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August 2024 Transformer of the Month: Selina Salgado

As a Human Resource Business Partner at NASA Headquarters, Selina Salgado describes her job as helping with “all things people” for the enterprise. By facilitating technological solutions to human resources (HR) challenges and needs, she excels at an often-underestimated aspect of Digital Transformation (DT): the interpersonal side. As a champion of community building, knowledge sharing, and digital upskilling, Selina was an easy selection for this month’s Digital Transformer award.   

Selina started at NASA in 2019 as a Pathways intern and previously worked as a mentoring coordinator for Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), which is where her Digital Transformation journey began. At MSFC, she created an all-in-one, automated system for open job postings, which decreased the agency’s time to hire and increased visibility for available positions. She has aspirations for further leveraging these types of systems to improve inclusive teaming across NASA by making HR tools available and interoperable across centers. Her current team under the Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) operates with an 80-20 mentality, working to create common tools and solutions that are 80% interoperable and 20% customizable to the specific organization or scenario.   

In addition to her technical work on digital HR tools like the automated job board, Selina takes initiative to help people understand what transformation means to them and how to practice transformation in their daily lives. In collaboration with Jess Deibert, DT Digital Academy Lead, Selina created the new Transformation Tips (TxTips) series, which features NASA employees’ tech-related tips for doing their work. The instant popularity of the community-led series led to speaker requests for TxTip presentations from several other offices at NASA, including the Office of STEM Engagement. 

Most recently, Selina has become a key contributor and partner in NASA’s Summer of AI upskilling campaign to help employees maximize the benefits of AI while managing risks. As a self-taught developer, Selina has created several tools and apps to streamline agency-wide collaboration and data collection. She leveraged PowerApps, Power Automate, and Power BI, integrated with SharePoint, to feed data to a dashboard used by the Agency Chief AI Officer to brief the Administrator on impact metrics from the Summer of AI campaign. Selina also developed and executed several events to engage and excite the workforce around this campaign, including conceiving the agency’s first “Battle of the Bots” event. Her Reddit-style “Ask Me Anything” event helped employees understand the differences in large language models by pitting ChatGPT against Microsoft CoPilot to respond to participant-submitted prompts and questions. The Battle of the Bots saw the highest engagement of any asynchronous Summer of AI event.  

Selina’s educational background aligns with her focus on the connective and collaborative aspects of Digital Transformation. She received her bachelor’s degree in business management with a focus in human resource management and her master’s degree in education and student affairs, which led to her interest in NASA’s internship and mentorship programs. The connection piece, she says, is what she enjoys most about collaborating with DT. “If you run into an issue, there’s a community of practice out there for you to reach out to and engage with…to build that network with other employees that are interested in and passionate about transformation.”   

The other influence Selina points to along her Digital Transformation journey is her military background. “I grew up in a military household, and then I joined the Navy right out of high school. There’s a culture there of how to get things done,” says Selina. “What drives my passion for processes and systems is that it’s transferrable to somebody else…I need to be able to pass that on to the next person.” She gets energized by learning new tools and finding solutions to roadblocks, especially when she can establish procedures for others to leverage and build on her work. “That’s something that I love about transformation and just change in general—that you get to develop and learn and connect with new people.”    

If there’s one message Selina hopes to spread at NASA through her achievements as a Digital Transformer, it’s that Digital Transformation is for everyone. “You don’t have to be in IT, you don’t have to have that background or technical [ability],” she says. “I mean, I’m in HR. Any field at NASA can utilize the digital landscape and digital transformation. Those principles and resources are available for everybody.” 

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Maya L. Kikuchi

NASA Ames Stars of the Month: August 2024

The NASA Ames Science Directorate recognizes the outstanding contributions of (pictured left to right) Sangsavang Stevie Phothisane, Taryn Kavanagh, Andro Rios, and Hami Ray. Their commitment to the NASA mission represents the talent, camaraderie, and vision needed to explore this world and beyond.

Earth Science Star: Sangsavang Stevie Phothisane

Sangsavang Stevie Phothisane, a Deputy Project Manager in the Earth Science Project Office (ESPO), demonstrated outstanding leadership as the site manager for both of the field campaigns of the Arctic Radiation-Cloud-Aerosol-Surface Interaction Experiment (ARCSIX) based at Pituffik Space Base, Greenland.  He has excelled in managing this large and complex project, which encompasses over 75 scientists and engineers and 3 research aircraft, in an extremely remote location 750 miles north of the Arctic Circle.

Space Science & Astrobiology Star: Taryn Kavanagh

Taryn Kavanagh, Research Support Specialist, is an indispensable member of the Astrophysics Branch. She is a consummate professional in all of her administrative duties and goes above and beyond expectations to support our team, our customers and our mission. Taryn recently supported many high-level visits with increased workload in addition to meeting branch needs which has boosted morale and goodwill with both internal and external partners.

Space Science & Astrobiology Star of the Month: Andro Rios

Dr. Andro Rios, a research scientist in the Exobiology Branch, established new strategic partnerships with San Jose State University and Skyline College through the Science Mission Directorate Bridge Program (now MOSAICS). He was awarded grant funding for the ASPIRE Program (Astrobiology Scholars Program Immersive Research Experience), offering a two-year internship for under-represented undergraduates to work with NASA scientists and engineers. Dr. Rios selected and successfully led the first cohort of students for ASPIRE this summer.

Space Biosciences Star: Hami Ray

Hami Ray has stepped up as the Deputy Project Manager for the Lunar Explorer Instrument for space biology Applications (LEIA) mission to study the biological effects of the lunar surface’s extreme environmental conditions on living organisms. She has been instrumental in timely and critical process improvement efforts for LEIA to enable project success. In addition to Ray’s role with LEIA, she also excels as the Deputy Project Manager for the Space Synthetic Biology (SynBio) mission and as the Project Manager for the GLOW mission concept to explore Venus’ upper atmospheric dynamics.

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Aaron McKinnon

First Look at Hybrid Electric Research Aircraft 

In a special unveiling ceremony on Aug. 22, 2024, the public received a first look at magniX’s Dash 7 aircraft that will serve as a testbed for sustainable aviation research with NASA’s Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration (EPFD) project. 

Hosted by magniX at King County International Airport, commonly known as Boeing Field, in Seattle, Washington, leaders from NASA and magniX unveiled the research vehicle in its new livery.  

EPFD is a collaboration between NASA and industry to demonstrate the capabilities of electrified aircraft propulsion technologies in reducing emissions for future commercial aircraft in mid-2030s.  

As part of this demonstration, magniX will modify the Dash 7 with a new hybrid electric system to conduct ground and flight tests. NASA will use data gathered from these tests to identify and minimize barriers in certifying these new technologies and help inform new standards and regulations for future electrified aircraft.  

“We are a research organization that continues to advance aviation, solve the problems of flight, and lead the community into the future,” said Robert A. Pearce, associate administrator for NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. “Through our EPFD project, we’re taking big steps in partnership to make sure electric aviation is part of the future of commercial flight.” 

With the aircraft livery complete, magniX will begin the process of converting the Dash 7 into a research testbed with a hybrid electric propulsion system. Flight tests with the new system are planned for 2026.

Image Credit: NASA/David C. Bowman

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Anisha Engineer

NASA Funds Studies to Support Crew Performance on Long-Duration Missions

NASA is funding 11 new studies to better understand how to best support the health and performance of crew members during long-duration spaceflight missions. The awardees will complete the studies on Earth without the need for samples and data from astronauts.

Together, the studies will help measure physiological and psychological responses to physical and mental challenges that astronauts may encounter during spaceflight. The projects will address numerous spaceflight risks related to team performance, communication, living environment, decision-making, blood flow, and brain health. With this information, NASA will better mitigate risks and protect astronaut health and performance during future long-duration missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

The 11 finalists were selected from 123 proposals in response to the 2024 Human Exploration Research Opportunities available through the NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System. Selected proposals originate from 10 institutions, and the cumulative award totals about $14.6 million. The durations of the projects range from one to five years.

The following investigators and teams were selected:

• Katya Arquilla, University Of Colorado, Boulder, “Investigating Countermeasures for Communication Delays through the Laboratory-based Exploration Mission Analog”
• Tripp Driskell, Florida Maxima Corporation, “CADMUS (Crew Adaptive Decision Making Under Stress) and Crew Decision Support System: Development, Validation, and Proof-of-Concept”
• Christopher Jones, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, “Predicting Operationally Meaningful Performance with Multivariate Biomarkers Using Advanced Algorithms”
• Jessica Marquez, NASA Ames Research Center, Silicon Valley, California, “Enhancing Performance and Communication for Distributed Teams During Lunar Spacewalks”
• Shu-Chieh Wu, San Jose State University Research Foundation, California, “Lessening the Impact of Interface Inconsistency Through Goal-Directed Crew Operations”
• Erika Rashka, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, “Local Psychiatric Digital Phenotyping for Isolated, Constrained, and Extreme (ICE) Environments via Multimodal Sensing”
• Ana Diaz Artiles, Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, College Station, “Dose-response Curves of Cardiovascular and Ocular Variables During Graded Lower Body Negative Pressure in Microgravity Conditions Using Parabolic Flight”
• Theodora Chaspari, University Of Colorado, Boulder, “A Speech-Based Artificial Intelligence System for Predicting Team Functioning Degradation in HERA (Human Exploration Research Analog) Missions”
• Ute Fischer, Georgia Tech Research Corporation, Atlanta, “Supporting Collaboration and Connectedness between Space and Ground at Lunar Latencies”
• Xiaohong Lu, Louisiana State University, Shreveport, “Space Exposome Converges on Genotoxic Stress to Accelerate Brain Aging and Countermeasures to Mitigate Acute and Late Central Nervous System Risks”
• Catherine Davis, Henry M. Jackson Foundation For The Advancement of Military Medicine, North Bethesda, Maryland, “NeuroSTAR (Neurobehavioral Changes Following Stressors and Radiation): Predicting Mission Impacts from Analogous Human and Rodent Endpoints”

Proposals were independently reviewed by subject matter experts in academia, industry, and government using a dual anonymous peer-review process to assess scientific merit. NASA assessed the top scoring proposals for relevance to the agency’s human research roadmap before final selections were made.

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NASA’s Human Research Program pursues the best methods and technologies to support safe, productive human space travel. Through science conducted in laboratories, ground-based analogs, and the International Space Station, the program scrutinizes how spaceflight affects human bodies and behaviors. Such research continues to drive NASA’s mission to innovate ways that keep astronauts healthy as space exploration expands to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

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NASA Shares Asteroid Bennu Sample in Exchange with JAXA

As part of an asteroid sample exchange, NASA has transferred to JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) a portion of the asteroid Bennu sample collected by the agency’s OSIRIS-REx mission. The sample was officially handed over by NASA officials during a ceremony on Aug. 22 at JAXA’s Sagamihara, Japan, campus.

This asteroid sample transfer follows the November 2021 exchange where JAXA transferred to NASA a portion of the sample retrieved from asteroid Ryugu by its Hayabusa2 spacecraft. This agreement allows NASA and JAXA to share achievements and promote scientific and technological cooperation on asteroid sample return missions. The scientific goals of the two missions are to understand the origins and histories of primitive, organic-rich asteroids and what role they may have played in the formation of the planets.

“We value our continued collaboration with JAXA on asteroid sample return missions to both increase our science return and reduce risk on these and other missions,” said Kathleen Vander Kaaden, chief scientist for astromaterials curation in the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “JAXA has extensive curation capabilities, and we look forward to what we will learn from the shared analysis of the OSIRIS-REx samples.”

The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer, or OSIRIS-REx, spacecraft delivered 4.29 ounces (121.6 grams) of material from Bennu, more than double the mission’s mass requirement, as well as 24 steel Velcro^® pads containing dust from the contact with Bennu. As part of the agreement, the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston transferred to JAXA 0.023 ounces (0.66 grams) of the Bennu sample, equaling 0.55% of the total sample mass, and one of the 24 contact pads.

Hayabusa2 collected 0.19 ounces (5.4 grams) of Ryugu between two samples and, in 2021, JAXA provided NASA with 23 millimeter-sized grains plus aggregate sample material from Ryugu, enabling both countries to get the most out of the samples and share the responsibility of sample curation.

JAXA’s portion of the Bennu samples will be housed in the newly expanded clean rooms in the extraterrestrial sample curation center on the JAXA Sagamihara campus. The JAXA team received the samples enclosed in non-reactive nitrogen gas and will open them in similarly nitrogen-filled clean chambers, accessed with air-tight gloves. JAXA will now work to create an initial description of the sample, including weight measurements, imaging with both visible light and infrared light microscopes, and infrared spectroscopy. The sample will then be distributed through a competitively selected process for detailed analysis at other research institutes to study the differences and similarities between asteroids Bennu and Ryugu.

“Thank you for safely bringing the precious asteroid samples from Bennu to Earth and then to Japan,” said Tomohiro Usui, Astromaterials Science Research Group Manager, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, JAXA. “As fellow curators, we understand the tension and responsibility that accompany these tasks. Now, it is our turn at JAXA. We will go ahead with our plans to derive significant scientific outcomes from these valuable samples.”

Asteroids are debris left over from the dawn of the solar system. The Sun and its planets formed from a cloud of dust and gas about 4.6 billion years ago, and asteroids are thought to date back to the first few million years of our solar system’s history. Sample return missions like OSIRIS-REx and Hayabusa2 help provide new data on how the solar system’s evolution unfolded.

Initial analysis of the Bennu samples has revealed dust rich in carbon and nitrogen. Members of the OSIRIS-REx sample analysis team have also found evidence of organic molecules and minerals bearing phosphorous and water, which together could indicate the building blocks essential for life.

Both the Bennu sample and the asteroid Ryugu sample delivered by JAXA’s Hayabusa2 mission appear to have come from an ancient parent object formed beyond the current orbit of Saturn that was broken up and transported into the inner solar system. The differences between these asteroids are emerging as the detailed chemistry is analyzed.

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, provided overall mission management, systems engineering, and the safety and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona, Tucson, is the principal investigator. The university leads the science team and the mission’s science observation planning and data processing. Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado, built the spacecraft and provided flight operations. Goddard and KinetX Aerospace were responsible for navigating the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Curation for OSIRIS-REx takes place at NASA Johnson. International partnerships on this mission include the OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter instrument from CSA (Canadian Space Agency) and asteroid sample science collaboration with JAXA’s Hayabusa2 mission. OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA’s New Frontiers Program, managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

Find more information about NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission at:

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/osiris-rex

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News Media Contacts

Wynn Scott
NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-910-6835
wynn.b.scott@nasa.gov  

Karen Fox / Alana Johnson
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / alana.r.johnson@nasa.gov

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Sumer Loggins