Students Conducting Authentic Research Using Planetary Data:

Preparing the Next Generation of Explorers

Sheri L. Klug (sklug@asu.edu)

Mars Space Flight Facility, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, U.S.A.

 

NASA has recognized the need to engage and inspire pre-college students in critical disciplines (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics – STEM) to help develop scientific and technologically literate adults of the future. Inquiry-based experiences that immerse the student in activities that are linked to real-world programs often offer the best pathways for this development to take place.

 

Dr. Philip Christensen, Arizona State University Regents Professor and Principal Investigator of the Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) camera that is currently orbiting Mars, the ASU Mars Education Program, and NASA recognized a rich educational opportunity to partner with students as active researchers utilizing the THEMIS camera data. As a result of this partnership, the Mars Student Imaging Project (MSIP) was created.  MSIP allows teams of students, 11-20 years of age, to access real-time data acquired from the THEMIS camera and conduct authentic research on topics of interest to the students (e.g. the study of craters, canyons, and dunes). 

 

This inquiry-based, standards-aligned project was designed to mirror the actual process that scientists follow in the exploration and study of Mars.  MSIP involves the acquisition of an image of Mars that is targeted by the student teams using the THEMIS targeting software for student-based analysis. MSIP also allows for the experience of the scientific process…how do scientists think, make decisions, and work within a team environment?  The students are the drivers of this project, looking for guidance and mentoring when needed, but ultimately making the decisions and discoveries as full participants and taking ownership for their actions.  The use of planetary data is a catalyst for helping students realize that science is not stagnant, and they have the ability to participate in scientific discoveries – now and in the future.

 

Keywords:  Planetary Data in Education, Mars, NASA, Arizona State University, Mars Student Imaging Project, Inquiry-Based Education, Authentic Research

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                                                                                                    Students participating in the Mars          Student Imaging Project at their                                                                                                                                      school.