Jun 5 2012

From The Space Library

RELEASE: 12-183 NASA, STATE DEPARTMENT AND VETERAN AFFAIRS INNOVATION INITIATIVE HOST OPEN SOURCE SUMMIT

WASHINGTON -- Registration for the second Open Source Summit, hosted by NASA, the U.S. State Department and the Veteran Affairs Innovation Initiative to advance the use of open source software in government, is under way. The event will be held June 20-21 at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland in College Park, Md. The summit will convene leaders from government and industry as well as software practitioners to discuss the development, release and use of open source software, which is characterized by a collaborative development process and free user access. Discussion topics will include the current and future state of the government open source community, how-to insights for open source projects in government, real-world projects and their successes and challenges, and government procurement of open source software. As the role of open source in government expands and matures, the relationship between technology, policy and culture will be increasingly important. Open source brings numerous benefits to government software projects, including increased software quality, reduced development costs, faster development cycles and reduced barriers to public-private collaboration through new opportunities to commercialize technology. This inherently transparent, participatory, and collaborative approach is revolutionizing the way software is created, improved and used.

MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-100 NASA ANNOUNCES MEDIA ACCREDITATION FOR AUGUST MARS ROVER LANDING

PASADENA, Calif. -- Media representatives planning to cover the Aug. 5, 2012, landing of the most advanced rover ever sent to Mars can apply online for access to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). NASA's Curiosity rover, carried by the Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft, will land near the Martian equator about 10:31 p.m. PDT Aug. 5 (1:31 a.m. Aug. 6 EDT). The landing and news conferences will be carried live on NASA TV and the agency's website. Further details and updates will be announced as they become available. The Curiosity rover will assess whether Mars was or is today an environment favorable for microbial life. The mission is managed by JPL for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-103 NASA TO HOLD MEDIA TELECONFERENCE ON NEW OCEAN DISCOVERY

WASHINGTON -- NASA will host a media teleconference on Thursday, June 7, at 2 p.m. EDT to present research on a biological discovery in Arctic Ocean waters. The discovery is the result of an oceanographic expedition called ICESCAPE, or Impacts of Climate on EcoSystems and Chemistry of the Arctic Pacific Environment. The NASA-sponsored mission explored the seas along Alaska's western and northern coasts onboard a U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker during the summers of 2010 and 2011. The panelists for the briefing are: -- Kevin Arrigo, ICESCAPE mission lead at Stanford University in Stanford, Calif. -- Don Perovich, ICESCAPE cryosphere scientist and visiting professor at the Dartmouth College Thayer School of Engineering in Dartmouth, N.H. -- Walker Smith, marine scientist of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at the College of William and Mary in Gloucester Point, Va. The journal Science has embargoed the findings prior to the teleconference.

MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-104 NASA JOINS GIRL SCOUTS CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF INSPIRATION AND EMPOWERMENT

WASHINGTON -- NASA will mark the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts of America by hosting a Girl Scouts Rock@NASA event from 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. June 8 in the James E. Webb Memorial Auditorium located at NASA Headquarters in Washington. NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver and two former astronauts, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper and Pam Melroy, will participate. Media are invited to attend. NASA and the Girl Scouts share a common goal to encourage and educate young girls about science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in exciting and innovative ways. The Girl Scouts began in 1912 with only 18 girls. Today, there are 3.2 million girls and adults who are members. In 100 years, the organization has graduated more than 59 million women in the United States. The Girl Scouts Rock@NASA program will cover aeronautics, science and exploration. Attendees will learn about NASA's missions and careers from scientists and other invited guests and have opportunities to experience hands-on, interactive displays. NASA will host two sessions based on the age of the attendees. In the morning session, Stefanyshyn-Piper will speak to younger explorers about some of NASA's missions and discoveries. Attendees will be able to take a picture of themselves on Mars and learn about solar sails and NASA technology in everyday life. The afternoon session, targeted to Girl Scout cadettes, seniors, and ambassadors, will feature Garver and Melroy. Attendees also will be able to use interactive activities to learn more about NASA and STEM.

MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-105 NASA INVITES SOCIAL MEDIA FANS TO MARS LANDING EVENT

WASHINGTON -- NASA will host a 3-day NASA Social for 25 of its social media followers Aug. 3-5 at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. The NASA Social is scheduled to culminate in the landing of the Mars Science Laboratory's Curiosity rover at Mars' Gale crater. The landing is anticipated at approximately 1:31 a.m. EDT Aug. 6. The event will offer people who engage with NASA through Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and other social networks the opportunity to tour JPL, speak with scientists and engineers, participate in news conferences and, if all goes as planned, be at the media site when the first signal of the rover's landing is detected by JPL mission control. The event also will provide participants the opportunity to interact with fellow tweeps, space enthusiasts and members of NASA's social media team. During the 2-year prime mission, Curiosity will investigate whether the selected area of Mars offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life or if evidence of it existed. JPL has 23 spacecraft and 10 instruments conducting active missions of exploration of Earth, the solar system and the universe beyond. These ventures, including Voyager, Cassini and the Opportunity Mars rover, are enabled by NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN). Managed by JPL, the DSN is an international network of antenna complexes for communications between spacecraft and Earth-based teams that guide them. NASA Social guests will meet team members from some of these missions and tour DSN mission control. NASA Social registration opens at noon EDT Wednesday, June 6, and closes at noon EDT Friday, June 8. NASA will randomly select 25 participants from online registrations.