OSGC Educational Resources Blog

On May 25, 2008, the NASA Phoenix spacecraft will arrive at Mars. Phoenix will be the first vehicle intended to land on the surface of Red Planet since the Mars Exploration Rovers “Spirit” and “Opportunity” landed in January 2004.

Phoenix is a three-legged lander that will perform its “entry, descent and landing” sequence and, if successful, will commence a three-month surface science mission. Phoenix will dig down to an ice-rich layer that scientists calculate lies within inches of the surface. The lander will check samples of soil and ice for evidence about whether the site was ever hospitable to life.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California will be conducting a live webcast for schools on Thursday, May 22, at 9:00 a.m. PDT (12:00 p.m. EDT). This webcast will preview the events of the entry, descent and landing, the path to Mars so far, and the science mission.

Appropriate for 4th- through 12th-grade classrooms, the program will feature information and video clips for 30 minutes. Four selected schools connected through the NASA Digital Learning Network will engage in Q&A with JPL staff for an additional 20 minutes.

For information on how to view the webcast live, visit http://dln.nasa.gov/dln/content/webcast/
To learn more about the Phoenix mission, visit http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/present/phoenix.html

Join NASA and viewers from around the globe as the Phoenix Mars Lander descendes to the surface of the Red Planet on May 25, 2008.  Live webcasts of the landing will begin around 3pm PST and continue until approximately 5pm. 

The Phoenix Mars Lander will investigate a site in the far north of Mars. The mission will seek to answer questions about that part of Mars and help resolve broader questions about the planet. The key questions Phoenix will address concern water and conditions that could support life.

The Phoenix landing region has water ice in soil close to the surface, which NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter discovered for much of the high-latitude terrain in both the north and south hemispheres of Mars.

Phoenix will dig down to the icy layer. It will examine soil in place at the surface, at the icy layer and in between. It will scoop up samples for analysis by its onboard instruments. One key instrument will check for water and carbon-containing compounds by heating soil samples in tiny ovens and examining the vapors that are given off. Another will test soil samples by adding water and analyzing the dissolution products. Cameras and microscopes will provide information on scales spanning eight powers of 10, from features that could fit by the hundreds into the period at the end of this sentence to a survey of the landscape by a mast-mounted camera. A weather station will provide information about atmospheric processes in an arctic region where a coating of carbon-dioxide ice comes and goes with the seasons.

To read more about the Phoenix Mars Lander and to access a link to the live webcast, please visit the official NASA Phoenix website at  http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/main/index.html

Astrobiology in Yellowstone National Park: A research experience for
Pre-Service and In-Service Science Teachers

Offered by: Portland State University, Department of Geology on July 8-15, 2008

Details:
G410/510, Astrobiology in Yellowstone 2 or 4 credits (graduate or undergraduate)
Trip Dates: July 8-15, 2008 Official course dates: July 7-25, 2008
Trip Fee: $725 – covers transportation to Yellowstone, meals and camping fees (tuition fees extra)
Undergraduate Tuition Fees: $375 for 2 credits or $602 for 4 credits
Graduate Tuition Fees: $701 for 2 credits or $1254 for 4 credits

Course Description: The field of astrobiology focuses on the search for early life on Earth and the possibility of life on other planets.  The Cady Research Group ( http://cadylab.pdx.edu/ ) investigates how life leaves an imprint on the rock record. In this course, students will be exposed to a variety of field and microscopy techniques used to detect signatures left by microorganisms.  We will travel to hot springs in Yellowstone National Park to study the formation of microbial fossils in hot spring environments.  Participants will conduct original research projects related to current research questions posed by NASA with regard to Mars exploration.  We will also discuss methods to incorporate this multidisciplinary field into K-12 science curriculum.  Assignments, due after returning from the field, are to write a short field research report and draft a K-12 lab or field activity.  The 4-credit version will also require you to prepare a complete curriculum module to share with others.  All students must be prepared to hike 5-6 miles/day on moderate trails, carrying light to moderate loads.

Contact Professor Sherry Cady - (503) 725-3377, cadys@pdx.edu and/or Dr. Rick Hugo - (503)725-3356, hugo@pdx.edu for more information.

Help NASA on the quest for signs of water on the Red Planet!

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera now orbiting Mars is helping NASA search for signs of water on Mars. Students are invited to help choose regions of Mars for HiRISE to image. The HiRISE team will pick several suggestions and image them with the camera in the coming months. The participants will represent the first people on Earth to see the resulting image and will have the chance to search for signs of water in the image.

Background information, teacher guides, student activity books and tutorials are available online to help students choose a region. Interested teachers and students are encouraged to register online to receive more information about how to participate.

Initial hypotheses are due March 23, 2008.

For more information, visit http://quest.nasa.gov/challenges/hirise/

Spaceward Bound is an educational program designed to train the next generation of space explorers. Students participate in the exploration of scientifically interesting but remote and extreme environments on Earth as analogs for human exploration of the moon and Mars.

The student program enables students at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels to participate as crew members in two-week-long immersive, full-scale simulations of living and working on the moon and Mars at the Mars Desert Research Station. The Spaceward Bound crew rotations at MDRS take place from October to March each year. They are currently planned through 2010.

Applications for these expeditions are available through The Mars Society, which established and operates the Research Station. Each Spaceward Bound MDRS participant receives a $500 stipend toward travel expenses.

For more information, visit http://quest.nasa.gov/projects/spacewardbound/mdrs.html

Help NASA on the quest for signs of water on the Red Planet.

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera now orbiting Mars is helping NASA search for signs of water on Mars. Students are invited to help choose regions of Mars for HiRISE to image. The HiRISE team will pick several suggestions and image them with the camera in the coming months. The participants will represent the first people on Earth to see the resulting image and will have the chance to search for signs of water in the image.

Background information, teacher guides, student activity books and tutorials are available online to help students choose a region. Interested teachers and students are encouraged to register online to receive more information about how to participate.

For more information, visit: http://quest.nasa.gov/challenges/hirise/

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.

MARS DAY! is an annual National Air and Space Museum event that celebrates the Red Planet with educational and fun family activities. Visitors can take part in a variety of activities, talk to scientists active in Mars research, and learn about current and future missions.

Visitors can see a real meteorite that came from Mars and view the latest images from the Mars Odyssey mission. A full-scale model of the Mars Exploration Rovers that are currently exploring the surface of Mars will be on display, and visitors can see the surface of the Red Planet in 3-D.

MARS DAY! 2007 will take place on Friday, July 20, 2007, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit http://www.nasm.si.edu/marsday/

The Mars - Red Planet Poster is now available on NASA’s website in the Posters section of the Educational Materials area. The poster shows that the journey to Mars starts in the classroom. The back of the poster has an overview describing what NASA has learned about Mars and listing facts about the Red Planet.

Download the Mars - The Red Planet poster from the following location:
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Mars_The_Red_Planet_Poster.html

Application deadline: April 25, 2007

The Phoenix Student Interns Program is a unique opportunity for high school teachers and students to become part of the Phoenix Science Team for the 2007-2008 Phoenix Mars Lander Mission. From around the country, selected teachers and their chosen students will work with scientists to prepare for surface operations on Mars, analyze data during the mission, and reach out to other students, teachers, and the public through presentations, articles and Web sites. Following preparation and special training, teachers and students will spend one week at the Science Operations Center in Tucson, Ariz., during landed operations to help investigate the surface of Mars.

Applications are due Apr. 25, 2007. For more information, visit: http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/edu_psip.php