OF SPECIAL INTEREST
OF SPECIAL INTEREST NEWS
JPL Relief Fund: The Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s campus was spared direct fire damage (barely), but the Eaton Fire devastated the surrounding area. Over 200 JPL employees lost their homes. A Relief Fund has been set up to help them recover. The following is from the Fund’s announcement: “The Caltech and JPL communities—our dedicated staff, faculty, and students—have been greatly impacted by this week’s devastating fires in Southern California. Thousands in our community have been displaced under mandatory evacuation orders, and hundreds including their families have lost their homes in the fires. In response to this crisis, we have established a special Caltech and JPL Disaster Relief Fund to support our affected colleagues and students. Every gift to this fund will support individuals whose lives have been interrupted by this tragedy, whether they've lost their homes or are experiencing some other dire situation due to this crisis.”
A most worthy cause, indeed!
OF SPECIAL INTEREST FYI
NASA Administrator Steps Down: Former Senator Bill Nelson stepped down from his post as NASA Administrator, having served in a variety of governmental roles for 53 years. His Deputy, Astronaut Pam Melroy, left also. Janet Petro, recent Director of Kennedy Space Center, will serve as interim chief until Jared Isaacman can be confirmed by Congression. While Isaacman has no prior government experience, he has flown in Space twice and was one of the four private citizens to make a Spacewalk, further cementing his close ties with Elon Musk and SpaceX. He is a billionaire from his on-line payment company, Shift 4, and has personally invested $27.5 million in SpaceX as of 2021. Shift 4 has also entered a five-year partnership with SpaceX’s satellite internet service, Starlink, to serve as the Starlink payment platform. Isaacman did post this statement on X: “With the support of President Trump, I can promise you this: We will never again lose our ability to journey to the stars and never settle for second place.” [Who’s gonna tell him?] For more information on Isaacman and the appointment, see: https://www.npr.org/2024/12/04/nx-s1-5215889/trump-chooses-billionaire-astronaut-jared-isaacman-to-run-nasa
EOS’ Favorite Science Stories of 2024:Eos is a science news magazine published by the American Geophysical Union. It’s available in both print and on-line versions. They recently posted a story about which Earth and Space science stories were particularly noteworthy this last year, from new scientific sign language to extraterrestrial sample return to Point Nemo. Check it out at: https://eos.org/articles/our-favorite-science-stories-of-2024!
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!
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.
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!
OF SPECIAL INTEREST LINKS AND OTHER INFORMATION
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!
NASM’s Bong P-38: Richard I. Bong, the highest-scoring American fighter pilot in WWII, came back to the U.S. before the end of the War. In addition to his appearing at bond drives, he became a test pilot. He was a Wright Filed outside Dayton on April 16, 1945, slated to fly a P-338 with an experimental control system. The test went awry before it began, when the right engine exploded. Major Bong was able to land the aircraft without further difficulty. That very aircraft is now on display in the Hazy Center today! For more information on Dick Bong, see the Item of the Week in this installment. For more on the NASM P-38, see: https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/lockheed-p-38j-10-lo-lightning/nasm_A19600295000.
NASA Research Experience for Undergraduates 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.
Vintage Aviation News recently 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.