GRAA NEWSLETTER
P.O. Box 1184, Greenbelt, MD 20768-1184

IMPORTANT DATES

COMMENTS FROM TONY COMBERIATE, GRAA PRESIDENT:

Our November luncheon speaker was Dr. Lori Glaze, the Planetary Science Division Director at NASA Headquarters. Her presentation, entitled “NASA’s Planetary Science Program: Where We Are and Where We Are Going,” summarized how the 25 current planetary missions in operation and in development are satisfying the goals of discovering the secrets of the universe, searching for life elsewhere, and protecting the Earth. Missions include OSIRIS-REx, which is currently orbiting the asteroid Bennu to attempt to collect a sample for return to Earth. Bennu is on a course that could hit the Earth within 100 years. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), launching in 2021, will demonstrate as asteroid deflection technique using kinetic impact to change the orbital period of a small companion of the Didymos asteroid. These missions will lay the groundwork for protecting Earth from catastrophic collisions with near-Earth asteroids. A collision with a 1 km asteroid could destroy an area the size of metropolitan Washington, DC. It Is believed by many that a 10 km asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs. If any of the many known near-Earth asteroids is determined to likely have a collision course with Earth, DART’s deflection technique could protect the Earth from any danger.

The Europa Clipper Mission will investigate the thickness, depth, and salinity of the layer of ice over the ocean on this moon of Jupiter, most likely to have conditions that could support life. The Dragonfly Mission, to be launched in 2026, is a helicopter drone, which will search Saturn’s moon Titan for origins and signs of life. Titan has an atmosphere four times as thick as Earth's with 50% more atmospheric pressure. After arriving in 2031, the drone will make eight landings over a 100 km distance searching for organic and other signs that life once existed on this now cold and high radiation environment. Dr. Glaze also updated us on the latest Mars endeavors. The Curiosity spacecraft continues to investigate the residual clay in the Gale Crater, which was once filled with water, for traces of past life. The InSight mission, which is sitting on the surface of Mars, contains the first seismometer robotically placed on the surface of a planet and an isolated weather station. The extremely sensitive seismometer is shielded from weather events and is capable of measuring the smallest ‘vital signs’ of the planet.

The next Mars mission, Mars 2020, will launch in July and land in the Jezero Crater, which is believed to have contained water some 3½ to 4 billion years ago. This is the same timeframe that water is believed to have first existed on Earth. Mars 2020 will collect samples to return to Earth on a future mission called the Mars Sample Return mission. This is a NASA/ESA cooperative mission (which will consist of a NASA lander/rover to collect the samples and a European orbiter to return the samples to Earth). The entire mission, from launch to return the samples to Earth, is planned to be completed in five years.

The Planetary Science Division also sponsors a competitive small satellite program called SIMPLEx. Three missions were selected to begin development and at least one will be selected for flight after completing Preliminary Design Reviews next fall. The three missions include: a two- spacecraft to study the formation of small binary asteroid systems; a two-spacecraft mission to Mars to study the Martian atmosphere and how it responds to solar wind; and a hyperspectral imager, which will map water on the lunar surface and determine how it was formed.

Dr. Glaze is also leading an effort to inspire future leaders by creating a culture that encourages diversity and inclusion while attracting and retaining both early-career scientists and principle investigators and engaging the general public in all areas of NASA Science.

MEMBERS, DID YOU HAPPEN TO KNOW OR WORK WITH EARL H. DILLEY AS AN ELECTRONICS TECHNICIAN AT GSFC FROM 1961 TO 1974: Earl passed away in 2008 and one of his grandsons, who serves as Chief of Staff to a US Representative from WV, would like to find out more about what Earl did to support Apollo and Explorer satellite missions during his stint at GSFC. If you have information you could share about Earl’s work during the ’60s through the mid-’70s, please either send an email to phillina.tookes@nasa.gov or call her at 301-286-1520 and she will decide what information would be of import to pass along to Earl’s grandson.

FROM THE GODDARD ARCHIVES – THEY HAPPENED IN DECEMBER AND JANUARY : December 18, 1999 – The Terra spacecraft was launched on an Atlas-2 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base (AFB), CA. The Earth Observing System (EOS) is a science and observation program that will provide long-term data sets for Earth’s systems science in order to gain an understanding of the interactions between Earth’s land, atmospheres, oceans, and biology. The Terra satellite (formerly known as EOS-AM1) is a morning equator-crossing platform which includes a suite of sensors designed to study the diurnal properties of cloud and aerosol radiative fluxes. Another cluster of instruments on Terra will address issues related to air-land exchanges of energy, carbon, and water.
January 22, 1975 – The Landsat 2 spacecraft was launched on a Delta rocket from Vandenberg AFB, CA. Landsat 2 was the second of a series of modified Nimbus satellites. The near-polar orbiting spacecraft served as a stabilized, Earth-oriented platform for obtaining information on agricultural and forestry resources, geology and mineral resources, geography, cartography, environmental pollution, oceanography and marine resources, and meteorological phenomenon.

REMEMBERING OUR FORMER COLLEAGUES:

• Emmett W. Chappelle, of Baltimore, MD passed away on October 14. He came to GSFC in ’66 and was initially assigned to the Laboratory of Atmospheric & Biological Sciences of the Space Sciences Directorate. In ’71 he transferred to the Laboratory for Extraterrestrial Physics in the Space & Earth Sciences Directorate. In ’73 he moved to the Earth Observations Systems & Systems Engineering Division of the Space Applications & Technology Directorate and in ’74 he moved to Mission Technology Division of the Engineering Directorate until ’76 and then moved to the Earth Survey Applications Division of the Applications Directorate until ’84. In ’85 he transferred to the Laboratory for Extraterrestrial Physics in the Space & Earth Sciences Directorate until ’91 when the directorate was renamed to the Earth Sciences Directorate and he retired in 2001.
• Richard A. Goldberg, of Silver Spring, MD passed away on November 2. He came to GSFC in ’63 as a Physicist and was initially assigned to the Theoretical Division in the Office of Space Sciences & Satellite Applications. In ’64 he transferred to the Space Sciences Division Spacecraft Technology Division of the Office of Space Science & Satellite Applications and then moved to the Laboratory for Space Sciences in ’65 where he remained until through ’70. In ’71 he transferred to the Laboratory for Planetary Atmospheres in the Space & Earth Sciences Directorate until ’74, when he moved to the Laboratory of Atmospheric & Hydrospheric Applications Division of the Applications Directorate until ’76 and then was reassigned to the Laboratory for Atmospheric Sciences through ’79. In ’80 he moved back to the Laboratory for Planetary Atmospheric Sciences until ’85 when he was reassigned to the Laboratory for Extraterrestrial Physics in the Space & Earth Sciences Directorate (the title of which was changed to the Space Sciences Directorate in ’90 and remained until it was renamed to the Sciences & Exploration Directorate around 2005. He continued working there until retiring in 2013 after serving 50 years at GSFC.
• LaVerne (Vern) F. Hall, , of Canyon Lake, TX passed away on October 22. He graduated from high school in Presque Isle, ME and enlisted in the US Army in ’71. He served in Vietnam, Korea and four stateside assignments before leaving the Army in ’78 to serve as an Air Traffic Controller at the BWI airport. He joined Bendix to support the GSFC Mission Operations & Data Systems Directorate in ’83 and NASA’s Networks Operations Division as a Network Manager in ’95. Over the next 7 years he represented the Mission Operations Directorate for Space Station Freedom, Customer Data Operating System, Space Network Interoperability Panel (w/ESA & NASDA) and became the Network Director for ELV Launch support. It was during this period that he earned his BS from the University of Maryland. In ’92 he accepted the management position in the Network Interface & Planning Office at Johnson Space Station. In ’98 he was asked to support the NASA CIO for certifying its Y2K readiness for all NASA spacecraft, tracking stations, data transport assets, data processing facilities, and operations support equipment. He was awarded a Presidential Medal for his Y2K efforts. It was during this period that he earned his MS degree from Southern Methodist University’s Lyle School of Engineering. He continued accepting positions of responsibility until retiring in December2014 with 41 years of service to his beloved country. He and his wife Phyllis retired to the Texas Hill Country where they enjoyed the quiet rural life while planning their next trip, especially to ME or the British Isles.
• Charles (Charlie) P. Madison, of Kilgore, TX passed away on October 3. He came to GSFC in ’63 and was initially assigned to the Test & Evaluation Division of the Office of Technical Services. In ’64 the Office of Technical Services was renamed the Systems Reliability Directorate with no change to the name of the division title and remained there until being reassigned from ’72 through ’76 to the Engineering Support Office of the Test & Evaluation Division. In ’77 he was reassigned to the Engineering Services Division of the Engineering Directorate until he retired in ’86.
• Charles (Charlie) H. Marcus, of Silver Spring, MD passed away on November 22. With prior experience from owning a trucking company and his expertise as one of the earliest safety engineers who was a pioneer of what became the US Department of Transportation, he was hired by GSFC in ’81 and assigned as Safety Officer for the Health, Safety & Security Office of the Management Operations Directorate and retired in ’89.
• Ralph B. Shapiro, of Silver Spring, MD passed away on November 22^nd. He came to GSFC in ’63 and was initially assigned to the Aeronomy & Meteorology Division in the Office of Space Science & Satellite Applications. In ’65 he was transferred to working on the Nimbus Project in the Projects Directorate. In ’71 he became the Mission Operations Director when it became the ERTS/Nimbus Project. In ’74 he split his responsibilities between and Nimbus Project and the Systems Division of the Engineering Directorate until it was changed in ’79 to the Projects Management Division of the Office of Orbiting Satellites Projects and in ’80 and ‘81he served as Deputy Project Manager (DPM)/Technical and all DPMs were moved from the Engineering Directorate to the Flight Projects Directorate. In ’85 he became the Earth Observing System Project DPM and later in ’85 was transferred to the Space Station Project and retired in ’86.

TREASURER'S REPORT: Treasurer Jackie Gasch received tax-deductible donations from Joseph Bredekamp, Ronald Browning, William Bryant (in memory of Thomas Huber and William Peacock), Joyce Cephas (in memory of Arnold Cephas), Carroll Dudley (in memory of LaVerne Hall), Anna Marie Humphrey, John Lahzun, John Millman, Elaine Shell, Steven Smith, Susan Sparacino (in memory of William Peacock), Barbara Sweeney, H. Anne Thompson, and Thomas Underwood.

THOUGHT FOR DECEMBER AND JANUARY: Ye Ed apparently gets sufficient exercise, but it hardly compares to what most people consider an ideal exercise regimen. On another note, he simply enjoys jumping to conclusions, pushing his luck, and dodging deadlines!