[meteorite-list] Deep News #3 - Newsletter for the Deep Impact mission - September 2003

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:29:59 2004
Message-ID: <200309242241.PAA05079_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/newsletter/index.html

DEEP NEWS
Newsletter for the Deep Impact mission
Issue 3, September 2003


Welcome to Deep News. This mission is the first to
look deep beneath the surface of a comet by making a crater the size of a
football stadium. For more information, visit the Deep Impact web site at
http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov.


SCIENCE UPDATE WITH PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR DR. MIKE A'HEARN
Dr. Mike A'Hearn writes to us again from the University of Maryland with the
latest mission updates.
http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/update-200309.html

MEET LORNA HESS-FREY
When she was a kid, she thought she would grow up to take care of big
animals instead of big spacecraft. When she isn't designing the spacecraft's
structural components, you might find her backpacking or skiing down a
slope. Meet Lorna Hess-Frey.
http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/bio-lhessfrey.html

NEW SPACE PLACE ACTIVITY FOR KIDS!
Deep Impact launches new fun facts for kids through NASA Space Place. Check
out http://spaceplace.jpl.nasa.gov/deepimpact/deepimpact.htm and find out
why the Deep Impact mission is a little like a collision on a freeway.

PICTURE THIS - WHERE ARE SPACECRAFT BUILT?
This month we feature a 360 degree view of the clean room at Ball Aerospace
& Technologies Corp where both the flyby spacecraft and the impactor are
being built. Take a look at
http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/mov-360view1.html.

COMET BRAIN TWISTER
Okay - it's your job to convince yourself and your team mates that the
camera on Deep Impact's two spacecraft actually work as expected. How will
you do that? Consider your own camera. If it's brand new, how would you test
it?

Here are your clues:

- Your cameras will end up in space so what should your testing area be
like?
- What kinds of precautions would you take with any expensive piece of
equipment before you begin testing?
- Take a guess at how you would test your own camera both to make sure it
works and also to see if there are any problems. What do all the parts do?
- Since this is a space camera, what kinds of people will you want around
you to help with the testing?

For the answers, visit
http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/disczone/braintwist-mission3a.html.

FOR EDUCATORS: NASA SPECIAL AWARD TO DEEP IMPACT MODULE.
NASA Office of Space Science has identified "Collaborative Decision Making"
as an outstanding representation of Earth and space science education
material. McREL designed this module that gives students the opportunity to
meet the challenges of collaborating as a team to put a successful mission
into space. The challenges are real and current for the Deep Impact science
team. It provides inquiry, problem solving and team work. We have been
invited to present the unit at a national training session. See
http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/collaborative_ed_module/index.html.

QUESTIONS FROM YOU: WHY IMPACT A COMET? THE DEEPER YOU GO, THE MORE YOU
KNOW!
Beneath the Earth's crust are many layers that change as you go deeper
toward the core. Scientists are curious to know what lies beneath the
surface of a comet. Is it similar to or compositionally different from its
surface? Are there layers and is the outer layer hard like a crust? Only an
impact mission can study the inside of a comet. The material deep beneath
the surface probably hasn't changed as has the comet surface so we may see
more pristine material providing clues about the formation of the solar
system. See: http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/science/objectives.html.

SEND YOUR NAME TO A COMET!
If you haven't joined the over 270,000 people who have registered to have
their name put on the side of the impactor that will make a huge crater in
Comet Tempel 1, check out
http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/sendyourname/index.html and sign up before
it's too late. We've provided an email with information you can send to your
friends so they can sign up too at
http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/sendyourname/whatis.html#email.

DID YOU SEE OUR PAST DEEP NEWS ISSUES?
Visit http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/update-archive.html to catch up
on exciting past news from the Deep Impact mission.

The Deep Impact mission is a partnership among the University of Maryland
(UMD), the California Institute of Technology's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
(JPL) and Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp (BATC). Deep Impact is a NASA
Discovery mission, eighth in a series of low-cost, highly focused space
science investigations. See http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov or our mirror
site at http://deepimpact.umd.edu.
Received on Wed 24 Sep 2003 06:41:36 PM PDT