MOON UNIT Lesson 6- Astronauts in Space

Standard:  Earth and Space Science. Students will gain an understanding of Earth and Space Science through the study of earth materials, celestial movement, and weather. Objective  Observe, describe, and record patterns in the appearance and apparent motion of the moon in the night sky.  Observe and describe the number, arrangement and color/brightness of stars in the night sky.

Vocabulary  moon: the large round object that circles the Earth and that shines at night by reflecting light from the sun  phase: the shape of the Moon we see  reflect: to bounce off of  Sun: the star that gives us light and heat

Today we will be looking into the life of an astronaut An astronaut is a person who is training to travel in space. NASA is the agency that trains United States men and women to serve as commanders, pilots, and mission specialists aboard spacecraft. Astronauts have to be highly trained to go out into space.

 Space is a very challenging place to explore. There is no air in space, so there is nothing to breathe. It is very cold, unless the sun is shining onto you - and then, without air to protect you, the rays of the sun would soon burn you!  To survive in space you need a suit that protects your body from the heat and cold, and surrounds you with air to breathe. Space suits are pressurized, meaning they are full of air to support your body, which is why they look puffed up.  A space suit is like a tiny spaceship for one. It is a very complicated machine, with air conditioning, heating, air to breathe and water to drink. It even has a built in toilet!  Some space suits attach to a rocket powered backpack, which allows the astronaut wearing it to fly around in space.

How are they different from the space suits of today? Invented 80 years ago. Invented less than 10 years ago.

Glue the diagram into your science journal.

 The very first astronauts who went up into space ate some interesting things! A lot of their food was ground up and put in tubes that looked like toothpaste! Can you imagine squeezing your lunch out like toothpaste? Apollo 10 Space Meal, 1969 This photo shows John Young’s Meal B lunch for mission Day 9. The mission only lasted eight days—he did not eat this food, but astronauts were provided extra supplies if they had to stay in space longer. It contains cocoa, salmon salad, sugar cookie cubes, grape punch and hand wipes. Credit: Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Apollo 10 Space Meal, 1969 This photo shows John Young’s Meal B lunch for mission Day 9. The mission only lasted eight days—he did not eat this food, but astronauts were provided extra supplies if they had to stay in space longer. It contains cocoa, salmon salad, sugar cookie cubes, grape punch and hand wipes. Credit: Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum

 Today though, astronauts have food choices that are pretty much the same ones we have. They can eat chicken, peanut butter, and candy. They can drink coffee, tea, and orange juice. A nutritionist (a person who studies how to make good food choices) carefully plans menus for astronauts in space, so that the astronauts stay healthy!  Astronauts even have an oven to cook with. Eating in space is a bit tricky though because there is no gravity! Things float! Food packages have to be attached to trays with Velcro. Drinks have to be in pouches and sucked out with straws! Salt and pepper actually come in a liquid form because if you shook salt and pepper in space, it would all just float away in the air! Click here to see a video fromspace/dayinthelife/eating-adil-index.html

If you were an astronaut...  What 5 things would you like to explore in space?  Why would you want to go to space?  What experience would you most look forward to?  How might you feel going into space?  Which planet would you go to? Why?  What food would you need?  Travelling to space takes a LONG time. What would you take with you?

Website to Visit  Click here to learn about Niel Armstrong’s Suit  hsoniankids/flash_index.html hsoniankids/flash_index.html  Click link to learn about space food and see pictures 

Science Journal (optional)  If you were to meet an astronaut what would you ask them?  Draw and write a few question you would ask an astronaut