April 30-May 6, 2015, Current Events Lesson Plan
Current Event: Crashing and Burning (Into Mercury)
The MESSENGER space probe recently crashed into Mercury after having spent all of its fuel. MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging) was a probe launched by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 2004. In 2007, on its way to Mercury, the probe worked with a European Space Agency (ESA) probe to detail Venus’s surface. In 2008 and 2009, MESSENGER flew by Mercury and photographed areas of its surface. The probe entered into orbit around Mercury in 2011, and mapped Mercury’s surface and studied the planet for four years. Unfortunately, the sun’s powerful gravitational pull disrupted MESSENGER’s orbit, forcing the craft to occasionally fire its engines to keep from being pulled into Mercury and causing it to run out of fuel.
Objective:
Mercury is the planet nearest the sun. Mercury is dry, extremely hot, and almost airless. The sun’s rays are approximately seven times as strong on Mercury as they are on the Earth. Mercury moves around the sun faster than any other planet. The ancient Romans named it Mercury in honor of the swift messenger of their gods. Mercury goes around the sun once every 88 Earth days. Mercury’s diameter is about two-fifths of Earth’s diameter, and it orbits the sun at an average distance of about 36 million miles, compared with about 93 million miles for Earth. Because of Mercury’s size and nearness to the brightly shining sun, the planet is often hard to see from the Earth without a telescope. Scientists doubt that the planet has any form of life. The Behind the Headlines news story and related World Book articles explore Mercury and other astronomical topics.
Words to know:
- Astronomy
- European Space Agency (ESA)
- Mercury
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
- Space exploration
- Sun
- Telescope
- Venus
Discussion Topics:
1. The first spacecraft to reach Mercury flew past the planet in March 1974. Ask your students to name historical events that have happened since March 1974. [Students might say Richard Nixon resigned the presidency (August 1974), Vietnam War ended (1975), Bhopal disaster (1984), Chernobyl disaster (1986), Berlin Wall opened (1989), Oklahoma City bombing (1995), September 11 terrorist attacks (2001), Indian Ocean tsunami (2004), Hurricane Katrina (2005), Haitian Earthquake (2010).]
2. Private companies have begun launching people into space. Ask your students if they would want to visit Earth’s moon or any other celestial body. Would they go if they knew they could never return to Earth?
3. Ask your students to debate, “Money spent on space exploration is money well spent.”
4. Ask your students to use World Book’s Timelines feature to view or add to the Advances in Space Exploration timeline. (Students may wish to use World Book’s “Space Exploration” article for help.)