Adventures in Aerospace: Lesson 5 Volunteer’s Guide
Key to Curriculum Formatting:
► Volunteer Directions ■ Volunteer Notes
♦ Volunteer-led Classroom Experiments
Lesson 5: YOU’RE GOING TO THE SPACE STATION! ► Begin the presentation by telling the class that this is “Lesson 5: You’re Going to the Space Station!” If this is not your first visit, reintroduce yourself and the program. Briefly review key concepts from the first 4 lessons. If this is your first visit, here is a suggested personal introduction: “Hello, my name is , and I am a (position title) at Aerojet. Today I will speak to you about space exploration and space travel. We will learn about the planet Mars, past missions to Mars, and future missions to Mars!” ► Answer any questions left over from the previous visit.
► Introduce today's topic. Ask the students if any of them would like to visit the Space Station. Tell them that many from their generation will get that chance!
MATERIALS NEEDED
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• AiA Multimedia Presentation (AMP)
• DVD-ROM
• TV or projection screen
• Vocabulary List
• Index Cards ► See lesson to assess total equipment needs.
LESSON OUTLINE Introduction Lesson Concepts Vocabulary ISS: Science and Culture Collide • The ISS Training for Your Mission Lift Off! Why Are We Going? Your Role in the ISS Fitness First
INTRODUCTION
The International Space Station (ISS) is hailed as the largest scientific project in history, its success the result of the collaboration of 16 nations from around the world! The research conducted on the Space Station is among the most cutting edge and important research going on today. In this unit, students will explore many questions related to the ISS. What kind of training must astronauts endure and what happens when they get back to Earth? How will the ISS impact the success of future generations?
LESSON CONCEPTS
• Life in space
• Microgravity research
VOCABULARY Astronaut: A person who trains for space flight Engineer: A person trained to design, construct, and operate mechanical or electrical
Page 2 of 12 Adventures in Aerospace: Lesson 5 Volunteer’s Guide instruments Environment: The air, water, minerals, organisms and all other interconnected things in a particular place Observation: The act of gathering information by watching or by remote sensing Pulse: A heart beat Ration: A fixed amount of food or water when the supply is limited Recycle: To treat material so that it can be used again Solar panel: A device that changes sunlight into electricity; made of solar cells Space shuttle: A reusable spacecraft used to place people and satellites in earth orbit and to conduct experiments Space station: A manned structure that orbits the Earth and is used for a variety of purposes, especially research Space suit: A sealed and pressurized suit designed to allow astronauts to leave a pressurized spacecraft Weightless: Being without weight, as an object in freefall or orbit Freefall: when an object is falling without being stopped or slowed down, if its surroundings are also falling at the same rate, the object appears to float. This occurs on a spacecraft in orbit Pressurize: To raise the atmospheric pressure to the desired level in a closed area, such as a space suit
ISS: SCIENCE AND CULTURE COLLIDE Many nations around the world contribute to the success of the ISS. In fact, it is the largest, non- military program in history. The countries that contribute time, money, astronauts, engineers, and other support staff to the ISS include:
• United States • Brazil • Canada
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• Japan • States of the European Space Agency, including: o Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Russia
► Show video clips of the ISS. Discuss the information below while viewing associated video resources.
What is the result of all of this international collaboration? Below are some facts about the International Space Station:
The ISS …is lead by the United States.
…has 6 state-of-the-art laboratories, including Destiny and Zarya.
…includes living quarters, called Zvezda, which will eventually be as large as the inside of a jumbo jet!
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…generates sunlight into electricity using four giant solar panels.
…will be the largest structure that has ever orbited earth.
…will be as large as a football field!
…when complete, will have a mass of approximately 1,040,000 pounds.
…will be home to 6 or 7 astronauts.
TRAINING FOR YOUR MISSION Since November 2002, there have been astronauts living on the ISS. Crews of two or three astronauts stay aboard the station for up to 6 months.
Could you imagine sharing a very small space with strangers from another country? That is exactly what astronauts do on the International Space Station! The team learns to live and work together on the ISS. The work that they do has the potential to impact humankind for years to come.
► Mark off an area in the classroom the size of the Destiny laboratory. Have three student volunteers move around and "work" in the lab. Discuss the things astronauts do in the station. (See below.)
♦ What kinds of things do astronauts do to normalize their lives on the Space Station? Which of the following activities do you think are real? • Email family and friends (T) • Videoconference with people on Earth (T)
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• Get mail from loved ones (T) • Get visitors every once and a while (T) • Watch cartoons (T) • Take naps (T) • Divvy up “household” chores (T)
Sound much different from your own life? Maybe not. But the ISS astronauts are doing these activities (plus their scientific research) more than 200 miles up in the air!
To give you an example, the highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest, is approximately 5 miles high. When you see airplanes, you are looking at an object no more than seven or eight miles in the air! Undoubtedly, the astronauts face many challenges from their environment.
LIFTOFF! How much power would the ISS need to get off of the ground? Imagine 450 tons of material launching into the air all at once!
In reality, the first pieces of the Space Station were launched in 1998. Since then, piece-by-piece, the ISS has been built in Earth’s orbit!
WHY ARE WE GOING? YOUR ROLE ON THE ISS The International Space Station is a major research tool for various areas of science. Use the following information to stimulate a discussion among students.
► Discuss some of the benefits to mankind of work done on the ISS. Have each student write down their two favorite areas of research. Discuss how the microgravity environment of the ISS allows for research that I s
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► At the end of the following activity, ask students to think of a few broad fields, listed below, that the ISS has impacted.
♦ Are the following questions True or False? The ISS has contributed knowledge toward… Earth’s Environment • Ways to combat global warming (T) • Fighting the side effects of forest fires (T) • Other ways of getting rid of our garbage (T) • Electric power production (like the AC you use at home) (T) Physics • The Big Bang (T) Medicine • Improving medicines for diseases like diabetes (T) Biology • How gravity affects biological evolution (T) • Improving the quality of life on earth (T) Food • Making foods purer (called “protein crystal perfection”) (T) Engineering • Improving cell phones, computers, and video systems (T) • Making sure your phone service is always clear (T) • Building cities at cheaper cost (T) • Making air and water healthier for humans (T)
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FITNESS FIRST There are many challenges that the ISS astronauts experience while they are on their missions because the environment on a space station is so different from life here on Earth! Astronauts are responsible for a large, multi-million dollar space craft, they are performing research that is crucial to the scientific community, and…they must stay in shape!
► Below are facts about how human bodies respond to the environment in the ISS. Discuss these changes with the students.
• Your legs become thinner and thinner as time passes. The muscles of the legs push fluids and blood upward, which decreases the size of the thighs and calves. • The waist becomes smaller by 3 to 5 inches due to an upward shift of the internal organs. • The body grows ½ to 2 ¼ inches taller because the spine lengthens and straightens. Relaxed body posture in space is head tilted backward, shoulders up (like a shrug) and arms afloat, up and forward with hands chest high. • Loose flesh rises, giving the face a high-cheekbone look. Bags appear under the eyes, veins in the forehead swell, and the whole face looks puffy. • At first the body feels lightheaded and nauseated, or sick to the stomach. After a few days these feelings go away, but a full-headed feeling (like hanging upside-down) remains.
Due to the side effects of living in space, astronauts must make sure to wear protective gear and take care of themselves in other ways, especially by exercising. But, just like other aspects of life in space, exercising in space is much different from exercising on Earth. (Clips of astronauts exercising on the ISS)
► Show video of astronauts working out in the ISS.
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We know that the way that your body responds in space is different from how it responds in Earth’s environments. What happens to astronaut bodies when they come back home? What kind of preparation do they have to do before landing on earth and what happens afterward?
♦ Weightless Wonder Experiment Experiment Concept • Living in a weightless environment Experiment Materials • 1 to 5 pound hand weights or books Experiment Instructions 1. Pass weights (books will work fine!) out to several students. 2. Ask students to stand up, arms to their sides, and lift the weights for 5 minutes straight. 3. At the end of the 5 minutes, students must drop the weights. 4. Ask students to describe to the class how their arms feel; explain to students that this feeling is similar to how the body reacts in a zero-gravity environment.
FUN FACTS: STORIES FROM THE ISS • At completion, the ISS will weigh approximately 1 million pounds! • More than 100,000 people are working, worldwide, on the ISS! • As they build the ISS, astronauts must wear special gear to complete projects. Could you imagine wearing a suit with all the tools you’ll need to complete a project hanging off of you? • The ISS is home to astronauts and researchers, except that they have to build their home themselves, room by room, and cannot leave! • Each expedition carries 60,000 pounds of supplies to the ISS—that’s like taking 10 killer whales into space all at once! • Each year, more than 13,000 meals and 10,000 snacks are eaten aboard the ISS! That comes out to 20,000 pounds of food! • Capri Sun is one of the closest types of “astronaut friendly” drinks that you can find at stores!
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♦ Space Food Experiment Experiment Concept • Eating in space Experiment Materials • Zip lock bags • Dehydrated foods • Water • Rubber bands • Flat meal tray • Attachable Magnets (You can use tape to attach them.) • Velcro strips ► Time-permitting, perform the following demonstration: Experiment Instructions Note: To make a full, astronaut-like meal, you need a tray like you'd find in a cafeteria or fast food restaurant. 1. To hold your utensils in place, attach several magnets to the tray. Typically, astronauts eat with a metal fork, knife, spoon, and scissors. 2. To hold your meal in place, attach strips of Velcro to the tray and your vacuum-sealed food items. Now stick the food items to the Velcro on the tray. 3. Finally, wrap a piece of elastic or large rubber band around the tray. Your junior astronaut can now slide things under the band (such as a napkin) and hold them in place. Experiment Explanation Have fun eating a full "astronaut meal" with your kids! But be sure to remind them that any crumbs or spills could be life threatening if they float away and into the equipment.
APPLYING WHAT WE’VE LEARNED QUIZ THE TEACHER (Q & A)
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► Hand out index cards to the class and ask them to write down one or two questions for you. Ask for a volunteer to collect the cards. Read some of the questions aloud and answer them for the entire class.
Viewing the Space Station. ► Check the NASA spaceflight web site for viewing opportunities in Sacramento. Ask the students to view the Station and tell of their experiences at the next session.
LET’S LOOK AHEAD ► If you and your teacher have set a meeting for the next presentation, let students know what they will be exploring next session: “In the next session, ‘You’re Going to Mars!,’ your class will learn about human travel to Mars.”
► Thank class.
♦ ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY (time-permitting)
♦ Dry Dessert? Experiment Concept • Eating in space Experiment Materials • Plastic sandwich bags • Straw
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• Package of instant pudding • Powdered coffee creamer • Plastic syringe Experiment Instructions 1. First, put approximately 1/3 of the bag of pudding mix and 1 tablespoon of coffee creamer into the sandwich bag. 2. Cut a small slit in one side of the sandwich bag, approximately ¼ of the way down from the top. 3. Insert the straw into the slit 4. Seal the straw in place with tape and zip-seal the bag. 5. Add water, using syringe, through the straw. 6. To mix the water into the powder, grasp the outside of the bag and knead the two ingredients together. Continue to add water through the syringe and straw until the mixture is completely hydrated. 7. Enjoy the pudding, just like astronauts eat! Experiment Explanation Rehydration is an essential part of eating in space. If astronauts were to transport foods in their full form, the water and packaging materials would add weight and require more storage space. Water, of course, is limited aboard a spacecraft. Consequently, astronauts are allowed only a certain amount of H2O for rehydrating food items.
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