Three school student teams in the fifth through eighth grades have been selected as the winners of NASA’s second annual Spaced Out Sports challenge. The students designed science-based games that will be played by astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

The games illustrate and apply Newton’s laws of motion by showing the differences between Earth’s gravity and the microgravity environment of the space station. The challenge is part of a broader agency education effort to engage students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) activities.

To design their game, students use up to five items from a two-page list of objects aboard the ISS. The list includes such items as socks, exercise putty, bungees, cotton swabs, tape, rubber bands, zipper-top bags, chocolate-covered candies and drink bags.

Students at Pierremont Elementary MOSAICS Academy in Manchester, Mo., earned the top prize with their game “Starfield.” In this activity, astronauts will travel through a course to gather “power stars” and throw them through a “black hole target.”

Second-place honors went to students at East Brook Middle School in Paramus, N.J., for their “Outstanding Obstacles” game. It calls on astronauts to race through obstacles including “hair band shooting” and “ring toss.”

Third-place winners were students at Tyngsborough Middle School in Tyngsborough, Mass., for their “Learning Takes You around the World” game, in which astronauts will propel through rings, collecting slips of paper.

“Congratulations to the 2012 Spaced out Sports winners,” said Leland Melvin, associate administrator for education at NASA Headquarters in Washington and two-time shuttle astronaut. “By combining solid STEM skills with imagination and teamwork, these students have demonstrated that they have what it takes to be our next generation of engineers and designers.”

The Spaced Out Sports challenge is a NASA Teaching from Space activity and was first offered in 2010. Using an accompanying curriculum, teachers lead students through a study of Newton’s laws, highlighted by hands-on activities and video podcasts featuring NASA scientists and engineers explaining how the laws are used in the space program.

“The three top games were selected but everyone really is a winner in this challenge,” said Katie Wallace, director of NASA’s Stennis Space Center Office of Education near Bay St. Louis, Miss., where the challenge and accompanying curriculum were developed. “Every student involved wins by learning more about science and establishing an educational foundation that will serve them well throughout their careers and life.”

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On March 17th, NASA’s spacecraft MESSENGER revealed surprising details about Mercury’s interior and topography, changing astronomers’ understanding of the small planet and how it was formed.

MESSENGER (MErcury Space Surface ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging) is the first spacecraft sent to orbit and study Mercury, which orbits the Sun a mere 36 million miles away. It’s the innermost and hottest planet in our solar system. MESSENGER was launched in August 2004. Before traveling to Mercury, it made a series of flybys around the Earth (once) and Venus (twice).

MESSENGER finally arrived at Mercury on March 18, 2011 and went around three times. Using radio signals, the spacecraft studied Mercury’s gravitational field, magnetic field, topography, internal geological structure, and chemical composition. Because the results of MESSENGER’S flybys around Mercury were so valuable, its mission was extended to last for another year in November 2011.

Mercury’s topography has changed many times since Mercury was fully formed, meaning that there has been a considerable amount of geological activity. For that reason, before studying any of the planet’s internal structure and history, MESSENGER first produced an accurate map of Mercury’s gravitational field using information derived from the planet’s topography and spin state.

Thereafter, two studies were conducted simultaneously, examining Mercury’s internal structure and geography. In one study, the researchers involved with MESSENGER discovered that the planet’s core was much larger than previously thought: it takes up 85 percent of the planet’s radius. Furthermore, it is liquid instead of solid. Previously, scientists assumed that Mercury would have been cooled enough by now for the core to be solid.

Above the core lies an unusual layer that is composed of solid sulphur and iron – a layer not found in the other rocky planets in the Solar System. The outer layers of the internal structure consist of a solid silicate crust and mantle. It is thought that inside the larger liquid core lies a smaller solid core composed of sulphur and iron.

The other study of Mercury’s topography produced other surprising discoveries. When MESSENGER’s Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) produced a topographic model of the northern hemisphere and areas in the mid-latitude range, researchers learned that the elevation spread is smaller than similar regions on the Moon and Mars. The area that sticks out the most is lowlands that contain the northern volcanic plains.

Moreover, according to the Carnegie Institute for Science’s press release,

“… the interior plains of Caloris impact basin — 1,550 kilometers (960 miles) in diameter — have been modified so that part of the basin floor now stands higher than the rim. The elevated portion appears to be part of a quasi-linear rise that extends for approximately half the planetary circumference at mid-latitudes. These features imply that large-scale changes to Mercury’s topography occurred after the era of impact basin formation and large-scale emplacement of volcanic plains had ended.”

This new knowledge of Mercury’s internal structure and topography gives insight as to how Mercury formed thermally and how the planet’s magnetic field is generated. Details of the findings of each study from MESSENGER’s mission will appear in two separate papers, which will appear on March 23 in the journal Science.

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The stakes are high in Houston as four high schools and universities prepare for Shell Eco-marathon Americas. St. John’s High School and the University of Houston are competing again this year and for the first time, Westside High School and Rice University are also getting ready to compete.

They and more than 1,000 other high school and university students across the Americas are preparing for the sixth annual Shell Eco-marathon Americas. Shell Eco-marathon challenges students to build, design and compete with their high-mileage vehicles in competitions held annually in Europe, the Americas and Asia. Shell Eco-marathon brings together future leaders in science and engineering who are passionate about finding solutions to global energy challenges.

At the University of Houston, the Superleggera team expects its entry to achieve the equivalent of 1,000 miles per gallon. “We want our vehicle to represent the school well and start a legacy that can be continued by future teams,” said Superleggera team leader Jose Guerrero. “We also hope that one day soon, our school can claim the number one spot – not only at Shell Eco-marathon Americas – but among all the Houston schools competing!”

“This is our first year participating in Shell Eco-marathon Americas and we are excited to show everyone, especially theUniversity of Houston, just what Rice University can do,” said Andrew Owens of the Rice Solar Car team. “Our two universities have a long-standing rivalry between them and we’d love to bring a win home to Rice, especially when it involves the future of energy.”

From March 29 through April 1, students and their fuel-efficient vehicles will navigate the streets of downtown Houston, amid the skyscrapers, and strive to break the astounding 2,564.8 miles per (one) gallon achieved in 2011 by Quebec’s Universite Laval team, which will compete again this year.

That far outperformed the 50 miles per gallon attained by a Shell scientist in 1939 in a challenge that has evolved into today’s Shell Eco-marathon. Since then, the event has brought together thousands of students from more than 30 countries to put their futuristic vehicles to the test.

“Shell Eco-marathon is an important part of the energy challenge facing our planet,” says Mark Singer, global project manager. “The future will require a mosaic of energy solutions, and we believe we’re contributing to a smarter energy future with more responsible options for our customers and credible advice for our markets and policymakers. Shell Eco-marathon is an amazing experience for students and spectators alike.”

For first-time competitors from Rice University, participating in this year’s event goes beyond what number the team places in the challenge. “Our participation involves motivating and educating students through a large scale, interdisciplinary, hands-on project in which students can collaborate to create something spectacular,” said Rice Solar Car team spokesman Robert Wilson. “We hope to introduce students to the fun side of engineering by allowing them to practice some of the skills they’ve developed in their classes and build something they can be proud of.”

“By encouraging students around the world to design, build and test vehicles that travel farther using less energy, Shell Eco-marathon provides an education platform for students to apply real-life skills to meet the increasing demand for energy,” says Singer. “These students and their innovative ideas can help shape the future of energy.”

Shell Eco-marathon Americas is family-friendly, free and open to the public; so, spectators can come out to watch and cheer on the teams. There will be a variety of activities and displays on-hand at Discovery Green and George R. Brown Convention Center, including: Science and education displays in the park for children and families including The Children’s Museum ofHouston, the Offshore Energy Center, Houston Community College-NE, the University of Texas: GeoFORCE Program, San Jacinto College, Trinity Science Solutions LLC, HoustonWorks, Fiat and a variety of educational Shell displays and booths in the park.

Additionally, the National CSTEM Challenge, which is a cross curriculum project incorporating Communications, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math to encourage students of all ages to develop problem solving skills and solutions, will also be taking place at George R. Brown Convention Center.

In addition to the student competition, Shell along with media sponsor The New York Times, will host the 2012 Energy Summit: Earth 2050: The Nexus of Food, Energy, Water. The two-day symposium will be attended by a variety of leaders representing policy, the environment, business and academia.

Shell Eco-marathon Americas coincides with another key Shell community event, the 2012 Shell Houston Open, which will be played the week of March 26-April 1 at Redstone Golf Club-Tournament course. Phil Mickelson is defending champion. Visit www.ShellHoustonOpen.com and www.shell.com/ecomarathon/americas for details.

For more information on all 2012 events across the globe, including the complete Americas 2012 roster, schedule and official rules, please visit Shell Eco-marathon website at www.shell.com/ecomarathon/americas.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/vermin87/

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An international robotics competition aimed at developing a new generation of technology leaders kicks off at 10:30 A.M. EST Saturday, Jan. 7. NASA, the largest sponsor of the FIRST Robotics Competition and its centers across the nation, will join local technology firms to launch the event.

The main competition kickoff will take place at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester and will air live on NASA Television. FIRST — or For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology — is a long-standing challenge to inspire curiosity and create interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics among high school students. Encouraging students to pursue STEM studies and careers is the focus of NASA’s education programs.

“NASA’s Science Mission Directorate is proud to have sponsored this technology revolution for the past 19 years,” said John Grunsfeld, NASA’s associate administrator for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “This program has given tens of thousands of students a crucial mentoring experience if they choose to be a part of future exploration endeavors in space. FIRST Robotics is fun and exciting and will sustain an unprecedented positive educational impact on our nation’s youth.”

The FIRST Robotics Competition gives students the opportunity to design, build, and test a robot that can perform specific functions. The competition also gives students the opportunity to be mentored by NASA professionals, who help them to explore potential solutions to robotics problems and understand the real-world challenges faced by engineers and researchers.

“FIRST Robotics has had a tremendous impact on students’ interest in robotics and invention since its inception,” said Leland Melvin, NASA’s associate administrator for Education. “In fact, it was a mutual interest in FIRST Robotics that led the agency to a recently announced collaboration with entertainer will.i.am. We are excited to work together to help inspire the next generation to pursue STEM and robotics studies.”

During the live broadcast of this year’s competition kickoff, inventor and FIRST founder Dean Kamen and designers of the annual challenge will reveal this year’s competition scenario. This kicks off a six-week design and building frenzy for students and their engineering mentors. Each year, participating FIRST teams are presented with a new robotics competition scenario with twists and nuances to challenge both rookie and veteran teams.

Each team receives a kit of parts and has six weeks to design and build a robot based on the team’s interpretation of the game scenario. Other than dimension and weight restrictions, the look and function of the robots is up to each team. NASA plays a significant role by providing public access to robotics programs to encourage young people to investigate careers in the sciences and engineering.

Through the NASA Robotics Alliance Project, the agency provides grants to teams and sponsors four regional student competitions. NASA engineers and scientists participate with many of these teams as technical participants and mentors to the students. Through these mentoring activities, NASA engineers are able to directly share their expertise and experiences with the nation’s next generation of technical leaders.

This year, there will be regional competitions across the country, as well as four additional international competitions in March and April. The FIRST Championship competition will be held April 25-28 in St. Louis. The program was founded in 1989 by Kamen to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people, their schools, and communities. Based in Manchester, New Hampshire, FIRST is a non-profit organization that designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills while motivating young people to pursue academic opportunities.

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