Women of NASA

Take Our Daughters To Work Day

Webchat with Fanny Zuniga

April 25, 2002

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Thu Apr 25 20:22:18 2002

[ Lori/QuestChatHost - 180 - 15:21:29 ]
You may go ahead and place questions in the chatroom now to be answered during the webchat. Please don't post test messages or repeats -- though you may not see your question, it is in the chatroom. Again, PLEASE do not repeat your questions.

[ Lori/QuestChatHost - 181 - 15:21:46 ]
Remember, if for some reason you cannot join us for the webchat, you can input your question ahead of time, and then read the archive later for the answer to your question. It's not near as cool as being there live, but it is very helpful when there are scheduling conflicts. Enjoy the webchat :-)

[ Lori/QuestChatHost - 183 - 15:23:24 ]
Please be sure and identify yourself -- Johnny/6th/TX or Pam/4th/Mr.Johnson -- at the beginning of your question. Remember, don't use your last name. For example -- Jessie/6th/Mrs.Green - How many people live on the ISS?

[ Fanny - 185 - 18:02:22 ]
Hello, I'm online. Do you have any questions for me.

[ Fanny - 186 - 18:06:52 ]
RE: [Natalie/YWAC] Luci - How are your new tools going to help with designing new space vehicles?
Hi Natalie, I think this question is for me. These new tools we're developing are going to make it possible for us to design the space vehicle mostly on the computer than in the wind tunnel as in the past. We can quickly look optimize the vehicle with many different geometries on the computer first to come up with the best design. We will also be able to fly the vehicle in the simulator and get comments from the astronauts before we even build the vehicle. This should help us design a much better vehicle than we're flying now.

[ Fanny - 188 - 18:15:03 ]
RE: [Natalie/YWAC] Fanny, what inspired you to become an aerospace engineer?
I knew I wanted to be an aerospace engineer before I knew what those 2 words meant. I always loved building model airplanes and dreaming about going into space. In the early 70's, the Apollo missions were on TV a lot so through those images is how I became first inspired. I always dreamed about building and designing space vehicles and hopefully some day flying into space.

[ Fanny - 193 - 18:21:06 ]
RE: [unknown] Hello Fanny. How many years of schooling did you go through?
That's a funny question because I'm still in school. My friends think I'm a professional student. I've always enjoyed school since I was 3 or 4 years old and it's no surprise that I'm still taking classes. After High School, I did 4 years in college to earn my Bachelor's degree. Then I studied about 3 years part-time to earn my Master's degree. I'm now at Stanford and have been taking classes part-time for the last 5 years towards an advanced graduate degree. I think I want to do another degree after I finish that one in computer science. You certainly don't need these many degrees but as I said I've always enjoyed learning.

[ Fanny - 196 - 18:23:57 ]
RE: [unknown] Hola Fanny! ÀAlentaban sus padres?
Mi mama siempre me empujo de estudiar mucho. Siempre me repetia que solamente estudiando iva salir adelante. Nunca conoci MI papa entonces nada mas tuve a mi mama para empujarme.

[ Fanny - 197 - 18:27:33 ]
RE: [unknown] Did you ever get intimidated by men in your field or during your education?
Yes, I guess it is intimidating at first to be in a field mostly men. You just have to tell yourself that you have every right to be there as they do and not let that intimidate you. Women and girls can do as well in math and science as any man or boy so you shouldn't let that stop you. It takes a strong character to go into a field where you're not easily accepted but it certainly is worth it to be strong and charge ahead.

[ Fanny - 198 - 18:31:38 ]
RE: [unknown] have you ever been discriminated against in the work place? If so how did you handle it?
Unfortunately, I have to say yes to that question. It really upset me at first. I have been discriminated before in other places but never in my workplace so it did make me very upset. It also made me very mad so I fought back through the proper channels here and finally won my case. It's sad to know that there are people in this world that have these attitudes but like my hero, Martin Luther King, Jr., we must not cower in the face of adversity but try to educate these people and stand up for our rights.

[ Fanny - 199 - 18:32:30 ]
RE: [unknown] do you speak any other languages?
I only speak Spanish and English very well. I took a some French in high school and college but I can't say that I can speak that language. I can only understand some words.

[ Fanny - 203 - 18:36:32 ]
RE: [unknown] Shanequa/11th/Ms. Jackson-How is the development of the Crew Transfer Vehicle progressing? Are there any failures that you have discovered?
The Crew Transfer Vehicle development is a major big program in NASA. What we worked on here at Ames was just one design. I have to say that there are 100's of designs being studied right now at different companies and NASA centers. The design of the geometry of the vehicle is only one element in the project. They are also designing the rocket engines, the avionics system, computer systems, structural systems, etc. That's why this is a huge project including hundreds of engineers. By 2006, they want to narrow the designs to only 2 which is when they'll make a decision to build the vehicle.

[ Fanny - 204 - 18:38:32 ]
RE: [unknown] Ann/Mrs.Westberry 7th grade science. How big is the moon compared to the sun?
I don't have exact numbers in front of me but I can say that you can probably fit 1000's of moons in the sun. The moon is smaller than Earth which is much, much smaller than the sun.

[ Fanny - 210 - 18:42:44 ]
RE: [unknown] When do you think people will have life on planets besides earth?
I think the first planet to have people on them will be Mars. I think we're very close now to making Mars our next goal in space. There are preliminary plans at NASA to send humans to Mars. I think we'll probably make it there by 2015 or 2020. After we send the first people there, I think the next step is to start a colony there. So maybe by 2040, we'll have a colony of people settled there on Mars. These are just my guesses, though. We'll see what the future brings.

[ Fanny - 215 - 18:45:44 ]
RE: [unknown] Todavia quieres ser una astronaut?
Si, por su puesto. Yo siempre sone ser astronauta. Eso es un deseo grande que tengo que nacio en MI desde nina. Cuando uno tiene deseos grande asi, no facil se quita.

[ Fanny - 218 - 18:50:35 ]
RE: [unknown] Hi, Do you ever get to test the tools that you help make? Who is/are your hero(s) in the areonautics and astronautics field? Sincerely, Shannon at Louise S. McGehee
Yes, I've tested the simulation tools that we've developed. I was able to fly the simulator and see for myself the differences between the vehicles. That was a lot of fun. Hopefully, others will use our tools also and be able to make great designs from using our tools. There are several astronauts that I admire a lot. However, I have to say that I really look up to Prof. John Anderson who has written many books on aero/astro. Because of him, I have always wanted to learn more about aero/astro.

[ Fanny - 220 - 18:53:51 ]
RE: [unknown] Do you have to have a PHd to be a astronaut?
No, you don't. Only very, very few of the astronaut pilots have Ph.D.'s. They're all military pilots and have thousands of hours flying and mostly don't have Ph.D.'s. Most of the astronaut missions specialists do have Ph.D.'s and MD's but it certainly isn't a requirement. I know quite a few that don't have Ph.D.'s that are in the Astronaut Corp. It's quite competitive to become an astronaut so it probably does help to have a Ph.D. but the job doesn't require it.

[ Fanny - 222 - 18:57:30 ]
RE: [unknown] What kind of things are done exactly @ NASA?
NASA does a lot of research in many different fields. Mostly people know NASA for flying the space shuttle and building the space station. Those are our 2 biggest projects but there is other research that goes on at NASA that people don't know about. Some of this other research includes, robotics, planetary science, air traffic management, human factors, smart computer systems, etc.,etc.

[ Fanny - 223 - 18:59:58 ]
RE: [unknown] What exactly do thay do @ NASA,job wize?
There are many different jobs at NASA. Most people here are engineers and scientists in many different fields. However, there are many other people that support our staff, like technicians, administrative assistants, computer programmers, system admins, etc., etc. There are 10 NASA centers and probably about 30,000 people plus all the contractors. It's a very big organization with many, many job opportunities.

[ Fanny - 224 - 19:00:42 ]
RE: [unknown] Have you ever been in space? If so for how long? If not would you like to? Sincerely, Margaux Fisher McGehee
No, I am not an Astronaut yet. I sure would like to try it some day. I hear it's a blast.

[ Fanny - 225 - 19:01:26 ]
RE: [unknown] Sara - do you work with other women?
Sure, there are more and more women in this field nowadays. It's still a small percentage compared to men but there are quite a few women that I work with now.

[ Fanny - 226 - 19:03:49 ]
RE: [unknown] Mario - Puedes diseùnar cualquier avion que tu quieras?
Si, yo aprendi en el colegio como disenar muchos aviones. Me demoraria mucho tiempo asiendolo sola pero si podria.

[ Fanny - 227 - 19:04:55 ]
Okay, I'm signing off now. I had a great time chatting with all of you. Fanny