JFK’s Moon Landing #35

🚀 ARTEMIS MISSION: SQUEEZE ROCKET ENGINEERING

THE PRESIDENTS & THE MISSION

  • 1962 (JFK): The Challenge President John F. Kennedy famously challenges the nation to land a man on the Moon and return him safely to Earth before the decade is out. He starts the race.

     

  • 1969 (Nixon): The Achievement President Richard Nixon oversees the fulfillment of that promise. On July 20, 1969, he makes the longest-distance phone call in history to Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin while they walk on the lunar surface during Apollo 11.

     

  • 2017 (Trump): The Return President Donald Trump signs Space Policy Directive-1, creating the Artemis Program. The goal is no longer just to visit, but to stay. Artemis will land the first woman and next man on the Moon’s South Pole to build a base for future missions to Mars.

Your Role: You are Artemis flight engineers. You must design a launch vehicle that is stable, powerful, and accurate enough to hit the South Pole target.

PHASE 1: CONSTRUCTION

1. Build the Launcher (The Engine)

  • Materials: Kool-Aid Burst Bottle + Plastic Straw + Clay.

  • Action: Insert the straw into the bottle. Seal the gap with clay.

  • Check: Squeeze the bottle. If air hisses out of the clay, it leaks! Fix the seal.

2. Build the Rocket (The Vehicle)

  • Materials: [Use the JPL Handout Template]

  • Body: Cut out the rectangle. Wrap it around a pencil to form the tube. Tape it.

  • Fins: Cut out the fin shapes from the handout. Tape them to the base.

  • Nose: Pinch and fold the top. Tape it shut.

  • Payload (Weight): Add a small ball of clay to the nose cone. This is your variable!

PHASE 2: THE ENGINEERING LAB (Data Collection)

Before we launch to the Moon, we must understand the physics.

Station A: The Weigh-In

  • Place your finished rocket on the Gram Scale.

  • Record the Weight (g) in your Data Log.

Station B: The Flight Range

  • Stand at the start of the Long Tape Measure.

  • Launch your rocket!

  • Record the Distance Traveled (cm) in your Data Log.

🔄 ITERATE:

  • Test 1: Short Rocket + Light Clay.

  • Test 2: Long Rocket + Heavy Clay.

  • Comparing the data: Does a heavier nose make it fly straighter? Does a longer body glide better?

PHASE 3: THE ORBITAL DROP (The Mission)

Now that you have your best design, it’s time to land.

The Setup:

  • The Moon: The 7-foot map on the floor represents the Lunar Surface.

  • The Target: The South Pole (Artemis Landing Zone).

The Launch:

  1. Stand at the edge of the Moon Map (“Low Lunar Orbit”).

  2. SQUEEZE!

  3. Success Criteria:

    • Bronze: Land anywhere on the Moon.

    • Silver: Land in the Northern Hemisphere (Equator).

    • Gold: Land on the South Pole Target (Artemis Base).

đź“ť HOW TO USE YOUR DATA LOG (The PDF)

You have a printed Data Log. Here is how to fill it out for this lab:

  • “Length of Rocket”: Measure your paper tube from bottom to nose tip.

  • “Weight in Grams”: Use the number from the digital scale.

  • “Distance Traveled”: Use the number from the long tape measure.

Engineering Question: Look at your best flight. Did it have more weight or less weight than your worst flight? Why?

EXTENSION 1: The “Heavy Lift” Challenge (Payload)

The Artemis mission isn’t just sending people; it’s sending heavy equipment (rovers, habitats).

  • The Challenge: Who can land the heaviest rocket on the Moon Map?

  • The Physics: Students usually think “lighter is better.” But a heavier rocket has more momentum and fights air resistance better if it has enough thrust.

  • The Activity:

    1. Students add more and more clay to their nose cone.

    2. They weigh it on your scale.

    3. They must still land it on the map (if it crashes short, the weight doesn’t count).

    4. Winner: The heaviest rocket that successfully reached the Lunar South Pole.

EXTENSION 2: The “Apollo 13” Protocol (Stability)

Real rockets get damaged. In 1970, Apollo 13 had an explosion and had to limp home. Can your ship fly while broken?

  • The Challenge: Fly a rocket with missing fins.

  • The Experiment:

    1. Have students take their best rocket.

    2. Command: “Commander, you’ve lost a fin!” (Have them cut one fin off).

    3. Predict: Will it still fly straight? (It might spin).

    4. Launch: Test it.

    5. Escalate: Cut off another fin. Can they adjust their aim to compensate for the wobble?

  • The Lesson: This visually demonstrates why fins are necessary for “Center of Pressure” stability.

EXTENSION 3: S-P-A-C-E (The “HORSE” Game)

Precision is key. A safe landing zone is only a few miles wide.

  • The Challenge: A competitive accuracy game based on basketball’s “H.O.R.S.E.”

  • The Activity:

    1. Student A calls a shot: “Landing on the Tycho Crater” (or a specific spot on your map).

    2. Student A launches.

    3. If they hit it: Student B must hit the exact same crater.

    4. If Student B misses: They get a letter (S).

    5. First person to spell S-P-A-C-E is out.

  • Why it works: It forces students to learn repeatability. They have to launch with the exact same force and angle twice in a row.

EXTENSION 4: The “Center of Mass” Sabotage

Students blindly follow instructions to put clay on the nose. Challenge them to prove WHY.

  • The Challenge: Make the rocket fly backwards or tumble intentionally.

  • The Experiment:

    1. Take the clay OFF the nose.

    2. Move the clay to the middle of the tube. Launch. (It will likely tumble).

    3. Move the clay to the tail (by the fins). Launch. (It will likely flip around and fly backwards).

  • The “Aha” Moment: Ask them to explain why the nose-heavy version flew best. (Answer: The Center of Mass must be in front of the Center of Pressure/Fins).

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