Back to: WebQuest and Digital Breakouts Compendium on STEM enhancement for pupils
Welcome, young astronauts! Humanity is on the brink of a new era – one where people might live, work, and explore beyond Earth. Your mission is to explore the past, present, and future of space exploration, investigate the challenges of living in space, and design a bold, imaginative plan for sustainable life on another planet.
Through this journey, you’ll encounter space missions, environmental engineering, rocket science, and the mysteries of Mars, the Moon, and beyond. Prepare for launch!
Key vocabulary:
- Atmosphere
- Gravity
- Oxygen recycling
- Artificial habitat
- Space radiation
- Colonization
- Space agriculture
- Sustainable systems
- Energy management
- Life support system
You are part of an elite international team selected by the Global Space Agency (GSA) to plan a future colony on another planet.
Your mission is to:
Explore the History of Space Travel
Research key missions, astronauts, agencies, and milestones.
Mini-task: Create a timeline with at least 5 milestones, highlighting scientific and technological advances.
Understand the Challenges of Living in Space
Investigate: gravity, atmosphere, radiation, water/food recycling, energy supply, communication.
Mini-task: In groups, identify five major obstacles to colonization and propose possible STEM-based solutions.
Optional STEM task: Calculate basic resource needs for your colony (water, food, energy per person).
Design Your Colony
Choose a planet or moon (e.g., Mars, Moon).
Create a sustainable colony plan including housing, food systems, water/air recycling, energy, and communication.
Mini-task: Build a visual prototype (model, diagrams, animation), label systems, and describe how they work using STEM principles.
Optional experiment: simulate water recycling or plant growth in controlled conditions.
Present and Reflect
Final product: slideshow, poster, video, or 3D model with narration.
Reflect: What STEM knowledge helped your design? What problems were hardest to solve? How can space exploration inform life on Earth?
Step 1: Explore the History of Space Travel
Learn about key missions, astronauts, and agencies that shaped our understanding of space.
- NASA Science: Space Place-Explore Earth and Space!
- ESA: 60 Years of Space History
- A Quick History of Space Exploration
Mini-task: Create a timeline with at least 5 milestones in human spaceflight history.
Step 2: Understand the Challenges of Living in Space
Discover what it takes to survive off-Earth: from food and water to gravity and radiation.
- NASA eClips: Living in Space
- ESA: Human Challenges in Space
- Life Aboard the International Space Station
Mini-task: In groups, list five major obstacles to space colonization and brainstorm possible solutions.
Step 3: Design Your Colony
Now it’s your turn! Choose a planet or moon (e.g., Mars, Moon) and create your vision of a liveable, sustainable colony.
- NASA Mars for Students
- What does colonizing Mars look like?
Step 4: Presentation and Reflection
Present a Space Colony Plan including visual and written components, addressing survival, sustainability, and comfort.