This assembly resource, from the Association for Science Education (ASE), focuses on whether we need to explore space at all, particularly in view of the vast cost involved. This material is part of the SYCD: Science Year Is There Life? collection.

The aim of the assembly series is to make students more...

In 2016, European Space Agency Astronaut, Tim Peake, carried out a series of experiments on the International Space Station, using equipment designed by the National Space Academy.

The overall programme includes the following topics from UK physics and chemistry secondary school curricula:

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This collection of videos show ESA Astronaut, Tim Peake, on the International Space Station, demonstrating circular motion.  In this free-fall environment, Tim can demonstrate how objects move in a circular path without the observed effects of gravitational acceleration with similar experiments performed in the...

This collection of videos show ESA Astronaut, Tim Peake, on the International Space Station, demonstrating the physics of collisions.  In this free-fall environment, Tim can demonstrate how objects collide without the observed effects of gravitational acceleration with similar experiments performed in the classroom...

This video explains the concept of gravity and why everything on the International Space Station appears to float.

This collection of videos show ESA Astronaut, Tim Peake, on the International Space Station, demonstrating kinetic theory.  In this free-fall environment, Tim can demonstrate the behaviour of an ideal gas without the observed effects of gravitational acceleration with similar experiments performed in the classroom...

Dr Claire Cousins and Mark Fox-Powell explain how scientists look at life that exists in extreme environments on Earth, to see what kind of life scientists might see on the surface of Mars.  This knowledge helps scientists plan the best target for a rover.

Professor Cockell takes us through the astrobiology...

This Catalyst article looks at Thomas Read, a secondary school student from Swindon who explains how he won an award at the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition 2012. Thomas was introduced to astronomy at a school club. He decided to enter his photo of the Sunflower Galaxy, taken using a robotic telescope...

Since ancient times, humans have gazed at the stars and tried to understand the night sky. This process continues today with observations still made by the naked eye but also with sophisticated telescopes and instruments that look at infra-red, ultraviolet, microwave and other wavelengths. This collection contains...

Astrobiologist Dr. Lewis Dartnell talks from the Atacama Desert about a research trip to find extremophiles that might give scientists some clues as to the kind of life that may exist on the surface of Mars.  Lewis shows how quartz can act as a natural sunscreen to enable cyanobacteria to grow in the dry desert...

The jet streams are bands of fast winds high in the atmosphere which are driven by pressure differences. Stormy weather follows the jet stream. In this film, Tim Woollings from the University of Oxford shows how, as the lower atmosphere gets warmer, we need to understand how the patterns of pressure and the jet...

This series of seven videos gradually build on the concepts that lead to an understanding of air pressure and contain clips of some interesting demonstrations to show its effects which could be replicated in a classroom.The demonstrations...