NASA Uses A Dead Chicken To Release Space Weather News
Solar storm incoming: Federal agencies provide inconsistent, confusing information, Washington Post
“If NOAA’s right, and the ensuing geomagnetic storm is minor, it’s no big deal. It means the high latitudes could be treated to some brilliant auroras over the weekend with few, if any, negative effects on earth-orbiting satellites or the power grid. On the other hand, if NASA’s right, and the geomagnetic storm is strong to severe, Earth-orbiting satellites could get disoriented and the electrical grid, according to NOAA, could experience “widespread voltage control problems” among other issues. Aurora could be seen as far south as Alabama and northern California.”
Keith’s note: As for who has more accurate information: Well, NASA has something that NOAA does not: a goofy official mascot for the Solar Dynamics Observatory – a rubberized version of a chicken corpse in a NASA flight suit named “Camilla” (identical to what you see in a slaughterhouse) who often tweets odd things such as:
this: “After two Slurpees I always get sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia – which is actually a fascinating sensation.” ; this: “Timmy – how about we go to the Milano Fashion Week together? We’d steal the show!”; This: “Well, real Emmentaler must have holes! The rest of our cheese should not.”, and this: “I usually don’t take my clothes off until Return of the Jedi… ;-)”
NASA spends money flying this rubber chicken and its handler around – and yet PAO and SMD seem to have little if any contol over what the rubber chicken says. Often times it posts things that NASA PAO or SMD do not post – so a lot of people are getting their NASA space weather news from a dead chicken. Maybe this is why there is some difference between NOAA and NASA. If this is how an official NASA mission mascot spends scarce agency resources then I think I will take my space weather advice from NOAA – they are poultry-free.
Solar activity alerts are available on Twitter via @spaceweather.
I’ve thought I’ve heard,seen everything stupid, until now. Apparently the NASA Public Affairs Office has reverted to idiots,in handling its public relations.This is not an intelligent way to present the program to the public, its rather asinine.
Agreed, Bob.
Now we know why NASA PAO never seems to be doing their job. Too busy playing like children.
What do you get when you combine KFC with KSC (besides greasy fingers)? Whatever you call it, PAO seems to be waisting time and money on it.
Steve
When I graduated from college, I sent out my resume to NASA for a public affairs position and I received the usual rejection letter basically saying “Thanks but No Thanks”. Now we see that whoever they hired, doesn’t have the sense of a Jackass and the knowledge to boot. Anyone, including myself,can do a better job at promoting NASA and its missions to the public than whoever’s doing the job now and they’d best replace these jokers now before they’re laughed out of public funds.
Again, agreed, Bob.
I’ve often suspected that these jobs went to family members who couldn’t get gired anywhere else. I must say, though, that I think your comparison is unfair. Jackasses don’t deserve that kind of low blow. Let’s be kind and compare the average PAO intelligence to something with no feelings to hurt, like say a toaster or a wing nut.
Steve
If we both agree that the PAO is in trouble and the general public agrees, then why isn’t NASA paying attention and doing something about it? Is this what the current administration trying to spring on us and expects us to go along with it?
I’m very suspicious of these actions and don’t like the looks and feel of things to come. We really need a change.
You guys should lighten up. I for one like CamilaSTO and her commitment to getting the word out. A mascot is always kind of silly, but I think it really doesn’t matter.
I had a teacher come up to me during a break in a meeting once and tell me that her students were creeped out by the dead chicken. One girl came up to her and asked if Camilla the chicken was dead because she went into space. I’m not certain what the right mascot would be – but have a rubber version of what chickens look like in a slaughterhouse isn’t it.
For what it’s worth, I thought the Buzz Lightyear on ISS was basically the right idea. NASA just needs a “space character” (mascot) of its own, instead of one owned by a studio. Given the relative ease and low cost of computer graphics these days, it shouldn’t be too expensive. But, it would have to be Pixar Toy Story-quality animation to work, not like the stop action or animé crap they give kids on TV these days. If it was done professionally, then the action figures/dolls and other merchandise could probably follow and be widely recognized.
There also needs to be a generic tag line that kids (of all ages) can recognize. Tony the Tiger says, “They’re Great!” What does NASA Ned (or whatever they want to all him) say? Maybe that’s a good start by itself — “NASA Ned says…” followed by this week’s message, as a standard closer. Instead of either talking down to the kids (and rookie adults) or producing Kindergarten-level stuff (like NASA usually does), you have to connect with kids (of all ages) at their level and with their mediums, and I think a well-done quality animation “mascot” (who doesn’t say stupid things) is the way to go. But make him another kid, not an animal or something silly.
I would also suggest that Ned have a smiling older brother (NASA Randy?) who shows up when it’s necessary to explain the things that need explaining to an audience. The usual NASA approach of switching to an (adult) astronaut or engineer, who can’t public speak worth beans, just doesn’t cut it, any more than the ancient voice-over technique. But if Ned wonders about something, Randy comes along and explains it in their common “language,” and then Ned repeats it for emphasis, the message stands a better chance of getting through to kids (and adults) of all ages.
When my grandson was born 13 years ago, I started buying him space stuff, including books, hoping to win him over as a kid. I found that the selection of material was not appropriate and the prices were downright robbery. So, I started looking on line. NASA, and many other sites, have a lot of space stuff for kids, but almost all of it is a complete waste in my opinion. If you want free coloring book pages for kids who don’t care what the picture is, then this stuff is great. However, I found almost everything else for kids to be either inappropriate to their ages, garbage, or outright insulting to them. So this, I strongly believe, is still a wide open field, a real opportunity.
Back to NASA. If NASA had NASA Ned and NASA Randy (or whatever you want to call them), and had the brains to put the right people on the job, they could turn things around very thoroughly simply by using all of the well-established techniques that the merchandising people use, which for the most part involve putting a character and a few words in front of kid’s faces (but dedicated TV commercials are out; against the rules and too expensive). This would also make the whole STEM challenge a million times easier. Simple questions: Today, in 2012, who is more well-known, Buzz and Neil, or Buzz and Woody? Who is more popular to people of any age, Tony the Tiger and Captain Crunch or Charlie Bolden and Lori Garver (or any of the astronauts)?
Note to NASA: bury the dead chicken and get into the 21st century. Kids are NOT stupid. Get an intelligent “mascot,” put people with the right skills on the job, and you can turn NASA’s public image around inside of a year. What you’re currently doing, and not doing, is inexcusable.
One man’s strongly-held opinion.
Steve
Can’t Ned have an older SISTER please?! Who DOESN”T have glasses…
Fine by me, Susan. But, what’s wrong with glasses?
Steve
Why does NASA need to invent mascots in the first place? They have a whole crew of astronauts! If people who actually fly in space for a living aren’t larger-than-life enough, than what is?
I’ve thought for a long time now that NASA should get the folks who film “Deadliest Catch” on the case. I mean, those guys film fisherman doing little more than chucking pots over the side of the boat and hauling them back in ad nauseam, and yet here we are eight years later, and they still manage to keep it interesting and exciting. Watch it enough, and you start to recognize the boats and empathize with the crews.
Seriously, get the Deadliest Catch folks to do something similar with the astronaut corps. I mean, there’s a lot of interesting stuff involved in spaceflight, so if those guys can make crab fishing interesting, then a NASA show should be a walk in the park for them. Maybe start when the next class arrives, and follow them through their first couple of years of training. At the same time, they could put some occasional focus on the crews of veterans getting ready to go up to the ISS too. Eventually, just like with the crews of the Time Bandit and the Wizard, people will start to recognize their favorite crew members, and will cheer them on as they head out into space. At that point, people are emotionally invested. That’s what it’s all about: getting people to care about their nation’s space program.
ASFalcon13,
I hear what you’re saying, and I don’t disagree with the concept, but if I understand things correctly, NASA itself is actually not allowed to do anything like that, so you’d have to convince a third party to put up the money — and we’d be looking at a LOT of money. Even if NASA could do a TV show, or pay to have it done, they don’t have anywhere near the kind of money necessary for it.
I don’t watch the Deadliest Catch show myself (I’ve seen the commercials on Discovery), so I’m making a big assumption here, but I think that a big part of the audience draw lies in the fact that these guys are in a dangerous situation and, basically, almost get killed a lot, but then don’t (isn’t human nature wonderful?). That’s the standard plot for any adventure story — introduce heroes; get heroes into trouble, get heroes out of trouble, often at the last minute; everybody’s happy; repeat next week. How many story lines can you come up with for NASA to fit that scheme? I think that would be a real stumbling block. Even in fiction that’s always been the biggest challenge.
I’m not sure how you’d want to handle the danger aspect. For your fishermen it’s a must have, or the show doesn’t work. Do you want to sell people on the idea that what everyone does at NASA is dangerous? Or just run with very selective story lines (“I had to literally stand on my toes in space at the very end of the full-extended robot arm to reach the Hubble…“)?
I’m not trying to be difficult, but I have to disagree with a statement you made — in all honesty, I think that most of what most of the people related to NASA do is NOT interesting stuff at all, not to a TV audience, and would, at best, be dry documentary stuff. Why is the single most used picture/video for promoting NASA (or anything space) a launch? Because it IS bigger than life (and it IS dangerous). How do you make a whole show out of that and how many other examples can you think of?
I have watched a LOT of space documentaries over the years, including a lot of the NASA missions stuff, old and new, and of course movies and TV shows as well, and I long ago discovered what it was that kept the majority of them from being outright boring — it’s the music. It’s exactly the same as a Hollywood movie; if you turned the sound off, no one would cry at the happy ending or get mad at the horrible injustices; it just becomes an unexciting, unemotional series of scenes. Go watch a random dozen NASA film clips on YouTube and you’ll see what a difference it makes. Then go watch some Star Trek reruns and you’ll see exactly the same thing. And good music, whether you pay royalties or have it written new, is not cheap. Now, go back to YouTube and watch some of the stuff-being-explained-by-an-astronaut-or-scientist clips, and you’ll see how ineffective they are. To sell an audience, you have to be an actor, or be unusually charismatic, but astronauts and scientists just aren’t, no matter how fabulous the stuff they’re working with is. I think that’s why so many presentations flick from scene to scene so bloody fast — they don’t want to let the “real people” talk long enough to bore us (and it’s why the unseen narrators always have such perfectly processed voices).
To be perfectly honest, I’d watch the show you propose. Even expecting it to be a flop, I’d watch it. But I just don’t see how you could turn NASA into a show that would get people “emotionally invested,” or get new-comers to “care about their nation’s space program.” NASA is just like the rest of the world in that for every one “action hero” there 20,000 everyday people, and I just don’t think you could make this exciting to a TV audience unless you were willing to “invent” fictional events every week, and that would be unacceptable.
Having said all that, prove me wrong and you’ll be my hero for life, because the cause of selling NASA (and the rest of it) is essential even though the challenge is monumental.
In the mean time, we fall back on mascots, which are allowed to NASA and can be done for a reasonable amount of money (but please, no rubber dead chickens). Also, I suspect people see a mascot as a vector for selling STEM.
Steve
ASFalcon, Steve,
I like both of your discussion threads here. You’ve come close to pegging some of the fundamental challenges NASA faces with respect to how NASA can legitimately inspire people, kids and adults, to have a sustained interest in space.
It’s clear that some would like to choke the chicken and replace it with a ‘better’ mascot.
But Camilla the chicken probably suits a certain audience well. Think of the toys in Toys R Us, with the age recommendations: Camilla: Ages 1 to 4 and Retrograding Adults 20 to 80. Hey, for them, it works.
So let Camilla the chicken live, the 1 to 4 year old little kids will have fun, and at least it’s bright yellow, big and rubbery and large enough so it’s not a choking hazard.
But what about the 13 to 23 year old range? Are many teens going to haul a rubber chicken with a sweater on around the high school hallways chanting ‘she is my hero’ ?
If I wanted to inspire the 13 to 23 year old nascent space workforce, I’d be inclined to replace Camilla with someone like Camilla.
Camilla Luddington that is. (see Lara Croft : Tomb Raider – An Icon Reborn). If I was a typical 15 year old geek and saw Camilla as Lara Croft, I might change to an aerospace curriculum in about a day. And if Lara Croft – Space Raider came with a story that was anywhere near reality, it would be even more attractive.
These days a significant fraction of society bathes in a Hollywood mentally, right? Albeit much of it is shallower than a kiddie pool. Nonetheless the industry does make billions by doing some things right – particularly ‘outreach’.
So NASA might well benefit from embracing some of the skills the high-end folks in Hollywood have like: casting the right people in the right roles, writing scripts with substance, storyboarding and planning, having scripts with the right dynamics of protagonists and antagonists, and synthesizing a theme and plot that is powerful and has a lasting effect. Wow, just imagine if NASA existed with that scripting potency. If they did, they might even get a $30B budget.
My thoughts were for the 5 to 13 range
I think you’ve lost perspective here. NASA and space-related information is conveyed to the public through a number of sources. There are many adults and children who happen to appreciate and enjoy Camilla as an accessible face for science. That you do not is certainly your prerogative (and anybody’s for that matter). However, rather than excoriate a small program that you don’t appreciate, maybe it would be better to seek to have other outlets or programs step up their game to provide what you feel is more useful or appropriate. I’ve seen a lot of positive reactions to Camilla’s activities. I’d sure like to see NASA try a number of ways to reach the public — even if many of those avenues aren’t particularly my cup of tea.
I think a lot of the content conveyed on Big Bang Theory is inane too. However, I also know that there are a number of young people who are reacting positively to the concept that scientists can be cool.
I do not understand how a rubber simulation of a chicken corpse is the best thing NASA can come up with. Seriously. Its one step away from road kill.
Warning Keith: If you kill off Camilla they may replace her with finger puppets or gummy bears. Maybe SDO can send you a Camilla chicken doll. You could spend time with it, cuddle and bond with it, even tuck it in at night. Who knows, you might eventually adore it.
Camilla has over 5,000 friends on Facebook. Since all of Camilla’s posts are about space exploration, human or robotic, I’d say that’s some serious STEM outreach. What have you done for the cause lately?
“What have you done for the cause lately?” I served 4 years on the board of directors of the Challenger Center for Science Education. And you?
Sorry, Keith, wasn’t asking you, but the poster to whom I replied.
good clarification sunman.
sunman,
It genuinely scares me that anyone considers Facebook to be a meaningful metric for anything. The fact that so many people signed up for it is a reflection of degradation in our social skills, not a positive statement of Facebook’s worth.
Steve
Yup, degraded social skills. Here are some of the stories Camilla has posted on her wall in the last week or so: solar coronal temperatures, formation of foams in zero-g, two young girls who were enthusiastic about getting astronaut suits, the discovery of 1 fifth moon of Pluto, Virgin Galactic’s plan to launch small scientific payloads into earth orbit, Manhattanhenge, a radio appearance with some kids who’d just met the NASA Administrator, coverage of Thursday X-flare (from SDO) and associated coronal mass ejection (from STEREO), and coverage of Sunita Williams and her flight mates preparing for Expedition 33, a discussion of whether coronal mass ejections actually make conditions afar for astronauts on the ISS, and a general introduction to space weather.
Yup, a terrible waste of the taxpayers’ money. Uh huh.
When you gave done as much for outreach and STEM education, start hefting stones. Until then….
The intellect levels in space weather audience surely have a wide dynamic range, from naive and juvenile and < 50 IQ – moving up to and beyond smart, mature, and 150+IQ. Having these dual systems in place – NASA’s dorky dead chicken and then NOAA’s SWP Center professional solar updates – may collectively serve the community maximally from end-to-end.
Then again, we live in a perverse world. So maybe the opposite applies and Camilla would appeallia to the bright geeks and those who aren’t the brightest crayons in the box would prefer the NOAA space weather and solar forecasts.
Away from dead chicken sh-t… (is a CME then a Chicken Mass Ejection?)…
NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center has been a stellar performer for many years and provides important and valuable solar information to multiple users in the United States. The entire U.S. electric grid uses SWPC data, every minute of every day. In recent years, due to severe dementia, oh I mean accidental neglect, the SWPC operations were critically underfunded by Congress. Keep your eye on the SWPC and make sure they are kept operational and with a healthy budget. They’re a tiny team, but they matter greatly.
Keith, you and I have argued about this before, and I really don’t know what you have against Camilla. You of all people should be thrilled when a NASA mission uses innovative, creative and fun ways to spread the word about space exploration and get people engaged. Camilla was created by the SDO science team, and I’ve seen hundreds of kids (and adults) absolutely enthralled with her. And as a journalist, I know I can rely on Camilla (the people behind her, actually) to get solar-related news, images and videos out and available more quickly than almost anyone else. The people responsible for Camilla are committed to science outreach, and they should be commended not chastised.
Excuse me but when was the decision made that I am not allowed to have an opinion? I do not agree with the use of a rubber simulation of a dead chicken as a government agency official mascot. I have had teachers tell me that this dead chicken has scared some of their students. If you do not like chastisement then read another website that is chastisement-free.
I don’t know what’s worse. This kind of idiotic public outreach or that our population gives Nasa the impression that this is the only way they’ll listen.
And I thought the twitter updates from the Morpheus lander with comments like “Oooh my tanks are full of methane. Yummy!” were dumb. You know Nasa, there are adults that follow what you do as well as 5 year olds.
Maybe I’m just getting too old, but I’m going to stick to my guns; this is pathetic. If a dead rubber chicken and Facebook are NASA’a official reps to the public then I guess that explains a lot of things. Just think, if the petition to double NASA’s budget went through we could get a second one! Can dead rubber chickens mate?
Steve
Just as some feared, when Charlie met Camilla it was in a high radiation environment and clearly recombinant DNA effects took their toll.
NASA WATCH THE CARTOON SERIES
I didn’t read this chicken thread till late because the title seemed to silly to me lolol I’m such a serious guy 😀
I have never checked out the chicken but seems to me that a young Robert Goddard and a young Von Braun maybe even a young Elon Musk in his flying Iron man suit, and a young Sally Ride could make for a cool crowd of mascots/cartoon characters that could each have their own history therefore Teaching some Space science history.
How many kids today know any of those characters.
As I said before a book about Robert Goddards life written for kids made a big impact on me. So I would think that a young version of many of our scientists and engineers could reach out to kids of all ages.
Lol Where would young Hubble tell the young rocket makers to send their ships that they build for their friends to go into space. What problems would they have building each ship for each adventure?? lol what would our characters talk about lol Where would they get the money for their adventures lol
Hummmmmm Maybe a cartoon character could get the Message out that big throw away rockets isn’t really a good idea in 2012, better than real people could.
Anyone see any potential here???
Well I got to go. Young Elon just flew in the window in his Iron man suit and the last stage of his recoverable falcon just landed in the back yard. Sallys already checking out the dragons controls. Osomo is communicating with the on board computer.
Elon wants Warner and Robert to see how the reusable rocket stack goes together before we launch to a parallel time to check out Warners Von Brauns Space station back in the sixties so our heroes can plan to build a Tinker tanker to make a gravity wheel in our future. They may stop by ET city on the way back that’s such a cool place.
Next week
What if we didn’t fly to the moon in the sixties lol
or
Robert shows us what a pain the media can be when testing great rocket ideas.
Parallel line space stories lol
The Porkie Pie adventures
Sally Ride, Warner Von Braun, Robert Goddard, Elon Musk and Osomo (the NASA WATCH TEAM) go to Washington to tell some congressmen how to act.
The TEAM fights for our Space future.
Get your NWT t shirt
Robots helping humans in space
Osomo joins the NASA WATCH TEAM.
Our Heroes see it all while they travel, plan and build the inner Solar System Railroad.
They teach reusability, and affordability, explore what if’s
Try to start businesses in space.
Kooky Cartoon characters lol solving the problems of Spaceflight while teaching our kids Science, with their full education tool box
Mr. C
Von Braun’s movie was fun!! But it could have been more fun!!! Maybe it wasn’t kooky enough lol
He should have hired bugs bunny.
This NASA mess is comical lol Looney Tunes Lols
Parallel lines kooky Space Adventures INC.
Our team gets off the mars recycler in august 2012 lands on mars in a dragon Lander to watch MSL come in for it’s tricky landing, demonstrating how we learned to get heavy things on mars plus They watched what MSL found there.
I wonder what they would need to fly in to watch Cassini make it’s discoveries? Lol maybe NASA’s Orion guys could design their ship then use a dragon for a Titan Lander.
Hey let’s go see the first flyby of Pluto. They found another moon there.
The NASA WATCH TEAM will be on the moon for the fiftieth Anniversary!!! Will anyone else???
I bet china wouldn’t mind the NASA WATCH TEAM docking with their new Space Station and meet their first crew there.
Maybe they should take Orion for Spin. Pick a year!
NASA WATCH TEAM Satellite and space mission series
The team visits satellites and programs of other countries.
Watch our cartoon series you might learn something!
Ready guys!!!!
3
2
1
Any ideas?????
Lol oops little Robert Zubrin just walked in with his funny hat he wants the TEAM to explore some of his Mars Direct ideas.
We told him Dennis Wingo has us flying to the moon next week but there is plenty of room in the final frontier!!!!
There is plenty of pie once you know how to bake!!!
Lol the NASA WATCH TEAM drops into griffins backyard for an interview back when he ran NASA and now lol
You think some congressman and primes are scared of Elon now, wait till they see him, with the TEAM in his Iron men suit lol
I did hear Mel blank speak in person when I was in collage lolol a very cool character.
George Herbert Worthington the 4th! Lolol
If you did a cartoon series like I described and showed it in prime time you could make money with it. It is like magic school bus but cooler and you could solve science mysteries like scoobie doo.
Like homer Simpson you could have many science and space special guests.
Your experience is impressive, but if you re-read my comment, it had nothing to do with your or anyone else’s technical qualifications and experience. It was about outreach. I’m sorry if my English was unclear and caused you to think I was commenting on your professional background.
When a silly vaudeville prop can get 5,000 followers, it’s worth noticing. Are they all mentally defective, or are many of them science teachers, parents, or informal educators who see past the prop and find useful and stimulating content?
My name? How do I know yours is Brian Bernhard? Because you link to a Facebook page with that name? You could (no insult intended) be a dead chicken, for all I know; such things are easy to spoof. The only name I believe on this site is Keith’s.
The chicken can’t help for looking like she does, and you really shouldn’t judge her on that.
I’m under the impression that pretty much everyone knows what a rubber
chicken is. Why refer to it as a “dead chicken” unless you have an
angle? We get the message loud and clear: try something unique and you
invite criticism. Go with the usual bland stuff that nobody can poke
at.
The uniqueness of the mascot is a part of the appeal – I’ve seen many attempts fail because they were unmemorable. Of course, you’ve never heard of them, so they’re safe.
Its a rubber simulation of what a dead chicken looks lie at a a slaughterhouse.
This discussion is interesting but some of it is based on
some incorrect assumptions. First, Camilla is NOT an official NASA mascot, it
(she) is a tool used by a member of my group who is very interested in
communicating to the public at large.
Camilla’s connection to SDO began well before SDO’s
construction – as late night stress relieving gags between overworked engineers
at GSFC. It was picked up by the early
SDO science team as a gag gift. The
chicken did not get a name or notoriety until her “handler” noticed
that it was an effective “hook” when talking to kids at about the
time of the SDO launch. Think “Charlottes
Web” — Fantastic Chicken!
The “handler”, perhaps we should call him
“WebSpinner”, has a full time job dealing with administrative issues,
not all related to SDO. While part of his
salary is paid from NASA funds, he is not a NASA employee. He spends a lot of his personal time and
energy learning about space weather and other current science issues and relaying
his enthusiasm to interested parties via social media. He points out that the social media is THERE
and people will be talking about the science we do whether we pay attention to
it or not. At least some (or at least
one) of us may as well provide some real information via that channel, in a
form that is appropriate for that channel.
WebSpinner has been very successful – to the point that NASA
PAO has pushed back apparently worried about being scooped by a rubber chicken
that perhaps pays more attention to NOAA flare announcements than they do. I find that amusing and wonder why reaching
out to a previously unreached community should be threatening. WebSpinner has promised to alert PAO to
interesting solar events before Camilla does.
What Camilla has demonstrated is that there is still a huge
public interest in science and space science and the Sun. While I might not have picked the particular
toy as a mascot, it DOES work as a hook to get people’s attention, perhaps we
could de better by enjoying it than by stomping on it.
For the record, yes, WebSpinner has had an EPO tack-on EPO
grant (not SDO) of a few $K to support some of the social media
activities. But all that has been paid is
some travel and purchase of a dozen rubber chickens and some sewing supplies for
the volunteer who makes Camilla’s uniforms.
WebSpinner’s time is volunteer time.
In terms of reaching a broad community, possibly some of the most
successful outreach activities to date.
In the future WebSpinner will be sure to point out that
Camilla’s interest in talking about science to the public via social media is
not as an official NASA spokeschicken.