Below are ideas for extending this topic beyond the Exploration and Activity you just completed.

• Lesson Assessment and Answer Key
• Activity: Touchdown! Build a “lander” from paper, marshmallows, and straws
• Readings: Learning to live in space
• Videos: From astronaut exercises to surviving in space

This cool activity challenges students to build a “lander” from simple materials, such as straws, paper, and mini-marshmallows. The goal is to create a design that will keep astronauts from getting hurt when they land on another planet. Discussion questions, extensions, and a downloadable PDF, available in both English and Spanish, are included. (Grades 3–8, NASA/JPL)

Readings from Newsela are free with registration and can be adjusted for reading level. Writing prompts and quiz questions are available for most readings.

• What do astronauts eat in space?(Grade 3)
• Peggy Whitson was the first woman commander on the International Space Station. (Grade 3)
• Want to learn more about what happens to the human body in space? Read this article.
• Find out what happened when Astronaut Scott Kelly returned to earth. (Grade 2)

Whether you’re trying to move or work or even just breathe, living in space is filled with challenges.

• In this video, astronaut Mark Vande Hei explains how he stays fit aboard the International Space Station. (2:57, ESA)
• How long would you last unprotected on another world? Not long, as astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson explains. (2:45, Business Insider)