NSF Visitor Support for the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility

NASA红外望远镜设施(IRTF)是NASA建立的一个国家天文观测站，主要用于支持飞行任务和获得太阳系天体的红外观测。IRTF是根据与夏威夷大学(UH)通过其天文研究所达成的合作协议为NASA管理、操作和维护的。NASA提供该设施的全部运营成本，并为天文学家提供游客支持，以执行专注于太阳系天体的项目。大约50%的可用观测时间被分配给这样的项目。其余的观测时间被分配给太阳系以外具有科学意义的观测项目。NSF为大约50%的观测者提供资金，这些观测者的计划与太阳系天体无关。这项奖励包括与NSF相关的访客和观测支持费用，用于访问天文台或远程观测的观察员。这些费用包括莫纳克亚天文台半山设施的住宿和食物费用，希洛和山顶之间的地面交通费用，以及仪器的冷冻机费用。对于远程观测项目，费用包括在峰会上支持第二个人(出于安全原因)以及这个人在中层设施的食宿。关于更广泛的影响，IRTF的大多数工作人员驻扎在希洛的大学卫生设施，那里大部分是农村地区。几个代表性不足的群体(例如夏威夷原住民)是IRTF的雇员或UH学生。除了向科学界传播研究成果外，IRTF还通过两个主要项目在HELO社区内促进教育和公共宣传。宇宙之旅(JTTU)和伊米洛阿天文中心。天文交通大学项目(国际天文研究基金会是团队的一部分)是一个以社区为基础的项目，最初由美国航天局S国家空间、地球和飞行科学中心赞助，汇集了整个当地社区(学校、家庭、企业、民间团体、地方政府和学术/研究机构)的资源，通过为所有年级开发天文课程来向K-12学生推广天文学和科学。IRTF是一个资源，用来突出希洛令人兴奋的科学和技术范例。伊米洛亚天文中心是希洛的一个现代天文学教育和推广中心，其目标是教育更多的社区了解天文学及其与夏威夷文化的联系，包括现在和过去。IRTF与伊米洛亚天文中心合作开发教育材料，最新的例子是开发以IRTF为特色的天文馆计划。IRTF的工作人员还与社区项目合作，如Astro-Day，这是一个致力于与公众分享天文的年度活动。特别值得注意的是一项针对当地高中的机器人项目，该项目由IRTF的一名工作人员领导。这一计划导致了国家层面的竞争。

The NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) was established by NASA as a national astronomical observatory primarily to support missions and to obtain infrared observations of solar system objects. The IRTF is managed, operated and maintained for NASA under a Cooperative Agreement with the University of Hawaii (UH) through its Institute for Astronomy. NASA provides the entire cost of operation of the facility as well as visitor support for the astronomers carrying out programs focused on Solar System objects. Approximately 50% of the available observing time is allocated to such programs. The rest of the observing time is allocated to observational programs of scientific interest outside the Solar System. NSF provides funding for visitor support for the approximately 50% of observers whose programs are not related to Solar System objects. This award covers the NSF-related visitor and observing support costs for observers who either come to the observatory or observe remotely. These costs include the cost of lodging and food at the Mauna Kea Observatory mid-level facility, ground transportation between Hilo and the summit, and cryogens for the instruments. For remote observing programs, the costs include support for a second person at the summit (for safety reasons) and the food and lodging for this person at the mid-level facility. In regard to broader impact, most of the IRTF staff are based at the UH facilities in Hilo, situated in a largely rural setting. Several underrepresented groups (e.g. native Hawaiian) are employees of or are UH students with the IRTF. In addition to disseminating research results to the scientific community, the IRTF contributes to educational and public outreach within the Hilo community through two major programs ? Journey through the Universe (JTTU) and the Imiloa Astronomy Center. The JTTU program (the IRTF is part of the team) is a community based program originally sponsored by USRA?s National Center for Space, Earth, and Flight Sciences that brings together the resources of the entire local community (schools, families, businesses, civic groups, local government, and academic/research institutes) to promote astronomy and science to K-12 students through the development of an astronomy curriculum for all grade levels. The IRTF is a resource for highlighting exciting examples of science and technology in Hilo. The Imiloa Astronomy Center is a modern astronomy education and outreach center in Hilo whose goal is to educate the greater community on astronomy and its connection to the Hawaiian culture, both present and past. The IRTF works with the Imiloa Astronomy Center with development of educational materials, the most recent example being the development of a planetarium program featuring the IRTF. The IRTF staff also works with community-based programs such as Astro-Day, an annual event dedicated to sharing astronomy with the public. Of particular note is a robotics-based program for local high schools that is led by a member of the IRTF staff. This program has led to competition at the national level.