The Department of Physics and Astronomy, in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, sought a student to build a Lego model of the TRACERS mission to give to the faculty and staff who worked on the large project ahead of its launch this spring. 

Ava Reed, a second-year student in the College of Engineering, was up for the job.  

Reed spent the past summer designing the LEGO model of TRACERS, making the instructions to build it, eventually constructing the model, and showing it to the department.  

“Projects like these are great to highlight because creative outlets in STEM are important to keep spirit alive,” Reed said. 

In 2019, NASA approved funding for TRACERS — Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites — the largest research award in University of Iowa history. TRACERS is a satellite mission aiming to study the mysterious, powerful interactions between magnetic fields of the sun and Earth. 

The TRACERS mission consists of two identical satellites that will orbit Earth in tandem. This research will help answer questions about space weather, particularly how the sun transfers energy, mass, and momentum to near-Earth space. 

Reed used math and measurements to ensure the set was realistic and modeled the TRACERS satellite. While Reed’s model is not fully functional, she is working on creating one that functions similarly to the TRACERS satellite.  

Reed worked closely with Gabriel Martin, administrative services coordinator for the TRACERS mission, on the project.  

“I was confident we could find an engineering student who would really enjoy and do well on the project, and we sure did,” Martin said. “Plus, my 8-year-old son will be pumped to build the satellites he’s seen pictures of and heard stories about.” 

For Martin, this collaboration between Reed and the TRACERS team shows that CLAS is a college that promotes collaboration between arts and sciences—and within the university. 

“The main purpose of a Lego model is to be built, look cool, and be enjoyed, but the process to create this kind of Lego model from scratch requires understanding technical design specifications of the actual satellites and harness artistic ability to design a process in which a bunch of toy blocks can become an amazingly accurate satellite model,” Martin said. 

With the launch of the TRACERS satellite this spring, this LEGO model will allow people outside the community to be able to see firsthand the work CLAS students, faculty and staff have done for NASA. 

Reed’s model will be available to purchase soon, and she hopes this will be reflective of the hard work behind the TRACERS satellite.