Editorial: Lessons from space

Thursday, Aug. 9, 2007 | 7:07 a.m.

F ormer schoolteacher Barbara Morgan blasted into space aboard the shuttle Endeavour on Wednesday, fulfilling a two-decade-old dream of becoming the nation's first teacher-astronaut.

Morgan was the backup teacher for the 1986 mission by the Challenger shuttle, which exploded shortly after takeoff and killed all seven crew members aboard, including Christa McAuliffe, who taught at a New Hampshire high school.

After the Challenger disaster, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration suspended the idea of including civilians on shuttle flights. In 1998, however, NASA resurrected the idea by taking a different approach in which teachers are trained as astronauts. Morgan, still at the top of NASA's list, left her Idaho elementary classroom and entered NASA's program. She was later joined by three other teachers, who now await their turns on future missions.

On Endeavour's 11- to 14-day mission, Morgan will operate a robotic arm during three space walks, help transfer cargo to the international space station and, of course, teach. In addition to interactive video broadcasts to classrooms from space, Morgan will record instructional videos to be used upon her return.

Critics have questioned the feasibility and need for sending a teacher into space. But, historically, expeditions into unknown regions typically included experts from varying fields, including teachers. Teachers are, after all, the ones charged with helping society to explore and learn. We wish Morgan well on her journey and await the lessons that she sends us from space.