Internship Opportunities at NASA Ames Research Center
2008 Small Spacecraft Summer Study Project (S4P): Near Earth Objects
This summer, twelve students will be selected to participate in a 10-week program to develop and test ideas for small spacecraft exploration of Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) ideas that will ultimately lead to a mission proposal. The program has three goals:
- Develop and test rigorously one or two concepts for NEO small spacecraft exploration that are expected to lead to competitive mission proposals or flight opportunities.
- Integrate Bay Area expertise related to this promising new area of small spacecraft mission design using NASA Ames Research Center as the hub.
- Train the next generation of scientists, engineers and project managers who will design and lead upcoming missions to NEOs and other solar system bodies.
The program begins with lectures given by planetary scientists, mission designers, systems engineers, project managers, and flight hardware experts. Students will spend the first half of the summer working in groups to define mission concepts, and will be given the option of attending the highly relevant COSPAR meeting in mid-July, in Montreal, where our group will present a poster. The second half of the summer begins with groups presenting their ideas in an in- house competitive selection process. The team will then come together around the best one or two mission concept designs. The program will culminate in a design review at summer’s end, where the instructors and mentors serve as a review board. Overall the process is patterned closely after the in-house competitive selection process at space agencies.
The end game is not just the rigorous training of new leaders in the field, but the evolution of mission concepts that might make it to the launch pad. Oversight and mentorship will be provided by this year’s S4P team:
Erik Asphaug (Principal Investigator) is a Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at UC Santa Cruz. He has led a competed Discovery mission proposal (Deep Interior) and is beginning the process again for the next round, to conduct geophysics experiments at one or more NEOs. He leads the impact modeling science team for LCROSS. Asphaug has written a number of review chapters and other papers and popular pieces on the topic of asteroid origin, evolution, and geophysics.
Gregory T. Delory (co-PI) is a Senior Fellow at the UC Berkeley SSL, specializing in instrument development for space and planetary missions. He has been PI for planetary instrument development programs, has held science and engineering roles on three NASA sounding rockets and the FAST small-class explorer, and has participated in data analysis phases including Lunar Prospector and Mars Global Surveyor. In 2002 he organized a student seminar at UCB which led to a concept study of a main-belt asteroid mission, and in 2007 he led the first UARC Small Spacecraft Summer Study Program (S4P).
Imke de Pater (co-I) is a Professor of Astronomy and Earth and Planetary Sciences at UC Berkeley. She leads an active group in remote sensing observations at infrared and radio wavelengths, studying objects as diverse as giant planet atmospheres and magnetospheres, volcanic activity on Io, weather on Titan, and asteroids and comets. She wrote the standard graduate level textbook in planetary sciences (de Pater and Lissauer, Planetary Sciences).
Donald G. Korycansky (co-I) is an expert in asteroid dynamics and celestial mechanics, and in geophysical processes on asteroids including granular flow and impact cratering. He is Director of UCSC's IGPP Center for the Origin, Dynamics and Evolution of Planets (CODEP).
Franck Marchis (co-I) is one of the leading asteroid astronomers, and is an Assistant Researcher at UC Berkeley and a Principal Investigator at SETI Institute. He discovered one of the first asteroid triple systems in 2005. He has also worked closely with co-I de Pater in observing and studying ongoing volcanic eruptions on Jupiter’s moon Io, using state of the art adaptive optics techniques.
John W. Hines (co-I) is the NASA Ames Small Spacecraft Deputy Division Chief, and was the Project Manager of the 5 kg microsatellite GeneSat-1, which launched in 2006.
S. Pete Worden (co-I) is an expert in the study of small near-Earth objects, and a leader in the area of innovative small spacecraft missions, having led the Clementine mission to the Moon. He is the Director of NASA Ames Research Center.
Scientific Motivation
Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) come closer to Earth than any other celestial body, and are therefore readily attainable by inexpensive spacecraft, the focus of this study. We know less of the origin, evolution, and geophysical behavior of NEOs than we know of the Moon or Mars, despite their complete (but poorly understood) petrologic representation in many thousands of meteorites. It appears that we are on the verge of making a deep scientific connection that will revolutionize our understanding of the early solar system, and this stimulates the imagination.
Obtaining more detailed knowledge of NEOs is also of considerable pragmatic importance. These bodies, mostly asteroids, some comets are the most valuable resource in space, possessing raw materials for fabrication and oxygen extraction, volatiles for propulsion, and agricultural soils and water. They also constitute a much-publicized hazard which has led to concerted efforts in detection and ground-based characterization and to a vague clamor to do something about very close approaching asteroids such as 99942 Apophis.
Action of any kind begins with a basic scientific understanding, and the next step is a campaign of inexpensive spacecraft missions. The underlying theme of our summer study is found in NASA Strategic Sub-goal 3C: Advance scientific knowledge of the origin and history of the solar system and the hazards and resources present as humans explore space.
NOESS Project Schedule
Week |
Activity |
1 |
Students arrive at NASA Ames and attend STI-sponsored orientation and safety training. |
2 |
Asteroid and comet science is taught at UCSC, UCB and Ames, in lecture format (2 x 1.5 hr lectures per day). |
3 |
Asteroid and comet science continues, along with NEO mission concepts. |
4 |
Asteroid and comet science lectures continue, along with NEO mission concepts. |
5 |
Option to attend COSPAR (Montreal) or ACM (Baltimore) – airfare and registration are covered; students must secure lodging and perdiem. |
6 |
Mission integration intensive continues at NASA Ames. |
7 |
Students work on mission projects. |
8 |
Students work on mission projects. |
9 |
Students submit their finished mission concept studies. |
10 |
Summer Symposium hosted by STI; students present their work at NASA poster fair.NEOSS instructors and mentors evaluate student materials and write narrative evaluations. |
Student Selection
Students are to be competitively selected, with ~6 from UC campuses, and ~6 from other campuses in the United States and abroad. The synergy of these students, who will be recruited from science, engineering, and business/management schools, will reflect the real-world integration of expertise that is required of a successful mission proposal.
This synergy does not come for free. Our students will experience and must address the real-world obstacles inherent to broadly integrative spacecraft projects. Management students will have to learn meteoritics, while dynamicists will have to understand how to determine the critical path in a schedule, ITAR, badging, budgeting, partnering, and getting the point across. These are important aspects of any NASA spacecraft endeavor, as much as the science and engineering. An integrative function that crosses both science and management areas is spacecraft systems engineering, which will also be an important element of this summer study. Upon graduation, our students should be well qualified to contribute constructively to small mission development, and thus will become an asset to UC and to NASA.
Coursework will be taught at the 1st year graduate level, and students must demonstrate that they are at this level academically. In certain circumstances an upper level undergraduate may be admitted.
Pay/Salary:
Students will receive $15- $20 an hour, commensurate with tasks and experience.
Foreign Nationals:
Students who have F-1 status (e.g. foreign nationals currently enrolled in a US academic program) may work under certain circumstances while they are in the United States. There are two major categories of work for which an international student may qualify: employment on campus and employment off campus. Working as a UARC/STI Graduate Student Intern would constitute employment off campus, for which there are two categories:
- Curricular Practical Training: Internship authorized by International Student Advisor
- Optional Practical Training: 12 months authorized by USCIS per degree level
The Curricular Practical Training requires that you receive academic credit for your internship at your home institution. More detailed information can be found at on the website of the San Jose State University International Programs and Services department:
http://sjsu.edu/depts/ipss/status/employment.htm
In some cases, foreign nationals without the F-1 visa can request sponsorship of a J-1 visa (International Exchange Visitor).
We highly recommend that all foreign nationals speak with their respective university organizations about the feasibility of obtaining the appropriate work permit. Please note the earlier application deadline for foreign nationals (below).
Funding Requirements:
Program participants cannot receive any other form of federal funding during the internship period of performance.
Application Instructions:
A completed application consists of:
- Official academic transcripts or letter of acceptance from your graduate institution,
- Official academic transcripts from your undergraduate institution (for students beginning their graduate studies in the fall of 2008),
- A completed application form found at: http://www.sjsufoundation.org/word/applicationform.doc
- Two letters of recommendation from professors or research advisors, and
- A cover letter that includes a description of your career goals, interests, and/or special skills.
Application Deadline:
US Citizens:
All materials (except transcripts) should be postmarked on or before March 14, 2008. Official transcripts must be received by March 31, 2008. The UARC Systems Teaching Institute will make selections and send out notification letters to all applicants on or before April 30, 2008.
Foreign Nationals:
All materials (except transcripts) must be postmarked on or before February 1, 2008. Official transcripts must be received by March 31, 2008. The UARC Systems Teaching Institute will make selections and send out notification letters to all applicants on or before April 30, 2008.
The earlier application deadline for foreign nationals is required in order to allow sufficient time to process the security paperwork required by NASA Ames Research Center.
Please note that students with F-1 status will be required to furnish an I-20 form signed by your home institution before employment can be secured. Please be prepared to furnish this paperwork immediately after submission of your application. Contact the International Services department at your home institution for more information.
Send applications by mail to:
UARC Systems Teaching Institute
NASA Ames Research Center
MS: 19-26
Building 19 Room Number 1085
Moffett Field, CA 94035
Attn: STI Graduate Student Program
Or
Email Application Materials to: amy.gilbert@adm.ucsc.edu
Contact Information:
For further information about the program, contact Dr. Natalie Batalha at nbatalha@science.sjsu.edu Or Amy Gilbert at amy.gilbert@adm.ucsc.edu
S4P 2007
