[meteorite-list] NASA Extends Deadlines for Student Exploration Design Challenge

[Ron Baalke]

December 19, 2013

Ann Marie Trotta
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1601
ann.marie.trotta at nasa.gov 

Ashl Harris
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
ashle.s.harris at nasa.gov 
     
RELEASE 13-380
     
NASA Extends Deadlines for Student Exploration Design Challenge

NASA is extending deadlines for its Exploration Design Challenge, an  
educational program connected to Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) -- the  
first mission for NASA's new Orion spacecraft, scheduled to launch in  
September 2014 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The new deadline for high school students to submit payload design notebooks  
has been extended to Feb. 28. The deadline for all students to complete a  
radiation learning module and fly their names on EFT-1 now is June 30.

The challenge invites students from kindergarten through 12th grade to  
research and design proposed solutions to help protect astronauts from space  
radiation during Orion's long-duration deep space missions to an asteroid and  
Mars.

The Exploration Design Challenge was launched in March through a partnership  
between NASA and Lockheed Martin Corp., in collaboration with the National  
Institute of Aerospace. The challenge brings cutting-edge learning to  
educators and students using standards-based activities, as well as print and  
video resources and technical guidance to help them learn how to solve  
difficult problems associated with human space exploration.

Participating students in grades kindergarten through 8 will analyze  
different materials that simulate space radiation shielding for human space  
travelers aboard the Orion spacecraft. After participating in activities  
guided by their teachers, students will recommend materials that best block  
harmful radiation.

Participating students in grades 9-12 can take the challenge a step further  
by designing a shield to protect a sensor inside Orion from space radiation.  
Five high school team designs will be selected for program review in March  
2014, and the final winning design will be announced by the end of the school  
year. The high school team with the winning payload design will be flown to  
NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to watch their experiment launch into  
orbit aboard Orion.

NASA and Lockheed Martin are developing the Orion spacecraft to carry  
astronauts beyond low-Earth orbit and on to an asteroid or Mars. EFT-1 is  
Orion's first uncrewed mission in space, providing an opportunity to test the  
protective abilities of the students' payload design as the spacecraft  
travels through the intense radiation of the Van Allen Belt during its  
3,600-mile journey above Earth.

To learn more about the Exploration Design Challenge and sign up to become a  
virtual crew member, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/education/edc 

For information about NASA's education programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/education 

For more information about Orion, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/orion 

-end-