NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, is excited to announce that the 2016-17 edition of its Cassini Scientist for a Day essay contest will be taking place this year. Since the Cassini mission to Saturn will be ending on September 15, 2017, this will most likely be the last essay contest for the Cassini mission.
The contest is open to all students in grades 5-12 in the United States, as well as in over 40 other countries that have national contest coordinators. Students may work alone or in groups of up to four students. Students write an essay of up to 500 words about one of three possible imaging targets that the Cassini spacecraft has taken during the past few years.
The 2016-17 essay contest topics are:
1. The ice plumes at the south pole of Saturn's moon, Enceladus
2. The lakes of Titan
3. The hexagon at Saturn's north pole
Students will justify their choice as to which one they think would potentially yield the best science. Winners and their classes are invited to participate in a teleconference with Cassini scientists from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
All essays must be submitted by the student's teacher. Cassini scientists and educators will read all the entries and choose the winners.
The contest deadline is February 24, 2017 at noon, Pacific Time (3:00pm Eastern Time).
For contest rules, a downloadable contest flyer, frequently asked questions, and more information, visit:
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/Scientist-For-A-Day
Short videos about each topic will be available on the contest website in the coming months.
The essay contest meets U.S. National Science and Language Arts Standards.
For teachers who choose to make the essay a class assignment, please send us your best three essays per class, and email us the names of all of the students who also wrote essays.
All students who write essays will receive a certificate of participation. Winners and their classes will be invited to participate in a teleconference with Cassini scientists and winning essays will be posted on the Cassini website.
Inquiries about the contest should be e-mailed to: scientistforaday@jpl.nasa.gov
The contest is open to all students in grades 5-12 in the United States, as well as in over 40 other countries that have national contest coordinators. Students may work alone or in groups of up to four students. Students write an essay of up to 500 words about one of three possible imaging targets that the Cassini spacecraft has taken during the past few years.
The 2016-17 essay contest topics are:
1. The ice plumes at the south pole of Saturn's moon, Enceladus
2. The lakes of Titan
3. The hexagon at Saturn's north pole
Students will justify their choice as to which one they think would potentially yield the best science. Winners and their classes are invited to participate in a teleconference with Cassini scientists from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
All essays must be submitted by the student's teacher. Cassini scientists and educators will read all the entries and choose the winners.
The contest deadline is February 24, 2017 at noon, Pacific Time (3:00pm Eastern Time).
For contest rules, a downloadable contest flyer, frequently asked questions, and more information, visit:
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/Scientist-For-A-Day
Short videos about each topic will be available on the contest website in the coming months.
The essay contest meets U.S. National Science and Language Arts Standards.
For teachers who choose to make the essay a class assignment, please send us your best three essays per class, and email us the names of all of the students who also wrote essays.
All students who write essays will receive a certificate of participation. Winners and their classes will be invited to participate in a teleconference with Cassini scientists and winning essays will be posted on the Cassini website.
Inquiries about the contest should be e-mailed to: scientistforaday@jpl.nasa.gov
The main contest website can be found here: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/educ/scientist-for-a-day
A shortened URL for the contest is: http://go.nasa.gov/2eMlpLU
The Cassini mission's website can be found at http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov
If you would like to be added to the Cassini Scientist for a Day email distribution list to receive additional updates about the contest, please send an email to scientistforaday@jpl.nasa.gov with "add me to the mailing list" in the subject line.
