Uploaded January 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
Salt Lake City’s East High School may be most well known as the filming location of Disney’s popular “High School Musical” movie trilogy and TV series. Located about 4 miles southwest of the State Capitol Building, the secondary school is also the alma mater of Utah’s 92-year-old favorite son Jake Garn, veteran shuttle astronaut, airman and U.S. senator.
But a new chapter for the notable high school is beginning with a group of budding statisticians who are analyzing never-before-seen, direct-from-space data transmitted from a Utah State University Space Dynamics Laboratory-built instrument strapped to the Earth-facing exterior of the International Space Station. Launched to the ISS in November 2023, the NASA-funded Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE) mission’s tuba-shaped Advanced Mesospheric Temperature Mapper (AMTM) is collecting millions of images of atmospheric waves and temperature measurements with its four telescopes as it orbits the Earth 15 times a day.
The overall goal of the mission is to better understand, by examining atmospheric waves, how weather on earth influences space weather, which can adversely affect aircraft, spacecraft and GPS navigational systems.
“I think it’s incredible that we’re a part of this mission,” says East High junior Yamato Lerwill. “It’s a really unique opportunity that no other high schoolers that I know of are being able to do. We’re so lucky.”
Read the Full Story Here: https://www.usu.edu/today/story/heads-in-the-clouds-utah-high-school-students-analyze-novel-data-from-usu-instrument-aboard-iss
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Since 1888, Utah State University established itself as a premier research institution known through the world for its intellectual and technological leadership. USU’s main campus is in Logan, plus 30 campuses throughout Utah. And as long as WiFi is available, you can be an Aggie anywhere through USU Online.
USU competes in 16 NCAA Division I sports. Our student section, the HURD, is one of the loudest and rowdiest in the nation. The diehards become True Aggies by kissing on the block “A” on Homecoming. Adrenaline junkies sled down Old Main hill between classes or rock climb outside. And everyone eats Aggie Ice Cream — even with a foot of snow on the ground.
#7 Best Bang for the Buck in the West - Washington Monthly
#8 Public University in the Nation - Washington Monthly
#11 Best Online Bachelor's Program - U.S. News & World Report
There’s a place for you at Utah State. Join us.
https://usu.edu/admissions/aggielife/
Follow Us
FB: facebook.com/UtahState
IG: instagram.com/USUAggielife
TW: twitter.com/USUAggies
USU is committed to a learning and working environment free from discrimination. For USU’s non-discrimination notice, see equity.usu.edu/non-discrimination.
Salt Lake City’s East High School may be most well known as the filming location of Disney’s popular “High School Musical” movie trilogy and TV series. Located about 4 miles southwest of the State Capitol Building, the secondary school is also the alma mater of Utah’s 92-year-old favorite son Jake Garn, veteran shuttle astronaut, airman and U.S. senator.
But a new chapter for the notable high school is beginning with a group of budding statisticians who are analyzing never-before-seen, direct-from-space data transmitted from a Utah State University Space Dynamics Laboratory-built instrument strapped to the Earth-facing exterior of the International Space Station. Launched to the ISS in November 2023, the NASA-funded Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE) mission’s tuba-shaped Advanced Mesospheric Temperature Mapper (AMTM) is collecting millions of images of atmospheric waves and temperature measurements with its four telescopes as it orbits the Earth 15 times a day.
The overall goal of the mission is to better understand, by examining atmospheric waves, how weather on earth influences space weather, which can adversely affect aircraft, spacecraft and GPS navigational systems.
“I think it’s incredible that we’re a part of this mission,” says East High junior Yamato Lerwill. “It’s a really unique opportunity that no other high schoolers that I know of are being able to do. We’re so lucky.”
Read the Full Story Here: https://www.usu.edu/today/story/heads-in-the-clouds-utah-high-school-students-analyze-novel-data-from-usu-instrument-aboard-iss
–––––––––––
Since 1888, Utah State University established itself as a premier research institution known through the world for its intellectual and technological leadership. USU’s main campus is in Logan, plus 30 campuses throughout Utah. And as long as WiFi is available, you can be an Aggie anywhere through USU Online.
USU competes in 16 NCAA Division I sports. Our student section, the HURD, is one of the loudest and rowdiest in the nation. The diehards become True Aggies by kissing on the block “A” on Homecoming. Adrenaline junkies sled down Old Main hill between classes or rock climb outside. And everyone eats Aggie Ice Cream — even with a foot of snow on the ground.
#7 Best Bang for the Buck in the West - Washington Monthly
#8 Public University in the Nation - Washington Monthly
#11 Best Online Bachelor's Program - U.S. News & World Report
There’s a place for you at Utah State. Join us.
https://usu.edu/admissions/aggielife/
Follow Us
FB: facebook.com/UtahState
IG: instagram.com/USUAggielife
TW: twitter.com/USUAggies
USU is committed to a learning and working environment free from discrimination. For USU’s non-discrimination notice, see equity.usu.edu/non-discrimination.
