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It is more or less midnight and I read some good news on an interesting Indian online magazine ”THE BETTER INDIA” … Obviously I am particularly sensitive to any news that concerns the Ladakh region.
This article is about NASA that goes to Ladakh… What inspiration …
On August 9, 2016, a team of scientists from NASA, Mars Society Australia and Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany in Lucknow, will set out for a 10 day long planetary analogue field expedition to Ladakh.
This is the first time that a planetary science field expedition is being carried out in India, in coordination with NASA’s Spaceward Bound program.
The Spaceward Bound Program is an educational program developed at NASA Ames Research Center. According to their website, the mission behind the program is to bring together researchers, educators and students to visit remote and extreme environments in different parts of the world, conduct astrogeological and biological experiments, and make observations that can be used for comparison with human exploration of the Moon and Mars.
Ladakh was chosen because it offers cold temperatures, high altitude, less human habitation, dry ecosystem, and high altitude clear night skies for astronomy and astrophotography. Ladakh can tell a lot about the origin and evolution of Earth’s topological features. The high passes, permafrost regions, glaciers, hot springs, shallow and palaeo lakes will help scientists perform several experiments.
The sampling sites include Khardung La, Paleolake deposits at Khalsar, Panamik Hot Water Springs, Hunder Dunes, Tsoltak Lake and more
The Spaceward Bound India science team is divided into four main groups. Each team is headed by an Indian researcher and supported by a Spaceward Bound astrobiologist along with research assistants from his/her lab. Out of the 31 participants this year, 14 people are Indians.
“The two main objectives of the project include scientific research and education. Students participating in the project will be trained by the researchers, and they will also interact with the local students in Ladakh,” says Siddharth Pandey, the project coordinator of Spaceward Bound India.
RANGDUM IN SPACE: STORY OF A JOURNEY NEARLY-TRULY “INTERGALACTIC”
The objective of the Spaceward Bound expeditions is to visit extreme environments in different parts of the world and conduct biological and astrobiological experiments. Scientists make observations and study the origin, sustenance and adaptation of living organisms in these biospheres. The India Spaceward Bound Team was composed of researchers, educators and students from the NASA Ames Research Center, the SETI Institute, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Mars Society Australia, BSIP, IISER Pune, the Australian Centre for Astrobiology, and the Blue Marble Institute
What inspiration … and when I read that there was an Italian researcher in the participating team… I was compelled to contact her!
sandra EMAIL – 3 febbraio 2016
Salve Rosalba,
alcuni minuti fa ho letto del progetto Nasa Ladakh 2016, istintivamente sono andata a leggere i nomi dei partecipanti, quando ho letto un nome italiano non ho potuto fare a meno di prendere coraggio e scriverti…
Quando ho letto di questo progetto ho visto subito, nella mia testa, le faccette sorridenti dei bimbetti di Rangdum di fronte ai racconti dei ricercatori della Nasa… Per loro che non sanno cosa c’è oltre la corolla di giganti montuosi che protegge la loro valle dal mondo esterno, incontrare chi ha come confine lo spazio, sarebbe una esperienza più che straordinaria!!!Ma come si fa?
Sandra
Could I resist the temptation to send our Rangdumians into space with NASA?
Of course not.
After reading that news on the Internet and saw that the project involved some Space-related activities with local schools, I went back to my childhood when I was a little girl with braids, black apron, a white bow and my heavy red bag … and I thought, Wow , NASA scientists are on the doorstep! How nice if they could came to our school …
From the time of the braids to that of silver hair, the dreams have remained but the boldness has increased!
The thought of an unimaginable extraordinary and incredible opportunity to see and “touch” a scientist of
N A S A – yes, the ones that went to the Moon and Mars– made me wrote to the Italian researcher.
So I find her online: “Rosalba Bonaccorsi, 49 anni nata a Bergamo, ricercatrice astrobiologa e biosedimentologa del Seti Institute (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) lavora presso il centro Nasa Ames in Mountain View (California)
And she replied: she was interested to know more about our school and to understand if she could help
rosalba EMAIL – 9 febbraio 2016
Salve Sandra!
Sono in viaggio. Volevo solo farle sapere che ho ricevuto la sua bellissima lettera e cerchero’ di fare il possibile.
un abbraccio,
rosalba
rosalba EMAIL – – 17 febbraio 2016
Salve Sandra!
Potrebbe scrivermi una versione in Inglese della sua bellissima lettera? Sarebbe utile per me da mandare ai coordinatori della spedizione per vedere come/se possiamo aiutare!!
Un abbraccio/JULLAY!!
I write her immediately a long letter in English telling about the school, how it was born, what we do, what is Rangdum and the immense value of his school. I add photos, but I’m not sure if I have shown what is really Rangdum. Months went by and I have not received any news. I tell myself to put my heart in peace, to let it go… but I could not!
So, against my will, Sandra decides to write a sad letter to Rosalba Bonaccorsi, especially so as not lose contact.
sandra EMAIL – 3 luglio 2016
Ciao Rosalba,
credo che non riusciremo a regalare un pezzetto di spazio ai bimbetti di Rangdum, pazienza… però ti voglio augurare buon viaggio, e, se per caso prolunghi il tuo soggiorno, ti consiglio di visitare lo Zanskhar… e magari anche Rangdum.
sandra
Not even two minutes after my last email, and here it comes the response of Rosalba asking me what I need to make my dreams come true!
rosalba EMAIL – 3 luglio 2016
Hey Sandra,
Di cosa avresti bisogno perche’ la cosa succeda? Che logistica etc… fammi sapere ASAP!!
rosalba
Then all is not lost … I can get back to the track!
First of all I need to know WHAT these NASA scientists will do, and where they will work in Ladakh, so I ask news about their planned activities for schools.
Ready-Steady- Go! The world wakes up!
Now I am pleasantly overwhelmed with emails! From the United States to Australia, and then to India, and also from Kazakhstan!
rosalba EMAIL – 13 luglio 2016
Credo, che il problema principale sia far arrivare i tuoi piccoli da Rangdum (o aree limitrofe dove vivono) ai siti dove noi ci fermiamo. Per quanto riguarda le attivita’ credo che sia tutto possibile nel caso che si riesca a comunicare (inglese?).
Please, have a look at the fwd text outlined below. This should give you an idea of what is going on the education side.
Nella prossima e-mail ti metto in contatto con il gruppo che sta organizzando gli interventi e vediamo cosa succede!
un abbraccio,
Rosalba
“The group” is organizing itself, but it has some doubts: does not know the level of scientific training of the students who will meet nor their level of knowledge of English. I discover from their communications, forwarded by Rosalba, that they are planning to visit two schools: SECMOL (Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh, a well renowned school), and the Panamik school, located nearby a village where researchers will conduct some of their studies. Certainly they will visit schools that are very different from our “worn and patch pants” from extreme poverty school … although for us our Rangdum School is a precious gem!
Rosalba fa le presentazioni.
rosalba EMAIL – 13 luglio 2016
Hello Sid & interested educators,
I would like to put in touch with Sandra Foschieri with the hope that we/you could be able to coordinate a possible visit for local people during our activities.
Please get in touch with her (she is currently in Italy) to see if we can involve in a way or another some of her pupils in Rangdum, in the behalf of the Ladakhi people.
Sandra has been supporting a primary school in the remote Zanskar valley in Ladakh.
Please see: http://www.rangdum.org/en/
They also have built a hostel in Leh for college girls.
I hope we can involve somehow kids from this community. Sandra strongly believe that … “For them, who do not know what lies beyond the crown of giant mountains that protects their valley from the outside world, meeting new people for whom SPACE is the border, would be a more than amazing experience !!!”
Please, contact Sandra (cc-me) and see if we can turn the impossible into possible. Thanks!
Best,
Rosalba
From the moment I enter officially in all communications among the various educators involved in the project: my mission, however, it is not to study, but to find a way to insert the Rangdum School in the very packed and commited program of the expedition team.
siddarth EMAIL – 13 luglio 2016
Hello Sandra,
We are doing two school visits, one to SECMOL on Aug 10 afternoon and other on Aug 12 in Panamik school. We have quite a packed itinerary for the 10 days, but if your local team and students are keen and are present in Leh, we can try to work something out, wont promise since it risks us over committing and jam packing our movements but it would be a pity to miss out on meeting the students there.
Kindly let us know the age group of students, language(s), and Aug 18 morning possibility for 1-2 hrs in Leh.
Kind regards,
Siddharth Pandey
Siddarth does not promise, but if we organize something in Leh, and not in Rangdum, there is some hopes.
They will not have enough time to go to Rangdum.
No problem, we have the hostel in Leh and our high school students! But what a pity that small Rangudm students could not attend this meeting … In my head buzzes a temptress idea: and if we took the Rangdum children to Leh?
But immediately my common sense answers: Do not even mentioned! An epic journey for a couple of hours with strangers? And then, what if the school bus will break down along the way? After all the older students would be the most suitable for this meeting: they know a bit ‘of English, they are more educated in science subjects and also, they are more “civilized”!
Okay … I officially abandon the idea of organizing the transfer of the children … too complicated, too expensive, and too strenuous for them.
July 14, everything is decided by the four corners of the world:
Bologna (Italy) – Rangdum (Himalayas) – Mountain View (California) – Canberra (Australia).
sandra EMAIL – 14 luglio 2016
I am very happy and so excited as if I were a child again, and I had the opportunity to meet the scientists of the stars… What a dream!
I understand that you cannot guarantee… But I keep my finger crossed!
You are going to Secmol, that is a “star” in Ladakh school system… Rangdum school is smaller, poorer, and in a very difficult Buddhist area bordering with Muslim region… But we do not give up!
Our primary school of Rangdum is very far from Leh, about 2 days driving, but in Leh we have built an hostel for our student coming from Rangdum that go to higher schools in Leh, so, I am sure that all of them will be very surprised and very happy to meet your team on 18 August morning in Leh.
Sandra
By now Rosalba is decisively at our side and sends an email that leaves no way out: after that the group can no longer back down!
rosalba EMAIL – 14 luglio 2016
Hi Sid and Binita,
Thank you so much for being able to help.
I will be happy to support this in every way I can. It will be a pleasure interact with Sandra’s pupils by showing them what we do. I have hand lens observations of geological and biological materials we sample and I can show them how the ATP luminometer works to detect microbes that live in the kids’ surrounding environment.
More later…
rosalba
Eureka!
sid EMAIL – 14 luglio 2016
Hi Sandra. Nice to hear from you. Let us know if 1000-1200 hrs works for Aug 18 2016, also the location of the students hostel in Leh. Also, in terms of physical space (especially to conduct any activities) what would be better for the team of 35 to meet the students at the hostel or perhaps at Hotel Mogol where the team is staying? (Kunal, please comment on this).
Siddharth
kumal EMAIL – 14 luglio 2016
Dear All ,
Trust this mail will find you in good health !
I think it’s better that all of us visit the hostel site and interact with all the students . Kunal
sandra EMAIL – 14 luglio 2016
I totally agree with Kunal that our hostel is the better choice: it’s not a fancy elegant construction… in fact it is perpetually in progress as we build when we have money to build, but there is a big court and, above all, this is the house of our students!
18 August is fine and we have no problem for the time: students will stay there. There is no address because the hostel is in a new colony, but it’s near the airport and Tsering Tashi, our “miracle man”, will come to your hotel to show you the road.
sid EMAIL – 14 luglio 2016
Hi Sandra,
Your enthusiasm is infectious!
That sounds like a good plan, we shall plan to have the team over to the hostel straight after breakfast. Mr Tashi can meet us around 0930 hrs at Hotel Mogol to take us to the hostel. We shall have our team members talk, demonstrate with some of their instruments and interact with the students.
And then what happened?
18 August 2016: 32 researchers and educators from the US, India, Europe, and Australia spent the afternoon with 50 students from Rangdum!
Three scientist from NASA Ames (Jen Blank and Sanjoy Som) and one from JPL (Parag) were with use, including Rosalba, wearing the hat as the official SETI Institute representative.
Well yes … Our teachers Angdu, Jigmet and Choskit accompanied to Leh, thru a long and adventurous journey, 30 children from Rangdum: they could not miss this opportunity, although the two-day travel was extremely tiring for the little ones … to Hell with commonsense! and Hooray boldness!!
And then the children have learned to fly!!!
Tsering Tashi organized a more than perfect welcome!
At the sides of the “sand carpet” two wings of students await the parade of guests with good-auspicious traditional gift scarves and shining smiles.
Even Lama Tenzin went to thank and give his blessing to our valuable guests.
To my immense surprise Tsering Tashi has also prepared a uniform !!!
I told him that we had to present ourselves at best … and now look our little “dandies”
Our pupils have played with science, they have made flying rockets, and observed the world through magnifying glasses, but above all, and this is my greatest hope, they have opened their eyes!
The NASA team was speechless!
ROSALBA
The way I saw it, the way I felt our interaction with kids and older students, was absolutely wonderful. I saw happiness in their eyes, ant that was worth to witness. They were attentive and engaged, although they must be very tired due to the long trip from Rangdum, etc.
I was really speechless with the way they received us when we arrived…As you anticipated, the younger kids were a bit shy in the beginning and they “melted down” as soon we started working together. Ken Silburn engaged everyone with making paper rockets and launching them as far as possible. Annalea Beattie and Audra Phelps were amazing in translating instructions on how to make a paper rocket by expressing meaning through gestures and funny faces. As a follow up, I proposed an activity using hand lenses to explore the micro world around the kids. You can see a lot of amazing things with hand lenses: the shape of your fingerprints, the core of a flower, the structure if you hairs, and rocks and other things. Unfortunately, we were running out of time, so we decided that I could train instead the older students (from the hostel) and the teachers. They could do this activity with the younger kids. I left my three hand lenses with the teachers.
I hope this help. I can write you more details on this, if you like.
I just wish I had more time with your kids… in Rangdum maybe.
SIDDARTH
Hi Sandra,Thank you to you and to Mr Tashi for the Wonderful hospitality and arrangements with the kids. We tried not to tire them out too much, I think they enjoyed it !!
ANNALEA
Yes it was a really productive session for all of us and thanks so much for supporting our visit. Those kids were delightful – so responsive and very friendly and open to us. Would have loved to spend more time with them and with the staff.
SANJAY
the school visit went very well. It was very touching to see the students who were waiting patiently for our arrival with traditional welcome scarves in the scalding sun. It was a long day for them after a long travel as they had been to hear His Holiness the Dalai Lama that morning, also in an open air arena.
The school lacks so much, we learned, especially finding teachers who will stay through the winters, that it is a very difficult task to run the school and look after the well being and education of the children indeed. Rosalba gave away her jacket, some other clothes and some equipment. It was very touching, she had a tough time leaving the school. Her selflessness is inspiring.
It would be useful to know how we and future expeditions can be more useful to the school, beyond a casual, brief visit. Your thoughts will be most welcome.
Best regards,
Sanjay
We will try to keep in contact, who knows what may come in the future… maybe something good for our little school “of miracles” …
So I reply to Sanjay and, as always, to all the others in the group, with a long plea for help
Now someone among them is thinking on how to help us … I do not know if it will do, I do not know if anyone will help us find the funds or will ever be a volunteer teacher in our school … the one thing I’m sure: the experience for our guys was fantastic and, hopefully, will inspire them for their future.
And who knows, that one of our little savages could become the first intergalactic traveler … as Rosalba jokingly says (but she does really believe it)!
