Aerospace Team Online
ATO#128 Solving Problems, April 13, 2001
____________________________________________________
UPCOMING CHATS
Enter these chats from the Common Events page http://quest.nasa.gov/common/events/
Aerospace Team Online Chat with Joe Kolecki
Tuesday, April 17, 2001 10 AM PST - 1 PM EST
Chat with Joe Kolecki a physicist specializing in space environment effects.
His speciality is the planet Mars. Do you have a question for him about
what the environmental effects on a Mars airplane? Read his bio at http://www.lerc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/CoE/JoeKolecki.htm
Aerospace Team Online Chat with Carolyn Mercer
Tuesday, April 24, 2001, 10 AM Pacific - 1 PM Eastern
Chat with Carolyn Mercer. Carolyn invents new ways to use lasers and light
to measure aerodynamic properties like gas temperature and density. Read
her bio at: http://quest.nasa.gov/aero/team/mercer.html
Take your Daughter to Work Day Events
See the whole list of events planned for April 24, 2001 http://quest.nasa.gov/women/TODTWD01/schedule.html
Interactive Chat with Fanny Zuniga,
Thursday April 24, 2001 12 PM Pacific
Read Fanny's bio at http://quest.nasa.gov/aero/team/zuniga.html
QuestForum Ask Karen Gundy Burlett questions in the forum.
The Forum will be open from 7:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. PDT / 9:00 a.m. - 5:00
p.m. CDT / 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. EDT. Read her bio at http://quest.nasa.gov/women/bios/kgb.html
____________________________________________________
Planetary Flight Book Jacket: March 26 to April 26, 2001
Grades 5-8
Contest Description:
This contest invites students to create a book jacket
for a novel about planetary flight. The book jacket should include the
title, author, and illustration on the cover.
The binding should include the title of your story
and the author's name. The back of the jacket should include a brief description
about the characters, setting, and plot of the story.
For more information visit: http://quest.nasa.gov/aero/planetary/contest.html
[Editor's Note: Joe is a physicist at NASA Glenn Research
Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Read about his career at http://quest.nasa.gov/aero/team/kolecki.html
]
Solving Problems
by Joe Kolecki
I study how spacecraft and humans interact with their environment
in Earth orbit or on a planetary surface. I have worked for more than
30 years at NASA, where I have conducted a variety of laboratory tests
and theoretical studies.
My specialty has become the planet Mars. I made some predictions
for the Pathfinder mission and developed an experiment for the Sojourner
rover. Working with a variety of specialists in related fields, I was
able to demonstrate that the Martian environment is electrically active
and will charge objects and people moving about on the Martian surface.
I have written and published a considerable amount of material, attended
conferences, delivered papers, and often chaired various events.
I enjoy my work very much. I love solving problems and being
able to work with both my hands and my mind. Mars has been a personal
ambition of mine since I was seven years old when I decided that I would
someday go to Mars. While I have not actually gone to Mars myself, my
work and my signature have! I was 47 years old when Pathfinder landed,
which shows that persistence and hard work do pay off.
|
