Origins of Life: The Lost City and Icy Worlds
Video Credit: Susan Lang, U. of SC. / NSF / ROV Jason / 2018 © WHOI”
“Origins of Life: The Lost City and Icy Worlds” is a NASA SCoPE grant in partnership with Arizona State University and OpenSpace. SCoPE grants connect subject matter experts (SME’s) with NASA SciAct Teams.
OpenSpace, a NASA SciAct initiative, is open-source interactive data visualization software designed to visualize the entire known universe and portray our ongoing efforts to investigate the cosmos. SME Sarah is an astrobiology science communicator who recently sailed to the Lost City Hydrothermal Field onboard the JOIDES Resolution on Expedition 399.
Together, Sarah and the team at OpenSpace are designing new visualizations of the vent field within the software to connect the importance of the Lost City Hydrothermal Field to the research of origins of life and the search for life on icy worlds. They additionally will place some of the important research vessels into the program to highlight the collaborative and interdisciplinary nature of astrobiology research.
Kelley/ M. Elend/UW/URI-IAO/NOAA/The Lost City Science Team
Once developed, Sarah will create a story-line to implement into a planetarium show. This show will first be premiered at American Museum of Natural History’s Hayden Planetarium. It will then be shared with Sarah’s local community of Rockford, IL.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, Rockford's public schools have an average math proficiency score of 11%. The average English Language Arts score is 18%. Science proficiency sits at 31%. All scores sit significantly lower than the state average.
As such, the need for supplemental STEM engagement is urgent.
Hayden Planetarium, New York City.
As the planetarium story-line is developed, Sarah will also workshop with 10 formal and informal educators in the region, to develop variations of the guide to best cater the presentation to the unique needs and education levels of students in this area. As a resident and parent within the area, SME Treadwell has an invested interest in bringing more quality STEM educational opportunities to this community.
Sarah, also known as Space Case Sarah, is a lifelong student and explorer dedicated to learning about the cosmos and the wonders of our pale blue dot. Her primary focus is astrobiology, as she loves how it requires all the sciences to come together. Her source of inspiration is always her children, hoping to serve as a role model to them on how to live a full and purposeful life.
