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Unmanned Spaceflight.com _ Forum News _ First UMSF Awards

Posted by: djellison Feb 22 2010, 07:55 PM

Something that we've been bouncing between the admins for a while, is a means to thank and celebrate the work and creativity of science teams, engineering teams or outreachers who try to share their exploratory spirit. To that end, we are about to award the first 6 UMSF awards, to mark the 6 years of UMSF. From this year onwards, we intend to issue two awards per year, but after 6 years we've got some catching up to do so we've awarded 6 different teams or individuals in this inaugural round.

The actual awards are already in the mail out to their various recipients either directly (on pain of death if they reveal their award before we do!) , or with the help of agents of subterfuge who are holding them until the day of the actual award to keep it a surprise (you know who you are, and thankyou!)

A special thanks, as ever, to Astro0 for his typically awesome work with Photoshop to produce not only the graphics for the awards, but also for the certificates that accompany them.

The first six will be announced from March 1st to March 6th! Please don't try and play a guessing game in the mean time, you may end up causing accidental offence or disappointment.

We'll be taking nominations for the 2010 awards from UMSF members, but NOT YET... because you don't know who's won a 2009 award yet!

The first six awards will be announced at www.umsfawards.com or you can be exceptionally 21st century and keep track via @umsfawards

Posted by: MahFL Feb 23 2010, 03:31 PM

I can't wait to receive mine !

Posted by: centsworth_II Feb 23 2010, 05:41 PM

I'm patient. I can wait for the lifetime achievement award. laugh.gif

Posted by: hendric Feb 24 2010, 03:53 AM

Will the awards also be posted here?

Posted by: ustrax Feb 25 2010, 09:42 AM

Wow man they look http://www.umsfawards.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/6_2009_awards.jpg... smile.gif

Posted by: Explorer1 Feb 25 2010, 10:13 AM

Wow, they're shaped like Steins! That's a nice touch!
Yeah it's nerdy but funnily enough that's what I thought when I saw them...


So all the winner announcements will be staggered over 6 days?

Posted by: djellison Feb 25 2010, 11:07 AM

Yup - Monday thru to Saturday. I'm hoping that recipients will have hands-on their awards before they're announced, but that might not be the case for everyone. Fortunately the first one is a hand delivery in a few days time. I'll post here when te announcements occur, but the details will be on the awards site.

Posted by: djellison Mar 1 2010, 12:03 PM

The first award has been announced. There was only one choice :

http://www.umsfawards.com/?p=34

Steve Squyres, Jim Bell & the MER Science team, for establishing the new standard for rapid release of raw imagery from spacecraft exploring the solar system with MER and Pancam.

Posted by: eoincampbell Mar 1 2010, 05:33 PM

Congratulations to Steve Squyres, Jim Bell and MER Science Team!
From a "viewer" who has benefitted greatly from this award winning idea!
Cheers!

Posted by: Explorer1 Mar 1 2010, 05:55 PM

I'll add my congrats, too! I didn't doubt they'd get one or the other anyway...

Posted by: Oersted Mar 1 2010, 06:49 PM

So well-deserved that it must count as a no-brainer. Congratulations to the MER team!

Posted by: ustrax Mar 1 2010, 07:02 PM

bah! what have those guys done to deserve this award, this was all fixed I tell you... rolleyes.gif
seriously...would we be around here if it weren't for them? I doubt it.
Great initiative Doug and crew!

Posted by: nprev Mar 1 2010, 09:05 PM

Cool idea! I'm sure that the recipients will be deeply honored; this is recognition by the public, not from fellow professionals, and that's a qualitative difference.

Posted by: lyford Mar 2 2010, 06:01 AM

QUOTE (ustrax @ Mar 1 2010, 11:02 AM) *
this was all fixed I tell you...
seriously...would we be around here if it weren't for them? I doubt it. Great initiative Doug and crew!


I do seem to remember another little forum called http://mer.rlproject.com/ biggrin.gif
It's right in the name!

Seriously, MER wrote the book on how to write the book on outreach. A perfect storm of a principled principle investigator, available technology, orbiter relay and in incredible hard work and dedication of so many involved with the mission. Thank you for setting the bar so high for future missions to match!

Posted by: brellis Mar 2 2010, 09:46 AM

Squyres' statements over the years have taken on the gravitas of "One small step..."

Besides soaking up the glory of a successful launch or landing, SS has the additional challenge of knowing that each unmanned mission will one day come to an end. His descriptions have helped a lot of enthusiasts, myself included, cope with that part of a mission.

Posted by: djellison Mar 2 2010, 12:14 PM

After yesterdays first Spirit award - today is the first Opportunity award :

http://www.umsfawards.com/?p=43

It goes to John Spencer and the New Horizons Jupiter Flyby Planning Team for seeking and using public suggestions for Kodak-Moment imaging opportunities during the New Horizons flyby of Jupiter.

Posted by: hendric Mar 2 2010, 02:52 PM

Congrats John! I'm sure all the other space exploration missions will be *so* jealous now. smile.gif

Posted by: john_s Mar 2 2010, 03:06 PM

Congratulations to you too, Hendric, for your great targeting suggestions that made our experiment a success! You deserve a share of the award.

John

Posted by: hendric Mar 2 2010, 10:49 PM

Please chip off a piece of the ...Just kidding! Just being able to part of the team is reward enough. I still stare in admiration at my "NH @ Jupiter anniversary" poster. I expect to be invited to the Pluto flyby party! smile.gif

Posted by: djellison Mar 3 2010, 12:21 PM

The third award of the six, and the second Opportunity Award....

http://www.umsfawards.com/?p=83

Examples of exceptional public engagement are rare in Europe. But one small project has shone brighter than anything else, the reactivation of the Visual Monitoring Camera onboard Mars Express, and the interaction between the MEX team and the public that has followed. For that reason, Thomas Ormston and the Mars Express VMC planning team have been awarded the second UMSF Opportunity Award!

Posted by: djellison Mar 4 2010, 12:10 PM

The Third Opportunity Award goes to Alice Wessen and the Cassini Outreach Team, for taking the public to Saturn with the release of raw images, and eight inspiring rounds of the Cassini ‘Scientist for a day’ program.

http://www.umsfawards.com/?p=93

Posted by: cbcnasa Mar 4 2010, 04:30 PM

Congrats Alice and the Cassini Outreach team.

Posted by: Explorer1 Mar 4 2010, 09:19 PM

The New Horizons award got a mention and link on the front page:
http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/

I guess we can expect new visitors now....

Posted by: Ant103 Mar 5 2010, 12:44 AM

Congrats to ALL the present awards, they are well well deserved, we can't be more agreed with that smile.gif

Posted by: djellison Mar 5 2010, 12:57 AM

Two more to go yet ( and I can hear the cogs of imagination and forecasting occurring in each and every mind reading this thread )

The announcements should automatically appear on the site at 1200UT (they are pre-scheduled blog entires) - and then I tweet a few minutes later.



Posted by: djellison Mar 5 2010, 12:08 PM

The Second Spirit Award goes to Veronica McGregor, the voice of @MarsPhoenix :

An agency as large and bureaucratic as NASA will always be resistant to things that are new, unknown or perhaps perceived as ‘trendy’. It is for pushing through those misconceptions and using these new means of communication so effectively, that Veronica McGregor wins the 2nd UMSF Spirit Award, for giving a little spacecraft a big voice and kick starting the new media revolution at JPL and NASA.

http://www.umsfawards.com/?p=104

Just one more to go tomorrow!

Posted by: nprev Mar 5 2010, 01:00 PM

W00t, Veronica!!! smile.gif

Posted by: vmcgregor Mar 5 2010, 09:57 PM

Wow! I was so happy to read that Alice and the Cassini team were recognized with their award and today I'm blown away to see you've thought of me, too.
I think all the members of UMSF deserve a round of applause for your advocacy and support. You inspire us!
Thank you!

Posted by: djellison Mar 6 2010, 12:10 PM

http://www.umsfawards.com/?p=111
For sharing the frustration, exhilaration, challenges and rewards of flight operations via marsandme.blogspot.com , Scott Maxwell wins the 3rd UMSF Spirit Award, the final award of the 2009 round!

Posted by: imipak Mar 6 2010, 02:39 PM

I wanted to wait for all the winners to be announced before adding my congratulations, especially to those whose work may be less high-profile, but which is no less welcome for that! smile.gif

Posted by: machi Mar 6 2010, 06:51 PM

My congratulations to all winners!

Posted by: Hungry4info Mar 6 2010, 09:15 PM

I also offer my congratulations. The awards were well deserved.

Posted by: Scott Maxwell Mar 6 2010, 10:38 PM

QUOTE (djellison @ Mar 6 2010, 04:10 AM) *
http://www.umsfawards.com/?p=111
For sharing the frustration, exhilaration, challenges and rewards of flight operations via marsandme.blogspot.com , Scott Maxwell wins the 3rd UMSF Spirit Award, the final award of the 2009 round!


Holy smoke. Doug dropped enough hints that I can't pretend I had no idea the award would be something like this, but I can say I had no idea how touched I'd be. (And how much sorrier this makes me that time pressure eventually forced me to stop taking the notes I'd have needed to continue the blog indefinitely; it has a good while to go yet, but it doesn't go forever.) My reaction is a complicated mix of proud and humbled and thrilled and honored, all of it feeding into a determination to continue to earn this.

Thank you.

wheel.gif

Posted by: climber Mar 7 2010, 12:56 AM

I'm both amazed by how good our Admins have been in their selection and by what the selected people have delivered.
To the one that post on UNMSF, Veronica, John and Scott (welcome!) I want to express my gratitude hoping the other winners also read us and understand our important they are for us too.

Posted by: nprev Mar 7 2010, 01:51 AM

It's more than well deserved, Scott; dig on it, man, and congratulations!!!! smile.gif


Also, apologies & belated congratulations to John Spencer! This thread's been moving rapidly indeed...

Posted by: Stu Mar 7 2010, 06:48 AM

"it has a good while to go yet, but it doesn't go forever"

It doesn't?!?! ohmy.gif Take the award back!!!! laugh.gif

Seriously, congratulations Scott (and welcome to UMSF! Finally!!!!), your award - like everyone's - is richly deserved. With the possible exception of SS I'm not aware of anyone who's done more to spread the word about the magnificence of MER, and support our gals.

Congratulations to all the awrd recipients, they've all, through their efforts, helped make people Out There aware of just how exciting, valuable and rewarding science can be. No small thing in this celebrity-worshipping, bling-obsessed age.

Posted by: PDP8E Mar 7 2010, 07:02 AM

To all the Award recipients,

Congratulations for all your contributions - you people make a difference.


To the UMSF admins

Doug, et. al., ... you guys rock. Thanks for these high quality forums, and now, the UMSF Awards.

Posted by: remcook Mar 7 2010, 08:27 AM

Great initiative! And congrats to all the winners. Really well-deserved!

Posted by: Oersted Mar 10 2010, 05:09 PM

Scott, it is never too late to start taking notes again! - I love the personal insight they have given into driving the MER's.

Congrats to all winners.

Posted by: eoincampbell Jun 18 2011, 05:45 PM

Will there be and awards "ceremony" this year? Dry-clean the Tux? smile.gif

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