Exploring space from BCC

Staff photo by David Heldreth Jojo Aguilar, of the Mars public engagement group from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, shows Hannah 7, Josiah 6 and Abagail 4 Pinz a tire from the Mars rover during the Space Day event at Barstow Community College on Friday.

Event showcases space programs By DAVID HELDRETH BARSTOW — Space programs have come a long way since Russia first launched Sputnik into orbit in 1957, starting the space race. In honor of the 50th anniversary of Sputnik’s launch, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab and Goldstone teamed up with Barstow Community College to celebrate National Space Day. Space Day was originally started by Lockheed Martin to build public interest in space. “The space race started in 1957, and Goldstone has been in existence since 1958,” Goldstone Outreach Coordinator Karla Warner said. “We’re tracking about 30 spacecraft right now. We track the Mars rovers as well as craft from other countries.” The event was held in the BCC Performing Arts Center and the James R. Parks Gymnasium. Mars Exploration Rover driver Paolo Belluta spoke to kids about the Mars program. They also watched video about Jupiter’s moon Titan in the Performing Arts Center. The gymnasium was full of exhibits showcasing various space programs from the Mars rover to an inflatable planetarium. Throughout the day, high school students guided younger children through exhibits. The rover exhibit included models of the rover and its tires as well as an operational miniature of the rover. Kids took turns laying down in rows for the rover to go over them. Warner said the aim of the event was to attract kids to science and to show them that it can be fun. “I home school so this gives my kids more hands-on and exciting science,” Ruth Pinz said. “More kids need that. I’m even learning because when I grew up, we only really had textbook science, which was boring. This draws you in. It’s much more entertaining.”