A Visit to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Author(s): Nabila Jahchan	Field Trip - Teacher's Guide SED 695B; Fall 2005

le Directions and Maps Aerial view of the Jet Propulsion Lab. Directions to JPL: 4800 Oak Grove Drive Pasadena, California 91109 (818) 354-4321 From Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) From Downtown Los Angeles From Burbank/Glendale/Pasadena Airport From the San Fernando Valley From the San Gabriel Valley From Downtown Pasadena Maps: Map of the Greater Los Angeles area Map of the Pasadena area Map from the 210 freeway to JPL

Topics addressed :

1- Stars and Galaxies

2- The solar system

3- Earth’s place in the universe

4- Astronomy and Planetary exploration

Description of Field Trip

The JPL Public Services Office offers tours free of charge for groups and individuals on an advance reservation basis. You must speak with a Public Services Office representative in order to reserve a tour. Reservations may not be made via e-mail, voice mail or fax.

Advance reservations are required for all tours; please call well in advance.

All tours are 2-2.5 hours in duration and commonly include a multi-media presentation on JPL entitled "Welcome to Outer Space," which provides an overview of the Laboratory's activities and accomplishments. Guests may also visit the von Karman Visitor Center, the Space Flight Operations Facility, and the Spacecraft Assembly Facility.

The 2 hours and 30 minutes guided tour consist of :

20 minutes check-in, each visiting individual on the reservation list should have a legal American ID.

20 minutes lecture on the history of JPL

30 minutes video on the Robotics planetary research beyond Earth’s orbit.

20 minutes going around modules of Space Aircraft Explorer and Cassini where you can hear “The Sounds of Earth” in all languages and see “The Voyager Record Photographs “

30 minutes visit to the museum where modules and pictures of the different space craft are disposed, in addition to the pictures taken of the wonderful planets.

30 minutes spent in the gallery observing from behind the glass the Deep Space Network and the communication complex around the world.

20 minutes visit to the Instrument Laboratory where you can visualize the full scale of the Rover #3 and all the computers and instruments it carries

Earth's Place in the Universe

1. Astronomy and planetary exploration reveal the solar system's structure, scale, and change over time. As a basis for understanding this concept:

a.		Students know how the differences and similarities among the sun, the terrestrial planets, and the gas planets may have been established during the formation of the solar system.
b.		Students know the evidence from Earth and moon rocks indicates that the solar system was formed from a nebular cloud of dust and gas approximately 4.6 billion years ago.
c.		Students know the evidence from geological studies of Earth and other planets suggest that the early Earth was very different from Earth today.
d.		Students know the evidence indicating that the planets are much closer to Earth than the stars are.
e.		Students know the Sun is a typical star and is powered by nuclear reactions, primarily the fusion of hydrogen to form helium.
f.		Students know the evidence for the dramatic effects that asteroid impacts have had in shaping the surface of planets and their moons and in mass extinctions of life on Earth.
g.	*	Students know the evidence for the existence of planets orbiting other stars.

2. Earth-based and space-based astronomy reveal the structure, scale, and changes in stars, galaxies and the universe over time. As a basis for understanding this concept:

a.	Students know the solar system is located in an outer edge of the disc-shaped Milky Way galaxy, which spans 100,000 light years.
b.	Students know galaxies are made of billions of stars and comprise most of the visible mass of the universe.
c.	Students know the evidence indicating that all elements with an atomic number greater than that of lithium have been formed by nuclear fusion in stars.
d.	Students know that stars differ in their life cycles and that visual, radio, and X-ray telescopes may be used to collect data that reveal those differences.

Study Guide:

 Name:______________________ Period:___________________ Date of Field Trip:____________________________

 As you follow and listen attentively to the JPL guide, write three important facts you learned in each of the visited area:

1) Von Karman Visitor Center

2) the Space Flight Operations Facility

3) and the Spacecraft Assembly Facility

Questions:

1) Identify at least one discovery made by each of the following spacecraft: Explorer, Cassini, Spitzer and Gallileo.

2) How many active air spacecraft are there on Mars right now?

3) How many projects are scientists in the JPL working on this year?

4) How many pictures are there in the Voyager Record Photographs?

5) What is the acronym for UTC?

6) How many Antennas are involved in the communication complex around the world? Where is each one located?

7) Name the planets in order of nearest orbit to the sun to the farthest.

8) Which is the largest planet? And which is the smallest?

9) What did you learn about the rings of Saturn?

10) What did Explorer spacecraft find on Mars?

	Compare the relative sizes of the planets in the solar system Mars Global Surveyor ( ¼ - scale model ) Launched in 1996, MGS has orbited Mars over 25,000 times studying the entire Martian surface, atmosphere and interior.
	001 Mars Odyssey Orbiter ( ½ - scale model ) It has found evidence of water ice a meter beneath the surface. Odyssey continues to orbit Mars, mapping the chemical elements and minerals on the surface and relaying the data from the Spirit and Opportunity rovers back to Earth.
Refer S Sources & Links:  http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/pso/pt.cfm http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/solar_system/ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/earth/ http:/