Cover Story

MANNED MISSION TO

MARS

From The News Desk Latest Updates On

UNIVERSE IN THE SCHOOL SPACE EVENTS ASTRO TOURISM

Astroinquisites

WHAT IS A SHOOTING STAR?

S P A C E N E W S MAY’13

Monthly Newsletter of SPACE Group

Chief Editor : Sachin BahmbaEditors : Amit Verma & Divya Kanchanbaras

Astronomy At Home

SPINNING SPACESHIP

BLOGPOST

Meeting withSunita William

Guest Article

IS IT A SHOOTING STAR? IS IT SUPERMAN?

IT’S A SATELLITE!

INDEXS No Topic Page No.

1. Universe In The School News 3

2. Blog Entry - A chance meeting with Sunita William 5

3. Event News 6

4. School In Focus 8

5. Cover Story - Manned Mission to Mars 10

6. Astroinquisites – What is a Shooting Star? 13

7. Astrotourism News 14

8. Guest Article - Is It A Shooting Star? Is It Superman? It’s A Satellite!

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9. Astronomy At Home - Spinning Spaceship 18

10. SPACE India Job Opportunities On Roll 24

CENTRE FOR STUDENTS EXCELLENCE April’13 was celebrated as Global Astronomy Month in Step By Step School, G.D Goenka Public School and Bal Bharati Public School. During the Global Astronomy Month many activities were conducted in the schools. Balloon rocket race, Stomp rocketry, Hydrorocketry, Poster and model making, tattoo making, card making, safe solar observation, face painting, etc . On 12th April, A Journey of the Stars was held in Jewar. 17 students of Step By Step School participated in it. They watched different celestial objects, learnt about the night sky, and also did astrophotography. On 12th April around 400 students of Bal Bharti Public School celebrated Yuri’s night. Students watched a movie ‘A Race for Survival’. On 16th and 18th April, 2013 students of Class 6th and 8th learnt about the telescope, observed the Sun, Moon and Jupiter.

In Indraprastha School, Dwarka, a special evening observation was held for parents and students on 22nd April, 2013. In this event around 250 people participated in different activities like celestial object viewing through telescope, quiz and laser beam activity. Parents enjoyed the evening observation and said “This evening observation has changed our way towards science”.

SPACE CLUB Astronomy Day is gaining a huge success day by day. Our students of SPACE clubs showcased their learning and interest towards astronomy on Astronomy Day.

Students guiding other students to watch Sun at Bal Bharti Public School

Students pointing to Jupiter at Bal Bharti Public School

Pictures and message displayed by students at Indraprastha School

Parents and students viewing the night sky at Indraprastha School

UNIVERSE IN THE SCHOOL NEWS

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Parents actively took part and encouraged students. Eight Club schools like Amity International School, Vasundhara, Suncity School, Summer Fields School, ITL Public School, ASN Sr. Sec School, St. Gregorious School and DAV Public School had conducted the astronomy Day. DAV Public School celebrated the astronomy day on 23rd April, 2013. SAround three hundred parents and students enjoyed the whole event. Different activities like Hydro – rocket launch, Comet Kitchen, Safe Sloar Observation, Solar Walk, Moon and Planet watch etc, took place. Around hundred parents participated in Great India Star Count.

Mr. M. Boyaz, the principal of St. Gregorious School said “ The activities conducted were interesting and informative, right from the rocket launching. Keep it up and continue to do new activities, well done”.

SPACE EXPLORER

Workshop conducted at The Lawrence School, Anwar - Two days workshop was conducted in The Lawrence School, Sanawar on 20th and 21st April, 2013. More than three hundred and sixty students participated in it. Competition on comet making was conducted and winners were awarded. In evening, participants learned about the sky and with the help of the sky map found the different constellations and observed planets such as Jupiter and Saturn, Orion Nebula and Moon. They also participated in hydro rocketry workshop on second day. Participants made their own rockets and launched them. One of the participants said “The workshop was very good; we should have it next time too”.

Workshop at Amity International School, Gurgaon A series of evening workshop was conducted in Amity International School, Sec-43, Gurgaon where students learnt about our moon- Luna and the planets which are visible from Earth. Students also participated in the activities like Crater Making, Quiz, Telescopic Observation and enjoyed a lot.

Students on Refractor Telescope at DAV Public School

Mr. L V Sehgal Principal inaugurating Astronomy Day by launching rocket at Bal Bharati Public School

Principal looking at Sun through solar goggles to observe the Sun

Student display the comets made by them at The Lawrence School

Students viewing the celestial bodies at The Lawrence School

To Have Fun With Astronomy & For UITS Updates

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MEETING WITH SUNITA WILLIAM

It is not often you get to meet a celebrity live in person, I am lucky one as I got a chance to meet

Sunita Williams now twice, I wish more would come in future. I met her first in 2007 on her maiden

trip to India & now in 2013 on her second visit. Well nothing has changed with her, she still

possesses the same charisma & down to earthiness she always had. A thing with science

celebrities is that they are majorly rooted in life & their scientific mind behaves rationally. All the

glitter & glamour, the flashlights of media, could not make Sunita any different, no arrogance,

disdain or casualness. To top it she kept her humor intact. While presenting to the students from

various schools of Delhi/NCR, she shared with all her journey from being a student to an astronaut.

She stressed on pursuing an interest area to do something & also stressed that it was ok to fail.

She showed everyone a video on the life in ISS. She explained various zones in ISS & where she

slept & how astronauts go to the toilet! This had everyone in splits! The students here thoroughly

enjoying themselves & when it came to the Q/A round, put up really good questions for her.

American Excelsior School, Gurgaon students showed their love for her by gifting her a scroll 50 ft

long that contained messages from students for her. Sunita was touched by the gesture. Mrs.

Shalini Nambiar (principal of the school) was beaming with joy as she handed the scroll to Sunita.

The student interaction was followed by press meet. This is where the fun started, as media kept

on looking for a spicy byte, asking questions from Indian, American politics & religion. Sunita was

skillful & kept the focus on science & space & answered everyone with ease. A super day, a great

memory. Wishing she comes to our office someday & meet everyone.

P.S: The interaction with Sunita William was organised by the National Council of Science Museum

(NCSM) & NSC (National Science Centre) Delhi under Ministry of Culture, Government of India.

Sunita William is of Indian origin & a NASA astronaut & a Navy Pilot.

- A Blog entry by Mr. Amit Verma, CEO, SPACE

EVENTS NEWS

ISS EARTHKAM (25th April, 2013)

SPACE brought ISS EarthKAM – an educational outreach program of NASA, to SPACE associated students in 7 schools during the April mission.ISS EarthKAM (Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle school students) is a NASA sponsored education program that enables students to photograph and examine Earth from the unique perspective of the space. Participants can control a special digital camera mounted on the International Space Station, and photograph a wide range of beautiful and fascinating features on the surface of the Earth!

SPACE has been conducting ISS EarthKAM in India for the last 4 years. In the Spring mission of ISS EarthKAM, SPACE conducted ISS EarthKAM workshop on 25th April in SPACE associated Centre for students Excellence (CSE) schools such as Bal Bharati Public School, Pitampura, G.D Goenka Public School, Rohini and Gurgaon, Indraprastha World School, Paschim Vihar and Dwarka and Step by Step School, Noida. SPACE also conducted ISS EarthKAM at Tagore International School; Vasant Vihar in a unique session hosted by SPACE Club students of the school. In all 35 students and as an added bonus, several parents also joined in enthusiastically in this session. For the first time, parents of the participating students joined their kids in a science project and enjoyed hands on science!

Participants requested photographs of various locations such as- San Francisco, Greenland, Leh Ladakh, South Africa, France, Paris etc. Overall, this workshop proved to be a fruitful experience for the participants as they learned about various geographical variations, such as mountains, islands, bays and regions of environmental interest such as rainforests, glaciers etc.

Students during the ISS EarthKam Project

Past Event

Students watching a presentation on ISS EarthKam Project 6

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ALL INDIA ASTEROID SEARCH CAMPAIGN 2013

3 years, 185 teams across India, 1200 observations of celestial bodies and 14 discoveries of asteroids including 1 Trojan discovery and 1 PHA (Potential hazardous asteroid) discovery! Under the aegis of All India Asteroid Search Campaign (AIASC) campaign, several students have etched their names in the scientific community by means of these discoveries. All these remarkable achievements by young students have brought laurels for their schools and families and were also applauded by the entire scientific and educational fraternity.

After the unprecedented success during the campaigns in 2010, 2011 and 2012, SPACE is geared up to bring forth another season of excitement. All India Asteroid Search Campaign, organized in collaboration with IASC (International Astronomical Search Collaboration). This highly prestigious program is spearheaded by SPACE in India which enables students to work in parallel with professional astronomers, to work with real astronomy data taken through observatories and spot moving objects which could be new Asteroids! “All India Asteroid Search Campaign 2013” will be conducted in India in 2 separate phases. Phase 1 has already started on 28th April and will end on 1st June. Phase 2 will begin on 02nd June and will continue till 08th July. Skills on using astronomical software for analysis will be imparted to the participants at extensive specialized workshops by SPACE on April 23rd and on May 7th. SPACE has conducted the workshop for Phase 1 participants on 23rd April in SPACE associated CSE (Centre of students Excellence), Bal Bharati Public School, Pitampura. 18 Teams joined this workshop. On 7th May, 2013, workshop of Phase 2 participants will be conducted in BBPS, Pitampura. SPACE Team congratulates all participating teams on their selection and is confident that this year a new set of hardworking students will discover unknown asteroids and add to the achievements of AIASC.

Ongoing Event

For other upcoming celestial occurrences follow

SPACE CALENDAR

SCHOOL IN FOCUS

Mrs. Madhu Chandra is the principal of the school. She is a lady with a wide experience and has received many awards that brought glory to the school. She received the National Teachers Award 2009 from the President of India, has won the DFID International Award, from the Deputy High Commissioner in Chennai on 21st November, 2010. In HT-Pace annual Principal Meet during 2011 she begged the 1st prize for Lotus Valley International School, Greater Noida. She quoted at the meet “The more you interact with the students, the more you contribute towards developing the young minds”.

School’s Motto: "Arise, awake and stop not till the Goal is reached "

Lotus Valley International School, Gr. Noida school shares a rich Educational Culture. The school takes a keen interest in building physical, mental, spiritual and ethical well being of children to transform them into asset for society. They attempt to provide students with opportunities for self expression, innovation, initiative, a context for experimentation and experience blended with an understanding of traditional values and the respect for the individual. The institution excels in education with the latest teaching methodologies along with rich and well experienced teachers cum management.

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Lotus Valley International School, Gr. Noida is one of the oldest schools associated for past 8 years with SPACE. The passion and commitment of this great institution for astronomy and space science has made this long journey successful. The school has been actively involved in all the SPACE Club sessions. The school has 2 SPACE Clubs, each for Module1 and Module 2 for the academic year 2012-2013. 9

OVERVIEW

In 2018, the planets will literally align, offering a unique orbit opportunity to travel to Mars and back to Earth in only 501 days. Inspiration Mars is committed to sending a two-person American crew – a man and a woman – on an historic journey to fly within 100 miles around the Red Planet and return to Earth safely. The mission’s target launch date is Jan. 5, 2018. This exceptionally quick, free-return orbit opportunity occurs twice every 15 years. After 2018, the next opportunity won’t occur again until 2031. The mission will provide a platform for unprecedented science, engineering and education opportunities, using state-of-the-art technologies derived from NASA and the International Space Station. It will be financed primarily through philanthropic donations, with some potential support from government sources.

OPERATIONS

This mission will be a flyby passing within 100 miles of the surface of Mars. Additional maneuvers will be minor course corrections only, using the gravitational influence of Mars to “slingshot” the vehicle onto a return course to Earth. An inflatable habitat module will be deployed after launch and detached prior to re-entry.

COVER STORY - Manned mission to Mars A unique window of opportunity for humankind will open in January 2018, by Inspiration Mars Foundation as they announced “A manned mission to Mars and back’. Inspiration Mars Foundation (IMF) is a non-profit organisation, led by millionaire Dennis Tito — the world’s first space tourist.

THE MISSION OF INSPIRATION MARS FOUNDATION

Mars presents a challenging, but attainable goal for advancing human experience and knowledge. We plan to launch "A Mission for America" that will use existing space transportation hardware and further drive technology development. It will generate knowledge, experience and momentum for the next great era of space exploration. It will encourage and embolden all to believe in doing the hard things that make our nation great, while inspiring the next generation of explorers to pursue their destiny through STEM education and exploration.

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TECHNOLOGY

Investments in human space exploration technologies and operations by NASA and the space industry are converging in time to make such a mission achievable. The mission is being designed based on proven Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) systems and technologies that are available on the market today. We are currently in discussions with many of the leading U.S. commercial aerospace companies to tap into their existing launch engines and vehicles. Environmental and life support operations will be directly derived from International Space Station technologies, which have proven design, development and operational lessons to draw from.

ROLE WITH NASA

NASA has a strong plan for taking Americans farther into space and is investing wisely in a new human spacecraft and heavy lift launch vehicle - systems for long-term plans beyond low-Earth orbit (LEO). By using the proven LEO systems and technology that NASA and the industry have created a unique, once-in-a-generation opportunity, public awareness, enthusiasm and momentum for a long-term commitment and vision for space exploration beyond LEO…all the way to Mars. IMF has formed a partnership with NASA via a reimbursable Space Act Agreement between Paragon and the Ames Research Center to conduct thermal protection system and technology testing and evaluation. Foundation officials will also seek to tap into NASA’s knowledge, experience and technologies to fine-tune and/or develop some of the more challenging elements of this mission, including environmental controls, radiation protection, and human health and productivity plans.

LATEST UPDATE

Speaking at the National Space Symposium here, members of the Inspiration Mars Foundation described the challenges inherent in launching two humans on a 501-day flyby journey to the Red Planet and back in January 2018, but remained optimistic that those challenges aren't insurmountable. "So far, we haven't come up with any show-stoppers, so that's exciting," said Jane Poynter, president of the Paragon Space Development Corp., which has partnered with Inspiration Mars. Keeping the crew members alive will be a major challenge, said Taber MacCallum, Inspiration Mars' chief technology officer. 11

LIFE SUPPORT

The two Mars voyagers will have to be mechanically inclined in order to fix problems that arise during the mission. Everything will be fixable from the inside, MacCallum said, eliminating the need for spacewalks. Urine will be distilled and filtered to create new drinking water every two days or so, and oxygen will be derived onboard from water and carbon dioxide exhaled by the crew. Psychologically, the couple will be picked to be as stable as possible, Poynter said. There is precedent for such long-term isolation, she said, including Biosphere 2, a University of Arizona research facility where she and MacCallum spent two years along with four other people in the 1990s. Issues can arise, Poynter said, including depression, mood swings and "flashbacks almost like hallucinations." But picking the right pair can make all the difference. In fact, applications are already pouring in, the team said, despite the fact that the official application process won't begin until next year.

An artist's illustration of the Inspiration Mars Foundation's spacecraft for a 2018 mission to Mars by a two-person crew. The private Mars mission would be a flyby trip around the Red Planet. CREDIT: Inspiration Mars Foundation

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What Is A Shooting Star?

Millions of rock chunks and dust particles scattered in the entire solar system were left behind during the formation of the Solar system. Each of this particle or rock, floating in space is called as Meteoroid. A meteoroid that burns up as it passes through the Earth’s atmosphere is known as a Meteor or a “Shooting Star”.

ASTROINQUISITES

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One can also log onto : www.astrotourism.wordpress.com the official ASTROTOURISM INDIA BLOG for

trip updates and pictures

UPCOMING TRIP

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER Visitor Complex - MAY & JUNE 2013

250 plus students get ready to voyage to USA for a 3 Days program at KSCVC, Orlando with extension to New York & Niagara Falls.

Visa processing is already through, and Congratulations to each astro-travelers for making through the visa process!

Now is the time to pack bags and gear up for the expedition. As the schools and students get ready, Astrotourism India is giving final touches to operations, ensuring smooth and an enjoyable trip.

ASTROTOURISM NEWS

To stay updated about latest Astro Tours

GUEST ARTICLE - Is It A Shooting Star? Is It Superman? It’s A Satellite!

Sometimes you may notice a spectacular streak across the night sky, and wonder what caused it. Several hundred spacecraft orbit our Earth, and some of the low orbit satellites can easily be spotted by the naked eye as streaks across the sky. Satellites become visible only when they are in sunlight and the observer is in deep twilight or darkness, i.e. only between dusk and dawn. Satellite flares are caused by sunlight reflected towards the ground, by the reflective parts of satellites. Amateur astronomers regularly watch for flares caused by passing satellites such as the International Space Station (ISS) and by the Iridium satellites. Satellite glints or flares are caused when reflective surfaces of the satellite reflect sunlight as the satellite moves in orbit.

ISS Passes

The International Space Station, currently orbiting the Earth provides some of the brightest such flares because of its size and highly reflective panels. It shoots by like a fast moving bright star. It can approach a brightness of -3 magnitude which rivals Jupiter and is 4 times brighter than Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky.

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How to find them

Specific software programs can predict these satellite passes to high accuracy nowadays, which can then be used by observers to prepare and set u p photography equipment in advance. The positions are well known, and other parameters used in prediction are the orientation, the relative angle of the sun to the satellite, reflective properties of the antenna etc. Given the exact latitude and longitude of the observer, the software can predict dates and times and estimated locations where the streak would be viewed. Heavens Above (heavens-above.com) is one of the best websites for predicting both ISS passes and Iridium flares, as well as Hubble Space Telescope and Envisat. Space-india.org lists ISS and Iridium flares in a few cities in India! So go out and look for it, imagine how exciting it will be to spot a satellite in the sky!

Iridium Flares

A series of small communications satellites called ‘Iridium’ satellites also provide some of these extremely bright streaks! These relatively small satellites have solar panels that point at the sun but three reflective door-sized antennas are angled downward and at certain points can reflect sunlight towards the ground. Occasionally, when the angles and orbital timings work out, an antenna reflects sunlight directly down to the Earth, creating a predictable and quickly moving illuminated spot on the surface below, which observers see as an extremely bright flare in the sky over a few seconds. These flares can go up in brightness to -8 to -9 magnitude (30 times brighter than Venus), and their normal brightness is about 6 magnitude, similar to a dim star. These flares last from a few to about 20 seconds. These flares are so bright that they can even be seen during daytime, and you can see it naked eye without binoculars.

- Mila Mitra, Scientific Officer, SPACE

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SPACE Indiais now part of the

Expert Committee formed for restoration of

JANTAR MANTAR by 

ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) 

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ASTRONOMY AT HOME - Spinning Spaceship

With this activity we are going to learn Newton’s third law of Motion i.e. for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Procedure:

STEP 1 - Take two Styrofoam plates of diameter around 15 cm, place the first plate on the second one and paste both the plates from the edges with the help of cello tape. For this activity we need the

following material:

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STEP 2 - After joining the plates, take four stiff straws of length 6 cm and poke them in between the joint of the two plates. Poke the straws at a slant and they should be at right angle to each other.

STEP 3 - Now take the half bead sticker and stick it on outer surface of the first plate, at the center. This bead will act as a pivot for the space ship to rotate.

STEP 4 - Now make a hole in the centre of the second plate. Fix a stiff fat straw in the hole and attach it with tape.

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STEP 5 - Now decorate it STEP 6 - Now enjoy your spinning space ship by blowing air into it with the help of straw.

CONCLUSION

In this spaceship, when you blow air through the bendable straw, this air starts ejecting from the small straws fixed on the edges of the plate. On doing this, the space ship starts to spin in a direction opposite to the direction of out going air.

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SPACE India Gets Covered In “The Franchising” – Apr’13 Issue

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SPACE India Announces Business Expansion In

Punjab

Punjab has become the second state after Delhi to offer people SPACE’s novel service of Astronomy and Space-sciences education. Chandigarh will have a nodal office and the mega launch for the state will be in July 2013. Mr. Aman Mittal, a serial entrepreneur having past exposure in setting up iron & steel plants, has joined the partners program of SPACE.

On bringing this concept to Punjab, Mr. Aman Mittal, Director Brahmand Edutainment Pvt. Ltd. says “As an amateur space enthusiast I understand that there are numerous kids, teens and adults like me who want to go deep into Universe and tingle their imagination for what space holds for us is unimaginable, whilst where would you find a profession where you can have fun, adventure, learning and discovering the various aspects of the Universe while earning a handsome amount. At Brahmand Edutainment Pvt. Ltd., with the help of SPACE we want to reach out to Stars / Galaxies and challenge the limits of our own imaginations and the expectations of other space enthusiasts“.

For Press Release click here!

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SPACE India Is Hiring!!

We have been expanding very rapidly, and offer scope for rapid growth. We value entrepreneurial attitude and a result oriented approach. Above all, we are passionate and sincere about improving the science education scenario in India and the world. If you are interested in a satisfying career helping define what learning can be, then do apply to us.

Current Career Opportunities

Assistant Scientific Officer : 1 PositionDepartment : EducationLocation : New Delhi Educator : 1 PositionDepartment : EducationLocation : Noida Senior Educator : 1 PositionDepartment : EducationLocation : New Delhi

PR Trainee : 1 PositionDepartment : EventsLocation : New Delhi Computer Hardware Trainee : 1 PositionDepartment : IT Location : New Delhi Senior Executive - Client Relationship : 1 PositionDepartment :Sales Location : New Delhi

If you are interested please follow the link of company website to see the job details:

SPACE INDIACompany Website

S P A C E G R O U P

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