Want To Be In Orbit? Run

During a Q&A between a Canadian classroom and Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield on the International Space Station (seriously, just think about how awesome that is), one kid asked a question that I used to wonder a lot.  At the 13:30 mark, he asks: 

"Why does the space station have to travel so fast"?

As a kid  could understand moving at a high speed to leave the Earth, because I could never launch my Hot Wheels into orbit no matter how hard I threw them.  But why would you need the speed when you're already in space? Don't you just float and hang out?

Chris gives a great answer.  The space station stays in orbit only because it's going fast - 500 km / minute to be precise!

Chris then gives the example of jumping off of a roof. Obviously gravity brings you back down.  The faster you run on the roof, the further you'll travel forward but gravity will still bring you down.  

Now, imagine that you were able to run as fast as the space station - 500 km / min. You'd fly off the roof, and as gravity begins to bring you down the Earth would be curving below you.  This is essentially what being in "orbit" means - your'e going fast enough that you cancel out the "pull down" effect of gravity .

All of Earth's satellites are in free fall   An added bonus is that if you are inside of an object in free fall, you are weightless - hence why Chris is floating about in the video below.

If you can't see the video below, click here. Remember to skip to the 13:30 mark to see Chris answer this question.

Source: NASA YouTube Channel

The Ultimate Science Fair? Google Me Baby

Google is holding its annual Science Fair, and we're all expecting to see submissions from the best and brightest. To support the contest, Google has released an amazing Science Pack that does an excellent job at explaining how you form a question and use the scientific method to test it. Check out a sample below:

A good scientific question is testable. That means you can conduct an experiment to answer it.

Avoid questions that are simply a matter of opinion. Don't pose a question whose answer can be found online or in a reference book.

Your question should be absolutely clear. The results of your experiment should answer your initial question.

These three points apply to many things outside of science. Our lives involve questions that benefit from having a structured approach to answer them. We're always "performing experiments" whether we are aware of it or not.

The best part of this fair? It's open to kids from 13-18, which is a great age to focus on.  Focusing on a younger age could possibly mean less complex projects, and an older age would invite bitter cynical folks like me to participate.  Yes, I would totally do it. In fact, that's the worst part of this, that I can't win ... I want to win!!!

Memories of the Space Shuttle Challenger Incident

The crew of STS-51-L: Front row from left, Mike Smith, Dick Scobee, Ron McNair. Back row from left, Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe, Greg Jarvis, Judith Resnik. 

After I attended the final shuttle launch, I wrote about my thoughts regarding space shuttle Challenger, which exploded shortly after takeoff on Jan 28th, 1986. This moment served as one of the milestones that led to my interest in space and science in general.

My earliest memory is the aftermath of the Challenger incident. As a six year old, I couldn't put this into the proper historical perspective. However, there was a huge push for space and technology news within my school as well as my favorite media of the time - Highlights for Children and 3-2-1 Contact. I manned my own personal missions with my toy spacecraft, hoping that my impromptu Lego modular design would help against the inevitable alien encounter.

As a preteen, I took an astronomy class at the local community college, where we learned about planetary orbits, plotted constellations, and, of course, talked about the space shuttle. We even took a trip to the National Air and Space museum in DC, which was one of the first times I had been to a museum outside of the New York metro area. As a sign of the times, I also remember the bus stopping at a Dairy Queen on the way back, and playing the Simpsons arcade game with tree other friends as long as we could.

In a few years, I began to read the paper and watch the news on a daily basis. I always made sure to tune in for shuttle launches. There was no NASA TV or YouTube - the only way to experience NASA missions was to tune in live or for a recap. I always felt butterflies watching the coverage.

9 Years on Mars ... and Counting

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/Arizona State Univ.

While the Curiosity rover enjoys all of the Martian press (the aliens love it), the Opportunity rover celebrates its 9th anniversary this week.  The rover, along with its twin rover Spirit, was originally designed for a 90 day mission. 3,285 days later, Opportunity is still kicking and sending data millions of miles to Earth.  

From University Today:

The resilient, solar powered Opportunity robot begins her 10th year roving around beautifully Earth-like Martian terrain where where she proved that potentially life sustaining liquid water once flowed billions of years ago when the planet was warmer and wetter.

Opportunity is healthy and has driven over 22 miles (35 kilometers )- marking the first overland expedition on another planet.

Unfortunately, Spirit has not sent any signals so it may be dead in the water. But that's the very reason why NASA sent twin rovers to Mars in 2004 - redundancy is crucial when it comes to space exploration.

Think about the devices that you own - how many have lasted 10 years?  I've highlighted a few in my Yeah They Still Work (YTSW) series - Sony mini disc player, Double Dribble Tiger electronic game, cassette tapes, oh my!

Source: University Today

Celebrate the Astronauts of Apollo 1

NASA established the Mercury and Gemini missions in the 50s and early 60s. These missions were designed to launch men into space in preparation for an actual trip to another celestial body, which would be accomplished with the Apollo missions. Apollo 1 serves as a great example of the courage of scientists that risk their lives daily to further our understanding of the universe.

On Jan 27, 1964, Astronauts Virgil Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee were set to fly on Apollo 1 in the mission then known as Apollo 204.. Unfortunately, the Command Module caught fire during launch pad testing with the astronauts inside. The subsequent report included recommendations that helped establish the safety procedures and redundant design that saved the lives of countless men and women over the past 49 years.

Most people are familiar with Apollo 11, where Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins successfully made it to the moon and back.  Tom Hanks and the movie Apollo 13 helped bring that mission involving the salvaging of a botched mission to the mainstream.  Apollo 1 should be held in the same regard, especially since the sacrifice of the three astronauts led to the massive improvements needed for NASA to achieve its job.