Orions Quest

Charting The Course.

The Orion's Quest Program

Planning

Planning is a time of program familiarization, communication, organization and classroom management. Each participating school will be assigned an OQ advisor who will provide assistance and support throughout the program.

Pre-Flight

During Pre-flight, students will begin to understand what NASA is all about, the scope and purpose of their particular research/mission, and how it all fits together. From the “Principal Investigator (PI) scientist, to engineers and technicians and from administrators to astronauts, getting to know the players, students will come to appreciate the organization, dedication, teamwork and skills that make for a successful mission.

Experiment/Research overview (“So that’s how they do it!”)
- Pre-testing

Review of experiment goals, methods and reason. (“Tab A goes into slot B”) - Begin Curriculum, Forming the hypothesis, Preparing the experiment and research activity.

Putting it together
Specific material may be supplied by program.

Flight

(This is “where it’s at.” The “nitty-gritty.” “Down and dirty!”)

With an open line of communication to OQ Control, students will conduct their ground experiment or research activity, collect and record data. Then, via the OQ Web Site, evaluate the same experiment or research model provided through video either downlinked from orbit or transmitted from a NASA laboratory, and once again, collect and record data.

• Teamwork
• Networking
• Communication
• Observation
• Data collection
• Hypothesis testing

Post Flight

Now it’s time to put it all together through the assessment and comparison of data from both experiments. There will be an opportunity for sharing your findings with other participating schools and a mission debrief with your OQ advisor.
Activities of the Post Flight Process include:

• Data analysis
• Hypothesis testing
• Comparing ground control/*microgravity data
• Reporting of findings and conclusions
• Post-testing

• Evaluation

A post-mission” evaluation instrument will assist teachers in assessing student achievement and progress. Following the mission, teachers, administrators, students and parents will also have the opportunity to evaluate every aspect of the OQ Program.

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Teachers, learn more about how you can provide the Orion's Quest research program into your curriculum.

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Where We've Been...

On July 23, 1999, the Space Shuttle Columbia carried Ladybugs in Space into orbit thus beginning the final phase of the educational program that would lead to the formation of Orion’s Quest.

Mission III - Current MIssion

Mission II - 2005 through 2006

Balloon Launch - 2005

Mission I - 2004 through 2005