New offerings from NASA help students to learn about thermal protection systems, thrust structures and defining what defines a planet.

Thermal Protection Systems (grades 6-9) teaches students how NASA engineers design lightweight but effective, reusable thermal protection systems. Students work in teams to design, build and test a thermal protection system of their own. Simple materials such as wooden dowels, hot-melt glue, aluminum foil and copper screening are used to build a simulated spacecraft and a thermal protection system that can withstand the heat of a propane torch. The TPS is tested under a stringent protocol to maintain classroom safety.

In the Spacecraft Structures challenge (grades 6-9), students undertake the problem of designing a strong but lightweight thrust structure that can withstand the launch of a bottle rocket by means of a wooden lever. By using simple materials such as craft sticks, cardboard and hot-melt glue, students strive to make their structure lighter while maintaining its strength. The goal is to construct a launcher that can withstand the force of repeatedly launching a one-kilogram bottle of water one meter into the air. The scientific focus is on understanding forces, structures and energy transfer.

What Is A Planet? is a lesson for students grades 9-12 to learn about the characteristics of planets, comets, asteroids and trans-Neptunian objects through a classification activity. The students can then apply what they have learned by participating in a formal debate about a solar system object discovered by the New Horizons spacecraft and by defining the term "planet."

Thermal Protection Systems Educator Guide

Spacecraft Structures Educator Guide

What Is A Planet? Lesson Plan

Source: NASA Press Release: New Education Materials Available at NASA.gov 19 May 2008