Learning Resources – Page 8

Texas Students to Hear from NASA Astronaut Aboard Space Station

March 7, 2024 NeRD

(Oct. 30, 2023) — NASA astronaut and Expedition 70 Flight Engineer Loral O’Hara replaces hardware inside the Plant Habitat facility to prep for future experiments investigating genetic responses and immune system function of tomatoes in microgravity. Credits: NASA The San Antonio River Authority and students from the Advanced Learning Academy in San Antonio, Texas, will have an opportunity Friday, March 8, to hear from NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara aboard the International Space Station. The space to Earth call will air live at 12:30 p.m. EST March 8, on NASA+, NASA Television,…

Artemis Generation Students Inspired During NASA STEM Event

March 6, 2024 NeRD

Pascagoula (Mississippi) High School students stand in front of the Thad Cochran Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center on Feb. 22 during a Next Gen STEM Explore Stennis event focused on computer science and how it impacts propulsion test work onsite. NASA/Danny Nowlin Hancock County (Mississippi) Career Technical Center students stand in front of the Thad Cochran Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center on Feb. 22 during a Next Gen STEM Explore Stennis event focused on computer science and how it impacts propulsion test work onsite. NASA/Danny Nowlin…

10 Ways Students Can Prepare to #BeAnAstronaut

March 5, 2024 NeRD

10 Ways Students Can Prepare to #BeAnAstronaut Want to #BeAnAstronaut, but don’t know where to start? Here are some ways you can kick-start your journey! Even if you don’t qualify to #BeAnAstronaut — yet — within NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement, or OSTEM, there are ways to get involved with NASA’s missions. Check out the top 10 ways to #BeAnAstronaut: 1. Apply for NASA internships. Becoming an intern is the perfect way to get your start with NASA. Several astronauts started out as interns! Astronaut Jessica Watkins was selected as…

NASA Grants to Engage Students in Quiet Supersonic Community Overflight

February 27, 2024 NeRD

NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft is dramatically lit for a “glamour shot,” captured before its Jan. 12, 2024, rollout at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale where the airplane was constructed. Credit: Lockheed Martin / Michael Jackson NASA has issued new grants to five universities to help develop education plans for the community overflight phase of the agency’s Quesst mission, which aims to demonstrate the possibility of supersonic flight without the typical loud sonic booms. The new grants, from NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement, will provide each university…

Former Student Launch Competitor Turns Experience into NASA Engineering Career

February 27, 2024 NeRD

3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Meredith Patterson, front row, center right, poses with her teammates in the High-Powered Rocketry Club at North Carolina State University on the day they launched the rocket they built for NASA’s 2023 Student Launch. The experience and knowledge Patterson gained from her years participating in the annual competition helped pave the way for a career at NASA after graduation. High-Powered Rocketry Club at NC State By Jessica Barnett Sometimes, all it takes is a few years and the right…

Eclipse Resources for Learners and Educators: Connecting the Eclipse to Astrophysics

February 23, 2024 NeRD

1 min read Eclipse Resources for Learners and Educators: Connecting the Eclipse to Astrophysics In anticipation of the upcoming total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, NASA’s Universe of Learning has created a webpage of astrophysics-related eclipse resources for learners and educators. The webpage shares information about two topics that align with eclipse science: gravitational lensing and exoplanet transits. The collection of resources includes articles, images, and videos to understand and explain the science. Additional activities allow learners to explore gravitational lensing and exoplanet transit science for themselves. Explore Resources…

Career Journey: Building Strength as an Astronaut Fitness Trainer

February 13, 2024 NeRD

NASA astronauts must prepare their bodies for the physical stresses of living and working in microgravity before they launch on a spaceflight. Fortunately, they get customized training programs and plenty of help from astronaut fitness trainer Corey Twine, who shares decades of strength and conditioning expertise with astronauts every day at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Twine’s official title is “astronaut strength, conditioning, and rehabilitation specialist.” He works with a team dedicated to ensuring NASA’s space explorers are in top shape before launch day and know how to stay…

NASA Releases STEM Toolkit for Advanced Air Mobility

January 31, 2024 NeRD

2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Students who pursue careers in these areas, among many others, could contribute to transforming aviation by developing and deploying Advanced Air Mobility solutions to the challenges of 21st century flight. NASA / Lillian Gipson NASA Aeronautics has released a new STEM toolkit focusing on Advanced Air Mobility for educators and students of all ages. The toolkit, comprised of numerous educational activities, is a free resource for anyone who is interested in learning more about the Advanced Air Mobility mission’s…

Career Journey: Cooking Up a Job as a Space Food Scientist

January 16, 2024 NeRD

As the Space Food Systems manager at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Xulei Wu works with a team to create tasty, shelf-stable meals for astronauts aboard the International Space Station and, soon, for crews flying to the Moon as part of the Artemis program. What does it take to become a space food scientist at NASA? We met up with Wu to learn more about her journey from creating meals for camping in the deep woods, to making foods for exploring deep space. Preparation Meets Opportunity “I don’t consider…

NASA Astronaut, Congresswoman Discuss STEM Careers with Students

January 11, 2024 NeRD

NASA/Brandon Torres NASA astronaut Nicole Mann and U.S. Representative Zoe Lofgren talk with students and families at Youth Alliance, a community organization in Hollister, California, on Jan. 5. Mann, who was born in another small California community, spoke about her parents’ work as an auto mechanic and a manicurist and her own path to becoming a colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps. Later, she said, becoming the first indigenous woman from NASA to go to space helped her connect with people of other indigenous communities. Mann is registered with the Wailacki of…