ESL 3 “Extra Lessons”

1. ESL 3 “Extra Lessons” Lesson on ISS More on Mars Introduction, discussion plus practice Meta-cognitive thinking

2. THIRD PLANET FROM THE SUN : THE EARTH Our atmosphere, or air, makes it possible for life on Earth. The atmosphere is a mixture of nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), and other gases (1%) that surrounds Earth. High above the planet, the atmosphere becomes thinner until it gradually reaches space. It is divided into five layers. Most of the weather and clouds are found in the first layer. The atmosphere is an important part of what makes Earth livable. It blocks some of the Sun's dangerous rays from reaching Earth. It traps heat, making Earth a comfortable temperature. And the oxygen within our atmosphere is essential for life. Over the past century, greenhouse gases and other air pollutants released into the atmosphere have been causing big changes like global warming, ozone holes, and acid rain. Atmos pg 1

3. Layers of the Earth's Atmosphere • The atmosphere is divided into five layers. It is thickest near the surface and thins out with height until it eventually merges with space. • 1) The troposphere is the first layer above the surface and contains half of the Earth's atmosphere. Weather occurs in this layer. Close to Earth's surface, oxygen is essential to life, because it allows us to breathe. • 2) Many jet aircrafts fly in the stratosphere because it is very stable. The stratosphere has the ozone layer that absorbs harmful rays from the Sun. • High in the stratosphere, some of the oxygen has changed over time to ozone. The ozone layer filters out the Sun's harmful rays. Recently, there have been many studies on how humans have caused a hole in the ozone layer. Humans are also affecting Earth's atmosphere through the greenhouse effect. Increasing concentrations of gases like carbon dioxide are trapping heat as it is radiated from the Earth. This is highly likely to be the cause of global warming. • Various chemicals that humans release into the atmosphere can destroy ozone in the stratosphere. This has caused a thinning of the ozone layer in recent years, and even holes in the ozone layer over Earth's poles. Atmos pg 2

4. 3) The next layer is the mesosphere. Meteors or rock fragments burn up in the mesosphere. 4) The thermosphere is a layer with auroras like the ones at the North Pole. It is also where the space shuttle orbits. 5) The atmosphere merges into space in the extremely thin exosphere. This is the upper limit of our atmosphere. • Weather is the state of the atmosphere at a given time and place. Most weather takes place in the troposphere, the lowest layer of the atmosphere. • Weather is measured and described in a variety of ways by meteorologists. Meteorologists are scientists who study and predict weather. • Air temperature and pressure are in weather. Rain and snow are types of precipitation. The strength and direction of wind, and the types of clouds are all described in a weather report. • Weather changes each day because the air in our atmosphere is always moving. Our atmosphere collects and moves energy from the Sun. In most places in the world, the types of weather events also change throughout the year as seasons change. Atmos pg 3

6. International means between several nations 16 nations plus the United States worked on the International Space Station

7. The International Space Station: The First Step In Exploration • The International Space Station: The First Step In Exploration poster displays an artistic depiction of the ISS when it is complete. • The International Space Station is the largest orbiting laboratory ever built. It is an international, technological, and political achievement. • When fully complete, the ISS will weigh about 420,000 kilograms (925,000 pounds). • It will be the size of a football field including the end zones. • The assembly of the ISS will continue through 2010, when the space shuttle will be retired from service. • The first five international partners include the space agencies of the United States, Canada, Russia, Europe, and Japan. • ISS pg 1

8. The first parts of the ISS were sent and assembled in orbit in 1998. Since the year 2000, the ISS has had crews living continuously on board. • Building the ISS is like living in a house while building it at the same time. • Building and sustaining the ISS requires 80 launches - on several kinds of rockets over a 12-year period. • The ISS orbits between 230–286 miles above Earth’s surface. • The average distance is similar to the distance between Washington, DC, and New York, NY. • The ISS orbits at a 51.6-degree inclination around Earth. This angle covers 90 percent of the populated area of Earth. • When fully assembled, the ISS will be the third brightest object in the sky, after the Sun and Moon. Every 3 days, the ISS passes over the same place on Earth. It takes about 90 minutes for the ISS to circle Earth one time. • The ISS orbits Earth 16 times per day. ISS pg 2

9. A Mini-Test for Comprehension - The International Space Station Choose the most correct answer and circle it. 1.) If humans go to Mars they'll need _________________ a. to learn how to survive in an alien land. b. to learn how to speak Martian. c. to learn about Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims. 2. ) The Vision for Space Exploration is _______________ a. a new sci-fi movie nominated for an Academy Award. b. a plan for exploring the Solar System, ratified by US Congress. c. an Epcot exhibit at Disneyworld in Florida. continued on next page

10. 3.) The International Space Station will be a ____________ a. a CIA spy center for the security of US citizens. b. very large bus station on Mars. c. stepping stone to other planets. 4.) Construction of the ISS is ________________________ a. only done by US companies. b. a joint effort by many nations. c. a project from AT&T. 5.) The US Space Shuttle ___________________________ a. is an old dead-end project. b. is used for public transportation. c. provides transportation to the ISS. 6.) The ISS is the __________________________________ a. most complex construction job ever tried. b. easiest construction project on Earth. c. dumbest construction attempt by the US.

11. Pg 1 ISS Vocabulary Cosmos – noun universe regarded as an orderly, harmonious system. harmonic in order, as distinct from chaos. originally meaning "the starry firmament” of heavens and the sky Integral - –adjective 1. pertaining to, or belonging as a part of the whole; a component: integral parts. 2. necessary to the completeness of the whole: This point is integral to his plan. 3. entire; complete; whole: the integral works of a writer. Manned / unmanned – verb or adjective 1. to furnish with men, as for service or defense, - as opposed to using animals. 2. the human individual as representing the human race, without reference to sex Spacefaring – noun or adjective   noun = The launching of vehicles into outer space. adjective =  Engaged in the launching of vehicles into outer space: "efforts in planetary exploration are achieved in cooperation with other spacefaring nations". Venture – verb “venture out” to take the risk of; brave the dangers of: to venture a voyage into space. an undertaking involving uncertainty as to the outcome, dangerous voyage out into space, away from Earth

12. Pg 2 Planetary surface – a planet’s crust pertaining to, or resembling a planet, ( one of the planets in the Solar System ). terrestrial; global, the land and rocks, dirt. relating to, or resembling the physical characteristics of a planet. Spacecraft – noun a vehicle designed for travel or operation in space beyond the earth's atmosphere, or in orbit around the earth. vehicle intended to be launched into space. Also called spaceship. a vehicle etc, manned or unmanned, for travelling in space Shuttle – noun or verb a public conveyance, as a train, airplane, or bus, that travels back and forth at regular intervals over a particular route especially a short route, or one connecting two transportation systems. verb = to move to and fro: constantly shuttling between city and suburb. any of several U.S. space vehicles consisting of a reusable manned orbiter that touches down on a landing strip after an orbital mission. It has two reusable solid rocket boosters that drop off after initial ascent, and an expendable external tank containing liquid propellants. noun = a reusable US spacecraft with wings for controlled descent in the atmosphere. designed to transport astronauts between Earth and an orbiting space station and also used to deploy and retrieve satellites.

13. The International Space Station Why Explore Space? Completing the International Space Station, is an integral part of the Vision for Space Exploration. NASA Administrator Mike Griffin explains, "I believe America should look to its future – and consider what that future will look like if we choose not to be a spacefaring nation." "Today," Griffin writes, "NASA is moving forward with a new focus for the manned space program: to go out beyond Earth for purposes of human exploration and scientific discovery. The International Space Station is now a stepping stone on the way to new exploration." The Vision for Space Exploration was announced over three years ago by President Bush. The plan commits the United States to using the shuttle to complete the space station. After retiring the shuttle, the US will build a new generation of spacecraft to venture out into the solar system. Congress has ratified that position with an overwhelming bipartisan majority, making the Vision for Space Exploration the law of the land. pg 1

14. When we start making manned trips to Mars, the Space Station will be the intermediate stop-over, just like we have main airport-hubs for airline travel on Earth. On the space station, we will learn how to live and work in space. We will learn how to build hardware and machines that can survive and function for the years required to make the round-trip voyage from Earth to Mars. We will also do experiments and training for working in space and on alien planets. • If humans are indeed going to go to Mars, we have to learn how to live on other planetary surfaces, to use what we find there and bend it to our will. This is what the Pilgrims did when they came to the New World, to New England. Half of them died during that first frigid winter in 1620. There was a reason their celebration was called "Thanksgiving." The survivors were thankful to be alive in an alien land. The landscape and the climate were totally different than their homeland. The landscape and climate on Mars are much more alien; we have a lot to learn how to survive. • Other countries will explore the cosmos, whether the United States does or not. And those will be Earth's great nations in the years and centuries to come. Many nations, including Japan, Russia, France, and the US are working together on the Space Station. The International Space Station, the most complex construction feat ever undertaken, will teach us how to live and work in space. Together Earthmen may explore many planets in our Solar System. • Thank you NASA for this info - go to NASA website - enter search for "Why Explore Space?"Reference: Griffin, Michael. "Why Explore Space?”   • Exploration  <http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/home/griffin_why_explore.html>.- by Michael Griffin, Administrator, NASA - accessed on 1-18-07 and 3-23-11 • pg 2

15. Online fun To find out when the ISS will be visible from any given city, visit www.spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/index.html. Let’s go see when the ISS will pass over Kyle, Texas! ______________________________________ ______________________________________

16. Live coverage of the LAST Shuttle mission to ISS • Went online to nasa.gov • Clicked link for Shuttle and Space Station • Found link for videos • Took virtual tour of ISS • Watched live video of President Obama talking to crew of Shuttle • Discussed working in zero gravity on ISS and going outside in a spacesuit

17. For Advanced Level 3 class: Add lessons about going to Mars: next 4 pages What about Mars? • You'd think Mars would be easier to understand. Like Earth, Mars has polar ice caps and clouds in its atmosphere, seasonal weather patterns, volcanoes, rocks, canyons and other recognizable features. However, conditions on Mars vary wildly from what we know on our own planet. 1

18. Among our discoveries about Mars, one stands out above all others: the possible presence of liquid water on Mars, either in its ancient past or preserved in the subsurface today. • Water is key because almost everywhere we find water on Earth, we find life. If Mars once had liquid water, or still does today, we can ask if any tiny microscopic life forms could have developed on its surface. Is there any evidence of life in the planet's past? If so, could any of these tiny living creatures still exist today? Imagine how exciting it would be to answer, "Yes!!“ • Even if Mars has no past or present life, there's still much excitement. We ourselves might become the "life on Mars" if humans choose to travel there one day. Meanwhile, we still have a lot to learn about this amazing planet and its extreme environments. Dry, Cold Mars? Mars is the only planet that might have possible life, now or in the past. 2

19. Other places on Earth that can help us understand Mars include: • "Mars" here on Earth:   • If you want to know what it might be like to spend time in the Martian environment, visit the Haughton-Mars Project. The Haughton impact crater is in the Canadian high arctic, near the North Pole. • It has a cold, rocky, desert setting somewhatlike Mars— • though, of course, nothing on Earth comes close to the extreme conditions on the red planet. • Death Valley, California, where the Ubehebe crater and "Mars Hill" have rocky features similar to those on Mars • Mono Lake, California, which is a 700,000-year-old dried-up lake that compares to Gusev Crater, a basin on Mars where water once was likely • Channeled Scabland in Washington, where catastrophic floods swept through the land much like what happened long ago on Mars - in the Ares Vallis flood plain where Mars Pathfinder landed • Permafrost in Siberia, Alaska and Antarctica, where subsurface water-ice and small life forms exist • Volcanoes in Hawaii, which are like those on Mars, though much smaller • From NASA http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/allaboutmars/extreme/ 3

20. Online Activity: Students - in pairs - research the places on Earth that are like Mars and report to class. Teacher gives assignments to pairs (Research done in books and online at www.nasa.gov, & wikipedia.com) Iron ore and other minerals could be mined on Mars Discuss in groups the possibility of life on Mars Hang signs AGREE – MAYBE – DISAGREE on wall of classroom; and then students stand under sign with their opinion to question: “Do you think humans should go to Mars?” Mars extra “ADVANCED” lessons 4