Voting on NASA's New Space Suit Coming to a Close

The concept of development takes new heights as NASA finishes open voting on its next generation of space suits. In 2012 NASA released the Z-1 design which looks a little like Buzz Lightyear’s outfit (1). The design was voted on by 200,000 people from around the world. It blends the old features with new features to create greater levels of functionality. Developers are not ready to move to infinity and beyond but are making a small step in that direction.

The public could choose between the Biomimicry, Technology, and Trends in Society designs (2). The Z-2 will be the next generation to be bested around 2020. Tests will be conducted to Neural Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL). The suits will be better than ones developed in the past and contain features like pressurization, breathable atmospheres, regulate carbon dioxide, and controlled temperature and waste (3). 

In 2013 the ILC, the primary suit vendor, won $4.4 million contract to partner with Philadelphia University to develop, design and test the suit (4).  The goal is to move into the next level of development for Mars missions and ensure that the suits are safer, economic, and extremely functional. The hope is to develop a stronger space program. 

Why is this important? Space is still the next frontier. Not much has changed from Armstrong’s moon landing. It is still a step for mankind.  Modern science is moving into greater detail here on Earth as well as in outer space. Telescopes, private investments, interstellar mapping, and other developments in technology are making space travel an important function of scientific effort. When we someday make our way out there we may find things that may be useful for further science and development. 

You may see the designs here http://jscfeatures.jsc.nasa.gov/z2/

How Open Innovation and Crowdsourcing is Helping Find Asteroids and Planes

Open innovation and crowdsourcinng are concepts that have taken the research and strategy gurus by storm. NASA and DigitalGlobe are using similar concepts to help solve problems such as finding a missing plane and developing better asteroid algorithms. Using and hedging knowledge to solve problems, improve services, reduce costs, and be more effective is the main goal. The organizations have put forward two different but interrelated programs.

NASA and Planetary Resources Inc. have teamed up to put more eyes on the sky. They are offering $35K in prizes to citizen scientists that can improve upon existing algorithms for asteroid hunting. Participants can sign up on Top Coder . The goal is to help NASA find, derail, or destroy asteroids that could threaten Earth. 

According to Tom Kalil, the deputy director for technology and innovation at the White House Office of Science and Technology, "I applaud NASA for issuing this Grand Challenge because finding asteroid threats, and having a plan for dealing with them, needs to be an all-hands-on-deck effort. (2)"  Citizen scientists have a lot of knowledge and helping them engage in important.

NASA hopes to find better patterns in the data. By analyzing information people naturally see different things based upon their problem solving schemas and personal abilities to connect information. Some will see patterns where others see only a bunch of numbers and data. Bringing in multiple perspectives helps raise the chance of finding something new. 

NASA is not the only one using open innovative concepts to solve problems. Colorado based DigitalGlobe (3) is using crowdsourcing to help find the missing Malaysian Flight (4). They are asking participants to scour 1,200 square miles of ocean to find objects on the water’s surface that may indicate the location of the missing plane. 

Each participant picks an area covered by satellite photos. They look through these pictures to find items that may indicate wreckage. If an area is scattered by floating debris they can alert authorities. Their process takes corporate citizenship to the next level. In previous projects, volunteers have highlighted up to 60,000 items.

There is a difference between open innovation and crowdsourcing. Open innovation is using stakeholders and other individuals an entity doesn’t normally engage with to encourage greater product development. Those who have knowledge to offer are generally invited. Crowdsourcing focuses more on using the power, skill, and knowledge of a crowd to improve upon a concept or problem. Crowdsourcing is generally open to anyone who desires to participate.

NASA Develops Low Cost Equipment Launch

It is difficult to calculate planetary motion from under the atmosphere. Once we get into the stratosphere we have more opportunities to see space without all the haze. It will then offer the ability to see ultraviolet- and infrared-wavelength bands. Launching items into space costs a lot of money but NASA scientists have cheapened the price by developing the Wallops Arc Second Pointer (WASP).

It works a little likely a catapult and launches equipment with a balloon.  It is this launching arc method with the balloons that substantially lower the price of conducting research. This is important for fostering additional research and is likely to have a systematic impact on the amount of research in the future.

Think about research as inspecting each piece of hay in a hay field. In science there is as a time and cost associated with studying each item. It is difficult to come to an accurate picture unless one studies many pieces of hay and this may take decades. Lowering the costs not only helps budgets but can speed up the amount of research conducted.

There is a lot of math that goes into calculating such trajectories. WASP appears to be very accurate in its launches. This is based on its ability to calculate the varying factors that go into the movement of objects into space. You are unlikely to get this type of calculation without the advent of the modern computer and higher honed math skills. 

WASP Photo Gallery

The Search for Superhabitable Earths Moves Forward

The search for the superhabitable earth is on.  It was not long ago commenting that there may be many earths out there would get you laughed out of any serious conference.  Scientists are now on the hunt for the super earth that may just be more habitable than our own planet. They believe they have found the place in space where they may be located. 

NASA is launching a new space telescope in the next few years that will better test the composition of planets. At present, we can only determine the outer atmosphere and whether or not they are in the habitable zone. New telescopes may actually be able to get some sense of what is under the initial atmospheric shell. 

We may also look at a private enterprise to colonize Mars. The goal is to send individuals on a one-way trip in one of the very first colonization efforts of another planet. Mars has extreme conditions but if the colony is successful it could start as a model for other locations. 

No one knows where all of this will lead in the future. Technology is making long distance space flight possible even though the costs can be excessive.  If we view how technology and our efforts have changed over the past five decades, we should be astounded by the possibilities. As we continue to learn and develop, what was once seen as Sci-Fi is all too real. 

Heller, R. & Armstrong, J. (2014). Superhabitable worlds. Astrobiology. Retrieved  January 19^th from http://arxiv.org/abs/1401.2392

Sign Up to Travel to Mars! A new type of May Flower.

Would you like to go to Mars? Launching in 2025 the non-profit Mars One seeks to send the first 4 individuals on a one way trip to Mars. They will be living in a colony and conducting research on the red planet. The Mars One Foundation has support from Lockheed Martin and Surry Satellite Technology.  It will be the new frontier of world exploration.  You can now sign up to take a new type of May Flower to lands unknown.

Using the designs of NASA’s 2007 Phoenix lander they believe this new mission is entirely possible.  The mission will have an arm to scoop dirt to check for water, solar panels and live streaming.  The initial mission will cost about $6 billion and will go down to about $4 billion on subsequent trips. The goal is to colonize a piece of the planet. 

Mixed with a reality TV show people will be selected and trained as astronauts until launch date where STEM and university challenge winners will be sent into space. If you are over the age of 18 and would like to participate in the program you can.  You should be good at STEM which is currently suffering as a skill set in our country. 

This is not your traditional top-down program but includes interested parties from varying sources. People can become participants in the program and help foster national development. As people become more interested in national growth and hedging development risks through government-business partnerships it provides a new way of viewing citizenship responsibilities.  Most importantly, our leadership’s mindset is changing to open new paths. 

Nearly 3,000 people have submitted their applications to go to Mars despite the risks of possible demise and never seeing their planet again. Over 200,000 indicated interests with Americans being the most inspired. Perhaps through a miracle we may have the very first human baby alien born on another planet. We will see! (Sign up Here)

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