Citizen Science Projects

Olivia Humes, Rising Senior, Imagineers

Whether you’re looking for something fun to do or want to continue learning about science this summer, citizen science projects are a great way to get involved with scientific research while still having fun. There are countless citizen science opportunities available through websites, apps, and more. But just what is citizen science, and how can you get involved in these projects?

Have you ever participated in Globe at Night, featured as a short activity in the springtime on the OLC? If so, then you’ve participated in citizen science! Citizen science is a method of performing research that involves the public at large, usually by using data collected or analyzed by ordinary people. Globe at Night falls into the first category--participants gather data about the darkness of the night sky in their area. Additionally, many citizen science projects have the goal of increasing awareness and participation in science as a whole. For example, the Globe at Night project teaches participants about the effects of light pollution and the techniques of naked-eye observation in astronomy.

A great place to get started with citizen science is the Zooniverse group of projects. Originally started with the Galaxy Zoo project, where users classified galaxies, the “Zooniverse” expanded to include other areas of astronomy, and eventually biology, anthropology, and climate science. Participants can look for planets in other solar systems, watch out for solar storms, analyze weather data from old ships’ logs, or look for wild animals on the Serengeti. Already, citizen scientists have discovered new planets, unknown features on the moon, and mysterious clumps of gas in interstellar space. And when a discovery is made, your name can be cited on a scientific research paper!

NASA also supports citizen science projects. Two examples are Stardust@Home and Be A Martian. In Stardust@Home, participants analyze pictures of the aerogel carried by the Stardust space probe in order to find particles from interstellar space captured by the mission. Be A Martian allows participants to explore the surface of Mars from images taken by Spirit, Opportunity, and Mars Odyssey, and take part in a community dedicated to learning more about Mars.

The Great Worldwide Star Count, scheduled for late October and early November will be familiar to anyone who has participated in Globe at Night. This project asks participants to report the darkness of their skies in order to study light pollution, and though it takes place later on in the year, it is a great reason to go outside and look up at the sky while contributing to scientific discovery.

Finally, for a citizen science project focused on biology, check out Phylo, a citizen science project designed like a puzzle game. This project attempts to align DNA sequences of related animals in order to better understand the common ancestry of different animals, and the way that diseases have evolved over time. This project, like many of the others mentioned, uses human brainpower as a more effective alternative to complicated computer algorithms. In many citizen science projects, from classifying galaxies to tracking evolution, the human brain is better at analyzing the data than any computer program.

Links to the projects mentioned can be found below. Remember, this is only a small sample of the citizen science projects available, so look around for a project that interests you!

The Zooniverse projects: https://www.zooniverse.org/

Stardust@Home: http://stardustathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/

Be A Martian: http://beamartian.jpl.nasa.gov/welcome

The Great Worldwide Star Count: http://www.windows2universe.org/citizen_science/starcount/

Phylo: http://phylo.cs.mcgill.ca/beta

Aviation Camp

By Haley Stumvoll, Rising 11, Alchemists

Every child has fantastic dreams like mine of flying. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be able to fly to the jungle to explore or have an adventure in the Alps?  Last week I brought those dreams to fruition when I went to a weeklong Aviation camp at the University of Southern Illinois- Carbondale. Before I go into details about my adventures in illustrious Illinois, I’ll explain why I became interested in aviation in the first place.

I have hopes of becoming an engineer one day.  I have been investigating several areas including electrical, mechanical and materials engineering. Since I’m interested in aviation, I’ve decided that I want to work to become an aerospace engineer.   So I decided that being able to fly an airplane would give me an insight into what aerospace engineering is all about.  INSPIRE was the catalyst for me to start looking into learning how to fly like Orville and Wilbur Wright, who I really hope to “meet” someday, and have been wanting to meet since the LiveChat with “Wilbur” last year.

I could go on for several pages about my experience, but I doubt anyone would be able to hang with me to the end so I will shorten it to my four top favorite things about Aviation Camp in the US heartland town of Carbondale, Illinois.

First, the flight simulators are a good way to practice piloting a plane, without actually being 1,500 or more feet in the air. It helps ease anxiety when you are actually 1,500 feet in the air because you’ve already seen the controls and flight instruments before, so you know how to control the machine that is keeping you from falling 1,500 feet. I successfully landed a Cessna 172 Skyhawk for the first time in a simulator and my partner would have been scared out of my mind if we had actually been in a plane.

Secondly, most mornings before going out to fly, we had ground school, which covered topics like basic aerodynamics, radio procedures and how to plan cross-country flights. The teacher also talked about basic flight maneuvers which was not only fun to learn about but also enormously helpful when it came time to actually try them out. 

Thirdly, it was great getting to know others who had the same interests I did, especially since I have not really met other people who aspire to be a pilot. Similar to the field of engineering, aviation is largely a male dominated interest, which I hope can change. This was made abundantly clear when I found out that I was to spend six days with nine high school guys and zero girls.

Finally, my absolute favorite part of the camp was flying to dinner. I’ve had some fun times going to dinner before, but nothing beats flying down to Sikeston, Missouri for dinner at Lambert’s. About Lambert’s: the food is great, and the only way you get bread is if you can catch it.

I really recommend taking a flight lesson at some point because it is a fabulous experience. Flying in a small propeller driven plane has a completely different feel than flying in a commercial airliner. Before we recess for summer, I want to thank everyone in the OLC because I have had a great time this year, and really hope to be able to come back next year. Have a great summer everyone!!!

Space Habitat Innovation Challenge - Our trip to Huntsville

By Aswini Krishnan and Amelia Rolf

INSPIRE is an amazing program. The opportunities are endless. The skies keep widening, keep expanding, keep opening up new possiblities...

It was about two months ago, and our Space Habitat Innovation Team Members – Emily Beckman, Aswini Krishnan, Amelia Rolf, Netdao Yutakom, and Katie Britt – were up to our ears in school work. Yes, that last minute studying for those APs, immersed in our chemistry, calculus, and physics textbooks...

And then we received the news. We had won 1st place in the Space Habitat Innovation Challenge and were invited to visit the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama for a tour!

Our team had begun working on the Space Habitat Innovation Challenge in December. Our project was basically to design a future generation deep space habitat that could be used to house astronauts for extended periods of time, with a focus on interior design.

Because our other teammates had prior commitments, sadly only we two (Aswini and Amelia) were able to attend the MSFC tour. We would like to share our wonderful experience with you and hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it.

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Our Space Habitat Trip to Huntsville: June 10 - 12, 2013

On June 10, we landed in Huntsville Airport and were ecstatic to see the smiling faces of Ms. Ingrum and Dr. Marks waiting for us right outside security. We got into the big silver limousine van (which Dr. Marks drove all the way to Alabama - thanks so much, Dr. Marks!) and after dropping off our bags at the hotel, went to eat a delicious dinner at Red Robin and later took a stroll in an open mall, admiring the beauty of the city.

June 11- the big day. After a light breakfast, we met Dr. Jamey Jacobs (the OSU professor who coordinated the Space Habitat Challenge) and we got into the van to go to MSFC!

First, we visted the MSFC rocket park, which had an assortment of models of past missions – like Saturn V.

Next we went to a building where interns were working on engineering projects and allowed us to take a look. One group of interns was working on controlling a device that slightly hovers above the ground to simulate the no-friction space environment. We then went to see the other group, which was working on improving the controlling mechanism for a robotic arm! The interns even let us try to control the robotic arm, and it was absolutely thrilling!

Picture: The interns and us. The girl on the left is Murphy, who was an INSPIRE student herself before she graduated from high school! She said that INSPIRE was the program that gave her the contacts and motivated her get into this prestigious college internship – Go INSPIRE!

Next, we got see a replica of the ISS and see the internal structure. An intern guided us through and explained the functions of its various parts. We then got to go and see the control room, from where they directly give commands to the ISS.

Then - what we had been waiting for - we toured the deep space facility! We had a great time seeing how the existing models of deep space habitat compared to our design and talking to our tour guide, Mr. Dischinger, about it. We then took a look at an experiment going on where a man wearing a suit with infrared light detectors emitting signals to cameras was able to make a computerized person move the same way he did.

After a filling lunch at the NASA cafeteria, we went to view rocket test sites. We saw the historic test site for the Mercury capsule and greatly enjoyed Mr. Dischinger's stories about the history behind the creation of the first space capsules.

After leaving the Marshall Space Flight Facilities, we went to the Space and Rocket Center, a museum designed for tourists. Before going into the main building though, we visited Mr. Scott Anderson and his NASA Digital Network facilities, and we explained our Space Habitat Innovation Challenge design to him, showing him our powerpoint. Before we left, he announced that he had a surprise for us and gave us both pictures of astronaut Bill McArthur, autographed by him! After profusely thanking him, we headed for the US Space and Rocket Center's main building. The museum was fantastic. We spent a lot of time in a black hole simulation game where we had to rescue ourselves from falling into a black hole by answering some questions about black holes through interactive activities. In another part of the museum, we found a robot that prepared frozen yogurt with toppings. And yes, each of us paid six dollars, not for the frozen yogurt, but to watch the robot make it. Entering a different section, we saw many replicas of space capsules and even saw some moon rocks, enclosed in a glass case, of course. And lastly, of course, we went to the gift shop and treated ourselves to t-shirts (which ever-so-cutely said "It's not rocket science ... oh wait yes it is!).

Back at the hotel and on the morning of June 12, all we could say was one thing: we didn't want to go home.

We would sincerely like to thank all the NASA INSPIRE, OSU, and MSFC staff for coordinating this amazing experience and making it possible for us to participate in the Space Habitat Challenge and visit the center. We learned so much over the course of the visit - not just about STEM but also about all the opportunities that are out there in NASA for us to look at now and in the future, and we surely will remember this experience for the rest of our lives. Our thanks for everything, once again.

Aswini & Amelia

INSPIRE Summer OLC

By Jim Gerard, NASA INSPIRE, KSC, Fla.

 

Happy summertime on the OLC!

July will be a busy month as we complete the 2012-2013 year of the INSPIRE OLC. We hoped by this time we would have news about next year but there is no news yet. The OLC is scheduled to close as usual for the month of August to provide time to prepare for next year. But we are filling July with great opportunities to keep you busy during the long summer days! Below are some of the exciting things that await you in the month of July.

▪   Level 10 LiveChat - By special invitation only LiveChat with astronaut Dr. Larry DeLucas on Tuesday, July 23. How do you get invited? Get to Level 10 on the Leaderboard! Cutoff for points will be Monday, July 22, at 12 noon CT.

▪   High Point Team Party - The team with the highest cumulative points will be invited to a special on-line party during the INSPIRE Cafe on Thursday, July 18. Team point cutoff will be Monday, July 15, at 12 noon CT.

▪   July Points Blast - To help you get as many points as possible for the above events, we are posting ALL short activities this week! Also remember you can still complete past activities and view LiveChats in the archives!

▪   Designing Future Space VSE - This Virtual STEM Experience will take place July 16 – 18. The objective of this Virtual STEM Experience is to provide insight in the art of industrial design. Featuring spacecraft design from the past to the future, participants will be given a chance to have a design realized on a 3-D printer!

▪   2013 KSC Student Unconference - This student planned conference commences on July 30 to provide 3 days of tours and activities at America's Spaceport. Watch the special LiveChat Thursday August 1 to hear from participants.

What does the future hold? Be certain as soon as we know we will tell you. Whatever happens, we want to encourage you to continue your pursuit of STEM related careers in every way possible. Currently INSPIRE alumni are pursuing degrees at prestigious institutions such as MIT, CalTech and Georgia Tech, as well as numerous state colleges and universities. As Doc Brown said in Back to the Future III, "Your future hasn't been written yet. It is whatever you make it. So make it a good one!"

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Protecting Planet Earth

By NASA Administrator Charles Bolden

Having looked back at Earth from outer space, I have seen just how fragile our home planet is – and I’m committed to doing everything I can to help protect it.

Yesterday, President Obama announced an ambitious Climate Action Plan to cut carbon pollution and put us on a more environmentally sustainable course. At NASA, where one of our primary goals is to improve life for everyone on the planet, I'm pleased to say that we have a number of missions already supporting this important work through our robust Earth Science program.

Scientific data and insights are essential to help government officials, communities, and businesses better understand and manage the risks associated with climate change. NASA will continue to work with the Administration as we continue to lead in advancing the science of climate measurement and adaptation and the development of tools for climate-relevant decision-making by focusing on increasing the availability, accessibility, and utility of relevant scientific tools and information.

Earth observation and the science associated with it have been central to NASA's mission for decades. Missions such as the Landsat series of satellites have been helping us establish a baseline of understanding and demonstrating the planet's changes over the past 40 years. Recently launched missions such as Suomi/NPP will enhance and continue our long tradition of climate observation.

Earth Science is a strong priority of the President's fiscal year 2014 budget request for NASA. The budget supports 7 new Earth Science missions on course to launch through 2020 after the launch of 4 new Earth science missions in 2014 -- the Global Precipitation Mission (GPM), Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2), Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP), and the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III (SAGE III) instrument to be launched to the International Space Station.

These cover a wide spectrum of Earth observations and join NASA's 17 Earth science missions in space observing our planet's atmosphere and oceans, its climate, weather patterns, and much more. The data we collect helps us understand our planet as a dynamic, unified system. It helps us predict natural and manmade disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires and recover from them. Our satellites will play a critical role in helping us assess the carbon emissions problem, its history, current status, and possible future so decision makers can make informed policy decisions.

NASA's Earth Science program was established to use the advanced technology of our space program to understand and protect our home planet by using the view from space to study the Earth system and improve predictions of its changes. To meet this challenge, NASA promotes the full and open sharing of all data with the research and applications communities, private industry, academia, and the general public.

NASA was the first agency in the US, and the first space agency in the world, to provide full and open access in a timely manner, with no period of exclusive access to mission scientists, and at no cost.

NASA made this decision after listening to the user community, and with the background of the newly-formed U.S. Global Change Research Program, and the International Earth Observing System partnerships. Other U.S. agencies and international space agencies have since adopted similar open-access policies and practices.

In line with agencies across the government working on climate change issues, NASA will help disseminate scientific information and translate scientific insights into practical, useable knowledge that can help decision-makers anticipate and prepare for specific climate-change impacts.

All of our work in exploration has benefits here on Earth, by helping us understand and protect our natural resources, improve lives, and strengthen the economy. The President's climate initiative provides one more opportunity for our missions in space to bring science and technology home to the American people in a meaningful way.

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New Home for Atlantis

By Jim Gerard, INSPIRE Education Specialist, KSC, FL

The Space Shuttle program is over, and the hardware it utilized has been transferred to museums across the country. You can visit flown orbiters in Los Angelos, California (Endeavour), and Dulles airport in Virginia (Discovery), but the first dedicated facility to the program is the new home for Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. "Space Shuttle Atlantis," which debuts on Saturday (June 29), showcases the retired winged spacecraft as part of a $100 million exhibit that has been more than a year in the making. It succeeds in bringing the public nose-to-nose — and nose-to-wing and nose-to-tail — with Atlantis in a way that is unique to every other museum display of a shuttle orbiter.

With a reveal worthy of the 'magical' theme park in nearby Orlando, visitors will experience an encounter with the mighty spacecraft similar to an astronaut walking in space. Seemingly within touching distance, with its payload bay open and a replica of its Canadarm robotic arm extended, Atlantis looks less like a museum's static display than it does a still active vehicle, somehow frozen in place, as if it could soar back into orbit at any time. What's more, thanks to theatrical lighting and a 40-foot-long (12-meter) animated digital backdrop, the orbiter comes alive as the changing hues and resulting shadows stretch across its surface.

INSPIRE Students attending the upcoming Student Unconference will get to witness this new display during their stay, while others vacationing near KSC will see it as part of their Visitor Complex experience.

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First Day of Summer

By Jim Gerard, INSPIRE, KSC

This Friday, June 21, is the first day of summer. The Summer Solstice, when the earth's tilt is most directly pointed at the sun, occurs at 1:04am EDT. This has created some confusion in our western states as it would still technically be Thursday, June 20.

But two points to consider:
1) The sun, as does most of the world, does not follow Daylight Saving Time so it would be 12:04am EST which would make the Solstice in all the country on Thursday except the east coast by 4 minutes. 2) When do we celebrate day at night? It would always be the next dawning which is Friday for everyone.

So if you west coasters start your summer celebrations on Thursday, remember it is still spring until almost midnight and you are being a little premature. But then it is never to early to party.

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