The annual election of Officers and Directors takes place Friday, March 19 at Sacramento City College, Room 3 at 8:00pm. Only members in good standing as of the January general meeting will be given a ballot. All members and prospective members are encouraged to come to the meeting to learn about what is in store for the SVAS this year and to meet the people who make things happen for you.

Friday, February 19, 2010 at 8:00 PM, at Sacramento City College, Mohr Hall Room 3, 3835 Freeport Boulevard, Sacramento, CA.

Please click here for location information and maps.

Title:
“Hitch-hiking to the Moon, LCROSS, the lunar impactor that made a big splash on our understanding of the Moon”

Abstract:
The LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite) mission’s objective is to sample and analyze regolith from a permanently shadowed region (PSR) on the Moon, providing the first in-situ study of a PSR. LCROSS has four specific science goals: (1) Confirm the presence or absence of water ice in a PSR on the Moon; (2) Identify the form/state of hydrogen observed at the lunar poles; (3) Quantify, if present, the amount of water in the lunar regolith, with respect to hydrogen concentrations; and (4) Characterize the lunar regolith within a permanently shadowed crater on the Moon.

LCROSS launched successfully with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) from Cape Canaveral, Kennedy Space Center, June 18, 2009, 21:32:00 UTC. After LRO separation, LCROSS remained connected to the Atlas V upper-stage Centaur rocket. LCROSS completed 112 days in a Lunar Gravity Assist Lunar Return Orbit, during which on-orbit science payload calibrations, shepherding spacecraft (S-S/C) health checks, and trajectory maneuver corrections were performed. The separation maneuver of the S-S/C from the Centaur occurred on October 9, 2009, 01:50:00 UTC. The mission had two kinetic impact events: (1) the spent 2366 kg Atlas V upper-stage Centaur rocket, followed four minutes later by (2) the ~625 kg LCROSS S-S/C, both traveling at ~2.5 km/s. Impacts within the lunar south pole Cabeus crater occurred on October 9, 2009 at 11:31:19.506 UTC and 11:35:36.116 UTC, for the Centaur and S-S/C, respectively.

I will discuss the LCROSS mission, with emphasis on its non- traditional mission design, and the science data sets observed by LCROSS and other observatories. I will share all the neat things I have learned on this very hands-on and engaging project and how this type of mission concept is an excellent training experience for spacecraft engineers. I will also touch on how NASA has been expanding the concept of participatory exploration, with LCROSS as an example, and look forward to a lively discussion.

Bio:
Staff scientist at NASA Ames Research Center with special interest in
astrophysics, flight instrument design and calibration, and mission
development.

LCROSS Payload Scientist and LCROSS Payload Integration & Test Manager.

Project Scientist on the SMEX Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite Concept
during Phase A (2008-2009), Co-Investigator on the ASPIRE Origins Probe Mission
Concept (2004-2009) and Co-Investigator and Payload Scientist on the MIDEX
AstroBiology Explorer (ABE) Concept (2001-2008).

Serves on the Astrophysics Subcommittee of NASA’s Advisory Council and has
authored papers on infrared detector performance, infrared optical design, and
astrobiology mission concepts.

January 15, 2010 at 8:00 PM, at Sacramento City College, Mohr Hall Room 3, 3835 Freeport Boulevard, Sacramento, CA.

Great strides have been made in our understanding of interstellar material thanks to advances in infrared astronomy and laboratory astrophysics. Ionized polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), shockingly large molecules by earlier astrochemical standards, are widespread and very abundant throughout much of the cosmos. In cold molecular clouds, the birthplace of planets and stars, interstellar atoms and molecules freeze onto extremely cold dust and ice particles forming mixed molecular ices dominated by simple species such as water, methanol, ammonia, and carbon monoxide. Within these clouds, and especially in the vicinity of star and planet forming regions, these ices and PAHs are processed by ultraviolet light and cosmic rays forming hundreds of far more complex species, some of biogenic interest. Eventually, these are delivered to primordial planets by comets and meteorites. As these materials are the building blocks of comets and related to carbonaceous micrometeorites, they are likely to be important sources of complex organic materials delivered to habitable planets (including the primordial Earth) and their composition may be related to the origin of life. This talk will focus on the chemical evolution of these cosmic materials and their relevance to astrobiology.

Dr. Lou Allamandola brings to The Astrochemistry Lab 20 years of experience in pioneering laboratory studies of ices of interstellar and planetary interest. Formally trained as a specialist in low temperature spectroscopy at the University of California at Berekeley under the tutelage of Professor George C. Pimentel, followed by postdoctoral research on energy transfer at cryogenic temperatures with Professor Joseph W. Nibler at Oregon State University, Lou worked for seven years in the Astrophysics Laboratory at Leiden University in the Netherlands where he developed the techniques required to prepare and study laboratory analogs of interstellar/pre-cometary ice grains using spectroscopic methods. At Leiden, from 1976 until 1983, he directed the research of six Ph.D. students. He established a new laboratory at NASA’s Ames Research Center in 1984. He opened up the field of interstellar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with Xander Tielens and John Barker, and is heavily involved in the laboratory studies of PAHs under relevant interstellar conditions. He has also participated in astronomical measurements of infrared spectra using the Kuiper Airborne Observatory, the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility, and the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope. Dr. Allamandola has served on several NASA advisory councils and is currently an active member of the Origins Subcommittee at NASA Headquarters. He has served on several scientific organizing committees and as proceedings editor for international symposia.

He received NASA-Ames’ H. Julian Allen Award for Best Scientific Paper from Ames in 1985 and in 2006 and NASA’s Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal in 1992. He was named NASA Ames Associate Fellow for 1996 and 1997. In 2006 he received The Presidential Rank Award and was elected to Fellowship in the American Physical Society (APS) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Friday, December 18, 2009 at 8:00 PM, at Sacramento City College, Mohr Hall Room 3, 3835 Freeport Boulevard, Sacramento, CA.

Please click here for location information and maps.

18 SVAS Board Meeting (6:30pm) Sacramento City College, 3835 Freeport Blvd., Sacramento, Mohr Hall, Room 3 (held just prior to the general meeting)
General Meeting (8pm) SCC, Mohr Hall, Room 3. Topic: “How do I do this?  Some Astro 101 for those with questions.”  Speaker – Liam McDaid, SVAS President.
19 Member Star Party at HGO

January
15 SVAS Board Meeting (6:30pm) Sacramento City College, 3835 Freeport Blvd., Sacramento, Mohr Hall, Room 3 (held just prior to the general meeting).
General Meeting (8pm) SCC, Mohr Hall, Room 3. Speaker, Dr. Louis Allamandola, Astrophysics and Astrochemistry Lab, NASA Ames Research Center
16 Member Star Party at HGO
30 School Star Party in Elk Grove

November 20, 2009 at 8:00 PM, at Sacramento City College, Mohr Hall Room 3, 3835 Freeport Boulevard, Sacramento, CA.

David Buchla is a long-time SVAS member and a noted engineering textbook author.  He is also a passionate eclipse chaser, and has seen eclipses pretty much across the whole planet.

At the November general meeting he will share his global eclipse experiences and share some highlights of the July 2009 East Asian eclipse along with his travels through China.  Please join him for a fun adventure (Indiana Jones hat optional).

October 16, 2009 at 8:00 PM, at Sacramento City College, Mohr Hall Room 3, 3835 Freeport Boulevard, Sacramento, CA.

Dr. Kevin Grazier holds the dual titles of Investigation Scientist and Science Planning Engineer for the Cassini/Huygens Mission to Saturn and Titan at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, CA. He earned B.S. degrees in computer science and geology from Purdue University, and a B.S. in physics from Oakland University. He earned his M.S. in physics from Purdue, and then went to UCLA for his doctoral research in planetary physics, performing long-term, large-scale computer simulations of early Solar System evolution. While in graduate school, he worked at the RAND Corporation, processing Viking imagery in support of the Mars Observer Mission.

At JPL he has written mission planning and analysis software that won numerous JPL- and NASA-wide awards. Dr. Grazier still continues research involving computer simulations of Solar System dynamics, evolution, and chaos.

In addition to his JPL duties, Dr. Grazier is active in teaching the public about science and space. He teaches classes in stellar astronomy, planetary science, cosmology, and the search for extraterrestrial life at UCLA and Santa Monica College. He has served on several NASA educational product review panels. He is also a planetarium lecturer at LA’s landmark Griffith Observatory.

Dr. Grazier also works in Hollywood, currently serving as the science advisor for the science fiction series Eureka, Battlestar Galactica, Virtuality, and the animated/educational series The Zula Patrol. He writes a monthly article on the science behind “Battlestar Galactica” for the Vancouver-based entertainment site Cinemaspy. He was also editor and contributing author for the books The Science of Dune, and The Science of Michael Crichton. He is also co-authoring the upcoming The Science of Battlestar Galactica.

In the Fall of 2001, Dr. Grazier was honored as the first-ever honorary Chairperson of Oakland University’s “Week of Champions” (Homecoming) celebration. In what passes for spare time, he enjoys working out, martial arts, and SCUBA diving.