ASTRONOMYLABPROJECT–SOLARSYSTEMMISSONSANDSPACECRAFTProjectsandpresentationsduelastweekoflab

PROJECTINTRODUCTIONAstronomygivesusglimpsesofworldsbeyondourown.InyourAstronomylecture,youhavelearnedaboutdifferentmissionsandspacecraftthathavefurtheredthefieldofAstronomy,transportingscientistsandthepublicalikeoutsideofourEarthrevealinganswerstoquestionsabouttheUniverseinwhichwereside.InyourAstronomyLabProject,youwillstudyoneofthesemissionsorspacecraftin-depth.

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SELECTIONSANDPRESENTATIONDETAILS

ForyourfinalprojectforAstronomylab,youwillcraftbothanindividualprojectandalsoa10-minutegroupslideshowpresentationonaSolarSystemmissionorspacecraftofyourchoiceselectedfromalistofoptions.Youwillhavetwodecisionstomakebeforepreparingthisprojectandpresentation:yourgroupmustfirstdecideonthisMission/SpacecraftSelectiontoresearch(examples:NewHorizons,Curiosity,orVoyager1;seepages8-17forallselectionoptions),andsecondyoumustdecideonaprojectFormatSelection,themethodthatyouprefertousetoconveytheresultsofyourresearchforyourproject,alsochosenfromalistofoptions(examples:blog,video,orpaper;seepage6forselectionoptiondetails).YouwillsubmityourprojecttoyourTAatthebeginningofclassthelastweekoflab,andyouwillalsogivea10-minutegroupslideshowpresentationthissameweek.5minuteswillalsobesetasideforquestions(notincludedinthe10minutes).Forthispresentation,useanapplicationsuchasPowerPointorPrezi.Yourslideshowshouldbecreatedusingbestpresentationformatting(mostslidesshouldcontainbothimagesandtext,youshouldusebulletpointsratherthanlonglengthyparagraphs,youshouldhaveintroductionandconclusionslides,etc.)Eachstudentinyourgroupshouldtalkforatleast2minutes.Duringthelabperiod,eachmemberofyourgroupisresponsibleforaskinganothergroupaquestionabouttheirproject(3questionstotalforyourgroup).

PROJECTCONTENT

OnceyourgrouphaspickedyourgroupMission/SpacecraftSelection,yourjobistostudythemissionorspacecraftindetail.Yourindividualprojectandgroupprojectpresentationmustincludeenoughinformationtowritea2-page,double-spacedpaper(youdon’tneedtowritethispaper(unlessyouchoosethepaperFormatSelection),youjustneedtoincorporatethismuchmaterialintoyourblogorvideo,etc.)Thisinformationmustaddressthefollowing:

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BackgroundWhatisyourMission/SpacecraftSelection?Whattools(instruments)did/doesitusetocollectdataandperformscience?Whobuiltthemissionorspacecraftanditsinstruments?Howwasitfunded?Whatisthehistoricaltimelineforthismission(Whenwastheideaforitconceived?Whenwasitbuilt?Whenwasitlaunched/whendiditfistbeginoperating?Havetherebeenanyothereventsofnote?)Whatisthecurrentoperationalstatusofthismissionorspacecraft?

ScienceoftheMissionorSpacecraftWhatastronomicalobjectswere/arestudiedbythismissionorspacecraft?Whatarethescientificgoalsofthisprogram?Whatformdoesthedatacollectedtake?Whathavescientistslearnedfromthisdata?

ConclusionWeretheprogramgoalsachieved?Whatquestionsremainunansweredbythismissionorspacecraft,atleastsofar,andwhatnewquestionsweredevelopedbecauseoftheprogram?Whatremainstobeuncoveredbyothersimilarprograms?Aretheirplansforanysimilarprogramsonthehorizon?

OntheMission/SpacecraftSelectionpageyouchoose(pages8-17),thisselectiontextmayshareadditionalitemsorquestionstoaddress;ifitdoes,makesuretoincludeinformationtoanswerthesequestions.Finally,intheformatofyourchoice,alsoincludeinyourprojectalistofcitationsyouusedforresearchingyourmissionorspacecraft.Youmustincludeatleast3sources.EveryMission/SpacecraftSelectionpage(pages8-17)includesoneormoresuggestedresourcesforgettingstarted.Youarewelcometousetheseresourcesaspartorallofyour3citations,thoughthisisnotrequired.Themembersofyourgroupmayusethesamecitationsinyourindividualprojects.

PROJECTGRADINGANDSCHEDULE

Thisfinalprojectwillbeworth60pointsofthetotalpointsthatmakeupyourtotallabgrade,ortheequivalentof3individuallabgrades.Therubricsthatwillbeusedtogradethetwopartsofyourfinalproject,yourindividualprojectandyourgrouppresentation,canbefoundonpages4-5.Yourindividualprojectandgrouppresentationareduethelastweekoflab.

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PROJECTRUBRIC40/60pointsofprojectgrade

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PRESENTATIONRUBRIC20/60pointsofprojectgrade

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FORMATSELECTIONSChooseone.Regardlessofformat,includematerialequivalenttotheamountofinformationina2-page,double-spacedpaper.Addressallquestions;don’tforgettolist3resources.

VIDEO

Conveyyourresearchthroughvideoformat.Showvisualshighlightingyourmissionorspacecraft,anddubinorfilmyourselfnarrating.Thisaudio-visualformatcanalsobeusedtoshowcaseamorecreativeendeavor(thoughitisnotrequired):Youcouldchoosetowriteandperformasongaboutyourmissionorspacecraft,orapoem,etc.

POSTER

Displayinformationaltextandvisualsforyourmissionorspacecraftallinasingle,visuallyorganizedlocation.ProvideyourTAwithacopyofthisdigitalposterorahigh-qualityphotographofthisphysicalposterwhereallwordsarelegible.Transcribeyourtextifthisisnotpossible.

BLOG/WEBSITE

Showcaseyourmissionorspacecraftprovidinginformationandintroductioninthisvisualmedium.ProvideyourTAwiththelinktotheblogorwebsiteyoucreateforyourproject.

PAPER

Writeapapertogetyourinformationacross.Itshouldbe2-pages,double-spaced,12-pointfont,1-inchmargins,etc.Yourlistofcitationsdonotcounttowardthepagelength.

OTHERFORMAT

Ifyouhaveanideaforanotherformat,youmustapproveitwithyourTA.It’slikelytogetapproved,butyou’llneedtoformallycheckonthis.

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MISSION/SPACECRAFTSELECTIONSChooseonefrompages8-17

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CASSINIMISSION

Cassini:oneofNASA’smostambitiousandsuccessfulmissions.Originallylaunchedin1997,theprobereachedSaturninlate2004whereitstayedinorbittostudytheplanet(anditsringsandmoons)for13years.WhileusuallyreferredtoasjustCassini,thismissionisofficiallynamedCassini-HuygensandwasacollaborativeprojectbetweenNASA,theEuropeanSpaceAgency,andtheItalianSpaceAgency.TheEuropeancontributiontotheprojectwastheHuygensLander,whichwassuccessfullylandedonSaturn’smoonTitan.Thesetwoprobes,together,gaveusdetailedinformationaboutoneofthemostexcitingmoonsintheSolarSystem;aglobalimagethatCassinitookininfraredisgivenbelow.ThemostambitiousresultsthatCassinigaveus,though,cameinitsdecommissioning.ToremovethepossibilityofEarthlifecontaminatingthemoonsofSaturn,Cassini’sorbitwaschangedsoitfellintoSaturn,takingimagesallwhilefallingin.Getstartedhere: TheNASAmissionpageforCassiniisanexcellentlocationtofindCassini’sphotosoftheSaturnsystem.Notalloftheimagesinthegalleryareactualphotostheprobetook,butreadingthecaptiononanimageyouareinterestedinwillrevealifitis.https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/images/index.htmlIfyouwouldratherbeabletofilteryourimagesearchbeforehand,thenNASA’ssolarsystemwebsite’spageonCassiniiswhatyouareafter.https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/cassini/galleries/images/?page=0&per_page=25&order=created_at+desc&search=&tags=cassini&condition_1=1%3Ais_in_resource_list&category=51/

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NEWHORIZONSSPACECRAFT

NewHorizonsisaNASAspacecraftthatstudiedPlutoandiscurrentlyonitswaytostudydeeperintheKuiperBelt,aregionofdwarfplanetsandothersmall,icybodieswelloutsideofNeptune’sorbit.TheprimarygoalistolearnhowPlutoandotherKuiperbeltobjectsfitinwiththeeightplanetsthatwehavebeenabletostudymoreextensively,aswellastogetthefirstupcloseimagesofPluto.Getstartedhere:https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhorizons/overview/index.html—thisisNASA’smainNewHorizonspagewhichwillhelpyoulearnmoreaboutthemissionanditsgoalshttps://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhorizons/images/index.html—thishashundredsofamazingpictures,includingtheoneabove.Ifyouseeacoolimageelsewhere,itprobablycamefromhereoriginallyhttps://www.space.com/18377-new-horizons.html—thishasanotherniceoverviewofthemission.Alsoifyougotothe“Plutoencounter”section,you’llseeanexampleofhowtheywereabletomakeascientificdiscoveryoffofimagestheytookhttps://www.space.com/new-horizons-observations-continue-in-kuiper-belt.html—thisarticlehasmoredetailsaboutthecurrentphaseofthemissionintheKuiperBeltspecificallyhttps://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/860/new-horizons-spacecraft-returns-its-sharpest-views-of-ultima-thule/—thisisanewsarticleaboutoneofthegoalstheywereabletoaccomplishmorerecentlyandwhattheyfound,withsomecoolimagesandavideo

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JUNOSPACECRAFT

Juno is a NASA spacecraft that is currently orbiting Jupiter. It’s studying Jupiter, especially its atmosphere and magnetic field, with the ultimate goal of learning more about how Jupiter formed and has evolved.

Getstartedhere:https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/juno/overview/index.html—thisisNASA’smainJunopagewhichwillhelpyoulearnmoreaboutthemissionanditsgoalshttps://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/juno/images/index.html—thishashundredsofamazingpictures,includingtheoneabove.Ifyouseeacoolimageelsewhere,itprobablycamefromhereoriginallyhttps://www.space.com/juno-finds-jupiter-water-mystery.html—thisarticleisaboutoneofthemostrecent(andsurprising)findingsofthemissionhttps://scitechdaily.com/juno-mission-discovers-astonishing-features-unlike-anything-else-in-our-solar-system/—thisarticle(aswellassimilaronesonthesamewebsiteifyoujustclicktheJunolinkontopicsatthetopofthearticle)isanewsstoryaboutaspecificJunoresultfromoneoftheimagesittookhttps://www.space.com/32742-juno-spacecraft.html—thisarticleprovidesaniceoverviewofthemission

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SOLARDYNAMICSOBSERVATORY

SDOlaunchedin2010withthemissiontoofunderstandingtheinteractionsbetweentheSunandtheEarth.

Getstartedhere:

https://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov

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THEDAWNSPACECRAFT

Dawnlaunchedin2007withthemissiontostudytheasteroidbelt(includingCeres,seenbelow)andtheearlySolarSystem.

Getstartedhere:

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/dawn/main/index.html

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ROSETTASPACECRAFTANDPHILAELANDER

Rosettalaunchedin2004withthemissiontoimproveourunderstandingoftheearlySolarSystem.Ittraveledtostudythecomet67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko(picturedbelow)

Getstartedhere:

https://www.nasa.gov/rosetta

Informationtoinclude:

Tellthestoryofthismission,fromconceptiontoinceptiontocompletion

Howdidthespacecraftreachitsdestination,andhowdiditoperate?

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GALILEOSPACECRAFT

Galileolaunchedin1989withthemissionoforbitingJupitertostudytheplanetanditsmoons(suchasEuropa,picturedbelow)

Getstartedhere:

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/galileo/overview/

Informationtoinclude:

Tellthestoryofthismission,fromconceptiontoinceptiontocompletion

Howdidthespacecraftreachitsdestination,andhowdiditoperate?

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CURIOSITYROVER

Curiositylaunchedin2011withthemissionofinvestigatingconditionsforlifeonMars(picturedbelow),bothpastandpresent

Getstartedhere:

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/index.html

Informationtoinclude:

Tellthestoryofthismission,fromconceptiontoinceptiontocompletion

Howdidthespacecraftreachitsdestination,andhowdiditoperate?

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VOYAGER1OR2

Voyager1and2launchedin1977tostudytheouterSolarSystem(suchasJupiter’smoonGanymede,seenbelow)andinterstellarspace.

Getstartedhere:

https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov

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SPIRITOROPPORTUNITY

SprintandOpportunitylaunchedin2006tostudythesurfaceofMars.

Getstartedhere:

https://mars.nasa.gov/mer/