NASA Social: Preview Orion’s First Flight Test Launch

For the first time ever, all 10 NASA field centers will participate in a multi-center NASA Social event Dec. 3, previewing the Dec. 4 first flight of the Orion Spacecraft on Exploration Flight Test-1.

NASA are inviting social media users to apply for a credential to attend an event in-person at one of eight locations through the country.

Each center will be connected via a multi-center NASA Television simulcast with Kennedy Space Center during its NASA Social, which was previously announced.

Orion will launch on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Liftoff is targeted for 7:05 a.m. EST Dec. 4.

Along with discussing Orion and our Journey to Mars, participants will get a unique behind the scenes look at the respective center and the diverse work of the agency through tours and presentations with scientists, engineers and managers.

The events also will provide guests the opportunity to interact with fellow social media users, space enthusiasts and members of NASA's social media team.

Registration for the NASA Social closes at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 2. Participants will be selected from online registrations.

No two locations are the same. Each center has a different itinerary depending on their location:

NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.

Ames in California’s Silicon Valley will host up to 25 social media followers to commemorate the center’s many contributions to Orion. Ames engineers, scientists, managers and facilities have primarily supported the Orion Program with capabilities in supercomputing, wind tunnel testing and thermophysics.

Tours and speakers will cover the Pleiades supercomputer and NASA Advanced Supercomputing facility; the supersonic Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel; and heat shield research, development and testing, including the Arc Jet facilities that simulate the extreme conditions of atmospheric reentry.

Additional Ames tours and speakers will feature other highlights of the center's expertise in exploration, science and aeronautics research.

Meet Nexi Robot; A Shifty Bot - YouTube

MDS (Mobile Social Dexterous) Robot Alias "Nexi". Usually when we talk about whether a technology is trustworthy, we’re talking about how reliable or secure it is.

Nexi, the robot in this video, has been programmed to exhibit body language that is intended to make people suspicious.

Developed by MIT’s Cynthia Breazeal, Nexi builds on prior research about body language and trustworthiness.

Studies from MIT, Northeastern University, and Cornell University identified four actions that commonly make people suspicious of others: leaning away, crossing one’s arms, clasping one’s hands together, and touching one’s face.

The robot was designed to mimic these four actions, and researchers used it in one-on-one conversations with participants in the study.

A human provided Nexi’s voice to keep the conversation natural, and another controlled the bot’s motions.

The study reports that when people unknowingly witnessed certain nonverbal cues, they acted as though the robot couldn’t be trusted.

Read more about the study at the New York Times, and then try not to play psychologist every time you see people touching their faces.