Recently in Education Category

NASA Administrator Leads Action Session of President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, NASA

President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness and NASA Administrator to Hold Listening and Action Session Highlighting the Importance of Science Education, White House

"On Friday, February 3rd, the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness will hold a Listening and Action Session in Seattle, WA. The Jobs Council, in partnership with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, will discuss ways businesses and organizations like NASA can enhance educational opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics beyond the classroom to develop a competitive and innovative workforce."

Keith's note: White House and NASA PAO announce this less than 24 hours in advance. There will be no webcast so that we can hear what everyone says. NASA PAO will then they take a week or more to post Bolden's prepared remarks.  No one will ever know what was discussed in any great detail.  Another dog and pony show. Why NASA continues to hide Bolden's presence at things like this until the last minute and then beam him down is baffling. This is an important topic. It deserves more than a last minute media advisory -- and webcasting it does not require rocket science or loads of money.

NASA Releases First Multi-Player Facebook Game, NASA

"NASA has launched its first multi-player online game to test players' knowledge of the space program. Who was the first American to walk in space? Who launched the first liquid-fueled rocket? These are only a few of the questions players can answer in Space Race Blastoff."

Happy Holidays From Antarctica

"Astrobiologist Dale Andersen from the SETI Institute is currently on his way back to the U.s. via a stop over in Capetown, South Africa. Dale and his team spent a month or so at Lake Untersee in Antarctica. This photo was taken shortly before Christmas. Dale is shown holding a patch for the Challenger Center for Space Science Education."

Conrad Foundation 2011-2012 Spirit of Innovation Challenge Semi-Finalists Announced

"We are thrilled to announce the 2011-2012 Spirit of Innovation Challenge Semi-Finalists. This year, student teams exceeded our expectations in regards to innovation and creativity when applying STEM principles to their product concepts. These 80 teams will be competing to earn one of 15 spots to attend the annual Innovation Summit at NASA Ames Research Center in California from March 29-31, 2012."

Challenger Center Announces New Leadership Team

"Dr. Scott Parazynski, chairman of Challenger Center for Space Science Education (Challenger Center), today announced a new leadership team for the non-profit organization with Dr. Lance Bush as President and Chief Executive Officer and Steven Kussmann as Chief Operating Officer. Dr. Bush is currently the Chief Strategic Officer and head of the Washington office of Paragon Space Development Corporation. Kussmann is currently Challenger Center's Director of Operations. Both will assume their new positions January 2, 2012."

Coalition for Space Exploration contest winner's innovative video answers the question

"The Coalition for Space Exploration (Coalition) is pleased to announce that Caleb Ekeroth is the grand prize winner of its "What's Next?" in space exploration contest. Ekeroth's video titled, "Visit Mars Today," takes viewers through a timeline of human spaceflight history into the future with an in-flight commentary of the first tourist trip to the red planet. Ekeroth's video effectively demonstrates his idea that interplanetary travel is within our reach. The entry was selected as the winner for its thought-provoking message to build upon the successful history of the space program and explore beyond low-Earth orbit."

TEDxNASAJSC Women

"Starting at 9a, Speakers from around the center will talk about inspiring students, innovation, and new scientific discoveries. Astronauts Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger and Cadie Coleman will share their perspectives about Earth and space."

Keith's note: You would think that an event like this would be something that NASA would want to share across the entire agency - indeed, with the general public as well. How hard would it be to webcast this? I am baffled as to why things like this end up as choir practice and internal pep rallies and not part of NASA's overall Education and Public Outreach (EPO) activity.

Keith's update: According to a comment from "pamspace": "We'd love for the public to tune in! We are working the final kinks out of our webstreaming process today and do plan to Livestream our event here: http://www.livestream.com/tedxnasajsc. We have a backup plan if this path doesn't work and will post an update if needed. Looking forward to a great event!"

Keith's note:There is another TEDxNASA event today - hosted by NASA Langley. This event was only publicly announced three days in advance, well after the "invitation only" attendees were selected. Taxpayers across the region were not given a chance to attend. There is no mention of this event at NASA's Office of Education webpage, at NASA.gov or the NASA.gov event calendar, the NASA.gov students page,or in the most recent issue of NASA Education Express. One would think that an expensive education-oriented event such as this would be worthy of coordination with NASA's Education Office. In the press release issued only 3 days before the event no mention is made of how media can attend, no provisions for the hearing impaired (interperter, captioning, etc) are mentioned, and it is being held at a time when most people are taking time off i.e. on a weekend. And since it is being held on a weekend, why couldn't this have been aired live on NASA TV? All that is on the schedule is re-airing of things that happened last week.

Despite having hosted several TEDxNASA events in the past, no emails were sent to previous TEDxNASA participants. The agenda is not easy to find either - NASA does not list it. I stumbled across it here on another organization's website. What has ANY of this to do with space exploration? If this is only about STEM education sans any space component, then why is NASA doing this to begin with - and not the Department of Education? Are there any attendees from Northern Virginia? Any home schooled students? Any disabled students?

To be certain, it is nice that Lesa Roe and Steve Craft are interested in education, etc. But they repeatedly avoid the common sense, PR 101 aspects of these TEDxNASA events and therefore pass on a chance to leverage these things to the advantage of the entire agency and people who do not live in Hampton, Virginia.

Photos: Robonaut-2 Gestures In Space

Keith's note: I have seen Robonaut-2 in action and its dexterity is interesting - and rather facile.  So ... how could NASA demonstrate this dexterity in new ways, make it a little more "human" or approachable, - and reach a new segment of the populace that is normally overlooked? Program it to use Sign Language. Background: I worked for more than a decade as a professional certified (educational) sign language interpreter. This idea occurred to me when I was looking at this picture and instantly wondered what Robonaut-2 "wanted" or why it was seemingly in the process of saying "here" or maybe "give". Imagine how fast a video of Robonaut-2 saying something in American Sign Language from space would go viral. NASA could have a competition wherein people submit questions for it to answer. NASA already has a signing astronaut and SMD and NLSI already put out books in Braille. Just a thought.

P.S. Maybe he could repeat what that alien signed in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (video). If you watch that scene, the alien that is signing actually moves its hand like Robonaut does. I first saw this film when it came out with my hearing impaired roommates - none of us knew that aliens were going to sign so we all freaked out when one of them did. Of course, it was natural to us that all aliens would know how to sign - since they all already speak English, right?

Obama nixes federal swag, Politico

"On Wednesday, Obama signed an executive order that will direct government agencies to, among other things, "stop using taxpayer dollars to buy swag." What exactly falls under the category of "swag"? Plaques, "nonessential items used for promotional purposes" like clothing, pens and mugs, and "other unnecessary promotional items that agencies purchase," according to the White House, which did not respond to multiple requests for more details about the "swag" and its cost."

Executive Order -- Promoting Efficient Spending, White House

"Sec. 7. Extraneous Promotional Items. Agencies should limit the purchase of promotional items (e.g., plaques, clothing, and commemorative items), in particular where they are not cost-effective."

NASA solicitation: Drawstring Backpack Wooden pencils and jumbo pens

"NASA/LaRC has a requirement for Drawstring Backpack, Qty: 12,000 EA in accordance the attached requirements: Round Wooden Pencils, Qty: 10,000 EA in accordance with the attached requirements and Ink Pens, Qty: 10,000 EA in accordance with the attached requirements."

NASA solicitation: NASA educational outreach items

"NASA/LaRC has a requirement for various educational, outreach items with the NASA logo: Astronaut stress reliever, Earth squeeze ball, Drawstring backpack ..."

Keith's note: NASA buys this give-away crap in huge quantities without any notion as to whether its distribution accomplishes anything of value to the agency or to the individuals who receive it. All too often NASA staff end up throwing a lot of it away because it is cheaper than shipping it back to their office after an event. ESMD and SOMD are among the worst offenders. And now with the merger of ESMD and SOMD much of it will get pulped because the mail codes have changed. Remember all of that Constellation stuff ... I have asked HEOMD's Beth Beck more than once for her "plan" for EPO and the metrics she uses to measure its effectiveness. She has never bothered to reply. Its is obvious that there is no plan - nor are there any metrics. Nor does she seem to be at all bothered by this situation. The same is true across the agency. To make things worse - no one coordinates anything. The net result is both duplication and competition.

If NASA actually had a coherent education and public outreach activity that spanned all directorates, projects, missions, and field centers - one that adhered to a clear, cohesive strategy - and was measured and evaluated with metrics, I would suspect that the expenditure of these EPO funds would result in something of tangible value. Alas, just watch as NASA finds a way to evade the intent of this executive order and continues to spew these useless trinkets under the misimpression that they actually have value.

Crowdsourcing Science with Zooniverse and NASA at the NEEMO-15 Underwater Asteroid Mission

"Analyzing the vast amount of data that NASA brings back from its missions is an enormous task. In order to improve collaboration internally, as well as engage citizens in NASA's mission, the Open Government team is experimenting with different ways to process mission data quickly. The NASA OpenGov team has enlisted the help of established NASA partners Zooniverse and Vizzuality, who have pioneered the analysis of large datasets through crowdsourcing, using the power of elegant interfaces, to engage citizen scientists in the NEEMO mission."

"Beth Beck and Agela Triano worked together to create NASA SpaceSmart, an activity-based communication tool to measure shifts in public opinion about space. Beth is NASA's Space Operations Outreach Manager and Angela is a Marketing Solutions Account Executive at GES. Learn ways to engage and interact with your audience as you communicate your brand message, while tracking what topics "move the needle" in how they view your brand. SpaceSmart is one of many projects Beth created as an opportunity to make this world a better place while demonstrating the relevance between life on Earth and the extreme environment of space."

Keith's note: SpaceSmart has a Twitter account at @SpaceSmart but it hasn't tweeted since 7 Feb 2011. Not very current - or "SpaceSmart". This project also has a website nasaspacesmart.com whose domain is registered to PurcellMultimedia in Lewisville, Texas. This website points to Facebook page that does not seem to exist. There is no mention of this effort at NASA.gov. Why hasn't HEOMD EPO Lead Beth Beth told anyone about this? If you pay $10 you can hear her talk about it here.

This SpaceSmart thing seems to be accomplishing nothing - so what is it that Beth Beck is going to talk about on behalf of the agency? The Twitter page says "I'm SpaceBot. NASA is still developing the world I live in. You can join me there soon. Stay tuned." The last time Beth embarked on an automated website we got NASA Buzzroom and all of the inappropriate content it automatically published at NASA.gov. Isn't NASA supposed to be coordinating all of these EPO and public engagement activities?

Keith's update: I came across these confusing presentations from 2010 and 2011 that describe what NASA SpaceSmart is supposed to do - whenever it actually starts doing whatever it is supposed to do. Lots of numbers and charts but no description of what this little droid mascot "SpaceBot" represents or what Space Smart actually does or will do. Global Experience Specialists, Inc. (GES) is apparently the NASA contractor on this. Two Twitter accounts are listed as being sources for more information. @joannascorsone does not seem to Twitter very much and @trianotwntxs protects their Tweets and only has 25 followers. This doesn't strike me as a team that does a whole lot of social media interaction - at least not on Twitter.

The nasaspacesmart.com website openly says "Space Smart™" If you do a quick trademark search you will see that there are 50 applications to trademark "Space Smart" or close variants thereof. 17 applications are still live. So ... does this NASA activity actually own the trademark that it is claiming -- or has their application been denied? Did NASA apply for this trademark?

Keith's update: There is another Twitter account associated with this effort @spacesmartbot. Alas, it is not very smart. It only tweeted 22 times - the last time being 24 June 2010. Then it shut down (I guess). Curiously, that last tweet says "[] I don't think exploration isn't in the country's best interest." Hmm. Bad robot grammar.

Oh well. More stuff to FOIA.

"What's Next?" in space exploration - Coalition for Space Exploration announces video contest

"During this historic time of change within the space industry, the Coalition for Space Exploration (Coalition) wants to hear from the American public about what they envision for the future of space exploration. The Coalition is launching a contest based on a simple question, "What's Next?" Participants are encouraged to share their ideas for the future direction of America's space program in a video. The creator of the winning video entry wins an iPad2."

YouTube SpaceLab Lifts Off With Lenovo Aboard

Keith's note: NASA Signed a Space Act Agreement with Space Adventures - with the word "YouTube" in the title. Yet no one from YouTube (or its parent company Google) ever signed the SAA. Now, when you go the YouTube SpaceLab page you see NASA's logo along with YouTube's logo and Lenovo's logo - yet neither company is mentioned in the body of the SAA. If you click on the "Technology in Orbit link" you will see Lenovo's own page where it talks about its products in space - again with NASA's logo prominently displayed.

But wait, Lenovo has no agreement with NASA - it has one with YouTube - but YouTube has no agreement with NASA either (despite being mentioned in the SAA's title) - just with Space Adventures - unless you count the NASA/Google Space Act Agreement signed several years ago. But again, Google did not sign this SAA either. Neither Lenovo or Youtube's relationship with Space Adventures is mentioned. Given that the vast majority of the project itself focuses on YouTube and Lenovo, this is rather odd.

As I said before, this is trully an interesting way to get novel ideas onboard the ISS - and possibly to spark careers. Moreover, it is a way to show that the ISS has utility beyond the experiments proposed by a small cadre of insiders. I wish the organizers total success. But NASA sure needs to get its act together with regard to the processes they implement for these new relationships. Right now the legal instrument (SAA) that enables this activity has flaws, inconsistencies, and large omissions.

NASA, Google, and Lenovo Team Up for ISS Educational Project, earlier post

Fifth Annual Conrad Foundation Spirit of Innovation Challenge

"Today, Nancy Conrad, founder and chairman of the Conrad Foundation, officially launched the 2011-2012 Spirit of Innovation Challenge to encourage students to create technologies and products that solve global issues. For the past four years, the Innovation competition has helped transform the way science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) is being embraced by high school students."

Lockheed Martin renews support for the Spirit of Innovation Challenge

"Lockheed Martin believes the competitive success of our nation depends on an innovative and technically adept workforce that understands the value of collaborating to solve 21st century challenges," said Dr. Ray O. Johnson, Lockheed Martin senior vice president and chief technology officer"

Letter from Hundreds of College Students to Neil Armstrong, President Obama, and Congress About Space Policy

"We strongly believe that NASA and the nation both benefit greatly from investing in commercial spaceflight programs that will allow astronauts to fly on commercial vehicles; and we urge you to fully fund and support those programs. They offer a win-win situation: we ensure that the nation has a way--or, better yet, several independent ways--to get its astronauts into space following the impending retirement of the Space Shuttle, while the commercial sector will benefit from the support of NASA to grow faster and to hire more of us future graduates."

"What's Next?" in space exploration - Coalition for Space Exploration announces video contest

"During this historic time of change within the space industry, the Coalition for Space Exploration (Coalition) wants to hear from the American public about what they envision for the future of space exploration. The Coalition is launching a contest based on a simple question, "What's Next?" Participants are encouraged to share their ideas for the future direction of America's space program in a video. The creator of the winning video entry wins an iPad2."

In the 21st Century, How Do You Show What You Know?, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

"... the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, HASTAC and Mozilla today announced a $2 million Digital Media and Learning Competition for leading organizations, learning and assessment specialists, designers and technologists to create and test badges and badge systems. The competition will explore ways digital badges can be used to help people learn; demonstrate their skills and knowledge; unlock job, educational and civic opportunities; and open new pipelines to talent. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and high-level business, technology, civic engagement, philanthropic and other leaders participated in the announcement at the Hirshhorn Museum this morning."

Keith's note: There was yet another stealth Bolden appearance yesterday. They just beam him in and then out of these events. NASA PAO made no advance notice, there is nothing posted on NASA.gov - or on NASA's education webpage. Nothing as to what Charlie Bolden said either. Charlie, why do even bother attending these events if you do not let anyone know you were there - or what your agency will be doing inconnection with what was being announced?

Written Testimony by Nancy Conrad, Founder and Chairman, Conrad Foundation

"The Conrad Foundation's Spirit of Innovation Awards (SOIA) presents high school student participants with a very broad challenge: create an innovative product that can be used to address a real-world problem with a real-world solution which can ultimately be viable in the commercial marketplace. The competition is free of charge to students in the United States and is also open at no cost to international students. These students are given a blank slate within several major categories that can include clean energy, aerospace exploration, and health and nutrition. But they're not just asked to complete a science project: they are required to conduct research to determine their creation's potential market impact and develop a full business plan."

- House Hearing: STEM in Action: Inspiring the Science and Engineering Workforce of Tomorrow
- Live hearing 10 am -12 pm EDT

CosmoCam is an internet interactive video camera system designed for use onboard satellites and stratospheric balloon missions. Cosmocam is being offered as a tool for both inflight monitoring of satellite structure deployment as well as the enlightenment of students and others who are outside the professional scientific community.

Live video from CosmoCam aboard a balloon in flight via NASAHackSpace

Nigerian-built Satellite Acquires First Image Just Days After Launch

"NigeriaSat-X was built by engineers from Nigeria's National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) under the supervision of Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL). The new generation of Nigerian scientists and engineers trained up under the NigeriaSat-X project will continue to support Nigeria's space programme, ensuring its continued success and sustainability. In total, 26 Nigerian engineers were located at SSTL's facilities in Guildford for 18 months throughout the design and test phases."

Tor/Forge Books and NASA Jointly Announce Publishing Collaboration

"In an effort to educate and encourage math and science education Tor/Forge Books, an imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, and NASA have embarked on a collaboration to publish a series of science based, commercial fiction books, referred to as "NASA inspired Works of Fiction" around concepts pertinent to the current and future work of NASA. NASA will allow existing and new Tor/Forge authors to team up with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's (GSFC) Subject Matter Experts (SME) to create scientifically accurate and entertaining novels in a distinctly unique way."

"Test Out the Latest Gizmos at the NASA JPL Petting Zoo: Exhibition Hall Highlights: Bureau of Land Management and NASA Innovation Nation: August 23 - D.C. Convention Center Register now: Complimentary to government, industry rates apply. Take a break at the Innovation Nation Forum to stop by the exhibit hall and check out the Bureau of Land Management and NASA JPL booths. NASA will have its technology petting zoo on display for attendees to test out emerging information technologies. For a complete list of our sponsors and exhibitors, please visit www.meritalk.com/innovation-nation."

Keith's note: But taxpayers have to pay $150 to pet NASA's stuff - stuff they already paid for. Yet government employeees get in for free. Taxpayers pay for them too (salaries). I think NASA and the organizers of this event have this whole thing arranged backward.

Participate in a Zero-Gravity Robotics Competition--in Space!, OSTP

"What could possibly make an already super cool robotics competition even better? The zero-gravity environment of space! NASA and DARPA, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, TopCoder, and Aurora Flight Sciences, recently announced the Zero Robotics competition, an event open to all high schools in the United States that form a team and complete the application process. The Zero Robotics competition is a student software competition that takes the idea of a robotics competition to new heights--literally. The robots are basketball-sized satellites called SPHERES, and they look like something straight out of Star Wars. The competition is kicked off by a challenging problem conjured up by DARPA and NASA. After multiple rounds of simulation and ground competition, a final tournament will be held onboard the International Space Station! The 27 finalists will have their robotic programs run by an astronaut in the microgravity environment of space."

NASA OIG: NASA's Payments for Academic Training and Degrees

"NASA Inspector General Paul K. Martin today released an audit that found abuse in a NASA program that reimburses Agency employees for academic courses leading to undergraduate, graduate, and doctorate degrees. This Office of Inspector General (OIG) review concluded that NASA's decentralized management structure, coupled with a lack of strong internal controls, resulted in more than $1 million in questionable tuition payments to employees. Federal law prohibits NASA from funding academic degrees for civil service employees except through planned employee development programs that meet an identified training need, resolve a staffing problem, or accomplish the Agency's strategic goals. However, the OIG found that NASA routinely paid significant amounts of money to reimburse employees for academic courses taken outside its formal degree programs."

NASA ARC Maker Camp

Maker Camp is an effort stemming from the burgeoning NASA Forward group targeted at engaging the work force in fast, hyper-local projects that advance NASA's mission and vision. Based on the "Maker" culture, the concept is to gather interested individuals and go about creating something new. Several centers have already conducted their Maker Camps, focusing on 2 to 3 activities ranging from physical creations to process improvements.

NASA JSC Maker Camp

"Do you like to build, tinker and try new things? Do you wish some days that you could just get your hands dirty and create something? Maker Camp is an internal pilot project focused on creating a culture of experimentation by offering individuals the chance to collaborate on quick, innovative projects that are good for the center and the agency. JSC will connect remotely and work collaboratively with teams at ARC to see what we can do together in a short, focused period of time."

Working Outside the Box at Johnson Space Center open.nasa.gov

"Inside one of the high bays overlooking the former home of the WETF is a work area available to everyone at the center. The decor is simple and functional: whiteboard tables, colorful rolling chairs, mobile desks and whiteboard walls. Have an idea? Write it on the table or a wall. Share it on a screen. Need a bit of privacy? Go to the neighboring room ("the fishbowl") and work there."

NASA Notice of information collection: NASA's education and outreach activities

"NASA's education and outreach activities are funded by NASA's Office of Education, Mission Directorates, and Offices of Chief Technologist and Communications. NASA's Education Coordinating Council includes representatives from each of NASA's field Centers plus the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which deliver education and outreach. Data collection to be covered by this request are organized around three goals: (1) Contribute to the development of the Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) workforce in disciplines needed to achieve NASA's strategic goals, through a portfolio of investments; (2) attract and retain students in STEM disciplines through a progression of educational opportunities for students, teachers, and faculty; and (3) build between STEM formal and informal education providers strategic partnerships and linkages that promote STEM literacy and awareness of NASA's missions."

This photo shows Space Shuttle Atlantis punching a hole in the sky on its way to orbit. The image was taken on 8 July 2011 from a high altitude balloon flown by students and volunteers at Quest For Stars. Larger image here. Additional photos from STS-135 and earlier shuttle missions can be found here.

NASA Announcement of Partnership Opportunity for Notification Tool for International Space Station Sightings, NASA SOMD

"Currently, NASA has several ways the public can learn about ISS sighting opportunities, including NASA SkyWatch. However, NASA's websites do not disseminate this information to the public- the public must seek it out proactively instead. NASA seeks to increase public awareness of the ISS, its visibility, and mission by making ISS sighting information, including personalized notifications, readily available to the general public in an easily accessible and understandable way. To that end, NASA seeks to collaborate with a domestic entity, on an unfunded basis, to support an ISS sighting notification tool."

Keith's note: This is really a great idea. I certainly agree that this information could be more user friendly since "the public must seek [ISS sighting opportunites] out proactively instead." So, keeping that admission on NASA's part in mind, how does SOMD try to reach the public to ask for help? A NASA Procurement Notice. FAIL. How many people other than procurement wonks (and me) ever read these notices?

Why limit this to "a domestic entity" i.e. a single source? Why not engage with lots of them? Why not seek input from individual citizens as well as "domestic entities"? One would hope that someone within the agency sees that this great idea and that press releases and other means are used such that a wide variety of possible contributors to this project can be involved. And even if NASA does not select them all, it is certain that a group of people who never thought they'd have a chance to do this will now be thinking about NASA. One look at this weekend's NASA-sponsored Random Hacks of Kindness will show you what a group of motivated people out in the real world can do in a matter of hours.

If I can teach a Sherpa how to spot satellites in remote Nepalese villages such that he could then teach others, then NASA can certainly spur development of an app that also does that.

Building a Model (Rocket) Workforce, OSTP

"Earlier this month, we were honored to be invited to the Team America Rocketry Challenge held about 50 miles outside Washington, DC. There, hundreds of middle- and high-school students were participating in a model rocketry competition sponsored by the Aerospace Industries Association. As two guys with aerospace in our blood, we know firsthand the excitement and adrenaline rush of launching model rockets. For many youngsters--us among them--model rocketry is a rite of passage that springboards early dreamers to become the engineers and aerospace professionals of tomorrow. They will be the ones designing, building, and operating the next-generation rockets that launch astronauts into space, probes into the farthest reaches of our solar system, and Earth-orbiting satellites that touch every facet of our daily lives."

Students Win Conrad Foundation Innovation Award And Send Nutrition Bar on Endeavour's Last Flight (Update)

"Update: Photos of several STS-134 astronauts eating a STEM bar aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour have been released."

America's Students Step Up to the Challenge, OSTP

"On the 50th anniversary of one of the most memorable "grand challenge" declarations in history--President Kennedy's call for a commitment of "landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth"--I want to congratulate America's Grand Challenge Scholars. These undergraduate engineering students have organized their research, coursework, and extracurricular activities to find solutions to some of the most important problems facing the Nation in the 21st century. The Grand Challenge Scholars Program was inspired by the National Academy of Engineering's 2008 promulgation of 14 "grand challenges"--global problems whose solutions could vastly improve people's lives, such as providing access to safe drinking water, dramatically lowering the cost of solar energy, enabling personalized learning, and developing computers capable of emulating human intelligence. President Obama also featured grand challenges in his national innovation strategy."

NASA Announces STS-134 Wakeup Song Winners; Face In Space Totals (with video)

"NASA announced the winners of its "Original Song Contest" after six weeks of public voting. The songs will awaken the STS-134 astronauts aboard space shuttle Endeavour during their ongoing mission. "Sunrise Number 1" by Jorge Otero and the band Stormy Mondays from Oviedo, Spain, earned first place. Shuttle Commander Mark Kelly, Pilot Greg H. Johnson, Mission Specialists Mike Fincke, Drew Feustel, Greg Chamitoff and Roberto Vittori of the European Space Agency will hear the song at 5:56 p.m. EDT on May 31 - the day before the crew returns to Earth. "Sunrise Number 1" received 787,725 votes, or 49.8 percent of the total ballots."

Endeavour's Final Launch Inspires Hands-on Public Engagement: High Altitude Balloon Mission

"The helium-filled balloon carrying the "Senatobia-1" payload will be launched from the vicinity of Gainesville, Florida. The expected balloon launch time is on Monday, 16 May between 7:30 to 7:45 am EDT. This will allow the balloon and its payload to be in position at an altitude of approximately 100,000 feet for Endeavour's supersonic transit of the stratosphere beginning with a planned liftoff at 8:56 am EDT. If there is a delay in the launch of Endeavour the Quest for Stars team is ready to try again - several times - on subsequent days."

Keith's note: If all goes according to plan we will have live video from the balloon as Senatobia-1 ascends to catch Endeavour. Video feeds and tracking links here. Launch site feed begins at 7:15 am EDT. This is the projected flight path.

Keith's note: On board today are photos of Baruch Blumberg and Bob Clark. Launch is now planned for 7:39 am EDT.

Keith's note: The balloon has been launched. Track its progresss live at http://twitter.com/questforstars or http://www.questforstars.com

Keith's note: The balloon burst at 95,000 ft - very close to target altitude of 100,000 ft - and the payload is now parachuting nominally toward landing.

Volunteers and Experts Around the World Collaborate to Solve Disaster and Climate Problems Through Random Hacks of Kindness

"On June 4th and 5th, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, NASA, HP and the World Bank, through their initiative Random Hacks of Kindness (RHoK), will bring together thousands of people in over 18 locations around the globe to create open solutions that can save lives and alleviate suffering. Random Hacks of Kindness is a community of innovation focused on developing practical open source solutions to disaster risk management and climate change adaptation challenges."

Conrad Foundation: Student-developed 'STEM Bar' to fly aboard Endeavour on STS-134

"High school entrepreneurs Mikayla and Shannon Diesch, winners of the 2010 Conrad Foundation Spirit of Innovation Awards, will be at the launch of STS-134 as they watch Endeavour journey to the International Space Station with their newly developed STEM Bar aboard. Since winning the 2010 competition, the Diesch sisters have continued to develop the nutrition bar concept for use as a tool to inspire their peers to study science, technology engineering and math and seek careers in aerospace. Team AM Rocks including team members, Ethan Rutherford, Naomi Joseph and the Diesch sisters, created Solar Flare: the Star bar and won the 2010 Spirit of Innovation Awards. This concept was the catalyst for the development of the STEM bar, which is launching on Endeavour Monday."

Pete Conrad Spirit of Innovation Awards: Teens Invent One-of-a-kind Products, Address Tech Challenges

"Demonstrating they had the most unique approaches to solving real-world challenges in aerospace, clean energy and cyber security the winners of the Conrad Foundation's 2011 Innovation Summit were announced today at the conclusion of the four-day event held at NASA-Ames Research Center. The annual innovation program encourages high-school students from across the country to solve the challenges of the 21st century by creating breakthrough technologies using science, technology, engineering and math knowledge and skills. The grand prize winners taking home the coveted title of 2011 Pete Conrad Scholars sponsored by Lockheed Martin Corporation were: ..."

NASA Hosts Conrad Foundation's 2011 Spirit of Innovation Awards

"Young innovators from across America are invited to solve the challenges of the 21st century by creating breakthrough technologies at the Conrad Foundation's 2011 Innovation Summit. The Summit will be held at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., on April 28-May 1, 2011. This year's categories for team entries are: aerospace exploration, clean energy and cyber security."

Challenger Center Commemorates 25 Years of Inspiring Students through Space Science Exploration

"Challenger Center for Space Science Education (Challenger Center), the nation's premier provider of science education inspiration, is marking its 25th anniversary with the launch of its "Challenger Changed My Life" program to highlight its life-transforming benefits for students. The non-profit organization was founded on April 24, 1986 in tribute to the seven fallen astronauts of the Challenger Space Shuttle and their education mission. With the ongoing support of the astronauts' families, NASA, leading scientists, business leaders, educators and the nation, Challenger Center continues its vital role in STEM (science technology, engineering, and mathematics) education. Since its creation, its nationwide network of Challenger Learning Centers has served more than 4,000,000 students with simulated space missions and powerful STEM-focused learning experiences."

Conrad Foundation Spirit of Innovation People's Choice Awards - Everyone Has a Chance to Vote

"We need your vote! The annual Spirit of Innovation Awards is kicking off a two-week People's Choice competition (http://www.conradawards.org/competition) that challenges high school students to solve real-world problems by creating commercially viable science and technology based products. 27 teams of high school students have created unique inventions in the categories of aerospace exploration, clean energy, and cyber security. From Space Sleeping Pods to Solar Wind Power Generators to Parabolic Stoves and mobile apps that signal for help during times of duress, the 2011 Spirit of Innovation Awards high school student competitors have risen to the challenge and need your vote."

Webcast: Makers in Space: Developing Experiments for the NASA Make Challenge

"We're hosting an imromptu webcast for the NASA Make Challenge next Tuesday! Dale Dougherty hosts: The NASA Make Challenge is an invitation for makers to participate in the exploration of space and give students an opportunity to build an experimental kit that can be flown on a future space flight. These experiments will be based on the CubeSat modules. To help makers think about building kits for space flight, we'll bring together some experts who have developed and used the Cubesat program. Wednesday April 19th, 11am PT/2pm ET. Watch at makezine.com/space or on UStream"

Letter from College Students regarding the Future of Human Spaceflight, Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS)

"Dear President Obama and Members of Congress: This year, as we celebrate both the fiftieth anniversary of human spaceflight and the accomplishments of the retiring Space Shuttle fleet, the exploration of space remains as critical as ever. Over the past year, many groups have offered their opinions on the best way for the US government to foster space exploration. However, one critical perspective has been missing from this conversation: that of the next generation. We, the signatories of this letter -- 280 students from universities and colleges across the nation -- are writing you today to ensure that our voice is heard in this ongoing discussion.

We are the ones who will be most affected by the decisions you make today. We are undergraduate and graduate students working hard to prepare ourselves for fulfilling careers as leaders and productive members of the civil, military, and commercial aerospace industries. We are the astronauts, engineers, scientists, and entrepreneurs of tomorrow."

Keith's note: This photo was taken during the STS-133 mission. Shuttle and ISS crew members pose with a printout of one of the photos taken of the Discovery's ascent into space by the Robonaut-1 balloon flown by Quest for Stars in collaboration with the Challenger Center for Space Science Education. Larger view.

- Video: Robonaut-1: Time Lapse View: Entire flight from Liftfoff to Touchdown
- Educational Balloon Provides Space Shuttle Launch Images and Video From Over 110,000 feet
- First Photos: Shuttle Discovery's Trail Into Space As Seen from Over 70,000 Feet in a Balloon

Movie recreates Gagarin's spaceflight, BBC

"A movie has been made on the space station that tries to show what Yuri Gagarin might have seen on his historic flight around the Earth in 1961. FirstOrbit is being released as a free download to celebrate the Russian cosmonaut's achievement 50 years on. No film exists showing what Gagarin saw through the viewports of his Vostok capsule; there is only an audio recording of his observations. This has now been matched to high-definition video shot from the station."

Trailer

Keith's note: NASA 360 just launched on HULU. Only 4 shows up right now, but they will be uploading others soon. You can see the episodes here: http://www.hulu.com/nasa-360

Here are some stats for HULU:

~30 million users monthly
~1 billion ad streams monthly (comScore)

$18,000 in Prizes Offered by Yuri's Night in "Call to Humanity" Space Exploration Ad Competition

"Yuri's Night is excited to commemorate the 50th anniversary of human spaceflight by launching two contests: the "Call to Humanity" Space Exploration Ad Competition, which calls on talented graphic designers, artists, and other creative individuals to create a powerful and inspiring print campaign that will move people to think about and support humanity's future in space, and the "International Space Sweepstakes," a free global drawing."

NASA Forward Maker Camp

"NASA Forward Maker Camp is a participant-driven Maker Camp based on "code-a-thon" or "think tank" style events, with a heavy emphasis on tangible final products. It's our chance to do pursue projects of value to the NASA mission that would not normally be done and also to collaborate with others from around the agency who are doing interesting work in fields that we are trying to learn about. The NASA Forward Maker Camp is as good as participants make it, so be prepared to lead or participate in a project, ask interesting questions, show off what you've been working on, or generally leave your mark on the event. ... The NASA Forward Maker Camp is tentatively scheduled for April 28-29, 2011"

Keith's note: Apparently this official NASA event is happening agencywide - yet there is no mention whatsoever at NASA.gov - only on a non-NASA website at wikispaces.com. NASA's CIO/Open Government Initiative Office is behind this but no mention is made at the CIO website. Curiously, the CIO is not shy about announcing events such as this one and this one.

But when it comes to CIO's participation in events such as the NASA Forward Maker Camp and "Random Hacks of Kindness", the CIO individuals working on these projects go out of their way to limit the public visibility they provide in advance - thus limiting the participation of others outside their small community. Its rather ironic that the "Open Government" initiative office at NASA condones such "closed" behavior.

That said, there is an interesting precedent being set here: all of the people involved in this activity work for the NASA CIO. They have set up this website totally outside of the NASA firewall, use the NASA logo, and are conducting government (NASA) business on this site in their official capacities. The wiki on this website is open for anyone, anywhere on Earth to join, read, and comment on. ANYWHERE. Since the CIO approves of this approach by their staff, will everyone else at NASA be allowed to do this too? No more security, firewalls, design standards? No adherence to Section 508, ITAR, and other government regulations that govern such things? Wow, THAT is really being "open".

Don't get me wrong, I think events such like this are a great idea and they should be encouraged. But the closed way these CIO folks are going about it in terms of giving their efforts visibility and their total disregard for IT rules and regulations their office supposed to enforce, makes me wonder if anyone is really in total control of this organization.

One of the problems they are looking at sounds like something that Code L ought to be coordinating. It also sounds like lobbying material ...

"Task: Generate a "How NASA Affects Your State" Map: Background: One challenge the NASA workforce faces is communicating its impact on the country to the public and politicians. This team could research the economic drivers for each state (e.g. California and agriculture) and match them to NASA Spinoff technology (e.g. don't know, but I'll find out), eventually generating an infographic. This infographic could act as a springboard for NASA employees (and others) to start a conversation about why NASA matters to its stakeholders. The NASA Spinoff App has something similar to this idea, but it is more focused on individuals in each state."

NASA Launches New Website, Celebrates Women's Contributions To Science And Exploration

"NASA will debut its new Women@NASA website during a Women's History Month event at the agency's Headquarters in Washington at 1 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, March 16. Approximately 200 local students from elementary through high school level will attend and learn about the significant and varied roles women have played in the agency's history."

Go to http://women.nasa.gov/

NASA's Spaceward Bound Goes to the Deserts of the United Arab Emirates

"Whether or not you remember the winter of 2011 as unusually cold or snowy, an adventurous team of experts will remember its intense heat, as they searched for microbial life between sand dunes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). They were searching for simple life forms that also may exist on other planets. The United States team consisted of teachers Mike Wing and Lucinda Land, NASA space scientists Chris McKay and Jon Rask, and education specialist Matthew Reyes. Together, they embarked on a high adventure desert expedition from Feb. 18 - Mar. 4 with UAE students and teachers as part of a NASA education program, called Spaceward Bound."