NASA Langley Forecast: How Fires Affect Climate, Automotive X Prize Winner

HAMPTON, Va., Oct. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being issued by NASA:

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VIRGINIA STUDENTS INVITED TO BECOME AEROSPACE SCHOLARS

High school juniors in the Commonwealth have until Nov. 5 to apply for the Virginia Aerospace Sciences and Technology Scholars program. The semester course, which begins Dec. 3, is an interactive online science, technology, engineering and math program. Based on course performance, scholars may be selected to spend a week at NASA Langley next summer where they will work with scientists and engineers to design a hypothetical mission to Mars and learn more about NASA careers. Visit www.vasts.spacegrant.org or contact Amy Johnson at 757-864-7022.

Speakers to explore "What Matters Next"

Imagine having a great idea – and a forum in which to share it. That's the concept behind TEDxNASA, a daylong event, Nov. 4, which will feature more than 20 top speakers in a variety of fields, including some from NASA. Last year's event attracted international best-selling author Mitch Albom, Carnegie Hall humorist and guitar virtuoso Mike Rayburn, and Virginia Tech robotic pioneer Dennis Hong, among others.  Who will be on this year's stage? Details are still being worked, but more will be revealed by the time public registration opens Oct. 11. For information: Kathy Barnstorff at 757-864-9886 or [email protected].

HOW FIRES AFFECT THE CLIMATE

Both human-induced large-scale burning and naturally occurring wildfires are more prevalent than many people realize, with millions of acres going up in flames each year. And both types of "biomass burning" are having a profound impact on the Earth's ecosystem. Fires started by people are affecting the climate, which in turns creates conditions for an increase in natural wildfires. For more information, contact Michael Finneran at 757-864-6110 or [email protected].

Automotive X Prize winner to be in Hampton

One of the luncheon speakers at the "Aviation Unleashed" conference at the Hampton Convention Center, Oct. 19, will be Ron Mathis, chief designer of the Edison2 "Very Light Car" that won half of the $10 million X Prize last month. The Lynchburg-based company has learned a lot about technology in building its lightweight, 100 mpg car that may have aviation applications. The car is featured in the current NASA TV show, "NASA 360," which can be downloaded from nasa.gov or iTunes. Some of that video will be available for media. For more information: Kathy Barnstorff at 757-864-9886 or [email protected].

'BAD' OZONE'S IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT

Lots of ozone is good -- high in the stratosphere, where it blocks harmful solar radiation. Near the Earth's surface, though, ozone is a pollutant that adversely affects plants, animals, and people. For more information, contact Michael Finneran at 757-864-6110 or [email protected].

WILDFIRES AFFECT CLIMATE

Elena Kukavskaya is a wildfire researcher with the Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. She's also a newly minted Fulbright scholar who travelled 7,000 miles across 12 time zones to spend the next six months at NASA Langley. Contact Michael Finneran at 757-864-6110 or [email protected].  

NASA EXTENDS ITS REACH TO HISPANIC STUDENTS

On Saturdays, beginning Oct. 2, the premier Spanish-language media outlet Univision Communications Inc. will air a series of educational video segments produced by NASA titled "NASA and You." The segments will air on Planeta U, the children's block, and have a potential to reach millions of Hispanic students. The 30-second videos in Spanish are aimed at encouraging students to study science, technology, engineering and math subjects. For information, contact Marny Skora at 757-864-6121 or [email protected].

Space shuttle Discovery to take last flight

Space shuttle Discovery is set to lift off on its last voyage Monday, Nov. 1, at 4:40 p.m. ET. NASA Langley engineers participate on damage assessment and impact dynamics teams during shuttle missions. Discovery's high-speed return through the atmosphere will provide more data to the Langley team looking at the effects of extreme aerodynamic heating, an aid for future spacecraft and aircraft designers, called the Hypersonic Thermodynamic Infrared Measurements experiment (HYTHIRM). For information, contact Kathy Barnstorff at 757-864-9886 or [email protected].

Will aviation of the future resemble the Jetsons?

TV animators once created a vision of life in 2062 that showed people flying to work and using robots for housework. How close are we to that fictional world of the Jetsons and what are the possibilities? Futurists, visionaries, entrepreneurs and technologists will explore those questions at "Aviation Unleashed," a three-day forum at the Hampton Convention Center Oct. 18-20, sponsored by NASA Langley and National Institute of Aerospace (NIA), both in Hampton.  For information: Kathy Barnstorff at 757-864-9886 or [email protected].

SPEAKER SERIES

Daytime presentations to employees at NASA Langley are held on the first Tuesday of each month at 2 p.m. in the Reid Conference Center. Media are invited to interview speakers at a news conference at 1:15 p.m. prior to the talk. The public is invited to a similar free presentation at 7:30 at Virginia Air and Space Center, Hampton. For more information, contact Chris Rink at 757-864-6786 or [email protected].

• OCTOBER 5 TALK - "Does NASA Matter?" by A. Thomas Young, chairman of Science Applications International Corporation. Young will discuss NASA's place in today's mature space world, and focus on its role in a global and commercial space community. Young is the former director of Planetary Programs at NASA Headquarters and was director of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center 1979-1982.

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SOURCE NASA