Rendezvous with a Comet: Mission Overview

In the not-too-distant future, teams of scientists are routinely using small maneuverable space stations to venture out into Earth's "neighborhood" as part of a long-term study of small bodies in the Solar system. Primary targets include comets and asteroids, which scientists believe are the oldest most primitive bodies in the Solar System and may preserve the earliest record of the material that formed Earth and its planetary neighbors.

During this mission, team members work as scientists and engineers headed to Rendezvous with a Comet as part of this continued study of our Solar System. These rendezvous missions are critical in helping scientists verify and better understand data collected by earlier small body missions occuring at the start of the new Millennium, such as STARDUST and its capture of cometary material from Comet Wild-2 in 2004 and the return of that material to Earth in 2006. The actual samples provided by STARDUST established detailed baseline data on comets still used today.

The Rendezvous with a Comet mission is geared for students in grades 5-8.

Voyage to Mars: Mission Overview
The year is 2076, and man has landed on Mars. The Mars Control team is charged with the selection of entry and departure trajectories before the landing and subsequent lift-off of the Mars Transport Vehicle can occur. The crew on the Mars Transport Vehicle is tasked with the launching of probes targeted at the Martian moons. A probe will be launched to Phobos prior to landing, and another to Deimos before the flight back to Earth.

Both the relief crew and the planet-based crew will be under tight deadlines to gather important data and communicate information to the teams, the spacecraft and the Mars base. The crews also will gain an appreciation for the "luxuries" of Planet Earth, such as air, water and food, as compared to a barren planet such as Mars.

The Voyage to Mars mission is geared for students in grades 6-8.