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Houston we have liftoff - Lee Wilson, Space cadet
A New Plymouth student went to space school this year. Lee Wilson packed his bags and his space plans and flew to the International Space School in the USA.
Lee helped design a moon base, watched a space shuttle launch and worked alongside 35 students from all over the world. This week we follow his story.
Rewind
Sputnik 1 was the first man-made object to orbit the Earth. The Russians launched it on October 4, 1957 and it stayed in orbit until January 4, 1958.
Check out the space exploration events below and decide whether they are true or false. You can check your answers at the end of this week's TreasureLink.
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Sputnik 2 heads into space November 3, 1957 and a dog called Laika goes along for the ride.
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Discoverer XIV blasts off from the USA and launches the first spy satellite on August 18 1960.
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Vostok 1 from the U.S.S.R (Russia) carries Cosmonaut Yuri A. Gagarin, into space. He's the first person up there and he orbits the Earth once.
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Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, Jr. make the first manned soft landing on the Moon on 20 July,1969. They do the first moonwalk.
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The first space station is launched by the USSR, Russia on April 19, 1971. It stays in orbit for a little over two years. Two cosmonauts visit in June 1971 and then they return safely to earth.
Word watch
The words and phrases below are all in this week's story. Choose the best answers, check your choices when you read the story and then find the answers at the end of this week's TreasureLink
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seminars (a) meetings for the exchange of ideas or (b) speeches
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a lunar base (a) the place on earth that launched the moon rockets or (b) a base on the moon
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quarantine (a) a place people with infectious diseases are kept in until it is proved they cannot affect others or (b) a place where anything that might harm the environment is kept for a period of time to ensure it is safe.
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zero gravity (a) The apparent weightlessness that happens when the centrifugal force on a body exactly counterbalances the gravitational attraction on it. (b) The force that pulls a space vehicle back to earth.
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entire (a) widespread or (b) the whole thing- no parts missing
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coincide (a) happen at the same time or (b) collide
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disintegrate (a) to break down into little bits or (b) to burn up
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passion (a) attracted to or (b) plenty of enthusiasm
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innovative (a) thinking of or creating something unlike anything that has been done before or (b) creative
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analysing (a) to examine methodically part by part to find out how each part relates to the other or (b) looking very closely at an issue to form an opinion on it.
High five for NASA?
Lee Wilson worked at NASA. The letters stand for National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Find out a little about NASA. Look here and then decide if NASA has done each of the things below.
- They've been involved in air and space work since 1958.
- They have found out useful things that people now use every day.
- They have explored space, the moon and even the planets.
- They have developed aircraft and communication systems.
- They continue to explore and carry out research.
A moon base for Lee
Read the first part of this week's story Come in Houston and find out what Lee did at the International Space School in Houston Texas.
Men first went to the moon in 1969 and their last trip there was way back in 1972. Look here to find out when NASA plans to go there again.
How would you build a moon base? Try this activity with a classmate or form a small group. Return here to find your links to the information you need.
Moon Base Links
Who owns the moon?
Some people think they own land on the moon. Many have already written to President Bush to say that the USA might be allowed to build a base on their moon land but only if they pay for it first.
The 1967 United Nations Outer Space Treaty says no government or country can claim the moon or any part of it but the treaty didn't say anything about individual people. That's why entrepreneur Dennis Hope from the USA has sold land up there.
Look here and scroll down to the little box that says: Who owns the land? What does Mr Hope think?
Moon buggy magic?
Read Interesting orders and Blame it on the books to find out more about the lunar base Lee's yellow team was asked to design.
Look here for details about the latest moon buggy. Lee would need one of these if he set up his lunar station. Open the file below
and follow the checklist to make sure this moon buggy has everything you would want if you lived in Lee's lunar base.
A launch pad for space nuts
Read A launch pad for space nuts and From New Plymouth to NASA.
36 students from 20 countries are chosen for the International Space School so a lot of "space nuts" must miss out.
What if you were on the selection committee? Which three things from the list below do you think should be the most important when the selection committee considers the applicants?
Think, pair and then share your choices with a classmate.
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A passion for all things to do with space.
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An interest in travelling and having new experiences.
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High marks in the science subjects.
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Knowledge of space
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Evidence of space work already completed e.g. an assignment on an area of interest.
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An interest in a space related career.
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Enough money to pay for the air fare and accommodation
The astronauts go swimming
Read Ground Control to Major Tom to find out about two of the special training facilities that NASA have for their astronauts.
You can see the vomit comet here.
Once in space there are other things the astronaut must do. Look here to find out about eating, sleeping, staying clean and exercising in space.
How would the space station astronauts train on earth for each of these activities?
Try this activity with a classmate.
We have lift off!
Lee was at the Kennedy Space Centre for the space shuttle Discovery blast off! Read Watching Discovery lift off. Find out what happened to the previous shuttle flight.
NASA's engineers were taking no chances with this flight. They had a system in place that would check every centimetre of the shuttle for damage before it would be allowed to re-enter earth's atmosphere.
Read about the clever safety check here and take a close look at the photos.
Pulling us up with the tide
Passion fuelled by a science project tells you about Lee's experiment on the tides. Read on to see what he found out and then draw a diagram that shows what you would expect to see under the water in Lee's experiment.
Draw up part of Lee's recording chart so that it shows similar results to the ones that Lee found out.
A big future for Lee?
Finish the story now and then list some "personal qualities" that Lee should be able to put on his curriculum vitae (CV) one day.
One quality for example might be "determination."
Compare your list with a classmate's and then design Lee's business card that he might be using in 2020.
In the middle put the logo for Lee's aerospace firm. (A logo displays the firm's "image". McDonalds have an M.) Under the logo print Lee's name and title. In the top two corners put two of the jobs that Lee's firm does. Look here for examples.
In the bottom left put an 0800 number that is more clever than 0800SPACE.In the bottom right put a clever email address.
Kate went too
Kate Goddard from New Plymouth Girls High went to the International Space School too. You can read Kate's story here.
Fast forward
Check out NASA's home page and pick one of the stories to read- the one you think looks the most interesting. There are nine to choose from.
Read the story and then decide what aerospace work was needed to carry out the task.
Decide how this work and the discoveries will benefit people in the future.
Share your finding with the rest of this week's TreasureLinkers.
Rewind answers
1. True. Laika died after 7 days but the Sputnik 2 orbited the earth for 13 days.
2. True.
3. True
4. True
5. False. That space station was set up and the two cosmonauts were the first to work on a space station but they died on their way back to earth.
Word watch answers
1a, 2b, 3b, 4a, 5b, 6a, 7a, 8b, 9a, 10a.
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