March 26, 2009 -- NASA is turning to an unusual resource to help solve some technical issues that need to be worked out before it can send astronauts back to the moon -- American students.
Under a program called Microgravity University, the space agency flies college students and their experiments on an aircraft that simulates lunar, Martian and/or zero gravity.
Thirteen teams arrive at the Johnson Space Center in Houston this week to test how moon dust settles on solar panels, options for filtering wastewater in lunar gravity, lunar rover wheel designs and other devices that address aspects of space exploration, planetary science and astronomy.
Half the experiments were commissioned by NASA's Exploration program, which is developing spacecraft and equipment for a new series of astronaut expeditions -- and ultimately a permanent base -- on the moon. The other half were proposed by students under a program NASA has been running for 12 years to nurture budding engineers and scientists.
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The experience is much more than a joy ride, though there is plenty of that to go around, for the adventurous souls, anyway. The aircraft flies parabolas, which entail steep climbs and devilish drops through the atmosphere. The falls create about 20 seconds of weightlessness and dips can be modified to simulate the gravity on the moon -- which has one-sixth of Earth's gravity -- and other planetary bodies.
The airplane used to be called the "Vomit Comet," so famed was its nausea-inducing ride. But NASA now urges fliers to take anti-motion sickness medication, so there is far less barfing from all the buoyancy.
"Most people do really well," said Sara Malloy, the lead coordinator for NASA's Reduced Gravity Student Flight programs. "It's a very different environment, and there's really no way to tell what will happen until you fly with us."
Before flying, students must pass rigorous safety, medical, engineering and technical reviews, NASA will provide teams with mentors to help resolve problems so the students can learn from their experiences.
"They can't just show up with a Tupperware box and couple of magnets and call it a proposal," said Douglas Goforth, the program manager.
With a budget of about $1 million for this year, NASA plans to fly more than 50 teams of students through Microgravity University. The program stems from a European Space Agency initiative that NASA adopted in 1997.
Participants must be at least 18 years old, U.S. citizens, enrolled in a university or college and be able to pass a modified FAA physical. NASA hopes to get some good ideas out of the program, but its long-term goal is to build skills and ignite passion among young people who likely will become this country's next generation of engineers and scientists.
Among the students arriving today for orientation in Houston is a group from Boise State University in Idaho. They have devised different types of wheels to test which ones provide the best traction on the moon.
"They started off with something very complex and then they simplified," said team advisor Barbara Morgan, a teacher who trained and flew as a NASA astronaut. "It's been really fun to watch how they build their team and how they work."
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