Blackboard Congratulates NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Mars Perseverance Landing

RESTON, Va., Feb. 18, 2021 -- On Thursday, Blackboard Inc., a leading global EdTech software and solutions company, saluted the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) on the successful landing of the Perseverance rover on Mars. The rover touched down after a six month, 125 million mile journey from Earth.

The JPL Mars team uses Blackboard Learn SaaS to create and deliver training activities for multi-disciplinary teams. Those learning interactions span from On-the-Job Training (OJT) and Subject Matter Expert (SME) communities of interest to courseware on how to "drive" the rover on the Martian surface.

The partnership began in 2017 when JPL implemented Blackboard's leading learning management system (LMS), Blackboard Learn, to deliver learning activities. JPL built a comprehensive online learning ecosystem where Blackboard Learn serves as a platform for structured knowledge exchange in an asynchronous environment. The Laboratory has established role-based communities of practice within Blackboard's LMS, where senior technical experts serve as mentors and exchange ideas with colleagues who share a common area of technical expertise.

"Blackboard is humbled to support these amazing achievements by NASA," said Bryna Dash, Vice President of North America Government at Blackboard. "We cannot wait to see what NASA is able to discover about Mars, and then teach others through their incredibly strong learning programs."