Terre Haute Children's Museum hosts ‘Blast off to International Space Station' event
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Busy weekend for space lovers, as the Terre Haute Children's Museum held the first ever 'Blast Off to the International Space Station' event on Saturday.
Terre Haute Children's Museum officials say the local museum was one of three chosen across the entire country to host and participate in the event.
The event connected children with how astronauts prepare and aboard the International Space Station. Those who participated could try a spacewalk, test satellite designs, and even learn what materials to use for spacecrafts and spacesuits.
'I think this makes a bigger impact than just reading about it or seeing it on TV,' said Laurel Tincher, Terre Haute Children's Museum Program Manager. 'We're able to talk to them about the reasoning behind it. We also have material testing going on, about why you would select something to build a space vehicle out of, so to show a little engineering.'
Tincher also mentioned many families were lined up at the door on Saturday waiting for the event to open. Hundreds of people took advantage of the opportunity to get hands-on experience.
The next space event at the Terre Haute Children's Museum will be in October, where roughly 30 kids from across the area will have the opportunity to speak with astronauts on the International Space Station.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
a day ago
- Newsweek
Mexican Sewage Flooding Into California Can Be Seen From Space
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A NASA instrument aboard the International Space Station has detected contamination from Mexican sewage that spilled into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California. Why It Matters The Tijuana River flows from Mexico into California and drains into the Pacific Ocean, transporting millions of gallons of untreated sewage along with it. This long-standing issue has raised alarms over its impact on both public health and the environment. What To Know The instrument, known as the Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT), was originally used to map minerals in desert regions but is now offering insights into water quality. In a recent study, EMIT was able to identify phycocyanin—a pigment found in cyanobacteria—within a massive wastewater plume off the mouth of the Tijuana River. A plume spreads out to sea in this image captured off San Diego by the Sentinel-2 satellite on March 24, 2023. A plume spreads out to sea in this image captured off San Diego by the Sentinel-2 satellite on March 24, 2023. SDSU/Eva Scrivner/NASA Cyanobacteria are an organism capable of causing illness in humans and animals through ingestion or inhalation, NASA said. EMIT operates by analyzing light reflected from Earth's surface, breaking it down into hundreds of visible and infrared color bands. Each material, including pollutants, has a unique spectral signature that allows scientists to identify it. Researchers matched EMIT's satellite data of the Tijuana River plume with results from ground-tested water samples. Both methods identified a spectral signature indicating the presence of phycocyanin. The findings come as Southern California beaches near the United States-Mexico border have repeatedly faced closures due to contamination. Millions of gallons of wastewater enter the Tijuana River annually, emptying into the ocean and posing a health hazard to swimmers and military personnel stationed in the area. San Diego County beaches have seen 1,000 days' worth of closures in recent years, and a report from the Department of Defense's Office of Inspector General documented 1,100 cases of illness among Navy SEALs and other service members exposed to polluted waters. What People Are Saying Christine Lee, a scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a co-author of the study, said: "From orbit you are able to look down and see that a wastewater plume is extending into places you haven't sampled. "It's like a diagnostic at the doctor's office that tells you, 'Hey, let's take a closer look at this.'" Eva Scrivner, a doctoral student at the University of Connecticut and the study's lead author, said that the findings "show a 'smoking gun' of sorts for wastewater in the Tijuana River plume." What Happens Next Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, stated in May that the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission was expediting an expansion of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant, which treats sewage and wastewater from Tijuana, by 10 million gallons per day in an effort to mitigate the crisis.
The Hill
a day ago
- The Hill
ISS leak delays mission, raises concerns at NASA
NASA has delayed a mission due to a leak on the International Space Station as the aging space station approaches 30 years in orbit. The aerospace agency has not provided much detail on the latest leak, but it could be a serious concern for the ISS, which is scheduled to be decommissioned in 2030. This isn't the first time the ISS has sprung a leak. A slow but growing air leak in the transfer tunnel of the Russian service module has been present since 2019. The Zvezda service model is one of the oldest on the ISS, launched in 1998. The transfer tunnel connects the Zvezda module with a docking port for supplies and Soyuz crew members. Russian cosmonauts have made attempts to repair the small cracks but have only slowed the leaks, which lose about a couple of pounds of air each day. To manage the leaks, the hatch to the tunnel is kept closed except when a spacecraft docks. Roscosmos said it had completely sealed the leak in the most recent round of repairs, and NASA also said the leak rate had halted. However, the overall air pressure in the space station continued to drop, according to a report from Ars Technica. What's leading to that air loss? That's an open question, though one possibility is that the seals on the hatch to the tunnel could be leaking, feeding the tunnel with air from the rest of the space station and creating a stable pressure that would make the leaks appear to be repaired. NASA is monitoring the leak and has indefinitely delayed sending additional crew members to the ISS, pending the outcome of the issue. One worst-case scenario is that the leak is a sign of what's called high-cycle fatigue, where metal hardens through use and eventually snaps. That kind of fatigue is what led to the crash of an Aloha Airlines flight in 1988 and has recently been suggested as the cause of the Titan submersible implosion. If the leak is a result of high-cycle fatigue, it raises concerns that structures on the ISS could fail catastrophically. NASA has said the crew currently on the ISS is safe and conducting normal operations.
Forbes
2 days ago
- Forbes
Space, Tech, And AI: What Astronaut Tim Peake Can Teach Us About The Future Of Humanity
From space-based solar power to AI-guided decision-making, astronaut Tim Peake shares powerful ... More insights into the technologies shaping our world and beyond. When you've spent 6 months orbiting Earth in the International Space Station, your perspective on the planet and its problems is likely to change forever. Few people understand this more intimately than Tim Peake, the British astronaut, test pilot, and ambassador for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education, who joined me for a fascinating conversation about space, AI, and the future of life on Earth. What struck me most in our conversation was how clearly Tim connects the dots between space exploration and the challenges we face on Earth, drawing on his remarkable experience and expertise. Whether it's the climate crisis, the energy transition, or the role of AI in decision-making, space is not some distant frontier. It is deeply entangled with our present and our future. Peake vividly describes the emotional and intellectual impact of seeing our planet from above. 'It gives you a fresh appreciation of how isolated and remote the planet is,' he told me. 'A lot of people say fragile. I caution against using that word because I think the Earth's pretty robust. But in terms of being remote and isolated, it makes you realize that this small rock is perfectly designed to support the life that has evolved on it.' And while the view from orbit can feel peaceful and serene, it's also a powerful reminder of just how interconnected and dynamic our ecosystems really are. From wildfires in one region to dust storms in another, the visible signs of global interdependence are unmistakable from space. Peake explained, 'You see wildfires and the smoke spreading across continents. You see sandstorms in the Sahara drifting across Northern Europe. That's because the atmosphere is so thin, so tiny, and you see that very clearly from space.' Beyond the view, Peake is just as excited about what space can do for us back on Earth. Advances in manufacturing, communications, and energy are all being accelerated by what's happening in orbit. One of the most compelling developments he pointed to is space-based manufacturing. In the absence of gravity, new kinds of structures can be created with unprecedented purity and precision. 'For example, we can grow very large protein crystals in space that you can't grow on Earth,' he said. 'That can help pharmaceutical companies create better drugs with fewer side effects and lower dosages. Or if you're trying to print out a human heart, doing that on Earth needs some sort of scaffolding. In space, gravity is not distorting the cellular structure.' He also believes that space-based solar power is not just science fiction. It could soon become a meaningful contributor to our global energy mix. "If we can make two-kilometer square solar arrays that beam energy back to Earth using microwaves, we can reduce the pressure on our grid and use space to help solve the energy crisis,' Peake explained. The falling cost of getting into orbit is a key enabler. As heavy-lift launch costs continue to drop, opportunities that once sounded fantastical, like factories in space or orbital data centers, suddenly look commercially viable. Naturally, we also discussed artificial intelligence. Peake believes that AI has a crucial role to play in helping humanity manage the deluge of data coming from satellites, sensors, and scientific instruments. 'AI can analyze vast amounts of data and make good assumptions from it,' he said. 'If a government is introducing a carbon emission policy in a city, AI can help measure the impact, evaluate the policy, and improve it based on outcomes.' But Peake also emphasized the continued need for human oversight. When it comes to critical decisions, especially in high-stakes environments like space missions or healthcare, humans must remain in the loop. 'If you're screening for breast cancer, for example, AI can assist doctors. But you still want the diagnosis coming from a person,' he said. 'As humans, we like that reassurance. We want someone to put their intelligence on top of the AI's assessment.' In other words, AI is not a replacement for human decision-making but a powerful augmentor, especially in environments where timely action matters. Throughout our conversation, one theme kept coming up: the importance of inspiring the next generation, especially around STEM. For Peake, this is not a side mission; it's central to why he does what he does. 'I try to encourage kids to get involved in STEM, even if they don't see themselves taking it to higher education,' he said. 'The more you know about science and tech today, the more doors it opens for your future.' One initiative doing an outstanding job of sparking that curiosity is the Future Lab at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where Peake serves as an ambassador. Curated by Lucy Johnston, the Future Lab showcases cutting-edge innovations from across the globe, from robotic rescue dogs and deep-sea exploration tools to mind-blowing space tech like the James Webb Space Telescope. 'It's hands-on, inspiring, and brilliantly curated,' Peake said. 'You see people of all ages walking around in awe, and that's exactly the kind of experience that can ignite a lifelong passion for science and technology.' Having taken my own son to Future Lab, I can say with certainty that it works. There's something magical about seeing kids light up as they touch, feel, and interact with the technology that's shaping tomorrow. Another eye-opener in our chat was just how much space already affects daily life. 'On average, everyone touches about 42 satellites a day,' Peake said. Whether it's making an online purchase, using navigation, or checking the weather, you're using space infrastructure. And that footprint is only growing. Companies are already working on putting data centers in orbit to reduce energy consumption and cooling requirements on Earth. Communications, navigation, Earth observation, and climate monitoring are all becoming more dependent on space-based assets. But with growth comes risk. Peake is also an ambassador for The Astra Carta, an initiative supported by King Charles aimed at ensuring space is used sustainably. Space debris, orbital traffic, and light pollution are becoming serious issues. 'We need rules of the road for space,' he said. 'If we want to keep using it safely, we need to manage how we operate up there.' As we wrapped up our conversation, I asked Tim the big one: Does he believe there's intelligent life out there? "I absolutely do," he said without hesitation. "Statistically, the odds are too strong. When you're in space, and you see 200 billion stars in our galaxy alone, and then remember there are hundreds of billions of galaxies, it's hard to believe we're alone." He also believes that space exploration will help answer some of the biggest questions humanity has ever asked about life, existence, and our place in the universe. But even if we don't find extraterrestrials any time soon, the journey itself has value. Space inspires. It informs. And, increasingly, it enables. That, I think, is what makes Peake's perspective so valuable. He's lived at the intersection of science, technology, and wonder. And he reminds us that the frontier of space is not just about what lies out there but about what it can help us achieve here on Earth.
