Seminole Ridge High School Science teacher Erich Landstrom received out-of-this-world congratulations in May. NASA emailed to say that his physics students in a national contest for an interplanetary mission were semi-finalists. At least one of his students’ essays passed the first round of selection in the Cassini Scientist for a Day essay contest, and they were invited in June to teleconference with scientists studying the planet Saturn remotely by robotic spacecraft.
The Cassini Scientist for a Day contest challenges students to become NASA scientists studying the planet Saturn. Participants examine three target images taken by Cassini and choose the one they think will yield the best science. This choice must then be supported in a 500-word essay.
Mr. Landstrom used it as teaching opportunity for his students to practice their FCAT Writes persuasive essay skills, and encourage excellence in FCAT Science. Juniors Anthony Bass, Alex Cohen, Kris Hansen, and Jessie Twigger are now invited to teleconference with the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Using the Distance Learning Classroom in Seminole Ridge’s Biotechology Academy, they can participate in a scientific debate by deciding which imaging target brings the most scientifically interesting results.
Jessie Twigger in his essay wrote in part, “Not every satellite we launch or every telescope we point towards the sky is searching for another Earth but if the chance to learn more about Earth-like planets presents itself, why not seize this opportunity? That is the reason we should be photographing Dione. No – that that is the reason we should be exploring space. Dione is worth all its scientific merit just for the smallest chance that we will discover something that we never even dreamed possible, just for the shear enjoyment of discovering that a distant moon is similar to Earth, and most importantly just for the challenge it presents in understanding such a mystery.”
All semi-finalists’ essays are now being judged to determine the overall contest winners. Winners will be announced in mid June, after the end of the school year for Seminole Ridge. Please visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov to see the winners list online when it becomes available
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The cameras on NASA Cassini-Huygens Mission have been taking stunning images of Saturn and its rings and moons for the past five years. These images have helped planetary scientists learn more about this amazing planet Saturn. For most of its tour, Cassini has a chance to point its cameras at various targets, but only one image can be taken at a time. Before each imaging opportunity, Cassini scientists have to decide which image they think would yield the best science. They make a case for specific images, and debate why one image would be better than another. Finally, they agree on which image will be taken. The command to take the image is uplinked to the spacecraft. The image is downlinked to Earth, a billion kilometers away.
In the Cassini Scientist for a Day contest, students get to be the scientists. Seminole Ridge High School physics students learned about possible images that the cameras on Cassini could take on May 25, 2009. Students needed to weigh all the factors and choose one of the targets. What do we already know about Saturn, its rings, and its moons? What do we hope to learn from the image selected? The decision is based on which image would yield the most scientific results, but the artistic value of the image can be an added bonus.
