Scientist's presentation out-of-this-world
CRANBERRY TWP — The moon is moving away from the Earth, and astronauts are more prone to getting sick after returning home. These were just a few facts area students learned during a visit by James Green, chief scientist for NASA's planetary science division, at the RLA Learning and Conference Center Friday morning.
From 9 a.m. to noon, students sat rapt as Green discussed the progress scientists have made over the decades, from constructing the first satellites in the 1950s and 1960s to the robots and computer models of today.
“You are all in the space generation, but when I was born we didn't even have a satellite,” he said.
Since then, scientists have made huge strides in space travel and exploration, launching numerous successful trips to space and taking pictures of distant planets and moons.
Green asked how many people in the room were 20 years old or younger. Nearly every hand went up.
“In your life, there has always been somebody living in space — and that's on the space station,” he said.
From the moon landing to recent Mars exploration and NASA's flyby of the now-dwarf planet Pluto, Green walked the students through NASA's illustrious history of expanding human understanding of what lies beyond Earth's atmosphere.
Exploration and discoveries often unlock new areas of understanding, both on Earth and in space, Green said.
On the trip to the moon, astronauts left a reflective panel, allowing scientists on Earth to shine a laser at it and measure the distance between the Earth and the moon.
This led to a shocking discovery.
“The moon moves away from the Earth,” Green said. “An inch and a half away every year.”
Exploration might also lead to medical innovations. For example, when astronauts return from space, researchers have found that their immune systems are weakened, comparable to that of an elderly person.
However, the immune system of the younger astronaut quickly finds a way to repair itself.
Studying and understanding this process, Green said, could be instrumental to improving the lives of the elderly, potentially expanding life expectancy by many years.
Green said NASA has plans to send another rover to Mars in 2020, along with a helicopter to map the terrain. A contest will be held next year for students across the country to propose names for it.
NASA also is working on sending people to Mars, Green said, possibly by the 2030s or 2040s. For now, rovers and landers on the planet continue to study it and send pictures back home.
Scientists are also searching for the elusive “Planet 9,” which some believe to be the size of Neptune and orbits somewhere beyond Pluto.
Green encouraged the students to study hard and be determined in their career fields of choice, adding that the future space industry will need more than just astrophysicists to explore and study other planets.
“All kinds of fields are necessary to be involved in the space venture that we have going on in this country,” he said.
Architects, biologists, engineers and much more will be needed not only to explore space, but also to make extraterrestrial spaces inhabitable for human life, Green said.
For those determined to build a space-centered career, he encouraged hard work and commitment to math, science and engineering.
“Study hard, get involved in science, all the aspects of engineering,” he said. “Burn a hole in steel. Make it happen. Be determined.”
Those interested in hearing more from Green about space study and discovery can listen to his podcast, Gravity Assist, in which he interviews scientists about their areas of study.
