Astronaut for Hire

Insider tips on NASA's astronaut selection

2013-04-19T02:46:00.001-10:00

While NASA wraps up interviewing the second group of finalists to determine its 2013 class of ASCANs, the head of the NASA Astronaut Selection Office Duane Ross gave an illuminating presentation at JSC last Thursday about the selection process. He covered questions ranging from academic degrees to interview questions, medical screening, and Russian language requirements. Pete Dimmick was among those present in the audience. Here are his notes from the event, reprinted with permission:

Today I attended a lecture by Duane Ross and his protege, Anne Roemer. Duane has been the head of the astronaut selection process for 37 years and I had a few minutes to speak with them after the lecture was over.

Here is what I found out about becoming an astronaut. I won't discuss so much the published requirements, rather I'll be focusing more on the insider things.

There have been 257 NASA astronauts over the years and an applicant has a 0.6% chance of being selected. Of those non-pilots selected out of civilian life 38.9% had completed a Masters degree and 38.3% had a PhD. Of the pilots selected 52% had a Master's and 43% had only a Bachelor's. In total, nearly half of the astronauts selected had a Master's degree (45.2%). Basically its a myth that you need a PhD to stand a chance of being selected. If you have a non-technical bachelors degree that would otherwise disqualify you, a higher lever degree in a desired field outweighs that.

The process is divided up into 5 steps:

Review of basic qualifications.

Candidates are given an initial rating of "qualified" or "highly qualified" and sorted into similar groups based on background and skill set. This is to prevent apples to oranges comparisons with fighter pilots being compared to teachers.

Candidates are rated and ranked within their grouping.

Interviews and medical checks are begun for a period of 5 weeks - everyday, all day. More on this later.

Final selection is made.

Once selected, candidates have several months to relocate to Houston. Becoming flight certified takes 2 further years of training at which point you qualify for 3 years mission specific training. The current group, which is half way though the interview and medical process, was told not to expect anything more than trips to the ISS (yet), and that that it would take about 8 years before their first flight.

The interviews are to answer the basic question of "would I want to go to space with this person?" They also aren't looking for hyper focused individuals. They want people who can do a little bit of everything. Things they consider are:

Why do you want to be an astronaut? Is it a passion or just because you think it would be fun?

Can you fix things? Can you fix a car or a computer?

How well do you communicate?

How well do you cope with others and respond to change?

Would this person be a good representative of NASA?

Does this candidate have a personality that is too intense?

Are you a team player?

Who are you as a person?

Furthermore your qualifications must be met by the time the application process closes, rather than by the time your application is reviewed (They are all reviewed by people, there is no automatic system that looks for key words.). If you're anticipating getting a pilot's license, new degree, or a certain number of years work experience, it must be finished by the application due date.

The interviews are conducted by a panel of astronauts who in turn make the recommendations of who should be selected. These recommendations are then approved by the JSC administrator and passed along to the NASA administrator for final approval.

Here's where it gets spicy. While the basic requirements for consideration have been loosened, the medical requirements have not. It was implied that they are nearly as stringent as they were for Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. This is because they are planning for long duration flights and need people in utmost physical condition. They are much more difficult to pass than they were for Shuttle.

Things they examine include: physical measurements of just about everything, eye examinations, dental examinations, MRIs, stringent heart and cardiovascular checkups, and the VO2 max stress test. There is no age limit, and if you can pass you're good to go, but chances of passing do decrease with age. In the past they've selected people from ages 23 to 46. They also need to consider that they will get more use out of a younger astronaut.

However certain things will disqualify you immediately. Kidney stones are an instant no-go, even if you've only had one once.

Eyes however are a different story. If your vision is no worse than 20/400 and correctable to 20/20 you can be considered. If your vision is no worse than 20/800 and LASIK can put you into the "20/400 correctable to 20/20" category then you are also good go. (I don't want anyone running out and getting LASIK because of this without doing their own research FIRST. Your eyes are not my liability.). This assumes of course that there is nothing else wrong with them, and that you just simply need glasses because things are fuzzy to you. 2 years must have passed since the surgery to qualify.

As a side note, be aware that the effect on a person's eyes due to long duration spaceflight are very serious and don't always recover when you get back home.

There is much much much more to the medical side of things but Duane and Ann aren't involved in that. According to them its almost an entirely separate selection process. I have the contact information for the people who are involved on that side of things, but I'm not going to contact them until they are finished with the current group of Astronaut Candidates.

This brings me to my next point - Astronaut Candidates are not guaranteed a selection. What surprised me the most was that during your time as an AsCan if you cannot learn Russian to an "intermediate-low" fluency, you're disqualified. From experience I can tell you that Russian is not an easy language, so get started on that now if you're serious.

Lastly, the question was asked about how many applicants were internal to NASA. Surprisingly there were only a few hundred out of the 6200 total and 4500 qualified people who applied. Most of them came from the Mission Operations Directorate (mission control, where I work), Engineering, and the Space Life Sciences division.

I hope this helps, and once the current selection process if finished, I might be able to relay specific questions you all have. They do not know when the next selection process will be, but they anticipate it won't be soon, so if there is anything you need to work on, get started on it now while you have the time.

-Pete

Orientation to HI-SEAS

2013-04-15T12:21:00.000-10:00

What would you do in your last week on Earth before embarking on an extended voyage to Mars? You would probably spend it taking care of last minute packing, studying up on your destination, eating good meals, and enjoying your remaining time with family and friends. That’s exactly what the crew of the 2013 HI-SEAS mission did during the past week, which I had privilege of sharing with them. Today they locked themselves away in a remote habitat on Mauna Loa to simulate a four-month stay on Mars.

As I’ve mentioned before, HI-SEAS stands for Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation. That mouthful just means that Hawaii offers an environment analogous to that found on Mars or the Moon. HI-SEAS is the brainchild of fellow Hawaii resident and FMARS+MDRS alumnus, Dr. Kim Binsted. On her 2007 FMARS mission in the Arctic, she became interested in questions surrounding the culinary and psychological aspects of locking a crew away for months at a time. Teaming up with Cornell University researcher Dr. Jean Hunter, they have carried out a food study with MDRS crews for the past five years. With the NASA-funded HI-SEAS mission, they are taking this to a new level of fidelity by rigorously testing two alternating food regimes of ready-to-eat packaged foods versus food the crew can cook from shelf-stable ingredients available in their habitat. You can learn all about the mission in this video:

It takes a team of people to get a project like this off the ground. From the construction crew who designed and built the habitat (which is a marvel of engineering) to the mission support volunteers who will be there every day to help the crew with their needs, at least 50 people are involved with the project in some fashion. In my role as Mission Support Manager, I coordinate the recruitment, scheduling, and organizing of the mission support team, who act as CAPCOMs on three shifts per day from their homes around the world. Having been a crewmember on similar analog missions to FMARS in 2009 and MDRS in 2010, I have a good idea what the crew is going through and am happy for the challenge of applying my past experience to this new mission.

So, let’s get back to my original question. Here is how the crew’s final week on “Earth” went:

Monday: The crew assembled in Hilo, Hawaii.

Tuesday: In the morning, the crew had an initial spacesuit fitting, followed by a team briefing to identify the status of various mission elements. Later in the afternoon, we were treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of the 'Imiloa Astronomy Center, which provided historical context on the Native Hawaiian cosmological worldview, linking Polynesisan seafaring navigation with astronomy and planetary exploration.

Wednesday: Since the crew will be living in a remote mountainside habitat for 120 days, it is important they have a strong connection to the land and appreciation for the surrounding environment. We spent the day volunteering with the Mauna Kea Forest Restoration Project in the Ka'ohe Restoration Area planting 500 māmane tree seedlings to help restore the native habitat for the palila bird and other animals. We even went birdwatching and found three of the rare Hawaiian finch-billed honeycreepers enjoying life in a mature māmane tree. After a day of rewarding physical labor, we stopped by Kaumana Cave to explore the lava tube and the subterranean habitat it supports. These activities helped connect us to the local ecology, which is particularly critical when living off the land like pioneers on Mars will do someday. You can see a group shot of us on the MKFRP's Facebook page and some action shots below.

Thursday: Mauna Kea also hosts some of the world's most important astronomical observatories, but the construction of these facilities has been controversial in the past with the native Hawaiian community due to the mountain's sacred importance to their culture. From the beginning, the HI-SEAS project has worked with local cultural practitioners to engage the Hawaiian community with the HI-SEAS project. We visited a group of Kapuna (elders) to introduce ourselves and tell them about the project. They had some great questions, and afterward, they formed a large circle around us and gave us a blessing of success in the project and in our lives. After many hugs and kisses all around, we were about to leave when they invited us back inside for an impromptu hulu dance from an elderly woman and man. Their warm spirit and vibrancy was contagious as they danced for us and even pulled some of us forward to dance with them (including me!). We had originally planned to visit a local native Hawaiian school on Thursday as well, but the appointment didn't work out, so we spent the remainder of the day shopping and preparing further for the mission. One of the project's key supporters Henk Rogers then invited us, along with the entire habitat construction team, over to his ranch for a barbeque that evening. The photos below show us enjoying a hula dance and posing with Kimo Pihana after he blessed the crew near the Saddle Rd between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.

Friday: The HI-SEAS habitat building is a geodesic dome with all the comforts of home: an airlock, a kitchen, work/lab space, storage space, and six small quarters for each crewmember. It is outfitted with dozens of sensors controlled by an intelligent monitoring and control system. The structure is aware of CO₂ levels, temperature, water, weather, etc. and adjusts vents accordingly. The crew can monitor and control this from a computer terminal that was modeled after and installed by the Hawai'i Preparatory Academy's Energy Lab. We spent the morning at HPA learning about the Energy Lab and the excellent educational opportunities it offers for the school's students. Then, we headed to Mauna Kea for lunch and a further cultural orientation from Koa Rice at Hale Pohaku before driving to the summit for a special tour of the Gemini Observatory facility. We concluded the day watching the sun set from one of the most majestic places on Earth before descending back to Hilo to celebrate Yuri's Night.

Saturday: After a telecon to organize the mission support volunteers, the HI-SEAS doctor stopped by for a house call to brief the crew on medical procedures and interview them individually on any medical concerns they may have. Then, I took my leave to fly back home, leaving the crew to sort out their final spacesuit fitting and preparations. In case you're curious, their mock spacesuits are modified hazmat suits that look like this. Maybe Mars is populated by little green men after all!

Sunday-Monday: The crew spent their last days on Earth resting, blogging, packing, and otherwise getting their affairs in order before being sequestered in a small habitat for four months. They "landed" on Mars in darkness this evening simulate arriving on the Martian surface without firsthand knowledge of the local terrain.

By spending the week with the crew during their orientation period prior to the mission, I was able to get to know them so that I can better anticipate their needs and serve them on the mission. Likewise, they got to know me as well. This helps to build the trust, respect, and friendship that help make these types of missions a success. The six crewmembers were chosen from about 700 applicants and represent some of the most competent, good-natured people I’ve ever had the pleasure of sharing company. Not only will they carry out the food study, carefully documenting and weighing their daily gastronic intake, they will also perform a number of other research projects in areas such as robotics, exercise, sleep patterns, biology, geology, and outreach. Like any good analog mission, crewmembers will embark on frequent EVA excursions in mock spacesuits to explore their surroundings and conduct field research activities.

You can follow their adventures at hi-seas.org.

Your Overview Effect

2013-03-04T22:10:00.000-10:00

As the SpaceX Dragon soared over the Earth again this week, I found myself pondering what its future human passengers will experience when they view our planet from such a vantage point. It is well-known that the Overview Effect profoundly affects many astronauts. Seeing the Earth from space tends to engender a deep sense of interconnectedness and purposefulness that transforms astronauts in fundamental ways. To date, only 534 people in the sum of human history have had this sobering psychosocial privilege, but that figure is poised to change dramatically in the coming years as commercial space companies take off. Once thousands of people have experienced the Overview Effect, what will the ripple effect be in society?

A video called "OVERVIEW" has been making waves on the internet for the past three months to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the famous "Blue Marble" photo. I was overcome with emotion the first time I saw the film, which I appreciate more with each viewing. If you've not yet made it into the 62 mile club, this 19-minute video is the next best thing. Watch at full screen and try to experience your own personal Overview Effect:

Produced by Planetary Collective in cooperation with the Overview Institute, the film features stunning footage of the Earth from space along with an original music score that accompanies interviews with astronauts Jeff Hoffman, Nicole Stott, Shane Kimbrough, Ron Garan, and Edgar Mitchell, as well as philosophers David Loy, David Beaver, and Frank White (author of The Overview Effect). We can all learn from their perspectives.

"I don't know how you can come back and not, in some way, be changed" -astronaut Nicole Stott

One of the unexpected effects of the Apollo program and indeed the entire space exploration enterprise has been the collective paradigm shift towards seeing the Earth as a fragile oasis in space, leading directly to the modern environmental protection movement. While we have seen great progress in this area, I can't help but wonder how much better off the world would be if our leaders could experience the Overview Effect themselves in order to gain the perspective needed to more easily set aside differences to work on common goals.

"We came all this way to explore the Moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth." -astronaut Bill Anders, Apollo 8

Has all of this sparked your interest in exploring the Overview Effect phenomenon further? Tomorrow, 5 March 2013 from 3-3:30pm EST, you can join astronauts Ron Garan, Michael Lopez-Alegria, and Jean-Francois Clervoy in a Google+ Hangout sponsored by zero2infinity. The panel will discuss how their orbital experiences have altered their perspectives. I'll be there. What about you?

See more great images of Earth on NASA's Earth Perspectives website.

To infinity and beyond

2013-02-10T19:19:00.001-10:00

A year after I submitted my second astronaut application to NASA, it would seem my journey in the current selection has come to an end. Multiple reports have confirmed that NASA has already chosen and brought in all interviewees to Houston as of last week. I wish all applicants still in the running the best of luck going forward.

Earlier today, I spoke with NPR's Jacki Lyden on All Things Considered about my astronaut ambitions and the current NASA astronaut selection. Bracketed by great soundbytes from Star Trek and 2001: A Space Odyssey, the story addressed the future of NASA and tackles how commercial space endeavors will usher in a new era of human space exploration. Other people interviewed in the 11-minute segment include astronauts John Grunsfeld and Michael López-Alegría. Listen here:

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One of the things we talked about during the interview was how competitive it is to become an astronaut. Here's how the current selection is shaping up compared with the last one in 2008-2009:

	2012-13		2008-09
Applicants:	6372	(100%)	3564	(100%)
Qualified:	~4200	(66%)	~2800	(79%)
Highly Qualified:	481	(7.5%)	~450	(13%)
Interviewees:	120	(1.9%)	120	(3.4%)
Finalists:	50	(0.8%)	40	(1.1%)
ASCANs:	~9-12	(0.2%)	9	(0.3%)

While I had hoped that the additional items added to my resume over the past four years would have bumped me into at least the Interview category this time, I am honored to have made it to the Highly Qualified group somewhere within the top 1.9-7.5% of applicants. After all, with the number of applicants in 2012 nearly doubling compared with 2008, the chance of winning the astronaut lottery is much slimmer. In the meantime, please vote for me in the Axe Apollo Space Academy!

I'll close with some fun videos on life in space by current ISS Commander Chris Hadfield:

A4H Video

2013-02-02T15:19:00.000-10:00

The new video from Astronauts4Hire is now available. It showcases much of the commercial astronaut training I have been doing with the organization and explains how A4H provides educational, training, and research opportunities to support the growth of a commercial astronaut workforce. Watch it on YouTube or just click below:

Special thanks to Oceans Aloft and Rusty Rogers for filming and producing the video. A4H training partners Survival Systems USA, SIRIUS Astronaut Training, and the NASTAR Center generously allowed us to shoot the footage at their facilities. Additional footage comes from the parabolic flight campaign I helped carry out testing a biomedical monitoring system in microgravity with A4H research partner Vital Space.

NASA Johnson Style

2012-12-17T13:33:00.000-10:00

As the year winds down, and we all get busy with our holiday traditions, the business of choosing NASA's 21st astronaut class carries on. Since October, NASA has been bringing interviewees to Houston in groups of 20 for further medical screenings, performance testing, and of course interviews with the selection board. Altogether, there are 6 groups of interviewees for a total of 120 candidates out of the 6372 total applicants.

I checked with the Astronaut Selection Office, and they confirmed that they have called nearly all of the interviewees. They just have a handful more to call to fill out the January interview groups. If you are a Highly Qualified applicant awaiting that call from NASA like me, you can hold out hope for a little while longer that you might be among this small number of yet-to-be-contacted interviewees. The first round of interviews will wrap up in late January, and then NASA will narrow its selection to about 50 finalists who will be called back to Houston from February to April for additional interviews, testing, and complete medical evaluation.

Heading the selection effort is Robert Behnken, who took over the role of NASA's Chief Astronaut when Peggy Whitson stepped down in July. According to the SPACE.com article announcing the leadership change and a more recent USA TODAY article, NASA currently has 52 flight-eligible astronauts and will choose 9-15 new astronauts candidates in the 2013 class. They intend to keep the post-Shuttle era NASA astronaut corps to about 65 people.

According to Whitson, "We want and need a mix of individuals and skills for this next phase of human exploration." The new phase of human exploration includes yearlong missions to the ISS, a possible cislunar L2 base, and a renewed Mars exploration program aimed at getting humans there by the 2030s. Such remote, long-duration missions will require a great deal of attention to crew selection and preparation, which Alexander Kumar outlined nicely in his recent New York Times article "Preparing an Ideal Astronaut".

And now for something on the lighter side. Check out the video "NASA Johnson Style" for a shot of inspiration and smiles. Astronauts Tracy Caldwell Dyson, Clayton Anderson, and Mike Massimino (back from his mission on The Big Bang Theory) lent their talent to the fun celebration of NASA Johnson.

This is just the latest in a long line of recent of NASA-themed parodies like "We're NASA and we Know It", "I.S.S. Baby", and "Apollo Guys".

Happy holidays!

Enabling Sustainable Planetary Surface Exploration

2012-11-20T23:59:00.000-10:00

I had the distinct privilege of participating in the 2012 PISCES Forum last week on the Island of Hawaii. Like the 2011 and 2010 meetings that I attended, this year's gathering focused on developing a research park in Hawaii devoted to planetary analog research in the context of sustainable space exploration.

Dr. Buzz Aldrin was among the delegates participating in this year's PISCES conference, where he gave a keynote presentation on colonizing Mars through a sustainable strategy based upon Aldrin cyclers. With only about 50 people at the conference, there were many opportunities to interact with him closely. We spoke about how his father contributed to the early days of rocketry, what architecture is best suited for establishing a permanent Mars settlement, and what it takes to be an astronaut. He encouraged me to keep pursuing my goal of being an astronaut. Having met Neil Armstrong earlier this year, I am profoundly humbled to have met both Apollo 11 moonwalkers.

Sharing some aloha spirit with astronaut Buzz Aldrin at the 2012 PISCES Forum.

For space exploration beyond low earth orbit to be economically viable, we must learn to utilize the abundant resources that exist on other planetary bodies. For example, by mining water on the Moon, we can extract not only oxygen and water for life support but also rocket fuel to enable deep space refueling. By processing regolith and using advanced construction techniques, we can construct necessary infrastructure like concrete and solar panels from local materials. The less mass we have to lift off the Earth, the cheaper space travel can become.

All of this takes research, development, and testing of robotic technologies in environments on Earth analogous to those found in space. Given its unique geology, geography, and climate, Hawaii offers one of the most ideal settings for this type of work. The very technologies we need to survive in space to ensure we have water, food, air, energy, radiation protection, and waste recovery are the very same technologies that can help us mitigate growing problems here on Earth. As the world's most isolated island group, Hawaii is keenly sensitive to these issues and needs to achieve greater self sufficiency using local resources. Thus, planetary analog work has direct application and benefit to Hawaii as well.

For the uninitiated, PISCES stands for "Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems." It was established in 2007 as an international research and education center dedicated to the development, verification, and validation of new technologies needed for operations on the Moon, Mars, and beyond. NASA has been a close partner and customer of PISCES since its inception, having participated in PISCES field campaigns testing in situ resource utilization technologies on the flank of Mauna Kea in 2008, 2010, and 2012. NASA and the State of Hawaii signed a Space Act Agreement in 2010 and annex in 2011 to pave the way for collaboration in a number of areas, including analog research. PISCES Director Rob Kelso, who had a distinguished 38-year career with NASA serving as Space Shuttle Flight Director and Manager for Commercial Space Development in the Commercial Crew & Cargo Program Office, summed up PISCES as follows:

"Our goal is to become the preferred provider for space agencies and commercial space businesses around the world that are developing technologies to help enable and sustain planetary surface exploration." -- Rob Kelso

The first day of the 2012 PISCES Forum featured a series of keynote addresses and panel discussions with distinguished experts from NASA, industry, and academia. Major themes included "dust to thrust" and "rocks to blocks," indicating how local materials can be turned into fuel or building materials. NASA Chief Exploration Scientist Dr. Michael Wargo spoke on the three R's for enabling human space exploration: Radiation, Regolith, and Reliability. A combination of remote sensing and in situ data, along with terrestrial-based analog research is required to answer questions in these areas to fill Strategic Knowledge Gaps (SKG's) identified by expert groups such as LEAG, MEPAG, and SBAG. Dr. Clive Neal spoke on the importance and availability of lunar resources, and Jim Keravala of Shakleton Energy Company presented his company's ambitious plan to develop space propellant depots from lunar water. Dr. Paul Hintz of NASA spoke on regolith processing to make solar panels, heat shields, concrete, and landing pads.

The second day of the conference was filled with technical presentations on a number of topics related to mining, infrastructure, construction, robotics, mission concepts, and education & public outreach. Several of the talks dealt with how to make concrete from the local basaltic regolith on the Moon or Hawaii. 3D printers that use concrete as a medium are one very interesting technology that could construct infrastructure needed for a lunar base. The students from the Alabama Lunabotics team were there along with their winning robotic miner. Google Lunar X PRIZE team White Label Space also brought its rover to the conference. I gave a presentation based on my UND thesis how humans might work to carry out geophysical surveys on other planets and how the HI-SEAS habitat on Mauna Loa could be used as a base of operations for follow-on field tests.

The press conference held on the second day of the meeting garnered some local and state news media attention with front page stories in newspapers West Hawaii Today and Hawaii Tribune Herald. The Honolulu ABC affiliate KITV 4 News aired a story as well, which you can watch below or here.

During the third and fourth days of the meeting, everyone broke into working group sessions related to PISCES strategy, outreach, and technology. The strategy and technology working groups focused on developing the business and operations plan to carry the PISCES organization forward for the next few years in light of the significant $2.3 million funding investment already made by the State of Hawaii. On June 27, the governor signed into law HB2873 HD2 SD2 CD1 (CCR 146-12), which moved PISCES from the University of Hawaii at Hilo to the State Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism and allocated funds for the 2012-2013 fiscal year. This follows SB0112 SD1 HD1 CD1 (CCR 164-12), which the governor signed into law on May 11 to acquire a FAA spaceport license for Kalaeloa Airport (where I trained as a private pilot) and promote space tourism in Hawaii. In both cases, these bills enjoyed bipartisan support, easily passing both houses of the state legislature without a single nay vote. This is because the State of Hawaii sees the value in promoting a strong aerospace industry as an economic driver, job creator, and incubator for sustainable technologies.

I thank the Hawaii Office of Aerospace Development for their generous support that enabled me to attend the 2012 PISCES Forum. The conference concluded with an inspiring luncheon keynote by entrepreneur and philanthropist Henk Rogers. I'll close with his words:

"The most amazing thing to happen to this planet in its entire history is life. It doesn't matter whether you believe it's spontaneous generation, panspermia, or divine intervention. Life is still the most amazing thing that ever happened on this planet. If we found a barren planet and we brought life to that planet, it would be the most amazing thing that ever happened to that planet. I would go so far as to say nothing we will ever do as a species will equal bringing life to another planet. We have the ability to do it now. What are we waiting for? It may well be the reason we exist." -- Henk Rogers

Supersonic Skydiving and Startrails

2012-10-29T10:10:00.000-10:00

Your daily dose of inspiration begins here with two phenomenal videos that exemplify the human spirit for adventure and the beauty of our universe.

For centuries, people have dreamed of gliding like birds. The sport of skydiving grew in part out of this desire. More than half a century ago during Project Manhigh and Project Excelsior, humanity pushed this to an extreme with a series of jumps from the edge of space topping out at 31 kilometers altitude by Joe Kittinger in 1960. His record remained unchallenged until now.

Sponsored by Red Bull Stratos, Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner made his historic stratospheric jump on October 14, 2012. Protected only his pressure suit made by the David Clark Company, he shattered several world records, while battling claustrophobia.

Top Speed: 1,342.8 km/hr / 833.9 mi/hr (Mach 1.24 supersonic!)
Jump altitude: 39.05 kilometers / 24.26 miles
Vertical distance of freefall: 36.53 kilometers / 22.70 miles
Total time freefall: 4 minutes 22 seconds
Total jump to landing: 9 minutes 9 seconds

It was fitting that his coach and CAPCOM throughout the mission was none other than Joe Kittinger, the previous record holder. This feat is more than a publicity stunt for the record books; it may lead to improved emergency egress equipment and procedures for astronauts in the future.

Check out the inspiring video highlights below and tune into the National Geographic Channel on November 11 to watch Space Dive:

"I know the whole world is watching, and I wish the whole world could see what I see. Sometimes you have to go up really high to understand how small you really are." --Felix Baumgartner"

Moving to the second video treat of the week, do yourself a big favor and watch the ISS startrails footage assembled by astrophotographer Christopher Malin. Similar to the photos taken by Astronaut Don Petit on the ISS, this video uses post-processing and stacking of images to mimic a long time-lapse exposure. Malin says he was inspired by Felix Baumgartner's stratosphere jump, so he grabbed a Red Bull and cranked out this mesmerizing video in only 10 hours. Enjoy this one at full screen resolution!

ISS Startrails - TRONized from Christoph Malin on Vimeo.

In other news, a big congratulations goes out to SpaceX for their historical first commercial cargo mission to the International Space Station! My son and I watched the launch live along with millions of other internet viewers, and it inspired him to make a rocket of his own. It won't be long before people travel to the station aboard the Dragon and other privately developed vehicles.

Cosmonaut selection criteria

2012-10-05T17:12:00.000-10:00

A pair of interesting infographics came across my dashboard this week. The first one shows how Russia's cosmonaut selection criteria have changed from the early days of space flight to today. Not surprisingly, the health and anthropometric criteria seem to have relaxed, and the demographic has shifted from highly experienced fighter pilots to a wider range of professional backgrounds. How do you measure up?

The second infographic details the selection criteria from anthropometrics to physical fitness and "moral-psychological qualities". I find it interesting that the maximum age they will consider is 33, presumably due to the six-year training period and long wait for orbital mission slots. Quite reasonably, they require a college degree plus five years work experience, but it's intriguing that one must be with a company for no less than three years. Part of the fitness test is a 5 km ski race, which makes this long-time cross-country skier happy. You can read the full set of Russia's current cosmonaut selection criteria here (in Russian).

The Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) held its first open cosmonaut selection drive for its United Cosmonaut Corps from January 27 through March 15 - an ambitious timeframe that a representative of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center recently recognized as "impractical". I must have been so engrossed with my pilot training earlier this year that I missed the press about Russia's 2012 cosmonaut selection. Maybe I wasn't the only one. Halfway through the nominal 2-month application period, only 43 people had applied for the job, so they extended the application period until April 30 to collect more applications. By then, 304 people had applied, including 43 women. I was not able to find an announcement of any final cosmonaut candidate selections, so I assume they are still evaluating applications to make the final selection. The Russian Space Agency currently has 36 active cosmonauts and 3 cosmonaut candidates remaining from its 2010 cosmonaut selection.

Of course, NASA is currently narrowing its pool of applicants as well. The word on the street is that some applicants are already being called to Houston for interviews starting in late October. Good luck, everyone!

In other news, as SpaceX prepares for its first ISS supply flight on Sunday, NASA announced today that it had signed an agreement with its international partners for the first year-long ISS mission, set to begin in spring 2015. The crew will consist of one American astronaut and one Russian cosmonaut. This may become the standard mode of operation as long duration missions beyond low Earth orbit become a higher priority for space agencies. To date, only four people - all Russian - have ever spent a year in orbit. Since the station will still require resupply, this means that more tourist flight opportunities could become available on Soyuz capsules.

NASA astronaut selection timeline update

2012-09-24T14:58:00.001-10:00

NASA will take an extra month to whittle down its approximately 400 Highly Qualified applicants to the 100 or so it plans to interview. That's what I infer from from the latest update to the Astronaut Candidate Selection Process Timeline. Interviewees will now be brought to JSC through January instead of December, with finalists determined by February and the new ASCAN class announced by June. These changes are noted by the red color in the updated table below. The report date for the Astronaut Candidate Class of 2013 remains August 2013. Good luck, everyone!

November 15, 2011	Vacancy Announcement opens at USAJOBS.
January 27, 2012	Vacancy Announcement closes.
May-September 2012	Qualified Applications reviewed to determine Highly Qualified applicants. Qualifications Inquiry form sent to Supervisors / References and civilian applicants contacted by mail to obtain an FAA medical exam.
August-December 2012	Highly Qualified applications reviewed to determine Interviewees.
October 2012-January 2013	Interviewees brought to JSC for preliminary interview, medical evaluation, and orientation. Interviewees will be selected from the Highly Qualified group and contacted on a week-by-week basis.
February 2013	Finalists determined.
February-April 2013	Finalists brought to JSC for additional interview and complete medical evaluation.
June 2013	Astronaut Candidate Class of 2013 announced
August 2013	Astronaut Candidate Class of 2013 reports to the Johnson Space Center.

Here is a fun piece of trivia for you. Who completed the first triathlon in space, and when? The answer is that Sunita Williams completed the Nautica Malibu Triathlon from her perch on the ISS last weekend on September 16. She used the station's stationary cycle and treadmill for the bike and run portions. Since there is no swimming pool on the orbiting outpost, Williams simulated the swim portion with some strength training exercise equipment. This isn't her first time as a virtual racer. You may recall that she ran the Boston Marathon from the ISS back in 2007. Here is the video coverage from NASA TV:

One small step for a man...

2012-09-01T15:12:00.000-10:00

Brian Shiro with Neil Armstrong (Feb 2012).
Alternate photo shaking hands here.

The world lost one of history's most important heroes this week. Hundreds of years from now, Neil Armstrong will still be a household name. I am humbled that I got to meet the first moonwalker this past February when he talked about his days as an X-15 test pilot prior to becoming an astronaut. Being bombarded by many eager admirers, we just had a few moments for me to thank him for his inspiring life, but I am grateful for the opportunity to be in presence of a man of such great humility and achievement. It has been four decades since we ventured to another world. We cannot let the innate human drive for exploration and new knowledge wither. Will the accomplishments of Armstrong and his fellow Apollo astronauts be the high water mark of our civilization, or will we honor them by venturing to Mars and beyond? Every day I came to work this past week, I have been greeted by a flag at half staff to honor the memory of Neil Armstrong, as directed by President Obama. That's one small step in the right direction.

This week was particularly bittersweet for me because, amidst this sad news, I learned that I had made it to Highly Qualified round of NASA's current astronaut selection. Like a student awaiting a college acceptance letter, I have been eagerly checking the mailbox every day for the past month in the hopes that a letter from NASA might be there. Well, that letter arrived, and my references have informed me that NASA has contacted them too. Along with the other approximately 400 Highly Qualified applicants in 2012, my next small step is getting a medical exam from an Aviation Medical Examiner and waiting to see if NASA likes what my references have to say. According to NASA's timeline, around 100 applicants will be asked to Houston by November for an interview and further tests. Given the much higher competitiveness of the applicant pool in 2012 compared with 2008, more people are vying for the same number of slots. I am humbled to once again be part of the Highly Qualified group.

Armstrong was a very private man who rarely made public appearances. However, in recent years he did seem to become a little more comfortable in his role as a public figure. For example, in 2009 he reunited with fellow Apollo 11 crewmembers at the White House to mark the 40th anniversary of their historic mission. In 2005, he granted an interview on CBS's 60 Minutes, which you can view below. His final interview recorded last year is available in 4 parts from CPA Australia and offers many insights into Armstrong's memories of Apollo, as does his 2005 authorized biography First Man.

NASA has collected memorials and statements on its tribute to Neil Armstrong page. I'll leave you with what Armstrong's family had to say in their statement:

"While we mourn the loss of a very good man, we also celebrate his remarkable life and hope that it serves as an example to young people around the world to work hard to make their dreams come true, to be willing to explore and push the limits, and to selflessly serve a cause greater than themselves."

"For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request. Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink."

;-)

2312: A Review

2012-08-14T07:16:00.000-10:00

I recently had the good fortune of being asked to review Kim Stanley Robinson's newest novel 2312. He sent me a personally signed copy of the thick book, which I have been digesting slowly for the past couple of months. An excerpt of my review is below. For the full review, please see Moonandback.com.

Imagine a future where people have escaped a crowded, environmentally ravaged Earth to inhabit the entire solar system. From vulcanoids near the Sun to Pluto in the Kuiper Belt and everywhere in between, your passport to this inspiring reality is Kim Stanley Robinson’s newest book 2312. In it, he masterfully paints a utopian picture where humanity has terraformed almost every world possible and used the technological advancements made possible by space exploration to extend human lifespans and liberty.

However, poverty, greed, and strife still exist in this brave new future, especially on Earth, which has never been able to shake its historical baggage like the space colonies have. At the center of this story is a very human drama of relationships with love, sorrows, fears, and joys that make you really care about the characters. The main protagonist is Swan Er Hong, a spry middle-aged supercentenarian artist who once designed worlds but now finds herself in the middle of an interplanetary terrorist plot to destroy them. Mercury’s roving city Terminator, Venus shaded by an enormous sunshield, Saturn's rings, and an Earth flooded by global warming induced sea level rise are a few of the destinations along her journey to solve one of the biggest threats ever to face the human race. It’s the stuff blockbuster movies are made of.

... Continue reading at Moonandback.com

Read an excerpt from 2312 and build your own asteroid terrarium on the publisher Orbitbooks website. See what others think of 2312 at Wired, Wall Street Journal, Space.com, LA Times, The Guardian, Strange Horizons, SF Signal, and SF Site.

Curiosity has landed!

2012-08-08T13:42:00.001-10:00

As the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity start to wind down their immensely successful 8+ year mission, NASA's newest and most capable robotic planetary mission the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover, dubbed 'Curiosity', has safely landed on the surface of the Red Planet.

Packed with ten science instruments to explore geology and detect the building blocks of life, Curiosity is a six-wheeled radioisotope-powered vehicle about the size of a car. On the way down, its Mars Descent Imager (MARDI) impressively captured the rover's descending the surface in this time lapse video and high-resolution image. Even more remarkable was the fact that the HiRISE camera in orbit snapped a photograph of the rover and its parachute during their descent and later found the discarded heat shield, parachute, and sky crane in their final resting places on the martian surface. The sky crane, by the way, was the most unusual and risky part of this mission. No object has ever landed on another planet this way. NASA's ingenuity in pulling it off is no less remarkable than landing on the Moon or saving the Apollo 13 astronauts. Below is the first panorama of the surrounding landscape taken by the MSL navcams.

Do yourself a favor and watch this highlight video from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It says it all:

#MSL was one of the highest trending topics on Twitter, grabbing the attention of even President Obama here and here. Google even featured the rover being lowered by its sky crane in the August 6 Google Doodle. NASA is clearly a master of public relations and marketing. They provide a beacon of inspiration amidst a sea of division and discontent that is all too common in our society today. PC World posted a complete list of ways to follow the mission, including Curiosity's own first-person Twitter account @MarsCuriosity.

A lot has been written on this historic achievement, but Mars Society President Robert Zubrin said it best in his statement following the successful landing:

"This is a great day for space exploration. Not only is this the beginning of the most powerful Mars exploration mission ever flown, it is a demonstration of a landing system that can deliver a ton to the Martian surface, thereby enabling all kinds of great future missions, including sample return. More than that, it is a demonstration of excellence that not only justifies the pursuit of the robotic exploration program, but shows that we have the skills needed to succeed were we to rise to the challenge of sending humans to Mars. Give our space program the stuff it needs, and there is no limit to what we can do!"

Dr. Zubrin is featured along with NASA scientist Margarita "Mars" Marinova (whom I met recently during RESOLVE operations in Hawaii) in an upcoming documentary titled "Someday Somewhere Beyond." It gives a clear picture how humanity is destined to one day occupy and perhaps terraform Mars, helping us to in turn solve important problems here on Earth.

Colonizing Mars from DEEPSPEED media on Vimeo.

To hear more from Robert Zubrin, check out his new Moonandback interview, which is freshly online today. In it, he discusses how we don't necessarily need advanced technologies to get to Mars and could have been there years ago. In any case, the Curiosity rover is an important stepping stone that will play a vital role in helping us better understand the Mars environment and our place in the solar system.

Update: Parts 2, 3, and 4 of Zubrin's interview are now online.

I am a pilot

2012-08-03T22:43:00.000-10:00

With the Olympics currently unfolding, we are reminded how athletes train very hard for their one chance at nailing a performance to achieve their long-sought goals. I have been undergoing my own intensive training regime for the past several months to earn a Private Pilot Certificate. Like those athletes, I too have been gearing up for the one performance that really counts; in my case that means passing the FAA checkride with a Designated Pilot Examiner who has the authority to grant me the pilot license. That checkride happened earlier today, and I am proud to say I am now a Private Pilot. For me, this achievement is like winning the gold medal, vindicating months of hard work and sacrifice. I am grateful to my CFI Scott and the entire staff of Galvin Flight Services Hawaii for their tutelage, but most of all, I thank my wife for her patience throughout this intense training period.

Aviation goes back a few generations in my family to my great-grandfather who flew in the Army Air Corps, worked for the FAA, and even rubbed shoulders with Charles Lindbergh. My dad grew up flying with him and became a Private Pilot with an IFR Rating, and as a result aviation was an important part of my upbringing as well. I spent most weekends at the local airport with him helping maintain and fly his planes. Twice I flew with him to the EAA AirVenture Show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where we camped for a week under the plane's wing and soaked in the aviation culture. Growing up, my whole family was very active in the local AOPA chapter, where much of our social life centered around general aviation functions like fly-ins at local airports. Flying is a liberating, practical, and technically challenging pastime that I hope to expose my kids to as well so that we can keep the aviation tradition going in my family for generations to come.

The minimum age requirement to earn one's Private Pilot wings in the U.S. is 17. My original intention was to become a pilot by the time I graduated high school, so at age 15 I started studying a Private Pilot training manual. Since I already had lots of unofficial flying experience with my dad by that point, I was in a good position to become a young pilot. However, by the time I turned 16, instead of putting my energy into aviation training, I decided to move away from home to finish my last two years of high school at a residential math and science focused school instead. That decision was definitely the right one to make for my own education and career, but it had the side effect of delaying my ability to pursue my dream of flight for another 18 years.

Watching the cost of flight training skyrocket over the years with increasing fuel prices, I finally decided at the age of 33 that I had put if off long enough. I sought out local flight school options and found the perfect arrangement at the Pacific Aerospace Training Center, which is located just a couple of miles from my home at Kalaeloa Airport (JRF). Not only is the location very convenient for me, but this Part 141 flight school is affiliated with the Honolulu Community College's two-year Commercial Aviation Program, which prepares individuals to become professional commercial pilots. That means, as a student in the program, I earn academic credit and have access to extremely low-cost student loans to help pay for the flight training. The structured regimen provided the necessary momentum I needed to carry me forward.

Another nice perk of this school is its trio of Diamond Star DA40 airplanes that Private Pilot students use. The Austrian-made carbon-fiber composite planes have long, slim wings with a large glide ratio about 9:1. The 180 horsepower fuel-injected engine and constant speed propeller can maintain a maximum speed about 135 knots, and it has the latest avionics built in like the Garmin G1000 "glass cockpit" system. Perhaps its best feature is the bubble Plexiglass canopy, which offers nearly 360 degrees of visibility. The main drawbacks are that this makes the cabin heat up very fast, and sunburns are an ever-present risk. The long wings also make the plane fairly susceptible to turbulence and quite challenging to land. However, the DA40 is one of the most stable and safe training airplanes around, and I feel extremely privileged to have trained on such a modern platform.

Before one can fly, one first has to learn the fundamentals of flight. While this can be done through self-study, I found it highly valuable to take a formal ground school course. I enrolled in AVIT 102: Private Pilot Course through Honolulu Community College. Leveraging the engaging Jeppesen Online system, the class met twice per week to reinforce what we learned through the online modules, which ranged from basic aerodynamics, airplane systems, and weather to Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs), human factors, and aeromedicine. Besides imparting the knowledge necessary to safely exercise the privileges and responsibilities of a Private Pilot acting as Pilot in Command of a single-engine airplane, the course's main purpose was preparing students to take the FAA Private Pilot Knowledge Test, which I passed in early June with flying colors. In order to qualify for federal student loans in this program, I had to be at least a half time student, meaning I had to take two courses. Therefore, I also enrolled in AVIT 250: Human Factors and Crew Management, which focused more completely on the psychological, medical, and other CRM factors that affect safety of flight. There are several other good AVIT courses like aviation weather and history to choose from too.

About halfway through the semester in mid-March, I had my funding squared away and enough basic knowledge to begin my flight training. I remember clearly the thrill and apprehension I experienced on the first flight when my instructor had me do the takeoffs and landings myself. The best way to learn is by doing, after all. I was ready to solo by the first week of May when I had about 18 hours of flight experience. However, my Stage 1 check ride with the school's chief flight instructor got scrapped when we discovered a bad magneto during the preflight engine runup test. There wasn't time to reschedule the flight right away because I left shortly thereafter bound for Houston for an A4H-related microgravity research campaign. I came back a month later and after a couple of review flights with my instructor, completed my stage check and first solo on June 8 with about 20 hours of time under my belt. Flying by myself for the first time was absolutely exhilarating and terrifying at the same time, but I was well prepared. Here's a picture of me after returning safely back to Earth on my first solo flight.

One major purpose of Private Pilot training is to prepare people to be safe cross country pilots. The FAA defines cross country flights as any flight over 50 nautical miles in distance from the originating airport to a different airport. Unlike local flights, one should file a flight plan and must carefully plan cross country flights, taking into account variables like forecasted winds aloft, fuel consumption, and navigation procedures. To date, I have finished five cross country flights to different islands in the Hawaiian chain. Three of those flights were solo flights, and one was a night flight. These flights really gave me a chance to enjoy the scenery more as compared with the more task intensive maneuvering practice of local flights. Whenever I could, I would snap photos; some of which are below. If you like these, check out the rest in my Phanfare album.

The centerpiece of my training was a long (4.1 hour) cross country flight all the way from JRF to Kona International Airport (KOA) and back, with a landing at Molokai Airport (MKK) along the way. You can see the GPS track that I recorded from that flight and a picture proving I made it to Kona below:

I suppose my primary motivation for wanting to learn to fly is the sense of accomplishment at learning such a challenging skill. Pilots must develop superb situational awareness, multi-tasking, communication, navigational, and analytical skills in order to ensure safe and productive flight. That is why pilot credentials are so relevant for aspiring astronauts as well. Crewmembers on space missions must possess those same qualities to successfully operate complex systems whether they are the spacecraft pilots or not.

Flight training is very expensive and time-consuming and isn't for everyone. However, like most things in life, the harder you work for something and the more you invest in it, the greater the reward. If flying has always been on your bucket list, I highly recommend pursuing you dream. Here are how the numbers worked out for me:

ground school duration: 4 months (January-May, spring semester)
flight training duration: 4 months (March-July, with 4-week break due to my Houston microgravity trip)
number of flights: 40
total flight hours: 56.4
total distance flown: almost 4,500 miles
total cost: almost $12,000

So what's next for me flying-wise? While I am very tempted to stay in this academic program to earn at least my Instrument Rating, the cost/benefit ratio just isn't favorable right now. Perhaps in the future I will do so. Meanwhile, I plan to fly occasionally to stay current and will gladly take friends and family up for flights over Oahu or to neighbor islands in Hawaii. I may pursue additional glider and/or aerobatic training as my time and funds allow because they are relatively easy and should add a great deal of skills to my repertoire. Most importantly, I will have fun exploring the world of aviation and sharing that sense of adventure with my kids.

Roving for resources on an analog Moon

2012-07-23T22:37:00.000-10:00

Humans history is a story of exploration and expansion, whereby we have used our resourcefulness to settle nearly every environment on Earth. To accomplish these migrations, people have had to live off the land by hunting for food, gathering building materials, and mining resources needed for survival. It just wouldn't be practical or economical to bring everything you need with you. Space is the same way. Like on Earth, we will have to learn to use materials found in the space environment to become permanent residents of the extraterrestrial realm, rather than temporary campers.

As I mentioned in the last post, I went to Hawai'i Island last week to take part in NASA's in situ resource utilization (ISRU) lunar rover field testing, facilitated by the Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES) on the flank of Mauna Kea. The mission simulation successfully showed that a rover arriving on the surface of the Moon can find and verify the existence of subsurface water ice within a 5-7 day timeframe expected for a lunar polar mission. NASA is gearing up to fly this prospecting mission around 2017 to confirm the presence of water ice and other volatiles. Once we know for sure that there is accessible water on the Moon, the next step will be designing more sophisticated missions to harvest the resource on a larger scale to make consumables that will drive down the cost of space exploration.

This field campaign consisted of two projects carried out at two nearby Mauna Kea locations. The main project was RESOLVE, which stands for "Regolith and Environment Science & Oxygen and Lunar Volatiles Extraction." RESOLVE represents the third generation of ISRU technologies previously tested in 2008 and 2010. This time, the systems were completely integrated onto one rover, which was remotely controlled with lunar-like communications, power, and other operational constraints. NASA conducted the demonstration as if it were a real mission with control centers in Hawaii, Texas, Florida, and Canada, along with an additional science backroom in California. The Hawaii control center was a bustling room with about 30 people sitting at computer terminals in constant communication working on an array of tasks to keep the systems running smoothly. Here I am sitting at the real-time science desk.

NASA conducted the 9-day RESOLVE field operations at Pu'u Haiwahine, which is located about a mile west of Hale Pōhaku about 9000 feet in elevation. It's a very dusty place with volcanic ash deposits that resemble lunar basaltic plains - at least it did after we cleared away all of the grass and brush. As part of the PISCES field logistics team, one of my jobs was helping move vegetation and large rocks from the planned rover traverses. The plants were non-native invasive species, so we were actually doing the ecosystem a favor by clearing them. The PISCES crew and I also helped map out and deploy RESOLVE drilling targets, ensured the generators kept running, facilitated local transport of equipment, and otherwise kept the field operation running smoothly. It was invigorating being outdoors in the picturesque setting supporting the operation of the state-of-the-art prototype lunar rover. Here are some behind-the-scenes photos of the Pu'u Haiwahine field camp where I worked most of the time.

The Artemis Jr. rover, built by Ontario Drive and Gear for the Canadian Space Agency, carried the RESOLVE payload. Moving at a clip of 10 centimeters per second, the rover's neutron spectrometer continuously looked for hydrogren in the regolith below. When it located a "hot spot" of interest, the rover scientists would instigate a search pattern to locate the maximum neutron anomaly where they would then drill. The drill (made by NORCAT) takes up to an hour to reach 1 meter in depth, which is the maximum target for this mission. You can view a time-lapse video of the drill in action here. A near infrared spectrometer points at the drill site to continuously take spectra, which the science team can use to interpret minerology. Core samples taken with the drill are deposited into the RESOLVE "OVEN" (Oxygen and Volatile Extraction Node), which cooks them to 150°C. This is enough to drive off the water and volatiles for further collection and analysis by a gas chromatograph known as "LAVA" (Lunar Advanced Volatile Analysis). A mock lander housed communication and laser-based survey equipment to monitor the rover's position relative to the lander. The rover also has stereo cameras to observe the terrain and help it autonomously avoid obstacles.

The second project dealt more specifically with testing instruments to answer science questions through NASA's MMAMA program (Moon Mars Analog Mission Activities). Canada once again built the rover (named Juno 2), and individual principal investigators from different institutions in the U.S. and Germany supplied the instruments to test on it. The payloads carried by Juno 2 were VAPoR (Volatile Analysis by Pyrolsis of Regolith), MeSH (Mechanized Sample Processing and Handling System), MIMOS IIA (Miniaturized Mössbauer Spectrometer and X-RAY Fluorescence Spectrometer), and a mapping system comprised of a GPR (ground-penetrating radar) and magnetometer. MIMOS IIA, MeSH, and VAPoR all help determine the mineral and chemical composition of the regolith, while the GPR provided geophysical maps of the subsurface. Having previously worked on another planetary analog GPR project, I was very eager to contribute to that part of the MMAMA field campaign. However, my PISCES field logistics duties prevented me from interfacing much with the MMAMA team until their last day of operation, but that was enough for me to initiate a dialog with the GPR project lead on future collaboration opportunities. Here are some photos of the MMAMA Juno 2 rover with the MIMOS IIA (left) and GPR (right) deployed.

The MMAMA test site is situated about 13,000 feet elevation within the Mauna Kea Ice Age Natural Area Reserve. It has informally been dubbed "Apollo Valley" as a reference to the fact that NASA astronauts trained in Hawaii before their famous expeditions some 40 years ago. This location is well above the tree line where no vegetation can thrive. The formerly glaciated terrain is strewn with angular basaltic rocks that presented mobility challenges to the rover. Thus, part of the test was not only putting the science instruments through their paces but also pushing the rover's abilities to its limits.

The final day of field operations was also NASA's media day. The Juno 2 rover joined Artemis Jr. at the Pu'u Haiwahine site where various local and national media were treated to a demonstration of their abilities and Q&A times with NASA officials. Some of the media representatives included a Discovery Channel Canada film crew, New Scientist , and a reporter from the local Hawaii Tribune-Herald. An ABC News radio interview with NASA ISRU project leader Bill Larson sums up why we were there for this work:

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While most of the PISCES logistics team spent Friday breaking camp and helping NASA pack up their equipment, I went to the proposed HI-SEAS site on the northern slope of Mauna Loa to help the project's co-PI survey possible locations for the human habitat they plan to build there later this year. This project is a partnership between the University of Hawaii and Cornell University and, like RESOLVE, is also facilitated by PISCES. The 6-member HI-SEAS crew is in for a real treat on their 120-day mission, as there are many interesting cinder cones, lava tubes, and other features within easy walking distance from the site. I won't post any pictures of the HI-SEAS site because it's still top secret.

I wrapped up my week doing outreach along side NASA, CSA, and PISCES volunteers at a public event held at the 'Imiloa Astronomy Center. Hundreds of people came to see the Artemis Jr and Juno 2 rovers in action and learn about the exciting work being done in Hawaii to help humanity colonize space. A few lucky people (including me!) even got to drive the Juno 2 rover around. The kids had a blast driving a pair of small Exploration Uplink rovers, which had also been out at the field site all week remotely controlled by students all over the country via the internet.

NASA's next step with RESOLVE will be developing a flight-ready prototype and testing it under similar temperature, pressure, and radiation conditions expected on the lunar surface. In the meantime, the world's eyes are on the Mars Science Laboratory, aka Curiosity, as it prepares for its landing on the Red Planet in just over a week. This is the largest, most sophisticated robotic mission ever sent to another planet. Learn more at the very engaging website getcurious.com.

To learn more about ISRU in general and the RESOLVE mission in particular, I highly recommend perusing the NASA ISRU site and fact sheet. While you're at it, check out the NASA Flickr album for their photos from this year's field test. If you're interested in getting involved with PISCES, I invite you to consider attending the 2012 PISCES Conference, which will be held November 11-15 in Honolulu. I went to the 2010 and 2011 meetings and found them very useful venues for learning about the ISRU activities being carried out in Hawaii and for networking with key individuals within NASA and elsewhere making it happen. Going forward, I plan to direct more of my research towards ISRU and get involved with projects that help us live off the land on the Moon and Mars.

I'll leave you with video of Bill Larson explaining the motivation behind the NASA ISRU project:

This post dedicated to Dr. Sally Ride, whose pioneering spirit served as an inspiration to us all.

A RESOLVE to mine the Moon

2012-07-13T15:21:00.001-10:00

I will be on the beautiful Big Island of Hawaii next week working with the Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES). As I've described in previous posts, PISCES is an international research and education consortium headquartered at the University of Hawaii at Hilo that aims to develop, test, and validate technologies for use on the Moon, Mars and beyond. When humans return to the Moon and journey to Mars, they will have to live off the land. It's just too costly to bring everything we need with us. That includes rocket fuel for the return trip, water, oxygen, and other consumables. Thus, it is critical that we learn how to utilize in situ resources if we are to establish permanent presences on other worlds.

As a geophysicist by profession, my interest lies with applying my terrestrial geophysical exploration knowledge to other planetary bodies. To this end, I carried out experiments at FMARS in 2009 and MDRS in 2010 to study the human factors elements associated with astronaut-conducted geophysical surveys to prospect for subsurface resources like water. I presented my findings at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference and Lunar Science Forum, the results of which became my UND master's thesis. Now, I am embarking on a Ph.D. at the University of Hawaii to take this work to another level in analog environments such as Hawaii.

CSA's Artemis Jr. rover with the NASA RESOLVE payload. (credit: NASA)

The main system being tested at PISCES this year is the Regolith and Environment Science and Oxygen and Lunar Volatile Extraction (RESOLVE) experiment. This consists of a lunar rover and drill provided by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to support a NASA payload that turns regolith (dirt) into rocket fuel, water, and air. A system developed from the RESOLVE prototype may travel to the Moon in the next few years to prove that water seen from orbit is accessible and that useful products can be made from it. It could be the key that finally makes the solar system accessible to humans in a safe, cost-efficient manner.

This is the third field season for the PISCES program. I had previously tried to get involved with the 2008 and 2010 field campaigns and am happy that things worked out this time for me to join the effort. My main job will be supporting whatever the NASA and CSA engineers need me to do. I'll be learning from them and finding ways my talents can fit into the larger picture of planetary resource prospecting. In turn, I'll mold my upcoming doctoral work to extend and further enable the goals of initiatives like RESOLVE to support exploration of the solar system. For example, I think I could bring a lot to bear on the question of knowing where to look for resources, although the objective of this week's field work is to test how to dig and process the materials. These are questions the new company Planetary Resources is addressing in the context of asteroid mining too.

Some media outlets have already picked up this exciting story. For example The Hawaii Tribune Herald recently ran a story about how Hawaii Governor Abercrombie signed a bill into law paving the way for the creation of a lunar research park on Hawaii Island. It discussed the benefits not only to planetary prospectors but also to local residents. After all, in space you have no other option but to be "green" and use all available resources. Technologies developed for space have direct application here on Earth to lesson our environmental footprint. MSNBC and Popular Mechanics had really nice articles about the experiment in the larger context of space mining too. NASA has invited reporters out to the field site on Thursday, July 19, and I'll be helping with the PISCES outreach day at the Imiloa Astronomy Center on Saturday, July 21.

I'll post again in about a week to describe more specifically how the field testing went. Meanwhile, you can read up on the experiment on NASA's website and follow the NASA In Situ Resource Utilization Facebook page.

NASA Astronaut Application, SpaceX, and Media Updates

2012-06-13T11:04:00.000-10:00

image credit: SpaceX

Two weeks ago SpaceX made history by successfully sending its Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) and returning it safely to Earth. Like so many others, I was glued to NASA TV throughout the critical mission phases watching as history unfolded. This marks a real turning point in the commercial development of low Earth orbit. Although this was a cargo demonstration mission, it will pave the way for manned flights in both the private and public sectors, which is good news for NASA astronauts since they need a ride to the ISS. "Dragon took one giant leap last week in restoring an American path to space." That's what Astronaut Tom Jones had to say in a recent Popular Mechanics article.

Against the backdrop of the SpaceX achievement, Southern California Public Radio interviewed me for a story titled "Dream jobs: What's it like to be an astronaut?" The 7-minute comprehensive story also includes statements from NASA, SpaceX, and Virgin Galactic representatives. Listen here or read the transcript:

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For an even more in depth, personal take on aspiring to be an astronaut during this transitional period in spaceflight, check out my recent 4-part Moonandback video interview. Other recent media articles and appearances, including two new guest spots on The Space Show, are listed on my media page.

So, now that we know NASA astronauts will have options for getting to space and aren't going extinct anytime soon, what about the current selection cycle? Like the other 6,372 applicants to NASA's current astronaut selection opportunity, I received a postcard in the mail from NASA in May confirming receipt of my application. This is the second highest number or applicants the space agency has ever received, which is quite remarkable considering NASA no longer has an operational spaceship of its own. Due to the high volume of applications, the Astronaut Selection Office has amended its timeline to allow for more time determining the Highly Qualified applicants. The schedule seems to have slipped by about two months from their original timeline.

While I was in Houston a few weeks ago, I met with Astronaut Selection Manager Duane Ross at the Johnson Space Center. I thanked him personally for the December webinar on astronaut selection, and we discussed general aspects of the current selection cycle. Mr. Ross confirmed that they had narrowed down the pool to about 4200 Qualified applicants. That means more than 2000, or about 34%, of the applicants did not meet the minimum qualifications. I asked if that was a high number, and he said it is the highest percentage of unqualified applicants he can recall in a selection. We guessed that perhaps the ease of the USAJOBS application process contributed to the higher number of unqualified applicants. Maybe the inspirational things companies like SpaceX are doing helped boost the numbers too.

However, 4200 Qualified applicants is still a large number, and that means it will take extra time for the selection board to review all of the application materials. Mr. Ross said they are aiming to cut this by about 90% to arrive at 400 Highly Qualified applicants by September. He also said that they are planning on choosing 15 ASCANs (the maximum of the 9-15 range previously reported). This is due to the need to operate the ISS and the fact that there has been a lot of attrition in the astronaut corps recently.

Let's summarize the stats as I know them so far for this second most competitive NASA astronaut selection ever:

Applicants: 6237
Qualified: approximately 4200 (67%)
Highly Qualified: about 400 (6.4%)
Interviewees: about 100 (1.6%)
ASCANs: 15 (0.24%)

Speaking of stats, someone posted on the Astronaut Hopefuls Facebook page the following information on numbers of military applications forwarded to NASA: 162 from the Navy, 111 from the Air Force, 72 from the Army, and 4 from the Coast Guard. The Marines and NOAA Corps skipped having their own internal boards this cycle and allowed their officers to send applications directly to NASA. Good luck to all applicants, and remember you can still submit updates to the Astronaut Selection Office to include in your file.

I'll leave you with an absolutely stunning time-lapse "Star Trail" photograph taken by Astronaut Don Pettit on the ISS. Click over to flickr to see all of his other mesmerizing star trail photos.

My First Microgravity Experience

2012-06-05T17:09:00.000-10:00

When I was in middle school, I had the opportunity to visit Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. The first thing I did when I got there was ask where the zero gravity room was. Unfortunately, it turned out that such a room didn't exist, but I learned that astronauts do train in zero gravity aboard parabolic flights. Ever since I have wanted to get on one of those flights to experience the freedom of floating in microgravity and better appreciate what it takes to train as an astronaut. Now that dream has come true.

There are two ways one can get on a parabolic flight. If you have a few thousand dollars to burn, you can purchase a flight as a tourist with the Zero Gravity Corporation for 15 parabolas - or about 6 minutes - of reduced gravity fun. I was tantalizing close to making that happen in 2010, but it just didn't work out. The other way to fly in microgravity is to get involved with a research or education program requiring parabolic flight. If you are a K-12 teacher, you have ample opportunities from both NASA and the private sector. However, since I am not a teacher, that leaves research as the only practical option available. It took a lot of work, but I finally made it happen through Astronauts4Hire (A4H) in a recent parabolic flight campaign facilitated by NASA.

image credit: NASA

In mid-2011, A4H was approached by a new startup called Vital Space that was working with the Silicon Valley Space Center. They wanted to know if we could help them test an innovative biometric monitoring system in the microgravity environment. Together, we wrote and submitted a proposal to the NASA Flight Opportunities Program, which the space agency accepted in an October announcement. We were scheduled on the May 2012 parabolic flight campaign operated by NASA Reduced Gravity Office out of Ellington Field, Texas.

image credit: NASA

With the commercial spaceflight revolution upon us, there will soon be regular private suborbital spaceflights. This will open up space to a new cohort of flyers who have never experienced the environment of space and the stresses of launch and reentry. This presents an important opportunity to study and monitor the medical effects this new group of flyers will encounter. After all, they will no longer be a narrowly chosen elite group of highly trained government space agency astronauts. One of the key goals of Vital Space is to take new advancements in mobile medical technology and apply them to the space setting to establish an easy-to-use vital sign monitoring system that space passengers can wear. In this case, we tested the FDA-approved ViSi Mobile^TM system from Sotera Wireless, Inc. More about the experiment is in our press release.

Jason Reimuller and I were chosen as the A4H test subjects for the experiment. To get to Houston, we opted to fly in his Mooney 231 from San Francisco. Jason is an experienced commercial pilot, and I am a student pilot, so I really appreciated the opportunity to put my newly learned skills to practice on the long cross country flight. We flew VFR at 17,500 feet most of the way, which required the use of supplemental oxygen. You can see me wearing the oxygen cannula overlying the Sierra Mountains in the photo here. On the second day of our trek, we had to divert around a major storm system in southern Texas, requiring modifying our flight plan in route and choosing alternate airports. This meant we passed very close to the Very Large Array, so I snapped a picture of it. It was overall a very educational experience for me at this stage of my flight training.

Once we arrived in Houston, we met up with the other five Vital Space team members, got our NASA badges, and went to orientation training at the Sonny Carter Training Facility, which houses the NASA Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL). There, we were briefed about altitude physiology, hypoxia symptoms, motion sickness avoidance, and emergency procedures for the parabolic flights, which operate at altitudes around 30,000 feet. It was basically the same thing I learned at NASTAR and AGSOL training last year, as well at the human factors course I took this past semester, but the review was nice to have nevertheless. We also had a brief tour of the NBL facility where the astronauts train for their EVA activities.

Although we had spent several months preparing for the experiment, it all came together during the final few days before the flights when we refined and rehearsed our procedures for each parabola. The seven of us were to populate two teams of four people to carry out duplicate experiments over the course of two flights per team. Jason was a test subject in one team, and I was in the other. In case you're wondering how we divided seven people two ways, the Sotera engineer who was the expert on the Visi Mobile device we were testing had the privilege of flying on all four flights (proving it really is better to be a "Scotty"), while the rest of us flew on two flights. Each team performed a sequence of tasks spanning 80 parabolas over the course of two flights. That's about 33 minutes total of reduced gravity time (12 minutes of lunar and 21 minutes of zero gravity). Here's a shot of the whole Vital Space team together in front of our chariot, G Force One.

image credit: NASA

Bad weather scrubbed the flight on the first day of the campaign, requiring us to reschedule it later in the week. With the free day, some of us used the time to go sightseeing. First, we took a walk down to see the NASA T-38 trainers. Astronauts use these supersonic jets to develop and maintain their pilot proficiency skills. Feeling very Top Gun-esque, I had to get a photo posing next to one. Later, Jason and I went to JSC and met up with my friend Ryan Zeigler who now curates the Lunar Sample Laboratory. He gave us a tour of the clean room facility where all of the Apollo lunar samples are kept. We looked at pieces ranging in size from dust grains to small boulders. Holding a piece of the moon in my hands was profoundly humbling.

Each morning before our parabolic flight, we had mission briefings from the Reduced Gravity Office and medical briefings from a NASA flight surgeon. That's when they handed out the scopolamine anti-motion sickness drugs. You weren't required to take it, but almost everyone did, and I was no exception. Although I have no prior history of motion sickness in any environment (including the provocative rotating room and HULK at AGSOL training), I wasn't going to take any chances since this was no joy ride. I had a job to do and couldn't afford to risk getting sick. With no discomfort after the first flight, I halved my dose for the second flight and still felt great.

Preparing for a flight meant donning the ViSi Mobile system. This involved sticking three EKG test leads on my torso to record my heart rhythm and routing the cable down my arm to the wrist unit, which has a touch screen control and color readout of realtime vital signs like blood pressure, pulse rate, and blood oxygen. A small PPG unit strapped to my thumb measured blood oxygen saturation. An optional blood pressure cuff can attach to the unit to provide a calibrated blood pressure reading. Before each flight, we took about five minutes of baseline data while I was at rest to serve as a control for the experiment.

The first of my team's two flights covered basic functionality of the ViSi Mobile system. This involved testing the signal quality during various movements in lunar and zero gravity. In lunar gravity, I hopped around like a moonwalker and did one-handed pushups. In zero gravity, I translated across the cabin by pulling myself hand-over-hand and by just pushing off and floating. In every case, my other three teammates were there to coordinate, record, and control the experience. We passed a ball around (tethered to a string) during both gravity scenarios too. In every case, the purpose was to test range of motion and signal quality while wearing the ViSi Mobile system. Another important set of tests we did under both gravity situations was to take off the upper part of my flight suit, attach the blood pressure cuff, perform a blood pressure calibration, stow the cuff, and put the flight suit back on.

image credit: NASA

Floating in zero gravity is like nothing else on Earth. I suppose it is most similar to SCUBA diving without the resistance of the water surrounding you. Newton's third law is very apparent, as every small motion results in a response, and no amount of flailing around will change your motion until you contact another object. I found floating in microgravity to be an extremely relaxing and gratifying experience, and I'm sure it is just a taste of what life on orbit must be like. I shot the video below with my phone during the first flight as I floated around.

The second flight focused on more advanced case studies using the ViSi Mobile as a diagnostic tool in an emergency situation. I played the victim, and my teammates took on the role of space paramedics. In both lunar and zero gravity, they approached me, secured me in place with straps, removed half of my flight suit, attached the entire ViSi Mobile system, calibrated the system, and stowed everything away when they were done. They also practiced transfer maneuvers to move me me from one location to another and rotational maneuvers to change my orientation in space. I performed some fine motor tasks manipulating the ViSi Mobile screen using a stylus, which is what one would have to do when wearing spacesuit gloves.

image credit: NASA

Although we had a full menu of tasks for each flight, we managed to get ahead of schedule and free up some parabolas to just enjoy the experience. We made sure to spread these out with a few at the beginning to acclimate and a few at the end to move around more freely. The video here features me in a thrilling forward tumble assisted by a NASA flight director near the end of the last flight. Nominally, we were testing whether the ViSi Mobile would still function during such acceleration. Who says work can't be fun?

This was A4H's second research job, the first one having been our space beer test flight, which garnered widespread international media attention before and after the flight. That project put us on the map, helping pave the way for this current opportunity. I am extremely happy with the Vital Space collaboration and feel honored to have participated in their first flight experiment. It was rewarding to take it through the entire process from idea to operation, and I look forward to future flight opportunities.

One giant dive for mankind

2012-03-25T21:01:00.000-10:00

In a historic solo dive to the bottom of the world, famed filmmaker and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence James Cameron descended 35,756 feet (6.77 miles/10.89 km) to reach the "Challenger Deep," the ocean's deepest point located in the Mariana Trench some 200 miles (322 km) southwest of Guam on Monday, March 26. The descent voyage took two hours and 36 minutes from 5:15 a.m. until 7:52 a.m. local time. In his specially designed submersible DEEPSEA CHALLENGER, Cameron spent about three hours on the seafloor collecting photos and samples for scientific research in marine biology, microbiology, astrobiology, marine geology, and geophysics. In another first, he also tweeted from the seafloor under a crushing pressure of 16,285 psi (112,280 kPa). The vehicle surfaced at 12:00 noon local time and was retrieved by the Ship Mermaid Sapphire.

Photo by Mark Thiessen/National Geographic. (shown with permission)
Filmmaker and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence James Cameron gives two thumbs-up as he emerges from the DEEPSEA CHALLENGER submersible after his successful solo dive to the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the ocean. The dive was part of DEEPSEA CHALLENGE, a joint scientific expedition by Cameron, the National Geographic Society and Rolex to conduct deep-ocean research.

"This journey is the culmination of more than seven years of planning for me and the amazing DEEPSEA CHALLENGE expedition team," said Cameron. "Most importantly, though, is the significance of pushing the boundaries of where humans can go, what they can see and how they can interpret it. Without the support of National Geographic and Rolex, and their unwavering belief that we could successfully make it to the deepest point in the ocean - and back - this would not have happened."

For full National Geographic coverage on the history-making dive, see their news stories:

March 25b: James Cameron Completes Record-Breaking Mariana Trench Dive
March 25a: James Cameron Now at Ocean's Deepest Point
March 8: James Cameron Headed to Ocean's Deepest Point Within Weeks

Photo by Mark Thiessen/National Geographic. (shown with permission)
Filmmaker and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence James Cameron emerges from the DEEPSEA CHALLENGER submersible after his successful solo dive to the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the ocean. The dive was part of DEEPSEA CHALLENGE, a joint scientific expedition by Cameron, the National Geographic Society and Rolex to conduct deep-ocean research.

The "Challenger Deep" has only been reached once before in a manned descent, on Jan. 23, 1960, by then U.S. Navy Lt. Don Walsh - who is a consultant on the DEEPSEA CHALLENGE expedition and was aboard the expedition ship Mermaid Sapphire during Cameron’s successful attempt - and Swiss oceanographer Jacques Piccard in the bathyscaphe Trieste. Walsh and Piccard spent about 20 minutes on the ocean floor before returning to the surface.

Photo by Mark Thiessen/National Geographic. (shown with permission)
Filmmaker and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence James Cameron gets a handshake from ocean explorer and U.S. Navy Capt. Don Walsh, right, just before the hatch on the DEEPSEA CHALLENGER submersible is closed and the voyage to the deepest part of the ocean begins. Walsh took the same journey to the bottom of the Mariana Trench 52 years ago in the bathyscaphe Trieste with Swiss oceanographer Jacques Piccard. Cameron is the first person to complete the dive solo. The dive was part of DEEPSEA CHALLENGE, a joint scientific expedition by Cameron, the National Geographic Society and Rolex to conduct deep-ocean research.

With breakthroughs in materials and science, unique approaches to structural engineering and new ways of imaging through an ultra-small, full ocean depth-rated stereoscopic camera, Cameron was able to launch the DEEPSEA CHALLENGE expedition, which he hopes will shed light on other virtually unknown deep-water habitats, such as the New Britain Trench and the Sirena Deep.

"It takes the guts to go for it and the gear to get us there. Explorer James Cameron has plenty of both."

That's what this video has to say about the history-making dive to the lowest point in the ocean. If you like that one, check out all of the other informative videos National Geographic has posted about the expedition. My 4-year-old son is particularly enamored with this video, which shows an animation of the sub on its whole descent. It just goes to show you how inspirational this venture can be to the next generation of explorers. My favorite video shows the first footage taken by Cameron at the bottom of the Mariana Trench:

Two of Cameron’s passions - filmmaking and diving - blend in his feature and documentary films. While working on Titanic, he took 12 submersible dives to the famed shipwreck two-and-a-half miles down in the North Atlantic. The technical success of that expedition led Cameron to form Earthship Productions, which develops films about ocean exploration and conservation. Since then he has led six expeditions, authored a forensic study of the Bismarck wreck site and done extensive 3-D imaging of deep hydrothermal vent sites along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the East Pacific Rise and the Sea of Cortez. Cameron has made more than 70 deep submersible dives, including a total of 33 to Titanic. Fifty-one of these dives were in Russian Mir submersibles to depths of up to 3.03 miles (4.87 km).

The DEEPSEA CHALLENGE expedition is being chronicled for a 3-D feature film for theatrical release on the intensive technological and scientific efforts behind this historic dive - which will subsequently be broadcast on the National Geographic Channel - and is being documented for National Geographic Magazine. Cameron also will collaborate with the National Geographic Society and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to create broad-based educational outreach materials. Scientific collaborators include the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of Hawaii, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the University of Guam.

Having been on an exciting Mariana Trench expedition of my own, I can appreciate what Cameron and his team went through. Some of my friends and colleagues completed their Ph.D.'s working on questions related to the Earth's deepest subduction zone. One of Cameron's scientific advisers assisting him on the expedition is Dr. Patricia Fryer, who happens to have advised one of my co-workers on his Ph.D. and is married to another co-worker of mine. She is also on the science team of Virgin Oceanic. The world of ocean exploration is as small as it is exciting!

Follow the expedition at www.DEEPSEACHALLENGE.com, on Twitter @DeepChallenge or #deepseachallenge, or on Facebook @DeepSeaChallenge.

One small step for Suborbital

2012-03-14T20:04:00.000-10:00

We are moving from an era of limited government-controlled space access using very expensive vehicles to more affordable systems developed by the private sector that can provide frequent trips to space for a variety of purposes. Multiple companies are rushing to be the first to market, including Virgin Galactic, XCOR Aerospace, Armadillo Aerospace, Blue Origin, and Masten Space Systems. Their varied technological approaches and flight plans offer researchers a great deal of options for studying the suborbital realm. The sky is not the limit!

Last month I attended the 2012 Next Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference (NSRC) in Palo Alto, California. The purpose of the conference was to kickstart the imaginations of scientists who may utilize suborbital platforms for research. Whereas tourism has driven much of the initial investment in the burgeoning new paradigm for space access, it is the research market that stands poised to provide the long-standing demand to sustain the industry. NSRC provides an incubative environment for research users to interface with spaceflight providers and chart the path forward towards wider utilization of space and advancement of knowledge.

Shaking hands with one of the most recognizable figures of history Neil Armstrong at NSRC-2012.

If you doubt this assertion, just take notice of who gave the main keynote address at this year's NSRC. Famed moonwalker Neil Armstrong spoke to a group of more than 450 eager audience members who hung on his every word as he related his personal experiences to the edge of space as a test pilot in the X-15 program. The somewhat reclusive former astronaut rarely gives public experiences, but in this case, he spent an entire day at the conference interacting with the new pioneers of commercial spaceflight. As evidenced by the photo above, I had the honor of meeting him myself and thanking him for his inspirational life.

I gave two presentations at the NSRC. The first was a poster in collaboration with Dr. Friedemann Freund and others on an exciting research proposal to study electromagnetic signals in the upper atmosphere associated with seismic events. You can read the full abstract here. What makes this topic so exciting is that these signals often pre-date the onset of earthquakes by several days, offering tantalizing possibilities for early warning. However, before we get ahead of ourselves, we must first better understand the fundamental physics going on in the mesospheric region. That was the purpose of the poster. This venue was the ideal place to discuss ideas on ways to implement such a project, and I am optimistic for the future.

NSRC 2012 Poster

I also presented in a session on markets and policy on the development of Astronauts4Hire (A4H) over its first two years. There is no other organization like A4H catering specifically to the professional development needs of aspiring astronaut candidates in the era of commercial human spaceflight. About a dozen A4H members attended the meeting and presented on a wide range of research and training related topics. Read all about it on the A4H website, where you can also view another great photo of Armstrong with me.

Developing Astronauts4Hire: The First Two Years

While at NSRC, I was also interviewed by some space media outlets, including The Space Show, which aired the interview on March 2. Our main topic of discussion was Astronauts4Hire, although we also dabbled in other space-related subjects. If you didn't catch the show live, you can listen to the archived mp3 version or click below to listen to it from the convenience of this blog. (The segment with me begins after the first half hour.)

Podcast Powered By Podbean

I also gave an in-depth video interview with Moonandback.com and a small video blurb on why I celebrate Yuri's Night. Other news outlets like Space.com spoke with me as well, so all in all, I am very happy with the exposure opportunity NSRC offered and am looking forward to attending again next year. Until then, keep dreaming and exploring!

Astronaut Candidate application submitted

2012-01-26T08:18:00.000-10:00

It's done. I've tossed my name in the hopper for consideration as a 2013 NASA Astronaut Candidate. I wish all applicants the best of luck.

While we're all awaiting NASA's decision, check out the following video on astronaut selection and training by friend of this blog Astronaut Jack Fischer, who was selected by NASA in 2009.

01-31-2012 Update:

USA TODAY reports that NASA received a near record of 6,372 applicants to the 2013 astronaut candidate opportunity. That's almost a 100% increase in applications compared with 2009 and is second only to the 1978 selection, which attracted more than 8,000 applicants. Assuming NASA selects between 9-15 new astronauts this time, the chance is only 0.14-0.24%.

This week Robert Zubrin wrote an intriguing Reason.com op-ed on estimating the worth of an astronaut's life and admonishing NASA for having a culture that is too risk averse. The long-awaited second edition of his bestselling book The Case for Mars: The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must hits bookshelves this week.

T Minus 10 Days

2012-01-17T20:09:00.002-10:00

While polishing my 2013 NASA Astronaut Candidate application, I noticed the space agency had posted a new astronaut recruitment video plugging the current application opportunity. Enjoy!

"Your spaceflight experience begins right here, right now." -- NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden

There are only 10 days left until the January 27 deadline. Good luck to one and all!

Astronaut Advancement

2012-01-01T12:00:00.000-10:00

New years are always time of thoughtful backward reflection and optimistic forward projection. January 2012 will be an active time for astronaut hopefuls in the US as we prepare our NASA applications. The past four years have certainly been a busy time for me. Listed below are some of the things I've done since submitting the 2008 application:

gained 4 more years of operational experience at the NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, including the Samoa 2009, Chile 2010, and Japan 2011 events;
participated in the FMARS-12 analog Mars expedition to Devon Island;
commanded the MDRS-89 analog Mars mission in Utah;
co-founded Astronauts4Hire;
completed my MS degree in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota;
voyaged across the Pacific Ocean and mapped the seafloor aboard the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer;
completed Dunker and Sea Survival Training at Survival Systems USA;
completed Suborbital Scientist Training at The NASTAR Center;
obtained a space motion sickness assessment from the Ashton Graybiel Spatial Orientation Laboratory;
completed Advanced Open Water and Rescue Diver SCUBA training (working on Master Diver now);
selected as an aquanaut crewmember for the 2013 Atlantica I Expedition;
received lots of media coverage; and
doubled my duties as a father.

Other advancements I plan to make by May 2012 include completing NOAA Scientific Diver certification, earning my Private Pilot license, and participating in my first microgravity research flight. Without all of the experiences listed above, I made it to the Highly Qualified stage of the astronaut selection process during NASA's last opportunity in 2008. The question is will the added skills I have gained in the past four years help me reach at least the interview stage this time? We shall see! Either way, I've grown a great deal and had a lot of fun along the way.

I wish all 2012 applicants the best of luck. Getting to know many of you over the past four years has been a true privilege. For some tips, you may want to see the notes from the recent webinar with Duane Ross.

Happy New Year (Hau'oli Makahiki Hou)!

'Moon' is not a 4-letter word

2011-12-01T09:54:00.000-10:00

What is the most innovative and sustainable way to approach space research, education, and commerce beyond low Earth orbit? Those were the themes of the recent International Lunar Research Park (ILRP) Leader's Summit, which I had the privilege of attending thanks to generous support provided by the Silicon Valley Space Club and State of Hawaii. While last year's meeting dealt with identifying the "what", this year's meeting focused on the "how" aspects of those themes in the context of a research park. Developed first as a terrestrial prototype in Hawaii, this research park could later expand to the Moon. You can learn all about the concept on the ILRP website, the April 2011 ILRP Exploratory Workshop website, or Bruce Pittman's Fall 2011 Ad Astra article titled "Been There...Never Done This!".

Ever since Obama quipped, "We've been there before" in reference to the Moon during his April 2010 speech cancelling the NASA Constellation Program, the lunar research and exploration community has been scrambling to erase the notion that the Moon is a 'been there, done that' kind of world. It's no secret that I'm a big fan of getting humans to Mars as soon as possible and perhaps even eventually terraforming it, but ever since I attended the Lunar Science Forum last year I've gained a greater appreciation for the added value of a more integrated exploration strategy involving both the Moon and Mars. While this reasonable idea is favored by many, it is not currently in political favor, and therefore NASA suffers from having an unclear direction. Addressing this concern, "The 'Moon' is not a 4-letter word," became one of the most memorable mantras for the ILRP summit (kudos to Bob Richards for thinking of it).

Frank Schowengerdt kicked off the summit with an overview of the ILRP concept as an international public-private research park consortium based in Hilo, Hawaii utilizing the PICSES field site on the flank of Mauna Kea. Over a period of years, this would lead to a lunar "robotic village" and a permanent human outpost on the Moon. Benefits would be many and include STEM education, commercial opportunities, high tech jobs, resource/energy conservation technology spin-offs, etc.

"The ILRP could become the largest peaceful, cooperative international endeavor in the history of the world." -- Dr. Frank Schowengerdt

Michael Marlaire then briefed attendees on the great success of the NASA Research Park (NRP) located at NASA Ames in the heart of Silicon Valley. The NRP began in 1998 and now has over 80 partners, the largest of which is Google. It has produced many economic benefits and spawned a host of successful startups like Tibion, Apprion, Bloom Energy, Nanostellar, Benetech, SkyTran, and The National Disaster Resiliency Center. Two National Research Council reports in 2001 and 2009 feature the NRP. The basic idea is that the ILRP could be a NRP-like research park spurring innovation towards lunar development.

The value proposition of the ILRP was a big topic as well. We discussed the business case for extracting resources from the Moon, marketing aspects why potential customers should embrace such a plan, and what unmet consumer needs the ILRP could fill. Lynn Harper of NASA's Space Portal gave a good talk on her reasons for exploring space in the first place: 1) prevent death of our species, 2) provide warning for natural disasters, 3) medical breakthroughs improve life, 4) scientific discovery, 5) promote safety, 6) generate new wealth, 7) inspire and innovate, 8) education, 9) benefits always begin on earth, 10) promote peace. Video game designer Henk Rogers eloquently pointed out that "the technology we need to survive on another planet is exactly the technology we need to survive here."

Representatives from Hawaiian Airlines, Boeing, NORCAT, Google, and others also spoke on the spin-off potential for innovation with manufacturing, sustainability, and educational opportunities. Dan Rasky and others argued for the potential of adventure tourism to advance the ILRP terrestrial prototype business case too. The common theme was that extraordinary endeavors tend to yield extraordinary solutions with benefits that far outweigh expectations. Finally, we discussed the need for and benefits of strong strategic alliances with the local Hawaiian community. After all, one can argue that colonizing space is really just an extension of the seafaring Polynesian culture.

The single biggest technical driver for the ILRP is in-situ resource utilization (ISRU), and there were many sessions at the conference devoted to this subject. NASA's ISRU Managers Jerry Sanders and Bill Larson spoke on the importance of analog field testing to prepare for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit. One can only develop technologies in the laboratory so far, which is why testing in remote, stressful field environments is so critical. Sanders contrasted the difference between mission-based analogs like Desert RATS, NEEMO, or Pavilion Lake and hardware-based analogs like that done at Hawaii's PISCES field site.

Larson described how the PISCES site fulfills all of the requirements for a good analog test site in terms of geology, weather, infrastructure, and support. Past field campaigns in 2008 and 2010 (pictured above) yielded a wealth of information that has led to the near-closing of the ISRU loop. The next installment is set for summer 2012, which will be a lunar polar mission dress rehearsal with a possible Mars ISRU power/propulsion demonstration. I later gave a presentation in a breakout session on ways to merge mission- and hardware-based analog test scenarios together at the PISCES site based on my experiences at FMARS and MDRS. Rob Kelso summed up the ISRU drivers in his keynote address on the need for a systems of systems approach to develop the necessary interoperability standards and interfaces needed to live off the land on the Moon or Mars. Once these technologies are tested on Earth, they will be taken to the Moon, initially via robotic and teleoperated systems.

Spurred by the Google Lunar X PRIZE (GLXP), a fleet of robots will descend upon the lunar surface within the next few years. Alex Hall, who leads the GLXP as its Senior Director, briefed us on the progress of GLXP teams as they scramble to win the prize before it expires at the end of 2015. Discussions centered around ways these robots can work together to establish the lunar robotic village envisioned by the ILRP. In his talk, Clive Neal discussed having some standard scientific payloads that GLXP landers could carry such as seismometers - a subject very near and dear to my heart. The Shackleton Energy Company presented their ambitious plans to land humans on the moon by 2019 with zero government funding and to establish a propellant depot there by 2020. Alan Stern (pictured left) of the GLXP team Moon Express gave a keynote address on today's new commercially and scientifically driven paradigm for lunar exploration.

All-in-all, this year's ILRP summit was a worthwhile experience that I am thankful to have had. While much work lies ahead, I am confident that the tide towards a balanced exploration approach including both the Moon and Mars will prevail. While NASA has demonstrated a strong interest in the ILRP program, it's too soon to tell how completely the agency will back the project. That's one reason it's being developed as a multinational public-private partnership that is not reliant on any one space agency.

As a bonus, I got to meet newly minted JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui at the ILRP meeting (pictured right). He sat next to me during a technical working group session and later gave a keynote on the challenges of exploring the Moon. We had a nice conversation about his two years of ASCAN training with NASA. He had seen my FMARS/MDRS presentation and said that with that kind of experience under my belt, I should have a leg up in the astronaut application process. It's always nice to hear such compliments!

I'll leave you with a stunning 3D flyover of the Moon based on the latest lunar topographic map:

NASA Astronaut Candidate Application Period Opens

2011-11-14T22:22:00.001-10:00

If you've ever dreamed of being a NASA astronaut to live on the International Space Station and maybe one day explore a world beyond low earth orbit, now is your chance to make it happen. As expected, NASA issued a press release earlier today officially kicking off its 2011-2012 application opportunity.

All materials are due to the Astronaut Office by January 27, 2011, so I recommend wasting no time to read the Application Guide, dust off your resume, and call your references. Speaking of references, you may want to take a look at JSC Form 726 to get an idea of what kinds of questions NASA might ask them. Applications are only accepted through USAJOBS announcement #JS12A0001. See the full selection process timeline here or at at astronauts.nasa.gov. Minimum qualification requirements for 2012 applicants are the same as in 2008:

Bachelor's degree in an applicable field
3 years professional experience (or a combination of equivalent education/pilot-in-command time)
vision correctable to 20/20 (refractive surgery okay if done more than one year ago)
resting blood pressure no more than 140/90
height 62-75 inches (due to Soyuz and EVA anthropometric requirements)
U.S. citizenship

Approximately 9-15 astronaut candidate selections will be chosen and announced in spring 2013. The candidates will undergo two years of intensive training in areas of ISS systems, EVA skills, robotics skills, Russian language, and aircraft flight readiness training.

Since I began this blog in 2007 following NASA's last astronaut candidate opportunity announcement, I've been asking the question, What does it take to have the "right stuff" to be an astronaut? It's been an exciting journey exploring the topic with the world through this blog and now through the establishment of Astronauts4Hire too. I invite readers to check here often for updates as this astronaut selection process unfolds.

16 November 2011 Update:
Here is the video from the one-hour press conference announcing the NASA Class of 2013 Astronaut Candidate class application opportunity:

18 November 2011 Update:
Astronaut Candidate Selection Manager Duane Ross spoke about the 2012-2013 selection process in a recent interview for NASA TV. He mentioned they had already received 400 applications in the first three days the application period had been open. Senior astronauts with spaceflight experience conduct most of the applicant reviews. The main thing they look for in applicants is experience working with teams in a real-time, hands-on technical operational environment.