Curated OER
Jupiter and Io
In this Jupiter and Io worksheet, students use a diagram of the planet and its moon to find the dimension of the image, the width of the largest feature in the atmosphere of Jupiter, the width of the smallest feature in the atmosphere of...
Curated OER
Rover Races
Students identify the challenges encountered by astronauts in operating a planetary rover. In this space science lesson plan, students create a rover using their team members. They follow a command sequence from the driver and navigate...
National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science
Life on Mars
Through reading and discussion, aspiring astronomers consider the question of whether or not there was ever life on the planet Mars. Throughout the process, they review how scientific investigations are carried out, examine the...
Curated OER
Where Next?
Students read an article explaining NASA's possible Mars landing sites. They use the Internet to research Mars and the Module. They are able to submit their own proposals for a landing site after researching the planet.
Curated OER
My Spacecraft to Saturn
Students discover problems that NASA must deal with on a daily basis. They work together to think of solutions and sketch their own idea of a spacecraft. They discover the concept of engineering.
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
Looking to the Future
New Horizons set forth on a mission to Pluto in 2006. Ten years later, the spacecraft is still on its way. Here, enthusiastic scholars predict what they will be like—likes, dislikes, hobbies, etc.—when New Horizons arrives at its...
Curated OER
Modeling Martian Motion
Students explore the difference between stars and planets and take on the role of these objects to simulate the relative motions of Mars and the Earth around the Sun.
PBS
Invisible Force
Investigate invisible forces. Young engineers design a setup that changes the direction of a steel ball using a magnetic force. The purpose of the setup is to model the gravitational pull of spacecraft by planetary bodies.
Curated OER
Space Science: Locating Voyager 6
Sixth graders, in groups,create fact sheets about a lost space craft. Using data charts and additional compiled information, other teams of students attempt to locate the craft based on the clues given. In groups, 6th graders compile...
Curated OER
"To Terraform or Not to Terraform?"
Learners analyze an article written by an engineer at NASA proposing colonizing Mars with human explorers on the fastest track possible. They are invited to react to the article through several activities.
Curated OER
Mission Planning: Earth/Mars Comparisons
Students compare and contrast conditions on Mars to those on our own planet, specifically, their local or regional environments. The physical characteristics, the atmosphere, and other astronomical data is considered.
Curated OER
Observing Mars in the Night Sky
Students compare and contrast the orbits of Earth and Mars, locate the planet Mars, and diagram its retrograde motion.
Curated OER
Planetary Trading Cards
Students research facts about each of the nine planets and record them on Planetary Trading Cards. Students use these cards to later construct a poster that is part of their mission day. Students use a variety of resources to research...
Curated OER
Cassini gets Ready to run Rings Around Saturn
Fourth graders study an article about Saturn. In this investigative lesson students discuss the article and complete an activity that asks them what question they would pose about Saturn.
Curated OER
Creating Craters
Students explore parts of an impact crater and compare and contrast craters found in Earth, the Moon, and Mars. Crater formation is modelled and the relationship of mass, velocity, and size of the projectile to the crater formation is...
Curated OER
Paper Rockets
Students design, construct, and fly paper rockets that travel the greatest distance possible across a floor model of the solar system. They construct small flying rockets out of paper and propel them by blowing air through a straw.
Curated OER
MAPPING THE TOPOGRAPHY OF UNKNOWN SURFACES
Students describe in words and graphic displays the elevation or depression profile of sections of Mars' Olympus Mons and/or Valles Marineris. They explain how orbiting spacecraft build up global maps one data slice at a time.
Curated OER
Rocket Transportation
Students use problem solving skills to lift a load using a balloon rocket. They construct a rocket out of a balloon and use it to carry a paper clip payload.
Curated OER
FOLLOW THAT WATER
Students build simple stream tables and vary the angle of the stream tables in order to simulate different flow rates and compare the results. They observe various features formed in a stream table by flowing water and compare these to...
Teach Engineering
Come On Over Rover
Introduce your class to the steps that occur in the manufacturing of parts, the assembly, and the testing of a Mars rover. Pupils learn about fabrication techniques and tolerances in the manufacturing process.
DiscoverE
Rubber Band Rovers
Get your learners interested in space exploration. Groups design space rovers using design software and then build prototypes of their designs. The farther the rovers can travel, the better. The catch? The rovers must be powered by...
Messenger Education
Give Me a Boost—How Gravity Assists Aid Space Exploration
The propellant needed for space explorations runs in the thousands, while paying to get the craft into orbit costs millions! In the second installment of three, two activities explore laws of conservation of energy and momentum. Using...
Curated OER
Mission Planning: Geography
Students investigate the use of latitude and longitude to locate specific locations on Earth and evaluate that location as a potential landing site for researchers, terrestrial or alien space missions.
Curated OER
Rover Races
Students simulate driving a rover on the surface of Mars. For this space science lesson, students identify the challenges experienced by astronauts in operating a vehicle. They recommend some changes to make their 'rover' better.