Mike Massimino | A Sky Full of Stars

Posts Tagged ‘Mike Massimino’

The Race for Space!

Saturday, January 16th, 2010

There is a race for Space, and it’s taking place right here on Earth. With this year’s Shorty Awards, we have a golden opportunity to put Space front-and-center … a position that has the potential to encourage greater participation in Space-related sciences, to promote the various Space programs, and even simply to remind people to “look up.”

Currently, there are several Space Tweeps in the running for a Shorty Award. You can help Space win the Shorty race by casting and encouraging votes for each, in their respective categories. The nominees include NASA, SDO, astronauts Mike Massimino and TJ Creamer, Twitter ISS Alerts, Universe Today’s Nancy Atkinson, Journalist Miles O’Brien, Space Shuttle technician Jen Scheer, the AstronomyFM website, MeteorWatch founder Newbury Astronomy, and astronomy outreach enthusiast Tavi Greiner (that’s me!).

I’ve compiled a hyperlinked list to make voting a little easier. Simply click on the various links, select the appropriate category from the little dropdown (this is important!), state your reason for voting, and click “Tweet Your Vote.” You can vote for more than one tweep in each category (such as the three in #science), but only once per tweep per category.

NASA in #government … Vote Here

NASA_SDO (SDO) in #science … Vote Here

twisst (Twitter ISS Alerts) in #science … Vote Here

FlyingJenny (Jen Scheer) in #science … Vote Here

Nancy_A (Nancy Atkinson) in #journalist … Vote Here

TaviGreiner (that’s me) in #education … Vote Here

Astro_Mike (Mike Massimino) in #travel … Vote Here

Astro_TJ (TJ Creamer) in #tech … Vote Here

Miles O’Brien in #journalist … Vote Here

Astronomy.FM in #astronomy … Vote Here

NewburyAS (Newbury Astronomy) in #science … Vote Here

* If you know of any other SpaceTweeps in other categories, please share them in the comments section and I’ll add them to the list.

Tags: astronomy outreach, cast your vote, Flying Jenny, Mike Massimino, NASA, Newbury Astronomy, nominate, shorty awards, Space Tweeps, TJ Creamer, Twitter, vote
Posted in Citizen Science, ISS, NASA, Outreach, Social Media, Twitter | 3 Comments »

The Adventure of a Lifetime

Thursday, May 14th, 2009

Today was one of the most fascinating days I’ve experienced in a long time – and it all took place right here on my computer. Most everyone reading this knows that Shuttle Atlantis rendezvoused with the Hubble Space Telescope today and is now in position to begin service work in the morning. In fact, most everyone reading this watched the event in real time via NASA TV, as did I. It was an experience I’ll never forget. Thinking about it even now, hours later, I am no less impressed with the accomplishment and no less grateful that NASA shared it with us.

For those who were not able to tune in, we listened and then watched as Shuttle Atlantis approached the Hubble Space Telescope, in orbit. And we all held our breath as, with great finesse, various members of the Atlantis crew performed the intricate maneuvers to secure the telescope. Hopefully, many of us will be watching again tomorrow, as crew members begin the first of five EVAs scheduled for this mission. (We’ll also probably be watching ESA’s launch of the Herschel and Planck crafts, as well!)

As with so many NASA events lately, experiencing today’s activities with fellow Space enthusiasts on Twitter made the day that much more exciting. Atlantis Mission Specialist Mike Massimino offered a special treat for Twitter followers this morning when he tweeted, “From orbit: Getting more accustomed to living in space today and getting ready for our big rendezvous with hubble.“ Yesterday, Massimino’s followers received the first-ever tweet from Space, when he sent the message, “From orbit: Launch was awesome!! I am feeling great, working hard, & enjoying the magnificent views, the adventure of a lifetime has begun!“

I like those words – “the adventure of a lifetime.” I thought about Massimino and his fellow crew members alot today, with those very same words in mind.

If you who missed today’s rendezvous, I have a few screen captures, below. I think the images speak for the day, so that no descriptions are really needed. NASA also has a video of the event over here, in the right-side column, under Related Multimedia.