The membership meeting on March 3, 2025, featured Membership Chair Michael Hesse as guest speaker. Michael talked about his job. He works at NASA in Mountain View and he showed slides about his work. Michael is a director and he says he spends most of his day in meetings. His job includes the Science Directorate which includes Earth Sciences, Space Sciences and Astrobiology. Earth Sciences studies atmospheric composition, ecology and ecosystems, water resources, ecological forecasting, disasters, wildfire research and volcanoes. The NASA Earth Exchange uses geostationary satellite data for its studies. Their water monitoring tool studies evapotranspiration and is used by farmers and resource managers at all levels. Their wildfire research and management includes drought and fire risk prediction, airborne sensors and partnerships with both the public and private sector. The Space Science and Astrobiology Division studies the origin and evolution of life in the universe, resources on the Moon and Mars, and the evolution and formation of planets.
The search for water on the Moon includes the Neutron Spectrometer System to monitor hydrogen-bearing materials at the lander location and the Near InfraRed Volatiles Spectrometer System to measure volatiles including water and carbon dioxide.
The Mars Climate Modeling Center simulates the annual Mars annual global dust, water and carbon dioxide cycles.
Their BioMicroFluidic Incubator has a luminescence imager for Exobiology, a sample processor for life on icy worlds and an icy-world chemical analyzer.
They also do exoplanet research with the goal of a direct image of an Earth-like exoplanet using computer modeling, testing in their chronograph lab, and exoplanet observations. Data from NASA missions is interpreted with laboratory measurements to identify and study the evolution of ices found in astrophysical environments and to simulate interstellar, circumstellar and planetary environments to understand the origins of organic materials.
The Space Biosciences Division does biological research and technology development to enable NASA’s long-term human missions. They also develop research platforms for the International Space Station and other space vehicles to conduct science experiments in space.
The Space Biology section studies what genetic, molecular and biochemical processes are influenced by the spaceflight environment, how does spaceflight influence microbial reproduction, growth and physiology, and does long-duration spaceflight alter normal rates of evolutionary change.
Rodent Research Habitats are used to understand the effects of weightlessness in the International Space Station.
A Lunar Explorer Instrument being developed will land in a south polar region of the Moon and will study the biological response of yeast to the lunar environment.
Space-based microbial biomanufacturing will use in situ resources to generate needed mission products (synthetic food, anyone?).
Wastewater recovery is being developed to recycle water to potable water from water used in space using humidity condensates, hygiene wastewaters and urine.
Technologies are being developed that focus on the management of carbon dioxide and water vapor in cabin atmospheres.
And finally, a heat melt compactor to help with managing garbage in space.
A very informative talk. Thank you, Michael Hesse!
Click HERE to view presentation slides.
