NASA Partnerships
Our Educational Partners
The Adler is proud to partner with NASA on a number of exciting projects. We have a number of partnerships with Education and Public Outreach programs in NASA's Science Mission Directorate. NASA's Science Mission Directorate develops, launches, and operates unmanned spacecraft to answer science questions relating to our Earth, our Sun and its influence on the rest of the Solar System, our Solar System's family of planets, moons, and other bodies, and our Universe. Our role ranges from education and public outreach to space science research.
Current Projects
Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX)
IBEX is a NASA-funded Small Explorer satellite mission that orbits Earth and maps the boundary of the Solar System. The Adler is the lead Education and Public Outreach (E/PO) institution for the IBEX mission.
Since the IBEX mission began, Adler Planetarium staff have developed a wide range of materials and products to help explain the science behind the mission.
Education and Public Outreach Forums
NASA has funded four Science Education and Public Outreach Forums (SEPOFs) to increase the overall coherence of NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD) Education and Public Outreach programs. The Adler Planetarium is a participant in two of the Forums: Heliophysics and Astrophysics.
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)
LRO is NASA's flagship robotic mission to explore the Moon from a very low orbit using a variety of scientific instruments, including a camera. Highly detailed images from this camera have been integrated into the Adler Planetarium's Moon Wall in the Shoot for the Moon exhibition. Educational materials relating to LRO and the Moon have also been incorporated into the Adler's Space Explorers Afterschool Science Club program.