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Among the images from STS-76 were several excellent examples of sun glint on the ocean, coastlines, islands, deserts, mountain ranges, metropolitan areas, rivers, and clouds-lots of clouds. A dramatic stereo pair of images of a thunderstorm in Sudan was used to make a stereo anaglyph for three-dimensional viewing, using red-green glasses.

8.1.2. Participating Middle Schools

Three schools participated in STS-76: Buist Academy from Charleston, South Carolina; Samuel Gompers Secondary School, San Diego, California; and Washington Accelerated Learning Center, Pasadena, California. These schools allowed at least 380 students to become actively involved in the KidSat mission. Buist Academy was selected based on their experience with Can Do (Nicholson 1994). Gompers Secondary School and Washington Accelerated Learning Center were selected due to their proximity to UCSD and JPL, respectively.

8.1.3 Results

At the request of the middle school students, 326 photographs of the Earth were taken by the KidSat flight equipment. The Mission Operations team fully supported the mission. The Data System team released the images to the students and the world at unprecedented speeds and created a flyby using an image of Saudi Arabia. In addition, a video was created of the Aral Sea that combined KidSat images and shuttle video data. The Exploration team and the students in the middle schools focused their explorations during the mission on Kangaroo Island, the Rift Valley in Africa, and the Aral Sea.

Students had a clear understanding of the goals of the mission and their function in achieving these goals. They applied their skills in the operation of the SMOC, made decisions, carried out the mission with adult supervision, worked in teams, developed proficiency in using a wide range of technologies, and were excited to be part of something that was real and ongoing. Students had a strong sense of ownership and pride, learned to adapt to changes during the mission, were highly engaged during the project, and improved their communication skills.

Students were in charge: they communicated with the Gateway, plotted the orbital track based on the descending node, selected targets, confirmed the METs, cross-checked the weather, entered the selections into the SMOC Web pages, and retrieved their images. They applied the knowledge they gained to new explorations and were able to clearly express their understanding of the KidSat project.

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Figure 55 : The first KidSat image downloaded on STS-76 was of Kiev, acquired at MET 00/19:39:50.