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>> HI, MY NAME IS NICOLE SMITH,
AND I'M AN ENGINEER
WORKING ON NASA'S
SPACE EXPLORATION MISSIONS.
NASA HAS A GREAT CHALLENGE
TO SHARE WITH YOU, AND
WE WANT TO SEE YOUR SOLUTIONS.
THE CHALLENGE IS SAFE TRAVELS.
HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED
WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE TO TRAVEL
TO THE MOON, TO MARS,
OR OTHER DESTINATIONS IN SPACE?
SINCE 1961, HUMANS HAVE BEEN
TRAVELING TO SPACE.
HOWEVER, THE FARTHEST
ANYONE HAS EVER GONE HAS BEEN
TO OUR MOON.
IF WE ARE TO EXPLORE FARTHER OUT
INTO OUR SOLAR SYSTEM,
WE'LL NEED A SPACECRAFT
THAT CAN DO MORE THAN
WE'VE EVER IMAGINED.
>> AND LIFT-OFF, AT DAWN.
THE DAWN OF ORION.
>> IN DECEMBER OF 2014,
NASA COMPLETED A TEST LAUNCH
OF NASA'S NEW ORION SPACECRAFT.
ORION TRAVELED 3,600 MILES
ABOVE EARTH.
THAT'S 15 TIMES FARTHER AWAY
FROM THE PLANET THAN
THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.
FOR THIS TEST FLIGHT,
NO ASTRONAUTS WERE ONBOARD.
THE SPACECRAFT'S COMPUTERS
CONTROLLED THE FLIGHT
AND COLLECTED DATA
FROM LAUNCH TO LANDING.
SCIENTISTS ARE NOW STUDYING
THIS DATA AND CONDUCTING
MORE TESTING TO BETTER
UNDERSTAND SOME OF THE HAZARDS
OR SAFETY CONCERNS THAT
ASTRONAUTS AND THE SPACECRAFT
COULD ENCOUNTER DURING
LONG-DISTANCE SPACE MISSIONS.
AS AN ENGINEER WHO WORKS ON
ORION, I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT
THE NEW OPPORTUNITIES THAT
THIS SPACECRAFT WILL GIVE US
IN TRAVELING FARTHER INTO
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
AND DISCOVERING THE UNKNOWN.
NOW HERE'S NASA ASTRONAUT
AND ENGINEER, STEPHANIE WILSON,
TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE CHALLENGE.
>> HI, I AM STEPHANIE WILSON.
I AM SO EXCITED THAT
YOU'VE ACCEPTED THE CHALLENGE
TO BE PART OF NASA'S TEAM.
NASA'S DEVELOPING
THE NEXT GENERATION
OF SPACE EXPLORATION VEHICLES.
LET US EXPLORE ONE VEHICLE,
KNOWN AS ORION.
ORION WILL BE ABLE TO TRANSPORT
HUMANS BEYOND LOW EARTH ORBIT,
TRAVELING TO THE MOON, MARS,
AND OTHER DESTINATIONS IN SPACE.
YOUR TEAM'S CHALLENGE:
DESIGN AND BUILD YOUR OWN
MODEL SPACECRAFT FOR TESTING.
YOUR SPACECRAFT MUST BE BUILT
TO PROTECT A CREW OF ASTRONAUTS
DURING A LANDING.
AS YOU TEST AND IMPROVE
YOUR DESIGN USING
THE ENGINEERING DESIGN PROCESS,
YOU MAY FACE PROBLEMS,
YOU MAY HAVE TO COME UP WITH
NEW SOLUTIONS, BUT YOU WILL BE
BUILDING THE SKILLS
AND KNOWLEDGE TO HELP SOLVE
TOMORROW'S CHALLENGES
IN SPACE AND ON EARTH.
SINCE ORION WILL TAKE
MY COLLEAGUES AND I INTO SPACE,
I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE
THE SPACECRAFT YOU CREATE.
>> THANKS, STEPHANIE.
NOW THAT YOU HAVE
YOUR ASSIGNMENT, IT'S TIME
TO GET TO WORK.
YOUR SPACECRAFT MODEL MUST:
BE DESIGNED WITH SEATS FOR
TWO ASTRONAUT FIGURES.
THE ASTRONAUTS MUST STAY
IN THEIR SEATS DURING
THE DROP TEST WITHOUT BEING
GLUED OR TAPED IN PLACE.
HAVE ONE HATCH THAT OPENS
AND CLOSES FOR THE ASTRONAUTS
TO SAFELY ENTER OR EXIT.
THE HATCH MUST STAY CLOSED
DURING THE DROP TEST.
FIT WITHIN THE CONTAINER
YOUR TEACHER GIVES YOU.
AND FINALLY, THE TOTAL MASS
OF YOUR SPACECRAFT MODEL
MUST NOT BE MORE THAN 100 GRAMS.
NOW IT'S YOUR TURN.
BE CREATIVE WITH YOUR DESIGNS.
I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE
WHAT YOUR TEAMS COME UP WITH.
>> YOU ARE THE FUTURE SCIENTISTS
AND ENGINEERS WHO WILL HELP US
IMPROVE HUMAN SPACE EXPLORATION,
AND I AM SO THRILLED
TO HAVE YOU AS PART OF OUR TEAM.
TOGETHER, WE'LL CHART A PATH
TO NEW DISCOVERIES.
AND WHO KNOWS?
YOU MAY EVEN USE ORION ONE DAY
TO BECOME ONE OF THE FIRST
ASTRONAUTS TO SET FOOT ON MARS.
GOOD LUCK, AND WE LOOK FORWARD
TO SEEING YOUR SOLUTIONS.