find water on the moon, a presentation for 2nd and 3rd graders
DESCRIPTION
This is a little presentation I put together for a 2nd and 3rd grade class, about looking for water on the moon.TRANSCRIPT
How was the Moon formed?
Young Earth was struck by a huge asteroid, and debris from this collision coalesced to form the Moon.
The Moon was molten in its early stages, and the crust solidified from light magma that floated to the surface.
IS THERE water on the moon?It looks like a desert to me.
What does water look like?
It just does not look like that on the moon.
How about the atmosphere?
Lunar atmosphere: Earth atmosphere:
I think you can leave your umbrella at home.
What are clouds made of again?
How would YOU look for water on
the moon?
• The moon is far away,
238,900 miles.
• It has no air to breathe
• Since it has almost no
atmosphere, it is very
COLD or very HOT, hot =
253 F, cold= -243 F. (Water
freezes at 32 F).
• Water is H2O, that is 2
atoms of hydrogen bound to
one atom of oxygen
What about orbiting the moon?
• We use the LRO, Lunar Reconnaisance Oribiter, to take detailed photos of
the surface of the moon.
• http://lunar.gsfc.nasa.gov
• http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/spacecraft/index.html
LRO
It takes pictures, measures neutron flux, and measures the heat on the moon.
This can give us a better idea of where is a good place to explore the moon, because the moon is large, about ¼ the size of Earth.
We do think there is water there.The dark blue and purple areas at the poles have neutron emissions* that indicate hydrogen-rich deposits covered by dry regolith*.
This may indicate water in the form of ice or hydrated minerals.
Finding natural resources, such as water ice, on the moon could help lunar exploration.
A lunar outpost is a stepping stone to future exploration of other bodies in our solar system. The moon also offers many clues about when the planets were formed.
*Regolith is a layer of loose material covering solid rock. It includes dust, soil, broken rock, and other related materials*Neutron emission is a type of radioactive decay of atoms with extra neutrons; the neutron is ejected from the nucleus.
Can we smash something into the
moon and look for water?
• Totally! We did that in 2009. The mission was
called LCROSS. That stands for Lunar CRater
Observation & Sensing Satellite.
www.nasa.gov/lcross
• There is a good video here: http://lcross.arc.nasa.gov/mission.htm
LCROSS
Wait, WHAT?• We looked at the plume of debris that puffed up after we hit the moon.
• We used
– visible cameras,
– ultraviolet cameras,
– infrared cameras
– thermal cameras
– ultraviolet & visible spectrometer*
*A spectrometer measures light and is used to identify materials.
The moon is already covered with craters from giant asteroids that hit it.
Light travels in waves
http://science.hq.nasa.gov/kids/imagers/ems/visible.html
Infrared
How you detect elements with a
spectrometerWhen groups of atoms (in the gas phase) absorb energy, they emit energy as light with only certain wavelengths, in a line spectrum.
If you analyze this light you can tell what elements are there.
nm = 1 billionth of a meter; there are one billion nanometers in a meter. There are 10,000,000 (ten million) nanometers in a centimeter
What about robots?
• Robots don’t have to breathe, and you can attach all kinds of instruments to
them, cameras, drills, spectrometers, thermometers, anything!
• We are working on a set of instruments and tools to look for water on the
moon.
My favorite rover, k10 K10’s cousin, kRex.
http://irg.arc.nasa.gov is where I work.
We practice on Earth
• In the summer of 2012, we went to the crater in Hawaii to practice looking for water.
• The “ground” or “science back room” was where I work, at NASA Ames. This was where the scientists analyzed the images and information coming back from the robot and its instruments.
• We worked with a Canadian rover called Artemis Jr.
• It had cameras, a drill, an oven, and various spectrometers.
• xGDS is a set of tools I work on in my group to help the scientists
Artemis Jr Rover from Canadian Space Agency
Drilling
Ames Back Room
A lot of women are scientists! It’s a super awesome job to have!
Ames Back Room
xGDS Plot – Drill Support
Contact with ground
Drilling: 28cm – 50cm
Drilling: 50cm - 60cm
DrillExtraction
Water signal Water signalBandDepthBaseline
DrillDepthBaseline
No water signal
Drill position at contact
20120717-234806 20120718-002137 20120718-002207
Build your own spectrometerRemember, NEVER LOOK AT THE SUN. You can become blind.
http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_games/spectra/makeGrating.htmhttp://www.exo.net/~pauld/activities/CDspectrometer/cdspectrometer.html
Credits
A bunch of images are from NASA’s websites.Also from Northrup GrummonAlso from Paul DohertyAlso from NASA Ames IRGAnd from the Canadian Space Agency