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Spacewalk
Mission
www.nasa.gov www.madscience.org
Your Spacewalk Mission Kit Includes
Fun Fact:
1 International Space Station 1 Solar Panel Lace 2 Target Clings
The International Space
Station has more living space
than a five-bedroom house. It
has two bathrooms, a gym
and a 360-degree bay window.
How To Assemble Your Spacewalk Mission kit
Step 1: Fold and unfold all the flaps and panels at their seams.
Step 2: Tuck in the side triangle tabs and fold the two triangles up.
Step 3: Roll the end of the Space Station panel up against the two triangle sides.
Step 4: Continue rolling up to the base of the solar panel image.
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Step 5: Tuck the tabs from the base of the solar panel into the slits in the Space
Station panel.
Step 6: Fit the lace through the bottom two holes of the solar panel image.
Using Your Spacewalk Mission Kit
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You need:
Step 1:
Step 2:
Step 3:
Step 4:
1 Assembled International Space Station
2 Stabilizer Target Clings
Tape
Remove the backing from your Target Clings. Place the clings on a
smooth table. They will stick to the surface.
Place your International Space Station on the clings so that the target
spots line up. The laces should face you.
Try to keep the International Space Station's targets on the target
clings as you lace the solar panels together. Which target ring level
did you stay on?
Unlace the panels down to the bottom holes. Tape the International
Space Station's targets onto the target clings. Test yourself again!
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The Science Behind Your Spacewalk Mission kit
You are modeling a spacewalk! A spacewalk is the time an astronaut spends
outside a spacecraft to perform a task. They need to anchor themselves while
working. Your tape acts like an anchor. It keeps your targets on the clings as
you work. Space anchors are handholds and footholds. There are slots on the
outside of spacecraft for handholds. Astronauts add and remove the
handholds as they move around the spacecraft. The robotic arm has a
foothold. An astronaut attaches both feet in the foothold so that both hands
are free to perform a task.
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Spacewalk
Mission
www.nasa.gov www.madscience.org
Continue Your Explorations
Fun Fact:
Spacewalk Mission
How big is the International Space
Station, including its solar arrays? It
takes up the area of an American
football field from end zone to end zone.
You Will Need
A book
Winter or
gardening gloves
A pencil
and paper
A pair
of shoes
Directions
1A
1B
1C
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Step 1: Put on your gloves. Try to do the following tasks while wearing
your gloves:
a) Put on your shoes.
b) Read a book.
c) Write your name.
Step 2: Was it hard or easy to do those tasks? Think of a tool that could
help you do each of the tasks. For instance, you could use a
pencil's eraser to help turn the book's pages.
Step 3: Gather the tools that you think would help and try the same tasks
again. Did the tools make the tasks easier to do?
What's Going On?
You are acting as a space hardware engineer! Astronauts
need tools that can work under conditions in space. Some
tools need to be able to work in extreme cold or extreme
heat. They need to work without a power cord and be easy
to handle when wearing space gloves. They all need to work
without gravity! Space hardware engineers develop
equipment for use in space. They improve spacesuits and
tools from how they work to their size and shape. They are
responsible for all the tools for each mission. The team stays
in the Mission Control area during the spacewalk and they
give the astronaut advice on how to use each tool.
Fun Fact:
What is a NASA spin-off?
It is a product we use on
Earth that came from a
technology made for a
space mission.
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Item # BP0228 © 2013 The Mad Science Group. All rights reserved.
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