There are 2 messages totalling 108 lines in this issue

Topics of the day:

1. NASA Extends Deadlines for Student Exploration Design Challenge
2. Mockup of NASAs Orion Stopping in Tucson

Date: Thu, 19 Dec 2013 08:46:07 -0600 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: NASA Extends Deadlines for Student Exploration Design Challenge

December 19, 2013

Ashl� Harris Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111

Ann Marie Trotta Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1601

Report #13-380

NASA Extends Deadlines for Student Exploration Design Challenge

NASA is extending deadlines for its Exploration Design Challenge, an educational program connected to Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) -- the first mission for NASA's new Orion spacecraft, scheduled to launch in September 2014 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida

The new deadline for high school students to submit payload design notebooks has been extended to Feb 28 The deadline for all students to complete a radiation learning module and fly their names on EFT-1 now is June 30

The challenge invites students from kindergarten through 12th grade to research and design proposed solutions to help protect astronauts from space radiation during Orion's long-duration deep space missions to an asteroid and Mars

The Exploration Design Challenge was launched in March through a partnership between NASA and Lockheed Martin Corp , in collaboration with the National Institute of Aerospace The challenge brings cutting-edge learning to educators and students using standards-based activities, as well as print and video resources and technical guidance to help them learn how to solve difficult problems associated with human space exploration

Participating students in grades kindergarten through 8 will analyze different materials that simulate space radiation shielding for human space travelers aboard the Orion spacecraft After participating in activities guided by their teachers, students will recommend materials that best block harmful radiation

Participating students in grades 9-12 can take the challenge a step further by designing a shield to protect a sensor inside Orion from space radiation Five high school team designs will be selected for program review in March 2014, and the final winning design will be announced by the end of the school year The high school team with the winning payload design will be flown to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to watch their experiment launch into orbit aboard Orion

NASA and Lockheed Martin are developing the Orion spacecraft to carry astronauts beyond low-Earth orbit and on to an asteroid or Mars EFT-1 is Orion's first uncrewed mission in space, providing an opportunity to test the protective abilities of the students� payload design as the spacecraft travels through the intense radiation of the Van Allen Belt during its 3,600-mile journey above Earth

To learn more about the Exploration Design Challenge and sign up to become a virtual crew member, visit:

http://www nasa gov/education/edc

For information about NASA's education programs, visit:

http://www nasa gov/education

For more information about Orion, visit:

http://www nasa gov/orion

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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: Thu, 19 Dec 2013 10:21:45 -0600 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: Mockup of NASAs Orion Stopping in Tucson

December 19, 2013

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

Report #J13-021

Mockup of NASA�s Orion Stopping in Tucson

A test version of NASA�s Orion spacecraft has been on a cross-country road trip for the past week, and it�s taking a week-long rest stop in Tucson, Ariz

Called the boilerplate test article, it is a structural mockup of the spacecraft NASA is building to take humans farther than they�ve ever been before that will be used in tests off the coast of San Diego in February It left NASA�s Langley Research Center in Virginia on Dec 11 and has been making its way to California via truck since then But the trip will pause for the holidays starting today, and the test article will spend two weeks at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson

The Orion test article is set to arrive between 3 p m and 5 p m Mountain time today As the schedule is somewhat flexible, those interested in seeing it arrive can follow @NASA_Orion on Twitter for updates on the timing

Once it arrives today, the test article will be available to be seen by the public for free for two hours outside of the museum Afterward, it will be moved into a hanger inside the museum, where the public can see it with a museum ticket

The test article will leave Tucson on Jan 2 and arrive at the U S Navy�s Naval Base San Diego by Jan 7

As the test article has made its way across the country, social media users have been tracking its progress and sharing their photos using the hashtag #SpotOrion

A map of its route across the country can be seen at:

http://www nasa gov/content/see-if-you-can-spotorion/

The 18,000-pound mockup is a full-sized replica of the Orion spacecraft currently being built at NASA�s Kennedy Space Center The mockup has already been used in a number of tests to ensure that Orion will be ready for its first mission, Exploration Flight Test-1, scheduled for September 2014 That mission will take Orion to 3,600 miles above the Earth�s surface before returning it at speeds of up to 20,000 miles per hour for a splash landing in the Pacific Ocean

In February it will be used for an underway recovery test in the Pacific Ocean For this test, the mockup will be set adrift in open and unstable waters, providing NASA and U S Navy the opportunity to recover the capsule and bring it into the well deck of the USS San Diego While deployed, the team will seek out various sea states in which to practice the capsule recovery procedures This will help build a knowledge base of how the capsule recovery differs in calm and rough seas and what the true physical limits are

NASA and the Navy previously used this mockup to practice recovery in calm seas during a stationary recovery test in August where the spacecraft was set adrift in the waters of Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia and recovered into the docked well deck of the USS Arlington The mockup was also dropped from 25 feet above the water of Langley�s Hydro Impact Basin to simulate different splashdown scenarios

To learn more about Orion and Exploration Flight Test-1, visit

http://www nasa gov/orion

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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)

End of HSFNEWS Digest - 18 Dec 2013 to 20 Dec 2013 (#2013-108)