Dawn Mission to Vesta and Ceres: Education and Public Outreach Program

Details Dawn Mission to Vesta and Ceres: Education and Public Outreach Program Dawn Mission to Vesta and Ceres: Education and Public Outreach Program

Sep 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008dps....40.1801m&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #40, #18.01; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 40, p.417

Computer Science

Multimedia

Scientific paper

NASA's Dawn spacecraft, launched September, 2007, is traveling to the asteroid belt to study two of the largest protoplanets, asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres, to study the early solar system and planetary evolution. The mission is an eight-year journey to Vesta in 2011 (orbiting 9 months) and to Ceres in 2015 (orbiting 6 months). At each body a suite of instruments will be used for scientific observation and data collection. Dawn's education and public outreach (E/PO) program offers a wide variety of resources, activities, and programs for teachers, informal leaders, and independent learners. The content modules include teacher guides, activities, texts, and PowerPoints that are aligned with the National Science Education Standards (NSES). The modules address multiple learning styles, and encompass several subject areas. Activities range from history of science to current issues in space science (i.e., the debate on the definition of a planet and dwarf planet). An ion propulsion interactive simulation and module provides a real-life example of basic science concepts and resulting technology used to propel the Dawn spacecraft. Clickworkers is an on-line activity that allows students to analyze real data (crater density) to infer the age of asteroids. The Dawn website provides opportunities for students to learn about careers, become a Dawn Young Engineer, and learn the difference between meteorites and Earth rocks (Find a Meteorite). The multimedia page includes spectacular imagery, a feature video, informative podcasts, and radio interviews. The Dawn E/PO team is currently developing a module about the spacecraft's scientific instruments that directly aligns to the "interaction of matter and energy” standards in the NSES. Both formal and informal educators can contribute to the evaluation of the Dawn mission E/PO program by field-testing emerging educational materials. To learn more visit the Dawn website: http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/index.asp.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Dawn Mission to Vesta and Ceres: Education and Public Outreach Program does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Dawn Mission to Vesta and Ceres: Education and Public Outreach Program, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Dawn Mission to Vesta and Ceres: Education and Public Outreach Program will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1437189