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NASA Selects Teachers To Aid In Mars Phoenix Mission
Tucson AZ (SPX) Mar 30, 2006 NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander and Mars 2001 Odyssey missions have selected nine pairs of science teachers from across the country to become part of the next mission to Mars. This summer, the teachers will immerse themselves in a week-long summer field experience in Fairbanks, Alaska, featuring current polar science research on both Earth and Mars. Scheduled for launch in August 2007, the Phoenix Mars Lander is designed to dig into the Martian surface and touch water-ice below the surface. The University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory will operate Phoenix in partnership with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, along with Lockheed Martin and the Canadian Space Agency. "We hope to share our latest Mars discoveries with teachers, so that they, in turn, can share this knowledge with their students and other teachers in their communities," said Peter Smith, the Phoenix Mars Mission principal investigator. Phoenix is scheduled to arrive in the northern arctic of Mars in 2008 to investigate the nature and origin of water-ice buried there and the habitability of soils. The purpose of the Alaska workshop is to engage teachers in an opportunity to learn about Phoenix through their own scientific investigations regarding permafrost and polar ice found on Earth. In Alaska, the teachers will perform scientific investigations in the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, or CRREL, permafrost tunnel and at University of Alaska-Fairbanks research labs. Their goal will be to explore new ways of bringing current polar research into their classrooms. The teachers will return home as members of the Phoenix Mars Mission team. They will receive training for classroom activities on Mars and polar science to share with their students and other teachers. "We had more than 500 of the nation�s most enthusiastic science teachers apply to be part of the program," said Doug Lombardi, the Phoenix education and public-outreach manager. "We were thrilled by the response and are hopeful that the teachers who we are unable to bring with us to Alaska will also be part of the team by connecting with the nearest selected teachers or Phoenix team member." The teachers will learn about frozen ground, polar processes, climate change, glaciers, polar ice, astrobiology and arctic environments both on Earth and Mars from prominent scientists in these fields. Smith and Mike Mellon, a Phoenix co-investigator, will provide current research on Mars and explain how it relates to what the teachers will investigate in Alaska. "The learning will go both ways," Smith said. "As we participate, hand-in-hand with the teachers in investigating the permafrost tunnel, we may develop a deeper understanding of how we may explore the water ice in Mars' arctic region." Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Alaska Workshop Phoenix Mars Mission NASA Mars Exploration Program JPL NASA University Of Arizona Science News Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com Lunar Dreams and more
ESA Invites Designs For Mars UAV
Noordwijk the Netherlands (SPX) Mar 29, 2006ESA has invited aerospace students to submit ideas for an unmanned aerial vehicle suitable for exploring Mars. The agency said the best entries will win a place at the Euroavia Design Workshop to be held at the agency's Erasmus User Centre this July. |
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