This activity, developed for NASA's Dawn mission, utilizes a researched-based instructional strategy called direct vocabulary instruction to help students understand the new definitions of planet and dwarf planet.

This activity, developed for NASA's Dawn mission, utilizes a researched-based instructional strategy called direct vocabulary instruction to help students understand the new definitions of planet and dwarf planet.

In this lesson, students will review information comparing Mars and Earth and a timeline outlining the study of Mars and the possibility of life on Mars. Students will develop questions on the topic and then research and investigate answers to their questions.

Students will observe examples of galaxies that have different shapes and how they are classified according to the Hubble classification descriptors.

NASA scientists, using several NASA Earth observing satellites, continue to seek answers to questions related to climate change. Several of those questions, focused on such topics as the effect of clouds and aerosols, and the role of the sun's cycles and the carbon cycle, are included in this article. Images of the respective satellites involved in the research are shown. This article is part of the Climate Kids website, a NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change.

In this activity, students will read an excerpt from Kennedy's speech about space exploration and answer a series of comprehension questions.

Students imagine they are scientists or engineers designing a new space probe to explore our solar system. They choose a planet, review its weather factors, and use a rubric to gather information, make a plan, modify and/or test their plan, and create their design. Students conduct peer evaluation and revise, publish, and present their designs.

Learners will use trays of sand and cups of water to recreate surface features seen in images of Mars. This is activity 5 of 9 in Mars and Earth: Science Learning Activities for After School.

In this lesson, students watch a video about space probes and discuss the function of space probes. They use a photo gallery to compare and contrast different structures and equipment of probes, and make connections between the different structures and purposes of space probes. Then students use an interactive diagram of the Cassini space probe to imagine what instruments they might include on a probe of their own design.

This presentation is meant to be used in conjunction with the lesson "Discovering Information About Mars." In this lesson, students gain background knowledge about environmental factors on Mars through taking notes while viewing a content presentation. To culminate, they clarify the challenges of living on Mars by generating a list of potential environmental problems.

This resource collection provides numerous videos about eclipses, including those to explain and discuss the August 2017 eclipse.

As part of this activity, students learn about geologic processes on Earth in order to interpret surface features recently seen on Europa by NASA's Galileo spacecraft. Materials presented here include a vocabulary list, geology jigsaw puzzle, review questions, and links to related sites.

NASA released the Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1) emblem. Launching from a modernized Kennedy Space Center, EM-1 is the first integrated flight of the Orion Spacecraft and the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. To learn more, visit https://www.nasa.gov/content/j2m-getting-to-mars-sls-and-orion.

This book introduces students to some of the most unusual places in our galaxy outside of our solar system. Answering the question, "How many stars are in the sky?" introduces students to basic counting, tallying, and grouping techniques, as well as allowing for the use of simple proportions.

In this lesson, students become teams of scientists living on a planet orbiting a distant star who are on the threshold of exploring their own planetary system for the first time. With the planets they have created, teams explore the planets using the methods NASA scientists use to explore the solar system.

This online exhibition highlights the history and achievements of planetary explorations, both Earth-based and by spacecraft. The site includes links to further information on the subject.

Students will build on their existing knowledge of the solar system as they research one of the planets in order to determine whether a manned mission to that planet would be feasible. Students will collect information about the geology, composition, and orbit of their assigned planet. They will then work collaboratively to create a proposal for or against planning a trip to the planet to be presented to the rest of the class.

Students understand which universes have been explored by man and recognize various instruments of exploration. Teacher Notes for the activity are in the database as a separate resource.

Students understand which universes have been explored by man and recognize various instruments of exploration. The student pages for the activity are in the database as a separate resource.