Space Scientist Visits Armenian Mesrobian School
By Narod Ekmekjian
Dr. Henry Helvajian, Technical Fellow/Principal Scientist in the Physical Sciences Laboratories at The Aerospace Corporation, and Vahe Manuelian, Mesrobian class of 1990, Senior Project Engineer also from The Aerospace Corporation, visited Armenian Mesrobian school on Feb. 23.
As the future of space exploration and commercialization becomes increasingly important, Dr. Helvajian’s and Manuelian’s visit was dedicated to sparking excitement about space in the students.
Before the main topic, Manuelian spoke about the importance of education, stating that Mesrobian students have a community of brilliant scientists and engineers like Dr. Helvajian to look up to and who are available to guide them.
Manuelian then introduced Dr. Helvajian, who is recognized internationally in the areas of miniaturizing space systems and in laser material interaction physics and chemistry. Dr. Helvajian’s investigations on miniaturizing satellites, in the early 1990’s, led to the development of the world’s first mass picosatellite which has since evolved into the CubeSat or Nanosatellite class vehicles. Furthermore, Dr. Helvajian is a leader in new space architectures including a futuristic mission that will help find life in other planets hundreds of light years away.
Dr. Helvajian commenced his presentation by providing interesting facts about space and its increasing relevance in our everyday lives. Additionally, Dr. Helvajian underscored the importance of every type of discipline in the future of space exploration and its ecosystem development, even those interested in the humanities. Concluding his presentation, Dr. Helvajian answered several questions from the students.
