Mission Eros: A Rendezvous with an Asteroid
Short Description
Have you ever looked up in the sky and seen a shooting star? Have you ever wondered what would happen if such a "star" ever decided to head towards Earth and was big enough to threaten us? This project will help you find out more about these earth asteroids, and how much they might threaten our planet.
Subjects
Technology Needed
Computer with Internet access and a browser
Time Commitment
This project is schedule to begin on January 17, 2000 and conclude on February 28, 2000. It is important to note that though the project will last for six weeks the suggested curriculum is flexible enough for you to devote whatever time you have available with you students.
The major activity is is the impact studies for which you will need to submit your data to the project website. This activity is scheduled for the third week of the project (January 31-February 4). Of course, you can do the activity sooner as long as you have your data submitted in time.
- Submit descriptions of your participants BY January 21, 2000
- Submit data on your impact studies BY February 9th, 2000
- Submit your project conclusions BY February 28, 2000
Registration Information
It is NOT necessary to register for this project. If you decide to participate in the project, please send an email ASAP to Ihor Charischak (icharisc@stevens-tech.edu) noting your intention to participate. Include some details about you and your class.
Registration Deadline
ASAP
Full Project Description
Have you ever looked up in the sky and seen a shooting star? Have you ever wondered what would happen if such a "star" ever decided to head towards Earth and was big enough to threaten us? In the movie, Armageddon, Billy Bob Thornton playing the role of a NASA executive told the president that the asteroid heading for the earth was a global killer - the size of Texas! But does an asteroid have to be that big to wipe out life as we know
it? Could the same thing happen to us that happened 65 million years ago when a fiery ball from space struck the Yucatan and ended the reign of the dinosaurs?
This project will help you to answer these and other related questions. It will also get you involved in collaborating with other schools around the world in determining the factors affecting the appearance of impact craters and their ejecta. A major highlight of the project will be to learn about and follow an actual NASA mission (Project NEAR) that currently has a satellite orbiting the asteroid Eros 433 (which is named after the God of Love). In the process you will find out what we have learned about asteroids from NEAR as well as participating in the completion of the mission on February 14, 2001. To guide you on this adventure scientists and engineers from Goddard Space Center and the John Hopkins Applied Physics Lab will be available to give you an "up close and personal" account of the mission.
