Internships - Beyond Your Project

Apollo 13 Night 

On Friday the 13th NASA interns had the awesome opportunity to watch Apollo 13th in the Historic Apollo Mission Control Room on the twentieth anniversary of the movie. What was most precious about this experience was our guest lecturers, members of the Apollo 13 missions. Norman Chaffee, Apollo 13 engineer building parts on the Saturn V rocket met us at rocket park. Chaffee took us on a grand tour of the grounded beast describing the rocket's stages, his role in development and similarities to NASA's new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. Joining Chaffee was Frank Hughes, Apollo 13 astronaut trainer. "I don't go anywhere without my toys", he said pulling out a model of the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) and command module. After our Saturn V tour Hughes talked with us in the Historic Mission Control about his work training astronauts, details about the Apollo 13 command module and his favorite astronaut personalities. It was an honor to hear from Chaffee and Hughes, both contributing to Apollo 13th safe return - NASA's "successful failure".

Pictures by Carlos Gaytan fellow JSC NASA Co-Op

Space Launch System (SLS) booster test screen shots from today. This booster uses 5.5 tons of propellent a second! The booster will help sling shot an unmanned Orion Space Craft around the Moon in late 2018. In mid July I will going to a SLS engine test in person.

Start Studying For Finals NOW

The semester has hardly started and you think it's already a good idea to start studying for finals?

I think its a good idea to avoid the panic looming at the end of the semester. I don't need a crystal ball to predict the posts on Facetumblinstatwitter - students stressing about what grade they need on the final to pass their class rather than actually studying. In attempt to snuff this distress I have a few proven habits if used throughout the whole semester will make finals week more zen.

1) Office Hours

As intimidating as the master behind your grade may seem the value of visiting your professor during office hours well outweighs the fear. Sometime not even the internet has the answer to your problems. After exhausting the knowledge of your friends, teaching assistant, and solutions manual studying can feel hopeless. Professors can often detect when your thinking is heading in the right direction and how to help you out if you are completely lost. Remember that they want you to succeed as long as you are willing to put in the effort.You can get the most out of office hours by trying the problem first, and coming up with question beyond "I don't get it". It is obvious when you are putting forth your best verses just fishing for an answer.

2) Optional Homework Is Mandatory Homework

Don't be fooled by a professor's modern teaching ideologies of "graded homework is a waste of time". Even if the professor assigns optional practice problems for your success in the class "optional" in professor speak means"mandatory". Why not become as comfortable with the material as possible? Understanding concepts a little at a time is much more manageable then cramming at the end of the semester.

3) Allocate Study time

Studying for courses between classes and attending your weekly study group may seem like enough time was dedicated. After recollecting the number of times you checked twitter you realize not a lot of studying went on. Printing out a copy of your class schedule and blocking out time strictly for studying will help you visualize how much time is needed. Two hours of study time should be dedicated for every credit you have per week. As a full time student of 12 hours that would be 24 hours of studying a week. As an engineering student with a 12 hour course load you square it and get 144 hours of studying (just kidding). If focusing for longer than the duration of a Spongebob episode is difficult for you consider using the 50/10 study rule. Study for a solid 50 minutes and then take a 10 minute break (not the other way around).

4) Take Useful notes

While attending lectures (and not sleeping in) be mindful of what you jot down. Will you be able to decipher your chicken scratch by finals week? Reconsider what will be useful to write down as a homework reference and what to underline for review during finals. Take advantage of presentations and notes professors posts online so you can record only what's most important to you. As the only person in your study group with legible notes you have rights to charge a Chipotle burrito tax every time they want to copy them.

NASA Co-Op Week 15: Precious Cargo

Six flags of countries who contributed to the International Space Station decorate the flight console. I return to Mission Control watching launch preparations from a new perspective - with Remote Interface Officer. Colloquially called RIO this team of international collaborators were originally dubbed Russian Integration Officer. The RIO flight controller communicated with the Russian team for launch and cargo capture system checks for the Cygnus rocket launch carried by an Atlas V rocket. Cygnus carries over 7,000 pounds of experiments, food and replacement parts to Space Station. cell cultures, bacteria, and microbe satellite experiments are on board the Cygnus rocket. We are calling this event a "Cyg"-nificant launch.

A team of  NASA flight controllers flip-flop working in the Russian Mission Control Center in Moscow and NASA's in Houston. For two months controllers visiting Moscow sit console for eight hours a day, six days a week, and on call 24/7.  By being available to assist with international troubleshooting, answering the right questions, and making right calls at the right time RIO has saved the space station hundreds of thousands of dollars. Ten years ago an hour of an astronaut's time in space was worth $100,000 so that cost has inflated even more now!

RIO introduced me to their mascot, a groundhog named Phil. One of the first Russian American collaborations took place on a Groundhog Day. Phil's collar is decorated with pins from various missions. The plush Ground Hog was hibernating under the console but has been kidnapped and escorted around the Red Square.

An odd anecdote I learned is that there is a survival hand gun stowed away on the Soyuz capsule. It is used if the Soyuz makes an emergency landing in an unexpected area and the astronauts need to defend themselves from bears or wolves. That's pretty hard core!

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED Watch the Cygnus cargo launch Dec 3rd 4:55pmCT: http://www.ustream.tv/NASAHDTV Accomplishments this week at NASA: https://youtu.be/t3_5ahJ0-Lw Apply for a NASA Internship & Scholarships NOW: https://intern.nasa.gov/ossi/web/public/main/ NASA Co-Op applications: http://nasajobs.nasa.gov/studentopps/employment/opportunities.htm NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars: http://nas.okstate.edu/ncas/ Join an aspirations in computing community: https://www.ncwit.org/programs-campaigns/aspirations-computing

Ideas for Teachers: Programming Lesson Plan 

When I return back to my hometown I will be visiting schools to share about my NASA experience and teach programming. I will be sharing my lesson plans here for a day of programming and a day of space related learning. Let’s start with programming. One of my first stops will be my Mom’s Kindergarten class so you will notice my lesson plan is catered for elementary students.

Morning: What is programming?

After your usual morning activities; “G-O-O-D M-O-R-N-I-N-G Good Morning Aye Aye Good Morning *clap* *clap”, drawing sticks and telling about your weekend, introduce students to the concept of programming. Ask students, “What do you think programming is?” Write down the answers on the white board. After answer along the lines of “Programming is telling a computer to do things - make a video game, control a robot, create an App, and more!” Next I would show them a short video with our current stars in technology.

Lets Start Coding

“Enough talk about programming let’s do it!” A great introduction to coding is a Made With Code project. The Yeti project is my favorite of these activities. Students take turns dragging and dropping blocks of code assigning attributes to the Yeti fur color and feet size. After assigning attributes the students can watch the Yeti dance. When I have had students write yeti code they enjoy changing the colors and dance many times!

Afternoon: Code Related Rotations

Skills needed to program are not only found in front of a screen but working in a team, time for activity rotations. (These will be the centers I will have but you all can have different ones.) At one center I will have my LEGO robot for the students to program. There will be objects that the robot can pick up or avoid. At the second center 3D printed puzzles will be available for students to solve. At the third center an activity with half a blank page and half a lined page. Students can draw a picture of what they think would be cool to program and write about it. Last center create a robot out of construction paper, foil, or other mediums.

Now You Try

Take a trip to the computer lab and let students try to program on their own. Hour of Code is a great resource where students can learn programming at various levels. Two activities I tested out an enjoyed was a Flappy Bird Game Creator and Star Wars Drone Game. Students can code on their own or work in a group to help each other figure things out.

Have fun teaching students about programming! In the future I hope to get a Sphero, 3D printer, and Arduino type kit. Maybe you all have other ideas for a programming lesson plan.

For #GivingTuesday I am sharing my top 9 favorite organizations, foundations and groups to give to today (not in any particular order). If I forgot any or if you have feels about any listed let me know! 1) Team Rubicon USA - "international non-profit disaster response organization that unites the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to rapidly deploy disaster response teams, free of charge to communities affected by disasters across the country. Team Rubicon currently maintains a roster of 35,000+ volunteers able to deploy throughout the United States." Bethany Watson first told me about this group, how they have positively impacted communities, how it has transformed her and her fellow Rubicon responders: https://teamrubiconusa.org/

2) FIRST ROBOTICS FIRST - For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology - Programs from preK to 12th grade engage students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math challenges. PreK to 8th graders participate in a form of Lego Robotics. 9th to 12th grade can participate in FIRST Tech Challenge building a 12inx 12inx 12in robots that compete tasks. Alternatively 9th to 12th grade can participate in FIRST Robotics Competition building 120lb robots that play games like soccer, basketball and frisbee. Dozens of NASA interns/ Co-Ops I have meet have been a part of this career changing program: https://give.firstinspires.org/checkout/donation If you want to give to a local team look them up here: http://www.firstinspires.org/team-event-search#type=teams&sort=name&programs=FLLJR,FLL,FTC,FRC&year=2016 They will likely have a team webpage that can route you to donation instructions.

3) World Wildlife Fund - "WWF’s work has evolved from saving species and landscapes to addressing the larger global threats and forces that impact them. Recognizing that the problems facing our planet are increasingly more complex and urgent...puts people at the center and organizes our work around six key areas: forests, marine, freshwater, wildlife, food and climate." This group doesn't just care about saving the cute endangered animals but the ugly helpful ones too. You can symbolically donate a critical animal here: https://gifts.worldwildlife.org/gift-center/gifts/Species-Adoptions.aspx

4) Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) - "A Ronald McDonald House is that “home-away-from-home” for families so they can stay close by their hospitalized child at little or no cost... At every House, families can enjoy: Home-cooked meals, Private bedrooms and Playrooms for children." Personal friends have stayed at these houses during cancer treatment.http://support.rmhc.org/site/PageNavigator/pw/Donation_Landing.html

5) The Mars Generation - Send students to space camp and get youth hooked on Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM)! These are the folks that put out the challenge to only eat potatoes for 24 hours.   https://themarsgeneration.org/donate/

6) CHUM - "CHUM provides Emergency Shelter services for Duluth residents. The Congregate Shelter provides dormitory-style shelter for single adults. The Family Shelter offers small apartments to a maximum of 6 families at a time.Length of stay in either shelter is dependent upon the needs and cooperation of the guest. Each shelter resident is required to meet regularly with a Housing Advocate to work toward a resolution of their housing situation." Powerfull and local organization in Duluth, Minnesota: https://www.givemn.org/organization/Churches-United-In-Ministry

7) YWCA GirlPower Duluth - "After school, lunch, and summer day camp program dedicated to cultivating future leaders. YWCA Duluth uses nationally accredited Girls Inc. leadership curriculum, STEM (science technology engineering math) activities and experiments, race and gender justice activities, economic and media literacy education, field trips, academic support." What makes this program stands out is that it's 100% free so all sorts of girls can learn and grow: http://www.ywcaduluth.org/donate/

8) National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) - "working to increase girls' and women's participation in technology and computing. NCWIT helps organizations recruit, retain, and advance women from K-12 and higher education through industry and entrepreneurial careers by providing support, evidence, and action. NCWIT is the only national organization focused on women's participation in computing across the entire ecosystem: K-12 through college education, and academic to corporate and entrepreneurial careers." Being an NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Award recipent has impacted my career trajectory continuing interests in computer science: https://www.ncwit.org/donate

9) UMD's Women's Resource & Action Center - WRAC - "provide all women support and encouragement on the University of Minnesota-Duluth campus. The Center works to empower women, both individually and collectively, through the provision of a wide variety of services and resources... Drop-in center- Campus outreach and educational services for classes or student groups, Library with extensive subject files for academic or personal purposes, Events and programs and events including: Take Back the Night, Clothesline Project, Women's History Month, Mock Rape Trial, International Women's Day, Nursing Parents Room, KSC 260 and Library 143" http://www.d.umn.edu/mlrc/ocd/donate/ https://makingagift.umn.edu/onlinegiving/enterArea.do?ownerCode=O_UMD&areaCode=A_UMD164

NASA Co-Op Week 10: Rocket Science Is Hard

I get frustrated with NASA asking “Why don’t we just build a rocket and go?”, looking and sounding like a doofus in a horse head. NASA Johnson and Kennedy interns met up at Cape Canaveral to watch the Atlas V launch. Visiting Kennedy Space Center reminded me about how much goes into a rocket launch, sending humans or satellites into space. Of course budget and the ability to set and maintain ten year plus political space exploration goals would speed up the process. Those variables aside I want to share what goes into a rocket launch.

Fishing For Rockets Surprisingly NASA does indeed reuse rocket parts, I thought this idea was unique to SpaceX but has been in the works for decades. Following shuttle era launches skirts of rockets and other parts were retrieved from the ocean. They would be inspected, refurbished and reused. Shuttle rocket parts will be used on the new Space Launch System (SLS). Signs labeled parts that will be used for the EM-1 Orion launch. Protective materials preventing heat damage often get reapplied to these parts. Parts of the rocket get so hot it reaches 6000 degrees Fahrenheit while others get so cold ice forms. The technology used to mix these epoxies in mid air is the same technology that coats M&Ms and Doritos. Talk about spin off technologies!

Monster Tank So you made rocket parts. Great, but how do you expect to assemble and transport something so huge? This was a problem my robotics team ran into as well. We had to make sure the robot we built would fit through the door. Once you have all the rocket parts they will be assembled in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), the tallest one story building in the world at 526 feet. It takes 45 minutes for the main door to be opened. Clouds have been known to form inside the VAB and rain has fallen too. Despite how big the VAB may be when transporting one of the rockets into an assembly segment it needed to be tilted at a 45 degree angle. Upgrades are currently being made for the massive SLS. Once the rocket is assembled it is transported on the Crawler-transporter moving at a back breaking speed of one mile per hour. This transporter insures the rocket reaches the launch pad safely limiting the movement of rocket to less than a diameter of a basketball.

Blast Off Wave goodbye to your creation because it will soon launch, release its payload, tumble into the sea repeating the cycle. A successful launch is dependent of many variables including launch pad hardware, windspeed, humidity, weather, and simply fishing boats in the line of debris reentry. If launch is a go bolts the size of your lower leg explode freeing the beast from the ground. If the bolts do not successfully release the rocket don’t care, it will continue to lift off and tear its restraints off like King Kong.

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED Consider touring Kennedy Space Center. While Johnson Space is the home of the human aspect of space flight Kennedy is in charge of getting is up there: https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/

Write your congress members and senators encouraging them to support space exploration: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

Discover accomplishments made this week at NASA: http://youtu.be/_a9og3pAqxY

Watch highlights from the latest launch by United Launch Alliance of AtlasV carrying a GPS into orbit: https://www.youtube.com/embed/NPcRziWDigQ

Attending a DC leadership conference in May! 

I will meet US college student leaders, participate in workshops & visit Capitol Hill. One of activity reads, "[Learn about]... advocacy, politics, and policy making from a panel of women who work for senators and representatives on Capitol Hill". Summer of 2013 I attended President Obama's Champions of Change White House event with NCWIT Aspirations in Computing sharing the importance of "project based learning" in schools. I talked with policy makers, company leaders and educators about how project based learning could be implemented and assessed. Additionally, I met Minnesota Senator Al Franken who since has visited FIRST robotics teams in my hometown & supported STEAM heavily. Again I want to have a focused message to share during my DC mission. I may keep the project based learning theme or pick a new one. I would love to hear your thoughts about what message I should share! Who knows who I'll run into!

I am so thankful AAUW Duluth MN awarded me with a scholarship making it possible to attend the AAUW's National Conference for College Women Student Leaders. Here is the agenda of the conference: https://www.nccwsl.org/about/agenda/

Watch for live blogging! Pictures are from my 2013 White House experience.

Intern Day One: NASA Is Not Dead

At orientation we were asked to raise our hands if we thought NASA was dead after the Space Shuttle program ended. I admit, I was among the many that raised their hands. Many flashed back to when the last shuttle Atlantis launched summer of 2011. I thought back to my summer internship at NASA Glenn Research Center where I saw a rocket booster, the remains of the Constellation program, draped in tarps and covered with dust in a dark warehouse. Quickly myself and the room of interns came to learn that these preconceived notions about NASA are far from the truth.

During our first day as interns we had the opportunity to hear from Dr. Dava Newman about her new position as NASA Deputy Administrator and Johnson Space Center Director Ellen Ochoa brief Newman about the center's accomplishments. Hearing from Newman and Ochoa re-energized our passion for space exploration and reminded us how much NASA has progressed. Curiosity rover descended on Mar's surface August of 2012 not only becoming the fourth rover to land on this robot inhabited planet, but collecting data so we know how to prepare to for a human mission to Mars. Orion is the future Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle designed for the purpose of deep space exploration to Mars and beyond. This past December it had its first test flight launching to into orbit 3,600 miles above the Earth, far above the International Space Station. By being flown that high Orion collected data about radiation waves astronauts will have to pass through while traveling away and back to Earth. Orion also tested a careful decent with four stages of parachutes proving this massive heat shielding vehicle could decelerate at a comfortable pace for astronauts. Although I get impatient about waiting to send humans to Mars so many variables are being tested with Curiosity and Orion to ensure a successful mission.

My first day was filled with meeting fellow peers, getting antiquated with Johnson Space Center and learning that NASA is very much alive.

Throwback to when I captained a FIRST Robotics team and a really fun interview about my NASA Co-Op experience:

http://www.fox21online.com/news/local-news/UMD-Student-Reaches-For-The-Stars-With-NASA/42581116