Planetary Resources and Content Heroes (ReaCH)
The Planetary Resources and Content Heroes (ReaCH) team seeks to enhance the ability of the planetary science and astrobiology (PS/AB) community, aka “Content Heroes,” to engage Black and Latinx youth and their families. The ReaCH team has initiated a series of workshops titled Culturally Inclusive Planetary Engagement at multiple locations across the country. In addition to planetary scientists and astrobiologists, NASA Science Activation teams and informal educators who serve diverse communities are invited to participate in these workshops. The design of these workshops is informed by needs assessments of the PS/AB community and informal educators, research literature, lived experiences of ReaCH team members and workshop participants, and iterative, formative evaluation of workshops.
Throughout the workshop, participants 1) share and discuss evidence-based and lived-experience-based practices for engaging with Black and Latinx communities and 2) discuss and practice strategies for promoting equity and inclusivity in public engagement settings. Following each workshop, a public engagement event is held in partnership with, and at, a local organization serving Black and/or Latinx youth. These events give participants the opportunity to utilize engagement practices discussed in the workshop. Stipends are available for those able to accept them.
Workshop Info Get Email Updates ReaCH Resources News
Possible locations for Culturally Inclusive Planetary Engagement workshops (red dots). Locations are near concentrations of planetary research facilities (gray dots) and/or Latinx/Black communities (blue triangles/green squares). Black/Latinx community locales shown here have the highest populations based on 2010 census data. Yellow dots mark the locations of 2022 pilot workshops.
Latinx Communities
Black Communities
Planetary Research Center
Workshop Pilot Locations (2022)
Potential Workshop Location (2023–2025)
The Planetary ReaCH Team
Kevi Duty
Co-Investigator
Texas Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs
Jeanette King
External Evaluator
McREL International
(She/Her/Hers)
Dylan Kriescher
External Evaluator
McREL International
(He/They)
Dr. Kathleen Schenkel
DEIA Consultant
San Diego State University
Susan Shebby
External Evaluator
McREL International
(She/Her/Hers)
Collaborations and Support
- ASTRO CAMP Community Partners Program
- InSight mission to Mars
- Juno mission to Jupiter
- Lucy mission to Trojan Asteroids
- MAVEN mission to Mars
- NASA Eyes on the Solar System
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Solar System Exploration Division
- NASA Johnson Space Center Astromaterials Research & Exploration Science Division
- NASA Solar System Ambassadors
- NASA Solar System Treks
- NASA Space Place
- NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institutes (SSERVI)
- National Institute of Aerospace: eClips
- Outer Planets Assessment Group
- Planetary Learning that Advances the Nexus of Engineering, Technology, and Science (PLANETS)
- Small Bodies Assessment Group
The Planetary Resources and Content Heroes (ReaCH) project is based upon work supported by the NASA Science Activation (SciAct) program under cooperative agreement award number 80NSSC21M0003. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
