Space-Quest

Space-Quest is one of the projects in which I am involved. There are others and they can be selected by category from the lower menu bar under “Categories” or click here: “Space-Quest“

Space-Quest is the first project I got involved in and it will always be a favorite.

It is the ongoing story of a couple of mascots trying to get into space one day! Their first mission is a high altitude balloon flight to about 100,000 feet (over 30km) and then we will see what happens after this first mission. The two main adventurers have been joined by two others on this epic adventure. Space-Quest is the name for this and all future missions for this dynamic duo and their fellow mascots.

The first mission in the project called is BTS – Balloon to Space – Mind you, balloons never get to space as they sort of stop at about 100,000 feet (30km). The only way a lighter than air balloon can only work if there is atmosphere to rise through.

So who are our explorers? The project also is called Mission Raise Awareness Space Balloon (RASB)

The balloon will be carrying, Fuzz Aldrin from “Bears on Patrol” (Bears on Patrol provides US police officers with free teddy bears to use in cases involving small children.), as well as NASA SDO‘s mission mascot, Camilla SDO, a rubber chicken, AIAA‘s STEM outreach mascot, Skye Bleu, and a patch to represent Smokey Bear. It is scheduled to launch on May 8th 2011 from a site in Houston.

Information about the AstroMascot Crew:

	Fuzz Aldrin joins Miles the Traveling Bear as a touring ambassador of Bears on Patrol. While Miles is raising awareness on a personal level by meeting people, Fuzz is taking a global approach, joining forces with Camilla Corona SDO to promote science education and peace for our children.

Bears on Patrol seeks to make traumatic situations bearable for children by providing free teddy bears for US police officers to give to children they encounter on calls.

For more information:

Fuzz Aldrin

http://www.bearsonpatrol.org/space

Bears on Patrol

http://www.bearsonpatrol.org/

	Camilla Corona SDO is the EP/O (Education and Public Outreach) mission mascot for NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. Camilla’s role is to help with informing students, teachers, parents, and anyone interested about the Sun, Space Weather and its impact on life on Earth (and Space). Camilla’s dream is to visit her best friend Little SDO in Space.

Little SDO is NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory and is designed to help us understand the Sun’s influence on Earth and Near-Earth space by studying the solar atmosphere on small scales of space and time and in many wavelengths simultaneously.

For more information:

Camilla Corona SDO

http://solar-center.stanford.edu/camilla/

NASA SDO

http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/

Meet our Mission Planning Team

Camilla SDO and I thought it would be a good idea to introduce you to our mission planning team.  They are a very smart and talented group of people, and we are very fortunate and thankful to have them working on our mission.

Ben – Runs a high school weather balloon project. Check out Project Aether for great information, photos, and video.  Ben has a PhD in Plasma Physics.

Rick – Rick has helped with research about APRS tracking, balloon and parachute size. Check out his space weather site, SolarIMG.

Angie, Penny, and Mitch – Board members of Bears on Patrol, the parent organization of this project. They are here to bring general support and awareness to the project.

Robert – Robert Brand (that’s me – your editor for WotzUp) from Echoes of Apollo brings a wealth of information and expertise to our project.  He has been assisting with all phases of the project, from communications and tracking, to technical details, and also bringing great awareness to our project and its educational goals.

Heather – Heather has been a great supporter of Bears on Patrol, and is lending her talents in public relations to this project.

Brian – Brian is an Extra class amateur radio operator, who brings his knowledge of electronics and APRS tracking to this project.

Megan – Megan represents Doodlekins and  DuckyGram, who are big supporters of Bears on Patrol.  She created our website where the mission patches are sold, and offered artistic support for the mission patch design.

Lisa – Lisa put us in contact with Shelly, Gar, Ben, Gerald, and Steve.  She would also like to be the Safety Officer to make sure that Camilla and I stay warm, safe, and dry on our flight.

Gar – Holding a PhD in Physics, Gar also runs a Mars Rover competition and works with Ben.  His input about balloon lift calculations and other technical details has been invaluable.

Gerald – Gerald writes the aerospace curriculum for Project lead the Way and wants to get their students involved.

Blake – Blake is the executive director of Bears on Patrol and also the mission manager for BTS-1.  He is working to get the pieces of the puzzle put together for this mission.