Who hasn't dreamt of fleeing to the stars? Especially now, with most of us confined to limited spaces and overwhelmed with the tragic news of the novel coronavirus.
NASA and the ISS National Lab are ready to help. They've developed a range of adventurous programs and activities for all the children stuck in home lockdown, including a training program to become a home astronaut, build a hovercraft, launch rockets, help explore dwarfs, and choose plants that can be grown in space.
In a report by the Science Alert website on Saturday, ISS National Lab education manager Dan Barstow said: "Astronauts see the world from space and want to share its beauty and its wholeness. They do medical experiments to search for cures, and they help young people see the power of the mysterious Universe to pull us to explore. Now, Students can take part in experiments like astronauts do on the International Space Station, and compare the results to those from space."
"For example, they can observe microgravity using simple materials to demonstrate how astronauts float in space. Kids can also contribute to science in progress by joining citizen science projects, like combing through images to search for new brown dwarfs and planets."
Dwarfs are faint stars that differ from those that are brighter than the sun. Brown dwarfs are bodies that combine the features of stars and planets. Their mass ranges between 12 times the mass of Jupiter and half the mass of the sun.
Until April 22, students can even help choose which plant astronauts will next grow in space. The plan is for SpaceX's October cargo resupply mission to provide astronauts with a spacefaring legume.
"Students can choose alfalfa, mung bean, or lentil, and help scientists work out which plant is the best suited for living on the ISS," Barstow explained.
