Advancing participation of blind students in Science,Technology, Engineering,and Math

Like their sighted peers, many blind students in elementary, middle, and high school are naturally interested in space. This interest can motivate them to learn fundamental scientific, quantitative, and critical thinking skills, and sometimes even lead to careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) disciplines. However, these students are often at a disadvantage in science because of the ubiquity of important graphical information that is generally not available in accessible formats, the unfamiliarity of teachers with non-visual teaching methods, lack of access to blind role models, and the low expectations of their teachers and parents. We discuss joint efforts by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Federation of the Blind’s (NFB) National Center for Blind Youth in Science (NCBYS) to develop and implement strategies to promote opportunities for blind youth in science. These include the development of tactile space science books and curriculum materials, science academies for blind middle school and high school students, and college-level internship and mentoring programs. The partnership with the NFB exemplifies the effectiveness of collaborations between NASA and consumer-directed organizations to improve opportunities for underserved and underrepresented individuals.     

The status of space science and technology in developed countries — The european experience

Space research in Western Europe began in the form of independent national space programmes confined in the first instance to the use of sounding rockets. These early steps were soon supplemented by bilateral collaborative projects with the USA and USSR whose agencies provided the satellite launch vehicles that Europe lacked at that time.In 1962 as a result of an agreement between ten member states the European Space Research Organisation (ESRO) was established for the purpose of carrying out a programme of space science. ESRO was succeeded in 1974 by the European Space Agency (ESA) with a much broader range of activities covering both scientific research and the application of space technology together with the development of launch vehicles.At the present time the totality of space activities of the ESA member states is made up of national programmes and collaborative projects with other nations and agencies together with participation in the agreed ESA programme. Because of its essentially non-military character, its relatively modest level of funding and its multinational nature the European experience with ESA may provide some useful guidance in the development of space science and technology elsewhere in the world.     

Capacity building in space law and space policy

A high level of expertise in space policy and law is required to initiate and keep pace with the expansion of space activities, including those undertaken by the private space industry. Space activities generally refer to those undertakings that are carried out with the use of several technologies for the exploration and utilization of outer space often for scientific, military, economic and social proposes within international and national policy and regulatory frameworks. Space policies and legal regimes determine the scope, nature, pace, possibility and development of space undertakings. Therefore, appropriate space policies and regulatory regimes, both at the international and national levels, are indispensable for the initiation, operation and enhancement of space activities. There are various regulatory models and approaches for regulating space activities, and for building capacity in space law and space policy. It is imperative to have the appropriate human resources and capabilities in the development and implementation of space policies and space legal regimes. This crucial requirement has been well recognized in the more advanced space-faring nations, but not to the same level in other space-faring or space-aspiring nations.     

Space Debris Mitigation in France,Germany, Italy and United Kingdom

The Space systems today provide growing benefits to enhance the quality of humankind. However, as a by-product, the orbiting objects inevitably leaves some debris which after 50 years of space activities represent a concern for all space agencies and manufacturers and operators. Since last year no international agreement was in place to mitigate the growing population of space debris objects. The successful result obtained at UN-COPUOS in 2007 and available in the OOSA web site, now gives to the public, a set of voluntary international guidelines that could, if adopted by each space fairing Country, help in maintaining the present space environment. More further steps are necessary in the future to define a legal and normative framework. The paper will present the seven established UN Space Debris guidelines as well as examples of the minimum steps to be carried out at national level to enable the UN-COPUOS to start the discussion of the legal aspect associated with the space debris issue.     

Active learning for advanced students: The Center for Integrated Space Weather Modeling graduate summer school

In recent years there has been considerable research in undergraduate physics education regarding the application to classroom instruction of techniques that are generally referred to as active engagement techniques. However, in very few cases have such pedagogical strategies been applied to graduate-level instruction. In this paper we describe an innovative application of a variety of active engagement techniques at the graduate summer school conducted by the Center for Integrated Space Weather Modeling, a Science and Technology Center funded by the National Science Foundation. We believe that the model presented here can serve as a valuable guide to other group contemplating space physics education at all levels, as well as graduate education generally.     

艇载声波测量临近空间风场可行性分析

提出一种临近空间艇载原位测量大气风场的新方法,该方法利用声波传播时延差测量临近空间大气风场.介绍了该方法的原理,分析了测风误差来源和测风精度.通过分析声波在临近空间高度的衰减,对信号载波频率和传播距离进行了选择,并对不同信噪比条件下声波时延估计精度进行了仿真分析.结果表明:在临近空间20~50km高度,传播距离为2~5m,距离测量精度为1mm,平台测速精度为0.1m·s-1,信噪比优于-2dB条件下,时延估计精度优于1μs,利用该方法测风精度能达到0.2m·s-1的较高水平.      

Progress on space medicine in 2008—2010

Space Medicine is a special subject to be rising with the development of manned spaceflight. In China, Space Medicine has achieved great development during the past two years. In this paper, the basic research of Space Medicine and its application in China during 2008--2010 were briefly introduced.      

Advanced data acquisition system for SEVAN

Huge magnetic clouds of plasma emitted by the Sun dominate intense geomagnetic storm occurrences and simultaneously they are correlated with variations of spectra of particles and nuclei in the interplanetary space, ranging from subtermal solar wind ions till GeV energy galactic cosmic rays. For a reliable and fast forecast of Space Weather world-wide networks of particle detectors are operated at different latitudes, longitudes, and altitudes. Based on a new type of hybrid particle detector developed in the context of the International Heliophysical Year (IHY 2007) at Aragats Space Environmental Center (ASEC) we start to prepare hardware and software for the first sites of Space Environmental Viewing and Analysis Network (SEVAN). In the paper the architecture of the newly developed data acquisition system for SEVAN is presented. We plan to run the SEVAN network under one-and-the-same data acquisition system, enabling fast integration of data for on-line analysis of Solar Flare Events. An Advanced Data Acquisition System (ADAS) is designed as a distributed network of uniform components connected by Web Services. Its main component is Unified Readout and Control Server (URCS) which controls the underlying electronics by means of detector specific drivers and makes a preliminary analysis of the on-line data. The lower level components of URCS are implemented in C and a fast binary representation is used for the data exchange with electronics. However, after preprocessing, the data are converted to a self-describing hybrid XML/Binary format. To achieve better reliability all URCS are running on embedded computers without disk and fans to avoid the limited lifetime of moving mechanical parts. The data storage is carried out by means of high performance servers working in parallel to provide data security. These servers are periodically inquiring the data from all URCS and storing it in a MySQL database. The implementation of the control interface is based on high level web standards and, therefore, all properties of the system can be remotely managed and monitored by the operators using web browsers. The advanced data acquisition system at ASEC in Armenia was started in November, 2006. The reliability of the multi-client service was proven by continuously monitoring neutral and charged cosmic ray particles. Seven particle monitors are located at 2000 and 3200 m above sea level at a distance of 40 and 60 km from the main data server.     

Four educational programs in Space Life Sciences.

Four different educational programs impacting Space Life Sciences are described: the NASA/USRA Advanced Design Program, the NASA Specialized Center of Research and Training (NSCORT) Program, the Centers for the Commercial Development of Space (CCDS) Program, and the NASA Graduate Research Fellow Program. Each program makes somewhat different demands on the students engaged in them. Each program, at the University of Colorado, involves Space Life Sciences training. While the Graduate Student Research Fellow and NSCORT Programs are discipline oriented, the Advanced Design and CCDS Programs are focused on design, technologies and applications. Clearly, the "training paradigms" differ for these educational endeavors. But, these paradigms can be made to mutually facilitate enthusiasm and motivation. Discipline-oriented academic programs, ideally, must be flexible enough to accommodate the emergent cross-disciplinary needs of Space Life Sciences students. Models for such flexibility and resultant student performance levels are discussed based upon actual academic and professional records.     

Recent Development in the Space Utility System of China's Manned Space Flight Program

This paper briefly introduces the history of China's Manned Space Flight Program and concludes the experiments done since 2008, namely, a small satellite and a material science experiment. An outlook of future Chinese Space Station is also described at the end.      

Vertical mass and moisture structure from TIROS-N

During the First Global GARP Experiment (FGGE), global determinations of mass and moisture were made from TIROS-N (and NOAA-6) infrared and microwave sounding radiance measurements. At NESS in Washington, the meteorological data were produced operationally with a horizontal resolution of 250 km for inclusion in the FGGE level II-b data sets intended for application to large scale numerical analysis and prediction models. High horizontal resolution (50 km) sounding data sets are being produced by NESS and the Space Science and Engineering Center at the University of Wisconsin and at the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center for special case studies of the “Special Observing Periods” of FGGE.Results are presented to display the characteristics of the sounding data at different resolutions. For the low horizontal resolution data, an evaluation is shown by comparisons of global analyses made only from satellite soundings over land and sea, and those made operationally by the National Meteorological Center, which excluded satellite sounding data over continental areas, but included all conventional data sources. For the high horizontal resolution sounding data, results are presented to demonstrate the delineation of small scale temperature and moisture features which are consistent with the meteorological processes involved.     

Cosmic Ray research in Armenia

Cosmic Ray research on Mt. Aragats began in 1934 with the measurements of East–West anisotropy by the group from Leningrad Physics-Technical Institute and Norair Kocharian from Yerevan State University. Stimulated by the results of their experiments in 1942 Artem and Abraham Alikhanyan brothers organized a scientific expedition to Aragats. Since that time physicists were studying Cosmic Ray fluxes on Mt. Aragats with various particle detectors: mass spectrometers, calorimeters, transition radiation detectors, and huge particle detector arrays detecting protons and nuclei accelerated in most violent explosions in Galaxy. Latest activities at Mt. Aragats include Space Weather research with networks of particle detectors located in Armenia and abroad, and detectors of Space Education center in Yerevan.     

NASA's Space Life Sciences Training Program.

The Space Life Sciences Training Program (SLSTP) is an intensive, six-week training program held every summer since 1985 at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). A major goal of the SLSTP is to develop a cadre of qualified scientists and engineers to support future space life sciences and engineering challenges. Hand-picked, undergraduate college students participate in lectures, laboratory sessions, facility tours, and special projects: including work on actual Space Shuttle flight experiments and baseline data collection. At NASA Headquarters (HQ), the SLSTP is jointly sponsored by the Life Sciences Division and the Office of Equal Opportunity Programs: it has been very successful in attracting minority students and women to the fields of space science and engineering. In honor of the International Space Year (ISY), 17 international students participated in this summer's program. An SLSTP Symposium was held in Washington D.C., just prior to the World Space Congress. The Symposium attracted over 150 SLSTP graduates for a day of scientific discussions and briefings concerning educational and employment opportunities within NASA and the aerospace community. Future plans for the SLSTP include expansion to the Johnson Space Center in 1995.     

New improved orbit solutions for the ERS-1 and ERS-2 satellites

Improved orbit solutions of the European Remote Sensing Satellites ERS-1 and ERS-2 have been computed in the ITRF2005 terrestrial reference frame using the recent models based mainly on IERS Conventions 2003. These solutions cover the periods 3 August 1991 to 8 July 1996 for ERS-1, and 3 May 1995 to 4 July 2003 for ERS-2. For each satellite, the final orbit solution is based on a combination of three separate orbit solutions independently computed at the Delft Institute of Earth Observation and Space Systems (DEOS) of the Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands), the Navigation Support Office of the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC, Germany) and the Helmholtz Centre Potsdam GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences (Germany) using three different software packages for precise orbit determination, but using the same models in the same terrestrial reference frame within the European Space Agency (ESA) project ‘Reprocessing of Altimeter Products for ERS (REAPER)’. Validation using radar altimeter data indicates that the new combined orbits of ERS-1 and ERS-2 computed by us are significantly more accurate, approaching the 2–3 cm level in radial direction, than previously available orbit solutions.     

Space weather service activities and initiatives at LAMP (Argentinean Space Weather Laboratory group)

Since more than one decade ago, several institutions started to offer a large variety of Operative Space Weather (SWx) products. This is of major importance because Space Weather events can affect aviation communications, global positioning systems, grid electric power, satellite technologies, and human health in space. The scientific potential on solar-terrestrial physics in Argentina motivated the creation of an interdisciplinary Laboratory of Space Weather in Argentina. The Argentinean Space Weather Laboratory (in Spanish ‘Laboratorio Argentino de Meteorología del esPacio’, LAMP) was initiated in 2016, and it carries out daily monitoring of real-time information (space and ground-based instruments) on Space Weather. The information is synthesized on a weekly bulletin as a summary of the Space Weather conditions, and it is posted on a website (spaceweather.at.fcen.uba.ar). The analyzed information includes own data and of other centers that offer them publicly, and it is also analyzed and discussed later on, during monthly briefings. In particular, one of the regional products that is included in the briefing discussions and it was developed by LAMP in collaboration with INPE-EMBRACE, involves Vertical Total Electron Content (VTEC) maps in the Argentinean region. LAMP set up a Space Weather Laboratory in the Antarctic peninsula, in the Argentine Marambio base, where a Water Cherenkov radiation Detector (WCD) was installed during the Argentinean Antarctic campaign (January-March of 2019). This detector is the southern node of a Latin American Collaboration (LAGO, Latin American Giant Observatory), which is a network of WCDs installed throughout more than 10 Latin American countries.     

DISCOS - ESA''s database and information system characterising objects in space

This paper presents an overview of the main features of ESA's future space debris database DISCOS (Database and Information System Characterising Objects in Space). The DISCOS system has been developed around an ORACLE relational database management software by the University of Kent (UK) under an ESA contract. The DISCOS catalogue will be installed at ESOC, the European Space Operations Centre, and serve as a common ESA information system for the space debris environment.     

Improvement of the SLR Borowiec station position in the global network ITRF91

This paper describes briefly two station coordinates solutions, the first one computed at Space Research Centre (SRC) using tracking data from Lageos satellite, and the second one computed at European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) using tracking data from Lageos 1, ERS-1 and TOPEX/Poseidon in a multi-arc solution. In particular the solution computed for the Borowiec station in ITRF91 system is described extensively. The Borowiec station position was estimated simultaneousely, considering or not the existence of range biases, with other geophysical parameters such as: daily polar motion parameters x_p, y_p, ocean tide coefficients, earth gravitational constant GM, etc.     

Space Life Science of China in 2013

In the past two years, space life science research in China is characterized by a wide area of basic researches for providing foundation for the future China Space Station. The effect of microgravity and radiation was further studied from physiology phenomena to the level of bio-molecule mechanisms. Chinese space life science is maturing in a new era of comprehensive development. Here, we review and summarize researches on space life sciences which were contributed by Chinese scientists.      

中国空间地球科学发展现状及未来策略

空间地球科学是以空间对地观测为主要信息获取手段,研究地球系统的各圈层及之间的相互作用、过程与演变,对地球进行系统研究的综合性交叉学科.为纪念空间科学学会成立40周年,本文系统回顾了中国空间地球科学的发展历程,分析当前面临的机遇与挑战,进而提出中国空间地球科学未来发展的建议.      

European present and future scientific activities in the field of low gravity research

This report deals with the present plans and philosophy of the European Space Agency as regards the interest and the justification for a European Experimental Research Program in Space. It offers recommendations to be considered by both the space investigators and the E.S.A. executive in order to achieve the most urgent needs.