Desert RATS: Black Point Lava Flow, Human Origins and Destiny

By Dr. Jim Rice
Dr. Jim Rice is an Astrogeologist working at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. For the 2010 Desert Rats field test, Dr. Rice will be the geology crew member on rover A in week one, as well as a member of the science backroom for week 2.

Our field site here in northern Arizona allows one to contemplate our human origins and destiny in a very unique way. Now, allow me to explain. The Black Point Lava Flow, where Chris and I started our 7-day mission in Rover Alpha, is 2 million years old. 2 million years is an interesting number in terms of human origins. While the Black Point Lava Flow was being born and flowing as a river of molten rock and fire, our early ancestors, Homo Erectus, were learning to fashion tools out of rock (some were made of basalt - the very same rock type that is at Black Point) and harness fire for the first time in Africa, the cradle of mankind. This date of 2 million years ago also records the first migration of our ancient ancestors out of Africa and into what is now Europe and Asia.

Photo of the earliest human footprint recorded in volcanic ash.

Now, moving on to another prominent lava flow for this year's field test, we come to the lava flow from SP Mountain. This flow is 70,000 years old and while this eruption was taking place, halfway around the globe a much larger massive super volcanic eruption was occurring at Toba, in what is present-day Indonesia. This was one of the largest eruptions known in the geologic record. Its prestigious amounts of ash combined with an already present Ice Age contributed to further cooling the planet down. At the same time, the human population had decreased to a dangerously low level of between only 1,000 to 10,000 people worldwide. Modern humans at this time started another mass migration out of Africa that eventually led to the spread of humans across the whole globe that we recognize today.

Photo of the first human footprint in lunar soil.

Flash forward to today, where we are now conducting a manned Planetary Rover field test. It is also interesting to note that the earliest human footprints are recorded and preserved in a layer of volcanic ash, and the Apollo astronauts' bootprints are also preserved in the volcanic plains of the moon (see photos below). The human race is now on the brink of another major migration - this time it is into the cosmos. I have no doubt that Desert RATS with everyone’s hard labor and long hours is setting the stage for this, the greatest of all human migrations out among the stars.

Live Chat Roundup: September 23, 2010

By Jim Gerard, INSPIRE Education Specialist, KSC, FL

A solar storm could strike at any time an paralyze our nation by knocking out the electrical power grid and communication satellites we depend on.  But don't worry!  According to Dr. Sten Odenwald, an astronomer/mathematician from the Goddard Space Flight Center, we are developing tools and science to detect and counter the effects of such a storm.  Dr. Odenwald presented to 83 members of the INSPIRE Online Learning Community at last evening's Live Chat.  He led the participants through our current knowledge of the workings of the Sun's magnetosphere and how that interacts with the Sun' surface.  That interaction produces events we refer to as 'space weather'.  These events, such as flares and coronal mass ejections, can reach the Earth and cause an effect to its magnetic field.  These effects range from the beautiful aurora found in the polar regions to dangerous electrical system malfunctions that could occur anywhere.

You can access the presentation in the Live Chat Archive or by clicking the Archive link from the Live Chat Room List.  We offer the chat in three formats: an Elluminate file, a Quicktime video and an MP3 audio file.  While the Elluminate file is available approximately 1 hour after the presentation concludes, the Quicktime and MP3 files will be posted on Monday morning.  Students who view these archives are welcome to post questions for our speaker on the Discussion Board, and are eligible for 50 points by using the passcode (found at the end of the archive) to access the chat quiz.

Next week, we look at the events that have shaped NASA, as I myself will be your presenter to walk you down the timeline of NASA Milestones.  This chat will be for 12th Grade students.  See you then!

Desert RATS: Fieldwork With The Space Exploration Vehicle

By José Hurtado
José Hurtado is a geologist, teaching at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). During Desert RATS 2010 he is working in the science back room in week one, and on Space Exploration Vehicle A as the geology crew member in week two.

My name is José Hurtado, and, while I am a geologist and professor in my normal job, for the past three days I am one of two crewmembers on board a prototype planetary rover called the Space Exploration Vehicle (SEV). I'm supporting a week-long mission simulation in the Arizona desert north of Flagstaff that is part of a NASA field test called Desert RATS (Research and Technology Studies). The test has the overall goal of figuring out how to use the SEV for studying geology on another planet. We are doing this in the San Francisco volcanic field, a cluster of volcanoes that have erupted over the past 3 million years and are similar to the types of terrain and geology we hope to someday explore on the surface of the moon or Mars. Our mission is to make observations and to collect samples to help unravel the history of volcanic eruptions in the area.

The caravan with Space Exploration Vehicles (SEVs) also includes chase vehicles with scientists and others supporting mission operations teams.

The Space Exploration Vehicle (SEV) moving along the trail is captured on camera from behind rock formations.

Our main tool for doing this is the rover itself, which is an incredible machine for fieldwork. In addition to being able to climb over steep, rough terrain, it also has an array of cameras and a bubble window that allow us to get detailed views of the surroundings. It serves as our mobile home and base of operations for performing EVAs ("extravehicular activities"), or spacewalks to make detailed observations. During our EVAs we wear backpacks that simulate the spacesuits astronauts would wear when exploring outside their SEV. The backpacks also have video cameras we can use to share our findings with our colleagues on the science team in "mission control". Other tools we use are familiar to geologists, including a rock hammer, shovel, tongs, core tubes, and sample bags. We use these to take rock, soil, and sediment samples to bring back to a prototype GeoLab facility at base camp. The GeoLab allows us to make basic observations about the texture and structure of the samples with a microscope and mineral and elemental composition of our samples with an X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer.

I have three more days left in my mission before we arrive at base camp for a day of work in the GeoLab. It has been a productive and fun mission so far, and I'm happy to have the opportunity to help NASA plan for future planetary exploration missions!

Focusing on the Future

By Steven Williams, INSPIRE Community Member

The NASA INSPIRE program has meant a lot to me throughout this past school year. It has helped me and taught me in many different ways. Firstly, the INSPIRE program expanded my knowledge about all the different jobs that NASA has to offer and how they all correlate. This has really helped me to decide which area of NASA work I want to get into and also what I want to do in that area, but it has also shown me that there is still much more to learn about NASA and its jobs. Secondly, during the school year INSPIRE kept me learning about NASA and STEM areas even if I wasn’t studying them during that part of the school year. Since I was still studying STEM areas through INSPIRE when I went back to studying them in school I was already sharp on the subjects and already knew some of the materials. My absolute favorite part of the NASA INSPIRE program was the collegiate experience at the University of Puerto Rico. I learned a lot during this program. It has really helped me to get ready for this upcoming school year. I now feel a lot more prepared for what college and high school classes that are coming up in the near future hold for me. During the experience I got the chance to meet many different kids from different areas and backgrounds. I also got to see and learn about the Puerto Rican culture. The NASA INSPIRE program has meant so much to me over the course of this year, has taught me so much, helped me stay sharp in my classes, and has helped me develop a greater interest in my future.

Desert RATS: Geology from the Rover

By Dr. Jacob Bleacher
Dr. Jacob Bleacher is a Planetary Geologist working at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. For the 2010 Desert RATS field test, Dr. Bleacher is the geology crew member on rover B during week one.

I am a geologist who studies lava flows on the Earth, moon, and Mars. To do so, I conduct field work on lava flows here on the Earth for comparison with other planets. The Space Exploration Vehicle (SEV) is a tremendous asset for conducting field geology in extreme environments. Unlike Apollo, where the crew needed to return to the Lander at the end of each day, we use the SEV to travel from a site of geologic interest to another site of geologic interest, without being forced to return to a common location every night. As such, we carry the most important geologic tool with us, the geologist.

Geologists Dr. Jacob Bleacher (left) and Dr. Jim Rice (right) take a closer look before collecting samples.

To support the geologist, the rover has a bevy of tools. Once we reach an exciting site, and our commander has picked a safe location to park, we begin by recording a voice note to tell the science team what our plan is for exploring the area. This note is supported by video and images taken from cameras mounted on masts above the rover. After providing an overview to the science team, they are given control of the cameras to track our progress outside of the rover. At this point, we move to the back of the rover, where the suitports are located, and begin our Extra-Vehicular Activity or EVA. The suitports are a new design allowing us to climb into the suit through its backpack. The process keeps the suit and the dust that sticks to it on the outside of the rover.

Once outside, we collect the tools that we will need to complete our objectives for the site. We have a standard geologist hammer, shovels, core tube (to collect soils without disturbing their layers), and sample bags. We also have two cameras mounted on our backpacks. We use the cameras to show the scientists at base camp the rocks and samples we are collecting. With the cameras, we record notes for the science team. Our field notes describe sample characteristics and its relationship to other samples. The cameras provide audio, video, and high definition images that help us document what we have done.

Space Exploration Vehicle rovers A & B connected to the Pressurized Excursion Module (PEM).

After we collect samples, we weigh them and store them in a locker on the aft (back deck of the rover.) The aft is where the samples are stored until we meet up with the Pressurized Excursion Module or PEM. Our SEV docks to the PEM. The PEM is a large habitat housing tools and equipment we use to repair our suits or hardware. In the habitat we also have medical equipment and a geology work station. The geology workstation has laboratory instruments we use to study exciting samples in more detail. This is how we will use the SEVs to explore the geology of another planet or the moon.

Live Chat Roundup: September 16, 2010

By Jim Gerard, INSPIRE Education Specialist, KSC, FL

Did you know NASA was banned from Olympic competition?  That is, one of its Spinoff technologies was.  The 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics saw so many record breaking heats due in part to the Spinoff technology incorporated in the Speedo LZR Racer swim wear that it was banned from future competition.  This information and much more was presented by NASA Spinoff magazine editor Daniel Lockney to 79  OLC sophomores.   The chat is now available as an Elluminate archive, and will soon be listed on the main page Live Chat Archive.  Make sure to note the passcode at the end of the presentation and take the quiz to earn 50 points.

One note:  my microphone was garbled during the introduction and during some of the following questions, but it does clear up.  This was due to a last minute change. It does not effect the presentation nor the quiz.

If you check the archives, you'll also notice we are offering the chats as both a podcast and a vodcast.  These will be available the Monday after the chat to allow for formatting.  We hope to have these as a subscription to automatically download to your phone or MP3 player and watch at a later time.  Stay tuned!

Next week, we invite our 11th Grade OLC members to hear Dr. Sten Odenwald discuss the impact of Solar Storms on our planet.  The chat begins at 8:00pm CT on Thursday, September 23 with the room opening at 7:45pm CT.  The archive will be available Friday morning.  See you juniors there!

Desert RATS: Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Information System

By Scott Bleisath
Scott Bleisath is leading a team of engineers from NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC), who are developing electronics and displays for NASA's next generation of astronaut space suits.

The Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Power, Avionics, and Software team at NASA's Glenn Research Center (Cleveland, Ohio) are proud to be participating in Desert RATS 2010. As part of NASA's space suit engineering team, our role is to develop a suite of electronic tools and applications that will help future spacewalking astronauts work efficiently and autonomously. For Desert RATS 2010, we are testing a prototype EVA Information System (EVAIS). This electronic system is carried inside the astronaut backpacks, used during the daily EVA (spacewalk) excursions performed by the rover crews. The EVAIS works along with a small flat-panel computer display on the astronaut's wrist, called a cuff display, and a High Definition (HD) video camera mounted on the backpack.

Astronaut Stan Love (foreground left) holds up a sample rock, while recording a Crew Field Note during an EVA. A cuff display can be seen on his left arm.

The EVAIS and cuff display stores and displays timelines, procedures, and maps to the Desert RATS crewmembers. For an astronaut performing a spacewalk, providing access to this type of information is very important. For any exploration space mission beyond Earth orbit, such as missions to the Moon, near Earth asteroids, or Mars, communication with flight controllers on Earth may not be available or may be significantly delayed. The EVAIS enables the crew to manage their activities autonomously.

At Desert RATS, we are learning what is the correct type and amount of information needed by an EVA crewmember. Any electronics going on a spacesuit has to be very efficient from a size, weight, and power perspective. So, we cannot afford to have any "bells and whistles." Our team spent over a year talking to astronauts and other stakeholders to understand their needs and expectations for our system. They made it clear to us that we cannot bog the crew down with too much information, because that would hinder operations, rather than help.

This is an example snap-shot image recorded by the EVA Information System. The image was recorded by Desert RATS crewmember Jake Bleacher. The color chart worn on his wrist helps geologists analyze the rock sample. Space Exploration Vehicle Rover B can be seen in the background.

In addition to displaying information, the EVAIS allows an EVA crewmember to record snapshots and Crew Field Notes (CFNs) with an HD video camera. For geologists, much of the data that they gather, when working out in the field, is their verbal observations being dictated into a tape recorder. Using buttons on the cuff display, the astronaut can activate the camera and built-in recorder to record CFNs. So, the crewmember can gather a rock sample, hold it up in front of the camera, and provide a verbal description. The CFNs are stored on the EVAIS and at the end of the day, they are sent to the science-support team on the ground to analyze.

As the 14-day mission for Desert RATS 2010 is nearing completion, our team is very pleased with the results that we have seen so far. Our system has held up well to the rigorous desert environment. It has been a lot of fun to see our system in use and see how much the science-support team appreciates the geologic data recorded by the EVAIS. We are already thinking about improvements we can make in Desert RATS 2011.