Feel like a rocket scientist for the day. Using only paper and tape, scholars create a framework for a spaceship to Mars. Each sheet of paper costs $10 million and each piece of tape costs $100,000. Make sure you stay within budget!

Help your class understand the design challenges when trying to land a remote spacecraft on a planet. Class members examine the provided information to understand how each component of a spacecraft is designed in order to safely land a...

Future engineers test different alloys to determine the specific strength of each one. Based on the results, they make a recommendation to NASA on which alloy to use on engines for spacecraft.

The classic egg-drop experiment gets a new bounce with an activity that asks pairs to design a lander similar to one used to land a rover on Mars within a fixed budget. The activity provides a great introduction to the idea of...

Take your class on an out-of-this-world adventure with this fun engineering design lesson. Working in small groups, young scientists design, build, and test crew exploration vehicles using some creativity, teamwork, and...

Students prepare a creative demonstration of how Earth and Mars revolve around the Sun. For this astronomy lesson, students determine the different challenges engineers face when building spacecrafts. They draw possible paths for a...

Students study pictures of space vehicles and make their own space vehicle. In this space vehicle lesson, students study pictures of the vehicles and compare and contrast the pictures. Students classify the space crafts and then create...

Students investigate Hohmann orbit transfers using cardboard and string while focusing on the orbits of Earth and Mars. They look at the planets orbits around the sun and transfer orbit form one planet to another to determine what a...

What do Newton's Laws have to do with getting from Earth to Mars?The activities in this resource show how Newton's Laws work with rockets to get them into space. Background information includes facts about orbits and how orbits...

Groups simulate an orbit using a piece of string and a water balloon. Individuals spin in a circular path and calculate the balloon's velocity when the clothes pin can no longer hold onto the balloon.

The spacecraft is drifting too far off course! Two games help explain how a spacecraft can use its thrusters to maintain its position. The games have pupils be the components of vectors in order to create and counteract the...

Protect the marshmallows! Groups create contraptions that will keep marshmallows in a cup, even after dropping them from a certain height. This is a fun way to model the shock-absorbing capabilities of spacecraft.

Students discuss the needs for robots in space discovery, and take turns simulating a robot and controller to demonstrate the difficulties of programming a robot to successfully complete simple tasks.

You might just be responsible for launching a future career in rocket science. Pupils use Alka-Seltzer® tablets as the power source for a film-canister rocket. These rockets must able to carry a clay payload and hit a target on a wall.

Learners explore robots as it relates to artificial intelligence and mechanics. In this introduction to robotics lesson plan, students examine the technology related to design, research the concept of fabrication theory and the...