Enjoy Birthday Pi and Pie on NASA Pi Day Challenge, Dr. Einstein!

Summary: The NASA Pi Day Challenge, Π in the Sky, has fourth- to 12th-graders and space-lovers of all ages solve four problems on Dr. Albert Einstein’s birthday.

NASA Pi in the Sky3 question: Public Domain, via NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration asks problem-solvers to answer NASA Pi Day Challenge questions March 14, 2016, calendar date equivalent to pi (3.14) and 137th anniversary of Albert Einstein’s birth.

The NASA Pi Day Challenge, Π in the Sky, brings together a quartet of illustrated mathematical problems for the third year since the first in 2014. Students in grades four to 12 can complete the problem set in less than 30 minutes through use of algebra, mathematics, measurement and number and operations. The set deals with Juno spacecraft approaching Jupiter, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s revolution-related distance and time, Mercury sun-screening Earth and Titan’s atmospheric haze and mappable surface area.

NASA encourages respondents of all ages to enter the hashtag #PiDay when tweeting their answers to @NASAJPL_Edu and to expect NASA-released answers March 16, 2016.

The NASA Pi Day Challenge, Π in the Sky, fits in with worldwide celebrations of the mathematically constant ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. Circling monuments 3.14 times, eating pies and singing “Happy Birthday, Dr. Einstein!” go back to Larry Shaw, San Francisco Exploratorium physicist in California, March 14, 1988. All Pi Day events honor infinitely non-repetitive, unpatterned extensions of pi, to 13.3 trillion digits by Oct. 8, 2014, and the pi-proficient theorizations of Dr. Einstein. NASA engineers and scientists include pi to calculate asteroid density, Cassini spacecraft orbits of Saturn’s moon Titan and propellant volumes and to size craters and exoplanets.

NASA’s Planet Pi joins the yearly fun with pi-based formulas to determine a circle’s area, circumference, diameter and radius and a sphere’s surface area and volume.

The NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory managed by California Institute of Technology in Pasadena keeps the questions and the responses, with the sequence of steps, available online.

NASA Pi Day Challenge, Π in the Sky, March 14, 2014, looks at time frames of the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite for imaging Earth. It measures the Cassini spacecraft’s hydrazine consumption since 2004, the Curiosity Mars rover’s kilometrage (mileage) since 2012 and the Juno spacecraft’s orbit around Jupiter since 2011.

The second challenge March 14, 2015, notes the number of photographs needed for the Dawn spacecraft to map the entire surface of the dwarf planet Ceres. It offers 11 years of rotations by Mars exploration rover Opportunity’s wheels, ocean volumes on Jupiter’s moon Europa and 38 years of signals from Voyager 1.

The value whose first three digits Archimedes of Syracuse, Sicily, computed 2,266 years ago prompts the NASA Pi Day Challenge, Π in the Sky, since 2014. It qualifies since March 9, 2009, as a national, not a binding, concern through U.S. House of Representatives Resolution 224 during the 111th United States Congress. Resolution 224 reveals that “aptitude for mathematics, science, and engineering is essential for a knowledge-based society” and “to better prepare our children” for 21st century economies.

Pi-proficiency serves Mars-oriented engineers and scientists well since Hallie Gengl, planner for Mars exploration rover Opportunity, states, “We use pi every day commanding rovers on Mars.”

Ota Lutz, education specialist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, tells reporters that all three challenges offer participants “questions that feature current events involving our space missions.”

NASA's Pi Day Challenge takes place March 14, the calendar date equivalent of pi (3.14): NASA @NASA via Twitter March 14, 2016

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

NASA Pi in the Sky3 question: Public Domain, via NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory @ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/pi-in-the-sky-3/

NASA's Pi Day Challenge takes place March 14, the calendar date equivalent of pi (3.14): NASA‏ @NASA via Twitter March 14, 2016, @ https://twitter.com/NASA/status/709456193287229440

For further information:

“H.Res.224 – Supporting the Designation of Pi Day, and for Other Purposes.” U.S. Government Printing Office > FDsys > Collection Results > Congressional Bills > 111th Congress (2009–2010) > House Simple Resolution (H.Res.) > 200–299 > H. Res. 224 > Text.
Available @ https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-111hres224ih/html/BILLS-111hres224ih.htm

NASA‏ @NASA. 14 March 2016. "It's #PiDay, the informal holiday beloved by math enthusiasts. See how we use Pi." Twitter. March 14, 2016.
Available @ https://twitter.com/NASA/status/709456193287229440

“Pi in the Sky 3.” Jet Propulsion Laboratory > Education > Teach > Activity > Problem Set.
Available @ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/teach/activity/pi-in-the-sky-3/