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NASA Ames Astrogram – September 2019

The headshot image of Astrid Albaugh

Astrid Albaugh

Sep 30, 2019
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Contents

September 2019 issue of Ames' newsletter, the Astrogram

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Ames Hosts Call to Leadership 2019 – Celebration of Women Leaders Event

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On Aug. 26, 2019, NASA Ames and the Silicon Valley Leadership Group held the event, “Call to Leadership: A Celebration of Women Leaders” for Women’s Equality Day at the Center. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, Astronaut Megan McArthur (middle right photo), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (top photo, left) having a ‘fireside chat’ with U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo (top photo, right) were special guests at the event. Bridenstine spoke about NASA’s mission to put the first woman on the Moon with NASA’s Artemis program. The event kicked off the Leadership Group’s year-long series of women celebrations, which included two panel discussions: Women in Innovation and Leaders Across Generations. NASA aerospace research engineer Wendy Okolo (middle left photo, seated on panel third from right) joined Revathi Advaithi, CEO of Flex; Hannah Gordon, chief administrative officer and general counsel for the San Francisco 49ers; and Zoe Cruz, strategic advisor at Ripple and founder and CEO of EOZ Global, along with other panelists from the public and private sector who shared their experiences and best practices. More than 400 women attended the conference.
Credit: NASA Ames/Dominic Hart

Administrator Jim Bridenstine, Center Director Eugene Tu Hold Town Hall at Ames

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NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine (left) and NASA Ames Center Director Eugene Tu (right) held a Town Hall at Ames on Aug. 27, 2019, in the Syvertson Auditorium. The meeting was interactive, and employees were able to submit questions in person and online via the Conferences i/o tool. Those who have access to InsideAmes can view the video of the Town Hall here: https://insideames.arc.nasa.gov/nasa-administrator-town-hall-8-27-2019/
Credit: NASA Ames/Dominic Hart

Employees Create Giant Numeric Photo Celebrating Ames’ 80th Anniversary

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NASA Ames Research Center is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year. It was founded in 1939 as part of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics before becoming the NASA Center we know today. As we have in the past, one of the ways we celebrate this is with an iconic photo of our workforce, the Ames family. This tradition prioritizes what makes Ames unique, and that is all of the employees at Ames. The work you all do in support of our National Aeronautics and Space Administration is important, and appreciated. Whether you’ve been here for decades or less than a year, you are a part of what makes Ames one of the most invigorating places to work not only within NASA, but in the world. The wealth of talent and breadth of work we do here are why we’ve lasted for 80 years and will continue to do innovative and groundbreaking work for many more.
Credit: NASA photo

NASA in Silicon Valley Live’s Latest Podcast – Is There Life on Mars?

NASA in Silicon Valley Live is a talk show that features conversations with scientists, researchers, engineers and all-around cool people who work at NASA to push the boundaries of innovation. In this episode streamed on Sept. 19, 2019, we talk about how we’re developing new tools to search for life on Mars.

To view the recorded podcast, visit:

NASA Funds CubeSat Pathfinder Mission to Unique Lunar Orbit

by Alison Hawkes

NASA has awarded a $13.7 million contract to Advanced Space of Boulder, Colorado, to develop and operate a CubeSat mission to the same lunar orbit targeted for Gateway – an orbiting outpost astronauts will visit before descending to the surface of the Moon in a landing system as part of NASA’s Artemis program.

The Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) is expected to be the first spacecraft to operate in a near rectilinear halo orbit around the Moon. In this unique orbit, the CubeSat will rotate together with the Moon as it orbits Earth and will pass as close as 1,000 miles and as far as 43,500 miles from the lunar surface.

Animation showing a highly elliptical, a near rectilinear halo orbit around the Moon
Highly elliptical, a near rectilinear halo orbit around the Moon takes advantage of a precise balance point in the gravities of Earth and the Moon and creates a stability that is ideal for long-term missions like Gateway Credits: Advanced Space

For full story, see: CubeSatPathfinder

ARADS Project Designs Tools for Finding Signs of Life

by Abigail Tabor

Driving, Drilling and Detecting Life in Chile’s Mars-like Desert

How would you search for signs of life – traces of tiny, living microbes or their fossilized remains – in an extreme and distant environment? NASA scientists and engineers are working on an answer to that question, aiming to find out if life ever evolved on the planet Mars and if it still harbors life today.

A project called the Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies, or ARADS, has been designing tools and techniques for future exploration and testing them in one of the most Mars-like places on Earth: Chile’s Atacama Desert.

Each year from 2016 to 2019, the ARADS team, led by Brian Glass of NASA Ames, is spending one month working in the heart of the Atacama. This alien landscape is among the driest places on Earth; it can rain as little as one centimeter, or less than half an inch, per decade here. Despite being considerably warmer than Mars, the region is remarkably similar to the Red Planet today, due to its extreme dryness and soil chemistry.

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Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies team members Dean Bergman and Mary Beth Wilhelm, at NASA Ames, prepare to test the drill installed on the K-REX2 rover before beginning field tests in Chile’s Atacama Desert. The large pot holds a mix of soils with known properties that approximates a type of soil on Mars. The team will test the drill’s ability to cut into this material and retrieve a sample.
Credit: NASA Ames/Dominic Hart

For full story, see: ARADS

2019 NASA Honor Awards Presented

The 2019 NASA Honor Awards Ceremony for Ames Research Center was held at the Center on Sept. 26, 2019. This year’s awards guest speaker and presenter was Clayton Turner who was announced as the next LaRC Director. Ames presented the 2019 NASA Honor Awards to 60 employees who were selected for individual awards, and to 20 groups which were selected for the NASA Group Achievement Award.  

The names of the honorees are listed below:

2019 NASA HONOR AWARDS

Distinguished Service Medal
Daniel L. Dittman
Early Career Achievement Medal
Jonathan S. Crisolo
Mohana M. Gurram
Jeffrey R. Homola
James C. Jensen
Joey S. Mercer
Natasha L. Schatzman
Lindsay K. Stevens
Eric B. Ting
Early Career Public Achievement Medal
Joseph C. Ferguson
Edith Peters
Equal Employment Opportunity Medal
Annett M. Randall
Denise R. Snow
Exceptional Achievement Medal
Richard A. Capps
Yu Tsuan E. Ku
Peter S. Race
Ronald J. Reisman
Carlos Torrez
Nicolina S. Tubbs
May N. Windrem
Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal
Michael F. Barad
Carlos Malpica
Eleanor G. Rieffel
Ethan A. Romander
Nettie H. Roozeboom
Exceptional Public Achievement Medal
Jeffrey D. Brown
Carl D. Lawson
Birgit C. Wolf
Exceptional Public Service Medal
Yan-Tyng Chang
Timothy P. Demanty
Ray Dudum
Tahir Gokcen
Emily L. Schaller
Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal
Afshin Beheshti
Nagi N. Mansour J
effrey M. Moore

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Recipient of the Exceptional Technology Achievement Medal, Christopher Silva at the 2019 NASA Honor Awards Ceremony held Sept. 26, 2019. Credits: NASA photo by Dominic Hart

Exceptional Service Medal
Raymond C. Aguilar
Laurence J. Edwards
Sesi B. Kottapalli
Sandra Lozito
Keith H. Peterson
Chris Radbourne
Michael J. Wright
Exceptional Technology Achievement Medal
Richard Alena
Milton R. Checchi
Brian J. Glass
Christopher Silva
Outstanding Leadership Medal
Dwight Balough
Matthew C. Buffington
Misty D. Davies
Paul B. Demedeiros
Jeffery L. Hollingsworth
Jon M. Jenkins
David P. Thipphavong
Douglas Wardwell
Jill Willard
Outstanding Public Leadership Medal

Dennis B. Leveson-Gower

Silver Achievement Medal

Michael R. Dudley (Posthumously)

Bruce A. Foutch

Penny S. Hubbard

Group Achievement Award

ADEPT SR-1 Team

Ames Aeronautics Events and Outreach Team

ARC e-Invoicing Team

ATD-2 IADS Field Demonstration Team

Atmospheric Tomography Mission Connected Autonomous Smart Aerospace Systems Team

DaSHlink Team
Formal Requirements Elicitation Tool Team
GeoNeX Team HEEET Development TEAM
Lunar Rover Navigation Team
Mission Assurance Systems (MAS) Team
NFAC 609 Rotor/Tiltrotor Test Rig Team
ORACLES Team
ORION Ascent Abort 2 (AA2) Manufacturing Team
Seedling Growth Team
Small Spacecraft Technology Program
Student Airborne Research Program (SARP)
TLX Team
Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Team

President Donald Trumps Arrives at Moffett Field for Bay Area Visit

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NASA Ames hosted members of the White House staff supporting President Donald Trump’s visit to Silicon Valley on Sept. 17, 2019. The President arrived onboard Air Force One at Moffett Federal Airfield and departed the same afternoon.
Credit: NASA Ames/Dominic Hart

Selection of the 2019 NASA Ames Researcher Awards

The 2019 NASA Ames Researcher awards recognize exceptional scientific or engineering research conducted by NASA Ames Research Center civil servant staff. The 2019 H. Julian Allen Award is awarded to Dr. David Blacke for the paper entitled, “Characterization and Calibration of the CheMin Mineralogical Instrument on Mars Science Laboratory,” published in Space Science Reviews 170, 341-399 (2012). The award recognizes a scientific or engineering paper of outstanding technical merit and significance. It was established in 1969 to honor former Ames Center Director, Harvey Julian Allen, who published prolifically and valued the sort of out-of-the-box thinking that makes Ames famous as a research institution that is able to solve the nation’s most pressing and seemingly intractable aerospace challenges. The winning author receives a $10,000 honorarium, a plaque and is required to give a lecture to the Center. The 2019 Ames Early Career Researcher Award is awarded to Dr. Wendy Okolo. This award recognizes an early career employee that demonstrates exceptional scientific or engineering potential for leadership through outstanding research and the integration of research within the context of the mission of their organizations. The winning researcher receives a $2,500 personal award and is required to give a lecture to the Center. Congratulations again to all of the 2019 NASA Ames Research Center Researcher Awards recipients! For more information about the awards please see https://www.nasa.gov/ames/ocs/scientific-awards 

Sustainability Base Building Conference Room Dedicated to Steve Zornetzer

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Ames Center Director Eugene Tu (left) is seen here presenting Steve Zornetzer (right) on Sept. 5, 2019, with a plaque dedicating Room 103 in the Sustainability Base Building N232 as the Steven F. Zornetzer Leadership in Sustainability Conference Room. The plaque reads as follows: Steven F. Zornetzer – During his 34 years of service to the federal government, Dr. Steven F. Zornetzer championed this revolutionary building, knows as Sustainability Base. Under his leadership, the building has won multiple awards and brought a new focus on sustainability for the future of Ames Research Center. The Steven F. Zornetzer conference room is named in honor of his incredible work.
Credit: NASA Ames/Don Richey

Ames Technology Transfer Awards Ceremony Honors Innovators at Ames

The 2018 Technology Transfer Award honorees were recognized at an awards ceremony on Sept. 10, 2019, at Ames.  They were awarded for their hard work to develop new technologies that bring integrity and recognition to NASA and Ames. Their efforts over the past year have directly impacted Agency missions and projects and have enhanced the quality of life here on Earth. Their dedication and commitment to inspired innovation is fundamental to our success and to maintaining Ames’ leadership role in technology development and transfer. 

Employees who attended the awards ceremony were invited to the patent poster session after the event for an opportunity to learn more about the 2018 issued patents at this year’s showcase. 

Below is a list of those who were honored:

AMES TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AWARDS

2018 – NASA Software of the Year Runner-Up Award: 

NASA Task Load Index (TLX) for iOS

Team Members:
Brian Gore
Kenji Kato
Ronald Kim
Ben Stukenborg
Matthew Guibert
Matthew Sharpe
Kenneth Ebbs
Robert McVey

Federal Laboratory Consortium Far West Region 2018 Outstanding Technology Development Award:

NASA Task Load Index (TLX) for iOS

Team Members:
Brian Gore
Kenji Kato
Ronald Kim
Ben Stukenborg
Matthew Guibert
Matthew Sharpe
Kenneth Ebbs
Robert McVey

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Peter Goorjian (center) is seen here at the recent Ames Technology Transfer Awards Ceremony with Ames Center Director Eugene Tu (left) and Ames’ Chief Counsel Rob Padilla, holding a replica of his patent, “Methods and Devices for Space Optical Communications Using Laser Beams.” Credit: NASA Ames/Dominic Hart

2018 Issued Patents:

2018 Issued Patents:
Electromagnetic Monitoring and Control of a Plurality of Nanosatellites:
Donald I. Soloway

Heterogeneous Spacecraft Networks:
Nicolas T. Faber, Yosuke Nakamura, Chad R. Frost, Richard L. Alena

Biologically Inspired Radiation Reflector;
Michael I. Gusman, John W. Lawson, Sylvia M. Johnson, Thomas H. Squire

Metal Oxide Vertical Graphene Hybrid Supercapacitors:
Meyya Meyyappan

Methods and Devices for Space Optical Communications Using Laser Beams:
Peter M. Goorjian

System and Methods for Deploying Payloads:
Robert D. Ricks, Lee Brownston, Charles R. Friedericks, Shannon S. Ross, Nghia N. Mai, Shakib M. Ghassemieh, John W. Hines

Compact Science Experiment Module:
Terry C. Lusby, Sharmila Bhattacharya, Chetan Angadi, Siddharth Pandey

Electrical Response Using Nanotubes on a Fibrous Substrate:
Meyya Meyyappan, Jin-Woo Han

MiDAR – Multispectral Imaging, Detection and Active Reflectance:
Ved Chirayath

Microorganism Cultivation Platform for Human Life Support:
Halil Berberoglu, Erich D. Fleming, Thomas E. Murphy, Leslie E. Bebout

3-Dimensional Multi-functional Ablative Thermal Protection System (3DMAT):
Jay D. Feldman, Kenneth J. Mercer, Curt G. Wilkinson, Ethiraj Venkatapathy

Thousands Visit NASA Exhibit at Mountain View Local Festival

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The public engagement team from Ames hosted an exhibits booth at the Mountain View Art & Wine Festival on Sept. 7 and 8, 2019. The festival is an annual outdoor event featuring local artists, restaurants, wineries and more. The booth highlighted the Artemis program and NASA in Silicon Valley’s contributions with hands-on activities and NASA handouts, including an infrared camera, simulating the type of camera used on SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) aircraft, top photo. Visitors also had the chance to view images of Mars, SOFIA, the International Space Station images via virtual reality viewers, bottom photo. Ames has been part of the Mountain View community for more than 80 years. More than 3,000 visitors came to the booth that weekend and several stated it was the nicest information display booth at the festival.
Credit: photos by Astrid Albaugh

NASA Ames Booth and Exhibits a Favorite at Bay Area Comic Con

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Ames hosted a booth at the the 2019 Silicon Valley Comic Con in San Jose, Aug. 16-18, 2019 in conjunction with the NASA in Silicon Valley Exchange. The booth included various handouts for the public and also an infrared technology display as used on SOFIA (top right photo) and science demonstrations for the kids. The NASA Advanced Supercomputing Division also had a display at this year’s event (bottom left photo). The lower right photo is, dressed up as “Game of Thrones” characters, Femy McGrath (left) and Cynthia Norman-Carbon (right) posing with the actor Jason Mamoa (center) at the event. Silicon Valley Comic Con is three days of creativity, innovation and celebration. For more information, see: https://www.svcomiccon.com/
Credit: NASA photo by Don Richey

In Memoriam …

NASA Mechanical Systems Engineer Jeffrey Logan Passes Away

Jeff Logan sadly passed away on Aug. 25, 2019. Jeff began working at Ames in 1990, working on aircraft modification projects after stints at Lockheed and IBM.  He later served as a work package manager for the SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) cavity door project,

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Jeffrey Logan

later transitioning to the role of SOFIA project systems engineer.  In that role, Jeff’s work was key to the replacement of the old 747 SP engines, which resulted in greater fuel efficiency and performance. SOFIA pilots really appreciated Jeff pushing for and implementing the engine upgrades. After this, Jeff left Ames for the Department of Energy at Stanford’s Linear Accelerator where he once again was a facility construction manager.  He returned to Ames a few years later and led a team working on the final missions of the space shuttle, green rocket propulsion, SSTP small satellite systems engineering and most recently the Arc-jet NOX Scrubber project.

Speech written by Jeff’s children for his funeral service, summarizing his work experience:

Our dad was such an intelligent, creative, brilliant and smart man. Innovative ideas would just pour out of him. He created so many projects for NASA. One of his most recent Spacecraft project creations was the CubeSat Propulsion Pathfinder that advances the capability of cubesats.  

Our dad had an amazing 30 year career at NASA, which he loved so much. Our dad upgraded the SOFIA airplane engines so the airplane could stay in the air longer. Our dad came up with the innovative SOFIA cavity door design for the airplane’s telescope. To this day, the pilots are still thankful for our dad’s design upgrades to the plane. 

He also designed the SETI mobile research facility and he even flew on a Hercules C-130 aircraft to deliver the SETI facility to Puerto Rico.

He was the project lead for the Unitary Wind Tunnel Modernization Project. He designed the wind tunnel Turbulence Reduction System and dad thought of using screens and honeycomb to significantly improve the wind tunnel’s air flow. He also worked in the aircraft group where he worked on various aircrafts including the ER-2, King Air and C-141.

The highlight of our dad’s career was working on the Space Shuttle Program. Our dad was the structures manager for the Space Shuttle Program at NASA Ames. He did detailed structural analysis on the space shuttle’s roll-maneuver to ensure the safe return of our NASA astronauts. He was the one of the engineers that signed off that the shuttle was clear for re-entry. Dad met several astronauts, including astronaut Mike Massimino, and our dad worked on his flight and Mike Massimino personally thanked our dad for ensuring his safe return back to Earth.

Our dad particularly enjoyed working on the last shuttle flight, STS-135, where he got to meet Gene Kranz, the Apollo Flight Director.

I remember him mentioning how exciting it was meeting Gene Kranz and the astronauts. They all celebrated a successful final mission together.

We have placed the final Space Shuttle Launch pin, STS-135 on our dads suit collar, as this is his final flight, as he flys towards the heavens.

— Christina Logan, M.S.

Statistical Summary of Activities of the Protective Service Division’s Security/Law Enforcement and Fire Protection Services Units for Period Ending August 2019

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