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By NASA
Learn Home Science Activation NASA Workshops Culturally… Overview Learning Resources Science Activation Teams SME Map Opportunities More Science Activation Stories Citizen Science 2 min read
NASA Workshops Culturally Inclusive Planetary Engagement with Educators
From November 6-8, 2024, the NASA Science Activation Program’s Planetary Resources and Content Heroes (ReaCH) project held a Culturally Inclusive Planetary Engagement workshop at the Bradley Observatory at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta, Georgia for the space sciences community, including planetary science, astrobiology, astronomy, and heliophysics professionals, as well as invited education specialists. To practice the skills learned in the workshop, participants facilitated a variety of space-themed, culturally-inclusive, hands-on activities for 79 students, family, and staff at the Center for a New Generation at the Tuskegee Airmen Global Academy Boys and Girls Club.
Workshop participants provided anonymous feedback as a part of their workshop evaluations:
“[This experience] helped me learn a lot about how to make different cultures and ethnicities feel involved and included and also engage with them to inspire in them a love for science”
“. . .I feel like the discussions were so important to me, considering we all come from so many different backgrounds, and our exposure has been different, so we all have a different point of view to bring to the discussion that others, that I, might not think of right away. So I think it was really nice to hear so many different perspectives in all of these discussions.”
“[The facilitator] connected cultural diversity to an activity. That is not easy to do. I loved it and it is what I expected coming into this workshop.”
This workshop was conducted in partnership with Agnes Scott College, Georgia Tech, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta, and members of the Center for Lunar Environment and Volatile Exploration Research (CLEVER) NASA Solar System Exploration Research Institute (SSERVI) Center. ReaCH workshops are designed to enhance the ability of scientists to engage their local communities in science. The Planetary ReaCH project is building a replicable model that will be used to support similar workshops for other science fields. NASA-funded researchers, including early-career scientists, are invited to apply for the 2025 workshops!
The Planetary ReaCH project is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number 80NSSC21M0003 and is part of NASA’s Science Activation Portfolio. Learn more about how Science Activation connects NASA science experts, real content, and experiences with community leaders to do science in ways that activate minds and promote deeper understanding of our world and beyond: https://science.nasa.gov/learn
The workshop was attended by researchers including early career scientists, planetary scientists, astrobiologists, astronomers, heliophysicists, and education specialists. Share
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Last Updated Jan 02, 2025 Editor NASA Science Editorial Team Related Terms
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By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Next Generation Lunar Retroreflector, or NGLR-1, is one of 10 payloads set to fly aboard the next delivery for NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative in 2025. NGLR-1, outfitted with a retroreflector, will be delivered to the lunar surface to reflect very short laser pulses from Earth-based lunar laser ranging observatories. Photo courtesy Firefly Aerospace Apollo astronauts set up mirror arrays, or “retroreflectors,” on the Moon to accurately reflect laser light beamed at them from Earth with minimal scattering or diffusion. Retroreflectors are mirrors that reflect the incoming light back in the same incoming direction. Calculating the time required for the beams to bounce back allowed scientists to precisely measure the Moon’s shape and distance from Earth, both of which are directly affected by Earth’s gravitational pull. More than 50 years later, on the cusp of NASA’s crewed Artemis missions to the Moon, lunar research still leverages data from those Apollo-era retroreflectors.
As NASA prepares for the science and discoveries of the agency’s Artemis campaign, state-of-the-art retroreflector technology is expected to significantly expand our knowledge about Earth’s sole natural satellite, its geological processes, the properties of the lunar crust and the structure of lunar interior, and how the Earth-Moon system is changing over time. This technology will also allow high-precision tests of Einstein’s theory of gravity, or general relativity.
That’s the anticipated objective of an innovative science instrument called NGLR (Next Generation Lunar Retroreflector), one of 10 NASA payloads set to fly aboard the next lunar delivery for the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative. NGLR-1 will be carried to the surface by Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander.
Developed by researchers at the University of Maryland in College Park, NGLR-1 will be delivered to the lunar surface, located on the Blue Ghost lander, to reflect very short laser pulses from Earth-based lunar laser ranging observatories, which could greatly improve on Apollo-era results with sub-millimeter-precision range measurements. If successful, its findings will expand humanity’s understanding of the Moon’s inner structure and support new investigations of astrophysics, cosmology, and lunar physics – including shifts in the Moon’s liquid core as it orbits Earth, which may cause seismic activity on the lunar surface.
“NASA has more than half a century of experience with retroreflectors, but NGLR-1 promises to deliver findings an order of magnitude more accurate than Apollo-era reflectors,” said Dennis Harris, who manages the NGLR payload for the CLPS initiative at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
Deployment of the NGLR payload is just the first step, Harris noted. A second NGLR retroreflector, called the Artemis Lunar Laser Retroreflector (ALLR), is currently a candidate payload for flight on NASA’s Artemis III mission to the Moon and could be set up near the lunar south pole. A third is expected to be manifested on a future CLPS delivery to a non-polar location.
“Once all three retroreflectors are operating, they are expected to deliver unprecedented opportunities to learn more about the Moon and its relationship with Earth,” Harris said.
Under the CLPS model, NASA is investing in commercial delivery services to the Moon to enable industry growth and support long-term lunar exploration. As a primary customer for CLPS deliveries, NASA aims to be one of many customers on future flights. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the development of seven of the 10 CLPS payloads carried on Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander.
Learn more about. CLPS and Artemis at:
https://www.nasa.gov/clps
Alise Fisher
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2546
Alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2546
Alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov
Corinne Beckinger
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-544-0034
corinne.m.beckinger@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Jan 02, 2025 EditorBeth RidgewayContactCorinne M. Beckingercorinne.m.beckinger@nasa.govLocationMarshall Space Flight Center Related Terms
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By USH
What are the chances of four iconic landmarks being struck by lightning on the same day?
On December 31, 2024, an extraordinary series of lightning strikes hit four major landmarks: the U.S. Capitol Building and the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., along with the Empire State Building and One World Trade Center in New York City.
The lightning strikes occurred during intense rainstorms along the East Coast, coinciding with New Year's Eve celebrations. The rare phenomenon quickly ignited a flurry of speculation on social media, with many users interpreting the event as symbolic. Some called it a potential omen, asking: "Is this a sign? What could it mean?" View the full article
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By NASA
Learn Home Astronomy Activation… STEM Engagement at NASA Overview Learning Resources Science Activation Teams SME Map Opportunities More Science Activation Stories Citizen Science 3 min read
Astronomy Activation Ambassadors: A New Era
The NASA Science Activation Program’s Astronomy Activation Ambassadors (AAA) project aims to measurably enhance student Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) engagement via middle school, high school, and community college science teacher professional development.
In 2024, AAA transitioned its focus to the development of an Astronomy Academy with varying levels of extent and intensity available to more than 300 teachers per year. Participants draw on NASA resources and Subject Matter Experts (SME) to enhance their teaching and help share their excitement about astronomy with their students. The three strands that comprise the Astronomy Academy are:
webinars regarding NASA astrophysics and planetary science content and facilities, curriculum workshops enabling classroom use of an electromagnetic spectrum and multi-wavelength astronomy (EMS/MWA) curriculum, and STEM immersion experiences including guided visits to working observatories. The first two of the AAA program’s new type of STEM immersion experiences took place in June and September, 2024. During the weekend of June 22-23, 19 teachers gathered in San Jose, California for a full agenda, including:
NASA SME presentations regarding planetary protection and exoplanet detection, a journey to the University of California’s Lick Observatory on nearby Mt. Hamilton for an in-depth guided tour of the observatory’s astronomy research facilities, which included engagement with the astronomers using the 3-meter Shane telescope, and a 4-hour hands-on EMS/MWA curriculum teaching workshop. A similar STEM immersion sequence was offered September 14-15 to 23 AAA teachers who attended a curriculum teaching workshop, learned about current infrared astronomy research from NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientists, and received guided visits to the Keck Observatory’s remote observing facility on the Caltech campus and the Mt. Wilson Observatory, including a half-night’s reserved use of the historic Mt. Wilson 60-inch telescope. The teachers were invited to submit a list of objects to be observed with the Mt. Wilson telescope and viewed a wonderful array of star clusters, colorful double stars, and galaxies, with a grand finale view of Saturn and its rings.
Teacher participant, Domina Stamas (Westlake Charter School, Sacramento, California), had this to say: “My students and I are already benefiting greatly from the combination of NASA resources, science content, and curricular materials we have received from the AAA project. The evening at Lick Observatory talking with the astronomers who were using the research telescopes watching the laser guide star setup in action was a rich experience. I can convey to my students how scientists actually practice their craft.”
The Astronomy Activation Ambassador project’s efforts to improve student STEM learning and engagement via science teacher professional development are detailed at: https://www.seti.org/aaa
Educator enrollment is still open via the participant registration form:
https://forms.gle/G34vCzz63ko5RRrM8
The AAA project, led by the SETI Institute, is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number NNX16AC51A and is part of NASA’s Science Activation Portfolio. Learn more about how Science Activation connects NASA science experts, real content, and experiences with community leaders to do science in ways that activate minds and promote deeper understanding of our world and beyond: https://science.nasa.gov/learn
June 2024 teacher participants in front of the Lick Observatory’s historic 36-inch refracting telescope. SETI Institute/C. Clark Share
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