In 2013, NASA helped transform access to low Earth orbit, even as one of our venerable spacecraft reached the boundaries of the solar system and we moved ahead on technologies that will help us carry out an ambitious asteroid mission we announced and, eventually, move on to Mars.
To watch a quick trip back through 2013 for those and some of the other big things that happened visit This Year at NASA on the NASA YouTube Channel.
NES Web Seminar — Newton’s Laws of Motion: Lunar Nautics
NASA Explorer Schools and the National Science Teachers Association are hosting a 90-minute live professional development Web seminar for educators on Dec. 19, 2013, at 6:30 p.m. EST. This seminar features three lessons for grades 6-8 that focus on a real-world understanding of Newton’s Laws of Motion and common misconceptions associated with the laws. The featured lessons are Rocket Staging: Balloon Staging and Lunar Landing: Swinging Tray and Lunar Base Supply Egg Drop.
The featured activities provide opportunities for incorporating national science, technology and mathematics learning standards into curricula as well as address middle school Next Generation Science Standards.
This is the only time during this school year that this seminar will be offered.
For more information and to register online, visit http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NES4/webseminar24.aspx.
At 1 p.m. EST, Paulo Younse will answer your students’ questions about how his team put together a proposal for NASA’s asteroid retrieval mission. He will also answer questions about his career at NASA. Younse is a robotics engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. He designs new types of robots for future NASA solar system exploration missions. Recent projects he has worked on include the latest Mars Rover, “Curiosity.” Currently, he is developing techniques for a proposed Mars Sample Return mission that will collect Martian rock samples and bring them back to Earth. He is also part of a team of scientists and engineers who are going to submit a proposal for the Asteroid Retrieval Project. Younse has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and a master’s degree in agricultural engineering from the University of Florida.
Temperature and Earth Climate: Modeling Hot and Cold Planets, Dec. 5 at 6:30 p.m. EDT.
This Web seminar features the student activity “Modeling Hot and Cold Planets” from NASA’s Earth Climate Course. The featured activity provides many opportunities for incorporating national science, technology, and mathematics learning standards into the curriculum as well as addressing the Next Generation Science Standards.
For more information and to register visit the NSTA Learning Center.
NASA Now Classroom Video: Get Your Class Involved With LADEE, available on the NES Virtual Campus website on Dec. 11, 2013. During the program, Brian Day, Director of Communication and Outreach at the Lunar Science Institute, presents an overview of NASA’s Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer, or LADEE (pronounced like “laddie”), mission. He also discusses the importance of asteroids and why he chases solar eclipses. A link will be provided for students allowing them to contribute to the mission by counting meteors with the assistance of NASA’s Meteor Counter app.
Check out NASA Now Minute: Get Your Class Involved With LADEE at the NES Chanel on YouTube.
