Iowa Space Grant Consortium

Announcements

NASA App Development Challenge: Work with coding and app in support of space launch

Middle school and high school students interested in coding and app development have the opportunity to practice their skills via the exciting platform of a NASA mission.

In the “NASA App Development Challenge: Acsent Abort 2,” students work in teams to develop an app that visualizes three minutes of test data in support of the upcoming Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) launch scheduled for June 2019. The challenge begins with a live virtual kickoff event and presentation March 13.

Get more information in a document here or with the App Development Challenge web site here.

Still want to apply for Spaceflight Operations Workshop? Deadline’s been extended!

The deadline to apply for the 2019 Spaceflight Operations Workshop™ (SOW) in the Iowa State University Department of Aerospace Engineering has been extended to 11:59 p.m, Sunday, February 24.

Any collegiate student who would still like to be considered for this impactful experience in operational thinking and teamwork can apply here.

The workshop is coordinated by ISU Aerospace Engineering alumni and senior lecturers Clayton Anderson and Tomas

Students scuba diving
Scuba training and certification is included in the workshop events.

Gonzalez-Torres. Anderson is a retired NASA astronaut who participated in two space flights with the International Space Station and Gonzalez-Torres is a former NASA flight director who was in charge of spacewalks. He worked with space shuttle and Hubble Space Telescope missions.

The workshop immerses participants in a series of experiences and classroom activities that are a microcosm of the training NASA astronauts undergo to develop their ability to “think operationally,” a key skill, applicable to many professions, and critically necessary for space exploration.

“Spaceflight Operations is a concept – it’s a thought process,” says Anderson. “When you live and work as an astronaut, you think in an operational sense. The idea with this workshop is to change the students’ way of thinking – to open their eyes to a way to think more operationally.”

In a span of about two weeks scuba diving training (including certification), skydiving, aircraft flight simulation, wilderness preparedness training and more are on the agenda. “We put them in some extreme environments, which is exactly what space travel is all about,” says Anderson.

Student skydiving
A workshop participant and his instructor prepare for touchdown in the workshop’s skydiving activity.

There’s also a healthy dose of classroom activities. Past workshops have covered topics such as operational procedure development (with Aerospace Engineering faculty member and former NASA flight director Tomas Gonzalez-Torres), leadership and teamwork, pilot performance, decision analysis, payload and science operations, astronaut training concepts, and more.

This year’s SOW will be held August 7-18, with home base at Iowa State University. Learn more about SOW here.

Clayton Anderson
Clayton Anderson
Tomas Gonzalez-Torres

 

Eight Iowa Educators Join International Peers at Space Center Houston Educator Conference

AMES, IA –This past weekend, the Iowa Space Grant Consortium hosted eight Iowa educators at the 25th annual Space Exploration Educators Conference at Space Center Houston. The educators included students preparing to be teachers, science teachers, an instructional coach, a media specialist and a faculty member from the University of Northern Iowa.

The conference provides ready to implement ideas for the classroom that can be used in all areas of education, not just science. Educators are empowered with knowledge through sessions led by astronauts, fellow educators, scientists and engineers who are passionate about what they do.

Clayton Anderson, former astronaut and senior lecturer at Iowa State University, was among the speakers at the conference. He led a training workshop that taught teachers how to think operationally and bring that thinking back into their classrooms.

“Young people are the future of our country. Educators who attend events like SEEC understand that they have the power to change a life. Giving their students proper educational tools and the knowledge to succeed in life is perhaps the most important thing we can do,” said Anderson. “My role as an astronaut allows me to give something back to educators from around the globe, who will impact thousands of young people’s lives. And, as most of them already know, I love educators… always have, always will.”

ISGC’s hosted team received unique, hands-on experiences like underwater diving sessions where they experienced microgravity and trained like real astronauts.

“We learned a wealth of information, are 100% inspired with STEM, and laughed with new friends the entire time,” said Beth Janssen, media specialist at AGWSR School in Ackley, Iowa, “I’ve never attended a conference in which you knew you were where you were meant to be.”

List of Attendees

Robyn Ploeger – Panorama Middle/High School

Kylee Boettcher – Panorama Middle/High School

Brenda Drake – AGWSR Community School

Beth Janssen – AGWSR Community School

Tori Wells – UNI Preservice

Tyler Brown – UNI Preservice

Ron Rinehart – UNI Science Ed. Faculty

There’s still time to apply for the 2019 Spaceflight Operations Workshop

Not every summer opportunity for college students involves skydiving, scuba dive certification and wilderness expeditions; but those who are seeking those opportunities and more on their to-do list are submitting their applications now (click here) for the 2019 edition of the Department of Aerospace Engineering’s Spaceflight Operations Workshop™ (SOW) August 7-18. The application deadline is quickly approaching and will close at 11:59 p.m. February 17, 2019. 

Coordinated by ISU Aerospace Engineering alumnus and retired NASA astronaut Clayton Anderson — also a senior lecturer in the department — the workshop immerses participants in a series of experiences and classroom activities that are a microcosm of the training NASA astronauts undergo to develop their ability to “think operationally,” a key skill, applicable to many professions, and critically necessary for space exploration.

Clayton Anderson
Clayton Anderson

“Spaceflight Operations is a concept – it’s a thought process,” says Anderson. “When you live and work as an astronaut, you think in an operational sense. The idea with this workshop is to change the students’ way of thinking – to open their eyes to a way to think more operationally.”

In a span of about two weeks scuba diving training (including certification), skydiving, aircraft flight simulation, wilderness preparedness training and more are on the agenda. “We put them in some extreme environments, which is exactly what space travel is all about,” says Anderson.

Hurry while there is still time to apply! Learn more about the Spaceflight Operations Workshop™ from an earlier news release here, and visit the SOW website here.

To the Moon–with the Help of UNI and Iowa Space Grant Consortium

Students work with simulated moon rocks for the production
Students work with simulated moon rocks for the production
(Quinn Rauchenecker/Space.com photo)

The University of Northern Iowa’s (UNI) “To Touch the Moon” stage production is gaining nationwide notice after an article recently published on Space.com. Funded by the Iowa Space Grant Consortium (ISGC), this newly shaped performance that promotes an interest in space, is geared toward youth with autism or other developmental delays. It ties in to this year’s 50th anniversary of NASA’s Apollo 11 moon landing mission.

Gretta Berghammer
Gretta Berghammer is the production’s creative director
(UNI photo)

Gretta Berghammer, a professor of theater at UNI, explains this production as immersion theater: “Immersion theater actually immerses the audience in the world of the play; the line between audience and actor is blurred as audience members become participating members of the production. They assume a role and become a ‘part’ of the play.”

As she was developing the concept for the play, Berghammer met with the ISGC and was invited to tour NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama to conduct research to help with producing the play. Marcy Seavy, who coordinates Science, Technology, Education and Math (STEM) education at UNI, Mark Parrott of UNI, who is set designer for the play and students from UNI also spent time at the Huntsville facility.

The play ventures into the human journey to the moon in three stages: myths and stories about the moon, work in the NASA labs, and events on the surface of the moon, promoting sensory awareness, social interaction, and nonverbal communication, sparking the curiosity of the STEM fields for ages 9-16.

UNI representatives tour the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in planning To Touch the Moon
UNI representatives tour the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in planning To Touch the Moon
(UNI photo)

Tomas Gonzalez-Torres, director of the ISGC and a lecturer in the Iowa State University Department of Aerospace Engineering, and Jay Staker, ISGC associate director, are part of the advisory board for the production. Space historian Andy Chaiken is also on the board.

There will be six performances of “To Touch The Moon” April 19-20 and 26-28, 2019, and they will directly serve 100 youth with autism. They will be held at the Bertha Martin Theatre on the UNI campus. For more information contact Greta Berghammer at gretta.berghammer@uni.edu.

Articles about the play previously published by UNI can be viewed here and here.

 

Astronaut Scott Kelly will visit Iowa State to share stories from his time in space

Capt. Scott Kelly is a former military fighter pilot, engineer, retired U.S. Navy captain and retired astronaut. During his time as an astronaut, Kelly went on four space flights, commanded the International Space Station on three expeditions and was a member of the yearlong mission to the ISS starting in 2015 – this set the record for the most consecutive days in space.

Kelly will present “The Sky Is Not The Limit” on Monday February 18, at 7 p.m. in Stephens Auditorium. No tickets are required for this free and general admission event.

There will be a book signing, for his best-selling novel “Endurance” immediately following the lecture in the Celebrity Café on the lower level of Stephens Auditorium.

For more information about the lecture and Capt. Scott Kelly visit the University News Service website.

This lecture is the keynote for the ISU Symposium on Sustainability, part of the Live Green! Initiative’s 10th Anniversary celebration. This presentation is a part of the Lecture’s Program’s National Affairs Series and World Affairs Series.