Recently, it seems that international interest in space exploration of the Moon and Mars has been rekindled thanks to amazing technological developments and plans by commercial space companies and new missions such as the NASA Artemis program. In the next few years, mankind walking on the moon is once again expected to become a reality.
At Laurus Shiba Campus (Primary & Secondary), on Friday, September 4th, a delegation of seven visitors from NASA toured the school and interacted with teachers and students. Most notable among the high-profile visitors was Dr. Lori Glaze, who gave a presentation to the secondary school students on the current activities and future plans of the Artemis Moon program. Dr. Glaze is the Director of the Human Spaceflight Mission Directorate at NASA headquarters in Washington DC. She is a chief decision-maker for all human spaceflight initiatives and is among the top-echelon Administrators at NASA. Her visit to our school was an amazing opportunity arranged through close coordination with Ms. Rebecca Levy at the US Embassy in Tokyo. Ms. Levy, who accompanied the delegation is currently the NASA Attaché; her role being to represent and coordinate NASA activities across Asia. This NASA visit to Japan was primarily to get updates from JAXA, Toyota and other Japan collaborators that are contributing to the Artemis moon program.
The entire secondary school class was present for the Artemis program presentation given by Dr. Lori Glaze.
Among the visiting group from NASA was also Dr. Jacob Bleacher, who spent time being interviewed by selected Laurus Primary School students during the visit. Dr. Bleacher is a Chief Exploration Scientist focused on planetary and moon geology. His role is also critical to planning and coordination with the Artemis program for moon exploration and future missions to Mars.
Selected Primary students conducted an interview with planetary scientist Dr. Jacob Bleacher in the Life Library.
During her presentation, Dr. Lori Glaze made obvious her personal excitement about NASA’s return-to-the-moon missions. The being Artemis 3, which is scheduled for 2027, will involve orbital rendezvous and docking with two lunar landers (SpaceX & Blue Origin) and testing of maneuvering systems prior to actual (future) moon landing missions. Dr. Glaze talked about each Artemis phase being critical for validating modern technologies that have never been used for lunar missions in the past. Technologies employed for the old Apollo lunar landings from 50+ years ago are now so antiquated, that they are impossible to use; although the lessons and data from the missions are vital to Artemis planning. Dr. Glaze also talked about a future with a long-term base at the Moon’s South Pole and the obstacles that must be overcome to make it a routine spaceflight outpost.
After the presentation, the NASA delegation spent nearly 30 minutes in the Ad Astra room interacting with Laurus Primary school students (and others) who were demonstrating astronomy and space educational projects / activities developed here at Laurus.
Dr. Lori Glaze (NASA) and Dr. Paul Cizdziel (Laurus School Science Advisor) are in the Ad Astra room observing student learning activities.
Based on closing conversations and later e-mail messages, we are happy to report that the NASA visitors were very impressed with the Laurus school facilities (Shiba Campus) and students. They seemed to sincerely enjoy the experience and made comments hinting we can expect more NASA visits in the future. It was an amazing experience and inspiring to know that a strong connection to this iconic, world-leading American institution (NASA) has now been established with our school. Events like this demonstrate the unique position of Laurus International School of Science among the crowded educational landscape in Japan.
A group photograph of NASA visitors with Laurus staff. Included (left to right) are: Donna Van Heyningen (Laurus Principal), Paul E. Cizdziel, Ph.D. (Laurus Science Advisor), Rebecca Levy (NASA Attache, Asia Representative), Jacob Bleacher, Ph.D. (NASA Chief Exploration Scientist), Lori Glaze, Ph.D. (NASA Director, HSMD), Mami Hioki (Laurus Founder & President), Patrick Finley (NASA Director, HEOD | OIIR), Malik Thompson (NASA Executive Officer to HSDM and Nathan Kumar (NASA International Program Specialist)
You can watch highlights from this special visit on our YouTube channel. We invite you to take a closer look at this inspiring day and see how our students engaged with some of the world's leading space exploration experts.
Please enjoy the video below.