Manning Spending Summer at Goddard Space Center
For Dr. Heidi Manning, associate professor of physics, this summer will be a series of tests – but not for her or her students. Manning is back at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland testing instruments that will be used on the 2009 Mars rover mission.
"I'm one of several people testing various electrical components on this project," Manning says. "In particular, I've built a vacuum system to test to see how the electrical components function in a Martian atmosphere. I'm looking to see when they experience electrical breakdown."
Manning, who worked at Goddard Space Flight Center from 1995 to 1997, tested and calibrated Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometers that were part of the Cassini mission, which reached Saturn in June 2004. Manning says this new suite of instruments' main focus is astrobiology.
"(The instruments) are looking for biological markers – chemicals that indicated the presence of past or current life," Manning says.
Her latest work with NASA will assist her in teaching the Credo astrobiology course and will also help her develop educational materials about the program.
"In addition to working in the lab, I'm involved in this project as one of five people working on the education and public outreach aspect of instruments in my area," Manning says.
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eNews is a publication of Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota
Copyright © 2005 All Rights Reserved.
Concordia College, 901 8th St S, Moorhead, MN 56562; (218) 299-4000