SPACE: WHERE ARE WE GOING? : STEM

Showing posts with label STEM. Show all posts

Sunday, September 9, 2012

THE SONG OF MARS

PHOTO: GAIL CRATER ON MARS. CREDIT: NASA/ JPL/ CALTECH
FROM: NASA

Curiosity Rover Plays First Song Transmitted From Another Planet

PASADENA -- For the first time in history, a recorded song has been beamed back to Earth from another planet. Students, special guests and news media gathered at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., today to hear "Reach for the Stars" by musician will.i.am after it was transmitted from the surface of Mars by the Curiosity rover.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden addressed the crowd in a video message encouraging students to study science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). "Mars has always fascinated us, and the things Curiosity tells us about it will help us learn about whether or not life was possible there," Bolden said. "And what future human explorers can expect. will.i.am has provided the first song on our playlist of Mars exploration."

In opening remarks, NASA Associate Administrator for Education and space shuttle astronaut Leland Melvin said, "I can think of no greater way to honor NASA pioneer Neil Armstrong's life and legacy than to inspire today's students to follow his path. That first footprint that Neil placed on the lunar surface left an indelible mark in history. Perhaps one of our students here today or watching on NASA Television will be the first to set foot on the surface of Mars and continue humanity's quest to explore."

Musician and entrepreneur will.i.am shared his thoughts about "Reach for the Stars" becoming the first interplanetary song and an anthem for NASA education. The entertainer is a well-known advocate of science and technology education. He said, "Today is about inspiring young people to lead a life without limits placed on their potential and to pursue collaboration between humanity and technology through STEAM education. I know my purpose is to inspire young people, because they will keep inspiring me back."

After completing a journey of more than 300 million miles from Earth to Mars and back, the opening orchestral strains of "Reach for the Stars" filled the auditorium. The event added to continuing worldwide interest in Curiosity's mission.

NASA engineers spoke to attendees about the Curiosity mission, and the systems engineering and orbital mechanics involved in getting the song file back from Mars. Students had the opportunity to ask questions of all program participants. Earlier in the day, students received a guided tour of JPL to view rover models and learn about STEM career options.

During the event, will.i.am's i.am angel Foundation and Discovery Education announced a $10 million classroom education initiative that will reach 25 million students annually, including many from underserved communities. Focused on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) educational themes, the Discovery Education initiative will incorporate NASA content and space exploration themes as part of the curriculum.

Friday, February 10, 2012

SECOND ANNUAL WHITE HOUSE SCIENCE FAIR INCLUDES NASA OFFICIALS

The following excerpt is from the NASA website:

“WASHINGTON -- NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and other senior
agency officials joined President Obama in honoring student science
fair winners from across the country at the second annual White House
Science Fair today in the East Wing of the White House. The event
highlighted student achievement and excellence in science,
technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM.

In November 2009, the president announced his "Educate to Innovate"
campaign and emphasized the importance of encouraging students to
pursue STEM studies and careers. NASA has developed a wide variety of
education programs that use the inherent excitement of space
exploration and science to inspire students and generate interest in
STEM.

"Programs like this science fair help students develop critical skills
and get hands-on experience that will serve them and our nation well
in the future," Bolden said. "These talented students are tomorrow's
science leaders, and their skills will be critical to helping us make
an American economy built to last."

Joining Bolden at the event were NASA's Associate Administrator for
Education Leland Melvin and Associate Administrator for Science John
Grunsfeld. Both Melvin and Grunsfeld also are veteran space shuttle
astronauts who frequently use their flight experiences as catalysts
for engaging students' interest in space and science. NASA Chief
Technologist, Mason Peck, NASA Chief Scientist Waleed Abdalati, and
Paul Hertz, chief scientist for the agency's Science Mission
Directorate, also attended the fair and met with student honorees.

Among the winning science experiments displayed at the White House
today were two that related directly to NASA's mission, including
entries from a girls' rocket team and a FIRST Robotics alliance.

The "Young Women Rocketing to Nationals" team featured Janet and Ana
Karen Nieto of Presidio, Texas, who are members of the Presidio High
School Rocketry Team that competed as a national finalist in the Team
America Rocketry Challenge in 2009, 2010, and 2011. Gwynelle Condino,
a 7th grade student at Lucy Franco Middle School in Presidio, is the
team's leader this year.

"A Winning Robotics Alliance, with Astronauts Cheering Them On" team
was comprised of John Drake of Schaumburg, Ill., Sean Murphy of
Atascadero, Calif., and Eric Bakan of San Jose, Calif. They
represented the winning alliance of the 2011 FIRST Robotics
Competition Championship and were mentored by engineers at NASA's
Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.

Two other NASA-related education programs also were represented at
today's event.

Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE),
is a hands-on, primary and secondary school-based science and
education program where students, teachers and scientists worldwide
collaborate on investigations of the environment and the Earth
system. Participants work in close partnership with NASA and other
federal agencies.

The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) was launched in
June 2010 by the National Center for Earth and Space Science
Education, in partnership with NanoRacks, LLC. Student teams in
grades 5-12 propose microgravity experiments for flight in a research
minilab that may be flown to the International Space Station. SSEP is
enabled through a space act agreement as part of the International
Space Station's use as a National Laboratory.”

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STAR FLASH

What caused this outburst of V838 Mon? For reasons unknown, star V838 Mon's outer surface suddenly greatly expanded with the result that it became the brightest star in the entire Milky Way Galaxy in January 2002. Then, just as suddenly, it faded. A stellar flash like this had never been seen before -- supernovas and novas expel matter out into space. Although the V838 Mon flash appears to expel material into space, what is seen in the above image from the Hubble Space Telescope is actually an outwardly moving light echo of the bright flash. In a light echo, light from the flash is reflected by successively more distant rings in the complex array of ambient interstellar dust that already surrounded the star. V838 Mon lies about 20,000 light years away toward the constellation of the unicorn (Monoceros), while the light echo above spans about six light years in diameter. Image Credit: NASA, ESA

THE SPIDERWEB GALAXY

Looking like a spider's web swirled into a spiral, Galaxy IC 342 presents its delicate pattern of dust in this image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Seen in infrared light, faint starlight gives way to the glowing bright patterns of dust found throughout the galaxy's disk. At a distance of about 10 million light-years, IC 342 is relatively close by galactic standards, however our vantage point places it directly behind the disk of our own Milky Way. The intervening dust makes it difficult to see in visible light, but infrared light penetrates this veil easily. IC 342 belongs to the same group as its even more obscured galactic neighbor, Maffei 2. IC 342 is nearly face-on to our view, giving a clear, top-down view of the structure of its disk. It has a low surface brightness compared to other spirals, indicating a lower density of stars (seen here as a blue haze). Its dust structures show up much more vividly (red). Blue dots are stars closer to us, in our own Milky Way. New stars are forming in the disk at a healthy rate. The very center glows especially brightly in the infrared, highlighting an enormous burst of star formation occurring in this tiny region. To either side of the center, a small bar of dust and gas is helping to fuel this central star formation. Data from Spitzer's infrared array camera are shown in blue (3.6 microns), green (4.5 microns) and red (5.8 and 8.0 microns). Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

JUMPING TO WARP SPEED

This cockpit view of a hypothetical spacecraft traveling at eight-tenths the speed of light shows the visual distortions that would be experienced at such high speeds. The star field is actually being wrapped toward the front of the craft in addition to being significantly blue-shifted. NASA Glenn leads the Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Project, NASA's primary effort to produce near-term, credible, and measurable progress toward the technology breakthroughs needed to revolutionize space travel and enable interstellar voyages. NASA Lewis (now Glenn) Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio.