The Mission Earth is a platform that brings knowledge, fun and interactivity into a single interface. Thinking about making the teaching of science related to the history of the North American Space Agency more accessible and integrated.
Seeking to better understand our product users and know if their pains are compatible with those of NASA, along with our willingness to democratize access to information, a form was made available to elementary and high school students so we can understand a little about their vision of NASA.
Of 86 responses obtained, 53 linked the space agency to Space - whether as space exploration, moon, astronomy, planets - and 12 cited studies related to technologies developed to serve our planet. When asked if they knew the history of the North American Space Agency, 62 young people said no, when asked about the "why?", terms such as lack of accessibility - very technical language, not translation into other languages - difficulties in finding the desired content, lack of programs for young people and dissemination are topics that appeared in large numbers.
Physical teachers were also interviewed, who also spoke of missing interactive platforms on various subjects related to the Agency, which could be used in the classroom. Thus, helping to develop greater interest and ease in the transmission of content. Thus, through the questionnaire and interviews with educators, it was possible to observe that although all students were interested in knowing about the history of NASA, the means for this to become possible did not bring as much accessibility or attractiveness even for teachers as it is currently being performed.
Thinking about the challenge of how to share stories in a didactic and yet attractive way to the young audience, we think about the gamified education model, available in mobile and desktop devices. This model is divided into two segments: the first one focused on transmission of content related to natural sciences interconnecting it with the Agency's research and missions, and the second one on individual or group quizzes about the content learned at the platform.
Users will sign up using an email and password, being able to inform their educational institution in order to participate in the Institutions Ranking. The contents are made available by topics: land, technology, climate changes, and have access through the search engine. To solve the problem of finding content in an easier way, each topic has links at the end of the text that redirect to interactive maps, graphics, articles, videos and related podcasts.
All content produced, from educational texts to questions, from the web application will be sourced by data and NASA and partners. Thinking of helping to unify access to the space agency database, the platform brings links related to each content as a way to complement the knowledge available on our platform. The links give access to simulators, graphics, podcasts, videos, articles and important sites that bring greater scientific content helping to complement the knowledge seen in Mission Earth.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Z3V5VjDsLks-s7eki0NclkpCjfApknjbqCbszZ3m_Vc/edit?usp=sharing
https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/index.html
https://eros.usgs.gov/image-gallery/earth-as-art
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/earth/overview/
https://climate.nasa.gov/earth-now/#/vitalsign?vitalsign=sea_level&altid=0&animating=f&start=&end=