AGU Poster Session Abstracts

MRO's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE): Education and public Outreach Plans
* Gulick, V C, NASA Ames/ SETI Institute, NASA Ames Research CenterMS 239-20, Moffett Field, CA 94035 United States

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) will fly on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) mission, planned for launch in August of 2005. HiRISE will investigate deposits and landforms resulting from geologic and climatic processes and is optimized for the evaluation of candidate landing sites. The camera will combine unprecedented resolution (25-50 cm/pixel) and signal-to-noise ratio with a 5–10 km swath width and partial 3-color coverage. HiRISE will image a carefully selected few percent of the surface area of Mars on a variety of scales down to 1 meter, a resolution currently afforded only in glimpses by landers. Therefore, HiRISE will provide a bridge between orbital remote sensing and landed missions. The HiRISE E/PO effort focuses on involving students and the public directly in image suggestion and data analysis. HiWeb ( http://marsoweb.nasa.nasa.gov/hirise ), HiRISE's public website will provide user-friendly web tools for students, the team, and the general public to suggest target locations for HiRISE imaging. Web tools will also provide interactive viewing and analysis of HiRISE images in context with other available Mars data. Web events, involving participation by team members, will inform students and interested members of the public of HiRISE capabilities and science goals and help focus the public image suggestions. Curriculum modules will focus on the image suggestion process and on working with digital data of planetary surfaces. These modules will also be translated into Spanish and other languages. We will also provide online opportunities for students and the public to participate in data analysis by helping to create databases of a variety of geologic features (gullies, boulders, craters, wind streaks, etc.) present in the HiRISE images (see http://clickworkers.arc.nasa.gov for examples with current Mars image data). Starting in 2006, educator workshops will be held each year at or near the institution of HiRISE team members. Workshop background materials and instructions for all hands-on activities will be placed on HiWeb. This will facilitate sharing of information with other educators and the general public. An Educational Advisory Panel consisting of formal and informal K-14 educators will evaluate HiRISE curricula and E/PO efforts and provide feedback for improvement.

Author(s) (2004), Title, Eos Trans. AGU, 85(47), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract

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