0:00:08.300,0:00:12.790 KAREN NORTHON: Thank you, everybody, for dialing in to have this conversation with us today. 0:00:12.790,0:00:22.250 NASA folks have been hard at work finding ways to use their rare and exceptional abilities 0:00:22.250,0:00:27.000 and knowledge skill sets to help in the federal response to coronavirus. 0:00:27.000,0:00:35.480 Today we have some of those experts with us as well as the Administrator and our Deputy 0:00:35.480,0:00:37.660 Associate Administrator and Deputy Administrator. 0:00:37.660,0:00:40.410 I'm going to kick this over to our Administrator Jim Bridenstine right now to talk a bit about 0:00:40.410,0:00:41.840 what we've been up to. 0:00:41.840,0:00:44.140 ADMINISTRATOR JIM BRIDENSTINE: Karen, thank you so much. 0:00:44.140,0:00:45.840 I appreciate everybody joining us. 0:00:45.840,0:00:48.280 As you can imagine we've been really busy at NASA. 0:00:48.280,0:00:52.230 A lot of people working at home doing, quite frankly, amazing work. 0:00:52.230,0:00:57.930 But at the same time, it's not always easy, because we spend a lot of time in the same 0:00:57.930,0:01:02.070 house with our children who are out of school. 0:01:02.070,0:01:06.340 Not just our children but also ur spouses who are also sometimes working from home. 0:01:06.340,0:01:10.100 So I know it's been rough for a lot of the NASA family. 0:01:10.100,0:01:12.750 At the same time, we're still getting great work done. 0:01:12.750,0:01:20.390 And of course one of the things that we're focused on is a response to .. how do we defeat 0:01:20.390,0:01:21.650 the coronavirus. 0:01:21.650,0:01:25.070 And how do we support the folks that have the coronavirus. 0:01:25.070,0:01:32.190 So, NASA has some amazing people, very intelligent people, very capable people that are committed 0:01:32.190,0:01:37.020 to the cause and we wanted to highlight some of those activities that we've been involved 0:01:37.020,0:01:38.020 in. 0:01:38.020,0:01:44.770 To start we have with us Cathy Mangum who is with us. 0:01:44.770,0:01:48.090 She's the Deputy Associate Administrator at NASA Headquarters. 0:01:48.090,0:01:54.580 And she's been leading an effort we call NASA at work, which is really a way that we get 0:01:54.580,0:02:00.480 all of our people engaged in ideas for how do we take the things that NASA is really 0:02:00.480,0:02:06.110 good at and use those capabilities in the fight against the coronavirus. 0:02:06.110,0:02:10.539 So, Cathy, if you would just give an update on NASA at Work. 0:02:10.539,0:02:17.030 Share with everybody what it is, and then how we're using it and how we see it being 0:02:17.030,0:02:19.490 used in the future. 0:02:19.490,0:02:20.490 CATHY MANGUM: All right, thanks, Jim. 0:02:20.490,0:02:22.801 Actually we had sort of a cry from our employees who are always willing to jump in and help 0:02:22.801,0:02:25.810 that they wanted a way -- how can we contribute, how can we help fight this challenge? 0:02:25.810,0:02:29.310 So, we have a tool called NASA at work. 0:02:29.310,0:02:39.750 It's a crowdsourcing platform that we do for all kind of technical challenges in the agency. 0:02:39.750,0:02:40.750 So, we put together a challenge. 0:02:40.750,0:02:45.900 We worked with the White House and other government agencies to say where most do you need NASA's 0:02:45.900,0:02:46.900 help. 0:02:46.900,0:02:50.210 And of course the two areas that came to mind were ventilation devices and sterilization 0:02:50.210,0:02:51.530 and decontamination, those kinds of things. 0:02:51.530,0:02:55.843 So we began the challenge on April 1, and in just two weeks we had over 250 ideas that 0:02:55.843,0:02:56.843 were submitted. 0:02:56.843,0:02:57.843 Over 500 comments where we had other technical experts commenting on those ideas. 0:02:57.843,0:02:58.843 And then we actually had about 4500 people who voted up those ideas, which ones were 0:02:58.843,0:02:59.843 the most promising. 0:02:59.843,0:03:08.730 So we took those, and we actually brought together a team of subject matter experts 0:03:08.730,0:03:15.970 who reviewed all the submissions and tried to find the most promising ideas. 0:03:15.970,0:03:21.680 And what was really interesting to me, it was the total workforce that helped. 0:03:21.680,0:03:34.940 We had ideas from, "hey, can we get our astronauts who are trained in how to deal with isolation 0:03:34.940,0:03:40.460 to talk to our employees about how do you deal with that at home?" all the way to carbon 0:03:40.460,0:03:43.880 nanotubes that could be used as a .. sensor for some sort of breath analyzer. 0:03:43.880,0:03:46.920 So, it really touched all of our workforce, and it came up with fantastic ideas. 0:03:46.920,0:03:51.540 In addition to the NASA at work challenge, we actually have parts of our agency workforce 0:03:51.540,0:03:54.810 developing ideas sort of along their natural work lines, too. 0:03:54.810,0:04:00.450 So, they've responded quickly to this health crisis, and next you'll hear more from both 0:04:00.450,0:04:05.280 our doctor and the folks who really jumped in on this as we go further in this process. 0:04:05.280,0:04:08.209 So Jim, I'll turn it back to you. 0:04:08.209,0:04:09.580 BRIDENSTINE: Thank you, Cathy. 0:04:09.580,0:04:12.330 So next, we'll go to Dr. J.D. Polk. 0:04:12.330,0:04:16.160 He is the Chief of Health and Medical at NASA. 0:04:16.160,0:04:20.949 He's the person we rely to, to make sure that our folks are safe, and then after J.D., we're 0:04:20.949,0:04:26.749 going to talk about some very unique work that's being done out at JPL as it relates 0:04:26.749,0:04:27.749 to ventilators. 0:04:27.749,0:04:33.909 Again, you know, if you tell a rocket scientist to stay at home, it's amazing what they'll 0:04:33.909,0:04:37.710 do while they're staying at home, but, J.D., we'll start with you. 0:04:37.710,0:04:42.759 Dr. Polk, if you'll just give us an update on the things that you've been working on 0:04:42.759,0:04:46.770 and how you've been trying to organize the agency around optimizing our response to the 0:04:46.770,0:04:47.770 coronavirus. 0:04:47.770,0:04:48.770 DR. 0:04:48.770,0:04:49.770 J.D. POLK: Thanks, Jim. 0:04:49.770,0:04:53.449 One of the things that we've heard about these patients was that they were taking higher 0:04:53.449,0:04:57.669 pressures on the ventilator and that they were difficult to ventilate. 0:04:57.669,0:05:00.169 They had stiff lungs. 0:05:00.169,0:05:09.139 There were specific requirements with these COVID patients, and the folks at JPL�and 0:05:09.139,0:05:21.999 you'll hear about that more, but they decided to invent a ventilator literally within weeks 0:05:21.999,0:05:22.999 from the drawing board of Leon's living room, probably, to a prototype that works that has 0:05:22.999,0:05:25.759 higher pressures, what we call PEEP�they're positive end-expiratory pressures�that allow 0:05:25.759,0:05:31.499 that oxygen to be driven into the alveoli of the lungs. 0:05:31.499,0:05:35.220 And also, what's pretty unique about this vent�and they'll talk about it more too�is 0:05:35.220,0:05:45.330 it has one-seventh of the parts the normal ventilator has, and they did that on purpose 0:05:45.330,0:05:48.710 to avoid the supply chain and competing with other ventilators. 0:05:48.710,0:05:54.680 They've also got a lot of different interfaces that they've used on this ventilator to make 0:05:54.680,0:05:55.939 it very simplistic and easy to use. 0:05:55.939,0:05:57.830 It's pretty interesting, and they've fielded that this last week to Mount Sinai in New 0:05:57.830,0:06:08.430 York for the folks that are on the front lines that were working on this COVID with patients, 0:06:08.430,0:06:11.090 putting it through its patients with a mannequin and some of the anesthesiology team to see 0:06:11.090,0:06:14.309 if they could make this work like they would with other COVID patients in the ventilator, 0:06:14.309,0:06:15.309 and it did really, really well. 0:06:15.309,0:06:26.250 The emergency use authorization was submitted to the FDA yesterday, and we're looking forward 0:06:26.250,0:06:33.509 to hearing back from the FDA on that one. 0:06:33.509,0:06:36.490 But they'll talk about that more. 0:06:36.490,0:06:41.729 The other one being what we call a "CPAP helmet," which is a device that gives a pressure but 0:06:41.729,0:06:43.949 without the patient being intubated or without that tube being in their throat. 0:06:43.949,0:06:52.009 I'm sure folks in the media have seen many of the people in Italy wearing these hoods 0:06:52.009,0:06:58.509 or helmets that allows us to give oxygen but pressurize it, again, with that PEED, but 0:06:58.509,0:07:02.069 for a patient and hopefully a subset of patients that we can avoid the ventilator, which frees 0:07:02.069,0:07:05.059 up the ventilator for more critical, more serious patients. 0:07:05.059,0:07:07.271 So Armstrong has been working with folks out in the Antelope Valley or what we colloquially 0:07:07.271,0:07:08.271 call the "Aerospace Valley" because of our relationship also with several aerospace companies 0:07:08.271,0:07:12.439 there, and they have designed and built and amplified and taken other designs and improved 0:07:12.439,0:07:18.979 upon them for that CPAP, but we'll talk about that more. 0:07:18.979,0:07:29.419 Also, how do you sterilize things like an ambulance and what technologies to use for 0:07:29.419,0:07:30.419 EMS to sterilize those things? 0:07:30.419,0:07:35.360 We've been working on several of those. 0:07:35.360,0:07:50.199 Two of those devices, the ventilator and the CPAP, are already going through the emergency 0:07:50.199,0:07:57.399 use authorization for the FDA, and I'll let the experts talk about their wares and what 0:07:57.399,0:07:58.399 they've done. 0:07:58.399,0:08:01.939 ADMINISTRATOR JIM BRIDENSTINE: Thank you, Dr. Polk, and if you'll stay with us, I'm 0:08:01.939,0:08:04.210 sure at the end, there will be questions. 0:08:04.210,0:08:07.719 And I'll defer probably a lot of those to you, Dr. Polk. 0:08:07.719,0:08:08.719 Let's see. 0:08:08.719,0:08:11.639 We'll go to�if we can talk to David Gallagher. 0:08:11.639,0:08:19.309 He's our resident expert from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and he has been part of this effort 0:08:19.309,0:08:25.650 to create these ventilators that use, as Dr. Polk said, one-seventh the amount of parts. 0:08:25.650,0:08:30.819 Of course, the idea is to drive down cost and increase the speed of manufacturing. 0:08:30.819,0:08:36.529 So, David, if you would share with us kind of what your team has been working on there. 0:08:36.529,0:08:40.339 DAVE GALLAGHER: Thanks very much, Jim, and thanks, J.D. 0:08:40.339,0:08:42.000 First of all, I'm Dave Gallagher. 0:08:42.000,0:08:43.979 I think it says "Bettina" under my name. 0:08:43.979,0:08:47.460 She was kind enough to loan me her computer. 0:08:47.460,0:08:52.399 I have to start out really by saying I'm truly inspired. 0:08:52.399,0:08:59.980 This is a great story, and I'm inspired by the ingenuity and intellect of my colleagues 0:08:59.980,0:09:01.970 at NASA. 0:09:01.970,0:09:03.660 It's remarkable. 0:09:03.660,0:09:09.291 The men and women of JPL have no idea how to give up on something or say it's impossible, 0:09:09.291,0:09:13.230 and this is kind of the story of that. 0:09:13.230,0:09:16.420 I'm sure, as most of you know, we build spacecraft. 0:09:16.420,0:09:23.350 We don't build medical devices, but this is really a story that's different than that. 0:09:23.350,0:09:31.050 Jim, you know in our main building at JPL, there's a big quote on the wall from the famous 0:09:31.050,0:09:35.680 Teddy Roosevelt speech, "Dare mighty things." 0:09:35.680,0:09:43.300 People come to NASA and JPL to land on Mars and put people on the Moon and launch Voyager 0:09:43.300,0:09:45.269 45 years ago. 0:09:45.269,0:09:47.569 That's why people come to NASA and JPL. 0:09:47.569,0:09:55.700 Who would have thought that those same particular set of skills would have come up with an ICU 0:09:55.700,0:10:02.290 ventilator in a matter of 4 to 5 weeks to treat COVID-19? 0:10:02.290,0:10:05.610 It's a great story, as J.D. said. 0:10:05.610,0:10:08.870 It started with a clean sheet of paper. 0:10:08.870,0:10:13.759 When we started to stay at home, a couple of our engineers just were really frustrated 0:10:13.759,0:10:19.220 with wanting to help and wanting to figure out something to do and jumped in, and they 0:10:19.220,0:10:24.990 designed this thing from the beginning with manufacturability in mind. 0:10:24.990,0:10:31.920 It's got kind of an order of magnitude, fewer parts, very simple components, around 80 parts 0:10:31.920,0:10:39.750 in this thing, and it's really designed to not interrupt the manufacturing chain for 0:10:39.750,0:10:47.360 them, mainstream, big, highly complex ventilators that are designed to deal with any situation. 0:10:47.360,0:10:55.480 This is a COVID-19 intubation ventilator, and as Dr. Polk said, it's designed to deal 0:10:55.480,0:11:05.400 with high-pressure situations or less compliance in the lung, and that's not easy to do. 0:11:05.400,0:11:12.560 As Dr. Polk said, we got this thing to Mount Sinai, who has been a partner from day one, 0:11:12.560,0:11:15.879 as well as the FDA, partner from day one. 0:11:15.879,0:11:17.740 We brought doctors from the front line. 0:11:17.740,0:11:25.420 We brought manufacturing experts and the best engineers we have at JPL, and that was delivered 0:11:25.420,0:11:27.069 a few days ago to Mount Sinai. 0:11:27.069,0:11:30.620 The testing was outstanding. 0:11:30.620,0:11:38.589 We submitted the emergency use authorization, and we should, with any luck in 24, 48 hours, 0:11:38.589,0:11:47.100 have approval from the FDA, and then on Friday, Caltech is issuing a royalty-free industry, 0:11:47.100,0:11:49.940 production partner, licensing call. 0:11:49.940,0:11:56.379 This means that anybody from industry can come in and manufacture this ventilator at 0:11:56.379,0:11:59.730 a very low cost and in a very high speed. 0:11:59.730,0:12:01.520 We've already seen a lot of interest in that. 0:12:01.520,0:12:03.410 So we're excited about that. 0:12:03.410,0:12:05.500 So that's kind of the story. 0:12:05.500,0:12:11.939 I'd be remiss if I didn't shout out to a team of 30 or 40 people who have worked 7 days 0:12:11.939,0:12:18.100 a week since the stay-at-home order, about 4 1/2 weeks ago. 0:12:18.100,0:12:22.629 Again, I'm just incredibly proud of the team we have here. 0:12:22.629,0:12:23.629 It's amazing. 0:12:23.629,0:12:24.629 Thanks, Jim. 0:12:24.629,0:12:26.470 ADMINISTRATOR JIM BRIDENSTINE: Thank you, David. 0:12:26.470,0:12:31.529 And I think a couple of points you made there that are very important, number one, not to 0:12:31.529,0:12:34.329 disrupt the supply chain. 0:12:34.329,0:12:39.670 These are parts that don't take away anything from the supply chain from the mainstream 0:12:39.670,0:12:42.310 manufacturers that you identified. 0:12:42.310,0:12:47.480 The idea that you can create it with one-seventh of the amount of parts and the idea that Caltech, 0:12:47.480,0:12:54.050 of course, which hosts NASA's JPL, is willing to license that to manufacturers without any 0:12:54.050,0:13:00.850 kind of royalty demonstrates just an amazing commitment to this activity. 0:13:00.850,0:13:06.100 As I've started talking here, I'm going to change my cameras so people can see it. 0:13:06.100,0:13:08.320 It's the white box on the screen there. 0:13:08.320,0:13:16.480 I don't know if you can see it, but that right there is the ventilator. 0:13:16.480,0:13:18.660 As you can see, it's pretty small. 0:13:18.660,0:13:21.810 It's pretty small in size. 0:13:21.810,0:13:26.040 The other thing that's really magnificent is we're talking about 3 weeks. 0:13:26.040,0:13:33.180 In a matter of 3 weeks, JPL's scientists and engineers came up with this idea, and we're 0:13:33.180,0:13:36.320 within hours of getting FDA approval. 0:13:36.320,0:13:39.480 Correct me if I'm wrong, David, but that's emergency use authorization, right? 0:13:39.480,0:13:41.500 DAVE GALLAGHER: That's correct. 0:13:41.500,0:13:47.230 And just to pile on to what you said, it's actually quite simple to use. 0:13:47.230,0:13:54.819 Part of the testing at Mount Sinai, again, guided by their doctors and respiratory therapists, 0:13:54.819,0:13:59.970 was to make sure that this is something that once manufactured could be put to use quickly 0:13:59.970,0:14:05.769 without a huge amount of training, but it's ready to go. 0:14:05.769,0:14:12.079 It's a very exciting system, and we're eager to get these manufactured and in the hands 0:14:12.079,0:14:13.470 of people who need them. 0:14:13.470,0:14:15.629 ADMINISTRATOR JIM BRIDENSTINE: Awesome. 0:14:15.629,0:14:20.180 Well, thank you for that update, and of course, if you'll stick around for questions here, 0:14:20.180,0:14:21.540 people have questions. 0:14:21.540,0:14:25.600 Next thing I'd like to talk about is surface decontamination. 0:14:25.600,0:14:30.319 One of the challenges we have with coronavirus is making sure that surfaces are clean, and 0:14:30.319,0:14:36.499 I know all of us across the nation are focused on wiping down surfaces, washing our hands, 0:14:36.499,0:14:40.769 doing all of the things to make sure that we kill this virus. 0:14:40.769,0:14:47.600 NASA actually partnered with a private company a number of years ago to help with this effort, 0:14:47.600,0:14:51.129 and they came up with a product called "AMBUstats." 0:14:51.129,0:14:54.170 I think Marit Meyer is with us. 0:14:54.170,0:15:00.510 Marit, can you give us an update on what is this device that is called "AMBUstat"? 0:15:00.510,0:15:04.089 How does it work, and ultimately, what are the benefits that we're going to get from 0:15:04.089,0:15:05.259 it? 0:15:05.259,0:15:07.600 [No response.] 0:15:07.600,0:15:13.420 ADMINISTRATOR JIM BRIDENSTINE: Marit Meyer from Glenn Research Center, are you on the 0:15:13.420,0:15:14.420 phone? 0:15:14.420,0:15:15.959 MARIT MEYER: Yes, I am. 0:15:15.959,0:15:16.959 Can you hear me now? 0:15:16.959,0:15:19.060 ADMINISTRATOR JIM BRIDENSTINE: I got you loud and clear. 0:15:19.060,0:15:21.040 MARIT MEYER: Okay, good. 0:15:21.040,0:15:25.370 So I'm Marit Meyer from NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, and our center 0:15:25.370,0:15:31.199 is contributing to solutions for the pandemic through disinfection, as Jim said. 0:15:31.199,0:15:36.570 And the company that we're working with is called Emergency Products and Research, which 0:15:36.570,0:15:38.630 is EP+R for short. 0:15:38.630,0:15:45.970 They first interacted with us through a technology consultation program in our Regional Economic 0:15:45.970,0:15:54.470 Development program in 2015, and my colleague, Sharon Miller, helped develop the AMBUstat 0:15:54.470,0:15:55.470 product. 0:15:55.470,0:16:02.759 It basically uses a liquid sterilant that is atomized or to make a fog out of it, makes 0:16:02.759,0:16:09.899 tiny droplets that float around in a closed volume and deposit on surfaces, and wherever 0:16:09.899,0:16:13.980 the sterilant deposits in the right concentration, that surface would be sterilized. 0:16:13.980,0:16:22.570 The target market was for pre-hospital environments like ambulances, and the idea is to quickly 0:16:22.570,0:16:27.189 and inexpensively sterilize beyond wiping and cleaning. 0:16:27.189,0:16:32.809 So you have to do wiping and cleaning, but after that, the next step is AMBUstat. 0:16:32.809,0:16:38.459 So the pandemic actually increased demand for this product, and what happened was it 0:16:38.459,0:16:41.870 prompted the development of a second-generation design of AMBUstat. 0:16:41.870,0:16:48.079 And one of the objectives of this new design was not only surface disinfection, but also 0:16:48.079,0:16:53.550 how do you kill airborne pathogens such as the coronavirus which may be hitching a ride 0:16:53.550,0:16:56.490 on an ambient floating particle? 0:16:56.490,0:16:59.689 We have particles all around us all the time. 0:16:59.689,0:17:06.120 Skin flakes and different equipment and activities generate particles, and the virus can actually 0:17:06.120,0:17:08.710 attach itself to these airborne particles. 0:17:08.710,0:17:15.870 So if you were able to disperse the sterilant and have the right-sized droplets in your 0:17:15.870,0:17:19.450 cloth, then you could kill these airborne pathogens. 0:17:19.450,0:17:23.190 But another objective that they had was to keep the cost really low so that they could 0:17:23.190,0:17:30.130 make this technology available to underserved communities and entities such as school districts 0:17:30.130,0:17:37.160 that can't afford to spend a lot of money on new technologies to go back to get up and 0:17:37.160,0:17:38.160 running. 0:17:38.160,0:17:44.400 So our contribution involves sharing our expertise in aerosol physics, sharing our laboratory 0:17:44.400,0:17:46.290 test capability. 0:17:46.290,0:17:51.390 We want to help EP+R understand the droplet size distribution of their second-generation 0:17:51.390,0:17:52.390 product. 0:17:52.390,0:17:58.240 Using different flow settings, we want to understand the fate and the transport of these 0:17:58.240,0:18:00.060 droplets of liquid sterilant. 0:18:00.060,0:18:03.930 How does it go into different spaces in geometry? 0:18:03.930,0:18:08.270 How does it go into crevices such as if you were to disinfect a police vehicle? 0:18:08.270,0:18:13.380 How would you disinfect larger spaces such as classrooms or dining areas? 0:18:13.380,0:18:21.480 So if we can characterize the new AMBUstat design to minimize the amount of sterilant 0:18:21.480,0:18:23.370 that's used, we can keep the costs down. 0:18:23.370,0:18:25.620 We can keep it just as effective. 0:18:25.620,0:18:29.990 So I'm really looking forward to getting into the lab to experiment with this new AMBUstat, 0:18:29.990,0:18:35.490 the skeleton crew of colleague researchers, and of course, it will be a new way of doing 0:18:35.490,0:18:42.530 experiments where we have to socially distance and follow all the other protocols for not 0:18:42.530,0:18:44.740 transferring germs to each other. 0:18:44.740,0:18:47.300 ADMINISTRATOR JIM BRIDENSTINE: So Marit, let me ask. 0:18:47.300,0:18:52.840 If you were to release the fog into a closed space�I know you mentioned ambulances. 0:18:52.840,0:18:54.230 You mentioned police cars. 0:18:54.230,0:18:57.490 You also mentioned classrooms. 0:18:57.490,0:19:04.761 After you have deployed the fog, if you will, the sterilant, the atomized sterilant, how 0:19:04.761,0:19:09.040 long does it take before you can enter that space, or can you enter right away? 0:19:09.040,0:19:11.220 How long are we talking about? 0:19:11.220,0:19:15.120 MARIT MEYER: Well, the current protocol for sterilizing ambulances is that they could 0:19:15.120,0:19:18.520 do it in less than 40 minutes of downtime. 0:19:18.520,0:19:23.100 So if you were to have a bigger area with a lot more sterilant, I imagine you'd have 0:19:23.100,0:19:27.340 to wait a lot longer, and that's probably one of the questions that we're going to explore 0:19:27.340,0:19:28.340 as well. 0:19:28.340,0:19:29.340 ADMINISTRATOR JIM BRIDENSTINE: Okay. 0:19:29.340,0:19:32.660 And then I also want to emphasize. 0:19:32.660,0:19:37.700 You mentioned the Regional Economic Development program that, of course, NASA works on with 0:19:37.700,0:19:39.990 its centers all across the United States. 0:19:39.990,0:19:43.090 I think this is important. 0:19:43.090,0:19:44.920 We're getting some feedback now. 0:19:44.920,0:19:46.299 There we go. 0:19:46.299,0:19:48.310 This is important for the folks in the media. 0:19:48.310,0:19:51.260 Marcy Kaptur is a Member of Congress from Ohio. 0:19:51.260,0:19:56.370 She represents the Glenn Research Center, and she's been a huge advocate for regional 0:19:56.370,0:19:57.870 economic developments. 0:19:57.870,0:20:04.200 I think it's actually impressive and important to note that after all of our advocacy for 0:20:04.200,0:20:09.750 this program, here you have a capability that is coming from the Glenn Research Center, 0:20:09.750,0:20:14.250 which she represents, that is going to have potentially a big impact for the future. 0:20:14.250,0:20:22.630 The other thing I wanted to ask you, Marit, is it possible not just to decontaminate surfaces 0:20:22.630,0:20:31.160 inside of a closed area with this fog, with this atomized sterilant�is it possible to 0:20:31.160,0:20:37.750 use this maybe to decontaminate personal protective equipment so that we can reuse it rather than 0:20:37.750,0:20:39.670 throw it away on each use? 0:20:39.670,0:20:42.050 Is that something that has been considered? 0:20:42.050,0:20:48.090 MARIT MEYER: Well, that's a good question, and right now our Space Act Agreement with 0:20:48.090,0:20:53.150 the company does not cover that, but it is rather open-ended where we can add on additional 0:20:53.150,0:20:55.190 tasks and define future work together. 0:20:55.190,0:20:59.290 So that could be something that we would end up going to after our initial testing. 0:20:59.290,0:21:01.430 ADMINISTRATOR JIM BRIDENSTINE: Okay. 0:21:01.430,0:21:03.990 Behind me, I have an AMBUstat box. 0:21:03.990,0:21:05.990 I just thought I'd show it to everybody. 0:21:05.990,0:21:11.260 If people can see me, they should be able to see the red box behind me. 0:21:11.260,0:21:16.870 So that's the device that's now used to sterilize the inside of an ambulance after a patient. 0:21:16.870,0:21:18.150 Is that correct, Marit? 0:21:18.150,0:21:19.230 MARIT MEYER: Correct. 0:21:19.230,0:21:22.370 Well, this is the second-generation one. 0:21:22.370,0:21:28.420 So there are only three prototypes that exist, and I'm going to take delivery of one next 0:21:28.420,0:21:31.840 week to work with it in my lab. 0:21:31.840,0:21:35.340 ADMINISTRATOR JIM BRIDENSTINE: Okay. 0:21:35.340,0:21:36.340 Fantastic. 0:21:36.340,0:21:38.730 Thank you, Marit, for that great update. 0:21:38.730,0:21:46.770 Next thing I'd like to do is start talking about our oxygen hoods and some of the regional 0:21:46.770,0:21:49.660 support activities from our oxygen hoods. 0:21:49.660,0:21:54.890 This comes from the Armstrong Flight Research Center out in California. 0:21:54.890,0:21:58.580 You can see behind me the AMBUstat�here. 0:21:58.580,0:22:03.510 I guess Deputy NASA Administrator Jim Morhard is bringing it up front here. 0:22:03.510,0:22:07.251 So this is the hood. 0:22:07.251,0:22:12.240 Dr. Polk called it a "CPAP hood," and we have a special guest. 0:22:12.240,0:22:15.410 Mike Buttigieg is on the phone. 0:22:15.410,0:22:16.410 Are you with us, Mike? 0:22:16.410,0:22:17.630 MIKE BUTTIGIEG: Yep, I'm here. 0:22:17.630,0:22:18.980 ADMINISTRATOR JIM BRIDENSTINE: Awesome. 0:22:18.980,0:22:23.970 Can you share with us a little bit about what this is and how it can be used? 0:22:23.970,0:22:25.330 MIKE BUTTIGIEG: Sure. 0:22:25.330,0:22:36.650 Thank you, Jim, and I guess I'll start with NASA Armstrong, our typical role is designing, 0:22:36.650,0:22:43.820 developing, prototyping, and verifying things that are normally related to aircraft. 0:22:43.820,0:22:51.190 So we're taking those skills and applying them to the needs of our medical community, 0:22:51.190,0:22:56.780 and so I think it's great because innovation is just part of our culture. 0:22:56.780,0:23:05.720 So NASA Armstrong was asked to be part of a joint task force, as was mentioned before, 0:23:05.720,0:23:11.830 the aerospace COVID response team, and that was put together so that we can support the 0:23:11.830,0:23:22.200 local community in what we expected to be shortfalls in PPE and a whole range of potential 0:23:22.200,0:23:23.200 issues. 0:23:23.200,0:23:29.791 So I guess what started out as an initial request to 3D print basic things that were 0:23:29.791,0:23:38.740 designed but try to get some much needed items out, it quickly evolved into a whole slew 0:23:38.740,0:23:40.160 of different projects. 0:23:40.160,0:23:45.830 So we have like several subgroups working on different amazing devices. 0:23:45.830,0:23:52.640 So this one is where I had focused my attention, and it was something that was brought up from 0:23:52.640,0:23:58.850 one of our local ER doctors, Dr. Khodabakhsh, about using something like a CPAP helmet in 0:23:58.850,0:24:02.970 order to pressurize a patient's lungs. 0:24:02.970,0:24:10.420 So the three big requirements that he was hoping to achieve where to, A, pressurize 0:24:10.420,0:24:14.790 someone's lungs for the reason that J.D. mentioned earlier. 0:24:14.790,0:24:22.100 We wanted to be able to pressurize those lungs with pure oxygen to even make that much�[audio 0:24:22.100,0:24:31.660 break]�and lastly and very importantly, protect the staff around COVID-stricken patients. 0:24:31.660,0:24:39.111 So when I saw Dr. Khodabakhsh demonstrating one of the helmets that he was able to get 0:24:39.111,0:24:42.350 his hands on, it immediately hit me. 0:24:42.350,0:24:48.870 I was like, "Hey, that looks like a cast protector that I used on a broken leg a few years ago," 0:24:48.870,0:24:53.620 and so it kind of took off from there. 0:24:53.620,0:25:04.250 This was one of the ideas presented with this COVID task force, which included Virgin Galactic, 0:25:04.250,0:25:11.860 The Spaceship Company, our local college, and then other local aerospace companies. 0:25:11.860,0:25:19.600 So I worked for a week or so and continuing actually with Dr. Khodabakhsh's design and 0:25:19.600,0:25:24.880 developed this hood, made improvements on it. 0:25:24.880,0:25:38.440 So about a week after this concept was presented, I worked with our local chief technologist, 0:25:38.440,0:25:44.930 David Voracek, who provided the funding to build 50 of these hoods in my garage. 0:25:44.930,0:25:53.080 So we built these hoods with the idea of being able to understand what scaling it up would 0:25:53.080,0:26:02.020 look like and also to provide some quick access to doctors, some quick units to the doctors, 0:26:02.020,0:26:06.900 so that they can immediately start testing them out and seeing what the pitfalls are. 0:26:06.900,0:26:14.330 So after some evaluations from the doctors and working with the COVID task force, Virgin 0:26:14.330,0:26:21.020 Galactic has made huge contributions in moving to our next step, which is what we're currently 0:26:21.020,0:26:26.100 doing at this moment is producing 500 test units. 0:26:26.100,0:26:31.170 These test units are going to be going around the country for doctors to use and understand 0:26:31.170,0:26:40.490 and get trained on so that the hope of having more, even more improved units with EUA approval 0:26:40.490,0:26:43.830 can be realized. 0:26:43.830,0:26:50.310 The EUA, I believe, was submitted yesterday, and so we're working with the FDA to get that 0:26:50.310,0:26:55.960 approved, and I think we're waiting to see how that goes. 0:26:55.960,0:27:02.510 We're super excited to get these units out to the doctors, and I hope that this will 0:27:02.510,0:27:07.740 keep patients off ventilators as much as possible and ultimately save lives. 0:27:07.740,0:27:09.350 ADMINISTRATOR JIM BRIDENSTINE: Awesome. 0:27:09.350,0:27:11.940 Mike, if you would for us�can you hear me real quick? 0:27:11.940,0:27:12.940 Can you hear me? 0:27:12.940,0:27:13.940 MIKE BUTTIGIEG: Yep. 0:27:13.940,0:27:18.250 ADMINISTRATOR JIM BRIDENSTINE: If you would for the media, can you spell your name for 0:27:18.250,0:27:19.250 the media? 0:27:19.250,0:27:20.250 Say and spell your name, full name. 0:27:20.250,0:27:21.250 MIKE BUTTIGIEG: I'm going to say Buttigieg. 0:27:21.250,0:27:26.230 ADMINISTRATOR JIM BRIDENSTINE: Okay, got it. 0:27:26.230,0:27:35.500 MIKE BUTTIGIEG: I'm going to keep it the same, and its' B-u-t-t-i-g-i-e-g. 0:27:35.500,0:27:41.820 ADMINISTRATOR JIM BRIDENSTINE: And then as far as the people that are involved in this 0:27:41.820,0:27:46.690 effort, you mentioned Virgin Galactic, which, of course, is a suborbital commercial launch 0:27:46.690,0:27:53.150 company, and NASA has partnerships with them, very important partnerships for science research. 0:27:53.150,0:27:58.340 And, of course, they're going to be launching commercial astronauts into space here in the 0:27:58.340,0:28:03.000 very near future from New Mexico and maybe other places around the world. 0:28:03.000,0:28:06.370 You mentioned another partner in this was a local college. 0:28:06.370,0:28:08.550 Can you tell us what the college is? 0:28:08.550,0:28:16.190 MIKE BUTTIGIEG: So that's Antelope Valley Community College, and so they've been excellent 0:28:16.190,0:28:22.240 partners of producing some of the parts for the hoods in mass scale. 0:28:22.240,0:28:27.190 So they were able to connect with some of their own resources and in this case produce 0:28:27.190,0:28:32.860 en masse the magnetic ports that are on the oxygen hood. 0:28:32.860,0:28:34.110 ADMINISTRATOR JIM BRIDENSTINE: Okay. 0:28:34.110,0:28:39.170 MIKE BUTTIGIEG: So working and producing some other side projects, but that was one of a 0:28:39.170,0:28:41.000 major contribution and a big help from them. 0:28:41.000,0:28:43.980 ADMINISTRATOR JIM BRIDENSTINE: Mike, excellent brief. 0:28:43.980,0:28:48.040 My big takeaways are this is going to keep pressure on your lungs. 0:28:48.040,0:28:53.620 So there's going to be pressure inside of this helmet if you will, and the idea is then 0:28:53.620,0:28:55.050 you don't have to be intubated. 0:28:55.050,0:29:01.310 You don't actually have to go on the ventilator, which is, of course, a big win if you don't 0:29:01.310,0:29:02.310 have to go on the ventilator. 0:29:02.310,0:29:06.850 The other thing is�correct me if I'm wrong, but this hood protects the health care workers 0:29:06.850,0:29:12.690 as well because then you're not shedding virus inside the room where you're currently staying. 0:29:12.690,0:29:13.760 Is that right, Mike? 0:29:13.760,0:29:19.830 MIKE BUTTIGIEG: That's correct, and that's been a very big focal point of the doctor 0:29:19.830,0:29:27.100 that we're working with and another particular individual at NASA who is working heavily 0:29:27.100,0:29:36.280 in how to verify with high confidence that seal around the neck because that is the critical 0:29:36.280,0:29:44.710 area and the critical path or probability of area for having leaks that would get out 0:29:44.710,0:29:46.310 to the environment. 0:29:46.310,0:29:49.210 ADMINISTRATOR JIM BRIDENSTINE: Awesome. 0:29:49.210,0:29:50.290 Thank you, Mike. 0:29:50.290,0:29:54.910 Excellent, excellent brief and excellent work out there in California, so keep up the great 0:29:54.910,0:29:56.410 work. 0:29:56.410,0:30:02.980 I'd like to go back to J.D. Polk, Dr. Polk, our Chief of Health and Medical for NASA. 0:30:02.980,0:30:07.890 There's something that I think is pretty exciting, although it's probably a number of months, 0:30:07.890,0:30:14.480 if not a year away, and that is trying to create using NASA technology that we've had 0:30:14.480,0:30:20.810 on the International Space Station, trying to create a breathalyzer test, if you will, 0:30:20.810,0:30:25.650 so that maybe one day we can actually test people for the coronavirus just by breathing 0:30:25.650,0:30:26.770 into a tube. 0:30:26.770,0:30:32.510 Dr. Polk, if you're still on the phone, I know that's not as close as we'd like it to 0:30:32.510,0:30:37.780 be, but it's a technology that we've used as an agency in the past for different purposes, 0:30:37.780,0:30:40.740 and it's a technology that could be modified; is that right? 0:30:40.740,0:30:41.740 DR. 0:30:41.740,0:30:42.740 J.D. POLK: Yes, Jim. 0:30:42.740,0:30:48.090 We've had that technology and have been using that to identify toxic substances as well 0:30:48.090,0:30:53.780 as other things, especially in a spaceflight environment, but to simplify it, you're taking 0:30:53.780,0:31:01.330 these nanotubes and impregnating them with something like an antigen or an antibody. 0:31:01.330,0:31:09.340 Then the virus, if somebody breathes into that tube, the virus would stick to that antibody 0:31:09.340,0:31:13.990 and create an electric current or fluoresce or an electric circuit. 0:31:13.990,0:31:21.710 So it's literally an ability to potentially instantaneously identify somebody that has 0:31:21.710,0:31:23.810 COVID-19. 0:31:23.810,0:31:28.930 You can imagine how important that would be for somebody like Customs and Border Protection 0:31:28.930,0:31:34.420 or employees going into the meat packing plants and other things that we are seeing right 0:31:34.420,0:31:40.180 now where it's difficult to identify someone with the virus, especially if they're shedding 0:31:40.180,0:31:46.920 virus before they become febrile or symptomatic, and that's where this virus has really been 0:31:46.920,0:31:50.750 difficult for most of the spread throughout the nation. 0:31:50.750,0:31:52.190 ADMINISTRATOR JIM BRIDENSTINE: Awesome. 0:31:52.190,0:31:54.570 Thank you, Dr. Polk, for that update. 0:31:54.570,0:31:59.510 What I'd like to do now, there's other things that we can talk about, but I think in the 0:31:59.510,0:32:04.430 interest of time, I just want everybody to know NASA is an amazing little agency that 0:32:04.430,0:32:07.030 does astonishing things every day. 0:32:07.030,0:32:15.290 And now we're using that capability to respond to this pandemic using the whole-of-government 0:32:15.290,0:32:18.420 approach, and I'd like to just open it up to questions. 0:32:18.420,0:32:20.450 I don't know. 0:32:20.450,0:32:23.350 Karen, are you moderating this? 0:32:23.350,0:32:24.680 KAREN NORTHON: Yeah. 0:32:24.680,0:32:25.680 Sure. 0:32:25.680,0:32:30.170 So anybody who would like to ask questions, you can use the Q&A section in the WebEx platform, 0:32:30.170,0:32:38.970 or you can raise your little electronic hand in WebEx, and we will open up your lines. 0:32:38.970,0:32:46.210 So we will just give you folks a second to�and there we go. 0:32:46.210,0:32:48.810 Miriam Kramer, your line is unmuted. 0:32:48.810,0:32:49.810 MIRIAM KRAMER (Axios): Hi. 0:32:49.810,0:32:51.790 Can you hear me? 0:32:51.790,0:32:53.840 KAREN NORTHON: Yes. 0:32:53.840,0:32:57.240 MIRIAM KRAMER (Axios): Great. 0:32:57.240,0:32:59.790 Miriam with Axios. 0:32:59.790,0:33:02.860 This is a question for the Administrator. 0:33:02.860,0:33:06.240 This is a little bit off topic, but I'm just curious. 0:33:06.240,0:33:09.920 I'm wondering if you guys might be able to speak to some of the precautions that NASA 0:33:09.920,0:33:15.220 is planning on taking for the commercial crew launch at the end of the month�or at the 0:33:15.220,0:33:18.120 end of May, and are you working with Florida officials to limit crowd sizes? 0:33:18.120,0:33:20.080 Are you anticipating smaller crowds in general? 0:33:20.080,0:33:23.770 I'd just love to hear about some of the thinking that you guys have there. 0:33:23.770,0:33:24.770 Thanks. 0:33:24.770,0:33:26.620 ADMINISTRATOR JIM BRIDENSTINE: Absolutely. 0:33:26.620,0:33:30.820 We are very excited about launching commercial crew here May 27th. 0:33:30.820,0:33:34.500 This will be the first time we've launched American astronauts on American rockets from 0:33:34.500,0:33:40.530 American soil since the retirement of the Space Shuttles back in 2011, and so this is 0:33:40.530,0:33:41.840 a big deal for the country. 0:33:41.840,0:33:43.600 It's important for the country. 0:33:43.600,0:33:50.090 This is our access to the International Space Station, which is a $100 billion investment 0:33:50.090,0:33:51.850 by the American taxpayer. 0:33:51.850,0:33:55.410 So we need to make sure that we have access to the International Space Station. 0:33:55.410,0:34:03.010 Of course, the technology and the capabilities that are coming from the ISS are also astonishing 0:34:03.010,0:34:07.730 and will have huge impacts for human life here on Earth. 0:34:07.730,0:34:10.050 So all that being said, the answer is yes. 0:34:10.050,0:34:11.050 We are moving forward. 0:34:11.050,0:34:15.560 It is a mission-essential function for the United States Government to launch commercial 0:34:15.560,0:34:17.700 crew on May 27th. 0:34:17.700,0:34:22.070 We are asking people�and I would ask people that are reporting on this to make sure that 0:34:22.070,0:34:23.780 this gets into your article. 0:34:23.780,0:34:29.550 We are asking people to join us in this launch but to do so from home. 0:34:29.550,0:34:32.880 We're asking people not to travel to the Kennedy Space Center. 0:34:32.880,0:34:39.080 A lot of the folks on the line here know that when we launch to space from the Kennedy Space 0:34:39.080,0:34:45.330 Center, it draws huge, huge crowds, and that is not right now what we're trying to do. 0:34:45.330,0:34:51.480 We're trying to make sure we have access to the International Space Station without drawing 0:34:51.480,0:34:56.700 the massive amount of crowds that we usually would for these activities, and it's especially 0:34:56.700,0:35:00.300 important now because we haven't done this since 2011. 0:35:00.300,0:35:05.030 So the crowds are probably going to be bigger than they have been in a very long time. 0:35:05.030,0:35:08.240 We're asking people to stay at home, to watch from home. 0:35:08.240,0:35:09.320 We want them engaged. 0:35:09.320,0:35:10.560 We want them to participate. 0:35:10.560,0:35:14.520 We want them to tell their friends and family, but we also want them to watch from a place 0:35:14.520,0:35:17.160 that's not the Kennedy Space Center. 0:35:17.160,0:35:18.660 So I think that's important. 0:35:18.660,0:35:24.540 As far as the people that are working on this day in and day out, we have modified shift 0:35:24.540,0:35:25.590 schedules. 0:35:25.590,0:35:30.310 So instead of having 12 people work on a rocket all at the same time, we separate them out 0:35:30.310,0:35:35.030 to where we've got four working for 8 hours, a different four working for the next 8 hours, 0:35:35.030,0:35:37.900 and a different four working for the 8 hours after that. 0:35:37.900,0:35:40.130 So we're dividing things up by shifts. 0:35:40.130,0:35:44.500 We're also making sure people that are in close proximity have the right personal protective 0:35:44.500,0:35:45.850 equipment. 0:35:45.850,0:35:49.310 So these are all the things that we're putting into place. 0:35:49.310,0:35:53.970 When we think about mission control, when we launch to space, there's a lot of people 0:35:53.970,0:35:56.670 in the mission control facilities. 0:35:56.670,0:36:00.750 We need to make sure that we are separating people as much as possible using different 0:36:00.750,0:36:09.150 rooms, and in fact, those rooms where people are going to be located may be having plexiglass 0:36:09.150,0:36:11.080 between the different stations. 0:36:11.080,0:36:16.670 So we're looking at all the things where we can practice the guidelines for social distancing 0:36:16.670,0:36:21.570 and at the same time launch this very important mission to the International Space Station. 0:36:21.570,0:36:26.650 A lot of people who are listening right now already know that when it comes to our astronauts, 0:36:26.650,0:36:30.910 they quarantine weeks ahead of time before they launch to the International Space Station 0:36:30.910,0:36:33.130 as a matter of normal practice. 0:36:33.130,0:36:38.580 Those practices are going to continue for this particular launch as well. 0:36:38.580,0:36:44.630 So we don't see any risk there, but certainly, we want to make sure that we get this activity 0:36:44.630,0:36:45.630 accomplished. 0:36:45.630,0:36:49.740 We want to make sure that we're doing it as safely as possible, and what we strive for 0:36:49.740,0:36:55.750 every day, we strive to make sure that our people that are working on this project are 0:36:55.750,0:37:00.770 every bit as safe working on it as they would be if they were to stay at home. 0:37:00.770,0:37:04.260 It's also important to note�and I can't stress this enough. 0:37:04.260,0:37:08.590 I've stressed it over and over again to our entire workforce and our leadership teams. 0:37:08.590,0:37:13.810 If there's anybody who feels uncomfortable working on this project, they need to say 0:37:13.810,0:37:18.150 something, and we will find something else for them to do where they can work from home 0:37:18.150,0:37:20.470 or they can do other things. 0:37:20.470,0:37:25.570 The last thing we want to do is make anybody feel uncomfortable working on these projects, 0:37:25.570,0:37:29.730 and there will be absolutely no retribution if people do want to move on to something 0:37:29.730,0:37:31.420 else. 0:37:31.420,0:37:36.210 That being said, I know, as you can imagine, this is a very exciting project, and the NASA 0:37:36.210,0:37:38.980 workforce is very excited about it. 0:37:38.980,0:37:44.630 We're doing everything we can to make sure that we're safe as we go forward, but that's 0:37:44.630,0:37:45.720 a great question. 0:37:45.720,0:37:46.720 Thank you. 0:37:46.720,0:37:49.400 KAREN NORTHON: Jeff Michael, your line is open. 0:37:49.400,0:37:51.060 JEFF MICHAEL: All right. 0:37:51.060,0:37:52.100 Thank you very much. 0:37:52.100,0:37:54.100 This is Jeff Michael. 0:37:54.100,0:37:58.520 I have two questions for Dave Gallagher regarding the ventilator. 0:37:58.520,0:38:05.040 The first one is, was there a point where your team thought we're not going to be able 0:38:05.040,0:38:09.410 to do this, and then was there a turning point when you said, "Wow. 0:38:09.410,0:38:11.370 We really have it"? 0:38:11.370,0:38:17.350 And the second question is, what is the actual estimated cost, and is there a mechanism in 0:38:17.350,0:38:24.460 place to make sure that any corporation manufacturing it will not overly profit from a royalty-free 0:38:24.460,0:38:25.460 agreement? 0:38:25.460,0:38:28.650 DAVE GALLAGHER: Thanks for that question, Jeff. 0:38:28.650,0:38:34.610 Just a couple�so I think I can answer the first one pretty easily. 0:38:34.610,0:38:42.180 I like to think of this as just a constant process of leaning forward from the first�you 0:38:42.180,0:38:50.280 know, the one guy, Dave Van Buren, that was thinking, "I've got to do something to help 0:38:50.280,0:38:55.140 here," sitting down with our chief engineer and starting to sketch things out. 0:38:55.140,0:39:00.990 I've kind of championed it from a financial and encouragement point of view, but I got 0:39:00.990,0:39:03.470 to tell you, it's not one turning point. 0:39:03.470,0:39:06.720 It's been a constant sort of leaning forward. 0:39:06.720,0:39:11.780 Every time they think they hit a roadblock, somebody comes up with an idea. 0:39:11.780,0:39:16.830 Having doctors from local hospitals in Los Angeles as well as front-line doctors in New 0:39:16.830,0:39:23.830 York and other places involve�having the FDA involved from the beginning has really 0:39:23.830,0:39:26.870 helped, but people just kept leaning forward. 0:39:26.870,0:39:29.930 They just wouldn't take no for an answer. 0:39:29.930,0:39:33.320 Every time they hit a challenge, they'd come up with an idea. 0:39:33.320,0:39:34.870 Companies would send parts. 0:39:34.870,0:39:41.160 Again, as Mr. Bridenstine said, a lot of the parts are very simple parts that don't interrupt 0:39:41.160,0:39:43.820 the supply chain of other ventilators. 0:39:43.820,0:39:48.410 Companies would just send parts, and who knows if we got invoiced for them or not? 0:39:48.410,0:39:54.310 The cost of manufacturing these ventilators is going to be very low. 0:39:54.310,0:40:00.690 I don't know that I'm the right person to tell you what that is, but I think it's 2- 0:40:00.690,0:40:07.660 or $3,000, something like that as opposed to kind of an order of magnitude more for 0:40:07.660,0:40:16.000 a full-up, you know, multi-symptom ventilators that are used in ICUs to handle any situation. 0:40:16.000,0:40:20.670 So there's a big difference, and a lot of it has to do with the parts count and the 0:40:20.670,0:40:24.550 ability to deal with every situation versus being a COVID-19 ventilator. 0:40:24.550,0:40:36.330 I think you asked a second question about the profit of companies doing this. 0:40:36.330,0:40:42.000 I can't really comment on that other than to say Caltech has waived all the royalties 0:40:42.000,0:40:43.500 on the licensing. 0:40:43.500,0:40:52.200 So I think they should be able to be available very inexpensively to people, hospitals, and 0:40:52.200,0:40:53.560 organizations that need them. 0:40:53.560,0:41:00.540 I think anybody profiteering in this environment is getting enough social media shaming and 0:41:00.540,0:41:03.710 other shaming that I doubt we'll see any of that. 0:41:03.710,0:41:05.280 KAREN NORTHON: Okay. 0:41:05.280,0:41:07.340 Chelsea Gohd, your line is open. 0:41:07.340,0:41:08.570 CHELSEA GOHD (Space.com): Hi. 0:41:08.570,0:41:10.730 Thanks so much for taking my question. 0:41:10.730,0:41:12.260 This is Chelsea Gohd with Space.com. 0:41:12.260,0:41:15.110 I have a question about ongoing science missions. 0:41:15.110,0:41:20.590 I know that there have already been some adjustments to mission timelines and schedules, and kind 0:41:20.590,0:41:25.010 of as the pandemic has progressed in the last couple of weeks, I'm wondering if there are 0:41:25.010,0:41:30.050 any updates to that, if there are any other updates to mission timelines to any particular 0:41:30.050,0:41:36.360 mission or especially with regard to any missions that are launching or doing great things this 0:41:36.360,0:41:39.660 summer such as the launch of Perseverance. 0:41:39.660,0:41:44.020 ADMINISTRATOR JIM BRIDENSTINE: Thank you for that question. 0:41:44.020,0:41:46.970 I'll go ahead and start it. 0:41:46.970,0:41:52.090 The answer is we have had to work through what missions are essential and what missions 0:41:52.090,0:41:54.170 are not essential. 0:41:54.170,0:41:57.670 I will tell you, if you work at NASA, every mission is essential. 0:41:57.670,0:42:04.540 That's just the way we see it, but we really had to dive down and say what are the risks 0:42:04.540,0:42:06.650 and what are the costs of certain missions. 0:42:06.650,0:42:10.480 One of the missions I'm very excited about is Mars Perseverance. 0:42:10.480,0:42:12.680 We used to call it "Mars 2020." 0:42:12.680,0:42:14.470 We now call it "Mars Perseverance." 0:42:14.470,0:42:18.470 I think it's a perfect name for this point in the history of the world. 0:42:18.470,0:42:22.520 We are in fact persevering, and we're going to launch this robot to Mars. 0:42:22.520,0:42:26.230 And we're going to do that in July of 2020. 0:42:26.230,0:42:30.670 Perseverance is going to carry with it the world's first interplanetary helicopter. 0:42:30.670,0:42:36.030 It's also going to cache samples on the surface of Mars for an eventual Mars return mission. 0:42:36.030,0:42:39.780 Here's the challenge with Mars Perseverance. 0:42:39.780,0:42:46.730 There's a unique moment of time every 26 months when Earth and Mars are aligned for a launch 0:42:46.730,0:42:54.500 to Mars, and if we miss that launch, it can cost us up to $500 million to store Perseverance. 0:42:54.500,0:42:57.090 And so we want to make sure that we launch it. 0:42:57.090,0:43:02.500 Putting a robot like that into storage for a period of 2 years is not only very expensive, 0:43:02.500,0:43:08.560 it also takes a lot of work, and it can increase the amount of risk that we take. 0:43:08.560,0:43:13.770 David, did you want to address this as far as Mars Perseverance? 0:43:13.770,0:43:15.480 DAVE GALLAGHER: Yeah. 0:43:15.480,0:43:21.110 I'll add on to that that we are very proud of staying on schedule. 0:43:21.110,0:43:22.660 We are currently on schedule. 0:43:22.660,0:43:24.710 We have some slack in that schedule. 0:43:24.710,0:43:28.760 We have a team of people down at the Cape that are working. 0:43:28.760,0:43:35.751 NASA has provided�when we need transportation back and forth between JPL and Florida, NASA 0:43:35.751,0:43:40.770 has provided that, which has been outstanding for some of the team that are working there. 0:43:40.770,0:43:43.970 The helicopter has been installed. 0:43:43.970,0:43:49.170 Things are looking good for the launch date, and as Jim said, we really want to hold that 0:43:49.170,0:43:53.140 launch window since we won't get a chance for over 2 years. 0:43:53.140,0:43:54.140 So thanks. 0:43:54.140,0:43:55.350 ADMINISTRATOR JIM BRIDENSTINE: You bet. 0:43:55.350,0:43:59.890 And it's also important to note that when we talk about all of the other science missions 0:43:59.890,0:44:07.490 that NASA has going on, whether it's Heliophysics or Planetary Science, Astrophysics, that data 0:44:07.490,0:44:13.330 is largely still coming back to Earth, and our scientists have access to it. 0:44:13.330,0:44:17.640 That's not true in every case, but in most cases, we are still getting amazing science 0:44:17.640,0:44:20.040 from the missions that have already been launched. 0:44:20.040,0:44:25.500 And, of course, we make sure that that science, that data is available to the entire world 0:44:25.500,0:44:26.530 for free. 0:44:26.530,0:44:29.480 So I think that's a positive story. 0:44:29.480,0:44:32.890 Even in the midst of the pandemic, we're still getting amazing science. 0:44:32.890,0:44:39.470 I would also say we're learning things about the Earth, that this provides a very unique 0:44:39.470,0:44:46.790 opportunity where we can see the impact of human activity on the atmosphere and those 0:44:46.790,0:44:48.090 kind of things. 0:44:48.090,0:44:52.369 And we're learning things that we know we need to learn. 0:44:52.369,0:44:57.130 We think about feedback mechanisms. 0:44:57.130,0:45:02.680 As carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that is causing global warming, at the same time, 0:45:02.680,0:45:10.580 it's what plants use to breathe, and so we're seeing a greening of the Earth. 0:45:10.580,0:45:14.970 And a greening of the Earth actually has a cooling effect on the planet. 0:45:14.970,0:45:19.920 I guess my point in saying this is we're going to learn things from this that we wouldn't 0:45:19.920,0:45:24.950 otherwise have been able to learn, and I think we need to use this very unique moment to 0:45:24.950,0:45:32.100 get this data and then get to work, analyzing the data so we can learn what we otherwise 0:45:32.100,0:45:35.480 wouldn't have been able to learn in this moment of time. 0:45:35.480,0:45:40.430 So I think it's important to note that we do have missions that we want to go forward 0:45:40.430,0:45:45.140 on, but we're not be cause of the pandemic. 0:45:45.140,0:45:49.730 Most people at NASA right now are working from home, and the people that are going to 0:45:49.730,0:45:54.830 work are going to work on mission-essential functions that we have deemed mission essential. 0:45:54.830,0:45:58.740 The vast majority of the NASA workforce is working from home, and that does in fact slow 0:45:58.740,0:46:01.030 us down on a lot of our other missions. 0:46:01.030,0:46:02.960 KAREN NORTHON: Thank you, Administrator. 0:46:02.960,0:46:07.369 Again, just as a reminder to everyone dialed in, if you have a question, you can raise 0:46:07.369,0:46:13.230 your hand in the WebEx platform, and I'm going to open up the line for Sean Costello with 0:46:13.230,0:46:14.230 SpaceFlight Insider. 0:46:14.230,0:46:16.510 SEAN COSTELLO (SpaceFlight Insider): Thank you very much. 0:46:16.510,0:46:19.330 A question for Dr. Polk. 0:46:19.330,0:46:25.790 Reference to the ventilator, you mentioned two aspects, basically one-seventh the number 0:46:25.790,0:46:30.730 of parts and that the parts were not likely to compete with the typical supply chain. 0:46:30.730,0:46:35.340 Can you tell me are those preexisting parts from other industries? 0:46:35.340,0:46:40.000 Are they engineered for purpose and will be 3D printed? 0:46:40.000,0:46:46.670 How are you confident that you won't necessarily be impacting the other industries' supply 0:46:46.670,0:46:47.670 chains? 0:46:47.670,0:46:48.670 DR. 0:46:48.670,0:46:53.390 J.D. POLK: That's a good question, Sean, and I'll let David elaborate on this because of 0:46:53.390,0:46:56.460 his folks working on this. 0:46:56.460,0:47:02.020 The parts do exist right now; hence, the reason we already have prototype built. 0:47:02.020,0:47:08.230 They exist right now, but they're not parts that you would normally necessarily use in 0:47:08.230,0:47:14.000 the building of the ventilator and also by the fact that it's got one-seventh of the 0:47:14.000,0:47:18.280 parts, as David mentioned, 80-some-odd parts. 0:47:18.280,0:47:25.350 That means that there's close to 700 parts out there that we're not using and not having 0:47:25.350,0:47:27.380 to compete with the supply chain. 0:47:27.380,0:47:36.000 So just by fact of having immensely less parts to do this, that eliminates a lot of the competition 0:47:36.000,0:47:43.500 in the supply chain right there as well as the cognizant ability for the engineers to 0:47:43.500,0:47:50.580 use parts that already exist that might not be typically used in a ventilator but could 0:47:50.580,0:47:51.710 be repurposed. 0:47:51.710,0:47:56.650 But I'll let JPL discuss that or expand on it. 0:47:56.650,0:47:59.330 DAVE GALLAGHER: Yeah, it's a great question. 0:47:59.330,0:48:01.210 Just a couple of quick comments. 0:48:01.210,0:48:06.530 First of all, as I said earlier, what we do is we build spacecraft, often things that 0:48:06.530,0:48:11.700 we're hoping will last for years or decades. 0:48:11.700,0:48:18.110 One of the things different about this is that this ventilator is meant to be storable 0:48:18.110,0:48:27.109 for 6 months, and someone could be on a ventilator like this for 3 weeks or something like that. 0:48:27.109,0:48:33.580 So we don't have to go with the reliability that you would normally have when we're sending 0:48:33.580,0:48:36.550 something to another planet. 0:48:36.550,0:48:44.359 The second thing is one of our key people was on the project from day one thinking about 0:48:44.359,0:48:48.270 manufacturability, and it's just as you said in your question. 0:48:48.270,0:48:54.090 There are really parts from other industries that can be used in this application so that 0:48:54.090,0:48:59.380 you don't compete with a ventilator company who's trying to get a very specialized valve 0:48:59.380,0:49:05.770 or pump, that if we took it, we would be interrupting their production flow. 0:49:05.770,0:49:13.770 So, yeah, it's largely from other industries, common parts, and just a very, I'd say, ingenuous 0:49:13.770,0:49:16.480 design for a specific purpose. 0:49:16.480,0:49:17.810 I hope that answers your question. 0:49:17.810,0:49:19.780 KAREN NORTHON: All right. 0:49:19.780,0:49:21.540 Thank you, David. 0:49:21.540,0:49:22.780 Loren Grush, your line is open. 0:49:22.780,0:49:24.330 LOREN GRUSH (The Verge): Hi. 0:49:24.330,0:49:25.330 Can you hear me? 0:49:25.330,0:49:26.330 KAREN NORTHON: Yes. 0:49:26.330,0:49:27.330 LOREN GRUSH (The Verge): Great. 0:49:27.330,0:49:28.670 Thank you so much. 0:49:28.670,0:49:29.869 Loren Grush with The Verge. 0:49:29.869,0:49:32.720 My question is for Jim Bridenstine. 0:49:32.720,0:49:36.340 I wanted to elaborate on what Miriam had asked earlier. 0:49:36.340,0:49:41.280 You had said that you do not want people to travel to Florida for the DM-2 launch. 0:49:41.280,0:49:42.619 I'm just wondering. 0:49:42.619,0:49:46.330 Are there specific crowd control tactics that you're considering? 0:49:46.330,0:49:50.300 I know there are a lot of beaches in Florida that people like to congregate on. 0:49:50.300,0:49:54.790 I'm just curious if you guys have a plan in place for that eventuality. 0:49:54.790,0:49:55.790 Thank you. 0:49:55.790,0:49:59.670 ADMINISTRATOR JIM BRIDENSTINE: Yeah, that's an important question. 0:49:59.670,0:50:02.160 Certainly, we do for the Kennedy Space Center. 0:50:02.160,0:50:06.880 We're not going to open up the Kennedy Space Center to the public the way we normally would. 0:50:06.880,0:50:11.470 As far as the beaches and the areas around the Kennedy Space Center, those are public 0:50:11.470,0:50:14.770 roads. 0:50:14.770,0:50:20.520 We're going to follow the protocols of the past, how we do crowd control around big launches. 0:50:20.520,0:50:23.670 The state government gets involved. 0:50:23.670,0:50:26.940 Obviously, the highway patrol has to be involved. 0:50:26.940,0:50:32.350 So all of the standard things are going to take place, but NASA doesn't have any plan 0:50:32.350,0:50:38.240 right now to go beyond the Kennedy Space Center as it relates to our activities. 0:50:38.240,0:50:41.540 That would be left largely to the State of Florida. 0:50:41.540,0:50:43.720 KAREN NORTHON: Thank you, sir. 0:50:43.720,0:50:46.980 And next up is Tim Fernholz with Quartz. 0:50:46.980,0:50:47.980 Your line is open. 0:50:47.980,0:50:49.660 TIM FERNHOLZ (Quartz): Hello, everyone. 0:50:49.660,0:50:50.850 Can you hear me? 0:50:50.850,0:50:51.850 KAREN NORTHON: Yes. 0:50:51.850,0:50:52.850 TIM FERNHOLZ: (Quartz): Hey. 0:50:52.850,0:50:53.850 Tim Fernholz from Quartz. 0:50:53.850,0:50:56.210 Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us this afternoon. 0:50:56.210,0:50:57.670 Two quick questions. 0:50:57.670,0:51:01.120 Not to harp on the ventilators again, but I was just curious if there were any companies 0:51:01.120,0:51:06.690 that have expressed interest in manufacturing these or if you've begun talking to potential 0:51:06.690,0:51:07.690 manufacturers. 0:51:07.690,0:51:09.070 Then I was just curious. 0:51:09.070,0:51:13.740 Maybe the only really important sort of scarcity we haven't mentioned is testing, and I was 0:51:13.740,0:51:18.869 curious if NASA is working on anything related to testing and also if that is something that 0:51:18.869,0:51:22.080 is part of your workforce protection plan at all. 0:51:22.080,0:51:23.350 Thank you. 0:51:23.350,0:51:24.350 DR. 0:51:24.350,0:51:27.880 J.D. POLK: I guess I'll start with that one. 0:51:27.880,0:51:33.420 As far as working with companies, I think that's the purpose of the RFI that they're 0:51:33.420,0:51:39.420 submitting tomorrow is to put that out broadly and solicit�and David can correct me if 0:51:39.420,0:51:47.030 I'm wrong on that one, but that will garner who's interested in potentially producing 0:51:47.030,0:51:50.760 and making this ventilator. 0:51:50.760,0:51:59.780 Then in regards to testing, we are looking�like the Administrator mentioned, we are looking 0:51:59.780,0:52:05.460 at different technologies like the technology with the nanotubes that may be able to do 0:52:05.460,0:52:12.960 testing, but those are months off, or do those currently play into our own surveillance of 0:52:12.960,0:52:13.960 the virus? 0:52:13.960,0:52:14.960 Not at the moment. 0:52:14.960,0:52:16.750 Will they in the future? 0:52:16.750,0:52:19.070 Certainly, they could in the future. 0:52:19.070,0:52:24.650 But the cleaning technologies and the other technologies that are out there right now 0:52:24.650,0:52:30.700 that we've been developing like the ones at Glenn to sterilize and area or to disinfect 0:52:30.700,0:52:39.320 an area, those are particular technologies that we may use inside of NASA as well, obviously, 0:52:39.320,0:52:41.630 to clean and disinfect areas. 0:52:41.630,0:52:51.540 DAVE GALLAGHER: I might just add to that that we did do an analysis of companies that are 0:52:51.540,0:52:57.940 out there to make sure that we were kind of going down the right path, and when we did 0:52:57.940,0:53:05.270 a request for interest, we found a response from 160 companies. 0:53:05.270,0:53:09.400 So I think there's a good deal of interest out there in manufacturing these things. 0:53:09.400,0:53:13.059 KAREN NORTHON: All right. 0:53:13.059,0:53:14.059 Thank you, gentlemen. 0:53:14.059,0:53:18.810 Marina Koren, if you'd like to ask a question, your line is open now. 0:53:18.810,0:53:20.510 MARINA KOREN (The Atlantic): Hi. 0:53:20.510,0:53:22.220 Can everyone hear me okay? 0:53:22.220,0:53:23.240 KAREN NORTHON: Yep. 0:53:23.240,0:53:25.290 MARINA KOREN (The Atlantic): Hi, everyone. 0:53:25.290,0:53:27.310 I hope you and yours are well. 0:53:27.310,0:53:29.660 This is a question for the Administrator. 0:53:29.660,0:53:33.710 Jim, you said that you're encouraging anyone who is working on commercial crew right now 0:53:33.710,0:53:38.940 and who might be uncomfortable about still going into work to speak up and let managers 0:53:38.940,0:53:41.110 know so that other arrangements can be made. 0:53:41.110,0:53:46.130 Has anyone come forward with this concern, and if so, how many people have done so? 0:53:46.130,0:53:51.760 ADMINISTRATOR JIM BRIDENSTINE: That's another important question. 0:53:51.760,0:53:56.359 So I asked that same question last week to Bob Cabana, the Center Director down at the 0:53:56.359,0:54:03.290 Kennedy Space Center, and his answer was there really haven't been. 0:54:03.290,0:54:09.730 There have been maybe a couple that were wondering are we doing the right things, but nobody 0:54:09.730,0:54:12.270 has said�and we've been very clear. 0:54:12.270,0:54:17.630 If you don't feel safe, then we'll find something else for you to do, but I'm telling you this 0:54:17.630,0:54:20.050 is a mission that NASA has been working on for a long time. 0:54:20.050,0:54:23.010 And there's a lot of very motivated people on it. 0:54:23.010,0:54:27.750 So we haven't really had any really challenges on that. 0:54:27.750,0:54:30.220 KAREN NORTHON: All right. 0:54:30.220,0:54:32.080 Thank you, sir. 0:54:32.080,0:54:36.690 Again, if you have any questions and would like to ask a question of this panel, go ahead 0:54:36.690,0:54:42.290 and raise your hand in the attending screen, and we will open your line for you. 0:54:42.290,0:54:46.840 ADMINISTRATOR JIM BRIDENSTINE: You know, I might defer that question. 0:54:46.840,0:54:53.280 Beyond commercial crew, Mars 2020 is a mission-essential function as well. 0:54:53.280,0:54:55.349 David, can you tell us? 0:54:55.349,0:54:58.160 You've got the workforce there at JPL that's working on this mission. 0:54:58.160,0:55:01.480 Can you share with us how they're�what is the sentiment? 0:55:01.480,0:55:06.920 Are you having any challenges with people saying, "Hey, we don't feel comfortable doing 0:55:06.920,0:55:07.920 this"? 0:55:07.920,0:55:12.940 DAVE GALLAGHER: What we've done is we've been doing�JPL has about 6,000 employees. 0:55:12.940,0:55:19.220 We've been doing surveys that kind of take the temperature of how people are feeling. 0:55:19.220,0:55:24.240 All but probably 350 are working from home. 0:55:24.240,0:55:29.540 It's actually fascinating how much you can accomplish via WebEx. 0:55:29.540,0:55:35.000 I have a scary feeling we're going to have a hard time getting everybody to come back 0:55:35.000,0:55:36.390 when this is over. 0:55:36.390,0:55:42.420 But having said that, the survey results would indicate that people feel that they're largely 0:55:42.420,0:55:43.420 effective, efficient. 0:55:43.420,0:55:51.080 I think the highest stress for people being home is dealing with kids and no school and 0:55:51.080,0:55:53.250 child care that doesn't exist. 0:55:53.250,0:55:56.020 So we're trying to be sensitive and help with that. 0:55:56.020,0:56:00.020 We're encouraging people to still take time off when they need time off. 0:56:00.020,0:56:05.100 One of the things about working this virtual way is you spend 10 hours a day sitting in 0:56:05.100,0:56:06.350 front of a screen. 0:56:06.350,0:56:10.820 It's actually much more exhausting than a normal day of work. 0:56:10.820,0:56:17.650 The message that we give to everybody, to your question, is really that no one is being 0:56:17.650,0:56:18.910 forced to come to work. 0:56:18.910,0:56:25.410 If you don't feel comfortable coming to work, then you can telework and stay at home. 0:56:25.410,0:56:32.500 If there's the occasional job, that their job is not able to be done remotely�and 0:56:32.500,0:56:37.400 for those people, they can still stay at home and take administrative leave. 0:56:37.400,0:56:39.410 So we're trying to be very sensitive to that. 0:56:39.410,0:56:40.410 KAREN NORTHON: Awesome. 0:56:40.410,0:56:41.410 Thank you, Dave. 0:56:41.410,0:56:42.410 Jacqui Goddard, your line is open to ask a question. 0:56:42.410,0:56:43.410 JACQUI GODDARD: Thank you. 0:56:43.410,0:56:44.410 Can you hear me okay? 0:56:44.410,0:56:45.410 KAREN NORTHON: Yes. 0:56:45.410,0:56:46.410 JACQUI GODDARD: Thank you. 0:56:46.410,0:56:55.440 A few weeks ago, I know there was talk of NASA making available its supercomputers, 0:56:55.440,0:57:01.290 if they were needed for any of the data crunching for the fight on COVID. 0:57:01.290,0:57:06.109 I wondered if that came about and if any of that capacity has been used. 0:57:06.109,0:57:07.109 Thank you. 0:57:07.109,0:57:08.470 ADMINISTRATOR JIM BRIDENSTINE: Yes. 0:57:08.470,0:57:10.050 That did come about. 0:57:10.050,0:57:14.880 I'd like to turn it over to the Deputy NASA Administrator, Jim Morhard. 0:57:14.880,0:57:16.320 JAMES W. MORHARD: Yes. 0:57:16.320,0:57:18.990 We have mobilized our supercomputers. 0:57:18.990,0:57:26.640 We've got two of the top 20 fastest supercomputers in the United States, and we're working with 0:57:26.640,0:57:33.290 the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to do modeling on COVID-19 with those 0:57:33.290,0:57:35.550 supercomputers. 0:57:35.550,0:57:40.680 And we're certainly looking for other opportunities to use them also. 0:57:40.680,0:57:43.510 KAREN NORTHON: Thank you very much, sir. 0:57:43.510,0:57:47.150 That was the last question for this event. 0:57:47.150,0:57:52.080 I would like to thank everyone who called in to join in this conversation, and I would 0:57:52.080,0:57:54.619 like to thank our panelists. 0:57:54.619,0:57:57.540 All of you, media on the line, know how to contact me. 0:57:57.540,0:58:04.750 So if you have any follow-up questions, karen.northon@nasa.gov, and all our visuals associated with the projects 0:58:04.750,0:58:10.960 that we discussed today are available online at nasa.gov/coronavirus. 0:58:10.960,0:58:14.920 We have videos and images there, and you can find out more about other projects that the 0:58:14.920,0:58:18.750 agency is working on to help in the nation's response to coronavirus. 0:58:18.750,0:58:25.080 Again, I would like to thank you all for joining the call today, and we look forward to keeping 0:58:25.080,0:58:27.500 the conversation with you guys going as we move along. 0:58:27.500,0:58:28.520 ADMINISTRATOR JIM BRIDENSTINE: Hey, Karen? 0:58:28.520,0:58:29.520 KAREN NORTHON: Yes, sir. 0:58:29.520,0:58:32.890 ADMINISTRATOR JIM BRIDENSTINE: Would it be all right if I made a closing statement? 0:58:32.890,0:58:33.890 KAREN NORTHON: Of course. 0:58:33.890,0:58:35.580 ADMINISTRATOR JIM BRIDENSTINE: Thank you. 0:58:35.580,0:58:40.650 I just want to say thank you to everybody for being on this call. 0:58:40.650,0:58:42.100 I do think it's important. 0:58:42.100,0:58:48.590 We are on the heels of Earth Day, and we have a unique opportunity right now to study the 0:58:48.590,0:58:52.040 Earth in ways that we otherwise would not have that opportunity. 0:58:52.040,0:58:56.470 When I was in the House of Representatives, I was very involved in weather activities. 0:58:56.470,0:58:59.990 I had constituents die in tornadoes every year. 0:58:59.990,0:59:08.380 Just the other day, my wife and I were driving in Texas, and we had�this was in fact yesterday. 0:59:08.380,0:59:14.410 We were driving in Texas down to the Johnson Space Center, and we had 21 or 22 tornadoes 0:59:14.410,0:59:20.640 that hit the State of Texas and a lot of damage, and even people died. 0:59:20.640,0:59:24.540 We know that there is a correlation between carbon dioxide and weather. 0:59:24.540,0:59:25.710 We know that. 0:59:25.710,0:59:30.100 We know that because of NASA, we know that carbon dioxide has a cycle where it stays 0:59:30.100,0:59:33.400 in the atmosphere for at least 10 years. 0:59:33.400,0:59:37.480 We also know that we're seeing a lot less particulate in the atmosphere and those kind 0:59:37.480,0:59:38.480 of things. 0:59:38.480,0:59:43.000 I don't think it should be missed, that at this point in time, there are things that 0:59:43.000,0:59:50.050 we can learn that we otherwise could not learn about how the atmosphere is affected by human 0:59:50.050,0:59:55.980 activity and how that results in weather and other activities. 0:59:55.980,1:00:01.450 And I think it's important that NASA as a workforce, as an agency, that we do what is 1:00:01.450,1:00:07.270 necessary to use this very unique moment to learn what we can because we're not going 1:00:07.270,1:00:08.990 to have an opportunity like this. 1:00:08.990,1:00:13.109 I know that sounds�I'm not trying to say this is a good opportunity. 1:00:13.109,1:00:17.500 Believe me, we wish we weren't in this position, but there are things that we can learn that 1:00:17.500,1:00:18.770 we otherwise couldn't learn. 1:00:18.770,1:00:23.100 And I think that's an important takeaway from where we are right now. 1:00:23.100,1:00:24.100 That's all I have. 1:00:24.100,1:00:28.990 I also want to say, finally, the NASA workforce is amazing. 1:00:28.990,1:00:33.590 Tomorrow is my second anniversary of being the NASA Administrator. 1:00:33.590,1:00:38.710 I will tell you this has been the absolute honor of a lifetime, and to see so many people 1:00:38.710,1:00:44.369 working so hard, even from home in very difficult decisions and people in fact willing to go 1:00:44.369,1:00:49.550 to work for these important missions for the nation, it's humbling. 1:00:49.550,1:00:51.760 I'm not going to lie. 1:00:51.760,1:00:56.430 Sometimes it's daunting to leave this agency given the caliber of people that are here, 1:00:56.430,1:00:58.859 but it's an honor of a lifetime. 1:00:58.859,1:01:02.150 And I'm very excited about what the next year brings. 1:01:02.150,1:01:04.609 So, with that, I'll turn it back over to you, Karen. 1:01:04.609,1:01:05.640 KAREN NORTHON: All right. 1:01:05.640,1:01:06.640 Happy Anniversary, sir. 1:01:06.640,1:01:09.720 The card is in the� ADMINISTRATOR JIM BRIDENSTINE: Thank you. 1:01:09.720,1:01:10.980 KAREN NORTHON: All right. 1:01:10.980,1:01:13.190 Thank you again everyone for joining us today. 1:01:13.190,1:01:17.210 Again, check out nasa.gov/coronavirus. 1:01:17.210,1:01:18.210 Stay healthy. 1:01:18.210,1:01:19.210 Sta y safe. 1:01:19.210,1:01:19.214 We'll be in touch.