This Movie Is Going To Be Amazing! And I Will Be At NASA When It Comes Out! "HIDDEN FIGURES Is The Incredible

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

Mars Dust into Thrust: NASA Co-Op #2 Week One

You would think pursuing a double major in electrical engineering and computer science would provide enough breadth to remain confident at a Co-Op... wrong. As I start my second Co-Op tour at NASA Johnson's Propulsion & Energy Conversion team I am finding that the more you learn the less you know. This summer I will be LabVIEW programming for In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) a system that turns Mars dust into fuel. ISRU is a rover payload that takes in mars atmosphere and soil and turns it into liquid methane and oxygen (fuel options). Other capabilities is getting O2 to breathe and excavating drinkable water. One of my projects is to control with a National Instruments compact cRIO an oxygen liquefier and a new water concentration sensor. The sensor I am testing uses spectroscopy to eliminate sensor erosion from corrosive Mars materials. These tasks are very chemical engineering heavy which require understanding a system and how to control it safely. I am excited to tackle this learning curve, understand more about Mars mission energy systems, and become more comfortable with chemical engineering concepts. WAYS TO GET INVOLVED Watch what NASA is up to: https://youtu.be/p_snvjghMJg Learn how to program with LabVIEW: https://youtu.be/IOkoyuikj5Q?list=PLdNp0fxltzmPvvK_yjX-XyYgfVW8WK4tu Read about our journey to Mars: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/journeytomars/index.html ISRU in more depth: https://youtu.be/M3HbD1S_H5U

Space Device User Test: NASA Co-Op #3 Week 13

Feels like a day back in high school robotics. Staying late Friday to work out the last software bug. If there is a team member in the lab, you are in the lab. Instead a team of high school robo-prodigies, I lead a team of developers and flight controllers in preparation for a space device user test. The goal is to test a stowage app may make unloading and loading cargo ships easier astronauts to perform on the International Space Station. The app runs on a device that makes these operations more hands free. Additionally the app may make stowage operations more error free. I have coordinated the Stowage App's debut - a user test performed by experienced Mission Control flight controllers in NASA Johnson's Space Vehicle Mockup Facility (SVMF). The SVMF is filled with exact replicas where astronauts train and devices are tested.

During the space device user test participants were asked to go on a sort of extraterrestrial Easter egg hunt. Users were asked to unpack stowage items from a visiting vehicle mockup and stow them in the International Space Station mockup. While participants learn how to use the app and pick up items non-biased data takers record results and record reactions. Unapologetically, we threw the users under the bus without giving a tutorial on how to use the app. This way data takers could assess how intuitive (or not) the app is.

Valuable data was collected about app usability. Developers shared they already had ideas to make the app more user friendly. For the remainder of my Co-Op tour I will be engaged with data analysis, brainstorming with the dev team how to improve the app and a pitch to management about continuing app development.

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

"This week at NASA" video highlights John H Glenn's interment and Cassini the Saturn orbiter's final days prep.

If you missed NASA's Snapchat story featuring interns their Tumblr page shares how you can land a PAID NASA internship.

Become a US Government Civil Servant and get on track to becoming a full-time NASA employee by participating in the NASA Pathways Internship Program (Co-Op).

Details about Cassini's last shot to take data on Saturn.

Working on a Main Bus Switching Unit test bed for a solar array regulator.

#NASAIntern #jsc #glenn #NASA

NASA Co-Op Week 7: Astronaut, Rovers & Robots

One wheel off the edge of a cliff ten of us were jam packed in a rover sweating like dogs.

Robonaut, Valkyrie, Modular Robotic Vehicle and Small Pressurized Rover are the electrical explorers we visited during a Johnson Space Center robotics tour. Waiting in NASA's Rock Yard was a speedy electric vehicle and a crater climbing rover. MRV is an electric drive vehicle that is has high maneuverability that would score big in drifting competitions. We all got to ride in the Small Pressurized Rover which wasn't really small at all. This giant monster truck looking rover took us in and out of  lunar like creators and up a steep Mars like hill. The operator drove us to the edge of the hill and asked, "All right, are you ready to go down?" Grasping to our seats we were all white knuckled. Backing up the rover the operator laughed, "Going down that hill would have wrecked the vehicle". For those few seconds the inside of the rover became even more sauna like. In The Martian movie you will see a modified version of the Small Pressurized Rover that Mark Watney drives around.

Robotnaut is the humanoid robot you see on the news all the time that works in the International Space Station (ISS). Flexing muscles and articulating fingers Robotnaut showed off for us. Robotnaut is very strong able to lift over 20lb of weight in manners that would make arm day miserable. However, Robotnaut is also very delicate able to sense the wight of a nickle on its fingertips.

Valkyrie is a full bodied humanoid robot designed to perform human tasks in conditions unsafe for humans. The idea for Valkyrie came after the Fukushima Accident where more damage could have been avoided if valves were closed near the site, a task a robot could do. Valkyrie is also being designed for low gravity exploration like Mars or Lunar exploration.

Astronaut Michael Fossum talked us student this week too. He flew two Shuttle Missions and a six month long mission to the International Space Station. Before he was in space Fossum engineered ways to repair the shuttle during space walks to prevent any pieces from breaking off. During the space walk  Fossum navigated over to the tiles on the space station and sealed spaces and breaks with cocking substance. He mentioned when you look "down" in various directions during a spacewalk you can either see the surface of Earth or a black nothingness.  Fossum also was the first to capture a time-lapse of Northern Light and the first astronaut to operate Robotnaut on the ISS.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

Read about the Small Pressurized Rover and its future missions

Learn about Valkyrie's future endeavors

Watch Astronaut Mike Fossum operate Robotnaut

Robotnaut's younger sibling Robotnaut2 operating switches on the ISS

Human like hand motions by Robonaut2

Start your career with NASA and tune into a Virtual Career Fair and hear about internship, fellowships and scholarships October 8th 12pm-3:30pmCT

Just got my planet stamps from the US Postal Office today for some summer letter writing. They are beautiful!

Space Stamps

Coming in to a post office near you: new “Views of Our Planets: Forever stamps featuring iconic images of the planets in our solar system, including the well-known “Blue Marble” photo of Earth.

New “Pluto Explored” Forever stamps commemorating the July 2015 flyby of Pluto by our New Horizons spacecraft are also being issued for online purchase.

The May 31 first-day-of-issue dedication ceremony for the Pluto and planetary stamps will be in New York City at the World Stamp Show. This international gathering of stamp collectors occurs only once each decade in the United States, and – with more than 250,000 visitors expected to attend – is the largest stamp show in the world.

The Pluto stamps are of special significance to the New Horizons team, which placed a 20-cent 1991 “Pluto: Not Yet Explored” stamp on board the spacecraft. On July 14, 2015, New Horizons carried the stamp on its history-making journey to Pluto and beyond, as jubilant members of the mission team celebrated with a large print, striking the words “not yet.”

The above pane of 16 Forever stamps, the Postal Service showcases some of the more visually compelling historic, full-disk images of the planets obtained during the last half-centruy of our space exploration. Eight new colorful Forever stamps – each shown twice – feature Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

This isn’t the first time that space has been featured on postal stamps. In the past, many different space images and missions have been highlighted on the tiny pieces of paper you stick on the corner of your mail.

Here’s a look at a few space stamps of the past:

Nebulae

Stamps depicting multiple nebulae seen by the Hubble Space Telescope were released in 2000. 

Pioneer 10 

Launched in 1972, Pioneer 10 was the first spacecraft to travel through the asteroid belt and obtain close-ups of Jupiter

U.S. Launches Satellites 

This stamp, released in 1999, depicts the post World War II race in space exploration. 

Alan Shepard: First American in Space

This stamp, released in 2011, featured Alan Shepard, the first American in space. Flying on the Mercury spacecraft, Shepard launched, flew 116 miles high and came back to Earth. His flight lasted about 15 and a half minutes. 

MESSENGER Mission

MESSENGER, launching in 2004, was the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury. This stamp, released in 2011, highlighted this mission and its importance. Understanding Mercury and how it formed is critical to better understanding the conditions on and evolution of the inner planets.

The new “Views of our Planets” stamps will be widely available across the U.S. at post offices and for online purchase beginning May 31. The Pluto – Explored Forever stamps will only be sold online or by calling 800-782-6724.

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

Soon I will be returning to mission control for my fourth Co-Op tour at NASA Johnson Space Center. I will be joining Inventory Stowage Officers (ISO) team in mission control. ISO ensures supplies and experiments are delivered to the International Space Station, completed experiments return to Earth in one piece and space garbage successfully burns up in the atmosphere and does not land in someone's backyard. Last  mission control Co-Op I sat console with ISO and watched Kjell Lindgren load the Japanese HTV-5 cargo ship with garbage playfully floating through station with the bags of garbage. I have a feeling ISO will be busy after a long pattern of cargo ship failures and the most recent Russian Progress 65 cargo failure (as SpaceX calls it, rapid unscheduled disassembly) transporting a space toilet, updated space suits and Christmas presents for the astronauts from their families. I expect work I will be doing with ISO will include logistics work on what has priority to be sent up to space station and collaborating with scientists about how their experiment with be stored. Additionally, Super Bowl LI in Houston and the Hidden Figures premiere are NASA related events I am looking forward to.

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

* Often a live feed of Houston's Mission Control is streamed on NASA TV. My colleagues enjoy trying to catch me picking my nose when sitting console.

* Learn about the programmers behind the Apollo mission in the new movie Hidden Figures.

* Check out everything NASA accomplished in 2016 jam packed in a 3.5 minute video.

* Learn programming with Code.org, Elementary, Middle School, High School and Beyond.

A journal book I covered in little black star drawings

Launching Your Aerospace Career

As unbelievable as it seems my passion for aerospace and space research was not found until my senior year in high school. There are many programs I wish I had known about throughout my schooling and programs I still want to participate in the future. I hope this post open doors about ways you can launch your aerospace career and spark your imagination.

Elementary School

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Jr. LEGO League  (Jr.FLL) Students ages 6 - 9 create an invention out of LEGO parts that solves real world problems.

FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Students ages 9 - 14 design, build, and program LEGO Robots that compete in a game. A really cool FLL team

VEX IQ Challenge Elementary - middle school students build controllable robots to complete tasks and compete.

Middle School

FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Students ages 9 - 14 design, build, and program LEGO Robots that compete in a game. A really cool FLL team

FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Students in grades 7 - 12 design, fabricate, wire, and program robots to compete in alliances. A really cool FTC team

VEX IQ Challenge Elementary - middle school students build controllable robots to complete tasks and compete.

VEX Robotics Competition With skills in computer aided design, programming, animation, and fabrication middle school - college students build robots and compete on alliances of 2 V 2 to achieve reach the top score.

High School

FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Students in grades 7 - 12 design, fabricate, wire, and program robots to compete in alliances. A really cool FTC team

FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) In only six weeks high school students from around the world design and build 120 lb robots to play games such as soccer, basketball, and Ultimate Frisbee. I captained an FRC team in high school and can vouch that all the FIRST robotics leagues (JrFLL - FRC) are fantastic! My old high school's FRC team

Texas High School Aerospace Scholars High school students from Texas get to collaborate with NASA engineers onsite to complete a week long project and work among fellow scholars.

VEX Robotics Competition With skills in computer aided design, programming, animation, and fabrication middle school - college students build robots and compete on alliances of 2 V 2 to achieve reach the top score.

Glenn High School Internship Project (GHIP) Eight week paid internship for high schoolers to work at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. This opportunity is for incoming juniors and seniors.

K - 12

Science, Engineering, Mathematics, and Aerospace Academy (SEMAA) Summer filled with innovation offering activities for all Contact

Destination Imagination Improv to engineering, art to teamwork students compete from around the world in many disciplines.

College

NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS) Community college students get onsite and online NASA experience and education.

VEX Robotics Competition With skills in computer aided design, programming, animation, and fabrication middle school - college students build robots and compete on alliances of 2 V 2 to achieve reach the top score.

NASA College Internships Paid internships at NASA available for year round and every season at the various NASA centers.

NASA Pathways Internship (College Co-Op) Now the OSSI internships are different than what NASA calls Pathways Internships (more commonly known as Co-Ops) where you are a civil servant with higher pay and benefits. You also go on “tours” (at least 3) where you switch between a semester working and NASA and a semester studying three times.

All Ages and Disciplines

Alphabetical order list of NASA programs for all ages and disciplines.

*My earlier posts explain FIRST Robotics better* **Next post, as a woman in STEM, I will focus on resources for women in STEM!**

(TopL: NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars Credit: NASA, TopR: Jr. LEGO League creation Credit:FIRST FLL, Middle: Me lining up my high school robotics team’s basketball shooting robot Credit: Daredevils FRC Robotics Team 2512, BottomL: LEGO Mindstorm robot Credit: LEGO, BottomR: In a parade with NASA Glenn and their Orion float.)