鶹Լ Teach > Primary > KS1 Science > Space
Child VO:How do we explore space?
Taranpreet:Three
Joshua:Two
Serei:One
Children:Lift off!!!
Maddie Moate:Humans have always been fascinated by space but for most ofour history, travelling into space was just an impossible dream.
Joshua:Until 1957.
Maddie Moate:That's right in 1957 we finally had the technology to make thatdream a reality. The first thing humans sent into space was this,a satellite called Sputnik 1. The next challenge was to send aperson into space. Which happened in 1961.
Taranpreet:I wonder what it felt like being the first person in Space?
Maddie Moate:Then, in 1969, a huge rocket called Saturn 5 began the longjourney to the moon. The rocket looped around the Earth twice tobuild up enough speed then set off across space and three dayslater two astronauts called Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrinbecame the very first people to walk on the surface of the moon.But exploring space didn't stop with the moon. Machines with nopeople in them have been sent to explore planets in the solarsystem, including Venus, Mars and Mercury. There's a hugespacecraft that's been orbiting the Earth for over 20 years. It'scalled the International Space Station. The astronauts andscientists on board the space station feel weightless - andanything, that isn't stuck down can float away.
Taranpreet:Imagine trying to eat pizza that's floating in space!
Serei:What else do the astronauts do up there!?
Maddie Moate:Let's ask our expert
Dr Becky:Hi, I'm Dr Becky and I am a space expert. Now, astronauts onboard the International Space Station sadly aren't just on aholiday in space. They have very important jobs to do runningscientific experiments. Like studying what happens to the humanbody when it's weightless in space for too long, or studying theEarth from above, or even testing out new materials that wecould use to help improve life here on Earth. All of theseexperiments will also help us for any future space explorationmissions that take us beyond Earth.
Maddie Moate:The machines we send into space that orbit the Earth, calledsatellites, have changed our lives in the last 60 years. They takepictures of the Earth and other planets so we can learn moreabout them and see what they look like. They help us know aboutthe weather, they make our TVs work and they let us talk to eachother. They even stop us getting lost. All this space exploration ishaving an effect and the Space around Earth is getting crowded.There are now thousands of satellites circling The Earth, sendingback information and helping us in lots of different ways.
Maddie Moate:What are you up to?
Taranpreet:We're making space art.
Maddie Moate:Space is huge and our exploration of it is only just beginning. Iwonder where we'll travel and what we'll discover next.
Video summary
In this video narrated by presenter Maddie Moate, a group of children find out about those who have explored space in the past and what they found out.
They learn about the first people to travel into space, what they learnt and space expert Dr Becky Smethurst explains how we use the International Space Station to answer questions we have about space today.
Teacher notes
Discussion points:
1. Space explorers:
- What challenges do people travelling into space have and how are these overcome?
- What do pupils think travelling into space feels like and why?
2. The space station:
- What is the International Space Station (ISS)?
- Discuss how humans can get there and what life is like on board.
- What do we learn and find out from the work of the ISS?
3. Using space:
- What do humans use satellites sent into space for?
- How do pupils think satellites sent into space stay there, what stops them from coming back to Earth?
4. Space junk:
- Over time, humans have sent a large number of satellites and other items into space. Discuss how pupils think we can get these back down to Earth?
- What is the danger of leaving ‘space junk’ in space and not bringing it back to Earth?
Suggested activities:
1. Space explorers:
- After watching the video, discuss key people who have been involved in space exploration.
- Can pupils research into some of these key people and create profiles to highlight their life and legacy.
2. Space station diary:
- Following learning from the ISS, can pupils write a diary entry as an explorer working on the ISS, describing what it feels and what life looks like on board.
- Pupils to share their diary entries and discuss key messages from these.
3. Recycled artwork:
- After learning about the issue of ‘space junk’, can pupils create a space-scape of the solar system using recycled materials?
- What key messages does such recycling give and how can we ensure we reduce, reuse and recycle, both on planet Earth and in space?
Curriculum notes:
This video aligns with Science in the National Curriculum in England, Northern Ireland, and 1st Level in Scotland. It also supports the Science and Technology Area of Learning and Experience within the Curriculum for Wales.
The Earth. video
A visit to the Space Centre to find out all about our planet, how it works and why we have things such as the seasons.
What is the Solar System? video
This video explores the key characteristics of each planet within our solar system.
