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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.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Education and Public Outreach and Engagement at NASA's Analog Missions in 2012

Analog missions are integrated, multi-disciplinary activities that test key features of future human space exploration missions in an integrated fashion to gain a deeper understanding of system-level interactions and operations early in conceptual development. These tests often are conducted in remote and extreme environments that are representative in one or more ways to that of future spaceflight destinations. They may also be conducted at NASA facilities, using advanced modeling and human-in-the-loop scenarios. As NASA develops a capability driven framework to transport crew to a variety of space environments, it will use analog missions to gather requirements and develop the technologies necessary to ensure successful exploration beyond low Earth orbit. NASA s Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Division conducts these high-fidelity integrated tests, including the coordination and execution of a robust education and public outreach (EPO) and engagement program for each mission. Conducting these mission scenarios in unique environments not only provides an opportunity to test the EPO concepts for the particular future-mission scenario, such as the best methods for conducting events with a communication time delay, but it also provides an avenue to deliver NASA s human space exploration key messages. These analogs are extremely exciting to students and the public, and they are performed in such a way that the public can feel like part of the mission. They also provide an opportunity for crew members to obtain training in education and public outreach activities similar to what they would perform in space. The analog EPO team is responsible for the coordination and execution of the events, the overall social media component for each mission, and public affairs events such as media visits and interviews. They also create new and exciting ways to engage the public, manage and create website content, coordinate video footage for missions, and coordinate and integrate each activity into the mission timeline. In 2012, the AES Analog Missions Project performed three distinct missions - NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO), which simulated a mission to an asteroid using an undersea laboratory; In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) Field Test, which simulated a robotic mission to the moon searching and drilling for water; and Research and Technology Studies (RATS) integrated tests, which also simulated a mission to an asteroid. This paper will discuss the education and public engagement that occurred during these missions.

Watkins, Wendy L.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Types of Public Engagement for a Multi-Year Mission: The Interstellar Probe

How do we engage the public with a 50+ year mission? Scientists face challenges in effectively interacting with the public [1-4], along with the ever-changing nature of such a long-duration mission and updating of results. The Interstellar Probe initiative may benefit from an education and public engagement team for the purpose of professional development for scientists, exploring different tools for engagement, and outreach opportunities for a wide swath of communication. Some examples of such public engagement can follow the resources and engagement as that from the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), Impact Earth, the Toolbox for Research and Exploration (TREX), and even previous mission initiatives and engagement with the public, such as the Cassini mission [4-7]. This abstract simply outlines the different types of public engagement that the Interstellar Probe could potentially develop and eventually undertake. Specifically, there are 4 main themes to explore: Public, Visual, Audio, and Research. Inclusivity should also be a factor on how to better engage the public through a multi-year mission

C Ahrens↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Studying the 2019 Australian Bushfires Disaster using NASA Data: A Data-Driven Storytelling Approach

The 2019-2020 Australian fire season was particularly devastating, with millions of acres of land burned and impacts affecting Australian ecology, local populations and air quality, and the atmosphere. Australia saw unprecedented heat waves, with temperatures reaching 120 F (49.1 C) in January across central and eastern Australia. The fires gave rise to a host of atmospheric phenomenon, including smoke transport and lofting generated by storm-induced by fires, known as pyrocumulonimbus, reaching the stratosphere. NASA’s satellites not only tracked the event in real time, but also gathered data to further inform forecasting and response methods in the future. To better assist the public in understanding the lead up, impacts, and aftermath effects of these fires, the Science Outreach Team at NASA Langley Research Center’s Atmospheric Science Data Center (ASDC) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) used Esri’s storymap tool to guide users through understanding relevant phenomenon, contributing factors, the effects this event has had on global atmospheric composition, and the science behind researching the tie between disasters and public health. The storymap uses data from the ASDC-supported NASA missions Measurements Of Pollution In The Troposphere (MOPITT), Cloud-Aerosol and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO), Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES), the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE III), and Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR). By using data-driven storytelling to communicate impacts of a large fire event, we hope to provide an accessible, engaging science outreach tool format.

Sanjana Paul↗
NASA NTRS2016

Virtual Microscope Views of the Apollo 11 and 12 Lunar Samples

The Apollo virtual microscope is a means of viewing, over the Internet, polished thin sections of every rock in the Apollo lunar sample collections via software, duplicating many of the functions of a petrological microscope, is described. Images from the Apollo 11 and 12 missions may be viewed at: www.virtualmicroscope.org/content/apollo. Introduction: During the six NASA missions to the Moon from 1969-72 a total of 382 kilograms of rocks and soils, often referred to as "the legacy of Apollo", were collected and returned to Earth. A unique collection of polished thin sections (PTSs) was made from over 400 rocks by the Lunar Sample Curatorial Facility at the Johnson Spacecraft Center (JSC), Houston. These materials have been available for loan to approved PIs but of course they can't be simultaneously investigated by several researchers unless they are co-located or the sample is passed back and forward between them by mail/hand carrying which is inefficient and very risky for irreplaceable material. When The Open University (OU), the world's largest Distance Learning Higher Education Establishment found itself facing a comparable problem (how to supply thousands of undergraduate students with an interactive petrological microscope and a personal set of thin sections), it decided to develop a software tool called the Virtual Microscope (VM). As a result it is now able to make the unique and precious collection of Apollo specimens universally available as a resource for concurrent study by anybody in the world's Earth and Planetary Sciences community. Herein, we describe the first steps of a collaborative project between OU and the Johnson Space Center (JSC) Curatorial Facility to record a PTS for every lunar rock, beginning with those collected by the Apollo 11 and 12 missions. Method: Production of a virtual microscope dedicated to a particular theme divides into four main parts - photography, image processing, building and assembly of virtual microscope components, and publication on a website. Two large research quality microscopes are used to collect all the images required for a virtual microscope. The first is part of an integrated package that utilizes Leica PowerMosaic software and a motorised XYZ stage to generate large area mosaics. It includes a fast acquisition camera and depending on the PTS size normally is used to produce seamless mosaic images consisting of 100-500 individual photographs. If the sample is suitable, three mosaics of each sample are recorded - plane polarised light, between crossed polars and reflected light. In order for the VM to be a true petrological microscope it is necessary to recreate the features of a rotating stage and perform observations using filters to produce polarised light. Thus the petrological VM includes the capability of seeing changes in optical properties (pleochroism and birefringence) during rotation allowing mineral identification. The second microscope in the system provides the functions of the rotating stage. To this microscope we have added a robotically controlled motor to acquire seventy-two images (5 degree intervals) in plane polarised light and between crossed polars. To process the images acquired from the two microscopes involves a combination of proprietary software (Photoshop) and our own in-house code. The final stage involves assembling all the components in an HTML5 environment. Pathfinder investigations: We have undertaken a number of pilot studies to demonstrate the efficacy of the petrological microscope with lunar samples. The first was to make available on-line images collected from the Educational Package of Apollo samples provided by NASA to the UK STFC (Science and Technical Facilities Council) for loan as educational material e.g. for schools. The real PTSs of the samples are now no longer sent out to schools removing the risks associated with transport, accidental breakage and eliminating the possibility of loss. The availability of lunar sample VM-related material was further extended to include twenty-eight specimens from all of the Apollo missions. Some of these samples were made more generally available through an ibook entitled "Moon Rocks: an introduction to the Geology of the Moon," free from the Apple Bookstore. Research possibilities: Although the Virtual Microscope was originally conceived as a teaching aid and was later recognised as a means of public outreach and engagement, we now realize that it also has enormous potential as a high level research tool. Following discussions with the JSC Curators we have received Curation and Analysis Planning Team for Extraterrestrial Materials (CAPTEM) permission to embark on a programme of digitizing the entire lunar sample PTS collection for all three of the above purposes. By the time of the 47th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) we will have completed 81 rocks collected during the Apollo 11 and 12 missions and the data, with cross-links to the Lunar Sample Compendium will go live on the Web at the 47th LPSC. The VM images of the Apollo 11 (41 VM images) and 12 (40 VM images) missions can be viewed at: http:/www.virtualmicroscope.org/content/apollo. The lunar sample VM will enable large numbers of skilled/unskilled microscopists (professional and amateur researchers, educators and students, enthusiasts and the simply curious non-scientists) to share the information from a single sample. It will mean that all the PTSs already cut, even historical ones, could be available for new joint investigations or private study. The scientific return from the collection will increase exponentially as a result of further debate and discussion. Simultaneously the VM will remove the need for making unnecessary multiple samplings, avoid consignment of delicate/breakable specimens (all of which are priceless) to insecure mail/courier services and reduce direct labour and indirect costs, travel budgets and unproductive travelling time necessary for co-location of collaborating researchers. For the future we have already recognized further potential for virtual technology. There is nothing that a petrologist likes more than to see the original rock as a hand specimen. It is entirely possible to recreate virtual hand specimens with 3-D hard and software, already developed for viewing fossils, located within the Curatorial Facility, http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/lunar/lsc/index.cfm.

Gibson, E. K.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA’s Safety, Reliability, and Mission Assurance Digital Future

The evolution from “document-centric” to “data-centric” and “model-centric” information leveraging structured data and model-based approaches is at the heart of digital engineering transformational efforts underway across industry and government. It is these approaches that pave the way for data lakes, Authoritative Sources of Truth (ASOTs), and systems- of-systems interoperability and the corresponding transformational benefits thereof. Such benefits include increased data availability, data access equity, data traceability, real-time analytics, batch analytics, and (most importantly) acceleration of the time-to-value and time-to-insights associated with engineering products and analyses. The longer-term benefits of reusability, customization and traceability are even more promising. For Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA), and Mission Success (SMS) activities; realization of such benefits is essential to provide engineers and analysts alike vital information when needed to support critical decision making throughout the entire life cycle. The SMA community often operate in parallel with engineering activities, for which information exchange with relevant context is paramount. Far too often, such information lags key decision points and/or is absent of the robust, integrated, knowledge needed, given inherent barriers associated with traditional document-centric means to data sharing, analysis, and reporting. This paper provides an overview of how NASA’s Office of Safety and Mission Assurance (OSMA) is evolving its policies, standards, guidance, and training to transform to eliminate such barriers, thus realizing the benefits emerging in this new digital era. A roadmap for achieving this digital future is presented along with key building blocks involving use and implementation of concepts such as: Objectives-Hierarchies, Objective-Driven Requirements, Accepted Standards, Safety and Assurance Cases, data digitization (i.e., ontologies, structured data, and model-centric data), FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, & Reusable) and/or FAIRUST (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable, Understandable, Secure, and Trusted) principles [1]. This paper also describes how OSMA, leveraging the Agency’s overall commitment to Digital Transformation (DT), is using the power of Policy, “Digital” Domain representation, Product Evolution, and Community Outreach and Engagement as part of a strategic vision and roadmap to evolve and transform its SMA organizations to become better able to serve its stakeholders and customers. Future publications will elaborate on these building blocks and deeper concepts.

Authoritative Source of Truth (ASOT),↗
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 NTRS2003

Swift: A Gamma Ray Bursts Explorer

Swift is a NASA gamma-ray burst MIDEX mission that is in development for launch in December 2003. It is a multiwavelength transient observatory for GRB astronomy. The goals of the mission are to determine the origin of GRBs and their afterglows and use bursts to probe the early Universe. It will also.perform a survey of the hard X-ray sky to a sensitivity level of -1 mCrab. A wide-field camera will detect more than a hundred GRBs per year to 5 times fainter than BATSE. Sensitive narrow-field X-ray and UV/optical telescopes will be pointed at the burst location in 20 to 70 sec by an autonomously controlled 'swift' spacecraft. For each burst, arcsec positions will be determined and optical/UV/X-ray/gamma-ray spectrophotometry performed. Measurements of redshift will be made for many of the bursts. The instrumentation is a combination of superb existing flight-spare hardware and design from XMM and Spectrum-X/JET-X contributed by collaborators in the UK and Italy and development of a coded-aperture camera with a large-area (approximately 0.5 square meter) CdZnTe detector array. The hardware is currently in final stages of fabrication and initial stages of integration and test. Key components of the mission are vigorous follow-up and outreach programs to engage the astronomical community and public in Swift.

Gehrels, Neil↗
NASA NTRS2004

The Swift MlDEX Mission

Swift is a NASA MIDEX mission that is in development for launch in 2004. It is a multiwavelength observatory for transient astronomy. The goals of the mission are to determine the origin of gamma-ray bursts and their afterglows and use bursts to probe the early Universe. The mission will also perform a hard x-ray survey at the 1 milliCrab level and will continuously monitor the sky for transients. A wide- field gamma-ray camera will detect more than a hundred GRBs per year to 3 times fainter than BATSE. Sensitive narrow-field X-ray and Uv/optical telescopes will be pointed at the burst location in 20 to 70 sec by an autonomously controlled "swift" spacecraft. For each burst, arcsec positions will be determined and optical/W/X-ray/gamma-ray spectrophotometry performed. The instrumentation is a combination of existing flight-spare hardware and design from XMM and Spectrum-X/JET-X contributed by collaborators in the UX and Italy and development of a coded-aperture camera with a large-area (-0.5 square meter) CdZnTe detector array. The ground station in Malindi is contributed by the Italian Space Agency. The instruments have now completed their fabrication phase and are currently being integrated on the observatory for final testing. up and outreach programs to engage the astronomical community and public in Swift.

Gehrels, Neil↗
NASA NTRS2004

The Swift Gamma Ray Burst Mission

Swift is an international mission managed by NASA as part of its MIDEX program. It is a multiwavelength transient observatory for GRB astronomy that will launch in 2004. The goals of the mission are to determine the origin of GRBs and their afterglows and use bursts to probe the early Universe. A wide field gamma-ray camera will detect more than a hundred GRBs per year to 2-5 times fainter than BATSE. Sensitive narrow-field X-ray, and UV/optical telescopes will be pointed at the burst location in 20 to 75 sec by an autonomously controlled 'swift' spacecraft. For each burst, arcsec positions will be determined and optical/UV/x-ray/gamma-ray spectrophotometry performed. Measurements of redshift will be made for many of the bursts. The instrumentation is a combination of superb existing flight-spare hardware and design from XMM and Spectrum-X/JET-X contributed by collaborators in the UK and Italy and development of a coded-aperture camera with a large-area (approx. 0.5 square meter) CdZnTe detector array. The instruments have now completed their fabrication phase and are integrated on the observatory for final testing. Key components of the mission are vigorous follow-up and outreach programs to engage the astronomical community and public in Swift. The talk will describe the mission and its status and give a summary of our plans for GRB operations.

Gehrels, Neil↗
NASA NTRS2004

The Swift GRB Mission

Swift is a MIDEX mission that is in development for launch in October 2004. It is a multiwavelength transient observatory for GRB astronomy. The goals of the mission are to determine the origin of GRBs and their afterglows and use bursts to probe the early Universe. A wide-field gamma-ray camera will detect mare than 100 GRBs per year to -3 times fainter than BATSE. Sensitive narrow-field X-ray and UV/optical telescopes will be pointed at the burst location in 20 to 75 sec by an autonomously controlled spacecraft. Far each burst, aresec positions will be determined and optical/UV/X-ray/gamma-say spectrophotometry performed. Measurements of redshift will be made for many burstes. The instrumentation is a combination of superb existing flight-spare hardware and design from XMM and Spectrum-X/JET-X contributed by collaborators in the UK and Italy and development of a coded-aperture camera with a large-area (approx. 0.5 square meter) CdZnTe detector array. Key components of the mission are vigorous follow-up and outreach programs to engage the astronomical community and public in Swift. The talk vi11 describe the mission statue and give a summary of plans for GRB operations. It is likely that Swift will have just been launched at the time of the conference.

Gehrels, Neil↗
NASA NTRS2004

The Imminent Swift MIDEX Mission

Swift is a NASA MIDEX mission that is in development for launch in Fall 2004. It is a multiwavelength observatory for transient astronomy. The goals of the mission are to determine the origin of gamma-ray bursts and their afterglows and use bursts to probe the early Universe. The mission will also perform a hard x-ray survey at the 1 milliCrab level and will continuously monitor the sky for transients. A wide-field gamma-ray camera will detect more than a hundred GRBs per year to 3 times fainter than BATSE. Sensitive narrow-field X-ray and UV/optical telescopes will be pointed at the burst. location in 20 to 70 sec by an autonomously controlled "swift" spacecraft. For each burst, arcsec positions will be determined and optical/UV/X-ray/gamma-ray spectrophotometry performed. The instrumentation is a combination of existing flight-spare hardware and design from XMM and Spectrum-X/JET-X contributed by collaborators in the UK and Italy and development of a coded-aperture camera with a large-area (approximately 0.5 square meter) CdZnTe detector array. The ground station in Malindi is contributed by the Italian Space Agency. The instruments have now completed their fabrication phase and are currently being integrated on the observatory for final testing. Key components of the mission are vigorous follow-up and outreach programs to engage the astronomical community and public in Swift.

Gehrels, Neil↗
NASA NTRS2005

The Swift Gamna-Ray Burst Mission

Swift is a NASA Explorer mission that will be launched in late 2004. It is a multiwavelength observatory for transient astronomy. The goals of the mission are to determine the origin of gamma-ray bursts and their afterglows and use bursts to probe the early Universe. The mission will also perform a hard x-ray survey at the 1 milliCrab level and will continuously monitor the sky for transients. A wide-field gamma-ray camera will detect more than a hundred GRBs per year to 3 times fainter than BATSE. Sensitive narrow-field X-ray and UV/optical telescopes will be pointed at the burst location in 20 to 70 sec by an autonomously controlled "swift" spacecraft. For each burst, arcsec positions will be determined and optical/UV/X-ray/gamma-ray spectrophotometry performed. The instrumentation is a combination of existing flight-spare hardware and design from XMM and Spectrum-X/JET-X contributed by collaborators in the UK and Italy and development of a coded-aperture camera with a large-area (-0.5 square meter) CdZnTe detector array. The ground station in Malindi is contributed by the Italian Space Agency. Key components of the mission are vigorous follow-up and outreach programs to engage the astronomical community and public in Swift.

Gehrels, Neil↗
NASA NTRS2018

STEM Engagement with NASA's Solar System Treks Portals for Lunar and Planetary Mapping and Modeling

This presentation will provide an overview of the uses and capabilities of NASA's Solar System Treks family of online mapping and modeling portals. While also designed to support mission planning and scientific research, this presentation will focus on the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) engagement and public outreach capabilities of these web based suites of data visualization and analysis tools.

Law, E. S.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Z-2 Space Suit: A Case Study in Human Spaceflight Public Outreach

NASA Johnson Space Center's Z-series of planetary space suit prototypes is an iterative development platform with a Mars-forward design philosophy, targeting a Mars surface mission in the mid-2030s. The first space suit assembly, called the Z-1, was delivered in 2012. While meeting the project's stated requirements and objectives, the general public's reception primarily focused on the color scheme, which vaguely invoked similarity to a certain animated cartoon character. The public at large has and continues to be exposed to varying space suit design aesthetics from popular culture and low TRL technology maturation efforts such as mechanical counter-pressure. The lesson learned was that while the design aesthetic is not important from an engineering perspective, the perception of the public is important for NASA and human spaceflight in general. For the Z-2 space suit, an integrated public outreach strategy was employed to engage, excite and educate the public on the current technology of space suits and NASA's plans moving forward. The keystone of this strategy was a public vote on three different suit cover layer aesthetics, the winner of which would be used as inspiration in fabrication. Other components included social media, university collaboration, and select media appearances, the cumulative result of which, while intangible in its benefit, was ultimately a positive effect in terms of the image of NASA as well as the dissemination of information vital to dispelling public misconceptions.

McFarland, S. M.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Z-2 Space Suit: A Case Study in Human Spaceflight Public Outreach

NASA Johnson Space Center's Z-series of planetary space suit prototypes is an iterative development platform with a Mars-forward design philosophy, targeting a Mars surface mission in the mid-2030s. The first space suit assembly, called the Z-1, was delivered in 2012. While meeting the project's stated requirements and objectives, the general public's reception primarily focused on the color scheme, which vaguely invoked similarity to a certain animated cartoon character. The public at large has and continues to be exposed to varying space suit design aesthetics from popular culture and low TRL technology maturation efforts such as mechanical counterpressure. The lesson learned was that while the design aesthetic is not important from an engineering perspective, the perception of the public is important for NASA and human spaceflight in general. For the Z-2 space suit, an integrated public outreach strategy was employed to engage, excite and educate the public on the current technology of space suits and NASA's plans moving forward. The keystone of this strategy was a public vote on three different suit cover layer aesthetics, the winner of which would be used as inspiration in fabrication. Other components included social media, university collaboration, and select media appearances, the cumulative result of which, while intangible in its benefit, was ultimately a positive effect in terms of the image of NASA as well as the dissemination of information vital to dispelling public misconceptions.

McFarland, Shane M.↗