IMAGINE MARS NEWS

Welcome to the first issue of the Imagine Mars Newsletter. We are so excited that your students are participating in this very special project.

This monthly newsletter will be your source for updates on the Web site, educational tools to help you with your project, feedback from fellow project leaders and students, the newest news from Mars and many other exciting articles. We are always interested in hearing about your experiences with the Imagine Mars Project so please don't hesitate to e-mail us at ImagineMars@jpl.nasa.gov .

Hope you enjoy this issue!

The Imagine Mars Project Takes Flight

As part of the sixth annual Space Day celebration on May 2, 2002, NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe announced the launch of the Imagine Mars project at the opening ceremony for "Space Day 2002...Adventure to Mars!" at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C.

The Imagine Mars project got off to a soaring start as students, educators and space enthusiasts from around the nation and around the world tuned in to Cyber Space Day, the only annual Web cast devoted to space, science and math.

Building on of the success of the Mars Millennium Project, the Imagine Mars project's Web site, http://ImagineMars.jpl.nasa.gov, provides resources and activities to get you and your group on its way to planning and illustrating a community on Mars in the future.

Latest News From Mars: A Frozen Ocean!!

New scientific discovery may be an important factor for Imagine Mars Project participants to consider as they engage in the project and plan their community.

Recently, instruments aboard the Mars Odyssey spacecraft have detected substantial amounts of hydrogen just under the surface of the planet Mars, according to mission scientists.

They say they believe the hydrogen is most likely in the form of water ice.

Researchers announced preliminary findings from Mars Odyssey in March, when early data from an instrument called the gamma ray spectrometer showed evidence of vast deposits of hydrogen in Mars' southern hemisphere.

Experts say the confirmation of ice on Mars could answer a question that's nagged them for years: Despite the fact that the surface of Mars now appears dry as bone, much physical evidence -- including channels on the landscape -- suggests that water once flowed there.

Researchers have long been puzzled about where the water went. Now, the new findings suggest that it could have gone underground.

View the most recent images of the Mars frozen ocean and other terrain features at http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/latestimages/index.html .

Become a Cooperating Organization

Cooperating organization commitment forms are now online on the Imagine Mars Web site. We are seeking the help of education, arts, technology and science-focused organizations to help spread the word about the Imagine Mars project.

Cooperating organizations will receive special advance notification of new site features, special invitations to Web casts and have the opportunity to submit their education-related news for the Imagine Mars email newsletter. The Imagine Mars Project will also recognize cooperating organizations on the project web site and link to the Imagine Mars project information on their web sites.

In turn, cooperating organizations will be asked to post an official link from their web sites to the Imagine Mars project web site and print periodic project-related news in email and print newsletters about upcoming Imagine Mars events. Log on now and download your copy of the cooperating organization commitment form and help us on our mission to bring the Imagine Mars project to students everywhere.