• Barbara Morgan

  Teacher and Astronaut

Profession:

Teacher and Astronaut

Education

• B.A. with distinction, Human Biology, Stanford University, 1973
• Teaching Credential, Notre Dame de Namur University, 1974

Barbara Morgan first came to national prominence in 1985 when she trained alongside Christa McAuliffe as part of NASA's Teacher in Space Project. After the Challenger accident, Morgan resumed her career as an elementary school teacher in McCall, Idaho, but she continued her affiliation with NASA by speaking with groups and serving on various task forces. More than two decades later, Morgan fulfilled a lifelong dream by serving as a Mission Specialist on STS-118 in August 2007.

How did you go from classroom teacher to astronaut?

Years ago our country had the teacher in space program and teachers from all over the country, just like myself, seized the opportunity to do what teachers do, which is to go out and find experiences and opportunities for learning more so you can do a better job in the classroom to make learning exiting, relevant and interesting for our students.

Are there similarities between teaching and space exploration?

I was very interested in space exploration. I followed it, loved it, and loved learning about the universe. It's education that drives exploration. Being a teacher and being an astronaut are very similar. Both explore, experiment, discover, and share. Teaching is a wonderful job. I look forward to going back to it and I hope this inspires some kids to think about going into teaching too.

What did you find most interesting about space exploration?

What I love about space exploration is that we know little about our universe, and as far as we know, our universe is constantly expanding. That means there is always going to be more to learn so it provides a never ending set of opportunities for everyone but, in particular, for our young people.

Interview

It's education that drives exploration. Being a teacher and being an astronaut are very similar. Both explore, experiment, discover, and share.

Barbara Morgan
Teacher and Astronaut

Web Resources

• NASA STS-118 Mission Information
• NASA Biography
• NASA Pre-flight Interview
• Idaho Public Television: "Barbara Morgan: No Limits"
• Space.com: "Space Teacher: After Long Wait, Barbara Morgan is Ready to Launch"
• MSNBC: "After 22 years, space teacher has her day"
• NPR Audio Interview: "Barbara Morgan, Teacher and Astronaut"
• ABC News: "21 years after Challenger, a teacher gets her shot"
• New York Times: "Teacher-Astronaut to Fly Decades After Challenger"
• Wikipedia: Barbara Morgan