Citrus College's GraviTeam Touches Down

The GraviTeam has landed. After ten days at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, the eight members comprising a hand-picked group of science and math students returned to Earth and Citrus College on Sunday.

Citrus College student Craig Stremel formed the GraviTeam back in October 2010, after learning about the Reduced Gravity Education Flight Program through another NASA experience—the National Community College Aerospace Scholars Program in Huntsville, Alabama—he had previously gone through. Since that time, the Team had been scrambling to fundraise for its trip and prepare its experiment.

The basic idea behind the program sounds simple enough: create an experiment that can be performed in a microgravity (‘weightless’) environment. However, formulating solid, new science is not such an easy task.

The team isn’t allowed to talk about the results of the experiment until later this summer, after all their raw data—which includes about four hours of video footage—has been analyzed and a conclusion can be reached. However, experiment involved the use of capillary action to turn an axial blade. If successful, future applications could include a power source for low-orbit satellites, for instance.

“It was probably the most amazing experience of my life—and not just necessarily the week in Houston, but the months leading up to it,” explained GraviTeam Member Phoebe Sulzen. “Learning to work together as a team, all that we had to go through just to get to Houston.”

Throughout the ten days the Team spent in Houston, the highlight was not surprisingly the opportunities to experience microgravity. After going through orientation and instruction, and receiving jumpsuits and security bages, the students lifted off from Ellington Field in the “Vomit Comet” to experience the feeling of  weightlessness. However, the experiment was clearly the first and foremost thing on everyone’s mind.

“The most memorable part of the the overall experience for me was the pride and satisfaction I felt when my students past the TRR (Test Readiness Review) examination performed by a team of NASA professionals and were given the green light to fly,” wrote GraviTeam Faculty Adviser Lucia Riderer.

Although the pure thrill of being involved with NASA was present, the team stresses it’s the pursuit of science that drives them forward. One member left halfway through the trip to begin pursuing research opportunities at UCLA, while Sulzen was recently nominated as a Jet Propulsion Laboratory scholar.

“They’re just some of the coolest, most encouraging people I’ve ever met,” says Sulzen of the NASA engineers. “It makes me want to go out there and be the person who can motivate students to get in to science.”

Anyone who’s interested can follow the GraviTeam on their blog, at http://citrusgraviteam.blogspot.com/.