Spring 2021 AD ASTRA Volume 20, Issue 1 KANSAS FOUNDATION Space physics is a magnetic force to KU Alum

Born in Kansas and growing up on “[This was all] so exciting I the Missouri side of Kansas City, couldn’t do anything else but go Mona Kessel spent many forma- into space physics,” said Kessel. tive years in Kansas. After graduation four years spent From her grandparents’ farm and at Mullard Space Science Lab her undergrad years at Baker (MSSL) in Surrey, England, was University in Baldwin City to the followed by fifteen at Goddard MS and PhD in physics she earned Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, at the University of Kansas, “My Maryland. roots are in Kansas,” she said. At both MSSL and Goddard, she Kessel at the Solar Orbiter “I loved math, especially algebra worked on the Cluster II mis- launch in February 2021; and word problems. The harder sion, a European Space Agency below, on a research trip to they were the more I enjoyed (ESA) and NASA study of Earth’s Chile in 2017 Photos courtesy them. Physics seemed just an magnetosphere and its interac- Mona Kessel extension of that. I did not know tion with solar wind. This area Inside this issue: about physics as a career until I of space around Earth controlled was in college,” said Kessel. by its magnetic field acts like a bubble around our planet, pro- She said attending KU in the early tecting it from solar radiation. AD ASTRA 2 1980s was a time of incredible Kansas Day opportunity. Her mentor, Dr. In 2006 she went to NASA Governor’s Tom Armstrong, was working Headquarters. Early on she with Voyager, which was sending worked on the Living With a Star Proclamation back fantastic images of Saturn program and was program scien- from 21 million miles away. tist for Cluster II and Geotail. Congratula- 3 Halley’s Comet occurred in ’82. The second mission involved two Cont. pg 3 “KESSEL” tions to two WSU achievers Kansas universities work on NASA AI project ering of the electric thrusters by MANHATTAN: Optimizing rithms to improve these analyses. Benedictine 4 the solar array. spacecraft trajectory is a critical scientist is aspect of space mission planning Spacecraft using solar-electric The team is tapped with devel- part of new analysis. propulsion pose a challenging oping a new, AI optimization discovery problem as optimal trajectory tool for the on-ground mission Researchers from KSU, WSU and requires the solution of a non- design, and possibly onboard Interstellar 5 KU have been awarded a linear, non-convex mathematical use as well. $750,000 NASA grant for a pro- problem. R & D ject, “Artificial Intelligence Assist- The style and design of the pro- ed Spacecraft Trajectory Optimi- It’s even more complicated when posed software would allow for zation and Planning,” to do just the spacecraft is close to a plane- a steady progression in precise- that. tary body—where the planet’s ness by using increasingly rigor- gravitational pull, the planet’s ous force models at different In recent years, NASA has been shadow and its gravitationally levels of trajectory optimization. interested in applying AI algo- trapped radiation affect the pow- Cont. pg 3 “AI”

Page 2 Spring 2021

Governor’s Proclamation

We continue to promote science in Kansas...maybe some day this will be an annual day of celebration across the state.

/ Kscience olympiad

WSU alum honored at 2021 BEYA STEM Conference Volume 20, Issue 1 Page 3

the four-yard line closest to the Cont. pg 1 “KESSEL processes in the magneto- Sun. One of the most interest- sphere, we could come up with ing things we want to under- Japanese space agencies, ISAS a simple concept. [With all the stand is why the outer edge of and JAXA, teamed with NASA research since then] I think the Sun’s corona is hotter than to study the magnetotail. there is a simple concept. the Sun’s surface. Why is it

hotter farther away? How does This is a long-tail region of the Simply, the magnetosphere is a magnetosphere swept back by circulatory system driven by that happen? the solar wind in the direction waves sort of like the human Another mystery to be solved. away from the Sun. body’s circulatory system is “That’s what makes it so excit- driven by the heart. Of course, If Earth were a boat in water, this system has complicating ing!” said Kessel. the solar wind flowing around it factors, such as the reservoir of Coming up is a NASA decadel would be the bow wave. The particles in the magnetotail, the survey asking what’s been ac- wake behind would be the mag- radiation belts and solar parti- complished? What’s next? Kes- netotail, which exerts pressure cles,” said Kessel. on all the particles swept into sel is looking forward to it and Congratulations the input of the next genera- it. Geotail measures the flow Cue one of the biggest, newest tion. “We like to keep bringing to two WSU of energy and its transformation areas of space science--space in new, younger people who in the magnetotail. weather. When there is a solar achievers: bring with them youthful curi- storm, usually caused by a cor- Kessel is now the Research and onal mass ejection, solar energy osity and excitement. Analysis lead for the Heliophys- and particles flow into the mag- Brittany Wojiechowski, a “There’s such a cool factor to ics Division at HQ. She manag- netosphere. This radiation, Phd. grad student student NASA. Inherent in the privi- es about 15 different annual solar particles, all the extra in aerospace engineering lege of working for NASA is competitions and has recently waves and can “ring the bell”, has been awarded a 2021 the obligation to give back. The embraced video conferencing. with the resulting energy affect- National Science Founda- things NASA does is paid for Being organized helps, as does a ing satellites, power systems, tion Graduate Research by everybody, so people de- visual calendar to track pro- cell phones and more. The Fellowship, which is worth serve to hear about as much as gress, whether it be research aurora borealis is a visual dis- more than $120,000. they are interested in,” said or a mission--a new project play of this energy transfer. Kessel. takes 3-5 years of design and development before launching. The Parker Solar Probe (PSP), Interested in science? “Do it! “I like seeing the big picture. launched in 2018 has so far Go for it! Even if you don’t do It’s one of the best aspects of made seven passes around the it as a career, go as far as you being at HQ,” said Kessel. Sun, each getting closer. If the are interested. That training Sun was at one end of a foot- and knowledge will be useful “In the 1980s, a professor told ball field and Earth at the other, [no matter what you do],” said me that if we could distill the at closest approach PSP is on Kessel.

Photos: WSU press release

Cont. from pg 1 “AI” For example, including things Innovations being considered optimization; Arslan Munir, KSU, like more detailed and accu- include using dynamical coordi- artificial intelligence and dynamic rate models of gravity fields nates in trajectory optimiza- data driven applications; James and planetary atmospheres. tion, a modified state observer Steck, WSU, aerospace engineer-

to estimate unmodeled accelera- ing and Craig McLaughlin, KU, This facilitates the improve- tion, an AI network for adaptive expertise in orbit determination ment of less exact solutions, tuning of planning variables, and atmospheric drag models. while at the same time manag- onboard data driven updates of ing the computational com- Prince Yengbe has been the neural networks Proposed research will be com- plexity of the underlying prob- awarded the Modern-Day and atmospheric drag models to plemented by educational efforts lem in an automated manner. Technology Leader Award test aerocapture and atmospher- that focus on student training, This modular architecture by the 2021 Black Engineer ic entry. engaging K-12 students in astro- allows for application of the of the Year Award (BEYA) nautic and public outreach software in two different set- STEM Conference. Working with NASA Glenn and events. tings, such as preliminary anal- NASA Jet Propulsion are scien- ysis by ground personnel and tists from three Kansas universi- onboard mission planning. ties with the following special- The result is low-level and ties: Atri Dutta, WSU, astrody- high-level planning capabilities. namics and spacecraft trajectory Volume 20, Issue 1 Page 4 Benedictine scientist is part of new discovery in interstellar space

ATCHISON—Dr. Christopher The enormous Green Bank Tele- Similar to the palm tree in Antarcti- Shingledecker, assistant professor scope, with a 100-meter diameter ca analogy, this discovery raises of Physics and Astronomy at collecting area, is the world’s premi- questions like, “Are these molecules Benedictine College is part of a ere single-dish radio astronomy actually forming in the cold molecu- group of scientists announcing telescope. lar cloud we found them in, or are the discovery of numerous new they molecular relics from eons ago molecules in interstellar space. The use of radio astronomy, which that have somehow survived for enables detection of individual mole- millions of years?” as well as “What Using observational data taken cules instead of an indistinguishable similar molecules might we expect with the Green Bank Telescope mass, along with a stacking and to find now?” said Shingledecker. (GBT) in West Virginia as part of matched filter analysis the group the GOTHAM (GBT Observa- developed, allowed the scientists to “If the molecules are forming where tions of TMC-1: Hunting Aro- detect the elusive signals. They iden- we observed them, the major ques- matic Molecules) project, the tified two specific polycyclic aro- tion is “How complex can molecules team has discovered a vast, previ- matic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in in these regions of space get?” and ously unknown reservoir of new space: the first specific molecules “Can these molecules survive long aromatic material in the Taurus ever detected, even though PAHs enough to be incorporated into the Molecular Cloud, or TMC-1, in are thought to be prevalent in the planets which these types of clouds deep space. interstellar medium. usually go on to form?” said Shin- gledecker. This cloud, 140 pc (130ly) “Here, the surprise is that, of all the from Earth, is a nursery for hun- regions of space where PAHs could He said this discovery is a first step dreds of newly formed stars. have been found, that we found to answering these questions, Christopher Shingledecker Observations of TMC-1 made by them in a particularly cold environ- though we are a long way from be- the GOTHAM team have thus far ment where they are perhaps still ing able to do so definitively. revealed more than a dozen un- forming. It’s a little like discovering a expected molecules. palm tree growing in Antarctica – as The study has been published in the opposed to merely the frozen rem- journal, Science, and many other “This discovery provides the first nants of an ancient palm tree,” said publications around the world. important clue as to how and Shingledecker. where these molecules formed,” During this project, Shingledecker said Shingledecker. “These mole- One example of a PAH that (most) and Benedictine College teamed cules are “new” in that we’ve everyone is familiar with is naphtha- with scientists from the Harvard & known they exist on Earth, but lene – which is the main ingredient Smithsonian Center for Astrophys- they hadn’t previously been in mothballs. The molecules discov- ics, Massachusetts Institute of Tech- known to exist in space. We’ve ered (cyanonaphthalenes) are naph- nology, National Radio Astronomy thought for a while that this gen- thalene molecules with a couple Observatory, National Aeronautics eral class of molecules, polycyclic extra atoms (a carbon and nitrogen and Space Administration Goddard aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) bonded together) chemically tacked Flight Center, University of Virginia, are prevalent in space, but until on. and the Lebedev Physical Institute of our work, we didn’t know of any the Russian Academy of Sciences. specific ones. The aromatic molecules detected were found floating in the gas of a molecular cloud.

The GBT has a 2.3-acres concave dish which catches weak radio waves that shower down from space. This means it is super-sensitive to the to the super- faint clouds of hydrogen that hang out between the stars and galaxies. Pho- tos : Benedictine website Page 5 Spring 2021 Volume 20, Issue INTERSTELLAR 1 R & D Ad Astra Kansas News

This “Interstellar R&D” thirty-ninth feature in the Ad Astra Kansas News continues a 20-year en- terprise to research and gather information on important developments preparatory to humani- Published through the ty’s greatest adventure—voyaging to the stars. Now, at the millennium’s turn, is an appropriate Ad Astra Initiative of time for grand vision and forward thinking, and there are strong signs of a renaissance in interstel- Space Age Publishing lar travel, thought and activity. This feature and newsletter, thus, now set forth to develop a 21st- Company century national / international /global clearing center and storehouse of knowledge and know-how 230 California Avenue for travel to the stars: Ad Astra—Galactically, Steve Durst #108 Palo Alto, CA 94306 Observation Communication Communication Networks were published in the Astronomical Jour- nal outlining benefits of using probes Global Placement of Interstellar Rosetta Stone to send and receive interstellar mes- Phone: 555-555-5555 Telescopes on the Moon Fax: 555-555-5555 International collaboration on sages on a distributed interstellar network. Editor/Publisher:Email: [email protected] Steve Durst Earth’s Moon – Humankind’s first Cosmic Call 1 & 2 in 1999 and 2003

[email protected] giant leap toward Galaxy Stars – is sent a noise-resistant message from Managing Ed: Jeanette becoming a new center for Earth to extraterrestrial intelligence Transportation Steinert including Interstellar Rosetta Stone [email protected] 21st Century Astronomy, and a new Webmaster: Ken Moum sphere of interest for an Interstellar (IRS), with Cosmic Call 2 totaling Low-Cost Interstellar Precursor Topeka Liaison: Jodi Spindler University rising from the Ad Astra 220+ megabytes over 11 hours and State. 53 minutes. In 2017 Breakthrough Initiative pro- posed launching a fleet of micro- Astronomy from the Moon, lunar- Canadian scientists Y. Dutil and S. probes carried by solar sails weigh- based telescopes of all wavelengths Dumas designed the IRS to include a ing about 1 gram each, pushed by and all instrument technologies glob- bilingual glossary of English and Rus- radiation pressure from an immense Board of Directors ally placed will enable astrophysical sian. The message had more infor- 100 GW laser plant; the laser would President: Jeanette Steinert observation and study of the entire mation about global mathematics provide speed up to 0.15 - 0.2c, Vice-President: Ken Moum Cosmos with unprecedented capabil- and science (building on the 1974 allowing microprobes to reach Treasurer: Vicki Johnson ities. written by SETI's Proxima Centauri in 20 years. This Steve Durst , also included in Cos- design requires building an immense Caleb Gimar “The Moon is the ideal site in the mic Call) with several questions on laser plant on Earth, and directing Craig McLaughlin its final page, hoping extraterrestri- Kay Neill Solar System for making astronomi- the microprobe would have to be Nick Solomey cal observations and measurements, als would respond and begin com- monitored from Earth with great and it will inevitably become human- munications. accuracy at the beginning because kind’s principal scientific base for there is no way to correct direction astronomy. For this reason alone, Team Encounter, a Texas startup, later. the Moon should be given a high funded sending the first IRS message priority for human development.” * in 1999 from an RT-70 radio tele- A new international proposal scope in Yevpatoria, Crimea; the for Low-cost Precursor of an Interstellar An Interstellar University originating second transmission followed in Mission was published in the Journal from Kansas may consider Lunar 2003. IRS transmission will reach of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Observatories with VLBI / Event nine stars in , Sagittarius, September 2020, by René Heller at , Andromeda, , Cassio- We’re on the web! Horizon Telescopes for Interstellar Max Planck Institute, Guillem Angla- Observation, Communication and peia, and . da-Escudé at Inst de Astrofisica de and Transportation utilizing zettabyte Andalucía, Michael Hippke at Break- facebook data transmissions – as may be dis- NASA funded ’s Golden through Initiatives, and Pierre cussed at the IRG 7th Interstellar Records in Voyager 1 and 2 and the Kervella at Paris Observatory. The Symposium in Tucson AZ, 25-27 Arecibo Message; however, NASA authors propose replacing the Earth September 2021. and government agencies declined -based laser power plant with solar to fund IRS. IRS is the first radiation, ready for use and available crowdsourced international, inter- in unlimited amounts. The prototype stellar effort led by Charlie Chafer – would cost about $1 M, with each currently CEO of Space Services sail built for $1,000; and $10 M Holdings in Texas. Canadian astro- budgeted to launch the interplane- physicist Yvan Dutil advised Chafer tary mission. Participants in the that a radio message would not be 7th IRG Symposium, September 24- comprehensible to extraterrestrials 27, 2021, in Tucson AZ, plan to without an introduction explaining discuss interstellar transportation; our number system, planet makeup, their proposals could be the founda- Global placement of telescopes, and biology. Dutil teamed with tion at Transportation Courses, observatories on the Moon Stephane Dumas, a Canadian physi- Interstellar University in Kansas. ______cist, to write the message. Since * D. Schrunk, The Moon; B.Sharpe, 2018, several papers on Interstellar Graphic / Title