Putting The “Science” in Science Fiction
Battlestar Galactica Science Advisor, Dr. Kevin Grazier, Talks Saturn, Cassini-Huygens…and Galactica

By Robert Falconer, HNR Senior Editor

Here’s a question for you: What do Battlestar Galactica and the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn and Titan have in common? Well, if you answered that they both take place in outer space, you’re only one-third right. Science is an integral part of this new Galactica, and the series has enlisted the help of one of NASA/JPL’s best and brightest, Dr. Kevin Grazier, Cassini-Huygens Investigation Scientist. That’s the second thing they share in common.

The third common element is surely one of those great cosmic coincidences: the new Battlestar Galactica series airs on January 14, 2005, the same day that the Huygens probe touches down on Saturn’s moon, Titan. Dr. Grazier couldn’t be prouder.

Most of us who have enjoyed science fiction for many years, do so because we’re attracted to the “romantic” side of science; we revel in the exciting possibilities it forecasts, often—though certainly not always—allowing our quixotic notions of what “might be” cloud the harsh realities and practicalities that characterize the discipline.

Dr. Grazier is one of those individuals who appreciates both the romance of science fiction and the everyday realities of science fact.

His credentials are enviable indeed. After earning an undergraduate degree in computer science from Purdue University, he spent a year writing video games, then three years in the auto industry—while simultaneously earning a second degree in physics at Oakland University—before returning to Purdue and earning a Masters of Science in physics. Kevin then moved on to UCLA to do his doctoral research in planetary physics.

While at UCLA, he worked concurrently at the RAND Corporation, processing Mars imagery from the Viking orbiter. In 1995, Kevin began working at JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) as an academic part-time student, finishing his Ph.D. dissertation in 1997. His first assignment for JPL was to write multi-mission planning and analysis software—software that won JPL- and NASA-wide awards.

He came to the Cassini Mission as Science System Engineer in early 1998, and shortly thereafter assumed the additional role of Investigation Scientist for the Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem—in other words, the main camera on the spacecraft. He continues research involving computer simulations of Solar System dynamics, evolution, and chaos with collaborators at UCLA, Los Alamos National Laboratory, The University of Auckland, Southwest Research Institute, and Purdue University.

Serving on a NASA educational products review panel, Dr. Grazier is also an advocate of science education, particularly for children. He actively teaches about science in general, and space science in specific. It’s not uncommon to find him instructing classes in astronomy, planetary science, cosmology, or the search for extraterrestrial life at UCLA and/or Santa Monica College. He is also on the lecturing staff, and performs planetarium presentations, at the famous Los Angeles landmark, Griffith Observatory.

As if all that isn’t enough, Dr. Grazier additionally works with Hollywood as a science advisor. In addition to offering his expertise to both the new Battlestar Galactica and Zula Patrol series, he was the science advisor (and even actor) for Richard Hatch’s The Great War of Magellan project, and has advised on several books, movies, and documentaries. Moreover, he co-hosted the premiere episode of Discovery Channel's Science Live! Kids' Edition, and last year co-anchored CNN’s coverage of the Cassini mission orbit-insertion with Miles O’Brien.

I recently sat down with Dr. Grazier to talk about his work for NASA/JPL and his duties as science advisor to Battlestar Galactica.

Robert: When did you first become interested in science and decide that you wanted to make space science your career?

Kevin Grazier: Well, some of my earliest memories were of the early Gemini and Apollo launches. So of course naturally when I went to school I took up space [laughs]. But that’s really what happened—I went to college and studied space sciences, ultimately going to UCLA for my Ph.D. in Planetary Physics. I did long-term, large-scale computer simulations of the solar system evolution for my doctorate.

Robert: Tell us—in layman’s terms—what Cassini/Huygens mission and purpose is.

Kevin Grazier: Well, to begin with, I’ll point out that we explore the planets iteratively, each step building upon the previous one. The first way of exploring a planet is from on the ground here on Earth, using telescopes, or from Earth-orbiting satellites. Of course, that will only give you so much information. The next stage is a flyby spacecraft. So far, we’ve flown by Saturn three times: Pioneer 11 and Voyager’s I and II. The next step, to learn still more, is to actually spend a while there and observe how the planet changes over time.

So, since we’ve sent an orbiter to every other planet out to Jupiter—save Mercury—we’ve now finally sent an orbiter to Saturn: the Cassini spacecraft. And we’re there to answer many of the questions that the Voyager probes raised, because when they were undergoing their flybys to Saturn, they actually posed as many questions as they answered: What created the rings? What does the surface of the moon Titan look like? Why does the moon Iapetus look like a Yin/Yang? What’s with those funky spokes in the rings?

Robert: How is the Cassini spacecraft different—or more sophisticated—than other probes that have been sent out before?

Kevin Grazier: Well, certainly by virtue of being newer technology than previous probes, it is more sophisticated, but in some respects the computing power being used—even though we have 58 computers onboard—is actually not that powerful by today’s standards. The reason is that spacecraft designers are somewhat hesitant to use the latest and greatest technology because it’s unproven. Until it’s proven in a spacecraft, it’s not tried and true. So, since it was launched in 1997—for a six-point-seven year mission—Cassini is not that highly advanced given how rapidly technology has been advancing here on Earth.

For example, our main imaging system, while advanced in some areas, is essentially a one-megapixel digital camera. And as you well know, right now you can go to your local Target, or Futureshop in Canada, and easily buy a six-megapixel or higher camera.

Robert: How physically big is the spacecraft?

Kevin Grazier: Huge—it’s a monster. It’s the largest, most complex spacecraft we’ve ever sent into deep space. It’s approximately 21 feet tall (or equivalent to a two-story building), the main dish is about 12 feet in diameter, and the magnetometer boom—which sticks out one side—is more than 30 feet long.

It weighs six tons in Earth’s gravity. By way of example, if you took the old Voyager spacecraft, you could wad it up and stuff it into the Galileo probe’s fuel tanks from a mass standpoint. You could then take Galileo with Voyager stuffed into it, wad it up and stuff it into Cassini’s fuel tanks. That’s how big it is.

Robert: What are the most interesting things that Cassini has discovered thus far on its mission?

Kevin Grazier: We actually got some great images at Jupiter on our way to Saturn. We looked at atmospheric dynamics there. With Jupiter’s magnetosphere, we’ve been able to perform some of the science that Galileo—by virtue of having lost its main dish—was unable to do.

So far at Saturn, we’ve looked at the composition of the rings, which is largely ice, as we’ve known all along. We’ve discovered another radiation belt that was previously unknown. One interesting anomaly stems from a previous discovery made by the Voyager spacecraft in the ‘80s, which discovered radial spokes of dark material in the rings of Saturn. We expected to see those spokes with Cassini and have not seen them yet: a big surprise. Where are the spokes? Well, we’re not quite sure. The spokes represent a big question concerning the rings.

A big surprise is that in the interim years between the Voyager and Cassini missions, scientists have done computational simulations of the rings—and how moons interact with the rings—and many of the structures that have been predicted to exist have, in fact, been seen. Do we understand the rings completely? No. Have we made a big dent towards understanding them? Absolutely, because some of these simulations ended up being spot-on.

Finally, we’ve never, till now, seen the surface of the moon, Titan (which orbits Saturn). Titan has a very thick, very dense atmosphere composed primarily of nitrogen—which at the surface is actually denser than Earth’s atmosphere—and has very thick, orangey-brown hydrocarbon clouds. As a consequence of those clouds, we’d never previously seen Titan’s surface, which had remained the largest unmapped solid surface in the solar system. Well, on July 2, 2004 we had our first distant flyby of Titan at 341,000 kilometers. With our imaging system and our visual information mapping spectrometer, or VIMS, we were able to see the surface of Titan for the first time and discover some pretty interesting things.

Robert: What sort of things did that initial flyby of Titan reveal, or appear to reveal?

Kevin Grazier: Our first passes seemingly revealed no liquid—no global oceans, no lakes. We saw what looked to be a large impact basin, we saw structures that appeared to possibly be tectonic in nature, and we saw a large, bright spot that appeared to be clouds at the pole.

Robert: You’ve had two flybys since then. What have you subsequently learned?

Kevin Grazier: Well, long story short, we’ve been getting often-conflicting data from our different instruments. Cassini scientists are having fun trying to figure it all out—for although we’ve lifted Titan’s veil, we still can’t say we’re experts on what’s going on with Titan’s surface. Two things are clear, though:

First, the surface of Titan has very few craters. The number of craters on a planet or moon tells us how old the surface is. If there are few craters, then something is going on that fills them in—volcanism, erosion, glaciation, tectonics, etc—and the surface is young. If there are many craters, like our moon, the surface is old and the body is not an active one. Since Titan has few craters, one thing we do know is that we are looking at an active surface. What exactly is going on is still to be determined.

Second, as far as uncovering the secrets of Titan’s surface, it is obvious that no single instrument on our spacecraft, or on the Huygens probe, is going to do it all. Our ORS (optical remote sensing) instruments will have to work in concert with our RADAR, and they’ll all benefit by the “ground truth” provided by Huygens.

Robert: This is clearly an exciting time for your entire team, and we look forward to learning more as this mission progresses into its more advanced stages. In the meantime, let’s turn from science to science fiction, and your involvement with the new Battlestar Galactica series. When did you first get interested in sci-fi?

Kevin Grazier: About the exact same time that I became interested in science. My mother was a huge science fiction fan. She got me interested. I’m dating myself here, but I remember the original Star Trek in first-run. That, and Lost in Space. Two completely different shows, but when you’re a kid, you soak it all in.

Robert: And you were a fan of the original Battlestar Galactica.

Kevin Grazier: I was a huge fan of the original Battlestar Galactica. It aired when I was a senior in high school. Monday’s would always be “discuss Battlestar day” at school with the other kids.

Robert: How did you first get involved in science advising?

Kevin Grazier: It all began with Battlestar, actually. Richard Hatch was working to bring back the original Battlestar with some of the original cast—20 years later with a new generation of children born in space—and produced a four-minute trailer called The Second Coming where I offered my services as a science advisor. Since that show had had an established look and feel, strictly speaking I didn’t do that much science “advising,” I was more of a Jack-of-all-trades: production assistant…second AD one day…I even played a Cylon at one point. So I did it all [laughs]. And I learned a lot simply by being on a set. I subsequently went on to work on another of Richard’s projects, The Great War of Magellan, where I’ve been a lot more involved.

Robert: Tell us about the genesis of your involvement in the new Battlestar Galactica.

Kevin Grazier: I had pitched stories for Star Trek: Voyager, primarily to a writer named Bryan Fuller of Wonderfalls and Dead Like Me fame. Bryan knew me and knew that I had pitched him some interesting stories—and also knew about my technical background—so when he had lunch with Ron Moore he said, “Hey, if you’re looking for a science advisor, I know somebody…” Shortly thereafter, Richard Hatch was in talking to Ron Moore about his new character and said, “Hey, if you need a science advisor, I know somebody…” [Laughs] Ron told him thanks, but they were already talking to someone. It turned out they were talking about the same person—me. Shortly thereafter, I got hired.

When I first met Ron Moore I told him that it was my impression that most series producers and writers want advisors to stick to very narrow and strict scientific input…and that it would take me a couple of episodes before I “learned my place.” Ron very graciously replied that he would, “accept input on anything you choose to give us,” which is a sign of someone who is very secure and looking to do the best show they can.

Robert: Specifically, what sort of advice do you—or have you—given them?

Kevin Grazier: Mostly, I’ve provided them with stellar, planetary or general space info. I’ve had to do a few calculations, and I also get to come up with the occasional technobabble. Given Ron’s dedication to getting the science right, scripts don’t often call for technobabble. On rare occasions when they do, James Callis is usually the unfortunate actor saddled with it.

Robert: How do they go about asking for your help?

Kevin Grazier: Well, I remember once I did receive a “we need something right now” call from the set while they were filming episode 13 [laughs]. That was fun, actually. More commonly, sometimes they’ll call early on in the process. Or sometimes if the writers need a technical problem solved for a story point, they’ll just write “[TECH]” in brackets in the script, which means I need to figure out some technical way to make it happen.

Robert: That’s the same process they used to use on the recent Star Trek incarnations, I recall.

Kevin Grazier: Exactly the same. My job is different than that of, say, Andre Bormanis’ on Star Trek, though. On Trek, they’re trying to achieve the “high tech and in the distant future” feel. We’re comparatively low tech, and trying to achieve a “this should seem almost familiar” feel.

So sometimes the writer wants help, and sometimes I’m just checking what they’ve already done and can’t do anything to improve upon it. A lot depends on the writer. Sometimes I just offer gratuitous advice.

Robert: It’s obviously quite a contrast from the hard science you perform on a daily basis. How do you enjoy it?

Kevin Grazier: So far it’s been hugely satisfying, because of the degree to which they’ve accepted my input. In addition to techie things, I’ve also suggested a few non-technical lines here and there that were actually used. And it’s a learning process for me too, because some of the things I’ve suggested would look great visually on screen, but would simply cost way too much. So I’m learning the practicalities of the business at the same time. I’d love to get more involved someday and learn more of that kind of stuff.

Everybody, from Ron to the writing staff to all the talent I’ve met on-set has been fantastic. I’ve heard stories about certain productions from time to time where there’s nothing but discord, but everybody here works really well together, everybody is really professional, everybody is very courteous—I can’t imagine a better group of people to work with.

Robert: Kevin, I want to thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to speak with us today.

Kevin Grazier: You’re most welcome.

If you want to learn more about the Cassini-Huygens mission as Hugens prepares to touch down on the surface of Saturn’s moon, Titan, click here to read a short summary that Dr. Grazier has prepared exclusively for HNR’s Flight Deck. And for more information on the entire Cassini-Huygens project, please visit the official website by clicking on the banner below.

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