Middle School Inquiry Lab on Space Exploration
In this lab students will learn about historical missions. They will make predictions and calculations about a mission to another planet within our solar system.
Each inquiry lab will contain an essential question that will drive the lesson and make students think. For this lesson, the essential question is:
- How do scientists and engineers decide what equipment and transportation is necessary for space travel?
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND MATERIALS LIST:
Students will begin the lab by reading the essential question and background information. This can be done individually, as lab groups, or as a whole class. If you consider lab groups, you also might include some type of whole class formative checks before digging into the lab.
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Materials List:
- calculator
- internet access
PROCEDURE:
For this lab, students will have to decide which planet they would like to visit for their mission. Before they commit, students will have to do a little pre-flight planning.
First, students have to calculate the time it would take in both hours and months, using average distances and the speed it took for the Apollo astronauts to travel to the moon, to reach certain planets in our solar system.
Next, now that students have chosen the planet, they have to choose the type of mission they are trying to complete. From a fly-by to a manned landing, students will choose the right equipment to take to complete the mission, survive the planet, and survive the ride home. Understanding the mission details, the final step is choosing the correct rocket for the job.
CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING:
At this point in the lab, students will be checked for understanding by answering questions about their findings. Here are a few that come with the lab:
- How does the distance to the planet affect your choice of missions?
- Why did you choose this vehicle?
CONCLUSION
Students will go back to the essential question and write a CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) to conclude the lab. Once completed, students will reflect back on their learning by answering the following questions:
- Why do scientists use different types of missions into space?
- What are some reasons that manned missions to outer planets are difficult?
MODIFIED AND INDEPENDENT INQUIRY VERSIONS
All of the Kesler Science inquiry labs come with three different modification levels. Each lab is differentiated using the icons below.
STANDARDS ALIGNMENT
TEKS: 6.11C – Describe the history and future of space exploration, including the types of equipment and transportation needed for space travel.
