Space News

After the astronauts received their ranks, some people had nothing to do for the time being. There for, these people taught gym for a few different classes. The gym classes are called Astronaut Circut Training and it is what the 6T class were trained with. Our class wanted the other classes to experience astronaut training. The Astronaut Circut was a circut with different stations around the gym. There were 7 strength stations and after each station was a cardio in the middle. Each station and cardio was about 1:30 each, but it varied depending on fitness and age. These are a few of the stations and how you do them:

WALL SQUATS-Lean against the wall with your knees bent and make sure your back is flat against the wall. The farther down you sit , the more difficult the exercise is.

TRICEP DIPS-You need a bench for this exercise. Put your hands on the bench and dip yourself up and down. Make sure you have a straight back and legs.

BENCH JUMPS-You need a bench for this exercise. Jump up on the bench and then down in a running motion. Repeat this exercise.

PUSH-UPS-Place your hands and feet about shoulder width apart on the floor. Lift yourself up and down with your arms. Make sure you have a FLAT back. Repeat.

SIT-UPS-Lie on your back with your knees up and place your hands loosely behind your ears. Then sit up and down without lifting your feet off the ground.

LUNGES-Stand up straight and put one foot in front of you. Then bend your back knee until it is almost touching the ground. Alternate feet and repeat.

BALANCE-You will need a bean bag for this. Place the beanbag on the ground. Stand on one foot, bend down and pick up the bean bag. Then switch legs and repeat. These are the stations that the 6T class used and taught.

Wynoah

Chief Correspondent

Public Affairs

Meet Cliff Mackey...

He has called us to congratulate us on our project.

Cliff Mackey was born in Vancouver B.C., but is currently living in Ottawa. His family is from Winnipeg. He is a senior official in the government. Mr. Mackey is responsible for the Canadarm program.

Here is bit of information on the Canadarm. The Canadarm has a Shuttle Remote Manipulator which has the ability to capture free flying payload in 0 gravity. If there is any amount of contact with an object in space, the machine will send it spinning away. It has a 50 foot arm and astronauts can send it a wide range of commands. The Canadarm has never malfunctioned in it’s 50 missions and 7 000 orbits around the Earth. It has been used to fix many problems on the space shuttle. Mr. Mackey also participated in both Canadian space plans.

Cliff Mackey has always been interested in space, even when he was a child. He strongly believes in exploring space. He believes that studying space is a huge contribution to humans and understanding Earth. Mr. Mackey thinks humans will learn a lot of great information from space exloration. He also believes that we have great astronauts who carry out their jobs.

The Americans have already been to the moon, so that is not their priority. Cliff Mackey says that the Americans are interested in going to Mars. He believes that humans will visit Mars between the year 2015 and the year 2020.

Mr. Mackey believes that there are a few challenges we are going to run into in space. Space is very dangerous, so we have to be very careful. For example, the asteroids flying could hurt astronauts in a shuttle. Going into space also takes a lot of money. We may run into the problem of running out of money. The largest problem is to find a more efficient way to reach space.

Those are some of the ideas and background of Mr. Cliff Mackey.

Wynoah

Chief Correspondent

Public Affairs

Parent’s Views

What have you (as the parent) learned so far during this project?

I have learned how a group of students can work as a team and get a lot accomplished if they put their mind to it. I have also learned how independent and capable these grade 6 students are. Another thing I have learned is how anything is possible if you work hard and put your mind to it.

What do you hope or think your child is learning?

I think my child is learning a lot about space and shuttle missions. Also to coordinate information through walkie-talkies and computers. How to cooperate with others in a confined area and cope with lack of sleep. Also, I would like my child to learn how science applies to real life.

What do you dislike about the project?

There are only a few things I dislike: the lack of sleep, there needs to be more interaction with the astronauts and We (The parents) would like to learn a bit more about the technology the class is using.

What do you like about the project?

The things we (the parents) like about the project are: It is a challenge for the children, they are trying new things and this project is teaching the children through experience.

Any more comments?

I am really excited about what the astronauts have to say in the end and what there largest challenge was. It has been a great experience for everyone! The astronauts will be very tired! The technology is amazing! This is is a wonderful and creative project! The students on the website have done a great job! Congratulations!!!!!!!!!

Wynoah

Chief Correspondent

Public Affairs

Interviews:

This afternoon I interviewed some teachers and students on what they thought of the Space program Ms. Tillett has set up and what they would change. Here are some examples: Mrs. Nordal thought that the project was fabulous and that she wishes her class was in a higher grade so that they could understand it more. All the kids in her class really enjoyed it when the astronauts came into the class and did act ivies with them. Mrs. Nordal also said that on behalf of the class that the class was very excited on seeing the shuttle on Thursday.

Mrs. Stocker also thought that the project was great. The one and only thing she would change is to make it a lot less work for Ms. Tillett. Territ in her grade 4 class thought that when the astronauts came to his class that he had lots of fun and he also thought that the circuit training was fun, but a bit challenging. Overall he thought it was amazing. Also in her grade 4 class Claire and her friends had a great time with the astronauts, but found the circuit training difficult and challenging, but also fun.

Mrs. Browne thinks that the project is out-of-this-world! She also never thought that a teacher would put this much work toward a project other than Ms. Tillett. Like said before, the only thing she would change is to make it easier for Ms. Tillett.

Colby is a meteorologist in Mission Control. His job is to get the weather and win speeds every hour. Colby is really enjoying his job as a meteorologist.

(7:39 pm)Bryson the Commander is head of the Shuttle. He is really liking his Job because he says that he is NATURALLY BOSSY and LOVES the POWER! His job is to make the final decision and makes sure everything runs smoothly.

Jeff is a Lab Officer in Mission Control. His job is to get and think up experiments to make them do. He is really liking his job. Though himself and his Lab Team had a bit of a challenge thinking of experiments, but it was also fun and hard/difficult at the same time. The one thing he would change is to have less experiments to make them type up on the computer.

Willow is on Cap Com in Mission Control. Her job is to communicate with the shuttle, Exodus. The thing she would change is to have a bit more to do, but I know that this is what NASA does, so I very happy to do it. Willow is really liking her job because it involves a lot of reading while she wait and she also likes to use the walkie-talkies to communicate. Willow doesn't find her job hard/difficult or easy. It is somewhere in the middle. She finds this because she just sits around and waits for a call from the astronauts, but sometimes other people are calling and I have to sort the whole thing out.

The Astronauts

How are you feeling?

I am feeling frustrated, tired, panicked, excited about seeing outside the shuttle, sad to leave, relieved to go back to a normal place, looking forward to meeting the crowds, disappointed that we have such a short time left. And it was really great.

How did you enjoy the experiments that you participated in?

They were kind of cool, but there were too many of them and that got a bit annoying. I didn’t feel like we completed all the experiments and it was rushed. I think that there weren’t too many experiments and I liked the pressure of it. They were a bit confusing.

How are you feeling about the ending of the mission?

It was great and it is disappointing to have to leave. I’m a bit excited to meet the outside world again. I am sad but relieved to go. I am especially excited to eat real food. I want it to go on for 48 hours!

What was your favourite part of the mission?

I really liked the cooking and the composting toilet! I also loved the lift off, posting journals and exercises. I also enjoyed taking people’s pulses. The whole thing was great.

Was there anything that you disliked about the mission?

I was a bit disorganized and lost some of my things. There could have been a bit more rest time. It was quite rushed, especially the experiments. It would have been better if the experiments were more spread out.

Is there anything else you’d like to do before you leave the shuttle for ever?

I would really like to find my lost items. I would just like to look around and make sure I’ve got things in memory.

Comments

Hi, how are you doing. It’s great to be talking to you. Ms Tillett and the crew have done an amazing job and thank you to all the people who supported us.

Wynoah

Chief Correspondent

Public Affairs

Space Toilets

In space, astronauts will need to use the restroom. However, this is no ordinary restroom! Among the washcloths, edible toothpaste and soap that doesn’t need water, there sits the ULTIMATE POTTY OF ALL TIME! The space toilet that astronauts use on their missions into space. There are leg restraints to stop the astronauts floating off while they- well, never mind. Also, the toilet is equipped with a vacuum-like current to suck down the contents. Pretty handy, huh? Unfortunately, we were unable to get our hands on one of these magnificent artifacts, so we used a composting toilet instead. A composting toilet uses chemicals to speed the process of the decomposition of human waste. The chemical toilet is very environmentally friendly, as it does not flush it’s contents into the ocean or any lakes. Potty On!

How the Parents Survived

Of course Ms. Tillett needed help to set up this excursion! Lots of parents have helped out doing things from shopping, to baking for the press conference, to helping out during the simulation. I have interviewed three of the many loyal parents, Lori, Susan and Mary. These mothers stayed for the whole night during the simulation, helping and encouraging.

Lori is the mother of the Flight Surgeon, Chelsea. She says that what kept her going through the night was the fact that she was very busy, and always had things to do, visiting the web site and helping out Mission Control. It wasn’t that difficult, because Lori is a nurse, and is used to night shifts. All the same, at the end everyone was tired, even Lori, what with the excitement and pressure of the past 24 hours

Susan is the mother of Luke, Payload Specialist #1 on the shuttle. The way she got through the night was to ‘never lay down, keep moving, keep walking’, but she could hardly stay awake by about 5 a.m.! She found the launch very exciting, and was even more excited by the fact that her son was one of the astronauts on the Shuttle.

Mary is the mother of astronaut Molly 2, medical officer on Exodus. She found the night very entertaining, what with listening to the communication between Capcom and the shuttle and reading everyone’ s postings. She was kept occupied by all the good company and excitement around her.

Written by Willow, CAPCOM