ED022-08
TREX Public Engagement: Increase in Partnerships Spurred by the Pandemic
Thursday, 10 December 2020: 07:28
Virtual
Sanlyn Buxner1, Amanda R Hendrix1, JA Grier2, Deborah Lorin Domingue2, Melissa D Lane3, Maria Banks4, Thomas H Prettyman2, Lynnae C Quick5, Eldar Z Noe Dobrea6, Ryan N Watkins2, Shawn P Wright7, Charles A Wood1, Larry A Lebofsky1,8 and Pamela Gay9, (1)Planetary Science Institute Tucson, Tucson, AZ, United States, (2)Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ, United States, (3)Planetary Science Inst, Lititz, PA, United States, (4)Smithsonian Inst, Washington, DC, United States, (5)NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States, (6)Planetary Science Institute Pasadena, Los Angeles, CA, United States, (7)Planetary Science Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, United States, (8)Retired, Tucson, AZ, United States, (9)Planetary Science Institute, Edwardsville, IL, United States
Abstract:
The Toolbox for Research and Exploration (TREX) is a node of NASA’s Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI). TREX aims to develop tools and research methods for exploration of airless bodies, like the Moon and asteroids, to prepare for human missions. These rocky surfaces also are coated with fine particulate dust. In order to understand the surface characteristics and to investigate potential resources on airless bodies, the TREX team is conducting laboratory spectral measurements and other experiments (e.g., irradiation, impact shock, etc.) that will enhance the study of existing mission datasets. The TREX team is made up of multidisciplinary scientists and education and communication specialists from 12 institutions. The overall goal of TREX public engagement efforts is to engage and connect our subject matter experts to their local communities as well as national communities. In the first two years of the project, team members gave public talks and supported regional and national outreach events such as the Apollo 50
th anniversary.
In Spring 2020, plans for public engagement were altered drastically due to COVID-19. All in-person outreach was suspended. In an effort to support project partners and reach new audiences, the TREX Public Engagement Team is providing online programming including talks and training for schools, camps, and museums. Scientists have given regular presentations throughout the summer and will continue into the fall. Ongoing work will expand the TREX Public Engagement to smaller universities by connecting TREX scientists to students in support of their interest in planetary science. Despite the challenges posed by a national shut down, the team has used this pandemic to reach audiences in new virtual ways, providing more opportunities for scientists to reach non-local audiences. We will discuss how these paradigm changes will be incorporated into future virtual programming to increase the diversity of audiences, with a specific focus on underrepresented minority students in planetary science. Additionally, we will discuss how our efforts to provide access to all audiences will support the 2021 TREX Science Communicators Workshop for Disabled Writers, a 7-week online workshop for self-identified disabled writers.
