Tag: Earth Science

NASA@ My Library and Partners Engage Millions in Eclipse Training and Preparation

NeRD

2 min read NASA@ My Library and Partners Engage Millions in Eclipse Training and Preparation The Space Science Institute, with funding from the NASA Science Mission Directorate and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, provided unprecedented training, support, and supplies to 15,000 libraries in the U.S. and territories in support of public engagement during the 2023 and 2024 eclipses. From September 2022 to September 2024, these efforts included: Co-development efforts with 3 NASA@ My Library Partner Libraries in the “Square of Awesome” (where both the total and annular eclipse crossed) led…

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Teachers Bring Student Teams to GLOBE Research Symposia

NeRD

5 min read Teachers Bring Student Teams to GLOBE Research Symposia A year-long professional development experience for teachers resulted in participation of 10 student teams at Global Learning & Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) student research symposia. Teachers from the ENGAGE (Earth, NASA, GLOBE, and Guided Explorations) GLOBE Mission Earth 2023-2024 virtual educator cohort have been connecting throughout the school year to learn GLOBE protocols, identify opportunities for students to present GLOBE research, and to share lessons learned. The NASA Science Activation Langley Research Center (LaRC) team led the…

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Meet NASA Women Behind World’s Largest Flying Laboratory

NeRD

5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA’s DC-8 aircraft – the world’s largest flying science laboratory – began its science missions in 1987 and since then, has flown in service of the science community over places like Antarctica, Greenland, and Thailand. Aircraft like the DC-8 have enabled scientists to ask questions about life on Earth and explore them in a way that only NASA’s Airborne Science program can make happen. After 37 years, the DC-8 will retire to Idaho State University, where it will serve…

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Scholastic SuperSTEM Magazine Features GLOBE Mosquito Habitat Mapper

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2 min read Scholastic SuperSTEM Magazine Features GLOBE Mosquito Habitat Mapper The NASA Earth Science Education Collaborative team collaborated with Scholastic on an article and activity for learners in grades 3-6: “Meet the World’s Deadliest Creature”, which appeared in the May/June 2024 issue of SuperSTEM. The magazine includes nonfiction science articles and activities that encourage learners to problem solve and investigate real-world phenomena. In this hands-on investigation, Mosquito Habitat Survey, learners search for places where mosquitoes could lay eggs, and then, plan ways to make the areas less friendly to…

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NASA-Led Study Provides New Global Accounting of Earth’s Rivers

NeRD

5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The Colorado River supplies water to more than 40 million people as it snakes through seven U.S. states, including the part of southeastern Utah seen in this photo snapped by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station. The Colorado basin was identified in a NASA-led study as a region experiencing intense human water use. NASA The novel approach to estimating river water storage and discharge also identifies regions marked by ‘fingerprints’ of intense water use. A study led by…

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My NASA Data Milestones: Eclipsed by the Eclipse!

NeRD

2 min read My NASA Data Milestones: Eclipsed by the Eclipse! The My NASA Data (MND) project supports grades 3rd through 12th-grade students and teachers across the globe in analyzing and interpreting NASA mission data. MND provides student and teacher materials, including teacher-facing lesson plans, student-facing lessons and interactives, and NASA data via an easy-to-access interface. Having recently celebrated over 1 million digital engagements in the 2023 fiscal year, MND was excited and amazed to experience a record-breaking 1 million visitors from March 10 – April 10, 2024 -– a…

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SWOT Satellite Helps Gauge the Depth of Death Valley’s Temporary Lake

NeRD

Water depths in Death Valley’s temporary lake ranged between about 3 feet (or 1 meter, shown in dark blue) to less than 1.5 feet (0.5 meters, light yellow) from February through early March. By measuring water levels from space, SWOT enabled research to calculate the depth. NASA/JPL-Caltech Data from the international Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission helped researchers to calculate the depth of water in this transient freshwater body. California’s Death Valley, the driest place in North America, has hosted an ephemeral lake since late 2023. A NASA-led analysis…

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NASA’s DC-8 Completes Final Mission, Set to Retire

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2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The DC-8 aircraft returned to NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center Building 703 in Palmdale, California, on April 1, 2024, after completing its final mission supporting Airborne and Satellite Investigation of Asian Air Quality (ASIA-AQ). The aircraft and crew were welcomed back with a celebratory water salute by the U.S. Air Force Plant 42 Fire Department. NASA/Steve Freeman  After 37 years of successful airborne science missions, NASA’s DC-8 aircraft completed its final mission and returned to the agency’s Armstrong Flight…

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Students Present GLOBE Research at INFINITY Science Center with NASA ASTRO CAMP Community Partners Team

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2 min read Students Present GLOBE Research at INFINITY Science Center with NASA ASTRO CAMP Community Partners Team Nineteen 5th-12th-grade student scientists gathered on 5 and 6 April, 2024 at the INFINITY Science Center in Pearlington, Mississippi for the U.S. GLOBE Southeast Student Research Symposium. The students traveled to the symposium with educators and chaperones from Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi to celebrate environmental research conducted using Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) protocols. They presented their GLOBE research to each other and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics…

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It Takes a Village: Meaningful Collaborations to Broaden Participation in STEM

NeRD

3 min read It Takes a Village: Meaningful Collaborations to Broaden Participation in STEM The NASA Science Activation Program’s Planetary Learning Advancing the Nexus of Engineering, Technology, and Science (PLANETS) project team, led by Northern Arizona University, Engineering is Elementary, United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology, and WestEd, develops planetary science and engineering curricula for Out-of-School Time (OST) programs such as afterschool and summer camps. PLANETS is employing a co-design approach to optimize the curricula to broaden participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) with a focus on multilingual…

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