One World: Global Visions for Space Exploration Education

Paper number

IAC-08.E1.5.1

Author

Dr. Marlene MacLeish, National Space and Biomedical Research Institute, United States

Year

2008

Abstract

Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) has partnered with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) to bring space life science research and education to students, educators and general audiences across the globe. This educational consortium is supporting NASA’s education mission to strengthen the Nation’s future science workforce through research and education initiatives that transmit space science knowledge to teachers and students; support undergraduate/graduate science programs; fund postdoctoral and senior education fellowships; and engage national and international audiences in collegial exchanges that promote greater understanding of how space exploration benefits humankind.  
	This paper describes this educational endeavor, including the program’s scholarly interchanges with audiences in Canada, Greece, Scotland, Italy, Austria and Spain. Also the paper makes the case for comprehensive approaches-elementary/secondary through post-graduate levels-for realizing a global vision of space exploration education that ignites the imagination of students early on in their education, engage educators from across the globe in discourse about science curricula, and foster multimedia collaborations that inform citizens about the benefits that space exploration hold for life on Earth.  The paper will also briefly reference the NSBRI’s 2008 senior education fellow initiative, two-year postdoctoral fellowship program for young scientists who conduct space-related biomedical research in NSBRI laboratories across the US, and the Graduate Education Program in Space Life Sciences, which is conducted jointly at Texas A&M University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology through the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. 
	MSM-NASA-NSBRI educational outreach activities are organized around five themes: research, teacher professional development, curriculum materials production, career awareness and science literacy. These themes provide a road map for designing effective summer science research internships for undergraduate college and medical students; teacher professional development activities, public engagement programs with science centers and museums, and mass media communication productions directed to millions of television, radio, and community-based audiences. MSM has developed curriculum materials and disseminated educational materials, including college-level courses, television and radio documentaries, Internet-based materials, and NASA-NSBRI space-based secondary level curriculum materials, including The Brain in Space, Sleep and Daily Rhythms, Muscles and Bones, Food and Nutrition, SpaceConnections, What’s up with Jose and Cecilia’s Story to audiences across the globe. 
	This program is dedicated to the best ideals of scholarship and is committed to a shared vision of how space benefits Earth’s citizens. 

Abstract document

IAC-08.E1.5.1.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-08.E1.5.1.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.