'Reach for the Stars' at UH on Dec. 10

A former astronaut turned renowned physicist and a project manager from NASA's Mars Curiosity mission will be in Hawaii next week. They will both be featured at "Reach for the Stars," a special public event hosted at the University of Hawaii on Wednesday, Dec. 10.

Loren W. Acton flew on Space Shuttle Mission STS-51-F in 1985, orbiting the Earth 126 times. Now a research professor at the Montana State University's Department of Physics, Acton had to train for seven years for his mission aboard the Challenger. He will be a featured speaker at the event, along with Jennifer Trosper from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Trosper was the Surface Operations Mission Manager when Curiosity landed on the Red Planet, leading the tactical team that would daily build commands to send to Curiosity. She went on to become the Deputy Project Manager for the entire Curiosity mission.

"Reach for the Stars" is hosted by the UH mathematics department. Following presentations by Acton and Trosper, there will be hands-on STEM activities for attendees: rocket launching, propeller flying, and Hawaiian compass building, as well as robotics demonstrations and 3D asteroid simulations.

The event, taking place at Campus Center from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., is free and open to the public. Students from several parts of the island will be bused to the UH campus, as well as from the shelter from the Institute for Human Services.

To learn more about "Reach for the Stars," tune into Bytemarks Cafe tomorrow at 5 p.m. on Hawaii Public Radio 89.3FM (or streamed online). We'll be joined by Monique Chyba, professor and associate chair of the UH Department of Mathematics, for a quick preview.

Photos: MSU Physics Faculty & JPL/Enjoy Space.