Mars InSight Roadshow Comes to the Discovery Museum
Scientists and engineers from NASA are presenting their new Mars space project at the Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum on May 2 – 3 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., just days before the actual spacecraft is scheduled to launch from nearby Vandenberg Air Force Base on May 5. Called the “InSight Roadshow,” this NASA tour is stopping at cities along the earthquake-prone California coast to explain how the robotic lander will study Mars’ deep interior using seismology and other geophysical measurements. Visitors to the museum can look forward to family-friendly science activities such as a “Make Your Own Marsquake” demonstration that invites you to create your own “quake” by jumping and then viewing the seismometer results on a screen. InSight is the first mission to study the deep interior of Mars using an ultra-sensitive seismometer, a heat-flow probe and other instruments that will reveal the planet’s level of warmth and geological activity as well as details about its orbit and clues to planet evolution. InSight is led by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.
ROADSHOW DETAILS:
NASA’s InSight mission will be the first interplanetary launch from the West Coast. In preparation for its May launch, the Mars InSight Roadshow is stopping at cities along the earthquake-prone California coast to explain how the robotic lander will study Mars’ deep interior using seismology and other geophysical measurements.
Stop by the Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum May 2-3 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., chat with NASA scientists and engineers, and learn about Mars Quakes, and how InSight will study in-depth the “inner space” of Mars: its crust, mantle and core.
What to Expect:
“Make Your Own Marsquake” demo, in which members of the public jump and see seismometer readings on a screen
Interviews with NASA scientists and engineers
Colorful backdrops and selfie stations
Models of the InSight spacecraft
Mars globe “cutaways” showing the interior of Mars
Virtual reality headsets used to see panoramas of Mars
Who to Expect:
Members of InSight’s mission and science teams
JPL’s Mars public engagement team
NASA Solar System Ambassadors
