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Celebrating Young Innovators: The Making of Science Fair The Educational Side of the Esports Obsession Poppy Northcutt’s Wild Lunar Ride Media Awareness Through Podcasting
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FROM THE EDITOR In late July, I returned to my old Kentucky home and spoke to a full house of students and parents as part of the Crittenden County Library’s “Universe of Stories” summer reading program. I shared stories from my previous work with the Apollo astronauts and delivered space-themed door prizes from Mars and Apollo: Mission to the Moon, two great shows from our friends at National Geographic Channel. Those of us old enough to remember reminisced about that wonderful moonlit July 20 evening in the Summer of ’69, when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on another heavenly body. However, the bulk of the message focused on the future.
“ This new Space Age is about habitation, deeper space exploration, getting to the Moon and Mars and staying there.”
Simply put, we’ve entered another Space Age — and our STEM students are the astronauts, engineers, technicians, coders and programmers, robotics and gaming geniuses, visionaries and manufacturers who will make it happen. This is their era, their mission, their legacy. “This Space Age is different than the one in the Sixties,” I said. “Then, we were in a Cold War and in a race with Russia to get to the Moon; that was the driving force. We took short trips and got back to Earth. “This new Space Age is about habitation, deeper space exploration, getting to the Moon and Mars and staying there. It also has a growing commercial space industry, meaning lots of new jobs in years to come. We never had that before. It’s not just about how much money the government will give NASA anymore.” A new Space Age… What a thrilling time to be a student, especially on a STEM or STEAM track! Dozens of career paths are opening up for what will become hundreds of thousands of positions. When it comes to commercial space companies, we hear primarily of SpaceX, Blue Origin and Virgin America — led by visionaries Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson — but did you know there are 467 commercial space companies now? In 2010, there were twelve. Plus, as pointed out by Lori Schwartz, CNN technology correspondent and author of the forthcoming book The Tech Cat, “Up to half the job and career descriptions that will be available to middle school and high school students when they graduate from college or grad school haven’t even been created yet.” If you thought the 2010s were fast-paced… With current plans to return to the Moon in 2024, and Mars sometime between 2035-2040, the time is now for STEM teachers and administrators to connect curriculum to career even further. Our robotics and E Sports leagues, academic and math bowls, technology and engineering labs, and other ways of stretching the classroom will dive further into career tracking in the 2020s. A new space race, complete with huge commercial presence, could employ up to 1 million worldwide — in no less than fifty different career categories. Few lessons in a classroom are more fun or engaging than those involving exploration and building the machinery to get there. There are plenty of resources. NASA’s education website features STEM guidelines for teachers wishing to weave space subjects into their curricula. Space Camp is an awesome week-long experience for parents, teachers and students wanting to experience the life of an astronaut or supporting crew. Job boards are already up; those 467 companies are already on the hunt for quality young women and men. It’s only going to get better as the 2020s move forward. We’ve desperately needed something very big to shoot for. Nothing promotes innovation and human growth more than vision combined with purpose, and the willpower to make it happen. With the new Space Race, we can have it all — with a full workforce of trained STEM students making it happen. This issue’s for you.
Robert Yehling Executive Editor
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STEM TODAY | SPRING/SUMMER 2019
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On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced a U.S. goal to land a crew on the moon and return to Earth. Just over eight years later, on July 20, 1969, the main focus of the Apollo 11 mission, the iconic “one giant leap for mankind,” was completed as Neil Armstrong took his first steps on the lunar surface. Photo NASA This publication is dedicated to the dreamers, the innovators, the collaborators, and the doers – who can’t be bothered by those saying it can’t be done. Nicholas and Aria,the future is yours!
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contents COVER STORY
22 5 0 Years Ago, an Eagle Landed By Robert Yehling Cover Photo: NASA
8 Celebrating Young Innovators: The Making of Science Fair 10 Barbie Has Hookworm 12 The Women Behind Your Favorite Video Games 16 T he Educational Side of the Esports Obsession 24 Poppy Northcutt’s Wild Lunar Ride 26 Apollo’s PRODUCTive Legacy 28 M issions to the Moon: In Real-Time 32 T he New Space Race 36 C oding for Inclusivity 38 M edia Awareness Through Podcasting 42 “ Click Here! (and Other Digital Renaissance Fallacies) 46 U pon Further Review…
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STEM TODAY | SPRING/SUMMER 2019
Celebrating Young Innovators:
The Making of Science Fair The NatGeo documentary prepares for global TV release after an award-winning run through festivals and theaters. By Robert Yehling
I
magine working on a science project for an entire year, or even two. Which, considering you’re a teenager, is ten percent of your life or more. Then you head onto the world stage. Setting your project topic aside, what would that feel like? How might it impact friends? Fellow students? The world?
clear: science is cool, a STEM track matters greatly, and the future is unlimited for those who pursue their passions.
For nine boys and girls whose 2017 International Science & Engineering Fair journeys were chronicled on NatGeo’s documentary Science Fair, the impact is huge. Ryan Folz, Harsha Palagudu, Abraham RiedelMishaan, and Anjali Chadha stepped out of their Manual High School classroom in Louisville, KY to become role models to students globally. Myllena Braz da Silva showed her fellow Brazilians that girls can excel in science. On it goes.
“It’s so great to see such ambition and confidence,” said director Christina Costantini, herself a former International Science Fair competitor. “The greatest thing that happened was being partnered with National Geographic. The outreach they have is incredible, giving us an audience we thought we’d never reach. It’s an international film with an international cast, so we’re excited to see how it does around the world.”
Their stories form the backbone of Science Fair. The 90-minute doc swept the Best of Audience awards at 2018 Sundance and SXSW, drew large theater crowds, and was beamed into 5,000 schools nationwide. Now, as Science Fair prepares for a TV run in 170 countries, the team is reflecting on the impact. Their messages are
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Case in point: in 2008, a high school senior from the Bronx finished second in the International Science & Engineering Fair. Her name? Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Science Fair has received accolades for its personal approach, rather than a more technical, follow-the-project angle. It’s been called an “ode to the teenage science geeks on whom our future depends.” In particular, it zeroes in on the victories, defeats, and motivations of young men and women changing their lives, and the world, through science.
“At premieres, kids will come up and go, ‘Can I have a photo with you? You’re a huge inspiration,’” Ryan Folz said. “That part’s really interesting. I’m not used to people being nervous about having a photo with me! I’m just a normal person.” Added Harsha Palagudu, one of his project work partners, “Most of the projects were portrayed pretty well, but the focus was more on our personal journeys … The focus of the film isn’t on the intricacies of everyone else’s project. They did a good job presenting what it feels like to be competing in the Fair.” A look at the Louisville team’s Science Fair project exemplifies what it takes to stand out against the world’s smartest and most innovative young scientists. They developed a 3D-printed stethoscope with automated diagnosis algorithms. “At first, we wanted to make a cheaper stethoscope design, but then we realized we wanted it to reach doctors in countries who couldn’t even afford a basic stethoscope,” Folz explained. Added Palagudu, “We decided to make it a fully immersive platform that included the front-end made by Ryan, easy for people with
Initially premiering at Sundance, Science Fair struck a chord with audiences and critics alike, with the film receiving awards at SXSW, the Fairhope Film Festival, and the Critic’s Choice Documentary Awards.
very little knowledge about technology, or science in general, to use the stethoscope. I made the algorithms that could figure out whether a heart sound was normal or abnormal, and push people to say, ‘Hey you might actually need to go to the doctor; there’s something wrong here.’” When hearing this, consider that Palagudu, Folz, Anjali Chanda, and Abraham RiedelMishaan were 17 and 18 when they presented the stethoscope. “I think our school [curriculum] helped us form the basis of the work, but once we identified our project, we learned skills and pursued them independently,” Folz added. “My brother got me an introduction to Android programming book when I was a sophomore. I learned how to make Android apps, more complex skills, then I took AP computer science classes that taught me how to code. Most of what we did utilized real-world computer skills you normally don’t get until third or fourth year of college; we had to learn on our own.” The required focus sets young achievers apart from dreamers, as fellow teammate Chanda
pointed out. “I try to make projects easy on myself, so I use two criteria when choosing: I want it to impact more people than myself; and I want it to be something that interests me so much, that when I get up in the morning, I’m excited to be working on it every day,” she said. With the film’s more personal focus, Costantini and her production partner, Darren Foster, addressed the cultural and professional gaps between STEM-educated boys and girls, their confidence levels, and the opportunities the science world affords to each. Chadha, a powerful and motivated young woman, minced no words. “So many young girls have reached out to me or spoken to me after showings and said this is one of the first times they really felt like there could be an even playing field,” she said. “I have to thank the filmmakers, because it’s a conscious choice to promote women’s self-confidence, equality.” One who really feels the pressure of being a young woman in science is Myllena Braz da Silva, who lives in Brazil, where women in career fields are often stymied. “I received a lot of comments from colleagues and teachers, saying, ‘Your place is not here.’ Even my partner,
Gabriel, was told, ‘Why don’t you choose a boy, instead of having a girl helping you?’ That’s the stigma – girls don’t do well as boys. I would like that to be different. I have a saying, ‘The place of the woman is where she wants to be.’” Featured teacher Dr. Serena McCalla of Jericho High School in New York elaborated. “On these projects, boys will do very well if you let them do what they want,” she said with a chuckle. “So I step back initially, then when they have something, I tend to be tough on them to make sure it matches their vision. Once the girls find their path, they run with it. The girls in this competition do know they’re good enough. Once the girls feel they’re supported, that they’re not alone, then they will soar.” Costantini and Foster are already thinking about a sequel, for a simple reason: the 17- and 18-year-olds in the movie are now 20 and 21, and their lives have changed greatly. “We’ve thought about a sequel five or ten years out, just to see how their lives were shaped by the Science Fair experience,” Costantini said. You never know. A certain young Congresswoman can attest to that. ■ SPRING/SUMMER 2019 | STEM TODAY
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Barbie Has Hookworm National Geographic is Bringing Barbie to Unexplored Territory By Patricia Miller
When I was 13 years old, I sent an email to National Geographic asking what I needed to do to become a National Geographic explorer. My dream was to travel the world exploring unknown and under-researched places for the benefit of mankind. Ambitious, I know, particularly for a little girl. I had just watched one of National Geographic’s documentary series, this one entitled “Africa Extreme,” in which an intrepid explorer named J. Michael Fay took a 1,200mile hike across dense African jungle. He was living my dream: pulling hook worms out of his feet, facing wild animals, and arguing with armed poachers. But, aside from Carmen Sandiego, I had never seen a woman exploring the world. I was desperate for a female role model who wasn’t scared of exploring, of being on her own, of being a scientist or foraging a new frontier. Thankfully, the world of female role models has expanded dramatically since my pubescence, and there are examples of powerful women in nearly every field. But, that shift hasn’t been well reflected in the world of children’s toys. Recent forays into STEM for girls have cost some companies dearly, with big misses by some major manufacturers. Toy maker Mattel was among them, with offerings like their STEM kit, which gave girls the opportunity to engineer their very own… washing machines and shoe racks. “Now you can build your own devices of oppression!” I thought to myself as I watched the glittery, pink advertisement for the toy. When I heard about Mattel’s recent endeavor to bring Barbie to new heights by pairing with National Geographic, I was a bit skeptical. Upon deeper inspection though, I’m in love. I love the concept, I hope I’ll love the execution (the dolls will debut in fall of this year), and I
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love the idea that other little girls who are dreaming of becoming world-travelling explorers will now have a toy that reflects their ambitions. The partnership promises to highlight careers with low female engagement and make them approachable to children. Careers in fields like wildlife conservation, astrophysics, polar marine biology, wildlife photojournalism, and even entomology will be represented by the new line. The best part? These weren’t created in a male-dominated vacuum; each doll and playset was approved by an advisory board of female National Geographic explorers. The move is part of the toy maker’s larger ambition known as the “Dream Gap project” initiated late last year. Mattel explained the Dream Gap in a press release: “By the age of 5, many girls are less likely than boys to view their own gender as smart and begin to lose confidence in their own competency. Cultural stereotypes, implicit biases, and representation in the media work together to further this issue.” They’re working with researchers at New York University to extend research around the Dream Gap and raise global awareness of the issue. When National Geographic responded to my 13-year-old inquiry, they told me that the field is incredibly competitive but, by studying photography and biology, and working hard in school, I had the potential to someday become a National Geographic explorer myself. Twenty years later, I may not be a world explorer, but I am a journalist and a scientist. And my hope is that when children play with Mattel’s new line, they’ll see themselves reflected in those tiny plastic faces and feel a bit more capable of achieving their loftiest ambitions. ■ Images courtesy of Mattel, Inc.
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The Women Behind Your Favorite Video Games An inside look at gaming from the women working behind the scenes. By Patricia Miller While one would hope the gaming industry includes a diverse workforce as varied as the characters and worlds we see on the screen, that’s often not the case. In fact, according to Statista, less than 21 percent of people employed in the gaming industry identify as female. To learn more about the unique challenges of being a woman in a largely male field, we spoke with some of the talented women working behind the scenes on your favorite games.
Amy Scott
Producer at Lucid Games, Ltd. Do you see yourself represented in the games being developed today? Not at all. I have seen characters such as Ellie in The Last of Us and Clementine in The Walking Dead, who could be good role models for younger girls. There is also Lara Croft, whose physical portrayal has progressed massively! I remember the day I went into the computer store for a copy of Catz for the PC and bumped into Lara’s mannequin and nearly had both eyes taken out. I haven’t come across a character who I think represents me. Name a game with a short, quite angry, Irish woman who dresses as a child and I will eat my wicker hat. Seriously though, I can see games trying and that’s what’s important. We might not be there yet, but there are definitive moves in the right direction. What would you consider your greatest success in the video game industry? My greatest success in the video game industry is my tenacity and resilience. When I was strong enough to say, “No,” to all the times I was being treated unfairly, for trusting my gut instinct, being patient, and by recognizing a good opportunity… I was educated in a Catholic convent for girls and I was very interested in art, math, and physics. I wanted to work in a creative industry but didn’t know what the industries were or how to go about it. Unfortunately, my career advisor was pathetically ignorant, so I was told artist isn’t a lucrative career. I left after my GCSEs and went to a sixth form college. The careers advisor there told me that a career in media was too competitive so not to bother. I asked him, “What if I am the competition?” The fact that I am here, and I have worked my way up from the first rung of the ladder to be a producer for a company who makes content to be proud of, is a success. I am looking forward to continuing my career with Lucid Games for as long as I can, full of creative talented people, and a place where I have the space and positive energy to grow alongside them.
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Marina Diez Pereiro
Freelance Game Designer What are some of the challenges you’ve faced as a woman in a male-dominated industry? I feel that I constantly need to demonstrate that I’m talented and valuable. It’s not only that you need to demonstrate that you are a good professional, but also you need to be successful in other stuff, like social media, and of course being hot and pretty – everything at the same time. This is something that is not openly asked of women, but it’s implicit in society and not only in the games industry. Do you see yourself represented in the games being developed today? Undoubtedly I feel more represented now than when I played Pokémon Yellow for the first time when I was five years old and discovered that my gender was “male” by default. However, we still need to work on diversity and inclusion, not only with women, but also with minorities. What advice would you offer other women who are interested in a career in gaming? My advice for women, not only for those interested in a career in gaming but in general, is that they must do whatever they want and whatever makes them happy without listening to others’ opinions. It seems very basic, but society teaches women very well that they need to care about others while forgetting what they really want.
Robyn Gray
In general, inclusivity is an issue. Cultural and racial inclusivity is also pretty awful in games. What we’ve been trying to do with protagonists in our games is trying to make them diverse or give you the options to be diverse and to be represented.
Chief Creative Officer & Cofounder at Otherworld Interactive Have you experienced any challenges that are unique to being a woman in a male-dominated industry? I don’t think I’ve experienced any of that… I think, because my brother did all these – he’s nine years older than me – I saw him do X, Y, or Z and assumed I could do it, because why wouldn’t I be able to do it?
There’s definitely a hiring issue, obviously. But I think what’s more important, or at least as important, is you have all these women or people of color who play games and love playing games, but they’re always stuck playing the white guy. I think as we hire more women and generally hire more diversely, hopefully their influence will create more experiences where you can be diverse protagonists which would, in turn, encourage the continued and increased hiring of more women.
But really, I couldn’t admit being a woman would impact my life until Gamergate started really coming up and I started going, “I guess I am a woman.” But I don’t really think of myself that way. I just think of myself as a person trying to get stuff done. How do you think the gaming industry could become a more inclusive space for women?
Megan Garrett
Digital Account Associate at Activision Blizzard What is one of your favorite games of all time? This is a difficult question as I have so many, but if I had to pick one, Persona 5 (Atlus). On the outside: a very charming, stylish, and very Japanese RPG, but there is a lot more to it. I loved the narrative and the connections between all the characters. Taking away the imagery, the female characters were empowering and independent and not used in supportive roles to see the males through their mission. They were a unit and, having spent almost 100 hours playing this game, I was sad to see it end. Do you see yourself represented in the games being developed today? Female characters are becoming less of a support or as a prize for the male lead characters in video games. Characters like Claire Redfield (Resident Evil 2), Lara Croft (Tomb Raider), and Aloy (Horizon Zero Dawn) I can relate to so much. Young women trying to strive towards their goal with obstacles in their way. It’s not easy, but in the end they push themselves to achieve what they set out to do. I believe, like me, this is something every woman in the industry can relate to. How can young women become more involved in the gaming space? Attend as many events as they can, whether development talks or big shows such as EGX, Gamescom, or E3. The industry is all about building a strong network, so if more young women attended public events they would have the opportunity to start building that by talking to other women in the industry.
SPRING/SUMMER 2019 | STEM TODAY
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The Women Behind Your Favorite Video Games
Rhianna Pratchett
Lead Writer for Crystal Dynamics on Tomb Raider (2013) and Rise of the Tomb Raider (2015) How were you able to create a fresh, modern story around Lara Croft, such a well-known character? The developers, Crystal Dynamics, had a fairly blank slate going into the reboot, and we could pick and choose elements we wanted to keep, enhance, or do away with all together. We weren’t beholden to any particular element. We decided to focus the story on a younger, greener Lara, who is on her first big adventure, fresh out of college. She’s facing things she’s never experienced before, which make her question what she knows of the world and herself. Eventually, she realizes she has to rise to the challenge if she has any hope of surviving. Focusing on a younger Lara allowed us to show the “Tomb Raider” bubbling to the surface, and it also meant we could explore themes such as the human vs. the hero and sacrifice vs. loss. How do you see gaming evolving in the next decade? I think we’ll see VR, MR, and AR improving in leaps and bounds, both the tech and the games themselves. Hopefully we’ll see more studios embracing episodic gaming in the way Telltale Games and DontNod have, and create different ways of bringing story to players. It would be good to see a new flourish in middle-ground development too. One which embraces the freedom and creativity of indie development, with the production values of AAA. Do you see yourself represented in the games that are being developed today? Certainly my gaming tastes, yes. Although there aren’t too many 42-year-old women starring in games, which is a shame. Hopefully, as we start to embrace diversity more, we will expand it out to age, background, and experience, as well as other areas.
Special thanks to the WomenInGames.org Ambassador Program. For full interviews, stay tuned to www.innotechtoday.com ■
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The Educational Side of the Esports Obsession With millions of viewers, thousands of communities and high school and collegiate teams, Esports is more than the latest competitive video game obsession. It’s now part of our educational process. By Mike Washburn
Esports is here to stay. If you don’t play video games, that’s fine. If you don’t believe in technology in education, that’s fine too (not really, but that’s another subject. Fact is, technology in education, games-based learning, and specifically Esports are bursting onto the scene whether you’re into them or not.
Not all video games are competitively played, and not all competitively played games have developed Esports communities. The games that have migrated are the ones students talk about in their classrooms every day: League of Legends, Fortnite, Overwatch, Hearthstone and Rocket League, for example.
With that in mind, let’s look at what is happening in schools all across North America as the most popular form of gaming has moved from the living room to the classroom.
Esports isn’t just popular with the kids, though. Esports is big business. Over 100 million people watched the 2018 League of Legends World Championship. For reference, they drew more North American viewers than the final games of the 2018 World Series and
Esports refers to competitive video game play. It is worth noting there is some nuance to this.
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2018 NBA Finals combined. Every day, millions of people log onto streaming platforms such as Twitch (purchased by Amazon for just under $1 billion) to watch Esports tournaments all over the world. Those tournaments offer top prizes that can exceed $1 million. Also, Esports teams have monetary value in this new world. The most valuable Esports team is Cloud9 with an estimated value of over $300 million, according to Forbes. The most popular Twitch streamer, Tyler Blevins — known as “Ninja” in the gaming world — earns seven figures per month. If the metric for when a
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medium has hit the mainstream is the monetary value of its elements, there is no doubt that Esports is not only mainstream, but incredibly important in how we spend our time, and money.
community is Thursday nights at 7:30 p.m. ET on Twitter. Additionally, these same educators have created a Discord server to provide a space for active discussion and the curation of resources.
Since educators are always looking for compelling ways to engage and teach students simultaneously, it was inevitable that inventive educators, passionate about video games and game-based learning, would grab onto Esports as the next big thing. With inventive educators comes passionate discussion. Now there are online communities talking about Esports in education, and their numbers are growing fast. For example, a quick scan of the Twitter hashtag #EsportsEDU will show leading educators discussing aspects of Esports in schools, including how to get started. The regularly scheduled chat for the #EsportsEDU
One of the most prominent groups working in Esports in education is the North America Scholastic Esports Federation. Originally operating in Southern California as the Orange County High School Esports League, it quickly developed from 25 schools and 38 teams into NASEF (https://www.esportsfed.org/), which now boasts 155 clubs and 2,176 students across 22 states in two countries. Groups in China, Japan and Korea are all interested in working with NASEF as well, according to NASEF officials Tom Turner and Kevin Brown.
STEM TODAY | SPRING/SUMMER 2019
And organizations are putting their money
into NASEF. The California-based Samueli Foundation has invested over $1 million, which made a massive impact on NASEF’s ability to grow and develop their programs. Part of the success of NASEF is its commitment to legitimate curriculum integration. Through work with the University of California Irvine, UCI Esports, and the UCI Connected Learning Lab, along with a team of world-class education advisors including Constance Steinkuehler, NASEF has developed a certified high school English curriculum with Esports embedded into the content. “Curriculum was vital for our inclusion in the whole program and that was the original call, to connect learning and Esports...its a true, integrated course of study,” says Turner, NASEF’s Chief Education Officer.
The Educational Side of the Esports Obsession NASEF has built out an incredible support structure to help anyone interested in implementing Esports at their schools. The site devotes many pages to forming and creating Esports clubs, as well as participating in various NASEF-sanctioned leagues. Online videos and webinars help you get the ball rolling. Many NASEF staff members are active participants in the Discord channel and #EsportsEDU Twitter chat as well. While NASEF invested much of their curriculum effort into a language curriculum, it goes without saying that language learning is not the only path in terms of the teaching and learning value of using Esports in the classroom. Consider the entire Esports “ecosystem” as a place where dozens of skills can be taught and learned. Also, a student does not have to be playing the game to obtain a meaningful learning experience from Esports. Many meaningful learning opportunities happen beyond playing. Embedded within the needs of a scholastic competitive gaming program could be video and sound production, audio engineering, narrative design, broadcasting and play-by-play, social media management, team managers, content creators, and website designers. That’s a lot of learning and future career opportunities. In my mind, building out an Esports learning ecosystem may truly be the most effective and engaging way to teach students to use digital content creation tools as well. It would be naive to suggest there are no challenges to implementing an Esports program at schools. There are many challenges. On the technical side, considerations need to be made for playing devices and other ecosystem activities. Internet connectivity could be an issue if schools have not updated their network recently. Game licenses and software to support ecosystem activities are necessary. External concerns exist such as parental, administrative and district support and approval. Funding will almost always be an issue related to Esports in education; a solid plan to raise funds should be in place. Because this is happening in school, there will be questions surrounding curriculum
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Courtesy of Anderson, Tsaasan, Reitman, Lee, Wu, Steele, Turner & Steinkuehler (2018)
connections and assessment. And are games truly valuable as educational tools? We’ve asked that question since video games came onto the scene in the 1980s; schools considering the onboarding of Esports need to ask that question again. Despite these challenges, new clubs and classrooms are openeing their doors to Esports on a weekly basis. While success is being seen at all levels, there are certainly some standouts. At the college level, Dr. Chris Haskell and Dr. Brett Shelton at Boise State University in Idaho are building out a world-class collegiate Esports program. Chris Aviles and Steve Issacs, both middle school teachers in New Jersey and both renowned games-based learning educators, have led the way for Esports in elementary and middle school.
Esports should be seen as another opportunity to reach a student previously thought of as “unreachable”. Our job as educators is always to discover where a student’s passions lie, how to unlock and tap into those passions. We must bring our students’ home life – what they do for fun at home - closer to their school life. When we bridge this gap between home and school experience, we see massive increases in engagement — every single time. Maybe Esports is the way to do that. By playing the most popular games on the planet, and connecting dozens of creative skills through an ecosystem with connections to hundreds of learning objectives, we can activate a whole world of opportunity for students. Game on! ■
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50 Years Ago, an Eagle Landed
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On July 20, 1969, more than 150 million Americans, and a billion others around the globe, huddled around their TV sets to watch two astronauts land, and walk, on the moon for the very first time. Eight years earlier, President John F. Kennedy had made it the United States’ goal to travel to the moon and back by the end of the decade. Needless to say, Kennedy would have been thrilled to watch Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin’s awe-inspiring mission beyond the stratosphere. Their journey was truly one to behold. After traversing 240,000 miles in 76 hours, Apollo 11 successfully brought Armstrong, Collins, and Aldrin into lunar orbit. The mission’s key moment came when the Apollo lunar module, better known as The Eagle, would descend upon the moon’s untouched surface, resulting in a truly unforgettable quote and an iconic image that’s honored to this day. It can be easy to forget just how pivotal that one small step has been, not just for the U.S., but the scientific community as a whole. And, while the feeling of waking up on that one July day to see history occur live on television may be impossible to recreate, celebrating the incredible achievement of NASA’s giant leap for mankind half a century ago is a fitting tribute. Photos NASA
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Poppy Northcutt’s Wild Lunar Ride A young Texas mathematical whiz figured out lunar orbital trajectories — and became the first woman to work in Mission Control. Her mission? Apollo Interview By Beth Covington
Photo: Robert Yehling
(Above) Poppy Northcutt with Apollo: Missions to the Moon director Tom Jennings. (Right) Poppy Northcutt, a mathematician at the Houston Operations of TRW's Systems Group, staffs a console in NASA's Mission Control Center-Houston and is responsible for computing maneuvers which would bring the Apollo spacecraft home from the Moon. Poppy was on duty in the Control Center when Apollo 8 and Apollo 10 launched out of lunar orbit for their return to the Earth. Photo Alamy.com
Poppy Northcutt understands what all the fuss is about — and loves every minute of it. Finally, five decades after her precise calculations enabled nine teams of Apollo astronauts to orbit the moon and return safely to earth (six teams walked; three worked in orbit), her huge role in mankind’s greatest voyage to date is chronicled in chronicled in Apollo: Missions to the Moon, on the NatGeo Channel in July. In a decade that has brought out the huge roles women played in our space program, highlighted by the movie Hidden Figures and the first episode of the CNN series 1969, Poppy has become a minor celebrity. While the computresses in Hidden Figures actually started in the mid-1940s (the movie focuses on the late 1950s and early 1960s), Poppy went to work for TRW in 1965. Soon, the mathematical and engineering whiz had a new assignment: the fledgling Apollo program.
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“I, of course, was aware of computresses at NASA, but I worked in a different capacity. I was on the (Apollo) project from the beginning, to develop a return-to-earth capacity, to figure out the trajectory maneuvers to get a spacecraft from the moon to earth with three astronauts aboard,” she said. In Apollo, director Tom Jennings became the perfect person to present Polly’s story, since Apollo 8 —highlighted by the immortal Christmas Eve 1968 live telecast from lunar orbit — is also Jennings’ favorite childhood memory. “Her story is not only important because of what she did — helped figure out how to get us back from the moon — but because of the legacy. Every girl and young woman entering aerospace, or any STEM program, can watch this movie and see who one of the true godmothers of STEM-in-action is. Polly will never say that, but that’s the case. It’s
also the case that she’s one of the unsung heroes of our space program.” Currently the Texas chapter president of the National Organization for Women, Poppy still cuts a tall, stately swath through any room she enters. Her brilliant mind and sharp-tongued wit speak of a woman who held her own in the formerly men’s-only environment of Mission Control, but also one so committed to getting men to the moon and back home that she routinely worked 80 to 100-hour weeks — as did everyone in the 1960s and early 1970s. “I would do simulations before 8 a.m., then go across the street for 4 to 6 hours a day, as we were still de-bugging the program. Then work some more on it. We’d already blown through several ‘mission kill’ deadlines, things that would stop a program dead today. Then, it was like, ‘We’re flying 8. By God, we’re getting up there.’
That was the feeling — we are going, so we damn well better be ready.” STEM Today: You started working with TRW, then you were assigned to NASA for the Apollo space program. Then the Apollo 1 launch pad fire happened. How did we get from a disaster that would’ve shut down the program for years if it happened now, to lunar orbit in less than two years? Poppy Northcutt: Apollo 8 was accelerated; we first heard rumors of it in the summer of 1968. This was before Apollo 7 even launched, an earth-orbit mission, our first since the Apollo 1 fire. We hadn’t even proven we could launch an Apollo capsule with three men into earth orbit – let alone the moon. So, the rumors were initially laughable to me. We were considered a critical program – if you do go to the moon, you want to come back – and we weren’t ready. We weren’t tested. In August [1968], they made it official: We’re going to fly Apollo 8 in December. We had tremendous pressure. We had to finish the testing. Plus, the retrofire officers at NASA had never done return-to-earth maneuvers. It’s a whole different game to come back from the moon, as opposed to returning to earth from our own orbit. Then one day, someone came to me and said, “You’re going to move over and help out in Mission Control.” I just thought, “Wow!” I was the only woman there, and what a time — to be part of the first mission to try to go to the Moon. STEM Today: What was the feeling in Mission Control when Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, Bill Anders, and Jim Lovell flew to the moon in December 1968? PN: Exhilirating. Stressful. Really stressful at times. We at TRW had created a rock-solid return-to-earth trajectory program with IBM’s computers, and it was well-tested. So we were confident. However, the astronauts could not configure their own return on board, in case something went wrong. It all had to be read up to them. Apollo 8 was particularly grueling, because every time they lost contact on the other side [of the moon], when they came into radio range again, they’d have to give guidance data to Mission Control, then we’d have to give them a return trajectory for the next time they
were behind the moon — or, if there was a problem, abort the mission immediately and get them right home. We also had to project a second and third orbit ahead, because they had no on-board capacity. The most stressful time was that first loss of communication. They were going to do a big orbital maneuver they had never done before, a lunar orbit insertion, with no communication — on the back side of the moon. As they came back around that first time, there was a big clock in Mission Control — the countdown to radio acquisition. We didn’t hear anything. They were late. They weren’t out on time. You could hear the CapCom calling out to them. No one was breathing, not a breath being taken in that place.
what was the definition of a successful mission? PN: I considered it a successful mission when we brought our boys back alive. So did everyone else at NASA. Did I have thoughts about us losing people in space? Of course. We all did. Especially on Apollo 13. To have this explosion on the way out, on a non free-return trajectory… STEM Today: Which is?
The reason they were late was because there were landmass concentrations on the moon – mountains – that had never been mapped, so their orbit was a little disturbed. That was the most nerve-wracking thing. If they had overburned or under-burned — either one — we might have to go into an emergency situation.
PN: A free return means the spacecraft will automatically fly around the back of the moon and return to earth on a computer program. Apollo 13 was not on that trajectory; it was the first mission we did that was non-free return, to give the astronauts options in case something went wrong on either our end or theirs. So they were a little out of the (earth re-entry) angle. The maneuver they did, with a ruined spacecraft, put them on free return. We did the free return to get them back here. We didn’t know if they would be dead or alive, but we had to get them home to find out what the hell happened.
STEM Today: Give us a sense of how precise your calculations and their execution had to be.
STEM Today: How do you view the Apollo 13 mission today?
PN: Well, when I started, there were still engineers walking around with slide rules, doing open mental calculations and desk calculations. We had computers, but the real intensity of computers was just coming into being. And we needed all we could get. That computer development — that first use of what we call ‘big data’ today — got us to the moon and back.
PN: Some people saw that as a mission failure. I saw it as a mission success. To me, the most successful mission is when they get back alive. It also showed we could recover from something horrible in space, and bring our boys back alive. That was an immense achievement.
Then they finally answered.
You could not come back to earth from the moon without high-speed computers. The precision was so high, and the distances so great, that a tiny error when it’s time to come back to earth — a millimeter off, a hundredth of a millimeter — meant you could miss earth reentry entirely. If you’re orbiting the earth, and you slow down the vehicle, eventually, you will come back to earth. Maybe not through the reentry corridor you want, the place you want, or even alive, but you will come back at some point… You can’t say that about coming back from the moon. STEM Today: You also worked to bring the astronauts home from the Apollo 13 service module explosion. From your perspective,
STEM Today: It’s now 50 years later, we’re celebrating the historic achievement of Apollo 11 and the Apollo space program, and you’re telling the story again. What do you remember most about the work atmosphere, the sense of what you were trying to achieve? PN: We felt everything you feel when you’re doing something that has potential earthshattering consequences — pride, purpose, a sense of urgency, the sense of something bigger than ourselves. All of those things. Think about it: my job was important, yes, but I had one of 400,000 important jobs. They all had to come together. So I’d think that everyone alive out of those 400,000 space program workers is feeling a lot of pride right now. We had a saying: Failure is impossible. I’d love to see more of that sense in the way we work today. ■ SPRING/SUMMER 2019 | STEM TODAY
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Apollo’s PRODUCTive Legacy By Beth Covington
This summer, we’re celebrating the 50th anniversary of the greatest achievement in the history of both humankind and technology: putting men on the moon. That we did it in 1969, just eight years after President John F. Kennedy issued the challenge, spoke mightily to what is possible when a nation takes on a supreme challenge and syncs together as a massive team.
Everything was created specifically for the Apollo moon effort. Much of it was experimental by nature, simply because we really didn’t know what to expect beyond Earth’s orbit, how the body would behave or instruments would work. Scientists worried about that every day, while the country focused on the amazing adventure of visiting another planetary body.
In this case, more than 400,000 scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and tech experts created a national effort to get us to the moon and back – highlighted by Apollo’s six moonwalk missions. Those workers built the rockets, spacecraft, systems, launch pads, centers, parts, and even tools to make it happen, creating a source of national pride we have not seen since.
After the Apollo space program wound down, NASA officials and outside manufacturers realized many of the items they’d developed for space could become cutting-edge instruments, equipment, appliances, and even foods for consumers. “We get better airplanes, or we get better weather forecasting from space stuff, sure, but we also get better-fed chicken,” said David Lockney, program executive in technology transfer and spinoff partnerships at NASA. “That kind of stuff, people don’t necessarily associate.”
They also did something else – invented many technologies, far ahead of their time, that we use in our everyday lives. The Apollo space program is a perfect example of how powerful innovation spins off far more products – with far more uses – than originally intended.
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Here are a dozen of the creations from the first Space Age that we use today: • Wireless Headsets: We wear them for our game consoles, at work, and when listening to
our beats and tunes. Wireless headsets are everywhere – but where did we first hear this technology? When Apollo 11’s Neil Armstrong took the first step on the moon and uttered into his wireless headset, “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” • Reflective Materials: Today, propylene and mylar are regularly found in our home insulation, and on various types of outdoor and camping equipment. We even have mylar balloons. 50 years ago, before it became public, this material helped protect astronauts from radiation and heat. • Credit Card Swipe Devices: We swipe and chip-feed our credit and debit cards on transactions, maybe even use Square readers or similar to swipe others’ cards. It all began as software used to manage complex systems on the Apollo spacecraft. • Integrated circuit: The key to our lives on screen, the computer microchip, was invented by Intel’s Robert Noyce and integrated into Apollo spacecrafts by Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments. They needed to condense systems
Scratch-resistant lenses, memory foam, freeze-dried foods, space blankets, and even ingredients found in baby food were originally developed for space travel. As with so many industries, the space program spawned an evolution in technology and left a legacy which we still rely on today.
All photos via iStockphoto.com
and cut weight. It was the first time all the components of a system were on a chip, rather than using individual transistors and circuit components. This led to the PC revolution in the 1980s… and we know the rest of the story. • Email: Yep – the first emails were otherworldly. During the Apollo years, Mission Control ran two broadcast channels. One was for the massive television audience to hear when missions were telecast, the other for private communication between mission controllers and the astronauts. They also had messaging pads where they typed messages and transmitted them – electronic mail. • Cordless Tools: Would you believe that the Dustbuster, the first cordless vacuum cleaner, began as a portable, self-contained drill on the Apollo missions invented by Black & Decker? They needed to extract core samples from the surface of the moon, which involved getting past the coat of dust on top. Now, we use cordless power drills and screwdrivers every day – as well as Dustbusters and Swiffers.
• Scratch-Resistant Lenses: Everyone who’s ever worn glasses or sunglasses has jumped for joy since these lenses began appearing in the 1970s. Originally, the abrasion-resistant lens coating was used to protect plastic surfaces of Gemini and Apollo spacecraft and other equipment from harsh environments.
• Memory Foam: The foam that keeps our seats feeling cushy began as a need to keep astronauts comfortable in their spacecraft without having to switch out custom seats to fit different body types. NASA released it to the public in the early 1980s – and revolutionized the chair and seat industry.
• Flame-Resistant Clothing: We’re used to seeing firefighters, military, and other emergency responders dash into burning scenes and come out safely, due to their fire-resistant gear. This invaluable contributor to our safety emerged from the tragedy of the Apollo 1 launch pad fire in 1967, which killed all three astronauts. Their spacesuits were not flame-resistant.
• Formulaid: This huge step up in nutritional baby formula began as an algae-based vegetable oil by two NASA scientists studying algae’s potential as a recycling agent for long-duration space travel. It is now in most enriched baby foods in the U.S., and in 65 different countries.
• Space Blankets: If you’ve ever run a road race, or a marathon, chances are you’ve had a heat or space blanket. Same if you’ve covered garden vegetables or fruit trees to protect against frost. They reduce heat loss from the body – which was the intent when NASA invented them in 1964. They were also more resistant to the hostile environment of space. Now, they keep our gardens and us warm.
• Freeze-Dried Foods: Most of us have eaten freeze-dried foods at some point, especially campers and backpackers. The military uses MREs (meals ready to eat) daily. While the process was invented in 1906 and used for blood serum preservation in World War II, freezedried foods were refined for the Apollo astronauts and then broke big in the U.S. starting in the 1970s, because of the public fascination. We all wanted to follow suit. ■ SPRING/SUMMER 2019 | STEM TODAY
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Missions to the Moon: In Real-Time
Tom Jennings’ Narrative Journey into Apollo’s Legacy By Robert Yehling
Boys watch Christmas Eve broadcast from Apollo 8 astronauts in space.
Photo: Robert Yehling
The media world will be abuzz all summer with retrospectives about the Apollo moon missions, for good reason: July 20 marks the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the lunar surface. For most over 55, this is a moment to relive a defining moment of childhood and young adulthood — not to mention human exploration. For all others, this is a chance to revisit America’s greatest moment as a working nation, when a country, its people, industry, technology, ingenuity, and purpose united behind a visionary (and Cold War-influenced) President’s directive to send a man to the moon and return him safely to the earth by the end of 1969. That we pulled off nine trips to the moon
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Photo: Bruce Dale/National Geographic
Apollo 11 astronauts (L-R) Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin stand near the spacecraft in the bright Florida sun. Photo: Otis Imboden/National Geographic Creative
between 1968-72, with technology far weaker and incapable than the smartphone in your pocket, continues to speak to what is possible when we work together and invest in resources accordingly. One of the “over 55s” is Tom Jennings, director of Apollo: Missions to the Moon, a very special film that will air on NatGeo beginning July 1. Apollo is not your ordinary documentary: it is created entirely with interviews and footage taken during the Apollo years. This was part of Jennings’ desire to again give us the experience of being glued to our TVs and to feel what those of us over 55 felt… something you never forget. “We try to give viewers the experience of watching it as though it were happening in real-
time,” Jennings said. “It’s as close to reality as possible, almost like making a motion picture out of archival footage – although, with us, we can’t go into a second take, because there is none. We went through thousands of hours of video, audio, radio interviews and still photos to create a narrative story. “In this case, it’s one that’s much like The Hero’s Journey from Joseph Campbell. [The] Apollo 1 [launch pad fire, which killed astronauts Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee] was a great tragedy, but it gave NASA and the people working for NASA a greater sense of urgency and purpose to their mission. People can die doing this! Not only do we have to figure out how to get up there, but also how to bring them back home alive.”
Jennings needed no sweeping soundtrack, silkvoiced narrator, or script for Apollo. The breakneck pace of getting missions up and back, all while trying to beat the Soviet Union to the moon – and fulfill President Kennedy’s admonition – set both the tone and the stakes. You can feel all the emotions and qualities that swirled in the 1960s – excitement, adventure, purpose, urgency, fear, bravery, commitment, and, most of all, pride in pulling off the seemingly impossible. “It’s no accident, the way our film plays out. It’s literally a hero’s journey on multiple layers,” Jennings said. “Not just the astronauts, but the ships themselves, the work of Mission Control, the families, the American and worldwide audience at the time – how they experienced it.
We also focus on the three days that, in my opinion, the world stopped: The Christmas Eve 1968 broadcast of Apollo 8 from lunar orbit, showing the Earth; at the time, the largest worldwide broadcast ever. The day the Apollo 11 moon landing happened, July 20, 1969. And the day the Apollo 13 astronauts returned home alive, April 17, 1970.
impact on culture – they’re narrating the story for us, at the time it happened. It’s as immediate as you can possibly be. Since it’s such a big anniversary year, everyone will focus on 11, rightly so – it’s the 50th anniversary of man’s first steps on the moon – but we put the moment on broader shoulders. How did they get there? And what happened?”
“The no-narration, no-interview format, I feel, is a really effective way to tell an immersive story about an iconic moment in time. I kind of joke that when someone watches Apollo, and it begins, they’re waiting for the narrator to come and save the day – but the narrator never shows. So you have to engage with the film, pay attention. The people in it – from Walt Disney to Bob Hope to the astronauts to Poppy, to the
The day that time stood still for Jennings remains the Apollo 8 mission. “I remember that more vividly than Apollo 11, though I do remember watching Apollo 11 on TV,” he said. It seems an odd response when the world is getting ready to pop the champagne cork on 50 years of Apollo 11.
Photo: NASA
However, Jennings’ reasons are far more personal – and poignant. “During 11, my mom
Photo: NASA
Flurry of handshakes erupts after successful launch of Apollo 11. Photo: NASA
Astronauts on Moon for Apollo 15.
Apollo flight engineers direct a mission-in-progress from Mission Control. Photo: Otis Imboden/National Geographic Creative
Apollo 11 Launch.
Aerial view of spectators around their campsites awaiting the Apollo 11 launch. Photo: Otis Imboden/National Geographic Creative
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Missions to the Moon: In Real-Time Photo: NASA
David Scott performing side hatch EVA during Apollo 9.
was dying of cancer, so there was a lot of chaos in the house,” he said. “Apollo 8 for me was the big memory, because it was prior to her getting sick, things were more normal in our home in Cleveland…. Christmas Eve, walking to the store in the snow, seven years old, hurrying back because I didn’t want to miss the Christmas Eve broadcast everyone was talking about. I remember looking up at the moon, rushing to my house, thinking, ‘I’ve got to get home to be in front of TV to watch the guys up there.’ I kept that close to me, but I hadn’t actually seen the Apollo 8 footage again until we got to work on this film. And the Genesis prayer… memories flooded in from Apollo.” Because of his focus on Apollo 8, Jennings wove in the amazing story of Poppy Northcutt (see page 64), then a 24-year-old TRW engineer and mathematics whiz – and the only woman working in NASA’s Mission Control. She was responsible for figuring out lunar orbit insertions for Apollo spacecraft – and did so with a candor and passion for her work that made her a sought-after guest TV commentator by the time of Apollo 17 in 1972. “She was interviewed a lot back then, and we found many with her – including one she had not remembered, where she talked about treatment of women at NASA,” Jennings recalled as Northcutt sat alongside him. “The reason she was interviewed often is because she was the only woman on Mission Control. The newsrooms were the same, so males interviewed her. If it wasn’t the first question, it was the second: ‘What’s it like to be a woman working with all these guys?’”
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Photo: Otis Imboden/National Geographic Creative
An Apollo astronaut practices lunar module liftoffs and landings in California’s Mojave Desert.
Jennings turned to Northcutt, now 75. “You had a very funny answer, the one we put in the film.” Northcutt leaned back and chuckled. “That was the one about males dominating NASA. My response was, ‘I don’t think it’s dominated by males. I think it’s dominated by computers and hardware.’” After the laughter subsided, she added, “There’s some significance to that. The Apollo program represented the first leap into the world of big data, which is now quite prevalent.” Jennings said that Apollo came together differently than any other documentary he’s created during his illustrious career. For starters, the process seemed backwards: while the most dramatic moments happened in the first twothirds of the movie’s timeline – up to the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission – the images were far better from Apollos 14 through 17, when crews stayed on the moon for several days and shot with color cameras. “From a filmmaking point of view, the way Apollo ends is kind of frustrating. The best images come from Apollos 14 through 17, but they have the least amount of overall drama compared to the other missions, which were highly dramatic: the Apollo 1 tragedy; orbiting the moon on Apollo 8, then dropping to within eight miles of the surface in Apollo 10; the Apollo 11 moonwalk; Pete Conrad nearly hitting the landing target bull’s-eye on Apollo 12; and, finally, the Apollo 13 disaster. At the end, though, they did discover oxidized soil on the moon – a very big deal.
“We end the movie with Ray Bradbury talking about how we will eventually have to leave the planet because it’s going to fall apart in a million years, or a billion years… and that we have to keep on exploring. And yet, after [Apollo] 17, everything was done. We stayed home, in Earth’s orbit. It leaves you with a bittersweet sense of ‘What if?’ What if we had continued? But we didn’t, and the story just kind of stopped.” Now it’s started again big-time, with the dual massive efforts with NASA and private industry to set up a sustainable work station on the moon, then fly to Mars. Jennings feels Apollo brings home both the human side of being an astronaut, and the promise of what can happen when everyone is focused on the same goal – with available resources and buy-in. “Another thing that caught me when making the film was seeing the Apollo astronauts appear on The Bob Hope Show. It made it a lot of fun, really humanized them. When you look back to those astronauts, The Right Stuff pilots and Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts, their lifestyles … they were a lot of fun. Deadly serious, brilliant men and brilliant flyers who had a lot of fun. “Many of us who were kids in the 1960s see them as almost iconic gods, these action figures we can’t get close to – then you find out they’re normal guys with great senses of humor. They laughed hard, worked harder – and so did the 400,000 workers who had something to do with putting us on the moon. It’s an ultimate story of human achievement. I’m honored to get to tell it with actual footage.” ■
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The New Space Race 50 years after Apollo 11, the nation and world look forward to a multi-pronged space program built on cooperation between NASA and many commercial ventures. By Robert Yehling
Monumental scenes defined the Sixties: Vietnam, Civil Rights, the “Love Generation,” Woodstock and Monterey, the advent of color TV, the arrival of mainframe computers in large business settings – and the Space Race. Now, 50 years after Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed Apollo 11 lunar module Eagle onto Tranquility Base and first walked on the moon, we’re blasting off again. What a time to be honoring Armstrong, Aldrin, and the other 10 men who walked on the moon. We’re seeing excitement in the space program we haven’t seen since the Apollo era, with four generations involved, from older, nostalgic Apollo observers to robotics-building elementary school kids. Instead of operating under the central mission of beating the Soviets to the moon, we’re now venturing into an expanded program of deep-space exploration
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with probes and telescopes, near-Earth science and technology in our continued Space Station program, commercial space ventures that involve people and payloads, sustainable manned missions to the moon, and the sexiest ruby red “where no man has gone before” jewel in our astronautic grasp – Mars. Rather than focusing all experiments and technology on getting to the moon and back – which seized a nation’s consciousness for eight years in the Sixties – we now conduct earth science, medical, robotics, technological, materials development, and many other experiments in space. The technology we developed, then and now, serves our society in thousands of ways. And, we have increasingly deep buy-in from hundreds of commercial space ventures. The scene at May’s Space Tech Expo 2019 at the Pasadena Convention Center, near
NASA’s JPL lab (where the Mars missions are monitored) was rife with optimism: more than 250 space industry suppliers showed off everything from missile defense systems to cyro technology and tools for extracting minerals from the moon – or, possibly even Mars. Today’s excitement reminds over-55 NASA officials, scientists, astronauts, and their partners in government and the commercial space world of what they felt as kids in those dreamy 1960s, when twenty manned missions launched into Earth and lunar orbits – almost all fraught with danger and the unknown. “The things everyone is talking about today, we talked about then,” former Deputy NASA Administrator and two-time Space Shuttle astronaut Leland Melvin recalled. “Even then (in school), we were drawing pictures of flying cars and landing on Mars on our school folders,
Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
“ The difference is, technology is catching up to us now so we can focus on truly sending manned missions to Mars. I’m confident it can happen in my lifetime.” ~ Leland Melvin
Photo: iStockphoto.com/shulz
and the experts were talking matter-of-fact about Mars being the natural extension of walking on the moon. Since we didn’t have devices and couldn’t go online to look at footage, we had to imagine it, envision it. So my generation was a generation of dreamers. “The difference is, technology is catching up to us now so we can focus on truly sending manned missions to Mars. I’m confident it can happen in my lifetime.” Added Apollo 8 flight engineer Poppy Northcutt, the first woman to work in Mission Control during lunar missions, “If I were a young boy or girl today, I’d be as happy as the Baby Boomer kids were in the ‘60s – but kids today have more opportunity to fly later, or work in the space program. I’m really impressed with how robotics and technology are things they already understand.”
The buzz builds every day. For starters, this 50th anniversary year has been far more than a nostalgic tribute to a specific date in time, though that will come July 20. Now, we’re awash with anticipation about a habitable, sustainable workstation growing on the lunar South Pole next decade, including NASA’s goal of sending a manned crew by 2024. One can hear those test-pilot, Right Stuff oldtimer moonwalkers sighing and saying, “Finally.” Here is what Apollo 11’s Buzz Aldrin, a passionate Mars mission enthusiast throughout, said to this writer in 1993, for One Giant Leap for Mankind, NASA’s 25th anniversary commemorative salute: “I think we’ll go to the poles of the moon first (before Mars). It gives you access to the far side, access to the potential shaded areas and access to some continuous sunlit regions for energy generation.
Then we will probably visit the asteroids with robots, to explore the commercial recovery of asteroid material. Then as we’re converting some of this lunar knowledge to the expedition of Mars, I think we’ll have private citizens visiting space.” Look at Aldrin’s quarter-century-old remarks against a few recent developments: • Three entrepreneurial titans have entered the commercial space ring big-time. Elon Musk’s Space X has sent dozens of satellites into orbit, including a nest of 60 internet satellites. Along with Virgin Galactic (Richard Branson) and Blue Origin ( Jeff Bezos), the trio will be among those leading the way in commercial spaceflights for private citizens, while Blue Origin is also squarely focused on the South Pole of the Moon. SPRING/SUMMER 2019 | STEM TODAY
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The New Space Race
• In January, China landed its Chang’e 4 lander near the lunar South Pole – the first soft landing ever on the far side. Last year, it was verified that between 10,000 and one million gallons of water lie at the South Pole; difficult to extract, but it’s there. • Earlier this year, NASA reported great success at exploring unexpected asteroid environments from OSIRIS-REx, the probe that landed on the asteroid Bennu; and Hayabasa 2, a Japanese probe.
Photo: Space X
• Our anticipation for a Mars mission is on overdrive, with shows like NatGeo Channel’s Mars, the movie The Martian, Stephan Petranek’s book of the same name, the passionate advocacy of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Cosmos reboot, the curriculum at U.S. Space Camp, and considerable technological work at NASA and private contractors pointing in one direction: we’re going. • No less than 20 nations now have a space program. In 1969, there were just three nations – the U.S., USSR, and China. • For the first time in 20 years, money is being poured into NASA and commercial space interests rather than draining from it. Like his fellow astronauts, Aldrin was chagrined when NASA ended the moon exploration program in 1972, following Eugene Cernan’s final walk on Apollo 17. Their anxiety and concern was evident in 1993, when our space program was at a low point. Apollo 17 commander Gene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon (and who died in 2017), put it succinctly: “I think I will remain the last man to have left his footprints on the moon for probably another generation, and that’s a sad commentary.” Make that two generations – and counting. Further, we’d lost Challenger six years prior, our nation was in a recession, the Cold War (and reason for having a space program) was over, incoming President Clinton promised to cut NASA funds, and our focus was on two new objects in near-earth orbit – the International Space Station and Hubble Telescope, which unlocked the observable universe to us.
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Photo: Virgin Galactic
A few of their concerns and predictions: Aldrin: “For a better future, we must relinquish present greed for future greatness. To do that, you first have to have a strategic plan, which we don’t.” (Now, happily, we do). Apollo 11’s Michael Collins: “Some day in the future, going into space will be extremely important and will definitely change the face of the Earth.” Apollo 14’s Alan Shepard, also the first American in space in 1961: “Basic research is too abstract for the American public. It’s difficult to specify gain because one thing generates another, but by and large we all benefit from space research. But only the excitement of exploration will turn on the average individual.” Apollo 12 commander Pete Conrad, the third man to walk on the Moon: “You have to show the public that they are getting some return on their investment. The space program and programs like it are creative programs because they create not only new technology, which also
creates new materials, devices, and industries… The space program is like drilling for oil. You might hit a number of dry holes but when you’ve hit, you’ve got a gusher.” Conrad, who died in 1999, worked passionately toward deeper-space missions. He flew twice on Gemini, commanded Apollo 12, and was our first Skylab commander. He was working on commercial manned launch vehicles at the time of his death, and rumored to be en route to Earth orbit as the second “legacy” astronaut NASA would send for a “thank you” ride ( John Glenn being the first, in 1998). Conrad’s commitment to developing space program technology was fierce, and also pointed to the greatest benefit the program has given us innovations and tech breakthroughs (see story on page 76), medical and Earth science, and materials development and engineering design. We will see how far we’ve come when we start extruding materials from the moon, asteroids, and Mars to sustain habitation and to refuel missions – beginning with how we treat those native environments.
• Vulcan Aerospace, USA (Orbital launches that rely on high-atmosphere planes to develop small payloads into Earth orbit; founded by the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen); • Odyne Space, USA (Getting nanosatellites into space cheaper by working on more efficient rockets for smaller amounts of cargo); • Rocket Lab, New Zealand (creation of a launch vehicle designed for manufacture at scale; its first rocket, launched in 2015, cost just $4.9 million); • Ixion, USA (working with NanoRacks, Space Systems Loral, and the United Launch Alliance to convert upper stages of rockets (which have considerable hollow interior space) into long-term habitable environments for Earth orbit, the moon, or even Mars); • Firefly Space, USA (light rocket design for nanosatellite payloads of as many as 100 small satellites per mission). Photo: Blue Origin
“How we get at the water, or any other resource, is going to be critical to that planet’s sustainability of us moving forward,” author Antonia Juhasz, a consultant on NatGeo’s Mars series, said. “On Earth, we’ve extracted, polluted, and killed to the point where, even now, the planet cannot sustain most of us in a healthy manner. That’s only happened in the last 150 years of industrialization. Before that, we have thousands of years of living in harmony with our planet; we know how to do it. We can carry that part forward. If we learn that lesson, then we can live on Mars for a very long time – and hopefully, become more sustainable on Earth as well so we maintain and protect this planet.” As we move ahead, it’s time to stop looking at space travel as a NASA or American launch, or a Russian launch, or a Chinese launch. We’re more than NASA now. On any given launch, products and materials from upwards of a dozen nations are on the trip. Furthermore, commercial space plans are developing just as quickly as NASA’s. It’s time to view our push forward to the moon, and Mars, and our nearearth orbit and deep space efforts as a fleet of missions, built around the driving forces of
exploration, discovery, technology development, and our furtherance as a species. Besides Space X, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic, new companies making big moves include: • Space IL, Israel (lunar rover deployment); • Axiom, USA (space station to replace ISS when it retires in the 2020s; for astronauts, space tourists, and in-orbit research; missions tentatively scheduled to start in late 2019); • SpacePharma, USA (production of bacteria for help with Earth-borne diseases); • The Cohu Experience and Space Nation, Finland (open competition to send a space tourist to the ISS to conduct experiments); • Deep Space Industries, USA, partnering with Luxembourg (mining asteroids for metallic resources, water, and ice for potential waystation refuels on future Mars missions); • Bigelow Aerospace, USA (constructing portable habitats for astronauts. “We believe crews traveling to the moon, Mars, asteroids, or other destinations could use them as habitable structures or as labs or work areas,” said NASA Project Manager Rajib Dasgupta.);
Within these and many other initiatives, the Apollo and Gemini astronauts still alive can enjoy their legacies stretching on new wings. From Aldrin’s Mars fascination to Shepard’s focus on Earth sciences and the environment, from Cernan’s angst over no more manned exploration to Conrad’s determination to press the technology forward, we’re seeing their visions, views, and hopes come to pass. “I think it’s really important for a society to have optimism and to see a future for itself and be a player in its own destiny. Exploring space is such a perfect metaphor for that,” said Casey Dreier of The Planetary Society. “You have to create new technologies and processes from scratch. You have to work together with other people, internationally. You’re doing it for curiosity, science, maybe extending human presence different than what we’ve done in the past. We have to take care of ourselves – and the act of exploring space will bring that benefit to us. If we can get ourselves together and organize ourselves properly, I feel we will see this in our lifetime.” What an exciting next 50 years it’s going to be. ■ EDITOR’S NOTE: This article also references and pulls from One Giant Leap for Mankind, edited and compiled by Robert Yehling, which NASA commissioned in 1993 as its 25th anniversary commemorative publication for Apollo 11. SPRING/SUMMER 2019 | STEM TODAY
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Coding for Inclusivity 11-Year-Old Speaker, Coder, and Advocate Anna Miller on Why Coding is for Everybody By Anthony Elio
Anna Miller’s story is one of inspiration, adversity, and hope. An orphan originally from Russia, Miller was adopted at the age of three, ending up in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, with her new family. Born with the genetic bone disorder Osteogenesis Imperfecta, Miller has made it her mission to show the world that no matter who you are coding is for you. Her enthusiasm for technology has resulted in a number of speaking opportunities, with Miller aspiring to someday create a coding camp specifically for young girls and an app to assist the lives of individuals with disabilities. Miller’s advocacy, story, and speaking prowess are being recognized, as seen with her appearance
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at WE Day, the largest youth empowerment event in the world, alongside host Neil Patrick Harris and celebrity speakers such as Mahershala Ali and Bill Nye. In this exclusive interview, Miller reveals what got her interested in technology, the main message she wants to convey, and what she envisions for her ambitious future. STEM Today What originally piqued your interest in technology? Anna Miller: I went to a tech program at Digital Harbor Foundation. One of my teachers there, she introduced me to one coding program in particular called Scratch. And ever since I’ve been doing that, I’ve really just felt like this is something that I could do. This is something that
I was going to be good at, that would break down barriers for me. STEM Today: Why do you believe technology as a whole, especially when it comes to coding, is so important for this generation? AM: Well, we live in a world where a lot of people overlook people like me, overlook girls or people with disabilities. So really, I think that coding is for everyone. Everyone can do it no matter who you are or what you decide to be in the future. And I think that it’s really good because it’s something that you don’t have to be good at, and you can prove to people that if you can do this, then you can do anything.
“ We live in a world where people say no, and I want to live in a world where people say yes. So, if they say no to you, you say yes.”
A major part of Anna Miller’s advocacy is her speaking engagements at various events. One of the most exciting examples is her appearance at the upcoming WE Day, a televised celebration highlighting positive social change, airing August 9, 2019, on ABC at 8PM EST.
STEM Today: One of your aspirations is to create a camp for girls to learn to code. Can you tell me a little bit about that? AM: I want to teach girls about what really opened the doors for me, and I want them to really experience what coding is like. So I want to make something that really gets girls together and we can just share ideas and code whatever they like and set goals and challenges that they can overcome and just really work together and see how much coding can make a difference.
app where it’s easy to get to the building and where it’s easy to find that accessible entrance. Even in the bathroom, some stalls might be hard to get into, and I want to make sure that they know which stall is the best for them. My overall plan is to try to build the app and just make sure that people can find the accessible route and learn more about the app, about how to make it and learn the coding programs to try to help out with it and collect the data. And in time, users can add their own experience.
STEM Today: And you’re planning on developing an app as well?
STEM Today: What do you think is the main message that you really want to get across while speaking at events such as WE Day?
AM: So usually when I go somewhere, I sometimes have trouble getting into a building because it might be hard for me to find the accessible entrance. I don’t want that to be a problem for other people. So I want to build an
AM: That coding is for everyone, and no matter who you are, or what you want to be, coding will help you with whatever job you have in the future. Boys, girls, and people with disabilities, anybody can code.
If you’re willing to work hard and really learn more about coding, it can be something really fun, and it can change the world. Even if people say your ideas are weird, or something that’s not going to work. Because we live in a world where people say no, and I want to live in a world where people say yes. So, if they say no to you, you say yes. STEM Today: What would you say is the best way for people to learn to code? AM: You can take classes. You can read about coding. You can do all these different coding kits; I’ve had some very good coding kits. You can just learn more about coding in any way, really, that makes you feel comfortable. And really, coding is something that is simple; it’s fun. If you really achieve your goal of learning more, then you can really do something with it. ■ SPRING/SUMMER 2019 | STEM TODAY
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Media Awareness Through Podcasting By Mike Washburn There aren’t many groups who see a trend and capitalize on it better than educators. Websites, video games, YouTube, social media, and so many other modern mediums are home to tens of thousands of educators sharing their stories and insights. So it should be no surprise that, when podcasting exploded in popularity, educators flocked to it to learn and share. It’s not hard to understand why podcasting has become so popular. For businesses and brands, podcasting offers an amazing opportunity to reach tech-savvy, affluent audiences. Podcast listeners become very engaged and dedicated when listening — and they buy things. Knowing that, companies don’t hesitate to use podcasting to get their message out. Consequently, Podcasts have been amazing for the advertising industry. Statistics show that podcast ads are listened to, and acted on, more than almost any other medium. New stories are being told and new talents discovered. For the average person, podcasting can be seen much like YouTube: a space with a low barrier to entry in both cost and technology needs. If you have something to say, and you think people want to listen, you can say it and share it. Podcasting in the Classroom The nature of podcasting as a barrier-free medium has opened the door for creative teachers looking to expose their students to media production and digital literacy in a new and exciting way. Free tools such as Anchor and Audacity make it simple to get started - just hit “record”! Creativity provides the opportunity to develop agency and a sense of higher purpose in students, the notion that by developing their voice, they are working on something bigger than themselves. Podcasting takes this notion of student voice and amplifies it. Now, throughout the world, classrooms are sharing their work
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Media Awareness Through Podcasting
with other students and teachers. It is peer-topeer at a very engaging level. When students voices are amplified, they are more engaged. When they’re more engaged, they work harder — and outcomes improve. Not to mention career possibilities. Podcasting is an incredible tool for classrooms. Three EDU Podcasts Everyone Should Listen To For educators, podcasting has become an opportunity for teachers to develop and share their voices without being hidden behind an administrator, district office, or anyone else. Thousands of incredible educators provide insight and knowledge to share, and podcasting has become the perfect medium for them to do that. Looking to add some educational podcasts to your feed? We present three polished, highproduction podcast choices below. They are not only different in content, but also completely different in style and length. That’s another beauty of podcasting: there is something for everyone.
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OnEducation is hosted by myself and Glen Irvin, a veteran foreign language teacher and Educational Technologist in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota. OnEducation is one of the most listened to podcasts for educators in North America. Unique in the educational podcasting space, OnEducation blends humor and smart engaging topics while interviewing the best and brightest educators in the world. This makes OnEducation a great source not only for entertaining and timely conversations about “Teachers, teaching, and everything in between” but for trusted, expert level opinions on the best software and technology for the classroom. Visit oneducationpodcast.com to learn more and subscribe. The Cult of Pedagogy podcast is hosted by speaker and educator Jennifer Gonzalez. Gonzalez was a middle school language arts teacher for seven years and taught pre-service teachers before starting Cult of Pedagogy. Now, Gonzales travels the world speaking to educators. The Cult of Pedagogy podcast features incredible guests and a level of insight
virtually unmatched in educational podcasting. Most consider this podcast a “must-listen”. Check out cultofpedagogy.com to learn more. StartEdUp Hosts Don Wettrick and Hunter Stone are passionate about empowering students to be innovators and take their creativity to the next level. StartEdUp features guests that cover a whole gambit of topics. From business to politics to education, StartEdUp isn’t just for educators. It is for anyone interested in listening to insightful conversation from two smart, bonafide experts. Not only does StartEdUp provide the podcast, but it teaches students how to be innovative and creative entrepreneurs throughout the U.S. Their foundation supports young business owners with interest-free loans to help them get their ideas off the ground. Amazing work. You can find out more about StartEdUp by visiting startedupinnovation.com ■ STEM Today Senior Writer MIKE WASHBURN is the Head of Curriculum and Training for Canada’s leading Educational Technology and robotics company, Logics Academy.
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“Click Here! (and Other Digital Renaissance Fallacies) By Audrey Gilchrist
I repeated myself. “Hey guys, how were your weekends?” Again, nothing but crickets. I stood there, beside our red lunch table, dumbfounded for a solid seven “Mississippi’s” prior to anyone noticing my presence. Finally, one of my good friends looked up and said, “Oh hey, Audrey, how was your weekend?” It was the very question I had just asked not once, but twice! In this moment, I realized just how disconnected myself, my peers, and society all were, despite ironically being the most digitally connected generation to date. The over-usage of cell phones is running rampant in America and throughout the world. While we rarely admit it, many, if not the majority, of us are addicted – yes, addicted – to our telephones and continue to ignore the implications of this growing epidemic. While the expansion and development of more advanced technology have been fundamental in curing social, economic, and physical ailments, when these technologies are overused on a daily basis, the very problems cured by technology are instead caused by it. Upon examining our habitual use of technology and cell phone dependency, it has become clear that this issue must be addressed at the most basic level, among individuals, in order to create an abiding shift in culture and thus, behaviors. Right now, you may be scoffing, “Addicted, ha, she doesn’t know what she’s talking about! Only teenagers are addicted to their phones”. Yet, contrary to this common misconception, per surveys in 2011, “The vast majority of Americans – ninety-five percent – now own a cellphone of some kind. The share of Americans that owned smartphones was 77 percent.” Now, eight years and seventeen iPhone generations later, these percentages have only increased. The omnipresence of our telephones
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and tablets, while not necessarily a guarantee, may be a precursor of addiction. However, psychiatric researchers have defined a new disorder related to people’s dependence on mobile devices termed Nomophobia - as in “No Mobile Phone Phobia”. This disorder refers to irrational fear, anxiety, or discomfort related to being out of touch with technology. It is the truth that Americans, now more than ever, are overly dependent on their telephones.
of stimulation and information. In fact, social media platforms specifically rely on this lack of parameters. When reading a book, there are chapter breaks at which to pause – NOT click bait to keep your eyes glued to the screen. The ability to constantly refresh facilitates a pathological yearning to continually re-check one’s screen.
Ninety-five percent of teenagers report they utilize a smartphone and forty-five percent of teens assert that they are online on a nearconstant basis. This dependency has derogatory effects on work efficiency, quality, and quantity. Unlike what is “black, white and read all over,” phones and devices provide an endless stream
Mobile technology reliance is supported by Big Media. With the opportunity to download from a selection of over two million apps, it is easy to forget that the original purpose of telephones was to communicate and ultimately strengthen interpersonal relationships. However, “recent research has demonstrated the
Perhaps it would be more refreshing to take a technological time-out.
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potential for the ‘mere presence’ of the cell phone to be a distraction in a social situation and have a detrimental effect on an interpersonal experience.” Paradoxically, the very technologies that were created to save time and enhance productivity are in actuality wasting time, costing money, and harming relationships. According to researcher Andrew Przybylski, “When people were having an important conversation, relationship quality, partner trust, and empathy were all lower when the mobile phone was simply present”. When we are addicted to our phones, our relationship with our home button often supersedes our relationships with our loved ones within our homes. Relying heavily on cell phones does not foster stronger relationships or encourage genuine friendships. While our opposable appendages may be growing in strength, our ability to hold meaningful conversations and love the ones we are with is weakening. Jean Twenge, a mental health researcher, found that “teens who spend five or more hours per day on their devices are seventy-one percent more likely to have one of the risk factors for suicide”, regardless of the content they consume, be it cat videos or Twitter. Additionally, “Research has shown an
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increased risk of traffic accidents, about three to four times greater, while driving “intoxticated”. It is apparent that be it physical safety, or mental health, the abuse of technology is of detriment to all concerned. So what? What is a nation that “checks their phone eighty times per day on average”, or about every fifteen minutes, to do? As teachers, parents, and students, it is incumbent upon us to fight the first half of the battle by increasing awareness in regard to when and why we are using technology. The objective is to be mindful and present while utilizing it in its intended manner, as a tool - not a crutch. Several ways of raising awareness include: getting an analog alarm clock; removing devices from your bedroom to eliminate the temptation of checking them while in bed (yes, they do still work if you charge them in the kitchen), and while it might not be reasonable for the directionally challenged, placing your telephone in the glove compartment or backseat of the vehicle you are driving, and at the very lest, putting your phone on do not disturb mode. In my personal experience, I have found deleting social media apps and reserving at least one day a week (typically Sunday) during which I do not use my cell phone to be the most
effective ‘treatment’ of this mobile phone malady. Ultimately, what is at stake here is our humanity. Pandora’s inbox has already been opened, and her sisters, “Alexa and Siri”, are not going anywhere anytime soon. Technology itself is not the problem – we are. There is no app for self-control. We should strive to engage with the people in our lives, not be mired in technological substitutions for authentic communication. A craftsman painstakingly cares for their tools by sharpening them, keeping them clean and well oiled - ready for future use. Technology is a tool, and as individual craftsmen of our own lives we must understand what our tool is, how to use it to benefit our lives, and, most importantly, not to use digital stimulation as a replacement for face-to-face communication and real relationships. Now if you’ll excuse me, I am going to teach my Nonnie how to use GIFs. ■ AUDREY GILCHRIST is a Junior pursuing a STEM track at Fallbrook (CA) High School. She crafted this article from her speech in the Rotary District 5340 Regional Competition. A field hockey and lacrosse team captain and star, she plans to attend a service academy for a future career as a military officer.
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Upon Further Review…
If you’re like us, planning to totally geek out on space entertainment this summer as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 while focusing our sights on Mars, we have curated a list of space-related media to choose from. People have been fascinated with space-based shows since 1902 — believe it or not — when Jules Verne’s classic sci-fi novel From the Earth to the Moon became the Meliere Brothers Le Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon). The eight-minute movie is well worth watching; it was considered a cinematic breakthrough at the time — and launched our imaginations into a visual cosmos. There are so many more great shows, movies, books and video games about space, but these are all great choices for your viewing or playing pleasure. Most, if not all, are available on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu or other streaming sites:
Television Series
The Martian Interstellar Star Wars — Full movie franchise (12 films) Star Trek — Full movie franchise (13 films) Hidden Figures Apollo 13 First Man Contact Gravity 2001: A Space Odyssey The Right Stuff
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey Mars Star Trek Lost in Space PBS Space Time When We Left the Earth: The NASA Missions
Ph oto :s ta rw ar s.c om
Space-Based Movies
Top Books Hidden Figures The Right Stuff Cosmos Brief History of Time Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution The Case for Mars: The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must Rise of the Rocket Girls A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts How We’ll Live on Mars Moondust: In Search of the Men Who Fell to Earth
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Classic (and New) Space Video Games Mass Effect 2 Star Wars Star Craft Halo Alien Kerbal Space Program FTL: Faster than Light Elite: Dangerous X3: Terran Conflict Endless Space 2
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