NASA specialized center of research and training in advance life support (ALS/NSCORT) education and outreach program

The ALS/NSCORT Education and Outreach provides an avenue to engage and educate higher education students and K-12 educators/students in the center's investigations of the synergistic concepts and principles required for regenerative life-support in extended-duration space exploration. The following K-12 Education programs will be addressed: 1) Key Learning Community Project provides exposure, mentoring and research opportunities for 9-12^th grade students at Key Learning Community This program was expanded in 2004 to include an "Explore Mars" 3-day camp experience for 150 Key students. The overall goal of the collaborative project is to motivate students to pursue careers in science, technology, and engineering; 2) Mission to Mars Program introduces 5^th-8^th grade students to the complex issues involved with living on Mars, stressing the interdisciplinary fundamentals of science, technology and engineering that underlie Advanced Life Support research. These direct links serve to build teacher expertise in cutting edge science, while stimulating student interest by connecting learning to real-life challenges. This standards/inquiry-based, hands-on activities module has been pilot tested throughout Indiana with national dissemination to begin in 2005; and 3) Equivalent System Mass Analysis of Plant Growth pilot program integrates engineering and agriculture into the high school classroom. NASA Advanced Life Support has joined with Orbital Technologies to design Biomass Production Educational Systems (BPES), a research grade plant growth chamber for high school use. ALS/NSCORT has developed and pilot tested learning modules, integrating the BPES and Equivalent System Mass (ESM) analysis.