NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Image to left: This photo of Australia was taken for students participating in the EarthKAM program. Credit: NASA

NASA's International Space Station (ISS) EarthKAM program directly engages students in the scientific study of Earth from space. ISS EarthKAM provides students with direct access to, and control of, a digital camera mounted on the International Space Station. Students participating in ISS EarthKAM (Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle school students) identify places on Earth they want to photograph from space; they then use the ISS EarthKAM Web-based interface to calculate exactly when the ISS EarthKAM digital camera should take its pictures. The students' pictures, which are available for study within hours of being taken, then serve as the primary data for their hands-on investigations of a variety of Earth system science topics.

The ISS EarthKAM program is launching into its eighth year of operations with the first mission of the 2004-2005 school year scheduled for October 26-29, 2004. Additional ISS EarthKAM image acquisition and investigation missions are scheduled in February and April 2005.

ISS EarthKAM is currently registering schools interested in participating in this year's missions. Teachers can register for this free program through the ISS EarthKAM online registration system.

ISS EarthKAM is the brainchild of Dr. Sally Ride, America's first woman astronaut. Inspired by her Space Shuttle missions, Dr. Ride established EarthKAM in 1996 as a way for students to personally experience the same fascination and awe she experienced as she looked down at Earth from space. Since its inception, over 16,400 scientifically valuable, high-quality digital images of Earth have been taken by thousands of middle-school students from across America, as well as from other participating ISS countries.

Students use their images of Earth to investigate a wide variety of topics such as changes on Earth's surface, human land use patterns, and geologic landforms and processes. Participation in the ISS EarthKAM program is designed to enhance student mastery of national science, geography, mathematics, and technology standards.

Image to left: ISS EarthKAM students in Arizona determine the latitude and longitude of a volcano they are investigating as a part of their ISS EarthKAM volcano comparison project. Credit: NASA

Students use the specially designed ISS EarthKAM Web-based interface to track the path of the ISS and to identify locations on Earth to photograph. They research different locations around the world, analyze atlases, and check the weather in the process of submitting a specific photo command to the ISS.

Pictures are immediately sent down to Earth after they are taken and posted on the ISS EarthKAM Datasystem Web site. The ISS EarthKAM Datasystem is designed for student users, scientists, and the general public. It presents the images and accompanying information in a visually intuitive manner that fosters investigation and analysis of the images.

A suite of curriculum materials, including educator guides, student activities, and interactive tutorials, are available to help teachers incorporate all aspects of the program into their curriculum. The ISS EarthKAM program supports local, state, and national education standards, with all the materials keyed to the national standards.

Image to right: Your students can take pictures of Earth from space just like this picture of New Zealand. Credit: NASA

No other NASA program gives students such direct, hands-on control of an instrument flying on a spacecraft orbiting Earth. Students develop an unparalleled excitement for learning about Earth's complex systems as a result of their personal investigations of the images they take of Earth. Such active ownership of one's own learning experiences is known to be one of the best ways to stimulate long-term interest in Earth and space science.


Related Sites
ISS EarthKAM Home Page
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ISS EarthKAM Datasystem
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ISS EarthKAM Registration
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