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Educational Outreach and Workforce Development

Seeds provided by the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma were pictured inside the cupolaA small module on the International Space Station with seven windows for observing and photographing Earth, spacecraft arrivals and departures, and spacewalks. as the ISSInternational Space Station orbited above the Atlantic Ocean.
Media Credit: NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration
Educational Outreach and Workforce Development
Preparing the next generation of space industry workers and equipping students with the skills to succeed in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers is a strategic focus area for the ISS National Lab. In FY24, the ISS National Lab shifted to a more concentrated focus on workforce development and centered educational outreach activities related to career awareness and career readiness.
To raise awareness of careers in the space industry, the ISS National Lab partnered with the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research (ASGSR) to host a Student Webinar Series, a monthly event for undergraduate and graduate students to learn about space-related careers. To bolster career readiness, the ISS National Lab piloted a student day at ISSRDC(Abbreviation: ISSRDC) The only conference dedicated exclusively to showcasing how the International Space Station is advancing science and technology and enabling a robust and sustainable market in LEO. This annual conference brings together leaders from the commercial sector, U.S. government agencies, and academic communities to foster innovation and discovery onboard the space station. ISSRDC is hosted by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, manager of the ISS National Lab; NASA; and the American Astronautical Society. 2024, where undergraduate and graduate students attended plenary and technical sessions and networked with potential industry employers. The ISS National Lab also participated in a college and career readiness event hosted by the Astronaut’s Memorial Foundation, engaging with nearly 500 local high school students about opportunities in the space industry. The 2023 James A. Abrahamson Space Leader Fellow completed her 12-month advanced learning fellowship with the ISS National Lab. The fellowship exposes undergraduate and early-stage graduate students to the burgeoning space community and promotes workforce development. The ISS National Lab also presented three students with research poster awards at the 2023 ASGSR Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.
“Through this fellowship, I have gained new skills and insights that are helping me to navigate career choices. The most impactful component of this experience so far has been the networking opportunity provided at ISSRDC 2024. I was left surprised at how welcoming and accessible the space industry is.”
– Emma Green, 2023 recipient of the James A. Abrahamson Space Leader Fellowship
In FY24, the number of users that accessed ISS National Lab online educational products surpassed 13 million. Additionally, nearly 4.4 million people participated in the partner programs within Space Station Explorers, a community of educators, learners, and organizations that leverage the unique platform of the ISS National Lab to provide valuable educational experiences for students in grades K-12 and higher education. This year, CASIS(Abbreviation: CASIS™) The nonprofit organization that manages the ISS National Lab, which receives at least 50 percent of the U.S. research allocation on the International Space Station to facilitate research that benefits humanity (NASA manages the other 50% and focuses on research for space exploration purposes). signed a contract with corporate donor Advisist for a multiyear pledge to support ISS National Lab STEM education-related programs and initiatives.
The ISS National Lab gained three new educational partners in FY24: Space for Teachers, an organization developed by Carthage College that allows educators to design and conduct experiments with their students during reduced-gravity flights; the Perseid Foundation, an organization founded by Axiom Space private astronaut John Shoffner to bring STEM programming to schools and underserved students in rural Appalachia; and Rosie Riveters, an after-school program that provides girls with the skills and confidence to tackle STEM projects and future jobs in STEM fields. This brings the total number of ISS National Lab education partners to 22. By working closely with these partners, the ISS National Lab provides access to measurable and impactful STEM educational experiences.
“Through SSEP, we see that students change their view of what science and STEM actually are, and many students say, ‘Yes, I want to consider this as a career.’ The whole idea is to build a wider awareness of STEM careers and recognize that everybody has been invited into the American space program.”
– Jeff Goldstein, National Program Director for the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program
ISS National Lab educational partner activities in FY24 include:
- Rosie Riveters engaged more than 900 students in hands-on STEM activities through the Rosie Labs in-school program.
- At ISSRDC, the Genes in Space™ program announced the winners of its annual student research competition. High school students Isabelle Chuang and Julia Gross will conduct an experiment using phages, viruses that attack bacteria, as therapeutic agents to combat microbial infections in space.
- ARISS (Amateur Radio on the ISS), a free program that allows students to talk with ISS crew members via ham radio, celebrated the 40th anniversary of ham radio in space and was featured on the Today Show.
- Through Club for the Future, 38,000 student postcards from across the globe were launched to space on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket.
- Nearly 40 student experiments launched to the space station through the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP), including a project by middle school students studying whether a component in horseshoe crab blood can detect bacterial contamination in space as it does on Earth.
- Zero Robotics hosted its middle school finals event, where 700 students used their programming skills to navigate the Astrobee free-flying robots through several objectives on the ISS.
The Space Station Ambassador program provides a means for educators, leaders, and lifelong learners to share information on ISS National Lab educational activities with their communities. This year, the ISS National Lab honored two ambassadors: Lisa Werner received the Space Station Explorers Exceptional Ambassador Award, and Javier Montiel received the Tony So Excellence in Education Award.