Students To Participate In NASA's Lunar Field Test Activities

Sept. 11, 2009

Ashley Edwards/Stephanie Schierholz
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1756/4997
,

RELEASE: 09-209

STUDENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN NASA'S LUNAR FIELD TEST ACTIVITIES

WASHINGTON -- To prepare for human exploration of the moon and other
destinations in our solar system, NASA is conducting a field test of
rovers and equipment at an Earthly site in the Arizona desert.
Hundreds of students are invited to experience it. NASA's annual
Desert RATS -- or Research and Technology Studies -- field test is
underway. The agency has planned a variety of activities to engage
students in the practical application of the science, technology,
math and engineering skills critical to space exploration.

Dozens of students from Flagstaff and surrounding areas have been
invited to visit the test site at Black Point Lava Flow on Sept. 16.
They will be introduced to the work NASA engineers and researchers
conducted during the field test. In addition, college teams that
ranked highest in NASA's 2009 Moon Work Engineering Contest will
present their projects to members of the NASA field test team. The
winning teams are from the University of Maryland, College Park; the
University of Akron, Ohio; and Texas A&M University, College Station.

As part of the day's activities, hundreds of elementary and middle
school students participating in "Education Alley" at the American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics' Space 2009 Conference in
Pasadena, Calif., will observe field test activities and chat live
with the NASA engineers and researchers via satellite at 1 p.m. EDT.
Heather Paul and Kimberly Land of NASA's Exploration Technology
Development Program will host the event, which will include NASA
experts explaining how the agency plans to use similar rovers on the
moon; video clips of field test demonstrations; and questions from
students. Students everywhere can view the event and learn more about
the Desert RATS activities at:

http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/analogs

The 2009 Desert RATS tests focus on a simulated 14-day mission. Two
crew members -- an astronaut and a geologist -- will live for 14 days
inside NASA's prototype Lunar Electric Rover, searching the area for
features of geologic interest and conducting simulated moonwalks to
collect samples. NASA's K10 scout robot examined the location in
August to identify areas of interest. NASA's heavy-lift rover
Tri-ATHLETE -- or All-Terrain Hex-Limbed Extra-Terrestrial Explorer
-- will carry a habitat mockup to which the rover will dock.

The Desert RATS tests have taken place for more than a decade, as
engineers from NASA centers have worked together with representatives
from both industry and academia to determine what will be needed when
NASA makes trips to other worlds. Future Desert RATS analog test
activities could involve international partners in the quest toward
human planetary exploration. This year's work will build on the
investigations of previous years, increasing the scope and length of
the tests.

NASA centers involved are Johnson Space Center in Houston; Langley
Research Center, in Hampton, Va.; Jet Propulsion Laboratory in
Pasadena, Calif.; Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.;
Kennedy Space Center in Florida.; Goddard Space Flight Center in
Greenbelt, Md.; Glenn Research Center in Cleveland; Marshall Space
Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.; and NASA Headquarters in
Washington.

Desert RATS participants from outside of NASA include the Smithsonian
Institution in Washington; the United States Geological Survey in
Flagstaff, Ariz.; Arizona State University in Tempe; University of
Texas at El Paso; University of Colorado at Denver; Brown University
in Providence, R.I.; and the Mars Institute at Moffett Field, Calif.

For more information about NASA's "Moon Work" contest, visit:

http://moontasks.larc.nasa.gov

For information about NASA's education programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/education

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