Space

Science

Mars Landing

November 30, 2018

NASA’s InSight spacecraft made it to Mars on November 26. The landing ended a 300 million–mile journey that lasted more than six months. Flight controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in California, cheered when InSight touched down. “Flawless,” Rob…

Science

Moon Mission

September 7, 2018

People first set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969. Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped from the Apollo 11 spacecraft. They planted an American flag on the moon’s surface. After that, NASA sent six more missions to…

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TFK Library

What Are Planets?

August 9, 2018

Stargazers in ancient Greece noticed something extraordinary in the night sky. They observed that a few bright objects moved among the constellations. They called these objects planetes, meaning “wanderers.” We still call them planets. But our understanding of these…

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Science

Into Space

August 6, 2018

NASA has selected nine astronauts to ride the first commercial capsules into space. These astronauts will travel to the International Space Station. They will ride in capsules built by two private companies. The company SpaceX is developing a capsule…

United States

Space History for Sale

July 23, 2018

On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon. He was commander of NASA’s Apollo 11 lunar mission. “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” he famously said as he…

Technology

Blast off, Starman!

February 16, 2018

On February 6, the Falcon Heavy rocket blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center, in Florida. It used the same launchpad that sent the first astronauts to the moon, in 1969. But this was not a NASA mission. The rocket…

Science

Mission-Ready

December 11, 2017

Life can be very unpredictable for astronauts living and working on the International Space Station (ISS). There is no gravity. Parts of the station might stop working at any time. Space objects come flying at the station out of nowhere.…

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Technology

Eyes in the Sky

December 11, 2017

Chamber A is a historic landmark. It is located in the Johnson Space Center, in Houston, Texas. The chamber looks like a bank vault. But when the right machinery is turned on, it seems like a giant pocket of outer…

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Text Sets

From Apollo 11 to Now Video

September 9, 2017

Watch this video to introduce the Space Exploration Text Set

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Science

Why Total Solar Eclipses Are So Rare

August 17, 2017

A solar eclipse will cross the continental United States on August 21, from Salem, Oregon, to Charleston, South Carolina. Millions of people will witness the spectacular space event. They won’t show up just because solar eclipses are extremely beautiful. They…

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