🚀 From Classroom to Cosmos: Iowa Educators Soar at SPACE 2025

A team of Iowa educators and STEM leaders recently experienced a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity at the SPACE 2025 Port Area Conference for Educators, hosted at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. Sponsored by the NASA Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, the conference connected K–12 educators with the science and engineering behind today’s space exploration and the inspiration to bring it back to their classrooms. 

🌟 Iowa STEM Leaders in Attendance 

Representing schools and STEM programs from across the state, the Iowa cohort included: 

  • Dori Clausen – Colfax-Mingo Jr/Sr High 
  • Jon Markus – Adel DeSoto Minburn Middle School 
  • Maddie Kampf – Indianola Community School District 
  • Josie Libby – Aplington-Parkersburg Middle School 
  • Beth Bunkers – ISU Extension and Outreach 

🧪 Immersive Learning and STEM Integration 

Throughout the multi-day conference, educators took part in STEM workshops focused on classroom-ready lessons and activities. Highlights included: 

  • A keynote address by Blue Origin astronaut Amy Medina Jorge 
  • Interactive sessions led by NASA engineers and educators 
  • Q&A panels with NASA alumni and aerospace professionals 

These experiences helped teachers build deeper connections between STEM education and space careers. 

 🛰️ Behind-the-Scenes at NASA and Blue Origin 

Participants had behind the scenes access to some of the most iconic areas at Kennedy Space Center and facilities at Blue Origin, including: 

  • The NASA Crawler, used to transport rockets to the launch pad 
  • The Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB)—one of the largest structures in the world 
  • A tour of Blue Origin’s manufacturing facility, showing aerospace engineering in action 

“Standing across from Artemis II in the Vehicle Assembly Building and listening to the astronaut speak of his experience reminded me why STEM education matters so deeply. Thanks to the NASA Iowa Space Grant Consortium, I returned to Iowa and my classroom more inspired than ever to launch the next generation of explorers.” 
— Maddie Kampf 

🔭 Rocket Launches That Lit Up the Sky 

The Iowa team also witnessed two powerful space launches: 

  • SpaceX Falcon 9 (2:30 AM Launch): A night launch carrying astronauts—including Iowa native Peggy Whitson, who has spent over 665 days in space 
  • Daytime Launch: A cargo mission showcasing the scale and precision of modern rocketry 

“The behind-the-scene tours of the Vehicle Assembly Building truly brought the scale of NASA’s spacecraft into perspective. I hope to bring that same sense of wonder and curiosity into the classroom.” 
— Jon Markus

💡 Bringing Innovation Back to Iowa Classrooms 

Educators left SPACE 2025 with more than memories. They returned with classroom-ready ideas, real-world applications, and a renewed sense of purpose. 

“This was an unforgettable journey blended with inspiration, innovation, and real-world STEM learning.” 
— Beth Bunkers 

The NASA Iowa Space Grant Consortium is proud to support educators helping to ignite and inspire the minds of the next generation and launching a new era of STEM excellence in Iowa.  

From Microscope to NASA Calendar: Iowa Research Illuminates Soldering in Space

No, you’re not looking at an abstract painting of the sun and the Earth. This is a photograph (micrograph)!

Iowa State University associate professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Dr. Sid Pathak and lead researcher, Dr. Manish Kumar captured this image not in outer space, but under an electron microscope.

Their research studies the structural properties of solders in both terrestrial and microgravity environments. Soldering involves the melting and solidification of materials, typically metal alloys, to join electrical conductors.

Pathak’s team aims to understand how the outer-space environment, devoid of physical forces such as Earth’s gravity, affects lead-tin solders on a microscopic level. They also want to understand how these changes alter the performance of solders in the extreme cold and hot conditions found in the vacuum of outer space. The aim is to improve the soldering process on Earth while also understanding how it can be used to support repairs in deep space and to address repair needs critical for long-duration exploration missions beyond Earth’s atmosphere.

This photo, taken by Kumar, is featured in NASA’s 2025 calendar and shows part of a solder bead taken from the International Space Station (ISS). The large orange quadrant in the upper left corner is the copper wire, while the blue and green sphere in the bottom right corner is a void space. The green and brown spaces in between are conventional solder aggregates.

This year’s NASA calendar is all about the building blocks of life and our universe. Many of the photos showcase how the smallest forms of being, such as organic and inorganic chemicals, cells, and microorganisms, change the way we see life in the cosmos. NASA’s missions aim to understand how these building blocks affect our universe and how they can be utilized for the benefit of humanity.

“We are proud that this transformative research is taking place right here in Iowa.” Dr. Pathak stated. The results of his study has already been used in NASA’s deep space missions.

Pathak has received many awards for research and teaching, including the National Science Foundation’s CAREER award in 2024 and the Defense Advanced Research Agencies Young Faculty Award in 2019.

Manish Kumar recently obtained his Ph.D. at Iowa State University from Pathak’s research group. For his PhD research in solders Kumar was awarded the Brown Graduate Fellowship in 2024 and the ISU Research Excellence Award in 2025. He also presented his research at numerous conferences across the country including the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research meeting in Washington D.C. and the International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition in Philadelphia, PA.

This research project is funded through NASA Physical Sciences Informatics, NASA EPSCoR, and Iowa Space Grant Consortium.

Alesha Roll joins with Iowa NASA EPSCoR and Iowa Space Grant Consortium as Program Specialist

Alesha Roll has joined the Iowa NASA EPSCoR (Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) and Iowa Space Grant Consortium (ISGC) in the role of program specialist.

Alesha is a 2017 alumna of Iowa State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Nutritional Sciences. Her career has been marked by a diverse array of roles, all centered around her passion for STEM, education and outreach, and community engagement.

With an extensive background in grant management and compliance, Alesha has played a key role in integrating STEM programs and supportive policies. Her interest was sparked by an internship with the EARTH Program in St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, through Iowa State University.

Alesha’s commitment to the community includes creating programs within health and coaching, participating in coalitions advocating for local food policies, food security, waste reduction, and public education. Additionally, she has done grant work for nonprofit organizations in her free time.

As a program specialist with EPSCoR/ISGC, Alesha will be involved in grant management, focused on research infrastructure development and supporting education and outreach events. While her specific duties will evolve, her extensive background in community-focused initiatives and her enthusiasm for educational programs will bring value to the Iowa EPSCoR/ISGC team.

Carmen Fuchs’ Retirement Reception

It is with our deepest appreciation that ISGC says a well deserved goodbye to Program Coordinator, Carmen Fuchs.

Carmen has been a leading force of ISGC for the past 32+ years.

A retirement reception will be held at 1235 Howe Hall on May 7th from 3:00 – 4:30 pm, presentation at 3:30 pm.

ISGC Spring Research Symposium 2024

The Iowa Space Grant Consortium Spring Research Symposium (SRS)

Tuesday, April 16th, 2024
Marshalltown Arts and Civic Center
709 S. Center Street
Marshalltown, Iowa

ISGC Undergraduate Research Scholars are required to attend presentations as assigned. ISGC-funded graduate students, interns, merit scholars, affiliates, and EPSCoR researchers are invited to attend and participate!

**Attention Undergraduate Research Scholars**
  • Abstract submissions are due by April 2nd
  • Poster submissions are due by April 11th

Begin your abstracts using the general instructions and formatting suggestions available within our Abstract Template.

Begin preparing your poster by downloading the SRS Poster Template.

Submit Abstracts and Posters at: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/3ef5eac3c010492f8daeb0af01155781 by the deadlines noted above.

Register by April 8th here

If you have any questions regarding the SRS, please email isgc@iastate.edu. Updated information will be posted here as it becomes available.

Get involved with Plant the Moon Challenge!

Get involved with the Plant the Moon Challenge!

There are two upcoming events we wanted to make sure you had on your calendars:

  1. Spring Season Closing Symposium, May 15, 6pm Eastern Time: open to the public, we are encouraging students, teachers, and partners to join in to recognize and celebrate the best in show winners. Members of the Science Advisory Board will be highlighting key aspects of each Best-in-Show award winner’s project and sharing other insights from this season’s program. It would be great if you can join in on the celebration.
  2. Spring Season Review Meeting, June 7th, 3pm Eastern Time: please hold this time on your calendar for our post-season review meeting where we will be going over the Evaluation Report that will be shared with each partner in late May and discussing overall feedback on the program. Please join us to review this information and get your questions answered about what happened with the spring season. We will also discuss updates, enhancements, and timelines for the Fall 2023 season.

Plant the Moon Challenge is open to all students and educators. In the past we have had over 22 teams participating, as well as 172 K-12th youth participants.

SSEP 20th Flight Opportunity

U.S. and Canadian National Model STEM Education Program Opportunity

Announcing the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) 20th Flight Opportunity – SSEP Mission 18 to the International Space Station, Starting September 2023

2023-24 Academic Year Opportunity for 2- and 4-year Colleges and Universities to Engage 30+ Students (Reflecting at Least 10 Teams) in Real Microgravity Experiment Design and Proposal Writing, with One Experiment at Your Institution Selected for Operation By Astronauts on the International Space Station

STEM Project-Based Learning Through Immersion in an Authentic Research Experience on the High Frontier

TIME CRITICAL:

Interested undergraduate institutions are directed to inquire about the program as soon as possible, and no later than (extended to) May 15, 2023

MILESTONE DATES:
  • Experiment Design and Proposal Writing Phase: September 1 – November 3, 2023 (9 weeks)
  • Selection of Your Community’s Flight Experiment: December 15, 2023
  • SpaceX Launch of Your Experiment to the International Space Station: Late Spring 2024
  • Ferry Flight Return to Earth: Launch + 4 to 6 weeks
  • SSEP National Conference, likely at Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC: early July 2024
PROGRAM OVERVIEW:

The National Center for Earth and Space Science Education announces Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) Mission 18 to the International Space Station. This opportunity gives students across your institution the ability to design and propose microgravity experiments to fly in low-Earth orbit on the International Space Station (ISS). Experiments are designed to real world engineering and technology constraints imposed by the flight certified mini-lab that must be used, and the nature of flight operations to and from Low Earth Orbit. One experiment at each institution will be selected to fly to ISS on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launching from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in FL. Your experiment will launch from historic pad 39A, the same pad from which all Apollo missions to the Moon launched, and 82 Space Shuttle missions. Astronauts aboard ISS will operate the experiment 4-6 weeks before it is returned to Earth and to your student flight team for analysis. SSEP is not a simulation. We are truly inviting your institution and students to be part of America’s Space Program.

A college or university can also engage hundreds of students in mission patch art and design competitions – as possibly outreach to local school districts, with two patches selected to fly with the flight experiment. SSEP is therefore an authentic STEAM initiative. We invite institutions to use their mission patch competitions to also celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo Moon missions, and humans returning to the Moon in likely 2024 with Artemis.

An important consideration – the expectation is that faculty mentors in a participating 2- or 4-year college or university will engage at least 30 undergraduate students over 9 weeks of experiment design and proposal writing spanning September 1 through November 3, 2023. Students will form into at least 10 teams, each team designing a microgravity experiment in a science discipline of their choice. Each team writes a formal proposal to make the case for why their experiment should be selected for flight to ISS. Your students will be engaged in a very real research proposal competition, focusing on technical writing, mirroring the experiences of professional scientists and engineers. A national review board meeting in Washington, DC, will select the flight experiment for your institution, and do the same for each of the other Mission 18 participating communities.

The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) provides a fully authentic research competition as a STEM Project Based Learning experience. Launch of the Mission 18 flight experiments is currently projected for Spring 2023. Mission 18 occurs across the 2023-24 academic year.

For program details, and how to explore this opportunity for your community, carefully read the SSEP Home Page, which provides a comprehensive summary of the program: HERE

To explore undergraduate participation in SSEP Missions to date, visit HERE

NASA STEM Engagement Highlights 2022

Check out the newly released annual report “NASA STEM Engagement Highlights 2022”! This is the third annual report, and this provides a vivid snapshot in words and pictures of the powerful experiences and opportunities NASA creates through STEM. Feel free to share around!

LEARN MORE

SHO Spotlight: Cardinal Space Mining Club at Iowa State University

ISGC Student Hands-On Spotlight: Cardinal Space Mining Club at Iowa State University

The Cardinal Space Mining Club is a student organization affiliated with Iowa State University. As a group they annually compete in the NASA Lunabotics challenge where teams are tasked with designing and building a robot that can operate in a simulated lunar environment. This year, the competition is virtual and therefore a video of this year’s team robot “Atlas” doing the necessary competition tasks can be watched here

This photo is a small group of the team outside of Linden Hall in the sand volleyball court to test this year’s competition robot and film the Proof of Life video for the NASA Lunabotics Challenge. Pictured from l-r: Isaac Petersen, Alex McFadden, Nathan Butler, Nathan Tanner, Alex Warling, Gustave Abagge-Luzzi with robot “Atlas”.

Cardinal Space Mining Club Website