La Curiosidad NO mato al gato...

... pero envez de eso, logró poner los sueños y esperanzas de muchas personas demasiado lejos, en el espacio, en Marte. Ahora resulta que el viejo dicho del pobre gato no es del todo cierto. Generalmente trata de advertir a la gente sobre las consecuencias (normalmente negativas) de ser curioso. Ahora, los ingenieros y científicos de la NASA/JPL, miles de colaboradores de todo el mundo y una niña curiosa han demostrado lo contrario.

Ahora son casi 3 meses desde que el Laboratorio de Ciencia en Marte (MSL por sus siglas en inglés), el Curiosity amartizo o toco la superficie de Marte de manera segura. Ha conducido maniobras y experimentos con rocas y arena marciana, sin mencionar la gran colección de fotografías de alta resolución que ha enviado, y la primera canción en la historia transmitida desde el planeta rojo. Gracias al compositor Will.i.am por esta inspiradora pieza musical, la puedes escuchar aquí.

Mencioné algo sobre una niña curiosa, bueno si... y de ella se trata esta entrada en mi blog. Como podrás imaginar, estos proyectos científicos tan grandes toman años en volverse realidad, y fue hasta el años 2009 cuando Clara Ma, una niña de 12 años de Kansas, USA ganó el concurso de ensayo para nombrar al MLS. El nombre ganador fué Curiosity. Aqui el ensayo original y la versión traducida:

Curiosity is an everlasting flame that burns in everyone's mind. It makes me get out of bed in the morning and wonder what surprises life will throw at me that day. Curiosity is such a powerful force. Without it, we wouldn't be who we are today. When I was younger, I wondered, 'Why is the sky blue?', 'Why do the stars twinkle?', 'Why am I me?', and I still do. I had so many questions, and America is the place where I want to find my answers. Curiosity is the passion that drives us through our everyday lives. We have become explorers and scientists with our need to ask questions and to wonder. Sure, there are many risks and dangers, but despite that, we still continue to wonder and dream and create and hope. We have discovered so much about the world, but still so little. We will never know everything there is to know, but with our burning curiosity, we have learned so much.

La Curiosidad es una flama permanente que quema la mente de todos. Me hace levantarme de mi cama en la mañana y esperar ansiosamente que sorpresas me lanzará la vida ese día. La Curiosidad es una fuerza muy poderosa. Sin ella, no seríamos lo que somos hoy. Cuando era mas joven, me preguntaba, "¿por que el cielo es azul?, ¿por que brillan las estrellas?, ¿por que soy yo?" y aún lo hago. Tuve tantas preguntas, y América (Estados Unidos) es el lugar donde quiero encontrar mis respuestas. La Curiosidad es la pasión que nos conduce diariamente por nuestra vida. Nos hemos convertido en exploradores y científicos con nuestra necesidad de hacer preguntas y de imaginar. Seguro, hay muchos riesgos y peligros, pero a pesar de eso, aún seguimos imaginando y soñando y creando y esperando. Hemos descubierto tanto acerca del mundo, pero aún eso es muy poco. Nunca sabremos todo lo que hay por sber, pero con nuestra curiosidad que nos quema, hemos aprendido demasiado.

Sorprendente, no lo crees. Felicidades Clara!

La noche de la llegada del Curiosity (agosto 5) la gente del JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) en Caltech hervían en una olla de nervios tan caliente, que para cuando el Curiosity tocó la superficie de Marte todos explotaron en un grito simultaneo de emoción y felicidad (verlo para creerlo). Los famosos 7 minutos de terror de no saber nada sobre el MSL fueron el preámbulo del inicio de una nueva historia de éxito en la exploración espacial. Esa noche, otra sopa de mensajes y comentarios se cocinaban en Twitter. Y fué en ese momento cuando tuve la oportunidad de "conocer" a Clara Ma y decirle la gran oportunidad y el gran momento en la vida que estaba atestiguando, el como su Curiosidad llegó mas allá de la Tierra y descendió en Marte.
  

Siete Minutos de Terror

Despues de estas primeras semanas de emoción y excitación, seguí escribiéndole mensajes a Clara Ma y finalmente me atreví a entrevistarla via email. Debo decir que Clara es una persona maravillosa y tuvo la amabilidad de responder mis preguntas desde el fondo de su corazón. Ahora me gustaría compartir fragmentos del correo que le escribí y la entrevista completa que le hice a una celebridad de la ciencia.

Hola Clara,

Muchas gracias por responder mis twits. Mi nombre es Javier Hidalgo y apenas compartimos algunos twits la noche del domingo pasado (5 de agosto 2012) durante el evento de amartizaje del Curiosity. Como podrás imaginar, yo también soy un fanático de la NASA y de todas las cosas alrededor de esta institución. Realmente creo que han logrado cosas sorprendentes a lo largo de la historia. Soy un Ingeniero Electromecánico de México y soy apasionado de todo lo que tiene que ver con la ciencia y tecnología. Pero aparte de eso, realmente pienso que tu contribución a la ciencia y a la historia es muy valiosa y es muy importante hacerle saber a la gente como se hacen estas cosas y que tipo de gente esta involucrada. Quisiera aprovechar esta oportunidad para felicitarte y expresarte que tu ahora eres un modelo a seguir para mi así como los son los ingenieros y científicos de la NASA.

Hola Javier,Estoy muy, muy apenada de tardarme tanto en responder. Es absolutamente inaceptable de mi parte. He estado extremadamente ocupada este ultimo mes con la escuela, las tareas y exámenes de admisión a la preparatoria. Espero que no sea muy tarde! Gracias por tu apoyo e interés en lo que tengo que decir! :)

J. ¿Como describes tu vida antes y despues del Curiosity (dese tu ensayo hasta hoy en día)?
C. Mi vida ha cambiado inmensamente desde que gané el concurso del ensayo para nombrar al Curiosity. Pero realmente no lo veo como un antes y un después, mas bién lo veo como un evento mayor en mi vida del cual tuve la gran fortuna de poder experimentar. Haber podido conocer a toda la gente que he conocido y ver las cosas que he visto han formado la persona que soy y que continuan formando mis metas, esperanzas, aspiraciones y sueños.

J. ¿Te consideras una niña de ciencia?, ¿te gustan las matemáticas en la escuela?, ¿has pensado lo que quieres ser cuando crezcas? (profesionalmente hablando)
C. Me encantan las ciencias y las matemáticas, pero también me encantan, las artes lingüísticas y la historia, así como los estudios sociales y los idiomas (especialmente español y frances). Aún no se lo que seré cuando crezca, pero si pudiera de alguna manera estar involucrada en esas cosas, sería muy feliz!
 

J. How was your experience at JPL/NASA the days or hours before Curiosity’s landing, the D-day and days after?
C.

J. ¿Cual fue el segundo momento mas excitante de toda esta aventura después del exitoso amartizaje del Curiosity?
C. El segundo momento mas importante de esta aventura... mmm... No podría señalar un momento exacto ya que hubo demasiados! La parte mas significativa de esta experiencia para mi ha sido conocer a todos los científicos, ingenieros, administradores, gente valiosa, etc. quienes están detras de la misión del MSL. Los adimiro por ser tan amables y apasionados, inteligentes y trababajadores, pero al mismo tiempo increíblemente humildes. Ellos me inspiran grandemente.
 

J. ¿Cual consideras que es el consejo mas valioso que hayas recibido de parte del equipo del a NASA?
C. El consejo mas valioso: haz lo que quieras hacer y haz lo que te haga feliz. No trates de vivir lo que otras personas esperan de ti, fija tus propias metas. - de un miembro de la misión.
Otros consejos valiosos: (este es de una cita que leí en la oficina del Dr. Fuk Li, Director del programa MLS en el JPL) "No te dirijas a donde el camio te pueda llevar, envez de eso ve donde no hay camino y deja tu rastro". de Ralph Waldo Emerson.
 

J. ¿Alguna vez pensaste ser parte de tan importante evento? (supongo que no, pero ahora...) ¿que crees que te podría suceder para superar esta experiencia?
C. Nunca en un millón de años pensé que algo tan sorprendente podría pasarme a mi. Algunas veces sigo sin poder creerlo.

J. ¿Realmente crees que algún día la humanidad podrá habitar Marte?
C. Yo creo que cualquier cosa es posible.


J. ¿Que mensaje le darías a los niños sobre sus sueños, fantasías y deseos?
C. Mi mensaje a los niños: Nunca dejen de hacer preguntas. Sean curiosos y tengan una mente abierta. Sueñen cosas grandes pero también trabajen duro para conseguirlas.
 

J. Algún mensaje para la gente de Méxio...
C. Haber llevado un robot explorador a Marte es una tarea ardua y extremadamente dificil, y no podría haber sido posible sin el soporte y ayuda de varios paises alrededor del mundo. El Curisity representa un logro internacional, y es prueba que la ciencia realmente reune a la gente. Nunca permitan que las razas, las culturas o las etnias sean un obstáculo para ustedes. Cada ser humano tiene el potencial de lograr grandes cosas!. Yo amo la cultura y la historia mexicana y latina; es tan rica y profundamente convincente para mi. "Les quiero" :) (sic).

Nuevamente gracias!.

 

Realmente he disfrutado este post en mi blog así como lo hice al planearlo y escribirlo. Solo me queda agradecer enormemente a Clara Ma por su valiosa contribución a mi blog y a mi persona. Definitivamente admiro a la gente que ha contribuido a la humanidad desde lo produndo de su corazón.

Tambén quiero aprovechar este post para expresar mis sentimientos de tristeza por la pérdida del astronauta Neil Armstrong. Un homenaje a él y a todos los hombres y mujeres que han ido mas allá de la Tierra.

Finalmente, quisiera felicitar al piloto austriaco Felix Baumgartner por su extraordinaria hazaña al saltar de una altura de mas de 39,000 m y haber superado la velocidad del sonido en caída libre. Felicidadades a él y todo el equipo del proyecto Red Bull Stratos .

Hasta la próxima.

En el post anterior podrás leer la versión original de la entrevista en inglés.

Curiosity didn’t kill the Cat…

but instead, got so many people’s dreams and hopes so far away, in deep space, on Mars. Now turns out that the old saying about that poor cat isn´t really true. It tries to warn people about to be curios and its consequences (normally bad ones). Now NASA/JPL’s engineers, scientists, thousands of collaborators from many countries and a curios girl have demonstrated the opposite.

Now it’s been almost two months since the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity has safely landed on Mars surface, and conducting maneuvers and experiments with Mars rocks and soil, not to mention the big collection of amazing hi-res pictures, and the first ever song broadcasted from the red planet. Thanks to Will.i.am for that piece of inspiring song. You can hear the song here.

Did I mention something about a curios girl, well yes… and that’s what this blog entry is all about. As you may imagine, such big science project take years to come true, and it was until 2009 that 12 year old Clara Ma from Kansas won a NASA essay contest to name the MSL: Curiosity. Here is the complete essay:

Curiosity is an everlasting flame that burns in everyone's mind. It makes me get out of bed in the morning and wonder what surprises life will throw at me that day. Curiosity is such a powerful force. Without it, we wouldn't be who we are today. When I was younger, I wondered, 'Why is the sky blue?', 'Why do the stars twinkle?', 'Why am I me?', and I still do. I had so many questions, and America is the place where I want to find my answers. Curiosity is the passion that drives us through our everyday lives. We have become explorers and scientists with our need to ask questions and to wonder. Sure, there are many risks and dangers, but despite that, we still continue to wonder and dream and create and hope. We have discovered so much about the world, but still so little. We will never know everything there is to know, but with our burning curiosity, we have learned so much.

Awesome, don’t you think. Congratulations Clara!

The landing night of Curiosity (august 5^th) people at NASA JPL in Caltech were boiling in a nervous stove so hot, that by the time Curiosity touched down over Mars surface everybody just exploded in an unified shout of joy and happiness (watch this). The so called 7 minutes of terror of not knowing anything from the MSL were the preamble of the beginning of a new success history in space exploration. That night, another soup of messages and comments was cooking in Tweeter. And that was the moment I had the chance to “meet” Clara Ma and tell her the great opportunity and moment in life she was having witnessing how her Curiosity had gone beyond Earth and landed on Mars.
 

Seven Minutes of Terror

After the first weeks of big emotions and excitement, I kept on sending messages to Clara Ma and finally I dare to “interview” her by email. I have to say Clara is a wonderful person and was so kind to answer my questions from her deep heart. Now I want to share parts of my email and the complet interview to a science celebrity:

Hi Clara,

Thank you very much for tweeting me back. My name is Javier Hidalgo and we just shared a couple of tweets last Sunday night during the Curiosity’s landing event. Just as you might imagine, I’m also a very big fan of NASA and all things around this Institution. I really think they have achieved so many awesome things in history. I’m a Mexican Electromechanical Engineer and love everything that has to do with science and tech. But despite of that, I really think that your contribution to science and history is very valuable and is very important to let people know how things are done and what kind of people is involved. I want to take this opportunity to congratulate you and express you that you are now a raw model for me just as the engineers and scientists at NASA are.

Hello Javier,

I am so, so, so sorry it took me this long to respond. It is absolutely unacceptable on my behalf. I have been extremely busy this past month with school and homework and tests and college entrance exams. I hope I am not too late! Thank you for your support and interest in what I have to say! :)

J. How do you describe your life before and after Curiosity (since your essay contest until nowadays)?

C. My life has changed immensely since I won the essay contest to name Curiosity. But I don't really see it as a before and after, instead I see it as a major event in my life that I was lucky enough to have been able to experience. Getting to meet all the people I've met and see the things I've seen has shaped the person I am and continues to shape my goals, hopes, aspirations, and dreams.

J. Are you a “science” girl?, like math at school? Have you ever thought on what to become when you grow adult? (Professionally speaking)

C. I love science and math, but I also love language arts and history and social studies and foreign languages (especially Spanish and French). I don't know exactly what I want to do when I grow up, but if it could somehow involve all of those things, I'd be so happy!

J. How was your experience at JPL/NASA the days or hours before Curiosity’s landing, the D-day and days after?

C.

J. What is the (second) most exciting moment of all this adventure besides from Curiosity´s safe touchdown?
C. The second most exciting moment of this adventure.. hmm.. I can't pinpoint an exact moment as there were just so many great ones! The most meaningful part of this experience for me has been meeting all of the scientists, engineers, administrators, outreach people, etc. who are behind this entire MSL mission. I admire them because they are so kind and passionate and intelligent and hard-working, but at the same time incredibly humble. They inspire me greatly.

J. What do you consider to be the most valuable piece of advice or tip that you have received from NASA’s crew?

C. Most valuable pieces of advice: do what you want to do and do what makes you happy. Don't try to live up to what other people expect of you-- set your own goals. - from an Mars outreach member of the mission.
Some more valuable advice: (this came from a quote I saw on the wall in Fuk Li's (director of Mars program at JPL) office) "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

J. Did you ever thought to be part of such an important event? (I guess not, but now…) what do you think that could happen to you to exceed this experience?

C. I never in a million years thought that something this amazing could happen to me. Sometimes I still can't believe it.

J. Do you really think there will be a time when mankind could inhabit Mars? Would you go there?

C. I believe anything is possible.

J. What message would you tell to all kids about their dreams, fantasies and wishes?

C. My message to kids: Never stop asking questions. Be curious and have an open mind. Dream big dreams but also work hard to achieve them.

J. Any message for the mexican people...
C. A message for Mexican people: Landing a rover on Mars is an incredibly arduous and difficult task, and it could not have happened without the support and aid of countries all over the world. Curiosity represents an international accomplishment, proof that science really does bring people together. Never ever let race or culture or ethnicity be an obstacle for you-- every single human being has the potential to accomplish great things! I love Mexican/Latino culture and history; it is rich and deeply compelling to me. Les quiero! (Haha, I hope that is appropriate to say :)

Thank you again!

I really have enjoyed this blog post just as I did planning and writing it. I just have to thank Clara Ma for her valuable contribution to my blog and to my person. I definitely admire people who contribute to humankind from their deep heart.

I also want to take the opportunity to express my feelings about Neil Armstrong’s dead and salute all the brave men and women who have gone beyond earth.

Finally, I would like to congratulate and wish the best of luck to Felix Baumgartner for his next big jump on October 8^th with the Red Bull Stratos Project.

Until next post.

One step further for Humankind (and designers, of course)

When I was about to finish my college years, I didn´t really knew what career to study and it took me about a year to decide about Electromechanics Engineering. Now, I’m pretty sure I’ve ever knew. I have to mention that my first Top ONE toy I’ve ever had was a Space Lego kit, and that was 31 years ago, my parents bought it to me precisely during our vacations in Orlando; the year the firs Space Shuttle Mission was launched (1981). Among other toys that I had, I must say that both Lego’s and, sometime later, the Fischertechnik that my father got from God knows where, have decided my destination. My five years at the university were really tough and I really suffered with all that mathematics and many other abstract theories I was though.

Since my youth years, I’ve been fascinated about NASA’s Space Shuttle Missions. I was 11 years old when the Space Shuttle Challenger had the terrible accident and that shocked me a lot.

Tribute to Space Shuttle Challenger and Columbia

I had the lucky to start my professional career working at an automotive part supplier for the big OEM’s in the Engineer Design Department. And so began all my love and passion for mechanical design and 3D modeling. As mentioned in my previous post, I started to use ProENGINEER CAD software to develop engine components and assemblies, and validate the manufacturability of those parts. After designing and developing many parts I became Project Leader and that was the time when all the revolution of PDM and PLM started to play a big role for many manufacturing companies. We dedicated almost two years to know, learn and benchmark the 10 big PLM suppliers at that time and well, the winner is not worth to mention (by me) but the experience of getting deep into this world full of terms, activities, workflows, etc., was pretty much exiting.

Then, suddenly another bad news. February 1st 2003 in the morning, The Space Shuttle Columbia was destroyed while re-entering the atmosphere after 16-day mission in space. I was then older and much more conscious about the accident but still in shock. I’ve been trying to follow up what NASA is been doing ever since, specially all Space Shuttle Missions with Atlantis, Discovery and Endeavour and of course the International Space Station (ISS). I do know how an airplane flies and still I can’t believe how a big metal can floats on air (especially when I’m in). Therefore, watching every time how a Spacecraft lifts off from ground is really unbelievable, or how they maneuver to dock with the ISS, do their work and come back to safe-land on earth is much more amazing.

When NASA Tehc Briefs named PTC’s CREO Parametric design software the “Product of the Month” and then “Product of the Year” in 2011, I really thought something special as two of my biggest passions could live together and depend one in each other. Last year on September 2011 I had the opportunity to visit Kennedy Space Center at Orlando, Fl. And despite there were not so much activity that day, I was thrilled when I saw the Assembly Vehicle Building and the Launch Pads. Not to mention the great exhibition halls and the Saturn V museum.

I’m pretty sure NASA’s design engineers works not only with CREO, but also with other CAD and analysis tools. But just trying to imagine how they put men on the moon before CAD tools first appear, wow!!! That I can’t believe. Now I’m a very big fan of NASA’s Mars Mission and Rovers exploration. I wish the best of landings to the Mars Space Lab named Curiosity in a few weeks from today. After a 9 months journey to its new home.

 

This post is dedicate to my wife and daughters who made this vacation trip possible. I Love you girls.