Reflecting the Future: Revolutionizing Space Exploration with Liquid Mirrors

By Titus Szobody

The exploration of space has always been at the forefront of human curiosity and scientific advancement. One critical aspect of space exploration is our ability to observe and understand the universe beyond our atmosphere. Telescopes play a pivotal role in this endeavor, allowing us to peer into the depths of space. As technology evolves, researchers are constantly pushing the boundaries to enhance the capabilities of space telescopes.

Traditional telescopes often employ large, solid mirrors to capture and focus incoming light. The most powerful and advanced space telescope to date is NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, which utilizes a primary mirror with an unprecedented diameter of 6.5 meters. While these mirrors have proven effective, they are also heavy and challenging to fit on a payload for launch and position in space. In addition, these mirrors are extremely difficult to sand and polish in order to reach the required standards for space optics and are susceptible to damage by space debris that may compromise the mirror’s quality.

These complicating issues result in the size, durability, and resolution limitations of current space optics technology. As space exploration demands more agile and efficient instruments, researchers at NASA have turned their attention to the use of liquid mirrors as a potential alternative.

Read the full article on the NC Space Grant Consortium website.

Author Credit: Titus Szobody

Image Credit: NCSGC

National Space Grant’s support towards the Lahaina (Maui) wildfire recovery efforts

On August 8, 2023, residents of Lahaina, Maui suffered a horrific wildfire that killed many people, destroyed buildings, and displaced remaining residents. The 2023 Maui fire ranks as one of the top 10 deadliest US wildfires and is the deadliest natural disaster in Hawaiʻi’s recorded history. The Maui tragedy reached national news and was discussed at a Space Grant ExCom meeting. Dr. Cass Runyon (SC) suggested collecting children’s books for Lahaina residents. As an educational network, all 52 Space Grant. Space Grant Consortia were called to lend support in the community by donating educational books for the families who lost their homes, schools and libraries.  An overwhelming collection of over 200 new books and supplies were collected at the Fall 2023 National Council of Space Grant Director’s Meeting hosted by the Hawai’i Space Grant Consortium (HSGC) at the ‘Alohilani Resort Waikiki Beach.  Boxes were shipped to Dr. Jung Park, Associate Director for HSGC and faculty member at the University of Hawai’i Maui College, who was successful in delivering these resources to the students and staff at Princess Nahi’ena’ena Elementary School.  We stand with Maui and are happy to contribute in any way we can.

Read the full article on the Hawaii Space Grant Consortium website.

Photo Credit: Shanin Sado, TA Vice Principal of Princess Nāhi’ena’ena Elementary School

Author Credit: Hawaii Space Grant Consortium

Adapting STEM Lessons for Students with Disabilities Using My NASA Data

NASA’s Space Tech Prize Bolsters Diversity, Inclusivity Champions

NASA selected the first winners of the agency’s Space Tech Catalyst prize to expand engagement with underrepresented and diverse individuals in the space technology sector as part of the agency’s broader commitment to inclusivity and collaboration. The winners are receiving $25,000 each to create more inclusive space technology ecosystems.

“As NASA continues to explore the unknown, making the impossible possible, we are committed to engaging talents from all backgrounds to advance exploration,” said Shahra Lambert, NASA senior advisor for engagement. “By providing funding to this space technology community, NASA is ensuring the Artemis Generation will have the necessary tools to expand humanity’s reach.”

• Dr. Denise Thorsen, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Director of Alaska Space Grant Consortium

For the full article and full list of awardees, visit NASA.gov

Image Credit: NASA

Author Credit:

Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
james.j.russell@nasa.gov

Gerelle Dodson
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
gerelle.q.dodson@nasa.gov

Local groups help blind people experience the eclipse

INDIANAPOLIS — As the date of the total solar eclipse gets closer, there is something for everyone to look forward to including an opportunity for people who are blind or visually impaired to experience the eclipse.

“People have been trying to do a device like this for decades and we think we have finally cracked it,” said Wunji Lau, the director of marketing at Tactile Engineering.

It’s been a long time coming but a revolutionary change in technology is allowing visually impaired and blind people to experience this once-in-a-lifetime event.

“It feels great to be able to get to this point where an event like the eclipse, an event like the races at the speedway, are going to be accessible to blind people and people who have only been able to access them just by hearing or just by description,” Lau said.

This is all made possible through a partnership between Tactile Engineering and NearSpace Education.

Read the full story on Fox59.com

Author Credit: Hannah Follman

Image Credit: NASA

For Katie Durkee ’24 M.S., the opportunities she’s had to conduct research have enabled her to pursue her interests and discover new passions. A strong believer in the ability of research to help yield new discoveries, she hopes her own work can play an important role in furthering knowledge and innovation on Earth – and beyond.

Durkee is reaching for the stars with her research, which was recently awarded a graduate research grant from the NASA Connecticut Space Grant Consortium (CTSGC). Her project explores the development of self-healing polymers from biomass (organic) resources for space-related applications. Petroleum resources are currently used to generate polymers, she explains, and these are expected to become increasingly depleted in the coming decades.

Read the full article on University of New Haven’s News page.

Author Credit:  Renee Chmiel

Image Credit: University of New Haven

Original Post Date: July 27, 2023

On eclipse day, hundreds of students will send up balloons for science

CUMBERLAND, Md. — It’s a chilly March morning, and Mary Bowden is standing in the parking lot of a local community college.

Bowden is a professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Maryland. Nearby, her students are hustling around on a bright blue tarp, rolling out heavy cylinders of compressed gas and fiddling with boxes of electronics.

“This is our final, final dress rehearsal,” Bowden says as she surveys the scene.

At the start of next month, a total solar eclipse will sweep across the continental United States. It will begin in Texas and move north through a dozen states before exiting the country through Maine and into Canada.

On eclipse day — April 8 — dozens of student teams across the country will release hundreds of research balloons. The balloons will carry long, dangling strings of scientific instruments into the path of totality, the area on Earth’s surface that will see the moon completely block the sun.

The effort, known as the Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project, is backed by NASA. It’s an opportunity to make unique atmospheric measurements that can only be done during an eclipse, and a chance for students to learn skills they may someday use to launch satellites and astronauts into orbit. Bowden is guiding the University of Maryland team, which is made up of about 30 to 40 students.

Read the full story on NPR.

Author Credit: Geoff Brumfiel

Image Credit: Meredith Rizzo for NPR

Seventeen students from Missouri S&T are conducting NASA-funded research that may directly affect the space agency’s work.

These students are interns and fellows as part of the Missouri Space Grant Consortium, which is administered by Missouri S&T.

Since the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program was established in 1989, Missouri S&T has led the NASA initiative for the state of Missouri for most of its existence. NASA has one program for each of the 50 states, plus Puerto Rico and Washington D.C., with the goal of further developing the nation’s science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)-related workforce.

Read the full article: on Missouri University of Science and Technology “News and Events.”

Author Credit: Greg Edwards

Image Credit: Ashton Ventura

Original Post Date: December 19, 2023

Three Utah State University engineering students were awarded funding on behalf of the Utah Space Grant Consortium for internships this past summer.

Adam Weaver, a recent graduate student at USU studying mechanical engineering with an emphasis in aerospace engineering, and Payton Taylor, a senior also studying mechanical engineering with an emphasis in aerospace engineering, received $6,200 each for their internships at Northrop Grumman. They worked in the propulsion systems department for four months.

“I was very thankful for this opportunity and excited that I was a recipient,” Weaver said. “The internship was a great experience.”

In addition to Weaver and Taylor, Bryan Gricius, who also graduated with a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering, received funding for his internship at the Space Dynamics Laboratory as an opto-mechanical engineering intern. His job was to assist in the development and construction of a space telescope.

Read the full article on Utah State TODAY.

Author Credit: Sydney Dahle

Image Credit: NASA