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6000.MarkV
| The next entry reminded Adam of his own time spent at Kennedy Space Center under NASA's Space Science Student Involvement Program. What was it now, almost 30 years ago? Another smile crossed his thoughts as he pictured the Griffin Mirror now in aerosynchronous orbit over Mars' southern pole. He made a note to contact Katie at Lampland Station to see if she was going to be able to attend the next Aeroformation Progress Conference. |
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Analysis Results Selection: May 9, 1997 Additional Records: |
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Data collected from Shawnee Mission West's [High School] Katie
Griffin to spend a week with NASA! After winning the Mars Scientific Experiment Proposal competition, held by NASA's Space Science Student Involvement Program and the National Science Teachers Association, Ms. Griffin will spend a week at a NASA research center. "I was not expecting this at all," she said, "It makes me feel that I have more of a chance to get where I want to..." in life. Ms. Griffin's plan is to put mirror(s) above Mars' southern polar cap to warm the area and melt the ice as one phase in initiating aeroformation of Mars. Her experiment stems from her interest in terraforming -- molding a world in which we can live and freely breath on its surface. The fifteen year old Ms. Griffin, competed with more than 1,350 high school students nationwide. Her detailed proposal of an experiment that could be performed on Mars was presented to three NASA judges this week in Washington. Ms. Griffin will be going to Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Her choice.) Her VIP tour of the space shuttle tower and shuttle launch will give her the opportunity to explore her career goals with firsthand input from NASA personnel. "It's most important to me to meet with NASA scientists and find out what they took in school and did to get where they are," she said. The trip "...will remind me of how important this is to me and what I am working for." Lynn Mara, manager of NASA's education programs, stated that NASA will work with Ms. Griffin and our research center to make her week with us a great experience. We want to ensure that NASA incorporates Ms. Griffin's primary interests into her stay with us. Dan Woods, a NASA judges for the contest, said Katie won because of her proposal's creativity, her strong command of her subject and her ability to answer judges' questions quickly and thoroughly. "Katie really carried the day," he said. "She really did her homework." Katie had researched other scientists' terraforming proposals. "Where they had chosen to build a 125-kilometer mirror, she took it a step further," Woods said. "She thought of using inflatable technology, which we are using in space now....We thought it was creative to take somebody's idea and to build on it." Katie also was quick with a response to one judge's question of why she decided to melt the south polar icecap first, Woods said. "She knew there is carbon dioxide in the south pole and you need carbon dioxide to start the greenhouse effect," he said. "This showed us she'd done her studying and knew what she was talking about." While Katie's experiment won't be possible for at least 100 years, it is feasible, he said. "It's an expensive project," Woods said. "The technology is there to do it. Right now, it's too cost-prohibitive. Terraforming is expensive." Ms. Griffin's adviser, Ms. Gibson, will accompany her on the internship. Ms. Gibson said Katie's success is just as exciting for her as it is for Katie. "I have never had anybody go this far in the contest," she said. "Of all the kids, Katie deserves it. This is what she wants to do. "I remember somebody said to Katie after she won, `Well, you finally got what you worked so hard for.' Katie said, `Work? This isn't work.'" Next Record: 07.04.97 |
©1997 Ken Fair, Jr.
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