MPAC presents the next entry in Emily Judd’s Pops Blog!
A lot has changed for many of us in the Michigan Pops family with the global COVID-19 pandemic and its associated health, safety, economic, and social impacts. We are living with large amounts of uncertainty in many aspects of our lives, from changes in work routines and the new reality of social distancing to concerns over health and what the future will hold. As we continue through this situation, I’d like to share how the novel coronavirus has impacted NASA and what lessons from past experiences in space exploration can help us through the pandemic. In doing so, and with the help of some recordings from our past MPO Intergalactic Pops concert, I hope to spread a little joy during this time.
![Concert Poster from Fall 2017 [Image Credit: Michigan Pops Orchestra]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f56d5e1b631bc59d0e2597/1588203509965-F9R74JU95RMI8866JMW0/2017_2+%281%29.jpg)
Concert Poster from Fall 2017
[Image Credit: Michigan Pops Orchestra]
Apollo 13 Astronaut Fred Haise Speaking at a 2019 Event at NASA Langley
You’ve all heard the line, “Houston, we’ve had a problem.” After hearing a bang, which came from an explosion in one of the oxygen tanks, and seeing warning lights appear, the crew of Apollo 13 called that phrase down to Mission Control at the Manned Spacecraft Center (now the Johnson Space Center), kicking off a tremendous effort to bring them back home. With additional damage resulting from the tank explosion, oxygen and electrical power resources dwindled for Command Module Odyssey. Flight Director Gene Kranz led Mission Control through the initial stages of working the problem, saying, “...let’s everybody keep cool...Let’s solve the problem, but let’s not make it any worse by guessing.” Within an hour of the explosion, a new mission plan had been determined: to scrap the Moon landing and return the crew using a gravity assist from flying around the Moon. The crew transformed Lunar Module Aquarius into their lifeboat within three hours, using procedures developed on the ground; and with only 15 minutes of power remaining in the Command Module, all three crew members transferred safely into the Lunar Module. With the immediate emergency taken care of, the engineers on the ground worked to redefine the maneuvers required to to fly the vehicles around the Moon and back to Earth for a safe landing. Other issues came up, such as how to connect the square lithium hydroxide (LiOH) canisters on the Command Module to the round LiOH canisters on the Lunar Module in order to provide sufficient removal of carbon dioxide in the cabin atmosphere. NASA met these challenges as they came, solving the “square peg in a round hole” problem with pieces of a spacesuit, a flight plan card, and, of course, duct tape. About 3.5 days later, the crew transferred back into Command Module Odyssey for reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere. Finally, after a harrowing journey of over 623 thousand miles [1], Commander Jim Lovell, Command Module Pilot Jack Swigert, and Lunar Module Pilot Fred Haise arrived back safe on Earth. [2]
Apollo 12 Command Module Yankee Clipper at the Virginia Air and Space Museum
As NASA celebrated the 50th anniversary of Apollo 13 this April, we looked back on what made this mission into the “successful failure” it was. The strength of our workforce shone at that time, with people devoting many extra hours to research vehicle systems, test emergency procedures, and define new mission plans to solve the problems with limited time and the pressure of knowing that crew lives depended on their results. Although landing on the Moon was lost, several science experiments were still conducted, records were set, and the crew were returned safely. This Perseverance has become a hallmark of NASA missions, especially…
...as it’s the name of our newest Mars rover! Many of the names of our NASA missions and spacecraft reflect the human spirit, showcasing our desire for exploration and discovery and our drive to accomplish what was previously only a dream. The student who won the contest to name our Mars 2020 rover, 7th grader Alexander Mather of Burke, Virginia, explained this embodiment of humanity within space exploration in his competition essay, describing why Perseverance should be part of our fleet [3]:
“Curiosity. InSight. Spirit. Opportunity. If you think about it, all of these names of past Mars rovers are qualities we possess as humans. We are always curious, and seek opportunity. We have the spirit and insight to explore the Moon, Mars, and beyond. But, if rovers are to be the qualities of us as a race, we missed the most important thing. Perseverance. We as humans evolved as creatures who could learn to adapt to any situation, no matter how harsh. We are a species of explorers, and we will meet many setbacks on the way to Mars. However, we can persevere. We, not as a nation but as humans, will not give up. Even faced with bitter losses such as Opportunity and Vikram 2, the human race will always persevere into the future.” [4]
As NASA responds to the COVID-19 pandemic across the agency, it has become clear that Perseverance is exactly what we need right now. With all NASA centers moved to mandatory telework except for mission essential personnel, there has been a disruption to critical mission preparatory work, particularly for some key elements, such as the James Webb Space Telescope, the Space Launch System, and the Orion spacecraft [5]. As Mars mission opportunities depend on planetary alignment, we are moving forward with the planned launch of Perseverance and the Mars Helicopter this summer, giving us all something to look forward to and a way to show that NASA can-do attitude, as exemplified by our Perseverance team in this article [6].
A Mockup of the Curiosity Rover at the National Air and Space Museum in D.C.
Percy will look a lot like her predecessor, the Curiosity rover, but she will include different instruments to aid in her mission of understanding the potential for life on Mars, both past and present. This will include looking for signs of microbial life, testing a method to produce oxygen from the atmosphere (that could help future crewed missions to Mars), observing the Martian environmental conditions, and caching rock and soil core samples for a future mission to return to Earth. It will be exciting to see all we can learn from this mission! [7]
As we all continue through this pandemic, we are all getting a little taste of what it’s like to be an astronaut: remote work, isolation from family and friends for a long period of time, limited outside excursions that require strategic planning and protective equipment, all in a stressful environment. Luckily for us, NASA has studied how to keep our astronauts happy and healthy during spaceflights, so we can learn from their experiences!
Trying on Astronaut Peggy Whitson’s Sokol Suit Glove with Shuttle Astronaut Don Thomas
Astronaut Anne McClain recommends working as a team with your fellow isolation buddies, emphasizing communication, good leadership and followship, self- and team care [8]. As seen in this video, Chris Cassidy is used to quarantine before a flight up to the International Space Station, but the current situation has even impacted that, requiring reduced support personnel and determining if his family can view the launch! Retired astronaut Scott Kelly encourages keeping to a schedule and working on a hobby, while Peggy Whitson highlights understanding the reason behind the new behavior to give purpose and provide continued incentive to keep up the social distancing.
Overall, the global COVID-19 pandemic is challenging all of us professionally and personally. While we all continue through this time, hopefully some of the lessons that NASA has learned over the years about working through challenging situations and in isolation can help us persevere, perhaps even provide a bit of “jollity”, as we anticipate emerging victorious from our successful social distancing! After all, “failure is not an option”.
Pops Love,
Emily Judd
MPO 2016-2019, Principal Horn
5/1/20
*All opinions expressed are those of the author and do not imply the official position of the federal government.
References
[1] NASA, accessed 17 April 2020 [https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029/Apollo_13a_Summary.htm].
[2] Uri, J., ed. Mars, K., 50 Years Ago: “Houston, We’ve Had a Problem,” 14 April 2020, accessed 17 April 2020 [https://www.nasa.gov/feature/50-years-ago-houston-we-ve-had-a-problem].
[3] Hautaluoma, G., Johnson, A., Agle, DC, ed. Potter, S., Virginia Middle School Student Earns Honor of Naming NASA’s Next Mars Rover, 5 March 2020, accessed 17 April 2020 [https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/virginia-middle-school-student-earns-honor-of-naming-nasas-next-mars-rover].
[4] Mather, A., Perseverance, accessed 17 April 2020 [https://www.futureengineers.org/nametherover/gallery/6989].
[5] Inclán, B. and Northon, K., NASA Leadership Assessing Mission Impacts of Coronavirus, 20 March 2020, accessed 17 April 2020 [https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-leadership-assessing-mission-impacts-of-coronavirus].
[6] Hautaluoma, G., Johnson, A., Agle, DC, ed. Greicius, T., How NASA’s Perseverance Mars Team Has Adjusted to Work in the Time of Coronavirus, 21 April 2020, accessed 23 April 2020 [https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/how-nasas-perseverance-mars-team-has-adjusted-to-work-in-the-time-of-coronavirus].
[7] NASA, Mars Perseverance Mission Overview, 5 March 2020, accessed 18 April 2020 [https://www.nasa.gov/perseverance/overview].
[8] NASA, An Astronaut’s Tips for Living in Space - or Anywhere, 9 April 2020, accessed 18 April 2020 [https://www.nasa.gov/feature/an-astronaut-s-tips-for-living-in-space-or-anywhere].