Astronautics Activity Badge activity pack - Scouts UK

explore the universe Astronautics Activity pack

contents Introduction and Overview of the Pack Astronautics badge requirements Activity 1: Introducing space exploration individual research Activity 2: Write a mission report Activity 3: Build a model spacecraft Activity 4: Reflect on satellite dishes Activity 5: Keep satellites in orbit Activity 6: Build a model of the solar system Activity 7: Become a Mars scientist Activity 8: Make an impact! Activity 9: Mission X: Train like an astronaut Activity 10: Launch a rocket Useful information and links

Introduction This activity pack has been produced with the UK Space Agency to help support any of you who wish to earn your Astronautics Activity Badge. This activity booklet contains fascinating facts about space and space exploration and activities to bring the subject area of space alive.

What is the UK Space Agency? The UK Space Agency is an executive government agency at the heart of UK efforts to explore and benefit from space. It is responsible for all strategic decisions on the UK civil space programme and provides a clear, single voice for UK space ambitions. The UK Space Agency website has information about space exploration, current space missions and space careers: http://www.bis.gov.uk/ukspaceagency/

Welcome to the Astronautics Badge Activity Pack. I’m British, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut, Tim Peake. I’ve been training for manned space flight since 2009 and I’ll be flying to the International Space Station in 2015. I hope you enjoy learning more about current and past space missions, trying out some space science and building your own model spacecraft. I think it’s great that you have decided to explore space and I hope it inspires you to discover more about the Universe. Good luck!

The UK Space Agency is keen to inspire and encourage the next generation of space scientists and engineers. It looks to inform young people about space missions being run in the UK, and bring to your attention the careers on offer in the space sector.

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page 2 • Astronautics Badge Activity Pack

The Astronautics Activity Badge Requirements Complete the following requirements: 1. Explain the purpose of space exploration including: • historical reasons • immediate goals in terms of specific knowledge • benefits related to Earth resources, technology, and new products 2. Choose one of the following topics and with it undertake option one or two: a. a commercial or scientific rocket (Ariane, Delta, Soyuz, Proton, Zenit,etc) b. the NASA space shuttle c. the International Space Station d. a specific satellite (eg Envisat, Cassini, Aurora, etc) e. an unmanned space probe Option One Describe the topic’s primary mission purpose; explain the functions of the component parts, together with a brief history and accomplishments of a specific mission and what was learned from that mission. Option Two Build a scale model of or about the topic, either from a commercial kit, or from plans available from the Internet or model clubs and shops. 3. Discuss and demonstrate two of the following: a. the law of action-reaction in the context of rockets and zero or low-gravity environments b. how rocket engines work, and their lift-off and re-entry procedures c. how satellites stay in orbit and the different types of orbits they use d. how satellite pictures of the Earth, planets and their moons are made and transmitted

Option B - Space exploration i. D escribe how space satellites and probes have added to our knowledge of the Solar System. ii. B uild an accurate scale model of a space exploration vehicle. Find out about its design, function, and basic operation. Be able to help others learn about your vehicle. iii. D esign an inhabited base space colony. What conditions will you need to overcome to ensure suitable living arrangements, energy sources, special equipment, health and safety needs, and environmental protection or danger? Share and explain your design or model with others. iv. Using photographs, news clippings, articles from the internet etc, mount a display about a current space mission and share your findings with others. Option C - Space port i. W ith your leader, plan and participate in a themed ‘Space Camp’ or event, undertaking appropriate activities. ii. Work with your leader to organise a visit to a space centre, museum, planetarium or rocketry enthusiasts group and share your experiences with an adult or other Scouts. iii. Find out about careers in the space industry. The Cassini-Huygens mission visits Saturn’s moon, Titan, on Christmas Day 2005. Credit: ESA

4. Complete all of the activities in one of the following options: Option A – Rocketry Explain the safety code for rocketry and be able to identify the principal parts of a rocket. i. Describe how solid and liquid propellant rocket motors work. ii. Build, launch, and recover a single or double-staged model rocket. iii. M ake a second launch to accomplish a specific objective. For example, to carry a fragile payload; take aerial photographs; take altitude measurements; make temperature measurements; recover a parachute; use remote control; build a launch controller or launch pad. Note This activity must follow the appropriate BMFA/ UKRA safety codes on Rocketry. page 3 • Astronautics Badge Activity Pack

Activity 1

Introducing Space Exploration - Individual Research This activity fulfills some or all of badge requirements 1 and 2 (Option 1). Since taking their first steps on the planet, mankind has been looking to the skies. Around 1,000 years BC, the Babylonians - the earliest known astronomers - mapped the stars, believing that their fortunes were influenced by the patterns and positions they studied. Since that time, our knowledge of the stars and planets has been advanced by some of history’s most prominent scientists, among them Copernicus, Galileo, Newton and Einstein. Visit the Agency’s Discover and Learn webpages to prepare yourself for the discussions you’re going to have about the fascinating world of space exploration and how far we’ve come in the past six decades.

DID YOU KNOW? Technology made for space exploration and space travel has also led to inventions on Earth. For example ear thermometers, fire fighters’ clothing, racing bicycles, computer game controls, scanners in airports, smoke alarms and barcodes were all developed from technology used in space.

Activity Cut out the cards and place in chronological order. This will show you how the field of space exploration has progressed over the last 20,000 years.

November 1957: Russian dog, Laika, becomes the first creature to orbit the Earth

1997: The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft in launched. This mission aims to study Saturn, its rings, its moons and its magnetic field.

1668: Sir Isaac Newton builds the first reflecting telescope. This new telescope design overcame the problem of false colour produced by refractor telescopes. Over 300 years later, Newton’s invention formed the basis of the Hubble Space Telescope.

1961: The Soviet Union launches cosmonaut Yuri A. Gagarin on a 108-minute flight. Gagarin becomes the first person to successfully orbit the globe.

1473: Copernicus proposes a theory that replaces the Sun rather than the Earth as the centre of the Universe.

1965: Russian cosmonaut Alexei Leonov goes on a 12-minute spacewalk.

1981: The world’s first reusable spacecraft, the space shuttle, makes its first flight.

1962: The UK gets involved in space when it builds six instruments to go up on the first international satellite, Ariel 1.

1924: Edwin Hubble discovered that our Milky Way was not the centre of universe, but rather only one galaxy in among billions.

280 BC: Aristarchus (Greek) stated that the Sun was the centre of the ‘solar system’. It was almost 1,800 years later that his theory would be widely accepted.

120 AD: Greco-Egyptian astronomer Ptolemy, compiles a star catalogue and makes careful measurements of the movements of planets. Ptolemy wrongly places Earth at the centre of the Universe.

1975: US and Russian astronauts meet in Earth orbit, shake hands on live TV, and spend two days together.

October 1957: The Soviet Union launches the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1.

1510: Nicolaus Copernicus’s theories that the Sun is the center of our solar system are banned by the Roman Catholic Church. They had been published after his death.

1977: The two Voyager probes are launched. These are sent out to explore the four gas giant planets of our outer Solar System, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. They are now the furthest man-made objects from Earth.

1630: Galileo Galilei first used a telescope from lenses he made himself. He stated that the Sun was the center of the universe, for this he was persecuted by the Church who believed that God had placed earth at the centre of the universe.

2000: The first crew arrive at the International Space Station.

1990: The Hubble Space Telescope is deployed.

1969: Apollo 11 touches down on the moon, and Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, become the first men to walk on the Moon

1200-1000 BC: Babylonians study ‘astrology’ - the belief that people’s lives were influenced by the stars - and invent the 12 signs that are still used today. Around the same time, the Greeks name most of the stars and the constellations, and the “wandering stars”, which we now know were planets, and the Romans named them after their gods: Mercury, Venus, Mars & Jupiter.

1988: Professor Stephen Hawking publishes “A Brief History of Time”, the most influential book about space written in the last 100 years.


Activity 2

Write a Mission Report The UK is currently involved in the following space missions:

This activity fulfills badge requirement 2 (Option 1)

1. Cassini–Huygens A mission to study Saturn, its moons, rings and complex | magnetic environment 2. S OHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) This is investigating the sun from its deepest core to its outer atmosphere and has told us lots about the solar wind, a stream of charged particles produced by the sun. 3. Gaia Gaia will provide a 3D map of the one billion stars that make up our galaxy, the Milky Way.

DID YOU KNOW? The Herschel Space Telescope is cooled to - 273 °C. This is because the Herschel telescope detects a special kind of light coming from galaxies called infra-red.

4. Galileo The first highly accurate global positioning system under civilian control. Used for SatNavs, landing aircraft and timing bank transactions.

By the time the infra-red light has come all the way from far-off galaxies the infra-red is very weak. The problem is that Herschel produces its own infra-red light and this is so strong it hides the weak infra-red from galaxies so that the telescope can’t see it. It’s like the galaxy is whispering in infra-red but the telescope is shouting so much infra-red that the telescope can’t hear the quiet infra-red from the galaxy.

5. D MC (Disaster Monitoring Constellation) This is a network of satellites that can take detailed images of any part of the Earth to aid relief efforts during natural disasters.

The hotter an object is the more infra-red it produces, which is why people look bright white under infra-red cameras compared to their colder surroundings.

For this activity, choose a mission and write a mission report using the template below. You can get more information to help you write your report on the UK Space Agency’s Mission webpage: http://www.bis.gov.uk/ukspaceagency/missions

To stop Herschel producing so much infra-red light it is cooled down to nearly − 273 °C. Now the telescope produces hardly any infra-red and it can now hear the whisper of infra-red from galaxies.

Gaia Mapping the stars of the Milky Way Credit: ESA


Mission Report MISSION NAME

MISSION PURPOSE

MISSION HISTORY

Astro Charlie: The Mission X mascot Credit: NASA

PAYLOADS ONBOARD A payload is cargo, including humans and scientific equipment, carried on the spacecraft

MISSION FINDINGS SO FAR

IS THE MISSION STILL OPERATIONAL?


Activity 3

Build a Model of a Spacecraft This activity fulfills badge requirement 2 (Option 2) Your leader will give you model patterns to choose from so you can make your model spacecraft. But you don’t have to stick to those. Why not look at some of the links below and choose your own mission spacecraft to model? Cassini-Huygens, SOHO, GAIA, Ariane rockets and more: http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=35013 James Webb Space Telescope http://www.jwst.nasa.gov/papermodel_swales.html Herschel Space Telescope http://herschel.cf.ac.uk/education/model Hubble Space Telescope http://hubblesite.org/the_telescope/hand-held_hubble/ Venus Express http://esamultimedia.esa.int/images/venusexpress/Venus_Express_ Model_Instruction.pdf International Space Station http://www.csiro.au/resources/InternationalSpaceStation

Activity 4

UNDERSTAND satellite dishes with two simple experiments Introduction Satellites are objects in orbit around a planet or other celestial body. Man-made satellites are used for several applications including navigation, disaster monitoring, weather forecasting and TV and radio broadcasting. Just over 50 years ago, in 1962, the UK

worked with NASA on the first international satellite, Ariel 1, which carried six instruments for measuring the space environment. There are now more than 3,000 satellites in orbit, owned by more than 40 countries worldwide.


2. R epeat this with the torch and note which materials allow light waves to pass: a. From inside a plastic container .................................................................................................... b. From the opposite side of a window .................................................................................................... c. From inside a cardboard box .................................................................................................... 3. Now place the radio in the carboard box and wrap the box in tin foil. You can investigate the technology behind satellites with the following experiments:

Experiment A – How do radio waves compare to light waves? TV and radio broadcasting signals are sent as radio waves. With this activity you can learn about how radio waves compare to light waves in this activity.

Each group will need: • a torch • a portable radio • a clear plastic container • glass e.g. a window • a cardboard box • aluminium foil (to cover the box)

What happens to the sound now? ....................................................................................................

4. What conclusions can you make about radio and light waves? ....................................................................................................

Experiment B – Investigating the shape of satellite dishes Why are most satellite dishes on people’s roofs bowl-shaped, instead of flat? Your leader will help you do this experiment to find out.

1. Turn on the radio and tune it in to a programme. What happens to the sound when you put the radio: a. Inside a clear plastic container? .................................................................................................... b. On the opposite side of a window? .................................................................................................... c. Inside a cardboard box?

DID YOU KNOW? The Earth’s very own satellite, the Moon, is drifting away. Every year the Moon moves about 3.8cm further away from the Earth. This is caused by tidal effects on the Earth. In return the Moon’s gravity slows the Earth’s spin. Consequently, the earth is slowing in rotation by about 0.002 seconds per day per century. Scientists do not know how the Moon was created, but the generally accepted theory suggests that a large Mars sized object hit the Earth causing the Moon to splinter off.

....................................................................................................


Activity 5

Keep Satellites in Orbit This activity fulfills some or all of badge requirements 3c When two objects are in proximity to one another, an attractive force acts to pull them towards one another. This force is gravity. Imagine these two objects as the Earth and a satellite orbiting the Earth. The closer the satellite is to Earth, the greater the attraction due to gravity. This attraction causes the satellite to fall towards Earth. The speed of each satellite is adjusted so that it falls to Earth at the same rate as the curve of the Earth falls away from the satellite. The satellite is constantly falling but it never hits the ground, because the ground curves away from it.

Instructions:

Swimming cap Button

Rubber circles

Screw eyelet

Small screw

Strong thread

Chipboard/MDF

You can make a simple demonstration of orbits by creating a Gravity Well:

Equipment needed: • Large flower pot with drainage holes on the lower side (approx. 30 cm diameter). Remove the bottom of the flower pot before the demonstration using a Stanley knife. Make sure the top rim of the pot is smooth. • Swimming cap • One piece of chipboard or MDF 30 cm squared • Two circular pieces of rubber 1cm diameter (such as from an old tyre, or from a rubber sheet) • One needle with a large eye e.g. tapestry needle • One small screw • One screw eyelet • Strong thread e.g. fishing line or nylon sail string • Rubber glue e.g. an epoxy resin • Small button • Several marbles of different sizes

1. Glue one rubber circle to the centre top of the swimming cap and the other rubber circle directly opposite on the underside of the cap. Allow to dry. 2. S tretch the swimming cap across the top of the flower pot and over the rim. Centre the rubber circles. 3. Using the needle, thread the strong thread through the rubber circles. Tie a button to the end of the thread on the side closest to the top of the flower pot, to stop the thread going all the way through the swimming cap. 4. S crew the eyelet in the centre of the chipboard and the small screw just inside one corner of the board on the same side. 5. Pull the thread down through the eyelet, then through a drainage hole on the flower pot, before finally tying the string securely to the small screw to stop it unravelling. This should have pulled the swimming cap down to create a gravity well. 6. Spin a marble around the gravity well. The gravity well simulates the gravity field of the Earth. The marble represents a satellite. If the satellite, or marble, is travelling fast enough it can orbit around the centre of the gravity well. This centre represents the Earth. 7. O bserve what happens as the marbles loses energy and its orbit distance decreases. They should see the speed of the marble increase. The force of gravity gets stronger with decreasing distance between the two objects. Therefore, a satellite orbiting closer to the Earth must travel faster to stay in orbit than a satellite in a higher orbit. 8. Investigate the interaction of two gravity fields, such as between planets in our Solar System. Each marble makes its own depression on the gravity well and hence has its own gravitational field. By spinning two marbles in the gravity well, Scouts should see that the orbits of each marble are affected by the other marble. 9. The dependence of gravity on mass can be demonstrated by lowering the depth of the gravity well. This illustrates a heavier planet than Earth.


Activity 6

build a model of the solar system This activity fulfills some or all of badge requirement 4 (Option B)

Introduction Our Solar System contains the Sun, its eight orbiting planets and other celestial bodies that are under the Sun’s gravitational pull, such as comets and asteroids. Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars are the four terrestrial planets, with rocky, solid surfaces. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are the gas giants. Comets originate from the Oort Cloud and Kupier Belt, beyond Neptune, while most asteroids orbit in the region between Mars and Jupiter.

Solar System Credit: Nasa

1. Planet sizes in our Solar System Your leader is going to show you the relative size of the planets in our Solar System, using fruit. Guess which fruits you think represent each planet.

Mercury - ..................................................................... Venus

- .....................................................................

Earth

- .....................................................................

Mars

- .....................................................................

Jupiter - ..................................................................... Saturn

- .....................................................................

Planet Mercury

Uranus - .....................................................................

Venus

Neptune - .....................................................................

Earth

If you were going to make a scale model including the sun, you would have to find a fruit to represent it that was a million times bigger than the fruit representing Earth.

Mars Jupiter

2. Distances in our Solar System

Saturn

Your second interactive Solar System demonstrates the immense distances between features in space. Your leader will help set this up, but you could look online to find out the actual distances of the planets from the Sun in km or miles.

DID YOU KNOW? There are 160 moons in our Solar System. Jupiter alone has 63, while Saturn has 52. The main four moons of Jupiter are called the Galilean Moons, as they were the four moons seen by the astronomer Galileo. These moons are Ganymede, Callisto, Europa, and Io. Europa is the smoothest

Distance from sun

Uranus Neptune

celestial object in our Solar System like a giant marble. It has water trapped under ice on its surface and may contain life. Finally, Io looks a bit like a pizza because of lots of volcanoes on it surface spewing out lava.


Activity 7

Become a Mars scientist Introduction One day Mars scientists hope that real samples of Martian soil will be brought back to Earth. At the moment ESA scientists and engineers are working on the ExoMars mission to put a European rover on Mars. This rover will study the geology of Mars and look for signs of past or current lifeforms. You can have a go at detecting life (microorganisms) in soil samples from Earth with the following activity.

DID YOU KNOW? The red color of Mars is due to oxidized (rusted) iron in its soil. Mars’s volcano Olympus Mons is the biggest in the solar system. It is three times higher than our Mount Everest.

Remember: • That microorganisms are living organisms too small to be seen. • That some microorganisms produce carbon dioxide if suitable nutrients are provided.

Artist’s impression of the ExoMars Rover drilling for rock samples. Credit: ESA - D. Ducros

Write up your own experiment below:

Introduction (Purpose of the experiment) ......................................................................................................

Method (How you went about it – make notes as you do the experiment to help you) 1. .................................................................................................. 2. .................................................................................................. 3. .................................................................................................. 4. ..................................................................................................

Conclusion (What you discovered about each of the soil samples) Sample A

Sample B

Mars Express exploring the red planet Credit: ESA - D. Ducros

Sample C


Activity 8

Make an Impact! You’ve heard about meteorites and other space matter that has crashed into the Earth and caused huge craters (check out Barringer Crater in Arizona, US, and Busumtwi, in Ghana). But how big did those meteorites have to be to make such huge impressions on

‘Meteorite’

Height

Earth? See for yourselves with this mock meteorite exercise that you can do in your own HQ. Write down and compare your results with other groups.

Diameter of crater

Sketch of crater shape

eg rubber ball

DID YOU KNOW?

The Hadley Crater on Mars Credit: ESA

The Leonid meteor shower happens at intervals of approximately 33 years, though the next one is predicted to occur in 2028 - 26 years after the previous one. It causes meteors to shower the earth at a rate of thousands per minute, and creates the overall effect of lighting up the sky


Activity 9

mission x: train like an astronaut Astronauts need to be extremely fit, agile, dexterous and possess advanced communication skills. We should all aspire to be as fit and healthy as astronauts. Your leader is going to set up an experiment for you to see how astronauts have to face the mental challenges they will have to face in space. Record how you and your partner/team do with the tasks your leader gives you. In brackets after the time recorded, get another group or pair to judge how well you completed the task by giving you a mark out of 10, 1 for not very well, 10 for excellent.

Task Eg Spoon equal amounts of sand into four jars

Time completed Time taken with Time taken with Time taken with Time taken with barehanded gloves (first gloves (second gloves (third gloves (fourth (first attempt) attempt) attempt) attempt) attempt) 10 secs

20 secs

17 secs

15 secs

14 secs

Life on Board Your Spacecraft Being in orbit is a special sort of freefall - so you and everything around you is weightless. But there are also many other things you may not be aware of that astronauts have to consider before they take off. • Nearly every astronaut will experience space sickness, which could mean headaches, nausea and confusion. • W eightlessness means there’s less pressure on the spine, and every astronaut will grow about two inches. The design of the spacesuit actually takes this into account. • Snorers on Earth sleep quietly in space, it’s been found – but less well. The International Space Station takes 90 minutes to orbit the Earth. This means astronauts experience 16 sunsets and sunrises every 24 hours.

• If an astronaut suddenly finds himself without a spacesuit on, they won’t explode, which is what most people think – instead the lack of oxygen will kill them, although they have about two minutes before this happens. Before that the astronaut may experience moisture from the nose and mouth boiling away, slight sunburn, a painless swelling of the skin and underlying tissues and ‘the bends’. • Going to the loo isn’t easy. Astronauts have to place themselves, and are often strapped, exactly in the centre of the space commode to do their business, which is then sucked out. Astronauts use adult nappies for space walks, launch and landing.


DID YOU KNOW? Astronauts undergo lots of scuba diving as part of their training. Scuba diving is as close as it gets to experiencing weightlessness on Earth for long periods of time. Astronauts can also train for weightlessness by going on parabolic flights. These flights involve a modified plane following the flight path of a parabola and create periods where the passengers are in free fall.

Activity 10

Build a rocket! This activity fulfills some or all of badge requirements 3 and 4 (Option A) Before you build one – do you know how a rocket is constructed? Match the terms listed below to the rocket diagram labels A–G.

A Nose Nose conecone

Nose cone

B Guidance Guidance Payload Payload

Fuel

C Fuel Fuel

Fin

Nozzle

Propellent Propellent D injection injection pump pump

Oxidant Oxidant E

Guidance system Oxidant

Fin Fin

Fin Fin F

DID YOU KNOW? The first rockets were made 1,000 years ago in China. Robert Goddard launched the very first liquid-fuelled rocket in 1926.

Propulsion System Propulsion System

Propellant injection pump

G

Nozzle Nozzle


Useful Information Space Careers For information about careers in the space sector visit the UK Space Agency’s Careers webpages: bis.gov.uk/ukspaceagency/careers/

Want to get the most up to date information about space? Follow the UK Space Agency:

Credit: ESA/Guus Schoonewille

@spacegovuk

spacegovuk channel

UK Space Agency page

You can also find out about work experience, apprenticeships, university courses and graduate schemes. Why not get to know some characters who work in the space sector through some “I Work in Space” videos and text profiles: http://www.bis.gov.uk/ukspaceagency/careers/i-work-in-space

Questions? E-mail: [email protected]
