What do astronauts do when they need a sugar fix? Reach for the candy bag or, as they're labeled aboard the International Space Station (ISS), "candy coated chocolates."

The Butterflies in Space Teacher's Guide uses "life in space" to encourage learners to conduct their own open-ended scientific investigations. The guide provides information about the Butterflies in Space experiment conducted aboard the International Space Station and instructions on how to build a habitat and conduct open-ended experiments. The experiment instructions begin on page 11 of the PDF. Learners can build a "Clamshell Habitat" or a "Box Habitat" to raise Painted Lady butterflies.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Built environment microbiomes are shaped by their occupants and the outside environment. These microbiomes can have a profound impact on the health of its occupants. The International Space Station (ISS) is a uniquely sealed environment, with only the arrival of crewmembers and supplies introducing new microbes. Monitoring the ISS microbiome is important to ensure astronaut health and spacecraft integrity. So, a recent study used samples from two long-term projects, Microbial Tracking 1 and 2, which sampled the same surfaces over two 14-month-long periods. The ISS surface microbiome was dominated by microbes associated with human skin. The most represented groups were Staphylococcus and Malassezia among bacteria and fungi, respectively. Community abundances shifted over time, but did not differ between surfaces. Overall, the metabolism genes tended towards amino acid utilization rather than carbohydrate metabolism..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This course is a detailed technical and historical exploration of the Apollo project to "fly humans to the moon and return them safely to earth" as an example of a complex engineering system. Emphasis is on how the systems worked, the technical and social processes that produced them, mission operations, and historical significance. Guest lectures are featured by MIT-affiliated engineers who contributed to and participated in the Apollo missions. Students work in teams on a final project analyzing an aspect of the historical project to articulate and synthesize ideas in engineering systems.

Students use wood, wax paper and oil to investigate the importance of lubrication between materials and to understand the concept of friction. Using wax paper and oil placed between pieces of wood, the function of lubricants between materials is illustrated. Students extend their understanding of friction to bones and joints in the skeletal system and become aware of what engineers can do to help reduce friction in the human body as well as in machines.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"The first human spaceflight to Mars is expected to take place sometime within the next decade, and its success will be highly dependent on the health of its crew. The human microbiome, or the community of microorganisms inhabiting the body, has critical effects on human health, but how the journey to another planet will affect it has yet to be determined. During a space mission, the crew will experience microgravity, increased cosmic radiation, isolation, food limitations, and other stressors. While data from simulations and the International Space Station suggest that the human microbiome may be resilient to these conditions, frequent monitoring during the spaceflight will still be necessary to safeguard crew health. Microbiome perturbations will need to be actively prevented, and the establishment of a computer-based warning system will allow microbe-related disease to be quickly detected..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

The Mission to Mars curricular unit introduces students to Mars the Red Planet. Students discover why scientists are so interested in studying this mysterious planet. Many interesting facts about Mars are revealed, and the history of Martian exploration is reviewed. Students will learn about the development of robotics and how robots are beneficial to science, society and the exploration of space. Details on engineers' involvement in space exploration are presented. Furthermore, students will learn how orbits allow astronauts to move from planet to planet and what type of equipment is used by scientists and engineers to safely explore space. Lastly, the specific details on and human risks for a possible future manned mission to Mars (and back to Earth again!) are discussed.

Astronaut Anna Fisher did not initially get accepted into medical school, but it turned out that the rejection put her on a path to becoming an astronaut.

In this video segment adapted from NOVA, NASA learns hard lessons from the first American attempt to do work while "walking" in space. The video also explores Newton's third law of motion.

This lesson covers the topic of human bones and joints. Students learn about the skeleton, the number of and types of bones in the body, and how outer space affects astronauts' bones. Students also learn how to take care of their bones here on Earth to prevent osteoporosis or weakening of the bones.

Tune in to STEM in 30 to learn all about real world applications of Math, and learn a little magic along the way.

This lesson investigates the effects of gravity on the human body and how it impacts astronauts in space.

Astronaut Randy Bresnik explains this condition that astronauts experience. Also check out a demonstration of "Puffy-Head Bird-Legs"