Science Always Starts With a Question …
This Week’s Question: What Science Experiments Are Astronauts Performing on the Space Station?
Astronauts on the International Space Station work on many science experiments during their time in orbit. Each week, the lead scientist for the current expedition posts a summary of the latest science experiments and findings. Check it out weekly!
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/wklysumm_week_of_20nov17.html
Have You Seen This?
Tune in to NASA’s Third Rock Radio on Thursday, Dec. 7, at 5 p.m. EST, for “The Joe Show.” Educator-turned-astronaut Joe Acaba will select tunes and talk about science — all from the International Space Station!
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/third-rock-radio
Opportunities for Future Scientists of All Ages
- DEADLINE EXTENDED: Help Nickname New Horizons’ Next Flyby Target
- **NEW** Free Program — Cubes in Space™
- Citizen Science Project: Cosmoquest’s Image Detective
Science Opportunities for Educators of Grades K-12
- **NEW** Free Education Webinars From NASA Educator Professional Development
- Sign Up to Receive the SciJinks E-Newsletter
Science Opportunities for Higher Education and Informal Institutions
- 2018 High-Altitude Student Platform Opportunity
- 2018 Lunar and Planetary Institute’s Exploration Science Summer Intern Program
- 2018-2019 NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowships
Opportunities for Future Scientists of All Ages
DEADLINE EXTENDED: Help Nickname New Horizons’ Next Flyby Target
Audience: All Educators and Students
New Entry Deadline: Midnight EST on Dec. 6, 2017
On New Year’s Day 2019, the New Horizons spacecraft will fly past a small, frozen world at the outer edge of our solar system. Officially, the small world is known as “(486958) 2014 MU69.” NASA and the New Horizons team are asking for help in giving “MU69” a nickname.
Visit the site to submit ideas and to vote on names currently under consideration. Submissions and voting closes at midnight EST/9 p.m. PST on Dec. 6, 2017. NASA and the New Horizons team will announce the winning nickname in January.
For more information, visit https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-extends-campaign-to-nickname-new-horizons-next-target.
Questions about this opportunity should be directed to Laura Cantillo at laura.l.cantillo@nasa.gov.
**NEW** Free Program — Cubes in Space™
Audience: Students Ages 11-18 and Educator Mentors
Registration Deadline: Feb. 2, 2018
NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility and Langley Research Center, along with the Colorado Space Grant Consortium and idoodledu, inc., are offering a free STEAM education program for students ages 11-18. Cubes in Space™ lets students design and compete to launch an experiment into space. Selected student-designed payload cubes will be launched via a sounding rocket from Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, in late June 2018 or from a high-altitude scientific balloon from NASA’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in New Mexico in late August 2018.
Registration closes on Feb. 2, 2018. For more information, visit http://www.cubesinspace.com/.
Please direct questions about this opportunity to info@cubesinspace.com.
Citizen Science Project: Cosmoquest’s Image Detective
Audience: All Educators and Students
CosmoQuest’s Image Detective, a NASA-funded citizen science project, invites the public to identify Earth features in photographs taken by astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Citizen scientists are asked to help identify geographic features (natural or human-made) in astronaut photographs and then determine the location on Earth where the photo is centered.
Your efforts can enhance NASA’s database of images taken by astronauts from the space station. To learn more, visit http://cosmoquest.org/ImageDetective.
Questions about this opportunity should be directed to info@cosmoquest.org.
Science Opportunities for Educators of Grades K-12
Free Education Webinars From NASA Educator Professional Development
Audience: In-service, Pre-service, Home School and Informal Educators
The NASA STEM Educator Professional Development Collaborative at Texas State University is presenting a series of free webinars open to all educators. Join NASA education specialists to learn about activities, lesson plans, educator guides and resources that bring NASA into your classroom. Registration is required to participate. To register, simply click on the link provided beneath the webinar description.
Earth Sense — Remote Sensing at NASA: Water Filtration
Audience: K-12, Informal and Pre-service Educators
Event Date: Dec. 6, 2017, at 6:30 p.m. EST
Explore the space station’s Environmental Control and Life Support System that reclaims waste water from crew members’ urine, cabin condensation and waste. Learn about hands-on experiments and physical demonstrations that can be used in the classroom to create, build and test a water filtration device using common materials. Register online to participate. https://www.eiseverywhere.com/281782
NASA Food for Thought
Audience: 6-12, Informal and Pre-service Educators
Event Date: Dec. 7, 2017, at 6 p.m. EST
Explore the NASA Food for Thought education guide that investigates space food and guides students to construct sample space food meals based on the nutritional needs of the astronauts on a journey to Mars. Explore a menu of inquiry activities and other resources to satisfy your STEM appetite. Register online to participate. https://www.eiseverywhere.com/283687
**NEW** SpaceMath — Active Math
Audience: 5-8, Informal and Pre-service Educators
Event Date: Dec. 11, 2017, at 6:30 p.m. EST
Space Mathematics is a two-part series designed to help educators make the critical linkage between mathematics and science in the classroom. In this session, “Part 2 — Active Math,” participants will explore the use of inquiry to reinforce mathematics skills while engaging students with hands-on activities. Register online to participate. https://www.eiseverywhere.com/273241
**NEW** POLAR-PALOOZA: The Importance of the Polar Areas
Audience: 4-12, Informal and Pre-service Educators
Event Date: Dec. 12, 2017, at 6:30 p.m. EST
Polar-Palooza is a multimedia effort to explain the importance of the polar areas and clear up misconceptions some may have about them. Sponsored by the National Science Foundation and NASA, the project brings the poles to life through stories told by scientists who travel to and study them, and through hands-on classroom activities. Register online to participate. https://www.eiseverywhere.com/293848
**NEW** Earth Sense — Remote Sensing at NASA: Mission Geography, 6-12
Audience: 6-12, Informal and Pre-service Educators
Event Date: Dec. 14, 2017, at 6 p.m. EST
Learn about NASA’s Mission Geography resources featuring Earth science lessons that integrate STEM, geography and the language arts with Earth observations, remote sensing and maps. Discover ways to use the unique perspective from space to investigate Earth and the processes that shape it, both natural and human influenced. Register online to participate. https://www.eiseverywhere.com/285833
For a full schedule of upcoming NASA Educator Professional Development webinars, visit http://www.txstate-epdc.net/events/.
Questions about this series of webinars should be directed to Steve Culivan at stephen.p.culivan@nasa.gov.
Sign Up to Receive the SciJinks E-Newsletter
Audience: 5-12 Educators
SciJinks is all about weather! Short for “Science Hijinks,” the SciJinks website is a joint effort of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA. SciJinks puts fun and adventure into learning about weather, satellite meteorology and Earth science. The site is geared toward middle and high school students and their educators.
To keep up with the latest articles, activities, and games at the website, sign up to receive the SciJinks E-Newletter. Each month you will receive an email with links to fascinating science articles, fun weather facts and educational games. To sign up, visit https://scijinks.gov/subscribe/.
Please direct questions about the SciJinks E-Newletter to info@scijinks.gov.
Opportunities for Higher Education and Informal Institutions
2018 High-Altitude Student Platform Opportunity
Audience: Higher Education Educators and Students
Application Deadline: Dec. 15, 2017
The Louisiana Space Consortium, or LaSPACE, is accepting applications from students at U.S. colleges and universities who want to send experiments to the edge of space. The annual project, supported by the NASA Balloon Program Office and LaSPACE, provides near-space access for 12 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.
Applications are due Dec. 15, 2017. For more information, visit http://laspace.lsu.edu/hasp/.
Please direct questions about this opportunity to guzik@phunds.phys.lsu.edu.
2018 Lunar and Planetary Institute’s Exploration Science Summer Intern Program
Audience: Graduate Students
Application Deadline: Jan. 19, 2018
Join the Lunar and Planetary Institute for a 10-week program for graduate students in geology, planetary science, planetary astronomy and related programs. Learn how to integrate scientific input with exploration activities in a way that mission architects and spacecraft engineers can use. Activities will support missions to the Moon that use the Orion crew vehicle, the Deep Space Gateway and robotic assets on the lunar surface.
Interns will receive stipends and travel expense reimbursement. Applications are due Jan. 19, 2018.
For more information, visit https://www.lpi.usra.edu/exploration_intern/.
Please direct questions about this opportunity to explorationintern@lpi.usra.edu.
2018-2019 NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowships
Audience: Higher Education Educators and Students
Proposal Deadline: Feb. 1, 2018
The NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship program is accepting proposals for the 2018-2019 academic year. Applications must be from accredited U.S. universities on behalf of individuals pursuing master’s or doctoral degrees in Earth and space sciences, or related disciplines.
NASA will award training grants to the respective universities, with the advisor serving as principal investigator. The maximum NESSF award is $45,000 per year.
For information, visit https://go.nasa.gov/2AsHckq.
Questions about Earth Science Research NESSF opportunities should be directed to Claire Macaulay at Claire.I.Macaulay@nasa.gov.
Questions about Heliophysics Research, Planetary Science Research and Astrophysics Research opportunities should be directed to Marian Norris at mnorris@nasa.gov.
Check out the ‘Explore NASA Science’ website!
Science starts with questions, leading to discoveries. Explore the redesigned NASA Science site and send us feedback. Visit https://science.nasa.gov. To view the site in Spanish, visit http://ciencia.nasa.gov.
Don’t miss out on upcoming NASA education opportunities.
For a full list of events, opportunities and more, visit the Educators and Students Current Opportunity pages on NASA’s website:
— Educators http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/current-opps-index.html
— Students http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/current-opps-index.html
Are you looking for NASA educational materials to support your STEM curriculum?
Search hundreds of resources by subject, grade level, type and keyword at http://www.nasa.gov/education/resources/.
Find NASA science resources for your classroom.
NASA Wavelength is a digital collection of Earth and space science resources for educators of all levels — from elementary to college, to out-of-school programs. http://nasawavelength.org/
Take Part in a Year of Education on Station
September 2017 – September 2018: Although on different crews, astronauts Joe Acaba and Ricky Arnold — both former teachers — will work aboard the International Space Station. Visit NASA’s A Year of Education on Station website for out-of-this-world resources and opportunities for K-16 students and educators.
Visit NASA Education on the web:
NASA Office of Education: http://www.nasa.gov/education
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
Did you miss last week’s NASA Science WOW! newsletter?
Visit the Science WOW! blog for an archive of previous messages.
https://blogs.nasa.gov/educationsciencewow/