This curriculum guide uses hands-on activities to help students and teachers understand the significance of space-based astronomy--astronomical observations made from outer space. It is not intended to serve as a curriculum. Instead, teachers should select activities from this guide that support and extend existing study. The guide contains few of the traditional activities found in many astronomy guides such as constellation studies, lunar phases, and planetary orbits. It tells, rather, the story of why it is important to observe celestial objects from outer space and how to study the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Teachers are encouraged to adapt these activities for the particular needs of their students. When selected activities from this guide are used in conjunction with traditional astronomy curricula, students benefit from a more complete experience.

The guide begins with a survey of astronomy-related spacecraft NASA has sent into outer space. This is followed by a collection of activities organized into four units: The Atmospheric Filter, The Electromagnetic Spectrum, Collecting Electromagnetic Radiation, and Down to Earth. A curriculum matrix identifies the curriculum areas each activity addresses. Following the activities is information for obtaining a 35 mm slide set with descriptions showing current results from NASA spacecraft such as the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO), and the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE),. The guide concludes with a glossary, reference list, a NASA Resources list, and an evaluation card. Feedback from users of this guide is essential for the development of future editions and other classroom supplementary materials.

Within months of each other the United States and the Soviet Union launched their first artificial satellites into orbit around Earth. Both satellites were small and simple. Sputnik 1, a Soviet spacecraft, was the first to reach orbit. It was a 58- centimeter-diameter aluminum sphere that carried two radio transmitters, powered by chemical batteries. The satellite reached orbit on October 4, 1957. Although an extremely primitive satellite by todayUs standards, Sputnik 1 nevertheless enabled scientists to learn about Earth's geomagnetic field, temperatures in space, and the limits of Earth's atmosphere.

A much larger Sputnik 2 followed Sputnik 1, carrying a small dog as a passenger. Although primarily investigating the response of living things to prolonged periods of microgravity, Sputnik 2 did sense the presence of a belt of high-energy charged particles trapped by EarthUs magnetic field. Explorer 1, the United States' first satellite, defined that field further.

The cylindrical, 13.6 kilogram Explorer 1 rode to space on top of a Juno I rocket on January 31, 1958. It was launched by the United States Army in association with the National Academy of Sciences and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of the California

Artist's concept of Explorer 1 in space

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