Visit Our Event Campaign Page   Investigating the Red Planet's Interior Structure The Mars Insight Lander touched down on Mars at around noon Pacific (3 p.m. Eastern) on Nov. 26, 2018. The lander plunged through the thin Martian atmosphere, heatshield first, and use a parachute to slow down. Then, it fired its retro rockets to slowly descend to the surface of Mars, and land on the smooth plains of Elysium Planitia InSight, short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is a Mars lander designed to give the Red Planet its first thorough checkup since it formed 4.5 billion years ago. [...]

Visit Our Event Campaign Page   Humanity's First Mission to Touch the Sun NASA’s historic Parker Solar Probe mission will revolutionize our understanding of the Sun, where changing conditions can propagate out into the solar system, affecting Earth and other worlds. This probe will travel through the Sun’s atmosphere, closer to the surface than any spacecraft before it, facing brutal heat and radiation conditions — and ultimately providing humanity with the closest-ever observations of a star.

Visit Our Event Campaign Page   Connecting Kids with Astronauts Through Libraries The High Plains Library District, in collaboration with the Space Science Institute’s STAR Library Network (STAR Net) and its NASA@ My Library initiative, was selected by NASA to host a live In-flight Education Downlink  from the International Space Station with NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor. The event will be streamed live nationally so that other public libraries can organize their own viewing event. Learn more! Date: October 18, 2018 | Time Range: 10:00am-10:20pm MT* Location: Riverside Library & Cultural Center in Evans, Colorado

Visit Our Event Campaign Page   Connecting Kids with Astronauts Through Libraries Slover Library, one of the most technologically advanced libraries in Virginia, was selected by NASA to host a live In-flight Education Downlink on August 9, 2019 from the International Space Station with NASA astronaut Nick Hague. Note: Nick is replacing Christina and Drew as the participating astronaut for this event. In the summer of 2019, 16,000 libraries across the country will celebrate space exploration in their summer reading programs. The slogan “A Universe of Stories” was chosen by library professionals to help inspire children of all ages to dream big, believe in themselves, and create their own [...]

Visit Our Event Campaign Page   The Perseverance Rover Landing Perseverance will touch down on Mars on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, at approximately 12:30 p.m. PST (3:30 p.m. EST). During landing, the rover plunges through the thin Martian atmosphere, with the heat shield first, at a speed of over 12,000 mph (about 20,000 kph). A parachute and powered descent slow the rover down to about 2 mph (three-fourths of a meter per second). A large sky crane then lowers the rover on three bridle cords to land softly on six wheels. Landing on Mars is hard. Read all about the [...]