CLASSROOM KIT FOR TEACHERS, PARENT AND CARERS

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1 CLASSROOM KIT FOR TEACHERS, PARENT AND CARERS ABOUT THIS CHAPTER This chapter of the Principia Mission Space Diary looks at space exploration history both manned and robotic. It encourages students to think about space history and the part that they could play in future exploration as a scientist, engineer or as a space resident. Children today may well be part of the Mars Generation, who could one day live and work on other planets. It also offers students a chance to think about the role of robots in space as explorers, co-workers and as vehicles. We are so lucky this month to have Professor Stephen Hawking to introduce the concept of space exploration. This wonderful video is co-produced with Lucy Hawking and invites our young Space Apprentices to come up with ideas and designs for their own space habitats. Professor Hawking thinks we may just need these ideas some day, to find a home for humans other than Earth. Timing: Complete this chapter any time during May or early June, Number of activities: 3 Themes and STEM Linkages: Literacy, creative writing, art, technology history, science, computing, research and reporting. RUNNING THE ACTIVITIES The activities in this chapter create an opportunity for students to think about space exploration: past, present and future. Additional information for the Making History activity is available at the end of these teaching notes. If you have a museum, observatory or science centre in your area, you might like to plan an excursion. You may also wish to contact your local university or branch of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, which has ambassadors and an excellent range of online resources: A list of science centres in the UK is available at: SHARING YOUR WORK It s been exciting to read more creative writing pieces from our Space Apprentices this month, and to receive some blog posts too. A big thank you particularly to the Hillmead Primary School Gardening Club for updating us on your space adventures adventures and projects. We re excited to see what your students got up to during Science Week too. Send photos of your students work to our Space Diary Feed ( by using the hashtag #spacediary on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Just remember to only include pictures on the Mission Feed that have permission clearances from parents/guardians. QUESTIONS? Feel free to the publishing team at Curved House Kids: Kristen, Lucie or Alice. We are here to help! info@curvedhousekids.com

2 The space timeline in the diary starts at 1950 and children are invited to include the birth dates of family and friends. This provides an excellent opportunity for children to interview people about their favourite space memories, and to research different space anniversaries. You might like to discuss timeline scale with your Space Apprentices, to help them understand where to plot different dates along the timeline. You could demonstrate this by drawing a chalk timeline in your playground covering the years your students were born and asking them to stand in the spot that represents their birthdate. ACTIVITY 1: SPACE TIMELINE ADDENDUM: On the timeline, the date 2004 should read 2001, the correct date for the first official space tourist, American businessman Dennis Tito. For details of the events marked on the timeline, see page 5 of this document. QUESTIONS FOR THE CLASS What other events could be included in the timeline: first woman in space, first spacewalk, first animals in space? What do you think could happen between 2016 and 2020 in space travel? There are also some very sad events that have happened with the Columbia and Space Shuttle disasters. How have these events affected space travel? The Voyager missions each took a Golden Record to space, filled with sounds and images of Earth. What would you put on a Golden Record to explain our planet? Which other British born astronauts have visited space and when? Research Michael Foale, Nick Patrick, Richard Garriott, Piers Sellers. EXTENSION ACTIVITIES Find pictures of Pluto and the planets taken during the Voyager and New Horizons missions (see Helpful Links below). Space Apprentices can bring their timeline to life by adding pictures, quotes and mission patches to it. You might like to make a timeline on the classroom wall which all students can add to, or you can investigate and create your own interactive timeline using an app like the one available at: org/classroom-resources/mobile-apps/timeline-b html. HELPFUL LINKS AND RESOURCES Timelines of space are available at: and A short animated clip on the history of space exploration is available at: Images from the Voyager missions are available at: voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/ Images from the New Horizons mission to Jupiter and the Kuiper Belt are available at: gov/mission_pages/newhorizons/images

3 This activity encourages Space Apprentices to think about a planet to make their home. You may want to discuss things like the Goldilocks Zone and the conditions we need for successful life on another planet. Encourage students to consider things like the atmosphere on the planet, its temperatures, gravitational forces, the availability of water and the length of day and night. Students can create and draw their space city but you can also use Lego or craft materials to model a future habitat in 3D. Students might also enjoy using cartoon or drawing apps to help them imagine their city of the future, using programmes such as Startopia ( and the Kerbal Space Programme ( kerbalspaceprogram.com/en/). You might also want to revisit the information about planets in our solar system, on the Curved House Kids blog: EXTENSION ACTIVITIES ACTIVITY 2: SPACE HABITAT Watch our introductory video for this month and ask students to consider why we might need to design space habitats. Professor Stephen Hawking offers a few ideas that may provoke a conversation about our planet, the environment and how we can protect and preserve our Earth. To look at how imagination could become reality, discuss science fiction films and books such as The Martian, Star Trek, 2001 Space Odyssey. Using Google Maps Mars ( choose a location for a Martian settlement. QUESTIONS FOR THE CLASS How would you grow food on your new home? What sort of rules and laws would you want on the planet? What are the pros and cons of settling on another planet? HELPFUL LINKS AND RESOURCES Information about the further exploration of Mars is available at: Buzz Aldrin has recorded a message for our future space explorers here:

4 ACTIVITY 3: ROBOTS IN SPACE Robots are really useful in space. They can do lot of different jobs, some of which are too difficult or dangerous for humans. Here are some examples: Robonaut is a robot that will one day be used for spacewalks or extravehicular activities. The robonaut has a humanoid shape and is controlled by a human operator with a computer. Robonaut 2 or R2 flew to the ISS in R2 has hands and fingers like a human, and can perform tasks which involve a high level of dexterity. Engineers and scientists are now developing legs for R2, so that it can perform tasks inside and outside the ISS. Robotic Arms are used to help handle cargo and inspect the ISS and spacecraft for damage. The current robotic arm on the ISS is called the Canadarm 2. It is 17.6 metres long and weighs 1800kg. It can lift up to 116,000kg! It is a clever system which can relocate itself and move like an inchworm to reach different parts of the ISS. Space probes are spacecraft that can explore other planets, asteroids or comets without the need for astronauts. Controlled by humans on Earth, they provide information about temperatures, radiation, magnetic fields, what a planet s atmosphere is made of, soil composition and the presence of water. Space telescopes, like the Hubble Space Telescope have provided breathtaking images of the solar system. The Hubble Telescope will be replaced by the James Webb Space Telescope in These telescopes have helped us find out about the birth and death of stars, and the existence of exoplanets. Moon buggies are also known as Lunar Roving Vehicles (LRVs) and were used in 1971 and 1972 to extend the distance that astronauts could explore on the Moon, during the Apollo missions. Mars Rovers have been used to explore and map the red planet. There are some great links including videos set to music on There is a family of Mars rovers who have been exploring and mapping Mars. These include Spirit and Opportunity and Curiosity. Space Apprentices can follow Curiosity s adventures at: msl/ and QUESTIONS FOR THE CLASS Should robots or humans explore other planets? What would you let a robotic companion do for you? What wouldn t you let it do for you? What is your favourite type of space robot? Why? Why would you want to send a robotic probe to the distant planets, rather than humans? HELPFUL LINKS AND RESOURCES Information about robonauts: ESA information about the ISS robotic arm: Information about the exploration of Mars:

5 EXTENSION INFORMATION FOR ACTIVITY 1: MAKING HISTORY 4 October 1957: The Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I. The world s first artificial satellite was about the size of a beach ball (58cm or 22.8 inches in diameter), weighing only 83.6kg or pounds, and took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path. Each year, World Space Day is celebrated on October April 1961: Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to venture into space. Yuri said on his return: Circling the Earth in my orbital spaceship I marveled at the beauty of our planet. People of the world, let us safeguard and enhance this beauty not destroy it! Each year on April 12th, there is a celebration of this first flight and the inaugural launch of the first Space Shuttle, which happened on 12 April Astronauts on the ISS celebrate this anniversary too. You can find a range of resources at: 20 July 1969: Apollo 11 landed on the moon having launched from Cape Kennedy on July 16. Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Buzz Aldrin were the crew. On this day, an estimated 530 million people watched Armstrong s televised image and heard his voice say,...one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind. 20 August 1977: Voyager 2 launched on this date from Cape Canaveral, Florida aboard a Titan-Centaur rocket. On September 5, Voyager 1 launched. Voyager 1 and 2 explored all the giant planets of the outer solar system. Each Voyager probe contained a gold-plated copper record with sounds and images as a greeting to potential intelligent life forms and to explain Earth. Find out more about the Golden Records: 20 February 1986: The Soviet Proton launcher boosted Mir s Base Block into space. Mir means peace in Russian. Mir was the predecessor to the ISS and initiated international collaboration and joint missions. It docked with NASA s Atlantis Space Shuttle for the first time in Over its lifetime, the space station hosted 125 cosmonauts and astronauts from 12 different nations. It also became famous for some near disasters including a fire in space. 18 May 1991: At the age of 27, Helen Sharman became the first Briton in space. Helen came from Sheffield and worked as a chemist for Mars Confectionary. Helen secured her place in space in 1989 after answering an advertisement: Astronaut wanted. No experience necessary. Helen was chosen from over 13,000 applicants to join the Russian scientific space mission, Project Juno. This year (2016) also marks the 25th anniversary of Helen Sharman s visit to the Russian Space Station Mir. 31 October 2000: Expedition One became the first permanent crew to man the ISS. The crew was made up of two Russians Soyuz commander Yuri Gidzenko and flight engineer Sergei Krikalev and the American Space Station Commander Bill Shepherd. 28 April 2001: This date marked the start of space tourism, when American businessman Dennis Tito became the first private space participant and tourist to visit the ISS. Tito launched aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft thanks to a $20 million deal brokered by the American company Space Adventures. 21 June 2004: Mike Melvill made aviation history by piloting the first privately financed vehicle into space. In this year, the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act was passed in the US, bringing US civilians closer to their dreams of space travel. July 2015: The New Horizons mission launched in January 2006 but only reached Pluto in July It sent some amazing pictures of Pluto and its moons. 15 December 2015: Tim Peake launches from Baikonaur to become the first official British ESA Astronaut to visit the International Space Station.

6 - MISSION CONTROL - YOUR NOTES Brought to you by Curved House Kids

7 ABOUT THE SPACE DIARY PROJECT The Principia Mission Space Diary is a STEM-literacy project published by Curved House Kids. The content has been developed by author Lucy Hawking and publisher Kristen Harrison at Curved House Kids with research and puzzle creation from Peter McOwan at the Centre of Public Engagement, Queen Mary University of London. Ben Hawkes, illustrator extraordinaire, has brough this book to life with his wonderful illustrations. This supported learning programme runs for six months and is designed to strengthen literacy and visual literacy skills, while engaging children in STEM learning. Monthly teaching notes provide a flexible framework for teachers to develop their own lesson plans. CAN WE HELP YOU MAKE THE MOST OF THE PRINCIPIA MISSION? Is there anything we can do to help you make the most of Tim Peake s Mission? Are there improvements we can make to these teaching notes to help you plan your lessons? Please get in touch with info@curvedhousekids.com if you have any feedback, comments or need a little support with your project. We are here to help and so are the Principia team over at principia.org.uk, the ESERO UK network of Space Ambassadors and all of the other Principia Mission education projects that you will find here: From us and Astronaut Tim, thank you for being part of this historical mission. THIS PROJECT IS PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY: #spacediary