Jan 31 2012

From The Space Library

RELEASE: 12-035 NASA RELEASES SECTOR 33 AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL EDUCATIONAL GAME APP

WASHINGTON -- NASA has released a new educational game with an air traffic control theme for Apple iPhone and iPad devices. The Sector 33 application is designed to challenge students in middle school and above to use basic math and problem-solving skills. An Android version of the app is in development and will be made available in the Android Marketplace in the coming months. In the game the player acts as an air traffic controller guiding airplanes through a sector of airspace spanning Nevada and California. The player can adjust the planes' path and speed to safely reach certain spots in the sky in the fastest time possible while keeping the planes a specific distance from each other. "Our hope is that Sector 33 will give students a sense of the importance of math in managing our nation's air traffic and, at the same time, interest them in pursuing a career in aeronautics," said Jaiwon Shin, NASA's associate administrator for aeronautics research in Washington. The math-focused game also aligns with the NASA Office of Education's mission to engage students in activities related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics. "Today's students respond positively to experiential learning," said Leland Melvin, NASA's associate administrator for education. "Using an interactive game to spark their interest, while at the same time teaching them fundamental math concepts, is a win-win scenario. It is a perfect way to help cultivate the next generation of engineers and technologists." Sector 33 is based on Smart Skies Line Up With Math, an educational software title developed under the direction of NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate and distributed in cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration and National Air Traffic Controllers Association. Smart Skies has been used in middle school classrooms across the United States since 2005.

RELEASE: 12-036 NASA SPACECRAFT REVEALS NEW OBSERVATIONS OF INTERSTELLAR MATTER

WASHINGTON -- NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) has captured the best and most complete glimpse yet of what lies beyond the solar system. The new measurements give clues about how and where our solar system formed, the forces that physically shape our solar system, and the history of other stars in the Milky Way. The Earth-orbiting spacecraft observed four separate types of atoms including hydrogen, oxygen, neon and helium. These interstellar atoms are the byproducts of older stars, which spread across the galaxy and fill the vast space between stars. IBEX determined the distribution of these elements outside the solar system, which are flowing charged and neutral particles that blow through the galaxy, or the so-called interstellar wind. "IBEX is a small Explorer mission and was built with a modest investment," said Barbara Giles, director of the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "The science achievements though have been truly remarkable and are a testament to what can be accomplished when we give our nation's scientists the freedom to innovate." In a series of science papers appearing in the Astrophysics Journal on Jan. 31, scientists report finding 74 oxygen atoms for every 20 neon atoms in the interstellar wind. In our own solar system, there are 111 oxygen atoms for every 20 neon atoms. This translates to more oxygen in any part of the solar system than in nearby interstellar space. "Our solar system is different than the space right outside it, suggesting two possibilities," says David McComas, IBEX principal investigator, at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. "Either the solar system evolved in a separate, more oxygen-rich part of the galaxy than where we currently reside, or a great deal of critical, life-giving oxygen lies trapped in interstellar dust grains or ices, unable to move freely throughout space." The new results hold clues about the history of material in the universe. While the big bang initially created hydrogen and helium, only the supernovae explosions at the end of a star's life can spread the heavier elements of oxygen and neon through the galaxy. Knowing the amounts of elements in space may help scientists map how our galaxy evolved and changed over time. Scientists want to understand the composition of the boundary region that separates the nearest reaches of our galaxy, called the local interstellar medium, from our heliosphere. The heliosphere acts as a protective bubble that shields our solar system from most of the dangerous galactic cosmic radiation that otherwise would enter the solar system from interstellar space. IBEX measured the interstellar wind traveling at a slower speed than previously measured by the Ulysses spacecraft, and from a different direction. The improved measurements from IBEX show a 20 percent difference in how much pressure the interstellar wind exerts on our heliosphere. "Measuring the pressure on our heliosphere from the material in the galaxy and from the magnetic fields out there will help determine the size and shape of our solar system as it travels through the galaxy," says Eric Christian, IBEX mission scientist, at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The IBEX spacecraft was launched in October 2008. Its science objective is to discover the nature of the interactions between the solar wind and the interstellar medium at the edge of our solar system. The Southwest Research Institute developed and leads the IBEX mission with a team of national and international partners. The spacecraft is one of NASA's series of low-cost, rapidly developed missions in the Small Explorers Program. Goddard manages the program for the agency's Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

RELEASE: 12-038 LEGENDARY ASTRONAUT SHANNON LUCID RETIRES FROM NASA

HOUSTON -- Shannon Lucid, a member of NASA's first astronaut class to include women, has retired after more than three decades of service to the agency. A veteran of five spaceflights, Lucid logged more than 223 days in space, and from August 1991 to June 2007, held the record for the most days in orbit by any woman in the world. Lucid is the only American woman to serve aboard the Russian Mir space station. She lived and worked there for more than 188 days, the longest stay of any American on that vehicle. Her time on Mir also set the single flight endurance record by a woman until Suni Williams broke it in 2006. "Shannon is an extraordinary woman and scientist. She paved the way for so many of us," said Peggy Whitson, chief of NASA's Astronaut Office at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. "She was a model astronaut for long-duration missions, and whether she was flying hundreds of miles up in space or serving as Capcom [capsule communicator] during the overnight hours for our space shuttle and space station crews, she always brought a smile to our faces. Like so many others, I always will look up to her." Lucid, who holds a doctorate in biochemistry, was selected by NASA in 1978. She joined five other women as the agency's first female astronauts. Her first three shuttle missions deployed satellites. STS-51G in 1985 deployed and retrieved the SPARTAN satellite; STS-34 in 1989 deployed the Galileo spacecraft to explore Jupiter; and STS-43 in 1991 deployed the fifth Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-E). Her fourth shuttle mission, STS-58 in 1993, focused on medical experiments and engineering tests. Lucid traveled aboard Atlantis on STS-76 in March 1996 to the Russian Mir space station. She performed numerous life science and physical science experiments during the course of her stay. She returned from the station aboard Atlantis on STS-79 in September 1996. In 2002, Lucid served as NASA's chief scientist at the agency's headquarters in Washington. She returned to Johnson in the fall of 2003 and resumed technical assignments in the Astronaut Office. She served as a Capcom in the Mission Control Center for numerous space shuttle and space station crews, representing the flight crew office and providing a friendly voice for dozens of friends and colleagues in space.

MEDIA ADVISORY: M11-018 NASA, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND INVITE PUBLIC TO ASTRONAUTS' DISCUSSION OF RECENT INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION MISSIONS

WASHINGTON -- NASA and the University of Maryland's A. James Clark School of Engineering invite the public to a discussion with three astronauts from recent International Space Station expedition missions at 5:30 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Feb. 14, in the Hoff Theater inside the Adele H. Stamp Student Union. The crew members will give a video presentation about their mission and answer questions from the audience. Free tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Tickets can be picked up from the Stamp Union ticket office daily between noon and 10 p.m., starting Monday, Feb. 6. Mike Fossum served as a flight engineer for Expedition 28 and as commander for Expedition 29. During his stay, the station celebrated 11 years of continuous residence and work. Fossum returned to Earth on Nov. 21, 2011. He has logged more than 194 days in space, including more than 48 hours of extravehicular activity (EVA) in seven spacewalks. He is seventh on the all-time list of cumulative EVA time. Ron Garan served as a flight engineer for Expeditions 27 and 28. While aboard the station, Garan continued work on a variety of microgravity experiments and welcomed two shuttle visits, including the last to the station. Garan landed on Sept. 15, 2011. He has logged more than 178 days in space, including 27 hours and 3 minutes outside the station during four spacewalks. Cady Coleman served as a flight engineer for Expeditions 26 and 27. She was the lead robotics and science officer. While aboard, the station hosted a record number of visiting spacecraft: five vehicles from four space agencies. She returned to Earth on May 24, 2011. Coleman has logged over 4,330 hours in space aboard the station and space shuttle Columbia.