weightlessness aboard NASA’s KC-135 aircraft.
The 10 finalists spent the week of July 7 at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston. During the week, the finalists underwent medical and psychological examinations, toured JSC’s facilities, and experienced episodes of weightlessness on the KC-135 aircraft. Following a brief stop at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, the finalists spent July 15-17 in Washington, D.C., undergoing a series of interviews with the NASA Space Flight Participant Committee, who recommended the Teacher in Space candidate and a backup to NASA Administrator Beggs.
Left: Vice President George H.W. Bush announces the prime, S. Christa McAuliffe, and backup, Barbara R. Morgan, Teacher in Space candidates. Right: McAuliffe addresses the assembled crowd.
On July 19, the 10 finalists assembled in the Roosevelt Room at the White House. Following Administrator Beggs’ introductory remarks, Vice President George H.W. Bush announced the Teacher in Space winners – S. Christa McAuliffe, a high school social studies teacher from Concord, New Hampshire, and her backup, Barbara R. Morgan, a second-grade teacher from McCall, Idaho. The other eight finalists continued to participate in the project by helping to develop McAuliffe’s lesson plans.
Left: Barbara R. Morgan, second from left, and S. Christa McAuliffe, fourth from left, meet the STS-51L crew at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Middle: McAuliffe, left, and Morgan get their first taste of space food. Right: Morgan, left, and McAuliffe receive a briefing on the space shuttle galley.
McAuliffe and Morgan reported to JSC on Sept. 9, 1985, to begin training for their space shuttle mission. Assigned to STS-51L scheduled for January 1986, they met their fellow crewmates Commander Francis R. “Dick” Scobee, Pilot Michael J. Smith, and Mission Specialists Ellison S. Onizuka, Judith A. Resnik, and Ronald E. McNair. Gregory B. Jarvis, a Hughes Aircraft engineer, joined the crew as a second payload specialist in October. Their first week, McAuliffe and Morgan received basic orientation, including fitting for their flight suits and tasting space food. For the next four months, they trained with the rest of the crew on shuttle systems, emergency evacuation drills, and completed flights aboard T-38 jets and the KC-135 weightless aircraft.
Left: The STS-51L crew receives a briefing on crew escape procedures. Middle: The STS-51L crew receives a briefing on water evacuation. Right: Barbara R. Morgan, left, and S. Christa McAuliffe pose in front of the space shuttle crew compartment trainer.
Left: At Houston’s Ellington Air Force Base, Barbara R. Morgan, Michael J. Smith, a photographer, S. Christa McAuliffe, and Francis R. “Dick” Scobee walk onto the tarmac toward T-38 jet trainers. Right: McAuliffe in the backseat of a T-38 prior to takeoff.
Left: Teacher in Space designee S. Christa McAuliffe in the backseat of a T-38 jet trainer during a right turn, with part of Galveston Island visible at left. Right: Michael J. Smith, left, Barbara R. Morgan, McAuliffe, and Francis R. “Dick” Scobee following training flights aboard T-38 jets.
Left: Backup Teacher in Space Barbara R. Morgan, left, prime Teacher in Space S. Christa McAuliffe, Payload Specialist Gregory B. Jarvis, and Mission Specialist Ronald E. McNair in the middeck of the Shuttle Mission Simulator. Right: Teacher in Space McAuliffe, second from left, and her backup Morgan, get a taste of weightlessness aboard NASA’s KC-135, along with STS-61C Payload Specialist Congressman C. William “Bill” Nelson, now serving as NASA’s 14th administrator.
Training aboard the KC-135 for Teacher in Space demonstrations. Left: Hydroponics in Microgravity. Middle left: Molecular Mixing Experiment. Middle right: Magnetic Effects. Right: Leapfrog in Microgravity – not an actual experiment.
During her flight, McAuliffe planned to conduct two live lessons from space and record film for six demonstrations. The first lesson, “The Ultimate Field Trip,” sought to allow students to compare daily life aboard the shuttle versus on Earth. The second lesson, “Where We’ve Been, Where We’re Going, Why?” would explain the reasons for exploring space and making use of its unique environment for manufacturing certain products. The six filmed demonstrations included topics such as magnetism, Newton’s Laws, effervescence, simple machines and tools, hydroponics, and chromatographic separation, and how each of these behaves in weightlessness. Since McAuliffe could not complete these activities, many years later astronauts aboard the space station completed her mission by filming the demonstrations and preparing classroom lessons.
Left: At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Teacher in Space S. Christa McAuliffe watches the launch of space shuttle Challenger on the STS-61A Spacelab D1 mission. Middle: The STS-51L crew answer reporters’ questions following the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT). Right: During the TCDT, the crew practices emergency evacuation procedures.
To prepare for the upcoming launch, McAuliffe and Morgan traveled to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida to witness the liftoff of the STS-61A Spacelab D1 mission, the last flight of space shuttle Challenger before STS-51L, on Oct. 30. The entire STS-51L crew returned to Florida for the Jan. 8, 1986, Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT), essentially a dress rehearsal for the actual countdown to launch, planned for two weeks later. As part of the TCDT, the astronauts practiced evacuations drills from the shuttle in case of a fire or other emergency. After the test, they returned to Houston to complete last-minute training.
Left: The STS-51L crew arrives at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida a few days before launch. Middle: The STS-51L crew at the traditional prelaunch breakfast. Right: The STS-51L astronauts leave crew quarters on their way to Launch Pad 39B.
On Jan. 23, the STS-51L crew arrived at KSC for the launch set for Jan. 26. Bad weather caused a one-day delay, and the crew suited up, rode out to the pad, and boarded Challenger. A problem closing the hatch followed by poor weather caused a scrub of the launch attempt. On Jan. 28, the crew went back out to the pad in unusually cold weather for Florida and took their places aboard Challenger. This time, the launch took place on time.
Left: The official photograph of the STS-51L crew. Right: The STS-51L crew patch, with an apple representing S. Christa McAuliffe and the Teacher in Space project.
Following the Challenger accident, the Teacher in Space project remained active for a time as NASA reevaluated the entire Space Flight Participant Program. Morgan assumed the role of Teacher in Space designee for a few months, returning to Idaho in the fall of 1986 to resume her teaching duties, yet maintained her contact with NASA. In 1990, NASA canceled the Teacher in Space project.
Left: Official portrait of Barbara R. Morgan following her selection as a NASA astronaut in 1998. Middle: In 2004, NASA selected Educator Astronauts Dorothy “Dottie” M. Metcalf-Lindenburger, left, Richard “Ricky” R. Arnold, and Joseph “Joe” M. Acaba as members of the Group 19 astronauts. Right: Emblem of the Year of Education on Station.
In 1998, NASA invited Morgan to join the next astronaut selection group, not as a teacher but as a full-fledged mission specialist, eligible for multiple flights. That same year, NASA initiated its Educator Astronaut program, in which the agency selected qualified teachers as full-time astronauts instead of payload specialists. Morgan reported for training with the rest of the Group 17 astronauts in August 1998. In 2002, NASA assigned her to the STS-118 space station assembly mission that, following delays caused by the Columbia accident, flew in August 2007 aboard Endeavour, Challenger’s replacement. In 2004, NASA selected its first Educator Astronauts as part of Group 19 – Joseph “Joe” M. Acaba, Richard R. “Rickey” Arnold, and Dorothy “Dottie” M. Metcalf-Lindenburger. Metcalf-Lindenburger flew as a mission specialist aboard the STS-131 space station assembly flight in April 2010. Acaba and Arnold flew together on STS-119 in March 2009. Acaba went on to spend 125 days aboard the space station as an Expedition 31 and 32 flight engineer between May and September 2012, and another 168 days during Expedition 53 and 54 between September 2017 and February 2018. He has served as chief of the astronaut office since February 2023. Arnold made his second flight as a flight engineer during Expedition 55 and 56 from March to October 2018. Between their nearly back-to-back missions, Acaba and Arnold spent the 2017-18 school year aboard the space station for A Year of Education on Station. As a tribute to McAuliffe and her legacy, they completed her mission, filming her demonstrations and developing corresponding lessons for classrooms.
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By Space Force
SpaceWERX Director Arthur Grijalva made the announcement at the conclusion of the panel titled SpaceWERX STRATFI Successes and Selections, at Capital Factory, the home of AFWERX’s Austin hub.
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