Date: Wednesday, May 7, 2008

STUDENTS ATTEND NASA PROGRAM STUDYING MARS

College Heights Christian School Chemistry students were selected to attend NASA and Arizona State University’s Mars Education Program. The student team had to meet certain requirements by doing several advance projects and activities to be involved in authentic Mars research. Once they were completed, the students along with High School Science instructor Jean Miller submitted the question “How do the depth of the crater and the height of its rim affect the length of its light tone windstreak on Mars?” This question was approved and the team was invited to attend the Mars Student Imaging Project (MSIP).

The students from College Heights Christian School had the opportunity to work side by side with NASA scientists, mission planners and educators on the THEMIS team at ASU’s Mars Space Flight Facility. They were able to image a site on Mars using the THEMIS visible wavelength camera onboard the Mars Odyssey spacecraft which is currently orbiting Mars every 2 hours and then conduct their study.

The student team consisted of Emily Beaver, Ethan Beaver, Rachel Brehm, Dalton Brothers, Rachel Calandro, Ethan Clouse, Christie DeSonier, Paul Emery, Brittany Eppright, Jessica Garner, Leah Gillquist, Alan Good, Traci Guhr, Jeremy Jones, Elizabeth Khaleghi, Shiori Koda, Brittney Lewis, Jennifer Marti, Matthew Michael, Brant Smith, and Kirsten Ward.

After their 3-day visit and analyzing data from over 40 craters, the students concluded that the width of the crater has a greater impact than does depth on the length of the wind streak and that there a numerous other factors that contribute to the formation of these wind feature on Mars.’

For Information:
Jean Miller, Instructor                                                                                   Christina Hardy, Public Relations
782-4114                                                                                                    782-4114 ext 203

CHCS Chemistry Students pause for a picture during their three days studying Mars with NASA scientists at Arizona State University.

Ethan Beaver provides a presentation at the NASA and Arizona State University’s Mars Education Program