January 1 - 5, 2004

Meteorite Display at Sublette County Library
A meteorite display has been created with a grant from the Wyoming NASA Space Grant Consortium to educate the public about meteorites and their impact. The topics covered by the exhibit include meteorite classification, impact frequency, impact localities in the world and in the western US, how to hunt for and identify meteorites, meteorite mythology, and economic importance. One of the goals for this project was to get community members around the state interested in space science, and make educational tools available for public viewing. The display is currently traveling to libraries and museums in Wyoming. For entire schedule see Meterorite website.

December 10, 2003- January 5, 2004 Sublette Library, Pinedale, WY
Contact: Sublette County Library website

January 1 - May 9, 2004

SPACE: A Journey to Our Future Exhibit
One of the largest touring space exhibits ever developed, SPACE immerses the visitor in past discoveries and explorations. It introduces visitors to today's explorers who are shaping our destiny in the universe. The sights and sounds of space exploration envelop the visitor through live performances, easy-to-use interactives, state-of-the-art projection and audio technology that brings this epic story to life. Highlights include opportunities to ride a lunar module simulator to a surface facsimile of the moon and a visit to a simulated scientific base camp on Mars. This first-of-its-kind educational exhibit is geared toward young people ages nine to 17. For more information see the SPACE exhibit website.

November 22, 2003 - May 9, 2004, Pacific Science Center, Seattle, WA
Contact: Space Exhibit at the Pacific Science Center website or Pacific Science Center website

January 2, 2004

NASA Stardust Mission Encounters Comet Wild 2
NASA's Office of Space Science Stardust Mission is expected to encounter and sample dust from Comet Wild 2 on January 2 in outer space in our solar system. Stardust is the first U.S. space mission dedicated solely to the exploration of a comet, and the first robotic mission designed to return extraterrestrial material from outside the orbit of the Moon. Stardust will also bring back samples of interstellar dust, including recently discovered dust streaming into our Solar System from the direction of Sagittarius. These materials are believed to consist of ancient pre-solar interstellar grains and nebular that include remnants from the formation of the Solar System. Analysis of such fascinating celestial specks is expected to yield important insights into the evolution of the Sun its planets and possibly even the origin of life itself. The Principal Investigator is Dr. Donald E. Brownlee a Professor of Astronomy at the University of Washington, who is well known for his discovery of cosmic particles in the stratosphere known as Brownlee Particles and is co-author of the bestseller book "Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon", that predicts simple, microbial life will be found widespread in the universe, while complex animal or plant life will be extremely rare. For more information go to the NASA OSS Stardust Mission website.

January 2, 2004, Comet Wild 2, Solar System
Contact: NASA OSS Stardust Mission website

January 3, 2004

NASA Mars Exploration Rover Mission, Spirit Rover Lands on Mars
NASA's Office of Space Science Mars Exploration Rover Mission is expected to land the rover named Spirit on Mars at Gusev Crater, a possible former lake in a giant impact crater. Moving from place to place, Spirit will perform on-site geological investigations. Spirit is a sort of mechanical equivalent of a geologist walking the surface of Mars. The Mars Exploration Rover mission is part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the red planet. Primary among the mission's scientific goals is to search for and characterize a wide range of rocks and soils that hold clues to past water activity on Mars. Understanding the history of water on Mars is important to meeting the four science goals of NASA's long-term Mars Exploration Program: determine whether life ever arose on Mars, characterize the climate of Mars, characterize the geology of Mars, and prepare for human exploration. Spirit is targeted to a site on Mars that appears to have been affected by liquid water in the past. For more information go to the NASA Mars Exploration Rover Mission website.

January 3, 2004, at Gusev Crater, Mars
Contact: NASA OSS Mars Exploration Rover Mission website

January 4, 2004

JAXA Nozomi Mission Arrives Mars
The NOZOMI (PLANET-B) is the first Japanese Mars orbiter from the Space Science Research Division of JAXA. It was launched on July 4, 1998, on the second flight of the M-V launch vehicle from Kagoshima Space Center. The primary scientific objective of the PLANET-B program is to study the Martian upper atmosphere with emphasis on its interaction with the solar wind. For more information go to Japan's NOZOMI Mission website.

January 4, 2004, Mars
Contact: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Nozomi Mission website

January 10, 2004

Mars Fest '04
The National Space Society Seattle Chapter, Mars Society Puget Sound and the Planetary Society join the Museum with a full day of Mars-related programs, exhibits, video screenings and live feeds from NASA TV. Leading off the formal programs is an 11 a.m. multimedia presentation by NASA Solar System Ambassador Dr. Ron Hobbs. His talk entitled "Return to Mars" places the current ESA and NASA missions in the context of almost forty years of Martian exploration. At 1 p.m., Dr. Hobbs moderates a panel discussion among local Mars experts. Delivering the Mars Fest keynote address at 3 p.m., is special guest Dr. Robert Zubrin. Founder and current president of the Mars Society, Dr. Zubrin is a tireless promoter of human exploration of Mars, as well as a respected engineer and scientist and a best-selling author. Following his discussion, he will sign copies of his most recent book, Mars on Earth: The Adventures of Space Pioneers in the High Arctic, which details the dramatic story of the Mars Society's scientific expeditions to build and test simulated habitats for Martian exploration in the terrestrial Arctic and the U.S. desert Southwest. For more information go to the Museum of Flight Calendar website.

January 10, 2004, Museum of Flight, Seattle, WA
Contact: Museum of Flight website

January 10-15, 2004

AMS 84th Annual Meeting, Space Weather Symposium
There will be a Symposium on Space Weather at the American Meteorological Society's 84th Annual Meeting. For more information go to Space Science Symposium schedule website. There will also be the 3rd Annual Weather Fest full of science exhibits and experiments for teachers, students and weather enthusiasts, where you can learn more about weather (see the Weather Fest website).

January 10-15, 2004, Washington State Trade & Convention Center, Seattle, WA
Contact: American Meteorological Society 84th Annual Meeting website

January 15-18, 2004

2004 Hawaii International Conference on Sciences
The 2004 Hawaii International Conference on Sciences provides an opportunity for academicians and professionals from various science related fields from all over the world to come together and learn from each other. An additional goal of the conference is to provide a place for academicians and professionals with cross-disciplinary interests related to science to meet and interact with members inside and outside their own particular disciplines. For more information go to proceedings schedule website.

January 15-18, 2004, Renaissance Ilikai Waikiki Hotel, Honolulu, HI
Contact: 2004 Conference website

January 22, 2004

Space Lecture Series: Lonely Planets with David Grispoon
Dr. David Grinspoon from the Southwest Research Institute, will talk about his book, Lonely Planets at 7:00PM. This lecture is given in conjunction with the featured exhibit, Space: A Journey to our Future, and is part of a series of monthly lectures by distinguished space scientists and authors. For more information go to the Pacific Science Center Events website.

January 22, 2004, Eames Imax Theatre, Pacific Science Center, Seattle, WA
Contact: Pacific Science Center website

January 24, 2004

NASA Mars Exploration Rover Mission, Opportunity Rover Lands on Mars
NASA's Office of Space Science Mars Exploration Rover Mission is expected to land the rover named Opportunity on the opposite side of Mars from the rover, Spirit's location at Meridiani Planum, where mineral deposits (hematite) suggest Mars had a wet past. Moving from place to place, Opportunity will perform on-site geological investigations. Opportunity is a sort of mechanical equivalent of a geologist walking the surface of Mars. The Mars Exploration Rover mission is part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program, a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the red planet. Primary among the mission's scientific goals is to search for and characterize a wide range of rocks and soils that hold clues to past water activity on Mars. Understanding the history of water on Mars is important to meeting the four science goals of NASA's long-term Mars Exploration Program: determine whether life ever arose on Mars, characterize the climate of Mars, characterize the geology of Mars, and prepare for human exploration. Opportunity is targeted to a site on the opposite side of Mars from Spirit, that appears to have been affected by liquid water in the past. For more information go to the NASA Mars Exploration Rover Mission website.

January 24, 2004, at Meridiani Planum, Mars
Contact: NASA OSS Mars Exploration Rover Mission website

January 24, 2004

Take Flight! Teacher Workshop (Grades 3-10)
Join science educator and author Ed Sobey for an afternoon constructing and flying novel "gizmos" for the classroom. Participants will make and fly hand-o-coptors, boomerangs, straw planes, styrene planes and hovercraft, as well as examining the science principles that make these models fly. Ed Sobey is the author of a dozen books on science and inventing. For more information go to ERC Free Teacher Workshop website.

January 24, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Contact: Washington NASA Educator Resource Center, 206-543-1943 or

January 30-31, 2004

S2N2 Annual Member Meeting
Space Science Network Northwest Annual Meeting. Sponsored by S2N2.
January 30-31, 2004, Silver Cloud Motel - University Village, Seattle, WA

Contact: Julie Lutz,

January 31, 2004

NASA Astronaut Remembrance Day
Honor the astronauts lost in NASA service with a day of remembrance. Join the Museum as we pay tribute to the crews of Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia. Learn about the astronauts and their missions, and then make your own mission patch in recognition of their bravery in our Family Fun Workshops. Apollo astronaut Walter Cunningham joins former Mission Control specialists Jerry Bostick and Sy Liebergot for an exciting and wide-ranging panel discussion culminating the Museum weeklong remembrance of astronauts lost in NASA service. All three panelists will sign autographs following the discussion, and Cunningham and Liebergot will sign copies of their recent books, The All-American Boys and Apollo EECOM: Journey of a Lifetime, respectively. Throughout the week, special exhibitry will highlight the lives of the seventeen astronauts, remembrance journals will be available for visitors to record their thoughts on each of these heroes, and videos about the space program will be shown. There will also be a display of personal memorabilia from Washington state astronauts. For more information go to the Museum of Flight Calendar website.

January 31, 2004, Museum of Flight, Seattle, WA
Contact: Museum of Flight website