The Little Books of Gaia
Gaia is an ambitious mission to chart a three-dimensional map of our Galaxy, the Milky Way. The spacecraft will provide the positions and velocity measurements of around 1 billion stars – which is about one percent of the stars in our galaxy. The Little Books of Gaia are A4-page-size summaries that cover different aspects…
Episode 8: The Sun, Our Local Star
Rebecca Barnes will investigate our closest star, the Sun, find out why it is the central engine of the Solar System and look at Ulysses, SOHO and Cluster, the European space missions that have been key to advancing our understanding of the Sun.
Episode 11: Chasing Comets
Rebecca Barnes investigates comets and asteroids. She finds out about Giotto and its journey to Halley’s comet and the Rosetta mission to Comet 67P, via two asteroids.
Episode 10: Diverse Worlds - The Moon and Titan
Rebecca Barnes takes a look at the Earth's Moon and Titan, two very different natural satellites in our Solar System, and finds out about the two ESA missions that have explored them.
Episode 9: The Siblings of Earth
Rebecca Barnes looks at two of the terrestrial planets: Venus and Mars, explores their similarities and differences to Earth and finds out about the European missions that are helping to unravel their mysteries.
Episode 7: Exploring Our Backyard, the Solar System
Rebecca Barnes continues to journey through the wonders of modern astronomy bringing us closer to home as we begin to explore the Solar System. We'll discover the scale and structure of the Solar System, find out why we explore it and introduce the European missions launched on a quest to further investigate our local celestial…
Episode 6: Charting the Galaxy - from Hipparcos to Gaia
Rebecca Barnes discovers the motions of the stars, learns how astronomers measure their distances and looks at the new European mission that will really get to grips with our place in the Universe.
Episode 5: The Untamed, Violent Universe
Rebecca Barnes will give us a glimpse of the hot, energetic and often violent Universe revealed through X-ray and gamma-ray astronomy, look at ESA missions that detect this hidden light and find out how the science that these missions perform is meticulously planned.
Episode 4: Following the Redshift - from HST to JWST
Rebecca Barnes will identify some of the key discoveries achieved with the famous Hubble Space Telescope, look at the concept of redshift, and meet a new telescope that will be used to uncover the early Universe.
Episode 3: Exploring the Infrared Universe
Rebecca Barnes investigates the infrared Universe, explores discoveries made by ground-breaking infrared space telescopes, and takes a look at Herschel - ESA's pioneering infrared space telescope.
Episode 2: Planck - Looking Back to the Dawn of Time
Rebecca Barnes takes a close look at Planck - a European Space Agency mission built to detect radiation from the microwave portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. This mission will help find answers to some of the most important questions in modern science.
Episode 1: The Full Spectrum
In this first episode Rebecca Barnes sets the scene for this vodcast series by looking at why we need to send telescopes into space and considers what these 'eyes in the skies' can tell us about the extraordinary Universe in which we live.
Mission 4: Space Robotics
This DVD lesson from ESA takes a look at aspects of robotics in novel environments which compliment the traditional laboratory or classroom environment. Practical demonstrations performed in space and on Earth introduce and explain several aspects of robotics, specifically robotic movement mechanics, sensors, programming and control.
Mission 3: Space Matters
This programme from ESA switches between scenes filmed in space and on Earth to demonstrate basic scientific principles in ways that children can relate to. Filmed during the Eneide Mission in 2005, ESA astronaut Roberto Vittori and Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev are shown investigating the nature of matter from on board the…
3/5- Publication year: 2000 - 2009
- Video
Mission 2: Body Space
The ESA DVD has been developed with the support and input from experts, teachers and their pupils from across Europe. Scenes for ISS DVD Lesson 2 were filmed during the DELTA Mission (2004) of Dutch ESA astronaut André Kuipers. The video looks at the effects of a weightless environment on the human body: how our sense…
- 3/5
- Publication year: 2000 - 2009
- Video
Mission 1: Newton in Space
Produced with the input of experts and teachers, this 17-minute video from ESA illustrates how simple experiments, in space and on Earth, can be used to investigate Newton's three laws of motion. The video also examines the difference between mass and weight. The video uses demonstrations from two astronauts on the International…
- 5/5
- Publication year: 2000 - 2009
- Video
The Ingredients for Life: on Earth and in Space
On the International Space Station many of the Earth’s environmental support systems have already been engineered. Examining how some of these key technologies work, allows us to understand the vital ingredients that make Earth such an ideal place to live. In the video 'Ingredients for Life: On Earth and in Space',…
- 4/5
- Publication year: 2000 - 2009
- Video
Feeding Our Future - Nutrition on Earth and in Space
Feeding our Future – Nutrition on Earth and in Space, from ESA, examines food as a vital part of life on Earth and in space. It shows why we need food in the first place and what it represents in our culture and daily living. The video illustrates how our bodies process food as a source of energy and building materials. It…
Watching Over the Earth
This resource, from ESA, is intended to familiarise students between the ages of 11 and 14 with the subject of satellite imagery. Satellite images are of increasing importance in a great many domains and are dramatically changing the way the world and physical phenomena are perceived. Their use and understanding by students is one…
- 4/5
- Publication year: 2000 - 2009
- Activity sheet
The ESA/ESO Astronomy Exercise Series
The object of this resource, produced by ESA and ESO, is to present various small projects that will pass on some of the excitement and satisfaction in scientific discovery, to students. Using elementary geometrical and physical considerations, students will be able to derive answers that are comparable with the results of much…
International Space Station (ISS) Education Kit - Lower Secondary
The kit, from ESA, uses five themed chapters to explore various aspects of the International Space Station, including what it is, how it is being built, living and working on board, and what future voyages will be like. The ISS Education Kit is aimed at teachers of secondary school students aged 12-15. ESA has developed the kit…
- 5/5
- Publication year: 2000 - 2009
- Activity sheet
International Space Station (ISS) Education Kit - Primary
The ISS Education Kit, from ESA, is a resource for teachers with ideas on how to use the International Space Station as a thematic frame for teaching a wide variety of topics that are part of European curricula. The A4-sized binder contains four chapters devoted to explaining various aspects of life in space and what is it like…
- 5/5
- Publication year: 2000 - 2009
- Activity sheet
Eggnaut
In this resource from ESA, students' mission is to design and build a vehicle that will protect their Eggnaut from the perils of re-entry from space. The objective is to have your Eggnaut survive the fall without a crack. The project can be adpated for either primary or secondary students. The resource was produced by Spaceweek…
Explore Saturn and Titan
On 14 January 2005, the European probe Huygens entered the atmosphere of Titan - one of Saturn's moons. Based on this major event in space exploration, ESA offers a cartoon-style teaching aid with fact sheets for teachers to use in the classroom. The factsheets are available for use with different aged students - the materials…
Astronomy and Football
A 100 metres football field could serve as a venue to compare distances in our Solar System. Hopefully, this exercise from ESA will add perspective to the vastness of our part of the Universe and to the learning of astronomy.