Programs

EXPLORE EARTH FROM SPACE!

When Richard Garriott is in space, he plans to take photographs of the Earth, many of which will replicate some of the photographs his father, astronaut Dr. Owen Garriott took 35 years ago on Skylab. Looking at astronaut photography over time, we can see changes that have happened on Earth over the last generation. We can use this information to see how humans have impacted different regions on the planet over time and to make predictions about what may occur in the future.

This project adds 50 student targets to Richard's list, one for each Challenger Learning Center. Students can choose a target that shows how well we are taking care of our planet over the next generation, looking 35 years into the future.

Help your students take ownership of an area of the world that they care about!

This project provides an opportunity for students that allows for meaningful engagement with NASA, Earth Science and the topic of planetary stewardship. Students act as scientists, environmentalists, and global citizens. Analyzing changes between the past and present, students think about the future, and explore things we can do to preserve our planetary systems and resources. Student's targets and predictions will be posted on the national website. When Richard returns, students will have access to all the images, so teachers can do follow-up activities with a wealth of image resources.

Check out student's target selections at our Earth Science Student Forum.

Student Activity

Astronaut images can help future scientists as we work to preserve ecosystems such as wetlands, coral ecosystems, estuaries, deserts, our rivers and lakes, rainforests, mountain environments, and oceans. As the most powerful animals on the planet, we have a responsibility to look after other inhabitants as well as ourselves.

In this activity, you can explore how parts of the Earth have changed due to:

• Urban expansion
• Glacial melting
• Rising sea levels
• Falling lake levels
• Deforestation

Your mission is to choose a target of interest for scientists to look at over the next 35 years to identify signs of change. Choose an area that may best illustrate future efforts to slow global warming or minimize human impact on Earth's resources and ecosystems over the next generation.

You can choose a local target to your hometown (i.e. local coastlines, mountains, forests, glaciers, water systems, etc) or any other location (i.e. Mount Everest, Rockies, Louisiana Coastline, Glacier Park, Africa's Lake Chad, etc) for study. You might select a city to monitor its growth, or glaciers that might retreat with global warming, or a reservoir to see if it provides adequate water, a costline that may change due to rising sea levels, or a pristine forest that might be logged or protected.

You can check out NASA's Astronaut Photography collection and look at past photos taken from space at http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov (NASA archive of Earth photography by the Astronauts).

Important questions to consider:

• If nothing is done to alter the impacts on your area that are causing the change, what changes might you see in 35 years? In 100 years?
• How might we alter those effects, and why is it important to take action?
• What action can we take to conserve, protect or restore this area?

Submit your target and justification to your local Challenger Center!

To submit your target to the Challenger Learning Center nearest you, please visit our Learning Center Network. Each Challenger Learning Center will submit one target for Richard to photograph.

Check out student's target selections at our Earth Science Student Forum.

Target Submissions

Latitude, longitude, description, mission objective and student name are required for each submission.

As lighting conditions for this mission will favor the northern hemisphere, only targets north of the equator will be considered.

Actual photos will depend on time available, lighting conditions, clouds, etc.

Entries must be received prior to May 26, 2008.

Project Resources

http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov - NASA archive of Earth photography by the Astronauts
http://winearth.terc.edu/ - A simulated view out window of ISS (PC required)
http://earthkam.ucsd.edu/ - Earth images from student-controlled camera on ISS
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/ - Using images to learn about Earth
http://earth.google.com/ - A powerful tool for exploring Earth
http://www.richardinspace.com/ - Mr. Garriott's home page