Author(s)

Edgar A. Bering III^1*, Shuhab Khan², Laura T. Jacobs³, Donald Hampton⁴, Nicole Mölders⁴, Denise Thorsen⁴, Rachel B. Gamblin⁵, Michael Greer⁶, Presley Greer², Bryan Gunawan⁶, Elizabeth Hernandez⁶, Emily Humble⁶, Jamie Lehnen⁷, Andy Nguyencuu⁸, Megan Piña⁶, Itay Porat⁹, John R. Prince⁶, Ana Gabriela Pessoa⁶, Carlos Salas⁶, James Simmons¹⁰, Chloe Tovar¹¹, Alexandra Ulinski²

¹Departments of Physics and Electrical Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, USA.
²Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, USA.
³LTJacobs Consulting, Chicago, USA.
⁴Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, USA.
⁵NASA Johnson Space Center, Cimarron Software Services, Inc., Houston, USA.
⁶Alumni, University of Houston, Houston, USA.
⁷UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, USA.
⁸Department of Computer Science, University of Houston, Houston, USA.
⁹University of Pennsylvania School of Design, Philadelphia, PA USA.
¹⁰Petra Seismic Design, Houston, USA.
¹¹Physics Department, College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, USA.

The Undergraduate Student Instrumentation Project (USIP) was a NASA program created to engage undergraduates in rigorous scientific research for the purpose of developing the next generation of professionals in space research. It is now run by the University of Houston using local resources. The development of next generation space professionals is addressed by using inquiry- based learning. Students are guided through the process of selecting a question of interest to them from disciplines such as heliophysics; atmospheric physics, chemistry, and biology; and geoscience. The students are then guided through the process of developing an experimental investigation to address their question. This student-led project is executed by the students from initial ideation of research objectives to the design, testing, and deployment of scientific payloads. The 5E Instructional model places the student at the center of knowledge building, while instructors facilitate interaction with content and guide the inquiry process. The project is designed to integrate engineering, technology, physics, material science, and earth and atmospheric sciences as an important opportunity for the students to gain access to cross-disciplinary experiential research. In addition to classroom engagement, the students build their own payloads and ground instruments. This project increases students’ command of essential skills such as teamwork, problem solving, communication, innovation, and leadership. For the students, this formative experience continues to encourage the development of a broader range of technical skills than is typically offered within an undergraduate degree. These skills include project management, systems engineering, balloon payload design, and balloon flight operations. More specifically, we teach sensor and instrument design, avionics, circuit, and power systems design, payload mechanical and thermal design, and telemetry and navigation. The students are also taught to prepare and present standard NASA project review materials, such as Preliminary Design Review, Critical Design Review and Mission Readiness Review presentations. Furthermore, the time and energy that students commit to this project promotes professional responsibility and emphasizes the necessity of coherent teamwork. Not only do students make connections with each other during this process, but also to the broader space science community. They often work with professionals from outside of the USIP structure, and regularly attend and present at conferences and student competitions throughout the project. Student projects included subjects ranging from atmospheric trace gas chemistry, ground penetrating radar and thermal infrared imaging coupled with multiwavelength LiDAR study of surface topography and chemistry, auroral electron precipitation, quantitative multi-wave- length airglow studies, search for stratospheric microplastics, monitoring auroral radio emissions, and stratospheric conductivity. This program is a for-credit course of two to three years duration.

Curriculum Development, Project-Based Learning, Spacecraft Design

Bering III, E. , Khan, S. , Jacobs, L. , Hampton, D. , Mölders, N. , Thorsen, D. , Gamblin, R. , Greer, M. , Greer, P. , Gunawan, B. , Hernandez, E. , Humble, E. , Lehnen, J. , Nguyencuu, A. , Piña, M. , Porat, I. , Prince, J. , Pessoa, A. , Salas, C. , Simmons, J. , Tovar, C. and Ulinski, A. (2023) Student Space Missions—Facilitating Pathways to Success for Next Generation Professionals in Space. Creative Education, 14, 607-636. doi: 10.4236/ce.2023.143041.