NASA's Astromaterials Database: Enabling Research Through Increased Access to Sample Data, Metadata and Imagery

The Astromaterials Acquisition & Curation Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) is the designated facility for curating all of NASA's extraterrestrial samples. Today, the suite of collections includes the lunar samples from the Apollo missions, cosmic dust particles falling into the Earth's atmosphere, meteorites collected in Antarctica, comet and interstellar dust particles from the Stardust mission, asteroid particles from Japan's Hayabusa mission, solar wind atoms collected during the Genesis mission, and spaceexposed hardware from several missions. To support planetary science research on these samples, JSC's Astromaterials Curation Office hosts NASA's Astromaterials Curation digital repository and data access portal [http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/], providing descriptions of the missions and collections, and critical information about each individual sample. Our office is designing and implementing several informatics initiatives to better serve the planetary research community. First, we are rehosting the basic database framework by consolidating legacy databases for individual collections and providing a uniform access point for information (descriptions, imagery, classification) on all of our samples. Second, we continue to upgrade and host digital compendia that summarize and highlight published findings on the samples (e.g., lunar samples, meteorites from Mars). We host high resolution imagery of samples as it becomes available, including newly scanned images of historical prints from the Apollo missions. Finally we are creating plans to collect and provide new data, including 3D imagery, point cloud data, micro CT data, and external links to other data sets on selected samples. Together, these individual efforts will provide unprecedented digital access to NASA's Astromaterials, enabling preservation of the samples through more specific and targeted requests, and supporting new planetary science research and collaborations on the samples

Improving the Acquisition and Management of Sample Curation Data

This paper discusses the current sample documentation processes used during and after a mission, examines the challenges and special considerations needed for designing effective sample curation data systems, and looks at the results of a simulated sample result mission and the lessons learned from this simulation. In addition, it introduces a new data architecture for an integrated sample Curation data system being implemented at the NASA Astromaterials Acquisition and Curation department and discusses how it improves on existing data management systems

GeoLab 2011: New Instruments and Operations Tested at Desert RATS

GeoLab is a geological laboratory and testbed designed for supporting geoscience activities during NASA's analog demonstrations. Scientists at NASA's Johnson Space Center built GeoLab as part of a technology project to aid the development of science operational concepts for future planetary surface missions [1, 2, 3]. It is integrated into NASA's Habitat Demonstration Unit, a first generation exploration habitat test article. As a prototype workstation, GeoLab provides a high fidelity working space for analog mission crewmembers to perform in-situ characterization of geologic samples and communicate their findings with supporting scientists. GeoLab analog operations can provide valuable data for assessing the operational and scientific considerations of surface-based geologic analyses such as preliminary examination of samples collected by astronaut crews [4, 5]. Our analog tests also feed into sample handling and advanced curation operational concepts and procedures that will, ultimately, help ensure that the most critical samples are collected during future exploration on a planetary surface, and aid decisions about sample prioritization, sample handling and return. Data from GeoLab operations also supports science planning during a mission by providing additional detailed geologic information to supporting scientists, helping them make informed decisions about strategies for subsequent sample collection opportunities

Geolab Results from Three Years of Analog Mission Tests

GeoLab is a prototype glovebox for geological sample examination that was, until November 2012, fully integrated into NASA's Deep Space Habitat Analog Testbed [1,2]. GeoLab allowed us to test science operations related to contained sample examination during simulated exploration missions. The facility, shown in Figure 1 and described elsewhere [1-4], was designed for fostering the development of both instrument technology and operational concepts for sample handling and examination during future missions [3-5]. Even though we recently deintegrated the glovebox from the Deep Space Habitat (Fig. 2), it continues to provide a high-fidelity workspace for testing instruments that could be used for sample characterization. As a testbed, GeoLab supports the development of future science operations that will enhance the early scientific returns from exploration missions, and will help ensure selection of the best samples for Earth return

Teachers’ Perceptions Indicate Success for Harvest of the Month Nutrition Education Program

The objective of this study was to examine teachers’ attitudes, beliefs, classroom practices and perceptions of students’ nutrition-related behaviors. The study involved 419 K-6th grade teachers participating in the Harvest of the Month (HOTM) program in fifty low-income schools from 19 school districts in the Sierra Cascade region of northern California. The independent variables were the teachers’ implementation level of the HOTM program and encouragement level of vegetable and fruit consumption. The dependent variables were teachers’ attitudes and beliefs about their ability to provide nutrition education, classroom practices and their perceptions of students’ nutrition-related behaviors. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple ordinal logistic regression models. The analysis accounted for number of years teaching, county location of school, and grade. Implementation level of the HOTM program was significantly related to teachers’ perception of student nutrition-related behaviors. Additionally, teachers’ perceptions of improvements in their students’ behaviors were positively associated the level of encouragement they report to give their students to consume fruits and vegetables. Therefore, levels of both HOTM program implementation and fruit and vegetable consumption encouragement were associated with positive outcomes. Study results support the effectiveness of the HOTM program and identify a need for teacher trainings to increase the levels of nutrition education and encouragement for students to make healthier food choices

Introduction of the \u3csup\u3e305\u3c/sup\u3eArg→\u3csup\u3e305\u3c/sup\u3eSer mutation in the large extrinsic loop E of the CP43 protein of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 leads to the loss of cytochrome c\u3csub\u3e550\u3c/sub\u3e binding to Photosystem II

CP43, a component of Photosystem II (PSII) in higher plants, algae and cyanobacteria, is encoded by the psbC gene. Previous work demonstrated that alteration of an arginine residue occurring at position 305 to serine produced a strain (R305S) with altered PSII characteristics including lower oxygen-evolving activity, fewer assembled reaction centers, higher sensitivity to photoinactivation, etc. [Biochemistry 38 (1999) 1582]. Additionally, it was determined that the mutant exhibited an enhanced stability of its S2 state. Recently, we observed a significant chloride effect under chloride-limiting conditions. The mutant essentially lost the ability to grow photoautotrophically, assembled fewer fully functional PSII reaction centers and exhibited a very low rate of oxygen evolution. Thus, the observed phenotype of this mutation is very similar to that observed for the psbV mutant, which lacks cytochrome c550 (Biochemistry 37 (1998) 1551). A His-tagged version of the R305S mutant was produced to facilitate the isolation of PSII particles. These particles were analyzed for the presence of cytochrome c550. Reduced minus oxidized difference spectroscopy and chemiluminescence examination of Western blots indicated that cytochrome c550 was absent in these PSII particles. Whole cell extracts from the R305S mutant, however, contained a similar amount of cytochrome c550 to that observed in the control strain. These results indicate that the mutation R305S in CP43 prevents the strong association of cytochrome c550 with the PSII core complex. We hypothesize that this residue is involved in the formation of the binding domain for the cytochrome. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

Preserving the Science Legacy from the Apollo Missions to the Moon

Six Apollo missions landed on the Moon from 1969-72, returning to Earth 382 kg of lunar rock, soil, and core samples-among the best documented and preserved samples on Earth that have supported a robust research program for 45 years. From mission planning through sample collection, preliminary examination, and subsequent research, strict protocols and procedures are followed for handling and allocating Apollo subsamples. Even today, 100s of samples are allocated for research each year, building on the science foundation laid down by the early Apollo sample studies and combining new data from today's instrumentation, lunar remote sensing missions and lunar meteorites. Today's research includes advances in our understanding of lunar volatiles, lunar formation and evolution, and the origin of evolved lunar lithologies. Much sample information is available to researchers at curator.jsc.nasa.gov. Decades of analyses on lunar samples are published in LPSC proceedings volumes and other peer-reviewed journals, and tabulated in lunar sample compendia entries. However, for much of the 1969-1995 period, the processing documentation, individual and consortia analyses, and unpublished results exist only in analog forms or primitive digital formats that are either inaccessible or at risk of being lost forever because critical data from early investigators remain unpublished. We have initiated several new efforts to rescue some of the early Apollo data, including unpublished analytical data. We are scanning NASA documentation that is related to the Apollo missions and sample processing, and we are collaborating with IEDA to establish a geochemical database called Moon DB. To populate this database, we are working with prominent lunar PIs to organize and transcribe years of both published and unpublished data. Other initiatives include micro-CT scanning of complex lunar samples to document their interior structure (e.g. clasts, vesicles); linking high-resolution scans of Apollo film products to samples; and new procedures for systematic high resolution photography of samples before additional processing, enabling detailed 3D reconstructions of the samples. All of these efforts will provide comprehensive access to Apollo samples and support better curation of the samples for decades to come

A physical activity intervention in a Bingo club: Significance of the setting

Objective:  A Bingo club was selected for the design and delivery of a health intervention (Well!Bingo) in order to engage with older women living in areas areas of socio-economic disadvantage. In the light of our experience, we discuss the significance of the setting in relation to a typology of health promotion settings.  Design and Setting:  The Well!Bingo physical activity intervention was piloted in a Bingo club in Scotland.  Methods:  In a pilot feasibility study, women were recruited face-to-face at a Bingo club over two weeks. The 12-week intervention consisted of three different structured exercise sessions per week, followed by refreshments, with trained instructors delivering a schedule of simple pre-defined health messages. Participants completed a baseline questionnaire, and in-depth qualitative interviews were carried out with participants and instructors post-intervention. For this paper, using the framework method, we retrieved and analysed the data coded as relating to the setting.  Results:  Eighteen women (55-92 years) took part in intervention sessions. Half lived in areas of socio-economic deprivation. Practical and social familiarity with the setting (a sense of belonging and being with people like themselves) encouraged them to take part, and implicit features of the setting may have enhanced recruitment and effectiveness.  Discussion:  In settings-based health promotion, a Bingo club could be seen as a ‘passive' setting, simply facilitating access to a target population. It cannot be an ‘active setting', because health promotion will never be a core activity and features cannot be drawn upon to influence change. However, calling it a passive setting overlooks the importance of characteristics that may enhance recruitment and effectiveness. This highlights the need to extend current concepts of ‘passive' health promotion settings