Astronomy Summative

December 2010
The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is funded by the Canadian government to
“advance the knowledge of space through science and to ensure that space
science and technology provide social and economic benefits for Canadians.”
In an effort to convince Canadians that the benefits of space exploration are
worth the cost, the CSA has hired you to publicize their work. You will
research a project in which the CSA is involved, and report their findings.
YOUR PROJECT: In a creative fashion, you are to present the detail about one mission. This
means that you get to decide the form your presentation of the information will take. You might
use a PowerPoint slide show, a poster, a brochure, an interview, a song, etc.

Use the Canadian Space Agency Webpage as your starting point: http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca
Another useful website is http://www.nationalgeographic.com/.
Go to: 1. “Science” under the Activities tab along the left side of the page
2. Choose “Astronomy”, “Solar-Terrestrial Sciences” or “Planet Mars” to find the mission links

Select a mission from the list below. You may do an alternate project on the CSA website that you find
interesting so long as you clear the idea with your teacher before beginning.

Missions
Astronomy Solar-Terrestrial Sciences Planet Mars
Current: THEMIS (Aurora Borealis) Phoenix Mars Mission
Herschel Space Observatory (Select Phoenix under
The Planck Space Telescope Mission Heading)
MOST Microsatellites
Past:
Illuminating some mysteries of the
cosmos with FUSE

You MUST include the following information:

• Mission/Technology Overview:
- What is the purpose of the mission/technology?
- General Information
• How does this mission/technology impact our understanding of the universe?
• What is Canada’s contribution?
• How does this relate to what you have learned about Astronomy?
• Conclusion

Here are other things to include if you want a higher grade:

-how much the project costs;
-whether the project has resulted in any useful information/technologies for people on Earth;
-whether the project is dangerous for humans;
-what the satellite/technology looks like;
-what celestial object the technology is designed to observe (if appropriate);
-what kind of orbit the satellite follows
-what are the next steps? (ie. future missions/research?)
 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4
Knowledge and Facts and Facts and Facts and Facts and mission
Understanding mission mission mission information is
information is information is information is correct and
thin, or adequate. correct. accurate.
incomplete. Student identifies Student Student
Student has relationship demonstrates demonstrates
difficulty between understanding of insightful
identifying concepts. relationship understanding of
relationship between relationship
between concepts. between concepts.
concepts.
Thinking and Students show Students show Students show Students show
Inquiry weak strategies adequate good strategies excellent strategies
for thinking strategies for for thinking for thinking through
through the thinking through through the the process of the
process of the the process of the process of the project
project. project project
Communication Communication Communication Communication Communication of
of information is of information is of information is information is
weak and adequate, clear, concise, excellent: creative,
unfocused. somewhat clear and clear, concise and
and concise. understandable. engaging.
Application Project content Project content Project content Project content
shows weak shows an shows relevance shows and
understanding of adequate link to to the excellent
the contributions the contributions contributions of understanding of
of Canadians to of Canadians to Canadians to the contributions of
space space space Canadians to
exploration. exploration. exploration. space exploration.