Cassini Meets The Lord of the Rings

SCIENCE NASA is deliberately crashing its $3.9-billion spacecraft in a fiery “Grand Finale” on Saturn. Why? (NASA) Revisit Cassini’s legacy with our study guides on two of its discoveries. Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers Toolkit.   Discussion Ideas   The world is watching as NASA prepares to crash its Cassini spacecraft into the gas giant Saturn. What … Continue reading Cassini Meets The Lord of the Rings

A Teenager Just Built The World’s Lightest Satellite—and NASA’s Launching It

SCIENCE An Indian teenager has not only produced A 64-gram (0.14-pound) satellite, NASA has agreed to launch it next month. (Science Alert) So, you want to build a satellite? Watch our video to see what’s involved. Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers Toolkit. Discussion Ideas Rifath Shaarook, an 18-year-old Indian teenager, just designed Kalam Sat, the world’s lightest … Continue reading A Teenager Just Built The World’s Lightest Satellite—and NASA’s Launching It

GOES-R, Where No One Has Gone Before

SCIENCE What makes GOES-R the best, most advanced weather satellite ever launched? (AP) Learn a little about weather satellites in the last paragraph of our encyclopedic entry here. Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers Toolkit, including instructions for building a LEGO® model of GOES-R. Discussion Ideas The good folks at NASA and NOAA just launched the “best weather … Continue reading GOES-R, Where No One Has Gone Before

Pluto on the Horizon

SCIENCE After almost a decade in flight, New Horizons will fly by the enigmatic dwarf planet on Tuesday. What it will find there is anybody’s guess. (National Geographic magazine) Play our fun game to learn “Pluto’s Secret” ahead of New Horizons. (Or, make your own paper model of Pluto and the New Horizons spacecraft!) Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in … Continue reading Pluto on the Horizon

NASA Discovers New Batch of Earthlike Planets

SCIENCE NASA’s Kepler spacecraft has shaken its one-thousandth planet from the sky. Eight new worlds beyond our solar system boost the number of Kepler’s confirmed planets to 1,004 (if you’re keeping count). (National Geographic News) What is a planet? Use our resources to find out! Teachers, scroll down for a short list of key resources in our Teachers’ Toolkit. Discussion Ideas Kepler, NASA’s amazing mission … Continue reading NASA Discovers New Batch of Earthlike Planets