Glenn Mahone/Doc Mirelson<br />Headquarters, Washington Dec. 27, 2004<br />(Phone: 202/358-1898/1600)<br /><br />YEAR IN REVIEW RELEASE: 04-408<br /><br />NASA BUILDS SUCCESS BASED ON THE VISION FOR SPACE EXPLORATION<br /><br /> NASA started the year on an upbeat and positive note, when <br />President George W. Bush announced the Vision for Space <br />Exploration on January 14. His announcement at NASA <br />Headquarters in Washington of a robust space exploration <br />program to advance U.S. scientific, security and economic <br />interests became the keystone for NASA's transformation.<br /><br />"NASA has a new face and new approach to operations and <br />programs," said NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe. "We've taken <br />the recommendations of the Columbia Accident Investigation <br />Board, the President's Commission on Implementation of U.S. <br />Space Exploration Policy, and input from other key advisory <br />panels, and applied them to our return-to-flight efforts, <br />International Space Station operations, and our implementation <br />of the Vision for Space Exploration," he said. <br /><br />President Bush said in June, "The Vision for Space Exploration <br />is a sustainable and affordable long-term human and robotic <br />program to explore space. We will explore space to improve our <br />lives and lift our national spirit."<br /><br />"The enthusiastic support of the Congress, both in spirit and <br />as reflected in NASA's fiscal year 2005 budget, will allow us <br />to begin implementing the Vision for Space Exploration and to <br />continue our exciting and extensive exploration projects," <br />Administrator O'Keefe said.<br /><br />"As we approach the return to Space Shuttle operations, NASA is <br />facing the most exciting time in the agency's 46 year history. <br />How we meet the technical and cultural challenges and how we <br />successfully change this agency will guide our path within the <br />Vision for Space Exploration for decades," Administrator <br />O'Keefe said. "We expect continued success as NASA leads the <br />efforts to explore the Earth and the universe through space-<br />based research," he said.<br /><br />NASA is enthusiastically approaching restoration of Space <br />Shuttle operations, completion of the International Space <br />Station and scientific exploration in a safe, milestone-driven <br />manner. NASA's budget is an endorsement of the Vision for Space <br />Exploration and agency efforts to understand and protect the <br />Earth; explore the universe; search for life; and inspire the <br />next generation of explorers, as only NASA can.<br /><br />NASA AGRESSIVELY PURSUES TRANSFORMATION<br />NASA transformed into a mission-oriented agency during the <br />year. Four major mission directorates -- Exploration Systems, <br />Space Operations, Science and Aeronautic Research were formed <br />to manage agency operations. Mission support offices, including <br />the Independent Technical Authority, were established to ensure <br />safety, quality assurance and effective program management. <br />Transformation of NASA's organization structure was designed to <br />streamline the agency and create a framework that affixes clear <br />authority and accountability, while positioning the agency to <br />implement the Vision for Space Exploration. <br /><br />SCHOOLS ACROSS THE NATION CATCH THE VISION <br />NASA's 2004 Explorer Schools Program provided information and <br />interactive activities for more than 20,000 elementary-to-high-<br />school pupils in 46 states and Washington. The three-year <br />partnership between NASA and selected schools in diverse <br />communities offers opportunities and materials for teachers to <br />spark interest in science, technology and math. Applications <br />for 2005 Explorer Schools Program are being accepted.<br /><br />NASA'S ROVERS A BIG HIT ON MARS AND EARTH<br />NASA successfully landed the mobile geology labs Spirit and <br />Opportunity on Mars on January 3 and January 24, respectively. <br />Opportunity discovered evidence its landing site was a standing <br />body of water in the distant past, raising the possibility key <br />ingredients for life might have existed on Mars. In April, both <br />rovers successfully completed their primary three-month <br />missions and went into bonus overtime work. Spirit completed a <br />two-mile trek to the Columbia hills. Opportunity descended into <br />Endurance Crater and found layers of rocks bearing evidence of <br />having once been drenched in water.<br /><br />WEB PORTAL IS WINDOW TO THE WORLD<br />Highlighting agency-wide programs and missions, the NASA portal <br />served up more than 17 billion hits and 1.6 billion page views <br />during 130 million visits. It sent out more than one million <br />webcast streams of NASA TV. Interest peaked quickly with the <br />landings of the Mars Rovers in January, as nearly 50,000 people <br />watched the live webcasts during the landings. Portal traffic <br />had a four-fold increase from 2003 to 2004, and a ten-fold <br />increase from 2002.<br /><br />TOUGHER SPACE SHUTTLE READIED FOR RETURN TO FLIGHT<br />Shuttle processing activities at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, <br />Fla., assumed a pre-launch rhythm, after almost two years of <br />innovative and intensive agency-wide effort to make the fleet <br />safer. The most significant Return to Flight work was on the <br />Shuttle External Fuel Tank, which was redesigned to eliminate <br />debris from striking the spacecraft. NASA also focused on the <br />ability to assess the condition of Shuttles in orbit. The first <br />Shuttle mission since the Columbia accident, Discovery (STS-<br />114), has a launch window opening in mid-May. <br /><br />CENTENNIAL CHALLENGES TAPS TECHNOLOGY ADVANCES<br />NASA developed the initial Centennial Challenges prize <br />competition to tap the nation's ingenuity to make revolutionary <br />advances to support the Vision for Space Exploration.<br /><br />INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION ENTERS FIFTH YEAR OF OPERATIONS<br />Three crews lived on the Station during 2004, as the orbiting <br />laboratory entered its fifth year as a staffed facility. Each <br />two-person crew, working with ground teams, did its part to <br />keep the Station safely operating. Crews made unprecedented <br />repairs to an oxygen generator, a crucial piece of exercise <br />equipment and a U.S. spacesuit. They also performed a spacewalk <br />to restore power to a gyroscope. <br /><br />YEAR OF FIRSTS FOR SPACE STATION CREWMEMBERS<br />All three U.S. crewmembers had personal milestones. Expedition <br />8 Commander Mike Foale returned to Earth as the U.S. record-<br />holder for time in space, logging 374 days, 11 hours and 19 <br />minutes over several missions. Expedition 9 Flight Engineer <br />Mike Fincke is the first U.S. astronaut to have a child born, <br />while he was in orbit. Expedition 10 Commander Leroy Chiao is <br />the first U.S. citizen to vote from space in a presidential <br />election. <br /><br />NEXT GENERATION OF EXPLORERS SELECTED<br />NASA announced the 2004 astronaut candidate class, the first <br />focused on fulfilling the Vision for Space Exploration. The <br />class includes three educator astronauts, three military <br />pilots, a Navy SEAL, an astrophysicist, two physicians and an <br />engineer.<br /><br />SPACE STATION RESEARCH YIELDS NEW HEALTH INFORMATION<br />A NASA-funded study revealed how bone loss increases the risk <br />of injuries, highlighting the need for additional measures to <br />ensure the health of spacecraft crews. This research may aid <br />people on Earth who suffer from similar conditions including <br />osteoporosis. Space Station astronauts, using ultrasound <br />techniques developed by NASA, demonstrated the ability to <br />quickly and remotely transmit medical data to the ground. These <br />techniques are directly transferable for Earth use to improve <br />patient care in remote locations. <br /><br />CASSINI-HUYGENS FIRST MISSION TO ORBIT SATURN<br />After a seven-year, two billion mile journey, Cassini-<br />Huygens became the first spacecraft to go into orbit around <br />Saturn. The NASA, European and Italian Space Agencies' mission <br />found the planet roiled by storms, detected lighting, <br />discovered a new radiation belt, found four new moons, a new <br />ring around Saturn, and mapped the composition of the planet's <br />rings. Cassini flew within 745 miles of Titan, the closest any <br />spacecraft has come to Saturn's largest moon.<br /><br />NEW SUPERCOMPUTER IMPROVES RESEARCH AND FORECASTING<br />NASA named its newest supercomputer Columbia to honor the crew <br />of the Shuttle Columbia. It is one of the world's most powerful <br />supercomputing systems. It will dramatically increase NASA's <br />capacity for conducting scientific research, modeling, <br />forecasting and engineering. Improvements in the <br />supercomputer's climate model are being used to explore the <br />Earth's atmosphere. Results from the model indicate significant <br />improvements in forecast accuracy for major storms and <br />hurricanes.<br /><br />PROPOSALS SELECTED FOR EXPLORATION RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY <br />NASA selected proposals from industry and academia to support <br />the research, technology goals and objectives of the Vision for <br />Space Exploration. The selections were part of the effort to <br />develop new partnerships among NASA, industry and academia. <br />NASA also awarded the first contracts to conduct preliminary <br />concept studies for human lunar exploration and the development <br />of the Crew Exploration Vehicle.<br /><br />GENESIS CRASH-LANDS BUT BRINGS HOME PRECIOUS SAMPLES<br />The Genesis solar-sample return mission made a hard landing in <br />the Utah desert, but NASA managed to preserve a significant <br />portion of the precious samples of the sun it brought back from <br />space. Genesis scientists believe they will achieve the most <br />important portions of their science objectives, which should <br />tell us about the conditions when the sun and planets were <br />created more than five billion years ago. Genesis was launched <br />in August 2001.<br /><br />STARDUST MAKES HISTORIC COMET FLYBY <br />NASA's Stardust mission flew within 147 miles of the comet Wild <br />2. Sent to collect samples, images and other data, the flyby <br />yielded the most detailed, high-resolution comet images ever -- <br />revealing a rigid surface dotted with towering pinnacles, <br />plunging craters, steep cliffs, and dozens of jets spewing <br />material into space. Launched in 1999, Stardust is headed back <br />to Earth with its payload of thousands of captured particles. <br />The sample return capsule is scheduled for a soft landing in <br />the Utah desert in January 2006. <br /><br />SPITZER SPACE TELESCOPE UNVEILS STRANGE COSMIC SIGHTS<br />The Spitzer Space Telescope pierced cosmic dust to reveal <br />previously hidden objects. It unmasked a family of newborn <br />stars whose birth was triggered by the death of another star; a <br />dying star surrounded by a mysterious donut-shaped ring; a <br />cannibalistic galaxy and what may be the youngest planet ever <br />detected. Spitzer identified one of the farthest galaxies yet <br />seen, measuring its age and mass for the first time. Spitzer <br />was launched August 24, 2003. <br /><br />SWIFT OFFERS NEW POSSIBILITIES TO SPOT BIRTH OF BLACK HOLES <br />NASA's Swift satellite will pinpoint the location of distant, <br />fleeting explosions that appear to signal the births of black <br />holes. Each gamma-ray burst is a short-lived event, and Swift <br />should detect several weekly. Swift, launched Nov. 20, is a <br />mission with British and Italian participation designed to <br />solve the mystery of the origin of gamma-ray bursts.<br /><br />HUBBLE SEES FARTHER THAN EVER<br />Astronomers used NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to take the <br />deepest portrait ever of the visible universe. The Hubble Ultra <br />Deep Field revealed the first galaxies to emerge from the time <br />shortly after the big bang, when the first stars reheated the <br />cold, dark universe. The image should offer new insights into <br />what types of objects reheated the universe. The image exposed <br />galaxies too faint to be seen by ground-based telescopes. <br /><br />AURA SPACECRAFT WILL HELP US UNDERSTAND THE AIR WE BREATHE<br />NASA's Aura, a next generation Earth-observing satellite <br />launched on July 15, is supplying the best information yet <br />about the health of Earth's atmosphere. Aura will help <br />scientists understand how atmospheric composition affects and <br />responds to Earth's changing climate; help reveal the processes <br />that connect local and global air quality; and track the extent <br />Earth's protective ozone layer is recovering. <br /><br />JUPITER ICY MOONS ORBITER ENTERS DESIGN PHASE<br />NASA selected Northrop Grumman Space Technology, Redondo Beach, <br />Calif., to co-design the Prometheus Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter <br />(JIMO) spacecraft. JIMO will be the first NASA mission using <br />nuclear electric propulsion. The system will enable the craft <br />to orbit Jupiter's three planet-sized moons, Callisto, Ganymede <br />and Europa. JIMO will perform extensive investigations of their <br />composition, history and potential for sustaining life.<br /><br />SCRAMJET BREAKS SPEED RECORD, FLIES NEAR MACH 10 <br />NASA's X-43A scramjet-powered research vehicle successfully <br />broke its own speed record, flying nearly Mach 10 (7,000 mph). <br />It showed promise for developing more airplane-like operations <br />in ultra high-speed flights within the atmosphere, increased <br />affordability, flexibility and safety for the first stage to <br />Earth orbit.<br /><br />EARTHQUAKE PREDICTION PROGRAM SCORES BIG<br />A NASA-funded earthquake prediction program has an amazing <br />track record. Published in 2001, the forecast has accurately <br />predicted the locations of 15 of California's largest <br />earthquakes this decade, including September's California <br />tremors. Of 16 earthquakes, magnitude five and higher occurring <br />since Jan. 1, 2000, 15 fell on hotspots identified by the <br />forecasting program. <br /> <br />SATELLITES ACT AS THERMOMETERS IN SPACE<br />NASA satellites, acting as thermometers in space, confirmed <br />Earth has experienced an increasing "fever" for decades. <br />Satellites were used to develop a record from 1981 to 1998 of <br />global land-surface temperatures. The research provided better <br />proof Earth's snow-free land surfaces, on average, warmed <br />during this period. This unique satellite record is more <br />detailed and comprehensive than previously available ground <br />measurements.<br /><br />MOON SHEDS LIGHT ON EARTH'S CLIMATE<br />A NASA-funded study found insights into Earth's climate might <br />come from the moon. During the 1980s and 90s, the Earth bounced <br />less sunlight out to space. The trend reversed during the past <br />three years. The apparent change in the amount of sunlight <br />reaching Earth in the 1980s and 90s is comparable to doubling <br />the effects of greenhouse-gas warming since 1850. Increased <br />reflectance since 2001 suggests change of a similar magnitude <br />in the opposite direction.<br /><br />SATELLITES AND BALLOONS SPOT AIRBORNE POLLUTION<br />NASA scientists, using multiple satellites and balloon-borne <br />sensors, discovered pollution could catch an airborne wind <br />current from Asia all the way to the southern Atlantic Ocean. <br />Scientists believe, during certain seasons, as much as half the <br />ozone pollution above the Atlantic may be speeding down a track <br />of air and precipitation from the Indian Ocean. <br /><br />EXTENDED TRMM OPERATIONS HELP FORECASTERS<br />NASA extended the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM). <br />The extension ensured data for forecasters and researchers <br />during worldwide storm seasons TRMM data aids government <br />agencies and others researching, monitoring and predicting <br />rainfall and storms.<br /><br />GENE STUDIES HELP UNDERSTAND DISEASE<br />NASA scientists and their academic colleagues provided valuable <br />insights into how DNA encodes instructions to control basic <br />biological functions. This research may change the <br />understanding of human diseases and will help NASA ensure <br />astronauts' well being during long-duration space missions.<br /><br />DUST BOWL DROUGHT FINALLY EXPLAINED<br />NASA scientists used a computer model developed with satellite <br />data to look at the climate over the past 100 years. The study <br />found cooler-than-normal tropical Pacific Ocean surface <br />temperatures combined with warmer tropical Atlantic Ocean <br />temperatures turned America's breadbasket into a dust bowl from <br />1931 to 1939.<br /><br />For information about NASA, agency missions and programs on the <br />Web, visit:<br /><br />http://www.nasa.gov