Rocket SciencePrimary Schools Resource Taster Pack

Turn your Pupils into Space Biologists!British European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Tim Peake is one of six crew members on

Expedition 46/47, a six-month mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS) which

travels 400km above the Earth. He is flying under the mission name of Principia. In space the

astronauts spend much of their time working on scientific experiments. ESA is responsible

for the European Columbus Laboratory on board the ISS where research is carried out within

Material Sciences, Fluid Physics, Life Sciences and Technologies. As part of the Principia

mission an education programme has been developed by the UK Space Agency. This

comprises a number of educational initiatives to engage pupils in space and Tim’s mission.

One of these is Rocket Science.

Rocket Science is centred around a UK wide practical schools’ experiment. This experiment

is a fun interactive way to get pupils thinking about how plants might grow in space. It will

help them understand the difficulties of living, growing and eating in space.

Two kilograms of rocket seed travelled from Baikonur, Kazakhstan on the Soyuz 44S Rocket

to the ISS. The seeds will be stored on the ISS for 6 months before returning to Earth in

Spring 2016. The seeds will be sent to 10,000 UK schools and grown alongside seeds that

have not been to space to see if there are any differences in growth. Schools will not know

which seeds have been to space and which have remained on Earth. The experiment will

run for a period of 35 days, during which time pupils will collect and record data from the

seedlings’ growth. At the conclusion of the experiment, schools will enter their results into a

database and the results will be published.

Alongside the Rocket Science experiment there are three curriculum linked activities to

further engage primary aged pupils with plants in space.

The three activities are:Plan an ‘Astro Garden’; plan a garden on Earth to provide quick growing, tasty crops to feed

an astronaut. This can form part of your school garden and includes a wide range of plants.

People need Plants in Space; write an article, poem or packing list to show how people are

dependent on plants for their survival in space as well as on Earth.

Design and Make a Table Top Greenhouse; design a greenhouse which can withstand the

challenging Martian environment and grow plants for astronauts to eat.

Each topic is split into KS1/P1-3 and KS2/P4-7 and all resources can be adapted to suit a

group of different ages with similar skills. There are teacher and pupil resources for each topic,

including activities, background information and worksheets.

This taster pack features People need Plants in Space. The remainder of the Rocket Science

resources will be available online in late 2015.

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People need Plants in Space!

The activities in this Primary Schools Resource Taster Pack

complement the Rocket Science experiment but can be

used independently.

In this resource pupils will have the opportunity to think about

how plants impact on people’s daily lives in space as well as on

Earth. Pupils will have to think and write about the reasons for

taking plants to space and eventually Mars. The resource has

been designed to improve key literacy skills such as vocabulary,

poetry writing, creative writing and exposure to non-fictional

writing within the scientific areas of botany and space travel.

The resource is split into Key Stage 1, Primary 1-3 and Key Stage

2, Primary 4-7. There are teacher and pupil resources including

activities, background information and worksheets.

People need Plants in Space!The relationship between plants and people is a long and continuous one. Plants play an essential role in our lives. People need plants - even in space!

People need plants – it’s a fact of life. We eat plants in many forms. We make medicines, soaps, furniture, textiles, tyres and much more from them. Although we now live in a highly industrialised society, we have not lost our dependence on plants. When we travel to space we still need these plant based items. Indeed long term space missions will be reliant on astronauts growing food plants in space.

Bread - is mostly made from cereal grains, such as wheat and rye and may contain other seeds, such as sunflower, sesame and poppy seeds.

Margarine - most types are based on oils pressed directly from plants such as soya, sunflower and palm oil.

Sugar - all green plants make sugar and various plants have their sap or juice extracted to produce sweet syrup, such as maple and date palm. Most of the world’s sugar comes from sugar cane or sugar beet (related to beetroot).

Cereals - are plants like wheat, oats and rice which produce the grains which make bread, pasta or noodle dishes. They also make our breakfast cereals like cornflakes, porridge, muesli or puffed rice.

Coffee - is made from the seeds of the coffee tree.

Tea - the leaves from the shrub are used. The tea plant is closely related to the camellias grown in our gardens.

Sweets - chocolate and cocoa are made from the beans of the cacao tree. Nectar collected from plants by honeybees is converted into honey. Jam is made with fruits and sugar.

Soya - the soya bean has been used for many centuries and is the richest source of plant protein. About two thirds of all manufactured food products contain ingredients made from soya from hamburgers and oil to milk.

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School term: All

Level of experience:

KS1, P1-3 and KS2, P4-7

Subject(s):

Geography, History,

Science & English

MedicinePlants have long been used for their natural healing

properties. Many are still used in modern medicines

today. For example: the bark of willows has given

us acetylsalicylic acid, which led to the creation of

aspirin. This is now a widely used painkiller around

the world.

Herbs & Spices - help to flavour our food. Pepper, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, mint, parsley, thyme

and many more herbs and spices all come from plants. These are especially important in space, where the

astronauts’ sense of taste is reduced.

Sleeping in space - did you know that astronauts need to be strapped into their sleeping bags to

stop them floating away!

Plants we use to make us look and smell goodClothes - one of the most important natural fibres in the world today comes from the cotton plant. Linen is made from the flax plant. Wood fibres give us cellulose, which is used in the manufacture of viscose. Clothing made from bamboo fibre has become more widely available in recent years. Astronauts wear disposable clothes on the ISS, as there are no clothes washing facilities on board.

Soap - plant oils are used in soap manufacturing, for instance coconut and palm oil.

Shampoo - plants are partly responsible for their cleansing qualities and fragrance. Often the plants used are herbs such as lavender, or other scented plants such as sandalwood, almond and coconut. Many are also used for their medicinal properties such as jojoba and chamomile.

Toothpaste - contains cellulose and cellulose gum, which are derived from wood pulp. Extracts from mint and strawberries may be used to flavour toothpaste.

Cosmetics - substances extracted from nuts, avocados, Aloe vera and carrots are often used in the preparation of cosmetics.

Scents and perfumes - many plants are used for their scents, such as frankincense, sandalwood, lily-of-the-valley, lavender and citrus plants.

Towels - Astronauts use small towels made from cotton to dry themselves after washing in space.

Fruits and vegetablesTravelling to Mars could take two years. During this time fresh food will need to be grown by astronauts. Growing conditions in space are challenging but not impossible. As yet plants have not been grown on Mars, this may be an option for the future but requires more scientific research. European Space Agency scientists recommend the following crops could be

grown to provide food for long term space missions; beetroot, lettuce, spinach, potatoes, wheat, soya, onions, rice and tomatoes. Some of these foods can be eaten raw such as tomatoes, others need to be cooked like potatoes. Grains such as wheat and rice need to be processed before eating.

People need Plants in Space!Use these activities to expand pupil knowledge of plants, basic human needs and the challenges of space travel.

For KS1 & 2/P1-7Pupils should already be engaged with space as a topic, Tim Peake’s Principia mission or Rocket Science. They will therefore already have some knowledge about space through access to the non-fiction space books and their own research.

Teachers can use the ‘People need Plants in Space’ information sheet and set up a treasure hunt around the classroom, playground or garden to find items made from plants. Use this to facilitate group discussion about what the objects are and the plants they are made from. Report findings back to the rest of the class.

KS1/P1-3 Use the Word Mat and the Packing List (on page 7) to list the items an astronaut would need to take to space with them to survive. List the items and describe the material they are made from for example; minty toothpaste, orange juice, potato crisps. Review this with the teacher and other pupils in the class. Which items or plants are the most popular?

Pupils may like to use the rocket on page 8 to make a themed poem about people and plants in space using some of the words from the Word Mat.

KS2/P4-7 Use the Word Mat, Life on Mars sheet and pupils’ own research to create a newspaper article. This article will explain how the astronaut survived on Mars with limited resources. The resulting article can be read out to the rest of the class and form a display as part of a larger science or Rocket Science project.

The best story could be performed during an assembly or as a celebration at the end of the Rocket Science experiment.

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Estimated time: 1-2 hoursLocation:

ClassroomSchool term:

AllLevel of Experience: KS1, P1-3 and KS2, P4-7

Subject(s): English & Science

Race to MarsOff we goClose the doorKeep on lookingEveryone is excitedTo go to space

Learning Objectives: KS1/P1-3 will learn space vocabulary & discuss the topic with the rest of the class or teacher

KS2/P4-7 pupils can note and develop ideas, drawing on reading & research where necessary

Learning Outcomes: KS1/P1-3 pupils will be able to demonstrate a knowledge of plants which are useful to humans on Earth and in space

KS2/P4-7 pupils will have knowledge and understanding of the Martian environment through their own research

Preparation: Gather a collection of plant based items together such as, cereals, familiar foods, cotton clothing, bamboo socks, toothpaste, plant based soaps and shampoos.

Equipment needed: KS1/P-1-3 People need Plants in Space sheet (pages 3 & 4), Acrostic Rocket sheet, Packing List sheet and Word Mat.

KS2/P4-7 People need Plants in Space sheet (pages 3 & 4), Life on Mars sheet (page 9), Daily Rocket newspaper article and Word Mat.

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Space Word Mat KS1, P1-3

Pupil Word Mat

clothesdrinks

vegetablescooking oils

soapshampoo

snackssleeping bags

Astronauts need

saladtomato

soupjuice

sandwichrice

cerealsjam

chocolatechips tea

grow needwantplanttasteeat

hungrywarmthirstyhappycleansleepy

moonsunstar

planethelmet

space suit

astronautspace shuttlespace station

missionrocketgravity

Space Words

mercury

venus

earthmars

jupiter

saturn

uranus

neptune

pluto

The Planets

seedstemleaf

flower

rootbudfruit

Plant Words

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Pupil Worksheet

PACKING LIST

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Pupil Worksheet

Acrostic Rocket Poem

Life on MarsUse this sheet as background information for your Daily Rocket ‘People need Plants in Space!’ article.

Since the first close-up picture of Mars in 1965, spacecraft voyages to the red planet have revealed a world strangely familiar to humans on Earth, but different enough to challenge our ideas of what makes a planet work.

Mars has polar ice caps and clouds in its atmosphere, seasonal weather patterns, volcanoes, canyons and other recognisable features. However, conditions on Mars vary wildly from what we know on our own planet.

Over the past three decades, spacecraft and scientific discoveries have shown us that Mars is rocky, cold, and dry. The planet appears red as the surface is made of iron-rich mineral oxides (rust) which are blown up into the atmosphere. The Martian landscape features hint to a past life of active volcanoes, meteor damage and flash floods over the now dry land.

The future for life on Mars? One discovery about Mars stands out above all others: the possible presence of liquid water, 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. Could the water on Mars support any plant life in the future? For humans to grow food on Mars they will need to protect their crops from the harsh Martian climate with its extreme temperature and frequent red dust storms. As you may know plants need water, light and heat in order to grow.

Exploration strategy: As space exploration develops we ourselves might become the “life on Mars”. Scientists estimate humans may land on Mars in 2030. Meanwhile, we still have a lot to learn about this amazing planet and its extreme environments. The NASA Mars Science Laboratory mission and its Curiosity rover has been searching for water and signs of life on Mars.

School term: All

Level of experience:

KS2, P4-7

Subject(s):

Science & English

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Mars FactsMars is half the size of Earth

The land area of Mars is similar to that of Earth

Mars is 229,000,000km from the Sun, whilst

the Earth is 150,000,000km away from the Sun

Mars has 687 days in a year

A Mars day has 24 hours and 40 minutes

The Mars atmosphere is over 100 times lighter

than Earth’s atmosphere

The average temperature on Mars is minus 63

Celsius whilst Earth’s is plus 14 Celsius

Mars has 62.5% less gravity than Earth

Mars travels at 86,676 km/h whilst Earth

travels at 167,210 km/h

For more information see

mars.nasa.gov/allaboutmars/extreme/quickfacts

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Pupil Worksheet

Draw / insert your picture here

Imagine you are an astronaut reporting back from a long-term space exploration mission to the red planet, Mars. You had enough dried food for your journey there and back, but not enough to last you during the time you were studying Mars so you had to produce your own food while you were there. In your space store you had vegetable seeds, some soil samples from Earth, cotton packaging material, and all the recycled materials from your journey so far. You need to tell The Daily Rocket readers across the nation how you survived on Mars, grew and protected your crops. (continue this story)

Pupil Word Mat

Space Word Mat KS2, P4-7

adhesiveconstruct

constructionconstructing

insulate

insulationinsulating

reuserecycle

recycling

growgrew

growinggerminate

germinatinggermination

heatheatedheating

plant planted planting

taste

tasted tasting

eat eaten

ateclean

cleanedcleaning

light lightning reinforce

experiment experimented

experimentingwater

watered watering

work workedworking

soilcompost

compostingtransport

transportedtransporting

suddenly

unexpectedly

unfortunately

resulting

ultimately

during

however

completely

dangerously

seedstemleaf

flowerroot

budfruit

seedingleaves

Plant Words

moonsunstar

planethelmet

space suit

astronaut

space shuttle

space station

missionrocketgravity

atmosphere

launchlanding

Space Words

clothes

drinks

vegetables

cooking oils

soap

shampoo

snacks

sleeping bags

Astronauts need

hungrycold

happydark

scaredbrightwarmdusty

To find out more about Rocket Science go to:

rhs.org.uk/schoolgardeningRHS Registered Charity No. 222879/SC038262