Social, Cultural and Educational Legacies - ER - NASA

Astronaut Michael Anderson (Lieutenant Colonel,US Air Force) flew on STS-89 (1998) and then onthe ill-fated Columbia (STS-107 [2003]).The objectives are to inspire studentsto prepare for college by taking moreadvanced mathematics courses alongwith improved problem-solvingskills, and by learning more aboutthe field of engineering. Parents areinvolved in helping plan theirchild’s academic career in science,mathematics, or engineering.Students participate in a 3-week trainingprogram each summer. Alabama A&MSchool of Engineering faculty andNASA employees serve as students’leaders and mentors. At the end, thestudents present their engineering andmathematics projects. The curriculumand management design aredisseminated from these activities toother minority-serving institutions.Long-distance Calls from SpaceStudents and teachers have friends inhigh places, and they often chat withthem during shuttle missions. InNovember 1983, Astronaut OwenGarriott carried a handheld ham radioaboard Space Shuttle Columbia. Theham radio contacts evolved into theSpace Shuttle Amateur RadioExperiment, which provided studentswith the opportunity to talk withshuttle astronauts while the astonautsorbited the Earth. Ham radio contactsmoved from shuttle to the InternationalSpace Station, and this activity hasAstronauts Speak to Students Through Direct Downlinktransitioned to amateur radio onboard the International Space Station.In addition to ham radio contacts,students and teachers participated inlive in-flight education downlinks thatincluded live video of the astronauts onorbit. The 20-minute downlinksprovided a unique learning opportunityfor students to exchange ideas withastronauts and watch demonstrations ina microgravity environment. Hamradio contacts and in-flight educationdownlinks allowed more than 6 millionstudents to experience a personalconnection with space exploration.The STS-118 (2007)crew answering astudent's question.Elementary school student askingthe crew a question.Michael P. Anderson Project students AleceaKendall, a tenth-grade New Century Technologystudent, and Hilton Crenshaw, a tenth-gradeLee High student, work as a team to assembletheir LEGO NXT Mindstorm robot.Student watching thedownlink for STS-118.Students participated in in-flight education downlinks that included live video of the astronautson orbit. Students asked questions and exchanged ideas with astronauts.Social, Cultural, and Educational Legacies473