This article first appeared in Queenwood News Weekly 9 August 2019.

‘That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind’ said Neil Armstrong as he took his first steps on the Moon just over fifty years ago. It marked the realisation of a dream and a challenge which saw the US win the Space Race. But who made it possible for the world to hear these words?

It was possible to hear this historic broadcast due to the Parkes radio telescope in New South Wales, which was then cutting-edge technology in radio astronomy. It marked the success of deep space missions and the collaboration between scientists in CSIRO in Australia and NASA in the US; but for the team at Parkes it was not all smooth sailing. As luck would have it, despite several clear days, a terrible storm hit the telescope just as the moon walk was about to start. Scientists overcame tremendous hurdles to make the broadcast appear seamless in the first few minutes, switching between three stations to bring pictures of the moon walk.

The annual budget for the Apollo missions was as astronomical as the project itself. Some may question why we should waste the money on space when there are so many issues on Earth that need attention. The fact is our quality of life has improved. Satellites originally used to study space are now used in telecommunications, global positioning systems (GPS) in cars and mobile phones and in predicting weather forecasts. Advances in technological knowledge have resulted in sophisticated robotics and artificial intelligence.

Destination Moon: more missions, more science is the school theme for National Science Week in 2019, which begins on Monday. The theme is designed to reignite the passion for solving problems that sometimes seem unsolvable, with a particular focus on space. Big picture thinking is required to solve problems in Science.

Teachers at Queenwood are inspiring students to undertake their own ‘big picture’ thinking in a number of ways. As part of their Science topic on space, Year 5 have been involved in their own ‘mini-mission’ earning their special place in the Queenwood Space Program (QSP). The QSP allows students to ‘blast off’ in a rocket simulator, built into a small room in Junior School. The astronauts each have different roles in the missions, such as life support, engine controls, piloting and communications. Other members of the team run ‘ground control’ from their classroom, where space launches and communications are controlled. The simulator is based on the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 70s and uses the same launch sequences and basic controls found on these spacecraft. Students will be working on the QSP all term and hope to complete low earth orbit, lunar insertion and even a lunar landing (including controlling our own lunar rover!) by the end of term.

In Senior School, students in Years 7 to 10 will be involved in a variety of activities including building rockets, designing space suits and using virtual reality to do space exploration. ‘Engineers without Borders’ will also be conducting activities in Senior School. Professor Richard de Grijs, Associate Dean (Global Engagement) and Professor of Astrophysics at Macquarie University, will be our guest presenter at assembly next week.

It is hoped that the small steps being taken by passionate teachers at Queenwood in inspiring young minds to be innovative and passionate will result in a giant leap for our students in science and technology in the future.

Ms Jaya Chowdhury
Head of Science