Aspiring astronauts, aerospace engineers and astrophysicists have been given a life-changing experience with the visit of NASA science engineers to Territory schools.
Taminmin College students were given the opportunity to learn from NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineers at the school’s new $12.7 million Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) Centre.
NASA confirmed in May it will launch sounding rockets into space from the Arnhem Space Centre, near Nhulunbuy, next year. NASA engineer Todd Barber is part of a team which has this week spoken to a number of Territory students and visited schools in Maningrida and Nhulunbuy, and will visit Darwin schools tomorrow.
They have shared first-hand experiences in working in space science, aerospace and astrophysics industry with students and teachers.
Students also got an insight into how some of these engineers led propulsion teams on a range of space missions to Saturn and Mars.
The NASA school visits supports the Northern Territory Government’s STEM in the Territory strategy 2018 to 2022 which informs the delivery of STEM in our schools.
The visit to Territory schools has been co-ordinated by One Giant Leap Australia, which is working to ensure future generations of Australians reach their full potential in STEM.