LPSA 2010 Application Now Open

The application website is at: https://academyapp.com/
Deadline is January 18, 2010, 5 pm (EST)

Description of research projects is at: http://academyapp.com/lpsa/projects.pdf

LPSA Graduation

The 2009 Lunar and Planetary Science Academy program came to a successful ending on August 7 with a graduation ceremony attended by mentors, family and friends. The five teams presented their research accomplishments in the morning. After lunch, our Sudbury expert, Dr. Paul Lowman, gave the keynote speech; followed by presentation of the group outreach project and videos of memorable activities. The LPSA graduation pictures can be viewed here.

Hello again,

So it has been a busy few weeks! We had such a fun time visiting the Silver Spring Boys and Girls Club. We made a video about the Impact Experiment we did with them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5MRMHeHWsU

We're going to send this to the clubs nationwide so everyone can give it a try.

Our webinar was a really wonderful experience for me personally. It was so amazing to get to talk to kids who are so clearly interested and who have such great questions. I'd like to thank all the participants who joined us and stuck with us through all the technical difficulties. I'd also like to thank Andrea, Aaron, Grant, Cynthia, Krystal, Lai, Ian, CJ, Luke and Rob for being so awesome and working so hard to make the webinar a success. You guys rock! I was so impressed with you ability to adapt to the changing circumstances. I'd also like to thank Aaron and Grant for making that * amazing * video about robots. I thought it came out great. I was so disappointed that we didn't get to show them the whole thing at the webinar, but you guys have 148 views on youtube :D

Outreach work is something that I feel is extremely important. I think that it is our duty as scientists to tell the public about what we're doing, but especially so to young people. We have the chance to really get them interested in science for their whole life long. My biggest hope is that we reached some kids in our webinar and that, maybe they'll consider sciences more seriously. So I'm really excited that we got to do some outreach of our own.

I hope to get some follow up from the Boys and Girls Club which I am going to Blog about.

So once again thanks to everyone for making this a success!

Maggie

Outreach Projects!

Hey Everyone!~~

So in the past few weeks, we have done a couple outreach programs for the Boys and Girls clubs of America (BGCA)! The first outreach program was a few weeks ago on a friday afternoon. Several interns in the Lunar Planetary Science Academy arranged for a classroom experiment at the Silver Spring, MD BGCA. Using small wooden balls, styrafoam balls, and various rocks as meteors, and a container of sand and baking powder, the kids experimented on how to make impact craters! we observed the effect of dropping different size meteors, meteors with different masses, and the effect that the speed of the meteor has in relation to creating craters. The kids had a wonderful time, and asked many intriuiging questions of our interns! It was a great experience, not only for the kids but for the interns as well. Special thanks goes out to Dr. Cynthia Cheung, Andrea Balbas, and Maggie McAdam for setting this up!

Just last friday, several of the LPSA interns along with Dr. Cythina Cheung held a webinar for many different Boys and Girls Clubs all across the nation! there were over 800 students tuning into the webinar! We had a few minor technical difficulties, but once the webinar really got going, it wase a huge success! Several interns talked about there experience here at NASA as well as cool geological projects as well as cool robotics projects that are happening all over the world. Andrea Balbas gave a presentation on the field of Geology, and Aaron Silver & Grant Moore gave a presentation on the field of Robotics. These interns also answered many questions that the kids had, and boy did they have some great questions! We could tell that many students were very curious in science and this webinar may have really inspired them to continue learning. Special thanks goes out to Maggie McAdam & Dr. Cheung for organazing this large event, as there were a huge amount of students listening in to what our NASA interns had to say. There were a series of videos made for the students that were to be played at the begining of the webinar, but due to technical difficulties they were not able to be played. However, they were posted to YouTube for the student to view at a later time. Here are the links to the videos:





Maggie's Planetary Science Video

Aaron & Grant's Robotics Video (PT 1)
Aaron & Grant's Robotics Video (PT 2)

Be sure to check these videos out!


-Aaron

Sudbury Data!

Hey Everyone~~

We have complied together all of the data we took on our trip to sudbury. All 3 days of geological data are in the following PDF format ready for download, just click on the following link:

Click here to download the Data!!

-Aaron

Back to work

Hello again everyone,

Our trip is over and we all returned to work at Goddard. It felt strange to be back in the office after spending last week doing field work in Canada. I must say that I do miss it. I feel that it was a great bonding bonding experience for our group since it was nice to have the opportunity to work with different people. During our regular work day at Goddard we spend too much time with our respective teams working on our individualized projects and do not get to spend much time with everyone else. In addition to bonding I feel that we also gained lots of knowledge from it. Dr. Lowman was an excellent guide. Here I've included some pictures and a brief summary of some of the things we did during the last days of our expedition.
In one of my previous posts I mentioned that during the first day of our Sudbury expedition my team and I did radiometry. During the second day our teams switched tasks and we had the opportunity to do some geology. Our job was to collect samples, make observations and take measurements with the use of a Brunton compass. On the left you can see a picture of me and my team making observations of the rocks. Trying to come up with a good description turned out to be pretty hard sometimes. You have to pay very close attention to details.
The third day of our expedition was probably the best since it was also Canada Day! During most of the day we worked in the field as usual. I got a little tired of being the designated note taking person so I finally had the opportunity to have a little fun with instrumentation and do magnetics. People often assume that a mathematicians favorite instrument is a pencil and paper, but that's not true at all. As a mathematician myself I can say that I had a blast doing magnetics. Here's a picture of me using a magnetic susceptibility meter. It was fun!

After our final day of field work was over we went out for a nice dinner and then went out to celebrate Canada Day with some fireworks. As we were passing by the crowd of Canadian people, they told us that we were from America. We stared at each other for a bit wondering: "how they could possibly know we're from America?". We then noticed that most of us were wearing shirts with the names of our respective universities....we were so obvious! It didn't take a genius to figure out that we were from the US. After that we all got to sit down and relax while watching fireworks. Here you can see a picture of us waiting for the fireworks. (and take a look at our college shirts too :))
The next morning it was time to head back home to Maryland. It was a great adventure and learning experience that I will never forget. I would like to thank everyone that made this trip possible, especially our program manager, Cynthia Cheung. I'm sure that it's an experience that we will all cherish forever. Not everyone gets to say that they went to Canada to do field geology with the respected Dr. Lowman as well as work with a bunch of amazing interns from all over the US that have a passion for space. Even though I have been through quite a few NASA internship programs (including NASA Academy), I feel that I will never forget the LPS Academy group. I feel that the NASA Lunar and Planetary Sciences Academy is an extraordinary program that has the potential to become one of the best NASA internship programs. I appreciate the efforts of everyone that made this program possible and hope that others have the opportunity to be part of this amazing journey during the years to come.

Sincerely,

-Lisha

The week after...

Well it is the Monday following our return to the states last Thursday, and strangely enough, I have to admit I miss Canada. The environment up there was great and even despite the massive amounts of mosquitoes I would consider this trip a huge success. We not only got ate alive by the swarms, but we also got a good crash course on Geology. Through grade school I never really took a Geology class so I had no idea what Breccia was or anything. In three short days, Dr. Lowman had given us a great crash course on Geology and I know for a fact, that I will never look at rocks the same again. I never really gave the rocks along the side of the road in West Virginia much thought as I drove by them daily, but now I'm going to be wondering just what all was involved with forming the mountains that I drive through daily as they have been blasted and cut through to make the roads more manageable to traverse. Along with all the breccia, basaltic dykes, geiger readings, and magnetic susceptibility readings, I also had a few chances to go off the path with fellow interns and enjoy what was going on back in the forests a bit in Canada.
It truly was beautiful in Sudbury! I don't know of about everyone else, but whenever I tend to think of Canada, I think of the wilderness and evergreens as far as the eyes can see, and THAT is exactly where we were and what we all got to see. It was quite the thrill though to have to hug up against the rocks and guardrails to avoid the traffic at times.

Overall, looking back on this trip, I am very glad that we did what we did. I will admit I was a little skeptic at first but that was changed after the first few hours out on site learning the ropes of what we would be doing for the next three days. I can't wait to go back to Canada.

CJ

Breccia Is not Just Breccia

It is beautiful here at the Sudbury Basin but all of the gorgeous vegetation is covering our data. We hunt for data that comes in the form of rocks. We are confined to the world of road cuts where large sections of rock are cut open to a steady stream of passing traffic. These road cuts yield a great side benefit for geologists, they let us see 3D relationships in rock structures that would otherwise be impossible to analyze without doing some dynamite blasting of our own. As you might guess, dynamite blasting for geology is not looked upon favorably or funded like new roadways. So here in Sudbury we have spent much of our time plastered against interesting rock structures on the sides of busy highways.

We are looking for signs of an ancient asteroid impact. Geologists look for signatures in the rock record such as mineral content, fractures, and structural relationships between different rock types. Here at the Sudbury Basin the geology before and after the impact is complex. It lies within the bounds of ancient mountain roots from the Greenvillian mountain building event as well as the more recent deformation that left the crater itself more elliptical than circular. The rock types involved include meta-sedimentary, intrusive-igneous, meta-igneous, shocked metamorphic, and extrusive igneous among others. When compared to the more simple structure of Meteor Crater that is nearly pristine in appearance and is located solely in sedimentary rock, interpretation of Sudbury Crater is challenging to say the least. Difficult scientific interpretations always seem to lead to scientific disagreements.

Our expedition leader, Paul Lowman, believes the size of the crater has been over estimated and thus the size of the asteroid creating it also over estimated. So we hunt for a particular rock that Dr. Lowman believes has been mis-catagorized. Breccia is a type of rock made up of a variety of other angular to subangular rocks. Sudbury is known for this type of rock that was created in abundance as the energy of the impact shattered parts of the lithosphere and melted other sections. The result is a rock of shattered parts held together by other melted rocks. However, this is not the only way breccia can be formed. Lowman believes that some of the Sudbury breccia was created by process after the impact and not directly caused by it.

So we hunt for breccia. We trace it back in formations and try to find its contact with other rocks. We hunt for cross cutting dykes made of basalt that may have pulled off chunks of rocks it flowed through before cooling. We have collected many great samples and documented many great sites. We have taking magnetic susceptibility reading and radiation readings. After all of the data has been analyzed, we may have a good answer or just a new set of questions. Such is the journey of a scientist.

-Andrea

Hello Everyone!

I have been unable to post anything until now due to computer issues, so I thought that I would give a quick summary of what I was up to during our trip.

On my first day of this trip I worked with the Geiger counter measuring radiation from the rock surfaces. I got to learn how to use a Geiger counter and collected data on the average number of particles released from a certain area of rock over a minute.

The next day, I worked determining the magnetic susceptibility of the tock in different outcroppings outside of the Sudbury Impact Crater. We found that the magnetic susceptibility greatly varied within just one rock due to the heterogeneous nature of the rock itself. Different types of rock had different magnetic susceptibilities. There is Breccia, which is a combination of a lot of different rock types in one rock. There’s the Diabase Basalt which seemed to be fairly magnetically susceptible. The most magnetically susceptible rock seemed to be the granite. This is due to the high levels of potassium in the rock.

As for yesterday, we all alternated with the different equipment and measurements to take throughout the day. I really enjoyed finding the Breccia while working on collecting rock samples. There doesn’t seem to be as much of it, and it is the rock type that is indicative of high velocity impact. So it is really exciting when you find good samples of the Breccia. On the first day I found a good sample of a shatter cone. Essentially the high pressure of the high velocity impact causes the rock to form into cone like structures which point towards the site of the impact. This is similar to any glass like material shattering. We found similar shatter cones later the same day where dynamite was once used to blow away the mountain side for mining. The cones all pointed towards the hole where the dynamite was originally placed.

On the way to the air port today, we passed by a lot of outcroppings and I couldn’t help thinking about the types of rock that each formation was formed from and the structure. When we visited the French River on our way to the airport, I immediately recognized the basalt dikes and some of the rock types present. I few days ago, I would have thought nothing of it.

Other than that, I have really had fun climbing all of the outcrops!

~Leva

Last Day in Canada.....

Hello Everybody!

Today is officially the last day we are all here in Canada. I just wanted to leave here on a good note and write some of the highlights of the trip.

On the first day of our expedition, we got the opportunity to see Onaping Falls. It was a lot of fun hiking our way through the trail to get to the bridge that overlooked the amazing waterfalls. But other than that, we explored other outcrops of breccia in the area. With Dr. Lowman’s expertise, the group gained a lot of insightful information about the formation of the rocks in that area and what we should look out for.

During the second day, I took more pictures of different types of rocks that we observed along the way. I also captured plenty of photos of the group which I will post when we get back into the States. We also got the opportunity to see a big nickel which is by a big mine in Canada. This was a fun activity we got the chance to do in order to get away from the rain and mosquitoes.

Lastly, the third and final day of the expedition was not as strenuous as the previous days of data collecting and rock sampling. But all in all, I still learned a lot and got the opportunity to celebrate Canada Day. We all ate a nice dinner and we saw some good fireworks in the end.

I would just like to thank Dr. Paul Lowman for sharing some of his knowledge to us and showing us the back routes to different sites. Another thank you goes out to our wonderful program manger, Cynthia Cheung, who has done an outstanding job of keeping everybody together and unharmed. Also, thank you Robert Damadeo for helping organize the event for everyone to have a good time. Finally, I would like to thank all the people who contributed to this amazing trip to make it possible.

Krystal Mike

PS - Keep look out for pictures! I will post them ASAP!

Great Success!

It's the end of a busy expedition, and I'd like to reflect on what we've all experienced. One of my goals is too know a little bit about every branch of science, and now I can add geology to that list of scientific fields that I've been exposed to. Our exploration of the Sudbury Basin and its various features has been a whole new experience. Finding examples of breccia, basaltic dikes, and shatter cones, as well as understanding to some degree why they are significant has been very satisfying. There are alot of fun aspects to field geology that really added to this trip. Climbing the outcrops and boulders keeps the process interesting. We didn't just record scientific data, we really had to work for it by physically going to each site and getting the instruments in to position at each notable feature. Although I don't have the expertise to formulate or pass judgment on geological theories based on our observations, it's cool to know that we are participating in an ongoing scientific process of determining the true nature and extent of the impact crater. Dr. Lowman has been very impressive, with his absolute familiarity with the both the area and the rocks and minerals that we encounter. His ongoing vigor and enthusiasm really helps to motivate us all. Our excursion is done for this summer, but I know that this won't be the last time I scan an outcrop in search of breccia, or curse the bugs and the rain that are getting in the way as I hammer away at seemingly industructible granite.

Hello all!

Hello all! Andrew here...
So the expedition is coming to a close. What a past couple of days it's been! We got to explore some of Canada and learn about geology! First off I want to thank Dr. Paul Lowman and Dr. Cynthia Cheung for planning this fine trip. Thank you both very much! And thank you again Cynthia for the last meal! It was wonderful.

This trip is my first in Canada, and I certainly won't forget it. We ran into some troubles with rain, but thanks to ponchos and garbage bags we made it out alive. I learned quite a bit about geology and how it is performed in the field. I would say that was the best part. The worst part was by FAR the mosquitoes...I will let this link explain it all: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PDlq9Z3wp0&fmt=18

I would also like to thank our wonderful bus driver who drove us all around the countryside and stayed in good spirit. We appreciate it!

-Andrew

Sudbury Day Two

Greeting,

I think the most important thing I learned today is that Canadians make awesome donuts, especially at Tim Hortons!

One thing that strikes me about studying the impact site is how complex the geological history here is. Everything I have studied so far in class about geology is clear cut. Because this site is so old and because it has had many events take place here, it is very difficult to come to a definitive conclusion about the order and magnitude of the geologic events that took place here. The first stop we made today did help with this. The picture I posted shows a cross cutting dike, the dark line through the light granite. This shows that the basalt dike intrusion came after the granite formation, this is from the law of superstition. The outcrop we looked at showed two rock formations of granite and basalt, but this dike defiantly showed that the basalt cut the granite, as opposed to the opposite way around. Information such as this can help determine the sequence and history of the site, and help determine the size of the impacting meteorite.

Stephen

Greetings from Sudbury!

Hello Everyone!

Yesterday I worked with the Geiger counter measuring radiation from the rock surfaces. I got to learn how to use a Geiger counter and collected data on the average number of particles released from a certain area of rock over a minute.

Today, I worked determining the magnetic susceptibility of the tock in different outcroppings outside of the Sudbury Impact Crater. We found that the magnetic susceptibility greatly varied within just one rock due to the heterogeneous nature of the rock itself. Different types of rock had different magnetic susceptibilities. There is Breccia, which is a combination of a lot of different rock types in one rock. There’s the Diabase Basalt which seemed to be fairly magnetically susceptible. The most magnetically susceptible rock seemed to be the granite. This is due to the high levels of potassium in the rock.

I really enjoyed finding the Breccia. There doesn’t seem to be as much of it, and it is the rock type that is indicative of high velocity impact. So it is really exciting when you find good samples of the Breccia. Yesterday I found a good sample of a shatter cone. Essentially the high pressure of the high velocity impact causes the rock to form into cone like structures which point towards the site of the impact. This is similar to any glass like material shattering. We found similar shatter cones later yesterday where dynamite was once used to blow away the mountain side for mining. The cones all pointed towards the hole where the dynamite was originally placed.

Other than that, I have really had fun climbing all of the outcrops!

~Leva

Hello from Canada!

Hey yall! We have spent two days in Canada so far and they have been GGRREAAATT! We have wasted no time in learning about the geology of the Sudbury impact site. We have visited many outcroppings and have taken many different measurements of the Sudbury basin, such as its radioactivity level, magnetic susceptibility, and other various geological notes. Our measurements currently support Dr. Paul Lowman's theory that the impact crater is not nearly as large as popular belief. Not only have we been having a blast taking data, but we have also visited rapids and have been enjoying the wonderful Canadian country side! The only real problem we have had on our adventures is mosquitoes. :( All and all, we are looking forward to another day of discovery and geology!!!!! (We have also included a video of Dr. Paul Lowman instructing us on proper geological techniques for collecting data) Hope you enjoy!

-Aaron & Lai

Hi From Canada - Maggie

Hi from Canada,

It is the end of our second day here in Canada. I’m really enjoying the beautiful country side and fulfilling a childhood dream of climbing all over road cuttings along the highway. It’s pretty marvelous. I feel like my knowledge of geology is increasing by the minute. Andrea and Dr. Lowman are indispensable resources who are forever patient with my many questions. I feel especially lucky that we have both of them on this trip.

The thing that has been most insightful for me about this trip thus far is figuring out exactly how Dr. Lowman’s hypothesis differs from the common one. He explained it as we were walking up the rim of the crater. I knew that impactors, regardless of shape, create circular craters. This is because, as Dr. Lowman explained, the impactor’s shock wave propagates circularly. So I asked if we see craters of different shapes. Here in lies the answer—Dr. Lowman explained to me that we see craters, on the moon for example, that leave elliptical craters because they come into the surface at very low angles. Dr. Lowman is of the opinion that this impactor has done just that—hit the earth at a low angle. I can see his point. If the north range of the crater has not been deformed like the southern part, then the original radius would have been huge. So perhaps the southern range has only been perturbed slightly. Looking at the maps of the area, I wouldn’t be surprised if Dr. Lowman is correct. Of course, I am no expert, but it is really fun to be out in the field with someone who really knows their stuff.

I’m enjoying every aspect of the trip so far. I love being outside. We get to have some fun as well as learning about science. Counting the bug bites back in the hotel isn’t so fun, but I suppose we’re getting the real, unapologetic version of field geology. Cynthia has also been really awesome. She keeps us well stocked with food, water and most importantly bug spray. Yesterday we were standing on a ledge and I felt something being squirted on the back on my hood; I turned around and it was Cynthia spraying four mosquitoes that had landed on my head. She said, “I was just trying to get them for you.” It made me laugh.

All in all, I’m really enjoying this trip. It has been effective scientifically and fun socially. I feel really lucky that I’ve been able to be apart of this.

Maggie

Two Days Done

Two days have flown by here in Canada and only one remains. Its been a blast thus far and can't wait for tomorrow, its CANADA DAY! Each of the past days we have split up into teams for collecting data on various outcrops or exposures of rocks. Our team, Team 3, aka Team Precise, was the field geology team on day one and compiled information at each outcrop. Day two we switched to the Radioactive team and used a Geiger Counter to determine the radioactivity of the outcrops. We are gathering great amounts of data and enjoying it too. We're also getting great response from the public here, many people give us friendly honks as they appreciate geologists doing work on the sides of the roads. Wish us luck for tomorrow!

Happy Canada Day!

-Ken

Sudbury Expedition-!!

Today was a great day! Upon arising early this morning we set out on another fantastic adventure in Sudbury. We went to various locations and gathered information on many of the rock formations in the area. We were able to see many breccia outcrops which are very interesting and revealed much information. We also broke off the beaten path and found several intriguing rocks that were out of site from the road. Thus far I have learned numerous facts about geology and impact craters and am looking forward to tomorrows adventure.

-Grant Moore

Let the Sudbury Expedition Begin!

Hello from Canada,

I am Lisha Roubert from the NASA Lunar and Planetary Sciences Academy. Today was the first day of our Sudbury expedition in Canada. With Dr. Paul Lowman and Cynthia Cheung as our guides we embarked on our journey to study the geology of the Sudbury Basin. We stopped in six locations today. Some of our stops involved making observations and listening to the information given to us by Dr. Lowman while other stops involved collecting rock samples and taking measurements. We divided into groups in order to carry out our assigned tasks. Today I was part of the radioactivity team and our job consisted of taking measurements of radiated particles with the use of a Geiger counter.
Of all the stops we made today my favorite was Onaping Falls. We stopped there for a while before heading out to lunch and got a chance to walk around to observe the scenery, the rock formations and the breathtaking waterfalls. The beautiful location was an excellent place to take pictures, which ended up consuming what was left of the batteries on my camera. However, of all the stops we made today the one that I will never forget was near the end of the day. It was late in the afternoon and all of a sudden we found ourselves invaded by a swarm of huge mosquitoes. This made the task of taking measurements very hard, but our team managed to pull together and get the work done. Nice job team!
The first day of our expedition was very exciting as well as exhausting. It reminded me of an Earth Sciences course I took a while ago back at my school, University of Puerto Rico at Cayey. During this course we had a trip that involved going through the whole south region of Puerto Rico to observe faults and take samples/measurements of different rock formations typical of each region. I remember that in certain regions we got to see rocks of volcanic origin such as basalt. In another region we observed rocks with rounded corners and composed of gravel, which suggest that the region used to be part of a river delta. We even got to see rock formations found in oceans, such as lava pillows and a wall of fossilized coral reef. Our expedition at Sudbury today brought back memories of that trip that I enjoyed so much. It was interesting to observe the difference between the rock formations back at home in Puerto Rico and the ones in the Sudbury, Canada. It is fascinating to see how much you can infer of the origin of a place/region just by observing and studying the geologic formations. I hope that we get to see other rock formations during the remaining days of our expedition so I can learn more about the origin of this region. Can’t wait to see all the new things that we will learn tomorrow. I will keep you posted!

Lisha

We are at Sudbury!

We just finished an enjoyable first day at Sudbury. We made five geological stops around the Sudbury Impact Basin: Murray Mine (South Range), Onaping Falls (North Range), outcrops along Hwy 144, and the footwall of the north crater rim.

We took many pictures and will upload them soon.

Cynthia

GEOLOGY ROCKS!

Okay, no one else said it yet, so I had to be the first one! With that out of the way I’ll never post a poor geology joke again! Our trip to Sudbury is fast approaching. I thought it would be wise to refresh myself on some geology. I am a mechanical engineering student, which means rocks are not at the center of my curriculum. I have taken a couple of geology classes, but it has been a couple of years, so I thought a good place to start would be with the fundamental geology concepts.

A good basic geology website, very reminiscent to me of my Geology 101 class at Rutgers University:

http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/Sect2/Sect2_1a.html

Sudbury is an impact crater. Impact craters are more specific and warrant their own topic of geology. As a mechanical engineering student, one thing I can relate to with craters is that they take A LOT of energy to form. So what are the consequences to the unfortunate surface that had the bulls eye on it?

Some basic information with pretty pictures:

http://www.psi.edu/explorecraters/background.htm#d

More in depth information:

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/publications/books/CB-954/chapter3.pdf

Then something else I though was fun in my internet searches were geological maps. I managed to find a couple that show in detail the geology of regions.

The first one is a geological map of Canada:

http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/environment/geology/majorrockcategories

Of course I am bias, so I found a map with the geology of New Jersey!

http://njgin.state.nj.us/dep/DEP_iMapNJGeology/viewer.htm

Gneiss, now I feel better with my geology skills!

Stephen

Sudbury, LRO, and Hubble

Hey everyone! My name is Misha currently I am pursuing the B.S. degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Maryland College Park, I enjoy learning about different machines especially their design and operation.
I am thrilled about our trip to Canada. This trip will broaden my knowledge on geology, comets, and space. Not only will I touch a real crater on earth for the first time in my life but I will experience the feel for how big the impact was, what potential damages it made to the surrounding area, and what changes it brought with it. Alongside my exiting experience, I will conduct studies of the crater with my team, which will have serious relation to the project we are working on “Detection of water ice and Helium-3 in the craters of the moon”.
Recently launched Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will provide us with the most up to date information and discoveries on the moon. Besides, high resolution imagery from LRO's camera will help identify landing sites for future explorers and characterize the moon's topography and composition. The hydrogen concentrations at the moon's poles will be mapped in detail, pinpointing the locations of possible water ice. A miniaturized radar system will image the poles and test communication capabilities.
If you missed the launch yesterday you can view it by following this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13OxQWUVM1g

Moreover, if you recall there was last Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission last month. It was very important to put new instruments and repair old ones. And you can find fascinating pictures of the shuttle launch, Hubble repair, and pictures of earth and different tools that were used to repair the Telescope.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/05/hubbles_final_servicing_missio.html

~Misha

"Destination: Moon" - Four-part series by Dr. Paul Lowman

Why Go Back to the Moon?

Our First Lunar Program: What did we get from Apollo?

Apollo: A Look Back

NASA's 76-Year-Old Maverick

Sudbury and the Moon

Sudbury Geology on YouTube

Apollo Lunar Surface Journal

We had an excellent after dinner talk this evening by Dr. Paul Lowman on Apollo 11, the first lunar launding mission. Our field trip to Sudbury has a lot of similarities to the Apollo mission. We will go to a lunar analogue site and spend three days there to collect geological data and samples, then return home. Many details about the Apollo missions are recorded in the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal.

Master and the Grasshopper

My name is Andrea Balbas.  I am a geology student at Queens College.  During my summer here at Goddard Space Flight Center, I am a team lead working on the Lunar Water and Helium-3 detection project.

As a geologist, there are many reasons why I am excited about our upcoming trip to Sudbury.  However, I am by far most excited about experiencing the Sudbury Basin while under the guidance of Paul Lowman.  I could certainly rattle off a list of Paul Lowman’ s unbelievable experiences and accomplishments.  The list might begin with teaching the Apollo astronauts about geology or being good friends with my geologic hero Gene Shoemaker, or even helping to pioneer geodesy science.  These are things that would certainly impress the world.  However, as a struggling geologist and scientist I am more moved by his scientific virtue.  Paul Lowman could have easily hung his hat on the accomplishments and research stemming from the Apollo program.  Instead, he has maintained his hunt for geologic truth.  He does not defy others hypotheses for the simple pleasure of defying or perhaps garnering attention.  He does it because he is a keen observer and believes that every anomaly deserves further investigation.  In short, he is a good scientist.  Throughout his years full of proposal writing, budget juggling, and administration changes, he has maintained a tight grip on his scientific and personal integrity.  His unyielding scientific integrity is ever present in his book, “Exploring Space Exploring Earth.”  In his book he challenges the “all-encompassing theory” of plate tectonics and he does so with data, observation, and valid questions.  Lowman has the courage to ask bold scientific questions and the tenacity to seek out the answers through meticulous data gathering.  His work is evidence that the power of science lies more in asking powerful questions than nailing down declarative nicely packaged answers.  Paul Lowman is the acme of examples illustrating that great scientists are not followers and keepers of fact but explorers cutting a new path with carefully crafted questions.  I intend on sitting next to him on the bus, with a few questions of my own.

Astronauts Charlie Duke (left) and John Young (right) during a geology field trip at Sudbury, Canada. 7-9 July 1971.  (From historical photos of Apollo 16 Image Library.)

Read about the MPP - an instrument we'll use to measure magnetic field at Sudbury.

Hi from DC,

My name is Maggie. I am going into my senior year at Mount Holyoke College. I study Astronomy and Physics.

This summer I was accepted to the Lunar and Planetary Science Academy. I’m working on a project with three other super awesome people. We’re looking at water and helium-3 in the permanently dark craters on the moon. It’s a really interesting project that is proving challenging for all the members. My task is to design mirrors that will vaporize the water, forming a cloud, then, using a special mirror I want to try and detect the Extreme Ultra Violet light emitted from Helium-4. If there is Helium-4 in these shadowed areas, there may also be Helium-3. Helium-3 is like a normal helium atom, but missing a neutron. If we find Helium-3 we could bring it back to Earth to use in controlled fusion reactions as well as fusion propulsion. I like this project because I get to learn about Quantum Mechanics, Optics and Atomic Physics. I also get a chance to work with and learn from some experts in fields including Solar Physics, Solar wind and robotics. In addition, there is a real, pertinent goal if this mission were successful. I look forward to continuing my research over this summer.

When I was a senior in high school I took a class from Doc Gordon—he was my Honors Physics teacher and my astronomy teacher. I took astronomy as an elective during the chilly New Hampshire winter. This astronomy class was the first class that I was genuinely excited about. I enjoyed every section we did from the moon’s effect on earth to dark matter. I especially loved the section on the sun. A few times a week we would go out with two little four-inch telescopes and look stars and interesting objects that were visible. We’d stand on top of the hill in the snow shivering and looking at the stars. My favorite was the Horse-head nebula and Orion’s nebula. Doc Gordon really inspired me to study astronomy. He was a dorm parent in the dorm I lived in my senior year so I would come down to the common room and he would sit and talk to me and talk me through issues facing me—like what I want to do with my life, what I wanted to study and where I wanted to go to school. He was the first person to tell me about planetary science which helped me choose Mount Holyoke College. Since my senior year, I’ve been all over the place learning about everything I can get my hands but I’ve always come back to Astronomy and Planetary science.

I am really thrilled about our trip to Canada. When I heard that we were taking a trip to the place where the astronauts learned how identify rocks and take samples, I got really excited. Beyond that, the place we’re going is an impact crater—which in my opinion is really cool. We’re going to learn from the geologist, Dr. Lowman, who taught the astronauts about geology. I feel pretty lucky to get this opportunity to take this trip.

My goals for the trip include: getting some field experience in geology; some star gazing (if we’re sufficiently far away from major cities); getting heaps of pictures of the crater and also to commemorate our trip.

I’ll be posting more in the following weeks and while we’re in Canada.

Sincerely,

Maggie