GALILEO SSI Education

BRINGING JUPITER TO EARTH

The activities below are part of a larger set of educational products that will be included in an upcoming NASA Educator's Guide entitled "Bringing Jupiter to Earth". All of these activities are currently being reviewed by teachers and educators, and may change prior to publication. In the meantime, feel free to utilize them in your classroom.

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"Galileo Calling Earth"
Students learn how digital signals are created and returned to Earth, and then apply these concepts to the interpretation of images from the Galileo Orbiter.

Moons in Resonance
Given the orbital radius and period of Jupiter's moon Io, students use Kepler's Third Law to calculate the orbital periods of Europa and Ganymede, thereby discovering the 1:2:4 resonance of the three moons.

Flexing Muscles and Moons
Students calculate the gravity gradient across Io's surface, and then model the effects of tidal flexing by repeatedly squeezing a rubber ball (applying mechanical energy) and quantifying the result (thermal energy). Finally, students kinesthetically act out the dynamic inner structures of Io and Europa.

Crater Mysteries
Students will first simulate the effects of collision between asteroids, and describe the resulting size distribution. Next, using images of Jupiter's four largest moons obtained by NASA's Galileo spacecraft, students will investigate crater densities and size distributions, and interpret those in terms of relative surface ages and how the craters might have been formed.

What's So HOT About Io?
Students will model the Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS) instrument by using a sheet of liquid crystal to detect areas of high infrared (IR) radiation. Advanced students then calculate the area and power output of the volcano Prometheus based on the IR data.

Europa Geology Jigsaw Puzzle
Using a ball of "polymer putty," students first observe how materials behave under different conditions. Students then interpret the geologic history of the C3 Wedges region of Europa by manipulating pieces of a "jigsaw puzzle." Students also describe the motion and origin of the terrain as it relates to the possibility of liquid water or ductile ice below.

Europa: Ingredients for Life?
A game of chance involving gathering the ingredients necessary for life (as we know it) to exist. Also includes discussions of the sources of these ingredients, the role of large impact events in shaping life, and the potential difficulty of producing life even when these ingredients are present. Roll the dice, and try to complete the life puzzle!

Additional lessons to be included in the final published version (which will also be available online here)

• From Mythology to Science
• Mission Simulation: Explore Jupiter!
• Modeling the Instruments and Spacecraft
• Orbiting with Kepler's Laws
• Navigating the Solar System with Gravity Assist
• The Scale and Distance of Jupiter
• Riding the Waveforms: Modeling the Magnetospheres
• Storms of Jupiter: Motion of the Great Red Spot
• Probing Jupiter's Atmosphere

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Galileo K-12 Educational Activities Page

The editors of this booklet are

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Galileo Solid State Imaging Team Leader: Dr. Michael J. S. Belton

The SSI Education and Public Outreach webpages were originally created and managed by Matthew Fishburn and Elizabeth Alvarez with significant assistance from Kelly Bender, Ross Beyer, Detrick Branston, Stephanie Lyons, Eileen Ryan, and Nalin Samarasinha.

Last updated: September 17, 1999, by Matthew Fishburn

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