NASA’s website, Space Place, has released a new interactive map of the US that allows you to find NASA connections in your state and beyond.
NASA inspiring Communities with its Projects
NASA launched its Space Place website in 1998 with a mission to inspire upper-elementary-school-age kids and encourage them to learn about space and Earth science through hands-on activities, engaging games, informative articles, and short videos.
The NASA’s Space Place team at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California, produced the site for Science Mission Directorate. It contains resources in both English and Spanish language for students, teachers, and parents so that they can take advantages of the latest updates on the site.
The associate administrator of Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, stated that they launched “NASA in the 50 States
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Through this website, they intend to make people aware of how NASA is serving various communities. It’s also an exciting way of knowing how NASA plays a part in America’s exploration of space.
The people across the country can explore the map to find details about the NASA research institutes, universities, and research centers that work in association with NASA. They can also explore the birthplaces of the Astronauts who work on different NASA’s space missions.
It also contains profiles of NASA’s employees, capital cities, populations, and other facts of the 50 states. Moreover, it has a collection of NASA images related to each state. It can also predict the states that fall in the path of totality for the 2017 and 2024 eclipses.
The web producer of Space Place, Jessica Stoller-Conrad, said that one of the things that they really want to do with the website is making it space science relatable and accessible to kids and other people. This website is a great source of showing kids how their home state is contributing to space explorations.
Summary:
Besides “NASA in the 50 States” project, NASA conducts different programs and events to inspire the people across the US. They organize events under Night Sky Network, in which people can participate for in-person inspiration. This network is run jointly by JPL, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, and other organizations. The main aim of this network is to bring amazing aspects of astronomy to the public. Volunteers can also join another Solar System Ambassadors program by NASA which shares the latest space science and discoveries through a variety of local events, thus inspiring communities and masses.
References:
Visit "NASA in the 50 States" at: https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/nasainthe50states/ Visit the Night Sky Network: https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/ Find your local Solar System Ambassador: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system-ambassadors
