Ana Guzman, ideaXme space ambassador interviews Dr. Paul Abell, Chief Scientist for Small Body Exploration at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
Today, is World Asteroid Day. So, Ana Guzman marks this important calendar event by interviewing one of the world’s leading asteroid experts. The interview takes place at NASA.
Asteroids: Earth’s Watchmen on the Lookout!
Dr. Paul Abell, Chief Scientist for Small Body Exploration at NASA’s Johnson Space Center has the daunting task of leading a team that keeps a watchful eye for Near Earth Objects (NEO’s) that could potentially enter our atmosphere. Paul took some time out of his busy schedule to chat with me about what role NASA has in the worldwide effort to protect humanity from a devastating impact and to unlock the secrets of our solar system.
NEO’s are mostly known to be asteroids and comets. The interest in NEO’s is not only for the prevention of an impact, but also for scientific study to better understand how our solar system was formed.
In this interview, you will hear Paul talk about ongoing JAXA (Japanese Space Agency) and NASA missions of two vehicles visiting different asteroids. Both of which will reach their destinations in 2018 and will extract samples to bring back to Earth for analysis. Various minerals and even water are expected to be discovered. These samples might not only solve the mysteries of the solar system, but they could also provide solutions for long duration deep space exploration. For example, the minerals and water found in these asteroids could later be used as resources for traveling vehicles headed to Mars.
Paul is an expert in his field which makes him the primary contact at NASA with regards to small body exploration and potentially hazardous asteroids. To him and his team, every day is Asteroid Day, but on June 30th he’ll be more busy than usual speaking to the media and space enthusiasts about asteroids.
Inspiration and Education
As a little boy growing up in Canada, Paul was able to see the auroras quite frequently. He would lay down in the snow and watch the auroras, satellites and meteorites dance across the night sky. From an early age, he knew what he wanted to do when he grew up and stayed on that course.
He went on to obtain the following degrees:
B.A. in Astronomy and Physics – Colgate University
M.S. in Space Studies, Minor in Geology – University of North Dakota
Ph.D. in Geology – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Recognition
In recognizing Paul’s contributions to Near Earth Orbit research and exploration studies, Asteroid 8139 (1980 UM1) was named Paulabell.
Paul Abel bio and NASA’s ARES directorate: https://www.nasa.gov/offices/nesc/academy/Abell_Paul_Bio.html
NASA’s Osiris-Rex mission to Asteroid Bennu: https://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex
JAXA’s Hayabusa 2 mission to Asteroid Ryugu: http://global.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/hayabusa2/
By Ana Guzman ideaXme Space ambassador.
Follow: Ana Guzman @mupwa and ideaXme @ideaxm
After the interview Ana Guzman asked:
Who would you like to meet? What question would you like to ask that person?
Paul’s answer: “I would like to have met Gene Roddenberry, the #creator of Star Trek. When I was about 5-years-old I used to watch Star Trek re-runs late at night with my mother. It was a very special time for me and I was enthralled by the crew and their adventures as they explored strange new worlds and boldly went where no one had gone before. It was a terrific show and one that helped to inspire my interest in astronomy and my eventual career at NASA. I would have liked to have had an afternoon with him discussing his inspirations for the show and the challenges he faced trying to get his vision of the future on 1960s television. It was not all about the space travel and encounters with aliens, but also about exploring humanity in all of its aspects. I would be keenly interested to see if he saw any parallels between what is happening now here on Earth and his Star trek universe. And more importantly, if he had any insight into humanity’s future with respect to our space #exploration endeavors.”
#space#asteroids#science#astrophysics#physics#asteroidday
Credits: Ana Guzman interview video, text, and audio.
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