Document text
Teacher picked for cosmic post Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell North Medford High School astronomy teacher Gary Sprague will join volunteers across the country in acting as ambassadors for NASA programs. A photo of Earth lines the walls of the school's planetarium. By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune Gary Sprague has had many job titles, but none as cosmic as "ambassador to the solar system." "I was notified by letter from NASA that I had been chosen," said the planetarium director and astronomy instructor at North Medford High School. Sprague is one of 278 volunteers across the country selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to lead public events in 2002 conveying news and excitement about solar-system exploration. The Solar System Ambassadors Program is sponsored by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. The program began in 1997 and is supported by various space projects. This is the first year there are ambassadors in every state. "The goal of the program is to inform communities across the country about JPL's efforts exploring space and what we've learned from them," said coordinator Kay Ferrari in a phone conversation from Pasadena. JPL provides the ambassadors with training and materials, and the representatives run a minimum of four events such as lectures, star parties, displays and presentations. "We look for people who are active within their communities, and share the love of space and space exploration," she said. Orientation and training happens over the Internet, she said. In February, for example, the ambassadors will learn about the coming Stardust mission. "It's a mission that will pass through the area close to the nucleus of a comet and bring samples back to us," she said. Steve Boyarsky of Medford, one of the teacher representatives selected as an alternate for the Challenger mission, said using ambassadors is a great way to generate enthusiasm for NASA's projects. It's one thing to read information in a book or on the Internet, he said, but a program in which the presenter puts the information in context is far more interesting. "There's something about having a real live person come out and tell the story," said Boyarsky. He said that because enthusiasm for the space program has waned since its early days, it's important to keep people informed about NASA's projects. "It's probably an inexpensive way for NASA to keep the enthusiasm going," he said. And if people know what's going on, they'll bug their congressmen to continue space funding, he said. For Sprague, he's just excited that he will have access to more detailed information before it's released to the public. Space exploration has brought society many benefits, he said, from data processing and medical tools to Teflon and Tang. "We wouldn't have the computers we have right now if it weren't for NASA going to the moon," he said. And what does Sprague plan on doing, as an intergalactic emissary, if he meets a visitor from another planet? "I have to convince them that there's intelligent life (on Earth)," he said. Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.