[Spacetalk] https://spaceflightnow.com; https://www.nasa.gov/index.html

Mon Nov 29 00:36:50 CST 2021

good morning all,

 Hi from Gildeskål Municipality, Norway….it is about -8C (18F) and it is snowing very hard….exactly what I hoped in coming to Norway…especially at Christmas time with all the decorations…it is so pretty...things have gone extremely well…I did have doubts but it has been amazing….the kids are so wonderful, the teachers so kind, everyone is so supportive, the kids so affectionate….an 11 year old boy told me it was the best day he ever had in school, so many kids are very appreciative…it is more rewarding than I can explain…I have never understood it but I feel it…the concern is for Covid…no-one wears a mask….it is getting worse in Norway as it seems to be every where in the world…I have to get tested within 72 hours of returning…I am hoping it will be negative or I will have to quarantine for 10days…

The space program is very active, so many great things going on…on these trips the schedules are filled which leave little time for other activities…I still try to keep the news letter going but please always use the subject links for the latest, especially live feeds for launches and other special events…

great sites: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv <http://www.nasa.gov/ntv>; https://www.spacex.com <https://www.spacex.com/>; www.spotthestation.nasa.gov <http://www.spotthestation.nasa.gov/>; http://jpl.nasa.gov/edu/learn <http://jpl.nasa.gov/edu/learn>; 

We have to stay positive and always be thankful… remembering to do our best, enjoy everything we do, believe in ourselves, and let those we care about most know (I always say this, we all need to take it to heart) …hugs… STAY SAFE, TAKE CARE, Love ya, Gabe  :-) :-)

NASA, SpaceX Launch DART: First Test Mission to Defend Planet Earth

NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), the world’s first full-scale mission to test technology for defending Earth against potential asteroid or comet hazards, launched Wednesday at 1:21 a.m. EST on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

Just one part of NASA’s larger planetary defense strategy, DART – built and managed by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland – will impact a known asteroid that is not a threat to Earth. Its goal is to slightly change the asteroid’s motion in a way that can be accurately measured using ground-based telescopes.
DART will show that a spacecraft can autonomously navigate to a target asteroid and intentionally collide with it – a method of deflection called kinetic impact. The test will provide important data to help better prepare for an asteroid that might pose an impact hazard to Earth, should one ever be discovered. LICIACube, a CubeSat riding with DART and provided by the Italian Space Agency (ASI), will be released prior to DART’s impact to capture images of the impact and the resulting cloud of ejected matter. Roughly four years after DART’s impact, ESA’s (European Space Agency) Hera project will conduct detailed surveys of both asteroids, with particular focus on the crater left by DART’s collision and a precise determination of Dimorphos’ mass.
“DART is turning science fiction into science fact and is a testament to NASA’s proactivity and innovation for the benefit of all,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “In addition to all the ways NASA studies our universe and our home planet, we’re also working to protect that home, and this test will help prove out one viable way to protect our planet from a hazardous asteroid should one ever be discovered that is headed toward Earth.”
At 2:17 a.m., DART separated from the second stage of the rocket. Minutes later, mission operators received the first spacecraft telemetry data and started the process of orienting the spacecraft to a safe position for deploying its solar arrays. About two hours later, the spacecraft completed the successful unfurling of its two, 28-foot-long, roll-out solar arrays. They will power both the spacecraft and NASA’s Evolutionary Xenon Thruster – Commercial ion engine <https://www.nasa.gov/feature/glenn/2020/powerful-thruster-is-prepared-for-demonstration-mission-to-asteroid>, one of several technologies being tested on DART for future application on space missions.
“At its core, DART is a mission of preparedness, and it is also a mission of unity,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “This international collaboration involves DART, ASI’s LICIACube, and ESA’s Hera investigations and science teams, which will follow up on this groundbreaking space mission.”
DART’s one-way trip is to the Didymos asteroid system, which comprises a pair of asteroids. DART’s target is the moonlet, Dimorphos, which is approximately 530 feet (160 meters) in diameter. The moonlet orbits Didymos, which is approximately 2,560 feet (780 meters) in diameter.
Since Dimorphos orbits Didymos at much a slower relative speed than the pair orbits the Sun, the result of DART’s kinetic impact within the binary system can be measured much more easily than a change in the orbit of a single asteroid around the Sun.
“We have not yet found any significant asteroid impact threat to Earth, but we continue to search for that sizable population we know is still to be found. Our goal is to find any possible impact, years to decades in advance, so it can be deflected with a capability like DART that is possible with the technology we currently have,” said Lindley Johnson, planetary defense officer at NASA Headquarters. “DART is one aspect of NASA’s work to prepare Earth should we ever be faced with an asteroid hazard. In tandem with this test, we are preparing the Near-Earth Object Surveyor Mission, an space-based infrared telescope scheduled for launch later this decade and designed to expedite our ability to discover and characterize the potentially hazardous asteroids and comets that come within 30 million miles of Earth’s orbit.”
The spacecraft will intercept the Didymos system between Sept. 26 and Oct. 1, 2022, intentionally slamming into Dimorphos at roughly 4 miles per second (6 kilometers per second). Scientists estimate the kinetic impact will shorten Dimorphos’ orbit around Didymos by several minutes. Researchers will precisely measure that change using telescopes on Earth. Their results will validate and improve scientific computer models critical to predicting the effectiveness of the kinetic impact as a reliable method for asteroid deflection.
“It is an indescribable feeling to see something you’ve been involved with since the ‘words on paper’ stage become real and launched into space,” said Andy Cheng, one of the DART investigation leads at Johns Hopkins APL and the individual who came up with the idea of DART. “This is just the end of the first act, and the DART investigation and engineering teams have much work to do over the next year preparing for the main event ─ DART’s kinetic impact on Dimorphos. But tonight we celebrate!”
DART’s single instrument, the Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO), will turn on a week from now and provide first images from the spacecraft. DART will continue to travel just outside of Earth’s orbit around the Sun for the next 10 months until Didymos and Dimorphos will be a relatively close 6.8 million miles (11 million kilometers) from Earth.
A sophisticated guidance, navigation, and control system, working together with algorithms called Small-body Maneuvering Autonomous Real Time Navigation (SMART Nav), will enable the DART spacecraft to identify and distinguish between the two asteroids. The system will then direct the spacecraft toward Dimorphos. This process will all occur within roughly an hour of impact.
Johns Hopkins APL manages the DART mission for NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office as a project of the agency’s Planetary Missions Program Office. NASA provides support for the mission from several centers, including the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, Johnson Space Center in Houston, Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, and Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. The launch is managed by NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. SpaceX is the launch services provider for the DART mission.
For more information about the DART mission, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/dartmission <https://www.nasa.gov/dartmission>

Connect Students to #CountdownToMars
 <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/mars_2020_toolkit_header.jpg>
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Month of Ingenuity: Taking Flight on Another World 
NASA’s Mars Helicopter, Ingenuity <https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/>
 <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/pia23883-main-16-2.jpg>
The Mars helicopter, Ingenuity, hitched a ride to Mars on the Perseverance rover and is preparing for its first flight. This technology demonstration will test powered flight on another world for the first time. Once the rover reaches a suitable “helipad” location, it will release Ingenuity to perform a series of test flights over a 30-Martian-day experimental window beginning sometime in April.

Bring the exciting engineering and science of the Mars helicopter to students in the classroom and at home with STEM lessons and do-it-yourself projects covering topics such as biology, geology, physics, mathematics, engineering, coding, and language arts.

Check out This Q&A <https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8660/qa-with-the-student-who-named-ingenuity-nasas-mars-helicopter/> with the high school student from Alabama who named NASA’s Mars helicopter. 
Watch This Technology Demonstration <https://mars.nasa.gov/resources/24931/mars-helicopter-arriving-at-the-red-planet-february-2021/> of the Mars 2020 helicopter-Ingenuity.
Code a Mars Helicopter Video Game <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/learn/project/code-a-mars-helicopter-video-game/> that lets players explore the Red Planet with a helicopter!
Five Things to Know <https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/#Five-Things> about the Mars helicopter, Ingenuity.
Get creative <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/space_craft_coloring_mars_english_0.pdf> with this Ingenuity coloring page.
Make a Paper Mars Helicopter <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/learn/project/make-a-paper-mars-helicopter/>: Build a paper helicopter, and then see if you can improve the design like NASA engineers did when making the first helicopter for Mars.
Create a rubber band powered helicopter <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/aam-rubber-band-powered-helicopter-engineering-challenge-student-guide_0.pdf> to explore how propellers create lift.
Use augmented reality to see both Ingenuity and Perseverance up close. Download NASA’s Spacecraft AR on iOS <https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapps.apple.com%2Fus%2Fapp%2Fspacecraft-ar%2Fid1452909829&data=04%7C01%7Celicia.d.fullwood%40nasa.gov%7C1d07dbe970ed403dfce208d89d5c46af%7C7005d45845be48ae8140d43da96dd17b%7C0%7C0%7C637432366937886242%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=05URAmoXeN%2FW16NbXTVKccuyNgN28cV%2F8naJtS2nAc4%3D&reserved=0> or Android <https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fplay.google.com%2Fstore%2Fapps%2Fdetails%3Fid%3Dgov.nasa.jpl.spacecraftAR&data=04%7C01%7Celicia.d.fullwood%40nasa.gov%7C1d07dbe970ed403dfce208d89d5c46af%7C7005d45845be48ae8140d43da96dd17b%7C0%7C0%7C637432366937886242%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=AAWDaNZHe71AyMnITr7NRJt6O8wjEkePKCvDQV0VoBM%3D&reserved=0>.
Draw a Rover and Helicopter <https://www.nasa.gov/stem-ed-resrouces/draw-a-rover-and-helicopter-on-mars.html> on Mars.
Build your own <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/build_your_own_mars_helicopter.pdf> Mars Helicopter with marshmallows
Interact with this 3D model <https://mars.nasa.gov/resources/25043/mars-ingenuity-helicopter-3d-model/> of the Ingenuity Helicopter
Watch this video <https://www.nasa.gov/aeroresearch/nasa-aeronautics-on-mars-and-earth/> to learn how NASA’s Aeronautics experts helped prepare Ingenuity to fly on Mars
About the Mission

Perseverance, NASA's most advanced Mars rover to date, is continuing NASA’s investigation of the Red Planet. Only the fifth NASA rover destined for Mars, Perseverance is designed to build on the work and scientific discoveries of its predecessors. Joining the Perseverance rover on Mars is the first helicopter designed to fly on another planet, Ingenuity. The lightweight helicopter rode to Mars attached to the belly of the rover and will attempt up to five test flights.

The Perseverance mission <https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/> launched on July 30, 2020. After touching down on the Red Planet Feb. 18, 2021, NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover will scour Jezero Crater <https://www.nasa.gov/mars.nasa.gov/news/8549/nasas-mars-2020-will-hunt-for-microscopic-fossils> to help us understand its geologic history and search for signs of past microbial life. But the six-wheeled robot won't be looking just at the surface of Mars: The rover will peer deep below it with a ground-penetrating radar called RIMFAX. Unlike similar instruments aboard Mars orbiters, which study the planet from space, RIMFAX <https://www.nasa.gov/mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/spacecraft/instruments/rimfax/> will be the first ground-penetrating radar set on the surface of Mars. This will give scientists much higher-resolution data than space-borne radars can provide while focusing on the specific areas that Perseverance will explore. Taking a more focused look at this terrain will help the rover's team understand how features in Jezero Crater formed over time. Learn more about how Perseverance Rover will peer beneath Mars' surface here <https://www.nasa.gov/www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/nasas-perseverance-rover-will-peer-beneath-mars-surface>.

This mission is a fantastic opportunity to engage students in real-world problem solving across the STEM fields. Learn about the mission including the rover, Perseverance, and the helicopter, Ingenuity. 

 <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/edu_countdown_toolkit_marsperseverance_landinggraphics_gradient_rover_small.jpg>
NASA’s Mars Rover, Perseverance <https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/>Its mission is to address high-priority science goals for Mars exploration, including key astrobiology <https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/missions/2020-mars-rover/>questions about the potential for life, both past and present, on Mars. This mission is paving the way for human exploration <https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/nasas-mars-2020-will-blaze-a-trail-for-humans> of Mars.

Find out  <https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8622/virginia-middle-school-student-earns-honor-of-naming-nasas-next-mars-rover/>how a Virginia middle school student earned the honor of naming NASA's next Mars rover.
Play <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/mars-rover-driver-board-game/> the Mars rover driver board game.
Meet <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/news/2020/6/17/meet-nasas-next-mars-rover-perseverance-launching-this-summer/> NASA's next Mars rover, Perseverance. 
Watch this animation <https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/multimedia/videos/?v=423> on how the rover will collect samples on Mars.
Listen <https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/mars-2020-perseverance-rover-to-capture-sounds-from-the-red-planet> to the sounds of Mars.
Make <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/learn/project/make-a-cardboard-rover/> a cardboard rover.
Learn about <https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/overview/> the four science goals for Perseverance and try this activity <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/looking-for-life/>: Looking for Life.
Create <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/explore-mars-with-scratch/> a Mars rover exploration game using the Scratch programming language.
Connect <https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/education/alp/if-a-planet-can-have-life/> astrobiology questions about the potential for life on Mars with K-12 curricula. 

Mars

What is Mars? K-4 students <https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/what-is-mars-k4.html> | 5-8 students <https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-is-mars-58.html>
Mission to Mars <https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/scavenger-hunts/en/>: A Scavenger Hunt! Use NASA Space Place website to complete the clues and take part in a Martian mission.
Draw a Rover and Helicopter <https://www.nasa.gov/stem-ed-resrouces/draw-a-rover-and-helicopter-on-mars.html> on Mars.
Listen <https://www.nasa.gov/johnson/HWHAP/welcome-to-mars> to the Welcome to Mars podcast.
Learn about the Red Planet <https://mars.nasa.gov/#more>’s geology, weather, atmosphere and moons. 
Learn about preparations for the first human mission <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/moon-investments-prepare-us-for-mars.pdf> to Mars.
Learn about six technologies <https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/6_Technologies_NASA_is_Advancing_to_Send_Humans_to_Mars> NASA is advancing to send humans to Mars.
See how NASA communicates with its rovers in real-time using the Mars Relay Network <https://eyes.nasa.gov/apps/mrn/#/mars>.
Complete a Mars Scavenger hunt <https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/scavenger-hunts/en/>.
Participate in Activities from Anywhere 
 <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/piday2020_mars.jpg>
Sign up for free upcoming NASA webinars <https://www.txstate-epdc.net/?s=Mars&sfid=235> on STEM education topics related to Mars. Learn wherever you are!

Webinar: Month of Ingenuity <https://www.zoomgov.com/j/1606617778> – Helicopter Flight Preview
Monday, April 5, 2021  | 10:30am PDT/ 1:30pm EDT
Join this interactive webinar to hear team members describe how they will support the helicopter when it takes to the skies.

Houston We Have a Podcast: Perseverance <https://www.nasa.gov/johnson/HWHAP/perseverance> - Listen to this podcast as Luther Beegle, Deputy Division Manager for Science at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, takes us through the history of previous landers we have sent to Mars. Learn more about what makes Perseverance the most sophisticated rover NASA has ever sent to the Red Planet.

Houston We Have a Podcast: Suit up for Mars <https://www.nasa.gov/johnson/HWHAP/suit-up-for-mars> - Spacesuit systems engineer Natalie Mary explains what needs to be considered in the design and operation of a spacesuit that will be used to explore the surface of the Red Planet.

Explore Mars lessons for educators <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/tag/search/Mars>: Explore standards-aligned lessons from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Lessons include science, technology, engineering and math curricula related to the Mars 2020 rover Perseverance.

 <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/edu_srch_roverview_3d_glasses_0.jpg>
Mission to Mars Student Challenge <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/mission-to-mars-student-challenge/>: lead students in designing and building a mission to Mars with a guided education plan and resources from NASA.
Principles of Flight: Use physical experimentation to help students understand the four opposing forces that impact the Ingenuity helicopter: thrust, lift, drag, and weight. Grades K-4 <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/four_forces_k-4.pdf> | Grades 5-8 <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/four_forces_5_8.pdf>
Browse through a variety of archived on-demand recordings about Perseverance’s launch <https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/timeline/launch/watch-online/> and landing <https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/timeline/landing/watch-online/>. Make sure to check out the educator and student focused webinars included.
NASA Space Voyagers - The Game <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/nasa-space-voyagers-the-game/>:  Students can prepare to join the Artemis Generation with this STEM strategy card game that gets them thinking like the NASA scientists and engineers working on these exciting missions to the Moon and Mars.
Let’s Go to Mars: Calculating Launch Windows <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/lets-go-to-mars-calculating-launch-windows/>: Use algebraic computations and planetary-position data to determine the next launch opportunity to Mars (Grades 9-12)
Mars Maneuver: A ‘Pi in the Sky’ Math Challenge <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/mars-maneuver-a-pi-in-the-sky-math-challenge/>: In this illustrated math problem, students use pi to compare the size of the landing zones for the Mars rovers Curiosity and Perseverance. (Grades 6-12)
Mars Bound: Mission to the Red Planet <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/marsbound/>: Use the engineering design process to develop a Mars mission that asks a science question and creates a technical design solution (Grades 3-12)
The Air Up There: Making Space Breathable <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/the-air-up-there-making-space-breathable/>: Design an air-recycling system so astronauts can breathe safely on a future Mars mission (Grades 10-12)
Mars Rover Driver Board Game <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/mars-rover-driver-board-game/>: In this board game lesson, students learn basic computer programming skills by playing the role of a Mars rover scientist. (Grades 3-8)
Mars Math Educator Guide <https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Mars_Math.html>: This collection of 24 problems offers middle and high school students a variety of practical math applications including proportions and analyzing graphs and features of the Martian surface.
Robotics: Creating a Roving Science Lab <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/robotics-creating-a-roving-science-lab/>: In this challenge, students will program a rover to use a color sensor on several rock samples, allowing them to simulate how the Mars Curiosity rover uses its ChemCam instrument to analyze light emitted from geological samples on Mars. (Grades 6-9)
Communicating with Spacecraft: <https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/heo/scan/services/networks/deep_space_network/students/resources/> Check out downloads and links for educators and students related to the Deep Space Network (DSN). (Grades 4-12)
Catching a Whisper From Space <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/catching-a-whisper-from-space/>: Students kinesthetically model the mathematics of how NASA communicates with spacecraft. (Grades 4-12)
Earn a Digital Badge <https://www.nasa.gov/langley/education/epd>: Moon to Mars Educator: Artemis Program - We are Going: Learn about NASA’s new Lunar Exploration program – its story, goals, key components, timeline, and related educational resources for classrooms.
For additional educational resources about Mars, visit NASA Wavelength <https://science.nasa.gov/learners/wavelength?search=mars&field_educational_level_tid=All&field_topics_subjects_tid=All&field_resource_type_tid=All&field_instructional_strategies_value=All&field_learning_time_value=All&field_materials_cost_value=All> and NASA JPL’s Teach site <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/>
Explore Mars Activities for Kids <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/learn/tag/search/Mars>: Launch rockets, build robots, and explore your world and beyond! These projects and contests will take you into space without ever leaving Earth. 

Design your own <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/best-medli2-tagged.pdf> version of Perseverance’s Mars Entry Descent Landing Instrumentation 2 (MEDLI-2 <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/best-medli2-tagged.pdf>) used to protect the rover during entry, descent and landing (EDL).
Hide a message in a parachute <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/mars-perseverance-parachute-coding-activity.pdf> using binary coding like the JPL designers did with the Mars rover.
Explore Mars <https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/explore-mars/en/> with this Mars rover driving game. 
Land a Spacecraft on Target <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/learn/project/land-a-spacecraft-on-target/>: Modify a paper-cup spacecraft so it can zip down a line and drop a "lander" onto a target.
Learn Space With NASA at Home <https://go.nasa.gov/learningspace>: Explore space and science activities you can do with NASA at home. Watch video tutorials for projects and find tips for learning at home!
Simple Rocket Science <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/simple-rocket-science/> and Simple Rocket Science Continued <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/simple-rocket-science-continued/>: Explore forces and motion by experimenting with rockets
Design Squad’s Mission Solar System <https://pbskids.org/designsquad/parentseducators/guides/mission_solar_system.html>: Think like NASA engineers in these hands-on engineering challenges
RoverView 3D Glasses <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/learn/project/rover-view-3-d-mask/>: Make your own 3-D glasses that look like NASA's Curiosity Mars rover!
Create fun photos <https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/participate/photo-booth/> with our Mars photo booth! It’s easy to put yourself on the launch pad, on the Red Planet, or next to the rover. Share your photos using #CountdownToMars.
Watch this <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pofSjGx1OTw> video by NASA at Home: Learn about the 4th planet from the Sun, sending spacecraft to Mars, and Perseverance. This video includes hands-on activities students can try at home with materials from around the house.
Learn <https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/nasa-readies-perseverance-mars-rovers-earthly-twin> how NASA readies Perseverance Mars rover's Earthly twin.
Check out other ways to participate <https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/participate/> in the mission. Ask a question <https://mars.nasa.gov/ask-nasa-mars/#/> about Mars. Try the Mars Rover <https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/explore-mars/en/> driving game.

Moon to Mars
Robotic missions to Mars and the Artemis Missions <https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/> on and around the moon will help to pave the way for human missions to Mars! Learn more about how exploration of the Moon and Mars is intertwined.

Watch this <https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/6_Technologies_NASA_is_Advancing_to_Send_Humans_to_Mars/> video showcasing 6 technologies NASA is advancing to send humans to Mars.
Read up <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/moon-investments-prepare-us-for-mars.pdf> on how investing in the Moon is helping us prepare for human missions to Mars.
Learn about <https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/spinoff/the-rewards-of-perseverance> Spinoffs from Mars and how Perseverance’s new technology has found other uses here on Earth.
Join the Artemis Generation <https://stem.nasa.gov/artemis/> and take on a challenge or help solve a problem.
Additional Resources
 <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/mars-min3.jpg>
Explore more Mars mission resources:

Mars mission videos, animations <https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/multimedia/videos/> and images <https://mars.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/?page=0&per_page=25&order=pub_date+desc&search=&condition_1=1%3Ais_in_resource_list&category=51>
Mars in a Minute <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/mars-in-a-minute/>: These 60-second videos answer some of the most frequently asked questions about our planetary neighbor, Mars, and the spacecraft that explore it. (Grades K-12)
How do you choose a landing site <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/details.php?id=1563> on Mars?
How hard is it to land <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/details.php?id=1087> on Mars?
How do rovers drive <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/details.php?id=1176> on Mars? 
How did Mars get such enormous mountains <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/details.php?id=1544>? 
Print your own 3D models, posters and fact sheets <https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/multimedia/resources/>.
Monitor NASA’s Deep Space Network on your computer or mobile device with DSN NOW <https://eyes.nasa.gov/dsn/dsn.html>
Meet the Interns <https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/news/tag/Mars+2020+Interns>: Learn about interns at NASA who partner with world-renowned scientists and engineers on some of the most important research and space mission, including the Mars Perseverance mission.

Stay Connected
 <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/25059_pia-23922-web.jpg>
Stay informed about the Perseverance mission and other NASA STEM opportunities! Check out more content and resources by following the social media channels below:

Perseverance Rover Twitter <https://twitter.com/NASAPersevere/>
Perseverance Rover Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/NASAPersevere/>
Sign up <https://mars.nasa.gov/newsletter-subscribe/?email=&commit=> to receive mission related email news as it's breaking, or as a weekly or monthly summary.
Help us get ready for the upcoming Perseverance rover launch by joining a global, collective #CountdownToMars. Record, share and tag your own version of a launch countdown. Send us your #CountdownToMars <https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/participate/countdown-to-mars/>
NASA STEM Engagement Twitter <https://twitter.com/NASASTEM?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor>
NASA STEM Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/NASASTEM4Students/>
NASA STEM Pinterest <https://www.pinterest.com/nasa/nasa-stem/>

 <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/edu_marsperseverance_landinggraphics_gradient_planet_small_0.jpg>
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NASA STEM Engagement <https://www.nasa.gov/stem>  | NASA Next Gen STEM Moon to Mars <https://www.nasa.gov/stem/nextgenstem/moon_to_mars/index.html> 
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