About the Expedition

Spaceward Bound is an educational program developed at NASA Ames Research Center in California.The mission of Spaceward Bound is to train the next generation of space explorers by having students and teachers participate in the exploration of scientifically interesting but remote and extreme environments on Earth as analogs for human exploration of the Moon and Mars. These natural environments pose significant challenges and opportunities for human explorers.

The next generation of space explorers (those currently in elementary and middle school) needs to understand how to establish and maintain scientific outposts in harsh environments. They must be trained to live and work in these environments and learn how to explore the surfaces of these worlds.

The Spaceward Bound Field Expeditions involve teachers in authentic scientific fieldwork so that they can bring that experience back to their classrooms and assist in the development of curriculum related to human exploration of remote and extreme environments.

See http://quest.nasa.gov/projects/spacewardbound for more information.

The NASA Spaceward Bound Program will be conducting an expedition to the Arkaroola Region of South Australia during July 2009.  The purpose of the expedition will be to explore the following topics of astrobiological interest:

• Hypolithic algae
• Soil bacateria
• Thermal springs
• Remote sensing of underground features

The leader of the expedition will be Dr. Christopher P. McKay, PI of the Spaceward Bound Program

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