Penn-Trafford High School science teacher Ryan Tucek has spent years studying the lunar exploration of the 1970s. But, just like his students, NASA’s Artemis II is the first space mission Tucek has witnessed himself.
Artemis II launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., last week, beginning a 10-day mission to survey the moon in advance of a landing planned for 2028 and build a foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars. Five astronauts — Cmdr. Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency — are onboard.
NASA’s first mission to the moon since 1972, Artemis II has traveled deeper into space than any other mission. The crew is set to return to Earth on Friday evening in the ocean off San Diego.
Educators throughout Western Pennsylania, including Tucek, have roped the historic event into their lessons this week.
“I know a lot about what we did back in the ‘70s,” said Tucek, who teaches physics, astrophysics and Earth and space science. “But I wasn’t alive then. I wasn’t able to experience it like we’re experiencing it now.
“It’s nice to have our own little space race again to, hopefully, get launches more often and get us back (to the moon) by, like they say, 2028.”
For Tucek, the Artemis II mission is the perfect real-world example to explain topics already covered in some of his classes — including gravity, orbits and gravitational forces.
He also plans to incorporate the space mission into the high school astronomy club’s next planetarium show. Slated for April 24, the show will include a viewing of the film “From the Earth to the Universe.” The shows are free to attend.
“Some of the things that I’ve mentioned in class in the past,” he said, “I now have more photographic evidence and things to back up (my lessons) that I get to show them.”
‘I want to build that curiosity’
Robert Towarnicki, teacher at Roy A. Hunt Elementary in the New Kensington-Arnold School District, showed his students photos and videos of the mission taken by the astronauts. He believes it is important to discuss the mission, its objectives and its importance with the next generation.
“I want to build that curiosity beyond the confines of the classroom,” he said. “They’re not just in school to learn English, science principles, math formulas and facts about history. They’re also meant to build curiosity, to ask, ‘Why?’ ”
The Artemis II mission is especially relevant to 18 of Towarnicki’s sixth grade students, who will visit NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland next month. Students from five school districts will participate in the field trip, an annual event sponsored by the nonprofit Beating the Odds Foundation.
The students have met twice a week after school for about a month to research the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Students were selected by their teachers to participate in the STEM group for their strong science and math skills, Towarnicki said. They will present their findings during the Goddard Space Flight Center tour on May 6.
“I think the Artemis II launch really ties into the Roman Space Telescope,” Towarnicki said. “NASA’s being much more active, and the STEM team is already exploring NASA’s exploration of the universe through the space telescope.”
‘It was a really neat opportunity’
The space mission also has permeated Kelly Ketler’s Derry Area High School French class.
Hansen, the Artemis II astronaut from the Canadian Space Agency, was born in Ontario and speaks fluent French. Ketler’s class watched a video about Hansen to listen to his French speaking.
“It was a really neat opportunity,” Ketler said. “We try to link in current events when we can.”
AJ Haberkorn’s Greater Latrobe Junior High students have been enthralled by the space mission, he said.
Haberkorn teaches a flight and space class, which focuses on how aircraft operate and the characteristics of space. Each year, his students submit a project on how they would perform a trip to Mars — designing their own spacecraft, selecting a crew of astronauts and creating a schedule of mission objectives.
This week, Haberkorn assigned his students to detail how they would recover the Artemis II astronauts on their return trip to Earth.
“It’s just fun. It’s pretty exciting,” he said. “This has been a personal interest of mine since I was a child, and it’s the same thing for our other science teachers. We’re trying to share our excitement with our students, and they seem to be enjoying it as well.”