UTC Challenger STEM Learning Center

Forty-seven years after the first satellite launch, humanity is now literally brushing against the Sun. The Parker Solar Probe is currently on a record-breaking mission to touch the solar corona, a feat that would be impossible without cutting-edge thermal protection. It is a stunning display of engineering that hits close to home for our local manufacturing sector here in the Scenic City, where high-heat materials and precision fabrication are key drivers of our economy. 🚀

🔭 The spacecraft utilizes a custom carbon-composite heat shield that is nearly five inches thick, allowing it to withstand extreme temperatures reaching 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit.

🔥 This shield keeps the sensitive instruments behind it at a comfortable room temperature, despite the probe flying through the volatile atmosphere of our closest star.

🛰️ By sampling the solar wind and magnetic fields directly, the probe is helping planetary scientists solve decades-old mysteries about why the corona is significantly hotter than the solar surface.

When our students at the UTC Challenger Center step into our mission simulators, they are learning about these exact types of engineering challenges. It shows our local families that the next aerospace engineers and thermal scientists might be sitting in a classroom in Tennessee right now. Share this with your Chattanooga crew to spread the word about the future of space exploration.



Source: NASA: https://www.nasa.gov/parkersolarprobe

You have been using the invisible forces of the universe all morning. It turns out that everything around us is packed with tiny charges, and sometimes they decide to jump ship. When you rub two objects together, you are creating friction that moves these charges from one surface to another. This is the same electric energy that fuels the excitement at a Mocs game at UTC. You can see this force in action with a simple experiment at home. Grab a balloon and rub it against your shirt for about twenty seconds. Now, hold the balloon over small tissue paper shapes on a table and watch them dance. The extra charges on the balloon pull the paper right up against gravity. Share this with your Chattanooga crew and show us how high your tissue paper can jump.