Principia Space Diary: 8 minutes to space

In this creative writing activity children imagine what it is like to leave Earth on a journey into outer space.  It uses the context of British astronaut Tim Peake’s journey to the International Space Station as a stimulus to develop literacy skills.

This resource is part of the Principia Space Diary,...

space:uk - Summer 2015, Issue 43

This edition of the magazine from the UK Space Agency includes:

• The launch of the Earth Observation satellite, Sentinel 2A
• News about the Rocket (salad) Science experiment
• Tim Peake's training for his mission to the International Space Station
• The launch of the International...

Rosetta mission to comet 67p

Produced by the Royal Observatory Greenwich, this booklet uses the Rosetta mission to comet 67P to test understanding of the concepts of speed, distance and time. Included is an online video that introduces the Rosetta mission and possible future missions. The booklet contains questions and answers that use the...

Astro Crops - Growing plants for future space missions

In this Space mission themed activity, pupils will observe how seeds grow into mature plants by tracking the development of three unknown seeds. Pupils will also learn to make scientific observations and record data to track the growth of these plants over time before being given the opportunity to interpret and...

Robotic Telescopes

From the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), this brochure describes the leading role played by UK scientists and engineers at universities, observatories and research council establishments in providing real-time astronomy for research and education. The work of the Liverpool and Faulkes telescopes...

Paxi Explores the Moon

This short animation film joins Paxi as he explores the moon. Paxi travels back in time to the creation of the moon, before jumping forward to introduce humankind’s many missions to the moon. Finally Paxi discuss’ what humans would need to survive on the moon for extended periods of time. This video, produced by...

Lunar lift off

In this lesson, students will consider the differences in gravity between the Earth and the Moon and the meaning of mass, weight and gravity. They will then use stills from footage of the Apollo 17 Lunar lift off to calculate the speed during the initial ascent.

Curriculum links:

• Reading and...

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...

What is gravity and how is it calculated?

This resource, from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, introduces students to how our understanding of gravity has changed over time, and what this means for the gravitational field strength of different bodies in our galaxy.

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Reasons for the Seasons

This resource, from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, is a video that explains why the northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere experience different seasons at the same time. It uses clear diagrams and animations to demonstrate how the tilt of...