Two student teams from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University have been selected by NASA to conduct experiments of their own design aboard NASA's KC-135 (otherwise known as the "Vomit Comet"), a research aircraft that flies parabolic arcs to simulate weightlessness.

The first team, which will participate in NASA's Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program from April 24 to May 3, will conduct research into the effect of near-zero gravity on fluid pressure in the head. The second team, scheduled for July 10-19, will test a device that cleans contaminants from the air in reduced gravity without using filters.

Held annually at Ellington Field near the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, the program is sponsored by NASA in an effort to increase the number of technical professionals graduating from U.S. colleges and universities.

A review panel of NASA scientists and engineers selected 72 student teams from across the nation to participate in this year's program, which starts March 13 and ends Aug. 2. Most teams consist of four undergraduate students, a supervising faculty member, and a professional journalist who will report on the team's experiences. The Embry-Riddle students participating in the program are pursuing degrees in aeronautical science, aerospace engineering, and engineering physics.

"Learning how to function in near-zero gravity exactly the way that the astronauts do is as good an experience as college students can have," said Dr. John Olivero, chairman of the Physical Sciences Dept. at Embry-Riddle and faculty supervisor of the two teams. "We are especially proud that Embry-Riddle student teams conceived the experiments, submitted their proposals to NASA, built, and will operate their experiments by themselves with little more help than a faculty advisor."

The Embry-Riddle team that will fly in April consists of leader Alexander Potter, Felix Chung, Matthew Link, Phillip Midler, and Martin Potter. Their experiment is titled "Quantification of Intracranial Pressure Using Pulse-Phase Locked Loop Ultrasonic Technique: A Study in Gravitational Physiology."

Using an ultrasonic technique that was pioneered by NASA and has been widely used in clinical settings, the team will measure the diameter of the skull and how the diameter changes when intracranial pressure changes with fluid shift in reduced gravity. The experiment will provide data for future NASA missions that will study space-adaptation sickness, a condition that can debilitate astronauts for days, which may be caused by a shift of fluid to the head.

The Embry-Riddle team that will participate in the NASA program in July is made up of leader Mary Kate Scudder, Shandy Asturias, Algeria Queen Dillard, Mehdi Jbili, James Moss, and Francesco Patrinicola. Their experiment is titled "Centrifugal Air Filtration Experiment (CAFE)."

CAFE is a vacuum cleaner that removes hazards, such as food crumbs, from the air aboard a spacecraft. It spins the air, forcing the debris against the outside edge of the device, where it remains trapped for disposal. Unlike cleaning devices being used in space now, CAFE is fully recyclable because it does not have filters. A laser particle counter will determine whether CAFE is more efficient than the current filtration systems.

During the first week of the NASA program, the students must pass physical examinations and will receive physiological preflight training. During the second week, students from each team will fly in the KC-135, conducting their experiments in weightlessness as the aircraft performs 32 parabolic arcs, including two that simulate gravity on Mars and the moon. After the flights, the students will take part in debriefings and reviews.

As a requirement of the NASA program, the student teams will share their experiences and research results with the public, especially youth, to encourage interest in math, science, and engineering. The Embry-Riddle teams will make presentations at high schools and museums, to include demonstrations of their experiments and video footage of their flights. Both teams will develop Web sites. The CAFE team will present a technical paper on its experiment at three conferences this year and plans to hold a forum at Embry-Riddle. A Micro-Gravity Club has been established at the university to stimulate an exchange of ideas between student teams and faculty.

Anyone who would like to help defray the cost of participation in the NASA program, which will total $9,000 for each Embry-Riddle team, should contact team leaders Alexander Potter at (386) 453-3146 or pottera@erau.edu or Mary Kate Scudder at (386) 451-8728 or scudderm@erau.edu.

FMI: www.erau.edu