[dramatic percussion music]
- HEY, THERE, WELCOME TO "NASA LAUNCHPAD."
I'M YOUR HOST, RICHARD BLANCHETTE.
YOU KNOW, ONE OF NASA'S BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENTS
THROUGHOUT THE YEARS, ASIDE FROM SPACE FLIGHT,
ASIDE FROM ALL THE EARTH SCIENCE THEY'VE DONE,
ASIDE FROM LANDING MEN ON THE MOON
AND RETURNING THEM SAFELY,
HAS BEEN TO INSPIRE PEOPLE.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, I WAS INSPIRED,
AND I'M A PART OF A NASA PROGRAM CALLED INSPIRE.
THAT'S THE INTERDISCIPLINARY NATIONAL SCIENCE PROJECT
INCORPORATING RESEARCH AND EDUCATION,
OPERATED THROUGH NASA'S OFFICE OF EDUCATION.
WHAT IS INSPIRE?
WELL, IT'S A PROGRAM FOR STUDENTS IN NINTH GRADE
ALL THE WAY TO FRESHMAN YEAR IN COLLEGE
THAT PROVIDES ONLINE RESOURCES,
NASA-RELATED ACTIVITIES AND EDUCATIONAL MODULES,
AND PARTICIPATION IN VIDEO TELECONFERENCES
WITH NASA CENTERS.
AND EACH YEAR IS A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE.
IT'S REALLY COOL, AND I'VE HAD THE CHANCE
TO DO A LOT OF THINGS I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD.
SO NASA INSPIRES.
AND SPEAKING OF INSPIRATION,
SOMETHING THAT YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT NASA
IS HOW IT HELPS LEAD TO NEW TECHNOLOGIES
HERE ON EARTH.
THESE TECHNOLOGIES THAT ARE BASED ON NASA INNOVATIONS
ARE CALLED SPINOFFS.
YOU MIGHT HAVE HEARD OF SOME OF THEM:
MEMORY FOAM MATTRESSES, INVISIBLE BRACES,
EVEN SPEEDO'S LZR RACER SWIMSUIT.
THEY WERE ALL DEVELOPED IN SOME WAY
WITH THE HELP OF NASA KNOW-HOW.
NOW, LET'S TALK ABOUT A NEWER SPINOFF: GIGAPAN.
BUT FIRST, WE NEED TO LOOK AT THE ORIGINAL NASA TECHNOLOGY.
AND TO DO THAT, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO GO TO MARS.
THE MARS EXPLORATION ROVERS, SPIRIT AND OPPORTUNITY,
LANDED ON MARS IN EARLY 2004
AND HAVE EASILY SURPASSED EXPECTATIONS
FOR THEIR ORIGINAL 90-DAY MISSION.
THEY'VE BEEN OUT THERE FOR MORE THAN FIVE YEARS NOW,
DOING ALL SORTS OF RESEARCH
AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY FOR THIS SEGMENT,
TRANSMITTING BACK REALLY COOL IMAGES.
THESE IMAGES WERE TAKEN WITH THE PANCAM,
OR PANORAMIC CAMERA,
WHICH WAS DESIGNED BY NASA'S JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
AND CORNELL UNIVERSITY.
MOUNTED ATOP EACH OF THE ROVERS,
THE PANCAM CAN TILT A FULL 180 DEGREES UP AND DOWN
AND SWIVEL 360 DEGREES ALL AROUND,
SO IT CAN LOOK IN ANY DIRECTION.
SOUNDS COOL, RIGHT?
WELL, ACTUALLY, IT GETS BETTER.
THE PANCAM ACTUALLY ONLY TAKES SMALL 1-MEGAPIXEL IMAGES.
WAIT.
MOST DIGITAL CAMERAS YOU SEE IN STORES THESE DAYS
TAKE AT LEAST 4-MEGAPIXEL IMAGES, RIGHT?
SO HOW DO THEY GET THESE HUGE, DETAILED PANORAMIC SHOTS
FROM A 1-MEGAPIXEL CAMERA?
WELL, THEY COMBINE SEVERAL IMAGES.
THE ROVER WILL STOP,
AND THE CAMERA WILL TAKE A PICTURE,
SWIVEL, TAKE ANOTHER PICTURE, SWIVEL,
AND KEEP DOING THAT UNTIL EVERY VIEWING ANGLE IS COVERED.
THEN THOSE IMAGES ARE TRANSMITTED BACK TO EARTH
AND GO INTO SPECIAL SOFTWARE
THAT STITCHES THEM TOGETHER INTO ONE LARGE IMAGE.
SO THESE IMAGES YOU'RE LOOKING AT NOW,
YEP, THEY'RE 360-DEGREE PANORAMAS
OF THE MARTIAN SURFACE.
INCREDIBLE, RIGHT?
MAKES YOU FEEL AS IF YOU ARE ACTUALLY THERE.
NOW, IS THIS TECHNOLOGY ONLY GOOD
FOR TAKING PICTURES ON OTHER PLANETS?
OF COURSE NOT.
THERE ARE PLENTY OF PLACES RIGHT HERE ON GOOD OLD EARTH
THAT WE COULD USE THIS FOR.
THE GIGAPAN, AN UPDATED VERSION
OF THE MARS EXPLORATION ROVER PANCAMS,
WAS CREATED BY COLLABORATION
BETWEEN SCIENTISTS FROM NASA AMES INTELLIGENT ROBOTICS GROUP,
CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY, GOOGLE,
AND NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY.
TOGETHER THEIR VISION RESULTED IN A NEW TECHNOLOGY
THAT COULD BE USED BY ANY PHOTOGRAPHER
TO CAPTURE OUR WORLD IN SPECTACULAR IMAGES.
IN BASIC TERMS, GIGAPAN IS AN INTELLIGENT TRIPOD.
ALL THE PHOTOGRAPHER HAS TO DO IS SET THE UPPER LEFT
AND LOWER RIGHT CORNERS OF THE PANORAMA,
AND THE GIGAPAN DOES THE REST.
IT TAKES AS MANY PICTURES AS IT NEEDS TO
AND STITCHES THEM ALL TOGETHER TO MAKE ONE BIG PANORAMIC IMAGE,
JUST LIKE THE ONES FROM MARS.
GO TO WWW.GIGAPAN.ORG
TO CHECK OUT SOME GIGAPAN PANORAMAS
TAKEN BY PEOPLE LIKE YOU.
YOU CAN EVEN ZOOM IN AND SEE INDIVIDUAL PARTS
OF THE WHOLE PANORAMA IN INCREDIBLE DETAIL.
AND NASA IS STILL WORKING ON NEW WAYS
TO CAPTURE EVEN MORE AMAZING IMAGES.
JUST GO TO WWW.NASA.GOV
AND CHECK OUT THE VIDEO OF THE 2009 INAUGURAL PARADE,
TAKEN FROM THE TOP OF NASA'S LUNAR ELECTRIC ROVER.
LOOKS PRETTY ORDINARY RIGHT NOW, RIGHT?
BUT IF YOU CLICK ON THE SCREEN AND DRAG AROUND,
YOU CAN CONTROL THE VANTAGE POINT OF THE CAMERA.
YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT, 360-DEGREE VIDEO.
YOU CAN LOOK AROUND AS IF YOU WERE SITTING
ON TOP OF THE LER, RIDING IN THE PARADE.
WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU COULD GET 360-DEGREE VIDEO
TAKEN FROM THE MOON OR MARS
OR SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM?
HOW MUCH COULD YOU LEARN?
THAT'S ENOUGH TO INSPIRE ANYBODY.
AND REMEMBER, INSPIRE,
THE INTERDISCIPLINARY NATIONAL SCIENCE PROGRAM
INCORPORATING RESEARCH AND EDUCATION.
WHERE ELSE COULD YOU GET A ONE-DAY VIP TOUR
AT A NASA FACILITY,
A TWO-WEEK LEARNING EXPERIENCE
ON THE CAMPUS OF A PARTICIPATING UNIVERSITY,
AND EVEN A PAID INTERNSHIP
WORKING WITH NASA SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS?
BUT YOU CAN'T GET INVOLVED IF YOU DON'T APPLY.
SO FOR MORE INFORMATION,
GO TO WWW.NASA.GOV/EDUCATION/INSPIRE.
WELL, THAT'S IT FOR NOW.
THANKS FOR WATCHING.
I'M RICHARD BLANCHETTE,
AND WE'LL CATCH YOU NEXT TIME ON "NASA LAUNCHPAD."