Issue 148 | RNLI.

org/Astro

INTO THE

UNKNOWN

EXPLORING COURAGEOUS CREWS, CURIOUS CREATURES AND INCREDIBLE COUNTRIES

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PEN YOUR OWN

CREW PATCHESThe crews of the Artemis missions to the Moon will get to create their
own spacesuit patches. Why not make your own crew patch using our
online templates, or bring one of the designs here to life?

TBC

5 Real-life rescues

9 The deep end

12 Exploring Japan 14 Your shout 16 Odd creatures 18 Comic capers

There’s more stuff online at RNLI.org/Astro

Share the world of Storm Force with your mates!

Send them to RNLI.org/StormForce

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WHAT
YOU'LL NEED
A cereal packet, safety scissors,
glue, coloured pens, tin foil,
safety pin or hook and loop tape

Instructions:
1. Stick your chosen design
to an old cereal packet and
carefully cut along the
dotted lines.
You'll find some blank
templates to print off at
RNLI.org/Astro
2. Use coloured pens to bring
your design to life
3. Glue on bits of tin foil to
make planets, stars or
crashing waves
4. Ask an adult to help you
attach a safety pin or some
hook and loop tape to
the back
5. Wear your crew patch
with pride!

Be careful using sc WE’D LOVE TO SEE YOUR

issors and
safety pins! Ask an CREW PATCH! SEE PAGE 15 TO
adult to help.
FIND OUT HOW TO SEND US
YOUR PHOTOS.

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 DEEP SEA
9

T0

DEEP SPACE
Astronauts and lifeboat crew have a lot in common.
A cool head? Check. Bags of courage? Check.
Lifesaving equipment? Check. A rock-solid team?
Check. It’s no surprise really – it takes a special
kind of person to launch into the unknown

TO THE DEEP END, AND BEYOND!

Being underwater is the closest thing to being in space,
so, just like RNLI crew, astronauts train in a pool. The
astronauts get to feel what it’s like to go on a spacewalk
and practise how to fix things, like the submerged
replica of the International Space Station. NASA’s*
underwater lab is the world’s largest swimming pool –
big enough to fit nine Olympic-sized pools in!
RNLI crew have a pretty impressive pool of their own:
the state-of-the-art Sea Survival Centre can create
waves and even a storm. THE MOON MATTERS
*National Aeronautics and Space Administration (the US government
agency that is responsible for science and technology in air and space).

Did you know that without the Moon there would be

'HOUSTON, WE HAVE A MISSING SOCK'
Whether you’re launching into outer space or the
Outer Hebrides, it’s important to have a dependable
team around you. When there was an explosion on
Apollo 13 on its way to the Moon, the team at Mission
Control helped to get the astronauts back safely, with
the help of some duct tape and one of the astronaut’s
socks to make an emergency air filter!
RNLI crew members rely on a trusty backup team too
– including shore crew who help to get the lifeboats
in and out of the water. Rocket launches are planned
years in advance, but RNLI crew have to be ready at a
moment’s notice – the average lifeboat launch takes
just 10 minutes. Beat that, NASA!
no tides? As it orbits the Earth, the Moon’s gravity
pulls the oceans towards it, causing a bulge, or high
tide, on the side of the Earth closest to the Moon.
High tides draw water away from the rest of the
oceans, causing low tides.
The Moon is important for another reason. Astronauts
are due to return there in 2025 on the Artemis
mission. Artemis is the Greek goddess of the Moon
and twin sister of Apollo, the name of the original
Moon programme. Eventually, astronauts will build
a moonbase that will help
humans prepare for a
mission to Mars!

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PLUCKY PIONEERS
One of the reasons that the next Moon mission is named
after a goddess is that it will see the first woman walk
on the Moon. But the first woman in space was Valentina
Tereshkova, in 1963. Pioneers like Valentina paved the
way for future generations.
Another pioneer was Elisabeth Hostvedt, who in 1969
became the first fully qualified female lifeboat crew
member. More recently, Di Bush became the RNLI’s first
female coxswain. That means she commands Harwich
RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat, Albert Brown. High five Di!

DID YOU KNOW?

LAST YEAR 20-YEAR-OLD GEORGE ‘CHAD’
YEOMAN BECAME RNLI SALCOMBE’S
YOUNGEST LIFEBOAT HELM

DO YOU HAVE THE RIGHT STUFF?

Like astronauts, lifeboat crews are a brave
bunch – they’re prepared to drop everything,
day or night, to risk their lives to save
others. They train together every week,
and it takes about 18 months to be a fully-
fledged crew member.
Astronauts have to put in a lot of
practice too – it takes about 10 years’
training to be the next Buzz Lightyear.
And some have to wait years more
for their first blast-off.
So it pays to be patient!
SEA: THE FINAL FRONTIER
In the search for extraterrestrial life (aliens),
scientists and engineers have sent spacecraft to
every planet in our solar system, and beyond. It’s
a field of science called astrobiology, and there’s
a robotic rover exploring Mars right now, with the
help of a little helicopter called Ingenuity. In fact,
we know more about Mars than our oceans!
More than 80% of our oceans remain unexplored.
If Mount Everest were placed in the deepest part –
the Mariana Trench – its peak wouldn’t even peek
above the surface. Who knows what alien-looking
creatures are lurking down there?

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 PRO
11
TALK LIKE A

Astronauts and lifeboat crew have a language

all their own. Here’s your jargon-buster.

EMU
PUFFY HEAD BIRD LEGS ALB Extra-vehicular Mobility Unit
When astronauts get a congested head and All-weather lifeboat (a flashy name for a spacesuit)
wobbly legs due to loss of gravity

HELM
T-MINUS The person in charge of an
ILB The countdown time remaining inshore lifeboat
Inshore lifeboat until a rocket launch

WHAT’S YOUR ASTRONAUT NAME?

Combine your favourite colour with the month you were born:
RED BLAZE JANUARY LIGHTSPEED
BLUE ACE FEBRUARY NOVA
GREEN NEWT MARCH JETPACKER
YELLOW HERSHEY APRIL NEPTUNE
PINK PLUCKY MAY BOOMER
PURPLE EYEBALL JUNE ACER
BLACK SPARKY JULY GORDON
GOLD DALLAS AUGUST WINGWALKER
SILVER SKIPPO SEPTEMBER JUNO
ORANGE MOXIE OCTOBER QUASAR
INDIGO SCREECH NOVEMBER STARDUST
WHITE MOONBEAM DECEMBER JENSEN

Astronaut first name …………..…... Astronaut second name …………..…..........

Photos: RNLI/Nathan Williams, ESA, NASA/Robert Markowitz

G-FORCE TO STORM FORCE!

Both sets of crew have to withstand an uncomfortable ride.
During launch, astronauts experience g-force – extra pressure
on their bodies due to acceleration and the effect of gravity.
And although our all-weather lifeboats don’t go into space,
they can still hit some pretty scary waves. Special shock-
absorbing seats help to lessen the impact for the crew.

Want to know more? See pages 16–18 or zoom over to the Crew Room at RNLI.org/Astro

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 FUNZONE
16

E W T E R Y
OW O U R C R
M Y S
KN Y
M O J I S
E
do
am es . But which crew
real nickn a line
These are all – NASA or RNLI? Draw long to.
to e
they belong n d th e ship they b these spacey
between ea
ch na m e a Can you work out
d phrases?
or watery words an

Sa

BEE BUZZ DEKE EGGY MURDO

PATCH SHAKY SKYRAY TWEETY WINDSOCK

TA SY ?
FA CT OR FA N
t-of-this-world cr
eatu res really do live on our plan
et.
Some of these ou k the ones you think are
real.
e-u p. Tic
Some are mad

1 Pelagia noctiluca 2 Formicidae 3 Lux edisonous 4 Antennarius hispidus

5 Spatium homicida 6 Psychrolutes phrictus 7 Extraterrestrial 8 Bathynomus giganteus

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