A Journey to NASA Goddard: Exploring the Frontiers of Space Science!
Story and photos by Allyson Espionza, Dylan Mack, Kaden Jones, Khloe Jackson, Bre'Ann Murphy, Khalil Lomax, Trisden Mingo. Clifton White, Roland Bell and Madison Payne.
This spring, our Friendship Armstrong All Stars took two trips to the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center located in Greenbelt, Maryland. It serves as a gateway for the public to learn about the work conducted at Goddard, one of NASA's premier space research centers. The first trip we took was to observe and get a feel of what people come out to see at NASA. On this trip, we were only allowed to go to the visitor center. In the visitor center, we got to smell other planets and things on Earth, create planets on a computer, see technology that was used, and other things that focused on space exploration (Earth science, astrophysics, and technology development). On our second trip, a tour guide took us to the actual NASA buildings where every student had a specific responsibility to write about the activities at the space flight center: The Webb Telescope, The Roman Telescope, clean rooms, satellite construction, Cryovac chambers, vibration test beds, and the Space Environment Simulator. In this new story, we'll be writing about those things.
The Visitor Center On the first trip, we were able to experience the different exhibits at NASA Goddard Visitor Center. We had an opportunity to get a first hand whiff of what astronauts experience in space, LITERALLY! We went through different exhibits! This included various experiences. For example, have you ever wondered what space smells like? We actually smelled different places in space including Earth, Venus and even Mars! We created our own planet, took pictures as astronauts and even were able to hear different sounds from space! The center is not just limited to the inside. We continued our tour outside and saw different types of rocket ships. Some were small and some were big! There were so many things for us to experience during this self-guided tour and we enjoyed it all!
The Cryovac Chambers, also known as Thermal Vacuum Chambers are vacuum chambers in which the radiative thermal environment is controlled. The chambers vary in size from small, medium to large. The purpose of the chamber is to test the temperatures in the vacuum of space. They simulate a wide range of thermal conditions. They were built in the early 1960s to perform thermal vacuum testing and outgassing of large test articles. According to NASA, “The SES has had several major upgrades to keep it state-of-the-art. The latest upgrade was the addition of a 7.6 m (25 ft) diameter Helium shroud to provide cryogenic (<20K) conditions to support projects such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).” You can’t take the lid off fast otherwise it will explode meaning you have to introduce it to oxygen slowly. The thermal vacuum chambers test heating, cooling, and thermal zones. These thermal vacuum chambers at Goddard play an important role in advancing people’s understanding of space technology. According to NASA, “they enable engineers to validate designs, troubleshoot potential issues, and enhance the success rate of space missions.”
Clean Rooms The name speaks for itself. Clean Rooms are EXTREMELY clean. Air is constantly being cycled through an air filtration system to keep contaminants out. There are many different types of clean rooms at NASA Goddard. According to NASA, “In Class 10,000 clean rooms, there are fewer than 2,930 micrometer particles per cubic meter of air.” Thats clean! Also in clean rooms, you are not allowed to wear perfume, lotion, hair products, or even deodorant! Can you believe that? This is because there is a risk of odors coming off of scientists and transferring onto the material they are working on. According to NASA, your body produces 100,000 particles per minute without you doing anything. This is why it's important to always wear a white suit while in the clean rooms. These suits are called “bunny suits'' and are used to keep all of those particles out of the clean room. Before they enter the clean room scientists have to go through a lot of procedures to make sure they have all of the dirt off. First, they have to walk on a sticky mat to get all of the dirt off the bottom of their shoes. Then shoes are thrown into a machine that uses special spinning brushes. After that, they have to put on a hair net and shoe covers. At this point, they now have to step into an air shower which gets all of the dust off their outside clothes. After all of those cleaning procedures, they can finally put on the bunny suit. Lastly, they put a face mask on and go in!
The Vibration Test Bed also known as VTB is designed to simulate the intense vibrations that spacecraft experience during launch and other dynamic phases of their missions. These vibrations can be extremely harsh and can potentially damage sensitive equipment if not properly accounted for. During launch, a spacecraft is subjected to powerful vibrations caused by the rocket engines' thrust and aerodynamic forces. The VTB recreates these conditions. According to NASA, “The VTB can be used to test various components of spacecraft, including but not limited to, structural elements, electronic systems, propulsion systems, and scientific instruments. This helps ensure that all components can withstand the rigors of space travel. NASA's VTB is designed to be adaptable to different spacecraft configurations and mission requirements. Engineers can adjust the frequency, amplitude, and direction of the vibrations to accurately simulate the conditions the spacecraft will encounter during launch and other phases of its mission.”
The Webb Telescope was designed to see objects 3.5 billion light years away. It was launched in 2021. According to NASA, “The Webb’s primary mirror is 6.5 meters (21.33 feet) wide with each segment weighing approximately 20 kg (49 pounds). We found out that the Webb Telescope has exactly 18 plates. The plates can be folded to fit into the rocket. It is made up of 18 hexagonal-shaped mirror segments made from beryllium which is both strong and light as well. The Webb Telescope is about 100 times more powerful than the Hubble Space Telescope.” When we started to hear all the facts about it and saw the Webb Telescope, we were especially fascinated with its features and how it worked. In conclusion, we would like to go back and learn more about the Webb Telescope.
The Roman Telescope This is the next-generation NASA space telescope. It is named in honor of Nancy Grace Roman, NASA's first chief astronomer. This telescope which is under development honors the woman who paved the way to develop a space telescope focused on the broader universe. According to NASA, “Beyond these two primary goals, it will probe a range of additional astrophysical supermassive black holes in faraway galaxies, cosmic nurseries where stars and planets come to life, and small bodies in our solar system, including types of planets never surveyed before.” The Roman scans of the sky will uncover thousands of exoplanets.
To sum things up, we gained alot of knowledge and information from these trips! We gained more knowledge that can further help us with our Mission to Mars.
Allyson Espionza, Dylan Mack, Kaden Jones, Khloe Jackson, Bre'Ann Murphy, Khalil Lomax, Trisden Mingo, Clifton White, Roland Bell, and Madison Payne are middle school scholars at Friendship Armstrong Middle School.