The overarching goals of this program are to exploit NASA’s unique position to provide top-notch training and education and to engage and motivate youth to follow STEM careers while simultaneously increasing public awareness and public support for NASA’s earth science activities and missions. While the ATTREX EPO effort is envisioned as an excellence program that favors quality over quantity, we envision the integration of a science, engineering and aeronautics curriculum that can be easily adapted to target different levels of education and skills.

AirMOSS E/PO is an Education project for the K-12 students, teachers, informal education community, and the general public. The AirMOSS E/PO team will provide such services as  web-based applications and resources. The objective of AirMOSS E/PO activities is to inform and/or increase the public’s understanding of the global carbon cycle, especially how the exchange of carbon dioxide between the land and the atmosphere affects global climate; and how NASA airborne science instruments contribute to this body of knowledge, while encouraging students to pursue the study of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. http://airmoss.jpl.nasa.gov/

NASA’s Aqua satellite was launched on May 4, 2002, with six instruments designed to collect data about the Earth’s atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and cryosphere. Since the late 1990s, the Aqua mission has involved considerable education and public outreach (EPO) activities, including printed products, formal education, an engineering competition, a video competition, webcasts, and high-profile multimedia efforts. The printed products include Aqua and instrument brochures, an Aqua lithograph, Aqua trading cards, NASA Fact Sheets on Aqua, the water cycle, and weather forecasting, and an Aqua science writers' guide.

Aquarius Communications and Public Engagement (CPE) provides content on salinity, ocean circulation, the water cycle and climate for educational purposes. The content is made available through in-person (e.g., workshops, presentations at conferences) and online events (e.g., webinars).  http://aquarius.umaine.edu/cgi/education.htm

CALIPSO provides educator professional development for K-12 teachers.  Professional development opportunities are delivered both in-person and virtually through collaborations with The GLOBE Program, MY NASA DATA, and S’COOL.  The objective of the professional development activities is to inform teachers understanding and build their confidence and capacity to teach about topics related to clouds and aerosols. http://science.jpl.nasa.gov/projects/CALIPSO/

Digital Earth Watch (DEW) and the Picture Post Network involves individuals, schools, organizations and communities in a systematic monitoring project of their local environment, especially vegetation health. The key concepts behind DEW are that plants are like "green canaries" and act as sensitive indicators of changing environmental conditions. A Picture Post is an easy-to-use and inexpensive platform for repeatedly taking digital photographs as a standardized set of images of the entire 360° landscape, which then can be shared over the Internet on the Picture Post website. This simple concept is creating a wealth of information and data on local environmental conditions, and also strengthens observations of phenological and other time-series events for citizens, scientists and decision makers to understand and adapt to environmental change.

DISCOVER-AQ is an EPD/SE project for middle/high school grades. It leverages the content and locales of an intensive series of airborne flight campaigns, through the GLOBE program, to engage educators and their students in NASA research. The objective of DISCOVER-AQ E/PO is to involve K-12 teachers and students in NASA Earth science activities. http://discover-aq.larc.nasa.gov/education.html

Earth to Sky (ETS) is an interagency partnership between NASA, the National Park Service (NPS) and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), that enables and encourages informal educators to access and use relevant NASA science, data, and educational and outreach products in their work.  http://www.earthtosky.org

 The CloudSat team also supports the development of new Girl Scout “Earth Science” Patches for Daises, Brownies, Juniors, and Cadettes. The objective of the CloudSat informal education programs is to provide a NASA mission-connected pathway to help learners better understand the nature of clouds and their role in Earth's atmospheric system. http://www.girlscoutsla.org/documents/NASA_JPL_EarthScience_PatchProgram.pdf

GLOBE is an international program that encourages and supports students, teachers, informal educators, and scientists to collaborate on inquiry-based investigations of their local environment, sharing results over the internet. The objective of GLOBE is to promote the teaching and learning of science, enhance environmental literacy and stewardship, and promote scientific discovery. https://www.globe.gov/

The GLOBE Mission EARTH (GME) is embedding NASA assets into the GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) Program and integrating it into the grades K-20 science and STEM curricula. GME is leveraging existing partnerships and networks and supported through state departments of education, as  a systemic, effective, and sustainable approach to meeting NASA’s science education objectives. 

The GRACE higher ed program provides summer research experiences, short workshops, seminars to early career scientists, pre-service education faculty and students underrepresented in Earth and Space Science. The project is carried out through SMD missions and competitively selected awardees working in partnership with higher education institutions. The objective is to deepen their understanding of SMD science and technology so they are better prepared to contribute to the STEM workforce and training of future educators. http://www.csr.utexas.edu/grace/education/

 STEM Enhancement in Earth Science, or SEES, is a nationally competitive summer intern program for students in grades 10 and 11. NASA, the Texas Space Grant Consortium and The University of Texas at Austin Center for Space Research, or UT/CSR, have joined forces to provide this opportunity for high school students to increase their understanding of and interest in STEM careers.

Scientists and engineers at UT/CSR are conducting NASA-supported research in astronomy, remote sensing and space geodetic techniques to help understand Earth systems, natural hazards and climate science. The SEES project provides selected students with exposure to Earth and space research. Participants will learn how to interpret NASA satellite data while working with scientists and engineers in their chosen area of work.

The ICESat-2 mission E/PO implementation plan, in direct collaboration with other NASA Earth-observing missions, strives to focus its impact on NASA’s identified target audience outcomes in education and outreach. Each current and new project will not target each and every audience, but rather focus on one or two specific audiences. http://icesat.gsfc.nasa.gov/icesat2/epo.php

MY NASA DATA (MND) is a Web-based project for K12 students and educators. MND makes NASA Earth science data easily accessible for authentic learning in the K-12 classroom. The objective of MND is to engage K-12 students in STEM activities through the ability to explore the same data that scientists use. http://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/

The NASA Know Your Earth Campaign is a partnership among 22 of NASA's Earth-observing missions. This educational project focuses on educating students, teachers and the public about cutting-edge NASA Earth science research. This campaign also focuses on the “on-the-go” and “smart-technology” public in big cities is vital to informing the public about how our Earth works and how NASA research is increasing our understanding of our home planet.

Ocean Surface Topography (Jason-1, OSTM/Jason-2) E/PO is an Education project for K-12 students and teachers. The OST E/PO team provides such services as classroom demonstrations, specialized JPL visits/tours, web resources, and distance learning events; and in conjunction with partner organizations and in-service training for teachers. The objective of OST E/PO is to provide students, and their teachers with information on the role of satellite altimeters in understanding the global ocean, while encouraging students to pursue the study of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The OCO-2 E/PO Program is committed to bringing the latest and most relevant carbon dioxide science and findings to a broad audience, and informing them about why we need to study this greenhouse gas. What we will learn from OCO-2 will improve our understanding of carbon dioxide and its role in climate studies. This improved understanding will help policy makers and business leaders formulate decisions that address climate change issues and, at the same time, improve our quality of life.

S’COOL is a Web-based project for K12 students and educators, and citizen scientists. S’COOL involves students in authentic science with NASA, through sky observations which serve as ground truth for the CERES instruments in orbit. The objective of S’COOL is to engage students actively in NASA Earth science research.  http://scool.larc.nasa.gov/

The SAGE III on ISS Education and Public Outreach program shares the excitement of the SAGE III on ISS mission (planned launch 2014) highlighting its pathfinder qualities, its legacy and role in climate study continuity, and its partnerships with the ISS, other NASA centers, and international collaborators. The program uses formal and informal education approaches to engage students, teachers, and the public in atmospheric science topics including ozone and aerosols, engineering, and technology. The program also strengthens NASA's future workforce by contributing to STEM education initiatives and by attracting and retaining students in STEM disciplines. The E/PO activities consist of a diverse range of programs and events that leverage ongoing activities and partnerships across NASA Earth Science missions and other agency educational and outreach programs including GLOBE and MY NASA DATA, as well as create new avenues for reaching target audiences.

SMAP provides Educator Professional Development opportunities for K-12 educators through our partner network and the regional NASA centers. The professional development opportunities will be offered to all K-12 educators who are interested in incorporating the latest soil moisture and freeze-thaw science and technology in the classroom. The objective of SMAP is to offered the latest advances in remote sensing science and technology to support the existing science standards in the classroom. http://smap.jpl.nasa.gov/educationpublicoutreach/

Through a pilot cooperative agreement notice or CAN the Science Mission Directorate (SMD) and the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program (Space Grant) awarded more than $8 million through the competitively selected Undergraduate Student Instrument Project (USIP) to 47 teams of undergraduate students to conduct hands-on flight research. 8 SMD cooperative agreements shared $550,000 in total with award sizes ranging from $50,000-$100,000. Space Grant awards averaged $200,000 for each of 39 cooperative agreements. In addition, SMD and Space Grant are paying the cost of government-furnished launch and other services described in the 2015 USIP CAN NNH15ZDA010C available at: https://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/solicitations/summary.do?method=init&solId={FABD5D3A-878E-A99F-5D05-87AAD356CC9E}&path=closedPast

NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility (WFF), in Wallops Island, Virginia, leads technical and scientific reviews for the 47 teams planning to fly on suborbital and orbital vehicle platforms, such as CubeSats, aircraft, sounding rockets, and balloons. In addition, USIP CubeSats are part of the larger NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative or CSLI managed by the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. CSLI provides opportunities for small satellite payloads built by universities, high schools and non-profit organizations to fly on upcoming launches. For more CSLI information visit: https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/heo/home/CubeSats_initiative

Prior to the collaborative CAN NNH15ZDA010C pilot that involves WFF, HEO and Space Grant, SMD did a proof-of-concept CAN numbered NNH13ZDA004N that resulted in 10 awards. A copy of the first USIP CAN and the selection abstracts can be downloaded from:  https://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/solicitations/summary.do?method=init&solId={0C22969D-FD8F-1AEB-CBFB-5DAACA749452}&path=closedPast

CAN NNH15ZDA010C's 47 project titles and list of awarded higher education institutions can found at:

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-selects-proposals-for-student-flight-research-opportunities

The 39 Space Grant funded abstracts are located at:

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/space_grant_2015_usip_proposal_abstracts_final.pdf

The 8 SMD-funded abstracts are in a PDF that may be downloaded from the section of this page entitled: