Acquisition Integrity Program

In its functional leadership role, the Acquisition and Integrity Program (AIP) supports policy-level interactions with other governmental agencies combating procurement fraud. This Program provides specialized guidance and advice to the Office of the Chief Counsel at NASA Field Centers regarding procurement fraud matters; advises on affirmative litigation in the recovery of monies resulting from fraudulent activity on behalf of the Agency; and develops and coordinates NASA legal policy in these areas.

As a functional office to the NASA Administrator, the Acquisition Integrity Program provides legal advice regarding suspected fraud and other related irregularities in the acquisition process, suspected criminal standards of conduct violations, suspension and debarment decisions, and administrative agreements; represents NASA in interagency meetings or bodies such as the Department of Defense Procurement Fraud Working Group, and the Interagency Suspension and Debarment Committee; answers correspondence for the Administrator concerning acquisition integrity matters; and responds to Congressional inquiries and proposed Federal Acquisition Regulation rules concerning procurement fraud related issues.

The Acquisition Integrity Program provides centralized services to organizations within NASA regarding the statutes, regulations, and policies governing fraud. The Program is responsible for ensuring that significant allegations of fraud on NASA contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, funding instruments, and other commitments of NASA, are identified, investigated, and prosecuted. Centralized services provided by the Program also include: case referrals for investigation; interface with investigative agencies, U.S. Attorney’s Offices, and the Justice Department; coordination of criminal, civil, contractual, and administrative remedies; Suspension and Debarment recommendations and corresponding Administrative Agreements; education and training of the NASA workforce to prevent, detect, and deter procurement fraud; and educational outreach to the private sector on procurement fraud related issues.

Contacts

Director:
Monica Aquino-Thieman

Tel: 202-358-2262

Management and Program Analyst:
Laura Donegan

Attorney Staff:
Robert Vogt, Western Region Coordinator
Vacant, Central Region Coordinator
Vacant, Eastern Region Coordinator

Organization and Leadership

Headquarters OGC Organization
OGC Leadership Directory— Contact Information for the Headquarters Leadership and Center Chief Counsels

Resources

Fraud Awareness Flyer

• FAR Subpart 9.4, Suspension, Debarment and Ineligibility 
• NASA FAR Supplement 1809.4
• 2 C.F.R. 180, Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension
• 2 C.F.R. 1880, NASA Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension
• NASA Policy Directive 2086.1, Coordination of Remedies Related to Fraud and Corruption

OGC Disclaimer: The materials within this website do not constitute legal advice. For details read our disclaimer.

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NASA

Coordinating an Airborne Lab Across the Globe with NASA’s Earth Science Project Office

Tracking the spread of harmful air pollutants across large regions requires aircraft, satellites, and diverse team of scientists. NASA’s global interest in the threat of air pollution extends into Asia, where it works with partners on the Airborne and Satellite Investigation of Asian Air Quality (ASIA-AQ).  This international mission integrates satellite data and aircraft measurements with local air quality ground monitoring and modeling efforts across Asia.

Orchestrating a mission of this scale requires complicated agreements between countries, the coordination of aircraft and scientific instrumentation, and the mobilization of scientists from across the globe. To make this possible, ARC’s Earth Science Project Office (ESPO) facilitated each phase of the campaign, from site preparation and aircraft deployment to sensitive data management and public outreach.

“Successfully meeting the ASIA-AQ mission logistics requirements was an incredible effort in an uncertainty-filled environment and a very constrained schedule to execute and meet those requirements,” explains ASIA-AQ Project Manager Jhony Zavaleta. “Such effort drew on the years long experience on international shipping expertise, heavy equipment operations, networking and close coordination with international service providers and all of the U.S. embassies at each of our basing locations.”

Understanding Air Quality Globally

ASIA-AQ benefits our understanding of air quality and the factors controlling its daily variability by investigating the ways that air quality can be observed and quantified. The airborne measurements collected during the campaign are directly integrated with existing satellite observations of air quality, local air quality monitoring networks, other available ground assets, and models to provide a level of detail otherwise unavailable to advance understanding of regional air quality and improve future integration of satellite and ground monitoring information.

ESPO’s Mission-Critical Contributions

• Facilitating collaboration between governmental agencies and the academic community by executing project plans, navigating bureaucratic hurdles, and consensus building.
• Mission planning for two NASA aircraft. AFRC DC-8 completed 16 science flights, totaling 125 flight hours. The LaRC GIII completed 35 science flights, totaling 157.7 flight hours.
• Enabling international fieldwork and workforce mobilization by coordinating travel, securing authorizations and documentation, and maintaining relationships with local research partners.
• Managing outreach to local governments and schools. ASIA-AQ team members showcased tools used for air quality science to elementary/middle/high school students. Recent news feature here.

The flying laboratory of NASA’s DC-8

NASA flew its DC-8 aircraft, picture above, equipped with instrumentation to monitor the quality, source, and movement of harmful air pollutants. Scientists onboard used the space as a laboratory to analyze data in real-time and share it with a network of researchers who aim to tackle this global issue.

“Bringing the DC-8 flying laboratory and US researchers to Asian countries not only advances atmospheric research but also fosters international scientific collaboration and education,” said ESPO Project Specialist Vidal Salazar. “Running a campaign like ASIA AQ also opens doors for shared knowledge and exposes local communities to cutting-edge research.”

Fostering Partnerships Through Expertise and Goodwill

International collaboration fostered through this campaign contributes to an ongoing dialogue about air pollution between Asian countries.

“NASA’s continued scientific and educational activities around the world are fundamental to building relationships with partnering countries,” said ESPO Director Marilyn Vasques. “NASA’s willingness to share data and provide educational opportunities to locals creates goodwill worldwide.”

The role of ESPO in identifying, strategizing, and executing on project plans across the globe created a path for multi-sectoral community engagement on air quality. These global efforts to improve air quality science directly inform efforts to save lives from this hazard that affects all.

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Aaron McKinnon

South Central US Students to Hear from NASA Astronaut Aboard Station

Students from Louisiana, New Mexico, and Texas will have an opportunity to hear from a NASA astronaut aboard the International Space Station.

The 20-minute Earth-to-space call will stream live at 9:10 a.m. EDT, Wednesday, June 26, on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.

NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps will answer prerecorded questions from students of the South Central Region of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. In preparation for the event, the students participated in an interactive learning experience about aviation and aerospace.

Media interested in covering the event must RSVP no later than 5 p.m., Monday, June 24, by contacting Brittany Francis at rtcscrbrittany@gmail.com or 713-757-2586.

For more than 23 years, astronauts have continuously lived and worked aboard the space station, testing technologies, performing science, and developing skills needed to explore farther from Earth. Astronauts aboard the orbiting laboratory communicate with NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston 24 hours a day through the SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) Near Space Network.

Important research and technology investigations taking place aboard the International Space Station benefit people on Earth and lays the groundwork for other agency missions. As part of NASA’s Artemis campaign, the agency will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future human exploration of Mars; inspiring Artemis Generation explorers and ensuring the United States will continue to lead in space exploration and discovery.

See videos and lesson plans highlighting space station research at:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation

-end-

Gerelle Dodson
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
gerelle.q.dodson@nasa.gov

Sandra Jones 
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov

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Tiernan P. Doyle

HuskyWorks During Rover Testing

“HuskyWorks,” a team from Michigan Technological University’s Planetary Surface Technology Development Lab, tests the excavation tools of a robot on a concrete slab, held by a gravity-offloading crane on June 12 at NASA’s Break the Ice Lunar Challenge at Alabama A&M’s Agribition Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Led by Professor Paul van Susante, the team aimed to mimic the conditions of the lunar South Pole, winning an invitation to use the thermal vacuum chambers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center to continue robotic testing. Read more about NASA’s Break the Ice Lunar Challenge.

NASA/Jonathan Deal 

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Gary Daines

Hubble Captures Infant Stars Transforming a Nebula

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image presents a visually striking collection of interstellar gas and dust. Named RCW 7, the nebula is located just over 5,300 light-years from Earth in the constellation Puppis.

Nebulae are areas rich in the raw material needed to form new stars. Under the influence of gravity, parts of these molecular clouds collapse until they coalesce into very young, developing stars, called protostars, which are still surrounded by spinning discs of leftover gas and dust. The protostars forming in RCW 7 are particularly massive, giving off strongly ionizing radiation and fierce stellar winds that transformed the nebula into a H II region.

H II regions are filled with hydrogen ions — H I refers to a normal hydrogen atom, while H II is hydrogen that lost its electron making it an ion. Ultraviolet radiation from the massive protostars excites the hydrogen in the nebula, causing it to emit light that gives this nebula its soft pinkish glow.

The Hubble data in this image came from the study of a particularly massive protostellar binary named IRAS 07299-1651, still in its glowing cocoon of gas in the curling clouds toward the top of the image. To expose this star and its siblings, astronomers used Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 in near-infrared light. The massive protostars in this image are brightest in ultraviolet light, but they emit plenty of infrared light too. Infrared light’s longer wavelength lets it pass through much of the gas and dust in the cloud allowing Hubble to capture it. Many of the larger-looking stars in this image are foreground stars that are not part of the nebula. Instead, they sit between the nebula and our solar system.

The creation of an H II region marks the beginning of the end for a molecular cloud like RCW 7. Within only a few million years, radiation and winds from the massive stars will gradually disperse the nebula’s gas — even more so as the most massive stars come to the end of their lives in supernova explosions. New stars in this nebula will incorporate only a fraction of the nebula’s gas, the rest will spread throughout the galaxy to eventually form new molecular clouds.

Explore More

Media Contact:

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

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