Parachuting onto Mars
Tuesday 05/17/2016 
6:30 pm ET (3:30 pm PT)

FREE 1-hour Webinar
Educators in Grades 6-8

The NASA Educator Professional Development Collaborative at
Texas State University is providing a 1-hour webinar.


Participants in this webinar will calculate surface area and measure the mass of a spacecraft. Participants will learn the design process behind the parachute system used on the Orion spacecraft. Math concepts that will be covered during the session are expression and equations, geometry, quantitative relationships and problem solving.

Maria Chambers, an Alabamian native, is an Education Professional Development Specialist at NASA Ames Research Center. For the past two years, she was an Education Specialist at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Auburn University, a Master’s of Education in English as a Second Language and a Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction with a Focus in STEM from Adams State University. Prior to joining NASA, Maria worked as a 4th/5th grade science teacher in Colorado and Alabama for 5 years and an ELL teacher for 2 years. Maria served as a Space Foundation Teacher Liaison for 3 years in Colorado Springs. She also completed the NASA Endeavor Program where she received a teaching certificate in STEM education. As a classroom teacher, Maria integrated inquiry based learning and technology into the science classroom to challenge her students. She also served as the district science collaborator and met with other teacher’s district wide to write curriculum for science. As a NASA Education Specialist, Maria oversees multiple student programs that are focused on space exploration and engaging high school students all the way up to community college students.