NSTA Symposium:

Preparing for the Journey to Space

The NASA/NSTA Symposium: Preparing for the Journey to Space took place at the Sheraton Hotel in Hartford, CT, on Friday, October 21, 2005. Thirty educators were in attendance, including over a dozen NASA Explorer School teachers. Four speakers gave presentations to the group: Carla Rosenburg from NASA Headquarters, Dr. Art Poland from George Mason University, John Weis from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and Dave McKissock from NASA Glenn Research Center. The presentations focused on human space flight, in particular on the topic of energy: where it comes from and how it is used to support the activities of the International Space Station and future missions to the Moon and Mars. NSTA would like to thank all the participants and presenters for a job well done.

After an introductory administrative session during which Flavio Mendez, Symposia and Web Seminars Program Manager at NSTA, familiarized participants with the contents of their folders (including the agenda, college credit forms, talent release form, and pre-assessment), Carla Rosenburg gave an update on the current status of the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station (ISS) programs. She displayed spectacular images of the most recent Space Shuttle mission, STS-114, as she quizzed the audience about their knowledge of shuttle and ISS systems and history. Carla finished her presentation with a look at a future flight to the ISS, STS-115, which will deliver a new set of solar arrays to the Station.

Dr. Art Poland followed Ms. Rosenburg's talk with a presentation about the Sun. Dr. Poland was very dynamic in his delivery, and showed fantastic images, including a few movie clips of the Sun provided by the SOHO spacecraft. Art talked about nuclear reactions, the different layers of the Sun, and how it takes 1 million years for a photon to travel from the Sun's core to the surface! It is this solar energy from our star that it is used to power the systems to support operations on the International Space Station and to support life on Earth!

John Weis led the next session with an activity about the Sun. Teachers were tasked to find the rotation rate of the Sun using images of the Sun taken by the SOHO spacecraft. Each group of 2-3 educators had a data set that included 10 images, one photo per day for 10 consecutive days. Using an overlay of the Sun that included a latitude and longitude grid, teachers tracked the motion of sunspots seen on the surface of the Sun in each image. By calculating the time it took the sunspots to "move" across the surface of the Sun, the teachers were able to determine the rate of rotation of the Sun. After the teachers shared their calculations and the method they used to come up with their number with the larger group, they participated in a discussion about how to adapt the activity to different age groups. One of the things the teachers liked about the activity was the fact that it used real data.

After a break in the symposium, Dave McKissock led a presentation about the International Space Station's power systems. Dave talked about the different ways engineers provide power to spacecraft; he mentioned solar, nuclear, and chemical energy as the different power sources. He talked about the pros and cons of these different sources and told participants that the selection of a power source really depends on the mission, the mission duration, and the amount of power needed. For example, missions to nearby planets (Mercury, Venus, and Mars) use solar arrays and batteries. Missions to planets beyond the asteroid belt use nuclear power. The ISS uses large-size solar panels as well as batteries. The batteries are needed because as the Station orbits our planet, it is in the shadow of the Earth for about 45 minutes of each orbit. Dave also talked about the relationship between engineers and scientists, describing how engineers provide solutions for scientists to achieve their goals for scientific discovery and data collection.

John Weis followed Dave's presentation with another activity. In this activity the teachers had to work in teams to build a device that would efficiently collect and trap solar energy. Teachers used two paper cups, a white or black piece of paper, tape, a thermometer (to measure temperature changes), and a piece of clear plastic wrap to build their device. Each team built two collectors, one with white paper and one with black paper, and compared their effectiveness. To put the devices to the test, the teachers went outside and exposed their equipment to the Sun. Temperature measurements were taken every two minutes. As expected, the devices with black paper (which absorbs sunlight) worked better than the ones with white paper (which reflects sunlight). John talked about extensions to the activity and ways to adapt it to different grade levels. One of the extensions he described was to place a piece of apple inside the plastic cup and cook it with sunlight. In the end, the activity demonstrated how solar energy can be collected and used for a purpose.

Want to see more photos taken during the program? Check out the photo gallery below and feel free to browse the program's agenda.

Symposium Presentations:

Dr. Art Poland's symposium presentation