NASA Earth and Space Science Education E-News
November 2008
http://science.hq.nasa.gov/education/edreports/index.html
This monthly broadcast includes upcoming educational programs, events, opportunities and the latest resources from NASA's Science Mission Directorate.
To SUBSCRIBE – e-mail ese_ed_newslist-subscribe@lists.hq.nasa.gov with ‘Subscribe’ as the subject.
To UNSUBSCRIBE – e-mail ese_ed_newslist-unsubscribe@lists.hq.nasa.gov with ‘Unsubscribe’ in the subject.
Manage your settings at: https://lists.hq.nasa.gov/mailman/listinfo/ese_ed_newslist
Questions or comments? Email them to esenewsletter@strategies.org.
************************************
UPCOMING PROGRAMS & EVENTS
(1) Halloween Sky Show: Oct. 31-Nov. 3
(2) Educator Workshops Feature Hubble Space Telescope & Servicing Mission
(Nov. 4, 6 and 13)
(3) NASA/NSTA Symposium: Discover the Universe – Dec. 5 (Advance Registration Deadline: Nov. 14)
(4) Contest: Name a Habitat in Antarctica – Grades K-12 (Deadline: Nov. 20)
(5) NASA Quest Fall Challenge, LCROSS: Exploration Through Navigation (Projects Due Nov. 24)
(6) Fall AGU Meeting: Earth and Space Science Education Sessions, Dec. 15-19
(7) NASA/NSTA Web Seminar: Discover the Universe – Dec.16 and Jan. 20
(8) Apply to Join NASA’s Online Student Community for Grades 9-12 (Applications due Dec. 31)
(9) 2009-2010 Einstein Fellowships for K-12 Teachers (Applications due Jan. 13)
(10) The Scoop on SCUBAnauts
************************************
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
(11) The Space Place Receives Parents’ Choice Award
(12) Space Math Now Offers Games Online & Bi-Weekly Friday Webcasts
(13) Earth Observatory Feature Article: When the Earth Moved Kashmir
(14) Exoplanet Transit Hunt: Interactive Simulation
(15) New NASA eClips on Earth and Space Science
(16) 2008 Edition of NASA Spinoff
************************************
SCIENCE NEWS
(17) Magnetic Portals Connect Earth to the Sun
(18) MESSENGER Spacecraft Reveals More Hidden Territory on Mercury
(19) NASA Measurements Show Greenhouse Gas Methane on the Rise
(20) NASA’s Next Moon Mission Begins Thermal Vacuum Test
(21) Potent Greenhouse Gas More Common Than Estimated
(22) The Case of the Missing Gamma-ray Bursts
(23) NASA Launches IBEX Mission to Outer Solar System
(24) Discovered: A New Kind of Pulsar
(25) Volcanoes May Have Provided Sparks and Chemistry for First Life
(26) The Day the World Didn’t End
(27) Liquid Mirror Telescopes on the Moon
(28) Mercury as Never Seen Before
(29) How Round is the Sun?
(30) The Coming Solar Superstorm
************************************
CALENDAR
************************************
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
************************************
(1) HALLOWEEN SKY SHOW: OCT. 31 – NOV. 3
The planets are gathering for a spooky sunset sky show on Oct. 31st. Find out where to look and what the weekend has in store at: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/28oct_halloweensky.htm?list1110881.
(2) EDUCATOR WORKSHOPS FEATURE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE SERVICING MISSION (NOV. 4, 6 AND 13)
NASA Stennis Space Center in Mississippi is hosting educator workshops during November that will feature inquiry-based activities that translate NASA science into meaningful applications for K-12 teachers to use in their classrooms. The following three workshops will feature content and activities related to the upcoming Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission. For more information, go to: http://wwwedu.ssc.nasa.gov/workshops.asp.
Learning with the Stars (Grades 4-9)
Nov. 4
This workshop will explore our universe, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), and the space shuttle mission servicing the HST.
Living and Working in Space
Nov. 6 – teachers grades K-4
Nov. 13 –teachers grades 5-12
(3) NASA/NSTA SYMPOSIUM: DISCOVER THE UNIVERSE – Dec. 5
Advance Registration Deadline: Nov. 14
Join NASA and NSTA in a hands-on symposium that will provide educators with strategies and resources to empower students to discover the universe for themselves during the International Year of Astronomy 2009. Designed for educators of grades 5-12, this symposium will take place on Dec. 5, 2008, in conjunction with the NSTA Area Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. Attendance at the symposium requires conference registration.
This half-day symposium will explore key science concepts -- Earth’s place in the universe; light, energy, and optics; and models and evidence in science -- as participants investigate how NASA’s space-based missions extend the legacy of observation and discovery that Galileo Galilei initiated when he turned his telescope to the skies in 1609. Experience NASA space science research in the context of 400 years of technology-enabled astronomical discovery, and learn how to bring today’s discoveries into the classroom in a way that reinforces national science education standards.
All participants will receive NASA curriculum support materials, listings of electronically available resources, and information on participating in the International Year of Astronomy 2009’s global celebration of astronomy and its contributions to society and culture. Graduate credit may be available at an additional cost to participants. To receive graduate credit, participants must pay a nominal fee and complete an action plan and a lesson plan.
For more information about the symposium, visit http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/fall08/NASA/symposium.aspx.
(4) CONTEST: NAME A HABITAT IN ANTARCTICA – GRADES K-12
Deadline: Nov. 20
NASA and the Challenger Center for Space Education have partnered to engage students in ongoing activities for one of NASA's concepts for astronaut housing on the moon through a contest to name a habitat in Antarctica. NASA currently is conducting a test of a lightweight, durable, inflatable habitat on the cold, harsh landscape of the National Science Foundation's McMurdo Station.
The Challenger Center is organizing and conducting the "Name that Habitat" competition for students in kindergarten through twelfth grades from Oct. 21 to Nov. 20, 2008. The Challenger Center will recruit subject matter experts to serve as judges for the contest and will provide prizes and other items for the winner and participants. The winning name will be selected later this year and announced by scientists in Antarctica in January 2009. Student, teachers and the public will be able to follow the progress of inflatable habitat activities throughout the project.
For more information about entering the Name that Habitat contest,
visit: http://www.challenger.org/hab.
(5) NASA QUEST FALL CHALLENGE, LCROSS: EXPLORATION THROUGH NAVIGATION
Student Projects Due: Nov. 24
During this challenge, students will chart a course from the Big Island of Hawai’i to Rapa Nui (Easter Island) by using ocean navigation skills that were used in early Polynesian exploration. In Part II of the challenge, students will chart a course from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla., to one of the lunar poles by using navigation skills appropriate for space.
For both tasks, each participating classroom will submit its navigation plan to NASA for experts to review. At the end of the challenge, students will be asked to compare and contrast methods of navigating on Earth (at sea) and in space. For both parts of the challenge, the essential question that will keep students on task will be “How will you stay on course?”
Background materials are available to help prepare for the challenge. An educator's guide aligned to national education standards is available for those who register.
Join NASA QUEST on Nov. 3, 2008, for an informative webcast designed to help participants design their navigation plans. Meet Kälepa Baybayan, Polynesian Captain and Navigator of Hawaiian deep-sea voyaging canoes, and learn more about this art that lives on. Participants will be able to ask questions relating to polynesian navigation and receive encouragement in the design process.
For more information about the challenge and to register online, visit http://quest.nasa.gov/challenges/lcross2/index.html.
(6) FALL AGU MEETING: EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE EDUCATION SESSIONS
Dec. 15-19, 2008
If you’re planning on attending the annual fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco, be sure to check out the many Earth and space science education sessions. You can see all the educational sessions by going to:
http://www.agu.org/cgi-bin/sessions5?meeting=fm08&sec=ED. AGU offers a reduced conference registration for teachers ($40 for one day; $85 for more than one day).
The conference also includes a two-day workshop for middle and high school teachers: Geophysical Information for Teachers (GIFT), International Polar Year: A GIFT from the Ends of the Earth to Your Classroom. The GIFT/IPY workshop will be held Dec. 18-19 from 8:30 am – 3:30 pm.
The GIFT workshop is free for participating teachers who register by Friday, Dec. 5, 2008. Space is limited to 60 participants on a first-come, first-served basis, so be sure to register early. For more information, visit: http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm08/index.php/Jobs/HomePage. Register for the workshop at: http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm08.old/index.php/Jobs/Gift.
(7) NASA/NSTA WEB SEMINAR: DISCOVER THE UNIVERSE – Dec. 16 and Jan. 20
For those unable to attend the symposium in person, educators are encouraged to join NASA and NSTA for two free Web seminars featuring scientists and education specialists from NASA. The seminars will focus on key science concepts -- Earth’s place in the universe; light, energy, and optics; and models and evidence in science -- as participants investigate how NASA’s space-based missions extend the legacy of observation and discovery that Galileo Galilei initiated when he turned his telescope to the skies in 1609. The presenters will share their science expertise, answer questions from the participants and provide information regarding Web sites that students can use in the classroom.
Designed for educators of grades 5-12, the 90-minute seminars will begin at 6:30 p.m. EST on Dec. 16, 2008, and 6:30 p.m. EST on Jan. 20, 2009.
To learn more about these seminars and to register online, visit http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/fall08/NASA/webseminar.aspx.
(8) APPLY TO JOIN NASA ONLINE STUDENT COMMUNITY – GRADES 9-12
Applications Due: Dec. 31, 2008
NASA’s INSPIRE project (Interdisciplinary National Science Project Incorporating Research and Education Experience) is accepting applications from students in grades 9-12 to join the INSPIRE online community. Students who are selected will:
--Participate in the INSPIRE Online Community.
--Learn about science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, fields of study and careers.
--Compete for unique summer experiences at a NASA facility.
NASA's mission provides the content for the online community. Resources, activities and educational modules add relevancy to courses being taught in high school. Activities include participation in video teleconferences with NASA scientists, design competitions and learning modules. The online community allows students to interact with other students with similar interests, to ask questions and to share knowledge, thus building a “Community of Practice.” The online community will also offer support for parents to help them better champion their students' goals.
For more information, including requirements and an online application, visit http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/postsecondary/programs/INSPIRE_Project.html.
(9) 2009-2010 EINSTEIN FELLOWSHIPS FOR K-12 TEACHERS
Applications Due: Jan. 13, 2009
The Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship is a paid fellowship for K-12 math, science, and technology teachers. Einstein Fellows spend a school year in Washington, DC, serving in a federal agency or on Capitol Hill. Placement opportunities with federal agencies vary slightly year to year, but may include NASA, National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
To be considered for an Einstein Fellowship during the 2009-2010 school year, one must apply and submit three letters of recommendation online at https://applicationlink.labworks.org/applicationlink/default.htm.
For more information about the Einstein Fellows program visit www.trianglecoalition.org/ein.htm or contact Liz Burck at burckl@triangle-coalition.org.
(10) THE SCOOP ON SCUBANAUTS
SCUBAnauts are young marine science explorers, ages 12 to 18, who take part in underwater exploration activities throughout the year. SCUBAnauts attain firsthand knowledge of underwater environments by visiting and monitoring them, and by training with marine research scientists. All the data collected is shared with NASA’S GLOBE program, which involves K-12 students from around the world in measuring environmental factors, sharing Earth science data with each other and using the data to conduct science projects and research. Read more about SCUBAnauts on the NASA portal
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/5-8/features/the-scoop-on-scubanauts.html or visit their Web site at: http://www.scubanautsintl.org/index.html.
************************************
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
(11) THE SPACE PLACE RECEIVES PARENTS’ CHOICE AWARD
The Space Place, a NASA Web site for children, has won a “Parents’ Choice Recommended” award for Fall 2008. The awards are given by Parents’ Choice Foundation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide parents with information to participate wisely in their children’s learning outside the classroom. Twice each year, the foundation evaluates audio media, books, DVDs, magazines, software, television, toys, video games, and Web sites.
The Space Place, in English and Spanish, targets upper elementary age children, their parents, and their teachers. It imparts a rich breadth and depth of space and earth science and technology content via interactive games, hands-on projects, fun facts, and animations. It also includes extensive resources for formal and informal educators and parents. Visit the Space Place at: http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/.
(12) SPACE MATH NOW OFFERS GAMES ONLINE & BI-WEEKLY FRIDAY WEBINARS
Space Math @ NASA has now ventured into the 'gaming world' by offering five unique 'find it' games. Students will compare two images drawn from space-related themes to find a dozen differences; some obvious and some subtle. Teachers enjoy these as warm-up activities that help students pay attention to details and become better observers. Current images are taken from the International Space Station, Mars Rovers, and the massive ATLAS detector at CERN. Future comparisons will use images drawn from other Science Mission Directorate missions. Check out the new games at: http://spacemath.gsfc.nasa.gov/games.html.
With the help of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, Dr. Sten Odenwald holds bi-weekly interactive Space Math webinars. During these webinars Dr. Odenwald leads participants through problems in his ‘Problems in Space Science’ series, which teaches students about space weather using mathematics. Registration is required and limited to the first 40 registrants.
Next Webinar: Friday, Nov. 7 at 3:00 pm EST.
Register here: https://nasa.webex.com/nasa/j.php?ED=109587687&RG=1&UID=0
(13) EARTH OBSERVATORY FEATURE ARTICLE: WHEN THE EARTH MOVED KASHMIR
Science and relief efforts come together in the aftermath of the Kashmir Earthquake.
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/KashmirEarthquake/.
(14) EXOPLANET TRANSIT HUNT: INTERACTIVE SIMULATION
Exoplanet Transit Hunt is a Flash interactive simulation of how the NASA Kepler mission will discover exoplanets through the transit method. Explore a simulated star field, record data, make measurements and perform calculations to discover new planets.
http://kepler.nasa.gov/ed/xo.
(15) NEW NASA ECLIPS ON EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE
NASA eClips are short (5-10 minute) video segments available on-demand streaming on NASA’s Web site (http://www.nasa.gov/education/nasaeclips) and on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/nasaeclips). Following are recently added clips on Earth and space science topics:
Our World: for grades K-5
- What is a Cloud?
- What is Weather?
- How High is the Ocean?
- Monitoring the Earth's Climate with CERES
Real World: for grades 6-8
- Space Weather
- Hubble Thermal Blanket
- Hubble Repair Mission
- Hubble Wide Field Camera 3
- What is Earth System Science”
- Dinosaurs
Launchpad: for grades 9-12
- Global Warming: How Humans are Affecting Our Planet
(16) 2008 EDITION OF NASA SPINOFF
The 2008 edition of NASA's annual Spinoff publication celebrates the agency's 50th anniversary and highlights 50 new examples of how NASA technology is being put to use in everyday life. This anniversary edition features a 50-year timeline of NASA-derived technologies from historical programs and projects, and a summary of award-winning NASA technologies included in Spinoff over the years. Spinoff 2008 lists many of the latest NASA innovations now in the commercial marketplace. These innovations have resulted in healthcare advances, transportation breakthroughs, public safety benefits, new consumer goods, environmental protection, computer technology and industrial productivity.
To request a free copy of Spinoff 2008, call 301-286-0561. To access Spinoff 2008 on the Web, and view a searchable database of more than 1,600 NASA-derived technologies that have been featured in previous Spinoff editions, visit: http://www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/.
************************************
SCIENCE NEWS
(17) MAGNETIC PORTALS CONNECT EARTH TO THE SUN
Oct. 30 - Researchers have discovered 'magnetic portals' forming high above Earth that can briefly connect our planet to the Sun. Not only are the portals common, one space physicist contends they form twice as often as anyone had previously imagined.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/30oct_ftes.htm?list1110881
(18) MESSENGER SPACECRAFT REVEALS MORE HIDDEN TERRITORY ON MERCURY
Oct. 29 - A NASA spacecraft gliding over the battered surface of Mercury for the second time this year has revealed more previously unseen real estate on the innermost planet. The probe also has produced several science firsts and is returning hundreds of new photos and measurements of the planet's surface, atmosphere and magnetic field.
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/oct/HQ_08-275_Messenger_Mercury.html
(19) NASA MEASUREMENTS SHOW GREENHOUSE GAS METHANE ON THE RISE
Oct. 29 - The amount of methane in Earth's atmosphere shot up in 2007, bringing to an end approximately a decade in which atmospheric levels of the potent greenhouse gas were essentially stable. The new study is based on data from a worldwide NASA-funded measurement network.
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/oct/HQ_08-276_Methane_levels.html
(20) NASA’S NEXT MOON MISSION BEGINS THERMAL VACUUM TEST
Oct. 23 – NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, has begun environmental testing in a thermal vacuum that simulates the harsh rigors of space. The spacecraft, built at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., has been lifted into a four-story thermal vacuum chamber there for a test that will last approximately five weeks. Once sealed in the chamber, the satellite will undergo a series of tests that simulate the space environment it will encounter when it orbits the moon.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/news/lro_thermalvac.html
(21) POTENT GREEHOUSE GAS MORE COMMON THAN ESTIMATED
Oct. 23 – New research indicates a powerful greenhouse gas is at least four times more prevalent in the atmosphere than previously estimated. The research, based on data from a NASA-funded measurement network, examined nitrogen trifluoride, which is thousands of times more effective at warming the atmosphere than an equal mass of carbon dioxide.
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2008/oct/HQ_08-268_Greenhouse_gas.html
(22) THE CASE OF THE MISSING GAMMA-RAY BURSTS
Oct. 22 – Gamma-ray bursts are by far the brightest and most powerful explosions in the Universe, second only to the Big Bang itself. So it might seem a bit surprising that a group of them has gone missing. Read the whole story at: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/22oct_missinggrbs.htm?list1110881.
(23) NASA LAUNCHES IBEX MISSION TO OUTER SOLAR SYSTEM
Oct. 19 – NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer mission, or IBEX, successfully launched from the Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. IBEX will be the first spacecraft to image and map dynamic interactions taking place in the outer solar system. IBEX will build an image of the outer boundary of the solar system from impacts on the spacecraft by high-speed particles called energetic neutral atoms. For more information about the IBEX mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ibex.
(24) DISCOVERED: A NEW KIND OF PULSAR
Oct. 17 – NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has discovered a new kind of pulsar that hints at a previously unsuspected population of stars waiting to be found in the Milky Way.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/17oct_gammaraypulsar.htm?list1110881
(25) VOLCANOES MAY HAVE PROVIDED SPARKS AND CHEMISTRY FOR FIRST LIFE
() Oct. 16 – According to a new analysis of samples from a classic origin-of-life experiment by NASA and university researchers, lightning and gases from volcanic eruptions could have given rise to the first life on Earth.
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NasaNews/2008/2008101627664.html
(26) THE DAY THE WORLD DIDN’T END
Oct. 10 – When scientists switched on the Large Hadron Collider in September, the world did not come to an end. In this story, a particle physicist explains why not--and why Earth is safe from black holes when the collider is reactivated in the months ahead.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/10oct_lhc.htm?list1110881
(27) LIQUID MIRROR TELESCOPES ON THE MOON
Oct. 9 – A team of internationally renowned astronomers and opticians may have found a way to make 'unbelievably large' telescopes on the Moon.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/09oct_liquidmirror.htm?list1110881
(28) MERCURY AS NEVER SEEN BEFORE
Oct. 7 – NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft flew past Mercury, capturing high-resolution images of the innermost planet's previously unseen landscape. Read more about the mission at http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/07oct_firstresults.htm?list1110881 or visit the Messenger photo gallery: http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/gallery/sciencePhotos/view.php?gallery_id=2.
(29) HOW ROUND IS THE SUN?
Oct. 2 – Scientists using NASA's RHESSI spacecraft have measured the roundness of the sun with unprecedented precision, and they find that it is not a perfect sphere. During years of high solar activity the sun develops a thin "cantaloupe skin" that significantly increases its apparent oblateness.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/02oct_oblatesun.htm?list1110881
(30) THE COMING SOLAR SUPERSTORM
September 2008 – In 1859, the Sun let loose the biggest superstorm in 450 years. The blast of the solar flares from the 1859 superstorm could today cripple much of the technology we rely on. Data indicate another superstorm could occur in the next few years. In an article featured in September’s Astronomy magazine, Sten Odenwald from Space Math @ NASA, reveals the science behind predicting these superstorms and explains how we can prepare for them. "Any disaster capable of causing large-scale blackouts, disrupting communications networks, and damaging satellites is something to prepare for," Odenwald says.
************************************
CALENDAR
Oct. 31-Nov. 3
Halloween Sky Show, http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/28oct_halloweensky.htm?list1110881.
Nov. 1
Deadline to send your name around the Earth, http://polls.nasa.gov/utilities/sendtospace/jsp/sendName.jsp.
Nov. 3
NASA Quest Web cast for participants, http://quest.nasa.gov/challenges/lcross2/webcast_live.html.
Nov. 4
Educator Workshop Featuring Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission: Learning with the Stars (Grades 4-9), http://wwwedu.ssc.nasa.gov/workshops.asp.
Nov. 5
Preliminary Proposals Due for LIMA II Quest Challenge (student Antarctic research), http://quest.nasa.gov/challenges/lima.
Nov. 6
Carl Sagan Postdoctoral Fellowship Applications Due, http://nexsci.caltech.edu/sagan/fellowship.shtml.
Nov. 6
Educator Workshop Featuring Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission: Living and Working in Space (Grades K-4), http://wwwedu.ssc.nasa.gov/workshops.asp.
Nov. 7
Space Math Webinar with Dr. Odenwald, https://nasa.webex.com/nasa/j.php?ED=109587687&RG=1&UID=0
Nov. 11
Journey to Palomar Documentary Airs, www.journeytopalomar.org.
Nov. 13
Educator Workshop Featuring Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission: Living and Working in Space (Grades 5-12), http://wwwedu.ssc.nasa.gov/workshops.asp.
Nov. 14
Advance Registration Deadline for NASA/NSTA Symposium: Discover the Universe, http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/fall08/NASA/symposium.aspx
Nov. 20
Deadline for “Name that Habitat” contest, http://www.challenger.org/hab.
Nov. 20-22
NSTA Regional Conference, Portland, OR, http://www.nsta.org/conferences/schedule.aspx?id=2008POR.
Nov. 24
Student projects due for NASA Quest Fall Challenge, LCROSS: Exploration Through Navigation, http://quest.nasa.gov/challenges/lcross2/index.html.
Dec. 4-6
NSTA Regional Conference, Cincinnati, OH, http://www.nsta.org/conferences/schedule.aspx?id=2008CIN
NASA Symposium on Dec. 5 – Discover the Universe (ticketed event): http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/fall08/NASA/symposium.aspx
Dec. 5
NASA/NSTA Symposium: Discover the Universe, http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/fall08/NASA/symposium.aspx.
Dec. 15-19
Fall AGU Meeting: Earth and Space Science Education Sessions, http://www.agu.org/cgi-bin/sessions5?meeting=fm08&sec=ED.
Dec. 16
NASA/NSTA Web Seminar: Discover the Universe, http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/fall08/NASA/webseminar.aspx.
Dec. 16
NASA launches GOES-O, http://goespoes.gsfc.nasa.gov/goes/index.html.
Dec. 31
INSPIRE (Interdisciplinary National Science Project Incorporating Research and Education Experience) applications due, http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/postsecondary/programs/INSPIRE_Project.html.
Jan. 13
Deadline to apply for 2009-2010 Einstein Fellowship, https://applicationlink.labworks.org/applicationlink/default.htm.
Jan. 15
NASA Launches the Orbiting Carbon Observatory, http://oco.jpl.nasa.gov.
Jan. 20
NASA/NSTA Web Seminar: Discover the Universe, http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/fall08/NASA/webseminar.aspx.
Feb. 4
NASA launches NOAA-N, http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/noaa-n/main/index.html.
Feb. 16
NASA launches Kepler, http://kepler.nasa.gov.
April 6
Thacher Scholar Entries Due – contest for grades 9-12, for student projects using geospatial technologies to study Earth. http://www.strategies.org/education/index.aspx?sub=education&sub2=scholars&sub3=scholars2009.
************************************
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
NASA Science Mission Directorate: Larry Cooper and Ming-Ying Wei.
Editor: Theresa Schwerin, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), theresa_schwerin@strategies.org.
Writer: Catherine Fahey, IGES, catherine_fahey@strategies.org.
Contributions from: Alan Gould, NASA Kepler Mission; Nancy Leon, JPL; Deborah Murray, Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology Education; Sten Odenwald, NASA GSFC; Patricia Reiff, Rice Space Institute; and Dan Stillman, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies.
