| *** MAY 2006 *** |
| NASA ENGINEER HONORED AS ONE OF '100 MOST IMPORTANT HISPANICS' |
| A NASA engineer who inspires thousands of students with the refrain, "It's all about the math!" is being recognized by a top Hispanic magazine. Mark Leon, education director at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., is featured in the spring issue of Hispanic Engineer and Information Technology magazine. Leon is one of the magazine's '100 Most Important Hispanics' in technology and business for 2006. The honorees are chosen for their outstanding work in the field of technology and demonstrated leadership, both at the workplace and in their communities. "Mark Leon's energy, hard work and humor are a major inspiration not only to students and teachers, but to everyone who comes into contactwith him," said Michael Marlaire, director of development and strategic communications at NASA Ames. "There is no better advocate for what NASA is all about than Mark Leon." |
| NASA AMES TESTS HEAT SHIELD SAMPLES FOR SPACESHIP CREW CAPSULE |
| As it streaks into Earth's atmosphere after a trip to the moon, the heat shield of NASA's spaceship of the future must endure searing temperatures capable of melting any metal. Initial tests of materials that could be used in the heat shield for the new spaceship, the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), were recently completed at NASA Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley... NASA is working to create and test the 16.5-foot (5-meter) diameter, Frisbee-shaped heat shield that will be attached to the base of the cone-shaped CEV crew capsule. The shield must protect the capsule and its astronaut crew from the searing heat that develops during flight through the atmosphere when returning from either low-Earth orbit, or from the moon. The tests are among the first steps NASA Ames is taking to design and test a new space exploration system that will return human beings to the moon and support later missions to Mars. Several other NASA facilities across the nation also are taking part in the development effort. |