Week 2: Space: "The Final Frontier"

What did you do in lab today? NO LAB TODAY: it was a holiday 

2. What was the big question? How has space exploration evolved?

3. What did you learn in Thursday’s discussion? In Thursday’s discussion, I learned that during the winter solstice in Iowa, the South Pole gets 24 hours of sunlight. We also talked about how the US and Russia were racing to explore space after World War II. The Russians sent dogs into space and Yuri Gagarin went around the Earth 3 times. Alan Shepard went to space but didn’t orbit. The Apollo missions orbited the Moon, and Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin actually landed there. The last time people were on the Moon was in December 1972. We also talked about Jerrie Cobb, a woman pilot who had way more flying hours than some guys but couldn’t be an astronaut because women weren’t allowed to train on military jets. We lastly talked about plans to go back to the Moon around 2019, build a base there where there’s water, and the goal to send people to Mars by 2030.

1. What did you learn? I learned that the Space Race was a competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to see who could do the most in space first. They sent the first satellite, the first person to orbit Earth, and even landed on the Moon. Women helped a lot with space work but had a hard time becoming astronauts. Mars is the next planet that they want to explore because it might have had water and life before. I learned that space exploration can help people learn about space and creates new technology.

2. What was most helpful? The most helpful part was learning about the different milestones in the Space Race, like when the first satellite was launched and when humans first landed on the Moon. It was also really interesting to hear about the women who helped make space missions possible but didn’t get as much credit. 

3. What do you need more information on? I’m curious about the plans for humans to live on Mars and how close are we to making that happen?

 5. What questions, concerns, and/or comments do you have? None right now 

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