Mural Of NASA’s Past Present And Future.

Our cheering faces are in an Official NASA Tumblr post. Go Cotern class of Fall 2015! You all can join us at NASA by applying for an internship, Pathways Internship (Co-Op), Recent grad program, Full Time position or become an astronaut!

So you want to work at NASA?

An out of this world career or internship might not be as far out of reach as you think. Check out all the ways you can get involved!

If you’re a student…

Our internships are the perfect place to start! We offer paid internships for spring, summer, and fall semesters to U.S. citizens currently attending an accredited university full time. Learn more at: https://intern.nasa.gov

Seriously considering a job in the Federal civil service? Check out the Pathways Internship Program which allows you to do multiple work tours while you finish school: http://nasajobs.nasa.gov/studentopps/employment/iep.htm

If you’re a recent graduate…

If you’re a U.S. citizen who has graduated from an accredited college or university within the past 2 years (or 6 if you have served in the military), then the our Recent Graduates program is just for you. Accepted applicants are placed in a 1 year career development program with the possibility of an additional year, or even granted term or permanent jobs within the agency. Learn more at: http://nasajobs.nasa.gov/studentopps/employment/rgp.htm.

If you’re a professional…

You can search for our job openings any time at USAJobs.com. Create an account, then use the USAJobs resume builder. Want to make sure your resume maximizes your opportunity for a job at NASA? Check out our Applicant Guide: https://applyonline.nasa.gov/applicant_guide.html.

You can then search for our job openings here: https://nasai.usajobs.gov/.

If you want to be an astronaut…

Astronaut candidate applications are accepted every few years- including right now! Get yours in before the current application closes on February 18, 2016.

Do you have a bachelor’s degree in a STEM field and 3 years of related professional experience? You might be eligible. Find out more and apply online at: https://nasai.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/423817000.

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

Intern Week 6: A NASA Coincidence

Coincidence

I had barely graduated high school before embarking to NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio for an internship two summers ago. Equipped with my experience captaining a FIRST Robotics team I thought I was fully prepared for anything the engineering world could throw at me. Engineers racing to complete a power system for a multipurpose space habitat greeted me with hardware that needed testing, circuit board designs that needed fabricating, and copious acronyms that made my learning curve spike.

Fast forward two summers and I am now at at a different center, NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC), creating crew displays for that same habitat and same hardware. By crazy coincidence my mentor from Glenn came to JSC this week to run the full systems test with the displays my current department made. This system test means a lot to me after being on each end of the development. I was the only person who new the electronics inside of the power system and  the digital guts powering the displays.

Astronaut Lunch

Yes you read that right lunch not launch. I had the gracious opportunity to meet Astronaut Mike Hopkins over lunch! He was on International Space Station (ISS) expedition 36 & 37, took part in two EVAs (extra vehicular activity), he has spent 166 days in space, and just a year ago he was in space. It was wonderful to talk to him about NASA, ways to become an astronaut and celebrity encounters.

Thermo Testing

A couple weeks ago I mentioned that us interns took part in thermo testing of cameras from the ISS in the wee hours of the night. In honor of our assistance our division, the Avionic Systems Division, awarded us will certificates in Team Excellence for "reinforcing the weary EHDC project team during overnight thermo testing." Caleb from: astronomicalwonders.tumblr.com also received this honor.

Data from: McCarthy, Niall. "Some Tech Internships Pay More Than $75,000 A Year." Statista The Statistics Portal. N.p., 5 Mar. 2014. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.

Sensing Mars: NASA Co-Op #2 Week Nine

Running trials with the new humidity on my fluid rig showed the fruits of my labor finally ripened. This week I ran three trials to collect data determining if a small business designed Humidity Sensor makes accurate measurements. NASA collaborates with small businesses to solve problems related to upcoming missions. The small business designed this Humidity Sensor so it could measure the humidity on Mars without corroding due to the planet’s chemistry.

Using sensors that NASA is familiar with I ran trial cases to get three different data points and compared those measurements to the new sensor. I created a low humidity environment with a desiccant (drier), created a moderate humidity with ambient air and a high humidity environment with a water bubbler. Using a National Instruments cDAQ (compact data acquisition) I collected data from a thermocouple, pressure gauge and a Vaisala humidity sensor that measures dew point (the temperature at which air can no longer “hold” all of the water vapor which is mixed with it) and mixing ratio (mass of water vapor over the mass of dry air). The new humidity sensor simply gives me the parts per million (ppm) of water using it’s ultrasensitive laser absorption spectroscopy. My other sensors don’t give me a ppm value so I have to calculate it using equations from my mentors “Fundamentals of Engineering Thermodynamics” book.

Building this trial rig was a unique experience because it required knowledge in electronics to interpret the signals sent by the sensors, computer science to write the data acquisition program and VNC (Virtual Network Computing) and chemical engineering to interpret data reported and use correct thermodynamics principles and equations. Next week will be looking at the data and get tangible values about how accurate the new Humidity Sensor is.

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

Check out the AstrOlympics

See what NASA was up to this week

Apply for a NASA Co-Op

Apply for a NASA Internship

NASA Intern Reviews The Martian Movie

Maybe I am biased saying that The Martian is a must see, inspiring, stellar movie because I eat, sleep and defecate space exploration. However I am not here to tell you how great it was cinematically but answer some questions folks are curious about. As a NASA intern can you share some of the accuracies and inaccuracies of The Martain? Understand that many from the space community hang up their lab coats before walking into the theater. With my unhealthy space obsession I was wearing my lab coat complete with googles and a pocket protector.

Dust Storm Astronauts of the Ares III mission are caught in a dust storm so fierce they are forced to scrub the mission and return to Earth early. This catastrophic events sounds socking leaving people to wonder, why would we want to explore such a hostile planet? Fortunately the scenario of a powerful dust storm is not possible due to Mars’ thin atmosphere, 100 times thinner than Earth’s. Mars does indeed  have dust storms, in fact the largest dust storms in our solar system, they could not however knock anyone over. Author Andy Weir was aware of the inaccuracy even thinking of alternate openings but ultimately stuck with the dust storm opening.

Suiting Up Valiantly Mark Watney and the other astronauts quickly suited up to abort, perform tasks, or save a friend. The suits that are currently being used on board the International Space Station take around 15 minutes to don. Before astronauts perform Extra Vehicular Activities (EVAs), like a space walk, they start testing and preparing suit a day before. Some activies the astronauts must perform to prep for an EVA include; Pre-breathe 100 percent oxygen for 30 minutes to remove nitrogen from their blood and tissue, Rub the helmet with anti-fog compound, Insert a food bar and water-filled bag, and Check the suit for leaks by increasing the pressure to 0.20 atm above the airlock pressure. Maybe the models of space suits in The Martian have advanced greatly and take seconds to put on. Today’s astronauts would sure be jealous.

Banter Joking between the crew members and sarcasm between NASA members was accurate. Performing missions can get stressful and comments like the astronauts made between each other during Mars rock excavation occurs to relieve tension. But sometimes astronauts simply have a sense of humor. I’m glad The Martian portrayed the human side of NASA.

Mission Control Portrayed as a dimly lit stock exchange room futuristic Johnson Space Center (JSC) Mission Control Center contains dozens of consoles where flight controllers operate mission from. The first big no no is housing employees responsible for critical dynamic troubleshooting in a dark sleepy room. Cinematically it made the labels for the various consoles Flight Director, CAPCOM, ADCO look really cool. Yes, the mission control center in JSC has cool light-up blue console name plates. A second no no is the high number of consoles filling the big room. A flight director would have problems communicating with such a large group especially while systems were failing.

I understand that so many positions in mission control were added to operate the new technologies needed to complete the Mars mission and I thought of a solution. Currently at JSC our front room mission control (FCR, pronounced “ficker”) is what everyone sees on TV with the iconic consoles and big displays. Behind the scenes the Multi-Purpose Support Room (MPSR, pronounced “mipser”) controllers troubleshoot issues and work on procedures as well. MPSRs could reduce the number of consoles needed for a Mars mission. MPSR controllers can still communicate their concerns on audio loops to their FCR leaders.

NASA Family Everyone was cheering to save Mark Watney and bring him home. NASA scientists, engineers, leaders, and the whole community came together working overtime to keep him alive. This sense of “NASA Family” is very real at NASA and is a state of community that you feel even after a few weeks onsite. During Apollo 13 you could sense everyone’s held breath and relief when they returned safely. You could feel a heavy weight and sorrow after the Columbia and Challenger disasters. Pride was presented boldly with waving flags, hugs and cheering after the Moon landing. NASA is a family innovating for the future and striving for more moments to cheer about.

Little Catches *Good the time delay in communication between Mars and Earth was accurately explained. *Why was that astrophysicist wearing a heavy coat at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California and Johnson Space Center in Texas? *Our NASA Centers do not yet look that pristine, in fact a lot of them contain asbestos.

Sources My experience and… https://youtu.be/m2bkJQah_dE http://science.howstuffworks.com/space-suit6.htm http://stao.ca/gr6space/livinginspace/Donning%20a%20spacesuit%20_article.pdf http://www.space.com/16903-mars-atmosphere-climate-weather.html

Hey there, oh wait... there’s no one inside.

My first NASA internship was at @nasa‘s Glenn Research Center so the news of John Glenn's passing hits hard. Glenn was the 1st American to orbit Earth and 5th human in space. He also served in the Korean War, was one of the "Mercury Seven" (NASA Military test pilot) and was a US Senator from Ohio. Glenn has done tremendous things for the advancement of human spaceflight. Thanks for your service John Glenn! 

(via GIPHY)

Watch Juno Spacecraft Arrive at Jupiter July 4th 9:30pmCT

Click here to watch live

Juno spacecraft media briefing screenshots from today! This basketball sized craft will insert into Jupiter’s orbit exposing itself to the radiation equivalent to a human receiving 100 million X-Rays in a year. Jupiter’s is still cooling down since its creation like taking a cake out of the oven. The famous red spot reveals how that heat is coming out. Goals of this mission include: learning how Jupiter was formed, how does its storms differ from our storms, what is the magnitude of its magnetic field, more accurately determine what is Jupiter composed of.

NASA Co-Op Week 16: Barf Lab & Mockups

Twenty five weeks at NASA Johnson I finally got a proper tour, lead by a tour guide, of the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility that houses exact replicas (build with same blueprint) of International Space Station modules, Shuttle, and Soyuz. Astronauts train in these mockups. A "low definition" mockup of Orion was present too.

Neurosciences Laboratory took us on a tour of their various astronaut barf machines. It is really like the rumors of spinning chairs, dizzying treadmills, and dark enclosed sliding contraptions. The spinning is to isolate parts of your brain that are used for balance. Only one day after Space Station astronauts return to Earth in Russia they are flown over to Johnson Space Center and put through a series of gravity adaptation tests. They had to pick up weighted objects, navigate around obstacles, jump of a short platform, and exit a hatch like structure. These tests will help NASA determine if astronauts would be capable of completing Mars surface operations after a long low gravity flight to the Red Planet. I wouldn't be surprised if returning astronauts Kjell, Oleg and Kimiya are on their way to the barf lab right now!

Most of the NASA Johnson Co-Ops and Interns complete their Fall semester this week. It is absolutely heart breaking to get to know so many space passionate people only to have to say goodbye at the end of the semester. I wish I could see all of these stellar students participate in NASA's future as they have already contributed to the growth of space exploration. It was an honor to work among these bright minds.

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

Accomplishments this week at NASA: https://youtu.be/4tw5uwHD0PEApply for a NASA Internship NOW (high school to grad school):https://intern.nasa.gov/ossi/web/public/main/Apply for a NASA Co-Op (Pathways Internship):http://nasajobs.nasa.gov/studentopps/employment/opportunities.htmLearn to code: https://hourofcode.com/usMeteor Shower live chat December 13th: https://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news/news/releases/2015/M15-180.htmlCurrent NASA opportunities for students: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/current-opps-index.htmlCode more: https://www.madewithcode.com/

Robotics Engineering Challenge Recycle Rush

Around the world FIRST Robotics teams huddled around screens big and small to watch their newest engineering mission be unveiled. Some in awe, shock, and disappointment students reacted to their newest challenge Recycle Rush. By February 17th, just six weeks, teams must create a robot that race to stack totes, lift containers, and herd pool noodles.

In Recycle Rush, two alliances of three teams race against the clock to stack as many objects a possible in two and a half minutes. This is a unique game for FIRST Robotics since each alliance will be separated by a six inch barrier, there will no longer be a need for defense. Although some students are disappointed in the lack of  defensive plays and butting heads with the opposing alliance this gives them an opportunity to focus on intricate game piece manipulation rather than protecting their robot. Coopertition, coined by professor and co-founder Woodie Flowers, is a unique characteristic of Recycle Rush as well. For double the points alliances can cooperate with their opposing alliance to stack totes in the middle of the field.

Recycle Rush Game Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTyCIYZQ_1s

How I'm Helping Out: During build season I will be mentoring the Duluth East Daredevils Robotics Team's media department. We are joining forces with a rival team and Duluth News Tribune to do reporting on the build season and FIRST robotics regional competition February 26th-28th in Duluth, MN. Here is what was published previous seasons: http://www.daredevils2512.org/media/bluedevil-press/

How You Can Help Out: FIRST Robotics competitions around the globe are in need of volunteers. To be a volunteer and help the cause there are both technical and nontechnical positions. Check it out! http://www.usfirst.org/community/volunteers