President’s Science Advisor Visits NASA’s Ames Research Center
Today, John P. Holdren, President Obama’s science and technology advisor and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, heard updates on NASA’s efforts to send a 3D printer to space and make Earth science data more accessible to the public, among other stops, during a tour of NASA’s Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif.
During informal remarks to the Ames workforce, Holdren congratulated the team on keeping NASA and America on the vanguard of exploration.
“From the groundbreaking research in its synthetic biology lab, to the massive platforms it’s creating for global climate data, to its work on a next-generation U.S. air-traffic-control system, Ames Research Center is clearly at home on the cutting edge,” Dr. Holdren said. “Breakthroughs like the ones underway here at Ames are expanding America’s reach on Earth and in space and lowering the cost of exploring the final frontier.”
Ames Director Pete Worden said, “We are delighted to have the President’s science and technology advisor visit us here in Silicon Valley. Ames is proud of its recent successful missions to find planets, explore the moon and sun and of our many advanced technology efforts.”
Holdren observed a 3D manufacturing demonstration in the Ames Space Shop, from design to production and enhanced digital fabrication. The Ames Space Shop team and Made in Space, the space manufacturing company working with Ames and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, are collaborating to launch the first 3D printer to space. 3D printing, also called additive manufacturing, is a key aspect of the Obama Administration’s advanced manufacturing initiative.
Holdren also met with leaders from NASA’s Earth Exchange Project, a platform for scientific collaboration, knowledge sharing, and research based on Earth-systems data. In November, NASA and Amazon Web Services Inc. (AWS) of Seattle, Wash., announced that a large collection of NASA climate and Earth-science satellite data would be made available to research and educational users through the AWS cloud. The system aims to enhance research and educational opportunities for the U.S. geoscience community by promoting community-driven research, innovation, and collaboration. Leveraging extensive Federal climate-relevant data to stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship, and to support on-the-ground decision making is a key element of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan.
