Welcome to day two of Cadbury Dairy Milk Freddo Treasures Family Space Camp 2020. Yesterday we started the countdown for your family’s mission to space as you learnt all about Dr Norah Patten, one of the largest telescopes in the world for 70 years, and saw just what space environment can really be like. Of course, don’t forget about the all-important mission patch which we’re sure you’re working hard on.
Today is another exciting episode of Family Space Camp and our mission today is to find out how to get to space and what astronauts need to do to get there.
To kick things off Norah and Mark are going to explain how astronauts experience different forces than we’re used to on earth. These forces that astronauts experience are called g-forces, which are a measure of acceleration. It is a number that explains how big or how small these forces are and right now you’re all experiencing 1g.
To demonstrate what g-forces feel like Norah and Mark take a trip to a rally school where they race around a track in different racing cars and will be using accelerometers to measure the g-forces they feel. How high do you think the g-forces went? Astronauts can experience up to 5gs during a rocket launch.
They also travel to Explorium, the national sport and science centre in Dublin, where they take on a 360-degree loop bike, cycling upside down and again experiencing different forces.
Joining us today is a very special guest from America. Norah and Mark will speak to Ken Trujillo, a PoSSUM trainer and former NASA astronaut trainer, to learn a little more about what astronauts have to go through before they launch into space.
So now that we’ve learned about the forces astronauts experience, and some of the training involved, how exactly do they get to space? Norah and Mark will be talking all about rocket science with a special at-home activity. We would love all families watching to take part in our rocket building challenge. Follow along with the demonstration and here’s what you’ll need*:
- Small plastic bottle
- Medium plastic bottles
- Corks
- Lollipop sticks
- Electrical tape
- Baking Soda
- Vinegar
- Teaspoon
- Toilet paper
- Coloured card, scissors and tape
Tune back in tomorrow for more exciting adventures with Cadbury Dairy Milk Freddo Treasures Family Space Camp 2020!