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Aeolus control team wraps up successful reentry operations
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By European Space Agency
The two new Galileo satellites launched in April have entered service, completing the second of three constellation planes. With every addition to the constellation, the precision, availability and robustness of the Galileo signal is improved. The next launch is planned in the coming weeks and the remaining six Galileo First Generation satellites will join the constellation in the next years.
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By Space Force
Scheduled for next year, Schriever Wargame 2025 is a multi-national exercise designed to explore critical space issues and advance space support within terrestrial military operations, with a focus on deterring and defending against adversaries in an increasingly congested space environment.
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By Space Force
Scheduled for next year, Schriever Wargame 2025 is a multi-national exercise designed to explore critical space issues and advance space support within terrestrial military operations, with a focus on deterring and defending against adversaries in an increasingly congested space environment.
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By NASA
Mars: Perseverance (Mars 2020) Perseverance Home Mission Overview Rover Components Mars Rock Samples Where is Perseverance? Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Mission Updates Science Overview Objectives Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Perseverance Raw Images Images Videos Audio More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions The Solar System The Sun Mercury Venus Earth The Moon Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto & Dwarf Planets Asteroids, Comets & Meteors The Kuiper Belt The Oort Cloud 3 min read
Behind the Scenes at the 2024 Mars 2020 Science Team Meeting
The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Science Team meets in person and online during the July 2024 team meeting in Pasadena, CA. Credits: R. Hogg and J. Maki. The Mars 2020 Science Team meets in Pasadena for 3 days of science synthesis
It has become a fun tradition for me to write a summary of our yearly in-person Science Team Meetings (2022 meeting and 2023 meeting). I’ve been particularly looking forward to this year’s update given the recent excitement on the team and in the public about Perseverance’s discovery of a potential biosignature, a feature that may have a biological origin but needs more data or further study before reaching a conclusion about the absence or presence of life.
This past July, ~160 members of the Mars 2020 Science Team met in-person in Pasadena—with another ~50 team members dialed in on-line—for three days of presentations, meetings, and team discussion. For a team that spends most of the year working remotely from around the world, we make the most of these rare opportunities for in-person discussion and synthesis of the rover’s latest science results.
We spent time discussing Perseverance’s most recent science campaign in the Margin unit, an exposure of carbonate-bearing rocks that occurs along the inner rim of Jezero crater. As part of an effort to synthesize what we’ve learned about the Margin unit over the past year, we heard presentations describing surface and subsurface observations collected from the rover’s entire payload. This was followed by a thought-provoking series of presentations that tackled the three hypotheses we’re carrying for the origin of this unit: sedimentary, volcanic (pyroclastic), or crystalline igneous.
Some of our liveliest discussion occurred during presentations about Neretva Vallis, Jezero’s inlet valley that once fed the sedimentary fan and lake system within the crater. Data from the RIMFAX instrument took center stage as we debated the origin and age relationship of the Bright Angel outcrop to other units we’ve studied in the crater.
This context is especially important because the Bright Angel outcrop is home to the Cheyava Falls rock, which contains intriguing features we’ve been calling “leopard spots,” small white spots with dark rims observed in red bedrock of Bright Angel. On the last day of the team meeting, data from our recent “Apollo Temple” abrasion at Cheyava Falls was just starting to arrive on Earth, and team members from the PIXL and SHERLOC teams were huddled in the hallway and at the back of the conference room trying to digest these new results in real time. We had special “pop-up” presentations during which SHERLOC reported compelling evidence for organics in the new abrasion, and PIXL showed interesting new data about the light-toned veins that crosscut this rock.
Between debates about the Margin unit, updates on recently published studies of the Jezero sedimentary fan sequence, and discussion of the newest rocks at Bright Angel, this team meeting was one of our most exciting yet. It also marked an important transition for the Mars 2020 science mission as we prepare to ascend the Jezero crater rim, leaving behind—at least for now—the rocks inside the crater. I can only imagine the interesting new discoveries we’ll make during the upcoming year, and I can’t wait to report back next summer!
Written by Katie Stack Morgan, Mars 2020 Deputy Project Scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
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By NASA
For every NASA astronaut who serves as a public face of human spaceflight, there are thousands of people working behind the scenes to make the agency’s missions a success. Even the smallest tasks impact NASA’s ability to explore and innovate for the benefit of humanity.
The team of administrative assistants and secretaries who work at the Johnson Space Center in Houston are acutely aware of this fact.
Whether they are coordinating meetings, arranging travel, or preparing materials and information for Johnson’s leaders, this team of over 90 individuals takes pride in providing critical support for the agency’s programs and managers. “We work hand-in-hand with management to get them where they need to go and ensure they have what they need to continue doing their important work,” said Carla Burnett, an executive assistant in the Center Director’s Office who is also the lead for all of Johnson’s administrative staff.
Carla Burnett participates in NASA’s celebration of the 60th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s historic Moon speech, held at Rice Stadium in Houston on Sept. 12, 2022. Image courtesy of Carla Burnett Burnett has turned her long-standing passion for administrative work into a 41-year career at Johnson. She was just a youngster when she started working in the Astronaut Office mailroom – an opportunity that came through her high school’s Office Education Program. “Being a meek and mild high school student, sitting there with the astronauts, going through all of their fan mail – I was in awe! It was an absolute honor,” she said. That experience and earning recognition as her high school’s Office Education Student of the Year confirmed for Burnett that administrative work was the right career path for her. She said that fidelity and perseverance launched her from the Astronaut Office mailroom to a position as a crew secretary for two space shuttle flights. “Being a servant and helping others is what I really love about administrative work,” she said.
Today, Burnett supports Johnson’s senior executives and serves as a central resource for the rest of the administrative team. “They are all very self-sufficient and work within their own organizations,” she explained, but she may coordinate team-wide meetings, celebrations, or trainings, and she is always available to help answer questions. “We work consistently as a cohesive team. We are knowledgeable and, may I add, exceptional at what we do because we do it for the benefit and success of our Johnson family, NASA, and a plethora of communities!”
Burnett’s dedication to service is reflected across the administrative team, as is a commitment to caring for others. Edwina Gaines, administrative assistant for the Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program, said that being an instrument of team success and the opportunity to build long-lasting friendships are the most rewarding parts of her job. “That connection to people is important,” she said. “It’s important for me to know who I’m supporting or working with.”
Edwina Gaines snaps a selfie during a professional development event for administrative professionals in 2023. Gaines joined the Johnson team as a contractor nearly 20 years ago thanks to an opportunity that arose from her volunteer work at church. A church partner, the Houston Area Urban League, was helping a NASA subcontractor fill a secretarial position through the Small Business Administration’s HUBZone Program. Gaines got the job.
Since then, she has supported four programs and two institutional organizations, getting to know several agency leaders quite well. Gaines said she paid attention to little details – like which managers preferred printed materials over presentations, how they organized their offices, and when they typically stopped for coffee or something to eat – and worked to stay one step ahead of them. She recalled one occasion when she realized a manager had not taken a break in five hours and brought her something to drink. “It’s about taking care of the people who are doing the mission. If you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t complete the mission,” she said.
Rick Pettis, the administrative officer for the Center Operations Directorate, appreciates being part of a great team. Pettis has worked at Johnson since 2014, when he retired from the U.S. Navy after 23 years. “I enjoy helping people with problem solving,” he said. “Every day there will be someone who calls me to ask, ‘How do I get this done?’”
Rick Pettis poses with a spacesuit display.Image courtesy of Rick Pettis The administrative team’s work involves other highlights, as well. “When I met my first astronaut, I was in awe,” said Dottie Workman, a secretary supporting Johnson’s External Relations Office. “I couldn’t believe that someone so important was walking around the campus just like everyone else. He was so nice – he shook my hand and took the time to talk to me.”
Workman has been a civil servant for 52 years and 29 of those have been spent at Johnson. “My career has taken me all over the United States and Germany,” she said. “When my son was in the military and stationed at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio he said, ‘Mom, why don’t you move to Texas?’ I didn’t have a good reason to say no, so here I am!”
Dottie Workman met J.J. Watt, former professional football player with the Houston Texans, during his visit to Johnson Space Center. Image courtesy of Dottie Workman. Outside of meeting and interacting with astronauts, Workman said being able to share NASA with her family and friends is her favorite part of working at Johnson. “It is always exciting to see their reaction,” she said.
Burnett is thankful for a united team that understands the value of their work. “I’m grateful to work with a group of professionals who know the significance of propelling today’s men and women into the next generation of deep space for years to come,” she said. “We are Artemis proud!”
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