9/26/12 news

      Wednesday, September 26, 2012   JSC TODAY HEADLINES 1.            Latest International Space Station Research 2.            Blood Drive: Oct. 16 - Ellington; Oct. 17 and 18 - JSC 3.            Register for JSC Still Imagery and Mission Video Training Tomorrow 4.            Political Activity and the Hatch Act 5.            Link Update: JSC New Technologies Published in NASA Tech Briefs 6.            ASIA ERG Presents - Updated: Pathways Intern Lunch and Learn 7.            Fright Fest at the Gilruth Center on Oct. 26 8.            Parent's Night Out This Friday -- Register Now 9.            JSC SharePoint and IRD SQL Database Intermittent Outage Tonight 10.          Prescription Drug Take-Back Day -- Turn in Your Old Medications 11.          Disrupting the Status Quo: Tools to Reach the Next Frontier 12.          Emotional Intelligence Skills for Guys ________________________________________     QUOTE OF THE DAY “ Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken. ”   -- Warren Buffet ________________________________________ 1.            Latest International Space Station Research Did you know about this external payload on the International Space Station (ISS)? The HICO and RAIDS Experiment Payload - Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HREP-HICO) operates a specialized visible and near-infrared camera to detect, identify and quantify coastal features from the ISS. The experiment demonstrates the retrieval of coastal data, including the water depth, water clarity, chlorophyll content and sea floor composition for civilian and naval purposes.   This information is of immediate interest to the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Homeland Security, Interior, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and other agencies with marine responsibilities.   Read more here: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/epa_coastal.html   Liz Warren x35548   [top] 2.            Blood Drive: Oct. 16 - Ellington; Oct. 17 and 18 - JSC There is no substitute for blood. It has to come from one person in order to give it to another. Will there be blood available when you or your family needs it? A regular number of voluntary donations are needed every day to meet the needs for blood. Your blood donation can help up to three people. Please take an hour of your time to donate at our next blood drive.   You can donate at Ellington Field on Oct. 16. A donor coach will be located between Hangars 276 and 135 for donations from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.   You can donate at JSC from Oct. 17 to 18 in the Building 2 Teague lobby or at the donor coach located next to the Building 11 Starport Café from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.   You can donate in the Gilruth Center Coronado Room on Oct. 18 from 7:30 a.m. to noon.   Teresa Gomez x39588 http://jscpeople.jsc.nasa.gov/blooddrv/blooddrv.htm   [top] 3.            Register for JSC Still Imagery and Mission Video Training Tomorrow Don't forget to register for tomorrow's training via WebEx from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Learn how to use JSC's Imagery Online (IO) and Digital Imagery Management System (DIMS), which house and manage JSC's still imagery and downlink videos from the human spaceflight programs. This training is open to any JSC/White Sands Test Facility contractor or civil servant. Click on the "Classroom/WebEx" schedule, then select the appropriate class to register: http://library.jsc.nasa.gov/training/default.aspx   Provided by the Information Resources Directorate: http://ird.jsc.nasa.gov/default.aspx   Ebony Fondren x32490 http://library.jsc.nasa.gov   [top] 4.            Political Activity and the Hatch Act The Hatch Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 7321-7326, regulates the political activity of all federal executive branch employees, including NASA employees. The Hatch Act guarantees federal employees' right to vote as they choose and express their opinions on political subjects and candidates. However, the Hatch Act also places certain limitations and prohibitions related to federal employees' participation in partisan political activities, especially activities that take place in the federal workplace. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) defines "political activity" as "an activity directed toward the success or failure of a political party, candidate for partisan political office, or partisan political group," 5 CFR § 734.101. Examples of permitted and prohibited partisan activities can be found at the following OSC website at: http://www.osc.gov/hatchact.htm   If you have questions regarding the Hatch Act, please call the JSC Legal Office at x33021.   Legal Office x33021   [top] 5.            Link Update: JSC New Technologies Published in NASA Tech Briefs Several outstanding new technologies and innovations from JSC are recognized in the August issue of NASA Tech Briefs.   The main purpose of Tech Briefs is to introduce information on new innovations and technologies that stem from advanced research and technology programs conducted by NASA.   The August 2012 JSC briefs include: General Methodology for Designing Spacecraft Trajectories; High-Thermal-Conductivity Fabrics; Saliva Preservative for Diagnostic Purposes; Ultra-Compact Motor Controller; and Hands-Free Transcranial Color Doppler Probe.   To read and learn more, click: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/technologyatjsc/technology_news/Related_N...   To find more NASA Tech Briefs, go to: http://www.techbriefs.com   Holly Kurth x32951   [top] 6.            ASIA ERG Presents - Updated: Pathways Intern Lunch and Learn The ASIA Employee Resource Group (ERG) is offering a lunch-and-learn session for its members who would like to learn more about pathways intern (co-op) opportunities.   The session will be held tomorrow, Sept. 27, in Building 1, Room 720, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.   Please contact Krystine Bui (x34186) for more information.   Krystine Bui x34186   [top] 7.            Fright Fest at the Gilruth Center on Oct. 26 Join in on the frightful family fun at the Gilruth Center! Learn and perform the Thriller dance routine in your best zombie attire! Learn the dance on Oct. 19 for the big performance on Oct. 26. It's $20 if registered by Oct. 12, or $25 after. Or, take a Spooky Spin ride with our specialty spin class -- spinning with a Halloween theme! From 6 to 7 p.m. It's $10 if registered by Oct. 19, or $15 after. Register at the Gilruth Center.   For the kids: Our Fright Fest Bash is where it's at with a bounce house, games, candy, prizes, face-painting, costume contests, photo ops and more! That's from 5 to 7:30 p.m. in the Gilruth gymnasium. It's $5/child if purchased by Oct. 19, or $7/child after. Adults do not need a ticket. Purchase tickets at the Gilruth Center and the Buildings 3 and 11 gift shops.   And visit out Haunted House … if you dare, from 5 to 8 p.m. Gilruth Center second floor. It's $5/person or $3 if child has a ticket to the Fright Fest Bash.   Shelly Haralson x39168 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/   [top] 8.            Parent's Night Out This Friday -- Register Now It's our last Parent's Night Out of the year, so don't miss out on this great opportunity to spend an evening on the town! Enjoy a night out while your kids enjoy a night with Starport. We will entertain your children at the Gilruth Center with a night of games, crafts, a bounce house, pizza, a movie and dessert.   When: Sept. 28 from 6 to 10 p.m. Where: Gilruth Center Ages: 5 to 12 Cost: $20/first child and $10/each additional sibling if registered by the Wednesday prior to event. If registered after Wednesday, the fee is $25/first child and $15/additional sibling.   Register at the Gilruth Center front desk. Visit http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/Youth/PNO.cfm for more information.   Shericka Phillips x35563 http://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/   [top] 9.            JSC SharePoint and IRD SQL Database Intermittent Outage Tonight A friendly reminder that the Information Resources Directorate (IRD) has scheduled an outage to conduct monthly maintenance patching on the JSC SharePoint Service and IRD SQL Database servers tonight from 6 to 10 p.m. CDT.   During this timeframe, the JSC SharePoint service and IRD SQL database service will be offline. Therefore, some internal JSC websites, like organization pages or the internal JSC home page, may lose some functionally during this maintenance period.   IRD will minimize the downtime as much as possible, but users may experience intermittent outages as the servers are rebooted throughout the evening. For assistance related to this outage, please contact the IRD Customer Support Center at x46367, option 5, or email: jsc-irdcspt@mail.nasa.gov   JSC IRD Outreach x45296 http://ird.jsc.nasa.gov/   [top] 10.          Prescription Drug Take-Back Day -- Turn in Your Old Medications The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has scheduled another National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, which will take place on Saturday, Sept. 29, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It provides a venue for people who want to dispose of unwanted and unused drugs.   Each day approximately 2,500 teens use prescription drugs to get high for the first time. Most of these prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including the home medicine cabinet.   The link below will take you to the DEA website, where you can learn more about the program and find a collection site near you. This is an excellent opportunity to dispose of accumulated prescription drugs safely and keep them out of the waste stream.   Bob Martel x38581 http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/index.html   [top] 11.          Disrupting the Status Quo: Tools to Reach the Next Frontier The SA Human Systems Academy is pleased to offer "Disrupting the Status Quo: Tools and Methodologies to Reach the Next Frontier." This is the second course in the series, "Collaborative and Open Innovation: Techniques to Increase Your Productivity." In the first course, participants focused on the philosophy that spurs innovation and self-assessment activities to determine where they stood. In this second course, participants will take a deeper dive into specific methodologies and tools that support and foster innovative activities within the organization. Special attention will be devoted to analyzing case study examples to further the knowledge and understanding of the value and impact of evolving business models and strategies at NASA. Completion of "Opening Up Your Organization to Innovative Tools" is a requirement for taking this course. This course will be held Friday, September 28th, at 1 pm in Building 1, Conference Room 720.   For registration, please go to: https://satern.nasa.gov/learning/user/deeplink_redirect.jsp?linkId=SCHEDULED_...     Cynthia Rando 281-461-2620 http://sa.jsc.nasa.gov/   [top] 12.          Emotional Intelligence Skills for Guys This week's topic is on parenting skills for fathers of kids in all age groups. Learn how to deal with parenting challenges such as differences in parenting style, lack of consistency and kids pitting parents against each other. Join Takis Bogdanos, LPC-S with the JSC Employee Assistance Program, tomorrow, Sept. 27, at 12 noon in Building 32, Room 131.   Lorrie Bennett, Employee Assistance Program, Clinical Services Branch x36130   [top]   ________________________________________ JSC Today is compiled periodically as a service to JSC employees on an as-submitted basis. Any JSC organization or employee may submit articles. To see an archive of previous JSC Today announcements, go to http://www6.jsc.nasa.gov/pao/news/jsctoday/archives.     NASA TV: ·         7 am Central (8 EDT) - Live Interviews with Expedition 31/32’s Joe Acaba   Human Spaceflight News Wednesday – September 26, 2012   HST image covers area less than a tenth the width of the full Moon, making it just a 30 millionth of the whole sky. Yet even in this tiny fraction of the sky, the long exposure reveals about 5500 galaxies, some of them so distant that we see them when the Universe was less than 5 percent of its current age. The eXtreme Deep Field image contains several of the most distant objects ever identified.   HEADLINES AND LEADS   Cargo ship undocking called off after command glitch   William Harwood - CBS News   Trouble with a control system aboard the Russian Zvezda command module prevented the planned undocking of an unmanned European cargo ship from the International Space Station Tuesday. After initial troubleshooting, the station crew was told to stand down pending additional analysis on the ground. Undocking of the European Space Agency's third Automated Transfer Vehicle, or ATV, from the aft port of the Zvezda module had been scheduled for 6:35 p.m. EDT (GMT-4). Cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko attempted to send a command to begin the undocking sequence on time, but the command apparently never reached the docking mechanism. About a half hour later, Russian flight controllers called off any additional attempts.   European spacecraft departure from ISS canceled   Todd Halvorson - Florida Today   The departure of a bus-sized European cargo carrier from the International Space Station was canceled tonight when a Russian computer and command panel failed. Now filled with trash and surplus station gear, Europe’s Edoardo Amaldi Automated Transfer Vehicle had been slated to undock from the aft end of the Russian side of the station around 6:35 p.m. EDT. Computer and control equipment required to dispatch the huge cargo carrier failed to set the vehicle on its way. The departure has been delayed indefinitely. Engineers on the ground are trying to determine the cause of the problem.   Computer Glitch Delays Cargo Ship's Undocking from Space Station   Tariq Malik - Space.com   An unmanned European cargo ship as large as a double-decker bus inside will have to wait a bit longer before leaving the International Space Station due to computer problems, NASA officials say. The robotic Automated Transfer Vehicle 3 (ATV-3) spacecraft was slated to undock from the space station Tuesday evening, but a technical glitch with a laptop computer inside the station prevented to orbital departure. The two spacecraft were scheduled to part ways at 6:35 p.m. EDT (2235 GMT).   Astronauts may play role in Mars robotic missions   Seth Borenstein - Associated Press   NASA's future plans to explore Mars may end up using astronauts as space messengers. The new idea surfaced as a special team looking for a new Mars robotic exploration plan released a preliminary report Tuesday. One of the option calls for a Martian robotic rover to collect rocks on the red planet. Later, astronauts in a newly built spaceship would be used to pick them up from a cosmic delivery point somewhere between Earth and Mars and return them home.   Hubble captures deepest view of universe yet achieved   William Harwood - CBS News   A stunning new composite photograph from the Hubble Space Telescope, made up of more than 2,000 images shot by multiple cameras over the past 10 years and combined in what amounts to a 23-day time exposure, shows some 5,500 galaxies in tiny field of view, including some dating back to just 450 million years after the big bang birth of the universe, astronomers said Tuesday. Dubbed the eXtreme Deep Field, or XDF, the photograph represents the deepest view of the universe yet achieved, giving astronomers a "time tunnel"-like glimpse back across 13.2 billion years of cosmic history. "The XDF is the deepest image of the sky ever obtained and reveals the faintest and most distant galaxies ever seen," Garth Illingworth, a Hubble researcher at the University of California at Santa Cruz, said in a NASA statement. "XDF allows us to explore further back in time than ever before." (NO FURTHER TEXT)   Astronauts, robots may team up to reach Mars goal Martian soil would be brought back in 2030s   Todd Halvorson - Florida Today   NASA could send spacecraft to Mars to collect rock and soil samples and then launch American astronauts on a mission to bring them back by the 2030s, an expert panel said Tuesday. Despite severe budget cuts, the group said NASA still could achieve the National Research Council’s top goal for planetary science — returning rock and soil samples from the red planet. In doing so, NASA also could marry its robotic and human spaceflight efforts to meet President Barack Obama’s challenge to send astronauts to the vicinity of Mars by the mid-2030s.   Rover? Astronaut? NASA officials probe future of Mars exploration   Amina Khan - Los Angeles Times   With budget cuts looming and no clear flagship mission on the horizon, the Mars program has been looking to rechart its course in the coming years. Sending a spacecraft to the Red Planet to return a sample of rock may be the way to go, according to a summary report unveiled Tuesday by the Mars Program Planning Group. The Planetary Science Decadal Survey for 2013 to 2022, released last year by the National Research Council, put a Mars sample return mission as a top priority. Meanwhile, President Obama’s administration has pushed to focus future efforts on sending humans to Mars.   Audit supports retrofitting mobile launch tower at KSC   James Dean - Florida Today   NASA’s decision to spend more than $60 million to retrofit a mobile launch tower built for the now-canceled Ares I rocket, enabling it to support a new heavy-lift rocket, was “technically feasible and the most cost-effective option,” an audit said Tuesday. But it’s still uncertain whether the modified mobile launcher, which stands more than 400 feet tall at Kennedy Space Center and has cost $234 million to date, will be suitable for larger planned versions of the rocket called the Space Launch System, or SLS. Two NASA-backed studies supporting the decision were based on limited information about preliminary SLS designs, according to the audit by the NASA Office of Inspector General.   Marshall has new director; Lightfoot job promotion permanent   Lee Roop - Huntsville Times   Patrick Scheuermann, currently director of NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, has been named director of Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden announced today. Also today, former Marshall director Robert Lightfoot's position as NASA associate administrator was made permanent. Scheuermann's successor as the Stennis director is Dr. Richard J. Gilbrech, currently deputy director. All three management changes are effective immediately.   MSU team to send experiments to International Space Station   Anne Cantrell - Bozeman Daily Chronicle (via MSU News Service)   When NASA shut down the space shuttle program in 2011, Sheila Nielsen-Preiss thought her opportunity to conduct experiments in space was over. But this fall, with the help of NASA and a private space company, Nielsen-Preiss and a team of students from Montana State University plan to send research experiments to the International Space Station. Their experiments will look at how a pathogenic yeast called Candida albicans responds to near weightlessness. What they learn could help keep astronauts safe and provide better tools to fight yeast infections on Earth.   Shuttle Endeavour in California: Los Angeles Space Fans Speak Out   Olivia Hemaratanatorn - Space.com   Californians young and old came out to greet the retired space shuttle Endeavour as it landed in Los Angeles last week atop a jumbo jet. Endeavour, a veteran of 25 flights to space, is due to take up residence soon as an exhibit at the California Science Center in its new Los Angeles home. Endeavour hopscotched across the country from Florida to Texas, eventually arriving at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Friday, riding piggyback aboard NASA's modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.   Council chooses ‘Inspiration’ as name for space shuttle mock-up   Ben Baeder – Downey Beat   After a short debate, the City Council on Tuesday decided to name the city’s space shuttle mock-up ‘Inspiration.’ The name was the favorite of Mayor Roger Brossmer, the councilman who spends the most time working on the programming at the Columbia Memorial Space Center and who has been the council’s driving force on issues related to the city’s aerospace history. __________   COMPLETE STORIES   Cargo ship undocking called off after command glitch   William Harwood - CBS News   Trouble with a control system aboard the Russian Zvezda command module prevented the planned undocking of an unmanned European cargo ship from the International Space Station Tuesday. After initial troubleshooting, the station crew was told to stand down pending additional analysis on the ground.   Undocking of the European Space Agency's third Automated Transfer Vehicle, or ATV, from the aft port of the Zvezda module had been scheduled for 6:35 p.m. EDT (GMT-4). Cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko attempted to send a command to begin the undocking sequence on time, but the command apparently never reached the docking mechanism.   About a half hour later, Russian flight controllers called off any additional attempts.   "Thank you so much for your hard work, and I'm sorry we didn't do it today," a Russian flight controller radioed.   "That's OK," replied Malenchenko. "Next time, it will be a successful one."   The ATV was launched from Kourou, French Guiana, on March 23 and completed an automated rendezvous and docking five days later. Named after Edoardo Amaldi, an Italian physicist, the ATV was packed with some 4.5 tons of propellant, 628 pounds of water, 220 pounds of oxygen and 2.4 tons of dry cargo, including experiment hardware, spare parts, food, clothing and other material.   The bus-size cargo craft is now loaded with trash and no-longer needed equipment. It is not equipped with a heat shield and is designed to burn up in the atmosphere during re-entry.   There is no immediate need to detach the ATV and Russian engineers, working with their counterparts at the European Space Agency, are expected to take their time assessing the problem, and what might be needed to correct it, before making another undocking attempt.   European spacecraft departure from ISS canceled   Todd Halvorson - Florida Today   The departure of a bus-sized European cargo carrier from the International Space Station was canceled tonight when a Russian computer and command panel failed.   Now filled with trash and surplus station gear, Europe’s Edoardo Amaldi Automated Transfer Vehicle had been slated to undock from the aft end of the Russian side of the station around 6:35 p.m. EDT.   Computer and control equipment required to dispatch the huge cargo carrier failed to set the vehicle on its way. The departure has been delayed indefinitely. Engineers on the ground are trying to determine the cause of the problem.   The issue did not endanger the station crew, which is commanded by U.S. astronaut Sunita “Suni” Williams, who is only the second woman to skipper the outpost.   Also onboard: Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and Akihiro Hoshide of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.   The three make up half of the 33rd expedition to the station. The others – U.S. astronaut Kevin Ford and two Russian cosmonauts – are expected to fly up to the station in mid-October.   The Edoardo Almadi launched March 23 aboard a European Ariane 5 rocket, hauling up about 14,500 pounds of supplies and equipment. It is the third European ATV to be launched to the space station.   NASA mission commentator Amiko Kauderer said a new date for the departure would be set after engineers determine and fix the cause of the problem.   Computer Glitch Delays Cargo Ship's Undocking from Space Station   Tariq Malik - Space.com   An unmanned European cargo ship as large as a double-decker bus inside will have to wait a bit longer before leaving the International Space Station due to computer problems, NASA officials say.   The robotic Automated Transfer Vehicle 3 (ATV-3) spacecraft was slated to undock from the space station Tuesday evening, but a technical glitch with a laptop computer inside the station prevented to orbital departure. The two spacecraft were scheduled to part ways at 6:35 p.m. EDT (2235 GMT).   "We're not undocking today, that's been canceled," a flight controller in Mission Control told the station's three-person crew.     The computer glitch apparently interrupted signals from a laptop computer inside the station that serves as a command panel for the departing ATV-3 spacecraft. The computer is inside the Russian-built Zvezda module, the rear-most module that serves as the docking port for ATV spacecraft and visiting Russian spacecraft.   Station commander Sunita Williams of NASA told Mission Control that commands sent from the laptop apparently were not reaching the ATV spacecraft. Engineers are expected to meet early Wednesday to discuss the malfunction and determine when the next undocking attempt can be made, NASA officials said.   The space station's current Expedition 34 crew includes Williams, Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko.   The ATV-3 spacecraft, which is also known as Edoardo Almadi in honor of the late Italian physicist of the same name, is the third unmanned cargo ship built by the European Space Agency to send food, water, science gear and other supplies to the International Space Station. The spacecraft launched to the station in late March and delivered 7.2 tons of food to the orbiting lab.   The cylindrical ATV spacecraft are 32 feet long (10 meters) and nearly 15 feet wide (4.5 m). They are disposable spacecraft designed to fly themselves to the space station, and then be jettisoned at mission's end to burn up in Earth's atmosphere somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. The European Space Agency commands the spacecraft from a mission control center in Toulouse, France.   The fourth ATV mission will launch the ATV-4 Albert Einstein to the station in April 2013.    Europe's ATV vehicles are part of a robotic spaceship fleet that regularly haul supplies to the space station. Russia's unmanned Progress vehicles and Japan's H-2 Transfer Vehicles  have also made delivery flights to the station. NASA has contracted the private spaceflight companies SpaceX, of Hawthorne, Calif., and Orbital Sciences Corp., of Dulles, Va., to build unmanned cargo ships for station deliveries.   SpaceX performed the first test flight to the station using its Dragon cargo ship in May and is expected to launch the first official delivery flight to the orbiting lab on Oct. 7. SpaceX has a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to provide 12 Dragon delivery flights. Orbital Sciences has a $1.9 billion contract with NASA for eight delivery missions using its Cygnus spacecraft.   Astronauts may play role in Mars robotic missions   Seth Borenstein - Associated Press   NASA's future plans to explore Mars may end up using astronauts as space messengers.   The new idea surfaced as a special team looking for a new Mars robotic exploration plan released a preliminary report Tuesday.   One of the option calls for a Martian robotic rover to collect rocks on the red planet. Later, astronauts in a newly built spaceship would be used to pick them up from a cosmic delivery point somewhere between Earth and Mars and return them home.   The report gives the space agency several options with no specific timing for future missions and no decision is expected until next year. The new plan is needed because budget cuts earlier this year killed two future robotic flights.   The space agency has so far explored Mars with orbiters and robots, like the rover Curiosity that landed last month. The ultimate goal has been to get a robot to collect rocks and Martian soil to send to Earth for more detailed scientific examination.   Separately, NASA is working on new missions for astronauts to explore away from Earth, with an ultimate goal of sending them to Mars sometime in the 2030s.   The NASA team proposed combining both dreams, getting astronauts involved in Martian exploration earlier. But they wouldn't exactly go to Mars itself. The astronauts would go somewhere between Mars and Earth and pick up the rocks left by a spacecraft that carried them off Mars.   That plan takes advantage of the new rocket and spaceship system for astronauts that should be ready in the next decade, said NASA associate administrator for sciences John Grunsfeld.   It also would lessen contamination worries about the Martian rocks. Scientists want to make sure that the Martian samples could not bring alien germs to Earth and that Earth organisms don't contaminate the Martian sample, Grunsfeld said.   And it would help the mission to land humans on Mars because it "looks a lot like sending a crew to Mars and returning them safely," Grunsfeld said.   The planning team looked at a few options for a Mars sample return mission:   ·         Send a bunch of spacecraft to Mars — a rover, a launcher to return home, an orbiter — in several launches.   ·         Package all those spacecraft into one or two launches that would save money but increase risk of failure.   ·         Send a bunch of small rovers to look around different spots of Mars to find the best samples and then design a system to collect and return those rocks.   Before that can happen, NASA still has to decide what robotic or orbiter mission it wants to send to Mars in 2018, if any. It's a time when Earth and the red planet will be close and save money on fuel costs. Grunsfeld said NASA only has about $800 million budgeted for that, which is not enough for a major rover.   Astronauts, robots may team up to reach Mars goal Martian soil would be brought back in 2030s   Todd Halvorson - Florida Today   NASA could send spacecraft to Mars to collect rock and soil samples and then launch American astronauts on a mission to bring them back by the 2030s, an expert panel said Tuesday.   Despite severe budget cuts, the group said NASA still could achieve the National Research Council’s top goal for planetary science — returning rock and soil samples from the red planet.   In doing so, NASA also could marry its robotic and human spaceflight efforts to meet President Barack Obama’s challenge to send astronauts to the vicinity of Mars by the mid-2030s.   “It is really the search for evidence of past life in whichever form it might exist, or (might have) existed in the past at Mars if it ever did,” said panel chairman Orlando Figueroa, the former head of NASA’s Mars exploration program.   Former U.S. astronaut John Grunsfeld, now the associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., said the pathways presented by the group could bear abundant scientific fruit.   “Everywhere on Earth where we find water, energy and organics (carbon-based compounds), pretty much we find life,” he said.   Robotic NASA explorers already have shown that Mars once was warmer and awash in water, and that the sun or chemical processes provide necessary energy.   Now the Curiosity rover aims to find evidence of carbon compounds — rounding out the ingredient list for life on Earth.   Grunsfeld said when the expert panel looked at all the options for NASA’s fiscally challenged Mars program, “in the end, any mission that provides for a sample return” offers the best opportunity to link up the human space flight and science objectives.   NASA’s Mars Program Planning Group was established earlier this year to restructure the agency’s robotic Mars exploration program given a forecast 40 percent budget cut.   Figueroa presented the group’s findings and summary report to the National Research Council — an arm of the National Academy of Sciences — on Tuesday.   NASA successfully landed the Curiosity rover on its two-year, $2.5 billion mission on Aug. 6. The car-sized mobile science laboratory investigated its first rock sample last week.   NASA will launch a robotic explorer that will analyze the Martian atmosphere next year. In 2016, the agency will launch a small lander that will analyze the Martian interior.   Deep budget cuts have forced NASA to bail out of more ambitious joint Mars missions with the European Space Agency in 2016 and 2018.   Figueroa said with the current budget forecast, it is unlikely NASA will be able to launch another rover — a $1.3 to $1.5 billion proposition — until at least 2020.   NASA more likely will launch a Mars orbiter, at a cost of around $800 million, in 2018.   The orbiter would be equipped with remote-sensing science instruments and would also serve as a communications relay for future Mars rovers.   Rover? Astronaut? NASA officials probe future of Mars exploration   Amina Khan - Los Angeles Times   With budget cuts looming and no clear flagship mission on the horizon, the Mars program has been looking to rechart its course in the coming years. Sending a spacecraft to the Red Planet to return a sample of rock may be the way to go, according to a summary report unveiled Tuesday by the Mars Program Planning Group.   The Planetary Science Decadal Survey for 2013 to 2022, released last year by the National Research Council, put a Mars sample return mission as a top priority. Meanwhile, President Obama’s administration has pushed to focus future efforts on sending humans to Mars.   According to the report, led by former NASA “Mars Czar” Orlando Figueroa, a sample return mission done right could further both goals.   “Sample return represents the best opportunity to find synergies technologically between the programs,” said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate, which is responsible for such planetary science missions. “Sending a mission to go to Mars and return a sample looks a lot like sending a crew to Mars and returning them safely. There’s a parallelism of ideas there.”   There would be a new set of issues to be dealt with in a sample return mission – one of which would be interplanetary contamination, Grunsfeld said. Just as Earth spacecraft sent to other planets carry loads of hitchhiking microbes that have the potential to survive in these harsh environments (a concern laid out in this recent Times story), Martian rocks could potentially contaminate Earth too. Having astronauts rendezvous with a robotic spacecraft in space to seal off any potential contaminants could be a useful way to team the human exploration and planetary science programs together.   Grunsfeld emphasized that the details of the full report, set to come out in mid-to-late October, were not a plan – more of a set of options to figure out what the plan may be, which may not take shape until February, after the Obama administration presents budget numbers to Congress.   In the meantime, the most pressing question over the next four to six months, he said, is whether NASA will take the opportunity to plan a mission for the next launch window in 2018 – and what such a mission might look like.   Audit supports retrofitting mobile launch tower at KSC   James Dean - Florida Today   NASA’s decision to spend more than $60 million to retrofit a mobile launch tower built for the now-canceled Ares I rocket, enabling it to support a new heavy-lift rocket, was “technically feasible and the most cost-effective option,” an audit said Tuesday.   But it’s still uncertain whether the modified mobile launcher, which stands more than 400 feet tall at Kennedy Space Center and has cost $234 million to date, will be suitable for larger planned versions of the rocket called the Space Launch System, or SLS.   Two NASA-backed studies supporting the decision were based on limited information about preliminary SLS designs, according to the audit by the NASA Office of Inspector General.   “Because SLS vehicles will increase in size as they evolve, those early studies may not have addressed all the challenges or costs associated with launching the larger vehicles,” the report says.   The studies estimated it would cost between $54 million and $74 million to modify the mobile launcher’s base and tower.   Kennedy now expects to spend $62 million to strengthen the mobile launcher’s base and widen its exhaust port by February 2015. Another $112 million will outfit the structure with propellant, gas, power and communications lines, and test and activate the system in time for an unmanned SLS test launch planned in 2017.   In all, the entire retrofit is estimated to cost $174 million.   Other options to modify a space shuttle mobile launcher platform or build a new mobile launcher were projected to cost $93 million and $122 million, respectively, according to an internal study by Kennedy and contractor personnel.   The modification work is necessary because the first version of the SLS is more than twice as heavy as the Ares I. Also, the SLS blasts off with two solid rocket boosters and a set of liquid-fueled engines, compared to the single solid first stage that was envisioned for Ares I.   In addition to cost considerations, modifying the existing mobile launcher met congressional direction for the new exploration program to maximize prior investments in the shuttle and Constellation programs.   Over time, the SLS design is supposed to “evolve” to increase the weight it can lift to space from 70 tons to 130 tons. And between 2017 and the 2030 timeframe, the rocket is expected to grow from 320 feet to 389 feet and add more than 1 million pounds while integrating new propulsion technologies.   The increasing height may change where umbilical lines providing power, gases and propellant connect from the launch tower to the rocket, and the location of a crew access arm and emergency escape system.   The audit acknowledged those changes are years away.   Whether the reconfigured mobile launcher can support the largest SLS model or an entirely new one will be needed “is an open question that will be driven by the final design of the 130-ton rocket,” the report says.   The auditors recommended close coordination between Kennedy and the two centers managing development of the SLS and Orion crew capsule to ensure that changes in the rocket’s design are clearly communicated and understood.   Marshall has new director; Lightfoot job promotion permanent   Lee Roop - Huntsville Times   Patrick Scheuermann, currently director of NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, has been named director of Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden announced today. Also today, former Marshall director Robert Lightfoot's position as NASA associate administrator was made permanent.   Scheuermann's successor as the Stennis director is Dr. Richard J. Gilbrech, currently deputy director. All three management changes are effective immediately.   "Robert, Patrick and Rick are three of NASA's finest public servants who will continue to play key roles in our agency's future,"' NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said. "'America is fortunate to have three such talented leaders assuming these important jobs at a pivotal time for NASA and space exploration."   Scheuermann's selection drew immediate positive reaction from Alabama's two U.S. senators, who fought with the White House to keep NASA moving on a new heavy lift rocket after that program looked in jeopardy several years ago. That rocket system, known as the Space Launch System (SLS), is being developed at the Marshall Space Flight Center.     "By all accounts, Mr. Scheuermann is a highly qualified individual who is knowledgeable and passionate about SLS," U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa, said in a statement. "I look forward to working with him to ensure that Huntsville maintains a key role in preserving U.S. leadership in human space flight."   U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Mobile, also praised Scheuermann's selection.  "Those who know him describe Patrick Scheuermann as bright, enthusiastic, and dedicated. He knows the Huntsville area and Marshall Space Flight Center well, has experience in rocketry, and is, by all accounts, a great choice. I spoke this morning with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, who spoke highly of him.   "Scheuermann's selection is a good signal for the future," Sessions said, "and it was also good to hear the administrator reaffirm his commitment to human space flight and the 130 metric ton heavy lift rocket."   Stennis, located near Bay St. Louis, Miss., is where NASA tests the rocket engines whose development is managed at Marshall.   MSU team to send experiments to International Space Station   Anne Cantrell - Bozeman Daily Chronicle (via MSU News Service)   When NASA shut down the space shuttle program in 2011, Sheila Nielsen-Preiss thought her opportunity to conduct experiments in space was over.   But this fall, with the help of NASA and a private space company, Nielsen-Preiss and a team of students from Montana State University plan to send research experiments to the International Space Station.   Their experiments will look at how a pathogenic yeast called Candida albicans responds to near weightlessness. What they learn could help keep astronauts safe and provide better tools to fight yeast infections on Earth.   “We can put in barricades to infection, such as effective antimicrobial agents, if we understand how Candida is responding to the environment,” said Nielsen-Preiss, who directs MSU Health Professions Advising Office and has a research appointment through MSU’s immunology and infectious diseases department.   Candida albicans commonly lives in the mouth, gastrointestinal tract and other areas of the body. Nielsen-Preiss said the yeast can cause localized — and relatively easily treated — infections in otherwise healthy individuals, but for people whose immune systems are compromised, the infections the yeast causes can be lethal.   Spaceflight can affect astronauts’ immune systems and can make them more susceptible to infection, Nielsen-Preiss said, and her team’s ground-based studies have indicated that Candida albicans could become more infectious in weightless environments.   To learn more about the yeast, Nielsen-Preiss and the team of students will send a series of experiments into space via an unmanned capsule called Dragon, a Space Exploration Technologies Corporation vessel. SpaceX, as the company is known, is the first private company to ship cargo to the International Space Station.   The launch is tentatively set for Oct. 5 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The team will fly to Florida in late September to prepare for launch. Then, they’ll watch the launch from Cape Canaveral.   The experiments will return to Earth aboard Dragon, which is scheduled to parachute into the Pacific Ocean. A ship will bring the experiments to the California coast, and then they will return to Montana for analysis.   Nielsen-Preiss said the opportunity for the students on her team — which includes five MSU students and recent graduates — is clearly unique.   “How many people can say they’ve worked on a flight experiment?” she said.   Shuttle Endeavour in California: Los Angeles Space Fans Speak Out   Olivia Hemaratanatorn - Space.com   Californians young and old came out to greet the retired space shuttle Endeavour as it landed in Los Angeles last week atop a jumbo jet.   Endeavour, a veteran of 25 flights to space, is due to take up residence soon as an exhibit at the California Science Center in its new Los Angeles home. Endeavour hopscotched across the country from Florida to Texas, eventually arriving at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Friday, riding piggyback aboard NASA's modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.   During Endeavour's arrival in Los Angeles, the shuttle flew over landmarks such as Disneyland, the Getty Museum, the Santa Monica Pier and Universal Studios. Photographer Olivia Hemaratanatorn watched Endeavour's arrival with the crowd gathered at L.A.'s Griffith Park Observatory, which affords a view of the famous "Hollywood" sign. Here's what some of the onlookers had to say:   "My dad was a B-24 pilot in World War II and he passed away two years ago. I got laid off last Friday and thought I'd make something of today. It was one of the most majestic things I had ever seen. I'm going to cry. It was so beautiful. I love the way it sits on the back of the plane, kind of like she's tired and he's bringing her home. I'm also depressed we don't have no manned flights planned. There should be money for NASA … It seems like an end of an era." -- Steph Truitt, 56   "I came to check out the shuttle Endeavour, to show support. It was humongous. It was so worth it — worth the heat, the crowd. Makes you feel all patriotic again." -- Marcela Ali, 32   "It's the end of manned spaceflight, maybe for the rest of my lifetime. It's a historic event. I had to be here. When my dad was 14, he watched Lindbergh take off. This is the full circle.   I was in elementary school when they launched Sputnik, high school was walking on the moon, and now this in my lifetime." - Bob McKenna, 58   "I wanted to see Endeavour. I've been following it since July on Twitter and everything trying to get to it.   It was super amazing. I'm so glad we woke up so early. I can't wait for the parade and when it gets to the Science Center. Can you imagine seeing it on the ground?" -- Midori Gutierrez, 25   "I heard it was a spacecraft. I wanted to see it and know what it looked like. I was surprised because it was really big!" -- Sidney Wilkison, 9   "We came here today to see the rocket. When I saw it on TV, I thought it was cool. If you watch it on TV, it's on a camera. I watched it in real life so it's better." -- Emiliano Toele, 7   "To see the space shuttle was amazing. We ditched school to come to see it fly over for the last time and it was worth it."  -- Makena Armitage, 7 1/2   "I thought it was cool! We woke up at three in the morning to come here. I wanted to be part of history." -- Kristi Wilkison, 39   "I came here to witness history in the making and to enjoy a good time with my little brother. Magnificent! I was star struck, no comment, basically shocked and awed. It was one high point of my life." -- Fernando Pelaxtla, 22   "We wanted to see the shuttle fly over, just to see it and not [only] on newsreels or books or hear about it in elementary school classes.   "It was amazing. It was a strange sense of pride to think of where it's been, that it's flown out of our atmosphere and for it to be this close.   "(The pilots) knew how special it was for everyone. They passed three times, [providing] not just a view from underneath but the side as well. It's a marvel of engineering and ingenuity." -- Angat Gaada, 28   "It's coming home to California after being around the Earth like 407 times or something like that. Also, [we came] to have a piece of California history." -- Phil Phanm, 22   "It was breathtaking. It was more than I thought it was going to be. When I heard everyone cheer, I got so excited." -- Rey Burbank, 55   For those Californians who didn't get a chance to see Endeavour fly in, it's not too late. Next month, starting Oct. 12, the orbiter will make its final trek from the airport to its museum home. During the 12-mile (19-kilometer) trip, the shuttle will be paraded through the streets of Inglewood and Los Angeles, giving thousands of people an up-close view of Endeavour on the move one last time.   Council chooses ‘Inspiration’ as name for space shuttle mock-up   Ben Baeder – Downey Beat   After a short debate, the City Council on Tuesday decided to name the city’s space shuttle mock-up ‘Inspiration.’   The name was the favorite of Mayor Roger Brossmer, the councilman who spends the most time working on the programming at the Columbia Memorial Space Center and who has been the council’s driving force on issues related to the city’s aerospace history.   “Not only did it inspire all the shuttles to follow, but I really think it captures what we’re trying to accomplish,” Brossmer said.   Councilmen Mario Guerra and David Gaffin were initially in favor of ‘Genesis,’ which was among the three finalists chosen from 150 entries. The other finalist was ‘Legacy.’   Councilman Luis Marquez was also in favor of ‘Inspiration.’   With the vote 2-2, it came time for Councilman Fernando Vasquez to make his decision.   He jokingly said he was abstaining before he voted in favor of ‘Inspiration.’   When the City Clerk called for the official vote, all five men were in favor of ‘Inspiration.’   Brossmer said the name alluded to history while also reminding the public that the Space Center and the mock-up are being preserved to inspire the next generation of scientists.   The mock-up was built in Downey in the 1970s to help NASA’s scientists design the five shuttles that eventually flew into space.   The city is storing the mostly wooden craft in a tent until the city is able to build a permanent home for the shuttle south of the Space Center.   City officials hope to eventually refurbish the aging craft and to let tourists go inside as part of an interactive exhibit.   END