ARES Learning

It is clear the reality of a multi-planet future for humanity is fast approaching, with plans to land on the Moon in just a few years and Mars within the decade. How might we best prepare students to participate in the growing space economy and in all the opportunities human migration to space will afford them in their lifetime?

Through a dozen units of study, this course provides an overview of why these questions are important, and how educators might help students develop the skill sets and mindsets they will need - whether they travel to space, work in the space industry, or remain on Earth to solve increasingly complex problems in other fields. Participants will learn how to prepare students for a future of global cooperation, environmental management on a planetary scale, and application of space science for the benefit of all humanity.

The course also looks ahead to consider how we might educate students who are actually living in space in the coming years. The consequences of communication delays, low gravity, and exposure to vacuum are significant, not to mention the likelihood of severely limited resources… while the unique learning opportunities of alien geology or deep space are exciting as well. Finally, the course concludes with an exploration of issues related to moral decision making, leadership, and governance in future schools. It is truly a course in Space Philosophy as much as education.

Each participant will complete a final research paper appropriate for submission to the Journal of Space Education. The topic of the paper should be broadly related to space education, but the specific problem addressed should be one that the participant is passionate about. Any qualitative, quantitative, or mixed method research design is allowed, but the Ideas Unlimited Method will be introduced and recommended as an utilitarian way to tap into expert opinion.