NASA’s Office of Planetary Protection is looking toward the future of solar system exploration and now has a new logo to represent its mission effectively.

The updated logo, designed in partnership with the NASA Safety Center, embodies exploration of the solar system while emphasizing the importance of Planetary Protection (PP) and its connection to enabling science with safety at the forefront.

The logo also highlights the focus on Earth’s biosphere while embracing and supplementing the traditional spore assay with metagenomics methods. Additionally, it captures both a robotic and crew mission portfolio through its design.

The NASA Workmanship training credential extension web tool was created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which severely disrupted operations at NASA training centers. These disruptions made it challenging for personnel to renew their Workmanship training credentials, which typically expire after two years. To mitigate the risks associated with personnel continuing work with expired credentials, NASA initially issued memos extending credential validity. However, as the pandemic's impact persisted, a more sustainable solution was needed, leading to the development of the web tool.

Following several months of collaboration, the NASA Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA) roadmap planning and risk classification document NPR 8705.4B Risk Classification for NASA Payloads is being formally released to the agency. This revision, which replaces NPR 8705.4A, provides center, program and project SMA activity planners (including Reliability) with a one-stop authoritative SMA planning source. 

Revision A of NASA STD 8739.12, Metrology and Calibration took effect November 21, 2024. The standard provides uniform Metrology and Calibration requirements for processes, procedures, practices and methods that are endorsed as standard for NASA applications. This update marks the first revision since the document’s initial release in 2018.

Start the new year off right with Human Factors training! If you’re interested in learning about the impact of Human Factors across the agency, the Human Factors Task Force (HFTF) is hosting an in-person NASA Human Factors Analysis and Classifications System (NASAHFACS) training and certification course this January. This course is open to both civil servants and support service contractors interested in learning about the impacts of Human Factors and improving human performance for their center and across the agency.

There are ever-growing applications for polymer or plastic tubing in laboratory environments. This increase is mainly attributable to ease of use, purity, costs, flexibility and chemical compatibilities. Even though many kinds of tubing applications operate at pressures <150 psig and with inert gases, safety hazards still exist. As a result, it is important to know the key factors for properly selecting, using and terminating poly tubing.

NASA Chief of Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA) Russ DeLoach recently presented two “Yes, If” coins to Johnson Space Center’s Chief of Aviation Safety Trent Kingery and Fire Protection engineer Tyler Champagne for their commitment to NASA’s Safety Culture. 

NASA recently published revision C of NASA-STD-8719.9, Lifting Standard. This standard establishes NASA’s mission requirements for the design, construction, testing, inspection, maintenance, operation, and personnel licensing of Lifting Devices and Equipment (LDE) to enhance safety and reliability and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. It applies to NASA-owned, rented, leased and NASA contractor-supplied LDE.

The October 2024 issue of Orbital Debris Quarterly News (ODQN) is now available.