Events in Southern California July 08, 2011
This is a feature from the NASA/JPL Education Office.
Vesta Fiesta -- Propel Yourself into the Cosmos!
What: Vesta Fiesta, celebrating NASA and the Dawn spacecraft as it explores the large asteroid Vesta
Where: Pasadena Convention Center, 300 East Green Street, Pasadena, Calif. 91101
When: Saturday, August 6, 2011, 1 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. PDT
You and your family are cordially invited to Vesta Fiesta, a party in Pasadena, Calif., dedicated to celebrating the NASA Dawn mission's adventures as the spacecraft is captured into orbit around the giant asteroid Vesta and begins exploring this thrilling new world. Dawn will spend about a year in orbit around Vesta, the second most massive object in the main asteroid belt, located between Mars and Jupiter, before continuing on to orbit Ceres -- the largest body in the asteroid belt.
Bring your family! Watch Rosetta mission scientist Dr. Claudia Alexander "Cook Up a Kitchen Comet" using dry-ice and her secret ingredients. Leap into hands-on science activities: Ride along with Dawn's ion propulsion system in a cool interactive, make your own asteroid model and touch a genuine iron meteorite while checking out a vast meteorite collection -- including one from Vesta. Meet real NASA scientists and ask the questions you've always wanted to ask!
Schedule of activities:
1 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. PDT -- Educational activities, games and NASA mission displays for the whole family
3 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. PDT - Bill Nye the Science Guy live from the launch of NASA's Juno mission spacecraft at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla.
3:15 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. PDT - "Cooking Up a Kitchen Comet" with Dr. Claudia Alexander, Rosetta mission project manager
3:45 p.m. to 5 p.m. PDT - Educational activities, games and NASA mission displays
5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. PDT -- Presentation by Dawn mission science team with first-release images of Vesta
Other local events of interest:
9 p.m. to 12 a.m. PDT - Public Star Party on the front lawn of Griffith Observatory. Vesta will be visible!
More information: http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/.
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