Space lessons

Before even making it into the cafeteria, Cagle met seventh grader Monette Clemons.

"My mom wants to know if I can have a business card, so if I need any help in high school," the 11-year-old asked. Clemons said she plans to use the card to help get into space camp and for any homework questions she may have in the future.

Many students just found out about Cagle's visit a few days ago. They read her biography information and came prepared with three questions each. Clemons typed up 13 questions, but lowered it to seven at the encouragement of her teachers.

Cagle said her interest in space began as a young child of 12 years old. But, she told the children, she never thought she would be an astronaut. She did all kinds of things to bring her closer to it, but still never thought she could. She was supposed to ride on an F-15 jet one day but she had to cancel because she had a cold. While she was sitting around trying to figure out what she could do, she called information and asked for NASA's number. In April 1996, Cagle was accepted into NASA.

Today, Cagle conducts research at the Ames Research Center trying to profile how human physiology adapts to altered environments. She explained to the children, when on Earth your heart is on the left side of your body, but when you're in space it's in the center. It moves. And her job is to try to find ways to keep the body active under these kinds of different conditions. She has yet to go into space.

This year, her research will include an experiment with artificial gravity. People will be living in chambers that spin around for two to three weeks at a time. Cagle said it would be kind of like one of those rides at Great America that spin around really fast. A weightless environment creates muscle and bone deterioration. There have been a number of things attempted as solutions to these problems but nothing works like gravity.

Cagle said the challenge is finding just the right amount of gravity on the body but not too much on the head, because when you get too much on the head, you get sick.

One of the greatest joys of Cagle's work is speaking with children, especially children in a challenged environment.

The Center For A New Generation is put on by the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Peninsula. It is an after-school program that runs for six weeks during the summer. Brandon Rousseau, the unit director, said it was started because the neighborhood has an at-risk school district, with a low graduation rate. While the center has traditional classes like math, science and English, the students have a chance to focus on their creative side with dance, band and even a media course.

Rousseau, who has been involved with this program for three years, said most of the students are people of color and it's important for them to see role models.

Cagle has tried for two years to speak to these very children but her busy schedule prevented her until Friday. But she said the key to success is remembering one thing, "Every journey needs a knight in shining armor to pave the way ... my knight in shining armor is me." She encouraged the children to go home and realize they too are their own knight in shining armor.