Looking back on past documents in an attempt to organize a hard-drive or 2, I came across the following letter written during an internship position I held at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab back in 2005. I paste the contents of the letter below as an illustration of my lack of writing skill and as a reminder of my excitement and determination to grow and develop in to something more that I could imagine. I paste the contents of the letter below to illustrate my past ability to dream and hope with the goal that these strategies, these ideals are not lost in a former identity. As I continue to figure out what I want for this blog, I am finding that looking in to my past seems to be a good starting place for finding material as well as finding hope for determination and motivation to keep trying.
As I expressed in the first post, the primary goal for this blog as I see it is to make time to write with the hope that as I continue blogging, my ability will inevitably grow and develop in to a sense of comfort and ease with writing as a tool to create change. Change for myself as well as others.
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Hey all,
I thought I'd just take a moment to show you what I've been doing this summer. As most of you may know, I've been working at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena California as an intern for the majority of the summer. While at JPL, I've had the opportunity to participate in a variety of projects ranging from the (MSIP), Mars Student Imaging Project to working on 508 compliance and (NFB), National Federation of the Blind webpage certification for JPL'S Mars page. The mars Student Imaging Project gives students a chance to work firsthand with a scientist or engineer, studying images taken from Mars by the Odyssey Global Surveyor, a space craft orbiting Mars. These students would choose an area of Mars they were interested in and analyze the data they received from the Surveyor. My role pertaining to this particular project was to help determine whether or not blind students could successfully participate and what accommodations would be necessary in order to give a blind student equal opportunities by allowing for equal access. I along with the help of two other interns, I was able to determine that this project could potentially be made accessible by transcribing the images on to swellform, or thermoform. Transcribing the images to swellform or thermoform, would raise the images allowing blind students to view the images on a more or less equal footing with their sighted peers. I also suggested the use of textured three dimensional models allowing for better visual comprehension of the images. Raised images and textured models could have a variety of applications beyond their uses in this particular project. By taking a multisensory approach, I believe this project could be made accessible to all, and perhaps make it more exciting. More information on this project can be obtained from the following link: http://msip.asu.edu
The 508 compliance and NFB Webpage Certification involved making sure that the Mars webpage was accessible under section 508 of the disabilities act. In order to obtain NFB Webpage Certification, the page in question is placed under stringent tests and evaluation by webpage designers and users from the blind community in order to make sure that all content is easily accessible. Although this site meets most of the qualifications under 508 compliance, there's still work to be done before NFB certification can be granted. The JPL Mars site can be accessed by clicking on the following link: http://www.mars.JPL.nasa.gov.
Apart from working on the MSIP and 508 compliance, I've had the opportunity to attend a variety of planning meetings for the Mars Rover Mission, hosted by scientists and engineers. During these meetings, scientists and engineers discuss their daily plans for the Mars Rovers, which are two Robots named, Spirit and Opportunity. Spirit and Opportunity were sent to Mars with an extensive instrument package consisting of a variety of cameras and spectrometers to help scientists analyze the Martian surface in order to determine whether or not water ever existed on Mars. One of my most exciting and enjoyable experiences was shadowing the Rover Planners. The Rover Planners are the scientists and engineers in charge of the daily operation of the rovers. It is the job of these scientists to program instructions which are transmitted through a radio uplink to the rovers each day. More information about the current status of the Mars Rovers can be obtained from the following link: http://marsrovers.JPL.nasa.gov/home/index.html
Another exciting experience that I partook of was the chance to view the launch of the shuttle Discovery. Although the launch took place in Florida, We were able to view it on a large screen at JPL. Scientists and engineers stayed in constant contact with Kennedy Flight Center to ensure that the launch took place without a snag.
Throughout my internship, I've had the pleasure of making a number of presentations in which I along with my fellow interns
were given a chance to express our ideas on how to perhaps better the webpage by increasing accessibility to certain items. Now that I'm nearing the end of my internship, I'm preparing a final presentation to express my ideas pertaining to the (MER), Mars Exploration Rover Project, and my achievements and experiences throughout this internship.
Finally in closing, I would like to take some time to thank the people who made this internship truly an invaluable experience for me. I would like to thank my NASA mentor, Connie Genaro and my Supervisor, John Callas for giving me a truly amazing and awesome internship experience. Also, I'd like to thank Eva Graham for her support of the interns by introducing us to different internship opportunities available to students. Finally I'd like to thank NASA, the National Federation of the Blind, and the Jernigan Institute for making this all possible. Through this internship experience I've gained a better understanding of how things work in the corporate world. I've also obtained new skills which will increase my value in the competitive job market. All in all, this internship has given me a chance to discover the direction in which I want to take my life. Thanks again to everybody who has made this opportunity possible and my apologies towards anyone I may have inadvertently excluded.
Sincerely
David Wright
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