[music playing]
- SO, WELCOME TO THE 75th
ANNIVERSARY
OF NASA AMES
RESEARCH CENTER,
AND THE DIRECTORS COLLOQUIA
SUMMER SERIES.
THE MOON, WE SEE IT EVERY DAY
WHEN WE LOOK UP,
IS OUR NEAREST NEIGHBOR,
YET WE KNOW SO LITTLE.
THE MOON IS AN INTEGRAL PART
OF WHO WE ARE
AND WHAT CREATED US.
NASA AMES HAS HAD
A FEW MISSIONS TO THE MOON.
BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT MISSIONS
AS A WHOLE,
NASA-BASED MISSIONS,
THERE IS A SCIENCE GOAL
TO IT.
BUT TO ACHIEVE THAT SCIENCE GOAL
REQUIRES A WHOLE TEAM.
A TEAM OF ENGINEERS,
A TEAM OF SCIENTISTS,
AND TEAM OF ACCOUNTANTS.
TEAM OF EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH.
IT TAKES A WHOLE TEAM.
BESIDES THE SCIENCE,
WE ALSO PUSH THE ENVELOPE
OF THE TECHNOLOGY THAT IS NEEDED
TO DO SPACE MISSIONS.
THOSE TECHNOLOGIES ALSO ADVANCED
OUR ABILITY HERE ON EARTH.
TODAY'S TALK,
ENTITLED "SKIMMING THE LUNAR
SURFACE FOR SCIENCE:
THE LADEE MISSION,"
WILL BE GIVEN
BY BRIAN LEWIS.
BRIAN LEWIS
IS A SYSTEM ENGINEER
HERE AT NASA AMES
RESEARCH CENTER.
HE IS CURRENTLY THE LEAD
SYSTEM ENGINEER
FOR THE BIOSENTINEL PROJECT,
AND PREVIOUSLY ACTED AS
THE SPACECRAFT SYSTEM ENGINEER
AND THE SPACECRAFT MANAGER
ON THE LADEE PROJECT.
HE HOLDS A BACHELORS OF SCIENCE
AND A MASTERS OF SCIENCE
IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
FROM UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY,
WITH A FOCUS ON THERMAL SYSTEMS
ENGINEERING.
HE HAS BEEN INVOLVED WITH
SPACECRAFT SYSTEM ENGINEERINGS
FOR OVER 14 YEARS.
PLEASE JOIN ME IN WELCOMING
BRIAN LEWIS.
[applause]
- ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU ALL
VERY MUCH.
IT'S AN HONOR
TO BE HERE TODAY.
IT IS A LITTLE BIT
INTIMIDATING
BEING PLACED BETWEEN
ROBERT ZUBRIN
AND TRYING TO LEAD IN
FOR RUSTY SCHWEICKART,
BUT I'LL DO MY BEST AND TRY TO
GIVE YOU SOME INTERESTING THINGS
THAT WE LEARNED WHILE TESTING,
LAUNCHING AND FLYING LADEE.
LIKE JACOB SAID,
I WAS THE SPACECRAFT SYSTEMS
ENGINEER FOR A LITTLE BIT,
AND THEN MY LAST ROLE
IN THE PROJECT
WAS AS THE SPACECRAFT MANAGER
ON THE PROJECT.
SO I WAS, LIKE JACOB SAID,
FOCUSED MOSTLY ON MAKING SURE
THAT THE TECHNOLOGIES
THAT GOT OUR SCIENCE INSTRUMENTS
INTO ORBIT WORKED TOGETHER WHEN
THEY WERE ALL BROUGHT TOGETHER.
AS A LITTLE BIT OF AN INTRO TO
THE LADEE MISSION ITSELF,
THE OBJECTIVES
OF THE LADEE MISSION
WERE TO MEASURE
THE LUNAR DUST
AND EXAMINE THE LUNAR
ATMOSPHERE.
THE LADEE MISSION
WAS ORIGINALLY AWARDED
BACK WHEN WE WERE
STILL ON A PATH
TO BEING PLACING ASTRONAUTS
ON THE MOON,
AND THE SCIENCE RATIONALE
WAS TO TRY TO CHARACTERIZE
THAT THIN EXOSPHERE
AROUND THE MOON
BEFORE WE LANDED ASTRONAUTS
THERE, AND LANDED ROVERS,
AND STARTED BUILDING BASES,
AND STARTED DISTURBING
THAT ATMOSPHERE.
SO WE KNOW WHAT IT WAS
IN A PRISTINE CONDITION.
AS YOU ALL KNOW,
WE ARE NOW ON A PATH
ON PLACING ASTRONAUTS
ONTO ASTEROIDS,
WITH THE GOAL OF GETTING THEM
TOWARD MARS.
BUT A LOT OF THE RESEARCH
THAT WE LEARNED
AND A LOT OF THE SCIENCE DATA
THAT WE TOOK
ON THE LADEE MISSION
WILL HELP US UNDERSTAND
WHAT WE'RE DOING ON THAT PATH
THERE AS WELL.
SO IT--IT--THE SCIENCE
THAT WE COLLECTED
IS STILL VERY USEFUL.
SOME OF THE KEY PARAMETERS:
LADEE ITSELF WAS LAUNCHED
IN LATE SEPTEMBER
OR EARLY SEPTEMBER OF LAST YEAR.
AND THEN IT IMPACTED
WITH THE MOON
IN ABOUT THE MIDDLE OF APRIL
OF THIS YEAR ITSELF.
THE SPACECRAFT ITSELF
IS A SMALL EXPLORER.
IT WAS ABOUT 300 KILOGRAMS.
IT WAS AN ENHANCED CLASS D.
THE SPACECRAFT WAS ITSELF
PROVIDED
BY AMES RESEARCH CENTER,
AND THE SPACECRAFT INSTRUMENTS
WERE MANAGED BY GODDARD
SPACE FLIGHT CENTER.
BUT WHILE THOSE ARE SAID,
THAT'S NOT THE WHOLE STORY.
IN THE END, WE TOTTED UP
ALL OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS
FROM THE DIFFERENT
NASA CENTERS
AND A LOT OF OUR PARTNERS.
AND EIGHT OF THE TEN
NASA CENTERS
CONTRIBUTED DIRECTLY
TO THE SUCCESS
OF THE LADEE MISSION,
AS WELL AS PROVIDING--
NUMEROUS SMALL COMPANIES
PROVIDING TECHNOLOGIES
THAT MADE THE MISSION
A SUCCESS.
THE INSTRUMENTS WE'VE FLOWN
I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT
MORE ABOUT LATER,
BUT THERE WERE THREE
PRIMARY INSTRUMENTS ON THERE:
A NEUTRAL MASS SPECTROMETER,
AN ULTRAVIOLET AND VISIBLE
SPECTROMETER,
AND A LUNAR DUST EXPLORER.
THOSE WERE ALL MEANT
TO CHARACTERIZE THE EXOSPHERE
AROUND THE MOON ITSELF.
AND THERE WAS A TECHNOLOGY
DEMONSTRATION PAYLOAD,
AND THAT PAYLOAD WAS A LUNAR
LASERCOMM TERMINAL.
WE WERE TRYING TO DEMONSTRATE
THE VIABILITY
OF LASER-BASED COMMUNICATIONS
FROM BEYOND LOW EARTH ORBIT
FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER.
AND THEN THE--AS ANOTHER FIRST,
THE MISSION ITSELF WAS LAUNCHED
OFF OF A MINOTAUR V
LAUNCH VEHICLE
OUT OF WALLOPS FLIGHT FACILITY
IN WEST--EASTERN VIRGINIA.
THIS IS THE FIRST FLIGHT
OF THE MINOTAUR V,
AND WE HAD A LITTLE BIT
OF BIRTHING PAINS
WITH THAT AS WELL.
I WON'T TALK TOO MUCH
ABOUT THEM,
BUT THERE WERE A LOT OF FIRSTS
THAT WE DID WITH LADEE,
EVEN THOUGH IT WAS
A LOW-COST MISSION.
IN TERMS OF SCIENCE
OBJECTIVES,
I TALKED A LITTLE BIT
ABOUT THESE BEFORE.
WE WERE TRYING TO DETERMINE
THE COMPOSITION
OF THE LUNAR ATMOSPHERE
IN AN UNDISTURBED STATE,
SINCE WE HADN'T LANDED ANYTHING
THERE FOR QUITE SOME TIME.
WE THOUGHT THIS WOULD BE IN A
RELATIVELY PRISTINE ENVIRONMENT.
AND THEN WE WANTED TO
CHARACTERIZE THAT ENVIRONMENT
AND MEASURE ITS SPATIAL
AND THERMAL
AND TEMPORAL VARIABILITY,
AND THE IMPACTS THAT DIFFERENT
THINGS LIKE THE SOLAR WIND,
THE EARTH'S MAGNETOSPHERE,
IMPACTS FROM METEOROIDS
OR ASTEROIDS WOULD HAVE
ON THE LUNAR ATMOSPHERE
AS WELL.
AND ONE OF THE REASONS
THAT WE WANTED TO DO THAT
WAS THAT WE WERE ABLE TO TAKE
THE SCIENCE WE LEARNED THERE
AND APPLY IT TO OTHER SMALL
BODIES AROUND THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
PLACES LIKE MERCURY,
THE MOONS OF MARS,
THE MOONS OF JUPITER,
SMALL ASTEROIDS.
ALL OF THESE TYPES OF BODIES
AROUND THE SOLAR SYSTEM
ARE SURROUNDED BY THIN
EXOSPHERES,
MUCH LIKE THE MOON HAS.
AND SO WHAT WE LEARN
FROM THIS MISSION,
WE'LL BE ABLE TO USE
TO CHARACTERIZE
AND INFORM OUR OPERATIONS AROUND
THOSE BODIES IN THE FUTURE.
THE SCIENCE PAYLOAD, AS I TALKED
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT BEFORE,
YOU CAN SEE THERE
ON THE TOP LEFT.
THERE'S A NEUTRAL MASS
SPECTROMETER.
THAT WAS PROVIDED
BY GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER.
MEASURED A LOT OF THE
ATMOSPHERIC CONSTITUENTS
AROUND THE MOON.
MOST OF THEM WERE NOBLE GASES,
AS YOU CAN SEE.
ARGON, HELIUM, NEON,
THINGS LIKE THAT.
BUT THEY WERE ABLE TO PICK UP
AND CHARACTERIZE
A HANDFUL OF OTHER GASES
AS WELL.
THERE WAS AN ULTRAVIOLET
AND VISIBLE SPECTROMETER,
THAT WAS PROVIDED
BY DR. TONY COLAPRETE
HERE AT NASA AMES
RESEARCH CENTER,
AND A LOT OF THE TEAM I'VE SEEN
FILTERING IN HERE AS WELL.
THAT SPECTROMETER WORKS
TO CHARACTERIZE THE SPECIES
OF ELEMENTS THAT WE SEE
IN THE EXOSPHERIC DUST.
WHETHER THEY'RE THINGS LIKE
SODIUM OR POTASSIUM,
OR OTHER ELEMENTS
UP IN THE ATMOSPHERE THERE.
AND IT'S DONE BY MEASURING
EITHER THE EMISSIONS
OR THE TRANSMITTED LIGHT
COMING THROUGH THE SUN
THAT IS THEN ATTENUATED
BY THE LUNAR DUST.
AND THEN LASTLY, THERE WAS
A LUNAR DUST EXPERIMENT
THAT MEASURED IN SITU DUST.
IT WAS ACTUALLY CHARACTERIZING
THE IMPACTS
OF THE DUST PARTICLES
AS LADEE FLEW AROUND.
AND THOSE ARE
THE MAJOR ELEMENTS
THAT CHARACTERIZE THE
ATMOSPHERE--GOT THE SCIENCE.
AND I'LL HAVE
A FEW CHARTS LATER
THAT'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT
ABOUT THAT.
OUR LASERCOMM PAYLOAD,
YOU CAN SEE HERE,
WAS MOUNTED ON THE SIDE
OF THE LADEE SPACECRAFT.
THERE WERE A COUPLE
OF INTERNAL INSTRUMENTS AS WELL,
OR INTERNAL COMPONENTS
OF THAT.
THIS WAS, AS I SAID,
A TECH DEMO.
THEY WEREN'T REALLY SURE
WHETHER THIS WOULD WORK.
AND WE THOUGHT THAT WE WOULD
HAVE TO TAKE A SIGNIFICANT
AMOUNT OF TIME MAKING IT WORK,
SPEND A LOT OF TIME TRYING
TO SYNC UP THE TRANSMITTER
AND ITS GROUND STATION.
AS IT TURNED OUT,
WE WERE ABLE TO ACQUIRE WITH IT
ON ALMOST THE FIRST TRY
THAT WE HAD.
AND BY THE END OF THE MISSION,
THEY WERE ABLE TO ACHIEVE
OVER 600-MEGABIT-PER-SECOND
DOWNLINK
AND ABOUT 20-MEGABIT-PER-SECOND
UPLINK FROM THE GROUND.
THIS IS ORDERS
OF MAGNITUDE
BEYOND WHAT WE'VE BEEN
ABLE TO DO
WITH RF-BASED COMMUNICATIONS
IN THAT REGIME.
THE GODDARD TEAM
THAT WORKED ON THAT
WITH MIT LINCOLN LABS
IS NOW WORKING ON TRYING
TO DO ANOTHER DEMONSTRATION OFF
THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION,
WHERE THEY CAN PUSH THESE SPEEDS
INTO GIGABIT-TYPE--
GIGABIT-PER-SECOND-TYPE SPEEDS.
BUT THE NICE THING
THAT YOU CAN SEE
IS THAT WE WERE ABLE TO DO FULLY
AUTONOMOUS LOCKUP,
AND WE WERE ABLE
TO DO STREAMING VIDEO.
THAT MIGHT NOT SEEM
LIKE A LOT,
BUT WHEN WE'RE SENDING
ASTRONAUTS OUT
TO DEEP-SPACE ENVIRONMENTS,
BEING ABLE TO ALLOW THEM
TO MAINTAIN LINKS WITH EARTH,
LINKS WITH THEIR FAMILIES,
LINKS WITH PEOPLE HERE,
IS A MAJOR PART ON BEING ABLE
TO ALLOW THEM TO OPERATE
IN THE SPACE FLIGHT ENVIRONMENT
FOR THAT LONG.
SO BEING ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE
THESE TYPE OF CAPABILITIES
IS A HUGE BENEFIT
FOR EXTENDING ASTRONAUTS
INTO THAT DEEP-SPACE REGIME.
IN TERMS OF THE FLIGHT SYSTEM
OVERVIEW,
I HAVE A NICE
LITTLE MODEL HERE.
I THINK A FEW PEOPLE--
JIM CANNON PROBABLY
REMEMBERS THIS.
BUTLER HINE, A FEW OF
THE LADEE FOLKS IN HERE.
THIS WAS WHAT LADEE
LOOKED LIKE
PROBABLY ABOUT FIVE YEARS AGO
OR SO.
AND THEN ON THE SCREEN HERE
YOU CAN SEE
WHAT LADEE LOOKED LIKE RIGHT
BEFORE LAUNCHING.
AND SO YOU CAN SEE
HOW IT CHANGED A LITTLE BIT.
IT USED TO BE THREE MODULES.
ENDED UP BEING FOUR
WHEN WE ACTUALLY FLEW IT.
THERE WAS A NICE THERMAL
RADIATOR ON THE TOP PANEL
OF THE SPACECRAFT THAT WE WERE
TRYING TO KEEP OPEN
SO WE COULD REJECT AS MUCH HEAT
TO THE ENVIRONMENT AS WE COULD.
AND YOU CAN SEE,
IN THE END,
WE HAD TO COVER UP
A LOT OF THAT RADIATOR
WITH THINGS LIKE STAR TRACKER
BAFFLES, AND HARNESS,
AND OTHER DEVICES.
THERE'S A PART OF THE EVOLUTION
THAT WE GO THROUGH
IN TERMS OF A SYSTEM
ENGINEERING PROCESS.
WHEN WE STARTED OUT
PUTTING THE DESIGN TOGETHER,
WE HAD OUR BEST ESTIMATES,
OUR BEST GUESSES
AT WHAT THE MISSION
WOULD REQUIRE.
WE PLACED THOSE
INSTRUMENTS DOWN,
AND AS THE DESIGN EVOLVED,
WE WERE ABLE TO GO THROUGH AND
FIND ALL THE SUPPORTING HARDWARE
THAT WE HAD MISSED
IN THE FIRST TIME,
OR THE FIRST CUT THAT WE'D DONE
THROUGH THE DESIGN.
AND SO YOU CAN SEE
KIND OF AN EVOLUTION
AS THE DESIGN PROGRESSES THERE.
THE SPACECRAFT ITSELF
HAS AN ALL-COMPOSITE STRUCTURE.
IT'S A COMPOSITE
FACESHEETS
WITH AN ALUMINUM
HONEYCOMB CORE IN IT.
AND SEE HERE WE HAVE
A SINGLE-STAGE
BIPROPELLANT SYSTEM,
AND I'LL TALK
A LITTLE BIT LATER
ABOUT SOME OF THE CHALLENGES
THAT WE HAD IN INTEGRATING THAT.
THEY'RE ALL BODY-MOUNTED
SOLAR ARRAYS.
WE DIDN'T DEPLOY
ANY SOLAR ARRAYS.
AND THAT WAS DONE TO REDUCE
RISK, KEEP OUR COSTS DOWN.
WE HAD ABOUT A 24-AMP-HOUR
LITHIUM ION BATTERY.
IT'S A FAIRLY
STANDARD BATTERY.
THEY ACTUALLY MAKE THOSE OUT OF
THE SMALL DOUBLE-A-TYPE CELLS
THAT YOU WOULD FIND
IN MOST STORES AROUND.
AND THEN THEY PUT A LOT
OF BATTERY CHARGE PROTECTION,
AND OTHER CIRCUITS
AROUND IT
TO KEEP THE BATTERY WORKING
FUNCTIONALLY AND WORKING WELL
OVER THE LIFE
OF OUR MISSION.
WE HAD AN S-BAND
COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO,
YOU KNOW,
PUSH ABOUT 128 KILOBITS
PER SECOND DOWN FROM THE MOON,
AND ABOUT TWO KILOBITS
PER SECOND UP.
AND IN THAT STATEMENT ALONE,
YOU CAN SEE THE DIFFERENCE
IN WHAT NORMAL RF SYSTEMS
AND LASER OPTICAL SYSTEMS
CAN PROVIDE.
THEIR ORDERS OF THOUSANDS OF
ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE DIFFERENCE
IN THE AMOUNT OF DATA
THAT WE CAN GET BACK.
AND THAT DIRECTLY HELPS
OUR ASTRONAUTS,
AND IT ALSO
HELPS OUR SCIENCE.
WE WERE LIMITED IN THE NUMBER
OF SCIENCE OBSERVATIONS
THAT WE COULD TAKE BY THE AMOUNT
THAT WE COULD TRANSMIT BACK.
IF WE'D HAVE BEEN ABLE
TO USE THAT LASERCOMM SYSTEM
FOR THE LIFE OF THE MISSION,
WE'D HAVE BEEN ABLE TO RETURN
A LOT MORE DATA.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING WE LOOK
FORWARD TO USING IN THE FUTURE.
SO THAT'S A KIND OF A SUMMARY
OF THE SYSTEM ITSELF.
THE SYSTEM WAS ABOUT 130--
OR ABOUT 300 KILOGRAMS,
AND ABOUT 134 KILOGRAMS
OF PROPELLANT
WHEN WE FINALLY
LAUNCHED IT.
AND SO WE GET INTO, NOW,
BUTLER HINE,
THE PROJECT MANAGER
FOR THE MISSION,
CAME AND GAVE A TALK
LAST YEAR.
THAT WAS JUST BEFORE WE'D
STARTED TO DO MOST OF THIS WORK,
AND SHIPPED IT OFF TO WALLOPS
AND LAUNCHED IT.
AS WE CAN SEE HERE, HERE'S THE
ROUTE THAT WE ACTUALLY TOOK
WHEN WE WERE SHIPPING LADEE FROM
AMES RESEARCH CENTER
OUT TO WALLOPS
FLIGHT FACILITY.
WE STARTED OUT HERE AND WE
PACKED IT ONTO A NICE CONVOY.
YOU CAN SEE WE HAVE A LARGE
TRUCK THERE IN THE CENTER,
AND A LEAD CAR,
AND A FOLLOW CAR.
AND WE HAD ABOUT FIVE OR SIX
OF THE PEOPLE
FROM THE LADEE PROJECT ITSELF.
WE HAD SOME PEOPLE
FROM AMES PROTECTIVE SERVICES.
WE HAD Q.A. PEOPLE
TRAVELING WITH IT
TO MAKE SURE THAT WHAT WAS GOING
ON WAS IN ACCORDANCE.
AND WE ACTUALLY HAD A COUPLE
OF NICE PEOPLE THAT VOLUNTEERED
FROM THE CENTER TO DRIVE ALONG
WITH THE VEHICLE ITSELF,
JUST BECAUSE THE TEAM ITSELF
HAD A LOT OF OTHER WORK TO DO.
I THINK YVONNE CAGLE
AND DANA LYNCH,
AND MAYBE A FEW OTHERS
HAD MADE THE TRIP OUT WITH US.
A LOT OF THE PEOPLE
THAT ACTUALLY MADE THAT TRIP
WERE YOUNGER PEOPLE
WHO HAD BEEN ON THE PROJECT,
BUT HAD BEEN WORKING REALLY HARD
AND DID IT THERE.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS, ANOTHER
KEY NOTE THAT YOU'LL SEE
IN GOING THROUGH THIS,
IS THAT EVEN IF YOU'RE YOUNG
AND STARTING OUT
IN A NEW ENTRY
TO THE AMES SYSTEM,
YOU'RE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY
TO PROVE YOURSELF
AND DO A LOT OF THINGS
THAT ACTUALLY MAKE MAJOR IMPACTS
ON THESE PROJECTS.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO WAIT
FOR 20 YEARS
BEFORE YOU CAN DO SOMETHING
THAT'S ACTUALLY GOING
TO FLY IN SPACE.
YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO DO THAT
FROM COMING IN.
AFTER WE'D GOTTEN THE SYSTEM
ALL PACKED UP AND READY TO GO,
WE TOOK ONE LAST PICTURE.
AND THIS WAS SEEN AS A VERY
AUSPICIOUS OMEN,
BECAUSE YOU CAN SEE THERE
IN THE THING--
TOP CENTER OF IT,
YOU CAN SEE THE MOON.
AND THERE YOU CAN
SEE OUR DESTINATION
RIGHT AS WE'RE STARTING OUT
OUR JOURNEY,
AND SEE WHERE
WE'RE SHIPPING TO.
AND THIS WAS SEEN AS A GREAT
OMEN FOR THE TRIP ITSELF.
AND AS WE WERE
DRIVING ALONG,
YOU CAN SEE THAT OUR
PHOTOGRAPHER ALONG THE WAY
DECIDED WHERE WE WANTED
TO DOCUMENT THE TRIP.
AND YOU CAN SEE US CROSSING OVER
INTO THE STATE OF ARIZONA THERE.
I DIDN'T INCLUDE
A PICTURE OF IT,
BUT, YOU KNOW, A FEW HOURS
AFTER STARTING OFF,
OUR TEAM RAN INTO
A SMALL PROBLEM
WHERE ONE OF OUR
AIR CONDITIONING UNITS
STARTED THROWING UP
AN ERROR.
AND THEY DIDN'T WANT TO CONTINUE
IF WE WEREN'T CONDITIONED,
AND HAD CLEAN AIR AND COOL AIR
IN THE VEHICLE.
SO WE ACTUALLY HAD TO STOP
AT DRYDEN FLIGHT FACILITY,
AND TAKE--AND STOP
AND REPAIR THAT UNIT.
LUCKILY, IT TURNED OUT
TO BE A WIRE
THAT HAD KIND OF
VIBRATED LOOSE,
AND THEY WERE ABLE TO REPAIR
THAT FAIRLY QUICKLY
AND CONTINUE ON THEIR WAY.
BUT IT SPEAKS TO THE CHALLENGES
THAT YOU SEE
THAT YOU DIDN'T REALLY PLAN FOR
OR EXPECT.
BUT ALL THE THINGS
THAT YOU HAVE TO KIND OF HAVE
A CONTINGENCY PLAN
IN PLACE FOR.
CONTINUING ON, YOU CAN SEE
THAT THE MOON IN THE BACKGROUND
WITH LADEE TRAVELING
BECAME A FREQUENT FOCUS
OF THE PICTURES THAT OUR
DOCUMENTER DECIDED TO FOCUS ON.
THIS WAS AS WE WERE CROSSING
OVER FROM NEW MEXICO INTO TEXAS.
AND THEN YOU CAN SEE HERE
THEM PULLING IN
ON THEIR LAST--ON THEIR MIDWAY
STOP INTO AMARILLO, TEXAS.
THAT WAS WHERE THE TEAM STOPPED
ABOUT HALFWAY THROUGH
AND TOOK ABOUT A HALF A DAY
OR A DAY BREAK
IN THE MIDDLE
OF THEIR DRIVING.
AND, AGAIN, YOU CAN SEE
LADEE
WITH THE MOON UP IN THE--
I THINK OUR VIDEOGRAPHER
WAS BECOMING A BIT OF A LUNATIC
AT THIS POINT.
AND THAT'S THE LAST
REALLY HORRENDOUS PUN
THAT YOU'LL GET FOR THE DAY.
CONTINUING ON,
AFTER WE LEFT...
I'LL GO BACK ONE.
ONE OF THE ITEMS
THAT WE WERE CONCERNED ABOUT:
AS WE WERE COMING
INTO AMARILLO, TEXAS,
ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE DAYS
PRIOR THERE WAS A--
A STRING OF VERY LARGE
TORNADOES
THAT HAD PASSED THROUGH
OKLAHOMA CITY.
SOME OF YOU MAY REMEMBER
FROM LAST YEAR.
THERE WAS A LOT OF DESTRUCTION,
THERE WAS A LOT OF PEOPLE
THAT HAD LOST HOUSES.
A FEW PEOPLE LOST THEIR LIVES
AND WHATNOT.
WE WERE CONCERNED
ABOUT IT,
BUT BY THE TIME
THAT WE'D GOT THERE,
THE CREWS HAD CLEANED UP
THE ROUTE ENOUGH
THAT WE WERE ABLE
TO CONTINUE ON THROUGH.
BUT I KNOW WE HAD TO CONSIDER
WHETHER WE WANTED
TO HEAD NORTH INTO KANSAS
OR SOUTH INTO TEXAS,
OR A FEW DIFFERENT THINGS
ALONG THOSE WAY.
AND THE TEAM ITSELF
AND OUR PROTECTED SERVICES
HAD TO SET UP A LOT OF DIFFERENT
WAYPOINTS OR WAY STATIONS,
WHERE IF WE RAN
INTO INCLEMENT WEATHER
OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT
ON THE WAY,
WE COULD GET LADEE
INTO A RESTING SPACE
WITHIN TWO OR THREE HOURS.
SO THEY HAD TO DO A LOT OF WORK
IN PLANNING THAT ROUTE OUT.
AND SEE HERE,
THE NEXT DAY
THEY'RE STARTING TO PULL
INTO THE STATE OF VIRGINIA
AS LIGHT CAME BACK UP AGAIN.
I DON'T HAVE A LOT OF PICTURES
FROM THAT POINT.
I THINK OUR VIDEOGRAPHER
BECAME TIRED AT THAT POINT.
HE STOPPED DOCUMENTING QUITE
AS MANY PLACES THEY WENT TO.
AND THEN ON THE FAR SIDE
OF VIRGINIA,
YOU CAN SEE WE ACTUALLY
HAD TO GO THROUGH A TUNNEL.
AND WE HAD TO DO
A LOT OF PLANNING
TO MAKE SURE THAT LADEE ITSELF
AND THE TRUCK IT WAS IN
WOULD FIT THROUGH A TUNNEL
ON THE WAY
TO THE LAUNCH SITE ITSELF.
AND THEN ON THE LAST
PICTURE THERE,
YOU CAN SEE WE FINALLY ARRIVED
AT WALLOPS FLIGHT FACILITY
ON A NICE,
SOMEWHAT CLOUDY DAY,
BUT A VERY BEAUTIFUL DAY.
AND LADEE WAS ABLE
TO MAKE THAT TRIP
IN VERY GOOD TIME
AND WITH VERY GOOD WEATHER.
WE WERE ACTUALLY VERY LUCKY
WITH THE WEATHER
ALONG A LOT OF THE STOPS
ON THE MISSION.
SO WHEN WE GOT TO WALLOPS
FLIGHT FACILITY,
WE HAD A FEW THINGS
THAT WE HAD TO DO.
AND ONE OF THEM IS WE HAD
TO SPIN BALANCE LADEE
AND THIS WAS A--
A TEST OR AN OPERATION THAT
WE WERE PRETTY NERVOUS ABOUT.
AS YOU CAN SEE,
WE HAD TO PUT LADEE
IN THE LARGE FACILITY,
GET EVERYONE OUT OF THERE
AND MAKE CALCULATIONS ON HOW FAR
BACK FROM THE VEHICLE
THEY NEEDED TO BE IN CASE
SOMETHING CAME OFF OF IT.
MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE WAS SAFE
IN OPERATIONS AND WORKING ON IT.
THE REASON THAT WE HAD TO SPIN
BALANCE LADEE LIKE THIS
IS THAT LADEE
WAS DESIGNED TO SPIN
WHILE ITS--THE FIFTH STAGE
OF THE LAUNCH VEHICLE FIRED
AND THRUSTED IT ON ITS WAY
TO THE MOON.
AND SO WE HAD TO MAKE SURE
THAT IT WAS VERY WELL BALANCED.
FOR OTHER OPERATIONS,
WE HAD TO MAKE SURE
THAT THAT CENTRAL THRUSTER
THAT YOU SEE
DOWN IN THE INTERSTAGE
ADAPTOR THERE
WAS ALSO VERY WELL BALANCED
AND ALIGNED
WITHIN ABOUT TWO HUNDREDTHS
OF AN INCH
IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT
WE COULD MEET THE REQUIREMENTS
THAT WE HAD ON OPERATIONS.
AND SO THIS TEST, THE TEAM
GOT IT UP ON THE VEHICLE,
PUT SOME BALLAST ON IT.
THEN YOU CAN SEE HERE
THEY CUT THE VIDEO IN HALF
SO YOU DIDN'T HAVE
TO WATCH ALL OF IT.
BUT IT GOT UP PRETTY FAST.
THIS WAS ABOUT ON ORDER
OF WHAT THE SPIN RATE
OF THE VEHICLE WAS
WHILE IT WAS DOING
ITS MISSION.
AND THAT CAUSED A LOT
OF CONSTERNATIONS
AND DEEP BREATHS
AND FUN MOMENTS.
AND WHEN WE FOUND THAT IT WAS
ABLE TO PASS THAT ALL,
WE WERE ALL VERY HAPPY.
ONE OF THE KEY TAKEAWAYS
THAT YOU CAN SEE FROM IT THERE
YOU CAN SEE A VERY BLURRY
LADEE ALL AROUND,
AND YOU CAN SEE OUR OCS,
THAT MAIN NOZZLE ON THE BOTTOM.
VERY NICE, VERY STEADY.
YOU CAN SEE A PERFECT SHAPE.
THEY WERE ABLE TO BALANCE
THAT NOZZLE OUT EXTREMELY WELL,
AND THE SYSTEM ITSELF
PERFORMED
OVER THE LIFE OF THE MISSION
EXTREMELY WELL.
ANOTHER FUN ACTIVITY WAS THAT
THE TEAM DECIDED TO PRACTICE
THEIR YMCA MOVES.
WE HAVE A GREAT "Y" AND AN "M",
KIND OF A "C."
IN ORDER TO FUEL
LADEE--
LADEE USED
A BIPROPELLANT SYSTEM.
THE PROPELLANTS ON IT WERE
TOXIC, THEY'RE CARCINOGENIC.
THEY CAN CAUSE
BIRTH DEFECTS.
SO IN ORDER TO USE THEM,
YOU HAVE TO BE TRAINED UP
TO USE A SCAPE SUIT,
BASICALLY A SPACE SUIT
WITHOUT SOME OF THE HARD WALLS
AND RADIATION TOLERANTS
LIKE THAT.
A LOT OF THE PEOPLE
THAT DID THIS WORK, TOO,
WERE ALSO FAIRLY NEW TO THE
PROJECT, FAIRLY NEW TO AMES.
YOU COULD ARGUE THAT WE WERE
SENDING THE INTERNS IN
TO DO THE DANGEROUS WORK.
I PREFER TO SAY THAT THESE
INDIVIDUALS DID EXCELLENT WORK
THROUGHOUT THE MISSION,
AND REALLY WORKED HARD,
AND PUT THEMSELVES
IN A POSITION
WHERE THEY WERE ABLE
TO DIRECTLY CONTRIBUTE
TO WHAT LADEE WAS ABLE
TO DO AS A SUCCESS.
AGAIN, IF YOU COME HERE,
WE'LL GIVE YOU THINGS THAT
YOU CAN DO RIGHT OFF THE START.
AND THEN WE TRANSITION
INTO LAUNCH.
ONCE WE HAD IT FUELED
AND ON THE STACK,
WE WERE ABLE TO LAUNCH IT.
IT LAUNCHED WITHIN ABOUT
THE FIRST TEN SECONDS
OF ITS LAUNCH WINDOW
OPENING.
WE HAD ALMOST PERFECT
WEATHER FOR THAT.
WE WERE WORRIED
ABOUT HURRICANES,
WE WERE WORRIED ABOUT
HIGH WINDS,
WE WERE WORRIED
ABOUT CLOUDS AND THUNDERSTORMS.
AND THE DAY OF, THE WEATHER
WAS ALMOST PERFECT.
YOU CAN SEE A PHOTO
FROM OUR TEAM THERE
FROM THE CHINCOTEAGUE AREA NEAR
THE WALLOPS FLIGHT FACILITY.
IT WENT BEAUTIFULLY.
YOU CAN SEE HERE A VIEW
FROM NEW YORK CITY.
I BELIEVE THIS IS OFF
OF ROCKEFELLER CENTER.
AND YOU CAN SEE THE CITY
THERE IN THE BACKGROUND.
YOU KNOW, DR. WORDEN SAID
THAT HE WAS MILDLY PARANOID
FOR SEVERAL DECADES
ABOUT EVER SEEING AN ICBM
ON A TRAJECTORY
OVER THE EASTERN COAST,
BUT THIS IS ONE THAT WE WERE
ALL HAPPY TO SEE.
AND THEN ONE OF THE MORE
INTERESTING VIEWS YOU CAN SEE
IS HERE FROM A SUBORBITAL
AMPHIBIAN.
THE WALLOPS FLIGHT
FACILITY TEAM,
IN REVIEWING
THE CAMERA FOOTAGE
THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO PICK UP
FROM THE LAUNCH,
WAS ABLE TO FIND OUT,
UNFORTUNATELY,
THERE WAS A SMALL FROG
THAT WAS KIND OF PICKED UP
IN A PLUME FROM
THE VEHICLE ITSELF.
NOW, THE LAUNCH SITE TEAMS
DO A LOT OF WORK
TO TRY TO SCARE ANIMALS AROUND
OUT OF THE WAY.
THEY SET OFF SIRENS.
THEY HAVE HAWKS
AND THINGS LIKE THAT
THAT THEY TRY TO GET ANIMALS
OUT OF THE WAY,
BUT THEY DON'T ALWAYS WORK.
THIS IS JUST ONE OF THOSE
SERENDIPITOUS MOMENTS
WHERE YOU SEE SOMETHING
THAT YOU COULD HAVE
NEVER PLANNED OR INTENDED.
AND WE NOW ALLOW THE FROG
TO JOIN SPACE BAT
IN OUR LIST OF UNINTENTIONAL
ASTRONAUTS.
LADEE'S JOURNEY
TO THE MOON.
YOU CAN SEE HERE
AFTER OUR LAUNCH,
WE HAD A PLAN THAT TOOK US OUT
ON THREE PHASING LOOPS.
AND ON EACH OF THOSE LOOPS,
WE HAD TO PLAN
FOR UP TO TWO BURNS PER LOOP.
WE WERE WORRIED THAT THE SOLID
VEHICLE, THE MINOTAUR V,
SINCE IT WAS
THE FIRST FLIGHT,
WE WEREN'T SURE
EXACTLY HOW WELL
THAT THAT WOULD INJECT US
INTO ORBIT.
TURNED OUT THAT IT WAS
ALMOST PERFECT.
OUR ORBIT DETERMINATION
LAUNCH TEAM SAID
STATISTICALLY PERFECT IS WHAT
THE LAUNCH HAD PROVIDED FOR US.
SO WE WERE ABLE TO CANCEL
MOST OF THE ACTUAL MANEUVERS
THAT WE HAD PLANNED.
THE ONE CHALLENGING THING
ABOUT ALL OF THIS, THOUGH,
IS YOU CAN SEE
THE DATES THERE.
9/13, 9/21.
THOSE WERE ALL DURING THE
GOVERNMENT SHUT-DOWN LAST YEAR.
LADEE'S FLIGHT OPERATIONS TEAM
WAS DETERMINED
TO BE A MISSION-CRITICAL CREW.
SO WE GOT TO COME IN
AND GUIDE THE VEHICLE,
AND WATCH THE VEHICLE
AS IT WAS DOING THESE STEPS.
BUT WE GOT TO COME
INTO A GHOST CENTER.
THERE WAS ALMOST
NO ONE HERE.
IT WAS LIKE COMING INTO A ZOMBIE
MOVIE ON THE WEEKENDS,
AND SEEING NO ONE AROUND.
BUT WHILE WE WERE ABLE
TO DO THAT,
WE WERE ABLE TO EXECUTE
THE FOUR BURNS
THAT PUT US INTO A NICE
TRAJECTORY TO THE MOON.
AND THEN LUNAR ORBIT
INSERTION WAS--
THE FIRST BURN WAS PERFORMED
ON OCTOBER 6th OF LAST YEAR.
YOU CAN SEE A SUMMARY
OF THE BURNS
DOWN THERE
IN THE LOWER RIGHT,
BUT YOU CAN SEE THE PERFORMANCE
ERROR ON NEARLY ALL OF THOSE
WAS LESS THAN A PERCENT.
THE LADEE PROPULSION SYSTEM
WORKED VERY WELL
DUE TO THE SPIN BALANCING AND
THE STRUCTURAL DESIGN EFFORTS
THAT OUR TEAM WENT THROUGH.
THERE WERE A LOT OF QUESTIONS
ABOUT THE LADEE ORBIT,
AND WHY IT TOOK US
AS MUCH EFFORT
AS IT'S TOOK
TO PUT ON IT.
THIS MODEL IS A MODEL
OF THE LUNAR GRAVITY FIELD
THAT CAME OFF
OF THE GRAIL MISSION.
YOU CAN SEE HERE, THEY'RE
SHOWING THE RELATIVE INFLUENCE
FROM ONE SIDE OF THE MOON
TO THE OTHER.
AND YOU CAN SEE
MASS CONCENTRATIONS.
ON THE NEAR SIDE
OF THE MOON,
YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE'S
NOT A WHOLE LOT.
IT LOOKS LIKE
IT'S PRETTY MILD.
AND ON THE FAR SIDE,
YOU CAN SEE
SOME PRETTY BIG
MASS CONCENTRATIONS.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT
THEY'RE ACTUALLY PRETTY SPOTTY.
NORTH VERSUS SOUTH.
LADEE ITSELF
WAS IN AN EQUATORIAL ORBIT.
A LOT OF THE POLAR ORBITS
ARE ABLE TO GET AWAY
FROM SOME OF THESE
MASS CONCENTRATIONS.
BUT LADEE'S ORBIT
WAS PERTURBED HIGHLY.
YOU CAN SEE A GRAPHIC
OF BASICALLY WHAT IT DOES HERE.
AS LADEE
WAS TRAVELING AROUND,
THOSE MASS CONCENTRATIONS
ON ONE SIDE OF THE MOON
WOULD ESSENTIALLY
PULL OUR PERIGEE,
OR PERIAPSE,
IN CLOSER,
AND PUSH THE APOAPSE A LITTLE
BIT FARTHER FROM THE MOON.
AND SO,
AS THE MISSION EVOLVED,
WE WERE FORCED TO CONSTANTLY
PERFORM MANEUVERS
TO CORRECT OUR ORBIT.
PREVENT OURSELVES FROM RUNNING
INTO THE MOON,
AND PREVENT OURSELVES
FROM DRIFTING TOO FAR AWAY
TO COLLECT USEFUL SCIENCE
FROM OUR INSTRUMENTS.
AND THEN YOU CAN SEE,
DOWN THERE AT THE END,
THAT RELOCATED MARGIN,
THAT WAS TIME THAT WE WERE ABLE
TO PUT INTO SCIENCE OPERATIONS
THAT WE WEREN'T
ORIGINALLY BOOKING.
AND THAT WAS DUE TO
THE NEAR-PERFECT PERFORMANCE
THAT WE HAD FROM
OUR LAUNCH VEHICLE
AND FROM OUR PROPULSION SYSTEM
DURING THOSE BURNS.
WE WERE ABLE TO USE
THE EXTRA MARGIN WE HAD
TO RETURN MORE SCIENCE.
SOME OF THE SCIENCE MEASUREMENTS
WE DID--I'LL GET INTO THESE.
LADEE ARGON MEASUREMENTS.
THESE WERE RETURNED
BY THE NMS INSTRUMENT.
APOLLO 17 DETERMINED
A LOT OF ARGON AROUND THE MOON.
AND IT WAS NOT DETECTED BY THE
LUNAR RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER.
THE LUNAR RECON ORBITER
WAS A LOT HIGHER UP
THAN THE APOLLO 17 WERE.
BUT ONE OF THE QUESTIONS
WAS WHETHER THAT ARGON
WAS REALLY THERE,
WHETHER IT WAS BEING BROUGHT IN
FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE,
OR WHAT WAS GOING ON.
YOU CAN SEE KIND OF A SCHEMATIC
DOWN IN THE BOTTOM LEFT-HAND
ABOUT WHAT THE BEHAVIOR OF
THE ARGON WAS AROUND THE MOON.
WHEN IT WAS HOT, YOU COULD SEE
THOSE ARGON MOLECULES
PICKING UP A LOT OF ENERGY
FROM THE SUN.
THE SOLAR ENERGY INCIDENT ON IT.
AND BEING ABLE TO LOFT
THEMSELVES UP FAIRLY HIGH,
TENS OF KILOMETERS
OFF THE LUNAR SURFACE.
AND THEN WHEN THEY CAME DOWN
OVER THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON,
THEY COOLED OFF FAIRLY RAPIDLY
AND BOUNCED MUCH LOWER,
AND BASICALLY STUCK
TO THE SURFACE.
AND THEN WHEN THEY GOT BACK HOT,
THEY WOULD POP BACK UP AGAIN.
AND SO YOU CAN SEE THAT
POINTED OUT
IN THE GRAPHICS
ON THE RIGHT
FROM THE NMS TEAM,
SHOWING WHERE THEY MEASURED
THE HIGHEST CONCENTRATIONS
OF ARGON.
THERE WAS A FAIRLY LARGE
QUESTION
AT THE START OF THE MISSION
ABOUT WHETHER THIS ARGON
WOULD BE FOUND IN ONE PLACE,
OR WHETHER IT WOULD DIFFUSE
ALL AROUND THE MOON OR NOT.
IF THIS DIFFUSION ACTION
WAS FAIRLY FAST,
THEN WE WOULD EXPECT
TO SEE ARGON
PRETTY MUCH CONSTANTLY
AROUND THE MOON,
AND JUST WHETHER IT WAS HOT
OR WHETHER IT WAS COLD
YOU'D SEE MORE OR LESS.
HOWEVER, WE KNOW THAT THERE
IS SOME ARGON 40 BEING GENERATED
AS A RESULT OF THE RADIOACTIVE
DECAY OF POTASSIUM 40
THAT'S IN THE LUNAR CRUST.
AND IF THAT GENERATION
MECHANISM
IS FASTER THAN
THE DIFFUSION MECHANISM,
WE MIGHT BE ABLE
TO FIND SOMETHING
THAT THERE WAS CONCENTRATED
ARGON AROUND THE LUNAR SURFACE.
AND WHAT THEY ACTUALLY
DID FIND WAS
THERE IS A FAIRLY HIGH
CONCENTRATION
ON THE LUNAR SURFACE.
IT'S AROUND MINUS-50 DEGREES
LATITUDE.
IT'S AROUND AN AREA
CALLED ARISTARCHUS.
AND THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE
WORKING VERY HARD
TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT
WHY THIS IS.
ABOUT ALL THAT OUR MISSION
SCIENTISTS WILL TELL US
ABOUT THIS AT THE MOMENT IS THAT
THIS LOCATION IS SPECIAL.
WE'RE NOT EXACTLY SURE WHY.
WE THINK THAT IT HAS
SOMETHING TO DO
WITH HOW THE MOON ITSELF
WAS FORMED,
HOW PLANETOLOGY,
HOW THE PLANETS ARE EVOLVING,
BUT THEY HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE
TO FULLY EXPLAIN THAT YET.
THAT'S SOMETHING
THAT'S STILL ONGOING.
MOVING ON TO SOME OF OUR
OTHER INSTRUMENTS.
THIS IS--I'LL TALK
A LITTLE BIT MORE
ABOUT SOME
OF THE OPERATIONS.
THIS INSTRUMENT, UVS,
WAS A LITTLE BIT MORE
OPERATIONALLY INTENSIVE.
THEY HAD TO PUT TOGETHER
A LOT OF DIFFERENT PROFILES
ABOUT HOW WE USE
THEIR INSTRUMENTS
SO THAT THEY COULD GET
GOOD DATA OFF OF IT.
THERE'S A COUPLE OF IMAGES HERE
THAT TALK ABOUT
HOW DATA WAS RETURNED.
IN THIS CASE, AS WE WERE COMING
BACK FROM BEHIND THE MOON,
IN THE DARK-LIT PORTION,
THEY WOULD TURN ON
THEIR INSTRUMENT
AND TAKE READINGS FROM THE DARK
PORTION OF THE MOON.
AND THEN, AS THEY WERE
APPROACHING THE TERMINATOR,
YOU CAN SEE THE FAINT GLOW
FROM THE SUN APPROACHING.
YOU COULD START SEEING
THE ACTUAL DUST PARTICLES
IN THE ATMOSPHERE GETTING HOT
AND EMITTING DATA.
AND SO THEY WERE ABLE
TO THEN USE THAT
TO TURN IT INTO THE DATA
PRODUCTS ON THE RIGHT.
YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE ROUGH
DATA PRODUCTS ON THE TOP RIGHT.
AND IN THE BOTTOM RIGHT, YOU CAN
SEE THE PROCESS DATA PRODUCTS.
AND SO THEY'LL TAKE
DIFFERENCES
BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT
MEASUREMENTS
AND THE DIFFERENT
POINTS IN TIME,
AND THEY'LL BE ABLE TO,
IN THIS CASE,
POINT OUT THAT THEY'RE SEEING
A LARGE AMOUNT OF SODIUM
AT THIS MEASUREMENT.
AND THEY'LL BE ABLE
TO USE THOSE
TO DETERMINE WHAT
THE CONSTITUENTS
AND THE RELATIVE ABUNDANCE
OF THOSE CONSTITUENTS
IN THE ATMOSPHERE ARE.
UVS ITSELF ACTUALLY
HAD SEVERAL OPERATING MODES.
I DON'T HAVE TIME TO GO
INTO ALL OF THEM HERE,
BUT A LOT OF THEM LOOKED AT
HOW THE DUST
ATTENUATED THE ATMOSPHERE
AS THE SUN WAS DROPPING DOWN
TOWARD OUR HORIZON,
OR HOW IT MIGHT BE SCATTERED
BY THE DUST IN THE ATMOSPHERE.
BUT WHAT THEY WERE
ABLE TO DO
IS MAP OUT A LOT OF SODIUM
IN THE ATMOSPHERE.
THEY WERE ABLE
TO DETERMINE,
AS YOU CAN SEE
FROM THE BOTTOM RIGHT,
THAT SODIUM VARIES A LOT
WITH LUNAR PHASE.
IT INCREASES
TOWARD FULL MOON,
BUT THEN AS THE MOON ENTERS
THE EARTH'S MAGNETOTAIL,
SODIUM PRODUCTION
DROPS OFF DRASTICALLY.
AND THEY HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE
TO EXPLAIN THAT YET.
THE TEAM IS STILL
WORKING ON THAT.
THEY'RE STILL DOING ANALYSIS.
AND THERE ARE IDEAS OF IT.
THERE ARE SOME VARIATIONS
THAT SUGGEST THAT OTHER THINGS,
SUCH AS MICROMETEORITES,
OR THINGS LIKE THAT
MIGHT BE INFLUENCING THOSE.
BUT THE EXPLANATIONS
FOR WHY THEY'RE SEEING THAT
CHANGE IN SODIUM ABUNDANCE
WILL HELP CONSTRAIN
WHAT WE'RE SEEING
IN OTHER ATMOSPHERIC--
OR OTHER PLANETARY BODIES
AROUND THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
OTHER ITEMS CHARACTERIZING
LUNAR DUST.
YOU CAN SEE HERE SOME OF
THE MEASUREMENTS FROM LDEX.
THEY RECORDED OVER 11,000
IMPACTS OVER THE MISSION.
THEY WERE ABLE TO DETERMINE
THAT THERE IS A FAIRLY LARGE
DUST CLOUD,
OR FAIRLY SUBSTANTIAL DUST CLOUD
THAT'S SUSTAINED
BY A BOMBARDMENT
FROM INTERPLANETARY PARTICLES.
AND, INTERESTINGLY,
YOU CAN SEE
THAT THAT'S NOT ACTUALLY
TOWARD THE DAYLIGHT TERMINATOR.
THE TEAM ITSELF IS WORKING ON
FINDING OUT WHY THEY DETERMINE--
OR DETECT IT MORE
AT THAT ANGLE.
IT'S PROBABLY ABOUT 10 TO 15
DEGREES OFF
FROM THE TERMINATOR ITSELF.
THEY DON'T HAVE AN EXPLANATION
FOR IT YET.
THAT'S STILL COMING UP.
MOVING ON TO A FEW
OTHER THINGS.
THE ORBIT DETERMINATION TEAM
WAS ABLE TO WORK EXTREMELY WELL
WITH THE DATA THEY WERE
RECEIVING OFF THE MISSION.
AT SOME POINT WE WERE ABLE
TO COORDINATE OURSELVES
WITH THE LUNAR RECONNAISSANCE
ORBITER.
WE WERE MOVING AT NEARLY
2.2 KILOMETERS A SECOND,
RELATIVE DELTA VELOCITY.
IT'S REALLY FAST, REALLY HARD
TO TAKE PICTURES OF THAT.
BUT WE WERE ABLE
TO GIVE THEM AN EPHEMERIS,
OR AN ESTIMATE OF WHAT OUR
POSITION WOULD BE AT SOME POINT.
THEY POINTED THEIR L.R.--
THEIR MAIN LROC CAMERA AT IT
AND TOOK A PICTURE,
AND WHAT YOU CAN SEE THERE--
THERE'S THE SOMEWHAT
PROCESSED IMAGE.
AND YOU CAN SEE WHAT THE VEHICLE
ITSELF LINED UP AFTERWARDS.
OUR TEAM WAS ABLE TO DETERMINE
OUR POSITION FAIRLY ACCURATELY
OVER THE ENTIRE DURATION
OF THE MISSION.
STAR TRACKER IMAGES.
WE WERE ABLE TO USE
OUR STAR TRACKERS AS CAMERAS
LATER IN THE MISSION, ONCE WE
DID SOME SOFTWARE CHANGES.
WE WERE ABLE TO PULL THINGS
OFF OF THEM.
YOU CAN SEE, THIS IS A SEQUENCE
WHERE WE TURNED ON THE CAMERA
AND STARTED TAKING IMAGES
AS WE WERE TRAVELING
OVER THE LUNAR SURFACE ITSELF.
AND THE CAMERA IMAGES,
WHILE NOT WONDERFUL,
WERE STILL GOOD ENOUGH
FOR US TO BE ABLE TO DETERMINE
A LOT OF THE DIFFERENT FEATURES
THAT WE WERE SEEING
ON THE SURFACE.
DIFFERENT CRATERS,
DIFFERENT MOUNTAINS,
DIFFERENT RANGES
ON THE MOON THEMSELVES.
AND YOU CAN SEE HERE,
HERE'S AN ANIMATION.
YOU CAN SEE THE PLEIADES
RUNNING PAST ON ONE SIDE.
AND ON THE OTHER SIDE,
A COLLECTION FROM A DIFFERENT
POINT IN TIME.
YOU CAN SEE
RIGHT AS WE WERE COMING
TOWARD THE DAYLIGHT
TERMINATOR,
THE CAMERAS THEMSELVES
START TRYING TO ADJUST
THEIR AUTOMATIC GAIN SETTINGS
TO DEAL WITH THE INCREASED LIGHT
COMING FROM THE SUN.
AND THERE YOU CAN SEE
THAT THE FRAME RATE
SLOWS DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY
AS THEY WERE DOING THAT.
BUT WE WERE ABLE TO GET
PRETTY GOOD DATA OFF OF THOSE
OVER THE COURSE
OF THE MISSION.
THAT WAS ONE ENGINEERING PRODUCT
THAT WE PUT TOGETHER
THAT WE DIDN'T EXPECT TO
AT FIRST.
MOVING INTO SOME OF LADEE'S LAST
DAYS,
YOU CAN SEE HERE WAS OUR
PREDICTION FOR ALTITUDE
OVER THE END
OF THE MISSION.
USING SOME OF THAT EXTRA
PROPELLANT THAT WE HAD,
WE DECIDED TO GO FOR SOME
REALLY HIGH-PRIORITY,
LOW-ALTITUDE SCIENCE.
FOR MOST OF THE MISSION,
LADEE'S PERIAPSE
WAS DOWN AT THE 35
TO 40 KILOMETER TYPE OF RANGE.
AND FOR THIS LAST PORTION
OF THE MISSION,
WE DECIDED TO TRY TO PUSH
THAT DOWN INTO THE TEN, FIVE,
AND DOWN INTO TWO KILOMETER
TYPE RANGES,
JUST TO TRY TO REALLY DETERMINE
WHETHER THE DUST ATMOSPHERE
AND THE ARGON CONCENTRATIONS
CHANGED
AT THOSE LOWER ALTITUDES.
WE ALSO DID HAVE ONE
HIGH-PRIORITY ENGINEERING TEST
THAT OCCURRED
AT SOME POINT HERE,
AND THAT ENGINEERING TEST
WAS A FOUR-HOUR LUNAR ECLIPSE.
LADEE WAS NEVER DESIGNED
TO OPERATE
THROUGH AN ECLIPSE
OF THAT MAGNITUDE.
AND AT FIRST, IT WAS THOUGHT
THAT THE SYSTEM ITSELF
WOULD FREEZE AND DIE
BECAUSE OF THE ECLIPSE.
WE WERE PLANNING ON IMPACTING
WITH THE LUNAR SURFACE
PRIOR TO THAT DATE.
WITH THE ON-ORBIT DATA
THAT WE WERE ABLE TO GATHER
ABOUT HOW THE THERMAL SYSTEM
AND OUR BATTERIES
AND OUR SOLAR ARRAY SYSTEM
WAS PERFORMING,
WE WERE ABLE TO PROJECT
THAT WE WOULD BE ABLE
TO FLY THROUGH THAT.
HEADQUARTERS GAVE US THE CHANCE
TO DO SO
IN ORDER TO TRY TO COLLECT SOME
OF THIS LOW-ALTITUDE SCIENCE.
AND LADEE DID SUCCESSFULLY
FLY THROUGH THAT ECLIPSE.
WE HAD TO RECONFIGURE
A LOT OF OUR FAULT MANAGEMENT
SO THAT THE FAULT MANAGEMENT
SYSTEM DIDN'T SHUT OFF THINGS
WHEN WE DIDN'T WANT THEM TO.
AND WE HAD TO POWER OFF
A FEW THINGS
JUST TO SUST--CONSERVE
BATTERY ENERGY.
BUT WE WERE ABLE TO DO THAT.
AFTER WE DID THAT TEST
AND WE GOT OURSELVES BACK
INTO OUR SCIENCE ORBIT,
OUR ORBIT DETERMINATION FOLKS
CAME BACK,
AND THEY DID
SOME MEASUREMENTS.
AND THEY FOUND THAT THE ORBIT
THAT WE PLACED OURSELVES
INTO THE LAST TIME
HAD SOME PRETTY LOW PREDICTED
HEIGHTS ABOVE THE LUNAR TERRAIN.
YOU CAN SEE HERE
THERE ARE TWO LINES:
ONE AT TWO KILOMETERS,
AND ONE AT ZERO KILOMETERS.
LADEE HAD A PREDICTED
UNCERTAINTY IN ITS ALTITUDE
OF AROUND TWO KILOMETERS.
SO WHEN THE TEAM NOTICED THAT,
AT SOME POINT,
WE STARTED DIPPING BELOW
THAT TWO-KILOMETER UNCERTAINTY
AND WHAT OUR ALTITUDE
PREDICTS WERE.
AND AT THAT POINT, THEY SAID
"WE ARE IN UNCERTAINTY RANGE.
SOME OF THOSE PASSES
MIGHT BE IMPACTS."
AND YOU CAN SEE HERE, SOME OF
THEM WERE ACTUALLY PREDICTED
TO BE BELOW
ZERO KILOMETERS.
NOW, THAT TWO-KILOMETER
UNCERTAINTY
WAS A PLUS OR MINUS
TWO KILOMETERS.
SO, AGAIN,
WE WERE FAIRLY HOPEFUL
THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE
TO LIVE THROUGH THIS.
BUT WHEN WE NOTICED THIS, WE
STARTED MAKING PLANS TO TAKE--
MONITOR THIS VEHICLE AND TRY
TO ACHIEVE AS MUCH SCIENCE DATA
AS WE COULD
DURING THIS TIME.
AND THE TEAM, IN SOMEWHAT
BLACK HUMOR FASHION,
DECIDED TO NAME THESE
POTENTIAL IMPACT SITES
LIKE YOU WOULD HURRICANES.
AND YOU CAN SEE ANDREA, BRUCE,
CHARLENE, DEREK, ERIN, FRANCIS,
AND A FEW OTHERS.
THE NAMING CONVENTION
THAT WE CHOSE
WAS THAT NONE OF THESE NAMES
COULD BE OF PEOPLE
ON THE ACTUAL
OPS TEAM ITSELF.
SO THEY COULDN'T BE BLAMED
FOR ANYTHING.
BUT THEN WE CAME
INTO THE OP CENTER ITSELF
AND STARTED WATCHING
AS THIS HAPPENED.
AND WE SAW ANDREA
AT 1.44 KILOMETERS
ACTUAL OVER THE SURFACE,
AND THAT LOOKS PRETTY CLOSE
TO THAT PREDICT.
AND WE SAW BRUCE
AT 1.2 KILOMETERS.
THAT LOOKS LIKE PRETTY CLOSE
TO THAT PREDICT.
AND WE SAW CHARLENE
AND DEREK AND ERIN
AT A QUARTER OF A KILOMETER
OVER THE LUNAR SURFACE.
AND THEN...
WE SAW WHAT WE SEE HERE.
AND HERE, WE CAN SEE
LADEE COMING UP,
FLYING OVER THE LUNAR SURFACE
IN ITS TRAJECTORY.
AND YOU CAN SEE THE EARTH
IN THE BACKGROUND.
AND WHAT WE WERE LOOKING AT
IN ALL THESE GEOMETRIES
WAS THE EARTH WAS FAIRLY LOW
OVER THE HORIZON.
AND ALL OF THESE IMPACT TIMES,
OR POSSIBLE IMPACT TIMES,
WAS RIGHT AROUND THE TIME
THAT WE WOULD HAVE LOST
COMMUNICATIONS
WITH THE VEHICLE ITSELF.
AND SO THERE WAS A LOT
OF UNCERTAINTY
ABOUT WHETHER
WE LOST THE SIGNAL,
WHETHER IT WAS FROM AN IMPACT
OR WHETHER IT WAS JUST BECAUSE
WE WENT BEHIND THE MOON
AND JUST LOST SIGNAL.
SO YOU CAN SEE HERE
LADEE'S FLYING ALONG,
AND ANOTHER ITEM IS IS THAT
WE GENERALLY TENDED TO FLY
IN THIS SIDEWAYS
ORIENTATION.
AND YOU CAN SEE HERE
THAT WE WERE WATCHING IT
COMING INTO THE FRANCIS
CONFIGURATION.
A RELATIVE VELOCITY OF ABOUT
1.7 KILOMETERS A SECOND.
AND RIGHT AS WE CAME UP,
WE LOST SIGNAL WITH THE VEHICLE.
AND WE CAN SEE IT HERE.
ONE OF OUR MAIN
ORBIT DYNAMISISTS WATCHING
AS THAT SIGNAL CUT OFF.
AND YOU WATCH AS FOUR AND A HALF
YEARS OF WORK
STOPPED TALKING TO YOU
IN ONE SECOND.
AND YOU WONDER,
WAS THAT IT?
OR DID WE LUCKILY MAKE IT
OVER THE SURFACE?
AND TO DATE, WE'VE NEVER HEARD
ANYTHING MORE FROM LADEE
AND THE ORBIT
THAT TERMINATION PREDICTS
SHOW THAT WE DID, IN FACT,
IMPACT THE MOON
AT A SITE ON THE OUTER EASTERN
RIM OF THE SUNDMAN V CRATER.
AND THE COORDINATES
ARE THERE AT ABOUT
11.84 X -93 LUNAR LATITUDE
AND LONGITUDES.
IF YOU WANT
TO GO LOOK AT IT,
YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE
WHERE THOSE ARE
ON A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT
MAPPING SITES.
THAT IMPACT SITE ACTUALLY
IS ON AN AREA OF THE MOON
THAT ACTUALLY LIBRATES
BACK AND FORTH.
AND SO YOU CAN SEE
THAT IMPACT SITE
AT CERTAIN TIMES
OF THE YEAR,
AND AT CERTAIN TIMES
IT'S ACTUALLY ON THE FAR SIDE.
SO THERE IS A SCHEDULE
THAT'S OUT AND PUBLISHED
ABOUT DIFFERENT TIMES THAT YOU
CAN FIND THOSE IMPACT SITES,
SO YOU CAN ACTUALLY LOOK AT THAT
WITH GROUND-BASED TELESCOPES
AND SEE IF YOU
CAN FIND ANYTHING FUN,
AND SEE LADEE'S FINAL
RESTING PLACE.
SO THAT WAS MY EXPERIENCE
OF FLYING LADEE
NOW, A FEW OF THE OTHER THINGS
THAT I WAS ASKED
TO TALK ABOUT TODAY,
WELL, WHAT'S NEXT?
AS JACOB SHOWED ABOUT
AND TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT,
ONE OF THE NEXT THINGS THAT WE
HAVE IS CALLED BIOSENTINEL.
A BIOSENTINEL IS
A 6U AUTONOMOUS NANOSATELLITE.
IT'S A LITTLE BIT BIGGER
THAN MOST OF THE CUBE SETS
THAT WE'VE FLOWN.
THERE'S ABOUT A 4U MICROFLUIDIC
BIOLOGY PAYLOAD IN THERE.
WE TAKE MICROWELLS,
WE FILL THEM WITH YEAST,
AND WE SPECIALLY TAILOR
THE STRAIN OF YEAST THAT WE HAVE
TO LOOK FOR RADIATION DAMAGE
IN THE YEAST CELLS.
AND WE CAN CORRELATE
RADIATION IMPACTS
TO GROWTH IN THE ACTUAL
YEAST CELLS.
AND WHAT WE CAN DO
IS EXTRAPOLATE THAT
TO THE RATES THAT RADIATION
IMPACTS MIGHT HAVE
ON ASTRONAUTS THAT ARE OUT
IN THE LUNAR ENVIRONMENT,
OR DEEP-SPACE ENVIRONMENTS
AS WELL.
BUT ONE OF THE CHALLENGES HERE
IS THAT WE HAVE TO RESERVE,
WITH THAT 4U BIO PAYLOAD,
WE HAVE TO RESERVE
ABOUT 2U FOR THE BUS,
ATTITUDE CONTROL, RADIOS,
GN&C HERE.
EVERYTHING ELSE.
ALL OF THE COMPLEXITY
THAT WE HAD IN LADEE,
IN A 300-,
350-KILOGRAM BUS,
WE'RE NOW TRYING TO CRAM
INTO A 14-KILOGRAM BUS.
IT DOESN'T DO QUITE AS MUCH,
BUT ALL OF THE FUNCTIONS
NEED TO BE THERE.
AND SO THIS IS A REAL
ENGINEERING CHALLENGE
TO PROVIDE SOME OF THE DATA
THAT OUR TEAM NEEDS.
FOR THAT,
SOMETIMES I LIKE
TO JOKINGLY CALL THIS
THE B.S. MISSION.
I LIKE THE ACRONYMS
OR INITIALS THERE.
BUT SINCE WE'RE ALSO
TAKING YEAST
AND GROWING YEAST IN SPACE,
I ALSO LIKE TO CALL THIS THE
BEER SAT MISSION. I DON'T KNOW.
I THINK THAT ONE'S A LITTLE MORE
POETIC NAME, PERSONALLY.
BIOSENTINEL ITSELF
IS GOING TO BE LAUNCHED
OFF OF THE SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM.
IT'S THE NEXT ITERATION
OF A LARGE, UNCREWED VEHICLE,
OR THE LARGE CREWED VEHICLES
WILL BE TAKING OUR ASTRONAUTS
TO THE MOON,
TO DEEP-SPACE TARGETS,
ASTEROIDS, TO THE MARS,
EVENTUALLY.
THIS WILL BE
A SECONDARY PAYLOAD.
THE ORBIT ITSELF IS STILL
TO BE DETERMINED.
BUT RIGHT NOW,
PRELIMINARY INDICATIONS SHOW US
GOING INTO A SLIGHTLY EARTH
INTERIOR ORBIT.
0-POINT-98 BY 0-POINT-92
ASTRONOMIC IN AN ORBIT.
ONE OF THE BIG CHALLENGES
THAT WE HAVE THERE
IS THAT WE HAVE TO RELY
ON THINGS LIKE STAR TRACKERS
FOR CONTROL.
THERE'S NO MAGNETIC FIELDS.
WE HAVE TO HAVE PROPULSION,
AS THERE'S NO MAGNETIC FIELDS
TO HELP US OUT.
AND OUR RANGES FROM EARTH
ARE EXTREMELY LONG.
AT THE END OF OUR
NOMINAL MISSION,
WE'LL BE ABOUT 40 MILLION
KILOMETERS FROM EARTH.
AT THE END OF OUR
EXTENDED MISSION,
WE'LL BE ABOUT 110 MILLION
KILOMETERS FROM EARTH.
THIS IS ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE
FARTHER THAN LADEE WAS,
AND IT'S A MAJOR
ENGINEERING CHALLENGE.
THIS IS SOMETHING
THAT WE'RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW
AS A PROJECT HERE AT AMES.
GETTING A LITTLE BIT
INTO SOMETHING ELSE,
JACOB AND JAMIE ASKED ME
TO TALK A LITTLE BIT
ABOUT, WELL, WHO AM I
IN ADDITION TO JUST
WHAT I'M DOING HERE.
A LOT OF THE THINGS
THAT I LIKE TO DO
AROUND AFTER WORK AND MY AFTER
HOURS IS PLAY A LOT OF SPORTS.
I'M ON ABOUT TWO SOFTBALL TEAMS,
COACH ONE OF THEM.
YOU CAN SEE
HERE'S ONE GROUP THERE.
THAT TEAM IS A MOUNTAIN VIEW
CITY LEAGUE TEAM.
ABOUT HALF THE TEAM IS NASA,
ABOUT HALF THE TEAM IS NOT.
AND THERE'S A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE
FROM THE TEAM HERE IN THE ROOM.
I USED TO PLAY ON A COUPLE
OF INDOOR SOCCER TEAMS.
I USED TO RUN DISTANCE.
THERE'S ME IN A HALF MARATHON.
ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF AGO
I WAS PLAYING
ON ONE OF THOSE
INDOOR SOCCER TEAMS
AND WAS KICKED IN THE SIDE
OF THE KNEE,
AND IT DESTROYED MY ANTERIOR
CRUCIATE LIGAMENT,
MY MEDIAL COLLATERAL LIGAMENT
AND MY MENISCUS.
SO I'M CURRENTLY
WORKING MY WAY
BACK INTO BEING ABLE
TO DO SOME OF THOSE THINGS.
BUT I'M STILL BACK INTO PLAYING
SOFTBALL AT THIS POINT.
OTHER THINGS THAT I ENJOY
ARE CONCERTS.
AND AS PART
OF THOSE CONCERTS,
I HAVE GREAT FUN
WITH COSTUME DAY.
I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY OF YOU
HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SEE DR. WORDEN
WITH SOME OF HIS
MAGNIFICENT COSTUMES,
BUT I RATHER LIKE THE IDEA
AND TRY TO DO SO MYSELF.
PATH TO AMES.
HOW DID I GET HERE?
I KNOW JACOB TALKED A LITTLE BIT
ABOUT IT.
AND IT'S KIND OF INTERESTING
THAT WE HAVE A GROUP
OF IDAHO STUDENTS HERE.
I AM FROM THE SMALL LITTLE TOWN
OF BLACKFOOT, IDAHO,
OFF ON THE EASTERN SIDE
OF THE STATE.
TOWN OF ABOUT 10,000 PEOPLE.
AS YOU CAN SEE,
IT'S A TOWN OF SOME
VERY RUGGED BEAUTY,
BUT NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE.
AND WE HAVE A JOYOUS
POTATO MUSEUM.
IT'S WORLD-FAMOUS.
IF YOU GO THERE,
YOU GET A FREE POTATO.
IF YOU'RE ON YOUR WAY
TO YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
YOU CAN GET FREE DINNER.
I WAS THERE FOR THE FIRST
18 YEARS OF LIFE,
AND THEN I DECIDED THAT I WAS
GOING TO GO TO SCHOOL.
AND THE SCHOOL THAT I HIT ON
IS IN NORTHERN UTAH,
IN A SMALL TOWN CALLED LOGAN,
A TOWN OF ABOUT 25,000 PEOPLE.
SO I WAS STEPPING UP,
BUT STEPPING UP VERY SLOWLY.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE,
THERE'S STILL SOME RUGGED BEAUTY
IN THAT AREA.
THIS IS THE UTAH STATE CAMPUS,
AND AS YOU CAN SEE,
IT'S RIGHT ON THE EDGE
OF THE MOUNTAINS.
AND OFF IN THE MOUNTAINS
YOU CAN SEE SKI RESORTS.
RIVERS, HIKING, BIKING:
ALL THINGS THAT I AVAIL
MYSELF OF.
BUT THE REAL REASON
I WENT THERE
WAS THAT THAT SCHOOL HAD FLOWN
MORE STUDENT PAYLOADS
AS G.A.S. CANISTERS,
GETAWAY SPECIAL CANISTERS
ON THE SPACE STATION,
OR ON THE SPACE SHUTTLE,
THAN ANY OTHER UNIVERSITY HAD
AT THAT POINT.
AT THAT POINT, I ALREADY KNEW
THAT I WANTED TO BE INVOLVED
WITH THE SPACE PROGRAM.
AND SO I WENT THERE.
I DID SEVEN YEARS AT UTAH STATE
WORKING ON A LOT OF THERMAL
CONTROL SYSTEMS,
A LITTLE BIT OF ATTITUDE CONTROL
AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AFTER THAT, I PROMPTLY FOLLOWED
UP ON ALL OF THAT SPACE TRAINING
BY GOING TO GERMANY
AND WORKING ON ROBOTICS.
DIDN'T DO ANYTHING
WITH SPACE AT ALL.
BUT I WENT TO THE TOWN
OF SIEGEN.
SIEGEN IS A SMALL CITY
OF ABOUT 150,000 PEOPLE.
AGAIN, YOU CAN SEE THE GENERAL
PATTERN OF STEPPING UP
AND STEPPING UP SLOWLY.
AND SIEGEN IS BETWEEN
FRANKFURT AND COLOGNE.
ABOUT HALFWAY. AND I WAS THERE
FOR ABOUT NINE MONTHS
WORKING ON HAPTIC ROBOTS.
THAT ROBOT HAD A HANDFUL
OF SENSORS ON THERE
THAT WOULD DETECT IF YOU WERE
GETTING CLOSE TO OBJECTS,
IF YOU NUDGED THEM,
IF YOU BUMPED THEM.
AND IT PUT A LOT OF FEEDBACK
INTO A JOYSTICK
OR INTO A HEADSET.
THINGS TO ALLOW YOU,
AS A REMOTE OPERATOR,
TO FIGURE OUT
HOW YOU'RE INTERACTING
WITH THE ENVIRONMENT
AROUND YOU.
I GOT DONE WITH THAT.
I TRIED TO STAY THERE,
BUT THEY DIDN'T HAVE
TOO MANY JOBS AT THAT POINT.
SO I ENDED UP COMING BACK
TO THE STATES
AND GOING TO A GROUP CALLED
THE AEROSPACE CORPORATION.
THEY'RE DOWN IN LOS ANGELES,
CALIFORNIA.
AND I GOT SENT OUT TO HELP
A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE AROUND.
I WORKED WITH THE AIR FORCE
ON THE GPS III PROGRAM.
IT'S ONE OF THE WORLD'S BEST
CLOCK RADIOS.
IT IS A CLOCK RADIO.
IT'S VERY COOL,
BUT IT'S NOT THE MOST
COOL THING.
I ALSO DID A LOT OF WORK
AT JPL
WORKING ON THINGS LIKE JIMO:
THE JUPITER ICY MOONS ORBITER.
I WAS TRYING TO TAKE
A NUCLEAR-POWERED SPACECRAFT
OUT TO THE MOONS OF JUPITER
AND USE A LOT
OF ELECTRIC PROPULSION
TO MOVE AROUND
BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT MOONS.
I ACTUALLY WORKED AS WELL
ON THE MARS SCIENCE LABORATORY.
A LITTLE BIT ON THE INITIAL
CONCEPT STUDIES.
WHAT DID IT LOOK LIKE?
WHAT WAS IT GOING TO DO?
WAS IT GOING TO HAVE
IN SITU RESOURCE UTILIZATION?
WAS IT GOING TO HAVE
OTHER CHEMISTRY,
BIOCHEMISTRY PAYLOADS?
HOW WERE THEY GOING TO LAND IT?
WERE THEY GONNA USE
THE SKYCRANE
OR A LARGER AEROSHELL?
I WAS INVOLVED WITH THE PROJECT
WAY BACK THEN.
AND THEN WE DECIDED
THAT IT WAS GONNA BE ON.
L.A. VERSUS SAN FRANCISCO.
I WAS--MET PETE KLUPAR,
A HANDFUL OF YOU KNOW HIM,
THAT WAS WORKING AT THE CENTER
AT THE TIME WITH DR. WORDEN,
AND SAID, "WE NEED SOME PEOPLE
WHO CAN HELP US
WRITE PROPOSALS
ABOUT SMALL SATELLITES."
AND SO I CAME UP
AND WORKED ON LCROSS
AND WORKED ON LADEE
AND WORKED ON TESS.
THIS WAS--
TESS WAS A FOLLOW-ON
THAT IS STILL BEING WORKED ON.
IT'S A FOLLOW-ON TO KEPLER.
IT DOESN'T LOOK QUITE AS FAR
AWAY AS KEPLER DOES,
NOR DOES IT LOOK
FOR QUITE AS LONG,
BUT IT LOOKS AT A LOT MORE STARS
IN THE NIGHT SKY AROUND US.
LOOKING FOR EXOPLANETS
AROUND A LOT OF THINGS
IN OUR NEAR
SOLAR NEIGHBORHOOD.
SO THESE ARE THE KIND OF THINGS
THAT I'VE WORKED ON
IN THAT WONDERFUL, LONG PATH
AND WINDING PATH AROUND THERE.
AND SO THAT IS ALL
THAT I'VE GOT FOR YOU TO DO,
AND I HOPE THAT THAT'S BEEN
AN ENTERTAINING TALK.
AND I HOPE YOU LEARNED
A LITTLE BIT MORE
ABOUT THE LADEE MISSION.
[applause]
- SO, WE HAVE TIME
FOR A FEW QUESTIONS.
PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND,
WAIT FOR THE MICROPHONE.
AND WHEN YOU GET IT, PLEASE
STAND UP AND ASK THE QUESTION.
- A COUPLE BACK HERE?
OH.
- IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY,
AND CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG,
THE CHINESE HAD PUT
A LANDER DOWN
WHILE LADEE
WAS UP THERE.
DID YOU SEE ANYTHING?
- YES, THAT'S RIGHT.
CHANG'E LANDED RIGHT ABOUT
MIDDLE OF THE WAY
THROUGH THE MISSION.
THERE IS STILL A LOT OF WORK
GOING ON WITH THE SCIENCE TEAM.
THEY WERE ABLE TO SEE SOMETHING
HAPPEN ABOUT THAT TIME.
THE PROBLEM WAS IS THAT
THERE WAS ALSO A METEOR SHOWER
RIGHT AT ABOUT THAT TIME.
SO IT'S VERY DIFFICULT FOR THEM
TO TRY TO DISAMBIGUATE
WHETHER THE INCREASED DUST
AND THE INCREASED MATERIAL
THAT THEY SAW WAS DUE
TO THE CHANG'E LANDER
OR DUE TO THE METEORITE SHOWER
AT THAT POINT.
AS FAR AS I KNOW,
THEY DO NOT HAVE ANY CONCLUSIVE
FINDINGS ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.
BUT I KNOW THE TEAM
IS HARD AT WORK ON IT.
- I WAS JUST WONDERING,
WHEN YOU DID THE SPIN TESTING,
DID YOU HAVE TO ACTUALLY
MAKE ADJUSTMENTS,
OR WAS IT ALREADY
IN BALANCE?
- WE DID HAVE TO MAKE
ADJUSTMENTS.
WE DID HAVE A HANDFUL
OF BALLAST SITES
THAT WERE DOWN ON THE BOTTOM
OF THE VEHICLE
THAT WERE INTERNAL TO IT.
BUT WE ALSO HAD
SOME BALLAST SITES
THAT WERE UP AT THE TOP
OF THE VEHICLE ON THE OUTSIDE.
AND WE CAME IN WITH AN INITIAL
SET OF PREDICTIONS
OF WHAT THE VEHICLE WOULD NEED
TO BALANCE IT OFF
ON ITS FINAL SPIN.
THE VIDEO YOU SAW THERE WAS
ACTUALLY FROM THE SECOND TEST.
WE SPUN IT ONCE,
MADE A SET OF UPDATES,
PUT THE FINAL BALLAST MASSES
ON THERE,
SPUN IT A SECOND TIME.
AND I BELIEVE THE SECOND TIME
WAS CLOSE ENOUGH
THAT WE WERE ABLE TO GO
WITH THOSE BALLAST SITES
FOR THE FINAL FLIGHT.
- THANKS, BRIAN.
TWO QUESTIONS:
ENGINEERING QUESTION,
SCIENCE QUESTION.
ENGINEERING QUESTION:
DID YOU HAVE TO ACCOUNT
FOR THE TRUCK TRIP IN YOUR
SHOCK AND VIBE TESTING,
OR WAS IT--
AND THEN THE SCIENCE
QUESTION IS,
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS USED
TO JUSTIFY LADEE LONG AGO
WHEN IT WAS JUST A CONCEPT
WAS THE FACT THAT THE--SOME OF
THE COMMAND MODULE PILOTS
IN ORBIT AROUND THE MOON
DURING APOLLO
SAW THESE STREAMERS
BEFORE SUNRISE.
DID--AND I KNOW LADEE
DIDN'T HAVE
HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE,
HIGH-RES CAMERAS,
BUT DID LADEE OR ANYTHING EVER
VERIFY THOSE STREAMERS?
- OKAY, SO BOTH OF THOSE
ARE VERY GOOD QUESTIONS.
THE FIRST ONE, YES,
WE ACTUALLY DID HAVE TO ENVELOPE
ALL OF OUR TRANSPORT CONDITIONS
IN THE ANALYSIS AND THE TESTING
THAT OUR MECHANICAL TEAM DID.
WE HAD ORIGINALLY
SCHEDULED A TEST.
IT'S KIND OF AN AGGRESSIVE TEST,
CALLED A SINE-BURST TEST
WHERE WE TOOK--WE WERE GOING
TO TAKE THE LADEE STRUCTURE
WITH A LOT OF MASS SIMULATORS
ON IT
AND SHAKE IT PRETTY VIOLENTLY
ON A MASS SIMULATOR TABLE.
WE ACTUALLY HAD A FAILURE
BECAUSE OF THAT.
WE THEN SWITCHED TO AN
ALTERNATIVE QUALIFICATION METHOD
WHERE WE USED
A LOT OF STATIC LOADS
THAT YOU COULD APPLY
ON THE GROUND,
AND DID A LOT OF ANALYSIS
BASED ON THE RESULTS THAT WE GOT
FROM THOSE STATIC LOADS TO SHOW
WHAT IT WOULD RESPOND TO.
BUT, YES,
THE TRANSPORT LOADS
WERE PART OF WHAT
WE HAD TO PROVE
THAT THE VEHICLE ITSELF
WOULD WITHSTAND.
WE DIDN'T HAVE TO SPECIFIC
TESTING FOR IT,
BUT THE LOADS AND THE ANALYSIS
HAD TO ENCOMPASS IT.
FOR THE SECOND PART,
ABOUT WHETHER WE ACTUALLY SAW
THOSE DUST STREAMERS
OR DUST GLOW,
THE SCIENCE TEAM IS STILL
WORKING ON THAT.
I DON'T BELIEVE THEY'VE
PUBLISHED ANYTHING CONCLUSIVE
ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.
I DON'T WANT TO SPEAK
ON THAT ONE,
BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO SAY THAT
YES, THEY DID WHEN THEY DIDN'T,
OR VICE VERSA.
AS FAR AS I KNOW,
THERE'S STILL ANALYSIS GOING ON,
AND THAT'S--
IT IS STILL UNKNOWN.
SO, SORRY I CAN'T ANSWER THAT
ANY BETTER FOR YOU.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS?
WELL, THAT LOOKS LIKE ABOUT IT.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
[applause]
[musical tones]
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