Thursday 7 November 2024

Integrating Relevant Science Investigations into Migrant Children Education

3 min read

Integrating Relevant Science Investigations into Migrant Children Education

For three weeks in August, over 100 migrant children (ages 3-15) got to engage in hands-on activities involving blueberries, pollinators, and eDNA as part of their time with The Blueberry Harvest School (BHS). BHS is a summer school program for migrant children whose families work in Washington County, Maine during the wild blueberry harvest season. The program is hosted by Mano en Mano in Milbridge, Maine. This summer, University of Maine 4-H (part of the NASA Science Activation Program’s Learning Ecosystems Northeast team) was invited to deliver enrichment programs during the school day alongside a seasoned BHS employee – an educator from the Mi’kmaq community in what is now known as Nova Scotia.

The goal of BHS is to meet the needs of youth by providing “culturally responsive, project-based learning while preventing summer learning loss and compensating for school disruptions among students” (Mano en Mano). Migrant families come to Downeast from Mi’kmaq First Nation communities in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, southern states, and from within Maine, including Passamoquoddy communities in eastern Washington County and a Latino community in the western part of the county. Families stay to harvest blueberries anywhere from two to five weeks. With support from 4-H educators, youth surveyed the schoolyard for pollinators, investigated the parts of pollinators and flowers, and learned why blueberries are an important part of Wabanaki culture.

“BHS really becomes a home for the children while they are here. I think one of the reasons is because they are encouraged to be proud of their identity and who they are – they get to be their authentic selves. It’s a neat space where teachers and youth are speaking Mi’kmaq, Passamaquoddy, Spanish and English while supporting each other, and learning and experiencing new things.” — Gabrielle Brodek, 4-H Professional

“After completing my second year helping at Blueberry Harvest School, I loved seeing the returning faces of the kids who have been coming year after year – the kids remember you and hug you and are sad when the season is over and BHS ends.” — Jason Palomo, 4-H Professional

Resources and inspiration for these activities came from NASA Climate Kids, Gulf of Maine Research Institute’s Bees, Blueberries, and Climate Change learning module, National 4-H and ME Ag in the Classroom. On the last day youth experienced how to make a natural dye out of blueberries, a long-standing tradition in Native American culture. Our organizations continue to work together year-round, building stronger relationships and planning for Summer 2025!

The Learning Ecosystems Northeast project is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number NNX16AB94A and is part of NASA’s Science Activation Portfolio. Learn more about how Science Activation connects NASA science experts, real content, and experiences with community leaders to do science in ways that activate minds and promote deeper understanding of our world and beyond: https://science.nasa.gov/learn

Two youth sitting at desks with paper in front of them with an adult educator standing between them.

Educator assisting two youth with paper folding instructions.

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Mars 2020 Perseverance Joins NASA’s Here to Observe Program

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Mars 2020 Perseverance Joins NASA’s Here to Observe Program

Katie Stack Morgan and Nicole Spanovich with the NASA Here to Observe Program students and faculty from Kutztown University.

Kutztown University

The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission has recently joined the NASA Here to Observe (H2O) program, where NASA planetary missions are partnered with universities to encourage undergraduate students from historically marginalized groups to pursue a career in STEM. As part of this program, the Perseverance mission has been paired with Kutztown University, located in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. Selected undergraduate students at the university will be able to observe and interact with Perseverance mission team members throughout this academic year to learn about the individuals who are part of the team and what it means to work on the rover mission.

To help kick off the program and our new partnership, I traveled to Kutztown along with the Perseverance Deputy Project Scientist, Katie Stack Morgan. We met several members of the Kutztown faculty and staff, toured their beautiful campus, and spent time getting to know the students participating in the H2O program this year. Katie and I were impressed by the enthusiasm and engagement exhibited by the students during our visit. We presented an introduction to the Perseverance mission including the recent discoveries, upcoming plans, and who comprises the mission team. There was also ample time to answer the many thoughtful questions about both the mission and the career paths of both me and Katie.

As part of this program, the students will observe select Perseverance mission meetings and activities. We kicked this off in October when the students observed a Geologic Context Working Group meeting to learn how scientists work together to understand the data gathered by the rover and make decisions about what the rover should do next. The students will also be paired with mentors from the Perseverance mission team throughout this academic year where they’ll have the chance to learn about the various career paths our team members have taken, read scientific papers, and prepare for a trip to the Lunar and Planetary Sciences Conference.

Overall, we have a great plan for our H2O partnership and are looking forward to welcoming Kutztown University to the Perseverance mission!

Written by Nicole Spanovich, Mars 2020 Perseverance Science Office Manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

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Mars 2020 Team Members with the ‘NASA Here to Observe Program’ Students at Kutztown University

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X-59’s Engine Started for Testing

A white airplane sits inside of a white hangar with its nose facing inward.

NASA/Carla Thomas

NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft sits in its run stall at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, in this image from Oct. 30, 2024.

The engine-run tests, which began Oct. 30, allow the X-59 team to verify the aircraft’s systems are working together while powered by its own engine. In previous tests, the X-59 used external sources for power. The engine-run tests set the stage for the next phase of the experimental aircraft’s progress toward flight.

After the engine runs, the X-59 team will move to aluminum bird testing, where data will be fed to the aircraft under both normal and failure conditions. The team will then proceed with a series of taxi tests, where the aircraft will be put in motion on the ground. These tests will be followed by final preparations for first flight.

Image credit: NASA/Carla Thomas

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El X-59 enciende su motor por primera vez rumbo al despegue

4 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

Vista desde el exterior de un gran puesto de rodaje. El X-59, de 30 metros (110 pies) de largo, se encuentra dentro del puesto de rondaje, con el motor y el resto de la parte trasera de la aeronave fuera de la puerta abierta del puesto.

El silencioso avión supersónico experimental X-59 de la NASA se encuentra en un puesto de rodaje en las instalaciones Skunk Works de Lockheed Martin en Palmdale, California, arrancando su motor por primera vez. Estas pruebas de funcionamiento del motor comienzan a baja potencia y permiten al equipo del X-59 verificar que los sistemas de la aeronave funcionan juntos mientras está propulsada por su propio motor. El X-59 es la pieza central de la misión Quesst de la NASA, que pretende resolver uno de los principales obstáculos a los vuelos supersónicos sobre tierra haciendo que los estampidos sónicos sean más silenciosos.

NASA/Carla Thomas

Read this story in English here.

La misión Quesst de la NASA ha alcanzado un hito importante con el inicio de las pruebas de motor que propulsará el silencioso avión supersónico experimental X-59.

Estas pruebas de arranque del motor, que comenzaron el 30 de octubre, permiten al equipo del X-59 verificar el funcionamiento conjunto de los sistemas de la aeronave propulsados con su propio motor. En pruebas anteriores, el X-59 utilizó fuentes de energía externas. Las pruebas de arranque del motor preparan el terreno para la siguiente fase de progreso hacia el vuelo de la aeronave experimental.

El equipo del X-59 está realizando las pruebas de arranque del motor por fases. En esta primera fase, el motor giró a una velocidad relativamente baja sin ignición para comprobar si hay fugas y asegurar que todos los sistemas se comunican correctamente. Seguidamente, el equipo llenó el avión de combustible y empezó a probar el motor a baja potencia, con el objetivo de verificar que este y otros sistemas de la aeronave funcionan sin anomalías ni fugas mientras el motor está encendido.

Vista de la cabina de mando de un avión dentro de un puesto de rodaje. La cabina está abierta. Dentro, un piloto mira sus instrumentos portando un casco y una máscara de oxígeno. Destaca la pintura blanca, dorada y azul de la aeronave de la NASA.

El piloto de pruebas de Lockheed Martin Dan Canin se sienta en la cabina del silencioso avión supersónico experimental X-59 de la NASA en un puesto de rodaje en las instalaciones Skunk Works de Lockheed Martin en Palmdale, California, antes de su primera prueba de motor. En estas pruebas, el X-59 funcionaba con su propio motor, mientras que en pruebas anteriores dependía de fuentes externas. El X-59 es la pieza central de la misión Quesst de la NASA, que intenta resolver uno de los principales obstáculos a los vuelos supersónicos sobre tierra haciendo que los estampidos sónicos sean más silenciosos.

NASA/Carla Thomas

“La primera fase de las pruebas del motor fue en realidad un calentamiento para asegurarnos de que todo funcionaba bien antes de ponerlo en marcha”, dijo Jay Brandon, ingeniero jefe del X-59 de la NASA. “Luego pasamos al primer arranque real del motor. Eso sacó al motor del modo de conservación en el que había estado desde su instalación en la aeronave. Fue la primera revisión para ver que funcionaba correctamente y todos los sistemas que afectaban (hidráulicos, sistema eléctrico, sistemas de control ambiental, etc.) parecían funcionar”.

El X-59 generará un estampido más silencioso en vez de un estampido fuerte mientras vuela a una velocidad más rápida que la del sonido. El avión es la pieza central de la misión Quesst de la NASA, que recopilará datos sobre cómo percibe la gente estos estampidos, proporcionando información a los reguladores que podría ayudar a eliminar las prohibiciones existentes sobre vuelos supersónicos comerciales sobre tierra.

El motor, un F-18 Super Hornet F414-GE-100 modificado, contiene casi 10.000 kilogramos (22.000 libras) de energía propulsora, que permitirá que el X-59 alcance la velocidad de crucero deseada de Mach 1,4 (casi 1.500 kilómetros por hora, o 925 millas por hora) a una altitud de aproximadamente casi 17.000 metros (55.000 pies). Se sitúa en un lugar poco tradicional, encima de la aeronave, para contribuir a que el X-59 sea más silencioso.

Las pruebas del motor forman parte de una serie de ensayos necesarios para garantizar la seguridad del vuelo y para lograr el éxito de los objetivos de la misión. Debido a los retos que supone alcanzar esta fase crítica de las pruebas, el primer vuelo del X-59 se ha programado ahora para 2025. El equipo técnico seguirá avanzando en las pruebas críticas en tierra y abordará cualquier problema técnico que descubra con esta aeronave experimental única en su género. El equipo del X-59 tendrá una fecha más concreta del primer vuelo una vez que se completen estas pruebas con éxito.

Las pruebas se están llevando a cabo en las instalaciones Skunk Works de Lockheed Martin en Palmdale, California. Durante fases posteriores, el equipo probará la aeronave a alta potencia con cambios de aceleración rápidos, seguidos por una simulación de las condiciones de vuelo actual.

Vista directa de la parte delantera de un avión, principalmente en la sombra de un puesto de rondaje. Los alerones de ambas alas están activados, moviéndose hacia abajo. Los miembros del equipo llevan protectores auditivos y miran el avión de ambos lados.

El silencioso avión supersónico experimental X-59 de la NASA se sitúa en un puesto de rodaje en las instalaciones Skunk Works de Lockheed Martin en Palmdale, California, antes de su primer arranque de motor. Las pruebas de motor forman parte de una serie de ensayos integrados en tierra necesarios para garantizar la seguridad del vuelo y la consecución de los objetivos de la misión. El X-59 es la pieza central de la misión Quesst de la NASA, que trata de resolver uno de los principales obstáculos a los vuelos supersónicos sobre tierra haciendo que los estampidos sónicos sean más silenciosos.

NASA/Carla Thomas

“El éxito de estas carreras será el comienzo de la culminación de los últimos ocho años de mi carrera”, dijo Paul Dees, jefe adjunto de propulsión de la NASA del X-59. “Esto no es el final de la emoción, sino un pequeño peldaño hacia el principio. Es como la primera nota de una sinfonía, donde años de trabajo en equipo detrás del escenario se ponen ahora a prueba para comprobar que nuestros esfuerzos han sido eficaces, y las notas seguirán tocando una canción armoniosa hasta el vuelo”.

Después de poner en marcha el motor, el equipo del X-59 pasará a las pruebas de pájaro de hierro virtual (una estructura que se utiliza para probar los sistemas de una aeronave en un laboratorio, simulando un vuelo real), en las que se introducirán datos en al avión bajo condiciones normales y de fallo. A continuación, el equipo procederá a una serie de pruebas de rodaje, donde el avión se pondrá en movimiento en tierra. Estas pruebas se seguirán por las últimas preparaciones para el primer vuelo.

Articulo traducido por: Nicolas Cholula

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Wednesday 6 November 2024

Sols 4355-4356: Weekend Success Brings Monday Best

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Sols 4355-4356: Weekend Success Brings Monday Best

A close-up color photo from the Martian surface shows an area of pale orange, fine-grained soil, resembling a sheet of sandpaper. A large trapezoid-shaped stone sits atop that, filling most of the right two-thirds of the frame. The top surface of the stone facing the viewer is uneven, with numerous lines running left to right, suggesting it’s made of many layers.

NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image of the contact science target “Black Bear Lake” from about 7 centimeters away (about 3 inches), using its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI). The MAHLI, located on the turret at the end of the rover’s robotic arm, used an onboard focusing process to merge multiple images of the same target into a composite image, on Nov. 3, 2024 – sol 4353, or Martian day 4,353 of the Mars Science Laboratory Mission – at 21:36:01 UTC.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Earth planning date: Monday, Nov. 4, 2024

After a spooky week last week, it’s great to see all our weekend plans succeed as planned! We don’t take success for granted as a rover going on 13 years. With all of the science at our fingertips and all the battery power we could need, the team took right advantage of this two-sol touch-and-go Monday plan. We have a bedrock DRT target for APXS and MAHLI named “Epidote Peak” and a MAHLI-only target of a crushed rock we drove over named “Milly’s Foot Path.”

APXS data is better when it’s cold, so we’ve planned the DRT brushing and APXS to start our first sol about 11:14 local Gale time. MAHLI images are usually better in the afternoon lighting, so we’ll leave the arm unstowed and spend some remote science time beforehand, about 12:15 local time. ChemCam starts that off with a LIBS raster over a bedrock block with some interesting light and dark layering, named “Albanita Meadows” and seen here in the the upper-right-ish of this Navcam workspace frame. ChemCam will then take a long-distance RMI mosaic of a portion of the upper Gediz Vallis ridge to the north. Mastcam continues the remote science with an Albanita Meadows documentation image, a 21-frame stereo mosaic of some dark-toned upturned blocks about 5 meters away (about 16 feet), a four-frame stereo mosaic of some polygonal fracture patterns about 20 meters away (about 66 feet), and a mega 44-frame stereo mosaic of Wilkerson butte, upper Gediz Vallis ridge, “Fascination Turret,” and “Pinnacle Ridge” in the distance. That’s a total of 138 Mastcam images! With remote sensing complete, the RSM will stow itself about 14:00 local time to make time for MAHLI imaging.

Between about 14:15 and 14:30 local time, MAHLI will take approximately 64 images of Epidote Peak and Milly’s Foot Path. Most of the images are being acquired in full shadow, so there is uniform lighting and saturation in the images. We’ll stow the arm at about 14:50 and begin our drive! This time we have an approximately 34-meter drive to the northwest (about 112 feet), bringing us almost all the way to the next dark-toned band in the sulfate unit. But no matter what happens with the drive, we’ll still do some remote science on the second sol including a Mastcam tau observation, a ChemCam LIBS in-the-blind (a.k.a AEGIS: Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Increased Science), and some Navcam movies of the sky and terrain.

Written by Natalie Moore, Mission Operations Specialist at Malin Space Science Systems

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Thursday 7 November 2024