CHARLESTON— Not many people can say their undergraduate research is currently at the International Space Station or in orbit of a star system. But recent College of Charleston graduates Eva Godwin and Gael Gonzalez can.
On July 7, a small satellite camera was launched into space, completing the final part of a two-part mission. Godwin and Gonzalez had previously been involved in an ultraviolet imaging system that was launched to the International Space Station on April 11.
Once the recent satellite is stabilized, it will be pointed at the star the team wants to observe. When the images and data come through, they’ll be able to determine how the radiation from the stars affects planets outside our solar system and identify habitable zones, Gonzalez said.
Godwin focused on the research side, learning more about the star the satellite is set to observe. The star is part of a binary flair star system that produces conductive energy, Godwin said.
“As scientists, we want to learn how that high stellar activity can influence and impact exoplanets in that solar system,” she said.
Joe Carson, professor of astrophysics and supervisor to Godwin and Gonzalez, also said the overall goal is to better understand radiation environments, according to College of Charleston’s website.
Gonzalez worked on the ultraviolet camera, helping make sure it could take images of the stars and communicate properly to them.
For the first launch, Gonzalez was able to travel to the Kennedy Space Center to see the rocket take off, calling it a “surreal moment” watching their work go off to the ISS. The second launch was live streamed, and Gonzalez stayed up till 3 a.m. to watch it launch.
“It was … a relief because all the work that we’ve been working on and seeing that the mission was successful and it’s currently in orbit just kind of felt like a big achievement overall,” Gonzalez said.
College of Charleston also collaborated with students and staff at the University of Chile who focused more on the biological aspect. The University of Chile had a liquid lens-based optical camera to monitor biological specimens attached to the first launch.
Both Godwin and Gonzalez are unsure of when they will receive the data but expect something within the next few weeks. Both plan to continue into Ph.D. programs this fall.
“If I was telling little me this, I want her to know that she can be part of something really cool and large and much greater than she is from her home state of South Carolina,” Godwin said.