Explore Solar System and Beyond: The Lucy Mission - Updates, Milestones, and STEM Connections
Monday 10/10/2022
6:00 pm ET
FREE 1-hour Webinar
Educators in Grades K-12
 

The NASA Educator Professional Development Collaborative at Texas State University is providing a 1-hour webinar.

Lucy Mission: Mission Updates, Milestones, and STEM Connections

NASA’s Lucy Mission launched last October and will be the first mission to the Trojan asteroids in Jupiter’s orbit. The spacecraft will fly by a record-breaking number of asteroids (eight!) for a single mission and its journey will span twelve years. But first the spacecraft requires not one, but two(!), Earth Gravity Assists (EGAs) to complete its journey to the leading swarm of asteroids. The first EGA will take place on the one-year anniversary of launch on October 16, 2022.

Join the Lucy team for a mission update one year into the 12-year flight and overview educational materials that you can use to engage your students in Lucy Mission STEAM. Find out how and why the spacecraft will navigate flying within 350 km of Earth (lower than the International Space Station). Check in on the mission and instruments that will be sending back never-before seen images of asteroids. And learn how you and your students might be able to catch a glimpse of Lucy and engage with the Lucy Mission in the days leading up to the Earth Gravity Assist. 

The mission’s scope and focus will provide numerous milestones and unique educational opportunities to engage students for years to come. Indeed, an inspired 7th grader today could be part of the mission team before it wraps up in 2033! From video series to activity pages to calls-to-action, we’ve got you covered for engaging a wide variety of ages and abilities. 

 

 

 


Dr. Keith Noll is the Project Scientist for the Lucy mission. Dr. Noll studies asteroids in the solar system using instruments like the Hubble Space Telescope, the Keck telescope, and the recently-launched James Webb Space Telescope. He has been at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center since 2011 and before that was at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. He obtained a B.S. in Physics from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, an M.S. in Physics from the University of Illinois, and his Ph.D. in Planetary Science from Stony Brook University.
 

Tiffany Kapler is a public outreach specialist for NASA’s Lucy Mission. She grew her career in science communication as an environmental education Peace Corps volunteer in Bolivia and then as an educator at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Tiffany has developed formal and informal education and engagement programming for several organizations, including the New York Academy of Science, Denver Zoo, NYC1st, and Rocky Mountain PBS. Tiffany is passionate about sparking curiosity in learners of all ages as they explore and learn about the world.
 

Barbie Buckner is a 20+ year STEM classroom teacher with a Doctorate’s Degree in Mathematics Education from the University of Louisville. Her research interest included the impact of technology on student achievement and teacher behavior. Buckner recently served as a 2013-14 Einstein Fellow at the National Science Foundation Education and Human Resources Directorate where she collaborated with colleagues on learning, learning environments, boarding participating and workforce development. Barbie sees education as her calling and has spent her life sharing her love for learning with everyone around her. Knowing that today’s student will compete in a global economy, Barbie says that “It is imperative that today’s students are prepared with consistent rigorous and relevant standards that produce more STEM majors, particularly women, to keep this great nation at the forefront in technology, innovation, and advancement.”