Browsing articles from "May, 2011"

A Final Farewell to Space Shuttle Endeavor OV-105

May 29, 2011   //   by Pamela Greyer   //   Latest Buzz, NASA  //  No Comments

As NASA approaches the end of the Space Shuttle program, Endeavor is preparing for her return to Earth on Wednesday June 1st.  Discovery is in the VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building) undergoing decommissioning and preparing to be shipped to her new museum home.  Endeavor will follow as will Atlantis after her final flight in July.  There is so much to say about the space shuttle program and so many stories to continue to share for the years to come as we will remember  space shuttle missions and her crews like have the Mercury and Apollo missions.

Take a moment to reflect at the awe of a space shuttle launch and all the hard work that goes into getting the orbiters ready for and launched into space through the eyes of OV-105, Space Shuttle Endeavor.

 

 

Godspeed to the safe return of the Endeavor crew.  Enjoy!

 

 

STEM Girls Rock!

May 26, 2011   //   by Pamela Greyer   //   Latest Buzz, NASA, The Launch Pad  //  No Comments

On Tuesday May 24, I had the special honor of being part of Oakton Community College’s first STEM event for girls and their parents. We have long lists of evidence and reasons why girls do not choose to enter STEM career fields or become interested in and passionate about science, math, technology and most recently, engineering. While the event was designed for parents to provide them with ideas, strategies, and tools to help them inspire their daughters towards STEM, there were many young ladies present too with lots of questions for those of us who served in a lightening round table of questions and answers. It was definitely exciting and fun and it is always wonderful to share my passion of STEM with girls as well as their parents.

 

This video was shown during the event and it definitely does show how STEM girls rock!

Thanks to Gloria Liu and all the staff at Oakton Community College for organizing a fabulous event. Here are a few tips on inspiring girls to rock STEM:

1. Hook them early on some cool aspect of STEM. For me it was a microscope kit in 5th grade.
2. Encourage their participation in science fairs and other STEM competitions and challenges.
3. Buy them LEGO’s. Research shows that building with LEGO’s increases spatial skills.
4. Be positive and encouraging.
5. Introduce girls to fun STEM events and programs and encourage them to participate in after school,
summer, and enrichment STEM activities, events, competitions, and programs.
6. Mentor, mentor, mentor. Locate mentoring programs for girls interested in STEM.
7. Become involved and bring your ideas on involving and including girls in STEM to your school and community.

We can all make a difference one girl at a time!

Godspeed Endeavor!

May 16, 2011   //   by Pamela Greyer   //   Latest Buzz, NASA, The Launch Pad  //  No Comments

Space Shuttle Endeavor

Space Shuttle Endeavor Launches into Space

Space Shuttle Endeavor took to the skies at 8:56 am ET this morning on her 25th and final flight.
If you missed the launch watch it here as every time we send humans into space it is an awe inspiring moment.

Commanded by Mark Kelly, husband of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), and carrying a total of 6 crew members including one European Space Agency astronaut, Italian Andrew Feustal, Endeavor is also carrying a quite unique and possibly groundbreaking instrument as part of the payload. The the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), a $2 billion particle accelerator is Endeavour’s main payload and will search for cosmic rays that might help astrophysicists, scientists, and a few friends of mine that study dark matter, come closer to understanding not only what our Universe is made of but its origins as well.

Now, not to the top the scientific nature of the AMS and its importance to the study of our Universe, but there is another payload, one that is very near and dear to my heart, that is also worth mentioning aboard STS-134. LEGO’s! The LEGO Bricks payload is a series of toy Lego kits that are assembled on orbit and used to demonstrate scientific concepts. Some of these models include satellites, a space shuttle orbiter, and a scale model of the International Space Station (ISS). NASA launched the LEGO partnership with events at Kennedy Space Center during the launch of STS-133. Working with those little bricks in space will definitely keep the shuttle crew occupied!

LEGO kits in space!

Model of space vehicles made at KSC NASA/LEGO Event Courtesy NASA

Follow Endeavor’s 16 day mission on NASA TV and UStream and catch the excitement from lucky STS-134 Tweetup participants on Twitter hashtag #NASATweetup.

High School Students Register for NASA’s INSPIRE Program

May 6, 2011   //   by Pamela Greyer   //   Latest Buzz, NASA  //  1 Comment

High School students are invited to apply for NASA’s INSPIRE, Interdisciplinary National Science Project Incorporating Research and Education Experience, a multitier year-round program designed for students in ninth to 12th grade who are interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, education and careers.

Research is a primary component of the NASA’s operations and as we work to engage more young people in preparing for STEM careers to join our nation’s future workforce preparing students to enter post-secondary education with an interest in pursuing NASA research opportunties, we can impact change in increasing the number of STEM graduates as well as the innovators of tomorrow through programs such as INSPIRES.

Students need a 2.5 GPA and with an interest in pursuing a STEM career field in college. The deadline for applications for 2011-2012 is June 30th. Visit the NASA link to find out more information on the program. Click here to apply.