OSGC Educational Resources Blog

From the NSTA Express Newsletter:
Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. Inc., and NSTA are pleased to announce the 18th Annual Toyota TAPESTRY Grants for Science Teachers Program. The program is open to middle and high school science teachers who teach at least two science classes a day and to elementary classroom teachers who teach at least some science in the classroom.

This year, Toyota will offer $550,000 in grants to 70 to 82 teams of teachers throughout the United States, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. territories and possessions. A total of 50 large grants of up to $10,000 each will be awarded, along with 20 to 32 mini grants of up to $2,500 each. Large grant winners will also receive an all-expenses paid trip to the NSTA National Conference in Boston. Mini grant awardees receive a one-year NSTA membership.

For the second year, all proposals must be submitted online via the link at the Toyota TAPESTRY website. The online proposal process has been updated and improved, and character limits have been greatly expanded. The deadline for submission of online mini and large grants proposals is 11:59 p.m., Monday, January 28, 2008.

Please visit the TAPESTRY website to read more about the grants or to submit your application.
http://www.nsta.org/pd/tapestry/

The Phoenix Mars Mission launched successfully on Saturday, August 4, 2007. To learn more about the mission, view video of the launch, and obtain educational materials associated with the mission, please visit the official site through the following link:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/main/index.html

From NASA Press Release:
The Phoenix spacecraft has separated from the Delta II rocket and ground controllers at NASA’s Deep Space Network have acquired its signal and begun assessing its health. The solar panels that will power the mission’s cruise phase will be deployed and Phoenix will be pointed to best receive solar power and communicate with Earth.

The spacecraft has oriented itself to the sun as it was programmed to do. It will use solar panels to generate electricity during the nine-month coast to Mars. A separate set of solar arrays is attached to the lander itself.

The Phoenix Mars lander’s assignment is to dig through the Martian soil and ice in the arctic region and use its onboard scientific instruments to analyze the samples it retrieves.

From NASA’s official site:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

STS-118 Launch Countdown is Under Way
Launch Date: Aug. 8
Launch Time: 6:36 p.m. EDT

With two days remaining until launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour, work is progressing smoothly, launch officials stated this morning during a briefing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

“Work continues to go well,” said NASA Test Director Jeff Spaulding. “At this point, we are on schedule and are tracking no significant issues.”

The countdown began on time at 8 p.m. EDT Sunday. The launch pad will close at about noon today, allowing workers to begin preparations for servicing of the onboard reactant tanks for the shuttle’s three fuel cells. When that operation is complete early Wednesday morning, the pad will be reopened for initial pad closeouts and checks of the orbiter’s three main engines.

Weather is not expected to stand in the way of a Wednesday evening liftoff. Currently, there’s only a 30% chance that isolated showers or anvil clouds could prevent launch. This prediction remains the same in the event of a 24-hour delay.

The 22nd flight to the International Space Station, STS-118 will be the first flight for Endeavour since 2002, and the first mission for Mission Specialist Barbara Morgan, the teacher-turned-astronaut whose association with NASA began more than 20 years ago.