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The middle school years are a crucial time for cultivating students’ interest in and preparedness for future STEM careers. However, not all middle school children are provided opportunities to engage, learn and achieve in STEM subject areas. Engineering, in particular, is neglected in these grades because it usually is not part of science or mathematics curricula. This study investigates the effectiveness of an engineering-integrated STEM curriculum designed for use in an after-school environment. The inquiry-based activities comprising the unit, Think Like an Astronaut, were intended to introduce students to STEM careers—specifically engineering and aerospace engineering—and enhance their skills and knowledge applicable related to typical middle school science objectives. Results of a field test with a diverse population of 5th grade students in nine schools revealed that Think Like an Astronaut lessons are appropriate for an after-school environment, and may potentially help increase students’ STEM-related content knowledge and skills.

The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) Education and Public Outreach Program (EPOP) is supporting the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Strategic Education Framework's vision—“to capture the imagination of students … strengthen the nation's future workforce … and [improve] the overall teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines”—through a comprehensive kindergarten through postdoctoral education program [S. O’Keefe, NASA, The New Age of Exploration: NASA's Direction for 2005 and Beyond, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC, 2005]. The current NSBRI EPOP is comprised of four programs: kindergarten through undergraduate college (K-16); graduate and postdoctoral fellowship programs; and Space Medicine Grand Rounds and Aerospace Medicine Board Meetings, which are held at NASA's Johnson Space Center. The mission of the NSBRI EPOP is to train scientists and teachers, inspire and prepare students to pursue science careers, and promote public engagement in space exploration. This paper focuses on the accomplishments of the K-16 program and references ongoing efforts to strengthen the 21st Century US science workforce.

The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) Education and Public Outreach Program (EPOP) is supporting the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) new vision for space exploration by educating and inspiring the next generation of students through a seamless pipeline of kindergarten through postdoctoral education programs. NSBRI EPOP initiatives are designed to train scientists and to communicate the significance of NSBRI science, as well as other space exploration science, to schools, families and lay audiences. The NSBRI EPOP team is comprised of eight main partners: Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), Binghamton University–State University of New York (BUSUNY), Colorado Consortium for Earth and Space Science Education (CCESSE), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), Mount Sinai School of Medicine (MSSM), Rice University and the University of Texas Medical Branch (RU–UTMB), and Texas A&M University (TAMU). The current kindergarten through undergraduate college (K-16) team, which was funded through an open national competition in 2004, consolidates the past 7 years of K-16 education activities and expands the team's outreach activities to more museums and science centers across the nation. NSBRI also recently expanded its education mission to include doctoral and postdoctoral level programs. This paper describes select K-16 EPOP activities and products developed over the past 7 years, and reports on new activities planned for the next 3 years. The paper also describes plans for a doctoral program and reports on 1st-year outcomes of the new postdoctoral program.

The time has come for humankind to return to the Moon and to start preparing to make the first manned voyages to Mars. NASA's 21st Century Space Policy calls for just those steps, but going to the Moon won't consist of Apollo-style flights (grab some rocks and go). Astronauts will go there to build a permanent base. Eventually, the same is planned to happen on Mars. Making this vision possible will be a new family of space vehicles that combine the best technology of the past with the best of the future. Looking like a Saturn V rocket on the launch pad, the Ares I rocket will launch the Orion capsule with as many as six astronauts to the ISS or four astronauts for flights to the Moon. The Ares V, a much beefier rocket, will carry heavy payloads into orbit. For Moon missions, Ares V will loft the Altair lunar lander and the Earth Departure Stage (EDS) into orbit. After rendezvousing with Orion, the EDS will propel Orion and the lander to the Moon.

It’s time to say more about that “Big Question” mentioned in the introduction. Lavatory facilities were absent in the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo capsules. The first lavatory in an American spacecraft did not appear until the Skylab space station was launched in 1973, twenty-two years after Alan B. Shepherd rode the first Mercury capsule into space. Shepherd would have appreciated the lavatory. No provisions for going to the bathroom were made for his flight. The idea was to stuff him into the capsule, light the engines, and pluck him out of the ocean, all in less than an hour. It didn’t work out that way. Technical problems stretched Shepherd’s time on the launch pad to hours, and the coffee he had before suiting up didn’t seem like such a good idea to him after all. Ultimately, Shepherd, the first American astronaut to fly into space, did so in wet pants.

Astronauts are no different than the rest of us. Given a chance, they will graze all day. With hundreds of astronauts and support personnel in the Astronaut Office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, someone is always having a birthday or special event. Astronauts are among the world’s most efficient hunters of cake and other snack foods. That shouldn’t be surprising. An astronaut’s day is packed with meetings, training exercises, proficiency flights in training jets, mission simulations, medical tests, and maintaining physical fitness. There is rarely time to sit down and enjoy meals.

Bread, one of the oldest and most popular of all commercially prepared foods, is a big problem for spaceflight. As mentioned before, there is the crumb problem. The crumbs go everywhere in microgravity. But keeping bread fresh and tasty enough for eating is the real challenge.