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In December 2015, British astronaut Tim Peake arrived on the International Space Station (ISS). During Tim’s stay on the station, where he undertook important scientific work, he needed to eat, drink and stay healthy. Healthy eating and drinking is crucial for astronaut’s health due to limited availability and...
Principia mission - maths in space
On December 15th 2015 European Space Agency astronaut Tim Peake launched on the six month Principia mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Principia was named after Isaac Newton’s Naturalis Principia Mathematica, describing the principal laws of motion and gravity.
The education and inspiration of...
STEM Learning magazine: primary - spring 2016
This STEM Learning magazine aimed at all primary teachers contains articles and interviews looking at ideas, hints and tips for teaching science, mathematics, design and technology and computing at primary level. Articles include:
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How to effectively teach mathematics skills for science to increase...
Marble-ous ellipses: speed and time of orbiting bodies
This activity puts speed-time graphs in a space context by looking at the elliptical orbits.
In order to understand the orbits of planets, comets and other celestial bodies, it is necessary to examine the principles of how gravity, and the velocity of an object, interact to produce an orbit. It is a common...
Episode 2: Planck - Looking Back to the Dawn of Time
Rebecca Barnes takes a close look at Planck - a European Space Agency mission built to detect radiation from the microwave portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. This mission will help find answers to some of the most important questions in modern science.
Can You Get Fat in Space?
As part of the The Great British Space Dinner competition, celebrity chef, Heston Blumenthal, asks us the question, “Can you get fat in space?”. He explains that, due to being in a weightless environment, astronauts' muscles do not need to work as hard as on Earth, and so the fat on their bodies could increase....
Cows in Space
As part of the The Great British Space Dinner competition, celebrity chef, Heston Blumenthal, asks us the question, “Can you take cows into space?”. Heston explains how the weightless environment can cause loss of bone mass, and so calcium will be important in an astronaut’s diet. Heston suggests that a cow in...
STEM Learning magazine: secondary - summer 2016
Mathematics Subject Specialist, Michael Anderson, discusses the questions the Principia mission poses, as well as the range of support materials available to teachers as Tim Peake returns to Earth from the International Space Station.
Gill Collinson, Head of Centre, National STEM Learning Centre and Network...
Mars Diary Chapter One: Life on Mars
‘Why do we send humans and robots into space? What will Mars be like, compared to Earth?’
In this introduction chapter students find out more about Mars, including:
- comparing Earth to Mars
- describing past, present and future missions to Mars
- writing a diary to Tim Peake...
Unusual orbits in the Andromeda galaxy
Produced by the Royal Observatory Greenwich, this uses understanding of Kepler’s third law and the Doppler equation guide a lesson on plotting and interpreting a velocity vs radius graph for the Andromeda galaxy. A brief overview of the lesson is provided for the teacher as well as key questions to ask students...