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Lyman Field Composite Squadron cadets line up for a tour of the C130 flown by U.S. Air Force personnel retrieving NASA equipment stored temporarily in the Hawaii Wing unit’s hangar.
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Cadets look over the C130’s cockpit.
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NASA equipment from the PISCES project, temporarily housed in the Lyman Field squadron’s hangar.
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Retired Canadian Air Force Col. Chris Hadfield, a Canadian Space Agency astronaut, incorporates a Lyman Field cadet into his discussion of nongravity’s impact on the spine.
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The signed photo that Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield presented to the squadron.
1st Lt. Barbara Cooper
Public Affairs Officer
Lyman Field Composite Squadron
Hawaii Wing
HAWAII – Cadets in the Lyman Field Composite Squadron received a special look into the future of space exploration courtesy of three special guests from NASA, the Canadian Space Agency and the University of Hawaii NASA Astrobiology Institute at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. All three speakers were involved in the PISCES -- Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems -- project carried out on the slopes of the Big Island’s Mauna Kea volcano for two weeks in February.
The first night’s speaker was Gerald Sanders, the in situ resource utilization project manager for NASA. Sanders showed videos and photos of some the equipment and experiments being used in this year’s PISCES project.
He also introduced the class to the phrase “analog environments” – locations featuring characteristics and challenges similar to those found of the planetary environments being studied. Since Mauna Kea’s barren, volcanic topography is similar to the surfaces of the moon and Mars, it provided a great place for the PISCES team to test its experiments and demonstrate new technology for use in survival on the moon or other potential celestial targets.
The team’s main objective is to allow space explorers to obtain everything needed for survival, such as oxygen and water, from their exploration site instead of having to bring such resources with them all the way from Earth. They are working on ways to use special solar generators to extract water from the volcanic soil and rocks and to produce hydrogen for fuel and oxygen for life support.
The second night’s speakers were Kim Binsted, associate professor in the Information and Computer Sciences Department and co-investigator for the UH-Astrobiology Institute, and retired Canadian Air Force Col. Chris Hadfield, Canadian Space Agency astronaut.
Like Sanders, Binsted also discussed the value of using analog environments such as Mauna Kea for testing survival and transportation equipment. She also discussed the important of conducting nongravity experiments underwater.
Binsted also provided a PowerPoint presentation on some of the new equipment being tested for travel on Mars or the moon, including a robotic, multijointed walking rover.
Hadfield told the squadron about his adventures working on the International Space Station and performing two spacewalks, making him the first Canadian to float freely in space. He also shared his background and discussed what it took to become an astronaut.
He said he became interested in flying as an Air Cadet in Canada, winning a glider pilot scholarship at 15 and a powered pilot scholarship at 16. He entered the Canadian Armed Forces and trained as a test pilot for CF-5s and CF-1s. He flew for NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, then served as an exchange officer for the U.S. Navy and began performing research work for NASA.
Chief of robotics for the NASA Astronaut Office at the Johnson Space Center in Houston from 2003-2006, he is now chief of International Space Station operations and is training for a long-duration stay on the station.
Hatfield enthusiastically answered cadets’ questions, such as “Is it true your spine expands in space?” He had the inquiring cadet stand beside him as he explained how space’s lack of gravity prevents normal compression of the fluid that the body continually squirts into the spinal disks, resulting in a somewhat painful expansion of the spine that all astronauts try to combat with weight-bearing exercises while in space.
He also used a water bottle to explain the thrust and trajectory required by a rocket leaving Earth’s gravity. He closed his presentation with a moving description of the wondrous feeling he got from his first view after climbing up the side of a crater on Mauna Kea and seeing the whole island below with the blue ocean spread out as far as he could see, comparing the sight with what it was like the first time in space watching a portion of Earth spin by in 15 seconds and then seeing the entire planet rotate by the space station roughly every 90 minutes.
Hatfield surprised the cadets by autographing his official astronaut photograph, including the words: “To the Cadets and Aviators of Lyman Field Composite Squadron: The Sky is Not the Limit!” In return, the unit gave both him and Binsted a Lyman Field Composite Squadron patch.
To top that off, all the NASA equipment used on Mauna Kea was brought to the squadron’s hangar for storage until the U.S. Air Force could transport it back to NASA. When the C130 aircraft just happened to arrive the same day as the next CAP cadet meeting, the aircrew invited the cadets to tour the cockpit while the space agency’s equipment was being loaded.
