Learn about pi and the history of Pi Day before exploring some of the ways in which the number is used by NASA. Then try your hand at maths in our Pi Day Challenge.
Captured on October 20, 2020, during the OSIRIS-REx Touch-And-Go (TAG) mission sample collection event, this series of photos shows the view of the SamCam simulator as the spacecraft NASA approaches and touches the surface of asteroid Bennu. Image credit: NASA / Goddard / University of Arizona | ›Full image and title
In this photo, NASA’s Mars Ingenuity Helicopter is standing on the surface of the Red Planet as NASA’s Perseverance rover (seen partially on the left) takes off. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech | ›Full image and title
This artist’s concept shows what Deep Space Station-23, a new antenna basin capable of supporting both radio waves and laser communications, will look like when completed at the Goldstone Network building California, California. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech | + Expand image
Expedition 52 NASA’s Jack Fischer Flight Engineer shared pictures and time video of bright green aurora visible from its vantage point 250 miles up, aboard the International Space Station. This aurora photo was taken on June 26, 2017. Image Credit: NASA | ›Full image and title
In the news
As March 14 approaches, it’s time to get ready to celebrate Pi Day! It is the annual leave that pays homage to the mathematically stable pi – the number that comes from dividing the circumference of any circle by its diameter.
Pi Day comes around just once a year, giving us reason to dive down on our favorite sweet and savory pies while appreciating the mathematical wonder that NASA helps to explore to do on Earth, the solar system and beyond. There is no better way to see this day by getting students to study right space with NASA by doing their math in our Pi Day Challenge. Keep reading to find out how students – and you – can put their mathematical mettle to the test and solve real-world problems facing NASA scientists and engineers while exploring the cosmos!
How it works
Dividing the circumference of any circle by its diameter gives us pi, which is often rounded to 3.14. However, pi is an insignificant number, meaning that its decimal representation goes on forever and never happens again. Pi was measured to 50 trillion digits, but NASA uses far less for space analysis.
Some people may think that a circle has no points. Of course, a circle has points, and you know what pi is and how to use it is far from pointless. Pi is used to work out the area and circumference of round objects and the size of shapes such as spheres and cylinders. So it is useful for everyone from farmers storing crops in silos to manufacturers of water storage tanks to people who want to find the best value when ordering pizza. At NASA, we use pi to find the best place to land on Mars, study the health of Earth ‘s coral reefs, measure the ring size of planetary debris years ago, and much more.
In the United States, 3.14 is one form for writing March 14, which is why we celebrate on that date. In 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution officially announcing March 14 as Pi Day and encouraging teachers and students to celebrate the day with activities that teach students about pi. And you’re in luck, because that’s exactly what NASA’s Pi Day Challenge is all about.
The Science behind NASA’s 2021 Pi Day Challenge
This year, NASA ‘s Pi Day Challenge is offering up four brain tickets that will make pi students use to collect samples from an asteroid, fly a helicopter on Mars for the first time, find effective ways to talk to ships- distant space, and explore the forces behind Earth’s beautiful auroras. Learn more about the science and engineering behind the problems below or click on the link below to jump into the challenge. Be sure to check back on March 15 for the answers to this year’s challenge.
›Educators, get the lesson here!
Sample science
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission has flown to an asteroid and collected a sample of surface material to bring it back to Earth. (It will return to Earth in 2023.) The mission is designed to help scientists understand how planets shape and contribute to what we know about asteroids near Earth, such as the one visited by OSIRIS-REx, the asteroid Bennu. Launched in 2016, OSIRIS-REx started orbiting Bennu in 2018 and successfully completed its move to retrieve a sample on October 20, 2020. In Example Science problem, students use pi to determine the level of the spacecraft’s sample collection device that needs to communicate with Bennu’s surface to meet mission requirements for success.
Wonder Whirling
Joining a Perseverance rover on Mars is the first helicopter designed to fly on another planet. Named Ingenuity, the helicopter is a technological demonstration, meaning it is a test to see if a similar device could be used for a future Mars mission. To complete the first powered flight on another planet, Ingenuity must spin its blades at high speed to generate a lift in the shallow atmosphere of Mars. In Twirly Whirly, students use pi to compare the spinning rate of Ingenuity blades to normal helicopter levels on Earth.
Signal resolution
NASA uses radio signals to communicate with spacecraft throughout the solar system and in interstellar space. As more and more data flows between the Earth and the distant spacecraft, NASA needs new technologies to evolve as soon as data becomes available. One such technology is the development of Deep Space Optical Communications, which uses near-infrared light instead of radio waves to transmit data. Near-infrared light, with the frequency higher than radio waves, allows more data to be transmitted per second. In Signal Solution, students can compare the effectiveness of optical communication with radio communication, using pi to crush the numbers.
Force Area
The Earth’s magnetic field extends from the interior of the planet to space, and is a protective shield, preventing charged particles from the Sun. Called the solar wind, these grains of helium and hydrogen race from the Sun at hundreds of miles per second. When they reached Earth, they would explode our planet and orbit satellites if not for the magnetic field. Instead, they are polluted, although some grains are trapped by the field and directed toward the poles, where they interact with the atmosphere, forming auroras. Knowing how the Earth’s magnetic field moves and how particles interact with the field can help keep satellites in safe orbit. In Field Force, students use pi to work out the effect of a hydrogen atom at different levels across the Earth’s magnetic field.
Teach it
Pi Day is a fun and engaging way to get students thinking like NASA scientists and engineers. By solving the Below are NASA’s Pi Day Challenge Problems, reading about other ways NASA uses pi, and doing the related activities, students will see for themselves how math is an important part of STEM.
Pi Day Facilities
Additionally, enter the conversation using the hashtag #NASAPiDayChallenge on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Related lessons for educators
Related activities for students
TAGS: Pi, Pi Day, NASA Pi Day Challenge, Math, Mars, Stability, Innovation, Mars Helicopter, OSIRIS-REx, Bennu, Asteroid, Auroras, Earth, Magnetic Field, DSOC, Light Waves, DSN, Deep Space Network, Space Communication
