Orion’s Quest offers a standards based* curriculum that leads to a classroom experiment or study project that is in support of current world-class research. Data collected from classroom activities is forwarded to the Principal Investigator (PI) for analysis and, if appropriate, inclusion into research databanks. This is not artificial busy work, but real science supporting real scientists.

Although the current project is based in a NASA laboratory, future activities will be in support of research being conducted in microgravity. In that case, the classroom experiment will be in coordination with a duplicate experiment that is simultaneously being conducted aboard a Space Shuttle or on the International Space Station. Appropriate space experiments will have video downlink capabilities from orbit, providing student with microgravity data with which to compare their “ground control” experiment.

Each teacher is provided with their own, password protected, page within the OQ Web Site for support and communication. Further, throughout the process students have the opportunity to share their hypotheses and data with their counterparts in other participating schools across the country and beyond.

*National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996)