Space
Student material
Introduction
As a child, you were perhaps curious about space and what is out there, about different celestial bodies and the infinity of space. This module invites you to reflect on human space explorations and investigate various space-related myths and issues. Depart from the introductory video, where some space-related ideas, dreams, risks, fears and myths are brought up and discussed in groups. Group discussion will lead to selecting a myth-busting or exploration activity where you will look for evidence to falsify or confirm a chosen myth or clarify existing misconceptions. This activity could be conducted practically or using secondary evidence (information from science literature and the internet). As a first step in working with a myth or issue you want to explore, you have to pose a testable hypothesis (see Figure 1).
After finding evidence for your results and making conclusions, you will prepare a presentation to your classmates in a relevant and convincing manner (for example, in the form of a short video post, poster or PowerPoint presentation). The module is finished with a role-play about space travel issues.
Activity 1: Presentation of the video introduction
Please watch an introductory video (Earth Calls Martha). Write down your initial thoughts and feelings about the issues presented.
Activity 2: Group discussion
After watching the video, you are invited to discuss the topic in small groups (3-4 members).
- Please, express your thoughts and feelings about the issues presented in the video to your peers.
- As a group, you are invited to choose one of the issues (from the introductory video) for further exploration or/and look at other myths, ideas and issues (see below) that could be of interest to your group.
Some myths and ideas about space
- Myth 1: Astronauts orbiting Earth are weightless because they are far from Earth.
- Myth 2: Eating requires gravity for food to move to our stomach. Astronauts need special training to eat in microgravity (in a space station).
- Myth 3: Space travel will soon be stopped by space debris.
- Myth 4: Aliens visit the Earth with unidentified flying objects (UFOs), but the governments and astronauts hide UFO evidence from us
- Myth 5: Space flights contribute to atmospheric pollution and global warming
- Myth 6: Humans should colonise Mars to ensure our future survival
- Myth 7: There is life elsewhere in the Universe
- Myth 8: Space waste cannot be safely removed
- Myth 9: A spaceship needs a rocket engine working all the time on the way to Mars.
- Myth 10: Rockets need air (atmosphere) to push against.
- Myth 11: Microgravity in a space station orbiting Earth damages astronauts' health.
- Myth 12: Hypergravity during launch and landing damages the astronauts' health.
- Myth 13: Cosmic radiation is dangerous for astronauts on the ISS.
Is there another space-related myth or issue that you would like to explore? Check with your teacher.
Activity 3: Mythbusting/ Investigation
You are now invited to narrow down the myth/issue into a testable hypothesis - a statement that can be tested or a question that can be answered through your investigation.
Plan your further activities following the steps given in Figure 1. You should consider whether your myth/issue can be tested experimentally, confirmed/falsified using digital technology, for example, mobile phone Apps, computer models and simulations, or using secondary evidence (e.g., published information or available in the form of YouTube videos). You can use more than one of these methods, applying the so-called triangulation principle – increasing the validity of your findings through the convergence of information from different sources.
In this activity, you are expected to do the following:
- develop a testable hypothesis/ research question,
- plan your simple experiment or search for relevant information that will confirm or falsify your hypothesis/ answer your research question,
- present collected data in the form of tables, graphs, or similar,
- use your findings to draw a conclusion, and finally…
- make a video post or PowerPoint presentation of your main findings (this step is related to the activity 4).
While doing this, please consider sharing the workload equally within your group.
Plan of activities
(you could indicate by which activities you are involved as a whole team and by which you are going to divide responsibilities, in this case, put down, please, who is responsible for what).
You are now expected to find evidence from secondary sources to confirm your own findings using the following tool.
Activity 4: Transforming evidence to a suitable format
Possible formats:
- Video post about the course of the experiment and its results video tutorial
- Video of your slideshow video tutorial
- Slide show.
- Poster using, for example, the visual facilitation technique video tutorial
The following criteria will help you to develop your presentation:
Criteria
Product
- The chosen format is suitable for a given audience (e.g. peers).
- Science content is correct (following up-to-date scientific understanding).
- The posed hypothesis/research question found evidence and made conclusions are mutually consistent.
- Demonstrated evidence is gained from reliable sources which are referred.
- The message is clear / understandable.
- Presentation remains within the given time frame (x-y minutes).
- The visual language is convincing.
- Group can respond to the questions raised by the audience.
Process
- The responsibilities related to producing visual, textual, and sound elements, plus acting, and leadership are fairly shared between the group members.
- The video is ready by _________________ (appointed deadline).
Activity 5: Group presentations
In this activity, you are invited to present your video, poster, etc. to the others. Please be ready to answer your classmates and teacher's questions and comments!
Also, during the presentation of the other groups, you are invited to give constructive feedback to your classmates.
After the presentations:
What do you think of the feedback that you got from your peers? Is it helpful, so you can use it and make an even better video next time? Is it fair? Discuss it within your group!
Activity 6: Debate role-play
In this activity, you are expected to:
- Get familiar with the problems posed in the role-play and see them from different perspectives
- Form or clarify your own opinion
- Work towards a shared group vision
- Present and defend your arguments
- Vote on policy positions
The role-play is formed as a debate involving a total of eight roles that you would represent in teams of 3-4 players. Each team nominates one member as spokesperson, while others act as advisors.
Theme: Space travels
The debate concerns the controversy that the “Human Spaceflight Programme is an unnecessary waste of resources needed for more urgent needs.”
This theme has two positions according to attributed roles: in favour and against developing the Human Spaceflight Programme in your country (sending national astronauts to space).
Position 1: In favour
The state must recognise that crewed spaceflights offer an excellent opportunity for human scientific progress and national development. The state must invest in launching manned missions to space.
Position 2: Against
The state must focus only on unmanned space programmes as they are more economically and ecologically sustainable, safe, and assure technological progress.
Phase I (≈ 25 minutes)
Each team gets a role card with a brief profile of the role the team will represent. You have to provide arguments in support of the perspective to be defended.
Several info cards are provided as support material for debating Space topic.
You can also search for additional information on the Internet, taking in mind the importance of choosing reliable sources, as was done previously in Activity 3.
Phase II (≈ 20 minutes)
Group discussion: In this stage, you share opinions and refine common arguments within your team. Initial arguments can be prepared in visual form as PowerPoint presentations or posters using visual facilitation technique.
Phase III (≈ 45 min., time might need to be extended)
Debate is divided into two parts. In the first part, the spokesperson of each team is given three minutes to present their role and initial arguments.
Once each of the eight teams has presented its arguments, there will be a five-minute break, thus allowing refutations to be developed, the counterarguments put forward by other teams, and the refutations of these.
Following the break, in the second part of the role-play, the various spokespersons debated, attempting to counter each other's arguments in support of their position. During this part of the role-play, the task for advisors (other team members) is to support their team spokesperson by continuing to propose refutations of the arguments put forward by the teams representing different roles.
At the end of the debate, participants can vote in favour or against using tax-payers' money for crewed or robotic space missions—roles.
The cards
Here the cards fit to the page layout and take as little space as their content demands – so this is just a preview. If you want to see the cards as uniform size playing cards and print them out, please open the special “card-view” page.
Roles in favour of Position 1 (for crewed space exploration)
Government politician
As a government politician, you have electoral interests and want to increase the development of innovative technologies and the employment rate. Your party supports investments in the space exploration hi-tech industry as an essential foundation for a knowledge-based society. You defend the job creation resulting from creating a spaceport for manned spaceflights. The space travel industry provides many job opportunities and attracts youth through its innovative potential.
You seek arguments for manned space travel to confront your political adversary.
Manager of a space exploration company
You favour further development of space explorations and try to defend your company's economic interests. You try to convince the government and public to build a spaceport serving manned space flights operation. You appeal to the safety and scientific advancement provided by such a facility. People who have been in space always serve as role models and ambassadors for the space industry.
It must be supported by evidence justifying that investment in crewed space missions and constructing a spaceport is a timely necessity. It can be used commercially by other countries and private companies.
Space scientist
You are a person who is researching new ways of advancing in human space explorations. You envisioned the participation of your nation in creating a moon base that has the potential, for example, for harvesting helium-3, which is relatively abundant in lunar soil. Its fusion releases large amounts of energy but no radioactive by-products. Helium-3 nuclei from the moon can provide centuries of the world’s current power consumption.
You should seek information to make a case for scientific evidence of the positive societal impact of new space techniques. You seek arguments in favour of human travels to space.
Medical doctor
Medical research has shown the importance of microgravity studies for fighting cancer and understanding the potential of astronauts’ self-examination studies to advance medical sciences. We get a lot of information from the astronauts as being the experiment themselves, providing essential data to be used on Earth. Many of us would also regard a human landing on Mars as a paramount achievement for our species.
You have to look for evidence to demonstrate that human space travel conditions and advancements propel advancements in health sciences.
Roles in favour of position 2 (against manned space exploration)
Ecologist
You have a radically negative view of atmospheric pollution caused by rocket fuels and do not envisage the possibility of building a platform for sending humans to space in your country. Humans also cause biological contamination of space, leaving traces of human DNA through our activities. This will make it difficult to identify alternative life forms in the universe.
You must look for evidence concerning favouring nature and the environment and positioning yourself against space travel.
Politician from the opposition
As a politician from the opposition, you have electoral interests and must be against your political opponent. Your party supports uncrewed space exploration as the most cost-effective, arguing that if it is possible to use self-driving cars in our cities, we should invest in sending AI-empowered robots on space missions. It is feasible to exploit additional resources in outer space, such as asteroid mining which could be an economic opportunity for the country. So, you do not entirely against the development of space exploration but how it should be focused.
Look for arguments against manned space travel and in favour of robotic missions to confront your political adversary.
Robotic technology space scientist
You are an expert in space robotics and convinced that it is possible to meet most of the achievable tasks in space with the help of robots and drones without risking human lives and saving a lot of money for other acute needs on our planet. You are against crewed spaceflights, although you recognise the need for future space explorations more sustainably.
You will have to look for scientific arguments to convince us that it is possible to conquer space resources and gain new technological knowledge and power without sending humans to space.
Representative satellite navigation company
You are against the use of manned flights and want to sell your network services for a broad range of sectors of the economy in different countries. Economic and business interests drive you and argue that your network is very reliable and totally environmentally friendly. We need to develop further satellite launch facilities that space-based industries require and already give us huge economic benefits.
You must look for economic, labour and environmental evidence to support the positions against using crewed space flights.
Info cards
New space age
The new space age has shaped since the 1990s. New independent actors are coming to space exploration: private companies, the European space programme, China and India are progressing rapidly. Probably, India will become the fourth nation to conduct independent human spaceflight after the Soviet Union/Russia, the United States and China. India intended to start a space station programme, crewed lunar landings, and crewed interplanetary missions in the long term. Suborbital space tourism became a reality not only for extremely rich people.
Internet on-board
In-Flight Connectivity (IFC) and entertainment services across global airlines show steady growth. In 2021 service providers showed a 10% increase in the number of commercial aircraft connected to in-flight services compared to 2020, totalling 9,900 planes by the end of 2021. Within the next decade, the number of aircraft using such services is expected to double to more than 21,000. The new satellite constellations are expected to advance significantly post-2025, leading to an upsurge in bandwidth availability.
Uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAV) alternative
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are a class of aircraft that can fly without the onboard presence of pilots. UAVs are very cost-effective. UAVs can also be used as a communication platform. Compared with satellites, it has simple system construction, high speed and low lag communication capability. It provides reliable wireless links for ground users to realise safe and reliable transmission of information. The UAV cluster communication network has high reliability.
Space debris
It consists of non-functional spacecraft and abandoned launch vehicle stages, fragments from the rocket bodies including pieces from their disintegration, erosion and collisions, paint flecks, solidified liquids expelled from spacecraft, and unburned particles from solid rocket motors. Estimations show that over 128 million pieces of debris smaller than 1 cm, about 900 000 bits of debris 1–10 cm and around 34 000 pieces larger than 10 cm were to be in orbit around Earth. Space debris represents a risk to space exploration.
Atmospheric pollution linked to space tourism
Scientists found that black carbon emissions will more than double after just three years of regular space tourism launches and that particles emitted by rockets are almost 500 times more efficient at holding heat in the atmosphere than all other sources of soot combined, resulting in an enhanced warming climate effect. While the current loss of ozone due to space launches is slight, the impact of space tourism launches may undermine the recovery in the ozone layer experienced after the success of the 1987 Montreal Protocol, which banned substances that deplete the Earth's ozone layer.
Trend in space economy
Euroconsult estimates that the global space economy totalled $370 billion in 2021. The space economy is expected to grow by 74% by 2030 to reach $642B. The most significant revenue drivers remain satellite navigation and communications, which account for 50% and 41% of the total market value, respectively.
Experience of weightlessness
Astronauts entering outer space experiencing weightlessness or microgravity. They are actually in a state of free fall. After switching off the engine, the rocket moves horizontally at a very high speed of about 8 kilometres per second and falls free, thus going around the Earth. Because the spaceship and its objects are falling around the world at the same rate, everything in the cabin that is not secured floats. When people encounter microgravity, they have the following feelings: •Nausea •Disorientation •Headache •Loss of appetite •Congestion The longer person stays in microgravity, the more muscles and bones weaken.
Contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals
Space-based services and technologies are key to understanding climate change and disaster management www.unoosa.org. Cooperation in outer space is also of great importance for world peace. There is a need to ensure the compliance of all countries with international space laws and that new space-faring nations develop national space laws. UN-SPIDER Knowledge Portal: Space4DisasterManagement http://www.un-spider.org/ Space4Water Portal in http://www.space4water.org/ Space for the Sustainable Development Goals
Hazard of Human Spaceflight: Radiation
Radiation exposure increases cancer risk, damages the central nervous system, can alter cognitive function, reduce motor function and prompt behavioural changes. Exposure to different types of particles found in space radiation can lead to diverse cardiovascular diseases. The space station ISS sits just within Earth’s protective magnetic field, so while our astronauts are exposed to ten times higher radiation than on Earth, it’s still smaller than exposure in deep space. Deep space vehicles will have significant protective shielding, dosimetry, and alerts to minimise this hazard.
Hazard of Human Spaceflight: Isolation and confinement.
Behavioural issues among groups of people crammed in a small space over a long period, no matter how well-trained they are, are inevitable. Crews will be carefully chosen, trained and supported to ensure they can work effectively as a team for months or years in space. Sleep loss, circadian desynchronisation, and work overload compound this issue and may lead to performance decrements, adverse health outcomes, and compromised mission objectives. Various tools and technologies for use in the spaceflight environment are being developed to detect and treat early risk factors. Research is also being conducted on workload and performance, light therapy for circadian alignment, phase shifting and alertness.
Hazard of Human Spaceflight: Different gravity.
On Mars, astronauts must live and work with three-eighths of Earth’s gravity. Additionally, on the six-month trek between the planets, explorers will experience total weightlessness. When astronauts finally return home, they must readapt many systems in their bodies to Earth’s gravity. Bones, muscles, and the cardiovascular system have all been impacted by years without standard gravity. When astronauts transit from one gravity field to another, it’s usually quite an intense experience. Blasting off from the surface of a planet or a hurdling descent through an atmosphere changes the force of gravity many times. Research is being conducted to ensure that astronauts stay healthy before, during and after their mission.
Hazard of Human Spaceflight: Unusual closed environment.
A spacecraft is not only a home. It’s also a machine. The ecosystem inside a vehicle plays a big role in everyday astronaut life. Important habitability factors include temperature, pressure, lighting, noise, and quantity of space. It’s essential that astronauts get the requisite food, sleep and exercise needed to stay healthy and happy. Microorganisms that naturally live on your body are transferred more easily from one person to another in a closed environment. Astronauts contribute data points via urine and blood samples and can reveal valuable information about possible stressors. Extensive recycling of resources we take for granted is also imperative: oxygen, water, carbon dioxide, and even our waste.
Importance of satellites
The convenience of everyday connectivity and the importance of information about the changes our planet is undergoing means that more satellites will be needed. Around 10,000 new satellites are expected to be launched over the next few years, and by 2040 the total number of satellites could reach 100,000 – compared with about 5,000 operational satellites in orbit today (2023).
Consequences of being weightless for a long time.
Imagine yourself on a long space trip. In weightlessness, your muscles do not need to work hard. In response to being used less, your muscles shrink or atrophy. Remember, your heart is also a muscle, and pumping blood around your body is easier in the weightless space environment, so your heart also gets weaker. On an extended space voyage, your muscles might become so soft that it would be difficult to stand upright once you return to an environment where you are subject to gravity.
Costs of human space missions
The Apollo program cost $20 billion in 1970s dollars—over $100 billion in today’s money. The cost of the Shuttle is estimated at $200 billion in 2010 dollars. The total ISS program cost is about $150 billion (up until 2015). Currently, NASA suggested charging about $10 million in permission fees for an ISS private mission. That includes $2000 per person per day for food. https://spacenews.com/nasa-increases-prices-for-iss-private-astronaut-missions/
Global Navigation Satellite System
GNSS refers to a constellation of satellites providing signals from space that transmit positioning and timing data to GNSS receivers. Examples of GNSS include Europe’s Galileo, the USA’s NAVSTAR Global Positioning System (GPS), Russia’s Global'naya Navigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema (GLONASS) and China’s BeiDou Navigation Satellite System.
Structure of the atmosphere and where space begins
The Earth's atmosphere protects us from heat and radiation emitted from the sun and contains the air we breathe. It can be divided into layers: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere. According to NASA, the upper layer of Earth's atmosphere — the exosphere — extends up to 10 000 km, above which the atmosphere and space blend. Most scientists agree that the Kármán line, situated 100 km above sea level, marks the transition point between Earth and space. 99,99997 per cent of Earth's atmosphere is located below this height.
New moon exploration age
The Moon appears to become once again a very attractive destination for space missions in the coming years. Seven countries are heading there: India, Japan, Russia, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and the United States, along with several private companies. The Moon bears substantial natural resources which could be exploited in the future. Evidence from several orbiters indicates that water ice is present on the surface at the Moon poles, but mainly on the south pole region where potential human settlements are planned. Chinese Lunar Exploration Program is preparing lunar mining of the isotope helium-3 as a new energy source.
Example of global Satellite Navigation Networks
The Chinese Beidou navigation satellite network became completed and fully operational in 2020. It now has 35 satellites - more than American GPS’s 31 (run by the U.S. Air Force) and more than European Galileo and Russia’s GLONASS. Beidou’s location services are accurate down to 10 cm in the Asia-Pacific, compared with GPS’s 30 cm range. Beidou-related services, such as port traffic monitoring and disaster mitigation, have been exported to about 120 countries.
Nanosatellites
Designs now exist for automated spacecraft that include photography and radio communication equipment but weigh only one gram. Lasers could accelerate these to 20 per cent of the speed of light and reach the closest stars within a couple of decades. Thus, we can send our advanced artificial intelligence by nano explorers to the vastness of space.
Mars expedition
Space base on the Moon will be an important step for human exploration of Mars. Human missions to Mars have been part of science fiction since the 1880s. The concept of a Martian as something living on Mars is part of the fiction. Most experts agree that life probably existed on Mars when water ran freely over its surface and that it may yet survive in underground pools. It takes about two years to go to Mars and back. ESA has no preparation or project to send humans to Mars. For a discussion of technical possibilities, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Human_mission_to_Mars/ and technical plans of SpaceX at https://www.spacex.com/human-spaceflight/mars/
