FIELD JOURNAL

Learning about Robots

Have you ever thought how nice it would be to not go to school anymore? No more studying, no more tests! Well, if that sounds good to you, you'll HATE my job. These days I study a lot. You should see my desk -- there are a lot of textbooks and other things to read there!

So why do I have all of the books? I'm still learning about robot arms, and in particular, about the robot arms that are going to be on the International Space Station. And just like when I was in school, I have to read a lot, ask a lot of questions, practice, and then be tested on what I know. Why do I do all of this? Well, I need to learn a lot about the robot arms, and I have to prove what I know to other people, so I can teach astronauts how to fly the robot arms.

So how do we teach the astronauts how to fly the robot arms? We do several different things. We have some classes where the instructor lectures. Then, we have a computer that the astronauts use to practice on. It is almost like playing a video game; only the way you win is if you do the right thing with the robot arm. We also have a big model of the robot arm (it is over 50 feet long!) that the astronauts can practice with. You have to be careful when you are practicing with the model, because if you made the robot arm hit something, it would be a very bad thing!

It is a lot of work (and studying!) being an instructor, but I love my job. You have to admit it is cool when you can say YOU taught an astronaut something they didn't know!