Presented to Kepler Pre-Launch Educator Workshop January 31, 2009 Shari Asplund Discovery and New Frontiers Programs Education and Public Outreach Manager Discovery Program Overview

We Explore the Solar System to Understand… Where do we come from? Where are we going? Are we alone?

Where Do We Come From? Our missions search for pieces of history hidden in the expanse of the solar system.

Where Are We Going? Explore the space environment for hazards to humans.

Are We Alone? Where did the building blocks for life come from? Did any of the planets (or their moons) - including our own - have life earlier than we know? Does life exist outside of Earth?

NASA’s Discovery Program A series of lower-cost solar system exploration missions intended to accomplish high quality, focused planetary science investigations using innovative, streamlined, and efficient approaches to assure the highest science value for the cost Aims to enhance our understanding of the solar system by exploring the planets, their moons and other small bodies, either by traveling to them or remotely from the vicinity of Earth.

Supporting Objectives Provide exciting and important scientific data to the global community Keep performance high and expenses low by using new technologies and strict cost and schedule caps Increase flight rates with a launch every 12 to 24 months Broaden university and industry participation in solar system exploration missions Enhance general public awareness of, and appreciation for, solar system exploration Support national education initiatives through mission- specific programs

Program Attributes Competitively selected through NASA AO process PI leads mission and is responsible for cost, schedule and performance Teaming arrangements are encouraged with NASA Centers Research Organizations Industrial Partners Universities Total NASA SMD cost must not exceed $425M Education and Public Outreach program required

Completed Missions NEAR First spacecraft to orbit and land on a near-Earth asteroid, returning 160,000 detailed images of Eros during its year-long orbit Mars Pathfinder First free-ranging rover to explore the surface of Mars, conducting science and technology experiments

Completed Missions Lunar Prospector Orbited the Moon for 18 months, looking for water and other natural resources and returning extensive mapping data Deep Impact First experiment to send a large projectile into the path of a comet, revealing the never-before-seen interior for extensive study

Flight Portion Completed; Science Analysis Ongoing Genesis Collected particles of solar wind and returned them to Earth to learn the chemical composition of the Sun and better understand the evolution of our Solar System Stardust Captured the first-ever samples from a comet and returned them to Earth to help provide answers to fundamental questions about comets and the origins of the solar system.

MESSENGER Launched in August 2004, will arrive at Mercury for a year-long orbit in 2011, with 2 flybys of Venus and 3 of Mercury along the way Missions in Flight Dawn Launched Sept. 27, 2007, will fly by Ceres and Vesta, the oldest and most massive asteroids to remain intact since their formation 4.5 billion years ago, providing a better understanding of the conditions and processes at the beginning of the solar system

Missions in Development Kepler Will search for Earth-sized habitable planets in other solar systems using a unique telescope to detect transits from space GRAIL Will put twin satellites into orbit around the Moon to map the Moon's interior and variations in its gravitational pull & to reconstruct its thermal history.