Jet JULY Propulsion 2010 Laboratory volume 40

number 7

Microwave probe gears up for asteroid encounter By Catherine Sum JPL team supporting science, software for MIRO instrument on Rosetta, on its way to July 10 flyby

An upcoming asteroid encounter dust that may have been kicked up by on July 10 has JPLers on the Lab- micro-asteroids hitting its surface and designed and -built Microwave Instru- settled, much like the regolith on the ment for the Rosetta Orbiter (MIRO) upper few centimeters of the moon’s team gearing up for a final pre-mission surface. No dust was detected on exercise before a three-year hiberna- Steins. tion in deep space. Following the encounter with Lutetia, MIRO is one of 12 instruments on- the Rosetta spacecraft and all onboard board the European Space Agency’s Ro- instruments will go into a hibernation setta spacecraft, launched on March 2, mode for three years as the solar-pow- 2004. Rosetta is a mission to a comet ered spacecraft moves away from the Dutch Slager / JPL Photo Lab From left: programmer Robert Nowicki, engineer Hamid Javadi, programmer/scientist Lucas Kamp and principal with two close flybys of asteroids be- sun on its journey to the target comet. investigator Sam Gulkis check out a model of the MIRO instrument. fore reaching its destination. And while the science driving this Lutetia is the second of two aster- mission—to study a comet’s transfor- oids Rosetta will fly by before entering mation from an inactive to active state, comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko’s orbit as well as explore the makeup of its sometime in 2014, and will continue to nucleus, among other primary objec- orbit as the comet approaches the sun; tives—receives the bulk of the attention the first was Steins in 2008. Rosetta directed at MIRO, there are members has already completed one flyby of on the team who aren’t strictly involved Mars and three flybys of Earth and its with the research components, yet still moon. play a large role in maintaining the The importance of this second aster- instrument. oid encounter deals with the fact that Robert Nowicki of the Instrument not much is known about these bodies, Flight Software and Ground Support principal investigator Samuel Gulkis Equipment Group wrote MIRO’s soft- said. ware, and has been on the mission As the spacecraft passes by, it will since 1997; Lucas Kamp of the Process view the asteroid from many different Algorithms and Calibration Engineer- perspectives, moving from the light to ing Group, who joined the team after European European Space Agency photo dark side, and thermal imaging will MIRO’s completion, said he spends An artist’s impression of Rosetta waking from deep-space hibernation to rendezvous with Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasim- create a more defined idea of Lutetia’s 80 percent of his time on this mission. enko in 2014. The spacecraft will first fly by asteroid Lutetia in July. actual shape. Their work lends to the health of “MIRO will measure temperature dis- MIRO in that both ensure the instru- ing Group) work on telemetry, analysis “I’m kind of like the Maytag repair- tribution near the surface,” Gulkis said. ment is running smoothly. software and data processing, as well man,” he said. “And from temperature measurements Of the 11 members on the MIRO as the science. Which is not to say that his role in we can learn about regolith (surface) team at JPL, seven are primarily sci- Because of the infrequent intervals the upkeep of MIRO as it approaches properties.” entists. Nowicki handles the software at which the instrument is activated, Lutetia (and ultimately, Churyumov- The MIRO team hopes to discover if associated with the flight instrument, and the short periods during which it Gerasimenko) is minimal. One recent Lutetia’s surface is “fluffy”; that is, if while Kamp and Seungwon Lee (of the operates, Nowicki said his job began as day on Lab, Nowicki sits in Building the asteroid’s surface is covered with High Capability Computing and Model- something of an on-call position. 233, watching as diagnostic data—gen- Continued on page 2 2 Collaboration room helps make the most of new technologies niverse U

Designs conceived by Dan Goods adorn the room.

The Information Technology Directorate (also known as the Office of the CIO) re- Division 172 is responsible for evaluating and developing IT solutions that help the cently unveiled its new IT Projects Collaboration Room in Building 600 at the Wood- Laboratory become more effective at meeting its mission, English noted. “These solu- bury complex, a facility that will help JPLers make the most of new and emerging tions must be innovative, implemented quickly, and at low cost,” she said. In addition technologies. to offering ongoing mobile applications for the iPhone and BlackBerry, examples of Modeled after similar innovation centers at Google and at JPL, the “IT Lab” serves recent IT solutions include: as a multi-purpose facility, noted Melissa English, manager of the Application Develop- • JPL Tube, the Lab’s own version of YouTube, offering high-definition and iPhone- ment & Flight Project Support Division (172). “It will function as a collaboration area, enabled video content (https://jpltube.jpl.nasa.gov); break room, IT library and IT ‘petting zoo’ for our new technologies,” she said. • Green IT Dashboard, which will enable energy-usage monitoring, allow compari- The emphasis on creativity and innovation abounds throughout the design and fur- sons with the outside temperature and readings from the previous year, and can also nishings of the room, which features brightly colored walls and furniture in order to check the power usage for individual buildings; stimulate creativity and innovation. Designs were conceived by Dan Goods of the Mis- • Life Size, big-screen, high-definition video conferencing available across the Lab, sion Systems Concepts Section (312), who has created a number of other works around which is being used to communicate with other NASA centers as well as partners. the Lab. For this room, he has created a set of murals that contain various code snip- “To compete successfully in the global economy, organizations need flexible ways to pets and examples of the work performed by IT employees. The room even possesses a team up, interact and exchange information with other employees, and are searching stimulating puzzle on an entire wall that requires thoughtful analysis to solve. for ways to manage information overload and deal with the challenges of information The IT Directorate also displays new and emerging hardware in the room. The IT pet- distribution,” noted Information Technology Director Jim Rinaldi. “The collaboration ting zoo of consumer electronics allows employees to evaluate the potential usefulness capabilities of this room enable employees to effectively connect to the right people of items before they are offered to the JPL catalog. with the right information.”

MIRO Continued from page 1 Then I have to break the news, which is erated from software that he created the worst part,” said Kamp, who typical- NASA Honor Awards bestowed more than a decade ago—scrolls by ly reports first to Gulkis. “I’m not always on a computer screen. the first one to discover a problem, but Bobbie Fishman of the Person- “If there’s a problem [with the soft- since I’m the first one to see the data, I nel Security Group accepts ware] we write up a report, and figure usually am the first to know about it.” the Exceptional Administrative out what it is using the testbed [rep- Kamp’s work consists of taking Achievement Medal from JPL Director Charles Elachi, left, lica] model,” said Nowicki. He writes the raw data packets generated by and NASA science chief Ed patches of new code that are later MIRO and converting them into time- Weiler at the NASA Honor added to the instrument’s software. sequenced science and engineering Awards ceremony June 15. “When everything is going well, no telemetry, in files with a standard for- one calls,” Nowicki added. “And so mat. Lee then reads these files, further when I’m away and get the call, the processes the data, and stores the first feeling I get is dread—it means results into a local JPL database. She there’s a new emergency.” also calibrates the data, which turns it That call more often than not comes into temperatures. In recognition of outstanding achievements and contributions by JPL employ- from Gulkis after he receives informa- Another task that Kamp performs is ees, contractors and partners in 2009, NASA presented its annual Honor Awards tion back from Kamp, who has the to archive the most valuable MIRO data ceremony on Lab June 15. Thirteen categories of awards honored notable individual and group achieve- unique position of being the first per- in a standard format with full documen- ments in public service, leadership, technology, science, administration and equal son on the MIRO team to review the tation, which will be delivered to the opportunity. downloaded data from the instrument. European Space Agency’s permanent For a complete list of honorees and more information about the awards, visit “I can tell when something is wrong. archive for anyone to access. http://hr/compensation/reward/nasahonor.cfm. HAPPY GRADUATION! 3 “I have kids and grandkids who I believe, like you, are anxious to take The day after his JPL visit to kick off the “Sum- their hard-earned educations and use them to do something great, mer of Innovation” program, NASA Administra- something extraordinary. Your parents and I have faith in you, but

tor Charles Bolden addressed graduates at you must have faith in yourselves. ... But your education must niverse Caltech’s commencement, Some excerpts: not end when you leave here today. Accept the challenge and U responsibility of leadership in whatever you choose as your profession.” “As you ... ponder your place in the future, I suggest you think about the “Was that historic Apollo 11 mission the end of things in which you are passionate, things something, or the beginning? Are we the heirs that excite you from the pit of your stom- of Neil (Armstrong) and Buzz (Aldrin) and in- ach. I hope you’ll give some consideration heritors of their spirit of exploration, innovation to a period of public service. While the and risk-taking? Or do we lack the courage, the quest for titles and great wealth are always wisdom and the vision to continue their journey? noble goals, I have found there to be no The answers to these questions lie not with my gen- more fulfilling achievement than to follow a passion. eration, or anyone here on the stage. The answers are for Caltech photo And in doing so, make life better for someone else.” you, and your generation, to take.”

Bolden’s address is available online at http://pr.caltech.edu/commencement.

NASA’s efforts to inspire kids got off to a raucous JPL engineers, scientists and outreach staff led a JPL kicks off NASA’s start June 10 as JPL hosted the national kickoff for the series of hands-on activities that included rocketry, glid- agency’s “Summer of Innovation,” a new effort to engage ers, comets, robotics arms and studying maps to look for ‘Summer of Innovation’ middle-school students through space exploration. the safest landing place on the Red Planet. Welcomed by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, Representatives from each of the NASA centers were to a rousing start astronauts and rapper and Nickelodeon star Daniel Curtis also on hand to assist students and teachers. Lee, about 250 students and their teachers from local “I think the program is great,” said Tony Leavitt, an educational venues were on hand for the event, which education specialist at NASA Ames Research Center. “It’s was overseen by JPL’s Education Office. going to expose these kids to a lot of things they’ve never Bolden told the visitors about President Obama’s child- seen in their own lives and in their own schools. You nev- hood experience of inspiration when seeing Apollo astro- er know when you’re going to light a spark that changes a nauts returning from a mission in his Hawaiian homeland, kid’s life. Something like this could be that influence.” and noted how important it is to spark that inspiration in The NASA-wide pilot program will utilize the summer youth again today. as a time to build interest and gain knowledge in sci-

Dutch Slager / JPL Photo Lab “Do things you’re passionate about, not what someone ence and math, and will focus particularly on engaging students who are underrepresented, underserved and Former JPL engineer Stephanie Wilson, who flew in her third mission aboard else told you to do,” Bolden urged. “Believe in yourself underperforming in these subjects. For more information the space shuttle in April, presents a commemorative plaque to JPL Director and work hard. Anything you put your mind to, you can on the program, visit http://www.nasa.gov/soi. Charles Elachi at the Summer of Innovation event. do. If you believe it, you can achieve it.”

Science fair projects launch summer event for local students

JPL buzzed with discussions of electromagnets, “I was humbled by the expertise and professionalism rover wheel traction and solar cells, but the present- of their projects,” he said. “They were just as passionate ers were not scientists or engineers. Instead, Los about their work as we at JPL are about space explora- Angeles–area students presented and displayed their tion. My only regret was that we only had but two hours science fair projects during JPL’s Student Showcase to see the projects, so I was unable to see the wonderful June 12 the Lab’s local kickoff for the Summer of In- work done by every student. I have no doubt, though, that novation. some of these young geniuses caught the space science About 175 students, their parents and mentors ‘bug’ and will be joining us one day at the Lab. From what were on hand, along with astronaut Leland Melvin and I saw, JPL will be a better place because of it!” The day also included a talk by David Levy, director of scientists, engineers and educators from other NASA From left: Astronaut Leland Melvin, JPLers Todd Barber and Amalaye Oyake of financial aid at Scripps College, which was attended by centers. The guests also participated in career panel the Flight Software Applications Group on a career panel. discussions and toured JPL labs. more than 50 of the adults on hand. Cassini lead propulsion engineer Todd Barber, who “We had a wonderful day,” noted David Seidel, supervi- Students display volunteered for the event, was more than impressed sor of the Elementary and Secondary Education Group in their project at the with the students’ efforts. JPL’s Education Office. “I think the students really valued science fair. “I was blown away by the projects I saw,” he said. their interactions with JPLers and NASA staff, and all the “One student had discovered a new species of sea adults were really impressed by what our kids are ca- slug, another was measuring gas mileage in a vehicle pable of. It is reassuring to know that properly mentored modified to run on different tree oils and still another students are capable of tremendous creativity and excel- was working on biodegradable bandages for serious lent research.” wounds. Universe 4 Pasadena, CA 91109. CA Pasadena, Drive, Grove Oak 4800 Laboratory, Propulsion Jet the of Education and Communications of Office the by published is Universe READ AND SUBMIT CLASSIFIED ADS ADS CLASSIFIED SUBMIT AND READ AT JPL’ AT [email protected] s AudreySteffan JPL Photo Lab Photo JPL Photography DavidHinkle Production Design Whalen Mark Editor o B N nline http://jplspace - E

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