Galileo, in 1612, demonstrated that the Sun rotates on its axis with a rotation period of approximately one month. Our star turns in a west-to-east direction, like the orbital motions of the planets. The Sun, however, is a gas and does not have to rotate rigidly, the way a solid body like Earth does. Modern observations show that the Sun’s rotation speed varies according to latitude; that is, it’s different as you go north or south of the Sun’s equator.  Between 1826 and 1850, Heinrich Schwabe, a German pharmacist and amateur astronomer kept daily records of the number of sunspots. What he was looking for was a planet inside the orbit of Mercury, which he hoped to find by observing its dark silhouette as it passed between the Sun and Earth. Unfortunately, he failed to find the hoped-for planet, but his diligence paid off with an even more important discovery: the sunspot cycle. He found that the number of sunspots varied systematically, in cycles about a decade long. In this laboratory, you will engage in tracking the Sun like Galileo and Schwabe during a six-day cycle and then do a simple calculation of the rotational period of our sun.---------------------------------------Distant Nature: Astronomy Exercises 2016 by Stephen Tuttle under license "Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike".

NASA is planning an uncrewed test flight for NASA's Artemis program--which aims to return humans to the Moon. Watch this episode to learn more about this mission and the Space Launch System (SLS).

16.885J offers a holistic view of the aircraft as a system, covering: basic systems engineering; cost and weight estimation; basic aircraft performance; safety and reliability; lifecycle topics; aircraft subsystems; risk analysis and management; and system realization. Small student teams retrospectively analyze an existing aircraft covering: key design drivers and decisions; aircraft attributes and subsystems; and operational experience. Oral and written versions of the case study are delivered. For the Fall 2005 term, the class focuses on a systems engineering analysis of the Space Shuttle. It offers study of both design and operations of the shuttle, with frequent lectures by outside experts. Students choose specific shuttle systems for detailed analysis and develop new subsystem designs using state of the art technology.

Acting as engineering teams, students take measurements and make calculations to determine the specific strength of various alloys and then report their data to the rest of the class. Using this class data, students write data-based recommendations to NASA regarding the best alloy to use in the construction of the engine and engine turbines for the Space Launch System that will eventually be used to transport astronauts to Mars.

NASA presents this gallery of images from the Apollo 11 mission to the moon in 1969.

This downloadeable resource guide, for instructors and students in introductory astronomy courses, focuses on the contributions to astronomy of African, Asian, Hispanic, South Pacific, Islamic, and Native American cultures. It also contains a section on reports and articles for achieving greater diversity in science. Written by Andrew Fraknoi, the guide is part of a series sponsored by the Heliophysics Forum of the Space Missions Directorate at NASA. It includes written, on-line, and audio-visual materials, which can be used directly in the classroom, for student papers, or for personal enrichment.

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:

"A new addition to the International Space Station marks the beginning of exciting new explorations of exotic matter. This is BECCAL, the Bose-Einstein Condensate and Cold Atom Laboratory. A joint venture between NASA and the German Aerospace Center, BECCAL will enable scientists across the globe to eliminate one pesky force that plagues earthbound experiments: gravity. A Bose-Einstein condensate is a state of matter formed by cooling a gas of extremely low density to just above absolute zero. Systems like this enable scientists to study aspects of quantum mechanics on a relatively big scale, and could hold the key to bridging quantum mechanics to general relativity. Methods for generating Bose-Einstein condensates vary according to how they trap atoms, using either optics or magnets to do the trick. But typical experiments are hampered by the force of gravity. In a standard setup, gravity deforms optical and magnetic traps..."

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

If you build it carefully, this crazy contraption demonstrates one of the basic laws of nature.

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.

Students act as engineers contracted by NASA to create water filtration devices that clean visible particulates from teacher-prepared "dirty water." They learn about the worldwide need for potable water and gain appreciation for why water quality is an important issue for people on Earth as well as on the International Space Station. Working in groups, students experience the entire engineering design process, including a read-aloud book about the water cycle; a visiting water engineer presentation; their own online research about filter methods and designs; group brainstorming of designs (using ordinary household materials); filter construction and testing; redesign and retesting; lab book documentation of their notes, research, plans and results; and a summary poster presentation at a mini-engineering fair. Two design planning worksheets, a poster layout suggestion sheet and a grading rubric are provided.

The digestive system is amazing: it takes the foods we eat and breaks them into smaller components that our body can use for energy, cell repair and growth. This lesson introduces students to the main parts of the digestive system and how they interact. In addition, students learn about some of the challenges astronauts face when trying to eat in outer space.

A favorite movie, “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” provides the backdrop scenario for students to discover how harnessing the sun’s energy provides unlimited power for many purposes, including the operation of thousands of satellites in orbit today and communication over long distances. In the movie, E.T., an alien life form, is stranded on Earth and befriends Elliott, the little boy who rescues him. As E.T. becomes gravely ill, Elliott realizes that E.T. needs to return home in order to survive. To arrange for transport, E.T. must “phone home.” Teams engage in an interactive quest to answer the question: E.T. phone home—fact or fiction? They must discover four clues in order to unlock four padlocks on a box that contains the answer. This requires them to watch a one-minute online video, complete a crossword puzzle, scan three QR codes for articles to read, and put together a cut-apart puzzle with an invisible ink clue. They watch short online movie excerpt videos to kick off and wrap up the activity.

Photo of the Earth & Moon created from images from the the Galileo spacecraft.

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 article describes the IGLO project and its involvement with local science centers and museums. Webcasts, online materials, and other resources are linked within the article.

Google teamed up with scientists at the NASA Ames Research Center to create this collection of lunar maps and charts. This tool is an exciting new way to explore the story of the Apollo missions, still the only time mankind has set foot on another world.

 Between 1957 and 1975, the Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union motivated each nation to attain firsts in space exploration, which were seen as necessary for national security and symbolic of technological and ideological superiority. The Space Race involved pioneering efforts to launch artificial satellites, sub-orbital and orbitalhuman spaceflight around the Earth, and piloted voyages to the Moon. It effectively began with the Soviet launch of theSputnik 1 artificial satellite on 4 October 1957, and concluded with the co-operative Apollo-Soyuz Test Project human spaceflight mission in July 1975. The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project came to symbolize détente, a partial easing of strained relations between the USSR and the US.The Space Race had its origins in the missile-based arms race that occurred just after the end of the World War II, when both the Soviet Union and the United States captured advanced German rocket technology and personnel.The Space Race sparked unprecedented increases in spending on education and pure research, which accelerated scientific advancements and led to beneficial spin-off technologies. An unforeseen effect was that the Space Race contributed to the birth of the environmental movement; the first color pictures of Earth taken from deep space were used as icons by the movement to imply that the planet was a fragile "blue marble" surrounded by the blackness of space.Some famous probes and missions include Sputnik 1, Explorer 1, Vostok 1, Mariner 2, Ranger 7, Luna 9, Alouette 1,Apollo 8, and Apollo 11. Source: Wikipedia: Space Race