Using NewsHour Extra Worksheets

Overview: NewsHour Extra worksheets can help students follow along and identify key points in NewsHour science broadcast pieces.

Warm Up: Introduce the topic of the broadcast piece and find out how much your students know.

Main Activity: Hand out the worksheet and have students answer the questions as they watch the NewsHour segment.

Need a DVD of the science segment?: Write to science@newshour.org.

NASA Develops Plans for Moon-Mars Mission, 5/31/07
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/jan-june06/nasa_05-31.html

Worksheet Questions: (click here for printout)

1. What is President Bush's space vision?

President Bush wants NASA to develop a new space crew vehicle to take astronauts to the moon and beyond.

2. What previous spacecraft would the new crew vehicle, Orion, resemble?

Orion would look like the Apollo spacecraft from the 1960s and '70s, only bigger.

3. Why do the astronauts need new space suits?

The shuttle suits weren't designed for planetary environments and walking around.

4. Why are some skeptics, such as from the Planetary Society and California Institute of Technology, worried?

They are concerned the money that goes toward the manned spaceflight initiative will cancel or delay some of NASA's robotic exploratory missions or science programs.

5. What is NASA's response?

NASA says the science portion of the manned spaceflight initiative has actually increased since the Apollo era.

For more NewsHour Science Reports, go to www.pbs.org/newshour/science.

For more science lesson plans and worksheets, go to www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/teachers/science.