The Cupertino Courier

Cover Story

Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer

Children on a field trip to the NASA Exploration Center in Sunnyvale view images of earth's solar system on the largest Immersive Theater screen on the West Coast. The screen is curved and 40 feet wide. Here, campers get a wide-angle view of the planet Saturn.

Model Citizen

From field trips for kids to exploration that could mean a cure for cancer, NASA-Ames Research Center is a gem

By JASON GOLDMAN-HALL

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has been central in putting people on the moon, probing distant planets and advancing mainstream science.

Now, the South Bay--including Cupertino and Sunnyvale--hopes NASA can also play a key role in the future of the region, as a leader and contributor in the next technology boom in the Silicon Valley.

NASA Ames calls the former Moffett Field facilities home and maintains close scientific and economic ties to Mountain View and Sunnyvale, the closest neighbors to the unincorporated land it sits on. But NASA--and the proposed NASA Research Park--is also tied to Cupertino's educational system through partnerships with the Foothill-De Anza Community College District.

In 1996, Sunnyvale and Cupertino participated in a Community Advisory Committee to look at uses for Moffett Field after it was closed in 1991 as a result of the Base Realignment and Closure Act program.

The end result of that committee's work was the NASA Ames Development Plan and the NASA Research Park, a 213-acre collection of laboratories, housing, educational programs and other facilities geared toward incubating and developing new technologies, including the much-anticipated biotechnology and nanotechnology booms. Plans also include an open space preserve for burrowing owls, a local endangered species.

Economic engine

"It's a great incubator for us to have here," Karen Davis, Sunnyvale director of economic development, said.

"That kind of innovation is really what Sunnyvale is all about, and having them here is great for us in helping us attract businesses."

Approximately 560,000 square feet of old buildings will be renovated, and 2.1 million square feet will be built to house all the operations.

Much of the renovation--and its funding--will be done by the groups partnering with NASA for the park, including the Foothill-De Anza Community College District, the University of California and Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

Foothill-De Anza plans to build an academic center on the grounds for students interested in sciences, technology, engineering and education. Information technology and astrobiology are just a few of the proposed fields of study.

While that means additional resources for scientific development, it also means an astronomical boost to the local economy as NASA expands its already beneficial programs.

According to the NASA Ames Bay Area Economic Benefits Study prepared in 2004, NASA spent $770 million in 2003 alone, and $604 million--78.4 percent overall--of that went to California, benefiting businesses and residents.

Of that money, $573.7 million went to the Bay Area, $408 million directly to Santa Clara County, including Sunnyvale, Cupertino and surrounding cities.

According to the study, that money multiplies in value as it stimulates local economies, so in the end, NASA estimates each dollar it spends turns into $2.50 nationally and $1.60 in the Bay Area alone.

"It's one of the economic benefits we receive because there are companies in Sunnyvale who do jobs for NASA," said Mayor Ron Swegles. "It's really nice to have a company like NASA that provides jobs that some of our residents can take part in."

In addition, according to the study, the majority of the people who work at the NASA Ames Center live within a 10-mile radius. The Bay Area accounts for almost one-third of NASA's total workforce, employing around 3,400 workers out of a total 11,300.

"As we look out for ways to diversify the industry in Sunnyvale, we are in talks with NASA to see how they can contribute," Davis said.

The NASA Research Park--when fully built and operational--could generate more than $3.2 billion for the economy and create 33,637 jobs in the Bay Area alone, 60,042 nationally.

Community connections

But not all of NASA's contributions to the area are high-tech or research-based. On July 21, a group from Sunnyvale's Salvation Army summer camp took a field trip to the NASA Exploration Center, a tented building just outside the main NASA gates where visitors can see key parts of the U.S. space program up close.

In addition to learning how much they would weigh on Mars and what kind of exposure suits astronauts must wear when space-walking, the children viewed a multimedia slide show presentation that included a "virtual bungee-jump," onto the exploration center from more than 200 miles up in space.

The slide show started off in space, looking down on the rotating Western Hemisphere.

The camera slowly zoomed in, first on North America, then the western United States. Another zoom and California came into focus, eventually showing the Exploration Center's white tent in detail. Even in the image--taken from space--a person walking across the street, and their shadow, could be seen in the photo.

The children spent the majority of their field trip on a scavenger hunt for space information, including information on the Martian geology and atmospheric sensors.

"I like how they displayed everything in the different rooms," said camper Zoe White, 13. "It explains more of it."

Salvation Army Major Ken Hood said the camp--now in its second year--provides five weeks of summer activities for low prices, which means even children from low-income families can spend their summer having fun and learning. One week of the camp costs a family just $62.50, although Hood said it costs the Salvation Army close to $700 a week to run the program.

"The idea is to give the kids something fun and educational, and since the Salvation Army is a church, there is a religious part of it too," Hood said.

Although the NASA Exploration Center is science-based rather than faith-based, it definitely met the fun and educational criteria as campers engaged in a scavenger hunt, with clues embedded in written descriptions of various exhibits.

The NASA Exploration Center, which focuses primarily on Mars, was opened Dec. 29, 2003 to coincide with the Mars Exploration Rover missions that are still going on today. The tent it is housed in used to be a part of NASA's West Coast Space Camp facility.

According to a NASA statement, "The Center's chief goals are to serve as a resource about Mars for the San Francisco Bay area community and to support the agency-wide mission of inspiring the next generation of explorers."

Plans may include the reinvention of Moffett Field's former Hangar One, one-time home to the USS Macon dirigible that crashed into the Pacific Ocean on Feb. 12, 1935. If a cost-effective plan for ridding the site of toxic waste can be formulated, it, too, may one day be a favorite NASA destination for local day-campers, as well as tourists worldwide.