AI Generated Letterboard Lesson

Life Aboard a Spacecraft Headed to Mars

#MarsMission #SpaceEngineering #HumanSpaceflight #FutureOfSpace #WordUp #LetterboardLessons

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Getting to Mars is not a quick trip — it takes roughly seven months of travel through deep space, depending on where Earth and Mars are in their orbits. Engineers and mission planners at NASA have designed every detail of the spacecraft to keep a crew ALIVE and functional for that entire journey. The vehicle must act as a home, a laboratory, a medical clinic, and a LIFE SUPPORT system all at once. HABITAT modules are the pressurized sections where astronauts live and work, carefully engineered to be efficient with every cubic centimeter of space. A spacecraft headed to Mars is essentially a CLOSED LOOP system — meaning nearly everything used on board, from air to water, must be recycled and reused. The level of ENGINEERING required to pull this off is unlike almost anything built before.

The pressurized sections where astronauts live and work are called _____ modules.

HABITAT

A spacecraft headed to Mars acts as a home, a lab, a clinic, and a _____ support system.

LIFE

Name something the text says a Mars spacecraft must function as.

HOME / LABORATORY / MEDICAL CLINIC / LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM

In a closed loop system, nearly everything on board must be _____ and reused.

RECYCLED

Name something the text tells us about the journey to Mars.

TAKES SEVEN MONTHS / TRAVELS THROUGH DEEP SPACE / DEPENDS ON ORBITS

NASA is an agency of the United States government. NASA stands for National Aeronautics and Space _____.

ADMINISTRATION

Writing Prompt

What does it make you think about when you consider that a spacecraft to Mars has to function as a home, lab, and clinic all at once?

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Section 2