Have you ever looked up in the sky and seen a shooting star? Have you ever wondered what would happen if such a "star" ever decided to head towards Earth and was big enough to threaten us? In the movie, Armageddon, Billy Bob Thornton playing the role of a NASA executive told the president that the asteroid heading for the earth was a global killer - the size of Texas! Does an asteroid have to be that big to wipe out life as we know it? Could the same thing happen to us that happened 65 million years ago when a fiery ball from space struck the Yucatan and ended the reign of the dinosaurs? 

This project will help you to answer these and other questions. It will also get you involved in collaborating with other schools around the world in determining the factors affecting the appearance of impact craters and their ejecta. (See Crater Impact Activity in the Teacher Area.)  To guide you on this adventure scientists and engineers from Goddard Space Center will be available to give you "up close and personal" perspective. I look forward to you joining us!

If you have decided to participate in the project, please take a moment to register with us. This registration database simply lets us know of your commitment to participate in the Project. Registrants will receive periodic email updates during the project with important information and tips for doing the experiment.  Registration will open again in January, 2004. See you then.