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Preparing for the Journey to Space
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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
Movies:
Dave McKissock's Symposium Presentation
For more information contact symposia@nsta.org
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