Date: February 6th 2010

There are 2 messages totalling 136 lines in this issue

Topics of the day:

NASA AND GM CREATE CUTTING EDGE ROBOTIC TECHNOLOGY
SPACE STATION PRIMED FOR NEW ERA OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES

Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 14:09:06 -0600 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: NASA AND GM CREATE CUTTING EDGE ROBOTIC TECHNOLOGY

February 4, 2010

Brandi Dean Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111

Ashley Edwards/Grey Hautaluoma Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100

Dan Flores General Motors, Warren, Mich 313-418-2374

Report #H10-035a

NASA AND GM CREATE CUTTING EDGE ROBOTIC TECHNOLOGY

WASHINGTON -- NASA and General Motors are working together to accelerate development of the next generation of robots and related technologies for use in the automotive and aerospace industries

Engineers and scientists from NASA and GM worked together through a Space Act Agreement at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston to build a new humanoid robot capable of working side by side with people Using leading edge control, sensor and vision technologies, future robots could assist astronauts during hazardous space missions and help GM build safer cars and plants

The two organizations, with the help of engineers from Oceaneering Space Systems of Houston, developed and built the next iteration of Robonaut Robonaut 2, or R2, is a faster, more dexterous and more technologically advanced robot This new generation robot can use its hands to do work beyond the scope of prior humanoid machines R2 can work safely alongside people, a necessity both on Earth and in space

"This cutting-edge robotics technology holds great promise, not only for NASA, but also for the nation," said Doug Cooke, associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington "I'm very excited about the new opportunities for human and robotic exploration these versatile robots provide across a wide range of applications "

"For GM, this is about safer cars and safer plants," said Alan Taub, GM's vice president for global research and development "When it comes to future vehicles, the advancements in controls, sensors and vision technology can be used to develop advanced vehicle safety systems The partnership's vision is to explore advanced robots working together in harmony with people, building better, higher quality vehicles in a safer, more competitive manufacturing environment "

The idea of using dexterous, human-like robots capable of using their hands to do intricate work is not new to the aerospace industry The original Robonaut, a humanoid robot designed for space travel, was built by the software, robotics and simulation division at Johnson in a collaborative effort with the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency 10 years ago During the past decade, NASA gained significant expertise in building robotic technologies for space applications These capabilities will help NASA launch a bold new era of space exploration

"Our challenge today is to build machines that can help humans work and explore in space," said Mike Coats, Johnson's center director "Working side by side with humans, or going where the risks are too great for people, machines like Robonaut will expand our capability for construction and discovery "

NASA and GM have a long, rich history of partnering on key technologies, starting in the 1960s with the development of the navigation systems for the Apollo missions GM also played a vital role in the development of the Lunar Rover Vehicle, the first vehicle to be used on the moon

For more information about Robonaut 2, visit:

http://www nasa gov/topics/technology/features/robonaut html

For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

http://www nasa gov

For more information about General Motors, visit:

http://www gm com

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NASA Johnson Space Center Mission Status Reports and other information are available automatically by sending an Internet electronic mail message to listserv@listserver jsc nasa gov In the body of the message (not the subject line) users should type "subscribe hsfnews" (no quotes) This will add the e-mail address that sent the subscribe message to the news release distribution list The system will reply with a confirmation via e-mail of each subscription Once you have subscribed you will receive future news releases via e-mail To unsubscribe, send an e-mail to listserv@listserver jsc nasa gov with the following command in the body of your e-mail message: "unsubscribe hsfnews" (no quotes) or from another account, besides the account used to subscribe: "unsubscribe hsfnews youremail@yourdomain com" (no quotes)

Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 14:18:05 -0600 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: SPACE STATION PRIMED FOR NEW ERA OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES

February 5, 2010

Kelly Humphries Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111

Katherine Trinidad Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100

Report #H10-036

SPACE STATION PRIMED FOR NEW ERA OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla -- NASA and its international partners are looking forward to unprecedented scientific opportunities aboard the International Space Station, or ISS With station assembly nearing completion, the ISS Partnership is looking forward to using the station to its fullest capacity The U S administration's fiscal year 2011 budget proposal calls for continuing station operations to at least 2020, which will create new opportunities for advancing microgravity science research

"This is a really exciting week for the space station and for the scientists that want to use these laboratories," said Julie Robinson, program scientist for the station at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston "We've already had some important findings on station during its construction With this strong support for continued space station lifetime to 2020 or beyond, we will have amazing discoveries from the science and technology research that can be accomplished "

NASA senior managers from the space station program and counterparts at Russia's Roscosmos, the European Space Agency, Canadian Space Agency and Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology met to discuss the implications of continuing station operations and utilization and recently issued a joint statement about the station's future

They noted, "ISS continuation could bring great benefit to all partners and humankind by demonstrating significant and sustained return on the partnership's investment in the ISS program, primarily through the enhanced research and usage opportunities "

The entire statement is available at:

http://www nasa gov/pdf/423071main_mcb_joint_stmt_020110 pdf

The ISS Partnership is scheduled to meet again at the Heads of Agency level on March 11 in Tokyo to further discuss partner efforts to undertake their own decisions for space station extension and the opportunity it will provide to use this unique platform for scientific, technological, diplomatic and educational purposes

The continued use of the station will open the window for more studies that can only be done in the unique environment of space Specifically, scientists can discover how cells reproduce and differentiate in microgravity with applications to areas such as tissue generation and wound repair Also, there are opportunities for more human physiology research to learn about systems such as heart, muscle and bone, which can benefit space explorers and ill or injured patients

Studies of fluid physics that benefit from lack of buoyancy in microgravity will provide new understanding of soft matter, supercritical fluids and two phase flow Technology tests will advance areas such as robotics, life support and spacecraft servicing

Station construction began in Dec 1998 and will be completed during 2010 Once complete, the station will transition to a new "full usage" phase, where continuous scientific research will be conducted aboard the multinational orbiting laboratory

During the past decade, scientific research accomplishments made aboard the station included advances in the fight against food poisoning and new methods for delivering medicine to cancer cells Studies of salmonella bacteria identified the controlling gene responsible for its increased virulence in microgravity, and a commercial company has used changes in virulence of microbes to screen for candidate vaccines

Results of an early station experiment led to improvements in a method for delivering drugs to targets in the human body The research led the way for better methods of micro-encapsulation, a process of forming miniature, liquid-filled balloons the size of blood cells that can deliver treatment directly to cancer cells

NASA has a new Web feature that provides examples of space station research dividends including cancer treatment, food poisoning vaccine development, air purification, remote ultrasound tests and many more

For more information about station science payoffs, visit:

http://www nasa gov/mission_pages/station/science/coolstation html

To take a virtual tour of the station and information about station missions, visit:

http://www nasa gov/station

To find out how to see the station from your own backyard, visit:

http://www spaceflight nasa gov/realdata/sightings

For more information about the upcoming shuttle mission, designated STS-130, visit:

http://www nasa gov/shuttle

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End of HSFNEWS Digest - 5 Feb 2010 to 6 Feb 2010 (#2010-9)

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