280-6 AstroSurvivor: Engaging Students in Asteroid Geology through Real Observations and Impact Modeling

Session: Planetary Exploration and Education: How We Learn About Our Solar System and Beyond

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Understanding the solar system requires both data collection and creative interpretation of surface imagery, skills that are critical to scientific inquiry and well suited for active learning environments. AstroSurvivor is a one-week planetary science program for high school students that immerses learners in the challenges of planetary defense and asteroid geology through hands-on exploration of real NASA data and modeling tools. The course is centered on a scenario-based learning structure where students assume the roles of planetary scientists responding to asteroid impact threats to Earth. Students use real observational data from the Spacewatch program, a long-term asteroid survey based in Arizona at the Kitt Peak National Observatory, to examine asteroid properties such as orbit, brightness, and shape. These data enable students to make science-based assessments about potential threats and explore how NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office missions like DART have influenced planetary defense strategies. To complement observations, the other half of the students in the class explore the consequences of asteroid impacts using a simple version of the iSALE hydrocode, a widely used scientific tool for simulating impact cratering. While students do not run the code directly, they are guided through interpreting impact model outputs and use the results to reconstruct impact histories and surface evolution of small bodies with an experiment of their design.

This high-school science program integrates mission highlights (e.g., OSIRIS-REx, DART, Hayabusa2) with lab-based learning, team activities, and cross-cutting themes like space policy and international collaboration. Students conclude the program by presenting mission proposals and planetary defense strategies based on their research and simulations using data imagery and the entire whiteboard/chalkboard. By blending current NASA mission science, open-source data, and peer collaboration, AstroSurvivor offers a model for how to teach planetary geology in a way that is immersive, data-driven, and aligned with how we conduct real exploration. This approach could be adapted to other topics within geoscience education and provides a pathway for bridging student interest in space with genuine scientific practices.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Program. Vol. 57, No. 6, 2025

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