Spacecraft Human: Integrating Health and Wellness into STEM Education

Paper number

IAC-17,E1,8,1,x41614

Author

Ms. Monica Ebert, School for Independent Learners, United States

Year

2017

Abstract

A spacecraft is an integrated, self-sustaining structure made of many subsystems working continuously in concert to achieve its mission -- much like a human. Imagining the human body as a spacecraft allows for many analogies between two nominally vastly different fields, allowing for students to connect to spacecraft design and engineers to connect with themselves.

Spacecraft Human is a yoga class for the space nerd, an intersectional education tool that shows the similarities between health and engineering: the human as a spacecraft. This class was developed for scientists and engineers at NASA Ames Research Center. It takes a systems engineering and health conscious approach to government mandated ergonomic activities, applicable for outreach,  team building exercises, and for teachers to integrate health, wellness, and mindfulness into academic studies.

Join Spacecraft Human to charge your batteries, cycle your power, adjust your attitude, conduct a structural analysis, download your data, and communicate with ground control and deep space.

Abstract document

IAC-17,E1,8,1,x41614.brief.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-17,E1,8,1,x41614.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.