Saturday STEM Challenge: Landing on Another Planet
This week, we’re learning all about life in space!
On July 20, 1969, NASA and the Apollo 11 mission crew made history by landing on the Moon—but doing so was no easy feat. After the Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins made it into lunar orbit, Armstrong and Aldrin needed to blast off from the orbiter to land on the Moon’s surface in the lunar lander module. This required precise calculations and delicate technology to keep the astronauts safe as they touched down on the surface of the Moon.
Buzz Aldrin outside Apollo 11’s lunar landing Module. Image Credit: NASA
Using a few office supplies and recyclables, we can simulate the physics required to land on the Moon. So here’s this week’s STEM challenge: using three index cards, two pieces of cardboard (each about 4 inches by 5 inches), some tape, and a small cup (you can make this yourself, if necessary), create a landing module that will safely land an astronaut (here, represented by a marshmallow, ping pong ball, or other small, light object) on another planet.
We used cardboard from a cereal box to make our rectangles and cup, and the role of the astronaut is played by a cat toy.
Once you’ve created your spacecraft, test it by dropping it from 12 inches above the ground. If your astronaut falls out of the module, tweak your design and try again! If your astronaut safely lands, see how your module handles falling from a height of 15 inches. What about 18 inches? 24 inches?
Do your best to design your own module, but if you’ve keep getting stumped, take a look at our example below for a hint on how to make your lander.
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Example:
We folded our index cards into springs to absorb the shock of the fall
Our astronaut gets a little rattled on impact, but stays in the cabin of our module—can you design a lander that keeps the astronaut more still?
