This is a lesson about elemental abundance in solar wind. Learners will count elements extracted from a simulated sample and learn how the extraction of atoms from the Genesis samples help scientists have a better understanding of the abundances of... (View More) elements from the solar wind. The hands-on experience helps students to discover that the elemental abundances from the sun can be used as a baseline to compare with the diverse bodies of our solar system. (View Less)

This is a NASA special publication about the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn, that was published in 1997 and reflects the facts and theories as known prior to mission arrival. Learners can read about what was involved in sending this large... (View More) spacecraft to the outer solar system. One chapter explains the mission, another the spacecraft. Other chapters tell about Saturn, Titan, the rings and the various other parts of the Saturn system. In addition to information about the Cassini mission to Saturn, there is also information about the Huygens atmospheric probe of Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, to see if there are really liquid hydrocarbons on Titan’s surface in the form of lakes or seas. (View Less)

This lithograph shows an image of Mars on the front, with informational text on the back about how the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has been used to study Mars weather. HST took this image on March 30, 1997, just as it was making a close pass to... (View More) Earth some 60 million miles (100 million km) away. It shows Mars during the transition between spring and summer in the northern hemisphere (summer solstice). The north polar carbon dioxide (dry ice) frost cap is rapidly evaporating from solid to gas, revealing a much smaller permanent water ice cap. Bright water ice clouds are visible across the center and along the bottom of the image. (View Less)