This document summarizes 25 years of space and technology projects supported by NASA in polar regions including Antarctica and the Arctic. Some key accomplishments include the first computers, satellite phone calls and emails from Antarctica in 1984. Other milestones include the first long duration balloon flight from Antarctica in 1988, establishing satellite communication links to Antarctica in 1994, and conducting the first classroom lesson at the North Pole in 2001 using portable technology. The document also describes solutions for enabling students to process satellite weather data in real-time using early PC technology.

1. 25 Years of COOL SPACE
Projects

2. Automatic Geophysical Observatory

14. 256 kB Hard Drive

18. First Computers in
Antarctica Included
these two - Apple 2e

19. ATS-3 Antennas on
roof of Main Dome
at South Pole

21. First Phone Call via Satellite from
South Pole – Dec 15, 1984

22. First Email from South Pole - Dec 15, 1984

23. This message comes to you from Goddard Space Flight Center, via the First South
Pole Satellite Data Relay Link – ATS-3 to South Pole - Nimbus 7/Landsat 4&5 to
McMurdo - Intelsat to Washington, DC. ( The only polar-orbiting Space Shuttle)

27. First Long Duration Balloon Flight from Antarctica
GRAD – Jan 11, 1988

29. Gamma Ray Detector – GRAD - on Ross Ice Shelf

30. Ultra LDB launched 9 Jan 2011

31. NASA Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS)

32. TDRS Proof of Concept: 300Mbps from Black Island – Jan 1992 (Darwin Smith, lead)

36. Portcom: 1Watt & 3” antenna

39. Empty USAF radome moved 600 feet
on Crater Hill, to see TDRS sats, Jan 2001

40. Satellites for Weather and Communications – circa 1990’s

42. Imaging Ozone by Satellite for NSF Balloon Science

44. Conversion to Launch
Supports in January, 1994

46. VIP Trip to Thule, Greenland on NASA Administrator’s Private Jet - 1993

47. Ozone Imaging at Thule Air Base, Greenland - 1994

50. Resurrect a Tumbling Satellite
Problem: How to command a Tumbling satellite
when its internal power sources are dead
Background: Commanding from Around the earth was
ineffective for almost three years. The satellite
condition was unknown.
Perhaps the thermal expansions have released the
short but with tumbling the arrays are not lit by Sun
long enough to power up the Spacecraftwas shorted
out due to a thermal expansion
Solution: Send commands from Antarctica while
Spacecraft is illuminated by Albedo

53. International Monitoring Platform, 1973 - 2008

54. Eight 30-ft Yagi Antennas on 60-ft tower in McMurdo, 1995 - 1997

55. Mike Staal:
First Moon
Bounce
Communication
From Antarctica
Jan 1995

59. New Geosync Satellite Links to South Pole in 1994: GOES-3 & InMarSat-F1

60. South Pole Internet Enables Real time coverage of Comet Impacting Jupiter in mid-1994

73. ARCTIC

75. North Pole 1999

76. Portcom-Downloading at 40 mph

77. Solar Array

82. Indian Valley Middle School

86. Ice Drill at Refueling Stop

89. Dog Sledding Around the World

91. First actual Classroom Lesson@ 90N
was conducted by NASA in April 2001

92. NASA at the North Pole
Problem: How to make ground truth measurements of Sea Ice near 90N
Background:
• Correlate surface properties Satellites can measure to sea ice mass
• Sea Ice near 90N is not accessible by normal means
• Takes too long to do field work with a normal team
Solution:
• Use a team of college students and professors
• Have experts layout the procedures and provide critical equipment
• Adapt to existing Russian Commercial Services
• Native Americans provide Chartered logistics consistent with their grant

100. NASA Robotics for College Engineering Students

102. Robotic Arm in Antarctica, Remotely Controlled from Michigan

111. GREAT Project 2008
Antarctica & Alaska

113. Store-and-Forward Networking Relay stores data
while not in view of
Earth
Disruption Tolerant Networking
(DTN) is an effort to develop and
standardize a message-
based, store-and-forward system
with reliability, security, and
quality of service.
Relay transmits
data when in view
of Earth
Relay Range

118. North to Alaska – Pt Barrow

130. First Pole – Pole Phone Call & Internet

133. 1993: This $750k system led us to develop a PC-based Weather Imaging system

135. NASA GMS Weather Imaging System
set up in Chiang Mi, Thailand - 1993

136. Students Processing Satellite Data
Problem:
How to enable students to process satellite weather image data in realtime
Background:
• NOAA intends for users to have access to realtime weather data
• Cost a fortune to collect 2Mbps & process it with mainframe computers
• Too complicated for students to handle
Solution:
• Tailor the RF Receiver, Bit Sync, Frame Sync to one job
• Put these functions on PC boards inside a PC
• Develop an 8-bit version of the Processing Software for a 486 PC
• As PCs get more powerful the processing gets faster, better, cheaper

138. Exploring Technology with
Satellite Imagery

145. HRPT Weather System for Thule Air Base

152. IT Guru Dave Beverley

162. You Be The Scientist

164. YBTS Team minus Dave