Astronauts and Moon Landings

Yesterday, we provided a free screening of the film Apollo 13 to an audience of around 120. Erika Hamden and Cameron Hummels introduced the film with a short history of the Space Race along with a few definitions of some jargon terms that were used in the film (e.g. burn, gimbal lock, LEM). The film lasted about 2:20, and the auditorium thermostat seemed broken so the audience got an accurate experience of how cold it was in the broken command module of Apollo 13.

After the film, Erika and Cameron spoke for 20 minutes about how scientifically accurate the film was (very), and then discussed what broke in the actual Apollo 13 service module and why. They presented information about the remainding days of the Apollo program and the followup Shuttle program. Lastly, they gave information on how to go see the remaining shuttle launches and tips for youngsters on how to become an astronaut.

Unfortunately, the sky was cloudy, so we were unable to observe. NASA swag of Hubble Space Telescope photos and stickers for the HST-servicing mission were given out to audience members.

Thanks to everyone who turned out!

--Cameron