Objective: To learn about the Space race And develop questioning skills Gagarin and The Space Race Objective: To learn about the space race And develop questioning skills

A rocket you will make later

Questions How big is space? Where is it? What is in it? What do you know about space travel? What is needed to travel safely in space? Is everything in space naturally occurring? Who do you know who has been up in space? Which of you would like to go? In groups list questions you would like to ask an astronaut.

What is in our solar system? Use the two interactive activities from

Space marks 1957, First man-made object to orbit the Earth, ( USSR's Sputnik 1)and first dog in space The first human to journey into outer space Yuri Gagarin in Vostock First woman in space Valentina Tereshkova 1965, The first spacewalk (by Aleksei Leonov) 1969 The first Moon landing by the American Apollo 11 craft on July 20,MoonApollo The launch of the first space station (Salyut 1)space stationSalyut Pioneer launches 1977 Voyagers 1 and Start of International Space Station

Laika, the first animal ever sent to space, rode to orbit in Sputnik II on the 3rd of November, Several countries issued stamps honouring Laika.orbit

Ham, the first chimpanzee ever to ride into space is shown off by his animal trainer at Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Image Copyright © NASA) html html

Yuri Gagarin (March 1934 – 27 March 1968), Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. The first human to journey into outer space in Vostok 1 spacecraft on April 12, After re-entry, Gagarin ejected from the craft and landed safely by parachute. After the mission, Gagarin became an international celebrity, and was awarded many medals and honours. Vostok 1 was his only spaceflight. Gagarin died when his training jet crashed in The precise cause of the crash is uncertain.

Russian post card Russian Rouble commemorating Gagarin in 2001

Valentina Tereshkova First woman in space She was selected to pilot Vostok 6 16th of June Before being recruited as a cosmonaut, Tereshkova was a textile-factory assembly worker and an amateur parachutist.

Moon Landing 1969 Apollo 11 blasted off on July 16, Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins were the astronauts. Four days later, Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the moon. They landed on the moon in the Lunar Module. It was called the Eagle. Collins stayed in orbit around the moon. He did experiments and took pictures. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first human to step on the moon. He and Aldrin walked around for three hours. They did experiments. They picked up bits of moon dirt and rocks.

Moon message The astronauts put a U.S. flag on the moon. They also left a sign on the moon which says: "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon July 1969, A.D. We came in peace for all mankind." Image Credit: NASA

Pioneer plaque 1972 The Pioneer project sent up many rockets. Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft were the first human-built objects to leave the solar system. They had a plaque on board which could give information about us to other intelligent life. Pioneer 10 was launched in 1972 and sent back data for 30 years.

Voyagers 1 and Voyager 1 and 2 space probes were launched by NASA in 1977, to study the outer Solar System and later interstellar space. They have operated for 33 years, 7 months, The spacecraft receives routine commands and transmits data back to the Deep Space Network. Voyager 1 was the first probe to leave the Solar System and is the farthest human-made object from Earth.

Hubble 1990 The Hubble Space Telescope was deployed from the Space shuttle Discovery on April 25, Since then, there have been five servicing missions that continued to upgrade the telescope's scientific instruments and operational systems. Hubble reached a major milestone, its 20th anniversary in orbit, on April 24, 2010.

The International Space Station (ISS) On-orbit construction of the station began in 1998 and is scheduled for completion by mid The station is expected to remain in operation until at least 2015, and likely The ISS can be seen from Earth with the naked eye. The ISS is the largest artificial satellite that has ever orbited Earth. The ISS acts as a research laboratory that has a microgravity environment in which crews conduct experiments in biology, chemistry, medicine, physiology and physics, as well as astronomical and meteorological observations. The space station is operated by crews of six space scientists at a time and has an uninterrupted human presence in space since The station is serviced by several types of spacecraft including Soyuz, and, space shuttles and has been visited by astronauts and cosmonauts from 15 different nations.

The International Space Station

What would you want to test in space? What experiment would benefit from zero gravity? Plants? Animals? Humans? Materials? Liquids?

Life on board the ISS 16 sunrises and sunsets a day. The crew works ten hours per day on a weekday, and five hours on Saturdays, with the rest of the time their own for relaxation or work catch- up. They sleep in tethered sleeping bags. Most of the food eaten by station crews is frozen, refrigerated or canned. Crew members wash with a water jet and wet wipes. There are two space toilets which use a fan-driven suction system once astronauts fastened themselves to the toilet seat. Solid waste is collected in individual bags and full containers are transferred to visiting spacecraft for disposal. Liquid waste is collected and recycled back into drinking water.

Russia is making its final preparations for the launch of its Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station ahead of the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's first manned journey into space.

Rockets for Yuri An event by the YuriGagarin50 initiative that will encourage people across the UK to participate in mass rocket launchings of air and water powered crafts to mark the 50th anniversary of the day Gagarin became the first man in space, on April 12, 2011.

Use instructions in colour from

Fin pattern template can be found on the site for this activity.

Make your own space rocket with instructions from Share your rocket launch success! Snap it! Post images at Film it! Upload videos to Youtube Tell us! Send us your webpage links to Join us! With your permission we can add your videos to the YuriGagarin50 YouTube Channel will tweet about it!

Useful Links More than 25 hands-on science activities are provided in classroom-ready pages for both teachers and students for exploring Earth, the planets, geology, and space sciences can be found at... Visit NASA on A useful space diagram to show class is on Other space links for pupils can be found in Guardian Teacher Network space resources andhttp://teachers.guardian.co.uk/resources.aspx?q=planets NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson arrived at the International Space Station Friday, Oct. 12, to begin her tenure as the first woman to command a station mission.