Low-latency Science Exploration of Planetary Bodies: a Demonstration Using ISS in Support of Mars Human Exploration

We summarize a proposed experiment to use the International Space Station to formally examine the application and validation of low-latency telepresence for surface exploration from space as an alternative, precursor, or potentially as an adjunct to astronaut "boots on the ground." The approach is to develop and propose controlled experiments, which build upon previous field studies and which will assess the effects of different latencies (0 to 500 msec), task complexity, and alternate forms of feedback to the operator. These experiments serve as an example of a pathfinder for NASA's roadmap of missions to Mars with low-latency telerobotic exploration as a precursor to astronaut's landing on the surface to conduct geological tasks

NASA's Earth Science Use of Commercially Availiable Remote Sensing Datasets: Cover Image

The cover image incorporates high resolution stereo pairs acquired from the DigitalGlobe(R) QuickBird sensor. It shows a digital elevation model of Meteor Crater, Arizona at approximately 1.3 meter point-spacing. Image analysts used the Leica Photogrammetry Suite to produce the DEM. The outside portion was computed from two QuickBird panchromatic scenes acquired October 2006, while an Optech laser scan dataset was used for the crater s interior elevations. The crater s terrain model and image drape were created in a NASA Constellation Program project focused on simulating lunar surface environments for prototyping and testing lunar surface mission analysis and planning tools. This work exemplifies NASA s Scientific Data Purchase legacy and commercial high resolution imagery applications, as scientists use commercial high resolution data to examine lunar analog Earth landscapes for advanced planning and trade studies for future lunar surface activities. Other applications include landscape dynamics related to volcanism, hydrologic events, climate change, and ice movement

From design to operations: a process management life-cycle performance measurement system for Public-Private Partnerships

YesPublic–Private Partnerships (PPPs) have become a critical vehicle for delivering infrastructure worldwide. Yet, the use of such a procurement strategy has received considerable criticism, as they have been prone to experiencing time/cost overruns and during their operation poorly managed. A key issue contributing to the poor performance of PPPs is the paucity of an effective and comprehensive performance measurement system. There has been a tendency for the performance of PPPs to be measured based on their ex-post criteria of time, cost and quality. Such criteria do not accommodate the complexities and lifecycle of an asset. In addressing this problem, the methodology of sequential triangulation is used to develop and examine the effectiveness of a ‘Process Management Life Cycle Performance Measurement System’. The research provides public authorities and private-sector entities embarking on PPPs with a robust mechanism to effectively measure, control and manage their projects’ life cycle performances, ensuring the assets are ‘future proofed’

Initial results from the InSight mission on Mars

NASA’s InSight (Interior exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) mission landed in Elysium Planitia on Mars on 26 November 2018. It aims to determine the interior structure, composition and thermal state of Mars, as well as constrain present-day seismicity and impact cratering rates. Such information is key to understanding the differentiation and subsequent thermal evolution of Mars, and thus the forces that shape the planet’s surface geology and volatile processes. Here we report an overview of the first ten months of geophysical observations by InSight. As of 30 September 2019, 174 seismic events have been recorded by the lander’s seismometer, including over 20 events of moment magnitude Mw = 3–4. The detections thus far are consistent with tectonic origins, with no impact-induced seismicity yet observed, and indi- cate a seismically active planet. An assessment of these detections suggests that the frequency of global seismic events below approximately Mw = 3 is similar to that of terrestrial intraplate seismic activity, but there are fewer larger quakes; no quakes exceeding Mw = 4 have been observed. The lander’s other instruments—two cameras, atmospheric pressure, temperature and wind sensors, a magnetometer and a radiometer—have yielded much more than the intended supporting data for seismometer noise characterization: magnetic field measurements indicate a local magnetic field that is ten-times stronger than orbital estimates and meteorological measurements reveal a more dynamic atmosphere than expected, hosting baroclinic and gravity waves and convective vortices. With the mission due to last for an entire Martian year or longer, these results will be built on by further measurements by the InSight lander

Orono, Maine, Officer Petite and Kids

A black and white photograph of a uniformed crossing guard walking five children across the street taken by Jim Garvin, official photographer for the University of Maine in the 1950s and 1960s. Garvin was hired to take photographs for the annual Orono Town Report. A building in the background is labeled Town Hall, Orono. Handwriting on the back of the photograph appears to say Officer Petite and kids, Orono, 1964.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/spec_photos/1232/thumbnail.jp

Orono, Maine, Aerial Photograph

Black and white aerial photograph of the town of Orono, Maine, with the Penobscot River along the top edge of the photo.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/spec_photos/1014/thumbnail.jp

Orono, Maine, Grove Street Superette

A black and white photograph of the end of Grove Street in Orono, Maine, taken by Jim Garvin, official photographer for the University of Maine in the 1950s and 1960s. Handwriting on the back of the photo appears to read, Grove Street looking toward the South Apartments. \u27The Superette\u27 on the right, foreground. 1957.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/spec_photos/1236/thumbnail.jp

Bangor, Maine, River Drivers Monument

Black and white photograph of the Peirce Memorial near the Bangor Public Library in Bangor, Maine. From the photographs of Jim Garvin, official photographer for the University of Maine in the 1950s and 1960s. Image is labeled in handwriting, River drivers monument in Bangor, Maine. The back reads, Bangor 1954, photo by James Garvin, Plant Science Building, University of Maine, Orono, Maine.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/spec_photos/1217/thumbnail.jp