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

December 2007

www.nasa.gov

Page 2 - Scientists assess possibilities of 

 water and life on Enceladus

Page 5 - Ames top stories in 2007

Page 7 - Ames transformed into ‘North Pole’

Page 8 - NASA flies Ikhana over wildfires

Page 13 - Classifieds

On the Inside . . .

As 2007 draws to a close, it’s 

important to take time to pause and 

reflect on our numerous accomplishments. We had a great year. We made 

major contributions in several key 

areas, including lunar exploration, 

environment, collaborations and exploration, establishing Ames as a premier 

research center. 

NASA announced this year that 

the new Lunar Science Institute will 

be based at Ames, ensuring that our 

center will play a key role in future 

exploration as NASA returns to the 

moon and later travels to Mars. Next 

year, the Lunar CRater Observation 

and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) will 

slam into the moon and provide scientists with a wealth of data that will tell 

us a great deal about the lunar surface 

2007 Holiday greetings from the Ames center director

and help prepare NASA to put boots on 

the moon by the end of the next decade.

This year, NASA Ames helped firefighters battle some of the worst wildfires 

in California’s history. NASA flew a 

remotely piloted aircraft called the Ikhana 

over devastating wildfires in Southern 

California, Oregon and near Gilroy. Using its sophisticated imaging technology 

on board, Ames was able to help firefighters peer through the dense smoke to see 

how best to combat the fierce flames. 

Ames forged key partnerships with 

some of the best and brightest companies on the planet, including our Silicon 

Valley neighbors, Google and Microsoft. 

We are working with Google to develop 

Google Moon so that everyone can take 

a virtual trip to the lunar surface. With 

Microsoft, we are developing an immersive imaging technology that lets people 

see NASA in a whole new way.

Next year promises to be even 

more exciting. NASA will be celebrating its 50th anniversary. In the 

fall, we’re launching LCROSS on its 

mission to the moon. In 2009, we’re 

looking forward to seeing the Kepler 

mission begin its search for habitable 

planets. It’s an exciting time to be 

here at NASA Ames.

So as we say goodbye to 2007 

and look forward to 2008, I want to 

express my sincere thanks to each 

and every one of you for all your hard 

work and numerous contributions 

to the center. I know that with your 

help, we can make 2008 even better. 

I wish you and your families happy 

holidays and best wishes for the new 

year.

by S. Pete Worden

NASA Ames study reveals less water in Mars’ clouds by John Bluc

Martian clouds may contain less 

water than previously thought, according to a new NASA Ames study. 

 New NASA laboratory measurements of simulated martian clouds 

reveal that scientists may have been 

overestimating the amount of water in 

the planet’s atmosphere. 

“The martian clouds we are studying are composed of water ice, like 

some clouds on Earth. However, they 

are forming at very cold temperatures, 

often below minus 100 degrees Celsius (minus 148 degrees Fahrenheit),” 

said Tony Colaprete, an Ames planetary scientist. “What we have found 

in our laboratory studies is that it is 

One place where water can be 

found on Mars is its colorful 

clouds. In this photo, taken by 

Viking Orbiter 1, which visited 

Mars in 1976, water clouds are 

visible just after sunrise in and 

around a maze of canyons known 

as Noctis Labyrinthus. Scientists 

don’t yet know, however, why 

these clouds formed, and why 

some stick to the canyons. One 

possibility is that water sometimes 

condenses in shaded regions of the 

canyons, only to evaporate into 

clouds when exposed to the morning sun. Water in any form on 

the Mars might be important to 

sustaining life and possible future 

human exploration. 

Photo: Viking Project, USGS, JPL, NASA

much harder to initiate cloud formation at these cloud temperatures than 

what we thought,” he explained.

 “This difficulty results in larger 

cloud particles, which fall out of the 

atmosphere more quickly and, thus, 

results in less cloud mass and a drier 

atmosphere,” Colaprete explained. 

 Colaprete presented his findings 

Dec. 11, 2007, during the annual American Geophysical Union (AGU) fall 

meeting at San Francisco’s Moscone 

Convention Center.

 Previously, scientists believed that 

martian clouds would form at 100 

percent relative humidity, but the new 

study shows that martian air has to 

be more supersaturated with water to 

form clouds than scientists theorized 

before. 

continued on page 2
2 Astrogram December 2007

American Geophysical Union conference held

The annual American Geophysical Union, (AGU) conference took place from 

Dec. 10 - 14, 2007, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco (right photo). Chris 

McKay of Ames and Carolyn Porco, Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo., presided 

over numerous scientific presentations during a morning session, ‘Enceladus: Possibilities for Water and Life.’ Ames science writer John Bluck wrote several articles 

based upon recent discoveries that were the subject of some of the presentations at 

the conference. The articles, ‘NASA Study Reveals Less Water in Mars’ Clouds’ 

focuses on recent findings by NASA Ames planetary scientist, Tony Colaprete, 

who presented his study results on Dec. 11; the article ‘NASA Scientists Assess 

the Possibilities of Water and Life on Enceladus;’ and the story, ‘NASA Scientists 

Predict Major Ecosystem Carbon Loss in Western States,’ are all included in this 

issue of the Astrogram.

There is a chance liquid water may 

exist on Saturn's moon, Enceladus – 

and even a possibility that life could 

be there, too – according to NASA 

scientists who are studying data from 

NASA's Cassini spacecraft.

 High-resolution Cassini images 

show icy jets and towering plumes 

ejecting large quantities of particles 

very rapidly as seen in images taken 

by the spacecraft. Scientists have 

found evidence the jets might be 

erupting from near-surface pockets of 

liquid water above 32 degrees Fahrenheit, like cold versions of the Old 

Faithful geyser in Yellowstone National Park, according to NASA reports.

 Scientists are eagerly anticipating 

the results from a closer Enceladus 

flyby proposed for an extended Cassini mission, according to Christopher 

McKay, a scientist at NASA Ames.

 "The geysers seem like good 

evidence for liquid water," McKay observed. "The geysers and the methane 

in them both seem to up the chances 

for life. I would say that the chance for 

life is good enough to warrant further 

investigation."

 Scientists believe the methane 

could come from three potential 

sources. Researchers say it could be 

primordial – very ancient – or it could 

be manufactured deep within Enceladus, and lastly, and least likely, the 

methane could be biological in origin.

 McKay and Carolyn Porco, Space 

Science Institute, Boulder, Colo., presided over numerous scientific presentations during a morning session, 

"Enceladus: Possibilities for Water and 

Scientists assess possibilities of water and life on Enceladus

Life," on Dec. 10, 

2007, at the Moscone 

Convention Center 

South in San Francisco. 

 Though Saturn's 

moons are far from 

the sun, there could 

be liquid water on 

Enceladus because 

the "general thought 

is that there must 

be some sort of 

tidal heating," said 

McKay.

 Some scientists hypothesize 

that bacteria, living off hydrogen and 

carbon dioxide, and making methane, 

might live on Enceladus. The bacteria would be "similar to subsurface, 

continued on page 9

Plumes of icy material extend above the southern polar region of Saturn’s 

moon Enceladus as imaged by the Cassini spacecraft in February 2005. The 

monochrome view is presented along with a color-coded version on the right. 

The latter reveals a fainter and much more extended plume component.

NASA photo

by John Bluc

Study reveals less water in Mars’ clouds

continued from front page

NASA photo by Eric James

“We want to understand the 

climate of Mars and how the martian 

water cycle operates,” Colaprete said. 

“Clouds are integral to this system, 

just as on Earth. However, assuming 

the clouds form or behave the same as 

on Earth may be a bad assumption.”

 According to Colaprete, more accurate understanding of the processes 

that control martian clouds and water 

cycle are critical to understanding 

Mars’ current and past climates.

 A large water ice cap at the martian north pole dominates the martian 

water cycle. During the northern 

summer this water ice cap evaporates, 

and winds carry the resulting water 

vapor to the south pole, according to 

Colaprete. 

 “The amount of water in the martian atmosphere varies greatly in space 

and time,” Colaprete observed. Clouds 

in the atmosphere largely control the 

amount of water that comes off of the 

north pole and migrates to the south 

pole. 

 “Water that reaches the southern 

winter pole freezes to the surface,” Colaprete said. “In the southern spring, 

this water re-evaporates and returns 

to the northern polar cap. The cycle is 

repeated year after year.”

 If all the water in the atmosphere 

were to freeze out to the surface, it 

would make a layer of ice about onefifth the thickness of a human hair, 

according to Colaprete. 

 “Cloud mass is typically only 10 

to 20 percent of the total water content. 

However, the thin martian atmosphere 

is much more sensitive/reactive to the 

influence of these clouds,” he said.
3 Astrogram December 2007

A VIP tour of the Army supercomputers operated at the NASA 

Advanced Supercomputing (NAS) 

facility at Ames kicked off an event 

on Nov. 29, 2007 to celebrate the 

opening of the new Army High 

Performance Computing Research 

Center (AHPCRC). 

Future climate scenarios of air temperature warming imply that ecosystems across the western United States 

will experience large carbon losses 

to the atmosphere and tree growth 

decline in the western United States, 

according to NASA Earth scientists.

The losses will occur "except in 

most isolated forest areas of the high 

mountain zones where the snow packs 

remain deep," said Christopher Potter, 

a scientist at NASA Ames.

Ecosystem carbon is the carbon 

that green plants remove from the 

atmosphere through photosynthesis, 

and which plants use to make roots, 

stems and foliage.

Scientists estimate potential losses 

of carbon across the western United 

States during a warmer and drier than 

average year will range from 10 to 

40 grams of carbon per square meter, 

which may equal 10 percent of the 

total green plant production annually 

at many locations, according to Potter.

Carbon loss from green plants and 

other organic matter results from an 

earlier and warmer springtime climate 

in the mountainous West, which accelerates snow melt and water losses 

from the higher elevation ecosystems. 

More extensive wildfires later in the 

summer also lead to carbon loss.

Potter and research collaborators from California State University, 

Monterey Bay, and the University of 

Arizona, Tucson, presented their findings on Dec. 13, 2007 during the annual American Geophysical Union fall 

meeting at San Francisco's Moscone 

West Convention Center.

"According to data from the 

MODIS sensor on NASA’s Terra satellite and Ames computer modeling, 

the forested mountain areas of the 

West still have the capacity to take up 

carbon from the atmosphere so long 

as wildfires do not increase notably," 

Potter also observed.

The scientists conducted their 

research during the last four years and 

used satellite data, information from 

ground-based instruments and readings taken from Earth-observing airplanes to arrive at a computer model 

for the study.

"The computer model we used 

reads in current satellite and climate 

Scientists predict major ecosystem carbon loss in western states

data from sensors throughout the 

world and predicts past, present and 

future ecosystem carbon changes," 

Potter explained.

by John Bluc

National maps of net carbon sinks (red) and sources (blue) from 2000 to 2004, in units of billion 

metric tons of carbon per year predicted by NASA Ames computer modeling. 

Photo by Christopher Potter

continued on page 6

Ames Advanced supercomputing facility opens by Holly A. Amundson Ames’ participation in the AHPCRC consortium, which include

Stanford University, the Army, High 

Performance Technologies, Inc., and 

several minority universities across 

the U.S., will yield several benefits: leverage of the Army’s investments and 

expertise in HPC; collaboration with 

consortium partners in multiple research areas of interest to the agency; 

and many more. Following the photo opportunity and tour at the NAS facility (see 

photo), VIP invitees of the event (including Major General Fred D. Robinson, Jr., Commanding General, U.S. 

Army Research, Development and 

Engineering Command; Dr. Charbel 

Farhat, director of AHPCRC; and Dr. 

John Hennessy, president of Stanford 

University) were taken to Stanford for 

a ceremony, which included speeches 

from Congressman Xavier Becerra; Dr. 

John Parmentola, director for Research 

and Laboratory Management for the 

U.S. Army; and Ames’ Dr. Steven Zornetzer, Associate Center Director for 

Institutions and Research.

The event concluded in the after- noon with tours of the NAS facility.

NASA photo by Eric James

From left to right: Lt. Col. Fredrick Ludden; Charlie 

Nietubicz, chief, Advanced Computing and Computational Sciences division director, Major Shared 

Resource Center; Dr. John Parmentola, director for 

Research and Laboratory Management for the U.S. 

Army; and Fred D. Robinson, commanding general, 

U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering 

Command, during the recent event celebrating the 

opening of the new Army High Performance 

Computing Research Center. 
4 Astrogram December 2007

Hurricane animation improves storm damage prediction

New hurricane animation developed by NASA can help forecasters 

predict overall storm damage more 

accurately, thanks to a student intern 

science team that developed new computer graphics using satellite imagery.

The students used data from the 

NASA Quick Scatterometer (QuikScat) 

satellite, Tropical Rainfall Measuring 

Mission, Jason-1 and Aqua to create 

accurate storm animations instead 

of the cartoon-like graphics seen on 

many television weather forecasts. The 

students were engaged through Develop, a NASA Applied Sciences program 

that extends science research to local 

communities. Develop student teams 

research NASA science capabilities 

relevant to community concerns and 

create advanced computer-generated 

visualizations demonstrating research 

results. 

 The team developed precise 

animations in collaboration with the 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration’s (NOAA) Pacific Region Integrated Climatology Products 

(PRICIP) project. 

 “You probably have seen hurricane animation on TV that looks like 

a pinwheel spinning over a satellite 

picture. What you see on television 

weather reports is an image of the top 

of the clouds,” said Jay Skiles, an Earth 

scientist at NASA Ames. “Our team of 

students has taken accurate observations from the ocean surface and atmosphere from actual NASA satellite data 

and made more accurate animations of 

the actual storms,” he explained. 

Skiles and one of five interns who 

worked on the project presented their 

findings Dec.12, 2007, during the annual American Geophysical Union fall 

meeting at San Francisco’s Moscone 

Convention Center.

 “By understanding past storm 

anatomies, it may be possible to predict destruction and damage of future 

Pacific storms as well as others around 

the world,” Skiles explained. The 

students’ animation uses real data to 

indicate the storm’s size and intensity, 

according to Skiles. The animation 

shows real rain, wind and temperature 

data over maps of the Pacific Rim area. 

“The students’ animations, combined with other socio-economic data 

compiled by NOAA, will yield a better 

understanding of the potential for 

destruction that Pacific storms have,” 

Skiles said. “That’s the purpose of the 

project.”

 The PRICIP project may eventually become an interactive decisionsupport tool to assist decision makers 

as they lead recovery from natural 

hazards, reducing coastal vulnerability 

to storms, according to Skiles.

 At NOAA’s request, the students 

animated three storms in the western 

Pacific Ocean: Typhoon Chata’an 

(July 2002), Super Typhoon Pongsona 

(December 2002) and Cyclone Heta 

(January 2004). 

Hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons 

are all ocean storms, and they form 

in different parts of the world. Storm 

tracks for 1980 through 2005 showed 

that cyclones and typhoons are more 

prevalent in the Pacific than are hurricanes off the eastern U.S. coast,” Skiles 

said. 

“The PRICIP anatomies convey 

the impacts associated with extreme 

storm events and the causes of them to 

emergency managers, coastal planners 

and the general public in a manner 

that is easy to access, understand and 

use,” said John Marra, coastal natural 

hazards specialist from the NOAA Integrated Data and Environmental Applications Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. 

“The NASA Ames Research Center 

and the Develop team contributed 

significantly to this effort. From the 

PRICIP perspective, the content the 

students created was a great example 

of how diverse types of satellite data 

could be integrated and visualized. 

It also provided us with a wonderful 

illustration of the mutual benefits of 

collaboration.”

“NOAA gave the students the 

names of the storms, and that’s about 

it,”

Skiles said. “The students looked 

at about eight satellites and determined that four would yield the 

data necessary to show what NOAA 

wanted to see in the graphics.”

For example, the students used 

Jason-1’s radar altimeter data to determine the sea level height, sometimes 

called storm surge, of all the storms 

they studied. According to Skiles, each 

satellite data stream required differby John Bluck

continued on page 11

This graphic illustrates that there are many more typhoons and monsoons than hurricanes in the Pacific 

region. Students animated ocean storms in the Western Pacfiic Ocean at NOAA’s request. Tracks in the 

graphic above are courtesy of the National Hurricane Center and Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Background Image courtesy of NASA.

Satellite image of Super Typhoon Pongsona, 

Dec 10, 2002. Students completed studies in the 

summer of 2007.

NASA/GSFC photo
5 Astrogram December 2007

 Devastating wildfires, moon 

research and high tech Silicon Valley 

collaborations were top stories for 

NASA Ames Research Center in 2007.

 

California Wildfires:

NASA helped firefighters battle 

some of the worst wildfires in the 

state's history. In September, NASA 

flew the remotely piloted Ikhana 

airplane and its instruments that 

can see through smoke over the Lick 

wildfire near Gilroy, Calif. NASA 

Ames developed the Autonomous 

Modular Sensor-Wildfire instrument 

to look through the smoke to see hot 

spots, flames and temperature differences. The data is then overlaid 

on maps and made available to fire 

incident commanders to assist them 

in allocating resources. In October, 

NASA pilots again flew the Ikhana 

over numerous raging wildfires in 

Southern California. The flights were 

part of the Western States Fire Mission 

that demonstrated improved wildfire 

imaging and mapping capabilities of 

the sophisticated sensor and real-time 

data communications equipment 

developed at NASA Ames.

To view and download images 

and for additional information, visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/

lookingatearth/socal_wildfires_oct07.

html

 

Lunar Exploration:

NASA announced that the new 

Lunar Science Institute would be 

based at NASA Ames, ensuring that 

the center will play a key role in future 

exploration as NASA returns to the 

moon and later travels to Mars. Next 

year, NASA Ames is going to have a 

mission that will slam into the moon. 

The Lunar CRater Observation and 

Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission 

will provide scientists with a wealth 

of data that will tell us a great deal 

about the lunar surface and help 

prepare NASA to put boots on the 

moon by the end of the next decade. 

As evidence of the significant interest 

in the moon by the American public, 

a 'Return to the Moon Family Night" 

held at NASA Ames drew more than 

6,000 local residents.

For more information and images, 

visit: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/

ames/missions/2007/lcross.html

 

Collaborations:

NASA Ames forged key partnerships with some of the best and brightest companies on the planet, including 

its Silicon Valley neighbors, Google 

and Microsoft. Under an agreement 

with Google, NASA Ames is helping 

make NASA's vast archives of images 

and planetary data more accessible 

to the public. Ames is working with 

Google to develop Google Moon so 

that that everyone can take a virtual 

trip to the lunar surface. New higher 

resolution lunar imagery and maps 

that include NASA multi-media content are available on the Google Moon 

Web site.

NASA Ames also collaborated 

with Microsoft to develop Photosynth, 

a new immersive imaging technology 

that enables viewers to see detailed 

images of NASA. In August 2007, 

NASA and Microsoft released an interactive, 3-D photographic collection of 

the space shuttle Endeavour preparing for a mission to the International 

Space Station. 

The software uses photographs 

from standard digital cameras to construct a 3-D view that can be navigated and explored online. The software 

combines hundreds or thousands 

of regular digital photos of a scene 

to present a detailed 3-D model of a 

subject, giving viewers the sensation 

of smoothly gliding around the scene 

from every angle. 

A collection can be constructed 

using photos from a single source or 

multiple sources.

The NASA images can be viewed 

at Microsoft's Live Labs at: http://

labs.live.com/

For more information on Google 

Moon, visit: http://www.google.

com/moon/ For more information 

on Google Earth, visit: http://earth.

google.com 

 

Exploration:

NASA Ames continues to play a 

major role to support the space shuttle 

program with its work in thermal protection systems and the heat shields 

that protect the space shuttle during 

its fiery re-entry to the Earth's atmosphere.

This year, NASA Ames developed 

a new space shuttle tile inspection 

method using wireless scanners to replace manual inspection. NASA first 

used the new method in August 2007 

to look for cracks and other imperfections in some of the 24,000 tiles that 

cover space shuttle Endeavour. In the 

past, workers at NASA Kennedy Space 

Center, Fla., visually analyzed tiles 

and measured dings and cracks with 

small hand-held scales. Each scanner 

weighs approximately 2.9 pounds and 

is about the size and shape of a small 

teapot. Technicians place the machine 

on the tile's flaw to scan it. in about 

three seconds, the data are computerized and archived.

Engineers can scrutinize computerized 3-D pictures of the flaws. The 

images show the length, width and 

depth of the flaws on the surface of 

the tiles. Ames engineers developing 

a heat shield system for NASA's new 

Fires, moon, high-tech collaborations highlight 2007 by Michael Mewhi

NASA's Ikhana, a remotely piloted science aircraft.

NASA Dryden photo

The Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing 

Satellite (LCROSS) mission to look for water on 

the moon will be a ‘secondary payload spacecraft.’ 

Launch is scheduled for October 2008 on an Atlas 

V rocket from Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

continued on page 9
6 Astrogram December 2007

NASA’s retirement and benefit 

programs will transition to the NASA 

Shared Services Center (NSSC) beginning Jan. 6, 2008. NASA employees 

will need to contact the NSSC with 

questions pertaining to health insurance benefits, life insurance, civilian 

or military deposits, survivor benefit 

counseling and retirement estimates. 

Local Center Human Resources (HR) 

offices will no longer provide this 

service.

 The NSSC understands that the 

activities associated with these life 

events are very important to employees. The NSSC is committed to providing the same exceptional level of 

service employees received from their 

local center human resource office.

 For additional information about 

this transition, visit the NSSC Customer Service Web site at: https://www.

nssc.nasa.gov/customerservice, contact the NSSC Customer Contact CenThe Ames Contractor Council 

recently hosted its 2007 Excellence 

Awards Ceremony in the Ames main 

auditorium. Awards chair Kathleen 

Starmer served as master of ceremonies with president Chris Johnson 

presenting the certificates along 

with Deputy Center Director Chris 

Christensen.

The awards ceremony recognizes 

deserving contractor employees 

and teams of contractors for exceptional performance on NASA Ames 

Research Center programs, presented annually in front of their peers 

and management from both the civil 

servant and contractor staff.

There were 22 individuals and 16 

teams honored this year in recognition of their service to Ames. 

The researchers estimated past and 

future carbon balance for ecosystems 

in the western United States. Carbon 

balance is the difference between 

carbon sinks (such as carbon captured 

from the air by green plants) and 

carbon sources (such as factories and 

automobiles that burn fuel and put 

carbon into the air).

"We conducted this research because the influences of climate change 

on carbon held in ecosystem vegetation and soils — an important mechanism for offsetting fossil fuel carbon 

emissions — are not well understood, 

making projections in a changing 

climate quite uncertain," Potter explained.

continued from page 3

Major ecosystem carbon loss predicted

According to Potter, scientists 

need to gather information about current and past places where carbon is 

trapped to provide a point of comparison for future actions.

"We cannot say yet with certainty 

what the ecosystem carbon effects will 

be on climate regionally, but we do 

know that land areas anywhere in the 

world that do not consistently sequester and store carbon over several 

decades will add notably to already 

increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide 

from fossil fuel burning, which is the 

main human factor contributing to 

global warming," Potter said.

NASA’s retirement and benefit programs transition to NSSC

ter at: 1-877-NSSC123 (1-877-677-2123) 

or e-mail: nssc-contactcenter@nasa.

gov. You may also contact the Ames 

NSSC center liaison, Elena Martinez, at ext. 4-4135 or by e-mail at: 

Maria.E.Martinez@nasa.gov.

NASA photos by Dominic Hart

Ames Contractor Council holds 2007 Excellence Awards ceremony

Above, left to right: Ames Contractor Council President Chris Johnson;

award recipient Dominic Wong, 

QSS Group Inc.; and Deputy Center 

Director Marvin “Chris” Christensen.

QSS Group Inc., a Perot Systems Co., 

PKI Support Team was honored recently 

at the Ames Contractor Council 2007 

Excellence Awards Ceremony.

by Doreen Coh

Intrinsyx Technologies, Constellation Data 

Systems, one of the award recipients at 

the recent Ames Contractor council 2007 

Excellence Awards Ceremony.
7 Astrogram December 2007

While the annual holiday season 

brings good cheer, it also delivers 

more solid waste to the landfill and 

consumption of natural resources. 

Americans throw away about 25 

percent more trash between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve. That’s an 

additional 5 million tons of garbage! 

Regardless of which holiday you celebrate, take a minute to consider the 

following ideas for a “green” holiday 

season this year.

• As an alternative to traditional wrapping paper, try using pages from an old 

magazine, old maps, fabric, newspaper 

or decorative tins.

• Reduce packaging by giving an 

“experience” such as: concert or movie 

Tips for a “Green” holiday season, and how to reduce waste by Stacy St. Lo

Every year, there are 2.65 billion holiday 

cards sold in the U.S. That’s enough to fill a 

football stadium field 10 stories high.

If every American family wrapped just three holiday 

presents in reusable materials, it would save enough 

paper to cover 45,000 football fields.

tickets, gift certificate to a local spa or 

dinner restaurant, cooking or dance 

lessons, a gym membership, a pass to 

local museums, a Bay cruise or an annual National Parks pass.

• When shopping for gifts and holiday 

food, carry your own canvas bags.

• For holiday parties, use reusable 

dishes, cups 

and utensils, 

and cloth napkins.

• If you send 

holiday cards, 

look for those 

made of recycled paper. Eliminate envelopes and send a postcard instead. 

• Make gift tags or decorations from 

last year’s holiday cards.

• Consider getting alternatives to a 

cut tree, such as a live potted tree or an 

artificial tree.

• Use a timer on your 

holiday lights to avoid 

lights turning on too 

early or staying on all 

night.

• Buy certified organic, 

free-range turkeys for 

your holiday celebrations. Raised without confinement, with access to the 

outdoors, and fed organic grain, these 

turkeys actually have more muscle 

and lower fat content than typical 

store-bought turkeys. Plus, hormones 

and antibiotics are never used on the 

animals, making them even healthier 

for your family to consume.

• Donate old electronic gadgets. For 

a local listing of facilities, visit www.

ciwmb.ca.gov/Electronics/Collection/

With careful thought, it is possible 

to reduce waste, conserve resources, 

and promote environmental protection 

during this busy season.

The Cops Care Cancer Foundation 

hosted its annual Christmas Fantasy 

Flight for children with cancer and 

other life-threatening illnesses on Saturday, Dec. 15, 2007. The event was held 

in the San Jose Police Department Air 

Support Unit hangar, N211, at NASA 

Ames.

Children from San Francisco Bay 

Area hospitals, including Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford, 

Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical 

Center and Children’s Hospital and Research Center Oakland, were treated to 

a day of fun with their families. For the 

event, the hangar was transformed into 

the 'North Pole' filled with fun activities, food, drinks and music.

Highlighting the event was the 

arrival of Santa in a police helicopter, 

bearing gifts for each child and his or 

her siblings. Other activities included 

a 'bubble zone', jumper houses, face 

painting, carnival games and special 

access to police and fire department 

vehicles.

Cops Care CanPolice officers and 

firefighters from the San Jose Police Department and Sunnyvale Department 

of Public Safety greeted the children 

at Yahoo's Sunnyvale campus before 

boarding buses to NASA Ames. Upon 

NASA transforms into ‘North Pole’ for children’s fantasy flight

their arrival, a variety of special guests, 

including Ultimate Fighting Champion 

Daniel Puder and California Assemblymember Alberto Torrico, local 

police officers, cartoon characters and 

more than 100 foundation volunteers, 

greeted the children to make each one 

feel like a VIP.

by Jonas D

Santa arrives at Ames to give presents to the kids waiting for him during the recent 

Cops Care Cancer Foundation’s annual Christmas Fantasy Flight event.

NASA photo by Dominic Hart

In addition, each family received 

check-in gifts and a gift card to help 

purchase Christmas dinner from Yahoo 

and the Cops Care Cancer Foundation.

For more information about the 

Cops Care Cancer Foundation, visit the 

foundation Web site at http://www.

CopsCareCancerFoundation.org

for additional photos see page 14
8 Astrogram December 2007

 If not for the extreme effort of a 

NASA-partners team, a remotely piloted aircraft would not have been able 

to fly over Southern California wildfires in October 2007 to aid firefighters, 

according to observers.

 The California Governor’s Office 

of Emergency Services and the National Interagency Fire Center, Boise, 

Idaho, had asked NASA to fly wildfire 

missions to provide near real-time aerial fire images to incident commanders 

to help them to deploy firefighters and 

equipment. The flights of the Ikhana aircraft, which took off from NASA Dryden 

Flight Research Center, Edwards Air 

Force Base, Calif., seemed simple 

enough as described in news stories. 

Firefighters used the aircraft’s smokepiercing images help battle some of 

the 15 fires that destroyed about 2,100 

homes and charred 800 square miles, 

according to news reports. 

Though the smoke from the California wildfires was thick, firefighters 

saw through it, thanks to a special 

NASA autonomous aerial imaging 

system onboard the remotely piloted 

aircraft, according to headlines that 

appeared on Oct. 24, 2007.

 The system, developed by NASA Ames, took aerial, thermal infrared 

images of fire hot spots from as high 

as 27,000 feet. Called the Autono- mous Modular Sensor (AMS) Wildfire 

Instrument, the system on the aircraft delivered data in real-time by a 

satellite data link for distribution to 

NASA, partners enable remotely piloted plane to fly over wildfires

incident commanders near the fires via 

the Internet in as little as five minutes.

 But the missions of the Ikhana to 

observe Southern California’s wild- fires may not have taken place, or be- gun as early as they did, if not for the efforts of NASA 

people and their 

partners from 

industry and the 

academic world. 

 At NASA’s 

Dryden, the 

sensing system 

had been removed from the 

airplane in early 

August – the 

typical end of the 

western wildfire 

season. Workers 

alsohad begun 

dismantling the 

Ikhana aircraft’s 

wings while preparing the flying 

machine for 

another aeronautical research experiment in the 

upcoming 2008 wildfire season. Then the call for help 

came. Workers scrambled and toiled 

into the night to reinstall the sensing 

system and prepare the aircraft for fire 

operations. “The entire crew stayed up much of the night to get not only the in- strumentation, but the aircraft ready 

for the mission,” said Jim Brass, 

the co-mission manager with Vince 

Ambrosia, who was working from 

the National Interagency Fire Center 

in Boise, Idaho. “I think we had at 

least 15 people involved from NASA’s 

Ames and NASA’s Dryden.” The system can see the thermal infrared band 

that humans cannot see, according to 

Brass.

 “We were impressed by the interest of the incident commanders, and 

that they used it as much as they did,” 

said Brass.

 “The University of California 

Santa Cruz, through its University 

AffiliatedResearch Center, is proud 

to support NASA Ames in relief of 

the Southern California fires,” said 

William Berry, UARC Director. “Our 

people have shown incredible dedi- cation, and it pleases is all that their 

efforts demonstrate how this new 

technology can be so valuable to fire- fighters on the front lines. The experi- mental capability to provide real-time 

wildfire hot-spot information by see- ing through smoke with infrared eyes 

is an incredibly powerful tool in these 

unfortunate circumstances. We hope 

to work with NASA and other public 

agencies to make this capability more 

widely available and accessible in the 

future,” Berry added. “I do not know how many hours Pat (Grant) and Ted (Hildum, both 

of the University of California, Santa 

Cruz and) any other University Affili- ated Research Center staff have gone 

without sleep to get the sensor work- ing so that the flight could happen, but 

I do know they deserve tremendous 

praise, not only from us, and from 

NASA, but from all of California,” 

said Larry Hogle, of the University of 

California, Santa Cruz, whose office is 

at Ames.

 “In preparation for the last group of flights we had failure of a computer 

disc drive at 40,000 feet before the 

wildfires in Southern California,” ex- plained Ted Hildum of the University 

of California Santa Cruz, who works 

at Ames as a sensor engineer. “We had 

to fix that hard drive to get the sensor 

ready to fly,” he explained. “We had to entirely replace the hard drive and reinstall the operat- ing system and our special computer 

code,” Hildum said.

 According to Hildum, Dryden people had been getting ready to 

install new equipment on the Ikhana, 

and they had removed the wing pod, 

which is on the left wing. The pod is 

about eight feet long and about three 

feet high and two feet wide. “That’s 

where our sensor is, and the rest of 

data system and infrared,” Hildum 

explained.

 “Putting the pod back together 

and hanging it on the airplane is pretty easy, but the thing that took all the 

time was rebuilding the disc drive,” 

Hildum observed. It took all Tuesday 

(Oct. 23, 2007), 7 a.m. to about 9 p.m. 

PDT, 14 hours altogether to be ready 

for flight the next morning,” Hildum 

recounted.

 The wildfire sensor that the 

Ikhana carried contains a number of 

main pieces. These include the infra- red sensor and its data system and the 

in-flight data processing computer. 

The sensor is precisely calibrated and 

sensitive to specific thermal infrared 

wavelength so, it can peer through 

thick smoke and haze to take tempera- tures, discern hot spots and monitor 

the movement of wildfires during a 

by John Bluc

continued on page 11

With smoke from the Lake Arrowhead, Calif., area fires streaming in the background, 

NASA’s Ikhana remotely-piloted aircraft heads out on a wildfire imaging mission, 

Oct. 24, 2007.

NASA Dryden photo
9 Astrogram December 2007

methanogen ecosystems found on 

Earth," McKay explained. "Water rock 

reactions produce the hydrogen from 

basalt," McKay said, after citing two 

types of chemical reactions.

 According to McKay, if the 

methane is going to be recycled back 

to hydrogen, then there needs to be a 

region in Enceladus with temperatures 

about 500 degrees Celsius (932 degrees 

Fahrenheit) or more.

 The Cassini-Huygens mission is 

a cooperative project of NASA, the 

European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion 

Laboratory (JPL), a division of the 

California Institute of Technology in 

Pasadena, Calif., manages the mission 

for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. The Cassini orbiter was designed, 

developed and assembled at JPL.

Possibilities of water and life on Enceladus

continued from page 2

The second GREEN event was entitled ‘Renewable 

energy: What’s NASA’s role?’ This event was the 

second in a series of seminars to consider how tools 

and expertise developed by NASA for the exploration of space can be applied to problems associated 

with sustainable energy and clean technologies on 

planet Earth. The afternoon session consisted of a 

lecture from an expert in renewable energy technologies, a review of NASA’s historic and current roles 

in energy-related research and a discussion of how 

NASA might contribute to renewable energy in the 

future. The invited speakers included Professor Ali 

Shakouri, University of California, Santa Cruz, and 

Dr. Valerie Lyons, NASA Glenn Research Center, 

Cleveland, (left lower photo.)

NASA photo by Dominic Hart

NASA photo by Eric James

Two Global Research into Energy and the Environment at NASA (GREEN) 

events were recently held at the center. The first was with Dr. Marty Hoffert (left 

photo) who presented a director’s colloquium entitled ‘Electricity from Orbit: The 

case for R & D.’ Hoffert spoke about how cost-effective space solar power (SSP) 

could be a breakthrough technology for large-scale power generation, provide 

highly flexible power distribution and a sustainable carbon-neutral base load for 

Earth. Hoffert is Professor Emeritus of Physics and former chair of the Department of Applied Science at New York University.

Two ‘GREEN’ events highlight Earth-friendly energy resources

spaceship Orion already are using a 

larger, desktop version of the scanner 

to study heat shield samples tested at 

Ames.

NASA photo by Dominic Hart

NASA Ames’ space shuttle tile wireless 

scanner, which replaced manual inspections 

of the tiles.

For high-resolution images of the 

scanner, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/

mission_pages/shuttle/news/wireless_scanner.html 

 

The Year Ahead:

Next year promises to be even 

more exciting for NASA Ames. NASA 

will be celebrating its 50th anniversary. In the fall, Ames will launch the 

LCROSS on its mission to the moon in 

search of water ice at one of the lunar 

poles.

In 2009, the Kepler mission will 

begin its search for habitable planets. 

Kepler is NASA's first mission capable 

of finding Earth-size and smaller planets. The Kepler mission will monitor 

the brightness of stars to find planets 

that pass in front of them during the 

planets' orbits.

Fires, moon, high-tech collaborations highlight 2007

continued from page 5
10 Astrogram December 2007

Did you know that Ames has a 

traffic management plan? Or that in 

the past 12 months, Ames’ law enforcement officers wrote 1,550 traffic 

citations?

Of those 1,550 citations, 578 were 

for failing to come to a complete stop 

at a stop sign, while more than 300 

drivers were cited for exceeding the 

posted speed limit. There also were 

29 motor vehicle accidents at Ames 

during that period. The most common 

reasons for accidents are unsafe speed 

and unsafe backing. Most resulted 

in some vehicle damage, but fortunately, only a couple of injuries were 

reported.

“Protective Services makes every 

effort to ensure that motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians alike can safely 

traverse the roads and pathways at 

Ames,” said Ken Silverman, chief of 

security. “By adhering to the Ames 

traffic management plan, Ames’ 

employees, visitors and guests can 

help us ensure a safe environment for 

everyone.”

Violating the traffic management 

plan can result in a ticket issued by 

Ames’ security police officers. There 

Get to know the Ames Traffic Management Plan by Ann Sullivan are three types of tickets: a courtesy

warning, with no traffic violation 

points; a correction notice for vehicle 

safety/equipment violations; and the 

standard notice for a violation that 

may result in the assessment of points 

(e.g., a speeding ticket). Points can 

vary from two for a minor infraction 

to 12 for reckless driving or for failing 

to obey a traffic or pedestrian crosswalk or sign resulting in serious injury 

to a pedestrian.

Accumulating 12 or more points 

in a two-year period may result in 

suspension of driving privileges on 

Ames property for 30 days or more for 

non-criminal violations. In addition, 

criminal activities resulting from the 

operation of a motor vehicle on Ames 

property may be referred to the United 

States Attorney's Office for criminal 

prosecution. 

NASA security police have authority to enforce the Ames traffic plan, 

which doesn’t differ much from state 

traffic laws. Obey the speed limit. Stop 

completely at stop signs. Use common sense when driving. Wear seat 

belts. Children under the age of four 

years, regardless of weight, or weighing less than 40 pounds, regardless 

of age, must be restrained in a child 

safety seat that meets California motor 

vehicle safety standards. If you ride 

a motorcycle or a bicycle, wear an 

appropriate helmet. You must have a 

valid driver’s license, and your vehicle 

must be licensed and insured. 

The maximum speed limit at Ames 

is 25 mph unless otherwise posted. 

The speed limit at all entry points and 

in all parking lots is 15 mph. Should 

you be tempted to exceed the speed 

limit, please keep in mind that Ames 

security police officers do use radar 

devices to detect speeders. 

If your vehicle breaks down, move 

it off the pavement to the right side 

of the road. Get everyone out of the 

vehicle and off the road if the vehicle 

cannot be moved. A vehicle with a 

flat tire should be driven slowly off 

the road. Turn on emergency warning lights. Use taillights if the vehicle 

doesn’t have warning or hazard lights. 

At night, also turn on the car's inside 

lights. Contact the Ames Emergency 

Dispatch Office if assistance is needed 

or in an emergency.

Of course, it goes without saying 

that it is unlawful for anyone under 

the influence of alcohol or drugs to 

drive a vehicle at Ames, or to drive in 

a reckless manner.

Pedestrians should use common 

sense when walking or jogging at 

Ames, by using sidewalks when available, walking on the left side of the 

road if there is no sidewalk, and yielding the right of way to all vehicles if 

crossing anywhere except within a 

crosswalk. 

Bicyclists must obey all traffic 

signs and signals, not ride more than 

two abreast except on a path or shoulder of a road, ride on a bike path if one 

is available, and at night, have a front 

white light and a red reflector on the 

rear. 

The Ames traffic management 

plan is in place, and its regulations 

are enforced, for your safety and for 

the safety of everyone who works at 

or visits Ames. Don’t become a traffic 

statistic!

To see the complete Ames traffic management plan, go to http://

server-mpo.arc.nasa.gov/Services/

CDMSDocs/Centers/ARC/Dirs/

APR/APR1600.5.html

NASA photo by Eric James

Officer Robert Dean of Ames’ Protective Services writes up a ticket for a motorist for speeding 

at the center. The maximum speed limit at Ames is 25 mph unless otherwise posted. The speed 

limit at all entry points and in all parking lots is 15 mph.
11 Astrogram December 2007

ent processing methods and analysis. 

“So, that’s why it took the students 

10 weeks, or all summer of 2007, to 

complete the project.”

“Because of the differences in data 

streams from the satellites, it probably 

is not possible to produce these animations in real time,” Skiles said. 

 Skiles said NOAA is enthusiastic about the new hurricane animation and wants interns to continue 

to improve it. “At NOAA’s request, 

this project will be continued in the 

summer of 2008, with new students,” 

Skiles said.

 The five students who worked on 

the project are Casey Teske, University 

of Montana, Missoula; Nicole Simons, 

Hurricane animation improves predictions

continued from page 4

long period of time. The wildfire data is overlaid on 

Google Earth maps and sent in nearrealtime to the National Interagency 

Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, and made 

available to fire incident commanders 

at the fires to help them to decide how 

to use their fire-fighting people and 

equipment. “I designed the new data system for the sensor -- built a lot of it. This 

system is hardware and software. It 

records imagery from the infrared 

sensor, stores it on a disk and teleme- ters it back down to the ground. It’s 

received in the Ikhana ground station 

at NASA’s Dryden. It’s then sent to 

a server computer at NASA Ames,” 

Hildum said.

 “At that point it’s massaged a 

little bit by Francis Enomoto of NASA 

Ames,” explained Hildum. “He reformats the data so it can be displayed in 

Google Earth, which is a visualization 

tool. It put the images from our sensor 

onto a terrain map that can be viewed 

on the Internet.”

 “Sally Buechel wrote the software, 

which takes the image and corrects it 

to be draped over terrain maps, and it 

also detects fire perimeters,” Hildum 

added. Buechel works at NASA Ames 

and is employed by Bay Area Environmental Research Institute. The 

software also automatically detects 

and identifies hot spot data in the data 

stream, according to Ambrosia.

 “My job was to stand in for Sally 

Buechel to run the AMS wildfire instrument, and the thermal scanner that 

takes imagery of temperatures,” said 

Patrick Finch, another team engineer 

who works at NASA Ames for Califor- nia State University, Monterey Bay.

 “The instrument was developed 

by Ted Hildum and his group,” Finch 

said.

“Sally Buechel also wrote all of the 

software to process the imagery into 

a useful product, a color-coded image 

showing active hotspots and smoldering areas and unburned areas,” Finch 

continued.

 “When you’re looking at really 

hot, burning fires, the color palette 

would change from a nice green from 

unburned areas, and then as things got 

hotter, would fade into a very bright, 

white color where you’d see some 

reds where things are warm but not 

necessarily actively burning,” Finch 

explained. “We flew a few different times 

during the week,” Finch said. “They 

were trying to keep the flights at 10 

hours or less,” Finch added.

 “The aircraft headed south to San 

Diego and the border region to cover 

fires there (Harris Fire) then progres- sively moved north to cover remain- ing fires,” according to Ambrosia, the 

principal investigator for the missions, 

who described the first flight of the 

series that took off Oct. 24, 2007.

 On that first mission, the aircraft 

gathered images and data from at 

least 11 fires: the Harris, McCoy, Witch 

/ Poomacha, Coronado Hills, Rosa, 

Slide, Grass Valley, Buckweed, Ranch, 

Magic and San Clemente. The aircraft 

collected and transmitted 99 image 

files, flew more than nine hours and 

retuned to NASA’s Dryden.

 “During the course of the four 

missions over the Southern California wildfires, the Ikhana operated on 

distinct flight paths to ensure collecting the most pertinent and timely data 

possible over the various evolving fire 

events,” Ambrosia said. “During some 

missions, multiple passes during the 

day were made over critical, active 

fires to provide fire movement data to 

teams,” he added.

 “Users in the field are very pleased with the Ikhana imagery as ‘real data’,” 

said Tom Zajkowski, a U.S. Forest Ser- vice remote sensing analyst who was at 

the Witch Fire. According to Zajkowski, 

the imagery showed how effective 

burnout operations were, locating hid- den hotspots after fires went by.

NASA, partners enable remotely piloted plane to fly over wildfires

continued from page 8

NASA Ames engineers Sally Buechel and Ted 

Hildum prepare to load the Autonomous Modular 

Scanner into the Ikhana remotely piloted aircraft’s 

payload pod, Oct. 23, 2007 to observe the California wildfires 

NASA photo

 The lead for the sensor, Jeff Myers 

of the University of California Santa 

Cruz; the data systems lead, Don Sullivan of Ames; and others from

Ames also worked on the wildfire 

missions.

 For additional images and more 

information about the wildfire demonstrations, please visit: http://www1.

dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Photo/Ikhana/

index.html

University of Oklahoma, Norman; 

Josh Ingham, University of Idaho, 

Moscow; Frank Garcia, University of 

California Santa Barbara; and Seema 

Gupta, Wellesley College, Wellesley, 

Mass. The mentors for the project 

were Cindy Schmidt of San Jose State 

University, San Jose, Calif., who works 

at Ames; and Jay Skiles of Ames. 

The Develop Program began in 

1998 when three students authored a 

paper titled “Practical Applications of 

Remote Sensing.” 

For more information on Develop, 

visit: http://develop.larc.nasa.gov

The students’ animation will be 

available on the NOAA Web site at 

http://www.noaa.gov.
12 Astrogram December 2007

Ames emergency 

announcements

To hear the centerwide status record- ing, call (650) 604-9999 for informa- tion announcements and emergency 

instructions for Ames employees. You 

can also listen to 1700 KHz AM radio 

for the same information.

Ames Ongoing Monthly Events Calendar

Security/Law Enforcement Activity

Fire Protection Activity

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

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

of November 2007 is shown below.

Protective Services monthly activity

 Safety Data 

 NASA-Ames Occupational

 Illness-Injury Data for 

 Calendar Year-to-Date 2007

 Jan. 1, 2007 - Nov. 30 , 2007

 Civil Contractors

 Servants

 

 First aid cases 13 14

 Lost Workday cases 0 2

 Recordable cases 2 4

 Restricted duty days 0 2

 Above data are as of Nov. 30, 2007. 

 May be subject to slight adjustment in

 the event of a new case or new informa- 

 tion regarding an existing case.

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. POC: Julie Nottage at jnottage@

mail.arc.nasa.gov, ext. 4-3711. 

Ames Bowling League, Homestead Lanes on 

Thursday nights at 6:20 p.m. Seeking substitute 

bowlers. Questions to sign up: Mike Liu at ext. 

4-1132. 

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 Wednesday of ea. month, 11 a.m., Bldg. N-200, Committee Room. POC: Chris Johnson, (650) 938-8017.

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, 

First Wednesday of November (7th), noon. 

First Wednesday of December (5th), noon. 

Bldg. N-247, Rm. 109. Beginning 2008, third 

Wednesday each month, same location. 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: Miwa 

Hayashi, ext. 4-1397, mhayashi@mail.arc.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.

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. N-241/Rm 237. POC: 

Rosalyn Jung, knitfan2@yahoo.com or Diane 

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

nasa.gov

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 Sailing Club Mtg., second Thursday 

of each month (March through Nov), from 

12 p.m. - 1 p.m., Bldg. N-262, Rm. 100. URL: 

http://sail.arc.nasa.gov/. POC: Becky Hooey, 

ext. 4-2399.
13 Astrogram December 2007

Ames Classifieds Exchange Information

Beyond Galileo Gift Shop N-235 in 

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

Don’t forget to purchase your baby shower, birthday, holiday gifts at Ames’ two gift shops!

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

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

Visitor Center Gift Shop N-943 

M-F, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., ext. 4-5412

NASA logo merchandise, souvenirs, toys, gifts and 

educational items. 

Ongoing Vacation Opportunities

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

Tickets, etc... N-943 outside the main gate, 

10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., ext. 4-5412 and Beyond 

Galileo, 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. ext. 4-6873

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

The pool is heated year round! The pool is currently available for lap swim, pool parties and 

special events. POC -Chana Langley, Pool Manager 

(650) 603-8025. Memberships: single memberships: $40/yr. Family memberships: $60/yr. After 

purchasing a membership, there is an entrance fee: 

daily entrance fee - $3/day or lap pass fee - $40 for 

20 uses. Platinum membership - $360/yr. (no daily 

fee). Special events: include military training, swim 

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

special events is $50/hr.

Ames Swim Center (N-109) 603-8025

Astrogram deadlines

Please submit articles, calendar and 

classified advertisements to astro- gram@mail.arc.nasa.gov no later than 

the 10th of each month. If this falls on 

a weekend or holiday, then the follow- ing business day becomes the dead- line. For Astrogram questions, contact 

Astrid Olson at the aforementioned 

e-mail address or ext. 4-3347. 

Ads for the next issue should be sent to astrogram@

mail.arc.nasa.gov and must be resubmitted for each 

issue. Ads must involve personal needs or items; (no 

commercial/third-party ads) and will run on a spaceavailable basis only. First-time ads are given priority. 

Ads must include home phone numbers; Ames extensions and email addresses will be accepted for carpool 

and lost and found ads only. Due to the volume of 

material received, we are unable to verify the accuracy 

of the statements made in the ads. Caveat emptor! 

RV Lots Available Call to reserve a 

space at (650) 603-7100/01.

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

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. Call (650) 603-8026.

Lake Tahoe-Squaw Valley Townhse, 3bd/2ba, View 

of slopes, close to lifts. Per night: $250, plus $145 

cleaning fee. Two night minimum. Includes linens, 

propane fireplace, fully equipped. Call (650) 968-

4155, DBMcKellar@aol.com.

Bass Lake vacation rental, 4 mls south of Yosemite. 

3bd/1.5 ba, TV, VCR, MW, frplc, BBQ, priv. boat 

dock. Sleeps 8. $1,050/wk. Call (559) 642-3600 or 

(650) 390-9668.

Big Sur vacation rental, secluded 4bd/2ba house 

in canyon setting. Fully eqpd kitchen. Access to 

priv. beach. Tub in patio gdn. Halfway between 

Carmel and Big Sur. $175/night for 2; $225 for 4 

and $250 for more, plus $150 cleaning dep. Call 

(650) 328-4427.

Pine Mountain Lake vacation home. Access to golf, 

tennis, lake, swimming, horseback riding, walk 

to beach. Three bedrooms/sleeps 10. $100/night. 

Call (408) 799-4052 or (831) 623-4054.

Incline Village, Forest Pines, Lake Tahoe condo, 3 

bdrms/2 ba, sleeps 8, fireplace, TVs/VCR/DVD, 

stereo w/CD player, microwv, W/D, jacuzzi, 

sauna, outdoor pool. Walk to lake. Close to ski 

areas. Visit web site for pictures: http://www.

ACruiseStore.com $135/night spring and fall, 

$173/night summer and winter (holidays higher) 

plus $125 cleaning fee and 12 percent Nevada 

room tax. Charlie (650) 743-8990.

New York, 5th Ave., one fully furnished bedroom 

apt. in 24 hour security fbldg. overlooking

Washington Square Park, $1,000/week or

3,000/month, negotiable. Call (650) 430-6977.

Paris/France: Fully furnished studio. 5th arr, Latin 

Quarter, Notre Dame and Lie-St. Louis, $1,400/

week, negotiable. Call (650) 430-6977.

Santa Cruz townhouse, 2 bedrooms plus study, 

2 baths, decks, totally furnished, 3 blocks from 

beach, available July, August, September; $1,600 

per month. Call (831) 423-5777 (H) or (831) 277-

8476 (C).

Lake Tahoe cabin rental in Agate Bay, North Shore. 

4bd/3ba tri-level, AEK, cable TVs, fireplace, BBQ, 

deck, sleeps 10. Closest skiing is Northstar, Alpine 

and Squaw. Rates are $375 a weekend, $1,000 a 

week. Call (408) 867-4656.

Florida west coast vacation in St. Petersburg, 

beautiful 2bd/2ba condo, fully equipped kitchen 

and furnished, sunset views, 1/4 mile from St. Pete 

Beach, monthly or 2 week minimum rentals only. 

Call (703) 299-8889 or e-mail: jdgoehler@aol.com

Monterey Bay vacation rental at Pajaro Dunes, 20 

miles south of Santa Cruz, 3bd/2ba beach house 

with distinctive architecture. Beautiful ocean and 

valley views, only 150 ft from the beach, first-class 

tennis courts. $700/wkend, $2,100/wk including 

cleaning by the maid service when you depart. 

Call (408) 252-7260.

South Lake Tahoe large cabin surrounded by 

protected forest, 8 miles from Stateline Sleeps 12 

comfortably, 4 bd/3ba. Hot tub/pool table/65” TV 

Matt (408) 482-5286

South Lake Tahoe cozy home backs up to large 

open meadow, 1 mile from Heavenly Valley. Sleeps 

11, 3 bd/2.5 ba. Large deck with hot tub. Matt (408) 

482-5286.

Miscellaneous

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.

E-bike for sale/donation to local school program. Fully loaded 24V E-bike by EV Global 

with brand new battery cells is available in 

exchange for a $400 donation to the PACT program, a local Mountain View school (originally

sold for $1800.) Bike is fully loaded (two panniers, headlight, taillight, front shocks..) will 

travel 12mph on electric alone. Call Krisstina at

(650) 964-3926 or e-mail klwilmoth@sbcglobal.

net if you’d like to take a look.

‘95 Toyota Camry, emerald green exterior, 4dr, 

5-speed manual transmission. 187,500 miles, 

great condition, runs smoothly, gives 26mpg, has 

recent smog certificate and complete maintenance records since 1995! $3,000. Anupa (650) 

862-2869

Transportation

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.
14 Astrogram December 2007

Children enjoy holiday fantasy flight at Ames ‘North Pole’

NASA photos by 

Dominic Hart

The annual Christmas Fantasy 

Flight was hosted by the Cops 

Care Cancer Foundation for 

children with cancer and other 

life-threatening illnesses on 

Dec. 15, 2007. The event was 

held in the San Jose Police 

Department Air Support Unit 

hangar, N211, at NASA Ames.

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