Canadian Space Agency
www.asc-csa.gc.ca
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Table of Contents
Distance and Tele-Learning Program
Physical Science
- Building Structures In Space
- Gearing Up To Space And Leveraging All It
Has To Offer - Spacecraft Design
- Designing Spacecraft: An Exercise In Critical Thinking
- Reading A Radarsat Image
- Telecommunications - Connecting People Via Space
Grade 4 to 6
Building Structures In Space
In September 2006, Canada watched as CSA astronaut Steve MacLean returned to space to continue assembly of the International Space Station. Building and assembling structures in the weightless environment of space requires that scientists and engineers think outside the box.
In space, as on Earth, orientation, material properties and the shape of a structure determine its strength, stability and balance. A CSA structural engineer will be on hand to guide the next generation of space structural engineers as they engage in a series of hands-on activities focused on the geometry of shapes and material properties!
Gearing Up To Space And Leveraging All It Has To Offer
What does the Canadarm2 have in common with a hockey stick and a car engine? Like the hockey stick, the Canadarm2 is considered a third class lever, and contains multiple gears like a car engine. Students will first identify Earth-based examples of the 3 common classes of levers and describe the functions of gear systems. Then, they will learn the role that these play in sophisticated Canadian technologies. Using visual aids, demos and experiential learning, students will gain a deeper understanding of the position of the fulcrum, load and effort force.
Spacecraft Design
Designing a sophisticated space vehicle that can land and function successfully on another planet is a complex exercise in critical thinking undertaken by the men and women in Canada's Space Program. In an ideal world, engineers would design with an unlimited budget, indefinite time and with the highest quality materials. In the real world, experts in the space business must balance cost, quality and time constraints in order to design a technology that functions effectively. Working in small groups, students will have the opportunity to engage in a problem-solving exercise where they will construct a successful "egg lander mission" while contending with the triple constraint.
Grades 7-9
Designing Spacecraft: An Exercise In Critical Thinking
Designing a sophisticated space vehicle that can land and function successfully on another planet is a complex exercise in critical thinking undertaken by the men and women in Canada's Space Program. In an ideal world, engineers would design with an unlimited budget, indefinite time and with the highest quality materials. In the real world, experts in the space business must balance cost, quality and time constraints in order to design a technology that functions effectively. Working in small groups, students will have the opportunity to engage in a problem-solving exercise where they will construct a successful "egg lander mission" while contending with various permutations of the triple constraint. The vocabulary and depth of concepts in this workshop are suitable for an intermediate level audience.
Reading A Radarsat Image
Earth observation satellite RADARSAT-1, and its successor RADARSAT-2 act as Canada's eyes in the sky to provide information for the conservation of our natural resources and during natural disasters to best manage recovery efforts. Wave interface, diffraction, reflection and refraction and the Doppler-Fizeau Effect are key concepts at the heart of RADARSAT technology. With the guidance of a CSA RADARSAT engineer, students will compare the information that can be garnered from a standard map versus a RADARSAT map. During the hands-on segment, students will use their newly acquired knowledge and skills to engage in a problem-solving scenario. Their task will be to read 3 RADARSAT maps of a region taken over a 3-month period, decipher the natural disaster that occurred, and determine its effect on local infrastructure.
Telecommunications - Connecting People Via Space
Space-based telecommunications play a pivotal role in connecting people across the world. E-mail messaging and cell phone access would not be possible without the use of satellites. In order to comprehend the science behind the technology, students will learn about the properties of electromagnetic waves, frequency and the frequency spectrum. They will further investigate the role of antennas, modulation, and various telecommunication systems. In the hands-on segment, students will build their own mission-specific telecommunications satellite featuring components and systems and receive on-the-spot feedback by one of our experts in space-based telecommunications.
Grades 10-12
Earth Observation Applications
RADARSAT-1, Canada's leading earth observation satellite captures images of the Earth that have numerous applications in managing natural disasters. Students will learn the science behind RADARSAT technology, and in particular the concepts of reflection, refraction, diffraction, interference, Doppler Shift, polarization and scattering. With the guidance of one of CSA's RADARSAT engineers, students will investigate how RADARSAT-1 is currently being used in coastal monitoring, iceberg detection, deforestation and disaster management. Moreover, they will analyze how RADARSAT-1 tracks oil spills, floods and hurricanes. In the hands-on activity portion, students will role-play being RADARSAT-1 engineers who must interpret a series of RADARSAT images taken over an extended period of time and decipher the natural disaster that has occurred.
Heating Up In Microgravity
Convection, which is important for heating and cooling on Earth, is absent in the space environment. In weightlessness there are no buoyant forces and hence no auto-convection inside the orbiting spacecraft. Both human and robotic missions in space must have either forced air flow for cooling or have alternative methods of dissipating heat. During the hands-on segment, students will investigate the effectiveness of convection in cooling instruments and other devices used in the weightless environment of space.
Moving Payloads In Space
Canadarm2, Canada's state-of-the-art robotic arm is an integral component in building the International Space Station. Without its contribution, the ISS simply could not be built. Building a sophisticated laboratory 400 kilometres above the Earth involves moving large structures, weighing thousands of kilograms, at varying accelerations. Consequently, mission planners must have a clear understanding of Newton's laws of motion especially inertia, and the relationship between force, mass and acceleration. During the hands-on segment, students will focus on the concept of rotational inertia by completing two activities that will illustrate how mass and mass distribution about the center of rotation affect inertia during rotating motion.
