Hosted A “Story Time From Space” Event Today At Kate’s Camp. The Kids Learned About The ISS And

PJ-25 Northern Circumpolar Cyclones : This is a processed image of cyclones near Jupiter’s North Pole. #nasa #juno #missionjuno @nasajuno @nasa @nasasolarsystem #jupiter https://www.instagram.com/p/B9I6M7CHwEe/?igshid=1nsqalaeb1idh

We Found the Perfect Spot to Land our Moon Rover

After an extensive selection process, we chose the mountainous area west of Nobile Crater at the Moon’s South Pole as the landing site for our first-ever robotic Moon rover. The Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, will explore the Moon’s surface and subsurface in search of water and other resources beginning in late 2023. Thanks to past missions, such as satellites orbiting the Moon or impacting its surface, we know there is ice at the Moon’s poles. But how much? And where did it come from? VIPER aims to answer these questions and more by venturing into shadowed craters and visiting other areas of scientific interest over its 100-day mission. The findings will inform future landing sites under the Artemis program and help pave the way toward establishing a long-term human presence on the Moon. Here are five things to know:

The landing site is located just outside the western rim of Nobile Crater at the Moon’s South Pole.

The region has suitable lighting and terrain for our solar-powered rover to navigate.

VIPER will travel up to 15 miles in search of water and other resources.

Its traverse will change depending on what it finds, but it could look like this.

Drivers on Earth will tell the rover where to explore during its 100-day mission.

The VIPER mission is managed by our Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley. The approximately 1,000-pound rover will be delivered to the Moon by a commercial vendor as part of our Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, delivering science and technology payloads to and near the Moon.

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My Mars 2020 - Perseverance Shirt arrived today! @nasajpl @nasa #nasa #nasajpl #mars #mars2020 #perseverance #marsrover #space #planets https://www.instagram.com/p/CESvYFBjhre/?igshid=1hzm65821uipl

The Moon - 5/14/2019 Celestron 127slt MAK iPhone SE (exposure, contrast, and color adjusted) #themoon #telescope #astronomy #georgia #space https://www.instagram.com/p/Bxegx9gH6NA/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ryx1dcqg1rsk

Send your name beyond the Moon on the Artemis 1 mission! https://www.nasa.gov/send-your-name-with-artemis/ #nasa #artemis #artemisprogram #space #spaceflight #orion #solarsystemambassadors https://www.instagram.com/p/Calx7rzu7bt/?utm_medium=tumblr

Did you know: NASA's SpaceX Crew-2 is the first NASA Commercial Crew Program mission to fly two international partner astronauts? Both Thomas Pesquet of ESA - European Space Agency and Akihiko Hoshide of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) will be aboard the Crew Dragon launching April 22 to the International Space Station. #nasa #crewdragon #iss #solarsystemambassador https://www.instagram.com/p/CNmFBvmj2Qk/?igshid=1vvs39ahvj71a

So excited for Ingenuity’s first flight on Mars!!! Here’s my Ingenuity poster I designed to hand out at my daughter’s school. . . . #mars #ingenuity #perseverance #mars2020 #nasa #jpl #solarsystemambassador https://www.instagram.com/p/CNSvhdUDVyC/?igshid=n53zitpqd3rz

When you speak to a group of Daisy Girl Scouts and the troop leader says, “Thanks for the presentation! What’s your favorite cookie?” #nasa #daisyscouts #girlscouts #girlscoutcookie #stem #space #solarsystemambassador https://www.instagram.com/p/Ca3nqxbOvtS/?utm_medium=tumblr

Kids These Days...

Before judging the first round of submissions in the NASA / JPL Name the Mars 2020 Rover Contest, I didn’t quite know what to expect from the various young minds. I knew I was going to see the occasional Rover McRoverface, or the overly complicated acronyms.

However, some of these kids really got what this is all about. Their essays conveyed how much they really want to invest in science and the future of space exploration. You could see the amount of research that went into their name choices. Several times, I had to look up words or the meanings behind possible name choices. Leave it to me to accidentally ok a cool sounding name that belongs to an anime character who farts a lot. (didn’t really happen)

It wasn’t just the scientific names and essays that were rewarding. Some students wrote passionate essays about naming the rover after a beloved relative or pet. The level of respect and/or compassion from the minds of fifth graders almost had me in tears at some points.

mars.nasa.gov

Mars 2020 Rover

NASA Mars 2020 Rover - overview, videos, images and information

State of NASA Address at Marshall Space Flight Center

On February 10, 2020 I was honored to be a part of a group of 30 people who were granted special access to the goings on at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama as part of the NASA Social program.

The day started off with the issuing of our credentials which would allow us access through the main gate.

The pure joy of seeing my name at the bottom of that badge was glorious.

After driving through the main gate, we wound up at the heart of MSFC, Building 4200. This is where we had our first briefing of the day. It was an overview of MSFC by Steve Miley, MSFC Associate Director. Director Miley filled us in on the importance of MSFC to the whole of NASA, and the state of Alabama. Huntsville is a Top 10 city for career opportunities. During this briefing, the topic of ARTEMIS was addressed. ARTEMIS is our country’s new manned lunar landing program. NASA intends to land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024.

Next up was the live stream of NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine’s State of NASA address. Administrator Bridenstine detailed the efforts behind the Space Launch System, the Lunar Gateway, the Orion spacecraft, and the ARTEMIS missions to the Moon. There was excitement in the air as budget increases by the current administration were discussed.

After the State of NASA address, we went to the Lunar Lander Lab for a briefing by Logan Kennedy. Mr. Kennedy showed us concepts for the next Moon landings by contrasting with the Apollo program. During the Apollo missions, the astronauts brought all of their supplies with them. This severely limited the amount of time the astronauts had on the Lunar surface. For ARTEMIS, the intent is to land payloads on the Moon ahead of the manned landings. Mr. Kennedy showed us concepts of relatively inexpensive Pallet Landers which payloads could be wheeled off of.

Next up, was a tour of the ISS Payload Operations and Integration Center. Amanda Lowman briefed us on the Payload Control Area. This is where all the science and experiments on the ISS are controlled and monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Vince Vidaurri then briefed our group about the Laboratory Training Complex. The LTC is a mock-up of the U.S. lab on the ISS. Procedures for experiments are ironed out by controllers in the LTC before being communicated to the astronauts on the ISS.

We then went to the Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Lab. Engineer Mike Kynard showed us hardware that could replicate the results of testing a nuclear rocket at a fraction of the cost and many times more safely.

Our last stop of the day was the SLS System Integration Lab for a briefing by Dan Mitchell. The SIL contains a full size “control ring” for the SLS rocket. This control ring has all the computers and systems that monitor every aspect of the SLS. Everything is placed exactly where it would be on the actual rockets. Even the wiring is measured to the same distances to avoid any lags or time differences. There are three redundant computers that are the “brains” of the whole deal.

At this time I want to thank the team at Marshall Space Flight Center for hosting our group and giving us the opportunity to report on the progress of the Space Launch System and the ARTEMIS program. I am excitedly looking forward to being a part of ARTEMIS over the next few years as my career develops.