Teacher's Guide for ODYSSEY^TM Open House for the Space Station

Format:
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      Summary
      Skills

"The International Space Station: Putting It All Together," pg. 6

• Since 1984, some 100,000 people worldwide have contributed to the International Space Station (ISS) effort. In one way or another, sixteen countries will have worked toward building modules, assembling components in orbit, and maintaining an operational space station. In a sidebar, meet the first crew of the ISS..
• Vocabulary, Problem Solving

• Food engineers at Cornell University must design nutritious and appealing meals for astronauts, using only those ingredients available for long space missions. Desserts are especially tricky. Anyone for sweet potato ice cream?
• Vocabulary, Applications

• Going to the bathroom in zero gravity is easier now than it was in the early days of space flight. High-flying devices for answering nature's call recycle water and compact solid wastes.
• Invention

• ODYSSEY^TM interviews NASA astronaut Pamela Melroy. She will pilot the third space shuttle mission to help assemble the ISS early this year. Highly trained and experienced, Melroy is ready to fulfill this latest stage of her lifelong dream.
• Goal Setting, Careers

• A NASA Web site provides the up-to-the-minute longitude and latitude of the ISS. Use the data to test your plotting skills and confirm the inclination of the station's orbit.
• Following Directions, Graphing

• Would you like to design a research project for space? Submit your question, and a camera on the ISS may take the pictures you need to answer it. Then you'll be ready to share your findings and conclusions with NASA scientists.
• Experimental Design, Analysis of Data

• Russia's Salyut series, America's Skylab, and the Russian Mir were free-orbiting forerunners of the ISS. Each space station, as well as the shuttle-borne Spacelab module, has provided valuable information about living and working in space.
• Extrapolation, Technological Development

• The Russian space station Mir, in orbit for over 13 years, is now "bruised, battered, and broken." If allowed to fall to Earth, can it drop safely into the ocean?
• Cause/Effect, Forming Hypotheses

• How do you evacuate a space station? Space scientists are developing and testing varying models of a CRV (Crew Return Vehicle) in case of a crisis aboard ISS. A sidebar (pg. 32) proposes measures to make space travel safer.
• Problem Solving, Design and Development

• The X-PRIZE Foundation offers a $10 million reward for the company that develops the first reusable launch vehicle. A successful RLV could make space tourism commonplace within a decade or two. A sidebar (pg. 36) profiles five entries in the X-PRIZE competition.
• Applications, Extrapolation

• January brings a meteor shower and a total lunar eclipse during the Full Wolf Moon. While Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are visible in the evening skies, Venus remains a morning planet.
• Observation, Following Directions

• Gideon Bass tells how he celebrated his 13th birthday - watching a total solar eclipse from a cruise ship in the Black Sea.
• Exploration, Reporting

1. Make a "to do" list detailing everything that must be done for 16 countries to build and maintain a permanent international space station. Add to the list as you read.
2. Make a list of questions about life aboard the ISS. Post the list and look for answers in this issue of ODYSSEY^TM. Head for the library and the Internet to find answers to questions that remain unanswered.

Pg. 6 - "The International Space Station: Putting It All Together"

• Talk It Over:
  1. Construction in space presents a unique set of challenges. Name some, and tell what skills crew members must employ to achieve their goals under such circumstances.
  2. What problems arise because of the ISS's international partnership? What skills must engineers and astronauts use in dealing with such problems, and what benefits may accrue from solving them?
• Connections:
  1. History: The ISS has been described as "humanity's most complex construction project ever." Make a list of what you believe may be the ten most complex construction projects of the past. Then construct a bulletin board, displaying facts, illustrations, and descriptions of each.
  2. Graphic Design: On a piece of graph paper, design a galley (kitchen) for the ISS, keeping in mind the constraints on preparing, serving, and consuming food in space. Discuss the choices you make and the equipment you include.
  3. Language Arts: Pretend you are a member of the ISS construction crew. Write a journal entry for the past week, describing life aboard the ISS and the work you have performed.
• Student Assessment:
  1. In a paragraph, describe the benefits and difficulties of constructing a space station in partnership with several other countries. In a second paragraph, explain why such an undertaking would be difficult if not impossible for any one nation.
  2. Write and deliver a dedication speech for the ISS - to be given upon its completion and translated into every Earth language. Include highlights of the station's history and construction in your address.

pg. 30 - "Bail Out! . . . Escape From Space"

• Talk It Over:
  1. What is the X-38? What features allow it to serve as an effective CRV?
  2. What hazards exist for those living in space? What precautions should be taken to protect future space travelers?
• Connections:
  1. Art/Design: Create a poster for residents of the ISS, describing emergency escape procedures. Use illustrations that can be understood by all, no matter what language they speak.
  2. Language Arts: You are the writer of a major movie production, Crisis in Orbit, the story of a fire on the ISS. Write the scene where the astronauts escape successfully. Use screenplay format with stage directions.
  3. Political Science: Design a treaty on safety in space to be signed by all nations that use the ISS. Include in the treaty a shared plan for removal of hazardous debris from space.
• Student Assessment:
  1. Give a speech to new arrivals on the ISS. Instruct them in emergency procedures, much as flight attendants instruct passengers on earthbound airplane flights.
  2. Considering its dangers, is space travel worth the risk? State an opinion and back it up with two or more logical arguments.

"For decades they built from plans and designs."

Large-Group Activity: In teams, create four classroom learning stations: "Food in Space," "Exercise in Space," "Sleeping in Space," and "International Cooperation." Charge each group with researching and presenting information on the chosen topic - perhaps including experiments or demonstrations. Invite another class to visit your learning centers.

"They saw Mir abandoned and Skylab fall"

Whole-Class Project: Prepare a bulletin board using the title "The Struggle to Explore." Divide the board in half and use visuals and text to compare the problems of early explorers of Earth's frontiers with those encountered by ISS astronauts. Point out similarities and differences.

"The ISS captured their hearts and their minds."

Community Connection: Survey parents and community members to compile a list of questions about life in space. Then, contact the public relations department at NASA (look on their Web site, www.nasa.gov) to arrange a telephone interview. Publish a booklet of questions and answers, including the questioners' names. Distribute copies to participants and local libraries.

"One world united, in orbit for all."

Individual & Whole-Class Project: Ask each student to find something in the night sky - perhaps a planet, constellation, or satellite. Write descriptions of the sitings and directions on how to repeat them. Arrange for the observations to be read or published as a "Skywatch Tip" in your school's daily announcements.

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Updated: 11/21/09 03:37 pm
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