2019
MTI STEM Exposition
Date: Friday June 28, 2019
Time: 2:45pm -5:00pm
Location: Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel MD
The MTI STEM Exposition, is a bonus enrichment program for the students, mentors and volunteers of the MTI. Pre-registration is required. Sign up below using one of the two links:
Be sure to take advantage of this fantastic opportunity to learn first hand from the scientists and engineers who work on cutting edge NASA space missions currently underway in the Civil Space Sector of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.
Kicking off the event will be Dr. Jason Kalirai who is the mission area executive for civil space programs at APL. In this role, he oversees APL’s critical contributions to NASA and international missions to meet space science challenges, including space exploration and research, technology development, and production and operation of spacecraft and science instruments.
The focus of this year's program is on two APL missions that aim to gather strategic scientific data that we can use to protect our planet, Parker Solar Probe and DART.
We live in the atmosphere of the sun, which can be unpredictable.
In order to protect the earth from the havoc that can be caused by space weather we need to fully understand the physics of the corona and inner heliosphere our closest star. Parker Solar Probe, which launched on August 12, 2018, is currently sending back data that is changing what we thought we knew about our sun.
At the first MTI we got a live stream from the cleanroom where the Parker Solar Probe spacecraft was being readied for flight. Now in orbit around the sun, it has already smashed two records:
Closest human made object to the sun
Fastest human made object ever created
At the third MTI we will get an update on Parker's historic mission from Dr. Aleida K. Higginson, Parker Solar Probe Deputy Project Scientist for Science Operations
If an asteroid was on a path to collide with Earth what could we do to protect our planet?
How about smacking it hard enough to change its trajectory? Can it be done? What force is needed to divert an asteroid? DART, Double Asteroid Redirection Test, seeks answers to those questions. In October 2022 it is scheduled to begin its intercept course with binary asteroid 65803 Didymos. Dr. Andy Cheng, DART Investigation Lead, will be taking us through the mission.
This event was formally called the Bonus Friday STEM Event. The Civil Space Sector of APL has graciously provided the program for the last two years. Check out the past STEM programs:
Note - the TechAction STEM Exposition is subject to change.