Tag: NASA Science Education Resources

NASA Education “Science WOW!” Message — Dec. 14, 2016

Check out the latest edition of NASA Education’s “Science WOW!” — your source for NASA opportunities in science education delivered “Weekly On Wednesday.”

Check out the latest edition of NASA Education’s “Science WOW!” — your source for NASA opportunities in science education delivered “Weekly On Wednesday.”

Science Always Starts With a Question …

This Week’s Question: How Do Snowflakes Form?

A snowflake is not simply a frozen droplet of water falling from a cloud. To find out how these wintry crystals form, visit http://scijinks.jpl.nasa.gov/snowflakes/.

Have You Seen This?

Are you ready to go on a “Wild Weather Adventure“? Check out this online game that lets you hop on a weather research blimp to explore Earth and its weather.

http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/wild-weather-adventure/en/

Opportunities for Future Scientists of All Ages

 

Science Opportunities for Educators of Grades K-12

Science Opportunities for Higher Education and Informal Institutions

Opportunities for Future Scientists of All Ages

**NEW** 2016 von Kármán Lecture Series — Attend in Person or View Online
Audience: All Educators; Students in Grades 9-12 and Higher Education
Next Lecture Date: Dec. 15, 2016, at 7 p.m. PST (10 p.m. EST)

The Theodore von Kármán Lecture Series, named after the founder of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and presented by JPL’s Office of Communication and Education, shares the excitement of the space program’s missions, instruments and other technologies.

Lectures take place twice per month, on consecutive Thursdays and Fridays. The Thursday lectures take place in JPL’s Theodore von Kármán Auditorium, and Friday lectures take place at Pasadena City College’s Vosloh Forum. Both start at 7 p.m. PDT (10 p.m. EDT). Admission and parking are free for all lectures. No reservations are required, but seating is limited. The Thursday evening lectures are streamed live for viewing online. Archives of past lectures are also available online.

Next Lecture in the Series:

Spinning Black Holes, Exploding Stars and Hyperluminous Pulsars: Results From the NuSTAR Satellite
Event Date: Dec. 15 and Dec. 16, 2016, at 7 p.m. PST (10 p.m. EST)
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/lectures_archive.php?year=2016&month=12
NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, launched in June 2012 and became the first telescope in orbit to focus high-energy X-ray light. Join NuSTAR project scientist Dr. Daniel K. Stern for a discussion about the highlights from the first four years of NuSTAR observations, including the surprising discovery of a new class of hyperluminous neutron stars, measurements of how fast black holes spin, and unique insight into the physics of supernova explosions.

For more information about the Theodore von Kármán Lecture Series, including a complete list of upcoming lectures, visit http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/lectures.php.

Questions about this series should be directed to http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/contact_JPL.php.

2017 Mission X: Train Like an Astronaut “Walk to the Moon” Challenge
Audience: All Educators and Students, Home School Parents and After-school Groups
Registration Deadline: Dec. 31, 2016
Challenge Dates: Jan. 12 – April 28, 2017

Mission X encourages children of all ages, as well as people with particular needs, to pursue healthy lifestyles based on the model of training like an astronaut. During six- to nine-week “challenges” each fall and spring, schools and student groups from around the world complete Mission X classroom-based science lessons and physical education activities.

In 2017, Mission X is challenging Fit Explorers around the world to work together to perform activities that will move Astro Charlie the 478 million steps it would take to walk from Earth to the moon! That’s 238,857 miles, or 384,403 kilometers! At an average walking speed, that would take one person about nine years to complete.

The challenge kicks off in January. For full challenge details and to do your part to help reach this out-of-this-world goal, visit http://trainlikeanastronaut.org/wttm. The deadline to register for this challenge is Dec. 31, 2016. You may apply for Team USA at http://trainlikeanastronaut.org/usa_application.

In 2016, Mission X was represented by 30 countries and more than 53,000 participants. The challenge was available in 17 languages.

Please direct questions about this opportunity to Nubia Carvajal at nubia.a.carvajal@nasa.gov.

**NEW** Update From NASA Space Place — Space Place App Discontinued
Audience: K-6 Educators and Students

The NASA Space Place app, known as Space Place Prime, is being removed from the iTunes App Store and Google Play. However, the NASA Space Place website is mobile-friendly and easy to navigate! You can check it out on your smartphone at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov.

Please send any comments or feedback to SpacePlaceConnect@jpl.nasa.gov.

 

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.

**NEW** Teachers Connect: LaRC Centennial Badge Webinar
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School, and Informal Educators of Grades 6-8
Event Date: Dec. 15, 2016, at 4 p.m. EST
This webinar will focus for the first half-hour on clouds and their role in Earth’s “energy budget” and on implementation ideas using GLOBE for different classroom settings as part of the “Earth Right Now: LaRC 100th” digital badge. We also will talk about student badge implementations, extension ideas and extra resources. The second half-hour will be very similar but centered on the engineering design process using the Drag Race to Mars Engineering Design Challenge as part of the “Journey to Mars: LaRC 100th” digital badge. This portion of the webinar will focus on forces and motion and math calculations using paper airplanes and testing different materials as part of the “Aeronautics: LaRC 100th” digital badge. This webinar meets requirements of teacher discussions within the NASA Langley 100th Educator Professional Development Collaborative digital badges. To learn more about the Langley 100th digital badges, log in to https://nasatxstate-epdc.net/ and search for LaRC 100th. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/207902

For a full schedule of upcoming webinars, visit http://www.txstate-epdc.net/events/.

Please direct questions about this series of webinars to Steve Culivan at stephen.p.culivan@nasa.gov.

Educator Workshop: Making Moon Craters
Audience: Pre-service Educators and Educators of Grades 1-6
Event Date: Dec. 17, 2016, 10 a.m. – Noon PST

Learn how to use baking ingredients to whip up a moonlike crater as a demonstration for students in classrooms, camps or at home. Join NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Dec. 17, 2016, from 10 a.m. to noon PST for this workshop at the Columbia Memorial Space Center in Downey, California.

The workshop is free for all pre-service and fully credentialed teachers! Participants must bring their teacher or student ID the day of the workshop. Lunch will be provided. Pre-registration is required.

For more information and to register to attend, visit http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/events/2016/12/17/making-moon-craters/.

Can’t make it to the workshop? Explore the lesson online at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/make-a-crater/.

Please direct questions about this workshop to Sandra Valencia at (562) 231-1205.

**NEW** 2017 Space Exploration Educators Conference
Audience: K-12 Educators
Early Bird Registration Deadline: Dec. 30, 2016
Event Date: Feb. 9-11, 2017

Make plans to attend the 23rd Annual Space Exploration Educators Conference to be held Feb. 9-11, 2017, at Space Center Houston. This conference is for all K-12 educators. Activities presented use space-related themes to teach across the curricula. The activities may be used for science, language arts, mathematics, history and more.

Attend sessions hosted by scientists and engineers working on exciting projects like the International Space Station and the exploration of Mars and other parts of our solar system. 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 discounted registration, sign up to attend before the Early Bird Registration deadline on Dec. 30, 2016!

For more information, visit http://spacecenter.org/teacher-programs/teachers-seec/.

Please email any questions about the conference to seec@spacecenter.org.

Science Opportunities for Higher Education and Informal Institutions

Call for Proposals — NASA Research Announcement for Use of the NASA Physical Sciences Informatics System: Appendix C
Audience: Graduate Students
Proposal Deadline: Dec. 15, 2016

NASA is seeking ground-based research proposals from graduate students and established researchers to use NASA’s Physical Sciences Informatics system to develop new analyses and scientific insights. The PSI system is a resource for researchers to data mine information generated from completed physical sciences experiments performed on the International Space Station or from related ground-based studies.

This solicitation appendix focuses on the following five research areas: combustion science, complex fluids, fluid physics, fundamental physics and materials science.

For graduate students (students working toward an advanced degree), this NASA Research Announcement is soliciting proposals that advance fundamental research in one of the physical sciences disciplines identified above and also assist in the awarding of an advanced degree to the graduate student. This call is open to students who meet the following eligibility requirements:

— The student is pursuing an advanced degree directly related to a physical sciences discipline. Only technical degrees are permitted (not degrees in policy or management).
— The student is a U.S. citizen, a permanent resident alien of the U.S., or on a student visa at an accredited U.S. university at the time of application submission.
— The student is enrolled in a master’s or doctoral degree program at an accredited U.S. university at the time of application submission. Or, if the student is an undergraduate starting graduate studies, he or she has been accepted to a master’s or doctoral degree program at an accredited U.S. university at the time of application submission and will start during the next academic year.
— The student has an academic graduate advisor who will submit the application for the graduate student. The student must perform the proposed research under the guidance of the assigned graduate advisor.

The agency expects to make approximately 10 awards in spring 2016. Research and development efforts will take place over two years. The typical award will be $75,000-$100,000 per year, for up to two years.

The deadline for submitting proposals is Dec. 15, 2016.

For information, visit http://psi.nasa.gov/.

Please direct questions about this NASA Research Announcement to Dr. Francis Chiaramonte at francis.p.chiaramonte@nasa.gov.

2017 High-Altitude Student Platform Opportunity
Audience: Higher Education Educators and Students
Application Deadline: Dec. 16, 2016

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 on a high-flying scientific balloon.

The annual project, supported by the NASA Balloon Program Office and LaSPACE, 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, New Mexico. 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 deadline for applications is Dec. 16, 2016.

For application information and technical details about the program, visit http://laspace.lsu.edu/hasp.

Questions about the High-Altitude Student Platform opportunity should be directed to T. Gregory Guzik at guzik@phunds.phys.lsu.edu.

Center for Astronomy Education Regional Teaching Exchanges and Workshops — Fall/Winter 2016-2017
Audience: Current and Future College Instructors of Astronomy
Next Event Date: Jan. 4, 2017

NASA’s Center for Astronomy Education, or CAE, announces a series of regional teaching exchanges and workshops for astronomy and space science educators.

Teaching exchanges foster a sense of community among geographically linked current and future college instructors of astronomy. Regional experts from the broader CAE community are ready to provide the opportunity for you to meet your neighbors, expand your instructional repertoire and share your own expertise.

Workshops provide participants with experiences needed to create effective and productive active-learning classroom environments. Workshop leaders model best practices in implementing many different classroom-tested instructional strategies. But more importantly, workshop participants will gain first-hand experience implementing these proven strategies.

Jan. 4, 2017 — Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas
CAE Tier I Teaching Excellence Workshop — New Methods for Teaching About Exoplanets

Jan. 5, 2017 — Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas
CAE Tier I Teaching Excellence Workshop — New Methods for Teaching in the Flipped Classroom

For more information and to register for the teaching exchanges, visit http://astronomy101.jpl.nasa.gov/workshops/index.cfm.

Inquiries about this series of events should be directed to Gina Brissenden at gbrissenden@as.arizona.edu.

CAE is funded through NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Exoplanet Exploration Program.


Check out the new ‘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 https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/current-opps-index.html
— Students https://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 https://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/

Visit NASA Education on the web:
NASA Office of Education: https://www.nasa.gov/education
For Educators: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html
For Students: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html
NASA Kids’ Club: https://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub

Did you miss last week’s NASA Education Science WOW! newsletter?
Visit the Science WOW! blog for an archive of previous messages.
https://blogs.nasa.gov/educationsciencewow/

NASA Education “Science WOW!” Message — Dec. 7, 2016

Check out the latest edition of NASA Education’s “Science WOW!” — your source for NASA opportunities in science education delivered “Weekly On Wednesday.”

Check out the latest edition of NASA Education’s “Science WOW!” — your source for NASA opportunities in science education delivered “Weekly On Wednesday.”

Science Always Starts With a Question …

This Week’s Question: What’s Up for December?

A lineup of planets. Two meteor showers. A supermoon and a comet. Find out how to see these and more in the night sky during December 2016.

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/details.php?id=1452

Have You Seen This?

Are you looking for free downloadable resources to use in your classroom? Check out NASA Science Toolkits. Topics range from planetary missions to heliophysics and more.

https://science.nasa.gov/toolkits

Opportunities for Future Scientists of All Ages

Science Opportunities for Educators of Grades K-12

Science Opportunities for Higher Education and Informal Institutions

Opportunities for Future Scientists of All Ages

**NEW** NASA’s Digital Learning Network Event – Ants in Space Webcast
Audience: Educators and Students in Grades 5-12
Event Date: Dec. 9, 2016, 11 – 11:45 a.m. EST

Do ants behave the same in space as they do on Earth? Connect your middle or high school class with the Digital Learning Network to talk with Dr. Deborah Gordon, a researcher at Stanford University studying ants on the International Space Station. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, or CASIS, manages the U.S. National Laboratory and sponsors this experiment.

Gordon says that collective behavior takes many forms, such as emergence, self-organization, superorganism, quorum sensing, artificial intelligence, and dynamical networks. At her research laboratory at Stanford University, Gordon has been studying ants in many environments including ants in space! In her lab, her students and researchers use ant colonies to investigate systems that operate without central control and explore analogies with other systems, such as the internet, the immune system and the brain.

The 45-minute event will be webcast on the NASA DLiNfo Channel on Dec. 9, 2016, at 11 a.m. EST. Tweet questions with #askDLN or email DLiNfochannel@gmail.com.

For more information about this and other DLN events, visit https://www.nasa.gov/dln.

Please direct questions about this event to DLiNfochannel@gmail.com, ATTN: CASIS Academy Live.

**NEW** Get Ready for the 2017 Solar Eclipse With NASA Resources
Audience: All Educators and Students
Event Date: Aug. 21, 2017

On Aug. 21, 2017, the United States will experience a solar eclipse! This celestial event will provide a golden opportunity to engage and educate diverse audiences, and NASA has the resources to help.

Along a path 60 to 70 miles wide stretching from Oregon to South Carolina, observers will be able to see a total solar eclipse. Others across North America will see a partial eclipse. The event will happen around lunch time across the country. For an interactive map with timing information along the path of the eclipse, visit http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEgoogle/SEgoogle2001/SE2017Aug21Tgoogle.html.

Visit the following websites to find additional information and resources, including:
— Tips for safely viewing the solar eclipse.
— Recorded interviews with NASA scientists, mission specialists and eclipse path communities.
— Topical online eclipse videos, featuring a variety of STEM and cultural topics.
— Social media community development and networking.
— Mobile educational eclipse applications.
— Public challenges and engagement activities.
— 2-D and 3-D printing exercises for K-16 students.
— Citizen science campaigns in partnership with NASA mission observations.
— Adjunct activities and educational resources.
— Live streaming of observations and programming.

Total Eclipse 2017 — Through the Eyes of NASA
http://eclipse2017.nasa.gov

Eclipses and Transits
https://www.nasa.gov/eclipse

Watch “The Solar Eclipse 2017 PREVIEW Show” with NASA EDGE.
https://youtu.be/6DDICymjhg0

 

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.

Picking Up STEAM: Using Models and Data to Understand Clouds
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 4-10
Event Date: Dec. 6, 2016, at 5 p.m. EST
Practice STEAM through the use of inquiry-based science activities from NASA curriculum guides. The activities and NASA educational websites introduced will provide participants with new curriculum ideas to assist in reaching the Next Generation Science Standards and CORE learning outcomes standards. This STEAM workshop will guide participants through inquiry-based learning activities related to clouds, phase change, light, water cycle, weather and climate. Participants will use authentic data sets to model STEAM lessons. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/205303

**NEW** Teachers Connect: LaRC Centennial Badge Webinar
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School, and Informal Educators of Grades 6-8
Event Date: Dec. 13, 2016, at 4 p.m. EST
This webinar will focus for the first half-hour on clouds and their role in Earth’s “energy budget” and on implementation ideas using GLOBE for different classroom settings as part of the “Earth Right Now: LaRC 100th” digital badge. We also will talk about student badge implementations, extension ideas and extra resources. The second half-hour will be very similar but centered on the engineering design process using the Drag Race to Mars Engineering Design Challenge as part of the “Journey to Mars: LaRC 100th” digital badge. This portion of the webinar will focus on forces and motion and math calculations using paper airplanes and testing different materials as part of the “Aeronautics: LaRC 100th” digital badge. This webinar meets requirements of teacher discussions within the NASA Langley 100th Educator Professional Development Collaborative digital badges. To learn more about the Langley 100th digital badges, log in to https://nasatxstate-epdc.net/ and search for LaRC 100th. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/207899

For a full schedule of upcoming webinars, visit http://www.txstate-epdc.net/events/.

Please direct questions about this series of webinars to Steve Culivan at stephen.p.culivan@nasa.gov.

Educator Workshop: Making Moon Craters
Audience: Pre-service Educators and Educators of Grades 1-6
Event Date: Dec. 17, 2016, 10 a.m. – Noon PST

Learn how to use baking ingredients to whip up a moonlike crater as a demonstration for students in classrooms, camps or at home. Join NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Dec. 17, 2016, from 10 a.m. to noon PST for this workshop at the Columbia Memorial Space Center in Downey, California.

The workshop is free for all pre-service and fully credentialed teachers! Participants must bring their teacher or student ID the day of the workshop. Lunch will be provided. Pre-registration is required.

For more information and to register to attend, visit http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/events/2016/12/17/making-moon-craters/.

Can’t make it to the workshop? Explore the lesson online at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/make-a-crater/.

Please direct questions about this workshop to Sandra Valencia at (562) 231-1205.

Science Opportunities for Higher Education and Informal Institutions

Call for Proposals — NASA Research Announcement for Use of the NASA Physical Sciences Informatics System: Appendix C
Audience: Graduate Students
Proposal Deadline: Dec. 15, 2016

NASA is seeking ground-based research proposals from graduate students and established researchers to use NASA’s Physical Sciences Informatics system to develop new analyses and scientific insights. The PSI system is a resource for researchers to data mine information generated from completed physical sciences experiments performed on the International Space Station or from related ground-based studies.

This solicitation appendix focuses on the following five research areas: combustion science, complex fluids, fluid physics, fundamental physics and materials science.

For graduate students (students working toward an advanced degree), this NASA Research Announcement is soliciting proposals that advance fundamental research in one of the physical sciences disciplines identified above and also assist in the awarding of an advanced degree to the graduate student. This call is open to students who meet the following eligibility requirements:

— The student is pursuing an advanced degree directly related to a physical sciences discipline. Only technical degrees are permitted (not degrees in policy or management).
— The student is a U.S. citizen, a permanent resident alien of the U.S., or on a student visa at an accredited U.S. university at the time of application submission.
— The student is enrolled in a master’s or doctoral degree program at an accredited U.S. university at the time of application submission. Or, if the student is an undergraduate starting graduate studies, he or she has been accepted to a master’s or doctoral degree program at an accredited U.S. university at the time of application submission and will start during the next academic year.
— The student has an academic graduate advisor who will submit the application for the graduate student. The student must perform the proposed research under the guidance of the assigned graduate advisor.

The agency expects to make approximately 10 awards in spring 2016. Research and development efforts will take place over two years. The typical award will be $75,000-$100,000 per year, for up to two years.

The deadline for submitting proposals is Dec. 15, 2016.

For information, visit http://psi.nasa.gov/.

Please direct questions about this NASA Research Announcement to Dr. Francis Chiaramonte at francis.p.chiaramonte@nasa.gov.

2017 High-Altitude Student Platform Opportunity
Audience: Higher Education Educators and Students
Application Deadline: Dec. 16, 2016

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 on a high-flying scientific balloon.

The annual project, supported by the NASA Balloon Program Office and LaSPACE, 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, New Mexico. 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 deadline for applications is Dec. 16, 2016.

For application information and technical details about the program, visit http://laspace.lsu.edu/hasp.

Questions about the High-Altitude Student Platform opportunity should be directed to T. Gregory Guzik at guzik@phunds.phys.lsu.edu.

**NEW** NASA’s Ames Research Center Summer Internships — NASA Astrobiology Institute
Audience: Undergraduate Students Who Have Completed Their Sophomore Year or More
Application Deadline: Feb. 15, 2017

The NASA Astrobiology Institute at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California is looking for internship candidates for summer 2017 sessions. Internship opportunities are available within three modules of NAI research.

Laboratory Studies of Chemical Processing in Astrophysical Ices
The intern will work in the Astrochemistry and Astrophysics Laboratory to help carry out experiments designed to study the photochemistry and catalytic chemistry that occurs in astrophysical ice analogs of cometary, planetary and interstellar ices. Emphasis will be placed on how these processes produce organic compounds, particularly compounds of astrobiological interest.

Computer Modeling of Protoplanetary Disks
The intern will work on astronomical modeling of planet-forming disks using existing computational models. The main task will be to apply these models to one or two objects and infer the physical and chemical conditions in planet-forming regions of the disk. The intern will learn to compute disk models, analyze results, and compare observable signatures with available astronomical data from disks.

Computational Quantum Chemistry Studies of Astrophysical Ices and Gases
Computational quantum chemistry is an important tool to elucidate the detailed mechanisms of quantum chemical reactions in both the gas and condensed phases. The intern will study important reactions that lead to the gas and solid-state formation of biogenic molecules using computer programs. Work will include exploring molecular structures, reaction rates, spectroscopic constants and reaction pathways of important biomolecules and their precursors.

Students selected for all three 10-week internships will do real, ongoing NASA research. It is anticipated that these efforts may lead to one or more reports or peer-reviewed scientific publications on which the student would be coauthor. 

These opportunities are open to underrepresented students who are currently enrolled in a college or university and who have successfully completed their sophomore, junior or senior years with a GPA of 3.0 or higher (based on a 4.0 scale). Applicants must be U.S. citizens and at least 18 years of age. Members of underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply.

Application materials are due Feb. 15, 2017.

For more information and complete application process details, visit https://amesteam.arc.nasa.gov/TeamMemberDirectory/intern_opportunities2017.html.

Questions about this opportunity should be directed to Scott Sandford at scott.a.sandford@nasa.gov.

Check out the new ‘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 https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/current-opps-index.html
— Students https://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 https://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/

Visit NASA Education on the web:
NASA Office of Education: https://www.nasa.gov/education
For Educators: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html
For Students: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html
NASA Kids’ Club: https://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub

Did you miss last week’s NASA Education Science WOW! newsletter?
Visit the Science WOW! blog for an archive of previous messages.
https://blogs.nasa.gov/educationsciencewow/

NASA Education “Science WOW!” Message — Nov. 16, 2016

Check out the latest edition of NASA Education’s “Science WOW!” — your source for NASA opportunities in science education delivered “Weekly On Wednesday.”

Science Always Starts With a Question …

This Week’s Question: What Is La Niña?

NASA’s weather satellites help forecasters keep an eye on weather patterns and it looks like the La Niña pattern may form this year. Check out the link below to find out what that means.

http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/la-nina/en/

 Have You Seen This?

Are you looking for models to print using a 3-D printer? Check out the 3-D models and textures NASA has available for downloading and printing. Visit the NASA 3-D Resources page to get started.

https://nasa3d.arc.nasa.gov/

Opportunities for Future Scientists of All Ages

 Science Opportunities for Educators of Grades K-12

 Science Opportunities for Higher Education and Informal Institutions

Opportunities for Future Scientists of All Ages

**NEW** New Publication from NASA’s Earth Observatory — EO Kids
Audience: K-12 Educators and Students

NASA is introducing a new publication from its Earth Observatory — EO Kids — bringing engaging science stories from the Earth Observatory to a younger audience.

The premier issue of EO Kids explores how NASA observes and measures fresh water from space. Find out why Lake Mead appears to have a bathtub ring around its shoreline and how less snow in the mountains means less drinking water for California. Explore satellite images of where fresh water is stored in and on Earth. Discover what NASA does in the field with an update from scientists on the Olympic Mountain Experiment (OLYMPEX) campaign.

EO Kids offers hands-on activities, experiments and more. The Maker Corner provides instructions for making a model aquifer and a self-watering planter. Explore the science behind fresh water with a snowmelt experiment, and be a data detective by analyzing satellite data like a scientist. Kids can even create their own data visualization by coloring in a map showing ice thickness on Greenland.

To download your copy of the EO Kids: Fresh Water issue, visit http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/eokids.

To learn more about NASA’s missions to study Earth, visit the Earth Observatory at http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/.

**NEW** 2016 von Kármán Lecture Series — Attend in Person or View Online
Audience: All Educators; Students in Grades 9-12 and Higher Education
Next Lecture Date: Nov. 17, 2016, at 7 p.m. PST (10 p.m. EST)

The Theodore von Kármán Lecture Series, named after the founder of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and presented by JPL’s Office of Communication and Education, shares the excitement of the space program’s missions, instruments and other technologies.

Lectures take place twice per month, on consecutive Thursdays and Fridays. The Thursday lectures take place in JPL’s Theodore von Kármán Auditorium, and Friday lectures take place at Pasadena City College’s Vosloh Forum. Both start at 7 p.m. PST (10 p.m. EST). Admission and parking are free for all lectures. No reservations are required, but seating is limited. The Thursday evening lectures are streamed live for viewing online. Archives of past lectures are also available online.

Next Lecture in the Series:

The James Webb Space Telescope: Successor to Hubble
Event Date: Nov. 17 and Nov. 18, 2016, at 7 p.m. PST (10 p.m. EST)
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/lectures_archive.php?year=2016&month=11
After its launch in late 2018, the James Webb Space Telescope will help revolutionize study of the cosmos. Built to address the questions beyond the capabilities of the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes, JWST will look more deeply at infrared wavelengths with instruments with capabilities not previously available. Join Dr. Michael Ressler for a discussion about JWST as a whole but focused on the Mid-Infrared Instrument, the longest wavelength instrument on JWST.

For more information about the Theodore von Kármán Lecture Series, including a complete list of upcoming lectures, visit http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/lectures.php.

Questions about this series should be directed to http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/contact_JPL.php.

Future Engineers Mars Medical Challenge
Audience: Educators and Students Ages 5 to 19
Entry Deadline: Jan. 25, 2017

Calling all students! NASA wants your help to design an object that could be used by an astronaut to maintain physical health on a three-year mission to Mars. The Mars Medical Challenge is the fifth in a series of Future Engineers Challenges where students in grades K-12 create and submit a digital 3-D model intended to be printed in 3-D and used for a wide range of medical needs including diagnostic, preventive, first-aid, emergency, surgical and/or dental purposes.

As NASA continues to investigate how the human body adjusts to weightlessness, radiation and stress that occur long-duration spaceflight, Future Engineers proposes to engage students with a related challenge. The Mars Medical Challenge asks students to design a 3-D printed object that will keep astronauts healthy during the long trip to the Red Planet. Specifically, medical and dental hardware will be emphasized during this challenge.

Students ages 5-19 are invited to become the creators and innovators of tomorrow by using 3-D modeling software to submit their designs for hardware that could be used by astronauts on a future mission to Mars. Students have the opportunity to win prizes ranging from a Mars prize pack or a 3-D printer for their school to a trip to Houston for a tour of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The challenge closes on Jan. 25, 2017, and winners will be announced on March 28, 2017.

What health-related items do you think an astronaut will need on that journey, and why would these items require a 3-D printer? It’s time to start flexing your problem-solving and design skills to find a solution – good luck!

For more information about the challenge and how to enter, visit www.futureengineers.org/marsmedical.

Science Opportunities for Educators of Grades K-12

**NEW** 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.

Astrobiology and the Origin of Life
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 6-12
Event Date: Nov. 21, 2016, at 7 p.m. EST
Learn how NASA has turned the search for alien life from science fiction to a quickly growing research field. Topics in earth and space science linked to biology will help us understand the most current theories for how life came to be here on Earth and where we could find it next. Classroom activities fit for numerous grade levels will put this exploration into the hands of our next generation of scientists! Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/198801

For a full schedule of upcoming webinars, visit http://www.txstate-epdc.net/events/.

Please direct questions about this series of webinars to Steve Culivan at stephen.p.culivan@nasa.gov.

Free ‘NASA’s Journey to Mars’ Planetarium/Dome Show
Audience: Formal and Informal Educators

Are you looking for ways to prepare your students for STEM-related career opportunities? Do you want to spark their interest in pushing the boundaries of technology and innovation? Right now, NASA’s fleet of Mars robotic explorers is paving the way for human exploration of the solar system in the coming decades. Have your students join NASA in preparing for a monumental journey of a lifetime — to Mars!

“NASA’s Journey to Mars” is a short planetarium presentation that can be used in the educational domes of your school district, as well as local planetariums, to inspire interest in STEM. To learn more, including how you can acquire the show for use in your area, visit https://www.nasa.gov/feature/journey-of-a-lifetime-mars-education-resources/.

Please direct questions about the “NASA’s Journey to Mars” planetarium/dome show to Elsie Weigel at elsie.weigel@nasa.gov.

Science Opportunities for Higher Education and Informal Institutions

2017 High-Altitude Student Platform Opportunity
Audience: Higher Education Educators and Students
Application Deadline: Dec. 16, 2016

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 on a high-flying scientific balloon.

The annual project, supported by the NASA Balloon Program Office and LaSPACE, 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, New Mexico. 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 deadline for applications is Dec. 16, 2016.

For application information and technical details about the program, visit http://laspace.lsu.edu/hasp.

Questions about the High-Altitude Student Platform opportunity should be directed to T. Gregory Guzik at guzik@phunds.phys.lsu.edu.

NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowships Program Accepting Proposals for 2017-2018 Academic Year
Audience: Higher Education Educators and Students
Proposal Deadline: Feb. 1, 2017

The NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship program is soliciting applications from accredited U.S. universities on behalf of individuals pursuing master’s or doctoral degrees in Earth and space sciences, or related disciplines, for the 2017-2018 academic year. The purpose of NESSF is to ensure continued training of a highly qualified workforce in disciplines needed to achieve NASA’s scientific goals. Awards resulting from the competitive selection will be training grants to the respective universities, with the advisor serving as the principal investigator. Financial support for the NESSF program comes from the Science Mission Directorate’s four science divisions: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Planetary Science and Astrophysics.

Initially, NESSF awards are made for one year. They may be renewed for up to two additional years, contingent upon satisfactory progress (as reflected in academic performance, research progress and recommendation by the faculty advisor) and the availability of funds.

The maximum amount of a NESSF award is $45,000 per year.

Proposals for this opportunity are due Feb. 1, 2017.

For more information about this solicitation, visit http://go.nasa.gov/2f2baB3.

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 Dolores Holland at hq-nessf-Space@nasa.gov

Check out the new ‘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 https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/current-opps-index.html
— Students https://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 https://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/

Visit NASA Education on the web:
NASA Office of Education: https://www.nasa.gov/education
For Educators: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html
For Students: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html
NASA Kids’ Club: https://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub

Did you miss last week’s NASA Education Science WOW! newsletter?
Visit the Science WOW! blog for an archive of previous messages.
https://blogs.nasa.gov/educationsciencewow/

NASA Education “Science WOW!” Message — Nov. 9, 2016

Check out the latest edition of NASA Education’s “Science WOW!” — your source for NASA opportunities in science education delivered “Weekly On Wednesday.”

Check out the latest edition of NASA Education’s “Science WOW!” — your source for NASA opportunities in science education delivered “Weekly On Wednesday.”

Science Always Starts With a Question …

This Week’s Question: What Is a Supermoon?

Step outside on Nov. 14, 2016, to get a view of the most remarkable supermoon of the 21st century! Not sure what a supermoon is? Visit this site to find out!

https://science.nasa.gov/sciencecasts/2016-ends-with-three-supermoons

Have You Seen This?

Did you know that educators can borrow samples of moon rocks and meteorites from NASA? Visit the Astromaterials Samples for Education site to learn more!

https://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/education/index.cfm

Opportunities for Future Scientists of All Ages

Science Opportunities for Educators of Grades K-12

Science Opportunities for Higher Education and Informal Institutions

Opportunities for Future Scientists of All Ages

Join NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center for Maryland STEMFest 2016 Events
Audience: All Educators and Students
Event Dates: Nov. 4-13, 2016

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center will celebrate Maryland STEMFest 2016 in a very special way: by highlighting next year’s total solar eclipse! On Aug. 21, 2017, all 48 contiguous states will have the opportunity to view a solar eclipse — an event that has not been seen across the lower 48 states in 38 years! The event will provide scientists the chance to collect valuable research on the sun, its corona and other features. Goddard’s programs for Maryland STEMFest 2016 will highlight the STEM behind solar eclipses, so please join us this year as we celebrate this monumental occasion!

New Interactive Classroom Experience From NASA’s Digital Learning Network — Our Magnificent Sun: Solar Eclipse 2017 Edition
Scheduling Options Available Nov. 4-13, 2016
https://www.nasa.gov/dln/lessons#Our Magnificent Sun
With the solar eclipse of 2017 approaching, Our Magnificent Sun for younger grades will help students answer their questions about the sun in a highly interactive session. During this web-based, interactive classroom program, students illustrate features of the sun by participating in a story time. Our Magnificent Sun for upper grades uses a teachable moment to introduce space weather and answer questions students might have about a solar eclipse.

From the Digital Learning Network at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center: STEM Shorts
Nov. 9, 2016, at 10 a.m. EST — Engineering: Designing a Satellite
Nov. 10, 2016, at 10 a.m. EST — Math: How Does Math Relate to the Solar Eclipse?
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-gsfc
Explore solar eclipses with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center through the new STEM Shorts digital program! Each presentation will be a brief 15-minute informational lesson followed by a live question and answer session from the audience. Questions can be submitted via twitter @GSFCEducation using #STEMShorts or by email to gsfceducation@gmail.com. Please contact Lindsey Jones at lindsey.jones-1@nasa.gov for more information or general inquiries about the program.

Join STEM@NASA Goddard in Celebrating STEM During Maryland STEM Fest 2016
Nov. 7-10, 2016, 1-1:30 p.m. EST
Celebrate Maryland STEM Fest 2016 with STEM@NASA Goddard! During these daily events, participants can interact live with scientists and engineers as they discuss how they practice STEM in their careers. Each day will highlight a letter in STEM: Science Monday, Technology Tuesday, Engineering Wednesday, and Math Thursday. The programs will stream live on NASA Goddard’s Ustream channel, and participants may submit questions by email and Twitter. For more information, please contact Erin McKinley at erin.e.mckinley@nasa.gov.

Professional Development Opportunity: NASA Goddard’s Solar Eclipse Spotlight Digital Badge for Educators
Ongoing Throughout the School Year With Special Incentive for Completion Before Nov. 13, 2016
Digital badging is an online professional development process for certifying learning. The NASA STEM EPDC Digital Badging System allows you to select from a wide variety of STEM topics, engage in exciting learning opportunities, demonstrate your mastery of the topic, and receive a badge of accomplishment for your work that you can share with others. The latest NASA Goddard Solar Eclipse Spotlight 2017 badge is a great way to prepare for the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse! Educators who complete this digital badge by Nov. 13, 2016, will have the opportunity for priority scheduling to take part in a Solar Eclipse 2017 module from NASA’s Distance Learning Network.

To sign up, visit https://nasatxstate-epdc.net/ and use the login buttons to begin exploring this digital badge as well as other exciting professional development opportunities available to you through the NASA STEM EPDC Digital Badging System. Please contact Kelly Kohli at kelly.kohli@nasa.gov for questions or additional information.

Join NASA’s Goddard Space Center and GLOBE for “Maryland-wide Eyes on the Skies”
Nov. 9, 2016, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. EST
http://observer.globe.gov/about/citizen-science
Join NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland and NASA’s GLOBE program on Nov. 9, 2016, for a statewide day of citizen science! GLOBE Observer invites you to make environmental observations that complement NASA satellite observations to help scientists studying Earth and the global environment. Version 1.1 includes GLOBE Clouds, which allows you to photograph clouds and record sky observations and compare them with NASA satellite images. GLOBE is now the major source of cloud observations by humans, which provide more information than automated systems. Recommended observation hours are between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. EST.

University of Maryland Eastern Shore 2nd Annual Maryland STEM Festival
Nov. 9, 2016, 6-7:30 p.m. EST
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore is hosting the 2nd Annual Maryland STEM Festival. STEM activities will include underwater robotics, amphibious vehicles, 3-D printing, space exploration and more. K-12 students are invited to embark on this virtual experience to NASA Goddard’s Digital Learning Network and will be able to discuss what it is like to live and work in space, how space exploration affects lives here on Earth, and challenges that astronauts living in space must overcome. Please contact Jocelyn Koller at jckoller@umd.edu for additional information.

NASA Technology in Your Classroom: Solar Eclipse 2017
Nov. 10, 2016, at 4 p.m. EST
https://www.etouches.com/196478
Participants in this webinar will discuss Solar Eclipse 2017 “Spotlights” for the classroom using NASA’s unique resources. Educators will discover NASA websites, digital badging and applications to implement with students before the 2017 solar eclipse! Register online to participate.

STEM@NASA Goddard: Library Edition — NASA Heliophysics
Nov. 10, 2016, 5-6 p.m. EST
NASA heliophysics experts will be broadcast live to county libraries across Maryland. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn about the incredible work NASA does and the upcoming 2017 Total Solar Eclipse! Contact your local library http://directory.sailor.lib.md.us/pub_use/county_map.cfm for more information on how to participate. Participants will be able to pose questions to NASA expert via email and Twitter. For more information on how to interact with our experts, please contact Jordan Snyder at jordan.a.snyder@nasa.gov.

Celebrate National Distance Learning Week With NASA’s Digital Learning Network
Audience: All Educators and Students
Event Dates: Nov. 7-11, 2016

Join NASA’s Digital Learning Network in celebrating National Distance Learning Week, Nov. 7-11, 2016. The DLN invites you to take part in one or more of the special programs listed below and visit their website for classroom lessons and special events throughout the year.

From the DLN at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center: STEM Shorts
Nov. 9, 2016, at 10 a.m. EST — Engineering: Designing a Satellite
Nov. 10, 2016, at 10 a.m. EST — Math: How Does Math Relate to the Solar Eclipse?
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-gsfc
Explore solar eclipses with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center through the new STEM Shorts digital program! Each presentation will be a brief 15-minute informational lesson followed by a live question and answer session from the audience. Questions can be submitted via twitter @GSFCEducation using #STEMShorts or by email to gsfceducation@gmail.com. Please contact Lindsey Jones at lindsey.jones-1@nasa.gov for more information or general inquiries about the program.

From the DLN at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center: NASA STARS en Español With Alex Bengoa From NASA’s Ground Systems Development and Operations Program
Nov. 10, 2016, at Noon EST
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-dlinfo
NASA STARS en Español promotes awareness of NASA’s diverse career opportunities for minority populations and highlights Hispanic professionals as role models in STEM careers. This monthly webcast is live-streamed in Spanish. DLN invites you to participate with your STEM classes, Spanish classes, Spanish clubs, etc. Bring your classroom into the conversation because Students Talking About Real STEM are the STARS of tomorrow. Learn about November’s guest speaker at https://www.txstate-epdc.net/epdc-post/alex-j-bengoa/. Questions can be submitted during the event via Twitter using #NASASTARS or by email to astrosdenasa@gmail.com. For more information about the program, visit https://www.txstate-epdc.net/nasa-stars/.

NASA’s Digital Learning Network celebrates distance learning every day through a wide variety of programs that include:
— DLN Interactive Classroom — DLN specialists connect with one or more schools to deliver an interactive classroom lesson. Descriptions of the lessons can be found at: https://www.nasa.gov/dln/lessons.
— DLN Live — DLN specialists or subject matter experts present a special topic related to current events that may involve interviews, demonstrations and live questions from the audience.
— DLN Virtual Visits — The DLN specialists connects a subject matter expert with a specific classroom where topics about careers and NASA experiences are discussed.
— DLN Virtual Field Trip — A DLN specialist gives a virtual tour of points of interest such as a laboratory or launch on a NASA center.

For more information and other DLN events, visit https://www.nasa.gov/dln.

**NEW** Future Engineers Mars Medical Challenge
Audience: Educators and Students Ages 5 to 19
Entry Deadline: Jan. 25, 2017

Calling all students! NASA wants your help to design an object that could be used by an astronaut to maintain physical health on a three-year mission to Mars. The Mars Medical Challenge is the fifth in a series of Future Engineers Challenges where students in grades K-12 create and submit a digital 3-D model intended to be printed in 3-D and used for a wide range of medical needs including diagnostic, preventive, first-aid, emergency, surgical and/or dental purposes.

As NASA continues to investigate how the human body adjusts to weightlessness, radiation and stress that occur long-duration spaceflight, Future Engineers proposes to engage students with a related challenge. The Mars Medical Challenge asks students to design a 3-D printed object that will keep astronauts healthy during the long trip to the Red Planet. Specifically, medical and dental hardware will be emphasized during this challenge.

Students ages 5-19 are invited to become the creators and innovators of tomorrow by using 3-D modeling software to submit their designs for hardware that could be used by astronauts on a future mission to Mars. Students have the opportunity to win prizes ranging from a Mars prize pack or a 3-D printer for their school to a trip to Houston for a tour of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The challenge closes on Jan. 25, 2017, and winners will be announced on March 28, 2017.

What health-related items do you think an astronaut will need on that journey, and why would these items require a 3-D printer? It’s time to start flexing your problem-solving and design skills to find a solution – good luck!

For more information about the challenge and how to enter, visit www.futureengineers.org/marsmedical.

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.

Making Waves With NASA: Optics Resources
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 4-12
Event Date: Nov. 9, 2016, at 6:30 p.m. EST
This webinar gives an overview of NASA resources for teaching about waves, lenses and mirrors. The resources covered in the webinar address the Next Generation Science Standard PS4. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/199138

NASA Technology in Your Classroom: Solar Eclipse 2017
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades K-12
Event Date: Nov. 10, 2016, at 4 p.m. EST
Participants in this webinar will discuss Solar Eclipse 2017 “Spotlights” for the classroom using NASA’s unique resources. Educators will discover NASA websites, digital badging and applications to implement with students before next year’s 2017 stellar event! Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/196478

For a full schedule of upcoming webinars, visit http://www.txstate-epdc.net/events/.

Please direct questions about this series of webinars to Steve Culivan at stephen.p.culivan@nasa.gov.

Mars Survival Kit: Lessons and Activities to Guide Your Exploration of Mars!
Audience: K-12 Educators

NASA is embarking on a journey to Mars! Are your students ready to join in the adventure? Spark excitement in your classroom with the Mars Survival Kit.

The Mars Survival Kit is a collection of educational activities for students in grades K-12. Each educational activity includes a brief description, as well as information about how the activities and lessons align to the Next Generation Science Standards.

Start your classroom’s journey to Mars at http://go.nasa.gov/1NnZ0Rg.

To learn more about NASA’s Journey to Mars, visit https://www.nasa.gov/topics/journeytomars/index.html.

Science Opportunities for Higher Education and Informal Institutions

**NEW** 2017 High-Altitude Student Platform Opportunity
Audience: Higher Education Educators and Students
Informational Webinar: Nov. 11, 2016 at 9 a.m. EDT
Application Deadline: Dec. 16, 2016

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 on a high-flying scientific balloon.

The annual project, supported by the NASA Balloon Program Office and LaSPACE, 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, New Mexico. 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.

A question-and-answer teleconference will take place on Nov. 11, 2016, at 9 a.m. EST. Groups who previously have flown experiments on HASP, as well as new organizations, are encouraged to attend. To participate, dial in to 1-844-467-4685 a few minutes before conference time. When requested, enter the conference ID number 780290 followed by the # key.

The deadline for applications is Dec. 16, 2016.

For application information and technical details about the program, visit http://laspace.lsu.edu/hasp.

Questions about the High-Altitude Student Platform opportunity should be directed to T. Gregory Guzik at guzik@phunds.phys.lsu.edu.

**NEW** NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowships Program Accepting Proposals for 2017-2018 Academic Year
Audience: Higher Education Educators and Students
Proposal Deadline: Feb. 1, 2017

The NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship program is soliciting applications from accredited U.S. universities on behalf of individuals pursuing master’s or doctoral degrees in Earth and space sciences, or related disciplines, for the 2017-2018 academic year. The purpose of NESSF is to ensure continued training of a highly qualified workforce in disciplines needed to achieve NASA’s scientific goals. Awards resulting from the competitive selection will be training grants to the respective universities, with the advisor serving as the principal investigator. Financial support for the NESSF program comes from the Science Mission Directorate’s four science divisions: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Planetary Science and Astrophysics.

Initially, NESSF awards are made for one year. They may be renewed for up to two additional years, contingent upon satisfactory progress (as reflected in academic performance, research progress and recommendation by the faculty advisor) and the availability of funds.

The maximum amount of a NESSF award is $45,000 per year.

Proposals for this opportunity are due Feb. 1, 2017.

For more information about this solicitation, visit http://go.nasa.gov/2f2baB3.

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 Dolores Holland at hq-nessf-Space@nasa.gov

Check out the new ‘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 https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/current-opps-index.html
— Students https://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 https://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/

Visit NASA Education on the web:
NASA Office of Education: https://www.nasa.gov/education
For Educators: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html
For Students: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html
NASA Kids’ Club: https://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub

Did you miss last week’s NASA Education Science WOW! newsletter?
Visit the Science WOW! blog for an archive of previous messages.
https://blogs.nasa.gov/educationsciencewow/

NASA Education “Science WOW!” Message — Nov. 2, 2016

Check out the latest edition of NASA Education’s “Science WOW!” — your source for NASA opportunities in science education delivered “Weekly On Wednesday.”

Check out the latest edition of NASA Education’s “Science WOW!” — your source for NASA opportunities in science education delivered “Weekly On Wednesday.”

Science Always Starts With a Question …

This Week’s Question: Is Mars Really Red?

Mars is often called the ‘Red Planet,’ but is it really red? Watch this short video to find out!

https://youtu.be/Q7UL8hvlk7k?list=PLiuUQ9asub3TDPzGOi_L2hYJGnYwWUAVU

Have You Seen This?

Do you have a question for a NASA scientist? Check out the Ask a Scientist page. Divided into different areas of expertise, this series of pages has answers to frequently asked questions and more!

https://science.nasa.gov/ask-a-scientist

Opportunities for Future Scientists of All Ages

Science Opportunities for Educators of Grades K-12

Science Opportunities for Higher Education and Informal Institutions

 

Opportunities for Future Scientists of All Ages

**NEW** Join NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center for Maryland STEMFest 2016 Events
Audience: All Educators and Students
Event Dates: Nov. 4-13, 2016

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center will celebrate Maryland STEMFest 2016 in a very special way: by highlighting next year’s total solar eclipse! On Aug. 21, 2017, all 48 contiguous states will have the opportunity to view a solar eclipse — an event that has not been seen across the lower 48 states in 38 years! The event will provide scientists the chance to collect valuable research on the sun, its corona and other features. Goddard’s programs for Maryland STEMFest 2016 will highlight the STEM behind solar eclipses, so please join us this year as we celebrate this monumental occasion!

New Interactive Classroom Experience From NASA’s Digital Learning Network — Our Magnificent Sun: Solar Eclipse 2017 Edition
Scheduling Options Available Nov. 4-13, 2016
https://www.nasa.gov/dln/lessons#Our Magnificent Sun
With the solar eclipse of 2017 approaching, Our Magnificent Sun for younger grades will help students answer their questions about the sun in a highly interactive session. During this web-based, interactive classroom program, students illustrate features of the sun by participating in a story time. Our Magnificent Sun for upper grades uses a teachable moment to introduce space weather and answer questions students might have about a solar eclipse.

Join NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center at Greenbelt Observatory Public Star Party
Nov. 5, 2016, 6-9 p.m. EDT
The Astronomical Society of Greenbelt and the Goddard Astronomy Club are hosting a special Maryland STEM Festival star party at the City of Greenbelt Observatory, weather permitting. This event will start an hour earlier than regular ASG star parties in order to give children and young adults a chance to see the various telescopes being set up. Attendees will have the opportunity to observe the moon, planets, and deep sky objects such as galaxies, nebulae and star clusters. For information, contact Goddard’s Astronomy Club (joseph.novotka-1@nasa.gov) or Deanna Trask (deanna.m.trask@nasa.gov).

From the Digital Learning Network at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center: STEM Shorts
Nov. 7, 2016, at 10 a.m. EST — Science: The Science of the Sun
Nov. 8, 2016, at 10 a.m. EST — Technology: Studying Earth and Our Solar System
Nov. 9, 2016, at 10 a.m. EST — Engineering: Designing a Satellite
Nov. 10, 2016, at 10 a.m. EST — Math: How Does Math Relate to the Solar Eclipse?
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-gsfc
Explore solar eclipses with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center through the new STEM Shorts digital program! Each presentation will be a brief 15-minute informational lesson followed by a live question and answer session from the audience. Questions can be submitted via twitter @GSFCEducation using #STEMShorts or by email to gsfceducation@gmail.com. Please contact Lindsey Jones at lindsey.jones-1@nasa.gov for more information or general inquiries about the program.

Join STEM@NASA Goddard in Celebrating STEM During Maryland STEM Fest 2016
Nov. 7-10, 2016, 1-1:30 p.m. EST
Celebrate Maryland STEM Fest 2016 with STEM@NASA Goddard! During these daily events, participants can interact live with scientists and engineers as they discuss how they practice STEM in their careers. Each day will highlight a letter in STEM: Science Monday, Technology Tuesday, Engineering Wednesday, and Math Thursday. The programs will stream live on NASA Goddard’s Ustream channel, and participants may submit questions by email and Twitter. For more information, please contact Erin McKinley at erin.e.mckinley@nasa.gov.

Professional Development Opportunity: NASA Goddard’s Solar Eclipse Spotlight Digital Badge for Educators
Ongoing Throughout the School Year With Special Incentive for Completion Before Nov. 13, 2016
Digital badging is an online professional development process for certifying learning. The NASA STEM EPDC Digital Badging System allows you to select from a wide variety of STEM topics, engage in exciting learning opportunities, demonstrate your mastery of the topic, and receive a badge of accomplishment for your work that you can share with others. The latest NASA Goddard Solar Eclipse Spotlight 2017 badge is a great way to prepare for the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse! Educators who complete this digital badge by Nov. 13, 2016, will have the opportunity for priority scheduling to take part in a Solar Eclipse 2017 module from NASA’s Distance Learning Network.

To sign up, visit https://nasatxstate-epdc.net/ and use the login buttons to begin exploring this digital badge as well as other exciting professional development opportunities available to you through the NASA STEM EPDC Digital Badging System. Please contact Kelly Kohli at kelly.kohli@nasa.gov for questions or additional information.

Join NASA’s Goddard Space Center and GLOBE for “Maryland-wide Eyes on the Skies”
Nov. 9, 2016, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. EST
http://observer.globe.gov/about/citizen-science
Join NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland and NASA’s GLOBE program on Nov. 9, 2016, for a statewide day of citizen science! GLOBE Observer invites you to make environmental observations that complement NASA satellite observations to help scientists studying Earth and the global environment. Version 1.1 includes GLOBE Clouds, which allows you to photograph clouds and record sky observations and compare them with NASA satellite images. GLOBE is now the major source of cloud observations by humans, which provide more information than automated systems. Recommended observation hours are between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. EST.

University of Maryland Eastern Shore 2nd Annual Maryland STEM Festival
Nov. 9, 2016, 6-7:30 p.m. EST
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore is hosting the 2nd Annual Maryland STEM Festival. STEM activities will include underwater robotics, amphibious vehicles, 3-D printing, space exploration and more. K-12 students are invited to embark on this virtual experience to NASA Goddard’s Digital Learning Network and will be able to discuss what it is like to live and work in space, how space exploration affects lives here on Earth, and challenges that astronauts living in space must overcome. Please contact Jocelyn Koller at jckoller@umd.edu for additional information.

NASA Technology in Your Classroom: Solar Eclipse 2017
Nov. 10, 2016, at 4 p.m. EST
https://www.etouches.com/196478
Participants in this webinar will discuss Solar Eclipse 2017 “Spotlights” for the classroom using NASA’s unique resources. Educators will discover NASA websites, digital badging and applications to implement with students before the 2017 solar eclipse! Register online to participate.

STEM@NASA Goddard: Library Edition — NASA Heliophysics
Nov. 10, 2016, 5-6 p.m. EST
NASA heliophysics experts will be broadcast live to county libraries across Maryland. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn about the incredible work NASA does and the upcoming 2017 Total Solar Eclipse! Contact your local library http://directory.sailor.lib.md.us/pub_use/county_map.cfm for more information on how to participate. Participants will be able to pose questions to NASA expert via email and Twitter. For more information on how to interact with our experts, please contact Jordan Snyder at jordan.a.snyder@nasa.gov.

**NEW** Celebrate National Distance Learning Week With NASA’s Digital Learning Network
Audience: All Educators and Students
Event Dates: Nov. 7-11, 2016

Join NASA’s Digital Learning Network in celebrating National Distance Learning Week, Nov. 7-11, 2016. The DLN invites you to take part in one or more of the special programs listed below and visit their website for classroom lessons and special events throughout the year.

From the DLN at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center: STEM Shorts
Nov. 7, 2016, at 10 a.m. EST — Science: The Science of the Sun
Nov. 8, 2016, at 10 a.m. EST — Technology: Studying Earth and Our Solar System
Nov. 9, 2016, at 10 a.m. EST — Engineering: Designing a Satellite
Nov. 10, 2016, at 10 a.m. EST — Math: How Does Math Relate to the Solar Eclipse?
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-gsfc
Explore solar eclipses with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center through the new STEM Shorts digital program! Each presentation will be a brief 15-minute informational lesson followed by a live question and answer session from the audience. Questions can be submitted via twitter @GSFCEducation using #STEMShorts or by email to gsfceducation@gmail.com. Please contact Lindsey Jones at lindsey.jones-1@nasa.gov for more information or general inquiries about the program.

From the DLN at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center: Working for the National Park Service: Live From Little River Canyon National Preserve Presented by: Niki Wayner, Little River Canyon National Preserve
Nov. 7, 2016, at 2 p.m. EST
Have you ever imagined yourself working for the National Park Service? Are you interested in a career in science? Meet some of the people who help protect the plants, animals, sounds and oceans in the National Park Service. The National Park Service preserves the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education and inspiration of this and future generations. In this videoconference, you will learn about some of the fascinating careers available.
Note: This video conference is only for schools in the state of Alabama. For more information, contact Scott Anderson at scott.c.anderson@nasa.gov.

From the DLN at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center: NASA STARS en Español With Alex Bengoa From NASA’s Ground Systems Development and Operations Program
Nov. 10, 2016, at Noon EST
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-dlinfo
NASA STARS en Español promotes awareness of NASA’s diverse career opportunities for minority populations and highlights Hispanic professionals as role models in STEM careers. This monthly webcast is live-streamed in Spanish. DLN invites you to participate with your STEM classes, Spanish classes, Spanish clubs, etc. Bring your classroom into the conversation because Students Talking About Real STEM are the STARS of tomorrow. Learn about November’s guest speaker at https://www.txstate-epdc.net/epdc-post/alex-j-bengoa/. Questions can be submitted during the event via Twitter using #NASASTARS or by email to astrosdenasa@gmail.com. For more information about the program, visit https://www.txstate-epdc.net/nasa-stars/.

NASA’s Digital Learning Network celebrates distance learning every day through a wide variety of programs that include:
— DLN Interactive Classroom — DLN specialists connect with one or more schools to deliver an interactive classroom lesson. Descriptions of the lessons can be found at: https://www.nasa.gov/dln/lessons.
— DLN Live — DLN specialists or subject matter experts present a special topic related to current events that may involve interviews, demonstrations and live questions from the audience.
— DLN Virtual Visits — The DLN specialists connects a subject matter expert with a specific classroom where topics about careers and NASA experiences are discussed.
— DLN Virtual Field Trip — A DLN specialist gives a virtual tour of points of interest such as a laboratory or launch on a NASA center.

For more information and other DLN events, visit https://www.nasa.gov/dln.

 

Photo Contest — Win a Trip to Space Camp With Space Racers
Audience: Parents and/or Guardians of One or More Minor Children
Entry Deadline: Nov. 6, 2016, at 11:59 p.m. ET

Space Racers® Season 2 is launching on Nov. 5! This animated TV series follows a group of adventurous spaceship cadets and exposes young children to key aspects of the science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, curricula. Space Racers is collaborating in a partnership with the U.S. Space & Rocket Center’s Space Camp, to which NASA serves as technical and educational consultant pursuant to a cooperative agreement.

To celebrate the new season, parents and guardians are invited to submit a photo of their future astronaut for a chance to win a prize! Daily giveaways include memberships to science museums across the country. And a grand prize winner will receive an all-expenses paid family trip to Space Camp!

The deadline to enter is Nov. 6, 2016, at 11:59 p.m. ET.

For complete rules and submission guidelines, visit http://contest.spaceracers.org/.

For more information on Space Racers, go to www.SpaceRacers.org.

Please submit questions about this opportunity to info@spaceracers.org.

 

Science Opportunities for Educators of Grades K-12

**NEW** 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.

NASA Technology in Your Classroom: NASA’s Eyes
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 6-12
Event Date: Nov. 8, 2016, at 6:30 p.m. EST
This webinar introduces NASA’s Eyes, a three-part, web-based resource that allows students and educators to study Earth from space, the solar system and extrasolar planets. The webinar addresses Next Generation Science Standards. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/199137

Making Waves With NASA: Optics Resources
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 4-12
Event Date: Nov. 9, 2016, at 6:30 p.m. EST
This webinar gives an overview of NASA resources for teaching about waves, lenses and mirrors. The resources covered in the webinar address the Next Generation Science Standard PS4. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/199138

NASA Technology in Your Classroom: Solar Eclipse 2017
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades K-12
Event Date: Nov. 10, 2016, at 4 p.m. EST
Participants in this webinar will discuss Solar Eclipse 2017 “Spotlights” for the classroom using NASA’s unique resources. Educators will discover NASA websites, digital badging and applications to implement with students before next year’s 2017 stellar event! Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/196478

For a full schedule of upcoming webinars, visit http://www.txstate-epdc.net/events/.

Please direct questions about this series of webinars to Steve Culivan at stephen.p.culivan@nasa.gov.

Sally Ride EarthKAM @ Space Camp Announces Fall 2016 Mission
Audience: K-12 and Informal Educators
Mission Date: Nov. 7-12, 2016

Registration is open for the fall 2016 mission for the Sally Ride EarthKAM @ Space Camp program taking place Nov. 7-12, 2016. During the mission, students worldwide may submit requests to have a camera aboard the International Space Station capture an image of a specific location on Earth. Related resources, including images and activities, are available for use in the classroom. The optional online activities are targeted at middle school students but are adaptable for other grade levels. All students and educators are welcome, including participants in after-school programs.

For more information and to register for the upcoming mission, visit https://www.earthkam.org/.

Please submit questions about the Sally Ride EarthKAM @ Space Camp program via https://www.earthkam.org/contact.

**NEW** What’s New at NASA’s Space Place Website?
Audience: K-6 Educators

Space Place is a NASA website for elementary students, their teachers and their parents. Check it out at www.spaceplace.nasa.gov.

Don’t forget to subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter, the NASA Space Place Gazette! http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/subscribe

New Resources

Planet Masks — Our solar system has eight unique and special planets. This fun, simple activity for kids allows them to explore and learn about what makes each planet different!
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/planet-masks

How Much Water Is on Earth? — Earth has a lot of water. But exactly how much? Check out our new educational video and poster for kids.
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/water

What Is La Niña? — This is a weather pattern that begins in the Pacific Ocean. Learn all about La Niña and how it differs from El Niño in our new article for kids.
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/la-nina

Earth’s Atmosphere — Earth has a wonderful atmosphere. It keeps us warm and gives us oxygen to breathe. But did you know that our atmosphere has six layers? Each one is unique. Teach kids about Earth’s different atmospheric layers in this series of articles.
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/atmosphere

Make Pumpkin Stencils — Celebrate the fall season by making space pumpkins! This activity is simple, fun and educational. Your kids will love it!
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/pumpkins

Special Days to Celebrate
Find out about noteworthy days in NASA and space history that you can observe in your classroom.

Nov. 8 — X-rays were discovered on this day in 1895.
Explore X-rays with our Cosmic Colors viewer.
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/cosmic-colors

Nov. 17 — Leonid meteor shower at maximum
Learn about meteor showers and find tips on how to get the best view.
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/meteor-shower

Nov. 20 — Happy birthday to astronomer Edwin Hubble (1889)!
The Hubble Space Telescope was named after him. Learn all about the amazing telescope!
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/hubble-wfpc

Dec. 3 — Pioneer 10 flew past Jupiter on this day in 1973.
Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. It has big storms like the Great Red Spot, which has been going on for hundreds of years.
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/all-about-jupiter

Dec. 11 — The first aurora borealis sighting was recorded on this day in 1719.
Make a pastel aurora to learn more about these beautiful light displays.
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/pastel-aurora

Dec. 21 — Today is the first day of winter!
Why do we have seasons here on Earth?
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/seasons

Share
Do you want some help spreading the word about NASA’s Space Place? We have a page with ready-to-use website descriptions, logos and links to all our social media. Check out http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/share.

Subscribe to Our Monthly E-newsletter!
Interested in keeping up with the latest and greatest news from NASA Space Place? Subscribe to the NASA Space Place Gazette. The NASA Space Place Gazette is for educators, parents and space enthusiasts of all ages. It includes special bulletins for noteworthy days and NASA events, such as a lunar eclipse, planet flyby or rover landing. It’s easy to subscribe — just click here.
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/subscribe

Send Feedback
Please let us know your ideas about ways to use The Space Place in your teaching. Send them to info@spaceplace.nasa.gov.

Science Opportunities for Higher Education and Informal Institutions

DEADLINE EXTENDED: Postdoctoral Fellowships in Space Biology to Study the Microbiome of the International Space Station as a Built Environment
Audience: Postdoctoral Students
Required Notice of Intent Deadline: Nov. 7, 2016

NASA is seeking proposals from potential postdoctoral fellows to conduct studies to characterize microbial populations isolated from the International Space Station. Selected studies will provide insight into how microbes and microbial populations adapt to spaceflight. Proposed experiments will use microbial isolates collected from the space station that have been archived at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Proposals will be accepted from graduate students in their final year of their Ph.D. or equivalent degree program; from postdoctoral fellows (Ph.D., M.D., D.D.S., D.V.M., or equivalent doctoral degree from an accredited domestic or foreign institution); or from applicants who received a doctoral degree within the past two years but have not yet had postdoctoral training. Applicants must have no more than four years of postdoctoral research experience at the time of the initial or the subsequent resubmission or revision application. The program is open to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or persons with pre-existing visas obtained through their sponsoring institutions that permit postdoctoral training for the project’s duration. Sponsoring institutions must be U.S. academic, government or commercial institutions that will provide appropriate mentors.

Interested applicants must submit a required notice of intent no later than Nov. 7, 2016.

For more information, visit http://go.nasa.gov/2eup7bg.

Please direct questions about this opportunity to Dr. David Tomko at dtomko@nasa.gov.

Check out the new ‘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 https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/current-opps-index.html
— Students https://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 https://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/

Visit NASA Education on the web:
NASA Office of Education: https://www.nasa.gov/education
For Educators: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html
For Students: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html
NASA Kids’ Club: https://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub

Did you miss last week’s NASA Education Science WOW! newsletter?
Visit the Science WOW! blog for an archive of previous messages.
https://blogs.nasa.gov/educationsciencewow/

NASA Education “Science WOW!” Message for Oct. 19, 2016

Check out the latest edition of NASA Education’s “Science WOW!” — your source for NASA opportunities in science education delivered “Weekly On Wednesday.”

Science Always Starts With a Question …

This Week’s Question: What Is a Meteor Shower?

This year’s Orionid meteor shower is set to peak the night of Oct. 21. To find out what a meteor shower is, visit http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/meteor-shower/en/.

Have You Seen This?

The Night Sky Network is a nationwide coalition of amateur astronomy clubs bringing the science, technology, and inspiration of NASA’s missions to the general public. Visit the website to find clubs and events near you, this month’s night sky planner and outreach resources.

https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/

Opportunities for Future Scientists of All Ages

Science Opportunities for Educators of Grades K-12

Science Opportunities for Higher Education and Informal Institutions

Opportunities for Future Scientists of All Ages

**NEW** 2016 von Kármán Lecture Series — Attend in Person or View Online
Audience: All Educators; Students in Grades 9-12 and Higher Education
Next Lecture Date: Oct. 20, 2016, at 7 p.m. PDT (10 p.m. EDT)

The Theodore von Kármán Lecture Series, named after the founder of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and presented by JPL’s Office of Communication and Education, shares the excitement of the space program’s missions, instruments and other technologies.

Lectures take place twice per month, on consecutive Thursdays and Fridays. The Thursday lectures take place in JPL’s Theodore von Kármán Auditorium, and Friday lectures take place at Pasadena City College’s Vosloh Forum. Both start at 7 p.m. PDT (10 p.m. EDT). Admission and parking are free for all lectures. No reservations are required, but seating is limited. The Thursday evening lectures are streamed live for viewing online. Archives of past lectures are also available online.

Next Lecture in the Series:

Asteroid Anchors, Rock-Climbing Robots, Gecko Grippers and Other Ways to Stick in Space
Event Date: Oct. 20 and Oct. 21, 2016, at 7 p.m. PDT (10 p.m. EDT)
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/lectures_archive.php?year=2016&month=10
The ability to rove the surface of Mars has revolutionized space missions. With more advanced mobility, new targets such as cliff faces, cave ceilings, and the surfaces of asteroids and comets could be explored. Join Dr. Aaron Parness from the Extreme Environment Robotics group at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory for a discussion about the work being done at JPL’s Robotics Rapid Prototyping Lab.

For more information about the Theodore von Kármán Lecture Series, including a complete list of upcoming lectures, visit http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/lectures.php.

Questions about this series should be directed to http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/contact_JPL.php.

NASA’s Langley Research Center Centennial Student Art Contest
Audience: K-12 Students
Entry Period: Nov. 1 – Dec. 31, 2016

Calling all artists, grades K-12!

On July 17, 2017, NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, will turn 100 years old! To celebrate, Langley invites you to take part in its Centennial Art Contest. The theme for this year’s contest is “A Storied Legacy, A Soaring Future.”

The contest is open to all children in grades K-12 who are attending public, private, parochial and homeschools in the United States. Artwork entries may consist of drawings, paintings, mixed media and digital creations.

A grand prize winner will be chosen from all contest entries. A first place winner will be chosen from each grade level, as well as second place, third place and honorable mention. Each entry will receive a certificate of participation.

The art contest submission period begins Nov. 1, 2016, and concludes on Dec. 31, 2016, at midnight EST.

For more information, visit https://artcontest.larc.nasa.gov/.

Please direct questions about this contest to Kristina Cors at larc-art-contest@mail.nasa.gov.

Help NASA Study Mars — Planet Four: Terrains
Audience: All Educators and Students

Help NASA study exotic landscape features near the south pole of Mars! In this citizen science project, you will view images from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s Context Camera. Your input will help scientists identify possible areas for even more detailed examination with the orbiter’s High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera. HiRISE can reveal more detail than any other camera ever put into orbit around Mars.

Some of Mars resembles deserts on Earth, but seasonal freezing and thawing of carbon-dioxide ice (known on Earth as “dry ice”) at the Martian poles create some unusual landscape features. There’s a lot of territory to cover, so scientists need your help identifying what and where these features are.

For more information and to learn how to participate, visit the “Planet Four: Terrains” website at https://www.zooniverse.org/#/projects/mschwamb/planet-four-terrains.

To learn more about NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and its mission at the Red Planet, visit http://mars.nasa.gov/mro/.

Please direct questions about this opportunity to Michelle Viotti at michelle.a.viotti@jpl.nasa.gov.

Science Opportunities for Educators of Grades K-12

**NEW** 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.

NASA Weathering the Storm — Earth Right Now: Weather to Fly By
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades K-12
Event Date: Oct. 24, 2016, at 6:30 p.m. EDT
Participants will learn about basic meteorological concepts and how weather conditions and weather phenomena occur. There will be hands-on, standards-aligned mathematics, science and engineering activities about density, mass, fluid dynamics and weather. Real-world connections with NASA and airplanes doing weather research will be discussed as the session highlights a partnership between NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center and NOAA with the Sensing Hazards with Operational Unmanned Technology, or SHOUT, mission. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/196774

NASA Weathering the Storm — Earth Right Now: Meteorology Educator Guide
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 5-9
Event Date: Oct. 26, 2016, at 6:30 p.m. EDT
Participants will be introduced to Meteorology: An Educator’s Resource for Inquiry-Based Learning for Grades 5-9. Discussion will focus on the hands-on activities and low-cost equipment builds included in the guide. This webinar addresses Next Generation Science Standards MS-ESS2.D and HS-ESS2.D. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/199129

For a full schedule of upcoming webinars, visit http://www.txstate-epdc.net/events/.

Please direct questions about this series of webinars to Steve Culivan at stephen.p.culivan@nasa.gov.

Mars Survival Kit: Lessons and Activities to Guide Your Exploration of Mars!
Audience: K-12 Educators

NASA is embarking on a journey to Mars! Are your students ready to join in the adventure? Spark excitement in your classroom with the Mars Survival Kit.

The Mars Survival Kit is a collection of educational activities for students in grades K-12. Each educational activity includes a brief description, as well as information about how the activities and lessons align to the Next Generation Science Standards.

Start your classroom’s journey to Mars at http://go.nasa.gov/1NnZ0Rg.

To learn more about NASA’s Journey to Mars, visit https://www.nasa.gov/topics/journeytomars/index.html.

Free ‘NASA’s Journey to Mars’ Planetarium/Dome Show
Audience: Formal and Informal Educators

Are you looking for ways to prepare your students for STEM-related career opportunities? Do you want to spark their interest in pushing the boundaries of technology and innovation? Right now, NASA’s fleet of Mars robotic explorers is paving the way for human exploration of the solar system in the coming decades. Have your students join NASA in preparing for a monumental journey of a lifetime — to Mars!

“NASA’s Journey to Mars” is a short planetarium presentation that can be used in the educational domes of your school district, as well as local planetariums, to inspire interest in STEM. To learn more, including how you can acquire the show for use in your area, visit https://www.nasa.gov/feature/journey-of-a-lifetime-mars-education-resources/.

Please direct questions about the “NASA’s Journey to Mars” planetarium/dome show to Elsie Weigel at elsie.weigel@nasa.gov.

Science Opportunities for Higher Education and Informal Institutions

ROSES-16 Amendment 33: New Program Element — Interdisciplinary Science for Eclipse 2017
Audience: Informal and Higher Education Institutions
Step-1 Proposal Deadline: Oct. 27, 2016

A total solar eclipse is widely regarded as one of the most incredible natural phenomenon visible from Earth. On Aug. 21, 2017, a total solar eclipse will traverse the continental U.S. from Oregon to South Carolina. For approximately 90 minutes, city after city along the centerline will experience two to nearly three minutes of darkness during daytime as totality moves from west to east. While the path of totality will cover a swath only 60 miles wide, the contiguous U.S. States will see at least 65% of the sun disappear behind the moon during its progression of phases. A large fraction of the population in North America is expected to witness this natural event (http://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/).

The purpose of this program element is to support development of new research or enhancement of existing research, applied to the 2017 eclipse. NASA is seeking proposals that would use the special opportunity presented by the solar eclipse to study the sun, Earth, the moon, astronomy, and/or space science, including the ionosphere-thermosphere-mesosphere system. Building on existing partnerships and the use of interdisciplinary or citizen science approaches is encouraged. Citizen science involves public contributions to science, including formulating research questions, conducting experiments, collecting and analyzing data, interpreting results, making new discoveries, and/or developing new/existing technologies and applications. Citizen science is distinguished from public outreach in that the primary purpose of public involvement is to make contributions to science. All proposals must demonstrate links to the 2017 solar eclipse.

Step-1 proposals are due by Oct. 27, 2016.

Step-2 proposals are due by Nov. 30, 2016.

For more information, visit http://go.nasa.gov/2cZzz8T .

Please direct questions concerning this program element to Madhulika Guhathakurta at madhulika.guhathakurta@nasa.gov.

Postdoctoral Fellowships in Space Biology to Study the Microbiome of the International Space Station as a Built Environment
Audience: Postdoctoral Students
Required Notice of Intent Deadline: Oct. 31, 2016

NASA is seeking proposals from potential postdoctoral fellows to conduct studies to characterize microbial populations isolated from the International Space Station. Selected studies will provide insight into how microbes and microbial populations adapt to spaceflight. Proposed experiments will use microbial isolates collected from the space station that have been archived at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Proposals will be accepted from graduate students in their final year of their Ph.D. or equivalent degree program; from postdoctoral fellows (Ph.D., M.D., D.D.S., D.V.M., or equivalent doctoral degree from an accredited domestic or foreign institution); or from applicants who received a doctoral degree within the past two years but have not yet had postdoctoral training. Applicants must have no more than four years of postdoctoral research experience at the time of the initial or the subsequent resubmission or revision application. The program is open to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or persons with pre-existing visas obtained through their sponsoring institutions that permit postdoctoral training for the project’s duration. Sponsoring institutions must be U.S. academic, government or commercial institutions that will provide appropriate mentors.

Interested applicants must submit a required notice of intent no later than Oct. 31, 2016.

For more information, visit http://tinyurl.com/NASAMoBE2016.

Please direct questions about this opportunity to Dr. David Tomko at dtomko@nasa.gov.

Check out the new ‘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 https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/current-opps-index.html
— Students https://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 https://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/

Visit NASA Education on the web:
NASA Office of Education: https://www.nasa.gov/education
For Educators: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html
For Students: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html
NASA Kids’ Club: https://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub

Did you miss last week’s NASA Education Science WOW! newsletter?
Visit the Science WOW! blog for an archive of previous messages.
https://blogs.nasa.gov/educationsciencewow/

NASA Education “Science WOW!” Message — Oct. 12, 2016

Check out the latest edition of NASA Education’s “Science WOW!” — your source for NASA opportunities in science education delivered “Weekly On Wednesday.”

Check out the latest edition of NASA Education’s “Science WOW!” — your source for NASA opportunities in science education delivered “Weekly On Wednesday.”

Science Always Starts With a Question …

This Week’s Question: What Is a Black Hole?

Black holes are pretty mysterious. Watch this video to find out what a black hole is and how one is formed. http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/learn/video/space-place-in-a-snap-what-is-a-black-hole/

 

Have You Seen This?

Check out the new ‘Explore NASA Science’ website!

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.

 

Opportunities for Future Scientists of All Ages

 

Science Opportunities for Educators of Grades K-12

 

Science Opportunities for Higher Education and Informal Institutions

 

Opportunities for Future Scientists of All Ages

Fly Your Exoplanet on the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite
Audience: All Educators and Students
Submission Deadline: March 1, 2017

Set to launch in June 2018, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite is an explorer-class planet finder. In the first-ever spaceborne all-sky transit survey, TESS will identify planets ranging from Earth-sized to gas giants and will orbit a wide range of stellar types and orbital distances. As the TESS team prepares for launch, it invites the public to ponder what exoplanets might look like and share their ideas in the form of sketches and graphics.

This opportunity is open to all ages and skill levels. Submissions will be collected via email. To download the template for submitting your artwork, visit https://tess.gsfc.nasa.gov/fly_your_exoplanet.html.

The deadline for submissions is March 1, 2017, or when capacity of the drive carrying the submissions to space is reached, whichever occurs first.

To learn more about the TESS mission, visit https://tess.gsfc.nasa.gov/.

Questions about this opportunity should be directed to GSFC-TESS@mail.nasa.gov.

Be a Citizen Earth Scientist With New ‘GLOBE Observer’ App
Audience: All Educators and Students

Want to be a citizen Earth scientist? To contribute to NASA’s studies of our home planet, all you need is a smartphone, access to the outdoors, and the new “GLOBE Observer” app.

Now available for Apple and Android phones, the app is an initiative of the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment program. For over two decades, GLOBE has enabled schools and students in over 110 countries to investigate their local environment and put their observations in a global context.

To learn more, visit https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2016/nasa-launches-new-citizen-science-opportunity and http://observer.globe.gov.

 

Science Opportunities for Educators of Grades K-12

**NEW** Celebrate Solar Week — Fall 2016
Audience: Informal Educators and Students in Grades 5-9
Event Dates: Oct. 17-21, 2016

Solar Week, October 17-21, provides a weeklong series of web-based activities with a focus on the sun-Earth connection. Young people ages 10-14 can learn about solar careers, sunspots, solar eclipses, solar energy and solar storms through a series of cool facts, activities and games.

Solar Week is ideal for young teens or groups wanting to know more about the solar system, the stars or astronomy in general. Many activities are suitable for fun in the computer lab as well. After doing the activities, participants can interact on the bulletin board with leading scientists at the forefront of sun-Earth research. Solar Week is great for learning about our nearest star, the sun.

To learn more and to register to participate, visit http://www.solarweek.org.

Questions about Solar Week may be emailed to solarweek@solarweek.org.

**NEW** 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.

NASA Weathering the Storm — Earth Right Now: Space Weather
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades PreK-12
Event Date: Oct. 17, 2016, at 6:30 p.m. EDT
During this webinar about space weather, participants will learn how radiation impacts Earth and how it affects planning for space travel and the upcoming journey to Mars. Attendees also will learn about current research going on at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/196772

NASA Weathering the Storm — Earth Right Now: What Do We Know About Snow?
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 4-10
Event Date: Oct. 18, 2016, at 6 p.m. EDT
Investigate ways to use snow studies to explore climate science. Participants will explore lessons that give students opportunities to complete field research and collect data, including how to take measurements and calculate the snow-water equivalent. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/203251

For a full schedule of upcoming webinars, visit http://www.txstate-epdc.net/events/.

Please direct questions about this series of webinars to Steve Culivan at stephen.p.culivan@nasa.gov.

Free Educator Workshop — Technology Drives Exploration: Deep Space Atomic Clock
Audience: K-12 and Informal Educators
Event Dates: Oct. 19, 2016, 4:30-6 p.m. PDT

Precise radio navigation — using radio frequencies to determine position — is vital to the success of a range of deep-space exploration missions. Join NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center Office of Education for an educator professional development workshop on the innovative Deep Space Atomic Clock project — a NASA Technology Demonstration Mission that will revolutionize deep-space navigation.

Participants will hear from Dr. Todd Ely, JPL’s Principal Investigator for the Deep Space Atomic Clock project, about this revolutionary new capability that could forever change the way we conduct deep-space navigation. Through hands-on activities and physical demonstrations, educators will learn how to design, construct and test a simple water clock using the NASA Beginning Engineering Science and Technology for Educators Guide and the engineering design process.

The workshop will take place Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016, 4:30-6 p.m. PDT at NASA’s Armstrong Educator Resource Center at the AERO Institute in Palmdale, California.

For more information, visit https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/atomic_clock_flyer_10_19_16.pdf.

Please direct questions about this workshop to Sondra Geddes at sondra.l.geddes@nasa.gov.

Science Opportunities for Higher Education and Informal Institutions

Call for White Papers: NASA iTech Initiative
Audience: Higher Education Educators and Students
White Paper Submission Deadline: Oct. 17, 2016
Forum Dates: Dec. 5-8, 2016

NASA iTech is a yearlong initiative to find innovative ideas with the most potential impact on future space exploration and to support development of the most promising solutions. Ideas may come from U.S. small or large businesses, academia, or other government organizations external to NASA. Applicants must be U.S. citizens.

The first step for potential innovators to participate in NASA iTech is to submit a five-page white paper summarizing a proposed innovation to solve challenges in one of the focus areas. These challenges range from crew health to propulsion.

A panel of experts will review all submitted ideas. The top 25 white papers submitted will be recognized by NASA iTech as semifinalists and evaluated by NASA’s Office of the Chief Technologist. Innovators representing the top 10 ideas will be invited to present to the agency and its largest contractors at the NASA iTech Forum on Dec. 5-8, 2016, at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The deadline to submit white papers is Oct. 17, 2016.

For more information, visit http://nasaitech.com/#intro.

Please direct questions about this opportunity to Tom Flake at t.g.flake@nasaitech.com.

ROSES-16 Amendment 33: New Program Element — Interdisciplinary Science for Eclipse 2017
Audience: Informal and Higher Education Institutions
Step-1 Proposal Deadline: Oct. 27, 2016

A total solar eclipse is widely regarded as one of the most incredible natural phenomenon visible from Earth. On Aug. 21, 2017, a total solar eclipse will traverse the continental U.S. from Oregon to South Carolina. For approximately 90 minutes, city after city along the centerline will experience two to nearly three minutes of darkness during daytime as totality moves from west to east. While the path of totality will cover a swath only 60 miles wide, the contiguous U.S. States will see at least 65% of the sun disappear behind the moon during its progression of phases. A large fraction of the population in North America is expected to witness this natural event (http://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/).

The purpose of this program element is to support development of new research or enhancement of existing research, applied to the 2017 eclipse. NASA is seeking proposals that would use the special opportunity presented by the solar eclipse to study the sun, Earth, the moon, astronomy, and/or space science, including the ionosphere-thermosphere-mesosphere system. Building on existing partnerships and the use of interdisciplinary or citizen science approaches is encouraged. Citizen science involves public contributions to science, including formulating research questions, conducting experiments, collecting and analyzing data, interpreting results, making new discoveries, and/or developing new/existing technologies and applications. Citizen science is distinguished from public outreach in that the primary purpose of public involvement is to make contributions to science. All proposals must demonstrate links to the 2017 solar eclipse.

Step-1 proposals are due by Oct. 27, 2016.

Step-2 proposals are due by Nov. 30, 2016.

For more information, visit http://go.nasa.gov/2cZzz8T .

Please direct questions concerning this program element to Madhulika Guhathakurta at madhulika.guhathakurta@nasa.gov.

Postdoctoral Fellowships in Space Biology to Study the Microbiome of the International Space Station as a Built Environment
Audience: Postdoctoral Students
Required Notice of Intent Deadline: Oct. 31, 2016

NASA is seeking proposals from potential postdoctoral fellows to conduct studies to characterize microbial populations isolated from the International Space Station. Selected studies will provide insight into how microbes and microbial populations adapt to spaceflight. Proposed experiments will use microbial isolates collected from the space station that have been archived at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Proposals will be accepted from graduate students in their final year of their Ph.D. or equivalent degree program; from postdoctoral fellows (Ph.D., M.D., D.D.S., D.V.M., or equivalent doctoral degree from an accredited domestic or foreign institution); or from applicants who received a doctoral degree within the past two years but have not yet had postdoctoral training. Applicants must have no more than four years of postdoctoral research experience at the time of the initial or the subsequent resubmission or revision application. The program is open to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or persons with pre-existing visas obtained through their sponsoring institutions that permit postdoctoral training for the project’s duration. Sponsoring institutions must be U.S. academic, government or commercial institutions that will provide appropriate mentors.

Interested applicants must submit a required notice of intent no later than Oct. 31, 2016.

For more information, visit http://tinyurl.com/NASAMoBE2016.

Please direct questions about this opportunity to Dr. David Tomko at dtomko@nasa.gov.

Check out the new ‘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 https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/current-opps-index.html
— Students https://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 https://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/

Visit NASA Education on the web:
NASA Office of Education: https://www.nasa.gov/education
For Educators: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html
For Students: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html
NASA Kids’ Club: https://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub

Did you miss last week’s NASA Education Science WOW! message?
Visit the Science WOW! blog for an archive of previous messages.
https://blogs.nasa.gov/educationsciencewow/

NASA Education “Science WOW!” Message — Oct. 5, 2016

Check out the latest edition of NASA Education’s “Science WOW!” — your source for NASA opportunities in science education delivered “Weekly On Wednesday.”

Check out the latest edition of NASA Education’s “Science WOW!” — your source for NASA opportunities in science education delivered “Weekly On Wednesday.”

Science Always Starts With a Question …

This Week’s Question: What Is Science?

Science is an important subject that everyone learns about in school. But what exactly is it? Visit http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/science/en/ to find the answer!

Have You Seen This?

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden has named Thomas Zurbuchen as the new associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.

Zurbuchen is a professor of space science and aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He also is the university’s founding director of the Center for Entrepreneurship in the College of Engineering. Zurbuchen’s experience includes research in solar and heliospheric physics, experimental space research, space systems, and innovation and entrepreneurship.

To learn more, visit https://science.nasa.gov/thomas-zurbuchen-named-head-nasa-science-mission-directorate.

Opportunities for Future Scientists of All Ages

Science Opportunities for Educators of Grades K-12

Science Opportunities for Higher Education and Informal Institutions

 

Opportunities for Future Scientists of All Ages

**NEW** Participate in International Observe the Moon Night!
Audience: All Educators and Students
Event Date: Oct. 8, 2016

International Observe the Moon Night is a worldwide, public celebration of lunar science and exploration held annually since 2010. One day each year, everyone on Earth is invited to observe and learn about the moon together, and to celebrate the cultural and personal connections we all have with Earth’s nearest neighbor. InOMN is an excellent opportunity to share lunar science and exploration with your students and your community. InOMN can help enhance the exposure to space science topics students receive in the classroom.

The seventh annual International Observe the Moon Night is Oct. 8, 2016. Go look at the moon! And invite your students and their families to join you.

To learn more about International Observe the Moon Night, register your InOMN event, and access InOMN resources, visit http://observethemoonnight.org/.

Questions about this opportunity should be directed to andrea.j.jones@nasa.gov.

**NEW** Celebrate International Observe the Moon Night at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center
Audience: All Educators and Students
Event Date: Oct. 8, 2016, 5:30 – 9 p.m. CDT

Join in the celebration of International Observe the Moon Night with an evening of fun-filled events at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

On Oct. 8, 2016, from 5:30 – 9 p.m. CDT, representatives from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville will be on hand for the celebration taking place inside the Davidson Center for Space Exploration. Enjoy hands-on interactive activities, including an out-of-this-world photo booth, airbrush tattoos, a visit from Janet Ivey from “Janet’s Planet” on PBS, and a chance to see the moon up close with the help of telescopes and astronomers from the Von Braun Astronomical Society.

The event is free and open to the public.

For more information about the event, visit http://rocketcenter.com/calendar/2016-10-08/international-observe-moon-night.

To learn more about International Observe the Moon Night, visit http://observethemoonnight.org/.

Questions about the event at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center should be directed to Stephanie Henry at stephanie.w.henry@nasa.gov.

**NEW** Fly Your Exoplanet on the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite
Audience: All Educators and Students
Submission Deadline: March 1, 2017

Set to launch in June 2018, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite is an explorer-class planet finder. In the first-ever spaceborne all-sky transit survey, TESS will identify planets ranging from Earth-sized to gas giants and will orbit a wide range of stellar types and orbital distances. As the TESS team prepares for launch, it invites the public to ponder what exoplanets might look like and share their ideas in the form of sketches and graphics.

This opportunity is open to all ages and skill levels. Submissions will be collected via email. To download the template for submitting your artwork, visit https://tess.gsfc.nasa.gov/fly_your_exoplanet.html.

The deadline for submissions is March 1, 2017, or when capacity of the drive carrying the submissions to space is reached, whichever occurs first.

To learn more about the TESS mission, visit https://tess.gsfc.nasa.gov/.

Questions about this opportunity should be directed to GSFC-TESS@mail.nasa.gov.

 

Science Opportunities for Educators of Grades K-12

**NEW** 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.

NASA Weathering the Storm — Earth Right Now: Hurricanes in Your Classroom
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 5-8
Event Date: Oct. 6, 2016, at 6 p.m. EDT
Explore ways to use real NASA data to explore hurricanes while integrating NASA missions, STEM curriculum, design challenges, online resources and the Next Generation Science Standards into your classroom instruction. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/203187

NASA Weathering the Storm — Earth Right Now: NASA Literacy Resources in Earth Science
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades K-8
Event Date: Oct. 11, 2016, at 5 p.m. EDT
Discover ways to bring literacy and science together! Discussion will include interactive online books available from NASA, plus books available from a collaboration between NASA/NOAA and the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment, or GLOBE, program. Educators will have the opportunity to download the collection of more than 15 books dealing with Earth processes. Register online to participate.
https://www.etouches.com/202757

For a full schedule of upcoming webinars, visit http://www.txstate-epdc.net/events/.

Please direct questions about this series of webinars to Steve Culivan at stephen.p.culivan@nasa.gov.

**NEW** Free Educator Workshop — Technology Drives Exploration: Deep Space Atomic Clock
Audience: K-12 and Informal Educators
Event Dates: Oct. 19, 2016, 4:30-6 p.m. PDT

Precise radio navigation — using radio frequencies to determine position — is vital to the success of a range of deep-space exploration missions. Join NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center Office of Education for an educator professional development workshop on the innovative Deep Space Atomic Clock project — a NASA Technology Demonstration Mission that will revolutionize deep-space navigation.

Participants will hear from Dr. Todd Ely, JPL’s Principal Investigator for the Deep Space Atomic Clock project, about this revolutionary new capability that could forever change the way we conduct deep-space navigation. Through hands-on activities and physical demonstrations, educators will learn how to design, construct and test a simple water clock using the NASA Beginning Engineering Science and Technology for Educators Guide and the engineering design process.

The workshop will take place Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016, 4:30-6 p.m. PDT at NASA’s Armstrong Educator Resource Center at the AERO Institute in Palmdale, California.

For more information, visit https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/atomic_clock_flyer_10_19_16.pdf.

Please direct questions about this workshop to Sondra Geddes at sondra.l.geddes@nasa.gov.

**NEW** Discover Classroom Activities From NASA JPL Education
Audience: K-12 Educators

Are you looking for standards-aligned lessons and materials for the classroom? How about NASA STEM activities for your education program? These resources and more are available on the JPL Education website!

Explore a database of lesson plans for grades K-12; search by subject matter, grade level — and even educational standards. In an easy-to-browse format, each lesson includes background information, materials lists and related links. New lessons are being added all the time featuring the latest NASA discoveries, missions and research.

To start discovering NASA resources that are just right for your classroom, visit http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/.

 

Science Opportunities for Higher Education and Informal Institutions

Call for Proposals — NASA Research Announcement for Use of the NASA Physical Sciences Informatics System: Appendix C
Audience: Graduate Students
Informational Webinar: Oct. 5, 2016, at 1 p.m. EDT
Proposal Deadline: Dec. 15, 2016

NASA is seeking ground-based research proposals from graduate students and established researchers to use NASA’s Physical Sciences Informatics system to develop new analyses and scientific insights. The PSI system is a resource for researchers to data mine information generated from completed physical sciences experiments performed on the International Space Station or from related ground-based studies.

This solicitation appendix focuses on the following five research areas: combustion science, complex fluids, fluid physics, fundamental physics and materials science.

For graduate students (students working toward an advanced degree), this NASA Research Announcement is soliciting proposals that advance fundamental research in one of the physical sciences disciplines identified above and also assist in the awarding of an advanced degree to the graduate student. This call is open to students who meet the following eligibility requirements:

— The student is pursuing an advanced degree directly related to a physical sciences discipline. Only technical degrees are permitted (not degrees in policy or management).
— The student is a U.S. citizen, a permanent resident alien of the U.S., or on a student visa at an accredited U.S. university at the time of application submission.
— The student is enrolled in a master’s or doctoral degree program at an accredited U.S. university at the time of application submission. Or, if the student is an undergraduate starting graduate studies, he or she has been accepted to a master’s or doctoral degree program at an accredited U.S. university at the time of application submission and will start during the next academic year.
— The student has an academic graduate advisor who will submit the application for the graduate student. The student must perform the proposed research under the guidance of the assigned graduate advisor.

The agency expects to make approximately 10 awards in spring 2016. Research and development efforts will take place over two years. The typical award will be $75,000-$100,000 per year, for up to two years.

The deadline for submitting proposals is Dec. 15, 2016.

For information, visit http://psi.nasa.gov/.

NASA plans to conduct a proposers’ conference on Oct. 5, 2016, at 1 p.m. EDT. To participate in this WebEx event, navigate to https://nasa.webex.com/ and enter the meeting information:
Meeting Number: 994 156 009
Meeting Password: $Athena-2016.

To hear the audio for the conference, call 1-844-467-6272 and enter the conference passcode 921301#. If you want to submit questions about the  Physical Sciences Informatics system or the NASA Research Announcement before the conference, please send your questions to msfc-dl-psi-support@mail.nasa.gov. For additional information, see the PSI website.

Please direct questions about this NASA Research Announcement to Dr. Francis Chiaramonte at francis.p.chiaramonte@nasa.gov.

**NEW** ROSES-16 Amendment 33: New Program Element — Interdisciplinary Science for Eclipse 2017
Audience: Informal and Higher Education Institutions
Step-1 Proposal Deadline: Oct. 27, 2016

A total solar eclipse is widely regarded as one of the most incredible natural phenomenon visible from Earth. On Aug. 21, 2017, a total solar eclipse will traverse the continental U.S. from Oregon to South Carolina. For approximately 90 minutes, city after city along the centerline will experience two to nearly three minutes of darkness during daytime as totality moves from west to east. While the path of totality will cover a swath only 60 miles wide, the contiguous U.S. States will see at least 65% of the sun disappear behind the moon during its progression of phases. A large fraction of the population in North America is expected to witness this natural event (http://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/).

The purpose of this program element is to support development of new research or enhancement of existing research, applied to the 2017 eclipse. NASA is seeking proposals that would use the special opportunity presented by the solar eclipse to study the sun, Earth, the moon, astronomy, and/or space science, including the ionosphere-thermosphere-mesosphere system. Building on existing partnerships and the use of interdisciplinary or citizen science approaches is encouraged. Citizen science involves public contributions to science, including formulating research questions, conducting experiments, collecting and analyzing data, interpreting results, making new discoveries, and/or developing new/existing technologies and applications. Citizen science is distinguished from public outreach in that the primary purpose of public involvement is to make contributions to science. All proposals must demonstrate links to the 2017 solar eclipse.

Step-1 proposals are due by Oct. 27, 2016.

Step-2 proposals are due by Nov. 30, 2016.

For more information, visit http://go.nasa.gov/2cZzz8T .

Please direct questions concerning this program element to Madhulika Guhathakurta at madhulika.guhathakurta@nasa.gov.

**NEW** Postdoctoral Fellowships in Space Biology to Study the Microbiome of the International Space Station as a Built Environment
Audience: Postdoctoral Students
Required Notice of Intent Deadline: Oct. 31, 2016

NASA is seeking proposals from potential postdoctoral fellows to conduct studies to characterize microbial populations isolated from the International Space Station. Selected studies will provide insight into how microbes and microbial populations adapt to spaceflight. Proposed experiments will use microbial isolates collected from the space station that have been archived at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Proposals will be accepted from graduate students in their final year of their Ph.D. or equivalent degree program; from postdoctoral fellows (Ph.D., M.D., D.D.S., D.V.M., or equivalent doctoral degree from an accredited domestic or foreign institution); or from applicants who received a doctoral degree within the past two years but have not yet had postdoctoral training. Applicants must have no more than four years of postdoctoral research experience at the time of the initial or the subsequent resubmission or revision application. The program is open to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or persons with pre-existing visas obtained through their sponsoring institutions that permit postdoctoral training for the project’s duration. Sponsoring institutions must be U.S. academic, government or commercial institutions that will provide appropriate mentors.

Interested applicants must submit a required notice of intent no later than Oct. 31, 2016.

For more information, visit http://tinyurl.com/NASAMoBE2016.

Please direct questions about this opportunity to Dr. David Tomko at dtomko@nasa.gov.

**NEW** Call for White Papers: NASA iTech Initiative
Audience: Higher Education Educators and Students
White Paper Submission Deadline: Oct. 17, 2016
Forum Dates: Dec. 5-8, 2016

NASA iTech is a yearlong initiative to find innovative ideas with the most potential impact on future space exploration and to support development of the most promising solutions. Ideas may come from U.S. small or large businesses, academia, or other government organizations external to NASA. Applicants must be U.S. citizens.

The first step for potential innovators to participate in NASA iTech is to submit a five-page white paper summarizing a proposed innovation to solve challenges in one of the focus areas. These challenges range from crew health to propulsion.

A panel of experts will review all submitted ideas. The top 25 white papers submitted will be recognized by NASA iTech as semifinalists and evaluated by NASA’s Office of the Chief Technologist. Innovators representing the top 10 ideas will be invited to present to the agency and its largest contractors at the NASA iTech Forum on Dec. 5-8, 2016, at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The deadline to submit white papers is Oct. 17, 2016.

For more information, visit http://nasaitech.com/#intro.

Please direct questions about this opportunity to Tom Flake at t.g.flake@nasaitech.com.

Check out the new ‘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 https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/current-opps-index.html
— Students https://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 https://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/

Visit NASA Education on the web:
NASA Office of Education: https://www.nasa.gov/education
For Educators: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html
For Students: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html
NASA Kids’ Club: https://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub

Did you miss last week’s NASA Education Science WOW! message?
Visit the Science WOW! blog for an archive of previous messages.
https://blogs.nasa.gov/educationsciencewow/

NASA Education “Science WOW!” Message — Sept. 28, 2016

Check out the latest edition of NASA Education’s “Science WOW!” — your source for NASA opportunities in science education delivered “Weekly On Wednesday.”

Check out the latest edition of NASA Education’s “Science WOW!” — your source for NASA opportunities in science education delivered “Weekly On Wednesday.”

Science Always Starts With a Question …

This Week’s Question: What Is the Hubble Space Telescope?

The Hubble Space Telescope helps scientists understand how planets and galaxies form. Check out these articles written for students that give the scoop on Hubble!

K-4: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/what-is-the-hubble-space-telecope-k4.html
5-8: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-is-the-hubble-space-telecope-58.html

Have You Seen This?

Hubble is more than a science spacecraft; it’s a cultural phenomenon! NASA wants to know where you #SpotHubble!

Take a moment to think about where you’ve seen the Hubble Space Telescope or Hubble images in your daily life. Maybe you own a textbook with a picture of the telescope on the cover, or you walk by a mural inspired by Hubble images every day on your way to work. Perhaps you’ve even created art based on Hubble images. Share your photos with NASA on Instagram, Twitter, Flickr and Facebook. https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/2016/spothubble

Opportunities for Future Scientists of All Ages

Science Opportunities for Educators of Grades K-12

Science Opportunities for Higher Education and Informal Institutions

Opportunities for Future Scientists of All Ages

Join STEM@NASA Goddard in Celebrating International Observe the Moon Night!
Audience: All Educators and Students
Event Date: Sept. 28, 2016, 1-1:30 p.m. EDT

Are you ready to look at the moon in an entirely new way? Join NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center on Sept. 28, 2016, at 1 p.m. EDT for STEM@NASA Goddard: International Observe the Moon Night. During this 30-minute event, Andrea Jones, education specialist for Planetary Science Institute at NASA Goddard, will share how International Observe the Moon Night encourages appreciation and understanding of our moon and its connection to NASA planetary science and exploration.

The program will stream live on NASA Goddard’s Ustream channel, and participants will be able to submit questions by email and Twitter.

For more information, please contact Erin McKinley at erin.e.mckinley@nasa.gov.

**NEW** Live Video Chat With Researcher Studying Plants on the Space Station
Audience: All Educators and Students
Event Date: Sept. 30, 2016, 11-11:45 a.m. EDT

Connect your class with NASA’s Digital Learning Network to talk with Dr. Anna-Lisa Paul, a research professor from the University of Florida studying plants currently on the International Space Station. This unique platform lets Paul study how plants react to stress with no gravity and provides a window into the origins of adaptive processes. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space manages the U.S. National Laboratory and sponsors this experiment.

The 45-minute event will be webcast on the NASA DLiNfo Channel on Sept. 30, 2016, at 11 a.m. EDT.

Ask questions via Twitter using #askDLN or via email to DLiNfochannel@gmail.com.

The DLN currently is accepting requests from middle and high school classes interested in participating interactively during an upcoming CASIS Academy Live Event.

Upcoming CASIS Academy Live Events (Each 45-minute event begins at 11 a.m. ET.):

Friday, Oct. 21 — Freeze Drying in Space, Dr. Jeremy Hinds, Eli Lilly & Co.
Monday, Nov. 28 — Hard-to-Wet Surfaces in Space, Dr. Ken Savin, Eli Lilly & Co.
Friday, Dec. 9 — Ants in Space, Dr. Deborah Gordon, Stanford University

To be considered, please send an email to dlinfochannel@gmail.com at least two weeks prior to the event. Use “CASIS Academy Live (Event Date)” in the message Subject line and include the following information in the email message:

Point of Contact (POC) Name
School Name
POC Email
POC Phone Number
Grade Level of Students Who Will Participate
Approximate Number of Students Who Will Participate

Please direct questions about these events to DLiNfochannel@gmail.com.

For more information about other DLN events, visit https://www.nasa.gov/dln.

Science Opportunities for Educators of Grades K-12

**NEW** New Classroom Activity From JPL Education: Stomp Rockets
Audience: Educators of Grades 4-9

Bring the excitement of rocketry to your classroom with a new activity from the Education team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The “DIY Space: Stomp Rockets” classroom activity is a hands-on way to get students excited about rocketry, the engineering design process and mathematics.

Visit the website for the standards-aligned lesson plan and extension activities, plus video tutorials to help with lesson prep.

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/stomp-rockets

Solar System Ambassadors Program Accepting Applications
Audience: All Educators
Application Period: Sept. 1-30, 2016

The NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Solar System Ambassadors Program, a nationwide network of space enthusiast volunteers, will be accepting applications from Sept. 1 through Sept. 30, 2016.

Highly motivated individuals will be given the opportunity to represent NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory as volunteer SSAs to the public for a one-year, renewable term beginning Jan. 1, 2017.

While applications are being sought nationwide, interested parties from the following areas are especially encouraged to apply: Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. SSA hopes to add 100 new volunteers to the program in 2017.

To learn more about the SSA Program and to apply online, visit https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/ssa/home.cfm. The Announcement of Opportunity and application form will be available on Sept. 1.

If you have questions about this opportunity, contact Kay Ferrari, SSA coordinator, by email at ambassad@jpl.nasa.gov.

**NEW** 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.

NASA Weathering the Storm — Earth Right Now: Weather vs. Climate
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 4-8
Event Date: Oct. 3, 2016, at 6 p.m. EDT
Explore our understanding and forecasting of weather and how weather and climate differ. NASA missions, STEM resources, curriculum, and integration of the Next Generation Science Standards will guide us through a “storm” of classroom activities. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/203186

NASA Weathering the Storm — Earth Right Now: Wild Weather Adventure With NASA SciJinks
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades K-8
Event Date: Oct. 4, 2016, at 6 p.m. EDT
Explore a selection of images and visualizations of weather, wind, storms and their effects on Earth. SciJinks is a joint NASA/NOAA educational website for school-age children and their educators. The website explores weather and Earth science through articles, videos, images and games. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/203244

For a full schedule of upcoming webinars, visit http://www.txstate-epdc.net/events/.

Please direct questions about this series of webinars to Steve Culivan at stephen.p.culivan@nasa.gov.

Science Opportunities for Higher Education and Informal Institutions

**NEW** Call for Proposals — NASA Research Announcement for Use of the NASA Physical Sciences Informatics System: Appendix C
Audience: Graduate Students
Informational Webinar: Oct. 5, 2016, at 1 p.m. EDT
Proposal Deadline: Dec. 15, 2016

NASA is seeking ground-based research proposals from graduate students and established researchers to use NASA’s Physical Sciences Informatics system to develop new analyses and scientific insights. The PSI system is a resource for researchers to data mine information generated from completed physical sciences experiments performed on the International Space Station or from related ground-based studies.

This solicitation appendix focuses on the following five research areas: combustion science, complex fluids, fluid physics, fundamental physics and materials science.

For graduate students (students working toward an advanced degree), this NASA Research Announcement is soliciting proposals that advance fundamental research in one of the physical sciences disciplines identified above and also assist in the awarding of an advanced degree to the graduate student. This call is open to students who meet the following eligibility requirements:

— The student is pursuing an advanced degree directly related to a physical sciences discipline. Only technical degrees are permitted (not degrees in policy or management).
— The student is a U.S. citizen, a permanent resident alien of the U.S., or on a student visa at an accredited U.S. university at the time of application submission.
— The student is enrolled in a master’s or doctoral degree program at an accredited U.S. university at the time of application submission. Or, if the student is an undergraduate starting graduate studies, he or she has been accepted to a master’s or doctoral degree program at an accredited U.S. university at the time of application submission and will start during the next academic year.
— The student has an academic graduate advisor who will submit the application for the graduate student. The student must perform the proposed research under the guidance of the assigned graduate advisor.

The agency expects to make approximately 10 awards in spring 2016. Research and development efforts will take place over two years. The typical award will be $75,000-$100,000 per year, for up to two years.

The deadline for submitting proposals is Dec. 15, 2016.

For information, visit http://psi.nasa.gov/.

NASA plans to conduct a proposers’ conference on Oct. 5, 2016, at 1 p.m. EDT. To participate in this WebEx event, navigate to https://nasa.webex.com/ and enter the meeting information:
Meeting Number: 994 156 009
Meeting Password: $Athena-2016.

To hear the audio for the conference, call 1-844-467-6272 and enter the conference passcode 921301#. If you want to submit questions about the  Physical Sciences Informatics system or the NASA Research Announcement before the conference, please send your questions to msfc-dl-psi-support@mail.nasa.gov. For additional information, see the PSI website.

Please direct questions about this NASA Research Announcement to Dr. Francis Chiaramonte at francis.p.chiaramonte@nasa.gov.

NASA’s Centennial Challenges: Vascular Tissue Challenge
Audience: All Interested U.S. Citizens, Including Higher Education Educators and Students
Deadline: No Later Than Sept. 30, 2019

NASA, in partnership with the nonprofit Methuselah Foundation’s New Organ Alliance, is seeking ways to advance the field of bioengineering through a new prize competition. The Vascular Tissue Challenge offers a $500,000 prize to be divided among the first three teams that successfully create thick, metabolically functional, human vascularized organ tissue in a controlled laboratory environment.

Competitors must produce vascularized tissue that is more than .39 inches (1 centimeter) in thickness and maintains more than 85 percent survival of the required cells throughout a 30-day trial period. To win an award, teams must demonstrate three successful trials with at least a 75 percent success rate. In addition to the laboratory trials, teams must submit a proposal that details how they would further advance some aspect of their research through a microgravity experiment that could be conducted in the U.S. National Laboratory on the International Space Station.

The first registered team(s) to meet the required guidelines and complete their trials by Sept. 30, 2019, will win the awards.

The Vascular Tissue Challenge prize purse is provided by NASA’s Centennial Challenges Program, part of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. Centennial Challenges, managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, is NASA’s citizen-inventor prize program. It invites the nation to help advance the technologies that will enable us to go to Mars and beyond, as well as improve life on Earth. The New Organ Alliance is administering the competition on behalf of NASA. The alliance is a nonprofit organization focused on regenerative medicine research and development to benefit human disease research and tissue engineering.

For information about the Methuselah Foundation’s New Organ Alliance, official challenge documents, rules and schedule of events, visit https://neworgan.org/vtc-prize.php.

For more information about the Vascular Tissue Challenge, visit https://www.nasa.gov/vtchallenge.

NASA Unveils New Public Web Portal for Research Results
Audience: All Educators and Students

With the launch of a new agency public access portal, public access to NASA-funded research data now is just a click away. PubSpace is a repository of original science journal articles produced by NASA-funded research and available online without a fee.

While the agency always has made access to its research a high priority, the focus now is to make NASA science data more easily obtainable via “one-stop shopping.” This increased public access is intended to accelerate the dissemination of fundamental research results to advance scientific knowledge and help ensure the nation’s future prosperity.

The NASA-Funded Research Results portal was created in response to a 2013 request from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, which directed science-funding agencies to develop plans to increase access to the results of federally funded research. NASA’s public access plan was developed in coordination with the science and technology research community across the agency. NASA will continue to consult with the scientific community, academic institutions, publishers and other federal agencies to implement this plan and increase access to research results.

For more information, visit https://www.nasa.gov/open/researchaccess.

Do you want more NASA science? Visit http://science.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 https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/current-opps-index.html
— Students https://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 https://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/

Visit NASA Education on the web:
NASA Office of Education: https://www.nasa.gov/education
For Educators: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html
For Students: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html
NASA Kids’ Club: https://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub

Did you miss last week’s NASA Education Science WOW! message?
Visit the Science WOW! blog for an archive of previous messages.
https://blogs.nasa.gov/educationsciencewow/

NASA Education “Science WOW!” Message — Sept. 21, 2016

Check out the latest edition of NASA Education’s “Science WOW!” — your source for NASA opportunities in science education delivered “Weekly On Wednesday.”

Check out the latest edition of NASA Education’s “Science WOW!” — your source for NASA opportunities in science education delivered “Weekly On Wednesday.”

Science Always Starts With a Question …

This Week’s Question: Why Does Earth Have Seasons?

On Sept. 22, the fall equinox marks the official start of autumn. To find out why Earth has seasons, visit http://scijinks.jpl.nasa.gov/earths-seasons/.

Have You Seen This?

Carry visualizations of recent global climate data in your pocket with NASA’s Earth Now: Vital Signs of the Planet application for iPhone and Android.

Earth science satellite data, including surface air temperature, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, ozone, and water vapor, is used to create a 3-D model of Earth that can be zoomed and rotated.

To download for iPhone, visit https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/earth-now/id494633346?mt=8. Android users can download the app at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gov.nasa.jpl.earthnow.activity.

Opportunities for Future Scientists of All Ages

Science Opportunities for Educators of Grades K-12

Science Opportunities for Higher Education and Informal Institutions

Opportunities for Future Scientists of All Ages

2016 von Kármán Lecture Series — Attend in Person or View Online
Audience: All Educators; Students in Grades 9-12 and Higher Education
Next Lecture Date: Sept. 22, 2016, at 7 p.m. PDT (10 p.m. EDT)

The Theodore von Kármán Lecture Series, named after the founder of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and presented by JPL’s Office of Communication and Education, shares the excitement of the space program’s missions, instruments and other technologies.

Lectures take place twice per month, on consecutive Thursdays and Fridays. The Thursday lectures take place in JPL’s Theodore von Kármán Auditorium, and Friday lectures take place at Pasadena City College’s Vosloh Forum. Both start at 7 p.m. PDT (10 p.m. EDT). Admission and parking are free for all lectures. No reservations are required, but seating is limited. The Thursday evening lectures are streamed live for viewing online. Archives of past lectures are also available online.

Next Lecture in the Series:

Revealing Saturn: Cassini Science Highlights and the Grand Finale
Event Date: Sept. 22 and Sept. 23, 2016, at 7 p.m. PDT (10 p.m. EDT)
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/lectures_archive.php?year=2016&month=9
The Cassini mission’s findings have revolutionized our understanding of Saturn. With its mission winding down, what new puzzles will Cassini solve before it plunges into Saturn’s atmosphere? Cassini Project Scientist Dr. Linda Spilker will present highlights of Cassini’s ambitious inquiry at Saturn and an overview of science observations in the final orbits. Dr. Earl Maize, Cassini program manager, will discuss Cassini’s exciting challenges and the final year of the mission, ultimately flying through a region where no spacecraft has ever flown before.

Questions about this series should be directed to http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/contact_JPL.php.

Join STEM@NASA Goddard in Celebrating International Observe the Moon Night!
Audience: All Educators and Students
Event Date: Sept. 28, 2016, 1-1:30 p.m. EDT

Are you ready to look at the moon in an entirely new way? Join NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center on Sept. 28, 2016, at 1 p.m. EDT for STEM@NASA Goddard: International Observe the Moon Night. During this 30-minute event, Andrea Jones, education specialist for Planetary Science Institute at NASA Goddard, will share how International Observe the Moon Night encourages appreciation and understanding of our moon and its connection to NASA planetary science and exploration.

The program will stream live on NASA Goddard’s Ustream channel, and participants will be able to submit questions by email and Twitter.

For more information, please contact Erin McKinley at erin.e.mckinley@nasa.gov.

Science Opportunities for Educators of Grades K-12

Educator Workshop — Comets Close Up
Audience: Formal and Informal Educators of Grades 6-12
Event Date: Sept. 24, 2016, 8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. PDT

The Rosetta spacecraft is on a 10-year mission to study the comet “67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko” (C-G) and answer questions about comets. Join lead scientists for the Rosetta mission in an educational workshop that explores hands-on activities and resources for engaging students in the science of comets and small bodies.

In this workshop, Rosetta project scientist Bonnie Buratti and project manager Art Chmielewski will share some of the basic physics of comets and discuss how the Rosetta mission was able to land on one for the first time. Hear about the mission’s latest discoveries, see incredible up-close images of the comet, and get the inside scoop on a second landing on the comet scheduled for Sept. 30, 2016.

The target audience for the workshop is formal and informal educators of grades 6-12, but it is open to all educators.

The event will take place Sept. 24, 2016, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. PDT at the von Kármán Auditorium at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

For more information, directions to the workshop location, and instructions for reserving a spot, visit http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/events/2016/9/24/educator-workshop-comets-close-up.

To learn more about the Rosetta mission, visit http://rosetta.jpl.nasa.gov/.

Please direct questions about this workshop to Andrea Angrum at 818-354-6775.

**NEW** 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.

Solar System and Beyond: JUNO to Jupiter
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades K-12
Event Date: Sept. 26, 2016, at 6:30 p.m. EDT
Participants will learn about the “Solar System and Beyond” with NASA’s Juno mission to Jupiter. Join us to learn about the JUNO mission, which started in August of 2011, and hands-on activities related to the solar system. This educational activity aligns to NASA Education API 2.4.2. Continue to support STEM educators through the delivery of NASA education content and engagement in educator professional development opportunities. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/196775

For a full schedule of upcoming webinars, visit http://www.txstate-epdc.net/events/.

Please direct questions about this series of webinars to Steve Culivan at stephen.p.culivan@nasa.gov.

**NEW** Free Educator Professional Development Workshops From NASA’s Stennis Space Center Office of Education
Audience: In-service, Pre-service, Home School and Informal Educators
Workshop Location: Infinity Science Center in Pearlington, Mississippi

NASA’s Stennis Space Center Office of Education is presenting a series of free science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, educator professional development workshops open to all educators. Join NASA education specialists to learn about activities, lesson plans, educator guides and resources that bring NASA into your classroom. Workshops will be five hours in length and presented at the Infinity Science Center in Pearlington, Mississippi. (Map) Registration is required to participate. To register, simply click on the link provided beneath the workshop description.

Exploring the Solar System
Audience: Grades 4-8, In-service, Informal and Pre-service Educators
Registration Deadline: Sept. 25, 2016 (maximum of 30 participants)
Event Date: Sept. 29, 2016, 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. CDT
Come explore the solar system from a unique mathematical perspective. Using NASA STEM activities, participants will investigate worlds beyond our planet Earth and probe the origins of our universe. Everywhere imaginable, NASA is out there! Activities presented will be aligned to Next Generation Science Standards domain of Earth and Space Sciences; Space Systems.
Register Online: https://www.etouches.com/201521

For more information and a complete list of upcoming NASA Educator Professional Development workshops, visit http://education.ssc.nasa.gov/workshops.asp.

Solar System Ambassadors Program Accepting Applications
Audience: All Educators
Application Period: Sept. 1-30, 2016

The NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Solar System Ambassadors Program, a nationwide network of space enthusiast volunteers, will be accepting applications from Sept. 1 through Sept. 30, 2016.

Highly motivated individuals will be given the opportunity to represent NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory as volunteer SSAs to the public for a one-year, renewable term beginning Jan. 1, 2017.

While applications are being sought nationwide, interested parties from the following areas are especially encouraged to apply: Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. SSA hopes to add 100 new volunteers to the program in 2017.

To learn more about the SSA Program and to apply online, visit https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/ssa/home.cfm. The Announcement of Opportunity and application form will be available on Sept. 1.

If you have questions about this opportunity, contact Kay Ferrari, SSA coordinator, by email at ambassad@jpl.nasa.gov.

Science Opportunities for Higher Education and Informal Institutions

Center for Astronomy Education Regional Teaching Exchanges and Workshops — Fall/Winter 2016-2017
Audience: Current and Future College Instructors of Astronomy
Next Event Date: Sept. 24, 2016

NASA’s Center for Astronomy Education, or CAE, announces a series of regional teaching exchanges and workshops for astronomy and space science educators.

Teaching exchanges foster a sense of community among geographically linked current and future college instructors of astronomy. Regional experts from the broader CAE community are ready to provide the opportunity for you to meet your neighbors, expand your instructional repertoire and share your own expertise.

Workshops provide participants with experiences needed to create effective and productive active-learning classroom environments. Workshop leaders model best practices in implementing many different classroom-tested instructional strategies. But more importantly, workshop participants will gain first-hand experience implementing these proven strategies.

Sept. 24, 2016 — Seattle University in Seattle, Washington
CAE Northwest Regional Teaching Exchange

Sept. 24, 2016 — Guilford Technical Community College in Jamestown, North Carolina
CAE Southeast Regional Teaching Exchange

For more information and to register for the teaching exchanges, visit http://astronomy101.jpl.nasa.gov/workshops/index.cfm.

Inquiries about this series of events should be directed to Gina Brissenden at gbrissenden@as.arizona.edu.

CAE is funded through NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Exoplanet Exploration Program.

Free ‘NASA’s Journey to Mars’ Planetarium/Dome Show
Audience: Formal and Informal Educators

Are you looking for ways to prepare your students for STEM-related career opportunities? Do you want to spark their interest in pushing the boundaries of technology and innovation? Right now, NASA’s fleet of Mars robotic explorers is paving the way for human exploration of the solar system in the coming decades. Have your students join NASA in preparing for a monumental journey of a lifetime — to Mars!

“NASA’s Journey to Mars” is a short planetarium presentation that can be used in the educational domes of your school district, as well as local planetariums, to inspire interest in STEM. To learn more, including how you can acquire the show for use in your area, visit https://www.nasa.gov/feature/journey-of-a-lifetime-mars-education-resources/.

Please direct questions about the “NASA’s Journey to Mars” planetarium/dome show to Elsie Weigel at elsie.weigel@nasa.gov.

Do you want more NASA science? Visit http://science.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 https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/current-opps-index.html
— Students https://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 https://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/

Visit NASA Education on the web:
NASA Office of Education: https://www.nasa.gov/education
For Educators: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html
For Students: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html
NASA Kids’ Club: https://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub

Did you miss last week’s NASA Education Science WOW! message?
Visit the Science WOW! blog for an archive of previous messages.
https://blogs.nasa.gov/educationsciencewow/