Educator Resources Lauren Ritter, NASA Education Pathways Intern Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3) Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP)

Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3) NASA employs aircraft in a variety of roles to support including the Global Hawk. The Global Hawk unmanned aircraft system (UAS) is the newest addition to the NASA fleet Questions about how hurricanes form and intensify require a heavy lift, long-endurance, long-range, and high-altitude platform The Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel Mission will use two Global Hawks to explore hurricanes in the Atlantic-Caribbean-Gulf region in the years 2012, 2013, and 2014

Why its Important to Learn About Hurricanes Close to 100 million Americans now live within 50 miles of a coastline, thus exposing them to the potential destruction caused by a land falling hurricane. Hurricanes present many dangers: high winds, storm surge, tornadoes, and flooding. Name of Hurricane Category Cost in damages Irene $15.6 Billion Katrina5+$100 Billion Sandy3 + $65 billion

HS3 Classroom Resources html#.U9epAPldWAg html#.U9epAPldWAg ( ) (Educator Database with informational imagery and diagrams) (Lesson Plans, Information, Diagrams, etc.)

About GPM (Global Precipitation Measurement) Water—the main reason for life on Earth— continuously circulates through one of Earth’s most powerful systems: the water cycle. Water flows endlessly between the oceans, atmosphere and land. Precipitation in the form of rain, snow, sleet or hail, for example, is a vital component of the water cycle and affects everyone on Earth. While the effects of precipitation are felt at local scales, understanding the role of Earth’s water cycle and how it interacts with other Earth systems requires a global view. The distribution of water throughout the atmosphere and how it moves, changing between its solid, liquid and gaseous forms, is a powerful vehicle for redistributing Earth’s energy and influences the behavior of the planet’s weather, climate and other environmental systems.

GPM Resources ( Current events, Lesson Plans, articles, database, social media) ( Educational apps. Quiz collection. Social Media access. (Lesson Plans, and activities)

Operation IceBridge (OIB) Operation IceBridge, a six-year NASA mission, is the largest airborne survey of Earth's polar ice. It will yield an unprecedented three-dimensional view of Arctic and Antarctic ice sheets, ice shelves and sea ice. These flights will provide a yearly, multi-instrument look at the behavior of the rapidly changing features of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. Data collected during OIB will help scientists bridge the gap in polar observations between NASA's Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) -- in orbit since and ICESat-2, planned to launch in early ICESat stopped collecting science data in 2009 making OIB critical for ensuring a continuous series of observations.

Operation Ice Bridge (a collection of climate and energy educational resources, data base, and lesson plans.) ( climate kids, projects, interactive, information, and lesson plans.) (educational documentary about climate change with corresponding lesson plan.) (database, lesson plans, relating data to the local ecological system.)

SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive) SMAP will combine low-frequency microwave radiometer and radar to measure surface soil moisture and freeze-thaw state, providing for scientific advances and societal benefits. Direct measurements of soil moisture and freeze/thaw state are needed to improve our understanding of regional water cycles, ecosystem productivity, and processes that link the water, energy, and carbon cycles. Soil moisture information at high resolution enables improvements in weather forecasts, flood and drought forecasts, and predictions of agricultural productivity and climate change.

SMAP Interactive site, classroom activities, workshops, fun stuff) (images and maps) (your pathway into a digital collection of Earth and space science resources for educators of all levels) (hands on educational activities) (teacher resources and lesson plans)

Other Education Resources index.html#.U9fYYvldWAi index.html#.U9fYYvldWAi (Educator Opportunities) (cool stuff) (educational activities) (all kinds of cool stuff)