| *** JANUARY 2008 *** |
| NASA AMES EXPLORES POSSIBLE COLLABORATION WITH SOUTH KOREA |
| ...NASA's Ames Research Center and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, (KAIST) South Korea's premier research and education institution, signed a memorandum for the record... , an important milestone in a new relationship under development. Ames' Director S. Pete Worden and KAIST President Nam Pyo Suh have now agreed to initiate technical discussions on specific areas of potential collaboration involving small satellite research and development. These potential areas for future collaboration include satellite communication, navigation systems, planetary exploration, lunar science, rovers, small satellites and related technologies. "We are exploring a new partnership with South Korea in future satellite research and development," said Worden. "We are looking forward to working with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology to advance future space exploration," Worden added. "I am delighted with this outcome. This potential collaboration is a historic event for KAIST as well as for NASA Ames," said Suh... |
| NASA'S QUEST TO FIND WATER ON THE MOON MOVES CLOSER TO LAUNCH |
| ...Cameras and sensors that will look for the presence of water on the moon have completed validation tests and been shipped to the manufacturer of NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite. The science instruments for the satellite, which is known as LCROSS, departed NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field Calif., for the Northrop Grumman Corporation's facility in Redondo Beach, Calif. to be integrated with the spacecraft. A video file is available on NASA Television. LCROSS is scheduled to launch with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., by the end of 2008. "The goal of the mission is to confirm the presence or absence of water ice in a permanently shadowed crater at the moon's south pole," said Anthony Colaprete, LCROSS principal investigator at Ames. "The identification of water is very important to the future of human activities on the moon."... |
| NASA WILL BROADCAST 2008 ROBOTICS COMPETITION KICKOFF LIVE |
| A NASA-televised kickoff of the annual FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) international student robot design competition will take place on Saturday, Jan. 5, at 10 a.m. EST from Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester. The six-week robot design and build contest includes 1,500 teams that comprise 37,000 high school students worldwide. During the live, digital broadcast on NASA Television, New Hampshire inventor and founder of FIRST, Dean Kamen, will reveal the new game and competition scenario for 2008. The event also will be streamed live on the NASA Robotics Alliance Project (RAP)... Each year, FIRST presents a competition scenario with new twists and nuances to challenge rookie and veteran teams. The only restrictions being a robot's dimensions and weight and using identical parts kits, teams have a strict six-week deadline to analyze the scenario and construct a robot that best meets the challenge criteria... |