Project: 
	  Milestones in Human Spaceflight    
                                                        
              
                                   The Object of your Mission is to: 

      - Learn about major events of human spaceflight in the history of the National Aeronautic and Space Administration 
        (NASA)
      - Create a visual timeline of the goals, heroes, and outcomes of select missions. 
      - Understand how an environment with almost no gravity challenges humans living in space. Student will realize that 
        humans must adjust their diets, sanitation, and sleep patterns; wear space suits; and conduct specially designed 
        experiments.
      - Students will examine how the International Space Station inhabitants perform the daily functions of life in space 
        using special products and procedures.
  1. Cold War: The Cold War was not actually a war but a pervasive tension that existed between the United States and the Soviet 
Union for several decades following World War II. The primary source of conflict and tension between the two countries was 
rooted in the United States' distrust of communism, the Soviet form of government. When communism ended in the Soviet Union, 
the Cold War ended, as well. Ultimately, the Soviet Union itself dissolved, leaving independent nations, the largest of which 
is Russia.
      
  2. NASA was founded in 1958, one year after the Soviets launched Sputnik 1, the world's first artificial satellite. During this 
period, the U.S. and the former Soviet Union had been engaged in the Cold War, so Americans saw Soviet advances in this 
“space race” as a dangerous technological gap between the two nations. Throughout its history, NASA has made many achievements 
in aeronautics, space science, and space applications, but perhaps it is best known for its history of human spaceflights. 
Since NASA's inception, there have been seven major manned space programs, each with its own unique set of missions.
    
  3. U.S. Manned Space Programs:
       - Mercury: the first U.S. program for human spaceflight
       - Gemini: the first two-man crews, longer missions
       - Apollo: the first spaceflights to the moon
       - Mariner/Voyager: Voyager 1 and 2 were the first in the Mariner series to be sent to explore the outer solar system.
       - Skylab: a place where humans live and work in space for extended periods of time
       - Apollo-Soyuz: first international manned spaceflight
       - Space shuttle: the first reusable low-cost spacecrafts
       - International Space Station: an effort to create a permanent orbiting laboratory in space


    
Part 1 of Your Mission is to: 
                                                  

1. Choose one of the manned space programs above, then choose an astronaut from that space program on whom to report. For 
   each astronaut, tell why his or her flight was significant.  Using the Web sites and the writing rubric on Mrs. Baraldi's 
   Space Web Page, write a paragraph to answer each of the following questions about your chosen program:
     - What were the program's main objectives?
     - What years did the program run?
     - What type of vehicle was used for this program? 
     - Record basic facts about one or two of the most significant missions of the program. Record the following facts: 
       name, dates, goals, heroes, and outcomes. 
     - Print out or sketch images of spacecraft, astronauts, and any other pictures from each mission.
   
2. Present your reports to the class. Give an overview of the program, present information on your individual astronaut 
and program, and present and describe the images from your mission(s). Grading according to the Presentation Rubric on 
Mrs. Baraldi's Space Page. 
   
3. Create a timeline that spans the years from 1961 to the present. Attach a one-paragraph overview for your program above 
the timeline in the appropriate period. Show the specific year of your mission. Attach at least two images of your mission 
to your timeline. 


4. Answer one of the essay questions below.
         Back in Orbit: John Glenn’s Return to Space
            Scott Montgomery and Timothy R. Gaffney. Longstreet Press, 1998.
            One of the original Mercury astronauts, John Glenn, made history again when he flew back into space in 1998 at 
            age 77, becoming the oldest astronaut. Weaving Glenn’s history with the Mercury rocket program with an account 
            of his most recent flight into space, this book covers a lot of ground. Many photographs, both black-and-white 
            and color, help tell the story of this amazing man.
   

         Academic Standards:
            This lesson adheres to the National Science Education Standards for students in grades 9-12:
            - History and Nature of Science
            - Earth Science
            - Space Science