ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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courtesy to the Passport to Knowledge folks.
NASA's SPIRIT rover lands on Mars! Now looking ahead to Jan 17 and free
FIRST LOOK live TV special!!!
Dear Colleague in informal science education:
You may have heard about this unique programming opportunity at the 2003
ASTC conference, but we hope recent news - from the Red Planet and
imminent announcements from the White House! - will make you even more
interested in hosting a public event around FIRST LOOK, a free, live and
interactive TV special, being fed from 3-4 p.m. Eastern on Saturday
January 17. It's slated for NASA-TV, and will also appear on an
unencrypted analog Ku-band transponder on SBS6. Please call or e-mail to
receive further informlation about satellite coordinates, or check the P2K
website: >passporttoknowledge.com/mars<
You've likely read news stories and seen video reports about the wildly
successful landing of NASA's Spirit rover on Mars on January 3, 2004
(PST.) Still ahead are several days of hard and risk-filled work to get
the rover off the lander and onto the Martian surface. Thus by hosting an
event incorporating this live satellite broadcast, your institution will
likely be offering your visitors a literal FIRST LOOK at new views of
Mars. In fact, the very first image received on Earth on January 3 must
have delilghted the ever-popular Bill Nye The Science Guy, host of FIRST
LOOK. It was a picture of the sundial calibration target he'd help design.
Lots more images, science, and behind-the-scenes sequences live from NASA
JPL and the Houston Museum of Natural Science on Jan 17.
The satellite broadcast is described below. The program is free for you to
use live, or tape and re-use in segments (on kiosks, etc.) >>>upon return
of the Carriage Report.<<< Educators have "life of tape" off-air
educational rights. (Local PBS stations may also be carrying the program:
plans vary. Please "check local listings.") Thanks for your interest in
FIRST LOOK, which is part of the ongoing TO MARS WITH MER project,
supported by both NSF and NASA. Now we're literally on Mars, with the Mars
Exploration Rover, Spirit!
Best regards to you for all your programs and special projects in 2004,
Geoff Haines-Stiles, P2K
973.656.9403 (mobile: 973.223.3816)
~~~
PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE’s “TO MARS WITH MER” SERIES
FIRST LOOK, 3rd of 6-part mini-series
Feed date: (live and interactive program)
Saturday, January 17, 2004
15:00-16:00 Eastern (a 30 minute test signal will appear >>>ON SBS6
ONLY<<<)
SATELLITE COORDINATES
Analog, un-encrypted satellite coordinates for downlink
C-band (NASA-TV: programming is always subject to mission emergencies!)
AMC-2, transponder 9C, (C-band), 85 degrees West, 3880.0 MHz, vertical,
audio mono 6.8 MHz
Ku-band (the most reliable open access downlink, provided by P2K)
SBS-6, transponder K17, (Ku-band), 74 degrees West, 12117.0 MHz,
horizontal, audio stereo on 6.2 and 6.8 MHz
Program Information and Rights
TRT: 56:46 / Stereo / Close captioned / FREE upon return of Carriage
Report (see under)
Museums and science centers have full rights for public performance, live
or on tape, but no right to excerpt or re-sell.
Educator off air record rights: life of tape
Companion website: [ http://passporttoknowledge.com/mars
]http://passporttoknowledge.com/mars
Special Offer!
ON-AIR panel of NASA and other Mars experts live online for real-time Q&A
from 15:00-17:00 Eastern on 1/17/2004
Producer: PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE, P2K: 973.656.9403
E-mail: [ mailto:[log in to unmask]
]mailto:[log in to unmask]
(Please note that while the program is initially fed live, it is formatted
magazine style to allow re-use by educators and others in later tape
re-runs.)
Program summary (short form)
The first of NASA’s twin Mars Exploration Rovers, “Spirit”, landed on the
Red Planet on January 3rd, 2004, to begin—if all goes well—a 3 month or
more mission to look for evidence of water and environments where life
could have existed. On Saturday January 17, from 3-4 p.m. Eastern,
PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE presents FIRST LOOK, hosted by Bill Nye The Science
Guy, a live and interactive program originating direct from NASA’s Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA—home base for the rover mission—and
the Houstoln Museum of Natural Science, Texas. Guests will include some of
the leading scientists and engineers who built and now operate “Spirit”
and its twin, “Opportunity” (due to arrive at Mars on January 24), as well
as NASA’s Director of Solar System Exploration, Orlando Figueroa. They’ll
give viewers a fascinating “first look” at new images and science data
“just in” from Mars. Documentary reports show events surrounding
“Spirit’s” risky touchdown, and the slow and careful process of getting
safely off the lanlder to begin the exploration of the rust-red surface.
The Houston Museum hosts thousands of area youngsters and their families
for a high-energy, fun-filled “Mars Festival” featuring hands-on
activities related to the mission. P2K’s website
(passporttoknowledge.com/mars) allows anyone, anywhere to send e-mail to
NASA experts, and receive online replies in real time. Internet links
connect sites across Texas, and eleven Challenger Centers across the
nation unite to “land” a future human mission to Mars!
FIRST LOOK and the ongoing “To Mars with MER” series are made possible, in
part, by NSF and NASA, and other public and private partners.
~~~
“FIRST LOOK” CARRIAGE REPORT FORM
Please either “cut and paste” the following and e-mail your report to: [
mailto:[log in to unmask] ]mailto:[log in to unmask]
OR
Print and fax to: 973.656.9813
Institution name: _________________________
City: _________________________
Contact name: _________________________
Phone: _________________________
Contact e-mail: _________________________
Event time and date information:
Our institution plans to use FIRST LOOK live from 3-4 p.m. Eastern on
Saturday Jan 17, 2004. YES / NO
Our institution plans to record FIRST LOOK and use it at ______ (time) on
______ (date.)
~~~
Websites providing additional information:
passporttoknowledge.com/mars
marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html
athena.cornell.edu/educators/asip.html
planetary.org/mars
Acknowledgements
The ongoing “To Mars with MER” project is made possible by major support
from NSF, the National Science Foundation, and by NASA, the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration. FIRST LOOK is additionally supported
by the NASA JPL Mars Education and Public Outreach program, the Houston
Museum of Natural Science, the University of Houston-Downtown, Texas
Southern University, NASA Johnson Space Center, the Raul Yzaguirre School
for Success (Houston), the Minority University Initiative, the Mars
Education Plrogram of Arizona State University, Nye Labs, The Planetary
Society, LEGO, Cornell University’s ATHENA program, and KUHT, PBS Houston.
For more information please contact
Erna Akuginow, PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE
[ mailto:[log in to unmask] ]mailto:[log in to unmask]
or call 973.656.9813
***********************************************************************
More information about the Informal Science Education Network and the
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