Chat with Liz Bauer, Hardware Engineer
Johnson Space Center
April 2: 10:00 a.m.

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 0 - 11:13:10 ]
Thursday April 2 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time, Liz Bauer from Johnson Space Center will be here to chat with you. Liz is a hardware engineer for SIR [Standard Interface Rack], a system used to take Earth things to space. Please read Liz's bio at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/neuron/team/bauer.html before joining the chat.

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 5 - 09:46:30 ]
I have opened the room and am standing by for Liz Bauer from the Johnson Space Center to check in.

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 8 - 09:59:05 ]
RE: [Anders-Anders/Sweden] Hello! Please speak easy English!!
Hello Anders and welcome. Do you have a question for Liz?

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 11 - 10:00:13 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Good Morning Linda!
Hi Stephanie, Good to see you!

[ Anders-Anders/Sweden - 12 - 10:02:33 ]
No not really I just want to learn and see. Maybe I have a question.

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 14 - 10:04:01 ]
I imagine Liz will be checking in soon. There is a press conference for Neurolab going on right now, but don't worry we will have it online for you to see any time you have the opportunity!

[ LizBauer/JSC - 18 - 10:05:46 ]
RE: [Anders-Anders/Sweden] Speak easy English cause I don«t speak English so good.
I will do my best. Sorry for being late.

[ Anders-Anders/Sweden - 19 - 10:06:05 ]
I just want to inform everyone. Please visit http://hem2.passagen.se/andrevs

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 20 - 10:06:12 ]
RE: [Anders-Anders/Sweden] I have a Question. How did NASA get up the Hubble Telescope to Space??
Hi Anders, I'm not sure that's an area that Liz can/will speak to. Have you had a chance to see what Liz does? Check out her bio at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/team/bauer.html

[ LizBauer/JSC - 21 - 10:06:50 ]
RE: [Mike-Mike/AlexanderDawson] What hardware do you make exactly, like what kind of hardware?
For Neurolab, I built a system of racks and drawers, almost like a file cabinet. But, the drawers were filled with different electronic equipment, not papers.

[ Anders-Anders/Sweden - 23 - 10:07:13 ]
Thanks! Linda!!

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 26 - 10:09:04 ]
RE: [MrsLiebschsClass-Diane/AtchisonMiddleSchool] We have 7 sixth graders ready to learn about Liz's career.
Terrific! Do you have specific questions? Have you had a chance to read her bio?

[ MrsLiebschsClass-Diane/AtchisonMiddleSchool - 28 - 10:10:04 ]
Yes we have read the bio and we're coming up with questions. We're from Atchison, Kansas, and we want to send a hello from the USA to Sweden!!!!

[ Anders-Anders/Sweden - 32 - 10:12:36 ]
Hi Atchison middle school. Do your school work with space-science????

[ LizBauer/JSC - 33 - 10:12:37 ]
RE: [MrsLiebschsClass-Diane/AtchisonMiddleSchool] We have 7 sixth graders ready to learn about Liz's career.
Since I have only been at NASA for almost 5 years, I am at the beginning of my career. But, I'll let you know what I have done so far. I graduated Texas A&M in 1993 with a Mechanical Engineering degree. When I started NASA, I built kits for blood, urine, and saliva collection. Eew! Then, I started working on the SIR hardware in support of the Russian Space Station, Mir. (Learned a little Russian.) I have been working with SIR in different applications ever since (Life and Microgravity Spacelab, Neurolab, and the International Space Station Human Research Facility).

[ LizBauer/JSC - 35 - 10:13:47 ]
RE: [Wes-Wes/AlexanderDawsonSchool] What kind of electronic equipment did you put in the drawers.
Some of the drawers contained computer equipment to store science data. Others had computer controlling equipment for the rotating chair. Another contained a gas analyzing system.

[ LizBauer/JSC - 36 - 10:14:47 ]
RE: [MrsLiebschsClass-Diane/AtchisonMiddleSchool] Did Liz have to figure out how to store food on NeuroLab?
No, I do not get to work with food. But I will let you know that the refrigerators built by other people in my area have been launched with ice cream bars in them. The astronauts request that.

[ LizBauer/JSC - 37 - 10:16:02 ]
RE: [MrsLiebschsClass-Diane/AtchisonMiddleSchool] What is the launch date and will Liz be there to see her work go up in space?
The launch date is April 16, two weeks from today. Yeah! I will see the launch on TV, but I have seen other launches at KSC.

[ LizBauer/JSC - 41 - 10:18:04 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] What systems does the SIR support?
SIR is in Racks 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the Spacelab. It supports the Virtual Environment Generator (VEG), Lower Body Negative Pressure Device (LBNP), Rotating Chair, GASMAP (a gas analyzing system), and other drawers which help record and transmit data to the ground.

[ LizBauer/JSC - 43 - 10:18:53 ]
RE: [MrsLiebschsClass-Diane/AtchisonMiddleSchool] To Anders: We love science and study of space. We're doing the Neurolab projects in our science class and following "What's In the News" coverage of it.
Thanks for your interest! That's great!!

[ LizBauer/JSC - 44 - 10:19:36 ]
RE: [Linda/NASAQuest] Stephanie/Edmonton asked a little earlier: If computers have to be packaged in drawers, why not laptops?
Actually, we use laptops too. But sometimes you need more capability than what a laptop can do with limited memory.

[ LizBauer/JSC - 46 - 10:21:59 ]
RE: [Anders-Anders/Sweden] Are the space-refrigerators different from ours??
Space refrigerators are the same and different from the ones we use. In some refrigerators, they use the same cooling technology (freon). But others use a different technology called thermoelectrics. A space frig is smaller as well.

[ LizBauer/JSC - 50 - 10:24:33 ]
RE: [MrsLiebschsClass-Diane/AtchisonMiddleSchool] We were wondering why the astronauts would have to store saliva. Was it for medical reasons?
Saliva collection is used to see how much of a "tracer" remains in the body. An astronaut will swallow a special substance, and then at a specified time will do a saliva sample. What an investigator is studying is how the substance was absorbed through the stomach, entering into the bloodstream, and then coming out through the saliva.

[ Anders-Anders/Sweden - 51 - 10:26:17 ]
To: Atchison school. If you want to contact me please go to http://hem2.passagen.se/andrevs

[ MrsLiebschsClass-Diane/AtchisonMiddleSchool - 53 - 10:28:39 ]
To: Anders....expect an email from us tomorrow...thanks!! :)

[ Anders-Anders/Sweden - 55 - 10:32:06 ]
To: Atchison! Always nice to meet new space people!! =)

[ LizBauer/JSC - 56 - 10:33:22 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Have you met any of the astronauts? Do you participate in the sims?
I have met astronauts. I helped with crew training which was great to teach them how to use equipment I helped build.

[ LizBauer/JSC - 58 - 10:34:44 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Has moving around the country affected you in any way?
Moving around the country has affected me by making it easier to adapt to new places. I'm not scared to try new things, see new places, meet new people, etc.

[ LizBauer/JSC - 59 - 10:36:02 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] What courses did you take in high school? Do you know French?
I do not know French, but I did take some Spanish and German. (Although it is hard to remember it when I don't use it everyday.) I also took math, English, history, science, etc. classes.

[ LizBauer/JSC - 61 - 10:38:59 ]
RE: [MrsLiebschsClass-Diane/AtchisonMiddleSchool] Are you comfortable with overseeing the contractors that do the work for you? We think it would be hard to be young and be a boss too.
It is difficult overseeing contractors. I learn something new everyday about how to interact with people and about myself. How do you tell someone that they messed up or made a wrong decision, especially when they are older than you? Or on the positive side, how do you guide people, build teams, show them how good a job they are doing? It's hard.

[ LizBauer/JSC - 62 - 10:40:32 ]
RE: [Anders-Anders/Sweden] What kind of Computers do the Astronauts use??
I am not sure the exact brand names or models and sometimes we just use the boards within the computers.

[ MrsLiebschsClass-Diane/AtchisonMiddleSchool - 63 - 10:41:01 ]
:)

[ LizBauer/JSC - 66 - 10:43:44 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Do any of your racks support payloads, such as the EXPRESS rack?
Actually, the EXPRESS rack uses the SIR technology for some of its drawer installations.

[ LizBauer/JSC - 68 - 10:45:02 ]
RE: [Anders-Anders/Sweden] Have you worked for ESA??
No, I have not worked for ESA but I have talked to people from there for Neurolab (rotating chair) and to others about SIR.

[ LizBauer/JSC - 69 - 10:47:09 ]
RE: [MrsLiebschsClass-Diane/AtchisonMiddleSchool] Do engineers that work for space programs make as much money as the astronauts?
I do not know how much money the astronauts make. There are people that work at NASA (like the Center Director or NASA Director) that probably make more than the astronauts.

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 71 - 10:49:10 ]
I'm always delighted to see folks ask questions about acronyms! There's a lot of alphabet soup to wade through in the space program!

[ LizBauer/JSC - 74 - 10:52:12 ]
RE: [MrsLiebschsClass-Diane/AtchisonMiddleSchool] Do you work with many other women? Also, what does ESA stand for?
I will admit that I do not work with many other women. But, my boss is a woman and a few co-workers. And it seems like that on the contractor side, as well. And since I work in life sciences, there are more women with nursing degrees or biomedical degrees. Other buildings at JSC that do more technical engineering work have less women. ESA stands for the European Space Agency.

[ LizBauer/JSC - 75 - 10:53:02 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Have you went to Star City before?
No, I have not been to Star City or anywhere else in Russia. I just did not get the chance. Bummer!

[ MrsLiebschsClass-Diane/AtchisonMiddleSchool - 76 - 10:53:31 ]
So...is ESA similar to NASA? Is Anders involved with ESA?

[ LizBauer/JSC - 77 - 10:53:40 ]
RE: [Anders-Anders/Sweden] What does JPL stand for???
JPL = Jet Propulsion Laboratory (in California - did the Mars Rover)

[ LizBauer/JSC - 79 - 10:55:34 ]
RE: [MrsLiebschsClass-Diane/AtchisonMiddleSchool] So...is ESA similar to NASA? Is Anders involved with ESA?
Yes, ESA is like NASA but it is also more complicated. Many countries are involved with ESA where NASA is just USA. I think he is from ESA, given the Sweden in his address.

[ LizBauer/JSC - 82 - 10:56:35 ]
RE: [Anders-Anders/Sweden] Did JPL do the Voyager probes?? And what are JSC??
I'm not sure about the Voyager probes. You might be able to find that on the NASA website. JSC is Johnson Space Center which is in Houston, Texas. It is one of the NASA centers, just like JPL.

[ LizBauer/JSC - 83 - 10:57:50 ]
RE: [MrsLiebschsClass-Diane/AtchisonMiddleSchool] We're having a hard time remembering what the name of the Mars Rover was....can you help us?
Sorry, I can't remember either. But, I did think it was amazing that we were able to see and move on Mars.

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 84 - 10:57:54 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Linda, you sure have to know your acronyms at NASA! I've maybe learned about a hundred or so, and it's getting pretty confusing! :o
You're right! Did you see the NeurOn Update 12 that dealt with that?

[ Anders-Anders/Sweden - 86 - 10:58:32 ]
To: Atchison. All the European countries are involved in ESA. ESA have some astronauts. For example Ulf Merbold. He became the first non U.S to fly an Shuttle. Sweden just have one Astronaut.

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 87 - 10:59:07 ]
RE: [MrsLiebschsClass-Diane/AtchisonMiddleSchool] We're having a hard time remembering what the name of the Mars Rover was....can you help us?
What you may want to do is go to Quest's Mars Team Online project to get the background information you want on the Mars mission.

[ LizBauer/JSC - 88 - 10:59:18 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Linda, you sure have to know your acronyms at NASA! I've maybe learned about a hundred or so, and it's getting pretty confusing! :o
Acronyms are definitely used a lot around here. But, there are some we use that everyone uses like ASAP and FYI. For the other NASA ones, I have a book that helps guide me.

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 89 - 10:59:36 ]
RE: [Linda/NASAQuest] What you may want to do is go to Quest's Mars Team Online project to get the background information you want on the Mars mission.
Oops, I guess and address would help! http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/mars

[ Stephanie/Edmonton - 90 - 10:59:38 ]
The Mars rover is called Sojourner. The 2001 rover is called Athena.

[ Anders-Anders/Sweden - 91 - 11:00:13 ]
To Atchison: The Mars Rovers Name is Sojourner.

[ LizBauer/JSC - 92 - 11:00:42 ]
RE: [MrsLiebschsClass-Diane/AtchisonMiddleSchool] You said you were working on the new space station. What country is taking the lead in the planning?
The USA is the lead in the planning, but we are definitely getting contributions from the RSA (Russian Space Agency) and ESA.

[ MrsLiebschsClass-Diane/AtchisonMiddleSchool - 93 - 11:00:43 ]
Thanks Steph...we knew it was something significant!!!

[ Stephanie/Edmonton - 94 - 11:01:26 ]
Your welcome!

[ Anders-Anders/Sweden - 95 - 11:02:07 ]
Is Sweden involved in ISS???

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 96 - 11:03:06 ]
Liz, Because we did a focus activity that surrounded the animal habitat's on Neurolab, did you get involved with the RAHF's [Research Animal Handling Facilities, I think]?

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 97 - 11:04:16 ]
Oops, I was having way too much fun and it is 11:00 here, the time we told Liz we'd end. I really have appreciated the good interaction here and want to thank Liz for her time!

[ MrsLiebschsClass-Diane/AtchisonMiddleSchool - 98 - 11:04:47 ]
We were figuring out what ISS was...we've got it...but Patrick here says it must stand for "In School Suspension" I have a funny group of kids here today. This has been lots of fun. Thanks to all of you for sharing!

[ Anders-Anders/Sweden - 99 - 11:05:02 ]
Thanks Liz!!

[ LizBauer/JSC - 100 - 11:05:04 ]
RE: [Anders-Anders/Sweden] Is Sweden involved in ISS???
I am not sure about specifics, but since they are part of ESA then they are. Also, there is more involvement than astronauts. There may be a scientist over there who wants to study something about astronaut physiology. Through ESA and NASA, he or she could develop an experiment that an astronaut would conduct.

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 101 - 11:05:37 ]
I will leave the room open just a little longer so we can hear from Anders. Thanks all for your participation!

[ Stephanie/Edmonton - 102 - 11:05:44 ]
Thanks for chatting with us!

[ Anders-Anders/Sweden - 103 - 11:06:05 ]
To: Atchison. Please visit http://hem2.passagen.se/andrevs Now.

[ LizBauer/JSC - 104 - 11:06:19 ]
RE: [Linda/NASAQuest] Oops, I was having way too much fun and it is 11:00 here, the time we told Liz we'd end. I really have appreciated the good interaction here and want to thank Liz for her time!
We have one in the mockup in my building, but I did not get to specifically work on it. Thanks for your great questions!! This was fun.

[ LizBauer/JSC - 105 - 11:07:06 ]
RE: [Anders-Anders/Sweden] Thanks Liz!!
You're welcome. This was a great experience.

[ LizBauer/JSC - 106 - 11:08:04 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Thanks for chatting with us!
No problem. You seem to be very knowledgeable. Cool!!

[ Anders/Sweden - 107 - 11:08:04 ]
See you tomorrow Linda

[ Anders/Sweden - 108 - 11:09:26 ]
Thanks to all of you. I will be her tomorrow to. But now I must go to bed

[ LizBauer/JSC - 109 - 11:10:06 ]
RE: [Anders/Sweden] Thanks to all of you. I will be her tomorrow to. But now I must go to bed
Good night and sleep tight!!

[ Diane/AtchisonMiddleSchool - 110 - 11:12:27 ]
Anders...you're are AWESOME! We will explore your sight lots more...it's bookmarked! Thanks for sharing! Patrick has red hair like yours! We'll share more later. :)

[ Anders/Sweden - 111 - 11:12:27 ]
Thanks everyone!!!!