In step with NASA
Salida del Sol’s ‘team Endeavor’ develops footwear to protect astronauts’ feet in microgravity
Ahandful of fourth- and fifthgrade students at Salida del
Sol Elementary School have been collaborating with mechanical engineers from NASA to develop footwear for astronauts aboard spacecraft in microgravity.
While targeted toward middle schoolers, Salida’s students – better known as Team Endeavor – have risen to the Astro Sock Challenge, working before and after school every Tuesday and Thursday to build prototypes, run tests and analyze data for a sock that better protects
astronauts’ feet.
According to Microsoft Education, which co-sponsors the challenge with NASA, astronauts’ feet are as vital an extremity as their hands in microgravity, as the former functions as their sole (no pun intended) means of gripping surfaces to stabilize themselves on board the International Space Station. Consequently, astronauts tend to experience a great deal of pressure and discomfort particularly in the tops of their feet.
Cue Team Endeavor, the only student cohort in Arizona selected to participate in the challenge. Since February, they’ve fused mechanical and electrical engineering with data science and technology to build a sensorized sock, which they’ve employed in numerous simulations to visualize pressure levels and try to mitigate them.
Using an Arduino board, the team connected, coded and calibrated four test sensors –
ankle, tarsal, metatarsals and phalanges – with the goal of reading minimal-to-no pressure on each part of the foot during test runs. All while keeping the overall weight of the sock under 150 grams.
“It’s been a lot of work for them, but they’re great teammates and great workers,” said Kirt Gordon, a classroom teacher at Salida del Sol and advisor for Team Endeavor. “As we’ve tested over the last few weeks, we’ve hit a few ‘zero’ readings, which is excellent. But we’re fighting with consistency – our data is kind of up and down. But it’s just a part of the process of working out the kinks, working out your data and seeing what works and what doesn’t.”
As Friday signaled the conclusion of the Astro Sock Challenge, the students were also tasked with digitally compiling their data and creating a video presentation explaining the process, how they designed their prototypes and how their designs changed from their original idea as they experimented. These will be submitted to a database to be reviewed by NASA engineers.
For fifth grader Leo Perez, it’s exciting to think that Team Endeavor could play a role in furthering earthlings’ exploration of the Milky Way.
“I always thought
NASA was really cool and when I heard we were doing a NASA program here at school, I automatically joined,” he said.
“Right now we’re only on one planet; soon we’re probably going to be in the whole galaxy, and NASA’s going to be the thing that takes us there.”
The undertaking hasn’t been without its learning curves, Perez’s teammate Annette Preston noted, but each one has served to impart more knowledge, which she sees as the ultimate reward.
“My favorite part has been creating and working with my friends,” Preston said. “I learned a lot of things, like copper can’t touch copper because it produces too much electricity and the (data) reading isn’t correct.”
According to Salida del Sol principal Sheila Mendoza, the challenge has visibly cultivated students’ ability to generate “higher level questions” and explore new career possibilities, which she hopes will inspire them to reach for the stars – perhaps even literally.
“It’s been a great opportunity that I’m hoping will open doors or plant seeds, especially for our female students, because there’s such a high demand for females in these fields,” she said.
For more on the Astro Sock Challenge, visit https://education.microsoft.com/en-us/lesson/ d1c4fc23.