BIODIVERSITY WITH NASA
In a partnership with NASA, IASEA promoted a live chat via satellite between the astronaut Mike Barratt, in orbit on the ISS, and students from Paraty - RJ.
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PROJECT OBJECTIVE:
To foster Environmental Awareness and to develop Socioemotional skills in Brazilian students.
It was the first time that Brazilian students had the opportunity to speak alive with an astronaut aboard NASA International Space Station. The students could hardly believe it. Everyone was extremely motivated and involved.
The project spanned two weeks of activities. First, students attended lectures and workshops on the preservation of the planet and its biodiversity. Then, using the knowledge they had acquired, they prepared questions for astronaut Mike Barratt.
The workshop activities were designed to develop five key socio-emotional skills in young people: analytical thinking, creative thinking, self-esteem, self-confidence, and teamwork.
BIODIVERSITY WITH NASA
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Over two weeks of activities, 60 students from three schools in Paraty, Rio de Janeiro, learned about the planet’s biggest environmental challenges. They attended classes with very special guest speakers, including:
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Dr. Simon Boxall, Oceanographer, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton
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Dr. Karen James, Researcher, Natural History Museum, London
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Dr. Kevin Zelnio, Marine Biology and Conservation Scientist, Scientific American
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At the end of the workshops, students prepared numerous questions for astronaut Mike Barratt, based on everything they had learned and discussed throughout the week. Nine questions were selected, translated into English, and assigned to nine students, who were chosen to present them to Dr. Barratt. These students took English classes to help them understand and read their questions. Everyone was deeply engaged in the experience.
From NASA, Dr. Dan Garrison traveled to Paraty to assist IASEA with the entire connection between Paraty, Houston, and the ISS. Dr. Garrison is the Chief Scientist of NASA's Astromaterials Research & Exploration Science Directorate (ARES) and also an advisor to NASA's Department of Educational Programs.
The event day arrived! On stage, the students stood side by side, questions in hand. In the audience sat family, friends, guests, and many, many journalists. Astronaut Mike Barratt would only have a nine-minute connection—the duration of the space station’s overflight above Brazil’s Green Coast, where Paraty is located.
Everyone was filled with excitement and anticipation. Would everything go smoothly? Would the connection work? Dan Garrison had previously warned everyone that, sometimes, it does—sometimes, it doesn’t.
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Total silence. All eyes were on Dan Garrison, standing at the corner of the stage, connecting with Houston. And then—yes! We heard the astronaut’s voice, coming straight from the ISS. The connection worked! We had nine minutes.
The students began asking their questions, which NASA had sent to Dr. Barratt two days earlier.
Mike Barratt’s responses were incredible. As the connection ended, the room erupted in applause. The students were immediately surrounded by journalists, radiating pride and confidence as they faced microphones, lights, and cameras.
Mission accomplished!
The project became an unforgettable experience for all the participants.
For Sabrina de Araújo, a 13-year-old student who asked one of the questions, speaking with the astronaut was an “incredible and extraordinary experience.” She said the project sparked greater interest in science and the environment among her and her friends.
Sabrina, a student from a public school in a low-income community, seized the moment wisely. With journalists’ attention focused on her, she used the opportunity to advocate for a science laboratory for her school and more projects like this one—initiatives that, in her words, “make students more aware.”