Real-Life Communication
Communication can be important for some planetary geologists. They
must write up proposals and research papers, make presentations at conferences
and sometimes explain their work to the general public.
However, not
all planetary geologists work directly with the public. "Some people could
be in front of a computer and rarely leave the lab," says Jeff Klemaszewski.
He is a researcher specializing in planetary geology. "They would still need
communication skills to write up their results.
"I'm involved in education
outreach, so I do a lot of public speaking telling people about missions,"
says Klemaszewski.
You're currently working on data collected during
the Galileo mission to Jupiter. You are presenting the facts of the mission
to the public. The following is an explanation of this mission:
Launched
from the space shuttle Atlantis, Galileo embarked on a long but productive
cruise to Jupiter.
The spacecraft flew by Venus once and Earth twice
as it built up energy to reach Jupiter. Two passes through the asteroid belt
provided the first close looks at asteroids Gaspra and Ida, as well as the
first image of an asteroid's moon, Ida's moon, Dactyl.
As the spacecraft
neared its destination, comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 crashed into Jupiter. While
the impact occurred on the night side of Jupiter, away from the direct view
of Earth-based observers, Galileo was positioned where the spacecraft's instruments
could see the impact flashes as they rose above Jupiter's limb.
Six
months before arrival at Jupiter, the spacecraft separated into two parts:
a probe and an orbiter. The probe entered Jupiter's atmosphere and relayed
data on the properties of its upper atmosphere to the orbiter. The orbiter
flew closely by Io (one of Jupiter's moons) to slow down and enter into orbit
about Jupiter.
(Content provided by Jeff Klemaszewski. Excerpt for
public use.)
These are a few of the questions the audience
asked once you were finished your presentation:
- What is the name of Ida's moon?
- When did the Galileo spacecraft divide into two parts?
- What great event occurred on Jupiter just as the Galileo was approaching?
How do you respond to their questions?