Process
1. You will be divided into teams of 5. Each team will have a Commander, Pilot, 2 Mission Specialists, and an Educator Astronaut.
2. Each of you will have the same topics to research and you will keep a journal in which to record your findings. Please title and number your pages. Remember, your launch is 5 days from now. This means you have one week to complete your research.
Your topics for research are as follows:
a. How will you as Astronauts prepare for your mission?
b. How will you get to the Moon? How does the Space Shuttle work?
c. What do you know about your destination (the Moon)? What are some of the characteristics of the Moon? Explain the relationship between the Sun, Earth, and the Moon. Include drawings that support your findings.
d. How will you get back to Earth?
3. Upon arrival back to Earth, you will give all data (journal) to your teacher for review and begin preparations for the Mission Conference.
4. Your team members will hold a conference with other Astronaut teams to discuss and share your findings. Your assignments are as follows: Commander- Explain & discuss how your Astronauts prepared for the mission. Pilot- Explain & discuss how the Space Shuttle works and what it is like on the day of launch. Mission Specialists- Explain the relationship between the Sun, Earth, and Moon. Also, give us specific details about the characteristics of the moon. Educator Astronaut- Discuss why you believe your mission and research is important to the classroom. Commander- Discuss how the Space Shuttle got you back to Earth. You may use posters to illustrate your data as well as photos. Your instructor will give you the date and time of your conference.
5. Because of the great publicity of this mission, each of you will create an article explaining why Space Exploration is important. Your articles will be put together to create the very first edition of "Shoot for the Moon" magazine. Your article must be ready for publishing within 48 hours of your Mission Conference and it must be typed. This will be your last project of the mission.
Use the following websites to begin your research.
Preparation
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/k-4/features/F_All_About_Astronauts.html
http://edspace.nasa.gov/astroschool/survival/
http://www1.edspace.nasa.gov/astromeet/astrolog/
http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/toc.asp?s=Shuttle
http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/system/system_STS.html
http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/academy/rocket_sci/launch/commit/weather.html
Your Destination:
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Moon&Display=OverviewLong
http://www.nasm.si.edu/events/apollo30th/moontheater/phases.html
http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/moon_phases/
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/educators/teachers_moon_images.shtml
Have a great Mission!
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/video/shuttle/sts-114/qtime/fd01_sts114_launch.mov
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/video/shuttle/sts-114/qtime/sts114fd1_fdh_a.mov
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/video/shuttle/sts-105/qtime/sts105landing.mov