Overview
Students will run an activity, called a “mini mission,” using practice data.

Recommended Preparation

• Assign students to a team. Do not assign the Communications Team roles yet, because these students will not have much to prepare. Instead, wait until the day before the mission and assign the roles to two students who have not taken on heavy team roles. Give these students the Communications Team instructions and ask them to read it as homework. Make sure your choice for Data Officer includes a student who can type well.
• For homework before this class, students should read:
  • Overview of Teams
  • Their team’s instructions

Duration

10-15 minutes: Organize the students into teams and give directions

30-45 minutes: Run the mini-mission

Materials Needed

• One computer with the online moon map displayed on screen.
• Four report forms for each of the following teams: Moon Mapping, Comet Tracking, and Crisis Management. Print the report forms in different colors, one for each team. All the report forms are available on the website under Student Materials.
• Worksheets for each student. All the worksheets are available on the website under Student Materials.
• Comet tracking diagram and graphs for the Comet Tracking Team. This may be found on the website under the Student Materials/Comet Tracking section
• Lunar map printed for the Crisis Management Team. This may be found on the website under the Student Materials/Crisis Management section
• Practice data slips for the mini-mission. Cut these apart. (See the end of this document).
• Practice Data Answer Key for the teacher. This may also be found on the website under Teachers Toolkit, Pre mission prep.

Set up Classroom and Assign Roles

1. Organize your students following the Classroom Setup directions. For the mini-mission you will need only one computer. This computer will be used for the online moon map y a member of the Moon Mapping Team. You can also access the online moon map by a link available in the Pre-mission Preparation web page.
2. Using their team instructions, students may self-organize and choose one of the roles listed. Alternatively, you might want to make assignments.

Run Mini-Mission

1. Standing at the front of the room, the teacher or a student may hand out Mini-mission Reading 1, one apiece, to each team.
2. The Crisis Management Team needs to become familiar with the inventory and astronauts on each base. Decide where and how to move people and equipment at each base.
3. Each team should start processing the information, filling in the report forms, and giving them back to you, where you check them against the answer key.
4. After six minutes, hand out Mini-mission Reading 2 to the Comet Tracking and Moon Mapping Teams.
5. Continue handing out the remaining readings to the Comet Tracking and Moon Mapping Teams every six minutes.
6. During the mini-mission you should look for communication flow bottlenecks and make modifications now or write them down for discussion later. The idea is that when Mission Day arrives, the students will be well prepared with the mechanics of the mission and will be able to advance to more critical thinking and problem solving during the live event.

Mini-Mission Reading 1: Comet Tracking Team

UTC	Diameter of Comet (m)	Distance to Moon (km)	Speed (km/sec)
0100	2,000	750,600	34

Mini-Mission Reading 2: Comet Tracking Team

UTC	Diameter of Comet (m)	Distance to Moon (km)	Speed (km/sec)
0130	2,000	686,600	38

Mini-Mission Reading 3: Comet Tracking Team

UTC	Diameter of Comet (m)	Distance to Moon (km)	Speed (km/sec)
0200	1,500	457,200	45

Mini-Mission Reading 4: Comet Tracking Team

UTC	Diameter of Comet (m)	Distance to Moon (km)	Speed (km/sec)
0230	1,500	388,800	43

 

Mini-Mission Reading 1: Moon Mapping Team

UTC	Radius (km)	Latitude	Longitude
0100	450	15° N	40° E

Mini-Mission Reading 2: Moon Mapping Team

UTC	Radius (km)	Latitude	Longitude
0130	450	25° N	35° E

Mini-Mission Reading 3: Moon Mapping Team

UTC	Radius (km)	Latitude	Longitude
0200	425	30° N	25° E

Mini-Mission Reading 4: Moon Mapping Team

UTC	Radius (km)	Latitude	Longitude
0230	425	33° N	15° E

 

Mini-mission Reading 1: Crisis Management Team

Sample Inventory

		Latitude	Longitude
Base A	Lunar Port	10° N	15° E
Base B	Mining Site	20° N	20° N
Base C	Mobile Lab	25° N	30° W

Astronaut Roster

Astronaut	Job Title	Location
Abdelkarim, Will	Rover Operator	Lunar Port
Allen, Peter	Rover Operator	Mine
Canters, Lily	Mine Precision Specialist	Mine
Carter, Nicolas	Copilot	Lunar Port
Castillo, Jośe	Shuttle Engineer	Mobile Lab-Mobitat
Chen, Michael	Mining Equipment Speacilist	Mobile Lab-Habot

 

Transportation Resources

Resource	Location	Capacity	Speed & Maximum Range	Description
Pressurized Rover	Lunar Port: 1 Mine: 1	4 astronauts & 400 kg supplies per vehicle	75km/hr 200km max.	This vehicle looks a little like a Hummer with inflatable tires. The pressurized seating area provides life support for eight hours, eliminating the need for space suits. The rover may dock with the air lock at the lunar port.
Unpressurized Rover	Mobile Lab: 1 Mine: 1	2 astronauts & 200 kg supplies per vehicle	100km/hr 500km max.	This vehicle is similar to the moon rovers of the 1960s & ’70s—somewhat like a dune buggy. Not useful for longer journeys because it requires the astronauts to wear their spacesuits.
Space Shuttlecraft	Lunar Port: 1	6 astronauts	29,000km/hr 600,000 km max.	Launch vehicle designed by NASA capable of traveling in space for exploration and discovery. In an emergency Earth-based shuttlecraft may also be sent to the Moon to arrive in about 20 hours.
Jetpacks		1 astronaut per jetpack	200km/hr 200km max.	These rechargeable personal transportation devices are used frequently for travel. Astronauts always travel and work in pairs. Each has 24 nitrogen gas thrusters with handheld joysticks for maneuvering. Astronauts may carry additional weight, but doing so will consume the fuel faster.
Habots	Mobile Lab: 1	4 astronauts per unit	5km/hr 2000 km max.	This “habitation robot” may be lived in and may also be moved robotically from a distance, using either wheels or six “walking” legs. Ideal for setting up a temporary lunar base, without need for personnel on site. Astronauts may live for one month on board if necessary.
Mobitats	Mobile Lab: 2	2 astronauts per unit	50km/hr 2000 km max.	This “mobile habitat” may be driven by two astronauts to a site of interest and linked with habots to form a temporary living laboratory for exploration. Astronauts may live for two months on board if necessary.