Search NASASearch

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “class outreach”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 records

An Astro-Animation Class: Optimizing Artistic, Educational and Outreach Outcomes

The authors investigate how teaching art and astronomy together has the potential to inspire new art forms, enhance scientific public outreach, and promote art and science education. The authors teach an astro-animation class at the Maryland Institute College of Art in partnership with NASA scientists. The animations explore science in creative ways. Astrophysicists, educators, students, and the general public were surveyed to evaluate the experiences, and benefits from this project. The responses were very positive -the program is an effective way to stimulate art students to learn science, share an artist’s viewpoint beyond the classroom, and engage with the public.

Animation

Constellation Program Design Challenges as Opportunities for Educational Outreach and Workforce Development for Senior Design Classes

The Texas Space Grant Consortium (TSGC) and the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) both have programs that present design challenges for university senior design classes that offer great opportunities for educational outreach and workforce development. These design challenges have been identified by NASA engineers and researchers as real design problems faced by the Constellation Program in its exploration missions and architecture. Student teams formed in their senior design class select and then work on a design challenge for one or two semesters. The senior design class follows the requirements set by their university, but it must also comply with the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) in order to meet the class academic requirements. Based on a one year fellowship at a TSGC university under the NASA Administrator's Fellowship Program (NAFP) and several years of experience, results and metrics are presented on the NASA Design Challenge Program.

Trevino, Robert C.

Constellation Program Design Challenges as Opportunities for Educational Outreach- Lessons Learned

The Texas Space Grant Consortium (TSGC) and the NASA Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) Education Office both have programs that present design challenges for university senior design classes that offer great opportunities for educational outreach and workforce development. These design challenges have been identified by NASA engineers and scientists as actual design problems faced by the Constellation Program in its exploration missions and architecture. Student teams formed in their senior design class select and then work on a design challenge for one or two semesters. The senior design class follows the requirements set by their university, but it must also comply with the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) in order to meet the class academic requirements. Based on a one year fellowship at a TSGC university under the NASA Administrator's Fellowship Program (NAFP) and several years of experience, lessons learned are presented on the NASA Design Challenge Program.

Trevino, Robert C.

Development of K-12 Engineering Outreach Materials

Six modules were created that can be used in K-12 classes to introduce students to what engineers can do at NASA.The purpose of this project was to create outreach materials for the classroom. To make it appealing to students, many color NASA photographs are used to illustrate NASA applications.Student experiments are described that can be performed to illustrate topics.

Jordan, William

Remote sensing of biomass burning

The following represents a comprehensive summary of significant accomplishments over the duration of the grant. In the field of publications, I published one journal article, two conference proceedings, and two chapters in scholarly books. In the field of conference presentations, JOVE allowed me to present six papers at local, national, and international scientific meetings. In the field of outreach, JOVE support has allowed me to incorporate astronaut photography into meteorology classes which involved 900 students over five years. I also wrote an editorial for our local daily newspaper, 'The Kearny Hub.' Lastly, JOVE support has permitted a lasting collaboration with my NASA colleague, K. P. Lulla. We are engaged in finishing a book titled 'Global Fire: At the End of the Millenium'.

Glasser, Marvin

Assessment of the NASA Astrobiology Institute

Astrobiology is a scientific discipline devoted to the study of life in the universe--its origins, evolution, distribution, and future. It brings together the physical and biological sciences to address some of the most fundamental questions of the natural world: How do living systems emerge? How do habitable worlds form and how do they evolve? Does life exist on worlds other than Earth? As an endeavor of tremendous breadth and depth, astrobiology requires interdisciplinary investigation in order to be fully appreciated and examined. As part of a concerted effort to undertake such a challenge, the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) was established in 1998 as an innovative way to develop the field of astrobiology and provide a scientific framework for flight missions. Now that the NAI has been in existence for almost a decade, the time is ripe to assess its achievements. At the request of NASA's Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate (SMD), the Committee on the Review of the NASA Astrobiology Institute undertook the assignment to determine the progress made by the NAI in developing the field of astrobiology. It must be emphasized that the purpose of this study was not to undertake a review of the scientific accomplishments of NASA's Astrobiology program, in general, or of the NAI, in particular. Rather, the objective of the study is to evaluate the success of the NAI in achieving its stated goals of: 1. Conducting, supporting, and catalyzing collaborative interdisciplinary research; 2. Training the next generation of astrobiology researchers; 3. Providing scientific and technical leadership on astrobiology investigations for current and future space missions; 4. Exploring new approaches, using modern information technology, to conduct interdisciplinary and collaborative research among widely distributed investigators; and 5. Supporting outreach by providing scientific content for use in K-12 education programs, teaching undergraduate classes, and communicating directly with the public. The committee s assessment of the NAI's progress in these five areas is presented in Chapters 2 to 6, respectively.

Source record

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

Overview: Western Regional applications Program (WRAP) status

Interactions with all 14 of the states in the Western Region over the past three years are reviewed from NASA's perspective. Outreach and training programs using the M mobile analysis and training extension van, the University Program, classes at the Ames Center, demonstration tests with state agencies, and surveying the needs of local governments are highlighted. Planned activities, the continuance of ASVT's, and the impact of the budget cuts on NASA'S technology program are also considered.

Norman, S. M.

The Acquisition, Containment, and Curation of Mars Samples on Earth

The Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation Office at NASA Johnson Space Center (henceforth AACO) is responsible for receiving and curating all of NASA’s extraterrestrial samples, current and future (as per NASA Policy Directive (NPD) 7100.10E “Curation of Extraterrestrial Materials”). As such, the AACO coordinates sample capture, containment, and transportation to the curation facility as well as documents, preserves, prepares, and distributes all of the samples within NASA’s astromaterial collections for research, education, and public outreach. Since the lunar rock and soil samples returned during the Apollo Program, NASA’s first Class V Restricted Earth Return Missions, the AACO curates six other astromaterials collections. Lessons learned from each collection and respective missions (e.g. Apollo, Genesis, Stardust) as well as advancements in science and technology have informed the AACO’s plan for acquiring and curating Martian samples. Given the nature of the collection, a mobile and modular facility is recommended. The two broad requirements a Mars sample facility must maintain are: 1) the ability to contain the samples to protect the public from exposure of an “unknown unknown” biological agent and 2) ensure the scientific integrity of the samples are maintained (while maximizing scientific outcome). Although Apollo samples were eventually deemed safe and released to the scientific community for evaluation, there is no guarantee that this will be the case for Martian samples. Therefore, the facility in which the samples will be contained and investigated must be modular and able to accommodate an array of instrumentation that could be highly variable depending on the initial scientific outcomes. Furthermore, in order to facilitate proper sample capture and containment upon landing as well as sample distribution to other laboratories with proper containment, a mobile facility is a valuable investment.

Harrington, Andrea D.

Power console development for NASA's electric propulsion outreach program

NASA LeRC is developing a 30 cm diameter xenon ion thruster for auxiliary and primary propulsion applications. To maximize expectations for user-acceptance of ion propulsion technology, NASA LeRC, through their Electric Propulsion Outreach Program, is providing sectors of industry with portable power consoles for operation of 5 KW-class xenon ion thrusters. This power console provides all necessary functions to permit thruster operations over a 0.5-5 KW envelope under both manual and automated control. These functions include the following: discharge, cathode heater, neutralizer keeper, and neutralizer heater currents, screen and accelerator voltages, and a gas feed system to regulate and control propellant flow to the thruster. An electronic circuit monitors screen and accelerator currents and controls arcing events. The power console was successfully integrated with the NASA 30 cm thruster.

Pinero, Luis R.

Lesson Plan Prototype for International Space Station's Interactive Video Education Events

The outreach and education components of the International Space Station Program are creating a number of materials, programs, and activities that educate and inform various groups as to the implementation and purposes of the International Space Station. One of the strategies for disseminating this information to K-12 students involves an electronic class room using state of the art video conferencing technology. K-12 classrooms are able to visit the JSC, via an electronic field trip. Students interact with outreach personnel as they are taken on a tour of ISS mockups. Currently these events can be generally characterized as: Being limited to a one shot events, providing only one opportunity for students to view the ISS mockups; Using a "one to many" mode of communications; Using a transmissive, lecture based method of presenting information; Having student interactions limited to Q&A during the live event; Making limited use of media; and Lacking any formal, performance based, demonstration of learning on the part of students. My project involved developing interactive lessons for K-12 students (specifically 7th grade) that will reflect a 2nd generation design for electronic field trips. The goal of this design will be to create electronic field trips that will: Conform to national education standards; More fully utilize existing information resources; Integrate media into field trip presentations; Make support media accessible to both presenters and students; Challenge students to actively participate in field trip related activities; and Provide students with opportunities to demonstrate learning

Zigon, Thomas

HERO CarbonSAFE Phase 2 Project in the Columbia River Basalt Group

The Hermiston, Oregon Basalt CarbonSAFE Phase II project (HERO CarbonSAFE) seeks to accelerate the deployment of commercial carbon dioxide (CO2) storage projects in basaltic rocks. Basalt CO2 storage has several advantages to conventional saline storage reservoirs including 1. The potential for rapid mineralization of CO2, 2. Associated decreases in pressure and CO2 migration risks, 3. Reduced long-term monitoring requirements with respect to plume tracking, 4. Widespread geographic distribution and, 5. Large storage potential due to thickness, porosity, and CO2 interactions with basalt. And for locations such as the Pacific Northwest, Hawaii, Iceland, India and Japan, basalts may offer the only economically feasible option for local CO2 storage. However, there are limited field-scale assessments of CO2 storage in basalt, and current carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) permitting and regulatory frameworks were developed for conventional saline reservoirs. HERO CarbonSAFE is designed to address research gaps and uncertainties associated with basalt storage. Specifically, the project will assess the feasibility of CO2 injection in the deep layered basalts, long-term storage (mineralization), practical approaches for large-scale implementation (50+ million metric tons of CO2 over 30 years), lithology-specific risks, and the technoeconomic potential for CO2 storage in basalts. The HERO CarbonSAFE project will assess feasibility of developing a commercial-scale (50+ million metric tons of CO2) geological storage complex within the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG), a layered continental flood basalt complex that underlies Calpine’s natural gas-fired Hermiston Power Project (HPP) in Hermiston, OR (Figure 1). Under this 2-year CarbonSAFE Phase II project, the HERO team will conduct a data acquisition campaign that includes drilling a stratigraphic well to a total depth of ~1,500 m into the thick layered basalts proximal to HPP. A comprehensive well logging and hydrologic testing program will be augmented with new core collected from flow zones and sealing units, and comprehensive laboratory testing to help refine the kinetic rates of mineralization. The newly acquired information will be integrated with existing data from regional wells to correlate basalt injection zone properties to develop storage hub/commercial-scale models. Using these models, the project team will evaluate injection scenarios to define the technical and economic potential for storing a minimum of 50 million metric tons of CO2 over a 30-year period, along with a robust sensitivity analysis on key parameters governing reservoir viability for sustainable injection over a commercial project lifetime. Specific technical objectives of HERO are: (1) assessing the reservoir response of a series of stacked layered reservoir flowtop sequences occurring in this area of the CRBG to commercial-scale injection volumes; (2) extending prior efforts by the project team to characterize the deep layered basalts encountered in regional studies, to leverage prior investments by U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Carbon Storage program; (3) leveraging DOE’s mineralization characterization efforts to advance model parametrization for commercial scale injection of CO2 in basalts; (4) conducting risk assessments associated with scaling up to commercial storage hub injection goals, while validating DOE’s National Risk Assessment Partnership (NRAP) tools, to identify potential constraints that would prevent the CRBG from serving as a commercial-scale storage complex; (5) developing mitigation plans to address identified risks; (6) developing a commercial-scale injection and monitoring, verification and accounting (MVA) strategy; (7) utilizing computational models to define and minimize, if possible, the Area of Review (AoR) under Class VI regulations; and (8) developing a robust CO2 management strategy for CRBG that also considers a regional source/sink approach that is responsive to stakeholder needs and industrial demand. Specific institutional objectives are: (1) identifying and developing plans to mitigate the nontechnical challenges associated with the build-out of a commercial-scale storage complex within the CRBG with integrated CO2 sources; (2) implementing the community outreach plan; (3) conducting regulatory research, including a survey of issues related to pore space ownership, MVA and long-term assurance of mineralization-based storage, to support an eventual application for a UIC Class VI permit; (4) advancing the project’s plan for CO2 liability management; and (5) continuing to refine and update the project’s economic model. The final objective is the preparation of a comprehensive Site Characterization Plan that draws upon the technical and institutional feasibility assessments to prepare the project for future commercialization efforts.

58 GEOSCIENCES

Financial Exposure After a Sealed-Source Release: Insurance Limits, Federal Cost Pathways, and Implications for Gamma Irradiator Substitution

This report assesses whether private insurance and existing federal authorities would likely provide meaningful financial protection to private operators of self-shielded gamma irradiators after a major sealed-source release. It does not answer this question quantitatively because publicly observable data on premiums, limits, uptake, and claims outcomes for this risk class appear sparse. Instead, it uses a qualitative structural analysis based on prior literature, review of relevant federal authorities, limited observable insurance-market evidence, expert outreach, and historical analogs. The analysis finds that available public and private mechanisms do not combine into a clear, dependable, or readily verifiable compensation structure for ordinary private sealed-source operators. Institutions therefore should not assume that either insurance or government response will make them financially whole after a severe incident. Source reduction and replacement remain more dependable than post-event financial mechanisms for reducing institutional exposure and broader radiological risk.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS

Lunar and Planetary Science XXXV: Engaging K-12 Educators, Students, and the General Public in Space Science Exploration

The session "Engaging K-12 Educators, Students, and the General Public in Space Science Exploration" included the following reports:Training Informal Educators Provides Leverage for Space Science Education and Public Outreach; Teacher Leaders in Research Based Science Education: K-12 Teacher Retention, Renewal, and Involvement in Professional Science; Telling the Tale of Two Deserts: Teacher Training and Utilization of a New Standards-based, Bilingual E/PO Product; Lindstrom M. M. Tobola K. W. Stocco K. Henry M. Allen J. S. McReynolds J. Porter T. T. Veile J. Space Rocks Tell Their Secrets: Space Science Applications of Physics and Chemistry for High School and College Classes -- Update; Utilizing Mars Data in Education: Delivering Standards-based Content by Exposing Educators and Students to Authentic Scientific Opportunities and Curriculum; K. E. Little Elementary School and the Young Astronaut Robotics Program; Integrated Solar System Exploration Education and Public Outreach: Theme, Products and Activities; and Online Access to the NEAR Image Collection: A Resource for Educators and Scientists.

Source record

Future Mission Proposal Opportunities: Discovery, New Frontiers, and Project Prometheus

The NASA Office of Space Science is expanding opportunities to propose missions to comets, asteroids, and other solar system targets. The Discovery Program continues to be popular, with two sample return missions, Stardust and Genesis, currently in operation. The New Frontiers Program, a new proposal opportunity modeled on the successful Discovery Program, begins this year with the release of its first Announcement of Opportunity. Project Prometheus, a program to develop nuclear electric power and propulsion technology intended to enable a new class of high-power, high-capability investigations, is a third opportunity to propose solar system exploration. All three classes of mission include a commitment to provide data to the Planetary Data System, any samples to the NASA Curatorial Facility at Johnson Space Center, and programs for education and public outreach.

Niebur, S. M.

Virginia Demonstration Project Encouraging Middle School Students in Pursuing STEM Careers

Encouraging students at all grade levels to consider pursuing a career in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields i s a national focus. In 2005, the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD), a Department of Defense laboratory located in Da hlgren, Virginia, began work on the Virginia Demonstration Project (VDP) with the goal of increasing more student interest in STEM educatio n and pursuing STEM careers. This goal continues as the program enters its sixth year. This project has been successful through the partici pation of NSWCDD's scientists and engineers who are trained as mentor s to work in local middle school classrooms throughout the school year, As an extension of the in-class activities, several STEM summer aca demies have been conducted at NSWCDD, These academies are supported by the Navy through the VDP and the STEM Learning Module Project. These projects are part of more extensive outreach efforts offered by the National Defense Education Program (NDEP), sponsored by the Director, Defense Research and Engineering. The focus of this paper is on the types of activities conducted at the summer academy, an overview of the academy planning process, and recommendations to help support a nati onal plan of integrating modeling and simulation-based engineering and science into all grade levels. based upon the lessons learned

Bachman, Jane T.