Ohio State University
Ohio State University: Chronology of John Herschel Glenn
This resource offers a chronology of John Glenn from his birth in 1921 to the present, including important events from his early spaceflights, his political career, and his return to space on board the Space Shuttle Discovery in 1998.
Space Telescope Science Institute
Hubble Site: Hand Held Hubble
This site has an activity to make a hand-held telescope. "The Hubble Space Telescope that's orbiting Earth right now is the size of a school bus, but you can make a model of it that you can hold in your hands!"
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Open Course Ware: Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences: Solar System
A university-level course that looks at the structure of the solar system, the sun, the planets, and other bodies in space. Includes course readings, assignments, and study notes.
Other
Cometography.com: C/1995 01 (Hale Bopp)
This site provides a detailed overview of the comet C/1995 01 (Hale-Bopp), the great comet of 1997. Content includes discovery, and observational and orbit information, as well as several images.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Phases of the Moon
When we look up at the night sky, why do we see the Moon's appearance changing over time from a full sphere to a crescent to nothing at all? Find the answers in this interactive resource adapted from the National Air and Space Museum.
Space.com
Moon Facts: Fun Information About the Earth's Moon
How did the moon form? Learn the answer to this and numerous other fun facts in this article from Space.com.
Curated OER
Nasa: Space Place: Astronaut in Earth's Orbit
Picture of the Earth with an astronaut flying around in orbit.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Solar System!
An introduction to our solar system: the planets, our Sun and our Moon. Students begin by learning the history and engineering of space travel. They make simple rockets to acquire a basic understanding Newton's third law of motion. They...
NASA
Nasa: John Glenn the Hero
This site from NASA provides a detailed description of events following the successful 3 Earth orbit mission of the Friendship 7 Mercury spacecraft.
Curated OER
Nasa's the Space Place: Solar System: Pluto's Orbit
An illustration showing Pluto's and the other planet's orbits around the sun.
PBS
Nova: To the Moon
This companion website of a NOVA program that aired in 1999 features extensive information that focuses on moon research and includes a history of the Apollo missions as well as the science of the moon's origins.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Flight to Mars: How Long? Along What Path?
Demonstrate how, with the use of orbital mechanics, a space mission to Mars can be planned. Using no more than algebra, Kepler's laws and the formula for the energy of an object in a Kepler orbit, the exercise derives the time for an...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Satellite Tracker
Students use satellite tracking software available on the Internet to monitor a very large satellite, the International Space Station. Using information from this online resource, students predict and graph the motion of the space...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Get Me Off This Planet
The purpose of this lesson is to teach middle schoolers about how a spacecraft gets from the surface of the Earth to Mars. The lesson first investigates rockets and how they are able to get us into space. Finally, the nature of an orbit...
American Association of Physics Teachers
Com Padre Digital Library: Open Source Physics: Gr Classical Exploding Program
Simulation of the orbital dynamics of objects exploding near a large body in space.
Concord Consortium
Concord Consortium: Stem Resources: Launching a Satellite
Do you think you could fire an "unpowered" object into orbit? By controlling the angle and speed at which the satellite is launch, students will try to launch a satellite into space with this computer model. Activity includes questions...
A&E Television
History.com: Challenger Explosion: How Groupthink and Other Causes Led to the Tragedy
Seven lives were lost as communications failed in the face of public pressure to proceed with the launch despite dangerously cold conditions. January 28, 1986, The sun had been up for less than an hour and air temperatures were a few...
Society for Science and the Public
Science News for Students: Warm Lava on a Hot Planet
Describes scientific research into volcanic activity on the surface of Venus. Using information transmitted from the orbiting Magellan spacecraft, data is collected. Includes a glossary of vocabulary terms. [ November 8, 2010]
NASA
Nasa: Visible Earth: 3 D Data From Ice Sat
3-D Data from ICESat: Orbiting the Earth at nearly 17,000 miles per hour, NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) is collecting spectacular new three-dimensional measurements of the Earth's surface and atmosphere.
PBS
Pbs: Find the Planets
Find out how astronomers locate new planets by observing the traits of the stars they orbit. Get some tips at locating stars with the help of star maps.
The Tech Interactive
Tech Museum: The Satellite Site!
An engaging look at satellites! What they are, what they do, and how they orbit. One interactive activity is building three different types of satellites.
Read Works
Read Works: Cold Faithful
[Free Registration/Login Required] A literary text about ice geysers on Enceladus, one of the moons orbiting Saturn. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.