Author: Domina Stamas (@edunautDom) and Robert Barnum (@engi_bob) Date: 8/3/2025

Abstract#

The Analog Crew Education (ACE) Project is a first-of-its-kind global education initiative that brings space missions into classrooms. Through partnerships with analog space missions—simulations of lunar and Martian environments—students around the world design real science experiments and follow along in real time. We’re inviting MoonDAO to help us expand access and visibility by supporting branded merchandise for students and teachers and covering small administrative costs for our first collaborative mission.

Problem#

The International Space Station has long been a powerful tool to engage students in STEM, but with its decommissioning on the horizon and the Artemis missions still years away, classrooms risk losing a tangible connection to space exploration. Most K–12 students, especially in under-resourced or non-Western classrooms, don’t see a pathway to space careers—let alone feel like they belong in those futures.

Solution#

The ACE Project bridges this engagement gap through analog space missions, where astronauts simulate living and working on the Moon or Mars. In our first year, we’ve connected 36 educators across 11 countries and over 3,000 students to these missions. Students are running real-time experiments that mirror what’s happening in analog habitats—bringing science, space, and engineering to life.

We are proposing MoonDAO support in the form of:

• ACE -branded merchandise (patches, stickers, shirts, etc.) for students and educators around the world.
• Modest administrative costs to help manage logistics for our inaugural collaboration with the World’s Biggest Analog Mission (WBA).

While Domina Stamas will be the only educator on the WBA analog crew, this mission will anchor a much larger, parallel education program. The merchandise will showcase MoonDAO’s commitment to community-driven, inclusive space exploration while reaching classrooms across the globe.

Data will be collected throughout the mission and presented at major education conferences (NSTA, etc.) to inform future programming and build a long-term case for analog education pipelines.

Benefits#

• Global visibility for MoonDAO in K–12 and higher education communities.
• Strengthens MoonDAO’s public outreach and inclusion mission by supporting 3,000+ students from 11 countries.
• MoonDAO logo will be featured in social media, classroom activities, press, and educational outreach materials.
• Fills a major gap in space science engagement during the ISS–Artemis transition years.
• Potential to grow into a scalable, MoonDAO-supported educational pipeline that connects to future Moon analogs and even lunar.

Risks#

• Logistics complexity: Coordinating materials globally can be challenging. We are minimizing this by using print-on-demand services where possible and partnering with educators who have local infrastructure.
• Sustainability: This is a pilot effort. Long-term scaling will require future partnerships or funding. However, we are collecting data to support future grant and DAO funding opportunities.
• Branding risk: To mitigate potential confusion, we will make clear this is a MoonDAO-supported initiative and not run by MoonDAO.

Objectives#

Objective #1: Support and elevate the inaugural ACE Project mission by engaging 3,000+ students through branded MoonDAO materials and educator support.

Key Results for Objective #1:

1. Distribute MoonDAO-branded merchandise to educators in at least 10 countries.
2. Reach a minimum of 3,000 students participating in the ACE Project.
3. Document and share at least 50 pieces of student-created content (photos, posts, videos, classroom experiments).
4. Present findings from this mission at a minimum of one major science education conference (e.g., NSTA) and one web-based community platform (e.g., Discord, YouTube, or X/Twitter Space).

Member(s) responsible for OKR and their role:

Team (Table A)#

Timeline (Table B)#

Deadline for the project: End of Q3.

Budget (Table C)#

Transactions (Table D)#