SCIENCE PACKED WEEK: NASA Co-Op #3 Week 7
SCIENCE PACKED WEEK: NASA Co-Op #3 Week 7
The amount of science that occurred this week was so overwhelming that I had to make the title all caps. Five major science related events occurred this week... I was a Judge at the FIRST Robotics Tech Challenge SE Texas Championship, assisted in astronaut user testing, watched a briefing about seven new Earth-like planets found, watched SpaceX Dragon cargo ship dock to the International Space Station, and trained on the job in Mission Control during the Dragon cargo ship unstow.
1. FIRST Robotics Tech Challenge Judging
FTC is like FRC (that I was in back in high school) except FTC robots are 18in x 18in x 18in, rather than 120lb robots we built, and play a different game. This year's game is Velocity Vortex which required students to build a robot in only six weeks that could lift large medicine balls and shoot Whiffle balls at a target. I had a great time at the FIRST Tech Challenge's SE Texas Regional Champs judging teams. It was a challenge to judge teams when there was so much talent to sift through! Unlike Minnesota FRC's one regional these TX FTC folks have to go through three levels of competition to get to the World Championship. Worlds will be held in Houston this year April 19-22.
Volunteer with at a FIRST Robotics event.
2. SpaceX Dragon Launch to Space Station
Launch of Falcon9 carrying dragon cargo to Space Station went wonderfully. Additionally, a stage of Flacon 9 successfully landed ON LAND back in Florida to be refurbished and reused. This private space industry/ US Government/ International effort demonstrates Scott Kelly's quote: "Spaceflight is the biggest team sport there is, and it's incredibly important that we all work together to make what is seemingly impossible possible." Kelly said this when he handed over command of the ISS to fellow NASA astronaut Tim Kopra during his Year In Space Mission in 2016. Despite public belief, spaceflight is a team collaboration (not competition) between government, private and international groups.
3. Astronaut User Testing
In parallel to hands free stowage app development I am "Project Manager-ing" for, I am helping with a similar app on an iPad. This iPad app is going through user testing to get approved and sent up to Space Station. I assisted with user testing including participants from ISO and participants from the astronaut crew office who have flown. The test participants were asked to gather items in the ISS mock-ups and pack them into the SpaceX Dragon cargo ship mock up. I was available for test participants to ask about space station locations. Additionally I made the “play” stowage items that participants gathered and packed.
4. New Earth-like Planets Found
First known system of seven Earth-sized planets has been found! This solar system is called TRAPPIST-1 and the planets are named letters "a" through "g" from closest to furthest from the Star. These planets are one hundred times closer to their star and closer to each other than the planets in our solar system. This means that on the surface of one planet you can see other planets clearly like our moon. Since this star is significantly cooler than ours which leaves three of these planets habitable despite close proximity to the star. At light speed it would take 39yrs to reach this solar system. In 2016 in Chile, researchers used the TRAPPIST telescope to find two of the planets in TRAPPIST-1. In part of a global effort NASA's Spitzer telescope found total of seven reported this week. In the future NASA's James Webb telescope, set to launch in 2018, will take a closer look at TRAPPIST-1.
Check out what the surface of planet TRAPPIST-1d looks like. Find the other six planets in the sky.
Take a 3D tour of TRAPPIST solar system.
NASA's press release about the new found exoplanets.
Full breif/ exoplanet discovery announcement video here, it's only 30mins long with press questions.
5. Dragon Cargo Ship Unstow
Conducted on the job training with DISO (Dragon Inventory Stowage Officer) in a Mission Control support room. DISOs are in charge of monitoring the astronaut’s cargo unstow of SpaceX’s dragon cargo ship docked to the International Space Station. Dragon delivered many scientific experiments, food and temperature sensitive items. During unstow astronauts Peggy Whitson and Thomas Pesquet were about an hour ahead of schedule. This crew is extremely efficient and is ahead of schedule for every task, even spacewalks. Pesquet unpacked cold bags where temperature sensitive science is stored and should be unpacked quickly. Whitson retrieved CTBs (Cargo Transfer Bags) from Dragon which included science that needed kept at a particular temperature and pressure. CTBs are White, rectangular, cushiony, sewn bags sealed with a zipper and are used on every flight to contain items.
Unloading items from dragon in an elegant organized fashion is critical because SpaceX must always know its center of gravity. If there is a Dragon emergency in which case dragon cannot stay on ISS and needs to return to Earth the center of gravity is available for accurate trajectory calculations. During my on the job training I followed the procedures sent to crew and recorded changes astronauts made to the procedure. I listened to the voice loops of each of the flight control consoles communicating to each other about the astronaut’s tasks. I was able to confirm “words”, what was spoken over the loop, to the official DISO flight controller as a second check. Sometimes DISO are asked to confirm that an unstow procedure is being completed correctly and sometimes DISO needs to call the Flight Director to point out a stowage item concern.
More Posts from Ourtech and Others
Looking Forward to Grace Hopper 2015
Unsure of whether to call it the Grace Hopper Conference or Celebration I’m going to postulate that it is both. Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing (GHC) is a collection of conferences where computer scientists can learn about the latest technology, participate in tech workshops, network and build soft skills. The Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology and the Association for Computing Machinery initiated GHC named after the computer scientist Grace Hopper. Hopper coined the term debugging, after picking bugs out of her computer and invented the first compiler, allowing programming languages to be more human-like.
Aspiring or seasoned computer scientist GHC sounds like the place to be, described by my peers in NCWIT (National Center for Women and Information Technology). In high school I became one of NCWIT’s MN State Affiliate Aspiration in Computing Award winners and since then have heard of networking stories, tales of learning experience and good times from GHC goers.
As a current Co-Op at NASA’s Johnson Space Center I have been sent on a mission to learn as much as I can and share with my department how these acquired skills will help them. As an NCWITer I will be able to connect with other like-minded women and attend their networking events. I have been browsing through the conference schedule and crafted a comprehensive itinerary filled with keynote presentations, professional development, and hands on tech projects.
Sessions on my itinerary I am most excited for include “Communicating for Impact and Influence”, “Design and Development Considerations in Serious Games”, “Bank of America Technical Women Luncheon”, “Speed Mentoring Breakfast with Microsoft”, and “Data Science: NASA”.
WAYS TO GET INVOLVED
I will be live tweeting and live blogging the event
Check out this year’s sessions and think about joining in next year
Watch keynotes from past events
Early lunar lander prototype at Johnson Space Center #JSC #NASAIntern
First Impressions of Defrag 2014
In just a few hours attending Defrag 2014 my skepticism about drones has been eliminated, early computing has become extremely interesting, and I now believe that the vacant/occupied bathroom indicators on airplanes are genius. Experiencing Defrag starts by being welcomed into an idea intimate environment with tech "swag" (goodie bags), refreshments, and an imitate establishment that we are here to share ideas and grow ourselves. These ideas are first shared via keynote presentations by professionals from across the spectrum of tech including Chris Anderson from 3D Robotics, George Dyson author of "Turning's Cathedral" and Amber Case from Esri.
When the word "drone" is mentioned initial things that come to my mind include military drones that are used in combat and the seemingly foolish idea to use drones to deliver packages from Amazon. A word that didn't come to mind was Orangutans. Orangutans... you mean the primate? Yes. Anderson shared a unique and useful application of drones is to track wildlife and their well being. Primates make nests daily and can be identified from imaging captured by drones. In industry, a practical application for drones includes surveying of farm land. From an aerial view farms can get real time feedback in their crops and react accordingly without wasting money on chemicals and waiting to see a result.
"Imitation Game" is a motion picture releasing on November 28th which follows Alan Turning's challenge reverse engineering the Enigma Machine. Dyson provided an excellent crash course in computing's journey, including Turning's contribution, from analog to digital. He shared most importantly the unbiased vision of the future of computing that was imagined before computing was born. A way computing can grow is by letting the computer make mistakes and learn. Reliability isn't necessarily ideal. In conclusion Dyson shared his vision for future of computing... 1) 3D computation 2) Template-based addressing 3) Pulse-frequency coding 4) Analog Computing
Technology can be overwhelming! Bells, whistles, and features galore. Sometimes we just want something to accomplish a task when we want it and not give annoying notifications. Amber Case spoke about Calm Technology that promotes "Great design (which) allows people to accomplish their goals in the least amount of moves". Airplane bathroom vacancy indicator is a calm technology approach to alert a user of information they need in an un-invasive manner. "A person's primary task shouldn't be computing but being human."
How you can get involved...
Drones: Imaging of the future is surprisingly affordable and even available in toy stores! They can be picked up for easily under $500 and programmed to your will.
History of Computing: Often neglected in education, history of computing and technology is a way to look back in order to look forward farther. Research about the history of technology and find unbiased inspiration.
Calm Technology: Case mentioned a fun exercise where you design the most overly complicated piece of technology and try to "calm it". Get your product to be as efficient in helping reach the end goal as possible.
Cargo Launch & Boogers
Count the number of times I pick my nose (because you all did last time and reported less than 5 times) when I sit console with RIO (Remote Interface Officer formally known as Russian Interface Officer) tomorrow Dec 3rd 7am- afternoonish. It is the console with all the flags on it. NASA TV will probably not stream Mission Control the whole day but cuts to it every once and awhile. http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/ Also occurring is the United Launch Alliance/ Orbital cargo ship launch to Space Station 4:55pmCT. There are things on this launch I care about so I'll be intently watching. http://www.ulalaunch.com/
High School Women - Aspirations In Computing Award
Due November 7th!
High school women, check out the questions for the NCWIT Aspirations In Computing award, your qualification may surprise you! Seriously gals, apply. You will get internships/ job shadowing opportunities, access to college $$$ and most importantly meet peers with similar interests. This award made me look at computer science as a serious major, awarded me a new iPad and CAD software, gave me the opportunity to visit the white house to advocate for project based learning during a Champions of Change Event and encouraged me to attend Grace Hopper Computing Conference. At least look at the questions because you qualify more than you think, I promise. I talked on WDIO's Good Morning Northland about NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Award for high school women which may provide some insight. Teachers, relatives and friends of HS women, please encourage them to apply.
Go Green: Conserve Water, Land & Air Resources
Christopher Nolan’s 2014 motion picture “Interstellar” depicts future earth careening towards an environmentally apocalyptic demise. Humans did not care for Earth well enough which has led to dustbowl-esk storms, lack of resources, and the need to establish humanity elsewhere. Although this outlook is extreme this science fiction prediction can become reality. NASA’s Global Climate change webpage complied findings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and US Global Change research Program. In this report NASA expands on the environmental out look of the Midwest describing Extreme heat, flooding and risks to the Great Lakes. On that same site NASA reports the highest levels of carbon dioxide, 1.4 degree avg. raise in temperature, and 1.5 million sq. km less trees.
No matter who or what there is to blame it is time that we respond to this call to action and find ways we can be more environmentally friendly every day. No one wants to hear they need to retire their favorite mudding truck or stop eating bacon. Below is how you should respond to this call to action to go green. We will be focusing on going green to preserve water, earth, and air resources.
WATER
California is settling in its fourth year of little rainfall and record breaking temperatures as reported by US News and World Report Article “Climate Change Caused California Drought” by Jeff Nesbit written on April 14th, 2015 . The drought has already hit the average American’s pocketbook with a price hike in berries, salad, and beef. Concerns of our daily expenses aside the science behind this drought is unquestionable and due to climate change. Despite Earth being covered in 70% water, fresh available drinking water is becoming more and more of a valuable resource and should be preserved.
The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) released a WaterSense Guide on how to save water last updated April 3rd, 2015 with tips on easy things you can do to save water.
Indoors you can turn the tap off while shaving or brushing your teeth, spend less time in the shower, add food waste to a compost pile instead of the garbage disposal, and fix leaks. Outside create a water smart landscape that utilizes slopes and plant vegetation that requires little water. In addition to EPA’s tips I have taken special interest into how ingredients in hygienic products effect wildlife in lakes and rivers. A report from Minneapolis St.Paul’s NBC news station KARE 11 reported “Study finds antibiotics in Minnesota groundwater” by Associated Press June 28th, 2014. A government study finds that measurable levels of antibiotics, detergents and other consumer chemicals are turning up in Minnesota Ground Water. These come from landfills, septic systems. And sewage treatment plants. I have not gone as far as scraping hand washing and showering all together but have been buying hygienic products with ingredients that do not effect water resources. Below are hygienic products from lush. I have gotten shampoo bars that last much longer than liquid shampoo which contain all natural ingredients except Sodium lauryl sulfate, antibacterial free soaps, and No Rinse Shampoos. No rinse shampoos sound like they would not clean as well but it is one of the ways long haired astronauts on the International Space Station clean their hair.
EARTH
When I think about preserving land resources I imagine reducing garbage in landfills, reducing the use of plastics, and disposing of things that must be thrown away correctly.
Once again the EPA, our MVP for environmental tips, reports Tips for Reducing Solid Waste last updated November 15th, 2012.
Reduce the amount of products you buy with unnecessary packaging Buy recyclable products. Sell and donate items. Buy, maintain, and repair durable products. There are times however when you absolutely have to toss something out like a corroded batteries, medicine, old cans of paint, and meds. This is what our local WLSSD Western Lake Superior Sanitary District is for and other hazarous waste collections sites are for. Be mindful of what you throw out, recycle, and keep for hazardous waste collection this spring. A guide can be found here: http://www.wlssd.com/uploads/HHW_Guide_Apr_2010.pdf
AIR
The topic of conserving air resources may be pickup truck owner’s least favorite topic as again reported by NASA’s global climate change webpage car emissions accounts for the large spike of carbon dioxide in the air following the industrial revolution. This time The American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest posted Clean Air Choice with ideas on how to conserve clean air with unfortunately no update time.
Carpool while if you and your friends are going to the same location such as class. Shut off your engine of you are stopped more than a minute so don’t be texting in your car in the parking confusing people who want to take your spot. Lastly avoid rapid acceleration and hard breaking.
In response to the call to cation to go green I have mentioned some of ways to conserve out air, earth, and water resources as I mentioned here today. These tips included little things you can do every day to make a positive environmental impact with little inconvenience to you.
The idea to relocated humanity has been explored in Interstellar and considered by NASA to set up a habitat on Mars. If you have ever seen pictures of Mars it may have some of the basic requirements for inhabiting but it looks rocky, boring, and bleak. We got this one fully habitably planets, with only a few possible habitable planets many light-years away, so let’s take care of it.
Works Cited
"American Lung Association Clean Air Choice: Conservation Tips." American Lung Association Clean Air Choice: Conservation Tips. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2015. http://www.cleanairchoice.org/air/tips.cfm
Associated Press. "Study Finds Antibiotics in Minnesota Groundwater." KARE 11 Minneapolis St. Paul, MN A Gannett Company NBC. N.p., 28 June 2014. Web. 22 Apr. 2015. http://www.kare11.com/story/news/local/2014/06/28/study-finds-antibiotics-in-minnesota-groundwater/11618827/
"Global Climate Change: Effects." Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet. NASA Global Climate Change Vital Signs of the Planet, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2015. http://climate.nasa.gov/effects/
Household Hazardous Wastes. Duluth: WLSSD, 2010. Western Lake Superior Sanitary District. Web.
"NASA's OCO-2 Will Track Our Impact on Airborne Carbon." Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet. NASA, 26 June 2014. Web. 22 Apr. 2015. http://climate.nasa.gov/news/1109/
Nesbit, Jeff. "At the Edge: Climate Change Caused California Drought." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 14 Apr. 2015. Web. 22 Apr. 2015. http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/at-the-edge/2015/04/14/climate-change-and-the-california-drought
"Tips for Reducing Solid Waste." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, 15 Nov. 2012. Web. 22 Apr. 2015. http://www.epa.gov/osw/wycd/catbook/the12.htm
"Water Sense Start Saving." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2015. http://www.epa.gov/watersense/our_water/start_saving.html
Are Apps Worth Our Time? Defrag Day 2
Our obsession of technology has amounted to 11 hours of action yesterday at Defrag 2014. A theme throughout all of the conference is determining if this obsession is worth while. Speaker Anil Dash, from Think Up, explored if technology is a good use of time. How often you scrolled through your Facebook newsfeed, sent a tweet, or Snapchated a pic? In fact, you are using a form of social media right now. Social media is a tool used to connect others, yet there may not be much to show from all of our time on apps. Dash recognizes that companies will do their best to "steal your time" and keep you on their apps longer. As developers and innovators there exists a level of responsibility since what is created will use people's precious time, therefore should be worth a user's while. Tech creators, in Dash's words, must "earn (a user's) time. As a user, be aware of who creates your apps and social media tools . Is it a "ma and pop", giant company's, or 20 something year old from silicon valley's app? Reflect if you are getting anything out of your time. Thankfully, I can reflect and see that through the power of social media I have been able to make connections with others who share similar interests with me and opened doors to many opportunities. However if your time is spent racking up "likes", a rearrangement of priorities may be in order. Time is the most valuable resource, use it wisely.
SPACEWALK LIVE! http://www.ustream.tv/nasahdtv Edit/update: I was mistaken, Shane is preforming the EVA and not Peggy. As of 9:50amCT the astronauts are over 1.5hrs ahead of schedule and now performing extra tasks to get ahead. I am out of mission control now. They completed installing new Lithium Ion batteries.
