Ultimate Virtual Expedition to Mars Wins U.S. Army Challenge

CTU instructor's virtual Mars expedition wins Army challenge

BRITTANY SHAMMAS

2010-06-12 18:51:38

Slip into a spacesuit, step into your spacecraft and prepare for takeoff to Mars — all from your computer chair.

It’s now possible with an award-winning program developed by a team of virtual-reality experts that includes a Colorado Technical University professor.

The program, called the Mars Expedition Strategy Challenge, was the $25,000 grand-prize winner in the Federal Virtual Worlds Challenge, a contest launched by the U.S. Army in August 2009.

Created by CTU-Colorado Springs computer science professor Cynthia Calongne and the Air Force’s Air University professors Mike McCrocklin Andrew Stricker, a retired Air Force officer, the program allows participants to experience space travel firsthand.

It was developed in Second Life, an online virtual world in which users interact as avatars.

Users notice satellites, asteroid belts and comets passing by. They hear, see and feel the takeoff.

They are engaged in decision-making and cannot move forward to the next phase until they demonstrate what they’ve learned by taking a quiz.

They face the same questions a NASA commission examined while looking at options for future human space travel.

“It’s not like, ‘Let’s go read some theory about NASA’s program,’” Calongne said. “We use Second Life in many ways, but in particular to make learning come alive.”

The program was developed to answer questions about space travel, and it was later submitted to the contest. The $25,000 was given to Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., for research and development, Calongne said.

It was the program’s ability to engage learners that made it stand out to judges in the challenge, said Tami Griffith, science and technology manager for games and virtual worlds for learning for the U.S. Army Simulation and Training Technology Center, which created and sponsored the contest.

“If you can engage learners, you’re going to be more successful at teaching them,” Griffith said. “The whole intent of the challenge was to go out there and see who has mastered that — engaging learners. This entry was exemplary in that way.”

Students in Stricker’s classroom at Air University at Maxwell are “fascinated” by the program.

“Every time we introduce real-life challenges to students, it captures their imaginations,” Stricker said. “A lot of times, students assume the answer is in textbooks, but lots of times the biggest challenges are still out there to be worked on. (The students) have a role to play; they can help us.”

But the program is not just for students. Anyone with a computer can try it by contacting one of the developers.

And it’s important that people from various backgrounds access the program and try to answer questions about space travel, Stricker and Calongne said.

“It’s amazing how many people think, ‘My ideas don’t matter,’” Calongne said. “And it’s really not true at all.”

One of the greatest benefits of Second Life is that it allows the global community to come together to share ideas, she said.

The Mars Expedition Strategy Challenge allows users to answer questions about space travel, such as whether the U.S. should invest its time and energy into visiting the planet.

“The space program is everyone’s program, not just scientists and engineers and congressmen,” Calongne said. “We all have vested interest in it.”

A person doesn’t have to be a professor at a university to have important input, Stricker said. Using a virtual space means many opinions can be shared, he said.

“They can share thoughts that we normally otherwise wouldn’t have even considered,” Stricker said. “It’s a rare opportunity for us, because it’s hard to get those kinds of inputs.”

MORE INFO

Visit Second Life at www.secondlife.com
To try out the Mars Expedition Strategy Challenge, contact Cynthia Calongne at calongne@pcisys.net

NASA MOON PROGRAM CANCELED - First (NASA) Arctic Oceanographic Voyage in Hopes of New Funding

20100615 Update:

Arctic Expedition Launches from Dutch Harbor, Alaska

The small, remote town of Dutch Harbor, Alaska, is the last stop in civilization for a team of NASA-funded scientists, who will be leaving June 15, 2010, from the harbor on Unalaska Island for a five-week research cruise into the Arctic.

Along with 85 Coast Guard crew members, a team of 43 scientists will head north aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy, the United States’ newest icebreaker, to study how climate change is affecting the ecology of the Arctic.

This natural-color image from the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite shows the island, which is part of the Aleutian Island chain that separates the North Pacific Ocean from the Bering Sea, on July 29, 2006. The town of Dutch Harbor is split between two peninsulas; a northern part that is south of the airport, and a southern part, which is connected to its neighbor by a bridge. The wakes of several ships are visible in the surrounding waters.

To follow the expedition in coming weeks, please visit NASA’s ICESCAPE blog

Bon voyage Healy!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35209628/ns/technology_and_science-space/

Whitehouse says "NO" to Moon Program - NASA grieves over canceled program - NASA now on a sinking ship... grabs USCG life ring Voyage.

Administrator says end of moon program is like ‘death in the family’

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden pauses during a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington on Tuesday.

NASA and President Barack Obama's administration expect to spend months working out the specifics for their new plan for U.S. space exploration, even as some within the space agency mourn the loss of its current effort to send astronauts back to the moon.

President Obama's 2011 budget request for NASA cut the agency's Constellation program completely, effectively canceling a five-year, $9 billion effort to build new Orion spacecraft and Ares rockets.

The new space vehicles were slated to replace NASA's three aging space shuttles (due to retire this year) and launch astronauts into orbit and on to the moon.
- - - snip - - -
Now that NASA has lost it's Moon Program funding they are grabbing like a bunch of sailors on a sinking ship for anything in sight to keep afloat as a Government Agency... but claiming to make the FIRST (NASA?) ARCTIC OCEANOGRAPHIC VOYAGE (on the USCG ICEBREAKER 'HEALY') is stretching Arctic history a mile... while space science and Arctic science (aka under the auspicious of  "climate change" and NASA ozone data fakery claims) are all intertwined it is obvious that NASA is flexing Agency muscle to lay claim to anything with approved funding to keep their cumulative heads above water while lack of Government Space funding sinks their Space Exploration flagship.
Mr.President - what in heavens name are you thinking? NASA is a NATIONAL ASSET (brains and technology). I believe you have just placed yourself aboard a sinking ship too. Strike number two. Change is coming...
- - - snip - - -
WASHINGTON -- NASA will hold a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, June 8 to preview the agency's first dedicated oceanographic research voyage. During the mission, scientists will study changing Arctic climate and ice conditions affecting ocean ecosystems.
The "Impacts of Climate on Ecosystems and Chemistryof the Arctic Pacific Environment" mission, or ICESCAPE, will investigate how climate change in the Arctic may be altering the ocean's ability to absorb carbon from the atmosphere. The voyage will collect critical observations to compare to NASA's satellite views of ocean biology and sea ice. The data will improve scientists' understanding of this key component of Earth's climate system.

The five-week voyage begins June 15, departing from Dutch Harbor, Alaska, on the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Healy. The ship will sail through the Bering Strait into the Chukchi and Beaufort seas off the northern coast of Alaska. More than 40 scientists will use an array of instruments to sample the physical and chemicalcharacteristics of the ocean and sea ice, as well as the biological characteristics of the microscopic plant and animal life that regulate the flow of carbon into and out of the sea. A second voyage is planned for 2011.

The teleconference participants are:

-     Paula Bontempi, ocean biology and biogeochemistry program manager, NASA Headquarters, Washington

-     Kevin Arrigo, ICESCAPE chief scientist, Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif.

-     Don Perovich, ICESCAPE co-chief scientist, U. S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, N.H.

To participate in the teleconference, reporters must contact Steve Cole at 202-358-0918 or stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov for dial-in instructions. Audio of the teleconference will be streamed live on NASA's Web site at: http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio

For more information on ICESCAPE, visit: http://www.espo.nasa.gov/icescape

Date: 8 June 2010

Location: Washington, DC, US

  

The summer melt of Arctic ice opens up nearly three million square miles of ocean and land

BERRIMILLA's Amazing Voyage - Northwest Passage

Sail-World.com News

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Berrimilla's amazing voyages, including North West Passage - 16 June
11:29 PM Tue 18 May 2010 GMT 

'Berrimilla and her intrepid crew'    Peter Campbell ©

Sydney-siders will get a chance to hear Alex Whitworth and Peter Crozier share their story about the most recent circumnavigation adventures of Berrimilla, a Brolga 33, at the next Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) Information Evening, on Wednesday 16 June, 2010 from 6.30pm, at New Beach Road, Darling Point.

No other yacht has sailed in both the Rolex Sydney Hobart in Australia and the Rolex Fastnet Race in England in the one year and then sailed back to contest the Rolex Sydney Hobart.

<:img std_Berrimilla1.jpg left :>The second circumnavigation has been a voyage from Australia to England through the daunting North West Passage across the top of Canada to again contest the Rolex Fastnet Race, and a delayed return voyage that took Whitworth and Peter Crozier in Berrimilla down to the French-owned Antarctic Kergelen islands before reaching their home port of Sydney in early March.

Berrimilla is the first yacht to circumnavigate the world under sail via the North West Passage and the first to circumnavigate via both Cape Horn and the North-West Passage - opposite ends of the Americas.

She is also the first Australian yacht to sail through the North-West Passage unassisted and in a single season. (Fine Tolerance transited the Northwest Passage over two seasons, finishing in 2006)

There is no charge for this information evening. Please register your attendance with CYCA reception
by email reception@cyca.com.au or 8292 7800, and tell them Sail-World sent you.

This evening is proudly presented by CYCA Cruising

\The 33 foot yacht Berrimilla alongside in Dutch after sailing non - stop from Sydney Australia. With a crew of two - Alex Whitworth & Corrie MacQueen. Joined in Dutch by Kimbra Lindus, they have since conquered the North West Passage and are heading to Falmouth UK across the Atlantic. Read about their amazing adventure at:http://awberrimilla.blogspot.com/

Why is China Interested in the Arctic?

Soon China could hold two of the largest icebreakers in the world, China will be able to offer "escort" services through the Arctic, saving some 6,000nm between production plants in China and consumers in Europe - just think of the strategic market advantage - because of two ice class vessels - now thats a good investment.

China’s Arctic Ambitions

Today’s idea: China has set its sights on the Arctic, an article says, since global warming is expected to transform the frozen region into new shipping lanes over an ocean rich in oil and natural gas.

World | The United States, Russia, Canada and other countries near the Arctic have claim upon it, but China? Whether it does or not, Paul McLearywrites in World Politics Review, it’s making its move. The notable holdout on climate-emissions cutbacks has been expanding its navy and its quest for resources and land from Latin America to Africa to the Middle East. Now this:

… It’s not what China has done so far, but instead what it appears to be planning to do, that has raised eyebrows among members of the Arctic Council [the federation of Arctic powers].

Specifically, not only does the Beijing government operate the world’s largest non-nuclear icebreaker — the Xuelong (Snow Dragon), purchased from Ukraine in 1993 — but in October 2009, China’s State Council declared that that Xuelong needed “brothers and sisters,” approving construction of a $300 million Chinese-built icebreaker expected to be operational in 2013. Between the two ships, China will have larger and more modern icebreakers than either the United States or Canada. While the new vessel is smaller than the Xuelong, with a displacement of 8,000 tons to the Xuelong’s 21,000 tons, its construction is a bold statement from a country that would benefit from the seasonal shipping lanes many expect to open up over the next several decades, as well as from the possibility of future oil and gas extraction in the unclaimed far north.

China- and Arctic-watchers have also noted that the new Chinese Embassy in Reykjavík, Iceland, will be the largest in the capital, and that the Chinese have been making investment overtures in the country since the island nation’s economy collapsed in 2008. The Chinese, as usual, have been circumspect about all of this activity. [World Politics Review]

Further reading: http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=china+arctic

Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill - Estimate How Much? (Over 30 million gallons? Yes!)

Ian D. MacDonald, an oceanography professor at Florida State University, estimated Friday that oil may be leaking from the breached well at a rate of approximately 25,000 barrels a day, or between 8-9 million gallons already. That’s  about 5 times the government estimate.

800KW Ocean Wave Power Unveiled in U.K.

Aquamarine Power on Wednesday unveiled the next generation in its development of wave energy machines.

The Oyster 2 is a wave-harnessing machine enabling the conversion of hydraulic power to electricity. The new 800-kilowatt model, to be built in Scotland, will be capable of producing 250 percent more power compared to theolder Oyster model. The Oyster 2 also has fewer moving parts, and is modular so that parts can be swapped out for maintenance as needed.

As with the earlier Oyster, the Oyster 2 is not the type of wave-harnessing machine that uses underwater turbines or buoys to directly generate electricity. Instead, a series of pistons triggered into action by ocean waves creates water pressure and pumps the pressurized water to shore through an underwater pipeline. The high-pressure water is then used to power a conventional hydroelectric generator.

While it seems elementary, the Oyster is at the forefront of wave-energy harnessing. Its closest competitor, theSeadog Pump, also concentrates on simply creating intense water pressure, albeit using buoys.

Three Oyster 2 machines will be installed by summer 2011 at the European Marine Energy Centre , which is located in the Orkney Islands off the coast of mainland Scotland. The three test machines will be connected to a 2.4-megawatt hydroelectric turbine onshore.

Aquamarine Power has said its long-term goal is to create an offshore commercial wave farm of 20 machines. When fully operational, the 20 machines could provide enough electricity to power 12,000 homes annually.

The company directly credits the funding it received from the U.K. government as helping spur development of the Oyster 2. In addition to being named Britain's "Innovator of 2009," Aquamarine Power received a Marine Renewables Proving Fund grant for 5.1 million pounds (over $7 million) and a U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change grant for 22 million pounds (over $31 million).

The original Oyster machine, which was built in 2009, is already operating in waters off the Orkney Islands.

(Credit: Aquamarine Power)

WWF Freund Expedition to Coral Triangle to photograph biodiversity

Taking to heart the notion that pictures paint a thousand words, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has found a perfect way to educate the public about the preserving the beauty of the Earth’s Coral Triangle – through photographs.

The triangular region known as the coral triangle contains one-fourth of the world’s island and covers the seas of six countries: the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste. The Coral Triangle is the global centre of marine diversity and it is for this reason that it is also called the Amazon of the Seas.

A journey of discovery

Renowned nature photographer Yogi Freund and his wife Stella of the Freund Factory Expedition will embark on an eye-opening journey to the Coral Triangle with the WWF. The expedition is called the WWF and Freund Expedition which aims to document WWF’s fieldwork.

The expedition will tell the story of the beauty underneath the Coral Triangle and the factors affecting it by capturing amazing images.

“We are faced with an exciting adventure as we are tasked to document beautiful locations and memorable places. Each day we see new things and incredible situations, we have the duty to tell a story through our images which is considerably easy since the places are already beautiful,” expressed Stella Freund of the WWF/Freund Photo Expedition.

The WWF/Freund Expedition is an 18-month photojournalistic expedition that also investigates the connectivity between the wildlife, the people of the region, and more importantly, the threats they are facing.

The marine life that can be found in the Coral Triangle consists of 600 of the 800 known corals. The region is also home to 2700 types of fish, six of the seven marine turtles as well as an impressive array of flora and fauna.

The apex of the Coral Triangle

The Philippines is situated at the heart of the Coral Triangle that is home to 27,000 square kilometers of coral reef. Our country prides itself as the second largest archipelago in the world with its 36,289 kilometers of coast. The Philippines is the center of marine biodiversity with over 500 species of reef-building corals.

But behind the breathtaking natural beauty of the Philippines lies the sad reality that not everyone can see or even realize - that we are a dangerous threat to the wonderful world that surrounds us. Changing this reality is among the key priorities of the Freund Factory Expedition and the World Wildlife Fund.

“Taking photos is the easy part, but it’s keeping your eyes open that was really hard. There are times when I was really stunned by the locals’ practices and how they treat the marine animals. Sometimes I need to re-compose myself and remember my task of documenting what’s happening to provide more information to the public,” said Freund.

The Philippines and Indonesia are two of the countries that have the world’s most threatened coral reefs. Less than 30 percent of the coral reefs in the country are currently in good condition. Harmful practices such as chemical pollution, acidification and destructive fishing continue to plague the coral reefs in the country.

Freund elaborated, “Presenting photos that tell a story of how we are negatively affecting our environment is the main goal of our expedition. It’s going behind the scenes and getting it on image. We hope to capture an image that will strongly appeal to the emotions of those who will be able to see it. Through which we hope that they will have the initiative to do something about the situation.”

Private initiative

Verde Island passage is one of the most significant links to the global ecosystem of the coral system. It is located between Batangas in Luzon and Oriental Mindoro and is described as the ‘center of the center of marine biodiversity’.

Hamilo Coast, a residential leisure destination in Batangas and nestled within the Coral Triangle is one of the few private sectors participating in the initiative to conserve nature. Hamilo has been working closely with the WWF-Philippines.

The said residential leisure destination is the first community development in the Philippines planned for ecological sustainability. Among the milestones of Hamilo Coast in cooperation with the WWF and local government is the declaration of their coves as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).

“We conducted an initial baseline study two years ago to check the health of reefs and the quality of marine life in the area and found out that these sites have the most potential for being declared as MPAs because of the biological attributes,” said Joel Palma, WWF-Philippines Vice President for conservation programs.

“However, the survey also revealed that the area has been subjected to various environmental stresses caused by illegal means of fishing, resulting in the deterioration of conditions of the coral, reef fish, and seagrass or macrolagal communities,” explained Palma.

The powerful images from the WWF/ Freund Expedition are set to improve the situation in the country. The emotional story behind every photo that is both artistic and educational is one way of getting through Filipinos.

Yogi Freund, lead photographer of the expedition said: “We hope that people can learn from our journey. Appreciating our photos is not enough; it’s about understanding the message and doing something to prevent the worsening conditions in the coastlines and what’s underneath the ocean. It’s part of our responsibility to take care of our habitat.”

http://www.mb.com.ph/print/257517

Its 2010 - is this "survey" prudent or "over the edge" risking human life?

Catlin Arctic survey: 

'An unbelievably hard journey'

Explorers with the Catlin Arctic survey battled
strong headwinds, freezing waters and dangerously
thin ice on their expedition to measure sea ice at 
the north pole.

http://www.catlinarcticsurvey.com/

Catlin Group Limited is an international specialist property/casualty 
insurer and reinsurer which operates through six underwriting hubs: 
London, Bermuda, the United States, Europe, Asia-Pacific and 
Canada. The Group underwrote gross premiums of US$3.7 billion 
in 2009.

What was learned from the EXXON VALDEZ Oil Spill? Why must we learn it again?

Black Wave - The legacy of the Exxon Valdez (Teaser EN) from Macumba on Vimeo.
"The day dawned like any other, barely. Within minutes (at 12:04 a.m. on March 24, 1989 to be precise), the way we think of oil, how we manage commercial shipping, and how the National Park Service manages resources changed forever... The Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound. Carrying 1,264,155 barrels of oil bound for Washington...

EXXON VALDEZ Oil Spill Facts & Figures
 257,000 barrels……of oil were spilled (equivalent to 11 million gallons or 125 olympic-sized swimming pools).
 17,000 barrels……of oil were recovered (750,000 gallons).
 1,300 miles……of shoreline were impacted.
 460 miles……the distance the spill stretched from Bligh Reef to the village of Chignik on the Alaskan Peninsula.
 512,000 feet (almost 100 miles)…of containment boom used for cleanup.
 11,000 people…employed by Exxon to assist with cleanup efforts.
 250,000 seabirds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 250 bald eagles, 22 killer whales, and billions of salmon and herring eggs……the ‘best’ estimate of how many animals died outright from the spill.

Some of the lessons learned include:
 Response to a major event or incident is complex, requires careful yet clearly identified management, exemplary leadership, and specialized skills.
 The lingering effects of such an event can be difficult to identify but are vitally important to understand.
 Prevention is inordinately cheaper than cleanup.
 Distance doesn't necessarily mean you're safe (after nearly 2 months, Katmai National Park was struggling with fresh oil).
 We didn’t know much about our resources and still today have a lot to learn—a realization which helped initiate natural resource Inventory &Monitoring, coastal mapping, and archeological survey efforts.
 We can and must work well with others—local communities, business, and state & federal government agencies...

Following the initial response came cleanup. With summer coming we divided the park staff into those who worked on the spill and those who ran the park. Everyone rose to the challenge – it was inspiring and humbling and a tremendous privilege to work alongside the small park staff and with all those who came to help us. Summer came and left and we were still engaged in spill activities on a daily basis...

For the next two summers there was cleanup and surveys. Surveys charting the fate and persistence of the oil that hit the shores of the park continue to this day, 20 years later. And 20 years later, on a hot day, you can still see the rainbow sheen in the water and smell the oil as it seeps from park beaches. I suspect some of it will always be there...

The rest of the story is here for your reading pleasure...


http://www.nps.gov/kefj/naturescience/upload/KEFJ_EVOS_1989-2009_qa.pdf