August 2007

NASA, Microsoft launch collaboration with immersive photography

NASA and Microsoft Corporation a more global view of the launch facil- provided us with some outstanding
of Redmond, Wash., have released an ity. The software uses photographs images, and the result is an experience
interactive, 3-D photographic collec- from standard digital cameras to that will wow anyone wanting to get a
tion of the space shuttle Endeavour construct a 3-D view that can be navi- closer look at NASA’s missions.”
preparing for its upcoming mission to gated and explored online. The NASA The NASA collections were created
the International Space Station. Endea- images can be viewed at Microsoft’s in collaboration between Microsoft’s
vour launched from NASA Kennedy Live Labs at: http://labs.live.com Live Lab, Kennedy and NASA Ames.
Space Center in Florida on Aug. 8. “This collaboration with Microsoft “We see potential to use Photo-
For the first time, people around gives the public a new way to explore synth for a variety of future mission
the world can view hundreds of high and participate in America’s space activities, from inspecting the Interna-
resolution photographs of Endeav- program,” said William Gerstenmaier, tional Space Station and the Hubble
our, Launch Pad 39A and the Vehicle NASA’s associate administrator for Space Telescope to viewing landing
Assembly Building at Kennedy in Space Operations, Washington. “We’re sites on the moon and Mars,” said
a unique 3-D viewer. NASA and also looking into using this new tech- Chris C. Kemp, director of Strategic
Microsoft’s Live Labs team developed nology to support future missions.” Business Development at Ames.
the online experience using hundreds “With Photosynth, we take pic- Photosynth was created in col-
of photographs and a photo-imaging tures of an environment and knit them laboration between Microsoft and the
technology called Photosynth. Using a together into an experience that peo- University of Washington. The soft-
click-and-drag interface, viewers can ple can move through like a 3-D video ware combines hundreds or thousands
zoom in to see intimate details of the game,” said Microsoft Live Labs Ar- of regular digital photos of a scene
shuttle booster rockets or zoom out for chitect Blaise Aguera y Arcas. “NASA continued on page 10

NASA develops wireless tile scanner for space shuttle inspection

A new space shuttle tile inspection database,” said Joe Lavelle, a senior “This tool allows the inspectors to
method using NASA-built, wireless engineer and project manager at Ames. determine with very high confidence
scanners is replacing manual inspec- whether a shuttle tile needs to be re-
tion. The new process began with the placed or just repaired.”
shuttle mission STS-118. “When they made the measure-
Technicians used six new scanners ments manually with the scales, they
to look for cracks and other imperfec- had to estimate the volume of flaws to
tions in some of the 24,000 tiles that a worst-case value because they could
cover space shuttle Endeavour. The not precisely measure the volume
agency designed and built the new with any accuracy,” Lavelle explained.
tools at NASA Ames. In the past, “With this scanner, they will actually
workers at Kennedy visually analyzed save tiles and the time-consuming
tiles and measured dings and cracks process of replacing them.”
with small hand-held scales. The thermal tiles on the space
“The new method is much faster shuttle protect it from the extreme heat
and more accurate because the depth generated during re-entry into the
and volume measurements of the continued on page 3
flaws and their locations are wire-
lessly transmitted into a computer
On the Inside . . .
Editor’s Note: Page 2 - NASA engineer works to develop
Next month’s September 2007 issue of new airplane to seek water on Mars
the Astrogram will be the final paper
Page 5 - NASA robots practice moon survey
copy of the newsletter. Beginning
October 2007, the Astrogram will
NASA photo by Dominic Hart in the Arctic Circle
be accessible online only at: http:// This image, taken at NASA Ames where the Page 6 - NASA Ames software monitors
scanner was developed, shows sample shuttle Space Station gyroscopes
www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/
tiles being scanned to illustrate how technicians Page 12 - Ames Ongoing Events
astrogram/2007/07astrograms.html
would use the new tool to evaluate tiles on the
Page 13 - Ames Classifieds
space shuttle orbiter.

www.nasa.gov
NASA engineer works to develop new airplane to seek water on Mars
You might think it is impossible on the surface.” According to Lemke, ference between water ice and liquid
to fly an airplane over Mars, but it is if the airplane could land on the lip of water, again by how reflective it is,”
a crater or edge Lemke noted. The airplane would
of a cliff, then the probably also have a camera, he said.

photo by Naval Research Laboratory

craft could use Previous Mars airplane missions
radar to look for were judged to be extremely exciting
signs of water be- scientifically, but very risky technically,
low the ground’s so they were not selected, according
surface. to Lemke. Mars airplane missions are
Radar will go technically challenging because “the
through very dry planetary exploration community has
surface material no experience with flying airplanes on
with very little other planets,” Lemke said.
change, but a wa- “One of the main technical chal-
The MATADOR Mars airplane concept is seen here ‘flying’ over the Mars ter layer would be lenges was to build an airplane that
landscape. The plane could be designed to carry a variety of instruments, such as a hundred times could be folded to fit inside an entry
ground-penetrating radar to search for water near a gully on Mars. more reflective, capsule,” Lemke observed. “It’s a cap-
Lemke observed. sule - usually conical in shape. It’s got
possible. Actually, glider-like airplanes Carbon dioxide would echo radar a heat shield on it. It enters the martian
that, in theory, could ride the wispy air with yet a different reflectivity, he atmosphere from space and protects
of the red planet have been on draw- added. the payload inside,” he explained.
ing boards for the last 30 years. “You should be able to tell the dif- A second challenge is that the air-
One of the latest proposals is to fly continued on page 3
a rocket-powered Mars airplane and
land on the edge of a cliff in search of
water, a fluid that is essential to life, as Alan Stern shares science mission updates
we know it. In August, Alan Stern, Associ-

NASA photo by Eric James

“For the last three years, I’ve been ate Administrator of the Science
developing a Mars airplane concept Mission Directorate (SMD), visited
that is specifically designed to ac- Ames to meet with and talk to the
complish a soft landing,” said Larry Ames scientists and employees.
Lemke, a NASA Ames engineer who It was his first visit to the center
recently submitted his proposal to since he was appointed AA. He was
space agency officials. “You use small pleased to have the opportunity
rocket motors to land like a Harrier to answer questions and share his
vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) vision for SMD’s research and scien-
airplane lands. The idea would be to tific exploration programs.
conduct a precision landing near Mars Stern began his presentation by
gullies to look for subsurface water,” citing four SMD core objectives: to
he explained. get more science done within our
NASA Associate Administrator for budget; to ensure the success of
Science Alan Stern issued a request NASA’s ‘Vision for Space Explora-
for information for small landers that tion;’ to promote U.S. leadership for
could be secondary payloads on future all science disciplines; and to create Associate Administrator of the Science Mission
missions to Mars. The first opportu- a better workplace. He said that Directorate (SMD) Alan Stern recently visited
nity for a secondary payload Mars retiring the space shuttle in 2010 and Ames to meet with the employees at the center
mission might be in 2013 on the Mars developing new human spaceflight to answer and discuss questions about SMD’s
Science Orbiter (MSO), according to systems prevented the previously research and scientific exploration programs.
Lemke. planned rate of growth for science.
Lemke’s plan calls for the airplane Additional objectives included year grants. Audience questions
to have ground-penetrating radar to increasing the number of flights, ranged from concerns about the
search for water near a gully on Mars expanding foreign collaboration amount of paperwork required to
after the plane lands. Scientists have and suborbital research, recreat- do their jobs, to perpetually compet-
found Mars gullies from about 330 feet ing a lunar science community and ing for funding for research grants
(100 meters) to 660 feet (200 meters) accelerating progress on the Earth and programs.
down steep walls, according to Lemke. Science Decadal Survey. Accom- Stern previously served as
“The gullies always appear on plishments cited were returning the executive director of the Space Sci-
steep walls like a crater or a cliff, and Near Earth Object program to SMD, ence and Engineering Division at
the gullies all appear partway down adding $3M to NASA Astrobiology the Southwest Research Institute,
a wall,” Lemke said. “The theory is Institute’s budget, and funding four- Boulder, Colo.
there is an underground water layer, by Ruth Dasso Marlaire
and every so often the water pops out

Astrogram August 2007
NASA engineer works to develop new airplane to seek water on Mars
continued from page 2
plane must unfold itself in mid air, ac- explained. orbiter satellite.” He said today’s Mars
cording to Lemke. Once it unfolds, the Lemke said there are several airplane missions would most likely
airplane would fly to a gully using a advantages to using an airplane to study atmospheric science, such as
computer pilot. A pilot on Earth could conduct Martian science missions. wind speed, pressure, dust and minor
not remotely control the airplane, be- “It can fly much closer to the surface constituents like methane.
cause even at the speed of light, radio than a satellite . . . a kilometer above Another objective of a Mars air-
signals can take longer to reach Earth the surface,” he observed. Comparing plane mission might be to land a pay-
than the entire flight. an airplane to a balloon, he said, “An load, Lemke added. “The idea would
According to Lemke, the airplane airplane can go where you command be to use it as a precision lander,” he
would have a mass of about 143 it to go. A balloon goes wherever the said.
pounds (65 kilograms). The engines wind blows it.” “I think when humans arrive, there
would be small rockets powered by Lemke said there are other poten- are two scenarios that make sense,”
hydrazine. In a hydrazine thruster, tial missions for Mars airplanes. “An Lemke predicted. “One is that you
two chemicals, called bi-propellants, airplane mission could last anywhere could use small robotic aircraft for
mix to cause a reaction and produce from 15 minutes to probably five scouting and for a short range commu-
thrust. hours,” he said. Longer missions nication relay. The second is for trans-
“In this kind of a mission you just might use propeller airplanes. porting people and small amounts
want to get down to the place and “The most efficient technique of cargo for regional exploration,” he
land,” Lemke said. “The endurance would be a propeller,” Lemke ex- continued.
may be no more than 15 minutes. plained. “The power would come Lemke developed his Mars air-
You’ll have to have autonomous from a storable liquid fuel or an elec- plane proposal for the NASA Science
software called seeing-recognition trical power source, a battery or fuel Mission Directorate’s Mars Technol-
software. It means the computer in cells.” ogy Program.
by John Bluck
the airplane has to be able to take im- The goals of a Mars airplane mis-
ages of what it sees and compare that sion have changed over the years,
to a stored image of where it wants
to be, and then figure out how to get
according to Lemke.
“In the beginning, high-resolution Shuttle tile scanner
to the desired spot. This is similar to photos would be a main choice, but, continued from front page
how cruise missiles work,” Lemke today, we have a high-resolution Mars Earth’s atmosphere. After each shuttle
lands, technicians go through a very
NASA officials discuss progress rigorous and lengthy process to assess
the surface of the tiles for any damage.
of new spaceship development Each scanner weighs approximate-
ly 2.9 pounds and is about the size and
shape of a small teapot. Technicians
NASA photo by Dominic Hart

place the machine on the tile’s flaw

to scan it. In about three seconds, the
data are computerized and archived.
Engineers can scrutinize comput-
erized 3-D pictures of the flaws. The
images show the length, width and
depth of the flaws on the surface of the
tiles. Although engineers designed the
instrument to scan space shuttle tiles,
it also could scan reinforced carbon-
carbon material used on the leading
edges of the shuttle’s wings.
NASA Ames hosted a news brief- producing a heat shield to protect Engineers developing a heat shield
ing on Aug. 1 to provide updates Orion during its return from low- system for NASA’s new spaceship Ori-
on NASA’s Constellation Program, Earth orbit or the moon. on already are using a larger, desktop
which is developing the Orion space- Participants included, above version of the scanner to study heat
craft and Ares rockets to support photo, left to right, Constellation shield samples tested at Ames. NASA
an American return to the moon by Program Manager Jeff Hanley and is building a second desktop scan-
2020. The Orion spacecraft will carry Orion Project Manager Skip Hatfield, ner for use at NASA’s Johnson Space
astronauts to the International Space both of NASA Johnson Space Cen- Center in Houston. The unit should be
Station by 2015, and support mis- ter, Houston; and James Reuther of completed in about two months.
sions to the moon, Mars and beyond. Ames, leader of the Advanced Devel- For high-resolution images of the
NASA Ames leads the Orion opment Thermal Protection Systems scanner, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/
Thermal Protection System Ad- (heat shield) Project for the Orion mission_pages/shuttle/news/wire-
vanced Development Project that is crew exploration vehicle. less_scanner.html
by John Bluck


Astrogram August 2007
NASA Web site shows possible Mars landing sites for 2009 mission
NASA’s Marsoweb Web site now she added. The Web site will help the gate by clicking and dragging a cursor
includes high-resolution images of scientific community to provide its across the picture on the special Web
candidate 2009 landing sites for the input about the potential landing sites pages.
Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) “With these Web resources, us-
rover. ers can quickly and easily explore
The rover, 1,875 pounds (850 the enormous images in full-resolu-
kilograms), will assess whether tion over the Web,” noted Glenn
Mars ever had an environment Deardorff, a computer scientist at
that could support microbial life. NASA Ames, who created the Web
The Internet site, created to sup- pages.
port the MSL landing site selection The Mars Reconnaissance Or-
process, includes pictures taken biter satellite’s High Resolution Im-
from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance aging Science Experiment (HiRISE)
Orbiter satellite. It is located at is the source of 23 of the images on
http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/ the pages. Another 14 images came
landingsites/msl/mro_images/. from the satellite’s context imager.
“As with the Mars Exploration NASA’s Science Mission Direc-
Rover (MER) sites selection effort, torate funded development of the
we are providing an interactive Marsoweb MSL site selection Web
Web site containing images and pages.NASA’s Jet Propulsion Labo-
other information for anyone inter- ratory, a division of the California
ested in helping to choose the MSL Institute of Technology, Pasadena,
landing site,” said Virginia Gulick, manages the Mars Science Labora-
From the Marsoweb site, photo taken by the Mars Recon-
a planetary geologist at NASA naissance Orbiter satellite of the proposed Mars Science Lab
tory mission for the NASA Science
Ames. landing site in Meridiani Crater Lake. Mission Directorate, Washington.
“We want to make sure that we For more information about the mis-
select a site where it is safe to land, on Mars, according to Gulick. sion, please visit: http://mars.jpl.nasa.
scientifically interesting and also Large images of the 33 candidate gov/msl/
by John Bluck
maximizes the unique capabilities of Mars landing sites, converted to ‘zo-
the instruments on the MSL rover,” omable’ images, that users can navi-

Public invited to help scientists study meteor shower

When Comet Kiess’ dust trail teor showers, who works for the SETI Calif., and Esko Lyytinen of Finland,
briefly encounters Earth in the dark, Institute, Mountain View. “Meteors predicted the upcoming, rare Aurigid
early morning hours of Sept. 1, 2007, will radiate from the constellation of shower.
astronomers predict that an extremely Auriga, many as bright as the brighter According to Jenniskens, as dust
rare Aurigid meteor shower will stars in the sky,” said Jenniskens, who grains from comet Kiess collide
result. Meteor showers happen when also works at NASA Ames. with Earth’s atmosphere during the
comet dust streaks into Earth’s atmo- According to Jenniskens, the Aurigids shower, they will begin to
sphere and vaporizes. shower will be visible by the naked vaporize at about 80 miles altitude,
To help document the uncommon eye from the western United States, and the bigger comet particles will
event, researchers hope the public will especially in California, Hawaii, penetrate as low as 50 miles.
submit digital photos and camcorder Alaska and other western states and Jenniskens is leading a team of
movies of the shower’s “shooting Mexico and the western provinces of scientists and astronomers to study
stars” to a team of scientists from Canada. Prime viewing time will be on the Aurigid meteor shower from two
NASA and other organizations. Saturday, Sept. 1, 2007, from 4:06 a.m. aircraft. The airplanes will take off
The cause of the Aurigid meteor - 5:06 a.m. PDT, Jenniskens forecasts. late Friday night, Aug. 31, 2007, from
showers is very old. About 2,000 Astronomers believe the whole event Moffett Field at NASA Ames, and will
years ago, comet Kiess passed the will last no longer than one-and-a-half carry researchers from NASA, the
sun and ejected a cloud of dust. The hours and will not be seen again in our SETI Institute, Utah State University
comet completed its first orbit of the lifetimes. and other organizations to a location
sun in 1911 when Lick Observatory’s Sunlight has pushed the comet’s high above the Pacific Ocean to view
Carl Kiess discovered the object. Its ejected particles into wider orbits the meteor shower early Saturday
dust formed a continuous stream of around the sun in a thin stream just morning, Sept. 1.
particles that has been flowing just outside of Earth’s orbit. “On occasion, The primary goal of the mission
outside Earth’s orbit ever since. the combined gravity of the solar sys- is to count the meteors over the large
On Sept. 1, 2007, the Earth will tem’s planets moves this dust trail into area visible from the airplanes and
travel through the stream of dust par- Earth’s path,” Jenniskens, explained. measure the exact duration and peak
ticles in the wake of the 1911 return of Jenniskens and fellow researchers time of the shower. Scientists will
comet Kiess, according to astronomer Jérémie Vaubaillon of the California observe how the meteors break up and
Peter Jenniskens, an expert on me- Institute of Technology, Pasadena, examine their colors to learn about the
continued on page 8

Astrogram August 2007
NASA robots practice moon survey in the Arctic Circle
Two NASA Ames robots recently and Mars.”
surveyed a rocky, isolated polar desert NASA is
within a crater in the Arctic Circle. planning to
The study will help scientists learn send astro-
how robots could evaluate potential nauts back to
outposts on the moon or Mars. the moon by
The robots, K10 Black and K10 2020. Prior
Red, carried 3-D laser scanners and to establish-
ground-penetrating radar. The team ing a lunar
arrived at Haughton Crater at Devon outpost, the
Island, Canada, on July 12 and oper- agency must
ated the machines until July 31. Scien- conduct
tists chose the polar region because of detailed
surveys at NASA photo
a variety of The Intelligent Robotics Group conducted a robotic field test in Haughton Crater on
locations Devon Island, Canada. Two NASA Ames K10 rovers, ‘Red’ and ‘Black,’ performed sys-
tematic surveys of several simulated lunar outpost sites, including a roughly 700 m-by-
to produce
700 m region called ‘Drill Hill.’ The K10 rovers were equipped with ground-penetrating
maps, look radar to map underground layers and a 3-D scanning laser to map topography. During
for minerals the three-week test, the two rovers drove more than 30 km and collected more than 25 GB
and water, of data. ‘K10 Red’ is seen here near the Haughton-Mars Project Base Camp.
and learn
other details. NASA plans to accom- The robots covered the area in
plish its surveys with an automated lawnmower-like paths at human
orbiting spacecraft, not a robotic walking speeds to systematically map
lander, but the agency still has a keen above and below ground, according to
interest in advancing the laser scan- Fong.
ning technology. The practice survey in Haughton
Most of the lunar sites are on harsh Crater took place at an area called
terrain and in permanently shadowed Drill Hill. The robots covered about
areas. It is not unusual for site surveys 120 acres of terrain. Researchers com-
to require thousands of measurements manded the robots remotely from the
NASA photo by Dominic Hart
and hundreds of hours to complete. Haughton-Mars base camp more than
A robot can reduce mission cost and two miles away from Drill Hill.
On July 20, Ames hosted a live, two-way video
conference with a panel of NASA researchers cur- improve mission effectiveness by The robots navigated using the
rently working in Haughton Crater, Devon Island, allowing ground control to conduct Global Positioning System, stereo cam-
Canada. Employees had the opportunity to ask surveying tasks. eras, laser scanners and sun trackers.
questions of Chris McKay, Space Science Divi- “A typical scenario involves mul- Each of the four-wheel-drive machines
sion, NASA Ames, regarding the value of analog
sites; Matt Deans, Intelligent Robotics Group,
tiple rovers autonomously surveying weighs 165 pounds and can carry a
NASA Ames, regarding the Ames K10 robot a region while humans supervise and payload up to 110 pounds.
site survey; and Pascal Lee of the SETI Institute assess data from a remote location,” A key objective of the Drill Hill
regarding the ‘stranded astronaut’ EVA walk-back said Terry Fong, director of the Intel- survey was to test the instruments and
experiment. ligent Robots Group at Ames. software on the robots as well as the
The robots used different tech- equipment and software that humans
the extreme environmental conditions, niques from the goal-directed travers- would use at lunar bases and ground
lack of infrastructure and resources, es and isolated sampling tasks that control to supervise the robots. Engi-
and geologic features. Also, Haughton Mars scientific rovers have used to neers at NASA Johnson Space Center
Crater is geographically similar to explore the red planet. K10 Black and in Houston assessed advanced robot
Shackleton Crater at the South Pole of K10 Red utilized a mix of information driving techniques using a multi-
the moon. Both are impact craters that previously obtained by aerial and sat- screen cockpit. NASA Ames tested
measure roughly 12.4 miles in diam- ellite imaging and data that the robot software that makes high-resolution
eter. survey team gathered. maps for interactive display in 3-D.
“We are learning about the awe- The 3-D laser scanner can map NASA’s Exploration Technology
some potential of human and robot topographic features as far as 3,280 Development Program sponsored the
teams,” said Ames Center Director, S. feet away. The ground-penetrating robotic site survey at Haughton Crater.
Pete Worden. “Studying how humans radar, which NASA Jet Propulsion For more information, including
and robots can maximize scientific Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., devel- an updated blog, visit: http://haugh-
returns in sites such as Devon Island oped, can map below ground as deep ton2007.arc.nasa.gov
will prepare us to walk on the moon as 16.4 feet. by John Bluck


Astrogram August 2007
NASA Ames software monitors Space Station gyroscopes
NASA has added a new computer
program to help monitor the four

NASA photo by Dominic Hart

gyroscopes that keep the Interna-
tional Space Station properly oriented
without the use of rocket fuel. Dur-
ing a spacewalk on Aug. 13, 2007,
two astronauts from the space shuttle
Endeavour removed and replaced a
gyroscope that failed in late 2006.
Computer scientists at NASA
Ames designed the new software for
the space station. The Inductive Moni-
toring System was added to a group
of existing tools to identify and track
problems related to the gyroscopes.
“If the system does something un-
expected, the software alerts ground
controllers that something is different,
an anomaly, and that allows them to
analyze the situation and take preven-
tive measures as necessary,” said Da- David Iverson, above, is lead for the Ames-led development of computer software that moni-
vid Iverson, the computer scientist at tors the condition of the gyroscopes that keep the International Space Station (ISS) properly
Ames who spearheaded the five-year oriented in space as the ISS orbits Earth. The gyroscopes are flywheels that control the station’s
effort to develop the software. attitude without the use of propellant fuel. NASA computer scientists designed the new
During its development, research- software, the Inductive Monitoring System, to detect warning signs that precede a gyroscope’s
failure. According to NASA officials, engineers will add the new software tool to a group of
ers used the software to analyze sev-
existing tools to identify and track problems related to the gyroscopes in 2007. If the software
eral months of normal space station detects warning signs, it will quickly warn the space station’s mission control center.
gyroscope data collected by the Inter-
national Space Station Mission Control ware earlier this year. monitoring.
Center at NASA Johnson Space Center, The software program also has For more information about the
Houston. In these tests, problems with been used in F-18 fighter planes and International Space Station, visit:
the gyroscopes were noticed long by the space shuttle’s leading edge http://www.nasa.gov/station
before the previous system flagged impact detection system, as well as for by John Bluck
glitches. NASA started using the soft- electric power plant and water quality

‘Rosy future’ forecast for small spacecraft

Recently, a few weeks before mance and affordable return to the determining mission requirements
space shuttle Endeavour’s launch, moon, as well as other space mis- and then creating a craft to enable
an excited collection of visiting in- sions. They are the craft of choice, them. According to Klupar, small
terns, resident researchers and space due to the fact that small spacecraft spacecraft remain resilient, prevent-
enthusiasts gathered in Ames’ main can accomplish NASA missions at a ing experiments from being held
auditorium to hear Pete Klupar’s lower cost and risk than their larger hostage if a launch is delayed, and
colloquium, ‘Small Spacecraft, What’s counterparts, by a window of nearly do not restrict NASA to a queue of
the Big Deal?’ $190 million a launch. The time and predetermined missions.
Klupar was quick to answer the money saved could enable NASA to Klupar critiqued the continu-
rhetorical question posed by the quickly conduct a greater number of ing practice of pouring additional
title of his talk, by stating that small missions. NASA resources into “fewer bas-
spacecraft have a “rosy future” thrust Klupar defines small spacecraft kets” by focusing solely on large
behind NASA’s exploration and sci- by three criteria: weight, cost and launches, because they would only
ence missions. the time they take to develop. This “squeeze” the budgets for smaller
Klupar, chief of the Small Space- criteria revolutionizes the manner in endeavors. He enthusiastically sup-
craft Office here at Ames, said the which spacecraft are designed: the ported commercial collaborations
“resurrection and redemption” of capability of the small spacecraft is and “more exploration and more
small spacecraft is due to NASA’s applied to mission needs, as opposed science for less dollars.”
need for a sustainable, high perfor- to the expensive older manner of by Rachel Prucey


Astrogram August 2007
Astronauts conduct study of bacterial growth in space
When space shuttle Endeavour improve contact and
rocketed into space on Aug. 8, it took enhance thermal
along a common microorganism nor- transfer. The SPE-
mally found in the upper respiratory GIS experiment only
tract of approximately 40 percent of requires transfer of
the healthy human population. the canisters from
The experiment, Streptococcus refrigeration to incu-
pneumoniae Expression of Genes in bation and then to a
Space (SPEGIS), part of the STS-118 freezer to preserve
space shuttle mission will investigate the sample. The
the effects of the space environment on SPEGIS experiment
will be returned to
Earth for analysis by
scientists. Since the
SPEGIS canisters are
triple-contained and
never opened, the
crew is never in di-
rect contact with the
bacterial cultures.
“We expect the
SPEGIS experiment A SPEGIS sample container, vials and vial jackets.
will provide impor-
tant new information about how mi- tigator and professor at the University
crobes adapt to microgravity and the of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston,
spacecraft environment. These results Texas.
will lead to a better understanding of For more information about the
Scanning electron micrograph of Strepto- these organisms on a molecular level SPEGIS research project, visit: http://
coccus pneumoniae (x14,520). Photo taken and how their ability to interact with www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sta-
by Phillips, D.M., New England Journal
of Medicine, 1993 Aug 12; 329(7):477
humans may be altered,” said David tion/science/experiments/SPEGIS.
W. Niesel, the project’s principal inves- html
by Ruth Dasso Marlaire

the common microorganism Strepto-

coccus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae).
Scientists believe that sending this bac-
terium into space may lead to a better
Public, media views STS-118 launch
understanding of S. pneumoniae, an

NASA photo by Jon Pierre Wiens

opportunistic human pathogen, which
causes infections in individuals with
reduced immune function. This bacte-
rial pathogen is the most common
cause of pneumonia, middle-ear infec-
tions and bacterial meningitis.
“The opportunity to investigate
and understand the effects of space-
flight on the pathogenic potential of S.
pneumoniae may further the design
and development of new drugs that
can be used for treatment of diseases
on Earth,” said Hami Teal, the experi-
ment’s project scientist and a research-
er at NASA Ames. News media and the public were invited to attend a special pre-launch program in the Exploration Center
Vials containing bacterial cultures at NASA Ames on the afternoon of Aug. 8. This event was an opportunity to observe the live, televised
were loaded aboard space shuttle En- broadcast of the launch of STS-118 space shuttle Endeavour from NASA Kennedy Space Center, Fla.,
deavor in SPEGIS canister assemblies and attendees heard several speakers who discussed the upcoming mission. Guests listened to remarks
developed by NASA. The hardware from Ames’ planetary scientist Chris McKay; researcher Cecilia Wigley, who discussed one of the experi-
consists of three canisters, each con- ments aboard STS-118; Laura Shawnee, of Ames’ Education Division, discussed the Educator Astronaut
Program; and astronaut Janice Voss, seen here, top left, in the above photo, speaking to the attendees of
taining three sealed polypropylene
the pre-launch program, who has flown in space five times and provided pre-launch commentary.
vials inserted into aluminum jackets to

Astrogram August 2007
Public to help scientists study meteor shower
continued from page 4
materials that formed the solar system. the volunteer observers can shoot camera so that the time is recorded on
Not only is the shower rarely seen, meteor pictures with exposure times the video picture (date not needed),”
the Aurigid meteors also may be very of 10 seconds, one after the other. Jenniskens said.
unusual, Jenniskens noted. They are Photographers should set the camera’s “Mount the camcorder on a tripod,
solid bits of the icy comet Kiess that light sensitivity to ISO 1600, according and then point to a region in the sky
returned from the Oort cloud of com- to Jenniskens. with many bright stars. Zoom in
ets on the outskirts of the solar system. “Choose a fairly small field of view enough to see those bright stars in the
“Billions of comets have spent 4.5 that is no larger than the square of (the video. Continue videotaping for the
billion years in the Oort cloud, where constellation) Pegasus,” he said. “Take duration of the shower. Do not move
cosmic rays baked their crust over the many successive 10-second-duration the camera during the shower. Later,
age of the solar system,” Jenniskens exposures,” he added. watch the video to find the meteors
said. “Some of the Aurigid meteors According to Jenniskens, volun- and provide a list of times and record
could be bits and pieces of this origi- teers should not move their cameras your location on a map,” he noted.
nal crust of the comet. Comets that once they are set to take images, so Those people who would like to
return more frequently to the sun that the frequency rate of the meteors contribute their images and other ob-
have long lost this pristine crust,” he can be measured. After the shower, servations to researchers should send
observed. each volunteer should record his/her them by e-mail to pjenniskens@seti.
Several tips follow for setting up observing location on a map, look at org. The public may also upload their
a digital camera or camcorder to take each of their images and make a list images and data to the Aurigid Meteor
images of meteors. with the time each meteor picture was Shower Web site at: http://aurigid.
Meteors, or “shooting stars,” look taken, Jenniskens said. seti.org
like streaks of light, or sparks flying “Do not alter the digital images According to Jenniskens, other
from a distant campfire or fireworks. because scientists will use photo-edit- organizations interested in obtain-
Observers can photograph meteor ing programs to analyze the different ing meteor images and observations
streaks by pointing digital cameras colors in the images to learn about the from volunteers include the American
and camcorders towards the sky, but meteors’ compositions,” Jenniskens Meteor Society and the International
away from the moon. advised. Meteor Organization.
The Aurigid meteors (“shooting According to Jenniskens, people To view images from past meteor
stars”) will look as if they are coming interested in videotaping the meteors observation campaigns, visit: http://
from the constellation Auriga (Latin also should first set their camcorder leonid.arc.nasa.gov
for charioteer) in the northeastern sky. clocks to the correct time. “Set the by John Bluck
Perseid meteors will seem to originate
from the constellation Perseus, just
above Auriga. Astronomers named the Titan seen as similar to Earth
showers for the constellation of stars In Dr. Chris McKay’s talk on Titan,

NASA photo by Eric James

from which the meteors appear to be Saturn’s largest moon studied by
derived. the joint NASA/ESA/ASI Cassini-
Astronomers suggest that pho- Huygens spacecraft, he demonstrates
tographers go to safe locations that how Titan is like Earth in many ways.
are far away from the haze of cities. McKay calls it “our real twin,” save for
According to astronomers, dust in the the fact that it averages -180 degrees
atmosphere in metropolitan areas will Celsius. Like Earth, its atmosphere is
scatter moonlight and make the sky dominated by nitrogen with a pres-
too bright to photograph or see the sure close to sea level, it experiences a Chris McKay during his recent talk at Ames about Titan.
meteors well. greenhouse effect, and it experiences
Jenniskens suggests that people “wet ages,” where methane plays the es in temperature; only “summer”
who wish to contribute digital images role of water to shape the surface and and “winter.” This may explain why
to scientists should first use their cam- atmosphere, just as Earth’s hydrologi- Titan’s temperature has not changed
eras’ “clock set” options to set them cal cycle. It has characteristic fluvial in the last 13 years, as well as the dy-
to the correct time, accurate to within features, such as deep channels and namic cloud activity and small lakes
one second. To find out the correct shorelines, but no large bodies of residing in the polar regions.
time, photographers can dial time-of- liquid on its surface. The probe confirmed a number of
day services provided by telephone He contributes the absence of liq- “knowns,” yet unanswered mysteries
companies in their local areas. For ex- uid methane to radiative time scales. remain: what is the origin and source
ample, in the San Francisco Bay Area, While Earth’s atmosphere loses all of re-supply of methane on Titan, a
photographers can dial the letters on radiative energy in 100 days, Titan’s gas which is destroyed over time by
their telephones that spell “popcorn,” takes 100 years. This is because Titan’s the Sun? Why is the surface of Titan
(415) 767-2676. atmosphere is so massive and thick (10 wet? Are what appear to be rocks
Photographers should place their times the column mass of Earth’s), that really water? Is there any organic
cameras on tripods and use a “night,” it experiences no day and night chang- material or life?
“bulb” or similar camera setting, so by Rachel Prucey


Astrogram August 2007
In Memory of . . .
Victor Stevens, an original NACA engineer, dies
Victor I. “Vic” Stevens, one of the to recruit bright students to come to
group of original NACA engineers at Ames. Stevens recruited Scott Cross-

NASA photo
Ames, passed away on June 26, 2007, field from college to be an engineering
in Medford, Ore. test pilot for the NACA, and Cross-
Stevens joined Ames in 1941 fresh field later became the first person to
from the University of Washington. fly Mach 2. Among those he enticed
He had worked in the wind tunnel to Ames were Leroy Presley, Pat
there, and so quickly made his mark in Peterson, Victor Peterson, Allan Faye,
the Ames 7-foot-by-10-foot wind tun- Rodney Wingrove, Glen Stinnett and
nels. Stevens was part of the research Dale Compton.
group led by Harry Goett, who used a When NASA launched its space
model of the Navy PV-1 patrol aircraft shuttle program in 1970, Ames Center
to first demonstrate how handling Director Hans Mark asked Stevens
quality predictions could be made to lead an office to coordinate all
with powered wind tunnel models. Ames’ support of the shuttle program.
When the Ames 40-foot-by-80-foot Stevens was highly regarded through-
wind tunnel opened in 1944, Stevens out NASA, and enjoyed a reputation
moved there as an assistant branch Victor I. “Vic” Stevens for being thorough and conscientious.
chief. He led the group that quickly Stevens’ efforts were instrumental in
demonstrated the value of the full- it expanded its work into new areas of making Ames’ technology useful to
scale tunnel by solving the compound hypersonic and space research, such as senior shuttle program managers at
aerodynamic problems of the Ryan re-entry vehicle research and lifting- NASA Headquarters, as well as Mar-
XFR-1 Fireball, the first U.S. Navy body design. shall and Johnson space centers.
airplane with jet propulsion. Those As assistant division chief, Stevens retired in 1972, saying he
years were so busy at Ames that when Stevens’ blackboard always had hoped to open management opportu-
he retired in 1972, Stevens still carried some new curve drawn by someone nities for younger engineers. His hob-
forward unused annual leave from in his division who had stopped by bies included photography, camping
World War II. to explain the technical details of his and woodworking. He met his wife
Stevens also contributed to Ames’ project. In the NACA spirit, he was a Katherine “Kay” Stevens as students
work in making the swept wing useful stickler about precise and clear writ- at the University of Washington; she
in the design of high-speed subsonic ing, and closely edited the technical preceded him in death. He is survived
and supersonic aircraft. He worked papers of those who worked for him. by his son, Victor “Torrie” C. Stevens,
with R.T. Jones on some important He was known as a superb mentor. who worked at Ames on the QSRA as
tests of swept wings in the 6-foot-by-6- When Jack Boyd had an opportunity a flight test engineer. He is also sur-
foot wind tunnel. He shared a double to take a Sloan Fellowship, Stevens vived by his daughter, Ann Eggertsen
desk with Bill Harper and worked also took on Boyd’s duties as technical who worked for the State Department
closely with Roy Jackson and other assistant to the director, so that Boyd as an architect and is now working
aeronautical engineering legends. could attend Stanford. on her PhD in psychology from the
Stevens was better known, though, Stevens enjoyed lecturing at uni- University of Texas in Dallas.
for his career in engineering man- versities throughout the Northwest by Vic Peterson and Torrie Stevens
agement. Harvey Allen, chief of the
Ames High Speed Research Division,
had conceived of and designed the
first supersonic, free-flight tunnel.
When it opened at Ames in 1949, he
Ames holds annual Summer Science Day
asked Stevens to lead the section that The combined 4th Annual Foothill-DeAnza
operated it. Allen, renowned as an Internship Program ‘Student Achievement
Celebration’ and the 11th Annual Ames
inspirational engineering leader, ap-
Summer Science day was held on Aug. 16.
preciated strong management but had This year, there was one large poster presen-
no interest in doing it himself. So he tation for both programs, which provided an
asked Stevens to serve as his assis- opportunity for people at Ames and across the
tant chief in the High Speed Research local community to meet in a casual setting
Division, one of the most creative and where they could view and discuss posters
productive aeronautical engineering describing 2007 summer projects conducted
teams ever assembled. When the 3.5 by students and faculty fellows. Posters were
foot hypersonic wind tunnel opened presented in a variety of diverse fields includ-
in 1959, Stevens became assistant chief ing life sciences, nanotechnology, Earth/
of the newly formed Ames Thermo- space/astrobiological sciences, aeronautics
NASA photo by Dominic Hart and information technology.
and Gas-Dynamics Division. He
served there throughout the 1960s as


Astrogram August 2007
ACC hosts 4th annual Partners in Excellence Reception
The Ames Contractor Council security, safety and new business. expectations for technical, schedule
(ACC) hosted the 4th annual Part- The ACC also has active commit- and cost performance. The council
ners in Excellence Reception in early tees that benefit the Ames community. strives to improve the productivity
August in the Exploration Center. Through our successful fundraising and enhance the quality of contractors’
Representatives from 10 codes and
28 contract companies attended the
event. This annual event is a unique
opportunity for Ames center manage-
ment and contractor company rep-
resentatives to gather in an informal
setting to mix and mingle. Gatherings
such as this reception foster better
working relationships that help both
the government and its contractor
community achieve success in pursuit
of NASA’s objectives.
ACC President Chris Johnson wel-
comed everyone and presented high-
lights of ACC activities this year. He
then introduced Ames Center Director
S. Pete Worden, who informed every-
one that Ames’ future is quite bright. NASA photos by Dominic Hart

He mentioned many of the projects ACC President Chris Johnson (MEI Technologies), left, and Ames Center Director S. Pete Worden,
that are moving forward, including right, at the 4th annual Partners in Excellence Reception held in August at Ames. This event is as an
opportunity for Ames center management and contractor company representatives to meet informally.
the Vertical Motion Simulator, Future
Flight Central, Constellation, the Arc activities, such as the golf tournament services and products for the overall
Jet facilities for CEV technology, small and historic calendar sales, we are success of Ames Research Center.
spacecraft and upcoming partnerships able to contribute to education out- The ACC focuses on maintaining
reach and other worthy open lines of communication be-
endeavors. tween Ames center management and
To learn more about contractor site managers and repre-
the ACC and how it sentatives. Interested in developing
actively supports the contractor hidden potential, the ACC
Ames community, visit conducts several annual and spe-
its Web site at: www. cial events to raise awareness of this
amescontractorcouncil. organization’s value to the Ames com-
org munity. Proceeds from those events
If you are eligible support the Ames Community.
for membership in by Doreen Cohen
the ACC, you are also
eligible to be included in NASA, Microsoft
collaboration
Ames Contractor Council officers for 2007, left to right, Chris Johnson, the online list of com-
MEI Technologies (president); Nicki Rayl, EASI (secretary); Kathleen panies under “About”
Starmer, SAIC (vice president); and Herb Finger, Unisys (treasurer). on the Web site. This continued from front page
list links directly to each
to present a detailed 3-D model of a
with other centers such as JPL. Dep- company’s Web site, where company
subject, giving viewers the sensation
uty Center Director Chris Christensen information and job opportunities
of smoothly gliding around the scene
and Associate Center Director Steve may be found, http://amescontractor-
Zornetzer also attended. from every angle. A collection can be
council.org/contract-frame.html
Any company with an active constructed using photos from a single
The Ames Contractor Council
contract at Ames is invited to send its (ACC) is a non-profit (501)(c)(4) orga- source or multiple sources. The NASA
representative to the monthly ACC nization whose membership consists Photosynth collection also includes the
meetings, which are held the first of representatives from the contractor return of the space shuttle Atlantis to
Wednesday of the month, 11 a.m. to companies performing work at NASA the Kennedy Shuttle Landing Facility
12 noon, in Building 200 in the Jack Ames. The ACC strives to apply its from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.,
Boyd Committee Room. The deputy collective pool of management talent in July.
center director, or his representative, to benefit the Ames community. Microsoft Live Labs is an applied
is always first on the agenda with an The ACC’s mission is to assist research organization focused on the
update about center and agency ac- NASA Ames in providing world-class incubation of innovative, Internet tech-
tivities. This update is followed with quality products and services to its nologies to improve and accelerate the
presentations by various guest speak- customers that consistently meet or next evolution of Microsoft’s Internet
ers, including topics such as HSPD-12, exceed all customer specifications and products and services. by Jonas Dino

10
Astrogram August 2007
Code QE earns clean-up certifications on four sites
Every time a hazardous waste site stringent compliance, mate-
is cleaned up - that’s good news. In rials handling and disposal
the past year or so, Ames’ Environ- requirements. This work often
mental Services Division, Code QE, includes investigative sleuth-
has completed and closed four Areas ing into the past to uncover
of Investigation (AOI) with the most historical practices impacting
recent closure certified on Aug. 2 by the use of the land use.
the California Department of Toxic Voluntary cleanup agree-
Substances Control (DTSC). The four ments governing the five AOI
closed AOIs encompass: sites were negotiated with the
DTSC in 1996 to help guide the
• Buildings N-225/N-225B Ames’ investigative process.
electrical substations soils Now that these sites have been
contamination (closed 7/5/07). officially closed by the DTSC,
• Building N-267 NASA Ames can return these
area soils contamination areas to unencumbered use
(closed 6/30/06). and eliminate future expen-
• Buildings N-221C/N-227 ditures for environmental
electrical substations soils actions, ultimately decreas-
contamination (closed 2/8/06). ing NASA’s environmental
• Underground Storage Tanks at liability, while increasing site
seven sites (closed 8/02/07). sustainability and support of
agency missions.
In addition to the four AOI Congratulations to Code
projects certified as closed by the QE team manager Don Chuck
California agency, one additional area and the support services con-
encompassing the N-221 wind tunnel tractor, ISSi team members Joe
complex (AOI 4), remains under DTSC Lukas, Casey Fitzgerald and
oversight. The other 11 AOIs are man- Brian Reddig. This map shows the sites, AOI 5, 8, 10 and 11, which represent four
aged under the Environmental Protec- by April Neilson
clean up areas receiving certification for closure by the California
Department of Toxic Substances Control.
tion Agency Region IX.
Clean up of hazardous sites is a
long and arduous process requiring The NASA Ames Water Quality Report is now available for review at:
deep knowledge of contaminants and http://q.arc.nasa.gov/qe/compl/dwater/AmesWaterQualityReportall.pdf
meticulous attention to complex and

Non-technical public lecture on asteroids to be held soon

On Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2007, at life. In fact, were it not for the impact research programs in the study of
7 p.m., astronomer David Morrison of a 15-km wide asteroid 65 million the living universe. Morrison is the
of Ames will give a non-technical, years ago, it is likely humanity would author of more than 155 technical
illustrated talk entitled ‘Taking a Hit: not be here. papers and has published a dozen
Asteroid Impacts and Evolution,’ as Impacts are important for our books, including several widely used
part of the Silicon Valley Astronomy future as well as our past. In the last college textbooks in astronomy. He
Lectures. two decades, we have learned not only is the recipient of numerous awards
how to evaluate the impact hazard for his scientific and his educational
Place: The Smithwick Theater but also (in principle) how to defend work, including the Sagan Medal of
at Foothill College ourselves. The astronomers operating the American Astronomical Society for
El Monte Road and the Spaceguard Survey of Near Earth public communication.
Freeway 280, Asteroids have already reduced the Morrison was a founder of the
Los Altos Hills risk of fatality from unknown aster- multi-disciplinary field of astrobiol-
oids by at least 75 percent. Unlike ogy. Asteroid 2410 Morrison is named
Cost: Free and open to the public other natural hazards, we now have in his honor, but he assures us that it
Parking is $2 the capability of removing most of the is not one of those that might hit the
impact risk within the next generation. Earth.
Call the series hot-line at (650) 949- However, the government still does The lecture is co-sponsored by
7888 for more information and driving not have a plan of action for when an NASA Ames, the Foothill College As-
directions. No background in science asteroid is discovered heading our tronomy Program, the SETI Institute
will be required for this talk. way or when an impact happens with- and the Astronomical Society of the
Asteroids have hit the Earth many out any warning. Pacific.
times in the past, and they will con- Morrison is one of the world’s Past Silicon Valley Astronomy Lec-
tinue to hit in the future, whether we experts on the study of asteroid tures are now available in MP3 format
are prepared or not. Collisions with impacts. He is the senior scientist at: http://www.astrosociety.org/edu-
our planet over 4.5 billion years have at the NASA Astrobiology Institute, cation/podcast/index.html.
profoundly influenced the evolution of where he participates in a variety of
11
Astrogram August 2007
 Ames Ongoing Monthly Events Calendar
Ames Amateur Radio Club, third Thursday Ames Child Care Center Board of Direc- Ames Sailing Club Mtg, second Thursday
of each month, 12 noon, N-T28 (across from tors Mtg, every other Monday in N-262/Rm of ea. month (March through Nov), from 12
N-255). POC: Michael Wright, KG6BFK, at ext. 180 from 1- 2:30 p.m. POC: Sally Miller, ext. p.m. - 1 p.m. in Bldg. N-262, Rm 100. URL:
4-6262. 4-5411. http://sail.arc.nasa.gov/. POC: Becky Hooey,
ext. 4-2399.
Ames Ballroom Dance Club, Classes on Ames Contractor Council Mtg, first Wednes-
Tuesdays. Beginning classes meet at 5:15 p.m. day each month, 11 a.m., N-200, Committee Environmental Forum, first Thursday every
Higher-level class meets at 5:50 p.m. Held in Room. POC: Chris Johnson, ext. (650) 938- other month, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., Bldg. 218/2nd
Bldg. 944, the Rec. Center. POC: Helen Hwang 8017. floor training room. URL: http://q/qe/
at [email protected], ext. 4-1368. events/EHSseries/  POC: Stacy St. Louis at
Ames Federal Employees Union (AFEU) Mtg, ext. 4-6810.
Ames Bicycling Club, Every 3rd Wednesday third Wednesday of ea. month, 12 p.m. to 1
of the month. The meeting location is Building p.m., Bldg. 221, Rm 104. Guests welcome. The Hispanic Advisory Committee for Excel-
N-245 Auditorium, 12 noon - 1 p.m. Contact Info at: http://www.afeu.org. POC: Marianne lence (HACE) Mtg, first Thurs of month in
Julie Nottage at [email protected], ext. Mosher, ext. 4-4055. N255 room 101C from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
4-3711. By-laws of Ames Bicycling Club can POC: Eric Kristich at ext. 4-5137 and Mark
be found at http://zen.arc.nasa.gov; the link is Ames Mac Support Group Mtg, third Tuesday Leon at ext. 4-6498.
right under the picture. of ea. month, 11:30 a.m.to 1 p.m., Bldg. N262,
Rm 180. POC: Tony ext. 4-0340. Jetstream Toastmasters, Mondays, 12 p.m. to
Ames Bowling League, Homestead Lanes on 1 p.m., N-269/Rm.179. POC: Miwa Hayashi at
Thursday nights at 6:20 p.m. Seeking substitute Ames Model Aircraft Club, flying radio-con- ext. 4-1397, [email protected], Web:
bowlers. Questions to sign up: Mike Liu at ext. trolled aircraft at the north end of Parsons Ave. http://jetstream.freetoasthost.com
4-1132. on weekend mornings. POC: Mark Sumich,
ext. 4-6193. Native American Advisory Committee Mtg,
fourth Tues each month, 12 noon to 1 p.m.,
Bldg. 19, Rm 1096. POC: Mike Liu at ext.
4-1132.

Ames emergency Protective Services monthly activity

announcements A statistical summary of activities of the Protective Services Division’s
To hear the centerwide status record- Security/Law Enforcement and Fire Protection Services units for the month
ing, call (650) 604-9999 for informa-
tion announcements and emergency of July 2007 is shown below.
instructions for Ames employees. You
can also listen to 1700 KHz AM radio Security/Law Enforcement Activity
for the same information.

Safety Data
NASA-Ames Occupational
Illness-Injury Data for
Calendar Year-to-Date 2007
Jan. 1, 2007 – July 31, 2007

Civil Contractors
Servants
Fire Protection Activity
First aid cases 6 11

Lost Workday cases 0 1

Recordable cases 0 2

Restricted duty days 0 0

Above data are as of July 31, 2007.

May be subject to slight adjustment in
the event of a new case or new informa-
tion regarding an existing case.

12
Astrogram August 2007
Ames Classifieds Exchange Information Incline Village, Forest Pines, Lake Tahoe condo, 3
Ads for the next issue should be sent to astrogram@ bdrms/2 ba, sleeps 8, fireplace, TVs/VCR/DVD,
mail.arc.nasa.gov and must be resubmitted for each Information about products, services and oppor- stereo w/CD player, microwv, W/D, jacuzzi,
issue. Ads must involve personal needs or items; (no tunities provided to the employee and contractor sauna, outdoor pool. Walk to lake. Close to ski
commercial/third-party ads) and will run on a space- community by the Ames Exchange Council. Visit areas. Visit web site for pictures: http://www.
available basis only. First-time ads are given priority. the web site at: http://exchange.arc.nasa.gov ACruiseStore.com $135/night spring and fall,
Ads must include home phone numbers; Ames exten- $173/night summer and winter (holidays higher)
sions and email addresses will be accepted for carpool Beyond Galileo Gift Shop N-235 in plus $125 cleaning fee and 12 percent Nevada
and lost and found ads only. Due to the volume of the cafeteria , 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., ext. 4-6873 room tax. Charlie (650) 743-8990.
material received, we are unable to verify the accuracy
of the statements made in the ads. Caveat emptor! Don’t forget to purchase your baby shower, birth-
New York, 5th Ave. One fully furnished bedroom
day, holiday gifts at Ames’ two gift shops!
in 24 hour security bldg. overlooking Washington
Miscellaneous Square Park, $2,000/wk or $3,000/mo. negotiable.
Visitor Center Gift Shop N-943 Call (650) 349-0238.
The Ames Cat Network needs help finding M-F, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., ext. 4-5412
homes for cats trapped at Moffett. They range Paris/France: Fully furnished studio, 5th Arr, Latin
from feral to abandoned/lost pets. Tested, NASA logo merchandise, souvenirs, toys, gifts and
educational items. Quarter, Notre Dame and Lie-St. Louis., $1,400/
altered and inoculated. Call Iris at ext. 4-5824 wk. negotiable. Call (650) 349-0238.
if you or someone you know are interested in
fostering or adopting a cat. Tickets, etc... N-943 outside the main gate,
10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., ext. 4-5412 and Beyond Santa Cruz townhouse, 2 bedrooms plus study,
Galileo, 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. ext. 4-6873 2 baths, decks, totally furnished, 3 blocks from
Kitchen table for sale, it comes with matching beach, available July, August, September; $1,600
chairs. Pam (650) 344-0725. per month. Call (831) 423-5777 (H) or (831) 277-
Mega Bites Cafeteria N-235, 6 a.m. to 8476 (C).
1933 Philco console radio, model 18L. Good 2 p.m., ext. 4-5969/Catering ext. 4-2161
condition. $400 or B/O. E-mail acsullivan@ Lake Tahoe cabin rental in Agate Bay, North Shore.
comcast.net See daily menu at: http://exchange.arc.nasa.gov 4bd/3ba tri-level, AEK, cable TVs, fireplace, BBQ,
deck, sleeps 10. Closest skiing is Northstar, Alpine
Twin day bed with trundle. White enamel frame Moffett Field Golf Club with ‘Tee minus and Squaw. Rates are $375 a weekend, $1,000 a
with delicate flowers, 2 matresses. 2 years old. 1’ Grill and Sports Bar. Call (650) 603-8026. week. Call (408) 867-4656.
Paid $1,000, Asking $500 or B/O. E-mail acsul-
[email protected] Florida west coast vacation in St. Petersburg,
RV Lots Available Call to reserve a beautiful 2bd/2ba condo, fully equipped kitchen
Craftsman lawn mower, 6.5hp, 21” push mower, space at (650) 603-7100/01.
and furnished, sunset views, 1/4 mile from St. Pete
looks and runs great, like new, $75. Bill (408) Civilian/Contractors, $50/mo; military $25/mo Beach, monthly or 2 week minimum rentals only.
252-0386. Call (703) 299-8889 or e-mail:  [email protected]
NASA Lodge (N-19) 603-7100
PM Challenge 2008 set! Where to stay when you’re too tired to drive home?
Monterey Bay vacation rental at Pajaro Dunes, 20
miles south of Santa Cruz, 3bd/2ba beach house
What about the lodge?! Two types of rooms: Bldg. with distinctive architecture. Beautiful ocean and
The NASA PM Challenge 2008 will be held Feb. 19 (43 rooms), rate: $55/night ($5 ea add’l adult);
26 - 27, 2008 in Daytona Beach, Fla. Visit the Web at valley views, only 150 ft from the beach, first-class
Bldg. 583 (150 rooms), rate: $45/night ($5 ea. add’l tennis courts. $700/wkend, $2,100/wk including
http://pmchallenge.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.htm for adult) cleaning by the maid service when you depart.
details.  Call for speakers: Download the Speaker Call (408) 252-7260.
Requirements Document at: http://pmchallenge. Ames Swim Center (N-109) 603-8025
gsfc.nasa.gov/Speaker2008.htm. Speaker abstracts South Lake Tahoe large cabin surrounded by
The pool is heated year round! The pool is cur-
and biographies are due Sept. 14, 2007. PM Chal- rently available for lap swim, pool parties and protected forest, 8 miles from Stateline Sleeps 12
lenge is sponsored by the NASA Office of the Chief special events. POC -Chana Langley, Pool Manager comfortably, 4 bd/3ba. Hot tub/pool table/65” TV
Engineer, the NASA Academy of Program/Project (650) 603-8025. Memberships: single member- Matt (408) 482-5286
and Engineering Leadership (APPEL) and the ships: $40/yr. Family memberships: $60/yr. After
purchasing a membership, there is an entrance fee: South Lake Tahoe cozy home backs up to large
NASA Office of Safety and Mission Assurance.
daily entrance fee - $3/day or lap pass fee - $40 for open meadow, 1 mile from Heavenly Valley. Sleeps
20 uses. Platinum membership - $360/yr. (no daily 11, 3 bd/2.5 ba. Large deck with hot tub. Matt (408)
fee). Special events: include military training, swim 482-5286.
team events, kayak role practice, etc. The cost for
special events is $50/hr.

Vacation Opportunities
Lake Tahoe-Squaw Valley Townhse, 3bd/2ba-
equipped, Balcony view, hiking, biking, golf, river
rafting, tennis, ice skating, and more. Summer
rates. Call (650) 968-4155, [email protected]

Bass Lake vacation rental, 4 mls south of Yosemite.

3bd/1.5 ba, TV, VCR, MW, frplc, BBQ, priv. boat
dock. Sleeps 8. $1,050/wk. Call (559) 642-3600 or
(650) 390-9668. Astrogram deadlines
Big Sur vacation rental, secluded 4bd/2ba house
in canyon setting. Fully eqpd kitchen. Access to Please submit articles, calendar and
priv. beach. Tub in patio gdn. Halfway between classified advertisements to astro-
Carmel and Big Sur. $175/night for 2; $225 for 4 [email protected] no later than
and $250 for more, plus $150 cleaning dep. Call the 10th of each month. If this falls on
(650) 328-4427.
a weekend or holiday, then the follow-
Pine Mountain Lake vacation home. Access to golf, ing business day becomes the dead-
tennis, lake, swimming, horseback riding, walk line. For Astrogram questions, contact
to beach. Three bedrooms/sleeps 10. $100/night. Astrid Olson at the aforementioned
Call (408) 799-4052 or (831) 623-4054. e-mail address or ext. 4-3347.

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Astrogram August 2007
 The NASA Ames Library provides variety of services
Do you need help using one of the

NASA photo by Dominic Hart

NASA Ames Library’s resources or
getting an answer to a question? Do
you need an article or book not found
in the library’s collection? Do you need
assistance in finding an old or obscure
report? The Ames librarians can help
you.
During recent funding realities, the
Standing, left goal has been to make as many of the
to right: Ames library’s journals available electronical-
librarians Kathy ly as possible. Publisher price increases
Ponce, Marie plus inflation have made this task a
Schneider and
challenging one. However, the library
Beverly Mcleod.
Seated is Dan is able to obtain most articles or docu-
Pappas. ments needed by researchers through
interlibrary loan at no additional cost.
For more information, come visit
the Ames Technical Library, in Build-
ing N-202 in the basement and the Life
Sciences Library in Building N-239 in
Room 53.
Take a look at all the library has to
offer. On the Web at http://ameslib.
arc.nasa.gov, or call ext. 4-6325 or e-
mail: [email protected]
by Dan Pappas

FIRST-CLASS
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
National Aeronautics and Space PERMIT NO. 85
Administration MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA

Ames Research Center

Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000
The Ames Astrogram is an official publication of
Ames Research Center, National Aeronautics and
Space Administration.

Managing Editor......................Michael Mewhinney

Editor, Layout and Design...................Astrid Olson

You can reach the Astrogram Office at: astrogram@

mail.arc.nasa.gov or by phone at (650) 604-3347.
Astrogram Web site: http://www.nasa.gov/cen-
PLEASE RECYCLE ters/ames/astrogram/2007/07astrograms.html
Printed on recycled and recyclable paper with vegetable-based ink.

14
Astrogram August 2007