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Pocket Solar System ~ Solar System Beads ~ Build an LRO
Pocket Solar System ~ Solar System Beads ~ Build an LRO
Pocket Solar System
Pocket Solar System
Building scale models of the Solar System is a challenge because of the vast distances and huge size differences involved. This activity is a simple little model to give you an overview of the distances between the orbits of the planets and other objects in our Solar System that you can keep in your pocket.
Solar System Beads
Solar System Beads
Our solar system is immense in size. We think of the planets as revolving around the sun, but rarely consider how far each planet is from the sun or from each other. Furthermore, we fail to appreciate the even greater distances to the other stars. Astronomers refer to the distance from the sun to the Earth as one “astronomical unit” or AU. This unit provides an easy way to calculate the distances of the other planets from the sun and build a scale model with the correct relative distances.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
Large craft pony beads—11 colors (any combination)
String– 5 meters per person
Ruler with metric measurements
Student sheet
AC Solar System Bead Measurements.pdfScale Measurements
Scale Measurements
Don't worry about the bead colors listed. You can substitute any color in for one you may not have. You could event use a charm instead of a bead, if you don't have enough. What's important in the document above are the measurements listed.
Build an LRO
Build an LRO
NASA wants to learn more about the Moon to prepare for future explorations. Because it is so expensive to send humans, it is important to learn more about the moon with robotic explorers. These robots aren’t like those we see in movies, with eyes, hands, and legs, but rather spacecraft that have many instruments pointed at the Moon’s surface to look for water ice and elements in rocks, map where the surface is safe for landing and building, and find where scientific questions about the Moon’s formation and changes can best be studied. All these activities will prepare future astronauts—you the Artemis Generation– to explore the solar system!
In this activity, you will be making your own Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). Some features you will want to consider:
What tools do you use to explore? Eyes, ears, nose, sense of touch, taste, cameras, thermometers, flashlights, magnifying glasses, etc.
What kinds of tools can we design for our orbiters to explore with? Cameras, thermometers, telescopes
In what ways are robots such as our space crafts different from human explorers? They do not need to eat, but they do need a power source. They are stronger, better able to withstand radiation, cold, heat, and the vacuum of space. They are not creative and can not think for themselves so we have to tell or program them with what to do.
Orbiters operate from high above the Moon’s surface, so they will not be able to mimic the senses of taste and touch. With no air for sound to pass through, they do not have a need for “ears.” They are, however, able to “see” with different kinds of sensors that detect types of light that are not visible to the human eyes. Space crafts use the light of the Sun and stars, which reflects off the Moon’s surface, in addition to their own lasers and radar to “see.” Future explorers will need maps of the Moon to help find smooth places to land and build habitats and to find resources like types of rocks and water ice. The LRO’s instruments will show scientists features as small as a foot and a half across.
ACTIVITY: Build an LRO
ACTIVITY: Build an LRO
AC LRO Space Craft images.pdfImages to Aid Your Build
Images to Aid Your Build
What will your LRO look like?
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