ROBOTS: Machines On the Move

he fi rst known use of the term “robot” was by Czech Whil e robots were a mere curi os i ty i n the l ate 1930s, they T playwr i ght Kare l Capek, who wrote a pl ay i n 1920 are an i ntegra l part of our daily li ves today. Some robots call ed R.U.R.: Rossum’s Uni versa l Robots. Capek used the are si mp l e, such as the automati c spr i nk l er system i n many Czech word “robot,” whi ch means “worker” or “l aborer,” peopl e’s l awns. Others are more compl ex, such as the to descri be the mechani ca l sl aves portrayed i n h i s p l ay. factory robots used to assembl e cars or the robotic expl orers NASA has sent to . The fi rst pub licl y d i sp l ayed robots were “El ektro” and his trusty mechani ca l dog “Sparko,” who were hi gh li ghted at Simp l e or comp l ex, a ll robots obey the same pri nc ipl es the 1939 Worl d’s Fa ir i n New York Ci ty. El ektro cou ld and are desi gned us i ng the same process. I n th i s un i t, dance and reci te a handfu l of words, whil e Sparko would students will l earn what goes i nto a robot and the happil y bark a l ongs i de h i m. engi neer i ng des i gn process used to create them.

ROBOTS IN POPULAR CULTURE detective stories, as the protagonist tried than-precise sensors and motors, to figure out how a robot’s seemingly have a great deal more trouble Robots, and particularly intelligent bizarre behavior could be explained by mastering this task. Fortunately, robots, have long been a staple of the Three Laws of Robotics. These robots rarely need to walk. Many science-fiction stories. Robots have stories are still in print and would robots never move from the location been given a range of personalities, make an excellent cross-curricular where they were installed! from the relentless destroyer of introduction to the topic. The Terminator to the loyal R2-D2 Although research is underway to give and C-3PO of Star Wars. In the 1940s robots artifical intelligence and “fuzzy and 1950s, Issac Asimov wrote the logic” capabilities, most real robots I, Robot series, which featured do not have the intelligence displayed intelligent robots as characters. by the robots of films. In most cases, Dr. Asimov created for his tales the a high degree of intelligence isn’t a “Three Laws of Robotics,” which all requirement for the task the robot robots in his world were programmed must perform. Once taught the steps to obey. needed to carry out the j ob, the robot can simply perform those steps over Asimov’s Three Laws and over, relying on its human of Robotics controllers to step in when a problem arises. 1. No robot shall ever harm a � � human, or through inaction allow Some robots must operate in a human to come to harm. hazardous environments or in environments where humans cannot 2. A robot shall always follow the directly interact with them. In these orders of humans, unless those cases, the robot must have much more orders conflict with the first law. Electro and Sparko, 1939 decision-making power so that it can Image Courtesy of Mi ch i gan Human iti es Counc il respond to its environment and to 3. A robot shall prevent itself from unforeseen circumstances. Classic being harmed, unless doing so ROBOTS IN THE REAL WORLD examples of this case are NASA’s would conflict with the first robotic explorers to Mars. Sending two laws. Unlike in science fiction, robots in the out a repair person simply isn’t an real world rarely resemble human option when the machine is over a These laws conflicted in some beings. Walking, while learned naturally 100 million kilometers (~80 million surprisingly complex ways, which by every young child, is a surprisingly miles) away! turned Asimov’s tales into wonderful difficult skill. Robots, with their less-

EW-2005-05-024-JPL The Engineering Design Process

he engineering design process involves a lot more only done as the final stage. Engineers complete the T than assembling components into a final product, no design process long before they shape the first piece of matter if that product is a highway bridge, a robot- steel. The design process involves the following steps, controlled assembly line, or a rover on the surface of which ensure that the goals of the project are balanced Mars. Assembly is only a small part of the process and is with the constraints (limitations) placed on the design.

PROBLEM Clearly identify the problem

REVISIONS CONSTRAINTS Revise and re-test Identify constraints on the as needed or re-evaluate the goals solution to the problem

SUBSYSTEM TESTS SUBSYSTEM DESIGN Test and evaluate Design a prototype the prototype of of each subsystem each subsystem in the product

REQUIREMENTS Identify the requirements the design must meet

Rover image courtesy of NASA/JPL

When designing a robot, some engineers first consider the In the activities that follow, students will be exposed to each constraints that they will face. Others start with a clear phase in the design process as they design a robotic mission statement of what the customer wants the robot to achieve. to the red planet. The activities have been written for Other engineers start with an existing system and adapt or students in grades 5-12, with extensions for students at each modify it to fit the current problem. No matter where the end of that range in each lesson plan. Additionally, each engineer begins in the design process, he or she must still lesson contains extensions for teachers who have access to address each aspect. It is important for engineers to more “high-tech” materials such as commercial robotics kits. document every phase of the process so that when the time All of these activities have been designed to be flexible comes to begin constuction, the engineer can be confident enough to fit your needs. Please feel free to modify and that the design will work to everyone’s satisfaction. customize them as you see fit!

EW-2005-05-024-JPL Design For Success

he process of engi neer ing des ign i nvo lves a l ot more constrai nts, they w ill be ready to tackl e an eng ineer ing T than si mp ly bu ildi ng a dev ice or a structure, whi ch is probl em of the ir own. Students shoul d be encouraged onl y a sma ll part of the overall process. The engi neer ing to see the parallels in the trade-offs they made wi th desi gn process i s not a li near, step-by-step procedure; the Marsbound! and the trade-offs they must consi der when steps repeat over and over until they converge i n the constructi ng the ir f irst rud imentary robots. “best” overall des ign. Activi ty #2 teaches students about the three general Activi ty #1 links your students to a fun acti vity ca ll ed categori es of robot ic components. More i mportant ly, Marsbound!, whi ch makes use of the popul ar “co ll ectab le they will learn to recogni ze these components i n dev ices card game” format. It a ll ows your students to experi ence that they deal with every day. Not all robots are the the engi neer ing des ign process i n a qu ick, read ily inte lligent automatons usuall y assoc iated w ith the term. accessibl e, but surprisi ng l y deep way. Once they have Your students may be surpri sed to rea li ze that robots learned to bal ance des ign goa ls aga inst eng ineer ing are all around them!

Get the full lesson p lan at http://mars.jpl .nasa.gov/c lassroom

A C T I V I T Y # 1 A C T I V I T Y # 2

Marsbound! Parts of a Robot

Learn i ng Goa ls Learn i ng Goa ls Students will learn the steps involved in the engineering Students will learn to identify design process by designing a robotic mission to Mars. the critical components that go into constructing a robot. Nati ona l Sc i ence Educat i on Standards Content Standard E:� Abilities of Technological Design Nat i ona l Sc i ence Educat i on Standards Content Standard E:� Understandings about Overv i ew � � � Science and Technology Students will use a set of “equipment cards” representing different systems that might be on a robotic mission to Mars. Overv i ew Each system has mass and power requirements, as well as a This activity introduces two of the three maj or components budget cost. that go into every robot: sensors for determining its environment and actuators for affecting its environment. Students must ensure that their design has enough on-board power to drive all of its systems, a low-enough mass to launch Students will be presented with real-world robots and asked with existing rocket boosters, and a low-enough cost to fit to identify which parts are sensors and which parts are within their budget. actuators. This activity also exposes students to how robots are being used in our daily lives—they may be surprised to learn j ust how common robots really are! Exampl es of Cards and Gameboard from Marsbound!

Robots also have a third component: a processor that is able to take input from the sensors, make decisions based upon that input, and control its actuators to respond to those decisions. Some robots have processors that are not this complex—they can only perform a pre-determined set of instructions over and over. All robots, however, must have some sort of processor to control them.

Students can gain more experience with robot processors See also the Marsbound! website at: in Activity #8 (Rover Races). http://marsed.asu.edu

EW-2005-05-024-JPL Test, Evaluation and, Revision

n the cl ass ic “egg drop” experi ment, students typi ca lly the eng ineer ing des ign process is i n perform ing these tests I construct a carri er out of var ious mater ial s for the ir egg and gather ing the data that will serve as proof that the “passenger” wi th the goa l ( des ign requ irement ) of des ign w ill work. The actual construct ion shou ld a lways protecti ng i t from harm duri ng the drop. Students take be somewhat assured, si nce the eng ineer i s a lready the ir comp leted carr iers to the top of a tall structure, l et conf ident i n h is des ign. them drop to the ground, and hope they work. An eng ineer does not have the l uxury of bu ildi ng a br idge Act ivi ty #3 introduces the concept of the test, eval uat ion, and “hopi ng i t works!” and rev isi on process, wh ile Act ivi ty #4 allows students to put th is process i nto pract ice i n a var iat ion of the “egg In fact, before the fi rst stee l beam for a bri dge has been drop” exper iment. As i n rea l li fe, the “drop” i s not where fabr icated, the engi neer has done extensi ve tests w ith the rea l work takes pl ace! Both of these activi ti es, as w ith each subcomponent of the desi gn and has data i n hand severa l other act iviti es descr ibed on th is poster, make that proves that the bri dge w ill stand up. The real work in exce ll ent schoo l-w ide competit ions!

Get the full lesson p lan at http://mars.jpl .nasa.gov/c lassroom

A C T I V I T Y # 3 A C T I V I T Y # 4

Launch: Out of This World Entry, Descent, and Landing: Six Minutes of Terror Learn i ng Goa ls Students conduct experiments Learn i ng Goa ls to analyze the relationships between Students apply their knowledge of the test, evaluation, and several engineering variables and revision process to design a robot that can survive a extrapolate the values needed to hit a pre-determined target simulated entry, descent, and landing on the . from their data. Nat i ona l Sc i ence Educat i on Standards Nati ona l Sc i ence Educat i on Standards Content Standard E:� Abilities of Technological Design Content Standard B:� Motions and Forces Content Standard E:� Abilities of Technological Design Overv i ew Content Standard E:� Understandings About Science In a variation of the classic “egg drop” experiment, students � � � and Technology will design a rover using craft sticks and cardboard that can survive a drop of approximately ten meters (~30 feet). Overv i ew Glue and transparent tape are the only other construction Getting from Earth to Mars is not easy! Engineers must give a materials that can be used—no parachutes are allowed! spacecraft enough energy to leave the Earth’s surface and the influence of Earth’s gravity. When the spacecraft arrives at It should be stressed that students get only one chance to Mars, more energy is needed to slow it down to land safely on drop their rover. It must be sufficiently sound to survive the the planet’s surface. They also have to make certain that the drop the first time. The real point, of course, is not whether spacecraft manages to hit its target! Energy to lift the spacecraft or not the rover survives. The real question is: did the to Mars and guidance to ensure the spacecraft arrives on target students devise a test, evaluation, and revision program that are the two biggest challenges in getting to Mars. allowed them to demonstrate with absolute confidence that their rover WILL survive? Students learn about the energy and guidance problems faced by NASA engineers every time they send a rocket into space. Before the drop attempt, students They design a rubber-band-powered launcher that propels a will be required to present their payload from a starting base to a pre-determined landing site. design and the data collected from Students conduct extensive testing and revision of their their tests to convince listeners that launcher design to ensure the correct amount of energy for their rover will, indeed, survive. their payload and to keep it on course during its flight! The success of the drop itself should be a foregone conclusion! NASA/JPL

EW-2005-05-024-JPL ROBOTS ON THE MOVE: Getting Around on Mars

cti vity #3 ( Launch ) requ ired students to perform simp le mach ines that have been organi zed to do a j ob. A tests of their launch system i n order to h it a These si mp le mach ines essent iall y app ly a force to an pre-determi ned target. The general term for th is process obj ect to change i ts mot ion i n some way, be i t push ing, is ca li brat ion, and it is i mportant to all phases of robotic pulli ng, or li ft ing. devel opment. Activi ty #5 formally i ntroduces the concept of cali brat ion as i t app li es to nav igat ing on Mars. Activi ty #6 gives students di rect exper ience w ith forces An accurate cali brat ion of the rover’s mobili ty system is and how they can change an obj ect’s mot ion. Th is act ivity absol ute ly cr iti ca l for the rover to travel safe ly across the formally introduces the fi rst two of ’s Laws of marti an surface. Moti on, g ivi ng your students a fi rst-hand, i ntu itive understandi ng of these pri nc ipl es as they appl y them to Understandi ng the concept of force i s fundamental to the real -wor ld prob lem of the Opportuni ty rover’s descent physi cs and eng ineer ing—and therefore to roboti cs! into Crater. At i ts most bas ic l eve l, a robot is j ust a co ll ect ion of

Get the full lesson p lan at http://mars.jpl .nasa.gov/c lassroom

A C T I V I T Y # 5 A C T I V I T Y # 6

Command and Control: Endurance! Getting From Here to There Descent Into Craters

Learn i ng Goa ls Learn i ng Goa ls Students will conduct experiments to analyze the Students learn how an obj ect’s motion can be described by relationships between several engineering variables and its position and velocity and how forces can cause a change extrapolate from this data the values needed to navigate in the obj ect’s motion. to a pre-determined destination. Nat i ona l Sc i ence Educat i on Standards Nat i ona l Sc i ence Educat i on Standards Content Standard A: � Use Mathematics in All Aspects Content Standard B:� Motions and Forces � of Scientific Inquiry Content Standard E:� Abilities of Technological Design Content Standard B: � Forces and Motion Content Standard E:� Understandings About Science � and Technology Overv i ew Working in groups, students will use small model cars to Overv i ew demonstrate how an obj ect’s motion can be described and Spacecraft on the surface of Mars have no way of directly how forces can change that motion. determining where they are on the surface. There is no Global Positioning System at Mars! Engineers must know Students will use inclined planes of varying angles to provide precisely how far and in what direction the rover has traveled the initial force (gravity) to the cars. They will then use a from its starting point. To do it, they must know how far the stopwatch to measure how long the car takes to travel a rover will travel at a particular power level in a particular distance of one meter. Dividing the distance by the time amount of time, as well as how much the rover deviates from gives the straight-line velocity, also called speed. Students a straight-line course in that same amount of time. will compare the velocities of the cars resulting from several different angles of the inclined plane and will plot this data Students will perform a simple calibration of a toy car and on a graph to make direct observation of the relationship use that calibration to navigate to a target point on the floor. between force and final velocity. They should begin to see that every system on the robot, from the robotic arm to the mobility system, needs to be Because the cars begin from rest, this final velocity is related calibrated. This calibration is performed in similar ways in to the acceleration, leading directly to a demonstration of every case. Newton’s Second Law of Motion. Advanced students can use the data collected in this experiment to “discover” Newton’s Second Law for themselves!

EW-2005-05-024-JPL A Robotic Revolution

obots on Mars do not have a great deal of power Activi ty #8 introduces your students to robot R avail ab le to them to use for thei r m iss ion— in fact, programmi ng. Gett ing the software ( the robot’s some light f ixtures i n your house may use more power instruct ions ) ri ght requ ires test, eva luat ion, and rev ision than a Mars rover! How, then, can a robot hope to lift just like the hardware of the robot does. Thi s process is heavy i nstruments or bri ng rocks i nto i ts on-board call ed “debugg ing,” a term that many beli eve (i ncorrect ly, laborator ies for ana lys is? as i t turns out ) was co ined by Rear Admi ra l Grace Hopper early in the h istory of computers. I n the 1940s, Admi ra l The robot i s ab le to mu ltip l y the force i t can app ly to a Hopper found a (slight ly cr isp ) moth i ns ide one of the task through the use of l evers, pu ll eys, and other si mp le huge computer mai nframes at Harvard Uni vers ity. She machi nes. These s imp le mach ines a ll ow l ess force to be removed the moth, taped it into her l ogbook, and j ok ing ly appli ed over a greater di stance. Activi ty #7 allows penned the entry: “Fi rst actua l case of bug bei ng found.” students to see that the work done i s the same, but the History w ill forever cred it Adm ira l Hopper w ith the f irst force that must be appli ed i s often dramati ca lly less. true “debuggi ng” of a computer system!

Get the full lesson p lan at http://mars.jpl .nasa.gov/c lassroom

A C T I V I T Y # 7 A C T I V I T Y # 8

Robotic Arms Rover Races

Learn i ng Goa ls Learni ng Goa ls Students will learn how forces are applied in simple machines Students will apply their and how machines can decrease the force humans or robots understanding of robotic must exert to perform a task. programming to simulate a rover that must race other rovers across the martian surface. Nati ona l Sc i ence Educat i on Standards Content Standard B:� Forces and Motion Nati ona l Sc ience Educat ion Standards Content Standard E:� Abilities of Technological Design Overv i ew How do engineers design robotic arms for rovers, and landers Overv iew sent to Mars? How can a rover make best use of its very limited Teleoperation (controlling a robot from a distance) is no easy power supply to interact with the martian environment? task. Rovers operating on other planets cannot be driven in a Students will learn how machines make our lives easier by real-time “j oystick mode” because the time required for a signal multiplying the amount of force applied to a task. Students will to travel from the Earth to another planet is so long. The Mars lift obj ects with a lever, using weights to measure how much Exploration Rovers have quite a bit more capability to operate force is being applied. The weight multiplied by the distance independently, but they still fundamentally rely on command lifted is equal to the work. Students will directly experience sets that have been created on Earth and uploaded to them. mechanical advantage, the concept that, although the work done in moving the obj ect is always the same, the amount of Students will program a human “rover” to navigate safely force required to move it can be drastically reduced using across a simulated martian landscape, retrieve a “Mars rock,” simple machines. This fundamental concept underlies all and return it safely to its “lander.” All commands will be design principles that go into developing modern robots, both pre-written on a set of index cards. here on Earth and on Mars. The Mars Exploration Rovers are not operating alone. Two orbiting spacecraft, and Mars Odyssey, are continually providing orbital surveillance and communications for the rover. Thus, student programmers will be allowed an “orbital view” of the terrain to be explored. From this view, they will write their programs and hand the The 2007 Phoen ix M iss ion w ill use a robot ic arm stack of commands to the “processor,” who will call off the to d ig into the i ce at the Marti an north po l e. commands in order. Students may soon realize that they need Spiri t's rover arm extended towards marti an so il I mages courtesy of NASA/JPL some way to “calibrate” their human rover!

EW-2005-05-024-JPL Mars Sample Return

obots make excell ent exp lorers i n host ile bri ng ing the samp le on-board the spacecraft and R envi ronments such as Mars. But no robot, no matter desi gn ing a l aunch p latform capabl e of support ing how sophi st icated, can make as careful and deta il ed an the sampl e-return rocket and i ts prec ious cargo. ana lys is of the red pl anet as a human can. Someday, humans will trave l to Mars and will be ab le to study the Activi ty #9 introduces the concept of power as students rocks they fi nd there. Until that t ime, however, sci ent ists des ign a mach ine capab le of extract ing max imum power studyi ng Mars would li ke to do the next best thi ng: br ing from a feebl e w ind i n order to lift a rock from the surface a sampl e of Mars back to Earth for study. to the hei ght of a spacecraft. Activi ty #10 chall enges students to desi gn a structure that can support the potentia l In the other activi ties, your students have desi gned a energy gai ned from li ft ing as heavy a rock as possib le to miss ion, l aunched a spacecraft, and desi gned a system to the greatest hei ght poss ible. Both cha ll enges can be get that spacecraft safel y to the surface of Mars. In these turned i nto a schoo l or d istr ict-w ide competit i on, br ing ing two acti vit i es, students will invest igate two i mportant tasks some exci tement to your students’ l earn ing exper ience! necessary for any successful samp le-return m iss ion:

Get the full lesson p lan at http://mars.jpl .nasa.gov/c lassroom

A C T I V I T Y # 9 A C T I V I T Y # 10

Bringing Mars Home: Get It On Board! Bringing Mars Home: Launch Platform

Learn i ng Goa ls Learn i ng Goa ls Students put their knowledge of the design process into Students learn how the test, practice by designing a wind-powered robot with the evaluation, and revision process ensures maximum power output (work divided by time). that a finished design will meet its design goals and engineering constraints. Nati ona l Sc i ence Educat i on Standards Content Standard B:� Forces and Motion Nat i ona l Sc i ence Educat i on Standards Content Standard E:� Abilities of Technological Design Content Standard E:� Abilities of Technological Design

Overv i ew Overv i ew Students are presented with a straightforward, but surprisingly Students gain even more experience with the test, evaluation, complex, task: create a wind-powered machine that will and revision process critical to good engineering design. With produce the maximum power output possible. Power is craft sticks, students work to build a launch platform that can defined as the work performed divided by the time required to support the greatest weight at the greatest height—in other perform it (work, as the students have learned in previous words, the maximum potential energy. Students are activities, is the force applied multiplied by the distance over encouraged to try different forms of structural units (cross which it is applied). Students can approach the problem from a beams, suspensions, triangles or other geometric shapes, etc.), number of different ways: some will want to lift a small weight testing each type to see which can support the most weight. very quickly; others will want to move a larger weight a bit more slowly. The distance in both cases will be fixed at the It is important that students get multiple opportunities to height of a hypothetical Mars sample return spacecraft. In the experiment with different designs. To reinforce the idea of end, it is only the final number—the power—that will testing small sub-systems instead of finished designs, students determine the winner! should be encouraged to test only small, representative portions of a given type of structure. For example, students Materials can be as common or as exotic can explore how much weight a single triangular structural as desired. Remember, the only source unit can support and compare that to a single structural unit of of energy for the Mars sample lifter is a another type before constructing an entire platform for testing. small box fan. The lifter can easily be The goal is for students to experience the iterative nature of the constructed out of household materials engineering design process. They should feel free to refine such as wooden dowels and string, but adding their design to increase its performance! pulleys and gears can make it even more of a challenge!

EW-2005-05-024-JPL THE BIG LEAGUES: Going to Mars

hese fi na l two act iviti es br i ng together all of the robot to Mars. They shoul d be ab l e to present T concepts l earned i n th i s un i t. Your students will des i gn documented proof that thei r m i ss i on w ill succeed before a full si mu l ated m i ss i on to the surface of Mars. You any “go for l aunch” command i s g i ven! shoul d endeavor to make the si mu l at i on as rea li st i c as possibl e. Even w i th fa irly l ow-tech material s, the After compl et i ng the act iviti es i n th i s un i t, it i s a good i dea simu l at i on can be qui te comprehensi ve i n demonstrati ng to have your students “debri ef” the i r m i ss i on, h i gh li ght i ng all of the des i gn cha ll enges assoc i ated w i th us i ng robots to where the concepts they have l earned f it i nto the f i na l expl ore another pl anet! As your students have l earned by miss i on and how they mi ght do th i ngs d i fferent l y the next now, the real work i n des i gn i ng a robot li es i n the time. Th i s type of se l f-eva l uat i on i s an i mportant sk ill your plann i ng phase. As i n Act ivi ty #3 ( and i n the rea l wor l d! ), students must devel op i n order to become i ndependent, your students will on l y get one chance to “l aunch” the ir criti ca l th i nkers.

Get the full l esson p l an at http://mars.jpl .nasa.gov/cl assroom

A C T I V I T Y # 11 A C T I V I T Y # 12

Mars Mission Planning Bringing It All Together: The Mars Mission

Learni ng Goa ls Learni ng Goa ls Students are given a problem to solve and use their Students will take the mission knowledge of technology and robots to design an plan developed in Activity #11 appropriate solution. and will construct their proposed robot. They will engage in the Nati ona l Sc i ence Educati on Standards test, evaluation, and revision NASA/JPL Content Standard E:� Abilities of Technological Design process planned in that activity and make adj ustments as Content Standard E:� Understandings About appropriate, culminating with the presentation of the design � � � Science and Technology to their classmates.

Overvi ew Nati ona l Sc i ence Educati on Standards Students are presented with the task of designing a robot to Content Standard E:� Abilities of Technological Design complete a specific series of tasks on Mars: land on a Content Standard E:� Understandings About simulated surface, retrieve a rock sample, and return it to � � � Science and Technology Earth. The students should plan every aspect of the mission in detail, including a plan for how they will test and evaluate Overvi ew their design. Students carry out the design they have created in the previous activity. The scope of this activity can be as simple Students should be expected to test individual sub-systems of or as complex as you desire (and have resources available). their robot, performing many of the tasks they have learned For example, your students could return the sample to Earth in previous activities. Only after each sub-system has been by building a lever-based springboard that propels the sample tested and found to meet its mission goal should the entire canister back to a predetermined spot representing Earth. robot be brought together for “system integration testing.” Or, your students could construct a flying model rocket that carries its payload skyward and is expected to land within a given confined area. The choice is completely up to you.

Regardless of the level of simulation, students should still carry out their design, test, evaluation, and revision plans for each sub-system of their robotic explorer. This activity is a great deal of fun, but it will serve to cement in students’ Entry minds how robots are created and used to explore Mars, Descent and how they could one day participate in space exploration. Landi ng Images courtesy of NASA/JPL

EW-2005-05-024-JPL Teacher Resources

Finding NASA Educator Materials products can be found here. Village at Indian Hill 1460 East Holt Avenue, Suite 20 “How to Access I nformat ion on NASA’s NASA Porta l Pomona, CA 91767 Educati on Program, Material s, and Serv ices ” http://www.nasa.gov Phone: (909) 397-4420 is a gu ide to access ing a var iety of NASA I L, I N, M I , MN, OH, W I material s and serv ices for educators. Copi es The NASA Portal serves at the gateway for NASA Educator Resource Center are avail ab le through the ERC network or information regarding content, programs, and NASA Glenn Research Center electron ica ll y v ia NASA Spaceli nk. services offered by NASA for the general public Mail Stop 8-1 and, specifically, for the education community 21000 Brookpark Road CORE with the goals to inform, involve, and inspire. Cleveland, OH 44135 http://www.nasa.gov/educati on/core NASA’s goal is to improve interactions for Phone: (216) 433-2017 students, educators, and families with NASA ASA’s Central Operation of Resources for and its education resources. CT, DE, DC, ME, MD, MA, Educators (CORE) was established for the NH, NJ, NY, PA, R I , VT national and international distribution of NASA- NASA Te l ev isi on ( NTV ) NASA Educator Resource Center produced educational materials in multimedia http://www.nasa.gov/multi med ia/nasatv/ NASA Goddard Space Flight Center format. Educators can obtain a catalogue and Mail Code 130.3 an order form by contacting: NASA Television (NTV) features Space Station Greenbelt, MD 20771-0001 and Shuttle mission coverage, live special Phone: (301) 286-8570 NASA CORE events, interactive educational live shows, Lorain County Joint Vocational School electronic field trips, aviation and space news, VA and MD’s Eastern Shore 15181 Route 58 and historical NASA footage. Programming NASA Educator Resource Center Oberlin, OH 44074-9799 includes the Video (News) File, NASA Gallery, GSFC/Wallops Flight Facility Phone: (440) 775-1400 and Education File–beginning at noon Eastern Visitor Center Building J-17 FAX: (440-775-1460 and repeated four more times throughout Wallops Island, VA 23337 E-mail [email protected] the day. Phone: (757) 824-2298

NASA Educat i on Program For more information on NTV, contact: CO, KS, NE, NM, ND, OK, SD, TX http://educati on.nasa.gov NASA TV Space Center Houston NASA Headquarters - Code P-2 NASA Educator Resource Center NASA’s Education Home Page serves as the Washington, DC 20546-0001 NASA Johnson Space Center education portal for information regarding Phone (202) 358-3572 1601 NASA Road One educational programs and services offered by Houston, TX 77058 NASA ERCN NASA for the American education community. Phone: (281) 244-2129 http://www.nasa.gov/educati on/ercn This high-level directory of information provides specific details and points of contact FL, GA, PR, V I To make additional information available to the for all of NASA’s educational efforts, Field NASA Educator Resource Center education community, NASA has created the Center offices, and points of presence within NASA Kennedy Space Center NASA Educator Resource Center (ERC) each state. Mail Code ERC network. Educators may preview, copy, or Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899 receive NASA materials at these sites. Phone Phone: (321) 867-4090 NASA Space li nk calls are welcome if you are unable to visit the http://spaceli nk.nasa.gov ERC that serves your geographic area. A list of KY, NC, SC, VA, WV the centers and the regions they serve includes: NASA Spacelink is one of NASA’s electronic Virginia Air & Space Center resources specifically developed for the Educator Resource Center AK, Northern CA, H I, I D, educational community. Spacelink serves as an NASA Langley Research Center MT, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY electronic library to NASA’s educational and 600 Settlers Landing Road NASA Educator Resource Center scientific resources, with hundreds of subj ect Hampton, VA 23669-4033 NASA Ames Research Center areas arranged in a manner familiar to Phone: (757) 727-0900 x 757 Mail Stop 253-2 educators. Using Spacelink Search, educators Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000 and students can easily find information among AL, AR, I A, LA, MO, TN Phone: (650) 604-3574 NASA’s thousands of Internet resources. Special U.S. Space and Rocket Center events, missions, and intriguing NASA Web NASA Educator Resource Center AZ and Southern CA sites are featured in Spacelink’s “Hot Topics” NASA Marshall Space Flight Center NASA Educator Resource Center and “Cool Picks” areas. One Tranquility Base NASA Dryden Flight Research Center Huntsville, AL 35807 P.O. Box 273, Mail Stop 1100 NASA’s Educat i on Products Phone: (256) 544-5812 Edwards, CA 93423-0273 http://spaceli nk.nasa.gov/products Phone: (661) 276-2445 MS This website is the official home to electronic NASA Educator Resource Center CA versions of NASA’s educational products. A NASA Stennis Space Center NASA Educator Resource Center complete listing of all of NASA educational Building 1100 NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

EW-2005-05-024-JPL