One thing that we've noticed about STAR Campers is that they are very interested in space.  In fact, several have dreams of becoming astronauts someday.  How does one do that?  NASA can be pretty particular when they are choosing candidates, so, to get you started, here are the current requirements for astronaut selection:

1. Be a U.S. citizen.
2. Have a master's degree* in a STEM field, including engineering, biological science, physical science, computer science or mathematics, from an accredited institution.
3. Have a minimum of three years of related professional experience obtained after degree completion (or 1,000 Pilot-in-Command hours with at least 850 of those hours in high performance jet aircraft for pilots).  For medical doctors, time in residency can count towards experience.
4. Be able to successfully complete the NASA long-duration flight astronaut physical.

*The master's degree requirement may also be met by:

• Two years of work towards a doctoral program in a related science, technology, engineering, or math field.
• Completed Doctor of Medicine, Osteopathic Medicine, or related medical degree
• Completion of a nationally recognized test pilot school program.

As we travel further and take on bigger exploration activities, we hope to someday see STAR Campers in space!

Did you know that all NASA astronauts are scientists?  Even astronauts who are trained as pilots contribute to the scientific research done in space.  Scientists use the scientific method in their research.  The scientific method is a process for experimentation that is used to explore observations and answer questions.  While not every area of science follows the scientific method exactly (because some areas of science are more easily tested than others), understanding the steps of the scientific method helps scientists to focus their questions and work through their observations and data.

Steps of the Scientific Method
1. Ask a question
The scientific method starts when you ask a question about something you observe.

2. Do background research
Chances are you don't have to start all the way from scratch to find an answer to your question.  Get online or to the library and search for what other people have learned about your question.

3. Construct a hypothesis
A hypothesis is an educated guess about how things work.  For this step, use what you already know to answer your question with an explanation that can be tested.  A good hypothesis allows you to make a prediction.

4. Test your hypothesis
Your experiment tests whether or not your hypothesis is correct.  It is important that your experiment be a fair test.  You conduct a fair test by only changing one factor at a time while keeping all the other factors the same.  You should repeat experiments several times to make sure your results are consistent.

5. Analyze your data and draw a conclusion
Once your experiment is complete, collect your data and see if it supports your hypothesis.  Often, scientists find that their hypothesis was not correct.  This is still valuable data!  When this happens, they communicate their results and then construct a new hypothesis and start the process over again.

6. Communicate your results
If you are working on a science project for school, you communicate your results with a display at the science fair or by submitting a final report to your teacher.  Professional scientists publish their results in scientific journals or present their findings at scientific meetings.  Sharing the results of your experiments helps other scientists who are interested in finding answers to their questions!

There are some commonly held beliefs about space that simply aren't true!  We're here to set the record straight.

Myth: The sun is burning.
Fire needs three things: fuel, heat, and oxygen.  The sun has plenty of fuel, as it is composed of mostly hydrogen and helium gases.  It also generates an enormous amount of heat energy.  But it's missing the third necessary factor to create fire: there is no oxygen in space!

Instead, the sun produces heat and light through a process called thermonuclear fusion.  Inside the star, hydrogen atoms collide at high speeds, allowing their nuclei to fuse together.  This creates helium and releases huge amounts of energy in the form of gamma-ray radiation!

Myth: The asteroid belt is dangerous.
It's true that there is a lot of rock in the area of space known as the asteroid belt.  It contains over 3,000 minor planets and more than 750,000 separate asteroids!  However, it is relatively easy to navigate a spacecraft through this rocky area.  The asteroid belt covers an area that is approximately 140 million miles across.  The average amount of space between each object is about 600,000 miles.  This all means that, despite how it's depicted in science fiction, the asteroid belt is still relatively empty!

Myth: The Great Wall of China can be seen from space.
We're actually a little sorry to debunk this one because it's such a fun idea.  At 13,171 miles long, the Great Wall of China is the longest man-made structure on Earth.  It's long, but it is not wide, and it is made of materials that blend well with surrounding terrain.  In low-Earth orbit, the wall is easy to pick out using radar, but it is, unfortunately, invisible to the naked eye.

Myth: Saturn is the only ringed planet in the solar system.
When you think of a planet with rings, Saturn undoubtedly comes to mind.  The gas giant has seven main rings, and they are visible from Earth with the aid of a telescope.  However, Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune also have rings.  They are much thinner and less visible from Earth.  Their existence was confirmed by the Voyager flyby missions in the 1970s and 1980s.

Myth: Meteorites are hot.
As meteorites pass through Earth's atmosphere, the outside of them becomes so hot that the surface rock begins to melt.  That heat is all on the outside though.  Much like searing a steak, the outside gets hot, but the inside remains cool.  By the time a meteorite impacts the Earth, it is likely only mildly warm to the touch.

And finally,
Myth: We would explode in space without a spacesuit.
We are adapted to the pressure of Earth's atmosphere, and without this water in our tissue begins to evaporate and the body starts to swell.  This doesn't lead to an explosion though, because human skin is super stretchy!  What does happen is that after about ten seconds of exposure to space, a person becomes unconscious.

What are your favorite space myths?  Bust them for us in the comments!