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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Nathan Cranford

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

-end-

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

NASA Astronauts Wilmore, Williams’ Space Station Science Highlights

Since the start of International Space Station operations more than two decades ago, crews have lived and worked in microgravity to conduct an array of research that benefits life on Earth and future space exploration missions, and perform operational tasks to keep the state-of-the-art scientific lab in its highest-operating condition.

The space station has seen the arrival of more than 270 people. The latest visitors include NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who arrived on June 6 as part of the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test.

Both veterans of two previous spaceflights, Wilmore and Williams quickly immersed themselves in station life, living and working in low Earth orbit alongside the Expedition 71 crew. The pair has completed a host of science and operational tasks, including fluid physics research, plant facility maintenance, robotic operations, Earth observations, and more.

Check out some highlights from Wilmore and Williams’ mission below.

Providing adequate water and nutrition to plants grown in space is critical as missions expand in low Earth orbit and beyond to the Moon and eventually Mars.

Throughout their stay aboard the orbiting laboratory, Wilmore and Williams have tested how different techniques could benefit crop growth in space through the Plant Water Management investigation.

This investigation uses the physical properties of fluids—surface tension, wetting, and system geometry—to overcome the lack of gravity and provide hydration to plants, which could advance the development of hydroponic systems for use during future space travel.

Another investigation taking a deeper look at growing plants in space is the Vegetable Production System, or Veggie. Crews living aboard the space station have used Veggie to grow fresh produce and even flowers, providing astronauts with nutritious fresh foods, boosting morale, and enhancing well-being.

In preparation for upcoming work with Veggie, Wilmore installed a light meter inside the facility, which will help crew members obtain light measurements and adjust light settings in the future when they practice their green thumb in space.

For more than two decades, astronauts aboard the space station have connected with students and hobbyists worldwide, sharing details about living and working in microgravity.

In early August, Williams used the Ham Radio to connect with students from Banda Aceh, Indonesia, and answer questions about station research as the orbiting lab passed overhead.  

These space-to-Earth calls inspire younger generations to pursue interests and careers in STEM and provide school communities with opportunities to learn about space technology and communications.

Astrobee, a set of three free-flying robots, are often buzzing around the orbiting lab, demonstrating how technology could assist astronauts with various tasks such as routine chores and maintenance.

Throughout the mission, Williams powered up and observed Astrobee operations as ground controllers remotely mapped the interior of the orbiting lab, practiced docking maneuvers, and tested how the robots carry out various tasks.

Since the early days of human spaceflight, astronauts have been photographing Earth from space, capturing the wonder and environmental condition of our home planet.

Orbiting 250 miles above, crew members often spend their free time shooting photos from the cupola, or “window to the world.” The space station’s unique vantage point provides a glimpse at how Earth has changed over time and gives scientists a better look at key data from the perspective of the orbital complex while also improving crews’ mental well-being.

During their mission, the astronaut duo has captured hundreds of photographs of Earth, ranging from auroras, land, sea, orbital sunrises and sunsets, and more.

Wilmore and Williams continue to support daily space station operations as NASA and Boeing evaluate possible return options. For the latest updates on NASA’s commercial crew activities, including the Boeing Crew Flight Test, visit the Commercial Crew Program blog.

For daily space station updates and to learn more about the research being conducted in microgravity, visit the space station blog.

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Abby Graf