Category: NASA

HOUSTON — After a decade working in various roles, astronaut Jose Hernandez has left NASA for a position in the aerospace industry.

“Jose’s talent and dedication have contributed greatly to the agency, and he is an inspiration to many,” said Peggy Whitson, chief of the Astronaut Office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “We wish him all the best with this new phase of his career.”

The son of Mexican migrant farm workers, he joined NASA in 2001 as a materials research engineer at Johnson. He was promoted to the Materials and Processes Branch chief in 2002 and served there until he was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2004.

During the STS-128 shuttle mission in 2009, he managed the transfer of more than 18,000 pounds of supplies and equipment between the shuttle and International Space Station and assisted with robotics operations. He also served as a flight engineer in the shuttle’s cockpit during launch and landing.

WASHINGTON — NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will travel to his hometown of South Carolina to participate in three events on Jan. 18 to celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Media representatives may attend the presentations.

Bolden, NASA’s first African-American administrator, will deliver the keynote address at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. business and professional breakfast beginning at 7:30 a.m. EST in the Exhibition Hall, Gaillard Municipal Auditorium, located at 77 Calhoun St. in Charleston. There will be a media availability at approximately 8:50 a.m.

Following the breakfast, Bolden will visit the Ron McNair School at 3795 Spruill Ave. in North Charleston to discuss the importance of science, technology, engineering and mathematics education. Reporters can speak to the administrator following the event at 11:30 a.m. outside the school.

Bolden will deliver the annual Heyward E. McDonald Lecture on Peace and Justice at 7 p.m. in the University of South Carolina Russell House Ballroom A/B on campus at 1400 Greene St. in Columbia. He will speak about the role of science and public schooling in advancing social justice. The lecture will be followed by a short question-and-answer session for attendees.

NASA UPDATES SHUTTLE TARGET LAUNCH DATES FOR TWO FLIGHTS

WASHINGTON — NASA is targeting 4:50 p.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 24,
for the launch of space shuttle Discovery’s STS-133 mission to the
International Space Station. The liftoff of shuttle Endeavour’s
STS-134 flight is planned for 7:48 p.m. EDT on April 19, from NASA’s
Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The target dates were selected Thursday during the Space Shuttle
Program’s weekly Program Requirements Control Board meeting.

NASA sets official launch dates for each shuttle mission following
agency Flight Readiness Reviews, which typically occur about two
weeks prior to launches. All target launch dates are subject to
change.

WASHINGTON — International Space Station residents Scott Kelly, Cady Coleman and Paolo Nespoli will speak on Tuesday, Jan. 11, to 150 students from Kathleen High School’s Central Florida Aerospace Academy (CFAA) in Lakeland, Fla.

The CFAA prepares students to go into advanced aerospace education or the aerospace industry. In 2009, the academy received an agency grant to develop a NASA-based science, technology, engineering and , or STEM, curriculum.

The station astronauts will answer student questions on Jan. 11, from 11-11:20 a.m. EST. In preparation for the conversation with astronauts in space, the students have been participating in science activities, exploring careers in science with local scientists and engineers, studying a floor plan of the International Space Station and learning about experiments in microgravity.

The event will air live on NASA Television and on the agency’s website. Media interested in attending this event should contact Obie Young at 407-341-3072 by 2 p.m. Monday, Jan. 10.

The live downlink will be shared with other students through the Florida Aviation Network, the Federal Aviation Administration Training Network and the Government Educational Training Network. This will give approximately 93,000 students in Polk County’s K-12 classrooms the opportunity to watch the event.

NASA astronauts Kelly and Coleman and Nespoli of the European Space Agency are conducting science experiments aboard the space station. Kelly serves as the Expedition 26 commander until March when he returns home. Coleman and Nespoli will complete their station mission in May.

This live, in-flight education downlink is one in a series with educational organizations in the U.S. and abroad to improve teaching and learning in STEM subjects. It is an integral component of Teaching From Space, a NASA education program. Teaching From Space promotes learning opportunities and builds partnerships with the education community using the unique environment of space and NASA’s human spaceflight program.

For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming video information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

WASHINGTON — NASA has selected 101 of its high-performing interns and
fellows for the agency’s Student Ambassador Program. The students
will represent NASA at a variety of education and outreach events at
schools and universities to help inspire future students interested
in science, engineering, mathematics and technology, or STEM,
opportunities.

The new ambassadors represent 31 states and 64 different universities.
This third group of student ambassadors, known as Cohort III, joins
189 other student ambassadors selected in 2009 and 2010. NASA
managers and mentors nominated the ambassadors from hundreds of
current interns and fellows who have participated in various NASA
Education projects.

“The ambassadors have demonstrated their ability to motivate students
to enter the STEM workforce,” said Leland Melvin, associate
administrator for education at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “They
play an important role in our effort to develop the next generation
of explorers, because they can engage fellow students in a meaningful
peer-to-peer dialogue. That’s something that more traditional
approaches cannot accomplish.”

The new student ambassadors will join a virtual web-based community,
which allows them to interact with NASA staff and other ambassadors
to share information and make professional connections. Through the
website, the ambassadors also will have access to the latest NASA
news, cutting-edge research and career resources.

WASHINGTON — NASA awarded on Dec. 27 a 10-year contract to HP
Enterprise Services of Herndon, Va., for Agency Consolidated End-user
Services, or ACES.

This firm-fixed-price, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity
contract has a maximum value of $2.5 billion and four-year base
period with two three-year option periods. The contract will be
managed at the NASA Shared Services Center (NSSC) in Mississippi.

The ACES contract will develop a long-term outsourcing arrangement
with the commercial sector to provide and manage most of NASA’s
personal computing hardware, agency-standard software, mobile
information technology (IT) services, peripherals and accessories,
associated end-user services, and supporting infrastructure.

NASA personnel use IT to support NASA’s core business, scientific,
research and computational activities. HP Enterprise Services will
provide, manage, secure and maintain these essential IT services for
the agency.

The NSSC is a partnership among NASA, Computer Sciences Corporation
and the states of Mississippi and Louisiana. The NSSC performs
selected business activities for all 10 NASA centers.

HAMPTON, Va. — NASA has selected the Unisys Corp. in Reston, Va., to provide simulation and aircraft technical services for the agency’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.

The cost-plus-fixed-fee award is valued at $48.5 million over a three-year base period with one two-year option.

Unisys will provide simulation-related hardware and software technology support services, including analysis, development, verification, validation, operations, maintenance, modification and systems integration for Langley flight simulation facilities and research aircraft systems.

WASHINGTON — NASA Administrator Charles Bolden has named Waleed Abdalati the agency’s chief scientist, effective Jan. 3. Abdalati will serve as the principal adviser to the NASA administrator on agency science programs, strategic planning and the evaluation of related investments.

Abdalati is currently the director of the Earth Science and Observation Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He also is an associate professor in the university’s geography department. Between 1998 and 2008, Abdalati held various positions at NASA in the areas of scientific research, program management and scientific management. His research has focused on the study of polar ice cover using satellite and airborne instruments. He has led or participated in nine field and airborne campaigns in the Arctic and the Antarctic.

Abdalati will represent all of the scientific endeavors in the agency, ensuring they are aligned with and fulfill the administration’s science objectives. He will advocate for NASA science in the context of those broader government science agendas and work closely with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Office of Management and Budget.

“We are excited to have Waleed return to the agency during such a critical transition period,” Bolden said. “His experience, wide-range of scientific knowledge and familiarity with NASA will greatly benefit the agency. He will be a true advocate for our many and diverse science research and exploration programs.”

During his first tenure at NASA, Abdalati served as the head of the Cryospheric Sciences Branch at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. He also managed the Cryospheric Sciences Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Abdalati is a fellow of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, a joint venture between the University of Colorado at Boulder and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. His research examines how and why the Earth’s ice cover is changing and what those changes mean for life on our planet.

Abdalati received a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Syracuse University in 1986, a Master of Science in aerospace engineering sciences from the University of Colorado in 1991, and a doctorate in 1996 from the Department of Geography at the University of Colorado, where he was one of the first graduates of the university’s Program in Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences.

He has published more than 50 peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, and NASA-related technical reports, with approximately 1,500 citations in the peer-reviewed literature. Abdalati has received numerous awards for his research and service to NASA, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, a NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal, and two NASA Group Achievement Awards.

DENVER — NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver and Colorado Governor Bill Ritter Jr., participated Monday in a Space Act Agreement signing ceremony at the Colorado State Capitol Building in Denver to promote the commercialization of technology developed for the space program.

NASA’s agreement with the Colorado Association for Manufacturing and Technology (CAMT) created a Technology Acceleration Program and Regional Innovation Cluster for Aerospace and Clean Energy. A manufacturing park focused on rapid new product development and production will be developed to assist growing Colorado businesses.

“This park will use Colorado’s existing competitive strengths to boost economic growth while creating new jobs and products for aerospace and energy industries,” Garver said. “NASA is pleased to collaborate on new technology developments like the one being created through the Colorado Technology Acceleration Program and Regional Innovation Cluster.”

Under the agreement, small and mid-sized businesses will have direct access to a NASA “innovation ambassador,” an agency expert who can identify NASA and partner technologies ready for commercialization. The ambassador will conduct forums to drive partnerships among NASA
and Colorado businesses and help identify businesses that can benefit from commercialization technical assistance.

“The new agreement with NASA is a perfect fit for Colorado because it will enhance our leading aerospace industry and growing high-tech business and research sectors,” Ritter said. “Most importantly, this will bring high-tech jobs to our state. Colorado is a hub for innovation and continues to attract the best and the brightest workers. Congratulations to CAMT and NASA for making this historic agreement.”

The Technology Acceleration Program will allow companies to work with NASA and expedite product development from an average of five years to as little as 18 months. New products will get to market more quickly, and new high tech jobs will be created.

“Aerospace and energy are the fastest growing industries in Colorado, sharing the same supply base and similar workforce needs,” said Elaine Thorndike, chief executive officer of CAMT. “Through regional innovation clusters, public and private sectors can work together to increase business opportunities, technical assistance programs and market penetration for aerospace and clean energy manufacturing strength.”

The NASA-CAMT partnership will provide technical assistance and identify gaps in commercialization and scouting services to help companies looking for space-developed technologies and services. It will help companies bridge the gap between prototype design, manufacturing and commercialization, while identifying commercial applications for NASA technologies.

Innovation is necessary to expand the U.S. economy and ensure competitiveness in a global economy. Many new, innovative technologies are developed by small and mid-sized businesses that do not have a robust, in-house product development capability and lack commercialization resources.

Through the agreement, NASA joins the state of Colorado, the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and CAMT in a pathfinder collaboration to promote innovation and global competitiveness in the new energy economy.

CAMT is a statewide manufacturing assistance center dedicated to increasing the competitiveness of Colorado manufacturers. The association is the state affiliate of the national Manufacturing Extension Partnership, a program of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Named as one of ‘The Most Trustworthy Companies’ by Forbes Magazine, AAR Reaches Major Milestones with the Transformation of New Airlift and Modifications Businesses.

WOOD DALE, Ill., Nov. 8, 2010 — AAR announced today that it has selected Melbourne, Fla. as the new location for its airlift services and specialized aircraft modifications businesses, which the Company acquired in April 2010. Since completing the acquisition, AAR has installed a new leadership team and is rebranding the businesses as part of its overall integration strategy.

“When we acquired Aviation Worldwide Services and its subsidiaries earlier this year, we shared our plans to relocate the operations, transform the leadership team with our people to instill AAR values and rebrand the business,” said David P. Storch, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AAR CORP. “I’m very pleased with the progress our team has made toward these goals and I look forward to being an important part of Melbourne’s business community and economy. I want to thank the State of Florida for their support and for working diligently to help make this move happen.”

The business will move to hangars, facilities and offices at and near Melbourne International Airport. The relocation will be conducted in phases and is expected to be completed by spring 2011. AAR will establish an on-site management team and begin hiring select positions immediately. The business is expected to create as many as 225 jobs by the end of 2012.

The business will operate as AAR Airlift Group, with airlift services provided by AAR Airlift and specialized aircraft modifications performed by AAR Aircraft Services – Melbourne. AAR Airlift Group is led by Jeffrey Schloesser, a former U.S. Army major general with more than 20 years of senior-level leadership and operations experience, which includes leading the Army’s modernization and transformation plan for a fleet of 4,000 aircraft and 76,000 personnel.

AAR collaborated with elected officials from the State, economic development groups and the city of Melbourne to identify locations that would support AAR’s requirement for world-class flight operations, warehousing and administrative facilities and to develop a partnership to ensure the future growth of the business.

“Aviation and aerospace is one of Florida’s targeted industries for stimulating economic growth and diversification; therefore, AAR’s entry is in line with our expansion strategy for this key sector,” said John Adams Jr., president & CEO of Enterprise Florida, the state’s principal economic development organization. “This project has exemplified Florida’s competitiveness; our ability to attract progressive and innovative businesses as we compete in the global economy.”

Senate President–designate, Mike Haridopolos said, “We are pleased to welcome a company of AAR’s recognized quality and expertise to the Space Coast. Its relocation to Florida will create high-quality jobs, provide an instant economic boost, and solidify the leadership of the Space Coast in the defense and aerospace sectors.”

“This is fantastic news for the Space Coast,” said U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, who urged the company to relocate its airlift operations to Melbourne. “This move will bring much needed jobs to the area and provide a boost to the local economy. I applaud AAR’s decision to select Melbourne as the home for their airlift group.”

“Companies like AAR will create the types of jobs we need in Florida during this critical time of transition in the aerospace industry,” noted State Senator Thad Altman, who represents East Central Florida. “In addition, the technological expertise and capabilities of AAR could lead to a terrific partnership with the state of Florida in areas such as emergency management preparation and civil defense.”

“AAR is a highly respected, very successful company and we knew that this project would be extremely competitive,” said Lynda Weatherman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast. “We developed a creative package that showcased the Space Coast’s core capabilities, including the tax advantage benefits of a Florida location. We are delighted that AAR recognized our competitive advantages and look forward to the company’s success here at the Space Coast.”

“AAR is a great example of the type of company that will help Florida diversify its aerospace economy to position for success in the coming months and years,” noted Space Florida President Frank DiBello. “This company is well-established in the defense industry and will bring continued innovation to Florida’s aerospace industry. We are extremely pleased to welcome them to the Space Coast.”

AAR currently has facilities in Clearwater, Jacksonville, Medley and Miami, employing 1,200 highly-skilled workers and contributing approximately $150 million annually in economic impact to the state of Florida. At full employment, the new Melbourne location is projected to add an additional $42.3 million to the state’s economy.
“All over the country communities are working hard to land companies of AAR’s caliber. We’re fortunate Melbourne International Airport was chosen as the site for this significant expansion. It’s good for Melbourne. It’s good for the region,” said Harry Goode, Mayor of Melbourne and Chairman, Melbourne Airport Authority.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Four decades after the first NASA lunar rover
rolled across the surface of the moon, innovative students are
preparing to design and build a new generation of wheeled wonders.

Registration is open for the 18th annual NASA Great Moonbuggy Race,
set for April 1-2, 2011, in Huntsville, Ala. Participating schools
and institutions may register one or two vehicles and teams.
Registration closes Feb. 1.

For complete rules, vehicle design parameters and registration for the
race, visit:

http://moonbuggy.msfc.nasa.gov

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center organizes the races held at the
U.S. Space & Rocket Center, both in Huntsville. The event challenges
high school and college students to design, build and race
lightweight, human-powered “moonbuggies.”

The first rover was developed, built and tested at Marshall in just 17
months. The rover’s inaugural trip across the moon’s surface took
place on July 31, 1971. It was driven by Apollo 15 astronauts David
Scott and James Irwin. Two more rovers followed, enabling expanded
scientific exploration during the Apollo 16 and 17 missions in 1972.

NASA Great Moonbuggy Race teams carry on the tradition of engineering
ingenuity. The teams attempt to post the fastest vehicle assembly and
race times in their divisions, while incurring the fewest penalties
on a challenging course simulating the rocky, unforgiving surface of
the moon.

Prizes are awarded to the three teams in each division that finish
with the fastest race times. NASA and industry sponsors present
additional awards for team spirit, best newcomer, most memorable
buggy wipeout and other achievements.

In 2010, for the first time, the victors in the high school and
college divisions were both from outside the continental United
States. The International Space Education Institute of Leipzig,
Germany, raced to a winning time of just 3 minutes, 37 seconds in the
high school category. The University of Puerto Rico in Humacao, the
only school to enter a moonbuggy every year since the races began in
1994, won the college division with a time of 4 minutes, 18 seconds.

Participation in the race has increased from just eight college teams
in 1994 to more than 70 high school and college national and
international teams in 2010. The high school division was added in
1996.

More than 32,000 people watched live, streaming coverage of the 2010
race on UStream, an interactive, real-time webcasting platform. For
archived footage of the competition, visit:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-great-moonbuggy-race-2010

WASHINGTON — NASA will award $3.3 million over three years to support
academic excellence in science, technology, engineering and
mathematics (STEM) education at tribal colleges and universities.

The awards are part of a Cooperative Agreement Notice released by the
NASA Office of Education’s Minority University Research and Education
Program for the Tribal Colleges and Universities Project (TCUP).

Three institutions were selected through a merit-based, peer-reviewed
competition for funding. Awards will go to Kiksapa Consulting, LLC of
Mandan, N.D.; Salish Kootenai College of Pablo, Mo.; and the American
Indian Higher Education Consortium in Alexandria, Va. The awards have
a three-year period of performance and range in value from $215,000
to $592,000.

NASA’s TCUP is a STEM education grant and mentoring program
specifically targeting tribal colleges and universities. The goal of
the project is to expand opportunities to academic institutions that
prepare Native Americans to enter the nation’s STEM workforce through
internships, fellowships, research experiences, outreach, information
exchange, capacity building and infrastructure development.

The first round of awards is valued at $1.107 million. Each award is
expected to use NASA’s unique contributions in STEM education to
enhance tribal college academic experiences and improve educators’
abilities to engage their students.

NEWS RELEASE: 10-089

HAMPTON, Va. — Are you looking for an experience that is out of this world? Planning a mission to Mars and gaining college credit are just two perks high school juniors in Virginia can experience through The Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology Scholars (VASTS) program.

The program, in its fourth year at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., is now accepting applications for its interactive on-line science, technology, engineering and math program. The semester-long curriculum teaches students about aerospace exploration. Learning takes place through simulations, weekly reading assignments, online games, video segments and online quizzes. The program is open to high school juniors, including homeschoolers, across the Commonwealth. Deadline for application is Nov. 5.

Based on course performance, scholars may be selected to spend a week at NASA Langley where they will work with scientists and engineers, design and build robotic rovers, learn about NASA careers and plan a human mission to Mars.

Student comments are the best testimonial for the program:

“This program has prepared me by opening my eyes to the type of requirements that I must meet in order to pursue a career in math and science,” said Iriat Faisal of George C. Mason High School in Bridgewater, Va.

“I loved the academy,” said Courtney Maimon from Osbourn Park High School in Manassas, Va. “Everyone here is so driven. It’s fun getting to work with people who have the same interests as me.”

“The curriculum helped me improve many of my skills, such as focusing, writing, communicating with others and listening to what other people have to say,” said Anthony Guadino-Sullivan from West Springfield High School in Springfield, Va. “The academy prepared me to think the impossible can be done, to respect others’ ideas and input and taught me the importance of teamwork.”

Upon completion of the program, students can receive up to four college credits from Thomas Nelson Community College.

The Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology Scholars program uses a NASA-developed curriculum with a space-based theme and is aligned with Virginia Standards of Learning. Master educators work with students online, providing guidance and feedback on assignments.

VASTS is a partnership between the Virginia Space Grant Consortium and NASA Langley Research Center with assistance from the Virginia Department of Education and industry partners.

For more information on the VASTS program and for an application, visit

www.vasts.spacegrant.org

HAMPTON, Va. — NASA is inviting the public to join agency leaders and innovators from a variety of fields on Nov. 4 to discuss “What Matters Next.” Discussions and presentations on the theme will be the centerpiece of the second TEDxNASA, a daylong event modeled on the TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conferences that bring together leading thinkers to create a dialogue on important global challenges.

NASA’s Langley Research Center and the National Institute of Aerospace, both in Hampton, Va., are sponsoring TEDxNASA at the Ferguson Center for the Arts in nearby Newport News. It is free and open to the public and will also be streamed on the TEDxNASA website. Registration opens on Oct. 11 and runs through Oct. 24. For more information on the event and how to register or view, visit:

http://tedxnasa.com

“At TEDxNASA we’re able to bring together artists and engineers, rocket scientists and musicians,” said Lesa Roe, director of Langley. “Together we can create extraordinary conversations about what matters next and ideas to help us meet world challenges.”

More than 20 top speakers — focusing on education, innovation, family, technology, literature art and NASA — will share inspiring and thought-provoking stories as they do at a full TED event. The challenge of those presenting is to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes or less, based on the theme. NASA’s Chief Technologist Bobby Braun and Jim Green, director of the Planetary Science Division in the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, are among those slated to speak. Green will present at the same time NASA’s EPOXI spacecraft is flying by and snapping close-up images of comet Hartley 2, more than 11 million miles away from Earth.

Last year’s TEDxNASA event attracted international best-selling author Mitch Albom, Carnegie Hall humorist and guitar virtuoso Mike Rayburn and Virginia Tech robotic pioneer Dennis Hong, among others.

Reporters interested in attending the event should contact Kathy Barnstorff at kathy.barnstorff@nasa.gov.

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to “ideas worth spreading.” Started as a four-day conference in California 25 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. Conference presentations are made available for free at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Sir Richard Branson, and many others. The “x” in TEDxNASA indicates it is an independently organized TED event.

-end-

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. — NASA will host a Green Aviation Summit Sept.
8-9 to highlight the agency’s work to develop environmentally
responsible aviation technologies.

The two-day meeting at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field,
Calif., will bring together experts from NASA, other federal
government organizations, industry and academia. They will discuss
groundbreaking solutions that NASA and its research partners are
developing to reduce aircraft noise, emissions and fuel consumption,
and to ensure the safe and manageable growth of the aviation system.

The Green Aviation Summit will feature keynote presentations by
leading policymakers as well as detailed technical presentations and
panel discussions on the current state-of-the-art and emerging
technologies. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will address the
participants on Sept. 8.

Seating is limited. Journalists interested in attending the summit
must register online by Aug. 31. Portions of the event will be
broadcast live on NASA Television’s Education Channel.

WASHINGTON — NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have embarked on a joint program to explore Mars in the coming decades and selected the five science instruments for the first mission.

The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, scheduled to launch in 2016, is the first of three joint robotic missions to the Red Planet. It will study the chemical makeup of the Martian atmosphere with a 1000-fold increase in sensitivity over previous Mars orbiters. The mission will focus on trace gases, including methane, which could be potentially geochemical or biological in origin and be indicators for the existence of life on Mars. The mission also will serve as an additional communications relay for Mars surface missions beginning in 2018.

“Independently, NASA and ESA have made amazing discoveries up to this point,” said Ed Weiler, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “Working together, we’ll reduce duplication of effort, expand our capabilities and see results
neither ever could have achieved alone.”

NASA and ESA invited scientists worldwide to propose the spacecraft’s instruments. The five selected were from 19 proposals submitted in January. Both agencies evaluated the submissions and chose those with the best science value and lowest risk.

The selection of the instruments begins the first phase of the new NASA-ESA alliance for future ventures to Mars. The instruments and the principal investigators are:

— Mars Atmosphere Trace Molecule Occultation Spectrometer — A spectrometer designed to detect very low concentrations of the molecular components of the Martian atmosphere: Paul Wennberg, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena Calif.
— High Resolution Solar Occultation and Nadir Spectrometer — A spectrometer designed to detect traces of the components of the Martian atmosphere and to map where they are on the surface: Ann C. Vandaele, Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy, Brussels, Belgium.
— ExoMars Climate Sounder — An infrared radiometer that provides daily global data on dust, water vapor and other materials to provide the context for data analysis from the spectrometers: John Schofield, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif.
— High Resolution Color Stereo Imager — A camera that provides four-color stereo imaging at a resolution of two million pixels over an 8.5 km swath: Alfred McEwen, University of Arizona.
— Mars Atmospheric Global Imaging Experiment — A wide-angle, multi-spectral camera to provide global images of Mars in support of the other instruments: Bruce Cantor, Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, Calif.

The science teams on all the instruments have broad international participation from Europe and the United States, with important hardware contributions from Canada and Switzerland.

“To fully explore Mars, we want to marshal all the talents we can on Earth,” said David Southwood, ESA director for Science and Robotic Exploration. “Now NASA and ESA are combining forces for the joint ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter mission. Mapping methane allows us to investigate further that most important of questions: Is Mars a living planet, and if not, can or will it become so in the future?”

NASA and ESA share a common interest in conducting robotic missions to the Red Planet for scientific purposes and to prepare for possible human visits. After a series of extensive discussions, the science heads of both agencies agreed on a plan of cooperation during a July 2009 meeting in Plymouth, England, later confirmed by ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden in a statement of intent that was signed in November.

The plan consists of two Mars cooperative missions in 2016 and 2018, and a later joint sample return mission. The 2016 mission features the European-built ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, a European-built small lander demonstrator, a primarily-U.S. international science payload, and NASA-provided launch vehicle and communications components. ESA member states will provide additional instrument support.

The 2018 mission consists of a European rover with a drilling capability, a NASA rover capable of caching selected samples for potential future return to Earth, a NASA landing system, and a NASA launch vehicle. These activities are designed to serve as the foundation of a cooperative program to increase science returns and move the agencies toward a joint Mars sample return mission in the 2020s.

NASA’s Mars Exploration Program seeks to characterize and understand Mars as a dynamic system, including its present and past environment, climate cycles, geology and potential for life. JPL manages the program and development of the NASA-supplied instruments for the 2016 orbiter for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

For information about NASA’s Mars programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/mars

WASHINGTON — NASA will hold a media teleconference on Thursday, Aug.
5, at 3 p.m. EDT to discuss its upcoming airborne research campaign
into hurricane behavior.

The Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes mission, or GRIP, will
study how hurricanes are created and why they can intensify rapidly.
The mission involves three NASA research aircraft based in Florida,
Texas, and California, and observations from several NASA satellites.
GRIP will run from Aug. 15 to Sept. 25.

The teleconference panelists are:
– Ramesh Kakar, weather focus area lead, NASA Headquarters, Washington

– Scott Braun, hurricane modeler/research meteorologist, NASA’s
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
– Gerald Heymsfield, cloud radar expert/research meteorologist,
Goddard
– Ed Zipser, professor of meteorology, University of Utah, Salt Lake
City

WASHINGTON — NASA selected Orbital Sciences Corp.’s, Technical Services Division in Greenbelt, Md., for the agency’s Sounding Rockets Operations contract. The total value of this indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity cost-plus incentive fee contract is $310 million. The period of performance is five years.

Orbital Sciences will coordinate and implement NASA’s overall Sounding Rockets Program and provide services and supplies as necessary to complete individual missions and projects. Services include designing, fabricating, integrating, and performing flight qualification testing of sub-orbital payloads; providing launch
vehicles and associated hardware; and conducting various activities associated with subsequent mission launch operations.

Additional services to be provided under the contract may also include special engineering and technical support, education and outreach activities, and environmental studies.

The majority of the work will be done at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, which manages the agency’s sounding rocket program.