1 00:00:04,391 --> 00:00:07,756 ? [music] ? 2 00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:15,133 KIDS: Our World! 3 00:00:15,135 --> 00:00:17,383 Evan: Hey Globey. I’ve got a riddle for you. 4 00:00:17,385 --> 00:00:20,820 What do you get when you put together medical doctors, 5 00:00:20,821 --> 00:00:26,091 microbiologists, geologists, engineers, and physicists? 6 00:00:26,093 --> 00:00:28,728 No guesses? 7 00:00:28,730 --> 00:00:32,398 Well I bet you got it: NASA! 8 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:36,101 NASA is a lot more than just astronauts. People at NASA are 9 00:00:36,103 --> 00:00:40,306 engineers, scientist, computer programmers, accountants, 10 00:00:40,308 --> 00:00:43,343 astronomers, writers, graphic designers, 11 00:00:43,345 --> 00:00:46,311 and mathematicians just to name a few. 12 00:00:46,313 --> 00:00:48,815 There are so many opportunities and programs you can get 13 00:00:48,816 --> 00:00:50,883 involved in at NASA, that you’ll find lots of 14 00:00:50,885 --> 00:00:53,820 other careers as well. One of our other engineer 15 00:00:53,821 --> 00:00:56,723 friends from NASA Johnson Space Center is Heather Paul. 16 00:00:56,725 --> 00:00:59,158 She recently spent some time with some other members of the 17 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:01,260 NASA family and found out how unique the 18 00:01:01,261 --> 00:01:03,463 organization really is. 19 00:01:03,465 --> 00:01:06,065 Heather Paul: Hi Everyone, I’m Heather Paul from NASA Johnson 20 00:01:06,066 --> 00:01:09,268 Space Center and right now, I’m in Key Largo with Nick Skytland 21 00:01:09,270 --> 00:01:12,038 and our team from NASA. So Nick, can you explain a little 22 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:14,306 bit about what we’re doing here in Key Largo? I mean I love 23 00:01:14,308 --> 00:01:16,375 being here, but don’t we have some scientific 24 00:01:16,376 --> 00:01:18,878 objectives we’re trying to do? Nick: Absolutely, well we’re 25 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:21,313 preparing for a field test and we’re actually preparing for a 26 00:01:21,315 --> 00:01:24,150 field test to understand crew performance on the Moon. 27 00:01:24,151 --> 00:01:26,285 Heather: Nick can you give me a little background about 28 00:01:26,286 --> 00:01:28,521 yourself? How did you get this really awesome job? 29 00:01:28,523 --> 00:01:31,223 Nick: It is a really awesome job. And actually, I started as 30 00:01:31,225 --> 00:01:35,128 an engineer. I went to school in Indiana and I started in the 31 00:01:35,130 --> 00:01:38,398 NASA cooperative education program as a summer co-op. 32 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:41,266 And I came down here and I had to chance to work on space 33 00:01:41,268 --> 00:01:44,070 suits. I had a chance to work on space station. 34 00:01:44,071 --> 00:01:46,371 And I actually had an opportunity to work in the 35 00:01:46,373 --> 00:01:49,575 neutral buoyancy laboratory which is a big pool that we 36 00:01:49,576 --> 00:01:51,711 have at NASA in which we do similar things. 37 00:01:51,713 --> 00:01:53,913 We train astronauts underwater. 38 00:01:53,915 --> 00:01:56,348 Evan: That’s a great job combining science time with 39 00:01:56,350 --> 00:01:59,618 water sports. So, who else did you talk to Heather? 40 00:01:59,620 --> 00:02:01,955 Heather: I have Bill Todd with me who is the mission manager, 41 00:02:01,956 --> 00:02:04,490 he’s the big man. So how are you doing? 42 00:02:04,491 --> 00:02:06,658 Bill: Super. Everything’s great. 43 00:02:06,660 --> 00:02:08,861 Heather: Awesome. So we’ve been enjoying beautiful weather 44 00:02:08,863 --> 00:02:11,496 here, but we’re actually here to do science and research. 45 00:02:11,498 --> 00:02:14,366 Can you talk to me about what we’re doing? 46 00:02:14,368 --> 00:02:16,770 Bill: This is the facility where the Aquarius habitat, 47 00:02:16,771 --> 00:02:19,605 which is the world’s only undersea research habitat, 48 00:02:19,606 --> 00:02:23,275 is right here in Key Largo. It’s about 5 miles off shore. 49 00:02:23,276 --> 00:02:26,545 And it’s the closest thing to living in space 50 00:02:26,546 --> 00:02:28,748 that we can find anywhere. 51 00:02:28,750 --> 00:02:31,150 Heather: So Bill, for the folk who are going to watch this 52 00:02:31,151 --> 00:02:33,820 interview, what would you recommend that they study if 53 00:02:33,821 --> 00:02:36,055 they want to be someone as awesome as you: a mission 54 00:02:36,056 --> 00:02:38,191 manager for underwater research 55 00:02:38,193 --> 00:02:40,393 that leads us into Lunar exploration? 56 00:02:40,395 --> 00:02:43,028 Bill: You that’s an interesting question. 57 00:02:43,030 --> 00:02:46,900 You can have a background in all different types of things. 58 00:02:46,901 --> 00:02:50,770 At NASA, we have people that have done such a wide variety 59 00:02:50,771 --> 00:02:54,373 of things in their career before they come to NASA. 60 00:02:54,375 --> 00:02:57,810 They’ve studied different things. The same old adage is 61 00:02:57,811 --> 00:03:01,246 true, if you have a grasp of the basic sciences. 62 00:03:01,248 --> 00:03:05,651 That truly, truly helps. And if you have the ability to deal 63 00:03:05,653 --> 00:03:09,088 in an operational environment, 64 00:03:09,090 --> 00:03:12,325 and be able to take the science 65 00:03:12,326 --> 00:03:15,161 and apply it to an operational environment. 66 00:03:15,163 --> 00:03:19,298 Those are the things that help us in a project like this. 67 00:03:19,300 --> 00:03:21,935 Evan: But the team at the undersea laboratory wasn’t the 68 00:03:21,936 --> 00:03:25,105 only group that Heather got to talk to about their careers. 69 00:03:25,106 --> 00:03:27,273 Heather: I have with Dr. Robert Howard with me. 70 00:03:27,275 --> 00:03:29,308 How are you doing? Robert: Hi Heather, 71 00:03:29,310 --> 00:03:31,376 it’s good to see you. Heather: Good to see you as 72 00:03:31,378 --> 00:03:33,680 well. So tell me a little about what you do. 73 00:03:33,681 --> 00:03:35,881 Robert: I do what’s called human factors. We’re basically 74 00:03:35,883 --> 00:03:38,885 concerned with the interaction of man and machine. I grew up 75 00:03:38,886 --> 00:03:41,453 wanting to be involved in the space program. So from the 76 00:03:41,455 --> 00:03:44,123 time I was five years old, even younger than that. 77 00:03:44,125 --> 00:03:46,860 I knew NASA was where I was going to end up. So, I went 78 00:03:46,861 --> 00:03:49,461 through a lot of NASA programs when I was in college. 79 00:03:49,463 --> 00:03:52,665 I started working for NASA in something called the NASA 80 00:03:52,666 --> 00:03:55,268 scholars which was a combination of scholarship 81 00:03:55,270 --> 00:03:58,170 and summer internships. I actually funded my schooling on 82 00:03:58,171 --> 00:04:01,440 a NASA fellowship and worked summers on a NASA co-op. 83 00:04:01,441 --> 00:04:04,143 Heather: So do you feel like all of those experiences with 84 00:04:04,145 --> 00:04:07,113 internships and the co-op programs really helped you 85 00:04:07,115 --> 00:04:09,215 to get a good foundation for the engineering 86 00:04:09,216 --> 00:04:11,483 and science you’re doing now? 87 00:04:11,485 --> 00:04:13,620 Robert: Oh, they were all part of the puzzle. Every degree 88 00:04:13,621 --> 00:04:16,655 and every summer internship experience, they all combined 89 00:04:16,656 --> 00:04:19,091 together and helped me with what I’m doing now. 90 00:04:19,093 --> 00:04:21,226 Evan: Thanks for sharing your experiences Heather. 91 00:04:21,228 --> 00:04:23,396 It sounds like the people you talk to really enjoy their 92 00:04:23,398 --> 00:04:26,265 jobs. You know I’ve talked to a few of the NASA people we’ve 93 00:04:26,266 --> 00:04:29,835 had here on "Our World" too. You might remember Andrea Mosie 94 00:04:29,836 --> 00:04:32,871 from the Lunar Rock laboratory. Her advice to students: 95 00:04:32,873 --> 00:04:35,408 set your goals high. And do your best. 96 00:04:35,410 --> 00:04:38,678 Don’t limit yourself. Andrea says the best careers are in 97 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:41,881 the sciences. And she should know, her background is in 98 00:04:41,883 --> 00:04:44,183 chemistry, math, and geology. 99 00:04:44,185 --> 00:04:46,820 And now she works with moon rocks everyday. 100 00:04:46,821 --> 00:04:49,355 And our friend Erik Weiser reminded me that every single 101 00:04:49,356 --> 00:04:51,991 extra that I have from my cell phone to my computer, 102 00:04:51,993 --> 00:04:55,261 or game box, you name it – was developed, engineered, and 103 00:04:55,263 --> 00:04:58,531 built by someone who has a degree in science, technology, 104 00:04:58,533 --> 00:05:00,666 engineering, or mathematics. 105 00:05:00,668 --> 00:05:03,770 And at NASA those same careers help send astronauts to the 106 00:05:03,771 --> 00:05:07,306 International Space Station or collect important data about 107 00:05:07,308 --> 00:05:10,776 climate on our world. I guess the most important thing to 108 00:05:10,778 --> 00:05:13,780 remember is NASA is looking for people with a variety of 109 00:05:13,781 --> 00:05:16,983 backgrounds who study a variety of subjects. And are willing 110 00:05:16,985 --> 00:05:21,220 to try new things. I’ve always loved being an explorer, 111 00:05:21,221 --> 00:05:24,056 but after learning so much about the groundbreaking 112 00:05:24,058 --> 00:05:26,793 discoveries made by NASA scientists, I may be thinking 113 00:05:26,795 --> 00:05:30,063 about a career change. So let’s see Globey, I could be a 114 00:05:30,065 --> 00:05:35,068 microbiologist, or a virtual reality technician, 115 00:05:35,070 --> 00:05:39,405 um a meteorologist, ah a pilot, 116 00:05:39,406 --> 00:05:42,508 a model builder, astrophysicist, 117 00:05:42,510 --> 00:05:45,845 educator turned astronaut, 118 00:05:45,846 --> 00:05:50,091 ? [music] ? 119 00:05:55,623 --> 00:05:58,710 KIDS: Our World! 120 00:06:02,196 --> 00:06:05,031 .