![](media/image1.jpeg){width="7.2in" height="1.1409722222222223in"}

**November 2006**

**Volume 7 Number 3**

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height="1.1222222222222222in"}

The next Discovery Program mission could return a sample of an asteroid,
probe the chemistry of Venus\' atmosphere or reveal the interior
structure and history of the Earth\'s moon. On October 30, NASA
announced it selected these three proposals for concept studies from
approximately two dozen submitted in response to the Discovery Program
2006 Announcement of Opportunity in April.

![](media/image3.jpeg){width="2.8958333333333335in"
height="2.8958333333333335in"}

Also selected for further study are three "missions of opportunity" that
would make new use of two NASA Discovery Program spacecraft, Deep Impact
and Stardust, that have completed their primary mission science
objectives. (Missions of opportunity propose scientific uses for
existing spacecraft or build instrumentation for spacecraft of other
space agencies.

The three complete mission concept studies selected are:

\-- **Origins Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and
Security (OSIRIS)** would survey an asteroid and provide the first
return of asteroid surface material samples to Earth. Michael Drake of
the University of Arizona, Tucson, is the principal investigator.
NASA\'s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, would manage the
project.

\-- **Vesper** is a Venus chemistry and dynamics orbiter that would
advance our knowledge of the planet\'s atmospheric composition and
dynamics. Gordon Chin of Goddard is Vesper\'s principal investigator.
Goddard would manage the project.

\-- **Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL)** would use
high-quality gravity field mapping of the moon to determine the moon\'s
interior structure. Maria Zuber of the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge, MA, is principal investigator. NASA\'s Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, would manage the project.

The three missions of opportunity selected for concept studies are:

\-- **Deep Impact eXtended Investigation of Comets (DIXI)** would use
the existing Deep Impact spacecraft for an extended flyby mission to a
second comet to take pictures of its nucleus to increase our
understanding of the diversity of comets. Michael A\'Hearn of the
University of Maryland, College Park, MD, is principal investigator.

\-- **Extrasolar Planet Observations and Characterization (EPOCh)**
would use the high-resolution camera on the Deep Impact spacecraft to
search for the first Earth-sized planets detected around other stars. L.
Drake Deming of Goddard is principal investigator.

\-- Stardust **NExT** would use the existing Stardust spacecraft to
flyby comet Tempel 1 and observe changes since the Deep Impact encounter
in July 2005 and since Tempel 1 made its closest approach to the sun
shortly thereafter, possibly changing the surface of the comet. Joseph
Veverka of Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, is principal investigator.

\"The science community astounded us with the creativity of their
proposals,\" said NASA\'s Science Mission Directorate Associate
Administrator Mary Cleave. \"We look forward to the new knowledge of our
solar system that these concepts may provide.\"

The newly selected missions will receive \$1.2 million to conduct
concept studies. NASA may select one or more investigations to proceed
into development next year, after detailed review of the concept
studies. If selected to continue, each project must complete its
mission, including archiving and analyzing data, for less than \$425
million.

Missions of opportunity will receive \$250,000 for concept studies. If
selected to continue, each mission of opportunity must complete its
project for less than \$35 million.

The Mercury-bound [MESSENGER](http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/index.php)
spacecraft came within 2,990 kilometers (1,860 miles) of the surface of
Venus early on the morning of Oct. 24. The primary goal of the flyby of
Venus was to receive a gravity assist that put MESSENGER on course to
its final destination: Mercury.

None of the science instruments were powered on near the time of closest
approach, because Venus was on the opposite side of the Sun from the
Earth. The spacecraft will be out of direct communication for
approximately three weeks.

MESSENGER will fly by Venus a second time, on June 6, 2007, and during
that time all payload instruments will be trained on the planet before,
during, and after closest approach. The MESSENGER team is working
closely with the team operating Europe's [Venus
Express](http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/area/index.cfm?fareaid=64)
mission to take advantage of the two spacecraft being in the vicinity of
Venus at the same time. A range of coordinated observations of Venus is
being planned. This will enable scientists to make multiple observations
from both spacecraft and learn more than they would from either one
alone.

(The European Space Agency (ESA) launched the Venus Express mission in
November 2005; the spacecraft entered Venus orbit in April and in June
began its primary science mission to unveil the source of the planet's
dense, turbulent and toxic atmosphere.)

![](media/image4.jpeg){width="3.245833333333333in"
height="1.6347222222222222in"} *Venus captured by the MDIS as MESSENGER
approached the planet.*

Earlier in November, the MESSENGER Dual Imaging System (MDIS) snapped
pictures of Venus from a distance of about 16.5 million kilometers (10.3
million miles). Despite the low resolution of the images, it's possible
to see that Venus is shrouded in a thick blanket of clouds that hides
its surface. Also available online are updated animations, one showing
Venus from the spacecraft from 90 minutes before to 90 minutes after the
flyby, including the time of the eclipse. See them at:
<http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/the_mission/movies.html>

**Education and Public Outreach Highlights**

MESSENGER participated in a variety of activities during the recent
Mercury transit on November 8. They were a partner with NASA's
[Sun-Earth Connection Education
Forum](http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.php) for their webcast on the
event. Deputy project scientist Deborah Domingue participated in a NASA
Digital Learning Network webcast during the transit, discussing Mercury,
the MESSENGER mission, and answering questions from students in two NASA
Explorer Schools. The webcast will be rebroadcast in the spring as part
of 2007 [Sun-Earth Day.](http://sunearthday.nasa.gov/)

MESSENGER also supported the [Mercury Transit Hawaii
Style](http://astroday.net/MercTransit06.html) webcast, providing
materials to Dr. Dave Blewett of NovaSol who discussed Mercury and the
MESSENGER mission. MESSENGER provided posters to Solar System/New
Horizons Educator Ken Brandt for a transit event at University of North
Carolina-Pembroke.

The AAAS/MESSENGER book \"Exploring the Inner Solar System\" was printed
and copies have been distributed to the MESSENGER Fellows for
distribution in educator workshops. The Girl Scouts of the USA have
indicated they are interested in providing the books to their core
trainers as part of a Lunar Robotics workshop at NASA's Johnson Space
Center in Houston in summer 2007.

Blazing along its path to Pluto, the [New
Horizons](http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/index.php) spacecraft is getting
closer to Jupiter. The first picture of the giant planet from the
spacecraft\'s Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), taken Sept. 4,
2006, is a teaser of what\'s to come when New Horizons flies through the
Jupiter system early next year.

New Horizons was 291 million kilometers (nearly 181 million miles) away
from Jupiter when LORRI took the photo. As New Horizons comes much
closer in January and February, LORRI will take more detailed images.

LORRI snapped the image during a test sequence to help prepare for the
Jupiter encounter observations. It was taken when the Sun was almost
directly behind the camera, making Jupiter appear about 40 times
brighter than Pluto will be for LORRI\'s observations when New Horizons
encounters the Pluto system in 2015. To avoid saturation, the camera\'s
exposure time was kept to 6 milliseconds. This image was, in part, a
test to see how well LORRI would operate with such a short exposure
time.

\"LORRI\'s first Jupiter image is all we could have expected,\" says
LORRI Principal Investigator, Andy Cheng, of APL. \"We see belts, zones
and large storms in Jupiter\'s atmosphere. We see the Jovian moons Io
and Europa, as well as the shadows they cast on Jupiter."

![](media/image5.jpeg){width="3.1840277777777777in"
height="2.3493055555555555in"}

The mission team continues to complete important milestones as they
prepare the spacecraft and instrument payload for the long journey
ahead. As the spacecraft flies outward from the Sun at about 78,700
kilometers (48,600 miles) per hour, communications time is increasing
rapidly. It\'s now about 1-1/2 hours round trip, at the speed of light.
For that reason, the mission and payload operations team has been
working to complete a series of activities that are best done before the
communications time increases still further.

Since late September, they\'ve completed these activities:

1\. Loading and enabling the Guidance and Control flight software; 2.
Completing initial calibrations and taking the first cruise science
plasma data with the particles and fields instruments, PEPSSI and SWAP;
3. Calibrating Venetia, the student-built dust counter, to filter out
noises on the spacecraft that mimic the dust particle impacts they are
trying to study; and 4. Loading and activating Autonomy Flight Software
that contains enhancements and bug fixes to the onboard fault detection
and correction software.

In addition to these activities, the spacecraft team at the [Applied
Physics Lab](http://www.jhuapl.edu/) and the navigation team at [KinetX,
Inc](http://www.kinetx.com/index.htm). have carefully compiled all
available tracking data to show that the actual course is very close to
the optimal trajectory to the Pluto aim point at Jupiter. As a result,
the team has concluded that no corrections appear to be necessary on the
way to Jupiter, allowing more time to work on planning for the most
productive Jupiter encounter. Every activity planned --- each imaging
session, spectroscopic observation, plasma instrument activity ---
requires command sequences that must be designed, coded, tested and
reviewed prior to being sent to the spacecraft.

During an intensive 10-day period around the Feb. 28, 2007, closest
approach to Jupiter, the mission hopes to carry out approximately 100
observation sequences of Jupiter, its magnetosphere, and its four large
moons. The highest priority of the flyby is to tighten the trajectory
through the narrow Pluto gravity assist aim point that lies some 2.5
million kilometers to the right of Jupiter as seen from Earth. The
second priority at Jupiter is to conduct a series of spacecraft
encounter test observations and instrument calibrations, enhancing
preparedness for the Pluto encounter. The third priority is a set of
about 100 science observations with different areas of interest to
follow up on discoveries made by ground-based observers and previous
spacecraft missions.

The plans range from new studies of Jupiter\'s rings to compositional
and atmospheric observations of Jupiter\'s Galilean satellites at
resolutions that neither the Galileo nor Cassini missions achieved. They
also want to investigate Jupiter\'s meteorology, the great and little
red spots, its magnetosphere and dust streams.

The Jupiter science observations will begin in early January and stretch
into late June, mimicking the Pluto encounter in length, data volume
returned, and operational intensity. It is designed to prove out
planning tools, simulation capabilities, the spacecraft and instrument
sensors in a real-world encounter environment well before planning for
the Pluto encounter begins.

[Stardust](http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html) principal
investigator Don Brownlee was one of the plenary session speakers at the
38th annual meeting of the [American Astronomical Society's Division for
Planetary Sciences](http://www.aas.org/~dps/dps.html) (DPS) held October
8-13 in Pasadena, CA. Brownlee's talk was titled, "Laboratory Studies of
Comet Samples Returned by Stardust."

He began by reminding his colleagues that he brought fortune cookies to
the October 1995 DPS meeting in Kona, Hawaii, as he awaited NASA's
decision for Discovery mission #4. Before the year ended, Stardust was
selected. Now, 11 years later, Brownlee beamed as he stated the mission
was a total success. "I can't believe it all worked!" he said, "And
everything is in phenomenally good shape."

Stardust collected thousands of solid particles from comet Wild 2 and
returned them to Earth. Wild 2 is a Jupiter family comet that is
believed to have formed in the Kuiper belt and resided there for nearly
the full history of the solar system. The materials returned by Stardust
provide the first laboratory samples from a known primitive solar system
body. The presence of laboratory samples of a known comet and meteorites
from asteroids provide a remarkable opportunity to compare the solid
particles that existed in both the central regions and outer fringes of
the solar nebula.

The sample studies are still in the preliminary stage, but a number of
generalizations can be made. Most of the strong solid components larger
than a micron are anhydrous silicates or sulfides. The most common
minerals are forsterite, enstatite and pyrrhotite. A range of other
minerals have also been found including refractory minerals rich in Ca,
Al and Ti, characteristic phases in Calcium Aluminum Inclusions in
primitive meteorites. The origin of all of these phases is a major focus
of the study of the Stardust samples. Trace element contents, isotopic
composition and other properties provide a very powerful means of
distinguishing between suggested origins. This work will provide
fundamental information on mixing in the solar nebula and the relative
contribution of pre-solar and nebular materials in forming comets.

**Science Team Gathers to Review Results**

On November 3-5, "Stardust Workshop 7 - Wild 2 Samples" was convened by
Peter Tsou and Don Brownlee to bring together science team members
involved in analyzing the Wild 2 particles.

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height="1.9444444444444444in"}

The Stardust science team during their three-day workshop at Caltech

About 120 participants gathered at Caltech in Pasadena, California. The
main goals were to:

-   highlight results obtained during the preliminary examination
    through oral and poster presentations;

-   allow face-to-face interactions between participants, providing the
    opportunity to appreciate and understand individual findings within
    the perspective of all findings, offer focus to future analyses, and
    possibly explore other alternatives to the derived conclusions.

Papers describing the results so far will be published in the near
future.

Tom Morgan, Stardust Program Scientist from NASA Headquarters, said, "In
12 years, Don Brownlee did what he said he would do, on budget and on
schedule. This is what's good in the Discovery Program. Stardust is a
model for future sample return missions."

**Stardust Mission Receives Awards**

In October, Stardust received Popular Mechanics\' prestigious [2006
Breakthrough Award for
Innovation](http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/research/4199165.html?page=1)
for spacecraft design, mission planning and execution, and scientific
achievement. The award recognized Donald Brownlee, principal
investigator; Tom Duxbury, project manager at JPL; Joe Vellinga, program
manager at Lockheed Martin; and Kenneth Williams, Navigation team Lead.

To win the award, an advance has to solve problems on a grand scale,
expand horizons, engage the imagination of millions or set benchmarks in
design and creativity.

The description of Stardust noted its mission was "to fly halfway to
Jupiter to meet up with a 3-mile-wide comet, hurtle through its trailing
cloud of dust and gas at 13,000 mph, and capture particle samples using
a tennis racket-shaped screen of aerogel. Oh yeah, and then return to
Earth without destroying the samples, which date back nearly 4.6 billion
years to the dawn of the solar system. It all came to fruition on Jan.
15 of this year, when the Stardust return capsule slammed into the Utah
salt flats-samples intact. In addition to bringing home the first comet
and interstellar dust samples, Stardust made the record books as
history\'s farthest out-and-back sample-return mission (2.9 billion
miles in all) and for the fastest atmospheric re-entry (29,000 mph)."

Stardust was also honored with the Aviation Week and Space Technology
(AW&ST) Program Excellence Award on November 14, 2006. AW&ST reviewed
over 300 federal programs before selecting Stardust and Lockheed
Martin\'s Atlas Launch Vehicle for the award.

**What's NExT for Stardust?**

A proposal by the Stardust mission called **NExT** would use the
existing Stardust spacecraft to flyby comet Tempel 1 in 2011 and observe
changes to the comet since the Deep Impact encounter in 2005. NASA has
selected the proposal as one of three Discovery Program Missions of
Opportunity to receive funding for a concept study.

Eight members of the [Deep
Impact](http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html) science team
gave presentations during a 90-minute session called "Deep Impact
Results and Interpretation" at the [American Astronomical Society's
Division for Planetary Sciences](http://www.aas.org/~dps/dps.html) (DPS)
annual meeting held October 8-13 in Pasadena, CA.

Topics included: Layering and Smooth Flows: What Comet Nuclei are Really
Like, Comparison of the Photometric Properties of Comet 9p/Tempel 1 with
Other Asteroids and Comets, The Phase Function of the Nucleus of Comet
9P/Tempel 1, Gas and Dust Imaging of the Inner Coma of 9P/Tempel 1
Before and After Impact, Composition of the Ejecta from the Deep Impact
Experiment, A Study of the Velocities of the Ejected Dust and of the
Rotational Variability of Comet 9P/Tempel 1 around the Deep Impact
Event, Study of Deep Impact Ejecta Using the Dust Colors Obtained from
ESO Observations, and The Internal Structure of Jupiter Family Comet
Nuclei: The Talps or Layered Pile Model.

The mission web site has an [interactive flash
animation](http://deepimpact.umd.edu/flash/di_science.htm) that
describes some of the science results published by Deep Impact team
members as they continue to analyze data from the encounter in July
2005.

**Education and Public Outreach Highlights**

At the October DPS meeting, education team director and science team
member Lucy McFadden was one of six scientists invited to speak to area
educators during the "Solar System Seminars," which were recorded for
use in future distance learning opportunities through the University of
Wisconsin-Madison. McFadden's topic was "Asteroids and Comets."

![](media/image7.jpeg){width="2.8229166666666665in"
height="1.8381944444444445in"}

Lucy McFadden is introduced by Solar System Seminars organizer

Anita Sohus of JPL.

Also Deep Impact participated in DPS outreach to the local community.
Nine tours for Pasadena Unified School District classes were arranged
from Monday through Friday, with groups ranging from 65 to 200 students.
Five interactive demonstrations were presented, and students had the
opportunity to view exhibits, spacecraft models and posters. Both the
students and their teachers expressed appreciation for the opportunity.
One teacher told organizers "the experience was exactly what I hoped
for," while a student commented, "This was the best field trip we\'ve
ever been on!\"

[Genesis](http://genesismission.jpl.nasa.gov/) principal investigator
Don Burnett was a plenary session speaker at the 38th annual meeting of
the [American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary
Sciences](http://www.aas.org/~dps/dps.html) (DPS), held October 8-13 in
Pasadena, CA. Burnett's talk was titled, "Genesis Discovery Mission:
Initial Results."

Burnett described the mission, that collectors made of ultrapure
materials were exposed to solar wind ions for 27 months and then
returned to Earth for analysis.

The science objectives were to provide:

-   Solar isotopic abundances to a level of precision required for
    planetary science purposes;

-   A greatly improved knowledge of solar elemental abundances;

-   A reservoir of solar matter to meet the needs of 21st century
    planetary science; and

-   Elemental and isotopic data for the 3 different types ("regimes") of
    solar wind.

Burnett reported that despite the crash of the sample return capsule,
the science team is not giving up on any of their specific measurement
objectives. Samples have been allocated to 16 different laboratories,
and results are emerging (see below for one interesting conclusion
recently published).

Burnett concluded his talk by noting that contamination is the biggest
challenge, but optimism is justified because contamination is *on* the
surface and solar wind is *below* the surface. With the samples back on
Earth, all of contemporary science and technology is available to clean
the surfaces without disturbing the implanted solar wind. With some
luck, he believes the major effect will be a delay in obtaining results.

**Genesis Findings Solve Apollo Lunar Soil Mystery**

Ansgar Grimberg from ETH Institute of Astronomy in Zurich and coworkers
analyzed the composition of neon in a metallic glass exposed on the
Genesis mission. The team\'s findings are reported in a paper published
in the Nov. 17, 2006, issue of the journal
[Science](http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/314/5802/1133).
Burnett is a co-author of the paper.

Scientists have been always been mystified by some of the moon rocks
brought back to Earth by Apollo astronauts. Now one of the mysteries has
been solved. Lunar soils have been thought to contain two solar noble
gas components with distinct isotopic composition. One has been
identified as implanted solar wind, the other as higher-energy solar
particles. The latter was puzzling because its relative amounts were
much too large compared with present-day fluxes, suggesting periodic,
very high solar activity in the past.

In their paper, titled "Solar Wind Neon from Genesis: Implications for
the Lunar Noble Gas Record," Grimberg et al. show that the
depth-dependent isotopic composition of neon in the Genesis metallic
glass agrees with the expected depth profile for solar wind neon with
uniform isotopic composition. The results strongly indicate that no
extra high-energy component is required and that the solar neon isotope
composition of lunar samples can be explained as
implantation-fractionated solar wind.

**Genesis Landing Site Monument Erected**

On the morning of September 6, 2006, Genesis team members gathered at
the Utah Test and Training Range for a [dedication
ceremony](http://genesismission.jpl.nasa.gov/science/mon_dedic.html) in
honor of the two-year anniversary of the Genesis science capsule return
to Earth. A permanent monument was erected to commemorate the
significance of solar wind samples returned to Earth.

Within the obelisk-shaped monument, a time capsule containing print and
media features that characterize the mission from inception to present
day was installed. The monument and time capsule, which were made
possible through private donations, are located on the exact spot of the
capsule's Earth return.

![](media/image8.jpeg){width="3.279861111111111in"
height="1.6534722222222222in"}

Genesis team members gather in Utah to dedicate a monument in
recognition of the significance of the mission.

**Education and Public Outreach Highlights**

Project Manager Don Sweetnam traveled around Idaho during October,
giving lectures on Genesis and discussing science results with faculty,
students and the public throughout the state. At the University of
Idaho, he gave lectures to an introductory astronomy class, a graduate
seminar, and a graduate/faculty symposium. At the Discovery Center he
spoke to the Boise Astronomical Society, while at the Bruneau Dunes
Observatory his public talk was followed by a star party. He led a
discussion of mission results at Craters of the Moon National Monument,
and at Idaho State University he presented two lectures to the
engineering department -- one on general mission results and the second
on engineering lessons learned from capsule mishap.

The Genesis web site has [three new web
animations](http://genesismission.jpl.nasa.gov/science/gen_anim.html)
showing an atom's journey through the solar system, its encounter with
Genesis, and processing through a mass spectrometer.

The [Dawn](http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/) project is deep into the testing
phase of ATLO (Assembly, Test, and Launch Operations) with completion of
all the Comprehensive Performance Tests demonstrating subsystem
functionality, the successful completion of the Environmental Test
Readiness Review (TRR), the Electromagnetic Interference/Compatibility
TRR, and the Dynamics TRR. An end-to-end Science Data Flow Test was also
completed.

The spacecraft will be shipped to the Naval Research Lab in Washington,
DC, in late December or early January for one month of testing in a
large thermal-vacuum chamber. This chamber is large enough to allow a
test-firing of the ion thrusters. After thermo-vac testing, the
spacecraft ships directly to Cape Canaveral for launch, in a 20-day
window that opens June 20, 2007.

![](media/image9.jpeg){width="3.1875in" height="2.44375in"}

One of Dawn\'s two solar array wings being attached and tested in
October.

The spacecraft is fully assembled except for the two outboard thrusters
of the ion propulsion system, to be installed after dynamics testing and
before thermo-vac, to avoid damage to these critical appendages. The
center thruster has been installed in the spacecraft core, as well as
the large high-gain antenna. The solar panels are currently being
installed.

The Power Processing Units (PPUs) of the IPS system, that had been an
item of concern a year ago, each underwent 500 hours of run-in testing
before delivery to the spacecraft to certify their robustness against
workmanship defects and early parts failures. After integration, the
PPUs were exercised during IPS comprehensive performance testing and
have operated trouble-free. There are no outstanding issues with the
flight hardware, and the flight software needed for environmental
testing has been delivered.

When the International Astronomical Union (IAU) voted to change the
definition of \"planet\" was this summer, most of the attention was on
Pluto. However, Dawn\'s second destination, Ceres, also was involved, as
the adopted definition of \"dwarf planet\" includes Ceres, Pluto, Eris,
and probably more bodies yet to be characterized. Ceres is the largest
member of the asteroid belt, residing between Mars and Jupiter; the
other dwarf planets are part of the Kuiper belt, spending most or all of
their time beyond the most distant planet, Neptune.

To qualify as a dwarf planet, a body must orbit the Sun and have
sufficient mass for its own gravity to make it nearly spherical. (Vesta,
the first stop on Dawn\'s interplanetary itinerary, might satisfy the
definition of dwarf planet, but not enough is known yet about its
gravity and shape.) Unlike planets, however, dwarf planets are
characterized by not having cleared away other objects from their part
of the solar system through the effects of their gravity. This bars any
resident of the asteroid belt or the Kuiper belt from membership in the
planet club. (Another criterion, that the body not be a satellite,
excludes some of the moons of planets from being designated as planets
themselves.)

The definition is not widely accepted by the community of planetary
scientists, and it remains to be seen how the definition might be
changed. Ceres and Vesta were considered planets for half a century
following their discoveries in 1801 and 1807, respectively. Whatever
humans decide to call them, whether planets, asteroids, minor planets,
protoplanets, or dwarf planets, they will continue to do what they've
always done, and the Dawn mission team will continue to look forward to
the wealth of information the spacecraft will return from its visits to
these fascinating places.

**Education and Public Outreach Highlights**

More than 360,000 people submitted their names to journey with Dawn to
the asteroid belt. A chip is currently being produced that will carry
the names onboard the spacecraft when it launches in June of 2007.

The first Dawn education module, [The History and Discovery of
Asteroids](http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/DawnClassrooms/1_hist_dawn/index.asp),
is now available. It is intended for middle and high school students who
are studying Earth/space science, astronomy or social studies.

Dawn E/PO team members participated in the Denver Museum of Nature and
Science Education Night on October 3^rd^ and presented a public talk on
the mission at the Little Thompson Observatory in Berthoud, CO, on Oct.
20.

Project engineer Marc Rayman has written five installments of the ["Dawn
Journal"](http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/journal.asp) on the mission
web site, explaining the spacecraft engineering subsystems, current
testing, the science instruments, and other interesting details about
the mission from his unique perspective.

Deputy Principal Investigator Carol Raymond edits ["Dawn's Early
Light,"](http://www-ssc.igpp.ucla.edu/dawn/newsletter/) an occasional
newsletter on the web that gives an overview of the current mission
status.

Successful completion of [Kepler's](http://kepler.nasa.gov/) Mission
Critical Design Review (CDR) in October was a significant milestone
toward the planned Nov. 2008 launch. The team can now focus full
attention on the manufacturing, integration and test phase of the
project. While there have been problems with a number of the subsystems,
they are being worked.

Other recent accomplishments include successful Science Operations
Center and Science Office CDRs, formally released Data Management Center
SW Build K1, the release of all Kepler Control Box and Local Detector
Electronics for flight build, and the receipt of the Schmidt Corrector.

Nineteen members of the Kepler Science Team met Oct 26-27, 2006. Their
next gathering will be in the spring.

![](media/image10.jpeg){width="2.634027777777778in"
height="1.8034722222222221in"}

**Education and Public Outreach Highlights**

In August, E/PO team member Pamela Harman attended the NASA - Navajo
Nation Sustainability Seminar and presented the GEMS core sequence, the
Hands-On Universe module, the online lessons, and KeplerNet as
opportunities for a sustained \'astronomy\' relationship.

At the Western Alliance Conference of Planetariums, Lincoln, NE, in
Sept, E/PO lead Alan Gould presented a workshop to on how to do audience
participation programs, including material about the Kepler program.
Also in Sept, at the AIAA conference in San Jose, CA, Kepler had an
exhibit and stage presentation in the \"Education Alley\" sponsored by
Lockheed Martin for teachers and students.

In October, Gould presented a workshop at the California Science
Education Association (CSEA) meeting on Data Enhanced Learning
Experiences that included a section on Kepler materials. The SETI
Institute booth featured the Kepler LEGO orrery transit
simulation/demonstration. Also at CSEA, \"Earth\'s Place in the
Universe\" was co-taught by Dr. Jill Tarter (Kepler SWG) and Edna DeVore
(Kepler Co-I for E/PO). The topics were cosmic and planetary evolution.
The search for extrasolar planets and the Kepler Mission were included
in the science content sessions of this 3-hour short course.

Geoff Marcy, science team member from UC-Berkeley, wrote an article for
[Astronomy Magazine's October 2006
issue](http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?id=436&c=i). It was the
lead article, highlighted on the cover, featuring a paragraph on, and a
picture of, the Kepler Mission.

The new Kepler ToolKit for amateur astronomers, *Shadows and
Silhouettes,* was completed and distributed to clubs nationwide. It
covers the topics of phases, eclipses, and transits and features the
Kepler Mission. On Sept. 27 the Night Sky Network hosted a telecon
featuring Fred Espenak, known to the amateur astronomy community as
\"Mr. Eclipse,\" to discuss using the toolkit, planet-finding using
transits, and the upcoming celestial event, the November Mercury
transit.

Between Oct. 1 and Nov 25, 2006, amateur clubs in the Night Sky Network
logged 172 outreach events using the Shadows and Silhouettes kit with an
estimated total of 60,000 people at all the events. The clubs that used
the kits provided very positive feedback on the materials, such as: "The
materials covering moon phases and solar and lunar eclipses are some of
the best and easiest ways to demonstrate these events that I have ever
encountered."

As a new mission continuing to ramp up,
[Juno](http://newfrontiers.nasa.gov/missions_juno.html) has participated
in many meetings and reviews during the past few months. The project has
had bi-monthly management reviews, a launch vehicle coordination meeting
at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, its second quarterly
presentation to NASA and JPL management, a coordination meeting between
project and Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) management/engineering
personnel to discuss technical and management interfaces (GSFC provides
both the Juno Deputy PI as well as the Flux Gate Magnetometer
instrument), and a Capabilities vs. Requirements Review held at Lockheed
Martin-Denver.

The Payload Team is conducting a series of \"roadshow\" visits to Juno's
instrument partners. At the University of Iowa they reviewed the Waves
instrument preliminary compliance to JPL\'s Flight Project Practices and
Design Principles (FPPDP). At the Applied Physics Lab in Laurel, MD,
they discussed FPPDP plus the interface design for the Jupiter
Energetic-particles Detector Instrument (JEDI). A visit to Southwest
Research Institute addressed FPPDP compliance as well as flight
system/instrument interfaces for both the Jovian Auroral Distributions
Experiment (JADE) and Ultraviolet Spectrometer (UVS) instruments.

In October, Juno Principal Investigator Scott Bolton hosted a Juno
Science Team Meeting at the Southwest Research Institute facility which
was attended by members of the Juno Science Team as well as the Juno
Project Team. It featured presentations and discussions on project and
flight system status, science requirements, payload developments,
working groups, etc. The next science team meeting will be scheduled in
the June-July 2007 time-frame.

**Education and Public Outreach Highlights**

In August Steve Levin from JPL gave a Juno presentation to a high school
physics class at the Academy for Academic Excellence, Victorville, CA. 

In September, E/PO lead Rosalyn Pertzborn at the University of
Wisconsin - Madison gave Juno presentations to Chancellor\'s Minority
Student Scholarship Recipients at UW-M and to teachers from American
schools at the Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy, Brussels, Belgium.

![](media/image11.jpeg){width="2.7534722222222223in"
height="3.484722222222222in"}

Artist's conception of Juno at Jupiter

Team member Al Herzl from Lockheed Martin gave Juno presentations to the
Mile High Optimist Club, Englewood, CO, to an Introductory Aerospace
Class at Colorado University-Boulder, and to a local Optimists Club.

Rosalyn Pertzborn and Sanjay Limaye participated in a Goldstone-Apple
Valley Radio Telescope (GAVRT) training at the Lewis Center for
Educational Research, Victorville, CA

PI Scott Bolton and Fran Bagenal gave presentation at the DPS Solar
System Seminars in October. Bolton's topic was "The History of the Solar
System," with a portion devoted to the Juno mission, while Bagenal spoke
about "Giant Planets." Also Juno materials were handed out at the
\"Giant Worlds\" and GAVRT booth.

On Monday, November 20, students from [Madoc Public School and Centre
Hastings Secondary
School](http://school-advocate.ca/student-spotlight.php), small rural
schools in Ontario, Canada, had a thrilling, once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity to talk to astronauts in space, thanks to the Amateur Radio
International Space Station (ARISS) program. The 10-minute contact was
broadcast live over the Internet and can be listened to the school
district's web site.

Teacher assistant Elizabeth Allan, a big supporter of space science,
found the Discovery Program web site last year, and Shari Asplund has
sent her many educational materials from the Discovery and New Frontiers
Programs and missions. Discovery became a strand in the grade 9 science
curriculum, with students viewing the Discovery video, "Unlocking the
Mysteries," and being tested on their knowledge of the program. The
ARISS Club students, selected to ask questions of the astronauts, will
receive special Discovery and New Frontiers items as their rewards.

A very excited Ms. Allan wrote, "My ARISS students can\'t believe that
they are the only kids in North America having contact with the ISS.
Along with students in Germany and Belgium, they are the only thirty or
so kids in the world having contact with this crew\...\...I feel so
special, the odds are like winning the lottery or getting hit by
lightning!\"

![](media/image12.jpeg){width="3.5194444444444444in"
height="2.2645833333333334in"}

Students selected to talk to the ISS crew meet astronaut Chris Hadfield.
Teacher assistant Liza Allan, who helped make it all happen, is in the
top row, far right.

To prepare for the ARISS contact, the students had another remarkable
experience when Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield visited the school on
October 26. It was the first time at ARISS group had an astronaut visit
as a precursor to contact with the station, and something Ms. Allan
believes the kids will remember for the rest of their lives.

Ms. Allan's enthusiasm is such an asset to the students. She writes, "My
resource room is dedicated to space, thanks to you. The lithographs are
hanging from a mobile. On behalf of the students in grades 3, 6, 9 and
space club who will receive the goodies on contact day - THANK YOU THANK
YOU THANK YOU!"

##### 

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