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How Astronauts Custom Gloves Are Made

You have been selected for Science Friday’s Space Lab, where emerging engineers design new equipment for astronauts heading to space. Let’s review your first mission.

Mission

Design a glove that will protect astronauts while they collect surface samples on a distant planet or moon.

To do that, you will run through a design protocol. Are you up for the challenge?

Cycle diagram showing Mission Identified, then a circle with Research (arrow) Brainstorm (arrow) Model (arrow) Test & Prototype (arrow) Report (arrow) Reflect (arrow back to Brainstorm)
Credit: Xochitl Garcia

Identify Mission Target Destination

We have identified six target destinations as top priorities for space travel and exploration. You will either receive a target from your mission commander, choose one at random, or select a destination after reading its profile.

Mars, Europa, Titan, Mercury, Io, and Venus
Which of these six destinations will you design for? Images from NASA.

The Challenge Cards below give you some basic information about your target destination. This is information to get you started on your research phase, but also specific conditions you should be sure to address in your design. (You can also print out the Challenge Cards using this file, shuffle them, and select a destination at random.)

Research: Gather Information About Your Destination

Before designing, you must learn as much as you can about the conditions an astronaut might experience there. The moon is the only place, apart from Earth, humans have ever walked. How then do we know what conditions are like on Mars or any other celestial body?

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The Hubble Telescope with a view of Earth behind it (left) and the Mars Curiosity Rover selfie at
(Left) The Hubble Telescope. (Right) Curiosity Mars rover. Credit: Credit: NASA/NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSSNASA

We can thank human-made satellites, spacecraft, and rovers for collecting images, surface samples, atmospheric measurements, and more. With their help, we have gathered a lot of data about the conditions at a variety of solar system destinations. A past NASA mission already collected data about your target destination using satellites and other surveying tools.

Using information from past space missions, NASA and other space agencies around the world, collect information about your target destination that will be important considerations for design and add them to your Mission Engineer Workbook. Be sure to include information on:

  • What surface conditions are you designing for?
  • How will astronauts complete their mission of collecting surface samples?
  • How will your glove protect astronauts while they accomplish their mission?

Check out NASA’s information on planets, moons, and past space missions to help you gather information. If you ever need a comparison, you can always look at the information on Earth because those are conditions that are familiar.

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