Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Writing Wednesday: February 13 (Contest ends February 28th)

Updated 2/13/2013 @ 5:52PM
Updated 2/15/2013 @ 12:28AM
BREAKING NEWS!!!!

NASA scientists want to know what you think about whether NASA's next big mission to the outer solar system should go to Saturn's moon, Titan, or Jupiter's moon, Europa. Both of these moons are fascinating places to explore
. 
Current and previous missions like the Cassini mission orbiting Saturn and the Galileo mission that orbited Jupiter sent back images of these two moons.Scientists want to know whether life could exist on these moons.

Astrobiologists are scientists who search for life beyond Earth. So far, the only life we have found is on our own planet, the Earth. Scientists are very interested in knowing whether life could exist elsewhere in the solar system. Titan and Europa are two very interesting moons that astrobiologists are interested in. 

Your misssion is to
1.  Read the following information CAREFULLY!
2. READ & RESPOND to at least one other essay submission in Collaborize Classroom on this topic.  This counts as 75% of your grade!  

Look for...
·         a clear thesis statement
·         each topic sentence in each supporting paragraph supports the thesis statement
·         evidence is introduced, presented and explained
·         each sentence begins with a capitol letter 
·         sentences are complete/unfragmented 
·         its and it's are used correctly (also: , were and where, to, too, and two and I is capitalized)
·        
3.  Watch the videos about astrobiology and about why astrobiologists are interested in sending missions to Titan and Europa, and the engineering challenges of exploring Titan and Europa, then you get to choose which moon you would send a spacecraft to explore, if you could. 

The Titan mission would include 
  • a Titan orbiter and a Titan balloon. 
  • The Europa mission would include a Europa orbiter and a Europa lander. 
  • The orbiters, balloon, and lander would each have science instruments to study either Titan or Europa. 
  • In your essay, you can include information about what science instruments you would put on the orbiter and balloon or lander, if you wish, based on what you hope to find on Titan or Europa. 
After watching the videos, 
1.    do your own research to learn more about Titan and Europa
2.    write an essay (no longer than 500 words) to tell NASA why you think they should go to Titan or to Europa.  (You can only write about ONE)
PLEASE write your essay in Microsoft Word 
·         SPELLCHECK. 
·         COPY & PASTE your COMPLETED essay to the forum no later than Friday, February 22, 2013. [DO NOT email it to me.]

[The framework for this contest is that no outer planet mission has been selected for further development. Students are being asked to explain what they think should come next.]

Give your essay to your teacher NO LATER THAN Friday, February 22, 2013.

Have your teacher submit your contest entry on your behalf.

READ THE RULES CAREFULLY!   

Essay contest entries must be received by Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013.
NASA will send certificates of participation to all students who enter the contest.

 Winning essays will be posted on a NASA website, and the winners and their classes will be invited to participate in a question-and-answer teleconference, videoconference, or web conversation with NASA scientists.

This contest is sponsored by the NASA Astrobiology Institute, with participation from the

Titan Astrobiology team and the Astrobiology of Icy Worlds team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

Please note: This contest is open to all students in the United States who are in grades 5 to 12.  

We will need a couple of days to edit and revise your essays [February 22 - 28th] BEFORE sending in the Contest Entry form.

FAQs

Watch These VIDEOS Titan and Europa Essay Contest Videos

RESOURCES: (Updated 2/13/2013)
NEW!  Writing Tools 
Posted by Leslie Brewster at