[dramatic percussion music]
- HEY, WELCOME TO "NASA LAUNCHPAD."
I'M YOUR HOST, AMBER WHALEN.
SO WE'RE ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT THESE HUGE PROJECTS
THAT NASA IS WORKING ON.
BUT WHAT ABOUT SOME OF THE LESS PROMINENT STUFF?
SURE, EVERYBODY'S HEARD ABOUT ORION AND ARES
AND THE LUNAR LANDER.
WHAT ABOUT SOME OF THE NON-FRONT-PAGE NEWS?
WELL, THAT DESERVES TO BE SEEN TOO.
SO WE'RE GOING TO TAKE A LOOK AT A COUPLE
OF THESE LESSER STORIES RIGHT NOW
IN A SEGMENT WE'RE CALLING "THE LIGHTER SIDE."
"LIGHTER." GET IT?
BECAUSE IT'S NASA,
AND THEY'RE UP IN SPACE, FLOATING AROUND?
WOW, WE NEED NEW WRITERS.
OKAY, SO THE FIRST THING WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
ON "THE LIGHTER SIDE"
DEALS WITH SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN A BIG DEAL FOR ASTRONAUTS
FOR A LONG TIME:
FOOD.
YEAH, SPACE FOOD DIDN'T EXACTLY START OUT APPETIZING,
BUT IT'S GOTTEN A LOT BETTER THROUGH THE YEARS.
WHILE THE MENUS HAVE GROWN,
THERE'S STILL SOMETHING TO BE SAID FOR THE DRINKS.
NOT THAT THEY TASTE BAD,
BUT YOU HAVE TO SUCK THEM THROUGH A STRAW.
AND EVEN THE STRAW TAKES PRACTICE.
YOU SEE, YOU HAVE TO TURN OFF THIS LITTLE KEY
ON THE SIDE OF THE STRAW,
OR THE LIQUID JUST KEEPS PUMPING THROUGH THE STRAW
ONCE IT STARTS,
EVEN WHEN YOU MOVE YOUR MOUTH AWAY.
YOU KNOW NEWTON'S FIRST LAW:
AN OBJECT IN MOTION STAYS IN MOTION
UNLESS IT IS ACTED ON BY ANOTHER FORCE.
NO GRAVITY, NO OPPOSITE FORCE TO STOP THE MOVING LIQUID
THAT'S COMING UP THROUGH THE STRAW.
OF COURSE, YOU CAN TRY TO CATCH THE LIQUID BUBBLES
AS THEY FLOAT AROUND.
BUT THAT DOESN'T REALLY CAPTURE THE FEELING OF SITTING DOWN
AND SIPPING A CUP OF COFFEE.
BUT YOU CAN'T USE A CUP IN A REDUCED-GRAVITY ENVIRONMENT,
CAN YOU?
WELL, DON'T TELL STS-126 ASTRONAUT DON PETTIT
THAT HE CAN'T DO SOMETHING.
HERE HE IS TO EXPLAIN HIS CREATION.
- WE CAN SUCK OUR COFFEE OUT FROM A BAG,
BUT TO DRINK IT FROM A CUP IS HARD TO DO
BECAUSE YOU CAN'T TIP THE CUP UP AND GET THE LIQUID OUT,
AND IT'S ALSO EASY TO SLOSH.
SO WITH THE SPECIAL SHAPE OF THIS CUP,
THE SURFACE TENSION FORCES WILL WICK THE COFFEE
UP ALONG THE EDGE THERE,
AS YOU CAN SEE
AS I'M PUTTING SOME COFFEE THERE IN THE BAG.
AND THE WAY THIS WORKS IS,
THE CROSS SECTION OF THIS CUP LOOKS LIKE AN AIRPLANE WING,
AND THE SHARP ANGLE, THE NARROW ANGLE THERE,
WILL WICK THE COFFEE UP.
AND THIS IS WHAT WE USE
WHEN WE DESIGN FUEL TANKS FOR ROCKETS
TO REIGNITE IN A WEIGHTLESS ENVIRONMENT.
THE VEINS IN THE TANKS WILL WICK THE FLUID INTO THE SUCTION PORT.
AND IF THAT ANGLE IS LESS
THAN 2 TIMES 90 MINUS THE CONTACT WETTING ANGLE,
THEN THE LIQUID WILL RISE LIKE THAT.
SO KNOWING THIS FOR A FUEL TANK,
YOU CAN MAKE IT INTO A CUP TO DRINK YOUR FLUID FROM.
SO YOU CAN JUST SIT THERE RIGHT ON THE EDGE OF THE CUP,
AND AS YOU SIP, MORE FLUID JUST KEEPS COMING UP AND UP AND UP,
AND YOU CAN ENJOY A CUP OF COFFEE
IN A WEIGHTLESS ENVIRONMENT
WITHOUT HAVING TO SIP IT FROM A BAG.
- THERE YOU GO, A COFFEE CUP FOR SPACE.
AND IT'S MADE FROM A PIECE OF PLASTIC
FROM ONE OF HIS MISSION BOOKS.
JUST GOES TO SHOW YOU, INGENUITY CAN HAPPEN ANYWHERE.
MOVING ALONG, STILL ON "THE LIGHTER SIDE,"
THE ASTRONAUTS ON STS-126 WERE JOINED BY SOME ARACHNIDS,
SPIDERS, SPECIFICALLY TWO FEMALE SPIDERS
COMMONLY KNOWN AS ORB WEAVERS.
AND, NO, THEY WEREN'T STOWAWAYS.
IN FACT, THESE SPIDERS WENT THROUGH
A COMPLICATED SELECTION PROCESS
SO NASA COULD MAKE SURE THEY REALLY HAD THE RIGHT STUFF.
THE LUCKY TWO WERE HANDPICKED
FOR THEIR WEB-SPINNING TECHNIQUES, VIGOR,
AND YOUTHFULNESS.
THE SPIDERS WERE PART OF AN EXPERIMENT
CONDUCTED BY THE ASTRONAUTS ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
WITH STUDENTS IN FLORIDA, TEXAS, AND COLORADO.
THEY WORKED TO COMPARE SPIDERWEBS
CREATED IN MICROGRAVITY WITH THE ONES CREATED ON EARTH.
SO WHY SPIDERS?
WELL, THE WEBS THEY SPIN ARE VERY VISUAL,
WHICH COULD MAKE IT VERY SIMPLE TO MAKE OBSERVATIONS
AND COMPARE THE DESIGNS OF SPACE WEBS AND EARTH WEBS.
SCIENTISTS CAN ALSO WATCH THE SPIDERS IN ACTION
TO SEE HOW THEY CHANGE
THEIR NORMAL DROP AND DANGLE TECHNIQUES.
ALSO, THE WEBS CAN BE TESTED TO SEE IF THEY ARE AS STRONG
AS THE ONES ON EARTH.
INITIALLY, THE WEBS CAME OUT VERY TANGLED
AND MORE THREE-DIMENSIONAL,
UNLIKE WEBS SPUN HERE ON EARTH.
BUT AFTER A FEW DAYS OF ACCLIMATION,
THE SPIDERS TORE DOWN THEIR OLD WEBS AND SPUN NEW ONES,
VERY SYMMETRICAL AND VERY SIMILAR TO EARTH-SPUN WEBS.
THE LAST THING ON THIS "LIGHTER SIDE:"
EVER WONDER WHAT WOULD HAPPEN
IF YOU THREW A BOOMERANG IN MICROGRAVITY?
WELL, WONDER NO LONGER.
THAT'S ASTRONAUT TAKAO DOI,
ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION,
THROWING THAT BOOMERANG.
AND, YES, AS YOU CAN SEE, IT DOES COME BACK TO HIM,
JUST LIKE IT SHOULD ON EARTH.
A BOOMERANG WORKS BECAUSE ITS SPIN
CAUSES FORCES ACTING ON IT FROM THE AIR TO BE UNEVEN.
THE SECTION OF THE BOOMERANG
MOVING IN THE SAME DIRECTION AS ITS FORWARD MOTION
MOVES FASTER THROUGH THE AIR
THAN THE PART MOVING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION.
THE UNEVEN FORCES CAUSES THE BOOMERANG
TO TURN AND FOLLOW A CIRCULAR PATH,
WHICH EVENTUALLY BRINGS IT BACK TO THE THROWER.
AS LONG AS THERE'S AIR TO PROVIDE THE NECESSARY FORCES,
THIS WORKS, EVEN IN THE MICROGRAVITY OF EARTH ORBIT.
MAKE SENSE?
HEY, WHO KNEW, RIGHT?
YOU CAN LEARN PHYSICS FROM SOMETHING
YOU THOUGHT WAS JUST FOR FUN.
THINK ABOUT TOYS YOU PLAYED WITH GROWING UP.
HOW MANY PHYSICS LESSONS WERE HIDDEN IN THEM?
RUBBER DUCKY FLOATED,
BUT ACTION FIGURES AND DOLLS SANK.
WHY WAS THAT?
A PERFECTLY GOOD QUESTION WHEN YOU WERE A KID
AND EVEN A GOOD QUESTION NOW.
- REALLY QUICK--SORRY FOR THE INTERRUPTION, AMBER.
I JUST WANTED TO FOLLOW UP ON THAT.
ALL THOSE QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE ARE REALLY GOOD,
AND GET THIS: YOU MIGHT EVEN BE ABLE TO HAVE THEM ANSWERED
BY CREW MEMBERS ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.
I'M TALKING ABOUT NASA'S TEACHING FROM SPACE PROGRAM.
TEACHING FROM SPACE ACTIVITIES
ARE DESIGNED TO FACILITATE EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES
THAT USE THE UNIQUE ENVIRONMENT OF SPACEFLIGHT
AND OTHER FLIGHT PLATFORMS.
THE ACTIVITIES ENABLE FORMAL AND INFORMAL EDUCATORS
TO DIRECTLY ENGAGE AND EDUCATE STUDENTS
IN STEM SUBJECTS USING NASA'S UNIQUE CONTENT AND RESOURCES.
TEACHING FROM SPACE OFFERS K-12 EDUCATORS AND STUDENTS
NASA'S UNIQUE EXPERIENCES
THAT ENGAGE LEARNERS IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING,
AND MATHEMATICS.
TEACHING FROM SPACE PARTNERS WITH THE ASTRONAUT OFFICE
AND NASA CENTERS THROUGHOUT THE NATION
TO PROVIDE A WIDE VARIETY OF OPPORTUNITIES
THAT CAN'T BE FOUND ANYWHERE ELSE.
IMAGINE SPEAKING LIVE WITH CREW MEMBERS ORBITING THE EARTH
ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
OR USING REAL NASA EQUIPMENT TO TEST STUDENT EXPERIMENTS.
THESE OPPORTUNITIES AND SO MANY MORE
ARE AVAILABLE TO YOU.
SO IF YOU'VE GOT QUESTIONS YOU WANT ANSWERED,
CHECK OUT NASA'S TEACHING FROM SPACE SITE
AT THE ADDRESS BELOW.
- KEEP ASKING QUESTIONS AND KEEP THINKING,
BECAUSE THAT'S HOW WE LEARN.
AND THERE'S STILL SO MUCH MORE OUT THERE TO LEARN.
WELL, SO MUCH FOR "THE LIGHTER SIDE."
THAT'S ALL THE TIME WE HAVE FOR THIS EPISODE.
THANKS FOR WATCHING. I'M AMBER WHALEN.
AND I'LL CATCH YOU NEXT TIME ON "NASA LAUNCHPAD."