Development of Curriculum and Program associated with the Lunar Student Imaging Program

The Arizona State University Mars Education Program, within the School of Earth and Space Exploration (SESE), will develop the Lunar Student Imaging Program (LSIP) curriculum package in support of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) education and public outreach program at ASU. The LSIP program will give students from around the country the opportunity to conduct authentic lunar research by using the LROC Narrow Angle Cameras controlled by ASU scientists. LSIP will be modeled on the award winning Mars Student Imaging Project (MSIP) and will contain activities that introduce students (grades 5-12) to the history of lunar exploration, basic principles of remote sensing, and the surface morphology of the Moon. This immersive program will engage students in hands-on, problem-based learning as they work side-by-side with scientists and mission planners studying the lunar surface. Using a selected group of teams in grades 5-12, we will pilot a 3-day onsite format to evaluate the pacing of the LSIP programming. Once LROC is successfully in lunar orbit, we will schedule the pilot student teams, starting with teams having MSIP experience, such as Nogales High School, Center for Educational Excellence, Peoria Unified School District, and Desert Mountain Elementary School.