Video for Exploration Day 2009!
All videos are in .mpeg format

The Moon Tree and Space Grass Planting - Dr. Jim Pawelczyk led a team of future explorers, scientists, engineers, and botonists as they planted a Moon Tree and Space Grass. The moon tree is descended from seeds that flew around the moon on the Apollo 14 Command Module and was planted this year, 2009, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Apollo Missions. The turfgrass at the base of the tree is descended from grass seeds flown around the Earth on STS-90 with Dr. Pawelczyk, a former NASA astronaut and Professor of Physiology and Kinesiology at Penn State.

Astonaut Question & Answer Session - Dr. Jim Pawelczyk answered questions from the Exploration Day participants including "What space craft did you go in", "What is it like in space?", "How fast do you go?", and "How long does it take to get to space?"

The Rocket Launch - The one lesson we learn every day in the STEM disciplines is that things don't always go as planned, and they don't call it Rocket Science for nothing - it's hard work! The rocket launch didn't quite make it the expected 1500 feet in the air, but it's still exciting to see Dr. Sven Bilen and the students from the Student Space Programs Laboratory (SSPL) get ready for the launch. They promise to try again next year, so join us for Exploration Day 2010, time and date will be announced in early 2010.

For further information or suggestions for next year, please contact spacegrant@psu.edu