ASU Geoscience Program
A major partner in this proposal is the Arizona State University Mars Education Program (ASU Mars). This program has been in existence for 13 years and has been contracted to be the Formal Education Lead in the U.S. by the Mars Public Engagement Team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory on behalf of NASA's Mars Program. ASU Mars conducts hands-on, inquiry-based workshops across the U.S. for K-16 teachers using Earth/Mars comparisons and current Mars missions to teach the process of science the thematic core. All of the ASU Mars staff have been classroom teachers and have the ability to create, test, and disseminate NSES Standards-aligned curriculum that is teacher-friendly and focused in the discipline areas of STEM. Our program also creates and coordinates Earth/Mars analog geological field experiences for educators, linking them to current experts in planetary exploration.

In the last decade, the Department of Geological Sciences at ASU has gained an international reputation in several areas, including planetary geology, volcanology, petrology, and tectonics. Established in 1885, ASU is a multicampus state-supported university with a student enrollment of over 49,000 at the Tempe campus and off-campus sites, and enrollments of over 7,300 at West campus, and over 4,000 at Polytechnic campus. The Tempe campus offers 96 programs leading to bachelor’s degrees and 148 programs leading to graduate degrees. The West campus offers 30 bachelor’s degrees and 9 master’s degrees. The Polytechnic campus offers 21 bachelor’s and 9 master’s programs. The Barrett Honors College provides exceptional students with opportunities spanning the spectrum of undergraduate program offerings. ASU offers diversity in academic, athletic, cultural, and social activities and prepares students for a wide range of careers.

The Geological Remote Sensing Laboratory (GRSL) is part of the Department of Geological Sciences at Arizona State University. The primary responsibility of the lab is to engage in terrestrial research (primarily geologic) using and developing software for the analysis of remote sensing. Current research projects utilize both airborne and satellite data that span the EM spectrum from the visible/near infrared (VNIR) to the microwave (radar). However, the primary focus is on the thermal infrared (TIR) because of the ease of identifying the primary earth-forming minerals in this wavelength region. The majority of geologic studies currently underway at the GRSL focus on geomorphology and surficial processes.

The E/PO Program at Arizona State University was created to integrate current research into education. This program has the involvement of world-class geologists such as Regents Professor Dr. Phil Christensen and other Mars team members. Dr. Phil Christensen’s research interests focus on the composition, physical properties and processes, and morphology (geology) of planetary surfaces, specifically Mars and the Earth. A major element of the research at ASU has been the design and development of spacecraft thermal remote sensing instruments for the Mars Odyssey mission and the Mars Exploration Rover missions. The ASU Mars Education Program is co-located with the Dept. of Geological Sciences and is housed in the Mars Space Flight Facility with Dr. Christensen’s team. We have worked closely with the scientists at ASU and the Mars scientific and engineering community at large for over a decade to connect their research to teachers and students and will provide these connections to the SEMAA programs using models from the Rock Around the World Program, the Mars Student Imaging Project, and our new initiatives in developing robotics skills.