Defrag 2014 Wrap Up

Space Device User Test: NASA Co-Op #3 Week 13

Feels like a day back in high school robotics. Staying late Friday to work out the last software bug. If there is a team member in the lab, you are in the lab. Instead a team of high school robo-prodigies, I lead a team of developers and flight controllers in preparation for a space device user test. The goal is to test a stowage app may make unloading and loading cargo ships easier astronauts to perform on the International Space Station. The app runs on a device that makes these operations more hands free. Additionally the app may make stowage operations more error free. I have coordinated the Stowage App's debut - a user test performed by experienced Mission Control flight controllers in NASA Johnson's Space Vehicle Mockup Facility (SVMF). The SVMF is filled with exact replicas where astronauts train and devices are tested.

During the space device user test participants were asked to go on a sort of extraterrestrial Easter egg hunt. Users were asked to unpack stowage items from a visiting vehicle mockup and stow them in the International Space Station mockup. While participants learn how to use the app and pick up items non-biased data takers record results and record reactions. Unapologetically, we threw the users under the bus without giving a tutorial on how to use the app. This way data takers could assess how intuitive (or not) the app is.

Valuable data was collected about app usability. Developers shared they already had ideas to make the app more user friendly. For the remainder of my Co-Op tour I will be engaged with data analysis, brainstorming with the dev team how to improve the app and a pitch to management about continuing app development.

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

"This week at NASA" video highlights John H Glenn's interment and Cassini the Saturn orbiter's final days prep.

If you missed NASA's Snapchat story featuring interns their Tumblr page shares how you can land a PAID NASA internship.

Become a US Government Civil Servant and get on track to becoming a full-time NASA employee by participating in the NASA Pathways Internship Program (Co-Op).

Details about Cassini's last shot to take data on Saturn.

Potato Challenge

When: Thursday November 17th

What: 24 hrs... 12 oz of water... 10 medium potatoes... awesome prizes!

Who: You! Click here to sign up.

Why?? The purpose of eating only potatoes is to raise money to fund scholarships so kids can go to space camp! The potatoes of course is in honor of Mark Watney, from The Martian book by Andy Weir, who survived on Mars by eating mostly potatoes grown in his and his friends’ feces. This fundraiser is a part of the larger “Give to the Max Minnesota Day” Nov 17th, when local groups strive to raise awareness and money.

Details: Depending on how much money is raised you can add toppings and have other snacks. As of the time of posting you can’t even put salt or pepper on your potatoes! Here is the dollar amount vs topping chart and prize details.

Donate: Click here to give money for kids’ space camp scholarships.

Defrag 2014's Take On Data Security

As reflected by our year of high traffic social media platforms, large scale company hacks, and increased amount of data, security of that data has become a top priority in tech. Defrag had a series of break out sessions that featured security. Hot topics highly discussed this afternoon have included the slippery slope of "who owns your data?" presented by Lorinda Brandon from SmartBear, "what's in your trash" explored by Rory O'Rouke, and online security challenges revealed by Rami Essaid of Distil Networks.

The biggest lie on the internet, according to Brandon, is that "you read the Terms Of Use". Let's be honest, we all quickly check the "read" box, and do not bother to even open the privacy policy. Why? To even understand the ramifications of what you are agreeing to would take hours and still be missing details. Brandon shared her hours long experience picking apart Samsung's privacy policy and found that Samsung "Share(s) information for purposes of business and ecosystem". Our data and how businesses use it for their own profitable benefit can be unclear. As innovators in tech it is necessary to be mindful of other's data and be transparent with users.

Bounce.io utilizes digital waste by finding treasure in trash, taking data on what kinds of emails "bounce back" to a user and why it was kicked out.  A cool idea O'Rouke of Bounce.io mentioned was a user comparing emails in their spam about penny stocks to the actual performance of that penny stock in the market. If information about a stock ends up in your spam, does that indicate that the stock is a poor investment.

2014 has been filled with a "storm of security attacks" as pointed out by Essaid with the security hacking of Target, Sears, and Home Depot. Unfortunately, hacking has become a profession where it pays to be bad; easy, cheap, low risk, and a big payoff. One of the biggest factors that companies are missing is the idea of prevention accompanied by a plan for reaction if an attack occurs. An attack is inevitable, as the data illustrates with the thousands of bots in existence, so not having a reaction plan is foolish. An interesting scenario Essaid pointed out your website may not be the one that is initially hacked into, yet another website's user names and passwords can be hacked and then bots use these stolen usernames and passwords to access your website's accounts.

How to get involved...

- Become aware of your data footprint and who shares your data

- Advocate for transparency about how companies use your data

- Check security settings on your social media

- If in the tech industry, ensure your company is prepared for security breach

Apollo 13 Night 

On Friday the 13th NASA interns had the awesome opportunity to watch Apollo 13th in the Historic Apollo Mission Control Room on the twentieth anniversary of the movie. What was most precious about this experience was our guest lecturers, members of the Apollo 13 missions. Norman Chaffee, Apollo 13 engineer building parts on the Saturn V rocket met us at rocket park. Chaffee took us on a grand tour of the grounded beast describing the rocket's stages, his role in development and similarities to NASA's new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. Joining Chaffee was Frank Hughes, Apollo 13 astronaut trainer. "I don't go anywhere without my toys", he said pulling out a model of the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) and command module. After our Saturn V tour Hughes talked with us in the Historic Mission Control about his work training astronauts, details about the Apollo 13 command module and his favorite astronaut personalities. It was an honor to hear from Chaffee and Hughes, both contributing to Apollo 13th safe return - NASA's "successful failure".

Pictures by Carlos Gaytan fellow JSC NASA Co-Op

Best Moments from a Year in Space

Creepily enough I have not meet Astronaut Scott Kelly in person, yet through my experience as a NASA Johnson Space intern I have followed his whole journey. While sitting in Mission Control I would see Kelly float through the International Space Station (ISS) to his next experiment, struggle with space food and occasionally pull a space prank. After a record breaking year in space Kelly will return to Earth March 1st and you can watch here 9:15pmCT. He has had many great moments and below are my personal favorites...

Extra Terrestrial Lettuce

Scott Kelly taking a selfie with space lettuce - NASA

Astronauts consumed a space grown harvest for the first time! Kelly,  Kjell Lindgren, and Kimiya Yui tried crisp red romaine lettuce, first plain and then with vinaigrette. NASA was testing the effectiveness of a plant growth facility, Veggie, using rooting "pillows," which contain the seeds. Providing fresh food for astronauts, NASA plans to grow food on spacecrafts and on other planets in the future.

Space flowers, zinnia, were also grown in the Veggie during Kelly's mission blooming with oddly curled petals. NASA ground support treated Kelly like an autonomous gardener with only a one page flower care guide. These zinnia were not the first flowers to bloom on the ISS, in 2012 Astronaut Don Pettit grew a sunflower, broccoli and zucchini plant for a personal experiment. The zucchini bloomed a yellow flower but did not produce a full zucchini with the time allotted. Pettit wrote a "Diary of a Space Zucchini" from the perspective of the orbiting zucchini plant. The first flower to bloom in space was a Arabidopsis flown on board the then Soviet Union’s Salyut-7 space station in 1982.

Space Selfies

Scott Kelly taking a selfie during his first space walk Oct 28th, 2015 - NASA

Selfie during Kelly's space walk December 21st, 2015 - NASA

While there is a lot of science to get excited about in space sometimes its acceptable to take a moment to appreciate a good space selfie. Kelly was pretty selfie happy religiously posting to Twitter and sneaking in a few selfies during down time on space walks. In addition to selfies Kelly has taken thousands of stunning photos of Earth from his extraterrestrial perspective. During his over 5,000 orbits around the Earth Scott Kelly has taken thousands upon thousands of photos documenting Earth's beauty and fluid environment. He has captured Northern Lights, illuminated cities, painted deserts, reaching rivers and looming storms. All of these photos that make Earth look like an unknown planet can be found on his Instagram and Twitter. For the record Buzz Aldrin the took first space selfie in 1966.

Green Goo

Scott Kelly observing a tablet fizzing in water - NASA

Unfortunately this is not a slime ball alien. Scott Kelly dissolved a fizzing tablet and food coloring in a floating ball of water. This bubbling phenomenon was captured using a camera ultra high-definition cameras. NASA explains that higher resolution images and higher frame rate videos can reveal more information when used on science investigations. The floating sphere's form was disturbed by its internal popping and bubbling. Personally I thought this experiment was the most hypnotic.

Watch this odd ball I deem to be better than a lava lamp.

Halfway There

Scott Kelly admiring fresh fruit delivered halfway into his yearlong mission - NASA

Woah, livin' on a prayer!

Seriously though, a year in space takes some serious endurance. A sane completion of half a year in space is well worth a celebration. On board the crew received a delivery of fresh fruit in late August on the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV4) Kounotori, a Japanese cargo ship. On ground, Mission Control celebrated with cupcakes and Skyped with Kelly. Kounotori was one of nine cargo ships Kelly welcomed to ISS. The successful docking of a cargo ship is critical as they carry needed food, experiments, tools and replacement equipment.

15 Years of the International Space Station

Expedition 45 Crew celebrates ISS' 15th birthday - NASA

Scott Kelly celebrated the International Space Station's 15th birthday on November 2nd, 2015 celebrating the first crew's docking back in 2000. Over 1,760 research investigations have been conducted on board including Kelly's Twin Study.

Read about all that has been accomplished on ISS.

Jitters In Orbit

Scott Kelly's set up for Space Cup test - NASA

Liquid in Earth Gravity (right) and low gravity (Left) - NASA

Poor Scott Kelly had to sip coffee for hours to observe patterns of liquid tension in the new Space Cup. It was amusing to hear Kelly claim he took the longest sip of coffee in history. Although bags of coffee are already used on ISS, drinking a cup off coffee is more natural like back on Earth boosting astronaut moral. These Space Cups are engineered to accommodate to liquid's behavior in low gravity. Liquid is very "sticky" in space desiring to adhere to surfaces and pooling. This phenomenon became a hazard when coolant leaked in astronaut Luca Parmitano's space suit during an EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity/ Space Walk) in 2013. By studying the tendencies of liquid in space we can better understand chemical and biological processes in space.

Extra Vehicular Activity

Scott Kelly’s second space walk - NASA

Myself logging during Kelly's second EVA - NASA

During Scott Kelly's second ever space walk I got to follow along with their procedure and log when they successfully completed tasks. Honestly the procedure book is full of engineering jargon that the astronauts may not complete int he desired order, I never had a dull moment trying to keep up! I can't imagine the focus space walkers must have following the procedure, fixing parts on the ISS, staying safe all for many hours without a bathroom and a granola bar. Kelly and Kjell Lindgren spent 7 hours and 48 minutes working outside the International Space Station. They fixed ISS' ammonia cooling system. Scott Kelly performed three EVAs during his year in space.

Scott Kelly taking a selfie with the Earth - NASA

Fragile Exploration

The whole point of Scott Kelly's year long mission is to observe the long term effects of space on a human's body and mind. Humans are the most fragile thing we send up to space. Unfortunately we are not a robot society because by now we would have personally explored each planet in our solar system. To explore, humans have to leave Earth, exist in low gravity and land on other planets SAFELY. Scott Kelly's year in space is a huge step in the right direction to identify our boundaries and expand them. With Scott Kelly on board and his twin brother Mark Kelly as the control on Earth we have a unique look at the effects of zero gravity. Once Scott Kelly lands the science has just begun! Scientists will evaluate the effects on the body in low gravity, observe how Scott Kelly adjusts to Earth's gravity, and observe other changes Scott Kelly has experienced. It is so neat we get to watch this scientific exploration unfold!

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

Time Inc. produced a net video series called "A Year In Space" about Scott Kelly's mission.

PBS and Time Inc. will team up to produce a two part series about the mission too.

Launch your career in aerospace.

Watch Scott Kelly's Year In Space wrap up coverage on NASA TV here is the schedule:

Successful Potato Challenge and Minnesota Give to the Max day fundraising for student space camp scholarships. After 24 hours of potatoes, over $10,000 was raised reaching the goal to receive an additional $10,000 donation match! Wow, that's a lot of education! Learn more about The Mars Generation who kicked off this effort: http://themarsgeneration.org

Olaf Image from film: Frozen. Dir. Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee Lee. Prod. Peter Del Vecho. Perf. Kristen Bell,

It's Small Business Saturday folks! Did you know that NASA collaborates with SmallBiz on extraterrestrial projects? This summer I worked on a NASA small business project, innovating ways to create energy on Mars! I have also sat in on two SmallBiz design proposals and was blown away by the ideas for deep space travel, energy creation and resource utilization. Despite my Black Friday all-nighter I have kicked off today having breakfast at a local joint. Take time today to support SmallBiz and learn about SmallBiz projects with NASA... SmallBiz Mars Humidity Sensor Project: http://kirsikuutti.blogspot.com/2016/08/sensing-mars-nasa-co-op-2-week-nine.html NASA SmallBiz success story: http://www.spacenewsmag.com/feature/bridging-the-valley-of-death/ SmallBiz on Space Station: http://www.spacenewsmag.com/feature/starting-small-to-develop-big-ideas/ SmallBiz deals in Duluth,MN: http://downtownduluth.com/df-data/files/SBS-2016.pdf Find NASA SmallBiz Partners:https://ehb8.gsfc.nasa.gov/sbir/public/technologySearch/searchAction.do?requestFrom=NASASBIRHome

Watch live! Astronaut Kate Rubins and Jeff Williams spacewalk around the International Space Station! They are retracting a thermal radiator which is part of the space station cooling system. Thought this picture was neat because you could see one of their reflections in a device. http://www.ustream.tv/nasahdtv

Cargo Launch & Boogers

Count the number of times I pick my nose (because you all did last time and reported less than 5 times) when I sit console with RIO (Remote Interface Officer formally known as Russian Interface Officer) tomorrow Dec 3rd 7am- afternoonish. It is the console with all the flags on it. NASA TV will probably not stream Mission Control the whole day but cuts to it every once and awhile. http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/ Also occurring is the United Launch Alliance/ Orbital cargo ship launch to Space Station 4:55pmCT. There are things on this launch I care about so I'll be intently watching. http://www.ulalaunch.com/