The New Space Race

When the shuttle fleet was retired in 2011, it marked the end of an era in manned spaceflight. But spaceflight is definitely not passé. Over the next few years, commercial spaceflight will be the new buzzword as companies, such as Virgin Galactic, plan to take anyone who wants to right to the fringes of outer space, for a price. These companies will be able to send more tourist astronauts into space in one year than the world's space programs have been able to send during the entire history of spaceflight.

Just because the space shuttle fleet has been retired, this does not mean that the people at NASA aren't hard at work on various projects. Astronauts are being trained for upcoming flights.

Connecting Space Exploration to Classroom Curriculum

Space exploration holds a fascination for young people of both sexes. One way to make use of this fascination, and teach some valuable high school and middle school standards, is to conduct a short unit on the New Space Race. I would also encourage any middle school science teacher to find a local Challenger Learning Center where your students can Return to the Moon in their on-site spaceship simulator.

The Current Space Race

People who are 40 years old or older grew up with an awareness of the importance of the space race, and what it meant for the United States and Russia. But most people are not aware that we are in the middle of a renewed, 'friendly' space race being conducted by the United States, China, Japan, India, and perhaps even Iran. These countries have set their sights on conducting manned space missions, and maybe even setting up a few lunar colonies.

When the US established the goal in 2004 of creating a lunar base within twenty years, they did so with the notion of using the moon as a staging ground for missions to Mars. Other countries, and even private companies, would like to be able to mine lunar resources for sale back on Earth. The moon is rich in rare isotopes and minerals, including Helium-3, which is valuable in nuclear power production.

Connecting Space Lessons to Cross-Curricular Topics

In addition to helping students understand lunar geology, the renewed space race provides an excellent way to teach students about many other topics, such as the interplay of science and technology, astrobiology, and the design of human life support systems (and by extension, ecosystems). When thinking about using the Moon as a springboard to fascinating science topics, I encourage you to go beyond 'phases of the moon' lessons. There are so many other topics out there.

There are several missions underway, or ones that have just been completed, that are worth researching to make the topic as current as possible. You can look up these project names/ acronyms:

• Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, LCROSS, LEND, LOLA, LADEE, Lunar Mapping and Modeling Project (All NASA)
• Kaguya/ Selene (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency: JAXA)
• Chang'e 2 Lunar Orbiter (Chinese Lunar Exploration Program: CLEP)
• SMART-1 (European Space Agency)
• Chandrayaan-1 or 2 (Indian Space Research Organisation: ISRO).

You may also want to book your ticket on the next outerspace tourist flight before all the seats are sold out.

In the lessons below, I highlight several of my favorites related to lunar geology, physics, and GIS (geographical information systems).

Space Lessons:   

Regolith Formation

In the NASA-created lesson students use several hands-on procedures for demonstrating how lunar accretion and cratering occurs. This lesson is ideal for seventh through tenth graders or as an introductory lesson for the next one on my list of favorites that is found below.

Photogeologic Mapping of the Moon

Also created by NASA, this lesson is wonderful for teaching techniques of scientific data collection through visualization. Students use observation and analysis of photographs of the Moon to become familiar with the techniques of constructing geologic maps. Students learn how observation can be used to develop conclusions about the age of various planetary surfaces. Visualization is both a skill but also a tool for earth and planetary science.

Finding a Resolution

In this lesson students make use of a NASA product called World Wind to create maps of different scales using landmarks of their choice, and challenge their classmates to identify them. I would encourage you to consider using Google Earth/ Google Moon using the same lesson plan. World Wind is a tad outdated.

Play Ball! …On the Moon?

Students use sports on the moon to learn the physics concepts of mechanics, vectors, and trajectory motion. The lesson is highly detailed and has the potential to be a great deal of fun in schools where sports are emphasized.