Abstract
This paper presents a method to promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education through participation in a reduced gravity program with NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). Microgravity programs with NASA provide students with a unique opportunity to conduct scientific research with innovative and creative solutions through hands-on experimental design and testing in reduced gravity conditions. A group of undergraduate students from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, participated in the NASA’s SEED (Systems Engineering Educational Discovery) Reduced Gravity Program, which focuses on addressing systems engineering challenges in microgravity. The team worked with a NASA Principal Investigator on a project to build and fly a prototype test article to demonstrate emergency atmospheric reentry with single-axis control. Through this experience, the team was able to gain hands-on experience with spacecraft instrumentation and learn valuable lessons in teamwork and systems engineering that can be applied to real-world situations. As part of the SEED program, the team shared its experience with local high schools in order to spark interest in STEM-related fields in the next generation of scientists and engineers.
Highlights
The STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education initiative is part of the NSF’s (National Science Foundation) approach to incorporating technology, engineering, mathematics and science in the classroom in order to encourage excellence in these areas
The team still lacked the amount of expertise needed for such a complex project; as a result, the team encountered many difficulties especially interfacing the electronic hardware and yielding the desired outputs from their avionics system (Matthews et al, 2011)
The SEED program in particular allowed for a complete systems engineering approach to gain a holistic perspective of a complex system and encouraged the employment of management, organization, and communication skills with an interdisciplinary team to design and fabricate a project
Summary
The STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education initiative is part of the NSF’s (National Science Foundation) approach to incorporating technology, engineering, mathematics and science in the classroom in order to encourage excellence in these areas. NASA has agreed to coordinate with NSF to promote STEM education and increase participation of underrepresented groups in those areas through “robust space exploration and aeronautics research programs.” Their mission is to motivate and inspire students through various programs in order to “build a well-educated and skilled workforce”. Undergraduate, and graduate students seeking an academic experience involving cutting-edge scientific research and hands-on experiments in a microgravity environment can participate in the NASA’s Reduced Gravity Program through its SEED (Systems Engineering Educational Discovery) program. Within this program, students form teams and propose concepts to NASA that address various problems that can be tested in a reduced gravity environment. The team was able to gain hands-on experience with spacecraft instrumentation and learn valuable lessons in teamwork and systems engineering that can be applied to realworld situations
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