"If you consider Earth as our spacecraft, then we are all astronauts traveling through space!" says Jocelyn Dunn, Industrial Engineering PhD Candidate and a veteran of NASA’s Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) eight-month 2014-15 mission. She co-founded the non-profit organization
Earthonauts with Purdue undergraduate Katie Chustak. It's a new STEM initiative that provides educational programs and develops supportive relationships to promote health and community.

"We have chosen the name 'Earthonauts' to encourage students to develop astronaut-like traits such as resourcefulness, adaptability, and self-care that will help students thrive in our complex, fast-paced world," says Dunn.

What does being an IE student have to do with reaching out to detention center residents? "It is focused on sustainability, which is a core focus for many IEs," explains Dunn. "And it is about being a good community member, resourceful and efficient, and vigilant for opportunities to improve."

The Earthonauts are building educational outreach programs around the three pillars of sustainability: environmental, economic, and social. For their inaugural outreach on July 30, they helped some residents at the Lake County Juvenile Detention Center in Crown Point, IN, install two hydroponic flower "trees" with branches constructed from PVC pipes and a simple water pump in the basin. The trees stand in the cafeteria so the teenaged residents can share the responsibility of taking care of them and can watch daily progress.

"The event was an informal introduction and time to set up the first hydroponic trees," explains Earthonaut co-founder Katie Chustak, who is studying agricultural education and sustainable food and farming systems in the Purdue College of Agriculture. "Four of the residents helped set up the hydroponic tree, and their eyes lit up when they saw the water begin to run through the system at the end."

The plants were donated by Eric Jackson, a business owner from Rensselaer, IN. Jackson previously built a tomato tree model to show how the hydroponics flowers at the center will grow into a tree-like structure. "My biggest reward was seeing the residents work together," says Jackson. "Their teamwork was apparent, and to see them witness and learn a new experience was incredibly gratifying to me. I strongly feel that helping today's youth is an investment in our tomorrow."

Center Director Dr. Geraldine Giglio welcomed the educational outreach project. "We are certain that the residents will enjoy watching flowers grow and bloom, and we hope that they will be encouraged to learn more about sustainable agriculture and STEM topics," she says.

Dr. Jill Miller, a clinical psychologist who consults at the center, agrees that the project will have a positive impact. "The [residents] are very interested in watching the process of the plants over time," she says. "It may foster their interest in science and offer a real hands-on way to learn it."

The Earthonauts will focus on urban communities with unstable sources of fresh food, organize more hands-on educational programs for students, and foster entrepreneurship though agriculture business development.

Writer: DeEtte Starr, starrd@purdue.edu

Earthonauts feel the awe of realizing that we are all astronauts traveling together on this spacecraft called Earth, foster the development of astronaut-like superpowers to thrive in today’s complex world, and lead community development and health initiatives. Earthonauts provide educational programs and develop supportive relationships to promote health and community. They are university students, business owners, educators, and political activists, from Indiana, Michigan, Washington D.C., Florida, and Canada – so far.