Activities for Thursday, 4/15
Exploration of the Moon and Mars
With the landing of Perseverance and Ingenuity on the surface of Mars and NASA's plan to return a man and the first woman to the Moon by 2024, the overall theme of the Statewide Star Party this year is The Moon and Mars. On Day 3, we learned about Mars and some of the first rovers on the planet. Today, we invite you to explore the future of space exploration. You can make a Mars helicopter, build a rover, construct a robotic arm, and test some models for your very own rockets. We hope you have fun! Don't forget to share images of your creations to our Padlet board - we would love to see them!
To Learn
To the Moon and Beyond (A La Luna y Más Alla)
This storybook contains several children's stories of Latin American origin, all written in Spanish and translated in English.
Wallace and Gromit - A Grand Day Out
Wallace and Gromit may not work for NASA, but they are some amazing engineers!
Watch how Wallace and Gromit create their very own rocket with some screws, door frames, and whatever else they find in their home!
To Make
Make a Mars Helicopter!
The Perseverance rover did not land on Mars alone! On-board the rover was Ingenuity, a small helicopter that will attempt to make the first roto-powered flight on another planet! Ingenuity is scheduled to make its first test flight in early April. Celebrate the arrival of Ingenuity to Mars by building your very own paper Mars helicopter!
Learn more about Ingenuity on the NASA Mars website!
Artist's conception of Ingenuity. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Make a cardboard rover!
Traveling across the surface of the Moon or Mars is not an easy feat. Imagine hopping around with heavy equipment while keeping an eye on your oxygen levels!
Both celestial bodies may have a lower force of gravity than Earth, but astronauts need a more convenient way to explore the two bodies.
That's where rovers come in!
Ever wanted to create your very own? Use some cardboard and candies!
Model Rockets
Perseverance was launched to Mars atop an Atlas V rocket and astronauts will return to the Moon using NASA's Space Launch System (SLS). Want to build your own rocket to carry cargo high into the sky or across the room? Check out some of these ideas for building your own rockets!
Build a stomp rocket
Build a rocket out of paper and launch them using some PVC and an empty 2-liter bottle. A complete description of the activity can be found on the NASA JPL website.
Build a bubble powered rocket
Use an old film canister, paper, and a fizzing tablet to build a rocket powered by bubbles! A full description of the project can be found on the NASA SpacePlace website.
Build a balloon rocket
Want to learn how rockets work? Our friends at Penn State University share an activity to teach kids about propulsion using nothing more than a balloon, tape, straw, and string!
Make a crane with straws
Ever thought about how rovers pick up rocks on the Moon and on Mars?
They use cranes to do so, and you can make your very own using household items, a hot-glue gun, and the provided template!
CLAW MACHINE DOC.pdfMake a crane with straws version 2.0
Want to try to make a robotic hand using just straws, tape, paper, and string? Check out the instructions for this project!
To Observe
Satellite Tracking
Have you ever noticed all of the Earth orbiting satellites that can be observed from right here on Earth? If you have never gone satellite watching before, give it a try - you may be surprised how many you can spot!
On a clear, dark night, go outside and lie on a blanket as you look up at the sky. Lay in the dark for a few minutes to let your eyes get adjusted to the dark. Once your eyes are adapted, watch the sky for passing satellites.
How do you know that you've spotted a satellite? While it is true that the stars, planets, and Moon move through the sky, they do so over the course of hours. These astronomical objects will not appear to visibly move over the course of a minute or two. If you see a bright light moving through the sky relative to those background stars, it could be one of three things: 1) an airplane, 2) a meteor, or 3) a satellite. If it is an airplane, you will see it blinking. If it is a meteor, it will likely be moving extremely fast and the light will fade away in a second or two. However, if you see a bright light moving in a long arc across the sky and it isn't blinking like a plane - you've just spotted a satellite!
On days 1 and 3 of this star party, we recommended that you download the Star Walk app onto your mobile phone. This app does a pretty good job showing you where satellites are in your sky. You can also learn when the International Space Station (ISS) will be flying overhead by visiting NASA's Spot the Station website. A table of the next passes of the ISS over the Charlotte, NC area is shown in this section.
In Summary
There is so much out there to explore. While we cannot see Perseverance on Mars from Earth, we can see many satellites on a clear dark night, even without binoculars or a telescope!
Here is your challenge:
On a clear night, go outside and try to spot some of the satellites, space stations, and telescopes that are currently in Earth orbit. Can you find a weather satellite? A telescope? Maybe you can even find the International Space Station (ISS). While we do not yet have humans walking around on Mars, we do currently have humans living on the ISS performing experiments to improve our lives on Earth and make big strides toward getting us to Mars and beyond. Next time you see the ISS pass by, give those astronauts a big wave!
...and don't forget to connect with others by sharing your memories on our Padlet board!