On November 18, 2020, Postdoctoral Research Scientist Dr. Dylan Hickson gave a virtual Space Exploration talk to a 7th grade class at the Robinson School in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The presentation focused primarily on NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission to the asteroid Bennu, where on October 29, 2020 the spacecraft collected a sample of material from the surface to send back to the Earth, arriving in 2023. Dr. Hickson was motivated to work with this class because he knows that the complexity of space missions and their long durations can make public engagement difficult, especially for younger students. + Read More

Even before the newest AO facility is complete, students and scientists are already hard at work on the relevant science projects. The Culebra Aerosol Research Lidar (CARLA) facility, which began construction in March of 2020, will be used to track aerosols in the atmosphere. Of particular importance is the study of the Saharan dust in the air, which affects air quality and hurricane formation in the Atlantic and Greater Caribbean region. June 2020 saw a uniquely strong dust plume event, causing noticeably dimmer skies as far west as Texas. + Read More

The third semester of the AO STEAM Teaching at ARecibo (STAR) Academy kicked off on Saturday, August 29th, 2020. The 16-week program is for high school students from across the island of Puerto Rico, designed to develop problem solving and research skills while building a strong foundational understanding of math, science, physics, and engineering, with a focus on planetary radar science. + Read More

In August 2020, the STAR Teachers: Inspiración Científica para el Futuro program provided a series of free virtual professional workshops for elementary and middle school STEM teachers from around the island of Puerto Rico. A total of 8 workshops were created that included Biology, Chemistry, Nanotechnology and Space Sciences.

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