There is plenty of space but don't delay. Sign up for the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory's Educator Conference "Basics of Interplanetary Space Flight,"
December 1 - 2, 2007
Details and registration information is at
http://education.jpl.nasa.gov/events.html
Note that is is a mostly non-technical approach to these subjects.
High school students are welcome to participate but minors must be
accompanied by a conference-registered adult.
The conference features the who, what, where, when, how and why of
spacecraft missions to give you a broad understanding of how we turn
technology into a new understanding of our solar system and beyond.
Conference Learning Objectives:
1) ENVIRONMENT: Participants will be able to describe the environment
in which interplanetary robots fly, characterizing it in terms of
gravitation, momentum, radiation, plasma, temperature, and density.
They will apply knowledge of the environment to the basic design and
motion of interplanetary spacecraft.
2) SPACECRAFT: Participants will be able to list the basic components of
a typical interplanetary spacecraft, including the required subsystems and a
representative sample of required software capabilities ("smarts").
They will categorize various spacecraft according to their intended missions.
3) INSTRUMENTATION: Participants will be able to characterize a spacecraft's
scientific instruments and identify the physical operating principles of each.
4) RESULTS: Participants will view and interpret selected results from several
interplanetary missions, understand how results are disseminated, and will know
where to obtain results from most any interplanetary mission.
These objectives will be met during the process of considering various scenarios,
including spacecraft launch, tracking, maneuvering, and encountering solar system
objects and returning data. Activities will include lecture and discussion, visuals,
scale models, and hands-on experiments.
Reference "Basics of Spaceflight" online at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/basics
SAVE THE DATE:
January 26-27 - "Space Exploration's Rich History" Educator Conference
We will celebrate the 50th anniversary of
Explorer 1, which launched January 31, 1958. We will use the opportunity to look
back at the start of space science and the origins of the space race. We will have a
look at what did, and what did not, happen during humanity's first fifty years in space
with Dr. Erik Conway, JPL's Chief Historian, and other speakers.
Details and registration information will be at
http://education.jpl.nasa.gov/events.html shortly.
Happy Thanksgiving,
The JPL Education Office
