NASA Programs

• NASA Teacher in Space Program (1984)

• NEWMAST (1986)

• NASA Lunar Sample Education Projet (1986)

• United States Space Academy Level I (1987)

• United States Space Academy Level II (1988)

• Voyager at Neptune (1989)

• CRAF/Cassini (1989)

For over a decade I've been involved with NASA as an educator. It began when I became an applicant for the ill-fated Challenger Mission through the Teacher in Space Program. With the space program on hold, a new project was launched to tie NASA, teachers and students together. It was called NEWMAST, sponsored by NASA and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). To return to the top of the page click here.

In the Summer of 1986 I started my involvement with the NEWMAST Program. NASA Educational Workshop for Mathematics and Science Teachers. This is a two week intensive session held at a NASA center. For the Northeast our NASA center was The Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland from June 23rd to July 2nd, 1986. This program gives educators the opportunity to immerse themselves in aerospace science while working at a NASA research center. Time is spent in lecture, lab and tours of the GSFC Operational Facilities. A tour of the Wallops Flight Facility was also included. Educators working on the NEWMAST project are required to design, engineer and implement an experiment to go on the space shuttle. The experiment is to be placed in the cargo section of the shuttle which is known as a Get-Away-Special (GAS).

The experiment our group designed is called the DIRT Project. DIRT is an acronym for DIffusion Rates/Time. Our project was designed to fit in a GAS container. The thesis of our project is as follows: To study diffusion rates of limiting nutrients in hydroponic systems as a function of time in microgravity and on Earth. The entire proposal was approved and accepted by GSFC on July 1, 1986. To return to the top of the page click here.

Between 1969 to 1972 there have been six lunar landing missions on the moon. 850 pounds of rocks and soil have been recovered. After intensive study, the samples have been made available to be taken into the classroom. This is done under the supervision of an educator certified by NASA under the Lunar Sample Educational Project. The rocks and soil samples are embedded in an acrylic plasic disc. Each disc contains six samples. I have had the opportunity to be certified in this program on July 2, 1986 at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. I have found this program to stimulate strong student interest when the moon rocks are brought into the classroom. Economically speaking, it is the most exspensive item I have ever held. At a cost of $25 billion and 850 pounds recovered, this equates to over $29 million per pound. This is a 1970 estimate not corrected for inflation. To return to the top of the page click here.

After our experience with NEWMAST at GSFC, some of us were invited to go for astronaut training. This began in October 1987 at the US Space Academy in Huntsville, Alabama. US Space Academy Level I involves an intense curriculum in principles of aerospace technology needed for space flight. During this program we work on mission simulations. Our first test, we did a supercilious mission with no problems. Upon landing the Space Shuttle in the simulator, we made one slight mistake. While landing the shuttle at Kennedy, we forgot to lock the landing gear. We all have bad days! As a result the shuttle slid across the runway, ripped off the bottom tiles, and then went off the runway for a splash down in the Banana River. No injuries resulted. From that point on, our team has been called The Banana River Bunch in the realm of NASA. We all graduated from Level I training and returned the following year. To return to the top of the page click here.

Level II training began in October 1988 at the same location. At the start of the program, the message was out: "The Banana River Bunch is back! We spent sometime at the Marshall Space Flight Center viewing the full scale mock up of Spacestation. I was trained as a Payload Specialist. Our entire team passed level two. Next is to get the applications into NASA for possible astronaut selection. While waiting for that I concentrated on unmanned missions. To return to the top of the page click here.

Voyager 2

Launch: August 20, 1977

Jupiter Encounter: July 9, 1979

Saturn Encounter: November 11, 1980

Uranus Encounter: January 24, 1986

Neptune Encounter: August 25, 1989

Oort Cloud Encounter: Next Century