Make a Mission

Beginning with general information on satellites and seasons, concluding with polar ice and the Cryosat Mission, this worksheet gives your earth scientists an opportunity to conduct some research. Most of the assignment consists of short...

New Horizons began its journey to Pluto in 2006. Ten years later, it continues its mission. In that time, scholars have surely grown, but how much more will they grow by the time New Horizons reaches its destination? Find out with an...

The first remote sensors were people in hot air balloons taking photographs of Earth to make maps. Expose middle school learners to space exploration with the use of remote sensing. Groups explore and make observations of a new planet by...

An astronaut's spacesuit weighs 280 pounds and takes 45 minutes to put on — that's a serious suit! The second activity of a three-part series allows pupils to see all that goes into space exploration. Through simulations, groups analyze...

Teams construct rockets to carry out predetermined missions using different rocket-building techniques. Groups develop the mission specifications and rocket design plans for approval prior to construction. Teams launch similar missions...

NASA's LCROSS mission is dropping a probe into a lunar crater. Groups design a system to travel down a zip line and drop a marble onto a target in the classroom. The groups then modify their designs based upon testing. 

What's it like to be a deep-sea explorer? Tap into the imaginations of your fifth and sixth graders with a vivid instructional activity, the second part of a six-part adventure. Learners close their eyes and submerge themselves in an...

Physics fanatics will shriek over this monster-themed construction application! They design an invention with the intention of competing one of 50 missions and test it out with real physics applications. 

To go or to not to go — the question for a mission to Mars. This resource provides details for a possible manned mission to Mars. Details include a launch schedule, what life would be like on the surface, and how the astronauts would...

Students role-play a satellite recovery mission. They explain and appreciate the complexity and planning involved in carrying out a shuttle mission.