Space & The Scientific Method

About Leland Melvin

As a former NASA astronaut, Leland Melvin has twice flown on the space shuttle Atlantis to the International Space station, where he helped to install the station’s Columbus Laboratory. He credits his NASA career to his childhood fascination with science, both formally in the classroom and informally as he tinkered with skateboards to make them faster and family vehicles to customize them for family vacations. After returning to earth, he served as NASA’s Associate Administrator for Education, and continues to teach students about STEM, spaceflight, and perseverance as a teacher for the Varsity Tutors StarCourse series.

About the class

We all know that Jupiter is the biggest planet in our solar system and that Mars is the one humans can most likely visit. But how do we know that? And how have we figured out how to launch rockets, survive on space stations, and deflect oncoming asteroids? Join former astronaut Leland Melvin for an interactive investigation of the science behind space exploration (and earth exploration, too). Together, you’ll break down the lessons behind some of the space program’s greatest discoveries and achievements, and you’ll learn how to employ the scientific method to make great discoveries and inventions of your own.

This class is one of many missions in astronaut Leland Melvin’s STEAM Innovation program free for Varsity Tutors Learning Members as they learn to become scientists, inventors, and innovators.