Subaru launches kids into space program again

Giving back to the communities where they do business is a big part of the culture at Subaru of America. For the past two years, Subaru has been a partner to the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) and helped support many communities and innovative students across the country. Subaru is investing in the scientists, astronauts and engineers of tomorrow by their involvement with SSEP. They are continuing to give by renewing another two year commitment to the program.
 
Through the partnership, Subaru will donate $50,000 to SSEP to support schools across the country that are in need of funding to participate in this education initiative. For the past two years, Subaru has made it possible for nine middle schools to participate in the SSEP. Because of Subaru’s commitment to the program, more than 3,000 students have engaged in and nearly 750 student team proposals were submitted over the past two years.
 
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Subaru’s giving is inspiring the next generation of scientists, astronauts and engineers in the U.S. Sandra Capell, philanthropy and corporate responsibility manager, Subaru of America, Inc. said, “At Subaru, we encourage innovation and believe that engaging students in unique learning opportunities, such as the SSEP, are important in helping to prepare and inspire the next generation of leaders.”
 
How does the program work?
 
Student teams across the community submit formal research proposals, which go through a two-step proposal review process to select a flight experiment for the community. The student’s research mirrors how professional research is done by competing with their student teams vying to fly in low Earth orbit in a real research mini-laboratory reserved just for their community.

The local Flight Experiment Design Competition runs a minimum of nine weeks and typically gives 300 or more students across a community the ability to design and propose real experiments to fly in low Earth orbit, first aboard the final flights of the Space Shuttle, and then on the International Space Station.

Subaru’s involvement in communities is not new for the automaker. They also give to four national programs through the Share the Love campaign and they are involved in over 600 local charities through their dealer network. To learn more about how they help students through the SSEP, check out their website here.