Bacteria are an annoying problem for astronauts. The microorganisms from our bodies grow uncontrollably on surfaces of the International Space Station, so astronauts spend hours cleaning them up each week. How is NASA overcoming this very tiny big problem? It’s turning to a bunch of high school kids. But not just any kids. It is depending on NASA HUNCH high school classrooms, like the one science teachers Gene Gordon and Donna Himmelberg lead at Fairport High School in Fairport, New York.
对宇航员来说，细菌是个烦人的问题。来自我们身体的微生物在国际空间站的表面不受控制地生长，所以宇航员每周要花数小时来清理它们。NASA是如何克服这个非常细微的大问题的？现在轮到一群高中生了，但不是所有高中生，这取决于NASA HUNCH高中课程，比如纽约州费尔波特市费尔波特高中的科学教师吉恩·戈登和唐娜·哈姆伯格。
HUNCH is designed to connect high school classrooms with NASA engineers. For the past two years, Gordon’s students have been studying ways to kill bacteria in zero gravity, and they think they’re close to a solution. “We don’t give the students any breaks. They have to do it just like NASA engineers,” says Florence Gold, a project manager.
HUNCH目的是将高中课程与NASA工程师连接。在过去的两年里，戈登的学生们一直在研究如何在零重力下杀死细菌，他们认为已经接近解决方案。项目经理弗洛伦斯·戈尔德说：“我们不给学生任何休息时间，他们必须像NASA的工程师一样去做”。
“There are no tests,” Gordon says. “There is no graded homework. There almost are no grades, other than ‘Are you working towards your goal?’ Basically, it’s ‘I’ve got to produce this product and then, at the end of year, present it to NASA.’ Engineers come and really do an in-person review, and...it’s not a very nice thing at times. It’s a hard business review of your product.”
戈登说：“没有考试，没有评分作业。除了‘你正在朝着你的目标努力吗？’之外，几乎没有评分。基本上，它是‘我必须生产这个产品，然后在年底前提交给NASA’。工程师们亲自来做审查，然后……有时这并不好，对你的产品进行商业审查很难。”
Gordon says the HUNCH program has an impact on college admissions and practical life skills. “These kids are so absorbed in their studies that I just sit back. I don’t teach.” And that annoying bacteria? Gordon says his students are emailing daily with NASA engineers about the problem, readying a workable solution to test in space.
戈登说HUNCH 项目对大学入学和实际生活技能有影响。“这些孩子全神贯注于学习，我只是在那坐着，我不教他们。”那讨厌的细菌呢？戈登说，他的学生每天都在给NASA的工程师发邮件，讨论这个问题，准备一个可行的解决方案，在太空进行测试。