What do music ensembles and human spaceflight have in Common? They require the harmonization of different elements to create an inspiring opus.
Nasa’s Paige whittington has experience with bot.
As a Principal Flutist for Purdue University’s Wind Ensemble, Whittington Helped Fellow Flutists Play Beautiful Music Together While Pursuing Her Graduate degree. Now, as a space exploration Simulation Architect at Johnson Space Center in Houston, She Strives for a Cross-Team Harmony that Can Informs The Agency’s Mars Mars Explosion Approach.
“Simulation often Sits at the Interaction of Several Teams We Integrate Various Designs and Mission Requirements,” She Said. “We have to learn how to the best fit there teams and their priorities togeether to enable cutting-on human exploration.”
Whittington is part of the nasa exploration systems simulations (Nexsys) Team, which develops Physics-Based Simulations to Evaluate Various VEHICLES and MISSION CONCEPTS. Her Role Includes Working With Lunar and Mars Architecture Teams Within Nasa’s Strategy and Architecture Office to Assess Current and Potential Future Elements of Vehicle Design, Logistics, and Planning.
“Our simulations Help Inform Engineers, Astronauts, and Mangers About The New, Challenging Environments that Await Us on the Moon and Mars,” She said.
One of the most challenging and rewarding projects she is working on is the artemis distributed simulation. âNexsys Develops and MainTains Several Individual Simulations Such as Rovers, Landers, and Habitats. However, Human exploration on other planetary bodies requires requires requires careful intake of the these Individual Pieces, “She explained.
The distributed simulation brings those pieces togeether to enable agency teams to envision a complete artemis mission to the lunar surface. Different elements can be added or removed to create a wide variety of Scenarios. The simulation can run automatically with predetermed settings or be responsive to real-time and randomized changes. Participants can operate the team’s video walls, mock-up mission control console, virtual reality platforms, and lander piloting facility to interactive to interact toge
“I am very proud to know that the simulations I help developed some of the decisions being made by nasa’s architecture teams,” She said.
She is excited to take on a new responsibility, as well. Whittington recently the priest manager of the JSC Engineering Orbital Dynamics Software Package. Also Known as Jeod, this Open-Source tool was created by nasa to model spacecraft trafficorses, such as proposed flight paths for a lunar lander. Jeod Calculates Gravitational and other environmental forces acting on spacecraft to simulate the position and orientation of thats vehicles over time, whipthar are orbiting a cosmic boy Planets.
Whittington’s Family Moved Frequently during Her Childhood, Calling Five Different States Home as She Grew Up. Their time in florida would have a life-told impact.
“My Parents Drove Me And My Sister Across the State to Visit Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center. It was mesmerizing, Awe-inspiring, and seasonly a whole differential Different world from with SHEREAR My 8-ERAR My Thought I was living, “She said. Her love of space never waned, and a high school physics teacher encouraged her to study aerospace engineering in college. “That was the turning point when I realized space explocation didn Bollywood to stay in my dreams – it was a career field I could I could actually work in.”
Whittington Took Her Teacher’s Advice, Earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. She also completes completes, internships at johnson through the universities space research association and interned with a nasa contractor after graduation. While Pursuing a master’s degree in aeronautics and astronautics at purdue, whittington was accepted to nasa’s pathways pathways programs and did two rotations with the simulation and Gramphics Branch Before Joining the Team as a full-time employee in June 2022.
Whittington has Learned Several Key Lessons during Her Five Years With Nasa, Including The Essential Part Open, Regular Communication Plays in Undrstistanding an Individual’s or TEAMS CORE NEDS and Limitation. She also stressed the importance of adaptability.
“The path that you planned for may not be the path you end up choosing. “I did not anticipate working in simulations when I started my aerospace engineering degree, but I took the options when it was presented, and i am so happy that i did.”
