Space Device User Test: NASA Co-Op #3 Week 13

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.

How to Work for NASA: Tips from a NASA Intern

Working for NASA is a life long dream for those who grew up building LEGO space stations, watching Space Shuttle launches and admiring Apollo Era heroes. Transforming this childhood dream into reality is more complicated than handing your resume to the right person but more straightforward than receiving a classified invite from an intelligence agent. I will share the many avenues of becoming a part of interstellar exploration discovered during my time interning at NASA. Ramen to Rockets NASA has two primary avenues for current college students to get involved - OSSI Internships and thePathways Internship program (Co-Op). OSSI (One Stop Shopping Initiative) is the main source for internships, fellowships and scholarship opportunities at various NASA centers. An internship is a semester long program where you work alongside professionals in your discipline, get paid in a stipend and do meaningful work that advances NASA’s mission. Some interns have been invited to join NASA full-time but is not common. A Pathways Internship (Co-Op) is similar to an OSSI Internship except a Co-Op is sworn in as a US Government Civil Servant, paid bi-weekly, receive benefits of a Civil Servant, and flip-flops between semesters studying at college and working at NASA. Some Co-Ops extend their flip-flopping into grad school. NASA’s primary pipelines for full-time Civil Servants is the Pathways Intern (Co-Op) program. I shared in great detail what the Co-Op program is and how to apply in this three part blog series. The phrase “college student” may spur images of a microwavable ramen zapping Millennial but NASA’s college programs are great for every kind of college student! OSSI and Co-Op students are parents, veterans, Millennials, experienced in industry and more. Cold Call Nothing can stop you from simply applying to a full-time position at a NASA center. I call it a “Cold Call” because this isn’t a pipeline program driven process. Go on USAJobs and search “NASA” and pages of positions will appear. Applying in this manner may feel like tossing your resume into a black hole. With stellar related experience in aerospace industry, research, military or start up work this method of applying may just work! I share how to use the USAJobs resume builder in this post. Alternatively, an extreme way to join NASA is to become an astronaut. I shared tips on the astronaut application processhere. Note that becoming an astronaut is the least probable way to work at NASA. Space Contract The majority of individuals working onsite at NASA centers are actually contractors. This means they are employed by private companies that NASA collaborates with on projects. Some of many contractors are Lockheed, Boeing, Jacobs, and System Technologies Group (STG). Projects that contractors work on include Orion, Space Launch System, propulsion testing, and International Space Station maintenance. A private company may have a contract to build a part or system and do so offsite at their respective facility. Contractors that produce a part offsite often come onsite to perform integration tests and are an important part of the NASA team and mission. Keep in mind, if you apply to a private (possibly aerospace related) company you may not have much control over if you are a part of a NASA related project.  More recently NASA has been reaching out to small businesses for parts, services and solutions via Small Business Innovation Research. Small businesses can propose projects that can advance NASA’s mission. From Civil Servant on site to a small business working in a small town you can work with NASA and advance space exploration.

National Conference for College Women Student Leaders 

NCCWSL Wrap Up

Little broccoli shoots - the young trees sprout, compared to the elder trees spared by loggers. The broccoli are proof of an investment, confidence that the Iron Range's timber is desired. With Norway Pines lit like honey mead and faults of farmland irrigation exposed by a birds eye view, I descend upon Range Regional Airport. The NCCWSL leadership conference sprouted its own investment in hopes that we will become leaders that initiate positive change. Our definition of positive change was shaped by NCCWSL's keynote speakers, workshops, excursions, exchanges, and interpretations. If these experiences were taken at face value I do not believe "that" definition of positive change is best for our country. If taken with a grain of salt, a packet of pepper and a squirt of ketchup then a rational, moderate, and welcomed definition of positive change can be found.

Messaging

As reflected in this week's workshop titles and bios of speakers, this conference resonated primarily with the hopes and dreams of left-wing thinkers. Right-wing thinkers and the bipartisan curious may have been dissuaded by the polarity, thus surrendering the awesome opportunity to meet and be empowered by tenacious women who also strive to strengthen America. This conference did a stellar job energizing women with the same beliefs but did not teach us how to listen to, work alongside and communicate with those in strongest opposition. Like a fancy Sunday picnic I was equipped with metaphorical seasonings. I softened the extreme rhetoric and enhanced rudimentary flavors - ideas that reasonable human beings could get behind. For example, Melissa Harris-Perry is a passionate speaker, PhD, professor, and author. The delivery of her ideas, catered toward the conference goers, may shut down audiences she might want to persuade the most. Sifting through her flourishes, I found motivation to learn more about American history and search for the history of individuals lost from the pages of public school textbooks. I hope future NCCWSLs tackle the challenging task of teaching future leaders the ability to effectively and respectfully communicate with individuals with different beliefs.

Leadership

Meeting former chiefs of staff exemplified the presence of influential women on Capitol Hill. This brief panel and 2017 Women of Distinction Awards celebrating the success of five women gave conference goers a tangible illustration of successful professional women. With the presence of seasoned leaders, I did not learn any new leadership strategies to take back to my Co-Ops. Despite marketing the conference for "college student leaders" only a third of workshops and lectures claimed to be leadership focused. The third of leadership focused content did not offer content that challenged my understanding of leadership like I hoped for. Leadership is a challenging topic to teach effectively without elementary group activities, polarizing rhetoric, and parroting TED Talk clips. Equipped with the network of so many influential women leaders NCCWSL could recruit seasoned leaders to mentor conference goers to provide experience based leadership education.

Civic Action

Aspiring astronaut, sexual assault survivor and author of a bill of rights - Amanda Nguyen was my favorite speaker at the NCCWSL conference. Nguyen described how she drafted the Survivors' Bill of Rights Act of 2016, persisted to ensure it was passed in the Senate, unanimously passed in the House, and ultimately signed into law October 7th, 2016. Nguyen continues to write law into existence through Rise - which she founded. AAUW (American Association of University Women), parent organization of NCCWSL, has be active in formulating women's rights since 1881 including actions around Title IX. Despite this rich history with civic engagement NCCWSL offered no opportunity to draft law or engage with state representatives to make change. During this conference there was a lot of identification of problems with few avenues and instruction to find a solution. Workshops and lectures could be focused around finding solutions and our tourist outings to D.C. could be replaced with constructive meetings with Senators and Congressmen. Conveniently held in our nation's capitol NCCWSL has a unique opportunity to get young leaders engaged with constructing civic solutions.

Clickety clack I could type my opinions on NCCWSL all day. NCCWSL attendees and my actions moving forward is what will make the difference for future conferences. NCCWSL will send out a survey for feedback where conference goers can express their ideas for next year. Additionally there is an opportunity to become a student leader and help shape the curriculum for NCCWSL. My idea for a component of a future NCCWSL includes...

*Creating a theme around the conference such as working women, parental leave or equal pay.

*Prior to the conference students would draft legislation or thoughts to share with state representatives.

*First day of the conference students would meet in groups to refine legislation and their message.

*Second day students would meet with leaders on Capitol Hill to introduce ideas and/or legislation.

*Last day students would be to debrief and brainstorm next steps and action items for post conference.

I am thankful that AAUW Duluth chapter sponsored my NCCWSL journey. I am also thankful for the opportunity to meet other student leaders, hear their stories and get connected. No matter how involved I will be with this conference in the future, I am motivated to improve my communication with individuals with different beliefs, find new effective practices of leadership I can apply at my Co-Op, and learn how my civic action can improve our nation.

Space Walks & Garbage: NASA Co-Op #3 Week One

Space Garbage

Familiarized myself with the Inventory and Stowage Officer (ISO) team this week. They are a console position Mission Control that is in charge of managing the inventory and stowage of all US items on board the International Space Station (ISS). ISO prepares products for upcoming real-time operations and coordinates with other consoles regarding stowage plans. ISO is responsible for directing the crew to consolidate, relocate, audit, and unload a visiting vehicle. ISO as well as the Mission Control consoles’ mantra is to distill all information and procedures to make astronaut’s life easier. This is critical because astronauts have to navigate a lot of factors folks on ground don’t have to like; CO2 clustering around their face due to lack of gravity causing drowsiness, homesickness, isolation and general aggregations of communication challenges.

This week we focused on double checking the list of garbage that will burn up in Earth’s atmosphere in Japanese JAXA’s HTV6 cargo ship. Tediously we reviewed each item so nothing got thrown away that shouldn’t and items that would stink up the station were not missed.

Spacewalk

Conducted on the job training in Mission Control's support room called MPSR  (Multi-Purpose Support Room, pronounced "mipser") during the Friday the Thirteenth spacewalk. With an official Mission Control headset I followed along the astronauts tasks. Astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Thomas Pesquet spacewalked outside of ISS to update power systems. Upgrading power system of ISS was the overall goal of this month’s suite of Extra Vehicular Activities. Three 428lb Lithium-Ion batteries replaced nickel hydrogen batteries to store power for ISS during this spacewalk. Before the conclusion of the spacewalk engineers in mission control confirmed the batteries’ integration and initial power storage operations.

MPSRs usually use multi-view video with six images of ISS’ exterior and the crew to observe tasks being completed. They listen in on live loops to the Flight Director’s final calls, CAPCOM’s instructions and astronaut’s questions. If necessary MPSR operators can relay to their counterparts in front room Mission Control (FCR-1) information that can be filtered and relayed to Flight.

During the spacewalk there are many glove checks to check for leaks and anomalies. These gloves are impressively engineered to be thick enough to pressurize protect you from space yet gentle enough to allow you to feel space station through them. Astronauts could confirm with Mission Control that batteries were correctly mounted into place by describing drill rotations, torque and light sensor reading on the hand tool.

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

Intern at NASA, year round, summer, spring or fall semesters.

Co-Op at NASA (Pathways Internship) and get sworn in as a Civil Servant.

Full-time employment at NASA opportunities!

This week's NASA achievements.

Everything about Mission Control from a Flight Director

Robotics Pit Area: Where students repair their robot between matches

NASA Co-Op Week 16: Barf Lab & Mockups

Twenty five weeks at NASA Johnson I finally got a proper tour, lead by a tour guide, of the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility that houses exact replicas (build with same blueprint) of International Space Station modules, Shuttle, and Soyuz. Astronauts train in these mockups. A "low definition" mockup of Orion was present too.

Neurosciences Laboratory took us on a tour of their various astronaut barf machines. It is really like the rumors of spinning chairs, dizzying treadmills, and dark enclosed sliding contraptions. The spinning is to isolate parts of your brain that are used for balance. Only one day after Space Station astronauts return to Earth in Russia they are flown over to Johnson Space Center and put through a series of gravity adaptation tests. They had to pick up weighted objects, navigate around obstacles, jump of a short platform, and exit a hatch like structure. These tests will help NASA determine if astronauts would be capable of completing Mars surface operations after a long low gravity flight to the Red Planet. I wouldn't be surprised if returning astronauts Kjell, Oleg and Kimiya are on their way to the barf lab right now!

Most of the NASA Johnson Co-Ops and Interns complete their Fall semester this week. It is absolutely heart breaking to get to know so many space passionate people only to have to say goodbye at the end of the semester. I wish I could see all of these stellar students participate in NASA's future as they have already contributed to the growth of space exploration. It was an honor to work among these bright minds.

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

Accomplishments this week at NASA: https://youtu.be/4tw5uwHD0PEApply for a NASA Internship NOW (high school to grad school):https://intern.nasa.gov/ossi/web/public/main/Apply for a NASA Co-Op (Pathways Internship):http://nasajobs.nasa.gov/studentopps/employment/opportunities.htmLearn to code: https://hourofcode.com/usMeteor Shower live chat December 13th: https://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news/news/releases/2015/M15-180.htmlCurrent NASA opportunities for students: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/current-opps-index.htmlCode more: https://www.madewithcode.com/

NASA Co-Op Week 4: Meeting Martians

Stars from the Martian movie visited Johnson Space Center including Sebastian Stan (who plays an astronaut and was also the Winter Solider in an Avengers Captain America Movie) and Mackenzie Davis (who plays a flight operator in mission control that discovers Mark Watney is alive). Ellen Ochoa the center head hosted a Q&A so Sebastian and Mackenzie could ask astronaut Mike Hopper, a real Mission Control Operator, head of science, and head of engineering Kirk Shireman questions and visa versa. The Martian actors challenged the NASA employees wit asking how they would survive on Mars. Sebastian, who plays an astronaut that has a crush on a fellow space explorer, asked if there was ever crushes on the international space station!  I shared with Mackenzie that my role as a Mission Control Co-Op is similar to her character's role in the movie. KHOU a Houston local news station interviewed me about the clash of science at NASA and science fiction in Hollywood.

Here is the full Q&A with Sebastian Stan & Mackenzie Davis from The Martian  

Scott Kelly celebrated halfway to a year in space! This year long mission reveals data key to ensuring a longer duration flight to Mars and beyond can be done safely. Data that has been collected includes bone density, muscle mass, eyesight, key organ functions, and effects of radiation. Kelly Skyped down to ground to celebrate with Johnson Space Center.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED Learn about the real martians and NASA's Journey to Mars See how already long duration space flight has effected Scott Kelly Tune into a video series by Time Magazine following the Year Long Mission Subscribe to NASA on YouTube for mission and spacecraft updates Hear producer, astronauts, NASA folk and Author Andy Weir talk about the Martian at Comic-Con Watch The Martian movie coming out October 1st Read The Martian by Andy Weir Intern with NASA | Launch your Aerospace Career | Get Excited about STEM Work for NASA

It's Small Business Saturday folks! Did you know that NASA collaborates with SmallBiz on extraterrestrial projects? This summer I worked on a NASA small business project, innovating ways to create energy on Mars! I have also sat in on two SmallBiz design proposals and was blown away by the ideas for deep space travel, energy creation and resource utilization. Despite my Black Friday all-nighter I have kicked off today having breakfast at a local joint. Take time today to support SmallBiz and learn about SmallBiz projects with NASA... SmallBiz Mars Humidity Sensor Project: http://kirsikuutti.blogspot.com/2016/08/sensing-mars-nasa-co-op-2-week-nine.html NASA SmallBiz success story: http://www.spacenewsmag.com/feature/bridging-the-valley-of-death/ SmallBiz on Space Station: http://www.spacenewsmag.com/feature/starting-small-to-develop-big-ideas/ SmallBiz deals in Duluth,MN: http://downtownduluth.com/df-data/files/SBS-2016.pdf Find NASA SmallBiz Partners:https://ehb8.gsfc.nasa.gov/sbir/public/technologySearch/searchAction.do?requestFrom=NASASBIRHome

This morning I asked International Space Station Program Science Office of astronauts can see 4th of July firework displays from space. They replied! *squee* and said that if the orbital mechanics are timed right they can see the flashes of fireworks. They included this message from Astronaut Scott Kelly too, enjoy!

The world has lost a hero, Eugene Cernan, the last man on the Moon. Commanded Apollo 17, drove the Moon buggy & collected critical lunar samples. Prior to Apollo 17 he was a Captain in the U.S. Navy, Piloted Gemini 9 and piloted the lunar module on the Apollo 10 mission. Post NASA Cernan conducted outreach to students to inspire a new generation of space explorers. This is how I want to remember hero and last man on the Moon Eugene Cernan:

Gene singing on the Moon

Apollo 17 Crew

Apollo 17 Lunar Site