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The Educator Astronaut Project is a NASA program designed to educate students and spur excitement in math, science, and space exploration. It is a successor to the Teacher in Space Project of the 1980s that was cancelled after Christa McAuliffe died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster (STS-51-L). NASA halted the teachers project amid concerns surrounding the risk of sending civilians to space.
[edit] History
In the 1990s, NASA decided to reopen its selection process, but with a more rigorous approach dubbed the Educator Astronaut Project. The Educator Astronaut Project carries on the objectives of the Teacher in Space Program, seeking to elevate teaching as a profession and inspire students. Unlike the Teacher in Space Program, educator astronauts are fully trained astronauts who do the same jobs, and duties that any other astronaut does.[1] They fly as crew members with critical mission responsibilities, as well as education-related goals. In addition to their technical assignments, they assist other astronauts in connecting to students and teachers through space exploration.[2][3][4][5]
Joseph M. Acaba, Richard R. Arnold and Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger were selected as the first Mission Specialist Educators in the 2004 class.[6] Both Acaba and Arnold were part of the crew of STS-119, a space shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) which was flown by Space Shuttle Discovery in March 2009. Metcalf-Lindenburger flew on STS-131 in April 2010, also visiting the ISS aboard Space Shuttle Discovery.
[edit] Barbara Morgan
Barbara Morgan, the backup to Christa McAuliffe in the Teacher in Space Project, remained involved with NASA after STS-51-L and continued to work with NASA’s Education Division until her selection as a Mission Specialist in 1998. Morgan completed two years of astronaut training and evaluation, and began official duties in 2000. Morgan became the first former teacher in space on STS-118. While NASA press releases and media briefings often referred to her as a "Mission Specialist Educator" or "Educator Astronaut", Morgan did not train in the Educator Astronaut Project. NASA Administrator Michael D. Griffin clarified at a press conference after STS-118 that Morgan was not considered a Mission Specialist Educator, but rather was a standard Mission Specialist, who had once been a teacher.[7] Morgan's duties as a Mission Specialist were no different than other Shuttle Mission Specialists.
[edit] References
- ^ NASA. "Preflight Interview with Barbara Morgan". NASA. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts118/morgan_interview.html. Retrieved August 13, 2007.
- ^ "STS-118 mission summary". Spaceflight.nasa.gov. http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/archives/sts-118/index.html. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
- ^ 'Teachers in Space' will endure[dead link]
- ^ "Civilians in Space". Bookrags.com. http://www.bookrags.com/sciences/astronomy/civilians-in-space-spsc-03.html. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
- ^ NASA Assures That Teachers Will Fly in Space[dead link]
- ^ NASA (October 8, 2004). "NASA's New Astronauts Meet The Press". NASA. http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2004/oct/HQ_n04160_new_ascans.html. Retrieved August 13, 2007.
- ^ Michael Griffin, NASA TV: STS-118 Post-Landing briefing
