NASA's Brent Hartsfield on Artemis Mission to the Moon
On Tuesday, September 14, Brent Hartsfield from NASA’s Huntsville, Alabama base called in and presented to Montverde Academy’s Middle School students. With 28 years of experience, Brent was able to walk the students through the value that this new mission would bring and the necessary steps to make it happen.
As a Lab Manager and Team Leader for the Materials Mechanical Test Facility at Marshall Space Flight Center, Brent works with data and detects patterns that assist in piecing together a manned space flight. The Artemis mission will have three flights with the end goal being a more in-depth discovery of the moon and how adapting life and technology there can aid in the exploration of Mars. The Artemis Generation is coined as the “we go” movement where the focus is drawn back to the benefits of space exploration. Artemis is the twin to Apollo, the mission that landed men on the Moon approximately 50 years ago. This mission’s name, Artemis, means goddess of the Moon in Greek and speaks to the modernized mission. Artemis III will have the first woman and person of color on board with the goal of breaking barriers for NASA, the astronauts, and the science community as a whole.
NASA’s astronauts hold advanced degrees in various fields of science and math and will use that expertise to study the Moon’s surface. This includes the ability to 3D print metal and concrete using regulus or moon sand to create solid structures while in space. The technology that is created by NASA for these missions continues to benefit humanity as a whole. Nearly 70 science and technology projects have been spun-off and shared.
Middle School students had the opportunity to ask Brent various questions about NASA and their mission to the Moon and Mars, as well as what it takes to become an astronaut.
“Don’t sell yourself short,” said Brent. ” Everyone plays a part in getting to the Moon. Focus on STEM studies but strive to learn something new every day. NASA to me is my chance to make a difference on a large scale, and it inspired me to join the Artemis project.”
