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Photograph by Brian Connelly

Kaila Natwick (right) isn't too sure about putting her head through a space suit at NASA's 2006 Space Education Alley at the San Jose Convention Center Sept. 19.

An inside look at outer space

By ERIN HUSSEY

"Are aliens real?" a Ponderosa Elementary fifth-grader called out above the noise and commotion of hundreds of excited Bay Area students.

"I'm not sure, but there are people inside that all they do all day is look for aliens, so you can ask them," one of the day's greeters said.

"Awesome!" shouted back almost all of the 95 Ponderosa students.

The Space 2006 Conference and Exposition was organized through a partnership between Lockheed Martin, NASA, the U.S. Air Force and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Under the theme "The Value Proposition for Space: Security, Prosperity, Discovery," approximately 1,000 representatives from government, industry and academia attended the three-day event.

In addition to the adult conference, the event included an interactive exhibit hall for local K-12 students and teachers called Education Alley. It featured presentations by astronauts, science experiments, robots, space food and an abundance of free educational games, posters and paper rockets.

"This is about getting the students excited and exposed," said Catherine Tsairides, project director for astrobiology education and public outreach for the NASA Ames Research Center and a member of Lockheed Martin's Space Operations.

"It's our responsibility to help develop the next generation of space explorers, mathematicians, engineers, technicians, communicators and all the other aspects of what it takes to look into space exploration. Everything that is being investigated or the research or the missions that are out there, it will be these students that will be making the decisions and evaluating the research and looking at what the next questions will be," she said.

Astronaut Rick Hieb was the first to welcome the students. He described his experiences on three space shuttle flights and three space walks. Besides experiments and launches, he gave an insider's look at space life, including how to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

"We don't fly bread," he said. "We fly tortillas. It's best if you make it into a burrito so the jelly doesn't squish out."

After listening to Hieb, the students were able explore each of the 50 exhibit booths and had the opportunity to meet Lockheed Martin's robot named Sprocket.

"That was definitely a highlight for the group," said Ponderosa fifth-grade teacher Shawn Murphy.

"If they don't remember anything else, they will totally remember that experience. They were asking it questions and it was a lot of fun for them."

Sprocket fulfilled their request to rap, dance and tell a joke.

"Did you hear about the restaurant on the moon?" the robot asked.

"No!" the children shouted, some so close to the robot that their noses almost touched. "They have great food but no atmosphere," Sprocket said, chuckling.

Sprocket does not have a mind of its own, Tsairides explains, saying that humans always control robots.

"It's true with all robots. We control the software that goes into the robot. We control the Mars rovers. We program that a year ahead of time; what it's going to do, where it's going to go and how it's going to react."

Students weren't the only ones enjoying themselves. Parent chaperones were also taking advantage of Education Alley.

"Space has always been interesting for me because my father worked in an industry where he had to make things for NASA and the Apollo program," said Ponderosa parent volunteer Asta Natwick.

"There is so much stuff here and just a ton of information; it's like being a kid again. I think that those that are interested in space and science are probably getting the most out of it, but my daughter, who is not a big science person, is very excited and so maybe it will pique her interest."

Whether the students do decide to become a part of the space industry when they grow up, Hieb left them all with a piece of inspiring life advice.

"You can be what you want to be, but it's not going to be easy," he said.

"No one is going to do it for you, and no one is going to hand it to you. You have to do it for yourself."