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Main Room


Tue Mar 3 14:25:36 1998

[ FannyZuniga - 1 - 13:02:05 ]
Hi

[ FannyZuniga - 6 - 13:06:19 ]
RE: [MrPedroni-Pedroni/BradyElementary] Hilda ¿Porqué te gusta trabajar para NASA?
A mí siempre me ha facinado NASA, desde los días del programa Apolo. Me encanta trabajar en investigaciones científicas.

[ Susan/NASAChatHost - 8 - 13:07:00 ]
RE: [MrPedroni-Pedroni/BradyElementary] Hello, we are from Aurora, Il about 40 min from Chicago
Welcome Brady Elementary!

[ FannyZuniga - 10 - 13:07:46 ]
RE: [Aztecs-students/MontgomeryHigh]¿ Quién en su vida apoya para lograr lo que es usted ahora
Mi mamá siempre me ha apoyado para lograr lo máximo. Ella ha sido una gran ayuda en mi vida.

[ Susan/NASAChatHost - 11 - 13:08:00 ]
RE: [Aztecs-students/MontgomeryHigh] We are in San Diego California. We have written questions in our bilingual physical science class.
How many Students from Montgomery are participating today?

[ FannyZuniga - 19 - 13:11:11 ]
RE: [Adolfo-Pedroni/BradyElementary] ¿Crees que hay vida como la de nosotros fuera del planeta Tierra?
Sí, yo creo que debe haber vida en otros planetas en el universo. Puede ser que un día podremos ponernos en contacto con esos seres.

[ FannyZuniga - 23 - 13:12:34 ]
RE: [Aztecs-students/MontgomeryHigh] ¿tuvo dificultades con el lenguage o ect cuando fue niña
Sí, cuando yo era niña yo tuve un poco de dificultad en la escuela en los primeros años. Mi primera lengua fue español entonces me hizo difícil un poco aprender el inglés.

[ FannyZuniga - 25 - 13:13:26 ]
RE: [Jessica-Sandy/AVMS] What do you think is the neatest job of all of NASA?
The neatest job at NASA has to be that of an Astronaut. I don't think there could be anything more exciting that traveling into space.

[ Sam-Ruth/NorthEastMiddleSchool - 34 - 13:15:07 ]
I'm sorry about you not becoming an astronaut but you'll get there sooner or later. Good luck.

[ FannyZuniga - 37 - 13:15:48 ]
RE: [Joshua-Ruth/NorthEastMiddleSchool] Hi I'm in 6 grade at North East Middle School and I've wanted to be an astronaut from age 6.To become an astronaut what can in the way of preparation?
My best advice to you is to study hard and pick some kind of scientific/technical degree. They always look for doctors or engineers. That's for a mission specialist. They also select pilots as astronauts. So your other option is to join the Navy or Air Force and fly jets.

[ FannyZuniga - 45 - 13:17:33 ]
RE: [Aztecs-students/MontgomeryHigh] ¿que piensa su mamá de su decisión de ser autronauta
Mi mamá siempre me ha apoyado en mis decisiones. Yo he querido ser astronauta desde los 3 años así que ella ya se ha acostumbrado a esto y no tiene mucho temor. Ella está muy orgullosa de mí como cualquier mamá.

[ FannyZuniga - 52 - 13:19:23 ]
RE: [Vickie-Julie/ArcadiaValleyRII] are you the only woman your line of work???
No, there are quite a few women but we sure are represent a smaller percentage than the male engineers. I think at NASA-Ames it's something like 20% women to 80% men approximately. We sure need more women in the engineering field. It's getting better but it's still not good enough.

[ FannyZuniga - 53 - 13:19:45 ]
RE: [Jessica-Sandy/AVMS] Do you have any kids? If so how many?
No, I don't have any children. I have a nephew, though, and a niece on the way.

[ FannyZuniga - 56 - 13:21:06 ]
RE: [Joshua-Ruth/NorthEastMiddleSchool] When I'm at the level of traning to be an astronaut what are some guide lines in the way of lenght in my own privet time and determenation.
I'm not sure I understand your question well. Can you rephrase what you mean??

[ FannyZuniga - 57 - 13:22:39 ]
RE: [Lisa-Gwen/ArcadiaValleyRII] Would you rather be anything else?
No, absolutely not. I've always followed my heart and my dreams and I'm perfectly happy with my career choice. I just hope one day I'll be able to make it as an astronaut. But so far I feel I'm on the right track.

[ FannyZuniga - 58 - 13:23:31 ]
RE: [Laurie-Sandy/AVMS] can you speak different launuages?
My first language was Spanish and I'm still very fluent in Spanish. I've also studied French for a number of years and speak it a little.

[ FannyZuniga - 61 - 13:25:35 ]
RE: [Amber-Julie/ArcadiaValleyRII] Is it easy doing what you do?
Well, sometimes my work can be challenging, which is good. You can get pretty bored at work if you never are challenged. That's the really good thing about working at NASA. You always have lots to learn and a lot of challenging jobs. But you shouldn't fear engineering because it may be too hard, there are always other senior people around to give you a helping hand. You just need to be willing to learn.

[ FannyZuniga - 69 - 13:28:02 ]
RE: [Robert-Ruth/NorthEastMiddleSchool] Sorry I'm late,but I'm on. What's an average work day for you?
An average work day for me varies a lot. I just finished a big wind tunnel test and was working long hours in the tunnel running the test. Now I'm looking at the data and making it available to the rest of the team. I'm also planning the next test. It's always a busy day for me.

[ FannyZuniga - 73 - 13:29:54 ]
RE: [Ruth/NorthEastMiddleSchool] What is the biggest passenger airplane in the world? How does it compare to the supersonic transport?
I think the largest passenger plane is the Boeing 777. I think it holds something like 450 people. I'm not really sure about that, but it is the latest largest plane by Boeing. The supersonic transport will carry 300 people and will fly at Mach 2.4 which is twice as fast the Boeing 777. That's why it will be a superior airplane to the current ones.

[ FannyZuniga - 79 - 13:31:59 ]
RE: [students/MontgomeryHigh] ¿quién la motivó
Bueno para ser honesta, nadie me motivó para estudiar esta carrera. Yo misma me motivé. Desde muy niña me facinó ser astronauta y trabajar para NASA. Yo estudié mucho y planié mi carrera yo sola. Mi mamá siempre me apoyó pero siempre fue mi decisión.

[ FannyZuniga - 83 - 13:32:55 ]
RE: [Sandy/AVMS] did you start your job because you were intrested in airplanes and space vehicles?
That's right. I have always been fascinated with airplanes and space vehicles. I had a collection of model airplanes when I was real young.

[ FannyZuniga - 84 - 13:33:44 ]
RE: [Sandy/AVMS] have you ever traveled around the world?
I've traveled to many places over time but never around the world at one time. I've visited South America, Europe, Africa and Asia. I still need to visit Australia some day.

[ FannyZuniga - 88 - 13:34:24 ]
RE: [Pedroni/BradyElementary] Have you ever wanted to work in another place?
No, absolutely not. I was thrilled to death when I got my first job at NASA and I don't intend to ever go elsewhere. I love working here.

[ FannyZuniga - 92 - 13:36:30 ]
RE: [Ruth/NorthEastMiddleSchool] Are all prospective candidates eliminated if they have a medical disablety?
It depends what the medical disability is. The astronaut selection committee does have strict guidelines on health and physical disabilities. I had to go through a lot of physical and medical testing to make sure I was in top notch condition.

[ Gwen/ArcadiaValleyRII - 94 - 13:36:59 ]
2person.You have a really neat job and I think you are a really cool

[ Gwen/ArcadiaValleyRII - 96 - 13:36:59 ]
Sorry we are loading you down with questions.

[ FannyZuniga - 97 - 13:38:03 ]
RE: [Sr.Diaz/BlacowElementary] What are the challenging parts of you job?
The most challenging part is working as a team with a lot of people. Managing people and being a strong leader is something you don't learn in engineering school. This can make or break your project if you don't have a strong leader and a good team. I always have to work hard at maintaining a good working relationship with everyone.

[ FannyZuniga - 101 - 13:39:24 ]
RE: [Sr.Diaz/BlacowElementary] How do you work with the rest of your team?
A lot of my team members work in all parts of the country. We usually have weekly tele-conferences to make sure everyone knows what's going on. We use electronic mail, faxes and phones a lot to make sure there's good communication between the team members.

[ FannyZuniga - 104 - 13:41:09 ]
RE: [Ruth/NorthEastMiddleSchool] Will special courses have to be taken to learn to pilot a super-sonic jet or will the controls be pretty much the same?
To fly a supersonic jet, you really need specialized training. Normally, people go to flight test schools to learn to fly a supersonic jet. These schools are part of the Air Force or Navy. They're the ones with all the supersonic jets.

[ FannyZuniga - 112 - 13:44:55 ]
RE: [Sam-Ruth/NorthEastMiddleSchool] I have a question for you. How has computer technology effected your job as an engineer?
Computer technology has really changed our engineering work. It has made our life much easier however, we spend lots of time programming now and making things work on the computer instead of getting our job done sometimes. I really enjoy working on computers. It sure makes things easy sometimes.

[ FannyZuniga - 116 - 13:46:47 ]
RE: [Ruth/NorthEastMiddleSchool] Could the super-sonic plane be used in the miltary in any way shape or form?
No. The supersonic airplane I'm working on will strictly be a passenger airplane. I was referring before to the other supersonic jets like the F-14, F-18 and so forth as the ones the Air Force and Navy fly. This new supersonic airplane will be nothing like those planes and the pilots will probably have to train some place else to fly this new supersonic airplane.

[ FannyZuniga - 118 - 13:48:12 ]
RE: [Barb/AVMS] How long until you graduate from Stanford, and do you enjoy working there?
I just started studying at Stanford about 2 years ago. I'm studying there part time so it's gonna take me a long time to finish my Ph.D. I'm hoping I'll be done in another 5 years. I do like going to school there. It's a really nice place to attend if you get the chance.

[ FannyZuniga - 123 - 13:49:29 ]
RE: [Ruth/NorthEastMiddleSchool] What if a person is hypractive can the still be an astronaut?
I'm not sure about that. They do have some strict guidelines that you need to meet in order to be an astronaut. I don't know if being hyperactive is acceptable or not. Maybe it is, I just don't know.

[ FannyZuniga - 126 - 13:50:44 ]
RE: [Sr.Diaz/BlacowElementary] How do you build the planes you test in the wind tunneL? Are they the actual size? Or smaller?
The wind tunnel models are usually much smaller. The model we just tested was 5% the size of the actual airplane. These models can be very costly. There are model makers around the country that can build these models for us.

[ FannyZuniga - 129 - 13:52:04 ]
RE: [Ruth/NorthEastMiddleSchool] What is your streagth at the team at NASA?
I'm pretty good at organizing my team and providing good leadership. I'm pretty good when it comes to people skills. I seem to get along with everyone pretty well.

[ FannyZuniga - 130 - 13:52:59 ]
RE: [Sr.Diaz/BlacowElementary] How old were you when you got the job to test airplanes?
I started working at NASA when I was 21 years old. I was fresh out of undergraduate school and I had a lot of training before I got my first big project.

[ FannyZuniga - 132 - 13:53:53 ]
RE: [Ruth/NorthEastMiddleSchool] Would it make you sick to go mach 2? If so how will pasengers be prepaired for it?
No, it shouldn't make you sick. You shouldn't even be able to feel like you're going that fast. We're making sure this airplane will fly really stable and won't make the passengers ill.

[ FannyZuniga - 133 - 13:54:53 ]
RE: [Sr.Diaz/BlacowElementary] What is your PhD about?
I'm doing my Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics. I want to do research in robotics to help space exploration.

[ FannyZuniga - 136 - 13:55:50 ]
RE: [Ruth/NorthEastMiddleSchool] What do you think of astronaut food like?
I've never tasted astronaut food. But when I've talked to some astronauts, they say it's very good and they have a wide selection of foods that they can make, like steak and seafood.

[ FannyZuniga - 137 - 13:57:02 ]
RE: [Sr.Diaz/BlacowElementary] Did you have any women role models when you were growing up, like Sallie Ride?
No, I didn't have many good women role models that I followed. Hopefully, there will be more women astronauts in the future so they will be able to inspire more girls to follow this field.

[ FannyZuniga - 139 - 13:57:53 ]
RE: [Ruth/NorthEastMiddleSchool] What high school classes did you take to become an engineer?
When I was in high school, I took all the math and science classes that were available. You really need a lot of math and science to become an engineer.


When I was in high school, I took all the math and science classes that were available. You really need a lot of math and science to become an engineer.

[ FannyZuniga - 140 - 13:58:27 ]
RE: [Sr.Diaz/BlacowElementary] Will the plane that you are designing take off like the space shuttle?
Nope. The supersonic airplane will take off like a regular airplane. It will just look a lot different and fly a lot faster.

[ FannyZuniga - 141 - 13:59:04 ]
RE: [Sr.Diaz/BlacowElementary] What are the models made of?
The models need to be pretty sturdy so that they stay put in one place. The model that I was testing was made of aluminum and steel.

[ FannyZuniga - 142 - 13:59:51 ]
RE: [Ruth/NorthEastMiddleSchool] Where is the wind tunnel you use for testing?
I have been testing in the 12-ft tunnel at NASA-Ames Research Center which is about 50 miles south of San Francisco, California.

[ Ruth/NorthEastMiddleSchool - 144 - 14:00:31 ]
THANK YOU SO MUCH FROM NORTH EAST MIDDLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ FannyZuniga - 146 - 14:02:38 ]
I love working at NASA. It's a very exciting place to work. Since there aren't a lot of women engineers, it sometimes is tough working with a lot of men. You just need to make them respect you as an equal and not let it get you down when they give you a hard time. I really like my job and I feel I'm pretty good at what I do. I sure invest a lot of time at my job and it really pays off sometimes.

[ FannyZuniga - 147 - 14:03:32 ]
All right. I should be getting back to work now. Can we end the chat soon??

[ Susan/NASAChatHost - 148 - 14:04:43 ]
Thank you Fanny, this was a great chat. I learned a lot and I know the students appreciated your time.

[ Pedroni/BradyElementary - 149 - 14:05:08 ]
Gracias por la oportunidad brindada a mis estudiantes, están facinados (as).

[ Sandy/AVMS - 150 - 14:05:08 ]
thanks alot for answering the questions! GRACIAS!

[ FannyZuniga - 151 - 14:05:10 ]
RE: [Pedroni/BradyElementary] En cuántos proyectos has trabajado?
Ya tengo como 10 años trabajando en NASA. En esos años he trabajado en varios proyectos.

[ FannyZuniga - 152 - 14:05:48 ]
Thanks everyone!! That was fun!!

[ Gwen/ArcadiaValleyRII - 153 - 14:11:40 ]
Thank you so much for talking to us from Arcadia Valley Middle School!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[ Barb/AVMS - 154 - 14:11:40 ]
Fanny I would like to thank you for answering my questions I really enjoyed it.

[ Sandy/AVMS - 155 - 14:11:40 ]
Thank You very much for chatting with us today. I hope that we can chat again sometime.

[ Julie/ArcadiaValleyRII - 156 - 14:11:40 ]
Thank you very much for being on chat with me it was fun!!!!

[ Gwen/ArcadiaValleyRII - 157 - 14:11:40 ]
I think you have a neat job and I think you really encourage us alot in saying that women can choose whatever job they want!

[ Julie/ArcadiaValleyRII - 158 - 14:11:40 ]
Thank you for talking to us.

[ Sandy/AVMS - 159 - 14:11:40 ]
Thank you so much for answering our questions. We really appreciate it. You sound like a nice person. Thanks again!

[ Barb/AVMS - 160 - 14:11:40 ]
THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR TALKINGTO US.

[ Barb/AVMS - 161 - 14:11:40 ]
Fanny, thank you for answering so many questions .I really enjoyed it! thanks, edwina king

[ Julie/ArcadiaValleyRII - 162 - 14:11:40 ]
Thank YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME:O)

[ Barb/AVMS - 163 - 14:11:40 ]
Thank you Fanny for anwsering our question by:Evelyn Marie Markham

[ Sandy/AVMS - 164 - 14:11:40 ]
Thank you for writing back and giving us your time

[ Gwen/ArcadiaValleyRII - 165 - 14:11:40 ]
Thank you very very much for listening to our questtions and our thoughts today.You are very thoughtful!

[ Sandy/AVMS - 166 - 14:11:40 ]
of course. GRACIAS!

[ Julie/ArcadiaValleyRII - 168 - 14:11:40 ]
thank you very much for being here to chat with me.

[ Gwen/ArcadiaValleyRII - 170 - 14:11:40 ]
thank you for your time and your wonderful answers. We appreciate it !!!!

[ Sr.Diaz/BlacowElementary - 171 - 14:11:40 ]
Thank you so much for talking to us. We really learned alot. From sal´n 27.

[ Ruth/NorthEastMiddleSchool - 172 - 14:14:03 ]
Thank you so much for your time I had a great time, Thank You so much!!! Joshua

 
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