|  | Crossroads students' experiment gets tested on NASA's "Vomit Comet"
4/27/2004 12:05 PM | | Crossroads Elementary School teacher Alissa Kuseske conducts an experiment designed by her students on NASA's "Vomit Comet." |
An experiment created by sixth-grade students from Crossroads Elementary School was recently conducted on NASA's KC-135 Reduced-Gravity Plane, otherwise known as the "Vomit Comet."
Bill Lindquist, curriculum coordinator at Crossroads, and Alissa Kuseske, one of the school's science teachers, conducted the student-developed experiment high above Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on Thursday, April 22.
After going through training and downing motion sickness medication, the two took to the sky in the KC-135, which climbs to a high altitude and drops suddenly to create an almost zero-gravity environment. Once in the air, they began the experiment by spinning tops and recording the impact that various levels of gravity had on the objects. The goal of the experiment was to help students understand rotational motion, and its impact on design and engineering, which students were studying earlier in the year.
Crossroads had the opportunity to fly an experiment on the plane because it is one of 100 NASA Explorer Schools in the country. Students and staff at the school frequently work with NASA on science and other projects.
In the coming weeks, Lindquist and Kuseske will go over the results of the experiment and the details of the flight with the students. "They are very excited to find out what happened to the tops, and to find out if either of their teachers got sick," said Lindquist.
Click here for more information about the experiment, including photos.
|
