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K. Ferrari (Jet Propulsion Laboratory)
The Solar System Ambassadors Program is a public outreach program designed to work with motivated volunteers across the nation. These competitively selected volunteers organize and conduct public events that communicate exciting discoveries and plans in Solar System research, exploration and technology through non-traditional forums; e.g. community service clubs, libraries, museums, planetariums, "star parties," mall displays, etc.
Each Ambassador participates in on-line (web-based) training sessions that provide interaction with NASA scientists, engineers and project team members. As such, each Ambassador's experience with the space program becomes personalized. Training sessions provide Ambassadors with general background on each mission and educate them concerning specific mission milestones, such as launches, planetary flybys, first image returns, arrivals, and ongoing key discoveries. Additionally, projects provide limited supplies of videos, slide sets, booklets, pamphlets, posters, postcards, lithographs, on-line materials, resource links and information.
In addition to participating in on-line trainings with Ambassadors, scientists will be given the opportunity to interact with, and mentor volunteer Ambassadors at regional, weekend conferences designed to strengthen the Ambassadors' knowledge of space science and exploration, thereby improving the space science message that goes out to the general public through these enthusiastic volunteers.
Integrating volunteers across the country in a public-engagement program helps optimize project funding set aside for education and outreach purposes, establishing a nationwide network of regional contacts. At the same time, members of communities across the country become an extended part of each mission's team and an important interface between the space exploration community and the general public at large.
If you would like more information about this abstract, please follow the link to http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ambassador/front.html. This link was provided by the author. When you follow it, you will leave the Web site for this meeting; to return, you should use the Back comand on your browser.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: Kay.A.Ferrari@jpl.nasa.gov