Celebrate the Artemis II Launch in Afterschool through STEM Activities

​[[{“value”:”

Artemis II is NASA’s first crewed test flight in the Artemis campaign, set to launch this year. Four astronauts will fly aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft and confirm the spacecraft’s systems operate as designed in the deep space environment. In this Golden Age of exploration and innovation, the Artemis missions will allow astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and help build momentum for the first crewed missions to Mars. To celebrate this historic moment, we have several ways to get your afterschool program involved:

Join our Artemis II Career Chat on February 25, 6-7pm ET

STEM Next is hosting a special career chat to celebrate the launch and inspire young people to explore career pathways that make Artemis II and other space missions possible. Youth will hear from panelists, including NASA’s George Gorospe and Lockheed Martin Corporation’s systems engineer Chelsea Partridge, on how they turned their interests into fascinating careers, what it takes to support missions like Artemis II, and the many paths that can lead to a future connected to space.

Young people will have the chance to ask questions live, learn about real career pathways with practical advice, and explore how their skills and passions today could connect to the next generation of missions beyond Earth.

Use these STEM activities during your afterschool program

• Join the Artemis II Mission to the Moon — Make, launch, compete, and learn. Find your favorite way to be part of the Artemis mission.
• Activity: Artemis II: Observe the Moon like an Astronaut (Grades K-4 or 5-8)
• Activity: NASA Moon Crew Activity (Grades 5-8) 
• Activity: What is a Space Launch System (Grades K-4)
• Activity: Digging on the Moon (Grades 5-8, 9-12)
• Educators can find more available STEAM Engagement activities here.

Looking to connect your Artemis II activities to specific careers youth can pursue in the future? Check out these career profile examples! 

• Surprisingly STEM: Mars Exploration Simulation Manager — Practice makes perfect! And when sending humans all the way to Mars, you definitely want things to be perfect. That’s why NASA runs the Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA), so experts — like Project Manager Daniel Hernandez — can simulate aspects of what living on Mars will be like without having to leave Earth. Through simulated missions in the isolated, 1,700 square foot, 3D printed habitat at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, the agency can gather data on a variety of human exploration factors, such as physical and behavioral health and performance.
• Surprisingly STEM: Exploration Geologist — Here at NASA, we don’t take geology for granite. Enjoy this rock-solid episode of Surprisingly STEM and learn how exploration geologist Angela Garcia is training NASA astronauts to explore for the crater good of humanity.
• Surprisingly STEM: Memory Metal Engineer — An elephant supposedly never forgets, but apparently some metals can have a pretty good memory too! Shape memory metal engineer Othmane Benafan “trains” metal to take specific shapes when prompted. In this episode, Benafan irons out the details of how he creates alloys that can bend, stretch, and twist when heat is applied, and how this technology is turning up the heat on what’s possible for NASA missions.
• Surprisingly STEM: Space Food Scientist — NASA space food scientist Xulei Wu dishes on what considerations go into preparing food for the astronauts on the International Space Station. Learn how Wu trains astronauts for dining in space and what solutions she and the other food scientists have cooked up to meet the challenges of eating in a microgravity environment.
• Surprisingly STEM: Astronaut Fitness Trainer — Get pumped to learn about Corey Twine’s journey from training athletes, to soldiers, to astronauts! Maintaining good health and fitness is critical for humans living and working in space. To keep astronauts in tip top shape during their missions, NASA has astronaut strength and conditioning coaches like Corey who train the astronauts before and after they leave Earth. It’s no stretch to say that Corey has a very cool job!

The post Celebrate the Artemis II Launch in Afterschool through STEM Activities appeared first on STEM Next.

“}]]