Astronomy Exchange With Iran

Project Starshine 2002
The US-Iran Program worked to spread the word and encourage Iranian participation in Project Starshine - a private astronomy project that allows students around the world to track Starshine satellites and record observations via the Internet. Starshine 3 is covered with student-built mirrors and is designed to study how solar flares affect the earth's atmosphere. Thousands of students from all over the world requested and received mirror-polishing kits and worked in their classrooms to polish the mirrors that were later mounted on the satellite. Now that the satellite is in orbit, students are able to observe the satellite's movements and study the satellite's data. A number of Iranian student groups participated and we are ready to assist any organizations or individuals seeking to participate in this project.

Read more about Starshine at http://azinet.com/starshine/

May 2001
"In terms of relations, I was standing in the Bazaar in Isfahan [Iran] a couple hours ago and an Iranian family recognized me and asked me point blank through a translator; 'Do the American people know that the Iranian people want better relations?' I'd say over the past week that actions have matched the words."
Alan Hale and Russell Schweickart - WashingtonPost.com Interview, August 10, 1999

The US-Iran Program has worked closely with a number of prominent American and Iranian Astronomers to bring about professional collaboration in a field that has no "geographic boundaries". In a highly successful continuation of the astronomy exchange between the US and Iran, eight Iranian astronomers, scientists, and educators traveled around the US. The purpose of the trip was to allow the Iranians to meet with their American counterparts, exchange information and build relationships, and develop the capacity of two Iranian scientific institutions.

The challenge of the trip was to provide enough resources to a group with rather diverse scientific interests and expertise. As such, the delegation conducted a whirlwind tour of some of the most salient scientific institutions in Washington DC, Denver, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, including: Denver's Space Imaging, Inc., which provided unlimited ideas for civil uses of satellite imaging, particularly in the rapidly-growing city of Isfahan.

The San Francisco Exploratorium proved an ideal model for Iranian scientific institutions. Plans are underway for the Exploratorium to advise counterpart institutions in Iran on best practices. The Mt. Wilson Observatory in Los Angeles led a tour of 60-inch and 100-inch telescopes. Here, an exciting educational possibility arose whereby Iranian students could participate in an on-line astronomy class in which they would be able to manipulate Mt. Wilson telescopes and view their observations on the Internet.

The group also toured the Air and Space Museum, NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, and CalTech's astronomy department. A clear Los Angeles night provided the perfect opportunity for observation. The trip's success was due entirely to the boundless enthusiasm and efforts of former astronauts Bruce McCandless and Rusty Schweikart, scientists Charles Morris, Mike Simmons, and Doug Biesecker, and Hale-Bopp comet co-discoverer Alan Hale.

July 2000
The U.S.-Iran Project organized a trip of American astronomers, led by Hale-Bopp comet co-discoverer Dr. Alan Hale, where they attended an astronomy conference sponsored by the Adib Astronomical Society and forged stronger professional ties with their Iranian counterparts

Other members of the 6-person delegation also included Bruce McCandless (former astronaut who helped to deploy the Hubble Space Telescope in 1990) as well as scientists from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the Goddard Space Flight Center.

Their visit was extremely positive and resembled last year's trip when they received a warm reception by the Iranian people while observing the total solar eclipse of July 1999. This year, they were able to continue their ongoing professional dialogue with their Iranian colleagues while laying the groundwork for future collaboration in the fields of astronomy and science. Post-trip publicity of the trip has occurred on the BBC Farsi Service, Iranian.com, and in the local Isfahan press.

From the Iranian: "One Planet, One People," August, 2000
Iran, One American's Naive Perspective [pdf], August 2000
Interview with Astronaut Bruce McCandless II [pdf]
Interview with Hale-Bopp Comet Co-Discoverer Dr. Alan Hale [pdf], August 2000