EPSC 2018 Outreach Sessions – Abstracts and Presentations
Once again, the 2018 European Planetary Science Congress (EPSC) had a comprehensive and well attended stream of outreach sessions. Below, you can find links to the abstracts and videos of some of the presentations. For the first time, EPSC mixed things up with outreach presentations on BepiColumbo included in the TP1 Mercury session. Both scientists and outreachers were very positive about the session and the OEP Programme Group will take note for future EPSC meetings!
For the first time, we also had a showcase session to catch up with some of the projects that have received outreach grants from Europlanet and past Europlanet Prize winners to find out about the longer term impacts of the schemes.
OEP2 – Planetary science as an example of Science communication in society
OEP3 – Europlanet Public Engagement Prize and Funding Scheme Showcase
OEP5 – Immersive visualization of planetary data
OEP6 – Astrobiology Teaching, Outreach and Dissemination
OEP7 – Policy Towards the International Lunar Decade & Planetary exploration outreach through Arts
OEP 2 – Planetary science as an example of Science communication in society
Oral Programme, Thursday, 20th September, 08:30-12:30
Session OEP2 Oral Presentations
Design Thinking for Space Exploration – Rosa Doran, Jose Saraiva and Steph Tyszka
The next generation of humans in space is now entering schools. Space exploration and data management have now to be integrated in the training of the future Space and Earth explorers. This challenge will require different types of careers, talents and skills. The profile of the 21st century student needs to encompass the learning pillars required for any worker in the future labor world, the 4 Cs: Communication, Critical Thinking, Collaboration and Creativity. These are the key requirements of any modern standards for school education. To achieve this, a large global effort needs to be put in place. A new education strategy is necessary, where students and communities work together for the construction of a modern and relevant school system, a system that goes beyond the school walls into the community and vice-versa.
Full abstract
Europlanet Evaluation Toolkit – Jen Dewitt, Karen Bultitude and Anita Heward
Europlanet 2020 RI has developed a dedicated evaluation toolkit to empower outreach providers and educators in measuring and appraising the impact of their activities. The toolkit is intended to provide advice and resources that can be simply and easily integrated into normal outreach and education activities. This poster will provide an overview of the toolkit, to increase awareness of it and encourage use. The toolkit itself is a set of interlinked Googledocs. It begins with a brief introduction to evaluation generally, as well as the Toolkit specifically. It particularly emphasizes potential uses for evaluation, responding to the question of ‘Why evaluate?’ There is also a short description of the intended users for this Toolkit, as well as how it was developed.
Full abstract
Europlanet Outreach Videos, using popular science videos to reach a wider audience –
Mariana Barrosa
Four popular-science animation videos have been produced in the framework of Europlanet’s ‘Impact through Outreach and Engagement’ work package with the aim of widening engagement with planetary science amongst Europe’s citizens. The titles are “The Transit of Mercury”, “Jupiter and its Icy Moons”, “Astrobiology – Life in the Universe” and “Space Detectives – The Case of the Rocks from Space”. The themes chosen for the videos included high profile events related to planetary science (the Transit of Mercury), priorities for the planetary science community (exploration of Jupiter’s icy moons) and the key areas of research supported by Europlanet’s TA programme (planetary analogues, astrobiology, sample analysis). The topics were chosen through a consultation with the Europlanet community. The scripts were written in collaboration with at least one researcher that specialised in the relevant scientific area, who provided consultancy, input and feedback to ensure the videos’ scientific accuracy. The videos, which were disseminated online through social media and other platforms and are part of Europlanet’s legacy and are (and will continue to be) available for use free of charge by the community.
Full abstract
Communicating Planetary Science Through Social Media – Sara Mynott, Thilina Heenatigala
Social Media plays a dominant role in Public Engagement of science. From ‘Save the Hubble’ campaign to Europe’s Rosetta Mission, many space missions and discoveries have used social media successfully. Under the Horizon 2020, the Europlanet Media Centre identifies the importance of using social media for outreach. Europlanet uses primary and secondary social media platforms strategically to engage with the followers and a new audience.
Full abstract
A hard sell? Engaging UK and European politicians with space science – Robert Massey
The UK, and the whole of Europe, face uncertain times. Science, particularly blue skies research, is equally affected by social change, and the relationship between collaborating nations. Securing political and public support for space science and astronomy, including exploration of the Solar system, is by no means easy, and science as a whole is some way down the list of priorities in international relations. In this paper I will describe the efforts made by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), the lead UK body representing professional astronomers, space and planetary scientists, with examples that may be of use to similar organisations at a European and national level.
Full abstract
Mars Sample Return Outreach — Planning a Meaningful and Participatory Public Engagement Programme – Anita Heward
Mars Sample Return (MSR) offers planetary science the prospect of an historical leap forward in the understanding of the geology and habitability of the red planet. In addition to this important science return, MSR also offers an unprecedented opportunity to engage the citizenry of this planet in one of the enduring questions of humanity, “Are we alone?” The 2018 report of the International Mars Sample Return Objectives and Samples Team (iMOST) study says, “Exploration of Mars to date, from orbit and from the surface, has given us incredibly valuable insights into many aspects of Mars. These insights have allowed us to pose new, far more detailed, questions that could not have been asked before. A certain set of scientific objectives can only be achieved with samples in a laboratory. For Mars, we are at the point where the scientific logic implies this should be done next. Results are expected to be profound (“civilization-scale” science).”
Full abstract
The Radio Meteor Zoo: involving citizen scientists in radio meteor research – Stijn Calders, Hervé Lamy, Johan De Keyser, Cis Verbeeck, Antonio Martinez Picar, and Cédric Tetard
BRAMS (Belgian RAdio Meteor Stations) is a project of the Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB) and partially funded by the Solar-Terrestrial Centre of Excellence (STCE). Its main goal is to study meteoroids by using radio techniques. The BRAMS network consists of one beacon in the south of Belgium and about 25 receiving stations distributed all over the country. Many of these receiving stations are hosted by radio amateurs and astronomy enthusiasts. Processing the observations is not an easy task. Each station generates a spectrogram every five minutes, so the whole network generates 7200 spectrograms per day. Most meteor reflections are visible as short vertical lines, for which we have de veloped automatic detection algorithms. However, especially during meteor showers more complex reflections occur (called overdense reflections) for which the human eye remains the best detector. Therefore, the BRAMS researchers, in collaboration with the Zooniverse team, have launched a citizen science project called the Radio Meteor Zoo (RMZ) in August 2016. With the RMZ, thousands of citizen scientist eyes are manually identifying meteor echoes during meteor showers. Today the RMZ has more than 6000 volunteers who have classified meteors in almost 36000 spectrograms. Thanks to our volunteers we were able to generate activity curves for several meteor showers.
Full abstract
The CESAR Education Initiative, Miguel Pérez‐Ayúcare
CESAR (Cooperation through Education in Science and Astronomy Research) is an educational ESA (European Space Agency) initiative whose main objective is to engage school students with the wonders of astronomy and, more generally, science and technology. Through CESAR, students (supported by their teachers) have access to telescopes, tools, and the expertise of ESA scientists to make real astronomical observations, collect scientific data and analyze the results, applying the same methodology used in real life by professional scientists. The CESAR programme also offers teachers the tools and resources necessary to prepare and support their students during the CESAR experience, as well as dedicated teacher conferences to inspire them to use space as a context when teaching STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) at school.
Full abstract
Stories of Tomorrow in Portugal: the first year – Jose Saraiva, Rosa Doran, and Steph Tyszka
Portugal is one of the countries involved in the implementation of the Stories of Tomorrow project. After the completion of the first school year, in which the many facets of the project have been tested, it is time to look back, evaluate what went well and what should be improved, and take the opportunity to learn the lessons this year has taught us. We look forward to the next year of implementation with renewed enthusiasm and certainty that the project will achieve its goals and demonstrate the power of new methodologies and technologies to help learning in our schools.
Full abstract
The ASL (Alternanza Scuola Lavoro) program: an italian example to bring research to school and school to research – Livia Giacomini, Adriana Postiglione, Ilaria De Angelis, and Marco Ziggiotti
Teaching science in high school in innovative and fascinating ways is not always easy. In most cases, this subject is seen as difficult and boring and often students, at the end of their scholastic career have no idea of what scientific research is like and why it is important in everyday life. At the same time, it is hard for the research community to attract young people to STEM careers starting from high schools, presenting science and research as a feasible job for the future of many students. In this context, the Italian program ASL (that stands for “Alternanza Scuola Lavoro” and that can be translated in School Work Alternation), introduced by the Government starting from the year 2015, can provide an excellent opportunity both for schools and for the research community, including Institutions, Universities and Research Centers. ASL is an over-all revolution in the Italian educational system: in 2017/2018 it became mandatory for more than 1,5 million students in the all country, completely changing high school everyday activity and affecting the organization and results of final examination. The program consists in 200 hours (or 400 hours for technical Institutes) that all students of the last three years of high school have to spend in working experiences. During this time, all Italian high school students are obliged to perform activities as similar as possible to real job, organized in collaboration between the School and a private or public entity (such as a Research Center, a University, but also a firm, an industry, a shop or other). In this framework, INAF (the National Institute for Astrophysics) on a national scale and the Roma Tre University in the Rome Area, represent two different and complementary examples of how this experience can be used by researchers and university members to share their knowledge and work with young people, bringing them closer to science.
Full abstract
Summer Schools at Vulcano (2015-2018): A natural laboratory for marine, terrestrial and planetary science and technology – Vikram Unnithan, Frank Sohl, Laurenz Thomsen, and Martina Wilde
ROBEX was the Helmholtz Alliance for Robotic Exploration of Extreme Environments that brought to- gether scientists and engineers from different communities of space sciences, polar and deep-sea research to jointly develop strategies and technologies for the exploration of diverse terrestrial, marine and planetary terrains. Funding for this alliance came to an end in 2017. Summer schools formed an important outreach element of this alliance. For the past 3 years, a two- week summer school under the aspics of ROBEX was held at Vulcano, Italy. This year, it was supported by DLR and Jacobs University on a shoe-string budget. The summer school focusses on bringing together scientists, researchers, students, technicians and policy makers, to provide field exposure and training on a variety of topics ranging from geology, volcanology, geophysics, oceanography to robotic, and the study of planetary analogues. This presentation provides a brief overview of the various field activities and the educational concept de- veloped for and during the summer schools at Vulcano, Italy.
Full abstract
OEP2 Poster programme
EPSC2018-89
OpenPlanetary: An Open Science Community and Framework for Planetary Scientists and Developers – Nicolas Manaud, Angelo Pio Rossi, and Chase Million
OpenPlanetary, OP for short, is a community-driven initiative and effort to address the need of the planetary science community for sharing ideas and collaborating on common planetary research and data analysis problems, new challenges, and opportunities.
EPSC2018-336
Planetary Science Communication through Public Events – Stefanie Musiol, Heike Balthasar, and Heike Rosenberg
The team of Planetary Sciences and Remote Sensing at Freie Universität Berlin (www.fu-berlin.de/planets) is involved in international space missions such as Mars Express, Cassini at Saturn, and Dawn at Vesta and Ceres. Science communication through educational and public outreach activities is a basic component of our research. In particular, we take part in several outreach events over the year and we provide image data and models to exhibitors.
EPSC2018-514
Aspects of teaching Visual Basic for Application for students of natural scientific specialties
Natalia Petrova and Sergey Sitnikov
The Department of Computer Sciences of the Kazan State Power Engineering University has a long-term experience in the successful teaching of computer science and programming fundamentals for first-year students of natural scientific, technical and humanitarian specialties on the basis of the Visual Basic for Application (VBA) language, which is part of the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. VBA is a language that allows students concentrating their attention on the understanding of the principles of algorithmization, to form the basic programming skills of both simple and complex problems. Methodological justification of the effectiveness of teaching of VBA is presented in the report.
EPSC2018-485
PRIME: a REXUS project to demonstrate a miniature free falling unit for plasma measurement – Florine Enengl, Anton Franzén, Alberto Alonso Pinar, Ramez Al-Hamarneh, Moinak Banerjee, Byron Bradford Hopps, Nandan Dutta Chaudhury, Carl-Johan Von Gegerfelt, Timo Gierlich, Isabelle Gürsac, Muhammad Usman, Akshay Kallianpur, Anton Kåbjörn, Erik Lindblad Nyman, Martin Petek, Federico Rorro, Elene Sajaia, Chaitanya Prasad Sishtla, Christos Tolis, Nickolay Ivchenko, and Gunnar Tibert
PRIME (Plasma Measurement with Micro Experi- ment) is a student experiment, to be launched on REXUS26 sounding rocket in 2019 as part of the REXUS/BEXUS programme. The project aims to de- velop a miniature recoverable Free Falling Unit for plasma parameter measurements in the lower iono- sphere. Two identical Free Falling Units are ejectable from the Rocket Mounted Unit. The geometry of the Free Falling Units is designed to be compatible with future ‘DART’ rockets, from the company T-Minus Engineering. A Free Falling Unit consists of an Ex- periment and a Recovery Unit, which share a common battery and an umbilical. The Recovery Unit consists of a parachute with its deployment mechanism and a localization system. The Experiment Unit includes the deployable, cylindrical Langmuir probes with a data acquisition system. The measurements will be vali- dated against model and independent observations of the ionospheric parameters.
EPSC2018-503
Outreach activities of UniverSCiel association – Lucile Fayon and Ines Belgacem
Created in 2012 at the Institut de Recherche d’Astrophysique et de Planétologie (IRAP) based in Toulouse, UniverSCiel is a French non-profit asso- ciation made of young astronomers (most are PhD. students) volunteering on their free time to organize and to animate outreach events promoting astronomy and astrophysics for youth. The main focus of the association over the past 12 years has been the co- organization of the Astro-Jeunes festival. More re- cently, the association started to cover a wider spec- trum of activities and to organize countless other events, such as day-long intervention in school and medical institutes or sky-wacthing sessions. In 2015, for its past accomplishments and dedication the asso- ciation received the “Lucien Babonneau” prize of the science academy of Toulouse.
EPSC2018-772
Participation of women scientists in ESA solar system missions: an historical trend
Arianna Piccialli, Julie A. Rathbun, Ann Carine Vandaele, Francesca Altieri, Anni Määttänen, Anna Milillo, Alessandra Rotundi, Miriam Rengel, and Pierre Drossart
We will present the participation of women scientists in ESA (European Space Agency) solar system missions and discuss how this trend changed over time.
EPSC2018-970
Involving School Students in Exoplanet Research Through the Twinkle Space Mission – ORBYTS – William Dunn, Katy Chubb, Marcell Tessenyi, Anita Heward, Jonathan Tennyson, Tomas James, Daniel Darby, Maria Niculescu-Duvaz, Romain Meyer, Jonathan Holdship, Jack Baker, Jana Smutna, Mala Virdee, Sian Brannan, Giovanna Tinetti, Clara Sousa-Silva, Laura Mckemmish, Maire Gorman, and Tom Rivlin
ORBYTS (Original Research By Young Twinkle Scientists) is the flagship outreach programme for the Twinkle space mission (launch: 2021), which will be the first spacecraft dedicated to studying the atmospheres and conditions of newly discovered planets. We believe that all school students should have the opportunity to become involved in active scientific research and to be culturally connected to space missions. To achieve this, ORBYTS partners dynamic, passionate science researchers with secondary schools, where, through fortnightly school visits over an academic year, the researcher facilitates pupil involvement in active science research. The goal of every partnership is that school students will have the opportunity to contribute towards publishable research. By partnering schools with relatable researchers we hope that the programme will not only improve student aspirations and scientific literacy, but will also help to address diversity challenges by dispelling harmful stereotypes and will provide teachers with relevant exciting CPD at a time when the UK is chronically short of specialist physics teachers.
EPSC2018-1140
Developing an Arabic Equivalent of the Planetary Nomenclature: a draft for a standardized system – Mohamed amine Ettahri
This paper describes the making process aiming to develop the first basis for an Arabic equivalent of the planetary nomenclature that have been produced in many other languages, we have developed priorities for the Arabic translation and conversion of the original Latin forms of planetary specific and descriptor terms. It also shows the main difficulties and some recommendations. This work will hopefully serve as a draft and preparatory base for a standardized system of the Planetary nomenclature in Arabic script.
EPSC2018-959
Digital museum collection to maintain heritage in planetary research – Maria Kolenkina, Natalia Kozlova, Andrey Garov, and Irina Karachevtseva
The most part of fundamental knowledge about planetary bodies is obtained by means of remote sensing. The most part of historical remote sensing data and results of their processing was in analogue form. To make it accessible and useful in modern world we need to bring them to proper formats. That is why we aim to create a digital collection of the available historic materials in the field of planetary studies and mapping. It is planned to use GIS techniques for cartographic products and organize web access to all data.
EPSC2018-675
Stories of Tomorrow: first year of implementation – Steph Tyszka, Rosa Doran, and José Saraiva
We report on the pilot phase of implementation of the project Stories of Tomorrow, funded by the EU in the framework of its Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program. The project has been implemented in schools of three European countries (Greece, France and Portugal). It has seen the development of some hundreds of stories about the conquest of Mars, created by school kids on a digital platform developed specifically for the project. For the second year of implementation, some changes are in store, including the addition of VR (Virtual Reality) and AR (Augmented Reality).
EPSC2018-403
Europlanet – Impact of outreach activities to date and looking ahead to a sustainable future – Anita Heward, Mariana Barrosa, and Livia Giacomini
Outreach has been a core part of Europlanet since its foundation in 2004. In each of Europlanet’s EU FP6, FP7 and Horizon 2020 funded programmes, around 10% of the total budget has been dedicated to outreach and engagement with external communities. The Europlanet 2020 Research Infrastructure (RI), funded through the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme, supports Europe’s planetary science community through the provision of services, access to facilities, new research tools and a virtual planetary observatory. Europlanet 2020 RI was launched in September 2015 and runs through to August 2019. The project’s Impact Through Outreach and Education (IOE) activities aim to engage the widest possible community with the work of Europlanet 2020 RI, and to involve the public, the media, policy makers, educators and students with the ongoing adventure of planetary science and the people that work in the field.
EPSC2018-784
Europlanet Policy Activities toward FP9 – Livia Giacomini, Anita Heward, and Nigel Mason
In the past years, part of Europlanet 2020 Research Infrastructure (RI)’s efforts were dedicated to building connections and organising activities for and within the European Parliament to increase engagement between our policy makers and the planetary science community.
From September 2015 to August 2018, Europlanet 2020 RI has contacted all Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) on the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE), participating to meetings and conferences and organizing several individual briefings with MEPS and/or their representatives. In April 2018, just before the launch of the next Multiannual Financial Framework and the new framework programme FP9 that will succeed Horizon 2020, Europlanet organized in the European Parliament in Bruxelles a successful Dinner Debate on the topic ‘Planetary exploration inspiring European innovation’. These were only the last of a series of events organized to enable members of the Europlanet community, politicians and interested parties to come together and discuss views on topics of interest or concern to the space and planetary sectors. All these Policy activities have led to important opportunities for our community to feed into reporting and consultative processes: we will discuss these opportunities and the results achieved for FP9.
EPSC2018-1272
Europlanet 2020 RI Outreach Innovation and Communication Training Workshops – Eleni Chatzichristou, Ioannis Daglis, Anita Heward, Grazina Tautvaisiene, Pedro Russo, and Rosa Doran
Europlanet 2020 RI promotes public engagement through science communication, yearly training and best practice workshops, the aim being to develop new ways of communicating planetary science, encourage planetary scientists to communicate their research, engage hard-to-reach, diverse audiences, help develop partnerships between communicators, scientists and educators.
To this end, Europlanet RI 2020 offers a series of Outreach Innovation Expert Workshops during the four years of the project (2015-2019). These are “best practice” meetings addressed to a broad range of out- reach providers and science communicators, working both professionally and voluntarily, to engage the public with planetary science. The workshops aim to build networks, share resources and best practice, brainstorm in order to develop new ideas for effective communication, and keep in touch with the latest scientific achievements through contact with the broader scientific community. In parallel, Europlanet 2020 RI holds a series of Sci- ence Communication Training Workshops, ac- knowledging that space and planetary sciences fasci- nate the audience, especially children, offering an inspiring context for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in formal and informal environments. They are addressed to educa- tors and young scientists, with a focus on engaging with schools.
EPSC2018-1268
ExoWorlds Spies: a project for public involvement in exoplanet research – Anastasia Kokori and Angelos Tsiaras
We present here the project entitled ExoWorlds Spies, aiming to monitor exoplanets through regular observations. ExoWorlds Spies is a long-term project to monitor transiting exoplanets with small and medium scale telescopes. The project aims to improve the parameters and ephemerides of known transiting exoplanets, in support of future space missions such as the JWST and ARIEL. The main idea of the project is to observe stars hosting exoplanets with the aim of improving their parameters and their ephemerides. Understanding worlds beyond the Earth is a key issue for humanity and concerns everyone, not only the scientific communities. We strongly believe that research and science is an effort that everyone can take part. For this reason, in the context of our project, we are open to collaborations with members of the public including also students of schools and universities and help towards answering fundamental questions of science and society: Are there other planets like the Earth? Could they host life? Is there any other type of life? Today, the general public can get involved in the effort of answering the above questions through citizen science projects. In our project, members of the public and students can contribute by obtaining or analysing data from small ground-based telescopes. In this presentation we will discuss the progress and the strategies followed to design an open project where everyone could take part and learn. We have also developed a dedicated website for the project in order to disseminate the material and the tools to as many people as possible. The website includes audiovisual material, information on the project, data analysis tools, instructions, observational data and graphics. All sources are online, free, and available for everyone both in English (and Greek). In order to approach various audiences from the public and more effectively communicate with them, we created also a social media platform (a Facebook page).
OEP3 – Europlanet Public Engagement Prize and Funding Scheme Showcase
Oral Programme, Monday, 17th September, 14:-00-15:45
Session OEP3, held on Monday 17th September 2018, was an opportunity to catch up with projects funded through the Europlanet Outreach Scheme since 2010 and some of the winners of the Europlanet Prize for Public Engagement.
2010: “The Europlanet Meteorites Virtual Microscope Collection”
Mahesh Anand, Andrew Tindle, and Simon Kelley. EPSC2018-520
2010: “Rosetta’s Comet Touchdown educational kit”
Maarten Roos, Markus Bauer, Ágota Lang, and Filomena Rodrigues. EPSC2018-1285
2011: “From VMR to ReMY: Game concept awarded by Europlanet becomes Remote Mars Yard”
Mateusz Józefowicz, Sebastian Meszyński, and Oleksandr Sokolov. EPSC2018-1160
2011: “3D Tactile Moon”
Amelia Ortiz-Gil. EPSC2018-869
2012: “Planetary Maps Designed for Children”
Henrik Hargitai. EPSC2018-170
2016: “Planets in a Room: a DIY, low-cost educational kit”
Livia Giacomini, Francesco Aloisi, Ilaria De Angelis, and Stefano Capretti. EPSC2018-254
2017: “OpenPlanetaryMap: Building the first Open Planetary Mapping and Social platform for researchers, educators, storytellers, and the general public”
Nicolas Manaud, Andrea Nass, Stephan van Gasselt, Myles Lewando, Angelo Pio Rossi, Trent Hare, John Carter, and Henrik Hargitai. EPSC2018-78
2017: “Planets in your Hand”
Kyriaki Kefala and Kosmas Gazeas and the Planets in your Hand Team. EPSC2018-1251
2018: “The Connacht Schools Planetary Radio Telescope Network”
Aaron Golden, Paula Campbell, Paul De Hora, Sinead Grogan, Anne Hession, Patricia Mulvey, Sarah O’Gorman, Maidhc Ó hÉanaigh, Neil Spellacy, James Stephens, and John Toner. EPSC2018-1004
Plus updates from Prize Winners, Jean Lilensten (2010), The Austrian Space Forum (2011), Yael Naze (2012), Jay Tate and Amara Graps (2017)
OEP 5 – Planetary science and exploration outreach through Arts
Oral Programme, Thursday, 20th September, 16:00-17:30
EPSC2018-94
Multiple ways to visualize planetary image data – Stephan Elgner, Solmaz Adeli, Klaus Gwinner, Christian Hüttig, Ralf Jaumann, Elke Kersten, Ulrich Köhler, Klaus-Dieter Matz, Naß Andrea, Jürgen Oberst, Susanne Pieth, Frank Preusker, Thomas Roatsch, Daniela Tirsch, Marita Wählisch, Marianna Weiland, and Konrad Willner
At the DLR Institute of Planetary Research, we have many different ways of visualizing planetary image data. From the creation of scientific cartographic products over perspective 3D views to immersive virtual reality environments we apply many different visualization techniques to gain a better understanding of a planet’s surface. Processing the data to obtain the best visual and contextual representations for scientific and engineering uses as well as for public outreach is part of our daily routine. We present some of the progress we have made in the field of data visualization during the last decade benefitting from modern techniques.
EPSC2018-1206
Using techniques from the visual effects industry to process raw JunoCam imagery for 3D presentation – Matt Brealey
Processing raw space data typically involves aspects of image processing, 3D data creation/manipulation, and data management – problems also common to the Visual Effects (VFX) industry. Using VFX techniques learnt over the past decade, along with NASA’s SPICE toolkit, I have used common VFX tools to process raw JunoCam imagery from scratch. The result is a 3D projected version of the image set, which I am subsequently presenting in an interactive web application, Juno Observer. The final imagery is also suitable for display in immersive AR/VR mobile applications.
EPSC2018-544
Interactive Planetary Visualization and Analysis with NASA’s Solar System Treks Portals – Brian Day and Emily Law
NASA’s Solar System Trek online portals provide web-based suites of interactive visualization and analysis tools enabling mission planners, planetary scientists, students, and the general public to explore planetary surfaces as seen through the eyes of many different instruments aboard a wide range of spacecraft. The portals present a vast collection of mapped data products from past and current missions for a growing number of planetary bodies. As web- based toolsets, the portals do not require users to purchase or install any software beyond current web browsers. The interactive and immersive capabilities of these portals are being used for site selection and analysis by NASA and a number of its international partners, supporting upcoming missions. They are also being used by formal and informal educators, students from elementary through university levels of study, and members of the public who are engaged in the excitement of solar system exploration. This presentation will provide an overview of the Solar System Treks and highlight many of the exciting new additions to the project implemented this past year.
EPSC2018-1136
Immersive Visualization in Planetarium Domes – Björn Voss and Tim Florian Horn
Most planetariums presentations of scientific topics, with a focus on astronomy and planetology, to their audiences; making them highly relevant for outreach activities in planetology. To further facilitate the use of planetariums in planetology outreach, easier methods for transfer of visualization data to the planetariums would be required.
EPSC2018-774
Immersive Visualization of Planetary Reconstructions for Geological Interpretation – Thomas Ortner, Georg Haaser, Harald Steinlechner, Rob Barnes, Sanjeev Gupta, Chris Traxler, and Gerhard Paar
In this paper, we describe how remote geological analysis of planetary surfaces can benefit from immersive virtual reality visualization and interaction. An extension of the PRo3D Viewer [1] (http://pro3d.space) allows planetary scientists as well as a non-expert audience to immersive themselves in a virtual, true-to-scale Martian environment.
EPSC2018-232
Interactive Solarsystem for High-Resolution Planetary Data Exploration
Andreas-Christoph Bernstein, Simon Schneegans, Markus Flatken, Andreas Gerndt, and Sebastian Utzig
We introduce Virtual Planet, an application which en- ables researchers to interactively explore huge plane- tary data sets in an intuitive way. The application al- lows users to navigate seamlessly between planets and provides different tools and interactive visualization to analyze the data.
OEP5 Session Posters
EPSC2018-286
BepiVR: Virtual Reality for BepiColombo outreach – Romolo Politi, Emanuele Simioni, Gabriele Cremonese, Valentina Galluzzi, Carmelo Magnafico, Valeria Mangano, Fabrizio De Marchi, Cristina Re, and Domenico Romano
We present the project for an application for Android to introduce the public to the ESA BepiColombo mis- sion, by using the Virtual Reality (VR) technology. VR technology demonstrated its versatility and power in graphic or industrial ambient in the last years and it earned the consideration of science community, in particular in geospatial and astronomic field. We will describe the contents that will be disseminated by the application, some technical and scientific concepts and a demo of the videos that can potentially be produced to demonstrate the high level of involvement that the VR technology can provide.
OEP6 – Astrobiology Teaching, Outreach and Dissemination
Oral Programme, Friday, 21st September, 08:30-10:15
EPSC2018-1270
Teaching Astrobiology in the modern classroom: a contemporary challenge and an opportunity for educators – Margarita Metaxa
Astrobiology is an incredibly dynamic and engaging multidisciplinary topic that attracts professional scientists and amateur enthusiasts alike and can be used as a vehicle that provides a unique environment for educators from Kindergarten to Lyceum, for an introduction to science education. We believe that by developing and promoting the teaching of Astrobiology in the broadest possible way to students we can introduce them to science in a very pleasant way and easily prepare them for a “life–long learning” journey. Furthermore, the cultural and philosophical role of Astrobiology is undisputed. Studying and sharing the exciting discoveries and unique perspective of astrobiology with a wider audience is a way of searching for our own origin, learning to situate ourselves within cosmic infinity and developing a sense for the beauty and fragility of our planet the Earth. It also allows us to keep a critical approach towards irrational pseudo-sciences. We will present a role model of educational programs which has already been implemented in various successful Astronomy projects. As well we will present our future plans.
EPSC2018-1014
Lessons learned from using Socratic Dialogue in astrobiology education – Erik Persson
Socrates was not just a pioneer in philosophy. He was also a pioneer in education through his method of involving his interlocutors in the philosophical process. The method is often referred to as the majeutic method because according to Socrates, he helped the person he talked with to “give birth” to their own ideas just like a midwife helps other women giving birth to their children. When the term ‘Socratic method’ is mentioned in relation to teaching it often refers to the method of asking questions. This is, however, not what I will talk about here. Instead I will talk about a specific formalized method for definition or analysis of a concept by a group according to a set of strict rules.
EPSC2018-478
Danakil Depression: A natural laboratory as a vehicle for astrobiology outreach – Anastasia Kokori
The Danakil Depression is a real world laboratory and astrobiological research is carried out due to the extreme conditions of the area. The place could be considered as a real life simulation of extreme environments on other worlds, and show to the public the extreme conditions under which life can survive. The geomorphology of Danakil Depression, combined with the newly introduced astrobiological research, indicate that there is a great potential for science learning in different disciplines in the area. In this presentation, I will explore how we can engage the public, and communicate scientific information successfully in the case of Danakil Depression. Natural places such as the Danakil Depression can be an effective arena to raise awareness and engage the general society with contemporary research such as life in extreme environments. In order to increase reliability and validity in the study, I used a variety of sources for data collection: interviews, documents and media artefacts. The results revealed the importance of various strategies and the involvement of multiple stakeholders for effective astrobiology communication in extreme environments – such as the Danakil Depression. The findings of the study, the potential challenges and also recommendations for interested stakeholders (scientists, policy makers and educators) will be discussed. This case study can provide examples for astrobiology outreach not only for Danakil Depression but also for other planetary analogues or real world laboratories.
EPSC2018-867
How did life begin? A unique opportunity for science outreach in the context of the GENESIS-SKA project – Alessandra Zanazzi, Caterina Boccato, Ileana Chinnici, and Serena Pastore and the SKA-GENESIS
The GENESIS-SKA project (GEneral conNditions in Early planetary Systems for the rISe of life with SKA) is supported as a PRIN (Public Research Project of National Relevance) of Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) and its main goal is to study dust evolution, planet formation, and pre-biotic chemical complexity, in the context of preparation of SKA Key Programmes. The project also accounts for communication, public and industrial outreach of its scientific goals and results: this makes it one of the rare examples in which outreach and dissemination are professionally developed in the framework of a research project. GENESIS-SKA has a dedicate outreach work-package and a specific activities’ plan which we would like to present and discuss with the scientific community. Exoplanets and the physical conditions for the emergence of life are strongly attractive topics for the public in general and we will leverage on them in order to create and promote our communication.
EPSC2018-900
The planetary “Grand Tour” in the Czech Republic – Tomas Petrasek and Julie Nekola Novakova
Kosmo Klub is an association of space enthusiasts in the Czech Republic, dedicated to popularization of astronautics and space science since 2004. Its most recent project is the Planetary Trail in Prague. It is a model of the Solar System at 1:1 000 000 000 scale located along a frequented trail for cyclists and pedestrians along the Vltava River. It will provide the visitors with basic information about our cosmic neighborhood, and provide a base for further outreach activities.
EPSC2018-956
Europlanet Outreach Video – “Astrobiology: Life in the Universe” – Mariana Barrosa
“Astrobiology: Life in the Universe” is the third educational video in a series of animations produced in the framework of Europlanet’s ‘Impact through Outreach and Engagement’ work package with the aim of widening engagement with planetary science amongst Europe’s citizens. It explores the use of analogue fields sites to study possible forms of life on other planets. To answer the question “Are we alone in the Universe?” the video shows how planetary scientists use the Earth as a laboratory to understand where life might arise on other planets and moons in our Solar System and beyond. The video highlights research linked to analogue field sites like Lake Tirez and Rio Tinto in Spain, and the Danakil depression in Ethiopia, where Europlanet offers access to planetary scientists and astrobiologists to visit and carry out experiments.
EPSC2018-658
Astrobiology and Society in Europe Today: The White Paper on the societal implications of astrobiology research in Europe and the need for a European Astrobiology Institute – Klara Anna Capova, Erik Persson, Tony Milligan, and David Duner
The talk entitled ’Astrobiology and Society in Europe Today. The White Paper on the societal implica- tions of astrobiology research in Europe and the need for a European Astrobiology Institute’ gives an out- line of a recently completed joint work of Working Group 5 Philosophy and History of Astrobiology, a part of a Trans-Domain European COST Action Life- ORIGINS TD1308 Origins and evolution of life on Earth and in the Universe. With contributions from authors in twenty-five countries and over thirty scientific institutions world- wide, on societal implications of astrobiology research in European context and its relation to society at large.
OEP6 – Poster Programme
EPSC2018-695
Attitudes towards the scientific search for extra-terrestrial life among Swedish high school and university students – Erik Persson, Klara Anna Capova, and Yuan Li
The aim of the study was to increase our understanding of the attitudes towards the scientific search for extraterrestrial life among high school and university students in Sweden. The most important results of the analysis were that: (a) the great majority of students believe that extraterrestrial life exists; (b) most students regard searching for extraterrestrial life to be quite important or very important; (c) very few students think that we should actively avoid searching for extraterrestrial life; (d) the most common motive for assigning a high priority to search for extraterrestrial life is that it is interesting, the most common motive for assigning a low priority is that such knowledge would not be practically useful, or that the money would be better spent elsewhere; (e) most students do not think they are very well informed regarding the search for extraterrestrial life. A higher percentage of the students who judge themselves to be well informed also believe that extraterrestrial life exists. We have also found some differences between subgroups (men/women, high school students/university students and different fields of study), but the differences are with few exceptions small in comparison.
EPSC2018-134
Astrobiology and Society in Europe Today – Klara Anna Capova, Erik Persson, Tony Milligan, and David Duner
The poster entitled ’Astrobiology and Society in Europe Today: The White Paper on ethical, societal and political consequences of astrobiology research’ gives an outline of a recently completed joint work of Working Group 5 Philosophy and History of Astrobiology, a part of a Trans-Domain European COST Action Life-ORIGINS TD1308 Origins and evolution of life on Earth and in the Universe. With contributions from authors in twenty countries and over thirty scientific in- stitutions worldwide, the document illustrates the societal implications of astrobiology and the positive contribution that astrobiology can make to European society.
OEP7 – Policy Towards the International Lunar Decade & Planetary exploration outreach through Arts
Oral Programme, Friday, 21st September, 16:15-18:00
EPSC2018-602
EarthMoonMars Village Update 2018 – Bernard Foing and the EarthMoonMars Village Activities Organisers
We give an update of Moon Village (MV) and EarthMoonMars activities, with emphasis on events that took place in 2017-2018. The Moon Village is an open concept proposed with the goal of a sustainable human and robotic presence on the lunar surface as an ensemble where multiple users can carry out multiple activities.
EPSC2018-1260
Mapping Synergies: Sustainable Development Goals and Research & Technology in Space Architecture and Human Spaceflight – Germaine Van der Sanden and Bernard Foing
Space has been an essential tool driving innovation beneficial for humankind, for over 50 years. The 2030 UN Agenda, with a more specific focus on sustainability is a reminder to critically consider the beneficial aspects of Space exploration for Earth. The emphasized focus on sustainability within the 17 Sustainable Development Goals leads to examine how the full range of space technologies can contribute to achieve these ambitious goals. Space habitats, extraterrestrial or in orbit, are highly innovative environments that require a high degree of autonomy from Earth. The more extended the planned mission becomes, the higher the degree of autonomy, and need for a qualitative and sustainable habitats. Virtually all space environments for long- term habitation of spacecrafts or other extraterrestrial modules and structures need a high efficiency in terms of cost, energy and resource utilization. These requirements and limited resource-availability do not need to harm or undermine the manufacturing and operation of extraterrestrial habitats, or manned missions. Enabling such undertakings leads to a number of technological developments and innovative solutions in, for example: in-situ resource utilization, advanced life support systems, energy utilization, resource mining, habitat structures, material technology and advanced plant growth systems. Investments made into these advanced space applications enable spin-offs and technology transfers that provide the opportunity to bring new technologies and applications to Earth. These could contribute towards a greener Earth and the fulfilment of the 2030 Agenda with the targeted Sustainable Development Goals. However, there is room for improvement through this multiplier effect, by defining synergies and supporting global partnerships. We will present a review, summarizing the research & technology development in space architecture and human spaceflight, within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals. Three particular developments are evaluated in the framework of environmental sciences, 1) in-situ resource utilization, 2) advanced life support systems and 3) energy utilization. This research draws upon primary research to identify synergies and coupling with known environmental challenges within our terrestrial and non-terrestrial systems. This research aims to highlight those developments that could function as transfer-technologies, which could be significant to work towards the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
EPSC2018-905
Self Deployable Origami for MoonMars Architecture – Anna Sitnikova, Bernard Foing, Anastasia Izotova, Alexander Zaklynsky, Samira Boon, Matthew James, Germaine Sanden, Elise Clavé, and Louis Dubois
We give an update on the development of self deployable origami for MoonMars architecture. On the 19th and 20th of April 2018, the International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG) and ESA-ESTEC held the annual EuroMoonMars Workshop. On the second day of the workshop, a field test of our first prototype was carried out during Lunar Analogue simulations.
EPSC2018-1244
Global Science Operas: Moon Village (2017), Oceans & Climate (2018) – Oded Ben Horin, Bernard Foing, Janne Robberstadt, and Germaine van der Sanden
The GSO vision is to produce annual Global Science Opera productions during which a global community will explore interwoven science, art and technology within a creative and democratic inquiry process. W e shall report the worldwide highlights of GSO 2017 Moon Village, which collaborated with the European Commission’s H2020 initiative “Developing an Engaging Science Classroom (CREA TIONs)” as a flagship implementation of that project, and provided a research focus for the Norwegian Research Council’s project “iSCOPE”.
EPSC2018-1246
From Westworld to Moon World on Grindhouse Radio – Matthew James, Bernard Foing, Kim Adragna, and Will BrimStone and the Westworld to Moon Grindhouse radio cast
A national radio broadcast featuring space scientist Bernard Foing, Westworld actress Claire Unabia and artist Matthew James discussing the possibilities of space travel and habitation with Brimstone and the cast of Grindhouse radio.
EPSC2018-268
Towards the International Lunar Decade – Vidvuds Beldavs, David Dunlop, Jim Crisafulli, and Bernard Foing
In November, 2014 the participants of the conference “Next Giant Leap: Leveraging Lunar Assets for Sustainable Pathways to Space” issued the International Lunar Decade (ILD) Declaration. The central premises of ILD are: 1. The inspiration for ILD is the International Geophysical Year 1957-8 that marked the first global effort to understand the Earth. ILD is proposed as framework for international cooperation towards permanent presence of humankind on the Moon and beyond. Initially proposed by COSPAR to start on the 50th anniversary of IGY in 2007, global conditions were not favorable. Now, with many countries planning missions to the Moon the decade of 2020-2030 would be appropriate to work towards the strategic goal of making possible permanent presence on the Moon. 2. Economic use of lunar resources is a precondition for sustainable research and commercial activities on the Moon. There is speculation about lunar water and asteroid resources, but no business case for use of space resources has so far been offered. Markets for space resources do not exist. Technologies to mine and process space resources need to be developed. Even the legal right to use space resources within existing space law is uncertain. Recent developments suggest that a business case for lunar resources can emerge over the next few years. Space-Based Solar Power (SBSP) can bother accelerate lunar development while creating markets for the use of lunar resources to meet needs on Earth. Recent designs of SBSP promise electrical costs competitive with other alternatives with zero CO2 emissions. An early application with commercial potential could be a Lunar Power Utility that could lower costs and speed up lunar development. Lunar water is another promising resource. Low cost launch from the lunar surface is key to realizing the economic potential of lunar resources. Additionally, the issue of rights to use lunar resources, particularly as commercial products, remain to be addressed.
EPSC2018-1215
Fluid Bodies: From the Celestial to the Subatomic – Dmitry Gelfand and Evelina Domnitch
The artworks of Evelina Domnitch and Dmitry Gelfand explore exotic fluid phenomena, from sonoluminescence to the hexagonal jet stream on Saturn’s north pole. Pushing the very thresholds of observability, their endeavours raise questions as to what can and cannot be ultimately perceived and comprehended about physical reality. The duo will discuss their 20-year trajectory, culminating in a recent collaboration with the 2017 Nobel Prize winner, LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory).
EPSC2018-633
Creating music from astronomical/planetary data: Herschel/PACS data sonification of Haumea – Miriam Rengel and Matthias Ockert
Science and technology can be used to create and develop artistic expressions and styles and produce artworks, and also arts can be used to underlying or communicate physical properties, processes or relations. By developing a program code to sonificate scientific data (converting data into sound signals), and using thermal light-curves of a sample of Transneptunian objects (TNOs) observed by the Herschel Space Observatory [1], we generated musical material. We elaborated an audio CD with musical pieces integrating them, the musical pieces were performed in different events (installation and concerts). The project engages the public, promotes astronomy, planetology, and arts, underlies physical characteristics of TNOs, presents data in different aesthetically ways, and uses a new basis for musical composition.
OEP7 – Poster Session
EPSC2018-915
A possibility to teach planetary and space science by increasing enthusiasm: the school year of 2018-2019 covers as 50 years anniversary of the preparations to lunar landing in 1969 July by NASA – Szaniszló Bérczi and Ibolya Ságodi
We propose a historical project method in order to help teaching planetary and space science in high school by remembering the main events of Apollo mission preparations for the first lunar landing, 50 years ago.
EPSC2018-924
Astrojots: Explaining space and its exploration with cartoons – Geraint Jones
Astrojots is a web-based project for which the author – an active planetary scientist – creates cartoon strips to explain aspects of planetary science and exploration, space science, and astronomy. The aim of the strips is to be informative and engaging, with a good sprinkling of humour! Astrojots cartoons are not exclusively targeted at school pupils; the intended audience is as wide as possible, and for all ages. The cartoon strips are created under a Creative Commons licence, allowing them to be freely printed and distributed, as long as they are not amended and that their source is identified. The strips are released every few weeks, and the usual format is suitable for printing on A4 paper for further free distribution by educators. The level of detail covered in the strips varies – sometimes very basic topics are addressed, suitable for pre-High School children, while other strips cover more advanced fields.
On social media, Astrojots can be followed on Twitter at @astrojots and on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/astrojots/
The project website is: www.astrojots.com
The project is complemented by public talks and school visits in the UK, related space data sonification activities, and a parallel Welsh-language project – www.gofota.cymru
EPSC2018-1227
Pop Culture and Planetary Studies – Matthew James and Bernard Foing
We examine the role of man in space through the lens of pop culture. From the earliest incarnation of science fiction through the modern-day blockbuster what role does planetary exploration play in building the myths and dreams of the future?
EPSC2018-1073
Economic impact of the International Lunar Decade – Vidvuds Beldavs and Jeffrey Sommers
The overall goal of the International Lunar Decade (ILD) is to enable permanent return to the Moon through cooperative international activities initiated during the 2020-2030 timeframe. Presently announced projects by NASA, ESA, China, Japan, India and others represent an investment of more than $40 billion in lunar exploration projects. Given a global commitment to achieve permanent return to the Moon public investment would grow and numerous opportunities will emerge for private investment. It can be expected that a significant share of such investment could be in the form of public – private partnerships but as major barriers to permanent operations on the Moon are addressed numerous commercial opportunities will emerge. Such opportunities can be significantly multiplied through creation of funding instruments such as a lunar investment fund. The greater assurance and lower risk associated with a global program like ILD is also likely to motivate significant increases in private investment. Such investment will be further encouraged by cost reductions made through the deployment of infrastructure that lowers costs and risks for participants.Of particular value we see an energy infrastructure designed to encourage ISRU and other projects that require energy supplies at predictable and declining costs. For example many ISRU projects require both reliable, moderately price electrical power and low cost launch from the lunar surface. The availability of electricity can enable electromagnetic or beam launch not requiring volatiles and that could see declining costs in coming decades.
