Innovation Toolkit

Free Online Courses

The NASA Psyche Mission Innovation Toolkit includes a series of free online courses based on the real-world challenges and skills associated with the Psyche mission’s science, engineering, technology, and teamwork. Courses will be developed throughout the life of the mission.

Course 1: The Process and Lifetime of a Space Mission

A space mission encompasses so much more than reaching a destination and sending back discoveries! The Process and Lifetime of a Space Mission course shares the story of a team creating a NASA robotic space mission. As a participant in this course, you will learn about and practice elements of the process and lifetime of a space mission, from idea to flight. Aspects of the preparation and submission of a proposal, team-building, design, construction, modeling, testing, launching, tracking, and data collection and analysis processes will be covered.

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Course 2: Inclusive Mindset: Tools for Building Positive Team Culture

Organizations, universities, and businesses (and missions!) benefit most when people work together smoothly as a team. An inclusive mindset, collaborative team culture, teamwork, and positive communication are among the skills such organizations value most to achieve their goals. In this course, you will learn about team culture, strategies for working as part of a diverse team, and techniques for developing a positive, collaborative inclusive mindset.

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Course 3: Countless Worlds in our Solar System: Asteroids, Comets, and Meteorites (Coming Soon)

Our solar system is made up of much more than the Sun and the major planets and their moons. Other small objects, including asteroids and comets, along with the pieces of them that have fallen to the Earth as meteorites, provide important insights into the formation of our solar system. In this course you will learn about these objects’ origin, categorization, composition, location, and features, along with their importance to understanding the history of the solar system. In addition, you will explore NASA missions, as well as jobs and even hobbies, that gather information about these objects.

Course 4: Strategies for Troubleshooting Problems in Everyday Life and Work (Coming Soon)

Troubleshooting is a type of problem-solving skill needed by everyone, from students programming a toy robot to families at home trying to get their garage door to open to NASA engineers tracking down why their spacecraft has stopped sending data to Earth. If you have ever tried figuring out why something is not behaving as it should (why won’t my lamp turn on?), you have had a troubleshooting experience! In this course, you will learn about the five global troubleshooting strategies and explore how to choose and use the best strategy for different kinds of problems you face.