Available courses
This activity blends scientific vocabulary, collaboration, creativity and artistic skills. Some students will take part in a performance of the Ada story “Robotic Telescopes: How to find cool stuff in space”. The activity then invites all students to create their own ending for the story in the form of a comic strip or drawing. Manager: Frances Dellutri Manager: KC Parker Manager: Admin User Teacher: Kelly Kang Teacher: Natalie Orrantia
Grade levels: K-2 Subject areas: Astronomy, Math In this project, students will be introduced to Solar Eclipses and how to view them.
Title: Gloves and GadgetsAuthor: Frances DellutriGrade Level: K-2 Educational Standards: NGSS: 2-PS1-1. Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties. This activity can be done with any items you have at home or in the classroom. The goal is to allow the students to role-play how astronauts manipulate their hands and fingers in space, outside their spacecraft, to move around and to take care of their environment. It may not be as easy as it looks!
Author: Frances DellutriGrade Level: K-2Subject Areas: Math, Science, ArtEducational Standards: Identify and describe shapes. CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.G.A.1Describe objects in the environment using names of shapes, and describe the relative positions of these objects using terms such as above, below, beside, in front of, behind, and next to. CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.G.A.2Correctly name shapes regardless of their orientations or overall size. CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.G.A.3Identify shapes as two-dimensional (lying in a plane, "flat") or three-dimensional ("solid"). NGSS: 2-PS1-1. Plan and conduct an investigation to describe and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties. National Core Arts Standards for Visual Arts - Kindergarten Anchor Standard #1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work. Investigate, Plan, Make Engage in exploration and imaginative play with materials. Short Description: Students will have an opportunity to investigate an important property of water (surface tension) in an intriguing activity, then move the water's behavior seen on Earth to its behavior aboard the International Space Station - very cool! Teacher: Natalie Orrantia Teacher: KC Parker
Students take their knowledge on how animals keep warm, practice describing their physical observations and run and experiment to determine the best ways to stay warm.
The National Space Society has a Book Review section for you. This list of children's books is reviewed by NSS members and provided by NSS.
Topics: Astronomy, Language Arts Grade (Age): Gr 3-5 (Age: 8-10) Students research astronomy terms to find one vocabulary word for each letter of the alphabet. They define terms and draw a related picture.
Grade levels: 3-5Subject areas: Astronomy, Math In this project, students will learn the basics of solar eclipses and complete an activity on modeling a solar eclipse.
This lesson will follow the dream of Pete Rossoni and how he used his love of playing with Frisbees to create a new space technology! You'll learn some information about small satellites called nanosats, how they are transported and placed into space! A very fun activity to make your own 2-D spinning nanosat is included.
This lesson is an adaptation of a lesson from Janet's Planet, with permission from Janet Ivey.
Students travelled to Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wisconsin in a field trip to accompany their experiences in a 2-week camp in Madison, Wisconsin whose topic was 'Living In Space.' In order for humans to live in space, they need to understand how Earthly items will respond to microgravity and that was the focus of this activity. Students were engaged in some activities with typical toys found here on Earth and analyzed them as they played with them or observed their pair partners using the toys. After outside play , the students watched several NASA films in which astronauts at the International Space Station were using the same toys the students used in the outside playtime.
This lesson helps students to understand how astronauts perform tasks while on an extravehicular activity (EVA - a spacewalk. Astronauts use gloves custom fit to a particular astronaut. The outcome of the lesson is for students to design a more useful, manageable glove to help them better perform tasks outside the International Space Station or any space vehicle.
The National Space Society has a Book Review section for you. This list of children's books is reviewed by NSS members and provided by NSS.
In this project, students become cultural astronomers. They take a survey about the moon; draw images or take digital pictures of the moon once a week or more at approximately the same time each evening for one month to get the full cycle. After posting their images with time, date, latitude, and longitude, students research and compare each others' images of the moon; create more web pages that include poetry, history, beliefs, stories, and research. Students use dialogue, comments, and discussion to share their valuable insights. The project ends with a final survey and sharing reflections. Students receive iCollaboratory/Kidlink/SpacEdge Web Badges and certificates for completing each of the four sections of the project. Students also receive a certificate for completing all four sections of the project.
Written By: Frances Dellutri, Middle School/Intermediate Level SpacEdge Education Team, April 2016 SpacEdge Topic: Atmosphere, Centripetal Force, Computers, Mathematics, Micro-gravity, Free-fall, Orbital Mechanics, Physics, Satellites, Spacecraft, Weightlessness Grade (Age) Level: Grades 5-8 (Ages 10-13) Key Topics Associated with Standards: Collecting, Analyzing and Interpreting Data; Gravitational Interactions; Forces and Motion, Relationship between Energy and Forces
EIS Topic: Atmosphere, Centripetal Force, Computers, Mathematics, Micro-gravity, Free-fall, Orbital Mechanics, Physics, Satellites, Spacecraft, Weightlessness Grade (Age) Level: Grades 5-8 (Ages 10-13)
Application: STEAM: Science, Technology, the Arts and MathClassroom grade level appropriate: 5-8
Orbital debrs is a looming problem! Space lawmakers are scrambling how to control the space above the earth from manmade objects and then there is the problem of natural objects coming close to or even striking Earth! This lesson provides an introduction to orbital debris to set the stage. Taking a look at space object sizes, characteristics, and distance from Earth can be greatly defined by using albedo. The concept of albedo (the ability of surfaces to reflect sunlight) is then introduced in an overview of the “Albedo Experiment,” where students will be guided through an experiment to determine the light reflecting from ‘orbiting’ objects. Concepts in this activity illustrate how albedo is employed in the study of space, specifically, in the detection of orbital debris. When we look at the moon from Earth or the Earth from space, we are seeing reflected light, albedo. Earth is reflecting the sun's light energy and the moon is reflecting light energy from the sun and second hand sun reflection from Earth. Scientists have learned to use albedo in determining the size and shape of space objects that cannot be captured by a camera. The Air Force Phillips Laboratory in Maui, Hawaii uses albedo as one source to conduct measurements to characterize the orbital debris LEO environment. The U.S. Space Surveillance network primarily tracks deep space objects (those with orbital periods greater than 225 minutes) using optical sensors that detect reflected sunlight. The observed brightness of a space object depends on many factors besides its size, such as its orientation, its surface composition and the viewing geometry. This experiment gives a friendly hands-on demonstration of determining and analyzing albedo and takes into account a space object in a mock revolving orientation.
The Gyroscopes lesson gives an introduction to gyroscopes, their history and importance. The lesson contains information about the place of gyroscopes in rocketry and provides activities to understand how a gyroscope works.
This course gives an overview of the cosmos and the discoveries that have been unlocked.
Every once in a while, the sun just completely disappears for a short period of time, even on sunny days. Before there was a lot of cool astronomy and science out there, ancient civilizations had no idea what was happening in the sky! They thought a wild animal had eaten the sun! How scary do you think that would be?
In this project, students become cultural astronomers. They take a survey about the moon; draw images or take digital pictures of the moon once a week or more at approximately the same time each evening for one month to get the full cycle. After posting their images with time, date, latitude, and longitude, students research and compare each others' images of the moon; create more web pages that include poetry, history, beliefs, stories, and research. Students use dialogue, comments, and discussion to share their valuable insights. The project ends with a final survey and sharing reflections. Students receive iCollaboratory/Kidlink/SpacEdge Web Badges and certificates for completing each of the four sections of the project. Students also receive a certificate for completing all four sections of the project.
Grade levels: 5-12 Short Description: August 21, 2017, a solar eclipse is going to be showing across the United States. This Cybrary includes some wonderful links to many many activities.
In this project, students will be completing activities to learn more about the phenomenon of solar eclipses
This project is made possible by awarded funding support for "How Big is Earth" from IAU-OAD under Task Force 2: Children and Schools. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) is the largest body of professional astronomers in the world and has set up the Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) in partnership with the South African National Research Foundation. Using only the sunlight striking the Earth and a wooden dowel, students can measure the circumference of the earth. Eratosthenes did it over 2,000 years ago. In Cosmos, Carl Sagan shared the process by which Eratosthenes measured the angle of the shadow cast at local noon when sunlight strikes a stick positioned perpendicular to the ground. By comparing his measurement to another made a distance away, Eratosthenes was able to calculate the circumference of the earth. This project meets standards for Math, Science, Reading and Geography. Students receive buttons for each activity.
Written by: Frances Dellutri, Jr. High / Intermediate Level SpacEdge Education Team, Topic: Art, AstronomyTitle of Lesson: Fly Me to the Moons - Middle SchoolGrade (Age) Level: Grades 5-8 (Ages 10-13) Key Topics Associated With Standards:Scale Properties, Astronomy, Solar System Models, Proportion, Quantity, Interpreting Data, Gravity, Patterns, Math US Standards: NGSS:MS-ESS1-3 http://www.nextgenscience.org/dci-arrangement/ms-ess1-earths-place-universe Introduce students to scale models with this lesson plan. Students engage in different model perspectives and finally focus on making a model of one of our solar system's moons with features that are to scale. Manager: Stephanie Alexander Manager: Frances Dellutri Teacher: Riley Hamilton Teacher: Natalie Orrantia
Only three countries in the world do not use the metric system - the United States, Liberia, and Myanmar. How does the metric system compare to the US Measurement system? (This will be revised)
The National Space Society has a Book Review section for you. This list of books is reviewed by NSS members and provided by NSS.
Written By: Frances DellutriGrade Level: 5 - 8 (ages 10 - 13)Topics: Astronomy, Art, Careers, Language Arts, Rockets Manager: Frances Dellutri Manager: Lynne Zielinski
Age Level Appropriateness: 11- 18 years (Grade 12)Visit the website: https://space.nss.org/settlement/nasa/Contest/index.htmlApplication: STEAM: Science, Technology, the Arts and Math This annual space settlement design contest for 6-12th grade
The basics of how a 3-D printer works and an introduction of the basic skills needed to produce a design for 3-D printing. Software options are given for the students to aid their comfort level while learning new skills.
Contributors/Authors: Barb Regan, NSS volunteer Riley Hamilton, NSS Intern Summer Welcome to the SpacEdge Academy lesson on the NASA Twins Study! In 2015, NASA conducted a huge study with identical twin astronauts, Mark and Scott Kelly. One astronaut (Mark) who had spent some time in space, later stayed on Earth while his twin brother (Scott) endured almost a year-long stay on the International Space Station. Scientists took biological samples and conducted tests on both twins to track the effects of long-term spaceflight on the human body. Goals of Lesson: To understand the basics of each individual branch of the Twin Study and learn about how space affects us! Glossary: is found in Section 12 below. Keywords: microgravity, metabolism, bacteria, protein, telomeres, immune system, cognition, microbes, spaceflight, omics, gene, epigenomics, twins
In the project, students and teachers from around the world share information about a solar eclipse; discuss this information by commenting on each others web pages; special eclipse glasses to safely view an eclipse of the sun; and plan to view a solar eclipse or solar eclipse simulation. American middle school students read the book Every Soul a Star and participate in the Every Soul a Star project. Students from other nations may read a specific book as assigned by their teachers.
Author: Kathy Gustavson Using Sloan data, you will compare actual stellar spectra to ideal blackbody curves. Can stars be modeled as the image suggests? Manager: Kathy Gustavson
The idea that we live in an expanding universe is one of the most unexpected and important discoveries of 20th century physical science. In this project, you will retrace Edwin Hubble's discoveries, seeing the same bizarre phenomena that he saw. You will discover for yourself that the universe is expanding.
Look at the picture. It's a beautiful view of the Solar System, created by artists at NASA. You have probably seen pictures like it many times before. You know that the Sun is in the middle and that the Earth is the third planet. But have you ever wondered how we got that picture? Except for a few space probes, we've always stayed on or near the surface of the Earth. Even astronauts have never made it beyond the moon. Our model of how the Solar System looks was created entirely from our observations on Earth. In this Project, you will learn how we know what the Solar System looks like, and how the Earth fits in to the Solar System. The project is divided into three main lessons. Coordinate Systems, Mapping the Solar System, and Earth, Sun, and Seasons.
What exactly is color? Why do stars have different colors? And what can you learn by studying the colors of stars, galaxies, and other objects?
Author: Kathy Gustavson The database provides photometric and spectroscopic data of millions of astronomical objects. This project will introduce you to the use of several simple tools. Manager: Kathy Gustavson
When astronomers look through their telescopes, they see billions of stars. How do they make sense of all of them?
This lesson is designed to teach middle school students about the EM spectrum with a specific focus on radio waves. This lesson will give students the background in radio waves they’ll need in order to go on to complete the Quarter Wave Antenna Activity and Helical Antenna Satellite Tracking Activity.
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey has found more than 8 million galaxies so far. In this project, you will look at some of them to learn about different types of galaxies.
In this project, students learn about the causes, types and other notable features of solar eclipses.
This project will introduce some of the phenomena associated with eclipses that can be seen during the partial phases, and assist the student in the observation and recording of these phenomena: Shadow bands, temperature changes, animal behavior, shadow cone, point source of light...
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey spends most of its time looking at galaxies and quasars very far from Earth. However, SDSS also sees many things in our own cosmic backyard. In addition to the occasional comet or meteor, Data Release 14 contains 10,000 asteroids! In this lesson you will learn what asteroids are, and how to find them in SDSS images.
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey has seen many kinds of objects in the sky: stars, galaxies, quasars, asteroids, comets and meteors. In this scavenger hunt, you will look for a list of these different types of objects, and learn how to look through the SkyServer database to go on a scavenger hunt through the sky!
The spectrum of an object is a graph of the intensity of radiation vs wavelength. A blackbody will give a continuous spectrum. But what causes the lines in the other types of spectra? Can these lines help in the understanding of the properties of the matter responsible for the various spectra?
Author: Kathy Gustavson with permission from the Education Team for the Sloan Digital Sky SurveyAge Level: High School (14+), University
This course module is a summary of electromagnetic waves - their characteristics and production. The analysis of electromagnetic waves from space is integral in understanding the universe we live in.
Grade Level: High School Students will review graphing on a Cartesian plane and calculating distances between points. They will then move on to graphing in three dimensions, calculating distances between points and modelling in 3D.
Author: Peter HiggensStudent Age Level: 14+ Newton wins Wren prize proving Kepler and Copernicus to have been correct in asserting heliocentric planetary motion marking the beginning of the Age of Reason. Manager: Lynne Zielinski Teacher: Peter Higgins, PhD
Blackbody Radiation and the Stars Helpful Pre-requisite project: Electromagnetic Waves This module is a summary of the relation between temperature, energy, and the light emitted by the objects we see in the universe.
Low Earth Orbits Written by: Kathy Gustavson Grade (Age) level: High School (ages 14-18), University This course is to help students focus on their efforts in the task of learning about Low earth orbits: characteristics, advantages and disadvantages. Topic areas: Intro to projectiles, speed, period, and launching of LEOs. Examples of uses. Problems with space debris. Image courtesy of Ardusat: https://www.ardusat.com/about Teacher: Kathy Gustavson
Sloan Digital Sky Survey produces two types of data, photometric and spectroscopic. The Spectroscopy project will have introduced you to the types of spectra from astronomical objects.
This project will introduce the basics of physics and discuss the role of physics in space.
This course is to help students focus their efforts in the task of designing a microgravity experiment for EIS. Experiment Design, Microgravity considerations, microbiological experiments, physical experiments, engineering experiments and physical experiments
This project is a review of the forces present within molecules. Recall that intermolecular forces control the physical properties of a substance, while intramolecular forces control its chemical properties. Such properties include bond energy (heat required to break molecule into individual atoms) and flammability. How does that impact experiments in microgravity?
Lift is explained as resulting from circulation, and is not the consequence of the widely held but the erroneous equal transit time hypothesis. Both wind tunnel observations and the author's own wing modeling in OpenFoam are used to explain what really happens. This lecture puts the Bernoulli equation in lift generation in proper perspective. The presence of lift in other atmospheres, such as found on Mars, is discussed.
This lesson delves into the subject of rockets from that of an engineer, specifically, this lesson explores the life and work of Robert Goddard – a brilliant engineer responsible for the development of the first successful rockets that worked based on liquid rather than solid fuel – as a case study of just how many engineering considerations go into designing something as complex as a rocket. In this lesson, we will explore Goddard’s work in detail, from his early solid-fuel rockets to his development of liquid propulsion, and finally to his shockingly futuristic visions for what rockets could look like in the future.
A University Student & Citizen-Scientist Contest of the National Space Society (NSS) Space Health and Medicine Committee in Cooperation with Mars-Moon Astronautics Academy & Research Science (MMAARS) Theme (unchanged): Tell us how you would employ food, nutrition and fasting to prepare for Long Duration Spaceflight by designing an agricultural module "Let us stand together with renewed confidence in our cause --united in our heritage of the past and our hopes for the future-- and determine that this land we love shall lead all mankind to new frontiers of peace and abundance." - text of a speech prepared for President Kennedy's delivery planned for a banquet in Austin, Texas on the evening of November 22, 1963 Manager: WILLIAM GARDINER Teacher: Bill Gardiner Teacher: Sandra Worthington
Articles in NASA's weekly published "Space News" Roundup in the 1960's which was distributed to all employees of the Manned Spacecraft Center (now renamed Johnson Space Center) in Houston, Texas, chronicle the story of how a location for the Apollo lunar landing was determined by the evaluation of possible sites. This was largely accomplished by the unmanned spacecrafts Surveyor and Lunar Orbiter, and by photography taken on Apollo 8. This lesson tracks these articles.
The NSS Space Policy and Universalization (spUN) Debates offer international university students an opportunity to form a global team to debate space policy with an eye on Universalization – finding solutions through world-wide collaboration and cooperation for the space industry and here on Earth. 2025 will mark the fourth year of the NSS university level debates. The 2025 spUN Debate Program is 100% virtual and brings together teams of 3 debaters (university age) from all around the world to investigate and present the pros and cons of a resolution on space policy issues while learning to value different perspectives, cultures, and languages.
Teachers learn of an artistic product (zine) students can use to show and explain what they have learned about tracking satellites and modeling the orbits. Teachers also learn about an opportunity for their students to enter student products into the LEO Art Challenge!
Teachers learn of an artistic product (zine) students can use to show and explain what they have learned about tracking satellites and modeling the orbits. Teachers also learn about an opportunity for their students to enter student products into the LEO Art Challenge!
Written by: Frances Dellutri, Middle School/Intermediate Level SpacEdge Education Team Edited by: Bonnie Thurber for ILTC Workshop EIS Topic: Atmosphere, Centripetal Force, Computers, Mathematics, Micro-gravity, Free-fall, Orbital Mechanics, Physics, Satellites, Spacecraft, Weightlessness Grade (Age) Level: Grades 5-8 (Ages 10-13) Key Topics Associated with Standards: Collecting, Analyzing and Interpreting Data; Gravitational Interactions; Forces and Motion, Relationship between Energy and Forces US Standards: NGSS: MS-ESS1-1 http://www.nextgenscience.org/pe/ms-ess1-1-earths-place-universe MS-PS2-4 http://www.nextgenscience.org/pe/ms-ps2-4-motion-and-stability-forces-and-interactions MS-PS2-5 http://www.nextgenscience.org/pe/ms-ps2-4-motion-and-stability-forces-and-interactions With this project, you can track a satellite in real time. There are hundreds of satellite orbiting our planet. The project "Satellites - The NSS Enterprise is an unmanned satellite that will be launching in 2020-2021 and will be carrying 100+ student experiments. You can compete to send your experiment to space! The competition is planned to be open in 2018, watch for an update.
Written by: Kimberly Tran, SpacEdge Academy (formerly EIS Education) Team Member, January 2016 Updated July 2022 Topic: Arithmetic with vectors, Dot and Cross Product, Vector projections, Vectors and forcesGrade Level: High School Pre-requisites: Completion of grade 11 functions and grade 12 advanced functions is highly recommended.
It should be mentioned that this course provides a very superficial overview of rocket and spacecraft design. This is by no means a comprehensive resource. Other websites, some of them included here, do a good job of explaining important aspects of rocketry and space exploration. This is a course designed for learning purposes and for a general context that will hopefully help you design a viable and meaningful experiment.
This course module is a brief summary of biological life on other planets. The topics covered include the difference between eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells, the conditions for a planet to be considered hospitable, the theories of how life began on Earth, and the hidden dangers of space travel.
Microgravity is a mystery we all wish to unravel – and this can only be done with experiments and careful observations. So, in order to choose the research questions, we studied the effects gravity has on living organisms, focusing on aspects that can be monitored by photos and videos.
This contest has been sponsored by NASA Ames Research Center from 1994-2018, for many of those years in conjunction with the National Space Society (NSS). In 2019 sponsorship was fully transferred to the National Space Society.
Astronomy, Solar System , Interpreting Data, Gravity, Patterns, Math, Economics, Human Impact on Space This is a debate preparatory course for novice and beginning debaters to the spUN Debate Program. The information found herin will prepare the debater to work with more veteran debater and their debate coach in preparation for the all-virtual debate program which culminates with the final two teams on a virtual platform to the NSS ISDC which will then be streamed out to the world. It is the hope that you will proceed in this course with thoughtfulness and a spirit of learning about debate in anticipation of your valuable contributions to your debate team. Your scores will help determine your placement within an international team and open up an international debating experience!
High energy charged particles can cause big troubles in space from space suits, to spacecraft electronics, to working in space. Activities in this course will include learning the origin, transfer, and measurement of electrostatic charges and its transportation within spacecraft materials.
The National Space Society has a Book Review section for you. This list of books is reviewed by NSS members and provided by NSS.
Keywords: sextant, astronomy, navigation, celestial sphere, declination, right ascension, topodetic coordinates, limb, star atlas, sightings Appropriate for: 9-12 grades Prerequisites required: None Prerequisites helpful: algebra I, geometry Intended lesson duration: 1 week Student expectation: Learn to use a sextant, and how sextants are used in navigation. Learn coordinate systems describing positions on Earth and in space.
This is the second in a series of experiments comparing water movement in regolith simulants in reduced and microgravity environments. During the first set of experiments, students tested the rate of water intake in these different simulants, tracking water movement and finding that though the water intake increased in the Mars regolith simulant and the VEGGIE growth medium, almost no movement was seen in the lunar regolith simulant (JSC-1A). Ms. Tomlin had the opportunity to test these student experiments in different microgravity environments aboard a 0-g flight. This project allows students to investigate regolith behavior on Earth, as well as consider its behavior off world.
The Embedded Teacher Workshop 2022-23, held at Carthage College in Kenosha, WI, focuses on microgravity and experimental design. NSS Master Teacher Lynne F. Zielinski, also the National Space Society Vice President of Education, leads this workshop. Manager: Lynne Zielinski Teacher: Kevin Crosby Teacher: Laura Tomlin
This is the first in a series of experiments comparing water movement in Lunar regolith simulant, Mars regolith simulant and ISS-VEGGIE growth substrate inside and outside of microgravity environments. Students learn to understand the effects of these environments on capillary action, or upwards water movement, as well as the mechanics of force and motion and the influence of gravity on water diffusion. Ms. Tomlin had the opportunity to test these student experiments in different microgravity environments aboard a 0-g flight. This project allows students to investigate regolith behavior on Earth, as well as consider its behavior off world.
Microgravity has been determined to have a significant impact on liver function in mice after two weeks in space. This experiment will investigate whether microgravity has an immediate impact on the function of catalase enzymes in the liver, which are responsible for the neutralization of hydrogen peroxide toxin in our bloodstream. Reactants for this experiment will be 1 cc of food-grade, pureed calf liver and 1mL 3% over the counter Hydrogen peroxide. Students will gain valuable experience in chemistry, anatomy, current space research topics, microgravity, engineering, experimental design, and critical thinking, even before viewing results from the actual flight. These projects can be modified to suit any classroom.
The National Space Society partners with Blue Origin's Club for the Future to promote the Postcards to Space Initiative! The course will guide you in sending a postcard you create to space which will become A TRUE SPACE ARTIFACT! This is a perfect opportunity for all ages to get involved in the space program. This course can be used and adapted to any level classroom or informal learning letting. The course discusses the path of your postcard and some information about the flight of the capsule and, with some imagination, you can fly alongside your postcard!
Ms. Werner, a band teacher at a small Catholic school in Dousman, Wi, moved out of her comfort zone and took advantage of a microgravity workshop. The outcome of the workshop was the possibility to take a 0-g flight and test her student designed experiments in various degrees of microgravity. After various iterations of student experimental designs, proposals and flight plans, Ms. Werner and her fellow 0-g flight teachers and their experiments each experienced 11 minutes of weightlessness during a series of two-hour flights aboard the ZERO-G G-Force One Aircraft. They floated in free-fall as 30 parabolas were executed during the flight with each parabola lasting about 22 to 24 seconds. The experiments were tested during the 22-24 second intervals. Her excitement stirred a whole-school multi-disciplined event that spanned several months in planning for the school event, designing experiments, meeting with colleagues in other disciplines and finally analyzing the experiment designs. A fascinating outcome was using the data to pull from a similar experiment conducted by Mozart and resulted in a composition that was performed during the May 2022 school music concert. Follow along on her amazing journey!
This lesson mentions some of the contributions of Robert Hutchings Goddard. On March 16, 1926 Robert Goddard launched the first successful liquid- fuel rocket, a feat as historically significant as the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903. The information in this lesson correspond to other lessons based on Goddard's contribution in the SpacEdge Academy.
This lesson introduces the concept of citizen science and shows ways that you can get involved! Teacher: Riley Hamilton
Subject Areas: Art, Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, Experimental Design
Intro to use of SpacEdge Academy for Contributing Teachers. This area holds only a short description of the course.
Space is not empty, but full of plasma and particles that you never expected to be there. "99.9 percent of the Universe is made up of plasma," says Dr. Dennis Gallagher, a plasma physicist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. The magnetosphere surrounds and protects the earth from stellar plasma with a complex system of interacting electric and magnetic fields, electric currents and charged particles. Rockets, satellites and the International Space Station fly in plasma. Join us in learning about the exotic phenomena that surround the earth. Learn how the Earth’s magnetic field protects us from the hazards of space environment. This STEAM* workshop provides K-12 teachers with the background and activities to excite students to continue studying electrostatics, a wide application in many emerging fields of industry.
The PowerPoint presented leads the way to STEM activities that give opportunities for participants to understand how spacecraft send messages via radio waves to earth for deciphering of data and images that are collected in space and how the radio telescopes on tEarth receive the information from space. The activities are easily usable in the classroom for grades 7 - 12 (ages 10 - 18).
This forum is yet another way to increase the awareness of the NSS mission of living and working in space!
This section gives the teacher various resources to help them bring space to their classroom and school. It has happened that administration is slow to support space education in the classroom, given the focus of educational standards and the pressure of state testing and results. Hopefully these resources, which are updated on a frequent basis will add to your toolbox of materials to faclitate the process of exciting your students to the wide world of space and to help them find and enjoy their journey in the space industry pipeline a value projection of $1.3 trillion by 2035!
As of Dec. 12, 2025 research suggests that our universe hosts 4,341 confirmed exoplanets, 15,017 uncomfirmed planets in 4,320 systems, 969 harboring multiple planets. NASA. Albedo, the radiant reflection of sunlight, guides our celestial quest. Join this riveting session to unravel energy transfer mysteries, discover exoplanets through a 'spinner' experiment, and decode albedo's cosmic secrets!This lesson takes a look at the detection of exoplanets, those orbiting stars outside our solar system using albedo. As planets or objects orbit a star, the brigtness of that star is diminised. This measurement gives us information about the orbiter. Taking a look at space object sizes, characteristics, and distance from Earth can be greatly defined by using albedo.
Electrostatics in Space
This material is the product of a workshop presented at Yerkes Observatory, Williams Bay, WI by Lynne Zielinski and Frances Dellutri to teachers of ages 6-12. The workshop followed the path of Voyagers 1 and 2 as they leave our solar system headed for deep space. Time was given to discuss the implications of such interstellar travel. Various presentations and activities centered around the actual path of the satellites as well as the communication of the satellites back to Earth. A tour of Yerkes Observatory was included in the full day workshop.
Presented: 2/7/2019 Presenters: Frances Dellutri and Lynne Zielinski Attendees: Teachers from the US of students grade 8 - 12 Overview: Tracking Satellites, Orbits, and Monitoring Participants will take away some online tools, NASA resources, and a working knowledge of orbits and orbital mechanics. Participants will learn how to model (2D and 3D) orbiting bodies that can be used to locate and track satellites visually and electronically in real-time. They will be able to apply data to understand the shapes, types, scale, and locations of satellite orbits. Participants will take away a greater depth of knowledge that can be applied to classroom physical sciences, Physics (Classical Mechanics), and Mathematics (Trigonometry and Euclid’s theories of proportions and ratios). Participants will take away that satellite tracking and orbits can be an exciting way to enrich or adapt curriculum to fit the needs of the student. Through the LEO Art Challenge activity participants will take away the knowledge gained in this session and apply it to a new art from to show how it can be used to communicate science topics.
The LEO Art Challenge is offered by the National Space Society to ages 10 - 18 and has been presented in teacher workshops to several different venues. Application: STEAM: Science, Technology, the Arts and Math Classroom age appropriate: 10 - 18
Title: Venus & Mars: Space Travel Differences for Women and Men Written by: Loretta Hall, Space Ambassador, National Space Society Topics: Life Science, Physical Science, Engineering. Mars, Venus, Biological Audience: Grades 5 - Adult
The development of the Modern Day Space Elevator is increasing in speed and is soon to make a "breakout" into major testing. To get started, there are multiple sources of information at www.isec.org that will help greatly.
The virtual NSS Space Policy and Universalization (spUN) Debates offer international students an opportunity to form a global team to debate space policy with an eye on Universalization – finding solutions through world-wide collaboration and cooperation for the space industry and here on Earth such as laws and concerns in space development and expansion.