STUDENTS FROM NASA EXPLORER SCHOOLS NATIONWIDE MEET IN HOUSTON

WASHINGTON -- Students and teachers from throughout the nation will be
gathering at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston April 29-May 1 to
present research results to fellow students and NASA scientists and
engineers. The 62 students and 31 educators will represent 31 NASA
Explorer Schools at an annual national student symposium.

The students will learn more about NASA research and exploration
through facility tours and presentations from astronauts, scientists
and engineers. Students also will complete hands-on educational
activities related to current NASA missions.

The NASA Explorer Schools Project establishes a three-year partnership
between NASA and school teams to help fourth through ninth grade
education communities improve teaching and learning in science,
technology, math and engineering. The project works primarily with
diverse groups of students who are underrepresented in these
disciplines or who are traditionally underserved in rural or urban
parts of the country. The project joins educators, students and
families in sustained involvement with NASA's research, discoveries
and missions.

The opportunity to participate in the symposium was open to all
current NASA Explorer Schools. Students were required to complete a
research investigation focused on NASA missions or research
interests, including science, aerospace, reduced gravity, robotics,
plant growth in space, or living and working in space.

Regional virtual symposia were held in February and March at all 10
NASA centers using NASA's Digital Learning Network. The regional
symposia challenged students to present their research projects to a
panel of NASA experts via videoconferencing. Schools then
competitively selected students to represent their school at the
national symposium based upon the results of the regional symposia.

The NASA Explorer Schools selected to attend are:

Tanner High School, Tanner, Ala.; Cottonwood Day School, Chinle,
Ariz.; Sanders Middle School, Sanders, Ariz.; Edward Harris Jr.
Middle School, Elk Grove, Calif.; Johnson Elementary, Magnet for
Space Exploration and Technology, San Diego; Roosevelt Middle School,
Glendale, Calif.; San Cayetano Elementary School, Fillmore, Calif.;
Sequoia Middle School, Porterville, Calif.; Two Rivers Magnet School,
East Hartford, Conn.; Bear Creek Middle School, Fairburn, Ga.;
Conyers Middle School, Conyers, Ga.; Park Creek Elementary School,
Dalton, Ga.; Pearl City Elementary School, Pearl City, Hawaii;
Harding Middle School, Des Moines, Iowa; Greenville Elementary
School, Greenville, Ill.; Church Point Middle School, Church Point,
La.; Robert L. Ford K-8 School, Lynn, Mass.; A.L. Holmes Academy,
Detroit; Middle School at Parkside, Jackson, Mich.; Jefferson
Community Schools, Minneapolis; Northeast Nodaway Elementary School,
Parnell, Mo.; Lillie Burney Elementary, Hattiesburg, Miss.; Dr.
Albert E. Einstein Academy, Elizabeth, N.J.; Broughal Middle School,
Bethlehem, Pa.; Forest Lake Elementary Technology Magnet School,
Hopkins, S.C.; Kadoka Elementary, Kadoka, S.D.; Dr. Hesiquio
Rodriguez Elementary School, Harligen, Texas; Jacox Elementary,
Norfolk, Va.; John B. Cary, Richmond, Va.; Solon Springs Schools,
Solon Springs, Wis.; Arapahoe School, Arapahoe, Wyo.

The NASA Explorer Schools project continues the agency's tradition of
investing in the nation's education programs with the goal of
attracting and retaining students in science, technology, engineering
and math disciplines that are critical to NASA's future engineering,
scientific and technical missions. Since the inception of the
Explorer Schools project in 2003, NASA has established partnerships
with a total of 249 schools from diverse communities located in all
50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Video from the event will air on NASA Television's Video File on
Friday, May 1. For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling
information, visit:



http://www.nasa.gov/ntv


For more information about the NASA Explorer Schools project, visit:



http://explorerschools.nasa.gov


For more information about NASA's education programs, visit:



http://www.nasa.gov/education
 

NASA NANOSATELLITE TO STUDY ANTIFUNGAL DRUG EFFECTIVENESS IN SPACE

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- NASA is preparing to fly a small satellite
about the size of a loaf of bread that could help scientists better
understand how effectively drugs work in space. The nanosatellite,
known as PharmaSat, is a secondary payload aboard a U.S. Air Force
four-stage Minotaur 1 rocket planned for launch the evening of May 5.


PharmaSat weighs approximately 10 pounds. It contains a controlled
environment micro-laboratory packed with sensors and optical systems
that can detect the growth, density and health of yeast cells and
transmit that data to scientists for analysis on Earth. PharmaSat
also will monitor the levels of pressure, temperature and
acceleration the yeast and the satellite experience while circling
Earth at 17,000 miles per hour. Scientists will study how the yeast
responds during and after an antifungal treatment is administered at
three distinct dosage levels to learn more about drug action in
space, the satellite's primary goal.

The Minotaur 1 rocket is on the launch pad at NASA's Wallops Flight
Facility and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport located at Wallops
Island, Va. The Wallops range is conducting final checkouts. The U.S.
Air Force has announced that the rocket could launch at any time
during a three-hour launch window beginning at 8 p.m. EDT May 5.

"Secondary payload nanosatellites expand the number of opportunities
available to conduct research in microgravity by providing an
alternative to the International Space Station or space shuttle
conducted investigations," said Elwood Agasid, PharmaSat project
manager at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. "The
PharmaSat spacecraft builds upon the GeneSat-1 legacy with enhanced
monitoring and measurement capabilities, which will enable more
extensive scientific investigation."

After PharmaSat separates from the Minotaur 1 rocket and successfully
enters low Earth orbit at approximately 285 miles above Earth, it
will activate and begin transmitting radio signals to two ground
control stations. The primary ground station at SRI International in
Menlo Park, Calif., will transmit mission data from the satellite to
the spacecraft operators in the mission control center at NASA's Ames
Research Center. A secondary station is located at Santa Clara
University in Santa Clara, Calif.

When NASA spaceflight engineers make contact with PharmaSat, which
could happen as soon as one hour after launch, the satellite will
receive a command to initiate its experiment, which will last 96
hours. Once the experiment begins, PharmaSat will relay data in near
real-time to mission managers, engineers and project scientists for
further analysis. The nanosatellite could transmit data for as long
as six months.

"PharmaSat is an important experiment that will yield new information
about the susceptibility of microbes to antibiotics in the space
environment," said David Niesel, PharmaSat's co-investigator from the
University of Texas Medical Branch Department of Pathology and
Microbiology and Immunology in Galveston. "It also will prove that
biological experiments can be conducted on sophisticated autonomous
nanosatellites."

As with NASA's previous small satellite missions, such as the
GeneSat-1, which launched in 2006 and continues to transmit a beacon
to Earth, Santa Clara University invites amateur radio operators
around the world to tune in to the satellite's broadcast.

For more information and instructions about how to contact PharmaSat,
visit:



http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/smallsats/pharmasat.html


To view the launch via webcast, visit:



http://sites.wff.nasa.gov/webcast


For the more information about PharmaSat and other small satellite
missions, visit:



http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/smallsats

NEW GAMMA-RAY BURST SMASHES COSMIC DISTANCE RECORD

WASHINGTON -- NASA's Swift satellite and an international team of
astronomers have found a gamma-ray burst from a star that died when
the universe was only 630 million years old, or less than five
percent of its present age. The event, dubbed GRB 090423, is the most
distant cosmic explosion ever seen.

"Swift was designed to catch these very distant bursts," said Swift
lead scientist Neil Gehrels at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in
Greenbelt, Md. "The incredible distance to this burst exceeded our
greatest expectations -- it was a true blast from the past."

At 3:55 a.m. EDT on April 23, Swift detected a ten-second-long
gamma-ray burst of modest brightness. It quickly pivoted to bring its
ultraviolet/optical and X-ray telescopes to observe the burst
location. Swift saw a fading X-ray afterglow but none in visible
light.

"The burst most likely arose from the explosion of a massive star,"
said Derek Fox at Pennsylvania State University. "We're seeing the
demise of a star -- and probably the birth of a black hole -- in one
of the universe's earliest stellar generations."

Gamma-ray bursts are the universe's most luminous explosions. Most
occur when massive stars run out of nuclear fuel. As their cores
collapse into a black hole or neutron star, gas jets -- driven by
processes not fully understood -- punch through the star and blast
into space. There, they strike gas previously shed by the star and
heat it, which generates short-lived afterglows in many wavelengths.

"The lack of visible light alone suggested this could be a very
distant object," explained team member Edo Berger of Harvard
University.

Beyond a certain distance, the expansion of the universe shifts all
optical emission into longer infrared wavelengths. While a star's
ultraviolet light could be similarly shifted into the visible region,
ultraviolet-absorbing hydrogen gas grows thicker at earlier times.
"If you look far enough away, you can't see visible light from any
object," he noted.

Within three hours of the burst, Nial Tanvir at the University of
Leicester, U.K., and his colleagues reported detection of an infrared
source at the Swift position using the United Kingdom Infrared
Telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. "Burst afterglows provide us with the
most information about the exploded star and its environs," Tanvir
said. "But because afterglows fade out so fast, we must target them
quickly."

At the same time, Fox led an effort to obtain infrared images of the
afterglow using the Gemini North Telescope on Mauna Kea. The source
appeared in longer-wavelength images but was absent in an image taken
at the shortest wavelength of 1 micron. This "drop out" corresponded
to a distance of about 13 billion light-years.

As Fox spread the word about the record distance, telescopes around
the world slewed toward GRB 090423 to observe the afterglow before it
faded away.

At the Galileo National Telescope on La Palma in the Canary Islands, a
team including Guido Chincarini at the University of Milan-Bicocca,
Italy, determined that the afterglow's so-called redshift was 8.2.
Tanvir's team, gathering nearly simultaneous observations using one
of the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescopes on Cerro
Paranal, Chile, arrived at the same number. The burst exploded 13.035
billion light-years away.

"It's an incredible find," Chincarini said. "What makes it even better
is that a telescope named for Galileo made this measurement during
the year in which we celebrate the 400th anniversary of Galileo's
first astronomical use of the telescope."

A few hours later, Tanvir's team confirmed the distance using one of
the European Very Large Telescopes on Cerro Paranal in Chile.

The previous record holder was a burst seen in September 2008. It
showed a redshift of 6.7, which places it 190 million light-years
closer than GRB 090423.

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center manages Swift. It was built and is
being operated in collaboration with Pennsylvania State University,
the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, and General
Dynamics of Gilbert, Ariz., in the United States. International
collaborators include the University of Leicester and Mullard Space
Sciences Laboratory in the United Kingdom, Brera Observatory and the
Italian Space Agency in Italy, and additional partners in Germany and
Japan.

For more information, images and animations, visit:



http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/swift/bursts/cosmic_record.html

   
-end-

UPDATED WEB FEATURE SHOWS HOW NASA TECHNOLOGIES IMPROVE LIVES

WASHINGTON -- NASA has launched an expanded version of an interactive
online program that allows users to discover some of the many NASA
technologies that positively impact everyday life. The interactive
"NASA at Home" and "NASA City" sites are enhanced with many new
features, including green-related information to coincide with Earth
Day 2009.

NASA at Home and NASA City take users on an illustrated tour of the
commercial technologies and products that trace their origins to
NASA's investment in space and aeronautics research and development.

Visitors can scroll more than 100 technologies grouped by themes such
as home, airport, grocery store, sports arena, hospital, public
safety and manufacturing. After entering an area, users can
experience the impact NASA has on their lives and find descriptions
of such technologies as temperature-regulated clothing from materials
designed for astronaut suits and gloves, wireless headset telephone
technology pioneered to transmit the first words from the moon,
fire-resistant paint and steel coatings from NASA's heat shield
technology, and remote-controlled ovens based on technology used
aboard the International Space Station.

Among the new features on the sites is Spinoff Challenge, a metagame
that offers users NASA Home and City graphics, wallpapers and screen
savers. NASA Billboard gives visitors up to date information about
what is new at NASA. Audio and streaming video for each of the
technologies enhance the visitor's learning experience. Vibrant
visuals enable users to see the showcased technologies in new ways,
such as during the manufacturing process or their intended use. Users
can share the experience and knowledge with others with the
send-to-a-friend function.

NASA has documented more than 1,600 examples of how the agency's
technologies have been used to improve life on Earth in its annual
"Spinoff" publication. The technologies are available in an online
searchable database that can be accessed directly from this new web
feature.

To view NASA at Home and NASA City, visit:



http://www.nasa.gov/city


To learn more about NASA technologies that improve life on Earth,
visit:



http://ipp.nasa.gov/pd_spinoff.htm

NASA, NSBRI SELECT 12 PROPOSALS TO SUPPORT CREW HEALTH ON MISSIONS

WASHINGTON -- NASA's Human Research Program and the National Space
Biomedical Research Institute, or NSBRI, of Houston will fund a dozen
proposals to help investigate questions about astronaut health and
performance on future space exploration missions. The selected
proposals, representing 11 institutions in eight states, will receive
a total of almost $16 million during a three to four-year period.

The Human Research Program provides knowledge and technologies to
improve human health and performance during space exploration. The
program also develops possible countermeasures for problems
experienced during space travel.

Goals include the successful completion of exploration missions and
preservation of astronauts' health throughout their lives. The
program quantifies crew health and performance risks during
spaceflight and develops strategies that mission planners and system
developers can use to monitor and mitigate health and performance
risks.

The 12 projects were selected from 54 proposals NASA received in
response to a research announcement titled "Research and Technology
Development to Support Crew Health and Performance in Space
Exploration Missions."

The proposals were reviewed by non-NASA technical experts and selected
by NASA and NSBRI. Five of the projects will join the Human Research
Program's team of principal investigators, while seven will join
NSBRI's team-based research program.

NSBRI is a NASA-funded consortium of institutions studying health
risks related to long-duration spaceflight. The institute's science,
technology and education projects take place at more than 60
institutions across the United States.

A complete list of the selected principal investigators, organizations
and proposals is available on the Web at:



http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/acd/hrp_nsbri_awards_2009.html


For information about NASA's Human Research Program, visit:



http://humanresearch.jsc.nasa.gov


For information about NSBRI's science, technology and education
programs, visit:



http://www.nsbri.org


For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:



http://www.nasa.gov
 

EROSPACE SAFETY ADVISORY PANEL RELEASES ANNUAL REPORT

WASHINGTON -- The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, or ASAP, has
released its 2008 annual report. The report examines NASA's safety
performance and advises agency and government leaders on ways to
improve performance.

The ASAP is an independent group of experts that has been evaluating
NASA's safety performance and advising the agency on ways to improve
that performance since it was established in 1968.

"The panel members believe NASA and the new administration stand at a
critical crossroads for the nation," panel Chairman Joseph W. Dyer
said. "This was the driving factor in the panel's decision to provide
a brief, to-the-point letter report instead of the standard lengthy
annual report. It is our hope that this summary of critical
safety-related issues will help stimulate and focus the discussion
necessary to make those decisions."

The 11-page report covers such important issues as whether to extend
the space shuttle program; Soyuz reliability and safety; the
direction of exploration programs; workforce development and
sustainment; and safety improvements.

The ASAP bases its advice on direct observation of NASA's operations
and decision-making. In the aftermath of the shuttle Columbia
accident, Congress required the ASAP to submit an annual report to
the NASA administrator and Congress. This annual report examines
NASA's compliance with the recommendations of the Columbia Accident
Investigation Board, as well as NASA's management and culture related
to safety.

For more information about the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel and to
view the 2008 report, visit:



http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/oer/asap

NASA'S KEPLER CAPTURES FIRST VIEWS OF PLANET-HUNTING TERRITORY

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Kepler mission has taken its first images
of the star-rich sky where it will soon begin hunting for planets
like Earth.

The new "first light" images show the mission's target patch of sky, a
vast starry field in the Cygnus-Lyra region of our Milky Way galaxy.
One image shows millions of stars in Kepler's full field of view,
while two others zoom in on portions of the larger region. The images
can be seen online at:



http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/multimedia/20090416.html


"Kepler's first glimpse of the sky is awe-inspiring," said Lia
LaPiana, Kepler's program executive at NASA Headquarters in
Washington. "To be able to see millions of stars in a single snapshot
is simply breathtaking."

One new image from Kepler shows its entire field of view -- a
100-square-degree portion of the sky, equivalent to two side-by-side
dips of the Big Dipper. The regions contain an estimated 14 millions
stars, more than 100,000 of which were selected as ideal candidates
for planet hunting.

Two other views focus on just one-thousandth of the full field of
view. In one image, a cluster of stars located about 13,000
light-years from Earth, called NGC 6791, can be seen in the lower
left corner. The other image zooms in on a region containing a star,
called Tres-2, with a known Jupiter-like planet orbiting every 2.5
days.

"It's thrilling to see this treasure trove of stars," said William
Borucki, science principal investigator for Kepler at NASA's Ames
Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif. "We expect to find hundreds
of planets circling those stars, and for the first time, we can look
for Earth-size planets in the habitable zones around other stars like
the sun."

Kepler will spend the next three-and-a-half years searching more than
100,000 pre-selected stars for signs of planets. It is expected to
find a variety of worlds, from large, gaseous ones, to rocky ones as
small as Earth. The mission is the first with the ability to find
planets like ours -- small, rocky planets orbiting sun-like stars in
the habitable zone, where temperatures are right for possible lakes
and oceans of water.

To find the planets, Kepler will stare at one large expanse of sky for
the duration of its lifetime, looking for periodic dips in starlight
that occur as planets circle in front of their stars and partially
block the light. Its 95-megapixel camera, the largest ever launched
into space, can detect tiny changes in a star's brightness of only 20
parts per million. Images from the camera are intentionally blurred
to minimize the number of bright stars that saturate the detectors.
While some of the slightly saturated stars are candidates for planet
searches, heavily saturated stars are not.

"Everything about Kepler has been optimized to find Earth-size
planets," said James Fanson, Kepler's project manager at NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Our images are road maps
that will allow us, in a few years, to point to a star and say a
world like ours is there."

Scientists and engineers will spend the next few weeks calibrating
Kepler's science instrument, the photometer, and adjusting the
telescope's alignment to achieve the best focus. Once these steps are
complete, the planet hunt will begin.

"We've spent years designing this mission, so actually being able to
see through its eyes is tremendously exciting," said Eric Bachtell,
the lead Kepler systems engineer at Ball Aerospace & Technology Corp.
in Boulder, Colo. Bachtell has been working on the design,
development and testing of Kepler for nine years.

Kepler is a NASA Discovery mission. Ames is responsible for the ground
system development, mission operations and science data analysis. JPL
manages the Kepler mission development. Ball Aerospace & Technologies
Corp. is responsible for developing the Kepler flight system and
supporting mission operations.

For images, animations and more information about the Kepler mission,
visit:



http://www.nasa.gov/kepler

NASA SELECTS 16 SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PROJECTS

WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected 16 proposals for negotiation of Phase
2 contract awards in the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR)
program. The selected projects have a total value of approximately
$9.6 million. The contracts will be awarded to 16 hi-tech firms
partnered with 15 universities in 18 states.

The Small Business Administration provides guidance for the general
conduct of the STTR Program. NASA is one of the federal agencies
required to reserve a portion of its research and development funds
to award to small business. NASA works closely with Small Business
Administration to ensure compliance with federal regulations.

NASA's Innovative Partnerships Program office at the agency's
headquarters in Washington provides executive oversight of the STTR
program as part of its focus on emerging technologies and efforts to
advance technological innovation for NASA purposes. The office
partners with U.S. industry to infuse innovative technologies into
NASA missions and transition them into commercially available
products and services for NASA and other markets.

As an investment opportunity, STTR innovations address specific
technology gaps in mission programs, provide a foundation for future
technology needs, and are complementary to other NASA research
investments.

Examples of some STTR technologies being pursued in current selected
proposals are provided below:

* A novel on-chip sensor system that monitors body fluids to follow
the potential onset and progress of diseases is being developed. The
integrated platform will provide the technological backbone to
develop microfluidic processing systems and nano-biosensors for a
variety of applications in healthcare and the life sciences.

* A smart reconfigurable antenna for space suits is under development
for use during NASA's spacewalking operations on the moon. These
proposed smart antennas offer a high performance-to-cost ratio and
may reduce the cost of mobile communication antennas.

* A new coordinated control architecture for a new generation of
robotic vehicles is under development. It will improve motion
planning for cooperative mechanisms, task sequencing and monitoring,
and enable the robotic vehicles to work in closely coordinated teams.
This control architecture also can be applied to commercial sector
robots, making factories and warehouses more efficient.

Research proposed to develop a technique and sensor to measure
simultaneously the concentrations of several contaminants in hydrogen
gas storage tanks and supply lines. The purity of hydrogen fuel is
important in engine testing at NASA and the proposed sensor may also
be used for quality control in pharmaceutical, chemical and food
processing industries.

Participating firms and research institutions submitted 25 Phase 2
proposals. The criteria used to select the winning proposals included
technical merit and innovation, Phase 1 results, value to NASA,
commercial potential, and company capabilities.

The program is a highly competitive, three-phase award system. It
provides qualified small businesses, including women-owned and
disadvantaged firms, with opportunities to propose innovative ideas
that meet specific research and development needs of the federal
government. In addition, the STTR program requires a collaborative
research effort between small business and research institutions.

Phase 1 is a feasibility study to evaluate the scientific and
technical merit of an idea. Awards are for up to 12 months in amounts
up to $100,000. Phase 2 expands on the results of the development in
Phase 1. Awards are for up to two years in amounts up to $600,000.
Phase 3 is for the commercialization of the results of Phase 2 and
requires the use of private sector or non-STTR federal funding. These
NASA awards are for the second-phase in this competitive process.

NASA's STTR program operations are managed by NASA's Ames Research
Center at Moffett Field, Calif. Individual projects are managed by
NASA's field installations. For a list of selected companies, visit:



http://sbir.nasa.gov


For information about the Innovative Partnerships Program, visit:



http://www.ipp.nasa.gov

NASA NEW SPACE STATION MODULE NAME HONORS APOLLO 11 ANNIVERSARY

WASHINGTON -- The International Space Station module formerly known as
Node 3 has a new name. After more than a million online responses,
the node will be called "Tranquility."

The name Tranquility was chosen from thousands of suggestions
submitted by participants on NASA's Web site, www.nasa.gov. The "Help
Name Node 3" poll asked people to vote for the module's name either
by choosing one of four options listed by NASA or offering their own
suggestion. Tranquility was one of the top 10 suggestions submitted
by respondents to the poll, which ended March 20.

"The public did a fantastic job and surprised us with the quality and
volume of the suggestions," said Bill Gerstenmaier, associate
administrator for Space Operations. "Apollo 11 landed on the moon at
the Sea of Tranquility 40 years ago this July. We selected
'Tranquility' because it ties it to exploration and the moon and
symbolizes the spirit of international cooperation embodied by the
space station."

NASA announced the name Tuesday with the help of Expedition 14 and 15
astronaut Suni Williams on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report." The
show's producers offered to host the name selection announcement
after comedian Stephen Colbert took an interest in the poll and urged
his viewers to suggest the name "Colbert," which received the most
entries.

"We don't typically name U.S. space station hardware after living
people and this is no exception," Gerstenmaier joked. "However, NASA
is naming its new space station treadmill the 'Combined Operational
Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill,' or COLBERT. We have
invited Stephen to Florida for the launch of COLBERT and to Houston
to try out a version of the treadmill that astronauts train on."

The treadmill is targeted to launch to the station in August. It will
be installed in Tranquility after the node arrives at the station
next year. A newly-created patch will depict the acronym and an
illustration of the treadmill.

Tranquility is scheduled to arrive at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in
Florida in May. There, it will be prepared for space shuttle
Endeavour's flight, designated STS-130, which is targeted for launch
in February 2010. Tranquility will join four other named U.S. modules
on the station: the Destiny laboratory, the Quest airlock, the Unity
node and the Harmony node.

Tranquility is a pressurized module that will provide room for many of
the space station's life support systems. Attached to the node is a
cupola, which is a unique work station with six windows on the sides
and one on top.

Suni Williams made the announcement on "The Colbert Report" two years
after running the Boston Marathon in space on a station treadmill
similar to COLBERT. Video of Williams' run and the name announcement
on "The Colbert Report" will air on NASA Television's Video File. For
NASA TV downlink, streaming video and scheduling information, visit:



http://www.nasa.gov/ntv


For more information about the node naming poll, visit:



http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/name_ISS/index.html

NASA SPACECRAFT SHOW THREE DIMENSIONAL ANATOMY OF A SOLAR STORM

WASHINGTON -- Twin NASA spacecraft have provided scientists with their
first view of the speed, trajectory, and three-dimensional shape of
powerful explosions from the sun known as coronal mass ejections, or
CMEs. This new capability will dramatically enhance scientists'
ability to predict if and how these solar tsunamis could affect
Earth.

When directed toward our planet, these ejections can be breathtakingly
beautiful and yet potentially cause damaging effects worldwide. The
brightly colored phenomena known as auroras -- more commonly called
Northern or Southern Lights -- are examples of Earth's upper
atmosphere harmlessly being disturbed by a CME. However, ejections
can produce a form of solar cosmic rays that can be hazardous to
spacecraft, astronauts and technology on Earth.

Space weather produces disturbances in electromagnetic fields on Earth
that can induce extreme currents in wires, disrupting power lines and
causing wide-spread blackouts. These sun storms can interfere with
communications between ground controllers and satellites and with
airplane pilots flying near Earth's poles. Radio noise from the storm
also can disrupt cell phone service. Space weather has been
recognized as causing problems with new technology since the
invention of the telegraph in the 19th century.

NASA's twin Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory, or STEREO,
spacecraft are providing the unique scientific tool to study these
ejections as never before. Launched in October 2006, STEREO's nearly
identical observatories can make simultaneous observations of these
ejections of plasma and magnetic energy that originate from the sun's
outer atmosphere, or corona. The spacecraft are stationed at
different vantage points. One leads Earth in its orbit around the
sun, while the other trails the planet.

Using three-dimensional observations, solar physicists can examine a
CME's structure, velocity, mass, and direction in the corona while
tracking it through interplanetary space. These measurements can help
determine when a CME will reach Earth and predict how much energy it
will deliver to our magnetosphere, which is Earth's protective
magnetic shield.

"Before this unique mission, measurements and the subsequent data of a
CME observed near the sun had to wait until the ejections arrived at
Earth three to seven days later," said Angelos Vourlidas, a solar
physicist at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington. Vourlidas
is a project scientist for the Sun Earth Connection Coronal and
Heliospheric Investigation, STEREO's key science instrument suite.
"Now we can see a CME from the time it leaves the solar surface until
it reaches Earth, and we can reconstruct the event in 3D directly
from the images."

These ejections carry billions of tons of plasma into space at
thousands of miles per hour. This plasma, which carries with it some
of the magnetic field from the corona, can create a large, moving
disturbance in space that produces a shock wave. The wave can
accelerate some of the surrounding particles to high energies that
can produce a form of solar cosmic rays. This process also can create
disruptive space weather during and following the CME's interaction
with Earth's magnetosphere and upper atmosphere.

"The new vantage point of these spacecraft has revolutionized the
study of solar physics," said Madhulika Guhathakurta, STEREO program
scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "We can better
determine the impact of CME effects on Earth because of our new
ability to observe in 3D."

STEREO is part of NASA's Solar Terrestrial Probes Program in NASA's
Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The program seeks to
understand the fundamental physical processes of the space
environment from the sun to Earth and other planets.

The Solar Terrestrial Probes Program also seeks to understand how
society, technological systems and the habitability of planets are
affected by solar processes. This information may lead to a better
ability to predict extreme and dynamic conditions in space, and the
development of new technologies to increase safety and productivity
of human and robotic space exploration.

For more information about NASA's STEREO mission, visit:










http://www.nasa.gov/stereo

NASA TO ANNOUNCE NEW SPACE STATION MODULE NAME APRIL 14

WASHINGTON -- NASA's newest module for the International Space Station
will get a new name on April 14.

The agency plans to make the announcement with the help of Expedition
14 and 15 astronaut Sunita "Suni" Williams on Comedy Central's "The
Colbert Report." The program will air at 11:30 p.m. EDT.

The name, which will not be publicly released until the program airs,
was selected from thousands of unique suggestions submitted on NASA's
Internet site, www.nasa.gov. The "Help Name Node 3" poll asked people
to vote for the module's name either by choosing one of four NASA
options or by offering their own suggestion. The poll closed on March
20.

"The node naming poll was organic and took on a life of its own," said
Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations at
NASA Headquarters in Washington. "We received more than a million
entries, in large part because social media Web sites and television
programs, such as 'The Colbert Report,' took an interest. This spread
overall awareness of the International Space Station."

NASA originally planned to announce the node's name on April 28 after
it arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. However, the
node's arrival at Kennedy is delayed until May, so the announcement
moved to April 14.

The show's producers offered to host the name selection announcement
after comedian and host Stephen Colbert took interest during the
census and urged his followers to post the name "Colbert."

"I certainly hope NASA does the right thing," said Colbert. "Just
kidding, I hope they name it after me."

Node 3 is a pressurized module that will provide room for many of the
space station's life support systems. Attached to the node is the
cupola, a one-of-a-kind work station with six windows around the
sides and one on top. Node 3 is targeted for launch in late 2009.

For more information about the station and Node 3, visit:



http://www.nasa.gov/station

NASA JOHNSON SAFETY AND MISSION ASSURANCE CONTRACT EXTENDED

WASHINGTON -- NASA has exercised a $58 million, one-year extension
option for a contract with Science Applications International
Corporation of Houston to provide support to safety and mission
assurance activities at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The Safety and Mission Assurance Support Services contract helps
ensure safety, reliability, maintainability, and quality in the
International Space Station Program, the Space Shuttle Program and
the Constellation Program.

This cost-plus-award-fee contract option continues services from May
1, 2009, through April 30, 2010. Work under the contract will be
performed at Johnson, NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida and at
NASA's White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico.

Significant subcontractors in the work include Futron Corp. of
Bethesda, Md.; GHG of Houston; M.H. Chew of Livermore, Calif.; URS -
Washington Division of Princeton, N.J.; Management Technology
Associates of Huntsville, Ala.; J&P Technologies of Houston; JES Tech
of Houston; SoHaR Incorporated of Culver City, Calif.; and Texas
Southern University of Houston.

For more information about NASA's Johnson Space Center, visit:



http://www.nasa.gov/johnson

SPACE STATION CREW LANDS IN SOYUZ AFTER SUCCESSFUL MISSION

HOUSTON -- Two members of the 18th crew to live and work aboard the
International Space Station and a spaceflight participant returned to
Earth at 2:16 a.m. CDT Wednesday. NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, Russian
cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov and spaceflight participant Charles Simonyi
safely landed their Soyuz spacecraft in the steppes of southern
Kazakhstan.

The Expedition 18 crew members undocked their Soyuz from the station
at 10:55 p.m. April 7. The deorbit burn to slow the Soyuz and begin
its descent toward Earth began at 1:24 a.m. April 8. The landing was
moved to a more southerly landing site because of poor landing
conditions at the original site.

Fincke commanded the Expedition 18 mission, which saw the station go
to full power and begin water supply recycling. He spent 178 days in
orbit on this flight and has accumulated a full year in space during
his career. Launching to the station on Oct. 12, 2008, he also became
the first American to fly to and from the space station twice aboard
a Russian Soyuz. Fincke served almost 188 days as a flight engineer
on the Expedition 9 crew, which launched April 18, 2004, and returned
to Earth on Oct. 23, 2004.

Lonchakov completed his first long-duration spaceflight. He spent
nearly 12 days aboard the space shuttle Endeavour in 2001. He spent
nearly 11 days in space in 2002, launching aboard one Soyuz craft and
landing in another while carrying different crews to the space
station and back. With this mission, he has accumulated a total of
more than 200 days in space.

Simonyi, an American, spent 11 days on the station under a commercial
agreement with the Russian Federal Space Agency. He is the only
spaceflight participant to visit the station twice.

The Expedition 18 crew worked with a variety of experiments, including
human life sciences, physical sciences and Earth observation. Many of
the experiments are designed to gather information about the effects
of long-duration spaceflight on the human body, which will help with
planning future missions to the moon and beyond. Other experiments
involved practical solutions to extended mission challenges such as
repairing electrical components and fighting fire in microgravity.

Before undocking, Fincke and Lonchakov bid farewell to the new station
crew, Expedition 19 Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer
Mike Barratt, who launched to the station on a Soyuz March 26.
Remaining on the station with Padalka and Barratt as an Expedition 19
crew member is Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi
Wakata. Wakata launched to the orbiting laboratory on space shuttle
Discovery's STS-119 mission on March 15.

The Expedition 19 crew will be joined in orbit by Russian cosmonaut
Roman Romanenko, European Space Agency astronaut Frank De Winne and
Canadian Space Agency astronaut Robert Thirsk in May, inaugurating
the station's first six-person crew. It also will be the first time
that crew members from all five International Space Station partners
will be living aboard at the same time.

For information about the space station, visit:



http://www.nasa.gov/station

NASA SELECTS MATERIAL FOR ORION SPACECRAFT HEAT SHIELD

HOUSTON -- NASA has chosen the material for a heat shield that will
protect a new generation of space explorers when they return from the
moon. After extensive study, NASA has selected the Avcoat ablator
system for the Orion crew module.

Orion is part of the Constellation Program that is developing the
country's next-generation spacecraft system for human exploration of
the moon and further destinations in the solar system. The Orion crew
module, which will launch atop an Ares I rocket, is targeted to begin
carrying astronauts to the International Space Station in 2015 and to
the moon in 2020.

Orion will face extreme conditions during its voyage to the moon and
on the journey home. On the blistering return through Earth's
atmosphere, the module will encounter temperatures as high as 5,000
degrees Fahrenheit. Heating rates may be up to five times more
extreme than rates for missions returning from the International
Space Station. Orion's heat shield, the dish-shaped thermal
protection system at the base of the spacecraft, will endure the most
heat and will erode, or "ablate," in a controlled fashion,
transporting heat away from the crew module during its descent
through the atmosphere.

To protect the spacecraft and its crew from such severe conditions,
the Orion Project Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston
identified a team to develop the thermal protection system, or TPS,
heat shield. For more than three years, NASA's Orion Thermal
Protection System Advanced Development Project considered eight
different candidate materials, including the two final candidates,
Avcoat and Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator, or PICA, both of
which have proven successful in previous space missions.

Avcoat was used for the Apollo capsule heat shield and on select
regions of the space shuttle orbiter in its earliest flights. It was
put back into production for the study. It is made of silica fibers
with an epoxy-novalic resin filled in a fiberglass-phenolic honeycomb
and is manufactured directly onto the heat shield substructure and
attached as a unit to the crew module during spacecraft assembly.
PICA, which is manufactured in blocks and attached to the vehicle
after fabrication, was used on Stardust, NASA's first robotic space
mission dedicated solely to exploring a comet, and the first sample
return mission since Apollo.

"NASA made a significant technology development effort, conducted
thousands of tests, and tapped into the facilities, talents and
resources across the agency to understand how these materials would
perform on Orion's five-meter wide heat shield," said James Reuther,
the project manager of the study at NASA's Ames Research Center at
Moffett Field, Calif. "We manufactured full-scale demonstrations to
prove they could be efficiently and reliably produced for Orion."

Ames led the study in cooperation with experts from across the agency.
Engineers performed rigorous thermal, structural and environmental
testing on both candidate materials. The team then compared the
materials based on mass, thermal and structural performance, life
cycle costs, manufacturability, reliability and certification
challenges. NASA, working with Orion prime contractor Lockheed
Martin, recommended Avcoat as the more robust, reliable and mature
system.

"The biggest challenge with Avcoat has been reviving the technology to
manufacture the material such that its performance is similar to what
was demonstrated during the Apollo missions," said John Kowal,
Orion's thermal protection system manager at Johnson. "Once that had
been accomplished, the system evaluations clearly indicated that
Avcoat was the preferred system."

In partnership with the material subcontractor, Textron Defense
Systems of Wilmington, Mass., Lockheed Martin will continue
development of the material for Orion. While Avcoat was selected as
the better of the two candidates, more research is needed to
integrate it completely into Orion's design.

For more information about the Orion crew module, visit:



http://www.nasa.gov/orion

SATELLITES SHOW ARCTIC LITERALLY ON THIN ICE

WASHINGTON -- The latest Arctic sea ice data from NASA and the
National Snow and Ice Data Center show that the decade-long trend of
shrinking sea ice cover is continuing. New evidence from satellite
observations also shows that the ice cap is thinning as well.

Arctic sea ice works like an air conditioner for the global climate
system. Ice naturally cools air and water masses, plays a key role in
ocean circulation, and reflects solar radiation back into space. In
recent years, Arctic sea ice has been declining at a surprising rate.


Scientists who track Arctic sea ice cover from space announced today
that this winter had the fifth lowest maximum ice extent on record.
The six lowest maximum events since satellite monitoring began in
1979 have all occurred in the past six years (2004-2009).

Until recently, the majority of Arctic sea ice survived at least one
summer and often several. But things have changed dramatically,
according to a team of University of Colorado, Boulder, scientists
led by Charles Fowler. Thin seasonal ice -- ice that melts and
re-freezes every year -- makes up about 70 percent of the Arctic sea
ice in wintertime, up from 40 to 50 percent in the 1980s and 1990s.
Thicker ice, which survives two or more years, now comprises just 10
percent of wintertime ice cover, down from 30 to 40 percent.

According to researchers from the National Snow and Ice Data Center in
Boulder, Colo., the maximum sea ice extent for 2008-09, reached on
Feb. 28, was 5.85 million square miles. That is 278,000 square miles
less than the average extent for 1979 to 2000.

"Ice extent is an important measure of the health of the Arctic, but
it only gives us a two-dimensional view of the ice cover," said
Walter Meier, research scientist at the center and the University of
Colorado, Boulder. "Thickness is important, especially in the winter,
because it is the best overall indicator of the health of the ice
cover. As the ice cover in the Arctic grows thinner, it grows more
vulnerable to melting in the summer."

The Arctic ice cap grows each winter as the sun sets for several
months and intense cold sets in. Some of that ice is naturally pushed
out of the Arctic by winds, while much of it melts in place during
summer. The thicker, older ice that survives one or more summers is
more likely to persist through the next summer.

Sea ice thickness has been hard to measure directly, so scientists
have typically used estimates of ice age to approximate its
thickness. But last year a team of researchers led by Ron Kwok of
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., produced the
first map of sea ice thickness over the entire Arctic basin.

Using two years of data from NASA's Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation
Satellite (ICESat), Kwok's team estimated thickness and volume of the
Arctic Ocean ice cover for 2005 and 2006. They found that the average
winter volume of Arctic sea ice contained enough water to fill Lake
Michigan and Lake Superior combined.

The older, thicker sea ice is declining and is being replaced with
newer, thinner ice that is more vulnerable to summer melt, according
to Kwok. His team found that seasonal sea ice averages about 6 feet
in thickness, while ice that had lasted through more than one summer
averages about 9 feet, though it can grow much thicker in some
locations near the coast.

Kwok is currently working to extend the ICESat estimate further, from
2003 to 2008, to see how the recent decline in the area covered by
sea ice is mirrored in changes in its volume.

"With these new data on both the area and thickness of Arctic sea ice,
we will be able to better understand the sensitivity and
vulnerability of the ice cover to changes in climate," Kwok said.

For more information about Arctic sea ice, visit:





http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/arctic_thinice.html
 

ASA LUNAR SPACECRAFT SHIPS SOUTH IN PREPARATION FOR LAUNCH

GREENBELT, Md. -- NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO,
spacecraft was loaded on a truck Wednesday to begin its two-day
journey to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Launch is targeted
for April 24.

The spacecraft was built by engineers at Goddard, where it recently
completed two months of tests in a thermal vacuum chamber. During its
time in the chamber, the spacecraft was subjected to hot and cold
temperatures it will experience as it orbits the moon.

The satellite's mission is one of the first steps in NASA's plan to
return astronauts to the moon. LRO will spend at least one year in a
low polar orbit on its primary exploration mission, with the
possibility of three more years to collect additional detailed
scientific information about the moon and its environment.

The orbiter will carry seven instruments to provide scientists with
detailed maps of the lunar surface and enhance our understanding of
the moon's topography, lighting conditions, mineralogical composition
and natural resources. Information gleaned from LRO will be used to
select safe landing sites, determine locations for future lunar
outposts and help mitigate radiation dangers to astronauts. The polar
regions of the moon are the main focus of the mission because
continuous access to sunlight may be possible and water ice may exist
in permanently shadowed areas of the poles.

"This is the culmination of four years of hard work by everyone on the
LRO Project," said Cathy Peddie, LRO deputy project manager at NASA's
Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "LRO now begins its
launch site processing, where it will be prepped for integration with
our sister mission LCROSS, and eventually encapsulated in the Atlas V
for its journey to the moon."

LRO's instruments have considerable heritage from previous planetary
science missions, enabling the spacecraft to transition to a research
phase under the direction of NASA's Science Mission Directorate one
year after launch.

Accompanying LRO on its journey to the moon will be the Lunar Crater
Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, a mission that will
impact the lunar surface in its search for water ice. The LCROSS
mission is managed by NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field,
Calif.

Goddard manages the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's
Exploration Systems Mission Directorate in Washington.

For more information about LRO, visit:



http://www.nasa.gov/lro

NASA SETS TARGET SHUTTLE LAUNCH DATE FOR HUBBLE SERVICING MISSION

HOUSTON -- NASA announced Thursday that space shuttle Atlantis'
STS-125 mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope is targeted to
launch May 12, 2009.

The final servicing mission to Hubble was delayed in September when a
data handling unit on the telescope failed. Since then, engineers
have been working to prepare a spare for flight. They expect to be
able to ship the spare, known as the Science Instrument Command and
Data Handling System, to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida in
spring 2009.

STS-125 is an 11-day flight featuring five spacewalks to extend
Hubble's life into the next decade by refurbishing and upgrading the
telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments and swapping
failed hardware. Scott Altman will command STS-125, with Gregory C.
Johnson serving as pilot. Mission specialists are veteran
spacewalkers John Grunsfeld and Mike Massimino, and first-time space
fliers Andrew Feustel, Michael Good and Megan McArthur.

The manifest has been adjusted to reflect current planning. The next
space shuttle mission, STS-119, is targeted for launch on Feb. 12,
2009. Preparations continue for the STS-127 mission, currently
targeted for launch in May 2009. That launch will be further assessed
and coordinated with NASA's international partners at a later date.
STS-128 is targeted for August 2009, and STS-129 is targeted for
November 2009. All target launch dates are subject to change.

The shuttle launch manifest is available at:



http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/iss_manifest.html


For more information about the Hubble repair mission, visit:



http://www.nasa.gov/hubble
 

NEXT NASA MARS MISSION RESCHEDULED FOR 2011

WASHINGTON -- NASA's Mars Science Laboratory will launch two years
later than previously planned in the fall of 2011. The mission will
send a next-generation rover with unprecedented research tools to
study the early environmental history of Mars.

A launch date of October 2009 no longer is feasible because of testing
and hardware challenges that must be addressed to ensure mission
success. The window for a 2009 launch ends in late October. The
relative positions of Earth and Mars are favorable for flights to
Mars only a few weeks every two years. The next launch opportunity
after 2009 is in 2011.

"We will not lessen our standards for testing the mission's complex
flight systems, so we are choosing the more responsible option of
changing the launch date," said Doug McCuistion, director of the Mars
Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Up to this
point, efforts have focused on launching next year, both to begin the
exciting science and because the delay will increase taxpayers'
investment in the mission. However, we've reached the point where we
can not condense the schedule further without compromising vital
testing."

The Mars Science Laboratory team recently completed an assessment of
the progress it has made in the past three months. As a result of the
team's findings, the launch date was changed.

"Despite exhaustive work in multiple shifts by a dedicated team, the
progress in recent weeks has not come fast enough on solving
technical challenges and pulling hardware together," said Charles
Elachi, director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena,
Calif. "The right and smart course now for a successful mission is to
launch in 2011." 

The advanced rover is one of the most technologically challenging
interplanetary missions ever designed. It will use new technologies
to adjust its flight while descending through the Martian atmosphere,
and to set the rover on the surface by lowering it on a tether from a
hovering descent stage. Advanced research instruments make up a
science payload 10 times the mass of instruments on NASA's Spirit and
Opportunity Mars rovers. The Mars Science Laboratory is engineered to
drive longer distances over rougher terrain than previous rovers. It
will employ a new surface propulsion system.

Rigorous testing of components and systems is essential to develop
such a complex mission and prepare it for launch. Tests during the
middle phases of development resulted in decisions to re-engineer key
parts of the spacecraft.

"Costs and schedules are taken very seriously on any science mission,"
said Ed Weiler, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission
Directorate at NASA Headquarters. "However, when it's all said and
done, the passing grade is mission success."

The mission will explore a Mars site where images taken by NASA's
orbiting spacecraft indicate there were wet conditions in the past.
Four candidate landing sites are under consideration. The rover will
check for evidence of whether ancient Mars environments had
conditions favorable for supporting microbial life and preserving
evidence of that life if it existed there.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the Mars Science Laboratory
project for the Science Mission Directorate.

For more information about the Mars Science Laboratory, visit:



http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl
 

VETERAN ASTRONAUT CARL WALZ LEAVES NASA

HOUSTON -- NASA astronaut Carl Walz is leaving the agency to take a
job in the private sector.

Walz most recently served as director for the Advanced Capabilities
Division in the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA
Headquarters in Washington. In the division, he played a key role in
developing technologies that will lead to greater capabilities in
robotic and human exploration of the solar system. He oversaw work in
many fields, including nuclear power and propulsion, human adaptation
to spaceflight, and lunar exploration. Many of these programs will
help humans return to the moon and develop a sustained presence
there.

"NASA owes a great debt to Carl Walz for his service as an astronaut
and the expertise and perspective he has shared with us in the
Advanced Capabilities Division," said Doug Cooke, associate
administrator for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. "The
legacy of his leadership will be strongly felt in the next generation
of manned space missions."

A veteran of four space shuttle missions and one International Space
Station expedition, Walz spent 231 days in space. He and fellow
astronaut Dan Bursch held the U.S. spaceflight endurance record of
196 days in space until April 2007.

Expedition 4, his last mission, launched aboard space shuttle
Endeavour in December 2001. Walz, one of the station's earliest
inhabitants, set up equipment and experiments for the orbiting
laboratory. He also completed two spacewalks during the mission, one
in a Russian Orlan suit to outfit the Russian-supplied docking
compartment and one in a U.S. spacesuit to prepare the station for
its first truss segment. His spacewalks lasted a total of 11 hours,
52 minutes.

A retired U.S. Air Force Colonel, Walz also flew on STS-51 in
September 1993, STS-65 in July 1994 and STS-79 in September 1996.

Walz and the STS-51 crew deployed the U.S. Advanced Communications
Technology Satellite and the Shuttle Pallet Satellite. He also took a
seven-hour spacewalk to evaluate tools for the Hubble Space Telescope
servicing mission during that flight.

During STS-65, Walz and the crew worked in the second International
Microgravity Laboratory spacelab module and conducted more than 80
materials and life sciences experiments. That mission completed 236
orbits of Earth, traveling 6.1 million miles and setting a new flight
duration record for the shuttle program.

On STS-79, the seven-member crew docked with the Russian Mir station
and set a record for docked mass in space. That mission also
completed a crew transfer, provided vital supplies to the Mir, and
conducted important research and technology demonstrations.
NASA selected Walz as an astronaut in January 1990. In addition to his
flights, he served in a variety of technical and management positions
within the Astronaut Office in Houston.

For Walz's complete biography, visit:



http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/walz.html


For more information about NASA's Exploration programs, visit:



http://www.nasa.gov/exploration
 

SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR SET TO LAND SUNDAY

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The space shuttle Endeavour crew is expected
to complete its mission to the International Space Station with a
landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:19 p.m. EST on
Sunday, Nov. 30. This will conclude a 16-day flight, 11 of which were
spent docked to the station.

The STS-126 mission began Nov. 14 and prepared the space station to
house six crew members for long-duration missions. The new station
cargo includes a water recovery system, additional sleeping quarters,
a second toilet and a resistance exercise device. During four
spacewalks, the crew serviced the station's two Solar Alpha Rotary
Joints, which allow its solar arrays to track the sun, and installed
new equipment in support of future assembly missions. The flight also
delivered station resident Sandra Magnus to the outpost. Greg
Chamitoff will return to Earth aboard Endeavour after spending more
than five months aboard the complex.

The entry flight control team in Mission Control, Houston, will
evaluate weather conditions at Kennedy before permitting Endeavour to
return to Earth. Sunday landing opportunities at Kennedy are at 1:19
p.m. and 2:54 p.m. The secondary landing site at Edwards Air Force
Base, Calif., will be activated Sunday for consideration as well. The
opportunities at Edwards are 4:24 p.m. and 5:59 p.m.

Approximately two hours after landing, NASA officials will hold a
media briefing to discuss the mission. The participants will be:
- Michael Griffin, NASA administrator
- Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for Space Operations

- Mike Leinbach, NASA space shuttle launch director

After touchdown in Florida, the astronauts will undergo physical
examinations and meet with their families. The STS-126 crew is
expected to hold a news conference at approximately 6 p.m. Sunday.
Both news events will be broadcast live on NASA Television. Media
interested in participating in the news conference at Kennedy must
pick up their accreditation badges on Sunday.

The Kennedy News Center will open for landing activities at 8 a.m.
Sunday and close at 8 p.m. or one hour after the last media event.
The STS-126 media badges are in effect through landing. The media
accreditation building on State Road 3 will be open on Sunday from 8
a.m. to noon. The last bus will depart from the news center for the
Shuttle Landing Facility one hour before landing. For updated
information about the landing, call 321-867-2525.

In the event landing is diverted to Edwards, media should call the
Dryden public affairs office at 661-276-3449. Dryden has limited
facilities available for use by previously accredited journalists.

For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming
video, visit:
 

ASA USES ITUNES TO SHARE DEVELOPMENT PROGRESS OF ARES ROCKET

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- Video updates reporting progress made on NASA's
newest family of exploration vehicles -- the Ares I crew launch
vehicle and Ares V heavy cargo launch vehicle -- are now featured on
iTunes.

The Ares Projects quarterly progress reports offer viewers a rare
glimpse at the on-going development work of the next-generation
launch vehicles that will take explorers to the moon and beyond in
coming decades. Beginning in 2015, the Ares I rocket will launch the
Orion crew capsule, carrying astronauts and payloads to the
International Space Station.

iTunes is the place to get an up-close look at the Ares rockets and
learn more about key engine, hardware and system milestones as the
rockets proceed through the design, review and development processes
that will take them -- and their future crews -- to launch.

The video progress reports, which have been produced quarterly
beginning in August 2006, have been used to visually share progress
with the NASA team at all levels and to record the historical work
being completed on America's newest fleet of spacecraft for future
generations. Now, in an effort to share the Ares development with a
broader audience, NASA is posting the full library of reports on
iTunes. The programs range in length from 5-15 minutes.

The 10 quarterly reports produced to date spotlight the detailed
evolution of the Ares vehicles, from earliest conception through
various design phases and the most recent testing. The latest report
in the series -- Ares quarterly progress report number 10 -- includes
video segments about:

- Wind tunnel testing of scale models of the Ares I test vehicle,
known as Ares I-X, and the Ares V rocket. The testing aids engineers
in designing aerodynamic vehicles.

- Disassembly and inspection of part of the J-2X engine -- known as
the powerpack -- that will produce the thrust needed to power the
Ares I rocket to orbit. The powerpack pushes liquid hydrogen and
liquid oxygen into the engine's main combustion chamber. This test
series helped address early design risks. Engineers are now
evaluating hardware used as part of the recent testing.

- The first tests to weld together pieces of the rockets being
developed. NASA recently tested a new robotic friction stir welding
facility by fusing space shuttle fuel tank panels. Friction stir
welding is an innovative technique invented in 1991 that uses forging
pressure and frictional heating to produce high-strength bonds
virtually free of defects.

- A test of a parachute for the Ares I rocket. The parachute will slow
the rapid descent of the rocket's reusable first-stage motor as it
falls back to Earth after detaching from the rocket during its climb
to space. The parachute permits recovery of the motor for use on
future Ares I flights.

The Ares Projects team at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in
Huntsville, Ala., manages the development of the Ares rockets. NASA's
Johnson Space Center in Houston manages the Constellation Program,
which includes the Ares I and Ares V rockets, the Orion crew module
and the Altair lunar lander.

To view the Ares quarterly progress reports on iTunes, visit:



http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=296275310


To learn more about the Ares rockets and view the Ares quarterly
progress reports on NASA's Ares web site, visit:



http://www.nasa.gov/ares


For more information about NASA's Constellation Program, visit:



http://www.nasa.gov/constellation


For additional interactive features and podcasts about NASA, visit:



http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia
 

NASA CALLS FOR COMMENT ON DRAFT ARES V REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

WASHINGTON -- NASA has released a draft request for proposals, or RFP,
regarding Phase I of its Ares V launch vehicle. The rocket will
perform heavy lift and cargo functions as part of the next generation
of spacecraft that will return humans to the moon. Phase I will
define operational concepts, develop requirements, and refine design
concepts for the Ares V.

This document is a draft of the final version of the RFP for Phase I,
expected in January 2009. By responding to this draft RFP, potential
offerors can provide input on the requirements, small business goals
and contract structure. The industry input received will be combined
with NASA's expertise for potential inclusion in the final version of
the RFP for Phase I, which will ask for bids on five Ares V work
packages.

A pre-solicitation conference is scheduled for Dec. 3, 2008, at NASA's
Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The conference is
designed for information sharing about the Ares V Phase I for
potential offerors.

NASA PLANS TEST OF 'ELECTRONIC NOSE' ON INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA astronauts on space shuttle Endeavour's 
STS-126 mission will install an instrument on the International Space 
Station that can "smell" dangerous chemicals in the air. Designed to 
help protect crew members' health and safety, the experimental 
"ENose" will monitor the space station's environment for harmful 
chemicals such as ammonia, mercury, methanol and formaldehyde. 

The ENose fills the long-standing gap between onboard alarms and 
complex analytical instruments. Air-quality problems have occurred 
before on the International Space Station, space shuttle and Russian 
Space Station Mir. In most cases, the chemicals were identified only 
after the crew had been exposed to them, if at all. The ENose, which 
will run continuously and autonomously, is the first instrument on 
the station that will detect and quantify chemical leaks or spills as 
they happen.  

"The ENose is a 'first-responder' that will alert crew members of 
possible contaminants in the air and also analyze and quantify 
targeted changes in the cabin environment," said Margaret A. Ryan, 
the principal investigator of the ENose project at NASA's Jet 
Propulsion Laboratory, or JPL, in Pasadena, Calif. JPL built and 
manages the device.  

Station crew members will unpack the ENose on Dec. 9 to begin the 
instrument's six-month demonstration in the crew cabin. If the 
experiment is successful, the ENose might be used in future space 
missions as part of an automated system to monitor and control 
astronauts' in-space environments.  

"This ENose is a very capable instrument that will increase crew 
awareness of the state of their air quality," said Carl Walz, an 
astronaut and director of NASA's Advanced Capabilities Division, part 
of the Exploration System Mission Directorate, which funds the ENose. 
"Having experienced an air-quality issue during my Expedition 4 
mission on the space station, I wish I had the information that this 
ENose will provide future crews. This technology demonstration will 
provide important information for environmental control and 
life-support system designers for the future lunar outpost." 

Specifically, the shoebox-sized ENose contains an array of 32 sensors 
that can identify and quantify several organic and inorganic 
chemicals, including organic solvents and marker chemicals that 
signal the start of electrical fires. The ENose sensors are polymer 
films that change their electrical conductivity in response to 
different chemicals. The pattern of the sensor array's response 
depends on the particular chemical types present in the air. 

The instrument can analyze volatile aerosols and vapors, help monitor 
cleanup of chemical spills or leaks, and enable more intensive 
chemical analysis by collecting raw data and streaming it to a 
computer at JPL's ENose laboratory. The instrument has a wide range 
of chemical sensitivity, from fractional parts per million to 10,000 
parts per million. For all of its capabilities, the ENose weighs less 
than nine pounds and requires only 20 watts of power. 

The ENose is now in its third generation. The first ENose was tested 
during a six-day demonstration on the STS-95 shuttle mission in 1998. 
That prototype could detect 10 compounds, but could not analyze data 
immediately. The second-generation ENose could detect, identify and 
quantify 21 different chemicals. It was extensively ground-tested. 
The third-generation ENose includes data-analysis software to 
identify and quantify the release of chemicals within 40 minutes of 
detection. While it will look for 10 chemical types in this six-month 
experiment, the new ENose can be trained to detect many others. 

For more information about the ENose and the Advanced Environmental 
Monitoring and Control Project, visit: 



http://aemc.jpl.nasa.gov/instruments/enose.cfm

ASA INVITES STUDENTS TO NAME NEW MARS ROVER

WASHINGTON -- NASA is looking for the right stuff, or in this case, 
the right name for the next Mars rover. NASA, in cooperation with 
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures' movie WALL-E from Pixar 
Animation Studios, will conduct a naming contest for its car-sized 
Mars Science Laboratory rover that is scheduled for launch in 2009. 

The contest begins Tuesday, Nov. 18, and is open to students 5 to 18 
years old who attend a U.S. school and are enrolled in the current 
academic year. To enter the contest, students will submit essays 
explaining why their suggested name for the rover should be chosen. 
Essays must be received by Jan. 25, 2009. In March 2009, the public 
will have an opportunity to rank nine finalist names via the Internet 
as additional input for judges to consider during the selection 
process. NASA will announce the winning rover name in April 2009. 

Disney will provide prizes to students submitting winning essays, 
including a trip to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, 
Calif., where the rover is under construction. The grand prize winner 
will have an opportunity to place a signature on the spacecraft and 
take part in the history of space exploration. 

"Mars exploration has always captured the public imagination," said 
Mark Dahl, program executive for the Mars Science Laboratory at NASA 
Headquarters in Washington. "This contest will expand our ability to 
inspire students' interest in science and give the public a chance to 
participate in NASA's next expedition to Mars." 

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures in Burbank, Calif., will make it 
possible for WALL-E, the name of its animated robotic hero and summer 
2008 movie, to appear in online content inviting students to 
participate in the naming contest. The online WALL-E content will 
provide young viewers with a current connection to the human-robotic 
partnership that is transforming discovery and exploration. The 
contest coincides with Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment's 
release of WALL-E on DVD and Blu-ray. The naming contest partnership 
is part of a Space Act Agreement between NASA and Disney designed to 
use the appeal of WALL-E in educational and public outreach efforts. 

"All of us at Disney are delighted to be working with NASA in its 
educational and public outreach efforts to teach schoolchildren about 
space exploration, robot technology and the universe in which they 
live," said Mark Zoradi, president of Walt Disney Studios Motion 
Pictures Group. "WALL-E is one of the most lovable and entertaining 
characters that Pixar has ever created, and he is the perfect 
spokes-robot for this program." 

The Mars Science Laboratory rover will be larger and more capable than 
any craft previously sent to land there. It will check whether the 
environment in a carefully selected landing region ever has been 
favorable for supporting microbial life. The rover will search for 
minerals that formed in the presence of water and look for several 
chemical building blocks of life. 

"We are now in a phase when we're building and testing the rover 
before its journey to Mars," said John Klein, deputy project manager 
for the Mars Science Laboratory at JPL. "As the rover comes together 
and begins to take shape, the whole team can't wait to call it by 
name." 
Additional assignments include imaging its surroundings in high 
definition, analyzing rocks with a high-powered laser beam, 
inspecting rocks and soil with a six-foot robotic arm, and cooking 
and sniffing rock powder delivered from a hammering drill to 
investigate what minerals are in Martian rocks. 

NASA AWARDS CONTRACT FOR SPACE FLIGHT PROJECTS SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT AND
 OPERATIONS

CLEVELAND -- NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland has awarded a 
contract to ZIN Technologies Inc., of Middleburg Heights, Ohio, for 
the definition, design, fabrication, assembly, integration, test and 
operation of a broad array of space flight projects. These projects 
are particularly in the Exploration Technology Development and Human 
Research Programs. 

The total value of the cost plus incentive fee, indefinite delivery, 
indefinite quantity contract, including a three-year base period of 
performance and two one-year options, is approximately $94.5 million. 
The contract is scheduled to begin this month. 

ZIN Technologies Inc., will perform unique International Space Station 
flight investigations in the physical sciences, advanced technology 
development and flight investigations for human research. Other 
investigations include advanced technology development and 
demonstrations in power, in-space propulsion, space communications, 
lunar surface and in-situ resource applications, spacecraft fire 
safety and energy storage and distribution. 

For more information on NASA and its programs, visit: 



http://www.nasa.gov 

NASA AWARDS FUTURE VEHICLE AIRCRAFT RESEARCH CONTRACTS

WASHINGTON -- NASA has awarded research contracts worth a total of 
$12.4 million to six industry teams to study advanced concepts for 
subsonic and supersonic commercial transport aircraft that could 
enter service in 25 to 30 years. 

NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate selected teams led by 
The Boeing Company, GE Aviation, Lockheed Martin Corporation, 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Northrop Grumman to receive 
separate 18-month study contracts valued at approximately $2 million 
each. 

The focus of the studies is on commercial transports that can overcome 
significant performance and environmental challenges for the benefit 
of the general public. The work is intended to identify key 
technology development needs, such as advanced airframes and 
propulsion systems, as well as breakthroughs that will enable such 
vehicles to enter service in 2030-2035. The vehicles represent a 
research and development generation known as "N+3," denoting three 
generations beyond the current commercial transport fleet. 

"The future of air transportation is all about protecting the 
environment and responding to increasing energy costs in a balanced 
way," said Juan Alonso, director of NASA's Fundamental Aeronautics 
Program at NASA's Headquarters in Washington. "We will need airplanes 
that are quieter and more fuel efficient, and cleaner-burning fuels 
to power them. We are challenging industry to introduce these new 
technologies without impairing the convenience, safety and security 
of commercial air transportation." 

The studies constitute the first phase of a two-phase acquisition 
involving a competitive down-selection process. Participants who 
successfully complete the first phase will be asked to submit 
proposals for Phase 2, which provides additional funds for initial 
research on the enabling technologies identified in Phase 1. 

The Phase 1 research projects are listed below, including team members 
and award amounts. 

Development of Subsonic Ultra Green Aircraft Research: The Boeing 
Company, Georgia Institute of Technology, GE Global Research and GE 
Aviation; $1.9 million. 

Small Commercial Efficient and Quiet Air Transportation for 2030-2035: 
GE Aviation, GE Global Research, Georgia Institute of Technology and 
Cessna Aircraft Company; $1.97 million. 

Aircraft and Technology Concepts for an N+3 Subsonic Transport: 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Aurora Flight Sciences, 
Aerodyne Research Inc., Pratt and Whitney and Boeing Phantom Works; 
$2.13 million. 

Advanced Concept Studies for Subsonic Commercial Transport Aircraft 
Entering Service in the 2030-2035 Time Period: Northrop Grumman 
Systems Corporation, Tufts University, Sensis Corporation, Spirit 
Aerosystems Corp. and Rolls-Royce North America Inc.; $1.97 million. 

Advanced Concepts Studies for Supersonic Commercial Transport Aircraft 
Entering Service in the 2030-2035 Time Period: The Boeing Company, 
Boeing Phantom Works, GE Global Research, Georgia Institute of 
Technology, M4 Engineering Inc., Pratt and Whitney, Rolls Royce and 
Wyle Labs; $2.28 million. 

NASA N+3 Supersonic, Three Generations Forward in Aviation Technology: 
Lockheed Martin Corporation, GE Global Research, Purdue University 
and Wyle Laboratories; $1.96 million. 

For more information about NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission 
Directorate, visit: 



http://aeronautics.nasa.gov 

NASA MARS LANDER SEES FALLING SNOW, SOIL DATA SUGGEST LIQUID PAST

WASHINGTON -- NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has detected snow falling 
from Martian clouds. Spacecraft soil tests experiments also have 
provided evidence of past interaction between minerals and liquid 
water, processes that occur on Earth. 

A laser instrument designed to gather knowledge of how the atmosphere 
and surface interact on Mars, detected snow from clouds about 2.5 
miles above the spacecraft's landing site. Data show the snow 
vaporizing before reaching the ground. 

"Nothing like this view has ever been seen on Mars," said Jim 
Whiteway, of York University, Toronto, lead scientist for the 
Canadian-supplied Meteorological Station on Phoenix. "We'll be 
looking for signs that the snow may even reach the ground." 
Phoenix experiments also yielded clues pointing to calcium carbonate, 
the main composition of chalk, and particles that could be clay. Most 
carbonates and clays on Earth form only in the presence of liquid 
water. 

"We are still collecting data and have lots of analysis ahead, but we 
are making good progress on the big questions we set out for 
ourselves," said Phoenix Principal Investigator Peter Smith of the 
University of Arizona, Tucson. 

Since landing on May 25, Phoenix already has confirmed that a hard 
subsurface layer at its far-northern site contains water-ice. 
Determining whether that ice ever thaws would help answer whether the 
environment there has been favorable for life, a key aim of the 
mission. 

The evidence for calcium carbonate in soil samples from trenches dug 
by the Phoenix robotic arm comes from two laboratory instruments 
called the Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer, or TEGA, and the wet 
chemistry laboratory of the Microscopy, Electrochemistry and 
Conductivity Analyzer, or MECA. 

"We have found carbonate," said William Boynton of the University of 
Arizona, lead scientist for the TEGA. "This points toward episodes of 
interaction with water in the past." 

The TEGA evidence for calcium carbonate came from a high-temperature 
release of carbon dioxide from soil samples. The temperature of the 
release matches a temperature known to decompose calcium carbonate 
and release carbon dioxide gas, which was identified by the 
instrument's mass spectrometer. 

The MECA evidence came from a buffering effect characteristic of 
calcium carbonate assessed in wet chemistry analysis of the soil. The 
measured concentration of calcium was exactly what would be expected 
for a solution buffered by calcium carbonate. 

Both TEGA, and the microscopy part of MECA have turned up hints of a 
clay-like substance. "We are seeing smooth-surfaced, platy particles 
with the atomic-force microscope, not inconsistent with the 
appearance of clay particles," said Michael Hecht, MECA lead 
scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. 

The Phoenix mission, originally planned for three months on Mars, now 
is in its fifth month. However, it faces a decline in solar energy 
that is expected to curtail and then end the lander's activities 
before the end of the year. Before power ceases, the Phoenix team 
will attempt to activate a microphone on the lander to possibly 
capture sounds on Mars. 

"For nearly three months after landing, the sun never went below the 
horizon at our landing site." said Barry Goldstein, JPL Phoenix 
project manager. "Now it is gone for more than four hours each night, 
and the output from our solar panels is dropping each week. Before 
the end of October, there won't be enough energy to keep using the 
robotic arm." 

The Phoenix mission is led by Smith at the University of Arizona. 
Project management is the responsibility of JPL with development 
partnership by Lockheed Martin in Denver. International contributions 
come from the Canadian Space Agency; the University of Neuchatel, 
Switzerland; the universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus, Denmark; Max 
Planck Institute, Germany; and the Finnish Meteorological Institute. 

For more about Phoenix, visit: 

OCEAN WIND POWER MAPS REVEAL POSSIBLE WIND ENERGY SOURCES

WASHINGTON -- Efforts to harness the energy potential of Earth's ocean
winds could soon gain an important new tool: global satellite maps
from NASA. Scientists have been creating maps using nearly a decade
of data from NASA's QuikSCAT satellite that reveal ocean areas where
winds could produce wind energy.

The new maps have many potential uses including planning the location
of offshore wind farms to convert wind energy into electric energy.
The research, published this week in Geophysical Research Letters,
was funded by NASA's Earth Science Division, which works to advance
the frontiers of scientific discovery about Earth, its climate and
its future.

"Wind energy is environmentally friendly. After the initial energy
investment to build and install wind turbines, you don't burn fossil
fuels that emit carbon," said study lead author Tim Liu, a senior
research scientist and QuikSCAT science team leader at NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Like solar power, wind
energy is green energy."

QuikSCAT, launched in 1999, tracks the speed, direction and power of
winds near the ocean surface. Data from QuikSCAT, collected
continuously by a specialized microwave radar instrument named
SeaWinds, also are used to predict storms and enhance the accuracy of
weather forecasts.

Wind energy has the potential to provide 10 to 15 percent of future
world energy requirements, according to Paul Dimotakis, chief
technologist at JPL. If ocean areas with high winds were tapped for
wind energy, they could potentially generate 500 to 800 watts of
energy per square meter, according to Liu's research. Dimotakis notes
that while this is slightly less than solar energy (which generates
about one kilowatt of energy per square meter), wind power can be
converted to electricity more efficiently than solar energy and at a
lower cost per watt of electricity produced.

According to Liu, new technology has made floating wind farms in the
open ocean possible. A number of wind farms are already in operation
worldwide. Ocean wind farms have less environmental impact than
onshore wind farms, whose noise tends to disturb sensitive wildlife
in their immediate area. Also, winds are generally stronger over the
ocean than on land because there is less friction over water to slow
the winds down - there are no hills or mountains to block the wind's
path.

Ideally, offshore wind farms should be located in areas where winds
blow continuously at high speeds. The new research identifies such
areas and offers explanations for the physical mechanisms that
produce the high winds.

An example of one such high-wind mechanism is located off the coast of
Northern California near Cape Mendocino. The protruding land mass of
the cape deflects northerly winds along the California coast,
creating a local wind jet that blows year-round. Similar jets are
formed from westerly winds blowing around Tasmania, New Zealand, and
Tierra del Fuego in South America, among other locations. Areas with
large-scale, high wind power potential also can be found in regions
of the mid-latitudes of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, where winter
storms normally track.

The new QuikSCAT maps, which add to previous generations of QuikSCAT
wind atlases, also will be beneficial to the shipping industry by
highlighting areas of the ocean where high winds could be hazardous
to ships, allowing them to steer clear of these areas.

Scientists use the QuikSCAT data to examine how ocean winds affect
weather and climate, by driving ocean currents, mixing ocean waters,
and affecting the carbon, heat and water interaction between the
ocean and the atmosphere.

JPL manages QuikSCAT for NASA. For more information about QuikSCAT,
visit:

http://winds.jpl.nasa.gov

For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov
 

NASA AND ESA COMPLETE COMPARATIVE EXPLORATION ARCHITECTURE STUDY

WASHINGTON -- Over the last 6 months, representatives from NASA and
the European Space Agency, or ESA, have been engaged in a detailed
assessment of potential programs and technologies that when conducted
cooperatively could one day support a human outpost on the moon.

Findings from the study included a significant mutual interest in the
potential development of lunar cargo landing systems, communication
and navigation systems, lunar orbital infrastructures, and lunar
surface systems, such as habitats or mobility systems. The study also
identified the significant value gained from redundant human crew
transportation capability.

"We are very pleased to have worked with ESA on this comparative
architecture assessment," said Geoff Yoder, director of NASA's
Exploration Systems Mission Directorate Integration Office in
Washington. "Since the announcement of the U.S. Space Exploration
Policy, NASA has sought and welcomed input from its international
partners on NASA's lunar architecture plans in areas of mutual
interest. As future exploration plans mature around the world, it is
becoming increasingly important that we seek compatibilities between
NASA's plans and those of its potential future partners. The work we
did with ESA will serve as a model for discussions with other
potential partners as we begin to implement this very exciting
mission."

NASA and ESA experts briefed the results of their Comparative
Architecture Assessment this week during an ESA sponsored integrated
architecture review held at ESA's European Space Research and
Technology Centre in Noordwijk, The Netherlands.

"ESA is preparing itself for a round of decisions that will mark
Europe's role in human spaceflight and exploration for the decades to
come," said Bruno Gardini, manager of ESA's Exploration Program.
"After the satisfaction of the successful deployment of the Columbus
module and Automated Transfer Vehicle, we are looking forward to
enhancing our role in the partnership for a sustained and robust
space exploration program, where human spaceflight is the
cornerstone. The moon is surely an important case study and useful
test bed to thoroughly prepare for more distant destinations. This
architecture work is very useful to prioritize our proposals to
European decision-makers and define a European strategy."

The study assessed the degree to which NASA and ESA's lunar
exploration architecture concepts could complement, augment, or
enhance the exploration plans of one another. Technical teams from
each agency engaged in a series of joint, qualitative assessments of
the potential scientific and exploration benefits from collaboration
between the ESA capabilities under study and NASA's space
transportation systems and lunar surface exploration architecture
concepts.

NASA is studying lunar surface exploration architecture concepts to
support humans returning to the moon before 2020. Consistent with the
principles of the Global Exploration Strategy -- a framework for
coordinating space exploration plans of 14 participating agencies
from around the world -- NASA is pursuing its lunar exploration plans
under an "open architecture" approach. This approach will maximize
opportunities for international and commercial participation. NASA's
architecture concept calls for the transportation of astronauts and
hardware to the moon using the Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles, the
Orion crew exploration vehicle, and the Altair lunar lander, which
are all currently under development by NASA.

ESA is studying scenarios and associated architectures for human space
exploration, building upon its extensive human space flight
experience, including its contributions to the International Space
Station program. While ESA's studies are currently at a conceptual
stage, some of the scenarios assessed as part of this joint study
included potential future use of an automated, Ariane 5-based lunar
cargo landing system; European developed communication and navigation
systems; and ESA-developed human-rated systems, such as a crew
transportation system and orbital outposts.

For more information on NASA's plans to explore the moon, Mars, and
beyond, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/exploration
 

NASA EXTENDS SPACE STATION CARGO DELIVERY CONTRACT

HOUSTON - NASA has awarded Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems Inc. in
Houston, a one-year contract extension valued at $42 million to
provide integration services for cargo delivery to and from the
International Space Station.

Lockheed Martin has held the station's cargo mission contract since
January 2004. The one-year extension will bring the total value of
the contract to $338 million.

The contract provides cargo packing for delivery to and from the space
station, consisting of pressurized and unpressurized science and
logistics carriers, assembly hardware and crew support. It also
involves determining the most efficient way to pack the cargo,
verifying the adequacy of the integrated carriers, packing the
pressurized cargo into sub-carriers and returning the cargo to the
providers once it returns to Earth. The contract also provides
sustaining engineering for NASA carriers.

The extension begins Oct. 1, 2008, and is the first of two such
options provided for in the original contract.

Major subcontractors include United Space Alliance LLC and Bastion
Technologies Inc., both in Houston; Command Technologies Inc. in
Warrenton, Va.; Teledyne Brown Engineering Inc. in Huntsville, Ala.,
and EADS Astrium Space Transportation, Bremen, Germany. The work will
be performed at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston and at the
NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

For more information about the space station, visit:

 

NASA SETS LAUNCH DATES FOR REMAINING SPACE SHUTTLE MISSIONS

HOUSTON -- Following a detailed, integrated assessment, NASA selected
target launch dates for the remaining eight space shuttle missions on
the current manifest in 2009 and 2010. The manifest includes one
flight to the Hubble Space Telescope, seven assembly flights to the
International Space Station, and two station contingency flights,
planned to be completed before the end of fiscal year 2010. The
agency previously selected Oct. 8 and Nov. 10 as launch dates for
Atlantis' STS-125 mission to service Hubble and Endeavour's STS-126 /
ULF-2 mission to supply the space station and service both Solar
Alpha Rotary Joints on the port and starboard end of its truss
backbone that supports equipment and solar arrays.

The approved target dates are subject to change based on processing
and other launch vehicle schedules. They reflect the agency's
commitment to complete assembly of the station and to retire the
shuttle fleet as transition continues to the new launch vehicles,
including Ares and Orion.

SHUTTLE FLIGHTS IN 2009

Feb. 12 -- Discovery (STS-119 / 15A) will kick off a five-flight 2009
with its 36th mission to deliver the final pair of U.S. solar arrays
to be installed on the starboard end of the station's truss. The
truss serves as the backbone support for external equipment and spare
components, including the Mobile Base System. Lee Archambault will
command the 14-day flight that will include four planned spacewalks.
Joining him will be pilot Tony Antonelli and mission specialists John
Phillips, Steve Swanson, Joseph Acaba, Richard Arnold and Japan
Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata. Wakata will
replace Sandy Magnus on the station as a flight engineer. STS-119
marks the 28th shuttle flight to the station.

May 15 -- Endeavour (STS-127 / 2JA) sets sail on its 23rd mission with
the Japanese Kibo Laboratory's Exposed Facility and Experiment
Logistics Module Exposed Section, the final permanent components of
the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's contribution to the station
program. During the 15-day mission, Endeavour's crew will perform
five spacewalks and deliver six new batteries for the P6 truss, a
spare drive unit for the Mobile Transporter and a spare boom assembly
for the Ku-band antenna. Mark Polansky will be Endeavour's commander
with Doug Hurley as pilot. Mission specialists will be Christopher
Cassidy, Tom Marshburn, Dave Wolf, Tim Kopra and Canadian Space
Agency astronaut Julie Payette. Kopra will become a station flight
engineer replacing Koichi Wakata, who will return home with the
STS-127 crew. It will be the 29th shuttle flight to the station.

July 30 -- Atlantis (STS-128 / 17A) launches on its 31st flight, an
11-day mission carrying science and storage racks to the station. In
the payload bay will be a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module holding
science and storage racks. Three spacewalks are planned to remove and
replace a materials processing experiment outside the European Space
Agency's Columbus module and return an empty ammonia tank assembly.
The mission includes the rotation of astronaut Nicole Stott for Tim
Kopra, who will return to Earth with the shuttle crew. The remaining
crew members have yet to be named. STS-128 marks the 30th shuttle
flight dedicated to station assembly and outfitting.

Oct. 15 -- Discovery's (STS-129 / ULF-3) 37th mission will focus on
staging spare components outside the station. The 15-day flight
includes at least three spacewalks. The payload bay will carry two
large External Logistics Carriers holding two spare gyroscopes, two
nitrogen tank assemblies, two pump modules, an ammonia tank assembly,
a spare latching end effector for the station's robotic arm, a spare
trailing umbilical system for the Mobile Transporter and a
high-pressure gas tank. Canadian Space Agency astronaut Bob Thirsk
will return home aboard Discovery with its crew, which has yet to be
named. STS-129 marks the 31st shuttle mission devoted to station
assembly.

Dec. 10 -- Endeavour (STS-130 / 20A) will close 2009 with its 24th
mission to deliver the final connecting node, Node 3, and the Cupola,
a robotic control station with six windows around its sides and
another in the center that provides a 360-degree view around the
station. At least three spacewalks are planned during the 11-day
mission. The 32nd station assembly mission by a shuttle does not yet
have a crew named.

SHUTTLE FLIGHTS IN 2010

Feb. 11 -- Atlantis (STS-131 / 19A) begins its 32nd mission as the
first flight in 2010, carrying a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module
filled with science racks that will be transferred to laboratories of
the station. The 11-day mission will include at least three
spacewalks to attach a spare ammonia tank assembly outside the
station and return a European experiment that has been outside the
Columbus module. It will be the 33rd shuttle mission to the station.
The crew has yet to be named.

April 8 -- Discovery's (STS-132 / ULF-4) 38th mission will carry an
integrated cargo carrier to deliver maintenance and assembly
hardware, including spare parts for space station systems. In
addition, the second in a series of new pressurized components for
Russia, a Mini Research Module, will be permanently attached to the
bottom port of the Zarya module. The Russian module also will carry
U.S. pressurized cargo. The first Russian Mini Research Module to go
to the station is scheduled to launch on a Russian rocket in the
summer of 2009.

Additionally, at least three spacewalks are planned to stage spare
components outside the station, including six spare batteries, a boom
assembly for the Ku-band antenna and spares for the Canadian Dextre
robotic arm extension. A radiator, airlock and European robotic arm
for the Russian Multi-purpose Laboratory Module also are payloads on
the flight. The laboratory module is scheduled for launch on a
Russian rocket in 2011. The mission marks the 34th mission to the
station. The STS-132 crew has yet to be named.

May 31 -- Endeavour's (STS-133 / ULF-5) 25th mission will carry
critical spare components that will be placed on the outside of the
station. Those will include two S-band communications antennas, a
high-pressure gas tank, additional spare parts for Dextre and
micrometeoroid debris shields. At least three spacewalks are planned
to be carried out by the crew, which has yet to be named. The 15-day
mission will be the 35th to the station.

For the shuttle launch manifest, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/iss_manifest.html

For details on upcoming shuttle missions and their crews, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle
 

ASTRONAUT BARBARA MORGAN TO LEAVE NASA HOUSTON -- Veteran space shuttle astronaut Barbara R. Morgan will leave NASA in August to become an educator at Idaho's Boise State University. NASA's first educator astronaut, Morgan logged more than 305 hours in space aboard shuttle Endeavour's STS-118 assembly mission to the International Space Station in August 2007. She operated the shuttle and station robotic arms to install hardware, inspect the orbiter and support spacewalks. Morgan also served as loadmaster for the transfer of supplies between the shuttle and station, taught lessons from space to schoolchildren on Earth and served on the flight deck during re-entry and landing. "Barbara has served NASA and the Astronaut Office with distinction over the course of her career," Astronaut Office chief Steve Lindsey said. "From the Teacher in Space Program to her current position as a fully qualified astronaut, she has set a superb example and been a consistent role model for both teachers and students. She will be missed." Morgan previously served as the backup to payload specialist Christa McAuliffe in the Teacher in Space Program. McAuliffe and six fellow astronauts lost their lives in the Challenger accident on Jan. 28, 1986. Morgan, who was an elementary schoolteacher in McCall, Idaho, before being selected as McAuliffe's backup, returned to teaching after the accident. She was selected to train as a mission specialist in 1998 and named to the STS-118 crew in 2002. "It is really tough to leave NASA," Morgan said. "It is a great organization with great people doing great things. We're going back to the moon and on to Mars. I'm especially proud that we have three other teachers who are astronauts, and there will be others in the future. I'm very excited to go to work for Boise State University. I like everything about it, and it's going to be wonderful helping exploration by working full time for education." Three other educator mission specialists, Richard Arnold, Joseph Acaba and Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger, are training for future spaceflights. Arnold and Acaba are assigned to fly on the STS-119 space shuttle mission to the station in 2009. Morgan will serve as Distinguished Educator in Residence at Boise State, providing vision and leadership to the state of Idaho on science, technology, engineering and math education. Highlights of Morgan's NASA career will be available on NASA Television's video file. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv For more biographical information about Morgan, visit: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/morgan.html For information about NASA and agency programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov

NASA AWARDS INFORMATION MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS SUPPORT CONTRACT CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA has selected Abacus Technology Corporation of Chevy Chase, Md., to provide information management and communications support at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The contract begins on Oct. 1 with a five-year base period and four one-year options to extend performance. It is a cost-plus-award-fee contract with indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract line items. If all options are exercised and the maximum amount of work is ordered, the total potential value of the contract is approximately $898 million. Abacus Technology Corporation will furnish resources, including management, personnel, equipment and supplies to support Kennedy's work, including voice communications, visual imaging and timing, transmission and cable systems, administrative phones, institutional computer networks, network IT security, publications, library, and computer services. Selected services also may be provided to the U.S. Air Force at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Patrick Air Force Base as IDIQ efforts. For information about NASA and agency programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov

NASA'S PHOENIX MARS LANDER PUTS SOIL IN CHEMISTRY LAB, TEAM DISCUSSES NEXT STEPS TUCSON, Ariz. -- NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander placed a sample of Martian soil in the spacecraft's wet chemistry laboratory today for the first time. Results from that instrument, part of Phoenix's Microscopy, Electrochemistry and Conductivity Analyzer, are expected to provide the first measurement of the acidity or alkalinity of the planet's soil. The analysis of this and other soil samples will help researchers determine whether ice beneath the soil ever has melted, and whether the soil has other qualities favorable for life. The Phoenix team is discussing what sample to deliver next to the lander's other analytical instrument, which bakes and sniffs soil to identify volatile ingredients. Engineers have identified possible problems in the mechanical and electrical operation of that instrument, the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, or TEGA. Scientists are studying information provided by TEGA's analysis of the first Martian soil sample put in that instrument. The instrument has eight single-use oven cells; each cell can analyze one sample. When doors for a second TEGA oven were commanded open last week, the doors opened only partway. Later, the team determined that mechanical interference may prevent doors on that oven and three others from opening fully. The remaining three ovens are expected to have one door that opens fully and one that opens partially, as was the case with the first oven used. "The tests we have done in our test facility during the past few days show the robotic arm can deliver the simulated Martian soil through the opening with the doors in this configuration," said William Boynton of the University of Arizona, Tucson, lead scientist for TEGA. "We plan to save the cells where doors can open wider for accepting ice samples." Scientists believe the first soil sample delivered to TEGA was so clumpy that soil particles clogged a screen over the opening. Four days of vibration eventually succeeded at getting the soil through the screen. However, engineers believe the use of a motor to create the vibration may also have caused a short circuit in wiring near that oven. Concern about triggering other short circuits has prompted the Phoenix team to be cautious about the use of other TEGA cells. Subsequent soil samples for TEGA will be delivered with a different method than the first. The newer method will sprinkle soil into the instrument to make it easier for particles to get through the screens. The Phoenix mission is led by Peter Smith at the University of Arizona with project management at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and the development partnership at Lockheed Martin in Denver. International contributions are from the Canadian Space Agency; the University of Neuchatel, Switzerland; the universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus, Denmark; Max Planck Institute, Germany; and the Finnish Meteorological Institute. EDITOR'S NOTE: NASA and the University of Arizona, Tucson, will hold a news media teleconference at 10:30 a.m. PDT, Thursday, June 26, to discuss science results and provide an update on future science gathering plans. To participate in the teleconference, news media should phone the JPL Media Relations Office at 818-354-5011 by 10 a.m. PDT, June 26, to obtain the dial-in number and passcode. For more information about the mission, visit:

NASA SPACECRAFT REVEAL LARGEST CRATER IN SOLAR SYSTEM PASADENA, Calif. -- New analysis of Mars' terrain using NASA spacecraft observations reveals what appears to be by far the largest impact crater ever found in the solar system. NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Global Surveyor have provided detailed information about the elevations and gravity of the Red Planet's northern and southern hemispheres. A new study using this information may solve one of the biggest remaining mysteries in the solar system: why does Mars have two strikingly different kinds of terrain in its northern and southern hemispheres? The huge crater is creating intense scientific interest. The mystery of the two-faced nature of Mars has perplexed scientists since the first comprehensive images of the surface were beamed home by NASA spacecraft in the 1970s. The main hypotheses have been an ancient impact or some internal process related to the planet's molten subsurface layers. The impact idea, proposed in 1984, fell into disfavor because the basin's shape didn't seem to fit the expected round shape for a crater. The newer data is convincing some experts who doubted the impact scenario. "We haven't proved the giant-impact hypothesis, but I think we've shifted the tide," said Jeffrey Andrews-Hanna, a postdoctoral researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. Andrews-Hanna and co-authors Maria Zuber of MIT and Bruce Banerdt of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., report the new findings in the journal Nature this week. A giant northern basin that covers about 40 percent of Mars' surface, sometimes called the Borealis basin, is the remains of a colossal impact early in the solar system's formation, the new analysis suggests. At 5,300 miles across, it is about four times wider than the next-biggest impact basin known, the Hellas basin on southern Mars. An accompanying report calculates that the impacting object that produced the Borealis basin must have been about 1,200 miles across. That's larger than Pluto. "This is an impressive result that has implications not only for the evolution of early Mars, but also for early Earth's formation," said Michael Meyer, the Mars chief scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. This northern-hemisphere basin on Mars is one of the smoothest surfaces found in the solar system. The southern hemisphere is high, rough, heavily cratered terrain, which ranges from 2.5 to 5 miles higher in elevation than the basin floor. Other giant impact basins have been discovered that are elliptical rather than circular. But it took a complex analysis of the Martian surface from NASA's two Mars orbiters to reveal the clear elliptical shape of Borealis basin, which is consistent with being an impact crater. One complicating factor in revealing the elliptical shape of the basin was that after the time of the impact, which must have been at least 3.9 billion years ago, giant volcanoes formed along one part of the basin rim and created a huge region of high, rough terrain that obscures the basin's outlines. It took a combination of gravity data, which tend to reveal underlying structure, with data on current surface elevations to reconstruct a map of Mars elevations as they existed before the volcanoes erupted. "In addition to the elliptical boundary of the basin, there are signs of a possible second, outer ring - a typical characteristic of large impact basins," Banerdt said. JPL manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. For more information about the mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mro

NASA AWARDS SPACE SHUTTLE MAIN ENGINE CONTRACT MODIFICATION

WASHINGTON -- NASA has signed a $16.8 million contract modification to
space shuttle main engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne
Inc. of Canoga Park, Calif., to incorporate an employee retention
plan implemented by the company. Incentives are being provided to
eligible personnel to ensure mission success and construction of the
remaining engines to support space shuttle requirements through
September 2010.

Retention of the knowledgeable and skilled space shuttle main engine
workforce is necessary to produce the remaining shuttle hardware.
This contract modification supports the agency's priorities of safely
flying and retiring the space shuttles.

The contract will end Sept. 30, 2010. This modification brings the
total value of the contract, awarded in January 2002, to $2.181
billion.

The three main engines are 14 feet long and seven and a half feet in
diameter at the nozzle exit. They are liquid propellant rocket
engines that have a combined thrust of more than 1.2 million pounds.
Along with the solid rocket boosters, they provide the thrust to
launch the shuttle.

For more information about NASA's Space Shuttle Program, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle


UNIVERSITY FACULTY AND STUDENTS TO 'ROCKON!' WITH NASA

WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. -- University faculty and students from across the
country will RockOn! with NASA during a workshop June 22 - 27 at
NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island in Virginia. During
RockOn!, they will learn the basics of building experiments for
flight on suborbital rockets.

RockOn! teams will build the experiments from kits developed by
students from the Colorado Space Grant Consortium and learn about the
steps and procedures for creating payloads for flight. Each
experiment package will include a Geiger counter and sensors for
measuring temperature, acceleration and pressure. The experiments
then will be integrated into payload cans for launch.

The week will culminate with the launching of the experiments early in
the morning June 27 aboard a NASA Orion sounding rocket. The 20-foot
tall, single-stage rocket is expected to fly to an altitude of 41
miles. After launch and payload recovery, participants will do
preliminary data analysis and discuss their results.

"The NASA Sounding Program historically has been a program for
scientists, engineers and technicians to develop the skills necessary
for developing and building advanced satellites and other
spacecraft," said Phil Eberspeaker, chief of the NASA Sounding
Program office at Wallops.

Almost 60 people from universities in 22 states and Puerto Rico are
participating in RockOn!. Eighty-percent of the participants are
faculty members.

"This workshop will equip faculty with the skills and knowledge to
start their own student-led sounding rocket payload programs at their
university or college," said Chris Koehler, director of the Colorado
Space Grant Consortium in Boulder. "This workshop adds a new level of
hands-on programs for higher education students. It is expected that
many of the participants will have students come to Wallops to fly
their own sounding rocket payloads in the coming years."

NASA's Space Grant program sponsors university-based consortia that
focus on developing our nation's future scientist and engineers, as
well as improving science, engineering and technology education.
Using the lessons learned through RockOn!, participants will work to
make flight experiments a part of the educational process at their
home institutions.

"The workshop builds on NASA's interest in reaching out to
universities for engagement with sounding rocket payload research and
educational experiences," said Mary Sandy, director of the Virginia
Space Grant Consortium in Hampton, Va. "It taps into the National
Space Grant College and Fellowship Program interest in having
students and faculty participate in space experimentation and real
space missions."

For more information on NASA education programs on the Internet,
visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/education


NASA FINDS NEW TYPE OF COMET DUST MINERAL

HOUSTON -- NASA researchers and scientists from the United States,
Germany and Japan have found a new mineral in material that likely
came from a comet.

The mineral, a manganese silicide named Brownleeite, was discovered
within an interplanetary dust particle, or IDP, that appears to have
originated from comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup. The comet originally was
discovered in 1902 and reappears every 5 years. The team that made
the discovery is headed by Keiko Nakamura-Messenger, a space
scientist at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

"When I saw this mineral for the first time, I immediately knew this
was something no one had seen before," said Nakamura-Messenger. "But
it took several more months to obtain conclusive data because these
mineral grains were only 1/10,000 of an inch in size."

A new method of collecting IDPs was suggested by Scott Messenger,
another Johnson space scientist. He predicted comet
26P/Grigg-Skjellerup was a source of dust grains that could be
captured in Earth's stratosphere at a specific time of the year.

In response to his prediction, NASA performed stratospheric dust
collections, using an ER-2 high-altitude aircraft flown from NASA's
Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The
aircraft collected IDPs from this particular comet stream in April
2003. The new mineral was found in one of the particles. To determine
the mineral's origin and examine other dust materials, a powerful new
transmission electron microscope was installed in 2005 at Johnson.

"Because of their exceedingly tiny size, we had to use
state-of-the-art nano-analysis techniques in the microscope to
measure the chemical composition and crystal structure of Keiko's new
mineral," said Lindsay Keller, Johnson space scientist and a
co-discoverer of the new mineral. "This is a highly unusual material
that has not been predicted either to be a cometary component or to
have formed by condensation in the solar nebula."

Since 1982, NASA routinely has collected cosmic and interplanetary
dust with high-altitude research aircraft. However, the sources of
most dust particles have been difficult to pin down because of their
complex histories in space. The Earth accretes about 40,000 tons of
dust particles from space each year, originating mostly from
disintegrating comets and asteroid collisions. This dust is a subject
of intense interest because it is made of the original building
blocks of the solar system, planets, and our bodies.

The mineral was surrounded by multiple layers of other minerals that
also have been reported only in extraterrestrial rocks. There have
been 4,324 minerals identified by the International Mineralogical
Association, or IMA. This find adds one more mineral to that list.

The IMA-approved new mineral, Brownleeite, is named after Donald E.
Brownlee, professor of astronomy at the University of Washington,
Seattle. Brownlee founded the field of IDP research. The
understanding of the early solar system established from IDP studies
would not exist without his efforts. Brownlee also is the principal
investigator of NASA's Stardust mission.

The comet researchers include Messenger; John Jones, a co-discoverer
of the mineral from Johnson; Simon Clemett and Michael Zolensky in
Johnson's Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science
Directorate; Russ Palma, Minnesota State University at Mankato;
Robert Pepin, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis; Wolfgang Kl?ck,
R?ntgenanalytik Messtechnik GmbH, Germany; and Hirokazu Tatsuoka,
Shizuoka University, Japan.

For additional information on NASA programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov


 

NASA AIRCRAFT EXAMINE IMPACT OF FOREST FIRES ON ARCTIC CLIMATE

WASHINGTON -- As the summer fire season heats up, NASA aircraft are
set to follow the trail of smoke plumes from some of Earth's
northernmost forest fires, examining their contribution to arctic
pollution and implications for climate change.

Starting June 29, NASA's DC-8 and P-3B aircraft, based at a Canadian
military base in Cold Lake, Alberta, will begin their final
three-week deployment of the Arctic Research of the Composition of
the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites, or ARCTAS, mission. A
third NASA aircraft, the B-200 King Air, will fly from Yellowknife,
Canada. The mission is the most extensive field campaign ever to
study the chemistry of the Arctic's lower atmosphere. The three
airborne laboratories are equipped to fly through the smoke plumes of
northern-latitude forest fires. The resulting data, when combined
with simultaneous satellite measurements, could reveal the impact of
forest fires on the arctic atmosphere.

"The summer campaign will focus on boreal forest fire emissions," said
Jim Crawford, manager of the Tropospheric Chemistry Program at NASA
Headquarters in Washington. "Coupled with the observations of arctic
haze during the spring deployment based in Alaska, these data will
improve our understanding of the relative importance of these two
influences on arctic atmospheric composition and climate."

Boreal forests, which span Earth's northern latitudes, have seen a
rise in natural forest fires during the last decade. Researchers have
debated the degree to which these fires contribute to the Arctic's
atmosphere compared to other sources, such as human-caused emissions
from lower latitudes. The ARCTAS flights through smoke plumes, over
and downwind from their source, will reveal their composition and
transport path.

Researchers also will use the data to examine how the chemistry of
smoke plumes changes over time and distance. Plume chemistry can
contribute to the formation of ozone in the lower atmosphere.
Particulates in smoke plumes can affect Earth's radiation balance
with consequences for climate change.

The mission also is expected to help researchers interpret data from
NASA satellites orbiting over the Arctic. NASA's Cloud-Aerosol Lidar
and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation, or CALIPSO, satellite
can measure the height of various plume components in the atmosphere,
information critical to predicting plume movement. Researchers will
use data from ARCTAS to validate observations from CALIPSO and other
satellites to improve model predictions of fire impacts on chemistry
and climate.

"Aircraft experiments provide the greatest possible detail on the
state of the atmosphere, but only for short, intense periods of
sampling," Crawford said. "By conducting these flights in tight
coordination with satellites and computer models, airborne
observations lead to improvements in the interpretation of satellite
observations and better representation of atmospheric processes in
chemistry and climate models. This improves our confidence in models'
ability to monitor and predict future changes."

The Yellowknife site also will host a portable science station from
Pennsylvania State University that collects ground-based ozone and
aerosol measurements, in conjunction with daily launches of
balloon-borne instruments planned by Environment Canada and the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The ARCTAS flights are being coordinated with research flights being
conducted by the French space agency Centre National d'Etudes
Spatiales, and the German Aerospace Center from Kangerlussuaq,
Greenland.

The summer deployment of ARCTAS follows a spring deployment based in
Fairbanks, Alaska. That mission focused on atmospheric composition,
pollution transport pathways, and the formation of "arctic haze,"
which is fueled by sunlight that causes chemical reactions in
pollutants that accumulate over the winter.

For more information about the ARCTAS mission on the Web, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/arctas

For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

 

NASA AWARDS CONTRACT FOR CONSTELLATION SPACESUIT FOR THE MOON

WASHINGTON -- NASA has awarded a contract to Oceaneering International
Inc. of Houston, for the design, development and production of a new
spacesuit system. The spacesuit will protect astronauts during
Constellation Program voyages to the International Space Station and,
by 2020, the surface of the moon.

The subcontractors to Oceaneering are Air-Lock Inc. of Milford, Conn.,
David Clark Co. of Worcester, Mass., Cimarron Software Services Inc.
of Houston, Harris Corporation of Palm Bay, Fla., Honeywell
International Inc. of Glendale, Ariz., Paragon Space Development
Corp. of Tucson, Ariz., and United Space Alliance of Houston.

"The award of the spacesuit contract completes the spaceflight
hardware requirements for the Constellation Program's first human
flight in 2015," said Jeff Hanley, Constellation program manager at
NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Contracts for the Orion crew
capsule and the Ares I rocket were awarded during the past two years.


The cost-plus-award-fee spacesuit contract includes a basic
performance period from June 2008 to September 2014 that has a value
of $183.8 million. During the performance period, Oceaneering and its
subcontractors will conduct design, development, test, and evaluation
work culminating in the manufacture, assembly, and first flight of
the suit components needed for astronauts aboard the Orion crew
exploration vehicle. The basic contract also includes initial work on
the suit design needed for the lunar surface.

"I am excited about the new partnership between NASA and Oceaneering,"
said Glenn Lutz, project manager for the spacesuit system at Johnson.
"Now it is time for our spacesuit team to begin the journey together
that ultimately will put new sets of boot prints on the moon."

Suits and support systems will be needed for as many as four
astronauts on moon voyages and as many as six space station
travelers. For short trips to the moon, the suit design will support
a week's worth of moon walks. The system also must be designed to
support a significant number of moon walks during potential six-month
lunar outpost expeditions. In addition, the spacesuit and support
systems will provide contingency spacewalk capability and protection
against the launch and landing environment, such as spacecraft cabin
leaks.

Two contract options may be awarded in the future as part of this
contract. Option 1 covers completion of design, development, test and
evaluation for the moon surface suit components. Option 1 would begin
in October 2010 and run through September 2018, under a
cost-plus-award fee structure with a total value of $302.1 million.

Option 2 provides for the Orion suit production, processing and
sustaining engineering under a cost-plus-award fee or a
firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract
structure with a maximum value of $260 million depending on hardware
requirements. Option 2 would begin at the end of the basic
performance period in October 2014, and would continue through
September 2018.

Images and animation of the new designs, as well as more information
about NASA's Constellation Program, are available online at:

http://www.nasa.gov/constellation

To view a feature on the evolution of spacesuits, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/spacesuit_gallery


 

NASA TV AIRS HIGH-DEF DAY IN THE LIFE OF A SPACE STATION ASTRONAUT HOUSTON -- NASA Television will provide a high-definition glimpse of life in space with a special Video File to be broadcast beginning May 22. During his final weeks aboard the International Space Station, astronaut Garrett Reisman has filmed many daily activities in orbit that are anything but routine. A compilation of Reisman's video diaries will be broadcast in high definition, or HD, beginning at 4 p.m. CDT, Thursday, May 22. The footage also will air Friday, May 23, and Tuesday, May 27, from 5 to 8 a.m., 12 to 2 p.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. each day. The special NASA TV Video File also will be broadcast in standard-definition on NASA TV immediately following the regularly scheduled daily Video File broadcasts. Reisman, a New Jersey native, has been serving as a flight engineer and NASA science officer aboard the station since arriving on space shuttle mission STS-123 in March. He will return to Earth on the STS-124 flight, targeted to launch to the station on May 31. For technical information on how to receive the special broadcast in high definition, and for NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv For more information about the International Space Station and its crew, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station

NASA PHOENIX MISSION READY FOR MARS LANDING

WASHINGTON -- NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is preparing to end its long
journey and begin a three-month mission to taste and sniff fistfuls
of Martian soil and buried ice. The lander is scheduled to touch down
on the Red Planet May 25.

Phoenix will enter the top of the Martian atmosphere at almost 13,000
mph. In seven minutes, the spacecraft must complete a challenging
sequence of events to slow to about 5 mph before its three legs reach
the ground. Confirmation of the landing could come as early as 7:53
p.m. EDT.

"This is not a trip to grandma's house. Putting a spacecraft safely on
Mars is hard and risky," said Ed Weiler, associate administrator for
NASA's Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in
Washington. "Internationally, fewer than half the attempts have
succeeded."

Rocks large enough to spoil the landing or prevent opening of the
solar panels present the biggest known risk. However, images from the
High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, detailed enough to show individual rocks
smaller than the lander, have helped lessen that risk.

"We have blanketed nearly the entire landing area with HiRISE images,"
said Ray Arvidson of Washington University in St. Louis, chairman of
the Phoenix landing-site working group. "This is one of the least
rocky areas on all of Mars and we are confident that rocks will not
detrimentally impact the ability of Phoenix to land safely."

Phoenix uses hardware from a spacecraft built for a 2001 launch that
was canceled in response to the loss of a similar Mars spacecraft
during a 1999 landing attempt. Researchers who proposed the Phoenix
mission in 2002 saw the unused spacecraft as a resource for pursuing
a new science opportunity.

Earlier in 2002, NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter discovered that plentiful
water ice lies just beneath the surface throughout much of
high-latitude Mars. NASA chose the Phoenix proposal over 24 other
proposals to become the first endeavor in the Mars Scout program of
competitively selected missions.

"Phoenix will land farther north on Mars than any previous mission,"
said Phoenix Project Manager Barry Goldstein of NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

The solar-powered robotic lander will manipulate a 7.7-foot arm to
scoop up samples of underground ice and soil lying above the ice.
Onboard laboratory instruments will analyze the samples. Cameras and
a Canadian-supplied weather station will supply other information
about the site's environment.

"The Phoenix mission not only studies the northern permafrost region,
but takes the next step in Mars exploration by determining whether
this region, which may encompass as much as 25 percent of the Martian
surface, is habitable," said Peter Smith, Phoenix principal
investigator at the University of Arizona, Tucson.

One research goal is to assess whether conditions at the site ever
have been favorable for microbial life. The composition and texture
of soil above the ice could give clues to whether the ice ever melts
in response to long-term climate cycles. Another important question
is whether the scooped-up samples contain carbon-based chemicals that
are potential building blocks and food for life.

The Phoenix mission is led by Smith with project management at JPL.
The development partnership is with Lockheed Martin, Denver.
International contributions are from the Canadian Space Agency; the
University of Neuchatel, Switzerland; the universities of Copenhagen
and Aarhus, Denmark; the Max Planck Institute, Germany; and the
Finnish Meteorological Institute.

For more about the Phoenix mission on the Web, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/phoenix

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FLY HIGH IN NASA AERONAUTICS COMPETITION

HAMPTON, Va. -- NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate has
selected the winners of its high school contest to describe the
passenger and cargo aircraft of the future.

Tom Neuman, a senior from George Walton Comprehensive High School in
Marietta, Ga., and Aditya Singh, a senior from Anglo-Chinese Junior
College in Singapore, won top prizes for essays about their concepts
for multi-functional personal air vehicles.

More than 140 teenagers from 50 schools across the United States and
15 foreign countries submitted 65 entries in four categories: U.S.
individual, U.S. team, non-U.S. individual and non-U.S. team. The top
teams were three eleventh-graders from West High School in Torrance,
Calif., and three ninth-graders from the National High School of
Computer Science, Tudor Vianu, Bucharest, Romania.

"It is wonderful to see high school students from all over the world
thinking about the future of aeronautics and writing down their ideas
about potential solutions for the challenges facing the global
aviation enterprise," said Juan Alonso, manager of the mission
directorate's Fundamental Aeronautics Program. "The students'
inventiveness and creativity is extremely impressive."

NASA's Fundamental Aeronautics Program sponsored the annual
competition. The entries were reviewed by NASA managers and
engineers. The judges based their scores on how well students focused
their papers and how well they addressed four basic criteria:
informed content, creativity and imagination, organization, and
writing.

NASA will award the top scoring papers from the U.S. with a trophy and
a cash prize of $1,000 for the individual award winner and $1,500 for
the team. Non-U.S. students will receive a trophy, but are not
eligible for cash prizes. All participants will receive a NASA
certificate and a personal letter of commendation.

A complete list of winners of the high school contest can be found at:

http://aero.larc.nasa.gov

For more information about NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission
Directorate, visit:

http://aeronautics.nasa.gov
 

NASA NETWORK CONNECTS STUDENTS FOR WEB RETROSPECTIVE SERIES

HAMPTON, Va. -- As part of NASA's 50th anniversary celebration, the
Digital Learning Network will host a series of live webcasts with
students across the country May 13-21. The series will highlight the
contributions of each NASA center to a specific topic in NASA
history. The webcasts also will focus NASA's present and future
efforts in space exploration.

NASA's Digital Learning Network allows the next generation of
explorers to connect with scientists, engineers and researchers
without leaving the classroom. Through interactive videoconferencing,
the network provides distance-learning events designed to educate
through demonstrations and real time interactions with NASA experts.

The 50th anniversary series webcasts are (all times EDT):

Go Flight, May 13, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
The year is 1958. Nothing would ever be the same. For the first time,
the United States sent a man-made device into space. This new
frontier of exploration required ingenuity and creativity. NASA's
Johnson Space Center and NASA's Kennedy Space Center will host a web
cast to re-live the significant past events of these two centers
while realizing that future milestones of NASA will be accomplished
by the students inside today's classroom.

Astronomy: Bringing the Past to Light, May 14, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and 3
p.m. to 4 p.m.
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory are combining forces to bring the rich history and science
of telescopes to light. This interactive learning event will peer
back through time to "first light" for Galileo's refractor, highlight
the evolution of the telescope into today's large mountaintop
reflectors, and focus in on the present and future promise of NASA's
space-based great observatories. Witness the inspiring trek of
innovation and discovery as NASA continues to explore for answers
that power our future.

Advancements in Aeronautics, May 20, 11 a.m. to noon
Fly away with NASA's Langley and Dryden Flight Research Centers to
learn about their roles in the development of aeronautics during
NASA's 50 years. Combined, the two centers have been studying
aviation for more than 90 years. Learn more about this fascinating
area of science and how NASA's advancements have benefited mankind.

Propulsion: Past, Present and Future, May 20, 1:10 p.m. to 2:10 p.m.
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and NASA's Stennis Space Center
were built to examine Newton's three fundamental laws of motion
through testing large-scale engines used for propulsion, eventually
taking man to the moon. In recent years, both centers were key in the
development of the Space Shuttle Program, taking NASA from the
conceptual stages to the final flight three years from now. As the
shuttle is retired, Marshall and Stennis look to a new era of space
exploration, taking man back to the moon and beyond to new frontiers.


Wind Tunnels and Their Use in Aerospace, May 21, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and
2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
You have just put your design idea for your new aircraft or rocket on
paper but if you build it, will it fly? Learn how scientists and
engineers at NASA have answered this question over the past 50 years
without leaving the ground. Take a journey with the Digital Learning
Network and see how NASA uses wind tunnel facilities for aviation and
aerospace research.

To watch the live webcasts, visit:

http://dln.nasa.gov/dln

 

NASA AWARDS CONTRACT FOR ARES I MOBILE LAUNCHER

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Kennedy Space Center has awarded a
contract to Hensel Phelps of Orlando, Fla., for the construction of
the Ares I mobile launcher for the Constellation Program. Ares I is
the rocket that will transport the Orion crew exploration vehicle,
its crew and cargo to low Earth orbit. The contract includes an
option for an additional Ares I mobile launcher. It is a firm
fixed-price contract with a value of $263,735,000, if all options are
exercised.

The mobile launcher will support the Ares I and the vehicle's
associated ground support equipment. It will be used in the assembly,
testing and servicing of the Ares I at existing Kennedy facilities.
The mobile launcher will transport the Ares I rocket to the launch
pad and provide ground support for launches. The mobile launcher
consists of the main support structure that comprises the base, tower
and facility ground support systems, which include power,
communications, conditioned air, water for cooling, wash-down, and
ignition over-pressure protection.

Hensel Phelps will supply all labor, materials and equipment necessary
for construction of the Ares I mobile launcher. Ground support
equipment, such as umbilicals, propellant and gases, instrumentation,
controls and communications, necessary to support the Ares I rocket
will be provided and installed under a separate contract or
contracts.

The tower of the mobile launcher will have multiple platforms for
personnel access and will be approximately 390 feet tall.
Construction will take place at the mobile launcher park site area
located north of Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building at the space
center in Florida.

For more information about NASA's Constellation Program, visit

http://www.nasa.gov/constellation

 

NASA AWARDS EXTERNAL TANK CONTRACT MODIFICATION

WASHINGTON -- NASA has signed a $39.5 million contract modification
with Lockheed Martin Space Systems, New Orleans, to implement an
external tank program employee retention plan. Incentives are being
provided to eligible external tank personnel to ensure mission
success and construction of the remaining external tanks to support
Space Shuttle Program requirements through September 2010.

Retention of the knowledgeable and skilled external tank workforce is
necessary to produce the remaining shuttle hardware and safely
execute all remaining contract requirements. This modification
supports the agency's priorities of safely flying the space shuttle
and completing construction of the International Space Station.

The contract will end September 30, 2010. This modification brings the
total value of the contract, awarded in October 2000, to $2.967
billion. The contract calls for the delivery of 18 external tanks to
NASA. Eleven tanks remain to be delivered.

Work will be performed at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New
Orleans; NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.; and
NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

Lockheed Martin builds, assembles and tests the space shuttle external
tanks for NASA at the Michoud facility. The external tank holds the
liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen for the shuttle's three main
engines. It is the largest single component of the space shuttle and
the only part of the shuttle that is not reused.

At 154 feet tall, the tank is taller than a 15-story building, with a
diameter of about 27.5 feet. During launch, the tank acts as the
structural backbone for the shuttle orbiter and the solid rocket
boosters attached to it. For more information about NASA's Space
Shuttle Program, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

 

ASTRONAUTS TO MAKE VIRTUAL CONNECTION WITH STUDENTS

GREENBELT, MD -- Astronauts flying on a space shuttle mission to
service the Hubble Space Telescope for a final time will speak to
middle school students across America simultaneously at 1:15 p.m.
EDT, April 30, from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt,
Md.

Through NASA's Digital Learning Network (DLN), students at five middle
schools and an invited student audience at Goddard will talk to the
shuttle crew. Topics of discussion will include details about the
upcoming STS-125 mission to service Hubble. Astronauts also will
discuss career diversity among the crew. Each has a doctorate degree
in a science, technology, engineering and mathematics discipline.

The goal of the DLN is to enhance NASA's capability to deliver unique
content by linking students and educators with NASA experts. The DLN
offers videoconferencing or Webcasting at no charge, providing
interactive educational experiences to students and teachers from
kindergarten to college across the country and around the world.

Schools selected to participate are Junior High School 145 Arturo
Toscanini, Bronx, New York; Brenham Junior High School, Brenham,
Texas; and South Puget Intertribal Planning Agency, Shelton,
Washington. Two NASA Explorer Schools, Greencastle-Antrim Middle
School, Greencastle, Pennsylvania, and Middle School at Parkside,
Jackson, Michigan, also will participate.

Anyone can view the 45-minute event live at http://dln.nasa.gov/dln/.

For more information about the Hubble Space Telescope, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/hubble

NASA SELECTS CONTRACTOR FOR LANDSAT DATA CONTINUITY MISSION SPACECRAFT

WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected General Dynamics Advanced Information
Systems, Inc., to build the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM)
spacecraft.

Under the terms of the $116,306,179 delivery order, General Dynamics
Advanced Information Systems will be responsible for the design and
fabrication of the LDCM spacecraft bus, integration of the government
furnished instruments, satellite-level testing, on-orbit satellite
check-out, and continuing on-orbit engineering support. They also
will provide a spacecraft/observatory simulator.

LDCM is a component of the Landsat Program conducted jointly by NASA
and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) of the Department of Interior.
NASA is providing the LDCM spacecraft, the instruments, the launch
vehicle, and the mission operations element of the ground system.
USGS is providing the mission operations center and ground processing
systems, as well as the flight operations team.

The delivery order was awarded under NASA's Rapid II Indefinite
Delivery Indefinite Quantity Contract. The Rapid II contract is for
core spacecraft systems, with non-standard services such as
operations, launch services, components and studies to meet the
government's space science, Earth science and technology needs.

The contract includes fabrication and testing of the spacecraft with
mission specific design modifications; generation of interface
control documents, instrument and full spacecraft integration;
testing, shipment to the launch site, launch vehicle integration
support and on-orbit checkout.

With a five-year design lifetime, the LDCM satellite will continue the
series of measurements begun with the Landsat-1 mission for the
collection, archiving and distribution of multi-spectral imagery.
This imagery will provide global, synoptic, and repetitive coverage
of the Earth's land surfaces at a scale where natural and
human-induced changes can be detected, differentiated, characterized
and monitored over time.

The LDCM goal is consistent with the Landsat programmatic goals
derived from the Land Remote Sensing Act of 1992. This policy
requires that the Landsat Program provide data into the future that
is sufficiently consistent with previous Landsat data to allow the
detection and quantitative characterization of changes in or on the
land surface of the globe.

The LDCM was conceived as a follow-on mission to the highly successful
Landsat series of missions that have provided coverage of the Earth's
continental surfaces since 1972. The data from these missions
constitute the longest continuous record of the Earth's surface as
seen from space.

More information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov
 

NASA OFFERS EDUCATIONAL ONLINE GAMING OPPORTUNITY TO DEVELOPERS

WASHINGTON -- Educators soon may be able take the "learning can be
fun" adage to another level using computer-simulation games with new
technologies created by NASA and a yet-to-be-selected game developer.


NASA Learning Technologies sponsored a workshop today to present its
concept of delivering NASA content through a Massively Multiplayer
Online (MMO) educational game to interested development partners.
Designed to enhance learning in science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics (STEM), such an online educational game would draw
players into a synthetic environment that can serve as a powerful
"hands-on" tool for teaching a range of complex subjects.

"NASA will continue to pursue innovative strategies to encourage
students to improve their interest and performance in STEM and
related careers," said Dr. Joyce Winterton, NASA assistant
administrator for education. "The use of online educational games can
capture student interest in NASA's missions and science."

The daylong workshop provided more than 200 potential development
partners the opportunity to learn directly from NASA officials about
the vision, goals, and expectations for the development of an MMO
educational game. Participants heard top NASA scientists and
education officials talk about NASA's future plans for space
exploration and how the agency is planning to leverage the game to
enhance education efforts across the country.

The Learning Technologies Project Office is collaborating with the
Innovative Partnerships Program Office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight
Center to develop the project's business strategy, which includes a
formal request for proposals for development partners and planning
for today's workshop. The Innovative Partnerships Program Office acts
as a matchmaker between NASA and commercial businesses, research
institutions, and other government laboratories to form mutually
beneficial collaborative agreements for research and licensing.

Workshop sessions underscored the importance of stimulating STEM, the
value of NASA partnerships to the U.S. economy, and information about
current and future science missions. Participants at the workshop
also were provided with the opportunity to register for one-on-one
briefing sessions with NASA officials to discuss specific questions
about the request for proposals.

The power of games as educational tools rapidly is gaining
recognition. Virtual worlds with scientifically accurate simulations
could permit learners to experiment with chemical reactions in living
cells, practice operating and repairing expensive equipment, and
experience microgravity. The goal is to make it easier to grasp
complex concepts and transfer this understanding quickly to practical
problems.

NASA's MMO educational game will function as a persistent, synthetic
environment supporting education as a laboratory, a massive
visualization tool, and a collaborative workspace that simultaneously
draws students into challenging game-play.

NASA Learning Technologies expects the MMO to appeal mainly to
teenagers, ranging from middle-schoolers through high-school and
college students.

For more information, visit:

http://ipp.gsfc.nasa.gov/mmo
 

NASA AWARDS LAUNCH SERVICES CONTRACT TO SPACEX

WASHINGTON -- NASA has awarded Space Exploration Technologies, or
SpaceX, a NASA Launch Services contract for the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9
launch vehicles.

The NASA Launch Services contracts are multiple awards to multiple
launch service providers. Twice per year, there is an opportunity for
existing and emerging domestic launch service providers to submit
proposals if their vehicles meet the minimum contract requirements.

The contract is an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ)
contract where NASA may order launch services through June 30, 2010,
for launches to occur through December 2012. Under the NASA Launch
Services IDIQ contracts, the potential total contract value is
between $20,000 and $1 billion, depending on the number of missions
awarded.

The contract seeks a launch capability for payloads weighing 551
pounds or heavier into a circular orbit of 124 miles at an orbital
inclination of 28.5 degrees. Payloads would be launched to support
three NASA mission directorates: Science, Space Operations and
Exploration Systems.

Because an IDIQ contract has been awarded to SpaceX, it can compete
for NASA missions using the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 launch vehicles as
specified by the NASA Launch Services contract process.

NASA's Launch Services Program at Kennedy Space Center is responsible
for program management. This award to SpaceX adds to the stable of
launch vehicles available to NASA under previously awarded contracts.
The original request for proposal was issued in 1999.

For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov
 

NASA TO BROADCAST EARTH VIEWS IN HIGH DEFINITION TELEVISION HOUSTON -- Since humans first flew in space, nothing has captivated astronauts more than the view of home out the window of their spacecraft. In honor of Earth Day, April 22, NASA will make those views available to people here on Earth with an event highlighting imagery taken by astronauts and the science behind it. For the first time ever, NASA Television will air a special hour-long broadcast of views of Earth taken in High Definition, or HD, by astronauts on past space shuttle and International Space Station missions. The special HD broadcast will air between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. EDT on Friday, April 18, and replay at the same time on Monday, April 21. It will air every hour from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, April 22. The Friday HD broadcast will feature a silent version of the Earth views. The broadcasts on Monday and Tuesday will include a discussion of the views by Dr. Justin Wilkinson, a scientist with the Crew Earth Observations Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. The footage also will air on standard NASA TV during regularly scheduled Video File broadcasts. For technical information on how to receive the special broadcast in high definition, and for NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv For more information about NASA's Earth Day events, and the space shuttle and space station programs, visit:

NASA TURNS GREEN WITH NATIONWIDE EARTH DAY ACTIVITIES WASHINGTON -- NASA centers across America will roll out the green carpet April 22 to celebrate Earth Day and reporters are invited to hear first hand about the agency's contributions to understanding and protecting our environment. NASA Earth research missions study all aspects of our planet, from its oceans, land surfaces and atmosphere, to its biosphere and cryosphere. NASA is a world leader in studying the cause and effects of climate change now and in the future. NASA research contributes to improved air and water quality and promotes healthier lands and wildlife habitats. The agency operates dedicated Earth science spacecraft and conducts research with instruments aboard other national and international satellites. NASA plans several new missions in the next few years, with two launching in 2008. Decision makers around the world use NASA Earth science data to support policy making and resource management decisions. With the world's largest contingent of dedicated Earth scientists and engineers, NASA will host interactive activities that span a variety of topics. NASA also will mark the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 8 Earthrise photograph, which was credited for inspiring environmental movements in the late 1960s and 1970s. Bill Anders, the Apollo 8 astronaut who took the famous "Earthrise" photo, will be available for live NASA Television interviews from 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EDT on Earth Day. Joining Anders will be a NASA scientist to discuss present day NASA Earth science research. Media interested in arranging for live interviews with Anders should contact Al Feinberg on 202-358-1058 by 4 p.m. EDT Friday, or DC Agle at 818-393-9011 by 7 p.m. EDT Monday. NASA TV also will air a special hour-long High-Definition TV broadcast of Earth views taken in HD by astronauts on past space shuttle and space station missions. The HD broadcast will air on the morning of Friday, April 18, from 6 to 8 a.m. EDT, and replay during the same time on Monday, April 21. On Earth Day, the HD broadcast will air from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. EDT. The footage also will be broadcast on standard NASA TV during the regular Video File hours those days. For information on how to receive the special HD broadcast, and information about NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv To commemorate Earth Day on NASA's Web site, http://www.nasa.gov, the agency will feature several new items, including the 10 most outstanding Earth views taken by astronauts aboard the space station. Web features also will highlight a breathtaking series of nighttime images of city lights from orbit gathered by astronaut Don Pettit, who lived aboard the station in 2003. Pettit narrates the imagery, which he gathered using a special mechanism he developed to steady the camera and track cities as the station flew overhead at five miles per second. The site also will provide opportunities for visitors to share their opinions. NASA Earth Day center activities include: Ames Research Center at Moffet Field, Calif. -- A media availability on Earth Day for reporters to interview Earth scientists and experts -- A Directors Colloquium on April 17, co-sponsored with the GREEN Team, focusing on "Monitoring and Modeling the Life Support Systems of Planet Earth" Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. -- Panel discussions and presentations, including researchers Peter Hildebrand and James Hansen Glenn Research Center in Cleveland -- Presentation by Mark Shanahan, the Ohio governor's energy advisor Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. -- EarthFest (April 26) features lectures, panel discussions and interactive Earth activities -- "Park and Walk Day." Employees are encouraged to park their cars on Earth Day and walk to meetings, reducing the NASA carbon footprint Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. -- "One Green Step for Man -- One Green Planet for Mankind" public event that includes presentations and a tree planting dedication Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Miss. -- Community fair featuring Earth photo contests, exhibits by local environmental agencies and demonstrations of Earth-friendly products Wallops Flight Research Facility on Wallops Island, Va. -- Public event (April 26) featuring presentations and activities, including a scavenger hunt For more information about these activities, please contact the public affairs office at the individual NASA field center. For more on NASA's Earth science activities, visit:

NASA STATEMENT ON STUDENT ASTEROID CALCULATIONS WASHINGTON -- The Near-Earth Object Program Office at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., has not changed its current estimates for the very low probability (1 in 45,000) of an Earth impact by the asteroid Apophis in 2036. Contrary to recent press reports, NASA offices involved in near-Earth object research were not contacted and have had no correspondence with a young German student, who claims the Apophis impact probability is far higher than the current estimate. This student's conclusion reportedly is based on the possibility of a collision with an artificial satellite during the asteroid's close approach in April 2029. However, the asteroid will not pass near the main belt of geosynchronous satellites in 2029, and the chance of a collision with a satellite is exceedingly remote. Therefore, consideration of this satellite collision scenario does not affect the current impact probability estimate for Apophis, which remains at 1 in 45,000.

NEW NASA MOON MISSION BEGINS INTEGRATION OF SCIENCE INSTRUMENTS GREENBELT, Md. -- Several instruments that will help NASA characterize the moon's surface have been installed on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO. The powerful equipment will bring the moon into sharper focus and reveal new insights about the celestial body nearest Earth. Engineers and technicians on the LRO Integration and Test Team work almost around the clock in a clean room at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., to ready the spacecraft for testing and eventual launch later this year. "The spacecraft really is coming together now," said Cathy Peddie, LRO deputy project manager at Goddard. "We are in the space assembly homestretch and making solid progress. You can begin to see what LRO will look like in all of its glory." Four of six instruments have been mated to the spacecraft, with one to be installed soon and one to arrive in the near future. The instruments are: The Lyman-Alpha Mapping Project was built and developed at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. The instrument will map the entire lunar surface in the far ultraviolet spectrum and search for surface ice and frost in the polar regions. It will provide images of permanently shadowed regions that are illuminated only by starlight. The Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation, or CRaTER, was built and developed by Boston University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. CRaTER will characterize the lunar radiation environment, allowing scientists to determine potential impacts to astronauts and other life. It also will test models on the effects of radiation and measure radiation absorption by a type of plastic that is like human tissue. The results could aid in the development of protective technologies to help keep future lunar crew members safe. Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment was built and developed by the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. Diviner will measure surface and subsurface temperatures from orbit. It will identify cold traps and potential ice deposits as well as rough terrain and other landing hazards. The Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter was conceived and built by scientists and engineers at Goddard. The instrument will measure landing site slopes and lunar surface roughness and generate high resolution three-dimensional maps of the moon. The instrument also will measure and analyze the lunar topography to identify both permanently illuminated and shadowed areas. The Russian-built Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector has arrived from the Institute for Space Research in Moscow. The detector will create high-resolution maps of hydrogen distribution and gather information about the neutron component of lunar radiation. Its data will be analyzed for evidence of water ice near the moon's surface. The remaining instrument, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera from Arizona State University in Tempe, Ariz., will provide high resolution imagery to help identify landing sites and characterize the moon's topography and composition. It should arrive at Goddard in May. Also on board will be the Mini-RF Technology Demonstration experiment sponsored by NASA's Exploration Systems and Space Operations Mission Directorates. The miniaturized radar will be used to image the polar regions and search for water ice. The communications capabilities of the system also will be tested during the mission. The satellite is scheduled to launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., in late 2008 on an Atlas V rocket. It will spend one year in low polar orbit on its primary exploration mission, with the possibility of three more years to collect additional detailed scientific information about the moon and its environment. That information will help ensure a safe and productive human return to the moon. The spacecraft is being built and managed by Goddard for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. It will transition to the Science Mission Directorate in 2010. For more information about LRO on the Web, visit:

NASA COMPLETES FIRST FULL-SCALE MOTOR TEST FOR ORION SPACECRAFT WASHINGTON -- NASA has completed the first full-scale rocket motor test for the Constellation Program's Orion spacecraft, a test of a solid rocket that will be used to jettison the craft's launch abort system. Now under development, Orion will be America's next human spacecraft, designed to fly to the International Space Station and be part of a space flight system to return humans to the moon. The Orion jettison motor will separate the craft's launch abort system from the Orion crew module during launch. The Orion launch abort system is a larger solid rocket motor system that will provide a safe escape for the crew in an emergency on the launch pad or during the climb to orbit. The test completed late last month is a critical milestone in NASA's preparations for a series of flight tests planned to begin late this year of the full Orion abort system. "This was a major success for the Orion launch abort system team," said Mark Cooper, NASA's integrated product team lead for launch abort system propulsion at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. "The test provided valuable data on motor performance that will allow design and analytical refinements by our contactor team. The test is the culmination of intense and focused work by the entire jettison motor team." The jettison motor static test firing was conducted by Aerojet Corporation in Sacramento. NASA has partnered with Lockheed Martin Corporation, Orbital Sciences Corporation, and Aerojet to supply the jettison motor. NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., manages the Orion launch abort system design and development effort with partners and team members from Marshall. For still and video imagery to accompany this release, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/constellation For more information about NASA's plans to return to the moon and go beyond, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/exploration

NASA AWARDS SPACE STATION WATER CONTRACT TO HAMILTON SUNDSTRAND WASHINGTON -- NASA has awarded a sole-source contract to Hamilton Sundstrand Space Systems International Inc., Windsor Locks, Conn., for water production services aboard the International Space Station. The firm fixed-price contract has a potential value of $65 million and extends through Sept. 30, 2014. Hamilton Sundstrand will provide equipment that uses the station's excess carbon dioxide and hydrogen to produce water and methane. The methane will be vented into space, and the water will be fed into the station's waste water system, where it will undergo treatment before it is used. Under the contract, NASA will not buy hardware, but instead will purchase the water service. If the system does not work, NASA will not pay for it. "This is a fundamental shift in the way we do business," said Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for Space Operations. "In the business arrangement we have negotiated for water production services, the contractor is responsible for all system development and performance. The only requirements we have imposed are those associated with safety and interfaces. This provides a procurement and technology test bed for future exploration systems, which need to operate in an environment far from Earth, where routine resupply is not feasible." The equipment employs a chemical process known as a Sabatier reaction. The process is named for French Nobel laureate and chemist Paul Sabatier, who discovered that hydrogen and carbon dioxide produce methane and water at elevated temperatures and pressures. The Hamilton Sundstrand-provided hardware will be flown during shuttle mission STS-130, which is targeted for launch in late 2009. A checkout of the system is planned for May 2010. Hamilton Sundstrand will retain title to the hardware and ensure it meets NASA's space station safety and interface requirements. Water is used on the space station for a variety of purposes, including drinking, food preparation, oxygen generation, electronic equipment cooling and hygiene. About half of the station's water needs are obtained through recycling. The rest of its water currently is transported by the space shuttle or supply ships, including the Russian Progress and European Automated Transfer Vehicle. "We are very excited to provide this service to NASA," said Ed Francis, Hamilton Sundstrand Space, Land & Sea vice president and general manager. "Our experience providing environmental control and life support systems and other hardware for the space station gives us the insight needed to recognize areas we can help NASA. This is a great example of how NASA and industry can work together to benefit both." Hamilton Sundstrand provides a number of systems for the space station, including those that control electrical power and process water, waste and air. The company has been the prime contractor to NASA for astronaut spacesuits since 1981. For information about the International Space Station, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station For information about NASA and agency programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov

STEPHEN HAWKING SPEAKS AT NASA 50TH ANNIVERSARY EVENT WASHINGTON -- On Monday, April 21, Professor Stephen Hawking of the University of Cambridge will be the featured speaker at a lecture that is part of a series honoring NASA's 50th anniversary. The title of Hawking's lecture is "Why we should go into space." The event will be held at the George Washington University's Morton Auditorium at 3 p.m. EDT. Admission is by invitation only, but reporters are welcome to attend. NASA television will broadcast the event live on the Web at: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv News media representatives should R.S.V.P. by calling 703-556-4861 or e-mailing LM_NASA@hayespr.com. NASA was created by the National Aeronautics and Space Act and began operations on Oct. 1, 1958. The 50th anniversary NASA lecture series features prominent speakers to discuss the benefits that space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research provide in addressing global issues such as the economy, education, health, science and the environment. Lockheed Martin Corporation of Bethesda, Md., is co-sponsoring the two-year lecture series. Hawking's lecture also is being co-sponsored by the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University's Elliott School. For more information about the NASA 50th Anniversary Lecture Series, visit:

NASA EXTENDS CASSINI'S GRAND TOUR OF SATURN PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA is extending the international Cassini-Huygens mission by two years. The historic spacecraft's stunning discoveries and images have revolutionized our knowledge of Saturn and its moons. Cassini's mission originally had been scheduled to end in July 2008. The newly-announced two-year extension will include 60 additional orbits of Saturn and more flybys of its exotic moons. These will include 26 flybys of Titan, seven of Enceladus, and one each of Dione, Rhea and Helene. The extension also includes studies of Saturn's rings, its complex magnetosphere, and the planet itself. "This extension is not only exciting for the science community, but for the world to continue to share in unlocking Saturn's secrets," said Jim Green, director, Planetary Science Division, NASA Headquarters, Washington. "New discoveries are the hallmarks of its success, along with the breathtaking images beamed back to Earth that are simply mesmerizing." "The spacecraft is performing exceptionally well and the team is highly motivated, so we're excited at the prospect of another two years," said Bob Mitchell, Cassini program manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. Based on findings from Cassini, scientists think liquid water may be just beneath the surface of Saturn's moon, Enceladus. That's why the small moon, only one-tenth the size of Titan and one-seventh the size of Earth's moon, is one of the highest-priority targets for the extended mission. Cassini discovered geysers of water-ice jetting from the Enceladus' surface. The geysers, which shoot out at a distance three times the diameter of Enceladus, feed particles into Saturn's most expansive ring. In the extended mission, the spacecraft may come as close as 15 miles from the moon's surface. Cassini's observations of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, have given scientists a glimpse of what Earth might have been like before life evolved. They now believe Titan possesses many parallels to Earth, including lakes, rivers, channels, dunes, rain, snow, clouds, mountains and possibly volcanoes. "When we designed the original tour, we really did not know what we would find, especially at Enceladus and Titan," said Dennis Matson, the JPL Cassini project scientist. "This extended tour is responding to these new discoveries and giving us a chance to look for more." Unlike Earth, Titan's lakes, rivers and rain are composed of methane and ethane, and temperatures reach a chilly minus 290 degrees Fahrenheit. Although Titan's dense atmosphere limits viewing the surface, Cassini's high-resolution radar coverage and imaging by the infrared spectrometer have given scientists a better look. Other activities for Cassini scientists will include monitoring seasons on Titan and Saturn, observing unique ring events, such as the 2009 equinox when the sun will be in the plane of the rings, and exploring new places within Saturn's magnetosphere. Cassini has returned a daily stream of data from Saturn's system for almost four years. Its travel scrapbook includes nearly 140,000 images and information gathered during 62 revolutions around Saturn, 43 flybys of Titan and 12 close flybys of the icy moons. More than 10 years after launch and almost four years after entering into orbit around Saturn, Cassini is a healthy and robust spacecraft. Three of its science instruments have minor ailments, but the impact on science-gathering is minimal. The spacecraft will have enough propellant left after the extended mission to potentially allow a third phase of operations. Data from the extended mission could lay the groundwork for possible new missions to Titan and Enceladus. Cassini launched Oct. 15, 1997, from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on a seven-year journey to Saturn, traversing 2.2 billion miles. It is one of the most scientifically capable spacecraft ever launched, with a record 12 instruments on the orbiter and six more instruments on the European Space Agency's Huygens probe, which piggybacked a ride to Titan on Cassini. Cassini receives electrical power from three radioisotope thermoelectric generators, which generate electricity from heat produced by the natural decay of plutonium. The spacecraft was captured into Saturn orbit in June 2004 and immediately began returning data to Earth. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project between NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. For more information on the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/cassini

NASA SPACECRAFT FINE TUNES COURSE FOR MARS LANDING PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA engineers have adjusted the flight path of the Phoenix Mars Lander, setting the spacecraft on course for its May 25th landing on the Red Planet. "This is our first trajectory maneuver targeting a specific location in the northern polar region of Mars," said Brian Portock, chief of the Phoenix navigation team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. The mission's two prior trajectory maneuvers, made last August and October, adjusted the flight path of Phoenix to intersect with Mars. NASA has conditionally approved a landing site in a broad, flat valley informally called "Green Valley." A final decision will be made after NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter takes additional images of the area this month. The orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera has taken more than three dozen images of the area. Analysis of those images prompted the Phoenix team to shift the center of the landing target 8 miles southeastward, away from slightly rockier patches to the northwest. Navigators used that new center for planning today's maneuver. The landing area is an ellipse about 62 miles by 12 miles. Researchers have mapped more than five million rocks in and around that ellipse, each big enough to end the mission if hit by the spacecraft during landing. Knowing where to avoid the rockier areas, the team has selected a scientifically exciting target that also offers the best chances for the spacecraft to set itself down safely onto the Martian surface. "Our landing area has the largest concentration of ice on Mars outside of the polar caps. If you want to search for a habitable zone in the arctic permafrost, then this is the place to go," said Peter Smith, principal investigator for the mission, at the University of Arizona, Tucson. Phoenix will dig to an ice-rich layer expected to lie within arm's reach of the surface. It will analyze the water and soil for evidence about climate cycles and investigate whether the environment there has been favorable for microbial life. "We have never before had so much information about a Mars site prior to landing," said Ray Arvidson of Washington University in St. Louis. Arvidson is chairman of the Phoenix landing-site working group and has worked on Mars landings since the first successful Viking landers in 1976. "The environmental risks at landing -- rocks and slopes -- represent the most significant threat to a successful mission. There's always a chance that we'll roll snake eyes, but we have identified an area that is very flat and relatively free of large boulders," said JPL's David Spencer, Phoenix deputy project manager and co-chair of the landing site working group. Today's trajectory adjustment began by pivoting Phoenix 145 degrees to orient and then fire spacecraft thrusters for about 35 seconds, then pivoting Phoenix back to point its main antenna toward Earth. The mission has three more planned opportunities for maneuvers before May 25 to further refine the trajectory for a safe landing at the desired location. In the final seven minutes of its flight on May 25, Phoenix must perform a challenging series of actions to safely decelerate from nearly 13,000 mph. The spacecraft will release a parachute and then use pulse thrusters at approximately 3,000 feet from the surface to slow to about 5 mph and land on three legs. "Landing on Mars is extremely challenging. In fact, not since the 1970's have we had a successful powered landing on this unforgiving planet. There's no guarantee of success, but we are doing everything we can to mitigate the risks," said Doug McCuistion, director of NASA's Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. For more information about Phoenix, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/phoenix

NASA EARTH SCIENTIST TO HEAD PROGRAMS OFFICE IN SCIENCE DIRECTORATE WASHINGTON -- Michael R. Luther has been named deputy associate administrator for programs in NASA's Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Ed Weiler, associate administrator for the directorate, made the announcement Wednesday. Luther will be responsible for overseeing the safe and successful execution of the directorate's 36 missions currently in formulation and development, as well as 54 operating science missions. Prior to this appointment, Luther was deputy director for programs in the Science Mission Directorate's Earth Science Division. "Mike brings an unprecedented amount of knowledge in overall science programs along with extensive experience in Earth research. That experience will be invaluable as we prepare for upcoming Earth-related launches and campaigns," said Weiler. Luther began his tenure at NASA Headquarters in 1987 and has served as program manager of the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite and Earth science flight program director. He has worked at NASA since 1981 when he joined Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va. In 2005, Luther received the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal. "It is an honor and a privilege to assist Ed Weiler and Deputy Associate Administrator Chuck Gay in managing the world's premier civilian space science organization," Luther said. Luther's predecessor, Todd May, who served in the position since 2007, will return to Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. NASA's Science Mission Directorate conducts research and scientific programs to observe the Earth, study space weather and explore the solar system and the universe beyond. To achieve these scientific goals, NASA manages a diverse constellation of spacecraft and conducts an assortment of grant-based research programs. For information about NASA and agency programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov

NASA LAUNCHES NEW SCIENCE WEB SITE WASHINGTON -- NASA's Science Mission Directorate has launched a new Web site that provides enhanced and engaging information about NASA's vast scope of scientific endeavors and achievements. The site will provide in-depth coverage of NASA's past, present and future science missions with features that include: - Interactive tables and searches for Earth, heliophysics, planetary and astrophysics missions - Insight into dark matter and dark energy, planets around other stars, climate change, Mars and space weather - Resources for researchers including links to upcoming science solicitations and opportunities - A mapping of science questions for NASA science missions and the data they produce - A citizen-scientist page with access to resources that equip the public to engage in scientific investigation - Expanded "For Educators" and "For Kids" pages to provide access to a broader range of resources for learning the science behind NASA missions - Easy-to-navigate design and an improved search engine to help find information Visit the new NASA science Web site at: http://nasascience.nasa.gov

SHAPING THE MOONSCAPE: WORKERS READY COURSE FOR NASA'S 15TH ANNUAL GREAT MOONBUGGY RACE IN HUNTSVILLE, ALA., APRIL 4-5 HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- Each year around this time, John Tripp walks across a lunar surface, pondering the challenges ahead for explorers brave enough to take on its cratered terrain. For now, his "moon" is a winding ribbon of cement footpaths looped around Huntsville's famed U.S. Space and Rocket Center, where Tripp is a construction foreman. By month's end, a half-mile of the paths will be transformed into a harsh lunar landscape that will test the engineering savvy and physical endurance of about 400 high school and college students on 68 teams converging here April 4-5 for NASA's 15th annual Great Moonbuggy Race. The event is organized by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. The students, hailing from 20 states, Puerto Rico, Canada, India and Germany, are coming to race lightweight moonbuggies they designed, based on the original lunar rovers first used during the Apollo 15 moon mission in 1971. Tripp's construction team will greet them with 17 unique course obstacles, built of plywood and old tires, and covered with 20 tons of gravel and 5 tons of sand. All of it will be reshaped into moon-like ridges, craters, sandy basins and lava-etched "rilles." The course was designed in 1993 by Dr. Larry Taylor, a lunar geologist at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Dr. J.M. Wersinger, a physics professor at Auburn University in Auburn, Ala., and Marshall's University Affairs Officer Dr. Frank Six. It proved so challenging that race planners began adding hay bales for added safety; about 175 bales will line the course this year. Even so, seatbelts are a requirement. The students appear ready for the challenge. For two days, their vehicles will brave the course against the backdrop of some of America's most famous rockets and space vehicles. Cheered on by hundreds of friends and spectators, they'll vie for cash prizes and trophies awarded by NASA and corporate sponsors. Each moonbuggy starts the competition disassembled and folded for transport -- like the actual rovers flown to the moon in the early 1970s. Each buggy must fit into a space no larger than 4 feet in width, height and length. It must be carried in "collapsed" mode to the starting line, assembled, then checked for all required parts -- fenders, a flag and simulated hardware, including batteries, a communications antenna, radio and TV camera. Then, they're off. Each rover is piloted by two students: one male, one female. The buggies race against the clock instead of each other. Drivers push hard to conquer each obstacle without exceeding the race's 15-minute time limit -- a new rule in 2008. Tripp keeps the moonbuggy course safe, but tough. As the person in charge of the course for the past 13 years, he's made a science of getting the right blend of sand and rock, and building the right combinations of steep and shallow features. He has to stay sharp, he said, because student builders grow ever more sophisticated, refining their designs from year to year to field sturdier buggies. The schools also consult with each another. Veterans compare concepts and give new teams free insight. "That camaraderie is exciting to see," says Tammy Rowan, manager of Marshall's Academic Affairs Office, which organizes the race each year. "The race doesn't just pit schools against one another. It's a shared experience for students who love math, science and engineering. We hope it shows them the community and partnership that awaits them in these career fields, and provides practical, hands-on experience to reinforce their class work." Tripp admits he enjoys making the experience a true challenge. His course never fails to keep the pit crews in NASA's repairs tent busy on race day - welding snapped struts, and replacing bent wheels and sprockets. But most teams push through and Tripp likes that too. "Some of them reach the end and just fall over exhausted," Tripp said. "But they get there. That's what it's all about." The 2008 race is sponsored by NASA's Space Operations Mission Directorate, along with the Northrop Grumman Corp., The Boeing Company and Teledyne Brown Engineering, all of Huntsville. Additional contributors include the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics; ATK Launch Systems, Inc.; CBS-TV affiliate WHNT (Ch. 19); Jacobs Engineering Science Technical Service Group; Stanley Associates; Science Applications International Corp.; the Tennessee Valley chapter of the System Safety Society Inc.; the United Space Alliance, LLC; and the U.S. Space & Rocket Center

SATURN'S MOON RHEA ALSO MAY HAVE RINGS PASADENA, Calif. - NASA's Cassini spacecraft has found evidence of material orbiting Rhea, Saturn's second largest moon. This is the first time rings may have been found around a moon. A broad debris disk and at least one ring appear to have been detected by a suite of six instruments on Cassini specifically designed to study the atmospheres and particles around Saturn and its moons. "Until now, only planets were known to have rings, but now Rhea seems to have some family ties to its ringed parent Saturn," said Geraint Jones, Cassini scientist, and lead author on a paper that appears in the March 7 issue of the journal Science. Jones began this work while at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany, and is now at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College, London. Rhea is roughly 950 miles in diameter. The apparent debris disk measures several thousand miles from end to end. The particles that make up the disk and any embedded rings probably range from the size of small pebbles to boulders. An additional dust cloud may extend up to 3,000 miles from the moon's center, almost eight times the radius of Rhea. "Like finding planets around other stars, and moons around asteroids, these findings are opening a new field of rings around moons," said Norbert Krupp, a scientist on Cassini's Magnetospheric Imaging Instrument from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research. Since the discovery, Cassini scientists have carried out numerical simulations to determine if Rhea can maintain rings. The models show that Rhea's gravity field, in combination with its orbit around Saturn, could allow rings that form to remain in place for a very long time. The discovery was a result of a Cassini close flyby of Rhea in November 2005, when instruments on the spacecraft observed the environment around the moon. Three instruments sampled the dust directly. The existence of some debris was expected because a rain of dust constantly hits Saturn's moons, including Rhea, knocking particles into space around them. Other instruments' observations showed how the moon was interacting with Saturn's magnetosphere, and ruled out the possibility of an atmosphere. Evidence for a debris disk in addition to this tenuous dust cloud came from a gradual drop on either side of Rhea in the number of electrons detected by two of Cassini's instruments. Material near Rhea appeared to be shielding Cassini from the usual rain of electrons. Cassini's Magnetospheric Imaging Instrument also detected sharp, brief drops in electrons on both sides of the moon, suggesting the presence of rings within the disk of debris. The rings of Uranus were found in a similar fashion, by NASA's Kuiper Airborne Observatory in 1977, when light from a star blinked on and off as it passed behind Uranus' rings. "Seeing almost the same signatures on either side of Rhea was the clincher," added Jones. "After ruling out many other possibilities, we said these are most likely rings. No one was expecting rings around a moon." One possible explanation for these rings is that they are remnants from an asteroid or comet collision in Rhea's distant past. Such a collision may have pitched large quantities of gas and solid particles around Rhea. Once the gas dissipated, all that remained were the ring particles. Other moons of Saturn, such as Mimas, show evidence of a catastrophic collision that almost tore the moon apart. "The diversity in our solar system never fails to amaze us," said Candy Hansen, co-author and Cassini scientist on the Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. JPL manages Cassini for NASA. "Many years ago we thought Saturn was the only planet with rings. Now we may have a moon of Saturn that is a miniature version of its even more elaborately decorated parent." These ring findings make Rhea a prime candidate for further study. Initial observations by the imaging team when Rhea was near the sun in the sky did not detect dust near the moon remotely. Additional observations are planned to look for the larger particles. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Magnetospheric Imaging Instrument was designed, built and is operated by an international team led by the Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins

NASA AWARDS EXTERNAL TANK CONTRACT MODIFICATION WASHINGTON - NASA has signed a $47.5 million contract modification with Lockheed Martin, New Orleans, for space shuttle external fuel tanks. The modification aligns and extends all activities associated with the production contract to include final assembly of one tank, partial manufacture of a tank and the acquisition of the component parts for one additional tank to serve as spares. The modification supports the agency's priorities of safely flying the space shuttle, completing construction of the International Space Station and NASA's long-term plan to return astronauts to the moon and beyond. The cost plus award fee/incentive fee contract will conclude Sept. 30, 2010, and brings the total value of the contract, awarded in October 2000, to $2.93 billion. The contract calls for the delivery of 18 external tanks to NASA. Work will be performed at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Lockheed Martin builds, assembles and tests the space shuttle external tanks for NASA at the Michoud facility. The external tank holds the liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen for the shuttle's three main engines. It is the largest single component of the space shuttle and the only part of the shuttle that is not reused. At 154 feet tall, the gigantic rust-colored tank is taller than a 15-story building and as wide as a silo, with a diameter of about 27.5 feet. During launch, the tank acts as the structural backbone for the shuttle orbiter and the solid rocket boosters attached to it.

NASA AWARDS CONSTELLATION PROGRAM SUPPORT CONTRACT WASHINGTON - NASA has awarded SGT Inc. of Greenbelt, Md., a contract for support services for Constellation Program, which is developing new spacecraft to travel beyond low Earth orbit. The Constellation fleet includes the Orion crew vehicle, the Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles and Altair human lunar lander. The small business contract has a potential value of $60 million with options. Work on the contract will be performed at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston with additional work possible at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. SGT Inc. will provide program planning and control services supporting the Constellation Program. Services include the program's business management, configuration and data management, requirements analysis and integration, schedule management and integration and technology protection. The base period of the indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-award-fee contract is three years, effective April 11. The contract's base value is not to exceed $60 million. Two one-year extension options are available and could bring the total contract value to $100 million.

NASA VIEWS LANDING SITE THROUGH EYES OF FUTURE MOON CREW WASHINGTON - NASA has obtained the highest resolution terrain mapping to date of the moon's rugged south polar region, with a resolution to 20 meters per pixel. Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., collected the data using the facility's Goldstone Solar System Radar located in California's Mojave Desert. The imagery generated by the data has been incorporated into animation depicting the descent to the lunar surface of a future human lunar lander and a flyover of Shackleton Crater. The mapping data collected indicate that the region of the moon's south pole near Shackleton Crater is much more rugged than previously understood. The Shackleton rim area is considered a candidate landing site for a future human mission to the moon. "The south pole of the moon certainly would be a beautiful place to explore," said Doug Cooke, deputy associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, Washington. "We now know the south pole has peaks as high as Mt. McKinley and crater floors four times deeper than the Grand Canyon. There are challenges that come with such rugged terrain, and these data will be an invaluable tool for advance planning of lunar missions." Three times during a six-month period in 2006, scientists targeted the moon's south polar region using Goldstone's 70-meter radar dish. The antenna, three-quarters the size of a football field, sent a 500-kilowatt strong, 90-minute long radar stream 231,800 miles to the moon. The radar bounced off the rough-hewn lunar terrain over an area measuring about 400 miles by 250 miles. Signals were reflected back to two of Goldstone's 34-meter antennas on Earth. The roundtrip time, from the antenna to the moon and back, was about two-and-a-half seconds. "I have not been to the moon, but this imagery is the next best thing," said Scott Hensley, a scientist at JPL and lead investigator for the study. "With these data we can see terrain features as small as a house without even leaving the office." Previously, the best resolution of the moon's south pole was generated by the Clementine spacecraft, which could resolve lunar terrain features near the south pole at 1 kilometer per pixel. The new resolution generated by JPL is 50 times more detailed. NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will provide the next generation of lunar imaging and data. The spacecraft is scheduled to launch in late 2008. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera will retrieve high resolution images of the moon's surface and lunar poles with resolutions to 1 meter. These images will provide knowledge of polar illumination conditions, identify potential resources and hazards, and enable safe landing site selection. Other instruments aboard the orbiter will return data such as temperature maps, ultraviolet images, characterization of radiation on the moon and a high resolution 3-D map. NASA's quest for up-to-date imagery of the moon also will benefit from international missions such as Japan's Selene robotic probe. Funding for the program was provided by NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. To view animation, terrain maps of the moon's south pole and images from this story, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/exploration/mmb/022708.html Video animation developed from the high resolution imaging also will air on NASA Television. For NASA TV downlink and schedule information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv JPL manages the Goldstone Solar System Radar and the Deep Space Network for NASA. To learn more about them, visit: http://deepspace.jpl.nasa.gov/dsn For information about NASA's exploration program to return humans to the moon, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/exploration

NASA'S NEWEST CONCEPT VEHICLE TAKES OFF-ROADING OUT OF THIS WORLD HOUSTON - In a car commercial, it would sound odd: active suspension, six-wheel drive with independent steering for each wheel, no doors, no windows, no seats and the only color available is gold. But NASA's latest concept vehicle is meant to go way off-road, as in 240,000 miles from the nearest pavement, and drive on the moon. NASA is working to send astronauts to the moon by 2020 to set up a lunar outpost, where they will do scientific research and prepare for journeys to more distant destinations. Built at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, the new design is one concept for a future lunar truck. The vehicle provides an idea of what the transportation possibilities may be when astronauts start exploring the moon. Other than a few basic requirements, the primary instruction given to the designers was to throw away assumptions made on NASA's previous rovers and come up with new ideas. "To be honest with you, it was scary when we started," said Lucien Junkin, a Johnson robotics engineer and the design lead for the prototype rover. "They tasked us last October to build the next generation rover and challenge the conventional wisdom. The idea is that, in the future, NASA can put this side-by-side with alternate designs and start to pick their features." One of the first standards to go was the traditional expectation that a vehicle should have four wheels. Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity, still cruising around the Red Planet, have already proved the value of a couple of extra wheels. When one of the six wheels became inoperable, the rovers had no problem rolling on using the remaining five. With the number of wheels decided, the next question was how those wheels should turn. On a car, the front wheels turn a few inches in either direction, and both wheels point in the same direction. On this rover, all six wheels can pivot individually in any direction, regardless of where any other wheel points. To parallel park, a driver could pull up next to the parking place, turn all the wheels to the right and slide right in. Of course, astronauts will not have trouble finding a parking space on the moon. But the feature, called crab steering, has advantages for a vehicle designed to drive into the craters of the moon. If a slope is too steep to drive down safely, the vehicle could drive sideways instead - no backing up or three-point turns required. The all-wheels, all-ways steering also could come in handy when unloading and docking payloads or plugging into a habitat for recharging. Introducing crab steering drove the concept in several other ways. If the rover's wheels turn to drive in a different direction, the driver needs to be able to do the same. The driver stands at the steering mechanism because sitting in a spacesuit is not comfortable or practical. The astronaut's perch - steering mechanism, driver and all - can pivot 360 degrees. "The Apollo astronauts couldn't back up at all because they couldn't see where they were going in reverse," said Rob Ambrose, assistant chief of the Automation, Robotics and Simulation Division at Johnson. "If you have a payload on the back or are plugging into something, it could be really important to keep your eyes directly on it." The vehicle also can be the ultimate low-rider. It can lower its belly to the ground, making it easier for astronauts in spacesuits to climb on and off. Individual wheels or sections can be raised and lowered to keep the vehicle level when driving on uneven ground. Some, all or none of these features may be selected for the design of a rover that eventually goes to the moon. NASA's lunar architects currently envision pressurized rovers that would travel in pairs, with two astronauts in each rover. The new prototype vehicle is meant to provide ideas as those future designs are developed. "This rover concept changed the whole paradigm," said Diane Hope, program element manager for NASA's Exploration Technology Development Program at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., which sponsored the vehicle's development. "It's not something I would have expected. It provides an alternative approach." To view images of the lunar truck and another rover technology in development, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/main/lunar_truck.html A Video File of the lunar truck will air on NASA Television. For schedule and downlink information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

NASA ANNOUNCES AGENCY QUALITY AWARD WINNERS WASHINGTON - NASA has presented its highest honor for quality and technical performance, the George M. Low Award, to four companies committed to innovative management, process quality and customer service. The awards were presented Tuesday at NASA's fifth annual Project Management Challenge Conference in Daytona Beach, Fla. Winners received a trophy with a medallion alloyed with material flown to the moon on Apollo 11. The 2007 Low Awards were given in the business service and product categories. Lockheed Martin Mission Services of Houston, nominated by NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, received the award for the large business service category. Sierra Lobo Inc. of Milan, Ohio, nominated by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., won the small business service category. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Inc. of Canoga Park, Calif., also nominated by Marshall, won the award for large business product. ASRS Aerospace Corporation of Cape Canaveral, Fla., nominated by NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, won the small business product award. The agency also recognized four finalists: Boeing Space Operations Company, Cape Canaveral; Oceaneering International Inc., Houston; Space Systems Division at Jacobs Engineering, Huntsville; and the National Institutes of Aerospace, Hampton, Va. Established in 1985, NASA's Excellence Award for Quality and Productivity demonstrates the agency's commitment to promote excellence and continual improvement by challenging the NASA's contractor community to be a global benchmark of quality management practices. In 1990, the award was renamed in memory of George M. Low, an outstanding NASA leader who contributed greatly during his 27-year tenure. Low was the deputy administrator from 1969-1976 and a leader in the early development of NASA's space programs. The agency also presented Quality and Safety Achievement Recognition (QASAR) awards to four individuals committed to safety. The award recognizes individual government and contractor employees who have demonstrated exemplary performance in contributing to the quality and/or safety of products, services, processes, or management programs and activities. This year's QASAR winners were: Michael Sampson and Melonie Scofield of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.; Russell Bakes of ATK Launch Systems, Brigham City, Utah; and Thelma Cox of the Stennis Defense Contract Management Agency office in New Orleans.

NEW WEB FEATURE SHOWS HOW NASA TECHNOLOGIES IMPROVE OUR LIVES WASHINGTON - NASA has added to its Web site an interactive program that allows users to discover some of the many NASA technologies that positively impact everyday life. NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale unveiled NASA at Home and NASA City Tuesday in Denver at the 3rd Space Exploration Conference. The interactive site takes users on an illustrated tour of the commercial technologies and products in their homes and cities that trace their origins to NASA's investment in space and aeronautics research and development. NASA has documented more than 1,500 examples of how NASA technologies have been used for bettering life on Earth. Visitors can scroll over technologies grouped by themes such as the home, airport, grocery store, sports arena, hospital, public safety, and manufacturing. After entering an area, users can read a short description of the technology to learn more about products such as temperature-regulated clothing from materials used in astronauts' suits and gloves, wireless headset telephone technology pioneered to transmit the first words from the moon, fire-resistant paint and steel coatings from NASA's heat shield technology, and remote-controlled ovens based on technology used aboard the International Space Station. Users also can connect to NASA's complete database of associated spinoff technologies from NASA at Home and NASA City.

NASA ISSUES DRAFT PROGRAMMATIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR SHUTTLE TRANSITION WASHINGTON - NASA has issued a draft programmatic environmental assessment on potential impacts resulting from the Space Shuttle Program's move toward retirement in 2010 and the transition to the Constellation Program. The assessment concludes that, because of the use of shuttle components and facilities by the Constellation Program, potential environmental impacts from disposing of the shuttle program's real and personal property would be minimal to moderate, depending on the property disposition method. The study also assesses the social and economic influence of the shuttle program on the regions around NASA's major centers. Analysis shows that the contribution of the shuttle program is relatively modest in proportion to the overall economic activity of the regions, less than one percent, except in the Kennedy Space Center, Fla., region, where it is less than three percent. The National Environmental Policy Act requires federal agencies to consider the potential environmental consequences of their proposed actions before deciding whether and how to proceed. NASA developed this draft programmatic environmental assessment to help make informed decisions on the best options for disposing of shuttle assets. The draft programmatic environmental assessment examines the effects of implementing a centralized process to dispose of shuttle program real and personal property. Real property includes items such as buildings, structures and land, while personal property includes items such as flight hardware, parts, and materials. While the shuttle program is scheduled for retirement in 2010, disposition activities for excess property are underway and may extend several years past the final flight in 2010. Options for disposal of property include reuse by other NASA programs, storing for future NASA use, demolition, or release to the General Services Administration for disposition. NASA will accept public comments on the draft programmatic environmental assessment through March 28, 2008. The final programmatic environmental assessment is expected to be complete in spring 2008. An appendix in the final programmatic environmental assessment will include public comments and NASA's responses. NASA expects to provide a formal decision on the method of the shuttle program property disposition activities in early 2009. The draft programmatic environmental assessment is available at all NASA centers and on the Web at: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/pea.html NASA also has prepared the Final Constellation Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement to address the potential environmental impacts associated with continuing preparation for and implementation of the Constellation Program.

NASA CO-SPONSORS OCEAN VOYAGE TO PROBE CLIMATE-RELEVANT GASES WASHINGTON - More than 30 scientists will embark next week on a research mission to the Southern Ocean. Researchers will battle the elements to study how gases important to climate change move between the atmosphere and the ocean under high winds and seas. NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the National Science Foundation are sponsoring the Southern Ocean Gas Exchange Experiment, a six-week research expedition aboard the NOAA ship Ronald H. Brown, departing Feb. 28 from Punta Arenas, Chile. The Ronald H. Brown is a state-of-the-art oceanographic research platform and the largest research vessel in the NOAA fleet. Scientists from dozens of universities and research institutions plan to measure turbulence, waves, bubbles, temperature and ocean color, and investigate how these factors relate to the air-sea exchange of carbon dioxide and other climate-relevant gases. The research will help improve the accuracy of climate models and predictions. The world's oceans are estimated to absorb about 2 billion metric tons of carbon from the atmosphere every year, which is about 30 percent of the total annual global emissions of carbon dioxide. Scientists know higher wind speeds promote faster exchange of gases, but there have been very few studies aimed at directly measuring these exchanges under real world conditions where other factors, such as breaking waves, can influence the process. "NASA's ongoing effort to understand the global carbon cycle will benefit from the data this cruise will produce about the mechanisms that govern gas transfer in this remote part of the world's ocean," said Paula Bontempi, manager of NASA's ocean biology and biogeochemistry research program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "NASA's global satellite observations of ocean color that reveal so much about the health of our oceans also will be improved in this region as we validate what our space-based sensors see with direct measurements taken at sea." NASA's Aqua satellite makes ocean color observations over the Southern Ocean every few days with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer. The satellite, launched in 2002, uses six instruments to make global measurements of the atmosphere, land, oceans, and snow and ice cover. The Southern Ocean covers a vast area and has some of the roughest seas on Earth. "It is the largest ocean region where the surface waters directly connect to the ocean interior, providing a pathway into the deep sea for carbon dioxide released from human activities," said Christopher Sabine, an oceanographer at NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Seattle, and co-chief scientist on the cruise. "Understanding how atmospheric carbon dioxide is absorbed into these cold surface waters under high winds speeds is important for determining how the ocean uptake of carbon dioxide will respond to future climate change." "We will be directly assessing the rate and mechanism by which the ocean is taking up carbon and releasing it," said cruise co-chief scientist David Ho of Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, N.Y. "This is the first U.S.-led effort to use all the state-of-the-art tools that we have to quantify gas exchange in the Southern Ocean. After years of planning, it is extremely satisfying to see the experiment finally take place." For more information on the experiment on the Web, visit: http://so-gasex.org For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/home

NASA DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR AND OHIO GOVERNOR DISCUSS BENEFITS OF SPACE EXPLORATION AT COLUMBUS FUTURE FORUM COLUMBUS, Ohio - NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale and Gov. Ted Strickland discussed Thursday during a Future Forum in Columbus how space exploration gives Ohioans a more competitive economy and better quality of life. The event, which was part of a yearlong series of events across the country marking NASA's 50th anniversary, took place at the city's Center of Science and Industry, known as COSI. "Ohio's history in innovation and exploration has hugely contributed to our nation's achievements in science and technology," Strickland said. "We will continue to build on this legacy as we work to bring the jobs of the future to our state." Astronaut Carl Walz, an Ohio native and director of the Advanced Capabilities Division in NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, discussed the agency's plans to return to the moon and beyond. Other NASA participants included astronaut Piers Sellers; Woodrow Whitlow, director of NASA's Glenn Research Center, Cleveland; Geoffrey Landis, a researcher at Glenn; and John Hairston, director of external affairs at Glenn. Ohio has a rich, diverse history in the nation's space program - from 38 astronauts who have called Ohio home to grants that fund education opportunities for future explorers. Ohio is home to three active NASA Explorer Schools, each of which has received a grant to purchase technology tools, online services and in-service support to engage students in science and mathematics. In addition, Glenn plays a pivotal role in the development of the next generation of spacecraft for travel to the moon and beyond. "COSI is proud to support this commemorative NASA event. Hosting the Future Forum in Columbus allows us to showcase our region's dedication to science and technology on a world stage, and is a testament to the strong link between NASA and Ohio," said David E. Chesebrough, president and CEO of COSI. "Our mission is to engage the public with real science and research, and this forum uniquely helps to fulfill that goal." Panels throughout the day featured open discussions among NASA representatives and Ohio academic and commercial groups regarding the future of space exploration. Panelists included representatives from COSI, Ohio State University, technology trade group TechColumbus, Entrotech, Battelle and BioOhio, all of Columbus; the Northeast Ohio Technology Corp., the NASA Ohio Space Grant Consortium and NASA's Glenn Research Center, all of Cleveland; the University of Dayton; and Ball Aerospace, Boulder, Colo. The Columbus Future Forum was sponsored in part by the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program. Other sponsors include Ball Aerospace and Raytheon Corp., Waltham, Mass. For complete biographical information about Dale, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/dale_bio.html For more information about COSI, visit: http://www.cosi.org

NASA ANNOUNCES ROTARY WING AIRCRAFT RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES WASHINGTON - NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate has amended its NASA Research Announcement to solicit additional research proposals. The "Research Opportunities in Aeronautics 2007" has been amended to include new topics in support of the Subsonic Rotary Wing Project. With the amendment, the Subsonic Rotary Wing Project encourages proposals that advance the state-of-the-art in engine compressor technology, transmission noise modeling, low-frequency noise effects and rotorcraft icing methodology. The challenge of the project is to develop validated physics-based multidisciplinary design and analysis tools for rotorcraft, integrated with technology development, enabling rotorcraft with advanced capabilities to fly as designed for any mission. Meeting this challenge will require innovative technologies and methods, with an emphasis on integrated, multidisciplinary, first-principle computational tools specifically applicable to the unique problems of rotary wing aircraft. NASA plans to announce additional research topics in other project areas in the near future. For updates, visit NASA's Research Opportunities Web site at: http://nspires.nasaprs.com NASA expects that educational institutions, nonprofit organizations and industry engaged in foundational research will be the primary award recipients for this announcement. Specific evaluation criteria, deadlines and points of contact are available in the announcement.

NASA AWARDS REUSABLE SOLID ROCKET MOTORS CONTRACT MODIFICATION WASHINGTON - NASA has awarded a contract modification valued at $812.5 million to ATK Launch Systems Inc., of Brigham City, Utah, for continued delivery of space shuttle reusable solid rocket motors. The modification changes the current contract to align production to launch schedule requirements through Sept. 30, 2010. The modification reflects adjustments made in the shuttle manifest and makes deliveries consistent with the planned retirement of the space shuttle in September 2010. ATK Launch Systems Inc. will produce and refurbish flight and ground-test reusable solid rocket motors for the Space Shuttle Program on this cost-plus-award fee contract, which was awarded in October 1998. Work will be performed at the contractor's plants in Brigham City and Clearfield, Utah, along with facilities at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. For more information about the Space Shuttle Program, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

NASA SPONSORS STUDIES OF NEXT GENERATION ASTRONOMY MISSIONS WASHINGTON - NASA has selected 19 science teams to conduct yearlong studies of new concepts for its next generation of major observatories. The studies will help NASA make decisions about how it explores the heavens in the future, following the Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey. Every 10 years, astronomers and physicists from across the U.S. work with the National Academy of Sciences to define the future research directions for the fields of astronomy and astrophysics. The science teams' work is part of an effort to ensure that technical and cost input is accurate for this upcoming Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey. The survey produces directions that guide federal agencies such as NASA and the National Science Foundation in planning their programs over the coming decade. "Astrophysics is truly in a golden age, revolutionizing our knowledge of topics as diverse and compelling as the origin and evolution of the universe, the physics of black holes and the distribution and habitability of planetary systems across our galaxy," said Alan Stern, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, Washington. "The exciting new astrophysics mission concept studies we are funding will seed preparations for astronomical space missions and paradigm-shifting discoveries across the early 21st century. Today, NASA's Science Mission Directorate is setting sail on a whole new chapter in continued U.S. leadership in astrophysics." The concept studies total approximately $12 million in fiscal years 2008 and 2009, ranging in cost from $250,000 to $1 million. Among the ideas selected for further study as potential new space telescopes are: -A study of the organic molecules in interstellar space and star-forming clouds (Scott Sandford, NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.); -A census of black holes in our galaxy and distant galaxies and of the birth of stellar black holes in the early universe (Jonathan Grindlay, Harvard College Observatory, Cambridge, Mass.); -A test of theories that predict a rapid inflationary expansion when the universe was less than a fraction of a second old by characterizing the distribution of distant galaxies (Gary Melnick, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge); -Observations of faint signatures of polarized light in the cosmic microwave background that will also reveal information about inflationary expansion (Stephan Meyer, University of Chicago); -Exploration of the origins of cosmic rays (James Adams, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.). Several different methods to search for and characterize exoplanets, planets that orbit a star outside our solar system, also were chosen. Among these approaches are: - Precise mapping of the movements of stars induced by planets circling them (Geoffrey Marcy, University of California, Berkeley); -Direct imaging of giant planets around nearby stars (Mark Clampin, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.; Olivier Guyon, University of Arizona; Tuscon; John Trauger and Michael Shao, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.); -Imaging nearby Earth-sized worlds using large telescopes with multiple instruments and separate spacecraft to block the light from these exoplanets' host star (Webster Cash, University of Colorado, Boulder; David Spergel, Princeton University, N.J.). Some of the proposals explore a powerful new combination of telescopes and instruments optimized for observing the tenuous filaments of intergalactic hydrogen gas known as the cosmic web gas (Kenneth Sembach, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore) or star formation in our own and distant galaxies (Paul Scowen, Arizona State University, Tempe). Another mission would place two laser beacons on Mars. Precise measurements of the distance to these beacons would provide the most stringent test yet of Einstein's theory of general relativity (Thomas Murphy, University of California, San Diego). NASA also will sponsor studies about how to create the next generation of extremely precise and large optics for X-ray and optical astronomy (Roger Brissenden; Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory; Marc Postman, Space Telescope Science Institute). Another study investigates the possibility of putting an extremely large array of radio telescopes on the lunar surface to map clouds of hydrogen gas that formed during the infancy of our universe, even before the first stars (Jacqueline Hewitt, MIT; Cambridge; Joseph Lazio, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington). "The number, range, and quality of the proposals submitted indicate very powerfully the level of enthusiasm in the community for addressing frontier astrophysics research and employing the very latest technologies," said Jon Morse, division director for Astrophysics, NASA Headquarters. "This early investment directed toward the decadal study will pay off in the coming years." The studies' results are expected in March 2009. Concepts that rank highly in the decadal survey may result in missions that would launch after the suite of missions in development such as the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope, scheduled to launch in May, the Kepler mission, scheduled to launch in 2009, and the James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled to launch in 2013. For more information on NASA and agency programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov

NASA UPDATES ENDEAVOUR'S MOVE TO LAUNCH PAD MONDAY CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Endeavour's rollout to Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., has been rescheduled for 12:01 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 18. Endeavour is targeted to lift off March 11 on the 16-day STS-123 mission to the International Space Station. The first movement of the shuttle will be approximately seven hours earlier than previously scheduled. The fully assembled space shuttle, consisting of the orbiter, external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters, will be mounted on a Mobile Launcher Platform and delivered to the pad on top of a crawler transporter. The crawler will travel slower than 1 mph during the 3.4-mile journey. The process is expected to take approximately six hours. NASA Television's Media Channel will provide live coverage of Endeavour at the launch pad beginning at 6:30 a.m. Video highlights of the rollout will air during NASA TV Video File segments. Media are invited to a photo opportunity of the shuttle at the pad and an interview availability with Endeavour Flow Director Ken Tenbusch at 8 a.m. Monday. Dates and times of this event are subject to change. Updates are available by calling 321-867-2525. Weather permitting, as part of NASA's 50th anniversary activities, the Air Force Thunderbirds will fly over Endeavour at the launch pad at approximately 10:15 a.m. Journalists must arrive at Kennedy's news center by 6 a.m. for transportation to the viewing area. Foreign news media accreditation for this event is closed. Foreign media with credentials must arrive at the Pass and Identification Building on State Road 3 by 6 a.m. for transportation to the news center. The STS-123 mission will deliver the first section of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory and the Canadian Space Agency's two-armed robotic system, Dextre. Five spacewalks will be conducted during the flight. Endeavour will be commanded by Dominic Gorie. Gregory H. Johnson will be the pilot. Mission specialists will be Robert L. Behnken, Mike Foreman, Rick Linnehan, Garrett Reisman and Japanese astronaut Takao Doi. Reisman will remain on the station as a resident crew member, replacing station Flight Engineer Leopold Eyharts of the European Space Agency, who will return home on Endeavour. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv For more information about the STS-123 mission and crew, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts123/index.html

NASA UNVEILS $17.6 BILLION BUDGET WASHINGTON - NASA announced a $17.6 billion budget for fiscal year 2009 to continue exploring the solar system, building the International Space Station, studying Earth from space and conducting aeronautics research. NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale said the increase for NASA's 2009 budget demonstrates President Bush's commitment to the agency's missions. With the increase, NASA still accounts for less than 1 percent of the federal budget. The NASA budget includes $5.78 billion for the space shuttle and space station programs, $4.44 billion for science, $3.5 billion for development of new manned spacecraft systems and $447 million for aeronautics research. Dale noted steady progress with NASA's missions, with three successful space shuttle launches last year and up to six planned for this year, including a flight to service the Hubble Space Telescope. The agency also is making progress in developing the Orion spacecraft and Ares launch vehicles to replace the aging shuttle fleet and prepare for journeys to the moon and destinations beyond. NASA has 55 science missions currently in space, about half involving international partnerships, with 15 additional missions scheduled for launch by the end of 2009. "In Earth science, NASA's investments in measuring the forces and effects of climate change are allowing policymakers and the public to better understand its implications to our home planet," Dale said. A recently completed decadal survey for Earth science includes views of the scientific community that will help the agency set priorities for new missions to add to humanity's knowledge of Earth and its climate and ecosystems. NASA will dedicate $910 million during the next five years to develop new missions to add to our Earth-observing fleet of spacecraft. The budget also includes funding for lunar science to further scientific understanding of the moon and for planetary science and astrophysics to continue exploring worlds beyond Earth and to study dark energy and other mysteries of the cosmos. In aeronautics, NASA is helping address fundamental research needs facing the Next Generation Air Transportation System, aimed at making U.S. air travel safer, more efficient and environmentally friendly. As the International Space Station nears completion, the NASA budget provides funding to help spur development of commercial space transportation services to send cargo and possibly crews to the station after the shuttles retire in 2010. Without commercial providers, the United States will depend on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft to carry astronauts between Earth and the space station. "The development of space simply cannot be 'all government all the time,' " Dale said. "NASA's budget for FY 2009 provides $173 million for entrepreneurs - from big companies or small ones - to develop commercial transport capabilities to support the International Space Station. NASA is designating $500 million toward the development of this commercial space capability. "With over $2.6 billion in NASA funds available over the next five years to purchase cargo and crew services to support ISS operations, we would much rather be using this money to purchase cargo and crew services from American commercial companies than foreign entities," she added. -end-

NASA AND THE BEATLES CELEBRATE ANNIVERSARIES BY BEAMING SONG 'ACROSS THE UNIVERSE' INTO DEEP SPACE WASHINGTON -- For the first time ever, NASA will beam a song -- The Beatles' "Across the Universe" -- directly into deep space at 7 p.m. EST on Feb. 4. The transmission over NASA's Deep Space Network will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the day The Beatles recorded the song, as well as the 50th anniversary of NASA's founding and the group's beginnings. Two other anniversaries also are being honored: The launch 50 years ago this week of Explorer 1, the first U.S. satellite, and the founding 45 years ago of the Deep Space Network, an international network of antennas that supports missions to explore the universe. The transmission is being aimed at the North Star, Polaris, which is located 431 light years away from Earth. The song will travel across the universe at a speed of 186,000 miles per second. Former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney expressed excitement that the tune, which was principally written by fellow Beatle John Lennon, was being beamed into the cosmos. "Amazing! Well done, NASA!" McCartney said in a message to the space agency. "Send my love to the aliens. All the best, Paul." Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, characterized the song's transmission as a significant event. "I see that this is the beginning of the new age in which we will communicate with billions of planets across the universe," she said. It is not the first time Beatles music has been used by NASA; in November 2005, McCartney performed the song "Good Day Sunshine" during a concert that was transmitted to the International Space Station. "Here Comes the Sun," "Ticket to Ride" and "A Hard Day's Night" are among other Beatles' songs that have been played to wake astronaut crews in orbit. Feb. 4 has been declared "Across The Universe Day" by Beatles fans to commemorate the anniversaries. As part of the celebration, the public around the world has been invited to participate in the event by simultaneously playing the song at the same time it is transmitted by NASA. Many of the senior NASA scientists and engineers involved in the effort are among the group's biggest fans. "I've been a Beatles fan for 45 years - as long as the Deep Space Network has been around," said Dr. Barry Geldzahler, the network's program executive at NASA Headquarters, Washington. "What a joy, especially considering that 'Across the Universe' is my personal favorite Beatles song." NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., operates the Deep Space Network. For information about the Deep Space Network, go to: http://deepspace.jpl.nasa.gov/dsn/index.html

NASA UPDATES INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION CREW ASSIGNMENTS HOUSTON - NASA has updated assignments for International Space Station expedition crews. The updates reflect changes in the launch schedule for space shuttle missions that will transport rotating crew members. Astronaut Garrett E. Reisman, a member of the Expedition 16 and 17 crews, now is scheduled to return to Earth on the STS-124 shuttle mission, which is targeted to launch April 24, 2008. He originally was slated to return on STS-126. As planned, Reisman will fly to the station on STS-123, which is targeted to launch in March. He is a native of New Jersey and has a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology. Astronaut Gregory E. Chamitoff is scheduled to fly to the station as a mission specialist on STS-124. He will take Reisman's place as an Expedition 17 flight engineer and return to Earth on shuttle mission STS-126, which is targeted to launch Sept. 18, 2008. Chamitoff, who was born in Montreal, Canada, grew up in San Jose, Calif. He has a doctorate in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Astronaut Sandra H. Magnus will fly to the station on STS-126 to replace Chamitoff. Magnus, a native of Illinois with a doctorate in material science and engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, will serve as a flight engineer and NASA science officer for part of Expedition 17 and part of Expedition 18. Magnus will return to Earth on shuttle mission STS-119 in the fall of 2008. Astronaut Koichi Wakata will launch on STS-119 and become the first resident station crew member from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, replacing Magnus on Expedition 18. Wakata will serve as a flight engineer on Expedition 18 and return on STS-127. Backup crew assignments also have been updated. They are included in the following International Space Station crew lineup: Expedition 16 Peggy Whitson, NASA astronaut Yuri Malenchenko, Russian cosmonaut Daniel Tani, NASA astronaut Leopold Eyharts, European Space Agency astronaut Garrett Reisman, NASA astronaut (Backup: Timothy Kopra) Expedition 17 Sergei Volkov, Russian cosmonaut (Backup: Maxim Suraev) Oleg Kononenko, Russian cosmonaut (Backup: Oleg Skripochka) Gregory Chamitoff, NASA astronaut (Backup: Timothy Kopra) Sandra Magnus, NASA astronaut (Backup: Nicole Stott) Expedition 18 Michael Fincke, NASA astronaut (Backup: Michael Barratt) Salizhan Sharipov, Russian cosmonaut (Backup: Yuri Lonchakov) Koichi Wakata, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut (Backup: Soichi Noguchi) For astronaut biographical information, visit: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios For more information about NASA's International Space Station Program, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station

NASA ANNOUNCES SPACE SHUTTLE LAUNCH TARGETS HOUSTON - NASA Friday announced Feb. 7 as the target launch date for shuttle Atlantis' STS-122 mission to the International Space Station and mid-March for the launch of Endeavour on STS-123. Liftoff of Atlantis from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., will be at 2:47 p.m. EST. A decision by the Russian Federal Space Agency to move up its Progress launch from Feb. 7 to Feb. 5 enables both STS-122 and STS-123 to launch before the next Russian Soyuz mission in early April. This allows astronauts assigned to the space station's Expedition 16 crew to complete the tasks they have trained for, including support of the launch and docking of Jules Verne, the first European Space Agency Automated Transfer Vehicle. Targeting Feb. 7 also allows time to complete modifications to the engine cutoff sensor system that postponed two shuttle launch attempts in December. Atlantis' main objective during its STS-122 mission to the station is to install and activate the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory, which will provide scientists around the world the ability to conduct a variety of experiments in life, physical, and materials science, Earth observation and solar physics. Shuttle Endeavour's STS-123 mission will deliver Kibo, the first section of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's laboratory module, and Dextre, Canada's new robotics system to the space station. NASA managers will meet in the coming weeks to address the schedule of remaining shuttle flights beyond STS-123. For the latest shuttle information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

NASA'S NEXT MOON MISSION SPACECRAFT UNDERGOING CRITICAL TESTS GREENBELT, Md. - NASA's next mission to Earth's closest astronomical body is in the midst of integration and testing at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, known as LRO, will spend at least a year mapping the surface of the moon. Data from the orbiter will help NASA select safe landing sites for astronauts, identify lunar resources and study how the moon's environment will affect humans. Engineers at Goddard are building the orbiter and rigorously testing spacecraft components to ready them for the harsh environment of space. After a component or entire subsystem is qualified, it is integrated into the LRO spacecraft. The core suite of avionics for the orbiter is assembled and undergoing system tests. "This is a major milestone for the mission," said Craig Tooley, LRO project manager at Goddard. "Our team has been working nearly around the clock to get us to this point. Reaching this milestone keeps us on the path to sending LRO to the moon later this year." Various components of the avionics and mechanical subsystem are in the process of going through their qualification program. Six instruments and one technology demonstration aboard the spacecraft will provide important data to enable a safe and productive human return to the moon. The six instruments are scheduled to arrive at Goddard in the coming months for integration. The spacecraft will ship to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., in August in preparation for launch. The orbiter and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite will launch aboard an Atlas V rocket in late 2008. The trip to the moon will take approximately four days. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter initially will enter an elliptical orbit, also called the commissioning orbit. Once moved into its final orbit, a circular polar orbit approximately 31 miles above the moon, the spacecraft's instruments will map the lunar surface. For more information about the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, visit: http://lro.gsfc.nasa.gov For more information about NASA's exploration program to the moon and beyond, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/exploration

NASA SPACECRAFT TO MAKE HISTORIC FLYBY OF MERCURY LAUREL, Md. - On Monday, Jan. 14, a pioneering NASA spacecraft will be the first to visit Mercury in almost 33 years when it soars over the planet to explore and snap close-up images of never-before-seen terrain. These findings could open new theories and answer old questions in the study of the solar system. The MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging spacecraft, called MESSENGER, is the first mission sent to orbit the planet closest to our sun. Before that orbit begins in 2011, the probe will make three flights past the small planet, skimming as close as 124 miles above Mercury's cratered, rocky surface. MESSENGER's cameras and other sophisticated, high-technology instruments will collect more than 1,200 images and make other observations during this approach, encounter and departure. It will make the first up-close measurements since Mariner 10 spacecraft's third and final flyby on March 16, 1975. When Mariner 10 flew by Mercury in the mid-1970s, it surveyed only one hemisphere. "This is raw scientific exploration and the suspense is building by the day," said Alan Stern, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. "What will MESSENGER see? Monday will tell the tale." This encounter will provide a critical gravity assist needed to keep the spacecraft on track for its March 2011 orbit insertion, beginning an unprecedented yearlong study of Mercury. The flyby also will gather essential data for mission planning. "During this flyby we will begin to image the hemisphere that has never been seen by a spacecraft and Mercury at resolutions better than those acquired by Mariner 10," said Sean C. Solomon, MESSENGER principal investigator, Carnegie Institution of Washington. "Images will be in a number of different color filters so that we can start to get an idea of the composition of the surface." One site of great interest is the Caloris basin, an impact crater about 800 miles in diameter, which is one of the largest impact basins in the solar system. "Caloris is huge, about a quarter of the diameter of Mercury, with rings of mountains within it that are up to two miles high," said Louise Prockter, the instrument scientist for the Mercury Dual Imaging System at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel. "Mariner 10 saw a little less than half of the basin. During this first flyby, we will image the other side." MESSENGER's instruments will provide the first spacecraft measurements of the mineralogical and chemical composition of Mercury's surface. It also will study the global magnetic field and improve our knowledge of the gravity field from the Mariner 10 flyby. The long-wavelength components of the gravity field provide key information about the planet's internal structure, particularly the size of Mercury's core. The flyby will provide an opportunity to examine Mercury's environment in unique ways, not possible once the spacecraft begins orbiting the planet. The flyby also will map Mercury's tenuous atmosphere with ultraviolet observations and document the energetic particle and plasma of Mercury's magnetosphere. In addition, the flyby trajectory will enable unique particle and plasma measurements of the magnetic tail that sweeps behind Mercury. Launched Aug. 3, 2004, MESSENGER is slightly more than halfway through its 4.9-billion mile journey. It already has flown past Earth once and Venus twice. The spacecraft will use the pull of Mercury's gravity during this month's pass and others in October 2008 and September 2009 to guide it progressively closer to the planet's orbit. Insertion will be accomplished with a fourth Mercury encounter in 2011. The MESSENGER project is the seventh in NASA's Discovery Program of low-cost, scientifically focused space missions. The Applied Physics Laboratory designed, built and operates the spacecraft and manages the mission for NASA. For more information about MESSENGER, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/messenger

NASA AWARDS TRACKING AND DATA RELAY SATELLITE CONTRACT

WASHINGTON - NASA has awarded a contract to Boeing Satellite Systems,
Inc. in El Segundo, Calif., for two satellites that will replenish
the NASA communication relay network that provides telecommunications
links between low Earth orbiting spacecraft and the ground.

Boeing will design, develop, fabricate, integrate, test, ship, provide
launch support, conduct in-orbit checkout operations and provide
sustaining engineering support for the new Tracking and Data Relay
Satellites, known as TDRS-K and TDRS-L. Boeing also will design,
assemble, test, install and verify modifications that are necessary
to make the ground terminals at NASA's White Sands Complex in New
Mexico fully compatible with the new TDRS-K and -L spacecraft design.


This is a fixed price incentive fee contract with a basic period of
performance beginning in December 2007 and extending through April
2025, if options are exercised. The contract includes options for two
additional spacecraft, TDRS-M and -N. The maximum target value for
this contract is $1,224,102,439.

The TDRS-K spacecraft is expected to launch by December 2012, and
TDRS-L is expected to launch in 2013. Each satellite has a design
life of 15 years.

This contract will extend the lifetime of the Tracking and Data Relay
Satellite System, which is the primary source of voice, data and
telemetry for the Space Shuttle and International Space Station
Programs. The system also provides satellite communication and
science data relay services for many low Earth orbiting science
missions, including the Hubble Space Telescope and Earth Observation
System missions. The system also will provide these services for
NASA's Constellation Program.

The contract also provides an option to modify an additional
Space-to-Ground Link Terminal at White Sands. The government is
exercising the option for the terminal at the time this contract is
awarded.

The Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System is a national asset that
provides critical support to NASA science and human exploration
missions as well as support to many other government agencies and
commercial organizations. The Tracking and Data Relay Satellite
System Project is located at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in
Greenbelt, Md.

For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

 

NASA TARGETS SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS LAUNCH ON JAN. 2 CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Atlantis' STS-122 mission to the International Space Station now is targeted to launch no earlier than Jan. 2 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The liftoff date depends on the resolution of a problem in a fuel sensor system. Early Sunday, one of the four engine cutoff, or ECO, sensors inside the liquid hydrogen section of Atlantis' external fuel tank gave a false reading while the tank was being filled. NASA's current Launch Commit Criteria require that all four sensors function properly. The sensor system is one of several that protect the shuttle's main engines by triggering their shut down if fuel runs unexpectedly low. Atlantis' scheduled launch on Thursday, Dec. 6, was delayed after two liquid hydrogen ECO sensors gave false readings. The main objective of Atlantis' 11-day mission is to install and activate the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory, which will provide scientists around the world the ability to conduct a variety of life, physical and materials science experiments. For the latest information about the STS-122 mission and the ECO sensor system, visit:

WASHINGTON - NASA has replaced a crew member assigned to space shuttle mission STS-126. Astronaut Donald R. Pettit will take the place of astronaut Joan E. Higginbotham, who has left NASA to accept a position in the private sector. The mission is targeted to launch in September 2008 and will deliver equipment to the International Space Station enabling larger crews to reside aboard the complex. Higginbotham flew as a mission specialist on STS-116 in December 2006. She began her career at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., in 1987, contributing to 53 space shuttle launches. She was selected as an astronaut in 1996. "Joan has done a tremendous job as an astronaut during the past 11 years," said Steve Lindsey, chief of the Astronaut Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston. "She contributed her expertise to nearly every space shuttle and International Space Station mission. She will be missed, but we wish her the very best in her future endeavors." The STS-126 mission will be Pettit's second spaceflight. Pettit will serve as a mission specialist aboard shuttle Endeavour. He joins previously named crew members Commander Christopher J. Ferguson, Pilot Eric A. Boe and mission specialists Stephen G. Bowen, Robert S. Kimbrough and Heidemarie M. Stefanyshyn-Piper. Pettit first flew as a crew member of Expedition 6, logging more than 161 days in space, including more than 13 hours during two spacewalks. He launched to the station aboard shuttle mission STS-113 in November 2002 and returned to Earth on the Soyuz TMA-1 spacecraft in May 2003. He was selected as an astronaut in 1996. For complete astronaut biographical information, visit: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios For more information about NASA's Space Shuttle Program, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

BREAKTHROUGH MAP OF ANTARCTICA LAYS GROUND FOR NEW DISCOVERIES

WASHINGTON - A team of researchers from NASA, the U.S. Geological
Survey, the National Science Foundation and the British Antarctic
Survey unveiled a newly completed map of Antarctica today that is
expected to revolutionize research of the continent's frozen
landscape.

The Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica is a result of NASA's
state-of-the-art satellite technologies and an example of the
prominent role NASA continues to play as a world leader in the
development and flight of Earth-observing satellites.

The map is a realistic, nearly cloudless satellite view of the
continent at a resolution 10 times greater than ever before with
images captured by the NASA-built Landsat 7. With the unprecedented
ability to see features half the size of a basketball court, the
mosaic offers the most geographically accurate, true-color,
high-resolution views of Antarctica to date.

"This mosaic of images opens up a window to the Antarctic that we just
haven't had before," said Robert Bindschadler, chief scientist of the
Hydrospheric and Biospheric Sciences Laboratory at NASA's Goddard
Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "It will open new windows of
opportunity for scientific research as well as enable the public to
become much more familiar with Antarctica and how scientists use
imagery in their research. This innovation is like watching
high-definition TV in living color versus watching the picture on a
grainy black-and-white television. These scenes don't just give us a
snapshot, they provide a time-lapse historical record of how
Antarctica has changed and will enable us to continue to watch
changes unfold."

Researchers can use the detailed map to better plan scientific
expeditions. The mosaic's higher resolution gives researchers a
clearer view over most of the continent to help interpret changes in
land elevation in hard-to-access areas. Scientists also think the
true-color mosaic will help geologists better map various rock
formations and types.

To construct the new Antarctic map, researchers pieced together more
than a thousand images from three years of Landsat satellite
observations. The resulting mosaic gives researchers and the public a
new way to explore Antarctica through a free, public-accessWeb
portal. Eight different versions of the full mosaic are available to
download.

In 1972, the first satellite images of the Antarctic became available
with the launch of NASA's Earth Resources Technology Satellite (later
renamed Landsat). The series of Landsat satellites have provided the
longest, continuous global record of land surface and its historical
changes in existence. Prior to these satellite views, researchers had
to rely on airplanes and survey ships to map Antarctica's ice-covered
terrain.

Images from the Landsat program, now managed by the U.S. Geological
Survey, led to more precise and efficient research results as the
resolution of digital images improved over the years with upgraded
instruments on each new Earth-observing satellite.

"We have significantly improved our ability to extract useful
information from satellites as embodied in this Antarctic mosaic
project," said Ray Byrnes, liaison for satellite missions at the U.S.
Geological Survey in Reston, Va. "As technology progressed, so have
the satellites and their image resolution capability. The first three
in the Landsat series were limited in comparison to Landsats 4, 5,
and 7."

Bindschadler, who conceived the project, initiated NASA's collection
of images of Antarctica for the mosaic project in 1999. He and NASA
colleagues selected the images that make up the mosaic and developed
new techniques to interpret the image data tailored to the project.
The mosaic is made up of about 1,100 images from Landsat 7, nearly
all of which were captured between 1999 and 2001. The collage
contains almost no gaps in the landscape, other than a doughnut
hole-shaped area at the South Pole, and shows virtually no seams.

"The mosaic represents an important U.S.-U.K. collaboration and is a
major contribution to the International Polar Year," said Andrew
Fleming of British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge, England. "Over
60,000 scientists are involved in the global International Polar Year
initiative to understand our world. I have no doubt that polar
researchers will find this mosaic, one of the first outcomes of that
initiative, invaluable for planning science campaigns."

NASA has 14 Earth-observing satellites in orbit with activities that
have direct benefit to humankind. After NASA develops and tests new
technologies, the agency transfers activities to other federal
agencies for vital meteorology and climate satellite services. The
satellites have helped revolutionize the information that emergency
officials have to respond to natural disasters like hurricanes and
wildfires.

The Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica is now available on the Web at:

http://lima.usgs.gov

For related images and information about LIMA and the interagency team
on the Web, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/lookingatearth/lima_press_conf.html 

For educational materials related to the new Antarctic mosaic on the
Web, visit:

http://lima.nasa.gov
 

NASA SELECTS 302 SMALL BUSINESS RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS WASHINGTON - NASA has awarded contracts to 302 small business proposals that address critical research and technology needs for agency programs and projects. The awards are part of NASA's Small Business Innovation Research Program, known as SBIR, and the Small Business Technology Transfer program, known as STTR. The SBIR program selected 276 proposals for negotiation of phase 1 contracts, and the STTR program chose 26 proposals for negotiation of phase 1 contract awards. The selected SBIR projects have a total value of approximately $27.6 million. The selected STTR projects have a total value of approximately $2.6 million. The SBIR contracts will be awarded to 205 small, high technology firms in 31 states. The STTR contracts will be awarded to 24 small high technology firms in 14 states. As part of the STTR program, the firms will partner with 22 universities and research institutions in 15 states. SBIR and STTR are part of the Innovative Partnerships Program Office at NASA Headquarters in Washington, which works with U.S. industry to infuse pioneering technologies into NASA missions and transition them into commercially available products and services. The SBIR program supports NASA's mission directorates by competitively selecting ventures that address specific technology gaps in mission programs and strives to complement other agency research investments. Results from the program have benefited several NASA efforts, including air traffic control systems, Earth observing spacecraft, the International Space Station and the development of spacecraft for exploring the solar system. Research topic areas among this group of selected proposals include: - A simulated test-bed for identifying dynamic air corridors to increase aircraft throughput - Compact, 3-D scanning Light Detection and Ranging for robotic navigation on the lunar surface, known as LIDAR - Regenerative fuel cells for use on the lunar surface - Ultra-high efficiency solar cells designed to operate on spacecraft in extreme environment missions - High-efficiency transmitters for space communications that provide a significant improvement in its power output capability without an impact on the payload size and power The SBIR program is a highly competitive, three-phase award system. It provides qualified small businesses - including women-owned and disadvantaged firms - with opportunities to propose unique ideas that meet specific research and development needs of the federal government. These contract awards are for Phase 1, which is a feasibility study with as much as $100,000 in funding to evaluate the scientific and technical merit of an idea. The SBIR awards may last as long as six months. The STTR awards may last as long as one year. Phase 2 expands on the results on the development of Phase 1; awards are for as much as $600,000 during as long as two years. Phase 3 is for the commercialization of the results of Phase 2 and requires the use of private sector or non-SBIR federal funding. Contractors submitted 1,500 Phase 1 SBIR proposals and 166 Phase 1 STTR proposals for competitive selection. The criteria used to choose the winning proposals included technical merit and feasibility; experience, qualifications and facilities; effectiveness of the work plan; and commercial potential and feasibility. NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., manages the program for the Innovative Partnership Program office. NASA's 10 field installations manage individual projects. For a list of selected companies, visit: http://sbir.nasa.gov For more information about the Innovative Partnerships Program, visit:

NASA CONDUCTS SECOND TEST OF MAIN PARACHUTE FOR ARES ROCKETS HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - NASA and industry engineers successfully tested the main parachute for Constellation Program rockets during a drop test Thursday at the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Ground near Yuma, Ariz. The parachute system will allow Ares I and Ares V first stage boosters to be recovered and reused. Thursday's test validated the results of an earlier test conducted in September. "Measuring 150-feet in diameter and weighing 2,000 pounds, this is the biggest chute of its kind that's been tested," said Steve Cook, director of the Ares Projects Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. "With each milestone, we bring ourselves one step closer to further exploring the moon." Exploring the moon and beyond is the focus of the Constellation Program, which is developing a new family of U.S. launch vehicles, spacecraft and related systems for exploration. Booster recovery was the focus of the recent test, the second in a series. Outfitted with a 42,000-pound weight to simulate the load of a rocket's first stage, the main parachute was dropped from a U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft flying at an altitude of 16,500 feet. The 1-ton parachute and all supporting hardware functioned properly, landing safely approximately three minutes later on the Yuma Proving Ground test range. During the first main parachute test on Sept. 25, the parachute was dropped from a slightly higher elevation of 17,500 feet, giving NASA engineers the opportunity to monitor parachute performance at a dynamic pressure of 86 pounds per square foot. After the drop's completion, engineers spent several weeks reviewing test data - measuring the parachute's peak loads at opening, determining the canopy expansion rate during the early phase of inflation and measuring the parachute's drag area as it drifted down to Earth. The Ares first stage booster recovery system is derived from the system NASA uses to recover the space shuttle's solid rocket boosters after launch. The first stage booster for Ares I is similar to the space shuttle's solid rocket booster but has an added fifth segment of propellant, resulting in a heavier load. The current parachute tests are necessary to allow for differences between the space shuttle's four-segment boosters and the Ares launch vehicles. Testing is scheduled to run through 2010. ATK Launch Systems near Promontory, Utah, is the prime contractor for the first stage booster. ATK's subcontractor, United Space Alliance of Houston, is responsible for the design, development and testing of the parachutes at its facilities at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The Constellation Program is managed out of NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, and the Ares Projects are managed out of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. Yuma Proving Ground provides the test range, support facilities and equipment. Video of the test will be available Friday on NASA Television's Video File. For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming video information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv For information about NASA's Constellation Program, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/constellation

NASA-FUNDED STUDY FINDS EXERCISE COULD HELP WOMEN ON BED REST WASHINGTON - Short but intense sessions of exercise may help women on bed rest stay strong and recuperate more quickly, according to a NASA-funded study by researchers at Ball State University, Muncie, Ind. The findings of the first comprehensive bed rest study focusing exclusively on women will help NASA develop more effective countermeasures to mitigate strength and muscle loss in female astronauts on long-duration missions to the International Space Station and, perhaps, someday to Mars. It also may have implications for women on Earth confined to bed rest because of illness, injury or pregnancy. "With NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson commanding the International Space Station now and astronaut Pam Melroy commanding the last space shuttle mission, we're reminded daily that women make up an important segment of our astronaut corps and are taking on more and more leadership roles," said Carl Walz, a former long-duration astronaut and head of NASA's advanced capabilities division in the agency's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, Washington. "It's important that we look at how space travel -- microgravity, radiation, and other factors -- affects women and men differently." Ball State's Human Performance Lab has been working with NASA for more than a decade to examine the impact spaceflight has on humans, according to Scott Trappe, the lab's director. He co-authored the study with fellow lab researcher Todd Trappe, his brother. "Until we completed this study, we had no solid research on how women would adapt to long durations in space," Trappe said. "This information should have a dramatic impact for NASA in the coming years." Conducted in Toulouse, France, the study was sponsored jointly by the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency, the French space agency CNES, and NASA. Results were published recently in the Journal of Applied Physiology and Acta Physiologica. The study examined 24 female participants to determine whether specific exercise regimens or nutritional supplements could prevent the loss of lower body muscle mass and strength. The women spent 60 days on bed rest. They lay with their heads pointing downward at a 6-degree angle, which researchers believe most accurately simulates the weightless conditions of space. One group was put on an exercise regimen. A second group was put on a high-protein diet rich with leucine, an amino acid. The control group did not take part in any exercise or dietary protocols. "When we looked at these women after two months, the difference in the physical condition among the three groups was undeniable," Trappe said. "The women who did not exercise lost nearly half their strength in some cases. What's more, the group who ate a high-protein diet but did not exercise lost even more muscle mass than the control group." The exercise regimen included a 40 to 50 minute aerobic workout two or three times a week and 20-minute strength training sessions two or three days a week. While lying on their backs, the women did multiple sets of thigh and calf exercises using a flywheel device similar to a typical leg press machine at a gym. They also worked out on a vertical treadmill. "The message for women and their doctors is that it really took very little exercise to make an impact," said Trappe. "The total time spent exercising was less than two percent of the time they spent in bed during the entire 60-day period. In the end, a little bit of intense exercise goes a long way." Using a magnetic resonance imaging device, or MRI, researchers measured muscle mass in all of the study subjects after the 60-day period. They found that women in the control group lost 21 percent of the muscle mass in their quadriceps, and the nutrition group lost more than 24 percent, but the exercise group lost none. Results were similar for MRI scans of the calf muscle. The loss of muscle strength was even more significant. Researchers tested strength using the flywheel device. Women who did not exercise during the study lost as much as 33 percent of their strength in squat exercises and 46 percent in calf press exercises. But the women who exercised maintained their strength. NASA's Human Research Program is working to understand the health effects of spaceflight on astronauts in preparation for long-duration missions. "It could take six months to reach the surface of Mars, and we have to make sure our astronauts are healthy when they get there," Walz said. For more on NASA's space exploration plans, visit: www.nasa.gov/exploration

GROUNDBREAKING SIGNALS START OF NASA'S CONSTELLATION FLIGHT TESTS LAS CRUCES, N.M. - With less than a year until flight tests of NASA's Constellation Program, work is under way on a launch pad that will host the first of those tests. Workers broke ground on a pad where the agency will test a launch abort system for the new Orion spacecraft at the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range near Las Cruces, N.M. Orion's launch abort system will carry astronauts to safety in the event of a problem on the launch pad or during the spacecraft's climb to orbit. The first of five tests of the system, known as Pad Abort 1 or PA-1, is scheduled for fall 2008. Data from the series will help engineers refine the design of the launch abort system. "Flight tests are where the rubber meets the road. These tests will help validate our designs or correct any flaws," said Skip Hatfield, Orion Project Manager at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston. "The goal here is simple: to provide our astronauts a route to safety should anything go wrong at a launch." The first launch abort test will include a mock-up of the Orion capsule on the pad. An abort motor will fire for two seconds, sending the boilerplate crew module to an altitude of one mile. Three 116-foot diameter parachutes will deploy to slow the mock crew capsule for landing. Constellation is developing the Orion spacecraft to send astronauts to the International Space Station and to the moon. Orion will be launched atop an Ares I rocket. The program is also developing a heavy-lift rocket, Ares V, to enable cargo missions to the moon. NASA plans to set up a lunar outpost by 2020, where astronauts will prepare for possible future missions to Mars and other destinations in the solar system. Video of the groundbreaking ceremony will be available Thursday on NASA Television Video File. For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming video information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv To learn more about NASA's space exploration plans, visit: www.nasa.gov/exploration

NASA SELECTS USRA TO LEAD NATIONAL EDUCATION INTERNSHIP PROJECT HOUSTON - NASA has selected the Universities Space Research Association of Columbia, Md., to lead the agency's Undergraduate Student Research Project (USRP). The project is a national comprehensive educational initiative designed to provide real-world experience to science, technology, engineering and math students across all 50 states and U.S. territories. The cooperative agreement will have a maximum value of $17 million over five years. The USRP will provide hands-on internships to undergraduates pursuing academic degrees that align with NASA's critical workforce competency needs. The internships will include mentors who are NASA scientists and engineers. The project provides students with challenging technical experiences that enhance their academic pursuits and align with NASA's workforce development strategy. Benefits of this type of experiential learning and mentorship include increased graduation rates, completion of advanced degrees and career placement within the field of study. Students who participate in similar internship programs often graduate with a higher grade point average and demonstrate increased productivity immediately upon entering the workforce. Through this agreement, NASA seeks to extend and strengthen its commitment to educational excellence and university research while highlighting the critical need to increase the nation's undergraduate and graduate science, technology, engineering and math skills base. For information about NASA's education programs, visit: www.nasa.gov/education

SUCCESSFUL ROCKET MOTOR TEST HELPS NASA'S SHUTTLE AND ARES I HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - NASA's Space Shuttle Program successfully fired a four-segment reusable solid rocket motor Thursday, Nov. 1, at a Utah test facility. The two-minute test provided important information for continued launches of the shuttle and for development of the Ares I rocket, a key component of NASA's Constellation Program that will launch the Orion crew vehicle on missions to the moon. The static firing of the full-scale motor was performed at 1 p.m. MDT at ATK Launch Systems Group, a Promontory, Utah-based unit of Alliant Techsystems Inc., where the shuttle's solid rocket motors are manufactured. Preliminary indications are that all test objectives for shuttle and Ares I were met. The test evaluation motor, or TEM-13, burned for approximately 123 seconds, the same time each reusable solid rocket motor burns during a space shuttle launch. The Reusable Solid Rocket Booster Project Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages these tests to qualify any proposed changes to the rocket motor and to determine whether new materials perform as well as those now in use. "Full-scale static testing such as this is a key element of the 'test before you fly' standard and ensures continued quality and performance," said Jody Singer, deputy manager of the Shuttle Propulsion Office at Marshall. One test objective was to demonstrate the thrust vector control system operation using only one of two hydraulic power units. The vector control, part of the flight control system, directs the thrust of the two solid rocket booster nozzles to control shuttle attitude and trajectory during liftoff and ascent. During a shuttle launch, both hydraulic power units run and provide backup power to thrust vector control actuators. The test with only one hydraulic power unit will validate the system's redundancy capability and operating performance data. Another test objective was to measure the external sound or acoustics created when the motor ignites. More than 25 microphones were located near the motor to record the data from the firing. This information will be used to predict the motor's acoustic effects and aid in the final design of the launch structure for Ares I. After final test data are analyzed, NASA will publish results for each objective in a report available later this year. For more information about the Space Shuttle Program, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle Through the Constellation Program, NASA is working to send astronauts to the moon, where they will set up a lunar outpost to prepare for possible future journeys to Mars and other destinations. The crewed launch of the Orion spacecraft aboard an Ares I rocket is set for no later than 2015. Humans will return to the moon by 2020. For more information about Constellation, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/constellation

NASA EXPRESSES CONDOLENCES UPON THE PASSING OF JOAN ROOSA WASHINGTON - NASA's senior leadership Thursday noted with sorrow the passing of Joan Roosa of Gulfport, Miss., the wife of Apollo 14 astronaut Stuart Roosa. Roosa passed away Oct. 30. "We wish to express our sincere condolences to the Roosa family," said NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale, Headquarters, Washington. "Many current and former NASA family members were very close to both Stuart and Joan Roosa and remember her fondly. We at NASA certainly appreciate the dedication of all our astronaut spouses, which Joan Roosa exemplified." A native of Tupelo, Miss., Joan met her future husband at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Va., in 1956. They married the following year, and had four children: Christopher, Jack, Alan and Rosemary. Stuart Roosa, who was the Apollo 14 command module pilot, passed away in 1994. Joan Roosa played an active role in her husband's career, encouraging him to apply for the astronaut corps. On Feb. 9, 2006, the 35th anniversary of Apollo 14's successful return from the moon, Roosa represented her late husband when NASA honored him as one of its Ambassadors of Exploration. At the ceremony, the Roosa family presented a lunar sample obtained during the Apollo 14 mission for permanent display at the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in Florida.

NASA SATELLITE IMAGES SHOW RAPID GROWTH OF CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES WASHINGTON - Images from NASA satellites illustrate how quickly wildfires have spread throughout Southern California. Powerful Santa Ana winds have fueled more than 10 large wildfires stretching from Santa Barbara to San Diego. A pair of NASA images depicts the area around Los Angeles on Sunday. The top image, captured by NASA's Terra satellite at 2:35 p.m. EDT, shows several fires giving off small plumes of smoke. Three hours later, at 5:50 p.m., NASA's Aqua satellite passed overhead, showing large amounts of smoke pouring from blazes northwest of Los Angeles. Actively burning fires are outlined in red. In the bottom image, plumes of smoke captured blowing off the coast indicate the intensity of the winds and the presence of additional fires farther south. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, these blazes have burned more than 84,000 acres since they began over the weekend. Thousands of residents have been evacuated from their homes, and a state of emergency has been issued for seven California counties. To view and download the images and for additional information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/lookingatearth/socal_wildfires_oct07.html

NASA ASSIGNS CREW FOR FINAL SOLAR ARRAY DELIVERY TO STATION WASHINGTON -- NASA has assigned the space shuttle crew for Discovery's STS-119 mission, targeted for launch in the fall of 2008. The flight will deliver the final pair of power- generating solar array wings and truss element to the International Space Station. Air Force Col. Lee J. Archambault will command Discovery. Navy Cmdr. Dominic A. Antonelli will serve as the pilot. The mission specialists are Joseph Acaba, Richard R. Arnold II, John L. Phillips and Steven R. Swanson. Antonelli, Acaba and Arnold will be making their first spaceflight. STS-119 will be the second spaceflight for Archambault and Swanson, who flew together on STS-117 in June. Phillips will be making his third spaceflight. Discovery will carry the S6 truss segment to complete the 361-foot-long backbone of the space station. The truss includes the fourth pair of solar array wings and electronics that convert sunlight to power for the orbiting laboratory. Archambault considers Bellwood, Ill., his hometown. He was the pilot for STS-117. He earned a bachelor's and a master's in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from the University of Illinois-Urbana. He was selected as an astronaut in 1998. Antonelli grew up in Indiana and North Carolina. He earned a bachelor's and a master's in aeronautics and astronautics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, and the University of Washington, Seattle, respectively. He has been a CAPCOM, or capsule communicator, during launch and landing of space shuttle missions. He was selected as an astronaut in 2000. Acaba was raised in Anaheim, Calif. He earned a bachelor's and a master's in geology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the University of Arizona, Tucson, respectively. He has middle school and high school math and science teaching experience. He was selected as an astronaut in 2004. Arnold, raised in Bowie, Md., earned a bachelor's degree in science and completed the teacher certification program at Frostburg State University, Md. He earned a master's in marine, estuarine and environmental science from the University of Maryland, College Park. He has teaching experience at middle schools and high schools around the world. He served as a mission specialist for the 13th NASA Extreme Environments Mission Operations, known as NEEMO, in August 2007. He was selected as an astronaut in 2004. Phillips considers Scottsdale, Ariz., his hometown. He has logged more than 190 days in space, including STS-100 and Expedition 11 on the space station. He earned a bachelor's in mathematics and Russian from the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md., a master's in aeronautical systems from the University of West Florida, Pensacola, and a master's and a doctorate in geophysics and space physics from the University of California, Los Angeles. He retired as a Navy reservist captain in 2002. He was selected as an astronaut in 1996. Swanson grew up in Steamboat Springs, Colo. He earned a bachelor's in engineering physics from the University of Colorado, Boulder, a master's in applied science in computer systems from Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, and a doctorate in computer science from Texas A&M University, College Station. He joined NASA as a systems engineer for the shuttle training aircraft in 1987 and was selected as an astronaut in 1998. Members of the STS-119 crew were originally announced in 2002, but as a result of changes in the flight manifest, new crew assignments were necessary. Video of the STS-119 crew members will air on NASA Television's Video File. For downlink and scheduling information and links to streaming video, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv For complete astronaut biographical information, visit: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios For more information about NASA's Space Shuttle Program, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttl

NASA EXTENDS OPERATIONS FOR ITS LONG-LIVED MARS ROVERS WASHINGTON - NASA is extending, for a fifth time, the activities of the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity. The decision keeps the trailblazing mobile robotic pioneers active on opposite sides of Mars, possibly through 2009. This extended mission and the associated science are dependent upon the continued productivity and operability of the rovers. "We are extremely happy to be able to further the exploration of Mars. The rovers are amazing machines, and they continue to produce amazing scientific results operating far beyond their design life," said Alan Stern, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The twin rovers landed on Mars in January 2004, 45 months ago, on missions originally planned to last 90 days. In September, Opportunity began descending into Victoria Crater in Mars' Meridiani Planum region. At approximately a half mile wide and 230 feet deep, it is the largest crater the rover has visited. Spirit climbed onto a volcanic plateau in a range of hills that were on the distant horizon from the landing site. "After more than three-and-a-half years, Spirit and Opportunity are showing some signs of aging, but they are in good health and capable of conducting great science," said John Callas, rover project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The rovers each carry a suite of sophisticated instruments to examine the geology of Mars for information about past environmental conditions. Opportunity has returned dramatic evidence that its area of Mars stayed wet for an extended period of time long ago, with conditions that could have been suitable for sustaining microbial life. Spirit has found evidence in the region it is exploring that water in some form has altered the mineral composition of some soils and rocks. To date, Spirit has driven 4.51 miles and has returned more than 102,000 images. Opportunity has driven 7.19 miles and has returned more than 94,000 images. Among the rovers' many other accomplishments: - Opportunity has analyzed a series of exposed rock layers recording how environmental conditions changed during the times when the layers were deposited and later modified. Wind-blown dunes came and went. The water table fluctuated. - Spirit has recorded dust devils forming and moving. The images were made into movie clips, providing new insight into the interaction of Mars' atmosphere and surface. - Both rovers have found metallic meteorites on Mars. Opportunity discovered one rock with a composition similar to a meteorite that reached Earth from Mars. JPL manages the rovers for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. For images and information about the rovers, visit: www.nasa.gov/rovers

NASA ANNOUNCES AERONAUTICS RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES WASHINGTON - NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate has amended its NASA Research Announcement to solicit research proposals that address the "Integration of Advanced Concepts and Vehicles into the Next Generation Air Transportation System," known as NextGen. The focus of the research effort is to conduct a study that addresses the issues associated with deploying new, advanced vehicles by exploring the tradeoffs among procedures, vehicle characteristics and overall NextGen performance. The study constitutes a major undertaking and will support NASA's entire Aeronautics program portfolio. The effort will establish a framework for an analysis infrastructure to answer questions involving the interaction of air traffic management, vehicle, safety and environmental issues. Specific evaluation criteria, deadlines and points of contact are available in the announcement. For this announcement and additional research topics in other project areas, visit NASA's Research Opportunities Web site at: http://nspires.nasaprs.com

SOFIA OBSERVATORY ENTERS AIRCRAFT TESTING PHASE

EDWARDS, Calif. - NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared
Astronomy, known as SOFIA, began a series of flight tests Thursday of
the highly modified Boeing 747SP aircraft. The tests are the first of
several phases required to verify the aircraft is structurally sound
for future science flights. This phase is scheduled to be completed
by the end of this year.

After finishing flight testing and modifications, NASA plans to begin
using the airborne observatory for "first light" infrared
observations of the universe in 2009. The first light flights will
enable the mission to begin obtaining results several years before
the observatory reaches its full capability in 2014. SOFIA will
collect science data using a variety of specialized instruments
developed by NASA and its German partners.

"SOFIA is making tremendous progress toward the initiation of science
observations in 2009, and this flight testing is another milestone
along the path," said Jon Morse, director of the Astrophysics
Division in the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters,
Washington. "Early observations will have significant science
community involvement to initiate broad use of this unique
astronomical observatory."

When operational, SOFIA's 2.5-meter infrared telescope will conduct
celestial observations while flying at altitudes up to 45,000 feet.
This height will place the instrument above almost 99 percent of the
Earth's atmospheric water vapor, greatly enhancing its ability to
observe the cosmos. The flying observatory is designed to detect the
formation of stars in our galaxy, determine the chemical composition
of the interstellar medium, and peer through the dust that hides the
black hole at the center of the Milky Way.

During mission development, engineers installed a 17-metric-ton
telescope in SOFIA's aft fuselage at L-3 Communications Integrated
Systems facility in Waco, Texas. They also cut a 16-foot-high
telescope door into the fuselage during the telescope installation
process.

After arrival at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards,
Calif., the aircraft was outfitted with test instrumentation critical
for these preliminary flight tests. The aircraft also has been
equipped with a telescope cavity environmental control system
designed to keep the telescope dry when the door is closed and as the
aircraft flies to the altitude required for operation of the
observatory.

NASA is conducting the first series of flight tests with the cavity
door closed. These flights will study the aerodynamics, structural
integrity, stability and control, and handling qualities of the
modified aircraft. Future flights will concentrate on the in-flight
rotational motion and control of the German-built telescope.

After closed-door flight testing is complete, the flying observatory
will undergo installation and integration of the remaining elements
of the observatory before door-open test flights, which are scheduled
to begin in late 2008.

"The largest technical challenges remaining are in 2008, with the
remainder of the mission sub-system installation that will give the
aircraft the ability to fly with the cavity door open," said SOFIA
aircraft project manager John Carter at Dryden.

The program is a partnership of NASA and the German Aerospace Center.
Dryden manages SOFIA with science elements of the program managed by
NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.

For more information about SOFIA, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/sofia


 

EXPLORE EARTH'S POLES AT A MUSEUM NEAR YOU WITH POLAR-PALOOZA

WASHINGTON - The human face of the exploration of Earth's polar
regions is coming to science centers and museums across the United
States. NASA and the National Science Foundation are sponsoring the
Polar-Palooza "Stories from a Changing Planet" tour beginning Oct. 19
in San Diego. The tour will stop in cities across the country in 2007
and 2008.

NASA and the National Science Foundation are funding Polar-Palooza and
other education and outreach activities as part of the International
Polar Year, which began last March and ends in March 2009. The
International Polar Year focuses science and education on Earth's
remote polar regions.

The Polar-Palooza national tour features tales of science and
adventure from polar glaciologists, geologists, climate scientists,
oceanographers, biologists and residents of the Arctic. Each tour
stop includes multimedia shows with high-definition video, school
programs, teacher workshops and briefings for media and business
leaders.

Upcoming tour dates include:
- Oct. 19-21: San Diego area - Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, Scripps
Institution of Oceanography Birch Aquarium, San Diego Museum of
Natural History and other locations
- Oct. 26-28: San Francisco area - Chabot Space and Science Center,
Oakland, and the Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California,
Berkeley
- Oct. 22-24: Albuquerque - New Mexico Museum of Natural History and
Science
- Nov. 8-10: Tampa, Fla. - Museum of Science and Industry
- Nov. 11-13: Atlanta - Fernbank Science Center
- Nov. 15-17: Baton Rouge - Louisiana State University Museum of
Natural Science

Polar-Palooza is produced by Passport to Knowledge, Morristown, N.J.,
as an integral part of the International Polar Year outreach efforts.
The "Stories from a Changing Planet" tour will continue in 2008 with
events planned in Chicago, St. Louis, Denver, Philadelphia, New York,
Houston and several other cities. For more information about
Polar-Palooza and links to the 2007 tour schedule, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/IPY/snow/PolarPalooza.html


-end-
 

NASA SELECTS 120 SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH PROJECTS WASHINGTON - NASA has selected 120 proposals for negotiation of Phase 2 contract awards in the Small Business Innovation Research program, known as SBIR. The selected projects have a total value of approximately $72 million. NASA will award the contracts to 102 small high technology firms in 27 states. NASA's Innovative Partnerships Program - with offices at NASA Headquarters in Washington and all of the agency's field centers - collaborates with U.S. industry to develop pioneering technologies, infuse them into agency missions and transition them into commercially available products and services. The SBIR program supports NASA's mission directorates by working with them to competitively select ventures that address critical research and technology needs for agency programs and projects. The effort addresses specific technology gaps in mission programs and strives to complement other agency research investments. Program results have benefited NASA efforts, including modern air traffic control systems, Earth observing spacecraft, the space shuttle, the International Space Station and rovers on Mars. Some research topic areas among this group of selected proposals include: - The development of more effective multi-disciplinary design, analysis and optimization tools that will benefit flight vehicles ranging from subsonic aircraft to rockets. - A new data architecture that will allow engineers to design software that better quantifies spacecraft data. - Radiation hardened, stackable memory modules that will increase data storage for science missions and enable increased computing and storage capacities for space-based systems. The SBIR program is a highly competitive, three-phase award system. It provides qualified small businesses - including those owned by women and the disadvantaged - with opportunities to propose unique ideas that meet specific research and development needs of the federal government. Phase 1 is a feasibility study to evaluate the scientific and technical merit of an idea. Awards are for as long as six months in amounts up to $100,000. Phase 2 expands on the results of the development in Phase 1. Awards are for as long as two years in amounts up to $600,000. Phase 3 is for the commercialization of the results of Phase 2 and requires the use of private sector or non-SBIR federal funding. Participants submitted 243 Phase 2 proposals. The criteria used to select the winning proposals included technical merit and innovation, Phase 1 results, value to NASA, commercial potential and company capabilities. NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., manages the program for the Innovative Partnership Program office. NASA's 10 field centers manage individual projects. For a list of selected companies, visit: http://sbir.nasa.gov -end-

NASA TO BE THE FEATURED AGENCY IN 2008 SMITHSONIAN FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL WASHINGTON - NASA and the Smithsonian Institution's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage are partnering for the 2008 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. The festival showcasing NASA will run on the National Mall from June 25 to July 6, 2008. NASA will be only the second featured federal agency in the history of the festival, which annually attracts an audience of more than a million people. The Folklife Festival also will highlight the food and music of the state of Texas and the mountainous Asian nation of Bhutan. An annual survey of tourism agencies and convention and tourism bureaus around the country labeled the Folklife Festival as America's No. 1 tourism event. "We are excited that NASA's participation will give people from throughout our country and the world the opportunity to learn from and interact with our engineers, scientists, astronauts and skilled craftspeople," said Robert Hopkins, NASA chief of Strategic Communications, Headquarters, Washington. "The Folklife Festival's purpose is to introduce visitors to 'the immense breadth of community-based art, skill, knowledge, and wisdom,' and NASA is proud to be one of the few federal agencies in the history of the festival to be celebrated. This will be a tremendous event to showcase NASA's past accomplishments and plans to extend humanity's reach throughout the solar system during our 50th anniversary year." "The Festival looks forward to the opportunity to give the public a glimpse behind the scenes at the agency that literally broadens our horizons," said Diana Parker, director of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. With an emphasis on audience participation, the festival program will encourage visitors to engage one on one with NASA experts in presentation areas on the Mall. The presentations are tied to NASA's mission goals in aeronautics, space exploration, science and human spaceflight. The NASA program will include live presentations, hands-on educational activities, narrative oral history sessions and demonstrations of the skills, techniques and knowledge of real rocket scientists. Exhibits will explore the spirit of inspiration, innovation, discovery and public service embodied by the agency and its personnel. For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov -end-

BRUNER NAMED HEAD OF LEGISLATIVE AND INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS WASHINGTON - NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale on Thursday announced the appointment of Bill Bruner as assistant administrator for legislative and intergovernmental affairs. Bruner has served as acting assistant administrator for the office since June. The office of legislative affairs and intergovernmental affairs develops and implements the legislative strategy to carry out NASA initiatives requiring congressional action and state and local government relations. The office also responds to requests and inquiries from congressional committees, individual members of Congress and their staffs. Prior to joining the Bush administration, Bruner had a distinguished career in the U.S. Air Force, retiring at the rank of colonel. He was awarded a Bronze Star for his service in Operation Desert Storm. He then served in several key positions in Washington including on the staff of the secretary of the Air Force; as a military fellow in the office of the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; and as an office director within the office of the secretary of defense, where he won the Assistant Secretary of Defense Paul H. Nitze Award for Excellence in International Security Affairs. Bruner is a graduate of the National War College in Washington, where he received a master's degree in national security studies. He also earned a master's degree in airpower arts and sciences from the School of Advanced Air and Space Power Studies at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., where his thesis topic was "National Security Implications of Inexpensive Space Access." He also is a graduate of the Air Force Fighter Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. His bachelor's degree in astronomy is from San Francisco State University. For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov -end-

NASA WEB FEATURE WINS DESIGN AWARD FROM ADOBE WASHINGTON - NASA's Web site received a significant multimedia award this week when Adobe Systems Inc., of San Jose, Calif., honored the interactive International Space Station Reference Guide with a 2007 Max Award. "The NASA Web team continually is finding new and innovative ways of making NASA more accessible to the world," said Ron Ticker, NASA's manager for space station development and the project's sponsor. "The Interactive ISS Reference Guide and its recognition is another testament to the team's success in that endeavor." With video and interactive elements, the guide explains the basic operations and physical dimensions of the International Space Station. Astronaut Mike Fincke, who spent six months aboard the station, guides users through the multimedia guide. Fincke explains how the crew works and lives in space, and how the station operates. The guide also includes 360-degree views of the inside of several space station modules. It will be updated regularly as new elements are added to the station; the first update will be online Oct. 12. The agency's web presence takes another leap forward later this year with the rollout of a new design that allows Internet visitors to interact with the agency, create personal bookmark collections and playlists, and navigate and search more effectively. The space station's interactive feature can be found at: http://www.nasa.gov/station

NASA HONORS APOLLO ASTRONAUT ROGER CHAFFEE WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - NASA will honor the late astronaut Naval Lt. Cmdr. Roger B. Chaffee with the presentation of an Ambassador of Exploration Award for his involvement in the U.S. space program. Chaffee's wife Martha will accept the award Saturday, Oct. 6, and present it for display at Purdue University during the halftime show of the Purdue - Ohio State football game. NASA is giving the Ambassador of Exploration Award to the first generation of explorers in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space programs for realizing America's vision of going to the moon. NASA also is recognizing several other key individuals who played significant roles in the early space programs. The award is a moon rock encased in Lucite and mounted for public display as inspiration to a new generation of explorers who will help us return humans to the moon and eventually on to Mars and beyond. The award is part of the 842 pounds of samples collected during the six Apollo lunar expeditions from 1969 to 1972. Chaffee received a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from Purdue in 1957. He was one of the third group of astronaut candidates selected October 1963. In March 1966, he was chosen as a crew member for the first Apollo flight. Chaffee died on January 27, 1967, in the Apollo 1 spacecraft fire during a launch pad test at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. For complete biographical information about Chaffee, visit: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/chaffee-rb.html

NASA SELECTS LAUNCH SERVICES PROVIDER FOR EARTH IMAGERY SATELLITE CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA's Launch Services Program office at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla., has selected Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services of Littleton, Colo., for launching of the Landsat Data Continuity Mission. The $124 million contract award is a competed firm-fixed-price task order. It includes launch services for an Atlas V model 401 rocket, payload processing, launch vehicle integration, and the necessary tracking, data and telemetry support. The spacecraft is scheduled to be placed into a 428-mile-high polar sun synchronous orbit in July 2011, lifting off from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The Landsat Data Continuity Mission will extend the more than 30-year record of high-quality land surface measurements from previous Landsat satellites. NASA researchers use these unique data products to study, understand and predict the consequences of land surface changes. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., manages procurement and acquisitions for the Landsat Data Continuity Mission in partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey. The U.S. Geological Survey will manage the satellite after launch and in-orbit checkout. For more information about the Landsat Data Continuity Mission, visit: http://ldcm.gsfc.nasa.gov

NASA SPACECRAFT TO CARRY RUSSIAN SCIENCE INSTRUMENTS WASHINGTON - NASA and the Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos have agreed to fly two Russian scientific instruments on NASA spacecraft that will conduct unprecedented robotic missions to the moon and Mars. NASA Administrator Michael Griffin and Roscosmos head Anatoly Perminov signed agreements in Moscow on Oct. 3 to add the instruments to two future missions: the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, scheduled to launch in October 2008, and the Mars Science Laboratory, an advanced robotic rover scheduled to launch in 2009. Russia's Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will search for evidence of water ice and help understand astronauts' exposure to radiation during future trips to the moon. The instrument will map concentrations of hydrogen that may be found on and just beneath the lunar surface. Roscosmos' Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons instrument on the Mars Science Laboratory will measure hydrogen to analyze neutrons interacting with the Martian surface. The principal investigator for both instruments is Igor Mitrofanov of the Institute for Space Research of the Russian Academy of Science. "Russia's contribution to the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Science Laboratory missions continues a rich and long-standing tradition of cooperation between NASA and Russia for scientific research in space," Griffin said. "The Institute for Space Research has a track record of delivering excellent instrumentation, and we are delighted to have international participation on these missions to explore the moon and send a robotic laboratory to Mars." The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will circle the moon for at least a year, obtaining measurements necessary to identify future robotic and human landing sites. It also will look for potential lunar resources and document aspects of the lunar radiation environment. The Mars Science Laboratory rover is a mobile research platform that will explore a local region of the Martian surface as a potential habitat for past or present life. The rover will carry a suite of highly capable analytic and remote sensing instruments to investigate planetary processes that influence habitability, including the role of water. For more about NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission and the Mars Exploration Program, visit: http://www.nasa.gov

NASA EXTENDS COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT WITH NSBRI HOUSTON -- NASA's Johnson Space Center has awarded a five-year, $120-million extension of its cooperative agreement with the National Space Biomedical Research Institute, also known as NSBRI, of Houston. Under the extension, the institute and NASA's Human Research Program will continue biomedical research in support of a long-term human presence in space. The base period of the cooperative agreement began April 1, 1997, with a value of $93.6 million. The first five-year extension was exercised in 2002, extending the agreement to Sept. 30, 2007, and increasing its value by $148.5 million. This second five-year option will extend the agreement through Sept. 30, 2012, and increase its value by an additional $120 million, bringing the total value to $362 million. The NSBRI studies the health risks related to long-duration spaceflight and develops countermeasures to mitigate them. NSBRI projects address space health concerns such as bone and muscle loss, cardiovascular changes, infection, balance problems, sleep disturbances, radiation exposure effects, nutrition, physical fitness, rehabilitation, remote-treatment medical technologies and neurobehavioral and psychosocial factors. The institute's science, technology and education projects take place at more than 70 institutions in 26 U.S. states. For information about NASA and agency programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov For information about the National Space Biomedical Research Institute, visit: http://www.nsbri.org

SHUTTLE DISCOVERY AT LAUNCH PAD; LAUNCH DRESS REHEARSAL NEXT CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - With space shuttle Discovery now at its launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the next major milestone for the upcoming STS-120 mission is a full launch dress rehearsal. The shuttle arrived at the pad near noon EDT Sunday on top of a giant vehicle called the crawler-transporter. The crawler-transporter began carrying Discovery out of Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building at 6:47 a.m., traveling less than 1 mph during the 3.4 mile journey. Discovery was firmly on the launch pad, or hard down, at 1:15 p.m. Discovery is targeted to launch Oct. 23 on a 14-day mission to the International Space Station. The shuttle's seven crew members will add a module to the space station that will serve as a port for installing additional international laboratories. The crew also will move the station's first set of solar arrays to a permanent location and redeploy them. Discovery's crew members are Commander Pam Melroy, Pilot George Zamka and mission specialists Scott Parazynski, Stephanie Wilson, Doug Wheelock, Daniel Tani and Paolo Nespoli of the European Space Agency. Tani will remain aboard the station and return with the STS-122 crew, targeted to launch Dec. 6. Current station Flight Engineer Clayton Anderson will return to Earth aboard Discovery. The STS-120 astronauts and ground crews will participate in a launch dress rehearsal, known as the terminal countdown demonstration test, or TCDT, from Oct. 7 to 10 at Kennedy. The test provides each shuttle crew with an opportunity to participate in various simulated countdown activities, including equipment familiarization and emergency training. The following are media events associated with the test. All times are Eastern. Oct. 7 - STS-120 Crew Arrival: The crew will arrive at 7 p.m. at the Shuttle Landing Facility and make a statement. The arrival will not be broadcast live but will be part of the NASA TV Video File. Oct. 9 - STS-120 Crew Media Q&A: The crew will take media questions at Launch Pad 39A at 8:15 a.m. The session will be carried live on NASA TV. Oct. 10 - STS-120 Crew Walkout Photo Opportunity: The astronauts will depart from the Operations and Checkout Building at 7:45 a.m. in their flight entry suits in preparation for the countdown demonstration test at the launch pad. The walkout will not be broadcast live but will be part of the NASA TV Video File. Dates and times of events are subject to change. Schedule updates are available at 321-867-2525. New foreign media accreditation for these events is closed. U.S. media without permanent Kennedy Space Center credentials must apply for accreditation online by 4:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 4 at: https://media.ksc.nasa.gov To attend crew arrival, reporters must pick up badges by 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 5, at the Pass and Identification Building on State Road 3. For information about covering these events, including proper attire and meeting locations, credentialed media should visit: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/news/media.html Video b-roll of the terminal countdown demonstration test will be available on the NASA TV Video File. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv For information about the STS-120 mission and crew, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

NASA EXAMINES ARCTIC SEA ICE CHANGES LEADING TO RECORD LOW IN 2007 WASHINGTON - A new NASA-led study found a 23-percent loss in the extent of the Arctic's thick, year-round sea ice cover during the past two winters. This drastic reduction of perennial winter sea ice is the primary cause of this summer's fastest-ever sea ice retreat on record and subsequent smallest-ever extent of total Arctic coverage. A team led by Son Nghiem of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., studied trends in Arctic perennial ice cover by combining data from NASA's Quick Scatterometer (QuikScat) satellite with a computing model based on observations of sea ice drift from the International Arctic Buoy Programme. QuikScat can identify and map different classes of sea ice, including older, thicker perennial ice and younger, thinner seasonal ice. Between winter 2005 and winter 2007, the perennial ice shrunk by an area the size of Texas and California combined. This severe loss continues a trend of rapid decreases in perennial ice extent in this decade. Study results will be published Oct. 4 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. The scientists observed less perennial ice cover in March 2007 than ever before, with the thick ice confined to the Arctic Ocean north of Canada. Consequently, the Arctic Ocean was dominated by thinner seasonal ice that melts faster. This ice is more easily compressed and responds more quickly to being pushed out of the Arctic by winds. Those conditions facilitated the ice loss, leading to this year's record low amount of total Arctic sea ice. Nghiem said the rapid decline in winter perennial ice the past two years was caused by unusual winds. "Unusual atmospheric conditions set up wind patterns that compressed the sea ice, loaded it into the Transpolar Drift Stream and then sped its flow out of the Arctic," he said. When that sea ice reached lower latitudes, it rapidly melted in the warmer waters. "The winds causing this trend in ice reduction were set up by an unusual pattern of atmospheric pressure that began at the beginning of this century," Nghiem said. The Arctic Ocean's shift from perennial to seasonal ice is preconditioning the sea ice cover there for more efficient melting and further ice reductions each summer. The shift to seasonal ice decreases the reflectivity of Earth's surface and allows more solar energy to be absorbed in the ice-ocean system. The perennial sea ice pattern change was deduced by using the buoy computing model infused with 50 years of data from drifting buoys and measurement camps to track sea ice movement around the Arctic Ocean. From the 1970s through the 1990s, perennial ice declined by about 193,000 square miles each decade. Since 2000, that rate of decline has nearly tripled. Results from the buoy model were verified against the past eight years of QuikScat observations, which have much better resolution and coverage. The QuikScat data were verified with field experiments conducted aboard the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Healy as well as by sea ice charts derived from multiple satellite data sources by analysts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Ice Center in Suitland, Md. The new study differs significantly from other recent studies that only looked at the Arctic's total sea ice extent. "Our study applies QuikScat's unique capabilities to examine how the composition of Arctic sea ice is changing, which is crucial to understanding Arctic sea ice mass balance and overall Arctic climate stability," Nghiem said. Pablo Clemente-Col?n of the National Ice Center said the rapid reduction of Arctic perennial sea ice requires an urgent reassessment of sea ice forecast model predictions and of potential impacts to local weather and climate, as well as shipping and other maritime operations in the region. "Improving ice forecast models will require new physical insights and understanding of complex Arctic processes and interactions." Other organizations participating in the study include the University of Washington's Polar Science Center, Seattle, and the U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, N.H.

NASA SATELLITE SEES SOLAR HURRICANE DETACH COMET TAIL GREENBELT, Md. - A NASA satellite has captured the first images of a collision between a comet and a solar hurricane. It is the first time scientists have witnessed such an event on another cosmic body. One of NASA's pair of Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory satellites, known as STEREO, recorded the event April 20. The phenomenon was caused by a coronal mass ejection, a large cloud of magnetized gas cast into space by the sun. The collision resulted in the complete detachment of the plasma tail of Encke's comet. Observations of the comet reveal the brightening of its tail as the coronal mass ejection swept by and the tail's subsequent separation as it was carried away by the front of the ejection. The researchers combined the images into a movie. "We were awestruck when we saw these images," says Angelos Vourlidas, lead author and researcher at the Naval Research Laboratory, Washington. "This is the first time we've witnessed a collision between a coronal mass ejection and a comet and the surprise of seeing the disconnection of the tail was the icing on the cake." Encke's comet was traveling within the orbit of Mercury when a coronal mass ejection first crunched the tail then ripped it completely away. The comet is only the second repeating, or periodic, comet ever identified. Halley's comet was the first. Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory made the observations using the Heliospheric Imager in its Sun Earth Connection Coronal and Heliospheric Investigation telescope suite aboard the STEREO-A spacecraft. The results will be published in the Oct. 10 issue of the Astrophysical Journal Letters. Coronal mass ejections are violent eruptions with masses greater than a few billion tons. They travel from 60 to more than 2,000 miles per second. They have been compared to hurricanes because of the widespread disruption they can cause when directed at Earth. These solar hurricanes cause geomagnetic storms that can present hazards for satellites, radio communications and power systems. However, coronal mass ejections are spread over a large volume of space, mitigating their mass and power to create an impact softer than a baby's breath. Scientists have been aware of the disconnection of the entire plasma tail of a comet for some time, but the conditions that lead to these events remained a mystery. It was suspected that coronal mass ejections could be responsible for some of the disconnected events, but the interaction between a coronal mass ejection and a comet never had been observed. Preliminary analysis suggests the disconnection likely is triggered by what is known as magnetic reconnection, in which the oppositely directed magnetic fields around the comet are crunched together by the magnetic fields in the coronal mass ejection. The comet fields suddenly link together, reconnecting, to release a burst of energy that detaches the comet's tail. A similar process takes place in Earth's magnetosphere during geomagnetic storms, powering the aurora borealis and other phenomena. Comets are icy leftovers from the solar system's formation billions of years ago. They usually reside in the cold, distant regions of the solar system. Occasionally, the gravitational tug from a planet, another comet or a nearby star sends a comet into the inner solar system, where the sun's heat and radiation vaporizes gas and dust from the comet to form its tail. Comets typically have two tails: one of dust and a fainter one of electrically conducting gas called plasma. "Even though STEREO is primarily designed to study coronal mass ejections, particularly their impact on Earth, we hope this impact will provide many insights to scientists studying comets," said Michael Kaiser, STEREO project scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. STEREO is the third mission in NASA's Solar Terrestrial Probes program, sponsored by NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Goddard manages the mission, instruments, and science center. The Heliospheric Imager was built in the United Kingdom by Rutheford Appleton Laboratory and the University of Birmingham with major contributions from the Naval Research Laboratory and the Centre Spatial de Liege, Belgium. Other international partners in the STEREO mission include the European Space Agency and France, Germany, Hungary and Switzerland.

NASA SEEKS PROPOSALS FOR CONSTELLATION MOON SUIT WASHINGTON - NASA has issued a request for proposals from industry for the design, development and production of a new spacesuit system for Constellation Program voyages to the International Space Station and the moon. The Constellation spacesuit system contract is for design, development, test, evaluation and production of equipment to support astronauts aboard the Orion crew exploration vehicle. Orion will carry astronauts on trips to explore the moon and support the space station in the next decade. NASA expects to award the contract in June 2008. The suit and support systems will enable protection against spacecraft cabin leaks and provide contingency spacewalk capability. For short lunar exploration sorties, the suit also must support a week's worth of moon walks in one-sixth gravity. Potentially, the system will support multiple spacewalks during six-month lunar outpost stays. Suits and support systems will be needed for as many as four moon voyagers per trip or six space station travelers. Prospective contractors are being asked to develop a system that minimizes mass, volume and carry weight; donning time; maintenance requirements; suit logistics; operational overhead; life cycle costs; and operational constraints on the lunar surface in varying geographical, solar and thermal conditions. The same spacesuit system also must maximize pressurized and unpressurized crew comfort, range of motion, reliability and work efficiency throughout multiple suit uses. Designers are being asked to incorporate flexibility and modularity to allow for efficient incorporation of future upgrades. The cost-plus-award-fee contract will include a basic performance period from June 2008 to September 2013. The performance period involves design, development, test and evaluation work leading up to manufacture; assembly and first flight of the suit components needed for Orion; and the initial work on the suit components needed for the lunar surface. Two contract option periods will be available. Option 1 would cover completion of design, development, test and evaluation for the surface suit components. Option 2 would provide for suit production under a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract structure and sustaining engineering under a cost-plus-award-fee structure from the end of the basic performance period through September 2018. To view the request for Constellation Spacesuit System proposals, visit: http://procurement.jsc.nasa.gov/csss For information about NASA's Constellation Program, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/constellation

NASA ASSIGNS CREW FOR SPACE STATION ASSEMBLY MISSION WASHINGTON -- NASA has assigned the space shuttle crew for Endeavour's STS-126 mission, targeted for launch in September 2008. The flight will deliver equipment to the International Space Station that will enable larger crews to reside aboard the complex. Veteran space flier Navy Capt. Christopher J. Ferguson will command Endeavour. Air Force Lt. Col. Eric A. Boe will serve as the pilot. The mission specialists are Navy Cmdr. Stephen G. Bowen, NASA astronaut Joan E. Higginbotham, Army Lt. Col. Robert S. Kimbrough and Navy Capt. Heidemarie M. Stefanyshyn-Piper. Boe, Bowen and Kimbrough will be making their first spaceflight. STS-126 will be the second spaceflight for Ferguson and Stefanyshyn-Piper, who flew together on STS-115 in September 2006. It also is the second flight for Higginbotham, who flew on STS-116 in December 2006. Endeavour will carry a reusable logistics module that will hold supplies and equipment, including additional crew quarters, a second treadmill, equipment for the regenerative life support system and spare hardware. A native of Philadelphia, Ferguson served as pilot of the shuttle Atlantis for STS-115. He has a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Drexel University, Philadelphia, and a master's degree in aeronautical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, Calif. He was selected as an astronaut in 1998. Boe was born in Miami and grew up in Atlanta. He has a bachelor's degree in astronautical engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo., and a master's degree in electrical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta. He was selected as an astronaut in 2000. Bowen was born in Cohasset, Mass. He has a bachelor's degree from the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md., and a master's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge. Bowen also was selected as an astronaut in 2000. He was previously named to the STS-124 crew but has been reassigned to STS-126. The change will allow room for the STS-124 mission to rotate a space station resident, who will be named later. A native of Chicago, Higginbotham flew on STS-116. She has a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, and master's degrees in both management and space systems from the Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne. She was selected as an astronaut in 1996. Kimbrough was born in Killeen, Texas, and grew up in Smyrna, Ga. He has a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y., and a master's degree in operations research from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He was selected as an astronaut in 2004. Stefanyshyn-Piper was born in St. Paul, Minn. She conducted two spacewalks on STS-115. She has a bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She was selected as an astronaut in 1996. Video of the STS-126 crew members will air on NASA Television's Video File. For downlink and scheduling information and links to streaming video, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv For complete astronaut biographical information, visit: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios For more information about NASA's Space Shuttle Program, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

Published in cooperation with NASA, the book features a foreword by Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong, with contributions from Steven Dick, NASA chief historian; Bob Jacobs, deputy assistant administrator for Public Affairs; Constance Moore, NASA lead photo researcher; Anthony M. Springer, lead, communications and education, NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate; and Bertram Ulrich, NASA curator and multimedia manager.) WASHINGTON - As the world remembers the 50th anniversaries of the Space Age in 2007 and NASA in 2008, the historic legacy of the agency is captured in a new and lavishly illustrated book published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York, and available October 4. Titled America in Space, the book is a photographic record of the greatest adventures in the history of exploration and documents NASA's many achievements during the past five decades in aeronautics, science and technology, and human spaceflight. "This book has a wonderful collection of imagery that chronicles the first half-century of NASA," said Shana Dale, NASA deputy administrator, Headquarters, Washington. "As we view the historic achievement of our first generation of space explorers and see how far we have come in 50 years, we also peer over the horizon to a new era of exploration that will provide us with an outpost on the moon and eventually human exploration of Mars." Almost 500 stunning color and black-and-white photographs, including many never published before, were culled from NASA's archives. The images tell the agency's story, from the drama of lift-off, to tension in mission control, to the humor and humanity portrayed in the faces of astronauts, scientists, engineers, and political leaders associated with the program during the past five decades. "Abrams is tremendously proud to have collaborated with NASA to create America in Space, which celebrates some of our nation's greatest achievements and is also a milestone in photographic publishing," said Eric Himmel, Abrams vice president and editor-in-chief. "It was thrilling to see these amazing images materialize from NASA's vast visual archives as the project took shape." Published in cooperation with NASA, the book features a foreword by Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong, with contributions from Steven Dick, NASA chief historian; Bob Jacobs, deputy assistant administrator for Public Affairs; Constance Moore, NASA lead photo researcher; Anthony M. Springer, lead, communications and education, NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate; and Bertram Ulrich, NASA curator and multimedia manager

DAWN SPACECRAFT SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA's Dawn spacecraft began its 1.7 billion mile journey through the inner solar system to study a pair of asteroids Thursday at 7:34 a.m. EDT. The Delta 2 rocket, fitted with nine strap-on solid-fuel boosters, safely climbed away from the Florida coastline and launch complex 17B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. "We have our time machine up and flying," said Dawn Principal Investigator Christopher Russell of the University of California, Los Angeles. Dawn is scheduled to begin its exploration of Vesta in 2011 and Ceres in 2015. The two icons of the asteroid belt are located in orbit between Mars and Jupiter and have been witness to so much of our solar system's history. By using the same set of instruments at two separate destinations, scientists can more accurately formulate comparisons and contrasts. Dawn's science instrument suite will measure shape, surface topography and tectonic history, elemental and mineral composition as well as seek out water-bearing minerals. A critical milestone for the spacecraft comes in is acquiring its signal. The launch team expects that to occur in approximately 2-3 hours. For the latest information about Dawn and its mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/dawn

NASA RESEARCH INDICATES OXYGEN ON EARTH 2.5 BILLION YEARS AGO MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. - NASA-funded astrobiologists have found evidence of oxygen present in Earth's atmosphere earlier than previously known, pushing back the timeline for the rise of oxygen in the atmosphere. Two teams of researchers report that traces of oxygen appeared in Earth's atmosphere from 50 to 100 million years before what is known as the Great Oxidation Event. This event happened between 2.3 and 2.4 billion years ago, when many scientists think atmospheric oxygen increased significantly from the existing very low levels. Scientists analyzed a kilometer-long drill core from Western Australia, representing the time just before the major rise of atmospheric oxygen. They found evidence that a small but significant amount of oxygen was present in Earth's oceans and atmosphere 2.5 billion years ago. The findings appear in a pair of research papers in the Sept. 28 issue of the journal Science. "We seem to have captured a piece of time during which the amount of oxygen was actually changing -- caught in the act, as it were," said Ariel Anbar, an associate professor at Arizona State University, Tempe, and leader of one of the research teams. The goal of both research teams was to learn more about the environment and life in the oceans leading up to the Great Oxidation Event. The researchers did not expect to find evidence of oxygen earlier than what was previously known. "The core provides a continuous record of environmental conditions, analogous to a tape recording," explained Anbar. He and his research group analyzed the amounts of the trace metals molybdenum, rhenium and uranium. The quantity of these metals in oceans and sediments depend on the amount of oxygen in the environment. The other research group, led by Alan Kaufman of the University of Maryland, College Park, Md., analyzed sulfur isotopes. Its distribution also relies on the abundance of oxygen. "Studying the dynamics that gave rise to the presence of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere deepens our appreciation of the complex interaction between biology and geochemistry," said Carl Pilcher, director of the NASA Astrobiology Institute at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., which co-funded the study. "Their results support the idea that our planet and the life on it evolved together." One possible explanation for the Great Oxidation Event is the ancient ancestors of today's plants first began to produce oxygen by photosynthesis. However, many geoscientists think organisms began to produce oxygen much earlier, but the oxygen was destroyed in reactions with volcanic gases and rocks. "What we have now is new evidence for some oxygen in the environment 50 to 100 million years before the big rise of oxygen," Anbar said. "Our findings strengthen the notion that organisms learned to produce oxygen long before the Great Oxidation Event, and that the rise of oxygen in the atmosphere ultimately was controlled by geological processes." The international project brought together researchers from Arizona State University, the University of Maryland, the University of Washington, the University of California, Riverside, and the University of Alberta. The project received financial support from the NASA Astrobiology Institute and the National Science Foundation. The Geological Survey of Western Australia provided logistical support. Founded in 1998, the NASA Astrobiology Institute is a partnership between NASA, 16 U.S. teams and five international consortia to promote, conduct and lead integrated multidisciplinary astrobiology research and train a new generation of astrobiology researchers. The institute's Astrobiology Drilling Program is an international program aimed at coordinating continental drilling projects of astrobiological significance, especially those concerning Earth's early atmosphere. For more information about the NASA Astrobiology Institute, visit: http://nai.nasa.gov -end-

NASA'S DAWN SPACECRAFT ENROUTE TO SHED LIGHT ON ASTEROID BELT CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA's Dawn spacecraft is on its way to study a pair of asteroids after lifting off Thursday from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 7:34 a.m. EDT. Mission controllers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif., received telemetry on schedule at 9:44 a.m. indicating Dawn had achieved proper orientation in space and its massive solar array was generating power from the sun. "Dawn has risen, and the spacecraft is healthy," said the mission's project manager Keyur Patel of JPL. "About this time tomorrow [Friday morning], we will have passed the moon's orbit." During the next 80 days, spacecraft controllers will test and calibrate the myriad of spacecraft systems and subsystems, ensuring Dawn is ready for the long journey ahead. "Dawn will travel back in time by probing deep into the asteroid belt," said Dawn Principal Investigator Christopher Russell, University of California, Los Angeles. "This is a moment the space science community has been waiting for since interplanetary spaceflight became possible." Dawn's 3-billion-mile odyssey includes exploration of asteroid Vesta in 2011 and the dwarf planet Ceres in 2015. These two icons of the asteroid belt have been witness to much of our solar system's history. By using Dawn's instruments to study both asteroids, scientists more accurately can compare and contrast the two. Dawn's science instrument suite will measure elemental and mineral composition, shape, surface topography, tectonic history, and it will seek water-bearing minerals. In addition, the Dawn spacecraft and how it orbits Vesta and Ceres will be used to measure the celestial bodies' masses and gravity fields. The spacecraft's engines use a unique, hyper-efficient system called ion propulsion, which uses electricity to ionize xenon to generate thrust. The 12-inch-wide ion thrusters provide less power than conventional engines but can maintain thrust for months at a time. The management of the Dawn launch was the responsibility of NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The Delta 2 launch vehicle was provided by United Launch Alliance, Denver. The Dawn mission to Vesta and Ceres is managed by JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The University of California, Los Angeles, is responsible for overall Dawn mission science. Other scientific partners include Los Alamos National Laboratory, N.M.; Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Katlenburg, Germany; DLR Institute for Planetary Research, Berlin; Italian National Institute for Astrophysics, Rome; and the Italian Space Agency. Orbital Sciences Corporation of Dulles, Va., designed and built the Dawn spacecraft. To learn more about Dawn and its mission to the asteroid belt, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/dawn

NASA EXTENDS SPACE STATION ENGINEERING SERVICES CONTRACT HOUSTON - NASA has awarded a contract modification to the European Space Agency's Space Technology Center for additional engineering services for the International Space Station Node 2 and 3 modules. The modification is valued at $27.5 million. The contract modification extends the current contract to reflect adjustments made to the station's assembly manifest and to meet increased contract requirements through June 30, 2011. The two-year extension increases the value of the $22 million fixed price contract to $49.5 million. Node 2, also known as the Harmony module, is scheduled for delivery to the space station on the STS-120 mission, currently slated for Oct. 23. Node 3 is still in development. The modules are being built by Alcatel Alenia Space Italia in Torino, Italy, as part of an agreement between NASA and the European Space Agency. Node 2 is a utility hub and will serve as a passageway between three station science experiment facilities: the U.S. Destiny Laboratory, the Kibo Japanese Experiment Module and the European Columbus Laboratory. For more information about the space station, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov

NASA, NSBRI SELECT 17 PROPOSALS IN SPACE RADIATION RESEARCH WASHINGTON - The crews of future missions to the moon and Mars could face serious health risks from exposure to space radiation. NASA and the National Space Biomedical Research Institute, known as NSBRI, Houston, will fund 17 new research projects that will enable NASA to better understand and reduce those risks. Scientists at universities, research institutions and private companies in eight states will conduct the studies. The goal of NASA's space radiation research is to enable the human exploration of space by understanding and limiting astronaut health risks from space radiation. The health risks of radiation during space travel may include cancer, acute radiation sickness and degenerative tissue damage, including damage to the central nervous system. The new research is designed to deliver products that will help in the development of effective shielding or biological countermeasures for radiation exposure. The 17 projects were selected from 98 proposals received in response to a NASA and NSBRI announcement, Ground-Based Studies in Space Radiation. Scientific and technical experts from academia and government laboratories reviewed the proposals. The total potential value of the selected proposals is about $15 million. NSBRI is a NASA-funded consortium of institutions studying the health risks related to long-duration spaceflight. The institute's science, technology and education projects take place at more than 70 institutions across the United States. A complete list of the selected principal investigators, organizations and proposals is available at: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/news/space_radiation.html For information about NASA and agency programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov For information about NSBRI, visit: http://www.nsbri.org

NASA AWARDS FINANCIAL SERVICES CONTRACT MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. - NASA has selected Powertek Corporation of Fairfax, Va., to provide financial support services at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. The contract has a five-year base period and no options. The estimated dollar value of the delivery order contract is $25 million. Powertek Corporation will provide financial management and resources management support services. Financial management support services include voucher examination, file management, data entry, financial reconciliation and reporting, accounts receivable, and reimbursable agreements management. Resources management support services include budget operations, execution and planning. In addition, support services are included for program analysis and control, including cost estimating, earned value management, and scheduling and services related to financial systems implementation, such as data conversion, testing and training. For information about NASA and agency programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov

IMAX CAMERA RETURNS TO SPACE TO CHRONICLE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE WASHINGTON - IMAX Corporation and Warner Bros. Pictures announced Monday that, in cooperation with NASA, the IMAX 3D camera is scheduled to return to space in 2008 aboard the space shuttle during STS-125 for production of a new film. Set for release in early 2010, IMAX will chronicle the life story of the Hubble Space Telescope. "We are thrilled that people from around the world will experience this vital servicing mission from a front row seat," said Shana Dale, NASA deputy administrator, Headquarters, Washington. "Audiences will be mesmerized as they are transported to the distant galaxies of the universe." IMAX's long-standing partnership with NASA has enabled millions of people to travel into space through a series of award-winning films. The IMAX 3D camera made its first voyage into space in 2001 for the production of "Space Station 3D." The Hubble IMAX 3D film will mark Warner Bros. Picture's first venture into space. Veteran astronaut Scott D. Altman will command the final space shuttle mission to Hubble when the orbiter lifts off in late 2008. Navy Reserve Capt. Gregory C. Johnson will serve as pilot. Mission specialists are veteran spacewalkers John M. Grunsfeld, Michael J. Massimino, and first-time space fliers Andrew J. Feustel, Michael T. Good and K. Megan McArthur. The Hubble servicing mission is an 11-day flight. Following launch, the shuttle will rendezvous with the telescope on the third day of the flight. Using the shuttle's mechanical arm, the telescope will be placed on a work platform in the cargo bay. Five separate spacewalks will be needed to accomplish all of the mission objectives. "A decade ago we made a film that briefly touched on the subject of Hubble, but back then its first images were just coming in," said IMAX producer and director Toni Myers. "Today, we have Hubble's entire phenomenal legacy of data to explore. With IMAX 3D, we can transport people to galaxies that are literally 13 billion light years away. Real star travel is here at last." "Our original IMAX 3D releases have already put audiences in the driver's seat of a NASCAR racecar and taken them swimming with some of the most exotic undersea creatures on earth, and now we look forward to transporting them to the far reaches of the universe," said Dan Fellman, domestic distribution president, Warner Bros. Pictures. "Warner Bros. and IMAX have collaborated on 20 films over the last four years, and we are excited to share our next endeavor - the IMAX 3D space film - with our audience." Among work scheduled during the mission is the installation of two new instruments, the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) and Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). The COS is the most sensitive ultraviolet spectrograph ever flown on Hubble. The instrument will probe the cosmic web, the large-scale structure of the universe whose form is determined by the gravity of dark matter and is traced by the spatial distribution of galaxies and intergalactic gas. WFC3 is a new camera sensitive across a wide range of wavelengths (colors), including infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. It will have a broad capability to study the planets in our solar system, the early and distant galaxies beyond Hubble's current reach, and nearby galaxies with stories to tell about their star formation histories. Other planned work includes installing a refurbished Fine Guidance Sensor that replaces one degrading unit of the three already aboard. The sensors control the telescope's pointing system. An attempt also will be made to repair the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph. Installed in 1997, it stopped working in 2004. The instrument is used for high resolution studies in visible and ultraviolet light of both nearby star systems and distant galaxies, providing information about the motions and chemical makeup of stars, planetary atmospheres and other galaxies. Astronauts will attempt to repair the Advanced Camera for Surveys, which stopped working in January 2007. The instrument consists of three imagers that are equipped with a variety of filters and dispersers that detect light from the ultraviolet to the near infrared. It was installed during the March 2002 servicing mission (SM3B). The Hubble Space Telescope is an international cooperative project between NASA and the European Space Agency. For more information about the mission and the Hubble Space Telescope, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/hubble

M07-121 NASA POSTPONES DAWN SPACECRAFT LAUNCH CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The launch of NASA's Dawn spacecraft aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket has been postponed 24 hours. Fueling of the launch vehicle's second stage was unable to be completed on Sunday because of weather conditions at the launch pad. The launch now is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 27, at the opening of a window that extends from 7:20 a.m. to 7:49 a.m. EDT. For reporters planning to establish remote cameras at the launch pad, set up has been rescheduled and will take place at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 26. The prelaunch news conference is scheduled for 1 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 25. Live launch coverage on NASA Television is set to begin Thursday at 5:15 a.m. For NASA TV streaming video, scheduling and downlink information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv For more information about Dawn, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/dawn

NASA AWARDS NOAA GOES-R INSTRUMENT CONTRACT WASHINGTON -- NASA, in coordination with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites Program, has awarded an instrument contract to Lockheed Martin Corporation, Bethesda, Md. The contract is for one instrument, with three options for additional instruments. The total estimated value including options is $178 million. The contractor will design and develop the Solar Ultraviolet Imager instrument, which will fly on the next generation of geostationary satellites. The first satellite in the GOES-R series is set to launch in December 2014. The instrument will provide broadband imaging in the extreme ultraviolet wavelength to monitor dynamic features on the sun, from coronal holes to flares. It also will provide better direct measurements of solar features. These data are used for geomagnetic storm forecasts and predictions of solar energetic particle events related to flares. The contractor will provide post-delivery support for the Solar Ultraviolet Imager. Most of the work will be performed at Lockheed Martin's facility in Palo Alto, Calif. NOAA funds, operates and manages the GOES-R Program. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., manages the acquisition of GOES-R instruments for NOAA. For information about NASA and agency programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov

RESTARTS TELESCOPE MISSION TO DETECT BLACK HOLES WASHINGTON -- NASA has made a decision to restart an astronomy mission that will have greater capability than any existing instrument for detecting black holes in the local universe. The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, will expand our understanding of the origins and destinies of stars and galaxies. NASA had stopped the study effort on the NuSTAR mission in 2006 due to funding pressures within the Science Mission Directorate. "We are very excited to be able restart the NuSTAR mission, which we expect to be launched in 2011," said Alan Stern, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "NuSTAR has more than 500 times the sensitivity of previous instruments that detect black holes. It's a great opportunity for us to explore an important astronomical frontier. We are getting more and more from the science budget we have, and the restart of the highly-valued NuSTAR mission is an example of that." NuSTAR will bridge a gap between the 2009 launch of the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and the 2013 launch of the James Webb Space Telescope. The spacecraft will map areas of the sky in the light of high-energy X-rays and complement astrophysics missions that explore the cosmos in other regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. "NuSTAR will perform deep observations in hard X-rays to detect black holes of all sizes and other exotic phenomena," said Jon Morse, director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters. "It will perform cutting-edge science using advanced technologies and help to provide a balance between small and large missions in the NASA astrophysics portfolio." NuSTAR is a part of NASA's Explorer Program. The program provides frequent, low-cost access to space for missions with small- to mid-sized spacecraft. NuSTAR originally was selected from proposals submitted in response to an announcement of opportunity in 2003. Fiona Harrison of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, is the NuSTAR principal investigator. NASA expects to select three additional Small Explorer missions for flight in the first half of the next decade through a competitive selection within the astrophysics and heliophysics scientific communities. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. manages the NuSTAR mission. The Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., manages the Explorer Program for the Science Mission Directorate. Orbital Sciences Corp., Dulles, Va., is the industry partner for the mission. For more information about the NuSTAR mission, visit: http://www.nustar.caltech.edu For information about NASA's Explorer Program, visit: http://explorers.gsfc.nasa.gov For information about NASA and agency programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov

NASA ORBITER FINDS POSSIBLE CAVE SKYLIGHTS ON MARS PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft has discovered entrances to seven possible caves on the slopes of a Martian volcano. The find is fueling interest in potential underground habitats and sparking searches for caverns elsewhere on the Red Planet. Very dark, nearly circular features ranging in diameter from about 328 to 820 feet puzzled researchers who found them in images taken by NASA's Mars Odyssey and Mars Global Surveyor orbiters. Using Mars Odyssey's infrared camera to check the daytime and nighttime temperatures of the circles, scientists concluded that they could be windows into underground spaces. Evidence that the holes may be openings to cavernous spaces comes from the temperature differences detected from infrared images taken in the afternoon and in the pre-dawn morning. From day to night, temperatures of the holes change only about one-third as much as the change in temperature of surrounding ground surface. "They are cooler than the surrounding surface in the day and warmer at night," said Glen Cushing of the U.S. Geological Survey's Astrogeology Team and of Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Ariz. "Their thermal behavior is not as steady as large caves on Earth that often maintain a fairly constant temperature, but it is consistent with these being deep holes in the ground." A report of the discovery of the possible cave skylights by Cushing and his co-authors was published online recently by the journal Geophysical Research Letters. "Whether these are just deep vertical shafts or openings into spacious caverns, they are entries to the subsurface of Mars," said co-author Tim Titus of the U.S. Geological Survey in Flagstaff. "Somewhere on Mars, caves might provide a protected niche for past or current life, or shelter for humans in the future." The discovered holes, dubbed "Seven Sisters," are at some of the highest altitudes on the planet, on a volcano named Arsia Mons near Mars' tallest mountain. "These are at such extreme altitude, they are poor candidates either for use as human habitation or for having microbial life," Cushing said. "Even if life has ever existed on Mars, it may not have migrated to this height." The new report proposes that the deep holes on Arsia Mons probably formed as underground stresses around the volcano caused spreading and faults that opened spaces beneath the surface. Some of the holes are in line with strings of bowl-shaped pits where surface material has apparently collapsed to fill the gap created by a linear fault. The observations have prompted researchers using Mars Odyssey and NASA's newer Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to examine the Seven Sisters. The goal is to find other openings to underground spaces at lower elevations that are more accessible to future missions to Mars. "The key to finding these was looking for temperature anomalies at night -- warm spots," said Phil Christensen of Arizona State University, Tempe, principal investigator for the Thermal Emission Imaging System on Mars Odyssey. That instrument produced both visible-light and infrared images researchers used for examining the possible caves. "No other instrument at Mars could give the thermal information crucial to this research," said the project scientist for Mars Odyssey, Jeffrey Plaut of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "This is a great example of the exciting discoveries Odyssey continues to make." Mars Odyssey reached Mars in 2001, years before any of the other spacecraft currently examining the planet. Its predecessor, Mars Global Surveyor, ended its mission last year. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Arizona State University operates the Mars Odyssey's Thermal Emission Imaging System. For additional information about Mars Odyssey and the new findings, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/odyssey

NASA ORBITER PROVIDES INSIGHTS ABOUT MARS WATER AND CLIMATE PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is examining several features on Mars that address the role of water at different times in Martian history. Features examined with the orbiter's advanced instruments include material deposited in two gullies within the past eight years, polar ice layers formed in the recent geologic past, and signs of water released by large impacts when Mars was older. Last year, discovery of the fresh gully deposits from before-and-after images taken since 1999 by another orbiter, Mars Global Surveyor, raised hopes that modern flows of liquid water had been detected on Mars. Observations by the newer orbiter, which reached Mars last year, suggest these deposits might instead have resulted from landslides of loose, dry materials. Researchers report this and other findings from the MRO in five papers in Friday's issue of the journal Science. "The key question raised by these two deposits is whether water is coming to the surface of Mars today." said Alfred McEwen of the University of Arizona, Tucson, lead scientist for the spacecraft's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera and co-author of three of the papers. "Our evidence suggests the new deposits did not necessarily involve water." One of the fresh deposits is a stripe of relatively bright material several hundred yards long that was not present in 1999 but appeared by 2004. The orbiter's Compact Reconnaissance Infrared Spectrometer for Mars reveals the deposit is not frost, ice or a mineral left behind by evaporation of salty water. Also, the researchers inspected the slopes above this and five other locations that have bright and apparently young deposits. The slopes are steep enough for sand or loose, dry dust to flow down the gullies. Bright material seen uphill could be the source. Other gullies, however, offer strong evidence of liquid water flowing on Mars within the last few million years, although perhaps at a different phase of repeating climate cycles. Mars, like Earth, has periodic changes in climate due to the cycles related to the planets' tilts and orbits. Some eras during the cycles are warmer than others. These gullies are on slopes too shallow for dry flows, and images from MRO's high-resolution camera show clear indicators of liquid flows, such as braided channels and terraces within the gullies. Another new finding from that camera may help undermine arguments that very ancient Mars had a wet climate on a sustained basis. Landscapes with branched channels and fan-like deposits typical of liquid flows were found around several impact craters. Images show close association between some of those flow features and ponded deposits interpreted as material melted by the impact of a meteoroid into ice-rich crust. This new evidence supports a hypothesis that ancient water flows on the surface were episodic, linked to impact events and subsurface heating, and not necessarily the result of precipitation in a sustained warmer climate. Crater-digging impacts were larger and more numerous during the early Martian era when large drainage networks and other signs of surface water were carved on many parts of the planet. The MRO has examined ice-rich layered deposits near the Martian poles with the ground-penetrating Shallow Subsurface Radar instrument, and other experiments. The radar detected layering patterns near the south pole that suggest climatic periods of accumulating deposits have alternated with periods of erosion, report Roberto Seu of the University of Rome and co-authors. Maria Zuber of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and collaborators used effects of Mars' gravity on the orbiter to check whether layered deposits at the south pole are high-density material, such as rock, or lower-density such as ice. Their observations add to other evidence that the layers are mostly water. Kenneth Herkenhoff of the U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, and others used the high-resolution camera to trace a series of distinctive layers near the north pole. An accompanying paper by Windy Jaeger of the U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, and co-authors uses images from the high-resolution camera to show lava flows completely draping a young Martian channel network called Athabasca Valles This creates ponded lava over an expanse that other researchers had interpreted in 2005 as a frozen sea. Richard Zurek, project scientist for MRO at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif., said, "These latest increases in observational capabilities, individually and in combination, reveal a more complex Mars, a planet with a rich history that we are still learning to read." JPL manages the MRO mission for NASAs Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor and built the spacecraft. The University of Arizona operates the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera, built by Ball Aerospace & Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo. The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Md., operates the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars. The Shallow Subsurface Radar was provided by the Italian Space Agency; its operations are led by the University of Rome, and its data analyzed by a joint Italian-U.S. science team. Images from the new reports are available online at: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/MRO/multimedia/20070920.html Additional information about NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is online at: http://www.nasa.gov/mro

NASA RESEARCHERS EXTEND LIFE OF HOT TEMPERATURE ELECTRONIC CHIP CLEVELAND - NASA researchers have designed and built a new circuit chip that can take the heat like never before. In the past, integrated circuit chips could not withstand more than a few hours of high temperatures before degrading or failing. This chip exceeded 1,700 hours of continuous operation at 500 degrees Celsius - a breakthrough that represents a 100-fold increase in what has previously been achieved. The new silicon carbide differential amplifier integrated circuit chip may provide benefits to anything requiring long-lasting electronic circuits in very hot environments. Such highly durable integrated circuitry and packaging are being developed to enable extremely functional but physically small circuitry for hot sections of jet engines. In the future, such electronics will enhance sensing and control of the combustion process that could lead to improved safety and fuel efficiency as well as reduced emissions from jet engines. Similar benefits are also possible for automotive engines. Additional potential benefits of long-lasting high temperature integrated circuitry extend to oil and natural gas well drilling and anything requiring long lasting electronic circuits in very hot environments, including robotic exploration on the hostile surface environment of Venus. "It's really a significant step toward mission-enabling harsh environment electronics," said Phil Neudeck, an electronics engineer and team lead for this work by the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. "This new capability can eliminate the additional plumbing, wires, weight and other performance penalties required to liquid-cool traditional sensors and electronics near the hot combustion chamber, or the need to remotely locate them elsewhere where they aren't as effective." This successful project is a combined effort of the Aviation Safety and Fundamental Aeronautics programs under NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. For more information, visit: http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/SiC

MARS ROVERS SURVIVE SEVERE DUST STORMS, READY FOR NEXT OBJECTIVES PASADENA, Calif. --Two months after sky-darkening dust from severe storms nearly killed NASA's Mars exploration rovers, the solar-powered robots are awake and ready to continue their mission. Opportunity's planned descent into the giant Victoria Crater was delayed, but now the rover is preparing to drive into the half-mile diameter crater as early as Sept. 11. Spirit, Opportunity's rover twin, also survived the global dust storm. The rovers are 43 months into missions originally planned to last three months. On Sept. 5, Spirit climbed onto its long-term destination called Home Plate, a plateau of layered bedrock bearing clues to an explosive mixture of lava and water. "These rovers are tough. They faced dusty winds, power starvation and other challenges -- and survived. Now they are back to doing groundbreaking field work on Mars. These spacecraft are amazing," said Alan Stern, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Victoria Crater contains an exposed layer of bright rocks that may preserve evidence of interaction between the Martian atmosphere and surface from millions of years ago, when the atmosphere might have been different from today's. Victoria is the biggest crater Opportunity has visited. Martian dust storms in July blocked so much sunlight that researchers grew concerned the rovers' daily energy supplies could plunge too low for survival. Engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., put Opportunity onto a very low-energy regimen of no movement, few observations and reduced communication with Earth. Skies above both rovers remain dusty but have been clearing gradually since early August. Dust from the sky has been falling onto both rovers' solar panels, impeding their ability to collect energy from the sun. However, beneficial wind gusts removed some of the new buildup from Opportunity almost as soon as it accumulated. Opportunity drove to the lip of Victoria Crater in late August and examined possible entry routes. This week, Opportunity has been driving about 130 feet toward its planned entry point. The route will provide better access to a top priority target inside the crater: a bright band of rocks about 40 feet from the rim. "We chose a point that gives us a straight path down, instead of driving cross-slope from our current location," said Paolo Bellutta, a JPL rover driver plotting the route. "The rock surface on which Opportunity will be driving will provide good traction and control of its path into the crater." For its first foray into the crater, Opportunity will drive just far enough to get all six wheels in; it will then back out and assess slippage on the inner slope. "Opportunity might be ready for that first 'toe dip' into the crater as early as next week," said JPL's John Callas, rover project manager. "In addition to the drives to get to the entry point, we still need to conduct checkouts of two of Opportunity's instruments before sending the rover into the crater." The rover team plans to assess if dust has impaired use of the microscopic imager. If that tool is working, the team will use it to observe whether a scanning mirror for the miniature thermal emission spectrometer (Mini-TES) can function accurately. This mirror is high on the rover's camera mast. It reflects infrared light from the landscape to the spectrometer at the base of the mast, and it also can be positioned to close the hole in the mast as protection from dust. The last time the spectrometer was used, some aspects of the data suggested the instrument may have been viewing the inside of the mast instead of the Martian landscape. "If the dust cover or mirror is no longer moving properly, we may have lost the ability to use that instrument on Opportunity," said Steve Squyres of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., principal investigator for the rovers' science instruments. "It would be the first permanent loss of an instrument on either rover. But we'll see." The instrument already has provided extensive valuable information about rocks and soils in the Meridiani region where Opportunity works. "Mini-TES has told us a lot about the rocks and soils at Meridiani, but we've learned that the differences among Meridiani rocks are often too subtle for it to distinguish," Squyres said. "The same instrument on Spirit, at Gusev Crater, has a much more crucial role for us at this point in the mission because there is such diversity at Gusev." Researchers will rely heavily on a different type of instrument, Opportunity's alpha particle X-ray spectrometer, for analysis of rocks at the bright-band target layer in the crater.

NASA AND MAD SCIENCE PARTNER TO PROMOTE SCIENCE EDUCATION WASHINGTON -- NASA and the Mad Science Group of Montreal, Canada, have teamed in an effort to spark the imagination of children, encouraging more youth to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math. The two organizations recently signed a Space Act Agreement, officially launching the development of the Academy of Future Space Explorers. The organizations have leveraged NASA research, missions and initiatives to develop fun and engaging space-themed activities for elementary school-aged children. Space-inspired activities have been integrated into Mad Science's various enrichment initiatives, including after-school programs, birthday parties, summer camps and community events across the United States and Canada. More than 100,000 children have taken part in the initial launch phase of the program. "Mad Science is noted for its trademark 'edu-tainment' philosophy, which cultivates incredible enthusiasm and a sense of wonder in children," said Joyce Winterton, NASA assistant administrator for Education, Headquarters, Washington. "Our goal with this initiative is to take children on an adventure of discovery, introduce them to the exciting world of space, and above all, to help make learning fun." The Academy of Future Space Explorers will promote children's curiosity about Earth, the moon, Mars and beyond through creative, hands-on experiments and demonstrations. Participants will explore topics including: planets and moons; atmosphere and beyond; space phenomena; sun and stars; rocket science; space travel; space technology; and living in space. "Children are born scientists. They are naturally curious about the world around them, and space is still a mysterious, exciting frontier. We look forward to our continued relationship with NASA to harness that curiosity in today's youth, and to help foster a lifelong love of science, math and learning," said Ariel Shlien, chief executive officer, the Mad Science Group. "The Mad Science Group is thrilled to partner with NASA on this unique initiative, to help change children's perceptions about the sciences, and inspire the next generation of astronauts, physicists and engineers." With this program, NASA continues the agency's tradition of investing in the nation's education programs. It is directly tied the agency's major education goal of engaging Americans in NASA's mission. NASA is committed to building strategic partnerships and links between formal and informal education providers. Through hands-on, interactive educational activities, NASA is engaging students, educators, families, the public and other agency stakeholders to increase Americans' science and technology literacy. For more information about Mad Science, visit: http://www.madscience.org For more information about NASA's education programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/education

NASA'S AMES RESEARCH CENTER AWARDS SUPPORT SERVICES CONTRACT MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- NASA has selected Daniel, Mann, Johnson & Mendenhall of Los Angeles to provide on-site architectural and engineering support services at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. The contract includes a one-year base period and four one-year option periods, with a maximum value of $45 million, if NASA exercises all options. The contractor will provide on-site architecture and engineering support services, including information technology-based configuration management and power reliability studies at Ames. For more information about Ames, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ames

NASA AWARDS REUSABLE SOLID ROCKET MOTORS CONTRACT MODIFICATION WASHINGTON - NASA has awarded a contract modification valued at $681 million to ATK Launch Systems of Brigham City, Utah, for continued delivery of space shuttle reusable solid rocket motors. The modification reforms and extends the current contract to align production to new launch schedule requirements through Sept. 30, 2010. The modification reflects adjustments made in the shuttle manifest and makes deliveries consistent with the planned retirement of the space shuttle in September 2010. ATK Launch Systems will provide hardware and sustain engineering support to the Space Shuttle Program through the contract completion date on this cost-plus-award fee contract, which was awarded in October 1998. Work will be performed at the contractor's plants in Brigham City and Clearfield, Utah, along with facilities at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. For information about NASA and agency programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov

NASA'S CENTENNIAL CHALLENGES TO ADVANCE TECHNOLOGIES WASHINGTON - From Oct. 19 to 21, more than 20 teams from across the nation and around the world will compete for a total of $1,000,000 from NASA for the development of cutting-edge technologies. The Beam Power Challenge and Tether Challenge, two of NASA's seven Centennial Challenges, will take place at the 2007 Space Elevator Games at the Davis County Event Center in Salt Lake City. "The innovations from these competitions will help support advances in aerospace materials and structures, new approaches to robotic and human planetary surface operations, and even futuristic concepts," said Ken Davidian, program manager for NASA's Centennial Challenges, Headquarters, Washington. The Spaceward Foundation is conducting the challenges as part of the Space Elevator Games at no cost to NASA. The Beam Power Challenge promotes the development of new power distribution technologies that can be applied to space exploration. This competition requires teams to design and build a climber machine that can travel up and down a ribbon while carrying a payload. Power will be beamed from a transmitter to a receiver on the climber. Each climber must scale a height of approximately 330 feet traveling at a minimum speed of 2 meters per second. As many as three teams with the highest qualifying scores could win the competition and share the $500,000 purse. Technologies demonstrated in this competition could have applications for future planetary surface operation with robots or humans. The purpose of the Tether Challenge is to develop very strong, lightweight material. Super-strong tethers could enable advances in aerospace capability, including rocket weight reduction, habitable space structures, solar sails, or tether-based propulsion systems. The challenge will be conducted in two rounds that test the strength of each team's tether. As many as three teams could share the $500,000 prize. The winners must demonstrate a technology at least 50 percent stronger than a baseline, state-of-the-art tether that uses off-the-shelf materials. The space elevator is an Earth-to-space transportation system proposed in the 1960s and enhanced in 2000 by Dr. Bradley Edwards of Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. The system is comprised of a stationary cable moving in unison with the Earth, with one end anchored to the surface of the planet and the other in space. Electric cars then would travel up and down the cable, carrying cargo and people. For more information about the competitions, visit: http://www.spaceward.org Centennial Challenges, an element of NASA's Innovative Partnerships Program, promotes technical innovation through prize competitions to make revolutionary advances to support NASA's mission, including the return to the moon and journey to Mars. For more information about the Innovative Partnerships Program and Centennial Challenges, visit: http://www.ipp.nasa.gov/cc

NASA AWARDS TECHNOLOGY SERVICES CONTRACT OPTION WASHINGTON - NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., has exercised an option to continue an existing contract with Science Applications International Corporation, or SAIC, of San Diego, to provide information technology services to NASA. The option is valued at $205.9 million. It continues efforts under the Unified NASA Information Technology Services, or UNITeS, contract that was awarded to SAIC on Jan. 1, 2004. This is the second of two priced options and extends performance under the contract through Dec. 31, 2008. Work performed by SAIC and its subcontractors under UNITeS includes support to Marshall in the areas of information technology systems and services support for programs. The option also includes a range of services in support of the entire agency, including the Integrated Enterprise Management Program, wide area network, information technology security and digital television. The UNITeS contract has an approximate total value, including options, of $956 million. For information about NASA and agency programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov

NASA SELECTS ARES I UPPER STAGE PRODUCTION CONTRACTOR WASHINGTON - NASA on Tuesday selected The Boeing Co., Huntsville, Ala., as the contractor to provide manufacturing support for design and construction of the upper stage of the Ares I rocket. Ares I will launch astronauts to the International Space Station and eventually help return humans to the moon. Boeing will provide support to a NASA-led design team during the design phase and will be responsible for production of the Ares I upper stage. Boeing will manufacture a ground test article, three flight test units and six production flight units to support NASA's flight manifest through 2016. Final assembly of the upper stage will take place at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The contract type is cost-plus-award-fee and the period of performance is Sept. 1, 2007, through Dec. 31, 2016. The estimated contract value for design team support and the manufacture of the test units and six production flight units is $514.7 million. The selection resulted from a full and open competition. Ares I is an in-line, two-stage rocket that will carry to low Earth orbit the crew exploration vehicle Orion, which will succeed the space shuttle as NASA's primary vehicle for human exploration in the next decade. The Ares I upper stage, with an engine and an avionics unit procured separately, will provide the navigation, guidance, control and propulsion required for the second stage of the rocket's ascent. The Ares I first stage will consist of a five-segment solid rocket booster and motor similar to those used on the space shuttle. The second, or upper, stage will consist of a J-2X main engine, a fuel tank for liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellants, and associated avionics. The Ares I upper stage development is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., for NASA's Constellation Program. For information about NASA's Constellation Program, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/constellation

Findings of Astronaut Health Reviews

NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale said the agency is moving forward to implement many of the recommendations contained in two studies released Friday about astronaut health and behavioral assessments.

The two reviews were made public prior to a news conference in Washington, five months after the agency requested that an independent external committee conduct a comprehensive review of health services available to astronauts. Both studies were initiated in the aftermath of the arrest in February of former astronaut Lisa Nowak.

The first assessment of astronaut behavioral medicine procedures, an internal review, was completed by NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, earlier this week. The second assessment, a broader review by outside experts called the Astronaut Health Care System Review Committee, was organized by NASA Chief Health and Medical Officer Dr. Richard Williams.

"The review committee, chaired by Air Force Col. Richard Bachmann, commander of the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, completed a valuable task on short notice and I would like to acknowledge the group's dedication and time commitment to this important review," Dale said. "We are committed to improving the behavioral care and assessment procedures for astronauts."

"We believe the resulting modifications will be good for the astronaut corps and for NASA."

Dale said NASA immediately will address four primary areas of concern:

NASA Chief of Safety and Mission Assurance Bryan O'Connor, a former astronaut, began an extensive examination Friday focusing on allegations of improper alcohol use. O'Connor will review all existing policies and procedures related to alcohol use and astronaut medical fitness prior to flight. The goal is to ensure that risks to flight safety are dealt with by appropriate authorities, and, if necessary, elevated through a transparent system of senior management review and accountability.

NASA’s Medical Policy Board, made up of senior internal and external medical experts, will further assess the medical and behavioral findings and recommendations in the two reviews. The board will institute behavioral health assessments as a part of annual flight physicals for all astronauts.

The agency will develop an astronaut code of conduct and has engaged NASA's astronaut corps to help develop the formal guidelines. The astronauts already have started to develop an initial set of recommendations and agency leadership will establish a collaborative process to create an official code.

To address organizational culture issues outlined in the reports, NASA will conduct a series of internal assessments, including anonymous surveys to be completed by astronauts and flight surgeons, to provide feedback and gather information. The goal is to improve communications and ensure leadership is responsive to concerns and complaints.

"We are moving as quickly as we can on the recommendations, and Administrator Mike Griffin and I will closely monitor progress on these issues," Dale added. "After the review is completed, it is our intention to share the findings with the public, to the maximum extent possible."

+ Statement From Deputy Administrator Shana Dale (20 Kb PDF) | + Briefing Photos
+ NASA Astronaut Health Care System Review Committee Report to the Administrator (81 Kb PDF)
+ Johnson Space Center Internal Review Findings (236 Kb PDF)
+ Public Medical Review Fact Sheet (32 Kb PDF)
+ Frequently Asked Questions

SCIENTISTS SEE FIRST SIGNS OF LONG-TERM CHANGES IN TROPICAL RAINFALL WASHINGTON - NASA scientists have detected the first signs that tropical rainfall is on the rise, using the longest and most complete data record available. The international scientific community assembled a 27-year global record of rainfall from satellite and ground-based instruments. The researchers found the rainiest years between 1979 and 2005 occurred primarily after 2001. The wettest year was 2005, followed by 2004, 2003, 2002 and 1998. The study appeared in the August 1 issue of the American Meteorological Society's Journal of Climate. The rainfall increase was concentrated over tropical oceans, with a slight decline over land. "When we look at the whole planet over almost three decades, the total amount of rain falling has changed very little. But in the tropics, where nearly two-thirds of all rain falls, there has been an increase of 5 percent," said lead author Guojun Gu, a research scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Climate scientists predict that a warming trend in Earth's atmosphere and surface temperatures would produce an accelerated recycling of water between land, sea and air. Warmer temperatures increase the evaporation of water from the ocean and land and allow air to hold more moisture. Eventually, clouds form that produce rain and snow. "A warming climate is the most plausible cause of this observed trend in tropical rainfall," said co-author Robert F. Adler, senior scientist at Goddard's Laboratory for Atmospheres. Adler and Gu are now working on a detailed study of the relationship between surface temperatures and rainfall patterns to investigate the possible link further. Obtaining a global view of our planet's rainfall patterns is a challenge. Only since the satellite era have regular estimates of rainfall over oceans been available to supplement the long-term, but land-limited record from rain gauges. Recently, the many different land- and space-based data have been merged into a global record: the Global Precipitation Climatology Project, organized under the World Climate Research Program. Using this global record, the scientists identified a small upward trend in overall tropical rainfall since 1979. To assess whether this pattern was a long-term trend rather than natural year-to-year variability, they removed the effects of the two natural phenomena that change rainfall: the El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation and large volcanic eruptions. El Ni?o is a cyclical warming of the ocean waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific that generally occurs every three to seven years and alters weather patterns worldwide. Volcanoes that loft debris into the upper troposphere and stratosphere create globe-circling bands of aerosol particles that slow the formation of precipitation by increasing the number of small cloud drops and temporarily shielding the planet from sunlight. The result lowers surface temperatures and evaporation that fuels rainfall. Two such eruptions - El Chicon in Mexico and Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines - occurred during the 27-year period. The scientists found that during El Ni?o years, total tropical rainfall did not change significantly, but more rain fell over oceans than usual. During the two years following each volcanic eruption, overall tropical rainfall was reduced by about 5 percent. With these effects removed from the rainfall record, the long-term trend appears more clearly in the rainfall data both over land and over the ocean. According to Adler, evidence for the rainfall trend is holding as more data come in. The latest numbers for 2006 show another record-high year for tropical rainfall, tying 2005 as the rainiest year. Adler's research group at NASA produces the Global Precipitation Climatology Project's monthly rainfall updates. "The next step toward firmly establishing this initial indication of a long-term tropical rainfall trend is to continue to lengthen and improve our data record," said Adler, who is project scientist of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), a joint effort between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The satellite's three primary instruments are providing the most detailed view of rainfall ever provided from space. Since 1997, Adler's group has been incorporating the mission's rainfall data into the global rainfall record. NASA plans to extend the success of monitoring rainfall over the tropics to the entire globe with the Global Precipitation Measurement mission, scheduled for launch in 2013. This international project will measure both rain and snow around the world. For related images and more information about this story, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news

NASA'S STENNIS SPACE CENTER MARKS NEW CHAPTER IN SPACE EXPLORATION BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. - NASA's Stennis Space Center broke ground Thursday for a new rocket engine test stand that will provide altitude testing for the J-2X engine. The engine will power the upper stages of NASA's Ares I and Ares V rockets. NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale was joined by Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, U.S. Sen. Trent Lott and U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor for the landmark occasion. Also participating were NASA Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems Scott Horowitz and Stennis Center Director Richard Gilbrech, recently named to succeed Horowitz, who plans to leave NASA in October. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne President Jim Maser took part as well. "Groundbreakings are about new beginnings," said Dale. "The first stand was erected at Stennis to test the Saturn V rocket of the Apollo program. Testing of the space shuttle engines began here in the mid 1970s. And today, we're breaking ground for a new test stand, for the new spacecraft of a new era of exploration." The Ares I and Ares V rockets are being developed as part of NASA's Constellation Program. Constellation spacecraft will be used to send astronauts to the International Space Station, return humans to the moon, and eventually journey to Mars. "This is our generation's turn, our time to go to the moon," said Gilbrech. "One of the key steps is building the A-3 test stand. The J-2X engine has a unique set of test requirements. The best way to meet them is with the A-3." The A-3 stand is the first large test stand to be built at Stennis since it opened in the 1960s. The new test stand will be a 300-foot-tall, open steel frame structure located south of the existing A-1 test stand. Its 19-acre site in Stennis' A Complex will include a test control center, propellant barge docks and access roadways. The test stand will allow engineers to simulate conditions at different altitudes by generating steam to reduce pressure in the test cell. Testing on the A-3 stand is scheduled to begin in late 2010. In November 2006, Stennis' existing A-1 stand was handed over to the Constellation Program for testing the J-2X engine. Tests on J-2X components are set to begin later in 2007. "The engines will be assembled here at Stennis, then subjected to rigorous, expert testing," Dale said. "After that, those engines and the rockets they will power will travel to Cape Canaveral. Then the finished spacecraft will lift off, headed for a new destination and a new era of exploration." A graphic of the future A-3 test stand, along with all of the latest information about NASA's Constellation Program, is available at: http://www.nasa.gov/constellation

NASA AND INTERNET ARCHIVE TEAM TO DIGITIZE SPACE IMAGERY WASHINGTON - NASA and Internet Archive of San Francisco are partnering to scan, archive and manage the agency's vast collection of photographs, historic film and video. The imagery will be available through the Internet and free to the public, historians, scholars, students, and researchers. Currently, NASA has more than 20 major imagery collections online. With this partnership, those collections will be made available through a single, searchable "one-stop-shop" archive of NASA imagery. "Making NASA's important scientific and space exploration imagery available and easily accessible online to all is a service of tremendous value to America, and we're pleased to partner with the experts at Internet Archive to accomplish this effort," said Robert Hopkins, chief of strategic communications at NASA Headquarters, Washington. NASA selected Internet Archive, a nonprofit organization, as a partner for digitizing and distributing agency imagery through a competitive process. The two organizations are teaming through a non-exclusive Space Act agreement to help NASA consolidate and digitize its imagery archives using no NASA funds. "We're dedicated to making all human knowledge available in the digital realm," said Brewster Kahle, digital librarian and founder of Internet Archive. "The educational value of the images NASA has collected during the course of its five decades of scientific discovery is unprecedented. Digitizing NASA's imagery is a big step in Internet Archive's ongoing efforts to digitize a vast spectrum of content and make it freely accessible to the public in an easily searched online destination." Under the terms of this five-year agreement, Internet Archive will digitize, host and manage still, moving and computer-generated imagery produced by NASA. In the first year, Internet Archive will consolidate NASA's major imagery collections. In the second year, digital imagery will be added to the archive. In the third year, NASA and Internet Archive will identify analog imagery to be digitized and added to this online collection. In addition, Internet Archive will work with NASA to create a system through which new imagery will be captured, catalogued and included in the online archive automatically. To open this wealth of knowledge to people worldwide, Internet Archive will provide free public access to the online imagery, including downloads and search tools. The imagery archive also may include other historically significant material such as audio files, printed documents and computer presentations. For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov For more information about Internet Archive, visit: http://www.archive.org -end-

CONTRACT RELEASE: C07-38 NASA AWARDS NOAA GOES-R INSTRUMENT CONTRACT WASHINGTON - NASA, in coordination with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES-R) Program, has awarded a contract to the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder. The total estimated value is $92 million, including options. The laboratory will build the Extreme Ultra Violet and X-Ray Irradiance Sensors that will fly on the next series of GOES-R. These instruments will help forecast solar disturbances that can affect communications and navigational operations. This satellite series will upgrade existing weather and environmental monitoring capabilities. The first launch of the series is scheduled for December 2014. The design and development of the instruments will be performed at the contractor's facility in Boulder, Colo. The contractor also will provide post-delivery support for GOES-R. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) funds, operates and manages the GOES program. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., manages the acquisition of GOES-R instruments for NOAA. For more information about the GOES-R program, visit: http://osd.goes.noaa.gov

LIFE AND WORK ON THE MOON: WHAT IMAGES COME TO MIND? HAMPTON, Va. - A new NASA contest encourages university art and design students to partner with science and engineering departments to create art representative of living and working on the moon. The goal is for students in the arts, science and engineering to collaboratively engage in NASA's mission to return humans to the moon by 2020, and eventually journey on to Mars and other destinations in the solar system. The Advanced Planning and Partnership Office at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., is sponsoring the "Life and Work on the Moon" contest. Winners will receive cash prizes up to $1,000. Winning artwork also will be exhibited online and across the country. Students in architecture, industrial design, computer design, the fine arts and other disciplines are invited to submit entries in one of three categories: two-dimensional art, three-dimensional art or digital art. To ensure artistic concepts reflect the realities of the harsh lunar environment, art students are strongly encouraged to consult with science and engineering students and use NASA's online resources. A volunteer panel of judges will represent NASA, other government agencies, universities, industry and the professional art community. Judges will evaluate artistic qualities and whether the entry depicts a valid scenario in the context of the lunar environment. In sponsoring the contest, NASA hopes to encourage more collaboration among scientists and engineers and the artistic and creative communities. Such collaboration may generate new ideas for living and working in extra-terrestrial environments, resulting in more successful long-duration space missions. Winners of the contest will be offered the opportunity to exhibit their work in NASA facilities and science museums. An online public gallery will be available through a partnership with NASA's Classroom of the Future, maintained by the Wheeling Jesuit University Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, W. Va., and the Christopher Newport University Institute for Science Education in Newport News, Va. Christopher Newport University will provide cash awards for top prizes. Entries are due no later than December 1, 2007, and results will be announced in February 2008. A high school version of this contest is planned for the spring of 2008. For more details about the contest, including NASA's resources about the moon, visit: http://artcontest.larc.nasa.gov For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov

SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR CREW RETURNS HOME AFTER SUCCESSFUL MISSION CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The space shuttle Endeavour and its crew are home after completing a 13-day journey of more than 5.2 million miles in space. Endeavour's STS-118 mission successfully added another truss segment, a new gyroscope and external spare parts platform to the International Space Station. Endeavour's Commander Scott Kelly, Pilot Charlie Hobaugh and mission specialists Tracy Caldwell, Rick Mastracchio, Barbara R. Morgan, Alvin Drew and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Dave Williams landed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday at 12:32 p.m. EDT. Williams, Mastracchio and station flight engineer Clayton Anderson, with the help of their crewmates, made four spacewalks to accomplish the construction tasks. The spacewalkers also completed work in preparation for upcoming assembly missions, such as relocating an equipment cart and installing support equipment and communication upgrades. During the mission, a new system that enables docked shuttles to draw electrical power from the station to extend visits to the outpost was activated successfully. Because the system worked, two additional days were added to Endeavour's mission. STS-118 was the 119th space shuttle flight, the 22nd flight to the station, the 20th flight for Endeavour and the second of four missions planned for 2007. Although managers addressed several issues with Endeavour's heat shield, including a small gouge in the protective tile on the orbiter's belly, inspections in orbit revealed no critical damage. Endeavour's thermal protection system was declared safe for re-entry on Monday. The orbiter will be processed immediately for its next flight, targeted for February 2008. With Endeavour and its crew safely home, the stage is set for the next phase of International Space Station assembly. Preparations continue for space shuttle Discovery's scheduled launch in October of the STS-120 mission to deliver the pressurized Node 2 connecting module to the station. For more on the STS-118 mission and the upcoming STS-120 mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

PIONEERING NASA SPACECRAFT MARK THIRTY YEARS OF FLIGHT WASHINGTON - NASA's two venerable Voyager spacecraft are celebrating three decades of flight as they head toward interstellar space. Their ongoing odysseys mark an unprecedented and historic accomplishment. Voyager 2 launched on Aug. 20, 1977, and Voyager 1 launched on Sept. 5, 1977. They continue to return information from distances more than three times farther away than Pluto. "The Voyager mission is a legend in the annals of space exploration. It opened our eyes to the scientific richness of the outer solar system, and it has pioneered the deepest exploration of the sun's domain ever conducted," said Alan Stern, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. "It's a testament to Voyager's designers, builders and operators that both spacecraft continue to deliver important findings more than 25 years after their primary mission to Jupiter and Saturn concluded." During their first dozen years of flight, the spacecraft made detailed explorations of Jupiter, Saturn, and their moons, and conducted the first explorations of Uranus and Neptune. These planets were previously unknown worlds. The Voyagers returned never-before-seen images and scientific data, making fundamental discoveries about the outer planets and their moons. The spacecraft revealed Jupiter's turbulent atmosphere, which includes dozens of interacting hurricane-like storm systems, and erupting volcanoes on Jupiter's moon Io. They also showed waves and fine structure in Saturn's icy rings from the tugs of nearby moons. For the past 19 years, the twin Voyagers have been probing the sun's outer heliosphere and its boundary with interstellar space. Both Voyagers remain healthy and are returning scientific data 30 years after their launches. Voyager 1 currently is the farthest human-made object at a distance from the sun of about 9.7 billion miles. Voyager 2 is about 7.8 billion miles from the sun. Originally designed as a four-year mission to Jupiter and Saturn, the Voyager tours were extended because of their successful achievements and a rare planetary alignment. The two-planet mission eventually became a four-planet grand tour. After completing that extended mission, the two spacecraft began the task of exploring the outer heliosphere. "The Voyager mission has opened up our solar system in a way not possible before the Space Age," said Edward Stone, Voyager project scientist at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif. "It revealed our neighbors in the outer solar system and showed us how much there is to learn and how diverse the bodies are that share the solar system with our own planet Earth." In December 2004, Voyager 1 began crossing the solar system's final frontier. Called the heliosheath, this turbulent area, approximately 8.7 billion miles from the sun, is where the solar wind slows as it crashes into the thin gas that fills the space between stars. Voyager 2 could reach this boundary later this year, putting both Voyagers on their final leg toward interstellar space. Each spacecraft carries five fully functioning science instruments that study the solar wind, energetic particles, magnetic fields and radio waves as they cruise through this unexplored region of deep space. The spacecraft are too far from the sun to use solar power. They run on less than 300 watts, the amount of power needed to light up a bright light bulb. Their long-lived radioisotope thermoelectric generators provide the power. "The continued operation of these spacecraft and the flow of data to the scientists is a testament to the skills and dedication of the small operations team," said Ed Massey, Voyager project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. Massey oversees a team of nearly a dozen people in the day-to-day Voyager spacecraft operations. The Voyagers call home via NASA's Deep Space Network, a system of antennas around the world. The spacecraft are so distant that commands from Earth, traveling at light speed, take 14 hours one-way to reach Voyager 1 and 12 hours to reach Voyager 2. Each Voyager logs approximately 1 million miles per day. Each of the Voyagers carries a golden record that is a time capsule with greetings, images and sounds from Earth. The records also have directions on how to find Earth if the spacecraft is recovered by something or someone. NASA's next outer planet exploration mission is New Horizons, which is now well past Jupiter and headed for a historic exploration of the Pluto system in July 2015. For a complete listing of Voyager discoveries and mission information, visit the Internet at: http://www.nasa.gov/voyager

SPEEDING BULLET STAR LEAVES ENORMOUS STREAK ACROSS SKY WASHINGTON - NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer has spotted a surprisingly long comet-like tail behind a star streaking through space at supersonic speeds. The star, named Mira after the Latin word for "wonderful," has been a favorite of astronomers for approximately 400 years. It is a fast-moving, older red giant that is shedding massive amounts of surface material. The space-based Galaxy Evolution Explorer scanned the popular star during its ongoing survey of the entire sky in ultraviolet light. Astronomers then noticed what looked like a comet with a gargantuan tail. Material blowing off Mira is forming a wake 13 light-years long, or about 20,000 times the average distance of Pluto from the sun. Nothing like this has been seen before around a star. "I was shocked when I first saw this completely unexpected, humongous tail trailing behind a well-known star," said Christopher Martin of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif. "It was amazing how Mira's tail echoed on vast, interstellar scales the familiar phenomena of a jet's contrail or a speedboat's turbulent wake." Martin is the principal investigator for the Galaxy Evolution Explorer and lead author of a paper appearing about the discovery in the Aug. 15 edition of Nature. To view the outlandish star, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/galex/20070815/a.html Astronomers say Mira's tail offers a unique opportunity to study how stars like our sun die and ultimately seed new solar systems. As Mira hurtles along, its tail sheds carbon, oxygen and other important elements needed to form new stars, planets and possibly even life. This tail material, visible for the first time, has been released during the past 30,000 years. "This is an utterly new phenomenon to us, and we are still in the process of understanding the physics involved," said co-author Mark Seibert of the Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington in Pasadena. "We hope to be able to read Mira's tail like a ticker tape to learn about the star's life." Billions of years ago, Mira was similar to our sun. Over time, it began to swell into what is called a variable red giant - a pulsating, puffed-up star that periodically grows bright enough to see with the naked eye. Mira eventually will eject all its remaining gas into space, forming a colorful shell called a planetary nebula. The nebula will fade with time, leaving only the burnt-out core of the original star, which will then be called a white dwarf. Compared to other red giants, Mira is traveling unusually fast, possibly due to gravitational boosts from other passing stars. It now plows along at 291,000 miles per hour. Racing along with Mira is a small, distant companion thought to be a white dwarf. The pair, also known as Mira A (the red giant) and Mira B, orbit slowly around each other as they travel together in the constellation Cetus, 350 light-years from Earth. In addition to Mira's tail, the Galaxy Evolution Explorer also discovered a bow shock, a type of buildup of hot gas, in front of the star, and two sinuous streams of material emanating from the star's front and back. Astronomers think hot gas in the bow shock is heating the gas blowing off the star, causing it to fluoresce with ultraviolet light. This glowing material then swirls around behind the star, creating a turbulent, tail-like wake. The process is similar to a speeding boat leaving a choppy wake or a steam train producing a trail of smoke. Mira's tail only glows with ultraviolet light, which might explain why other telescopes have missed it. The Galaxy Evolution Explorer is very sensitive to ultraviolet light and also has an extremely wide field of view, allowing it to scan the sky for unusual ultraviolet activity. "It is amazing to discover such a startlingly large and important feature of an object that has been known and studied for more than 400 years," said James D. Neill of the California Institute of Technology. The California Institute of Technology leads the Galaxy Evolution Explorer mission and is responsible for science operations and data analysis. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, also in Pasadena, manages the mission and built the science instrument. The mission was developed under NASA's Explorers Program managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Researchers sponsored by Yonsei University in South Korea and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) in France collaborated on this mission

NASA COMPETITION INVITES STUDENTS TO IMAGINE THE FUTURE OF AVIATION WASHINGTON -- NASA announced Thursday its aeronautics competition for high school and college students during the 2007-2008 academic year. Students are asked to imagine and write an essay or design a next generation aircraft that could join the commercial fleet in 2058. High school students should prepare a well-informed essay describing how transportation of goods and passengers might be revolutionized in the 21st century as it was in the 1930s and 1940s by the introduction of the DC-3. Essays are limited to 12 pages and should address environmental impacts, including reduced noise and emissions, improved operating costs, the use of alternative fuels, passenger and cargo loads, and use of existing general aviation runways. College students are challenged to design the next generation aircraft. Design considerations should include environmental impact, daily operations on short runways, passenger and cargo limits, structure and materials, propulsion, and cost analyses for production and operation. Proposals should provide details on three or more valid operational scenarios. University-level research papers are limited to 25 pages. Teams or individuals may enter in either category. Winners may be invited to a student forum sponsored by NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate and receive offers of student internships or other prizes, including cash, depending on available funds. Only U.S. citizens are eligible for cash prizes or NASA-funded internships. NASA uses this competition to foster the next generation of skilled scientists and engineers critical to the future of NASA aeronautics and the broader aeronautics community. For contest information and submission, visit: http://aero.larc.nasa.gov/competitions.htm

NASA NAMES WINNERS OF PERSONAL AIR VEHICLE CHALLENGE WASHINGTON -- NASA has awarded $250,000 to participants of the Personal Air Vehicle competition, one of the seven NASA Centennial Challenges. The competition promotes the use of self-operated, personal aircraft for fast, safe, efficient, affordable, environmentally-friendly, and comfortable on-demand transportation as a future solution to America's mobility needs. Four teams competed for overall best performance and prizes for noise reduction, handling, efficiency, short takeoff, and top speed. The contest took place Aug. 4-12 at Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport in Sonoma, Calif. At no cost to NA