Animated hands draw a rocket on a piece of paper. An arrow points to a picture of the moon. Text on screen - 'Space Rocket, NASA. Moon or bust!' The drawing morphs into a blueprint of an actual Saturn V rocket, then to a cut-out animation of a rocket on a launching pad with a countdown timer in the foreground.
RADIO:
Two, one, zero!
The rocket blasts off.
NARRATOR:
You've probably heard the word 'engineering' before, and you've probably been told it's pretty important. But what exactly is engineering? And who exactly is an engineer?
A drawing of a man in coveralls and a hard hat holding a spanner. Text on screen - 'Fancy hat, coveralls, tool of some sort. Analysis: ?'
NARRATOR:
Engineers are people who design and build things that we use every day.
A cut-out picture montage shows tall buildings, including the Eiffel Tower, a bridge, cars, a jet plane and a balloon. All are labelled 'Engineering'.
NARRATOR:
However, they don't just go building the first thing that comes to mind. They work hard to make something we need, and they wanna do a good job of it. So, how do engineers decide what they need to build? Well, in most cases, they start with a question. Here's an example.
A sentence is highlighted among a list of questions. It reads 'How do you fix a space station?'
NARRATOR:
Say you live on a space station and something outside breaks. Obviously, you need to go outside and fix it, but how exactly do you do that? That's a great question for engineers. Once they've got a good handle on things, they'll start imagining ways to solve the problem. They'll come up with all kinds of ideas...
Computer-generated shot of a space station with a broken solar panel arm, and a sign on it that says 'Home sweet home'. Ideas pop up beside the station, listing their advantages and disadvantages. Idea 01 is a space crane, with the advantages that humans won't be in space. However the disadvantages include that the cable could snap and, 'Giant crane? Again, giant crane?' Idea 02 is a space truck and it's disadvantages include 'Who's gonna fly it? Seriously, a space truck?' Idea 03 is a space pigeon. It's advantages are that it's small, but its disadvantages include 'Tiny toolbox' and 'It's a pigeon? No, really, it's a pigeon?
NARRATOR:
..and some that might even seem a little crazy. That's important because sometimes the craziest idea is the one that works best.
Idea 04 appears - a space suit. It's advantages are 'Can work on things', it's disadvantages are 'Humans in space' and 'Dragging along toolbox'.
NARRATOR:
After coming with these ideas, they'll pick a few that make the most sense.
Ideas 01, 02 and 03 are pushed aside by an animated hand. The suit is circled and a green tick appears.
NARRATOR:
Next they'll start drawing the plan. Depending on the idea, the plan can be very simple or very complicated.
Types of plan include a simplistic pencil sketch of a space suit, right through to a complex 3-D computer drawing of the suit.
NARRATOR:
But the important part is the plan itself. A good plan helps engineers focus on what they're making and, most importantly, why. Now the engineers get to have some real fun. They get to create something. It's important to stick to the plan, though, so the idea doesn't go too far off course.
A hand holds a picture of a space suit labelled 'Engineering Plan'. Text on screen reads, 'NASA, Space Suit Mark 1.' A green tick appears.
NARRATOR:
Once they build it then they have to test it. Experimentation is very important, because it's here that engineers learn what works, and, well, what doesn't.
An animation shows an astronaut in a jet-propelled space suit approaching the damaged satellite wing but suddenly veering upwards and off into space. The Test 01 results appear - 'Add steering to thrusters.'
NARRATOR:
And while it's great when something goes right on the first try, it's actually good when things don't because that gives engineers a chance to go back and improve on their original idea.
The animation repeats itself for Test 02, and this time the jet-propelled astronaut reaches the broken wing and repairs it.
NARRATOR:
And improve they will until they've solved the problem. So the next time you've got a problem to solve, whether simple or complicated, there's probably a team of engineers ready to create something to solve it. And nobody solves engineering problems quite like NASA.
Footage of real astronauts working on a satellite attached to a space shuttle, and engineers on Earth chatting in an industrial complex. Text on screen - 'NASA's BEST Students. Beginning Engineering, Science and Technology.'
(Kids cheering)
Text on screen - 'NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, www.nasa.gov/goddard'.