The Ames Astrogram — 1August 20, 2001

AstrogramNATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION AMES RESEARCH CENTER, MOFFETT FIELD

THE AMESAstrogram

Communication for the information technology age

August 20, 2001 on-line at: http://amesnews.arc.nasa.gov

Two teams of Ames’ scientists recentlyproposed a new explanation for the rise ofoxygen in Earth's early atmosphere -- anevent that may have jumpstarted the evo-lution of complex life.

The idea is suggested in two researchpapers that both address how the Earth gotits oxygen-rich atmosphere. One uses theo-retical models and the other measurementsof 'microbial mats,' communities of micro-organisms similar to those found on earlyEarth. The papers are entitled: "The Role ofMicrobial Mats in the Production of Re-duced Gases on Early Earth," by Tori Hoehler,et al., and "Biogenic Methane, HydrogenEscape, and the Irreversible Oxidation ofEarly Earth," by David Catling, et al. Theywere published in the July 19 issue of Na-ture and the Aug. 3 issue of Science, respec-tively.

Catling's team argues that oxygen in-creased in Earth's atmosphere more than 2billion years ago because hydrogen atomsfrom water hitched a one-way ride intospace inside methane gas produced byprimitive microbes. This irreversible loss ofhydrogen, they say, left behind an excess ofoxygen, which gradually filled the Earth'scrust and then flooded Earth's atmosphere.

"Without oxygen, the most sophisti-cated life on Earth would have been greenmicrobial scum," said Catling. "Fortunately,some bacteria in the early oceans were ableto separate water into hydrogen and oxy-gen. The hydrogen was lost to space, leav-ing the oxygen behind."

Before 2.4 billion to 2.2 billion yearsago, the Earth's atmosphere contained al-most no oxygen and could support onlysingle-celled forms of life. The first compli-cated cells, like the ones that make uptoday's plants and animals, appear in 2.1billion-year-old fossils just after the rise ofoxygen.

Hoehler and his team measured gasesreleased from modern microbial mats inBaja, Mexico, under conditions simulatingthe early atmosphere. These mats are closecousins to those that once made up muchof the early Earth's biosphere. The teamfound that the mats released large amountsof hydrogen at night. "If the Earth's early

Ames’ scientists propose new theoryof Earth's early evolution

microbial mats acted similarly to the mod-ern ones we studied, they may havepumped a thousand times more hydrogeninto the atmosphere than did volcanoesand hydrothermal vents, the other mainsources," Hoehler said.

Hoehler and his co-authors suggest thatsome of the hydrogen might have escapeddirectly to space, while the remainder couldhave provided an important food sourcefor other microbes -- such as those thatproduce methane. "We found that theelevated levels of hydrogen within the matsfavor the biological production and releaseof methane. This supports the premise ofDr. Catling's work," Hoehler said. But eitherway, hydrogen escaped and the Earth be-came more oxidized.

Questions of how and why oxygen builtup in the Earth's atmosphere have beencontroversial for decades. Although scien-tists have ample evidence that oxygen firstappeared in the atmosphere a little morethan 2 billion years ago, why this hap-pened has long been the subject of specu-

lation. Fundamentally, the oxygen in theair is a biproduct of photosynthesis. Inphotosynthesis, plants and microbes usesunlight to steal hydrogen from water. Thehydrogen is mostly used to make organicmatter from carbon dioxide and the un-wanted oxygen is released. But microbesthat make oxygen in photosynthesis wereliving on Earth at least a half-billion years

Examples of the Baja intertidal microbial matsexamined by Dr. Tori Hoehler, Code SSX, andhis research team.

photo by Dr. Dan Albert, Univ. of North Carolina

continued on page 9

Annual airshow returns to Ames

See center spread (pages 6 & 7) for more photos

phot

o by

Ast

rid

Ter

lep

2 — The Ames Astrogram August 20, 2001

News from Ames & Around the Agency

Center Briefs Gravity, an old and constant compan-ion, is still a frontier for science. Thecavalier hipster might just say ‘gravity sucks’and that’s why we’re all still here and notdisseminated atomsdispersed throughoutthe cosmos. Althoughthis bears some truth,even with our lack ofcomplete apprecia-tion of gravity, scien-tifically speaking,there are far more el-egant interpretationsof gravity than ‘itsucks.’ But still it re-mains a mystery.

Safety is also a mys-tery, but for differentreasons. When safetyworks, nobody knowsjust what it did. All we know is thatsomebody didn’t get hurt. We don’t knowwho, we don’t know how ‘not badly,’ howmuch pain was spared -- how much moneywas saved. But, be assured, any one ofthese unknowns adds up to a not insignifi-cant total, a mystery and a lovely mystery atthat.

Although some folks feel differently,brushing your teeth sucks, that is, com-pared to having a Hollywood smile with noinvestment in toothbrushes, toothpaste andall the time it takes clean up the old ivory.So, if gravity sucks because we need to behere on Earth and safety sucks because itrequires tedious effort, maybe we need tolearn to better appreciate things that suck.

The May 14 issue of the Astrogram wasdedicated to safety. Many people at theCenter made significant contributions tothe content and the spirit of that message-- the VPP leads for each directorate, andeach and every director as well as a myriadof others. All recognize safety as job #1.Safety, like the prep work that goes into anytask and is integral to its success, can getpretty boring for its lack of glamour, itstediousness and its consumption of pre-cious time. What is the premium on yourhealth? Safety time is critical time, criticalto your health.

Deputy Center Director Bill Berry rec-ognizes the danger. How dangerous arethings at Ames? As Berry has noted, theCenter is the safest place you’re going to betoday, at least according to risk analysisbased on statistics. Being at work is sixtimes safer than being at home, and eighttimes safer than being on the road. Sowhere should we put our efforts for reduc-

ing the risk to your health? Should we askthat you spend more time considering therisks of life at home with your family? Shouldwe ask that you drive more slowly, more

laid-back?Safety is its own reward, even away

from work. But, since our primary respon-sibility is for your health at work, we areasking for your help. Your efforts to helpwill only be as successful as is your sincereinterest in making safety work. Safety, thepreservation of your health, can only suc-ceed if you make it a continual part of yourprofessional activity. Safety requires thatyou continually ask “what could go wronghere?” Safety requires that you take thecritical time to figure out (and then care-fully implement) the life-saving, health-preserving features for whatever activityyou do: taking time with your posture,whether sitting or standing; talking aboutthe idea of safety with your colleagues; ormaking small talk count big “what can wedo to be more safe?”

Several people participated in the safetypuzzle that was in the safety Astrogram ofMay 14. Twenty of those people wonawards ranging from VMS rides to $5 AmesCafé vouchers. We are trying to get themessage to you that “safety is important,safety is more than just value added, safetymeans money saved, safety means healthand safety is respect for life.” Thanks toCode AFJ, Aerospace Simulation Opera-tions, for their support of safety in contrib-uting the VMS awards.

Henry McDonald, Ames Center Direc-tor, has stated: “Working safely is a condi-tion of employment, and safety is our mostimportant value.” Please take the time tofigure out what safety means and share thisstrategy with your colleagues.

Insignificant Safety

BY PATRICK HOGAN

Astronaut Cabana assumes NASAlead operations role in Russia

Astronaut Robert D. Cabana has beennamed NASA's Director, Human SpaceFlight Programs, Russia, effective Aug. 8.He assumes this role at a time when theInternational Space Station (ISS), while stillunder construction, has become self-reli-ant and larger and more capable than anyother space station in history.

Cabana will act as deputy to both theISS program manager and the Director ofthe Johnson Space Center, Houston, withfull authority to represent both in all mat-ters pertaining to NASA human space flightactivities in Russia.

Suspended in space: researchersmake important fluid discovery

A NASA-funded study on fluids hasyielded a discovery that may significantlychange the way electronics, paint, cosmet-ics and pharmaceutical industries developproducts.

Researchers discovered a new approachfor suspending fine particles in fluids. Suchcollections of particles, called colloids orcolloidal suspensions, may help research-ers better understand how to manipulatesmall particle assemblies found in fluidssuch as water or organic solvents (e.g.,ethanol).

According to a paper co-authored by aNASA researcher at the University of Illinoisat Urbana-Champaign, which appeared inthe July 31 issue of the "Proceedings of theNational Academy of Sciences," the au-thors have devised a process that stabilizesparticles in fluids to prevent them fromotherwise organizing themselves or co-agulating into a disordered gel-like struc-ture. The authors have named this ap-proach "nanoparticle haloing."

New view of primordial heliumtraces structure of early universe

NASA's Far Ultraviolet SpectroscopicExplorer (FUSE) satellite has given astrono-mers their best glimpse yet at the ghostlycobweb of helium gas left over from theBig Bang, which underlies the universe'sstructure. The helium is not found in galax-ies or stars but spread thinly through thevastness of space.

The observations, published in theAugust 10 issue of the journal Science, helpconfirm theoretical models of how matterin the expanding universe condensed intoa web-like structure pervading all the spacebetween galaxies. The helium traces thearchitecture of the universe back to veryearly times. This structure arose from smallgravitational instabilities seeded in thechaos just after the Big Bang.

The Ames Astrogram — 3August 20, 2001

Energy & Conservation

Ames energy officials were surprised thatthe Center's electricity use on weekendswas still quite high, even after employeesturned off office and other appliances forSaturday and Sunday, July 28 and 29.

For the "How Low Can We Go" week-end, employees were asked to, "look againaround your office, your shop, your simula-

tor and your computer areas and find anyenergy savings you may have overlooked."

"The results show that even when we arenot working, the Center energy demand isquite high," said Ames’ energy czar SteveFrankel in an e-mail to staff. "Based on theresults, Ames uses 80 percent of the energywhen no one is working as compared towhen everyone is working. The reasonsenergy use was not reduced to a greaterpercent has much to do with our history ofvery low-cost electricity," he explained.

"We are going to have to go building bybuilding to see what the electricity loads areand how we can reduce them," he said. "Weare setting inspection schedules now."

"The energy situation is not getting bet-ter, and we need to continue centerwide e-mails to remind people to conserve. Con-

Employees try to reduce weekend energy use;re-engineering cooling systems is key

servation, by far, is our most cost-effectivesolution. Every dollar going to the electric-ity bill is a dollar not going to research.That's my little mantra," he said.

The cost per kilowatt-hour has almostdoubled since last year, and another in-crease early in the next fiscal year is ex-pected.

“Discovering ways to get bigger week-end savings involves thinking of how tobetter manage building and equipmentcooling,” engineers said. Changes in cool-ing are less dependent upon individualefforts than upon changing systems andprocedures, although employees shouldstill continue to shut down non-essentialequipment for the weekends.

"We all need to think differently abouthow our critical labs and spaces are usingenergy," Frankel said. "Many buildings usethe same cooling systems to serve bothoffice space and critical research areas.Many buildings have also converted officespace into critical computer space. Thesecomputers are never turned off and needcooling 24 hours a day. In some situations,two or three rooms require the entire build- BY JOHN BLUCK

ing cooling system to be operated when noone is in the building," he said.

One conservation idea is to consolidatecritical cooling loads into one area of abuilding, and provide a smaller coolingsystem for that area separate from thebuilding system, according to Frankel.“Other possible changes are seven-day

schedules for cooling systems,” he said."Even if work needs to occur during the

daytime on the weekends, the systems canbe turned off at night," he said. "Anotheridea is free cooling. At night, the outside airis often cool enough to meet the demand,so the chillers would be shut off until thenext day," he continued.

“Ideas for conservation as well as ques-tions are welcome,” Frankel said.

Employees may contact Frankel of PlantEngineering at ext. 4-4214 or GeorgeSutton of the Electric Power Office at ext. 4-0185.

In addition, there is a new address forthe Ames Energy web page at: http://jf.arc.nasa.gov/energy/index.html

4 — The Ames Astrogram August 20, 2001

Education & Learning

phot

o by

Tom

Tro

wer

‘Exploring Earth’s extremes’ at Ames

Ames hosted the "Exploring Earth's Extremes" workshop at the Moffett Training and ConferenceCenter July 24-25. The objective of the workshop was to evaluate the relevance of exploringextreme environments on Earth in the context of future possible NASA missions to Mars andEuropa, Jupiter's moon.

photos by Dominic Hart

VPP STAR Tip"Mistakes are seen as an

opportunity to learn"

Stacey Menard,Johnson Space CenterJanuary 28, 2000

To explore some of the fantastic careersin the fields of engineering, science andtechnology, fifty local female high schoolstudents visited Ames and met profession-

als in such fields on August 1.These bright young women are all par-

ticipants in “Get SET” (Science, Engineer-ing, and Technology), an outreach pro-gram chartered by the Santa Clara Valleysection of the Society of Women Engineers(SWE-SCV). The program is aimed at re-

BY JENNIFER NIETO

On your mark, get set, reach for the stars!cruiting female high school students inter-ested in science, engineering and technol-ogy related fields. The goal is to attractparticipants who come from typically un-

der-represented groups in such fields.The visit kicked off with a picnic at the

Visitor Center. With the 40x80 wind tunnelas a backdrop, Rose Ashford, Ana Papasin,Brenda Collins and Sheila Johnson madebrief presentations about their duties atAmes, and explained some ways in which

Young women in the Get SET program pose at the entrance to Ames’Visitor Center during a recent visit.

they were able to overcome racial andgender boundaries throughout their ca-reers.

The tour continued to the Space Campfacility where counselor Heather Smith ex-plained the various activities that SpaceCamp participants enjoy. The overview in-cluded the one-sixth-gravity chair for learn-ing to walk on the moon, and the variousmock-ups of the International Space Sta-tion and a typical space shuttle.

At the NAS facility, Gina Morello,Marcia Redmond, Cliff Williams and ChrisGong welcomed the girls and served asnarrators for the tour of the visualization laband the supercomputers on the secondfloor, including the new 1024 Silicon Graph-ics machine that is currently being installed.

Finally, in the Space Sciences audito-rium, Louisa Beck and Jennifer Dunganexplained how they use geography, Earthscience, GIS and remote sensing to studyland-cover usage and disease.

“I learned that women are able to do asmany things as men,” said one visitingyoung woman. Another student said “Thelecture about medical science and epidem-ics was very interesting to me, I may want tolook into that field of work.” Yet anothercommented “I like learning a lot abouttechnology and it's expansions.”

The Get SET program is grounded in thebelief that girls are steered away from tech-nology-related fields by many influences,including schools, media, families and soci-etal norms. The program is designed tocounter these influences and broaden per-ceptions of opportunities available towomen. Specifically, Get SET provides asupport network to help encourage explo-ration in the fields of computer science andengineering.

The program was initiated in 1992 bySWE-SCV as a spin-off of the SWE HigherEducation Outreach Program originallyfunded by NASA. The program is nowfunded through other means, but NASAremains an active sponsor.

Further information is available onlineat: http://www.swe.org.

The Ames Astrogram — 5August 20, 2001

Events & Remembrances

Robert J. Debs, a city councilman duringthe 1960s and a physicist at Ames until1976, died July 19 after a long illness. Hewas 82.

In 1942, Debs earned his Bachelor'sdegree in electrical engineering from theUniversity of Illinois. He later worked onradar design as a U.S. Navy civilian em-ployee at Raytheon and Westinghouse dur-ing World War II.

Debs later attended the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology where he earned hisdoctorate in physics degree in 1952. Thatsame year, Debs and his wife, Virginia,moved to Mountain View, where Debsworked on the prototype of what eventu-ally became the Stanford Linear Accellerator.

The Debses relocated to Palo Alto in1955 and Debs worked at the GeneralTelephone and Electronics Research Lab, asa staff physicist.

Debs served as chairman of the StanfordChapter of the Federation of American Sci-entists and in 1963, joined Ames as a staffphysicist. Later, he was promoted to branchchief. He retired in 1976 following surgeryfor a brain tumor.

Debs is survived by his wife, VirginiaDebs and son, Douglas Debs, both of PaloAlto; and daughter, Martha Debs of Brus-sels/Amsterdam. Private services were heldrecently.

Former Amesphysicist dies

Rear Admiral William Adger Moffett, Jr.,USN (Ret.) died of congestive heart failurein Westminster-Canterbury in VirginiaBeach, Virginia on July 23. He was 91.

Moffett, Jr., was the son of AdmiralMoffett for whom Moffett Field is named.Moffett senior was also the first chief of theformer Bureau of Aeronautics and is consid-ered to be the “Father of Naval Aviation.”

Moffett, Jr., graduated from the NavalAcademy in 1930, becoming a naval aviatorin 1932. He eventually qualified to fly morethan 100 types of aircraft, from biplanes tojets. His decorations included the Distin-guished Flying Cross and the Air Medal forcombat actions in the Guadalcanal areaswhile in command of the Navy’s first HeavyBomber Squadron, VB-101.

Memorial services were held on August15 at Arlington National Cemetary.

RAdm. WilliamMoffett, Jr.,passes on

During Safety and Quality Week in Sep-tember, Yvonne Cagle, M.D. (Lt. Col. USAF)and NASA astronaut will visit Ames to par-ticipate in the Safety Stand-Down Day. Dr.Cagle will speak in the Main Auditorium at9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, September 26.

Selected by NASA in 1996, Cagle hascompleted extensive training and evalua-tion and is prepared for assignment as amission specialist. She is currently assignedto the Astronaut Office Operations Plan-ning Branch, supporting the shuttle andspace station.

As a flight surgeon and FAA senior avia-tion medical examiner, she will share herviews on mission safety and the medicalchallenges of long-term space flight.

Cagle was born in West Point, New Yorkbut considers Novato, California her hometown. Her association with NASA began in1989, before her selection as an astronaut.She was a flight surgeon assigned to atactical hospital in the United Kingdom,when she volunteered to serve as the AirForce Medical Liaison Officer for the STS-30Atlantis shuttle mission to test the Magellanspacecraft. She was assigned to the trans-atlantic landing site at Banjul, West Africa,to provide emergency rescue and evacua-tion of the shuttle crew, should it have beenrequired.

Since formally joining NASA, Cagle hascontributed on-going data to the longitudi-nal study on astronaut health, and served asa consultant for space telemedicine. Shewas a member of the NASA Working Groupand traveled to Russia to establish interna-tional medical standards and proceduresfor astronauts. She also conducted healthscreenings of MIR-18 consultants from theRussian Federation.

Dr. Yvonne Cagle to addressAmes staff during safety week

Make your plans now to attend theSeptember 26 address, ask questions andget an autograph. At the conclusion of this

session, the focus will shift to the Stand-Down Day street fair on Durand Road. At11:30 a.m., the chili tasting and voting willbegin. There is still time to organize a teamand enter the chili cook-off. The point ofcontact for this event is Christel VanArsdaleat ext. 4-1175 or email her at:cvanarsdale@mail.arc.nasa.gov

For more information on the featuredspeakers, the training class offerings andother events scheduled for Safety and Qual-ity week, log on to the Code Q web site:http://www.q.arc.nasa.gov. For questions,contact Jack Stanley at ext. 4-4242 or byemail at: jstanley@mail.arc.nasa.gov

Astronaut Yvonne Cagle

6 — The Ames Astrogram August 20, 2001

Community Outreach & Involvement

Annual airshow returns to Ames . . .

phot

o by

Ast

rid

Ter

lep

phot

o by

Jon

as

Diñ

oph

oto

by A

stri

d T

erle

p

phot

o by

Ast

rid

Ter

lep

phot

o by

Tom

Red

dy

phot

o by

Tom

Red

dy

The Ames Astrogram — 7August 20, 2001

. . . and 100,000 guests applaud!

Community Outreach & Involvement

phot

o by

Ast

rid

Ter

lep

phot

o by

Ast

rid

Ter

lep

phot

o by

Pam

Dav

orenph

oto

by T

om R

edd

y

phot

o by

Tom

Red

dy

phot

o by

Tom

Red

dy

8 — The Ames Astrogram August 20, 2001

Comings & Goings

Ames employees are invited to attend a“Celebration of NASA’s Airborne ScienceProgram – Past and Present.” The eventwill be held on September 17 in the NASAAmes Hangar, Building 211 from 6:00 p.m.to 10:00 p.m. There will be three notewor-thy speakers, a buffet-style dinner and lotsof old friends.

For reservations, you can call PattiBergin at ext. 4-6314 or e-mail her at:pbergin@mail.arc.nasa.gov. The cost is$35 per person. Make checks payable to“Airborne Science Reunion” and send themto Pattie Bergin at: NASA Ames ResearchCenter, M/S 158-1, Moffett Field, CA 94035.The deadline for registration is Sept. 1.

For up-to-date information, visit theevent web page at: www.http://geo.arc.nasa.gov/air_sic_dinner. Invite afriend and come join the fun.

Airborne Science reunion set for September 17

Participants in the 2001 Summer Stu-dent Research Program (SSRP), co-spon-sored by NASA and the Research Institutefor Advanced Computer Science (RIACS)are shown here. The SSRP program pro-vides an opportunity for students to gainexperience and expertise solving challeng-ing problems at the forefront of informa-tion technology and space science.

They are just completing a 10-weekinternship at Ames, teaming with NASAscientists on research projects in a variety ofareas in information technology. The stu-dents worked in the areas of automatedplanning and scheduling, natural languageunderstanding, model-based autonomy forspacecraft and rovers, automated softwaresynthesis and verification, Bayesian statis-tics, visualization and collaborative virtualenvironments, temporal constraint prob-lems, Amphion/NAV, Kalman Filters, safety-critical software and collective intelligence.

phot

o by

Tom

Tro

wer

The RIACS Summer Student Research Program participants for 2001: Left to right, back row: EllenCampana from University of Rochester; Jonathan Moody from Carnegie Mellon, Scott Johnson fromUniversity of Wyoming; and Judah DePaula from University of Texas. Middle Row: Peggy Leising,RIACS/SSRP program manager; Brent Venable from University of Padova; Kristin Branson fromUCSD; and Adrian Agogino from University of Texas. Front Row: Kate Mullen from Bard College;Matthew Deans from Carnegie Mellon; and Vandi Verma from Carnegie Mellon. Not pictured:Michael Whalen from University of Minnesota and Alex Groce from Carnegie Mellon.

Research Institute for Advanced Computer ScienceSummer Student Research Program winds down

The Ames Astrogram — 9August 20, 2001

Education & Learning

Twenty-five outstanding local highschool students turned their wildest dreamsinto reality this summer as they aimed forthe stars with the help of some of thenation’s brightest aerospace scientists andengineers.

On Aug. 9, the students graduated fromthe Summer High School ApprenticeshipResearch Program (SHARP) at Ames, aneight-week intensive science and engineer-ing hands-on learning and work experi-ence. The students were selected from acompetitive pool of applicants within a 50-mile radius of Ames based on their demon-strated enthusiasm and qualifications for acareer in the fields of mathematics, science,engineering and technology.

“One of the main attractions of theprogram is the reputation of former SHARPparticipants, both in the community andon-site,” said SHARP director Dr. Ray Hill.“Over 90 percent of SHARP participants goon to complete a university degree, andmany return to NASA as valued members ofthe Agency’s work force,” Hill said.

Sustaining NASA’s strength and growththrough future decades will require in-creased numbers of diverse, experiencedand capable scientists and engineers, ac-cording to Hill. Today’s students will be theemployees who design and produce theincreasingly advanced products and datacollection methods needed in the future, headded.

“SHARP is one of the cornerstones of ourNASA education program,” said Ames Cen-ter Director Dr. Henry McDonald. “We lookforward to new students coming to ourcenter each year and bringing with themfresh ideas, new perspectives and genuineenthusiasm,” McDonald said.

‘SHARP’ students graduate fromhands-on education program

Programs such as SHARP enable NASAto recruit and maintain a diverse workforceby reaching out to underrepresented youthsand encouragingcareer paths in thefields of mathemat-ics, science, engi-neering and tech-nology, accordingto Hill.

Some of NASA’stop scientists andengineers serve asmentors to studentsduring the program.This summer, SHARPapprentices at Amesassisted with re-search in the areasof life, Earth andspace sciences, as-trobiology, informa-tion technology,thermal protectionsystems and safety.They also prepared written reports anddelivered oral presentations during theirapprenticeship training. In addition, SHARPstudents participate in a variety of activi-ties, such as college fairs, seminars and fieldtrips.

SHARP was established in 1980 in re-sponse to a presidential directive for allfederal laboratories and research institu-tions to conduct summer apprenticeshipprograms for high school students tradi-tionally underrepresented in the fields ofmathematics, science, engineering andtechnology. The program aims to stimu-late interest in science-related fields in youngpeople from underrepresented communi-

ties. By establishing individual working re-lationships between students and activeresearchers, NASA ultimately hopes to cre-

ate a resource pool of potential applicantsfor future NASA employment.

SHARP is one of many educational pro-grams offered by Ames for students fromelementary school through college. In ad-dition, Ames offers an array of Internet-based and multimedia software for use inthe classroom, as well as teacher educationworkshops and materials.

Further information is available at: http://education.arc.nasa.gov/

SHARP is sponsored by NASA’s Educa-tion Division and participating NASA cen-ters. Further information is available onlineat: http://education.nasa.gov/sharp

BY JENNIFER NIETO

before oxygen first flooded the atmosphere.For oxygen to stay in the atmosphere,

the hydrogen and oxygen (or the organicmatter made from the hydrogen) must bekept apart. Otherwise, they will react witheach other and the oxygen will disappear.Conventional theories have focused on theburial of dead organic matter deep in theEarth, where it is 'hidden' from atmosphericoxygen. The possibility that a lot of hydro-gen might escape to space was ignored, for

continued from front page

BY KATHLEEN BURTON

the most part.According to Catling, his theory of high

levels of hydrogen-containing methane gas,which acquired its hydrogen indirectly fromwater, also would account for why earlyEarth didn't freeze. "Three billion years ago,the sun was only 4/5ths as bright as it isnow. The Earth should have frozen over,"he said. But methane, a powerful green-house gas, would have kept the Earth warm.

Related information about both papers

may be obtained at:http://www.sciencemag.org andhttp://www.nature.com

Other authors, all of Ames, include BradBebout and David Des Marais on the Na-ture paper and Kevin Zahnle and Christo-pher McKay on the Science paper.

NASA's Exobiology and Astrobiologyprograms provided funding for bothprojects.

Ames scientists propose new theory ofEarth's early evolution

SHARP students celebrate their 2001 graduation with their coordinatorDr. Ray Hill and assistant Augustus Fitzgerald.

phot

o by

Jon

as

Diñ

o

10 — The Ames Astrogram August 20, 2001

Ames employees participate inbreast cancer research walk

Ames employees Ann Hutchisonleft, of Code DX, and Dana Bolles ofCode QE, celebrate their successfulcompletion of the Avon Breast Can-cer 3-Day Walk.

Along with Susan Levine of CodeJTA and more than 3,000 other ‘walk-ers,’ they traversed the 60-milecourse from Santa Clara to San Fran-cisco to raise money and awarenessabout breast cancer. AmberleeChaussee of Code DXE served as avolunteer crew member during theevent.

Each walker raised at least $1,900for research, and most had pledgesthat far exceeded that total.

photo by Tom Trower

NASA scholarscompleteresearch

Minority University Research and Edu-cation Program (MUREP) NASA schol-ars, were joined by their mentors andcenter management to celebrate thecompletion of their 10-week summerresearch experience. The closing cer-emony, hosted by the Equal Opportu-nity Programs Office and the Ames Ex-change, was held in the Ames VisitorCenter on August 1.

Sailing enthusiasts who attended themeeting of the Ames Sailing Club on Thurs-day, August 9 in the Ballroom of the MoffettTraining and Conference Center were in-

spired by the exploits of the Club’s specialguest speaker, Dawn Riley, CEO and Cap-tain of America True. Dawn Riley is the onlyAmerican to sail in three America’s Cupsand two Whitbread ‘round-the -world’ races.She was the first woman in the world tomanage an America’s Cup syndicate. She

Dawn Riley, CEO and Captain of America True, speaks at AmesResearch Center as guest of the Sailing Club.

provides vision and guidance for AmericaTrue’s sailing team and youth outreachprogram. For her match racing and leader-ship skills, she received the Rolex

Yachtswoman of theYear award for 1999.

During her 45-minute talk, whichfeatured video clipsfrom America’s Cupand open oceanraces, she describedthe rigors of sailingin the SouthernOcean, the tediumof race preparation,and her part in thetechnology develop-ment that is crucialto a successful bidfor the Cup. She alsoencouraged mem-bers of the audienceto help the AmericaTrue organizationwith its youth out-reach program.

America True used NASA technology todesign the boat that Dawn and her crewraced in Auckland, New Zealand duringAmerica’s Cup 2000. NASA assisted theteam with computational fluid dynamiccodes to evaluate their design. Using high-fidelity computation analysis tools, currently

Ames Sailing Club hosts world class sailor Dawn Rileyin use by NASA for propulsion applications,designers analytically tested the perfor-mance qualities of different sail and mastdesigns to select the optimal shapes andmaterial configurations for the InternationalAmerica’s Cup Class (IACC) racing boat.

Dawn Riley is also reaching out to thenext generation. True Youth, an outreachprogram sponsored by America True, chal-lenges young people to aspire to achievemore than they would dream possible. Theprogram depends on volunteers to takedisadvantaged kids sailing for an afternoon.Some of the kids may show interest insailing. Those kids will be given opportuni-ties to learn to swim and sail through com-munity programs at very low cost.

The Ames Sailing Club is sponsored bythe Ames Exchange. It was started in 1997by a handful of Ames sailing enthusiasts andhas grown into a fun, active organization.The Club was organized as a means to getMoffett resident agency employees andtheir families interested, and involved, inthe art and sport of sailing.

For the most up-to-date news and infor-mation, calendar, photo album, and otherinformation, please visit the Ames SailingClub website at http://sail.arc.nasa.gov. Forinformation about joining the club, contactJoyce Barrett at: jbarrett@mail.arc.nasa.gov.

BY STAN PHILLIPS

On- & Off-site Events

phot

o by

Tom

Tro

wer

The Ames Astrogram — 11August 20, 2001

Miscellaneous

Transportation

Ames ClassifiedsAds for the next issue should be sent to

astrogram@mail.arc.nasa.gov by the Monday followingpublication of the present issue and must be resubmit-ted for each issue. Ads must involve personal needs oritems; (no commercial/third-party ads) and will run onspace-available basis only. First-time ads are givenpriority. Ads must include home phone numbers; Amesextensions and email addresses will be accepted forcarpool and lost & found ads only. Due to the volumeof material received, we are unable to verify the accuracyof the statements made in the ads.

Calendar & Classifieds

3 bd/1.5 ba, 2-story twnhs on Luz Avenue, San José.Freshly painted inside, dishwasher, gas heat, w/w carpet,outside child play area/large patio. 1 car port. Easy accessto H101/680/280. $285K. Azucena (408) 559-2881.

House for rent: 3bd/2ba/2 car garage located justoutside the center. Ready for immediate occupancy.$2,200 per month includes water, garbage and gardener.No smoking, no pets. Call (408) 730-9208.

3 bd/2 ba 1,700 sq.ft. Yr. 2000 Mnfctrd. home rightoff Shoreline (5 min commute or 15 min walk). Grmt.ktchn. w/bay windows. Mrbl. frplc. Huge Mstr. bd. andbthrm w/jczz. Cntrl. A/C and heating. Lots of amenities.$185K James (650) 428-0123.

House for rent, 2bd/1Ba, recently remodeled, neardowntown Sunnyvale, park, transportation (Pastoria xWashington). $1,900/mo. Outdoor pets and smoking.Call (408) 736-8260.

Housing

Event Calendar Ames Child Care Center Board of Directors Mtg,Every other Thursday (check website for meeting dates:http://accc.arc.nasa.gov), 12 noon to 2 p.m., N-269, Rm.201. POC: Joan Walton, ext 4-2005.

Native American Advisory Committee mtg, Aug28, 12 noon to 1 p.m., Building 19, Rm 1096. POC:Mike Liu at ext. 4-1132.

Ames Contractor Council Mtg, Sep 5, 11 a.m.,N-200, Comm. Rm. POC: Paul Chaplin at ext. 4-3262.

Environmental, Health and Safety MonthlyInformation Forum, Sep 6, 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.,Bldg. 19/Rm 1040. POC: Julie Quanz at ext. 4-6810.

Nat'l Association of Retired Federal Employees,(NARFE), Sept 7, S. J. Chapter # 50 mtg, 9:30 a.m.,Hometown Buffett, Westgate Mall, 4735 Hamilton Avenue,San José. Lunch at 11 a.m. $6.27 pp. Sept: Staff from officeof Rep’s Lofgren’s and Honda’s. POC: Earl Keener (408) 241-4459 or NARFE 1-800--627-3394.

NATO-RTO lecture series at Ames on “ErrorEstimation and Solution-Adaptive Discretization inComputational Fluid Dynamics,” Sept 10 - 14.Registration info at: http://www.nas.nasa.gov/NATO-RTO. For more information, send an e-mail to:miedmond@mail.arc.nasa.gov

Ames Federal Employees Union (AFEU) generalmeeting, Sept 19, 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., Bldg. 19, Rm 1042.Guests welcome. Info at: http://www.afeu.org. POC:Marianne Mosher at ext. 4-4055.

Ames Amateur Radio Club, Sept 20, 12 noon, N-T28(across from N-255). POC: Michael Wright, KG6BFK, at ext.4-6262. URL: http://hamradio.arc.nasa.gov

Model HO/HOn3 Railroad Train Club at MoffettField in Bldg. 126, across from the south end of HangarOne. Work nights are usually Friday nights, 7:30 p.m. to9:30 p.m. Play time is Sundays, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Call JohnDonovan (408) 735-4954 (W) or (408) 281-2899 (H).

Jetstream Toastmasters, Mondays, 12 noon to1 p.m., N-269/Rm. 179. Guests welcome. POC: SamsonCheung at ext. 4-2875 or Lich Tran at ext. 4-5997.

Ames Bowling League, starts September 4. Bowlingat the Palo Alto Bowl on Tuesday nights. We are lookingfor full-time bowlers to fill out our teams and substitutebowlers as well. Pre-league meeting at Palo Alto Bowl onTuesday, August 28 at 6 p.m. Questions about the leagueor wish to sign up, contact Mike Liu at ext. 4-1132.

Ames Diabetics (AAD), 1st & 3rd Weds, 12 to 1p.m., at Ames Mega Bites, Sun rm. Support group discussesnews affecting diabetics. POC: Bob Mohlenhoff, ext.4-2523/email at: bmohlenhoff@mail.arc.nasa.gov.

Exchange Information

Beyond Galileo N-235 (8 a.m. to2 p.m.) ext. 4-6873Ask about NASA customized gifts for specialoccasions. Check centerwide emails for special salesand events. Maker your reservations for Chase Parkhere.

Mega Bites (Ames Café) N-235(6 a.m. to 2 p.m.) ext. 4-5969Catering is available for your office B.B.Q. orluncheon. Come by for details. See daily menuat: http://exchange.arc.nasa.gov

Visitor Center Gift Shop N-223(10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) ext. 4-5412NASA logo merchandise, souvenirs, toys, giftsand educational items.

Tickets, etc... (N-235, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.)ext. 4-6873

NASA Lodge (N-19) 603-7100Open 7 days a week, 7:00 a.m. to 10 p.m.Rates from $40 - $50.

Vacation OpportunitiesLake Tahoe Squaw Valley twnhse, 3bd/2ba,

balcony view, horseback riding, hiking, biking, golf,river rafting, tennis, ice skating and more. Summerrates. Call 650) 968-4155, DBMcKellar@aol.com

South Lake Tahoe cottage with wood fireplaceand hot tub. Rates from $50 to $130 per night.Call (650) 967-7659 or (650) 704-7732.

Vacation rental, Bass Lake CA 14 mls south ofYosemite. 3 bd/1.5 ba, TV, VCR, MW, fireplace,charcoal BBQ, priv. boat dock, great lake view.Sleeps 8. $1,050/wk. Call (559) 642-3600 or(650) 390-9668.

Big Sur vacation rental, secluded 4bd/2bahouse in lovely canyon setting. Fully equippedkitchen. Access to priv. beach. Tub in patio garden.Hiking, biking and jogging. Halfway betweenCarmel & Big Sur. $175/night for 2, $225 for 4 &$250 for more, plus $150 cleaning dep. Call (650)328-4427.

NASA Swim Center (N108) 603-8025

Ultralight Aircraft, single seater, Rotec Rally 2B, 3 axiscontrol, stick & rudder. No UV exposure, treated withTLC. Original owner. All doc's. $3,450. Glenn (408) 842-8411.

'70 VW convertible classic, original owner, no smogneeded; transmission ok; needs work on top & possiblyengine. $1,600. Esther or Art (650) 961-2732.

The pool is open for the summer. Book your office birthday party. A fun way to spend the day.

Get your exclusive discount tickets for Air ExpoMoffett Field 2001. Supplies are limited, so getyours early. Check our web site for all discounts tolocal attractions, http://exchange.arc.nasa.gov andclick on tickets.

Ames public radio1700 KHz AM radio -- information announcements

& emergency instructions, when appropriate, for Amesemployees.

Information about products, services and oppor-tunities provided to the employee and contractorcommunity by the Ames Exchange Council. Visitthe web site at: http://exchange.arc.nasa.gov

Safety and Quality Week Scheduled for September24 thru 28 -- includes Safety Stand-Down Day, Chili Cook-off and much more. Training classes offered all week. POCjstanley@mail.arc.nasa.gov, ext. 4-4242. Environmental,health and safety monthly information forum at: http://q.arc.nasa.gov/qe/events/EHSseries/

Free to a good home; 4 year old Lab, Shepherd mixmale dog (has had all his shots). Great personality, lovesto play fetch and loves the water. Owner has had thisdog from a pup, but moved to an apartment and can'tkeep him. Dog needs a fenced yard to play in and lots ofattention. Call (650) 938-9922 before 9 p.m.

Couch, quality leather, light sky-grey. 8 foot long.Great condition. $551 or B/O. Shirley (408) 777-8048.

Pair of San José Sharks hockey tickets for games onSept 20 and 25 available. Tickets are $34 each. Call(408) 735-0524.

S-10 bench seat (black cloth), $80 or best offer.Gary (408) 268-7891.

Aluminium pickup shell. Fits an extended cab, shortbed pickup. Side windows, brake light. $100. Julie (650)365-4758.

Z-Rig aluminum canopy with frosted windows, fitssmall pickup. $75. Call (650) 938-9922 before 9 p.m.

All Ames employees are invited to submitarticles relating to Ames projects and activities forpublication in the Astrogram. When submittingstories or ads for publication, submit your mate-rial, along with any questions, in MS word by e-mail to: astrogram@mail.arc.nasa.gov on or be-fore the deadline.

Deadline PublicationMon, Aug 27 Mon, Sep 4Mon, Sep 10 Mon, Sep 17Mon, Sep 24 Mon, Oct 1

Astrogram deadlines

‘85 Cadillac Sedan deVille, 94k total mls, 14k mls onnew engine, all leather interior. Relatively newtransmission, radiator, ac compressor, motor mounts,water pump and parts, brakes, heater hose, distributor,etc. Blue book value for Cad of this year, miles and gdcond is $2,700. C. McCloskey. Call (408) 253-3027 oremail conradmccloskey@cs.com

‘87 Toyota 4Runner 4WD, white, 5 spd. AC, goodcondition, 5K. Call (209) 835-6351 or email:ntan@mail.arc.nasa.gov.

'89 Dodge Grand Caravan, 149K mls, orig. owner,blue with blue interior, very clean, seats 7, roof rack,towing pkg, AC, AM/FM, cass stereo, cruise control.$2,800. Julie (650) 365-4758.

‘92 Honda Prelude, blue, driver side airbag, 4 cylr,2.3 liter, 5 spd, 105k mls, A/C, sun roof, alloy wheels, PS,PW, PL, AM/FM stereo with cassette, 6 disc CD changer,cruise control, ABS, Rear spoiler, must sell to make wayfor the baby! $7,500 or B/O. Bryan (650) 943-2322.

‘95 Acura Integra LS 3 door-hatchback, 5-spdmanuall, black exterior beige interior, 62k mls only andin exc cond. AC/moonroof/AM-FM stereo/pwr windows.Never been to the mechanic. Nd a larger car for baby.$10,000. Maya (650) 988-6993 or zvaka@excite.com

‘95 Toyota T-100 extended cab pickup with shell,sport rack, tow package, bedliner, AM/FM cassette, air,etc. 85,000 ml. $11,400. Call (650) 969-5867.

'99 Jeep Gr. Cherokee Laredo 4X4 6cyl, leather,pwr. seats, tow pkg., 10-disc CD changer, premiumsound, 45K miles, asking $19,000. Call (408) 823-1111.

Palm Pilot III (clear see-through case). Looks like aVISOR. Has leather-like cover and a broken paper clipinside one of pocket. Might have a business card fromBBC (United Kingdom) personnel. Might have lost it inthe following buildings: 243, 244, T20G, Cafeteria, 2, 3.Call Guille del Carmen at ext. 4-1860.

Lost:

12 — The Ames Astrogram August 20, 2001

Accomplishment & Recognition

Official BusinessPenalty for Private Use, $300

National Aeronautics andSpace Administration

Ames Research CenterMoffett Field, California 94035-1000

AstrogramTHE AMES

PLEASE RECYCLEPrinted on recycled and recyclable paper with vegetable-based ink.

FIRST CLASS MAILPOSTAGE & FEES PAID

NASAPermit No. G-27

The Ames Astrogram is an officialpublication of the Ames Research Center,National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration.

AstrogramTHE AMES

We can be reached via email at:astrogram@mail.arc.nasa.gov or byphone at (650) 604-3347.

Managing Editor........David MorseEditor..........................Astrid Terlep

Imagine you are driving to work andsuddenly your car changes direction. Now,imagine your airplane doing that at 30,000feet or even worse at 300 feet. Thanks to anAmes engineer, this is less likely to happenon one of the most heavily used commercialairliners, the Boeing 737.

Kuo-Chuan (K.C.) Shih of the Army/NASA Rotorcraft Division’s Flight Controland Cockpit Integration branch, continuesto be recognized for his accomplishmentsrelated to the National Transportation SafetyBoard (NTSB) investigation of US Air flight427 in 1994. Shih’s latest recognition wasin the NASA’s Aerospace TechnologyEnterprise’s annual report in the 911 ‘emer-gency’ technology calls section. This sec-tion covers NASA’s world-class technicalresources used to help identify and solvetechnical problems in the aviation and aero-space community.

Shih credits his insight into the 1994investigation to a combination of goodfortune and being in the right place at theright time.

After moving from Taiwan, Shih earneda degree in aeronautics and worked at Amesand various companies where he gainedextensive knowledge in electronics, servocontrol and flight control.

Shih has worked on numerous Amesprojects, including the quiet short-haul re-search aircraft (QSRA), the XV-15 tilt rotorand the VSRA (Harrier YAV-8B) vertical/short take-off research aircraft. Shih is cur-rently working on the Rotorcraft-Aircrew

Systems ConceptsAirborne Laboratory,also known as RAS-CAL. The RASCAL isan UH-60 helicoptermodified to be an air-borne fly-by-wirecontrol simulator.

This combinationof experience madeShih a perfect candi-date to participate inthe1994 investiga-tion. Shih was theonly NASA memberon the NTSB expertpanel. Impressedwith Shih’s technicalexpertise and insight,the NTSB and the FAAhave repeatedly re-quested his participation in subsequentpanel meetings of FAA 737 flight controlengineering test and evaluation board chal-lenge teams.

Shih credits much of his success toAmes. “We are well trained under theNASA environment. We are trained to asystematic and analytical approach to tech-nical problems,” he said.

Despite all of the recognition, Shih re-mains humble and grateful for all of theopportunities and support he has receivedat Ames. “I really don’t deserve this high-light in the aerospace technology enter-prise annual progress report compared to

the work being performed in other pro-grams. But, I really appreciate the visibilitythat it has given to NASA Ames ResearchCenter,” he said.

To view the article in the 2000progress report visit: http://www.aerospace.nasa.gov/library/ar00/911.htm To read the article on Shih’srecogntion for his contributions to the NTSBaccident investigation in the May 7, 1999Astrogram edition, visit: http://www.amesnews.arc.nasa.gov:8080/astrogram/astrostories/050799/Shih.html

More kudos for Ames engineer

photo by Tom Trower

BY JONAS DIÑO

K.C. Shih