Astronamy: nasa

NASA Education Express

NASA Education Express – Feb. 3, 2011: Posted on Feb 03, 2011 12:21:31 PM | Mindi Capp 0 Comments | Permalink |; Check out the following NASA opportunities for the education community. Full descriptions are listed below. Vote Now for NASA OPTIMUS PRIME Spinoff Award Audience: All Educators and Students Voting Ends: Feb. 6, 2011 Teaching From Space Seeks Educators to Defy Gravity Audience: K-12 Educators Proposal Deadline: March 14, 2011 2010-2011 Green Aviation Student CompetitionsAudience: 9-Graduate Students High School Deadline: March 15, 2011 University Deadline: May 2, 2011 2010-2011 NASA Future of Flight Art Contest Audience: 9-Higher Education Students Deadline: April 15, 2011 ________________________________________________________________ Vote Now for NASA OPTIMUS PRIME Spinoff Award NASA has opened online voting for the agency's OPTIMUS PRIME Spinoff Award student video contest. The public is invited to vote for its favorite videos, made by students in grades three through eight, developed to help educate America's youth about the benefits of NASA's technologies. NASA is using the correlation between Hasbro's TRANSFORMERS property and commercialized agency spinoffs to help students understand how technology developed for space and aeronautics transforms into products and technologies used on Earth. More than 190 children from 31 states have submitted creative videos describing their favorite agency technology from NASA's “Spinoff 2009” publication. The students also documented why their videos should be selected to win the NASA OPTIMUS PRIME trophy. Voting closes on Feb. 6, 2011. To watch the videos and to cast a vote for your favorites, visit http://ipp.gsfc.nasa.gov/optimus/voting.php. The top five submissions from each of two groups (third through fifth and sixth through eighth grades) will advance for final judging. A panel of NASA judges will select the winners in each of the two grade categories. The winning students, associated spinoff companies and NASA innovators will be announced in February. NASA intends to make this an annual competition. Students can begin thinking about next year's competition by deciding which spinoffs they like best from NASA's recently published “Spinoff 2010.” For more information about the NASA OPTIMUS PRIME Spinoff Award, visit: http://ipp.gsfc.nasa.gov/optimus For more information about NASA spinoffs and technology transfer, visit: http://www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/ ________________________________________________________________ Teaching From Space Seeks Educators to Defy Gravity Teaching From Space, a NASA Education office, in partnership with the Reduced Gravity Education Flight Program announces the opportunity for educators across the country to conduct research in a unique reduced-gravity environment. For the first time, this incredible opportunity is open to any current K-12 classroom teacher in the United States. Participants must also be U.S. citizens. This experience will enable selected educator teams to propose, design and fabricate a reduced-gravity experiment and subsequently test and evaluate their experiment aboard a microgravity aircraft. This aircraft flies approximately 30 roller-coaster-like climbs and dips to produce periods of micro- and hyper-gravity, ranging from 0 g’s to 2 g’s. Educator teams interested in testing an experiment in this unique environment need to submit a proposal no later than March 14, 2011. For more information, check out http://microgravityuniversity.jsc.nasa.gov/tfs or send an e-mail to jsc-rgeducator@nasa.gov. ________________________________________________________________ 2010-2011 Green Aviation Student Competitions The Environmentally Responsible Aviation Project invites students from high school grades through graduate school to research and design a large passenger aircraft that is less noisy, less harmful to the environment, and more fuel-efficient than current models. The competition has two divisions: High School and College/University. Teams or individuals may enter. At the college level, inter-institutional partnerships are permitted and interdisciplinary collaboration is encouraged. High school participants must be enrolled in an accredited high school, secondary school or home school. For the high school division, the deadline for papers is March 15, 2011. Undergraduate and graduate participants must be enrolled full time in an accredited college or university. For the college and university division, the deadline for design papers is May 2, 2010. International students may participate, but they are not eligible for cash prizes or student internships. For more information about the contest, visit http://aero.larc.nasa.gov/competitions.htm. Questions about the contest should be directed to Dr. Elizabeth Ward at Elizabeth.B.Ward@nasa.gov. ________________________________________________________________ 2010-2011 NASA Future of Flight Art Contest NASA’s Future of Flight Art Contest invites students to imagine what spaceships, rockets or aircraft will look like 100 years from now. High school and college students from all areas of study are encouraged to enter. Artists are encouraged to collaborate with science and engineering students. Any full-time student can enter, regardless of major or area of study. Team entries are accepted, but team size is limited to eight students. Entries will be accepted in the following categories: two-dimensional art, three-dimensional art, digital (including music and video) and literature (poetry and short stories). Entries will be evaluated on creativity and artistic qualities. Prizes include awards and exhibit opportunities. Entries are due April 15, 2011. For more information about the NASA Future of Flight Art Contest, visit http://artcontest.larc.nasa.gov/. Questions about the contest should be directed to Elizabeth Ward at Elizabeth.B.Ward@nasa.gov. ________________________________________________________________ Don't miss out on education-related opportunities available from NASA. For a full list of Current Opportunities, visit http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/current-opps-index.html. Visit NASA Education on the Web: For Educators: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html For Students: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html NASA Kids’ Club: http://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub
NASA Education Express -- Jan. 27, 2011: Posted on Jan 27, 2011 02:24:01 PM | Mindi Capp 0 Comments | Permalink |; Check out the following NASA opportunities for the education community. Full descriptions are listed below. DLiNFocus: NASA Careers ‘What’s in Your Future?’ Special Event SeriesAudience: 5-12 Educators and Students Event Dates: Each Wednesday at 2 p.m. EST Online Professional Development Workshop: Enrichment Problems in Space and Earth Science XXVII Audience: 5-12 Educators Event Date: Feb. 3, 2011 Call for Abstracts: 62nd International Astronautical CongressAudience: Higher Education Students Deadline: Feb. 28, 2011 2011 Graduate Student Researchers ProjectAudience: Higher Education StudentsDeadline: March 1, 2011 3rd Annual NASA STEM Educators Workshop Series Audience: K-12 and Informal Educators Event Date: March 1-3, 2011 2011 Simulation-Based Aerospace Engineering Teacher Professional Development Program Audience: Middle and High School STEM Educators Application Deadline: March 7, 2011 ________________________________________________________________ DLiNFocus: NASA Careers ‘What’s in Your Future?’ Special Event Series Various subject matter experts from different NASA centers will be in the Digital Learning Network studios for a series of webcasts focusing on careers. Selected classrooms will be able to interact live with the scientists through the DLN cameras. Each event will be webcast to allow students from all over the world to watch the interviews. Any student can interact by sending questions via e-mail. Experts will share their academic experiences from elementary through college and talk about what motivated them to pursue their careers. They will discuss where those career paths lead. Students and teachers will have an opportunity to learn about the variety of career choices at NASA -- astronauts aren't the only folks who work here! The schedule of events through February 2011 includes: -- Feb. 2: NASA’s Kennedy Space Center featuring Dr. Philip Metzger, research physicist and founder of the Granular Materials and Regolith Operations Lab. -- Feb. 9: NASA’s Langley Research Center featuring Jennifer Keyes, aerospace engineer. -- Feb. 16: NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center featuring Dr. Bill Cooke, head of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. -- Feb. 23: NASA’s Stennis Space Center featuring Tom Nicolaides, systems engineer supporting Propulsion Test Projects. Each hour-long webcast event begins at 2 p.m. EST. Sign up today to become a part of this exciting opportunity to meet NASA employees live! For more information, visit the DLN website at http://dln.nasa.gov and click the Special Events button. Inquiries about the DLiNFocus series should be directed to Caryn Long at Caryn.Long@nasa.gov. ________________________________________________________________ Online Professional Development Workshop: Enrichment Problems in Space and Earth Science XXVII John Ensworth at the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies and the NASA Science Mission Directorate invite you to attend an upcoming online professional development workshop. Topic: Enrichment Problems in Space and Earth Science XXVII In the 27th bi-monthly installment of these mission- and inquiry-oriented mathematics problems, Dr. Sten Odenwald will supply background for and lead participants through problems from his "Problems in Space and Earth Science" series. Space Math @ NASA has posted four new math problems based on exciting new press releases from NASA that were posted at the beginning of the month. In this webinar, we will work through the following problems: Problem 396: Kepler 10b -- A Matter of Gravity (Grades 8-10)In this problem, students use the measured properties of the Earth-like planet Kepler 10b to estimate the weight of a human on its surface. Topics include evaluating formulas; mass = density x volume; volume of a sphere; and scientific notation. Problem 395: Death Stars (Grades 6-9)Some stars create super-flares that are capable of eliminating life on planets that orbit close to the star. Students learn about these flares on common red-dwarf stars and compare them to flares on our own sun. Topics include scientific notation; percentages; and rates of change. Problem 394: Probing the Lunar Core Using Seismology (Grades 9-10)Students learn about the geometry needed to determine the diameter of the lunar core using a simplified model. Topics include geometry and properties of inscribed arcs. Problem 393: Taking a Stroll Around a Martian Crater! (Grades 6-8) Students use a recent photograph of a crater on Mars to estimate its circumference and the time it will take NASAs Opportunity Rover to travel once around its edge. Topics include scale model; distance = speed x time; and metric measure. The goal of these problems is to teach students about space weather by using mathematics. Each problem begins with real world questions, missions and situations, and applies the necessary mathematics for a solution. Participants may ask questions and work along in this fully interactive Webinar environment. http://spacemath.gsfc.nasa.gov Date: Thursday, Feb. 3, 2011 Time: 3:00 p.m., EST (Greenwich Mean Time -05:00, New York) You will need a computer, a good internet connection and a telephone to participate. Participants must first register for this meeting. There is no cost for this event. Note: Only the first 150 registrants will be accepted. Register ASAP! If this meeting is full, you will receive an e-mail that reads: "Your registration for this meeting is denied." In that case, we ask you to please join us in the next workshop! If you do miss this event, we will send you the link to a video archive of the workshop so you will still be able to benefit from the exercises. Please join the meeting 15-20 minutes before start to make sure your computer is prepared to run the Webex software. You may also pre-install the Webex plug-in following the instructions at the bottom of this e-mail. ----------------------------------------------------- Where to register for this meeting ----------------------------------------------------- 1. Go to https://nasa.webex.com/nasa/j.php?ED=162247537&RG=1&UID=0&RT=MiMxMQ%3D%3D. 2. Register for the meeting. Once the host approves your request, you will receive a confirmation e-mail with instructions for joining the meeting. To view in other time zones or languages, visit https://nasa.webex.com/nasa/j.php?ED=162247537&RG=1&UID=0&ORT=MiMxMQ%3D%3D. ------------------------------------------------------- Closed Captioning is available during the Webinar. A link to this will be provided closer to meeting time.------------------------------------------------------- For assistance ------------------------------------------------------- 1. Go to https://nasa.webex.com/nasa/mc 2. Click "Assistance". 3. Click "Support". For more information, contact John Ensworth by e-mail at john_ensworth@strategies.org or by telephone at 703-312-0563. IMPORTANT NOTICE: This WebEx service includes a feature that allows audio and any documents and other materials exchanged or viewed during the session to be recorded. By joining this session, you automatically consent to such recordings. If you do not consent to the recording, do not join the session. This video and earlier product videos will be available via a Web-based archive tool will soon be located at: http://www.strategies.org/education/index.aspx?sub=education&sub2=professional and http://video.strategies.org/. ------------------------------------------------------- To check the setup of your computer and pre-install the plug-in software, use the following links: Downloads WebEx will automatically setup Meeting Manager for Windows the first time you join a meeting. To save time, you can setup prior to the meeting by clicking this link: https://nasa.webex.com/nasa/meetingcenter/mcsetup.php The host requests that you check for compatibility of rich media players for Universal Communications Format (UCF) before you join the session. UCF allows you to view multimedia during the session. To check now, click the following link: https://nasa.webex.com/nasa/systemdiagnosis.php Meeting Manager for Microsoft® Windows® - MSI Installer -- Meeting Center automatically downloads, installs and configures Meeting Manager for Windows the first time you start or join a meeting. However, you may choose to download and run the Meeting Manager Installer before starting or joining a meeting. You must have administrator privileges on your computer to use this installer. -- Download Meeting Manager Installer for Internet Explorer https://nasa.webex.com/client/T25L/atmcie.msi -- Download Meeting Manager Installer for Mozilla Firefox/Netscape Navigator https://nasa.webex.com/client/T25L/atmcns.msi Meeting Manager for Mac® OS X (PowerPC) -- Meeting Manager for Mac OS X (PowerPC) is set up automatically the first time you start or join a meeting. The Installer for Mac OS X (PowerPC) can be used to manually install or uninstall Meeting Manager for Mac OS X (PowerPC). Download Meeting Manager Installer for Mac OS X (PowerPC) https://nasa.webex.com/client/T25L/mac/powerpc/webexinstaller.hqx. ________________________________________________________________ Call for Abstracts: 62nd International Astronautical Congress NASA announces its intent to participate in the 62nd International Astronautical Congress, or IAC, and requests that full-time graduate students attending U.S. universities or colleges respond to this “Call for Abstracts.” The IAC -- which is organized by the International Astronautical Federation, or IAF; the International Academy of Astronautics, or IAA; and the International Institute of Space Law, or IISL, -- is the largest space-related conference worldwide and selects an average of 1000 scientific papers every year. The upcoming IAC will be held Oct. 3-7, 2011, in Cape Town, South Africa. NASA’s participation in this event is an ongoing effort to continue to connect NASA with the astronautical and space international community. This “Call for Abstracts” is a precursor to a subsequent submission of a final paper, which may be presented at the 62nd IAC. Student authors are invited to submit an abstract regarding an original, unpublished paper that has not been submitted in any other forum. A NASA technical review panel of scientists and/or officials will select abstracts. Many students and professors are involved in NASA-related research. Persons submitting abstracts are strongly encouraged to seek advice from professors who are conducting NASA research and/or from NASA scientists and engineers. Abstract Preparation-- Abstracts must be 400 words or less. -- Abstracts must be written in English. -- Abstracts cannot include formulas, tables or drawings. -- Select the symposium and session in which you wish to post your abstract. Please view the IAC brochure at http://iac2011.com/sites/default/files/pdf/iac2011-call-for-papers.pdf for list of sessions and more details. Abstracts must be related to NASA’s ongoing vision for space exploration and fit into one of the following categories: -- Science and Exploration -- Systems sustaining missions including life, microgravity, space exploration, space debris and Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence, or SETI. -- Applications and Operations -- Ongoing and future operational applications, including Earth observation, communication, navigation, human space endeavors and small satellites. -- Technology -- Common technologies to space systems including astrodynamics, structures, power and propulsion. -- Infrastructures -- Systems sustaining space missions including space systems, transportation, future systems and safety. -- Space and Society -- Interaction of space with society including education, policy and economics, history, and law. The full text of the abstract must be submitted electronically in the prescribed format at http://iac.nasaprs.com/ no later than 11:59:59 p.m. EST on Feb. 28, 2011 and to the IAC website at http://iac2011.com/ by March 2, 2011. If you have a question or concern about the programmatic or the electronic submission of your abstract, please e-mail abstract@nasaprs.com, and you will receive a response within two (2) business days. ________________________________________________________________ 2011 Graduate Student Researchers Project Applications are being accepted for NASA's Graduate Student Researchers Project. Through GSRP, NASA awards fellowships for graduate study leading to research-based master’s or doctoral degrees in science, technology, mathematics and engineering fields related to NASA research and development. In 2011, NASA is expanding GSRP to include students interested in becoming teachers or education administrators. Applicants must be currently enrolled or accepted as full-time students at an accredited U.S. college or university. Applicants also must be U.S. citizens. All application materials must be received no later than March 1, 2011. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/descriptions/Graduate_Student_Researchers_Project.html. To apply for this fellowship online, visit the OSSI: SOLAR (One Stop Shop Initiative: Student On-Line Application for Recruiting Interns, Fellows and Scholars) website http://intern.nasa.gov. Please e-mail any questions about this opportunity to Linda Rodgers at Linda.L.Rodgers@jpl.nasa.gov. ________________________________________________________________ 3rd Annual NASA STEM Educators Workshop Series The 3rd Annual NASA STEM Educators Workshop Series will explore engineering design challenges, problem-based learning activities, distance learning modules, inquiry-based lessons and hands-on projects. Each workshop will be led by experienced educators and education public outreach specialists who will model pedagogical techniques and methods to foster problem-based learning, science as inquiry, technology integration and best practices. Workshops target in-service, informal and pre-service teachers who serve the K-12 education community. The workshop series will take place March 1-3, 2011, in Charlotte, N.C. For more information and to register for the workshops, visit http://aesp.psu.edu/register/. If you have any questions about the workshops, please contact Brandon Hargis at 757-864-9570 or Brandon.Hargis@nasa.gov. ________________________________________________________________ 2011 Simulation-Based Aerospace Engineering Teacher Professional Development Program Applications are currently available for the 2011 Simulation-Based Aerospace Engineering Teacher Professional Development Program. This program will provide 32 select middle and high school STEM teachers the opportunity to attend a two-week, paid internship-based workshop at a NASA facility. During the workshop, teachers will attend presentations by NASA engineers and education specialists, tour NASA facilities and work side-by-side with mentors. At the conclusion of the workshop teachers will have developed an innovative modeling and simulation lesson plan relevant to the mentor’s research area that they will be able to use in their classrooms and share with other educators across the nation. Applications are due March 7, 2011. For more information about this opportunity and to download the application materials, visit https://simaero.rti.org. Inquiries about the 2011 Simulation-Based Aerospace Engineering Teacher Professional Development Program should be directed to Olivia Rice at simaero@rti.org or 919-541-7011. ________________________________________________________________ Don't miss out on education-related opportunities available from NASA. For a full list of Current Opportunities, visit http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/current-opps-index.html. Visit NASA Education on the Web: For Educators: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html For Students: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html NASA Kids’ Club: http://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub
NASA Education Express -- Jan. 20, 2011: Posted on Jan 20, 2011 05:59:54 PM | Mindi Capp 1 Comments | Permalink |; Check out the following NASA opportunities for the education community. Full descriptions are listed below. NES Chat With NASA Scientist Joel LevineAudience: K-12 Educators Event Date: Jan. 21, 2011 NASA Web Chat: Taking the “Boom” Out of BoomsAudience: 5-Higher Education Educators and Students Event Date: Jan. 25, 2011 2011 Langley Aerospace Research Summer Scholars Audience: Higher Education Students Deadline: Feb. 1, 2011 NASA LEARN and NES Offering Webinars Audience: 5-12 Educators Event Date: Feb. 2, Feb. 9, Feb. 16 and Feb. 23, 2011 Balloonsat High Altitude Flight Student CompetitionAudience: 9-12 Educators and Students Proposal Deadline: Feb. 11, 2011 2011 Harriett G. Jenkins Predoctoral FellowshipAudience: Higher Education Students Deadline: March 1, 2011 Student Spaceflight Experiments Program OpportunityAudience: 5-12 Educators and Students ________________________________________________________________ NES Chat With NASA Scientist Joel Levine NASA Explorer Schools invites you to join a live chat on Jan. 21, 2011, from 2-3 p.m. EST, to ask Dr. Joel S. Levine, Chief Scientist of the ARES Mars Airplane Mission, questions about the development of a robotic, rocket-powered airplane that will fly through the atmosphere of Mars to search for evidence of life by looking for trace gases of biogenic origin. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/national/nes2/home/live-chat-Levine.html. If you have any questions about the webcast, please contact John Entwistle at John.D.Entwistle@nasa.gov. ________________________________________________________________ NASA Web Chat: Taking the “Boom” Out of Booms Loud sonic booms are a barrier to being able to fly over land at supersonic speeds some day. Noise regulations in most countries would not allow supersonic planes to fly over land because of the sonic booms they would generate. NASA is testing ways to take some of the "boom" out of sonic booms. On Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2011, at 3 p.m. EST, join a live web chat with NASA's sonic boom "guru," Ed Haering. To ever be able to enjoy the benefits of flying people or cargo over land at super-fast speeds, we have to figure out how to turn down the volume on sonic booms. NASA has been doing flight tests and simulations and ground experiments -- with cool names like "Quiet Spike," "SonicBOBS," "SonicBREW," "LaNCETS," "House VIBES," "Low Boom/No Boom" -- to help find answers. For more information about the chat and how to participate, visit http://www.nasa.gov/connect/chat/sonic_boom_chat.html. If you have any questions about the webcast, please contact Karen Rugg at Karen.L.Rugg@nasa.gov. ________________________________________________________________ 2011 Langley Aerospace Research Summer Scholars Langley Aerospace Research Summer Scholars, or LARSS, is a 10-week summer internship at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. Internships are available for rising undergraduate juniors, seniors and graduate students who are pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, materials science, atmospheric science and other aerospace-related fields that lend support to NASA’s mission. Students with other majors also are invited to apply. The 10-week internship includes doing a research project under the supervision of a researcher, attending technical lectures by prominent engineers and scientists, and presenting project results at a poster session. Additional elements include tours of Langley wind tunnels, computational facilities and laboratories, as well as several networking activities. Applicants must be U.S. citizens. Applications are due Feb. 1, 2011. For more information and to apply online, visit http://www.nianet.org/larss/. Please e-mail any questions about this opportunity to Debbie Murray at Deborah.B.Murray@nasa.gov or Sarah Pauls at Sarah.E.Pauls@nasa.gov. ________________________________________________________________ NASA LEARN and NES Offering Webinars NASA LEARN, or Learning Environments and Research Network, and NASA Explorer Schools have teamed up to offer exciting webinars featuring NASA educational resources for educators. Below are four offerings in February 2011. The webinars are presented from 9-10 p.m. EST to be sure educators on both the East Coast and West Coast can participate. And don’t worry about the technology. We have tech support ready to walk you through viewing and participating in the webinars. You can register for each of the webinars by clicking on these website links: Smart Skies -- Feb. 2, 2011, 9 p.m. ESTLearn how to use an innovative air traffic control simulator to engage your students as they explore the mathematics involved in being an air traffic controller. https://digitalmedia.wufoo.com/forms/nes-webinar-registration-smart-skies/ Black Hole Math -- Feb. 9, 2011, 9 p.m. ESTThis session provides teachers with information about one of the most exciting yet misunderstood space phenomenon -- black holes. Learn about black hole structure and behavior, and get information on some common misconceptions about black holes. https://digitalmedia.wufoo.com/forms/nes-webinar-registration-black-hole-math/ Engineering Design Challenge: Lunar Plant Growth Chamber -- Feb. 16, 2011, 9 p.m. EST Plant growth will be an important part of space exploration in the future. This webinar will highlight the science of the lunar environment, basic plant needs, the current focus of NASA's plant research and the systems that are being developed for future missions. https://digitalmedia.wufoo.com/forms/nes-webinar-registration-plant-growth/ Engineering Design Challenge: Water Filtration -- Feb. 23, 2011, 9 p.m. ESTThis webinar will highlight the water recovery and management function of the Environmental Control and Life Support System, or ECLSS, on the International Space Station. Students will design, build, test and measure the performance of a water filtration device, analyze the data collected and use this information to work toward an improved filtration design. https://digitalmedia.wufoo.com/forms/nes-webinar-registration-water-filtration/
________________________________________________________________ Balloonsat High Altitude Flight Student Competition NASA is inviting student teams to design and build experiments the agency will fly into the stratosphere, a near-space environment, more than 100,000 feet above Earth. NASA's second annual Balloonsat High-Altitude Flight competition is open to student teams in ninth to 12th grades from the United States and its territories. Each team of four or more students must submit an experiment proposal to NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland by Feb. 11, 2011. Student teams may propose experiments on a wide range of topics, from bacteria studies to weather observations. A panel of NASA engineers and scientists will evaluate the submissions based on mission objectives, technical planning and team organization. The top eight proposals will be announced on March 4, 2011. The top four teams will receive up to $1,000 to develop their flight experiments and travel to Glenn Research Center May 18-20, 2011. During their visit, they will have an opportunity to tour the center, watch as NASA helium weather balloons carry their experiments to the edge of space, recover the experiments and present their results at Glenn's Balloonsat Symposium. The other four teams also will receive up to $1,000 to develop their flight experiments and will participate via the Internet when NASA scientists and engineers launch and recover their payloads during the week of May 23, 2011. For more Balloonsat information, registration forms and project ideas, visit: http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/balloonsat. This competition and similar educational programs help NASA attract and retain students in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. These disciplines are critical to the agency's future programs and missions. The Balloonsat High-Altitude Flight competition is sponsored by Glenn's Educational Programs Office and is funded by the Teaching From Space Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. For information about the TFS education program, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/education/tfs. If you have questions about Balloonsat, please contact William.T.Dedula@nasa.gov. ________________________________________________________________ 2011 Harriett G. Jenkins Predoctoral Fellowship Applications are now being accepted for the Harriett G. Jenkins Predoctoral Fellowship. Up to 20 fellows will be selected to receive support for graduate education in NASA-related STEM disciplines. The fellowship is open to women, minority and disabled full-time graduate students studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Students are selected for fellowships that include financial support and opportunity for hands-on research experience at a NASA center. Fellowship tenure is three years for candidates seeking either a master's or doctoral degree in NASA-related fields. Applications for this opportunity are due March 1, 2011. For more information about the fellowship, visit http://www.uncfsp.org/JPFP and http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/descriptions/Jenkins_Predoctoral_Fellowship_Project.html. To apply for this fellowship online, visit the OSSI: SOLAR (One Stop Shop Initiative: Student On-Line Application for Recruiting Interns, Fellows and Scholars) website http://intern.nasa.gov. Please e-mail any questions about this opportunity to Brenda Collins at Brenda.J.Collins@nasa.gov. ________________________________________________________________ Student Spaceflight Experiments Program Opportunity Student Experiments on Space Shuttle Endeavour Flight Attract National Attention in Bold New STEM Education Program Private Sector Effort Also Offers Potential New Space Shuttle Atlantis Opportunity for 100,000 Students to Participate The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP, http://ssep.ncesse.org/), launched June 2010 by the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE, http://ncesse.org/) in partnership with NanoRacks LLC (http://www.nanoracks.us/), has selected 16 grade 5-12 student microgravity science experiments to fly on STS-134, the final flight of Shuttle Endeavour currently set to launch April 2011. Responding to a national announcement of opportunity by NCESSE in June 2010, 16 communities joined the program. Each community was provided an experiment slot in a private sector microgravity research laboratory flying on Endeavour, and which had also flown on seven past Shuttle missions. An experiment design competition in each community, open to up to 3,200 students, allowed student teams to design real experiments vying for their reserved slot on this historic flight. Additional SSEP programming leverages the flight design competition to engage the community, embracing a Learning Community Model for STEM education. A total of 20,000 students were given the opportunity to participate for STS-134, with 447 proposals submitted by student teams, 293 put forward to preliminary review boards in each of the communities, and 43 finalists put forward to a National SSEP Review Board. The 16 experiments selected for flight include studies of cell biology, life cycles, seed germination, food preservation, and crystal growth. SSEP is the first pre-college STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education program that is both a U.S. national initiative and implemented as an on-orbit commercial space venture. SSEP is enabled through NanoRacks LLC, which is working in partnership with NASA under a Space Act Agreement as part of the utilization of the International Space Station as a National Laboratory. “SSEP is immersing students in real science, and inspiring our next generation of scientists and engineers so that America can compete in the 21^st century,” says Jeffrey Manber, Managing Director of NanoRacks. “SSEP is designed to empower the student as scientist, and within the real-world context of science. Student teams design a real experiment, propose for a real flight opportunity, experience a formal proposal review process, go through a flight safety review, and have their own science conference, where they are immersed in their community of researchers,” said Dr. Jeff Goldstein, creator of SSEP and NCESSE Center Director in recent video interview on StemStream TV on the TV Worldwide Network. ”Science is more than a way of thinking and interacting with the natural world. Science is also a complex social landscape filled with challenges, and the need for successful communication with one’s peers. SSEP is about introducing real science to our children.” The vision for SSEP is to provide routine student access to space via commercial payloads, and to leverage the power of such access into STEM education delivered across an entire school district, and serving a national, even international network of such communities. Given the interest in this first flight opportunity, the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education is now announcing a Student Spaceflight Experiments Program opportunity for STS-135, the final flight of Atlantis, and the final flight of the U.S. Shuttle program, assuming Congress authorizes this additional mission. The STS-135 opportunity is available to school districts across the U.S. as well as Canada, and has been expanded to include U.S. 2-year community colleges. The Center expects that up to 50 communities will participate, engaging 100,000 grade 5-14 students in this historic adventure. NCESSE and NanoRacks are now planning the details of a post-shuttle SSEP initiative utilizing the unique hardware of the International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory, with participation open to the ISS partner nations. “The SSEP is a model program for engaging students in the NASA mission in a hands-on manner. The real-world experience these student scientists will gain by developing actual flight experiments will be invaluable to their STEM educational development,” says Mark Severance, NASA Education Projects Manager for the ISS National Laboratory. “We look forward to working with NCESSE and NanoRacks to host future iterations of SSEP on the NanoRacks Platform onboard the International Space Station.” Links:SSEP Home Page: http://ssep.ncesse.org/ SSEP Overview PDF: http://ssep.ncesse.org/overview SSEP Participating Communities: http://ssep.ncesse.org/communities Student Proposals Selected for Flight on Shuttle Endeavour: http://ssep.ncesse.org/communities/selected-experiments-on-sts-134/ SSEP In the News: http://ssep.ncesse.org/communities/in-the-news/ STEM Learning Community Model: http://ncesse.org/about/learning-community-model/ Testimonials: http://ssep.ncesse.org/communities/in-our-own-words/ About NCESSEThe National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE) creates and oversees national initiatives addressing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, with a focus on earth and space. Programs are designed to provide an authentic window on science as a human endeavor. Central objectives of the Center’s programs are to help ensure a scientifically literate public and a next generation of U.S. scientists and engineers—both of which are of national importance in an age of high technology. NCESSE is a Project of the Tides Center. http://ncesse.org/ About NanoRacksNanoRacks, LLC designed and operates research platforms onboard the ISS U.S. National Laboratory that permits low-cost research using payloads in the CubeSat form factor. The company also is planning space station hardware that will permit low-cost, in-orbit analysis of microgravity research. The company brings together entrepreneurs, scientists and engineers who share a passion for entrepreneurial space including our utilization of low-earth orbit. NanoRacks currently enjoys a backlog of over 60 payloads from research, commercial and educational customers. http://www.nanoracks.us/ If you have questions about this Student Spaceflight Experiments Program opportunity, please contact Dr. Jeff Goldstein, Center Director, NCESSE, at jeffgoldstein@ncesse.org or 301-395-0770. ________________________________________________________________ Don't miss out on education-related opportunities available from NASA. For a full list of Current Opportunities, visit http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/current-opps-index.html. Visit NASA Education on the Web: For Educators: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html For Students: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html NASA Kids’ Club: http://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub
NASA Education Express -- Jan. 13, 2011: Posted on Jan 13, 2011 11:46:10 AM | Mindi Capp 0 Comments | Permalink |; Check out the following NASA opportunities for the education community. Full descriptions are listed below. Education Opportunities in NASA STEM WorkshopAudience: Higher Education Institutions Event Date: Jan. 20, 2011 NASA DLN Planetary Webcast Series Audience: 5-8 Educators and Students Event Dates: Jan. 20 - April 21, 2011 Free Webcast -- Space Operations in 2011Audience: 5-8 Educators Event Date: Jan. 26, 2010Space Exploration Educators ConferenceAudience: K-12 Educators Event Date: Feb. 3-5, 2011 2011 ACCESS Internships for Students With Disabilities Audience: Higher Education Students Application Deadline: Feb. 11, 2011 2011 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships Audience: Higher Education Students Application Deadline: Feb. 22, 2011 No Boundaries Project and Student CompetitionAudience: 5-12 Educators and Students Entry Deadline: April 1, 2011 Education Innovation -- Google Science Fair Audience: 5-12 Educators and Students Entry Deadline: April 4, 2011 ________________________________________________________________ Education Opportunities in NASA STEM Workshop The NASA Office of Education will be accepting proposals under the Education Opportunities in NASA STEM (EONS) NASA Research Announcement. This new announcement is an umbrella announcement for opportunities under the Minority University Research and Education Program, or MUREP, and includes calls for proposals in the following program elements for Fiscal Year 2011: -- Curriculum Improvement Partnership Award for the Integration of Research into the Undergraduate Curriculum, or CIPAIR. -- Innovations in Global Climate Change Education, or IGCCE. -- MUREP Space Projects, or MSP. -- NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center Center-Unique Projects. -- NASA’s Stennis Space Center Center-Unique Projects. Eligibility Information: Proposals will be accepted from Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and other minority-serving institutions including those with high Hispanic enrollment. For some program elements, community colleges are also eligible. Public school districts and nonprofit organizations that reach a large number of under-represented and/or under-served audiences are also eligible. In some cases, NASA centers and other organizations may apply through partnership with the lead organization. Interested parties may attend the EONS Workshop on Jan. 20, 2011, at the Westin Washington D.C. City Center. Onsite registration begins at 7:45 a.m. Participation is not required to submit a proposal. For more information regarding this opportunity, please visit the EONS page on the NSPIRES website. Go to http://nspires.nasaprs.com and click on Solicitations, then on Open Solicitations. Please e-mail any questions about this opportunity to NASAEONS2011@nasaprs.com. ________________________________________________________________ NASA DLN Planetary Webcast Series NASA’s Digital Learning Network announces a series of monthly webcasts. Join Dr. Joel Levine each month as he features a different topic of planetary study and talks about what NASA has done to help us better understand our home planet and neighbors in our solar system. This series is designed to target middle school students. The Earth and Other Planets: A Tour Jan. 20, 2011, 1-2 p.m. ESTJoin Dr. Joel Levine on a tour of the planets. This webcast will explore the surface features, atmospheric structure and composition, and moon and ring systems of the planets. Did you know the planets may be divided into two distinct groups? Learn more about the properties that distinguish the terrestrial planets from the gaseous outer planets. The Earth: Up Close and Personal Feb. 17, 2011, 1-2 p.m. ESTJoin Dr. Joel Levine to learn more about our home planet. This webcast will explore the components of the Earth system. The lithosphere (the solid planet), the hydrosphere (the water), the atmosphere (the air) and the biosphere (life) will be discussed. Various processes on the Earth system, such as volcanism and the water cycle, also will be discussed. Mars: Up Close and Personal March 17, 2011, 1-2 p.m. ESTJoin Dr. Joel Levine to learn more about the Red Planet. Today, Mars is a cold, dry, inhospitable planet with a very thin atmosphere. Scientists believe that early Mars was very hospitable with abundant surface water and atmospheric pressure similar to Earth’s. This webcast will explore Mars’ past and what makes Mars and Earth so different today. The Heat Is On: Global Warming -- Causes and Consequences April 21, 2011, 1-2 p.m. ESTJoin Dr. Joel Levine to learn more about global warming and how it is affecting our planet. The temperature of the surface of Earth and the other planets is controlled by incoming solar radiation and the outgoing thermal or infrared radiation generated at the surface by the absorption of the incoming solar radiation. This webcast will discuss the causes and consequences of global warming. NASA's Digital Learning Network allows the next generation of explorers to connect with scientists, engineers and researchers without leaving the classroom. The network provides distance-learning events designed to educate through demonstrations and real time interactions with NASA experts. Three schools per time slot will be allowed to join Levine for this lecture series. All others may join via webcast. For more information about this series of webcast events, visit http://dln.nasa.gov/dln/. If you have any questions about this webcast series, please contact Caryn Long at Caryn.Long@nasa.gov. ________________________________________________________________ Free Webcast -- Space Operations in 2011 Astronauts and cosmonauts will continue to work on the International Space Station after the retirement of the space shuttle. Join Carla Rosenberg for an hourlong webcast on Jan. 26, 2011, at 4 p.m. EST, to find out what is next for human space exploration in 2011. The new NASA educational product for middle school grades called “Station Simulation” also will be discussed. For more information and to view the webcast, visit http://dln.nasa.gov/. Please e-mail any questions about this opportunity to Renee Elias at nasa_renee@lcjvs.net. ________________________________________________________________ Space Exploration Educators Conference, Feb. 3-5, 2011 Register today for the 17th Annual Space Exploration Educators Conference, to be held Feb. 3-5, 2011, at Space Center Houston. This conference is for all K-12 educators. Activities presented use space-related themes to teach across the curriculum and can be used for science, language arts, mathematics, history and more. Attend sessions hosted by scientists and engineers working on the International Space Station, Mars exploration and the planets beyond. Hear from astronauts who will be leading the charge in exploration. Attend sessions presented by educators and receive ready-to-implement classroom ideas. Attendees can earn up to 24 hours of continuing professional education credit. For more information and to register for the conference, visit http://spacecenter.org/TeachersSEEC.html. If you have any questions about the conference, please call 281-244-2149 or e-mail seec@spacecenter.org.
________________________________________________________________ 2011 ACCESS Internships for Students With Disabilities Applications are now being accepted for the Achieving Competence in Computing, Engineering and Space Science project, also known as ACCESS. This 10-week, paid internship at NASA centers around the U.S. is designed for undergraduate and graduate students with disabilities. Applicants should have strong backgrounds in science, a GPA of 3.0 or higher, and a desire to pursue technical careers. Students who are chosen will work with scientists and engineers in an area compatible with their skills and interests. Applications for placement at NASA are due Feb. 11, 2011. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/descriptions/Achieving_Competence.html. Please e-mail any questions about this opportunity to Laureen Summers at lsummers@aaas.org. ________________________________________________________________ 2011 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships Caltech's Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships, or SURF, project introduces undergraduate students to research under the guidance of seasoned mentors at Caltech or NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Students experience the process of research as a creative intellectual activity and gain a more realistic view of the opportunities and demands of a professional research career. SURF is modeled on the grant-seeking process. Students collaborate with potential mentors to define and develop a project and to write research proposals. Caltech faculty or JPL staff review the proposals and recommend awards. Students work over a 10-week period in the summer, mid-June to late August. At the conclusion of the project, they submit a technical paper and give a SURF Seminar Day oral presentation. All application materials must be received no later than Feb. 22, 2011. For more information, visit http://www.surf.caltech.edu/. Please e-mail any questions about this opportunity to the Caltech Student-Faculty Programs office at sfp@caltech.edu. ________________________________________________________________ No Boundaries Project and Student Competition Encourage your classes to participate in the No Boundaries National Competition, a joint educational initiative created by NASA and USA TODAY Education. This competition is designed to help students explore careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The effort also offers students the opportunity to learn more about NASA. When people hear the word "NASA," they often think of astronauts' amazing journeys. While astronauts are the public face of NASA, thousands of people at the space agency collaborate to send astronauts into space. The goal of this project is for students to work in small groups to develop a creative project (website, video, podcast, song, etc.) that markets careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics to teens. These student groups then will present their projects to their classmates and a class of younger peers. The No Boundaries website includes a Teacher Toolkit and step-by-step instructions for teachers to implement the project in the classroom. Background information and links to websites with career information also are provided. After presenting their projects, groups are encouraged to enter them in the No Boundaries National Competition. All contest entries must be submitted to USA TODAY Education no later than April 1, 2011. Winning teams can win $2,000, passes to a VIP NASA experience and the chance to present their project to NASA. To learn more about the project and to enter the competition, visit http://www.noboundaries-stemcareers.com/. Please e-mail any questions about the No Boundaries Competition to Marcie Peck at mpeck@usatoday.com. ________________________________________________________________ Education Innovation -- Google Science Fair On Jan. 11, 2011, Google launched the inaugural Google Science Fair. Google has partnered with CERN, National Geographic, Scientific American and the LEGO Group to create this new STEM competition. This is a global competition open to any student aged 13-18, and students may enter as individuals or as teams of up to three. There is no entry fee. Registrations and submissions will be made online. The Science Fair will culminate in a celebratory event at Google headquarters in California in July 2011, where finalists will compete for internships, scholarships and prizes in front of a panel of celebrity scientist judges, including Nobel Laureates and household names. Submissions are due by April 4, 2011. To sign up for free resource kits for your classroom or school, please visit the Global Science fair website at http://www.google.com/sciencefair. ________________________________________________________________ Don't miss out on education-related opportunities available from NASA. For a full list of Current Opportunities, visit http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/current-opps-index.html. Visit NASA Education on the Web: For Educators: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html For Students: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html NASA Kids’ Club: http://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub
NASA Education Express -- Jan. 6, 2011: Posted on Jan 06, 2011 12:40:32 PM | Mindi Capp 0 Comments | Permalink |; Check out the following NASA opportunities for the education community. Full descriptions are listed below. Deadline Extended: OSSI:SOLAR Student Application Audience: Higher Education Students New Deadline: March 1, 2011 Free Webcast -- Mass vs. Weight: What’s the Big Difference Anyway? Audience: 5-8 Educators Event Date: Jan. 13, 2011 International Space Station EarthKAM Winter 2011 MissionAudience: 5-8 Educators Event Date: Jan. 18-21, 2011 FY 2011 Research Announcement for the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR)Audience: Higher Education Institutions Proposal Deadline: Jan. 28, 2011 2011 Planetary Geology and Geophysics Undergraduate Research ProgramAudience: Higher Education Students Deadline: Jan. 28, 2011 NASA History Division Summer 2011 Internships Audience: Higher Education Students Deadline: Feb. 1, 2011 Comets and Asteroids Educator Conference at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Audience: All Educators and 9-Higher Education Students Registration Deadline: Feb. 1, 2011 Event Date: Feb. 5, 2011 Electronic Professional Development Network Courses Audience: 5-12 Educators Using Robotics to Enhance STEM Learning: Feb. 2 - March 15, 2011 Project-Based Inquiry Learning: Feb. 23 - March 29, 2011 NASA Notice of Intent (NOI) to Release Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN) Entitled 2011 Summer of Innovation Project Audience: All Educators Proposal Deadline: Feb. 18, 2011 ________________________________________________________________ OSSI:SOLAR Student Application Deadline Extension Announcement: The HQ Office of Education has decided to extend the student application deadline in OSSI:SOLAR for the Summer 2011 session from February 1 to March 1, 2011. This change will enable 2 items: -More students to fully complete their applications -More time for Mentors to submit their opportunities and search the applicant pool To view available opportunities and to submit an application online, visit http://intern.nasa.gov/. Questions about this opportunity should be directed to Mabel Matthews at Mabel.J.Matthews@nasa.gov. ________________________________________________________________ Free Webcast -- Mass vs. Weight: What’s the Big Difference Anyway? The Aerospace Education Services Project, or AESP, is presenting a free webcast on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2011, at 4:30 p.m. EST. During this hourlong webcast, Stennis Space Center aerospace education specialist Steve Culivan will discuss “mass” and “weight,” two terms that differ in meaning and that often are used incorrectly. This webcast will integrate Newton’s Laws of Motion and microgravity to explore these two terms and demonstrate their difference by focusing on education video filmed by astronauts on the International Space Station. NASA education resources and inquiry activities, developed from the space station video, will be used in this workshop. Come enjoy this “heavy duty” topic. For more information and to view the webcast, visit http://neon.psu.edu/13jan2011. If you have any questions about the webcast, please contact Steve Culivan at Stephen.P.Culivan@nasa.gov. Or visit the “Mass vs. Weight” website at http://education.ssc.nasa.gov/massvsweight.asp. ________________________________________________________________ International Space Station EarthKAM Winter 2011 Mission Middle school educators are invited to join NASA for the International Space Station EarthKAM Winter 2011 Mission from Jan. 18-21, 2011. Find out more about this exciting opportunity that allows students to take pictures of Earth from a digital camera aboard the International Space Station. International Space Station EarthKAM is a NASA-sponsored project that provides stunning, high-quality photographs of Earth taken from the space shuttle and the space station. Since 1996, EarthKAM students have taken thousands of photographs of Earth by using the World Wide Web to direct a digital camera on select spaceflights and, currently, on the space station. For more information about the project and to register for the upcoming mission, visit the EarthKAM home page http://www.earthkam.ucsd.edu/. If you have questions about the EarthKAM project, please e-mail ek-help@earthkam.ucsd.edu. ________________________________________________________________ NASA Announces the Release of FY 2011 Research Announcement for the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have released the FY 2011 Research Announcement for the NASA Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). Each funded NASA EPSCoR proposal is expected to establish research activities that will make significant contributions to the strategic research and technology development priorities of one or more of NASA’s four Mission Directorates -- Aeronautics Research, Exploration Systems, Science, and Space Operations --, the Office of the Chief Technologist (OCT), and NASA’s ten Centers and contribute to the overall research infrastructure, science and technology capabilities, higher education, and economic development of the proposing jurisdiction. Public Law 102-58, passed in 1992, authorized NASA to initiate NASA EPSCoR to strengthen the research capability of jurisdictions that have not in the past participated equably in competitive aerospace research activities. The National Science Foundation (NSF) determines overall jurisdiction eligibility for NASA EPSCoR. The following NASA EPSCoR jurisdictions may respond to this NASA EPSCoR solicitation: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Jurisdictions responding to this CAN may submit up to two proposals. This solicitation may be accessed through the NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System (NSPIRES) at http://nspires.nasaprs.com. The deadline for submitting proposals is Jan. 28, 2011. ________________________________________________________________ 2011 Planetary Geology and Geophysics Undergraduate Research Program The Planetary Geology and Geophysics Undergraduate Research Program pairs qualified undergraduate students with NASA-funded investigators at research locations across the U.S. for eight weeks during the summer. Students will spend the summer at the NASA scientist's home institution. Selected students receive a cost-of-living stipend and compensation for housing and travel. Undergraduate students interested in learning about research in planetary geoscience are eligible to apply. Students graduating in 2011 who have not started graduate school yet are also eligible. Preference is given to U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Applications are due Jan. 28, 2011. For more information, visit http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~tgregg/pggurp.html. If you have questions about this opportunity, please e-mail Robyn Wagner, PGGURP administrator, at rlwagner@buffalo.edu. ________________________________________________________________ NASA History Division Summer 2011 Internships The NASA History Division is seeking undergraduate and graduate students for summer 2011 internships. The History Division maintains archival materials to answer research questions from NASA personnel, journalists, scholars, students at all levels and others from around the world. The division also edits and publishes several books and monographs each year. It maintains a large number of websites on NASA history. Students of all majors are welcome to apply. While detailed prior knowledge of the aeronautics and space fields is not necessary, a keen interest and some basic familiarity with these topics are needed. Strong research, writing, and editing skills are essential. Experience with computers, especially HTML formatting, is a plus. Intern projects are flexible. Typical projects include handling a wide variety of information requests, editing historical manuscripts, doing research and writing biographical sketches, updating and creating websites, and identifying and captioning photos. Applications are due Feb. 1, 2011. For more information, visit http://history.nasa.gov/interncall.htm. If you have questions about this opportunity, please contact Steve Garber at stephen.j.garber@nasa.gov. ________________________________________________________________ Comets and Asteroids Educator Conference at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Join the Stardust-NExT mission and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Education Office for an education conference being held Feb. 5, 2011, near Pasadena, Calif. The conference will focus on comets, asteroids and protoplanets. These objects are the leftover building blocks of planets, which may have contributed water and organic material to ancient Earth, thus aiding the start of life. By observing these small bodies up close, scientists better understand the formation and evolution of our solar system and how life came to exist here on Earth. This daylong conference will feature a series of presentations, as well as introduction to hands-on activities mainly targeted for grades 5-8. However, activities can be adapted for both lower and higher grade levels. Instructional materials and resources will be shared and hands-on activity materials will be provided. This conference is open to all formal and informal educators interested in Earth and space science and exploration. Students in high school and college also may attend. Pre-registration is required. Participants must register by Feb. 1, 2011. Walk-up registration will not be possible for this conference. For more information, visit http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/education/index.cfm?page=110. For registration questions, please call the JPL Education Office at 818-393-0561. For other questions, please call the JPL Educator Resource Center at 909-397-4420. ________________________________________________________________ Electronic Professional Development Network Courses NASA’s Learning Environments and Research Network and the Georgia Institute of Technology have teamed up to create the ePDN, an initiative dedicated to preparing K-12 teachers to engage their students in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) through the use of NASA-developed learning materials and resources. If you are looking for a way to enhance your instructional skills, meet your professional development goals, or find new and exciting resources to use in your learning environments, apply to one of our free courses today! Applications are now open for the following courses starting in February: Using Robotics to Enhance STEM Learning -- Feb. 2 - March 15, 2011 Learn how to build and program LEGO Mindstorm robots and use them to promote student engagement and conceptual understanding of mathematics, science and engineering. Explore robotic manipulators and end effectors like the ones NASA uses on the International Space Station, and integrate multiple sensors into your robot to allow for systematic control. Join your colleagues in the Grand Challenge to design, build and program a robot to explore an environment and return with a sample for investigation. Project-Based Inquiry Learning: Science Teaching and Learning for the 21st Century -- Feb. 23 - March 15, 2011 Develop your skills in designing and using project-based inquiry learning, or PBIL, to enhance conceptual understanding, critical thinking, scientific reasoning, and problem solving in standards-based classrooms. Experience and analyze two NASA-oriented PBIL projects firsthand; learn PBIL curriculum design strategies and methods; and design a PBIL unit for use in your classroom. Use e-PDN’s suite of online tools to collaborate, connect and create with other course participants. To learn more about these free courses and to apply online, visit http://www.nasaepdn.gatech.edu/nasaepdn_application.php. For more information on the e-PDN and the resources it offers to K-12 teachers, visit www.nasaepdn.gatech.edu. Questions about these courses should be directed to Fran Ruskin at fran.ruskin@dlpe.gatech.edu. ________________________________________________________________ NASA Notice of Intent (NOI) to Release Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN) Entitled 2011 Summer of Innovation Project General Information ========================== Solicitation Number: NNC11ZCE009C NAIS Posted Date: January 12, 2011 Response Date: N/A Classification Code: N/A Internet Address: nspires.nasaprs.com Office Address ========================== NASA Educational Programs Office, NASA Glenn Research Center, MS 7-4, Cleveland, OH 44135 Description ========================== NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden has identified improvement of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teaching and learning as a national need. To address this need, in 2010 NASA piloted the Summer of Innovation Project. Summer of Innovation (SoI) is an intensive STEM teaching and learning program that targets middle school students (as defined by NASA for these purposes as students enrolled in grades 4-9 for the pending school year) and middle school teachers. In recruiting students, specific emphasis should be paid to girls, minorities and low income students. Offerors shall include a summer engagement component and follow-on efforts designed to keep students involved in NASA-themed STEM activities during the academic year. Offerors will be required to partner with schools, school districts or state departments of education. A key aspect of SoI is the participation of certified teachers in the delivery of high quality content to middle school students in summer programming and sustained engagement during the school year. Offerors are encouraged to solicit the involvement, participation, and/or contributions of interested public/private partners including other federal agencies, non-profit organizations, foundations, for-profit organizations, universities, museums, planetariums and science centers with relevant experience and ability to accomplish the goals of SoI. Expected outcomes of this project are increased student interest in STEM concepts and careers, improved student performance in STEM learning for student participants, increased teacher confidence and competency to deliver STEM content to middle school students and increased capacity for awardees to sustain their SoI projects beyond the scope and timeline of NASA funding. On an annual basis each awardee is expected to engage a minimum of 2500 students in summer programming and subsequent student engagement and involve at least 150 certified teachers in the delivery of content to students and sustained professional development activities. Evaluation Criteria ========================== Proposal evaluation criteria will be focused on Implementation, Evaluation Plan, Strategic Partnerships, Intrinsic Merit, Sustainability, and Cost. Anticipated Timeline ========================== ITEM Proposed Date Notice of Intent to Proposers Dec. 30, 2010 Release 2011 Summer of Innovation CAN * Jan. 12, 2011 Pre-Proposal Teleconference Jan. 19, 2011 Non-binding NOI to Propose Due Jan. 26, 2011 Proposals Due Feb. 18, 2011 Award Announcement April 18, 2011 *NOTE: The Summer of Innovation CAN will be posted on or about January 12, 2011. Timeline is subject to change; current information will be posted on NASA NSPIRES and Grants.Gov Critical Elements for Offerors ========================== -- A detailed plan to grow capacity and expand network over a performance period of 48 months -- Ability to infuse a minimum of 40 hours of NASA content into existing summer programs and to sustain student engagement by providing an additional 40 hours of NASA content either in classroom or other out-of school settings during the school year -- Demonstrated ability to recruit and retain female, minority and/or low income middle school students for purposes of tracking academic performance and changes in attitudes towards STEM over the 48 month period of performance -- Demonstrated ability to recruit certified STEM middle school teachers to support the design and delivery of SoI summer and sustained student engagement activities -- Ability to partner with NASA and its contractors who provide professional development to certified teachers using NASA content and STEM topics -- Capacity to provide unique and innovative experiential STEM learning opportunities to students -- Demonstrated understanding of the development, administration and implementation of high quality STEM programs and projects -- Capacity to sustain STEM education programs on an ongoing basis -- Partnerships with industry, academia, and accredited schools, school districts or state departments of education to support project recruitment, implementation, sustainability and scalability -- Proven ability to work with formal educational structures (schools, school districts,etc.) -- Ability to make timely submittals of all reports and financial data required; and to make timely payments to all sub contractors and/or partners Anticipated Award ========================== Contingent upon the availability of funding, NASA intends to select up to ten (10) awards that may be up to $750,000 each with a period of performance of 48 months for awardees. Funds will be awarded through a graduated distribution system. To retain financial strength and support on an ongoing basis, awardees are strongly encouraged to leverage monetary opportunities through collaborations and partnerships with entities that share resolve for a successful, ongoing SoI project. Point of Contact ========================== Name: Robert Lasalvia Title: 2011 Summer of Innovation, Project Manager-Acting, NASA GRC E-mail: grc-2011summerofinnovation@mail.nasa.gov ________________________________________________________________ Don't miss out on education-related opportunities available from NASA. For a full list of Current Opportunities, visit http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/current-opps-index.html. Visit NASA Education on the Web: For Educators: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html For Students: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html NASA Kids’ Club: http://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub
NASA Education Express – Dec. 16, 2010: Posted on Dec 16, 2010 12:08:07 PM | Mindi Capp 0 Comments | Permalink |; Check out the following NASA opportunities for the education community. Full descriptions are listed below.

18th Annual NASA Great Moonbuggy Race Audience: 9-Higher Education Students Registration Deadline for International Teams: Jan. 1, 2011 Registration Deadline for U.S. Teams: Feb. 1, 2011 NASA LEARN and NES Offering WebinarsAudience: 5-12 Educators Event Date: Jan. 5, Jan. 12 and Jan. 26, 2011 2011 Reduced Gravity Flight Opportunity Webinar Audience: Higher Education Students Event Date: Jan. 12, 2011 Call for Abstracts: 62nd International Astronautical CongressAudience: Higher Education Students Deadline: Feb. 7, 2011 New “Wings in Orbit” Book Details Space Shuttle HistoryAudience: All Educators and Students New Educational Materials Available at NASA.gov Women in STEM High School Aerospace Scholars Flier -- Grades 9-11 Human Exploration Project Series -- Grades K-12 ________________________________________________________________ Registration Open for the 18th Annual NASA Great Moonbuggy Race Registration is open for the 18th Annual NASA Great Moonbuggy Race. High school and college students are challenged to design and build a vehicle that addresses a series of engineering problems similar to those faced by the original lunar-roving vehicle team. Each school may enter up to two teams. International teams are limited to 10 teams per country. The race will take place April 1-2, 2011, in Huntsville, Ala., at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. International teams must register by Jan. 1, 2011. U.S. teams must register by Feb. 1, 2011. For more information about the competition and to register online, visit http://moonbuggy.msfc.nasa.gov/index.html. Please e-mail any questions about this event and registration to Sabrina Pearson at Sabrina.M.Pearson@nasa.gov. ________________________________________________________________ NASA LEARN and NES Offering Webinars in January 2011 NASA LEARN, or Learning Environments and Research Network, and NASA Explorer Schools have teamed up to offer exciting webinars featuring NASA educational resources for educators. Below are three offerings in January 2011. The webinars are presented from 9-10 p.m. EST, so we can make sure educators on both the East Coast and West Coast can participate. And don’t worry about the technology. We have tech support ready to walk you through viewing and participating in the webinars. You can register for each of the webinars by clicking on these website links: Exploring Space Through Math -- Jan. 5, 2011, 9 p.m. EST Learn how to get your students to investigate the characteristics of quadratic functions to solve real-world problems involving the parabolic flights of NASA's "Weightless Wonder" microgravity jet. https://digitalmedia.wufoo.com/forms/nes-webinar-registration-exp-space-through-math/ GENESIS: What Are We Made of? The Sun, Earth and You -- Jan. 12, 2011, 9 p.m. EST By counting elements extracted from a simulated Genesis sample, students learn how the extraction of atoms from the Genesis samples help scientists have a better understanding of the abundance of elements from the solar wind.https://digitalmedia.wufoo.com/forms/nes-webinar-registration-genesis/ Rockets and Your Classroom -- Jan. 26, 2011, 9 p.m. EST Review the Rocketry activity, explore the NASA connections, share tips and tricks for implementing this lesson in the classroom, watch videos of students engaged in the lesson, and discuss possible modifications or extensions.https://digitalmedia.wufoo.com/forms/nes-webinar-registration-nasa-rockets-guide/ ________________________________________________________________ Don’t Let this Opportunity Float Away: You and Your Experiment Can Fly in Reduced Gravity The Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program provides a unique academic experience for undergraduate students to successfully propose, design, fabricate, fly and evaluate a reduced-gravity experiment of their choice over the course of four to six months. The overall experience includes scientific research, hands-on experimental design, test operations and educational/public outreach activities. A flight opportunity targeted for community college and minority students is available in June 2011. There will be a webinar broadcast live from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, on Jan. 12, 2011, at 3 p.m. EST that explains how to apply. Students and faculty may ask questions, download applications and view other related videos. Visit http://nasamici.com/reduced-gravity.html to learn how to register for this free webinar. Please e-mail any questions about this event and registration to mary@nasamici.com. ________________________________________________________________ Call for Abstracts: 62nd International Astronautical Congress NASA announces its intent to participate in the 62nd International Astronautical Congress, or IAC, and requests that full-time graduate students attending U.S. universities or colleges respond to this “Call for Abstracts.” The IAC -- which is organized by the International Astronautical Federation, or IAF; the International Academy of Astronautics, or IAA; and the International Institute of Space Law, or IISL, -– is the largest space-related conference worldwide and selects an average of 1000 scientific papers every year. The upcoming IAC will be held Oct. 3-7, 2011, in Cape Town, South Africa. NASA’s participation in this event is an ongoing effort to continue to connect NASA with the astronautical and space international community. This “Call for Abstracts” is a precursor to a subsequent submission of a final paper, which may be presented at the 62nd IAC. Student authors are invited to submit an abstract regarding an original, unpublished paper that has not been submitted in any other forum. A NASA technical review panel of scientists and/or officials will select abstracts. Many students and professors are involved in NASA-related research. Persons submitting abstracts are strongly encouraged to seek advice from professors who are conducting NASA research and/or from NASA scientists and engineers. Abstract Preparation-- Abstracts must be 400 words or less. -- Abstracts must be written in English. -- Abstracts cannot include formulas, tables or drawings. -- Select the symposium and session in which you wish to post your abstract. Please view the IAC brochure at http://iac2011.com/sites/default/files/pdf/iac2011-call-for-papers.pdf for list of sessions and more details. Abstracts must be related to NASA’s ongoing vision for space exploration and fit into one of the following categories: -- Science and Exploration -- Systems sustaining missions including life, microgravity, space exploration, space debris and Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence, or SETI. -- Applications and Operations -- Ongoing and future operational applications, including Earth observation, communication, navigation, human space endeavors and small satellites. -- Technology -- Common technologies to space systems including astrodynamics, structures, power and propulsion. -- Infrastructures -- Systems sustaining space missions including space systems, transportation, future systems and safety. -- Space and Society -- Interaction of space with society including education, policy and economics, history, and law. The full text of the abstract must be submitted electronically in the prescribed format at http://iac.nasaprs.com/ no later than 11:59:59 p.m. EST on Feb. 7, 2011. If you have a question or concern about the programmatic or the electronic submission of your abstract, please e-mail abstract@nasaprs.com, and you will receive a response within two (2) business days. ________________________________________________________________ New “Wings in Orbit” Book Details Space Shuttle History As NASA's space shuttle fleet nears retirement, the agency is preparing to release a comprehensive account of the program that managed the spacecraft and the dedicated people who made its accomplishments possible. The 500-plus-page book, "Wings in Orbit" is available for pre-publication sale. The book describes the scientific, engineering and cultural contributions of the space shuttle through text, photographs and graphics, written or selected by those who worked in the shuttle program. "Not only is this book informative and beautifully done, it captures the passion of those who devoted their energies to the more than three decades of the shuttle program," said Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for Space Operations. "It recognizes and celebrates what NASA has accomplished using the shuttle system." Former shuttle program manager Wayne Hale was the book's executive editor. The book features a wide range of contributors, including the first space shuttle crew and many former flight directors, engineers and program managers. The book is slated for release in March. To order the book during the pre-publication sale through Dec. 31, 2010, visit http://www.shopnasa.com/. For more information about the space shuttle era, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/flyout/. ________________________________________________________________ New Educational Materials Available at NASA.gov The Educational Materials section of NASA's Web site offers classroom activities, educator guides, posters and other types of resources that are available for use in the classroom. Materials are listed by type, grade level and subject. The following items are now available for downloading. Women in STEM High School Aerospace Scholars Flier -- Grades 9-11 WISH wants female high school juniors to participate in a pilot project. Beginning with an online collaboration in fall 2010, selected applicants will compete to participate in a summer 2011 workshop at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. There they will work alongside female NASA engineers and interns and collaborate in hands-on activities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The WISH Flier explains how to apply. http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/WISH_Flier.html Human Exploration Project Series -- Grades K-12 This series of curricular units focus on themes that NASA engineers and scientists -- as well as future generations of explorers -- must consider when planning future human explorations into space. This includes such themes as Energy and Power, Transportation and Lunar Plant Growth Chambers (the STS-118 Design Challenges). http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/HEP_Engineering.html ________________________________________________________________ Don't miss out on education-related opportunities available from NASA. For a full list of Current Opportunities, visit http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/current-opps-index.html. Visit NASA Education on the Web: For Educators: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html For Students: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html NASA Kids’ Club: http://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub
NASA Education Express Message -- Dec. 9, 2010: Posted on Dec 09, 2010 02:31:56 PM | Mindi Capp 0 Comments | Permalink |; Check out the following NASA opportunities for the education community. Full descriptions are listed below. NASA Educators Online NetworkAudience: K-12 Educators Online Professional Development Workshop: Enrichment Problems in Space and Earth Science XXIVAudience: 5-12 Educators Event Date: Dec. 10, 2010 Free Webcast -- Waste Limitation Management and Recycling Design Challenge Audience: 5-8 Educators Event Date: Dec. 14, 2010 2011 NASA High Altitude Student Platform OpportunityAudience: Higher Education Students Deadline: Dec. 17, 2010 Geography Trivia From Space Contest Audience: All Educators and Students Event Date: Taking place through March 2011 2010-2011 NASA Future of Flight Art Contest Audience: 9-Higher Education Students Deadline: April 15, 2011 2011 Space Tech Engineering Design ChallengeAudience: Higher Education Students Deadline: June 1, 2011 ______________________________________________________________________ NASA Educators Online Network The NASA Educators Online Network, also known as NEON, is a new learning community developed by NASA’s Aerospace Education Services Project. AESP is managed by Penn State University’s College of Education. NEON gives K-12 educators of the science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, disciplines the opportunity to locate other like-minded professionals and develop effective collaborative networks. The network allows teachers to collaborate with scientists, engineers, NASA Education Specialists and other STEM educators to help support their classroom work. To become a member of NEON, log on to http://neon.psu.edu/ and follow the steps to complete a profile. ______________________________________________________________________ Online Professional Development Workshop: Enrichment Problems in Space and Earth Science XXIV John Ensworth at the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies and the NASA Science Mission Directorate invite you to attend an upcoming online professional development workshop. Topic: Enrichment Problems in Space and Earth Science XXIV In the 24th bi-monthly installment of these mission- and inquiry-oriented mathematics problems, Dr. Sten Odenwald will supply background for and lead participants through problems from his "Problems in Space and Earth Science" series. The goal of these problems is to teach students about space weather by using mathematics. Each problem begins with real world questions, missions and situations, and applies the necessary mathematics for a solution. Participants may ask questions and work along in this fully interactive Webinar environment. http://spacemath.gsfc.nasa.gov Date: Friday, Dec. 10, 2010 Time: 3:00 p.m., EST (Greenwich Mean Time -05:00, New York) You will need a computer, a good internet connection and a telephone to participate. Participants must first register for this meeting. There is no cost for this event. Note: Only the first 150 registrants will be accepted. Register ASAP! If this meeting is full, you will receive an e-mail that reads: "Your registration for this meeting is denied." In that case, we ask you to please join us in the next workshop! If you do miss this event, we will send you the link to a video archive of the workshop so you will still be able to benefit from the exercises. Please join the meeting 15-20 minutes before start to make sure your computer is prepared to run the Webex software. You may also pre-install the Webex plug-in following the instructions at the bottom of this e-mail. ----------------------------------------------------- Where to register for this meeting ----------------------------------------------------- 1. Go to https://nasa.webex.com/nasa/j.php?ED=137526362&RG=1&UID=0&RT=MiMxMQ%3D%3D. 2. Register for the meeting. Once the host approves your request, you will receive a confirmation e-mail with instructions for joining the meeting. To view in other time zones or languages, visit https://nasa.webex.com/nasa/j.php?ED=137526362&RG=1&UID=0&ORT=MiMxMQ%3D%3D. ------------------------------------------------------- Closed Captioning is available during the Webinar. A link to this will be provided closer to meeting time.------------------------------------------------------- For assistance ------------------------------------------------------- 1. Go to https://nasa.webex.com/nasa/mc 2. Click "Assistance". 3. Click "Support". For more information, contact John Ensworth by e-mail at john_ensworth@strategies.org or by telephone at 703-312-0563. IMPORTANT NOTICE: This WebEx service includes a feature that allows audio and any documents and other materials exchanged or viewed during the session to be recorded. By joining this session, you automatically consent to such recordings. If you do not consent to the recording, do not join the session. This video and earlier product videos will be available via a Web-based archive tool will soon be located at: http://www.strategies.org/education/index.aspx?sub=education&sub2=professional and http://video.strategies.org. ------------------------------------------------------- To check the setup of your computer and pre-install the plug-in software, use the following links: Downloads WebEx will automatically setup Meeting Manager for Windows the first time you join a meeting. To save time, you can setup prior to the meeting by clicking this link: https://nasa.webex.com/nasa/meetingcenter/mcsetup.php. The host requests that you check for compatibility of rich media players for Universal Communications Format (UCF) before you join the session. UCF allows you to view multimedia during the session. To check now, click the following link: https://nasa.webex.com/nasa/systemdiagnosis.php. Meeting Manager for Microsoft® Windows® - MSI Installer -- Meeting Center automatically downloads, installs and configures Meeting Manager for Windows the first time you start or join a meeting. However, you may choose to download and run the Meeting Manager Installer before starting or joining a meeting. You must have administrator privileges on your computer to use this installer. -- Download Meeting Manager Installer for Internet Explorer https://nasa.webex.com/client/T25L/atmcie.msi -- Download Meeting Manager Installer for Mozilla Firefox/Netscape Navigator https://nasa.webex.com/client/T25L/atmcns.msi Meeting Manager for Mac® OS X (PowerPC) -- Meeting Manager for Mac OS X (PowerPC) is set up automatically the first time you start or join a meeting. The Installer for Mac OS X (PowerPC) can be used to manually install or uninstall Meeting Manager for Mac OS X (PowerPC). -- Download Meeting Manager Installer for Mac OS X (PowerPC) https://nasa.webex.com/client/T25L/mac/powerpc/webexinstaller.hqx. ______________________________________________________________________ Free Webcast -- Waste Limitation Management and Recycling Design Challenge On Dec. 14, 2010, at 4 p.m. EST, NASA will conduct a free webcast to discuss how students in grades 5-8 can take part in the 2nd Annual Waste Limitation Management and Recycling Design Challenge. Log on to this website to watch the webcast and learn how to join:http://dln.nasa.gov/dlnapp/webcast/webcast.do. NASA’s WLMR challenge uses real-world scenarios that meet science and mathematics content standards. Students can participate in a formal, informal or home-school setting. The top three teams will receive awards. The first place team will receive an expense-paid trip to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During the winning team's visit to Kennedy, students will learn firsthand about NASA's missions, take behind-the-scenes tours of NASA's launch facilities, and find out about future aerospace and engineering careers. For more information and contest rules, please visit http://wlmr.nasa.gov. Questions about the challenge should be directed to Jay Garland at jay.l.garland@nasa.gov. ______________________________________________________________________ 2011 NASA High Altitude Student Platform Opportunity NASA is accepting applications from students at U.S. colleges and universities who want to send experiments to the edge of space on a high-flying scientific balloon. The annual NASA project provides near space access for 12 undergraduate and graduate student experiments to be carried by a NASA high-altitude research balloon. The flights typically last 15 to 20 hours and reach an altitude of 23 miles. Experiments may include compact satellites or prototypes. The experiments are flown aboard the High Altitude Student Platform, or HASP, a balloon-born instrument stack launched from the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility's remote site in Fort Sumner, N.M. The goals of the project are to provide a space test platform to encourage student research and stimulate the development of student satellite payloads and other space-engineering products. HASP seeks to enhance the technical skills and research abilities of students in critical science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines. The project is a joint effort between NASA and the Louisiana Space Grant Consortium. The deadline for applications is Dec. 17, 2010. For application information and technical details about the program, visit http://laspace.lsu.edu/hasp. Information about NASA's scientific balloon program is available at http://sites.wff.nasa.gov/code820. Questions about the High Altitude Student Platform opportunity should be directed to T. Gregory Guzik at guzik@phunds.phys.lsu.edu. ______________________________________________________________________ Geography Trivia From Space Contest NASA astronaut Scott Kelly is currently living aboard the International Space Station. During his six-month stay in space, Kelly will have the opportunity to see and photograph various locations on Earth. In fact, part of his job is to capture a kaleidoscope of geographic spots used for scientific analysis of our planet. Using these pictures, astronaut Kelly wants to test your knowledge of the world through a geography trivia game on Twitter. Kelly will tweet a picture and ask the public to identify the place depicted in the photo. The first person to correctly identify the place will win an autographed copy of the picture. The first image in the geography contest was posted on Nov. 15, 2010. Kelly plans to continue posting contest photos throughout his mission. He is currently scheduled to return from the space station in March 2011. To play the geography trivia game and to get other updates from Kelly throughout his mission, follow his twitter account at http://twitter.com/stationcdrkelly. For more information and for complete rules for the Geography Trivia From Space Contest, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition25/geo_trivia_contest.html. Questions about the contest should be directed to Amiko Kauderer at amiko.kauderer-1@nasa.gov . ______________________________________________________________________ 2010-2011 NASA Future of Flight Art Contest NASA’s Future of Flight Art Contest invites students to imagine what spaceships, rockets or aircraft will look like 100 years from now. High school and college students from all areas of study are encouraged to enter. Artists are encouraged to collaborate with science and engineering students. Any full-time student can enter, regardless of major or area of study. Team entries are accepted, but team size is limited to eight students. Entries will be accepted in the following categories: two-dimensional art, three-dimensional art, digital (including music and video) and literature (poetry and short stories). Entries will be evaluated on creativity and artistic qualities. Prizes include awards and exhibit opportunities. Entries are due April 15, 2011. For more information about the NASA Future of Flight Art Contest, visit http://artcontest.larc.nasa.gov/. Questions about the contest should be directed to Elizabeth Ward at Elizabeth.B.Ward@nasa.gov. ______________________________________________________________________ 2011 Space Tech Engineering Design Challenge NASA has invited college students to take part in the 2011 Space Tech Engineering Design Challenge. Students are invited to design a technology that will help further space exploration and development. Designs may relate to autonomous operations; entry, descent and landing; human factors; power/propulsion including for operation in space and on other planetary bodies; or robotics (not related to in-situ lunar samples). Students entering other NASA contests, such as Lunabotics or RASC-ALs, may not submit the same entry or technology that they used for the other contests. All entries must be original and must be the work of students, not faculty or corporate partners. The contest is open to any full-time student enrolled in an accredited post-secondary institution in the United States. This category includes universities, colleges, trade schools, community colleges, professional schools, etc. Interdisciplinary teams are encouraged. A notice of intent is requested as soon as possible. Final entries are due June 1, 2011. For more information and a complete list of rules, visit http://spacetech.larc.nasa.gov. Questions about the challenge should be directed to Elizabeth Ward at Elizabeth.B.Ward@nasa.gov. ______________________________________________________________________ Don't miss out on education-related opportunities available from NASA. For a full list of Current Opportunities, visit http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/current-opps-index.html. Visit NASA Education on the Web: For Educators: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html For Students: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html NASA Kids’ Club: http://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub

Astronamy

Saturday, February 5, 2011

nasa

NASA BLOGS

No comments:

Post a Comment

Total Pageviews