[FPSPACE] FW: Dawn E-News, November 2008

Thu Dec 4 20:37:45 EST 2008

Date: Wed, 3 Dec 2008 15:40:31 -0500From: dawn at mcrel.orgTo: ljk4 at msn.comSubject: Dawn E-News, November 2008

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Dawn Mission Outreach E-News, December 2008

DAWN JOURNAL: COMING SOON! MARS FLYBY
ACHIEVING THE PERFECT TRAJECTORY TO VESTA 

Every month, Dawn's Chief Engineer, Dr. Marc Rayman, reveals the amazing science and technology behind Dawn's current investigations. Humorous and wide ranging, his observations and explanations help us appreciate Dawn's thrilling explorations. What's next for Dawn? Dawn will take advantage of a Mars' flyby and gravity assist to align itself perfectly for its journey to the asteroid belt and its first target, Vesta. Read Dr. Rayman's "Dawn Journal" at http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/journal_11_26_08.asp.

MISSION STATUS: 
DAWN COMPLETES ITS LAST MONTH OF THRUSTING

"After mission controllers finished routine maintenance on components of the attitude control and ion propulsion subsystems on October 3, Dawn devoted the rest of the month to thrusting. On October 31, it completed almost all of the thrusting required for 2008...." Be sure to review monthly Mission Status Updates, written by Dawn's science team at http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status.asp. 

WHERE OH WHERE IS DAWN??

Take a look at exactly where Dawn is in its trajectory to the Asteroid Belt. As it approaches Mars for its February 2009 gravity assist, watch the planet grow larger and larger in the view! Also see what Dawn sees through simulations that view the Sun, Earth, and Vesta as if from Dawn:  http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/live_shots.asp#.

DAWN MARS FLYBY WORKSHOP:
 JOIN US AT ONE OF OUR FOUR LOCATIONS - OR ON-LINE

Join Dawn scientists and engineers along with educators from around the country in a set of unique, convergent workshops in California, Colorado, Oregon and West Virginia, on March 7, 2009! Dawn flies by Mars in February, 2009. As the spacecraft executes special maneuvers to shift its direction into the correct orbital plane for encountering the object of its first intended destination, the asteroid Vesta, science and engineering teams will be sharing key updates and information with conference participants. Terrific curricular materials are part of this unique opportunity! For more information and registration, go to: http://www.dawn-mission.org/getInvolved/mga_ed_conf.asp.

FROM EARTH TO DAWN AND BACK: 
MS. PATRICIA DU FOSSÉ LOCK

Meet Dawn's former End-to-End Information System Engineer, Ms. Patricia du Fossé Lock. What exactly does an End-to-End System Engineer do? "That means I make sure that data (commands) to be uplinked can get from the scientist's head to the ground system, to the spacecraft and to the instrument. Then, I make sure the data from the science observations make it all the way back to the scientist's desk." Ms. Lock not only tells us about her highest of high-tech work for Dawn, but how she got started as an engineer in the first place. Ms. Lock is currently working on NASA's lunar mission, GRAIL. Learn more about what inspired Patricia and what advice she has for aspiring engineers and scientists at http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/people/lock_patricia/interview.asp.

NEWEST VESTA ANIMATION

Attention solar system ambassadors and other Dawn Mission presenters! A new animation depicting the Dawn space craft orbiting Vesta and collecting data is now available for your use at http://www.dawn-mission.org/multimedia/videos.asp!

HEY KIDS!  BECOME A DAWN ENGINEER!

CONSIDERING BEING AN ENGINEER?  DO YOU THINK DAWN IS SUPER COOL?Build a spacecraft model, snap a picture, and send it in to become one of Dawn's Young Engineers! Engineers and their spacecraft will be featured on the Dawn mission web site. For more details, go to: http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/getInvolved/index.asp.

DAWN WINS WEB AWARD:
 AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION'S BEST SITES FOR KIDS

Dawn's website won the honor of being included in the America Library Association's Best Web Sites for Kids this month! Come December, you can link to Dawn through their website - and many other terrific sites for kids as well. Congratulations to the Dawn Web Team! Visit Dawn at: http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/. 

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK

The Dawn Education and Public Outreach team is continually seeking ways to improve the mission Web site and is eager to receive your feedback. Please share your thoughts by completing a brief survey at http://vovici.com/wsb.dll/s/13d56g382d7?paction=resume.

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*************************************************************************************************************************************************************Dawn Mission Outreach E-News features information about the mission, its outreach Web site, and products, services, and materials available from the Dawn Education and Public Outreach (E/PO) team. Dawn is the ninth Discovery mission in NASA's Science Mission Directorate and is a collaborative partnership made up of the University of California, Los Angeles; Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Orbital Sciences Corporation; Los Alamos National Laboratory; German Aerospace Center; Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research; Italian Space Agency; and Italian National Institute of Astrophysics. Dawn outreach materials are developed under contract by Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL), Denver, CO.

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