EDUCATING THE NEXT GENERATION OF SPACE EXPLORERS: CULTIVATING PUBLIC PARTICIPATION FOR SPACE EXPLORATION

摘要

The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI), a consortium of twelve universities, was established in 1997 through a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) competition. NSBRI is dedicated to research that seeks solutions to astronauts' health issues during long missions. The NSBRI also supports NASA's education mission through a comprehensive Kindergarten (K)-post-doctoral Education and Public Outreach Program (EPOP). The EPOP's mission is to communicate the significance of space life sciences research to students, teachers and families, and to disseminate NSBRI biomedical research advances to local, national and international audiences. The authors report the EPOP's accomplishments of the past eight years, with special emphasis on the activities of the currently funded K-undergraduate college (K-16) team, which is comprised of: Baylor College of Medicine, Colorado Consortium for Earth and Space Science Education, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Rice University-University of Texas Medical Branch. EPOP K-16 activities focus on teacher professional development, curriculum materials production, career awareness and access, and public participation in space exploration activities. A post graduate program, housed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Texas A&M University, was funded in 2006. Six young scholars have received postdoctoral fellowships to do research in space life sciences laboratories in the US.