The Future of Space Flight

With the Space Shuttle now in retirement, America no longer has any vehicles capable of traveling into space. However, several new companies and NASA are designing the next generation of rockets and space ships.

Space Travel Of The Future: 7 Vehicles That May One Day Take You To Space

This article breaks from normal layout. Instead, each section provides a big image or video of the space craft along with a short reading about the vehicle. Several of these designs are already functional prototypes (a working first model). One of the things I find most interesting about these vehicles is that many of the companies are designing their ships to allow normal, everyday people to travel to space and back. There may soon be a time when people take 'space flights' just as easily as normal airline travel.

Check out the different vehicles and come to class ready to share which one you found the most interesting and exciting. I've already picked mine!

Stenovec, T. (2011). Space travel of the future: 7 vehicles that may one day take you to space. Huffington Post, Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/29/space-travel-of-the-future_n_1119201.html

Earth-like Exoplanet

Scientists have recently discovered an 'Earth-like' planet within the habitable zone of a star. The new planet is a close galactic neighbor, at only 20 light years away (that's still 11,700,000,000,000,00  miles away!). The scientists believe that this new planet likely has liquid water, which is very exciting since we believe liquid water to be the key to life on other planets!

As you watch the video, answer the questions below. Be prepared to discuss your answers in class.

1. How much bigger is the 'radius' of this new planet than Earth?
2. Where was the observatory that discovered the planet located?
3. How can the new planet have water on it's surface if it's so much closer to it's star than Earth is to the Sun?
4. The astronomers can't actually see the planet. How do they know that it even exists? What do they look for?

Astronomers find first earth-like planet in habitable zone [Web]. (2007). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w7NUsBcgyw

Moon Landing

Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon

"That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind"

 

 We often think of the moon landing as just one man's achievement. Team Moon takes a different look at the history of the moon landing and explores the 400,000 other people involved in the Apollo 11 mission and tells their story.

According to the reviews on Amazon, the book delves into the lives of the engineers and scientists who helped build the rocket and managed the mission and even into the life of the seamstress who sewed the astronauts spacesuits! Reviewers especially liked that the book tells the story of the moon landing from the perspective of the people on Earth and not from the astronauts.

 

Like many Amazon books, you can take a sneak peek into the book itself. While many of the pictures are black and white (because they didn't have color photos at that time), I still found them engaging and interesting, especially since they tended to be group shots of the Apollo 11 teams.

Thimmesh, C. (2006). Team moon: How 400,000 people landed apollo 11 on the moon. (1 ed.). Houghton Mifflin Company. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/Team-Moon-People-Landed-Apollo/dp/0618507574/ref=sr_1_28?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1350753429&sr=1-28

Exoplanets

Exoplanets

neoK12 is a website designed for kids. The site finds interesting videos, pictures and games for kids about different topics, even exoplanets. For exoplanets, the site only offers videos but each video is an excellent resource. The clips aren't too long, most are under 5 minutes long. Over the weekend, I want you to watch 3 of the videos. Pick one of the videos and write short answers to the following questions.

1. Which of the three videos was your favorite? Why?
2. What was one amazing fact that you learned and are excited to share with the class?

Exoplanets. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.neok12.com/Exoplanets.htm

National Geographic Space Book

13 Planets: The Latest View of the Solar System

13 Planets?! I thought there were only 8... or was it 9? It seems that the number of planets in our Solar System keeps on changing. 13 Planets takes a look at what we know about our solar system, and the celestial bodies within it. Planets used to be anything big enough we could see with telescopes. However, our definition of a planet has become more refined. A sad causality of our new definition is that Pluto is no longer a planet. But with the loss of Pluto, we've gained 4 new dwarf planets, which are celestial bodies with enough gravity to be spheres but not large enough to clear their orbits of debris.

According to the reviews on Amazon, this book is filled with excellent information, colorful photos and up to date information. If you head to Amazon, you can even take a sneak peek into the book! From the preview, the book seems easy to read and filled with interesting tidbits about each planet, without being overwhelming or boring.

References:

13 planets: The latest view of the solar system. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/13-Planets-Latest-National-Geographic/dp/1426307705/ref=sr_1_2?

Aguilar, D. (2011). 13 planets: The latest view of the solar system. National Geographic Children's Books.

Space Website

Space Station Kids

Space Station Kids is a site that focuses on life in outer space and what it's like to live aboard the International Space Station. The Space Station operates with cooperation from 15 different countries around the world and acts as a giant science laboratory in space!

(n.d.). International space station. [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/STS-135_final_flyaround_of_ISS_1.jpg/400px-STS-135_final_flyaround_of_ISS_1.jpg

One section of the website focuses on the space station itself. On the site you'll see how big the station is, how it gets its power and how it was built, plus lots more. I especially love the sections with interactive models and videos.

Another section of the site focuses on questions regarding what it's like in outer space. The webpage answers questions about weightlessness, vacuum and radiation all through really cool interactive content.

The final section answers all our favorite astronaut questions. What do they eat in space? Do they need to exercise in space? What do they do if they're sick in space? I was blown away by many of the answers!

Space station kids. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://iss.jaxa.jp/kids/en/life/index.html

Diamond Planet

Super-Sized Planet Likely Made of Diamonds

The search for Exoplanets often has scientists focused on finding worlds that look very similar to our own. However, in their search, NASA scientists have recently uncovered a world that they believe is mostly made out of graphite and diamonds! The world is mostly composed of carbon (unlike Earth) and both graphite and diamonds are created from only carbon atoms.

This new planet, called 55 Cancri, is several times larger than the Earth and far more dense. Interestingly, 55 Cancri orbits a star very similar to our Sun. Perhaps most interesting is the idea that because the planet is made of diamonds, that 55 Cancri could have very different types of earthquakes and volcanoes than see here on Earth.

Assignment:
Imagine that you are a space explorer and you land on 55 Cancri. Describe what you see and experience on this new and exciting Diamond world!

Moskowitz, C. (2012, October 12). Super-earth planet likely made of diamond. Retrieved from http://www.space.com/18011-super-earth-planet-diamond-world.html