Barbara Morgan, Educator in Space
Teacher Barbara R. Morgan began her association with NASA more than 20 years ago, when she served as the backup candidate to Christa McAuliffe for the Teacher in Space Program. She trained alongside McAuliffe and the Challenger crew, and when McAuliffe and the rest of the crew perished in the Challenger accident, she assumed the duties of Teacher in Space Designee.
In 1998, Morgan was selected as a mission specialist by NASA and began her training to become a full-fledged astronaut. The Educator Astronaut Project seeks to share the excitement and wonder of spaceflight with students and educators, but Morgan's primary duty is the same as it is for the entire crew: accomplish the planned objectives of the station assembly mission.
Many things about her upcoming space mission excite Barbara Morgan, but the mission's connection with education and children excites her most of all. "I can't think of anything more important to all of us than our kids and their future," she said. "And to me, space exploration is all about open-ended, never-ending opportunities for our young people. That's what my motivation has been, to help keep the world of opportunities open for our kids."
