Young Astronauts Australia Engineering School

Introduction
This prestigious course is open to Australian secondary school students in years 10 and 11. The course is limited to 40 available places for students and 10 team leaders (teachers), who will be participating within 10 teams each comprising 4 students and 1 teacher. One team consisting four students and one teacher will be selected from each Australian State and Territory to participate in the program.

Successful students and teachers will receive the first of 6 NASA Distant Learning Modules by means of an online system these 6 modules which will be spread out over the proceeding months prior to departing for Houston and are specifically designed to prepare students for their week long stay at the NASA Johnson Space Center Houston. assigned group leaders (teachers) will act as mentors to assist students with their projects during this phase of the course.

The Engineering Space School modules cover subjects such as rocketry, interplanetary flight, gravity, weightlessness, artificial satellites, projectiles, re-entry and much more On completion of the course students will receive their graduation certificate which will be of great value when they seek employment in the coming years, students will also be given an insight into future job opportunities that are available working within NASA.

At the end of the course, students will attend a formal graduation dinner, where graduation certificates, Major individual and team awards will be presented, students will also be receiving a letter of reference, group photograph, and a graduation shirt. The graduation dinner will be attended by leading NASA personnel including Astronauts, Scientists, Engineers and Education officer’s.

Included in the program is a visit to the Challenger Learning Center and Observatory where students will take part in a mission control program and witness the Northern hemisphere night sky.

Parents will be able to witness all the day to day activities by visiting a special website that will have updated images of student activities posted on the site each evening.

Duration of the program is 12 days departing Sydney on the 4th of October 2008 returning to Sydney on the 15th of October 2008.

Dependent on the confirmed Shuttle launch date, Astronaut Scott Parazynski will be sending a “personal” invitation to all participants of the course to witness his planned shuttle launch, more information will be available at a later date.

The Program and Projects
Students in Space Center Houston’s Space School will be on a 5 day engineering mission to land a rover on the surface of Mars! You will analyse rock samples with a Reflectance Spectrometer, loft a rock sample into Martian orbit, and return it back to Earth in a rocket of their own design.

All the time, working within a NASA budget; knowing that funds or supplies for your projects may be decreased at anytime due to budget cuts, safety regulations, or any other excuse the staff may give to make the experience truly dynamic and representative of the real NASA world.

MISSION: Teamwork, Problem Solving, Fiscal Responsibility, Communication and Adaptation to Unexpected Problems.

Design, Build and Launch a Rocket
Students will engineer a rocket of their own design, including deciding which rocket parts are needed and what they can afford given their own NASA project. Rockets will be launched at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (weather permitting).

Build a Robotic Mars Rover
Given a set of parameters and tasks each rover must accomplish on Mars, students must decide how to create a robotic rover. They start with price lists for supplies and given varying criteria, students design, build and test their rover. Teams put their rovers to the test on a Marian landscape competition to locate and retrieve the Marian rocks most valuable to NASA.

Engineer a Rover Lander
During this phase of the mission, teams must design and create a Lander which will safely protect its rover payload from the impact of landing on the Martian surface. Payload protection is critical as the success of the rover mission cannot be accomplished if the rover is damaged before it is able to explore Mars. Working within a budget, students must ensure their cargo can withstand the impact of a 3 story drop; as well as, reach a predetermined landing site.

Lofting Into Space
Students will engineer an apparatus capable of carrying all of its rocket pieces safely upwards 2 stories at a 60 degree angle of ascent. Within a budget, students will design and redesign an ascent vehicle methodically and with considerable problem solving.

Student Presentations
Given information about specific topics, all groups must present the necessary information to accomplish their rocket, rover, landing and lofting projects. Each team will have different, but vital pieces of information which must be shared with all groups in order to ensure success. Since teams do not have the same information, communication is critical! Space Center Houston administration and all teams evaluate presentations for style and content knowledge.

Wow! NASA Tours
Several tours are given at Johnson Space Center, highlighting both Mars and project related themes. See historic Mission Control Centers and the Space Station Mock-up Facility with its life-sized models of the International Space Station and Space Shuttle. Visit the Neutral Buoyancy, Laboratory where astronauts train for Extravehicular Activities (EVA) in simulated micro gravity. See up close the rockets used in the early space program, as well as experimental X-vehicles.

Talk to NASA Experts
Hear a wide variety of presentations by NASA personnel who are really making space exploration happen. Topics may include: Space Exploration, Rocket Propulsion, Mission Control, the Space Program, the International Space Station, Space Shuttle, Robotics or Space Physiology.

Information and Application Form

Click on this link to download the 2008 information and application form

2007 students and parents secure files login here