Exploration of the Planets - A Great Feat in Such a Short Time

A WebQuest Created by:

Lon L. Eilders, II

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Introduction | Task | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion | Teachers | Credits/Reference

Introduction

Before the 1960s, man had never ventured beyond the atmosphere of Earth.  Since the beginning of that decade, man has sent probes or space craft to every planet in the solar system except Pluto.  How extensive has the exploration of our solar system been?

Task

Develop a timeline for the major achievements in exploration for a chosen or an assigned planet in our solar system  Place this timeline on a poster for a presentation on your planet. You have a week to research, develop your poster, and rehearse your groups presentation.

Process

In cooperative groups, you will either be allowed to choose a planet by your teacher or your group will be assigned a planet.

Use the following two links to research the exploration of your group's planet:

The Exploration of the Planets Provides a brief history of the exploration of all the planets.

NASA History Office: Topical Index Provides an alphabetical listing of NASA terms pertinent to this assignment.

You may need to look at a astronomy textbook as another source of information.

Create a poster board to display your timeline for use as a visual aid during your presentation.

Your poster timeline should include:

1) Major probes, spacecraft, and landings (including the dates).

2) Which countries were involved with each of these.

3) Summary of activities and finding of each.

4) Profile of planet attributes.

5) Include major projects that never came to light (such as all Pluto exploration projects).

Evaluation

Groups will be evaluated on both their poster as a visual aid and their presentation using the following rubrics:

Rubrics (Word Document)

Rubrics (PDF File)

Poster Rubric

Rate each category according to the following scale: 9-10 = excellent, 7-8 = very good, 5-6 = good, 3-4 = satisfactory, 1-2 = poor, and 0 = unsatisfactory.

Final Score Rubric

Conclusion

Be assured that man's curiosity will fuel even greater feats of space exploration in your life time and the life time of your children.

Teachers

Grade Band: 9-12 Earth Science

Tennessee State Standards: 9-12 Earth Science 

1.2 examine the components of the solar system.

1.4 investigate the exploration of space.

Purpose: To encourage students to learn about the attributes of the Planets and their exploration through the exciting use of the Internet.  To encourage the presentation of data by a poster. To assess student learning through a non-conventional means (Presentation).

Preceding and Ensuing Events of Instruction: The teacher should first show the IMAX movie Destiny in Space (40 minutes) which is available through slingshot.  This should prompt student interest in the topics covered in this WebQuest.  Ordering information at www.slingshotdvd.com

The teacher will have to acquire an Astronomy textbook.

This WebQuest can prompt future interest of students in the processes that drive the solar system and the universe.

Learning Improvements: Students will be allowed to do independent research which should lead to a move away from extrinsic rewards to greater intrinsic rewards.  Learning will be reinforced when the students assemble and evaluate the research they have done.

Improvements and Expansions:  This WebQuest can be expanded by introducing exploration of the comets and asteroids.

Credits/References

The exploration of the planets (2002). Retreived June 4, 2003, from http://www.vectorsite.net/taxpl.html

NASA Office of External Relations (2002). NASA history office: topical index. Retreived June 4, 2003, from http:history.nasa.gov/tindex.html

Smithsonian Institution and Lockhead Martin Corporation. (1994). Destiny in Space [DVD] Burbank, CA: Slingshot DVD Corp.

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