Desert Breath

http://sploid.gizmodo.com/this-incredible-structure-in-the-desert-wasnt-built-by-1529313084

 

Sticky Mats

JPL has several rooms on its campus that have specific procedures for employees to keep the area "clean." As a class, we experienced the 25 foot space simulator building. Although it is not a "clean room" like the high bay, it is an area that requires minimizing the amount of dust and dirt particles. Upon entering, every person is required to clean their shoes off on a sticky mat, also known as a tacky mat. This pulls off most of the dirt and dust particles from the bottom of shoes so that the concrete floor can remain free of these particles.

The mats are constructed from either 30 or 60 layers of polyethylene film. The layers are 1/8 of an inch and laminated into one pad. The layers can then be peeled off from the top when it has collected too much dirt, and can be thrown away in a regular garbage.

It is important to use these sticky pads upon entering environments that should be sterile.  They are used not only at JPL, but also in operating rooms at hospitals, other labs, and even basketball courts. It is vital to keep areas such as the high bay perfectly clean because scientists are building instruments to test things in space, and our earthly particles could contaminate and affect the results or the tests.

In more sterile environments like the high bay, employees will use a shoe cleaning machine to remove any smaller particles that a sticky pad can't reach. They then go through an air shower removes particles from clothing. Next, they enter the robing room where they put on a "bunny suit" that covers their entire body,

shoe covers, a cap, and even a face mask. Workers must continually monitor their cleanliness by replacing suits with holes or tears, and often stepping on sticky mats inside the clean room because particles of dust from skin can be air blown and people can track them from walking on the regular ground.  

JPL's Space Simulation Chamber

NASA’s JPL has a space simulation chamber that is used to test-run rovers that are soon to be launched into space.  Depending on the rover’s destination, the space simulation chamber will simulate conditions of the rover’s destination planet, ranging in temperatures from -300˚ to 230˚ Fahrenheit.  The chamber mimics extreme temperatures in order to make sure the spacecraft can withstand both severely boiling and freezing temperatures.  Every spacecraft built at JPL goes through the simulation chamber before it is launched into space to ensure the craft is built at the most optimal state to withstand irregular and extreme conditions.  Almost all the space crafts that have been through the space simulation chamber have undergone situations that have caused the engineers to learn something new, which then compelled them to improve the design of the rover in order to work better.  

Landing Curiosity

Back in August of 2012 after a 253 day journey NASA's current rover, Curiosity, finally reached Mars's atmosphere. This was a very exciting and very stressful moment for the scientists at JPL. They had to come up with a different way of landing Curiosity on Mars than what they had done with the previous rovers due to difference in size and build. This means that they had no idea if their new method for landing would even work. This was not the only thing stressing out the JPL scientists.

It takes 14 minutes for the signal from Curiosity to reach Earth. The time it takes for Curiosity to reach the surface of Mars after it enters the atmosphere is 7 minutes. This means that by the time mission control found out that Curiosity had reached Mars's atmosphere, it had already been on the planet's surface for 7 minutes.

The people who had put so much time and effort into this project had to wait 7 minutes to find out if the landing was a success or a failure. Luckily the landing was completely successful. As the scientists at JPL celebrated their success, people around the world were watching and celebrating with them.

Here is an explanation of how the landing of Curiosity worked.

http://www.space.com/16503-photos-mars-science-laboratory-curiosity-landing-guide.html

Chesley Bonestell's Astronomical paintings

Chesley Bonestell was a San Francisco born artist who began astronomical painting in 1905 after seeing Saturn through the 12-inch telescope at the Lick Observatory in San Jose. Up until the late 1930s, he spent most of his time drafting architectural models in London and the United States. He then began to work in Hollywood, where he would paint backdrops and matte paintings for film. In 1944, he famously painted visions of Saturn from its different moons; these were published in Life magazine, giving Bonestell his claim to fame.

Bonestell moved on to do artwork for science fiction writers and astronomers. He helped envision the possibilities of space travel in his time, and inspired many others to look towards the stars.

Randiinsight

As incredible as the facilities, equipment and next level robots are at JPL, the most interesting aspect of our adventure was listening to people that make it all happen. Our interaction with Randii started with a seemingly endless list of credentials and awards that got me thinking, 'jeez is this guy a robot too?'  He then cracked a smile and asked if we wanted to hear how it really happened. This other side of the story was relatable and comical, there were flaws, it was human.  Moving past titles and formalities Randii then raised important and relevant questions that the global state of our world should consider, so simple and so essential. The first of which being that as humans, we are the new kids on the block,  around a short time. This reflects the fundamental idea of relativity. With this in mind Randii suggested questioning just where our money is invested these days? And to think about in the grand scheme of things, what really matters? Where are we? What are we? These are questions that research and education can answer, not entertainment.

Trumbull_Mars Landing/Roving Missions

When I was at JPL on Friday what I became most interested in was the Landing and Rover missions on Mars by NASA. But what I found most interesting was not just the missions, how they got there, or what they were doing but what happens when the missions are finished or completed. I started to think and make connections and thoughts of pollution and waste here on earth.


I research and created a list of the NASA successful missions of Landers and Rovers. This list does not include foreign space agencies or failed missions by NASA.

Viking 1 Lander           20 AUG 1975           

Viking 2 Lander           9 Sept 1975

Mars Pathfinder            4 December 1996            Lander/Rover            Operated 84 days

Spirit                            10 June 2003                    Rover                        Operted for 2208 sols

Opportunity                  8 July 2003                      Rover                        Operational

Phoenix                        4 AUG 2004                    Lander                      Successful

Curiosity                      26 NOV 2011                   Rover                       Operational

While looking up about what is done with the Landers and Rovers when the missions are completed I was a little expected of what I found, or the lack of. I didn’t easily find information or what I wanted to find about what is done to the crafts when finished. Because information was not easily found I took this as something that is not discussed because it almost becomes ‘space pollution’. Is this something that human beings will find to be a problem in the future? Is NASA concerned at all when they think of space pollution? These are all questions that I would like to find out and will make a point to find answers to when back at JPL. I plan to update information as it comes to me.

The Peanut Phenomenon

Propulsion Peanut Phenomenon

   As legend has it, the "Peanut Phenomenon"-- as well refer to it for the time being-- has been a ritual at NASA's JPL for nearly 50 years! The tradition began on July 28th 1964 during the Ranger 7 mission.

   During our visit to JPL last Friday, our class was delighted and inspired by the words of Dr. Randii Wesson, a navigator program engineer at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena. He did not speak much about the peanuts to our class but he did provide us the opportunity to sit inside the actual Mission Control Center and the Space-Flight Operations Facility. It was both an honor and a surprise to be allowed access into the very room where JPL staff members control, wait and watch all their hard work actualize in outer space.

   Upon entering the area, peanuts can be found on display in the foyer. We even got to sample some. In interviews, Randii describes that eating peanuts became tradition as result of the 7th high-stake ranger mission. Ranger missions are the send off and landing of robotic spacecrafts to the moon. The rangers take images on the way in and relay them back to the Space-Flight Operations Facility, says Randii. (Yes-- the very one we were sitting in!)

   Unfortunately, the first 6 ranger missions all failed. Congress was questioning whether or not to pull funding. Was JPL's capable of creating and operating a successful ranger mission. The first crafts would work in terms of flight but they were unable to capture and send images back to JPL. 

   During the 7th mission the tensions were extremely high. The mission manager passed around peanuts as means to distract and ease the anxiety; a lot was on the line. To the delight of all the personnel, Ranger 7 was a success! 

   During Ranger 7, 8, 9 and onward the peanuts were eaten ritually. Sure enough, all space crafts-- in conjunction with eating peanuts-- have completed their missions smoothly. Randii comments that they always eat shelled peanuts, leaving the brand unnamed; the Mission Manager makes the choice at the grocery store.

  All in all, it is not the brand that matters. Randii concludes, that when you have a 450 million dollar launch vehicle, a 1.5 billion dollar space craft, a 500-800 million dollar Huygens probe, a rocket booster that may or may not explode... the last thing you're concerned with is what brand of peanuts you are eating-- as long as they are there.

   From the 60's to the most recent landing of Curiosity on Mars, the peanuts are in play-- superstitious or not, they are a staple in JPL's past, present and future.

Trumbull_NASA Fooled By Martians

Funny printer commercial I came across.

The Overview Effect

During our trip to NASA I was intrigued by Randii’s story about a man’s shift in understanding once he was able to go into space and look back at our own planet.  At first the man is aware of his own country, then his continent, then as he moves back completely he sees the one earth.  This shift in awareness and profound understanding for the interconnection of all life was termed ‘The overview effect’ in 1973 by Frank White. The effect refers to seeing the Earth firsthand in space where country lines, wars and conflicts vanish and the importance of planetary solidarity becomes evident, creating a shift in worldview. The overview effect is a feeling of universal connection and ultimate enlightening reported by astronauts as they view their place in the universe. Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders remembers, "We came all this way to explore the moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth." Apollo 14's Edgar Mitchell put it another way: "We went to the moon as technicians; we returned as humanitarians."

Here is a fascinating trailer for a documentary on the overview effect called Continuum: 

Eadweard Muybridge and Andy Goldsworthy

Eadweard Muybridge

Andy Goldsworthy

JPL: A Brief History

A Brief History:

Jet Propulsions Laboratory began in 1936, when the first rockets were tested through the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory at the Cal Tech (GALCIT).  A few graduate students tested an alcohol based rocket for one of their theses. A professor was able to contract the U.S. Army to fund the GALCIT Rocket Project. During their time with the Army, JPL produced several ballistic missile prototypes, as well as many other weapons systems.  JPL subsequently partnered with theArmy Ballistic Missile Agency’s Redstone Arsenal to propose orbiting a satellite during the International Geophysical Year, which was a year-long, international science project in 1957. JPL lost the proposal to Project Vanguard, which was funded by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). After their loss, JPL began working on re-entry technology that was later paired with NRL to successfully launch Explorer 1 on February 1, 1958. JPL was then immediately transferred to NASA the following December. They became the organization's primary spacecraft center, and have produced the most spacecrafts for interplanetary exploration to date. Their accomplishments include the Ranger and Surveyor missions, which observed the moon before Neil Armstrong and Apollo 11 touched down safely on its surface. JPL is also responsible for the Mariner missions, which explored the planets Venus, Mercury, and Mars.

GALCIT Rocket Project, 1936

Fridays at NASA's Jet Propultion Lab, Mission Control Center and a visit to the Curiosity Rover

HUMANS = ADVANCED MOLD

In an enlightening meeting with Randii (w/ two i's) at JPL, he likened our human species to "Advanced Mold". There is a 3% genetic difference between us and chimpanzees -- the difference between eating ants off of a stick from the ground and being able to send a satellite to observe Jupiter. He continued by asking us to imagine what an "alien" with another 3% genetic difference from humans could be capable of, according to this ratio. If these "aliens" were capable of knowing about us and reaching us in the first place, they would see that we are not as advanced as we'd like to think we are -- we are still a very young species in a period of "start-up transience". The fact that we are in wars over the "content of melanin in each other's skin" and the worship of different religious idols demonstrates the adolescence of our species. As physical beings we are bound to the abilities of our human nature, which at this point is still relatively very limited. Hopefully we can make it to maturity as a species before destroying ourselves and our resources.

Megan Mitchell

Megan Mitchell is an Australian artist who explores the beauty of human decay.
http://megjmitchell.tumblr.com/

Kate MccGuire

Kate MccGuire is a British artist who creates strange organic forms from thousands of feathers that she collects. "Kate MccGwire's practice probes the beauty inherent in duality, exploring the play of opposites - at an aesthetic, intellectual and visceral level - that characterises the way we conceive the world. She does this by appealing to our essential duality as human beings, to our senses and our reason, and by drawing on materials capable of embodying a dichotomous way of seeing, feeling and thinking. The finished work has a consistent 'otherness' to it that places it beyond our experience of the world, poised on a threshold between the parameters that define everyday reality."
-- Artist's Statement 
http://www.katemccgwire.com/

Trumbull_Cai Guo-Qiang & Olafur Eliasson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFWb8YKCHho

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYBHo01CoZQ

Magnetic Movie by Semiconductor at the Berkley Labratories

Magnetic Movie from Semiconductor on Vimeo.

NATHALIE MIEBACH & PERY BURGE

NATHALIE MIEBACH

" Changing
Waters looks at the meteorological and oceanic interactions within the Gulf of
Maine. Using data from NOAA and GOMOSS buoys within the Gulf of Maine, as well
as weather stations along the coast, I am translating data that explores the
seasonal variations of marine life by looking at the interactions of
atmospheric and marine data."

PERY BURGE  

"One of the main motivations for her art was to show to others the
beautiful patterns that she'd seen and recorded, and to explore the way
the patterns evolve through time. One of her favourite T. S. Eliot
quotes was: "For the pattern is new in every moment." "

Theo Jansen & Walead Beshty

Theo Jansen: An artist who uses science as his main subject 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSKyHmjyrkA





Walead Beshty: An artist who seems to use science as his focus 

Martin Klimas & Holton Rower

MARTIN KLIMAS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR5CYRsYc9U

HOLTON ROWER

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6egUsZvWu4

Jim Sanborn

BevShots

Pale Ale

Bourbon

Tequila

Science + Art in the US of A !

SciArt in America-- online magazine


http://www.sciartinamerica.com/

SciArtists

Bruno Levy + Mathew Puttman = Pioneer Labs
http://www.sciartinamerica.com/3/post/2014/01/an-unexplored-world-between-science-and-art.html

Gail Wight
http://www.stanford.edu/~gailw/