OF SPECIAL INTEREST
Teachers and Students: See the items in the Education: News & Tips Section Below!!
My Dear Friend, Eddie Gonzales, Stars in a Conversation with Goddard! He’s the Program Manager for People, Culture, and Equity for the Heliophysics Division of the Science and Exploration Directorate of NASA, duty-stationed at Goddard Space Flight Center. He was named to the NASA Advisory Council by NASA Administrator Nelson last August, a Big Deal. He’s a wonderful fellow, loves music, and wears a cool hat. Find out more about him, his most astute advice, and the important things he does to help make NASA such a great place to work: https://www.nasa.gov/people-of-nasa/goddard-people/edward-gonzales-fosters-a-culturally-safe-workplace-for-current-future-employees.
CONGRATULATIONS, my friend!
Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU): The University of Hawaii’s Institute for Astronomy is accepting applications for Summer, 2025, internships for undergraduates. It is a great opportunity to gain experience and make contacts that will accelerate the intern’s career! For more information, see: https://student.ifa.hawaii.edu/reu. I know that many of you are “beyond your internship years,” but please pass this note along to undergrads you might know with an interest in astronomy or Space exploration.
NASA has other REU internships; see: https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/internship-programs. The American Astronomical Society also has info about REU programs; see: https://aas.org/careers/internships-summer-jobs.
ERROR: A sharp-eyed Docent, who is also a senior NASA official, caught an error in a recent calendar entry, which also had a dead link. Thank you, JS! Here’s the corrected entry for November 28:
1983: Launch of STS-9 Space Shuttle Columbia, on the first flight of the European Skylab Spacelab-1 module. Mission Specialist Ulf Merbold became the first ESA astronaut.
Celebrate the Heliophysics Big Year: NASA’s Science Mission Directorate comprises four divisions: Astrophysics, Heliophysics, Planetary Science, and Earth Science. From time to time, a division will institute a year or so long outreach effort. When I was at HQ, the emphasis was on the “Year of the Solar System.” Now, we are in the middle of an 18-month “Heliophysics Big Year.” The 2024 total Solar eclipse was one of the big events of the Big Year, and the ongoing data from the Parker Solar Probe, the Solar Dynamics Observatory, and other assets make for good engagement material. Free Heliophysics and Math Webinars are available, too; find out more at: https://science.nasa.gov/learning-resources/science-activation/celebrate-the-heliophysics-big-year-with-free-heliophysics-and-math-webinars-from-nasa-heat. And, of course, don’t miss this instalment’s Item of the Week, about the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory! [Didja know that there are 27 spacecraft in 20 missions in Space right now observing the Sun? Not all of them are NASA’s, but that’s still a lot!]
MethaneSAT: NASA Earth-observing satellites produce mountains of data useful for understanding the nature and status of the environment in which we live. However, they are not the only organization involved! Methane is a dangerously powerful greenhouse gas. Monitoring its release is difficult, especially from small but numerous sources, but the Environmental Defense Fund found a solution. They partnered with BAE Systems, Harvard Science Partners, Blue Canyon Technologies, SAO Science Partners, Google, and the New Zealand Space Agency to design, build, and launch MethaneSAT, a small satellite capable of monitoring small and mid-sized methane emissions that otherwise might be missed. The satellite is operated jointly by the EDF and the NZSA. It’s New Zealand’s first space science mission. Much of the EDF’s funding for the project was underwritten by the Bezos Earth Fund. For more information, see: https://www.methanesat.org.
Europa Clipper Graphic Novel: NASA is producing Astrobiology: The Story of our Search for Life, a set of graphic novels showcasing some part of the search of extraterrestrial life. The fourth issue of the series, Missions to the Outer Solar System, just came out. Even though there is little sunlight that far from the Sun, some of the moons there might be abodes for life. One of those moons is Jupiter’s Europa, and the recently-launched Europa Clipper, plays a prominent role in the story. Find out more about the series here: https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/resources/graphic-histories; find out more about the fourth issue, see: https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/planetary-science/astrobiology/nasas-new-edition-of-graphic-novel-features-europa-clipper.
DESI VIDEOS! The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) is mounted on the Mayall Telescope at Kitt Peak, Arizona. It is used to explore the structure of the Universe on the largest scales over all of time. “Gravity has shaped our cosmos. Its attractive influence turned tiny differences in the amount of matter present in the early universe into the sprawling strands of galaxies we see today. A new study using data from DESI has traced how this cosmic structure grew over the past 11 billion years, providing the most precise test to date of gravity at very large scales.” DESI data support Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity. This news from Berkeley Lab has a lot more information, and two amazing videos of the Universe over time, in #D; https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2024/11/19/new-desi-results-weigh-in-on-gravity.
FROM AVIATION WEEK
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson on NASA’s Future: Nelson sat with Aviation Week editors a few weeks ago and discussed a variety of issues facing the Agency.He was asked about the future of the post-ISS termination in 2030, the outsourcing of launch services, Starliner, Artemis, sustainable aviation, China competition, and much more. Check it out at: https://aviationweek.com/space/budget-policy-regulation/nasa-administrator-bill-nelson-agencys-future!
Aviation Week also has an article on how Western Space Agencies are gearing up for a new era of lunar exploration; see: https://aviationweek.com/space/space-exploration/western-space-agencies-gear-new-era-lunar-exploration. See more in the News: Humans in Space section.
And more, Aviation Week has posted the transcript of a podcast entitled, “Understanding UAP as an Aerospace Safety Concern.” That’s right, “UAP” as in UFO! The podcast’s guest is Ryan Graves, the “executive director for Americans for Safe Aerospace, the first military pilot-led nonprofit dedicated to unidentified anomalous phenomena as a matter of national security, aerospace safety and science.” He is also the “first chair of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Integration and Outreach Committee whose goal is to serve as a neutral, scientifically focused group, which to enable safer commercial and military air and space operations and critically, to destigmatize the topic.” Docents and Solar System Ambassadors, you might get questions about this, so check out what Graves has to say at: https://aviationweek.com/podcasts/check-6/podcast-understanding-uap-aerospace-safety-concern!
For Those of You in the Colorado Springs Area: The Space Foundation Discovery Center on Garden of the Gods Avenue has been undergoing a significant expansion and updating, and has reopened as of June 1. Find out more about it at: https://discoverspace.org and more about the Space Foundation at: https://www.spacefoundation.org. In addition, the Planetarium at the U.S. Air Force Academy offers a variety of public programs; for more information, see: https://www.usafa.edu/facilities/planetarium. The Academy also has great STEM outreach programming for students and teachers, see: https://www.usafa.edu/research/stem-outreach.
Jack Cross: I have met an interesting fellow on-line via one of NASM’s wonderful Docents. His name is Jack Cross, and he proudly served in the U.S. Navy from 1950 to 1954 as a Bosun’s Mate. He was on a series of warships at first, then he moved over to the USS Yellowstone, a tender that served the Navy’s Sixth Fleet. He joined the Navy and saw the world!
Now retired, Jack has put together a series of picture-rich PowerPoint presentations. He kindly gave me permission to post three of them already, one about D-Day, one about “A Day of Mercy in the Sky,” and one about his Navy career, which gives a real interesting look at what Navy life was like at the start of the Cold War. Check all three out on the Archive: Other Stuff page of the website! Thank you, Jack!
NEW FEATURE OF SPECIAL INTEREST: IN THE NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM
I recently had the privilege of visiting the National Air and Space Museum, both the original building on the National Mall, now undergoing renovation, and the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy building at Dulles Airport, where a number of planes and other artifacts normally downtown are now on display. A number of Docents and museum staff get A+StW, and I thought I could expand the Of Special Interest section to include info relating to NASM programming, collection, and research. I hope the new material makes you want to made the trip to see NASM in person!
Vintage Aviation News has posted a piece about the changes being made in NASM’s Pioneers of Flight Gallery. NASM folks already are familiar with this, but those of you waiting to see the National Mall Building of NASM after its ongoing renovation will want to check this out: https://vintageaviationnews.com/aviation-museum-news/pioneers-of-flight-gallery-at-the-national-air-and-space-museum.html!
DOCENTS (and all others interested in Solar System exploration history): If you don’t have an on-line copy of Fordham University’s Asif A. Siddiqi’s fabulous book, Beyond Earth: A Chronicle of Deep Space Exploration, you should. You can find it at: https://www.nasa.gov/connect/ebooks/beyond_earth_detail.html.
IMPORTANT ANNIVERSARIES the next two weeks have been the subject of previous Items of the Week. CHECK THEM OUT (AGAIN) HERE.
Tuesday, December 10, is the 113th anniversary of the first all-flight trans-continental trip, by Calbraith Rodgers in his famous airplane, the Vin Fiz. For more about him, see here.
Tuesday, December 10, is also the 83rd anniversary of Colin Kelly winning a posthumous DFC for attacking the Japanese Philippine Landing Force. For more him and the dark days after Pearl Harbor, see here. Also included in the linked item: Henry Elrod, John Magee Jr., Jesus Villamor, Jimmu Doolittle, and Buzz Wagner.
Tuesday, December 10, is also the 61st anniversary of the crash of Chuck Yeager that starts “The Right Stuff.” He flew the third F-104 Starfighter delivered to the USAF to over 100,000’ where the aircraft went out of control. Yeager survived the ejection, but was hurt badly. For more on his illustrious exploits, see here and here.
Thursday, December 12, is the 83rd anniversary of Jesus Villamor’s victory over a Japanese bomber, one of the few victories scored with a P-26 Peashooter. For more on him and the P-26, see here.
Friday, December 13, is the 62nd anniversary of the launch of the Relay 1 communications satellite. For more on the utilization of near-Earth Space, see here.
Saturday, December 14, is the 478th birthday of astronomer Tycho Brahe. His observations (per-telescope!), especially of Mars, allowed Johannes Kepler to derive his famous Three Laws of Planetary Motion. For more on those early days of astronomy, see here.
Saturday, December 14, is also the 62nd anniversary of the first successful planetary fly-by mission (Mariner 2 at Venus) AND the 52nd of the last (for now) footprint being made on the Moon (Apollo 17’s Gene Cernan). For more about that amazing decade, see here.