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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 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.