science

NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal

NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal rather than just read about it. In short: The NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal is an award of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration established in 1991. The medal is awarded to both civilian members of NASA and military astronauts.

Key takeaways

NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal is an award of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration established in 1991. The medal is awarded to both civilian members of NASA and military astronauts. To be awarded the medal, a NASA employee must make substantial contributions characterized by a substantial and significant improvement in operations, efficiency, service, financial savings, science, or technology which directly contribute to the mission of NASA. For civilians, the decoration is typically bestowed to mid-level and senior NASA administrators who have supervised at least four to five successful NASA missions. Astronauts may be awarded the decoration after two to three space flights. Due to its prestige, the medal is authorized as a military decoration for display on active duty military uniforms upon application from the service member to the various branch of the military in which they serve.

Notable recipients Chris Adami, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, physicist Richard Arenstorf, Vanderbilt University, mathematician Gordon Cooper, astronaut Lana Couch (1992), NASA engineer and executive Carl Sagan, astronomer Alan Shepard, astronaut John Young, astronaut Kevin L. Petersen, NASA Dryden director Charles L. Bennett, observational astrophysicist Nancy Roman, astronomer, NASA executive Stephen P. Maran, astronomer

Selected recipients by year Prem Chand Pandey, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 1985 (NASA Certificate of Recognition and Cash Award) Gary Flandro, University of Tennessee, UTSI, 1998 Miguel San Martín, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 1998 John R. Casani, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 1999, 2000 Mark P. Stucky, Armstrong Flight Research Center, Eclipse Project Technical Lead & Project Pilot, 1999 Joan Feynman, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 2002 Adam Steltzner, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 2004 Carlos Ortiz Longo, Johnson Space Center, 2005 Mian Chin, Goddard Space Flight Center, physical scientist, 2005 Ashok Srivastava, Ames Research Center, Data Mining and Machine Learning, 2007 Angelita Castro-Kelly, Mission Operations Manager, 2007 2010 Honorees:

Jonathan H. Jiang, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Research Scientist Michael H. Hecht, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Research Scientist 2011 Honorees: • Kevin D. James, Ames Research Center, Research 2013 Honorees:

Jonathan H. Jiang, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Research Scientist Kobie Boykins, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Senior Mechanical Engineer David Y. Oh, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Mars Science Laboratory Cross-Cutting Domain Lead 2015 Honorees:

Justin C. Pane, NASA Ames Research Center, Lead Contracting Officer 2019 Honorees:

Rita M. Sambruna, NASA Headquarters

Illustrations

NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal illustration

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal

In research: NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1991 establishments in the United States, Awards and decorations of NASA, Awards established in 1991, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal in simple terms?

Why does NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal.