The United Nations has designated 12th April as International Day of Human Space flight to celebrate the beginning of the space era for humankind. It was on this date in 1961 that Yuri Gagarin completed the first successful human space flight so beginning the exploration of space by people.

The United Nations has designated 12th April as International Day of Human Space flight to celebrate the beginning of the space era for humankind. It was on this date in 1961 that Yuri Gagarin completed the first successful human space flight so beginning the exploration of space by people.

These resources...

The United Nations has designated 12th April as International Day of Human Space flight to celebrate the beginning of the space era for humankind. It was on this date in 1961 that Yuri Gagarin completed the first successful human space flight so beginning the exploration of space by people.

These resources...

This is one of a series of resources to support the use of the BBC micro:bit. This resource focusses on pupils designing, programming and using a BBC micro:bit to complete the mission challenge to find out more about the planet Mars.

In this activity pupils will make use of the BBC micro:bit to design and...

This resource, from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, includes a short video about rocks from space, and then a short activity sheet that students can use to discuss the difference between magnetic and...

The Mars Diary resources are a comprehensive series aimed at helping KS2 students find out more about the planet Mars, as well as the challenges and opportunities that will be involved in exploring our Solar System. There are six chapters...

‘Design a city that has everything you'll need for a happy, productive and safe life on Mars.’

In this chapter students work out they could overcome Martian conditions to create a sustainable habitat, including

• mapping what is required by a community,
• designing buildings/domes that...

‘Work with your rover to collect scientific samples then head to the lab. It's time to experiment!’

In this chapter students think about the challenges of running experiments on Mars using a robotic rover, including

• programming the rover to navigate,
• decrypting coded messages,
• ...

‘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...

‘Before you set off on your next space adventure, tell the people back on Earth why Mars is worth a visit.’

In this concluding activity students are encouraged to summarise their findings from the other five chapters, by:

• creating a poster about space tourism,
• drawing/writing a comic...

‘Explore your new home, from its climate to its terrain, then build a rover to help your research.’

In this chapter students figure out more about the surface of Mars, including:

• finding out about the weather on Mars,
• creating a newspaper article about water on Mars,
• ...

‘Recruit your crew, pack your bag and design your rocket to launch your mission!’

In this chapter students find out about some the challenges that will be presented with space exploration to Mars, including:

• comprehending the changing distances between our planets
• describing the skills...

This collection introduces BepiColumbo and the mission to Mercury, to investigate the least explored planet in our inner solar system. 

This resource, from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, is an animated video, teacher guidance and pupil activities that explore some of the challenges that exist for getting astronauts to Mars, and what it would be like to live there for a while....

The Moon Camp Challenge is an educational and inspirational project run by ESA and Airbus Foundation, in partnership with Autodesk. These supporting classroom activities focus on learning-by-design and science experimentation. Students will develop a number of scientific experiments related to the Moon and apply...