Technology Teacher: Navigating by Good Gyrations

This activity describes some simple, yet impressive gyroscopic demonstrations using only a bike wheel with a quick-release hub. Then, itIt explains both the angular momentum principle that tends to keep the wheel in a rigid plane and the effects of the external forces that create precession. And all without a single equation!No equations are used during the activity. Understanding the forces at work on a gyroscope will raise your students' consciousness of all kinds of devices and phenomena, from how and why a football, a rifle, and a Frisbee disk work to how an aircraft or a spacecraft can keep itself on course. Educational levels: Middle school, High school

Technology Teacher: Listening for Rings from Space

This activity introduces gravitational waves and the NASA technology being developed to detect them in space. It involves building a metaphorical interferometer that demonstrates how the mission (and all interferometry) works. Educational levels: Middle school, High school

HD 40307g

An undated print of planet HD 4307g by the NASA JPL team in a series titled Visions of the Future.https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/university_art_collection/1223/thumbnail.jp

Kepler-16b

An undated print of planet Kepler-16b by the NASA JPL team in a series titled Visions of the Future.https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/university_art_collection/1222/thumbnail.jp

PSO J318.5-22

An undated print of planet PSO J318.5-22 by the NASA JPL team in a series titled Visions of the Future.https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/university_art_collection/1221/thumbnail.jp

51 Pegasi b

An undated print of exoplanet 51 Pegasi b by the NASA JPL team in a series titled Visions of the Future.https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/university_art_collection/1219/thumbnail.jp

Kepler-186f

An undated print of planet Kepler-186f by the NASA JPL team in a series titled Visions of the Future.https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/university_art_collection/1218/thumbnail.jp

Optimizing the Design of Spacecraft Systems Using Risk as Currency

Abstract-Treating risk as a "currency" has proven to be key in systematically optimizing the design of spacecraft systems. This idea has been applied in the design of individual components of spacecraft systems, and in the end-to-end design of such systems. The process, called "Defect Detection and Prevention" (DDP), its tool support, and applications, are described in We are now extending this process to include consideration of architectural alternatives, qualification of components, fabrication and assembly, integration and test, and mission operation. The results of applying this extended process in the pre-formulation, formulation and implementation phases of various NASA and other government agency missions will be discussed. This paper will also discuss the results of developing optimized technology development and qualification plans

Evolving Understanding of Antarctic Ice‐Sheet Physics and Ambiguity in Probabilistic Sea‐Level Projections

Mechanisms such as ice‐shelf hydrofracturing and ice‐cliff collapse may rapidly increase discharge from marine‐based ice sheets. Here, we link a probabilistic framework for sea‐level projections to a small ensemble of Antarctic ice‐sheet (AIS) simulations incorporating these physical processes to explore their influence on global‐mean sea‐level (GMSL) and relative sea‐level (RSL). We compare the new projections to past results using expert assessment and structured expert elicitation about AIS changes. Under high greenhouse gas emissions (Representative Concentration Pathway [RCP] 8.5), median projected 21st century GMSL rise increases from 79 to 146 cm. Without protective measures, revised median RSL projections would by 2100 submerge land currently home to 153 million people, an increase of 44 million. The use of a physical model, rather than simple parameterizations assuming constant acceleration of ice loss, increases forcing sensitivity: overlap between the central 90% of simulations for 2100 for RCP 8.5 (93–243 cm) and RCP 2.6 (26–98 cm) is minimal. By 2300, the gap between median GMSL estimates for RCP 8.5 and RCP 2.6 reaches >10 m, with median RSL projections for RCP 8.5 jeopardizing land now occupied by 950 million people (versus 167 million for RCP 2.6). The minimal correlation between the contribution of AIS to GMSL by 2050 and that in 2100 and beyond implies current sea‐level observations cannot exclude future extreme outcomes. The sensitivity of post‐2050 projections to deeply uncertain physics highlights the need for robust decision and adaptive management frameworks