As part of Creator Academy's student projects in First LEGO League, students are tasked to research and write about the obstacles of long-term space travel (Into Orbit) and living on the moon (Mission Moon).
Space travel is a highly specialised field of science, and we were lucky enough to borrow the expertise from an expert: Professor Ian Crawford
Ian Andrew Crawford is professor of planetary science and astrobiology at Birkbeck, University of London. Crawford is a specialist in the science and exploration of the Moon and in the search for life in the Universe. Before switching his research interests to planetary science in 2003, Crawford had a 15-year career at University College London as an observational astronomer specializing in studies of the interstellar medium. He is the author of over 130 peer-reviewed research papers in the fields of astronomy, planetary science, astrobiology and space exploration.
Crawford is a Fellow, and currently Vice President, of the Royal Astronomical Society, and a former member of the European Space Sciences Committee (ESSC) of the European Science Foundation. In 2014 he was appointed to the European Space Agency's Human Spaceflight and Exploration Science Advisory Committee (HESAC).
Over the last two weeks, students and their coaches had in-class discussions and performed home research to gather questions to ask Professor Crawford, receiving a wealth of his insight and knowledge in return.
Students learnt about wide-ranging subjects such as astronaut safety, physical health, fuel systems and artificial gravity.
We are looking forward to see the final projects from our First LEGO League teams!