Train Like A Martian Archives | Page 3 of 3

Astronaut Tim Peake To Run The London Marathon In Space While We #TrainLikeAMartian On Earth!

March 29, 2016 By groundcontrol Leave a Comment

Since British European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Tim Peake recently marked 100 days in space it seemed suitable to talk about his mission and legacy so far.

For those who may not know this, Britain has a terrible history in space; Britain uses Australia as a spaceport, Britain designs rocket, rocket flies, rocket fails, and Britain gives up… but what if I told you that we never really gave up?

In 1991, Helen Sharman became the first Brit in space. However, she went up as a citizen of Britain, not as an official British astronaut (it’s a bit complicated). Many other British people have been to space, including–most famously Michael Foale a British-American astrophysicists. However, they both had dual citizenship with the US and could never claim the title of ‘British astronaut.’

Tim Peake the First Official British Astronaut

Last year that changed. On December 15, 2015, Tim Peake became the first ever British astronaut. Tim is scheduled to stay on board the International Space Station for six months and is already three months in. Not only did he become the first official British astronaut, he became the seventh person born in the UK to “step aboard” the orbiting laboratory. He has completed many video and radio calls with various schools and museums and has even made video messages for the London 2016 New Year celebration and opened the Big Bang Fair 2016.

Running the London Marathon in Space

But wait, there’s more! On the April 24, 2016 Astronaut Tim Peake will be running the London Marathon… from space! What’s more, The Mars Generation is organizing an event April 18-24, 2016 called the Train Like A Martian Challenge. This worldwide event (happening in schools, workplaces, online as well as many local events) will bring awareness to the importance of space, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education and physical fitness. The event culminates on April 24, 2016 as a celebration of Tim Peake’s accomplishment of being the second astronaut to run a marathon in space.

The event will also be a fundraiser for The Mars Generation to help support and build the Student Space Ambassador program in which I am an active participant. This is an international event and we are looking for Student Space Ambassadors and others to host events in their local area and promote the event online (you can win prizes for helping to promote the event, click here to learn more).

Planet Earth, we need you! We need you to join the Mars Generation!

About the Author:

My Name is Luke B. and I’m a 15 year old, aspiring British European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut. For a large amount of my childhood I was fascinated by history (and I still am!) but another thing I have always been fascinated in is aviation. Maybe it was because I am obsessed with owls and other birds, maybe it just came to me. The world may never know! But what we do know is that the fascination is there, always has been, always will be.

It is only recently that I have made the decision to go into the aerospace industry. I want to become an astronaut. Before wanting to become an astronaut I wanted to be the curator of the Natural History museum in London, but now I have set myself on a collision course with the stars and it’s gaining heat. In 2015, I joined forces with The Mars Generation by becoming a Student Space Ambassador and have been providing help wherever needed, including taking the lead of my country in the #TrainLikeAMartian Challenge April 18-24, 2016. I still have a long way to go on my journey to Mars, but the stars await with patience and it’ll be worth every second of my time, it’s gonna be one heck of a ride!

**Tim Peake Photos Credit ESA/NASA

Do Astronauts Use Yoga? #TrainLikeAMartian

March 20, 2016 By groundcontrol Leave a Comment

Make sure you Sign Up Here for Updates for the Train Like A Martian Challenge

Do astronauts use yoga exercises to train for missions? That’s the question I asked myself as I was lesson planning for an upcoming unit on Flight and Space for my classes. Immediately, I found a large amount of information and determined that, yes, yoga is definitely used by astronauts and recommended by doctors to counteract the effects of low gravity and space-sickness.

With this answer I realized not only could I effectively learn and teach simple yoga to my middle school students and have them take it seriously, but I could also create resources for the upcoming TMG Train Like A Martian Challenge. This event is happening worldwide with classrooms and school participating along with people of all ages around the world.

3 Yoga Exercises that Would Work With Students

I interviewed our yearbook advisor, who is currently taking night classes to become certified in yoga instruction. She showed me some exercises that would work with students, including three key areas: breathing, twisting, and balancing.

For breathing, we used Ujayi (inhale) and Pranayama (exhale). It is important that students understand that astronauts are under a tremendous amount of physical and mental pressure and that breathing is something that should be given a lot of attention. That is where our class lesson on Train Like a Martian starts.
Next, we attempted to twist our bodies in order to release toxins and expand our breathing abilities. Depending on the group of students, this can be done sitting or standing. Since my classroom is a cramped computer lab, we opted for the sitting version.
Finally, we ended with balancing practice. I demonstrated the tree pose first, using my drishti (concentrated intention), and then had every other student stand, while their partner observed. Then we switched. This way students could see each other’s pose and provide positive reinforcement.

Students were very curious at first, but quickly came to realize how important it is to slow down and focus on one thing at a time. This focus is critical for astronauts as they train. There is no room for error and being able to breathe, twist, and balance are important aspects of what they need in order to have a successful mission.

I encourage teachers to try the breathing, twisting, and balancing exercises with their students. It makes for a great warm-up for the start of class and I will continue to use it even after our unit on Flight and Space.

Video Demonstration of Yoga In The Classroom

See the video below in which I demonstrates breathing, twisting, and balancing. It was my very first attempt at doing yoga and I offer you, my fellow classroom teachers, the opportunity to try for yourself these three exercises that are helpful for astronaut training as well as an easy physical activity for your students. If I can do it, so can you!

Yoga Basics: For Classroom Teachers

For more information on how yoga benefits astronauts and assist in your Train Like a Martian activities, please visit the following resources:

http://www.yogamag.net/archives/2013/dapr13/space.shtml

http://www.yogaforspacehealth.com/downloads/Yoga-For-Space-Health.pdf

https://prezi.com/libv9msfxu6n/yoga-for-astronauts/

Don’t Miss the Train Like A Martian Challenge!

Make sure to sign up for updates for the Train Like A Martian Challenge so you don’t miss a thing!

About The Author

Jeff Herold is in his 16th year of teaching. He has taught everything from Kindergarten through 12th grade and community college. Currently, he teaches S.T.E.M. to 7th and 8th graders at Hillcrest Middle School in Glendale, Arizona. While not volunteering at local elementary schools at their science nights, he enjoys paragliding, attending professional development, and spending time with his family. His favorite student is his 5th grade son, Skyler. Jeff is the 2015 Arizona Air Force Association Teacher of the Year and 2015 Arizona Challenger Space Center Educator of the Year. Jeff is a member of The Mars Generation Student Space Ambassador Planning Committee and the Train Like a Martian Planning Committee. You can follow his S.T.E.M. adventures on Twitter @STEMJeff.

7 Reasons You Should #TrainLikeAMartian April 18-24

March 9, 2016 By groundcontrol Leave a Comment

Get ready to Train Like a Martian! From April 18-24, The Mars Generation is sponsoring a week of activities that will encourage individuals to see physical activity, STEM education and space exploration in a whole new way.

You can click here to get updates for the event.

Interested in possibly hosting a local community #TrainLikeAMartian event on April 24? Click here for more information!

Want to get entered in prize drawings right away. Click here to learn how.

On April 24th, 2016 European Space Agency Astronaut Tim Peake of the UK will make his mark as the second astronaut to run a marathon in space. Peake will be running the 2016 London Marathon from the International Space Station.

Join The Mars Generation help cheer on Tim Peake by participating in our Train Like a Martian fitness challenge the week leading up to the London Marathon.

Here’s 7 reasons why you should get ready to Train Like a Martian:

1. Connect with others locally and worldwide

You don’t have to Train Like a Martian alone, grab a friend at school, a group of co-workers or find someone across the world on social media. This event will give opportunities to connect with people of similar interests all across the world. Whether you find someone in your area or someone on Twitter in a different country, get together for a fun week of joining together as a community and pushing each other to be better.

2. Encourage health and fitness

Whether you’re continuing on a regular fitness path or starting for the first time, this week will help encourage health and fitness across the globe. Share fitness tips, challenges and triumphs during this event. Those participating will share the benefits of living healthy, balanced lifestyle while helping to encourage those observing the event to do the same. Join us in making fitness a trending topic leading up to the London Marathon.

3. Rally for space exploration

If you believe in space exploration and want others to do the same, this event is the perfect way to start the conversation. Through your participation and progress during this week-long event, those who are unaware or uneducated in space exploration will have the opportunity to connect and ask questions. This is a huge step in adding a rally behind space exploration to support current and future missions.

4. Inspire STEM education

Those who are already in STEM related fields can probably remember a time in their life when they chose that path. Let’s join in and make this event one of those moments for someone. Through promotion and participation of this event, together we can encourage young children and students to join the STEM team. If you can help inspire one person to have an interest in STEM education, then we are on the way to inspiring a whole generation.

5. Support The Mars Generation mission

Behind this week-long event is an even greater long-term mission. TMG mission is to excite those young and old about space, STEM education and an understanding of the importance of those two elements to the future of humankind. The goal of TMG is to advance public interest in human space exploration and advocate for NASA’s journey to Mars. Get a taste of TMG community during this week-long event and you’ll see why the mission is so important.

6. Fun, friendly competition

Challenge yourself and challenge others through fun and friendly fitness competition. You don’t have to run faster than the person next to you, just work harder. Everyone will have the opportunity to enter their workouts into TMG tracking spreadsheet to show their progress and see how they compare with other participants.

7. Opportunities to win prizes

Did someone say free stuff? You heard it right. Combining friendly competition with fundraising, the individual who raises the most will be awarded a TMG sweatshirt and up to five TMG t-shirts will be awarded to the group will the most funds raised. Individuals who raise $100 or more will be entered into a drawing for patches, space books, TMG t-shirts, among much more. Those individuals who raise $500 or more will be entered into a premium drawing with a grand prize of a Google Hangout session with Astronaut Abby and perhaps a few more surprise guests! Tweet with the #TrainLikeAMartian hashtag to share your activities and successes and to be entered into a daily drawing for additional prizes and notoriety mentions on April 25th. You can be entered for prize drawings that are happening now each week. Click here to learn more!

Now that we’ve convinced you to be a part of the event, here’s a few ways you can join in on the fun!

#TrainLikeAMartian: Help Spread The Word And Win Prizes!

March 7, 2016 By groundcontrol Leave a Comment

We just announced our new signature event, the Train Like a Martian Challenge, a one of a kind worldwide event. It’s purpose…well first to have some fun…then to raise awareness of the importance of physical fitness and tie that into awareness of the importance of STEM education and human space exploration to our future!

The event is scheduled for the week of April 18-24 – please help us spread the word to get more people to sign up and join us!

The brand new TMG patch! Only available as a prize by participating in the #TrainLikeAMartian Challenge

Help Us Spread The Word For A Chance To Win Prizes

Every time you talk about the event following the procedure below you will entered into our weekly drawing to win a TMG prizes including including the new TMG patches, TMG t-shirts and TMG coffee. Drawings will be every Monday from March 14 – April 11 leading up to event.

Gain a contest entry every time you share the event on your Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and include:

Event hashtag: #TrainLikeAMartian
Event URL: themarsgeneration.org/train-like-a-martian
Tag The Mars Generation using @TheMarsGen on Twitter – @TheMarsGeneration on Instagram – @The Mars Generation on Facebook
Sign up here for updates and to qualify for prizes.

*Limit 5 contest entries per day

Some tips on sharing and promoting :

Be genuine when you share – tell people why they should participate. Invite them to join you in the fun!
Use our pre-written social media posts and personalize them. You can find the pre-written messages in our event dropbox here with the photos.
Use photos when possible:
- You can find a series of fun #TrainLikeAMartian event photos right here on in our event dropbox.
- Share photos of yourself preparing for the #TrainLikeAMartian challenge – running, lifting some extra weight (your cat, kid, a can of soup), walking to the store, skipping downtime block – whatever – have some fun and share some selfies to motivate others!

*By sharing photos of yourself using the #TrainLikeAMartian hashtag you are giving The Mars Generation permission to use your photos for TMG TLAM social media posts and promotions.

Everyone wins!

While being selected in the prize drawings and winning a patch is exciting – you also win by knowing that you are spreading the word and helping to promote something that really is changing lives. This event brings awareness to these important issues and will also serve as a funding source for our 3 core programs – you make it possible for The Mars Generation to keep working towards our mission. You win! We win! Everyone Wins!

Thank you for joining us and helping us spread the word!

*NASA is not affiliated with The Mars Generation

#TrainLikeAMartian: 8 Ways You Can Get Involved

March 3, 2016 By groundcontrol Leave a Comment

Have you grown up dreaming of blasting into space aboard a Soyuz spacecraft? Do you obsessively follow the progress of Boeing’s Starliner and SpaceX’s Dragon capsules and picture yourself going to Mars in them? Do you spend a significant chunk of your paycheck on space-themed items? If you answered yes to any of those questions, then keep reading.

One of the major challenges facing space travelers today is keeping their bodies in shape in microgravity, which tends to cause muscles to decay and bones to lose density, making the return to Earth’s gravity painful. While living on the International Space Station, astronauts spend two hours each day exercising to keep themselves healthy. In that spirit, Tim Peake of ESA plans to become the second astronaut to complete a marathon in space when he uses the COLBERT to participate in the London Marathon on April 24.

.@LondonMarathon only 10 miles on the treadmill but I ran for 26000 miles around the planet…does that count?

— Tim Peake (@astro_timpeake) February 29, 2016

Even if you weren’t one of the more than 18,000 applicants to NASA’s next astronaut class, staying healthy has been proven to lift your mood, lower the risk of certain cancers, and prolong life. Whether you’re competing with coworkers for steps, getting back into a fitness plan, or looking to do something different, The Mars Generation’s Train Like a Martian (TLM) event is a great way to have fun while promoting space.

Here are eight ways you can be involved with the Train Like a Martian Challenge

1. Join the challenge

Sign up for the event as an individual or bring together a group and follow along each day with our chosen TLM activities as we post them. You can log your activity on our Google spreadsheet (this is public, so please use only your first name and last initial) and see how people around the world stack up against you. Share photos and use the #TrainLikeAMartian hashtag to tell others about the event. You can do as few or as many of the activities each day as you want. Get into the challenge and feel the burn!

2. Be a part of the ground support crew

Don’t want to commit to participating each day? You can still join the ground support crew to get updates, share the event on your social media channels, and cheer us on the week of the event.

3. Raise funds for The Mars Generation

Help support our programs including the Student Space Ambassadors and the Space Camp Scholarship. You can also sign up as a team with friends and fundraise together. There will be prizes for the top individual fundraiser and the top team fundraiser. Sign up here to stay in the loop.

4. Host a local community event on April 24

It’s fun and easy to plan and host a local Train Like a Martian event. Get your friends, neighbors and community out for this fun activity here’s a simple how to guide.

Are you a student or a teacher? You can get your school involved too!

5. Plan a school-wide event

Host a field day, rocket run, fitness carnival or anything else you can think of that excites both kids and adults to exercise and have fun.

6. Participate during our daily challenge

These are easy challenges that can be done on the playground, gymnasium, in the hallway or even in the classroom. Get your class or even your whole school involved!

7. Promote the event

Express your creativity and love of space through your school newsletters and social media challenges and encourage families to participate at home after school.

8. Organize a competition

Challenge classrooms, schools or the district to participate each day and see who gets the most exercise recorded.

We hope you join us for this exciting event! To show your stuff or submit your own ideas about getting in shape, use the hashtag #TrainLikeAMartian. Here’s to a healthier life and more ways to advocate for space exploration! You can qualify to win prizes now – click here to find out how!

Sign up here to receive Train Like A Martian updates!

Becca Browder is a blog editor and writer at The Mars Generation. She earned her Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the University of Oklahoma and works as a space policy intern in DC at the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.