This collection of activities is based on a weekly series of space science problems distributed to thousands of teachers during the 2009-2010 school year. They were intended for students looking for additional challenges in the math and physical science curriculum in grades 9 through 12. The problems were created to be authentic glimpses of modern science and engineering issues, often involving actual research data. The problems were designed to be ‘one-pagers’ with a Teacher’s Guide and Answer Key as a second page. This compact form was deemed very popular by participating teachers.

In this unit, students study the rovers Spirit and Opportunity and their remarkable missions to Mars. Through a combination of reading, analyzing images and photographs, and participating in engineering and design labs, students will begin to understand the complexity, preparation, and diligence involved in space missions. Students will grapple with why the engineering and design process, particularly continually planning, trying, and evaluating, is a crucial part of a successful mission. This unit also allows students to make connections between content learned in math and content learned in previous science units, solidifying the importance and value of STEM. It is our hope that this unit inspires students to explore engineering and STEM not only in space but in the world around them.

In this unit, students build their skills in consuming scientific and technical texts. Students will practice explaining the connection between two or more scientific ideas or concepts in a text. Additionally, students will be challenged to draw on and integrate information from two or more texts in order to describe a scientific idea, concept, or process in depth. This unit also continues the study of point of view and analyzing how the point of view influences what and how information is presented to a reader. The Mighty Mars Rover is written to captivate and engage a reader, while the NASA press releases are written to inform the public of the progress and findings of the Mars rover missions. Students will be challenged to compare and contrast the point of view of each text and the strategies each author uses based on the point of view and desired audience. Since this is the culminating unit of the course, all other informational standards will be spiraled throughout the unit.

MWM President Phyllis Wilson sits down with Lt. Gen. Susan Helms, USAF (Ret.). Not only did Helms serve in the U.S. Air Force, but she was also a NASA astronaut. She has been to space five times for a total of 211 days. She graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1980 and became a weapons separation engineer and test pilot before joining NASA. She returned to the Air Force in 2002 to work at the HQ USAF Space Command. Helms also served as the 45th Space Wing Commander. While with NASA, she flew aboard the Space Shuttles Endeavor, Discovery, Columbia and Atlantis, and served aboard the International Space Station. She held the world record for longest space walk at 8 hours and 56 minutes.Staying true to our mission, HERstory programming explores the lived experiences of women veterans throughout American history. HERstory is a program where women veterans share their stories in video chats with President Wilson.We are the leading memorial and education center honoring women’s contributions to the service of our nation.   As the only historical repository documenting all military women’s service, we educate and inspire through innovative and interactive exhibitions, our world-class collections, and engaging programs and events for all generations. We honor the commitment, contributions and experiences of every woman who serves in, or with, the Armed Forces.

Jasmin Moghbeli is a Marine Corps aviator and an astronaut. As a 2020 graduate of NASA’s Astronaut Candidate Training Program, she is eligible to be the first woman on the moon as part of the Artemis Program. The HERstory Spotlight Series takes a look at stories from both our Register, an interactive online database of military women, and our world class collection. The Military Women’s Memorial, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the only historical repository documenting all military women’s service. It is located at the ceremonial entrance to Arlington National Cemetery and features an education center, interactive exhibitions, a world-class collection of military women’s stories, and engaging programs and events for all generations. Find out more about us at www.womensmemorial.org.

During the height of the Space Race, Air Force Col. Pearl E. Tucker led a course in aerospace nursing. To understand spaceflight and to be prepared to render medical aid, the aerospace nurses underwent much of the same training as astronauts. The nurses paved the way for women to have increasingly integral roles in space exploration in later years.The Military Women’s Memorial, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the only historical repository documenting all military women’s service. It is located at the ceremonial entrance to Arlington National Cemetery and features an education center, interactive exhibitions, a world-class collection of military women’s stories, and engaging programs and events for all generations. Find out more about us at www.womensmemorial.org.

Video description:  Join NASA to learn more about solar eclipses, especially the awe-inspiring phenomenon of total eclipses. Find out about the unique geometry and the distances and sizes of the sun and moon as seen from Earth that allow us to witness the sun's corona or actually be in the path of totality.  Video length:  7:15. NASA eClipsTM is a suite of online student-centered, standards-based resources that support instruction by increasing STEM literacy in formal and nonformal settings.  These free digital and downloadable resources inform and engage students through NASA-inspired, real-world connections.NASA eClips Launchpad videos focus on NASA innovations and the technology that take us into the future.  These segments support project-based and problem-based learning experiences in science, mathematics, and career and technical education classrooms.

Video Description:  Learn about the global cooperation to build the International Space Station, or ISS. Use a simple scale model to demonstrate the amazing mathematical relationship between the Earth and moon and see how the low-Earth orbit of ISS compares.  Video Length:  5:57.NASA eClipsTM is a suite of online student-centered, standards-based resources that support instruction by increasing STEM literacy in formal and nonformal settings.  These free digital and downloadable resources inform and engage students through NASA-inspired, real-world connections.NASA eClips Our World videos (grades 3-5) help students understand the differences between science (the natural world) and engineering (the designed world).  These video segments supplement elementary learning objectives not only in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, but also in reading, writing, visual and performing arts.

Video Description:  Satellites are expensive to build and expensive to get into space. With all the changes in technology, is there a way to make satellites smaller? Find out just what NASA can pack into a 1U CubeSat, a satellite small enough to fit in your hand.  Video Description:  3:24.NASA eClipsTM is a suite of online student-centered, standards-based resources that support instruction by increasing STEM literacy in formal and nonformal settings.  These free digital and downloadable resources inform and engage students through NASA-inspired, real-world connections.NASA eClips Real World segments (grades 6-8) connect classroom mathematics to 21st Century careers and innovations.  They are designed for students to develop an appreciation for mathematics through real-world problem solving.   

Video Description:  CubeSats are changing the way we collect information. They may be small, but these little satellites are helping us answer big questions. And using a swarm of CubeSats can give us simultaneous measurements without repeatedly sending commands to the satellite to tell it what to do.Video Length:  2:21.NASA eClipsTM is a suite of online student-centered, standards-based resources that support instruction by increasing STEM literacy in formal and nonformal settings.  These free digital and downloadable resources inform and engage students through NASA-inspired, real-world connections.NASA eClips Real World segments (grades 6-8) connect classroom mathematics to 21st Century careers and innovations.  They are designed for students to develop an appreciation for mathematics through real-world problem solving.

Video Description:  Have you ever wondered what living in space would do to your body? In this Real World video, learn how NASA scientists study cells on Earth to learn how to protect astronauts from radiation during space flights. Dr. Egle Cekanaviciute describes changes in cells and cell organelles. She also compares quantitative and qualitative data and demonstrates how to calculate the percentage of mutated cells.  Video length: 6:35.NASA eClipsTM is a suite of online student-centered, standards-based resources that support instruction by increasing STEM literacy in formal and nonformal settings.  These free digital and downloadable resources inform and engage students through NASA-inspired, real-world connections.NASA eClips Real World segments (grades 6-8) connect classroom mathematics to 21st Century careers and innovations.  They are designed for students to develop an appreciation for mathematics through real-world problem solving.

This program examines the contributions of American servicewomen to the Space Race. From the late 1950s through the 1960s, the United States engaged in the Space Race against the Soviet Union, each trying to become the first country to put a man on the moon. Early American astronauts were all men with a military background. NASA decided not to allow women to become astronauts during this period. Although they were excluded from space flight, women contributed to the Space Race in supporting roles, including Aerospace Nursing.

This lesson is part of the Virginia K-12 Computer Science Pipeline which is partly funded through a GO Virginia grant in partnership with Chesapeake Public Schools, Loudoun County Public Schools, and the Loudoun Education Foundation.  During this lesson, students will create a timeline of space exploration.  

This collection of activities is based on a weekly series of space science mathematics problems distributed during the 2012-2013 school year. They were intended for students looking for additional challenges in the math and physical science curriculum in grades 5 through 12. The problems were created to be authentic glimpses of modern science and engineering issues, often involving actual research data. The problems were designed to be one-pagers with a Teacher’s Guide and Answer Key as a second page.

While 4th grade students are learning about space, this is a great resource to enhance students’ understanding of the solar system.

Lesson Length: 1-2 hoursGrade Level: 6-8Students learn about relationships between earth and space including elements of our solar system, gravity, escape velocity, and space exploration though a breakout box experience. They solve clues about space and conditions needed to support life on a planet and perform tests related to space travel. Clues for opening locks on the breakout box are purposefully challenging to simulate the struggle engineers often grapple with when problem solving.This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1657263. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.