6th - 8th Grade Module 11 Concept PT
Cycle 1
Students will consider the factors involved in planning a space mission.
Students will read an article about the New Horizons Pluto mission, and answer discussion questions. Students will be introduced to the Performance Task.
Students will choose a planet or other celestial body in our solar system and research it using Mission Logs to develop a mission goal.
Students will decide on a method of exploration for their mission, and the technology required to explore, based on their mission goals.
Students will create a travel plan based on the celestial body’s position in the solar system, and factors such as gravity assist.
Students will self-evaluate their proposals. Students will present their mission proposal to NASA peers.
Students will review their mission plans and choose a rocket, design a hypothetical budget, and perform a risk assessment for their mission.
Prior to this cycle, students have developed models of the sun-Earth-moon systems to describe the cyclic patterns of day and night, seasons, lunar phases, and eclipses of the sun and moon. Additionally students have developed models to explain the relationship between gravity and the motion of objects within our solar system, and analyzed data to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system.
In this cycle, students will communicate scientific information, using a presentation, that answers the driving question for the module: How can we as space scientists analyze data to plan a space mission? To begin with, students obtain information from text resources about a specific planet they will plan a mission to. They determine the physical and scale properties of their destination, what missions have already occured to the planet, and what information is not yet known about the planet. Students will develop mission goals , and choose the type of spacecraft and technology necessary to accomplish each goal. They will develop a mission travel plan, using mathematical thinking to calculate the length of the mission, and developing model to explain how planetary orbits will affect the mission trajectory. Finally , students will present their mission to a panel of their peers for evaluation and reflection.
This cycle synthesize the big ideas from concepts 1-4 of the module. Students use their understanding of the properties of objects within our solar system, the role gravity plays in the motion of objects within our solar system, and the relationships among celestial objects in our solar system to develop a unique space mission.