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Space Weather Team

Space Weather Team. NASA Grant 2010. Project Overview.

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Space Weather Team

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  1. Space Weather Team NASA Grant 2010

  2. Project Overview Challenger Center for Space Science Education (CCSSE) and NASA Goddard’s Space Weather Action Center Team will work together to develop the addition of a new team, Space Weather, to the four simulated space missions that are flown by middle school students across 48 Challenger Learning Centers (CLCs) in the United States. This program will leverage simulation-based activities to occur during the mission, pre and post mission classroom activities, and a professional development workshop for CLCs to use with teachers.

  3. Participating CLCs Year 1 CLC volunteers (16 sites): • Suffern, NY; Paramus, NJ; Indianapolis, IN; Dayton, OH; Hammond, IN; Bloomington, IL; Bangor, ME; Paducah, KY; Framingham, MA; Wheeling WV; Colorado Springs, CO; Richmond, VA; Kenai, AK; Toronto, Canada; Sacramento, CA; Hazard, KY • CLCs currently integrating the Framingham CLC prototype: • Dayton, OH • Wheeling, WV • Framingham, MA • Bloomington, IL

  4. Content Overview • The new Space Weather Team will focus on space weather and how the Sun influences the Earth, space and other planets. Students work collaboratively to retrieve and interpret satellite imagery and scientific data from NASA, perform scientific experiments and conduct research investigations. • Students will determine direction, intensity, speed of the solar wind, using those skills in line with a middle school student. Students will share and compare findings to communicate their results to others to alert the team of a solar storm. Students will also investigate the impacts of a CME that has passed and communicate their findings. • In their classroom students will explore the nature of the Sun, the solar wind, solar storms and solar flares using activities that integrate datasets from NASA’s Heliophysics Missions and determine how space weather can affect the Earth, the Moon, Mars, humans, satellites and spacecraft.

  5. Science Overview • The team activities focus on a coronal mass ejection or CME that has erupted from the Sun a few days prior to launch. The CME’s plasma cloud is due to arrive at the spacecraft within minutes and could cause problems for the spacecraft’s electrical systems • Causes a geomagnetic storm on Earth (disturbances in the direction and strength of Earth’s magnetic field) • High-speed charged particles created in Earth’s magnetic field near geosynchronous orbit can cause damage to electrical circuits in some satellites, and cause false-commands and data corruption - they also cause Aurora on Earth • Electrical currents can induce currents in the ground and in long metal structures, like oil/gas pipelines affecting telegraph systems and electrical power grids worldwide - these could temporarily affect Deep Space Network communication facilities for all missions except Mars

  6. Science Overview • High-speed charged particles of the CME plasma cloud may cause the buildup of electrical charge in metal structures in inter-stellar spacecraft, lunar and Mars bases, orbiters and telecommunication satellites - such buildups of electrical charge can be damaging to the sensitive electronic systems (causing false-commands and data corruption) • CMEs can also affect Mars’ remnant magnetic fields. Aurora may be seen in a few spots on Mars where the remnant crustal field is known to be strong in the southern hemisphere), but it would be in the Ultra-Violet range and not visible to the human eye • At the Mars Base, due to the scattered magnetic field there is no protection against the plasma cloud and the Mars base systems could be affected • There is no radiation emergency due to the fact that the CME left the Sun a few days prior to the launch (radiation arrives within an hour, the plasma cloud within days) however cosmic radiation is factor for crews on the Mars spacecraft due to the long voyage through interstellar space

  7. Mars Aurora

  8. CME Trajectory Assumptions NOT TO SCALE Earth ACE satellite Comet To Jupiter Moon Mars Distances Sun to Earth-Moon – 148 million kilometers ACE to Earth-Moon – 1.5 million kilometers Earth to Comet – 68.5 million kilometers Earth to Mars – 140 million kilometers

  9. CME Impacts Impacts that may be observed from the plasma cloud include • Communications and computer equipment that may be damaged on the spacecraft (or at the Mars base) and should be monitored • Satellites, orbiters and landers may be damaged and should be monitored • Power grids on Earth could be affected as surges could cause transformers and generators to be damaged • Effects on the planetary body under observation, i.e. Comet Tail; Earth Aurora; Mars Aurora Note: Radiation from the CME are only a factor immediately following the burst and thus are not an issue for the Challenger storyline; however interstellar cosmic rays are a problem for the Mars crew who have been en route for many months

  10. NASA SWAC Training • The NASA Space Weather Action Center is a classroom activity and teacher workshop that is the partial basis for the new NASA grant funded Space Weather team for 21st Century Moon, Mars and Comet (which is also based on the Framingham CLC prototype developed for Moon and Mars).

  11. SWAC Training • NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center team of educators and scientists will be leading this Space Weather Action Center day-long session on Monday, August 16th at the Challenger Center annual conference. • In addition, Redmon will debut a demo of the new software, and Network Support will discuss installation and configurations specifications for installing the new team and the optional green screen broadcasting feature

  12. Technical Specifications (Station Software) • This is a standalone application separate from the 21st Century software • Messaging is not connected to Data • The initial set up and configuration must be done at the individual space Weather stations • You need to have two mini-Mac computers available to run the team: • One located in Mission Control and one located in the Spacecraft • You can reuse a station, or add a new station • You need to work with Network Support to detail your plan for installing it • Since this team is also part of the 3.0 configuration, a new computer in the Spacecraft moves you towards that basic configuration - but is not required at this time

  13. Software Features • The interface is similar to the 3.0 interface and has the following features: • Activity Window, Research, SWAC, Antenna, Solar Panels (for space-comet debris/dust storm emergency at the end of the mission), Help, Calculator, Notes • There is a separate set of printed Task Cards and Data Logs, although you can choose to use the on screen Task Cards • You can choose not to use the Message system, which is set up like the 21st Century, and use post-its instead

  14. Green Screen (Optional) • This component is optional due to the extra costof purchasing software, installing a new computer in a quiet location in Mission Control, purchasing the green screen (or painting a wall) and the cost of connecting it to Data Select • We are currently supporting the version using Adobe Visual Communicator as recommended by NASA. • This costs $170 for the charity license version through Challenger Center or $140 for the educational license version if you are a school • There is one broadcast in each half of the mission towards the end of the arc (00:25:00 to 00:40:00) • Students go to the VIDCOM station: rehearse, broadcast, publish and play their video • It is a separate station from the regular Mission Control team station and should be a quiet space, adjacent to Mission Control but could be located within Mission Control if there is no other space available

  15. Green Screen (Optional) What do you need and how do you install it? • You will need a PC (fairly fast for processing video quickly) – see the specifications • You will need to purchase Adobe Visual Communicator software and install it • You need to download the videos (2 for each mission) off a CD and store them in the right folder • You need to set up the right broadcast (i.e. Moon, Arc 1) before the arc begins • You need to set all the default settings beforehand (you can save these settings) • You need to buy a portable green screen or paint the wall green • http://www.tubetape.net/servlet/the-62/Reversible--fdsh--Flex--dsh-/Detail • You need a Web Cam and a good Microphone • You need to connect the PC to Data Select – Network support will assist you with this task

  16. Technical Specifications (Green Screen) Minimum System Requirements to run Green Screen Software • Windows PC or laptop with following specs: • Dual Core Intel 2 GHz or higher • 1 GB RAM • 60+ GB hard disk drive • dedicated graphic card if possible • Blue Eyeball 2.0 (web cam + microphone) A Windows pc or laptop with high speed processor, dedicated graphic card, more RAM and faster hard disk drive is highly recommended for quick video rendering.

  17. Installation, Testing and Evaluation • Network Support will be working with the group to plan for early adoption by as many Centers as they can support this fall, with the remaining sites on a schedule for installation soon after • We need at least two sites to test each version (Moon, Mars and Comet) and two to test the Green Screen this fall with teachers and students • All CLCs can give feedback on the content as storyboards, task cards and data logs are posted • CLCs who are doing the technical testing will give both technical and content/audience issues feedback • CLCs are not required to integrate the resources into their Teacher Workshops but are encouraged to do so • The SWAC training provides a model for CLCs to hold specific Space Weather workshops for interested teachers • NASA requires all educators attending workshops to complete a short-term evaluation form (currently on paper, shortly to be online) • Our evaluator is Dr. Hilarie Davis who will be attending the conference (formerly on the PAACT project) and will be working with sites who wish to do professional development workshops for teachers

  18. Classroom Activities • Pre and Post Mission activities include • On-line Quiz (in development; available on paper) • Classroom Sun-Earth mapping activity (in development) • NASA SWAC materials • NASA Heliophysics lessons • New NASA Space Weather Math book developed for this project by Dr. StenOdenwald (Space Math)

  19. NING Resources • Space Weather Action Center link • Space Weather Media Viewer link • Framingham Mars Orientation Movie download • Draft new NASA Space Weather Math book • Draft Space Weather Team Outline • Draft Space Weather Training Manual Forthcoming • Technical Installation Guide • Storyboards • Task Cards and Data Logs

  20. DVD and Other Resources • Training Manual • Installation Guide • Task Cards and Data Logs • Green Screen Video Files Other • Software (Moon, Mars, Comet) • 3D Magnetosphere Model

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