ASU’s Center for Meteorite Studies 50th Anniversary Media | Social Media | Online Presence | PR | Strategic Plan

Situation: Arizona State University’s Center for Meteorite Studies is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. There will be a public

lecture, symposium, and a trip to Meteor Crater. The theme of this celebration is “Meteorite Studies: Past Present Future” with

a special emphasis on the future.

Audience Profile: ASU faculty, students, staff, alumni

Prospective students

Prospective donors

Earth Science/astronomy related organizations and interested individuals (general public)

Key Messages: Study of meteorites at Arizona State University has a long and rich history (50

th anniversary is a major milestone in the

Center’s history); oldest research facility on campus. This is the time to time to look back and appreciate CMS’s growth and maturation into the largest university-based collection of meteorites in the world

The future will revolutionize our understanding of the solar system and our place in it. The future is having access to

new kinds of material (from spacecraft missions (e.g., Dawn, OSIRIS Rex) and other sources of material), new

capabilities/tools (high flying aircraft, sensitive devices – many developed within SESE).

CMS will be moving into ISTB4 next spring (benefits, how things will change, etc.)

The Center for Meteorite Studies is home to the world's largest university-based meteorite collection.

Media Targets: On campus – ASU/SESE sites, Research Matters website, CLAS / Foundation report

Local print media (AZ Rep – pitch to Anne Ryman)

On-air interviews: KJZZ, Horizon (KAET), Science Café podcast w/ Peggy Coulumbe

Tasks: Announcement to science media via EurekAlert

Symposium/lecture announcement

Collection of four stories that embrace the theme “Meteorite Studies: Past, Present and Future"

Supplemental Media: Photo galleries: 1) Current meteorites (highlights) (Laurence Garvie sending top 10 best/unusual/beautiful/rare

meteorite pics + caption by Oct. 1), 2) CMS overview/general (vault, museum, plans for ISTB4, pile of meteor-wrong

packages, kids participating in the meteorite dig at events, etc.), 3) CMS history (old black and white photos of CMS

back in the day – Carol visiting the archives)

Use the video Erik Holsinger created, as well as the two on CMS YouTube channel

(http://www.youtube.com/user/asumeteoritestudies); include links to videos in stories

Podcast with Peggy that can be posted online

Social media: Facebook posts, Twitter updates

STORY 1: “Scientific Moments”

Past … possibly Carol or intern

CMS began operating in the Department of Chemistry

Professor Peter Buseck – one of the first ASU professors to actively put the CMS collection to use for scientific study

Dr. Harvey H. Nininger, the meteorite hunter from whom ASU acquired the initial core of the Center for Meteorite

Studies collection in 1960

Contributions of CMS Founding Director Carleton Moore and his invaluable role in the establishment of the Center and its unique collection (CMS was originally titled the Nininger Meteorite Laboratory and was established when ASU bought the Nininger Collection in 1959, which included 1,220 samples from 684 meteorite falls, mostly in Arizona)

Center's role in the NASA Apollo sample return missions

Oldest research facility on campus

STORY 2: “Tools” Present … Nikki

People and research facilities at SESE making it possible to create tools capable of probing asteroids and studying

meteorites

o Creative application of SESE’s talent to this field of study

Micro devices, mini-seismometers, mass spectrometers, remote sensing (Hu, Behar, Saripalli, Christensen, etc.)

o One of the mineral mapping instruments on the OSIRIS-Rex mission will be the OSIRIS-Rex Thermal Emission

Spectrometer (OTES), built by Philip Christensen. OTES has a strong heritage from Christensen’s successful

Mars thermal emission spectrometers, and will be constructed entirely in the Interdisciplinary Science and

Technology Building IV

STORY 3: “Materials”

Future … possibly Robert

Future missions

o Arizona State University and the Center for Meteorite Studies will play a role in NASA’s first sample return

mission from an asteroid. The OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-

Regolith Explorer) mission will visit the asteroid 1999 RQ36 to conduct a year-long global mapping campaign

culminating in a “touch-and-go” sample collection on the asteroid’s regolith-rich surface.

CMS Director Meenakshi Wadhwa is on the science team and will be involved in planning for the

curation and preliminary examination of the returned samples.

Samples that will be returned to Earth; Dawn mission at the asteroid 4 Vesta, Juno (to Jupiter), Mars Science

Laboratory, and GRAIL (Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory; to the Moon)

Center's role in NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Mission

STORY 4: “Collection” (“Tales from the Vault”)

Supplemental … Nikki’s intern

Collection overview and highlights, acquisition stories

“Tales from the Vault” – small package consisting of an overview and then 3 or 4 “tales” about meteorites that have

mysterious origins (or have caused problems – I remember one meteorite falling through a roof and landing on a

woman’s head), perhaps targeted toward kids?

Puente-Ladron meteorite - first meteorite Nininger found himself (check out the Summer 2011 CMS newsletter); Nakhla, one of the eight Martian meteorites currently in the Center's collection

Tasks/Projects:

Commemorative book / booklet / coffee table book

Goal: Serve as a showcase of top 50 specimens, give-away to attendees

Details: small run (300-500 copies)

Printer options

o Alternative (contact Mike Wolfe 480-383-3935); ~$8-9/book, screws, perfect bind (4-5 weeks), qty. 1000

o Alphagraphics (Dee Ann dmullins@alphagraphics.com)

o FedEx 866-568-1347

o PrismaGraphic – last minute decided to switch to this printer

Photography

o Laurence Garvie (collection manager) taking photos, purchased special lights

o Ph# 480-965-3361 (lgarvie@asu.edu)

o Determining which meteorites are most photogenic; all photos done as of Sept. 23

Book details o Cover design – Sue Selkirk, SESE graphic designer o Ideas: industrial, spacecraft, bolts o Full bleed, color process, glossy, thick paper, size 8x8 o 10-50 photos o Pages: TOC, history (50

th anniversary, 50 years of CMS), where we are now

Looked into ISBN, copyright, publisher info (provided by Dee Ann @ Alphagraphics)

Banner

Status: Waiting on feedback from Mini on whether she wants one or not (Mini cell: 480-239-0796)

Cost at Alphagraphics is $250

Design?

How long to print?

Changing name of the collection

Status: Did Mini meet with the dean?

Need approval to change name of collection to honor Carleton

Paperwork lengthy process, start process and still announce around anniversary

Retrospective on Carleton, slideshow w/ old photos

Changing name of the collection

Status: Did Mini meet with the dean?

Need approval to change name of collection to honor Carleton

Paperwork lengthy process, start process and still announce around anniversary

Retrospective on Carleton, slideshow w/ old photos

Images: Start collecting

images so these are ready

prior to the event

**Be great to get some of the

really old black and white ones …

I’ve found a few online