Jul 27 2018

From The Space Library

MEDIA ADVISORY M18-116 NASA Invites Media to Meet Earth Science Innovators

From flooding in New Orleans to coffee cultivation in Guatemala and wildfires in Alaska, NASA Earth observations from space are being put to work helping address a wide range of real-world issues.

NASA invites media to meet the developers behind some of these innovative projects and learn how the agency turns global Earth observations into societal benefits on Wednesday, Aug. 1, at NASA Headquarters, 300 E Street SW, Washington.

The annual Earth Science Applications Showcase begins at 10 a.m. EDT in the James Webb Auditorium with a one-hour overview of NASA’s Applied Sciences Program, followed by “flash talks” and an interactive poster session on select projects. The event concludes at 12:30 p.m.

Speakers from NASA’s Earth Science Division include:

• Lawrence Friedl, director, Applied Sciences Program
• Woody Turner, ecological forecasting program manager
• David Green, disasters program manager
• John Haynes, health and air quality program manager
• Brad Doorn, water resources and agriculture program manager

Flash talks and posters will spotlight several recent projects in the Applied Sciences DEVELOP and SERVIR programs. DEVELOP brings together interdisciplinary teams to address environmental and public policy issues. SERVIR is a joint venture between NASA and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Flash talks will highlight several water resources and disaster projects:

• Coastal flood risk in Southern California
• Wildfire-driven ecosystem change in the Kenai Peninsula
• Lightning risk in Nepal and Bangladesh
• Bison grazing in Grand Canyon National Park
• Soil moisture and ecosystem health in Idaho
• Water pollution impact on mangroves in Costa Rica

To register for the event, media must email their affiliation by 4 p.m. Tuesday, July 31, to Steve Cole at stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov.

NASA uses the vantage point of space to understand and explore our home planet and improve lives. NASA makes its Earth observations freely available to those seeking solutions to important global issues such as changing freshwater availability, food security and human health.

For more information about NASA’s Earth science activities, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/earth

MEDIA ADVISORY M18-115 NASA Interns, New Mexico Community, Virginia Students to Call Space Station

NASA interns, visitors at New Mexico’s City of Las Cruces Museum of Nature and Science, and NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility will speak with astronauts aboard the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Year of Education on Station next week. Each call will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

NASA’s Johnson Space Center will host a question and answer session between agency interns and NASA astronaut Ricky Arnold at 12:05 p.m. EDT Monday, July 30. Johnson is located at 2101 NASA Parkway, Houston. Media interested in covering the event should contact Frank Prochaska at frank.e.prochaska@nasa.gov or 281-483-5111.

The City of Las Cruces Museum of Nature and Science in New Mexico will host children and adults for a community discussion with Arnold at 10:55 a.m. Tuesday, July 31. The museum is at 411 North Main St., Las Cruces. Media who wish to cover the downlink should contact Udell Vigil at uvigil@las-cruces.orgor 575-642-5339 or Katie Jenkins at kjenkins@las-cruces.orgor 575-528-4577.

NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia will host a conversation with NASA astronaut Drew Feustel at 10:25 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 2. About 140 members of Virginia Space Coast Scholars, high school and undergraduate NASA interns, students from the Virginia Space Flight Academy and the Delmarva Discovery Center will participate from Wallops’ visitor center, Building J20 Route 175, Chincoteague Rd., Wallops Island. Media covering the event should contact Keith Koehler at keith.a.koehler@nasa.govor 757-824-1579.

Linking teachers directly to astronauts aboard the space station provides unique, authentic experiences designed to enhance student learning, performance and interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). These in-flight education downlinks are an integral component of NASA’s Year of Education on Station, which provides extensive space station-related resources and opportunities to students and educators. Astronauts living in space on the orbiting laboratory communicate with NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston 24 hours a day through the Space Network's Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS).

Follow the astronauts on social media at: https://www.twitter.com/NASA_astronauts/

See videos and lesson plans highlighting research on the International Space Station at: https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation/

CONTRACT RELEASE C18-021 NASA Awards Contract for Earth Science Data Archive Center Support

NASA has awarded a contract to the University of Colorado Boulder for the management and operations of the agency’s Earth Observing System Data and Information System Snow and Ice Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC).

The total value of this cost-no-fee contract is approximately $50 million. Work under the contract begins Aug. 1 with a one-year base period, followed by three one-year options and a 10-month option.

This contract will provide user services, product generation, data and information management, archive and distribution, and related science support activities, all to be provided through the University of Colorado National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). The work will be performed primarily at NSIDC.

NASA uses the vantage point of space to understand and explore our home planet, improve lives and safeguard our future. NASA’s observations of Earth’s complex natural environment are critical to understanding how our planet’s natural resources and climate are changing now and could change in the future.

RELEASE 18-066 NASA Gives $1.4 Million to Help Minority-Serving Colleges Develop New STEM Courses

The MUREP Innovations in Space Technology Curriculum (MISTC) awards align with the priorities of the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), which is responsible for developing the crosscutting, pioneering new technologies and capabilities the agency needs for current and future missions.

“These cooperative agreement awards are an excellent example of a collaboration between MUREP and STMD helping NASA continue achieving exploration goals while promoting STEM and engaging minority serving institutions,” said Jim Reuter, acting associate administrator for STMD.

The selected minority-serving community colleges and their course ideas are:

• Bronx Community College, New York: The courses proposed by this school are geared toward enrolling minority and low-income students to participate in a series of hands-on and field-based workshops. The workshops will focus on inquiry-based geospatial technology and STEM activities developed by using NASA’s online data repositories and state-of-the-art equipment available through partner institutions. The participants will learn to analyze Earth observation data, develop automated feature extraction tools, and perform image analysis and classification.

• College of the Desert, Palm Desert, California: College of the Desert will enhance an existing course in physics by incorporating the entry, descent and landing phases of space mission concepts into the curriculum and lab work – an area of study not previously available to students at the community college level.

• Los Angeles Pierce College, Woodland Hills, California: Pierce College will develop a lab course to go alongside their existing Introduction to the Solar System course, which will aid in creating a direct path for students to transfer to a four-year school. The lab course will provide hands-on learning opportunities and internships for participating minority students through a partnership with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

• Passaic County Community College, Patterson, New Jersey: Passaic County Community College Takes Flight will focus on avionics technology and will revise the college’s existing Introduction to Engineering course to include basic avionics concepts such as navigation and landing systems, weather radar, transponders, and flight control systems.

• Prince George’s Community College, Upper Marlboro, Maryland: This program will enhance and revitalize the school’s existing engineering curriculum to create a cohesive four-year curriculum with strong NASA avionics content to help train the future NASA workforce.

Awardees will partner with a NASA center or facility to accomplish the goals and objectives of MISTC over a 15-month period of performance, for up to $330,000.

For a list of selected organizations and project descriptions, visit: https://go.nasa.gov/2vd6hxN

For information about NASA's education programs, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/education