[meteorite-list] Numa kid to win bit of lunar meteorite

From: Darren Garrison <cynapse_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat, 04 Apr 2009 22:40:55 -0500
Message-ID: <pg9gt4da8cgpkigvuh3jek7bmukg51a648_at_4ax.com>

Wonder if it is a Sahara one, or if NASA is breaking out some of the Antarctic
stuff?

http://www.lahontanvalleynews.com/article/20090404/NEWS/904049984/1055&ParentProfile=1045

Numa students learning about space

Three sixth-grade classes at Numa Elementary School are learning about where
almost no man has gone before.

Teachers Vickie Purrell, Tiffany Allyn and Lisa Solinski and their students
viewed astronauts working at the Space Station on Wednesday morning as part of
their ongoing science project.

Students from across the nation e-mailed questions to NASA, and a few were read
and answered Wednesday morning via an Internet video feed, but malfunctions
prevented questions from Numa being submitted.

Each of the classes devised a team name for the exercise. Allyn?s class picked
Allyn?s Full Throttle Fliers, Purrell?s students chose Purrell?s Water Seekers
and Solinski?s class came up with Solinski Nerdy Moon Missionaries.

After selecting a team name, the three classes picked launch times and dates,
spacecraft names, durations of the journey and impact dates of when their
rockets would land on the moon. Students created pictures of what they felt the
spacecraft should look like and how it should be powered. Students divided into
three groups ? navigators, cartographers and engineers to fully understand what
happens during and after a rocket launch.

Purrell attended a training seminar in February designed to show students how to
use antennas to keep in touch with spacecraft.

The students? plans are due April 27, and as motivation, NASA will hold a
drawing for pupils who submit navigation plans. The prize for the best plan is a
small piece of a meteorite that fell to Earth from the moon.

The three classes each designed a crew route and orbital paths for their
spacecraft before it made impact with the moon. Their plans also discussed the
types of instruments and controls needed to track the spacecraft.

Students will also visit the supersonic wind tunnel building at NASA Ames in
Mountain View, Calif., for a firmer grasp on what astronauts encounter, such as
how to accomplish simple tasks with no gravity. Each program at the NASA Ames
facility lasts 45 minutes.

Students said a tremendous amount of teamwork is needed to determine what
happens in space exploration.

Shelby Blakey, a student in Allyn?s class, said she enjoyed working with her
group, finding information about the launch and coming up with ?14th Source? as
the rocket?s name.

?To get it done we needed teamwork,? Shelby said.

Tyler Wood said it was interesting to learn a little about the process in space
exploration, especially the launching of the space shuttle.

?I also learned teamwork,? he said, adding if students had not joined forces, it
would have been difficult to accomplish the necessary work.

Bailey Knight said it was nice seeing the entire class come together to work on
a project of this type.

Purrell said students used their own creativity and did not have to be pushed.

?The kids that did their own challenges were on their own,? she said.

video link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6j475XI1Xg
Received on Sat 04 Apr 2009 11:40:55 PM PDT