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Genesis mission piques students' interest in space, science

Thanks to the Genesis program, a remote-controlled satellite space mission designed to capture atoms from the sun, students at Mountain Elementary School in Los Alamos found a new reason to look to the sky.

Launched in 2001 by NASA, Genesis is a collaborative effort involving various organizations, including Los Alamos and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. With the mission’s recent dramatic highs and lows, as well as outstanding cliffhangers -- can useful data still be salvaged after the crash of the return capsule in September? -- it is no surprise that the continued study of Genesis in classrooms across the country has sparked an increased fascination with the space program.

The Genesis mission prompted fourth grade students at Mountain Elementary School to write letters full of praise, questions and concern to Roger Wiens of Space and Atmospheric Sciences (ISR-1). The students were watching the Genesis return capsule landing when it crashed in the Utah desert. The following is an excerpt from one of the letters:

All letters from the class are posted on NASA’s Genesis Web site at http://genesismission.jpl.nasa.gov online.

" I love the excitement that kids and other people have in the space program -- like the excitement expressed in those letters. It’s great," said Wiens.

The children’s letters not only presented some rather poignant questions, but also signified a renewed interest in science, space exploration and technology.

NASA’s efforts to make education a priority through knowledge sharing and student interaction have apparently had an impact. Wiens agrees that it is clear from the letters that, to the students of Mountain Elementary, Genesis is a catalyst to further exploration of space: a vast unknown filled with infinite possibilities and endless questions. Aspirations to find the answers fuels [the students’] enhanced fascination with science, research and technology -- this curiosity is the “right stuff” of which great future scientists, astronomers, and astronauts are made.

-- Hildi T. Kelsey

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