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PART 1: Welcome from Larry Young WELCOME FROM LARRY YOUNG
[Editor's note: Larry Young is Apollo Program Professor of Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and director of the National Space Biomedical Research Institute.] November 1997 Our nervous system, like the rest of our body, was developed to operate in the presence of gravity, here on the surface of the Earth. As two-legged creatures we humans are particularly dependent on it to determine the direction of the vertical so that we don't fall down - whether walking on a sidewalk or running on the beach. In addition to vision we rely on the vestibular system, the fluid-filled balance organs in the inner ear, to keep us from falling - as well as to stabilize our eyes so that the image of the world doesn't constantly shift as we move around. All of this balance system usually works well. In fact we are normally conscious of it only when seasick - or in the case of inner ear diseases. In space, however, the whole picture changes. The vertical no longer means anything to the free-floating astronaut - and yet the nervous system is constantly bombarded by signals from the vestibular system. The way the nervous system learns to reorganize itself in space, and again after return to Earth, is one of the many fascinating puzzles we are studying on Neurolab. Both animals and the human crew will serve as subjects of important tests of balance and the effects of gravity. Students and teachers from many universities around the world are involved in this exciting scientific adventure. The results are likely to be of help to people on Earth suffering from gravity-related problems, as well as to pave the way for astronauts of the future to stay in space for longer periods - and maybe even explore Mars. Larry Young LIVE CHATS WITH NASA FOLK TO LAUNCH NEURON
We'll be live and we'll want to "chat" with you! To launch this component of NeurOn, we have scheduled our first two NeurOn Web chats. These will be the first in a series of live online chats with NASA experts designed to let students connect with interesting NeurOn people. We will maintain a calendar of scheduled chats at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/neuron/chats To "chat" you will be typing brief thoughts and submitting them into a "chat room" while others are doing the same thing. An expert will be there at the same time to respond to questions as they are submitted. To participate, you need only have access to a modern Web browser (like Netscape or Internet Explorer). If you've never "chatted" online before, join one of our weekly webchats described below. It's easy, it's fun, and it makes the kids feel really "connected" to our NASA team. To help students use the expert's available time well, we would urge you to have them read the online autobiography in our team room (http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/neuron/team) before joining the chat. Upcoming chats: - Wednesday, November 12, 10:30 a.m. PST/1:30 p.m. EST, Duncan Atchison, Space Life Sciences Outreach Office The first Web chat with Duncan Atchison is the kick-off to introduce the project and to initiate those of you who have not yet used the chat technology. Duncan has been instrumental in putting together the ideas and people who are involved in NeurOn. Again, before attending the chat, we strongly suggest that your students read Duncan's biography at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/neuron/team/atchison.html and the introductory Updates newsletter that describes the preparations for this project. Duncan and I (Linda Conrad, your Quest hostess) will be on hand and open to your inputs on the project. After all, it is your project! - Monday, November 17, from 10:00 a.m. PST/1:00 p.m. EST, Louis H. Ostrach, NASA Ames Research Center Project Scientist Louis Ostrach is responsible for making sure that the ground crew, flight crew and administrators (and whatever other organizations are involved in the mission) understand the requirements of the 13 principal investigators' experiments and have the resources to meet the experiment objectives. Read more about Louis by going to his biography at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/neuron/team/ostrach.html If you plan to chat, register for the event on the chat page: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/neuron/chats WEEKLY WEB CHATS
An opportunity is available to connect live with other teachers and the
Quest development team. Every Thursday, we will meet online to discuss
issues and learn from one another. Hopefully your questions about the
NeurOn project will get answered. I know the Quest team will be there
ready to adapt the project to meet real teacher requirements. These
teacher chats will be similar to the student/NASA-expert forums noted
above. So these chats can also allow you to get comfortable with the
technology ahead of time.
For these scheduled Thursday chats, we will alternate the starting time of
the one-hour discussion. We hope this will allow for participation from
teachers on the east coast, west coast, and everywhere in between and
beyond. The schedule for the next two weeks is:
Pacific Eastern
Standard Standard
November 6 Noon 3:00pm
November 13 3:00pm 6:00pm
To join the fun, point your web browser to: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/ltc/chats.html
or enter from the NeurOn chat page at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/neuron/chats
PREVIEW OF THE COLLABORATIVE ACTIVITY
Coming soon! The Great Habitat Debate is slated to begin in January. Any student who has kept and cared for an animal of any kind can relate to this project. Those who have not, can learn a great deal! We hope the Great Habitat Debate will be a fun way to talk about animal care while learning about the special environment of spaceflight. As students brainstorm the needs and requirements for caring for animals in space, they will begin to understand microgravity and its effects on animals and humans. Additionally, students will collaborate with classrooms around the world to design the best to take care of animals in space. We are "growing" a Web site at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/neuron/events/habitat/ to give helpful information and suggestions to guide the classroom experience. This project can be as easy or complex as your grade level dictates. Lower grades may choose to submit a simple drawing while upper grades may prepare detailed designs with justification for each element in design. The current plan is to begin with the design phase in January. MY MISTAKES!
Did you catch them? I wish I could say, "I just did it to see if you were paying attention!" but I did make two mistakes on my last NeurOn Updates: * The anticipated launch date should have said: April 2, l998. * Dave Williams is the mission specialist for Neurolab. See, now I've proven that you don't have to be a rocket scientist to work for NASA! SUBSCRIBING & UNSUBSCRIBING: HOW TO DO IT! If this is your first message from the updates-nrn list, welcome! To catch up on back issues, please visit the following Internet URL: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/neuron/updates To subscribe to the updates-nrn mailing list (where this message came from), send a message to: listmanager@quest.arc.nasa.gov In the message body, write these words: subscribe updates-nrn CONVERSELY... To remove your name from the updates-nrn mailing list, send a message to: listmanager@quest.arc.nasa.gov In the message body, write these words: unsubscribe updates-nrn If you have Web access, please visit our "continuous construction" site at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/neuron
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