hello i'm lynn bondurant director of
curriculum and evaluation at the
challenger center for space science
education
all of us at the challenger center are
pleased to learn that your class will
soon be flying a simulation at one of
our mission sites
now a simulation is not like going to an
amusement park and riding a ride
but it's more like being on a motion
picture set where each one of you will
be a star in a future space flight
mission
once your class arrives at the mission
site you'll be divided into two groups
one group will begin the simulation in
the mission control the other group in
the simulator which is a spacecraft
somewhere in space
everyone who participates in a
simulation
is very important to the success of the
mission as such each one of you will be
assigned to a team
your team will have certain things that
you must do that relate to the mission
members of each team will have
workstations in both mission control and
the simulator
during each mission you will work both
in mission control and the simulator
in mission control you will work at one
of the various councils
team members and mission control guide
the spacecraft through various aspects
of the flight
as mission controllers you will supply
the flight crew and the simulator with
information and images needed to
complete their task
at the consoles you will also receive
information to record from the crew in
the simulator
sometimes you will be able to see live
images from the simulator
the monitors at the front of mission
control reflect what is occurring in the
simulator the status of the mission and
will also show data or video images
as mission controllers you have a very
important role that involves
communications and interactions with the
crew and the simulator
your job is to help them solve their
problems
it is your responsibility to know which
tasks the crew and the simulator is
doing task cards will help you do this
every workstation in the simulator and
all the councils and mission control
have a set of task cards that relate to
the jobs that their team must do during
the simulation
each task card has the steps required to
complete a specific task
notice that the task card has a start
and end code
you are to enter the start code when you
begin a task
and the end code when it is completed
to do this you will use the cue pad at
your workstation
a q pad is not difficult to use
as an example
watch as i enter the start code from one
of the data team task cards
the start code number is three
eight
seven
zero zero one
make sure you enter the correct code
after i have entered the start code i
press the send button
once i have sent the start code the
mission status board changes to let
mission control know what the data team
is doing
watch the mission status board change as
i push the send button
during your mission you are going to
return to the moon
you are going to build on what was
learned during the apollo program
your job is to gather information during
your flight which can be studied later
in order to establish a mining base on
the moon
the tasks associated with the mission
are to be carried out here in the
simulator
if you are a member of the lunar geology
team you will work at this station
from here you can teleoperate vehicles
on the moon's surface
teleoperations means that you are able
to operate something from a farm
you do not need to be right there to
make it work
the lunar geology team will also study
moon rocks in the glovebox
the medical team studies the effects of
space travel on the crew
is there a difference in the effect of
the zero-g environment of moon orbit
and the 1-6-g moon environment on the
health of the crew
g stands for the word gravity you will
do tasks to evaluate the crew's health
if you are assigned to work at the
isolation chamber
you will use robots to handle and study
various materials including lunar core
samples outside of the spacecraft
those of you assigned to the life
support team will be involved in
checking out the various systems that
produce the artificial environment that
keeps the astronauts alive
during the first half of the mission the
navigation team will be busy choosing
the best landing site for your
spacecraft
during the second half the navigation
team determines the correct orbit to
launch onto from the lunar surface for
eventual return to earth
the navigation team members will also
have several other navigation tasks to
complete
as data team members you will send
messages and supply data to the various
teams
you will also make measurements on some
of the lunar images
probe team members will be involved in
checking out a probe that will be used
to gather information about the moon
capcom and mission control and simcom in
the simulator will be kept busy asking
for answers and providing input as
necessary to make the entire mission
operate smoothly
good luck in completing all of your
tasks
during your return to the moon
a visit to a challenger center mission
site will certainly enable you to touch
the future as you carry out your space
mission
yet it's not too impossible to dream
that someday
you may be an actual crew member aboard
a spacecraft destined to return to the
moon or journey to
mars but whatever the future holds for
each of you
remember
to always aim for the stars
you