Keith’s note: although the clouds have prevented us from seeing the aurora here in the Metro Washington DC area the rest of the planet seems to be having a great time. I did Alhurra TV [audio] and CGTN [audio] this afternoon as an explainer guy. I also did CGTN the other day about the whole Moon exploration thing. Video below.

Keith’s note: This item was posted on NASA.gov on 8 May 2024: “OTPS seeks input from the lunar community to inform a framework for further work on non-interference of lunar activities“. Cool stuff – and important as human activity on the Moon starts to expand with many new players. But who knew about it? I checked and there was no email from NASA PAO on this. When I look at the NASA press release page there is nothing mentioned. No mention is made on the 80 million-follower @NASA Twitter account either. So there does not seem to be much in the way of interest by NASA PAO in pushing out news about OTPS stuff – however cool and relevant it may be. The NASA Office of Technology, Policy and Strategy has a link but you have to know to go there to find the link. OTPS has no social media presence. The OTPS AA Charity Weeden does not have a Twitter account and her LinkedIn account doesn’t do much. Her Deputy has a Twitter account (I think it is hers) @AerospaceFury that has been inert since 2017. However, I did stumble across this OTPS thing for the first time on a LinkedIn post overtly related to an official NASA effort by Therese Jones (the Point of Contact for this NASA activity) which I promptly liked and reposted. But when I went to search out her Twitter account for an official post I discovered that she has blocked @NASAWatch (and my personal account) – thus making it hard to simply retweet it. So, I used another account to see if I could access her Twitter account and found a tweet here from 1:33 pm EDT today and then grabbed the link and tweeted it on @NASAWatch. Her Twitter account has ~2,500 followers. @NASAWatch has 50 times as many followers. Not that big – but 118,000 is more than the lone NASA-related employee account’s 2,500 – the only account that was talking about this activity. It is good that someone took the initiative to get wider exposure for this when official mention was lacking. But wouldn’t you think that an organization and its staff – with such an important role – one saddled with an underpowered PAO/outreach capability – would want to make the most of external/earned media – and not overtly block people/accounts that can help get the good word out? I guess not. 10 May update: the tweet has been deleted – but I am still blocked. Oh well. Maybe NASA OTPS will lift a finger and get PAO to make them an official social media account so that their cool stuff can reach the largest possible audience – in a professional fashion.

Keith’s note: This is the current NASA Advisory Council. No one is under 50. Many are much older. Indeed, some are de-facto life appointees. And no one is a member of the Artemis Generation – yet NAC members evoke them anyway as a throwaway talking point. If this is where our future in space is to be born it will be dull and listless. We can do better. Much better.

Keith’s 16 May note: The Starliner launch was scrubbed for tonight. There’s apparently an issue with a valve making the wrong noises in the Centaur upper stage. I do not get the feeling that this is a quick fix. Update: new launch date is NET 17 May.

“As a test flight, Artemis I was used to examine how the integrated SLS and Orion and associated systems performed in their intended environment, allowing the Agency to confidently mitigate risks, certify system designs, and validate mission capabilities for future missions in the Artemis campaign. To this end, the Artemis I test flight revealed critical issues that need to be addressed before placing crew on the Artemis II mission. In particular, the test flight revealed anomalies with the Orion heat shield, separation bolts, and power distribution that pose significant risks to the safety of the crew. Resolution of these anomalies is among the most significant factors impacting NASA’s readiness for Artemis II. To its credit, the Agency is taking action to address these issues.” … “In particular, the test flight revealed anomalies with the Orion heat shield, separation bolts, and power distribution that pose significant risks to the safety of the crew.” Full report

Keith’s note: In case you missed the tweets from almost every single American embassy and the U.S. State Department – it is #SpaceDiplomacyWeek. I was on CGTN this evening – trying to be diplomatic – talking about the return of the Shenzhou 17 crew, China’s Tiangong space station and the International Space Station, what happens when astronauts return from a long space mission, and future human missions to the Moon. [Audio]

Keith’s note: according to his Full obituary: “Darrell Glenn Bailey, 65, passed away on April 24, 2024, while enjoying his favorite pastime of cycling with friends from around north Alabama. Born in Wurzburg, Germany, Darrell grew up in Liberty, NC. where he graduated from Southeast Guilford High School. He earned his dual degree in math and physics from The University of North Carolina-Greensboro where he met his future wife, Phyllis Crumbley Bailey. After graduating from college, he moved to Huntsville, Alabama to pursue his career at NASA where he faithfully worked for 41 years. Most recently, Darrell served as the lead of the Integrated Avionics Test Facilities for the Space Launch System Program.” Ad Astra.

Keith’s note: Apurva Varia, Mission Operations Director for Parker Solar Probe and Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX), and Deputy Mission Operations Director Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) at NASA GSFC has died suddenly. I never met him but I often heard glowing, kind words about him – and I was supposed to look him up the next time I was at GSFC and have a chat in ASL with him. The following is from a friend of mine, Eric Shear, who posted this on Facebook: “It is with a heavy heart that I share the news that Apurva Varia passed away on April 24th after a massive stroke. He was visiting his children at Duke University. Besides his work as a director of three interplanetary missions at NASA Goddard, Apurva and I flew together as the only two deaf flyers on AstroAccess Flight 1 in 2021. Until then, I had not met any other deaf people who shared my dream of becoming an astronaut. He not only was serious about it, he had already attained much of the necessary background. During our brief time together, he taught me some of the things he learned working in an all-hearing environment at NASA, while I used my 2011 experience to prepare him for the thrill of weightlessness. I was struck by his calm nature, his patience and kindness with the hearing AstroAccess crew who did not sign as well as him, his facility with the media, and his deep knowledge of space systems. To remember him, here are several photos of him before and during Flight 1.” Ad Astra Apurva – Some videos below.

Keith’s Note: If you have read NASAWatch for the past 28+ years then you’ve been reading my rants about lack of quality education and outreach at NASA – regardless of the name that NASA affixes to the office that is supposed to be doing this. NASA has an unparalleled and unvarnished brand identity with decades of embedded global reach that continues to grow unabated. Yet the agency squanders this opportunity by underfunding its educational activities, refusing to coordinate activities internally, and installing managers who do not have formal education administration backgrounds. According to the NASA OIG Audit of NASA’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Engagement: “OSTEM’s performance goals are unclear and lack robust metrics, making it difficult to correlate goals to outcomes or measure success” … “OSTEM does not collect comprehensive cost or obligation data that would benefit decision-makers.” … “Furthermore, we identified issues with OSTEM’s monitoring of grants and cooperative agreements, including missing documentation in the grant and cooperative agreement files, insufficient post-award monitoring, and incomplete grant closeouts. Similarly, OSTEM does not track grant subrecipients, relying on prime recipients to ensure subrecipients are aware of award terms and conditions.” … “In our view, NASA may be missing opportunities to invest limited resources in less competitive jurisdictions, and we estimate that $12.6 million could be put to better use within EPSCoR over the next 5 years.” … “OSTEM is missing opportunities to target NASA’s future workforce more directly.”

Keith’s note: I just spoke with CBC News in Ottawa, Canada about the recent software repair conducted from Earth onboard the Voyager 1 interstellar space probe. [Audio]

Keith’s note: Sources report that the internal NASA Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) process has included discussion of a possible RIF in FY 2025. The budget is that bad folks. Stay tuned. Maybe Senator Administrator Bill Nelson can enlighten everyone as to how bad the NASA budget situation really is. NASA is not going to be doing a robust Artemis program or MSR or many of other big new things it wants to do in a budget environment with RIFs. RIFs can be brutal, pit one employee against another, decimate morale, and prompt people to find a more secure job.

Keith’s note: the archetype for NASA outreach – beyond space enthusiasts – was the original NASA Art Program during Apollo. It expressed in images what math and physics could not. I recall seeing these images as a young boy and they served to heighten the excitement of what lay ahead. I am willing to state that everything NASA has done with and for the arts since that time has its roots in this program – including such things as the Golden Record on the twin Voyagers and the Pale Blue Dot image. According to “James Dean, Founding Director of NASA Art Program, Dies at 92 (NY Times): “James Dean, a landscape painter who ran a NASA program that invited artists like Robert Rauschenberg, Norman Rockwell and Jamie Wyeth to document aspects of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo projects, died on March 22 in Washington. He was 92. … Mr. Dean believed that artists offered a perspective that could not be found in photographs. “Their imaginations enable them to venture beyond a scientific explanation of the stars, the moon and the outer planets,” Mr. Dean and Bert Ulrich wrote in their book, “NASA/ART: 50 Years of Exploration” (2008).” Ad astra James Dean.

Keith’s note: With regard to Mars Sample Return, Bill Nelson said today that “$11 billion for Mars Sample Return and waiting until the 2040s to get a sample back are both “unacceptable” … “What to do? I have asked staff to reach out via RFI to JPL, industry, to all NASA centers to report back this Fall an alternate plan that get samples back quicker and cheaper and stay within budget limits that Decadal Survey said we should.” More: NASA Sets Path to Return Mars Samples, Seeks Innovative Designs

Keith’s note: I was just on a media telecon with Astronaut Loral O’Hara who just returned from 204 days on the International Space Station.

“I have a question that comes out my own experience doing long expeditions to remote research locations, small tents, bad food, etc. But then there’s the amazing place I visited and explored. And you forget the hard parts of it all. You have been a submersible driver and a long-term space station astronaut. Both involved things called “expeditions”. In one case you leave the big floating lab and go somewhere. In the other you stay in the big orbiting lab while IT goes somewhere and you get to go outside maybe once or twice. Which of these activities is a better analog for what astronauts (maybe you) will be doing on the Moon and Mars? Or are they both valuable? What other non-space activities or analogs on Earth might be useful to help prepare these future space explorers (again, maybe you)?”

Note: There was an issue with the JSC PAO audio but they got enough to ask Loral the gist of my question.

Loral O’Hara: “I think that there a lot of analogs that we can do here on Earth.  Before I worked at NASA I worked as an ocean engineer and I went out on research ships and that was a great analog. Like you said you’ve had a lot of great experiences around the world working in (ant)arctica or doing field work pretty much anywhere – I think having those small teams in the field working with a team somewhere else back on shore with more resources I think is a good analog for space station and all the missions we’re hoping to do in the future.

Keith’s note: I had an interesting job at STS-1 – I was California Governor Jerry Brown’s advance man. I took a few days off from my job at Rockwell Downey where I stood inside of Discovery and Atlantis as they were being built to work for my old boss (I worked on his 1980 presidential campaign). The trip to the launch was insane. The area was still somewhat boarded up after the post-Apollo economic downturn and things were opening up for the shuttle era. So everyone was happy on the Space Coast.

“NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Japan’s Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) Masahito Moriyama have signed an agreement to advance sustainable human exploration of the Moon. Japan will design, develop, and operate a pressurized rover for crewed and uncrewed exploration on the Moon. NASA will provide the launch and delivery of the rover to the Moon as well as two opportunities for Japanese astronauts to travel to the lunar surface.” More

Keith’s note: I am an eclipse talking head today. I did KTRH and Alhurra interviews yesterday and did CNN this morning [audio]. I did Deutsche Welle just after 2:00 pm EDT [audio] and then again at 4:45 pm EDT [audio] and yet again just after 7:00 pm EDT [audio] today. I also did CTV at 3:15 pm EDT [audio]. I have to say it is nice to have a day off from all of the otherwise horrible daily news on planet Earth – and be able to talk about millions of people staring up at the sky (with their special eclipse glasses on) to observe a wonderous dance of the worlds.

Keith’s note: Chirag Parikh Deputy Assistant to the President and Executive Secretary, National Space Council posted something on LinkedIn. There is something happening next week – “Find Your Place in Space Week” from 6-13 April 2024. I never got anything from NASA PAO, OSTP, or National Space Council. There is no mention of this here at NASA news or here at the NASA main page or at NASA STEM Engagement or OSTP or National Space Council. Apparently NASA TV is ignoring it. If you use NASA’s search engine there is no mention. BUT If you Google these words “Find Your Place in Space Week NASA” a page shows up – but it is hidden inside of NASA.gov – you have to already know about it before you search for it. The Space Foundation is holding the Space Symposium next week – a natural tie-in, right? They ignore it too. The Coalition for Deep Space Exploration, AIAA, Planetary Society, National Space Society etc. make no mention of this either. There are lots of partners on listed by National Space Council but if you go to USGS, NSF, NOAA, etc. etc. there is no mention whatsoever of this event that they are co-sponsoring. Again, you already need to know exactly what words to use to find this – otherwise, no joy since none of the obvious places even mention it. It is baffling that one part of the federal government has no idea what other parts are doing – especially NASA. All we get is a White House guy telling the space wonk community about it on LinkedIn. Here’s what Parikh posted:

Keith’s note: NASAWatch turns 28 on 1 Apr 2024 (not a joke). It started as “NASA RIFWatch” on 1 Apr 1996 with this post “RIF at NASA In Summer 1997?”. The website was first hosted on a Mac Classic II on a 128 kbps ISDN line in a little condo in Reston, Virginia (see 20 Years Ago Today: The Seeds of NASAWatch). I sincerely doubt there will be many future birthdays for this website. Besides, Dan Goldin and I have a mutual admiration society thing going over on LinkedIn 😲. Meanwhile, here are a few things from those early days that are still online:

• Rogue Webmasters, Government Executive, 1 Oct 1996
• NASA’s Most Important Asset, Gerry Griffin, 31 December 1996
• Changes in Thinking At NASA November 29, 1996, PBS News Hour

Keith’s note: On 16/17 April 2009 astronaut Scott Parazynski and 3 Sherpa climbers at Everest Base Camp sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to astronaut Michael Barrett who was on board the ISS via satellite phone. I was trekking up to Everest Base Camp with several bags of chocolate-covered expresso beans that Scott had begged me not to forget. Flash forward to 2024 and Barratt has a family-sized bag of these candies on ISS. I don’t care what people say, astronauts are easy to train. Larger image