Starting on July 16, NASA has a series of scheduled events to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing. This is a wonderful time to introduce your children to or expand their knowledge of the history of space exploration and NASA’s plans for the future. NASA’s website has a wealth of information specifically for children.
The events commemorating the 50th anniversary range from interviews with past astronauts to discussions of the agency’s future plans. Please visit the website below to get all the information and how to participate in or just view the events.
On another section of its website, it has information about its plans for the future, which it refers to as “Moon to Mars”. Specifically, its plans include the following: “Working with U.S. companies and international partners, NASA will push the boundaries of human exploration forward to the Moon and on to Mars. NASA is working to establish a permanent human presence on the Moon within the next decade to uncover new scientific discoveries and lay the foundation for private companies to build a lunar economy.” It states that the missions to the Moon and Mars are intertwined as the Moon will be an experimental area and stepping-stone for eventually traveling to Mars. There can be no doubt that the mission to Mars will be challenging, as it is a 34 million mile trip to get there.
NASA has dedicated a portion of its websites to students, whom it refers to as the “Next Generation of Explorers”. A considerable amount of information is provided in a child-friendly format. There is even a link to NASA’s Kid Club with games for children to play, from test driving a machine on Mars to a printable puzzle booklet.
This month is a unique opportunity for children to learn more about space exploration and exciting plans for the future. You might even learn a thing or two as well!
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