Hancock Health Boomerang Issue 22 February 2023

ISSUE #22 | F EBRUARY 2023

LET'S EXPLORE SPACE NASA SpaceX and Hancock County kids chat with an astronaut ...

Get ready for an "out-ofthis-world" read!!

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IN THIS ISSUE 04 FUN FACTS ... ABOUT NASA, ASTRONAUTS AND SOME LOCAL CONNECTIONS! 08 WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT SPACEX 10 EAT LIKE AN ASTRONAUT PLUS: 12 SPACE-INSPIRED SCIENCE EXPERIMENT 14 WORD SEARCH 15 BOOKSHELF

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FUN FACTS ABOUT NASA AND SPACE! The History of NASA

1.

Aeronautics research, which is a fancy word for figuring out

Did you know that NASA

how to build rockets that could power people to the moon

stands for the National

and beyond.

Aeronautics and Space Administration? It was

2.

created in 1958, years after

Science and specifically answering questions about the origins of the universe as well as our solar system and planet Earth.

World War II when people were gaining more interest

3.

in what was going on in that

Space technology, which is a fun way to say they create the tech that makes space exploration easier and even possible.

great big sky of ours. NASA has four main purposes:

4.

Human exploration and operations, which, in short, means there are people at NASA whose job it is to organize all the astronaut missions to space including the International Space Station!

Thanks to NASA’s innovations and the burning curiosity we had about what else could be out there, Neil Armstrong was the first man on the moon by the year 1969!

THE SPACE RACE Speaking of getting a man on the moon, Americans were also fueled to accomplish this task by their desire to beat the Soviet Union to the job! Even though the Soviet Union was a country all the way on the other side of the globe, we still wanted to beat them just as bad as you might want to beat your brother in a race across your backyard.

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This competition was called

His 1982 flight was special

the Space Race, and it grabbed

because it was the first time

SILLY QUESTIONS THAT ARE FUN TO ASK

everyone’s attention in the

Columbia was fully operational

We all have silly questions

1960’s. America and the Soviet

in space! He also joined

about space. Like, “Are

Union were in a cold war, which

the 1984 crew of Discovery

martians green?” “How

was a time of great tension

for NASA’s first ever space

do astronauts go to the

between the Americans

salvage mission in which they

bathroom?” How about, “Is the

and Soviets following World

successfully brought wayward

moon made of cheese?”

War II. Part of that war

satellites back to Earth.

What do you think the moon

hinged on who could develop

is made of?

proper technology for space

JANICE VOSS was born in

exploration. Thanks to NASA’s

South Bend, Ind. and was

If you said rock, then you are

brilliant minds, the U.S. won the

selected to be a NASA

RIGHT! Well, at least partially

prize when Neil Armstrong and

astronaut in 1990. She flew five

right. You see, the moon has

his crew explored the moon for

different missions and spent a

a crust, much like the Earth,

the first time!

total of 49 days in space! Later

which is made of the harder

in her career, Voss became the

material we know as rock.

SOME ASTRONAUTS WERE HOOSIERS TOO!

Science Director for the Keplar

This rock is called regolith and

Space Observatory, which looks

it gets blasted with asteroids

The sky really is the limit when

for evidence of planets outside

and meteorites, so it must be

you grow up in Indiana, at least

our solar system.

pretty strong!

some important astronauts

DAVID WOLF was born in

Underneath the rocky outside

to fly with NASA. Here are

Indianapolis, Ind. and is also

are layers and a core, again

just a few you may or may not

a graduate of Purdue

much like our own planet.

have heard of who also call the

University. He has been to

Based on the findings of

Hoosier state home!

space four times and has

scientists and astronauts at

logged more than 4,040 hours

NASA, we have discovered that

VIRGIL “GUS” GRISSOM was

in space. He is also a veteran

the super dense core is made

born in Mitchell, Ind. and later

of seven spacewalks totaling

of a metals such as iron and

attended Purdue University. He

41hrs 17min in both Russian

nickel. That core is surrounded

was a member of the Mercury

and American spacesuits.

by a fluid outer core. The moon

that is what happened for

Seven and was the second astronaut to enter space!

JOE ALLEN was born in Crawfordsville, Ind. and served as the mission specialist on the space shuttle Columbia.

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used to have magma under the MAYBE SOMEDAY SOMEONE

surface that led to volcanic

WILL BE TALKING ABOUT YOU

activity, but it has since cooled

AS AN INDIANA ASTRONAUT!

down.

LOCAL STUDENTS CHAT WITH THE SPACE STATION!

Four of the five students selected to asks a question went to the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis to watch Lindgren answer their questions live while the fifth student, Jordyn, stayed at school to join in with the other Brandywine Elementary students, teachers

Five students from Brandywine

and administrative staff who

Elementary School had the

took part in a “space” themed

opportunity to ask a real

day of learning. Even Principal

astronaut at the International

Austin Theobald joining the

Space Stations questions in

fun, dressing up like Star War’s

last fall.

Darth Vader!

The five students, Eleanor

Watch NASA Expedition 67

Bowman, 4th grade; Jordyn

Flight Engineer Kjell Lindgren

Foley, 4th grade; Bryson Baker,

answer students questions

4th grade; Ryder Kopernak, 3rd

here!

grade; and Braxton Smith, 4th grade, were randomly selected

CLICK TO WATCH

to video tape a question for American astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren while he’s stationed in outer space.

Lindgren then listened to the questions submitted by the students and answered them during a live broadcast from the International Space Station on Aug. 30, 227 miles above earth.

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READY FOR LAUNCH If you like watching shuttles rocket their way into space, then we hope you caught the launch of the SpaceX Dragon Endeavor. What a cool name for a spaceship, huh? The Dragon Endeavor took Crew-6, a crew of four astronauts from America and two other countries, into orbit to dock with the International Space Station.

It’s just another day on the job for NASA and SpaceX! SpaceX is the brainchild of Tesla owner, Elon Musk.

Together with the United States’ NASA, they have partnered to ensure success and continuous innovation.

This is the 10th crewed flight for SpaceX and the fourth flight for the ship Dragon Endeavor.

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WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO DOCK WITH THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION? Guiding a 200,000-pound rocket into a parking spot at the International Space Station (ISS) is a job for someone who knows their stuff. Crew-6 (and any astronaut) will train for hours on end to make sure they have the movements down to a “T.” In fact, they use training simulators that might look a lot like your own video games you play at home. An astronaut’s accuracy must be precise with no room for error. It’s like the biggest undertaking of parallel parking you will ever encounter!

After they park and pay the meter (just kidding!) the crew will be greeted by astronauts and cosmonauts who are already living on the space station. Working on the ISS means astronauts are busy running and managing experiments, keeping the station clean and functional, and taking care of other everyday tasks that are harder in space, such as eating, exercising or using the bathroom.

SpaceX is delivering their

might be the key. This comes in

crew for a six-month stay on

the form of ammonia borane,

the ISS. What would you do if

and one tiny tablet can cause

you had a six- month space

a BIG reaction.

vacation?

HOW DOES A SHUTTLE GET ALL THE WAY OUT INTO SPACE?

You want to see more for yourself? Head to the Purdue University website to see a video about the green light

Getting the SpaceX Dragon

emitted both during hyperbolic

Endeavor to the ISS is no small

and ammonia borane

task either. It uses hypergolic

explosions! If you like big

fuel in its boosters to create

reactions, then this is right up

that powerful speed that

your alley!

can get astronauts both out of the atmosphere and

WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER!

then back home again. The problem? Even though they

From outer space to our entire

have great performance in

planet to right here in our own

space travel, hypergolic fuels

state, people everywhere are

are incredibly toxic and bad for

curious about what is next for

the environment. In last year’s

space exploration. With the

SpaceX mission, astronauts

latest SpaceX launch and more

returning to Earth had to

on the way, commercial space

wait in their capsule before

flight will probably happen in

stepping outside of it to be

your lifetime! Would you get on

sure the toxins were burned

a shuttle and rocket out into

away.

the universe? Where would you go first?

But innovative minds are setting their sights on something with a much cleaner burn and less toxic residue. In fact, the mechanical engineering school at Purdue University (our home-state college that has turned out many astronauts including Neil Armstrong himself!) is using a new approach that just

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EAT LIKE AN ASTRONAUT WITH THIS SPACE-THEMED RECIPE Have you ever seen what astronauts eat? Carrying food like the stuff your mom or dad buys at the grocery store is too heavy when you are setting out into space.

Instead, astronauts aboard space craft eat dehydrated foods. This means that the water is taken out so that they can conserve both weight and storage space. All they need to do is rehydrate (or add the water back in) and POOF! They have an instant meal.

It sounds easy, but does it taste good? The jury is out as to whether or not you would like to have powdered ice cream or dehydrated pot roast for dinner. But we can pretend to be an astronaut and find out what it is like to make a fun snack by just adding water!

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Let’s make some astronaut pudding that is out of this world!

YOU WILL NEED: •

Instant pudding mix

•

Powdered milk

•

Water

•

Quart size zipper storage bags

•

Measuring spoons

•

Measuring cup

1.

Stay on the Healthy Track with this Smoothie • Astronauts eat almost all their meals with a spoon

FUN FACTS ABOUT ASTRONAUT DINING: •

All food packages use Velcro, which was invented by NASA

•

No cookies or bread are on board

•

In space, people’s tongues don’t make enough saliva so

First, measure out 1 TBSP

the astronauts can’t taste mild flavors very well…they prefer

plus 2 tsp of instant

spicy or strongly flavored foods instead

pudding mix into the zippered storage bag.

If you are making multiple servings, make sure every bag has the same amount of pudding mix.

2.

Next, you will want to add 1 TBSP plus 2 tsp of powdered milk to the pudding mix. This mixture of dry ingredients is how a meal would look before an astronaut rehydrates it.

3.

Now the fun part…to your bag add a ½ cup of water and seal the zipper. Mix, squish and squeeze it around with your hands until it is blended and begins to set up a bit.

4.

When you are ready to have your astronaut dessert, simple cut a corner of your storage bag and squirt it right into your mouth, space style.

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SPACE SCIENCE:

HANDPRINT ART USING ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT

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Have you ever been curious about that big yellow ball in the sky called the sun? How does it give us sunburns when it is all the way up in outer space and we are down here on Earth? The answer can be found in this fun science experiment!

YOU WILL NEED: •

1 piece of colored construction paper

•

Sunscreen

•

A sunny spot outside

•

Rocks or other heavy objects to weigh down the paper

1.

First, coat your hands with a thin layer of sunscreen. You don’t want to rub it all the way in, so make sure there is some left on your palms.

2.

Next, place your hands down on the construction paper.

Press down so the thin layer of sunscreen rubs off onto the paper underneath your palms.

3.

Then, place your piece of paper in a sunny spot outside. Make sure to weigh it down with your rocks so it doesn’t blow away!

Leave it here for 3-4 hours.

What did you find when you came back to your paper? You may notice that the sun caused fading of the color and the paper doesn’t look so bright anymore. What about the place where you put your hands covered in sunscreen? Those handprints are showing you where the paper was protected from Ultraviolet (UV) light, the rays of the sun that are invisible to our eyes but that cause us sunburns in the summer.

Sunscreen contains chemicals that reflect or absorb UV light, protecting the paper underneath. This also works on our skin, which is why your parents are always reminding you to grab your sunscreen before heading outside with friends. Who knew that the sun, although millions of miles away, could change the chemical compounds of something as small as a piece of paper? Now that’s some cool space science!

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EXPLORING SPACE WORD SEARCH 14

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SPACESUIT | LAUNCH | SPACEX | SOLAR | MOON ASTRONAUT | PLANET | METEOR | STARS | EARTH MISSION | SHUTTLE | GALAXY | ROCKET | NASA | SUN

BOOMERANG BOOKSHELF HERE ARE SOME BOOKS ABOUT SPACE YOU MIGHT ENJOY THIS MONTH! SPACE EXPLORERS

BY EVA MOORE BEWARE! SPACE JUNK!

BY GERONIMO STILITON WE DREAM OF SPACE

BY ERIN ENTRADA KELLY THE INCREDIBLE SPACE RAIDERS: FROM SPACE!

BY WESLEY KING SPACE CASE: A MOON BASE ALPHA NOVEL

BY STUART GIBBS SUBMITTED BY NICOLE STICHTER, YOUTH SERVICES LIBRARIAN, HANCOCK COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY

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