Statistics and Space Focus of September Issue

The September issue turns to the heavens with a focus on statistics and space.

The bravery of astronauts is unimaginable for anyone working at a safe desk on terra firma. In the early decades of manned missions, risking death was part of the job description. Fortunately for today’s crews, the risks are greatly diminished—in large part, due to statisticians.

This issue explores how astronauts stay alive and injury-free in the gravity-free environment of space—including the lunar surface—thanks to statistical techniques such as uncertainty quantification, principal component analysis, and predictive algorithms for assessing hypothetical environmental conditions.

We also look back at the Challenger tragedy through a statistical lens and are reminded of the human cost of poor statistical reasoning.

To end on an inspirational note, we interview a senior NASA data analyst who gets to spend every day investigating the possibility of life on other planets. And yes, we did ask him, “What are the odds?”

Come back down to Earth again with statistical stories about stand-up comedy, neglected tropical diseases, and teaching the terrified.

September Highlights

Lunar gait: How statistical techniques help us understand how we move on the Moon

Safe spacesuits: Using uncertainty quantification at NASA

Neglected tropical diseases: A spatial solution to controlling diseases such as leprosy

Stand-up comedians: Shakespeare, Seinfeld, and small-world networks

Teaching stats to the scared: How to win over students who aren’t taking statistics out of choice

Interview: Shawn Domagal-Goldman: The NASA exoplanet hunter describes his work using data to find extraterrestrial life

Bad stats: the Challenger disaster: Our new regular series revisiting well-known statistical screw-ups

Access the digital version of Significance through the ASA membership portal.