Cows in Space

As part of the The Great British Space Dinner competition, celebrity chef, Heston Blumenthal, asks us the question, “Can you take cows into space?”. Heston explains how the weightless environment can cause loss of bone mass, and so calcium will be important in an astronaut’s diet. Heston suggests that a cow in...

Dinner Party in Space

As part of the The Great British Space Dinner competition, celebrity chef, Heston Blumenthal, asks us the question, “Can you have a dinner party in space?”. Heston explains that, in the weightless environment on the International Space Station, you cannot have foods that can float around and get into people eyes...

Cooking with Astronauts

This video features celebrity chef, Heston Blumenthal, describing how preparing food on the International Space Station (ISS) is different from that on Earth. Water is used to rehydrate foods and the food cannot be heated with ovens or microwaves. This video was prepared as part of the Great British Space Dinner...

Food Texture

As part of the The Great British Space Dinner competition, celebrity chef, Heston Blumenthal, asks children to think about textures of food when they design their meal for astronaut Tim Peake to eat on the International Space Station. He suggests experimenting and mixing textures together to give the best...

Visual perception

Astronauts, and especially spacecraft commanders, must take in a huge amounts of information from displays and screens. Small changes in this information might indicate important changes that should be addressed, and missing the signs may have important consequences.

This simple activity challenges students...

Solids, liquids, gases

The relationship between energy and states of matter is sometimes difficult for students to comprehend. This activity helps to reinforce the notion that, when energy is added to a system, the molecules themselves do not change but their motion and relative positions do change.

While the model is a...

Plant growth

The growth of plants in space is a keen area of experimentation, including ongoing work aboard the International Space Station. Successful crops will help astronauts to spend longer in space, boosting their healthy diet while reducing the mass of prepared food that must be transported from Earth.

Using a...

Astronaut reaction speed

This activity includes a game-based approach to measuring reaction speed. Fast reflexes are vital to astronauts who may need to deal with rapidly escalating incidents and high-speed projectiles.

The effect of distraction on reaction speed is investigated – students collect multiple readings and take averages...

Acceleration

Students often find it difficult to understand the related concepts of acceleration and speed. Making use of the BBC micro:bit on-board accelerometer, this playful activity allows students to get an intuitive understanding through hands-on activity.

The simple game requires that students maintain...

Great British Space Food

This video features celebrity chef, Heston Blumenthal, challenging the viewer to design a British themed meal for astronaut Tim Peake to eat on the International Space Station (ISS). The video features some footage of astronaut on the ISS to illustrate the point that the food will have to be eaten in a weightless...