“We could probably go to Mars.”

At the start of his teaching career, Javier Montiel made that statement. His goal was to create space science lessons to spark his students’ interest.

But he had no idea he was embarking on a career odyssey.

Today, Javier is a multiple-award-winning global educator who designs lessons for NASA. A bilingual education professional, he is the Co-Founder of Houston-based International Aerospace Academy. His mission is to empower students–and communities–through world-class hands-on experiences.

And the students he inspires include those in Texas’ Brazosport Independent School District. where he teaches, in Latin America, and worldwide.

Virtual reality, XR and 3D printing are just three of the means Javier uses to engage students in learning.

In 2021, Javier and his International Aerospace Academy team implemented the NASA SPARX pilot program, in collaboration with nonprofit Aviation Youth Mentoring Program. With three hundred students from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Colombia and the U.S. working remotely, this was the only version of this initiative to involve students both in the United States and internationally.

Students collaborated on projects based on NASA’s Artemis program, creating space habitats and developing robots in XR. Their work involved sketching, design and programming, plus working with mentors from NASA and Cuernavaca’s Tecnológico de Monterrey campus.

Javier’s work as a twenty-first century global education innovator continues, with new initiatives to involve larger numbers of students in Latin American countries and elsewhere in the very near future. Meanwhile, he invites educators, parents and students from around the world to get a look at the frameworks which International Aerospace Academy offers, for developing their own innovative programs!

Javier talked about the catalyst for his career as an innovator, shared the story of his work with NASA and offered a look at International Aerospace Academy’s current programs.

• How a student’s chance remark led Javier to begin creating hands-on education innovations;
  

• His early experiences, developing lessons for NASA;
  

• How he began developing educational materials for international students;
  

• A fun story about the differences in the ways Japanese students approached lessons on space, during their first visit to the U.S., as opposed to their American counterparts;
  

• How Javier and his teacher team came to implement the NASA SPARX program in different countries outside of the United States;
  

• A look at students’ robotic creations in XR;
  

• How Javier first became involved in using VR in education;
  

• One student’s ingenious creation, starting from scratch with the XR robot design;
  

• A closer look at the NASA SPARX program and what may be coming;
  

• One of the most important lessons which Javier considers that he learned from the NASA SPARX program;
  

• How you can support (and get involved with) the International Aerospace Academy!;
  

• Some good “failures” that helped students in the NASA SPARX program learn;
  

• What the NASA SPARX program could mean for arts students.