NASA Kennedy Space Center Educator Workshops: Exploring Their Impact on Teacher Attitudes and Concerns

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration holds summer teacher workshops to motivate teachers to use space science in their lessons. In evaluating these workshops, the areas of interest were participant beliefs about science and science teaching and concerns about educational change and innovation. The teachers attending workshops in 1995, past participants, teachers that received materials but had not attended a workshop, and science researchers were surveyed using the Beliefs about Science and Science Education Survey and/or the Stages of Concern Questionnaire. Comparisons were made by workshop length, time since workshop, and highest grade taught. Reductions in concerns were most evident in the four week workshop. Changes in beliefs were also observed relative to teaching approach and ability. Differences in beliefs were observed between teachers and science researchers. Differences were also observed relative to time since attendance and by grade level taught. It is recommended that the workshops be at least four weeks in length and in length and target specific grade levels, that refresher workshops be offered

Characterization and evaluation of acid rain in East Central Florida from 1978 to 1987: Ten year summary report

Rainfall was collected on the University of Central Florida (UCF) campus near Orlando since July 1977 and at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida since August 1977. Since November 1983, the KSC site has been affiliated with the National Atmospheric Deposition Network. Annual volume weighted pH was slightly above the 10 year mean of 4.58 during four of the past five years. Nitrate concentrations have risen somewhat during recent years while excess sulfate concentrations have remained below the 10 year mean during four of the past years. These observations hold for both the UCF and KSC data. The distribution of individual sample pH was nearly identical at UCF and KSC. Stepwise regression suggests that sulfate, nitrate, ammonium ion, and calcium play major roles in the description of rainwater acidity. Annual acid deposition and annual rainfall have varied from 30 to 50 meq/m2-yr and 100 to 180 cm/yr, respectively. Sea salt comprises about 25 percent (UCF) and greater than 50 percent (KSC) of total ionic composition

Peat Soils of the Everglades of Florida, USA

In this chapter, we briefly discuss the development of the Everglades over the past 5 million years, the modifications made to the Everglades over the past century and a half and the quantification of the changes that have occurred to the peat soils of the Everglades due to natural and anthropogenic causes during this most recent period. Using Geographic Information Systems and historical data sets, we have been able to calculate the original peat volumes, the remaining peat volumes and thus, the amount lost over the past approximately 150 years. From these volume calculations and peat physical and chemical characterizations by the USEPA over a large area of the Everglades, we have estimated the mass of peat and carbon lost, 900 million metric tons and 300 million metric tons, respectively. The amount of peat lost has implications for hydrological, ecological and landscape restoration and habitat recovery for the Everglades

Paper Session III-B - Development of a Microgravity-Rated Hydroponic Plant Culture Apparatus

Porous tubes provide a novel means of growing plants hydroponically under conditions of microgravity. The experimental strategy for a spaceflight experiment utilizing this technology (anticipated in the 2000-2001 timeframe) is presented. The primary question to be addressed relates to the control of optimal rates of water provision, and how it can be expected to differ between the spaceflight and earth-based environments

Paper Session II-C - Collaborative Ukrainian Experiment - Science and Technology Exchange Program for Students (Cue-Steps)

An educational program was initiated during the Collaborative Ukrainian Experiment (CUE) in 1997. The CUE project was a series of plant experiments performed by Ukrainian cosmonaut, Leonid Kadenyuk, on Mission STS-87. A collaborative educational program was developed which was called CUE-Teachers and Students Investigating Plants in Space (TSIPS) in which students from both the U.S. and Ukraine conducted ground controls for the space experiments. The educational collaboration established during this project has continued with the development of other programs. These programs included the NASA SEEDS II project, the NASA Farming in Space Project, the International Water Institute and most recently, the Daphnia project. The purpose of the recent trip was to participate in a teacher symposium and to initiate a student-exchange program. Eight students from Lake Brantley High School with a teacher and a parent chaperone accompanied the KSC representatives. In addition, a reporter and cameraman from a local television station went along to cover the student experiences. Colleagues from the Junior Academy of Sciences in Kiev hosted the group with meetings, tours, and field trips. Lake Brantley has formed a follow-up program, which they call CUE-STEPS (CUE-Science, and Technology Exchange Program for Students). The students hope to collaborate on research in space life sciences and ecology. A visit to central Florida by a Ukraine student and teacher delegation is planned for spring of 2001

Paper Session III-D - The Collaborative Ukrainian Experiment

The Collaborative Ukrainian Experiment (CUE) flew aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia on Mission STS-87. The educational component, entitled “Teachers and Students Investigating Plants in Space” (TSIPS), involved students and teachers in the U.S. and Ukraine performing ground controls for the “Brassica rapa-Seed Terminal growth In Chamber” (B-STIC) experiment. Teachers in both countries were trained in the experimental protocols for culturing and pollinating Brassica rapa plants in simulated flight hardware. Teachers and students in the two countries have been exchanging letters which has resulted in a rich exchange of culture and science. For the mission, an Ukrainian Payload Specialist (PS) performed pollination in space while an alternate Ukrainian PS and hundreds of thousands of students in the U.S. and Ukraine performed the same tasks on Earth. Two communication downlink sessions were held so that students asked the PS about the experiments taking place on orbit. Participating students submitted the results of their ground control studies which are being compared to the plants pollinated on orbit. The enthusiasm observed from the teachers and students from both countries indicate there is great hope that the collaborations established during this mission will continue in other collaborative areas into the future

Paper Session II-D - The Collaborative Ukrainian Experiment: (CUE): Opportunities for Collaboration in Science Education and Research

In 1994, President Clinton of the United States (US) and President Kuchma of Ukraine signed an agreement to support joint activities in space. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Space Agency of Ukraine (NSAU) have developed a joint Space Shuttle mission which will include a Ukrainian Payload Specialist. The Collaborative Ukrainian Experiment (CUE) Mission is targeted for late 1997 and features a number of plant experiments to be carried in plant growth hardware on the Space Shuttle in the middeck. In conjunction with these experiments, an educational component called the CUE TSIPS (Teachers and Students Investigating Plants in Space) is being developed for high school classrooms to participate in the experiment by performing ground-controls. Teachers in both Ukraine and the U.S. have been trained in the protocols of the Brassica-Seed Terminal growth In Chambers (B-STIC) experiment. This experiment was developed by Dr. Mary Musgrave at Louisiana State University and designed to investigate the microgravity effects on pollination and fertilization

Optimization of moisture content for wheat seedling germination in a cellulose acetate medium for a space flight experiment

The Porous Tube Plant Nutrient Delivery System (PTPNDS), a hydrophilic, microporous ceramic tube hydroponic system designed for microgravity, will be tested in a middeck locker of the Space Shuttle. The flight experiment will focus on hardware operation and assess its ability to support seed germination and early seedling growth in microgravity. The water controlling system of the PTPNDS hardware has been successfully tested during the parabolic flight of the KC-135. One challenge to the development of the spaceflight experiment was to devise a method of holding seeds to the cylindrical porous tube. The seed holder must provide water and air to the seed, absorb water from the porous tube, withstand sterilization, provide a clear path for shoots and roots to emerge, and be composed of flight qualified materials. In preparation for the flight experiment, a wheat seed-holder has been designed that utilizes a cellulose acetate plug to facilitate imbibition and to hold the wheat seeds in contact with the porous tube in the correct orientation during the vibration of launch and the microgravity environment of orbit. Germination and growth studies with wheat at a range of temperatures showed that optimal moisture was 78% (by weight) in the cellulose acetate seed holders. These and other design considerations are discussed

New Frontiers in Food Production Beyond LEO

New technologies will be needed as mankind moves towards exploration of cislunar space, the Moon and Mars. Although many advances in our understanding of the effects of spaceflight on plant growth have been achieved in the last 40 years, spaceflight plant growth systems have been primarily designed to support space biology studies. Recently, the need for a sustainable and robust food system for future missions beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO) has identified gaps in current technologies for food production. The goal is to develop safe and sustainable food production systems with reduced resupply mass and crew time compared to current systems