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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2017

Public Outreach with NASA Lunar and Planetary Mapping and Modeling

NASA's Trek family of online portals is an exceptional collection of resources making it easy for students and the public to explore surfaces of planetary bodies using real data from real missions. Exotic landforms on other worlds and our plans to explore them provide inspiring context for science and technology lessons in classrooms, museums, and at home. These portals can be of great value to formal and informal educators, as well as to scientists working to share the excitement of the latest developments in planetary science, and can significantly enhance visibility and public engagement in missions of exploration.

LPMM↗
NASA NTRS2016

Human and Robotic Exploration Missions to Phobos Prior to Crewed Mars Surface Missions

Phobos is a scientifically significant destination that would facilitate the development and operation of the human Mars transportation infrastructure, unmanned cargo delivery systems and other Mars surface systems. In addition to developing systems relevant to Mars surface missions, Phobos offers engineering, operational, and public engagement opportunities that could enhance subsequent Mars surface operations. These opportunities include the use of low latency teleoperations to control Mars surface assets associated with exploration science, human landing-site selection and infrastructure development, which may include in situ resource utilization (ISRU) to provide liquid oxygen for the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV). A human mission to Mars' moons would be preceded by a cargo pre-deploy of a surface habitat and a pressurized excursion vehicle (PEV) to Mars orbit. Once in Mars orbit, the habitat and PEV would spiral to Phobos using solar electric propulsion based systems, with the habitat descending to the surface and the PEV remaining in orbit. When a crewed mission is launched to Phobos, it would include the remaining systems to support the crew during the Earth-Mars transit and to reach Phobos after insertion in to Mars orbit. The crew would taxi from Mars orbit to Phobos to join with the predeployed systems in a spacecraft that is based on a MAV, dock with and transfer to the PEV in Phobos orbit, and descend in the PEV to the surface habitat. A static Phobos surface habitat was chosen as a baseline architecture, in combination with the PEV that was used to descend from orbit as the main exploration vehicle. The habitat would, however, have limited capability to relocate on the surface to shorten excursion distances required by the PEV during exploration and to provide rescue capability should the PEV become disabled. To supplement exploration capabilities of the PEV, the surface habitat would utilize deployable EVA support structures that allow astronauts to work from portable foot restraints or body restrain tethers in the vicinity of the habitat. Prototype structures were tested as part of NEEMO 20.

Gernhardt, Michael L.↗
NASA NTRS2017

SSERVI Annual Report: Year 4

The SSERVI Central Office forms the organizational, administrative and collaborative hub for the domestic and international teams, and is responsible for advocacy and ensuring the long-term health and relevance of the Institute. SSERVI has increased the cross-talk between NASA’s space and human exploration programs, which is one of our primary goals. We bring multidisciplinary teams together to address fundamental and strategic questions pertinent to future human space exploration, and the results from that research are the primary products of the institute. The team and international partnership reports contain summaries of 2017 research accomplishments. Here we present the 2017 accomplishments by the SSERVI Central Office that focus on: 1) Supporting Our Teams, 2) Community Building, 3) Managing the Solar System Treks Portal (SSTP), and 4) Public Engagement.

Virtual Institute↗
NASA NTRS2018

Systems Development, Data Mining, and Knowledge Discovery

The primary role of the Technical Integration Office is to provide technical solutions and services to different branches at KSC (Kennedy Space Center) and NASA program customers. The Technical Integration Office helps support KSC's operational needs by providing services such as digital connectivity, data center services, modelling and simulation tools, and communication video services. To learn the necessary technology and processes for my internship, I am working on two projects: learning C# (C Sharp programming language) with SQL and developing requirements for a PX (Communication and Public Engagement) inventory management system. To learn how to efficiently program with C#, my mentor assigned me to complete a sports informatics application that would let users discover facts and rules about various sports. The sports informatics application comes with search capabilities, report generating features, rule lists that users can modify, and diagrams for various sport strategies. To further build upon this project, I also developed a sport simulation game with the application. Once I begin more SQL-based projects, I will have the opportunity to learn how to manage databases and link SQL servers with C# programs. To develop requirements for the inventory management system, I have met with PX representatives and toured their storage facilities to see how they organize and store their items and equipment. I will also be meeting with representatives from the budget office to find out what information must be in a system budget report. The main components the system must have are customer request management, a search feature for items and equipment, report generation capabilities, and automated system warnings when item quantities reach or go below administrator-specified threshold levels. I have drafted questions and shall statements that will ultimately become part of the inventory management system requirements document.

Espinosa, Gabriel↗
NASA NTRS2013

Solar System Escape Architecture for Revolutionary Science

Our most distance spacecraft, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, recently reached the boundary of the solar system known as the Heliopause. Beyond this boundary lies interstellar space, and, at tremendous distance, the stars. The Voyager spacecraft have shown us that the Heliopause is a dynamic, rapidly changing environment, varying greatly as the fields and effects emanating from the sun are met by a host of forces pushing in from our nearby galactic neighborhood. This is the region we aim to explore. Specifically we aim to develop a mission architecture and spacecraft concept capable of reaching the Heliopause (approximately100 AU (Astronomical Units)) region in multiple directions of interest, with a variety of scientific instrument suites, within a reasonable timeframe (about 15 years.) This report details our Phase 1 work including science goal definition, trajectory planning, technology research, mission planning, instrument selection, spacecraft design, and more. We present an architecture employing a 250-meter by 250-meter solar sail with a 175 kilogram spacecraft. This spacecraft could carry a variety of instrument suites depending on the destination, time, and other factors. The spin-stabilized spacecraft would powered by a small radioisotope power system (about 20 watts), makes use of an optical communication system, and carries 3 extensible booms for instrument accommodation as visible in the sketch and rendering below. We conclude that it would be reasonable to implement the architecture described herein in the 2020-2030 timeframe based on likely near-term technological and material advances. We are confident that cruise times of around 15 years could be achieved to science-rich destinations. This report details the approach we used to come to these conclusions and identifies some of the steps along the way. We utilized a variety of methodologies involving our full capability at JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) - from small point studies to large collaborative engineering processes. This paper also describes potential industry partnerships and costing information, and includes the methods used to account for our project’s significant deviation from any prior mission in the NASA costing tool database. Outreach and public engagement is an important part of NASA activities. We engaged in several different forms of this outreach and describe them in this report. We conclude with some open questions and a summary of activities we hope to engage in with Phase 2 funding. The entire team would like to thank the NIAC (NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts) program for the opportunity to investigate this fascinating and challenging concept. The Voyager program gives us tantalizing clues as to the nature and behavior of the Heliopause – the boundary between the sun’s influence and the interstellar medium. This information comes from forty-year old instruments designed to study the outer planets. A targeted Heliopause investigation would give insight into the formation of the solar system, the role of the sun in the local interstellar neighborhood, and contribute to human exploration planning by helping to predict periods of low galactic cosmic ray (GCR) penetration into the inner solar system.

Spacecraft↗
NASA NTRS2019

BioBot: Innovative Offloading of Astronauts for More Effective Exploration

The BioBot concept consists of a robotic rover which is capable of traversing the same terrain as a spacesuited human. It carries the primary life support system for the astronaut, including consumables, atmosphere revitalization systems (e.g., CO2 scrubbing, humidity and temperature management, ventilation fan), power system (e.g., battery, power management and distribution),and thermal control system (e.g., water sublimator, cooling water pump), along with umbilical lines to connect to the supported astronaut. Although not technically part of life support, it would be logical for the BioBot to also provide long-range communications, video monitoring, tool and sample transport, and other functions to enable and enhance EVA productivity in planetary surface exploration.The design reference scenario for this concept is that astronauts involved in future lunar or Mars exploration will be on the surface for weeks or months rather than days, and will be involved in regular EVA operations. It is not unreasonable to think of geologists spending several days inEVA exploration each week over a prolonged mission duration, with far more ambitious operational objectives than were typical of Apollo. In this scenario, each astronaut will be accompanied by a "BioBot", which will transport their life support system and consumables, an extended umbilical and umbilical reel, and robotic systems capable of controlling the position and motion of the umbilical. The astronaut will be connected to the robot via the umbilical, carrying only a small emergency open-loop life support system similar to those contained in every PLSS. The robotic mobility base will be designed to be capable of traveling anywhere the astronaut can walk, and will also be useful as a transport for the EVA tools, science instrumentation, and collected samples. In addition, the BioBot can potentially carry the astronaut on traverses as well. Such a system will also be a significant enhancement to public engagement in these future exploration missions, as the robotic vehicles can also support high-resolution cameras and high bandwidth communications gear to providehigh-definition video coverage of each crew throughout each EVA sortie.

Akin, David L.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Beaconless Optical Communication System Constraints

Deep-space optical communication will enable increased science return and public engagement for robotic and manned missions. The IROC project is studying a beaconless optical communication system for Mars data downlink. A star tracker provides the optical communications pointing information in place of an uplink targeting beacon. The configuration presented in this paper includes a star tracker that is aligned co-boresighted with the optical communication axis. This co-boresight configuration was not discussed in prior work, as it was assumed that large Sun-Probe-Earth keep-out angle requirements for operation of the star tracker would cause significant communication outages. In this paper it is shown that the use of an optimal mechanical mounting angle combined with an advanced star tracker has the capability to yield up to 92% communication availability for an example five-year Mars mission.

Aretskin-Hariton, Eliot D.↗
NASA NTRS1997

High-Rate Optical Communications Links for Virtual Presence in Space

As man continues the exploration of space, either from platforms in Earth-orbit or from missions to the bodies of our solar system, there will be an on-going need to keep the public engaged in the process so that the general populace can share in the excitement of discovery and the inquisitive (professional or student) can participate in the data mining.

Virtual↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Worldwide Celebration: International Observe the Moon Night

International Observe the Moon Night is a worldwide public engagement program that has been held annually since 2010. Every autumn, we ask people to observe the Moon in whatever way makes sense to them (via binoculars, telescopes, unaided eye, images, artwork, songs, stories, etc.). The event occurs when the Moon is in or near a first-quarter phase, which provides excellent viewing opportunities along the terminator (the line between night and day), as long shadows place lunar features into great relief. Hundreds of thousands of individuals all around the globe participate in the event as a collective whole, learning about lunar science and exploration, taking part in celestial observations, and honoring cultural and personal connections to the Moon. People participate in a variety of ways, including hosting or attending virtual or in-person events and observing the Moon from home. Participants also have the opportunity to connect with other lunar observers around the world through our Facebook page (facebook.com/observethemoon/), our Flickr group for images (flickr.com/groups/observethemoon2021/), and through the hashtag #ObserveTheMoon across social media platforms.

S L Tiedeken↗
NASA NTRS2020

Names Don't Fly: Smart Filters for Profanity Detection and Classification in User-Generated Content

Generally, names associate with a person’s identity. But what if in the pretext of a legitimate name and given the opportunity, users of software provide names to online web forms that carry along offensive language, slurs, and other profanity that is then sent to Mars ? The answer is simple: they don’t fly. In this paper,we perform model explorations to detect and classify inappropriate content in the names submitted from people across the world to ‘Send Your Names to MARS’ public engagement campaign.We propose a novel pipeline approach, that can effectively overcome the issues of lack of negative samples, noisy labels by gathering expert knowledge over time with human(s) in the loop and data augmentation, and achieve high accuracy in classifying inappropriate names with very little or no context. We describe cloud-based infrastructure to deploy our application and run predictions on large-scale data through our pipeline and achieve significant speedup over offline processes, with enhanced reliability and security.

Soderstrom, Tomas↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA Balloon Program Overview (2021-2023)

The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Balloon Program offers low-cost access to a near-space environment. As the science community's needs continue to evolve, the NASA Balloon Program adjusts to support the scientific community, providing enhanced capabilities across a spectrum of balloon-related disciplines. The disciplines supported by the NASA Balloon Program include astrophysics, heliophysics, planetary science, earth science, technology development, and education. A broad overview of the NASA Balloon Program that touches on critical highlights, including launch locations, standard systems, and development efforts will be presented. In addition, the specific campaigns supported from 2021 through 2023 will be discussed. The period under review witnessed significant strides in balloon technology, payload instrumentation, and mission design, all aimed at enhancing the Program's scientific capabilities—the integration of cutting-edge technologies allowed for executing ambitious missions, and fostering collaboration with domestic and international partners. Specific information on commercial satellite communications with off-the-shelf hardware will be provided. The Program's strategic goals, emphasizing its commitment to advancing atmospheric and astrophysical research, are highlighted via the GUSTO mission. The Galactic/Extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory or GUSTO mission was the first NASA Explorer-class mission to utilize the balloon platform. The Program is vital in supporting educational and outreach activities, fostering the next generation of scientists and engineers. Collaborative efforts with educational institutions and outreach programs have expanded public engagement and inspired students to pursue careers in STEM fields. The Program's versatility and success in facilitating groundbreaking research underscore its continued significance in advancing our understanding of the Earth and the universe.

GUSTO↗
DOE OSTI2022

The Necessity of International Particle Physics Opportunities for American Education

This Snowmass2021 Contributed Paper addresses the role of the Particle Physics community in creating and fostering international connections in American education. It describes the pressing need to introduce students and faculty to the challenges and rewards of international collaboration, not only to develop the next generation of scientists and engineers for particle physics, but to maintain and build U.S. leadership on an increasingly competitive world stage. We present and assess current efforts in education and public engagement with an eye toward identifying those activities in need of change or increased resources to improve audience reach and program efficacy. We also consider possible new activities that might improve upon or complement existing programs, with the common goal of providing all U.S. students with the opportunity to benefit from a quality international scientific experience.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Panel Session 128: Best Practices in Project Communications

This panel focused on a sustainable, holistic and integrated approach to structure nuclear waste management, disposal and remediation decisions. This panel had participation from internal and external stakeholders and demonstrate use of tools and techniques to effectively communicate factors that inform decisions. The desired outcome was to effectively communicate how risk is evaluated at complex sites, highlight holistic site level approaches that are protective of human health and the environment, and incorporate policy and technical concerns related to achieving alternative end points. This discussion included existing decision-making tools in conjunction with case studies. Panelists with presentations: Removing the Cloak of Secrecy from Legacy Cleanup at Los Alamos National Laboratory (David Nickless); Best Practice In Project Communications (Alan Paulley); Stakeholder and Public Engagement (Mark Lesinski); Stakeholder Engaged Structured Decision Making (Kelly Black)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2024

Integrated Urban Services: Program Impact and Business Plan Summary

The Integrated Urban Services (IUS) program, launched in 2021 and funded by the U.S. State Department under the United States-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (US-ASEAN) Smart Cities Partnership, aimed to bolster resilience in ASEAN cities by addressing challenges across food, energy, and water systems. Led by the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) with support from Regenerative Impact Ventures, the program focused on demonstrating the socio-economic benefits of integrated urban planning, educating stakeholders on circular economy principles, providing technical assistance to two ASEAN cities, and attracting private sector involvement. The program facilitated peer learning events, engaging public and private sector participants and leveraging knowledge from a group of global experts to inform approaches and best practices. Technical assistance was provided to two pilot cities, Iskandar Malaysia and Cagayan de Oro, Philippines, resulting in the development of market-driven business plans for resilient, circular, and regenerative energy-water-food system projects. The Iskandar Malaysia pilot focused on development of a state-of-the-art AgriTech Innovation Hub and Modern Farming Complex to enhance agricultural productivity and produce enough renewable energy to power the facilities. The Cagayan de Oro project aimed to enhance urban agricultural productivity and waste management through development of an Urban Precision Agricultural Complex featuring aeroponics, hydroponics, aquaponics, agrivoltaics, and a Black Solider Fly Facility for converting municipal solid waste into commodities. The success of the IUS program sets a precedent for replicating integrated urban service models globally, offering valuable insights for cities aiming to enhance their resilience and sustainability.

ASEAN↗
NASA NTRS2001

Strategies for Engaging NASA Earth Scientists in K-12 Education and Public Outreach

Engagement of the Earth Science research community in formal education at the kindergarten through high school level and in various aspects of informal education and in professional development of practitioners in related fields has been and continues to be a challenge. A range of approaches is being used and new ones are constantly being tried. Fundamental to our strategies is an understanding of the priorities, skills, academic experiences, motivation, rewards and work experiences of most scientists. It is within this context that efforts to engage a scientist in education efforts are attempted. A key strategy is to limit our requests to activities where the scientist's contribution of time and expertise can have the most impact. Don't waste the scientist's time! Time is one of their most prized resources, it is extremely valuable to you, and to them, we treat their time like a treasured resource. The clearer a scientist's role, their unique contribution and the finite nature of their effort, the more likely they are to participate. It is critical that commitments made to scientists are kept. If they want and can do more, great! Don't expect or assume more will be forthcoming. Another approach that we use is to create periodic venues that, among other things, serve to identify individuals who have an interest or inclination to con , tribute to education efforts. Once identified we strive to determine their interests so that we can make the best match between their interests and the needs of the education program or efforts. In this way, we try to make the best use of their time while engaging them in efforts which will be personally rewarding, and will further the overall education objectives. In addition, we try to make it easier for scientists to participate by providing focused training, such as development of their interviewing skills, and exposure to key concepts, knowledge and skills which are well known among educators but are not common knowledge among scientists. Another strategy with which we are still struggling is how to create and provide career meaningful rewards for individuals who demonstrate excellence in education equivalent to excellence in science. We do not yet have a yardstick to measure excellence in education nor is there a consensus among scientific peers that these two can be equivalent. None-the-less, methods to identify excellence in education, such as the peer review process, are being tried with some success. Use of solicitation and selection of educational efforts via a peer review process that is the same as for scientific research to identify unique, interesting and creative ideas has been somewhat effective. Furthermore, the application of the same peer review process to the output of an educational effort is used to validate and ensure the quality of this output. An example will be used to illustrate the application of some of these strategies to the development of a high school Earth and Space System Science curriculum created in partnership with a local county school system (Anne Arundel County, MD).

Meeson, Blanche W.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Enabling Solar Cybersecurity Solutions Through State Energy Office and Public Utility Commission Engagement with Private Sector Partners (Final Technical Report)

Between 2020 and 2025, the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), together with the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) established and managed the Enabling Solar Cybersecurity Solutions Through State Energy Office and Public Utility Commission Engagement with Private Sector Partners project, later informally retitled and recognized as the Cybersecurity Advisory Team for State Solar (CATSS). This effort convened State Energy Offices, Public Utility Commissions, and critical private sector and federal partners to inform the development of solar cybersecurity education and action-oriented resources for states. This is the final report.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Applications of GIS and remote sensing in public participation and stakeholder engagement for watershed management

The use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing technologies for the development of water quality management programs and for post-implementation assessments has increased dramatically in the past decade. This increase in adoption has been made more accessible through the interfaces of many popular software tools used in the regulation and assessment of water quality. Customized applications of these tools will increase, as ease of access and affordability of directly monitored and remotely sensed datasets improve over time. Concurrently, there is a need for inclusive participatory engagement with stakeholders to achieve solutions to current watershed management challenges. This paper explores the potential of these GIS and remote sensing datasets, tools, models, and immersive engagement technologies from other domains, for improving public participation and stakeholder engagement throughout the watershed planning process. To do so, an initial review is presented about the use of GIS and remote sensing in watershed management and its role in impairment identification, model development, and planning and implementation. Then, ways in which GIS and remote sensing can be integrated with stakeholder engagement through (1) leveraging GIS and remote sensing datasets, and (2) stakeholder engagement approaches including outreach and education, modeler-led development, and stakeholder-led involvement and feedback, are discussed. Finally, future perspectives on the potential for transforming public participation and stakeholder engagement in the watershed management process through applications of GIS and remote sensing are presented.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

We Are All Potential Role Models: How We Can Support Scientist Engagement with Youth and the General Public

We all have the opportunity to be positive STEM role models. Yet scientists rarely identify themselves as a possible role model. In the training, “Empowering Effective STEM Role Models,” scientists practice research based strategies for engaging youth, particularly girls. This type of training is complementary to science communication, but is focused on equipping scientists with the skills needed to successfully encourage youth to pursue STEM careers. This training has been provided to over 150 STEM professionals at NASA and 14 federal agencies participated in a Train-the-Trainer version, organized by the White House Council for Women and Girls in STEM Working Group. Participants in this training reported that learning and practicing how to connect with and inspire children in STEM made them more confident stepping into further engagement opportunities. Confident, inspiring scientists are a highlight of a successful engagement event, but other factors make a positive experience possible.It’s important that all partners are thoughtful and intentional in preparing for public engagement events. The logistics are crucial, especially now while many engagements have moved to virtual platforms. Additional technology considerations make preparation essential. Two examples of virtual engagement highlight the support provided that led to successful engagements. The GLOBE Mission Earth project engages scientists in virtual classroom visits. To ensure both teacher and scientist expectations are met, a coordinator facilitates up front preparation by providing slide templates for the scientist to customize and providing video and other resources to the teacher and students to prompt student questions. Another example leverages the power of social media, particularly NASA Facebook. The NASA Earth Science Education Collaborative organizes citizen science challenges and engages the public on social. For one event, scientists were asked to share their connection to the investigation, but without access to NASA’s video production studio, the plans shifted. Scientists prepared audio files instead of videos and collaborated with communications leads to help craft their message. This weekly series has been flexible, adjusting to scientist's comfort levels, and has resulted in fresh and creative engagement.

Jessica Elaine Taylor↗