1. Title: Humans in Space
Topic/Objective: TEKS 7.9B – Identify the accommodations, considering the characteristics of our Solar System, that allows manned space exploration.
Essential Question 1: What are conditions like in space?

2. What are conditions like in space?
Space is a vacuum – there is no atmosphere (also no sound).
Temperatures in space are extremely hot or extremely cold.
Objects and people in space experience a feeling of weightlessness, or microgravity.
1. Identify three conditions of space that are different from conditions on Earth. 2

3. Effects of being in space on humans
Ions in space cause radiation that can cause cancer.
Earth has 1 G-Force. Space has varying G-Forces which causes muscle loss, heart rhythm dysfunction, heart and vision impairment, & balance problems.
Without the force of gravity to work against, astronauts in space must find ways to exercise to slow the loss of bone and muscle. (Bone loss occurs at a rate of 1-2% a month.)

4. How do astronauts train for a mission? How long do they train?
It can take up to 2 years of training to become a fully qualified astronaut.
Candidates must learn the basics of the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station.
They must also learn how to be part of a team by flying the NASA T-38 training jets.
Astronauts also take foreign language classes.

5. Essential Question 2: When did the first humans go to space?

6. When did the first humans go to space?
In the 1950’s (after WWII ended), the U.S. and the Soviet Union competed to see which country could make advances in space exploration the fastest.
This was called the Space Race.

7. In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik I, the first satellite in space.
Then, they launched Sputnik II, the first manned satellite to orbit the Earth.
In 1958, the U.S. created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA and the space race was in full swing.

8. What was Neal Armstrong’s famous quote?
In 1969, the U.S. landed the first man on the moon (in Apollo 11), achieving a notable victory in the Space Race.
Neil Armstrong was the first human to walk on the moon.
What was the first word spoken from the moon?
What was Neal Armstrong’s famous quote?

9. Essential Question 3: How do humans travel to space & where do they currently live in space?

10. How do we travel to space?
A space shuttle is a reusable spacecraft that can carry a crew and equipment into space, return to Earth, and then be reused for the same purpose.
Most shuttle missions last an average of nine days. 10

11. Where can we currently live in space?
Space shuttles are used to take people and supplies from Earth to the space station.
A space station allows long-term observations and experiments to be carried out in space.
Most astronauts stay on the space station for four to six months.
There are crew members on board at all times. Crews come from the US, Russia, Japan, Canada and Europe. NASA astronaut Mike Lopez-Alegria has flown the longest US space station mission to date, at 215 days.
2. Compare How does the length of a space shuttle mission compare with the length of time astronauts spend on the space station? 11

13. Essential Question 4: What accommodations are necessary for humans to travel in space?

14. What do astronauts wear in space? How does it protect them?
A space suit allows people to be outside a spacecraft.
It protects astronauts from:
Lack of oxygen and severe temperatures that exist in space
Debris flying through space
Drifting off into space by tethers attached to rings on the suit
Helmet protects against harmful UV rays, gives oxygen to breathe, allows communication to shuttle and to Earth (visors covered with thin layer of gold)
3. Describe Describe three ways in which a space suit accommodates an astronaut working outside a spacecraft. 14

17. What do astronauts use onboard?
2. Astronauts use exercise equipment on the shuttle and I.S.S.
to provide friction and weight on muscles and bones since
there is no gravity in space.
3. Freeze dried food and liquids in bags provide nourishment
and keep eating from being messy.
4. Special suction toilets keep waste from flying around!
5. Astronauts sleep attached by Velcro to the wall.

19. http://news.discovery.com/videos/space-food-what-astronauts-eat-today.htm (3.28)

21. What would be the best and worst things about living in space for a long period of time?
Missing family & friends
Missing entertainment
Missing world events (news)
Danger of something bad happening

22. Inventions in Space Baby food Smoke detectors Water filter
Cordless tools
Handheld vacuum cleaner
Memory foam
In ear thermometer
Scratch resistance glass
Shoe insoles
Super Soaker (water gun)
Camera phones

23. Who wants to go to space?
Now that the shuttles have been retired, how are we going to get to space?
Private companies are competing to produce the next space vehicle that will take average people to space as often as they fly in plane!
SpaceX, Merlin

24. Pros and Cons
What are some pros (positive) & cons (negative) things that could result from private companies bidding for new space vehicles?