Australian science teacher Mark Gargano will be participating in NASA’s Spaceward Bound expedition to Namibia later this month.

Mr Gargano, St Joseph’s School science coordinator and and Mars Society Australia education

Mark Gargano. Image: Mars Society Australia

This expedition will be focussing on geological formations, desert microbial life and examining the conditions for life in extreme locations.

The field work and analysis will be conducted at Gobabeb Training and Research Station, around 120 km inland from the west coast of Africa and will be lead by a range of scientists and engineers who are actively engaged in current planetary research and upcoming robotic missions to Mars.

“Spaceward Bound is all about science teachers joining planetary scientists as they do field research and then bringing the excitement of their work back into the classroom” says Mr Gargano.

Mark Gargano has attended two previous NASA Spaceward Bound expeditions, one to the Mojave Desert in California and another to the Flinders Ranges in South Australia. 

Mr Gargano was the Education Lead for the South Australian expedition, which received support from the CSIRO and the University of South Australia.

In Namibia, he will be working with teachers from the United States, South Africa and the host country, as well as an international crew of planetary scientists.

The research phase and academic programme will be hosted by the University of the Western Cape in consultation with the Principal NASA Investigators in each of the key study areas.

“Planetary scientists can learn a lot about what life on other planets might be like by studying life in extreme environments on earth, such as in places that are extremely dry, cold, salty and dark,” he says.

By studying the chemical processes hardy life-forms use to survive in these places on Earth use, scientists can predict what tricks life on places like Mars might use to survive.”

Mark will be joined in Africa by the other Australian, Ms Janine Slocombe, the Sustainability and Environmental Systems coordinator from the University of South Australia.

Upon return, Mark and Janine will be making presentations, as well as using their experience to enhance science courses and curriculum resources for middle and senior school students in Australia and overseas.

”Spaceward Bound is all about getting teachers to learn the techniques of field research and taking this back to the classroom,” Mr Gargano says.

“Educators get first hand exposure to the knowledge and skills of real 'hands on' science. 

They can then help their students undertake similar kinds of experiments in their classrooms and laboratories, producing a much richer educational experience.

“It is important for students to see what they are doing in the classroom is relevant, that they have choices about where their studies can lead. 

The contact with the scientific community that teachers receive on the expedition enables them to tell students personal stories about how people can build careers in science.” 

To keep up with the expedition and the scientific findings, access all the details at the website; http://quest.nasa.gov/projects/spacewardbound/.

For further information about Spaceward Bound please visit http://quest.nasa.gov/projects/spacewardbound/

For further information about Mars Society Australia please visit http://www.marssociety.org.au/

Press release and images courtesy of Mars Society Australia.

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