NASA has just selected a University of Central Florida space project as a finalist for its Explorer Mission of Opportunity program.
The selection fulfills the dream of two UCF scientists who have been researching solar weather 麻豆精品 S� and its affects on our terrestrial technology 麻豆精品 S� for more than five years.
If chosen, this project would be the first time UCF would lead a NASA science mission.
麻豆精品 S淭here were some excited shouts from the team members this morning when I shared the news, 麻豆精品 S� said Richard Eastes, the project 麻豆精品 S檚 lead scientist and an assistant professor. 麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檓 not used to hearing shouts from scientists. This is very rewarding. It 麻豆精品 S檚 confirmation that some of the best scientists in the world think that our mission is at the forefront of science in the field. 麻豆精品 S�
Eastes, along with his colleague Andrey Krywonos, have designed a specialized instrument that would help predict and prevent GPS and cell phone blackouts related to solar weather.
Today 麻豆精品 S檚 announcement means that UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 team was one of five selected from 20 proposals to receive $250,000 toward its work. The team would then present its concept study to NASA, vying for $55 million to develop a launch-ready project by 2016.
NASA is interested in the project because the data collected would be first of its kind, and it would help explain how earth 麻豆精品 S檚 space environment responds to the sun 麻豆精品 S檚 activities, such as solar flares.
Solar flares change the composition and temperature of the atmosphere around the earth and can damage military and commercial satellites, including those that help deliver television or cell phone signals.
And because the Federal Aviation Administration is moving toward monitoring air traffic through sophisticated GPS systems, accurate forecasts of space weather will be critical to prevent blackouts that could lead to aviation accidents.
麻豆精品 S淪pace weather can be very dramatic, 麻豆精品 S� Eastes said. 麻豆精品 S淲e just don 麻豆精品 S檛 hear a lot about it because, frankly, it 麻豆精品 S檚 in space. But it does have an impact on earth. 麻豆精品 S�
The UCF team 麻豆精品 S檚 specially designed imager, the Global-Scale Observations of the Limb and Disk — or GOLD for short — will record images of ultraviolet light emitted by the atmosphere about 62 miles above the earth 麻豆精品 S檚 surface.
Measurements will be made from a satellite orbiting in sync with Earth, meaning data can be continuously collected across the same, complete hemisphere throughout the day.The data will give scientists a clear picture of how the temperature and composition in the uppermost portions of the atmosphere respond to various influences, such as changes in the sun 麻豆精品 S檚 behavior.
Eastes and Krywonos, who conduct research at UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Florida Space Institute at Kennedy Space Center, have been working on the project since 2005.
NASA 麻豆精品 S檚 Explorers program aims to provide frequent flight opportunities for scientific investigations from space.
These investigations have led to important information in the past, including knowledge about Earth 麻豆精品 S檚 magnetosphere and the shape of its gravity field; the solar wind; and properties of micrometeoroids raining down on Earth, among other discoveries.
More about NASA 麻豆精品 S檚 program is available at .
Eastes joined UCF in 2001. He has master 麻豆精品 S檚 and doctoral degrees in Physics from Johns Hopkins University, home of the Space Telescope Science Institute. Before coming to UCF, Eastes worked at the Air Force Research Laboratory.
Krywonos received his Ph.D. in Optics from UCF in 2006.聽 He joined the Florida Space Institute that year as a post-doctoral researcher, and he is currently a research scientist at the Florida Space Institute.