Genesis Mission Outreach E-News, 13th Edition December 2000
Visit the Genesis mission outreach Web site at: http://genesismission.jpl.nasa.gov
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Countdown to Launch
The Genesis mission will launch mid-2001 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The project is recommending to NASA a launch period starting the end of June and running into the first part of July–referred to as a “Junely” launch opportunity. In this new mission timeline, the Genesis spacecraft will orbit about the L1 point five times instead of the originally proposed four L1 orbits. With a “Junely” launch, the sample return would occur in August of 2004. You can view the proposed Genesis mission timeline at: http://www.genesismission.org/mission/time/index.html
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“You don’t have to be a genius.”
Meet Genesis Distinguished Visiting Scientist Marcia Neugebauer. As the Genesis project person who has the most background in studying the solar wind, Marcia’s research at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory has informed mission scientists in “how the solar wind flows, the physics.”
Marcia’s advice for young people who are interested in space science is, “You don’t have to be a genius. Just work hard and enjoy it.” You can meet Marcia and learn about her role in the Genesis mission by reading her interview, viewing a video clip about her work on the mission, and read her autobiographical article from The Journal of Geophysical Research, “Pioneers of Space Physics: A Career in the Solar Wind.”
at: http://www.genesismission.org/people/Neugebauer/neugebauer.html
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The Best of 2000
The year 2000 was an exciting one for the Genesis mission. Here are some highlights from Genesis
e-newsletters ringing in the new millennium:
January
Genesis is the first to offer the public the opportunity to submit a thought along with their name for micro-chip engraving and transport aboard the Genesis spacecraft. Engraved Genesis grams will be featured on the Genesis site in the upcoming months prior to launch.
February
http://www.genesismission.org/educate/scimodule/UnderElem/index.html fourth education module in the Cosmic Chemistry series is posted on the Genesis Web site. Written for middle school science teachers, Understanding Elements is a new take on the high school Genesis education module titled: Cosmic Chemistry: An Elemental Question which features the very popular interactive simulation of the periodic table: http://www.genesismission.org/educate/scimodule/cosmic/ptable.html
March
http://www.genesismission.org/educate/scimodule/CollProcess/index.html education module is posted on the Genesis Web site. It focuses on the relationship between basic design concepts and the collection methods that will be used in the Genesis mission.
In its education outreach, Genesis works to provide process-driven educational materials that advance the best possible teaching practices for the classroom. Teachers can evaluate the Genesis Web site by selecting the “provide feedback” link located at the bottom of the Genesis home page: http://genesismission.jpl.nasa.gov
April
http://www.rmpbs.org/learn/frontier/explore/genesis/explore.html A Genesis mission overview and featured interview of Lloyd Oldham, Genesis deputy project manager and program manager, Flight Systems, Lockheed Martin Space System Company-Astronautics Operations.
May
The entire country had its eye on Los Alamos, New Mexico, where a controlled burn became a raging forest fire. Roger Wiens, LANL Genesis project leader, shared, “None of the Genesis team members experienced loss or damage to their homes. No LANL facilities used for space hardware were damaged. It appears that all Genesis instruments are in fine shape.”
If you know a Girl Scout who plans to earn her Space Exploration Cadette and Senior Interest Patch, or a Boy Scout who would like to earn an Astronomy Merit Badge and/or a Space Exploration Merit Badge, visit the Genesis Scouting page at: http://www.genesismission.org/product/index.html
June
You can see the science canister as it will appear while in orbit and view the collector arrays, the concentrator, and the solar wind monitors at http://www.genesismission.org/mission/craft/index.html
Public modules focus on the basic science principles used by Genesis scientists and engineers. You can access a public module on how sunlight and solar heat are made at: http://www.genesismission.org/science/mod3_SunlightSolarHeat/index.html
http://www.genesismission.org/educate/kitchen/resource/factsheets/index.html Print-optimized fact sheets (short, informative texts with graphics and photos) can be printed directly from the site.
July
A coloring sheet, a mobile, and a model of the Genesis spacecraft (complete with instructions on how to put it together) are at: http://www.genesismission.org/product/index.html
The site offers assorted Web-optimized Genesis banners with sample HTML code ready for your Web page. Featured banners, sample code, and instructions can be found at: http://www.genesismission.org/contact/banners/index.html
http://www.genesismission.org/educate/kitchen/resource/factsheets/index.html Mission series fact sheets are translated into Spanish and posted on the Web site.
August
The Genesis Web site posts new technology pieces.
Videos and clips: http://www.genesismission.org/mission/mediarelease/index.html
Graphics gallery: http://www.genesismission.org/mission/gallery.html
Clean room video, accompanying teacher guide, and student activity: http://www.genesismission.org/mission/milestones/jsclean.html
Planetary Diversity PowerPoint (Solar Nebula Supermarket) with speaker notes and teacher guide: http://www.genesismission.org/educate/kitchen/techappl/indexCCSeries.html
The Careers section http://www.genesismission.org/people/careers/index.html of the site explores the varied work of the people who support the mission.
September
http://www.genesismission.org/educate/scimodule/Cosmogony.html fifth education module in the Cosmic Chemistry series is posted on the Genesis Web site. Classroom activities examine some aspects of the contemporary models of the origin of the universe, the concepts of time and distance, and the strategy of working backward from a known final state to a reasonable initial state.
http://www.genesismission.org/mission/milestones/lanlupdate.html Following assembly, the concentrator endured operational tests in a vacuum chamber to simulate conditions at L1. After passing all its tests, the Genesis concentrator was shipped from LANL to Johnson Space Center for cleaning and installation into the science canister.
October
http://www.genesismission.org/mission/mediarelease/jpl101100.html NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory newest Genesis press release. Learn how the solar collectors will secure the first-ever samples of the solar wind as the spacecraft floats in the oncoming solar stream.
http://www.genesismission.org/glossary.html As students expand their scientific terminology, our glossary section grows and features an alphabetical navigation tool for quick browsing.
November
Genesis Press Room: http://www.genesismission.org/mission/pressroom/index.html Updated graphics gallery, press releases, video files, backgrounders, and contact information for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory media relations and Genesis mission outreach offices, and the McREL education and public outreach office.
The Web Marketing Association, Inc., an independent organization recognizing excellence in Internet Web sites, named McREL’s education and public outreach site for the Genesis mission an Outstanding Web Site in its 2000 WebAward competition www.webaward.org. McREL WebAward press release is posted at: http://www.genesismission.org/mission/mediarelease/00-03_WebAward.pdf
