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I participated in this program back in 2004 but I thought some of you might enjoy reading about the experience.

Spaceflight and Life Sciences Training Program
NASA Kennedy Space Center
Tuesday June 2 – Wednesday July 21, 2004

Class of 2004

I packed my bags and boarded a plane for Orlando, Florida. My destination: NASA. It has always been a dream of mine to work for NASA. It all started when I was born on Guam. I was born there because me father worked for NASA at the tracking station from 1966 to 1970. He was a part of Apollo Missions (See My Father tab). Growing up with Neil Armstrong’s autograph on the wall, and all kinds of other memorabilia, has fed this long desire to follow in my father’s footsteps and become a part of space history (if even for just a summer).

So, here I was, on my way. I was employed by Tuskegee University as a summer project counselor working with college students KSC for the summer. The spaceflight and life science training program recruits 30 “hard” science university students to come and work with NASA scientists for 6 weeks during the summer. My job as a project counselor was to ensure student success. I was on call 24 hours a day 7 days a week. I drove the trainees to and from KSC. I made sure they understood the requirements of the program and completed their work on time. I did presentations on statistics, the use of excel, and presenting scientific information. I also was available to deal with any personal issues.

Luckily for me I had some terrific help. There were two other project counselors (PC) (Adam Santone & Rhonda Stennis) and one head PC (Elaine Broomfield). We all hit it off right away. Adam was graduate student at Purdue University and Rhonda received her master’s degree from Memphis State. Elaine was a doctoral candidate at Tuskegee University.

The trainees came from all over North America. We had two Canadian trainees. One was from the University of Toronto and the other was from Vancouver. We had trainees from the University of Anchorage, the Air Force Academy, Yale, and the University of Hawaii. In all, 21 States were represented this summer.

The 30 trainees were divided into 3 group of ten and assigned to an emphasis group. The three emphasis groups are Ecology, Flight, and Controlled Biological Systems. The ecology group works with NASA scientists interested in understanding the impact of the space program on the surrounding environment. The flight group works on projects designed to go on space shuttle missions. The controlled biological systems group engages in research designed to help humans survive in space and on other planets.

I was given the ecology emphasis group. My group was very diverse although the girls did out number the boys. The students were put in each emphasis group based on the recommendation of the NASA scientists. The trainees sent in a short biography of themselves and their interests when applying to the program. They also rank the three emphasis groups in order of preference. However, it is the NASA scientists who ultimately decide which emphasis group each trainee is in. When the trainees learn which group they are in they are sometimes disappointed but, in the end, they love what they did and what they learned.

Once the students know which group they are in it is time to meet the scientists and determine which project they will work on. Each NASA scientist gives a short speech about their research and what would be required. Some of the ecology projects involved intense field work while others required good computer programming skills. The scientists and trainees mingled and got to know each other. The scientists then talked to me about who they thought was the best fit for their projects. That information was passed onto the head Tuskegee advisor who matched each student with a scientist. The students were told which scientist and project they would be working on and prepared for their first full day at Kennedy Space Center. The trainee’s daily schedule was usually as follows:

Activity Time
Leave Condos for KSC 7:00
Emphasis Lab 7:30-1:00
Lectures 1:00-5:00
Return to Condos 5:00

We stayed down the road from KSC. All housing was paid for through the program and a food stipend was also given. The Diplomat Condominiums are approximately 30 minutes away from KSC and it was my job to drive my group back and forth. Trainees worked on their projects in the morning and attended afternoon lectures. Sometimes they had day field trips and night lectures. I was there for almost everything they did including going out into the field.

Ecology Emphasis Group
The best part about the ecology emphasis group was how nice all the NASA scientists and trainees were. The ecology scientists rely heavily on working with each other. The first day at KSC we were out in the field. Nina Cooper (center of picture with hat on) was assigned to work with Dr. Paul Schmalzer a plant biologist. Nina’s project was to measure scrub openings. This entailed two field days and a bunch of volunteers. In order for us to go out into the scrub we needed the right outfit of rip core camouflage pants, t-shirt, hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, and snake bite boots! We also needed bug spray to keep the mosquitoes, chiggers and ticks away (Yikes)!

It was apparent from the beginning that the way in which the NASA scientist passed their knowledge onto the trainees was through letting the trainees do the work. The scientists first demonstrated the process and then it was up to the trainees to finish it off. For Nina’s project this involved measuring sandy opening within Florida Scrub. The height and density of Florida scrub was controlled by natural wildfires until the U.S. policy of eliminating natural forest fires led to an overgrown scrub population. Certain wildlife, such as the endangered Florida Scrub Jay, are habitat specific and require less dense scrub with sandy openings to survive. NASA has engaged in a prescribed burning policy in order to restore some of the natural habitat conditions. Nina was given the opportunity to measure the differences in scrub vegetation between burned and unburned areas. It was hard work. Summers in Florida tend to be hot and sticky. Getting to the field site often requires tromping through dense scrub or ash covered areas. Mosquitoes are everywhere along with ticks. My biggest fear was running into a giant spider web. I’ve never seen spiders so big! Or a snake! Or an alligator!

Another area of research in the ecology emphasis group was monitoring changes in animal communities or populations. The Florida Scrub Jay is listed on the threatened species list. Florida Scrub Jays can only survive in scrub with certain characteristics. The scrub cannot be overgrown and their must be sufficient sandy openings. Many habitat areas in Florida have been lost to development or fire suppression leading to overgrowth of scrub. Merritt Island National Refuge is one of the few remaining habitats for the Florida Scrub Jay. As a result, monitoring the Jay population has become an essential part of NASA’s ecological program. Each year the juvenile population is counted to determine production rates. The scrub jays are territorial and are one of the few birds in which offspring remain for a couple of years to help tend to the family. A trainee was assigned to NASA field ecologist Geoff Carter to count and tag the new juveniles. Scrub jay like peanuts and the field ecologists use the nuts to attract the jays. Some of the jays have become so tame that they will eat peanuts out of your hand.

Merritt Island National Refuge is also home to small mammal communities in particular the Florida mouse and Florida beach mouse. NASA field ecologist Donna Oddy monitored and trained Andrew Van Osdol to set up traps to catch, identify and tag the mice in areas on and around Kennedy Space Center. A twelve by twelve grid was set up in various locations around KSC. At each grid point, Donna would set an overnight trap consisting of sunflower seeds and cotton. The cotton is used to help keep the mammals warm overnight. In the morning, each trap was checked for mice, rats, or any other animal that may have wondered in such as snakes and skunks. All mice and rats are weighed and tagged on the ear.

Going out in the field to see scrub jay and trap mice was a lot of work and a lot of fun. The hardest part was working with Donna setting the traps. As shown by Nina’s project, scrub is not easy to walk through.

For more information about this program and the research done during the summer of 2004 please see NASA’s Web of Life http://weboflife.nasa.gov/slstp.htm