Spring 2011 - A Quarterly Publication

www.nasa.gov

continued on page 5

The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, SOFIA, achieved 

a major milestone when it 

conducted its first science 

flight using the German 

Receiver for Astronomy 

at Terahertz Frequencies 

(GREAT) instrument on 

April 6, 2011. 

 GREAT is a high-resolution, far-infrared spectrometer that finely divides 

and sorts light into component colors for detailed 

analysis. GREAT Principal 

Investigator Rolf Guesten 

of the Max Planck Institute 

for Radio Astronomy in 

Bonn, Germany, and his 

team conducted observations high above the central and western United 

States beginning the night 

of April 5.

 Among their targets 

SOFIA soars on first flight with German science instrument

were IC 342, a spiral 

galaxy located 11 million 

light-years from Earth in 

the constellation Camelopardalis ("The Giraffe"), 

and the Omega Nebula 

(known as M17), 5,000 

light-years away in Sagittarius. The team captured 

and analyzed radiation 

from ionized carbon atoms 

and carbon monoxide molecules to probe the chemical reactions, motions of 

matter and flows of energy 

occurring in interstellar 

clouds. Astronomers have 

evidence such clouds in 

both IC 342 and M17 are 

forming numerous massive 

stars.

 "These first spectra are 

the reward for the many 

years of work creating this 

The German Receiver for Astronomy at Terahertz Frequencies spectrometer, GREAT, is mounted on the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared 

Astronomy’s telescope in its normal position. NASA photo by Tom Tschida

NASA, students celebrate 50 years of human space flight

More than 6,500 students recently participated in 

Yuri’s Education Day at Ames.

NASA photo by Dominic Hart

Today, space exploration still inspires wonder in a 

new generation -- sparking 

passions and pursuit of the 

unknown. To show their support for spaceflight, more than 

6,500 students recently celebrated the 50th anniversary 

of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s 

first human journey into space 

at NASA Ames.

Students attended the 

April 8 event from all over 

the San Francisco/ San Jose 

Bay Area. They represented 

62 schools, the majority Title 

I schools, and ranged from 

elementary to high school. 

Numerous hands-on learning activities were available, 

including interactive exhibits, 

workshops and presentations 

by leading scientists, engi- neers and technology experts. 

Games included space trivia 

and a scavenger hunt. 

 Additional activities inBy Ruth Dasso Marlai

cluded building and launching rockets, 

controlling a Mars rover replica, learning how an infrared camera works and 

making music in an immersive environment.

 Students were given tours of real 

aircraft, including a high-performance, 

supersonic F-104 Starfighter; a 

medium-lift, utility H-60 Black Hawk 

helicopter; and a California Air National Guard C-130 Hercules four-engine 

turboprop. 

 Guest speakers included NASA 

Education’s Deputy Administrator Jim 

Stofan and former astronaut Daniel 

Barry, who talked about his experience on the STS-105 Space Shuttle 

Discovery that flew to the International 

Space Station (ISS) in August 2001. 

“It’s a kick in the pants,” Barry told 

a student audience. “We were four 

months late bringing supplies and 

equipment to the station. So they were 

really glad to see us.” 

Once an astronaut is aboard the 

ISS, it’s all about teamwork. They work 

continued on page 6
2

Astrogram Spring 2011

NASA's Kepler mission has discovered its first Earth-size planet candidates and its first candidates in the 

habitable zone, a region where liquid 

water could exist on a planet's surface. 

Five of the potential planets are near 

Earth-size and orbit in the habitable 

zone of smaller, cooler stars than our 

sun. 

 Candidates require follow-up 

observations to verify they are actual 

planets. Kepler also found six confirmed planets orbiting a sun-like star, 

Kepler-11. This is the largest group 

of transiting planets orbiting a single 

star yet discovered outside our solar 

system. 

"In one generation we have gone 

from extraterrestrial planets being 

a mainstay of science fiction, to the 

present, where Kepler has helped turn 

science fiction into today's reality," said 

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. 

"These discoveries underscore the im- portance of NASA's science missions, 

which consistently increase under- standing of our place in the cosmos." 

 The discoveries are part of 

several hundred new planet candidates identified in new Kepler mission 

science data, released in February. 

The findings increase the number of 

planet candidates identified by Kepler 

to-date to 1,235. Of these, 68 are 

approximately Earth-size; 288 are 

super-Earth-size; 662 are Neptunesize; 165 are the size of Jupiter and 19 

are larger than Jupiter. Of the 54 new 

planet candidates found in the habitable zone, five are near Earth-sized. 

The remaining 49 habitable zone candidates range from super-Earth size -- 

up to twice the size of Earth -- to larger 

than Jupiter. 

 The findings are based on the 

results of observations conducted May 

12 to Sept. 17, 2009, of more than 

156,000 stars in Kepler's field of view, 

which covers approximately 1/400 of 

the sky. 

 "The fact that we've found so 

many planet candidates in such a 

tiny fraction of the sky suggests there 

are countless planets orbiting sunlike stars in our galaxy," said William 

Borucki of NASA's Ames, the mission's science principal investigator. 

"We went from zero to 68 Earth-sized 

planet candidates and zero to 54 candidates in the habitable zone, some 

of which could have moons with liquid 

water." 

Among the stars with planetary 

candidates, 170 show evidence of 

NASA’s Kepler mission finds Earth-size planet candidates

by Michael Mewhinney/Rachel Hoo

multiple planetary candidates. Ke- pler-11, located approximately 2,000 

light years from Earth, is the most 

tightly packed planetary system yet 

discovered. All six of its confirmed 

planets have orbits smaller than 

Venus, and five of the six have orbits 

smaller than Mercury's. The only other 

star with more than one confirmed 

transiting planet is Kepler-9, which has 

three. The Kepler-11 findings will be 

published in the Feb. 3 issue of the 

journal Nature. 

continued on page 5

NASA Ames has won two agency 

awards: the 2010 Government Invention of the Year Award and the 2010 

Commercial Invention of the Year 

Award.

Ames received the Government 

Invention Award for developing the 

Future ATM (Air Traffic Management) 

Concepts Evaluation Tool, FACET, a 

software that creates simulations for 

managing air-traffic scenarios.

"As the world's population grows 

and air travel demand increases, our 

airspace will become more crowded," 

said Banavar Sridhar, NASA senior scientist for Air Transportation 

Systems. "FACET helps air traffic 

management researchers find ways 

to increase airspace capacity and 

establish more efficient routes with 

the least impact on the environment, 

thereby saving fuel and minimizing 

emissions."

Ames won the Commercial Invention Award for developing a powder 

vibration system used in portable 

X-ray diffraction (XRD) instruments. 

Ames research scientist David Blake 

and former NASA post-doctoral fellow Philippe Sarrazin developed the 

technology, which was licensed to 

inXitu Inc. of Campbell, Calif.

"This invention changes the way 

people work in the field because it 

Ames wins awards for inventions

allows the scientist to take the instrument to the location of the analytical 

problem, rather than the opposite," 

Blake said. "Because the technology 

is portable, it has diverse applications 

in the field, including for geology, detection of counterfeit pharmaceuticals, 

or analyzing art objects and antiquities."

The powder vibration system 

enabled the development of a miniaturized soil and rock analysis instrument Ames provided that has been 

accepted for flight on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), NASA's next 

mission to Mars. MSL is scheduled to 

launch in November 2011. The MSL 

mission is managed for NASA by the 

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, 

Calif.

Each NASA field center submits 

nominations for the awards, which are 

evaluated by NASA's Inventions and 

Contributions Board. The board determines which nominations qualify for 

each category, ranks the nominees, 

and makes recommendations to the 

NASA Office of the General Counsel 

for review and approval. Ames previously won the NASA Government 

Invention of the Year award in 2008 

for a high-speed, 3-D laser scanner 

with real-time processing.

by Cathy Wes

Artist's rendition of the Kepler 

spacecraft with distant solar 

system. Credit: NASA/Kepler 

mission/Wendy Stenzel
3

Astrogram Spring 2011

Ames holds first open source software development summit

NASA hosted its first Open Source 

Summit at Ames March 29 and 30, 

2011. The successful event brought 

together engineers and policy makers 

across NASA as well as respected 

members of the open source community to discuss the challenges with the 

existing open source policy framework. 

Participants proposed modifications that would make it easier for 

NASA to develop, release, and use 

open source software. Guest speakers included Pascal Finette, director 

of Mozilla Labs; Dr. Robert Sutor, vice 

president of Open Systems at IBM; 

Chris Wanstrath, CEO and co-founder 

of Github; Brian Stevens, CTO and 

vice president of Worldwide Engineering at Red Hat; David Wheeler with the 

DoD; Linda Cureton, CIO for NASA 

and Terry Fong, director of NASA 

Ames’ Intelligent Robotics Group. 

The event brought together more 

than 700 registered participants, with 

545 of them participating online.

NASA’s first Open Source Summit held March 29 and 30 brought together engineers and policy 

makers across the agency as well as respected members of the open souce community.

NASA photo by Domiinic Hart

Nobel Prize winner Dr. 

Baruch “Barry” Blumberg, 

who served as the first direc- tor of the NASA Astrobiology 

Institute at NASA’s Ames 

Research Center from 1999 

to 2002, suffered an apparent 

heart attack while attending a 

conference at Ames on Tuesday, April 5. He was 85.

 Blumberg is best known 

as the winner of the 1976 Nobel Prize in Medicine for identifying the Hepatitis B virus. 

He shared the Nobel Prize 

with D. Carleton Gajdusek 

for their work on the origins 

and spread of infectious viral 

diseases.

 Blumberg was a featured 

speaker and participant at the 

International Lunar Research 

Park Exploratory Workshop 

being held in the NASA Ames 

Conference Center when he 

was stricken.

 “Barry Blumberg was a 

great biochemist and reThe world mourns humanitarian, Nobel Prize winner Baruch Blumberg

searcher,” said NASA 

Ames Research Center 

Director Pete Worden. 

“He was a leading light in 

the scientific community 

and a great humanitarian. He also was a loyal 

and supportive friend to 

NASA, Ames Research 

Center and the nation’s 

space program.”

 A native of New York, 

N.Y., Blumberg had been 

a member of the Fox 

Chase Cancer Center in 

Philadelphia since 1964 

and held the rank of University Professor of Medicine and Anthropology at 

the University of Pennsylvania since 1977. Since 

2005, he had served as 

president of the American 

Philosophical Society, the 

oldest learning society in 

the United States. He had 

been a member of the 

society since 1986. continued on page 6

by Michael Mewhinne

Baruch Blumberg, Nobel Prize winner

NASA photo by Tom Trower
4

Astrogram Spring 2011

NASA honors 13 Ames employees with Silver Snoopy Awards

NASA re- cently hosted 

about 100 reg- istered people 

to go “behindthe scenes” 

and learn 

about plan- etary discover- ies announced 

recently by 

the Kepler 

Mission and 

science flights 

conducted 

by NASA's 

Stratospheric 

Observatory for Infrared Astronomy 

(SOFIA) aircraft. 

The event kicked off at the NASA 

Ames Exploration Center at 10 a.m. 

on Feb. 11. The Tweetup featured 

several speakers, including Kepler 

Deputy Science Team Lead Natalie 

Batalha, SOFIA Project Scientist 

Pamela Marcum and David Morrison, 

Ames hosts successful Tweetup event

NASA photo by Kyle Cavallaro

director of the Carl Sagan Center for 

the Study of Life in the Universe. 

Tweetup participants came from 

19 states and six countries. More 

than 400 people signed up online for 

a Tweetup slot. 

Thirteen Ames employees, includ- ing eight from the Space Biosciences 

Division, recently received the pres- tigious 2010 Silver Snoopy award for 

their outstanding work and profes- sional dedication.

 Award recipients included Paula 

M. Dumars, David Heathcote, Louie 

Luzod, Karin Perkins, Nicole Rayl, 

Kevin Sato, Marianne Steele and Kenny Vassigh of the Space Biosciences 

Division; Jeremy Frank of the Intelligent Systems Division; Joseph Lavelle 

of the Engineering Systems Division; 

Donovan Mathias of the NASA Advaced Supercomputing Division; David 

Saunders of the Aerothermodynamics 

Branch; and Niki Werkheiser, also of 

the NASA Advanced Supercomputing 

Division. Astronauts Megan McArthur 

and Stephen Robinson presented the 

awards during a ceremony on April 4.

 The Ames Space Biosciences 

Division has been studying biology in 

space for more than four decades, and 

the eight award recipients from the 

division have been critical to a series 

of successful flight experiments on 

the International Space Station, space 

shuttle and the Russian Bion/Foton 

spacecraft.

 Luzod, an aerospace engineer, 

Rayl, science project manager, and 

Vassigh, mission operations integration manager, were honored for their 

outstanding work and dedication to the 

Human Spaceflight Program science 

experiments. 

 "We have an exceptional team at 

Ames, who are the world's best at conducting biological research in space. 

I'm very proud, but not surprised, that 

so many from our group are being 

honored,” said Sid Sun, chief of the 

Space Biosciences Division.

 Lockheed Martin contractors 

Paula Dumars, project scientist; David 

Heathcote, project operations lead; 

Karin Perkins, science payload logistics lead; Kevin Sato, project scientist; 

and Marianne Steele, project scientist 

were honored for their exceptional 

contributions to the Human Spaceflight Program. Their “can do” attitude, 

dedication to performing the best science possible, and flawless logistics 

planning and execution has ensured 

successful space life science experiments. 

 "We are proud to have so many 

Lockheed Martin personnel recognized for this prestigious award. It 

reflects the dedication and expertise 

these individuals bring every day to 

ensure mission success for Ames and 

the STS and ISS programs, and we 

appreciate the customer's recognition 

of these achievements," said Sharad 

Bhaskaran, program manager.

 Lavelle, project manager and lead 

engineer of the Ames Ames 3D Vision 

Lab, was honored for outstanding 

technical direction and leadership in 

developing the Mold Impression Laser 

Tool (MILT) which has significantly advanced safety inspection methodology 

for the space shuttle and increased 

human safety in space. Lavelle and 

his co-workers developed a set of 

3D imaging instruments and systems 

that detect and measure flaws on 

the space shuttle thermal protection 

system.

 Saunders, a contractor with 

ELORET Corp. and ERC, Inc., was 

honored for writing numerous codes to 

streamline the often tedious and time 

consuming task of running and analyzing high fidelity Computational Fluid 

Dynamics (CFD) simulations, thus 

greatly reducing the turnaround time, 

stress, and human errors associated 

with running CFD simulations. His 

software tools are now frequently used 

by the mission support team to create grids that model damages on the 

space shuttle; to extract surface and 

boundary layer properties from CFD 

solutions; and to automate the steps 

involved in running missing heat tiles 

or protruding gap filler simulations.

 Frank was honored in recognition of his substantial contributions 

to the advancement of technologies 

supporting human and robotic space 

exploration. His efforts have not only 

identified key technology needs, but 

also made great strides in developing 

and demonstrating those technologies 

in relevant operational environments. 

 Mathias was honored for advanc- ing the safety, reliability, and mission 

success of the Human Spaceflight 

Program by pioneering the develop- ment and implementation of Engineer- ing Risk Assessment (ERA). This 

innovative approach extends tradi- tional risk assessment techniques to 

explicitly include physics of failure and 

simulation methods, identify key riskdrivers, and provide analysis-based 

guidance for risk-informed design deci- sions. Through his exemplary dedica- tion and leadership, he has effectively 

implemented these capabilities to 

enhance the impact of NASA's core 

safety efforts, and expanded NASA’s 

recognition of the benefits of utilizing 

ERA to improve crew safety for future 

space flight programs.

 Werkheiser has made a number of 

significant contributions to ensure the 

continued on back page
5

Astrogram Spring 2011

technology, and underline the scientific 

potential of airborne far-infrared spec- troscopy," Guesten said.

 GREAT focused on strong farinfrared emissions from interstellar 

clouds that cool the clouds’ interiors. 

The balance between heating and 

cooling processes regulates the temperature of the interstellar material and 

controls initial conditions for the formation of new stars. 

 "SOFIA's onboard crew seamlessly combined scientists, engineers 

and technicians from the U.S. and 

Germany, working together on an 

observatory developed in the U.S., 

using a telescope and instrument built 

in Germany, to gather data of great 

interest to the entire world's scientific 

community," said Bob Meyer, NASA's 

SOFIA program manager at the agency's Dryden Flight Research Center in 

Edwards, Calif.

 GREAT, one of two German firstgeneration SOFIA scientific instruments, was developed by the Max 

Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy 

and the University of Cologne in collaboration with the Max Planck Institute 

for Solar System Research and the 

DLR Institute of Planetary Research.

 "This first science flight with a German instrument is a huge milestone 

for the SOFIA observatory," said John 

Gagosian, SOFIA program executive 

at NASA Headquarters in Washington. 

"GREAT, in combination with SOFIA's 

other German and U.S.-developed instruments, demonstrates SOFIA's extraordinary 

versatility, allowing it to play 

a unique and essential role 

alongside the Spitzer and 

Herschel spacecraft."

 SOFIA is the only operational airborne observatory. 

It is a joint program between 

NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The observatory is a heavily modified 

Boeing 747SP aircraft carrying 

a reflecting telescope with an 

effective diameter of 100 inches. Flying at altitudes between 

39,000 and 45,000 feet, above 

most of the water vapor in 

Earth's lower atmosphere that 

blocks most infrared radiation 

from celestial sources, SOFIA 

conducts astronomy research 

not possible with groundbased telescopes. 

 Ames manages the SOFIA 

science and mission operations in cooperation with the 

Universities Space Research 

Association headquartered 

in Columbia, Md., and the 

German SOFIA Institute at the 

University of Stuttgart, Germany. SOFIA is based and managed at Dryden's Aircraft Operations 

Facility in Palmdale, Calif. 

continued from front page

SOFIA soars on first flight with German science instrument

 "Kepler-11 is a remarkable system 

whose architecture and dynamics 

provide clues about its formation," said 

Jack Lissauer, a planetary scientist 

and Kepler science team member at 

Ames. "These six planets are mixtures 

of rock and gases, possibly including 

water. The rocky material accounts for 

most of the planets' mass, while the 

gas takes up most of their volume. By 

measuring the sizes and masses of 

the five inner planets, we determined 

they are among the lowest mass 

confirmed planets beyond our solar 

system." 

 All of the planets orbiting Kepler-11 are larger than Earth, with 

the largest ones being comparable 

in size to Uranus and Neptune. The 

innermost planet, Kepler-11b, is ten 

times closer to its star than Earth is 

to the sun. Moving outward, the other 

planets are Kepler-11c, Kepler-11d, 

Kepler-11e, Kepler-11f, and the outermost planet, Kepler-11g, which is half 

as far from its star as Earth is from the 

sun. 

The planets Kepler-11d, Kepler11e and Kepler-11f have a significant 

amount of light gas, which indicates 

that they formed within a few million 

years of the system's formation. 

 "The historic milestones Kepler 

makes with each new discovery will 

determine the course of every exo- planet mission to follow," said Douglas 

Hudgins, Kepler program scientist at 

NASA Headquarters in Washington. 

 Kepler, a space telescope, looks 

for planet signatures by measuring tiny 

decreases in the brightness of stars 

caused by planets crossing in front of 

them. This is known as a transit. 

 Since transits of planets in the 

habitable zone of sun-like stars occur 

NASA’s Kepler mission finds Earth-size planet candidates

continued from page 2

GREAT collected its first THz photons from the M173W 

star forming cloud April 6, 2011. Superimposed on a 

near-infrared false-color image measured by the Spitzer 

Space Telescope are selected spectra of ionized 

carbon (CII) and warm carbon monoxide (CO). The 

high spectral resolution of GREAT is used to study the 

velocity structure across the cloud. Photo courtesy of 

NASA/DLR/USRA/DSI 

about once a year and require three 

transits for verification, it is expected 

to take three years to locate and verify 

Earth-size planets orbiting sun-like 

stars. 

The Kepler science team uses 

ground-based telescopes and the 

Spitzer Space Telescope to review 

observations on planetary candidates 

and other objects of interest the 

spacecraft finds. The star field that 

Kepler observes in the constellations 

Cygnus and Lyra can only be seen 

from ground-based observatories in 

spring through early fall. The data 

from these other observations help 

determine which candidates can be 

validated as planets. 

 For more information about the 

Kepler mission, visit: http://www.nasa.

gov/kepler

 For more information about 

SOFIA, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/sofia 
6

Astrogram Spring 2011

 Blumberg first entered the gradu- ate program in mathematics at Colum- bia University, but soon switched to 

medicine and enrolled in Columbia’s 

College of Physicians and Surgeons, 

graduating with his M.D. in 1951. He 

remained at Columbia Presbyterian 

Medical Center for the next four years, 

first as an intern and then as a resi- dent. He began his graduate work at 

Balliol College, Oxford, earning his 

Ph.D. in 1957.

 "The world has lost a great man,” 

said Daniel Goldin, who served as 

NASA Administrator from 1992 to 

2001. “Barry saved lives through his 

research on the Hepatitis B virus. He 

also inspired a whole generation of 

people worldwide through his work in 

building the NASA Astrobiology Insticontinued from page 3 

with other crew members and people 

on the ground. As part of the daily 

routine, they keep in shape by running 

on a treadmill, and do some of the 

most mundane things, like putting up 

mufflers to minimize noise, or fixing a 

squeaky door, he explained.

When it is time for a spacewalk, 

it takes about a day to get everything 

together. The check list has about 

200 items. The food up there is pretty 

good, too. “When you’re eating in 

space, you fill up quickly. I lost 8 lbs. 

my first flight. You learn how to live in 

space,” he said.

Students were given the opportunity to ask questions after presentations. 

For Barry, questions included:

“How hard is it to move around in 

space?”

“It’s like having super powers,” said 

Barry.

“Where do you sleep in space?”

“Some people sleep on the ceil- ing,” he said, pointing upward.

It was a fun-filled day for students. 

They were treated to ice cream and 

given free souvenirs of what may be 

one of the most memorable days of 

their lives. 

NASA, students celebrate 50 years of human space flight

continued from front page

NASA photos by Dominic Hart

Students participate in hands-on events during the recent Yuri’s “Education Day” held at Ames.

tute. On a personal level, he improved 

my life through his friendship. Our 

planet is an improved place as a result 

of Barry's few short days in residence." 

 For more information, visit: http://

lunarscience.arc.nasa.gov/bios/baruch-blumberg 

The world mourns humanitarian, Nobel Prize winner Baruch Blumberg
7

Astrogram Spring 2011

Ames Center Director Pete Worden speaking at the all hands meeting April 19 (left). 

Topics included: NASA’s budget, mission updates, the Employee Viewpoint Survey and 

others. Immediately after the all hands, the Ames Exchange sponsored an employee 

picnic (below) at the new NACA Park (across from the Mega Bites cafeteria).

NASA photos by Dominic Hart

Ames hosts employee all hands meeting and picnic

The Ames Office of Education and 

Public Outreach along with the Human 

Capital Student Programs recently invited 

Ames employees to the Spring 2011 

Higher Education Poster Symposium. 

The symposium included more than 40 

students from the following programs: 

Arab Youth Venture Foundation (AYVF), 

Education Associates Program (EAP), 

Student Career Experience Program 

(SCEP) and the Undergraduate Student 

Research Program (USRP). This was an 

opportunity to hear about the projects the 

students have been working on during 

the Spring of 2011, to see firsthand the 

excellent contributions the students have 

made to the NASA mission, and to show 

support to many of the students, who will 

return to their universities to complete 

their academic degrees.

NASA photo by Dominic Hart

Symposium showcases students’ contributions to NASA
8

Astrogram Spring 2011

Worden marks five years as director of NASA Ames

by Jack Boyd, with Glenn Bu

Always encouraging new technology and modes of outreach, Pete 

Worden addressed the NASA Ames Tweet-Up in February 2011. His 

comments far exceeded 140 characters. 

NASA photo by Jon-Pierre Wiens

From the moment he arrived 

on our center as director, Pete 

Worden joked about how he might 

not last long. So it's remarkable 

that May 4, 2011, marks his fifth 

anniversary as our center director. 

For those who keep score of such 

things, he is now fifth in longevity 

as director. Only Smitty DeFrance, 

Hans Mark, Harry McDonald, and 

Sy Syvertson have enjoyed longer 

tenures to shape our center. 

Pete arrived at a tough time 

for Ames within NASA. Full-cost 

recovery severely limited what 

centers could do. Good people left 

for early retirement, or did jobs be- neath their abilities. Constellation 

sapped funding from our scientists 

and forced our engineers to stop 

looking into the far future of tech- nology. Important programs faced 

cancellation -- like SSBRP and 

SOFIA. For a few months during 

tough financial times, we had no 

permanent leadership.

I've seen center directors come 

and go over my seven decades 

with NASA Ames. Few have come 

with as much flourish as Pete 

Worden. He seemed to have the 

ear of Headquarters, and arrived 

with a simple mandate that lever- aged Ames' heritage -- to excel in 

building small spacecraft. Since 

the bright days of the Pioneer 

program in the 1970s, Ames had 

enjoyed only one truly successful 

satellite program: Lunar Prospec- tor. 

Under Pete, Ames managed 

lots of missions - LCROSS, Kepler, 

GeneSat and PharmaSat-- and 

cut metal for LADEE, GEMS and 

IRIS. Brilliant in their conception, 

we built these spacecraft on time 

and on budget. We got back into 

the business of building instru- ments for space science. And by 

building a mission design center, 

mission operations center, and a 

cadre of dynamic engineers, Ames 

is capable now of building many 

more satellites rapidly in the years 

to come. As NASA gets back into 

the technology business, Ames is 

poised to offer radical innovations 

in many areas.

 Small satellites remain the core 

of Pete's vision for Ames, but his 

enthusiasm branches in so many 

more directions now. It may be 

that Ames has shaped my friend 

more than he has shaped the cen- ter. He recognized our latent capa- bilities in so many areas. Our fund- ing is more secure and balanced, 

being equally funded among our 

traditional strengths in aeronautics, 

science, human spaceflight, and 

working with partners. We rein- forced our position in the space 

sciences, like astrobiology and 

lunar science. And he encouraged 

the growth of new sciences, like 

synthetic biology, quantum technol- ogy, and the study of exoplanets. 

Fundamental biology is especially 

poised to offer breakthroughs in 

our settlement of the solar system. 

Often disguised in silly cos- tumes, he has personally worked 

to inspire the next generation of 

explorers, through Yuri's Night and 

the International Space University, 

and simply by hiring people with 

innotvative ideas to work within 

NASA. He understood their pas- sion for green technologies, as 

with research in green aviation and 

with building Sustainability Base. 

 Pete seems to know every- one in the space world, probably 

because he's such a kick to work 

with. He made Ames a good part- ner, as with the research branches 

of the Defense Department and 

Department of Homeland Security, 

with the Federal Aviation Admin- istration, with our Silicon Valley 

neighbors, with universities of vary- ing educational missions, with na- tions like Russia and Germany with 

long-established space programs, 

and with nations like South Korea 

and Saudi Arabia new to space 

exploration.

 Pete has positioned Ames as 

the ‘Innovation Center,’ ‘Out of the 

Box Center,’ ‘Private Partnership 

Center,’ and as the ‘Center for 21st 

Century Collaboration.’ 

 He suffered some setbacks; 

then he worked hard to restore 

fairness and trust. At first he flew 

a pirate flag, and proclaimed that 

Ames is run by pirates and thieves. 

Five years in now, he wants us to 
9

Astrogram Spring 2011

be pirates and thieves who are 

also loved and respected. And we 

are. 

 And we are having fun. We 

have freedom to explore new 

ideas. He has an appreciation for 

our heritage, and a strong sense 

of what future he intends to invent. 

He never hesitated to explain 

why he was here. Ames was the 

launchpad from which we would 

start to settle the solar system. 

Every few months now, Kepler 

has delivered a "wow" moment. 

By unveiling the planetary diver- sity around our galaxy, this little 

spacecraft has set an agenda for 

planetary science for decades to 

come. A constant and unexpected 

stream of "wow" moments, set- ting new agendas in many areas, 

is what it's been like with Pete in 

the office. And stay tuned; there’s 

more to come.

Here are 55 signs of success 

during the past five vears at Ames 

with Pete Worden as director:

1. May 2006: Tests of Constel- lation models in Unitary Plan Wind 

Tunnels. 

2. June 2006: Ames earns 

engineering tasks for the Constel- lation Exploration Vehicle.

3. August 2006: FACET 

wins NASA's Software of the Year 

Award.

4. December 2006: Ames 

and Google sign a new Space Act 

Agreement.

5. December 2006: GeneSat 

launch shows small satellites de- liver big microbiology.

6. March 2007: Future Flight 

Central simulates an entire airport 

before it is built. 

7. April 2007: First Yuri's Night 

at NASA Ames displays much 

youthful enthusiasm.

8. May 2007: Ames hosts 

a major earthquake emergency 

response simulation. 

9. June 2007: Nano Chem- Sensor successfully flies in space. 

10. August 2007: Handheld 

scanner checks space shuttle En- deavour tiles for faults.

11. September 2007: Ikhana 

UAV spots fire through smoke 

above California wildfires.

12. September 2007: Ames 

collaborates on Russian Foton M3 

space biology mission.

13. October 2007: Google 

Moon makes NASA's planetary 

image archives accessible.

14. November 2007: SPEGIS 

experiment aboard STS-118 shows 

virulence of bacteria. 

15. November 2007: Mission 

Design Center opens to engineer 

small satellites.

16. December 2007: Army 

Advanced Supercomputing Facility 

opens at Ames.

17. February 2008: Ames 

launches ARCTAS campaign to 

study the Arctic atmosphere. 

18. April 2008: Ames starts to 

build Lunar Atmosphere and Dust 

Environment Explorer. 

19. April 2008: NASA Lunar 

Science Institute opens its doors.

20. June 2008: Ames shares 

Collier Trophy for ADS-B NextGen 

air traffic technology. 

21. August 2008: NFAC tests 

pressure instrumented UH-60A 

rotor. 

22. November 2008: Green 

aerotourism firm Airship Ventures 

takes off from Moffett Field.

23. December 2008: Pleiades 

unveiled as third fastest supercom- puter in world.

24. January 2009: NASA Astro- biology Institute selects new team 

members. 

25. February 2009: Pete 

Worden named Federal Laboratory 

Director of the Year.

26. March 2009: University 

Associates announce plans to 

build a campus at Moffett Field. 

27. May 2009: SOAREX 

refines our knowledge of re-entry 

physics. 

28. May 2009: PharmaSat 

explores effects of antifungals on 

yeast in microgravity.

29. June 2009: Ames selected 

to develop IRIS to study the sun's 

chromosphere. 

30. June 2009: Ames teams 

with Goddard to build Gravity and 

Extreme Magnetism SMEX.

31. June 2009: LCROSS 

launches to moon, on-time and 

on-budget. 

32. July 2009: Ames hosts 

the International Space University 

summer program and the inaugural 

year of Singularity University.

33. August 2009: Ames earns 

Voluntary Protection Program 

STAR Certification.

34. October 2009: LCROSS 

impacts the moon, revealing water 

and other useful minerals. 

35. October 2009: Ares 1-X 

test relies on Ames Integrated 

Health Monitoring System. 

36. October 2009: NASA App 

released and soon tops 3.8 million 

iPhone users.

37. November 2009: OMEGA 

algal biofuels project expands its 

testing. 

38. December 2009: NASA 

Ames celebrates its 70th anniver- sary.

39. February 2010: World Wind 

Java wins NASA Software of the 

Year award. 

40. February 2010: NASA Re- search Park partner Bloom Energy 

displays its fuel cell. 

41. March 2010: Ames tops out 

Sustainability Base, a lunar outpost 

on Earth.

42. April 2010: Ames sends 

three biology experiments aboard 

STS-131.

43. April 2010: Ames launches 

the NASA Earth Exchange to share 

planetary data. 

44. May 2010: SOFIA science 

team flies its first light flight. 

45. June 2010: CheMin instru- ment passes key tests before its 

voyage to Mars. 

46. June 2010: Navy begins 

cleanup of Hangar 1. 

47. June 2010: Hayabusa 

spacecraft’s fiery return is tracked 

to study re-entry physics.

48. July 2010: Certified and 

accredited Nebula cloud computing 

environment. 

49. September 2010: NASA 

Ames hosts agency-wide Green 

Aviation Summit.

50. October 2010: Kepler 

Science Ops Center wins NASA 

Software of the Year Award. 

51. November 2010: O/ORE- OS nanosatellite reaches orbit.

52. December 2010: Space X 

returns its Dragon capsule using 

PICA-X heatshield.

53. January 2011: Efficient 

Descent Advisor human in the loop 

simulation finished. 

54. February 2011: At mission 

midpoint, Kepler team reports 700 

exoplanet candidates and a sixplanet system. 

55. February 2011: Mouse Im- munology-2 travels to the ISS via 

STS-133. 
10

Astrogram Spring 2011

John Logsdon read from 

"John F. Kennedy and the 

Race to the Moon" (Palgrave 

Macmillan, 2010) on April 5, 

in the N201 Main Auditorium, 

at a book signing hosted by 

the Ames Exchange. This 

was an exciting and comprehensive history of how John 

F. Kennedy (JFK) and his 

administration shaped the 

United States space program 

over the past 45 years.

JFK, only four months 

in office, decided that the 

national interest required 

the United States to win the 

space race. His assassination 

ended plans to moderate the 

space program's goals and 

explore collaboration with the 

Soviets. 

NASA photo by Eric James

Logsdon reads from “JFK and the Race to the Moon”

John Logsdon at the recent reading and book 

signing at Ames

Logsdon is professor 

emeritus at George Washington University and was the 

founding director of GWU's 

Space Policy Institute. 

Author of the seminal study, 

The Decision to Go to the 

Moon (1970), he is a soughtafter commentator on space 

issues who has appeared 

on all major broadcast and 

cable networks. He served 

on the Columbia Accident 

Investigation Board, and 

was recently a member of 

the NASA Advisory Council 

and remains a member of its 

Exploration Committee. NASA photos by Kyle Cavallaro

On Feb. 16, 2011 in recognition of 

Black History Month, the Ames African 

American Advisory Group (AAAG) cel- ebrated four extraordinary and amaz- ing African Americans who have made 

an indelible mark at Ames. By way of a 

panel discussion moderated by Rose 

King, chair of the AAAG, the panel 

shared experiences in their quest for 

“diversity and inclusion.” Giving testa- ment to the fact that our past teaches 

us to do better, to be better, and to 

treat each other better.” The program, “And This is Our Story,” ended 

with a poem read by AAAG member 

“And This is Our Story,” celebrating Black History Month

Donald James called “Mother to Son” 

by Langston Hughes.

 Panel discussion members at the 

Black History Month celeration were, 

in photo from left to right: Dr. Patricia Cowings, research psychologist, 

Human Systems Integration Division 

(Code TH) principal investigator of 

the Psycho physiological Research 

Laboratory; Dr. Melissa Kirven-Brooks 

Lockheed Martin Fellow, Lockheed 

Martin Mission Services, science 

project manager in Lockheed’s Space 

Operations and Science Programs 

for the NASA Astrobiology Institute; 

Dr. George Cooper, research scientist, Space Science and Astrobiology Division (Code SSX) involved 

in research for molecular and stable 

isotope analysis of meteoritic organic 

compounds to determine their cosmochemical origins; and Ray Gilstrap, 

network engineer, Information Technology Directorate (Code I), who is 

involved in numerous projects in the 

area of network architecture design, 

next-generation spacecraft communications systems, and networking for 

field operations in remote desert and 

Arctic environments. 
11

Astrogram Spring 2011

NASA’s extraordinary mission 

means that there are extraordinary 

people behind the scenes making it all 

happen. Our engineers and scientists 

create groundbreaking technologies 

and make revolutionary discoveries.

 To honor the tremendous innova- tion, dedication, and talent of re- searchers at NASA Ames, the Tech- nology Partnerships Division hosted 

an awards ceremony and luncheon for 

about 80 innovators on Jan. 26, 2011. 

Ames Center Director Pete Worden 

gave opening remarks and handed 

commemorative plaques to each of 

the attendees.

 Among the achievements being 

honored were 18 patent awards, two 

Federal Laboratory Consortium Far 

West Region awards for Outstanding 

Technology Development, and the 

prestigious NASA Software of the Year 

Award—this is the third year in a row 

that Ames has won it!

 NASA Ames is proud of our 

researchers, as well as all the other 

staff, that enable NASA to achieve 

its mission, and it is especially great 

when we have an opportunity to publicly acknowledge their great accomplishments.

 Below is a list of all the people 

and awards that were honored at the 

ceremony. 

Patent award recipients: 7635420 

Dielectrophoresis-Based Particle 

Sensor Using Nanoelectrode Arrays: 

Jun Li, Alan M. Cassel and Prabhu U. 

Arumugam; 7650232 Trajectory Specification for High-Capacity Air Traffic 

Control: Russell A. Paielli; 7655497 

Growth Method for Chalcongenide 

Phase-Change Nanostructures: Bin 

Yu, Xuhui Sun and Meyya Meyyappan; 7655145 Contaminated Water 

Treatment: Sherwin J Gormly and 

Michael T. Flynn; 7662459 Versatile 

Honeycomb Matrix Heat Shield: Peter 

T. Zell; 7672969 Context Based 

Configuration Management System: 

Yuri O. Gawdiak, Mohana M. GurramDavid A. Maluf, Luis A. Mederos; 

7698274 Selective Access and Editing 

in a Database: David A. Maluf, Yuri O 

Gawdiak; 7702427 Air Traffic Management Evaluation Tool: Banavar Sridhar, Kapil Sheth, Gano Broto Chatterji, 

Karl D. Bilimoria, Shon R. Grabbe

 

7704547 Carbon Nanotube Growth 

Density Control: Lance D. Delzeit; 

7718223 Control of Carbon Nanotube 

Density and Tower Height in an Array: 

Lance D. Delzeit; 7767270 Selective 

 

Functionalization of Carbon Nanotubes Based Upon Distance Traveled: 

Bishun N. Khare, Meyya Meyyappan; 

7767305 High-Efficiency TantalumBased Ceramic Composite Structures: 

David A. Stewart, Daniel B. Leiser, 

Robert R. DiFiore, Victor W. Katvala; 

7783130 Spatial Standard Observ- er: Andrew B. Watson; 7784531 

Nanoengineered Thermal Materials 

Based on Carbon Nanotube Array 

Composites: Jun Li, Meyya Meyyap- pan, Carlos Dangelo

 7795388 Versatile Platform for 

Nanotechnology Based on Circular 

Permutations of Chaperonin Pro- tein: Chad D. Paavola, Jonathan D. 

Trent, Suzanne L. Chan, Yi-Fen Li, 

Andrew R. McMillan, Hiromi Kagawa; 

7796026 Communication Path for 

Extreme Environments, Charles C. 

Jorgensen, Bradley J. Betts; 7801687 

Chemical Sensors Using Coated or 

Doped Carbon Nanotube Networks, 

Jing Li, Meyya Meyyappan; 7816491 

Ordered Biological Nanostructures 

Formed from Chaperonin Polypep- tides: Jonathan D. Trent, Andrew R. 

McMillan, Hiromi Kagawa, Chad D. 

Paavola 

Federal Laboratory Consortium Far 

West Region Award for Outstanding 

Technology Development Multi-Aircraft 

by Deborah Bazar Control System: Connie Brasil, T

Callantine, Al Globus, Jeff Homola, 

Rick Jacoby, George Lawton, Paul 

Lee, Matt Mainini, Joey Mercer, Ev 

Palmer, Tom Prevot, Nancy Smith, 

Khanh Trinh, Easter Wang, James 

Wong

Fully Implicit Ablation and Thermal 

Response Program, Version 2 (FI- ATv2): Yih-Kanq Chen, Frank Milos

2010 NASA Software of the Year 

Award: 

Kepler Science Operations Cen- ter (SOC) Science Pipeline (Release 

6.0), Christopher L. Allen, Paresh A. 

Bhavsar, Steve T. Bryson, Douglas 

A. Caldwell, Hema Chandrasekaran, 

Bruce D. Clarke, Miles T. Cote, Forrest 

Girouard, Jay Gunter , Jennifer R. 

Hall, Khadeejah Ibrahim, Jon Jenkins, 

Todd Klaus, Jie Li, Sean D. Mccauliff, 

Christopher Middour, Jim Nickerson, 

Christopher W. Page, David Pletcher, 

Elisa V. Quintana, Elaine S. Santiago, 

Jeneen Sommers, Brian P. Stamper, 

Brett A. Stroozas, Peter G. Tenen- baum, Terry C. Trombly , Joseph 

D. Twicken, Akm Kamal Uddin, Bill 

Wohler, Hayley Y. Wu, Michael S. WuNASA photos by Kyle Cavallaro

On Feb. 10, the Kepler Project Team held a commemoration event in the NASA Ames Exploration Center, inviting Ames employees to join the team to commemorate Kepler’s mission 

midpoint and celebrate its discoveries. Families of Ames employees also were invited to join 

the event and share in Kepler’s successes.

Kepler Team celebrates successes

Technology Partnership Division presents awards
12

Astrogram Spring 2011

Dr. Emma Lucinda Olga Bakes, 

was born on March 3, 1968, in Blyth, 

England and took great pride in her 

Northumberland ancestry for their 

refusal to conform or behave ac- cording to the Great Roman Empire 

and looked to Hadrian's Wall as her 

inheritance. She passed away on Feb. 

28, 2011. 

She earned her B.Sc. from the 

University of Newcastle Upon Tyne 

and earned her Ph.D. in theoretical 

physics from the University of London, 

Queen Mary and Westfield College. 

Emma also earned certificates of 

distinction from the Royal Schools 

of Music and a black belt in the Jeet 

Kune Do form of martial arts. She had 

a passion for art, music and writing.

Emma, inspired by her hero Carl 

Sagan, became an astrophysicist 

and moved to the USA. She visited 

Ames in 1989 for her dissertation and 

held research and teaching positions 

at Princeton University and Vassar 

College, respectively. In 1996, she 

relocated to the Ames where she 

worked until 2005. During this time, 

Emma held research positions with 

the National Research Council and the 

Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence 

Institute (SETI). Her work focused 

on the origins of life and resulted in 

several research grants, dozens of 

peer-reviewed journal papers and 

a book entitled “The Astrochemical 

Evolution of the Interstellar Medium.” 

She directed a NASA space mission 

concept to sample Kuiper Belt objects 

for organics and served on numerous 

panels that charted the Nation’s space 

exploration goals.

Emma’s work crossed over into 

biology as she helped establish the 

new frontier known as astrobiology. 

This rekindled her dream of becoming 

a medical doctor and she entered the 

Stanford University School of Medicine in the fall of 2005. Despite her 

transition to medicine, Emma continued to provide support to her space 

science colleagues, and shared her 

passion for space science with others 

through her writings and public speak- ing appearances. All are invited and 

encouraged to read her recent essay 

celebrating the confluence of science 

and humanity:

http://kepler.nasa.gov/education/

sagan/EmmaBakesEssay/ 

In memorium

Dr. Emma Lucinda Olga Bakes

photo courtesy of SETI

Ames’ Women's Influence Network 

(WIN) celebrated Women’s History 

month March 30 in the Main Auditorium. This year’s theme was “Our 

History is Our Strength.” 

NASA’s Chief Information 

Officer (CIO), Linda Cureton, was 

guest speaker this year. Cureton was 

appointed NASA CIO in September 

Women of Ames

Poem by Rose 

in celebration of Women’s History Month i

Linda Cureton speaks at Ames at Women’s History event

Linda Cureton speaking at the recent Women’s Influence Network (WIN) Women’s HIstory month celebration at Ames March 30.

NASA photo by Eric James

2009. As NASA CIO, Cureton provides the leadership to transform the 

management of information technology (IT) services and capabilities to 

support and enable NASA’s mission.

Prior to becoming NASA CIO, she 

served as the CIO of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and 

served in executive positions at the 

Department of Energy and the DepartBlond, Black, Red, Brown, hues of the Earth’s rainbow

Voices soaring through barriers of sea, sky and earth

Climbing mountains of ice and rock, gliding beneath the sea.

Listening for the last echo, 

While giving birth to the future.

Daring to push the human condition far beyond

The confines of the laboratory and man’s attempt to tether you.

Finding creation outside of, what was, what could be,

Possibilities in the improbable.

Women of Ames

While you look to the future and beyond the horizon,

I, who am earthbound, rejoice.

I honor you for your talent, your spirit,

And your courage to reach the sun. 

ment of Justice. Cureton earned a 

master of science degree in applied 

mathematics and a post-master’s 

advance certificate in applied mathematics from Johns Hopkins University. She also received a bachelor 

of science degree graduating magna 

cum laude with a major in mathematics and a minor in Latin from Howard 

University. 

Emma’s legacy just as her sprit is 

eternal and her contributions will continue to provide each of us with endless gifts. She proved that the building 

blocks of life can exist throughout the 

heavens and this formed the foundation for many of the nation’s space 

exploration endeavours.

A memorial service is scheduled 

for April 28 and an educational trust 

fund in the name of Emma’s son 

Titan Dinsdale Mendoza is being 

established. Inquires may be sent to 

Donald.R.Mendoza@nasa.gov 
13

Astrogram Spring 2011

The Ames Cat Network needs help finding 

homes for cats trapped at Moffett. They 

range from feral to abandoned/lost pets. 

Tested, altered and inoculated. Call Iris at 

ext. 4-5824 if you or someone you know are 

interested in fostering or adopting a cat.

Ames Cat Network

Ames Ongoing Monthly Events Calendar

African American Advisory Group (AAAG) 

Mtg., every fourth Wednesday of each month, 

12 - 1 p.m., Bldg. N255 Rm 101C. POC: Chair 

- Jim Busby, ext. 4-2792. 

Ames Amateur Radio Club, third Thurs., of 

ea. month, 12 noon, N-T28 (across from 

N-255). POC: Michael Wright, KG6BFK, at 

ext. 4-6262. 

Ames Ballroom Dance Club, Classes on 

Tuesdays. Beginning classes meet at 5:15 

p.m. Higher-level class meets at 5:50 p.m. 

Held in Bldg. 944, the Rec. Center. POC: 

Helen Hwang at helen.hwang@nasa.gov, ext. 

4-1368.

Ames Bicycling Club, every third Wednesday 

of each month, 12 noon - 1 p.m., Bldg. N-245 

Auditorium. For information on the club go 

to the website https://ames.clubexpress.com. 

POC: Julie Nottage at jnottage@mail.arc.

nasa.gov, ext. 4-3711. 

Ames Bowling League, Homestead Lanes 

Thursdays at 6:20 p.m. Need substitute bowlers. Sign up questions: Steve Howard at ext. 

4-4884.

Ames Child Care Center Board of Directors Mtg., every other Monday, 1 - 2:30 p.m., 

Bldg. N-262/Rm 180. POC: Sally Miller, ext. 

4-5411.

Ames Contractor Council Mtg., first Weds. of 

ea. month, 11 a.m., Bldg. N-200, Committee 

Room. POC: Elisa Taube (408) 541-2838.

Environmental Forum, first Thursday every 

other month, 9 a.m. - 10 a.m., T20-G conference Rm. 129. URL: http://q/qe/events/EHSseries/ POC: Stacy St. Louis, ext. 4-6810.

Ames Federal Employees Union (AFEU) 

Mtg, third Wednesday ea. month, noon. Bldg. 

N-247, Rm. 109.. Guests welcome. Info at: 

http://www.afeu.org. POC: Paul K. Davis, ext. 

4-5916. 

The Hispanic Advisory Committee for 

Excellence (HACE) Mtg., first Thursday of 

each month, 11:45 a.m. - 12:45 p.m., Bldg. 

N-255, Rm. 101C. POC: Eric Kristich, ext. 

4-5137 and Mark Leon, ext. 4-6498.

Jetstream Toastmasters, Mondays, 12 p.m. 

- 1 p.m., Bldg. N-269/Rm.179. POC: Tim 

Steiger, ext. 4-0195, tim.steiger@nasa.gov. 

Web: http://jetstream.freetoasthost.com

Ames Mac Support Group Mtg., third Tuesday 

of each month, 11:30 a.m.to 1 p.m., Bldg. 

N-262, Rm 180. POC: Tony ext. 4-0340.

Ames Model Aircraft Club, flying radio-controlled aircraft at the north end of Parsons Ave. 

on weekend mornings. POC: Mark Sumich, 

ext. 4-6193.

Moffett Aikido Club, Monday and Wednesday 

evenings, 6:30 p.m., Bldg. 944, across from 

former McDonalds. Aikido is a non-competitive, defensive martial art known as the “Way 

of Harmony.” POC: Diane Pereda (650) 575-

9070 or Robert Dean (650) 787-1007, email: 

mfaikido@aol.com

Native American Advisory Committee Mtg., 

fourth Tuesday each month, 12 noon - 1 

p.m., Bldg. 19, Rm 1096. POC: Mike Liu, ext. 

4-1132.

Ames Nimble Knitters Club, every Tuesday 

at 11:30 a.m., Bldg. N210/Rm 141. POC: 

Rosalyn Jung, knitfan2@yahoo.com or Diane 

Alexander at ext. 4-3140. URL: http://knit.arc.

nasa.gov

Ames Green Team (formerly the Green Ames 

Working Group) meetings are held the first 

Thursday of each month in N237, Room

101, from 1:30-2:30 p.m. For information, 

call Roger Ashbaugh, Ames Environmental 

Management Division, ext. 4-5602.

http://environmentalmanagement.arc.nasa.

gov/reports/eo-13514.html

Ames Sailing Club Mtg., second Thursday of 

each month (March through November), from 

12 p.m. - 1 p.m., Bldg. N-260, Rm. 113. URL: 

http://sail.arc.nasa.gov/. POC: Clif Horne, ext. 

4-4571.

Ames Safety Committee, third Thursday of 

each month, 10 a.m. - 11 a.m., Bldg. N-237, 

Rm. 201. POC: John Livacich, jlivacich@

mail.arc.nasa.gov, ext. 4-3243 or Terry Reichert, treichert@mail.arc.nasa.gov, ext.-4-0375.

Ames emergency announcements

To hear the centerwide status recording, call (650) 604-9999 for information 

announcements and emergency instructions for Ames employees. You can 

also listen to 1700 KHz AM radio for the same information.

Exchange Information

Beyond Galileo Gift Shop N-235 in the 

cafeteria , 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., ext. 4-6873

Mega Bites Cafeteria N-235, 6 a.m. to 

2 p.m., ext. 4-5969/Catering ext. 4-2161

Barcelona Café Bldg. 3, 6:30 a.m. to 

2 p.m., ext. 4-4948/Catering ext. 4-4948

See daily menus at: http://exchange.arc.

nasa.gov/cafe/menu.html 

Visitor Center Gift Shop (White Tent 

N-943-A, Tues-Fri, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sat. 

- Sun, 12 - 4 p.m., ext. 4--5412

Remember to purchase your baby shower, birthday, 

holiday gifts at Ames’ two gift shops!

Information about products, services and opportunities provided to the employee and contractor community by the Ames Exchange Council. Visit the 

web site at: http://exchange.arc.nasa.gov

NASA Lodge (N-19) 603-7100

Closed for repairs, for updates visit http://amesexchange.arc.nasa.gov/swim/index.html

The pool is heated year round! The pool is currently 

available for lap swim, pool parties and special 

events. POC: Ryan Storms, Pool Manager (650) 

603-8025. Memberships: single memberships: 

$60/yr. Family memberships: $80/yr. After purchasing a membership, there is an entrance fee: daily 

entrance fee - $3/day or lap pass fee - $50 for 20 

uses. Platinum membership - $380/yr. (no daily 

fee). Special events: include military training, swim 

team events, kayak role practice, etc. The cost for 

special events is $75/hr, or $50/hr for military.

Ames Swim Center (N-109) 603-8025

RV Lots Available Call to reserve a space 

at (650) 603-7100/01.

Where to stay when you’re too tired to drive home? 

What about the lodge?! Two types of rooms: Bldg. 

19 (43 rooms), rate: $55/night ($5 ea add’l adult); 

Bldg. 583 (150 rooms), rate: $45/night ($5 ea. add’l 

adult) 

Moffett Field Golf Club with ‘Tee minus 1’ 

Grill and Sports Bar. Catering available. 

Call (650) 603-8026. Extended Happy Hour 

Thursdays, $5 and $6 pitchers of beer starting 

at 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Civilian/Contractors, $50/mo; military $25/mo

Reservations for Chase Park call ext. 4-4948

Reservations for ARC Park call ext. 4-5969
14

Astrogram Spring 2011

The Ames Astrogram is an official publication of 

Ames Research Center, National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration.

Managing Editor......................Michael Mewhinney

Editor, Layout and Design...................Astrid Olson

You can reach the Astrogram Office at: astrogram 

@mail.arc.nasa.gov or by phone at (650) 604- 

3347. Astrogram Web site: http://www.nasa.gov/

ames/astrogram.

National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration

PLEASE RECYCLE

Printed on recycled and recyclable paper with vegetable-based ink.

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Ames Research Center

Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000

Protective Services monthly activity

A statistical summary of activities of the Protective Services Division’s 

Security/Law Enforcement and Fire Protection Services units for the month 

of March 2011 is shown below.

Security/Law Enforcement Activity

Fire Protection Activity

safety and reliability of human spaceflight. As a direct result of her tireless 

commitment and exceptional leadership, members of the Ares Integrated 

Aborts Working Group (a group she 

established) quickly identified key 

abort-related issues of an Ares-based 

launch system.

 During the awards ceremony, 

recipients also received a certificate 

and letter of commendation, personally signed by an astronaut, citing 

the astronauts' appreciation of their 

outstanding performance.

 NASA's Astronaut Office awards 

the Silver Snoopy for outstanding 

performance to those employees 

who have significantly contributed to 

the space agency's goals for human 

exploration and development of space. 

The Silver Snoopy is a sterling silver 

pin that has flown on a shuttle mission, 

in the form of a Snoopy wearing a 

space helmet and space suit, To meet 

the criteria for this award, the individual's work must relate to flight safety 

or mission success. Job performance 

must be outstanding to distinguish the 

individual in his or her particular area 

of responsibility and it must make a 

meaningful contribution to flight safety 

or mission success. This coveted 

award has been presented to less 

than one percent of the NASA workforce.

Silver Snoopy

continued from page 4