Every year Robert Ballard, the man who discovered the sunken R.M.S. Titanic, embarks on a two-week scientific exploration. Since he began the JASON Project Expeditions, Ballard has explored the Galapagos Islands, watched gray whales in San Ignacio Lagoon, and studied rain forests, Mayan ruins, and coral reefs in Belize. He's able to bring millions of kids with him via a satellite-transmitted telepresence system that broadcasts the expeditions in real time to schools in the US, Canada, Bermuda, and the UK.
To participate, most students enroll in a science course at school that follows a specially prepared JASON Project curriculum. The students also compete to accompany Ballard on a mission "for real." Some then become reporters for the students back home. The classroom participants can communicate with the crew and even direct robot submarines via remote control.
This year Ballard and his understudies will travel to Hawaii to study Kilauea, an active volcano. The mission runs from February 27 to March 11. For information on the JASON Project, call +1 (617) 487 9995, info@jason.org. WWW: http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/scripts/JASON.html.
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