Students Can Fly Zero-G And Lunar Gravity Hops

NASA has put the word out it is looking for college students to design science experiments to study zero and reduced gravity applications.

The Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, has given undergraduate teams the chance to research, design, fabricate, fly and evaluate reduced gravity experiments annually since 1995. This will be the first time students can design their experiment for lunar gravity, which is one-sixth of Earth's.

If your experiment is accepted, you'll be flown on the NASA modified DC-9 officially called the "Weightless Wonder" -- but commonly known as the "Vomit Comet". The plane will fly over the Gulf of Mexico where it will perform a series of steep climbs and dives in a parabolic maneuver. Each cycle provides about 25 seconds of weightlessness, with other periods of reduced gravity simulating that found on the moon.

"These students will be the ones helping to design our trips back to the moon and beyond" said Donn Sickorez, university affairs officer at the Johnson Space Center. "By putting them through the same procedures as our space research scientists and providing them with a three-dimensional reduced gravity laboratory, we're better preparing students for these future missions"

Each proposal will be evaluated for technical merit, safety and an outreach plan. The selected proposals will be announced December 11, and flown in 2007. Selected teams may also invite a journalist to participate with them to document their experience.

With this project, NASA continues the agency's tradition of investing in the nation's education programs. It is directly tied to the agency's major education goal of strengthening NASA and the nation's future workforce by inviting young people to participate in the Vision for Space Exploration program.

Deadline for submitting applications is Monday, October 30. Hmm... this makes us want to go back to school...

FMI: http://microgravityuniversity.jsc.nasa.gov