The GRAIL mission recently placed two spacecraft into the same orbit around the Moon. As they fly over areas of greater and lesser gravity, caused both by visible features such as mountains and craters and by masses hidden beneath the lunar surface, they move slightly toward and away from each other. An instrument aboard each spacecraft measures the changes in their relative velocity very precisely, and scientists translate this information into a high-resolution map of the Moon's gravitational field.
A previous diary about GRAIL is
linked here. It was written January 10, 2012. It described the insertion of the two spacecraft A and B into a low altitude orbit of the Moon. One spacecraft follows the other in a polar orbit. The distance between them is translated into a map of the gravity features of the Moon.
What makes this mission unique is the inclusion of MoonKAM, a middle school science mission, as an outreach. To date, there are more than 2,700 schools spanning 52 countries which are registered to participate. MoonKAM is led by Dr. Sally Ride, America's first woman in space, and her team at Sally Ride Science in collaboration with undergraduate students at the University of California San Diego.
Join me below for more details about this exciting program aimed at middle school children.
NASA announced last week that some of the first set of images were transmitted to Earth from the MoonKAM cameras. One of the pictures included the Earth in the distance. Another included some higher resolution views of craters and other features. MoonKAM is an acronym for Moon (K)nowledge (A)cquired by (M)iddle school students.
The images were requested by fourth graders in Bozeman, MT. Their story was highlighted in a previous diary on January 18 as they learned of winning the renaming contest for GRAIL A and B. They chose Ebb and Flow as the new names. They were granted the first images because of their win. You can visit the link to the set of their images here. There are about 60 images. Use Next and Previous to navigate.
One of two NASA spacecraft orbiting the moon has beamed back the first student-requested pictures of the lunar surface from its onboard camera. Fourth grade students from the Emily Dickinson Elementary School in Bozeman, Mont., received the honor of making the first image selections by winning a nationwide competition to rename the two spacecraft.
The image was taken by the MoonKam, or Moon Knowledge Acquired by Middle school students. Previously named Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) A and B, the twin spacecraft are now called Ebb and Flow. Both washing-machine-sized orbiters carry a small MoonKAM camera. Over 60 student–requested images were taken by the Ebb spacecraft from March 15-17 and downlinked to Earth March 20.
Each GRAIL spacecraft
carries four imaging cameras. Three cameras have 6 mm lenses. Two of them are pointing 60˚ forward and back and a third one is pointing down. The fourth camera has a 50 mm lens pointing down and provides higher resolution.
How Do The Students Get Their Images?
- Students and classrooms logon to the MoonKAM website.
- They learn about the Moon, the mission, and some orbital mechanics.
- They choose a location on the Moon they wish to photograph.
- A request is submitted through the website.
- Deep Space Network sends info to Ebb and Flow 240,000 miles away.
- At the right moment, MoonKAM takes the pictures.
- The MoonKAM images are relayed back to Earth along with other GRAIL data.
- Images appear on the MoonKAM site along with the name of the school.
Click on the graphic for a larger view of some of the details and processes.
Many teachers have been trained to more fully utilize the resources available through the MoonKAM mission. The Sally Ride Science project runs those workshops and trainings. These efforts provide support and encouragement to the thousands of teachers involved.
"MoonKAM is based on the premise that if your average picture is worth a thousand words, then a picture from lunar orbit may be worth a classroom full of engineering and science degrees," said Maria Zuber, GRAIL mission principal investigator from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass. "Through MoonKAM, we have an opportunity to reach out to the next generation of scientists and engineers. It is great to see things off to such a positive start."
According to Sally Ride, "What might seem like just a cool activity for these kids may very well have a profound impact on their futures. The students really are excited about MoonKAM, and that translates into an excitement about science and engineering."
Let's hope the efforts here will help motivate our next generation to be more open and enthusiastic to the importance and value of science and technology in our lives.