NASA’s Planetary Science Division is looking to the Astrobiology community to produce more science “nuggets” in order to better communicate the funded research in NASA Astrobiology Research and Analysis (R&A) program.
What is a nugget? A single page highlighting a recent science publication funded by a NASA grant. A nugget should contain one or two pictures (only VERY simple graphs if needed; no video or audio files), and short blurb of text, aimed at a high-school level audience, addressing the general questions: *What is the science question? *What are the findings? *What is the impact? *Why does this matter to the broader (scientific and/or non-scientific) community?
What are nuggets used for? Communication of science results from different programs upwards throughout NASA, and occasionally outside of the agency (to other government groups, e.g. Congress or the White House). The Planetary Science Division missions often have individuals who produce nuggets from the research that comes from the missions, but we are looking to put more emphasis on the research funded through the R&A program.
What do I put together and who do I send it to? Please use the “blank nugget” .pptx file available here as background for the nugget, and send along a PDF of the publication for reference. If this work has been highlighted by your university or institution as a press release, please include a link to that information too. You should send these files to Kathleen E. Vander Kaaden (kathleen.e.vanderkaaden@nasa.gov).
Where can I see some examples? https://www.lpi.usra.edu/nuggets/