Who needs gravity? – Eastlake student chosen to fly in microgravity to test project
Eastlake High School senior Lily Myers has been very busy this last year. In addition to preparing for her final year in high school, she has been rubbing shoulders with some very smart people. Last July, Lily participated in the nationally competitive NASA STEM Enhancement in Earth Science (SEES) summer internship program, where she had the unique opportunity to work alongside NASA experts on critical earth and space research missions. As part of the internship, students submitted research proposals for a chance to fly their experiments in a microgravity environment. Myers was one of four students selected to fly their project, titled “Damping of Liquid Propellent Sloshing using Closed-Cell Polyurethane Foam.”
Lily will now collaborate with scientists and flight mentors to further develop and refine her experiment in preparation for flight. During flight, the Zero-G parabolic aircraft conducts flight patterns that provide 22-second bursts of weightlessness, for around 10 minutes of microgravity, the same conditions astronauts encounter in space.
The Zero-G aircraft is used to train astronauts and conduct cutting-edge research for organizations such as NASA, Purdue University, UC Berkely, MIT and other commercial space partners. Only a few high school students have had the opportunity to personally experience microgravity. Congrats, Lily!