The Educator Astronaut Project is a

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

program to educate students and spur excitement in science, technology, engineering, math, and

space exploration Space exploration is the process of utilizing astronomy and space technology to investigate outer space. While the exploration of space is currently carried out mainly by astronomers with telescopes, its physical exploration is conducted bo ...

. It is a successor to the Teacher in Space Project of the 1980s, which NASA cancelled after the death of teacher-astronaut

Christa McAuliffe Sharon Christa McAuliffe ( Corrigan; September 2, 1948 – January 28, 1986) was an American teacher and astronaut from Concord, New Hampshire who died on the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' on mission STS-51-L, where she was serving as a payloa ...

in the Space Shuttle ''Challenger''

disaster A disaster is an event that causes serious harm to people, buildings, economies, or the environment, and the affected community cannot handle it alone. '' Natural disasters'' like avalanches, floods, earthquakes, and wildfires are caused by na ...

(

STS-51-L STS-51-L was the disastrous 25th mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the final flight of Space Shuttle ''Challenger''. It was planned as the first Teacher in Space Project flight in addition to observing Halley's Comet for six day ...

) amid concerns about the risk of sending civilians into space.

History

In the 1990s, NASA created the Educator Astronaut Project, which carries on the objectives of the Teacher in Space Program—seeking to elevate teaching as a profession and inspire students. Unlike the Teacher in Space Program, educator astronauts are fully trained astronauts who do the same jobs and duties that any other astronaut does. They fly as crew members with critical mission responsibilities, as well as education-related goals. In addition to their technical assignments, they assist other astronauts in connecting to students and teachers through space exploration.

Joseph M. Acaba Joseph Michael Acabá (born May 17, 1967) is an American educator, hydrogeologist, and NASA astronaut. In May 2004, he became the first person of Puerto Rican ancestry to be named as a NASA astronaut candidate, when he was selected as a member ...

, Richard R. Arnold and Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger were selected as the first educator mission specialists in the 2004 class. Both Acaba and Arnold were part of the crew of

STS-119 STS-119 ( ISS assembly flight 15A) was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) which was flown by Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' during March 2009. It was Discovery's 36th flight. It delivered and assembled the fourth star ...

, a

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...

mission to the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...

(ISS) which was flown by Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' in March 2009. Metcalf-Lindenburger flew on STS-131 in April 2010, also visiting the ISS aboard Space Shuttle ''Discovery''.

Barbara Morgan

Barbara Morgan, the backup to

in the Teacher in Space Project, remained involved with NASA after the ''Challenger'' disaster and continued to work with NASA's Education Division until her selection as a

mission specialist Mission specialist (MS) is a term for a specific position held by astronauts who are tasked with conducting a range of scientific, medical, or engineering experiments during a spaceflight mission. These specialists were usually assigned to a s ...

in 1998. Morgan completed two years of astronaut training and evaluation, and began official duties in 2000. Morgan became the first former teacher to travel to space on

STS-118 STS-118 was a Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by the orbiter ''Space Shuttle Endeavour, Endeavour''. STS-118 lifted off on August 8, 2007, from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39, launch pad 39A at Kennedy ...

. While NASA press releases and media briefings often referred to her as a "mission specialist educator" or "educator astronaut", Morgan did not train in the Educator Astronaut Project.

NASA Administrator The administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the highest-ranking official of NASA, the national List of space agencies, space agency of the United States. The administrator is NASA's chief decision maker, responsible ...

Michael D. Griffin clarified at a press conference after STS-118 that Morgan was not considered a mission specialist educator, but rather was a standard mission specialist, who had once been a teacher.Michael Griffin, NASA TV: STS-118 Post-Landing briefing Morgan's duties as a mission specialist were no different from other Shuttle mission specialists.

References

{{Reflist NASA programs Space Shuttle program Science education in the United States