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In July this year, NASA shared the most profound images of the universe. People have always longed to know more about the universe. The Mayas, for example, turned to astronomy to guide their lives. The Apollo Program began in 1960, culminating in the first voyage to the moon. This historical moment was unprecedented in engineering, resulting from finding or creating new materials, methods, better technical and manufacturing systems, and even discovering new laws of nature. Space technology has impacted the world in areas not imagined previously, starting with satellite television, mobile phone signals, and geo-positioning systems (GPS).
Ethan R. Siegel, an American theoretical astrophysicist and science writer, wrote an article for Forbes describing why it is important to explore space. He explained that space technology, especially terrestrial satellites, can survey and examine vast land areas quickly, improving land use for farmers, livestock, and fishing. Satellite monitoring records the state and condition of crops, soil, the effects of droughts, rains, and other factors. “It has been estimated that even a modest system of terrestrial satellites equipped with terrestrial resources and sensors programmed for agricultural improvements could increase annual harvests by an equivalent of many billions of dollars worldwide,” Siegel wrote.
NASA, together with various private companies, is developing the Artemisprogram that plans to establish human life on the moon and “lay the groundwork for private companies to seed a lunar economy and eventually send humans to Mars, starting in 2033.” For many of the new generations, it is hard to believe that just 53 years ago, humans landed on the moon for the first time. Now, one does not need to be an astronaut to get into space, as SpaceX demonstrated in September last year when American Jared Isaacman (the founder and CEO of Draken International), a pilot, philanthropist, and commercial astronaut, financed a private voyage orbiting the earth. Medical assistant Hayley Arceneaux, data engineer Chris Sembroski, and geoscientist and science communication specialist Sian Proctor joined him.
Space education allows students to dream big
Even if a student does not dream of exploring space as an astronaut, education about space and its discoveries is crucial because it emphasizes STEAM subjects and motivates students to dream of something beyond their current knowledge and experience. It is essential to teach students that space exploration is not limited only to industry; academic institutions also play a vital role. At Georgia Tech, for example, teams are building Lunar Flashlight, a small satellite that will orbit the moon and search for lunar ice.
Sandy Magnus, a former NASA astronaut and professor at Georgia Tech explains that the new challenges and technologies facing NASA require multidisciplinary expertise. The challenges go beyond avionics, thermal, or materials problems; much interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research is needed. At Georgia Tech, students participate in designing flying activities and building prototypes. They enter design competitions where they analyze and build various aerospace systems and compete against teams from other universities.
Such activities do not occur only at the university level. For example, in K-12, tools like Mimio MyBot and ShareSpace Giant Mars Map allow students to create and program rovers that simulate what scientists and engineers do to explore Mars. There are even activities that focus on maneuvering the challenging Martian terrain, which requires understanding the topography of Mars. Also, STEAM kits are available, having teacher guides, lessons, activities, and even curricula where students learn how the sun affects the temperature on different planets, which affects the viability of growing living things on the earth. NASA has also created specialized material for educators and students.
An article published in the 6th International Conference on Space Science and Communication (IconSpace) called Using Space Science as a Tool To Promote STEM Education to High School Students in Malaysiadiscusses how teaching about space science brings together two key concepts of STEAM education: 1) it combines many separate disciplines (chemistry, biology, physics, and mathematics), assuming that their shared synergies promote advances in understanding the natural world, leading to innovation, and 2) it connects logic and the multidisciplinary conceptual frameworks of the different STEAM fields, thus, treating education holistically. The article highlights “astrobiology,” as “a relatively new multidisciplinary domain of science that raises specific questions about the origins of life, the search for extraterrestrial life, and the future of life; it integrates physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology, computer science, big data, and artificial intelligence.”
According to the authors, STEAM topics are often stigmatized as challenging to learn. Still, space science has risen due to science fiction and the genre’s curiosity and imagination. Precisely because space science is intertwined with imagination, in 2019, Jeff Bezos created the Club for the futurethrough his space transport company, Blue Origin. He invites students, educators, and parents who comprise the millions of people living and working in the industry to draw or write their vision and send it to the club by email or traditional mail. Once received, these are packed and flown into space with the flight crew. When the spacecraft returns to earth, the written visions are stamped to show they’ve gone out of orbit and returned to their owners. The idea behind this is to inspire new generations to pursue a STEAM career to turn their vision of the world in space into reality and demonstrate to students that space is something achievable. The program also offers various resources to include space topics in the classroom and work on collaborative activities.
The International Space Station (ISS) created a community of students, teachers, and organizations called Space Station Explorers, which offers lessons to replicate specific experiments in the ISS. The aim is that with this “taste” of an astronaut’s life, people become motivated to discover more about space and study something related. Space science positions go beyond astronauts; they include atmospheric scientists, aerospace engineers, avionics technicians, and data analysts. As Sandy Magnus mentioned, space science is an area that requires multidisciplinary disciplines.
Unlike 50 years ago, space exploration is more accessible, so motivating students to “look up” is vital. Technology and space science is used daily to improve living conditions on Earth, like ride-sharing apps or routing apps that help people avoid traffic congestion, determine where they are when driving, indicate how the road is to the destination, and so on. In construction, some companies use high-quality satellite imagery combined with space technology to quote particular jobs without visiting the site. Even insurance companies use this technology to assess the risk of buildings remotely. Also, dating apps show potential partners in the area. If space exploration has shown anything, it is that the sky is no longer the limit.
Translation by Daniel Wetta
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This article from Observatory of the Institute for the Future of Education may be shared under the terms of the license CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 
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