![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
European Space Agency’s probe makes historic landing on comet
ESA Website
FIRST LANDING: The ESA’s Rosetta mission Philae Probe lands on comet 67 on Nov. 12. The Rosetta mission has been flying through space for 10 years.
The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Rosetta mission Philae Probe landed on comet 67P on Nov. 12 in the first successful comet landing in human history, according to a statement on the ESA’s website.
The Philae Probe’s landing was confirmed by the Rosetta orbiter after a seven hour attempt to land the probe on the comet’s surface after over 10 years of the Rosetta mission going through space.
“I think it’s just a milestone that will lead to a sense of accomplishment that we can build off,” astronomy teacher Rachel Freed said. “This will answer a lot of questions about the origin of our own solar system.”
Freed has already incorporated the Philae probe landing into her astronomy class and followed the events after the landing with her students.
“The lander had landed about two hours before class, and I had spent an hour and a half before class following three Twitter feeds: from Rosetta, from the Philae lander, from the European Space Agency,” Freed said. “We had the live-streaming video from the control center in Germany and in class we spent an hour looking into what’s exactly happening.”
Some students read about and followed the Philae probe landing on their own time.
“I honestly think that the probe is cool and it was kind of an amazing landing despite the problems with the harpoons,” Neymika Jain (10) said.
Now that the Philae probe has successfully landed, scientists plan to take their research further and proceed with the rest of the Rosetta mission, which involves repositioning the Rosetta orbiter back into orbit and observing the comet throughout 2015.
The hashtag #WeCanLandOnACometButWeCant trended on Twitter in response to the Philae probe landing on Nov. 12.
This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on November 21, 2014.
Kshithija “KJ” Mulam (12) is the Winged Post Editor-in-Chief. Serving as the Winged Post News Editor in her junior year, Winged Post Photo Editor in...