Students at Richmond Hill High Schools in New York City have been preparing for a live Q&A session with Astronauts Nichole Ayers and Anne McClain on the International Space Station which will take place on Wednesday, March 26th at 11 AM CST / 12 PM EST. Students participated in a variety of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) workshops to help them formulate questions for the astronauts, including on Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) and Astrobotany.
Through the workshops, students explored NASA's plant research and how it's applied to Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) here on Earth. They learned about hydroponics, aeroponics, LED grow lights, and how NASA is developing food-growing systems for future missions to the Moon and Mars.
© Richmond Hills High SchoolSangmin Pak, Computer Science teacher and Director of the Software Engineering Pathway at RHHS, hands out Astrobotany stickers to students as they taste-test freeze dried fruits and vegetables
The workshops were hosted by Art Technically, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that promotes STEM and Arts education for underserved youth and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Center for Lighting Enabled Systems and Applications (LESA).
"NASA's downlink program is so incredible because it brings astronauts and the International Space Station directly into the classroom. We've had so much fun preparing the students with the CEA and Astrobotany workshops, so I can't wait to see what they ask the astronauts," said Lily K. Donaldson, an Art Technically volunteer and a Ph.D. candidate at RPI's LESA center. Donaldson studies novel horticultural lighting recipes for CEA applications at LESA.
© Richmond Hills High SchoolLily K. Donaldson teaches RHHS students during a workshop on Controlled Environment Agriculture and Astrobotany in the school's Hydroponics classroom
"I am so excited to see our students represented in something that they are often left out of. This is just the beginning of creating more opportunities for them to shine," said Sangmin Pak, a Computer Science teacher at the school that has been leading the Downlink initiative. Richmond Hill High School is a high-need school in Queens; 83% of students at the school are economically disadvantaged. RHHS is also a richly diverse school, with a student population that is 51% Hispanic/Latino, 26% Asian, and 10% Black. Art Technically is dedicated to creating opportunities, like this Downlink event, for economically disadvantaged students and students historically underrepresented in STEM fields.
You can watch the Richmond Hill High School Downlink event on Wednesday, March 26th at 11 AM CST / 12 PM EST on NASA+ at the link here.