Continuing in the tradition started by the Cassini mission to Saturn, Scientist for a Day challenges students in grades 5-12 to think like NASA scientists. Examine real spacecraft images of Saturn’s moon Enceladus, Saturn’s moon Titan, and Jupiter’s moon Europa. Choose the destination you think would be the best place to return with another spacecraft to learn even more about these amazing worlds. Support your choice in an essay of no more than 500 words. Which of these three moons inspires you to explore further? What excites you about what we’ve learned so far? What do you hope we’ll find if we return to these places? If you like, you can even tell us which science instruments you would put on the next spacecraft to help us learn even more.
The 2018-19 essay contest is sponsored by the Radioisotope Power Systems program. This is the group at NASA that develops the power technology that enables spacecraft to explore the planets and moons of the outer solar system. For more information about Radioisotope Power Systems, visit https://rps.nasa.gov
This moon of Saturn has active ice geysers at its south pole that are feeding one of Saturn’s rings.
more
This moon of Saturn has a dense atmosphere, mountains made of ice, and lakes made of methane.
more
This moon of Jupiter has more water under its icy crust than all of the water in Earth’s oceans.
more
Team: Volcano Busters
Grade 7-8
"We choose to photograph Enceladus, because we think its without doubt a very special moon."
"...the eruption plumes discovered in Enceladus are a magnificent contribution to understanding the interaction between orbits and gravitational tides."
Team: The Swimmers
Grade 5-6
"These great discoveries left us jaw dropped, amazed, such an awesome phenomena occurring in another celestial body different from Earth?"
Team: The Skywalkers
Grade 9-12
"We tried to replicate conditions and components in Saturn's atmosphere to our best knowledge learned at school."
"...on places like Titan, conditions are perfect for taking water out of the equation."
Team: The Cave Explorers
Grade 9-12
"Titan is for our planet a real mirror of further exploration and expansion of technology for future energy production..."
"We applied infrared light to simulate sun light, and we obtained a hexagonal and also an octagonal shape."
"Imagine the geysers at Yellowstone National Park, but thousands of times stronger, such that they can breach the atmosphere."
"Discovering life in outer space could open doors for science, leading us to places we have never ventured."
"A closer look at Enceladus' ocean could be the key to unlocking the origin of life on Earth."
"The lakes on Titan, Saturn's biggest moon, are an oddity worth researching."
Jay Chakraborti
Grade 7-8
"Liquids are essential to life. We spend our journeys through space looking for one certain liquid: water."
"The strange hexagonal storm on Saturn is a turbulent place which has raised many questions since Cassini reached the planet in July of 2004."
Zade Akras, Vikash Modi
Grade 9-12
"Studying Titan's hydrocarbon lakes can allow us to determine if water truly is the only liquid suitable for life."
"This is a unique phenomena never observed in other planets!"
Alexia de Costa
Grade 5-6
"Hurricanes on Earth usually last for about a week, but the hurricane on Saturn has been in existence for probably decades or even centuries."
"Enceladus, a natural satellite of Saturn, has become the best candidate to harbor extra terrestrial life thanks to certain similarities with planet Earth."
"La infinidad del Universo ha inspirado a ciertos hombres y mujeres a indagar sus secretos, cada descubrimiento que ha hecho el hombre, ha sido una conversación sostenida con el Cosmos."
"Para el misterio, para el Universo, Saturno, Cassini .... para los aficionados de la astronomía y para la NASA, yo soy Miguel, tengo 10 años, vivo en el pequeño puntito azul y soy humano."
Manuel Ciro Monsalve
Grade 5-6
"Hola, quieres saber la receta de Encelado, la gran luna de Saturno?"
"Saturn's hexagon is nothing like any cloud system seen on Earth and defies our notion of clouds, making it an attractive target for further investigation."
Team: Volcano Busters
Grade 7-8
"We choose to photograph Enceladus, because we think its without doubt a very special moon."
