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Some way, when the sun begins to shine, I hear a song from another time and fade away. And fade away.

“Someday” By Sugar Ray

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Today we’re switching it up with #MarsMonday! In honor of the Mars Landing today, check out this map from National Geographic in 1973.

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For the benefit of all
Submitted for your curiosity:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbIZU8cQWXc

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Today marks one year since I began working at NASA. I wish I was there today to mark this milestone, but unfortunately, there is a lapse in government funding and I am furloughed.

•--• • •-•   •- ••• •--• • •-• •-   •- -••   •- ••• - •-• •-

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These are the questions - where are the answers??

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Rough WPA-esque postcard design for my hometown national park, John Muir National Historic Site.

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Genius.

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Planets

Dear future self,

When you are too dusty and blind to enjoy the sight of the night sky - remember tonight when we saw the red marble of Mars, the yellowish-white dot of Saturn, and that bright mother-freak-show, Jupiter.

Astronomy is slowly taking over our life.

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Some MATLAB phase portrait diagrams for my nonlinear controls class.

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I made a pun.

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While battery technology is important for storing energy, nuclear power is definitely worth investing in as well.

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Shoutout to the government for putting the brakes on my internship.

We’re sorry, but we will not be posting updates to Tumblr during the government shutdown. Also, all public NASA activities and events are cancelled or postponed until further notice. We’ll be back as soon as possible! Sorry for the inconvenience.

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Theoretical physicist Brian Greene on why the sciences and the humanities are kindred spirits.

via: Big Think

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Never had to fix a flat on the side of the road - maybe I’ll never have too

Reinventing the Wheel

Planning a trip to the Moon? Mars? You’re going to need good tires…

Exploration requires mobility. And whether you’re on Earth or as far away as the Moon or Mars, you need good tires to get your vehicle from one place to another. Our decades-long work developing tires for space exploration has led to new game-changing designs and materials. Yes, we’re reinventing the wheel—here’s why.

Wheels on the Moon

Early tire designs were focused on moving hardware and astronauts across the lunar surface. The last NASA vehicle to visit the Moon was the Lunar Roving Vehicle during our Apollo missions. The vehicle used four large flexible wire mesh wheels with stiff inner frames. We used these Apollo era tires as the inspiration for new designs using newer materials and technology to better function on a lunar surface.

Up springs a new idea

During the mid-2000s, we worked with industry partner Goodyear to develop the Spring Tire, an airless compliant tire that consists of several hundred coiled steel wires woven into a flexible mesh, giving the tires the ability to support high loads while also conforming to the terrain. The Spring Tire has been proven to generate very good traction and durability in soft sand and on rocks.

Spring Tires for Mars

A little over a year after the Mars Curiosity Rover landed on Mars, engineers began to notice significant wheel damage in 2013 due to the unexpectedly harsh terrain. That’s when engineers began developing new Spring Tire prototypes to determine if they would be a new and better solution for exploration rovers on Mars.

In order for Spring Tires to go the distance on Martian terrain, new materials were required. Enter nickel titanium, a shape memory alloy with amazing capabilities that allow the tire to deform down to the axle and return to its original shape.

These tires can take a lickin’

After building the shape memory alloy tire, Glenn engineers sent it to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Mars Life Test Facility. It performed impressively on the punishing track.

Why reinvent the wheel? It’s worth it.

New, high performing tires would allow lunar and Mars rovers to explore greater regions of the surface than currently possible. They conform to the terrain and do not sink as much as rigid wheels, allowing them to carry heavier payloads for the same given mass and volume. Also, because they absorb energy from impacts at moderate to high speeds, there is potential for use on crewed exploration vehicles which are expected to move at speeds significantly higher than the current Mars rovers.

Airless tires on Earth

Maybe. Recently, engineers and materials scientists have been testing a spinoff tire version that would work on cars and trucks on Earth. Stay tuned as we continue to push the boundaries on traditional concepts for exploring our world and beyond.  

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.  

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Look out, IKEA

cam lock furniture system - video @ninestoriesfurniture #nowyprodukt

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INSPIRATIONAL VIDEO #3: We Stopped Dreaming: A New Perspective (ep.2)

Making a collection of inspirational Space and STEM videos. I hope they can bring us together by reminding us that we all share this pale blue dot home called Earth.