SUBJECTS: Science
YEARS: 5–6, 7–8
Have you wondered what it would be like to be an astronaut floating around in the International Space Station?
In this clip, Catalyst's Dr Derek Muller investigates what causes this weightlessness in space.
Derek challenges some people visiting the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney to explain why they think astronauts float.
Finally, he delivers the scientific explanation, which leaves everyone surprised.
Things to think about
- 1.Why do astronauts 'float' in space? What does gravity have to do with it? Do you know how far from Earth the International Space Station is? What about the Moon? What keeps the space station and the Moon in orbit around the Earth?
- 2.Watch as Derek demonstrates the distances between the Earth, the Moon and the International Space Station. What distance from Earth does he say the space station is? How does Derek compare the gravitational force on us to the force on the astronauts? What stops the space station and its astronauts from crashing into Earth?
- 3.Are you surprised by the clip's explanation of why astronauts float in space? Explain (or create a diagram to show) how forces are acting on the International Space Station and the astronauts. You could use arrows to demonstrate the direction of a force.
- 4.Find out more about an astronaut's daily life on the International Space Station. How does weightlessness impact on astronauts' daily routines and how do the astronauts manage these challenges? What kind of space research is Australia involved in? Where in Australia are teams of scientists involved in the exploration of space?
Date of broadcast: 5 Mar 2012
Copyright
Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).