Never Underestimate The Power Of A Little Positive Feedback On Another Writer’s Work. You Could Be

The Stranger and the "A" Word

Recently, someone introduced herself to me and then immediately asked what I do. When I mentioned living life immersed in the Autism Spectrum (Asperger's), this stranger gave me quite the blank stare. She left me wondering if she thought Asperger's was a myth. Or that she felt living life as a Neurotypical is "better than". And that my career as a writer and advocate was "less than". But she didn't utter anything other than a few barely audible words. Somehow mentioning the "A" word left her speechless. I wanted to tell her she'll catch flies with a mouth open wide like that. But, I didn't. I was in church. And so was she. And I'm striving to be better than that. Maybe she merely didn't know how to respond? Still, there are far too many who will never "get it" and that...gets me.

Truth

When my routine/schedule gets messed up….

My publisher, Future Horizons, has this free social stories piece written by Carol Gray specifically for victims of hurricane Harvey, but also applies to Irma. Grab it and share it if you feel it will help. Esp helpful for parents.

Read it? Tell me your thoughts.

AspieCon is part Aspergers Convention, part resource fair. There a several panels, activities, CosPlay, D&D and more!

Cassini Mission: What’s Next?

It’s Friday, Sept. 15 and our Cassini mission has officially come to a spectacular end. The final signal from the spacecraft was received here on Earth at 7:55 a.m. EDT after a fateful plunge into Saturn’s atmosphere.

After losing contact with Earth, the spacecraft burned up like a meteor, becoming part of the planet itself.

Although bittersweet, Cassini’s triumphant end is the culmination of a nearly 20-year mission that overflowed with discoveries.

But, what happens now?

Mission Team and Data

Now that the spacecraft is gone, most of the team’s engineers are migrating to other planetary missions, where they will continue to contribute to the work we’re doing to explore our solar system and beyond.

Mission scientists will keep working for the coming years to ensure that we fully understand all of the data acquired during the mission’s Grand Finale. They will carefully calibrate and study all of this data so that it can be entered into the Planetary Data System. From there, it will be accessible to future scientists for years to come.

Even beyond that, the science data will continue to be worked on for decades, possibly more, depending on the research grants that are acquired.

Other team members, some who have spent most of their career working on the Cassini mission, will use this as an opportunity to retire.

Future Missions

In revealing that Enceladus has essentially all the ingredients needed for life, the mission energized a pivot to the exploration of “ocean worlds” that has been sweeping planetary science over the past couple of decades.

Jupiter’s moon Europa has been a prime target for future exploration, and many lessons during Cassini’s mission are being applied in planning our Europa Clipper mission, planned for launch in the 2020s.

The mission will orbit the giant planet, Jupiter, using gravitational assists from large moons to maneuver the spacecraft into repeated close encounters, much as Cassini has used the gravity of Titan to continually shape the spacecraft’s course.

In addition, many engineers and scientists from Cassini are serving on the new Europa Clipper mission and helping to shape its science investigations. For example, several members of the Cassini Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer team are developing an extremely sensitive, next-generation version of their instrument for flight on Europa Clipper. What Cassini has learned about flying through the plume of material spraying from Enceladus will be invaluable to Europa Clipper, should plume activity be confirmed on Europa.

In the decades following Cassini, scientists hope to return to the Saturn system to follow up on the mission’s many discoveries. Mission concepts under consideration include robotic explorers to drift on the methane seas of Titan and fly through the Enceladus plume to collect and analyze samples for signs of biology.

Atmospheric probes to all four of the outer planets have long been a priority for the science community, and the most recent recommendations from a group of planetary scientists shows interest in sending such a mission to Saturn. By directly sampling Saturn’s upper atmosphere during its last orbits and final plunge, Cassini is laying the groundwork for an potential Saturn atmospheric probe.

A variety of potential mission concepts are discussed in a recently completed study — including orbiters, flybys and probes that would dive into Uranus’ atmosphere to study its composition. Future missions to the ice giants might explore those worlds using an approach similar to Cassini’s mission.

Learn more about the Cassini mission and its Grand Finale HERE.

Follow the mission on Facebook and Twitter for the latest updates.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.

Why we’re excited to engage audiences in new ways

About me. About this tumblr.

For the curious, I am first and foremost an individual, like you. My thoughts are my own, which might make a devout marketer cringe. After too many years of “worrying what others think” I’m trying to live more of life unfiltered. This tumblr is an exercise in doing just that.

I’m also real. Posts you see here are written by me, not an assistant. Or a bot. Or even aliens. This means there will be typos and bad grammar at times. (This is why authors have editors. We’re hardly perfect although a few authors claim to be gods.)

Personally, I believe we are all unique and should have the freedom to be who we are. All too often others find a way to force us encourage us to be more “like them”. I tried that. It sucks. It kills you slowly from the inside out. Sure, it can take a while to find out who you are, but we also change over time. Just be real. “You do you” and have peace with that. (And don’t hurt anyone, ‘kay?) Let’s keep things peaceful and do no harm. And let’s respect each other.

I am an author, really. My book, Asperger’s in Pink, is my first book. I’m honored it’s been read all over the globe, and I’m humbled it has helped many. That’s the thing - I do this writing-advocacy bit because it’s where my passion lies. Of course, my husband would love a paycheck to go with that, but, hey, ya can’t have everything?

Or can you? Hmm...

Other than Asperger’s, I’ll share what’s on my mind. That often involves our fur-butt Yorkie, coffee and whatever else. Again, this is a real person here. And, like you, I’m multi-dimensional.

~Julie

Claim courage and you will find a way to improve your life. 💕