NASA Hosts Social Media Event to Welcome Endeavour to California

John Yembrick/Jason Townsend

Headquarters, Washington                                        

202-358-1584/202-358-0359

john.yembrick@nasa.gov / jason.c.townsend@nasa.gov

WASHINGTON -- To welcome space shuttle Endeavour to Southern California, NASA is inviting 40 of its social media followers to a NASA Social Sept. 19-20 at the agency's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base. Parts of the social will be carried live on NASA Television and the agency's website.

Endeavour is expected to land at Dryden on Sept. 19 and depart Sept. 20 for Los Angeles International Airport, where it will remain in a hangar until its transfer in October to a permanent home at the California Science Center.

During the two-day event, people who engage with NASA through Twitter, Facebook and Google+ will have a rare opportunity to see the landing and departure of Endeavour as it rides piggyback on NASA's 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. Participants also will speak with experts, tour shuttle support vehicles and other NASA aircraft, and interact with fellow NASA social media followers, space enthusiasts and members of NASA's social media team.

The NASA Social registration opens at noon EDT, Tuesday, Aug. 28, and closes at noon EDT, Thursday, Aug. 30. Forty participants will be selected randomly from online registrations. Because of space limitations, those selected to attend may not bring a guest. Each participant must be a U.S. citizen age 18 or older.

For more information on NASA Socials and to register, visit http://www.nasa.gov/social.

To join and track the conversation online during the NASA Socials, follow the hashtag #NASASocial. Use and reference the #OV105 hashtag to follow Endeavour's cross country journey.

For NASA TV streaming video, schedules and downlink information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/ntv.

For more about Dryden Flight Research Center, visit http://www.nasa.gov/dryden.

For information about Endeavour's arrival at the California Science Center, visit http://www.californiasciencecenter.org.

For information about connecting and collaborating with NASA, visit http://www.nasa.gov/connect.

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NASA Hosts First Social Media Event at Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex

John Yembrick / Jason Townsend

Headquarters, Washington

202-358-1584 / 202-358-0359

john.yembrick@nasa.gov / jason.c.townsend@nasa.gov

WASHINGTON -- Sixty-five of NASA's social media followers will have a rare opportunity to tour the agency's Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex in California's Mojave Desert during a NASA Social on Monday, Oct. 15, 2012.

Goldstone is one of three NASA Deep Space Network (DSN) complexes strategically placed around the world. The complex provides the ability to communicate with spacecraft not only in orbit around Earth, but also in the farther reaches of our solar system.

People who engage with NASA through Twitter, Facebook and Google+ also will travel to Apollo Valley to see the historic Apollo antenna and 34-meter Beam Waveguide Cluster antennas; take a trip to Mars Valley, home of the large 70-meter Mars antenna (230-foot dish); the 34-meter Uranus antenna and Signal Processing Center 10; and the Spacecraft Operations Control Center. Participants will have an opportunity to speak with scientists, engineers and other team members from NASA and Goldstone. They also will interact with fellow NASA social media followers, space enthusiasts and members of NASA's social media team.

The 65 participants will be selected randomly from online registrations for this NASA Social. Registration opens at noon EDT, Wednesday, Aug. 29, and closes at noon Friday, Aug. 31. Because of space limitations, those selected to attend may not bring a guest. Each participant must be a U.S. citizen, age 18 or older. For more information on NASA Socials and to register, visit http://www.nasa.gov/social.

For information about the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex, visit http://www.gdscc.nasa.gov.

For more about NASA's Deep Space Network, visit http://deepspace.jpl.nasa.gov/dsn.

For information about connecting and collaborating with NASA, visit http://www.nasa.gov/connect.

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NASA Hosts First Multi-Center Social Media Event for Mars Landing

John Yembrick / Jason Townsend

Headquarters, Washington

202-358-0359

john.yembrick@nasa.gov / jason.c.townsend@nasa.gov

WASHINGTON -- NASA is inviting its social media followers to the first-ever multi-center NASA Social on Aug. 3 to preview the landing of the Mars Science Laboratory's Curiosity rover on Aug. 6 EDT (Aug. 5 PDT). NASA Socials are in-person meetings with people who engage with the agency through Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and other social networks.

Events will be held simultaneously at six NASA field centers, including Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.; Glenn Research Center in Cleveland; Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.; Johnson Space Center in Houston; and, Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. Each center will be connected via a multi-center NASA Television simulcast with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., during its NASA Social, which was previously announced. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission for NASA.

Participants will learn about the Mars Science Laboratory mission and their respective NASA field center. They are encouraged to share their experience with others through their favorite social networks. Along with discussing MSL and Mars, participants will get a unique behind-the-scenes look at the center and the diverse work of the agency through tours and presentations with scientists, engineers and managers. The events also will provide guests the opportunity to interact with fellow social media users, space enthusiasts and members of NASA's social media team.

Registration for the five new NASA Socials opens at noon EDT, Friday, June 29, and closes at noon Tuesday, July 3. NASA randomly will select participants from online registrations. People may register for NASA Socials to be held at multiple locations, but selectees will be chosen for one event only. Each field center's social and number of guests allowed varies. For more information on each center's activities and rules pertaining to NASA Social registration, visit http://www.nasa.gov/social.

It is anticipated that Curiosity will land at Mars' Gale crater at approximately 1:31 a.m. EDT Aug. 6 (10:31 p.m. PDT Aug. 5). During the two-year prime mission, the rover will investigate whether the selected area of Mars offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life or if evidence of it existed. For more information on the Mars Science Laboratory/Curiosity mission, visit http://www.nasa.gov/msl.

The public can follow the mission on Facebook and Twitter at http://www.facebook.com/marscuriosity and http://www.twitter.com/marscuriosity.

For information about connecting and collaborating with NASA, visit http://www.nasa.gov/connect.

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Social Media and Suicide Prevention

What would you do if a Facebook friend updated that they were depressed and thinking of ending their life?

What would you do if you observed a group of individuals bullying another person on a social media site? Would your actions be the same if the person was a friend or a complete stranger?

Your answers to these questions may have important implications for how these scenarios turn out. Fortunately, there are resources in social media to help you reduce the risk for suicidal behavior and to get help.

Suicide is a serious but preventable public health problem.  According to the World Health Organization , more than one million suicides occur in the world every year.

Social media, such as chat rooms, blogs, video sites like YouTube, and social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, have become important ways that many people communicate and share information about a variety of topics, including suicide.

Two colleagues and I recently discussed the role of social media in suicidal behavior in an article published in the American Journal of Public Health  called “Social Media and Suicide: A Public Health Perspective.” In the article, we examined the evidence for how social media can have both negative as well as preventative influences on suicidal behavior.

There are several ways social media is used that can negatively influence suicidal behavior, some examples are:

 ■Pro-suicide forums offering “how-to” information or encouraging suicide pacts.

 ■Cyberbullying and cyber-harassment directed through social networking sites

 ■The “media contagion effect” where reports of things like a celebrity suicide influence suicidal behavior.

It is important to be aware of how your friends and family may interact with or be exposed to these types of social media. Your understanding of these risks and your knowledge of where to go for help may prevent a suicide.

Social media can also be used to increase awareness and provide information on suicide prevention programs, crisis help lines, and other educational resources. Check out the Facebook and Twitter accounts of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)  or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline  to find information and share personal stories about suicide prevention and coping. You might also want to watch the suicide survivor stories on the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline’s www.lifeline-gallery.org  website.

There are hundreds of support and prevention groups on Twitter, as well video-based public service announcements geared toward suicide prevention on popular social media sites such as YouTube. Several social networking sites such as Facebook, and Bebo even provide a “panic button” feature to report cyberbullying.

Facebook also works with the Samaritans charity to provide a suicide-alert reporting system for Facebook users to report individuals they believe are expressing suicidal thoughts or intent.

The Department of Defense  is also using social media to address the problem of suicide. For example, the Afterdeployment.org  Facebook and Twitter accounts provide education and prevention information tailored for the military community. Other suicide prevention sites for the military and veteran community include suicideoutreach.org , Realwarriors.net , and the Wingman Project .

There are ways that social media can influence suicide behavior, both positively and negatively. I hope that by reading this blog you have become more aware of the issue and have learned what to look out for as well as what options there are for finding support, learning more, and helping others.

If you or someone you know is in an emotional distress or suicidal crisis, please seek help immediately. If an emergency, contact 911.

Some available resources:

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline  is there to help 24/7, or give them a call at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or check out their Facebook page.

Want to talk in 140 characters or less?  Check out their Twitter feed.

Suicide.org has an international listing of hotline numbers that could help you or someone you know.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)  has some great resources available; Take a look at the AfterDeployment.org  website.

Dr. David Luxton is a Research Psychologist and Program Manager at the National Center for Telehealth and Technology (T2).

NASA, SpaceX Announce NASA Social for Falcon 9 Launch Attempt

Michael Braukus

Headquarters, Washington

202-358-1979

michael.j.braukus@nasa.gov

 

Kirstin Brost Grantham

Space Exploration Technologies, Hawthorne, Calif.

202-649-2716

kirstin@spacex.com

WASHINGTON -- NASA and Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) will invite 50 of their social media followers to a two-day NASA Social April 29-30 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The event is expected to culminate in the launch of SpaceX's second Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) demonstration flight. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is targeted to lift off at 12:22 p.m. EDT on April 30, in an attempt to become the first commercial company to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station.

Registration opens at noon EDT Thursday, April 5, and closes at noon Friday, April 6. Fifty participants will be selected from online registrations.

For more information on NASA Social and to register, visit http://www.nasa.gov/social.

A NASA Social is an event for people who use NASA's social media accounts. For this event, fans and followers on Twitter, Facebook and Google+ are eligible to register. Participants will have unique in-person experiences with SpaceX and NASA, which they are encouraged to share with others through their favorite social network. Guests will view the launch, tour NASA facilities at Kennedy, speak with representatives from both organizations, view the SpaceX launch pad, meet fellow space enthusiasts who are active on social media, and meet members of SpaceX and NASA's social media teams.

SpaceX will launch its Dragon spacecraft atop its Falcon 9 launch vehicle to test and prove its systems for a rendezvous with the space station. The flight's objectives include a fly-under of the station to validate operation of sensors and flight systems necessary for a safe rendezvous, berthing to the station and returning the Dragon spacecraft to Earth.

Because portions of this event may take place in restricted areas, registration is limited to U.S. citizens.

Since 2006, NASA's COTS program has invested financial and technical resources to stimulate private sector efforts to develop and demonstrate safe, reliable and cost-effective space transportation capabilities. In a multi-phase strategy, the program spurs the innovation and development of new spacecraft and launch vehicles from commercial industry to create a new system of delivering cargo to low-Earth orbit and the space station.

For more information about COTS, visit http://www.nasa.gov/cots.

To find all the ways to connect and collaborate with NASA, visit http://www.nasa.gov/connect.

To follow SpaceX on Twitter, visit http://www.twitter.com/SpaceX.

For more information about the International Space Station, visit http://www.nasa.gov/station.

For more information about SpaceX or the Dragon spacecraft, visit http://www.spacex.com.

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