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BLAST OFF TO Space

SPACE MISSION

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Facts About Space

  • It is completely silent in space.

  • In our solar system there are 8 planets: Earth, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus

  • Jupiter is the largest planet. It could contain the other seven planets in just 70 percent of its volume.

  • Stars don’t twinkle until their light passes through Earth’s atmosphere.

  • There are more trees on earth than stars in the milky way

  • There are more stars in the universe than grains of sans on Earth

  • Size-wise 1.3 million Earths can fit into the Sun

  • Space is a very cold place at –270.45 Celsius!

  • The Moon reflects light from the Sun.

  • A star is a ball of very hot gases.

  • Driving a car to the nearest star at 70 mph would take more than 356 billion years.

  • There’s a planet made of diamonds that is twice the size of earth. It's called the "super earth" or "55 Cancri e"

  • The Sun is 400 times larger than the Moon, but also 400 times as far away

  • It would take nine years to walk to the moon.

  • Mars is called the Red Planet because of its red coloring, which comes from the large amount of iron oxide – known on Earth as rust – on the planet’s surface.

  • Mercury’s temperature varies from -280° F on its night side to 800° F during the day.

  • If you can spot the Andromeda Galaxy with your naked eyes, you can see something 14.7 billion billion miles away.

  • If Earth were the size of a tennis ball, the Sun would be a sphere 24 feet across, approximately 0.5 mile away.

  • For a rocket to get into orbit around Earth, it needs to travel 17,600 miles per hour!

  • The first person on the moon was Neil Armstrong on July 20, 1969

  • The first person in space was Yuri Gagarin in April, 1961.

Books Read Aloud

Read by Astronauts in Space!

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Hey-ho, to Mars We'll Go by Susan Lendro
If I Were an Astronaut by Eric Mark Brau
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Check out more stories read by astronauts in space at Story Time From Space

There's No Place Like Space! by Tish Rab
Pete the Cat Out of This World by James

NASA Earth from Space: International Space Station

 

Experience the thrill of 24/7 live views from the International Space Station (ISS), a modular and habitable modular space station that's in a low orbit of Earth. The spacecraft systems and equipment are testing equipment for possible future long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars. The ISS consists of pressurized habitation modules, structural trusses, photovoltaic solar arrays, thermal radiators, docking ports, experiment bays and robotic arms. Do you dream of traveling to space?!

The Martian

 

When astronauts blast off from the planet Mars, they leave behind Mark Watney (Matt Damon), presumed dead after a fierce storm. With only a meager amount of supplies, the stranded visitor must utilize his wits and spirit to find a way to survive on the hostile planet. Meanwhile, back on Earth, members of NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring him home, while his crew mates hatch their own plan for a daring rescue mission. Rating: PG-13

Available on: Hulu, Sling TV, YouTube, Google Play, Vudu, iTunes

Hidden Figures

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Join us for story time as illustrator Laura Freeman reads the picture book version of Hidden Figures, the incredibly inspiring true story of four Black women who helped NASA launch astronauts into space.

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