Communicating bioastronautics research to students, families and the nation

The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) is supporting the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) education mission through a comprehensive Education and Public Outreach Program (EPOP) that communicates the excitement and significance of space biology to schools, families, and lay audiences. The EPOP is comprised of eight academic institutions: Baylor College of Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Morehouse School of Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Texas A&M University, University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston, Rice University, and the University of Washington. This paper describes the programs and products created by the EPOP to promote space life science education in schools and among the general public. To date, these activities have reached thousands of teachers and students around the US and have been rated very highly.     

Preliminary analysis of shuttle multispectral radiometer data for Southern Egypt

The Shuttle Multispectral Infrared Radiometer (SMIRR) is a spectroradiometer covering the region from 0.5 to 2.5 μm in 10 channels that acquired data from spots 100 m in diameter along the subspacecraft ground track. It was flown aboard the second flight of the space shuttle Columbia, November 12–14, 1981. Data collected during orbit 16 over southern Egypt show that carbonate rocks, kaolinite, and possibly montmorillonite can be identified by their SMIRR spectral signatures and limited knowledge of the lithologic units present. Detailed analysis of SMIRR data for this area indicates that calcite, kaolinite, and montmorillonite rocks give rise to absorption features that result in characteristic 10 channel spectra.