Explore Like an Astronaut: Inspiring the Next Generation

The Artemis Generation will live like no other on Earth, primarily because it will leave Earth like no other generation before it. But as it prepares to visit the Moon, Mars, and beyond, the Artemis Generation will also become our home's essential caretakers. What they learn about leaving Earth will be instrumental in improving it. So we must re-energize the generation through STEM education, which means teaching them to explore like astronauts.

In 1969, the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon galvanized a generation of kids toward science. Today, NASA and others seek to inspire an Artemis Generation of scientists through the next wave of space exploration. It's a vital mission because the U.S. must strengthen STEM education to enable exploration beyond Earth, while at the same time increasing capability on Earth to remain competitive in a changing world.

Studies show that the U.S. lags behind other industrialized nations in STEM education progress while the Pentagon calls STEM education a national security issue. The forthcoming Artemis missions provide an opportunity to re-engage kids with science through their love of space.

A 2019 Lego survey, conducted to commemorate Apollo 11's 50th anniversary, found that 86% of kids ages 8-12 are interested in space and 90% want to learn more. How do we harness that interest as we return to the Moon? A panel provided some unique insight at the 2022 International Space Station Research & Development Conference.

Inspire All Through STEM

The ISS R&D Conference in July convened policy experts and science communicators to examine how educators can use space exploration to stimulate STEM interest. Inspiration is easy, said panelist Quincy Brown, Senior Policy Advisor at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, because space unites us in wonder. "The hard part," Brown added, "is the preparation."

The panel said educators must use space as the gateway to learning. We should channel kids interested in space exploration into mathematics, biology, and physics. Panelist Alex Dainis, a geneticist who owns Helicase Media, learned that NASA astronauts had sequenced DNA in space by listening to an NPR story. "I had no idea biology happened in space," she said.

STEM education also must be more equitable and accessible. A 2020 U.S. Visioning Report stressed that "we are in dire need of STEM role models." This requires increasing the number of teachers and faculty from underrepresented groups and making STEM education more culturally relevant in underserved communities.

"We have done well [in STEM education] as a nation for very many people," Brown said. "The challenge is, we haven't done well for everyone."

Stimulate Their Curiosity

Maynard Okereke, the founder of Hip Hop Science, refers to curiosity as "nature's Ph.D." His site fuses science and entertainment in ways that appeal to all kids and encourages more diversity in the sciences.

The ISS National Laboratory sponsors unique programming, from the Space Station Ambassadors to the ExoLab Legume in Space challenge. NASA hosts abundant STEM content, including the TechRise Student Challenge, in which students design experiments to fly on a high-altitude balloon. The European Space Agency presents activities and events in multiple languages.

Further, we must find creative ways to incorporate holistic STEM education. Like many kids, North Carolina State graduate student Aurora Toennisson wanted to be an astronaut. Then she found biology, asked herself, "Why be an astronaut when you can explore all this amazing stuff that's on Earth?" and combined her passions into the burgeoning field of space biology.

"Space is about more than space exploration," Brown said at the ISS panel. "I like to say it's also space for Earth: your community, your health, and your culture."

Provide Spaces that Spark Innovation

Kids need spaces to learn, experiment and explore. Beyond outfitting schools with computer labs and science equipment, we must make more STEM spaces available, in-person and online. For example, Boys & Girls Clubs of America has built DIY STEM, a hands-on curriculum that any organization can use. The national nonprofit also has partnered with Raytheon to operate a series of STEM Centers of Innovation near military installations nationwide.

Meanwhile, some great online options include the following:

• Genes In space offers a unique online competition in which students design DNA experiments to be performed on the ISS.
• Story Time From Space leverages technology and storytelling into a delightful opportunity: Astronauts read books to kids from the ISS.
• Kids who want to code should visit Hack-A-Sat, a joint venture of the U.S. Air Force and Space Force to find talented space cyber security professionals.

Meet Kids on Social Media

Remember the 2019 LEGO survey regarding kids' love of space? It also found that more kids in the U.S. and U.K. aspire to be YouTubers than astronauts. Meanwhile, 56% of kids in China said they want to be astronauts.

So let's meet children where they are and provide entertaining, educational STEM content on social media. Many scientists are doing just that.

NASA operates dozens of social media services, with its Instagram account being a must-follow. Dainis brings an energetic presence to TikTok, where she cuts lively videos focusing on experiments. Camille Elizabeth, the Galactic Gal on TikTok, is an aerospace engineer whose energy for space and science leaps from her videos. Samantha Cristoforetti, a European Space Agency astronaut who lives on the ISS, shares stunning views and illuminating stories from the space station on Twitter. And Kellie Gerardi, a bioastronautics researcher and space communicator on TikTok, shares her training and preparation for an upcoming mission aboard Virgin Galactic.

From math to biology, critical thinking to teamwork, mindfulness to curiosity, space exploration mobilizes our senses, passions, and desire to learn. Kids can draw so much from space and the astronauts who go there. We must revive that in our STEM education.

"Through space, you can inspire a generation," NASA astronaut and aerospace engineer Jeanette Epps said at the ISS conference. Apollo did it before. Artemis can achieve it again.