Inspiration Station
Inspiration Station was put together by NASA Life Science Outreach and distributed
at NSTA to help inspire students to imagine life in space. Whether it's a research
station on Mars, an imaginary life sciences space station, or a city on the moon,
students have a place in space. Life beyond Earth has long been a topic of imagination.
As we enter the 21st century, students can expect to see dramatic developments
in space in their lifetimes. We will likely send humans to Mars; we will definitely
study long term space flight and habitation, and we may even find life on other
planets.
Much of what we do, however, will be decided by the next generations. What
happens in space will be a direct result of the imaginations of our students today.
To facilitate their thoughts, NASA Life Sciences Outreach asked students at the
Art Center College of Design to come up with images of what life on Mars, the
moon, and in a future space station might be like. On Mars, for example, they
imagined a research station where students could collect samples, study the habitat
of ancient life if any exists, and try to understand the origins of life. 
These assumptions about future life on a space station or on another planet
are based on current science. The hint of surface water on Mars drives today's
researchers to understand more about the conditions of ancient Mars when life
may have arisen and gone extinct, may be present today in a microbial form, or
may have arisen and gone extinct many times in Martian history. How will we get
humans to Mars? How will their bodies be affected by space travel and habitation
on Mars? How will they be supplied with food, air, water, and waste management?
What research will they carry out along the way and once they get there? What
adaptations will they go through in Martian gravity? How will the research improve
our lives on Earth?
These are the areas of NASA's Life Sciences research. In the Biomedical Research
and Countermeasures Program, scientists seek to understand the physiological effects
of microgravity, long term exposure to space travel, and return to Earth. Much
of what they learn helps us to respond to disease and aging here on Earth. The
Fundamental Biology Program works to understand the role of gravity in the evolution,
development, and function of life on Earth, in microgravity, and on other planets.
Finally, the Advanced Human Support Technology Program develops technologies which
will support human life away from Earth including using plants to produce oxygen
and scrub carbon dioxide from the environment as well as for food.
These issues and many more are part of a strong science curriculum. Students
are inspired by the idea of space travel and can use the real science behind it
to further their own learning and understanding, and perhaps, one day to go farther
than even we can imagine.
We hope you'll use Inspiration Station as an educational kit in your classroom
to open up discussions of life in space and to facilitate the imaginations of
our future researchers, astronauts and scientists.
Assembly instructions for Inspiration Station
Inspiration Station is an educational kit, a mailer, a mobile, a three dimensional
model, and an inspiration to future space travelers all in one!
For mailing:
Fold the box along the scores to make a triangular mailing tube. Be careful not
to punch out the pieces to the pop-out station yet. Insert your posters or other
materials to be shipped, then tape the triangle closed, label and mail.
For set-up in the classroom:
Open the triangle and pull off the bottom panel containing the station pop-out.
Pull off all the side pieces, keeping the non-triangular ones. The remaining images
may be glued together in a triangle format (with the images out) for a mobile
or put up as a poster.
Pop-out the individual pieces for three dimensional model. The station pop-out
is designed for each component to be folded in half and then assembled by locking
the pieces together in the slots. The pieces are interchangeable and can be assembled
into different designs. (Students may want to discuss how the crew quarters should
be placed in relation to plant growing chambers, for example.) The side pieces
from the Mars images pull off to make a stand for the station assembly, but it
can also be hung for the best simulation of microgravity.
Mars Links:
How
to go to Mars link an article in Scientific American about what it would take
to go to Mars.
Why
go to Mars link
a special report from Scientific American describing the scientific goals and
benefits of going to Mars.
Mars Exploration
Program link
Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Program Page, contains numerous images and
educational materials.
Mars
Team Online link A NASA education site with webcasts and webchats about exploring
Mars.
Views
of the Solar System link a site about the solar system with a section on Mars
containing many pictures, facts and information.
Exploring
Mars link NASA Human Spaceflight's news section on exploring Mars.
Windows
to the Universe link
a fun educational site about Earth and Space Sciences, including Mars
Space Station Links:
Kennedy
Space Center's Space Station Launch Site link
Space
Station link PBS's site on Space Station, "a rare inside view of the next
frontier in space exploration"
International
Space Station link
Boeing's page on Space Station with mission schedules.
Discovery
Channel's Home in the Sky link
all about the International Space Station, with news and pictures.
NASA
Space Station link NASA's Office of Human Spaceflight's news section on the
International Space Station.
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