More than 100 Maryland middle school students
discovered how and why scientists will take the first-ever
3-D images of the sun using two nearly identical spacecraft
when they met on Oct. 21 with APL engineers during Space
Academy: STEREO Mission.
The Space Academy series — launched in 2000 by
APL, Comcast Cable and
the Discovery Channel — takes students behind the
scenes of actual space missions and introduces them to
engineers and scientists who carry out some of NASA's most
interesting projects.
STEREO Mission focused on the twin Solar Terrestrial
Relations Observatory spacecraft now under construction at
APL and scheduled for launch in February 2006. The two
space-based observatories will provide the first-ever 3-D
"stereo" images of the sun to study powerful solar eruptions
called coronal mass ejections, a major source of magnetic
disruptions on Earth and a key component of space
weather.
The daylong event included a student press conference
where they, like reporters in a real NASA press conference,
posed questions to a panel of STEREO team members from NASA
and APL. Students also participated in lunchtime discussions
with scientists and engineers, and in hands-on science
demonstrations. They saw the twin STEREO spacecraft under
construction and visited labs where the spacecraft will be
tested prior to launch.
A hands-on, minds-on experience designed to inspire
both students and teachers, Space Academy is held twice a
year at APL. Weeks before the event, students learn about a
specific mission, its science theme and space-related
careers through classroom activities and videos developed by
Discovery Networks and APL.