Adventures in Aerospace: Lesson 3
Volunteer’s Guide
Key to Curriculum Formatting:
► Volunteer Directions
■ Volunteer Notes
♦ Volunteer-led Classroom Experiments
Lesson 3: YOU’RE GOING TO THE MOON!
► Begin the presentation by telling the class that this is “Lesson 3: You’re
Going to the Moon!” If this is your second or third visit, reintroduce
yourself and the program. Briefly review key concepts from the first
and second lessons, “You’re Piloting a Plane!” and “You’re Planning
to Launch a Rocket.” If this is your first visit, here is a suggested
personal introduction:
“Hello, my name is
, and I am a
(position title)
at Aerojet Rocketdyne. I will be visiting your class once a month over
the next few months to speak to you about space exploration and
space travel. We will learn about the basics of aerodynamics, rocket
propulsion, and spaceflight to the space station, the moon, and future
missions to Mars!”
► Answer any questions left over from the previous visit.
MATERIALS NEEDED
•
DVD/Presentation
•
Projector screen/TV
•
Handout – Moon Quiz
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Index cards
► See lesson to assess total equipment needs.
LESSON OUTLINE (NOTE: total time of videos is about 5 minutes)
Introduction
Lesson Concepts
Vocabulary
Moon Facts
Missions and Main Players in the ‘Space Race” to the Moon
What is It Like on the Moon?
Why Might We Go Back?
Applying What We Have Learned
Experiments
INTRODUCTION
Early science fiction writers envisioned the exploration of space decades before the first rocket
was even launched! These writers included Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, and Edgar Rice Burroughs.
This presentation provides an overview of early space exploration programs that helped paved
the way to moon exploration. Student will make critical connections between the history of space
exploration and our motives for further space exploration, as well as compare and contrast the
environments on earth and the moon through experiments and multimedia.
LESSON CONCEPTS
•
Why explore?
•
History of travel to the moon
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Technology spin-offs
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Extreme distances between planets
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Effects of spaceflight on humans
•
Identify current motivations for revisiting the moon
VOCABULARY
Craters: Bowl-shaped depressions on the surfaces of planets and their satellites, including the
moon, caused by objects from space colliding with the surface of the object
Gravity: Objects with mass attract each other. This force is called gravitation, or more commonly,
gravity.
Highlands: The light areas seen on the moon which are rough and mountainous
Maria (singular: mare): The dark patches seen on the moon which are lowlands covered by a
thin layer of rocky soil
Orbit: The path taken by an object moving around another object
Phases of the moon: The various shapes the moon seems to have each night as it moves
through its approximately monthly cycle (29.5 days)
Revolution: One object tracing a path or orbit around another object
Rotation: The spinning of an object about its axis
Satellite: An object that orbits around another object
Tide: The rise and fall of water along the ocean shore
Waning: The time when the moon appears to be growing smaller each passing night. The lighted
side is on the left.
Waxing: The time when the moon appears to be growing larger with each passing night. The
lighted side is on the right.
EARLY MOON ADVENTURES
► Ask students to write down three things they know about the moon and
three things they would like to know more about the moon. Share out as
a class.
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Question 3.1: What is Sputnik?
Answer 3.1: Sputnik, a Russian satellite launched in October 1957, was the first man-made object
to orbit the earth, 23” in diameter and 183 pounds, took 96 minutes to circle the earth and the
launching of Sputnik started the "Space Race," a time of rapid aerospace technology
development by the U.S. and Russia.
Question 3.2: What is Explorer I?
Answer 3.2: America launched its first satellite, "Explorer I," in January of 1958. It was 80” long
and 30.7 pounds.
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Question 3.3: Who is Yuri Gagarin?
Answer 3.3: Gagarin was the first man in space. He was launched by the Russians in April, 1961.
Question 3.4: Who is Alan Shepard?
Answer 3.4: Less than one month after Gagarin, Shepard was launched into space by the
United States. Shepard was an astronaut on the Mercury program, the first major U.S. manned
flight program.
Question 3.5: Who is John Glenn?
Answer 3.5: Soon after Shepard, Project Mercury astronaut, John Glenn, who later served as a
US Senator, became the first American to orbit the earth.
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Question 3.6: Which US president set the goal to travel to the moon and back by 1969?
► Play John F. Kennedy video for students.
Answer 3.6: Under the leadership of President Kennedy, the U.S. set out on an ambitious
program to land a man on the moon by 1970.
Question 3.7: What is Project Gemini?
Answer 3.7: The Gemini program is a series of two-man space flights to learn more about the
effects of space flight on man, to practice space docking, and to learn how to walk and work in
space. Aerojet-built Titan II liquid rocket engines powered the project Gemini booster rocket.
► Play Gemini launch video for students.
Question 3.8: What is the Apollo Program?
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Answer 3.8: The Apollo program involved the design and building of the huge Saturn V rocket,
which could send a three-man spacecraft to the moon, along with a smaller spaceship to return
the three astronauts to Earth. The Apollo program also benefited from unmanned spacecraft
which orbited the moon and provided detailed photographs used to select landing sites.
► Play Apollo launch video for students.
Question 3.9: Who is Neil Armstrong?
Answer 3.9: On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong stepped on the on the moon. The spacecraft that
actually landed, the “Eagle,” stood about 20 feet high. "The Eagle has landed," and "That's one
small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" are two of the most famous statements in space
exploration history.
► Play First Steps on Moon video.
3.10: What is a Lander or Lunar Module?
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Answer 3.10: The lander was the portion of the Apollo spacecraft built to carry a crew of two from
lunar orbit to the surface and back. Lunar modules have basically stayed the same through the
years because the needs to land and depart have not changed.
3.11: What is the Lunar Rover?
Answer 3.11: Later Apollo trips included the use of the Lunar Rover, a four wheeled "moon car"
used to explore the moon. The Apollo astronauts conducted many scientific experiments on the
moon and left behind scientific data gathering instruments from which we learned much about the
moon and its interaction with earth.
► Play Lunar Rover video.
WHAT IS IT LIKE ON THE MOON?
As a result of our exploration, we now know a great deal about the environment of the moon.
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WHY GO BACK?
There are new technologies that will make it faster, cheaper and better to revisit the moon. We
would be able to practice landing and launching for future Mars missions. The International Space
Station (ISS) adds a new dimension to space travel.
♦ Moon Story Experiment
Experiment Concepts
•
Gravitational Pull
•
Mass
•
Weight
Experiment Instructions
1. After talking with the students about the moon’s environment, i.e. no atmosphere and 1/6 of
Earth's gravity, ask the students to write a description of recreation activities on the moon.
2. With only 1/6 the gravitational pull of earth, what could a child do better, faster, higher,
longer?
3. With no atmosphere as we know it, what would happen if some of our earth games were
played on the moon?
Experiment Explanation
Because the moon's gravity is only one-sixth of Earth's gravity, a person would be able to do
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daily activities (like playing) quite differently. Alan Sheppard hit a golf ball on the moon…it went a
very long distance!
LET’S REVIEW
QUIZ THE TEACHER (Q & A)
► 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.
► If time permits, hand out the Moon Quiz and ask them to complete and
discuss answers. Or teacher can use as review for homework.
► 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 Controlling a Robot!”, your class will learn
about robots, how they work, and what their current and future uses are
and will be, in our society.”
► Thank class.
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