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>> Well hello everybody.

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Welcome inside Mission Control.

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We're welcoming the East
Paulding Middle School students

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in Dallas, Georgia.

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We know you guys are outside
Atlanta and I'm very pleased

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to have Heather Paul with me.

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She is a Mechanical Engineer.

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She graduated from
high school in Atlanta

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so she's very familiar
with that area.

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She currently is a Crew

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and Thermal Systems
Division Engineer here

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at the Johnson Space Center and
you're inside Mission Control

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where the Flight Control Team
oversees all the operations

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of the International
Space Station.

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We are very pleased
to have you guys

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with us today, me and Heather.

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And she's going to handle
all the hard questions

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that you guys may have for us.

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And Michael and I
guess April Leachman,

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[phonetic] you're the
teacher for these students

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so we're ready for
y'alls questions.

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>> Hello, my name
is Clark Vaughn.

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[phonetic] My question is if
we ever lived on the moon,

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how would we transfer oxygen?

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>> Heather: Clark that is a
very, very important question

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to think about because the
moon doesn't have an atmosphere

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so we would have to
provide our own oxygen

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for the astronauts to live.

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And we may bring some of the
oxygen with us but most likely

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if we're looking at living on
the moon for a longer period

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of time than we did for the
Apollo days, we're going to have

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to figure out a way to
generate that oxygen.

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So that is something that
our engineers are working

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on right now in fact and not
only generating the oxygen

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but recycling the
oxygen that we use.

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You know we breathe in oxygen,
we breathe out carbon dioxide

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so how could you recycle the
oxygen out of your exhale

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and make sure that you pull
the oxygen molecules in

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and maybe even generate oxygen

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from the carbon dioxide
molecules?

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Great question.

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>> Hello, my name is
Seth Grennon [phonetic]

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and will we ever be able to walk
on the moon or walk on Mars?

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>> Heather: Seth, you know
that's a question I often ask

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and we are working on our
spacesuits and our vehicles

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and our robots and rovers
to get us there and to work

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on the surface of Mars.

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As far as when that will happen,
you know it's a challenge

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to get there, it's a lot
further away than the moon.

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The moon only took us about
two to three days to get there

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to get to do our work.

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Mars is a lot further away
so it could take us anywhere

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from three to six months
to get there so you got

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to let our engineers work hard

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on that new vehicles we're
developing and our new suits

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and rovers and robots and
then hopefully maybe you,

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maybe your classmates will get
to either work with us here

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to be in Mission Control
center or even fly

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and be a part of that crew.

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>> Thank you.

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>> Hello, my name is
Rose Rawson [phonetic]

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and my question is are you ever
worried that from the rockets,

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the fuel, that it will
pollute outer space?

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>> Heather: I see, that's a
very environmental question,

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absolutely.

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And we do a lot to really
make sure that we understand

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where everything that we put
out of our vehicles goes,

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whether it's our rocket
fuel or even our trash

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or other things like that.

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So we're very, very
aware of what kinds

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of things we're putting
out into the atmosphere or,

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in the case of space,
the lack of atmosphere.

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>> Thank you.

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>> My name is Brian
Akuda [phonetic]

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and my question is can you like
tell the weather from space

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of what the weather will
be like here on earth?

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>> Heather: Absolutely.

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And in fact if you watch
the news and you learn

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about you know storm systems,
whether it's rain or snow,

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all of that information is
coming from our satellites

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that we have positioned around
our planets, in part thanks

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to our space shuttle
and space missions.

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And so you know a lot
of what we're doing

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in our space program is not
only to go explore places

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like the moon or mars or even an
asteroid but a huge influence is

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to make sure that
we are effecting

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and benefiting life
here on earth and that's

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through monitoring the weather
and keeping everyone informed.

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>> Thank you.

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>> Great question.

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>> Hello, my name is Devan
Swain [phonetic] and I wanted

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to know how do you assure

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that the astronauts have enough
oxygen to survive in space?

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>> Great question.

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>> Heather: Excellent.

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You know I'm loving these
life support questions

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because that's a lot of what
I focus my engineering career

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on is making sure the astronauts
have not only enough oxygen

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but good clean breathing oxygen
to keep our astronauts alive

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so they can do all of their work

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and science onboard
the space station.

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So we bring up oxygen
with us when we fly

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but then we also
can generate oxygen

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and we recycle that
oxygen as well.

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Our spacesuits have
oxygen tanks so it's kind

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of like your own portable
breathing apparatus inside

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of the life support system.

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And then we have adequate
oxygen onboard the space station

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as well.

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>> Thank you.

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>> My name is Patrick
Huntington [phonetic].

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And is NASA competitive with
any other space programs?

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If so, who are they?

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>> Heather: Good question.

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Well back in the day, Patrick,
we were actually in a space race

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with what are now our
partners, the Russians.

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So a long time ago we were
under more of a competition.

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But nowadays it's really
all about teamwork.

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We have 16 international
partners working

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on the International Space
Station and it's more important

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to think about how we
can work together instead

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of competing against each other.

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And we not only have our
international partners

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for space station but
we've now branched

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out to our industry partners,

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you know we just
launched the Cygnus

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so that is a great
example of one

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of our new commercial spacecraft
that is going to connect

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with our space station
in just a few days.

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>> Thank you.

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>> My name is Neal
Jackson and I want

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to know what rocket
fuel is made of?

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>> What rocket fuel is made of?

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>> Heather: Neal, what
rocket fuel is made of?

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Well that depends on
the rocket, I suppose.

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You know our space shuttle
had solid propellant as well

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as liquid and I don't
know the exact formulation

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because that is not
my area of expertise.

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But really when you think about
where you're going in space,

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that's going to determine
what kind

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of propellant you would use.

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So if you're going into lower
orbit, you probably don't need

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as much as you would need
if you were going to a place

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like the moon or even
further like Mars.

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That's a very good question.

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>> Thank you.

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>> Well my name is
Connor Pitts [phonetic]

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and my question is
what is your plan

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to put people back on space?

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>> Heather: Well
Connor we have people

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in space right now onboard the
International Space Station,

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living up there for about
six months at a time.

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And we just recently
selected our first astronaut

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and cosmonaut who are going to
live onboard the space station

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for one year continuously.

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So we have people up there
pretty much 24 hours a day,

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seven days a week right now.

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Now as far as looking to our
next destination, we're trying

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to figure out if we want
to go back to the moon,

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which would be pretty
cool, in my opinion.

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Or maybe even go
and find an asteroid

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and bring it back closer to
the earth so we can study it.

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Or eventually go on to Mars.

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>> Thank you.

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>> My name is Olivia
Ritika [phonetic]

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and my question is
what materials are

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in the present day spacesuit?

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>> Heather: Excellent question.

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And there are several different
layers in our space suit.

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And all of those layers are
important because they make sure

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that the astronaut stays alive
inside of the suit as well

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as thermally protected.

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So we first have a layer that
kind of acts not as flexible

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as a balloon but a balloon,
when you inflate it with air,

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it holds that air, especially
if you tie it up really tight.

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Well because we essentially
inflate our spacesuit

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with oxygen, you need a layer,
a pressure layer, that's going

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to hold that oxygen in.

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But once you inflate a balloon
it tends to get kind of rigid

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and it wants to stay
in the shape

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that it's been designed to be.

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The spacesuit is no different.

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So then the second layer is
what we call a restrain layer.

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And it's made out of
Dacron which is found

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in a lot of camping equipment.

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It's a very nice lightweight,
somewhat flexible material.

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And we can sew that material
to make the spacesuit into more

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of a human shape and
that's what's going to hold

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that bladder, that
pressure layer in

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and make sure it
doesn't over pressurize.

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And then we have a multilayer
garment that first starts off

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with neoprene and if any of you
are interested in scuba diving,

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you would wear a wet suit that's
primarily made out of neoprene

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to make sure that you
stay nice and warm,

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especially if you go deeper
into the water environments.

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We have neoprene in the
spacesuit for the same reason,

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to keep our astronauts
comfortable inside.

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Then we have multiple layers

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of a really shiny
material called Mylar.

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And if you've ever gotten
a happy birthday balloon

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from a grocery store,
one of those shiny ones,

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that's basically made
of a thicker Mylar

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than what we have
in the spacesuit.

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Or here in Texas, every day
in summer we have to put

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up those sun shields
here in the car,

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otherwise the car
gets really hot.

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Well mine is made out of Mylar
so I always think about that.

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Hey cool. I'm in a
spacesuit right now.

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And then the outer garment
that's light is actually a

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combination of materials of
nomex which is in our a lot

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of our firefighter
suits, Kevlar,

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which is in bullet proof vests

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and then a little bit
of Teflon as well.

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So a lot of really common
materials that we use here

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on earth we've developed into a
garment that makes a spacesuit.

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>> Thank you.

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>> Great question.

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>> Hi, my name is Hannah
Vandermet [phonetic]

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and my question is what
is the furthest planet

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that NASA has been to?

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>> Heather: Excellent question.

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Well the farthest that we've
been with humans is to the moon

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and that's not really a planet.

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But of course we've got our
rovers on Mars right now

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and we've got a lot of
different vehicles that are

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out there exploring
space even beyond

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and I think one just
recently went even beyond our

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solar system.

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>> Yep, Voyager 1.

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>> Heather: That's
right, Voyager 1 is

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out there collecting
great information

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for our scientists
and engineers.

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>> Thank you.

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>> Hi, my name is
Drew Patterson.

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[phonetic] I was going to ask,

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how many degrees
have you earned?

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>> Heather: Alright Drew,
well that is a great question.

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I started off

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>> This is going to
be a long answer.

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[laughter]

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>> Heather: I started off at
Auburn University in Alabama

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and I studied Mechanical
Engineering and Spanish

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so I have two undergraduate
degrees.

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And during that time I actually
was also a student working

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at NASA so it was a great way to
kind of get some work experience

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in to try to figure
out what type

247
00:10:51,416 --> 00:10:52,784
of engineering work
I'd want to do

248
00:10:52,784 --> 00:10:54,486
when I eventually
got hired here.

249
00:10:54,486 --> 00:10:57,823
I then went to the
University of Texas at Austin

250
00:10:57,823 --> 00:11:00,058
to continue my Mechanical
Engineering studies

251
00:11:00,058 --> 00:11:02,194
and I got a Master's
Degree there.

252
00:11:02,194 --> 00:11:03,762
Then I joined the NASA workforce

253
00:11:03,762 --> 00:11:05,497
and a few years afterwards
I realized

254
00:11:05,497 --> 00:11:08,433
that I just was not done
with my education and I went

255
00:11:08,433 --> 00:11:10,569
to the University of
Houston, Clear Lake

256
00:11:10,569 --> 00:11:13,672
and got a Master's Degree in
Fitness and Human Performance

257
00:11:13,672 --> 00:11:15,373
to really get a better
understanding

258
00:11:15,373 --> 00:11:19,177
of how the human body works
when we're under exercise.

259
00:11:19,177 --> 00:11:22,647
And I've spent a long time
working with our spacesuit team

260
00:11:22,647 --> 00:11:25,684
and we talk about working with
spacesuit, it's really about six

261
00:11:25,684 --> 00:11:28,553
to eight hours of exercise
so thinking about how

262
00:11:28,553 --> 00:11:30,522
to prepare enough oxygen
for them to breathe,

263
00:11:30,522 --> 00:11:33,592
you have to understand how
exercise effects your heart

264
00:11:33,592 --> 00:11:35,393
rate, your lung capacity.

265
00:11:35,393 --> 00:11:39,097
>> I think that's a
really good example

266
00:11:39,097 --> 00:11:41,833
of how your education
can continue even

267
00:11:41,833 --> 00:11:43,101
after you finish school.

268
00:11:43,101 --> 00:11:44,970
I know you're probably
thinking right now, I don't want

269
00:11:44,970 --> 00:11:46,872
to go to school anymore.

270
00:11:46,872 --> 00:11:49,474
But you may want to
once you've gotten out

271
00:11:49,474 --> 00:11:53,245
and you started working and
you say there's so much more

272
00:11:53,245 --> 00:11:56,515
that I want to learn and Heather
is a perfect example of someone

273
00:11:56,515 --> 00:12:01,319
who continues to want to learn
even after being a professional

274
00:12:01,319 --> 00:12:04,089
and working you know
after school.

275
00:12:04,089 --> 00:12:07,025
And so that's a really
good question and you guys,

276
00:12:07,025 --> 00:12:10,929
don't feel like you stop
at high school or college.

277
00:12:10,929 --> 00:12:14,299
You can keep learning
even after you're working.

278
00:12:14,299 --> 00:12:21,907
>> Hello, my name is
Leona Nackey [phonetic]

279
00:12:21,907 --> 00:12:26,044
and my question is how many
gallons of fuel does it take

280
00:12:26,044 --> 00:12:30,949
to launch the rockets
to the moon?

281
00:12:30,949 --> 00:12:32,651
>> Heather: Man this
is a toughie.

282
00:12:32,651 --> 00:12:35,253
I don't know.

283
00:12:35,253 --> 00:12:37,389
I'd have to go and look that up.

284
00:12:37,389 --> 00:12:38,924
>> Yeah, I know that
the space shuttle,

285
00:12:38,924 --> 00:12:40,659
which we just retired obviously.

286
00:12:40,659 --> 00:12:46,531
It's about a half a million
gallons of propellant oxygen

287
00:12:46,531 --> 00:12:52,437
and hydrogen that's required to
get a space shuttle into orbit.

288
00:12:52,437 --> 00:12:56,141
And the moon rockets
back in the late 60's,

289
00:12:56,141 --> 00:12:59,211
early 70's was even
more than that.

290
00:12:59,211 --> 00:13:02,280
Remembering that the
atmosphere is very thick

291
00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:05,984
and the hardest part of a rocket
launch is actually the first two

292
00:13:05,984 --> 00:13:08,753
minutes or so and once
you get past that you get

293
00:13:08,753 --> 00:13:10,722
into the thin part
of the atmosphere,

294
00:13:10,722 --> 00:13:13,592
the vehicles engines start
accelerating the vehicle

295
00:13:13,592 --> 00:13:15,060
because the atmosphere
is so thin.

296
00:13:15,060 --> 00:13:17,896
And suddenly you get to a
point where you're almost

297
00:13:17,896 --> 00:13:20,265
out of the atmosphere
completely.

298
00:13:20,265 --> 00:13:22,567
And so you don't need as
much propellant to move

299
00:13:22,567 --> 00:13:26,104
around once you're in space but
you still require it to move.

300
00:13:26,104 --> 00:13:28,106
But that's a great question.

301
00:13:28,106 --> 00:13:29,941
It takes a great
deal of propellant

302
00:13:29,941 --> 00:13:31,610
to break earth's gravity.

303
00:13:31,610 --> 00:13:35,180
And so living in space
and moving from space

304
00:13:35,180 --> 00:13:39,084
to further deeper space you know
may eventually be the way to go

305
00:13:39,084 --> 00:13:43,255
and produce propellant depots
in space where you refuel,

306
00:13:43,255 --> 00:13:45,257
like a gas station,
and then go further,

307
00:13:45,257 --> 00:13:47,525
because you might not
need as much out there.

308
00:13:47,525 --> 00:13:48,760
That's a great question.

309
00:13:48,760 --> 00:13:50,462
>> Heather: Really great
and that really relies a lot

310
00:13:50,462 --> 00:13:53,865
on orbital mechanics
too, understanding how

311
00:13:53,865 --> 00:13:57,669
if you can do a loop or two
around a planet like earth

312
00:13:57,669 --> 00:13:59,504
or maybe even around the moon,

313
00:13:59,504 --> 00:14:01,573
you can use that
gravitational pull

314
00:14:01,573 --> 00:14:03,675
to essentially slingshot
your vehicle

315
00:14:03,675 --> 00:14:06,077
so maybe you don't need
as much propellant.

316
00:14:06,077 --> 00:14:08,613
The more propellant
you have on launch,

317
00:14:08,613 --> 00:14:11,683
the heavier your vehicle is,
the harder it is to really get

318
00:14:11,683 --> 00:14:13,652
up into space so our engineers

319
00:14:13,652 --> 00:14:15,720
and our scientists are
really smart about looking

320
00:14:15,720 --> 00:14:18,490
at all the different options
for if we want to go from earth

321
00:14:18,490 --> 00:14:20,125
to a destination, what's going

322
00:14:20,125 --> 00:14:25,931
to be the most fuel
efficient way to get there.

323
00:14:25,931 --> 00:14:27,332
>> Thanks.

324
00:14:27,332 --> 00:14:33,138
>> Hi, my name is Kennedy
and I was wondering,

325
00:14:33,138 --> 00:14:35,974
how long did you stay in
college to have this job?

326
00:14:35,974 --> 00:14:38,543
>> Heather: Good
question, Kennedy.

327
00:14:38,543 --> 00:14:43,782
Well I was at Auburn University
for a total of about 41/2 years.

328
00:14:43,782 --> 00:14:46,651
That's my time that I
was actually at school.

329
00:14:46,651 --> 00:14:50,021
But I was also taking some
time to do a semester at school

330
00:14:50,021 --> 00:14:53,258
and a semester at NASA
so it took me probably

331
00:14:53,258 --> 00:14:57,729
about seven years total to
get through my school as well

332
00:14:57,729 --> 00:14:59,097
as my work experience.

333
00:14:59,097 --> 00:15:01,599
And I decided to extend out my
work experience a little bit

334
00:15:01,599 --> 00:15:04,102
because I just loved
so much working here.

335
00:15:04,102 --> 00:15:07,605
And it really helped me to
understand what all of that,

336
00:15:07,605 --> 00:15:09,708
those theories and those
homework projects that I had

337
00:15:09,708 --> 00:15:12,744
to learn at school, how to
apply them to really cool stuff

338
00:15:12,744 --> 00:15:13,912
that could fly in space.

339
00:15:13,912 --> 00:15:15,947
So I thought it was an
important thing for me

340
00:15:15,947 --> 00:15:19,484
to really do my research
here at NASA too to figure

341
00:15:19,484 --> 00:15:20,719
out where I would best fit in

342
00:15:20,719 --> 00:15:23,121
and what I wanted
to do in my career.

343
00:15:23,121 --> 00:15:25,523
Then my graduate degree
took me about two years.

344
00:15:25,523 --> 00:15:28,293
And even then I was still
alternating between a semester

345
00:15:28,293 --> 00:15:31,496
at school and a semester
here at Houston, Texas.

346
00:15:31,496 --> 00:15:37,635
[ Silence ]

347
00:15:37,635 --> 00:15:39,437
>> Hi, my name is Danny.

348
00:15:39,437 --> 00:15:44,175
What is your favorite
part of your job?

349
00:15:44,175 --> 00:15:45,210
>> Heather: Oh Danny, wow.

350
00:15:45,210 --> 00:15:47,412
I wish I could answer
several things.

351
00:15:47,412 --> 00:15:49,681
You know I think one of the
favorite things that I think

352
00:15:49,681 --> 00:15:51,850
about when I get to
work here is working

353
00:15:51,850 --> 00:15:54,252
with this great team of people.

354
00:15:54,252 --> 00:15:55,787
It's really all about
teamwork here.

355
00:15:55,787 --> 00:15:57,255
When you look at the
Mission Control Center,

356
00:15:57,255 --> 00:15:58,623
I mean there's several
people here

357
00:15:58,623 --> 00:16:01,092
that are all working
together as a team

358
00:16:01,092 --> 00:16:04,195
to make sure astronauts
are living successfully

359
00:16:04,195 --> 00:16:05,697
and working onboard
the Space Station

360
00:16:05,697 --> 00:16:08,767
and even behind the scenes
we have rooms full of people

361
00:16:08,767 --> 00:16:11,236
that are supporting each
person here in mission control.

362
00:16:11,236 --> 00:16:13,438
And then engineers
and scientists all

363
00:16:13,438 --> 00:16:16,608
across Johnson Space Center,
all across the United States

364
00:16:16,608 --> 00:16:20,011
at our different NASA centers
and just the amount of teamwork

365
00:16:20,011 --> 00:16:21,413
and effort and communication,

366
00:16:21,413 --> 00:16:23,748
it's just amazing
to be a part of.

367
00:16:23,748 --> 00:16:25,083
And then the other
thing I like to think

368
00:16:25,083 --> 00:16:27,619
about with my engineering
career is a really see myself

369
00:16:27,619 --> 00:16:30,722
as a problem solver so if
you like solving puzzles,

370
00:16:30,722 --> 00:16:34,993
whether it's Sudoku, a crossword
or putting a jigsaw together,

371
00:16:34,993 --> 00:16:36,394
that's really the
heart and essence

372
00:16:36,394 --> 00:16:39,964
of engineering is being willing
to look at problem and see it

373
00:16:39,964 --> 00:16:42,233
as a creative challenge
and how can you overcome

374
00:16:42,233 --> 00:16:43,968
that and fix that problem?

375
00:16:43,968 --> 00:16:46,504
So I like to say
we're problem solvers.

376
00:16:46,504 --> 00:16:52,343
[ Silence ]

377
00:16:52,343 --> 00:16:54,879
>> Hi, my name is Abbey
and I was wondering

378
00:16:54,879 --> 00:16:57,449
about how old you were
when you decided you wanted

379
00:16:57,449 --> 00:16:58,750
to become an engineer?

380
00:16:58,750 --> 00:17:00,285
>> That's a great question.

381
00:17:00,285 --> 00:17:01,886
>> Heather: That's a
great question, Abbey:

382
00:17:01,886 --> 00:17:05,190
I was interested in space
from a very, very young age.

383
00:17:05,190 --> 00:17:06,524
But when I decided I wanted

384
00:17:06,524 --> 00:17:09,160
to become an engineer was
probably about your age.

385
00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:12,997
I started realizing that to
be an astronaut you could go

386
00:17:12,997 --> 00:17:15,567
down a couple of different
career paths and one

387
00:17:15,567 --> 00:17:17,135
of them was engineering.

388
00:17:17,135 --> 00:17:19,604
And the benefit with
going into engineering was

389
00:17:19,604 --> 00:17:22,207
that if I didn't end up getting
selected to be an astronaut,

390
00:17:22,207 --> 00:17:25,310
I could do what's really
a very close second

391
00:17:25,310 --> 00:17:28,780
which is be an engineer that
works and trains the astronauts

392
00:17:28,780 --> 00:17:30,115
and develops the hardware

393
00:17:30,115 --> 00:17:32,250
that the astronauts
get to use in space.

394
00:17:32,250 --> 00:17:34,018
And in fact, a lot
of the training

395
00:17:34,018 --> 00:17:36,321
that our astronauts go through,
our engineers have to do

396
00:17:36,321 --> 00:17:38,323
as well, especially
when you're thinking

397
00:17:38,323 --> 00:17:40,191
about a spacesuit
design or some hardware

398
00:17:40,191 --> 00:17:43,128
that the astronauts are going
to use, our engineers have

399
00:17:43,128 --> 00:17:46,030
to be familiar with working
with that same equipment so that

400
00:17:46,030 --> 00:17:48,399
if there is something
that happens in space,

401
00:17:48,399 --> 00:17:51,536
we can replicate it or
simulate it here on earth.

402
00:17:51,536 --> 00:17:54,906
So really being an engineer
for NASA is something I thought

403
00:17:54,906 --> 00:17:56,574
about a long time ago.

404
00:17:56,574 --> 00:17:58,977
I didn't know which kind
of engineer I wanted to be

405
00:17:58,977 --> 00:18:01,379
but once I started looking
at colleges I realized

406
00:18:01,379 --> 00:18:03,948
that mechanical engineering
was the way to go

407
00:18:03,948 --> 00:18:05,917
because of all the
different opportunities,

408
00:18:05,917 --> 00:18:07,886
the really foundational aspects

409
00:18:07,886 --> 00:18:10,722
of mechanical engineering
would allow me to do just

410
00:18:10,722 --> 00:18:16,027
about any other type
of engineering.

411
00:18:16,027 --> 00:18:17,996
>> Thank you.

412
00:18:17,996 --> 00:18:22,600
>> Hi, my name is Barney
and I was wondering,

413
00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:28,506
what qualifications do you
need to be an engineer in NASA?

414
00:18:28,506 --> 00:18:29,908
>> Heather: Excellent question.

415
00:18:29,908 --> 00:18:32,977
Well you first of all have to go
to college and study some kind

416
00:18:32,977 --> 00:18:36,347
of a technical degree,
typically engineering

417
00:18:36,347 --> 00:18:39,117
and get your Bachelor of
Science Degree in engineering

418
00:18:39,117 --> 00:18:40,952
and that can be mechanical,
chemical,

419
00:18:40,952 --> 00:18:43,454
electrical, computer,
industrial.

420
00:18:43,454 --> 00:18:45,823
I work with so many
different types of engineers.

421
00:18:45,823 --> 00:18:49,260
And really realizing that
you may not really need to do

422
00:18:49,260 --> 00:18:50,695
that kind of engineering
ultimately

423
00:18:50,695 --> 00:18:53,898
because really we have to
be able to kind of merge

424
00:18:53,898 --> 00:18:57,335
into other aspects
of engineering.

425
00:18:57,335 --> 00:19:00,238
So a minimum I would say is
a Bachelor of Science Degree.

426
00:19:00,238 --> 00:19:02,407
Now some of our engineers,
like me, choose to go on

427
00:19:02,407 --> 00:19:04,976
and get a Master's
but it's not required.

428
00:19:04,976 --> 00:19:08,046
We also like to make sure that
you have some work experience

429
00:19:08,046 --> 00:19:10,882
so if you're interested in
engineering, start looking

430
00:19:10,882 --> 00:19:13,117
at opportunities for
internships, whether it's here

431
00:19:13,117 --> 00:19:15,620
at NASA, which of course
I highly recommend,

432
00:19:15,620 --> 00:19:18,389
or with one of our
contract partners or one

433
00:19:18,389 --> 00:19:19,591
of our commercial partners.

434
00:19:19,591 --> 00:19:21,826
There's a lot of
opportunities out there

435
00:19:21,826 --> 00:19:26,231
to get that work experience.

436
00:19:27,732 --> 00:19:28,900
>> Thank you.

437
00:19:28,900 --> 00:19:31,769
>> Hello, my name is
Angelica Santerro.

438
00:19:31,769 --> 00:19:36,808
[phonetic] My question is how
does a person sleep in space?

439
00:19:36,808 --> 00:19:38,109
[laughter]

440
00:19:38,109 --> 00:19:39,310
>> Heather: A very important
aspect of living in space,

441
00:19:39,310 --> 00:19:41,579
you've got to make sure
that you get enough rest.

442
00:19:41,579 --> 00:19:44,315
We have crew quarters where the
astronauts basically can kind

443
00:19:44,315 --> 00:19:47,552
of close themselves up in their
own little personal space.

444
00:19:47,552 --> 00:19:49,420
And really what they
sleep in is something

445
00:19:49,420 --> 00:19:51,089
that looks a lot
like a sleeping bag.

446
00:19:51,089 --> 00:19:53,658
They climb into it,
they're legs go in.

447
00:19:53,658 --> 00:19:56,027
And one of the more
interesting things

448
00:19:56,027 --> 00:19:58,730
that the astronauts have
shared with me about sleeping

449
00:19:58,730 --> 00:20:02,333
in space is that they miss that
sensation of resting their head

450
00:20:02,333 --> 00:20:06,271
on a pillow so we had to design
a head strap that would go

451
00:20:06,271 --> 00:20:09,107
across the astronaut's head
to tilt their head back

452
00:20:09,107 --> 00:20:11,576
and then rest on the back
of their sleeping bag,

453
00:20:11,576 --> 00:20:14,879
essentially to give them
that feeling of sleeping.

454
00:20:14,879 --> 00:20:17,148
And a lot of times our
astronauts can choose

455
00:20:17,148 --> 00:20:19,050
or not choose to
restrain their arms.

456
00:20:19,050 --> 00:20:20,885
So sometimes if you
see astronauts sleeping

457
00:20:20,885 --> 00:20:23,321
in space their arms have risen
up and they look a little bit

458
00:20:23,321 --> 00:20:26,257
like a mummy just in
time for Halloween.

459
00:20:26,257 --> 00:20:29,027
But I've heard it's very
comfortable to sleep in space.

460
00:20:29,027 --> 00:20:31,162
And really we work our
astronauts pretty hard

461
00:20:31,162 --> 00:20:33,564
and they do a lot of great work
for us so by the time they get

462
00:20:33,564 --> 00:20:36,634
to lay down, or float and sleep,

463
00:20:36,634 --> 00:20:38,670
they're ready to
catch a few Z's.

464
00:20:38,670 --> 00:20:47,445
>> Hi, my name is Sophia Marbrin
[phonetic] and I'm wondering,

465
00:20:47,445 --> 00:20:51,182
why did you decide
to be part of NASA?

466
00:20:51,182 --> 00:20:53,151
>> Heather: Excellent,
excellent question.

467
00:20:53,151 --> 00:20:55,753
Well back when I was about
your age and I started looking

468
00:20:55,753 --> 00:20:57,455
at the different
career options that were

469
00:20:57,455 --> 00:20:59,457
out there, I was so interested.

470
00:20:59,457 --> 00:21:02,026
I was already tied into
what NASA was doing

471
00:21:02,026 --> 00:21:05,096
through various things
with school.

472
00:21:05,096 --> 00:21:07,732
And I really just decided
that to be an astronaut

473
00:21:07,732 --> 00:21:09,834
or even an engineer
working in the space program

474
00:21:09,834 --> 00:21:11,669
at NASA was the place to be.

475
00:21:11,669 --> 00:21:13,938
Nowadays there's even
more opportunities.

476
00:21:13,938 --> 00:21:16,974
Of course NASA is really
at the forefront of working

477
00:21:16,974 --> 00:21:19,310
with our International
Space Station and looking

478
00:21:19,310 --> 00:21:22,480
at future technologies but there
are a lot of contractor partners

479
00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:25,316
that we work with that
offer a similar experience.

480
00:21:25,316 --> 00:21:27,051
We have all of our
international partners.

481
00:21:27,051 --> 00:21:30,088
So really the opportunities
are even greater for you guys

482
00:21:30,088 --> 00:21:33,491
that are interested in
working for the space program.

483
00:21:33,491 --> 00:21:34,892
>> Thanks.

484
00:21:34,892 --> 00:21:39,897
>> Hi, my name is Emily Rotors
[phonetic] and I was wondering

485
00:21:39,897 --> 00:21:42,700
if you were working
on any new spacesuits?

486
00:21:42,700 --> 00:21:44,569
>> Heather: Hey Emily,
well I love that t-shirt

487
00:21:44,569 --> 00:21:46,437
so [inaudible] to you.

488
00:21:46,437 --> 00:21:49,273
Absolutely, we are working
on new suits right now

489
00:21:49,273 --> 00:21:52,343
and we're trying to make our
new suits kind of multipurpose

490
00:21:52,343 --> 00:21:54,445
because we don't know
yet where we're going

491
00:21:54,445 --> 00:21:57,248
but we're really focusing
a lot on a suit to work

492
00:21:57,248 --> 00:21:58,750
with our new Orion vehicle.

493
00:21:58,750 --> 00:22:02,220
And it's going to look kind
of like the suit that we wore

494
00:22:02,220 --> 00:22:04,689
when our astronauts launched
and landed in the space shuttle,

495
00:22:04,689 --> 00:22:07,492
the bright orange,
advanced crew escape suit.

496
00:22:07,492 --> 00:22:10,628
We're working on
modifications to that to work

497
00:22:10,628 --> 00:22:13,831
with the requirements
for our Orion program.

498
00:22:13,831 --> 00:22:18,169
And then we've got our engineers
off working on a surface suit

499
00:22:18,169 --> 00:22:21,239
as well, something that's
going to be a definite upgrade

500
00:22:21,239 --> 00:22:23,941
from what we used on the
moon, much more mobile.

501
00:22:23,941 --> 00:22:26,411
Hopefully lighter weight
and hopefully more efficient

502
00:22:26,411 --> 00:22:29,580
with the life support system
so maybe we can stay out longer

503
00:22:29,580 --> 00:22:31,716
or wear less weight
on our backs.

504
00:22:31,716 --> 00:22:34,986
So stay turned and maybe
hopefully you can join our team

505
00:22:34,986 --> 00:22:36,087
as well.

506
00:22:36,087 --> 00:22:38,256
>> Thank you.

507
00:22:38,256 --> 00:22:41,759
>> Hi, I'm Elizabeth
LePay [phonetic]

508
00:22:41,759 --> 00:22:46,097
and I was wondering what happens
if an astronaut gets sick?

509
00:22:46,097 --> 00:22:47,331
Can they go home early?

510
00:22:47,331 --> 00:22:48,699
>> Heather: A very important
thing to think about.

511
00:22:48,699 --> 00:22:52,170
Now our astronauts are trained
in a little bit of medicine

512
00:22:52,170 --> 00:22:53,438
so they can kind
of help each other

513
00:22:53,438 --> 00:22:55,406
and we have some certain
medications up there

514
00:22:55,406 --> 00:22:56,974
if they get a little
under the weather.

515
00:22:56,974 --> 00:23:00,144
If it became really serious
we'd have to evaluate how

516
00:23:00,144 --> 00:23:01,712
to get them back home.

517
00:23:01,712 --> 00:23:04,048
But really our astronauts
are very, very well trained

518
00:23:04,048 --> 00:23:06,184
to take care of themselves
in space.

519
00:23:06,184 --> 00:23:09,487
We also have a flight doctor
that is here in mission control

520
00:23:09,487 --> 00:23:11,489
that monitors the crew's
health and make sure

521
00:23:11,489 --> 00:23:15,159
that they're feeling well enough
to stay up there and do the job.

522
00:23:15,159 --> 00:23:17,195
>> If it's really an emergency,

523
00:23:17,195 --> 00:23:20,765
they do have their
spacecraft that's always

524
00:23:20,765 --> 00:23:22,934
at the Space Station
so they can come home

525
00:23:22,934 --> 00:23:26,170
in an emergency fairly quickly.

526
00:23:26,170 --> 00:23:28,573
>> Heather: Great question.

527
00:23:28,573 --> 00:23:33,444
>> Hi, my name is Madison Ethen
[phonetic] and I was wondering,

528
00:23:33,444 --> 00:23:36,447
what have you learned from
Voyager 1 now that it's

529
00:23:36,447 --> 00:23:38,049
out of our solar system?

530
00:23:38,049 --> 00:23:40,985
>> Heather: That's an
excellent question.

531
00:23:40,985 --> 00:23:43,421
You know I think we're
excited to see what we learn

532
00:23:43,421 --> 00:23:46,858
from Voyager 1 and I think
it just left not too long ago

533
00:23:46,858 --> 00:23:48,459
so we have a little
bit of time to figure

534
00:23:48,459 --> 00:23:51,963
out what we're going
to see next.

535
00:23:51,963 --> 00:23:54,732
So hopefully stay tuned
to the NASA.gov website

536
00:23:54,732 --> 00:23:56,334
and we'll keep you
guys informed.

537
00:23:56,334 --> 00:23:58,402
And the other great
program that we're working

538
00:23:58,402 --> 00:24:01,606
on right now is the James Webb
Space telescope that is going

539
00:24:01,606 --> 00:24:03,007
to be a huge improvement.

540
00:24:03,007 --> 00:24:06,110
We've got the fantastic Hubble
Space telescope up right now.

541
00:24:06,110 --> 00:24:09,780
The James Webb is going to let
us see even further out there

542
00:24:09,780 --> 00:24:11,983
to see what's going
on so there's a lot

543
00:24:11,983 --> 00:24:13,718
of really exciting things going

544
00:24:13,718 --> 00:24:15,686
on in the space program
right now.

545
00:24:15,686 --> 00:24:18,256
I'm so excited you guys
prepared these amazing questions

546
00:24:18,256 --> 00:24:21,292
and I really do hope that
you stay tuned in and I hope

547
00:24:21,292 --> 00:24:23,794
that you can come
and join our team.

548
00:24:23,794 --> 00:24:26,330
>> Yeah we really do
appreciate your guys coming

549
00:24:26,330 --> 00:24:28,900
into mission control and
joining Heather and myself.

550
00:24:28,900 --> 00:24:31,502
We've had a great
time and as she said,

551
00:24:31,502 --> 00:24:32,904
those are great questions.

552
00:24:32,904 --> 00:24:36,774
And as she also alluded to, you
kind of can see there are a ton

553
00:24:36,774 --> 00:24:39,844
of different jobs out there in
the aerospace business and NASA

554
00:24:39,844 --> 00:24:43,180
and all the contractors
so we certainly would love

555
00:24:43,180 --> 00:24:45,616
to have you guys come and
join us when you guys get

556
00:24:45,616 --> 00:24:48,753
out of college and we're
looking forward to it.

557
00:24:48,753 --> 00:24:49,887
And thanks again for coming

558
00:24:49,887 --> 00:24:51,856
and joining us here
in Mission Control.