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Space Exploration Lesson Plans (16 results)

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A Roundabout Way to Mars
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Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-8th
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Students explore orbit transfers and, specifically, Hohmann transfers. They investigate the orbits of Earth and Mars by using cardboard and string. Students learn about the planets' orbits around the sun, and about a transfer orbit from one planet to the other. After the activity, students will know exactly what is meant by a delta-v maneuver!Engineering Connection Aerospace engineers must be creative when planning the best routes and methods to send a spacecraft from Earth… Read more
NGSS Performance Expectations:
  • MS-ESS1-2. Develop and use a model to describe the role of gravity in the motions within galaxies and the solar system.
Satellite Shield
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Lesson Plan Grade: 4th-7th
Learners explore the properties of materials by designing a barrier that will protect a satellite from colliding objects. They test out multiple combinations of materials and collect data on the results to determine which materials are the most effective at shielding the satellites from the hazards of space debris. Learning Objectives Students will: Design a barrier that can protect the satellite from high-velocity impacts with space debris. Explore design considerations based on… Read more
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Wind Maze
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Lesson Plan Grade: 4th-12th
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Students will explore the elements by designing a wind maze, a device that can direct the wind along a specific path. Learning Objectives Students will: Design and test a wind maze. Consider how to direct the wind down an intended path by creating bends in the maze. Use observations from their tests to compare solutions and iterate on their designs. NGSS Alignment This lesson helps students prepare for these Next Generation Science Standards Performance Expectations: … Read more
Slingshot to the Outer Planets
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Lesson Plan Grade: 3rd-5th
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Students are introduced to the engineering challenges involved with interplanetary space travel. In particular, they learn about the gravity assist or "slingshot" maneuver often used by engineers to send spacecraft to the outer planets. Using magnets and ball bearings to simulate a planetary flyby, students investigate what factors influence the deflection angle of a gravity assist maneuver. Read more
NGSS Performance Expectations:
  • 3-PS2-2. Make observations and/or measurements of an object's motion to provide evidence that a pattern can be used to predict future motion. (Grade 3)
  • 4-PS3-1. Use evidence to construct an explanation relating the speed of an object to the energy of that object. (Grade 4)
Solar Sails: The Future of Space Travel
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Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-8th
Working as if they were engineers, students design and construct model solar sails made of aluminum foil to move cardboard tube satellites through "space" on a string. Working in teams, they follow the engineering design thinking steps—ask, research, imagine, plan, create, test, improve—to design and test small-scale solar sails for satellites and space probes. During the process, learn about Newton's laws of motion and the transfer of energy from wave energy to… Read more
NGSS Performance Expectations:
  • MS-ETS1-4. Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.
  • MS-PS2-2. Plan an investigation to provide evidence that the change in an object's motion depends on the sum of the forces on the object and the mass of the object.
  • MS-PS2-1.. Apply Newton's Third Law to design a solution to a problem involving the motion of two colliding objects.
The Great Gravity Escape
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Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-8th
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Students use water balloons and a length of string to understand how the force of gravity between two objects and the velocity of a spacecraft can balance to form an orbit. They see that when the velocity becomes too great for gravity to hold the spacecraft in orbit, the object escapes the orbit and travels further away from the planet.Engineering Connection Engineers and scientists make amazingly precise calculations so that a spacecraft's journey is timed exactly to reach… Read more
NGSS Performance Expectations:
  • MS-ESS1-2. Develop and use a model to describe the role of gravity in the motions within galaxies and the solar system.
We Have Liftoff
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Lesson Plan Grade: 9th-12th
Building on an introduction to statics, dynamics free-body diagrams, combustion and thermodynamics provided by the associated lesson, students design, construct and test their own rocket engines using sugar and potassium nitrate—an opportunity to apply their knowledge of stoichiometry. This activity helps students understand that the energy required to launch a rocket comes from the chemical energy stored in the rocket fuel. The performance of each engine is tested… Read more
NGSS Performance Expectations:
  • HS-PS3-3. Design, build, and refine a device that works within given constraints to convert one form of energy into another form of energy.
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