Lessons from Space-2 (LES-2)............................................................................................................
Research Area: Educational Demonstrations
Expedition(s): 19- 22
Principal Investigator: ● C. Olivotto ESA HSO Promotion Office, Noordwijk, Netherlands
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
Lessons from Space-2 seek to inspire students
of all ages to follow science-based subjects
using the unique environment of the
International Space Station The Lesson-2
activity. This included a live link demonstration
designed to give students an appreciation of the
conditions of freefall through 2 simple,
curriculum relevant experiments.RESULTS
Hundreds of schoolchildren participated during
a live link-up in September 2009 with ESA
astronaut Frank De Winne inside the European
Columbus laboratory on the International Space Station (ISS). During the 20-minute link-up, De
Winne successfully conducted the “Do objects have weight in space?” experiment that was
proposed by European teachers in response to a call for experiments that can be carried out on
the International Space Station to demonstrate the effects of freefall. To support the activity,
ESA distributed Education Kits in Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, and Spanish to
participating schools containing the same hardware De Winne would use in orbit.
The demonstration involved calculating the mass of an object on the ISS by measuring the time
it takes to oscillate whilst hooked onto a spring. The experiment helped to illustrate the
difference between the concepts of weight and mass. The schoolchildren performed the
experiment themselves at the same time as De Winne from the museums in Barcelona (Spain),
Thessaloniki (Greece), Milan (Italy), and Mechelen (Belgium). An edited highlights video was
made available afterward, and the recording of the demonstration apis was also used to
produce ESA multimedia educational material.
This investigation is complete; however no publications are expected.
ESA astronaut Frank De Winne demonstrates an
experiment during the “Take your classroom into
space” event. ESA image.