NASA to launch Sunset High students’ vibration and heat-sensor rig into microgravity

BEAVERTON, Ore. (KATU) — Eight 9th-grade female students from Sunset High Schoolwill be sending an experiment into space. The students are a part of NASA’s TechRiseStudent Challenge.

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The students have designed and built a specialized experiment“to test how advanced materials handle the rigors of spaceflight,” theBeaverton School District said.

The experiment is investigating a specific material designedto absorb kinetic energy and vibrations; however, the materials also pose the riskof overheating.

“The students’ custom-built rig—featuring a vibrationdevice, heat sensors, and complex circuitry—will be launched by NASA into amicrogravity environment to see how the material performs,” Beaverton Schools said.

NASA will use the data collected by the experiment to helpthem understand how to protect equipment in space. The students at Sunset HighSchool were among a few chosen out of hundreds of entries nationwide.

Two teachers, Dan Neeway and Sofia Hussain, are overseeing thestudents.