National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA

Communication for the Information Technology Age

January 2004

amesnews.arc.nasa.gov

The first color image of Mars taken by the panoramic camera on the MarsExploration Rover Spirit. It is the highest resolution image ever taken on thesurface of another planet.

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NASA’s ‘Spirit’ soars withsuccessful Mars rover landing

Scientists cheered, danced andhugged each other on what would proveto be an historic Saturday night Jan. 3when NASA’s plucky Mars Explora-

tion Rover (MER) 'Spirit' successfullylanded on Mars.

After plunging through the mar-

tian atmosphere and bouncing acrossthe brown, rock-strewn surface of thered planet, Spirit sent a radio signal thatwas received by NASA’s Deep Space

Network at 8:35p.m. PST. Mem-bers of the missionflight team atNASA’s Jet Pro-pulsion Labora-tory (JPL) reactedwith whoops ofjoy and applauseas they heard theexciting news.

“This is a bignight for NASA,”said an ecstaticNASA Adminis-trator SeanO’Keefe. “We’reback. I am very,very proud of thisteam and we’re onMars,” O’Keefesaid.

“I feel great,”said Ames Direc-

tor G. Scott Hubbard, who was alsopresent at JPL for the MER landing. “It’s

continued on page 3

During an historic announcementdelivered Jan.14, 2004 from NASA Head-quarters in Washington, D.C., PresidentGeorge W. Bush unveiled a sweepingnew vision for the nation’s space explo-ration program and outlined the keyroles NASA will play to turn his visioninto reality.

Bush, whose remarks were broad-cast live on NASA television, was joinedby NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefeas he committed the nation to a long-term human and robotic program toexplore space, starting with the moonand later Mars and other destinations inthe solar system.

“Inspired by all that has come be-fore, and guided by clear objectives, to-day we set a new course for America'sspace program,” Bush declared. “Wewill give NASA a new focus and visionfor future exploration. We will buildnew ships to carry man forward into theuniverse, to gain a new foothold on themoon, and to prepare for new journeysto worlds beyond our own.”

Pledging to make “steady progress,one mission, one voyage, one landing ata time,” the president vowed to com-plete the International Space Station by2010 to fulfill the United States’ commit-ment to its 15 partner countries. To ac-complish this goal, the president said

the aging space shuttle will be returnedto flight “consistent with safety concernsand the recommendations” of the Co-lumbia Accident Investigation Board.“The shuttle’s chief purpose over thenext several years will be to help finishassembly of the International Space Sta-tion,” Bush said. The president addedthat in 2010, after nearly 30 years ofservice, the space shuttle will be retired.

Bush, whose remarks were punctu-ated by applause from the capacity au-dience gathered in an auditorium atNASA Headquarters, said his secondgoal will be to begin developing a newmanned exploration vehicle – the first ofits kind since the Apollo command mod-ule – to explore other worlds.

President Bush lays out bold new space vision-- foresees robotic, human missions to moon, Mars and beyond

continued on page 2White House photo by Eric Draper

President George W.Bush delivers remarks onU.S. space policy atNASA Headquarters inWashington, D.C., onJan. 14. The presidentcommitted the UnitedStates to a long-termhuman and roboticprogram to explore thesolar system, startingwith a return to themoon that will ultimatelyenable future explorationof Mars and otherdestinations.

Astrogram January 20042

“The new spacecraft, the Crew Ex-ploration Vehicle, will be developed and

tested by 2008 and will conduct its firstmanned mission no later than 2014,”Bush said. The president said the CEVwould also be capable of transportingastronauts and scientists to the Interna-tional Space Station after the spaceshuttle is retired.

As his third goal, Bush said Americawill return to the moon within the nextdecade and use the moon as a launchingpoint for future space missions. “Begin-ning no later than 2008, we will send aseries of robotic missions to the lunarsurface to research and prepare for fu-ture human exploration,” Bush said.“Using the Crew Exploration Vehicle,we will undertake extended human mis-sions to the moon as early as 2015, withthe goal of living and working there forincreasingly extended periods,” headded.

“Returning to the moon is an impor-tant step for our space program,” de-clared Bush. He predicted that estab-lishing an extended human presence onthe moon could “vastly reduce the costs

of further space exploration,” and makemore ambitious missions possible. “

With the experience and knowledgegained on the moon, we will then beready to take thenext steps ofspace explora-tion: human mis-sions to Mars andto worlds be-yond,” Bush said.

To helpNASA accom-plish his goals,the presidentsaid he will askCongress to in-crease NASA’scurrent five-yearbudget of $86 bil-lion by approxi-mately $1 billionover the next fiveyears. “This in-crease, alongwith refocusingof our spaceagency, is a solid

President Bush lays out bold new space vision-- foresees robotic, human missions to moon, Mars and beyondcontinued from front page

beginning to meet the challenges andthe goals we set today,” Bush said.However, he stressed that “it’s only abeginning,” and “future funding deci-sions will be guided by the progress wemake in achieving our goals,” he cau-tioned.

“This will be a great and unifyingmission for NASA, and we know thatyou’ll achieve it,” Bush observed. “Webegin this venture knowing that spacetravel brings great risks. The loss of thespace shuttle Columbia was less thanone year ago. As one family membersaid, ‘The legacy of Columbia must carryon – for the benefit of our children andyours.’ The Columbia’s crew did notturn away from the challenge, and nei-ther will we,” Bush said.

“Mankind is drawn to the heavensfor the same reason we were once drawninto unknown lands and across the opensea, “ Bush concluded. “We choose toexplore space because doing so improvesour lives, and lifts our national spirit. Solet us continue the journey.”

“We have a clear mandate,” saidNASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe in anews conference following thepresident’s announcement. And NASAhas the full confidence of the presidentin our ability to achieve this vision, headded.

Looking back on the historic ac-

White House photo by Eric Draper

President George W. Bush greets shuttle astronauts from right to left, Peggy Whitson, StephanieWilson, John Grunsfeld and Ellen Ochoa at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 14.The President committed the United States to a long-term human and robotic program to explorethe solar system, starting with a return to the moon that will ultimately enable future exploration ofMars and other destinations.

continued on page 5

President George W. Bush and NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe watchas Michael Foale, right, commander of the International Space Station,welcomes the president during a live television link from space at NASAHeadquarters in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 14.

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3Astrogram January 2004

Ames opens interactive Mars center

The new Mars Center opened on Dec. 29, 2003 at NASA Ames to awarm public reception. Over 12,000 visitors toured the center in itsfirst 10 days of operation.

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A raging winter storm with drivingrain and gusting winds did not dampenspirits at NASA Ames' gala ribbon-cut-ting ceremony commemorating theopening of thenew Mars Center.

Ames CenterDirector G. ScottHubbard andMars ExplorationRover scientistsDavid Des Maraisand NathalieCabrol, co-inves-tigators on theMars ExplorationRover mission,took the podiumat 10 a.m. and ad-dressed an atten-tive throng of me-dia members andAmes staffers."We are proud toannounce theopening of ourMars Center,which will givethe community anopportunity to share in the wonder andexcitement of exploring Mars," saidHubbard. "The center also will serve asa dynamic educational resource aboutMars for the entire Bay area."

Following Hubbard's remarks, high

school student Mark Sheldon ofIrvington High School in Fremont gavethe signal to a pre-programmed autono-mous rover that he helped design and

build at Carnegie Mellon University's(CMU) summer 'robocamp,' to cut theceremonial ribbon.

The media, who were able to inter-view presenters after the ceremony,

continued on page 9

a great day to go to Mars.”About three hours later, the jubilant

scientists cheered again as Spirit begantransmitting its first images of Mars toEarth, relaying them through theagency’s Mars Odyssey orbiter.

“When that first image started com-ing back from Mars, Edmond and Ilooked at each other and we had a melt-down,” recalled an emotional Amesplanetary scientist Nathalie Cabrol,whose husband, Edmond Grin, trav-eled with her to JPL to conduct scienceoperations for the MER mission.

Cabrol, along with David DesMarais and Michael Sims, is one of threeNASA Ames researchers who are co-investigators for the MER mission. Asmembers of the MER mission’s ScienceOperations Working Group, the threescientists are participating in directingthe rover’s day-to-day operations dur-ing the mission.

Des Marais is serving as the lead ofthe MER working group’s long-termplanning group; Cabrol is working inthe MER geology group and as a docu-mentarian for the long-term planninggroup; Sims is providing robotics andintelligent software expertise for themission.

Sims, who is keeping a journal of themission scientists' daily activities at JPL,talks of the high excitement and the highstress scientists are experiencing as theyadjust to working on a Mars day cycle,away from their families and friends.

“At the very least, you can think ofall of this as breaking up the old 9 to 5routine,” Sims writes. “Don’t get mewrong – there’s nothing else I’d ratherbe doing. We all think of this as a greatprivilege to have this chance to workwith these scientific tools on Mars.”

NASA Ames scientists have madenumerous contributions to help makeSpirit’s landing so successful. Ames de-veloped a set of collaborative softwaretools called ‘Marsoweb’ (http://marsoweb.nasa.gov.gov) that are usedby planetary scientists to review Marsdata and determine the best and safestsites for the rover landings.

NASA Ames also contributed to theMER mission by conducting a series ofparachute tests in the 80-by-120-footwind tunnel from September 2002through January 2003 that helped scien-tists select the optimum parachute de-sign for the rover. Ames also supportedthe design, manufacture and test of the

thermal protection system used in therover’s aeroshell structure.

In addition, the Ames InformationSciences and Technology Directorateplayed a significant role by developingsoftware technologies and tools, includ-ing a suite of mission support softwarefor the ground control and operation ofthe twin rovers. Ames scientists alsodeveloped the MERboard, a computingplatform that provides an immersiveand interactive computing environmentfor team members to view, analyze andshare data from Mars.

Ames scientists also are supportingthe MER mission by providing ‘human-centered computing’ and developingfatigue countermeasures to help mis-sion scientists cope with having to workaround the clock on a Mars day (or ‘sol’)schedule that is 24 hours and 39 minuteslong.

NASA’s MER mission has attractedattention among millions of peoplearound the world. NASA’s Web portal,which includes the agency’s home page,the Mars program Web and the Space-flight Web, received 916 million hits and

users downloaded 154 million Webpages between 12 midnight PST Jan. 3and 6:30 a.m. PST Jan. 6. The site wasexpected to exceed one billion hits laterin the day on Jan. 6. By comparison, theNASA Web portal received a total of 2.8billion hits for all of 2003.

Hundreds of news reporters cov-ered the story at JPL, and their articlesand images were printed and broadcastthroughout the world. Among the newsorganizations represented at JPL werethe major television networks, BBC,CNN, Discovery Channel, New YorkTimes, Washington Post, Los AngelesTimes, Associated Press, Reuters, SanFrancisco Chronicle, US News & WorldReport, the Boston Globe, Irish Televi-sion, Orlando Sentinel, Florida Today,Space News, Houston Chronicle,Newsday, Astronomy magazine, Or-ange County Register, Scientific Ameri-can, Astronomy Now and the Chronicleof Higher Education, among others.

To reach Mars, Spirit traveled 302.6million miles (487 million kilometers)after being launched from CapeCanaveral in Florida on June 10, 2003.

“We’re back …and we’re on Mars,” -- Sean O’Keefe, NASA Administrator

continued on page 5

NASA’s ‘Spirit’ soars with successful Mars rover landingcontinued from front page

Astrogram January 20044

Nanotechnology’s potential to helpwith homeland security was the subjectof a forum that hundreds of experts

from industry, academia and govern-ment attended on Dec. 15 at the NASAResearch Park at NASA Ames.

Nanotechnology is the creation ofmaterials, devices and systems throughthe control of matter on the nanometerscale. A nanometer is one-billionth of ameter, roughly 10,000 times smaller thanthe width of a human hair. Scientistspredicted that nanotechnology couldlead to changes in almost everythingfrom computers and medicine to auto-mobiles and spacecraft.

"NASA is using nanotechnology toreduce the weight and increase the ca-pability of spacecraft. One of the stron-gest of the nation’s lines of defense couldinclude microscopic sensors and ma-chines derived from our NASA work,”said Ames Center Director G. ScottHubbard. “This revolutionary, new tech-nology could provide a vital componentof the nation’s ongoing efforts to defendagainst terrorist threats,” Hubbardstated.

NASA and U.S. Reprentatives AnnaG. Eshoo, Zoe Lofgren and Mike Hondaco-hosted the Nanotechnology andHomeland Security Forum. Honda isco-sponsor of the Boehlert-HondaNanotechnology Bill, H.R. 766. Afteremerging from a bipartisan committee,the bill resulted in S 189 that PresidentBush signed into law on Dec. 3. It autho-rizes $3.7 billion for research over thenext four years for the NationalNanotechnology Initiative.

“This will be a big shot in the

arm for Silicon Valley and for thecountry’s economy,” Honda said.“Nanotechnology has the potential to

create entirelynew industriesand radicallytransform the ba-sis of competitionin other fields,”Honda added.The National Sci-ence Foundationhas projected a $1trillion globalnanotechnologymarket within thenext decade.

The forumincluded fourpanel discus-sions: homelandsecurity technol-ogy needs, home-land securitynanotechnologyR&D, venturecapital and gov-

ernment funding, and business role andmarket.

“I'm proud to welcome theNanotechnology and Homeland Secu-rity Forum to the heart of Silicon Val-ley,” said Eshoo. “Our region has fordecades led the world in developinginnovative solutions to our most press-ing technological challenges. As we ad-dress the critical question of how tostrengthen homeland security, I have nodoubt that many of the answers will befound right here,” Eshoo added.

The meeting included key partici-pants from NASA Ames, other Bay areafederal laboratories (including LawrenceLivermore National Laboratory), uni-versities, and such companies asHewlett-Packard, Genencor Boeing andrepresentatives from the venture capitalcommunity and the federal government.

“It is essential that we bring leadingthinkers and innovators together to un-derstand the tremendous potential ofnanotechnology and what needs to bedone to further encourage its develop-ment,” said Lofgren. “I always look for-ward to learning more about the excit-ing work that is being done at NASAAmes in the area of nanotechnology,”Lofgren continued.

“This forum will provide partici-pants with an excellent opportunity tosee and hear first hand much of the workand research that is being done in theareas of homeland security andnanotechnology, learn of funding op-portunities and share ideas on the fu-

Ames forum explores nanotechnology and homeland security

At the recent nanotechnology conference held at Ames, left to right, CenterDirector G. Scott Hubbard poses with venture capitalist Vinod Khosla andU.S. Representative Mike Honda.

ture of the Bay area economy,” saidMichael Marlaire, NASA Ames’ direc-tor for external relations and develop-ment.

There also were breakout sessionsfor roundtable discussions on the north-ern California nanotechnology and con-vergence roadmap, presentations ofearly stage companies and technologiesand various funding opportunities inthis field.

“Nanotechnology provides an enor-mous opportunity to increase the sensi-

tivity of sensors for detecting chemical,biological and nuclear threats,” saidMeyya Meyyappan, director of the Cen-ter for Nanotechnology at NASA Ames.“The bonus is that the product can comein ultra-small size, requiring only lowpower levels,” Meyyappan added.

The forum was co-sponsored by:Technet, the Bay Area Science and Inno-vation Consortium (BASIC), Joint Ven-ture Silicon Valley Network, SiliconValley Manufacturing Group, the Bayarea Economic Forum, Northern Cali-fornia Nanotechnology Initiative,NOVA (North Valley Workforce Board)and the cities of Palo Alto, MountainView and Sunnyvale, Calif.

More information about NASAnanotechnology can be found on theWeb at http://www.ipt.arc.nasa.gov

BY JOHN BLUCK

NASA photo by Roger Brimmer

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Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (CA, 14thDistrict) was a co-host of the recentnanotechnology and homeland securityforum at NASA Ames and a featured speakerduring the day-long event.

5Astrogram January 2004

NASA’s ‘Spirit’ soars

BY MICHAEL MEWHINNEY

Editor’s Note: Because of the massive amountof publicity the MER story generated, NASAAmes public affairs officer Mike Mewhinney,along with public affairs officers from NASAHeadquarters and other field centers,provided media relations support to the JPLnewsroom staff. He said it was an excitingexperience and one that he won’t soonforget. Although he said there were manymemorable moments during the four-daytrip, perhaps one that stands out occurred onSaturday, Jan. 3, after Spirit touched downon Mars. “One of the jubilant JPL scientistsbegan dancing with his wife around thenewsroom in celebration of the remarkableachievement,” he recalled. “ It was pure joy.People were cheering and hugging eachother and applauding the historic moment.Wow – what a night that was!”

Estelle Condon (right) NASA Ames’ associate director for space programsand projects, provides an overview of Ames missions and capabilities toMichelle Burkett (left) and Mary D. Kerwin (center).

David Morse, Ames’ public affairs director, points out the MER landing sitesand other martian features on a Mars topographic globe to Kerwin and Burkettduring their recent visit to the new Ames Mars Center.

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Spirit’s twin, Mars Exploration RoverOpportunity, was launched July 7, 2003and is scheduled to land on Mars at 9:05p.m. PDT on Jan. 24.

On Jan. 6, O’Keefe announced plansto name Spirit’s landing site in GusevCrater as the Columbia Memorial Sta-tion in honor of the astronauts who diedin the tragic accident of the space shuttleColumbia Feb. 1, 2003. A memorialplaque to Columbia’s seven astronautsand the STS-107 mission is located onthe back of Spirit’s high-gain antenna.The aluminum plaque, which measuresapproximately six inches in diameter,was attached to the spacecraft in March2003 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

Additional information about theMars Exploration Rover mission is avail-able at: http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov

complishments of the space program,Bush cited a number of major accom-plishments. “Telescopes -- includingthose in space -- have revealed morethan 100 planets in the last decade alone.Probes have shown us stunning imagesof the rings of Saturn and the outerplanets of our solar system. Robotic ex-plorers have found evidence of water --a key ingredient for life -- on Mars andon the moons of Jupiter. At this veryhour, the Mars Exploration Rover Spiritis searching for evidence of life beyondthe Earth.

Yet for all these successes, muchremains for us to explore and to learn. Inthe past 30 years, no human being hasset foot on another world, or venturedfarther upward into space than 386 miles

-- roughly the distance from Washing-ton, D.C. to Boston, Massachusetts.America has not developed a new ve-hicle to advance human exploration inspace in nearly a quarter century. It istime for America to take the next steps.”

NASA Ames Research Center Di-rector G. Scott Hubbard welcomed thepresident’s new vision, vowing thatNASA Ames will play a key role inhelping meet the president’s goals.

“NASA Ames Research Center isextremely excited about the president'snew national space vision and associ-ated space exploration objectives for ouragency. At NASA Ames, we conductworld-class research and technologydevelopment in support of all NASAexploration missions. So we will be BY MIICHAEL MEWHINNEY

Bush lays out bold new space vision

studying the president’s program verycarefully to determine how best we canhelp in achieving the president's goals,”Hubbard said.

“NASA Ames conducts vital R&Don the convergence of biotechnology,nanotechnology and information tech-nology; pursues astrobiology researchon the origins and evolution of life in thesolar system; and is home to criticaltesting facilities like the arc jets for de-veloping advanced thermal protectionmaterials. Our hope and expectation isthat NASA Ames will play a significantrole in pursuing the vision and spaceexploration program that the presidenthas articulated today,” Hubbard con-cluded.

On Jan. 6,Deputy AssociateAdministrator forLegislative Affairsat NASA Head-quarters Mary D.Kerwin and minor-ity staffer for theHouse Appropria-tions Committee,Subcommittee onVA HUD and In-dependent Agen-cies MichelleBurkett visitedNASA Ames.

They receivedbriefings on Ames’nanotechnologyand information technology programsand activities, air traffic management

and NASA Research Park. They took asmall amount of time at the end of the

day to visit Ames’new visitor centerin its presentconfiguration asthe Mars Center.

Kerwin andBurkett stoppedover at Ames ontheir way back toWashington, D.C.,following theirvisit to JPL for thelanding of the‘Spirit’ rover onJan. 3 as part ofNASA’s very suc-cessful Mars Ex-ploration Rovermission.

House staffer visits NASA Ames

continued from page 2

Astrogram January 20046

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er‘Aero Expo IV: A Morning with theWright Brothers at NASA Ames’ washeld in December as part of the ‘Centen-nial of Flight’ celebration. The NASAAmes Education Office hosted Aero

Expo IV. This year's event brought inover 4,000 5th-8th grade students, teach-ers and escorts to Ames for three days,as part of this final centennial celebra-tion at the center.

Students began their adventure inthe Ames auditorium to experience a re-enactment of Orville and WilburWright's conversations leading to thefirst successfully powered heavier-than-air flying machine. Running concur-rently was the Aero Village on the air-

Aero Expo IV inspires young visitors to NASA Amescraft ramp betweenHangar 1 and Build-ing 158. Aero Villageencompassed over10,000 square feet of

tented exhibit spacefeaturing a 1903Wright Flyer replicaand numerous stu-dent activities. Adja-

cent to the village weremore than 20 aircrafton static display, in-cluding aircraft fromgeneral aviation, themilitary and NASA.

A reenactment of the Wright Brother’s conversations was performedduring the Aero Expo IV event held in December.

Ames’ aircraft on static display attract youthful visitors.

Some of the 4,000 school children who visited Ames during the recentAero Expo enjoy a range of interactive exhibits and experiences.

Students view a replica of the Wright Flyer at Aero Expo IV.

A visiting studentexperiences the virtualhang glider at therecent Aero Expo IV.Over 4,000 fifththrough eighth gradersenjoyed the centenialof flight celebrationhosted by NASA Ames.

7Astrogram January 2004

NASA, Carnegie Mellon make personal robots possibleAs NASA's twin robot geologists

'Spirit' and 'Opportunity' were prepar-ing to land on Mars this month, a cadreof 20 smart rovers was deployed at someof the nation’s most prestigious sciencemuseums to let visitors experience thethrill of exploring the red planet.

Developed by researchers atCarnegie Mellon University (CMU) with

support from NASA and Intel Corp.,the Personal Exploration Rovers (PERs)will reside in a ‘Mars yard,’ speciallydesigned to mimic martian terrain at thenew visitor center at NASA Ames.

The new rovers also will be deployedin Mars yards at the San FranciscoExploratorium; the Smithsonian’s Airand Space Museum in Washington andits new Udvar-Hazy Center at DullesInternational Airport; and the NationalScience Center in Augusta, Ga. The firstexhibit opened at NASA Ames in De-cember; the others later this month.

“With the Personal ExplorationRover, students can learn how robotsinteract with the world and see for them-selves how the future might look as wehave more and more robots helping usin our everyday life,” said Ames CenterDirector G. Scott Hubbard.

“Our goal is to excite and inspirekids about science and technology andeducate people about the role of roversand rover autonomy in doing space sci-ence,” said project director IllahNourbakhsh, associate professor of ro-botics at Carnegie Mellon’s School ofComputer Science. “We want people to

understand why it’s important for therovers to be smart.”

“The Personal Exploration Rover ispart of a larger project to develop low-cost robotic devices that can be used ineducation, science museums and thehome,” said Daniel Clancy, director ofinformation sciences and technology atNASA Ames. “In future holiday sea-

sons, you will beable to bring oneof these home foryour kids. Therobot will be ableto move aroundyour house, takepictures, interactwith your dogand do othertasks. It’s reallyabout the wholecreative processand exploringhow you canprogram a de-vice to do inter-esting tasks,” headded.

The MarsE x p l o r a t i o nRover (MER)mission is part of

NASA's Mars Exploration Program, along-term effort of robotic explorationof the red planet. The current mission isto search for clues to past water activityon Mars. The spacecraft are targeted toappropriate sites on opposite sides ofthe planet. The rovers they carry willdrive to promising locations to performon-site geological investigations over thecourse of their 90-day missions.

While Spirit and Opportunity arelooking for water history, museum visi-tors interacting with the PERs will beable to search the Mars yards’ rockylandscapes for organo-fluorescent evi-dence of life.

While each museum’s exhibit isunique, they all contain one or moreMars yards populated by rovers. Theidentical rovers are 1.2 feet tall, weigh 10pounds and can move 1.6 inches persecond. They have mobility systemssimilar to those of Spirit and Opportu-nity.

Visiting 'mission scientists' will ac-cess the PERs through a kiosk, and thenpartner with a rover as it moves throughthe yard, scanning rocks and soil to findsigns of life. The rovers are equipped

NASA and Carnegie Mellon’s ‘Personal Exploration Rover.’

with cameras mounted on a custom-designed head that can create a pan-oramic or 360-degree image. It also candetect obstacles using an opticalrangefinder.

Carnegie Mellon and NASA re-searchers have designed educationalmaterials and ongoing support for thesix-month-long exhibits that feature therovers. “The gender gap closes whenyou use robots,” Nourbakhsh said.

The PER project is funded as part ofa four-year grant from NASA to de-velop educational robots. It is supportedthrough the NASA Ames IntelligentSystems Program and Intel. The PERsare powered by Intel ® Xscale ® technol-ogy using the Intel ® PXA255 proces-sors, which provide high system perfor-mance and low power consumption. Therovers run the Linux operating systemand are programmed in Java.

For more information about CMU’spersonal rover project, see http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~personalrover/PER/

For more information about NASA’sMars Exploration project, see http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mer

After 36 years of governmentservice, Carolyn S. La Follette,(acting) deputy chief of the acqui-sition division and deputy procure-ment officer, is retiring.

A reception will be held in herhonor on Jan. 22 at the NASA AmesConference Center ballroom, from2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Cost per per-son is $15, which will include bev-erages, hors d'oeuvres and a gift.

If you wish to attend, contactGrace Ann Weiler at ext. 4-5800 orMary Valdez at ext. 4-5819.

Acquisition deputyLa Follette retires

BY MICHAEL MEWHINNEY

Astrogram January 20048

Hubbard addresses progress, changes at NASA AmesDuring an upbeat, wide-ranging all-

hands meeting, NASA Ames DirectorG. Scott Hubbard recently brought em-

ployees up to date on the status of recentstrategic management and strategicplanning initiatives. He also discussedfeedback from November's Safety andMission Success Week, and announcedseveral changes in the center's organiza-tional structure.

Hubbard began by noting that in asummer 2002 survey of federal employ-ees, Ames received high marks except inthe areas of pay and compensation, andstrategic management and strategicplanning. He then explained the fiveelements of the agency's strategic plan-ning process, beginning with thePresident's Management Agenda, whichoutlines the Bush administration's strat-egy for improving the management andperformance of the federal government.Next, the NASA strategic plan expandson the agency's vision and mission state-ments, and lays out on a high level howthe missions will be carried out.

Below the agency's strategic planare the strategies for each of the sevenNASA enterprises (Earth science, spaceflight, aerospace technology, space sci-ence, education, safety and mission as-surance, biological and physical re-search). At the field center level, theAmes implementation plan reflects whatthis center plans to do during the nextthree years. This document, which will

be updated annually, will be distributedto Ames employees later this month.The Ames implementation plan ties the

center's researchand projects backto the NASA mis-sion and strategicplan. It "describesour capabilitiesand talks abouteverything we aredoing, from nano-science to super-c o m p u t i n g , "Hubbard said. "Iurge you all toread" the Amesimplementationplan. Finally, theseelements are in-cluded in eachemployee's per-formance plans forthe fiscal year.

Hubbard thendiscussed Amesemployee inputresulting from

November's Safety and Mission SuccessWeek, during which all employees wereencouraged to read the report from theColumbia Accident Investigation Boardand determine how to apply the report'smessages to their own areas of work.Among the items submitted by Amesemployees were:

• Employees feel the CAIB report does apply to everyone.• There is too little emphasis on developing current and future leaders. Failure should be an option as we try new things.• We don't think strategically.• Do we have sufficient resources to do the job?• Do we emphasize process over content?• We lack a formal and effective way to facilitate the flow of information up and down the management chain.• The contractor/civil servant relationship exacerbates the communication problems.• The agency should devote greater resources to facilitate learning, and place more value on questioning decisions.• In the field of safety, people feel that although we say safety

is our top priority, the safety programs are scattered, and management sends mixed messages."We will take action on these sug-

gestions right away," Hubbard assuredemployees. "This is what you have toldus," he added. Now the question is, "Cansenior management deliver?" The nextstep is already under way – the creationof a Strategic Research Council, led bySteve Zornetzer, and providing strate-gic management training for middlemanagers. Hubbard noted that the toppriority is working on areas where im-provements can be accomplishedquickly. Management plans to clarify byearly January those concerns not yetfully understood, then establish appro-priate action teams to address solutions.

The third and final topic Hubbardaddressed was his reorganization of thecenter's management structure. He be-gan by outlining the broad responsibili-ties of the center's top management offi-cials. Allen Flynt, deputy director, hasan "exceptional ability to grasp what'sgoing on" and serves as the center's chiefoperating officer. Zornetzer chairs theStrategic Research Council and over-sees the center's research programs.Estelle Condon is responsible for re-viewing projects and the SOFIA pro-gram. Peter Friedland was recently ap-pointed assistant director for technol-ogy.

As part of the reorganization,Hubbard reduced the number of staffoffices from 21 to five. Staff offices nowinclude the Ames Legal Office, EqualOpportunity Programs Office, SOFIA,the NASA Astrobiology Institute, andthe Nanotechnology Center. The goal,he explained, is "to get the work, coordi-nation and management done at thelowest level possible."

The Federal Aviation Administ-ration's liaison office is now part of theAerospace Directorate (Code A). A newdirectorate, Code E, includes all thegroups that deal with external audiences:Public Affairs (DX), Development (DT),Technology Partnerships (DK) and theHistory Office (DH). Michael Marlairewill lead the new External Relations andDevelopment Office. The goal in estab-lishing this new directorate is to "achievegreater coordination and a unified mes-sage," Hubbard said.

Another new directorate, the Project

NASA photo by Tom Trower

Ames Center Director G. Scott Hubbard responds to questions from theaudience during the recent all-hands meeting at NASA Ames.

continued on page 16

9Astrogram January 2004

Ames opens interactive Mars centercontinued from page 3

Center Director G. Scott Hubbard isinterviewed by Channel 7 news during theopening ceremony of the new Ames Marscenter on Dec. 29, 2003.

David Des Marais speaks during the recentAmes Mars Center opening ceremony.

The Personal Exploration Rover at the AmesMars Center is drawing plenty of interest.

A young visitor checks out the video screen display in the kids’interactive learning room at the Ames Mars Center.

BY KATHLEEN BURTON

turned out in force at the morning event.All major local television and print me-dia attended, including television chan-nels 2,4, 5,7 and 11. All ran stories on theevening news.

Prior to the opening, Scott Hubbarddid preview interviews on KCBS and

KGO ‘commute’ radio. Feature storiesabout the Mars Center opening also ap-peared in the San Francisco Chronicleand San Jose Mercury News , on Dec. 29and Dec. 30, respectively.

The morning ceremony was fol-lowed by the public's first chance tovisit. Approximately 300 enthusiasticadults, excited children and interestedteachers 'oohed and aahed' over inter-active exhibits featuring Mars, the MarsExploration Rover missions and NASAAmes' scientific and engineering sup-port roles in missions to the red planet.

In the evening, undeterred by therain, about 300 VIPs attended an horsd’oeuvres reception.

The goal of the Mars Center, locatedin the large white tent that formerlyhoused Space Camp California, is tofamiliarize adults and children with cur-rent information about Mars, providelive coverage transmitted from NASA'sJet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasa-dena, Calif., about the Mars ExplorationRovers' missions, and share ongoing re-search about future Mars missions.

Since the opening, over 12,000

people have vis-ited the Mars Cen-ter in its first 10days of operation.

Exhibits in-clude a Marsimmersive theater,where visitors cansee live transmis-sions of the MarsExploration Roverlandings from mis-sion control at JPL,a Mars meteoritesample a piece ofthe Ames-devel-oped thermal pro-tection system, anda children's roomwhere children as young as three cantake part in exploring Mars.

The Personal Exploration Rover(PER), developed at Carnegie MellonUniversity, with support from NASAand Intel Corp., resides in an interactive"Mars yard", which mimics martian ter-

rain. Visitors can 'drive' the 1.2 foot-tallrover, which can move at 1.6 inches persecond, on a simulated Mars mision. Itsmobility systems are similar to those ofrovers Spirit and Opportunity.

The Mars Center will feature a se-ries of family nights and star-gazingparties. The first family night, whichwas held on Jan. 7 attracted about 350people. A series of lectures with NASAAmes Mars experts will begin in Febru-ary.

Shortly after the opening, Mars sci-entists Cabrol Des Marais and MichaelSims, left for JPL to join the mission andscience operations teams.

Des Marais is lead of the MER work-ing group's long-term planning team,coordinating the rover's day-to-day op-erations with mission objectives. Cabrolserves in the rover's geology group, in-

terpreting data from the rover's pan-oramic camera and Microscopic Imager,which takes high-resolution close-upsof Mars rocks and soils. Sims providesrobotics and intelligent software exper-tise for the mission.

For more information about theMars Center, visit http://www.arc.nasa.gov. For informationabout the Mars Exploration Rovers, visithttp://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mer

Astrogram January 200410

Over $13,000 awarded to Ames software teamThe Space Act Award program,

which is coordinated through the AmesTechnology Partnerships Office (CodeEP) is designed to provide official recog-nition of those inventions and other sci-entific and technical contributions thathave helped to achieve NASA's aero-nautical, commercialization and spacegoals and to encourage the creation andreporting of future innovations. TheInventions and Contributions Board(ICB) funded by NASA Headquarters isauthorized to recommend the grantingof these monetary awards to civil ser-vants, contractors and other partners.

The SemanticOrganizer teamrecently received recognition in the formof a Space Act award for its work.SemanticOrganizer is a Web-based, col-laborative knowledge-management andinformation-structuring tool that sup-ports the collaborative work processesof distributed project teams. It com-bines the functionality of a database,a document-sharing system, ahypermedia information space, anda semantic network into a system that

can be easily customized to match thespecific information storage and retrievalneeds of different user communities. For

The SemanticOrganizer team members, above, recently received Space Act Award recognition.Seated from left to right: Robert Carvalho, Shawn Wolfe, Rich Keller, Ian Sturken and DanBerrios. Standing from left to right: Eva Chen (representing James Chen), Deepak Kulkarni, DavidNishikawa, Kim Hubbard, James Williams, Sergey Yentus, Michael Compton, Dennis Heher,David Hall, Linda Timucin and Ames Deputy Center Director Allen Flynt. Members of the teamnot available for the photo: Brad Bebout, Ling-Jen Chiang, Satyam Dave, Yuri Gawdiak, JonGuice Hagstrom, Larry Kiser, Tina Panontin, Stephen Rich and Keith Swanson.

In December, the Ames Contrac-tor Council (ACC) held its 14th an-nual Contractor Excellence Awardsceremony. The council's NASA co-chair, Deputy Center Director AllenFlynt, joined contractor co-chair AnitaFogtman in honoring both individu-als and teams for their outstanding

contributions to the center's missionduring fiscal year 2003.

The council was established in1987 as a contractor-government fo-rum to address common problemsand increase contractors' ability torespond to the center's changingneeds.

Contract awards were presented recently to Intrinsyx Technologies SSBRP SW and DeltaSystems Team. Deputy Center Director Allen Flynt (far left) presented the awards.

Contractor council awards given

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A statistical summary of activitiesof the Protective Services Division's Se-curity/Law Enforcement and Fire Pro-tection Services units for the month ofDecember 2003 is shown below.

Protective Service’smonthly activity

Security/Law Enforcement Activity

Fire Protection Activity

more information, visit the Web at:http://sciencedesk.arc.nasa.gov/scidesk/

11Astrogram January 2004

The Ames Exchange provided cake for Ames employees in celebration of the100th Anniversary of Flight and the first day of the second hundred years offlight on Dec. 18 in the Ames Mega Bytes café. Ames historian Jack Boyd,front center, is seen here with the Ames Mega Bytes café staff.

On Dec. 17, 2003, the anniversary ofthe first powered flight, the president,

aviation dignitaries from around theworld and the public gathered at a rain-soaked Kill Devil Hills, N.C., to witnessa reenactment of the Wright Brothers'famous flight. Unfortunately, the rep-lica flyer never made it off the ground.

Fortunately, 'every cloud has a sil-ver lining.' The failure to fly only height-

ened the respectthat modernaerospace engi-neers and thepublic have forthe skill and in-genuity of theWrights.

At NASAAmes' Fluid Me-chanics Labora-tory (FML), aspart of theWright Againproject, the cul-minating testswere being per-formed to recre-ate the methodsthe Wrights usedto engineer the1903 Flyer.

" W r i g h tAgain is a recre-ation of theWright Brothers'activities be-tween 1899 and1903, and thisalso includes rec-reating some oftheir wind tun-

nel tests conducted in 1901," said Dr.Jani Pallis, principal investigator for theWright Again project.

The project seeks to help studentsunderstand the engineering principlesused by the Wrights and modern engi-neers by using special activities includ-

ing entries fromthe Wrights' en-gineering jour-nals and testingof the actual air-foils used by theWrights to de-sign their 1903Flyer.

In step withthe project's mis-sion, conductingthe test was KristiStavros, a junioraeronautical ma-jor at CaliforniaPolytechnic, SanLuis Obispo.Stavros spentpart of her win-

ter break from school to perform thetests.

'It was an amazing opportunity forme to learn about engineering in the realworld using the ideas and concepts I'velearned about in school," said Stavros."The staff and engineers of the FluidMechanics Lab were great; they werealways ready to help if I had any ques-tions," she added.

Stavros conducted tests in the lab's2-foot by 2-foot low-speed wind tunnelto collect lift and drag measurement ona 1903 Wright Flyer model. The resultswill be compared to data gathered bythe Wrights and added to the WrightAgain project’s Web site.

Stavros hopes to return to Ames inthe summer to continue the 'real world'engineering experience.

The Wright Again project and engi-neers at the FML hope that positive ex-periences like this will inspire her andothers to become the aerospace innova-tors for the next century of poweredflight.

"Having Kristi here to perform theculminating test for the Wright Againproject is one effort to fulfill NASA’smission of inspiring the next genera-tion," said Dr Rabi Mehta of the FluidMechanics Lab.

The Wright Again project is a part-nership between Cislunar Aerospace,San Francisco, and The Franklin Insti-tute Science Museum, Philadelphia, andis sponsored by the Natinal BusinessAviation Association, Washington, DC,with generous support by NASA Ames'Fluid Mechanics Laboratory.

For more information about theWright Again project, visit: http://www.wrightagain.com

For images and a related news re-lease about the Wright Again project,visit: http://amesnews.arc.nasa.gov/releases/2002/02_120AR.html

Ames celebrates 100 years of powered flight

NASA photo by Tom Trower

BY JONAS DINO

Kristi Stavros, aeronautical engineering student at Cal Poly, works on a 1903Wright Flyer model in the 2-foot-by-2-foot slow-speed wind tunnel.

Fluorescent dye flows over a 1901 Wright Flyerglider model in the NASA Ames Fluid MechanicsLab’s water channel.

Astrogram January 200412

Art of Leadership Mastery program draws wide interestThe Art of Leadership Mastery pro-

gram is an eight-month pilot programdeveloped exclusively for NASA Ames

and is a lynchpin to LIFE@Ames - ‘Lead-ers Investing for Excellence’ – Ames’integrated approach to leadership de-velopment and management training.The underlying principle of the ‘Mas-tery’ program (which began in Septem-ber with its cohort program) is that lead-ers bring the future into being throughpeople. The Art of Leadership Masteryprogram provides both the hard andsoft skills required to enable a programparticipant to achieve the next level inhis or her leadership development. Thecoursework for ‘Mastery’ includes ex-periential and action learning, individualexercises, and group learning.

There are two concurrent andcomplementary aspects of the Masteryprogram that distinguish it from pastAmes’ leadership programs. One as-pect is the cohort program, which istargeted for high performing leadersand those with strong leadership poten-tial who are GS level 13 through 15.Applicants to this program have alsocommitted themselves to all course work(10 days over 8 months – the dates pre-viously secured), obtained the commit-ment of their immediate supervisor toattend all the courses and demonstratedpersonal commitment to grow as lead-ers. In addition, applicants were askedby the representative of the Ames train-ing group to articulate their personalreasons for participating as well as theirexpected personal outcomes. Twenty-two cohort participants meet each monthfor eight months in course work – andalso keep in contact between sessions inoutside group work and support. Co-hort participants have recommendedreading as well as the option to com-

plete four learning guides created spe-cifically for the Ames program. Thesereflection guides can be turned in at

specific times forfeedback fromthe program fa-cilitator. Thep a r t i c i p a n t shave the consis-tency of the samefacilitator eachmonth.

The otherdistinguishingaspect of ‘Mas-tery’ is the ‘openprogram’ - de-signed with theremaining civilservant popula-tion in mind. Itis ‘open’ in thatan employee is

not required (although certainly encour-aged) to take more than one course inthe program. Although the initial two-day foundations course is prerequisitefor taking other courses in the program,any civil servantmay sign-up for aparticular courseduring the year. The‘open’ program alsoserves as a way forthose in the cohortprogram to make upabsences due to un-expected events(travel, illness, etc).

It should benoted that althoughskill building is oneaspect of the ‘Mas-tery’ program, itsmain focus is devel-oping people asleaders. The cohortprogram coursesare organized intothree levels and in-clude sequentialcascading prerequi-sites. Following a two-day foundationalcourse, level two courses focus on self,team, and vision and include skill build-ing in the areas of basic communication,envisioning and moving powerfully to-ward the future, effective teaming, andleadership and emotional intelligence.Level three courses focus on ‘taking it toothers’ and include coursework in theareas of collaboration, giving and re-ceiving feedback, coaching, leading andmanaging change, dealing with diffi-cult people, mobilizing others to action,

and improving performance coaching.The ‘Mastery’ program, conceived

and designed before the CAIB issued itsrecommendations with regard to lead-ership development and managementtraining, speaks directly to the CAIB’sconcerns of preparing managers for in-creased roles of responsibility within anintegrated approach to career develop-ment. ‘Mastery’ was created with theintention of developing a more inten-tional and integrated development pro-cess for Ames’ current and future lead-ers. Program courses were designed withthe intent to achieve leader readiness,enable participants to build long-termpartnerships with colleagues, provide acurriculum that allows for flexibility andjust-in-time training – all the whilecomplementing and being in concertwith other NASA development pro-grams, including the NASA LeadershipDevelopment Program. ‘Mastery’ is inalignment with NASA’s current initia-tive to increase the agency’s internalcoaching capacity -- strengthening theability of managers to coach their em-ployees as well as providing executive

coaching for executive management.Ames is utilizing the same resources inthe ‘Mastery’ program as NASA is usingin rolling out its initiative. Currently,the Newfield Group is training JaneBabicz and the author of the HumanResources group (as well as others acrossthe agency) for certification as businesscoaches. The two eventually hope to becertified by the International CoachingFederation.

‘Art of Leadership Mastery’ facilitator Scott Coady and Kanu Kogod, hiscollaborator, pose with the program logo.

Scott Coady with the cohort group at one of their sessions this fall.

continued on next page

13Astrogram January 2004

In September 2002, the Ames pro-gram manager for leadership develop-ment and management training, theauthor, contacted Howard Tokunaga,professor of industrial/organizationalpsychology at San Jose State University,regarding the possibility of working to-gether to conduct a needs assessment toidentify and prioritize the training needsand desires of managers and supervi-sors at Ames. Working in collaborationwith the author, Dr. Tokunaga andgraduate students in the SJSU Master ofScience Program in I/O Psychology con-ducted eleven focus groups across thedifferent codes at Ames. Those attend-ing these voluntary focus groups gener-ated desired training topics, describedperceived barriers and obstacles to re-ceiving training, and provided sugges-tions on how the training function atAmes may be improved. The informa-tion received provided much helpfulinput for the concept and design of adevelopment program that could meetthe needs of Ames’ managers and su-pervisors in particular, and the Amespopulation in general.

Cod JH Division Chief DennisCunningham’s concern had always beenfor an integrated approach to develop-ment. After reviewing many vendorsduring the fall of 2002, Ames’ Training

Good neighbor, safety training and teamwork save toddler

officer Gail James and the author in-vited Scott Coady to work with theauthor to customize a program that bestfit Ames’ needs. From that meeting,‘Mastery’ was born.

Designer and facilitator of ‘Mastery’is Scott Coady. Coady is also the co-designer and co-leader of thegroundbreaking and award-winningLeadership Alchemy Program currentlyin its third year at NASA’s GoddardSpace Flight Center. The Newfield Net-work certified Coady as an executivecoach in 1992 and he was certified as a‘Master Somatic’ coach by the StrozziInstitute in 2002. He obtained an MBAfrom Pepperdine University.

The ‘Mastery’ cohort program cur-rently enjoys full participation and isclosed to additional participants. How-ever, the ‘Mastery’ open program is opento interested participants. There is, how-ever, a limit of 24 enrollees per class andas of this writing, our January coursesare full. Fill in and sign a training form,ARC 301 course application, and mail itto Janice Shook at M/S: 241-3.

For more information about otherprogram aspects of LIFE@Ames, feelfree to contact the author atphone ext. 4-4684 or e-mail atlhayward@mail.arc.nasa.gov

Art of Leadership Masteryprogram draws wide interestcontinued from previous page

A sense of community, teamworkand the importance of safety training atNASA Ames all came to the front whenLou Hammett, an administrative sup-port assistant in Code JH, helped to savelife of a 2-year-old baby who was chok-ing on a piece of hot dog.

On a recent Thursday evening, whilewatching TV, Hammett’s 6-year-olddaughter Franshya heard their neigh-bor crying and calling for Hammett’shusband, who was still at work at thetime. The neighbor was running toHammett’s house with a 2-year-old girlin her arms. Franshya ran to getHammett, who was in the laundry room.Hammett stopped what she was doingand rushed to help her neighbor. Thetwo houses are linked and separated bya small fence. The neighbor handedHammett the child over the fence.

In the midst of panic and worry,which Hammett tried not to show to herneighbor, she performed the Heimlichmaneuver on the baby, but it didn’twork. Hammett then got her olderdaughter Felice, 14, who was talking onthe phone, to help. She tilted the baby,while Felice patted the the baby on theback. Hammett told her neighbor to call911, if this last attempt didn’t work,because the baby was starting to turnblue and was foaming at the mouth.Fortunately, Hammett and Felice wereable to remove the piece of hot dog thatwas obstructing the baby’s throat andthe baby was able to breathe freely again.

“I was so happy that I was there atthe time and was able to help the baby tobreathe on her own,” said Hammett.“This has never happened to me before,and I was very worried. But I didn’twant to show it to Sonia [the neighbor],who was panicking and losing herself. Iwas truly happy when the baby wasok.”

Hammett said that this situationshows the importance of having basicsafety training and safety skills.Hammett emphasized that the safetytraining she received at NASA Amessupported her. At work she learnedCPR, first aid skills, and how to staycalm and not panic. Thus, she was ableto act quickly and help the baby.

“You never know when your skillsmight be useful. I didn’t expect this tohappen that evening. I believe every-body should have some safety train-ing,” said Hammett.

There is a wide variety of safetytraining courses available to each em-ployee at Ames. There are approxi-mately 50 courses available, either on-

line through SOLAR (NASA Site for On-line Learning and Resources) or throughclassroom attendance. The courses meetthe requirements of OSHA (Occupa-tional Safety and Health Administra-tion). Every NASA civil servant and mostsupport contractor staff participate in atleast 2 required classes every year. Thetwo classes required by the Ames SafetyAccountability Program are BuildingEmergency Action Plans and HazardCommunication. Many employees alsochoose to take CPR/AED, first aid, fireextinguisher training and many otherclasses every year.

“The student can gain importantknowledge from participation in thesesafety and health classes, which willhelp the student avoid accidents or un-toward health exposures,” said MichaelHulet, who manages the CPR/first aidtraining at Ames. “Since each person

has a responsibility for his/her ownhealth and safety, these courses help usto take care of ourselves, both on and offthe job. We all live and work in a "moreor less" hazardous environment. Driv-ing our cars to work is a hazardousenvironment. Working with computerscan cause injuries so it is in our bestinterest to learn how to avoid hazards.The knowledge gained by employeesalso helps NASA to be in compliancewith Federal regulations.”

Hammett’s husband, a Vietnam vet-eran who has saved the lives of manypeople before, considers Hammett andhis daughters to be his true heroes forsaving the life of a baby. For this coura-geous deed, the Council of Milpitas pre-sented Hammett with a certificate ofcommendation in December.

BY VERONIKA SOUKHOVITSKAYA

BY LEE HAYWARD

Astrogram January 200414

Ongoing Event CalendarAmes Amateur Radio Club, third Thursday of

each month, 12 noon, N-T28 (across from N-255).POC: Michael Wright, KG6BFK, at ext. 4-6262.

Ames Ballroom Dance Club. Classes onTuesdays. Beginning classes meet at 6:15 p.m.Higher-level class meets at 5:15 p.m. Held in Bldg.944, the Rec. Center. POC: Helen Hwang,hwang@dm1.arc.nasa.gov, 4-1368.

Ames Bowling League, Palo Alto Bowl onTuesday nights. Seeking full-time bowlers andsubstitutes. Questions to sign up: Mike Liu at ext. 4-1132.

Ames Child Care Center Board of DirectorsMtg, every other Thursday (check Web site formeeting dates: http://accc.arc.nasa.gov), 12 noon to1:30 p.m., N-210, Rm. 205. POC: Cheryl Quinn, ext 4-5793.

Ames Contractor Council Mtg, first Wednesdayeach month, 11 a.m., N-200, Comm. Rm. POC: AnitaFogtman, ext. 4-4432.

Ames Diabetics (AAD), 1st & 3rd Weds, 12 noon to1 p.m., at Ames Mega Bites, Sun room. Support groupdiscusses news affecting diabetics. POC: Bob Mohlenhoff,ext. 4-2523/e-mail at: bmohlenhoff@mail.arc.nasa.gov.

Ames Federal Employees Union (AFEU) Mtg, thirdWednesday of ea. month, 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., Bldg. 221,Rm 104. Guests welcome. Info at: http://www.afeu.org.POC: Marianne Mosher, ext. 4-4055.

Ames Mac Support Group Mtg, third Tuesday of ea.month, 11:30 a.m.to 1 p.m., Bldg. N262, Rm 180. POC:Julie ext. 4-4694 or Tony ext. 4-0340.

Ames Model Aircraft Club, flying radio-controlledaircraft at the north end of Parsons Ave. on weekendmornings. POC: Mark Sumich, ext. 4-6193.

Ames Sailing Club Mtg, second Thursday of ea.month (Feb through Nov), from 11.30 a.m. -1 p.m. in thespecial events room in the Ames Visitor Center in N-223.All are welcome. POC: Jeff Smith, ext. 4-2586.

Environmental, Health and Safety InformationForum, first Thursday of each month, 8:30 a.m. to9:30 a.m., Bldg. 221/Rm 155. URL: http://q.arc.nasa.gov/qe/events/EHSseries/ POC: Stacy St.Louis at ext. 4-6810.

The Hispanic Advisory Committee forExcellence HACE Mtg, first Thurs of month in N255room 101C from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. POC: EricKristich at ext. 4-5137 and Mark Leon at ext. 4-6498.

Jetstream Toastmasters, Mondays, 12 p.m. to 1p.m., N-269/Rm.179. POC: Becky Brondos at ext. 4-1959, bbrondos@mail.arc.nasa.gov or Bob Hilton atext. 4-1783, bhilton@mail.arc.nasa.gov.

Nat'l Association of Retired Federal Employees,(NARFE). Former and current federal employees. Youronly contact with Congress. Join to protect yourfederal retirement. Chptr #50 meets the first Fri. ofeach month at HomeTown Buffet, 2670 El Camino (atKiely), S. Clara, 11 a.m. lunch. POC Earl Keener (408)241-4459 or NARFE 1-800-627-3394.

Native American Advisory Committee Mtg,fourth Tues each month, 12 noon to 1 p.m., Bldg. 19,Rm 1096. POC: Mike Liu at ext. 4-1132.

Ronald Mancini has retired fromNASA after over 30 years of service.Mancini was the acting division chiefof Systems Engineering (Code FE), aposition he had held since March 2002.He was involved with a variety ofresearch projects at Ames, includingthe SOFIA project, the Vertical MotionSimulator, responsibility for the de-velopment of the first Ames life sci-ence hardware that flew on the shuttlein 1982 on STS-3 and the Plant GrowthUnit. He was the chief of the Mechani-cal Systems and Controls Engineering

Mancini retires from Amesbranch from 1994-97 and a deputydivision chief from 1997 to 2002.

A catered reception will be heldon Jan. 21, 2004, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00p.m., at the NASA Ames ConferenceCenter ballroom. A wide variety ofhors d'oeuvres and refreshments willbe served. Cost per person is $15,which includes food, beverages and agift.

If you would like to attend thisevent, contact Merle Simbe, BuildingN-200, Room 111 or at ext. 4-6315.

Former operationsspecialist dies

Johnnie Owen Coleman passedaway on Nov. 30, 2003 at his home inCarlsbad, Calif.

Coleman served as a corpsman inthe U.S. Navy during the Korean War.In 1990, after an additional 32 years ofU.S. government service, he retired fromthe position of facilities operations spe-cialist for the Space Research Director-ate at Ames.

He is survived by his wife of 50years, Joyce, his five children, sevengrandchildren and one great grandchild.

Name: Code: Date:Daniel P. Bencze AP 10-31-03Kenneth L. Warsh DL 12-30-03K. C. Shih ARH 1-02-04Marianne Silva CR 1-02-04Ronald E. Mancini FE 1-02-04Jose Rustia FM 1-02-04Carolyn S. Lafollette JA 1-02-04Barbara J. Young JAC 1-02-04Scott Maa SFD 1-02-04K. C. Tsui FEE 1-31-04

Ames Retirements

Dr. Eugene Chiang of the Uni-versity of California at Berkeley willgive a non-technical illustrated talkabout ‘The Search for Planet X: Ex-ploring the Solar System BeyondNeptune.’

Date: Feb. 11Time: 7 p.m.Place: The Smithwick Theater, at Foothill College, El Monte Road and Freeway 280, Los Altos Hills

The event is free and open to thepublic. Parking on campus costs $2.Call the series hotline at (650) 949-7888 for more information.

The event is co-sponsored byNASA Ames, the Foothill Collegeastronomy program, the SETI Insti-tute and the Astronomical Society ofthe Pacific.

Chiang will discuss how new dis-coveries are revealing an array ofinteresting new objects -- includingseveral mini-planets -- at the out-skirts of our planetary system.

Astronomy lectureseries presents

15Astrogram January 2004

Ames ClassifiedsAds for the next issue should be sent to

astrogram@mail.arc.nasa.gov and must be resubmitted foreach issue. Ads must involve personal needs or items; (nocommercial/third-party ads) and will run on a space-available basis only. First-time ads are given priority. Adsmust include home phone numbers; Ames extensions andemail addresses will be accepted for carpool and lost andfound ads only. Due to the volume of material received,we are unable to verify the accuracy of the statementsmade in the ads. Caveat emptor!

Housing

Transportation

Miscellaneous

Exchange Information

Beyond Galileo N-235 (8 a.m. to 2 p.m.)ext. 4-6873

Ask about NASA customized gifts for specialoccasions. Make your reservations for Chase Park

Mega Bites N-235 (6 a.m. to 2 p.m.)ext. 4-5969

Mars Center Gift Shop N-943(10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) ext. 4-5412

NASA logo merchandise, souvenirs, toys, gifts andeducational items.

Open 7 days a week, 7:00 a.m. to 10 p.m. Ratesfrom $40 - $50.

Vacation Opportunities

Check web site for discounts to local attractions,http://exchange.arc.nasa.gov and click on tickets.

Information about products, services andopportunities provided to the employee and contractorcommunity by the Ames Exchange Council. Visit theweb site at: http://exchange.arc.nasa.gov

NASA Lodge (N-19) 603-7100

Tickets, etc...(N-235, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.)ext. 4-6873

See daily menu at: http://exchange.arc.nasa.gov

Astrogram deadlines

All Ames employees are invited to submitarticles relating to Ames projects and activities forpublication in the Astrogram. When submittingstories or ads for publication, submit your mate-rial, along with any questions, in MS word by e-mail to: astrogram@mail.arc.nasa.gov on or be-fore the deadline.

To hear the centerwide statusrecording, call (650) 604-9999 forinformation announcements andemergency instructions for Amesemployees. You can also listen to1700 KHz AM radio for the sameinformation.

Ames emergencyannouncements

Safety Data Civil Contractors

ServantsNot recordablefirst aid cases 3 2

Recordable nolost time cases 0 0

Lost time cases* 0 0

Restricted duty days 0 0

Lost work days 0 0

Data above is for December 2003.*(Under new OSHA rules, lost timeis defined as lost work days, restrictedduty of work transfer.)

Lake Tahoe-Squaw Valley Townhse, 3bd/2ba.View of slopes, close to lifts. Per night: $250, two nightminimum. Includes linens, cleaning, propane fireplace,fully equipped. Call (650) 968-4155.dbmckellar@aol.com

South Lake Tahoe cottage w/wood fireplace, hottub. Rates $50 to $130 per night. Call (650) 967-7659or (650) 704-7732.

Vacation rental, Bass Lake, 4 mls south of Yosemite.3bd/1.5 ba, TV, VCR, MW, frplc, BBQ, priv. boat dock.Sleeps 8. $1,050/wk. Call (559) 642-3600 or (650) 390-9668.

Big Sur vacation rental, secluded 4bd/2ba house incanyon setting. Fully eqpd kitchen. Access to priv.beach. Tub in patio gdn. Halfway between Carmel andBig Sur. $175/night for 2; $225 for 4 and $250 formore, plus $150 cleaning dep. Call (650) 328-4427.

Incline Village: Forest pines, Lake Tahoe condo, 3bd/2 ba, sleeps 8. Fireplc, TV/VCR, MW, W/D, jacuzzi,sauna, pool. $120/night low season; $155/night highseason. $90 cleaning fee and 12% Nevada room tax.Charlie (650) 366-1873.

Tahoe Donner vacation home, 2 bd/2ba. trees,deck, sun, fun. Access to pools, spa, golf, horsebackriding, $280 wkend, $650 week. Call (408) 739-9134.

Pine Mountain Lake vacation home. Access to golf,tennis, lake, swimming, horseback riding, walk to beach.Three bedrooms/sleeps 10. $100/night. Call (408) 799-4052 or (831) 623-4054.

Spacious 2 bdrm Maui suite available (canaccommodate up to 6 people) for 1 week. Cookingfacilities, color TV, swimming pools, access to beach andmuch more. Located nearby shopping centers, golfcourses, and all water activities. $1,200 a week or B/O.Call (408) 446-4416 for more information.

For rent: 3bd/2ba house. $1,900/mo includes,refrigerator, gardener, wooddeck w/ picnic tabl, vaultedceilings w/ skylghts, fruit trees and planter boxes, electrcwashr/dry hookups (w/d not included), Moreland schools.Two car garage w/auto. dr opnr, great neighbors, quietneighbrhd and convenient to malls. Utilities not included.No pets, non-smoker preferred. Keith or Veronica (408)445-8437 for information.

For rent: Large 2 bd/1-1/2 ba apt. in 4-plex withwireless Internet access included. Sunnyvale, close toAmes. $1,150/mo. N/S. Call (408) 739-3303. For detailssee http://www.peacham.homeip.net/rental.html

For rent: 5 min. from Ames. 1 bd condo, 840 sqft.Fireplace, view, tile floors, free laundry. $975/mo.Available 2/15/04. Mike (650) 961-8162.

House for rent in San José,11 miles from Ames. 3bd/2ba, not furnished. Huge back yard, pets ok, $1,600/moplus dep. Paul (408) 294-9958.

Santa Clara house for rent, 12 miles from Ames. 3bd/1ba, 2 car garage, central heat and A/C, W/D hook ups.Near Santa Clara Univ. $1,400/mo. Call (408) 246-5295.

Nice 3 bd/1.5 ba twnhouse in Mtn. View. Quiet andvery close to Ames. Patio and balcony, fire place, W/D, nopet , N/S. Has detached one car garage and an assignedparking lot. $1,700/mo and dep. Call (408) 761-7554.

For rent: 3 bdrm immaculate house in great Sunnyvalearea. 1,800 sq. ft. w/ living room, formal dining room,family room w/fireplace, inside laundry, gardener. No pets.N/S. $2,600/mo. Call (408) 865-1968 or (408) 316-9742.

House for rent in Cupertino, 3/2, available Feb 1,short-term, month-to-month, $1,400/month. E-mail:jeannedunfee@earthlink.net.

Duplex with 1.5 ba/2bd, only ten minutes from NASA.Helen (650) 625-1225.

Lost and FoundWedding ring in the N202/N233 parking lot in

November/December 2003 time frame. Contact BetsyRobinson ext. 4-3360 or e-mail her at:Elizabeth.T.Robinson@nasa.gov to claim.

Carters rocking basinet w/retractable wheels; white w/blue pattern; has overhead canopy and ample storageunderneath. Great condition. $20. Call (408) 295-2160.

Graco 2-speed electric baby swing. White enamelfinish with blue trim. Great condition. $15. Call (408)295-2160.

‘74 Mercedes 450SL, good condition, two tops.$5,900. Call (650) 325-4725.

‘91 BMW 325i convertible, 96K mls, leather interior,6cd changer, auto windows, heated seats, brand newconvertible top, A/C, excellent condition. $8,600 Tim(408) 406-8242.

‘92 Toyota Corolla DX 4-door automatic, one owner,all records. 92K mls, super clean. Garaged all times. Checkcars.com for photo and details. $3,200. Call (408) 732-6180 before 8 p.m.

‘94 Oldsmobile Bravada, SUV, 4 wheel drive, 4D, 110kmls, automatic. Power steering & windows. Tan leather,green exterior. Dual front air bags. ABS brakes. Goodcondition. $4,400 or B/O. Jenny (415) 407-5017.

‘99 Acura TL, excellent condition, 58K mls, $15,700.Rey Salcido (650) 704-5061 (H).

‘00 Volvo S40, 4 door sedan, 42K mls., red, AT, A/C,PS, PW, PL (rmt), AM/FM w/ CD, MNRF, LTHR, $12,000.Hank (408) 262-4974.

Deadline: Publication:Jan. 23 Feb. 2004Feb. 20 Mar. 2004Mar 26 Apr. 2004Apr 23 May 2004May 25 June 2004

For sale: Lake Shasta houseboat, 42' with necessarypermit. Two bedroom one bath. Two four cycle engines -- for clean environment -- outboards. Fero-concrete hulls,for no maintenance or rust. Vinyl siding. Call (650) 968-4155 or e-mail DBMcKellar@aol.com

Baby items, all very good-excellent condition:Emmaljunga stroller/pram/bassinet, blue/white, $150; Palicrib, $95; Simmons crib mattress, $20; Dutalier glider/rocker, $225; footrest, $15; Peg Perego Prima Papa highchair, white/blue, $60; Right Start baby jogger, $50; Gracobaby jumper, $15; Exersaucer, $20. Call (408) 356-2156.

Looking for lawn mower and tiller. Email:falcon7777_2000@yahoo.com

Astrogram January 200416

National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration

Ames Research CenterMoffett Field, CA 94035-1000

Official BusinessPenalty for Private Use

PLEASE RECYCLEPrinted on recycled and recyclable paper with vegetable-based ink.

FIRST CLASS MAILPOSTAGE & FEES PAID

NASAPermit No. G-27

The Ames Astrogram is an official publication ofAmes Research Center, National Aeronautics andSpace Administration.

Editor-in-Chief..............................David Morse

Managing Editor..........................Ann Sullivan

Editor, Layout and Design...........Astrid Terlep

You can reach the Astrogram Office at:astrogram@mail.arc.nasa.gov or by phone at(650) 604-3347.

Engineering and Management Director-ate (Code P), will focus on research andtechnology development. Headed byCliff Imprescia, it will include elementsof codes A, F, J and S, and will empha-size flight hardware and project man-agement. The new directorate also willassume management responsibilities forthe development phase of Kepler, SOFIAand the SSBRP.

Tom Moyles and Lewis Braxton willswap jobs, with Moyles heading the Fi-

nancial Management Office (Code C)and Braxton taking the reins of the Cen-ter Operations Directorate (Code J).Hubbard explained that he askedBraxton and Moyles to make the switch"to take a fresh look" at the functions ofthese two large directorates.

Code Q, the Safety, Environmentaland Mission Assurance Directorate, willassume responsibility for NASA hous-ing at Ames, as well as for the NASAchief veterinary officer located at Ames.

It also will have responsibility for work-ing with the new NASA EngineeringSafety Center at NASA Langley ResearchCenter in Virginia.

Finally, the new Code H, the Hu-man Capital Directorate, will includeNASA Ames' education and human re-sources offices. The new directorate wascreated, Hubbard explained, to elevatethese two important functions to a "morevisible position."

Hubbard addresses progress, changes at NASA Amescontinued from page 6

BY ANN SULLIVAN

Former Ames aerospace engineerincluded in ‘Who’s Who’

The National Register’s Who’s Whoin Executives and Professionals includesJames Carson Howard, retired aerospaceengineer of Lockheed Martin and NASA,in its 2004-2005 edition.

Howard grew up in the United King-dom where he practised aeronauticalengineering and naval architecture.

In response to an invitation from theLockheed Aircraft Corporation, hemoved to the U.S. where he explored theuse of symbolic mathematical computa-tion. This is a technique whereby acomputer can be used to formulate math-ematical models.

One of the many papers that werepublished with Dr. D. R. Young underthe auspices of the Ames Life Sciences

Division, was titled ‘A Simplified Con-trol System for Predicting the GrowthHormone Response of Human Subjectsto Various Physical Activities.

Acting on a suggestion by NASAHeadquarters and in order to demon-strate the wide range of applicability ofthis technique, the results were pub-lished in book form. The book assumedthe form of a special publication andwas entitled ‘Mathematical Modelingof Diverse Phenomena.’ Howard waslisted in ‘Who’s Who’ in September 2003.

This year’s edition will be registeredat the Library of Congress in Washing-ton, D.C. It is only available to thoseprofessionals who are included.