Over 140 Oak Trace Elementary School students will have the incredible opportunity to speak with NASA about the Cassini Mission from 1 to 2 p.m. on Thursday, thanks to a Link Observatory Space Science Institute DiscoverSpace Live Event.
“We will be bringing NASA live into the classroom using video conferencing technologies,” said Institute Director Greg McCauley. “Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer Todd J. Barber will host a one-time, unforgettable event and will highlight over two decades of Cassini’s successful mission to Saturn.”
Barber will share his propulsion experience while at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. He has worked on the Cassini mission to Saturn since its beginning.
Orbiting the ringed planet Saturn and its numerous moons, the Cassini spacecraft has been and continues to be a keystone of exploration of Saturn’s system and the properties of gaseous planets in the solar system. A joint endeavor of NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Italian Space Agency, Cassini launched in 1997 along with ESA’s Huygens probe. The spacecraft contributed to studies of Jupiter for six months in 2000 before reaching its destination, Saturn, in 2004 and starting a string of flybys of Saturn’s moons.
“Since April 2017, Cassini has begun its grand finale orbit and is now approaching the end of its mission as the spacecraft begins final entry into Saturn’s atmosphere,” said McCauley. “On Sept. 15, 2017, Cassini will complete its remarkable story of exploration with an intentional plunge into Saturn’s atmosphere, ending its mission after nearly 20 years in space.”
For more information, contact Greg McCauley at (317) 709-1710.
For more information on the Link Observatory Space Science Institute, visit www.linkobservatory.org.
The mission of the Link Observatory Space Science Institute is to advance scholastic literacy of future generations with informal STEM education focused on NASA missions, astronomy, and space exploration; to foster scientific curiosity and advance science literacy to cultivate and nurture the next generation of leaders. Its vision is to share the wonders of the universe in ways that excite, inspire, challenge, and educate.